DISCLAIMER: I haven't got millions to spare in a lawsuit, so I have to say this: I don't own Harry Potter. And, the sad truth is, I never will. Ever. So…fanfiction is a nice substitute. Now, if only I could get paid…

A/N: Helloooo! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. I am so glad so many people like my writing and please enjoy the chapter—it's a bit of a fun one!

Additionally, I have tweaked the Quidditch schedule. In canon, the first match is Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. But, well, this isn't canon, so I guess I have that right.

OoOoO

The morning of the first Quidditch match had Cass's heart thumping wildly in excitement for the game (and in anticipation for everyone's reactions to a Gryffindor rooting for the Slytherin team, but she wasn't about to admit that). She dressed in her everyday black robes, but instead of a red and gold scarf, she wore a green and silver one Sarah had let her borrow. In her hair, she wove a silver ribbon through intricate braids, and tied the whole thing off with a big green bow. She even got a comment out of Pauline, which was really saying something, as her second roommate never talked.

"That takes balls," she had said.

"It shouldn't; I just supporting my friend's house," Cass replied smoothly.

Pauline had just shrugged and walked out of the room. Cass and Brooke followed her, Cass mentally preparing for the (unjustified) shocked comments from her Housemates.

When she entered the common room decked out in Slytherin's green instead of Hufflepuff's yellow, she received raised eyebrows from everyone except Fred and George, who laughed.

"Slytherin? I think we know what that means, brother," Fred said.

"Had a vision, O' Great Seer? Do the snakes win?" George asked with fake reverence.

"No, I haven't, thank you very much. I'm supporting Slytherin because my friend is in that House and I support my friend," Cass replied, holding her head high.

"But they're Slytherin! That House is full of pureblood fanatics and cheats!" someone exclaimed.

Cass scowled. "Not all of them. Every House has some troublemakers, just look at Fred and George, for example!" Cass said, though she smiled at the twins to take the sting out of her words. In the corner, Harry was giving her a frown, though it was more of a thoughtful one rather than a distasteful one.

"Fred, I'm so offended!" Fred said to George.

Cass rolled her eyes. "Don't try that on me. You're Fred, he's George, and we're leaving," she said. And on that note, she and Brooke stalked out of the Gryffindor Tower, Brooke giving a cheery, "'Bye!" as they went through the portrait.

As soon as the rounded the corridor into the stairwell, Brooke gave a loud laugh. "Cass, you're absolutely hilarious! 'Don't try that on me. You're Fred, he's George, and we're leaving!'" She pretended to wipe a tear from her eye, still giggling.

"Well, honestly," said Cass, "they act as if being in Slytherin is a crime! If anything, it just makes me happier that I'm supporting them; I'll show 'em. Sarah, Marcell, and I will have loads of fun. It's not like I'm choosing them over Gryffindor! If our House were playing, there's no way I would be cheering for any other House!"

"You finished?" Brooke asked shrewdly.

Cass merely sniffed in response, repositioning her scarf to keep it from scratching her neck.

When they reached the Great Hall, she and Brooke departed, Cass walking over to the Slytherin table and Brooke to the Hufflepuff table. She noticed with some amusement that Rose changed her hair color to a bright, sunshine yellow with black highlights.

Spotting Sarah and Marcell at the end, she made her way over to them. Halfway there, an older girl said, "Hey, aren't you the Seer…in Gryffindor?"

"Er, yeah, why?" Cass replied, though she knew exactly why.

A blond boy with Quidditch robes curled his lip. "We don't need Gryffindor charity."

"Good, I'm not offering it," Cass snapped. "If a Gryffindor can cheer for Hufflepuff, why can't one cheer for Slytherin?" By now, many heads were turned her way, so Cass lifted her chin and did her best not to look meek—even if she felt it.

"But—Gryffindors hate us, and we them!" someone called out.

"Yeah, and for good reason," the blond boy said.

"Obviously not this Gryffindor," Cass said curtly, walking hurriedly towards Sarah, who was giving her weak thumbs up.

"I know! You've seen us winning!"

Cass turned on her heel sharply and looked at the girl who called out straight in the eyes. "I don't support people because I think they're going to win. I support them because they're my friends— and one of my best friends is in Slytherin. So, to heck with stupid prejudices." Cass glanced around the Hall, mouth twisting slightly as she saw almost every eye trained on her. "Oh, and good luck," she spoke to the general direction of the Slytherin Quidditch players. She noticed the blond boy scoff in a disgusted manner. Can't win them all, she thought to herself.

Cass sat down between Sarah and Marcell. Gradually, the students found something else to look at, and she felt the pressure of a hundred gazes leave her back. Down the table, though, some older Slytherins were looking at her, some with curiosity, others with poorly concealed malice. At the staff's table, many of the professors were looking at her with something like pride or shock—maybe a combination of both. To her utter befuddlement, both McGonagall and Snape were looking at her with sad looks on their faces. Maybe they don't want me to be made fun of? she wondered to herself. Well, I don't care. Let people make fun of me.

Deciding to ignore the confused stares, Cass exclaimed, "Yum! Crepes!" She grabbed a plate and a pair of tongs to pick up the crepes.

"You sure do know how to make an entrance," Marcell told her, shaking his head amusedly.

"What can I say? It's a gift," Cass replied, but inside she was cringing at his comment. She had been expecting this, but it was still a bit disheartening to see everyone react like that.

A few seats down, Sasha was glaring at Cass evilly. Probably angry I took up so much attention, she concluded. She sent a smirk right back at her, hoping it conveyed her dislike for the pampered princess properly.

"Cass, I have this green face paint. I know you like drawing, so would you mind painting a snake on our faces after breakfast?" Sarah asked.

"Not at all, I love the idea!" Cass replied, smiling. She gave her two friends a wicked grin. "I can even put some pigment on Marcell's eyelids," she said.

Marcell shook his head to the side, a warning look on his face. "Nuh-uh. No way."

"Kidding, kidding," Cass said, sharing amused glances with Sarah. The dark-skinned girl pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

After breakfast, they had a little time to spare before they needed to head down to the pitch, so the three first-years headed out to the lake to enjoy the nice, if a little chilly, weather.

"Okay, where do you want me to draw it?" Cass asked Sarah, holding a small paintbrush in one hand and a small tin of green color in the other.

"My cheek," Sarah replied.

Cass set to drawing a coiled serpent on Sarah's face. Every few minutes, Marcell would jump at Cass to scare her, hoping to make her jerk her hand and mess up her work. However, Cass Saw each attack coming and wouldn't even flinch, sometimes managing to bat away Marcell's hand before it got close to her.

After finishing with Sarah, they were joined by Brooke, Janelle, Rose, Cyrene, and Bello.

"Hufflepuff is going to beat your bums!" was the first thing Brooke said as she plopped herself down on the grass next to Sarah.

"Uh huh, we'll see about that. Our team is wicked fast," Marcell cut back, smirking proudly.

"Well our team is strong, and we've got some pretty great tactics," Rose put in, smiling.

"Wait! Duh!" Brooke exclaimed, smacking her hand to her face. "Cass, can't you See who is going to win?"

"Er, yeah…but I haven't Looked," Cass replied. "In fact, I'm hoping I don't get a vision about the match. I want to watch it as it happens, not before." She thought about it for a second. "But, once the game gets going, I'll probably get one without trying," she shrugged. Then she gave the group a sly smile. "No way I'm going to tell anyone what I See, though."

Marcell harrumphed in mock outrage, turning his back to face the lake. Janelle snorted a laugh.

Cass smiled as she took out a small silver mirror that Sarah had brought in a leather drawstring bag and handed it to the Slytherin to see her cheek. Their banter was friendly, and it made her happy to see that her friends didn't harbor the same biases as most of Hogwarts.

"Cass, this looks amazing! Thanks!" said Sarah as she admired Cass's handiwork.

"Yeah, no problem. Does anyone want me to theirs? I think Sarah has some black face paint we could use for a badger."

"That depends. Is the paint skin-safe? Are there any toxins? My mum doesn't want me to use anything that might be harmful—" Bello started to say, but Brooke cut him off.

"Bello, it's face paint. There's nothing harmful in it!" she said in exasperation.

Cass struggled to hold in laughter, thinking it might hurt Bello's feelings. Instead, she said, "I'm sure it's fine, Bello. If anything happens, tell your mum that it's my fault—or blame Sarah, since it's her paint."

"Cass!"

Cass smiled sheepishly and brandished her paintbrush. "Any takers?"

In the end, she drew badgers on Janelle's, Cyrene's, and Brooke's face. Out of all of them, only Brooke opted to put the badger on her forehead, which turned out looking really strange. After finishing with everyone else, Cass drew a green serpent on her own cheek using the mirror Sarah had brought. By that time, many students were heading down to the Quidditch pitch, and the first-years followed eagerly.

"Well, best of luck to your team!" Janelle called sweetly as the friends split up. Marcell sniggered at her well wishes, so Cass stomped down on his foot, shooting him an irritated glance.

"Worst of luck to your team!" Brooke called after Janelle.

"Sorry, didn't catch that! Just had a vision of us winning!" Cass retorted. She hadn't, but Brooke didn't need to know that.

"Wait—actually?" Rose hollered at her but was swept away by a large crowd of Hufflepuffs.

Before Sarah and Marcell could ask, Cass said, "I didn't, but now they'll be wondering about it the whole game."

Sarah grinned broadly at her while Marcell asked, "What was the Sorting Hat thinking putting you in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin?"

"I dunno, Marcell. Takes a lot of bravery to support us evil Slytherins. Just think about what pranks those two redheads will pull!" Sarah yelled over the crowd of students.

"Don't remind me," Cass groaned as the three began to climb the steps up to the stands. She did her best to ignore the sideways glances most everybody was giving her.

Up in the stands, it was pandemonium. Everywhere, people were talking loudly, each trying to be heard over the crowd—which only succeeded in making the volume rise. Cass shared excited looks with Marcell and Sarah, but it slipped as her eyes pricked.

A brunette girl in black robes with green accents scowled and pointed her wand at a green-eyed girl with a silver ribbon threaded through her hair.

Cass sidestepped the jinx Sasha had sent towards her. It hit a fifth-year Slytherin surrounded by a gaggle of other girls. The girl shrieked, and cries of, "Pansy! Pansy, are you okay?" erupted around her. Cass, Sarah, and Marcell quickly hurried away, Cass tossing a smirk over her shoulder at Sasha.

"Cass, you Saw that?" Marcell asked, a touch of awe in his voice.

Cass remembered that he wasn't as used to her gift as the others. "Er, I Saw Princess pointing her wand and just kinda…stepped out of the way."

"Wicked," Marcell said, grinning. "So, are you sure you won't tell us the moment you See the snitch being caught?"

"Yep. I'm not ruining the game for you guys. I just hope my little Third Eye doesn't ruin the game for me."

"Do you have any control over it?" Sarah asked.

"Ehhhh, it sort of decides for itself when to work. Sometimes I can give myself a vision, but usually I have to know what I'm Looking for. With the past or the present, I guess it's useful. But for the future, knowing what you're Looking for just defeats the purpose," Cass explained in the best way she could.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Marcell said, but didn't say more as the teams were walking onto the pitch.

The game was very exciting. The players zoomed around the pitch, each team acting as one in the air. The ball—the Quaffle, Marcell had told her—soared over people's heads, just past a player's outstretched hands, through a hoop, and was on the other side of the pitch faster than Cass believed possible. It wasn't five whole minutes before she wished with all her heart that she was out there, flying in the air. Each time Slytherin got the ball through a hoop, ear-shattering screams would erupt around Cass, and she would scream with them, waving a green flag Sarah had scrounged up.

Around ten minutes in the game, people stopped giving her confused glances and started looking at her hopefully. Cass assumed they thought she was supporting them for the win, and she let them. It was better than open hostility. It unnerved her to see some Gryffindors glare at her from their stands, but she tried her hardest to shake it off. Let them glare. I've done nothing wrong, Cass would think to herself every time she caught one looking at her.

Maybe an hour and a half into the game, she suddenly whipped her head to the side, fast enough to put a crick in her neck. At least thirty heads matched her movement, including Sarah's and Marcell's. A glint of gold flashed in the sunlight, and the Hufflepuff Seeker's gloved hand closed around the Snitch. One loud whistle later, and a mass of yellow and black gathered on the ground of the pitch, cheering.

"Aww," Sarah complained.

"Oh, well, that was unexpected. I didn't even see the Snitch until you turned your head, Cass!" Marcell said. Cass shrugged, a little bummed out that Slytherin had lost. Mostly, though, she was surprised she hadn't Seen it coming. Well, not until the very last minute, at least. Maybe it was because she hadn't wanted to See it. Cass didn't know.

Shocked faces stared at her. Cass was certain all of Slytherin would have believed they were going to win because she had chosen to support them. "Yeah, that sucks, Sarah," she agreed with her friend.

Everyone started to file out of the stands, most of the Slytherins with a glum expression on their face. Marcell and Sarah, however, had gotten over the loss fairly quickly, and were now chatting with Cass over their favorite moments of the game.

"Well, I liked it when our team did the flock formation—it was nice and intimidating—" Marcell was saying before he was cut off by a whiny voice.

"Why did you even sit with us, McGarther? The whole school knows about your stupid little gift—I'll bet you Saw Hufflepuff winning and decided to give us a bit of false hope. Yeah, I reckon all your little Gryffindor friends are having a nice laugh right about now," Sasha said loudly. Two girls next to her, Abigail Nott and Rebecca Vane—Cass liked to call them Sasha's handmaidens—giggled obnoxiously at Sasha's comment.

Cass looked heavenwards and breathed a long breath in. "I know one Gryffindor who's laughing. Me. At you. And your poor attempt at making me lose my temper," she said coolly, leveling her gaze at Sasha. For the third time that day, Cass smirked at the Slytherin, before slinging her arms around Sarah and Marcell and walking out of the stands.

"It's a wonder Sasha didn't hex you into oblivion. A wonder. You should've seen the look on her face when you said that—priceless!" Sarah sniggered.

"Maybe she learned her lesson from the last time," Marcell theorized.

"Uh-huh," Cass agreed. "That was fun."

Marcell opened his mouth to say something, but there was suddenly a loud cry of triumph and a black and yellow scarf was wrapped around his neck.

"Guess who won? We did!" Brooke whooped, doing a victory dance. Rose, Bello, Janelle, and Cyrene were grinning victoriously. Rose—eyes now an intense violet—bounded over to Cass and twirled her scarf around her neck.

Cass grinned back at them. "Congrats, guys. And Brooke—you're not even in Hufflepuff!"

Marcell was now glaring at Brooke and tugging on his scarf distastefully. Brooke shrugged. "So?"

"Well, no way we're losing against you Gryffindors in a couple months!" Sarah said smugly.

"Oh, that's right. Since you guys lost, you have to play against Gryffindor in…January, right?" asked Janelle. Marcell nodded and flung the scarf off his neck. Janelle was smiling happily. "You guys did very well, though. I couldn't believe it when your Keeper blocked the Quaffle upside down!"

"Ah, finally. A humble winner," Marcell said teasingly, giving Brooke a significant look.

Cass's fellow Gryffindor wrinkled her nose. "Whatever. Who wants to walk around the lake?"

The first-years made their way down to the shore of the lake. Brooke and Marcell were well into a debate over which Keeper made more saves and which Chaser made riskier dives by the time they were a quarter of the way around the lake. Cass and the others took turns trying to skip stones across the water. So far, only Cass and Rose had been able to make it jump more than once, and the only thing Bello had managed to do was sink his stone, splashing himself with the lake water.

After a while, Brooke and Marcell had exhausted their Quidditch talk, and Cass and the others had given up trying to toss stones. Cass had gone the farthest, making her stone skip four times (something she was very proud of—it was hard to skip stones). That was when Rose had suggested that they show Cyrene and Marcell Cass's Guessing Game. It was the game where one of her friends would pick a random object and she would use her gift to guess the object (though it wasn't really a guess) in a blindfold.

"I wonder, could you See us?" Cyrene asked.

"Er, probably," Cass replied.

Marcell grinned. "My dearest Ravenclaw, are you suggesting we play a game of hide-and-seek?"

Sarah was mouthing, "My dearest Ravenclaw?" with a confused look on her face. Cass just shrugged, thinking about how she could use her Sight to find her friends.

Cyrene nodded, "Yeah, we—everyone except Cass, that is—can hide and we'll see how long it takes for her to find us."

"Okay, but what if we took turns hiding? Like one person hides while the rest of us trail after Cass?" Rose suggested.

Brooke immediately said, "I'm going first!" Then her face hardened. "Cass, you can't Look before we go."

"I won't, but I can't help it if I get a vision."

"Can't you try to block it? You said you didn't want a vision about the game, right? Did you get one?" Bello asked.

"Good point. I didn't get a vision about the game—at least, not until the very last second. Maybe there is a way to stop myself from getting one," Cass mused. "No harm in trying."

"Okay, so we're going to take turns hiding. Should we time it? See how long it takes Cass to find someone—and whoever it takes the longest to find wins?" Rose clarified, looking at all of the first-years.

"Are you alright with this, Cass? It's your gift," Janelle said kindly.

Cass nodded. "Yeah! I like it, and it's good practice, anyways."

"Yes! Okay, I'm gonna go!" Brooke shouted, already running away from the clustered first-years. Cass quickly hid her eyes in her hands, thinking, No vision, no vision, no vision. She repeated this in her head until Sarah told her it was alright to look.

Cass took her hands away from her face, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the sunlight. Brooke was nowhere in sight. "Wow, that was fast," Cass remarked. After giving a quick glance to the others, she closed her eyes. She had never really Looked for a person before, so she didn't know what to do. She tried thinking of Brooke, pleased when her eyes pricked and an image filled her mind.

A young girl with blond hair was laying down, covered by many green plants. A large oak tree stood tall beside her, its branches extending high into the sky.

Cass opened her eyes and began to scan the landscape, searching for the big tree. The others were being very quiet, but she heard Marcell stifle a laugh.

After a few seconds, Cass located the tree. It was on the opposite side of the lake. "How did she get so far…?" she wondered aloud.

Bello chuckled. "She ran, Cass. I mean, ran," he said. Cass just shook her head and set off towards the oak tree at a brisk pace. On the way, Marcell told her about how Brooke had run into a bush while sprinting towards her hiding place.

"She was looking over her shoulder, probably trying to see if you were looking. I guess the bush just snuck up on her," he said through much laughter.

"I think a branch snapped. She sort of ran into it, fell on her bum, and then the whole thing just collapsed under her weight!" Rose added, giggling uncontrollably.

Cass laughed with them, imagining the scene in her head. The first-years reached Brooke's hiding place. Cass gestured for them to be quiet and crept up next to the bush. She raised her hand over where she knew Brooke's foot to be and grabbed it, shouting, "BOO!"

Brooke gave a muffled scream. "Cass! I'm gonna kill you!"

Cass was to busy cracking up to reply. The others were similarly occupied, so Brooke had to get out of the greenery without any help. She stood up and tripped over a root, crashing into Bello. Both fell to the ground in a heap.

"Are—you—okay?" Janelle choked out, clutching her stomach.

Brooke got up, red in the face. "I'm fine," she mumbled, brushing herself off. Cass walked over to help Bello up, still laughing hysterically.

"I'm good," Bello said, blushing furiously.

"How did you not hear us, Brooke? We were all talking before Cass gestured for us to be quiet," Cyrene said, a bright smile on her freckled face.

"I dunno. Sound was pretty muffled down there," Brooke replied, shrugging.

"Okay, my turn," Rose announced. Cass plopped herself down on the grass and closed her eyes, listening as the Metamorphmagus's footsteps got fainter and fainter.

"Ooh! That's good," Brooke said.

Cass was trying very hard not to think about that comment, knowing she would most likely get a vision. She muttered, "Brooke, it's hard enough to stop it without you saying stuff like that."

"Oh, I'm sure. That's why I said it."

Cass ground her teeth. Suddenly, she gave a fake horrified gasp. "BROOKE, WATCH OUT!" she cried, opening her eyes in a flash and taking her wand out.

Brooke jumped behind the bush, screaming, "What?!" The others were looking around confusedly, but realization dawned on them when Cass started laughing.

"Watch out…for my wrath," Cass said through giggles. Brooke came out of the bush with a comedic look of anger on her face, twigs sticking out of her hair and face smudged with dirt.

"Oh, no! Cass, a monster! Is this what you Saw?" Sarah cried in mock terror.

Cass played along and gave a slight shudder. "Yes…oh, it's so hideous!"

Marcell was rolling on the ground with laughter. Janelle was trying—in vain—to cover her giggles by putting a hand over her mouth. Bello was chortling, but stopped suddenly as Brooke glared.

"Hilarious. Absolutely brilliant," she said grumpily. The badger Cass had drawn on her forehead was now a blob of black face paint.

Cass snorted. "Nice badger."

"Yeah, yeah," Brooke replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Should we—well, mostly just you, Cass—go find Rose?" Janelle asked.

"Yeah, hold on," Cass responded. She reached out with her mind and felt a familiar itch—

A pine tree stood tall and regal-looking on the shore of a wide lake. High in the tree, a piece of black cloth could be made out…

Cass snapped back to the present. "How—high—what?" she exclaimed. Cass, don't make a fool out of yourself. She gathered her thoughts. Rose was in a tree? But it seemed so high… "She's in a tree?"

"Ha!" Brooke shrieked.

"Yes, we saw her climbing it," Cyrene supplied, but she seemed focused on something else. Cass had a feeling the Ravenclaw was trying to think of a way to outsmart her Third Eye.

"Well, I've always loved climbing trees," Cass said, thinking of her Thoughtful Tree back at home.

"Are we even allowed to climb trees?" Janelle wondered, a frown on her face.

Sarah shrugged. Marcell just said, "Well, I have a motto. Better to ask for forgiveness—"

"—than permission," Cass finished, nodding. Although she wasn't a sucker for trouble, she had plenty of experience…circumventing the rules. She was reminded of all the times she had gotten up early and climbed her tree—and how livid her grandma would have been if she caught Cass.

"Okay…" Janelle said, still looking very unsure.

So, the first-years made their way over to the tall pine tree from Cass's vision. Casting a quick look around and finding no one, Cass began to scale the tree, thankful for the few low branches that allowed her to scramble up quickly. To her surprise, Marcell followed her. It was when they were about six meters up when they found Rose. The girl had changed her hair to a dark green, and was perched precariously on a thin—too thin, in Cass's experienced opinion—branch.

"Found ya!" Marcell said, gripping the trunk tightly.

"It only took—" Cass began, but stopped on a strangled note, her eyes tearing up hotly.

A girl with green hair was crouching on a thin wooden branch. Very suddenly, there was a loud crack and the girl vanished downwards, making a choked scream.

"ROSE!" Cass shouted, bringing her wand out in a flash. Her hands shook, but she made a swish and flick motion with it and gasped, "Wingardium Leviosa!" just as the branch snapped. It fell…but Rose didn't, held up by her robes that Cass was now levitating.

A few tense seconds of heavy breathing followed—Cass because holding up her friend was draining, and Rose and Marcell because, most likely, they had no idea what had just happened. If she was being honest, Cass didn't really know either; she had just acted on instinct.

"Bloody hell," Marcell said finally.

Cass's arm sagged. Very quickly, her strength was depleting. "Rose—grab—onto—branch!" she choked out. The Metamorphmagus reached a tentative hand out to the nearest limb and clung to it shakily. Cass cut off the charm with a groan and leaned against the trunk. The branch that had snapped hadn't fully broke away from the trunk—it just dangled at a bent angle.

Cass shook her head. "Let's—let's go down." She could hear the cries of her friends on the ground below. Even in her shaken state, she managed to scamper down the trunk fairly easily, and reached the ground long before the other two. In between gulps of air, she explained to Cyrene, Bello, Janelle, Sarah, and Brooke what had happened. By the time she finished, Rose and Marcell had touched down onto the dirt.

"That was quick thinking, Cass. It was good you levitated her robes and not Rose—you know what Professor Flitwick says about doing that charm on humans, how it's too draining," Cyrene said, giving Cass an encouraging smile. Cass nodded, surprised she had managed to keep Rose hovering for such a long time.

"Yeah, well, I Saw it so…" she said, still breathing heavily.

"Thank you so much, Cass," Rose said earnestly and in a small voice that seemed on the verge of tears. Wordlessly, Cass walked over and embraced her. She wasn't going to say anything, but she thought Rose shouldn't have been that far out. Cass had climbed to the topmost branch of many trees, but she always had a good, sturdy limb to hang on.

"I'm hungry. Lunch is about right now, anyway," Brooke said. Cass shot her a grateful smile for trying to clear the tension.

Bello straightened. "Yeah, me too. Let's go, guys," he said helpfully.

The first-years made their way back around the lake, the mood now slightly dampened. However, Brooke, Bello, Janelle, Sarah, and even Cyrene did their best to lighten it up, making jokes and putting forced skips in their steps. After a few minutes, Cass joined them, thinking, No point in letting it ruin your day.

At lunch, the group split up, heading off to their respective House tables. Cass noticed the surrounding Gryffindors giving her and Brooke amused looks and wondered about it, but then realized Brooke still had a black smear on her forehead—and quite of bit of twigs in her hair. Once she realized this, Cass couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her lips.

"What? You, too, Cass? I don't need you laughing at me with the rest of 'em!" Brooke exclaimed in indignation.

"Sorry," Cass said (even though she didn't feel all that sorry—it was funny). "Er, you know that badger I drew on your face? The one that got smudged? Well, it's still there."

Brooke grimaced. "Ugh, seriously? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just did?"

"Cass!"

Cass giggled. "Come on, Miss Inkface. Let's go wash it off," she said, giving her friend a smirk.

Brooke fumed, but said, "Yeah, like we should've done before coming here?"

"Well, sor-ry. It's your face," Cass retorted, walking out of the Great Hall. From the Slytherin table, Sarah gave an "okay" sign with her hand, Marcell laughing next to her. Cass gave them a bright smile in return.

On their way to the loo, a lightbulb went off in Cass's head. If she could find Brooke and Rose, what was stopping her from finding her birth parents? While Brooke was furiously scrubbing her face, Cass extended her mind outwards, thinking, parents, parents, parents. Maybe it was because she didn't know them, but she was met with nothing, just the—admittedly hilarious—view of Brooke with a face full of bubbles. Or maybe she couldn't See them because…Cass didn't finish that thought, instead occupying herself with laughing, for Brooke's face was now stained black.

"Don't see why you're laughing, you've got the stuff on your face, too!" Brooke grumbled, cupping her hands and splashing water on her face.

"Yeah, but I'll just take it off in the shower, with proper facewash. If you want to finish eating, you'll have to walk back into the Great Hall looking like that," Cass said, giving Brooke the sweetest, most insincere smile she could summon.

Brooke scowled and splattered more water on her face.

OoOoO

A/N (part two): We've hit the thirty reviews mark! Yay! BIG thanks to:

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Inis'sPromise