Atria felt like she was about to throw up. Two minutes. After two weeks she had thought she had rebuilt herself and come out of whatever dark place she had trapped herself in, but it only two took minutes to come crashing down. But then the real world came back and bit her in the ass.

Guilt consumed her. The only thing Atria had thought about for two weeks was her life—how could she have missed all the signs? She felt like an idiot for not realizing that it had been her father pretending to be her mother. And while she had been wrapped up in her past, her friends thought she was dead.

It had never occurred to her they would think she was dead.

She hadn't considered their feelings for two weeks. But when she realized how long she had been away she came back, expecting them to be royally pissed that she lied to them about who she was.

Atria certainly hadn't expected everyone to think she was dead. That was another obvious thing she missed. Of course her friends would assume the worst—the house came down, the barrier completely imploded, and she was missing for two weeks.

Now tip toeing around the castle, up to the Gryffindor common room, she was terrified of what Albus would say. Amanda and Scorpius had reamed her out for being gone, but before they had rescued Rose, they both had come to terms with who Atria was. But she and Albus had never finished their conversation and she was afraid that it would be too much.

Her leaving without telling him, her lineage, and him thinking she was dead—maybe he wouldn't want her anymore. That scared her more than anything because while she was away, Atria thought that it would be best for everyone if she stayed away. She had no clue if she was being hunted and she couldn't drag her friends and family into that.

As she peeked around the corner and saw the Fat Lady, she wondered what she would say to Albus.

Atria wanted to tell him that she needed him. He was part of the reason she came back and if he rejected her? She would move on, or try to, but there would be a part of her missing.

She wasn't sure how she was going to get through the Gryffindor common room unseen. Or even get into the the common room. She would have to wait until someone came out. Merlin, how would she approach Rose?

Maybe should could knock on the picture.

And then the Fat Lady would try to sing for her or screech at her for disturbing her paint.

The sound of the portrait hole opening made her jump. Atria lept around the corner, watching the Fat Lady swing open. Her breath caught when she saw Albus step through the portrait hole, with his bag over his shoulder, his messy black hair sticking out, and his eyes glued to the floor.

Tears blurred her vision. Atria had thought she could handle everything alone, but seeing Albus proved how wrong she was. At that moment, she wanted to run into his arms and use his strength to keep herself up. She was shocked she had survived two weeks without him, especially with what she had been dealing with.

Albus ruffled his hair and kept his head down, waiting for the stairs to switch to the landing her was standing on. He didn't look up. Atria wanted to see his eyes, but he didn't look up. She was mesmerized by his fingers fiddling with the strap of his bag. Even from five meters away, she could see the veins sticking out of his skin. His hands clenched around that strap, looking strained.

Atria was snapped out of her daze by the heavy staircase colliding with the landing. Albus stepped forward and Atria realized that he was about the walk away from her. Before she realized what she was doing, she jumped out from behind the corner and bounded after him.

"Albus!"

His hand shot up and around as she ran towards him. His mouth dropped and the stairs started to move as he gripped the banister. He started to step forward but realized that the staircase was no longer connected to the landing. Atria didn't let that slow her down.

"Atria," Albus whispered and then his eyes narrowed as she didn't slow down at the landing. "Wait! Don't-" Before he could finish, Atria lept into the air, hoping that she made the distance. She barely made the top stair and Albus grabbed her arm and dragged her onto the moving staircase.

"Albus," she breathed heavily and he gripped her shoulders, holding her at arm's length. They both stared for an undetermined amount of time. He stared at her with an open mouth and she stared at him with pleading eyes.

"Atria," he growled and her eyes widened, "why would you jump like that?" He finished and she frowned. Was that seriously what he wanted to ask her.

She stared up at him, her chest heaving up and down. "I didn't want to lose you."

Something flashed in his eyes, like comprehension. As if he realized that this was actually happening. "You didn't want to lose me?" He shouted and she jumped. "How about when I lost you?!" She glanced at the ground and he thrust his hands into his hair. "How are you alive?"

"I had no idea you thought I was dead." Atria said quickly.

Al's eyes widened incredulously and his mouth worked for a moment, trying to find the words. "The house collapsed! Scor said you didn't make it out and then the whole bloody place exploded with magic! WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO THINK?" He shouted and turned away from her. Atria wanted to put her hand on his shoulder, but was afraid of how on edge he was.

"I wasn't thinking," Atria whispered.

The staircase came to a sudden halt and they both lurched. Albus turned around. "That's the story of your life." He said with deadly calm and then pushed past her and got off at the landing. Atria released a breath and then followed him.

"Albus, please wait. I need to explain." She jogged to catch up with him, but he walked quicker so she was always a step behind him. "I never meant to hurt you."

He scoffed, "That's cliche."

She rolled her eyes, "Well, it's true. I didn't know you would think I was dead."

"What did you think would happen?" He snapped over his shoulder and she grabbed his arm and spun him around. He refused to look her in the eyes.

Atria gripped his arm. "I didn't think about what you would think. There wasn't a lot happening in my brain and I was selfish." She admitted. "I didn't even it had been two weeks until I pulled out of this haze I was in-"

"What brought you back?" He interrupted. Atria gave him a confused look. "Were you planning on coming back?"

Atria pulled away from him and folded her arms. "I wasn't thinking about anything other than where the hell my life went wrong. How could I not know it was my father…" she shook her head. "And I thought I could do it alone, but I couldn't."

Al's jaw clenched. "Do what alone?"

"Move on from all the lies in my life. My mum and dad… I thought if I buried them it would put everything to rest, but it didn't." Atria's vision blurred and she looked at the ground, not wanting him to see her cry.

She heard him sigh. "A lot of the lies were on your part."

Atria winced, but nodded. "I know. That was a mistake. But I came back, because I need you."

"You need me?"

She could tell he was smirking. A blush spread across her cheeks. "All of you. I thought I would have to answer questions about my past. I thought you would be mad at me for lying to you about my family, but I never imagined you would think I was dead."

"It was hell here too." His hand brushed her's and Atria looked up. His eyes were greener than she remembered. Her memories didn't hold a candle to seeing him in person. "Mum's going to clean out your room. We were staying at the Burrow because no one thought it would be a good idea to see our house… where we lived."

Atria gripped his hand, determined not to let him go. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have gone through that."

"I am pissed that you didn't come back. Or at least owl." Albus told her and she squeezed her eyes closed, praying that he would forgive her. "I have been so focused on grief, I didn't realize how mad I am at you."

She swallowed thickly, a lump forming in her throat. "Albus…"

"You should have told me you were leaving. I knew you had a secret, you told me that, but in the hospital if I had known that you were running off the your house alone…"

"I wasn't alone."

He ignored her. "I never would have told you that I needed time. You should have told me that you weren't planning on coming back."

The tears fell freely now. "I didn't think you wanted to talk to me."

"I would have made an exception for that!" He hissed and his hand tightened around her's. "But none of that changes the fact that…" Albus paused and Atria held her breath, "I am extremely happy that you're alive." Her breath whooshed out her lungs and she started sobbing.

Atria collapsed against him and his arms came around her. "I...I," She tried to speak, but the sobs racked her body and all she could do was press her face into his chest.

"We still need to talk about some things," he soothed a hand up and down her back. She nodded mutely, feeling an incredible weight lift off her shoulders. He tried to pull back, but Atria kept her arms firmly around him. Albus chuckled and tilted her head up.

"I love you."

Albus's eyes widened and Atria couldn't believe what she had just said. It hadn't been planned, but she knew without a doubt that those words were the most truthful thing she had ever said. Maybe now wasn't the right time, considering that Albus had barely accepted her back into his life, but he needed to know.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to her lips. She melted against him and his arms encircled her. Atria had never been more okay with being trapped in someone's arms. His tongue swept over her bottom lip and she groaned.

With his body pressed completely against her's, she felt whole again. Butterflies were in her tummy and she was just a girl with a boy whom she was deliriously in love with. The butterflies spread through her whole body when he nipped at her lip and then continued down to her jaw.

But then he pulled back. "We still need to talk," he breathed heavily and leaned his forehead against her's. She nodded slowly, still trying to remember how to form words.

"I know," she managed to say. "How long are you going to be mad at me?"

He shrugged. "A while."

"Alright. What did you want to talk about?" She took a deep breath and look up at him. They were still pressed together and she really hoped that he wouldn't pull away.

He cleared his throat, "The usual things. How did you fly under Ministry's radar? Why did you lie? The normal stuff."

She smiled. "Right." She put her head on his chest again and his arms tightened around her.

"Are you okay?" Albus whispered in her ear.

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

His nose brushed her cheek when he turned to look at her. "You said that you buried your parents."

"Oh. That. Well, it wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done. Actually it was all sort of a blur, but I'm just happy it's in the past." She said quickly and Albus gave her a hard look.

"You said you came back because you couldn't handle it alone, so let me help you. Enough with hiding things and trying to sweep them under the rug." He said firmly.

Atria sighed. "Alright. I apparated my parent's bodies out of my house and buried them in the French countryside next to my grandparents. Then I sat next to their graves for days wondering why family wasn't enough for my dad. I thought about how my mum died and then I thought about how this is what your family must feel like. People have suffered ten fold what I have because of my family."

"It wasn't your fault."

"I do not want to be associated with my family. That's part of the reason I didn't tell anyone."

Albus pulled back. "Attie, no one would have blamed you for anything your mum… er dad did."

"Even if people don't mean to, they will look at me an think of our history. They might not blame me for it, but there will always be a nagging question in the back of their mind. Is she really good?" Atria hugged herself tightly.

"Those people can go to hell."

A laugh bubbled out of her. "I have a feeling that's going to be most people." Albus looked at her, really looked at her. She knew what he was seeing. "I look like her," Atria whispered.

Albus refocused on her. "People probably don't even remember what she looked like."

"Professor Longbottom does. Hermione does." Albus sighed, but Atria didn't give him a chance to speak. "Your entire family does."

"You weren't even alive when she was. No one can blame you-"

She jerked away and felt herself shut down. "It's not about blame. People will look at me and remember Bellatrix Lestrange. My face is a constant reminder of what people lost and they will resent me for that."

Albus gripped her chin in his hand forced her to look at him. Him manhandling her shouldn't have been sexy, but it was. His determination to save her was down right devilishly handsome. "You have to make them see the real you."

"Which me? The liar? The egotist?"

"You're brave and loyal…"

Atria looked away from him, even though she couldn't move her face. "I'm not brave."

"Attie…" Albus sighed, like she was talking crazy.

She pulled out of his grasp and he looked like a three year old who had his favorite food taken away. Shocked and then angry. "I'm not brave. All those stupid stunts I pulled were just to cover up the fact that I am a complete coward. I belong in Slytherin more than anyone and it's not because of my name. I did what was necessary to protect myself even if it hurt others."

"Self-survival isn't a bad thing."

"Lying is." Atria insisted. "I was too afraid to tell you the truth-"

"You didn't want to hurt me."

"And I didn't want to go to Azkaban." Atria said and she wasn't sure why she was trying to convince him she was a bad person. She should just accept his forgiveness and move on, but somehow it was important that he knew who she was.

If they were going to continue, there would be no more lies.

Al pinched his nose. "Look, I'm incredibly furious with you for lying, but I understand why you did. You told me you had a secret and I accepted that."

"Would you have if you had know what the secret was?"

"I'm accepting it now, aren't I?" He demanded and she bit her lip. "Do you get that I'm not angry with you for lying about who you are? I'm beyond pissed because you didn't tell me what you were planning at the hospital. I'm pissed that you didn't have the common sense to send a note after everything went down." His voice rose as the rant continued.

He stood there, breathing heavily, for several moments.

Atria choked down a sob, "I'm broken." The back of her throat burned and a pounding started in her left temple. Albus placed his hands on her cheeks, cupping her face.

"You're not broken. Just cracked." He smiled and laugh rose out of her. "And that pretty damn impressive considering all the shit you've been through." Tears rolled down her cheeks and she leaned against his chest. "I'm okay with that. I love you because of your cracks."

Atria froze, the sobbing stopped.

And then it started again like a dam bursting.

"What?" She choked out and he vibrated with laughter.

"So is this what you actually look like?"

"Say it again." She demanded, looking up into Albus's eyes sternly.

He leaned down and whispered, "I love you." He softly kissed her lips. The feeling in Atria's stomach was why she came back. Because even though her world was falling apart Albus still gave her the flutters and made her happy.

"Yes, this is what I actually look like." She looked at the long black curls lying on her chest. "You saw me in Romania." Atria wasn't the type to change for a bloke, but if Albus didn't like her… well, he was used to seeing her through a layer of metamorphosing.

"I thought that was just the poison."

Atria paled.

"No, I didn't mean," Albus shook his head. "I just meant... I wasn't used to seeing you so pale or thin. You actually look like Scorpius and apparently loads of girls find him attractive." Atria laughed quietly and Al sputtered to recover from his insult.

"It's alright, I know I look different. But do you… like it?"

"I love you, the real you. And this isn't the real you. I miss your purple hair and wild eyes."

Atria looked at the ground. "I've been having trouble with magic."

Albus's eyebrows shot up. "How?"

"Having a shock can do this. My metaphoring isn't working and all the spells I cast are weak. It's part of the reason I came back." Atria didn't like having to admit that any more than she liked what was happening.

She hadn't even realized that her magic was so damaged until she came back into the wizarding world and had tried to change her face.

"You know what? Your hair is so black it kind of looks blue."

Atria grinned and stepped closer. He towered over he so she didn't even bother trying to crane her neck to look at his face, she simply pressed her cheek into his chest. One arm tightened around her shoulders and the other around her waist.

"I've never been so dependent on someone in my life." She told him quietly, unsure how she felt about needing someone.

Albus sighed, "I need you too. Believe me, I need you."

"Was your magic affected?"

"Not like yours. I actually think it's been crazier…. I've been really angry and that's been coming out in some pretty potent ways."

"Your crazy is my kind of crazy."

"I think your crazy is a bit more…. Well, just more."

Atria hit his arm playfully. "Everything's going to go back to normal now." She said hopefully, enjoying the playful banter they had.

Albus hesitated and she cursed herself for pushing things too fast. Of course everything wouldn't go back to normal!

"Atria, I love you. But we're going to have to adjust to a new normal. Things have changed but we can change to." Her arms tightened around him, the prospect of change sounding very unappealing.

"I don't want things to change." She whispered. "I love you."

"As long as that never changes I think we'll be alright." He assured her, but there was still a sinking feeling in her gut. At least this time, it wasn't as bad as when she was keeping her secret, but she still had a feeling that things were going to go wrong. "How will you tell the others?" Albus asked, pulling Atria from her pessimistic thoughts.

"Scorpius and Amanda already know."

"They knew?!" Albus shouted and Atria shushed him.

"No!" She snapped and rolled her eyes. "I saw them down at the Quidditch pitch… with my replacement." She sneered. Albus snorted and shook his head. "And Amanda said I might not get back on the team."

"Atria, that girl won the spot fair and square."

"You sound like Amanda."

Albus continued, "And is it really a good idea to take that away from her? She'll probably be the seeker next year and maybe it's better to send her in with some experience…"

Atria stared at him, "You're just saying this because you want to win the cup."

"Yep."

She tried to smack him again, but he grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth. "You can't push other people out of your way to get what you want." He placed a kissed to her palm. "And Amanda and Scor are probably trying punish you." Albus added. Her mouth popped open, but she really didn't have a response.

They were trying to punish her. Amanda would be passive aggressive for weeks and Scorpius would be politely distant. And Rose… Atria actually had no idea about how Rose would react. "I haven't told Rose though."

"I know. I was just with her."

"This is harder than I thought it would be."

Albus raised his eyebrow, a trick she still envied. "You thought coming back two weeks after we all found out your the granddaughter and daughter of Death Eaters would be easy?"

"Easier than coming back from the dead." She said glibly. "How is Rose?"

"She's been… surprisingly okay. She threw herself into Head duties and homework when we came back."

Atria stared at the torch on the stone column of the wall. The entire hallway was lit by torches, throwing a dark orange color off of Albus's hair. She wondered if Scorpius had told Rose about his feelings and in turn, if everyone knew.

"And Scorpius has been busy with Head duties too?"

"Yeah, we've all been keeping ourselves busy."

Clearly, trying to syphon information from Albus was a useless course. Either Scorpius hadn't told Rose he was in love with her or they were keeping it a secret. Knowing Scorpius he could keep it to himself for his whole life and suffer in silence. Or he would have told Rose as soon as her saw her.

"I have to go tell Rose."

"She's in the Gryffindor common room."

Atria sighed and wrung her hands. "I'll go wait in the Head's dorm."

"You won't be able to get in."

"Then I'll wait outside."

Albus chuckled and shook his head. Even in only two weeks, his hair seemed much longer than it had been. She reached up and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Your hair is so long." A piece in front fell into his eyes and she brushed it away.

"I know. It needs to be cut."

"No." She said quickly. "I like it." He grinned and she dug both hands into his hair and pulled his head down to hers. Their lips collided and suddenly he was kissing her furiously. He nipped at her lips with his, then with his teeth.

Albus's hands made their way around her and he took several steps forward, walking her back into the wall. Atria gasped when her back his the hard stone, but it didn't even hurt. His lips never broke from Atria's, even when his hands traveled down her back.

Suddenly, the hands on the back of her legs hoisted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he continued to kiss her.

"I love you." He whispered, a kiss between each word.

"Me too." He kissed her. "I mean…" his lips pressed against her jaw, "you. I love you."

She breathed heavily, struggling the find the words as his lips trailed across her jaw and then down the column of her neck.

She gripped the back of his neck urging him on. When he reached the top of her button-down shirt, he paused and then popped one button open exposing her collarbone. For a second he just stared at her. Nothing but her bra strap was even showing, so she wasn't sure what he was so caught up in.

"Albus." She whispered and his face seemed to move closer unconsciously. His nose brushed against her collarbone and then his lips pressed against the sensitive spot. She tilted her head back against the wall, giving him more access.

But he hesitated. "This is not the right place for this." His throat sounded constricted and raspy which only made her want to do this more. She kissed him, but after a few seconds he pulled back. "I'm not going to shag you against a wall." He said more firmly.

She sighed as he set her back on her feet. "I wasn't complaining."

"We don't have protection."

"That's what magic is for."

"I don't have my wand, so unless you want to try the spell and take our chances… or the chances of a student or professor catching us in the middle of the hallway." Albus reasoned and she hated when he was right. He must have seen the look on her face because he smirked. "Sometimes you don't think."

"I know."

"I still love you."

She buttoned her shirt. "You keep saying that."

"It's true. I didn't tell you before and then you died, or at least I thought you did."

"Sorry again." She blushed.

He stepped back. "Let's just not do it again."

"Deal."

"Go tell Rose." He said firmly. He gripped her shoulders and turned her.

Atria swallowed. "Right now?"

"Yep." He pushed her down the hallways from behind. He pushed her towards the stairs. She hoped he wasn't going to make her go into the Gryffindor common room. "And after that you're going to McGonagall's office and she's going to owl my parents."

Atria groaned and dragged her feet.

The Slytherin common room was a dark and rather dreary place under normal circumstances. For the last week and a half it had been down right dead. Ariella was sitting with a group of students, all flocking around her probably trying to get on the in with the new seeker.

It was rare for a third year to make the team. It was even more rare halfway through the season. Amanda had no doubt that Atria would kick up a big storm, which would only make Scorpius more determined not to give in to her and keep Ariella on the team. No good would come from that.

As an afterthought Amanda thought about Atria's secret. Everyone would assume that everything slightly negative Atria did was because of her family history. She couldn't afford to be as reckless and unthoughtful as she once was.

"Amanda!"

Ariella jumped up and raced over to her. She looked slightly nervous as she glanced at her adoring fans. Amanda wanted to keep walking and let Scorpius deal with this, but Ariella wouldn't understand.

"How are you?" That was a stupid question considering the bad thing that was about to happen hadn't happened. And Amanda wasn't sure that Atria's return was supposed to be public knowledge.

"A little overwhelmed." Ariella rubbed her arm. "Everyone is expecting me to fail."

"What? Why would they think that?"

"How could I possibly win? Even if I play well, I will never be as good as Atria."

Amanda couldn't argue with that. "It will all work out. Quidditch is just a game after all."

Ariella giggled. "That sounds like blasphemy."

"Yeah, don't tell Scorpius I said that."

"I won't."

Amanda rubbed her fingertips together. "Well, I should go."

"Thanks." Ariella smiled gratefully and Amanda felt a stab of guilt. A whole lot of dung was going to come down on this third year when people found out that Atria was alive—maybe not as much that was going to come down at Attie, but when Slytherin found out that they had their star back and Scorpius was probably still going to put the third year on the pitch? Merlin, the whole house after them.

Fortunately, a second year interrupted them. "Amanda Smith, Headmistress McGonagall wants to see you in her office." The second year spoke like he had been intrusted a mission from Merlin himself.

Amanda's heart dropped.

Arielle pressed her lips together, "What did you do?"

"I became friends with a crazy person."

Ariella looked at her with a confused expression. Amanda shook her head and made her way out of the Slytherin common room. As she left the eery green for grey stone, she thought about what McGonagall wanted to see her about. It had to be about Attie. Two hours had passed since Amanda, Scorpius, and Atria had gone in different directions.

Amanda was willing to bet that Atria had gone straight to Albus and Albus had probably freaked out. Luckily, he was the sensible one in that relationship so he probably also convinced her to do the right thing—tell everyone she was alive immediately. She wondered if Atria had seen Rose. If Albus had told her to see McGonagall he would have also told her to see Rose as well.

Amanda arrived at the giant stone bird half in a daze, unsure how she had really gotten there. "Of course I didn't get a password with that summon." She muttered under her breath.

"Butterbeer berries." Professor Longbottom said from behind her. The eagle spun and revealed the stairs.

Her heart jumped. "You startled me." She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and stepped forward to go up to McGonagall's office.

"Sorry. Do you know why we were called?" He adjusted his tie and almost dropped all of the papers he was carrying.

Amanda watched as he scrambled to catch a paper out of the air and tried to think of what to say. His parents had been tortured by Atria's grandparents and it would be cruel for Amanda to let him walk in there and be blindsided by Bellatrix Lestrange's likeness.

"Maybe."

Professor Longbottom looked at her quizzically. "What happened?"

"Atria is alive." Amanda spoke as calmly as she could. She wanted to just take off up the stairs. "She's been depressed since her parents died and didn't even realize how long she had been gone. And she didn't think about how we would feel."

Longbottom looked like she had struck him. He stared ahead for a few moments and then looked at her. After swallowing thickly he said, "How did she survive?"

"Apparently she could apparate out. We were all worried for nothing."

Professor Longbottom rubbed his eyes. "How is she?"

"She was completely surprised we thought she was dead. She expected to come back and have us all be pissed at her for lying, not peeved because she let us think she was dead." Amanda folded her arms and assessed her teacher, who looked relatively normal. "Are you okay?"

"I was shocked when Harry told me about… her family. I never would have guessed in a million years. If I didn't see it then, why should I see it now?"

Amanda let out a long breath. "She's expecting you to hate her."

"I don't."

"She thinks people will see her differently."

"Only the people who don't matter will. Her friends and family know who she is—brilliant, reckless, sometime unthoughtful, but not intentionally cruel. If I can look past it, so can you."

And that was it. Amanda wanted someone to tell her that it was alright to hate Atria. If anyone was going to do that, it would have been Neville Longbottom. She started to walk up the stairs. It didn't make sense—she was running away from forgiving Atria by running to Atria.

She hesitated when she reached McGonagall's office and then slowly pushed the door open. McGonagall was standing behind her desk, Albus was standing behind Atria, and Rose was sniffling the in corner.

Atria turned around and looked at Amanda. Something flashed across her face—guilt or pity? McGonagall's lips were thin and her withered face was strained. Rose had red blotches are her eyes and Scorpius was rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

"Albus, your parents are on their way." McGonagall said. Amanda guessed she had interrupted whatever they had been talking about.

Atria's scowl deepened.

"What did they say?"

McGonagall folded her hands. "Things not appropriate to repeat in front of children."

"We're all seventeen." Amanda smirked as she walked farther into the room.

"They're going to kill me." Atria rubbed her temple.

Albus shrugged. "Probably."

"There are other things we need to discuss." McGonagall said. "The Ministry is going to want to speak with you." Atria groaned. "And you've missed valuable class time…"

"I'll catch up."

"And you've been replaced on the Quidditch team," Amanda said. Professor Longbottom gave her a scathing look which she ignored. Atria glared at her as well.

"I heard." Atria said tightly. "And if you feel that's best for the team, then that's fine."

Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths for the "but", but it never came. Atria kept her mouth shut and for the first time, Amanda looked at her for a long while. She looked so different without her blueish purple hair, but it was more than that. Her eye color and hair color had changed, but so had her facial structure.

Amanda never knew that her plump lips were metamorphosing, or that her round cheeks weren't natural. Instead, her lips were full but stern and her cheeks looked like they could cut diamond. The little bit of color she always had, whether it was pink or tan was gone, now she was just pale. Gone was the colorful, lush hair and replaced it was big frizzy curls of black hair.

She looked a little bit like Mr. Maloy and Scorpius.

But Atria really looked like Bellatrix Lestrange.