Hello! I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews, you all are brilliant:) And here is the next chapter, I hope you like it.

Except for the unfriendly atmosphere among the boys and girls of the first years and the hostile looks that Sirius and Cassiopeia were getting, the feast was wonderful. Cassiopeia was used to the pompous meals she had been eating at home, and since her family lived in France, a big part of their meals was French and she couldn't say she liked it. Especially when they Escargot had been served, she would always found a way to ditch dinner, or at least pretend to eat and smuggle the disgusting meal into her room, where she could dispose of it. But here all of the food was delicious. She couldn't get enough of such a simple meal as was roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and both Lily and Mary were wondering how could she eat so much. Then the leftovers of the main curse vanished and instead the desserts appeared. Muffins were great but Cass found liking in the wide range of ice creams, which were a rare commodity on the table of her parents. However, as she reached for a last bit of an apple pie, she met another hand. The hand belonged to Sirius, who was reaching for the same bit. They both were holding the plate and neither of them seemed to be willing to let go.

"How long are we going to be holding onto the same plate?" Sirius asked in a bored manner.

"Just until you decide to let go of it." Cassiopeia said.

"Why would I? I got it first."

"You obviously did not." she argued back.

"Besides, I won't let go of my favourite snack." Sirius said.

"I like apple-pie as well."

"Yeah, I noticed. But I noticed you like almost everything." He remarked. But instead of getting even angrier, Cass sighed and bit her lip.

"Is it really your favourite?"

"Would I fight for it if it wasn't?" Sirius raised his eyebrow.

"I suppose not. Alright then, you can have it." She said and let go of the plate.

"Wait." He said suddenly and she gave him a curious look. He took a fork, split the pie in two, and pointed at one piece. "It's yours but under one condition." He said and she gave him a guarded look.

"Condition? It's just a pie. I don't really have to have it." she shrugged.

"Maybe the condition isn't much. But then again, you wouldn't know if you don't listen to it."

"Alright. Tell me."

"Well, you know, both of us are in a rather…difficult situation right now, you know what I mean. It's not going to be easy. Maybe we should, uhm, stop being hostile to each other and…stick together rather than fight." He said and Cass looked at him inquisitively, trying to judge if he was being sincere.

"It can't hurt to be at least civil, I suppose." She said carefully but he reached his hand for her to shake it. She did shake it although she let go quickly as if afraid he was going to bite her. After that, he put one part of the pie onto her plate and she smiled gratefully.

"Great. I just hope you didn't agree only for the pie." he joked then and she gave him a smile, sincere for the first time and shook her head.

Finally, the feast was over, because Cassiopeia was feeling dead tired. Therefore, she was glad when they were told to follow the prefects into their dormitories. However, before she had a chance to follow Mary and Lily, she felt someone grab her shoulder in a strong grip and suddenly she was spun around. There she saw her sister, who looked downright furious.

"What the hell have you done?" she hissed at her and Cass almost recoiled.

"I haven't done anything."

"Mother and father will have your head for this." She threatened.

"But I didn't do anything! It's not my fault. I didn't tell the hat to send me into Gryffindor." Alright, so she lied a bit but no one had to know. But her sister didn't even seem to hear her.

"How could you get sorted into Gryffindor?" she spat the name. "Parents always said you're the shame of the family but this exceeds every stupid thing you have done!"

"I haven't done anything!" Cassiopeia cried out once again. She had enough of everyone repeating her what a disappointment she was! Until now, she didn't really know she had done anything that horrible to earn this. Right the contrary; she was bright, everything her tutors had been teaching her seemed rather easy to her and she even managed to gain some friends for the first time in eleven years! But obviously, her sister was of another opinion.

"Just wait when father and mother find out. They will have your head, you will see." Aurora said and left with her friends. Cassiopeia only sighed and quickly ran after her classmates. The last thing she needed was to get lost on the first night she had been here.

"Are you alright? I heard what your sister said." Sirius asked quietly when she joined the crowd. He was walking there with James Potter and other light-brown-haired boy but when he saw her walking by, he grabbed her arm so she fell into step with them.

"I think so. It's not the first time I was called a disappointment." She admitted.

"I know what you mean." He said.

"Your parents won't be very pleased either, will they?"

"They'll have a fit." He confirmed but Cass found a tiny hint of amusement in his voice. He had obviously found out sooner than her that he didn't have to obey his parents in every word and he was quite enjoying it.

"So…a Howler?" she asked knowingly and he sighed dramatically.

"I hope so but I fear of a hex in an envelope. At least mother's yelling would amuse everyone.

"You find your mother's screaming amusing?" she wondered and he snickered.

"Don't you? My mother's always so worked up it's really funny to watch her. Better than theatre, trust me."

"Alright. Well, good luck with the Howler then." She said and waved him good-bye.

Once in the Gryffindor common room, Cassiopeia was looking around in awe. She had never seen such a beautiful room. It seemed so warm and inviting. Her parents' house was dark and gloomy, just as her room, but everything in here seemed friendly. Cass found out she was sharing her dormitory with four girls. There were Lily and Mary, another blonde girl with friendly round face, who was called Alice and another shy, black-haired girl called Hestia. All of the girls unpacked their things immediately so their clothes wouldn't be totally rumpled. After finishing, their dormitory seemed even more friendly when it was full of their personal things. Cass didn't really have anything to decorate her bedside table with but all of the other girls put there photos, posters, flowers or other tiny reminders of home. Mary also decorated the walls around her bed with butterfly stickers and on Lily's bed, there was her beloved teddy bear called Nelly. After unpacking, the girls took turns in the bathroom.

"Cass, I can't believe you would be friends with such a prat as Sirius Black. He pushed you into the lake." Lily said as she was sitting on the edge of her bed and combing her long red hair. Cassiopeia crawled into her bed that was next to Lily's and shrugged.

"He's not that bad. The lake wasn't anything personal. And besides, we have a lot in common." She said and slipped under her soft covers. Lily gave her a puzzled look.

"What could you and Black possibly have in common?" Lily wondered. Cass figured she would have to explain her status to the Muggle-born girls and she was glad to do that now, when Alice was now asleep and Hestia was still in the bathroom.

"Well, you know that I come from a pureblood family and I told you that my whole family has been in Slytherin until now. The same was expected from me. Since I was born, I was told that our family was better because of our heritage. If my parents saw me talking to you now, I would be dead. I was also supposed to be in Slytherin, get my friends in Slytherin, get married to some pureblood wizard, and keep our bloodline pure. And the same goes for Sirius. Well, except the marrying-a-wizard thing, obviously."

"Wait, so you're not allowed to even talk to Muggle-borns?" Lily asked and Cass shook her head sadly.

"But I am not like that, really. I mean, I'm talking to you and I swear, I don't believe you're lower than me. I never honoured that pureblood rubbish my parents have fed me since my birth. But until now, I was usually too scared to contradict them." She finished sadly.

"So now, when you were sorted into Gryffindor…" Mary trailed off.

"It's like I turned my back on them; my older sister Aurora has already told me so."

"You have a sister here?" Mary asked and Cass nodded.

"In the fifth year. She's a Slytherin. My parents are really proud of her because she's everything they want us to be. I, on the other hand…"

"Oh, Cass." Lily gasped and got up from her bed and sat down on Cass' bedside. "Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.

"Just…just be my friend." Cass told her pleadingly and Lily smiled.

"I think I already am." She said and the two girls hugged.

"Hey! What about me?" Mary said and the two girls smiled at her.

"We can all be friends. And nothing will ever separate us." Lily said resolutely and so Mary joined them in a group hug.

"Are you excited about classes?" Cass asked them when both girls returned into their beds and Hestia came out of the bathroom.

"I am. I can't wait to learn some spells already. Do any of you know some already?" Lily asked and blew out her candle so the whole room was now dark.

"I know some. I learned since I was six but I couldn't really do any magic because my parents had my wand locked until yesterday." Cass said.

"That's so cruel." Mary said.

"Don't worry, Cass. Now you have us." Lily murmured as put Nelly to the headboard of her bed so it wouldn't get into the way during the night and she drifted off.

Sure enough, just as Sirius and Cass had predicted, only three days later a barn owl arrived and carried a vicious red envelope. Both Cass and Sirius watched it, curious to whom the envelope was ment. With relieved eyes, Cass watched the owl land in front of Sirius. He just snorted with amusement – his parents were so predictable – and ripped it open without much ado. Immediately, the loud shriek of his mother echoed through the Great Hall: 'SHAME OF THE FAMILY – DISGRACEFUL - AS GOOD AS BLOODTRAITOR – JUST WAIT WHEN YOU COME HOME!" When the Howler fell finally quiet, the whole Great Hall was tense, except for the Slytherin table, whose students were roaring with laughter. Especially Bellatrix was cackling hysterically.

"Only three minutes long? Mother's slacking." Sirius said with amusement but his friends were only watching him awkwardly. Their parents would never called them with such names as Sirius's mother was obviously using on daily basis. But Cass didn't have time to listen to their conversation anymore since she had noticed that a brown owl was sitting in front of her with a similar red envelope. While Sirius was talking to his friends, he noticed the owl in front of Cassiopeia and he gave her a wink. She winked back and then turned her attention back to her Howler. Better to get over with it.