C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

Chapter X: Conversations with friends

The grand fire place roared with life, crackling and popping, spitting embers as it was jabbed and fuelled. The paper crumpled quickly and the lively photographs blackened as the people within them fled from the flames, everyone but the one of Sirius Black. He remained, screaming and writhing until the fire devoured him whole.

Cassy watched him fade before turning her attention back to the board on the floor. The black and white figures were in lines of their respective colour, clambering up the edge of the box one by one to align themselves with their designated slots within the case. The white pieces turned to her, each saluting before lying down, praising her long coming victory against their owner, for which Cassy could not feel happier for.

'It's still cheating, you know. You can count it if you really want, but... it's not a real victory,' said Ron nonchalantly, ears still tinged red from an earlier outburst.

'A win is a win,' said Cassy, stretching her stiff spine. 'Plus, I did not cheat, you distracted yourself by making controversial conversation with me.'

'Controversial? I would say so! To think, you've never even played Quidditch, not once...' he said slowly, shaking his head in disbelief.

The fact that she had not won entirely fairly did not bother Cassy in the slightest, instead she took even more pleasure from it, for it was such an utter shock to Ron his thoughts collided into an inaudible mess that it sounded like a child's cry. Half of the common room turned to look and at the sight of Cassy's victorious smirk they either turned away again, or clapped. Dean and Seamus even let out cheers. It was a conversation that Cassy had goaded out of Ron with more delightful consequences than expected.

'I enjoy the atmosphere of the games if that helps ease your mind,' she said lightly. She ducked her head to hide her smile when Ron's face rose, a look so intense one would think he was making a speech to be Minister of Magic.

'The atmosphere? The atmosphere in the crowd is only part of it! The intensity of each throw, the sinking feeling when your team misses that point, or the anger when your favourite is given a caution because the other team are cheating gits...' he said passionately.

'Have you ever thought of commentating a match? I expect you would be very good,' said Cassy.

He looked wistful as he placed the lid on the box and shuffled backwards to rest his back against one of the plush armchairs. Stretching out his long legs, he kicked the box under the coffee table and it collided heavily with the book he had forced Cassy to abandon earlier that evening to play chess. His attention was fixed on the book for a moment, before his eyes drifted over to a table towards the far left of the common room, then over to Cassy with a thoughtful expression. He leaned closer, waving his hand for her to do the same, although the pair never got close due to his gangly legs taking up most of the floor space.

'I was wondering,' he said conversationally, in what was certainly not a whisper, 'what did you two fight about anyway?'

Cassy stared for a moment before recoiling. She fixed him with a hard look that forced him to throw his hands in the air in surrender, yet the curious expression did not waver.

'Just asking, because I've never seen you two fight before. Even when he was mad at you last year for being an idiot with the Chamber-' Cassy opened her mouth to interject, but Ron rolled over it without the slightest bit of notice, 'he was never angry with you.'

Her expression flattened further. Looking towards where her friends sat, she could see how tense they were and what looked like Ginny and Neville forcing awkward conversation just to keep one going, while Hermione muttered to Harry across the table. Cassy could not clearly see Harry's face, but she could make out the dipped brow and his squared shoulders – Hermione was not getting through to him, whatever she was saying.

A silence fell between Cassy and Ron. The fire flickered and he reached around to gather up more paper to throw in, flicking it back when it rolled out again and onto the stone floor.

'I cannot say why exactly,' said Cassy quietly. There was too much to explain and it would be unfair on Harry to divulge all of that information to Ron; they were not close enough. Cassy and Ron were not close enough.

However, Ron did not seem to mind. He simply shrugged.

'I just noticed that you two didn't speak at dinner, so everyone thought he might be mad that you went to Hogsmead without him. It was a bit awkward to watch really, everyone just spoke around you,' he said.

Cassy fixed with with a blank stare and said, 'Thank-you for that insight. It will be fine though.'

'I never said it wouldn't,' he said, not looking at her. He poked the fire a bit more before continuing. 'Look, Harry's pretty a forgiving guy when it comes down to it. He forgave me for what I said to you in first year, although I didn't know what that word meant to him at the time... he explained it at Christmas too me when everyone had gone home. I suppose then it was a little late, we had both found other friends so we couldn't be best friends anymore, but it's not like that with you two.'

Ron did not look at her once as he spoke, his ears were tinged pink though and Cassy did not believe it was the light of the fire.

'If you give him time, he'll come around, I'm sure of it,' he said, then glanced at her. 'But, if it's something he's done then I'm sure he didn't mean it. He has a woman's temper sometimes.'

Cassy choked back a laugh and Ron grinned.

The day after the trip to Hogsmead was the first day of the Christmas holidays and Cassy had awoke to the sound of Brown's trunk falling onto its side and colliding loudly with the heater in the centre of their room. She and Patil had then hurried off to breakfast and Cassy sighed, rolled onto her back and slung an arm over her eyes.

Next to her was rustling and she knew Hermione had been waiting for her to wake up. It was followed by a heavy thud of a book on the duvet and an unmistakable weight at the end of her bed.

'Can I help you?' said Cassy, unmoving.

'You didn't sleep well last night, did you?' said Hermione and although it sounded like a question, it was not; she all ready knew the answer.

Cassy said nothing and just sighed again. It was true, she had not slept well. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep and once she had she woke up frequently, never quite remembering what had made her do so, but still laying there with an awful sinking sensation in her stomach. Now, her eyes felt heavy, limbs aching and back protesting from finally having settled in an odd position at some point in the night. She was certain her hair most likely resembled Hermione's too, from tossing and turning so much.

'It will be fine, you know,' assured Hermione, patting Cassy's knee through the blanket.

'Everyone has said that, but it's not only Harry that's bothering me,' mumbled Cassy and by the way Hermione's hand tightened on her knee, she knew the other had heard.

Hermione had sounded sure of herself when she spoke, but as Christmas grew ever closer nothing had improved. Harry was still not speaking to her and if anything the situation had become worse with every other student in Gryffindor, bar the four of them, gone home for Christmas. They either had to spend time with each other or time alone.

Neville and Hermione tried to split their time equally over the week, yet more often than not Cassy would shoo them away, knowing that Harry needed someone to distract him more than she did. Instead, she spent a lot of her time in the library, throwing herself into work or little projects just to occupy her mind and appeared to have come to a truce with Madam Pince. She could collect and keep as many books as she liked on a table out of sight over the holidays without them being cleared away each night.

Although Christmas was expected to go in a similar fashion to all of the other days, Cassy awoke Christmas morning with a twinge of excitement. She pushed herself up, stretched and cast an eye over to Hermione who appeared to have been up for several minutes all ready with paper strewn across her bed. Even Crookshanks had tinsel tied around his neck, although he looked very grumpy for it.

'Merry Christmas,' said Hermione and Cassy gave a polite return.

Bright, patterned papered parcels sat at the foot of her bed. With all the energy she could muster early in the morning, she reached over and piled them on her bed. There was a growing mound of paper and stack of cards when Cassy smiled and held up a little box.

'Luna sent me a gift,' she said.

Hermione turned with a raised eyebrow and watched curiously as Cassy pulled off the purple lid. She then raised an eyebrow of her own when she pulled out a silver bracelet. Hermione snorted loudly.

Hanging from the chain were many different trinkets. Several little beaded stars of various colours, some stones, including a Cat's Eye, which made Cassy smile slightly at the well wishing meaning.

'It's very odd,' said Cassy as she inspected a button that looked oddly like one she had lost from her sleeve the other week. 'It is very Luna.'

'You won't wear that, will you?' asked Hermione.

Cassy shook her head and laughed, yet she awkwardly clasped it around her wrist using one hand. The jagged points of the Butterbeer cap had been filed down.

'Just for today, in the spirit of things I suppose,' she said, having also tugged a Weasley jumper she was given over her head that she was sure she would never wear again.

There was a tiny note folded inside of the box and Cassy read it aloud.

' "Dear Cassy, thank-you for the caps. I can finally add to my necklace, although it made six in total and it's better not to have an even number of charms, so I made you this bracelet with thirteen. It should invigorate your soul. Luna." A rather obnoxious chain, but a lovely thought I suppose,' said Cassy, adding the note to the pile of cards.

'I'm still surprised you're friends with her,' admitted Hermione.

'Normally, I would avoid people like her, but she is actually very kind. Besides, it is entertaining trying to decipher what out of everything she says is actually useful and true. She's hardly straight forward, but it is not always nonsense,' came Cassy reply, coupled with a laugh at the sight of Hermione's doubtful face. 'Besides, I'm interested in seeing how someone like that can actually function in society.'

'So, she's like a documentary to you? No, nevermind, I forgot you won't know what one of those is,' said Hermione, waving her hand dismissively.

Cassy brushed whatever it was that Hermione accused her of away and continued to open her gifts. When they had finished unwrapping and sufficiently nosed through each other's belongings, Hermione stood and donned her dressing gown before standing uncertainly in the doorway of the staircase. She shifted her weight back and forth, a hand on the door frame ready to go with Crookshanks nestled in the other, but her eyes kept flicking back.

'Go,' said Cassy. 'Tell them I wish them both a merry Christmas.'

'You could always come, you know, I'm sure...' Hermione trailed off when Cassy shook her head.

'No, it is fine. I don't want to make things tense on Christmas.'

Hermione bit her lip, but swung the door shut behind her.

When Cassy was certain she was not going to barge back in, she stood and gathered the ripped paper up, scrunching it down into the small bin. She pulled a piece without looking only for it to be followed by a clatter. Something had hit the stone floor.

Blinking, Cassy turned to see a small, blue box upside down beside her foot. Kneeling down to collect it, she noticed a second package tucked under her bed that must have been pushed aside as she collected her other gifts. Curiously, she picked both up and eyed the tag on the blue box in shock. It read:

To Cassy,

From Harry

There was no seasonal greeting or well wishes, but at that moment Cassy did not care. Harry had still sent her a Christmas present despite it all. She smiled to herself.

Lunch had been a rather awkward affair with the teachers sitting around the same table as the students with Professor Dumbledore's insistence because of their low number, and that meant that everyone was able to hear Professor McGonagall's impatience with Professor Trelawney. Her disbelief of Divination was so potent that it actually caused a few people to shift tensely in their seats. However, the Headmaster pacified it rapidly and everyone was left to enjoy the delightful festive food and the terrible jokes and prizes from pulling crackers.

Professor Dumbledore bid Cassy a merry Christmas as she was the first to leave the table. She returned it cordially and nodded to Neville and Hermione like she usually did at meal times and had even braved sitting with them. While Harry did not speak, he did not shuffle down the table either to their relief and glee.

She sat up in her room with a silver box open, listening to the delicate tune that rang out from it. It was beautiful, carved metal with deep red velvet lining and a small mirror. A tiny silver key sat next to it. It had been inside and it was presumable that it fitted into the equally tiny lock. The song faded out and moments later it began again while Cassy was still inspecting the intricate markings on all sides.

There had been no tag on the parcel, just like a present she had received for her birthday and like that one, it was remarkably beautiful and undoubtedly expensive. She wondered who had sent them to her; she had a feeling, of course, but she could not be certain. It was so doubtful, it was so coincidental at the same time. A hard stare was given and broken within moments.

Footsteps up the staircase made it difficult for Cassy to continue contemplating. When the door opened, it was not the cheerful look Cassy expected to see on Hermione's face, nor an irritated one she wore so well, rather it was an expression of worry. Her brows were dipped and her hands wrung as she made way for Professor McGonagall to enter.

In the teacher's hand was a broom. It was sleek and shiny, obviously new, yet it was held at a distance, as though it might explode at any second.

'Professor?' questioned Cassy, shutting the jewellery box; silence fell.

Professor McGonagall stood sternly, eyeing Cassy critically with one hand on her hip. After a moment, she said, 'Miss Black, did you receive any gifts today that did not say who the were from? Any at all in the past few months, in fact?'

Cassy blinked. 'Well, yes. I received something today and for my birthday. You surely do not think...' Her eyes flicked between Professor McGonagall and Hermione before pursing her lips. 'I suppose it is pointless to say they would have killed me by now had they meant to.'

'Where are they?' asked Professor McGonagall, but Cassy was all ready moving towards her trunk. She pulled out the thick coat with the broach still attached, before holding it out.

'Both of these pieces as well as the jewellery box,' she said blankly.

The coat was hooked over Professor McGonagall's arm and the box held delicately in her hand.

'You've worn the coat and opened the box?' she asked. 'Was there anything inside the box that I should know about?'

Cassy shook her head. 'Simply the key to the lock on the front. It plays music.'

Her Professor nodded and turned to go, but cast Cassy one last look.

'This is a precaution, not a punishment. Nobody knows how far he's gone or is capable of going... and any chance of tracking him will-'

'I understand, Professor,' said Cassy, holding up a hand to silence her, 'but please return them in one piece, I'm rather fond of them all ready.'

Professor McGonagall did not answer to that and in a second she was gone.

Hermione walked to her bed and sat down on it with her back to Cassy, sneakily peering over her shoulder until the latter slid her eyes over to meet her. Hermione then whipped her head back around, shrinking down.

'I am not mad, Hermione,' said Cassy blandly. Her head rolled onto her shoulder to stare lazily at Hermione's hunched back. 'I understand that Harry is though, assuming that was his broom?'

Hermione swung herself round suddenly, her eyes flooded with tears that she refused to let fall. Sniffing, she bobbed her head, clambering across and onto Cassy's bed, forcing the other to manoeuvre to see her fully.

'He's furious,' she lamented. 'I tried to explain why I had to tell a Professor, but all he saw was the loss of a great broomstick! He stormed back up to his room as soon as Professor McGonagall said she would strip down the wood. Oh, Cassy, I feel awful for it, but I want him to be safe. Why doesn't he see that?'

'I reckon he does,' she said simply. She eyed a spot somewhere above Hermione's head as she thought for a second. 'However, it probably did not help that he is very angry at this time. Thinking and reacting sensibly on any occasion but under pressure is not always Harry's strong suit, in that sense, you and I are good for him and Neville, a bit of general direction in their lives.'

'I don't think you can call yourself sensible,' laughed Hermione thickly.

'Perhaps not,' said Cassy with a smile. 'I will rephrase and call myself an 'effective thinker' then. It gets the job done with minimal damage – most of the time.'

Hermione smiled weakly.

'What exactly did happen? How badly did he react?' asked Cassy.

'Er – well, Professor McGonagall came into the common room, Harry had been about to go for a test run on it, and she demanded he hand it over. I'm not sure what his face was like... I hid my own in a book... but when she had it he asked what could be wrong with it, he seemed more in shock than anything and then he got mad, saying he needed it for the upcoming game and I – I may have jumped up and scolded him...'

'You scolded him? Told him he was being foolish?'

'Yes,' Hermione nodded. 'I said I thought it had been sent by Sirius Black and that a game wasn't worth his life and to stop being pig-headed over it.'

Cassy's mouth formed a small 'o' before growing into a restrained smile. 'I bet he wasn't happy with that.'

'He stormed off upstairs and then we came to see you. I wonder if Neville's still down there. He looked mortified.'

Cassy's smile dropped slightly and she looked at Hermione sincerely.

'If he cannot forgive you for protecting him, then I truly have no hope,' said Cassy softly.

'It's all become a bit of a mess, hasn't it?' asked Hermione with her eyes shining brightly and her lip quivering.

Smiling sadly, Cassy nodded.

There was a low, loud ticking from the giant clock that hung high on the stone wall. Normally, it was drowned out by rumbustious voices and excited patters of feet darting between the cabinets, with loud clanking of cutlery and plates to compete. There was none of that then. The only sound that could be heard was the slow, periodic thuds of Cassy's boots hitting the cupboard door as she sat on the counter.

Her eyes were trained on her drink. The hot chocolate was steaming, sickeningly sweet and not aiding in the heaviness of her eyes or the sluggishness of her limbs. That feeling was becoming familiar, bitterly so, and her own skin seemed revolting. Her hands held steadier then than when she had walked in.

Hermione had fought with Harry that evening. It had been open, beginning with jabs made at dinner when Professor Flitwick had thought to bring up the Firebolt, mistakenly thinking Harry needed to be sure that they would be thorough with it, when he really needed assuring he would get it back in the same condition it arrived in. As Professor Flitwick babbled on, the rage in Harry's eyes began to show. The brilliant green blazed behind round spectacles. There was no time wasted trying to calm him down, instead Neville tried to shoo Hermione away. She would not go. She wished to hear everything he had to say and had more than a little to say on her own behalf; a blazing row erupted as soon as Sir Cadogan's portrait swung shut and no one won.

Neville's peace-keeping attempt was drowned out in the shouting and once Cassy had risen to Hermione's aid it only got worse, but it ended abruptly the moment Hermione burst into tears, sobbing as she fled to the dormitory. Cassy had turned on her heel without a word and left, depositing herself on the edge of Hermione's bed with a hand on her back awkwardly.

The thumping of her boots stopped immediately. Her head twisted in surprise, but she did not move. There was no point attempting to hide as the portrait moved aside. A moment of silence ensured.

'Professor,' said Cassy politely, nodding while Professor Lupin seemed to gather his bearings.

'Miss Black,' he replied slowly; his voiced cracked, thin and strained. 'I don't believe you should be here.'

'You may give me detention if you wish, Sir, it makes very little difference to me how I spend my time,' she said.

Cassy turned away and looked back down at her mug of hot chocolate, tilting the liquid in her hands. She was going to finish her drink before anyone sent her off to bed, though it seemed like that resolution did not matter, because Professor Lupin gave a huff and walked straight passed her towards the metal kettle.

'There is no use in a punishment that will have no effect,' he said, eyeing her from the corner of his vision. 'It looks as if a run up the staircase and you would keel over actually. I wouldn't want to be responsible for that, imagine the letter I'd get from your uncle.'

'You are one to talk, Sir. Should you not be resting? And you know my uncle?' said Cassy.

Professor Lupin did not look at her, but from where she sat on the counter she could see one of his eyebrows raise. He nodded slightly at her second question, ultimately concentrating on scooping many mounds of chocolate powder into his mug.

'Not personally, I heard quite a bit about him a long time ago,' he said.

Silence then fell between them, with only the ticking of the clock and the building whistle of the kettle on the stove sounding. Cassy watched him out the corner of her eye, taking in the way his own gaze lingered on the mug and his lips drew into a thin line for a moment, before seemingly discarding the thought and relaxing his muscles again. He stirred the milk and powder noisily. The kettle let out a screech. It was removed from the flame and the boiled water tipped into the mug. Cassy looked away, glancing around as Professor Lupin laid down the spoon and moved back to lean against the island counter.

'Can I ask why you're in the kitchens at this time of night, Cassy?' he said.

If he noticed the way Cassy's eye twitched at the familiar use of her name, he did not comment. Indeed, he had used it before in class, but his friendly tone never normally extended past the classroom and Cassy was not sure she appreciated his attempt at appearing to genuinely care.

'You can,' she responded, taking a sip from her own mug.

There was a pause before Professor Lupin asked, 'May I ask?'

'I cannot sleep,' admitted Cassy after a moment.

'I can see that,' he said calmly, 'but why? You were fine and then suddenly grew ill.'

Charming, thought Cassy with a frown. She knew she looked slightly worse for wear, her eyes shadowed by insomnia and her stomach churned from what she was not sure. Hunger or guilt – worry, shame, she could not find the right word for it – she did not know, she simply knew that it flipped and bubbled when her mind began reeling.

She met Professor Lupin's eye, he did not look away.

'What does it matter? It will not impact on class, I assure you,' she said.

'Perhaps you should see Madam Pomfrey, she will give you something to help you sleep,' he said, disregarding her icy tone completely. 'I take it you have had a fight with your friends from your attitude.'

Cassy fixed him with a minor glare, only barely narrowing her eyes into a disproving, challenging stare. Normally, she would not have bothered, she would have kept her face neutral and ignored him, but she found she did not care at that moment. Detention would give her something else to do with her time. However, Professor Lupin appeared incapable of rising to her.

'You remind me of someone I used to know,' he said slowly. There was a huff of a half-hearted laugh and he shook his head. 'When they were upset, they would always keep it in until it became only anger. They rarely accepted help – very self-destructive at points too, but, I'm sure you have more sense than that...' There was an odd tone in his voice as he spoke, one Cassy had heard before. His eyes were not on her any more, instead they were focused on the tiles on the wall, or perhaps beyond them; he did not appear to see anything at all. 'He never would accept when he was wrong-'

'If I have wronged for being born then I cannot apologise enough to ever correct it, short of taking my own life,' interrupted Cassy harshly.

Professor Lupin flinched and swung his head around to her, frowning deeply. He bit out, 'Don't talk like that.'

'Do not make me then,' she said lowly. The bite was not out of her words and she stared at him fiercely and he did so back equally.

'So, this is about that then, your family,' he said; it was not a question. 'You've argued over it with a friend.'

'It is none of your concern,' she said, clasping the cup in her hand tighter.

Professor Lupin leant one arm on the island behind him, placing his mug down and entwining his finger tightly.

'Friends will come around no matter where you are from, no matter what your ailments.'

'I suppose you would know that first hand,' she muttered into her mug.

Professor Lupin flinched again, his face then fixed in harsh stare. Cassy would have felt guilty, but her eyes were sore, her limbs heavy and there was a dull ache in the back of her mind. Her hands trembled with weakness and her gut burned with irritation that he could simply not let it go.

'I cannot hide my shame, Professor. I live with it every day and I cannot escape it. At least for you, it is once a month that you are monstrous. My thoughts, my ideals, they are part of how I have been raised, not my blood, but people fail to see that. On the surface they see a Black, with you they see an ordinary human. They only see power, and deceit, and madness when they look at me.'

'You think you are hard done by?' said Professor Lupin heavily. His face was neutral, but with voice was laden with blame and anger, so much that it almost made Cassy squirm. 'Miss Black, you do not know the meaning of being hard done by. You have had many things in life, you have friends that care for you enough that, despite your reputation, were there for you. Even if they might not be now, they will always be there for you when it comes down to it. Perhaps it is you giving up on them. Perhaps the issue is that you are cynical and expect the worst in everyone and so that is what you get, because when I look around the people that surround you in class, or at dinner, I see they don't give a damn who you are. Your name is only as bad as what you make it and when I first saw you I did not think you were someone to lay down and let things pass you by, but if you are giving up now at the age of fourteen then I severely misjudged your character.'

Cassy stared awkwardly as Professor Lupin picked up his cup and gulped down the still steaming liquid, sighing to himself as if the action had relieved a mountain of stress. His shoulders sagged and he almost looked guilty when he looked at her, shrinking a bit more as Cassy looked away.

'I'm sorry,' he said gently. 'However, I won't take back what I said. I meant it, I just wish it had not come out like that. Just wait for them to come around, I'm sure he will.'

Without turning to regard him, Cassy thought through what he had said. Perhaps it was true that she sort the worst in people and expected them to dislike her from the start. It would not be wrong to assume she had done so with Ron, or even sceptical of Harry when they first met, but she simply could not stop herself. The stares and the comments through her life at her name, the refusal for other children to go near her and leaving her to her own devices through the days when she was in the care of another beside Alphard; it was difficult to think that those children had not retained those thoughts. She frowned slightly and peered at him without turning her head. Professor Lupin was all ready watching.

'What if I am tired of waiting?' she asked softly. She did not ask how he knew it regarded Harry.

'Then you either choose to persevere or move on,' he said simply. 'Who else knows, by the way, about my condition?'

'Just Hermione and I. We never discussed it, but we know the other knows. It was rather simple, especially once Professor Snape set the essay.'

'I knew he set it hoping someone would figure it out,' he said with a sigh. 'Why have you not told your other friends?'

Cassy raised an eyebrow and said, 'It hardly matters to them. It does not harm them, nor have they asked. I do not particularly care if you are a werewolf, so I do not have need to spread it around.'

'Thank-you,' he said with a smile. 'Although, your perception of werewolves are a bit out. There is a lot more to it that simply being effected once a month, yet not as much as some books would have you believe. Maybe you should look into it a bit more to fill your time more constructively, there are some good books out there.'

Cassy blinked lazily at him. She knew that, it was not really the point she was trying to make about him. All the laws and regulations regarding work and housing for werewolves were things she had seen in passing and she was rather affronted that he thought she would not know that. It must have shown on her face, for he backtracked slightly.

'It was just a thought,' he said, waving one hand in defence.

'How is it that you are employed in a school?' she asked, fully aware the question bordered on rude.

Professor Lupin did not seem to mind. He explained that he had to take the Wolfsbane potion in the upcoming days to a full moon and that it allowed him to keep control of his body, meaning that should he ever run into a student while transformed, it would not be so much of an issue.

Cassy sat and listened with fascination. She had heard of the potion when researching the essay for Professor Snape, but seeing as it was an exceedingly difficult potion to make there was not much information on it in the library, nor on any other forms of suppressant. Professor Lupin laughed as she shot questions at him and answered each one to the best of his knowledge.

'Have you ever thought to look these up yourself instead of letting them fester in your head?' he asked when he could get a word in in-between her rapid fire.

'This is a school. The information is either basic, out-dated, or wrong on subjects like this,' she answered blandly and Professor Lupin laughed again.

'That is true,' he said.

'I thought about asking my uncle Alphard, seeing as he is a potioneer and will most likely be familiar with it, but with my post being checked I thought it might arouse suspicion with such an odd request.'

Professor Lupin nodded. He finished off his drink and said, 'While on that subject, the checks on your belongings are done. They came out clean. It didn't take long, but Harry's broomstick will be a while yet because of the enchantments it possesses anyway... that song in your jewellery box... have you heard it before?'

Cassy shook her head. 'Have you?'

'No, no,' he said after a moment of looking pensive. He smiled and laughed slightly, making Cassy frown. As soon as he noticed he plucked the mug from her hands and took it together with his over to the sink. 'I think you should head off to bed now anyway. It's very late and I wouldn't be much of a teacher if I left you here when I retreated. Try not to get caught by anyone and pop by my office tomorrow to get your things.'

After a moment, Cassy slid off the side and readjusted her dressing gown. She bid him good-night, eyeing him with an inquisitive expression and he returned it with a wave.

'Oh, and Cassy?' he said when her foot was out the portrait hole. 'Do try and cheer up a bit.'

Thanks to Val3 who reminded me it had been so long since I updated. I was trying to get used to the times of my new timetable and my work load, so the story took a back seat in my mind. Anyway, I expect I will update every two weeks. That's likely to be the earliest at this point as all my deadlines are early this semester.

This chapter was not intended to be this long, but here it is. Originally, Lupin was not supposed to get mad at Cassy and have a go, but I felt like she needed to be told to get over herself by someone who has it worse than she does. She's a cynical character with every right to be so and I love that about her, yet sometimes you need to give them a little kick in the teeth and this was it, haha.

Another thing some of you may have noticed is that Cassy does not deal with stress well all the time, at least not when it concerns people she cares about. When I am stressed I cannot sleep, so I added that in, because while she is not pining after Harry and trying to win their friendship back, she certainly is feeling the loss. I hope it wasn't too dramatic, I tried not to put too much emphasis on it. Harry is also stressed and upset and he explodes normally, so I hope that was written okay as well, I don't normally like to write him angry. I seem to write him joyful, for some reason.

Thanks!