Hermione was acting strangely. She and Ron hardly spoke, and even Harry seemed upset with the redhead. However, Cassiopeia didn't have much time to worry about the Gryffindor trio's drama. Her days were busy trying to fix the goddammit Vanishing Cabinet.
The cabinet was connected to a pair at Borgin & Burkes shop.
Apparently, several such cabinets were used in the first war for people to escape from Death Eaters.
Ironically, it would now be used to bring them into Hogwarts.
However, Peeves, the crazy ghost, had damaged the cursed thing. Cassi and Draco spent hours running tests to fix it.
"We need to find other ways," she huffed, sitting in a chair near the cabinet.
"I know," Draco grumbled. "I'm thinking of something..."
"What?" Cassiopeia asked, adjusting herself to head back to the common room.
"I can't tell you," Draco simply replied, and Cassiopeia felt a strong urge to punch him. How the hell was she supposed to help him with all this mystery?
(...)
Cassi went to bed exasperated, consoling herself with the thought that she only had to endure one more day of classes and Slughorn's party, after which he and Draco could travel to the Malfoy Manor. To Narcissa
And Bell-
She quickly pushed the thought away.
(...)
In the Transfiguration class the next day, the students had just entered the extremely difficult topic of human transfiguration, working in front of mirrors to change the color of their own eyebrows.
Hermione laughed mercilessly at Ron's initial failures, and he retaliated by doing a cruel but accurate imitation of Hermione, mimicking her constantly raising and lowering her hand whenever Minerva asked a question.
Lavender and Parvati found it funny, and again, it almost brought Hermione to tears. She rushed out of the classroom when the bell rang, leaving half of her belongings behind.
Cassiopeia rolled her eyes forcefully; she was sure Hermione would try to hex Ron for this.
She was picking up her friend's belongings when Harry approached.
As soon as she noticed his blonde eyebrows, Cassi started laughing.
"Trying to become a Malfoy?" She teased playfully.
"No, actually, I think you're the one trying to become a Malfoy," Harry grumbled irritably.
Cassi immediately stopped laughing and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
No, I'm a Black and intend to stay that way, she thought mockingly.
"Here," she handed Hermione's belongings to Harry. "She must have gone to the Gryffindor common room, and since I obviously can't enter..."
"Because you're a snake," Harry teased.
For Salazar's sake... Cassi rolled her eyes.
"I won't even waste my time, airhead. I have Ancient Egyptian class," she huffed irritably before leaving the room.
She saw Harry sticking his tongue out at her as she looked back. He had the decency to blush when caught.
Idiot scar head
(...)
Cassi invited Draco to Slughorn's party, and he couldn't seem happier. He paced back and forth, smiling at her and urging her to hurry every damn moment.
"Draco, calm down! By Merlin's beard," she exclaimed when the blonde bothered her again to walk faster.
Draco barely paid attention, repeatedly thanking her for being such a good friend.
Oh dear. He was reminding her of herself. Years ago, on her first day of Transfiguration class.
Everything was so much easier then.
When they arrived at Slughorn's room, they could hear laughter, music, and lots of conversation. Slughorn's room was much larger than a regular professor's office. The ceiling and walls were draped with emerald, crimson, and gold fabrics, giving the impression of being inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy, bathed in the red light projected by the ornate golden chandelier, where real fairies fluttered, each a tiny bright dot of light.
A singing, apparently accompanied by mandolins, could be heard from a distant corner, and pipe smoke hovered over several elderly wizards absorbed in conversation. Numerous house-elves moved among a forest of knees, shaded by heavy silver trays with food they held, looking like mobile side tables.
"Cassiopeia, my dear!" boomed Slughorn almost as soon as Cassi and Draco passed through the door.
"Come in, come in, there are so many people I'd like you to meet!" Slughorn was wearing a velvet hat with matching tassels to go with his smoking.
Slughorn led her determinedly into the party, and Cassi grabbed Draco's hand and dragged him along.
"Cassiopeia, I'd like you to meet Eldred Worple, a former student of mine, author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires... and, of course, his friend Sanguini."
Worple, a small man with glasses, grabbed Cassi's hand and shook it with enthusiasm, and the vampire Sanguini, tall and gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes, extended his hand and, to Cassiopeia's surprise, kissed it.
There was a group of girls nearby, showing curiosity and excitement.
"A Gaunt, I'm simply enchanted!" Worple exclaimed, squinting at Cassi's face, which irritated her.
"The other day, I was telling Professor Slughorn, 'What brilliant thing will Noctua Gaunt create this time?' "
A way to destroy Voldemort herself, Cassi thought playfully.
"Oh yes..." she commented disinterestedly. "I just saw a friend of mine, sorry."
She pulled Draco through the crowd; she had actually just seen a long mane of brown hair disappear between two members of the group.
"Mione! Hermione!"
Draco gave her an exasperated look.
"Cassie! And... uh... Malfoy," Hermione's broad smile faded away.
"Hello, Granger. You look nice," Draco said surprisingly cordial.
Hermione widened her eyes in surprise."Uh... I... I-"
"I'll take a walk, okay Cassie?" he said, and Cassiopeia just waved to her friend, who quickly disappeared.
"What was that?" Hermione asked, looking very shocked.
"What?" Cassi questioned, grabbing a candy from the tray one of the passing house-elves was carrying.
"Draco was... nice? To me?"
Cassi paused in the middle of her bite and raised an eyebrow.
"I believe it's been years since he called you that word," she lightly pointed out to make sure.
"Yes... Speaking of which," Hermione paused and then blushed furiously, "Did you have something to do with it? The Slytherins never call me 'Mudblood' anymore," she asked, twiddling her fingers.
Now it was Cassi's turn to blush furiously.
"Well... You're important to me, and it's not right for them to tease you about something as meaningless as blood status... You're brilliant, I mean-" Before Cassi could stumble over her words more, Hermione hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, thank you," she said during the embrace, genuinely emotional, "You've always been there for me... I don't even know..."
"Hey, it's okay," Cassi reassured her, starting to feel very embarrassed.
And then she noticed that Hermione looked visibly disheveled, as if she had just fought to get rid of a bunch of Devil's Snare.
"Ah, I just escaped... I mean, I just left Cormac. Under the mistletoe," she added, as an explanation, because Cassi continued to stare at her from head to toe with a curious look.
"Well served for coming with him," Cassi said severely.
"I thought he would annoy Ron the most!" Hermione retorted, emotionless. "I hesitated for a moment whether to invite Zacharias Smith, but I thought that, in general..."
"Oh, no, Hermione..." Cassi twisted her nose in disgust.
Maybe I've picked up some of Narcissa's mannerisms...
"I know!!! But I'm starting to wish I had come, McLaggen makes Grope seem like a gentleman. Let's go this way, we can see him when he comes, he's so tall..."
The two headed to the opposite side of the room, picking up goblets of mead along the way.
"The school corridors are saying you have a thing for Quidditch players," Cassi teased as she took a sip from her goblet.
"Quidditch Game!" Hermione exclaimed, angry at the word. "Is that all boys ever think about?Cormac didn't ask me a single question about myself, no, he just treated me to 'A Hundred Great Saves Made by Cormac McLaggen' without pauses... oh, no, there he comes!"
Hermione moved so quickly that Cassiopeia barely had time to blink when Hermione's lips crashed against hers. She widened her eyes in astonishment as Hermione entangled her fingers in her hair, pulling her closer.
"Hermione?! And Gaunt???" McLaggen asked, shocked, before uttering an annoyed exclamation and quickly storming out the door.
"What the bloodhell was that?!" Cassiopeia asked exasperatedly, her chest heaving, and her eyes wide open.
"Sorry!" Hermione squeaked. "I needed to get rid of him!" she muttered nervously, looking intently at Cassiopeia.
"You have..." She nervously pointed to her own lips. Cassi tried to wipe off the lipstick with her thumb, but apparently it didn't work because Hermione laughed and approached.
She ran her thumb along Cassiopeia's lower lip and the corner of her mouth. Then she suddenly turned very red and looked away, staring at her own feet.
"Sorry," she blurted out in a high-pitched voice all of a sudden, running out.
Bloody gargoyles... Cassi was stunned, absolutely without a reaction.
"Gaunt?"
Cassiopeia jumped like a frightened cat and turned to face Snape, who looked at her critically with a raised eyebrow.
"Granger?" he asked, looking shocked.
Cassi hurriedly said, "She kissed me!" gasping hastily.
To her surprise, Snape laughed. She had never seen him laugh before, only a few smiles. It was nice.
"I saw, don't worry," he said, recovering.
But then Slughorn appeared with Harry and Luna following closely behind.
"Stop dodging and come join us!" Slughorn said cheerfully, intoxicated.
"I was just talking about Harry's exceptional Potion-making skills! Part of the credit is yours, of course, as you were his professor for five years!"
Snape looked at Harry, narrowing his black eyes. "Funny, I never had the impression of having taught anything to Potter."
"Then it's a natural talent!" Slughorn exclaimed. "Likewise, dear Cassiopeia! You should have seen what these two gave me in the first class, the Draught of Living Death, never has a student done better on the first try, I think not even you, Severus."
"Really?" Snape admired in a low voice, his eyes dancing between Harry and Cassiopeia. "Well... Mrs. Gaunt's brilliance doesn't surprise me," he commented with a half-smile.
Cassi felt her chest swell with pride.
"What other subjects are you studying, Harry?" Slughorn asked.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology," Harry explained.
"In short, all the subjects required to become an Auror," Snape concluded with a hint of disdain.
"Yeah, well, that's what I'd like to be," Harry responded challengingly.
"And you'll be a great Auror!" Slughorn thundered.
"I think you shouldn't be an Auror, Harry," Luna interjected unexpectedly. Everyone looked at her.
"Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy. I thought everyone knew that. They're working from within to bring down the Ministry of Magic, using a combination of Dark Arts and tooth decay sweets."
What nonsense was that? Luna is adorable.
Cassiopeia couldn't help but laugh, and Harry seemed to have inhaled half of his mead through his nose when he started laughing.
"But what about you, Cassiopeia?" Slughorn asked. "What are your other subjects?"
"Well... All of them except Muggle Studies," she explained with a smile.
The professor seemed astonished for a moment.
"Our dear Mrs. Gaunt plans to pursue a political career," Snape proudly supplied. "We might be looking at the future leader of the International Confederation of Wizards."
Slughorn became even more ecstatic and grinned with covetous eyes. "A Chief Warlock?" he asked astonished.
"Well... I must think ambitiously, right?" she asked with a smile.
But her smile vanished when she saw Argus Filch coming towards the group, dragging Draco by the ear.
"Professor Slughorn," the caretaker wheezed, his cheeks trembling and his bulging eyes gleaming with maniacal glee upon discovering misdeeds. "I found this boy skulking in an upstairs corridor. He says he was invited to your party and got delayed on his way out. Did you send him an invitation?"
Draco pulled himself free from Filch's grip, furious.
"I invited him, he's my date," Cassi explained scandalized.
Only I have the right to pull those ugly ears!
"See, satisfied?" Draco huffed angrily.
"No, I'm not!" Filch retorted, a statement in complete disagreement with the joy on his face.
"You're in trouble, oh yes, you are!"
"Alright, Argo, alright," Slughorn said with a wave of his hand. "Today is Christmas, and Mr. Malfoy was invited. You're very welcome, Draco."
The expression of indignation and disappointment on Filch's face was perfectly predictable, but why did Draco seem equally unhappy?
Oh no...
Cassi gave him a stern look, and apparently Snape was thinking the same thing.
He had decided to try a new plan without informing them. How the hell were they going to protect him if he didn't cooperate?!
Filch turned away and walked off, dragging his feet and muttering under his breath. Draco managed to force a smile and thanked Cassi, while Snape's expression smoothly returned to its impenetrability.
"You're welcome, you're welcome," Slughorn said, dismissing Draco's thanks directed at him as well. "After all, I knew your grandfather..."
"He always spoke very highly of you, sir. He said you were the best Potions master he had ever known..."
"I'd like to have a word with you, Draco," Snape said suddenly. "And you too, Gaunt."
They glanced at each other before quickly following the professor.
(...)
It was chaos. Draco sat down and placed his hands on his head, looking very self-blaming.
"You can't afford to make mistakes, Draco, because if you get expelled... And you, Cassiopeia!" Snape stared at her with fear in his eyes.
Cassi blinked; it was the first time he called her by her first name.
"I had nothing to do with it, alright?" She emphasized in self-defense.
"I hope you're telling the truth because it was poorly done and foolish!" Snape sighed.
"They already suspect Draco had a hand in the incident-"
"Who suspects me?" Draco asked angrily.
Snape paused.
"Listen here!" he said, in a low voice. "We're trying to help you! I swore to your mother that I would protect you."
"Well, it looks like you'll have to break that oath because I don't need your protection! The task is..."
"I made an Unbreakable Vow, Draco..." Snape argued exasperatedly.
"It's my mission; I received it from him, and I'm fulfilling it. I have a plan that will work, it's just taking a little longer than I thought!" Draco huffed.
"Draco, if his damn Order is more important to you, I also received the same task to ensure your success. So, stop with this damn mystery and explain to us every time you're going to do something so that we can help you!"
"BUT I-!" Draco shouted.
A sigh behind the door.
"Quiet!" Cassi interrupted. "Shhh," she whispered, and both of them looked at her. "Someone is listening," she mouthed silently.
Draco adjusted his robes and Snape also tried to compose himself as they walked to the door and left the room.
"Who?" Snape asked as they walked together. Draco was too far ahead to hear.
"Potter."