The Detective Club | Blaise Zabini

Antheia's Journal Entry 7 - Alexandros Artino

Alexandros Artino was born to Agatha Georgiou and Adonis Artino in 1960. Agatha and Adonis had three children, their eldest was their daughter, Amaryllis, their second was Anargyros, and then Alexandros was born seven years after his brother. Agatha and Adonis were very attentive parents and treasured all their children equally. However, a stroke of misfortune hit their family. Amaryllis fell ill when Alexandros was only 3 years old. Unfortunately, Amaryllis passed away the year Alexandros began to attend Hogwarts.

Agatha never truly recovered from the loss of her daughter. She began to argue with her husband because she believed he got over Amaryllis' death too soon. In her grief, she began to neglect her sons and Adonis busied himself with his work. Alexandros was raised by his nurse maid while Anargyros was off at school. When Anargyros would return during the break, he took a more parental role towards his young brother.

Alexandros met Contessina on the train during their first year at Hogwarts. They were both a little awkward and didn't know anyone before climbing aboard. They sat together in silence and Alexandros tried to make small talk. Contessina was very curt and looked uncomfortable, which made him feel self conscious. He didn't know where to go, so he tried to bury himself in his seat and distracted himself. Now, I've heard two completely different sides of the story and I don't know which one is the truth. According to my uncle, Contessina also wanted to make conversation but didn't know how to. She didn't understand that she was coming off as cold and intimidated Alexandros, which was why he shut up. According to Contessina, Alexandros really was annoying her and she was overjoyed when he shut up. I think Alexandros is the closest to the truth, because she always teased Alexandros by saying he was annoying.

Anyway, Contessina ended up staring at him for a prolonged time, which made Alexandros feel even worse. She was burning a whole into his head the entire time and he tried to ignore her, but at some point, he couldn't anymore. He asked her if she needed something. Taken aback, Contessina shook her head and looked away. Neither Alexandros nor Contessina ever told anyone what it was that made them click together, but they eventually found it.

It took a while because (according to my uncle) Contessina kept joining him. He didn't mind since he didn't have a lot of other friends at the time and at some point, they were best friends. Even as their friendship circle grew, Contessina and Alexandros stuck with one another more than anyone else. That's about all I know about their years at Hogwarts.

When Alexandros was fourteen (Amaryllis would have been 24 and Alexandros was 21, my mum already had given birth to Anastasios) Agatha finally passed away. Her health had really deteriorated and everyone suspected she wouldn't live too long but no one knew when it would be time for her to go. Apparently, she had become a sack of bones, couldn't leave bed, and had to be force fed. She was a shell of a person. Alexandros, who had to learn how to take care of himself once his brother left the country, was her primary caretaker during his breaks. Sometimes, Contessina would go over and help him. She really cared about Alexandros and his family. The few times she met Adonis, the rapidly aging man accepted as part of their family, and she didn't mind when Agatha would be delirious and mistake her for her dead daughter. They looked nothing alike, I frankly don't understand, but maybe it wasn't about looks. Maybe it was the way Contessina spoke or the way her hands felt as she tucked Agatha into her bed. Contessina mourned with Alexandros when his mother died.

It was also around this time that he met Charlotte Ross. He met her at a gathering after Agatha's funeral. Despite being a squib and living like a muggle, her parents still loved her and took care of her. Charlotte approached Alexandros and his brother with her parents to say their condolences. That was the first time they met.