( chapter )
four
CASSIOPEIA AWOKE WITH A START, her breathing heavy as she sat up, placing her hand on her chest where she could feel her heart beating in a quick pace.
She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths in through her mouth and out through her nose, a frown etched on her lips.
The moon light was illuminating her face, shining through the black lake and the green, lace curtains. Slowly she began to open her eyes, taking another breath, she laid back down in her bed, but Cassie knew she wasn't going to sleep a wink tonight.
So she laid under her sheets, her eyes wide listening to any noise that was made, flinching as owls flew last the moon, blocking the light for only a few moments.
Nightmares were something she had been getting for a few weeks, they began when Sirius left, she couldn't tell anyone.
Even though she wasn't a Gryffindor, she didn't want people to think of her as weak, even though that was how she thought of herself.
They were always the same dream, always the same thing happening.
Screams and shouts pierced the dark-haired girls ears as she slept, the past haunting her in the only place that she couldn't stop it from hurting, the only place where reality shouldn't be.
Not even Nova knew of her dreams and she told her best friend everything, well almost everything.
The blonde knew something was wrong with her friend, the small bags underneath her eyes showed it, how she was yawning every other sentence.
But Nova didn't want to ask, Cassie was a thoughtful girl, and she never liked to tell others her problems, seeing as she didn't want them to worry about her, Cassie was determined to worry about others over them worrying about her. So she kept her problems to herself, no matter how big they were, but Sirius knew when something was up, they were twins after all.
•••
"She cried last night," Sirius said, looking at his sister, a frown etched on his lips.
It was currently dinner the day after Sirius and Cassie had made up, he knew that something was wrong with his sister from the moment she broke down crying in front of him, she never did it back at Grimmauld Place, no matter how bad things were there.
Peter stopped stuffing his face with cheese and looked up at Sirius, Remus and James following his actions, turning to look at the dark haired boy, who was paying no attention to them. Sirius hadn't said anything about the night before in detention with Cassie, apart from the fact that they had made up.
"And?" James said, looking confused, he didn't think it was wrong for someone to cry, so he didn't understand. Sirius rolled his eyes, looking away from his sister and towards James.
"She never cries." The dark-haired boy said, quickly turning his gaze back to Cassie, who was laughing loudly, attracting attraction onto her self, however she didn't care.
"Well, not in front of us."
James just shook his head at the boy. Sirius once again rolled his eyes at his friend, just shaking his head.
"You don't understand Prongs," he spoke up, making James once again look confused.
"Actually, Sirius, we don't understand either." Peter spoke up in his squeaky voice, nibbling in another piece of cheese like a mouse.
Sirius let out a small sigh.
"Cassie never cries in front of me or Reggie, she just doesn't do it," the three nodded, still not entirely understanding.
"She only ever cried in her room, she thought no-one could hear her, but me and Reggie always heard her, as our rooms were either side of hers." The boys nodded yet again.
"She didn't cry in front of us when things at home were awful. So what changed?"
He asked, his and the rest of the marauders attention going to Cassie, who was yawning as Nova spoke to her.
•••
"Cassie," a voice said, snapping the dark-haired girl out of her daze. Cassiopeia looked up to see Regulus standing there, a letter in his hand. She titled her head to the side as she looked at her brother.
"What's up Reggie?" Regulus sighed as he handed Cassiopeia the letter, a frown on his face.
"Someone told mother and father about your detentions." Cassie stared down at the letter, the black wax stamp holding the flap down as her name was scribbled in cursive writing on the front, Cassiopeia Estella Black.
Cassie let out a shaky breath as she looked up at Reggie, smiling slightly, she placed the letter in her robe pocket with a shaking hand.
Reggie frowned at his sister as she looked up at him, a smile forced on her face.
"I promise, it wasn't me Cassie-," the boy said, he could tell his sister was disappointed, even if it wasn't at him. He stopped though as he watched the girl wave a hand in the air, stopping him from saying anything. He only nodded as he took a seat down besides her.
"Do you know who it was though?" Nova asked, sitting across from them, putting down a batch of bread, and looking at Regulus with a frown.
Regulus shook his head taking a spoon of mayonnaise to put on the sandwich he had began to make.
"It must be a Slytherin though, our parents wouldn't ask for a favour from anyone from another house."
Ashamed, Cassie nodded, her parents only put up with Sirius because he was their son, but for around the first six months of Sirius' stay at Hogwarts, letters would come demanding that the boy was placed in Slytherin, and that the hat must have made a mistake.
It was only when they came home for the Christmas break that their parents realised that Sirius wasn't like them, and because of that, Cassie looked up to him.
"But who?" The dark-haired girl spoke up, looking up and down the table, yawning as she did, when she didn't see anyone who she thought hated her, she decided to look around the room.
Cassie looked over at the Gryffindor table, she spotted Sirius and his friends looking at her so she sent them a small smile, as her mouth closed.
Sirius smiled back before saying something to his friends who quickly looked away.
Cassiopeia titled her head to the side, confused at their actions, but just shrugged her shoulders ignoring it.
"So, are you gonna open it?" Nova asked, picking up her batch and taking a bite, Cassie shook her head.
"Not here, I will in the dorm." Nova nodded, as did Regulus, the two of them still frowning. They all sat there in silence for a few moments before Regulus rose from the bench.
"Im going to go and find Goyle," He said, referring to Novas younger brother. The two girls nodded, saying their goodbyes to the boy as he walked away, leaving his half-eaten sandwich on the table.
"Want to go to the dorm?" Cassie nodded in response, when in reality, that was the last thing she wanted to do.
•••
Cassie sat down on her bed with a small bump, Nova sitting down besides her, causing the bed to dip with the weight of the two girls on it. With a shaky hand, Cassiopeia pulled out the letter that she had stuffed in her pocket, the wax seal still enclosing the contents of it.
Cassie and Nova both knew it wouldn't be too good, the Blacks only ever sent letters to their children when they had done something wrong, or when they wanted something.
Cassie ran her finger under the wax seal, and opened the flap of the envelope, pulling out the folded parchment. Her hands still shaking slightly as she unfolded the page, to see the hand writing of her mother.
Cassiopeia Estella Black.
You are a waste of a daughter, a disappointment to the Black family name! You are a disgrace to the family! We finally thought that we could trust you enough to behave properly in school, you know what happened after that Blood-Traitor left! Would you like it to happen again?
We couldn't believe it when we were told that you already have two detentions. How could you? You father was at work when he got the letter, how do you think he felt? Knowing that his only daughter was being a menace, yet again?
It it really so hard for you to behave longer than a few days? You, your father and I will be having serious words when you come home for Christmas, and if you do anything else before that, it won't only be words.
Walburga Black - W.B
Nova rolled her eyes at the letter, thinking that it was all over dramatic, but when she saw that Cassie had frozen in place, she knew it was something more, but when she asked the dark-haired girl about it.
Cassiopeia only brushed it off, laughing half-heartedly, smiling, however yet again, it didn't quiet reach her eyes.
•••
The next day, Cassiopeia reluctantly got out of her bed and got ready for the day, and for her detention. She frowned as she walked up the steps of her common room, leading to the corridors.
No-one had woken her up so she was a few minutes late to her detention, and she had missed breakfast.
Cassie rolled her eyes as she passed students who were all having fun and happy that it was finally the weekend. When Cassiopeia reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts room, she was already a few minuets late, but she didn't care, so she slowly pushed the door open, she then again rolled her eyes as she saw who was sitting in a seat near Professor Smith table.
"Potter."
•••