Written For:

- Day 18 of 366 Days of Writing Challenge: Tall

- February Event: Teamwork Exercise: (colour) Baby Pink, (dialogue) "I think anybody who falls in love is a freak. It's a crazy thing to do. It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Secret Diary of a Call Girl: (location) A party, (object) Bow Tie

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/All Colours: Baby Pink, Beige, Dark Brown

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Said Synonyms: Concluded, Declared

- Word Prompt Express:

Pairings/Characters: Andromeda, Sirius

Word Count: 487


Words of Wisdom
We all want something to hold in the night, we don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight.

Andromeda hated the insufferable parties that her mother and Aunt Walburga held almost weekly at Grimmauld Place. They were perfect for the two elder women, who were desperate to get their children all married off (or at least engaged), but Andromeda and her siblings detested them. Well—she and Sirius detested them. Bellatrix hadn't been to any of the parties since her engagement to Rodolphus Lestrange; Narcissa had always particularly enjoyed dressing up and socialising; and Regulus just did whatever his mother asked him to—which included wearing stiff-necked dress robes and standing uncomfortably in the corner, speaking whence spoken to.

Eighteen year old Andromeda fidgeted awkwardly with the cuffs of her tight, waist-hugging dress, searching the crowd of guests for her cousin Sirius. As if by answer, he appeared behind her suddenly, jabbing her lightly in the ribs to make her jump. "Sirius," Andromeda sighed in relief. "Am I glad to see you here."

Sirius, who was a few years younger than her, had the neck of his dress robes open, and wasn't wearing a bow tie like his brother. Despite being younger, he had grown a few inches since the last time Andromeda saw him, and his tall frame was now close to towering above hers. He grinned mischievously, thrusting his hands into the pockets of his robes. "Nice to see you too, Andy."

The two chatted animatedly for a while, discussing Sirius's schooling mostly. Andromeda was always interested to hear about his antics at Hogwarts, especially as he had broken the Black tradition of being sorted into Slytherin. Eventually, Andromeda's eyes settled on her younger sister, and their conversation tailed off.

Narcissa was wearing her white-blonde hair sleek and straight down her back, and she was dressed in girlish, baby pink robes, which contrasted starkly with the rest of the guests, who were attired mainly in shades of beige or dark brown. She was talking to Lucius Malfoy, and she was simpering as she spoke. Andromeda resisted the urge to roll her eyes—Narcissa had always been a hopeless romantic.

"You know our parents only host these parties to get us to fall in love, don't you?" Andromeda concluded, and Sirius shrugged.

"It's a stupid idea. I doubt I'll ever fall in love." Sirius declared. Andromeda furrowed her brow and glanced at him.

"What are you talking about? Of course you will."

"No, not me. I think anyone who falls in love is a freak. It's a crazy thing to do. It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."

Andromeda opened her mouth to respond, but found that no words came to the surface. In a way, what Sirius had said made sense—but she couldn't believe that her daft, somewhat moronic younger cousin had come out with such a spiel of wisdom.