Chapter 9 A/N I don't own Harry Potter, there are some sentences that are verbatim from the HP books, so that's not mine.
She was so excited, venturing into Diagon Alley every day, but buying nothing. She was content to just wander the shops, going into every single one and browsing all the aisles. She stayed far away from Knockturn Alley, though. She had enough of unsavory characters for the rest of her life. Soon enough, she practically knew the street as if it were the back of her hand. A couple weeks later and Cassie finally got her letter. She made her way through the back of the Leaky Cauldron and started on her list of supplies.
She quickly consulted the thick parchment and read: Second year students will require: The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk; Break with a Banshee, Gadding with Ghouls, Holidays with Hags, Travels with Trolls, Voyages with Vampires, Wanderings with Werewolves, and Year with the Yeti all by Gilderoy Lockhart. As well as a list of other required readings that should have been purchased for year one: A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory by Adalberto Waffling, A Beginner's guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt good news was that she had two of the books already, albeit in French.
Cassie made her way to Flourish and Blotts to purchase the books she needed, it was early enough that the signing wasn't due to start for another few hours . She found she didn't much care for the defense books and purchased a supplementary book to study independently as well as those. She figured she would be done shopping for the day so she went back to her room at the inn and dropped off the books before turning back around and heading into Diagon Alley again. Curious about who the wizard doing the book signings was, Cassie returned to the bookstore to see. A crowd had begun to gather in the time it took for her to drop her books off and return, and she wasn't particularly fond of crowds, so she took to wandering the aisles instead, finding an interesting looking book and settling on the stairs to peruse it.
"Cassie?!" came a pair of voices from the entrance, causing her to look up from the paragraph she had been reading.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite twins!" Cassie said smiling and standing up from against the wall and walking to them excitedly, giving them quick hugs and dusting herself off.
"You got in?" Fred asked
"'Course she got in, Fred. Why else would she be here?" George said.
"I did. Got my letter this morning." Cassie said smiling.
"Fred dear, won't you help me with all the books." a red-headed witch asked, arms laden with books.
"Oh, let me. I don't need to purchase any more books today." Cassie said in her thick french accent, grabbing the top six from the woman.
"Thank you dear. I don't believe we've met. I'm Molly, Fred and George's mother." she said with a kind smile.
"Pleased to meet you, Molly." Cassie said politely, returning the smile.
"Oh, are you French?" she asked excitedly.
"Oui, Madame. Although my mother's British and my father German." Cassie answered, walking alongside Molly with the books in her arms.
"Forgive my asking, but why are you in England?"
"Oh, did your sons not mention me? I'll be transferring to Hogwarts this year. From Beauxbatons." Cassie answered amiably.
"The hair-prank girl, mum." Fred piped in.
"No! This lovely young lady certainly can't be-" Molly said, but was interrupted by the crowd clapping. "Oh, He's here!" she said excitedly.
"Who's here?" Cassie asked the nearest redhead.
"Gilderoy Lockhart. Mum fancies him." he said, then looked back at her with his mouth agape.
"What?" she asked, noticing him looking at her like that. "Do I have something in my hair!?" she asked, slightly panicking.
"W-Who are you?"
"Oh, Cassie. Et-And you?" she asked, catching herself before the French came out, though with her accent, no one would think twice of it.
"Ron Weasley."
"Nice to meet you, Ron." she said, maneuvering the books she held to one hand and holding her other out for him to shake.
Out of the way, there. This is for the Daily Prophet." a man said, bumping into Ron and preventing him from shaking her hand.
"Big deal," Ron said, rubbing where the photographer had bumped into him.
"It can't be Harry Potter?" the pompous looking mas shouted from his perch, looking right at the boy standing beside Ron. He walked over and hauled Harry Potter up to the stage with him, applause following from all the women there. The photographer was taking pictures as if his life depended on it, the solution vapors wafting over the Weasley family and Cassie.
"Nice big smile, Harry. Together you and I are worth the front page." Lockart said through a wide, gleaming smile.
"Poor boy." Cassie whispered, aware of how incredibly uncomfortable he was in the spotlight. It was fairly obvious, though, with the way he was blushing and trying to get away from the man. But before he could get very far, Lockhart pulled him back with his arm draped over Harry's shoulder, holding him firmly in place.
"Ladies and gentlemen, What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make an announcement I've been sitting on for quite some time! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge - he had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me . He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
"That idiot is seriously going to be our professor?!" Cassie cried, annoyed that she would be getting such a dope for a teacher. Her words, however, were muted as the crowd had begun clapping fervently, even the red-haired girl and the bushy-haired one standing next to her. Harry staggered under the weight of the books Lockhart had dumped into his arms, moving over to where Ginny was and putting the books into her new cauldron.
"You have these. I'll buy my own." he said.
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Came a drawling voice from behind him, and Cassie took no time in noticing just how arrogant he really was, with his slicked back hair and sneer firmly in place. "Famous Harry Potter, can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page." he spat.
"Who's he?" Cassie asked the nearest person, who happened to be the bushy haired girl.
"Malfoy. Not exactly the best sort there is." she said angrily, walking over to her friend, leaving Cassie standing with the books in her arms. The name rang a bell, but Cassie couldn't remember for the life of her why. She made her way closer to the counter where Mrs. Weasley was paying for all the books and helped her with most of them.
"Thank you, dear, but you really don't have to. I can manage." she said, rather frazzled.
"Nonsense! I have nothing to carry, and I purchased my books this morning, they're all in my room at the inn." she said, not letting Molly talk her out of helping.
"Oh, are your parents there too? They must be so proud to have such a kind daughter." she said with a smile.
"No, my parents aren't here, I'm alone. They-" Cassie started, but was interrupted by a fight breaking out between Mr. Weasley and who she assumed was Malfoy's father. That is until a half-giant broke the fight up and the blond father and son swept from the shop with matching sneers.
"Yeh should've ignored him Arthur. Rotten to the core, the whole family, everyone knows that- no Malfoy's worth listening ter- bad blood, that's what it is - come on now - let's get outta here." the half-giant said, all the Weasleys and the bushy-haired girl's parents following him out, Molly shaking with suppressed fury and the other two with fright. Cassie could only follow along as she still held some of their books in her hand.
"A fine example to set for your children... brawling in public... what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought-" Molly rambled on, chastising her husband,
"He was pleased," said Fred from beside Cassie, taking the books from her hand. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report - said it was all publicity-"
"Oh, dear. I apologize, that must have been- oh, never mind that. Thank you for your help."
"Oh, no. that's quite alright. Never seen grown men brawl before, I found it rather entertaining." Cassie said with a smile
"Well, Cassie. Thank you for your help, really. If there's anything you need?" she asked expectantly.
"If there is anything I need, I'm sure I can work something out. Thank you for offering." Cassie said kindly.
"We'll see you at school, then Cassie!" Fred said, using the floo to get home.
"Bye, Cassie." George said, following his brother.
Cassie waited until all of the Weasleys had gone through the fireplace before turning and heading back to her room, 'it appears I've had enough excitement for today' she thought wryly to herself, the nagging feeling that the name Malfoy meant something in the back of her mind.
Over the next couple weeks, Cassie went back to Diagon Alley to finish her shopping; the robes, the potions equipment-sans cauldron, she already had one and had brought it with her-and the telescope.
Time passed quickly after she finished her shopping, she had received summer work along with the shopping list, and spent her time finishing it at the second-hand bookshop, finding it much less crowded than Flourish and Blotts, in less than a week. When the time came, she packed her belongings neatly, making sure the school robes were packed in her Garment bag and her trunk had all she needed. She silently thanked Claude for placing an undetectable extension charm on it for all her shoes and clothes, and the portable cabinet of memories she refused to leave anywhere.
When the morning of September first arrived, Cassie found she was very nervous. She made sure that she was leaving nothing at the inn, and walked down the stairs, her trunk behind her. She stopped at the counter and gave Tom the key to her room, thanking him for the hospitality and asking for directions to King's Cross. Once he gave her them, she went on her way, glad that she had thought ahead and asked one of the wizards to place a notice-me-not charm on her trunks for her walk over. Her family may have barely tolerated muggles, but the Delacours were nothing like that, and told her of what muggle luggage actually looked like.
Cassie walked through the gate to Platform 9 ¾ and noticed that it was only completely full of wizard families saying goodbye to their children for the school year. She quickly got onto the train, lugging the trunk up into the overhead racks and sat down at the first empty compartment she could find.
It didn't take long for other kids to start finding their own compartments, looking for friends and then getting back off to say goodbye to their family, and it made Cassie feel terribly alone. She reached into her garment bag and took out the photo album her brother and Gabrielle had given her before the year let out. She flipped through it fondly, reminiscing about every moment that they had captured last year. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice when the bushy-haired girl asked her if she could sit.
"Hello! Is this seat free?" she repeated from the door, slightly annoyed.
"Oh, sorry, yes you may sit, I'm not holding it for anyone." Cassie said smiling.
"I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?" she said, holding out her hand in a very authoritative manner.
"Cassie." she said, taking the hand and shaking it, "Do you need help getting your trunk up?" Cassie offered, putting the photo album down on the seat and standing up.
"Sure, thanks." she said with a smile, shaking her hair out of her face and picking the trunk up with her help.
"Is this your first year?" she asked
"No, I'm transferring from Beauxbatons." Cassie answered.
"Oh!" she said, recognition gleaming in her eyes. "You're the girl that scored better than me on the end-of-year exams!"
"I did?" Cassie asked, unaware that she had in fact scored higher than everybody.
"Yes! You have to tell me how you got McGonagall to give you so many extra points, she only gave me 30." she said with a frantic look in her eyes.
"Well, Transfiguration and Charms are my best subjects. And I helped Professor Dumbledore play a silly prank on Professor McGonagall during the examination. I think he may have had more to do with the points than she." Cassie said.
"Uhm, is this compartment free? I can't find Ron anywhere and I'm meant to sit with him." the young red-head girl asked.
"Sure, come on in!" Cassie said happily, scooting down on the bench and nudging the photo album to the floor.
"Oh, you dropped this." the redhead said bending down to retrieve it.
"Thanks! I don't know what I'd do if I lost it." Cassie said, hugging it tightly to her chest.
"I know what you mean, if I lost my favorite book, I'd be devastated!" Hermione said, not quite noticing it was a photo album.
"You wanna see?" Cassie asked hopefully, she really wanted new girlfriends and fast.
"Sure! Where are the pictures from?" Ginny asked, leaning over and looking at it.
"My trips with my best friend, Gabrielle, and some with my brother." Cassie said affectionately looking at the photos.
"This is beautiful! Where is it?" Hermione said, pointing to the fountain in the background of the first picture in which Gabrielle and Cassie were goofing off, dancing to seemingly no music.
"That's in the maze at Beauxbatons, the main fountain in the middle of it. It was one of my favorite places to be." Cassie said with a far off look.
"Why'd you leave Beauxbatons, it looks marvelous!" Hermione asked, her eyes taking in all of the picture. Hermione kept flipping through the pages, taking in the courtyards at Beauxbatons and how pristine they looked
"I just didn't belong there. That's my brother." Cassie said, noticing that Hermione paused at the picture of them waking up in bed as if they were twins. "Gabrielle used to say we seemed more like twins than me and my twin sister, especially when we woke up. But enough about me, what houses are you in?"
"I'm a first year, but I hope I get into Gryffindor." Ginny said excitedly, her eyes lighting up when the train horn sounded. "Oh! This is so exciting!" she squealed, practically bouncing off her seat.
"Is there room in the compartment? Everywhere else is full." a dark haired boy asked, from the door as the train slowly started to move.
"Sure, come on in! Are you a first year too?" Ginny said happily.
"Second, I'm transferring."
"Well, both transfers in the same compartment, do you two know each other?" Hermione asked.
"No." Cassie said, looking up from her pictures enough to note that she didn't know who he was. "He wasn't at Beauxbatons with me."
"I was taught by my uncle, but he passed and I still need to learn so…" he trailed off, toeing the ground nervously.
"I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm Hermione Granger, if there's anything you need, just ask." she said, batting her eyelashes.
"Thank you, Hermione. I'm Merlin Rhydderch." he said with a smile, sitting down in the compartment.
"Do you speak Welsh?" Cassie asked curiously, the name sounded as if he were.
"Do you speak French?" he asked back amused.
"Fair point." Cassie conceded in french. "I'm Cassie."
"Ginny." she said, introducing herself as well.
"Nice to meet you all." he said, "So, which house are you hoping for, Ginny?"
"Gryffindor, my whole family's been one." she said grinning.
"What houses are you two hoping for?" Hermione asked them.
"Gryffindor." Merlin said.
"No idea. I've been thinking about it since April and I still don't know which sounds most appealing." Cassie said thoughtfully looking out the window at the passing scenery.
"Not Slytherin, surely. You're too nice." Ginny said.
"Thanks, but from what I've read, Slytherin is a house of cunning and ambition. It says nothing that I have to be mean to get in." Cassie said.
"You're not really considering it though? Are you?" Ginny asked, surprised.
"I'm not considering anything, I'll just let myself be sorted into whichever house I get." Cassie said with a shrug.
"Okay." Ginny said, shrugging as well.
"So, Merlin. Tell me, will women be your downfall? I mean your namesake was notorious for falling at the mercy of women, will you be too?" Cassie said, a puckish glint in her eyes.
"Well, I'll answer yours if you answer mine, Cassiopeia. Will you tie your daughter to a rock to give to Poseidon?" he teased back.
"Well, she will be saved by Perseus, and I'll grant them permission to marry. But you, Merlin, have a terrible history of unrequited love: Morgan le Fay, Nimueh, Viviane, Niniane, Niviane. My you really like your ane's!" Cassie said playfully.
"Ah, yes. Nimueh was rather beautiful, but terribly evil. Morgana was beautiful and abandoned by her family, which turned her evil. Viv, Niv, and Nin were very pretty, but they seemed to enjoy entombing me alive." Merlin said, playing along with all the legends surrounding him.
"Okay, you two must know each other," Hermione said, looking between the two as if they'd grown multiple heads.
"Nope, just know our mythologies." Cassie answered back, eyeing the barrettes Hermione was wearing. "Can I see you barrettes, Hermione?" she asked randomly.
"Oh, uh, sure." Hermione said, confused. She reached up and removed them from her hair, handing them to Cassie. Cassie waved her wand over one, transfiguring it into a slightly bigger barrette with an image of Vasari's Perseus and Andromeda on it and handed it back to Hermione. She did the same with the other one, except she imposed the image of Jones' Beguiling of Merlin onto it.
"See, now there's one to remember me, and another one to remember Merlin." she said, clipping it back in her hair.
"Wow! Do they teach that in Beauxbatons?! Why would you ever leave there!?" Hermione said, admiring the one of Perseus and Andromeda in her hand.
"No, they teach pretty much the same things as Hogwarts, but in a different order. I just really like Transfiguration, and I love art. I've made it my mission to recognize the different styles, and artists and everything. I saw that one in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence when I went two years ago." Cassie said, flipping through her photo album and showing them the pictures of her, Gabrielle and Fleur in front of Il Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio. "And I saw that one in an art book I was reading over summer." Cassie said, pointing to the one in Hermione's hair.
"Still doesn't explain how you can transfigure something so pretty when we're only second years. And we haven't even started!" Hermione cried out exasperatedly.
"Most magic is fueled by intent. The professor asks you to transfigure a match into a needle and you do it, with the intent of making a pointy silver needle. I just focus on the small details, you know."
"I think you'll be a Ravenclaw." Hermione said thoughtfully, "You love knowledge as much as me."
"Aren't you in Gryffindor?" Merlin asked.
"Yeah, but I still value learning. The hat considered putting me in Ravenclaw." she said honestly.
"Hat? Is that how they sort you, with a hat?" Cassie asked confused, her brow furrowing.
"I shouldn't've said that." Hermione said nervously, then laughed. "I've been spending way too much time with Hagrid!"
They made conversation for the rest of the ride, the Weasley twins poking their heads in every so often to talk pranks with Cassie and drag her from the compartment to go plan without the 'prying ears' of Hermione and Ginny; Cedric, Tommy and Leon stopped by a few times to say hello.
When the train was nearing Hogsmeade, Merlin left the compartment to give the girls the privacy to change into the school robes, then the three girls waited outside for Merlin to change into his robes. They left the train slowly, Cassie and Merlin following Hagrid with the rest of the first years, talking idly about whatever popped into their minds. Halfway across the black lake, Merlin fell into the water and was returned to the boat by the giant squid's tentacle.
"That was graceful!" Cassie said, laughing at the look Merlin was giving her. "You'll be the only one who fell into the lake!" Cassie said cheerfully.
"I hate you." Merlin told her, but he couldn't wipe the stupid grin off his face.
"Aw, but I'm such a nice person! You heard Ginny, I'm too nice!" Cassie said, handing him her handkerchief to dry his face.
"Thanks, and you're pure Slytherin. You may be nice, but you're a definite Slytherin. Salazar himself would have chosen you." he said, with such certainty that Cassie found it odd, but she just wrote it off as one of his quirks.
"So we really just have to put on a hat? I would have thought there'd be more to it, everyone makes it seem daunting." Cassie said quietly as they approached the huge doors. Hagrid knocked on the door and Professor McGonagall appeared,
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid told the witch.
"Thank you Hagrid, I'll take them from here." she said as she opened the door further and led everyone inside across the flagged stone floor. "Welcome to Hogwarts,the start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points." she looked at Cassie at this, it appears they knew who was really behind the prank at Easter last year. "At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." she said, looking at Merlin dripping water over the floor. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." she said, turning to go into the Great Hall for a moment.
Whispering immediately broke out among the waiting first years, each more excited than the last person to speak. It grew even louder as the ghosts wandered through the room towards the Great Hall, speaking animatedly with one another.
"New students! About to be Sorted, yes?" the one who looked like a bald monk said. When no one answered, he said, no need to be nervous! I hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" and floated off when he saw McGonagall approaching.
"The Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Now, form a line and follow me." she called out sternly. Cassie and Merlin were quickly pushed to the front of the line, being older than the rest, the others hoped to hide behind them for as long as possible.
McGonagall led them back across the hall to the double doors that opened into the Great Hall. The second they walked in, Cassie heard the excited whispers turn into awe-filled gasps at the ceiling and the thousands of candles floating in midair. She had to admit that even though she had already seen it, the room was wondrous. She felt the gazes of all the students as she passed, each one curious to see who would be sorted where and sizing them up. When they reached the front, Professor McGonagall silently placed a stool in front of them and a pointed wizards hat on it. Cassie was too busy admiring the magic that would have gone into making a talking hat to really pay attention to what he sang, but she caught the distinctions he made with each House and what they looked for in their students.
She couldn't help but smile nervously as the first students were called up, too nervous to really pay attention and fiddling with the sleeve of her robe to help ease the jitters. She vaguely heard everyone else being called and sorted, and when her name was called she straightened her shoulders and walked elegantly to the stool, sitting on it with perfect posture as the hat was lowered onto her head.
"Difficult, very difficult. You would do well in any house."
"Woah! Magic is amazing!" Cassie thought when she heard his voice in her head.
"It is rather cool, yes." the hat responded amused. "You show much potential for Slytherin. There's ambition and a drive to prove to your family what they think of you is wrong. But there is also an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about you. You already have quite an extensive knowledge on many subjects. This would make you an excellent Ravenclaw."
"Really? I mean, I don't think I want to prove myself to my family. Do I?"
"You do. And Slytherin house would help you, they have a reputation, but not all are like that."
"Oh, you know about the reputation?"
"I am a thinking cap, I can delve into my wearer's mind, and a lot of them grow up with that prejudice. It has been present in student's minds since the time of the founders."
"Wow, that's a lot of students. Have you ever sorted any wrong?"
"I stand by all my placements."
"How do you decide? Who goes where, I mean."
"It's rather difficult to explain. Part is the qualities they possess, and part is the qualities they value most. You for example possess qualities that the four founders each possessed. And you value them all equally. You are a very difficult person to Sort."
"Oh. What if I don't get into any of the houses. What if I'm not good enough for any of them." Cassie thought unconsciously.
"You are brave, you have already proved that to yourself, and you are very intelligent, anyone can see without having to go through your mind. And you are loyal to a fault, yes."
"I'm not that loyal." Cassie thought dejectedly, keeping her features neutral.
"You are more loyal than you know, Ms. Heim."
"That's not my name, I'm a Gratien, not a Heim. I will never be a Heim." she thought forcefully.
"One cannot choose their family, which you very well know. Hmm. Yes, I would think that is one you would value most of all."
"What is?"
"Honesty."
"I don't understand, that wasn't one of the values for the founders. I'm confused."
"Yes I can see that. There's no need to be confused, I know exactly where to place you now. You will do well in HUFFLEPUFF!" he finished, shouting the last word to the hall and the clapping from her table. She stood up shakily, and removed the hat, walking over to the table and sitting down next to a sandy haired boy. She glanced up at the Head table and noticed Dumbledore eyeing her curiously.
She spent the rest of the sorting in her head, thinking about what the hat said to her. Did she really want to prove to her family that they were wrong about her? But, what were they wrong about? She was just too confused to even pretend to be paying attention. When the sorting was over, and Merlin waved his hand in front of her face, Cassie startled, seeing the food appear in front of her.
"Sickle for your thoughts?" Merlin asked from beside her.
"Just thinking about what the hat said."
"Yeah, you had a pretty long conversation. The only hatstall in a while."
"Hatstall?" Cassie asked, not even batting an eyelash at him speaking french with her.
"It took longer than five minutes for you to get Sorted. Seven, actually."
"Seven minutes!" Cassie said surprised, "It didn't feel that long."
"It was." Merlin said, shivering in the wet clothes.
"You still haven't dried off?!" Cassie asked him, noticing he was still dripping water.
"I'll be okay. Strong immune system." he said, giving her the goofiest smile she had ever seen.
"So, Hufflepuff, huh? I would've thought Ravenclaw." Tommy said, moving to sit in front of her with Cedric and Leon on either side.
"Well, Thomas. We have unfinished business. Remember the bet?" Cassie asked with a victorious smirk on her face.
"Yeah." he sighed, making his friends laugh.
"Well, I believe I know exactly what my prize is." she said, looking at Merlin with a smirk.
"Go on. What will I be doing?" he asked, a resigned smile on his face and all.
"You, my dear friend, will be my slave for the remainder of this week." Cassie said, passing him her plate, "I like my meat cut very small, if you will." She said, causing raucous laughter from all around her.
"It's going to be a long week!" Tommy said with a huff, cutting her meat just the way she likes it. "Would you like me to feed you as well, my lady?" he said with a mock bow.
"That's not a bad idea." Cassie said thoughtfully, looking at his horrified expression with a laugh. "I'm joking!" she said.
"I still can't believe you were a hat stall. Where else was the hat considering?" Leon asked between chuckles.
"All of them. I've got plenty of Gryffindor in me, apparently, and a 'hunger to prove myself.' Also, near encyclopedic knowledge of art history, but that's just a hobby, really." she said off-handedly. "Hmm, how incredibly rude of me. I forgot my manners for a moment. This is Merlin, he's another transfer, though he wasn't here when I took the exams. Melin this is Cedric, Leon and my personal dogsbody, Tommy." she said, grinning at Tommy as she passed him her plate again and told him she wanted another serving of potatoes and ham.
"Merlin? Your parents have high hopes for you." Leon said.
"Yeah, I guess so." he said.
"Where are you transferring from? You don't have the thick French accent our lovely Cassie here does." Cedric said, making her blush.
"Wales. My uncle taught me last year, but he passed away over summer." Merlin said, thinking of his mentor and uncle.
"I'm so sorry. And your parents?" Tommy asked.
"My father was killed and my mother died a long time ago." he said, the memories he held at bay for so long threatening to overtake him.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"It was a long time ago, and you had no reason to know." Merlin said, his mood changing. "Although, I am curious about this bet." he said, looking at Cassie questioningly.
"Well it was my last day here before going back to France and we had dinner in the kitchens with the Weasley twins. Tommy bet that I couldn't get anyone to dress up for dinner, I bet him I could. And then I transfigured their clothing into a typical high-society gala clothing, Top hat and all." she said, grinning. The rest of the meal was spent in much the same manner, telling stories and getting to know each other a bit better.
When the meal was over, Merlin and Cassie walked back to the common room with Cedric and the others, laughing all the way at some story Merlin was telling about his friend growing donkey ears and braying. Cassie went up to the second year girls' dormitory and introduced herself,
