DINNER that night was awkward, to say the least. Celeste had to ignore the teacher's table while sitting down at the Slytherin table in her usual spot, Daphne right next to her and the boys sitting across from them.
Blaise broke the silence by saying, "So.. good day?"
Celeste's lips turned into a smile as she shook her head fondly. Blaise was always the one who could randomly cheer people up. It was practically his job. "Good enough. You?" She asked as if they hadn't spent the whole day together.
Blaise nodded, his lips curling up into a grin. "Very good."
Draco put a meat pie onto Celeste's plate and a lamb chop, some black pudding, and finally, some fried sausages. Then, when he was done with her plate, he put food onto his own plate.
Celeste thanked him and dug in.
The action did not go unnoticed by a certain someone in the teacher's table. "Does a Malfoy actually care?" Sirius Black wondered out loud, far away from the Slytherin table. He turned to his favorite old professor.
"Only for Celeste, he does." Professor McGonagall replied while pouring herself a cup of water. "Those two are attached at the hip. You can never see one without the other."
Sirius hummed, crossing his arms. "Who are the other two with them?" He asked curiously.
"Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass. Particularly bright students, they are."
"Every Slytherin is," joined in Severus Snape with his drawling voice, earning a glare from Sirius. "What, Black? You should be glad your daughter is nothing like you. If she was even a little bit like you, she would never be the top of her class."
"Why, you little slimy git—"
"Sirius," said the stern voice of the woman sitting between the two enemies. "Behave. Both of you."
Sirius sulked in his seat and huffed. Snape rolled his eyes and went back to eating. The two had been enemies ever since their own Hogwarts days, and even back then, the woman sitting between them right now was their teacher.
Severus Snape had every right to hate Sirius Black and his little gang. They had been the ones always playing stupid pranks on him and the rest of the Slytherins, all the damn time. There was not a single Slytherin who tolerated the 'Marauders', as they called themselves. Maybe Regulus Black, who only tolerated them enough because he was Sirius's brother, but when Sirius got disowned, he didn't even glance at the group anymore.
Sirius's eyes found his daughter again. She was laughing at something Blaise said and turned to the blonde girl right next to her.
Sirius couldn't believe it. His daughter was a Slytherin. A true Slytherin. She wore the silver and green tie with pride, going as far as having a little dark green bow in her hair.
"Something wrong, Sirius?" Remus snapped him out of his thoughts as he sat down next to him and looked at him, noticing his thoughtful face.
Sirius shrugged. "She's a Slytherin, Moony. I should get used to it by now, but I just can't. I always thought... I always thought that if I had a kid... that maybe they would also be a Gryffindor..."
"It helps that she wasn't raised by you," joined in Severus Snape once again with a little smirk, ignoring the look Minerva McGonagall gave him.
"Stay out of this, Snivellus." Sirius sneered and ignored him, turning back to his husband.
Remus licked his dry lips and drank some water. When he was done, he put the glass back down and said, "Sirius, you were the one that left her. Get over it. She's a Slytherin, and rightfully so."
"But I wonder if she was raised by me, would she have still been a Slytherin?"
"Does that matter? She's a Slytherin now either way. Honestly, get over the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry. You're not in Hogwarts anymore. Your own daughter's a Slytherin, and she wears that tie with pride. As a father, you should be proud of her no matter what. Merlin, I'm her step-father and yet I'm proud."
Sirius rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. "I'm a horrible father, Moony. She's never going to accept me."
Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Celeste was doing a good job at not making eye contact with people by the teacher's table.
"Will you ever accept him?" Daphne asked in pity. She understood where Celeste was coming from, but it was painfully obvious how much Celeste wanted her father deep down. As her best friend, Daphne noticed that small look of longing in Celeste's eyes whenever she would look at the man. Obviously, the look of hate was bigger and hid that small look.
"Never," replied Celeste immediately without even thinking about it, biting into her meat pie. "Never in a million years."
"That's how it should be," said Draco proudly. He pushed his blond hair back and looked around. "Speaking of which, Potter's staring at you. Again."
Celeste looked up and followed his eyesight, her eyes stopping on the brown haired Gryffindor, who gave her a smile. She wrinkled her nose in distaste and rolled her eyes, looking away. "Merlin, he's creeping me out at this point."
"He's had a crush on you since first year," laughed Daphne. Everyone knew about Potter's little crush on Black. "What did he say again the first time he talked to you?"
"'I'll be the white to your Black'," Celeste muttered, shuddering in disgust. "That was horrible—"
"Didn't Draco jinx him the next day?" Blaise remembered with a grin. He turned to Draco in question.
Draco smirked. "He couldn't walk for days. His foot was so big he couldn't even wear shoes."
Celeste let out a laugh at the memory. When she stopped laughing, she stood up. "I'm heading to the loo. I'll go to the common room right after, so I'll see you guys there."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Daphne offered.
Celeste glanced at the girl's full plate and shook her head. "No, thanks, Daph. Eat your dinner. I'll see you later."
"Be careful," called out Draco as she left.
Celeste merely gave him a reassuring nod and walked out of the great hall, heading down the hall, where a girl's bathroom was at. When she reached the bathroom, she washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her signature dark red lipstick was a little smudged from eating, so she washed it off. When she was done washing it off, she took out her lipstick from her pocket and put it on in front of the mirror.
She had started wearing it since the train ride, which was only yesterday, but already, it was her signature lipstick color. She noticed how everyone used that same color the very next day (today). But they all knew who they copied it from; Celeste Black.
"I wish I could use lipstick," whined the ghost right behind her. Moaning Myrtle. Oh, joy.
Celeste pursed her lips in order to get the lipstick on rightfully. She put it back in her pocket and wiped away the residue on the bottom of her lip-line. "Okay, Myrtle."
Moaning Myrtle hummed and sat down by one of the large windows. "You look different, Celeste."
Did Celeste mention how she would come to this bathroom so often to the point Myrtle knew her name?
"Really?" wondered Celeste out loud. "How different?"
"You look older. Your hair's shorter. Did you cut it over the summer? And your height— you look taller." Moaning Myrtle pointed out all the things that looked different, checking them off one by one by her fingers.
"Thanks, I guess. I'll see you around, Myrtle." Celeste turned around and walked out of the bathroom after looking at herself one last time.
She walked through the hallways, stopping immediately when she saw someone.
Sirius Black.
"Hi, Celeste." Sirius weakly said, almost stupidly in Celeste's opinion. "Can we talk?"
Celeste gave him one look and immediately turned around, ignoring him completely.
Sirius rushed over in front of her, stopping her. "Please, Celeste? Only for a minute, I promise." He practically begged her, looking desperate.
Celeste ignored him again and turned around, rushing away. Sirius didn't bother again. He just let her walk away. And that, in Celeste's opinion, hurt a bit, but that was what she wanted right?
She didn't want him, right?
Right.
She hated him. Hated the man that left her and went to make another family. Hated the man that never thought of her ever again and never tried to come back. How could he? How was it so easy for him? She was his daughter, for Merlin's sake! She wasn't a random girl. Well, she wasn't his daughter anymore, ever since he left her. He better stop trying, because Celeste was not going to budge.
No way in hell was she going to budge.
Sirius had made his choice long, long ago. And his choice was that Lupin and the Potters. So Celeste made her choice, as well. Her choice was Regulus Black and the Malfoys— her real family. Her true family. The ones that actually wanted and raised her.
Sirius Black did not have the right to call himself her father. He was anything but.
Celeste walked down the stairs leading to the dungeons and walked the way to the common room. When she reached a particular stone, she muttered the password, watching as the stone split in two and showed a doorway.
She opened the door and walked in, closing it behind her. She looked around the huge common room, trying to see if her friends were already there.
The common room was all dark green, with a table at one corner that had cauldrons on it, where Slytherins would practice their potions at. There were two staircases, one leading to the boys' dormitories and the other leading to the girls'.
There were large windows, where sometimes they would even see the giant squid. It was hilarious when the first years got scared by it. Celeste was always the first to laugh at that, along with her friends. And by the windows, there were cushions right under it, where you could sit and look right next to you, having the view of under the black lake.
On the other side, there were black leather couches by the enormous fireplace. Her friends were already there, thankfully.
She walked over to them and sat down next to Draco, crossing her arms. "Sirius tried to talk to me," she mumbled so low, Draco almost told her to repeat herself.
When he understood, his head snapped to the side. "What? What did he say?" He demanded.
"He tried talking to me," she answered. "I didn't let him, though. I didn't even reply. I just walked away. He let me go."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Blaise raised an eyebrow in question.
Celeste nodded. "Of course, it is."
"Good." Draco concluded and sighed, slinging an arm over her shoulder. He gave her a letter. "Mother wrote you a letter. She told me to give it to you."
At that, Celeste smiled. She accepted the letter and opened it immediately.
"Dear Celeste,
How are you, my dear? I hope you are well. Draco has told me all about the new professors at Hogwarts, and you better be handling it well. Regulus will be staying with us this week. He feels too alone without you home. You haven't been sending him enough letters. I'll send you some treats in a few days or weeks, whenever I've got time to make you some, in order to cheer you up.
From,
Narcissa Malfoy."
"I'm going to head up and write her a reply, then go to bed. Daphne, are you going to come?" Celeste stood up, looking at her friend and roommate in question.
"I'll be up in a few minutes," replied Daphne. "You go on."
Celeste nodded and bid them all goodnight, then walked up the staircase leading to the girls's dormitories.