Idk what this is really, I just wanted to get an update to this fic out there because I miss Cress. This chapter is really short and not a lot happens but there is some significant character development. I originally was gonna make this longer, but I decided to cut it short, so sorry.

Warning: Violence and Slurs. If you're uncomfortable just skip the whole scene after the Quidditch match.


TWO OF CUPS

upright: unity, partnership, attraction, connection, close bonds, joining forces, mutual respect

reversed: separation, rejection, division, imbalance, tension, bad communication, withdrawal

"Cressida Tonks?" an unfamiliar voice pierced through her study fog, and she stared up at the last person she expected to see. An ivory face stared down at her, stormy eyes meeting hers. But it was the pale blonde hair that gave him away.

Why was Niklaus Malfoy approaching her? The fourth year hardly hung out with anyone who wasn't a Slytherin, and considering Cress's brother was the whole reason his sister-in-law had cut ties with Andromeda, she couldn't help but be a little bit wary.

Now that she thought about it, she often saw Malfoy spending most of his time with Black's younger brother. It was rather difficult to miss the two of them, even if they didn't hang out with Mulciber and his crew.

They were like two peas in a pod, never talking to anyone else but each other, blonde hair always accompanying black when they appeared in the halls with each other.

Cressida let out a frustrated sigh and looked up from her books, eyes turning cold as she stared him down. "What do you want?" Her tone was biting and curt, having no desire to deal with any shenanigans this week, whether from the Slytherins or the Marauders (she still scoffed at the name).

Malfoy's mouth flapped open and shut as he tugged on his robes, sitting down across from her. She arched an eyebrow, wondering when she offered him an invitation. "I need your help," He whispered, hunching over until his voice could barely be heard. Cressida creased her brow and leaned in, a skeptical look on her face, "With what?"

Her whisper was slightly louder than his, and he moved to shush her. Her eyes widened and she gestured to the empty library around them as if to say: "no one else is here nimrod."

Cress blew out an irritated sigh. She didn't have time for this. March was always the busiest month of the year for her, and her Defense essay on the theory of the Patronus Charm and how it affected Dementors was due in the next hour. She still had a roll of parchment left to write, so yes, she was a bit annoyed with some fourth year's antics.

But there was something in Malfoy's gaze that made her hesitate in taking her anger out on him. His hunched position, shifting gaze, wide eyes, she'd seen them all before. She'd just never seen them on a Slytherin.

"I need to get in touch with Andromeda Tonks," He spat out, tossing a look over his shoulder. "It's urgent."

Cressida arched a brow and Malfoy sighed. "You have every right not to trust me, just...send this to her okay?" He passed a thick envelope of parchment her way, red wax sealing it shut. Her hand hovered over the letter, reluctant to take it. It wasn't as if she didn't trust Slytherins on principle, she'd been friends with Emma Vanity once upon a time, it was just that every time she let her guard down around them, they disappointed her.

Malfoy rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand, pointing it at the letter. With a mumble, the tip of his wand glowed white, the letter following suit. It stayed that way for a few seconds until Malfoy pulled his wand away. "There, no jinxes or curses," he spoke matter-of-factly, "It would have glowed red if there were."

The knot in Cressida's chest untangled itself and she grabbed the parchment, stuffing it in her bag as she stood up from her study position, trepidation creeping up her neck as she moved toward the Great Hall to finish her essay and eat a light lunch before her next class.

She kept staring back at the library though, an insatiable curiosity chewing through her each time she looked away. Why did Malfoy want to get in touch with Andromeda? Why now? Why had he looked so frightened? What could have scared him to the point where he was throwing looks over his shoulder if he so much as talked to her?
It couldn't be Cressida herself, the worst thing she'd done was shove Sirius Black against a wall.

Her body collided into something solid and the next thing she knew, black sludge covered her vision.

"Oh shit!" A familiar voice paralyzed her, and suddenly Cressida didn't care that her face, hair, and uniform were suddenly covered in black ink. Instead, she stared into the apologetic face of Remus Lupin, trying not to look as mortified as she felt.

Cressida stood there for a good thirty seconds, arms splayed out in disgust, grimacing. Remus looked ready to slap himself and Cressida almost couldn't blame him. But it had been her fault too. Damn her brain and its tendency to forget about her surroundings.

"I'm so sorry Cress, I didn't-"

"It's fine," She sighed, reaching into her robes and waving her wand with a flick, she mumbled a quick, "revertere induendem!"

The ink jumped off her, hovering in the air like water on those space missions before she pointed her wand at the inkwell, replacing it with a wry smile. She resisted the urge to jump up and down at the successful attempt, her second one in one week.

Remus's eyes widened and Cressida's chest tugged, realizing that she'd missed seeing those green hues every day. Something vaguely like comfort flooded her veins. "Is that-? I've never heard of that spell before," He stammered out, and Cressida shrugged sheepishly, red flushing her cheeks.

"That's because it's mine," She spoke with a small smile, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. Suddenly she was glad Dorcas had insisted on doing her hair that day. "I uh, I've been helping Flitwick with some of his assignments and in return he's helping me craft some spells of my own."

Remus blew out a sigh, and pride rose in her chest. "Wow, uh, that's- that's awesome I had no idea."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot you don't know about me," She muttered, picking at her fingernails. Remus's face fell and Cressida began to backtrack, "I didn't mean like that! I just meant, we haven't been talking recently and while I know that's my fault, I just-"

"Cress," Remus interjected with a soft smile, the expression making her melt, "It's okay, I understand what you meant."

Shutting her eyes in embarrassment, Cressida gripped her books tighter, the edges of the cover digging into her palms, "Of course you do. You always do," She pressed forward, refusing to look Remus in the eyes once again until he called out to her.

"Cress!" She whirled around, hating how easily he could persuade her. There it was again, that apologetic look on his face, "I'm sorry for standing you up. For Hogsmeade, Slughorn's party, the Common Room...everything. I'm sorry."

The anger melted off her bones and she smiled softly, loosening her grip, "Thank you." The sandy haired boy nodded and turned to walk down the hall, "Remus?" She asked, calling after him the same way he did her. The boy whirled around, a hopeful look in his green eyes, "I forgive you."


Cressida was more than a bit put out after Ravenclaw's loss against Hufflepuff in the second to last Quidditch match of the season. Now the weeks continued to trudge on as she waited impatiently for the next two months to pass by in a blur so she could score a win against Gryffindor in the final.

"That final goal was such bullshit," Dorcas slammed her fist against her locker, "Bagman had to have enchanted his broom or something because there was no kriffing way he could've dodged all my Bludgers, and definitely not with Aubrey on his tail the whole time."

Cressida wiped the sweat from her brow and took a gulp of water from her water bottle, her ponytail sticking to the nape of her neck, "Relax, Dorcas, Bagman flew circles around me too."

"It's just not fair," Dorcas let out a frustrated groan, "If Crouch had been able to keep his eye on the chasers instead of Emmy's arse-"

"You got a problem with me Meadowes?" Barty Crouch Jr spoke up for what was maybe the first time ever after a Quidditch game, watery eyes wide and crazed, an expectant look thrown the girl's way. Dorcas sneered and squared her shoulders.

"Yes I do Crouch, because your little crush on my girlfriend cost us the whole bloody game."

Crouch scoffed, his lips twisting into a snarl, "I couldn't care less about you two dykes, I was trying to make sure Diggory wasn't distracting our seeker with his charms again."

Cressida hung her head in shame as Dorcas's sarcastic laugh rung through the locker room, hands curling into fists, "Oh is that why you let him score on you five times in a row? Seems to me like you've got a crush of your own Crouch."

Barty's face turned beet red, shoulders beginning to shake, "As if I would go after the sloppy seconds of that slag!" His finger quivered as it pointed to Cress, her chest tightening and jaw clenching at the insult. God would no one let her forget it? "Perhaps you should ask Aubrey why he thought it was a good idea to choose a Mudblood for our seeker when she can't even see straight!"

Cressida's vision blurred, but the anger that usually bubbled up inside her popped, and all that existed was emptiness.

A blurred figure stepped forward and Emmeline's voice rang through her ears, "Cressida is the best seeker we've ever had and she's ten times the person you'll ever be."

Barty sneered again, "Oh please, she's a filthy Mudblood whose shagging her way to the top of every social ladder. Merlin I bet she's getting it on with Slughorn too in order to gain access to his little club-"

"Semlousos!" The spell left her lips faster than she could pull out her wand, but it hit its target perfectly. With a sick satisfaction filling her chest, she watched an invisible thread slowly make its way through Barty Crouch Jr's lips, pulling them shut with a stitch. Her lips twitched upward slightly as the satisfaction swirled in her stomach, turning into instant gratification as she watched Barty struggle and struggle to toss insults and speak his mind. She'd seen the kind of company he kept these days and she wouldn't let an immature fourth year tell her she didn't belong here.

"Still think I'm shagging my way to the top Crouch?" She snarled, flicking her wand one more time as the satisfaction began to fade and the guilt settled in. She stood over the boy in victory as he gasped for air, collapsing on his hands and knees in front of the entire Ravenclaw Quidditch team sans Aubrey.

Cressida knew they wouldn't tell. Not after what had just happened. Everybody was looking at her with fear in their eyes as she grabbed her stuff and left the room, her stomach tossing and turning as guilt began to claw at her, eating away her throat and gut until it came out in tiny sobs around the corner of the castle, the rain disguising the saltwater that rushed down her face and burned her lips, her hand the only thing muffling her sobs. She clutched the pendant around her neck.

Oh god what had she done?

Was this what the Slytherins felt like?

Powerful? Feared?

What did that make her now?

Choking back her sobs, she took the long way back to Ravenclaw tower, having no desire to run into anyone else for the rest of the day.