Raindrops slide down the glass on one of the many windows of the Hogwarts Express. Some slip down quickly; some fall slowly. The gray bleak atmosphere outside the scarlet engine matches my current mood perfectly.
I scold myself mentally for believing that they would have shown any feelings for me today at the Platform. They hadn't in three years! What had I honestlly expected? Tearful goodbyes and hugging?
No, my parents weren't cold-hearted people. They had shown that they loved me once upon a time. Before the Sorting, that is.
I still remembered that fateful night. I hadn't been waiting very long when Headmaster Longbottom called "Celesta Grey!"
I had been more excited than nervous that night, eager to find out where I would belong. I had raced up to the stool, sat down, and placed the Hat upon my own head. Darkness replaced the whispering students' faces and I heard the Sorting Hat speak.
"Ah, another Grey! Yes, all Slytherins they were. Excellent choices for them, yes. But what about you? Hmm, the intelligence may place you in Ravenclaw; but you are cunning like a Slytherin. Courage is there deep inside you; that points to Gryffindor. But then I sense great loyalty as well, which would place you in Hufflepuff. Dear me, you are a difficult witch!"
I thought over what the Hat was telling me and realized that if I was in Slytherin, I would be carrying on the family tradition. I was about to tell the Hat this when a thought struck me.
What if I didn't want to carry on the tradition?
The Sorting Hat mused "No Slytherin then? Well, well; very different from your parents and their parents indeed. In that case, I have narrowed your House down to two; Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
After thinking these over, I thought to myself "Well, I don't know. They both don't sound right for me either. This is so bloody hard!"
At that moment, the Sorting Hat yelled to the people in the Great Hall "You had better be in...HUFFLEPUFF!"
I sat there for a moment, shocked, as Headmaster Longbottom removed the Hat from my head. I hadn't found out until later that it had taken the Sorting Hat a good ten minutes to Sort me. I was what the students called a Hatstall.
I didn't know this then, however, so I walked to the small group of students wearing yellow and black robes as they cheered. The other students stared and whispered about me.
"The first Grey I know of that wasn't in Slytherin!" one hissed from the Gryffindor table.
"Wonder why it took so long to Sort her?" said another in Ravenclaw.
My parents hadn't taken the news very well when I had written to them and explained what House I was placed in. They had wriiten back four days later saying that they were very surprised and still wished I was a Slytherin and that perhaps I could go and ask the Headmaster to Re-Sort me please?
Can you believe the nerve?
Ever since then, my parents had grown distant from me. They went from polite smiles and whispers among them both to sneers and rarely spoken words to me. I had learned to deal with this over the past three years but there was a small part of my heart that longed for the old days where I knew I was loved and appreciated, not told that I was a "disgrace to the Greys".
Actually, it was my despicable twin cousins Sari and Vale Black that told me I was a disgrace. They were in the same year as me and had gotten Sorted into Slytherin. They were angry that I had changed tradition and called me a blood traitor constantly.
At Platform-Nine-and-Three-Quarters, my lovely parents had just said "See you next summer Celesta." and walked back through the barrier before I could even say "Love you!"
"Cell? Did you fall asleep, mate? Don't make me use a hex on you."
I blinked and was sent back to the present. I looked away from the window of the train and saw that my two mates, Matthias Malfoy and April Davison, were staring at me with concerned expressions.
I glared at Matt, who had spoken. "Don't you dare use a hex on me, Malfoy. I am not in the mood."
Matt pretended to look offended. He said "Grey, don't be grouchy with me. I was joking. You know I would never do that."
April rolled her eyes at us when I slapped his arm playfully, but it was obvious that I was fighting a grin back. "Honestly, you'd think two fourth years would act their age, not act like first years."
"Aw, don't be a killjoy, April!" I said, now smiling.
"Besides, we are mature. Aren't we, Celesta? OW!" He rubbed his shin, which was where I had kicked him after he had said my name. I hate the name Celesta and he knows it.
So, I grinned innocently and answered "Oh, yes, we are indeed, Matthias!" I hopped over to sit by April when he made to slap me. April rolled her eyes yet again, but I caught her smiling a little.
April is the most mature of the three of us, if you want my honest opinion. Maybe it's because of the fact that she is a Muggleborn. That is probably why she is in Ravenclaw and we aren't. Are Ravenclaws more mature than Slytherins and Hufflepuffs? Maybe so.
Matt was indeed in Slytherin. He was the perfect image of a Malfoy; platinum blond hair, steel gray eyes, the signature smirk, the green and silver robes. But you should never judge a book by a cover. Matt hated his House actually. He constantly complained about it and always joked that he was going to steal my robes one day and pretend to be a Hufflepuff for twenty-four hours. I often wondered if he was being serious, though.
He didn't get along with his parents well; they wanted him to be the perfect Malfoy descendant and he completely disagreed. They wanted him to be the star Seeker of the Slytherin House Team; he ended up being a regular Chaser on the team. They wanted him to be someone the other students feared; he made certain that he was only feared by those he hated. Matt wanted to be someone everyone looked up to and admired. He hated the very thought of being better than all the other students.
As much as he hated Slytherin, he was, in an odd way, very loyal to it. He would defend small first years from teasing about their House and when April and I asked him about it, he simply said that he hated bullies.(which was true)
April chewed the end of her red braid as she turned to me. "So, Cell, how was your summer?"
I tried not to flinch under her gaze and thought of something honest to tell her. See, Matt and April knew exactly what my parents treated me like and they always asked this question each year. But I couldn't tell them about my punishment this year. At our annual family reunion in August, Vale and Sari Black had been taunting me about my choice of friends and my House. After Vale made a remark about how stupid any Grey would have to be to befriend a "Mudblood", I lost my cool and dumped the pumpkin juice bowl over his head after hexing Sari. My punishment was two weeks locked in my room with just soup to eat. I hated soup after those awful weeks.
No, I couldn't tell them about that.
Instead, I said "You know the routine; the ignoring, the arguments, the bloody family get-together..."
"You didn't do anything barmy did you, Cell?" April looked concerned. She knew something was up.
Matt snorted before I could think of a reply. "Cell going barmy over her family? Never!"
I whacked his arm and rolled my eyes. "You haven't met them. They're despicable, mental, insufferable idiots!"
"They are also your family." pointed out April. She seemed to think that by recalling this, I would forgive them and we'd all make up and happily ever after. April was a bit naive, no offense on her behalf.
I sighed and was about to tell her what I had done when the door to the compartment flew open. I glanced up and cursed a bit too loudly.
My bloody cousins Vale and Sari We-are-so-better-than-you-blood-traitor Black stood in the doorway, smirking at my reaction. They looked, as always, impeccably clean and handsome. I swear they both could have been Muggle fashion models with their olive zit-free skin, smooth black hair, and hard-as-a-rock brown eyes. Sari tossed her long black hair over her shoulder and looked me up and down with a disgusted expression.
Vale chuckled when April gave me a horrified look (most likely because of my words) and he said "Celesta, you had better watch your language. We don't want the Mudblood to catch on, do we?"
Matt stood up, ignoring April's protest, his eyes cold. You never want to get on the bad side of Matthias Malfoy. It may be the last thing you ever do.
"Take back that filthy word, Black." snarled Matt. "Or else I will hang you from the Astronomy Tower wearing just your underwear when we arrive."
My cousin sneered but looked a bit uneasy. Last year, Matt had hexed Vale so badly that he had been in the Hospital Wing for fifteen days. And that was just for calling April a "stupid, know-it-all Mudblood".
"I'd leave if I were you, dear cousin." I stood up, drawing my hornbeam and unicorn wand. "Unless you would fancy to be the tester of a Bat Bogey Hex?"
Sari spat at me and led Vale away, slamming the door to our compartment with a BANG.
I sat down, breathing hard. My life really was awful.
Matt sat down slowly and none of us spoke for a while. April finally glanced outside and said "Hogwarts is comig closer. We'd better change into our robes."
Matt grabbed his silver and green robes before exiting the compartment. April and I changed silently and when Matt returned at last, the train pulled into the station at Hogsmeade. We all hopped off the train and were surprised; it was pouring rain.
Matt swore and earned a dirty look from April. "Where are the carriages when you need 'em?!" I rolled my eyes and pushed my hair out of my eyes. "I see some black shapes over there. I believe those are the carriages."
I grabbed their hands and led them over to what were indeed the black horseless carriages. We jumped inside the nearest one and shut the door, panting and dripping water onto the floor. I wrung out my hair and felt the carriage begin to move.
"Well, that was wet." Matt said, wringing out his robes.
"No, really?" April said sarcastically.
I frowned. "Apes, are you alright? You're never sarcastic."
I had meant that as a joke but she took it literally. She said with a sigh "Actually, I'm not alright." As we opened our mouths to ask her what was wrong, she cut us off. "Every bloody year, it's the same old routine. The bullying, the detentions, the hexing, the visits to the Hospital Wing. Matt, Cell; I know you both are just trying to protect each other and me but...I'm sick of this! Can you both just promise me not to get in detention or a fight this year? Just this year?"
Matt and I exchanged nervous glances. That was a huge promise, especially since Matt and I were famous for our hexes that were most commonly used on the Blacks. This was going to be a trying year if we made that promise. But then again, this was April, our mate. And the look in her sapphire blue eyes was tearing away at my heart.
"Apes, I promise to try." Matt said quietly. She beamed
and looked at me expectantly.
I sighed and made up my mind. "I promise."
This was going to one tough year.
Typical.
Dark Fire by Phoenix Song114
Story Notes:
The A.U. warning is because Regulus Black is alive in my story. He is the father of the twins Vale and Sari. Also, the mother of Cell is a made up character called Isrea Black, supposedly the twin sister of Regulus.
Chapter Notes: Backround Knowledge of the Three Main Characters:
Celesta Grey (Cell)-Pureblood. Parents-Isera and Finnigan Grey.
Matthias Malfoy (Matt)-Pureblood. Parents-Scorpius and Rose Malfoy.
April Davison-Muggleborn. Parents-Neil and Keira Davison.