𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 || 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌

chapter 4.

"Merlin, Sel, you know it's not that easy!" Lucius was repeating over and over, running a hand through his long blond hair. Selene glared at him, poking his chest with a finger.

"Don't call me that," her voice was unwavering, eyes unrelenting as she stared at him. "That name is reserved for people who care about me. Evidently, you don't."

Asteria grinned, happy that her sister was standing up for herself. She had half a mind to jump out and applaud, encouraging her sister to slap the boy in front of her.

"Of course I care about you!" Lucius exclaimed, looking at her with a baffled expression.

"You sure have a funny way of showing it."

It seemed that was the end of the conversation, but Lucius grabbed Selene's hand and dragged her back before she could walk away. A quiet noise of protest escaped her, but she found herself caving into Lucius' embrace.

"I promise, one day..." Lucius' voice was much quieter now, as he tenderly lifted Selene's chin up. "One day we can be together. But you know my family. It's not that they don't approve of you, but this engagement with Narcissa has been in place since our births. It would mean war between our families to call it off now. They don't care that I'm in love with you, Sel, they only care about themselves."

Selene simply sighed. Deep down, she knew he was right, and it was irrational for her to be mad at something Lucius had no control over. Tired of fighting, she leaned up and kissed him.

For a moment, Asteria faltered. She exchanged a look with Magnolia, before mock-vomiting and bolting away. Magnolia sighed and followed after her friend, following her until they were a safe distance away from the strange couple.

"I really thought she was going to break it off with him," Asteria sighed, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms. "I mean, of all people, why him? The Malfoys are known for being elitists and not quite the best, in general."

Magnolia frowned, but decided not to say anything. In a way, the Slytherin knew that both of their families were elitists as well; however, she did not want to bring up that fact to Asteria and cause her even more distress.

Subconsciously, the two girls made their way to the seventh floor, where the Gryffindor common room was. As they approached the common room, Asteria paused, looking back at Magnolia. "It was a pleasure seeing you tonight, madame," she curtsied dramatically, before mumbling the password to the portrait and running inside. Magnolia simply shook her head, still not used to Asteria's antics, and headed down to her own common room.

Asteria smiled, pushing the image of her sister and Malfoy embracing out of her mind, before entering her dorm room and collapsing onto Lily's bed.

"Braid my hair?" she asked the redhead girl, and of course Lily agreed.

"Where'd you disappear off to?"

"Went on a walk with Magnolia," Asteria answered, biting her lip as she debated whether to tell the others what she had witnessed. Part of her wanted to gossip, especially because it was her sister and a boy, but the other half knew that if word of this affair got out, Narcissa Black would come for Selene's neck. So, instead, Asteria simply shrugged and said, "Nothing interesting, really. Though I've still got one more essay to finish."

At that, the rest of the girls' attention was piqued. Especially Marlene, who jumped up and looked at Asteria with wide eyes. "What class? I know McGonagall and Slughorn assigned one, right?"

"Merline, we've got two essays to write?" Dorcas all but shouted, tearing her attention away from the chess game she was playing with Mary. She abandoned the game, rushing to her own bag and pulling out all her parchments and textbooks.