Cass hiked her bag up further on her shoulder and sighed. The messenger bag was weighed down with far too many treats, courtesy of her father, who had now spent the past few months learning to bake in addition to his cooking. Not that Cass minded his baking—it was actually quite good—but she didn't need forty pounds of it. As he packed it for her, she wondered if the strap would break off from all of the tarts he shoved inside it.

Now, she looked out the window of the Hogwarts Express. They stood on the platform, waving with the biggest smiles on their faces. Cass gave a soft smile back, waiting slightly with her hand before going to find a place to sit with the other Hufflepuffs.

It was odd seeing them on the platform. Her parents were usually working on September 1st and sent Andie and Cass to the train together with a few knuts for treats from the trolley. Now, Cass stood there after having received a sendoff and a bag of homemade goodies. She supposed everything changed with time. Even family.

It had been over a month since Cass had finally had her breakdown. She was doing better—brushing her teeth, showering, changing her clothes, and even smiling again on some of her better days. But nothing was the same. Nothing would ever be the same, not anymore.

She spotted a few students in Hufflepuff sweaters and followed them to their usual car. Cass gasped when her arm was grabbed only to smile when she laid eyes on her best friend.

"Eek! Is it really you? Are you really back?" Margot asked. Well, more like shrieked.

The only eighth year that might have been smaller than Cass, Margot was a ball of energy. With her short brunette pixie cut and green eyes that rivaled emeralds, she had been Cass's best friend since they met on the train as first years. Andie had ditched Cass immediately, yelling, "You aren't going to make friends if you cling to me!" as she left.

Thankfully, Margot had witnessed the whole thing and walked up to Cass, saying, "Hi! I'm Margot and I like turtles and toffee!"

Cass loved Margot because she was kind and loyal beyond anything else. She wore her heart on her sleeve and could make friends with a wall. Cass was like that too, in a way, but she was a little shyer and a little quieter. A little softer and a little sweeter.

"I'm back," Cass said with a smile. "Want to sit down? My Dad made a bunch of snacks we can share."

"Ooh, I'm in! Especially if they have caramel."

"Don't worry. I saved those all for you." Cass secretly loved the caramel ones the best but she knew how much Margot liked them so she gladly handed them over. It didn't feel like a sacrifice when it made her friend happy.

"Isn't it such a pretty day outside?"

Margot looked out the window with a caramel tart halfway in her mouth before looking back at Cass with an upturned lip. "No. It's horrible. You can't see a thing through all the rain."

"But the rain makes it nice. It's like the sky is washing away all the sadness."

Margot grinned. "You're so weird. How do you make everything sound like it's a fairytale?"

Cass shrugged. "I don't know. I like fairytales, I suppose. Everything is so happy there. Life can be a fairytale too, if you let it."

Her friend rolled her eyes before taking another bite. "Thank Merlin I found you early. I have a lot to tell you. You missed so much. First, did you know that..."

Cass smiled and leaned against the window, feeling the cool of the glass against her forehead while the rain pattered. She listened attentively while Margot recounted practically everything that had gone on at Hogwarts. Cass couldn't help but notice how Margot pointedly avoided anything that had to do with Andie, which she was grateful for. She missed her sister desperately and wished that Andie was sitting on the seat next to her... but her mother was right. It had been almost nine months since Andie passed away. Perhaps it was time to move past all of the clouds and appreciate the rain.

So Cass tightened her yellow sweater and smiled. Because yes, it was raining, and yes, sometimes rain was sad but sometimes it was beautiful, too. And right now, she chose to believe it was beautiful.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A few days passed and Cass quickly adjusted to the routine of being back. She thought it would be harder given that she'd missed a whole term but it was surprisingly simple to catch up on all of her classes. All of her professors were understanding of her situation, even Snape, who wasn't always the nicest but didn't seem to mind her. The only class she had left to check in on was Charms, which she had today. Cass wasn't worried, though, as Professor Flitwick had always seemed to take a liking to her.

It was odd having a dorm room all to herself, as Cass's roommate had always been Andie. But after spending several months in a room by herself, it didn't feel too different. She hated how it was familiar but there was nothing she could do about it except for smile and continue to go through her day.

Cass adjusted her soft yellow cardigan over her lacy white camisole. She'd paired the outfit with some simple sneakers and jeans. Though she was barefaced to show her freckles, she'd decided to put on mascara and lip gloss. This was the first day since the accident that she had truly felt pretty.

Cass wasn't sure why she woke up today wanting to feel beautiful again but now that she had spent the little extra time of herself, she was thankful. She was starting to feel like herself again. Like the Cass she once knew.

She grabbed her bag—which was no longer weighed down by treats—before exiting the Hufflepuff dormitories and heading to charms.

"Cass! Hey, Cass!" a voice called from behind her. She sighed and stopped walking. There were some loud footsteps before she was joined by a tall blonde man. "Hey, haven't seen you in a while. You're looking really good."

She frowned slightly but kept walking. "Zacharias, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to talk."

"We don't have anything to talk about." That's right. Leave, little Smithy, Cass could hear Andie saying.

Zach sighed and walked closer to her. Cass had to lean against the stony corridor wall just to avoid touching him. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like we're nothing."

"Because we are nothing. And we haven't been for a long time."

"I'm willing to overlook your little mistake—"

"My little mistake?" Cass couldn't believe his audacity. His sheer impertinence. "I wasn't the one flirting with a Ravenclaw while dating someone else. I wasn't the one who wouldn't let their girlfriend break up with them for a month because they insisted they'd changed even though they were still doing the same thing. And I wasn't the one who failed to check up on my ex-girlfriend—who I supposedly still cared about—after her sister died. So don't blame our lack of relationship on me. Don't you dare."

He stared at her with raised eyebrows. "Wow," Zach said lowly. "Do you feel better after your little tantrum?"

An unfamiliar sense of anger washed over Cass, one that reminded her of Andie. Perhaps this was her sister's way of lingering on even in death. Giving Cass some of the bravery she'd never had before. "'My little tantrum?' You want to get back together and yet you treat me with nothing but disrespect the entire time. This is why we didn't work the first time and this is why we won't work again."

Cass shoved past him and continued to walk toward her class. She was nearing the Charms classroom and would hopefully be away from him soon.

But Zach didn't give up. "I'm sorry, babe. I really am. You're right. But we were so good together. Just one more chance? Really?"

Cass rolled her eyes. "No."

"Come on. If your sister hadn't died, we would have been so happy togeth—"

Cass froze. She clenched her jaw before turning around to glare at her ex-boyfriend. "Andie died in January. I broke up with you last October. Don't you dare talk about her and don't you dare try to insinuate that we broke up for any reason beyond your own selfishness. I'm not handing out any more chances, Zach. We barely had anything in common and now, I can truly see how much of an asshole you are. So I'm done. Do me a favor and don't talk to me again, please. I really don't need the drama right now. You certainly aren't and weren't ever worth it."

She stormed off, even as Zach yelled out, "One more chance, Cass!"

"Leave me alone!" she called back.

"But Cass—"

"Dude!" a deep man's voice yelled out. "She asked you to leave her alone."

"Stay out of it, Berkshire, you little green—"

Cass didn't stay to hear the rest of their argument. She flashed a quick smile at her savior, hardly registering what he even looked like in her bid to get away so quickly. Thank you, she mentally said to him before darting to the nearest seat she could find in the corner of the room.

Soon, the rest of the N.E.W.T. Charms students filed in and Flitwick began class. "Welcome, eighth years, to your eighth and final year of Charms," he said in his squeaky voice. "I trust you are all as excited as I am for the year ahead. Now, I have decided to do things a little differently for this last year. You will all be given a partner to practice and study with. The partnership will last a year long and each pair will be completely various assignments together."

Some of the class groaned but Cass didn't mind the idea of a partner. Perhaps it was destiny's way of giving her a new friend.

"Now, I have decided to give you all a partner in a different house. Who knows? You may meet someone you like this way. Let's see... How about Hannah and Boot... Patil and Granger... Zabini and Bones... Berkshire and Crane..."

Cass brightened as she heard her partner's name. It was her mysterious savior. Now, she was certain that destiny had a hand in this moment because now she could properly thank him for helping her get away from Zacharias. Cass smiled and settled in her seat, already feeling good about the class ahead.

"Now, everyone go sit by your partners and just spend the rest of the class getting to know each other. This will be who you're spending most of the year with so you'll want to be properly acquainted. We'll begin formal lessons in the next class."

There was some shuffling around the room but Cass remained still until she could find who her partner was. She decided it was probably best to put away her books and quill since she didn't need them. As she was digging in her bag, she felt someone slide into the seat next to her. "Sorry! Just give me a second."

"No worries," his calm voice rumbled. It reminded her of the feeling of a warm blanket on a cold winter's day when the snow was raging outside but you were cozy in front of a fire with hot chocolate. It cascaded over her like a river. She couldn't help but shiver.

She swung up, silently cursing her hair for swinging all around in a mess of blonde curls. "I'm Cass," she said before taking a deep breath. "Well, actually, it's Cassiopeia but everyone calls me Cass."

"Lorenzo. But everyone calls me Enzo," he chuckled. That sound... it's nice, Cass thought. "So... woah."

"What?" she asked, all nervous that she'd somehow made a complete fool of herself in five minutes. Was her hair a total mess? Did she look as horrible as she felt sometimes? Was there a pixie stranded in her clothes that she hadn't seen? Cass turned to look at the boy.

Only to see the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

Hope you're enjoying it so far!