Cassiopeia barely left her room for her first week home. She laid in her own bed, her headphones firmly in place, eagerly reading the slip of paper in each cassette tape, eagerly trying to memorize every lyric from her favourite artists. She left to shower and to eat, and for little else.

After breakfast one morning Andromeda put her hand heavily on Cassiopeia's shoulder moments before she was planning on bolting back up to her room to continue her new album, from a band that was very quickly becoming her favourite.

"Not so fast young lady. Today we are going to leave the house, at least for a little while."

"But—"

"No buts, you haven't left the house since you've been back. You need fresh air."

"And I have a surprise for you girls." Ted added, a wide smile spread across his face.

"A surprise dad? What is it?" Nymphadora exclaimed, her hair turning bright pink in anticipation.

"Well, come out front and see for yourself," he rose from the table with a clap of his hands and led the way. Cassiopeia sighed, glanced longingly up towards her bedroom, and reluctantly followed the man out front.

She felt sick when she saw his surprise for them. Standing, gleaming and beautiful were two bicycles, one green and one yellow, with matching bright helmets. Nymphadora was already cooing over her bicycle, excitedly running back into the house to get what she called the perfect accessory. She emerged with a playing card and clip, quickly affixing it to her bike frame. She hopped on top and took it for a quick ride onto the street and back, waving off her parents shouts to be careful of any oncoming traffic. She crowed with glee and giggled at the sound of the playing card slapping against the spokes of her tyre.

Both her parents laughed as they watched their daughter ride in circles up and down the street, all the while keeping a wary eye out for any cars. Though they were in a detached house off on its own, it was still in a muggle town, near a muggle neighbourhood, with the odd bit of traffic.

"I er, I think ill pass." Cassiopeia muttered, slowly taking steps backwards into the house, her stomach roiling.

Andromeda frowned at the girl in frustration, "honestly Cass, you haven't even tried it yet. I would have thought you would have been overjoyed. These bikes mean that you and Dora can ride together to the arcade or the cinema or wherever you girls want for the summer, within reason."

Cassiopeia shook her head, "er, no thanks." She took another few steps backward.

"At least get on the bleeding bike, we spent quite a lot of time putting them together for you to not even get on it," Andromeda was irritated now, putting her hands on her hips.

"Uh, well, I didn't ask for a bike. I don't want one. I'm fine with walking." Nymphadora had cycled back up the drive and was perched proudly on her bike, panting with her recent exertions.

"Come on Cassiopeia, it'll be so much fun! Try yours out!" the girl called, a wide grin splitting her face.

Cassiopeia scowled darkly at the trio, her hand hovering on the doorknob behind her back.

"I said no, I don't want the bike. Just take it back."

"Cassiopeia Meissa Tonks." Andromeda snapped, her face clouding with anger, it seemed Cassiopeia had finally reached the end of the woman's patience. "You are being extremely rude and ungrateful right now. Ted has been planning this for over a month."

"I said I didn't want it!" Cassiopeia snapped, throwing open the door and running inside, her face flushed red with anger. She stomped her way up the stairs, cursing her burning eyes.

"Cassiopeia!" shouted Andromeda from the entryway of the small house, "Cassiopeia if you keep walking away from me, you will be grounded. That means no owls, no trips to the arcade, and no dessert!"

She continued her way to her room.

"Fine, you're grounded!"

"Fine, whatever!" she slammed the door shut behind her.

"For a month!" she heard Andromeda shout from below.

"Brilliant!" she shouted back

Cassiopeia didn't hear if Andromeda had said more in her anger as she placed her headphone firmly in place and hit play a little for aggressively than normal. She curled up in her bed and stared angrily at her blank wall, cursing the Tonks for the first time during her stay.

The next morning she was met with stony silence and a thick tension filled the air over breakfast. Cassiopeia came downstairs with her headphone still in place, bobbing her head to the rhythm. Andromeda glared at the girl and Ted frowned.

"Cassiopeia, take those blasted things off." Andromeda snapped, "no headphones at the breakfast table."

The girl kept bobbing her head; oblivious to anything her aunt was telling her.

"Merlin's beard," the woman muttered before leaning over the table and pushing the headphone off. Cassiopeia's dark eyes snapped to the woman, glaring angrily.

"I was listening to that." She muttered, irritated.

"We don't listen to music at the table." She snapped back.

The silence continued, thick and oppressive. The sound of cutlery against the plates punctuated the silence, drawing more attention to it. Andromeda threw Cassiopeia looks periodically through breakfast, her eyebrows raised. Finally she had enough.

"Well, are you going to apologise for you behaviour yesterday?" Andromeda snapped

Ted and Nymphadora both stopped eating; glancing at each other nervously before turning to watch the battle of wills unfold in front of them.

"For what?"

It was the wrong thing to say, Andromeda's face clouded in anger, "for being rude to both myself and Ted. Your behaviour is simply unacceptable, and you will not be enjoying this summer holiday if you continue to act that way."

She shrugged, staring the older woman down, meeting her challenge. Andromeda was struck in that moment with the similarities between this girl and her sister. Bellatrix had the same rebellious and independent streak.

"Or you'll do what? Curse me?" she challenged, her eyes cold and assessing, she glanced at Ted quickly to gauge his reaction. She was taut, her muscles at the ready to flee quickly or to fight if needed.

The words hit Andromeda light a hammer, her face crumpling, and the illusion of her sister was shattered and was instead replaced with the broken girl that was in front of her. Ted's frown deepened and Nymphadora shifted nervously, uncertain about the events unfolding in front of her.

"Don't be ridiculous, we would never curse you Cassiopeia." Andromeda sounded tired as she pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation, feeling the very beginning of a headache forming.

"But we will punish you. If you don't apologise." She warned.

Cassiopeia shrugged again, relaxing only a little. "I didn't ask for a bike and I don't want one. I thought I made that clear." She was blunt in her assessment.

"Cass, that's not the point" she sighed, "you were very rude yesterday."

It seemed the girl didn't care; she shrugged half a shoulder and lowered her eyes back to her plate of food.

"Fine, you're leaving me no option. Give me your tape deck now young lady."

That got her attention, Cassiopeia shot up in her chair, her face flushing as she clutched her precious music player to her chest, "No, you cant do that."

"Hand it over now."

She held it closer, shaking her head.

"Accio Walkman." The spell was muttered so fast that Cassiopeia had no time to react beyond a violent flinch at the sight of the woman's wand.

"No! That's not fair! That's mine!" now she was angry, screaming at Andromeda, reaching desperately over the table to grab at her music. Andromeda back up and vanished the tape deck before Cassiopeia could grab it, "You'll get it back in a week. Sooner if you apologise and show us you really mean it."

The girl was beyond reason, seeing red, she screamed in frustration, turning on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen, shouting incoherently the whole way.

"One week!" Andromeda shouted after the fleeing girl, "To the hour!"

Cassiopeia scream back in response.

"Longer if you keep that up!"

She shouted once more before slamming the door to her bedroom.

"And stop slamming the bloody doors! Two weeks!" The woman shouted after her niece.

"What are you two looking at?" She snapped at her husband and daughter. The two stared at Andromeda with wide eyes before they both hurriedly turned their attention back to the now very cold food in front of them, studiously avoiding the wrath of the woman.

Andromeda sat down with a huff and stabbed at her eggs angrily, no longer hungry.

Xxx

Cassiopeia barely emerged from her room for the next two days, and when she did she glared hatefully at everyone around her. She limited all her interactions with the other household members, responding to questions and conversation with only syllable answers or deafening silence. Ted frowned at the girl, trying to understand why she had been so upset to begin with, what had been the catalyst for her bad behaviour.

After all Cassiopeia had always been very obedient, to the point of being unusual and unnatural. Children were supposed to be rebellious, opinionated, and difficult. Since Cassiopeia had come to live with them she had been none of those things. She was always courteous and well mannered, a mature and serious child who generally took nothing for granted. Certain actions and reaction Cassiopeia had towards seemingly common occurrences made his heart ache, and simple gestures often times were met with wide eyed gratitude or outright surprise. He would never forget her first morning with them, with her bag already packed, accepting that they were going to return her to the orphanage after her nightmare.

She was always quiet and sceptical at first when given unexpected presents, that her reaction to the bicycle present confounded him. Could it be that she was finally acting more like a stubborn child? Or was it something else?

A sudden realisation hit him like a bolt of lightening.

Of course. They were bloody idiots.

The next day Ted encouraged Andromeda to take Dora out for a ride in the park and packed a picnic basket for them so they could enjoy an unusually warm summer day. Andromeda made an act of protesting, suggesting she should stay home with her niece, but Ted insisted, and packed a small bottle of Pimm's and a box of frozen fruit with a cooling charm in the basket with a wink. Andromeda adored the stuff on a hot day.

After kissing his wife and daughter goodbye, he glanced upstairs where he knew his niece was sulking and let out a determined sigh. It was now or never.

Ted tentatively knocked on the girl's bedroom door and was met with silence.

"Cassiopeia? Can I come in?" he called softly.

Nothing.

"Andromeda and Dora are out for today. It's just me and you? I thought we could spend some time together." He called out.

Silence.

"I have your tape deck."

The door was pulled open suddenly, Cassiopeia stood with her face hidden by her hair, scowling at the man and searching his person for her beloved tape player.

Ted held it up in one hand, just slightly out of her reach. "I promise ill give it back if you answer one question truthfully."

She frowned and he could see her weighing her options, staring almost hungrily at the music. She reluctantly gave a jerky nod.

"Cassiopeia, and I promise nothing you say will change my opinion of you, you are amazing and wonderful and so strong."

She scoffed impatiently, "really Ted?"

He swallowed, trying and failing to find a delicate way to ask his question.

"Just spit it out," she growled, "please" she added as an afterthought, glaring at the man.

"Cass, you don't know how to ride a bike, do you?"

He barely glimpsed her face, the way it flushed with embarrassment before glaring violently before the door was slammed in his face, all thoughts of the tape player suddenly gone out of her mind.

He knocked on the door again, "it's not the end of the world Cass! And it's definitely not too late to learn." He said through the wood.

"What kind of 12 year old doesn't know how to ride a bike?" he felt her slump against the door, her voice dejected. "Its just another thing that makes me different."

"Loads of people don't know how to ride a bike. And I can teach you. It'll be our thing"

She laughed bitterly, "Ted, you are strange. It's too late for me to learn how to ride a bike. I don't mind walking places, or flying or apparating when I'm older."

"Come one, let's go, right now. The garden should be wide enough for you to start learning. I bet we can make good progress on this by the end of the day."

He heard her groan loudly and thump her head against the door, "cant you just give me my music and forget this ever happened?"

"Not a chance kiddo, it'll be grand! Ill open a few cans of soda or whatever fizzy drinks we bought, and we can teach you. I bet by the end of summer nobody will know. This can be our thing!" He sounded excited by the prospect.

Silence.

"Did you just call me kiddo?"

Ted grinned, "Sure did kiddo. Come up, out you get, ill get the drinks, you grab your bike and meet me out back."

Cassiopeia listened to him bound down the stairs in shock, that was it? She hesitated, uncertain of her next steps. She warred between embarrassment and a deep longing. Secretly she had always been slightly envious of the children zooming around on her bicycles around the town. She had once tried to get on a bike, thinking it couldn't be too difficult if some of the dunderheads could do it. After quickly losing control and crashing into a tree, she had thrown the bike across the street and had vowed to never try again, and that it was all overrated.

Reluctantly she opened her door and peered down the stairs.

Perhaps she would give it another try, only to appease Ted obviously.

It took most of the day, but by the time Andromeda and Nymphadora returned from their day out, she was able to ride without falling over with some semblance of control.

She was still grounded, but Ted never told anyone of how they spent the day, and he didn't confiscate the tape player.

And he had grinned through the whole day, pleased to finally have a moment with his niece that he hoped helped her feel more like part of the family. Because to him, she was as good as a second daughter, and he dearly wished for her to feel the same about him.

Xxx

Once her punishment was lifted Cassiopeia spent her summer riding her new bike slowly to the arcade, still very uncertain on two wheels. She listened to music in her room, read books, and wrote to her two best friends, occasionally speaking to Constance on the muggle landline.

She also kept up a correspondence with Narcissa Malfoy, she had been cautious around the woman at first, but soon she found herself opening up more and more with the older woman. Andromeda was always there to talk to if she needed, but she noticed that with some topics Andromeda would tread carefully around her, tip toeing over subjects she worried would upset Cassiopeia. It was a trait that Cassiopeia found intolerable, she didn't want pity and she didn't want people treating her like broken goods. Instead of helping her, it served as a reminder that she was different, that she was broken, and that she was different.

Ted was always open and treated her as part of the family, always upbeat, cheerful, and cheesy, but there were some things, some questions, that he was a touch too innocent for. Cassiopeia was a curious girl, always wanting to learn, always trying to be stronger, and she had little regard for traditional idea of good and bad magic. Ted was simply too nice to have deeper discussions with. And she worried that if she were to open up about some of her interests to Ted, that they'd get cold feet about having her as part of the family, and send her back to the orphanage. Despite repeated promises that they would never do such a thing, Cassiopeia had accepted a long time ago that she was not a good or kind person, and she lived in terror of the day when the Tonks realised that.

And Nymphadora, well, she was a very sheltered child. Cassiopeia envied that with her, and she limited her contact with her cousin, not wanting to inadvertently break that innocence. It was clear that the Tonks had not told their daughter much beyond the basics about her situation, in fact, she wasn't even entirely certain that Dora even knew much about her real parents, other than they were currently in Azkaban.

Narcissa Malfoy was like Cassiopeia; she was neither good nor kind. She was shrewd, cunning, and with her she was very straightforward. Narcissa was someone Cassiopeia could talk to and relate to on a personal level. She could be herself and be free of judgement, she could be curious about the more questionable aspects of magic, and Narcissa encouraged this in the girl. Cassiopeia also spoke to Narcissa about her personal problems at Hogwarts, the bullying, and the measures she was taking to respond to these bullies. She knew the Tonks would give her some malarkey about being the better person, or rising above or some nonsense. Narcissa gave her ammunition, information about her foes that Cassiopeia could use, weaknesses that she could exploit.

Narcissa was teaching her to be cunning the way purebloods should be. She was trying to instil lessons in social warfare. The way polite society fought, with double meanings and false niceties. Cassiopeia was uncertain at first about the effectiveness of such methods, but she was convinced when she was having tea in Diagon Alley with Narcissa and saw it in practice.

Narcissa promised Cassiopeia one of the finest cream teas that could be found in the wizarding world, at a posh café located just off the high street of Diagon Alley. The café was busting, with all the tables booked, and hopeful patrons being turned away by the waiter, who calmly explained to each guest that the establishment was fully booked for the foreseeable future, with no openings expected. One couple were dressed finely at the entrance, the man looked highly uncomfortable, a touch of red warming his cheeks as the woman argued with the greeter that they did indeed make a reservation over six months ago, and that there was no way it was not in the books.

The man alternated between apologising to the greeter and trying to convince the woman to try another establishment, "Come on Bev, there are plenty of nice places to go to." But the woman was not having any of it, insisting that there must be some mistake.

The woman gave a start as Narcissa walked smoothly up, smiling pleasantly at the door greeter, cutting across the woman expertly. "Marshall dear, how are you this afternoon." The waiter, dressed in sharp black robes turned to Narcissa, the irritation on his face instantly being replaced with a charming smile, "Mrs Malfoy, always a pleasure, your table will be available momentarily, will you be having your usual?"

"Yes, for two, my niece will be joining me." H gave a deep nod before running off into the restaurant presumably to prepare for their arrival.

"Narcissa! It's been too long." The woman, Bev, exclaimed, smiling eagerly at the pair.

Narcissa's smile turned sharp as she took in the woman before, "Beverly, a pleasure as always. My what a bold outfit, I admire your bravery. A special occasion?" she asked politely.

The woman's smile faltered briefly, "Our fifteen year anniversary. You remember Albert don't you?"

"Of course, Albert Williams isn't it? My husband mentioned your unfortunate incident at the ministry recently, my condolences. Of course Lucius tried to put in a good word, but you know how these things go." She said airily, Albert's face turned a bright red, his mouth opening and closing, trying to find an appropriate response. He never had the chance, as Beverly tightened her grip on her husbands arm, effectively silencing him

"Of course, you must thank Lucius for his help. They seemed to have lost my reservation, how long ago did you have to make yours? Must have been ages ago." The woman babbled, smiling a little too widely for Cassiopeia's taste.

"I don't have one." She said lightly, smiling.

Beverly's smile dropped properly, her gaze turning to Cassiopeia, who fought every instinct shy away from the attention.

"I wasn't aware you have a niece Narcissa, is she at Hogwarts?"

"Slytherin house naturally, about to start her second year, Cassiopeia." Narcissa proudly put her hand on her shoulder, pushing her into the limelight.

"Oh how wonderful! She must know our daughter; she is in the same house, just a year above her. Justine Williams?" She looked eagerly at Cassiopeia, waiting for her to confirm.

Cassiopeia frowned slightly as if in thought, taking inspiration from her aunt, "The name isn't sticking out in my mind." She shrugged lightly, "must not have made much of an impression."

Cassiopeia did know her daughter; Cassiopeia had hoisted her upside down in the hallway in anger after being on the receiving end of an annoying jinx from the girl, all part of the campaign against her. If she recalled correctly, the girl cried.

Beverly's face fell, and the door greeter returned, informing them that their table was ready for them, and apologising for the short wait. Narcissa waved him off, smiling, "it was nice to see you Beverly. Good luck with your reservation. Otherwise I'm sure the Three Broomsticks will provide a great anniversary meal. Albert, good luck." And with that they left the now embarrassed woman and followed the waiter to a table tucked away on a semi-private balcony.

Narcissa laughed delightfully when Cassiopeia confided in Narcissa that she did indeed know the woman's daughter, and promised to send Cassiopeia of book of the 'most delightful spells'.

It had been the start of a very pleasant day with her aunt, despite her aunt's insistence to go shopping for another few sets of robes, and a surprise visit to a salon, Cassiopeia was really enjoying talking with Narcissa. Though she really did not understand why she needed quite so many sets of robes.

Instead of taking the Floo, Narcissa insisted that one of her house elves accompany her to the house, just to drop off her shopping bags. Cassiopeia wasn't necessarily given a choice in the matter; her arrival home caused both Ted and Andromeda to jump nearly completely out of their chairs in surprise. Nymphadora scowled and rolled her eyes before excusing herself from the dinner table to go read a magazine in her room.

Cassiopeia shrugged apologetically, and spent the rest of the evening playing a silly board game with Andromeda and Ted, Nymphadora remained in her room.

A/N A quick update, mainly fluff. I just wondered what fundamental things did she miss out on, growing up? I mean do wizards ride bikes? when do they learn? Do they alter them (of course they are altered!). I am going to fly through a few of her next school years, spending at most one or two chapters for each until she gets a little older. Things are slowly changing but will remain mostly fluff until she is in the her fourth year really. Then I think ill slow down again. She is still naive and young, as adolescence hits and as she matures more, some self reflection will and maturing relationships will become significant.

As ever, reviews help reassure me that I am not just writing into the void! I would love to hear peoples thoughts, criticisms, and of course if you find any errors or typos.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Tibys