"You don't mind, do you?"Cassie whispered to Rabastan as she and her brother had just broken the news to their parents that he, Regulus, would be joining Cassie and Rabastan for their trip to Diagon Alley, or at least that's what they thought. After she had mentioned to her younger brother about the plans she had made with Rabastan, he had instantly agreed to keep it a secret, and if there was one thing she knew, Regulus was an excellent secret keeper.
"No, of course not. Besides, I think a few hours together without your mother breathing down your neck would do you both some good." He replied quietly. The two stood currently in the hallway, waiting for Regulus to come down the second-floor bathroom.
"Thank you." She smiled gratefully at him.
"But.. he does know, right? Where we're going?"
"Yes, he knows. And he promised not to tell anyone. If it's going to do anyone some good, it is him, he might not say anything, but he needs this a lot. I heard him laugh this morning. For the first time in months, I honestly don't think I've heard his laugh since Sirius left. He's a teenager. We all are. I think we deserve a day to act like it. Just.. let's try not to take him to a pub or anything. I don't think we'll manage to keep our secret if he came home drunk."
Rabastan chuckled as he could almost envision both of their mothers' reactions if they had even dared to bring a drunk Regulus back home. "Well, it would be fun to find out what sort of drunk he is." He commented, causing Cassie to roll her eyes.
"I doubt it would be anything I haven't seen before." Rabastan raised a curious brow at her, though as he got no response, he lowered it before raising it again. "What?" she questioned.
He looked away for a moment before meeting her gaze again with an astonished expression. "This." he pointed to his forehead as he raised his eyebrows again. "This was supposed to tell you to explain. It was me urging you to continue." he shook his head in disbelief, while all Cassie did, or rather all she was able to, was to stare at him until she burst out laughing.
"This- you though... and that was supposed to... how could i.." was all she managed to get out in her fit of laughing. Rabastan moved his gaze back and forth between her and the end of the hall in case anyone decided to show up. At the same time, Cassie continued to laugh until she felt her stomach aching and her eyes brimming with tears. Though each time he looked at her, he really couldn't help but smile along.
The sound of someone rushing down the stairs made the two share a look before both setting their eyes on the staircase, watching as Regulus descended. When he saw how red his sister looked along with the amusement radiating in her eyes, he gave her a puzzled look. "Why are you so red?"
Cassie turned to Rabastan while bearing a wide grin. "Would you tell my brother by I'm so red?" she asked sweetly.
He let out a sigh as he rubbed his face before meeting her gaze. "Because your sister does obviously not know what this means." He raised a brow, just like he had done a few moments ago.
"Doesn't it mean, really or seriously?" Regulus asked as he switched his gaze from Rabastan to Cassie, who nodded approvingly.
"Yes. Yes, it does."
Rabastan looked at the two Black siblings and shook his head disapprovingly. "No. It means go on. Continue with what you were saying." He received a somewhat uncertain look from the boy, while Cassie just stood bearing a shit-eating grin.
"I think I'm going to stick with my sister on this one." Regulus decided as Rabastan rolled his eyes before moving towards the closet to find his coat. As Cassie let her brother go before her, she bit her lower lip to suppress the laugh that threatened to erupt as she watched him pull out his black cloak.
"Reg, darling. Considering where we're going, I think it's probably best if you stick to a coat or a jacket and leave the cloak. At least for today." Cassie said.
"Why?" he looked at with his big eyes.
"Because, because they don't use cloaks where we're going. And we might attract unwanted attention, or, and this is more likely, they think we are a pair of weirdos, going around with cloaks on in December."
He nodded understandingly as he put his cloak back and instead pulled out his dark woolen coat. At the same time, his sister pulled out her maroon coat and put it on.
"Are you ready?" Rabastan asked as he looked upon the two while putting his arms through his jacket. Catching each of their nods, Regulus's a bit more enthusiastic than his sister, Rabastan held out his hand.
As Cassie grabbed it, she met his gaze for a moment, and the two shared a smile. Feeling her brother place his hand on top of hers caused the girl to move both her gaze and smile his way, though before she met his face, the view disappeared before her.
There was a low buzzing as suddenly several more voices appeared, causing Cassie to open her eyes that she had shut tightly as they apparated. It brought a smile to her face as she saw the inside of the familiar Leaky Cauldron. Turning to her two companions, she suggested. "Perhaps we should go to Gringotts first? Get some muggle money?"
"Probably not a bad idea," Rabastan replied.
A while later, they made their way back to the leaky cauldron with their pockets a bit heavier than when they arrived. As they entered, Cassie immediately took one boy in each hand and dragged them behind her out of the pub and into the busy streets of London.
"So.." she turned around to face her companions. "Where to first?"
The boys shared a look at first before Regulus spoke up. "Maybe we should focus on the dress first? Considering that's why we're here?"
Rabastan nodded in agreement as he added. "Besides, the sooner we get that done, the sooner we can do the fun stuff." He sent a teasing grin to Cassie, who only chucked in return before she too had to agree.
"Okay.. so where do we find a dress shop here?"
Regulus's eyes widened as he raised his voice slightly. "What do you mean where do we find it? don't you know?"
Cassie threw her brother a look. "What? Do you think I've been scouting dress shops in my spare time? No, besides, I haven't been to London since last Christmas."
"Look, I'm sure we'll manage just fine. If not, why not just ask someone for directions?" Rabastan suggested causing the siblings to share a glance before ultimately agreeing with him.
As they wandered for a while, a blue and red sign caught Cassie's eyes, and an almost mischievous grin immediately flew across her face. "I have an idea on how to get around faster." She stated happily. "that is if you want to try something new."
While Regulus nodded eagerly, Rabastan looked slightly hesitant though ending up with an uncertain."Uh.. sure."
Cassie led them to the tube entrance, down the stairs until they came to the point they had to buy their tickets, without even thinking about it. Cassie made her way to the ticket office, and it wasn't until she turned around that she noticed the two boys were gone.
Her eyes scanned the area, hoping to see any trace of the two, but that proved to be somewhat of a challenge. "Rabastan? Regulus?" She called out, hoping that at least one of them would hear them.
As Cassie maneuvered between the crowd of people, she suddenly caught the glance of a dark-haired boy dressed in a black coat. Any doubt that it was her brother disappeared the moment she noticed a taller dark-haired boy next to him dressed in a dark coat as well. As he turned his head slightly, the girl took notice of his features.
The way his brows were furred in concentration, and honestly, she couldn't help but smile as she saw how lost he really looked. Cassie quickly noticed the direction they were going, and immediately, against her better judgment, she yelled out. "Stupefy!"
A few looks were thrown her way, but she didn't care. They could point and laugh at her all they wanted, claim her for being mad, but the moment she had yelled out, Rabastan stopped immediately and took hold of Regulus's sleeve, causing the boy to stop and give a questioning look to the older boy. Rabastan turned around, his eyes scanning the crowd, ultimately coming to a stop as he caught sight of the familiar dark-haired girl who was waving both of her hands in the air.
"There she is." He told Regulus as he nodded his head in the direction she was standing. A snort was heard from Regulus as he caught the sight of his sister, and for the moment, he was thankful that they weren't at school and that nobody knew them, or else his face would have gone a few shades darker. As they reached her, Rabastan gave her one glance before raising his brow, smiling. "Stupefy? Were you planning to stun someone?" he asked, amused.
"Well, no, just trying to get your attention before you both nearly went the wrong way." she retorted.
"Suppose I shouldn't be surprised that out of every word you could have thought of, you chose your favorite spell," Regulus added, causing Cassie to break out in a grin.
"Anyway.." she drew out. "Shall we get our tickets?"
It seemed as if it just now occurred to them that they needed tickets if they even wanted to go anywhere. Once Cassie held their tickets in her hand, she held on to them up until the moment when they were going to use them.
As they neared the machines, she handed out a ticket to each of them and started to explain to Regulus what he was going to do. Rabastan, who hadn't noticed or rather heard her, walked closer to the machine staring rather confused at it.
As he looked around, he saw a woman put a card on top of a circle on the device that made the gates opened. Putting down his ticket on the yellow ring in front of him, he proceeded to walk forward only to be stopped by the barrier. "What the-" he tried again and again, and as he was about to try for the fourth time, he overheard a specific voice. "What are you doing?"
As he turned around, he noticed the confused expression on Regulus's features while his sister had to bite down on her lower lip to keep in the burst of laugh she so dearly wanted to let out. "It won't open." he persisted, causing the girl to chuckle as she moved closer to him. Taking the ticket, Cassie instructed him to watch her as she stuck the ticked into a hole on the front and watched it disappear.
"Go on." She urged him as the gates opened. As he passed through them Rabastan turned around and stared at the ticket machine in amazement. Cassie did the same for Regulus before letting herself go through. At some point, she caught the eye of a man a few years older than herself, who was staring rather strangely at the trio.
"It's their first time." She said merrily, causing him to give her a look before shaking his head and continue his way. "Come on, this way." She pointed to the right and went off with the two boys following her.
Around two hours later, the trio exited a dress store they had accidentally but thankfully stumbled upon after their adventure with the underground. Rabastan was still skeptical about the underground train and the ticket barrier, but Regulus had loved the entire experience. His favorite part had been when they were waiting for their train, and the sudden burst of wind appeared whenever a train was nearing the station.
Cassie remembered that she had had the same reaction when Lily had first taken her and the rest of their roommates there during the summer before their fourth year. Being the responsible thirteen-year-old girl she was, her parents had allowed her to go to Diagon Alley alone for a day. They never knew that while they were at home thinking their daughter was wandering along Diagon alley, she was happily strolling down the streets of London with her best friends.
Come to think of it now; this wasn't the first time she had done anything like that.
"Okay, so we have a dress. Where to next?" Cassie wondered as they stepped out of the dress store.
"I don't know... there's so much to see. I don't even know where to start." Regulus mumbled almost tiredly. As they wandered down the street, he noticed a red bus that first seemed normal until he saw that it was missing a roof. "Hey Cas.." he started. "Where's the roof?" he asked, pointing at the red bus that was driving their way.
"Wha- oh, that is a sightseeing bus, there's no roof, so it's easier for people who sit on the top to take pictures and enjoy the view more." She thought for a moment. "That is a brilliant idea. Do you want to try it?" She shifted her gaze between the two, catching both of their nods. "Okay, see that post over there? it stopped there, so I'm certain if we wait there, then we can jump on the next one."
"Isn't it going to be cold, though?" Regulus asked. "Seeing that it's winter and we're going to take a trip on a bus without a roof?"
"Well, yes. And that's why I brought this with me." She lifted a dark brown satchel she had been carrying around since they left the Lestrange's. "It's not magically enchanted but, I find that its enough room in it for the most useful things," Cassie said as she opened it and pulled out a pair of gloves that she handed to her brother. "Do you want a scarf or maybe a hat?"
"I'll go with the hat, reckon I'll freeze my ears off if I don't." He joked as he grabbed the knitted hat and put it on.
Cassie looked up and met Rabastans gaze. "Here are some gloves. Do you want a hat or a scarf?"
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." he insisted.
"Come on. I don't want you to freeze to death. If you don't take the hat or the scarf, then at least take the gloves." She pleaded. However, he shook his head.
"It's okay. I don't get cold that much. I'll be fine." He said, giving her a small smile.
"Oh my g- can't you just take the gloves? It's going to be rather cold up there, considering we'll be moving in speed, without a roof, for a while."
"Look, I told you. I'll be fine."
Her eyes darkened immediately as she narrowed them while glaring sternly at the older boy. "You will take the bloody gloves, Rabastan Lestrange, or I swear to god I'll put them on you myself." Cassie snapped, causing his eyes to widen as he started nodding rapidly while accepting the gloves.
"I- 'll take them. Might as well take a scarf too." He replied, his voice slightly shaky, causing Regulus to snicker at the two.
Cassie nodded approvingly at her fiance as she pulled out a forest green knitted scarf that she had made during the summer. Being stuck at home all summer without Sirius had been rather boring, so she had occupied her time by knitting. Dorea had taught her during the Christmas holiday last year, and it was something she found both relaxing and time-consuming.
"So how's quidditch going, Regulus?" Rabastan asked the younger boy.
"Great, we have a match against Ravenclaw in February."
As the two chatted, Cassie let her eyes wander amongst the people. In a way, it was strange how she could feel so at peace in a place where there were so many people. But when she thought about it, it wasn't really that strange at all, it might have been on the street in a big city, while she was surrounded by people she didn't know, but somehow, it reminded her of Hogwarts, of home.
From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a red blur getting closer and closer, and as she turned her to the left, the sight of the red doubledecker made her turn to the two boys.
"There it is." She pointed at the bus.
When it stopped in front of them, Cassie paid for their tickets before leading the two boys to the upper deck. She walked to the back and was about to sit down until she figured that maybe Regulus wanted to sit at the inner seat, so he would be able to see everything. She stepped out of the way, "You'll see better from here." she pointed to the inner seat on the left side to the back.
"Thanks." He smiled appreciatively as he sat down, letting his eyes fly over everything he could see.
Feeling the cold wind in her hair made Cassie break out in a smile, but what made her smile even brighter was the look on her brother's face as they drove through the city. The pure joy and the excitement shining in his eyes made Cassie feel an incredible amount of happiness in her chest. Feeling a certain pricking in her neck, she turned her gaze towards Rabastan, who was already looking at her. "Are you happy?" he asked her.
"I'm happy as long as he is." She said, not noticing how his dark eyes soften ever so slightly as she said that.
As the trio drove past Big Ben, Regulus turned towards the two as he said. "Merlin, I wish we had brought a camera with us."
Rabastan shared a look with Cassie and smiled as he moved his eyes to her brother. "We'll do it next time."
"Look, there's the palace!" Regulus stated excitedly as he raised himself slightly while he pointed towards Buckingham Palace. Cassie gave her brother's jacket a gentle tug at his sleeve, urging him to sit back down, so he didn't accidentally fall over and down.
After a little while, she turned her head to her left and caught the sight of Rabastan's ear and nose that had turned red from the cold. Clearing her throat, she grabbed his attention as he gazed curiously down at her.
"Glad you listened to me now?" she asked as a smug smile spread across her face.
He laughed. "Yes, I am. You were right. It's a bit cold."
She sent him a knowing look, relishing in the fact that she had been right.
"That was incredible. It almost felt like I was flying through London on a broom with the wind in my face. A slow one, of course, but still just amazing." Regulus smiled so brightly that Rabastan had for the last few minutes wondered if the boy's cheeks were starting to hurt, as the smile had pretty much been permanent on his face ever since the trio had stepped on the bus.
Glancing down to Cassie, the two shared a smile as they heard the youngest continuing to gush about the things he had seen.
"Are any of you hungry?" She questioned as the trio started wandering down a street. Regulus nodded while Rabastan answered. "I think we all are. It's been a few hours since breakfast. Why don't we find a pub or a restaurant or something, my treat." he offered, causing Cassie to furr her brows lightly at him.
"Are you sure? I mean, it's no trouble. You don't have to." She replied, meeting his eyes as she bit lightly on her lower lip.
" I know." he held her gaze as he continued. "But I want to. After all, you've already paid for our tube tickets and the sightseeing bus. It's the least I could do."
She opened her mouth, about to argue with him, but there was just something about the way he looked at her that made her hold her tongue. Like no matter what she said, he would not change his mind, not one bit.
"I.. okay. If you're certain." Cassie caved and noticed a satisfied grin spread across his features. She couldn't help but shake her head slightly, watching as he placed a hand on Regulus's shoulder and asked him if there was something special that he wanted to have for dinner.
As she watched the smile on her brother's face grow even more, if that was possible, she knew that this day hadn't been for her or Rabastan but for Regulus. She honestly could not remember the last time she had seen the boy so happy and excited about something, and though as much as it warmed her heart, it also broke it.
"So food?" Rabastan asked almost excitingly, causing the two siblings to share a look while holding back their laughter.
"Yeah, let's get some food," Cassie smiled before turning towards her brother. "What would you like?"
He seemed pretty uncertain for a while, not really sure what to decide. Though the two others gave him some time to think about it, though they were a bit hungry, none of them were on the verge of any outbursts or feeling cranky or snappy, do they didn't mind waiting.
As they passed a street, Rabastan stopped suddenly, causing Cassie to bump into his shoulder. She gazed curiously up at the boy and noticed that his attention was on something rather high up. Raising her eyes, she saw the chains of light hanging from one end of the street to the other, decorated beautifully. "It's Christmas decorations," she mumbled softly.
"It's beautiful," Rabastan replied, just as soft and just as quiet as she had.
It was indeed beautiful; there were several shining angels handing in the air with chains of light handing down from it. As the sun had gone down, and the sky had darkened, making the lights stand out even more than they would during the day. Cassie had forgotten about the decorations she had seen whenever she had visited the city with her friends. It made her remember how the candles would float above the house tables in the great hall and the several decorated trees placed all over the castle.
"Reminds me of Hogwarts, during Christmas, that is." He added.
Cassie gazed astonished up at him. "That's just what I was thinking."
Rabastan let out a small chuckle and met her gaze before he said. "Great minds think alike, I suppose."
"I think I got it." a voice piped up, making the two break eye contact as they both turned to Regulus. "Pizza. I want pizza."
"Are you sure?" Rabastan asked the younger boy, who only nodded eagerly back.
"Yeah, we don't eat it at home." moving his gaze from Rabastan, he locked eyes with his sister, who was smiling understandingly at him. "Our mother doesn't really like it." That was more or less the truth, but honestly, Walburga preferred more refined and elegant meals for her dinner than something as plain and simple as a cheese pizza. Regulus's favorite.
The older boy moved his gaze between the siblings before he declared. "Well, then it's official, pizza it is."
As they entered the leaky cauldron sometime later, Regulus was officially stuffed, having eaten more pizza than he had done for a while. The three had occupied a table the moment they had entered, while Cassie was munching happily on a chocolate milkshake, and Rabastan was sipping quietly on a cup of coffee he had bought when they had arrived. Regulus was flipping through a book he had gotten from a book shop earlier that day.
"So, how do you think it'll be?" Rabastan spoke up, causing Cassie to lift her gaze from her shake.
"What do you mean?"
"The ball."
She thought for a moment. Honestly, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. Not even as she had tried on dresses for the ball. Her mind had been a bit more occupied with the fact that her mother had wanted to breed her like a dog; even if she had been the one to bring it up, it was only to change the subject. "I haven't thought about it much... but honestly.."She paused, searching for the right way to say it. "A lot less fun than Slughorns Christmas party, I bet."
He chuckled as he recalled the evening. "It certainly had a lot to live up to. Though I suppose there might be something there that would make your evening a lot more fun."
"Oh? and what's that?" Cassie raised a brow as she gazed upon the boy with curiosity filled in her dark eyes.
A grin appeared on his face, though if it was just a teasing grin or an amused grin, Cassie couldn't quite say, but he did seem rather pleased with himself.
"Well.." he started, "It's blue, and it's liquid. I'm pretty sure you can manage the rest."
"No.." Cassie gasped in disbelief. "You didn't." As she saw his grin widen, she already knew the answer, which caused a smile to appear. She threw a glance at her brother, who was buried so deep in his book, she was sure that he wouldn't hear them even if they called his name. Leaning closer to Rabastan, her voice was filled with giddy excitement as she asked him. "You got Blue delight?"
"Only the best for you." He laughed, causing her smile to widen slightly.
"Well, I suppose then that the party might become more exciting than I thought it would be," she said, taking a sip of her shake. "At least we'll have each other there, though I should probably keep my distance if you get too drunk."
He gave her a funny look, though he couldn't hide the confusion that appeared in his dark eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Well, referring back to the conversation we had earlier, about what kinds of drunk I've seen. Remus is a draw on people and dance at the top of the table kind of drunk, Lily is a kissing people and not remembering the type of drunk. Sirius sometimes blacks out, not remembering that much, Peter comes up with crazy ideas but always manages to trick someone else into doing it in case it backfires, and you, my friend, are what I would call a flirty drunk."
"I not a flirty drunk."
"Yeah, right, Mr. I wouldn't mind lurking with you." She retorted while lowering her voice to match his; her lips drew a grin as he immediately turned his eyes, refusing to meet hers, while his hand automatically went up to his neck and his ears turned red. He took a sip from his coffee before clearing his throat.
"What about you?" He asked, meeting her eyes. "What type are you?"
"The one that drunkenly writes love letters and dances on top of a table."
"Really?" he chuckled. "You didn't dance on one last time."
"Well, I wasn't that drunk the last time, though if the ball ends up being awful, you might get the chance to experience it then. That or I'll pass out somewhere. At least I doubt my mother would approve very much."
"You do that, and I think she would be so angry she wouldn't know what to do with herself," Regulus added, causing Cassie and Rabastan to look his way. The boy had closed his book and switched his gaze between the two older teenagers, looking rather interested in their conversation. "You danced on a table?"
Cassie shrugged her shoulders as she sat back in her chair. "It was my birthday. And I was drunk," she said casually. "Besides, Sirius woke up with wings on his back the next day."
Regulus's eyes widened significantly as he looked pretty much shocked. "Wings?" He couldn't help but imagine his brother's reaction. Knowing just how much of a drama queen the older boy sometimes could be, he bit down on his lower lip to keep in the laugh he so much wanted to release. "He had wings?"
She nodded as she finished her milkshake. "That's what happens when you let Remus draw on your back."
"Are you two ready to go soon?" Rabastan asked as he placed his now empty cup of coffee down on the table.
"I'm good to go," Regulus said as he leaned down and put his book inside of his sister's satchel.
"It's probably for the best. We have been gone for quite some time." Cassie agreed as she stood up, took her coat off her chair's back, and started putting in one arm after the other. "Do you think they even noticed how long we've been gone?"
As her brother started to put on his coat, a grimace appeared over his features as he pondered the idea for a moment before he responded. "Not likely. Too busy planning, I reckon."
Rabastan tied the scarf around his neck before he looked over his shoulder and called out. "Thanks for the cup, Tom." The barkeeper, Tom, looked up from the desk he was wiping. "You're welcome. Have a good evening, you three."
"Thanks, Tom," Cassie replied, sending the older man a smile.
Rabastan held out his hand, waiting for the two siblings so that he could apparate them all home. He felt the familiar feeling of a certain hand being placed in his before a larger hand appeared on top of it. He locked eyes with Cassie and sent her a smile just before he felt the world wrap around himself, and everything went black.
As the word appeared yet again before them, there was a sharp intake of breath before someone spoke. "Oh, my dear Merlin, I think I'm going to be sick." Clasping a hand over her mouth, Cassie leaned slightly forward as she felt the intense sensation of her stomach turning.
"Are you okay?" A warm hand landed on her upper back as it started to rub her gently. "Are you going to throw up?"
Moving her eyes up, she saw a pair of brown eyes filled with worry look down at her. Though she felt as if she was halfway to emptying her stomach on the ground, Cassie gave her friend a soft nod as she removed her hand and inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly.
"What did that mean? Yes, you're okay, or yes, you're going to throw up. Maybe we should get you inside in the warmth. I bet you'd be more comfortable there, or do you want me to take you up to the bathroom? Should I call for some salty food or some tea or water?" Rabastan rambled, letting the words and sentences fly out of his mouth as he continued to rub comforting circles on her back.
A small chuckle filled the air as Cassie lifted a hand in front of the boy. "I'm fine." She took a deep breath before exhaling. "I'm okay. It is my fault for drinking milkshake just before apparating. Suppose I had it coming."
"Are you okay, sis?" the worry in Regulus's voice was enough to cause a small smile on her face as she raised herself back up but let a hand linger on her stomach.
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." She said, sending him a smile. "Though do remind me to at least wait half an hour before apparating next time." Switching her gaze, she felt the warm hand on her back disappear as she met his stare. "Thank you."
"Come on, let's get you inside." Rabastan placed his arm gently over her shoulders and guided her inside, with Regulus wandering closely behind. The moment they entered the foyer, Regulus closed the door behind him, and as he turned around to hand off his jacket in the wardrobe, he crashed straight into Rabastan's back.
The sight of a smirking man that stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the hallway made Rabastan halt his steps and stand still, causing the younger boy to crash into his back.
"Welcome home. I was wondering when the three of you would show up." Rodolphus sneered at the three as his glare moved from one to the other. However, his blue eyes lingered on Cassie, or more specifically, the arm wrapped around her shoulders.
He narrowed his eyes on his brother's arm. "Why arent you two cozy?"
Rabastan retracted his arm almost awkwardly as he met his brother in a staredown, one that quickly made the younger of the two cast his eyes down on the floor.
"What do you want, Rodolphus?" Cassie questioned as she took off her jacket and held it while meeting him in a stare.
"Your mother wanted you to know that she wanted to see the dress you bought." Rodolphus'seyes moved back and forth between Cassie and his brother as he spoke. His voice, Cassie noted, was cold and hard, the opposite of Rabastan's warm and gentle. How was it that two people so closely related were so different, though for all she knew, perhaps Rodolphus wasn't as cold as he appeared to be, that there might be something good hidden underneath the sneers and the stone glares. But somehow, she doubted it.
"Of course she did." She mumbled lowly while hanging up her coat. "Do you know where she is?"
He gave a slight nod to his right. "The parlor."
"Thanks." She turned to the two others and smiled. "I'll see you two later." As she moved down the hallway, she took a step to her right as she passed Rodophus, noticing how his eyes were stuck on something or rather someone behind her. As Cassie neared the end of the hall, she heard several footsteps making their way upstairs; when she turned her head slightly, she noticed that the three had all but disappeared.
It was strange, how after everything they had done today, these few minutes in the hall, along with the thought of having to show her mother the dress she bought, made her want to curl up in her bed and go to sleep.
As Cassie stood outside the door opening, she took a deep breath to prepare herself before entering. Both hoping and praying that it would be over sooner rather than later.