Betrayal of the Black

prologue

CELESTIA FAITH BLACK rolled over in the old bedroom of 12 Grimmauld Place, still hesitant about living there. Her father, Sirius Black, had offered for her to spend the summer with him. It was until Celestia arrived, that she realised it would not be only her father and herself, but rather the entire Order of the Phoenix.

Currently, the girl was residing in a bedroom that had once belonged to her uncle – Regulus Black. The walls, windows and bed were all draped with Slytherin's trademark colours: emerald and silver. The Black's family crest is painted over the bed along with the family motto: 'Toujours Pur,' which she learnt was French for 'Always Pure.' An old Slytherin Quidditch team photograph adorned one of the walls, featuring Regulus, in the middle of the crowd of Slytherin's.

For the entirety of her life, Celestia had been raised by the Malfoy's, her only living relatives. Narcissa had treated her as if she were her own daughter, teaching her anything and everything. Draco and Celestia did everything together.

Celestia was ten years old when she discovered what her father did. Draco and she would be off to Hogwarts next year, and Narcissa knew Celestia was bound to get cruel looks. Narcissa had sat the girl down and explained how Sirius had been sent to Azkaban for thirteen counts of murder, giving the information about the Potters' whereabouts which lead to their death and service to Lord Voldemort.

Although the topic was extremely gruesome for a ten-year-old, she had been more upset than anything. Had her father not thought about her before he committed all those cruel acts? Why had he thrown away their life together for a man named Voldemort? She had only been one when Sirius Black abandoned her.

When Celestia finally turned eleven, it was time for her and Draco to attend Hogwarts. Narcissa had been correct. Many odd and cruel looks had been thrown her way because of her heritage. Anyone who knew about what her father did – and that was practically everyone in the Wizarding World – treated her as if she were the plague.

First year and second year had not been too hard for the girl. Despite the harsh looks and occasional snide remark, she was ignored most of the time. After being sorted into Slytherin in her first year, people assumed that she was bound to turn up like her father. So, Celestia had no friends besides her cousin Draco.

It wasn't until her third year when attention shone on her once again. Her father had escaped Azkaban. Narcissa had been extremely reluctant to let her return but after being assured multiple times, she decided Hogwarts was the safest place for Celestia.

People were not sympathetic towards Celestia. Rather, they treated her as if she were the reason Sirius had escaped. Everywhere she went, eyes followed her every move. Harry Potter too, glared at her from across the room. No one trusted her anymore. During her third year, she did not get much sleep, fearing that her father might murder her as well. No, no one noticed as they all worried about Harry.

By fourth year, things felt as if they were getting back to normal. Many people were still weary of Celestia, wondering if she was harbouring her father. Though, the looks and remarks had calmed down and she was able to focus on the excitement of the Triwizard Tournament.

However, her excitement was ruined when no other than Harry Potter became more prominent in her life. First, he was selected as a Champion for the tournament. Then he had attempted to talk to her on multiple occasions. It wasn't until Harry and a girl named Hermione Granger corned her that he got to talk.

"Black, we need to talk to you," the boy prompted. "It's about your father."

"If you haven't noticed, Potter, I do not want to talk about him. Like I've had to tell many other people, no – I do not know where he is hiding out. He's a mass murderer and I just happen to be related to him," Celestia responded, trying to move past him.

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. They thought that explaining things to her would've been easy. They never realised the girl had such hard feelings about her father. Though, it was proving much more difficult than just saying her father was not in fact a murderer.

"We don't want to talk about that, please just give Harry a couple minutes to explain!" begged Hermione.

With an annoyed huff, Celestia gave a short nod indicating for him to explain. Her arms were crossed over her chest as a glare was painted on her face. Harry and Hermione led the girl into an empty classroom so that no one would overhear the conversation.

Then, Harry began explaining. Celestia leaned against a wall, her black hair cascading down her back as she listened. Her facial expression did not change, and the girl almost seemed unphased at the information. Once Harry had finished explaining, she turned around and left the room without uttering a single word.

When the girl was finally alone, Celestia broke down. The information was too much to process. Once again, she found herself hurt. Her father had escaped Azkaban, yet it was not for her, but for revenge and otherwise Harry Potter. He had been on the run for over a year, but not once had he contacted his own daughter. But maybe, there was a chance they could become a family again, right?

For the rest of her fourth year, things went normally. Sirius contacted her once explaining things from his own perspective and inviting her to spend summer with him. Celestia accepted, hoping that things would turn around and she would get a relationship with her father.

Unfortunately, the year did not end of spectacularly. Cedric Diggory had been murdered and with his death, Lord Voldemort had returned. Though no one truly believed he was back, Celestia knew it was true when Lucius had disappeared from her side during the final task.

That all led to where she was now. Attempting to build a relationship with her father. This proves harder than she thought though, with all the members of the Order of the Phoenix, the Weasley's and Hermione Granger also residing at 12 Grimmauld Place.