Chapter 10 A/N I do not own Harry Potter, some lines are verbatim from the books.
The next morning at breakfast Cassie and Merlin got their schedules along with the rest of the students. They had double Herbology with the Gryffindors, first and then Charms with the Ravenclaws after that and History of Magic after lunch.
"Mail's due any minute-I think Gran's sending me a few things I forgot." a boy said from the table behind her.
Sure enough, Cassie's small boreal owl swooped in front of her, depositing the letter next to her plate, Cassie gave her a nibble of toast and some water and received an affectionate nip from her new pet. She opened the letter and read the contents quickly. Then re-read them again and again.
"Cassie? Are you okay?" Merlin asked from beside her, noticing her trembling hands.
"My grandfather died. Five days ago." she said dully, forgetting her toast and walking out of the Great Hall just as someone's Howler began walked towards the greenhouses alone, letting the tears fall, and giving herself time to compose herself for class. She sat down at one of the benches and took the letter out again. Her father had written her, the words were colder than a slab of granite in the Himalayas.
'My father has died in prison. You are the reason he's dead. You killed him. Any hope there ever was is now gone. You are no longer our concern. We will not pay for your tuition, and we will not be in contact ever again.'
She read those words over and over. 'You killed him.' She sat there alone with her thoughts for the longest time, but when she felt Merlin sit down next to her, she immediately burned the letter and schooled her expression to one of neutrality.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, his hand going up to her shoulder.
"I'm fine. Just waiting for Professor Sprout to open her classroom. Have to make a good impression and all." she said, her voice dull.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind giving you the day off if we tell her. He was your gran-"
"Stop! Okay, just stop it! I-I don't want the day off. I don't want to think about this, just leave me alone, Merlin. I mean it!" Cassie said forcefully, standing up and stalking away from him toward the other side of the vegetable patch to be alone.
"Oh, hello there! Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels..." Lockhart said with a broad smile as his robes billowed out behind him.
"Greenhouse three today chaps!" Professor Sprout called, obviously annoyed at the man, as she took out a key and unlocked the door. Cassie was just behind Harry Potter when Lockhart's arm shot out in front of her, stopping him in his progress and pulling him back .
"Harry! I've been wanting a word - you don't mind if he's a couple of minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?" he said incredibly arrogantly, ignoring Sprout's scowl and closing the greenhouse door on her, saying "That's the ticket."
"Get to your stations, everyone!" she called from the front of the room, looking around to make sure there were enough earmuffs to go around. When Harry slipped back inside, standing between Ron and Hermione, Sprout began her lesson.
"We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" she asked the class. Both Hermione and Cassie's hands shot up, although Hermione was much quicker at the draw.
"Miss Granger?" she acknowledged
"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative, it is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state." she practically recited from the textbook.
"Excellent, ten points to Gryffindor. The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?" she asked, looking at Cassie next, "Ms. Gratien?"
"A seedling's cry can knock you unconscious for a few hours, but a fully mature Mandrake's cry will be fatal to anyone who hears it." she answered in her heavy french accent.
"Excellent ten points to Hufflepuff. Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young. Seedlings, as Miss Gratien put it." she said, signaling towards the row of potted purplish-green plants in front of the students. "Everyone take a pair of earmuffs." she said, waiting as everyone scrambled for a pair that weren't pink and fluffy-except for Cassie, she loved all things pink and fluffy. "When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered. When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs up. Right, earmuffs on." she said, putting hers on as well.
Everyone watched as she grasped the plant tightly and pulled up, hard. To say the mandrakes were ugly was an understatement; they looked like small ugly babies and had leaves growing out their heads with pale green mottled skin. Sprout grabbed a larger pot from under the table and repotted the plant, burying the Mandrake in the dark, damp compost soil until only the leaves were visible. She gave everyone a thumbs up, signaling that they could remove their earmuffs.
"Make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up. Four to a tray - there is a large supply of pots here - compost in the sacks over there - and be careful of the Venemous Tentacula, it's teething." she instructed, acting as if she'd just watered a plant.
Cassie was paired with a pretty Gryffindor girl named Lavender, Merlin, and a round-faced Gryffindor named Neville. They all put their earmuffs on, getting to work as soon as everyone else was ready. Cassie liked the challenge of the Mandrakes, they kept her mind occupied, helping her ignore the prickly feeling she had behind her eyes. They spent the rest of class repotting Mandrakes, everyone was sweaty and covered in dirt by the end of class, the Gryffindors walking up to the castle to quickly wash up for their next class, while the Hufflepuffs went to the South Tower and had less time to get cleaned up.
Classes started normally, the monotone of the schedule keeping Cassie's feelings at bay. She had wanted to write her brother but no words came to her; she sat all through History of Magic thinking of what to write him and had ended up crossing out every word. When class was finally over, she gave a frustrated sigh and left, blithely avoiding Merlin. She was so preoccupied with losing Merlin that she wasn't paying attention where she was going and found that she had gotten herself completely lost.
She got lost a few times over the next few days, and much to her dismay, Professor Lockhart was the one who found her. He helped her find her way back to the lower levels, talking all the way about his adventures with the hags and how he won Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award five times. When he finally left her alone she let out the biggest sigh of relief ever and retreated to her dorm, not leaving until dinner time came.
The next day, Cassie woke up early and left to look around the grounds, trying to find a solitary spot for her to write a letter to her brother without Merlin's prying eyes. She remembered to take her hat with her, she had no doubt that she would be long in writing the letter and she didn't know if she would stay outdoors all day. She was exploring near the Quidditch pitch, hoping it would be as empty as the rest of the grounds, but found that she was sorely mistaken, the Gryffindor team had woken early and was walking into the changing rooms. Cassie groaned and went to leave, but thought better of it. She figured Merlin wouldn't think to look for her there, at least. She managed to get a very rough letter written, which took around an hour, before the Quidditch team emerged from the changing room. Hermione and Ron had shown up a half hour earlier and sat next to her.
The only problem was the Slytherins were also walking into the pitch.
"I smell trouble." Hermione said, standing up and going over to the two teams, Ron and Cassie following closely behind.
"Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"
"Plenty of room for all of us, Wood." Flint replied, smirking trollishly at him, ignoring when the rest of the team joined wood in outrage.
"But I booked the field! I booked it!" said Wood, positively spitting with rage.
"Ah, but I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. 'I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker'." Flint said, handing the note over to Wood.
"You've got a new seeker? Where?" Wood asked distractedly.
The Slytherin team parted to let the newest member to the front.
"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" said Fred, looking at Malfoy with dislike.
"Funny you should mention Draco's father, let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team." Flint said, holding the new brooms out arrogantly. "Very latest model. Only came out last month, I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps…" he said, looking at Fred and George nastily, "Sweeps the floor with them."
Malfoy was smirking so broadly his cold eyes were reduced to slits looking at the dumbfounded Gryffindors.
"Oh, look. A field invasion." said Flint as Cassie, Ron and Hermione arrived.
"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?" he said, sneering distastefully at the Slytherin Seeker.
"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley. Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team." Malfoy said, brandishing the brand-new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. "Good, aren't they? But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them." Malfoy said smoothly, his teammates howling with laughter.
"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in." Hermione said, Cassie nodding her head in agreement, even if she didn't know how true the words were. "They got in on pure talent."
"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," Malfoy spat, eliciting a variety of reactions from all present, namely anger in all the Gryffindors and disgust in the French girl. Fred and George even went to attack Malfoy, but were stopped as Flint dove in front of him.
"You'll pay for that one Malfoy!" Ron yelled, taking out his wand from his robes. He pointed it straight at Malfoy's face from under Flint's arm, but the broken wand backfired, and Ron flew backward with the jet of green light and loud bang.
"Ron! Ron! Are you all right?" Hermione asked as Cassie ran over to kneel by him. Ron went to speak, but gave a loud belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth, making Cassie cringe in disgust.
The Slytherin team were in hysterics; Malfoy literally on the ground banging it with his fist. The Gryffindor team all gathered around Ron, no one wanting to touch him as he kept belching large glistening slugs.
"We'd better get him to Hagrid's, it's nearest," Harry said, looking at Hermione. She and Cassie grabbed one of Ron's arms as Harry grabbed the other one and they led him to the gamekeeper's hut.
"What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill? But you can cure him, can't you?" Colin asked breathlessly, having run down from the stands at the loud bang. He followed beside them, his camera in his hands as Ron gave another heave and more slugs came out of his mouth. Cassie let go of Ron and went to control Colin's excitement.
"Oooh," said Colin, fascinated and raising his camera. "Can you hold him still, Harry?"
"Get out of the way, Colin!" said Harry angrily, Cassie gently lowering the camera from Colin's face as Harry barreled past. Once Harry was far enough away, Cassie let go of her hold on the camera and gave Colin a sympathetic look, following after the trio.
"Nearly there, Ron," Hermione said as they saw Hagrid's cabin at the edge of the forest. "You'll be all right in a minute - almost there-"
"They were a few feet away from the hut when the door opened, and out came none other than Lockhart in pale mauve robes.
"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing!" he said boisterously, "If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book. I'm surprised you haven't already got one - I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, good-bye!" Lockhart said, turning around and spotting Cassie walking towards the hut
"Ah! Ms. Gratien! Were you looking for me?" Lockhart asked her, not noticing the three huddled on the other side of the wall, waiting impatiently for him to leave.
"Yes, professor. I was." Cassie said reluctantly, those three owed her, big time! But then an idea struck her, "I've just come from your office looking for you, and it seems someone's let off a paint bomb. All your glorious portraits are ruined! I was so upset, " Cassie said, starting to hyperventilate, "I thought they were all ruined, and then I thought of how great they are, and the-" But Lockhart had stopped listening and was running up to the castle, Cassie smirking after him triumphantly.
"You're scary good, you know that?" Harry said, pulling Ron out of the bush and frantically knocking on Hagrid's door. He opened with an exasperated look, but brightened when he saw who it was.
"Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me - come in, come in - thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again-" he said, moving to one side and letting the four of them in.
"No, she got rid of him." Harry said, nodding to Cassie, before quickly explaining what happened to Ron as they practically carried him over the threshold into the one room hut.
"Better out than in, get 'em all up, Ron." Hagrid said jovially, placing a large copper basin down in front of him. "Who's this? Casiopay, right?"
"Almost, but call me Cassie." she said, holding out her hand for him to shake, and marveling at how much smaller it was. Madame Maxime had big hands, but they weren't exactly that meaty, her hands were very elegant and esvelte.
"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop," Hermione said, pacing the room anxiously. "That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand-" she tapered off with a grimace as Hagrid put tea to brew. Harry was being slobbered on by Fang, Hagrid's boarhound, and Cassie was keeping her distance from both Ron and the dog.
"What did Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?" Harry asked, scratching Fang's ears.
"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well, like I don't know An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle." Hagrid growled, surprising Harry and Hermione.
"At least it wasn't the hags! I've heard him tell that accursed story at least twice a day since my first class." Cassie complained from the corner of the hut, agreeing wholeheartedly with him.
"I think you two are being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job-" Hermione began in a high pitched voice.
"He was the on'y man fer the job. An' I mean the on'y one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. So tell me, who was he tryin' ter curse?" Hagrid asked, jerking his head in Ron's direction.
"Malfoy called Hermione something - it must've been really bad, because everyone went wild." Harry told the man.
"It was bad, Malfoy called her 'Mudblood,' Hagrid-" Ron said pale and clammy as he raised his head out of the copper basin. Hagrid looked incensed, his face was growing a dark shade of red and his beard trembled.
"He did not!" he growled.
"He did, but I don't know what it means. I could tell it was really rude, of course-" Hermione said, but was interrupted as Cassie answered her.
"It means impure blood. It's the most foulest word I've heard in the magical community. And it's about the lowest a person can get. It's all about blood purity with those damned Death Eaters and their children!" Cassie said vociferously, her heavy accent making her trip over her words, walking across the hut to the window and opening it, needing some air.
"She's right, It's about the most insulting thing he could think of. Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born - you know, non-magic parents. There are some wizards - like Malfoy's family - who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood. I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all. Look at Neville Longbottom - he's pure-blood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up." Ron said, burping up a single slug into the basin, and looking at Cassie strangely.
"An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can' do," Hagrid said proudly, making Hermione blush a deep magenta.
"It's a disgusting thing to call someone. Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's ridiculous. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out." he said, wiping his brow and ducking into the basin when he finished.
"Well, I don' blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron, bu' maybe it was a good thing yer wand backfired. 'Spect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son. Least yer not in trouble." Hagrid said loudly over the thuds of the slugs. "Harry, gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?" Hagrid asked, looking deeply hurt that Harry hadn't thought of him.
"I have not been giving out signed photos! If Lockhart's still spreading that around-" Harry said indignantly, stopping when he realized that Hagrid was laughing.
"I'm on'y jokin', I knew yeh hadn't really. I told Lockhart yeh didn'need teh. Yer more famous than him without tryin'." he said, patting Harry on the back and sending him face first into the table.
"Bet he didn't like that," said Harry, sitting up and rubbing his chin.
"Don' think he did," said Hagrid, his eyes twinkling. "An' then I told him I'd never read one o' his books an' he decided ter go. Treacle fudge, Ron?" he added as Ron reappeared.
"No thanks," said Ron weakly. "Better not risk it."
"Cassie?" Hagrid asked, offering her one.
"Thank you." Cassie said, not wanting to appear rude. She took a small bite out of it and immediately regreted it, taking a long swig of tea to wash it down.
"Come an'see what I've bin growin'," Hagrid said as everyone finished their tea. He led them out to his vegetable patch and showed them a dozen huge pumpkins that were the size of large boulders.
"Gettin'on well, aren't they?" said Hagrid happily. "Fer the Halloween feast... should be big enough by then."
"Cassie! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you." Merlin said as he ran down the slope. He was halfway down when he tripped and rolled down the rest of the way.
"Merlin! You really are clumsy!" Ron exclaimed when he stopped rolling, coughing up a small slug into his hand.
"Merlin as in his name or as an interjection?" Cassie said with a smirk, not exactly wanting to talk to him.
"Uh, both?"
"Right, well, what happened to you?" Merlin started, his goofy grin on his face, "Oh, and this came for you. About an hour ago. I've been looking for you ever since. " he said, holding out a letter.
"Oh, uhm. Thanks. I should go read this." Cassie said haltingly as Harry told him what happened to Ron. She turned to Hagrid and thanked him for tea then left to go up the slope.
"Here, my uncle was a healer." Merlin said, waving his wand and doing the counter-curse. "You should be done with the slugs, although since it backfired there may be some more later."
"Thanks!" Ron said brightly, no longer feeling so queasy.
"Yeah, sure. I'll see you later." he said, turning to catch up to Cassie and tripping over his own feet a few times.
He stayed quiet once he caught up, letting her have her space and walking slightly behind her as she looked at the letter in her hand.
"I don't know if I want to read it." Cassie whispered, stopping near a grouping of rocks.
"You don't have to. Listen, if you ever want to talk… you can always come to me. Even if it's just to be there. You're my friend, Cassie." Merlin said softly.
"He said I killed him." Cassie said after a while, her voice breaking. "My father. He said that grandfather died because of me, that he died alone because of me. And I don't know if I want to read what this letter says." she said, staring at the parchment in her hand.
"It's not your fault! Everyone dies, it's the circle of life." he said bitterly, all the while thinking 'and I have to sit back and watch as everyone goes."
"I'm sorry. I forgot-your uncle." Cassie sniffled.
"Don't be. Do you want me to read it to you? It may help. You can tell me to stop if it's too much." Merlin offered, slowly holding out his hand for the letter.
"Please." Cassie said, leaning against the biggest rock and handing him the letter.
"My dearest sister,
I know Mother and Father wrote you earlier this week, and I know what it said. Father
was angrier than I've seen him in a long time. There were people at his funeral, former
'patients' to not call them what they really are, that spat on his grave and said that at
at least his granddaughter was brave enough and good enough to do the right thing. I want you to know it's not true, what he wrote you. The only thing you are responsible for is staying true to yourself, Cassie. You are braver than any of us could ever be and-"
"Stop! Please, Merlin. I-" Cassie said through her tears, sliding down to the grass and pulling her knees up to her chest, arranging her skirt to fall to her ankles..
"It's okay, Cass. Here." he said, handing her the letter and kneeling in front of her, "I won't ask you what any of it means, I'll let you decide if you want me to know or not. But I'm always here for you. Anytime. Really." Merlin said, cupping her chin and lifting her face so that she could see the sincerity in his words.
"Okay." Cassie breathed out, trying to compose herself enough for lunch.
"You also don't have to wear a mask around me, I know what it's like to not be able to be who you are in front of others." Merlin said, thinking of all those years spent in the shadows, hiding.
"C-can I ask you why?"Cassie said quietly, her mask falling.
"Why what?"
"Why you're so nice to me?" Cassie answered in a small voice, looking down at the grass.
"Because I know you. I mean, you remind of someone I knew far too long ago, and she was the bravest, kindest person you'd ever meet. And if you're anything like her, then I'd need you as a friend, to help me through the rough patches." Merlin answered truthfully.
"Oh." Cassie said, disappointed that it's not because he liked her; he was cute, in a goofy way with his big ears. "I suppose I'd need you too. You can always just do something clumsy and make me laugh." she teased half-heartedly.
"Come on, I'm starved." Merlin said, straightening himself and offering her his hand.
"I'll walk with you there, but I think I'll head back to the common room. I'm not very hungry." Cassie told him. They walked to the Entrance Hall slowly, Cassie wiping her tears with her handkerchief, when Ron, Harry and Hermione caught up with them.
"Hey, wanna have lunch with us?" Hermione called after them, making them pause and turn around.
"Hey, Hermione." Merlin greeted, nodding at the other two. "It's up to Cassie. She isn't feeling well. I was just going to grab a sandwich then go back to the common room with her.
"Oh, is that why you needed air just now, in Hagrid's hut?" Ron asked, looking at her curiously.
"Uhm, yeah. I got some bad news and it's sort of…" Cassie trailed off, not knowing how to answer. "M-my grandfather died, just before term started and I've been dealing with it." Cassie stuttered out.
"I'm sorry. We could try finding McGonagall, I'm sure she'd speak with Dumbledore and you could go to France for the funeral." Hermione said softly.
"N-no, he's already been interred. I'll be fine, really. I just sort of remember at the most inopportune moments sometimes." Cassie answered in her accent, thinking how she would need to start working on changing it so others would understand her easier. "I suppose I could have some lunch. I had a piece of toast for breakfast and I'm somewhat hungry." she conceded, walking with them to have lunch.
"There you are, Potter - Weasley." McGonagall said as she strode towards the five sternly. "You will both do your detentions this evening."
"What are we doing, Professor?" Ron asked nervously.
"You will be polishing the silver in the trophy room with Mr. Filch," said Professor McGonagall. "And no magic, Weasley - elbow grease."
"And you, Potter, will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail," she said, looking at him in a mixture of pity and 'you deserve everything you get.'
"Oh n- Professor, can't I go and do the trophy room, too?" said Harry desperately, hating the idea of spending the evening with Lockhart.
"Certainly not. Professor Lockhart requested you particularly. Eight o'clock sharp, both of you." She said with raised eyebrows.
"Harry and Ron walked into the Great Hall morosely, thinking of the impending doom that was their punishment. Hermione just looked at them as if they were being childish, giving them a well-you-did-break-school-rules sort of expression.
"If it helps, at least it wasn't two weeks of mucking out stalls for an hour every day." Cassie piped in, trying to cheer them up.
"You have stables at Beauxbatons!?" Hermione asked with gleeful eyes. "I love horses!"
"I do too, except, we have horses and Abraxams, and if I never see the rear end of either of those animals, it'll be too soon." Cassie said, plating penne alla boscaiola and serving herself some grape juice to go with it.
"Do they serve wine at Beauxbatons?" Hermione said, eyeing the grape juice Cassie served herself.
"Not to the younger years. Only the last two years, and even then, only at feasts, not every day. The house elves are under strict orders not to let the students near it." Cassie said.
"Sounds like the parties are no fun." Ron commented.
"Oh, no. Just because the students can't access the wine from the kitchens doesn't mean they haven't figured out how to sneak their own bottle in. Don't ask me how! My brother's only a fourth year, he hasn't snuck any liquor in. Yet. Although, I've a feeling that by next year he will have." Cassie answered with a smirk. She spoke with Hermione while Ron and Harry complained to each other about their detentions.
"Filch'll have me there all night," said Ron heavily. "No magic! There must be about a hundred cups in that room. I'm no good at Muggle cleaning."
"I'd swap anytime," said Harry hollowly. "I've had loads of practice with the Dursleys. Answering Lockhart's fan mail... he'll be a nightmare..."
"Tell him he's got something in his teeth. Maybe he'll dismiss you. Although, I think I may have done that too many times last week. He might not fall for it again." Merlin told Harry.
"You and Cassie really know how to make him run away! You need to tell me how!"
"It's a very nuanced art, Harry. If you push too much or act a certain way, he won't believe you. But if you push the right buttons, and keep the acting to a minimum, you're set!" Cassie said, mirroring Merlin's cheeky grin.
"You two seem like siblings." Ron said sourly.
Cassie and Merlin looked sideways at each other skeptically before simultaneously saying "Nah."
"I agree with Ron. You two seem like you've known each other forever." Harry said, distracted from his thoughts on Lockhart's detention.
"We met each other on the train." Cassie said.
"The moment we met, we clicked. It's like we were meant to be best friends." Marlin said, not exactly lying.
"We're just too similar in some things." Cassie agreed, nodding along as she chewed her food, making the three burst into laughter at the two Hufflepuffs.
"I guess we understand now why you both ended up in Hufflepuff." Hermione said.
The day flew by with the five of them walking around. Cassie finally started to recognize where she was in the castle, and decided her favorite place was the nook near Professor McGonagall's office that looked out over the transfiguration courtyard. She even said as much, to which Harry, Ron, and Merlin vehemently disagreed saying it was far too close to McGonagall for their liking.
"It might be comfortable to study," Hermione agreed thoughtfully, looking for a way to get comfortable while studying.
"Yes, 'Mione. That's exactly what I had in mind." Cassie said, keeping her sarcasm to a minimum to not hurt her friend's feelings.
"It's getting late, you two should be heading to your detentions by now." Cassie said a few hours later, adjusting her hat.
"Ugh! Don't remind us!" Harry groaned.
Eventually, Harry and Ron left the others to go to their detentions, Ron going to the third floor and Harry the second floor corridor.
Cassie spent the rest of the evening in the common room doing her homework, and planning her next prank. She went to bed late that night, sometime around midnight, and closed the curtains around her four poster bed. She went to sleep clutching the letter from her brother close to her heart, knowing exactly what she would write back to him the next day. She also wanted to try and send the letter the same way she sent the other one to Gabrielle that one time, so she decided she would make a copy of it, just in case. She had a fitful sleep that night, dreaming of a great big snake and boy with a handsome face but cold eyes.