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chapter eleven:
a not so merry christmas
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CAPELLA BLACK NEVER had a typical Christmas experience as a child. Instead of new pyjamas and ripping open gifts under a tree, she had been forced into an uncomfortable corset and told to stand and look pretty at the annual Pureblood Christmas ball.
It wasn't all bad, however. Capella had her brothers by her side as they politely greeted the guests and as she got older she even became more appreciative of the intricate dresses she was forced to wear.
When it got so late that her feet were positively aching in her sparkling heels, she would pretend that she was a beautiful princess in one of those muggle storybooks Sirius had gifted her from when he snuck out to talk to some of the children in the neighbourhood.
Capella would let her thoughts wander and imagine that she had her very own prince, a true love, who would arrive like a noble warrior to whisk her away. Her dreams were consumed with images of a quaint but cozy cottage near a seemingly endless forest. The exact opposite of the bleak manor walls and echoing rooms she was so used to. She dreamt of waking up to sounds of happy laughter each morning and the smell of fresh baking. Capella longed for the feeling of pure bliss of running around not caring whether or not she would ruin her hair or her gown. Just like a fairytale princess.
Capella learned quite quickly that no one was going to rescue her from the colossal mess that was her family. So the dreams of a fairytale life faded away until she had nothing but her siblings to keep her sane during the holidays. And for a while it was more than enough. Regulus would whisper hilarious teasing comments about the guests while Sirius would play small pranks on those that walked by. Capella hadn't needed an imaginary storybook life, the one she had could be pretty magical.
Capella blinked away the cloudiness in her eyes as she focused on the sting of the tight shoes digging into her feet. This year she didn't have her fairytales and she didn't have her brothers either. Regulus had upgraded from making small talk to being paraded around in the large group of bigoted pureblood men who all thought that they were gods. Capella noticed that Regulus didn't look as uncomfortable as she had hoped. He was getting used to being the heir and the duties that went along with it. She could only hope that she would be able to pull him out before he was in too deep. He never had been a good swimmer.
At least Sirius was having a good time, Capella mused as she gave as warm of a greeting as she could manage to the Greengrass family.
In their third year, Sirius had refused to come home with herself and Regulus and instead chose to spend the break with the Potters. He had arrived back sporting the largest grin she had ever seen and couldn't help feeling incredibly jealous as he told her about how welcoming they had been.
