The Girl Who Found Hope [2]

Year 3 - 14

"Ready?" Cassiopeia asked her friends. They all nodded and together they got the carriages to the school. Cassiopeia, once again, sat at the end and stroked the Thestral. In the carriage with her was her Slytherin friends, and also the Golden Trio. They all groaned but realised there wasn't another carriage.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked Cassiopeia, breaking the silence.

"Nothing." She replied, not looking away from the Thestral. Draco came to sit beside her. He took her in, and noticed she was deep in thought- just as she was this time last year.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" He asked her, taking her other hand. She looked up to him.

"Nothing." She replied, tears in her eyes. He looked to her in shock, and for the moment they forgot about the others in the carriage that were watching the exchange.

"It's obviously not nothing." He replied, "You look on the verge of tears." She aggressively wiped her eyes.

"No, I'm not." She replied. He raised an eyebrow. "Just leave it."

"Alright, but if I notice it again, we are talking about it. Last time I didn't push for an answer, some awful things went down." He replied, looking down at the reminder of her death.

"It's nothing like that, don't worry." She replied. He nodded. She looked back to the Thestral and tears filled her eyes once again. She didn't know whether it happened for Harry, but she didn't just hear the screams, she saw where the screams were from. She saw the scenes in her mind. She saw her mother and father be killed. She saw herself kill the muggle boy. She saw her punishments. She felt the pain. She saw herself die last year. All the memories, all the horrors, she saw again.

"Cass?" Draco's voice called out. She looked up to see everyone was getting of the carriage.

"Coming." She replied, giving a final stroke to the Thestral, she climbed off the carriage.

As the group got to the school, they were approaching the Great Hall, when Professors Snape and McGonagall came around the corner.

"Ms Reid, Ms Granger and Mr Potter please come with us." Professor McGonagall said to the group.

"The rest of you into the Great Hall." Professor Snape said. The others nodded and made their way into the hall.

"Follow us, please." Professor McGonagall said. The two Gryffindors walked quickly beside their head of house, whereas Cassiopeia remained next to her godfather. He looked down at her, and he noticed the thoughts behind her eyes. He put a hand on her shoulder, and Cassiopeia looked up to him. He raised his eyebrow, but she just shook her head in return. She didn't want him to see her as weak, for at least one person she wanted to stay strong.

The group walked in silence all the way to Professor McGonagall's office. When then group entered, the stern-woman pointed to three stools in front of the desk. The three children sat on one stool each.

"Now, Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead of the train to say you were taken ill on the train, Mr Potter, Ms Reid." Professor McGonagall said from her seat behind her desk. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by the door opening, and Madame Pomfrey came rushing in.

"I'm fine, I don't need anything." Harry tried to protest, Cassiopeia didn't even try anything, because she knew that it was no use. Madame Pomfrey liked to do her job thoroughly.

"Oh, it's you two, isn't it?" Madame Pomfrey said, looking towards the pair. She crouched in front of the pair to look over them. "I suppose you have both been doing something dangerous again?" She asked them.