true friends | astrid

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

It fell apart right from the start

But I couldn't even see the forest for the trees

June 6, 2026
anastasia marie karkaroff

Ana was still reeling from the past month. From this year so far, actually. So much had happened. Sitting in her flat, she stared at the clock, watching the minute hand move when it was ordered to, and she reveled in the momentary silence. Three months. That was how much time she had spent digging her way into such an obscure but dangerous organization. Using the angle of a master duelist looking to gamble, she’d found connections through that underground part of the magical world. People fighting, sometimes to the death, for a handful of gold coins and a reputation. Bored and lowly Purifiers hung out in those seedier areas, but so did Pureblood society.

That had been her second angle—her blood and her background. It still left a bad taste in her mouth to recall the conversations, the fake laughs, and smiles at the expense of ancient ideas that had no place in this modern world. It had also forced Ana to pull away from her own life and her own friends—however few they were. She’d hardly seen Petri, citing work was keeping her busy, and most of all, she’d completely shut out her one confidant—Astrid. She was muggle-born, which didn’t mean a thing to Ana, but she had to pull away for this job.

In the end, it was a pureblood who had sold out Elaine and her plan, though not who Ana had been expecting. Unfortunately, they had not acted fast enough, and the revered school Hogwarts no longer exited. Ana remembered seeing the flames, easily taking down the Purifiers attempting to stop the Ministry from entering the Castle to help evacuate the student body. Harry knew all the entrances and shortcuts, and they’d done what they could. She was brought out of her thoughts, however, when she heard the door knock. Taking a deep breath, she stood and opened it, wondering how this conversation would go—Karkaroffs may have been great at many things but apologizing was not one of them.

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[ASTRID ALVA ABRAHAMSSON]

With Ana's unprecedented withdrawal from their unlikely friendship, Astrid had thrown herself more and more into her work. She'd made groundbreaking progress on the differences between Swedish Shortsnout and Norwegian Ridgeback mating rituals, having discovered that there was a specific flight pattern performed by males. It had never been witnessed before, and Astrid was incredibly lucky to have caught it after weeks of trying. Kal was ever present and sturdy, but Astrid thought perhaps he was getting a bit fed up with the ever present frown on her face. Or maybe he was just bored of her. Turning things to ice wasn't as entertaining the twentieth time.

Astrid was sketching a dragon in flight - though not particularly needed for work, she enjoyed the concentration and calm it brought her - when there was a tapping on the window of her cottage. With a frown, she turned and let the owl in. It dutifully stuck out a leg for her to unfurl the bit of parchment, and read it over. Twice. Thrice. Astrid's brow crumpled. A summons to the ministry? To see Ana? Was she going to rub her dirty blood in her face some more?

For a long moment, Astrid considered not going. She had long since made peace with the fact that blood status was more important to a blood purist than actual friendship. She'd closed herself off completely again, and silenced the tiny voice in the back of her mind that reminded her how much she missed Ana. No matter how cold and unfeeling Ana seemed to be, Astrid knew that inside she was just a woman like her. At least, she had thought. With a grunt of distaste, Astrid stuffed the note in her pocket, picked up her wand and apparated to the alley next to the ministry.

The visitor's entrance was rather familiar to Astrid, as she had to liaise frequently with the beasts department to get them to stop stomping about trying to capture and tame every magical beast. They were meant to be free! She'd also met Ana for tea more than once in her office, but with the past couple of months, Astrid hadn't been foolish enough to think she'd be here for that reason again. Who knew what Ana wanted. Perhaps to accuse her of procuring the dragon for Elaine? Astrid had heard the rumours. That the young witch had flown out in a blaze of glory at Hogwarts.

Astrid's thoughts stilled as she exited the golden lift at the correct floor, and turned left twice. She faced the stark wooden door and arranged her features into a mask of calm. She didn't know how to feel, really. Sad? Upset? Blinded by anger? Instead, Astrid settled for unfeeling. She knocked on the door and it took only seconds for Ana to open the door. Astrid glared at her. "You summoned me, Karkaroff?"

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

It fell apart right from the start

But I couldn't even see the forest for the trees

June 6, 2026
anastasia marie karkaroff

Astrid was cold, but Ana expected nothing less. They weren’t the type to share anything more than polite small talk if they could help it. But their friendship had grown from the dark places in Durmstrang where allies were rare and limited and trust an even rarer commodity. That was Ana’s one regret of this assignment, these types of consequences. ”Come in.” She moved aside to let Astrid walkthrough, and she closed the door behind her. Despite the chaos of these investigations, she blocked off this time to handle this. Though she did have to return to work soon. But as to how to begin? Well, she figured she would just speak. All that training growing up hardly included how to apologize.

”Have as seat.” Ana walked over to the front of her desk, leaning against the edge. Her face its typical expression. She cleared her throat. ”I’ve asked you here to explain myself.” That phrase felt foreign coming from her mouth. It was as if she could recognize her voice but not that she’d said those words in that Order. ”I’ve been on an assignment the last few months. Potter recruited me.” This should have signaled Astrid that this was for the Order rather than Interpol directly. But maybe it was the aftermath of the entire ordeal. The fact that it hadn’t mattered what Ana had done in terms of gaining Ivy’s trust—the Castle had still burned to the ground, and people died. She paused again. Had it even mattered at all?

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[ASTRID ALVA ABRAHAMSSON]

Astrid's glare was icy, her thin mouth pulled into a flat line in distaste. She felt ice prickling at her fingertips, her strange power betraying her true emotions. Looking at Ana, Astrid felt a surge of sorrow - they had been friends for so long. The closest thing that Astrid had to family when hers had turned their backs on her. And yet she had been dropped so quickly, the ice queen dropped like a burning flame. Ana moved aside to let Astrid through the door, and stiffly, Astrid stepped over the threshold. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her robes, frowning as she looked around.

"I'll stand," replied Astrid cooly, refusing to sit. Ana had forfeited being able to suggest what Astrid should do when she stopped answering her messages. Refused to see her. Point blank affirmed that she wanted nothing to do with the girl she had always fought for. Astrid barked out a laugh, then raised a brow. "I can't imagine Potter telling you to go into hiding for the fun of it. Didn't that exact thing break up his family?" she sneered, narrowing her crystalline eyes.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

It fell apart right from the start

But I couldn't even see the forest for the trees

June 6, 2026
anastasia marie karkaroff

It didn’t take much to irritate Ana but especially from Astrid or anyone close to her as she was—or had been. Plus all that work she had done, all those months living that lie of a life felt futile. What was it for if Hogwarts ended up razed to the ground regardless? She’d sat in her office, sat at home, and wondered what it was all for. What could she have done differently to get Ivy to trust her sooner and speak up, or maybe she missed an obvious clue. Such thinking always threw her head into chaos, and she’d had to fall back into doing Occlumency exercises when she had time.

Astrid reacted as expected, and Ana wondered if she should have just brought a Pensieve and shown her friend those months. Anything to avoid the attitude and reaction, Ana knew this conversation wouldn’t go well if they became their worse selves—Astrid the ice queen and Anastasia the fiery one. She paused before answering, crossing her arms and her eyes narrowing. She had no idea what those months were like for her. The danger of sneaking into those illegal dueling rings, looking for low-level Purifiers. Talking to suspected associates her brother had mentioned, finally befriending one because of her family connections, and every time she stepped into some small safehouse, she was in danger.

”You have no idea.” The past few weeks, Ana noticed her nerves were a bit frayed. The images of that day still fresh in her mind, but just as her colleagues did, she pushed forward and worked, interrogated, investigated, and apprehended. She was exhausted, but it kept the images out of her mind. Since they now had privacy, Ana could elaborate. Not even most people in Interpol or the Ministry knew the story. ”Potter recruited me to infiltrate the Purifiers. I had to investigate different angles.” Illegal activities that funded the group had actually been one of the most dangerous, but Ana had to admit that the illegal dueling had been quite thrilling. ”In the end, it was my family's connections that gave me the lead I needed. I’ve known the Burke family since I was a child.” The former Order of the Phoenix members knew about Ivy Burke as well as the Ministry. Anybody else merely heard the rumors.

Even standing there now, Ana felt fidgety, which she had never been. That hypervigilance born from constantly being in danger had not left her, not that the post-Hogwarts situation as giving her any chance of being calm for a moment. And Ana hated looking anything less than absolutely composed.

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[ASTRID ALVA ABRAHAMSSON]

It was an immense effort to keep her walls up around Ana. She had been her first real friend, the first person who had seen Astrid for who she truly was and accepted her and loved her. Astrid had never gossiped or giggled quite as much as she had around Ana, and she suspected the same was true for her. The past few months had hurt Astrid, but she knew their relationship wasn't beyond repair. Astrid huffed out a haughty sigh, and finally slid into the chair Ana had offered.

As Ana explained her predicament, Astrid had to admit that it made sense. Still, she crossed her arms and maintained a sour look. "You were the best person for the job," said Astrid at last, after a long silence stretched between them. "Important at the ministry, but not high ranking enough to be scandalous. A pureblood who can keep a straight face and toe the line. I understand why Potter chose you for the job," said Astrid, finally meeting Ana's gaze. "I just wish I didn't have to be a casualty," she added sadly.

At last, Astrid ran a hand through her fair hair, heaving another sigh. This one was much less haughty, and more resigned. "I don't know why, but I thought you didn't want to be my friend anymore. That the ice thing had scared you. I am... sorry. For not trusting you to do the right thing," said Astrid, the apology heavy on her tongue.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

It fell apart right from the start

But I couldn't even see the forest for the trees

June 6, 2026
anastasia marie karkaroff

There had never been the sense between them that one was hiding, and there was a question of trust or security in where they stood with one another. Ana had stubbornly stood by her friend’s side at a school that detested anyone that wasn’t a Pureblood or even a relative of one. Was it to prove a point? Absolutely, but Astrid was not part of the game—not out to use Ana as some stepping stone for her own gain. That feeling of loneliness was not new—a remnant of her bitter childhood she always carried with her, but these past few months had forced her to push people away and create an image for her mission.

Ana explained, though without going into much detail but enough to get the point across. Astrid had finally taken the chair but hadn’t spoken yet. If she walked out without a word, Ana knew she would survive the void in her life and push through as she always did. She would feel that loss, not that you’d ever catch her composure cracking. Even now, she wondered how people did it, they would beg and cry for forgiveness or chances from friends, and she couldn’t imagine doing that herself despite that sincere hope that Astrid could understand. But finally, that silence was broken, and Ana looked away. A casualty. Even when Ana had re-entered the Pureblood world with one foot left in her real life, it had still cost her greatly.

”The less that knew, the better.” Ana kept her arms crossed. ”If…if my cover was blown, I didn’t want the people around me to be targets.” It was always the associates or family. Her brothers were good at keeping up appearances, so she didn’t see an issue there, but many of her friends were in the Order or friends that someone that was. In fact, at least two people she greatly respected happened to be muggleborn. Elaine had been ruthless, and any punishment toward Ana wouldn’t have been any different. And very quickly, a small crack appeared in her armor as she frowned slightly at the suggestion. ”When have I ever left you behind?” She found herself asking. Maybe it was a silly question—there had been nothing gradual about how Ana had pulled away.

Ana sighed and took a seat behind her own desk. Exhaustion kept creeping up when she wasn’t careful, much as it had done when her brother last visited. But the weight she’d carried of her double life wasn’t so heavy. Very few had known who she was. From what she could gather, Elaine’s inner circle had been small and hardly ever in the same room at once. It wasn’t like the Ministry where the department heads and the Minister were all known and often in meetings. ”Sometimes I wonder what it was all for.” Ana spoke, staring at the stack of files on her desk. Right before Astrid had arrived, they’d been scattered as she continued to put clues and pieces together. There hadn’t been some information in the papers, names of arrested—including their former Head of the Department of Mysteries. But only those internal had known that they’d just been too late.

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[ASTRID ALVA ABRAHAMSSON]

Astrid had known about the Karkaroff's games, and that they played to win. Ana's older brother had been a prime example of that, winding people up so he could suck them dry of their secrets. But while Ana was a Karkaroff, she had quickly differentiated herself from the rest. It was with that thought that Astrid finally took the seat, and prepared to hear Ana out. It made sense, what Ana explained. Especially the reason why she couldn't tell anyone. Astrid spoke after a long silence, wishing she hadn't had to be a casualty.

"Never," she murmured, her lips quirking upwards in a rare smile. "It's always been us two, hasn't it?" She reached out and took Ana's hand, giving her friend a reassuring squeeze. "I am sorry," she repeated, hating the weakness in her voice. But if there was anyone she could be vulnerable with, it was Ana. And she knew the same to be true for her best friend. Ana didn't owe her an explanation or anything - but because she placed such a value on their friendship, their partnership, she provided one. Ana had been the one to recruit Astrid into the Order. They had worked together for the greater good, and they had achieved their goals.

Astrid sat back in her chair, her ice blue eyes watching Ana carefully. She showed signs of immense exhaustion, of bearing a heavy weight. When Ana spoke again, Astrid remained silent. "For the future," she replied at last. "To make sure that the world we leave behind is better than the one we found." Wasn't that what everything was about? Rather than causing chaos and destruction, finding something that was worth rooting out, something worth fighting for. Leaving things better than they had been. "The fight's not over, is it? Will it ever be? Will the blood purists ever lay down their arms and accept people like me as their equals? And if not then, someone else? People try to find and exploit differences, where we should be celebrating them instead." She raised her palms and a crystal of ice formed between them, spinning slowly in the air. "Being different isn't bad."

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

It fell apart right from the start

But I couldn't even see the forest for the trees

June 6, 2026
anastasia marie karkaroff

Ana worked hard to prove the points she wanted to make, whether the men at work doubted her or when her brothers still treated her like that small girl who just wanted to play outside with them. Working as much as she did to make a name for herself that simply wasn’t ‘Karkaroff’ had created a workaholic with a chip on her shoulder. Ana didn’t know any other life, and she was almost happy that she didn’t, so there was no longing for something different. The things in her life that proved tried and true she kept close by, the stability is what she longed for.

”It's alright.” Ana mumbled in response as Astrid took her hand. If the tables had been turned and Astrid was chosen for some secret Order mission, and Ana was left in the dark, she’d have been as silently furious. Astrid spoke so optimistically after a pause, but Ana couldn’t feel it within herself to feel that. The experience had been rattling, and more than Ana cared to admit. She sighed softly. ”The fight is never over.” That was, at least, true—or she’d be out of a job. ”But we were too late—I was too late.” Ana crossed her arms almost defensively.

Ana watched the ice crystal in her friend’s hand, the air slightly chillier now. If only the students in their respective years at Durmstrang could see them now. And yet that feeling of satisfaction simply wasn’t there. This feeling of defeat was frighteningly foreign yet familiar simultaneously, like her early years at Durmstrang when she’d looked to her brothers when she was struggling, only for them to dismiss her. But she had to keep the appearance. She didn’t want to allow her face to show any signs of all that—she just couldn’t. Anybody else might have crumpled already, but that wasn’t Anastasia Karkaroff. Her job made her no stranger to death—seeing it, dealing it when necessary. But Ana couldn’t yet put into words how she felt—shaken.

She sighed and moved to take her seat back behind her desk. ”Cas would call such sentiments weak.” She admitted. ”But I didn’t want to think about what would happen if Elaine got to you or my brothers.” Families have torn apart over less, and she thought about how the Burke family was now falling to pieces.

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