My name is Cassandra Prince and I am the younger sister of James Potter. A lot of things have happened in the last few years I feel that I need to explain the part I played in them and why I did some of the things that I did.
I was adopted by the Potters after they were contacted by a muggle hospital that had them listed as my next of kin, they weren't actually any relation to me but my mother thought they would raise me well and as if I was their own daughter. She'd heard somewhere that they were trying, unsuccessfully, for a child and thought they would be happy to take in a new born baby girl. It must have been a while before I was born that she'd heard that though because by the time they were contacted they already had a one year old son, his name was James. They took me in anyway though and all three of them were excited to have another baby; they were an older couple and didn't think another baby would be an option for them.
I've been told that in the week while they were waiting for the muggle paperwork to go through the system Rachel and Daniel couldn't get James to sit still or stop babbling about 'Cassa', he was only a year old and hadn't mastered speech yet and Cassandra was too hard for him. He'd been excited to have a playmate.
We grew up as the best of friends, we each hand other children we were friends with but we would always just play with each other if we were given the choice. I remember crying so hard when Rachel told me James would be going off to Hogwarts at the end of the summer, I couldn't wrap my head around the concept that James would be going somewhere that I couldn't follow him to.
Of course, he'd promised to write and for the first month I got four or sometimes five letters a week from him but he started to make friends and stopped writing as much. Rachel worried about how miserable I'd become without him and started taking me to her Society Luncheons and High Teas where there were other girls my age but it didn't help. I wanted James back.
It's strange to think back to that time; to remember that there was once a time when my whole world revolved around James and waiting for him to come home for holidays. It's even stranger to remember a time when we weren't sure if I was going to be joining him at Hogwarts, Rachel and Daniel sat me down and explained to me that because it had been a muggle hospital that I came from they had no way of knowing if I was going to be a witch or not. I didn't understand what that meant until they explained that I wouldn't be able to go with James if I was a muggle.
At the end of the next summer, when my Hogwarts letter arrived, James and I ran around the house shouting and screaming and Rachel was so happy that she didn't scold me for not acting in the way a young lady should. Once we'd calmed down enough Rachel ushered us to the fireplace so we could go and get all our school things.
While we were at Diagon Alley James' best friend Sirius Black saw us and came bounding over in the way that he always did, he greeted James in the way you would expect a brother to be greeted after a long separation. When he noticed me standing slightly off to the side behind them he grinned and ruffled my hair, I glared at him while I tried in vain to flatten my hair back down, "As soon as I get my wand I will kill you Black!" both of them hooted with laughter at my words, Sirius' bark of laughter had drawn the attention of an older woman who had been chatting with a friend across the street from where we were, her eyes narrowed as she saw the three of us and she stalked over to where we were standing.
"Come Sirius, as a Black you shouldn't be seen associating with the likes of these. A blood traitor though you are, you needn't be quite so public about your affiliation with these people." She grabbed Sirius by the wrist and dragged him away from us; he turned back with a sad look in his eyes and mouthed the word 'sorry' at us. James looked angry because his friend had been dragged away, though in hindsight it was probably more because of what she'd said and what she'd called us. I didn't understand though; as far as I knew I'd never betrayed anyone, except for telling on James for doing something stupid but I had the strangest feeling that wasn't what she meant.
I looked up into James' face and when he turned to me he had the same sad look that Sirius had had, "Jamie? What did she mean? I've never betrayed anyone, how can I be a traitor?" James sighed and took my hand to lead me to Madame Malkin's for my school robes.
When we got home James and I went up to my room; I wanted to start putting my school things into my new trunk, not caring that we still had almost a month until we were leaving. James told me he wanted to talk to me and he looked so serious I just nodded and let him follow me up the stairs. We were sitting on my bedroom floor and James took a deep breath, "Its kind of hard to explain Cass, she wasn't really talking about you and me; it was more aimed at mum and dad and centuries of Potters before us. We're purebloods, you know what that means?" I nodded but didn't say anything, "Well the Blacks are purebloods as well but they think that it makes them better than people who aren't, they don't think that muggle borns should be allowed to go to Hogwarts and they don't like to talk to them, other than to insult them or make them feel bad.
"She called us blood traitors because we don't think like that, we think that everyone with magic should be allowed to learn to control it and that it really doesn't make much of a difference where you come from. If she'd ever met Lily I bet she would rethink her beliefs, Lily is the smartest, best witch at school and she's a muggle born." I rolled my eyes with a small smile; I'd heard all about Lily Evans and how amazing she was, he noticed and stuck his tongue out at me,
"But why did she call Sirius a blood traitor? He's her son so surely he thinks the same as her?" James' shook his head,
"Sirius is nothing like the rest of his family! That's why his mum doesn't like him too much.. you remember what I told you about the houses at Hogwarts?" Again, I nodded but didn't speak, "Well Sirius' whole family has been in Slytherin for generations but when Sirius was sorted he was put in Gryffindor and his parents weren't happy about that. His whole family are Slytherins and Sirius hates the lot of them for how they think." I couldn't believe that people could think like that, I figured that since we were all witches and wizards we would all be the same. I could have understood if he told me that they considered themselves to be better than muggles, we had magic and they didn't, but other witches and wizards? That just didn't make sense to me.
I also couldn't understand how Sirius could hate his whole family just for not agreeing with his opinions about some things. I had always known I was adopted and loved the Potters as if they really were my parents but I would've done anything to know who my real parents were. James seemed to realise that I was lost in thought and he stood up to leave, giving me a kiss goodnight as he passed me.
I was glad that James had explained that to me, I didn't want to arrive at Hogwarts without knowing things like that; things that seemed to be important to how things would work at school. He'd already told me all about the houses and explained that Gryffindor was the best house to be in and that he would be really disappointed if I didn't go to his house, but that he would just about be able to stand having a sister in Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff; anything but Slytherin.
I don't think I could have been any more excited as I stood in line waiting for Professor McGonagall to call my name so I would be sorted, I had only been in the school for about half an hour and I already knew I was going to love it there. "Prince, Cassandra." I smiled at the sound of my name being called, it made me think that it almost sounded like someone calling royalty forward but of course, I would be princess rather than a prince. I didn't realise that I'd been standing considering this until my name was called again, my face turned beat red and I shuffled forward to take my place on the stool, I glared at Sirius and James just before the hat slipped over my eyes; I knew their laughs anywhere.
Now, you are a tricky one; you have a thirst for knowledge about the school and magic itself, you also have a need to prove yourself, plenty of ambition, also plenty of courage. You're a tough one; but I think you would do best in SLYTHERIN.
I felt the blood drain from my face, I was one of the bad ones; James had told me that Slytherin was full of dark wizards and pureblood supremacists. Professor McGonagall whisked the hat off my head and gestured me towards the table where the students were clad in green and silver, I stared at my feet as I made my way there not daring to look up for fear of seeing the hatred and disappointment in James and Sirius' faces.
I didn't eat anything at that feast; my stomach was turning over and over. The people around me a the table were sitting and talking quietly, I longed to be over at the loud and boisterous Gryffindor table where everyone looked so excited to just be there and they were already making fast friends with each other, making friends at the Slytherin table seemed to have a lot to do with who your parents were and it was all a lot more calculating than the loud chatter from the Gryffindor table.
One girl turned to me; she looked like she was a few years older than me. She had heavily lidded eyes and a mass of dark hair surrounding her head, "What's your name?"
"Cassandra Prince. What's yours?" There was a boy sitting a little further away whose head popped up when I spoke but the boy sitting next to her snorted in amusement and drew my attention back to the two opposite me, the girl elbowed him and sent me an almost sickly smile which looked slightly terrifying on her face,
"I'm Bellatrix Black, daughter of Druella and Cygnus Black. Who are your parents?" I looked down at my plate of untouched food,
"Daniel and Rachel Potter." There were frowns on every face, apart from Bellatrix's; she was wearing a sneer on hers.
"Liar, they aren't your parents. They adopted you because no one else wanted you. Who are you parents? We make it a rule to know who we're associating ourselves with here in Slytherin." I didn't get a chance to respond, which I was grateful for; I didn't know what to say. The plates and dishes had all disappeared from the table and Professor Dumbledore stood and dismissed us.
I was glad the feast was finally over and I pushed through the throngs of people and made it to James and Sirius before they got out of the Great Hall, "James! Wait; just let me talk to you!" James stopped and his shoulders stooped, Sirius turned to me with a cold look on his face,
"What do you want Prince? Even though I'd been expecting the coolness in his voice it still made me flinch back a little,
"I'm sorry; it wasn't my fault, I didn't want to get into Slytherin. I don't want to be in Slytherin, I want to be in Gryffindor with you, James!" but James still wasn't even looking at me; it was Sirius who spoke again,
"You clearly didn't want it enough. The hat would have put you in Gryffindor if you'd really wanted it." He turned his back on me and he and James started to walk away but one of their friends stopped them,
"She's your little sister James, she may as well be yours too Sirius. How can you act like this towards her?"
"She lied to me. She said she wanted to be in Gryffindor but look where she ended up. They all lied; her, Regulus and Andromeda. They've all spent all this time telling me what I want to hear but it was all lies."
"Why do you have to be so disappointed in us though?" I'd never met these other people but I was willing to bet that if they told him they wanted to be in Gryffindor then they probably did. "Why can't you just get over it? We're in Slytherin, big deal! Why do you both have to be so bloody ignorant?" James span around and pulled his wand out, I stumbled backwards in surprise. The girl who was standing behind me turned around and steadied me, she surveyed the scene until her eyes landed on James and she narrowed them,
"Potter what on earth are you doing? She's a first year! Lower your wand." I looked at her properly; she had long red hair and bright green eyes, this was Lily Evans.
"She's a Slytherin, Evans. You should have let her fall on her arse. She is no sister of mine." A look of confusion crossed her face,
"Sister? I didn't notice them called a Potter." I made a decision in that instant and shrugged out of the grip she still had on my shoulders,
"Get off me, Mudblood. You'll get my robes dirty." I wished I hadn't said it as soon as the words left my mouth but it was too late. James and Sirius both had their wands pointed at my face. I glanced back at Lily and saw that her eyes were wide with shock at what I'd said to her even after she'd defended me.
"Apologise Prince." I had to stick by my decision, and just gave him a look that said 'make me', "I SAID APOLOGISE!"
"YEAH AND I HEARD YOU!" Lily spoke quietly,
"Just leave it James, it isn't worth it. I'm used to it from the others." But James shook his head,
"That doesn't make it okay for them to say these things, especially not her." The amount of hatred spilling off James almost made me flinch but I managed to hold my ground this time, I narrowed my eyes at the boys,
"Are you idiots going to use your wands? Or are they just for show?" Sirius sighed and lowered his wand and I smirked at him before turning to James, but he didn't lower his and before I could react at all he'd sent the full body bind my way and I was falling to the ground with a small thud.
It wasn't long before I saw Professor Dumbledore standing over me, "All of you to your dormitories, now." James, Sirius and his friends turned to leave, "Not you four, and Miss Evans if you wouldn't mind waiting as well." I noticed Lily nodding and moving back to her place next to the boys. He waved a hand and I was released from the hex, Lily offered me her hand but I pretended like I didn't noticed and pushed myself to my feet. "Now Mr Potter, why did you hex Miss Prince?" James looked at his feet as he answered,
"She called Lily a mudblood and wouldn't apologise." Professor Dumbledore nodded,
"That is no reason to hex a first year Mr Potter, see that it doesn't happen again. You five are dismissed. Miss Prince, I think we need to have a little conversation, wouldn't you agree?" There was no response I could give him other than to nod and sit in the armchair he conjured for me. "Now, why did you call Miss Evans such a horrid name?"
"Because Ja- Potter and Black were ignoring me and they don't want to know me anymore. I had to show them that I didn't care anymore. I'll apologise to Lily though, I didn't mean it. She seems really nice actually."
"What did Mr Potter say to make you think he doesn't want to know you anymore?" I looked down at my hands in my lap,
"He said I'm no sister of his anymore. He hates me now."
"I see, well I do not condone what you said but I believe you that you didn't mean it and I have faith in you that it won't be happening again so you're free to do. Make sure you do apologise to Miss Evans though." I nodded and made my way down to the dungeons.
It felt like I'd been walking for about an hour before I gave up and slumped down against a wall, I had no idea where the entrance to the common room was and no one else was out so there was no one to ask. My first night at Hogwarts was not turning out how I'd been expecting it to; I didn't get into Gryffindor, James and Sirius hated me and I was cold and lost in the dark with no clue how to even find my way back to the entrance hall.
"Are you lost?" it was the boy who'd been sitting at the Slytherin table, the one who looked up when I told Bellatrix my name. I nodded and he stretched out a hand to pull me to my feet, "I thought so." We walked in silence for a while before he spoke again, "So you're Potter's sister?" I shook my head and he got that confused look I was so used to seeing,
"I used to be but not anymore." We arrived at a portion of the wall between two statues and the boy said the word 'pure' and the wall moved aside to let us into the common room. He went straight down some more stairs, probably to the dormitories, but I flopped down onto one of the couches in front of the fire; I wanted to warm up a bit before going to bed.
"Are you okay?" The voice came from the other end of the couch where I hadn't noticed the other girl sitting; she looked like she'd been crying,
"Yes thank you." She looked at me in a disbelieving way, "I'm fine, really." The girl shook her head and smiled a little sadly,
"I wouldn't worry about my cousin too much, he's a little stubborn but I'm sure he'll come around. I'm really hoping he will. I'm Andromeda Black by the way, Sirius' cousin."
"Did he used to be your friend too? He used to be my friend but I don't think it'll be the same anymore. I'm a Slytherin now." I couldn't stand it anymore so I fled down the stairs and found my bed and cried myself to sleep.
A few weeks later I got to breakfast early, there were only a few people spread across the four tables, I sat so that I could see the Gryffindor table. I was waiting to speak to Lily, I'd been meaning to apologise to her since my first night but James and Sirius always seemed to be around and they wouldn't let me near her. I knew she would be at breakfast early though, she always did on weekends and I also knew that James and Sirius wouldn't be around; they both slept like logs at the weekend and didn't wake up until early afternoon.
However, that morning the fates were, once again, against me and there they were; sitting at the Gryffindor table with their heads close together whispering about something, planning something. They kept glancing up at a group of Slytherins a little bit further up the table; I knew they would be the victims for whatever the two Gryffindors were planning. The group consisted of Bellatrix and Regulus Black, Rudolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, Crabbe, Goyle, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. She looked back at the Gryffindor table and sure enough they had both started to grin and had their wands out under the table.
I didn't really think about it; I stood up and made my way over to where the group was sitting, I could feel James and Sirius' eyes on me as I moved, "Erm, excuse me?" Bellatrix looked up from her breakfast and a sneer crossed her face,
"What do you want? You were the one who was sad about my blood traitor cousin and his little pal being mean to you aren't you." I nodded, "So, what d'you want?"
"I just wanted to tell you that Black and Potter are just about to prank you." They all shared and look and seemed to decide it was probably true, they all moved almost in tandem as they pulled their wands out. The older ones must have been taught silent wand work because suddenly, without any warning the two boys were sprouting silver and green hair all over their bodies and whenever either would open their mouths all they could do was pronounce their love for what or who ever happened to be closest to them at the time.
The Slytherin table all simultaneously burst into laughter, myself included, but as soon as I saw the look on James' face I stopped and made my way out onto the grounds. He looked so hurt and betrayed. Suddenly my decision not to care seemed pointless, there was no way I would ever be able to stop caring what he thought about me. I hated knowing that we were never going to be as close as we were before I started at Hogwarts; there was a part of me that wished I'd never gotten my letter. I sat down on a big rock at the edge of the lake and made sure there was no one around before I started to cry, but I didn't dare make a noise in case someone did happen to come out here. I didn't want anyone to know that he could still hurt me.
My head was resting on my knees so I didn't notice when someone came and sat down next to me until she spoke, "Cassandra?" I looked up to see the face of Lily Evans looking down at me with what could only have been concern in her eyes, "I'm so sorry about Potter, he's such an arse."
"No he isn't and you can't say that about him! You've never given him a chance so how would you know anything about him? He's probably one of the nicest, most caring people you've ever met but you won't admit it because you're too proud to admit your first instinct about him was wrong!" I could see that she was confused, she must have thought she'd found an ally in her 'I hate James Potter club' and she obviously didn't understand why I would still be defending him.
"You might be right about me not knowing him very well but he is not the nicest person I've ever met, the nicest person I've ever met was the boy who was there for me when my sister was calling me a freak. Not some bully who'll pick on anyone he pleases because he thinks he can get away with it. The nicest person I've met since I became aware of the wizarding world is a Slytherin so all of your arguments about having to be horrid because you're a Slytherin now are invalid!"
"I don't need your wise words about Slytherins being nice people, for the most part you're wrong but I have made a few friends and I know they aren't all awful people. Why don't you tell Potter and Black, they're the ones who decided to hate me because I got into Slytherin" I got up and started to leave but figured that while she was there I may as well say what else was on my mind, "and tell Black that Andromeda doesn't believe in the same things as the rest of their family, it isn't fair of him to treat any of us the way he has been but it's affecting her the worst. Oh, and I'm sorry about what I said the other night, I just didn't know what to do so I acted in the way that James was expecting me to, the way that he said all Slytherins do. I didn't mean it though, I've never thought like that and I never will." With that I turned and walked away from her and never spoke to the girl again.
For those of you who are reading Riley's Boy, I'm sorry for the wait but I'm having a bit of trouble concentrating enough to get the next chapter written for various reasons but I hope you've enjoyed (or at least made it to the end of) the first chapter of my new story. Thanks for reading and a review would be lovely.. just something to let me know if this is a story you'd like to see more of..
Hollie.