The Marauders Era

She looked exactly the same as last time. Her dark hair was just as curly and just as wild, while her eyes were so sharp, you would almost think she could cut someone by just looking at them. Her lips were stretched out in a taunting smirk as she studied the two teenagers who looked rather uncomfortable, to say the least.

"Cat got your tongue, cousin?"

"Bellatrix." The name itself left an almost bitter feeling in Cassie's mouth. "When did you get here?" She asked as politely as she could, causing the taller woman to roll her eyes.

"Just a while ago, Cerys told me you were out in the garden. Considering the way your pants look, I hope you didn't have too much fun." Bellatrix moved her eyes down to Cassie's knees as she spoke, staring at the two dark stains. "Anyway dinners in a bit, you should change before then. Wouldn't want to show up looking like that." She commented as her upper lip curled in disdain. Throwing one last look at the two, she turned around and walked down the hall, but not before adding. "Nice to see you again, Rabastan."

"Wish I could say the same," he mumbled under his breath and watched as Cassie cracked a small smile as she heard him. He let out a sigh as he studied his watch for a moment. "She's right, though. It's soon dinner. We should probably change into something else."

She nodded in agreement as they made their way up to the second floor, the two were utterly silent, and it wasn't until Cassie had closed the door to her bedroom and she was alone that she let out a loud groan. She tried running her fingers through her hair before suddenly being reminded that her hair was tied in a ponytail. "Okay.. okay." She breathed out nervously. "Clothes first, panic afterwards," Cassie repeated like a chant as if the words would have some magical ability to calm her.

After she had changed, she took a quick look in a mirror, mentally cringing at the dark mess that rested upon her head. What had once been deemed an ordinary ponytail now looked like a small mess, with several loose strands of hair. Cassie blew a damp curl out of her face before taking hold of the hair tie, tugging it out, and letting her dark hair fall upon her shoulders.

Looking at it now, it didn't appear nearly as bad as she thought it had. The damp strays within her hair had caused a few curls to occur, the courtesy of Rabastan, who not only sent a snowball straight to her face but also sent her flying backwards, landing on her back in the snow.

A soft knock came from the bedroom door causing the girl to switch her gaze from her reflection.

"Yes?"

"It's me," A muffled voice answered, causing Cassie to momentarily roll her eyes as she went to open the door. There in the door opening stood a picture-perfect Rabastan, whose clothes had changed, and his hair that seemed tidier than earlier. She threw him a quick glance before she turned and walked towards the mirror, with the intention of at least trying to detangle her hair. Running her fingers through her ends, she watched his reflection as he moved behind her towards the chair that he had occupied earlier that day.

"Did you know?" Cassie asked nervously.

He gazed curiously at her back as he sat down. "That she was coming? Yes."

Her head turned towards him immediately as she gave him a stare, causing him to add quickly. "That she was coming today? No, you know that if I had, I would have told you. Though you did know that she was coming."

Brown eyes softened as her stare disappeared into an almost apologetic look. "I know, just didn't expect her to show up for at least a day or two. I'm sorry, it just- It just took me by surprise, that's all."

"I understand," he replied, sending her a gentle, understanding smile. "If I have to be honest, it took me by surprise as well." Rabastan chuckled softly as he shook his head. "Are you ready for dinner?"

"Almost." She turned back to the mirror, fixing her locks. Or at least tried to, suddenly Rabastan appeared in the mirror, standing behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders as he met her eyes in their reflection.

"Your hair looks fine." He reassured her.

Cassie didn't look entirely convinced as she questioned him. "Are you sure? I'd rather want to avoid any comments from my mother or her."

The corner of Rabastans lips curved upwards as he held her gaze in the mirror. "I promise. Would I ever lie to you?"

She turned around and tilted her head upwards, looking Rabastan dead in the eye as she answered honestly. "I don't know." Her quiet voice was laced with a seriousness that took him almost by surprise. "Would you?"

"No, I wouldn't. At least not by choice." He promised as his eyes bore intensely into hers. "Are you ready?". He asked as his lips grew into a smile before tucking one of the curls behind her ear.

Cassie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling somewhat more relaxed when she opened them again, meeting her friend's gaze. "Yeah. Let's do this."

"So, how are things with you two? Any children on the horizon?" Walburga asked curiously as her eyes rested upon her oldest niece and her husband. The two in question shared what Cassie thought almost seemed like a disgusted look before shifting their gaze again.

"No, we're quite comfortable with things as they are now. Don't see why that should change." Rodolphus responded. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about." Bellatrix nodded in agreement, and for a moment, a rather proud smirk grew on her features.

Cassie furred her brows slightly, not understanding what the older boy meant, while her mother nodded understandingly as she replied. "Well, children are not for everyone. However, it is important that one secures the next line of the family, isn't it Cerys?"

Cerys sat down her glass of wine. "Of course, if one expects the line to continue." She paused for a moment as she turned her gaze to her youngest son, occasionally giving a few glances to his fiance. "However, I've been lucky enough to get two boys. And if Rodolphus has no interest in having children, well, I still have Rabastan."

Cassie looked up from her plate, eyes wide, and she couldn't help but feel slightly shocked. In most families, it was always preferred that the oldest would be the one to carry on the bloodline, not the youngest, though she supposed with her own family, she couldn't really say much. As she met Rabastan's eyes, she was slightly surprised not to see his own eyes widen or his face changing into an expression similar to hers. Truth be told, it seemed as if this wasn't the first time he had heard his mother say that.

"Can't you already imagine the grandchildren those two will give us?" Cassie's eyes widened so much that she was worried that they would bulge out of her skull for a moment. She caught Rabastan's eyes widen slightly as he looked at her, before giving his mother a disbelieving side glance at the statement. If somehow Cassie could see her own face, she was pretty certain that her features had gone from Bloody hell this is awkward to get me the bloody hell away from here.

"Yes." Walburga sighed, almost dejectedly. "It's too bad my daughter still has a year left in school, or else we could have gotten them started already."

Cassie couldn't help but let her jaw fell open as her eyes immediately pierced her mother. Her grip on her fork tightened so much her knuckles turned white. How dare she, Cassie thought, when and if I even decide to have children, she will have no say, what so ever, on when that will be, she thought furiously in her mind, and just as she was about to speak up, she tightened her hold on the fork as a sharp pain appeared in her calf. Turning her head, she was met with the apologetic yet pleading gaze of Rabastan. With the way he was looking at her, she could almost see his thoughts on his face. Please don't say anything that could possibly make this worse than it already is.

Cassie looked down at her plate and took a deep breath, feeling her grip on the fork start to loosen. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her mother, who was about to say something, opened her mouth. But before she could even utter a single word, in fear of having to sit through the rest of the dinner talking about something as private as this, Cassie interrupted.

"Mrs. Lestrange, I heard that there were talks about the annual Christmas ball and that it's your family's turn to host it this year. Was that just rumors, or are you planning a ball?" She bore the most innocent smile she could muster, not wanting to give away the fact that the only reason she even asked was to avoid anymore talks about certain children who would certainly not exist for years.

Cerys moved her gaze from Walburga as a rather excited smile covered her features. "Oh, that was no rumor at all. It might be on short notice, but the annual pureblood Christmas party is in three days. Your mother and I will be spending the next days planning everything, considering it's a rather special occasion." She shared a glance with the Black matriarch as she raised her wine glass to her lips and took a sip.

The sound of a throat being cleared made the entire table turned their attention towards Corvus, who sat on one end of the table next to his eldest son and his friend Orion.

"At first, I must admit, I wasn't quite fond of my wife's idea of having a Christmas party, at least not while we already have guests here. However, we reached an agreement that I found seemed rather appropriate. As I'm sure, you will too." Corvus switched his gaze between Rabastan and Cassie as he spoke, causing the two to share a quick but somewhat confused look. "Your engagement is to be officially announced during the ball. Though if I were to be honest, I would have preferred it was your wedding instead."

Cerys sighed loudly. "Yes, well, Walburga and I both agreed that it was for the best to wait."

Walburga nodded in agreement as she raised her glass, but before she could manage to take a sip of her drink, a sudden thought appeared to her, and she set her gaze over the table and to her daughter. "I must say, during the last few days, I've been so busy planning both the ball and the wedding that I failed to pack a dress for you, Cassiopeia." This time, she took a sip before continuing. "Considering the importance of the ball, you simply can not show up in something you've already worn. You need something special."

"Oh! Why don't you Rabastan escort Cassiopeia to Diagon Alley tomorrow and see if you can get a dress there?" Cerys suggested.

Caught off guard, Rabastan looked slightly spooked by all the talks surrounding him and his friend, so he did the only thing he could even think of. And that was nod.

From the corner of her eyes, Cassie saw the quick exchange between her cousin and her husband, who both seemed rather amused at the slight discomfort that was evident on Rabastan's face. She had pretended not to notice it, but ever since they had all sat down, she could feel the looks sent to her not only by her cousin but also Rodolphus.

As they had all but finished their dinner, Cerys took one look around the table before asking. "Would any of you like some dessert?"

"That felt like the longest dinner in my entire life," Cassie stated the moment she entered her bedroom. Hearing the footsteps following her, she left the door open as she made a straight line to her bed and laid down on her back.

"I couldn't agree with you more." Rabastan closed the door as he entered the room and made his way towards the same chair he had been sitting in for the third time that day. A small groan filled the room as he sat down, leaning back in his seat.

"So I gather dinner at the Lestrange's isn't normally like this?" Cassie questioned as she propped up her elbows, raising her upper body to face her friend, who had one arm propped up on the armrest, his hand supporting his head as he stared into the floor.

"No, it isn't. Thank merlin for that. Bloody hell." he ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a rather frustrated sigh. No matter how frustrated or tired he was, as he raised his head, meeting her gaze, he still couldn't stop the small grin that appeared. As he watched one of her brows raise slightly as she seemed a bit confused, his grin grew even more. "You know, for a moment, I thought you were about to strangle your mother."

A dry laugh filled the room as Cassie lifted herself in a sitting position crossing her legs. "Then we're two. Honestly, I don't think I've ever gotten so close to the point as I did today where I literally would like to just-" she clutched her hands together in a strangling posture as she hissed.

"At least we get a day off tomorrow," Rabastan added positively. "And- hopefully, they will be too busy the next three days with the ball that they won't ask us any more questions about future children."

"Oh god." Cassie buried her face in her hands as she felt a sudden warmth spread across her cheeks. " You should have seen the smug look on Bellatrix when our mothers mentioned it. Speaking of Bellatrix, did you notice the looks those two gave us during dinner?"

"It was hard not to." He muttered as he could still feel the sideglanced his brother had thrown him all during dinner when he thought that the younger boy didn't notice. "We'll get through this," he said, causing Cassie to lift her head.

"What other choice do we have." She mumbled back. As she studied him for a moment, a thought came to her. It wasn't a stupid idea. It was a rather good one. It just depended on his reaction or whether or not he would agree on it. " I have an idea." She started, catching the slight nod he gave her to continue. "It won't solve our problems. Actually, if anyone found out, it might give us a bit more problems. But then again, who doesn't like trouble?" She grinned.

"Okay, what is it?"

"How about, instead of you taking me to Diagon alley tomorrow. We'll go to London, find a dress, and spend the rest of the day sightseeing or something like that." She smiled hopefully at him, watching as the corner of his lips started to slowly tilt upwards as he considered the idea.

"You mean, sneak out?" Rabastan suggested as he raised his eyebrows playfully.

A laugh left Cassie's lips, and she shook her head, smiling. "Considering they already know we're going out, it wouldn't be sneaking."

The boy rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I do." She smiled. "So.. what do you say?"

He thought for a moment, causing Cassie to bite back a laugh watching him furred his brows as he pondered the idea. Suddenly a bright smile stretched across his lips as he replied excitedly. "Yeah. Let's do it."

"Urgh.. stop it," Cassie mumbled tiredly as she tossed around in bed a few times before taking hold of her pillow and placed it over her face. For at least half an hour, if not more, a ray of light had been tickling her face, waking her up. If she had remembered to close her curtains last night, she could have avoided this, but at the time, it didn't seem as important as everything else that occupied her mind. A satisfied sigh filled the room, and just as Cassie felt that she would fall asleep again, there was a knocking on the bedroom door.

"Cassie?" a muffled voice called out, causing the girl to groan loudly. "Go away," she responded or at least tried to. As her face was still buried by her pillow, any form of reply came out sounding nothing more than a bunch of mumbles.

The door opened slowly, causing a gush of light to enter the room. Though she couldn't see it, the sound of feet shuffling over the floorboards, across the room, and to her bed made her feel slightly alert. She shut her eyes tightly as she heard the person stop in front of her bed. Her heartbeat went up as her breath became quicker, and at this moment, she cursed herself for even putting her pillow over her face. As she felt the weight of the pillow become lighter, her eyes squeezed even tighter as it disappeared entirely from her face.

For a moment, there was an unbearable silence as the person, whoever it was, stood in front of her bed and stared down at her. Unable to keep silent, she mustered her courage and spoke. "If that's you, Bellatrix, then I swear to merlin that I will haunt your ass if you kill me."

"What are you talking about?"

As a familiar voice rang through her ears, Cassie opened her eyes only to find her brother staring at her as if she had lost her head.

"It's just me. Didn't you hear me call out your name before I entered?"

She gave him a look before she pulled her comforter over her head and turned away from him, causing Regulus to shake his head in disbelief. "Cas?"

"I'm trying to sleep Reg, why are you here?" she mumbled lowly.

"Just figured I should tell you that breakfast is in fifteen minutes, and you should get ready unless you fancy a visit from our mother." he pointed out, causing the older girl to sit straight up as a dread of panic filled her.

"What's the time?" the words left her so quickly that she didn't even notice she had said them until after.

Regulus gazed down at his watch before answering. "It's almost eight."

Cassie's eyes widened as she quickly scrambled out of bed, falling on the floor as her legs got caught in the sheets, causing her brother to burst out laughing.

"It's not funny." She huffed, standing up from the floor, and hurried towards the wardrobe.

"Yes, it was." He laughed as he watched his sister go through her clothes. His laugh died down, though he was left with a grin on his face as he gazed amusingly at the clothes she threw over her shoulder. "Perhaps you should rather throw them back in the closet instead of the floor, so you don't have to clean it later?"

He held up his hands at the glare she sent him before he picked up a dark woolen sweater from the floor.

"Anyway, what's got you in such a hurry?"

"Because I was supposed to wake up earlier, so I could get ready. You know how mother is." She turned her head and met his eyes before looking down to his hands, or more specifically, the sweater in his hands. "Thanks. Just put it on the bed for now. You have any plans for the day?"

Regulus shook his head. "No, but I'm pretty certain mother will put me up to something, either it's the ball or the wedding.." he trailed off as a solemn expression covered his face. "But if I'm lucky, I could probably manage to hide out in the library."

"Unless.." she started, causing the boy to gaze curiously at her. "You want to join Rabastan and me today?"

His eyes widened slightly, and though she noticed that he tried to hide it, a sudden burst of excitement filled him. "Really? Are you sure? I don't want to intrude," Despite his evident excitement, he didn't want to make her feel as if she should bring him along just to make him happy.

"Positive." She smiled brightly before leaning in closer. "But only if you can keep a secret."