Cassiopeia took a long breath, staring at the closed chest in front of her.

"You will have to open it eventually," her aunt said behind.

This was the second week she spent with the Tonks, and things were slowly getting in place. The teen had her own bedroom right beside her cousin's and was slowly adapting onto having muggle things around the house, and her mother's sister – along with her husband – had welcomed her with open arms into the household.

Cassiopeia had the same rules as Tonks when it came down to them; she didn't have a bedtime, but there should be no noise after 10 pm, and she was expected to be home before half past midnight unless she talked to them priorly. Boys were allowed but permission to stay the night wasn't automatically granted and should be discussed prior to arrival.

Her aunt was a caring woman who knew almost exactly what Cassiopeia was going through and was helping her transition as best as she could. She was even teaching her niece how to cook when she arrived early enough from work to catch her making dinner.

"Are you sure nothing is gonna jump out of it and eat me?" Cas muttered.

She had been using what she had from Hogwarts since arriving, and the chest was staring her down ever since.

"If I still know my sister, no," the woman rested a hand on her niece's back, rubbing a spot in a way to try and comfort her. "She's your mother, dear. Besides, if anything was bound to happen, it would have already happened. It's been 2 weeks."

Cassiopeia nodded slowly. Yes, she was right; her mother wouldn't try to harm her. What was she thinking?

The girl reached out, finally opening the chest, and finding that the content was just… Stuff. Clothes, shoes, jewellery and objects that she had around her old room or in her safe.

"She sent you some clothes," Andromeda tried to sound cheerful. "Let's give them a look."

'Some' wasn't exactly the word she should have used. When the two started pulling the girl's clothes out, it was clear that everything she ever owned was in there. Soon, the bed was completely covered in piles and piles of clothing and boxes and more boxes of shoes.

"I think that's enough," Cassiopeia decided, stopping. "I already know everything is here, I don't need further proof."

Andromeda only hummed a confirmation sound, and she stood up, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Can you help me pick some stuff up?" the blonde girl questioned shyly. "I'll just put the rest of it back, but I need something to wear to work."

She nodded. Her aunt had been nothing less than helpful in the times Cassiopeia was there, and she was very thankful for it; without her, the girl would be lost and homeless. She was still, however, very much uncomfortable with being with them. This wasn't her house nor her home, the bed wasn't the one she 'd lied down back at the mansion nor the one at Hogwarts, she was living with people she had just met and she had to learn things that people younger than her already knew about life.

It was a lot.

The two of them filled her wardrobe with anything that would be useful in her day to day life, and stored the rest right back in her luggage again, putting it in the corner of the room in case she needed it again.

"Come on," she stood. "Let's get dinner ready."

Cassiopeia followed her downstairs, trying her best to cheer up. George would be coming over later and she wanted to at least try and make something to be presented in the meal – even if it was chopped potatoes.

Truth is… Cassiopeia was not good in the kitchen. In her two weeks living with her aunt, the girl had managed to burn herself taking food from the oven and with boiled water, and cut her finger and hand at least once every time she had to chop or peel something. Andromeda didn't allow her anywhere close to the stove alone, and as far as Cas had tried, her only ability was to make tea. She couldn't even say that she could heat up milk, because she was prone to forget she had left it heating and it would most likely spill before the girl could do anything to stop it.

"Cassiopeia," Andromeda called her niece's name, making her turn her attention to her aunt while trying to peel the potato in her hands with the least possible damage – to both herself and the vegetable.

"Do you plan on joining the order?" her voice was carefully nonchalant, though Cassiopeia knew what lied behind it.

Honestly, the girl didn't know. Yes, she supported the order – Merlin, would she have given up on her whole life if she didn't think that You-Know-Who's cause was vile and despicable? - but fully joining them was a big stretch. She wasn't an Auror or a fighter, far from it.

"I don't know," the blonde teen decided to say. "Maybe one day if they need me. If this war goes on for long, you know?"

She hummed in confirmation.

"I'm not that good of a warrior," she confessed. "I'm good with potions and organisations, and I thought about joining the Ministry, but I don't trust that they are actually a safe choice. Father has too many connections there, that's not good at all.

A soft knock on the door of the kitchen made the two turn their heads to the side, and Tonks entered the room with a smile.

"I see you got through a whole potato with your hand intact," she noticed and her cousin rolled her blue eyes. "Congratulations."

"Shut up," Cassiopeia felt her cheeks warming up.

"Don't tease her, Dora," her aunt said without moving her eyes from her own tasks. "Your cousin is trying her best."

But the two only smiled. It was good to live with Tonks, Cas could understand a bit of Draco's side on their relationship, with her trying to overprotect him but still bugging the hell out of his mind sometimes.

"So…" Tonks cleared her throat. "You're making dinner."

"Yes."

"And George is coming to have dinner with us."

"Yes."

She hesitated a bit, and Cassiopeia turned to glance at her direction, noticing how her hair was changing into several different colours, one after the other.

"I was wondering if we could have Remus over too."

The blonde frowned to herself at how nonchalant she was trying to sound.

"I don't see any problem, but we're not making anything special."

The metamorphmagus opened a suspiciously big smile.

"I'm sure it won't be a problem," she assured the two in the kitchen before suddenly standing up and running out.

Well, Cassiopeia would certainly interrogate her about that later.

Cas finished peeling the vegetables with a single accident before her aunt sent her to her room to 'get ready for George', which for the girl was a bit pointless; she worked with George, the two saw each other on a daily basis and, sometimes, in very unflattering ways. Still, she didn't protest and walked to her room anyway.

"I can't believe she actually lets you close the door with me here," George sat on his girlfriend's bed with a silly and playful jump.

"I still can't believe she even gave me a room," Cassiopeia pointed out, sighing.

Truth be told, she couldn't hide things from George and soon after moving in she'd told him about what she had actually planned to do after Sirius' death. He was hurt, of course, but didn't hold it against her for long.

"But she did," he reminded the blonde girl and reached to pull her into his arms and down the comfortable mattress. "And that's a great thing. The privacy too."

Her boyfriend's moved his lips down to her neck, and she couldn't help but giggle in response as his skin tickled hers.

"George..." she whined a bit. "They are literally down the hall."

"So what? I'm not doing anything wrong."

But he was making her want to do everything that could be considered wrong.

Gently, his hand moved to Cassiopeia's face and her boyfriend took her sweet lips in a kiss, soon holding her body against his with a strong grip.

"Mum wants you to have lunch with us this weekend," he said in between kisses. "And Bill wants to introduce us to his new girlfriend."

Cassiopeia tried to breathe in, jumping a bit when his large hand wrapped itself around her thigh tentatively under her dress. It was the first time he had ever tried to make that contact with her.

"Is that okay?" he whispered.

Cassiopeia opened her eyes to find his.

"Your brother's girlfriend? I don't know, I haven't met her."

"No," he chuckled. "Me touching you," he made circles on her skin. "Here."

The girl licked her lips.

"Yeah. Totally fine."

He went back to kissing her, to which his girlfriend enthusiastically followed him.

Cassiopeia weren't sure how long had passed since she had lied there, but the girl had just worked up the courage to put her hand under his shirt when a knock on the door made the two pull away and her boyfriend to fall on the floor of the bedroom.

The door opened and her aunt's husband stood there with a polite smile but a strong look on his face.

"I think it's time to call it a night," Mister Tonks said politely, but still not leaving space for protests. "Your mother will be worried if you get home too late, George."

Looking as red as his hair, Cas' boyfriend put himself on his knees, making his head stand out from his place.

"Of course, sir."

The blonde felt her whole face burning in embarrassment and stood up from the bed, fixing her dress.

"I'll walk you out."

Mister Tonks smiled again to the two teens, still holding the door open and waiting while George recomposed himself and followed her outside the room.

Cassiopeia walked her boyfriend out silently outside the house, where it was finally possible to apparate, and he leaned in to kiss her lips before taking his wand in his hand.

"See you at work tomorrow," he smiled.

"Bye."

And with that, he was gone.