September First

The Slytherins

She chewed on her thumbnail as she paced the corridor and checked the time once again.

They were late. They were never late.

Huffing she leant against the wall outside the door guarding the Slytherin common room. An expectant smile tugged at her lips as someone slowly began to emerge out into the corridor but, before she could exclaim her welcome and scold them for their lateness, Bellatrix and Narcissa Black were revealed. Their jaws dropped as they caught sight of the girl hanging around outside their common room.

"Dax-er-you!" Narcissa exclaimed pretending she didn't know the disowned Lestrange girl's name as her sister glared down to her. Pushing her hair from her face, with an awkward cough, she straightened up coldly, her face falsely arrogant as she looked the other girl up and down "W-what are you doing here?"

Daxia arched her eyebrows as she pushed away from the wall. There had always been something weird about Sirius's cousins but there was something off about Narcissa in particular; she lurked. Ever since her first September First when Daxia (who had been a trembling, terrified mess laughed at and teased by the Marauders a moment later) stood up to her mother she'd always been there in the background, seeming as though she wanted to join in.

But of course wanting to join in with a disowned member of her own family and a disowned member of the Lestrange family was frowned upon. Especially when she continually had Bellatrix breathing down her neck. So she just stood there.

"Meeting Rabastan and Rodolphus," Daxia replied with a frown, surely it was obvious what she was doing outside the Slytherin common room when she was in Gryffindor. Surely her cousins had spoken of her to their class and housemates, told them how they regularly met up when they had free time.

"You're what?" Bellatrix's shock told her otherwise. There was jealousy hidden deep within her tone; Rodolphus was hers to meet up with, to get to know. No matter what her younger sister assumed Bella remained nervous about her union with Daxia's cousin. He was intelligent, good looking and well informed on the wizarding war happening on the outside of their sheltered lives in the castle and she admired him for his bravery and for his plans yet couldn't help but remain unsure whether or not he was as into their arranged marriage as she was.

Stubbornness tensing her jaw Daxia took a step towards the two girls with her arms tightly crossed "Could you just go and get them please."

With slight hesitation Bellatrix turned to head back into the common room, leaving an awkward looking Narcissa pretending to be interested in her nails, appearing once again a few moments later "They're coming and they're not happy," she informed Daxia, a slight smile of victory on her face before she grasped hold of her sister's arm and headed in the direction of the library.

Daxia was rolling her eyes as her two cousins, possibly the only ones left in her family still speaking to her, appeared beside her with typical Lestrange scowls on their faces "Aw you look just like your dad!" she teased reaching up to pinch Rodolphus's cheek.

He pulled away from her "Telling Bella we meet up with you all the time," he grumbled as he batted her hand away.

"Embarrassed of me?" she asked with a laugh in her tone. Of course they were embarrassed of her. She was a Gryffindor who was best mates with a muggleborn, Sirius Black and James Potter. Their entire family were embarrassed of her (letting her know each and every summer while she attempted to hide away in her room or did something in the hope she'd be sent to Mary's between her secret visits to the Potters').

Luckily, though the older of the two was still in a grumpy mood, Rabastan smiled as he poked her in the shoulder "Don't be ridiculous. Just the family...y'know."