such great heights (open)

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The rest of the school was most likely having dinner inside right now. Andy had found herself wandering up to the astronomy tower and was now there, bundled up against the cold, leaning on the stone and looking up into the sky. There was a telescope right behind her, but she's wasn't using it right now. It was more relaxing when she couldn't see the stars that well. It was better when they were just one entity rather than individual stars or constellations. She felt small, but not in a bad way. She didn't feel like she had to do anything right now because she was so... Insignificant, which was something she actually wanted to be right now.

She already knew that she wanted to be involved in law enforcement growing up, preferably and auror. But right now none of that mattered. Her marks didn't matter, her moving into a new home didn't, even her music didn't matter at this moment. She felt like she was floating in a way... Like she wasn't in her own skin. It wasn't like Andy to sneak off into the night and find a moment of peace. No, she often used her violin to express anger, passion or frustration. She never really gave herself a chance to just exist.

Her mother would say that this was a lazy thing to do, that ladies were always out to entertain guests or perfect themselves- making themselves more desirable for the rich 'pure' blood wizards out there. They hasn't chosen a betrothed guy for Andy yet, and now they wouldn't get the chance. Andy smiled a little at the thought. She knew they were trying to strike a deal with the Malfoys, but Scorpius and his parents weren't into that sort of thing. So then why wasn't Andy friends with him anymore?

Now her thoughts were starting to run again and that was the last thing she wanted out here. She returned her attention to the stars and kept her mind closed- or at least tried to.

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Often times when Mia needed some time to just think, she would go off on her own and try to disappear for a while. More often than not she didn't even know what she had to think about, she just enjoyed some time alone. She was hardly ever seen alone. She was either in class or with classmates or with her best friends Rose and Leonore. She tried to find some remote part of the castle at least once a week to collect her thoughts and reflect on life a little bit so after quickly finishing her dinner and telling Rose and Leonore that she would catch up with them later, she headed off for no place in particular with one thing in mine: peace and quiet.

Solitude. That was all that was running through the red head's mind. Where could she find solitude? Surely she could in the dungeons but she tried to steer clear of the place unless she had classes down there. She didn't like the cold and murkiness of it. There were the greenhouses too, and Professor Longbottom certainly wouldn't mind if she wanted to spend some time in there but Amelia often wasn't a fan of some of the smells many of the plants emitted. She kept thinking of a place to go until she found her feet leading her to the towers. She was still preoccupied with finding a place when she automatically began to climb the staircase of the Astronomy tower.

Pleased with how she just randomly stumbled here without thinking, Mia looked around for Professor Aguillard. She was certain he wouldn't mind her being up here either but she just wanted to be sure if he was there or not. She didn't want him sneaking up behind her and scaring her or anything but instead, she found a Gryffindor girl. She immediately recognized her as one of the Lestrange girls. The younger one, to be exact. She knew the older sister was in her house. She seemed to have had the same thing in mind tonight; being alone. Amelia became aware of all of the rumors that had been circulating the school about the Lestrange sisters and how they had had a hand in the muggleborn killings. Amelia put her nose up into the air confidently, for she was a pureblood and certain that whatever this girl would try to pull (if the rumors were true,) Amelia could handle it.

"Trying to escape the real world as well?" Amelia asked casually as she made herself visible to the Gryffindor girl.

@lestrange

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"Trying to escape the real world as well?"

Andy stood up straight when she heard a voice, her heart skipping a beat for a moment. "Oh," she relaxed. She didn't know who she was so afraid of. She barely knew Amelia either, but she felt relief at the sight of her over... well, whoever else it could have been. Her sister maybe. "Yes, actually. It's rather... stuffy in there," she said, her voice struggling to sound casual. She often struggled with small talk, mostly because no one ever bothered talking to her in the first place. Still, if Andy had stumbled onto Amelia up here... she probably would have said something too.

"Is that what you're doing as well?" she asked, turning around to face Amelia fully, at least for a moment. She never felt as though she owed anyone an explanation, but it didn't seem as though the Ravenclaw was asking for one. She was just trying to make conversation and Andy needed to remind herself of that every few seconds. She was so used to people talking to her because they wanted something from her or they wanted to be cruel to her... she needed to give this girl the benefit of the doubt, right?

@amelia

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When the Gryffindor stood up quickly, Amelia's eyes widened slightly for she had not been expecting such a reaction from the brunette. Though she expected she would be frightened too if she had been sitting up here and thought no one else had been around. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Amelia shrugged casually, walking over to lean against the wall a few feet away from Andromeda. "I know what you mean, though. I often get sick of being cooped up in there for so long." She rolled her eyes. Mia loved Hogwarts but school was school. She often got tired of the hustle and bustle of it all and needed some fresh air every now and then. Why she had never come up here before was a mystery to her. It seemed to be pretty peaceful. She almost felt bad for intruding on Andromeda's alone time.

Mia looked at the brunette when she spoke again. She shrugged again. "I suppose so," she said. "I kind of just... found myself here. I've never been up here before except for class." The red head looked around. "It's a lot nicer up here without all those people..."" she said, now struggling for small talk herself. Amelia didn't often speak to people she wasn't friends with simply because... well, Mia was a bit of a brat. But for once she didn't feel like being a brat and felt no urge to snap or snip at the Lestrange girl. Which was odd, considering all the rumors surrounding her name... but then again, Mia was never one to follow rumors, either.

@lestrange

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Andy nodded as Amelia agreed about being cooped up in the school. For Andy it was more like being around all those people, whether it was at the school or not. One person, however, and someone she didn't know that well... that wasn't that bad. She shrugged, "sometimes it's just nice to do something unexpected... or meet someone unexpected, I guess," she added, gesturing to Amelia with a little smile. Sure it was her alone time, but being with a stranger was almost better than being alone at some points. It was those she knew well that she wanted to avoid.

"I haven't been up here save during class either, but it just kind of came to me," she said with a slight chuckle. They had both found there way to the tower and both girls seemed rather lost in the head as well. As if they needed something to ground them. Not that going to the highest tower in the school was grounding...

"I haven't skipped dinner before, either. But... to be honest, I'm avoiding some confrontation," she admitted.

@amelia

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Amelia managed to let out a small chuckle at Andy's comment. "I agree, I would much rather be around one person I don't know very well than around a ton of people I grew up with." She shuddered at the thought of her classmates. Amelia really wasn't a people person, unless those people's names were Rose and Dominique. "Funny how we both ended up here feeling the same way," Mia sighed, attempting kind small talk. It definitely wasn't one of Mia's strong points but it was worth a shot.

Mia shrugged. "It's good to skip dinner sometimes." She said, looking out at nothing in particular as the thought. "Especially with all of that food," Mia surprised herself with her joking tone. She wasn't so bad at small talk after all. She looked at the Lestrange now. "Confrontation?" Mia repeated, raising an eyebrow at her. Amelia was always one for gossip, but for some reason she felt that the fact that this girl had trusted her with that information at all was important. Then it occurred to Amelia what she may be talking about...

Mia had definitely heard the rumors. She wasn't deaf. People thought that the Lestrange girls were guilty of the murders. Mia, on the other hand, thought otherwise. She looked back up at the night sky around the tower. She let out a deep breath. "I don't think you did it, by the way," she said, quieter than she had previously been talking. "You and your sister, I mean."

@lestrange

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Andy was certainly not one for crowds, which caused Amelias words to hit home for her. She nodded as Amelia mentioned the funny nature of their meeting. "Serendipity," Andy said, her attempt at a joke. Andy smiled as Mia mentioned all the good at dinner, and rolled her eyes in return to the joke. As Mia questioned her confrontation comment, Andy bit her lip before answering, which gave Amelia the time to say that she believed Andy and Rory were innocent.

Andy looked back at the girl, making eye contact. "Thank you," she said, her tone softening and quieting as well. She looked down at her hands for a moment, "that's... very kind. You're in my sisters house, do you know her?" she asked. She wasn't sure if anyone really knew Aurora. Heck, Andy didn't even know her.

@amelia

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Mia continued to stare up at the sky as Andromeda attempted a lighthearted joke. Mia smiled and let out a very small chuckle. "Indeed," she sighed, letting her head fall gently to the side as she gazed upward to the stars. Andromeda seemed much like herself. Not wanting to spend much time with others, preferring solitude and a simple and easy conversation with a near stranger. Those were the things Mia practically lived for, and here she was doing it with someone who seemed to be just like her. It wasn't often that Mia found people like that. It was refreshing.

Mia looked back at the girl and smiled at her briefly as they made eye contact. Then she sighed and returned her eyes to the stars when Andromeda asked if Mia knew her sister. "Well, I've seen her around," she said with a shrug. "But... I've never spoken to her to be quite honest. She's very quiet, your sister," she raised an eyebrow and looked back at Andromeda. "I mean, she's brilliant and all but... I guess I could see why everyone was so eager to jump the gun on blaming her, and you by association of course, but... I really just never bought it." Mia tilted her head as she looked at Andy, her eyes honest. Mia had the tendency to really get to talking when she could. She rambled quite a bit. But now she sat there looking at Andy, telling the truth and actually conversing with her.

@lestrange

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Andy knew Rory was quiet, of course. She had somehow fabricated that maybe Aurora was super friendly and sister like to her housemates. That theory was proven to be wrong many times, but Andy couldn't help but think maybe there was a girl in the Ravenclaw house that Rory actually treated like a sister. It was a silly thing to think, but she felt as if her sister had to spend her sisterly instincts somewhere, right? Aw, it was a childish notion.

Andy turned back to Amelia as she talked about people blaming them, and her not buying it. "I even thought it was her," Andys voice was soft, ashamed even. She shook her head a little, "I mean, I thought it was possible. I wasn't surprised that I was thrown under the bus as well. She'd like to hear that," she said, switching topics, "that you didn't believe it, I mean."

@amelia

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Mia chuckled to herself then. "To be honest, I keep to myself more often than not as well so perhaps it's my fault we have never spoken." She couldn't help but smile softly in spite of herself. While Amelia was outspoken and very opinionated, she did prefer solitude over the company of most other people, aside from her very best friends. She couldn't blame Aurora for wanting to be alone all the time. It was no surprise that she really hadn't spoken to Aurora before. Come to think of it, it seemed that the two of them were pretty alike...

As Andromeda admitted that she, too, even thought her sister was guilty, Mia could not help but widen her eyes as she turned her head to look at the brunette. She didn't speak, thinking it best to let Andromeda to say what she had to say but... wow. Mia was an only child, so she really could not empathize, but she imagined it would be hard for her to think her imaginary sister would do such a thing. Then again, she had never truly seen Andromeda and Aurora around one another at school. Maybe they weren't close. Either way, Mia had no idea what that was like. She never would. She was doomed the life of an only child.

Amelia swept the surprise off of her face and returned the smile. "Well," she said, straightening her back up against the wall a bit. "Maybe I will tell her that myself, sometime." It was quiet again. They seemed to not be able to find a whole lot to talk about, but Mia got the feeling that Andy may not mind that much. Mia sure didn't. But it was in that brief silence that a question came to Mia's mind and she found that she just had to ask. "If you don't mind my asking," she said, slowly turning her head back to face Andromeda again. "Why did you think it was possible? Your sister being the killer, I mean?" To be honest, Mia had doubted it from the start. It was almost too obvious... a Lestrange being the killer. Mia knew of her family's history and if you asked her, Mia just really did not believe that someone who had done so well to break away from the stereotypical Lestrange ideals would throw that all away by killing. Amelia wanted to know what it was about Aurora that had made everyone, even her own sister, believe that she had been the killer.

@lestrange

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Andy was sure that the lack of effort in Aurora and Amelia speaking to one another was a mutual thing, and that it was no one persons fault. She didn't voice this thought, however, and just smiled with a little nod at the thought.

Andy wasn't surprised when Amelia questioned why she thought her sister being a killer was possible. Andy sighed, turning to look at the Ravenclaw with a half shrug. "I barely know her. We have been estranged our entire lives, due to feeling that we have a difference in opinion..." in reality, the two sisters were a lot more alike then they knew, even now. "I think I kind of... wanted it to be her. I wanted her to make sense to me, you know? She's always just been Aurora, my sister whom I don't know anything about. But if she went crazy and whatever that would be... predictable for our family, expected even. I think I'd feel like I had a handle on who she was," her eyes widened slightly as she realized the gravity of what she was saying.

"Not that I want her to be a murderer, no. But... does that make sense?" it was a crazy thought, for sure, but she couldn't deny that it was the truth. It was easier to hate an enemy then not know anything about a person, especially your own sister.

@amelia

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As Andromeda spoke, Amelia really could not hide the widening of her eyes at her words. While Mia was an only child, she imagined that if she had had any siblings, especially a sister, that they would be incredibly close or something. But how could Mia possibly know that? She could not really empathize because of this. But she knew that someone wanting their own sister to be the killer was not normal sister behavior. The Gryffindor's words at first shocked Amelia but the more she explained herself, the more Mia found herself being able to understand what she meant. Mia was a pureblood, so she was no stranger to what the last name of Lestrange meant to the wizarding community. It had been a main factor in why everyone had been so quick to blame Andromeda or Aurora at all. But Mia understood. "Ha, it's okay - I get what you mean." She said, chuckling a bit then.

Mia stood there again in silence for a moment, thinking about the last name that the sisters shared. Such a name that had created such chaos and terror in the wizarding world years ago. Mia figured that Andromeda wasn't exactly proud to share that name. Who would be, after all? And while Andromeda didn't seem like the typical Lestrange type, Mia could not help but wonder... "Well, how exactly did your parents take your sorting?" She asked, looking back at the girl. Mia didn't know for sure, but she would guess that Andromeda had to be the first Lestrange sorted into Gryffindor in... well, possibly ever.

@lestrange

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Andy was relieved that Amelai understood what she meant and didn't think she was being totally cold hearted, even though a part of her knew that she was. She let out a breath, letting that part of the conversation go for the time being. Then, Amelia asked how her parents took her sorting. Andy chuckled, which was a strange reaction considering what she was about to say. "Honestly? Not well at all. They respected Auroras house, of course. For Dark Wizards Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are the most shameful houses to get into. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to tell them..."

She paused before speaking again. "In the letter of reply to that information they seemed calm, but disappointed. It wasn't until I came home for Christmas break that the real reactions surfaced," she sighed, running her fingers through her hair and turning away from Amelia, leaning on the wall once more. This time it wasn't for leisure, however. No, she needed the extra support. "They basically treated me like something was wrong with me. Like I had this... disability or something. Still do," or would, if she stilled lived with them.