Invitation

Disclaimer- Harry Potter is not mine, he belongs to J.K. Rowling. However, Cassandra Monroe and Nora Wilson are both mine :P

"Here we are ma'am."

Cassandra Monroe gave a disapproving frown at the use of the word ma'am, as she stared out the window of her cab at the cast iron gate blocking access to the driveway of an old stately stone mansion.

Cassandra opened her bag and forked over several muggle pieces of money to the cab driver.

The cab driver stared down at the bills in his hand before dumbly responding, "This is too much ma'am."

"Keep it," Cassandra replied, lips pursed in distaste at that dreaded little word. She was still far too young to be referred to as a ma'am, especially by someone who she assumed was much older than she was. Without a second look at the cab driver, Cassandra opened the door of the car and stepped out onto the gravelled driveway of the mansion, striding purposefully over to the intercom unit built into the door of the gate. She had been told by Minerva that this visit was crucial, so there would be no apparating over trivial things such as gates. The Wilson family lived in a muggle neighbourhood of status and privilege and she had been told that Richard Wilson would not be pleased if he got a call from his neighbour across the street telling him someone had just suddenly teleported onto his driveway.

Cassandra pressed the red button on the intercom, leading to a buzzing sound coming out of the contraption before a static laced voice filled the air around her.

"Name," the faceless man asked in a bored voice.

"Cassandra Monroe."

"Do you have an appointment with Mr. Wilson?" the man asked

"No," Cassandra replied with an impatient sigh. "With his daughter, Miss. Wilson. I already asked permission from Mr. Wilson to come see her. Several times in fact."

The voice from the intercom remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "Yes, yes. Mr. Wilson called me this morning. You can come in."

The gate opened with a grinding screech, as Cassandra stared distastefully at the little electronic box. Muggle contraptions were lost on her. What had ever happened to knocking on the bloody door?

Her heels sinking into the gravel of the driveway, Cassandra strode up the long driveway towards the main house's large wooden front door. She counted her lucky stars that she had managed to actually get inside the property without more obstacles. It had been difficult enough trying to get a hold of Richard Wilson, let alone ask him if someone from Hogwarts could come all the way to Canada to talk to his daughter. He had, had the gall to insist that Minerva be the one to come see the young Miss. Wilson, since he believed that this was all an act of the Ministries to gain access into his life. Eventually, with a lot of convincing on Minerva's part, Wilson had agreed to allow Cassandra to meet his daughter. Apparently he had relaxed slightly when he had learned she was Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress. Of course, he was probably expecting some tight-lipped old hag to be seeing his daughter, not a disgraced auror, turned Defence against the Dark Arts professor, in her late 30's, who could terrify any weak minded man with just a look.

Cassandra ascended the stone steps of the mansion's front porch and knocked on the door, running a hand through her long raven black hair and straightening the muggle suit she had been asked to wear upon visiting; another precaution against nosy neighbours. However, she did have her wand tucked neatly into the pocket of her suit jacket. She was a witch after all. There was no way in hell she was going anywhere without it.

The large maple front doors suddenly opened to reveal an older woman dressed in a maid's uniform with a permanent scowl painted on her lined face.

"Yes?" The woman asked rudely.

Cassandra's eyebrow arched in disapproval before replying. "Hello," she said, her voice giving off its signature musical flare. "My name is Cassandra Monroe. Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress. I'm here to see Miss. Wilson."

The older woman blinked in surprise, her eyes scanning over Cassandra's body. She smirked inwardly. So they had been expecting the school's 65 year old librarian. Too bad for them Hogwarts current head librarian was even younger than she was. "Yes, yes," the woman said quickly, opening the door some more to give her room to enter the building. "Please come inside."

Cassandra gave the woman a polished smile before stepping inside the house's massive front hall. She couldn't help but take in her surroundings as the maid closed the front door behind her. From what she had learned, the Wilson's were a long line of pureblood wizards and witches with a lot of old money. However, the most recent head of the family, Richard Wilson, had gone against societal norms and had married a muggle woman, much to the displeasure of his family. The two had produced one child a bit later on in their lives and, from what Cassandra had learned, the family had been practically picture-perfect until Wilson's wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some years back before dying about 4-5 years ago.

And then unfortunately, Mr. Wilson became a changed man and his daughter was the one to suffer through the brunt of his misplaced anger.

But, apparently his depression had not prevented him from hiring a very good cleaning staff. The front hall was immaculate. The marble floors and staircase up to the building's next level were polished to the point where they sparkled and the large silver chandelier hanging from the ceiling did not have a single cobweb upon it. However, the entire room did not have the warm feeling of any Hogwarts hallway. The electric lights were too bright and bathed the room in an almost sterile looking glow, while the walls were painted a depressing shade of steel gray. It was all too clean, too perfect looking and completely devoid of personality. In other words, the house was cold and something told Cassandra that Richard Wilson liked it that way.

"If you would just make your way into the sitting room, I will go fetch Miss. Wilson from her room so that the two of you may talk," the old maid said with a slight bow of the head, as her hands gestured towards an open arch way to the left of where Cassandra was standing.

Cassandra gave the woman a polite nod before parting ways with her and walking dutifully towards the sitting room. This room wasn't much different than the front hall. Instead of gray, the walls were a dark navy blue, the floors were also made of marble and one piece of the furniture in the room most likely cost more than the monthly salary she had received while she was an auror. With a sigh, she strode over to a couch that looked far too uncomfortable to sit on and sat down.

The minutes ticked by and Cassandra began to fiddle with the hem of her jacket, wondering silently what was taking so long.

"Oh would you shut the hell up, Amelia!" A voice echoed in from the hall, causing Cassandra to turn her head towards the sound. "I'll go talk to the damn woman. There's no need to start threatening bodily harm."

Damn woman? Lovely, so Wilson's daughter had a temper.

There was a slam of a door, followed by voices that were too far away to hear properly, before the sound of loud footsteps began to echo in from the front hall. Preparing herself for the worst, Cassandra straightened up in her seat and turned toward the room's entrance as the maid, Amelia, entered the room, followed by a highly irritated looking teenage girl.

The first thing that Cassandra thought when she saw Nora Wilson was that she didn't belong in the house she lived in. She was beautiful, there was no denying it. She had long wavy light brown hair, shocking warm golden brown eyes that probably could mesmerize any boy her age and lightly tanned flawless looking skin. Her attire also didn't match the house's stiff nature, wearing a large over-sized bright yellow t-shirt with the word 'BOOM' printed on its front and a pair of jean shorts that exposed a set of very long toned legs, she stood out entirely against the cold back-drop of the sitting room. However, Cassandra instantly noticed the dark circles that stood out like bruises on the young woman's face and the fact that the frown that she was wearing had probably been there for weeks. And once Cassandra noticed those aspects of her appearance, she noticed the way she crossed her arms over her chest, as if protecting herself from something. Or the guarded look in the girl's eyes and the fact that it appeared as if she had lost some weight recently. This was a girl who had been through too much for someone her age and in a very short amount of time. And from the looks of things, no one had been around to help her pick up the pieces.

Cassandra got up from her seat and gave the young woman a genuine smile. "Miss. Wilson. Cassandra Monroe. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The teenager just glowered at her, earning her a dirty look from the maid, which the girl noticed before sighing. "Call me, Nora," the girl replied before trudging over to take a seat on yet another uncomfortable looking couch. The girl then turned to look at the sour looking maid. "You can leave, Amelia."

The old woman narrowed her eyes in Nora's direction, before turning around.

"And remember," Nora said in a bored voice. "I can tell if you're eavesdropping, so don't try it."

Cassandra smiled slightly as she watched the maid's shoulder's stiffen slightly at the girl's comment, before walking out of the room.

Nora Wilson was special. There was no other word for it. While already being a witch, Nora possessed something even more than your average magical citizen. Cassandra could not help but remember the first time she had heard the girl's name whispered. She was the young witch who could do magic without a wand. And it wasn't baby magic. No, it was destroy buildings with a single thought magic.

At first, Cassandra had been sceptical that such a person had actually existed. It was impossible. Everyone needed a wand to use magic. There was no other way.

Oh, how wrong had she been.

It had been 3 years ago when Minerva had confirmed it to Cassandra's face that someone so special truly existed. Was she the next stage in evolution or just an anomaly with incredible potential? Cassandra did not know, but at the time it had not been any of her business.

That all changed when an unexplained event occurred at the Canadian Academy for Young Witches and Wizards, which had landed several students in the hospital and young Miss. Wilson as the cause for them being there. It had been an accident, but the parents of the children who went to the school were already on edge after a murder that had occurred on the school's campus, so when they learned there was another student who could be a threat to their children's lives, they had made damn sure to have the culprit driven out. Cassandra would not lie when she said she did not feel for the girl. After all, she had been through a similar situation herself.

But it wasn't until recently that Nora Wilson had become Cassandra's problem. Minerva, towards the end of last year, had made it clear that Miss. Wilson was not being asked to go to any school near her and probably never would be with the way her father was acting. And with the problem of her advanced abilities, as well as potential, Minerva had seen the disaster before it had happened. Nora Wilson could not be neglected forever, or the world would come to regret it. And so, Minerva McGonagall had taken it upon herself to send a letter to Richard Wilson, asking him if it would be alright if his daughter could attend Hogwarts as a transfer student this coming September.

Naturally, the Board of Governor's hadn't liked that idea.

While what had really happened at the Canadian Academy had been covered up by both the school and Richard Wilson, there was still the simple fact that Nora Wilson could be dangerous. But Minerva was not a woman anyone should take lightly. She believed in second chances and Nora Wilson deserved one.

The Board of Governor's never had a chance.

Eventually Richard Wilson had responded to Minerva's letters with a load of bullshit about how he hoped he knew what they were getting into and that he didn't want just anyone seeing his daughter and so on and so forth. Now, Cassandra was here staring at the very girl who had been causing all of this uproar and she could not help but think that she would be seeing her sitting at one of the house tables at Hogwarts come September.

"Nora," Cassandra began. "I have come to offer you a place at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."

The teenager's bored expression froze and she sat up slightly to stare at Cassandra; her interest renewed in the conversation. "What?"

"Hogwarts current headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, believes that you should be in school come September. So, she has made an offer to your father to make you a student at Hogwarts and he has allowed me to come and talk to you about it."

The girl blinked. "Are you talking about the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry? The one in the UK?"

Cassandra smiled. "Yes. The very one. I am the current Deputy Headmistress and Defence against the Dark Arts professor."

"No kidding," the girl said in awe. "And my dad went along with this?"

"It took some convincing, but it appears he's on board with the idea," Cassandra said with a smile.

"I think he just wants me out of his life," Nora replied bluntly. "And someone asking him to send me to a boarding school in England is probably the greatest news he's gotten in years."

Cassandra couldn't help but smile. So the girl didn't just have a temper. She was honest as well.

"Maybe so," Cassandra continued, noticing the surprised look on the girl's face at how she ignored the comment about her father. "However, I am here to ask you if you would like to attend Hogwarts, as a student, in the fall."

The girl's brow furrowed slightly at the offer. "You're asking me if I want to go. You are aware who I am, right?"

"Yes," Cassandra answered simply.

"You know what I can do?" Nora asked, eyeing Cassandra curiously.

"Yes," she repeated.

"And you're not scared?"

It was a test. Of course the girl didn't expect her to say 'yes'. No self-respecting adult ever would. However, Nora Wilson looked like she could easily notice if someone was lying, since she had probably been lied to on several occasions throughout her short lifetime.

"No," Cassandra said honestly, her eyes never leaving Nora's.

Nora's gaze hardened. "Not even if I do something like this."

Before Cassandra could register what she had said, she was suddenly being slowly lifted into the air by some unseen force. She gasped slightly. She had not been expecting that. How little did this girl trust people that she was willing to scare them away? Merlin, her father was a fool for neglecting her like this.

"Miss. Wilson," Cassandra said in a stern voice, noticing the look of concentration on her face. "I would kindly appreciate it if you put me down."

Nora sighed and looked away from her, causing Cassandra to fall back to the couch with a slight thump.

Cassandra collected her dignity and stared at the girl in front of her. "Nora," Cassandra said in a gentle voice. "I understand what it is like to be an outsider."

"I doubt that," Nora muttered grumpily and Cassandra held back a smile.

"Even so, you need to know that you are not alone and that people still believe in you," Cassandra continued. "A woman like Minerva McGonagall would not ask you to come to her school if she did not think you could one day do great things."

Nora crossed her arms over her chest protectively and glanced at Monroe. "It can't be this easy. I can't just say I want to go and then it will happen."

"If you say you would like to come to Hogwarts, then we will deal with all of the other problems afterwards," Cassandra said to the girl.

"What other problems?"

"Merrily convincing our Board of Governor's that you have complete control over your abilities. We show them that and they will be putty in your hands. They've seen your test scores and, believe me, they were impressed," Cassandra replied, a small grin gracing her features when she saw the smirk of pride crawl onto Nora's face. "So, what do you say? Are you willing to give this all a chance?"

Nora bit her lip, her face becoming thoughtful as Cassandra stared at her in anticipation. Come on, kid. Say yes and you'll never be alone again, that much I can promise.

Nora's eyes flicked in Cassandra's direction suddenly, almost as if she had heard what she had said within her mind, before speaking. "And I would live at the school? Away from all of this?" Nora asked, as she gestured around at her surroundings.

"Yes."

Cassandra saw the flash of unbridled hope and excitement that crossed over Nora's eyes before the girl blinked it away. "Alright," she said in an even voice. "I'll give this a try."

"That's wonderful to here," Cassandra said sincerely.

Nora leaned back in her seat and let out a pleased sigh. "I can't believe I'm finally getting out of here," the girl said, speaking more to herself than to Cassandra.

"I promise you, this is all very real," Cassandra reassured as she began to rummage in her bag for the folder of papers she had brought to explain more to Nora about Hogwarts and how she would be proving her control to the Governor's.

"Harry Potter went to Hogwarts, right?" Nora asked suddenly.

Cassandra looked up in surprise. "Of course. His children are currently enrolled as well."

Nora leaned forward in her seat to stare at Cassandra before doing something that surprised her completely.

Nora Wilson smiled.

Cassandra couldn't help but notice that she was far prettier when she smiled. Her entire face seemed to light up and the girl no longer looked as if she were 10 years older then she actually was. She smiled inwardly to herself. The girl also reminded her of when she was 16. Strong-willed, stubborn and incredibly irritating.

"You know something," Nora said, smile still on her face, her voice lowered to the point where it was as if she were telling Cassandra a secret.

"What?"

"I'm going to be even bigger than he is some day," Nora promised. "That much I'm sure of."

Cassandra just gave the girl an amused look. "I look forward to seeing that."

A/N - So, this is really just a little bit of an imagination dump, which I liked enough to share with everyone. I've been thinking a lot about writing more about Cassandra Monroe's past and how she got to where she is now. After all, for those who have read Evolving Stakes we know that her departure from the Auror Department was not a smooth one and that she was also once Harry's partner for a small amount of time. Who knows, I may even write a fic about her sometime.

Also if anyone was wondering, I imagine Monroe currently being about 40ish, so yes, she is pretty young compared to past Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses.

Please tell me what you think, so read and review and I hope to have chapter 12 of Forbidden Thoughts out shortly.