Cassie woke the instant she felt the wards she'd had Gypsy put around Harry go off. She slipped out of bed and the girl's dormitory, up the opposite set of stairs, and into the boy's room. She shut the door quietly and slipped into Harry's bed, thankful for the silencing charm her elf had put around the bed, because her friend was screaming and sobbing, writhing in the bed, trying to escape from something that wasn't there.
"NO! Uncle Vernon, please! No… no! I'll be good, I promise! PLEASE!"
Cassandra felt tears roll down her cheeks. She took the frightened boy into her arms, rocking him gently until he quieted and woke. He blinked up at her sleepily.
"Cassie?" he asked. She pressed a kiss to his forehead, running a hand through his hair.
"I had my house elf put a ward around your bed in case you had a nightmare. She put a silencing charm around the bed as well, so you didn't wake anyone up. Do you want to talk about it?"
Harry shook and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
"Before…before I came here… after Hagrid took me back… Uncle Vernon was furious…" he choked back a sob and Cassie tightened her hold on him, "… he said… said he'd gotten a bank statement from my account at Gringotts… said I should have been paying him the past ten years…. Told me I would have to earn my keep in a way besides chores from now on… so h-he waited until Aunt Petunia had taken Dudley shopping and… and…." he broke off, sobbing brokenly, unable to continue, but he didn't need to. Cassandra was able to draw her on conclusions, and she didn't like what she came up with. She began rocking him a again, rubbing his back soothingly.
"You're never going back there." she whispered to him furiously. She tilted his face up, wiping away his tears, "Harry, honey, you can get away from him, but you're going to have to tell someone. I can only do so much. I may be the last of my line, but I'm only eleven." Harry shook his head, looking panicked. She smiled sadly at him, "You only have to tell Madam Bones, Harry. She's fair and very nice, she won't let anyone else know. This can be taken care of quietly and you don't even have to go to court - we have spell that can remove the memories from your mind and put them in a bowl called a penseive. Will you let Madam Bones take the memories and view them?" she asked, desperately hoping he would. After a few moments' silence, he nodded hesitantly and asked in a quiet, fearful voice,
"Will you talk to her with me?"
She kissed his head again, hiding her face in the unruly hair.
"Of course I will. I'll write her a letter in the morning, okay?" she waited for his nod before asking, "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" another nod. She smiled again and lay down, still holding Harry, his face still in her neck, and let him cuddle up to her. She started humming a quiet lullaby Gypsy used to sing to her, running a soothing hand through his hair until he fell asleep, eventually giving into Morpheus' grasp herself.
The two woke a few hours later to the sound of Ronald Weasley yelling loudly.
"What are you doing in here Lestrange?" he demanded. Cassie rolled her eyes and kissed the top of Harry's head before slipping out of bed and hugging Neville. She left the room, calling over her shoulder,
"I'll meet you and Nev downstairs 'Ry."
Harry smiled softly, getting out of bed and dressing quickly. On his way out the door, however, Ron grabbed his arm, glaring nastily.
"What was the Death Eater doing here?" he demanded. Harry glared.
"She's not a Death Eater! She was here because she was worried about me!" he shouted. He jerked his arm out of Ron's grip and headed downstairs. Neville followed shortly after.
Transfiguration class was fun, though Cassandra spent most of her time either helping Neville or glaring at anyone who laughed at him. She smiled at her friend and grabbed his wrist, saying,
"Move your wand like this, Nev. That's it…. Now focus on what you want the spell to do - it's not going to work if you don't believe it will. I know it sounds cheesy, but if you don't visualize it and have confidence in your spell work, it will stay a match. Okay?"
Neville nodded and tried again, and this time, it turn into a needle. Cassie smiled.
"Great job, Neville!"
McGonagall cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the entire class. Cassie blushed as she realized the Professor had been listening the entire time.
"Yes, Professor?"
McGonagall smiled.
"Excellent work, Mr. Longbottom, ten points to Gryffindor. Miss Lestrange, another ten points for helping a fellow student. Would you mind helping me with the rest of your classmates as well?"
Her blush deepened.
"Of course, Professor."
Harry, who had gotten his the first time, smiled encouragingly at her as Professor McGonagall had sent her to help Ronald Weasley. He sat stone-faced, red with fury as she reached him. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, Ron spat,
"I don't need your help, Death Eater!"
Cassandra squashed the hurt she felt at those words, composing her face into a blank mask.
"Of course. Sorry to have bothered you." she turned to Seamus Finnigan, who sat beside him, expressionless, "Seamus, would you like me to help you or would you?"
Seamus shrugged.
"If ya don't mind."
She smiled warmly and moved to stand beside him.
"Of course not. What are you having trouble with."
He scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.
"This is me fourth match." he admitted. She laughed softly.
"You're putting a bit too much enthusiasm into the spell, Seamus. Don't get so excited. All you're doing is transfiguring a match into a needle. Needles aren't all that interesting, now are they?" she asked reasonably. Some of the excitement seemed to leave the Irishman's eyes as he thought about. He made a face.
"No they're not."
She grinned.
"Now, try it again, just visualize the needle tone it down a bit and see what happens."
He waved his wand, and this time, instead of exploding or catching fire, it gained a silver sheen. Seamus frowned.
"What am I doing wrong?"
"You're wand movement's wrong. Your jerking your wrist. It's supposed to be a smooth, languid movement. Like this." she gripped his wrist and moved it in the correct movement. "Try again."
He did, and this time, it changed into a needle. He grinned at her.
"Thanks, Cassie - you don't mind if I call you that do you?"
She shook her head, returning the grin.
"No, I prefer it, actually."
With one last smile, she left him to go help Dean Thomas. Other than Ron and a few Hufflepuffs, everyone else accepted her help. By the end of class, almost everyone had managed to changed their match into a needle, much to the disappointment of Hermione Granger. It also seemed that Cassandra had gained more allies. The rest of the Gryffindor boys (once again minus Ron) seemed to have grown fond of her during the class. However, she wouldn't call them friends just yet. Lavender and Parvati seemed to like her as well. Something about her hair and robes. She wasn't going to complain, though, even if she didn't understand. Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones seemed nice as well, though none of them were Harry and Neville. She just hoped the rest of her classes went as smoothly.
By Friday, Cassandra was starting to get restless. It had been four days since she had written to Madam Bones and her parents. Harry had gotten a letter from Hagrid and he and Neville were gone down to his cabin, while Cassandra roamed the corridors, still snarling about Potions. Honestly! Who in their right mind asked a first year N.E.W.T. level questions? Then there was the problem of where Harry would go for the summer - she was sure her parents would take him in once they heard about the abuse, but Dumbledore would insist on a blood relation and his mother's only living relatives weren't fit to care for a dog, let alone a child. James however was a pureblood, and therefore had a lot more relatives. His father, Charlus, had predeceased him along with his mother… her eyes widened. His mother Dorea Potter nee Black. She nearly danced with glee. Ohhh, she knew exactly who to go to! She had to find Draco!
People stared as Cassandra Lestrange ran through Hogwarts in search of her cousin.