"Cassie," Draco whispered, gently shaking his sister. "Cassie, wake up."
"Draco." She moaned, turning away from him. "Five more minutes."
"Cassie," He groaned, teasingly. "There's something I need to show you."
"Later." She mumbled, pulling the sheet up to cover her face.
"You'll miss the surprise." He smiled, fondly. "I promise, you'll love it."
"I better." She said, prying her eyes open to look at him.
"When have I ever lied to you?" He grinned.
"How much time do you have?" She said, teasingly, as she rolled out of bed and followed Draco, as he too, was still in his nightwear.
"Very funny." He rolled his eyes, quietly leading her outside of the Manor.
Silently, she followed Draco into the gardens of the Manor, nearly walking into his back as he abruptly stopped.
"Draco?" She asked, looking up at him as he turned to her with a smile.
"Shh." He said, before pointing. "Look."
She followed his gaze and gasped at the sight of their peacock that was sitting with tiny little peacocks huddled by her.
"Penny had chicks!" She gushed quietly, in awe at the sight.
"Mother noticed last night." Draco explained, before smiling at her reaction. "I thought you'd like to see before we leave for Hogwarts. They'll be quite some size come Christmas."
"Thank you, Draco." She smiled, but her eyes never faltered from the beautiful bird that fawned over her babies.
Incredible moments like these reminded Cassie that there was good in the world. There was innocence.
"Breakfast?" Draco said, grasping her attention a little while after he left her to admire the sight.
"I'm starving." She admitted, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up from her crouched position.
"You're father has something to take care of, so it will just be the three of us." Narcissa smiled, as her children finished their breakfast. "Hurry along now, or we'll be late for the train."
Cassie returned to her room with an unexpected giddiness. For the first time years, she had dreaded the thought of returning to Hogwarts upon breaking up with Fred, but now, things had changed and she couldn't wait to get back.
"Lopsy will miss Cassie." Lopsy said, sadly as she helped Cassie pack her trunk.
"I'll miss you too, Lopsy." Cassie said, softly.
"Be safe," The little elf muttered, as Cassie pulled her in for a hug. "Lopsy has a bad feeling."
"I'll be okay, Lopsy." Cassie smiled, but even she knew things had been too quiet around the Manor lately.
True to her word, it was indeed only Narcissa that was present at the platform to see her children off. Not that any of the three were complaining.
"Write to me." Narcissa whispered against Cassie's head as they hugged.
"I will." She promised, pulling away so her mother could press a soft kiss to Draco's head.
"Stay out of trouble." She said, like every year.
"We will." They chorused, like it was a tradition.
"I've got a bad feeling about this year," Draco said, cautiously as they walked the corridor of the train. "Be careful, Cassie."
"You don't need to worry about me, Draco." She smiled, reassuringly, like she had done every time someone had suspected something or had fretted over her.
"But I do." He said, seriously as he turned to her outside of his compartment which consisted of his 'friends'. "I'm serious, Cassie. Bad things are coming our way."
"We'll face it like we do every time." She said, softly.
"Together." He finished, with a slight smile, before he slipped into the small area.
Shaking off her worries, she continued down the train in search of her friends.
"Boo!" She jumped the moment the person pulled her aside.
Her heart pounded in her ears, as she worked up a glare as she raised her eyes to meet those of the perpetrators.
"Fred." She groaned, crossing her arms. "You scared me."
"Sorry." He said, but the grin on his face contradicted his words. "I was beginning to think you had run out on us again."
"I wouldn't. Not without a goodbye." She said, truthfully, as she cast her eyes aside.
"Friend or not," He said, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. "I don't want to ever hear a goodbye from you. You're stuck with us for the foreseeable future. You didn't think you could escape my good looks and hilarious jokes, did you?"
"Silly me." She teased, with a smile.
"Come on," He grinned, taking her hand as he lead her further down the train. "The fantastic five are waiting."
A/N: My bestie, DracoLuciusMalfoy1980 writes a lot of really good and very underrated Dramoine and Draco centred stories if you're interested :)