Chapter One. doe-eyed girl

Celestine was, in her father's words, too curious for her own good. She'd always been, a million questions running through that tiny brain of hers. She supposed she got it from her mother, Andromeda Tonks always smiling with mischief, wondering about things she knew she'd never get answers to. That was Celestine to a T, one of the many things she shared with her sister.

Perhaps they were so curious because the sisters had been hidden away all their lives. Nymphadora would tell her stories about her childhood, long before she was born, that she was always a rather lonely child. All she had with their mother and father, and while that was enough, she didn't have any other family. She didn't know her family. And after discovering the history, Dora really didn't want to know them, and she always told her sister to not ask about them.

It wasn't until she started Hogwarts that Dora discovered what having friends was like, and having met Bill and Charlie Weasley, they became her closest friends. Most of the people she attended school with didn't know how to feel about her, especially because Dora was born a Metamorphmagus (Celestine thought it was fucking awesome) and she often changed her appearance to trick her professors.

But the sisters were best friends, desperate their large age difference, and before Celestine started her first year at Hogwarts, Dora was the only friend she had.

Eventually, Celestine did figure out her family's history, part of it, anyway. Andromeda only told her the good parts, though there wasn't many, it was enough to fulfill her curiosity. She told her about her childhood with her sisters, the secret conversations they would have though she didn't speak of what they were, and her cousins. Celestine desperately wanted to know more about her mother's life, but after hearing her cry herself to sleep while her father held her close, she didn't ask anymore questions.

So these were the things Celestine knew:

      1. Her mother was disowned for falling in love and marry her father, she and her family now consider outcasts.
    
      2. Her family was of the purest blood lines, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Celestine never knew about them until she attended Hogwarts, and then her last name caused talk amongst the professors. None of them knew her but they knew of her, and it was the same for her cousin, Draco Malfoy, whom Celestine didn't even know until her first year at Hogwarts (they weren't friends, of course, but they knew each other. It was hard to ignore one another).

      3. Her mother's cousin, and just happened to be her favorite, was Sirius Black, a name that Celestine didn't know until she grabbed a copy of the Daily Prophet and saw his face on the cover: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WIZARD? He'd escaped from Azkaban where he'd been since Dora was born. She was the relative of a mass murderer. But everyone will tell you that's she's not. Her mother was disowned, she shared no ties with the Black family. But she did.

Knowing these things, Celestine tried growing up forgetting them, not thinking of them, for the sake of her family. She was a Tonks. She loved her mother and father, she loved her sister. They were all she needed. She was starting her third year at Hogwarts. Dora was already long graduated and giving her all the advice in the world on what to expect.

"Care of Magical Creatures was my favorite, along with Charms. You're a teenager now, Celeste. Things are going to change for you. Prepare yourself for them."

Celestine wrote to all of her friends, telling them how excited she was to see them once they returned. She wrote Paisley first, then Ezra, then Cedric. To most people it was strange that Cedric would be friends Celestine and then, seeing how they were younger, but one of the greatest qualities of being a Hufflepuff was loyalty. Andromeda often envied her daughters for their house placements but on the other hand, she was grateful they weren't placed in Slytherin.

She sat at the kitchen table with parchment surrounding her, her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail which served no purpose seeing as though her bangs kept getting in the way of her vision. She constantly found herself blowing hair out of her face.

"Hi, darling," her mother's silky voice caused her to lift her eyes from the parchment. Andromeda came into the kitchen, smiling like she always did. "What are you doing?"

"Writing to my friends," Celestine answered and put her quill back into the ink, "Paisley's been telling me about her trip to Amsterdam. Best food she's ever tasted, she says."

"Ohh," her mother hummed and pulled out the chair next to her, "then she's never tasted your father's cooking."

She chuckled. Turning her head, Celestine saw her father outside in the garden, his sleeves rolled up, sweat dripping from his skin, and he carried a basket in his arms. "That chicken stew is really food." She said

"Ah, the best," said Andromeda with a giggle. She titled her head, kind eyes on her daughter's face. "Are you excited to start your third year?"

"I'm excited to see my friends again," Celestine replied with a small nod, "not so excited to hear about what's going on in the Daily Prophet." Seeing her mother frown, she instantly felt guilty. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive."

"It's alright, love," her mum dismissed, "I'm so sorry you found out this way."

In all honesty, Andromeda had no intention on telling her daughters the truth about her family, but she knew they would ask questions eventually. Having to tell Celestine about Sirius was more painful than not talking about it at all.

"It's terrifying," Celestine muttered, her eyes settled on the wedding ring on her mother's finger, "how does one break out of Azkaban?"

Andromeda hummed. "Magic?"

When she laughed, her daughter rolled her eyes. "Good one, mum."

"I can hear that laugh all the way outside," Ted spoke when he went the kitchen through the back door. The basket in his arms was full of vegetables. "What did I miss?"

"Just talking about magic. Something you don't know about," said Celestine with a smirk.

Her mother laughed again and her father put the basket of vegetables on the counter. He looked at her with a dropped jaw. "I happen to know a lot about magic, Fawn," When she was born, Ted's first thought was how much she resembled a baby deer with her eyes large and brown. He called her Fawn all through her first year of birth and it stuck ever since.

"Oh yeah, like what?" She challenged him.

"Well, I know magic brought me to meeting your mother," Ted began and walked up to his wife, setting his rough hands on her shoulders. Andromeda titled her head back and smiled at him. "I know magic because it's in her smile and her laugh and her kiss. I know magic because it's what I felt when your mother told me I was having daughters. Magic is my family."

The joking disappeared and Celestine smiled genuinely. "Only you can turn a joke into a meaningful speech, dad." She chuckled.

"I'll take the compliment," said her father and he leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to his wife's lips, "how does chicken stew sound for dinner?"

"Always!"

"That sounds wonderful, sweetheart," replied Andromeda. She told from the chair. "I'll phone Dora and have her come join us."

There was a silence and Celestine grabbed her quill to continue writing her letters. Hearing her father start to cut and clean the vegetables, she looked up again and caught his eye. He winked and she smiled.

Celestine woke up that morning nervous. Her stomach was bubbling with anxiety and excitement to be back at Hogwarts. She spent the entirely of the night before packing and organizing all of her books into her trunk, all while not being able to sleep until 3 am, which is why she had been spending the morning drinking tea that her father kept giving her. "Ted, she's thirteen," her mother had warned him.

"Never too young to enjoy the taste of my famous lavender tea."

"You're such a woman, father." Celestine had laughed.

It was a known fact that Andromeda could not cook. Ted always tried teaching her how to make simple meals, but she never could get the hang of it. And then they tried teaching their daughters and Andromeda's lack of cooking skills translated to both Nymphadora and Celestine. So yes, Celestine liked to compare her father to a woman, but she was also glad for it because without him, they'd probably never eat.

Nymphadora cried more than any of them when it was time for Celestine to get on the Hogwarts Express. "Oh, sissy, I hope you have the best time. Hopefully you'll get to see a hippogriff. That was always my favorite part of third year. Promise to write all the time —" the older sister blubbered while squeezing her tightly.

Celestine laughed, not paying attention to her almost breaking bones. "I promise, Dora, I'll write all the time. I love you."

Ted stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his hug warm. "I love you, Fawn. Have a great year." He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you too, dad," she whispered and grew a smile, "Don't forget to keep mum fed." Celestine giggled.

"Oh, I never do."

Lastly, Andromeda, with tears all over her face, hugged her daughter warmly. "I hate having to let you go." She said sentimentally.

Celestine smiled against her chest. "Mother, it's just for a few months and then I'll be home. You still have Dora and dad."

"Oh, I know, but you're my special girl," Andromeda pulled back and cupped her daughter's face, her brown eyes full of love, "listen, if anything happens while you're away, please tell me. I want you to be safe."

"I promise I'll be safe, mum," Celestine nodded and gripped her wrists, "don't spend all your time worrying about me. You'll worry father to death and then how will you eat?"

It made her mother chuckle. "You're right. You're right." Andomeda kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, my darling."

"I love you too, mum."

After a final family group hug and many more tears, Celestine stepped on the train. The sound of the whistle faded, replaced by the loud laughter and chatter from the people already on the train. She was careful not to bump into any of them and she smiled kindly at those she recognized.

She searched the compartments for a group of familiar faces until she found Paisley sitting alone in one, staring out the window. Smiling, Celestine slid open the door. "Hey, Finch." She sang.

Paisley immediately turned her head and her large eyes became wider. "Celeste!" She squealed and stood from the seat. She opened her eyes wide. "I've missed you so much!"

Celestine giggled and hugged her waist. "How are you, Bird?" She asked and put her trunks at the top of the compartment.

"I was great until I figured out there's a mass murderer on the loose," Paisley expressed alarmingly. "I mean, that's terrifying. Who's the say he won't try to break into the castle?"

A pit formed in her stomach. Celestine bit her bottom lip, refraining to speaking what she knew. "I'm sure that won't happen, Finch. Hogwarts is, like, the safest place ever."

Paisley raised an eyebrow. "Really? Remember second year? A basilisk almost killed a bunch of people and Ginny Weasley got kidnapped?" She recalled.

Biting her lip again, Celestine's eyes flickered to her legs. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

Paisley chuckled.

"Anyway, where's Cedric and Ezra?" She moved on.

"I think I saw them run by—"

Two very loud laughs cut Paisley off and Ezra and Cedric almost ran into the compartment door. The girls flinched. Cedric slid the door open and nearly pushed Ezra in. "That wasn't cool, man." He cackled.

"Oh come on, it was hilarious," said Ezra through his heavy fits of laughter, almost leaning on Celestine and knocking her off the seat.

"I'm afraid to ask what the hell you two have done," she said, eyeing the laughing boys.

"Fucking Ezra threw a stink bomb into the girl's bathroom and a whole bunch of girls ran out screaming."

"I didn't think anybody in there!"

Paisley rolled her eyes. "Guys, please don't get in trouble before we even leave the station."

"Oh, come on Finch. You know us," said Cedric, his laughter calming down.

Ezra nodded. "Yeah. We'll have plenty of time this year to get in trouble."

Celestine shook her head at them. "You two are dumb."

"Awww, it's good to see you again, Cel," Ezra smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "how's your mum? Still hot as ever?"

She gave him a look. "For the last time, Ez, stop calling my mother hot."

He lifted his hands. "Hey, I only speak the truth. That's the Ezra Whitlock way."

Cedric shook his head and grinned. "How was your summer, Celeste?" He asked her kindly.

"Oh, it was great. We spent a week in New York to go see a Broadway play called Phantom of the Opera. It was brilliant."

Paisley gasped. "I did something similar! Mother's been really into musicals lately so we went and watched a musical. I think it was called Le Misérables?" She grew a soft smile. "I can't wait to be on a stage one day."

"I have no doubt you will, Finch," said Celestine genuinely.

"Ah yeah," said Ezra and he leaned forward, patting Paisley on the leg, "Paisley Finch, the new voice of Broadway. Your face will be everywhere."

Paisley had a lifelong dream of being a singer and to one day perform on a stage for millions to see her. There was a reason they called her Finch and it wasn't just because it was her last name. Paisley literally had the voice of a songbird. She was always singing, either to herself or for people to hear. She wasn't shy about it.

Soon, the Hogwarts Express left the station and Celestine found herself missing her family already. "Have you guys been reading the Daily Prophet? Seeing that Black guys's face plastered on the front page?" Cedric asked the lot when the playfulness died down.

"I was just telling Cel about it!" Said Paisley.

"Ah yeah, I saw it," Ezra nodded, "nearly screamed when I saw his photo, ugly bloke. He murdered thirteen people!"

Celestine stared out the window and pretended not to be interested in the conversation.

"Says he was a follower of You-Know-Who," Ezra continued, always having a knack for gossip, "I suppose now that he's escaped, they'll both be trying to break into the school."

"I said the same thing," said Paisley with a fast nod.

Celestine scoffed. "Stop being paranoid, you two. Nothing bad is going to happen." She tried convincing them.

"How do you know? You remember what happened last year," said Cedric, thinking the same as Paisley.

She only rolled her eyes and looked out the window again. The truth was, Celestine was in a state of shock the first time her mother told her to truth about her cousin. But it shocked her even more when she first read the Daily Prophet and saw Sirius's name on the cover. Not even her mother knew what had happened of her cousin and it brought her to tears when she read the paper.

Celestine didn't plan on telling anybody about her relations to Sirius Black, but it still terrified her to know that he was out there somewhere. But she promised her family and herself that she would be safe. All she had to do was not think about it.