Change - James F. Potter

Chapter10:A Lavender Scented Letter and an Owl in My Lunch

Cassie POV:

Lunch passed with few interruptions. Well if you don't count Lily and her unending complaints about that night's detention.

"Lily, if you really did not want detention, then why were you the one who suggested the plan in the first place?" Really woman, if you don't like trouble, then why did you knock on its door and ask it to play?

At this point, I was used to being in trouble, not agreeing with parents on every other word that left their mouths, I had developed a habit of doing things that I knew my parents did not agree on either.

"You looked like you needed cheering up and I wanted to help." Lily's face held a soft smile and her previous anger melted away.

I had only ever had one person who was willing to get themselves in trouble to make a smile appear on my face. My heart swelled at the thought of having two, even if the first was currently ignoring me. It meant I wasn't quite as alone anymore.

"Thank you, Lily, it really does mean a lot. And thank you for not telling the others" I looked away at the mention of telling the others. Why should I burden them with my problems too? They didn't deserve the pain and anxieties that came with the knowledge I had.

"I am not going to force you to tell me what was wrong earlier," Lily gently placed her hand on mine, her touch was beginning to feel more welcoming by the minute, "but I hope that some say you can trust me enough to share with me what's going on in that head of yours." She tapped her own head like it held all the secrets of the universe inside.

Giggling at her gesture I thought to myself, 'maybe someday. but not today, sorry Lily.'  I did not want to be more of a burden to her than I already was. We already had detention tonight and I think that was already more than Lily could handle.

I went back to my thoughts, pushing the remains of my lunch around on my plate. All of me wanted to trust Lily and that she really was trying to make me smile, but part of me felt it was because she was scared of my family. They hated people of her origins and made it very clear, but would she see that I did not care?

Did she even know about my family?

The once loud Great Hall seemed to quiet down in a matter of seconds. First the Slytherins, then the rest fell in line. I looked around to see what could have possibly caused such a reaction and find it almost immediately. An owl as black as the forbidden forest on the new moon. My mother's owl.

While Lily might not know of my parents, the pureblood supremacists that resided in the house of the snake sure did. The Black's were famous for their undying allegiance to the one they call the 'Dark Lord', more commonly known as Voldemort. If it were up to me, he would be named moldy warts. His looks were the only semi-attractive thing about him. He was a snot, he did not believe in second chances, and he targeted those below him. Long story short, the Blacks adored him. Excluding me of course. And Sirius. We would rather be caught dead before joining his forces.

Most of the students were most likely interested in the fact that someone was getting mail in the middle of the day, instead of with everyone else, but the Slytherins and a select group of other students knew exactly what was going on. Someone had told my mother about the sorting.

My palms felt clammy and my veins felt as if there was air running through them. I stiffly turned my head to see if Sirius had found the disruption. His face had gone paler than our dear cousin Narciassa's and I knew he knew immediately that he had spotted the owl. That dreaded owl.

The winged creature found its way to me. Of course, it had. The owl, who's name was Atonia, had always disliked me more than Sirius. He used to feed her the parts of his dinner that he did not want, and of course, Atonia thought it was only fair that I fed her too. Every time I tried to, my mother would always scold me for not being a 'perfect pureblood princess', so I refrained from feeding her. She did not like this very much and made it a habit to bite me any chance she got.