Chapter 2
The next morning, Cassandra drifted awake to the gentle lull of the Great Lake. Rolling over, she gazed out of a porthole. Just as the tentacles of the great squid bloomed into view, she realised she couldn't hear the atrociously loud snores of her roommate, Millicent Bulstrode. Bolting up, she quickly checked the room, only to find that each bed was unoccupied and neatly made.
'Oh, God. Why didn't my alarm clo—?'
The alarm clock lay shattered on the stone floor.
Draco.
How he managed to infiltrate the girls' dorm, Cassandra didn't know, but she was certain it had been him.
Draco Malfoy and his pack of thugs had relentlessly tormented her for four years and it appeared he had no intention to stop now. It began when they were all in First year. When she'd stepped up in front of the entire school and had the Sorting Hat placed on her head, Draco had loudly mistaken her as a Weasley and made a distasteful comment about how 'that family breeds like rabbits'. Just after this, the Hat had shouted 'Slytherin', the one house she knew had a bad reputation for spitting out evil wizards. This, coupled with Draco's insult, made her burst into tears. Ronald Weasley had flushed redder than his hair and given Cassandra the evil eye. Since then he'd held a ridiculous grudge against her and Draco had discovered a sensitive girl to victimise.
With a defeated sigh, Cassandra dragged on her dull grey uniform and her tattered robes, picked up her Potions books and mentally prepared herself for a class with Draco, Weasley and Hermione. Her hand slipped into her pocket to find her wand but all she felt was emptiness. For a horrific second, she thought that Draco had taken it to further humiliate her. When she saw the end of it poking out from under her bed, she exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She inspected it as she picked it up. 11 inches, holly, with a unicorn hair core, embellished with a spiral pattern. How excited she'd been when she first received it.
As she rushed through the common room and out into the halls, memories flooded Cassandra's brain: stepping into Ollivander's, being underwhelmed by the dust and dim lighting; expecting nothing to happen when she waved a wand, as if it was all just a big joke orchestrated to mortify her; receiving the slim white wand that made her glow on the inside and cause a brief flash of confidence to unfurl throughout her bones.
That confidence soon disappeared completely. She'd be surprised if even ten other people at Hogwarts knew she existed.
Cassandra hurried through the main courtyard, the clock tower's pendulum counting away the seconds. She glanced up at the clock face and skidded to a halt. It was 9:30. She'd missed half an hour of Potions. Not once had she ever been late to class. School was her only hope, her only salvation and now she'd blown it. In her mind, she saw Professor McGonagall's disappointment, Dumbledore shaking his head in scorn, Snape sneering at her with disgust. Warped versions of what the consequences of being late would be stalked her mind and clenched her heart. Deep down, she knew she was being ridiculous. But her lungs wouldn't fill with air anyway. Her hands shook so badly her books dropped onto the cobblestone.
I'm having a panic attack, a reasonable part of her commented. Come on, girl. Breathe.
Inhale.
Exhale.
That's it, Cass.
By force of will, Cassandra drew oxygen in and blew it out, gradually regaining control over her body.
The clock said five minutes had passed.
Whimpering, Cass picked up her books and sprinted through the castle, down moving flights of stairs until she finally reached the Potions classroom. She burst through the door, out of breath and flushed. Every head in the room turned to stare at her. She stopped breathing at once and lowered her eyes to the ground ... but not before Ron Weasley flashed her a nasty sneer.
'Miss Aldaine. Where have you been?' Snape droned with obvious disinterest. Cassandra heard Draco snigger quietly. She lifted her gaze to him and gave him the evilest look she could. He didn't look intimidated in the least.
'I overslept, Sir.' She murmured in Snape's direction.
'Sit. I trust you can copy notes in your state?'
'A-ah, yes, Professor.' She stuttered, stumbling over to her desk, inconveniently placed directly in front of Draco's. Chuckles twittered through the class.
'A-a-a-a-ah, yes, Professor.' Draco mimicked from behind her. Snape gave him a scathing glare and returned to the front of the classroom.
As Cassandra prepared her books and quill, Draco whispered to her.
'Smart girl's late. Wonder how that happened?' She heard the grin in his voice.
Cass ignored him.
'Forget to set your alarm?' Crabbe and Goyle snickered.
Still, she refused to give him a reaction.
'You know, Red, I hear you grew up with Muggles. What was that like? I've always imagined it to be … dirty. Well, of course, the way you turned out, it's quite obvious you didn't have any magical parents to raise you. I bet being an orphan is even worse than being raised in a Muggle pigsty.'
Cassandra clamped her eyes and teeth together. Draco was far too close to home for her liking.
'How did your parents die? I heard one of them killed themselves. I bet your mother got one look at your face and offed herself.' His voice got softer.
Draco's mouth pressed against her ear, his warm breath blowing across her cheek. Cassandra's throat was clenched with the effort to keep in tears.
'Or maybe it was Papa?' he breathed.
An unwelcome sob bubbled out of her chest. Draco's mouth curled in a smile.
'If a Muggle was having my child, I'd kill myself, too.'
She sucked in a breath. Why would someone say that? How could someone say that? What kind of evil person had the ability to say that to someone's face?
Cassandra's entire body tightened, until her muscles were locked. Looking down, she found her knuckles were white and her hands had formed fists. Her nails cut deeply into her palms.
It didn't take long for her to realise she had no control over her body. Her head slowly swung to face Draco's; they were a centimetre apart. So close she could have kissed him.
Staring into his eyes, she felt something she'd never felt, something so violent that there wasn't a word to describe it. She felt certain she could have killed him in that moment.
Draco's smile dropped away and fear bloomed on his face. Whatever he saw in her eyes terrified him. She watched her hand reach up to grasp the side of his neck, which confused him. Until her fist shattered his nose.
Draco screamed in agony. Cassandra watched passively as students rushed forward to help him and Snape dragged her back across the classroom. It was only when Snape slapped her across the face that she truly came back to herself.
Her mouth dropped open in horror as she looked upon the carnage she'd caused. Draco's nose was streaming blood and at least two other students had passed out at the sight.
She'd done this.
How could she have done this?
