Come and have a midnight snack with me and some...girl talk.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that they had grown up together, if it had been anyone else, Adolphus Avery would have been apprehensive about letting his daughter go for the evening. He had lingered over her, his hands on his shoulders, as he took her in, inhaled the sweet scent of her hair and skin. To give her away, to let her go, was akin to letting Talia go; akin to letting her down again. In the atrium of their home, he considered seizing his daughter to him and forbidding her to go but in the end he stepped back, extricating himself from her lest he truly did disappoint in disallowing her to go. He knew what Talia would have said.

She would have told him to stop being a fool, to let the girl go as he would have done her brother. But Cerelia was different. Cerelia he couldn’t stand to lose and he knew he wouldn’t have been able to even if Talia had been alive. She stood to inherit everything he owned. He had planned to give his sons very little, enough to live off, but not much at all really. The rest would go to his prized daughter, the true reflection of the woman he loved dearly. Cerelia he could not afford to lose, in death or otherwise, and so he struggled to deal with the idea that she would be out of the house, out of his protection.

In the end, he knew he could not avoid sending her off but lingered for a few minutes by the fireplace after she had disappeared. The house seemed darker and less appealing once she had disappeared and the shrill calls of Adriana and her daughter. He wondered, not for the first time, why he had married the wretch at all and why he still kept her around. But he went, knowing that in his new wife he could find some solace, at least physically. Perhaps if he charmed himself deaf, he could stomach her and her daughter. But Merlin, he missed Cerelia already.


Cerelia tumbled through the floo rather ungracefully and was nigh assaulted by a combination of House Elf and Katarina. The two girls embraced and proceeded for the following number of hours to harass and enjoy the company of those in the house. It felt slightly odd for Cerelia to be there for pleasure as opposed to business. It felt as though it had been too long since she had been there solely for seeing Kat. It was refreshing and the girls enjoyed every minute of their time together outside of Hogwarts, outside of the events their families demanded they attend. They were there for each other. Well, for each other and pizza.

Soon enough, Cerelia found herself in her nightclothes and was sat on Kat’s bed, waiting for the other girl to finish up. Wine had been poured, though it was unclear whether they were truly allowed it, and Cerelia was already eyeing the haul the pair had gotten from Valentine’s Day - Kat because she was beautiful, Cerelia because nerdy boys like girls with brains. The blonde laughed a little, remembering the over-eager scrubs that had given her the chocolates. She had thanked them graciously but wasn’t entirely keen on the prospect of anyone. The chocolate was expensive though, for a girl with expensive taste, and so she wasn’t going to complain.

“Come on, Kat!” Cerelia called with good humour. “Stop waxing or whatever it is you’re doing. The pizza’s getting cold and you need to help me pick out a DVD to watch!”

Sometimes Katarina worried that she was going to loose her best friend. The blonde always seemed to have an ulterior agenda and was not unknown to disappear for small chunks of time. She had a quiet dignity about her and no one could doubt her intelligence. But the worst thing about Cerelia was the distance she put between herself and the rest of the world. Even Katarina, who had been Cerelias best friend since infancy, sometimes got the cold shoulder and felt disconnected from her companion. Every once in awhile Katarina considered that they were growing apart and just when she was about to believe it was so Cerelia would return to normal and the two would have a wonderful time together.

Tonight Cerelia had been allowed over to stay the evening and the brunette was beyond excited. Pizza had been made and the stacks of chocolates would finally had an occation to be eaten. Katarinas room was over the top in most ways but the large canopy bed that sat in the middle was absolutely perfect to relax on. It was a pity she didn't have more company. All this extravagance and no one to brag about it to..

With a twist Katarina turned off the water in the sink and dried her hands on the fluffy pink towel that hung next to it. She heard Cerelias call and unconsciously rolled her eyes. She had changed into her pajamas moments before and finished prepping herself for bed. Not that she planned to sleep anytime soon now that she had quality time with her best friend. Her slippers made small sounds on the marble floor as she returned to her room, shutting off the bathroom light behind her.

Flinging herself down on the bed next to the blonde, Katarina shot a grin at the other girl. "Calm down. I made it. What were you shouting about?" she teased. Lazily she grabbed a chocolate out of the heart shaped box and plopped it in her mouth. Mmm, peppermint-y.

Finding the hair that sat on her shoulders, Cerelia began to weave the golden tendrils into a plait that would leave her hair to fall in soft waves by the morning. She would have never done such an action so boldly anywhere else. Only Katarina had seen the scars that were left behind, the only evidence of her father’s cruelty. Even in her own home, Cerelia would not plait her hair until she was in the privacy of her own room, sure she would not be disturbed.

Her hair stayed around her neck at all times, charmed to not stray too far for fear of exposure. She could not cover the scars with anything. They were red raw, as if they had only healed hours before and were still afflicted by infection. Katarina was the only one that knew, the only one that sympathised without understanding why Adolphus did what he did. They did not speak of it; Cerelia would not have that discussion more often than was necessary, she couldn’t bear it. But there was an understanding there; one that was oh-so important to the blonde.

When Katarina joined her, Cerelia bounced a little on the bed and held up the two eerily similar chick-flicks that she had picked out.

“Which one?” Cerelia asked with a grin.

The girls eventually came to a conclusion and Cerelia busied herself with the television and the other horrendous Muggle things while Kat settled down with the pizza and the wine. Cerelia sat on the rug in front of the television for a moment and looked up at Kat as she waited for the DVD to load.

“If you had a choice,” she began, “to do anything and everything you ever wanted to do...what would you do for a career?”

As Cerelia delt with the movie, Kat helped herself to food. She laid on her belly, feet touching the pillows, so she faced the rest of the room. She ate contentedly watching Cerelia's figure lazily. Sometimes it just stuck Kat.. how truly beautiful her best friend was. Much more beautiful than herself with that long blonde hair and porcelain skin. The only imperfection were those terrible scars on the back on her neck that she only allowed Katarina to see. And even those were elegant in the saddest of ways. They were what made Cerelia, well, Cerelia. That depth of character that no one would ever really understand. Even Kat, arguably closer to her than anyone else, still had moments were she felt she didn't know her at all. That no one could ever understand a girl such as her.

She met Cerelias words with confusion. No one had asked her a question like that before. Sure, she thought about it. A lot. But she had just never been asked. So without thinking she spit out her answer.

"I would paint."

With a little laugh she shrugged, a little embarrassed. It wasn't exactly the most honored of careers. "And sculpt, and build. But mostly paint. I would create things that would make people happy or transport them to another time. Create beauty where there isn't." The world needed more beauty and color and life. Kat had always been able to appreciate the art up around her home and when she had felt alone as a child the portraits had always been there to comfort her more than the actual people. It was the only thing that really held her heart and attention.

She ate another chocolate, not minding the strange concoction of flavors starting to mix in her mouth.

Painting – Cerelia should have known. But it wasn’t a particularly supported profession; even Muggles had the grace to scoff at such a thought. It wasn’t the done thing and many suffered for their love affair with the arts. It was not something that Cerelia would have encouraged Kat to follow because she knew as well as Kat did that it wouldn’t take her anywhere – she wouldn’t achieve anything except maybe scorn from all of the others.

Pretty little Katarina Rookwood needed to stay where she was and enjoy the lusty gazes of the young men around her that would have given their high teeth in order to put their ring on her finger. Cerelia knew it, saw it, and she wondered sometimes why Kat didn’t. Maybe she did, maybe she just chose not to pay any attention.

Smiling, Cerelia moved from the floor back to the bed and took a chocolate from the box as she wondered what she would do. Perhaps she’d become a professional traveller and write books on all the different places she went. That sounded wonderful and in fact, Cerelia was sure that most of her books would be centred around Italy. She laughed a little to herself and shook her head before swallowing. Then it dawned on Cerelia that Kat’s dream wasn’t that unachievable, not really.

“You know what you could do?” Cerelia enthused brightly. “You could ask Kendall to ask Elijah Krum if he’d instruct you!”

Cerelia sat down and took another chocolate. She turned it over in her hand and wondered whether she would be better off cooking instead or writing or ... or ... or just being a wife. Cerelia sighed a little before standing up again and twirling before Kat.

“What do you think I should be?” She asked.