AN: Hi again everybody! I am SO sorry for not updating for, like, ever, but I have a very busy life, you know. Thanks to my reviewers for last chapter, cavechick, Etre-loup de Madame, Cookigirl90, tanisha, leafsgurl999, SaphiretheVampire, and ArcherofDarkness!
If anyone want to look and some of my other (better) works, just click on my penname and whole list of links will be given to you, including one to a story I have on Fiction Press in my bio.
Anywho, Here's the chapter, read and enjoy! (I have a feeling you'll like it . . .)
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The next day, Saturday, started off with a giant headache at 8:30 in the morning. I moaned as I opened my eyes and placed my hand on my forehead.
"Stupid Harry, Ron, and Hermione . . . wanting to stay up reading the stupid book . . ." I mumbled to myself.
"So I'm stupid now, am I?" came Hermione's voice from across the room.
"What? You're awake?" I said, now a little more awake myself. I noticed Hermione was not yet dressed; she was still in red, velvet pajamas.
"Yes," said Hermione, crossing her arms. "What's gotten into you? You're awfully grouchy aren't you?" I saw that she was taking my insult lightly, which was definitely a good thing.
"Well, I did just get up, and I have a pounding headache . . ." I said, massaging my forehead.
"Oh, why didn't you say so? Here," said Hermione, and she walked over to me, placed her wand tip on my forehead (after she had pried my hand off of it) and said a simple healing spell. I instantly felt my headache leave me.
"You would do well to remember that, Cassy, it comes in quite useful," said Hermione. "Now that you're feeling better . . ." said Hermione and she paused. "Would you please read chapter nine to us?"
"I should have known that was coming . . ." I groaned. "You've probably been up since seven waiting for me to wake up just so you could ask me that, haven't you?" I asked.
"6:45, actually," she said, crossing her arms again.
"Why can't you just read it yourself?" I asked, getting out of bed.
"Because then it isn't the same! It's so much more interesting to hear about yourself than to read it yourself!"
"Okay . . . I'll pretend I understood that . . ." I said, grabbed some clothes out of my trunk, and proceeded to the bathroom.
XxX Hermione's POV XxX
I smiled to myself. Yet another one of my convincing speeches. Now, to get dressed, and then to wake up Harry and Ron . . . I opened my trunk and eyed some of the muggle clothes Cassy and I had bought in Hogsmeade. I decided on a pair of dark blue jeans and an orange half-sleeve top with slits halfway up the arms. After I put those on, I brushed my hair and was about to leave the dormitory when Cassy made an appearance. She was also wearing clothes from Hogsmeade: khaki colored jeans accented with a black, silver studded belt, and a black half-sleeve top with a wide neck. Her hair was also twisted up into a clip, so that, at first glance, it appeared that she had short hair in a high ponytail.
"Well, since you're out here, do you want to join me in waking up Harry and Ron?" I said.
"But, Hermione, it's not like they're the only ones in the dorm, there are other guys in there, too! Can't we just wait for them to wake up naturally?" asked Cassy.
"You do realize that would take until about noon, right? We'll just stun the other guys, no big deal. Besides, I'm sure Harry and Ron are just as eager to hear chapter nine as you and me," I said, as if it was easy as going to the grocery store. Apparently, Cassy didn't think it was going to be that easy.
"Oh yeah, Hermione, that'll go well. 'We'll just stun the other guys,' great plan. Do you really think that the one we don't stun first won't wake up when he hears two shouts of 'stupefy'?" said Cassy.
"Why is it that you always seems to find some flaw in everything? Just come on, will you?" I said, and walked out of the dormitory. A few seconds later, Cassandra appeared behind me.
"I thought you'd see it my way," I said simply, and walked up the boys' dorm steps, Cassy hot on my heels. We quietly opened the door with the sign on it that was labeled "Sixth Years" and tip-toed inside. I held up my hand, motioning for Cassandra to follow me in. She slipped her wand out of her back pocket, as did I, and I wrote several words in the air in gold light:
I'll take Neville and Seamus, you take Dean.
Cassandra nodded as the words faded. I put up three fingers, then put down one, then another, then the last one, and, quick as lightning, pointed my wand at Neville.
"Stupefy!" I said, as Cassandra stunned Dean, and then quickly pointed my wand at Seamus and stunned him as well. Harry and Ron, of course, awoke at the shouting.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?" said both boys, both of them grabbing their wands from their bedside tables. Cassy and I just burst out laughing.
"You two! What are you doing in here?" demanded Ron.
"What's the good of waking us up so early?" added Harry, putting his glasses on and looking at his bedside clock.
"Don't you want to hear the next installment of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone?" I asked. Harry and Ron both brightened considerably at this.
"Of course! Just give us a minute and we'll be right down . . . we'll meet you in the common room, okay?" said Harry. Cassy and I agreed and walked back down to the common room.
XxX Cassandra's POV XxX
"Well, that was actually kind of fun!" I said.
"Told you," said Hermione. "Oh, Cassy, look, there's an owl at the window, we'd better let it in," said Hermione, pointing toward the window behind me. I turned around and recognized it as Draco's owl. I jogged over to the window and unlatched it, and the owl flew right to me and landed on my outstretched arm, a letter clutched in its beak.
"For me? Thanks," I said, taking the note. "I wish I had something to give you, but I just ran out of Cazador's owl treats." The eagle owl looked a little disappointed, and hopped off of my arm onto the back of a chair, but stayed nonetheless. I then directed my attention towards the letter. I opened it and read:
Dear Cassy,
Remember that night of our detention when I said I knew about your family? Well, I think it's time you knew as well. Meet me today after lunch, around 1:00, at the lake. Send reply with Amour as soon as possible.
See you later?
Draco
I smiled. No, I absolutely beamed. I quickly grabbed a quill from a table nearby that must have been left there from the night before and scribbled on the back,
I'll be there. Can't wait!
Cassy.
I then sent of the owl, called "Amour," which I knew from a French class in high school meant, "love." Interesting name for an owl . . . anyway, I gave him my reply, and sent him off.
"What are you so happy about?" asked Hermione.
"Oh nothing," I said. "Just a letter from a friend." Hermione dropped the subject, but still looked at me suspiciously. Harry and Ron came bounding down the stairs just then.
"Okay, we're ready!" said Ron. They were both in jeans and T-shirts.
"Oh, in all the commotion I forgot to get the book out of my trunk!" I said. I pulled out my wand again. "Accio Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone!" I said, pointing my wand towards the girls' dorm steps. A few seconds later, the first Harry Potter book came zooming down the steps and hit Ron square on the nose. He promptly jumped backwards and grabbed his nose, howling.
"Oh for goodness' sake, Ron, don't be a baby," said Hermione, as I picked up the book from where it lay on the floor. I was fighting to hold back giggles, and Harry was laughing his head off.
"It's not fuddy!" said Ron, still holding his nose, while Hermione was trying to get him to let go of it so she could see the damage. When Ron had finally let Hermione heal his nose (which had actually been slightly fractured), the four of us decided to go down to the trio's favorite tree.
Once there, we all sat down, and I began to read from chapter nine of Harry Potter year 1, "The Midnight Duel."
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Before we knew it, I had read up to chapter 14, and it was already 11:30. All three of us were starving, as none of us had had breakfast.
"Come on, guys, let's go up to the Great Hall so we can get some lunch, I'm famished," said Hermione.
"You and Ron go ahead," I said. "Harry and I need to talk for a minute."
"We do?" said Harry curiously, and I stepped on his foot. "Oh, yeah, we do, that's right! It's about that, um, thing . . ."
Ron just shrugged. "Your loss," he said, as he and Hermione walked towards the castle. Once they were a safe distance away, I started talking to Harry.
"Harry, do you remember when we all went to Diagon Alley?"
"Yeah?"
"And do you remember that note we found in my Gringotts vault?"
"The one that was from your parents and brother?" he asked curiously. "Yeah, how could I forget?"
"Well, it appears that Draco knows who my family is. He's going to tell me today at 1:00. I was wondering if you could, well, tag along . . . since I know you are just as interested in this as I am."
"You mean under the invisibility cloak?"
"Of course! I don't think he'd tell me if he thought you were there," I said.
"Good point. Anything else you wanted to tell me?" asked Harry.
"No, but I do have a request to ask," I said casually.
"Okay, what?" he asked, clearly oblivious to what I was going to ask.
"Kiss me?" I said quietly, taking a step closer to him, making us only a foot apart. He raised an eyebrow.
"Are you serious?" he asked. I answered by pressing my lips against his. He responded immediately. We finally broke away when we needed oxygen.
"I'll take that as yes," he said breathlessly. I just smirked and winked at him.
"Shall we go to lunch?" I said.
"I suppose we shall," he answered. We started walking up to the castle, and somehow on the way there, my hand found its way into his. Neither of us said anything until we got closer to the castle, almost to the front doors.
"Cassy?"
"Hm?"
"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me on Halloween?" he asked.
"You mean on a date?" I countered.
"Well . . . yeah, something like that," he said, smiling at me.
"Sure," I said as we walked in the castle doors. We quickly made our way to the Great Hall and sat down next to Ron and Hermione.
"What took you guys so long?" demanded Ron, who was halfway through eating a chicken sandwich.
"I told you, we had to talk about something, now stop prying into my business, Ron," I snapped and put some salad on my plate. I couldn't help but to notice Hermione smiling.
"And what are you so happy about, Hermione?" I asked, the same question she had asked me that morning.
"Oh nothing . . ." said Hermione, using my exact same answer. I could tell she knew something though, so I made a mental note to ask her later. In the meantime, I enjoyed my garden salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.
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When we had all finished lunch around 12:15, I pulled Hermione away from the Great Hall and out the front doors. Once we were a safe distance away from the castle, I demanded to know what she was smiling about.
"Hermione, I saw you smiling like a goon in the Great Hall, and that means you either know something I don't or know something you're not supposed to, so spill it," I said all in one breath and very quickly. She just shook her head.
"Cassy, Cassy, Cassy . . ." she said, and sighed. "I'll try to make this short and sweet, okay? There's really only one reason you had to 'talk' with Harry without Ron and I present."
"Okay, and what do you suspect it was?" I countered.
"You like him, don't you? Don't think I didn't see you two holding hands," said Hermione, as if she was convicting me.
"You make it sound like a crime!" I said.
"But you do, admit it."
"Okay, okay . . . I do. But I really did need to talk to him about something."
"I could care less about that. So, I take he likes you as well?" asked Hermione.
"Yes. But you're a little behind the times, Hermione. We've had feelings for each other since I practiced stunning with him that one day during lunch. Remember when we said we were delayed by Peeves throwing bubble-gum in my hair?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, that never happened. We were delayed by something . . . erm . . ." I cleared my throat, ". . .else." Hermione's eyes widened.
"You kissed?"
"Uh . . . yeah . . ." I said. "And, um . . . we kinda did again out here . . ." I said guiltily. Hermione gasped.
"Oh I can't believe it! Cassy, I would have never believed it if anyone else had told me before today! Oh my gosh . . . I take it this is supposed to be a secret from Ron?"
"Duh! I don't think he'd take it too well . . ." I checked my watch. It was 12:45. "Well, it certainly was nice having this nice little girl-chat. I'll walk you back up to the castle, but then I think I'll take a walk around the grounds."
"All right."
XxX
After I had successfully gotten rid of Hermione, I quickly found Harry, still in the Great Hall, talking with Seamus. I scanned the Slytherin table and noticed that Draco was already gone, which was definitely a good thing – it would be suspicious if he saw Harry and I walk out together when I was supposed to be meeting Draco alone. I casually walked up behind Harry.
"Hey Harry, I was just going for a walk out on the grounds, want to come?" I asked, nudging his leg with my foot under the table to make sure he understood.
"Oh, um, sure, Cassy," he said, ending his conversation with Seamus. He followed me out of the Great Hall and we both ran up to the Gryffindor common room. Harry quickly jogged up to his dorm and reappeared moments later with his invisibility clock in hand. We then ran back down to the front doors, and by then it was already 1:00.
"Okay, cloak on," said Harry, and he instantly became invisible. "Better slow down, Cass, so it doesn't look like you've been running around the whole castle," advised Harry.
"Good idea," I said, and slowed my pacing down to a walk. Harry and I soon came upon the lake, where Draco was sitting, skipping rocks.
"Hey Draco," I said, and sat down next to him.
"Hi Cassy." He said. "I guess you're pretty excited to hear about this, huh?"
"Beyond belief," I said, facing him.
"Well, first of all, did you see the letter in your Gringotts vault from your parents and your brother?" asked Draco.
"How could I miss it?"
"Well, that brother that's mentioned is your twin," said Draco.
"Okay, that's cool. I've always wondered what it would be like to have a twin," I smiled. I had butterflies in my stomach because I was so excited. Draco scratched the back of his neck.
"Cass, I'm not quite sure how to say this except to come right out with it . . ." he said nervously.
"It's okay, Draco, I'll be able to take it," I said, getting even more excited. I finally get to know who my mysterious family is!
"Well, you probably won't believe me."
"Sure I will!"
"Okay. Cass, you must have noticed by now that we look a lot alike . . ."
I looked at him with an astonished expression on my face, only half-comprehending what he was saying.
". . . well, it's because I'm your twin brother . . ." he said quietly. Apparently, I couldn't take it. I fell backwards in a dead faint.
XxX Harry's POV XxX
I don't believe it . . . Malfoy is Cassy's brother? But that would mean that . . . Lucius and Narcissa are her parents! These thoughts jumbled around in my head until I saw Cassy faint.
"Cassy!" I shouted. Bad idea.
"Who said that?" demanded Draco. I thought about running away, like I had the last time I encountered Malfoy while under the cloak, but decided against it.
"It's me, Malfoy," I said, taking the cloak off.
"Potter?" exclaimed Draco. "What in the bloody hell are you doing here?"
"Look, don't think I'm stalking Cassandra or anything, she asked me to follow her here; I've known about that letter in her Gringotts vault since she first read it: I was standing right next to her," I said, trying to defend myself.
"But-but-but . . . look Potter, I can't very well erase your memory on school property, and plus Cassy wouldn't like me very much for it, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, got it?" said Malfoy, pointing his wand right at my chest.
"Okay, Malfoy, I got it! I wasn't going to tell anyone anyway! Now, I believe we have more important matters on our hands?" I said, motioning to Cassandra.
"Oh, right!" said Draco. "Uh, what's the reviving spell again?" he asked, but I was already at Cassandra's side.
"Ennervate," I said, pointing my wand at her forehead. She opened her eyes slowly and seemed to be trying to take me into focus.
"Harry?" she said quietly. "I had the weirdest dream . . ."
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AN: and that's it! Please review! And I made a much longer chapter this time just for your benefit. So, tell me whatcha thought about this chapter . . . lots of plot-changing stuff in here, eh? R&R peeps!