- Classes started a week ago, the others are all already spending hours to study and I didn't see you open a single class-book.

Regulus' observation was clearly more of an interrogation. She raised her eyes from the book she was reading to meet the stormy grey look that disturbed her so much. Do not see any romanticism here; Cassiope was well above those things and, frankly, she did not have time for that. No, Regulus disturbed her because she felt comfortable around him. And, as surprising as this may seem, it was absolutely abnormal for her to feel that way towards somebody. Do not make any mistake, Cassiope was always "comfortable": in class, in society, even her one-on-one with Dumbledorewasnothing short of intimidating. She mastered her emotions like no other Slytherin, had much self-confidence, and knew she could get anything she wanted from almost anybody. But she was never at ease, never relaxed. All the past human relationships she had until then (except for her parents) had always been calculated, studied, but above all, filled with distrust. Not with Regulus.

- I don't see the interest in that, she simply answeredshrugging her shoulders andcontinuingwith her reading.

- You know the NEWTS have a reputation of being extremely difficult. Even the best students don't manage to ace all of them at the end of term.

She raised her head to him. He was watching her with his impenetrable gaze. She smiled, and she saw him relax slightly.

- Don't worry about me, she concluded.

He scoffed and she raised an interrogative eyebrow at him.

- I'm definitely not worried about you. You're not the type of person for whom someone get worried. I'm wondering is all.

A side glance allowed her to see that he was back to his reading and seemed totally indifferent. She smiled and answered while turning back toward her own book.

- I don't need it. I have perfectly mastered everything we are learning at the moment.

She didn't know why on earth she was confiding in him. But it was like that with Regulus, and she had learned quickly not to fight it. He did not blink, did not tear his eyes from his book, but still answered after a moment:

- I thought Hogswart's level was way better than Durmstrang's.

- Oh it sure is, she marked a pause, but it's not like if I had ever opened any schoolbook there either, I learned what I needed a long time ago before any teacher deigned to teach us.

After a few minutes of silence,she heardhim closing the book and turningto her.

- Why would you come to Hogwarts then?

She closed her book and stared back at him. Then she proceeded to clean her stuff and headed towards her dorm. Before going through the door, she turned to him and gave him an honest smile.

- I have my reasons.

Regulus watched her leaving with a pensive look. He felt that she was much more open around him than with any other; he also felt the strange bond between the two of them. But he knew she was hiding much more than her perfect indifferent pureblood air was letting on.

- Ready for the training tonight ? Merlin I can 't wait to try all the new moves we have developed this summer Pad'. I do hope Finnigan will be as good as she seemed to be on Wednesday's try-out. We desperately need a new good seeker if we want to keep the Quidditch cup this year. Damn, Dorcas was a pain in the ass but she knew how to catch the snitch like no-one…

James, Sirius, and Peter sat at their usual spot in the Great Hall. James, as usual, seemed on fire from the moment he woke up, and the promise of the first Quidditch training of the year was putting him inanunbearable two friendscollapsed on the table without listening to a word of James' usual morning blathering. The dark circles around their eyes showed they had a rough night not so long ago. One of them, Remus, was actually in the infirmary at the moment, recovering from a really bad cold, or so they said.

-Yeah Right, right, right … mumbledSirius

- Come on Padfoot, I know you are not a morning person, but mate! You could at least seem a little bit interested in the matter, we are talking about the fucking Quidditch cup for Merlin's beard.

-ListenProngs, I spent half of the summer drafting those new moves with you. You know it matters to me but it's just… in between the great feast, the try-outs, the full moon and now the training we haven't had any chance to do some snake watching.

James and Peter then looked knowingly at each other.

- Snake watching? Or you mean Elezy watching? I mean she's hot mate but I don't see the point of following her all around. It's not like you're going to land her or anything.

- What are you talking about ? Sirius looked positively outraged, they got a new recruit! Voldemort is probably already planning the whole marking ceremony for that girl. I just want to see what she's about. What they are all about really, I don't get why Dumbledore would let these ones back in school. Fucking death eaters the lot of them! And, I means, we have a reputation to hold you know ? It's been a week and no-one has seen an infamous Marauder's prank. We are getting old and boring my friends!

James rolledhis eyes beforereplying.

- Would you cut the drama Padfoot! It's not been a week since we are back in school. Everybody know a good prank needs some good planning! And no matter what, I don't think that's the main subject of this conversation.

- Well it's not like we are planning anything at the moment.

- Oh man… Peter take over, I'm not good at this kind of things. Where is Remus when we need him to stop the drama queen from moaning around?

Peter's look clearly showed he had not listened to a single word and was lost on what he was supposed to say to his grumpy friend. He shrugged before returning to his food, unconcerned.

- You know what? Sirius started, if the training doesn't go too late this evening, we should go have a peek in the Serpents' den? As head boy you do have all the passwords, right Prongs?

-That's not a knowledge I'm actually allowed to divulge, James answeredhead high.

Sirius and Peter shared a look before bursting out into laughter.

- Yeah right!

- You know this head-boy position is the last card I can play to get my Lily to fall for me. I will not let Dumbledore's effort to help me go in vain by being caught in another house's common room.

Sirius raisedadubiouseyebrow at his friend.

- I'm not sure Dumbledore's plan was to name you head-boy so Evans can fall into your lovely arms Prongs. But whatever, be a deer (pun intended) and just give me the password, lend me the cloak and I'll go by myself.

The serious look on James' facedidnot last long before he saidquietly, with a mischievous look:

- You'll give us a report on everything right Pup?

It was late. The fire was barely enough to keep the common room lit and warm. Cassiope looked around to see all her seventh-year classmates still lingering on the sofas. She sighed. It was Friday night, and she had hoped for her usual peaceful reading night with Regulus, but the snakes seemed eager to talk endlessly tonight. The topics had ranged from first-class impressions, insults regarding the new DADA teacher, Quidditch (fucking Quidditch—why did the British seem even more obsessed with that stupid sport than Durmstrang's students?), mundane talks of pureblood society, and so on. She was not taking part in any of those discussions, carefully observing the others.

When the other girls decided they were going to sleep, Cassiope's eyes wandered between them and the group staying. She then decided she had a better chance of being left alone and hearing something interesting while staying with the boys. Maybe they would also soon go to sleep and leave her and Regulus alone as usual. Wasn't she wrong.

After her dorm-mates left and the last few fifth and sixth year students (except Regulus) came back to the common room around curfewhourtoreturnto their dorm, the topics started shifting quite rapidly towards darker subjects. She was definitely not more involved in the conversation but she felt gazes on her, gauging her reaction. Well, of course, she had absolutely no reaction to gaugewhatsoever, she stayed perfectly impassive, reading.

-What do you think about it Elezy?

She raised her head innocently as if she had not been listening to their conversation at all.

- Excuse me?

Rosier smirked at her, seemingly not believing her faint innocence.

- Mudbloods? he addedwith araising an eyebrow.

- What about them?

She smiled at him. She could play this game longer than him, that was for sure; she could already see him starting to get impatient. These supposed Slytherins definitely had no control over their emotions. The others were looking back and forth between her and Evan, not sure what was going on. All except Regulus, who was watching her with a severe warning look. But it was not Rosier who took the stand next, it was Mulciber.

-You've been hanging with us for almost a week now. You've never expressed a single thing about your opinions on the matter. We would just like to know if you're really one of us.

- One of you?

Her voice grew colder, and the glare she sent him made him a bit more worried than he would have liked. All the while, she was still smiling softly.

- Well… I did not know I had to share my opinions on certain matters to be "one of you". I actually think it is the most stupid thing to voice out loud these kind of ideas. Especially in school, while on the watch of the supposedlymost powerful wizard point is, I never said I wanted to be "one of you" either,whatever that means.

She stopped there to look at him. He was fuming. The others were waiting expectantly for him to react. She could feel Evan's piercing look, trying to analyse her every word and move. Regulus' stare was still sending big warnings, which made her smile even more. It was kind of cute that he thought she should be worried about Mulciber. The latter finally decided to answer.

- This Dumbledore idiot is far from being the most powerful wizard alive. Have you been readinganythingat all about where you weregoing before you arrived here?And for …

She decided to cut him off, just to enrage him. And she did it with her eternal mysterious smile.

- Oh, I did, thank you very much. I mean... you might be right about that, but Dumbledore and Voldemort never actually fought, so who knows really ? Rumour is that Voldemort is afraid of the headmaster.

They all shiveredwhen shespokehis name. Twice. Cowards.

- Who are you to speak his name? Come to think about it, we don't know anything about you except your all we know you could be a fucking Half-blood or a Blood Traitor.

She watched Snape discreetly tighten. Rosier did not seem interested in intervening to stop his "friend." On the contrary, he seemed to rather enjoy the show and eagerly wait for her answer. Even though her face still expressed nothing but a peaceful smile, she felt her blood beginning to boil inside her. She stared at him in silence while gathering her thoughts. She needed to stay close to the Slytherins. But they could not know. Not yet. She needed to observe and gather as much information as she could before everything else. Maybe she should tell them what they wanted to hear and be done with it. But then, that suicidal imbecile, Mulciber, stood and pointed a finger at her.

- Your silence is worth a thousand words Elezy. I guess you are notevenlinked to the lineage Regulus can keep smiling and pretending you are one of us, but I will discover all about you and your parents, as filthy as they are.

Now, Cassiope was not smiling, she was actually standing right in front of Frederic's face. Her expressionless face was on, but the eyes she laid on him could freeze hell. Her hair seemed to spark from her fury and magic. They all stared at her, amazed and scared, hypnotized by her raging and menacing beauty. Unconsciously, Mulciber took a step back while she hissed at him in a low, menacing tone.

- You will not talk about my parents again,Frederic . I assure you that you would regret it dearly. Either one of them,separately,would have been more noble and powerful that your entire family tree. I am the descendant of some of the most powerful wizards of all insulting me and my family right now, because I am not scared of you. I am not, and will never be, "one of you".Because I am above out of my face.

Her last order was filled with so much magic that, even if he had wanted to stay, Mulciber would have taken at least a few steps back, compelled. The fact was, he backed up and sat in the next armchair, dazed.

She calmed instantly and turned her eyes to Evan Rosier with a challenging smile. He stood, smirked, and, without breaking the gaze, ordered Avery and Snape to take Mulciber back to their dorm. They silently executed, not without a defiant stare from Snape as he pushed his "friend" out of the way.

They were now standing in the middle of the common room, alone except for Regulus, who was watching expectantly. Evan started:

- I apologized sincerely for Frederic's behaviour, Cassiope. I hope you know it was never my intention to question yourperspective,let alone your noble family.I was just… curious really. I agree with you on the matter that such ideas should not be publicly held, at least for now, in Hogwarts. But please, know that if you ever need to confide or debate your standpoint, I would be more than happy to oblige you, and to answer any questions you might have about… allegiance.

His look was composed, but she could see how much she had sparked his interest.

- It seems that not every pure and noble family in Britain teach their heir to act according to their status, I am glad to see that some still do,she answers. As for my… allegiance, as you stated, I just arrived in Britain after being away for so long, I do not care about politics at the moment.

- Of course Milady...

He reached for her hand, holding it close enough to his face that she could feel his warm breath on her skin.

-Just know that I am here if you ever reconsider. I am sure our ranks would greatly benefit from your… presence. Goodnight Cassiope.

He kissed her hand, his deep green eyes still fixed on hers, before turning to leave the room.