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"I'll be seeing you on the 26th, then?" Mini said as the three Slytherin third-year girls made their way to the train. The festive season had already approached, and the majority of Hogwarts students were making their way back home.
"Yeah, it's at my house again. Have a great Yule!" Cassiopeia wrapped her roommate into a large hug, with Andie slowly joining in.
On Boxing Day, it had become tradition for one of the many powerful pureblooded to throw a ball - though the evening was more focused on socialising than dancing. This year, the Malfoy's were hosting.
The Yule festivities were extremely formal and upheld the traditions that the Malfoy family prided themselves on for following. Where Christmas day was focused on gifts, families and feasts, Yule lacked anything that resembled the same sort of warmth or spirit.
No, the 25th of December was a day where every person would receive a singular gift from one member of their family, usually in silence after breakfast.
Extended family would then come to visit, and since the murder of mudbloods had become frowned upon, Cassiopeia's family had resorted to kneeling before their family tree and thanking their ancestors for their plight, before a conversation ignited about mudbloods and the inherent injustice against them, the purebloods.
After this, it was tradition for portraits to be painted of the family - one of each individual, as well as the two parents, siblings and finally, the whole family picture. Cassiopeia, perhaps somewhat arrogantly, rather enjoyed this part of the day, as she always looked good on Yule.
She thought to herself that families like the Weasleys must be incredibly grateful for celebrating Christmas instead, for their families were too large to hang the portraits every year, and far too poor to pay any decent artist for their labour.
As Mini made her way onto the train, Cassiopeia couldn't help but notice Cedric Diggory and his cult following as they emerged on the platform. Reluctant but knowing at what her father would want her to do, the blonde turned to her ginger friend.
"I'm going to have to sit with Diggory, Ands. Will you cope by yourself?" she asked. Andie sighed, but nodded.
"Yes, yes, I'll be fine. I'll go sit with the Warringtons. Maybe I'll find Draco and ensure he's not causing too much trouble." she said before slowly pulling her friend into a hug, who laughed softly.
"I'll see you on the 26th, then?" Cassiopeia said as she wrapped her hands around the Greengrass girls waist.
"See you then. Love you, Cassie."
"Love you too!"
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"Well, Flint is borderline incompetent- no offence, Cassiopeia." one of Diggory's friends, a tall half-blood boy, stated.
The Malfoy bit her tongue, managing to say "None taken.". She may not have been a fan of her Quidditch Captain, but he was a Slytherin all the same.
"Well, you got a rotten deal when you played against Gryffindor last month, Cass, you must admit." Cedric, who was sat on Cassiopeia left, said simply.
"I guess." she murmured, before turning her head to the window, watching as they rushed past the snow-coated fields of Scotland.
Predictably, Cedric's ludicrous amount of friends meant that they had to fit into two different compartments, and even then it was a slight squeeze.
Opposite Cassiopeia was the half-blood, and to his right sat two mudblood girls. Cedric sat in between the esteemed Slytherin and yet another mudblood, who she knew to be an exceedingly dull Ravenclaw girl, thus the blonde chose silence over socialising.
For all she knew, any of their ancestors could've burned hers at the stake. Yet if she were to confront them on this, she would suffer from this, and that'd be foolish. Therefore, Cassiopeia only spoke occasionally and when spoken to by others. She hoped that they would assume that she was tired.
Her pale blue eyes set on the window, Cassiopeia continued to admire the scenery that stood before them. Until Diggory, ever wanting those around him to feel included, nudged her slightly.
"What'll you be doing when you get home, Cass? Are you a Christmas or Yule sort of household?" he asked, and all eyes turned onto her.
Resisting the urge to sharply ask him to guess what she, a Malfoy, would be celebrating; Cassiopeia smiled, faux-shyly, and looked down at the floor.
"Yule." she whispered softly.
"Shit, really?" the mudblood sat besides the half-blood asked. Cassiopeia managed to make eye contact with it and nodded.
"I suppose that my family see it as more traditional than Christmas. You know how it is." the blonde girl managed to stay ambiguous in her wording, not wanting to slander her family but needing to be sympathetic.
"I can't imagine how it is for you, Cass. Can I call you Cass?" the same mudblood asked. She was a sickly pale girl with thin, mousy brown hair and bad acne.
"Of course. Can I give you a nickname? Or would it not work?" Cassiopeia queried, realising she didn't know the girls name.
"Well, I've always just been Eloise, though I suppose El could work." she shrugged, not picking up that Cassiopeia was completely unfamiliar with her.
In fairness, as soon as she learnt someone's blood status, she disengaged with them completely, unless they were a friend of those she thought it was wise to surround herself with. This included quite a few of Fred and George's friends.
Looking at the girl again, Cassiopeia thought intensely. She usually wore red, did she not? And she was sat with George Weasley for Potions.
'Oh, it's Eloise Midgen! I didn't recognise her, outside of her uniform. Merlin, Gryffindor's really lack individuality.'
"El works." Cassiopeia smiled at the girl, before looking out the window, hoping for the conversation to cease. But of course, it didn't.
"So, how does Yule work, then? I know how Christmas works, though I don't celebrate it. But Yule is weird, isn't it? It's a bit... supremacy riddled, isn't it?" the boy opposite her asked.
"It's not too dissimilar to Christmas, just more tailored to Wizarding families. That's the best way to describe it. There are still gifts, but less. There's a bigger focus on... family."
Cassiopeia knew that family wasn't the same as worshiping your ancestors and speaking down on mudbloods, but she had a hunch that the truth wouldn't go down as well with this lot.
The boy opposite her nodded. "I see. I'm Muslim, you know."
"A what?" Cassiopeia cocked an eyebrow.
"It's a religion. Not uncommon for Wizards to be Muslim, but it's rarer over here." he explained.
"I see." Cassiopeia nodded, not captivated by his insight or unique perspective. As long as other wizards celebrated it, she couldn't care less about whatever it was.
Quiet dialogue between people who didn't involve her filled the compartment, much to Cassiopeia's liking. Her eyes slowly closing, the chatter around her becoming comforting background noise rather than a drilling sound that she had to be a part of, the witch began to drift into a light sleep.
And when her head fell on Cedric Diggory's shoulders, he didn't move her as his friends all raised their eyebrows and make quick, quiet comments about their friends red face.
But Cedric didn't mind. For now, he was content with the weight on the Malfoy girls head falling onto his shoulder.
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"Wake up, Cassie. We're here." the Hufflepuff boy murmured, shaking the girl slightly. The rest of his friends had left them to meet their families, thus the two Purebloods remained.
Cassiopeia sat up and sighed, rubbing her hands over her face before looking out of the window. A few people had already dispersed onto the platform, and she suddenly became extremely alert.
"Crap, I need to find Draco! Have a good Yule, Cedric!" Cassiopeia exclaimed as she grabbed her satchel and ran to the doors.
"I celebrate Christmas, Cass." Cedric chuckled.
"Well, have a good Christmas then. Bye!"
And with that, she was gone. The Diggory boy sighed, watching her as she left. He could never quite get their timing right.
Running her fingers through her hair, Cassiopeia made her way over to the compartments that the Slytherins would tend to sit in.
Unsurprisingly, she found Draco. Much to her shock, however, stood a somewhat familiar face that she could never seem to find during school.
"You alright, Josette?" she asked the Ravenclaw girl. Her hair was in a high bun, secured by her wand. It looked beautiful.
"Fine. This boy decided to try and hex me." the brown-eyed girl stated plainly, her French accent softer than she recalled.
"I apologise on behalf of my brother. How are you? Draco, go get your things. Mother and Father will be waiting." Cassiopeia ordered, and the platinum blonde slipped into the compartment behind him without a word.
If it was anyone else, Draco would've protested or simply refused. But Cassiopeia was not only his sister, but the closest thing he had to his father when they were at Hogwarts. He didn't question his father, and had stopped questioning Cassiopeia.
In public, at least.
"I'm keeping well. Excited to see my parents, and my sister." Josette smiled appreciatively.
"Same, I've never really adapted to being away from them for so long. Do you celebrate Yule? You are a Rowle, after all." Cassiopeia asked, and the curly-haired girl nodded.
"Oui. We're attending an event the day after Yule. It's at your manor, I believe." she smiled a toothy grin at the blonde girl opposite her, whose cheeks tinted pink as the words escaped her lips.
"Merlin, really? You should've found me! The Rowle's haven't attended for years, why now?" the Heiress questioned.
Josette shrugged. "Not sure. My father is... an interesting man. I'll see you on the 26th, then?"
"You will! See you then, Josette."
"Have a good Yule, Cassiopeia."
"And you!"
A grin on her lips, Josette walked around Cassiopeia and out of the doors. She could hear Draco giving his farewells to the Crabbe and Goyle boys, and she felt her eyes wander out of the window to the compartment before her, following the enigmatic Ravenclaw girl.
Her father was, by all means, a curious looking man. He wore a long, coal-coloured overcoat, noticeably lacking the robes that most wizards would drape themselves in. His skin was darker than his daughters, his eyes deep dark pools that glistened at the sight of his daughter.
Her mother was eerily familiar to the Malfoy girl. Light-skinned, coily hair and draped in a deep purple cloak that lay over her robes, she wouldn't pass for a mudblood the way her husband could. Her eyes were the same honey colour as Josette's, and their lips were identical; from the colour and size to the identical smiles they wore.
"Why are you watching the French girl?" Draco's voice emerged, causing Cassiopeia to jump slightly.
"Don't sneak up on me, Draco! And she's in my year, that's all. Pureblood, too. Don't know why you were trying to hex her." Cassiopeia straightened the strap of her satchel before linking arms with her brother.
"She's French." Draco shrugged, causing his older sister to roll her eyes.
"We're French, Draco, even if we don't have the accents. Now come on, we've kept them waiting. No whining."
And with that, Cassiopeia and Draco Malfoy stepped off of the train, and were immediately met by their mother walking up to them, her arms extended.
"My darlings!"
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