Cassi shivered through her tee shirt. She had made the mistake of not wearing a sweater, and was severely berating herself for it. It was only mid-September, but it was so cold. Malcolm Wood had left last year, and the new Captain was Delia Yew. She stood in the middle of the field, long dark brown hair blowing around her, hands on her hips, as she scrutinized her team. "We're lucky this year, you lot. Only need a Keeper." The rest of the team nodded. Delia yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET YOUR BROOMS IN THE AIR!" Cassi hid a smile as she mounted her broom.

Flying was something that Cassi had never gotten used to. She loved the feeling of weightlessness, the independence of flight. Whooping with glee, she shot into one of her famous dives. Cassi was known for her incredible catches. She rocketed towards the earth, missing it by inches so that her toes scraped the grass. Then she shot high into the sky.

It was after practice, and Cassi was waiting for James, and, by extension, Sirius. All the other players had already gone up. Lily came walking down the sloping lawn to the pitch. She smiled at Cassi, but the smile dropped quickly when she saw James Potter emerging from the changing room. The corners of her mouth turned down and she rolled her eyes as James ran up to her. They began one of their fights as Cassi tried not to laugh.

"Oi! Sinclaire!" The voice caught her attention. It was Sirius. She watched Lily glance in her direction, but she nodded and gestured for Lily to go. Lily obliged, and went off to the castle, trailing a James Potter behind her.

Cassi turned her attention to Sirius. "What do you want, Black?" Sirius smirked. "Why so harsh, Cass?" she winced at the nickname. "Why not, Siri?" she answered. She was gratified by seeing him wince as well. He sighed. "Cass, I'm tired of us fighting. Can't we try to be friends?" Cassi looked down. "I-I-I don't know, Sirius." He glanced at the sky, biting his lip. He looked down, meeting her blue eyes. He noticed they were exactly the same shade of blue as the sky above them.

"I guess we can try, Sirius. I'm not promising anything, but its worth a shot, I guess." He looked elated by her response. He tentatively held his arms open, then said, "Friends?" She smiled back, replying, "Friends." She hugged him lightly. It was more physical contact then they had had in almost a year and a half. Cassi grinned. "Race you to the Great Hall?" she said. But Sirius was already gone, racing over the grassy lawn.

"STOP, YOU CHEATER, COME BACK!"

"NOT A CHANCE!"
Cassi raced after Sirius, who was already halfway up the lawn.

When she reached the Entrance Hall, she ran into Sirius. He was standing, glaring, at the sight before him. Marlene McKinnon was walking out of the Great Hall, arm in arm with Harvey Finnegan, a Gryffindor sixth year. Both Cassi and Sirius watched in horror as she leaned over, still smiling, and kissed him on the cheek. Sirius had turned a strange shade of red. Cassi was concerned. She had known that Marlene and Sirius were hooking up, but not dating. But dating was the option that made his response make sense.

"Marlene?" Sirius' voice was strangely calm. Marlene turned, her eyes getting wide, and her smile faker, as she did. "Sirius! Baby!" Sirius remained like a rock as Marlene pranced over.

"What's she doing with you?" she questioned. "I could ask the same thing of you with Finnegan." Marlene looked affronted.

"Sirius! You can't be jealous!" she smiled.

"I am." He replied.

"That's ridiculous!" she whined.

"I don't think it is, Marlene."

"But I know it is!"

"ARGH." This was from Cassi. She glared at Sirius. "Just break up and be done with it!" She began stalking away when Marlene's voice accosted her. "So, you're trying to get Sinclaire to do your dirty work, Sirius? I can't believe you're breaking up with me! After all we've been through! I just," here she began to fake cry, "I can't stand the thought of you with that Sinclarie who-" She never finished her statement because Cassi had slapped her across the face. Marlene was sprawled on the floor, hand clapped to her face where Cassi had slapped her. "Don't you dare finish that statement. You couldn't at least try to break up with him with class? I'm disgusted by you. I don't even know how he managed to stand you for this long." She stalked away, trailed by an astonished Sirius.

"You-You SLAPPED her!" he said, still stunned. Cassi whirled on him. "Of course I did, why are you so surprised?" Sirius held up his hands in front of him in a gesture of peace.

Cassi was sitting in the Great Hall when Drea came up to her. "Cass." She said. Cassi turned to face her sister. "Drea? What are you doing over here?" Drea turned her head, her eyes filled with tears, and handed Cassi a black envelope. "Read it." She whispered. Cassi nodded. She took the letter from the envelope, unfolding it with shaking hands.

Dear Cassieopia and Alessandrea Sinclaire,

We regret to inform you that as of last night, September 13th, 1976, your father, Romulus Sinclaire, was killed in a raid. Your mother, Aphrodite Sinclaire, still lives.

Our deepest condolences,

Arianna Kirtwald

Head Auror

Cassi stared at the letter for a long time. Drea stared at her sister. Cassi took a deep breath, handed the letter back to Drea, and said, "Go home if you feel the need. I'm staying right where I am." Looking horrified, Drea fled back to the Slytherin table. Cassi continued eating her dinner, not looking at any of her concerned friends.

It was almost midnight when Lily, returning from her rounds as prefect, heard the gentle sobs coming from Cassi's bed. She wanted to comfort her friend, but the curtains were drawn shut.