It was the worst day of her short life. All right, perhaps it was an exaggeration, but when you're eight, you don't really have much to go on. He could have been six years older, or ugly. He could have been someone who would have beat her or abused her. But he wasn't- He was Sirius Black. He was handsome-apparently- he was rich, he wasn't cruel and he was highly eligible and pureblood. She supposed her parents could have picked a worse boy for her to marry. He would probably mostly ignore her once they were married. Of course, he seemed interesting at least. But perhaps his penchant for pranks was too developed. She really was not amused by his throwing a dung bomb and then asking her if she had passed gas, and then later spilling juice on her lap and announcing to the room that she'd wet her pants- IN FRONT OF THEIR PARENTS. That was too much.

Then, the best day of her life-The news that Sirius Black had been disowned. Of course, it was good for him too. He would, the rumors said, be moving in with the Potters. They were a wealthy, pure-blood family that unfortunately had been labeled as blood-traitors. And, of course, he hadn't really been well treated by his family. But, no pure-blood children were ever really-not unless they were odd, like the Potter's or Weasley's. But the day was the best day of her life so far, because it meant she didn't have to marry him. And, even though she pretended to be upset for her parents, upstairs in her room she preformed what she dubbed the "Sirius Black has just been disowned and I am so very, very happy!" dance.

But, good times can't last and her parents soon negotiated a new marriage contract with the Dolohov's (Regulus Black had been ruled out as he was already promised to one of the Nott girls). Antonin Dolohov, her new fiancée was the absolute best snag for her parents and the absolute worst choice for her. Not only was he abusive, arrogant, boring and rude, he was a Death Eater- a follower of Voldemort. And that was something she could not stand. Of course, there was nothing she could do, and her parents could not be convinced to disown her.

And then what should have been a highpoint in her life- Hogwarts. There was nothing exciting about the train ride- she sat with the other pureblood first years who she would soon join, if all went according to parental plan, in Slytherin. But, alas, the best laid plans of mice and men fail, and the Hat put her in Gryffindor. Which led to the very best day of her life.

It started off normal, but with Gryffindors sending her wary looks- she really couldn't blame them. Sitting quietly at the Breakfast table, she awaited her parent's reactions. With a sharp cry, her parents' ebony owl Nox, swooped down to her with a bright red letter clutched in its talons. She winced as she waited for it to explode.

"Better just to open it," a fellow Gryffindor advised, "It's easier."

Cautiously she broke the seal:

CECILIA CASSIOPEIA GREENGRASS! HOW DARE YOU SHAME OUR FAMILY LIKE THIS. GRYFFINDOR, WHAT THE BL***Y HELL WERE YOU THINKING? YOU HAVE SHAMED THE FAMILY AND HAVE BESMIRCHED THE NAME OF YOUR ANCESTORS. THE DOLOHOVS HAVE TERMINATED YOUR ENGAGEMENT. DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER RETURNING HOME. CONSIDER YOURSELF DISOWN-"

And that's when she snapped. She forgot her training, the endless hours spent learning to control her emotions, her mother's instructions to never, ever make a scene. She couldn't help it. She started screaming, yelling, shouting with joy. All of her suppressed emotions broke forth and she danced the dance again in front of the whole school. Everyone stared, but she didn't care. She was free. It didn't matter that she had no where to live, no where to go and no one to love her. She was truly happy and everything else, well that would come with time, because today was truly the best day of her life, and nothing could change that.