Poison

Celeste lay on her bed, smoking the last remaining bits of a joint. It was very early in the morning, the only time of the day she got any privacy. There were a few girls in her year that liked to cause trouble for her. Or rather, stop trouble that Celeste was causing. One of these girls was Lily Evans, a prefect who wasn't necessarily a bad person (she was actually quite nice when she wasn't being a self righteous idiot) but liked to be the picture perfect prefect.

She disposed of the joint with a charm she had learned last week. Professor Flitwick had been thrilled when she had mastered it on the second try.

"Lumos." she whispered, crawling across the comforter and taking a notebook, ink and quill, and a large manual from the nightstand. She flipped through the notebook first, passing possible names for future children and poems, landing on a note scrawled by her good friend, James Potter. He had written "Don't forget to ask Harrison about the Quidditch helmet." Celeste knew her older brother would be sending it any day now.

She flipped through more pages, and caught sight of another note, this time written by James' best friend Sirius Black. "Will you go out with me?" Celeste laughed to herself. It was just one attempt in a sea of many, many tries by Mr. Black in the five years that she had known him; he was only one boy that had asked her.

The boys at Hogwarts made a point to annoy her. This "sport" was almost as popular as Quidditch. They were infatuated by her eyes and her curves, and all of the things on the outside. She was sure that very few of them knew her middle name (it was Aryan) or her favorite color (deep purple). She hated being the object of their superficial fantasies. It made her ill sometimes to think of it because she had always wanted to be more than just a toy for them, to be more than a seen being, a pretty face. There were two boys at Hogwarts who never expressed that sort of interest in her, and they were James Potter and Remus Lupin, two of her very close friends. For that, she respected both of them.

Celeste rolled herself out of bed, tossing the coverlet back from her. It was five am and much earlier than anyone should ever wake. She pulled the curtains of her bed open, meeting darkness. She stumbled through the wardrobe that was adjacent to her bed and pulled on a long t shirt and jeans. It was Saturday morning and snores rang throughout the dormitory. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to release a few of the stubborn snags that no amount of conditioner could prevent. She misstepped as she made her way towards her vanity and she heard a high pitched yelp. "I'm sorry!" she whispered at the dog.

She pointed her lit wand at her face and looked in the mirror. The light shone bright on her face, illuminating the deep blue (sometimes black) eyes. Celeste had streaks of mascara on her cheeks that she quickly wiped away. Her hair was a mess but this was Saturday: everyone had an excuse for looking like shit on Saturday morning, and that excuse was Friday night. Especially since it had been a Hogsmeade visit - she had spent the evening at The Three Broomsticks drinking mead with the rest of her friends. James Potter had invited her to his table where she was welcomed by the boys as usual. Most boys liked her as company.

Celeste slipped on her striped socks and simple black shoes and ran down the stairs from the dorm into the common room. She was immediately greeted by the sight of a tall, dark haired teenage boy laying on the couch in front of the fire. Celeste's heart jumped. Why is he awake at this hour? The boy was scribbling something on a long piece of parchment. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked up and grinned widely.

"Why hello there. What's a pretty little thing like yourself doing up this early?"

Celeste cringed. "I've told you not to refer to me as if I'm a doll."

"Don't be so serious. It's my job to be Sirius."

"You're such an idiot."

"And you're such a babe." He giggled and sat up, putting the piece of parchment into his pocket. He watched her roll her eyes and walk towards the portrait hole.

"Where y'goin?" he inquired, the words mashing together.

Celeste turned, flushed and indignant. "Excuse me, stupid, but I have to go down to the kitchen and make sure they're going to be catering my party later this afternoon."

Sirius jumped off the couch and bounded towards the girl. "Great! I love food and parties. When is this gala, I'll have to clear my schedule!" She scowled at him. "Or I could come down to the kitchens with you and we'll eat muffins and talk about girl things." He batted his eyelashes at her.

Celeste stepped out of the portrait hole, fuming. She growled her response. "If you follow me, I'm kicking your ass."

She heard him say nonchalantly, "But you'll be touching my ass, and that's what I want."