Everything was becoming more competitive.

Since the fall of the Dark Lord, a new wave, a new generation had washed over all of the magical ministries. Reform was the best way to describe the amount of changes. House elves were freed and wizarding families forced to compensate their servants. Jobs required more certifications and knowledge. If ever a dark wizard were going to rise again, the world needed to be more prepared for it. These newly induced requirements started as additional programs at the wizarding schools after secondary school, but grew and developed until each school opened up universities that offered extensive degrees for those who chose to study for jobs that required more knowledge, such as an Auror or a Mediwizard.

For Cassiopeia the prospect of leaving her home in Massachusetts was not only grand, but a necessary escape from her shrewd family. Even in Ilvermorny she had never been able to escape their prying eyes, seeing that they lived so close to the school. Only the best was expected from her. If she didn't get top marks, that would be a rap across her knuckles from grandfather's cane until she got the point. They were a prestigious family and he hadn't worked so hard to keep up their name just so she could go and ruin it.

Cassiopeia had excellent marks all her school career, but perfect was what grandfather pushed for. He had hated that Cassiopeia had dyed her beautiful, silvery white blonde hair pink. She recalled his very words. "I didn't have your father marry a veela just so you could go and do that!"

Cassiopeia never saw her parents. Her father was almost always in Manhattan for work in MACUSA, whereas her stepmother was often in France. What became of her true, veela mother, was unknown. But she supposed that once she birthed Cassie, there was little use for her. She only ever saw her parents for holidays and her grandfather was always well behaved during those exchanges. Having no intention in following in either of her parent's footsteps, she had eagerly awaited acceptance to Hogwarts University. But it had been two years since she graduated from Ilvermorny and she had no answers. At least, not until this year when her screech owl, Kirk, delivered it directly to her.

'20 June, 2010

Dear Miss Selwyn,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place as Hogwarts University of Witchcraft and Wizardary under the selected double major of Potions and Charms. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. You will be an understudy to Professor Slughorn, while working hours in the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey.

Term for university students begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minvera McGonagall

Headmistress'

She sent Kirk with her response immediately before showing her grandfather. His mustaches had twitched with inexorable rage before he snatched the letter from her hand and tried to rip it up. He had been the reason she thought Hogwarts had never answered her. His intentions had been to marry her off to another pureblood family, he was just making the arrangements, but her wanting to be a Mediwitch had only thrown a wrench in his plans. Men did the work, not the women. He might have been lenient if she wanted to be a model for clothing catalogues, but doing 'intelligent' work was blasphemous. There was no need with the amount of money in the family.

But she was an adult now, he couldn't truly control her... but Cassie didn't know where to go. She hadn't made many friends at school, not any that the bridges hadn't been burned at the end of secondary school due to her grandfather. Hogwarts was a fresh start, another country that she could try and pave her way in. She had nothing against the States, only that her grandfather would try to gain possession of her as long as she remained there.

Cassiopeia had used the Floo Network to arrive at the Ministry of Magic, where she had to subject herself to a rather thorough search of her belongings. She had never traveled internationally this method and the customs department wanted to be certain that she was not smuggling any materials or creatures from America that were controlled or invasive. The entire ordeal had dragged on, in part to being half-veela.

Men would ogle at her from time to time, stuck in a stupor, and the younger of the custom wizards were no exception. The only female looked as if she were going to knock the mens' heads together with how long they were taking. This was all just another dim reminder of a childhood plight she'd dealt with, especially in her early adolescent years. Many girls at Ilvermorny had hated her for something that was completely out of her control and eventually, the boys had the same sort of disdain for her. She was using her blood to trick them, to make them act stupid around her, to use them to her advantage.

Despite the action of the men, the female customs witch smiled at her. "Where are you headed to?" she asked Cassie.

"Somewhere called… 'Diagon Alley'? I've got to get some school supplies, I'm here for university," Cassie glanced at the school list she had with her, along with an assortment of directions that had been included, seeing she was a foreign student.

"If you head over down the hall, there's a local Floo Network for all of the UK. You'll be able to get to Diagon Alley that way with no issue. You're all set to go, I've gone ahead and cleared your paperwork. Good luck at university," the witch told her, flashing a friendly smile.

Cassiopeia gave a stout nod and returned the smile before she heading into the busy crossroads of the British Ministry of Magic. She felt as if she were in a subway of dark tiles, molted green black stone clicked beneath her heels. High, dome ceilings extended above her, all made of the same large tiles. A fountain sat within the center of a round area filled with dozens of people milling from place to place. A bit confused for a moment, she recalled the directions and went in the direction the witch had told her.

Kirk clicked his beak within his tiny little cage, blinking his icy eyes at her. He was nonplussed by how busy it was and would have preferred to be let out of his cage. However, being in a new place, she didn't think that it would bode well to turn him loose. She followed a handful of other people to another semblage of Floo fireplaces. Getting into line, her head was on a swivel as she glanced at the fashion of the British witches and wizards.

Finally, when it was her turn, she slid her bag up her arm and grabbed a handful of the Floo powder. "Diagon Alley!" she threw the dust down and felt her every fiber begin to be sucked as if through a vacuum. She did not see the green flames that had engulfed her and stole her away. She appeared in a dusty fireplace, coughing as she stirred up some left over Floo powder.

Someone cleared their throat behind her and Cassie realized she was holding up the fireplace. "Sorry," she apologized quickly, stepping out and into the small house that Diagon Alley's Floo fireplaces were located.

"We're finally out of America. I've read a lot about Diagon Alley, I'll let you out soon, alright?" she promised Kirk, opening the door.

Diagon Alley was a long road filled with shops, all stacked upon each other. Somehow, it reminded her of Historic Boston, but the difference was that Diagon Alley had an undeniable charm. Most of the shops here were older than all of America and they kept their traditional storefronts.

"Now I'm going to go put in for a room at the Leaky Cauldron. I expect you to return tonight, I'll leave my window open," she told the itty bitty owl as she opened the cage. Kirk clutched to her finger, bristling his copper feathers as he gave a hoot of agreement. "Now don't get too far."

Kirk beat his wings and took flight. He wasn't a very big owl, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand comfortably. However, he worked hard to prove that he was just as good as the larger of his species. To a point where he'd flown himself to exhaustion, trying to carry parcels when he was meant to be a strictly letter flying owl. Smiling wistfully to herself, Cassiopeia headed down the dirt road, marveling at each of the shops. She made a mental note of the location of each and which she would have to visit before she pushed the door open to the Leaky Cauldron.

The pub was dusty, almost as if it had not had a proper cleaning in a decade. Wizards and witches just as primordial and dusty looking sat at the tables where candles guttered, barely illuminating the tavern. She headed to the bar, where a woman with strawberry blonde hair was cleaning out the inside of a mug with a cloth. Despite how old the bar was, this woman was probably only in her late twenties or early thirties.

"What can I do for you?" she inquired.

"I need a room for the weekend."

The woman noticed Cassie's accent. "Oh, where are you from?"

"Boston," it wasn't exactly where Cassie was from, but it was easiest to pick the largest city nearby that foreign witches and wizards would recognize.

"You're here till the 1st. Are you catching the Hogwarts Express for university?"

"Ah, yes I am."

"I went to Hogwarts back in the 90s. I'm glad to see they've introduced university. Our youth will be more prepared if something like then… were to happen again. I'm Hannah by the way, I own this tavern. My husband is the Herbology professor and head of Gryffindor house," Hannah told her eagerly, unloading all at once as she leaned forward on the counter. "You're not studying Herbology by chance, are you?"

I suppose she doesn't get young people around here often, Cassie thought. "No, but I'll probably work with your husband. I'm studying to be a Mediwitch and I'm doubling in Potions and Charms, but Herbology is very important when it comes to healing magics too."

"Oh then yes, you shall see him!" Hannah beamed, obviously delighted. "Why don't you follow me then. I've got a few rooms free."

Hannah led Cassie up a set of creaky stairs and down a narrow hall, where they passed a bat eared house elf. This house elf was dressed in a button down shirt and trousers, sparing a small glance with his enormous eyes. Cassie was glad that her old house elf, Jibby, had been released from service when all elves were freed and laws were passed to compensate them for their services. Jibby had been treated so terribly and when he had to be paid, her grandfather preferred not having a house elf at all. Now, Jibby worked at Ilvermorny, a much needed upgrade when compared to the Selwyn house.

Cassie smiled at him, but he simply scurried forward as if he had done something wrong.

Hannah brought her to a room with a king size four poster bed and a fireplace. Most of the floorboards were just as creaky as the rest of the Leaky Cauldron, but the sheets were freshly laundered and this room seemed to have been dusted more recently and that's all that really mattered to Cassie.

"If you need anything you can find me downstairs. And… here's your key-" Hannah pulled a skeleton key mysteriously from within her sleeve and deposited it into Cassie's hand. "Enjoy your stay and good luck with everything… What did you say your name was?"

"Cassiopeia Selwyn."

"Selwyn?" Hannah's brow furrowed and then relaxed. "Have fun dear."

Cassie stood in the doorway, watching Hannah disappear. Did she recognize my surname? The Selwyns didn't exactly have a clean record. Sure, they were part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but they were also among those pure blood families that had been known Death Eaters. Cassie knew that her grandfather had been a Death Eater for Voldemort back in the 20th century. She also suspected that he had also worked for Grindelwald in his youth. His ideas on blood purity had never faded, despite the strides in wizarding society. Her father now worked in the Ministry, but the Selwyns still had a reputation for being dark wizards thanks to her grandparents.

Placing her suitcase against the bed, she pulled off her maroon travel cloak and glanced in the mirror. Her pastel pink hair was pulled in a delicate bun away from her warm face and brilliant blue eyes. Her nose was small, lips rosy and full, lashes thick and luminous. The traces of veela were prominent in the symmetry in her face, her eyes, and would have been in her pale hair had she not dyed it. Cassie pulled out a case with glasses, a pair of large, round tortoise shell lenses in her hands. Their purpose was to break up her face, to create a small barrier between her and people. She liked to hope that the glasses had an effect on her veela blood, charming less men with the huge glasses on her face.

Alright, we've got to go check out the shops. Best to get the majority of my shopping done now and I can rest tomorrow, Cassiopeia thought, unfolding the glasses and pushing them up on her nose. They weren't prescription and they took up half of her face, but if Cassie could have traded her looks to just walk the streets without having people stare.

After skirting back out onto the alley, she noticed a large building made of marble rising in the distance; Gringotts, the wizarding bank. No doubt her grandfather had a good portion of their fortune holed up there. The only reason she had any money was because her father was impressed that Hogwarts had accepted her. Cassie had sent him a letter and he'd come home to visit, plopping a large coin bag in her hand to use for all her supplies and her year at school. Despite his neglect, when her father was around, he did try to make it up to Cassie as much as he could.

Extravagant gifts, beautiful dresses, candies, and unique jewelry, but none of it was fill the void that was a father who was truly present throughout her life. But it was because of him that she had the funds, her grandfather would have never given her a dime. And as long as her father was funding her, there was nothing her grandfather could do to touch her.

New country, new people, new chance, Cassie assured herself, feeling some of the galleons in her pocket that she had brought with her from her stash.

Unfolding her list of supplies, Cassie headed off to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions. A violet storefront greeted her with the latest witch and wizard fashion. Her own, American styled robes, felt a little out of place among the British streets, but she went in nonetheless. Detailed on the list as uniform for university students were all black robes. Females were permitted skirts, stockings, blouses/sweaters, and open robes/cloaks.

A plump woman, no doubt Madam Malkin, came sweeping toward her to inspect her charge. Once she noticed Cassie's age, she pushed up her horn rimmed glasses and cocked her head. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm here to get fitted for some university robes," Cassie told her.

Madam Malkin brightened and smiled, gesturing for her to follow her to a set of displays of black robes. "I've got a few styles, since the university students dress similar to the professors but are also allowed more liberty than secondary students. Now, I've got the most conservative-" she thumbed a long skirt, a blouse tucked into it and an open robe over the top. Emblazoned on the breast of the blouse and the robe was the Hogwarts shield. "There's also an option for trousers, I've got a lot more female students favoring the trousers now… but I'm rather fond of this one."

Madam Malkin had gestured to a knee length skirt, a sweater with a button down beneath, and an open robe.

"Ooh, could I get that hat with it?" Cassie gestured to a felt, French style witch's hat. She knew that Beauxbaton students wore such a hat for their uniforms and always thought they were rather attractive.

"Hm, now that you mention it, that would look good together," Madam Malkin pulled the hat down from a rack nearby and sat it on the top of the mannequin. "I do like that! So it'll be this one then?"

"Yes, can I get a few sets, along with the stockings. I'll take two hats as well in black. Oh and also an appropriate winter cloak," Cassie ordered as Madam Malkin steered her toward a step.

From her sleeve, a measuring tape slithered out like a snake and rapidly began taking her measurements. Once her measurements were taken and recorded, Madam Malkin gave her a slip and told her to return in a couple of hours to pick up all of the new robes.

Outside again, she paused to look up at a shop on the corner that had a red haired man lifting a top hat off of his head. Smiling to herself at the whimsical design, she read the sign 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes'. She doubted she needed anything from the shop, but decided to take a look inside. She was glad she did. The moment she took a step in she was stunned by all the toys and gags whirling around her.

She paused in front of a rack, snickering at a box labeled U-No-Poo, bordered by several other jokes and pranks. Had she friends to play them on, she might have purchased some. Her eyes listed over to a cage full of puffy pink and purple creatures and a bright pink section further. She trailed over to area labeled as WonderWitch. Her fingers grazed some pretty bottles, squinting as she tried to read the small label; First Love Beguiling Potion.

"Anyone you intend using that for?" a voice asked, startling her so badly that Cassie tossed the bottle up and barely managed to catch it before it crashed to the floor. Her eyes turned wildly to gaze at the wizard standing beside her.

"D-do you work here?" she stammered, shakily placing the glass bottle back on the shelf.

"If I do, will that change the answer to my question?" he grinned. "You're not from around here are you?"

"No, I just came here to have a look around. The storefront was interesting," she told him honestly.

The male she was speaking to was a tall wizard with loose auburn curls, parted over to the side, his hair shorter cropped along the sides and back. His face was peppered with the shadow of a beard and his eyes were green and bright. "Certainly is. Where are you from?"

"B-Boston," she still hadn't gotten control over her voice, pushing up her glasses nervously.

"Are you in England for university?"

"Yes, I'm a Potions and Charms double major," she perked up slightly at the mention of school. One of the only things she was good at.

"Studying to be a Mediwitch?"

"Yes! How'd you… Or is it obvious?"

"A bit obvious-"

"Athalos are you bothering customers again?" another male with hair even redder than the wizard she was speaking with came around the corner. He was balding in the middle and perhaps ten years his senior. Tall and narrow, he frowned at his light hearted counterpart who was broad and lean where he was lanky and resembled that of a carrot.

"Sorry Ron, I was just trying to help a customer," but Athalos was not apologetic. "She's a new student at Hogwarts University."

"Cassiopeia Selwyn," she stuck her hand out automatically to the older wizard. It's what people did and her father had told her that handshakes were very important. He'd told her specifically that weak shakes were the worst and often came from women. He referred to it as 'the fish hand' when someone would propose a limp hand to shake.

Ron took it, albeit confused by the action, but gave her a firm shake. "Ronald Weasley and I see you've met my charming cousin Athalos Prewett. Is there anything I can actually help you with?"

"I was just looking, there's a lot of wicked cool items here," she told him, both men exchanging glances at her choice of words. I forget that's a New England saying. I wonder how awful my Boston accent sounds too.

With both of them watching she felt sort of bad for not picking anything up. Part of her wondered if Athalos coming up to her while looking at Love Potions had been a tactic to sell more. He was handsome enough that some girls might buy it to try it out on him. She wondered what kind of fate she might have had, had Ronald not interrupted him. Grabbing a handful of odd makeup items, she smiled awkwardly.

"I'll get these," Cassie had barely looked to see what she picked up.

"Certainly you don't need half of those items," Athalos frowned, glancing at what she had chosen.

"I want them," she repeated obstinately.

"You're part veela, I did notice-"

"I'll just take them to the cash register," she swept past him and went up to the counter where Ron met her, shaking his head.

"That'll come to 8 galleons and 6 sickles," he told her.

Cassiopeia tried to hide the shock from her face on how much five or so makeup items had cost. It was true, she probably didn't need them, but she felt weird not buying anything with two workers standing over her. And one of their last names was Weasley, so they probably owned the shop or something. Counting the coin, she handed it slowly over to Ron, grinding her teeth as she forced a strained smile. "Thank you!"

Athalos was waiting by the door, leaning against the frame. "See you at school then!"

"Yes, you shall," she didn't know why she said that, but she did.

Why am I so awful at talking?

Once outside, she decided to see what she had actually spent nearly 10 galleons on. One item was Everlasting Eyelashes, some sort of extensions or false lashes meant to volumize. Another was a lipstick that would only wear off once the remover was applied, also inside was a nail polish that changed based on the weather and could also be used to predict the weather, InstaCurl was a spray that instantly turned straight hair into voluminous curls, and last was AutoContour, an item she had little to no use for.

Aside from the last one, she actually wasn't too disappointed with the turn out. Then she recalled that she had more business to tend to and went ahead to purchase her books, quills and parchment, and filled up her potions supplies at the local shops. She eventually stopped for some ice cream, sitting at an outdoor table to watch as the streets had gotten choked full of young students. Being the weekend before school started, the secondary school students also had a large list to choose from. She noticed that many were ogling at the Quidditch shop, pressing their noses to the glass as they admired the newest model broom that was out.

She'd never been allowed to play Quidditch. Her family's fear of her getting hurt was so great, that they'd prohibited her from even trying. Over the years, her interest in playing the sport had faded and she became content with just watching. Sometimes, she couldn't help but wonder how she might have turned out if she gotten to play. What position would she have played? Would she have been good enough to play professionally? Would people have liked her better if she had been on the Quidditch team?

"You know, that pink hair is quite easy to spot," Athalos materialized out of nowhere, almost as if he had apparated in the seat across from her.

Cassie, again, was so bewildered that she fumbled her ice cream cone, but actually dropped it rather than recovering. With a splat, the toffee chip ice cream was melting in the dirt, cone pointing up at her like a middle finger.

"You know, you're going to give me a heart attack," Cassie breathed, glancing sorrowfully at her fallen cone.

"Why pink?" he continued curiously.

Deciding that the cone was unsalvageable, she turned to him. "Because I like pink and I didn't like how boring it was before. It's busy, shouldn't you be in the shop, helping your cousin out?"

"I don't work there," Athalos told her airily. "Sometimes I help them sell things, but they don't actually compensate me. I'm here to get my school supplies and George and Ron let me stay here before school."

"What do you study?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said leaving the rest of the job description sit out in the open. She assumed he was studying to be an Auror, she knew that their programs were rather rigorous.

"So you went to Ilvermorny for secondary school. What was that like?" his curiosity was understandable, she was a foreign student who would have a lot of insight regarding magic in another country. However, she didn't know what to say. Should she lie about it and say it was great? Should she tell the truth about being ostracized? Would he feel bad for her and did she want that to be the foundation of their relationship?

"School-like. I don't know what you mean. Maybe once I get to Hogwarts, I can compare the two and better answer your question," she replied evenly, pushing up the large glasses that had begun to slide down her small nose.

"Well, Hogwarts is great. Never thought about going somewhere else to study. The professors are top caliber and really care about their students. With all the changes in the Wizarding world happening here first, Hogwarts is progressing faster than the other schools in strides of studying and resources. The castle is huge, but don't worry, I assume Ilvermorny was also huge, but me and some others can help you get the hang of the grounds," Athalos was rapid firing, the words tumbling out of his mouth so fast that the charm he had been laying into her when they first met evaporated. Sitting across from her was now an eager school boy, gushing about the school he adored so much.

"I wish I had as much love for my school as you seem to have for Hogwarts," she commented at the end of his tirade.

The auburnette paused, but did not question her. "Well, you would have never come here if that were the case," he pointed out. "Either way, I think you'll fall in love with Hogwarts too."

"I do hope so," she sighed wistfully before glancing up at the overcast sky. "Oh! I've still got to get my wand inspected. Maybe we can chat more later?"

"I'll be here tomorrow too. You're catching the Hogwarts Express to school, right?"

"Yes, at King's Cross Station?" she had no idea how to get there.

"Yeah, we can go together. You probably haven't been there before."

"That would be much appreciated. I've never been to London."

"I'll be seeing you then."

Cassie stood up, using her wand to steer the fallen ice cream cone into a nearby trash bin. She then trotted off to a store that nearly appeared to be closed, but she found that the door was unlocked and a bell tinkled above her head as she entered. Just like the Leaky Cauldron, the inside was covered in a thick layer of dust. She began to assume that dust was just a recurring theme in the UK and that this would not be the last place to appeared undisturbed by time.

An elderly man with long white hair and pale eyes came walking into view, his eyes bright as he inspected her. "How may I help you?"

Cassie pulled a slip from her pocket. "I'm a university student, foreign, and have to have my wand inspected and this form signed before I'm allowed to attend," she placed the parchment on the desk between them.

Among the acceptance letter from Hogwarts had been a slip mandatory for foreign students. Their wands had to be inspected for faults or illegal materials, referred to as a 'wand weighing'. From her pocket, she produced her wand, handing it over.

"Hm, a very handsome wand. Willow I see," he brought it rather close to his face, inspecting the fine lines of the slender wand with designs carved into the handle. "Very rare that I see American wood working with wands, but I'm always impressed by the engravings," he referred to the markings before turning the wand upward. "And I see Jonker put his favorite core in here, Wampus hair... A strong core, but..." he paused before casting a spell, a bundle of flowers expelling from the end. "Temperamental. Veela hair too?"

"Yes, from my mother," Cassie inclined.

"I usually don't use veela hair, very temperamental, but those of veela blood tend to have less issues with them, especially when paired with another core. So we have an 11" willow wand, springy, and with a wampus and veela hair core. Let me see here," the man glanced down at the parchment in front of him and signed on the line to approve her wand. "Very unique. I do love getting to look at the American wands. Jonker does the best work aside from... Me of course."

Recalling the sign on the front of the shop, she realized that this man was probably Ollivander, the wand maker.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do we have to get our wands weighed? Did something happen?" she inquired politely.

Ollivander's brows shot up. "Oh yes, the very first year Hogwarts began having university in fact. A student from South America brought in a particularly volatile wand made with the core made of Swooping Evil venom. I'm not certain if it was a joke, but almost every spell that came out of it misfired."

"Ah, well no harm done in getting our wands checked if it prevents things like that," Cassie shrugged.

After thanking Mr. Ollivander, Cassie returned to Madam Malkin's to retrieve her new attire. Wrapped nicely in paper parcels, she returned to her room in the Leaky Cauldron to lay out what she had bought for the day, taking inventory. Aside from the robes, she had to purchase a few upper level books. University students had full access to the Restricted section of the library and so, the books she bought had mainly been to use for helping teach the younger students.

University students were understudies to certain professors. Each professor would only take one or two understudies at a time and said students would also help teach the classes and grade papers. As Professor Slughorn's understudy, she had to be certain she had the appropriate secondary books including Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, and Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage.

Her potions supply chest was choked full of supplies, each of which had easily cost her the most. She carefully secured each wooden drawer and placed it neatly in her travel chest as she folded her casual clothing and placed them on the bottom. She inspected the quills she had purchased, a handsome eagle quill and a few peacock feather quills with interchangeable metal tips. In addition to her school supplies, she had purchased some sweets from the local candy shop, carefully adding them to the chest, meticulously arranging it until she was satisfied. It took four times of emptying the chest until she was happy.

Come evening, she headed downstairs to order a French onion soup and a small glass of wine. She had received a curriculum list and was already making a mental note of which potions she would have to read back up on. Among her classes, she'd always shined brightly in Potions. Charms had been a close runner up along with Herbology. Few people seemed to enjoy how monotonous Potions was, but being a very peculiar and particular person, she liked how precise everything was in Potions. All one had to do was follow a set of instructions and make certain not to mess it up. Sure, some of the materials were complicated to make and the books didn't really explain how to prepare them, but all it took was a little investigation work.

She had decided that tomorrow she would spend her day going over the curriculum and focusing on her thesis. Every university student had to have a thesis that they were working on, as it was how they applied for a spot at university. Cassiopeia's thesis was based around utilizing No-Maj studies in medicine and using some of their theories to translate into wizarding health care. She had packed some No-Maj anatomy books along in her trunk and had found their intricate details and terminology to be rather spot on.

Sunday flew by rapidly and she stayed off the streets, noticing that even more young students had piled in for last minute shopping. If she had thought that Saturday was busy, Sunday beat it to a bloody pulp. Cassie only went downstairs to buy food and occasionally glance out onto the alley. Kirk returned, tittering excitedly about his endeavors out in the streets of London.

"We'll be at Hogwarts soon, I'm surprised you don't mind this city too much," she remarked, running her fingers along his copper feathers. He rubbed his tufted ears against her, affectionately nipping her with his tiny beak. "I think you'll be excited to go around those grounds. The pictures were gorgeous."

Kirk fluttered over to his cage to nibble on some food while she pulled out the clippings she had of Hogwarts. Most of them were pictures from the newspaper, meaningless things that happened with the castle in the background. She went to show them to her owl, but he had already tucked his head in and decided to take a nap.

"Tomorrow," she whispered to herself, envisioning the future she had ahead of her, away from the stifling setting of her grandfather's manse. This was a new place and no one knew her. Hogwarts didn't take too many university students, she didn't expect there to be more than 20 students, if even that many. "And their accents too. I wonder if I'll get one too."

September 1st was an absolutely gloomy, wet, and miserable day. Cassie had heard about the famous rains that plagued England so often, but she didn't think it would be this bad. She had been fortunate enough to escape the wrath of the weather for a couple of days, but the day she actually had to move her chest and belongings, the sky decided it would unleash the heavens.

Athalos had met her in the Leaky Cauldron that morning, just as disturbed by the foul weather. "Now, there's no Floo network there, but fortunately we can apparate to the 'cubicle'."

"The 'cubicle'?" she repeated.

"Yes, there's an out of order cubicle at King's Cross, appears every September the 1st and it's used for those who can apparate. I'll take us there, make sure you've got a good hold on everything," he warned her, taking his wand from out of his pocket. "Alright, get hold of everything now."

Cassiopeia awkwardly hung her leg over her trunk and clutched Kirk's cage under her arm as she grabbed onto the outstretched arm that Athalos offered her. With a loud popping noise, their fibers were whirled away through space, hurtling across the city until they reappeared, slightly tousled in a small broom closet.

When Cassie released his arm, they were so crammed in there that she tripped over a mop and sent several other brooms and mops tumbling to the cement floor with a clatter. She flailed her arms, regaining her balance before she could topple over.

They secured carts for their belongings outside in King's Cross. Boston didn't have a train terminal as large as King's Cross, which was filled to the brim with No-Majs arriving for work. When she checked her ticket for the train, her brows furrowed and she glanced down the lanes again.

"Platform 9 and ¾ ? Is this some kind of joke?" leave it to the British school to think it was funny to label a ticket somewhere in between two platforms. Had she not been with Athalos, she would have wandered around the station. You couldn't apparate to Hogwarts, so she would have had to find another manner of getting to the school.

"It's this way," Athalos brought her between 9 and 10, passing brick pillars until he found one that he rather liked. "Now we've got to wait until there aren't any muggles around. We don't want to draw any attention."

"Muggles?" she repeated.

"Non magical folk?" Athalos gave her a strange look.

"Oh, the No-Majs?"

"We call them muggles here," Athalos told her kindly.

"Weird. I'll have to remember that," she remarked before glancing nervously at the barrier.

"Alright, let's go now," Athalos nodded her forward first, in the direction of the brick wall.

Getting the gist of his meaning, she turned the carriage toward the barrier, Kirk giving a disdainful hoot as if he were questioning why she was about to attempt this. Her every fiber screamed against it, told her that she was going to hit the stone hard. But she passed through the threshold and stood on the invisible platform. Her head craned up and her glasses fogged from the steam of the engine starting up.

Removing them she stared at the beautiful steam engine, which had been painted a brilliant crimson and charcoal. She rubbed her lenses off on her blouse, hearing Athalos' cart skitter up behind her. Cassie turned around to glance at him, wondering if he was just as amazed by the train. She felt rather stupid after a moment, realizing that he'd had at least 7 years to see the train. She caught his vibrant eyes and for a fleeting moment, Athalos just stared at her.

Hastily she shoved her glasses back on, despite the uneven smears against the lenses, she pushed them up clumsily.

"You look better without those glasses. It's like they hide half your face," Athalos told her honestly.

"That's why I wear them," she grumbled, both bringing their chests to open undercarriage of the train.

"My cousin is married to a witch who a quarter veela. People get used to it the more they grow accustomed to your presence. Those who don't… well, they're just weak willed," Athalos said, insisting on putting her chest up and they tucked the carts away with the others. "Come with me and I'll show you to the university cart."