Re-defining the nuclear family

Out of all the places in the castle Gisele had missed Ravenclaw Tower the most over the summer. She figured it was that way for everyone. Like they had told her in the first year, her house would become their home away from home. Gisele remembered the little spark of doubt that had crossed her mind when the hat had shouted out Ravenclaw at the sorting ceremony. But right after her Julien had followed and when he sat beside her at the long table she had known that she had nothing to fear.. brother was here. They had explored this very common room together and even though they had gotten their own groups of friends fairly quickly they had still always looked after each other.

Gisele was lounging in the fluffiest chair by the fire. The last bits of summer kept it warm during the days but in the evening things were starting to cool down enough that the heat from the fire felt inviting on her skin. It was still early, seven or so, and Gisele had half a mind to go upstairs and change into sweatpants but the she was so comfortable right now it just seemed like a shame to move. She had just returned from dinner and her belly felt pleasantly full. Gisele knew that if she stayed here much longer it was very possible that she would fall asleep right where she was. This would probably result in her flashing half of Ravenclaw house in her sleep.

Gisele stretched in a somewhat catlike fashion, happily staring into the flickering flames in front of her. Ravenclaw Tower was a sanctuary. So far Gisele had managed not to create any worst enemies within her own house, letting her roam through Raven territory without fear of running into anyone too awful. And honestly, Gis was happy that Millie didn't have access to her dorm. She loved her friend to death but she needed a place that could be hers. The brunette scanned the room for any friendly faces. Some students were still down at dinner but most were slowly filing into the common room for an evening of socializing. It was still so early on that the perks of living with your friends had not yet been overshadowed by the promise of homework.

Seeing no one of interest, Gisele reached for her bag, unwillingly resigning to do homework until friends returned from stuffing themselves with delicious munchies.

OOC: outfit

"And those are just the most popular places to see. Well, tourists fill them all up pretty well, don't they?" The Chamberlain twins nodded and gazed at Julien admiringly. Earlier, the boy had found himself being sat with the girls in Alchemy class. No sooner had that happened, he had then found himself with new friends, again. It was a good thing that he loved people. Every new term, no matter how bizarrely gloomy, brings a prospect of new beginnings to a boy who was always up for a challenge from change. Mostly, though, he always found himself with new acquaintances. Well, at least he never had a problem on that front. It always came too naturally.

"Yes, of course!" He nodded in agreement, with a cheery grin. The girls wanted to know more about France, and specifically, were particularly interested in the hometown of the Delacours. "Well, I'll see you two again in class?" Then, with a wink at one, he turned and skipped away, all the way, until he found himself at the Ravenclaw Tower. It was, despite whatever else the Castle could offer, still the best place at Hogwarts. Well, Ravenclaws would generally all agree on that, won't they?

"Gissy!" Julien pounced, and almost glomped, his twin sister. The Common Room was made more delightful at the sight of her. Of course they fought like most brothers and sisters. Fortunately, the boy finds great joy in teasing and bickering with his sister. Without asking, he slid himself into what was supposed to be a fluffy and comfortable seat in the room. That would have entailed some sort of space, but Julien's bum fighting for that space with Gisele's had effectively eliminated the luxury afforded to her at first.

"I still can't believe you're not taking Alchemy with me," he started. Then, with a slow grin that spread from left to right, he continued. "It's a good thing I don't have to see your face all the time. It's boring!" There was certainly a tongue-in-cheek about that.

“So you’re doing father’s dirty work now are you?”

In the dank, dark shadow of Hogsmeade, the only light coming from the orange glow of the flickering gas street lamp a couple of meters down from where they were stooped in an alleyway, Cerelia glared up through her eyelashes at her brothers who were stood anxiously before her, exchanging their body weight from one foot to each other, both wearing a similar pained look on their faces. They looked terribly uncomfortable to be in the dim of the alley, as if they had never been privy to such shady dealings. They were watching the entrance to the alley with nervous eyes, expressions that were beginning to irritate Cerelia somewhat who was overly used to meeting with their father behind shops or in the Hog’s Head or even, Merlin forbid, the Shrieking Shack.

The threesome departed without a resolution, irritation replacing the otherwise jovial moods. The brothers Apparated away and the young woman did the same, the chill in the air making her disinclined to walk the long route back up to the gates of Hogwarts. Once she’d made her presence known on the grounds she began the brisk walk back up the castle, entering quarter of an hour after she’d left the boys, her mood showing no signs of improvement. Upon entering the warmth of the castle though, her mood lifted and she began to pick up speed, taking to steps at a time up to the Ravenclaw tower where upon entering, she collided with a seventh year who appeared to be completely disgruntled by her very existence, let alone her folly.

So naturally, Cerelia did not apologise. Instead she called him an arse and took for the girl’s dormitory where, there, she slipped her clothes off and showered away her dismay at the hours prior.

The girl did not return down to the common room until well after she’d showered having grown tired with the book that she’d been reading. So quickly she dressed in what clothes she could find but just as she made to leave, caught sight of what she’d been trying to hide – what had caught her brother’s attention in the first place. Moving towards the mirror, the girl looked at the snake slithering under her skin at the inside of her elbow. With a heavy sigh, she moved back to her trunk in search of some bandage to conceal it and then found herself a jumper to cover the bandages. It was only then that she felt she could leave. It was not something she could explain to anyone. Not to herself, not to Kat and certainly not to anyone else.

The common room was fairly empty though it was not without its atmosphere As she descended the stairs she heard the squeals of girls and the shout of a very familiar voice. Julien Delacour was in the room, as was – if his words were any indication – his sister. Cerelia stalled at the bottom of the stairs, hesitant to press forward. But in the end she did so, crossing the room so as to stand before the Delacours, her gaze focused on Gisele as she asked:

“Do you mind if I sit with you two?”

Gisele gave a fake frown at her brothers prod. She couldn't help but be entertainer by Julien's jovial smile and infectious laugh. It was no wonder that he seemed to be constantly surrounded by a swarm of admirers and friends, his good nature was hard to resist for long. Although their beauty was arguably on the same level, Gisele had never done as well as Julian in the social department. She lacked the basic magnetic pull that her brother seemed to have in excess. Lots of people wanted to get in her pants, but there were very few who sat back and just said 'wow, I really wish I was her friend.' And honestly, Gisele didn't mind this. 

"It's probably for the best." Gisele mused with a playful smile. "I wouldn't want to be showing you up." She gave him a poke on the shoulder and a cheeky grin. Amazingly, the twins were in few classes together this year. In Gisele's opinion it was better this way. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 

Gisele was just starting to feel comfortable in their cramped seating arrangement when she heard a voice and looked up. Cerelia stood there, looking directly at Gisele and the brunette couldn't help but smile softly at her. She hadn't seen the girl since arriving back at school and had been secretly waiting for the event with joyful anticipation. Their short time in Italy together had been enough to make Gisele quite fond of the other girl. But obviously their friendship was still tentative while in the walls of the caste - they had left last year having barely spoken to one another. 

"Please do. We were just discussing how absolutely beautiful Jules thinks I am." she grinned widely and winked at her brother. There were several more chairs scattered close by (this was prime seating after all) and Gisele sincerely hoped that Cerelia would choose one of those instead of joining them on this one. Well, maybe Gisele wouldn't mind the closeness, but it would start to get really clown car-ish. "Julien, have you met Cerelia?" she motioned between them in introduction. "Julien, Cerelia. Cerelia, this is my little brother Julien." Younger by a whooping six minutes.. But she never missed a chance to remind him of it. 

Katarina had always felt that she lived on the outskirts of the pureblood community. Where the girls who were born to be her companions were outgoing with dynamic personalities, Katarina seemed to lack the social skills to really rise up in their world. This fact would be more worrisome to her if she didn't have the lovely genetics of Augustus and Cordelia. The two had produced a fine canvas to paint the rest of her beauty on. Katarina had come to work hard on it, perfecting the technique for everything from the perfect lipstick to how to suitably dress her figure. She was her greatest masterpiece.

Katarina walked up the last flight of stairs to Ravenclaw tower. She stood out in the the sea of black and momentarily felt self conscious about it. For all of the years that she had remained completely overlooked, being watched still did not sit quite right with her. But she was slowly growing to enjoy the attention of her peers. To crave it. But the shrinking violet within her wasn't leaving without a hell of a fight. Whenever these things got her worked up, food was a comfort to her. This also meant, having just come from dinner, that Katarina was in a surprisingly good mood. She chatted silly nothings with the girl who walked beside her and they entered the common room together. When the girl spotted her friends she bid Katarina farewell and left her to find her own entertainment for the evening.

Much too awake for sleep, Katarina scanned the increasingly crowded room for someone familiar. Her eyes settled on the blonde that was, for all intents and purposes, her best friend. With a smile she headed over to the group that Cerelia had become a part of. By the time that she was standing within it she saw that it was made up of her roommate Gisele Delacour, Julien Delacour, and, of course, Cerelia herself. Pleased with who was there, she wordlessly sat crosslegged on the floor so her back would rest up against an in-occupied chair. It wasn't as if everyone in the circle belonged to the closest of her friends but she knew them all well enough that she felt comfortable in joining their party without further explanation. Gisele was still talking to Cerelia, so Katarina turned to Julien and gave him a little smile of greeting.

OOC: outfit