ephemeral ~ bellatrix black

chapter 5

It was a perfectly normal Friday morning at Hogwarts, and every student was seated in the Great Hall eating breakfast. Rhapsody was actually making conversation with her housemates, and letting herself laugh at things that were funny, and then chiming in with her own opinion. She was having a great time, until the post came.

She recognized one of the Lestrange family owls swarm in, swooping down and then dropping a red envelope into her hands.

"Shit," she murmured to herself, realizing what the letter was before she opened it.

"What's wrong?" Oscar asked, peeking over.

"A bloody Howler," Rhapsody grumbled.

"You should go somewhere private maybe," he suggested calmly, running his hand through his fluffy blond hair.

Rhapsody nodded slowly. "C- can you come with me?"

"Of course, if you want me to."

So the two simply got up, leaving the table and hoping their friends wouldn't notice and decide to follow them. They reached their common room and sat on the sofa as Rhapsody carefully opened the Howler and let go immediately, as the envelope flew upwards, hovering in front of her face. Then it began to scream in her mother's voice.

"RHAPSODY CEBALRAI LESTRANGE! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE SO INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU! RODOLPHUS SENT US AN OWL INFORMING US THAT YOU'D BEEN SORTED INTO RAVENCLAW! YOU BETTER THANK MERLIN IT ISN'T HUFFLEPUFF OR GRYFFINDOR, BUT I HAVE NEVER DESPISED MY OWN DAUGHTER MORE THAN I DO RIGHT NOW! YOU ARE A DISGRACE! THE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF LESTRANGES BEFORE YOU HAVE ALL BEEN SLYTHERIN, EVERY SINGLE BLOODY ONE OF YOUR ANCESTORS! THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT THEY'RE LOOKING DOWN AT YOU WITH AS MUCH SHAME AND ANGER AS YOUR FATHER AND I! YOU KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES WHEN YOU GET HOME, YOU DESERVE TO BE PUNISHED, YOU AWFUL LITTLE PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR OUR CHILD! THIS IS INTOLERABLE, DISGUSTING BEHAVIOUR!"

The letter then went up in flames, disintegrating into ashes which landed on the ottoman. Rhapsody didn't even flinch. She stood up abruptly and scooped the mess into her hands, then tossed it into the fireplace. Wiping her hands together, she turned back to Oscar, who watched her with sympathy in his eyes.

"Well. Thanks for coming with me. I'd better get to class." Rhapsody muttered.

"Rhapsody, I-"

"It's fine. I'm used to it." she forced a smile.

The two walked through the halls in silence until they reached charms class. They took a seat at their desk, and Rhapsody could feel her jaw clenching and her muscles tightened. She gave her head a shake and loosened up. She wasn't going to let those words get to her head, even though just two nights ago she'd been telling herself the exact same things her mother had just said.

But Rhapsody was going to move on now. She was put in Ravenclaw for a reason, and now that she thought about it, she suited the stereotypical traits of the house very well. It could have been worse, at least she wasn't in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, but in her parents eyes she was a disgrace as long as she wasn't in Slytherin. Although now that she really thought about it, Rhapsody would be happier in Ravenclaw anyways, and the mature thing to do would be to accept her house and who she was. 

But she'd always care what her family thought, and even if she tried not to as if her life depended on it, she would always seek validation that she'd never get from now on.

After a long class, the Ravenclaws head down to the dungeons for potions class. When Rhapsody saw Rodolphus she would be incredibly angry with him, as he'd sent the owl to their parents.

Sure enough, her brother was standing with his mates outside the class. Rhapsody stalked up to him, frustration and hatred flashing in her blue eyes.