Up past all of the compartments there was a carriage that comfortably fit the secondary school students. Athalos had to tap on the door, an older university student approached, pulling back the curtain that obscured the window, before unlocking the door and allowing them in. Said student was neatly groomed with a beard, grey eyes, and brown hair.

"Who've you got with you? You know the prefects aren't allowed in our carriage," the man told Athalos gruffly.

"She's a new student, studying to be a Mediwitch," Athalos told him, slithering past him like a snake before he waved at the others in the carriage, the eager school boy shining through again.

"Cassiopeia Selwyn," she squeaked, pulling Kirk's cage out of the way so she could extend a hand over to him.

The older student glanced down at her hand, almost as if he didn't know what to do with it, before raising his dark brows and shaking her hand. "My name is Samuel Mayweather and good luck with Slughorn. We've gone through 6 Medi students in the past few years."

"Oh..." she released his hand and was suddenly very aware of the professor she was meant to be the understudy to. In books, she'd read about Horace Slughorn's prowess and accomplishments as a gifted scholar and potion maker. Her major wasn't intended to only focus on Potions, but it had a focus in it due to how healing was a balance between potion making and healing charms. Madam Pomfrey, while the Matron, was not a professor and technically Cassie had to be an understudy to a professor.

"Try not to worry about it too much, he's very nice," Samuel corrected, as if he could take back the words he had just uttered.

Athalos waved his arm in the air, gesturing for her to join him and his friends. Cassie, shoving her glasses up her nose, gave Samuel a small smile before she and Kirk went to join a handful of students. Sitting with him were a few other wizards and only a pair of witches.

"She's from America, went to Ilvermorny," he was telling them as she sauntered up.

"Hello," she gave them an awkward smile, not knowing what else to say as they all stared up at her. She wondered if any of them were also foreign.

A slightly plump wizard stood up so abruptly that Cassie nearly threw Kirk's cage. The owl hooted indignantly at her as she jostled his cage. He took her hand between his clammy ones and shook hard, jarring her shoulder. "Bernard Nelson, I'll probably be seeing you around. I'm a 2nd year Herbology student."

Cassie managed to finally get her hand away from him, offering a slightly shaky smile from how forthcoming he had been, but tried not to hold it against him. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Ohhh she does have that rounded accent you mentioned," Bernard shot Athalos a glance back eagerly, bouncing slightly on his heels.

Cassie's cheeks burned. It's all of you who have accents.

When glancing among them, Cassie realized that the majority of them were not teenagers, like she might have assumed. Rather, they appeared to be in their early or mid twenties, returning to university after realizing they needed more credentials before voyaging out into the working world. Only one girl looked even younger than she.

Cassiopeia was introduced to Athalos' friends. There was William Hayes, a 3rd year Care of Magical Creatures major who had long blonde hair and a thick beard, bright friendly cerulean eyes, and was built like a truck, his muscular arms laced with scars from the dangerous beasts he had handled. Another wizard was Emery Cook, quite thin and sinewy while sitting next to his golden counterpart; Emery had a dark wash of messy black curls, his face spattered with freckles, eyes dark like coals and was strictly a 2nd year Potions major.

Among the two females was Tracy Miller who had a wash of dark luminous curls, framing her sweet heart shaped face and dark doe-like eyes. Tracy was an 3rd year Astronomy major. Beside her was the youngest among them, probably the only teenager in their ranks, freshly out of secondary school; Olivia Greene, studying Divination. Olivia had long golden blonde hair that nearly reached her waist, pulled away from her face with a crimson headband. She had a cute, cherubic face that made her appear much younger than her 18 years.

After the introductions, the train let out a long, high pitched whistle, and lurched forward. "Did you all go to Hogwarts?" Cassie asked them, they all seemed quite familiar with one another.

"Yes, we did, there's very few foreign students at Hogwarts. The professors prefer to bring in students they already know," Tracy's luminous eyes and dark lashes flickered between them all. "But there are other foreign students. If you look around-" she turned so that they could look around the carriage. "Kioshi is from Japan studying Defence Against the Dark Arts," she pointed to a lean, Asian wizard who was sitting with another pocket of university students, one of them being Samuel. Another wizard caught her eye among the throng of wizards, but Cassie tore hers away when Tracy pointed to someone else. "Over there we have Nataly Nunez, she's from Columbia and is here for Arithmancy," a pretty, tan skinned witch was sitting with some other witches of equal prettiness.

"Oh, and don't forget Bjorn Eriksson from Norway," Bernard motioned to a wizard who had short, whitish blonde hair and a sharply carven face.

"Slughorn has accepted plenty of foreign students, none have lasted," William pointed out.

"Why?" Cassie asked nervously.

Everyone glanced over to Emery, who was one of the sole surviving Potions majors. "He's very particular and foreign students aren't familiar with his work ethic. It's very jarring for many and they leave with a bad taste in their mouth. Slughorn isn't fond of mistakes, but anyone who is good at potions, he'll put on a pedestal."

Then I hope my work ethic is good enough, Cassie thought, thinking of all of the other students that had left Hogwarts after not getting along with their lead professor. "I meant to ask, but where do we stay at Hogwarts? Are we sorted into houses?"

"No, we have 'dorms' on the outskirts of the grounds. They're really cabins that are meant to 2 students and they're charmed so that no secondary students can get in. It's got a sort of... Age line. A lot of the cabins are on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest," Athalos explained.

"Did they have houses at Ilvermorny?" Bernard leaned forward hastily, trying to get as close as he could to Cassie despite there being a couple people between them.

"Yes, there is Thunderbird, Wampus, Horned Serpent, and Pukwudgie. I was in Pukwudgie."

"What is Pukwudgie?"

Cassiopeia found herself launching into descriptions about native creatures to America, William seemed to know a great deal on his own, but was thrilled to get the information first hand from an American. For the time being, those gathered around her seemed to be quite intrigued by her. She wondered when that sense of awe would fade and if she would just become a fixture in the background again. Cassie also couldn't help but worry about meeting Slughorn after hearing about all the students that hadn't bothered to return.

Eventually, a plump witch in plum came into their carriage with a trolley filled with sweets. Despite their age, many of those in the cart went up to her to buy candy and dessert. They brought back Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, Pumpkin Pasties, and Chocolate Frogs.

"Do you want anything Cassie?" Athalos asked her as he stood with a Licorice Wand sticking out of his mouth.

Taken aback that her name had been shortened, she shook her head, her fingers clutching at the fabric of her robes as she glanced out the window. The light was fading from the sky, they had been traveling for hours now, and she wondered if they were almost there. In comparison to America, she didn't think the UK was this large and yet, here they were still on the train. The coppery sheathe of the sun was sinking beneath a hill and the impending night was dropping down like a speckled curtain on a theatre's stage.

She dozed off slightly in the middle of it all, her body not accustomed to the time of day she had to wake up, England being ahead of Massachusetts by a handful of hours. Cassie awoke to someone shaking her shoulder lightly and when she turned her head, she saw that Bernard was beside her.

"Time to go, we've arrived," he told her, wiping his palms off on his pants quickly.

Realizing that she had not yet changed, Cassie threw herself out of her seat and sprinted for a nearby restroom. Never had she ripped off her robes so quickly, trying to pin her pink hair away from her face. First impressions were everything and she didn't want to start off on the wrong foot with Professor Slughorn. She pulled her felt, French styled hat into place, banging Kirk's cage against the door as she hurried outside, desperately glancing around for the rest of the university students. Cassie didn't realize she had left her glasses on the sink while changing.

Her half-cloak fluttered like hummingbird's wings behind her, her head on a swivel, a piece of hair coming loose from her bun before she spotted the other solid black cloaks that belonged to her peers. With a whoosh of relief, she hurried over, but was intercepted by a large throng of secondary students. She danced on her feet, standing on her toes as she tried to keep her eye on them.

When the path had cleared, she didn't see the group with Athalos and instead was standing behind some wizards, one she recognized as Kioshi, the Japanese wizard. She couldn't see what any of them were doing, but one of them seemed to notice her, turning around to look at her.

"You're the new girl, right?" a broad one inquired.

"Yes... where do we go?" while no longer raining outside, it was rather misty.

"You can come with us, we've got to go up to the castle first for the sorting and feast. One of the professors will also want to address us beforehand. Lay down the rules, give us our cabin assignments..." Kioshi had turned around, his English clear and perfect without the slightest hint of an accent.

"Oh, ok! Thanks," she nodded, following after the pack of wizards, of which she noticed were quite athletic and also had brooms with them. Quidditch players? No, people didn't go to university to get better at Quidditch. Perhaps they were on the university team. The only familiar face among them was Samuel.

"Cassiopeia Selwyn, right?" Samuel repeated as they all loaded up onto a carriage pulled by thestrals. Cassie was a bit preoccupied with staring at the creatures, having never seen them before. Sam turned around and glanced. "Oh, can you see them?"

Nodding slowly, she tried to ignore the leathery horse beasts. "Yes, you can just call me Cassie."

"Cassie, with me is Kioshi Takashi, Ethan King, and Damian Walker," Samuel introduced, motioning to each wizard respectively.

Ethan was the largest of them with a brow that almost seemed to cast a shadow over his eyes. His hair was short cropped and he had a bit of a brutish look about him. Beside him was a male with dark hair that contrasted with his light skin, his eyes a striking blue that were so vibrant that they were almost disconcerting.

"Are you all on a Quidditch team?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, the university team," Ethan told her proudly, the carriage beginning to move. "Are you coming to the party tonight?"

"Party?" she repeated.

"Oh, she probably wouldn't know about it. I mean, look, Prewett's group left her behind, they probably didn't tell her," Samuel shook his head and sighed. "Then again, Cook doesn't like having any competition."

"Emery?" she felt like a broken record, asking so many questions and not knowing anything. The carriage was bringing them into a dark forest.

"Yeah, I have no doubt he's not too keen on you. Know how I mentioned Slughorn is tough? It's in part due to Cook," Samuel warned her.

"He's a slimeball," Ethan agreed.

Kioshi remained silent on the matter and Damian was gazing out into the forest.

"Slughorn is very particular, but I have a theory that Emery has been purposely sabotaging them. Maybe it will be different with you, but at this rate..."

"And none of you study Potions by chance?"

"No, we're all Defence Against the Dark Arts," Damian replied offhanded.

"So are you coming to the party?" Ethan insisted.

"I'll see... I'm still a bit messed up from the time changes," she admitted honestly.

"Also," Damian turned to glance at her. "If you have something that can change your hair color... I have a feeling McGonagall isn't going to like it."

"Ah," Cassie reached for her hair, her finger grazing the tendril that had come loose from her bun. The pink represented her independence from her grandfather, her obstinance. Did she need to keep up the appearance now that she was free? She didn't want to make the headmistress resent her upon first appearance. "I believe I have the counter-potion stowed in my case."

"Counter-potion?" Samuel repeated curiously.

"Yes, this color is from a potion I created. No-Maj, er... Muggles dye their hair with chemicals, but I created a potion that will allow your roots to grow in the same color. I made a counter potion in case the one dying my hair backfired. I'll grab it before we go to the feast," she tapped her lip, contemplating the whereabouts of the potion in relevance to the setup of her chest.

"Wow, you created a potion that does that? Slughorn'll probably like you then," Ethan told her, grinning broadly.

"It's nothing crazy, just... cosmetic," she waved off, feeling her cheeks sting.

Through the forest the thestral drawn carriage wound until they paused just outside of it. House elves were already waiting to move their belongings, to which Cassie hurriedly opened hers, digging through her things. She could feel her skin prickling as she made a mess, but found the tiny corked bottle labeled 'Virgin Dye'.

Slamming her chest shut, she caught back up with the group of wizards and opened the bottle. Taking it like a shot, she made a face, the bitter and spicy flavors reminding her how women would do anything for beauty. She placed the bottle in her pocket and her hair, as if a tide of blonde had washed over her, reverted to its pale color.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" Samuel had observed the process and was rather impressed by it.

"Nope, just glad I had one ready," she said before following them to where the rest of the university students were. The group moved as a large packed, up a hill and toward a castle that was silhouetted by a night sky. Clouds had begun to part to reveal a speckled canvas, twinkling down upon them.

Hogwarts was magnificent.

Ilvermorny had its own beauty, but originally it had been a mansion that kept expanding until it became a castle. Hogwarts was actually built to be one. Dozens of spires pointed jauntily at the sky and the stained glass windows were illuminated against the candles lit within. Little lights dotted various areas of the castle, revealing certain terraces and parapets that might have easily been missed during the daytime. Up on its little hill, overlooking the lake, Cassiopeia didn't think any of the pictures did the castle justice.

Once inside, they were led to a room off to the side where a tabby cat was sitting on a desk, waiting for them. Everyone took a seat silently and waited. Waited for something.

Then, the cat leapt off the desk and midair it turned into a witch with vibrant emerald robes. Her face was severe and her eyes narrow as she scrutinized them all, adjusting her pointed hat.

"Welcome back and welcome for the first time some of you. I am Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress of this school. Here, I have your dorming assignments and a set of rules that is listed at the beginning of each year. For those who do not know me-" her eyes caught Cassie, "Follow the rules and we shall have no issues. As university students, more is expected of you and I expect that you carry the same dignity and professionalism as any of my professors. That being said, relationships with secondary students are prohibited, you are their superiors and may help and tudor them, but you are not here to be their friends.

"As adults, you have no curfew, but I respectfully ask that you are back on campus come 10pm each weekday evening, save if something were to happen and we need your assistance. For those who were previously Hogwarts students, you are allowed to come and go to Hogsmeade whenever you please. We are not caging you here and if you need a leave of absence, please follow the appropriate channels to arrange that. All university students also have access to the Restricted section in the library. Madam Pince just requests that no books leave the library.

"You are not required to attend all evening dinners, but along with your itinerary and dorming arrangements shall be a list with the evenings we are having feasts, which you attendance is required. Now, before I bring you into the Great Hall, have you any questions?"

When no hands went up, McGonagall began calling off names, handing each person a few pieces of parchment.

"Cassiopeia Selwyn?" the pensive looking witch glanced up and Cassie swept over to take her parchment. "Good luck this year," she said lightly, a lot more friendly than she had been when addressing the class.

McGonagall put her serious face back on and led the way out of the classroom and down the hall. Instantly, Cassie realized that the castle was enormous and she'd need a detailed map and to explore the ground before she got the hang of all the twists and turns.

The Great Hall was waiting for them along with the bulk of the secondary students. Glancing up at the ceiling, Cassie was impressed by the spellwork that had dissolved the ceiling to make it mirror the sky outside. Now the remnants of clouds had vanished and the evening had turned out to be quite lovely. She held her head high as the younger students watched them, many of them impressed by the university students who walked down the main path two at a time. Only the smartest witches and wizards got into university.

At the end of the table, beside the table that hosted the professors was a separate table where the university students could sit and observe everything going on in the hall. Only one side of the table was to host students, so that no one had their backs turned upon the secondary students. They filed in, sitting next to whoever they had been behind and Cassie found herself sitting next to some people she didn't know, until she bumped elbows with a rather large wizard, glancing up to see William. For a fleeting moment, he appeared a bit confused, but silently motioned to his hair.

Cassie nodded before in a low whisper, "Potion."

"Clever," he muttered just as the doors to the Great Hall opened and a thicket of scared looking first years filed in behind one of the biggest men that Cassie had ever seen. He had a black beard thick like a tangle of bramble and hair to matched it. He had batter brown leather robes on and was at least twice the width of William (whom she thought was big too). There was no doubt that like Cassie, this man also had a lineage not purely human. Perhaps giant?

Terrified, the first years clustered in front of a stool, which was beaten and weathered hat sat, patched up several times over. Before anyone could say anything, the hat burst into song, a seam rippling along it like a jagged mouth.

"In times of old, when I was new,

And Hogwarts barely started,

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted.

United by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

"Together we will build and teach"

The four good friends decided.

And never did they dream that they

Might some day be divided.

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there, so I can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry's purest."

Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest."

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name."

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot

And treat them just the same."

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light.

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning just like him.

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest

and taught them all she knew,

Thus, the houses and their founders

Maintained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But then discord crept among us

Feeding on our faults and fears.

The Houses that, like pillars four

Had once held up our school

Now turned upon each other and

Divided, sought to rule.

And for a while it seemed the school

Must meet an early end.

What with duelling and with fighting

And the clash of friend on friend.

And at last there came a morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting then died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

Were whittled down to three

Have the Houses been united

As they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into Houses

Because that is what I'm for.

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my song:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfil my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes.

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you...

Let the Sorting now begin."

The hall burst out into applause and cheering, Cassie could feel herself clapping particularly loudly as she enthused over the hat's song. Just in that one little song she had already gleaned so much about the houses at Hogwarts. In alphabetical order, the first years were called up by the enormous man and the Sorting Hat was placed atop their heads. Each respective table would cheer when a student was sorted into the house. There were a few times where the hat tool a considerable amount of time deciding and she noticed that some students were beginning to fidget, as it was getting late and dinner had yet to be served.

Once the Sorting had been concluded, food bloomed on the table in great silver platters and golden trenchers. Cries of delight echoed in the hall and silverware clattered as the food was passed around. Cassie really wanted to look at her parchment to see where she had been assigned, but decided to wait. The silly American in her didn't know what half the food was in front of her.

Sensing her confusion, William gestured. "What are you looking for?"

"What is that?" she pointed to dark pepperoni like disks.

"Black pudding. It's congealed-"

"Uh no thank you, and that?"

"Foie gras."

"Ah… Is there anything like… fish?" there were these strange cup shaped bread pastries.

"That's a Yorkshire pudding."

"But that pudding looks nothing like that," she motioned to the black pudding, her brows furrowing. "Do you call everything pudding? Pudding is a dessert in America."

"I think I saw some salmon down the table. And a pudding is also dessert here. What is it in America?"

"Er... kind of like a custard I guess, but it comes in different flavors like chocolate, vanilla, or banana."

William flagged down some herb encrusted salmon and Cassie took some for herself along with carrots, roasted potatoes, and green beans. A flagon of wine eventually made it down their way as well and she had a goblet filled beside some pumpkin juice. Despite not knowing what a lot of the food was, what she did have was quite enjoyable. She even hazarded a bite of the black pudding, despite what William had told her it was.

"I just won't eat haggis," she insisted, having thought the black pudding wasn't that bad.

"Truth be told, I'm not fond of haggis either," he chuckled.

"Where did you all end up getting to? I was running behind a little…"

"So much you forgot your glasses?" William arched a brow at her.

Immediately her hands went to her face and her cheeks burned. She hadn't even realized she had left them back on the train. Her head swiveled around and she wondered if anyone was stuck in a stupor, but no one seemed to be giving her any unwarranted attention.

"I guess so…" she drawled, relieved that no one seemed to notice. She wondered if the hat she was wearing helped at all.

"Did you actually need them?"

"Well… It was to create a barrier. Since I'm half-veela and all, I know I can be… distracting. The glasses helped a bit," she admitted glumly, staring at the remaining black pudding on her plate. Before her very eyes all the platters vanished to be replaced with sweets and dessert.

"I think you'll have more of an affect on the younger students once they see you in class, but it'll wear off," William shrugged, reaching over to grab an entire pie. "Do you want any?"

"I'm all set- Oooh! What are those?" she pointed at a glass dish with white cream and berries.

"Trifle?" William leaned over and grabbed it.

"Weird names. You all have very weird names for your dessert. Ok, I'll have some of that," she seized a large serving spoon and plopped a good portion with stuffed full of berries onto her empty dessert plate. Despite the strange name, it was sweet and creamy as she had envisioned it. "So William, where are you hoping to go once you graduate? Anything in particular you'd like to do?"

"You can just call me Will and I'm not certain yet, part of the reason I came here. My family seems to think that a Ministry job would be the most stable, but I kind of want to open a magical creatures refuge. There are so many magical creatures that need a place to recover or even live their years out if they can't be rehabilitated and released into the wild. There is also a lot of creature trafficking into the UK and I think if I could just have a place where I could help them…" he trailed off before giving a sheepish grin. "Sorry, sounds a bit lame doesn't it?"

"No, not at all! I think that's a rather admirable job," Cassie insisted.

"And what about you? Where did you want to work once you become a Mediwitch?"

"I thought, perhaps work at St Mungo's, but I know the Ministry is always searching for healers too. I suppose it depends on where I am needed," Cassie admitted, feeling a bit abashed that Will had a much better idea of what he wanted to do.

Before they could continue their conversation, Professor McGonagall had stood up to address the school. Clearing her throat, the hall fell quiet like the calm before a storm and she spoke, "Good evening everyone and welcome to Hogwarts. I have a few announcements I would like to make before I dismiss you all back to your houses. To start with, outside the Great Hall is a list of banned Weasley items provided and updated by Mr. Filch. You shall find that said list has grown longer and it is expected that our university students also keep said items out of the castle.

"As usual, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all secondary students and it is advised that the university students also remain wary upon entering. Speaking of which, the university students are in equal status to professors and shall be treated with respect. That being said, fraternization with the university students is prohibited and students who break this rule will be expelled from Hogwarts. Now, classes begin tomorrow morning. Prefects take control of your houses."

Chatter erupted in the hall and the younger students began to stand up and file out of the hall. As they were leaving, the professors were getting up and approaching them.

Cassiopeia noticed a very round, bald old man heading her way. His waistcoat was so tight around his belly that the buttons seemed under stress, threatening to explode at any moment. He was of a similar height as Cassie and had a thick, bristly walrus mustache. Despite how portly he was, there was something almost welcoming about his gooseberry colored eyes.

"Ah, you must be Miss Selwyn, am I right? Half-veela? Part of the Selwyn family?" the professor unloaded all at once, taking her hand between two of his pudgy ones.

"Yes, are you Professor Slughorn?"

"Oh dear me, just Horace. You may be my understudy, but you're not a student, more like… a fellow scholar learning from another scholar," which sounded just like a student, but Horace just beamed at her. "Your thesis paper was absolutely stunning. But let me ask you, why did you wait three years to accept my invitation? I've been yearning to have you here."

"Ah," Cassie hadn't thought that Horace would have noticed something like that. "Family problems," she said simply.

"Either way, I thought your edits in your papers just made them better. Glad to have you here now! I expect a lot from you, I hope you know that," he gave her a meaningful look, but there was a jovial twinkle behind his eyes.

"I presumed no less," Cassie mustered, feeling her cheeks heat up, but before Slughorn even noticed he was off to greet someone else. Well, he didn't seem as bad as everyone else made him out to be. I'll just have to keep an eye on Emery.

"So you're still coming to the party, right?" Ethan had trotted up as the professors were mingling with the university students.

"I guess I can, I just need to find my cabin first," she unfurled the parchment and narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the handwriting. "I'm at 'cabin 10'. Not very specific…"

"I believe 10 is the one by the lake if I recall correctly. Does it say who you're rooming with?"

"Nataly Nunez?" she recalled the pretty colombian student.

"Uh oh, there's no way. Do you mind?" Ethan extended a hand she left him have the parchment. "Damn, I guess you're right. I don't envy you."

"Why?" she asked her nerves beginning to fray.

"High maintenance. Good luck," he put the parchment back in her hand and Cassie glanced around like a lost puppy. She spotted Nataly with a few of friends, deciding that she should just approach her herself and see how bad she truly was. An Arithmancy major? She had to be smart if that was her major.

Cassiopeia skirted up to them, anxiety climbing to the summit as one of the witches gave her an apprehensive and almost scathing look after giving her an up and down look. "Excuse me, is one of you Nataly Nunez?"

The trio of witches all turned to leer at her. "I am," Nataly said stepping up, long dark hair tumbling down her back, her face tan and perfectly manicured and cared for.

"My name is Cassiopeia Selwyn, I believe I'm your new roommate?" she glanced at the paper again as if to make certain.

"Are you now?" Nataly seemed to be sneering at her. "At least they didn't give me an ugly one like last year," she sniffed.

"What?"

"Don't worry about it. You're going to the party tonight right?" her thick lashes flicked over Cassie again.

"Yes, I was just trying to figure out where our cabin was."

"You can follow me, new girl. And we'll see if you're up to speed tonight."

Cassie followed the three witches out of the Great Hall and onto the grounds. They headed down the hill and toward the forest, the other two girls splitting off and heading toward the forest. Cassie and Nataly branched off toward the lake and the outskirts of another forest. She could hardly believe how far the cabin seemed to be and they had circled half the lake, eventually finding a triangle shaped cabin perched within a thicket of pine trees, gazing over the lake. Scones on the outside of the cabin had been lit, a small wooden staircase leading up to the front porch.

Nataly opened the door without issue and the inside of the cabin was much larger than it had appeared. The homely log cabin had a vaulted ceiling, an open concept kitchen and den. Carpets sat beneath the furniture on top of the polished hardwood and a eat in kitchen hosted a stove and pantry. Their chests were waiting in the den by the fireplace.

"Alright new girl, I've got a basic set of rules," Nataly rounded, putting her hands on her hips haughtily. "I loathe filth. If you leave one thing out of place I will rip your head off. Everything remains pristine and clean. I hate having people over, so if you plan on inviting anyone, give me 24 hours notice so I can be the hell out of here. The bathroom… Uhg!" she visibly shivered. "If I see soap scum on the tub or toothpaste in the sink I will freak. Understand? Keep your shit in your room and if it's raining, for Merlin's sake, take your shoes off!"

Cleanliness? I mean, she's a bit rude, but is that all she requires? "I think we'll get along fine," Cassie shrugged, also hating dirtiness. In fact, Cassie was so particular about the way things went, the only issues they might have were if plates or cups were organized in a way that Cassie thought was unpleasant.

"Good," Nataly sniffed, but she seemed albeit taken aback that Cassie hadn't put up a fight. "You'd better get ready. Party starts soon."

Cassie dragged her chest to the room down the hall that Nataly hadn't claimed. Windows framed two sides of the room, looking out into the forest behind the cabin. The bed was covered in a plaid blanket and when Cassie sniffed it, it appeared to have been freshly laundered. She wondered if the house elves came out this far everyday or if it was just beginning of the year cleaning. Opening the chest made her want to scream, especially the state of how she had left it.

She became so preoccupied with neatly unpacking it that she barely heard the knock on her door. Nataly was standing there in skin tight jeans and a crimson crop top, her long hair falling around her shoulders. "Girl," she hissed.

Still in her school robes, Cassie neatly placed her casual clothing on the end of the bed. "What should I-"

Nataly strode over and scowled as she was looking through what Cassie had brought. "Are you serious? You've got all that and you brought crap like this? What did you do, spend all your money on your robes?"

"I didn't think that I'd really need any street clothes," she grumbled.

"Well you can borrow some of mine, I can't be seen with you in a frumpy sweater," Nataly strode out of the room and momentarily returned with a pair of dark denim Daisy Dukes and a plaid shirt. "Put these on. You can wear those high tops with them-" she gestured to a pair of sneakers that Cassie had carefully arranged by the side of her bed. "Neat freak?" she sounded almost impressed.

"Organized," Cassie corrected as Nataly stepped outside.

She was worried that she was going to be cold, as far as she knew the party could have been outside. Once she was done, she came out into the hallway, spinning around to show Nataly.

"Uhg," she groaned again, grabbing Cassie and untucking the plaid shirt. She unbuttoned the bottom and tied it so that there was a peep of skin around her torso. "You have looks, use them."

I don't want to, Cassie wanted to scream, but told herself she'd just adjust the shirt in a little bit. "So where is the party at?"

"We're probably at the furthest cabin, but it's in the entrance of the Forbidden Forest. Usually one of the Quidditch players hosts the party, but most of the cabins are focused in the same area. We'll figure it out," Nataly shrugged as they went outside.

A wind sweeping across the lake made Cassie shiver as she followed Nataly back around the lake and toward the large forest that bordered a small hut, a pillar of smoke wafting up from it. They did not pause in the pumpkin patch, but continued forward into the woods on a well traversed path. A few cabins went by and a good distance into the woods, they saw a cabin with the door propped open and heard the distorted din of music. Inside the cabin were many of the other university students and hanging above the mantle was a Hogwarts University banner and on an adjacent wall the Quidditch team banner.

Nataly snorted at how haphazardly they had been hung and Cassie couldn't help but agree that they were not evenly placed. She wouldn't have minded them had they been placed equidistant from the walls and centered, but they weren't. Did they forget they had wands to hang them or had their stood on the chairs to attempt putting them up on the wall?

"Glad to see you here Cassie!" Ethan approached her with a cup in his hand. "You look great."

She gave a forced smile, self consciously tugging down on the plaid shirt. Were her shorts riding up? Would it be obvious that she hadn't attended parties other than those had family went to? If other students back at Ilvermorny had parties, she had never been invited. "Thanks," she muttered.

"So what did you think of Hogwarts?" he inquired.

"I thought it was wonderful!" she started to unload about all the things she had found interesting about the castle, comparing it to what she had read in Hogwarts A History. After a few minutes of jabbering she saw the bored expression on Ethan's face, the previous eagerness having faded and he was leaning lazily on a nearby chair. "Uhm, so what is there to drink?" she shifted the subject, realizing he wasn't very receptive, despite having asked her about Hogwarts.

I suppose that's all I am. A pretty face, they don't usually match a brain with it, she thought tartly as Ethan led her over to the kitchen where a large bowl of mixed alcohol sat. And I don't know if I trust that.

An aroma wafted off of the fizzling jungle juice and it smelled faintly of sage, pine, and salt. Had she not been a potion specialist, she might have changed it, but with how fruity the drink appeared and it was strangely offset by the earthy scents… Amortentia? No, it seemed to be a shade weaker and by the attitude of the people in the room, they weren't so entransed that they were tripping over themselves as Amortentia would have done.

Nataly approached and was about to pour herself a cup when Cassie grabbed her arm. "Don't," she warned.

"Why? It smells good."

"What does it smell like?"

"Cocoa beans, coconut, and… fresh rain?" her brows pulled together and she put the ladle down. "Che?"

"I think it's laced with some sort of love potion. Make your own drink," Cassie warned in a low voice.

Nataly rolled her eyes and hissed a sigh as she went over to the assorted bottles of alcohol. "Leave it to the Quidditch players to try and snag girls with a love potion. Weak. What do you want new girl?"

"As long as it's not love potion, surprise me. Oooh, that girl is drinking it," Cassie directed her roommate's attention toward a girl with fiery red hair who had the cup in her hand, little bubbles popping above it. She was leaning toward Kioshi, twirling her hair in between the fingers of her free hand. Kioshi appeared almost bored with her, glancing at his watch as he was cornered by her.

"Hopeless. I haven't seen Kioshi date a single girl since I've been here," Nataly snorted as she brought over a drink for Cassie. "It's butterbeer spiked with more toffee flavored vodka."

Cassie took a sip, rather delighted by the sweet beverage and thankful that it wasn't laced with the love potion. How she would have looked like a fool if she drank it her first evening at Hogwarts. She did feel a little bad by those who had been coerced by the potion.

The party seemed to drag on and Cassie didn't think that much was truly going on. Was this a party of was it an attempt to get laid that Cassie had evaded? She also didn't think that all of the university students were there. For one, she didn't have Bernard breathing down her neck, so she wondered if Athalos' friends had even been invited. Nataly appeared just as bored as she was.

"At least last year they had games. Must have spent all their time on this," she grumbled, gesturing to the spiked jungle juice. "It's getting late, maybe we should head back to our cabin."

Cassie shrugged. "I suppose so, big day tomorrow," she had a bit of a buzz from the couple of drinks that Nataly had made.

The duo was just heading out the door when someone came up behind them. "Already heading out?" Ethan asked disappointedly.

"We do have school tomorrow and our professors don't have a dozen understudies to not notice we're hungover," Nataly replied pointedly.

"Ah whatever, lame," Ethan grumbled, waving them off.

Halfway back to their dorm, Nataly muttered something to herself in Spanish before rounding. "Look, be careful around those guys. They might seem all nice and cordial, but they're just trying to bed girls. The turn out definitely wasn't as good as its been in the past."

"Good thing we didn't drink that then, huh?"

Cassie swore she might have saw the ghost of a smile grace Nataly's face in the light of the moon. "Guess so."