"From childhood I had
never believed in
permanence, and yet I had
longed for it."

Fallon sat down with a groan. It was followed by Gen's chuckle. The former whacked her on the arm, though the action was not malicious.

"Are you going to the slug club dinner today?" Gen asked, pulling out a chair and taking a seat in a calmer manner than her friend.

Callista nodded, closing a book she had just finished reading. "I go every year. What are you two doing here anyway?" She was in the library, catching up on some homework so she could have the weekend free. Gen and Fallon preferred to stay far away from the library and work in the Slytherin Common Room, taking advantage of the collective homework sessions and many shared answers.

"Looking for you."

Gen sighed, putting her arms on the table and resting her head on them. "I'm going too and I don't know what to wear. And Fallon," she turned to glare at the girl, "is not helping."

"Ah," Callista said, looking between the two. "Weren't you invited, Fallon?"

Fallon sat up straighter. "Oh. No, I was. I just don't care."

Callista nodded, she rarely ever went. She wondered when Slughorn would realise it was pointless inviting her.

"I'll help you pick an outfit," she said to Gen, getting up and gathering her things.

Gen jumped up and clapped her hands together. "Great!" She was hushed and shuffled out of the library soon after with Fallon and Callista trailing behind her.

"What look are you going for?"

"I think you should go slutty," Fallon said wrapping her arm around Gen's shoulder and giving her a little shake. Gen looked horrified.

"I want to make a statement. I need people to know I'm not messing around this year."

Genevieve was one of those people who felt the need to impress, not just everyone else but herself. She loved making people stop and do a double-take and always wanted to up herself.

"Let's go for black, burgundy, or purple. Got some dresses in those colours?"

Gen nodded, a giddy smile forming. "Of course I do."

With her mom being a fashion designer, Callista knew plenty about fashion and colours and the girls always came to her for advice.

The day went past in a blur and left Callista walking into Slughorn's office for the first slug club dinner of the year.

Genevieve chose a dark burgundy dress while she sported a dark green velvet dress. It was simple yet showed off her wealth. Her mother had taught her that was the best route to take for dinner parties. Of course, if she took any other route she would hear about it in a heavy worded letter.

She opened the door to Slughorn's office and offered him a gretting. She sat down at the seat with her name, which was in-between Gen and James.

She said her hellos to James and then gazed around the table to see who was there. From Slughorn's left was Severus, Aidan, Rabastan, Gen, Callista, James, Remus, Stellan, Freya, Anya Chang, Emmeline Vance, Regulus, Evan, Kai Sun, Amelia Harper, and Lily Evans.

She wanted to laugh at the sight of James and Remus stuck between a group of Slytherins. She often wondered what went through Slughorn's mind when he chose seating arrangements but they never failed to be wildly different from the one before.

She recalled last year when Slughorn sat James next to Severus. Worst decision he could have made, and one he never made again. 

James leant towards Callista and whispered, "I still don't get why he invites half the people he does."

Callista turned to give him a look before replying, "Well, Lily, Severus, and Amelia are good at Potions. You too, but your father is also pretty popular. The rest of us are only here because of our parents' influence."

"That makes sense, but I don't get why Snivellus should be here. Who cares if he's good at Potions?"

"Your Lily-Flower is here for the exact same reason."

"She's the smartest girl in our year."

"Yes, I'm well aware." He mentioned it every time he talked about her. Almost every teacher did the same.

"Miss Greengrass," Slughorn interrupted their little conversation. She noticed Freya looking up too. 

"Ah we have all the Greengrass' here today, how wonderful." He clapped his hands together with a cheery grin on his face. "Well this one is for the eldest. I see your mother just released another clothing line. How is her business doing?"

Callista put on her formal smile and spoke in the same tone she always did when speaking about her family.  "Yes, my mother is doing well. People seem to be receiving the new clothing line with excitement."

He nodded a little too fast to be normal and then moved on to the next person. He was only looking for more reasons to keep inviting her. She turned back to James. "He could have just read the paper."

James snorted before covering it with a cough when Slughorn looked their way. "You think he knows how to read?"

"Honestly who knows at this point."

The dinner came to an end and Callista was glad to be able to leave the stuffy room. She walked back to the common room with her brother and sister. Freya and Stellan were twins, both in Slytherin and their fifth year.

Stellan was getting his growth spurt because during the summer he stood at the same height as her and Freya, and now she took him by his ear. She suspected he would continue to grow and be as tall as their father who stood at 6'1. He had even made prefect this year.

He stood on her left and threw an arm over her shoulder. "Cally," he said, using the ridiculous nickname the twins had been using for her since they were 3. "Are these dinners always this boring?"

"Yes, Stel, but we have to go, or it'll look bad."

Freya, who had remained quiet on her left, spoke, "This dinner was more boring than the ones back home."

Callista chuckled, "That one wasn't even bad. They get way worse."

The twins were polar opposites when it came to social interactions. Freya preferred to remain quiet and observe, only speaking when she felt the need to. When she did speak it was always soft, and many thought it was because she was shy. She was the farthest from it.

Stellan was the opposite, he was loud, but in an aristocratic, educated way. He spoke with confidence because he knew people would listen to him. He loved academics and he did not mind standing out.

Callista thought that their differences worked well together and that it was why they got on so well in public. Though she often wished her little siblings did not have to be apart of the life of a Greengrass, or even a pureblood. She took the brunt of it so they had no clue what it really was and she wanted to keep it that way.

She wanted to protect them for as long as she could.

________________________________________

I cannot remember who I've introduced already but here:

Kai Sun:

Amelia Harper:

And for those of you who want it, here's a picture of Callista's dress. I know they're not period specific but hey it's my story I don't really care:

And Gen's dress:

Also so sorry for basically disappearing but here we go another chapter!