Chapter Text
Pandora can't quite remember when the shift between her and her brother first started. When the bond they shared began to loosen, changing into something more distant. There was a time when they were inseparable. A pair of best friends who did everything together and held no secrets.
But times changed and they went from best friends to just family. When did they stop being children playing together and start being siblings who merely shared a set of parents? When did their conversations become sparse, their interactions hollow? The rest is just a memory hidden somewhere deep.
Maybe it was because Evan would always be a year older. Always busy with his own world, his friends, his hobbies, his adventures outside the walls of their home. It was never a deliberate choice, it just happened. He had his own space, his own time, his own life, things that didn't seem to include her. Not truly.
Not anymore.
Or perhaps it was the ache that came with watching him leave for Hogwarts a year before that she could, leaving her behind in the once lively house. She remembers the morning he left. She stood by the door, watching him pack his trunk with excitement. She waved him goodbye at the station, her hand trembling slightly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. He had turned, offering a small, distracted smile, before he was gone, disappearing into the crowd.
Pandora had turned back around, spending a year alone in this house without the voice of her brother. Her brother who didn't seem to mind that he was leaving her. Who came home for Yule and told her stories about Hogwarts, about magical creatures and classes, but never really asked about her. He didn't even gave her a hug which she has been looking forward to for weeks.
Evan left again after just a few days, going back to his world of friends and adventures that didn't include her. The house grew quieter again, each passing day feeling longer than the one before. It was as if a part of her had been left behind in the train station, miles away in a place she couldn't reach.
She was shaken out of her thoughts by the loud voice of her mother calling from downstairs, "Evan, Pandora, get down for dinner."
Pandora sighed heavily, closing her book with a soft thud. It was a rare moment of peace, and now it was broken. She carefully placed her book back on the shelf, her fingers lingering on the spine for a moment.
They didn't often have family dinners when they were home. Their father was almost always away for business, doing Salazar knows what. Their mother was frequently having tea with her sisters and sometimes even joining her husband on business. At those times it would just be Evan, her and the house elves, who were ordered to not be in their way.
She would love to have a real conversation with them once. She knew her parents didn't treat the elves poorly, they were kind in their own way, but still regarded them as lesser. Regulus told her that the conversations he has with Kreacher are the ones that are keeping him sane in his house. Pandora would like to try it too, but she knows it won't happen. The only times the elves do not leave the room the second she enters is when she asks for food.
The last couple days of summer, before she and Evan had to go back, it was tradition to eat together. Just like a big happy family. Where their mother would cook herself and go all out. And yes, the elves are great cooks, but there is nothing like a meal from their mother.
Who puts her heart and soul into it. The spices just right, not too much, not to less. She always made sure to make fathers dish a bit less spicy, because he still can't handle it. Even if he tries it every time, he falls into a big coughing state and excuses himself for a couple minutes.
She watch her mother, trying not to laugh as her father's face turned red, coughing and waving a hand in front of his face. Pandora and Evan would exchange amused glances, stifling giggles as their mother gently scolded them for laughing at their father's discomfort, while trying to stop herself from bursting out loud. Her mother would always grab a new portion with less spices and switch it with his plate.
Maybe that is the reason summer is her favourite season, because it means she goes home. Where she is together with her brother and parents. The only weeks she is able to have a real conversation with him. Those weeks were her sanctuary, the only time she truly felt connected to him.
Pandora stood at the top of the stairs looking down at her brother and mother. "Evan Laurent Rosier, what have I said about sitting at the dinner table with dirty hands and clothes. Clean them." she said, grabbing a towel to clean the spots on his face.
"I was busy," he mumbled, turning his head away.
Their mother shook her head with a small, amused smile, her eyes soft but tired. "You can continue inspecting the poor animals after dinner. Now, put on clean clothes and make a bit of haste."
Pandora could hear the irritated sigh that escaped her brother as he hurried up the stairs on the other side, her mother calling after him to be quiet.
She made her way back to her room to check her appearance, straighting her dress and putting her hair in a bun. She passed Evan's, the door slightly open. It smelled like Iron and chemicals, the scent almost familiar.
Pandora decided to wait for him. A few moments later, the door swung open with a soft thud, and Evan stepped out dressed in black trousers and a green sweater.
He paused for a second when his eyes met hers, as if he recognized her presence for the first time in a long while. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away, leaving Pandora standing alone in the shadowed hallway.
Maybe they grew up as siblings, but now they were mere strangers.
September first, 1977
Pandora loved Hogwarts. A magical place where she can learn and practice. The enchanted woods surrounding the school were her secret hideaway, dancing between ancient trees, where she could lose herself in the rustling leaves and the scent of moss. Where she can make friends with fairies and truly be herself.
Sneaking off with Barty to Hogsmead, sitting at the astronomy tower with Regulus, gossiping with Dorcas while they pretend to study. She reads tea leaves with Sybill to know more about the future and takes walks in the forrest with Xenophilius. Oh, Xeno.
A blush made a way on Pandora's face at the though of him. Oh, how she missed him. Their conversations about nothing and everything who could take on forever. She hopes she can see him today before the feast.
The train was crowed. Students going to their friends, first years looking in awe and the muggleborn looking slightly scared. Pandora understands them. She wouldn't know how she would feel if she didn't know magic existed and get taking to a school away from home and family. She wouldn't have went, maybe. She isn't sure.
Pandora grabbed her bag closer as she made her way through the train. Evan had left her before they even stepped foot on the vehicle. His friends had been shattered around somewhere and he had joined them, there voices filling the air.
She got the creeps from some of his friends. Some she sees at gatherings and balls, but they stay strangers to her.
It is a strange group of people who, somehow, spend time together. Of course sharing a dorm is a forced way to be friends, but she never understood how Charity and Aurora joined them. A group of Purebloods who have, and still, openly called people Mudbloods right to their faces and think they are better than them.
Which, sure her family comes from a long line of powerful wizards who would always be stronger than Muggleborns. She has more knowledge and magic, but there isn't a thing that cannot be learned.
She didn't say anything when Evan left her behind. Instead, she moved further along the compartment, her eyes searching for her usual spot, where her friends waited. She saw Regulus at family gatherings,but they never could be themselves around their relatives. She wrote Dorcas letters and met her twice in secret, but it was never quite the same as being with her friends here. Barty she didn't see, his father forbidding him to have any connections to her family and she wouldn't want to be the reason he got in trouble.
Pandora opened up the door and the big grind of Barty Crouch Junior looked back at her. "Hello, Tesoro." He said, grabbing her bags for her to put them away.
"Barty, how I missed you," she said, stepping into the space and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.
He muttered softly as he hugged her back, "Whole break without my favorite person." Then, with a teasing grin, he asked, "Did you get taller? We are like the same height. I was so happy I finally hit the eighty mark and you grow too, that isn't fair." Pandora let out a muffled laugh.
"Let me say hello too." a voice said and Pandora moved her head to see Dorcas sitting.
Barty pulled her tighter, "You saw her, Let me have a hug"
"Twice,"Dorcas said as she pushed Barty away and threw her arms around Pandora,"How are you?"
They made space for her to settle in. Barty sprawled across one of the seats in a way that looked both relaxed and slightly uncomfortable, his legs stretched out in front of him. Dorcas leaned comfortably against the window, pulling Pandora’s head onto her lap.
"Good. We spent some time in France, together with all the cousin. We went on a walk, Bellatrix, Regulus, Evan and me and we found this old ruin. Regulus got a little bit scared of a spider and almost jumped into Bellatrix's her arms." Pandora explained as they all bursted out in laughter.
"What are you lot laughing at." Regulus voice called trough the air. He stood in the entrance, eye darting between her friends. His hair was slightly shorter then the last time she saw him, curls barely there.
"Are you scared of a little spider, dolcezza?" Barty grinned.
Regulus shot Pandora a glare, making her laugh again before moving to the bench. He grabbed Barty's legs, moving them up so he could sit, before putting them back on his lap. "I was caught by surprise."
"Sure." Pandora muttered.
"At least I am not the one cutting open animals." He shot back.
"Panda!" Dorcas exclaimed, "You are doing what?"
"No her, Evan." Regulus corrected.
Barty and Dorcas looked at her and Pandora let out a deep sigh, "He got this new hobby where he cuts open the animal and put all the organs and bones in different boxes. Or he tries to make a dead animal look alive again."
"Have I ever told you that your brother is strange." Barty said.
"You didn't need too, I know." Maybe Pandora is the same, it is a family trait after all.