.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

     CRESSIDA THORNE WOKE UP TO THE SOUND OF HER MOTHER SCREAMING. It wasn't a very pleasant thing to hear, but Cressida had been used to it by now. It was a very high-pitched scream, most likely directed toward one of her siblings. However, today's wake-up call had been a lot louder than usual, but it didn't surprise her. To say this happened at least once a day would be an understatement.

     Today was marking Cressida's younger brother's first year at Hogwarts. The entire house was practically in a panic. She could hear the footsteps of her parents running around the house, making sure that Thomas, her younger brother, had everything he needed for the year. In Cressida's opinion, they were being a bit overdramatic.

     When it was her first year, being the only daughter and middle child, she had been sent away drastically under-packed. A common theme in Cressida's life was being neglected, which caused a severe change in her personality compared to when she was eleven. Her brothers were the complete opposite, though.

     She had an older brother; he was the pride and joy of the family. Noah was about to enter his seventh year at Hogwarts as a Slytherin and Head Boy. His grades were fantastic and he was captain of the Quidditch team, what wasn't there to like? Well, he was a die-hard Slytherin, just like Cressida's parents. Noah was narcissistic, snarky, and only cared about himself. Simply put, the entirety of Slytherin house absolutely adored him.

     Thomas was nothing like Noah which worried Cressida's parents. Thomas was quieter and had no interest in sports. He spends most of his day in his room, reading away at one of his many books. It had gotten to the point that over the summer break, Cressida's parents had confiscated all his books. They believed that he needed to focus on the problems in front of him, not the ones on a page.

     Cressida's parents, Lucile and Anthony, had been raised in very strict pure-blood homes, which caused them to inherit the malice behavior from their parents. Lucile and Anthony didn't purposely try to be mean and callous, but it's in their nature. It's all they've ever known. Now, they aren't as terrible as the Black family, but they definitely have their own problems.

     Cressida was the least favorite child out of the three -- if it wasn't obvious. During her first year, she had almost been placed in Gryffindor but had to beg the Sorting Hat for Slytherin. She knew her parents would not find it acceptable for any house other than Slytherin. She had a hard time making friends the first few months since most of the children were conceited and egotistic, but she eventually did. However, being in Slytherin had caused her to adopt some of the stereotypical characteristics.

     Cressida had an eye for attention at anyone's expense. She had to have someone's eye staring at her everyday. It was her pride and joy to make someone's existence a living hell, particularly Gryffindors. She was also arrogant to a fault, believing she was better than others. She could never be wrong in an argument, even if she knew she was. Cressida was very deceiving, and a pathological liar. But most importantly, Cressida Thorne was stubborn. If she wanted something, she would fight to the death for it.

     "Noah, please come help your brother!" Anthony's voice echoed through the house as he shouted for the eldest son. Lucile had been freaking out, stressing that Thomas would not be placed in Slytherin House. The woman spent the last few days giving Thomas a run-down of how the houses worked, tricking him into believing Slytherin was the best. She also wrote down a list of names not to associate with, along with "never interact with a Mudblood!!" in big letters.

     Thomas clutched the page with names in his hands and read over them as if trying to memorize every detail. The last thing he'd want to do is disappoint his parents. Parental acceptance was a common theme in the family.

     Cressida lay silently in her bed using a pillow to shield her ears from the ongoing screaming. All of her stuff was already packed and her black feathered owl, Dahlia, sat on top of her trunk. Dahlia had also been cringing from all the loud noises, waking her up from her nap.

     The girl groaned in her bed, not wanting to start her morning so early. It was her last day of summer vacation and this is not had she had intended to wake up. Annoyed thoughts ran through her head, all wondering why they couldn't cast a silencing charm in the areas downstairs, allowing her some silence.

     With a loud hmph! Cressida got out of her bed and opened her bedroom door, shouting, "Shut it! I am trying to --!" but before she could finish speaking, Noah came running down the hall, slamming the bedroom door shut in her face. She stood there for a few short seconds, jaw slightly dropped while staring at the now-closed door. Her eye twitched before walking towards the center of her room.

     She grabbed her wand from her nightstand, seconds away from using it to cast the Silencing charm, but hesitated. Fifth-years weren't allowed to use magic outside of school yet, but her family would not shut the fuck up. She gritted her teeth in defeat and realized constant screaming was not worth getting expelled over.

     Cressida plopped back onto her bed and let out a muffled groan into her pillow. She finally decided to head downstairs and witness what all this commotion was about. Surely it can't all just be about packing Thomas' school trunk, right?

   She put on a soft sweater over her tank top and pajama top. The rest of the house was freezing cold, just as Cressida's parents liked it. However, Cressida was the opposite; she liked warmer temperature rooms -- or maybe it was average since her parents liked it unusually cold. She wouldn't even be surprised if icicles started appearing in the kitchen.

     When she finally made it downstairs, her arms crossed in frustration to see that the screaming and yelling had completely been about Thomas' trunk. One would think bloody murder was happening, but no.

     Once she was finally spotted, Lucile called out, "Cressida, come make sure Thomas is all set to go. We leave in less than an hour!" The older woman approached her daughter before a grimace appeared on her face, "And fix yourself up, you look absolutely dreadful."

     Cressida was almost too afraid to roll her eyes, almost. Her jaw ticked as she thought of all the possible responses to give her mother, all of which would end with her grounded surely. Instead, she smiled sarcastically, "Thank you, Mother. I absolutely adore my looks as well."

     Her face dropped slightly at the sight of Thomas pacing around the room, reading the list of names in his hand. It was his first year, he should not be worrying about the people he should avoid, but rather the people he should befriend and keep his grades up. She knew a great majority of those names were pretty decent people, but would never say it out loud. Cressida had nothing against muggle-borns, although she wasn't friends with any of them. 

     But Cressida knew better than to say anything to her parents. They were raised one way -- a very strict way -- but it's all they're familiar with. Plus, she wouldn't want them to lash out on her last day of summer; the screaming was already enough irritation for today.

     She walked over to Thomas and decided to avert his attention away from the page. She crouched down to his level, gaining his full attention. His blue eyes skimmed over his sister's face, trying to find solace in the familiarity. She could quickly catch the nerves flowing out of him like he were a waterfall. Cressida wasn't the best at comforting people, but she was very protective of her younger brother. She lowered her voice so that her parents couldn't hear. "Thomas, don't worry about a single thing. Once you get on the train to Hogwarts, you'll forget about all this nonsense mum have you worrying about."

     He swallowed hard, still very unsure. "What if I forget something? What if I made Mum and dad angry? What if I don't get placed in Slytherin?"

    "If you forget something, you can send a letter using Dahlia. Besides, you could never make mum and dad mad, no matter what house you're in," she ruffled his blonde hair playfully. "You're their second favorite."

     "Cressida, stop filling your brother's head with garbage. He needs to be focusing right now, stop distracting him," Anthony said from across the room. Even though he was standing far away, his voice was always loud enough to leave a small ring in her ear.

     The eldest daughter turned away from Thomas, raising her hands as if mocking the inability to be near her brother. "Right, sorry. I forgot that I'm not allowed to interact with my own siblings. I'm terribly sorry."

     Anthony sighed heavily, sensing her frustration. Communication was always very hard in the Thorne household, especially between Cressida and her parents. Ever since their huge fight when she was in her third year, their parent-daughter relationship has never been the same. It was a stupid fight, in Anthony's eyes. Cressida had been completely wrong so it wasn't even worth arguing over. A simple apology and promise to never do it again would suffice, but alas, she was too stubborn to apologize. 

     Cressida had skipped class because she was talking to a muggle-born. Someone notified Lucile and that's when things began to go downhill. "That's not what I meant, Cressida. Thomas has a lot on his plate right now and doesn't need anything else to worry about."

     She gave no verbal response, deciding to go back to minding her own business in the kitchen. Since it had been such a chaotic morning, it was 'fend-for-yourself' breakfast -- Cressida's personal favorite. Vippy, the family's house elf, had made croissants, cauldron cakes, kippers, pudding, muffins, crumpets, and a few other things Cressida hadn't bothered to look at. Lucile had demanded a feast for Thomas' departure.

     Instead of grabbing a plate, Cressida opted to just use a napkin and stole a cauldron cake from the dining table. She wasn't even going to bother with sitting down and eating since no one else was. With the cake wrapped in the napkin, Cressida made her way towards the stairs, wanting to eat in her room.

    "Cressida! Do not --," her mother began, raising her voice from across the room.

     The girl cut her off, already halfway up the stairs. "Sorry! Can't hear you!"

    "Accio cauldron cake!"

     By the time Cressida had heard the words, it had been too late. The cauldron cake flew out of her hand. She froze in her spot, her jaw ticking in annoyance. She didn't even need to turn around to know who stole her breakfast. Finally, she turned to face the culprit. "Noah Thorne, you twat."

     There he was, holding her breakfast. He lifted it up so she could see it more clearly, before taking a bite out of it. He groaned in delight at the taste. "Oh, this is delicious, don't you think so, sister?"

    "You think you're so entitled, do you? Being able to use magic outside of Hogwarts," she marched down the stairs. "We are leaving in fifteen minutes and I haven't had breakfast yet, you arse."

     Cressida could not wait any longer for the school year to begin. She has grown tired of living in the same house as Noah and her parents, just as she does every summer. The girl went to the dining table and grabbed two more cauldron cakes, remembering to give one to Dahlia as well. They were her favorites.

     On her way up, she made sure to give Noah a big shove, almost making him lose his balance. "Hope you enjoy your cake," she maliciously told him.

     Once she finished her breakfast and fed Dahlia, it was finally time to head to King's Cross Station. That place was her all-time favorite, possibly surpassing Hogwarts. She simply loved the feeling of finally stepping onto the train and seeing all of her friends again. Not to mention the train ride itself had beautiful scenery. When she first rode it, she remembers being in total awe of the things she had never seen before.

     She hauled her trunk to the living room, meeting up with Thomas first. He didn't look as nervous as before, meaning Cressida's words most likely had some effect on him. She lightly shoved his shoulder, "Are you excited?"

     Thomas' eyes were practically digging holes in the fireplace in front of them, anxious for what was waiting for him outside. They were going to travel using Floo Powder, which didn't help calm him down. What if he said the wrong location or pronounced it incorrectly? What would he do if he ended up in some strange location all alone?

     He shrugged his shoulders, not knowing how to give an honest response to the question. By the way Noah and Cressida talk about Hogwarts, it sounds more like a fairy tale than real life. Could it possibly live up to its name? Another problem he worried about was having hard classes and mean teachers. He's already heard quite some stories and angry yells from Cressida over the summer break, expressing how much she hated certain classes. What if he fails?

    "I dunno," Thomas answered vaguely.

     Cressida smiled down faintly at her younger brother. She remembered being nervous her first year as well -- it was completely normal. She decided to add a lighter tone to the conversation; playful even. "I'm sure that if you just do everything I did, you'll turn out pretty decent."

    "Pretty decent? More like mediocre."

     Cressida pretended to take offense at his claim, implying that she, herself, was mediocre. She knew he was trying to play along, but she had gotten used to all the degrading comments about her skill by now. She placed a hand over her heart and falsely winced, "That was rude."

     The rest of the family joined the two siblings a few moments later. Lucile took one last glance at her checklist and made sure everything was where it needed to be. She nodded toward Noah, gesturing for him to go first. Noah agreed happily, always loving the attention he'd get from the entire family staring at him as he successfully transports to King's Cross Station.

     Next went Anthony and Lucile, not caring to wait until Thomas crosses over first. The boy looked up at his sister, scared she was going to be next, leaving him all alone.

     She chose to go after Thomas, much to his delight. That was the first look of comfort he's had all day. Cressida had to admit that she hated mushy love-sick feelings, but she loves her brother more than anything in the world. There's nothing she wouldn't do for him. Hell, she would kill away if it benefited Thomas. "I'll be right after you."

     He stepped into the fireplace with a hand full of Floo. With a confident voice (Cressida believed it was most likely faked), Thomas said sternly, "King's Cross Station!" as he threw the powder to the floor.

     Green fire erupted from the fireplace as he disappeared along with it. Cressida always loved watching people transport using Floo; she just found it so mesmerizing. But now it was her turn. She grabbed a handful of powder in her left hand and placed herself neatly into the fireplace. Just as Thomas and the rest of her family had before her, she threw the Floo to the ground and said, "King's Cross Station."