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AFTER LAST NIGHT, the next day was much better──one of the better days in her new school year. Since she had practiced her Vanishing Spell until she had near perfected it, she went through her Transfiguration class with ease. And her lunch was far more relaxing than her friends who had spent their lunch finishing up their bowtruckle pictures, and even though, Professors McGonagall, Grubbly-Plank, and Sinistra gave them yet more homework, Este was completely fine. Most of her friends had finally begun to understand the stress of their fifth year──and had begun to panic. Atlas, however, was the only one who stayed unbothered. Atlas was born exceedingly smart compared to most children──at the ripe age of three he was levitating everything in Grimmauld Place──at five, Grandmere sent him to France where he would begin studying under friends of hers, and ever since then, Atlas spent his summers and all holidays burying himself on his studies, studying until his nose bled and would pass out from fatigue.
Atlas was smart──but he strongly believed that his smarts and connections would only get him so far in life. He would have to work hard to truly exceed his limits──no, Atlas believed that with his smarts, connections and drive, he knew he was destined for greatness──where his father lacked, Atlas Black excelled. His father had been one who never tried hard──Regulus Black had everything handed to him on a plate of gold with a spoon crusted with diamonds. Atlas had not been born with the luxuries like his father──for House Black was declining when Atlas arrived. The War had just ended, Regulus was dead, his wife was dead, and Sirius was imprisoned, his wife disappeared. Maybe on the account of their history, House Black had not lost their connections but had instead only lost their political influence. Atlas had vowed to save his family──preserved it. It was a late winter night, and Grandmere was crying as she usually did when Atlas promised her to preserve the family. Atlas was Grandmere's pride, Este──Grandmere's joy.
Heir and Spare──Pride and Joy──Atlas and Este.
Atlas bore all the burdens and enjoyed all the privileges of heir──Este blossomed in the freedoms of being the spare yet wilted in the shadows of her Eldest Cousin──her brother. Growing up, Grandmere made sure the Black cousins knew of their duties and roles. Este was meant to bejewel the family name and Atlas was meant to preserve it. As the two of them sat next to one another in the great hall, even then, anyone could see the difference between the Blacks. The Sun and The Moon──Yin and Yang──Fire and Ice──Este and Atlas.
Thursday passed in a haze of tiredness and Friday dawned sullen and sodden as the rest of the week. But Este was the first to wake up in her dormitory the next morning. She lay for a moment watching dust swirl in the chink of sunlight falling through the gap in his four-poster's hangings and savored the thought that it was Saturday. The first week of term seemed to have dragged on forever, like one gigantic History of Magic lesson. Judging by the sleepy silence and the freshly minted look of that beam of sunlight, it was just after daybreak. She pulled open the curtains around her bed, got up, and started to dress. The only sound apart from the distant twittering of birds was the slow, deep breathing of her friends. He opened his schoolbag carefully, pulled out parchment and quill, and headed out of the dormitory for the common room.
