"Is that a quill? This place is absurd, Cassandra. The name 'Hogwarts' should have been our first warning. And then the owls! I demand we return to the States immediately."

Cass pressed her lips together and tried not to laugh. The woman sitting at the desk in front of where she stood was really fucking scary. And since she couldn't see Eurydice's scaled head where it was peeking over her shoulder but still shielded by her hair, she'd probably assume Cass was laughing at her. She'd been exchanging letters with Headmistress McGonagall for the last two weeks, and even though the letters had been curt and somewhat dismissive, she hadn't prepared to face off with an alpha bitch the first time she stepped into the school.

"What we are doing is entirely unorthodox, Miss Goode. We rarely accept students from the United States, much less students who will be transferring into their seventh year. However given the events that took place –"

Cass was distracted once more when Eurydice again began quietly talking over the witch from where she was curled up in the hood of Cass' jacket.

"I don't like her. She smells like a predator and speaks to you as if you are nothing more than prey."

Cass let out a low hum to try to make it seem like she was paying attention to the headmistress, but Eurydice's words had made her thoughts wander.

It was true, being talked down to wasn't something she was used to. Back at the academy she was on the top of the food chain due to who her mom was and the rarity of her gifts. Running away to Europe had not been part of her life plan. Then again, being stabbed during an attempted witch genocide hadn't been either.

Things changed.

Cass only zoned back into the conversation when a "sorting hat" was mentioned.

"Sorry, I think I misheard you, are you saying a hat is what puts me on one of the teams?"

McGonagall's face became somehow even more pinched and she said in a tight voice, "Houses, Miss Goode. Not teams. And you did not mishear me. The Sorting Hat is an ancient enchanted object that will-"

"And it's more accurate than, I don't know, an aptitude test or something?"

"Miss Goode! This is a Hogwarts tradition and has been for millennia. At this evening's welcoming feast you will be placed into one of our houses."

Cass suddenly felt nervous, something she wasn't used to, and said in a strained voice, "In front of everyone?"

The headmistress' tone became a bit less acidic when she responded, "Yes. You will be sorted just after the first years are. We were able to accommodate your request for private rooming due to the circumstances, but it is my hope that you eventually join the other girls in the dormitory."

Feeling a bit better, she nodded and tried to convey her sincerity when she said, "Thank you. And I'll try."

McGonagall then picked up a piece of – dear God, parchment – and handed it to her while saying, "You'll be needing tutors, obviously. The curriculum at your previous institution was questionable to say the least."

At this Cass did her best not to snarl, seeing as the curriculum had been tailored by her mother and her grandmother before that. It took everything in her not to retaliate and point out in a bitchy tone that apparently Hogwarts had missed out on the Industrial Revolution. But she was doing her best not to make an enemy out of this woman, so she kept quiet.

However she did let out a derisive snort when Eurydice whispered, "At least our headmistress isn't as old as the building."

Cass glanced down at the paper in her hands to see that it was a timetable filled with unfamiliar words that she assumed were classes, and McGonagall continued without responding to the annoyed sound. The witch met her eyes before she said, "The top two students in your class are Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley, who are both in Ravenclaw. Tonight you should seek them out and exchange schedules so that you may make an arrangement that allows you to meet as often as possible. Any questions?"

An enormous amount of pity overtook her at hearing the name of the first kid, but Cass nodded to show that she had understood. If she remembered correctly Ravenclaw was the house for the book-smart people, so it made sense that kids from that house would be the best people to tutor her. She did however take the chance to voice a few concerns that had been plaguing her.

"So will all your spoken British spells still work if I don't have the accent?"

The woman across from her pinched the bridge of her nose, which honestly seemed a bit overdramatic to Cass. She hadn't done very many spells that required magic words, how was she supposed to know?

"Yes, Miss Goode. The spells will work despite your American accent."

"And I have to wear the uniform?"

"Yes."

"Ugh, fine. One more thing. Is it a requirement to use the stick every time I do magic?"

For a moment Cass was sure the woman was going to keel over and die. She hadn't known that a person's face could turn that shade of red.

"Wand. Not 'stick'. Wand."

As soon as McGonagall finished speaking, she heard the portrait just behind the desk of a dark haired man with a hooked nose suddenly speak, only to mutter something that sounded startlingly close to "bloody dimwit American."

It was only then that Cassandra Goode finally lost her battle to remain composed, and began shouting crude insults at a talking painting.