.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・.

     ROUGHLY NINE HOURS LATER, the train had finally made it to Hogwarts. The pair ended up finding Regulus in an empty compartment, reading a book. Cressida introduced Thomas to the young Black and quickly made conversation. They talked about all sorts of things such as the sorting ceremony (Regulus told Thomas not to be worried), Quidditch (Regulus tried convincing Thomas that the sport was fun), favorite sweets and books, and a bunch of other things.

     Cressida didn't participate in the conversation much, instead allowing her best friend and brother to bond. After the third hour passed, though, she decided to get some sleep. Since she had been woken up so early this morning because of her mother's screaming, she could finally appreciate some peace and quiet. The girl got some much-deserved sleep.

     Eventually, Thomas and Cressida had to part ways. He had to go with the rest of the first years to the boats while the other students took the carriages. She knew that he was about to experience one of the greatest things ever: the boat ride to Hogwarts and entering the Great Hall for the first time. She could not wait to see the pure joy on his face as he walked into the grand room.

     But for now, she had to walk to the carriages with Regulus.

     "Your brother is quite nice to talk to," he started, dragging his luggage behind him. "He's not tainted by responsibility yet. I forgot what that looked like."

     With a sigh, Cressida nodded. "It'll be nice to finally be able to see him all year round." She didn't want to acknowledge what Regulus had said, knowing it was inevitable but still hating the thought of it. She wanted to protect him from everything she wished Noah protected her from. She wanted to be that older sibling Thomas could trust; something that she, herself, didn't have.

     Regulus was the same as Cressida. He too didn't have an older sibling to rely on. Sirius was on the brink of running away from home, although no one in the family wanted to address it. But Regulus knew. Regulus has always known. He always knew what his older brother was thinking at home, and has even seen him packing all his things, only to hesitate. Regulus knew the day was coming; the day that Sirius would leave and never come back.

     Maybe that's why they're the only friend each other has.

     "Anywho, which classes are you taking this year?" Cressida changed the subject, wanting to steer away from family conversations. It was their first day at Hogwarts and they were already moping about their relations.

     "All the core classes, study of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. I'm going to try out to be a Seeker for the Slytherin team," Regulus stated, nonchalantly. Cressida knew of his passion for the sport and knew that he's always wanted to become a Seeker. Surely, this year he'll get it.

     "Well, I'll be at the stands cheering you on when you do. I'm taking cores, same as you, plus Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures," the girl responded. She saw how Regulus grimaced at the mention of 'muggle studies'. Cressida understood that he did not like muggles at all, nor was she supposed to, but that didn't stop her curiosity. See, Regulus is dead set on agreeing with Grindelwald: he believed that pure-bloods were superior in every way.

     Cressida had to agree to some extent, she did believe pure-bloods are superior but not to the point of harming those who aren't. She also didn't believe in an unnecessary war. Cressida was perfectly fine with allowing muggle-borns to attend Hogwarts, she simply doesn't interact much with them...while Regulus was not.

     "Muggle Studies, really Cress?" Regulus' face contorted to show disgust. "You know your parents won't be happy once they find out."

     "And that's why I won't tell them. Not for as long as possible at least; eventually they'll find out. I simply want to postpone the day I do...and hopefully avoid getting a Howler as well." Howlers were popular amongst Hogwarts; students every day get yelled at through those embarrassing letters. Cressida would throw herself off the astronomy tower if she got reprimanded in the Great Hall. Luckily for her, Lucile and Anthony never sent Howlers, knowing they're quite embarrassing and drew unnecessary attention.

     "Waste of a class if you ask me," he grumbled, knowing better than to oppose his best friend over a topic she feels passionate about.

     "And that's why I didn't ask you," she playfully shoved his shoulder with a teasing smirk. "Hurry your arse Reg, we're going to miss the last carriage."

     From behind, a voice mimicking a higher, female pitch repeated, "Hurry your arse Reg."

     Cressida's eyes rolled at the poor imitation. She continued walking forward, "Don't you have something better to do?"

     "What do you want Sirius?" Regulus' tone darkened. He and his brother were not on the best of terms as of now. Regulus could still not believe Sirius' nerve to betray the family and debate running away.

     The four Marauders trailed behind the duo as Sirius continued, "Well, we don't want to miss the last carriage now, do we?"

     The four boys began running, trying to get onto the transport before Cressida and Regulus could be able to. There, in fact, had only been one carriage left, and the boys wanted it for themselves. They all helped each other get on and safely store their luggage.

     "I hate them," Cressida groaned. The carriage hadn't started moving and technically there was space for two more, but she didn't want to spend such a long while sitting close to those wankers. "How long is the walk do you reckon?"

     "Long," he replied. "Not to mention we'd be late to dinner."

     "Ugh, damn it. C'mon, we can still make it on. We can just ignore them the entire time." As much as Cressida wanted to believe she could ignore them, she was sure they wouldn't stop bothering her. It's in their nature.

     Two seconds before the carriage was set to depart, Cressida hopped on and extended her hand to help Regulus on board. The four boys looked at them with surprise. They would have never imagined the two of them would willingly sit near them. James sent a smirk toward the girl.

     Cressida sat uncomfortably at the edge of a seat, there not being enough room for anything more. She had to share her spot with the younger Black since both Sirius and James decided to take up practically the entire carriage.

     With a devilish smile, the boy with round glasses said, "Did I take your seat? Oh, I'm so terribly sorry." He and Sirius snickered with each other. Remus rolled his eyes and admired the dimly fit forest around them. Peter even tried moving over to give Cressida more space, but it was to no avail.

     "Doesn't your inability to be mature bother you?" Cressida taunted. "Surely by the age of fifteen, one would think you'd know how to behave, but clearly not."

     "Ooh, ouch! She got you there," Sirius slapped James' thigh, laughing violently. The curly-haired boy scrunched his nose, not finding a word of what she said true.

     "I can be mature...when people deserve it. Clearly," he mimicked her tone from earlier with a prideful smirk, "you do not."

     With a scoff, Cressida turned to Regulus, not asking for help but instead looking for a distraction. She feared that if she was left unchecked around these boys, she would be sent to Azkaban. Remus sighed, exhausted by all the banter. "Will you two bloody shut up?"

     "No," the two of them said at the same time. While Cressida could always use a distraction, she was never one to back down. She never admitted to being wrong, and never lost a fight. This situation was no different.

     Regulus grabbed Cressida's hand, indirectly telling her to drop it. He raised his voice so that everyone in the carriage could hear, "Don't waste your time arguing with blood traitors."

     The girl took in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Dropping the topic would go against everything she stood for, but it would be a real punch in the gut for James and Sirius. "You're exactly right," usually she didn't like using the blood status terms when speaking about living people, but today she just couldn't help it. "Filth isn't worth my time."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. 

     Surprisingly, the rest of the ride to Hogwarts was silent. Occasionally, the four boys would talk to each other quietly about stupid topics like teachers snogging other teachers, or potential ideas for pranks.

     Cressida and Regulus didn't speak at all, though. They were both enjoying the silence of the forest around them, sometimes looking up at the constellations. Cressida's favorite thing to do was stargazing; a habit that she's gotten Regulus to like as well.

     The secret to Cressida was that she was cold on the outside, because of her parents' expectations of her Slytherin role, but that was only partially the truth. She was much more complex than anyone knew. Not to mention that she changes her personality based on the people she's surrounded by.

     Around Regulus, she was allowed to be more relaxed with herself. However, she was still holding back. She had to steer away from topics that the Black family would not agree with. One wrong slip and the entire family could be against her. Regulus was her best friend, but he was not the greatest friend she could ever imagine.

     Around Thomas, Cressida had to act brave and 'older sisterly'. She had to be the shoulder he could lean on, but whose shoulder was Cressida leaning on?

     To the rest of the school, Cressida was simply another pure-blood supremacist because that's the reputation she painted for herself. And most of it was true. Hell, she even believes it most of the time. It has gotten to the point where she doesn't know what comfortable feels like -- not truly. Cressida didn't know who she was underneath the fronts she puts up.

     What the hell are you talking about? You're Cressida Thorne, pull yourself together ...a little voice in the back of her mind yelled at her. It was right, she had no reason to contemplate those thoughts. She was whoever her family needed her to be, because blood always comes first, no matter what.

    Instead of worrying about the identity crisis she almost just had, she focused on the large, familiar doors in front of her.

    The doors to the Great Hall finally opened. She trailed behind her fellow fifth years, plus Regulus, and glanced around the room with awe. Every single year it's like seeing the hall again for the first time. She made her way to the Slytherin table, already seeing a few of her classmates seated. Mulciber and Severus sat toward the middle of the table, laughing at some Hufflepuff students. Cressida rolled her eyes at them. It seems that they also have not matured over the summer either. Was she the only one that grew up?

     She took a seat next to Regulus and the infamously obnoxious Edmund Avery Jr, another fifth year student. Cressida and Edmund almost started dating last year, but the fling never took off as Edmund began harassing girls from all different houses, regardless of their blood status. That was something she could not stand, but to this day Edmund has kept trying to win her back.

     It wasn't like she chose to sit next to Edmund, but the seat was position perfectly so she would be able to see Thomas walking in for the first time, and his house sorting.

     "Oi, Cress!"

     Cressida's head dropped into her hands at the sound of Noah's voice. He had been sitting at the far end of the table, which she purposely stayed away from. It was where all the seventh years sat, practically reserving the place for themselves. If anyone has the audacity to sit there, Noah and his friends would make sure to cause consequences.

     "What?" she impatiently asked.

     At the sound of her voice, Edmund turned his attention to her. He hadn't realized she was sitting directly next to him until now. He inched closer, "Hey, flower."

     Cressida cringed at the nickname. Edmund decided to call her 'flower' because her last name was 'Thorne' and flowers had thorns on them. It wasn't the most original of nicknames since that was the extent of Edmund's creative ability.

     Edmund even tried to grasp the girl's arm, but she roughly shook him off. "Do not touch me."

     Noah got to the situation just in time. "Piss off, Avery." At the sight of the boy's obedient nod, Noah smirked. He loved having all lower-class men absolutely terrified of him. Even Cressida appreciated it from time to time. Avery did just what Noah said and left his seat, going to sit next to Snape instead.

     He greeted Regulus briefly and got back to the conversation with his sister. "Can I borrow Dahlia for Transfiguration next week? We were supposed to bring animals but I forgot one."

     Cressida's nose scrunched at the thought of what Noah could possibly need Dahlia for. He would probably end up killing her instead of transforming the owl into a cat. "Absolutely not. You are not permitted near Dahlia."

     Noah knew he could not be visibly angry with his sister, but he wanted to retaliate in public, but badly. "I'll fail then."

  "Congrats. Now if that's all you'll be needing, please go back to the sad corner you came from." She sent him a sarcastic wave goodbye and saw him grumbling all the way back to his friends. It seemed that even the Slytherin Prince can be bossed around. But Cressida knew this wasn't over. As soon as they weren't in public, Noah would be attacking her both verbally and physically — like normal.

     A few moments later, the grand doors opened once more, revealing all first-year students. The ceiling crackled with thunder and lightning as if copying the excitement coming from the kids. Cressida searched the crowd for her brother's blond hair, but it was harder than she'd originally thought. Seems like a lot of first-years were blond.

     But Thomas' eyes searched for his older sister, catching her gaze immediately. Her face softened at seeing his happy expression. Suddenly she had forgotten all about Gasper and Noah; they didn't matter anymore. Nor had they ever but...

     All the new students marched up to the front of the room, still in awe of the place around them. Professor McGonagall stood on the steps, holding a large scroll of names in one of her hands. She wore her iconic witch hat and a strong smile on her face.

     "Now when I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head," she paused, picking the large brown hat up, "and you will be sorted into your house."

     "Abarough, Juliet!"

     One by one, the students stepped up and took their seats under the Sorting Hat. Each sorting took no longer than thirty seconds, each first-year having an obvious house to belong to. And finally, it was Thomas' turn.

     "Thorne, Thomas!"

     Once he heard McGonagall call his name, his heart froze. Well, not literally, but he felt like it did. With wide eyes, Thomas stepped forward and hesitantly sat down on the stool. He shut his eyes closed and repeated one phrase in his mind, "please be Slytherin."

     As the Hat finally landed on his head, Thomas' thoughts were no longer his own. He heard the Hat's voice speaking in his mind; having a conversation with the boy. "Another Thorne? You want to follow in their footsteps? As a Slytherin, eh?"

     Thomas didn't allow his thoughts to drift off too much, fearing the Hat would learn the true reason behind needing to be a Slytherin. Thomas simply didn't want to disobey his parents.

     "I sense a great deal of wit coming from you, thinking you could outsmart me?" the Hat chuckled in his mind, something that threw Thomas off guard for a split moment. He didn't even know hats could laugh?

     "Ah, a thirst to prove yourself? But is it your own desire, or your parents? Believe Slytherin is the best for you, hm? Well, I doubt that." the Hat continued, "You enjoy private moments to yourself and find yourself often studying up on topics much harder than your level. You fear losing in academics."

     "That's not true, I can be a Slytherin!" Thomas tried arguing, though he knew the Hat was correct.

     The Hat laughed once more, "You don't like being pressured into friendships and conversations. You reserve your free time for those who deserve it. You have anger towards Slytherins...so why wish to be in the house?"

     "Because..." he trailed off. His heart was not with the Slytherins, but would his parents allow him to be selfish just this once? This is the house he'll be in for the next seven years; would he be miserable if he obeyed his parents? This was his future they were talking about, not theirs. They already lived their lives.

     "Ah, finally thinking straight," the Hat's tone lightened up, pleased to hear the boy's decision. Out of all the houses, there was one in particular that remained in the back of his mind. It was the house he'd originally wanted to be placed in before his parents said anything about Slytherin. But now, he was allowing that desire to come true. So, the Hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

     Thomas' smile grew upon hearing the word. Although his parents would be terribly angry with him, he had to put himself first. This was his future. And he thought of Cressida's words from before, "Besides, you could never make mum and dad mad, no matter what house you're in."

     However, both Noah and Cressida's faces dropped upon hearing the Hat's decision. All the colour drained from her face as a cold shiver spread throughout her body. Noah was pissed whilst Cressida was shocked. She hadn't believed Thomas would actually take her words to heart. She had always known there was no place for him in Slytherin, but she hadn't expected him to openly disobey their parents.... it was very uncharacteristic of Thomas.

     Nevertheless, a bittersweet smile appeared on her face. She was proud of him for being able to do what she wasn't five years ago. She was proud of himself for being able to become his own character, not a shell of what Lucile wanted him to be -- a mistake Cressida made for herself. Although, her parents would most likely take their anger out on her...

     The hall lit up in cheers as Thomas was welcomed into the Ravenclaw table. He shook hands with other students and looked back at Cressida, hoping she wouldn't be angry.

     She mouthed, "Good choice," to her brother, reassuring him that he should follow his heart rather than his mind, even if Cressida herself felt unsure about the decision. Thomas' smile grew larger.

     Suddenly, Noah appeared right next to his sister once more, however this time he was visibly disturbed. "How could he not get Slytherin? He's perfect for us! Mum and da --"

     The girl cut him off, feeling the urge to defend her younger brother. "No one cares what mother and father say, at least he clearly doesn't. If you thought he belonged with us, then you obviously need a pair of glasses. You just have to grow up and realize that Thomas isn't a mini you, so stop treating him as such."

     Realization dawned on Noah's face. "It was you, wasn't it? You told him to not pick Slytherin," his tone got darker as he pointed a finger in his sister's face accusingly. "How dare you -- he'll be a disgrace to the family name now, just like that Sirius Black!"

     Cressida swatted his finger away, "Fuck off, Noah. Don't speak about your own brother like that. Sirius Black is a traitor to his family for multiple reasons, not for just being in Gryffindor. Thomas is nothing like him. Besides, I did no such thing. This was entirely his decision."

     Once she shooed Noah away as he stormed back to his friends, Regulus leaned in to the girl, asking, "How do you think your parents will react?"

     "Oh," she sighed, worried about what was to come for Thomas and herself. "They'll go ballistic."