Blood Traitor
Chapter 3
The Path to Hell
It seemed to Sirius that summer vacation had flown by in less than a blink. He'd made up with his mother two weeks after going to James's, just for their truce to end in a screaming match so loud Regulus, who was across the house taking a shower, run out in a towel to make sure they weren't killing each other. Needless to say Sirius quickly left for the Potter's. There, he and James made Mrs. Jamison's life a living Hell, the best-or worst, depending on your opinion-of their pranks featured stealing her underwear and hanging it like Christmas lights around the front of her house, and sneaking into her house just to put a singular red sock in her white load of laundry. Mrs. Jamison was still wearing mostly pink clothing by the end of the summer. Nevertheless, it was time to go back to Hogwarts and endure lectures, detentions, and, worst of all, homework. Not that Sirius did said homework anyway.
Despite the negativity towards the learning aspects of the school, Hogwarts was also a place of freedom for him. He could escape from his mother, from her expectation and rules; be free from the never ending scrutiny and judgement. Not only that, but he'd see Remus, James and Peter every day, although he saw James almost that much anyway. Hogwarts came with social detriments too, however. He'd be forced to see the tightening hold that people like Lucius Malfoy had on his brother. Forced to live up to a different set of expectations from different people. There was no escape in wandering the muggle world anymore, either. Hogwarts strictly forbids the students from leaving the premises without permission and a chaperone. Sirius could no longer pretend that he wasn't a wizard, but just one of seven billion muggles, no one special or important, just Sirius.
Lost in thought, Sirius stared at the wooden floors of the train on his way to meet James, Remus and Peter, and paid no heed to the passing greenery. Scotland truly was a beautiful place, full of wild, untamed magic. It showed through the sparkling, depthless waters, the emerald pastures, and natural wonders that seemed to be pulled straight from a faery tale. He grinned as he saw Peter making his way towards their designated compartment. Peter was in good spirits from visiting his grandmother, and unfortunately his grandmother's love of baking resulted in an increased waistline. The pair dashed forward, eager to meet their friends. Remus and James looked up from where they were chatting, greeting the new additions to the compartment with open arms and news of their summers. The topic swiftly changed to the planning of their mischief. Every year the boys were more and more daring, testing the limits of what they could do before there were serious consequences.
When there was a knock on the white sliding door there was a moment of silent astonishment from the boys. Most people knew to leave them to their scheming. Remus opened the door, and standing outside of it was a young, lithe girl. Sirius watched with idle interest, noting that her eyes never settled on a shade. "'Scuse me, but is it okay if I join you? Everywhere else is full." Her voice was melodic, but hesitant, obviously nervous around the elder boys.
Remus wasted no time in welcoming her in and making introductions, ever sure to be a gracious host and aware that it took a lot of courage for the girl to ask to join them. He inquired as to her name. "I'm Cassiopeia, but you can call me Cas," she answered, with a smile that was less anxious by the minute."
"So Cas, what year are you in?" James asked, feigning interest.
"This is my first year, I'm really nervous for the sorting ceremony. My brother wants me to become a Slytherin, but I'm quite fond of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor." She babbled, her bright smile dropping a bit. Sirius could barely contain his outrage. Slytherin! She wanted to be a Slytherin! Why she would want to be one of those blood thirsty bastards he would never know. Although, she did say it was her brother who wanted her to be a Slytherin and she preferred Gryffindor, perhaps there's a chance for her after all.
"You shouldn't be nervous. We all were originally, but the sorting hat knows what it's doing and we've flourished where we've been placed. No matter what it choses, I'm sure you will find your place. We're all Gryffindor's, and it's a great house, but so are the others." Again, Sirius could barely withhold a derogatory comment about the house of snakes. He never knew that James could be such a diplomat.
The girl's smile had returned just in time for the sweets trolley to come by. "Do you want anything Cas?" Sirius asked. Maybe he could sway her to the side of lions by buying her sweets.
"Oh no, I don't have any money with me, I left it in my trunk," she murmured, face flushing.
"That's not a problem, I can get you something. What would you like? Some chocolate frogs? Berty Bots every flavored beans? Sugar mice?" Sirius responded, charmingly. He deliberately ran a hand through his hair, making his formerly neat hair alluringly tousled. With charm like his, you just couldn't turn it off. Well that and you never knew how she'd look in a few years.
The girl shrugged and quietly responded, the red of her cheeks not fading, "Maybe some chocolate frogs." She hurried to add, "If it's no trouble for you, that is."
He bristled at the unintended slight, he knew that she didn't mean to imply that he was poor, after all he was a Black that would just be ridiculous. That didn't stop him from showing off a little though. Sirius turned to the trolley lady, "Thirty-five chocolate frogs, five packs of Berty Bots, and ten licorice snakes, please." Handing her his money, he smiled slightly roguishly at Cas. James, Peter and Remus made their orders, though Peter and Remus being wiser, didn't order as much. It was obvious that Peter was longing for the sweets, but he knew to fit in again he'd have to work on trimming down a bit.
Sirius handed all thirty-five of the chocolate frogs to Cas, and her eyes widened to comical proportions at the sight of all the chocolate. "Oh no, I can't accept all of these."
"It's fine, I don't like the chocolate from them, I only like the cards," he said, throwing her another of his signature smiles. "Tell you what, you give me the first card you get, and then we're even." It was quite apparent to Sirius that the girl was still recalcitrant about accepting the chocolate, although she agreed. Cas was sort of cute, in an understated sort of way. Her eyes were large like Bambi's (Sirius watched it because he was defying his mother and it was a steeple of muggle culture, he cried when Bambi's mom died) and made it seem like she was always in awe, and her ever changing hazel eyes made her look like she was hiding the secrets of the world in her mind. There was still a youthful chubbiness to her face, though and her moon white skin was littered with golden freckles.
He took all that in while she was engaged in conversation with the boys, remaining quiet for a bit, eventually chiming in with a witty remark and a flirtatious smile sent Cas's way. She was loosening up around them, starting to joke more and more freely the closer they got to Hogwarts, or as Sirius like to call it, Hell. The poor girl didn't know what she was getting into.
AN: Well, BN I guess. Hey guys! Sorry this took so long, Aciolympus and I had agreed to take turns writing the chapters, but her schedule has just been too full to manage. Thus, the most recent chapter is also by me. You'll notice that we've finally caught up to the beginning of Mixed Blood, the companion piece to this fic, which is from Cas's point of view. Hopefully the next few chapters will catch up to where we are currently in Mixed Blood and they'll be posted over the course of the week. So sorry for the wait. Happy belated Easter! And as always, I do not own Harry Potter, it is J. K. Rowling's to do with as she pleases. -the Beta/co-author
