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No matter how hard she tried, Cassie just couldn't sleep that night. Instead, she sat up until morning sitting out on her windowsill with a cigarette between her lips. She puffed in and out as she stared blankly at the picture of her mother and father.
How is it that two people who should've been the best thing in Cassie's life turned out to be the worst? Life truly isn't fair to her.
Amelia Selwyn looked so happy in the moving picture, it was hard to believe it was all fake. On the bright side, at least Cassie still had Tonks and her parents. As far as she's concerned, they're more immediate family than Sirius and Amelia will ever be.
A knock on the door brought Cassie out of her thoughts.
"Cassie? Are you almost ready? We have to get to King's Cross early," Tonks said.
"Yeah! Just give me a minute," she replied while tossing out her cigarette.
Cassie packed the last of her things in her trunks, making sure to not forget to bring what she took of Regulus'. She wasn't sure what everything meant in Regulus' journal, but from what she read, he knew something important and she was determined to find out what it was.
Cassie was known to the school for her grunge-like outfits, not bothering to follow the dress code. Knowing this, it wasn't much of a surprise to see her waltz out of her room in black, ripped mom jeans, a low-cut crop top, and black boots.
Remus sighed, "Do you really need to wear that?"
"It's called style, Remus," she said rolling her eyes while sliding on a few of her chunky rings.
"Girls are so confusing," he said under his breath causing a chuckle to erupt from Tonks.
It took them twenty minutes to reach King's Cross by foot and in the meantime Remus decided to bombard Cassie with warnings about her mother.
Cassie groaned, "I get it, Remus! I'll be safe."
"I know, I know I'm done now, I'm just worried! You have enough on your plate with becoming an Order member, and now you have to deal with your death eater mother so I'm just looking out for you," he sighed
"She'll be fine, she's about to be at Hogwarts, safest place she can be," Tonks reassured him causing him to nod in understanding.
Once inside the station, the three of them made their way over the bridge toward the platforms. They were chatting happily when they noticed Moody standing in front of a private room. Cassie was about to wave when a great black dog pranced out alongside Harry.
Cassie instantly stopped in her tracks as the dog she knew to be her father locked eyes with her a couple dozen feet away. Remus and Tonks turned confused to ask what happened until they saw the big dog. Tonks placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she maintained eye contact.
Sirius hadn't seen his daughter in over a month. He saw her new hairstyle, shockingly resembling her mother. He knew what he had to do, it's the main reason why he came to the station, but at this moment he was hesitating nervously.
Cassie was the first to break eye contact, starting to walk away from her father once again. Much to her surprise, as she dragged her feet following Remus and Tonks toward platform 9 3/4, a soft whine could be heard behind her. She turned around to be faced with her father, whining sadly, with an envelope between his mouth.
"What do you want, Sirius?!" she said in a hushed whisper.
The dog nudged Cassie's hand with his nose, dropping the envelope in her hand. Before she could say anything, Sirius quickly nudged her hand with his head, gave her hand a lick, and pranced away with sad puppy-dog eyes.
As her father walked away, tears welled in Cassie's eyes. The first time she's seen him in weeks and he's gone again. As much as she didn't want to, she couldn't help but yearn for him, the only reason she hasn't ran back is because her innate ability to hold a massive grudge. Sirius has hurt her in ways she couldn't even imagine was possible, Cassie wasn't about to forgive him that quick, it would take months, that is, if she actually ever did want to forgive him.
"Come on, Cassie, we have to go," Tonks said softly as she pulled the girl away.
As they walked away, little did she know that from across the station sat the big dog watching her walk away. She reminded him so much of himself, just from the way she dressed. Oh, how he missed his daughter. All Sirius wanted to do was turn back the time. Through the past weeks he realized he barely even knew his own daughter because he was too wrapped up with Harry, and now he may never get the chance to.
Cassie was too wrapped up in her thoughts that she barely registered she made it to the platform, her father still on her mind.
Turning to Remus and Tonks, she quickly pulled them into a hug, surprising them both.
"Thank you both so much for everything. You've both been there for me in more ways than I could ever ask for this past month," she murmured.
"You're family, we'd do anything for you," Tonks replied.
Cassie turned to Remus after pulling away, "Please don't break up while I'm gone! You two are meant for each other, don't be afraid to have something good in your life just because of your condition," she told him.
Remus blushed sheepishly at this, turning his head away embarrassed making Tonks giggle.
"Best be on your way then," Remus said smiling.
"See you both at Christmas!" she called out to them climbing onto the train.
Cassie had barely turned away when she was tackled to the ground in a hug.
"Serena?!" she squealed upon seeing her blonde best friend.
"I've missed you so much, Cass! Where've you been all summer?! I haven't heard from you at all!" Serena said while pulling herself up.
"That's such a long story," Cassie groaned.
Serena pulled her into an empty compartment, "Well, we have hours to spare so spill! I haven't talked to you in months, I need the details!"
The next couple hours were spent having Cassie explain everything that has happened over the summer, only leaving out the parts about her Auror training.
"What the fuck?! I could punch that bitch you have as a dad!" she said fuming, "and don't get me started on your mother!"
That was the thing about Serena, she sure did have a temper. When something pisses her off, you want to be no where near her when she blows up.
"It's fine, Serena," Cassie sighed, "they're assholes, but it's really no big deal."
She huffed crossing her arms, "I could still clock him if I see either of them at any point if you want."
"I really did miss you," Cassie said through laughs.
She glanced toward the bottom corner of the compartment window at the small inscription. Back in 2nd year, Cedric, Serena and her had carved their initials into the wood.
"How have you been holding up?" she asked Serena quietly.
"It's been hard, but I feel like I'm basically back to being myself again," Serena admitted.
"Yeah, me too. I still sometimes can't sleep spending my nights with my cigarette pack, but overall I'm doing a lot better than the first few weeks," she sadly smiled.
Serena grabbed her friend's hand with a big smile, "At least we have each other."
Cassie smiled back, about to reply, when the compartment door suddenly slid open to reveal Harry.
"Harry? What do you need?" Cassie asked him confused.
"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked nervously.
"Go ahead," Serena said nudging her forward.
Harry lead her to an empty compartment and they sat down across from one another in silence for a couple minutes.
"So... what do you need, Potter?" Cassie said bored.
"Did you get Sirius' letter?" he blurted out.
She sighed, "Yes, but I haven't read it yet."
"Why not?" he said slightly defeated.
"I really don't think it's your business, but because I don't want to read it yet. I don't even want anything to do with him, so sorry if I don't have much interest in what lies he has to say," Cassie snapped.
"Please read it, Cassie," Harry begged, "you haven't seen him this past month, it's been terrible. He misses you so much and regrets what he did entirely. I know your stubborn, but please just read it and try to forgive him."
"You're out of line, Potter," she said through gritted teeth, "you have no idea what he put me through, I'm not going to just up and forgive him just because he flashed me some puppy-dog eyes and wrote me a sappy letter. He's only sorry now because I left, it would be the same as it was before if I had stayed."
With that, Cassie jumped to her feet to head back to her compartment. Before leaving though, she whipped her head toward Harry, "Oh, and congratulations on not getting expelled. Everything sure does work in your favor, doesn't it?"
Leaving Harry stunned, she retreated to where Serena was still sitting so she could sulk in anger for the rest of the train ride.
——-
Sooner than expected, they had arrived at Hogwarts. The entrance hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the stone floor, leading to the Great hall for the start-of-term feast.
The four king House tables in the Great Hall were filling up under the starless black ceiling, which was enchanted to look just like the night sky. Candles floated midair, illuminating all the ghosts whom were floating above their respective house tables and the the faces of the students talking eagerly to one another about their summers. Unfortunately, for people like Serena and Cassie, not everyone's summers were filled with excitement like everyone else who were chatting.
They sat down at the Gryffindor table, fairly near Harry, Hermione, and Ron who were eyeing Cassie as she came in. She was aware of their staring, but she decided to simply ignore them, not wanting to start another argument.
"Who is that?" Serena said sharply, pointing toward the middle of the staff table.
Cassie's eyes followed hers. Her eyes first fell upon Dumbledore and his deep-purple robes until they drifted to the right. To his right was a woman with short, curly, mouse-brown hair in which she had placed a horrible pink headband that matched her pink cardigan worn over her robes.
It seems as though the Golden Trio had the same realization of the woman as she overheard them speaking.
"It's that Umbridge woman!" Harry exclaimed.
"Who?" said Hermione.
"She was at my hearing, she works for Fudge!"
"Nice cardigan," said Ron, smirking.
"She works for Fudge?" Hermione repeated, frowning. "What on earth's she doing here, then?"
"Dunno..."
Noticing their conversation was done Cassie whispered sarcastically to Serena, "I don't know what she's doing here, but I have a feeling we're going to get along very well."
"Why do I get the impression you're going to get a detention the first week?" Serena said disapprovingly.
Cassie simply shrugged sadistically and resumed small talk with her peers as the feast went on.
As she ate, a tap on her shoulder made her turn around to see a nervous Ravenclaw girl who was probably only in her 2nd year.
"Hi," she said nervously, "Professor Dumbledore told me to give you the message to meet him in his office after dinner and that he really likes sherbet lemons."
The girl quickly scurried away, not waiting to hear a response from Cassie.
"Weird. What do you think Dumbledore needs?" Serena asked.
Cassie shrugged, "I don't know, maybe it's about how I'm graduating early."
Even though she couldn't mention to Serena the real reason behind graduating early, she easily believed her story seeing how smart Cassie was known to be. She was obviously disappointed she'd be without Cassie for half a year, but she understood.
When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the hall was starting to creep up again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the Headmaster. Cassie ignored his start-of-term reminders, zoning out, until the pink-clothes woman stood up.
Professor Umbridge suddenly said, "Hem, hem," interrupting Dumbledore.
Dumbledore looked taken aback for a moment before sitting down allowing her to speak. Other members of staff were not as good as Dumbledore at holding in their surprise. No new teacher has ever interrupted him before.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."
Her voice was high-pitched, breathy, and little-girlish, making Cassie turn up her nose in distaste. She gave another little throat-clearing cough ("Hem, hem") and continued: "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing a perfect set of teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"
Cassie glanced around. None of the faces he could see looked even remotely happy.
"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."
Professor Umbridge paused to glance around before beginning again. At this point Cassie rolled her eyes not bothering to listen to the rest of her boring speech, only being brought out of her thoughts by everyone clapping.
"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," Dumbledore said.
"Yes, it certainly was illuminating," she overheard Hermione say in a low voice.
"You're not telling me you enjoyed it?" Ron said quietly.
"I said illuminating, not enjoyable," said Hermione, "it explained a lot."
"Like what? What does it mean?" Harry said in surprise.
"It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts," Hermione explained.
Cassie sat there for the rest of Dumbledore's speech pondering Hermione's words. Was the Ministry really going to interfere at Hogwarts? She was so deep in thought that she barely noticed everyone being dismissed to their dormitories.
"Gotta go see Dumbledore now, I'll see you later, Serena!" Cassie called out after parting ways outside the Great Hall.
As she made her way toward Dumbledore's office, two pairs of arms wrapping around her shoulders caught her off guard making her yelp in surprise.
"Tsk, tsk, my dear Cassie, not even coming to say hi to us," George said playfully.
"And to think I thought we were closer than that," Fred added.
"You guys!" Cassie screeched wrapping her arms around them. "I've missed you both! Summer definitely hasn't been the same with you troublemakers."
"Oh, I can imagine how terrible it must've been without our grand presence!" George joked. "What a shock it was for us waking up finding you left!"
Fred and Cassie shared a subtle glance remembering their "goodbye" they shared before she left.
"Yeah, sorry about that. What are you guys doing over here anyways? Shouldn't you be in the common room?" Cassie said to change the subject.
"Ah, we could be, but instead we're preparing new pranks," Fred said mischievously.
"What are you doing here instead of being in the common room then?" George asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Dumbledore asked to see me," she said shrugging.
"Any idea why?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, but I guess I'll find out now," Cassie said as they came upon the gargoyle leading to Dumbledore's office. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, hopefully ready to wreak some havoc on Umbitch?"
"You know us so well," they said in unison while smiling with a mischievous glint in their eyes.
They waved goodbye as they headed down the corridors to do only God knows what, leaving Cassie alone in front of the gargoyle.
"Sherbet lemon?" she said reluctantly.
To her surprise, a staircase was revealed to lead her up to his office. The door to his office was already open upon arriving, allowing her to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk with his hands held together.
"Good evening, Ms. Black," he greeted her, "I assume you enjoyed the feast?"
"Yes, it was very nice, but why was I called here, Professor?" she asked cutting straight to the point.
"I heard from Alastor your Auror examinations went exceptionally well, congratulations," he said.
"Thank you," she responded while nodding.
"Now that Auror training is completed," Dumbledore continued, "you will have private lessons with me once a week starting tomorrow. We will do various tasks to prepare you for the Order even more, but I may even have a mission for you while you're here at Hogwarts."
Cassie furrowed her eyebrows, "What kind of mission?"
"That, is still to be decided. We will talk more tomorrow. For now, enjoy your first night back at Hogwarts. Welcome back, Ms. Black," he said with a faint smile.
She turned around to head back out, "Thank you, Professor, see you tomorrow."
Before she was fully out the door, Dumbledore called out to her once more: "Oh and Ms. Black? Do care to remember that many people enter and leave your life, but keep your door open because the ones who stay willingly, are the ones to keep around."
Cassie nodded in confusion pondering his words as she walked back toward the common room. She took out the crumpled envelope in her pocket from her father and stared at her name written clearly in his handwriting. She doesn't think she could even think about opening the door to let Sirius back in, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to see what he has to say.
Tomorrow, she decided. She would see what he has to say tomorrow.
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