crushed - remus lupin

-one-

✩ ✩ ✩

Back straight.

Chin up.

Good posture.

Speak when spoken to.

Abraxas Malfoy had a few strict rules for his children. And by a few, he meant that if he wrote his list out on parchment, the length of the list could cover England at least three times over.

And that was how he liked it.

Abraxas was not what you would call a kind man. In fact, he would be considered the polar opposite on a good day. Children, in his mind, were to be seen, and not heard. To uphold the family name, not to cause trouble. And that was were one of his children became a problem.

Celeste Malfoy had a certain distaste for the rules.

And blood supremacy, 'ladylike' postures, proper etiquette, and basically everything her father wished she was.

Celeste's brother, Lucius, was the golden child, which left her to fill the vacant position of the black sheep. Their roles in the family were set in stone ever since September 1st, 1971.

Celeste messed with the collar of her uniform, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She could almost hear her father's voice in the back of her head, scolding her for her fidgety behavior. But for the first time, she could do as she pleased.

Sort of.

The withering glare focused on the back of her head, courteous of her dear brother Lucius, was the only thing keeping her from spiraling completely out of control.

As she waited to be sorted, Celeste could feel the nerves radiating off of everyone around her. When she had gotten on the train, her brother had dropped her off with a few other first years, people her father had pre-approved her to sit with.

Celeste had an excellent radar for jerks, and the compartment she was placed in was full to the brim. Mulciber freaked her out and Rosier made her uncomfortable. Luckily for her, Ella Novak and Sirius Black were among them as well. As both Sirus and Ella came from prestigious pureblood families, her father had no problem with Celeste being around them.

She was beyond glad she had her friends beside her, but Celeste had a feeling that this year, things might drastically change. If any one of them was sorted into a house beside Slytherin, they would be royally screwed. And knowing her friends, that fate was inevitable.

"Black, Sirius!"

Celeste turned her attention to the stern looking woman holding an old ratty hat. She gulped, her nerves getting the best of her. Honestly, Celeste wasn't sure what path she wanted for her friends. As much as she wanted to make her father proud, Celeste had always known she wasn't the Slytherin type. She had that same feeling about Sirius.

The hat seemed to be taking a particularly long time, and Celeste couldn't help but gnaw at her nails in her anxious state. Though, after receiving a pointed look from her brother, she dug her hands in her pockets.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat yelled, cutting through her thoughts. At first, Celeste could feel her jaw drop, but she quickly picked it back up and cheered for her friend, causing the whole room to look at her. It was quite the oddity. A Black in Gryffindor, and a Malfoy cheering for them? Insanity. The entire hall could sense from that moment on that this year would be quite interesting.

Not caring about the schools sense of shock, Celeste let her mind wander once more.

It's lucky that all of the founders of the houses had cool animals they liked. Like what if one of the founders was just like . . . y'know I really like flobberworms! What would that house be called? Flobberdor? Flobberin? Flobberpuff? Flobberclaw?