Cassiope tensed imperceptibly when a tall brown hair boy with a languid look gave her his hand to help her seat.
- Frederic Mulciber, at your service milady, he introduced himself while kissing the back of her hand.
- Cassiope Elezy, she answered back with a soft but firm voice, taking back her hand.
She sat under the scrutinizing and curious glare of the whole table, while other student started to introduce themselves around her.
Evan Rosier, a young blond man who had giver Mulciber a death stare when the latter had preceded him by getting up, inclined his head politely to present himself, staring at her intensely. He had a piercing emerald look, one that could have let her think he was reading her like an open book, if only Cassiope was not absolutely sure it was impossible.
John Avery, seemed to be more preoccupied by the sudden apparition of the dishes on the table. Agatha Parkinson, a small brunette with matte complexion welcomed her warmly. Then it was turn for her two other future room-mates to do so : Eleanor Nott and Fanny Travers.
Cassiope naturally turned to the last persons that were close enough and did not introduce themselves. A boy with long black hair looked at her coldly before introducing himself as Severus Snape.
She raised an eyebrow. Truth be told, she was not used to get this type of reaction. Indeed, Cassiope was one of those rare personality, with such an aura, that the majority of wizards tended to be spontaneously and involuntary drown to her. Until now she had met very few people able to resist her. Since she was a child, it had always been easy for her to get what she wanted from someone. She always knew exactly how to act and what to say to reach her goals. A quality she had inherited from her father, one of the only person with whom her charm never worked.
- Please, forgive Severus' attitude. He always need some time to accept any novelty.
When Cassiope turned to the soft and calm voice, who just got a wrathful look from said Severus, she was met with two beautiful grey eyes. They were staring at her intensely.
- Regulus Black, pleasure to meet you, the young man presented himself with a discreet smile.
He seemed just a bit younger than the others, and yet Cassiope could read in his eyes a surprising depth and strength. She instantly felt confident in his presence. Her, who always had be taught to be wary of everyone.
- Regulus is a sixth year, but he is hanging out with us most of the time, informed Travers, cutting the strange link that had been created between her and Regulus.
-Elezy… That name does not ring a bell, started Nott, it is certainly not a very important family, is it ?
Despite a few disapproving looks towards their housemate, for daring to address the subject straight away, everyone (or almost everyone) turned to her, avid to hear her response.
Cassiope did not lose her facade and her smile which disturbed the Slytherins. Merlin, they believed to be unreadable, they were so far from it, she thought bitterly. But before she could answer, Regulus took the stand with a cold voice :
- You could not pretend we did not warn you enough about how sometimes it is better to shut up than to talk before thinking Eleanor. Am I really the only one here to understand that our world does not stop at England's door ? You will learn that the Elezy Family is one of the more powerful and ancient magical family in Europe, close to the royal line of Albania. Some people say they are direct descendant of Merlin himself. Please correct me if I'm wrong Cassiope ?
He was not wrong. And Cassiope read in his eyes that he knew that very well. She gave him a sincere smile while the others were looking down shamefully. He kept his eyes into hers for a few instants.
- Exactly, she simply stated.
The topic was closed. Cassiope then decided to start eating as if nothing had happened, ignoring the looks on her, some curious, some... hungry.
As soon as her bed's curtains were closed, Cassiope let out a relieved sigh. The rest of the feast had been uneventful. Nott's humiliation after her idiotic question kept the others to interrogate her about her origin and her past. She knew very well that a time would come where she would need to reveal a bit more to her housemates. Nevertheless, the longer she would keep her secrets, the longer she would be safe and unsuspected in the school.
Well… unsuspected was a big word. She knew there was at least one person who was wary of her in the castle.
She had clearly felt that the explanations she had provided had not been enough to ease Albus Dumbledore's concerns. Against any other 17-year-old wizard, such a powerful Legilimens' attempt to intrude into her mind would have been imperceptible. But Cassiope was not just any witch, and she knew that the ease with which she had gently pushed him out of her memories, without flinching or losing her smile, had greatly influenced the headmaster's distrust toward her. But if there was one person to whom she would never grant access to her thoughts or her memory, it was Albus Dumbledore.
- Dumbledore refused to listen!
The fury with which he shouted these words made Cassiope instinctively step back. Soon, the sounds of shattering dishes, ripping fabric, and exploding furniture in the dining room revealed her father's devastating anger. From her hiding spot, she saw her mother calmly seated in her chair, sipping her tea as if she were oblivious to the chaos around her.
Cassiope admired her mother's talent for concealing all emotions. At just seven years old, she practised every day to follow her example. But despite her extraordinary ability for a child of her age to control and hide her emotions (whether in appearance or deep within her mind) she still could not suppress the shivers that ran through her whenever he got into this state. And lately, these outbursts had become more and more frequent. She did not know exactly why, but she could sense that something serious was troubling him. Cassiope fixed her gaze on her mother, her heart pounding. Adriana Elezy was the only thing that mattered to him, the only one who could push him to lose control, and Cassiope feared whatever was eating away at her father.
- You will find a solution. I trust you, her mother announced calmly.
- There was a solution! he roared. I have searched high and low, consulted and scoured every imaginable resource in search of an alternative. The only ones I don't have access to are at Hogwarts, and that old fool will be the only one to blame if…
- You know I refuse to consider that option, she cut him off. My love, look at me…
Adriana's soft voice and tone seemed to soothe him, and Cassiope watched as her mother cupped her father's darkened face in her hands.
- I will not resort to this. It is only a prophecy. If there is anyone who can defy the future, it is you.
- Dumbledore will be the only one responsible…
- Did you know that Grindelwald studied at Durmstrang? Apparently, that school is a breeding ground for dark wizards, they start learning Dark Arts from first year! No wonder she was sent to Slytherin. But have you seen the way they were looking at her? And that arrogant fool Mulciber and…
- PADFOOT, stop! James intervened.
Sirius turned around, surprised by his friend's outburst.
- You've been talking about the new girl for two hours. We get it…
- But!
- Prongs is right, Sirius, Remus tried to reason with him. You haven't taken your eyes off the Slytherin table all evening, and ever since we got back to the dorm, you've been going in circles about it. Honestly, this is almost worse than Prongs when he obsesses over Lily.
Sirius' mouth dropped at the affront.
Okay, maybe he was fixating a little on the arrival of this girl, but still… James had been harassing them about Lily Evans for five years! And even so, this was not the same. Prongs was in love, this was just curiosity about a new student. No, not curiosity, suspicion! Yes, that was it, suspicion because the Slytherins had a new recruit. And Sirius knew better than anyone what Slytherins were like, what they were destined to become, who they were meant to follow.
He was not going to let this Cassiope Elezy out of his sight. Maybe she had come to Hogwarts to get closer to the Dark wizard who had been gaining power for years now. And if that were the case, he would be the first to find out, Sirius Black's word!
James, Remus, and Peter watched their friend in the middle of an internal debate. They saw him nod to himself, visibly satisfied with his own conclusion. The smirk he wore, lost in his thoughts, did not bode well.
It had taken Cassiope little time to figure out the Slytherins.
Of her three dorm-mates, Travers and Nott were everything one could expect from young women of those kinds of families : superficial, obnoxious, and more attached to the latest high-society gossip than to their academic results (after all, their futures were already set after school, as both were already visibly engaged. There was no question of them pursuing further studies or, worse, working). Cassiope had decided to avoid being alone with them at all costs, preferring to stay in the common room late rather than endure their chatter or, as had already happened, become the target of their trivial questions, which she had no intention of answering.
Parkinson was different from the other two. She seemed a little more thoughtful and less inclined to join in their mindless prattling. She had tried to make Cassiope comfortable, explaining how the castle and classes worked. Her efforts made her somewhat more likeable, but her constant association with Travers and Nott left little room for a real connection.
Avery was not what one would call a brilliant wizard. He seemed to believe (probably rightly so) that his family name alone would secure him a prominent place in the wizarding world. He followed Rosier and Mulciber like a shadow and seemed to particularly enjoy two things: terrorizing younger students and eating.
Mulciber was the most talkative, too much so, in Cassiope's opinion. He never stopped boasting about his family, his wealth, or his bloodline. He regularly led discussions, his ego matched only by his hatred of those he deemed inferior : Muggles, Muggle-borns, half-bloods, blood traitors... While the group as a whole shared these beliefs, he was the one who voiced them most frequently. Despite already being engaged (something Cassiope had learned from Nott and Travers on the first night in their dormitory), he seemed determined to use and abuse his charms on her, charms that, to be clear, had absolutely no effect on her beyond sheer irritation.
Rosier, on the other hand, was much more reserved than Mulciber. He was, without a doubt, the "leader" of the group, whether Mulciber liked it or not. His decisions and opinions seemed to be law among the others, who constantly sought his approval. He was, in essence, the perfect embodiment of a pure-blood wizard—charming, proud, intelligent, and cold. Upon learning the significance of the Elezy name (once Regulus had enlightened him), he had adopted the demeanour of a perfect gentleman. She could clearly see the interest in his eyes, though he remained restrained. Several times, she had caught him observing her with his piercing gaze, likely trying to decipher her thoughts. She knew that her composed face and inscrutable demeanour only made her more intriguing and mysterious in his eyes.
Snape was one of the ones who intrigued her the most, simply because he seemed completely indifferent to her presence. He was undoubtedly the most discreet and mysterious but also one the most intelligent of the group. His half-blood status (a fact Nott had been sure to point out on the first night) was tolerated by the others ("He's a half-blood, but he can be useful," Travers had remarked), though they regularly reminded him of his "inferiority" in conversations. Cassiope was determined to uncover Severus Snape's secrets, as her charms did not seem to work on him, she needed some bit of leverage.
Then there was Regulus. She still couldn't understand why she felt so at ease in his presence. They had hardly spoken since the first night, but the few words and glances they had exchanged unsettled her, as if they instinctively understood each other. At night when she was staying in the common room (to avoid Travers and Nott), he had taken the habit of seating next to her, in a couch facing the fire when the other left to go to sleep. They did not talk, they each read on their own, but the silence was not heavy. Quite the contrary, this routine they had started was appeasing her.
One question remained unanswered, and Cassiope intended to resolve it soon. Who among her new peers had already joined him? She knew very well they were being cautious around her, some conversations were stopped or whispered when she arrived. Even if the regular hints left no doubt on their admiration, their belonging or not in his ranks was still blurry. She strongly suspected Rosier, Mulciber and Avery to have pledge their allegiance to him already, but she did not have proof. She did not know what to think about Snape and Regulus.