A shot in the dark (Andy)

[Deleted]

Heleen was overwhelmed by her first day at work. Destiny had led her here or something. She wasn't even sure why she'd uprooted her life anymore. All she knew was that there were a lot of new impressions going around and while her work meant her coworkers were not going to be the most open people in the world (what do you expect when the job is almost literally keeping secrets?) they had seemed nice enough on the first day. Still Heleen had opted to just take a break before leaving for her house. She kind of liked the chaos of it all. It was nice to drown out the harder parts of the past with the noises of the future. This, after all, was her future now. 

Heleen sighed as she stood still in the atrium for a moment, sipping on her cup of coffee as people passed her by. Most paid her very little attention. She did notice that most people looked away rather fast upon seeing her. She figured it was the work robes. Her job was one shrouded in secrecy and secrets made people uncomfortable. Heleen took a breath to steady herself at that thought. Secrets were uncomfortable. They consumed the mind trying to break free of their confinements. She played with the keychain on her keys for just a moment. She too kept her own secrets. She'd told almost nobody of the harm that her boyfriend and inflicted upon her. She'd never told her parents. He was normally such a nice person after all. He wasn't the type to hurt people. Heleen bit her lip for a moment and then forced herself to smile. Whatever she'd done wrong in that relationship was in the past now. She hadn't spoken to him in months anyway. 

Dropping the memory with the first step she took, Heleen was not quite aware of where she was going. She almost bumped into somebody, spilling part of her own coffee on her coat. Typical. Luckily the stranger remained upharmed by her attack of caffeine. "I'm so sorry!" Heleen said ever so quickly. "I hope I didn't spill any coffee on you. I'm a bit of a clumsy idiot sometimes." She said as she quickly cleaned up the remnant of the spilled liquid with a whirl of her wand. "If I can do anything to apologise for the inconvience, please just let me know." She pleaded as she smiled at the stranger apologetically. She really needed to watch where she was going much better from now on. 

@lestrange

[Deleted]

March 4th, 2025

Andy had just finished her shift but another one technically started in four hours, so it really was just a long lunch break. She was hoping to go out tonight with Vik, but something came up and she had to take the shift. She didn't mind, though, she liked working at Vik was... well, she was getting a little overwhelmed at having a live in boyfriend. It was a new experience for her, if you didn't count when she lived with her school boyfriends family. This was just her and Vik, and that was a lot of pressure.

She made her way to the atrium, still undecided as to where she was going to eat lunch. Before she could get to the fires though, someone bumped into her. Andy spun around to face them, her own face full of apology. "Oh no, no you didn't. You got some on you tho-" but the woman cleaned the mess up quickly with her wand. Andy nodded, "it's really nothing. I'm Andy," she introduced, holding a hand out. "Andromeda Longbottom," she added. She was still trying to get used to saying 'Longbottom' instead of "Lestrange' since she changed her name. It was easier to practice by saying it out loud.

@seph

[Deleted]

She was lucky that the woman was so understanding really. It might have helped that she didn't spill any coffee on her and only on herself. The woman introduced herself as Andy, or rather, Andromeda Longbottom. Heleen nodded. "Thank you for understanding." She said and then shook the hand of the other woman. "Heleen Oppedyk, but just call me Helen." She said as she brushed her coat of and put her wand back in her robes. "Nice to meet you." She said and looked around. "Since I spilled my coffee, would you like to join me in getting a new one? I promise I won't spill this one! I'm paying more attention now." She said, only half joking.

She was very relieved that the other woman had shown her understanding and patience. Not everybody was kind enough to do so. She'd often enough encountered dirty looks or even verbal abuse by those that had encountered her in a more clumsy daytime. She always apologised but not everybody considered that to be quite enough. She was always glad to see some people knew how to have mercy.She was grateful to the other woman for not being mean to her just because she was a clumsy sort and really wanted to show her appreciation if the other woman would have it.

@lestrange

[Deleted]

March 4th, 2025

Heleen. Andy nodded to confirm the name to herself. Heleen shook her hand, "it's nice to meet you as well." Heleen looked replaced her wand, offering that Andy join her in retrieving a new coffee, promising that she wouldn't spill that one too. Andy smiled as the she answered, "maybe being with you rather than in front is the safer option anyway," she joked, a small chuckle joining her words. "A coffee sounds great. I know of a place nearby, if you have time for a short walk?" she suggested, moving toward the fireplaces to exit.

Even if she wasn't the most social person ever, she had developed a skill of realizing when someone needed some company. In the past she just ignored that feeling, because that's what her parents told her to do, but now she wanted to be more generous. She considered herself a sort of hero for the needy and the downtrodden. Even if that need was just someone to get a cup of coffee with.

@seph

[Deleted]

Heleen smiled in easy companionship as the other woman accepted her offer for coffee. Since she didn't really know many good places it only made things better when Andromeda suggested a place if she had time for a short walk. Heleen's eyes instantly lit up in cheer. "Yes! I'd love to discover a new place. I mean, the coffee here is good enough but if there is another better place I have to discover it." She said easily, trying to shake off the more awkward feeling that her clumsiness had caused since it appeared to be giving way to a good situation. Heleen needed to get to know more people and if her clumsiness had led to that, such a thing was marvelous! She was happy and relieved.

Heleen glanced to the side as she joined Andromeda on her way to the fireplace. "So, what kind of work do you do?" She asked with genuine interest. She could just as easily work at the ministry since that was where they'd bumped into each other. She didn't think she recognised the woman so the odds of her being in the same department were rather slim. Still, it wasn't exactly impossible. Especially in one of the more obscure rooms such as the time and space rooms people tended to enter a bubble of sorts. It was like their perception of reality changed completely. It made sense but was slightly intimidating. At least most of the others still seemed to live in the same universe, although none seemed unaffected by their various rooms. Guess that was bound to be her fate eventually.

@lestrange

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Heleen said she'd loved to discover a new place and Andy was glad for it. As she led the way, Heleen asked her what her work was. ”I'm a Hit Witch,” she answered, leaving out the training part. She said it with so much confidence now, more than she used to be able to. ”What department are you in? My apologies, but I don't think I've seen you around here before,” she suggested with a little smile, brows a tad furrowed. In school Andy barely noticed anyone, so the fact that she was apologetic about not knowing Heleens face was a testament to how much she had grown.

Once Heleen answered that question, Andy stepped up to the fireplace, holding her hand out, ”I can just lead the way, if you don't mind?” she suggested. She would just take them to the secluded alley out front and then they'd walk to the cafe, but she didn't want to risk a chance of them getting separated anyway.

@seph

[Deleted]

Hit witch? Well that was certainly an interesting career path. In all honesty, it was a little intimidating to Heleen, although it didn't mean she instantly presumed the other woman out to murder her or anything. She nodded with eyes wide, clearly impressed. It had to take quite a strong person in order to take on a job like that. She was possibly easily impressed as she already considered aurors to be quite the brave collection. Her own work was without a doubt dangerous too but she completely ignored those aspect, favouring the idea there was nothing dangerous about it as long as one worked responsibly and used common sense.

Heleen instantly felt the urge to wave the apologies of the other woman away. It wasn't her fault as she barely ever was in any place in view. Stuffed away in the department of mysteries, it also meant she didn't have much chance to encounter people in the elevators. She rarely visited any other place and usually went straight home from work. She wasn't quite good at the showing her face thing. She just shook her head. "Oh no! It makes total sense. I work in the department of mysteries so my face is not quite all that well known, I suppose. We don't really.... chill out with others much? I suppose we're kind of a secretive bunch on the whole? I know of lot of my coworkers like the solitude so we can be rather easy to dismiss as a group and all." Well that was far too extensive as explanation for the situation...

Heleen nodded and tried to hide a small sigh of relief she wasn't actually scaring the other woman off. According to her ex, that would be the most likely scenario with all her 'random babbling nonsense' as he used to call it. Not that he'd been the nicest guy in the world. "Oh I don't mind at all." She said instantly with a smile, taking the hand of the other woman without a second thought. Still the thoughts mulled in her head.

You're not actually pretty, but you have something that makes you attractive. You were a lot skinnier when we first started dating. I was supposed to break up with you after you left that job but I didn't feel like it yet. You should have put more effort into your looks if you wanted us to work out better. I'd rather not come to your place, can't you just come to mine? Your cat is a horrible creature, I swear it's possessed by demons or something. Can't you see I'm busy? Not now, later, when I am done with this game with my friends. I don't actually like your friends so I don't want to hang out with them. I don't like your dance partner so I'd prefer you'd quit dancing. I know you come to all my family gatherings but your family bores me so can we not do yours? Your uncle was kind of scary to me, you know. You do realise it was kind of annoying you were crying all over my chest after your uncle died?

Yes, he'd been horrible in his own ways and it was definitively better they'd broken up. Still the damage he'd done to her left scars, like always thinking she was in the wrong or annoying when she was simply trying to be herself. Vulnerable had never been an option around him as he judged her hard for that and had often ended up hurting her feelings because of it. She didn't trust him with the darker details of her life but he still cast a shadow over her present by the impact he'd made in her life. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good one. It only made it better whenever the tiny moments came around he was proven wrong and his voice in the back of her mind was silenced. She left him and even then he complained she didn't fight to keep him. Maybe he was actually the one that should have been better if they wanted a chance to be something.

@lestrange

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Andy caught sight of her eyes widening, which wasn't a big surprise. That was usually what people did when she said what she was. Heleen said she worked in the department of mysteries, and then it was Andy's turn to have her eyes go wide. "That's amazing! I've always been interested in the workings there, but I'm no scientist so I don't think I'd stand a chance. And don't worry about chilling with others," Andy waved a hand, "I don't really do that much either. Don't think too much on it," she suggested. She understood letting your words run away from you.

Heleen didn't mind taking Andy's hand so she could lead the way through the portal in the fireplace. Andy apparated through, taking Heleen with her and thinking of the Alley near the cafe. When they arrived outside, Andy felt a strange sense of... protectiveness. That happened a lot when she was outside of work or home with someone near her. She felt responsible for them, especially considering her fighting abilities. "We made it. Hey," she gave Heleens hand a squeeze before letting go, "you ready?"

@seph

[Deleted]

Andy was so nice! It was good to have somebody that wasn't annoyed at her more awkward side. Heleen wasn't quite sure what she'd expected in terms of the job of the woman or the kind of person that would get into such a job but it didn't really make sense to her. She guessed there could possibly be a degree of dissociation involved in actually doing the job. The few times people had been in accidents in their department she'd always noticed the few unspeakables involved in helping the ministry make a report without actually giving away information tended to have extremely unfocused gazes, as if they were completely separate from their bodies in recounting the events. It made sense, she'd heard enough about trauma to know that. It just wasn't something she thought she knew.

They apparated and Heleen felt the wave of dizzy wash over her as soon as they landed. There was a reason she rarely used apparation as a means of travel. It made her rather uncomfortable, although she could bear it easily enough if needed. It just wasn't her favourite, by far. It was almost like Andy noticed as the other woman squeezed her hand and let go, asking if she was ready. Heleen nodded. "Yeah, I just, bleh. Apparating isn't exactly my favourite mode of transport, even though I appreciate the efficiency."

@lestrange

[Deleted]

Andy had never minded the dizzy feeling after apparating. Actually, she kind of liked it. She liked feeling like she didn't have control for just a split second. Rather than drinking alcohol, which made her lose control for way longer than she was comfortable with. Heleen had said she didn't really like apparation, even if it was efficient. "Well, then we won't worry about using that next time. I don't mind," and she really didn't. Andy wanted to make people feel comfortable. Well, people who weren't victims.

It didn't take long to find the place, order, and finally have a sit in a corner. Andy liked to sit where she could see the whole room and no one could be behind her back. It was kind of common amongst law enforcement to behave that way in a public place. 

Andy took a sip of her drink, giving the room another quick survey before addressing Heleen again. "So, other than work being secret and whatnot, how are things? Are you enjoying being here?"

@seph

[Deleted]

Heleen didn't particularly enjoy most of the thing that she could clearly feel impacting her mind. Since she used that more than anything to earn herself money it wasn't very comfortable to her to realise things were having an impact on her ability to think, even if it only lasted for a short while. It made her insecure and fidgetty, although it wasn't too horrible if she wasn't expected to crank out a lot of high impact thinking work. That sort of a thing really did help her to feel more relaxed. Right now she wasn't supposed to share any of the details of her work either way so she didn't have to worry about sounding stupid, even if her mind did get in overdrive.

It was easy to notice that certain people had a fondness of corners. Most people in dangerous jobs felt better knowing no attack could come from behind. While Heleen didn't know that particular feeling she did love sitting in corners. The middle of a room was a place she hated to be. She found it very hard to focus on anything when everything around her was making noise and drawing her attention. She had a concentration disorder and it was a lot easier to deal with if she was in a corner. She didn't really mind sitting with her back to the room, as long as she didn't have people surrounding her on all sides. That really had a negative impact on her experience.

Heleen smiled as Andy started the conversation by asking her about her business. She nodded. "I love being here. It's a good change of scenery. I do miss home, although it's mostly my brother. It's better though. It's a fresh start and I get to have a new experience and meet a lot of interesting and wonderful new people. I'm sure I'll eventually find a way to build the kind of life here that I'm dreaming of." Perhaps it was a little dreamy but all in all it was exactly what she was hoping for. It couldn't be impossible to find here what she thought she had there. If she just remained positive and built the things she was certain to be able to achieve before going more towards the parts that relied heavily on chance, everything would be fine no doubt.

@lestrange

[Deleted]

Andy was not surprised that Heleen was doing well here and that she had hope for the future, she seemed the type. Andy could barely remember what it was like to be young and have hope for the future herself... but now she felt like that was coming back a little bit. Two loving partners, an adopted family, another sort of adopted family that she lived with, things were going pretty well for Andy right now. "I am glad to hear it. You and your brother are close? My brother and I are not really but my sister is amazing," not that her Andy had always gotten along... that was fairly new.

@seph

(Should we multi-date this and jump forward to Andy hearing about the boyfriend?)

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Heleen smiled at Andy and nodded. "Yeah, he's rather protective of me really. It's nice to have somebody looking out for you, I guess. He just can't really do it any more since I moved. I guess being apart from him is harder than most of the other things. I didn't get along with my sister half as well as with my brother though." She said with a small laugh, vaguely remembering the fun of her and her brother teaming up against her sister from time to time. The three loved each other dearly but that didn't mean that sibling rivalry was off the table, as well as taunting and fights and teasing. It was only logical in a way. Who best to mess with if not your siblings?

----- timeskip ------



Heleen wasn't sure who to turn to. She didn't want to tell Dmitri, mostly because she didn't want to worry him. She'd told him details about her past but she'd made everything sound a lot less bad than it had been. He had plenty to worry about as it was and she didn't want to add this to his plate unless she had to. It wasn't like it was that big yet. It was just a letter.... even though it had struck worry and fear into her heart.

She was lucky to have met Andy a while back. She was a strong and independent sort of woman that could surely help her figure out a way to keep herself safe in light of the letter. She was trained as a hit witch which had to mean she probably knew how to protect herself and how people usually went about if they wanted to do harm. By extension, how to avoid making it easy for people to harm you. Heleen fidgeted with the letter as she waited for Andy to show up. She'd sent her patronus over, requesting Andy to meet her, having said it was urgent. Now all she had to do was wait and beg for help. She just hoped Andy was willing to do so.

@lestrange
OOC: Let me know if I should change anything btw.

[Deleted]

Andy had enjoyed her run ins with Heleen over the past few weeks. She was happy to have a new friend at work honestly, considering she used to have such a hard time making friends. When Heleens patronus arrived, Andy quickly packed up to go to her aid. Andy may be a psychotic vigilante (murderer, whatever) but she was by no means heartless. In fact, her insane dedication to her friends was exactly what sent her on her rampages in the first place. 

She quickly was at Heleens side and it was clear she looked... not herself. Something was wrong. Andy approached, "Heleen, what's going on? What-" she looked down at the letter in her friends hands, then back to her face. "Are you alright?"

@seph
(Just need to know the date! Should we say... late may or early june? that's a few months of getting to know each other)

[Deleted]

It was always good to have people to rely on around. It was one of the things Heleen struggled with a lot. Due to her low self esteem caused by the influences that were threatening to return to her life she didn't really think of herself to have value or to be a good person to be around in terms of being worth the time spent. It was difficult but her current relationship made it all better. She felt more comfortable and at ease, even though things were still complicated and she wasn't fully sure yet what was going on. It was clear her life here was looking a lot better and she was all in all far more positive than before. Or at least she had been, up until the letter she had received had caused quite the collapse.

As Andy showed up it was like a part of the weight was lifted off her shoulders and she smiled a genuine smile, although the worry didn't fade from her body at all. She still had quite a bit of reason for concern. While her former partner had never been physically aggressive with her he had always shown that her boundaries were inconsequential when it came to his desires. No matter how much he might attempt to hide it, what he wanted mattered more than her own mental sanity to him. He had made it abundantly clear in the letter that he wanted her back and expected her to come home. If she did not return he wanted to .. have words. It sounded ominous and Heleen couldn't help but worry what he'd do if, or rather when, she failed to oblige. She had no intentions of going back.

She took a deep breath and fidgetted with the letter a bit more. "It's my ex.." She started a little uncertainly. She'd mentioned him before but had usually downplayed the extent of influence he'd had over her and her mental well being. "He wrote, saying he expects me to move back." Her tone made it quite clear that was not at all what she wanted. "I'm worried he'll try to.... I don't know." She ran a hand through her hair anxiously. "I'm worried because I don't know what he plans to do when I don't come back. The letter made it sound like..." She paused, looking at the other woman in anguish. "Like he's not planning to accept no. I figured you could help me to learn to defend myself? Just in case...." She lowered her eyes for a moment and smiled a little weakly. "I'm probably worried about nothing, I know. I just would feel better if I had the idea that I'd know how to fight back in case he does decide to show up." She said with a little shrug, apologetic for taking up so much time from Andy's schedule. She probably had better things to do than help out paranoid friends.

@lestrange