Oblivion ━━ Sirius Black

9 | ᴀ ғɪʟᴛʜʏ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ

"Darling Easton,

I suspect the news of the Yule party has reached you at last.

Oh, my dear, your father and I are so happy to be hosting it this year; last time Walburga Black looked too smug for my liking, that horrible woman.

I'm writing to let you know that you need not preoccupy yourself with finding the perfect dress, for I have got you a most exquisite attire. I'm sure you will simply love it; I can already see how marvelously it will bring out your eyes, dear.

I wish you the happiest of journeys back home, darling. Marius will be meeting you at the platform, as I have a lot of things to see to before the party.

P.S Be nice to Evan, he will be coming with you straight to the Manor. Oh and darling, do fix your hair!

Love, Mother. "

Easton scoffed indignantly and threw the letter into the depths of her overstuffed trunk. The contents of it hadn't surprised her one bit, for she had expected nothing more than dull party chatter from her mother.

Quite unexpected, however, was that her cousin Marius was in town after almost a year abroad. Granted, he never missed Christmas but Easton genuinely thought he wouldn't be coming back in the near future.

Marius was the one member of her extended family she actually liked, not because she had to, but because she chose to. With a laid-back attitude that earned him several threats of being disowned, the one and only male Greengrass heir was akin to an idol to Easton, who someday wished to be as skilled in the mastery of not giving a bloody fuck, too.

Of course, there were moments when Easton despised him. A lot, actually.

See, Marius Greengrass, in spite of his many faults that included great love for potions (and not the kind that Professor Slughorn assigned), and a hankering after Mr. Ogden's legacy, was the perfect picture of an entitled pure-blooded brat with mountains of gold in his vault, good looks and an almighty family name.

But he wasn't Evan, and that alone was enough for Easton to like the bloke.

Picking up a quill, Easton scribbled a short "Yes, Mother dearest" and hurried to the owlery to make there before the dinner began, which she was planning to ever so casually ditch. There wasn't really a valid reason for it apart from the fact that she just didn't want to be present, and decided she'd go take a walk around the castle to escape the festive bustle.

Penelope would surely be with her newfound lover anyway, not that Easton minded, so she wouldn't really have anyone to spend the day with and, as it turned out, the holiday, too. According to Penny, Andrew's family had gone to Spain, and the caring girlfriend she was, Penelope decided to stay with him at Hogwarts because she didn't want him "to be alone for our first Christmas together". Just like that, the slim chance of sneaking away to her best friend's house during the break was ruined, too.

Easton wasn't hurt; no, she was happy for Penelope. At least she should've been. And so she let out a loud sigh, worthy of a martyr, put on the robes and, wrapping a simple green woolen scarf around her neck, headed to the owlery.

On the path to the West Tower which wended its way through the snowy grounds of the castle, Easton remembered just why she loved winter so much. The outside looked like a fairytale, with blankets of snow shining as if made of billions of diamonds under the dim light of the moon. Easton climbed up the stairs, making sure not to slip, and entered the noisy owlery. She was happy to find her favorite owl, a beautiful western screech, that Easton had so fittingly called Bambi, for the bird had almost the same coloring, roosting on one of the lower perches. She almost screeched at the sight of the girl, as if genuinely happy to see her.