So, I've been on hiatus for a super long time so I decided to just start a new story. Sorry if you were totally enjoying my other stories, I just needed a fresh start
A/N: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter series. I own only the OCs
A woman was being marched into a large castle, screaming about her master coming back one day. A dark haired, nine year old girl stood beside a man with long, silver-blonde hair, her grey blue eyes hard and cold as she watched the woman. She turned away, closing her eyes. The man beside her placed a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her; this man was named Lucius Malfoy. At this moment in time, he was all the girl had. However, Lucius could not take the girl in, despite his sister-in-law's request, as he already had a three year old girl, a boy that was a little over five months old and his wife was pregnant again.
He took the girl's hand and the pair Disapparated with a pop. When they reappeared, they were in front of a line of houses. They looked fairly clean and the girl immediately realized the numbering on the houses was wrong as the numbers eleven and thirteen sat right next to each other. Just as she opened her mouth to make the observation to her uncle, another house began to squeeze itself between numbers eleven and thirteen. The girl watched in half awe, half fascination before being ushered up the stairs. Lucius knocked on the door, looking over his shoulder nervously. A house-elf answered the door, immediately ushering the pair inside.
The girl looked around the house with mild interest, slightly frightened of a few of the things she saw, but, being used to those in the group her mother had belonged to, did not show it. An elderly looking woman came around the corner and smiled when she saw Lucius. Her smile faltered slightly as she looked down at the girl.
"Who is this, Lucius?" the woman asked, looking hard at the girl. Despite being surprised by the woman's frank stare, the girl raised her little chin with all the pride due to her status.
"Walburga, this is Cassiopeia Gaunt Lestrange, Bellatrix's daughter by the Dark Lord," Lucius said, smiling down at the child. "She is, therefore, your great niece."
"Why did you bring her to me and not my father? Or even my aunt, her namesake? They would be better suited, don't you think?" Walburga replied sharply.
"Because your home is the best hidden and the girl will be safe with you."
Walburga nodded, pressing her lips together. "She looks like she won't be much trouble...I will take her in." Cassiopeia smiled at the woman, not even noticing when Lucius left the house. "Come now, child, let us take our supper; you must be hungry."
Cassiopeia's life with Walburga was one filled with comfort and spoiling by Walburga. Despite the old woman's words, she had truly been honored that she should be chosen to be the guardian of the Dark Lord's child. From her first day with her grandaunt to her last time to see the old woman two years later in August, Cassiopeia loved her life and knew that she was destined to be just as great as her father.
Those who visited Walburga in the two year span of Cassiopeia's life with the woman knew only that the girl's mother was Bellatrix and it was always assumed that her father must have been Rodolphus, Bellatrix's husband. Neither Walburga nor Cassiopeia disputed the thought, though they both badly wanted to, as it may have been dangerous for Cassiopeia when she went to Hogwarts. Another trait of Cassiopeia's unknown to all but herself was that she could speak to snakes; she had inherited her father's Parseltongue abilities. This was one of Cassiopeia's proudest accomplishments and she kept her own little secret in order to keep herself safe from those who wouldn't understand.
The day her grandaunt had officially added young Cassiopeia to the Black Family tree had also been the day before she went to Hogwarts. Walburga had carefully added a dashed line from Bellatrix's name to the name Lord Voldemort and then added a vertical line down to Cassiopeia's name. Also, Walburga added a portrait of the girl to the tree. Cassiopeia had been proud of the smirking, winking rendering of herself, almost as proud as she was of the portrait that hung in the room she had lived in; the portrait was of her when she was nine and, behind her, stood her parents, Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix. In the foreground, Cassiopeia smiled and tossed her wavy hair, her grey blue eyes laughing and her parents had looked down at her proudly, often sharing a look over the girl's head.
Cassiopeia was officially part of the ancient house of Black and she couldn't have been happier as she rode on the Hogwarts Express toward the school. She sat next to a window, watching as the landscape slipped by quickly. She hardly even noticed when a red-haired boy entered the compartment and sat across from her. She was unconcerned with anything in the world save what was on her mind.
"What are you looking at?" the boy finally asked, startling Cassiopeia out of her daydreams of being reunited with both of her parents.
"Nothing...I'm thinking," she had said, reservedly, turning her attention to the boy; though he was not handsome as most of the men in her family, there was a wildness about him that made Cassiopeia immediately take a liking to him.
"What about?" the boy pressed, a smile on his freckled face.
"My parents."
"Won't you see them again during the Christmas break?"
"...no, I fear it will be a long time before I ever see my parents again..." Cassiopeia murmured wistfully.
The boy went quiet for a moment, uncertain on how to respond to the statement. "I...My name's Charlie Weasley," he finally decided to say.
Cassiopeia turned her head and smiled at him. "Cassiopeia Black," she responded with ease. Though she was Bellatrix's daughter, she had adopted her mother's maiden name soon after being placed with Walburga.
Charlie smiled. "That's a pretty name...d'ya mind if I call you Cassi?" he asked nervously. Cassiopeia knew that his could be dangerous, allowing this boy a pet name for her, but she liked the name better than hers.
"Of course you may," she said, smiling benevolently. The boy's ears got a little red as he ducked his head.
The pair rode the rest of the way to Hogwarts in comfortable silence, punctuated only once when the snack cart came round.
Charlie had once again ducked his head, his ears a bright pink as he said, "No, thank you...brought some from home..." Cassi had seen him looking longingly at the food.
The girl had smiled and bought a large amount of food she knew she could never eat by herself and offered the majority of it to her new friend. Charlie was grateful enough and, when his brother had looked in a few minutes later, a little smug. Cassi had shaken her head as she watched the two brothers banter back and forth. She had never before wished she had a sibling, but, watching the pair, she almost allowed herself to want.
When they finally arrived at Hogwarts, Cassi rode in the same boat as Charlie, already bonded with him enough to consider him safe. When they arrived in the huge castle, they were lined up in order by their last names, separating the two new friends. The line of first years were marched into the Great Hall and called, one at a time, to put on the Sorting Hat. Cassi didn't have to wait very long before it was her turn and she was confident of her placement.
As she sat on the stool, she let herself think about her new friend, Charlie; no matter what houses they would be put in, she was confident that they would stay friends. She smiled contentedly, her mind at ease until she heard the dreaded word that radically changed her life forever.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat declared. Cassi stood and numbly walked to the Gryffindor table. She had never felt more disgraced in her life; a Black, more importantly a Gaunt, a descendant of Slytherin himself, had been placed in Gryffindor. She buried her face in her arms, fighting the tears that threatened. She didn't even try to listen to the other first years getting Sorted and, therefore, missed Charlie sitting next to her. She only became aware of his presence when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"C'mon, Cassi...what's wrong?" he whispered in her ear.
"My grandaunt will never forgive me..." Cassi managed to choke out, a tear finally escaping her crowded eyes. Charlie frowned, wiping the tears away before wrapping his arms around his friend and hugging her.
Cassi had never been hugged; Walburga was afraid she might contaminate the beauty that was the darling of the Dark Lord and, before that, all Death Eaters had been warned not to touch the little girl for fear of immediate death. She found that the sensation was not all around uncomfortable and that she could hug the boy back by wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt so comforted by this touch that she felt empty when Charlie finally pulled away and offered a comforting smile that Cassi returned.
Cassi didn't know it, but she needn't have worried about her grandaunt hearing of her placement in Gryffindor as the woman had taken ill soon after returning home from taking Cassi to the train station. Walburga lived into the next year, but was too ill to realize what Cassi told her in her numerous letters. Cassi could not be sorry that her grandaunt was never truly aware of the girl's "disgrace," but was flushed with pleasure when she was told the house on Grimmauld Place now belonged to her. Cassi was, strangely, not sad when she heard about her grandaunt's death, however, she was worried about who she would live with after that year.
It wasn't a difficult decision; Lucius had a need for someone to help his wife take care of the three small children and, after the house on Grimmauld Place, the Malfoy manor was the safest place for the girl. Her placing in Gryffindor was not discussed in her new home and, after one summer, she was so fed up with the oppression from her uncle and aunt's unspoken dislike and distrust of her that she begged to go stay with her friend for the end of the summer.
Cassi and Charlie had stayed in touch and now, when she could no longer stand the Malfoy manor, it was to Charlie and his family that she reached out to. With two weeks left before term, Cassi left the Malfoy manor and moved all of her belongings to the Burrow. It had been kept from the Malfoy family until the day Arthur Weasley came to pick the girl up. Lucius had been outraged by his niece's defection to the "enemy," but had been unable to stop the headstrong twelve year old.
By the time Cassi and Charlie were in their fifth year at Hogwarts, they were both made Prefects and Cassi was basically another Weasley. However, Cassi's fifth year was the first year for her cousin, Fae Malfoy. While Fae was not particularly fond of Dark Magic, were she to be put in Gryffindor or, worse, Hufflepuff, the silent sleights by her parents would tear down the eleven year old. Cassi sat in her seat next to Charlie whose arm was wrapped loosely around her waist, she craned her neck to see over the other students' heads to look for her younger cousin.
"You're worried for nothing, Cassi...she'll be a good little Malfoy and be sorted into Slytherin," Charlie said lazily, glancing up at Cassi.
"You know how my Uncle is. He will be absolutely abominable to her if she is in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff," Cassi replied.
"I doubt she'll be sorted into either," Charlie replied obstinately.
"You are a disagreeable beast, Charles," she said, pulling away from the boy.
"Oi! You like this beast," Charlie replied, sitting up and reaching toward her.
"I don't know...I may actually like Percy more...he doesn't disagree with me," Cassi retorted, smiling at the third year who immediately went a spectacular red.
"Of course he doesn't; he can't even speak around you," Charlie said, frowning at his brother. Percy ducks his head, unable to look at either of the two older students.
Cassi crosses her arms, frowning back at Charlie, her eyes glittering dangerously at him. Charlie tilts his head, then takes her chin in his hand and kisses her lightly on the lips. "I don't like it when we fight..." he whispers.
"You only dislike it when I'm winning..." Cassi replies, blushing furiously, but allowing Charlie to wrap his arm around her again. Charlie smiled, unwilling to respond to her bait.
Cassi sighed happily as the First Years were marched in and the Sorting Hat sang its yearly song before starting the Sorting. Without realizing it, Cassi held her breath as she waited for her cousin to be called. The Sorting Hat was placed on the girl's head and, only seconds later, Cassi sighed with relief.
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat declared, to the cheers of the Ravenclaw table. Though it wasn't Slytherin, being Sorted into Ravenclaw, a house for only the smartest of young wizards, was second best in the minds of the Malfoys.
Fae, a fine-boned eleven year old with silvery-blonde hair and purple-blue eyes, hopped off the stool, replacing the hat to its place before skipping over to Ravenclaw table. Cassi sent her cousin a small smile which was immediately returned. Cassi settled herself against Charlie's chest, relaxing for the first time since she had arrived in the Great Hall.
Fred and George, Charlie's younger twin brothers were sorted into Gryffindor like their older brothers. The similarities between the Weasley children went even further than all being in Gryffindor; from their oldest brother, Bill, to the youngest, baby Ginny, all Weasleys had bright red hair and freckles. There were small differences between the boys, though, as some, like Charlie, Fred and George, took after their mother and were a little stouter while the others took after their father and were tall and thin.
After the feast was over and Dumbledore had given his speech, Charlie and Cassi led their new recruits up to the Gryffindor Common Room. Once the first years were safely settled, Cassi and Charlie met each other in the Common Room. Cassi smiled up at Charlie, her grey blue eyes sparkling. Charlie smiled back, taking her chin in his hand and giving her a light kiss on the mouth, then another on her forehead. Cassi smiled as she turned and walked up to the dormitory shared by all the other fifth year girls. Cassi could never dream of a better life, but something bothered her, something she would have to change if she were ever to be at peace.
"I will tell him one day," she murmured to herself as she laid down in her four poster and started to fall asleep. "When I can trust him."
Cassi and Charlie both planned to skip their seventh year so they could study dragons in Romania. The day before term let out for their sixth year, Cassi decided to finally tell Charlie about her family. Cassi had always been nervous about admitting to Charlie about her parentage, especially her father, but, now, she felt she could trust the man she had fallen in love with.
"Hey, Charlie, can you walk with me?" Cassi asked during the time between two of the exams that day, smiling at her boyfriend.
"Yeah, of course," Charlie said, taking her hand gently and walking with her down near the lake.
"I've been thinking about talking to you about who my parents are," Cassi said quietly, taking a breath before continuing. "My mother is Bellatrix Lestrange and my father is...was...Voldemort."
Charlie's reaction was instant and instinctive as he pulled his hand away from Cassi and stared at her as though she were the plague. "You're lying."
"No...I'm not, Charlie...my full name is Cassiopeia Gaunt Lestrange-Black...I'm also a Parselmouth," Cassi said, reaching out to touch him.
Charlie backed away. "No, no way. I can't...I..." Charlie turned and ran away. Cassi stared after him, her eyes wide. She gulped back a sob, then turned and ran toward the Forbidden Forest, tears streaming down her cheeks. She ran deep into the woods, then sat with her back against one of the trees, burying her face in her crossed arms. She had never been more hurt by anyone, and now, more than ever, she felt alone. She sobbed loudly, not scared at all of the topiary of beasts that she knew lived in the forest. She was never going to allow anyone to make her feel this way again; not Charlie, not anyone. Cassi was done feeling anything anymore.
