ghostbusters, harry potter

one.

bitches broken hearts

september 1998

CAMILA  FELT SHE HAD ENDED WITH THE WAR, for when she looked in the mirror, she could usually catch a glance of her mother's hips, or her father's eyes or her aunts' gestures and all the other ways that the last 18 years of her life had tainted her. however, since the war, camila felt she had lost her friends, her family and herself.

she looked in the mirror that morning, her half-packed trunk behind her and her green and silver tie loosely hanging around her neck, and all she saw was a blob. an unknown silhouette made of blurry and unrecognizable shapes, like one you'd see when taking off your prescription glasses. she tried to squint, in vain. 

camila needed to find herself again, to leave it all behind and move forward.

she took a hold of the empty phial in her pocket and stared at it, a forever reminder that severus snape was dead and long gone—and although he had taught her how to brew that potion years ago, she felt she couldn't keep taking it. camila had to move forward, and leave the past behind, even if that meant unleashing a part of herself that she had repressed and feared for years. 

camila was setting herself free—even if that meant dealing with the most complex parts of herself. and maybe returning to hogwarts, the place where it had all gone down, would finally bring her the closure she needed. 

she took a last look at herself in the mirror, squinting her eyes, rubbing her face and turning her hips from side to side as though to try and finally make sense of what she saw from all angles. even when wearing the same uniform she had been wearing since age eleven, it felt like all traces of the little girl she used to be had faded away. with how things were going, camila even wondered if she would end up seeing her own spirit floating around. 

"are you ready, dear ?!" aunt andromeda shouted from down the stairs, "we're leaving in ten minutes!" 

with a groan she whipped around and shoved some more clothes and books into her trunk, "yeah! i'll be down in a minute!"

there was no going back, the choice was made whether she liked it or not, for camila lestrange returned back to hogwarts. 

it almost hit 11 o' clock when camila arrived to the Platform 9¾, home to the scarlet steam engine bringing students to and from hogwarts. she stood feebly at the train station, her trunk wedged in between her feet, feeling like her knees would give in at any moment. last time she had come here, she had almost died. she slowly looked around and caught a glance of many familiar faces—brave enough to come back to finish off their schooling—and children walking around with wary parents not willing to let go of their little ones just yet. 

"darling, you don't have to go if it's too much." andromeda placed a gentle hand on camila's shoulder, "god, even just standing here makes my throat tight—oh, nymphadora, my sweet." the older woman placed her palm on her heart and closed her eyes, remembering the daughter she had lost during the war. she took a step back found herself in the comforting arms of her husband ted.

"i have to," camila turned to the couple, "i have to finish school anyway to become a healer." she then chuckled "also, i doubt you will want me around when you'll be busy with little teddy running and causing trouble." 

andromeda and ted smiled brightly, "oh, i can't wait for you meet him, camila! he is the sweetest boy." 

indeed, andromeda and ted agreed to help raise little teddy lupin, for he had been orphaned after the war. the toddler resided with the wealey's throughout the summer—but as school started, the tonks were now to take him in.