Tomorrow is another day
Chapter 13
The next few weeks passed quickly for Cassy. And for the first time in her life she felt like she was truly fitting in somewhere. Well other then with her mother of course. She had become closer too Rose and Abigail during the time they spend together. And she had come to understand that James and Louis were quite fun to hang out with as well. James had come to her aid more then once and she really appreciated it. He never made her feel stupid or indebted to him. He just wanted to be her friend. And having friends made her more confident about herself.
Cassy had come to understand and appreciate Abigail better. She was still on the prowl for guys that were cute, as she had been since they arrived at the school, but she proved herself to be a really good friend as well. When Cassy had broken down in their dorm three weeks into the term because she missed her mother so much, Abigail simply sat with her and hugged her. She didn't say anything then or later. Though she didn't not suffer from homesickness, she had been so understanding. Ever since then she had been determined to make Cassy feel at home. Abigail had confessed that she never wanted anyone to feel alone. That was when Cassy was convinced that Abigail was a great person.
Rose had been as amazing as ever and kept up with all the crazy talk about finding Cassy's father. She was kind and supportive. And she could make anyone smile.
With all these friends surrounding her, Cassy had realised that finding her father somehow wasn't as pressing anymore. She still wanted to find out who he was, but she understood now that the friends and family she already had were far more important. They had all been so great towards her and she was going to make sure that she would be there for them as they were for her.
Still, even with that new realisation on friendships and family, Cassy and Rose had been trying to figure out more about her father, Unfortunately for them, they had hit a wall only shortly after they began. They figured out that Scorpius Malfoy was a relative of the Blackfamily. And some of the more prominent Black lines had been naming their children after constellations for quite a few decades now. This discovery made both girls quite certain they were in for a impossible task. The long list of people using constellations in their children's names, showed them this. Over the centuries the family had become rather large, as most old families often do, and this fact offered too many possible relatives for Cassy to even begin to investigate.
Stubborn as Rose was though, they did not give up.
"We started this and we won't quite until there is no other option! All right?" she had said to her friend and Cassy just smiled. She didn't want to stop looking, even if the situation was unworkable.
Therefore they had spend the following weeks narrowing down their search. They eliminated deceased male members, older members and the young ones. They were left with a list of relatives that would have been able to be her father. This however still gave them too many variables.
They had made it their mission to read into the lives of most the members on this list, but they had not been able to figure out how any of them could've met Cassy's mother. It was starting to look like a futile search.
"Perhaps, I'm not related to them. Perhaps that was just wishful thinking. Perhaps my father just liked constellations" Cassy had said after a particularly long night of reading in the library. Rose just shrugged her shoulders, she had no idea what the truth would be. She just could not help but agree with the hopelessness of this search.
"Perhaps you should ask you mother again." Rose offered and Cassy silently agreed with her. She would ask her mother, and this time she would not take no for an answer. She really wanted to know who her father was. Where she belonged. And if she had more family then just her mother.
Until she would be able to ask her mother, however, Cassy was content with being accepted into the family of Rose and James. After all they were pretty amazing to her. And her mother seemed to get along with their parents, this would make it much easier to keep in touch with her new-found friends outside of school.
During the weeks school itself had proven to be great as well. Cassy found that homework was manageable and she didn't seem to be behind on anything. Most classes were even fun to endure. Except for flying. Though she did get the hang of it after two classes, she did not enjoy it very much. Two feet from the ground didn't bother her too much, but she had discovered that she wasn't a huge fan of bigger heights. The moment they were told to go higher by madame Hooch, Cassy had freaked out. Unfortunately for her, she had been a lot less graceful then Abigail had been during their first lesson. There had been screaming involved and some tears even, it had not been a pretty picture. Madame Hooch had sent Cassy to the school nurse, hoping the woman could calm her down with some potion. Luckily Abigail had gone with her and not laughed at her once. James had though, a few days later when the shock had worn off.
They had been sitting at the lake with the five of them, when James suddenly started sniggering. Louis could not help but join in. Rose and Abigail didn't join in but Cassy was aware that she would not have been able to blame them.
"I'm sorry Cas, but it was quite funny" James said in-between sniggers, "you were just flapping away with your legs and arms, hoping that would direct the broom to the ground."
"I wasn't really graceful about it was I" Cassy said a bit embarrassed.
"That would be the understatement of the year" Louis muttered and at this they all started laughing.
"I really didn't know heights bothered me that much" Cassy said and James laughed even louder.
"Well you figured it out quite brilliantly" he said and then just continued laughing for a good ten minutes. This really didn't help her feel less embarrassed but she could hardly be angry. They all kept their laughter for a good three days. While the other students didn't even hold it in for a minute.
Another plus to the school had been that, unlike most of her new-found friends, Cassy had not been in detention once. Something her friends admired and ridiculed at the same time. But she was OK with that. She knew that her mother wouldn't like to hear she was put in detention. Besides that, she really didn't have the nerve to rebel against the rules. Cassy had always appreciated rules. She liked obeying rules. Rules gave clarity. They were good guidelines to living life.
The only thing she had been persuaded to do was walk through the school with James, Louis, Abigail and Rose. Though something told her that is was not entirely allowed, she had fun with them. And she always made sure they were back in their dorms before curfew.
Since is was now almost time for winterbreak, Cassy was getting more and more restless. She was going to ask her mother questions that she was not very comfortable asking. But she was happy she was going to see her mother again, they had never been apart for this long before. In fact, Cassy could not remember a time where they had been separated for longer then school hours.
To rid herself of this restlessness she had started taking walks along the lake. This cleared her mind and with the cold there was nobody that was willing to accompany her. Rose had given her charms to warm herself properly, but never once offered to come along. She seemed to understand that Cassy needed time alone. She seemed to understand that being surrounded by people all the time was a lot for a girl who until recently only had her mother. Cassy had made it no secret to Rose nor Abigail that she never really had family or friends. There was only her mother. So this was all new and took some getting used too, no matter how much she loved it.
And it became a habit for her to walk around the lake and sit down against one of the trees surrounding it. Of course she steered clear of the forest, that was forbidden property after all.
Today was no different from others. After walking for almost an hour, Cassy sat down by the lake and leaned against the tree nearest to the school entrance. It felt safe there. She stared out over the lake she had come to love in the time she had been here. It was so serene; soothing to the nerves of an insecure 11 year old. She sighed contentedly, she had really come to love this school and it's grounds.
It wasn't until nearly an hour later that she heard soft footsteps behind her. She smiled, knowing her visitor wouldn't see it. She had expected this. She didn't really bother to turn around. She knew that once she made a routine of her visits to the lake, he would eventually get enough courage to approach her. And she had avoided him long enough without ever having a good reason for that. Other then her gutfeeling telling her that she did not want to hear what he obviously really wanted to say or ask her.
"Can I sit with you?" Scorpius asked politely and Cassy nodded. He always stayed polite, even when she infuriated him to no end. And she knew she really had infuriated him since they met.
"It's beautiful here isn't it" he said and again she nodded, before turning her head towards him and smile. She didn't want him to think that her silence was any indication of unkindness.
When she looked at him though, she realised he did not have a charm to stay warm, like her. He was shivering all over and she chuckled before quickly chanting the simple charm. He smiled at her when he felt warmth return to his body. Relaxing he too slanted back against the tree.
"Where'd you learn that?" he asked, it was not like him to be behind on anyone when it came to spells and charms. He was the best student in his house and he was proud of that.
"Rose taught it to me" Cassy explained and he just nodded. His father had always said that Rose's mother was able to outdo anyone academically. It was only logic that her daughter would do as well.
"So what brings you here?" Cassy asked as she relaxed against a tree.
"nothing, just out for some air" he said and even to his own ears that sounded ridiculous.
"Sure you are" Cassy snorted. He made no excuses and she didn't press, instead they took the time to just sit silently and stare out over the water. Cassy could not help but notice that the air wasn't tense, like she imagined it would be. She felt the same tranquillity she felt before Scorpius had taken a seat next to her.