an angel's sin [t.r]

016

"Did you hear about Myrtle Warren?" Celine murmured to Tom, as she rested her head against his shoulder, staring into the fireplace from one of the leather sofas in the Slytherin common room.

"Yes I did, it's a terrible tragedy." He replied, but Celine frowned at his response.

"Don't think I don't know you're involved in this Tom, I know you do bad things with your friends." She said, and Tom's face flashed with anger.

"But I'd never hurt you, would I?" He smirked at her, before catching her by surprise and kissing her gently. Celine giggled before pulling back, now completely distracted by the boy in front of her to ask anymore questions about his involvement with Myrtle Warren.

"Your hair looks nice like this." She whispered, reaching out and wrapping a lock of his dark hair around her finger and looking down at his small frown, only making her smile more.

"It's very untidy Celine, we have dinner in ten minutes and it needs to be neat." He said, gently pushing her hands away, trying to fix his hair with his hands, eventually giving up and waving his wand, putting his previously unruly curls back into place, gaining a sigh from Celine.

The ten minutes before dinner was spent with the pair wrapped in one another's arms on the sofa, in comfortable silence as the rain beat against the windows outside.

Eventually, the couple had to leave and go down for dinner. As they arrived at the Slytherin table, Celine swore she saw Abraxas flinch when Tom took his place next to the pale blonde, and despite how much she wanted to brush it off as a coincidence, Celine knew that it wasn't, and she knew what Tom was capable of.

"Rosier? Are you even paying attention?" A voice rang out, snapping Celine back into reality, and she plastered a blinding smile on her face, making Tom's face of concern melt into one of relaxation.

"Sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts again. What were you saying Edward?" She turned to her cousin, who was wearing an unusually serious face.

"I asked if you'd received any further information on your father's disappearance." As Edward said this, every boy froze, silence coming over the group, and each one staring at Edward as if he'd announced he'd personally killed someone.

"Lestrange..." Tom hissed, glaring at him, but Celine reached out and put her hand on top of his to reassure him the topic was fine. Her smile still remained on her face, but she wasn't sure if it had faltered for a fleeting moment upon the mention of her father.

She knew they'd have to talk about him at some point, especially due to the fact Edward was deemed the heir of the assets for the Rosier estate if her mother finally gave in and declared Abel Rosier dead. Despite Celine possessing her gifts, she would only be the heir of knowledge, receiving ancient books and boxes passed down generations, while her male cousin received the entire fortune.

"There hasn't been anything else unfortunately Edward, honestly I don't know why mother doesn't declare his death, it would bring so much closure." Celine finally answered, and she saw Edward frown at her answer, knowing he'd recognised it as an out of character response for her, yet he did not comment on it. Celine didn't know why Edward hadn't pressed for the death to be declared, he'd be wealthier and already have rights to a house, and she knew he wanted nothing more than to escape his insane parents and siblings.

When they were younger, Celine had begged her mother for Edward to live with them, hating seeing him so miserable when they had to leave him in the large Lestrange manor by himself. Yet, her mother refused, saying he could go mad like the rest of her family, and she didn't want to deal with another mad member in her household. But Celine knew why Edward hadn't asked for the death to be declared, it was quite obvious.

Edward Lestrange still had hope.

He wanted nothing more to see his once joyful cousin return fully to that state, instead of faking her happiness, but also the fact that even if he did receive the house now, he'd never steal it from her family, simply move in with them, which was something Celine's mother was still strongly against, and he didn't want to hurt her anymore. Despite coming from an emotionally detached and cruel family, Edward Lestrange carried something rarely seen - empathy and love. And he loved his family so much that he did not want to face the truth or hurt those around him. And that warmed Celine's heart.

After dinner, the group of Slytherins left the Great Hall, and Tom turned to Celine.

"We're going to study, and I know you went to the library earlier, so I'll see you tomorrow morning." He said, flashing her a smile to which she could not refuse, so simply nodded before turning away as she watched the boys walk in the completely wrong direction to the library.
Celine knew they weren't studying. They were only studying if that involved torturing muggleborns and using the Room of Requirement to plan their next victims. But Celine chose not to follow, knowing Tom could lose his temper and hurt her, even if he didn't intend to.

Before she met Tom, she heard whispers from a group of Hufflepuffs she once spoke to, warning her of his group's cruel acts. But of course, many did not believe these rumours, and those who did still stayed out of the group's way, not wanting to be their next target. Celine was not strong enough or brave enough to face Tom or his friends by herself, she needed to look after herself, and she knew she wouldn't be able to save those they hurt, even if she tried. She just had to spend time with muggleborns while they were 'studying', so she ensured they would not be hurt.

So as the boys went away from the library, towards the abandoned second floor girl's bathroom, Celine went to her divination classroom to meet with a muggleborn who was especially upset at the moment - Poppy Pomfrey, Myrtle Warren's best friend.