Catina Lennox didn't stick to stereotypes. In fact, she despised them more than anything, yes she had Slytherin traits but not those since tarnished by those who turned to evil rather than staying hard-headed and fighting for what they truly believ...
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Being at the Brynn household was surprisingly comfortable. Not as comfortable as Lyall Lupin's home but much more comfortable than 12 Grimmauld Place. Mr and Mrs Brynn didn't make a fuss but welcomed her just enough- Catina liked that. Fussing made her uncomfortable. It was like being suffocated, perhaps that's why people like Fred loving her made her unsure of what she felt. She wants to love Fred, she thinks she loves him, but her mind was on overdrive it was hard to tell.
In Prosper's bedroom a second bed had been transfigured out of an old chair and pushed up against the wall below the window. He had made sure the bed was neatly made, with two pillows for her to use, one really thick and one slightly thinner to give the perfect height because one is too flat but two thick ones was too high. There was a soft, velvety blanket draped over the end to top up her duvet if she grew cold in the night and laying on the pillows was a small teddy bear, green and silver with sparkling blue eyes- Lofty.
Lofty was Prosper's bear right from when he was a baby. He slept with it every night as a child and even snuck it to Hogwarts for the first year. He didn't need it to sleep during his first year, he simply felt guilty about leaving him behind when he always had it on his bed when he slept. One night he was restless and couldn't sleep and the sound of eleven-year-olds snoring and mumbling in their sleep irritated him so he left the dormitory and made his way to the common room where he found his new friend Catina curled up in a ball on the sofa, staring at the fire with was dim and glowing lowly. She was crying.
Sleeping in new and strange places was not an unfamiliar occurrence go Catina but sharing was. She had never shared a bedroom and the sound of people breathing and snoring enclosed her, sounding loud enough that it felt as if they were all piled in the same bed with her. She didn't like it one bit. When Prosper was made aware of this he gave her Lofty to sleep with, to protect her because even Juno was comfort enough for her and that was saying a lot.
Catina smiled gratefully at Prosper as they settled into bed. She had slipped Fred's pyjamas on, they were not as big as she suspected (length-wise) because of her height of five-foot-ten but they did hang off of her like a bag because she was considerably a lot skinnier than Fred- no he is not fat, but the boy had bulked for the new quidditch season and she could only describe herself as a lanky, rectangle; but to Fred, she was beautiful.
"Tee?" Said Prosper, in the midst of the dark as he laid on his back, his hands resting on his stomach. "You'd tell me if someone thing was wrong, right?"
"I'd like to think so, darling."
"Then how are you? Like, honestly."
She sighed, staring up at the stars scattered in the dark night sky through the gap underneath the curtain. They shone so brightly, like Fred's eyes do when he describes his new pranks and gags. She spotted the dog-star, Sirius. Her hands felt her eyes, the eyes of Black.
"I think I want a DNA test."
Prosper sat up in bed, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised. They had never discussed the prospect of Catina getting a DNA test because Prosper was always under the impression that she didn't care, she never showed an interest in finding her parents. He didn't understand what had changed. Like magic, Catina already knew what he had thought.
"I've come to hold some information that alludes to the idea that I could be a member of the Black family- yes, as in Sirius Black. I'm now an adult, what's there to lose?"
"But, Tee, it's the Black family..."
"And? They're not all that bad- what? C'mon Prop, you know how much I want a family."
"No, actually I don't. You've never shown an interest in your family, I'm happy for you, I really am but you're walking into danger, mate."
"I'm in no more danger than I am with you."
Prosper sighed and laid back down. He rubbed his eyes and waited in the thick layer of silence for Catina to pad over to the bed as he guessed she would. She pulled up the cover and slid in beside him, putting an arm over her shoulder. "You'll always be my brother, Prop, no matter whether I have a family. No one will ever replace you."
He was never one to speak much, but he was doing to opposite lately and he certainly showed more emotion than previously as Catina felt a tear drop splash onto her nimble fingers. "Don't cry, please."
Taking hold of her hand, he squeezed it tight and pressed his lips to her skin. He screwed his eyes shut to try and halt the tears that continued to push forward- crying certainly was not on his agenda for that night, but the unexpected always happened with Catina.
"I can't lose you, Tee," he whispered with a crack in his deep voice. "I don't want you to leave me."
"I'm never leaving you, darling. What's going on?"
Her usually quip of "darling" was soft and caring, like that of a mother with their child, a term of endearment. She adopted the use of the word darling when she was younger, she had heard one of her social worker's use it towards a child in the care home but she never used it to regard Catina. It showed love and care and that was all she ever wanted and since nobody would call her that, she chose to call other people it but, more often than not, it came out sardonically and bashfully. She didn't mean for it to, but it did. Yet, this time it didn't.
"I..."
"Is it to do with why you're not in school?" Prosper nodded his head. "What's going on? Talk to me."
