Cassiopeia woke up early one morning, nerves and excitement tingling through her body. It was finally time, she was finally going to become a real witch. She was going to Hogwarts in five short weeks, and Andromeda had finally let her do her school shopping. She had already been reading Dora's older textbooks, working her way through most of the first year curriculum in her sleepless nights, but she didn't have a wand yet. That was what really made the witch, a wand. And today she was finally going to get one.
She waited impatiently for the rest of the household to get up, preparing breakfast for everyone. Ted had been teaching her basics of cooking but she still wasn't too good at it yet, so she opted to making several bowls of cereal. She was busy preparing a large pot of tea for everyone, and finishing off her second cup of coffee when Ted and Andromeda came into the kitchen, delighted by the simple spread.
Dora slept in, as always, much to Cassiopeia's annoyance. She marched up to the sleeping girls room with a strong cup of tea and banged on the door, shouting at her to hurry up. This continued for a few minutes, much to Ted's and Andromeda's amusement until they finally heard a very groggy Nymphadora open the door and accept the peace offering. Cassiopeia entered the kitchen looking very pleased with herself and continued eating her now soggy cereal.
"Excited then kiddo?" Ted asked, his eyes twinkling.
"I remember the day I got my wand. I was so excited and Cissy was so angry that she wasn't allowed to yet. It was amazing" Andromeda smiled wistfully, remembering parts of her childhood fondly.
"Professor McGonagall took me to get my wand. Hogwarts sends out a professor to help all the muggle born students and to ease their transition. I nearly set her hat on fire." Ted grinned and Cassiopeia snorted lightly.
Breakfast passed quickly, with Cassiopeia clearing the dishes the second everyone finished. She groaned loudly when Andromeda said wand shopping would have to go last. She shopped single-mindedly, not bothering to stop and browse for anything. She was very matter of fact, straight to the point, buying everything she needed for school and nothing else.
Finally the time had come, and she was vibrating with nervous energy and excitement as she stood outside Ollivander's wand shop. She had performed countless feats of minor magic on her own, fuelled by emotion and her unstable raw magic. She had also used her mother's wand, which had performed for her, but only with her mothers hand guiding her. It was time she had her own wand, and she could barely wait.
She took a steadying breath before pushing through the door, causing a loud bell to echo through the shop. Unlike the rest of the street, the shop was empty, dark and dusty and for a second she worried that it wasn't open after all. Then an old wizard, with pale papery skin and silvery eyes emerged from the back.
"Andromeda Black, Elm 12 inches Unicorn Hair, reasonably pliant" he recited, smiling at the woman.
"Well remembered Mr Ollivander, how do you do?" she politely asked, smiling fondly at the old man.
He nodded his head deeply and spread his hands out wide, indicating the stacks of boxes that lined every wall, each filled with a wand.
"As well as can be, given my age. And who might this young witch be?"
"Cassiopeia Tonks sir," the girl responded, bowing her head a little. She was nearly breathless with her assignment.
"Ah, another daughter. I was under the impression you had only the one, Nymphadora Tonks, Blackthorn Phoenix Feather, 13 inches."
Andromeda and Cassiopeia looked at each other awkwardly at the question, neither willing to guess what the other wanted to say.
"Another Tonks it is," Ollivander finally said when the silence stretched a few beats too long. He winked at Cassiopeia before busying himself in the back, gathering a few boxes, muttering under his breath.
Cassiopeia's excitement soon turned to dismay when wands were handed to her and taken away just as quickly. A pile of discarded wand boxes was growing next to the older man. At best each wand was entirely unresponsive, at worst the wands caused items to self combust or explode. After fifteen minutes of this he finally paused, examining her and mindlessly fixing the damage to his shop.
He hummed, and looked at her, really looked at her. Contemplation turned to understanding and he hummed again, loudly. "You really look just like your mother, except your nose. You have your fathers nose. It's a striking combination." He busied himself again in the back and Cassiopeia flushed in embarrassment. He had figured out who she really was.
He emerged with three boxes, and set them gently on the countertop in front of him. He looked at the row of boxes, thinking, and glanced at her.
He seemed happy when the first wand rejected her, and amused when the second wand did. The third wand however was different. She felt warmth flow up her arm as she held it out in front of her, and dazzling purple sparks shot out of the tip. Ollivander sat back and sighed happily. "Hawthorn 12 and three quarter inches, relatively pliant." She reluctantly gave the wand to him and he busied himself boxing it. "A rather unusual wood Hawthorne. It makes a complex wand, pull of paradoxes. Do you know much about the Hawthorne wood young Tonks?" he asked. She shook her head, "Its an interesting tree whose leaves and blossoms can heal, but whose branches smells like death." He paused in his wrapping, looking carefully at the pale girl in front of him, "it's a temperamental wand, one I wasn't sure I'd ever sell honestly, but it appears to have chosen you." And with those final words he finished ringing up her new wand.
She unboxed the wand as soon as she left the shop, barely listening to Ted and Dora's stories about their time at the Magical Menagerie, and she examined every detail of it. It was beautiful, a little curved, though not as much as her mothers had been, with runes carved delicately down the sides. It felt warm in her hand and she couldn't wait to start practising magic with it.
Xxx
Getting onto the Hogwarts Express had been stressful. Nymphadora had overslept, causing them to run behind schedule a bit. When they finally got to the station Cassiopeia hated how busy and loud the platform was, and she soon found herself hiding behind her mess of curls, clutching her wand nervously in her pocket. She was stressed as they rushed to put their luggage trunks on the train and she only had time to say the briefest goodbyes. She did not get to see the Weasleys as she had hoped, but did manage to find Charlie on the train.
He smiled at her brightly when he saw her and Dora peeking through various carriage windows and quickly stood up to greet her cheerfully. Dora was boisterous as always, but excused herself soon enough to go look for her other Hufflepuff friends, waving at them both and offering Cassiopeia a place in her carriage if she got bored.
Charlie introduced her to his friends, a few other kids from the Gryffindor house and all members of the quidditch team. They smiled at her and were polite enough but it became immediately obvious that they thought the first year was a bit below their notice, and gave her and Charlie many meaningful looks to display this. Charlie rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away, explaining to his friends that he and Cassiopeia had known each other for years, since they were children, and he promised he'd show her around a bit.
She sat in the corner and stared out the window, feeling lonely for the first time ever in Charlie's company. Conversation shifted to quidditch and game techniques, and the latest matches. It was entirely beyond her understanding and she didn't feel like she really wanted to understand as it all sounded so boring. She fidgeted in her seat, unused to do doing nothing, and wished she had packed a book or something to read while she was on the train. She hated being bored, because being bored meant that there was a high likelihood that she would become drowsy. Drowsiness meant sleep, which more times than not, meant nightmares. And she definitely didn't want to have a nightmare in an overcrowded cabin.
She was relieved when the trolley lady came to offer them refreshments. Andromeda and Ted had given both her and Dora a small allowance for the trolley and she hungrily took in the sight in front of her. She stocked everything except coffee, so she settled for two cups of strong tea, several types of sweets, some she recognised and many she didn't, and two pasties when she saw Charlie looking at one longingly. His own mother had made them sandwiches.
Conversation turned to her as everyone dug into their respective spoils, and Cassiopeia nudged Charlie, indicating he should help himself to her food pile, which was decidedly larger than anyone else's.
"So what house do you want to be sorted into?" One of the quidditch players asked.
She shrugged, uncertain how to answer. Charlie had explained the different houses to her before and she had read about it in Hogwarts: A History over the summer.
"I don't know really." She had a suspicion that only one house would take her, and she worried her lip as she thought about the sorting hat. She read it could read minds and saw everyone's secrets. She worried for her own secrets.
"Well what houses were you parents in? They are magical right?" A sandy haired boy asked, a few of the other children nodded.
She couldn't help but to bristle at the suggestion, "of course my parents are magical. How else would I have known Charlie since childhood?"
"Your parents are often a fair indicator of what house you'll be in, it runs in the family." The first boy, Clarence she thought his name was, said helpfully, trying to move past her outburst.
She shrugged again and glanced over at Charlie, he gave her a reassuring smile but didn't look too certain with it. "Most of my family was in Slytherin," the children recoiled slightly from her, some even wrinkling their noses as if they smelt something off.
"My ah sister," it was still a strange concept, having a sister now, "she's a second year, she's in Hufflepuff."
The children relaxed a little at that but still looked at her with a little more suspicion.
"Here's hoping you take after your sister then," she was starting to dislike the sandy hair boy who first insinuated that she was not from a magical family. Now he was making his dislike for anything Slytherin related clear.
"Why? Slytherin is a great house, Andromeda is a wonderful witch and a testament to her house." The carriage was silent for a beat.
"You call your mother by her first name? Sounds like a real normal loving household" the sandy haired boy broke the silence and a few of the other kids snickered quietly.
"Cut it out Hugo. Mrs Tonks is a nice witch and she was a Slytherin." She glared at Hugo who stopped snickering but still had a smirk on his face that she wanted to smack off it.
Charlie steered the conversation back into the safe territory of quidditch which completely cut her out of the conversation entirely again so she sat and stewed in the corner, looking out the window, and wondering just what the other students were going to be like.
Arriving at Hogwarts station she said goodbye to Charlie who wished her luck and followed the largest man she had ever seen to a group of boats and rode to the castle. Cassiopeia was in awe of the sight in front of her, stunned by its beauty. It was no wonder that everyone she had ever met who had gone to Hogwarts absolutely loved the place. She understood how someone could fall in love with it; she had only just seen it and was already half in love with it.
She waited anxiously in line to be sorted; it was in alphabetical order according to last night, and for the first time she cursed the Tonks name, placing her at the bottom of the list. One of by students went up to be sorted, each house applauding as it gained another member. She could feel the students in the middle tables near her getting restless as more and more first years were sorted. They were hungry and were eager for the ceremony to be over so they could finally eat. Finally she was the last on standing, and even though she was expecting it, she still twitched a little as they called her name.
"Tonks, Cassiopeia."
She approached the hat nervously, her mind racing as she frantically tried to not think about all the terrible things she had done. Of course, telling oneself to not think about something just meant that it was all she could think about. Her mother, her lessons, her past, him, the dark lord.
The felt the hat flinch when it was placed on her head, as it became aware of her thoughts.
"Very interesting" she heard a voice in her head, causing her to panic a little bit. She didn't know it could talk!
"I see great determination and courage, someone who is willing to do what it takes to survive." The hat mused for a second examining her head some more.
"Self sacrificing, you would do anything to save your friends, and even your family. Great loyalty. You would do well in Gryffindor."
She froze as she took in the hat's words, it couldn't be serious.
"I am very serious, but I can see also where you think you belong. You are very cunning, resourceful, and a certain thirst for power that is almost overpowering."
Her mother would kill her if she was in Gryffindor. The only member of her family in recent history to be sorted into Gryffindor was her mother's cousin, a man she disliked greatly. And Gryffindor was for heroes like Charlie and the Weasleys, something she definitely was not.
"Every house has its heroes, but if you're sure, better be… SLYTHERIN"
She sighed half in relief and half in resignation, and walked over to the cheering green table. She glanced at Charlie who looked disappointed but was still clapping, and at Dora, who gave her a brilliant smile and chatted to her friends, pointing at her.
She sat quietly at the end of the table, hid a little behind her hair and listened to the conversation around her. She answered a few questions from the other first years but otherwise kept to herself, observing the people she was going to live with for the next seven years. There were four girls including herself and three boys in her year. She carefully noted each name and face of the students around her and tried to gain as much information as possible. By the end of the night she had only revealed the most basic information about herself, her name, her sisters name, that she had a predominantly Slytherin family. She had learned a great deal about those around her however, and filed away information that could prove to be useful at a later date. The other children quickly realised that she would not be so forthcoming and instead left her alone for most the evening, which was exactly what she preferred.
Xxxx
Cassiopeia's first morning at Hogwarts was a nightmare. She had a particularly bad nightmare the previous night that had unfortunately roused the whole dormitory. Even worse was that it was a crying nightmare and not a screaming one.
All the other first years, which previously had seemed casually indifferent towards her, were now actively mocking her, "Poor little baby Tonks, crying for her mommy all night."
Arlene Roberts seemed to leading her mocking, with the other girls following her lead, laughing maliciously at her or making mocking noises or faces.
"That's why she was so quiet at the welcoming feast, she was missing her mommy"
She avoided all eye contact and scowled miserably at her breakfast, hating the blush that was creeping up her neck. Word spread quickly through the table, and the older students were starting to snigger at her expense. She sank further in her seat, her only respite coming from the approach of her head of house, Professor Snape, as he handed out class schedules to all the new students.
Professor Snape was a fearsome looking man, dressed completely in black, with dramatic, voluminous robes that swished with his every move. He had a seemingly permanent scowl on his face as he stared coldly at the few students who dared make eye contact with him. She accepted her schedule silently, scanned it quickly, and finished her third cup of coffee. Her first class was due to start in a little under an hour. If she hurried she could grab her book bag and do a little bit of research before class started.
Not long after she found herself sitting on the cool stones outside the Transfiguration classroom, furiously scanning her charms textbook index, looking for any way to help her prevent her nightmares from causing her more embarrassment. She sighed in frustration; she couldn't find anything of use in the first year charms book. It was filled with mostly useless stuff, party tricks. She'd have to find the library to try and look at the textbooks for later years.
She let her head fall against the stone wall with a dull thud and squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn't sure what caused the nightmare, she didn't even really remember the details of the dream, but judging from her dorm mates mocking comments it had been about her mother. It was always about her mother.
She'd had to try harder to distract herself at night, to limit her sleep. Or she'd have to find a way to guarantee her privacy. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the steady thud of steps approaching the classroom. She tiredly opened her eyes to see the source of the noise and was met with a stern looking older witch wearing very old-fashioned teaching robes. She recognised her as the witch who led the sorting ceremony, the Gryffindor head of house.
Her lips were pursed and she had an eyebrow raised as she made eye contact with the reclining student, "Early to class then? I must say this is an unusual occurrence" she eyed Cassiopeia curiously, lingering on the books in her lap.
She had been perusing her potions, charms, and transfiguration books, searching for a solution. Cassiopeia sat up a little straighter and gathered her few books and placed them quickly into her bag.
"I'm sorry professor, I wanted to get a little bit of reading in before class, somewhere quiet."
The professor's eyebrow rose a little higher as she turned to unlock the classroom door. "In you go then miss…" she paused, looking pointedly at the student.
Cassiopeia stood up and brushed the dust off her school robes, "Tonks m'aam. Cassiopeia Tonks."
She hovered awkwardly in the doorway, examining the desks, trying to ascertain the best place to sit. The professor continued to the front of the room to a larger desk where she sat and took out a large notebook and a quill. She didn't want to sit in the front, and she didn't particularly want people sitting behind her. She couldn't trust people, especially after the morning. That left the two back corners, but which one? Back to the door or to a wall?
"Any seat will do Miss Tonks, I assure you they are all the same." The professor gave her an amused small smile as gestured around the room.
Cassiopeia nodded and carefully chose the back corner, away from the door, and with a view of the whole room. She sat in silence for a long moment, and glanced up at a clock on the wall. There was still almost a quarter of an hour until the class started. She fidgeted, uncertain about what to do with herself. Her hand itched to continue her research, but she looked uncertainly at the Professor, who was writing something in her large book. Finally she cleared her throat hesitantly.
"Sorry, professor uh." She paused and blushed suddenly. She couldn't remember her name.
"McGonagall." The Scottish woman looked up curiously and peered at Cassiopeia.
"Right, er Professor McGonagall, do you mind if I continue reading?" she gestured weakly to her book bag, which was bulging slightly.
The professor's eyebrows rose again in astonishment, and she smiled slightly, "by all means Miss Tonks, continue with your reading."
She let out a breath and quickly took her potions book, scanning the table of contents for useful information. She paused as she came across one entry, early on 'sleeping draught' she flipped to that section and read. It was a promising lead, but one that she would have to pursue after class.
More and more students were filing in now and taking their seats. She noticed none of the Slytherins wanted to sit next to her, and she could just about hear their whispering. She definitely heard their snickers as they glanced her way meaningfully.
A Gryffindor boy cautiously took the seat next to her after it became clear that there were no seats left in the room. She gave him a curt nod, clearing away her book from the top and he gave her a hesitant smile.
"I'm Daniel Jones," he said shyly.
"Cassiopeia Tonks."
Professor McGonagall had stood and signalled the beginning to class. Her Transfiguration class set the example for how the rest of her first day of instruction. There was a brief introduction and demonstration of the subject and a description of the syllabus, what they could expect from the year, and what was expected of them as far as conduct and work ethic. No Slytherin first year would sit next to her in any of her classes, and instead members of the other houses would reluctantly take the seat as a last resort.
Daniel Jones, the Gryffindor first year, seemed a little more comfortable about sharing her desk during her potions class, the Ravenclaw she shared a desk with for charms was silent. Cassiopeia was always early to her classes, always chose the corner desk, and for the most part kept to herself.
In Herbology, her final class of the day, she was surprised when an enthusiastic Hufflepuff first year actively sought her out as a study mate; apparently she had met Dora the night before and had heard all about Cassiopeia. She was friendly, a bit too chatty for her taste, but her exuberance was mildly amusing to her, so she cautiously engaged her in light conversation. Her name was Constance Green, a muggle born witch who was in excited awe of everything around her it seemed. Cassiopeia sighed in relief as her Herbology class finally started, forcing the girl to quiet down to listen. She found her energy a bit exhausting.
Her stomach growled as the final classes ended for the day, she had barely eaten during the lunch break. She took half a sandwich and went in search for the library, getting herself totally lost. After wandering for what seemed like an eternity, she finally reached her destination, only to have to turn around and resume her classes.
She still had a few hours until dinner, so she decided to distract herself from her hunger with some more research to solve her dorm situation. So far her most promising lead had been the sleeping draught, but she wondered if it would be easier to cast a silencing charm instead. She pondered the options for the rest of the evening.
Unfortunately her second night at Hogwarts was also filled with nightmares.
So was nearly every night that followed for two weeks. She didn't remember the nightmares clearly, which was a sad consolation prize for her misery. The whole of the first year Slytherin class openly mocked her for her night terrors, and refused to acknowledge her outside of their mocking. In all her classes she sat consistently with members from other houses, even working on a few group projects with them out of sheer necessity. The Gryffindor Daniel Jones and the Hufflepuff Constance Green and her were even on almost friendly terms, chatting briefly after class.
A few of the second and third year Slytherin's made their disdain for this inter-house partnerships and associations clear, and gave her housemates more fuel to burn her with. Apparently it was frowned on by some Slytherins to associate too much with other houses.
It was abnormal for older students to take an interest in what went on in the years below them. An exception was made because of her open friendliness with the Weasley's, and her sister in Hufflepuff. Apparently neither Charlie nor Dora had endeared themselves to their Slytherin classmates.
She was lonely, isolated, and sleep deprived. But she was well fed, had a comfortable bed, and was finally back in the magical world. All in all she was actually quite content. She decided early on that the easiest way to quiet her nightmares (which were no longer nightly, but regular enough to still provide fodder for her roommates) was a simple silencing charm. Unfortunately it was a fifth year spell, and one she was finding very difficult to cast correctly and consistently.
In the short term while she practiced the silencing charm charm, she took a few measures to mitigate the scorn from her classmates.
She spent nearly every waking moment possible outside of the common room and their company. She often rose early, was one of the first people in the great hall for breakfast. She stayed either in the library reading or in the company of her sister or Charlie. When she was in the common room, after curfew had set, she would sit in an unoccupied, dusty corner and continue her research. She would stay there well into the middle of the night, sleeping the absolute bare minimum.
This schedule meant she had a relatively large amount of time to work on her course load assignments, often writing more than was set, and going deeper into the subject matter than was expected. She was quiet in class, never raising her hand and she never drew attention to herself. She accepted her first few O's quietly and tucked away the grades before anyone could see. It wasn't that she was embarrassed; it was more that she wanted to be invisible.
At first she was successful, Professor McGonagall almost gave her away when she gently scolded Cassiopeia in front of the whole class for writing an extra two feet for her assignment. A few of the more alert students caught the Professor's comment but it went mostly ignored.
Professor Snape was the next person to blow her cover, awarding her five house points for her understanding of the ingredients required in a sleeping draught, and for receiving the only 'O' in the class. He said it in his normal quiet drawl, catching the attention of a few more of her house mates, but they remained silent, both afraid of their head of house, and content that she earned them house points.
Professor Flitwick however obliterated her invisibility completely by loudly congratulating her on her latest essay mark, exclaiming that it was "simply the best first year essay I've ever had the pleasure of grading, going well beyond the scope of the question, bringing a level of understanding he expected of his more advanced students." He also awarded her 10 points for her essay and placed a list of books he thought she might find interesting.
She blushed under his praise, hiding behind her mess of curls, and ducked her head and slipped the list of recommendations into her robes with a quiet thanks. The whole class was staring at her, the Slytherins uncertain whether they should be rejoicing for the unexpected points, or if they should be jealous that they were not receiving such praise. She could practically hear the scheming a few of the Slytherin's were concocting as they absorbed this new information about her.
There was no indecision on the Ravenclaw side of the room. They were supposed to be the house that produced the brightest minds, and to hear that someone from another house was receiving such high praise, from their own head of house nonetheless, ignited indignation and competition amongst the first years. The silent Ravenclaw next to her had mostly ignored her during classes now stared at her with competitive hostility, crumpling her own 'E' marked essay. She was now the person everyone needed to beat.
She sighed in relief as the class ended, and she was one of the first ones to leave the room, grateful for the end of the day. She had originally planned on staying after class to ask Professor Flitwick for help with a problem that had been bothering her for weeks, but after his high praise she did not really want to draw more attention to herself.
Her professor's praise was thankfully only in those three classes. It wasn't that she was especially clever that she received the high marks, it was that she slept far less than the other students, and needed something to do to fill all the extra time in her day spent avoiding nightmares and her housemates. She had two friends; one she was related to and Charlie but both of them had their own lives and friends as well. The few people she spoke to were all in other houses and were wary of being openly friendly with a Slytherin.
She also took a greater interest in Charms and Transfiguration generally, and therefore spent a larger portion of her time researching these subjects. Her potions mark was unusual, as it was on a potion she was particularly interested in. She was an average student at best, a touch impatient for the delicate art. Herbology was a joke, as no matter what theoretical knowledge she carried, she seemed to kill everything. She spent most of her History of Magic class researching other things, the same with Defence Against the Dark Arts, a class she found too easy, mostly casting simple spells to create sparks and learning about a few dark creatures. Later in the year she read they would learn some basic jinx's. She spent this class researching various hexes and their counter spells. She took a passing interest in Astronomy, but the constellations reminded her too much of the Black family for her to take any real joy in it.
Professor Flitwick's praise made her realise that she would have to reign in her research interests for the subject. She would have to spend less time working on her assignments and instead focus on a few other research problems she had. Namely the one that she was originally going to ask the Professor about before he called her out.
Her Walkman. Muggle technology didn't work at Hogwarts, and she refused to believe that it was that simple. She also refused to believe that every muggle born student had just blindly accepted that fact and moved on. Magic could do just about everything. It was inconceivable that the only thing magic couldn't beat was muggle technology.
It was another few weeks that her classmates scheming came to a head. It happened after Herbology. She was walking back to the castle slowly, listening to Constance Green talk excitedly about her first successful ride on a broomstick earlier in the day. Cassiopeia was quiet as the girl talked, finding her enthusiasm mildly amusing, and stimulating enough to distract her from her weariness. The longer she was at Hogwarts, the more Cassiopeia struggled with her sleep deprivation. It was harder to keep her schedule with coffee only available early in the morning. She was approaching what she called 'the wall' where staying awake became an almost impossible task. Falling asleep in such a state however tended to lead to more vivid dreams, generally of the unpleasant sort.
In her current state it took her a second to realise that Constance's steady stream of chatter had halted suddenly. She looked at the girl curiously, noticing for the first time the red flush crawling up her neck. She had her arms crossed tightly over her chest and she was hunched into herself, staring steadily at the ground coldly. With a slight shock she saw the girl looked like she was holding back tears.
"Honestly, I'm shocked the old school brooms could even hold up something so big, especially someone who is barely a witch."
It was Arlene Roberts, the Slytherin first year who seemed to lead on the taunts on Cassiopeia. Her eyes glittered maliciously as she mocked Constance from behind.
"Honestly, you would think someone like that would at least diet or something. Any more weight and her broom will definitely buckle under her."
Matilda Cook, another Slytherin first year who became fast friends with Arlene, joined in with the teasing of the Hufflepuff. Cassiopeia glanced at Constance, who she noticed for the first time had a little bit of her baby fat on her form. But she wasn't overweight by any means. She also knew that the magic cast on broomsticks could easily hold the largest of witches and wizards. Constance's face burned, and a small tear slipped out as she increased her walking speed, attempting to get away from the pair of girls.
"Aw, look at the little heifer, she's starting to cry! Now we know why she's friends with Tonks. They probably cry together, arguing over who misses their mommy more."
Cassiopeia felt a hot flash of anger lance through her as she saw how Arlene's words had upset the girl, who was now beginning to sniff loudly as two girls continued to laugh.
"Why don't you go back to the muggle world where you belong Green, and do us all a favour. Your kind doesn't belong here." Arlene's words were sharp and their effect on Constance was instant. The girl curled in on herself, tears now falling freely down her face, and she looked like she was about to run at any moment. She felt another hot lance of anger jolt her as she spun to face the two girls.
"Shut. It." Her voice was low, cold. Those that knew Cassiopeia well understood there was violence in the tone. Unfortunately for them, the girls did not know Cassiopeia well at all.
They laughed in response, "Or what? You'll cry to your mommy?" Matilda guffawed.
"Or maybe you'll really prove you're a blood traitor and turn on your house and turn us in." Arlene eyed Cassiopeia and smirked, the other Slytherin first years, and a few from other houses were starting to notice the confrontation and were stopping to look.
Cassiopeia twitched at the blood traitor accusation, a knee jerk instinct from her childhood. She understood what type of witch Arlene Roberts was in that moment. Unfortunately for Arlene, she had no idea what type of witch Cassiopeia was.
"Just let it go, please, Cass" sniffled Constance lowly, who was looking off in the distance, as she tugged uselessly on Cassiopeia's robes.
Cassiopeia twitched again at the nickname; it was the only response she gave to the Hufflepuff's plea.
"What're you going to do Tonks? Are you really going to choose that..." she eyed Constance with open disgust now, "Thing, over your own housemates? It is bad enough to associate with dirt like the Weasley blood traitors, but Mudblood's? Hufflepuff Mudbloods." Arlene made a sound of revulsion in the back of her throat as she looked at Constance and Cassiopeia as if they were muck on the bottom of her shoe.
The crowd shifted nervously, she could practically feel the anger and discomfort spectators felt at the girl's speech. A few reached even reached for her wands. She also could feel the shame and mortification pouring off said Hufflepuff, who was still insistently pulling on her robes. The blood pounding in her ears cooled as the Arlene spoke, and her breathing evened out as she moulded her intense dislike for the girl into something useful.
"I gave you a chance to shut it."
It was all she said before drawing her wand and hexing the two girls. She was efficient in her spell work; every incantation was said with intent, with anger and dislike. It was one thing to bully her, she didn't care what they said about her nightmares, she could handle it. But they had hurt her friend, a girl who couldn't and wouldn't defend herself, and for that she wanted revenge.
She was ruthless, within seconds both girls were hanging upside down in the air, completely violet coloured, and covered with large, painful looking pus filled sores across their swollen face. Both girls were crying in pain.
"Who's crying now Roberts?" Cassiopeia asked coolly, pocketing her wand.
It couldn't be called a fight, as the two girls never stood a chance. Cassiopeia smirked darkly as she took a few moments to appreciate how her hexes reacted poorly with each other; the skin colouring had been a happy surprise. The crowd of students that had gathered laughed at the change in circumstances.
"Just what is—Heavens! Miss Tonks, what do you think you're doing?" Professor McGonagall interrupted her appreciation of her work.
The laughter died instantly. Her face was white with rage and shock as she drew her own wand and lowered the two girls gently to the ground.
"Off to the hospital wing you two! Collin's make sure they get there alright." The Professor ordered, an older Slytherin boy reluctantly stepped out of the crowd and shuffled the now crying girls towards the castle.
"Miss Tonks, my office. Now." Her words were sharp and her eyes blazed with anger.
"She was just defending me professor, they started it, honest." Constance looked in horror between her friend and the livid professor.
"You'd better come too Miss Green. Mr Jones, if you would please go and fetch Professor Snape and inform him that I have one of his students in my office. You two follow me. Now." She didn't wait for anyone to protest her commands, and the crowd was quickly dispersing in fear of the angry Scots woman.
Daniel Jones, the Gryffindor first year, looked particularly sick as he went off to find the Slytherin head of house.
Professor McGonagall was silent during the walk to her office. She ordered them to stay there and wait for her return, before stepping through her fireplace to the hospital wing to check on the two other Slytherin girls.
The office was silent, save for the ticking of a clock in the far corner. Cassiopeia schooled her face into a carefully blank expression, and she took a few deep breaths to re-centre herself. Now that her anger and adrenaline had worn off, her previous exhaustion returned in full.
Constance sat in a chair and stared hard at the floor. "You didn't have to do that." She murmured quietly.
Cassiopeia glanced at the girl, raised an eyebrow on her blank face, and remained silent. It was a ridiculous statement that did not require an answer.
"You could be expelled! You attacked another student? How do you even know hexes like that?" Cassiopeia forced the blank look back onto her face and she shrugged, remaining silent.
The silence hung heavy in the air between the two for another few moments, before Constance broke it again with a 'Thank you' that was said so quietly that she had to strain to hear it.
She shrugged again, carefully looking at a random spot on the wall, "that's what friends are for."
It was a simple statement, said so quietly the other girl wasn't sure what she heard at first, but the tension broke when she finally understood, with a bright smile.
The lightness lasted only a few moments before the fireplace blazed again and out stepped a still very angry Professor McGonagall followed by a highly annoyed Professor Snape. Cassiopeia returned her eyes to a point on the wall just above the professors' heads, forcing the careful blank expression back onto her face.
"I've just checked on Miss Roberts and Miss Cook. Madame Pomfrey is putting them right as we speak. The girl's are both shaken but are expected to make a full recovery. They both claim that you attacked them entirely unprovoked, and that you have been making antisocial threats to them for weeks." Professor McGonagall took a seat at her desk, her face still white with anger. Professor Snape remained standing, carefully analysing the Slytherin first year.
"If it were up to me Miss Tonks expulsion would certainly be on the table—" she was interrupted by Constance, "They're lying professor. Cassiopeia was just protecting me." She flushed as she realised she had interrupted a very angry head of house, but continued anyways.
"They were teasing me, making fun of my weight, and for being muggle born. They also said some other things about her that I didn't understand, but sounded bad." She hunched in on herself as she finished her defence, her face flaming red now.
"And just what did they say to you Miss Tonks." Professor Snape asked, her eyes flicked to him briefly in curiosity, there was something hidden in his tone as he said her name, but she couldn't place it. She returned her eyes back to the stone wall, and shrugged, "I don't recall professor."
Constance stared at her in shock, "Cassie, don't you remember what they said? Something about that Weasley Gryffindor you're friendly with. They also called you a, what was it, blood traitor? And she said—she said something about—" Constance tried desperately to remember the word, "mud something, Professor honest, they were bullying her. Us."
"Is this true Miss Tonks? Were you acting out of defence of your friend? Did they really say those things?" Professor McGonagall's lips were pursed into a thin white line as she scrutinised the silent girl in front of her.
Cassiopeia remained silent as she weighed her options. She could maybe get a lighter punishment if she confessed the truth. But it would mean telling on her housemates. She would forever be known as a snitch, and she had been around long enough to understand that things worked a little different in the Slytherin house than it did in others. They might forgive her for a lot of things, but selling out her housemates would forever mark her for the rest of her schooling career.
She shrugged lightly, "I'm sorry Professor, I simply don't recall." She ignored Constance's shocked outrage.
Professor McGonagall's eyes hardened, "I expected better from you Miss Tonks, especially in light of your otherwise excellent behaviour. The manner in which you attacked your fellow students, house mates nonetheless, is of such severity that if it were up to me, we would be having a talk with the Headmaster right now."
Her heart started to beat faster, she had only just gotten to Hogwarts and now they were going to expel her? Surely the Tonks' would disown her, and send her back to the muggle orphanage where they found her. Maybe she could convince them to send her somewhere else?
Professor Snape interrupted her anxious scenarios, "It is however not up to you Minerva. As a student of my house, I will handle this matter." He looked at Cassiopeia closely, scrutinising her. "I think one month of detention should suffice. She can think about her decisions while scrubbing cauldrons and disembowelling toads." His tone was smooth, with a hint of challenge in it. She let out a light breath of relief; she was safe, for now.
Professor McGonagall was not happy with the punishment Professor Snape had handed out, the two heads stared each other down for a few heart beats before she backed down, "She is your student Severus, however if she steps another toe out of line, ill take her to the headmaster myself. I'll be watching you Miss Tonks, is that clear."
"Yes professor." Her face remained blank and her tone was even. She could tell Constance wanted to protest more, but she was sufficiently intimidated by the heads and confused at her friends sudden memory loss that she remained silently seething at the injustice of it all.
"My office tonight, 8 pm. Do not be late." Professor Snape said before leaving abruptly through the fireplace, his business complete.
Professor McGonagall gave them a hard stare as the two girls exited her office.
A/N Sorry for being gone for a little while! I am still working on this however updates may be a little slower as i've finally found another job. We've also caught up to where ive written to. I thought id treat you guys to a long-ish chapter to make up for it. I do have an outline for the story and I know where its going at least through the first year. I also have some interesting themes to explore as she grows up but we'll get there when we get there. Please review if you are enjoying this, and especially if you are not!
Enjoy!
Tibys