The first Quidditch match of the season had come and gone. On a freezing cold Sunday morning, Cassandra had had the pleasure of hitting Katie Bell, a Gryffindor chaser who'd asked if she thought they had a Quidditch league in Azkaban, in the back of the head with a perfectly-aimed bludger, and was having a lot of fun pelting the bludgers the Weasley twins kept directing at her right back at them, until Harry Potter, who somehow had managed to become Gryffindor's seeker despite being a first year, had started bucking on his broom, which clearly had been tampered with by someone, probably from her team. The thought angered her. If they were going to play, why not try to win with pure skill? The team certainly had it, after all they had won the Cup every single year she'd been at Hogwarts. The boy-who-lived had managed to catch the snitch anyways, almost swallowing the thing in a play Cassandra had never seen in person before. She'd be annoyed at him if it wasn't for her team's attempt at cheating.
"I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT!" Flint howled in the locker room.
"Will you stop screaming, Flint!" She said, throwing a stinging hex her Captain's way to get his attention. He jumped and scowled at her, but stopped yelling. "We were playing a good game until Potter caught the snitch. We were sixty-twenty. Higgs is going to need a better broom if he's going to keep up with a Nimbus Two Thousand, but our play was good."
"Not good enough!" Flint answered angrily.
"No, not good enough. So we train harder, and do better next time. But enough with the bloody screaming," Cassandra said.
"I'm with Lestrange," Adrian said from behind her.
"Shut up, Pucey!" The captain replied angrily. Adrian frowned, and Cassandra rolled her eyes at him. Of course Flint wouldn't yell at her to shut up. He probably thought she'd use him in a ritual as a human sacrifice if he did it. Having a reputation as a Dark witch had its perks.
"Now, there's something I believe needs to be addressed," Cassandra said to the entire locker room. "Someone jinxed Potter's broom." When her teammates started yelling in protest, she raised her wand. They immediately stopped. "I'm not saying it was one of us. I'm not saying it wasn't one of us. What I'm saying is, as much as the thought of getting one over the boy-who-lived might be enjoyable, if the person who did this is caught, and they suspect it was done to influence the outcome of the match, our team could be disqualified from the entire season. Do we want that, Flint?" She asked the Captain, who had turned a ghostly shade of white at the idea.
"IF I FIND OUT ONE OF YOU IDIOTS-"
Cassandra smiled to herself. There, she'd done her part.
With the end of November came the anniversary of the day Cassandra had last seen her parents. It was a date she dreaded, but couldn't help marking on her calendar. She remembered vividly the warning her mother had given her that day to never trust a traitor, the way she had kissed the top of her head before saying goodbye; her father, waving to her as he apparated. She remembered the fear she felt on the days that followed, when Mimi had tried to comfort her as Ministry wizards tried to blast away the charm set up by her family, which had prevented anyone uninvited from entering the Lestrange property.
That afternoon, Cassandra decided to take a walk along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She often found herself drawn to the location, and had to resist the impulse to delve into the woods. She was thinking about Klaus, who had wandered into the forest to hunt, which is why, she told herself later, she was startled by Cedric Diggory, possibly the least threatening person in Hogwarts, behind the house-elves and the Sorting Hat, who didn't even qualify as people.
"By Merlin, Cedric!" She said, hand to her heart. "You almost scared my ghost right out of me."
Cassandra stopped for a moment to wonder when she'd started to think of the wizard as Cedric instead of Diggory. She wasn't on a first name basis with many people. Maybe when she told him off for offering to lend her his dragonhide gloves in Herbology, and he had only nodded in return, not affected by her rudeness at all. Not many people weren't scared of her these days. It was nice knowing there was someone who didn't think she would murder them for approaching her. That was a perfect word to describe Cedric Diggory, Cassandra thought, 'nice'. Nice and handsome.
"I'm so sorry," he said, although she could tell he was trying his best not to laugh at her reaction. At his poor attempt of looking contrite, Cassandra startled giggling. He laughed with her.
"I didn't know it was possible for someone to jump that high without a broom," Cedric said.
"Oh, do shut up," Cassandra said, no heat behind the words. She started walking, and Cedric walked by her side. "Do you make it a habit of going around scaring unsuspecting witches, Diggory?"
"No, I don't. I'm pretty sure my mother would hex me if she found out her son was doing something like that. And please, call me Cedric," he said.
"I assure you my hexing would be far worse than your mother's, Cedric. Unlike her, I have no personal stake in your continued well-being," Cassandra said, and watched him take her words in from the corner of her eye. His mouth curved in a small smile. He didn't seem scared by her threats, he seemed... fond. Cassandra's face heated. Was she blushing? She had no memory of ever blushing, in her life. She couldn't believe she was blushing over Cedric Diggory.
"I have no doubt of that," the wizard said, interrupting her thoughts. "But I swear on my magic, I had no intention of scaring you."
"I believe you," Cassandra said. For some reason, it wasn't hard to.
"Good," Cedric replied. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while. I wanted to know if you're alright."
"If I'm alright?" Cassandra repeated. "Yes, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I looked up the ritual you were performing that day," Cedric said, looking ahead. Cassandra stared at his profile as he spoke. He was holding his hands behind his back, as if to stop himself from fidgeting. "Based on what Clearwater described. It took me a while, because I had no familiarity with rune magic outside of what Professor Babbling teaches in her class, but I found a description of something similar to it in a book called 'A Handbook of Armanen Runic Wisdom'".
"Yes, that's where I got the idea from," Cassandra said. Cedric nodded.
"There's nothing dark about it. It's a healing ritual," he said.
"Yes. I don't make it a habit of practicing dark magic. Although my family's definition of dark magic is probably a lot more flexible than most people's," she said with a smile, although there was no humor behind it.
"I know you don't," Cedric said firmly. "Practice dark magic, that is."
"You know that?" Cassandra asked, her eyebrows raised. This time, it was Cedric who blushed.
"I suppose I can't know that for a fact, but I believe that you don't. You know, Professor Sprout really likes you," he said.
"She does?" Cassandra asked. Cedric nodded.
"She talks about you sometimes. She told me you and your grandfather grow a lot of rare plants that even she doesn't. That you're good with them," the wizard continued.
"Yes, my grandfather is a potion-maker," she explained. "He believes the only way to guarantee a potion's quality is to harvest the ingredients yourself. He taught me everything I know."
"Professor Sprout doesn't like a lot of people," Cedric said. "She likes plants, and taking care of plants, and talking about plants, but that's about it. She's polite to everyone, of course, but for her to actually like someone enough to talk about them, it takes something special. A gentleness that makes you good at nurturing other living things." Cedric said.
"I don't think anyone who's ever met me would describe me as gentle," Cassandra replied.
"I don't think most people give you any reason to be gentle with them," Cedric said. "They're certainly not gentle with you."
At that, Cassandra stopped walking. She turned towards Cedric, who had a fierce look in his eyes.
"I see you. The way you are with your raven. He's not your pet, or at least he's not like any pet I've ever seen. He anticipates your needs. He reacts to your moods. He holds grudges against people who are rude you. He loves you, because you love him. You're an aggressive player, but you have never fouled anyone during a Quidditch match. When we were handling Mandrakes in Herbology last year, whenever you took your plant out of the soil and it started crying, you sang to it. I couldn't hear it, but I saw you," Cedric said.
"It was a baby," Cassandra said defensively.
"Exactly. You felt bad for a plant because it was a baby and it was scared, so you soothed it. You're not a bad person. But everyone treats you like you are," the wizard said, still looking her in the eyes. Cassandra crossed her arms in front of her chest. All of that was true, but she had never expected anyone to notice. Or to care. She had no idea what to say. As if sensing her discomfort, Cedric's eyes softened.
"I can't imagine how hard it must be, having to carry the weight of what your family did on your shoulders," he said softly. Cassandra closed her eyes. She was not going to cry. No one had ever said those words to her. Some had vaguely expressed the sentiment, but never said the actual words. They hit her harder than she thought they would. She had grown up knowing there was no fairness in the world, so she had no expectation of ever receiving any acknowledgement for enduring the lack of it in her own life. Receiving that acknowledgment, even if from someone she rarely talked to, was as painful as it was cathartic.
"Why are you saying all of this?" She asked weakly without opening her eyes. She felt Cedric putting his warm hand on her arm, and heard him sighing deeply.
"Because I-"
But before Cedric could finish speaking, Cassandra heard a loud, piercing croak she'd recognize anywhere. She looked at the sky and saw Klaus flying in their direction, quickly and with purpose. She extended her arm out to give him a place to land.
"Hey, pretty boy," she said to Klaus, caressing his head with a finger. "What's going on? You sound scared." In that moment, Cassandra noticed a silver-blue, tick substance coated Klaus' talons. Her stomach flinched. She ran her finger over the bird's talons and brought it to her nose. As she feared, it smelled sweet.
"What's wrong?" Cedric asked anxiously, reading her face.
"There's an injured unicorn somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. Klaus came to warn me. I have to go."
She turned to run into the woods, but was stopped by Cedric's arm over her middle.
"You can't go in there!" He said urgently. "You could get hurt. There are all sorts of creatures in the forest."
"I'm aware of that, Diggory," Cassandra replied angrily, shoving his arm away from her. "One of those creatures is hurt, and needs care. Unless you want to get stunned, get out of my way."
The wizard looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "All right, I'm coming with you."
But Cassandra had started running even before Cedric ended his sentence. Klaus flew ahead of her, showing her the way to the injured animal. There weren't many creatures capable of killing a unicorn. They were so quick, they could outrun most predators, and creatures of such powerful light magic that even the darkest of beasts tended to be averse to killing them. Her grandfather had bought a golden unicorn foal when she was eight, and when the animal had let her pet it, she'd felt such a rush of purity she'd broken down in tears. The idea of one of those creatures hurt and bleeding alone in the Forbidden Forest was enough to make her run quicker. She jumped over twisted roots and fallen branches.
Deep into the dense woods, Klaus came to a halt, landing on a tall tree branch. Cassandra looked around carefully, and eventually spotted the shocking bright white of an unicorn's coat against the darkness of the forest ground. The animal was making pitiful, painful sounding noises that made her stomach clench. She heard a shocked gasp behind her.
"That's-"
"Shhh," she whispered to Cedric. "Stay back. They don't trust males. I'm going to see what's wrong."
Cassandra undid the clasp of her outer robe and dropped it to the forest ground. She walked slowly and steadily towards the injured creature. When it saw her, it bucked back, crying out. "It's alright," she said softly, putting her hands up and approaching it even more carefully. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I'm not going to hurt you." She kneeled by the animal's head and slowly pet its face. The animal shivered and relaxed, as if relieved by the lack of violence in her touch.
"What's wrong with it?" Cedric whispered to her from where he stood. She lifted her head, and realized she was crying.
"Something cut its throat," she answered quietly, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "See?" She pointed to an enormous gash going from the animal's neck to its ribs. She kept petting its side delicately, trying to bring it some comfort without causing pain. "It's bleeding out."
"Is there - what do we do?" Cedric asked. His eyes were red, and a tear was making its way down his face. Cassandra closed her eyes, thinking.
"Go get Kettleburn," she said decisively. "He's going to know what to do. Start yelling for him as soon as you get to the edge of the Forest. Use an Amplifying charm on your voice if you have to."
"I shouldn't leave you alone," Cedric replied. "Whatever did this…"
"Is long gone. Go. Klaus will protect me," Cassandra answered. Cedric wiped the tears from his face and took off running on the direction they'd come from. Cassandra mirrored his action and wiped her own face with her sleeve. There wasn't really any time to get Professor Kettleburn, or anything he'd be able to do once he got to them. Healing charms and potions created with the human anatomy in mind didn't work on magical creatures. They usually had to be nursed back to health the same way non-magical animals were, and the unicorn had lost too much blood for that to be an option. But Cassandra knew a type of magic that was particularly amenable to intent, and a healing ritual she could readily perform with what she had at hand.
She took out her wand and started quickly transfiguring runes from a branch she found behind her. It was oak, not bloodwood, but it would have to do. She laid them out in the form of a pentagram around the fallen animal, then took the rest of her clothes off, tossing them aside. She cut her own palm with a spell, then proceeded to drip her blood over the runes. She drew the final rune on the unicorn's head, right below its horn, and kneeled in front of it again. She could feel the magic of the forest thrumming through the runes. She visualised the animal's wound knitting itself closed, and her own blood giving it strength, and started chanting. After a while, her world faded to black.
Sometime later, she woke up in a bed in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey hovering over her.
"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake!" The witch exclaimed. "You did a very irresponsible thing, and lost a lot of blood. We were very worried for you."
Cassandra nodded to appease her. She looked around slowly, and saw Professor Dumbledore sitting on a chair by her bedside, with Professor Snape standing silently behind him, looking extremely put-out. Cassandra wanted to snap at him. The man couldn't even muster up enough compassion to pretend he had any bedside manners.
"Did it work?" She asked the headmaster. "Did I save it?"
Professor Snape's scowl somehow deppened, even though Cassandra hadn't thought it possible.
"You almost killed yourself in the grounds of this school, Miss Lestrange, and the first thing you inquire about when you wake up is the health of a unicorn? In your years as my student I hadn't pegged you as a fool, but apparently I was wrong," Snape chided. Klaus croaked angrily at him from somewhere above her head, and Dumbledore smiled.
"That is a very loyal raven you have there, Miss Lestrange," the headmaster said. "Madam Pomfrey tried to get it out of the room, but it had none of it."
"He's my familiar. He goes where I go," she answered. "Specially when I'm hurt."
"Yes," Professor Dumbledore agreed. "It takes an exceptional amount of trust between a magical creature and a wizard for a familiar bond to be formed; did you know that? A wizard can own a magical creature for its entire life without the bond ever forming, only having it as a pet. My own phoenix, Fawkes, stayed by my side for close to a decade before she accepted our bond. How long did it take for you and Klaus?"
"A couple months," Cassandra answered.
"That doesn't surprise me, considering his witch is the kind of person who would risk losing her own life to save another creature's," Dumbledore replied.
"Of all the stupid things-" Professor Snape started, only to be interrupted by the headmaster.
"Severus, please. The girl has had a very taxing day. You can yell at her once she's fully recovered," Dumbledore said calmly. Snape glared at the back of the headmaster's head, then left the room in silence.
"The unicorn. Is it ok?" Cassandra asked again.
"Yes, it is," Dumbledore replied. "According to Mr. Diggory, it was nearly dead when the two of you found it."
"None of it was Cedric's fault. We were talking when Klaus came to warn me about the unicorn, and Cedric only went into the forest because he didn't want me to go in alone. He tried to talk me out of it," Cassandra said.
"I know, my dear," Dumbledore said. "Mr. Diggory and Professor Kettleburn were walking back into the forest to find you when Firenze carried you out. Mr. Diggory was quite distressed at your state, but was able to tell us what had happened."
"Firenze?" She asked.
"One of the centaurs that live in the Forbidden Forest. Some of them watched you perform your ritual, and he carried you out of the forest once you passed out," Dumbledore replied.
Cassandra shivered at the knowledge she had been watched as she tried to save the creature. "Why didn't they intervene?" She asked. "Why didn't they try to help it?"
"I'm afraid their magic would have been of no help. They were going to take the animal out of its misery before you arrived," Dumbledore said. Cassandra nodded. That made sense.
"It wasn't an accident," she said. "Something butchered that unicorn for its blood."
"I know," Dumbledore replied.
"Do you know what did it? I can't even comprehend the vileness of something capable of doing that. Unicorns are..."
"Unmatched in their nobility, and in the goodness of their magic," Dumbledore completed her sentence.
"Yes," Cassandra assented. "There was no choice, Professor. I couldn't watch it die. A part of me would have died with it, that I'm not ready to lose yet."
"I understand, my girl," the headmaster answered. "Seeing something so singularly pure desecrated in such a violent manner would've affected anyone with a good heart. You had the tools to save it, and you did. But you could have died. You might have had, based on the extent of your injuries, if Firenze hadn't carried you out in time."
"That was my choice to make," Cassandra answered. "And I would make the same one again, if I had the chance. My entire line has died out, or is incarcerated, Professor. If I were to die saving the life of such a pure creature, my sacrifice would be a drop in the cauldron compared with the pain caused by the acts carried out by my family.
For a moment, the headmaster looked pained. "It is not your responsibility to atone for the sins of your family, Miss Lestrange."
"All I have done, my entire life, is carry the sins of my parents, Professor. I have grown quite used to their weight," Cassandra replied.
The headmaster nodded sadly, and took his leave.
Hours later, after she'd had another nap and a blood-replenishing potion, Madam Pomfrey allowed Adrian and Cedric in for a visit. They both looked haggard and worried.
"You stupid, hard-headed, crazy bitch-" Adrian started, only to be stopped short by an angry Cedric.
"Don't talk to your girlfriend like that!" Cedric said, with shocking forcefulness.
"My girlfriend?!" "His girlfriend?!" Adrian and Cassandra exclaimed at the same time.
"Whatever you think is going on here, is not what's actually going on here, Diggory," Adrian said with a hint of humor.
"Does everyone think that?" Cassandra asked, annoyed. "He's not my boyfriend. We have no interest in each other like that."
"It's true," Adrian shrugged.
"But… You're together all the time. Whenever he's not with Flint, he's always with you." Cedric said.
"Whenever he's not with Flint?" Cassandra asked, turning to her friend. "Since when have you been spending so much time with-"
"That's not relevant right now," Adrian said quickly. "I peeked my head out of the Quidditch pitch when I heard Diggory screaming the castle down calling for Kettleburn, only to see you being carried out of the Forbidden Forest naked and covered in blood by a centaur. When I recovered from the near heart attack that gave me and managed to fly there, I heard from said centaur you were bleeding out because you tried to kill yourself to save a unicorn. Have you been hit in the head by any stray bludgers lately, Lestrange? What were you thinking? Since when do you pull stupid life-threatening stunts, and without me? I know today's not your favorite day, but this is a little much."
Klaus cawed in agreement. "Traitor," Cassandra muttered at her familiar.
"It wasn't as if I planned it out," she said sullenly to Adrian. "Cedric and I were talking, and Klaus flew over to tell me about the unicorn. We followed him and when we got to it, I realized it was dying, and what I had to do."
"So you sent me out for Kettleburn for nothing?" Cedric asked her, suddenly serious. Cassandra winced.
"Look," she tried, in a conciliatory tone, "I figured you wouldn't let me do what I needed to do, so I thought I would have you get Kettleburn, and when you found us I would have performed the ritual already. I expected the blood, but I didn't anticipate the fainting bit."
"You could have died," Cedric continued in the same serious tone. "Merlin, when I saw you, I thought you were-" The wizard ran a hand over his face, as if trying to compose himself. "I thought you were dead, Cassandra. And that it was my fault because I left you in that stupid forest when I knew I shouldn't have. I trusted you, and you lied to me."
If Cassandra could blast a hole in the ground and disappear into it, she would. She was used to anger and disappointment, but they felt unbearable coming from the Hufflepuff. He had said those wonderful things to her earlier, and now he looked sad and tired, and it was her fault. She did the only thing she could think of to turn the situation around, and started crying. "I'm so sorry," she said through her tears. "I didn't mean to worry you, I just wanted to do whatever I could to save it."
At that, Cedric knelt on the floor by her bedside and hugged her, saying that it was okay, and that he'd only been concerned for her. Cassandra let herself bask in the warmth of his hug. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been held with such affection by another person. When she opened her eyes, still embracing Cedric, she saw Adrian staring at her, amused and incredulous. "You are unbelievable," her friend soundlessly mouthed at her. "Shut up," she answered in the same manner.
When Cedric pulled back, his cheeks slightly pink, Cassandra wiped her tears with the bed's white linen sheets. The tears hadn't been entirely sincere, but she realized she had needed to shed them.
"I'm glad you're alright," he said finally, still kneeling besides her and now holding her hand between his. He was stroking the back of her hand with his thumb absent-mindedly. Cassandra was hypnotized by the feeling. If she could bottle up Cedric Diggory's physical affection, she would never need to consume anything else. "And as silly as that might sound now, I'm glad you…"
"You glad I'm… what?" She asked, curious to know what the wizard wanted to say. He looked embarrassed for a moment, looking back and forth between her and Adrian.
"Whatever you say to her, she's probably going to repeat to me later," Adrian said.
"Shut up, Adrian," Cassandra said, and then felt a realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh."
"What is it?" Adrian asked anxiously. "Are you in pain? Should I get Pomfrey?"
"You!" She said, and turned to Cedric. "Before Klaus arrived, when we were talking. You were about to confess your feelings to me. That's what the whole speech was about."
"There was a speech?" Adrian asked, interested.
Cassandra turned to her friend. "I am deathly serious here, Pucey. If you don't shut up, I'm going to feed you to the giant squid." She turned back to Cedric, who was blushing madly at this point. "The whole speech about seeing me, that's what it was about, wasn't it? You have feelings for me."
Cedric cleared his throat. "I, yes. That's what it was about. I do. Have feelings for you, I mean. I've had them for a while."
Cassandra smiled. "How long?" She asked him. "How long have you had those feelings for?"
"Last year. When I saw you singing to the baby Mandrake. I thought it was - this is so embarrassing - I started really paying attention to you then. But I thought you and Pucey were together." Cedric answered.
"So you just pined for me from afar?" Cassandra teased. Cedric's ears were red by this point. She nudged him. "Did you build up your courage to talk to me today, hoping I would realize you were the right wizard for me and dump Pucey on his sorry ass?"
"No, I wouldn't in a million years try to break up your relationship, I just - I just wanted to - everyone was being so harsh to you and I wanted to-" At this point, Cedric looked up from the ground at her and realized she was holding in her laughter. "Merlin," he huffed out. "You really are evil." At that, she started to laugh heartily, as did he.
"I'm sorry," she said, still laughing. "I shouldn't have teased you. It was cruel of me."
"I forgive you," Cedric said with an easy smile. "And it's alright. That you don't have feelings for me. I didn't expect you to. I just wanted you to know that not everyone believes the bad things said about you. I don't. And I never will."
When he started to get up, Cassandra grabbed his hands. He stopped, startled, and sat at the edge of her bed when she didn't let him go.
"I don't have feelings for you," she said softly, stroking his thumb with hers, "not yet." At that, Cedric's eyes locked with hers. "But I think I could have," she continued. "If we started being around each other more. If today is any indication, I don't think it wouldn't take me very long."
"You really think so?" Cedric asked, brows furrowed. He was looking at her searchingly, seeming almost afraid to find an answer.
"Yeah, I think so," Cassandra said with a smile. "It was a really great speech."
"That's good. That's really, really good to hear," Cedric said with a matching smile. "I practiced that speech in front of a mirror and everything."
"You didn't," she said, incredulous.
"I did," he said simply.
"That's painfully embarrassing. It's a little endearing, but mostly embarrassing. Why would you ever admit that?" Cassandra asked.
"Because teasing me seems to make you happy," the wizard said. "And being made fun of by a beautiful witch seems like a very small price to pay for your happiness."
"I was expecting to have a miserable day today," Cassandra said. "From the moment I woke up, all I wanted was to go to sleep again, just so tomorrow would come quicker. But instead, I saved a unicorn's life, and I found out a really great guy has feelings for me."
"It sounds like you had a brilliant day," Cedric said with a pleased smile.
"One of the best I've ever had," she replied.