"Alright, class, this week you'll be tasked with discovering what these three poisons are and brewing their antidotes. I want an essay with a paragraph about each poison and antidote on my desk by next Wednesday. I'm requiring each of you to write one, but you can work with your partner," Professor Slughorn told Cassia's class the Wednesday before Henri's birthday, "The majority of this will be done inside of class, however, you will need to do some of it outside. Get to work."
Cassia and Regulus worked quietly, speaking only to ask a question on the other's progress. By the end of class, they'd identified one poison.
"Want to meet tonight so that we can brew the antidote?" Cassia asked as she packed up her things.
"Sure. We have a double period on Friday, so we can finish identifying the other two then. How about we meet up this weekend and we can brew the last two antidotes?" They walked out of the classroom side by side.
"I... I can't this weekend."
"Why?" Regulus asked before he could help himself. It wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend, and there wasn't much else to do at Hogwarts in your free time.
"Not that it's not your business, Black," she said teasingly, bumping him with her hip, "But I'm going to visit my brother for his birthday."
"I didn't know you were allowed to do that," Regulus remarked to himself.
"Typically, you can't. But my brother is in St Mungo's, so I got special permission." Regulus glanced at her, seeing an obviously fake smile on her face as she continued, "Got anything you want me to tell him?"
"He doesn't know me, isn't that a little strange if a random bloke in your year wishes him a happy birthday?"
Cassia blushed, "I may have mentioned you once or twice."
Regulus smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, "Aww, Pea, I'm flattered."
"Oh, shove off, Black," she elbowed him in the side, "and I told you not to call me that."
"Whatever, love. I'll see you tonight at six."
Rory appeared at her side once Regulus left, slinging his arm around her, "What's that about, huh? Does little Cass have a date?"
"Sweet Merlin, Rory, no. We're working on a Potions project." Her best friend gave her a look that said, I'm not buying it. She huffed, rolling her shoulders to dislodge his arm, "If you're going to keep prying into my nonexistent love life, go somewhere else. I've got essays to write."
~
True to her word, after changing from her uniform to more comfortable clothing, and slipping on her glasses instead of her contacts, Cassia spent the next three hours writing essays. Herbology, Transfiguration, and Charms all required a two-foot essay, and although they had only been assigned that day, she wanted to get them done before the weekend.
She almost didn't notice when the clock in Ravenclaw Tower read 6:00 pm, and she was forced to scramble to collect her things. Cassia was sure that if a professor had seen her running through the halls to the potions room, she would have gotten a detention.
At ten past six, Cassia entered the room, dropping into the seat beside Regulus. He frowned at her, noticing the round, tortoiseshell glasses perched on her nose and her chest heaving from running.
"You're late."
"I'm sorry. I got caught up writing the essay for Transfiguration." She pushed up the glasses.
"That was only assigned today! No wonder you're a bloody Ravenclaw," he muttered as they began to work. Cassia rolled her eyes.
"I just don't want to do it all when I'm visiting my brother, alright?" There was a slight bite in her voice and Regulus backed down. They worked in silence for a while.
"I didn't know you wear glasses."
"I use contacts most of the time. They're a muggle thing, like mini glasses that go in your eye." Regulus looked appalled, and Cassia tried to rephrase, "Not necessarily in your eye, just on it— Nevermind. I just don't really like how I look with glasses."
The Slytherin turned back to his work, saying, "I think you look hot with them on."
"Really? Cause I prefer you with them off," she joked, taking them off so that he was just a blur. She thought he turned to look at her, but Cassia was honestly blind without her glasses. A low chuckle reached her ears as he took her glasses from her hands and slipped them on his own face.
"Jeez, Sweet Pea, you really are blind!" He exclaimed.
"I told you not to call me that, Reggie. Now can I have my glasses back?"
"How do I look, first?"
"I can't see you. I can only see about this far." She held a hand out about six inches away from her face.
Regulus leaned in, coming into focus for the girl. Her breath caught slightly at his nearness. Against her will, her gaze flicked to his lips, before meeting his eyes again.
"You look fine, Regulus." She said, taking her glasses back, "Now can we finish our work?"
~
"Are you ready, Miss Hamilton?" Professor Flitwick asked. He stood beside her at the Ravenclaw table Saturday morning. The fourth year nodded, saying goodbye to her friends. She followed him to his office, taking a pinch of Floo powder when he offered it.
"Janus Thickey Ward, St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," Cassia said, throwing the emerald powder into the flames. Stepping inside, she was whisked away.
She appeared in the Resident Healer's office of the Janus Thickey Ward. The Healer, a Mx Harley Jennings, smiled at her.
"Hello, Cassia. It's wonderful to see you again," Harley said. They led her out of the office.
"Hi, Healer Jennings. How's Leo doing?" She asked, waving to some of the residents.
"He's hanging in there, love. Be better for getting you for the weekend," they smiled at her, leading the way out of the ward and into a room next door. There, lying in the hospital bed, was her brother.
"Pea!" Leo shouted, sitting up. Cassia hurried over to him, pulling him into a hug.
"Hiya, Bean!" She sat in the chair beside his bed, keeping hold of his hand.
"So what's the gossip?"
"You remember the boy I told you about? Regulus Black?" Leo gave a nod, "He made a bet with his friend that he couldn't get me to be his girlfriend by our OWLs."
"That's gross!" Leo exclaimed, wrinkling his nose.
Cassia nodded sagely, "Yes, it is. He's been trying to flirt, but he's not very good at it."
"Have the Marauders done anything this year?" His eyes shined at the thought. Leo had always been a fan of the four boys, thinking their pranks were fascinating.
She leaned forward conspiratorially, "Last week, they managed to clog every single toilet in the school and they couldn't be unclogged for an entire day. No one knows how they did it."
Blue eyes wide, Leo begged for more stories, and Cassia, happy to deliver, told them long into the night. It was midnight when she slipped into the cot placed in the corner of the room and fell asleep.
~
"Happy birthday, Leo!" Cassia grinned when her brother had woken up the next day. He beamed back at her before rubbing his chest and grimacing. She handed him a potion that Healer Jennings had left with her, and he knocked it back.
"Are Mum and Dad coming?" Leo asked, setting the bottle on the table beside him. Cassia hummed in agreement, pulling a few boxes from her bag.
"This is from Teddy," she told him, handing over an aquamarine package, "Rory and Mari sent something as well, and Regulus, Laurie, and Tommy all say happy birthday."
"Wait, Regulus? The boy who bet on my sister? Gross." Leo finished opening Teddy's gift, revealing a leather-bound notebook and a plate of cookies. Rory's was a party pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and Mari gave the boy a book on mythical creatures.
The door opened and their parents entered, ladened with gifts for the youngest Hamilton. Leo received more books and candy, along with clothes and some pranking materials.
As it neared five in the afternoon, Cassia knew it was time to say goodbye. She hugged her parents and kissed her little brother, promising that he would see her at Christmas. Before she left, however, Leo handed her a large dress box.
"Your costume," he grinned, "I helped Dad pick it out. Go on, open it."
She removed the lid, and her eyes fell on the mask sitting on top of the costume. It was a simple affair, made of a silver material that was wrought into flowers and plants. A silver ribbon was to be used to hold it in place. Setting it aside, she pulled out the shirt. A peasant blouse of white linen, with ties at the chest and wrists. The bottom of the costume was a wrap-around skirt made of a layer of patchwork silk over a longer layer of green silk.
The piece-de-resistance of it all was the pair of gossamer wings she found at the bottom of the box. They were shrunk and set in a protective pouch, with instructions for how to enlarge them when she needed to. A smile burst onto her face.
"You're gonna be a faery!" Leo grinned. Cassia hugged her father and brother again, thanking them for the costume. Kissing her mother on the cheek, she bid them farewell, going back to Hogwarts through Healer Jennings' fireplace.