Cassi was with her suitcases ready to return to Hogwarts. Narcissa spent the whole day making the most of every second she could to touch and kiss her whenever possible.
She definitely wasn't complaining.
When it was time to leave, Draco went to bid farewell to Lucius while Cassi observed from a distance. He truly adored his father; Lucius tried his best to show affection in his own distorted way, but he seemed too cold.
When they Apparated to the station, Narcissa grew increasingly anxious, holding onto both of their arms with an aristocratic posture, but her eyes betrayed her, showing her distress.
"My baby," she said to Draco, giving him a big hug.
"Mother, that's enough," he said, embarrassed, as he went to put his suitcases on the train.
Cassi lightly chuckled at her friend's flushed cheeks as he ran away.
"I'll miss you so much," she whispered anxiously, pulling Narcissa into a tight embrace.
"I'll miss you too, my dear," she gasped in her ear. "Keep me informed. I want at least three letters weekly on my desk," she requested, leaving no room for objections.
"I promise," Cassi smiled, yearning to kiss her, even though they couldn't do it in public. She made an effort, pushing away the dirty mental image in her head, and it seemed to work as Narcissa shuddered and gave her a stern look.
"Brat" She clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
"You'll have to punish me next time then," Cassi teased with a mischievous smile, peppering the older woman's cheek with several quick kisses before moaning provocatively in her ear and then quickly stepping back.
"Goodbye, Mrs. Malfoy," she blew a kiss from a distance with a mischievous grin.
Narcissa shook her head, trying to snap out of her stupor, and pretended to catch the kiss while pressing her lips to her heart with a slight smile.
"I love you," she whispered with a movement of her lips, to which Cassiopeia responded in her mind
I love you
When they arrived at Hogwarts, it was already dark. Cassi found Minerva helping some students and ran to hug her.
"Oh, Kitty. How was it?" Minerva asked, examining her goddaughter for any injuries.
Cassi laughed at that and at Minerva's widened eyes when she noticed a dark mark behind the scarf around her neck.
"It was a little insect, Aunt Minnie," she lied with a smile. But she cursed Narcissa silently. Her neck was covered in love bites.
The next morning, Cassi was in the Great Hall for breakfast when she saw Draco buried in the Daily Prophet. Looking around, people were conversing calmly. What worried her was the look of panic on some teachers' faces as they read the newspaper.
"What's wrong, ferret?" she asked, intrigued.
Draco lowered the newspaper, looking paler than usual, and handed it to her.
Cassiopeia opened it, glanced at the front page, and her eyes widened. There were ten black-and-white photographs occupying the entire first page. Nine wizard faces and the tenth was of a witch. Some of them were silently mocking; others drummed their fingers on the picture frames insolently. Each photo had a caption with a name and the crime for which the person had been sent to Azkaban.
"Antonin Dolohov," read the caption under the wizard with a pale and twisted face, "sentenced for the brutal murder of Gideon and Fabian Prewett."
"Augustus Rookwood," read under the photo of the man with a face marked by smallpox and greasy hair, leaning against the frame with a bored expression, "convicted of passing Ministry of Magic secrets to Voldemort."
But what really caught her attention was the photo of the witch. Her face stood out at the beginning of the page. She had long dark hair that looked unkempt and disheveled, although Cassi had seen it silky, thick, and shiny before. She stared back at her under heavy eyelids, a smirk of arrogance and disdain playing on her lips. Then she screamed wildly.
Bellatrix. Cassi thought, tracing her finger over the photograph without thinking too much.
MASS BREAKOUT FROM ASKABAN.
FEARS BLACK IS THE 'GATHERING POINT' FOR FORMER DEATH EATERS
"BLACK?" Cassi exclaimed angrily, perhaps too loudly, because many eyes turned towards her.
"Shhh," Draco whispered, gesturing for her to be quiet.
"This is an outrage! Absurd!" she growled, irritated. "Now they'll be searching all the Black residences to find them or what?!" she complained, scowling.
The Ministry of Magic announced last night that there was a mass breakout from Azkaban. In an interview with reporters in his office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped yesterday evening, and he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister about the dangerous nature of the fugitives.
"We find ourselves, unfortunately, in the same position as two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," commented Fudge. "We believe that the two breakouts are related. An escape on this scale points to external help, and we must remember that Black, the first person to escape from Azkaban, would be in an ideal position to help others follow in his footsteps. We believe that these individuals, including Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have grouped around Black as their leader. Nevertheless, we are making every effort to capture the criminals and ask the wizarding community to remain alert and cautious. Under no circumstances should they approach these individuals."
Draco sighed. "Mother must be having a fit right now," he shuddered. "Do you think we should write?"
"Certainly," Cassi said, sitting down and trying to compose herself.
She scanned the Great Hall, but everyone was engrossed in their own conversations, paying no attention to what was happening in the outside world. "Bunch of idiots," Cassiopeia grumbled, rolling her eyes.
(...)
The meetings of the D.A. continued, and it was lovely to see the progress of her fellow students. Cassiopeia felt like a teacher, somewhat like Minerva, strict with no room for leniency, but she knew how to be kind.
Harry, on the other hand, had a natural talent. Sometimes he was too kind when he needed to be firm, but that seemed to motivate his peers in a positive way.
Pansy was behaving strangely, being too touchy and laughing excessively at her jokes. Cassiopeia remembered what Narcissa said on the night of the ball and shuddered. She didn't know whether to talk to her friend to end her hopes or play dumb and wait for Pansy to get tired of her when she realized that the feeling wasn't mutual.
She decided to take the Slytherin approach and dropped subtle hints that she was in love with someone from outside Hogwarts. But Pansy seemed more and more obsessed with knowing who it was and even accused her of being a bad friend for not confiding in her. Merlin's beard, it was chaos.
Narcissa wrote regularly, but the letters were always sent at night. She supposed that the woman wanted to be discreet for some reason, but she simply accepted it. Her letters definitely brightened her day.
Draco, that cheeky little thing, joined a squad led by Umbridge to pursue Potter. Little did he know that Cassi was also in the secret group. If Narcissa found out, she would be in a lot of trouble.
(...)
Harry was teaching them to conjure a Patronus this time.
"Think of a strong memory, the happiest one you can remember. Let it fill you," Harry instructed.
Around the room, many of Cassi's peers managed to conjure a corporeal Patronus. She thought of her mother and the time they spent together when she tried to cast the Patronus, but it didn't work. She continued for a few moments until Hermione approached her.
"I read that Animagi have difficulty conjuring Patronuses," Hermione commented quietly, "among other things..."
"At least we gain natural Occlumency in the process," Cassi snorted, lowering her wand
"Try changing the memory," Harry joined them, encouraging. "Come on, Cassie, you can do it," he gave a wide smile.
She raised her wand again and tried to think of a moment of great joy. She thought of the Gryffindor trio, of Sirius, of Draco, of Narcissa...
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A strong and powerful light burst from her wand, blinding her peers for a few moments. Then, a gorgeous fox flew towards her, playfully circling around everyone as it soared.
"Wow," Harry exclaimed in surprise. "I told you that you could do it," he smirked confidently, and Cassi playfully shoved his shoulder with a big smile.
"I did it!" she exclaimed joyfully, and around her, Hermione and Ron were laughing at her excitement.
Narcissa was her most powerful memory.