Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. However, if Rowling would like to give it to me for my birthday, that would be great.
"What?!?! Married!?!?" exclaimed Lily Evans. "You have to marry that git?!?!"
"I know," grumbled Cassiopeia, tossing her mahogany-brown hair over her shoulder. "I swear, my parents must have hired a seer or something to decide how to make me as miserable as possible."
"So, what happens if you don't go through with it?" Sophie interjected.
"Well, apparently it's an unbreakable contract, and if we don't get married by the time we're eighteen, both we and our parents will die. So, it's really in all of our best interests if we go through with it, even though none of us are happy about it. The only bright side of this situation is that our parents are distinctly unhappy about having accidentally paired the white sheep of the Black family with the black sheep of the White family. We're both outcasts by now, you know. Although I can't imagine what family would want that tosser Sirius around anyway," Cassie griped, turquoise eyes flashing angrily.
"Good point, Cassie," Lily laughed.
Cassiopeia White, or Cassie to her friends, was going into her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and had hated Sirius ever since he had tried to sneak into the Gryffindor girls' tower in their second year. Even before that their relationship, or lack thereof, had been strained, thanks to his arrogance. She had been told of her betrothal the week before, on her seventeenth birthday. Apparently her parents had hoped to unite two of the greatest remaining pureblood families through their marriage. Sadly, both children had not turned out as hoped, not upholding the family values of pureblood superiority, but the contract remained.
Fortunately, she had her two good friends, Sophie Andrews and Lily Evans, to help her through it. Sophie was blonde with curly hair and startling blue eyes. She was demure and sweet, often making up for Cassie's blunt nature. Lily Evans had auburn hair and glittering emerald eyes. She was the Head Girl that year, but was not excited about the fact that James Potter, her unwanted admirer, was Head Boy. He had been pursuing her since their first year at Hogwarts, and Lily had been rejecting him with equal enthusiasm.
James Potter was the leader of the group known as the Marauders. The group also consisted of Sirius Black, Cassie's intended and the most sought-after male in Hogwarts, though
Cassie did not see the attraction. Sirius and James were as close as brothers, since James's family had taken Sirius in when he ran away from home and was disowned at 16. Remus Lupin was the third member, and the only one the girls were friends with. In fact, Sophie had long been nursing a crush on the quiet bookworm, although he was intensely shy. Peter Pettigrew completed the group, but didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the group, not being handsome, funny, or smart.
The foursome had just boarded the Hogwarts Express, being late as usual, despite Remus's warnings that they wouldn't find an empty compartment. He turned out to be correct, as the boys searched the train in vain. The boys decided to share Cassie's half-empty compartment.
As they stepped inside, Cassie and her friends suddenly stopped all conversation, and greeted Remus, ignoring the other three boys.
"And how are you doing, my dear fiancée?" Sirius asked, with a swooping bow, unable to accept the awkward silence that had quickly descended.
"We'll be in-laws," remarked James with a grin.
"You're not really brothers, in case you haven't noticed," Lily reminded him testily.
"Well, I'd say giving him houseroom for two years counts for something. I've already reserved the best man spot, anyway."
"I don't know what grand occasion you think this wedding is going to be. Neither of us wants this, so there's no point in broadcasting this to the entire wizarding world," Cassie admonished James. "And Sirius, Unbreakable Vow or not, if you tell the whole school about this, I swear I'll feed you to the Giant Squid."
"That time of the month, is it?" sneered Sirius. "Even Remus doesn't get this bad when he—" A swift kick from James silenced his remark.
Remus changed the subject. "Don't we need to get to the prefect's meeting? Without the Head Boy and Girl, nothing will get done."
Lily filed out after James, Sophie and Remus, casting a sympathetic glance back at her friend as Sirius made himself comfortable in her vacant seat. To Cassie's further horror, he soon tossed Pettigrew a few sickles and sent him to find the candy trolley, leaving the unwilling couple alone in the compartment.
A/N: Well what do you think so far? This is my first fic. Please review, it only takes a minute! The more reviews I get, the faster I'll update!