Chapter 1
"No, Mum, I don't see the need to learn wandless magic," Cassidy grumbled, flicking her wand at the stubborn zit on her chin. Nothing. She groaned, slumping against her vanity. "Merlin, just let me live."
Amira Sweet sighed, smoothing down her short, curled hair as she admired herself momentarily in Cassidy's mirror. "Are you sure? It could be very useful to you, you know. It's how we learned magic back at Uagadou. Much more effective than those wands Europeans use—"
"Mum, you literally bought a wand the second you landed in England," Cassidy interrupted, nudging her aside so she could check her reflection one last time.
Amira rolled her eyes as Cassidy rummaged through her things for a pair of jeans. "That's beside the point, Noelle."
"Please don't call me that," Cassidy muttered, pulling on her t-shirt.
Amira ignored her, reminiscing. "The only reason I bought a wand when I came was to fit in. I was young, naive...and I barely use it now."
Cassidy huffed as she shoved her wand into the pocket of her low-rise jeans. "Glad to hear, Mum."
She grabbed a pair of sneakers, slipping them on as she made her way toward the door. Amira followed her, sighing.
"And where're you going now?"
"To see a friend."
"Is it a boy? Is it Ro—"
Cassidy groaned at the waggle of her mother's eyebrows. "Why does everyone think something's going to happen between me and him? We're just mates. Plus, Ron's in Egypt. I'm going to see Nev."
She froze. Immediately realizing her mistake.
"Ooo. Nev, you say? And who is this Nev?" Amira teased, her grin downright wicked.
Cassidy's face grew warm. She gripped her handbag tighter, shoving a hand into the jar of Floo powder by the fireplace. "I—I meant Neville. Neville Longbottom. He's a friend from school. He invited me to meet him at Florean Fortescue's for ice cream."
"Mmm-hmm," Amira hummed knowingly. "Mum, stop making those heart shapes float in the air."
Cassidy turned to the fireplace, tossing in the powder and watching the flames roar green. The glow reflected on her skin as she stepped forward.
"Cassidy."
She paused, glancing back. Amira hesitated, eyes flickering toward her necklace, then back to her daughter's face.
Cassidy frowned. "Mum?"
For a moment, Amira looked like she wanted to say something. Something important. But then she swallowed, shaking her head.
"Never mind. Go have fun with your boyfriend."
Cassidy let out a loud groan before disappearing into the flames, her last words a "He's not my boyfriend!"
Amira exhaled, her gaze lingering on a moving picture above the fireplace. It was Cassidy, about a year before starting Hogwarts—grinning, a tooth missing, waving furiously at the camera. So young. So full of light.
She smiled back, even though Cassidy couldn't see it.
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Cassidy stumbled out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, coughing up soot. A nearby witch raised an eyebrow. Cassidy just dusted herself off like nothing happened and made her way outside, stepping into the warm bustle of Diagon Alley.
It was packed. Witches and wizards hurried between shops, kids pressed their noses to display windows, and a group of young Hogwarts students excitedly compared their new spellbooks. Cassidy weaved through the crowd, heading straight for Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, where—
"Neville!" she called.
Neville Longbottom was already seated at a table, two sundaes in front of him. He looked up, his face lighting up when he saw her. "Cass! Over here!"
Cassidy grinned and slid into the seat across from him. "You ordered for me? I'm touched." She glanced at the ice cream—chocolate and honeycomb, her favorite.
Neville turned a little pink. "I, um, remembered you liked it. You said so in one of your letters."
Cassidy smirked but decided to let him off the hook. "Good memory, Nev." She grabbed her spoon and dug in.
For a while, they ate in comfortable silence, enjoying the rare summer sun. Then Neville hesitated. "Oh—did you hear? About Harry?"
Cassidy raised an eyebrow. "What about him?"
"He's here. In Diagon Alley. Been staying at the Leaky Cauldron since last night."
Cassidy nearly choked on her ice cream. "He's what?!"
Neville nodded. "Yeah, I ran into him earlier when I was getting ice cream. He told me he's been here since he—" He lowered his voice. "—blew up his aunt."
Cassidy dropped her spoon. "I knew something dramatic happened. Merlin. Where is he?"
Neville glanced toward the Leaky Cauldron. "Probably still there."
Cassidy didn't hesitate—she grabbed her bag, stood up, and gestured for Neville to follow. "C'mon, we're going."
Neville blinked. "Going where?"
"To find Potter before he gets himself arrested."
Neville sighed, grabbing his sundae. "Why do I feel like this is about to turn into something complicated ?"
Cassidy just grinned. "Because with us? It always does."
And with that, they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron.
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Cassidy kicked the door of the Leaky Cauldron open, Neville shaking behind her. Tom the Barman looked up at her, giving her a toothless grin. He'd known Cassidy since before she could talk, and was used to her bursting in at the most ridiculous times.
"Tom! Tom Tom Tom Tom!" She said excitedly, her mood the whole summer dramatically shifted.
"Yes, Cassidy, Harry's here." He replied slowly, while other wizards and witches scowled at her loud voice. "I expect he'll be coming back down any minute now."
Neville looked like he wanted to sink into the floor, but Cassidy was unfazed. She practically vibrated with excitement, bouncing on her heels as she scanned the pub. "Where is he? Upstairs? Do I run up there? Do I yell his name? What's the protocol here?"
Tom chuckled, wiping a glass with an old rag. "I'd suggest waiting."
Cassidy huffed but obeyed, plopping down at the nearest table and drumming her fingers against the wood. Neville hesitated before sitting beside her, still looking like he regretted every decision that led him here.
"Cass, maybe we should—"
But before he could finish, a familiar messy-haired figure came down the stairs, looking tired but otherwise perfectly intact.
Cassidy bolted upright. "POTTER!"
Harry barely had time to blink before Cassidy launched herself at him, nearly knocking him over as she hugged him tight. "You're alive! Oh, Merlin's beard, do you have any idea how worried I was?! You didn't send a single letter!"
Harry, startled but grinning, hugged her back. "Nice to see you too, Cass."
Cassidy pulled back, holding him at arm's length like she needed to inspect him. "Merlin, you look thin. Are they starving you here? Tom! Are you feeding him?"
Tom just chuckled. "Three meals a day."
"Good," Cassidy said, nodding approvingly before rounding back on Harry. "And what is this I hear about you blowing up your aunt? Because if you wanted to commit a crime, I should've been your first call."
Neville let out a quiet groan, dropping his head into his hands. "Cass..."
Harry laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't on purpose..."
Cassidy gasped dramatically. "You're telling me you accidentally blew up a woman?"
Harry, already laughing, shook his head. "It's...a long story."
Cassidy grinned. "Good. We've got all afternoon."
She slung an arm around his shoulder, already steering him toward a table. Neville sighed and followed, because of course he did.
"So," Cassidy said, sitting next to Neville, who simply looked at her while she spoke. "How long are you staying here?"
Harry scratched his hair, looking up. "By the looks of it, until we get back to school. The weirdest thing happened last night, when I came." Cassidy leaned in closer to hear, but Harry cleared his throat before looking at Neville.
"What?" She asked. Harry jerked his head towards Neville.
"Oh." Cassidy said, realizing Harry wanted this to be between the two of them. Slowly, she turned to Neville.
"Nev," she said softly.
"Hm?" He replied, eyes shining as he looked at Cassidy.
"I'll be with you in like, twenty minutes, okay? Harry and I are talking about some top-secret stuff."
Neville hesitated, just as Cassidy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He turned pink, and left the Leaky Cauldron briskly.
Harry slowly turned to Cassidy, eyebrows raised. "What was all that about? You two are dating now?"
"What? Oh, no, no. Nev doesn't see me like that." Cassidy waved away the suggestion, laughing sheepishly. Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't press.
"Anyway, you were saying something about coming here last night."
"Right. The weirdest thing happened when I arrived. The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was waiting for me. I thought I was surely going to be sent to Azkaban for using magic out of school, but he just waved it off like it was nothing. Seemed more concerned with keeping me here, in Diagon Alley."
"Why the fuck would he wanna keep you here?" Cassidy said, lowering her voice. Harry took a double take at her use of language, but brushed it off.
"You know that killer on the loose, Sirius Black?"
Cassidy nodded, pursing her lips.
"He said he wanted to keep me safe. I asked him what Black had to do with me, and he just laughed it off, said it was nothing."
Cassidy perked up suddenly, snapping her fingers.
"It's not just you, Harry. My dad took me to the side around a month ago, acting completely mental about Black. Said no matter what I heard, whether from people in general or...." She paused, looking Harry in the eye. "You, I shouldn't go looking for Sirius." Harry listened intently, nodding.
"And where's your dad now?" He asked.
"He went traveling, said he'll be busy for a while. Haven't heard from him in weeks." Cassidy sighed, running a hand through her braids. "Ugh, I need to get my hair done soon." She muttered. "It's getting old."
Harry squinted at her, like he noticed something new about her. "What's that on your teeth?" He asked.
"Oh, Merlin's beard, they're these horrible braces. I'm getting them off at the need of the school year, I hate them."
Harry looked confused. "Braces? But I thought those were purely, you know, Muggle things. Don't wizards have some magical way of straightening teeth?"
Cassidy nodded, sighing. "But my teeth are especially sensitive. They want to do it more traditionally to strengthen them. And now I've got all these bloody zits, and my dad's acting weird. I envy your skin, Potter. It's annoyingly smooth." Cassidy reached over to ruffle Harry's hair then, and he laughed, trying to fight her off.
"Anyway," he said, still giggling. "How's the necklace? Anything new? Any dreams?"
"If you count nightmares about that bloody Basilisk and Riddle as dreams." Cassidy joked, but when she saw Harry's face, she realized it probably didn't sound funny. "Oh, calm down, Potter. I'm fine, really." She said briskly. "The necklace hasn't heat up recently either. Well, apart from the time I heard about Black. But otherwise, it's been fine."
A beat of silence between the two, where they just stared at each other before Cassidy started smiling. Harry blinked, then huffed a small laugh before grinning back.
"You know, my dad's not around, and my mum's not as strict. What do you say to me staying in the Leaky Cauldron with you till school restarts? Home's extremely boring, and it'd be easier for me to go and help my mum out each day, being close to the Sweet Spell and all." Her eyes twinkled mischievously.
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Wait—seriously?" He sat up straighter, as if making sure he heard her right.
Cassidy shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah. Why not?"
For a second, Harry just stared at her, like he couldn't believe how easily she made plans like this—how she could just decide something, say it out loud, and suddenly, it was happening. Then, his lips curled into a slow, growing smile.
"I'd love that."
Cassidy beamed. "Wicked. I'll pack my things and move into one of the rooms after I'm done eating ice cream with Nev."
Harry snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah, you have fun with that."
Cassidy smirked. "Oh, I will."