"All right, spit it out," Adrian said, turning his head to her. They were laying in the grass under the shade of a tree, watching Klaus fly lazy circles in the sky above them.
"Spit what out?" Cassandra asked without looking at the wizard.
"Whatever it is that's been bothering you," Adrian said, elbowing her side. "I wasn't gonna say anything because I know how much you hate people butting in your business, but it's been two weeks, and I'm tired of you being a bitch."
"Well I'm not the one following you around, so feel free to leave me alone if I'm really such a bitch," Cassandra snapped back at her friend. When he didn't say anything, she sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. That was unnecessary."
"And bitchy," Adrian added.
"And bitchy, yes," she agreed.
"Whatever it is, you can tell me," he said, nudging her foot with his. "You know I won't tell anyone, and I'll only judge you a little bit."
"You're such a witch, Pucey, wanting to talk about feelings," Cassandra said. She turned her head to look at her friend, who was still looking at her patiently. "Do you figure it's because of all the times your mother dressed you up as a girl when you were a baby?"
This time, his elbow came down on her side hard.
"I've no idea," Adrian said. "But when my parents find out I'm queer, that's for sure what I'm blaming it on."
The two friends laughed. Cassandra sighed again, hesitant to talk about what had been bothering her. Adrian was the only person she talked about her personal issues with, and still, there was a lot she kept from him. It had been ingrained in her mind, since she was a little girl, that trusting other people was not safe. She plucked at one of the smaller things that had been occupying her mind in the past couple of weeks.
"What do you think Warrington wants from me?" She said.
"That's what's been bothering you?" Adrian asked, skeptical.
"Not really. But it's what I want to talk about right now," Cassandra answered.
"All right," the wizard said, looking back at the sky. "He clearly wants to snog you. Maybe feel you up under your shirt if you let him."
Cassandra scrunched her nose up. "I hate that term, snogging. It sounds so stupid."
"Fine," Adrian replied. "He wants to kiss you senseless. And then run back to his dorm and rub one off at the thought that you might let him go any further."
Cassandra slapped his chest with the back of her hand halfheartedly. "Merlin, Adrian, you're so crass."
Adrian shrugged. "He's a guy. That's how guys think."
"I get that," she said. "But why me?"
"Come on, Lestrange. You know what you look like," Adrian said.
"I look like my mother," Cassandra replied.
"Maybe you do. But just because your mother was evil, doesn't mean she wasn't hot," he said.
"Is evil," she said quietly. "She's not dead."
"I-" Adrian started hesitantly, not knowing what to say to that. Cassandra shook her head, and he closed his mouth.
"Why now though?" The girl continued. "I looked the same last year, and the year before, and you're the only boy who's ever approached me, and we both know that's not because of how attracted you were my good looks."
"First of all, you're not particularly approachable. You showed up for our first year with a raven who glares at anyone who even looks at you, and attacks on command. And second and most importantly, you didn't have those boobs last year," Adrian replied, pointing at her chest. When Cassandra looked at him crossly, he scoffed. "It's true, you didn't. Boobs are a game changer for straight guys. And just because they don't do anything for me, doesn't mean I haven't noticed them. I'm not blind, and neither is Warrington."
"Fine," Cassandra said. "If that's true, then guys are somehow even more stupid than I thought. For two years everyone treats me like I'm a boggart, then I grow breasts and all of a sudden it doesn't matter that my parents are Death Eaters doing life in Azkaban? Really, that's all it takes? Even Diggory is being nice to me."
"Cedric Diggory?" Adrian asked, his eyebrows raised.
"No, his father. Yes, Cedric. He keeps… smiling at me in class. And saying hi to me in the halls. And the other day, when I forgot to bring my gloves to Herbology, he offered to lend me his so I wouldn't have to use one of the old gross spares Sprout keeps in her office, remember?" Cassandra said.
"Oh right," Adrian chuckled. "And you told him to mind his business."
"As you aptly pointed out, I haven't been in the best of moods lately," Cassandra said.
Adrian sat up, and looked at her seriously. "Not that this applies to Diggory, being a Hufflepuff and all, but you know to some people, specially in our House, your parents being Death Eaters is a positive, not a negative thing. Their families might have bailed on you-know-who after the war ended, but it doesn't mean they stopped believing in all the pureblood stuff. And you're sacred twenty-eight. The last heiress of a sacred twenty-eight family. That might not have mattered much to a bunch of eleven year old boys, but it sure will matter more and more the older we get. And it doesn't hurt that you're bloody gorgeous."
"I'm not doing that," Cassandra said angrily, sitting up as well. "I am not marrying someone whose family tucked their tail between their legs and begged the Ministry for forgiveness after the war, lying through their teeth about what they did and what they believed. I'm not saying I agree with what my parents did, but at least they were loyal to their cause. Everything they said, about pureblood superiority and how they would do anything for the Dark Lord, they meant it. Even after he disappeared, they never stopped looking, and when they were caught they didn't make up some story about being bewitched. They owned up to it."
"They're in Azkaban," Adrian said gently.
"As should all their friends be. As should Draco's father, and bloody Professor Snape. If you had any idea the stuff they did, Adrian. I read the transcripts of the Death Eater trials. My parents', uncle Rab's, Karkaroff's, all of them. I asked grandfather if he could get them for me when I was younger, and he did. They were all proud to wear the masks and kill muggles when it was convenient, but the second the war was lost the whole bloody lot ran and hid like rats. If they really regretted what they did, it would be one thing, but they don't. Snape walks around treating everyone who isn't a Slytherin like scum, and everyone says he won't stop tormenting Longbottom and Potter. Why do you think that is? At least my family is paying for what they did. Meanwhile my cousin and his stupid friends go around parroting the nonsense their parents tell them about muggleborns. The same parents who denied ever agreeing with what the Dark Lord was doing," Cassandra finished.
"So this is what's been bothering you," her friend said.
"Of course it is," she huffed. "I was happy enough to have the spotlight taken away from me by Potter, but I ran into Neville Longbottom outside Sprout's office, and he almost burst into tears. He was shaking, Adrian. And when I tried to say something he took off running. I have made ignoring what my parents did into a bloody art, but it's a lot harder when the consequences of their actions is sitting in the Great Hall with me, and being bullied by my squibhead cousin."
"Cassandra, listen to me. What your parents did to his, it's not on you. You were what, four, five? It's not like they asked for your opinion before they did it," Adrian said.
Sensing his witch's distress, Klaus had flown down and was now perched on her lap, and Cassandra was running her fingers over his feathers to calm herself down. They had sit far away from the castle, almost at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, but she still didn't want anyone to see her having an emotional outburst.
"I know that," she said. "Rationally, I do. It's what I tell myself every time I think about it."
"Does it help?" Adrian asked.
"A bit. Then I think about what a mess Longbottom is, and it makes me want to throw myself from the Astronomy tower," Cassandra answered.
Adrian looked at her determinately, then got up and wiped the grass from his pants. "Come on," he said, extending his hand to his best friend and helping her get up. "I have an idea."
"What kind of idea?" She asked.
"The kind that will make you feel better, even if just for today," he replied.
Knowing from experience that Adrian's ideas were always entertaining, even when they ended horribly, Cassandra followed him into the castle.
"Cosy spot you got here, Lestrange," one of the Weasley twins said as the two boys squeezed their way into the small alcove Cassandra and Adrian had been waiting for them in.
"I think if we're going to be this close to each other, you can call me by my first name," she said, as one of the twins bumped into her.
"Sorry," the boy said. "So," he continued.
"Why are we here?" His brother finished.
"As much as I hate to admit it as a Slytherin, no one knows their way around the castle better than the two of you," Adrian said.
The two Gryffindors smiled. "You're right about that."
"We need a place we can go to tonight, where we can make a racket without anyone noticing," Adrian continued. "Somewhere private, and obviously bigger than this."
"I can't believe you two lovebirds would come to us looking for a place to snog," the twin standing against a wall in front of Cassandra said, jesting. With her patience running thin, she decided to test out the theory Adrian had offered about her looks. She took a step forward, bringing her body close to the boy's and smiled, looking him in the eyes as if they were the only two people pressed closely in the small space.
"If that's what we wanted a place for, Weasley, I think right here would be perfect, don't you think?" She asked, pushing her right leg forward, resting her knee against the wall between the wizard's legs. Their bodies weren't touching anywhere, but they were standing so close Cassandra felt it when he shivered. "It's small, and dark and private. We could do a lot here without anyone noticing."
The boy was looking at Cassandra so intensely that he jumped when his brother made a noise clearing his throat. "Not - not looking for a place to snog, got it," he said.
"She's had a shitty couple of weeks, and we want a place where we can get sloshed and she can break some stuff," Adrian intervened.
"It's how I decompress," Cassandra shrugged, taking a step back.
"You have alcohol?" The Weasley standing in front of Adrian asked, perking up. "How did you get it into the castle? Who bought it for you?
"Why would I tell you that?" Cassandra said. "I can't bribe you with alcohol if you can get it yourselves, can I? Give us a place, and you get a bottle of firewhisky."
"Two bottles," the boy replied.
"One bottle of Blishen's, or two bottles of the cheap off-brand stuff. Your choice," She insisted.
"Fine. One bottle. And we go with you tonight."
"Why?" She asked.
"Because getting sloshed and breaking stuff with you sounds like a tremendous time, Cassandra," the Weasley in front of her said, grinning. "I'm Fred, by the way. If we're going to be this close to each other, you can call me by my first name too."
That night, after dinner, Cassandra found herself in the Shrieking Shack with Adrian and the two Weasleys. Once the boys had told her their destination, she'd gone to her dorm room and called for Mimi, giving the house-elf another list of items to be delivered to the abandoned house in Hogsmeade.
"Okay, Cassie," Fred said drunkenly from the floor, where he was laying down shirtless. Cassandra was sitting on his lap, painstakingly drawing a giant version the Slytherin crest on his naked chest with permanent magical marker. "You have got to tell us how you got this stuff in here."
The inebriated witch giggled. "I don't have to tell you anything, Fred. And don't call me Cassie."
"Can I call you Cassie?" Adrian asked, throwing an Exploding Snap card at the back of her head.
"Only if I can call you something equi- equally stupid," Cassandra said. She turned to her friend, who was sitting by George Weasley. "What are you guys doing?"
"We already broke everything there was to break," Adrian answered, swaying where he was sitting. "Great idea bringing your bat, by the way."
Cassandra bowed as if accepting a great compliment.
"We should play some Exploding Snap," Adrian suggested.
"Drunk Exploding Snap!" George exclaimed.
"Strip Exploding Snap!" Fred said, abruptly sitting up. Cassandra grabbed his shoulders to avoid falling back from his lap.
"Hey!" She protested.
"Sorry, Cassie," he said, not looking sorry at all. Cassandra suddenly noticed their faces were extremely close. If she moved even a little further, their noses would touch.
"If you think I'm gonna kiss you, Fred Weasley," she said slowly. "You are very, very wrong."
Fred scoffed. "As if I would let you kiss me. I'm a proud lion with a reputation to maintain. I don't go around letting snakes kiss me, no matter how pretty they are."
Cassandra laughed and grabbed the bottle of Firewhisky to take another swig. She passed it to Fred, who repeated the action. "Is it the boobs, Weasley?" She asked. The boy choked at the question, spitting the drink in her face. The room fell silent for a pregnant moment, then all four teenagers started roaring in laughter.
"I can't believe you did that!" Cassandra said, wiping the firewhisky and the tears she'd shed from laughing from her face.
"It was your fault, witch!" Fred protested.
"It was bloody brilliant, that's what it was," George said, still laughing. "My brother spit in Cassandra Lestrange's face, and she hasn't killed him yet."
"She asked me about her boobs!" His twin replied.
"Adrian told me they're the reason guys are nice to me now," Cassandra protested. "I just wanted to know if it's true."
She made her way to her friend on all fours, too drunk to trust herself to get up and walk without falling. She noticed both Weasleys looking at her ass in the process. 'Not just the boobs then,' she thought. She crawled on Adrian's lap, and her friend embraced her while taking a drink.
"I thought you weren't together," Fred said.
"I'm gay," Adrian blurted out. "You can't tell anyone, or my folks will end me," he continued, drunkenly. "Only Cassandra knows. And now you guys know too, I guess."
"That's cool," George said.
"Yeah," Fred confirmed. "We won't tell anyone, mate. You two are good people, for snakes."
"That's good," Cassandra said casually from her friend's lap. She had put her hands around his neck and the boy had his arms around her waist, head resting on her chest. As a matter of fact, he was drooling on her. Turns out, Adrian could fall asleep incredibly quick when drunk. "Because if I find out you two told anyone, I'll hold you down while Klaus pecks your eyes out."
She looked up, and saw that George was looking at her speculatively.
"You would do that, wouldn't you? You're not just saying it." The boy said.
"I would," she nodded. "I don't care about many people, but I do care about Adrian. If you hurt him, I'll hurt you."
Fred smiled. She wasn't expecting a smile. "I get that," he said. "He's like family to you, right? Family looks out for family. You're scary, Cassandra, but you use your powers for good."
"Well, mostly for good. She did have her bird attack us that one time," George said.
"He did that on his own," she said. "Klaus is very smart."
The teenagers fell silent for a moment, all enjoying the pleasant buzz the alcohol had provided.
"It's not the boobs," Fred said after a while.
"What?" Cassandra asked.
"The reason why we're being nice to you. It's not the boobs," Fred continued.
"Not just the boobs," George said, and the brothers chuckled.
"Malfoy could have the nicest rack in the world, and I still wouldn't lift my wand if that little git was on fire," Fred said. "You're a snake, and your parents were… you know. So we didn't have any reason to be nice to you at first, but you were always cool about our jokes. You didn't even try to kill us when we kidnapped your bird."
"Which everyone told us you would," George added.
"So that's the reason why. You're not evil, you just kinda look it. It took us a while to figure that out," Fred concluded. "We can be friends if from now on, if you want."
"I'll think about it," Cassandra said. "I do have a reputation as evil Death Eater spawn to maintain, you know," she grinned, and the Weasley brothers grinned back at her.