Pancakes
5 years later
Cassandra groggily awoke to a delicate knocking on her bedroom door. The door opened a crack creaking slightly; a beam of light shined through from the landing, illuminating the cosy room. Maya poked her head around the door, her curly bob cut sticking out in all directions, she obviously hadn’t had a chance to brush her hair since she woke up. Cassie had always thought that Maya was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, even now standing in her pyjamas; Maya was a petite woman with caramel brown skin, big green eyes and plump pink lips. She always had a calm loving aura surrounding her, Cassie didn’t know a person that could say a bad word against her. She was sunshine.
“Mon chéri, it’s time to wake up, the Carlisle’s will be here in 25 minutes,” Maya whispered, she slowly plodded into the room sitting down on the edge of the bed. Cassie groaned and tried to roll over, burying her head under her pillow. Delicately Maya began to run her fingers through the lengths of Cassie’s hair, humming a nondistinctive tune under her breath.
“Cassie Bug, we can’t keep them waiting, their apparition slot is at 10 and they can’t miss it because of us. There are pancakes waiting for you on the table downstairs with the biggest cup of tea I could make. I’d hate for your father or brothers to eat your breakfast by accident...” Maya was cut off when the young girl sat bolt upright in her bed.
“I’m awake. I’m coming. My pancakes!” slurred out Cassie. Maya let out a snort and began to leave the room.
“Get dressed. I’ll go and guard your breakfast from the circling vultures.” Maya called behind her.
“Guard them with your life Mother Maya!” Cassie cried after her, amusement clear in her voice.
Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Cassie instantly recoiled when her feet hit the frigid floor. Even though it was early August it was clear that she would need to dress warmly. Jumping out of bed she hopped over to her dresser pulling out a pair of black denim jeans, a lace cami top and an oversized light pink jumper. Once she was dressed she ran a hairbrush through her waist length chocolate brown hair leaving it to tumble down her back. Running to the bathroom she washed her face, brushed her teeth and applied a light layer of makeup. Looking at herself in the mirror she gave a nod of satisfaction and raced downstairs.
Skipping into the kitchen a smile instantly lit up her face. Seated in the breakfast nook eating was her father and younger brothers Theo and Jasper, they appeared to be discussing the results of the last Quidditch World Cup match. Maya stood at the stove flipping more pancakes onto a plate, the delightful smell filling the kitchen. Cassie crossed the room and opened the fridge taking out syrup, juice and various berries, laying them out on the table. Ruffling her brother’s hair as she sat down she pulled her plate in front of her, grabbing a handful of blueberries and pouring the sticky syrup over the fluffy pancakes so that it swamped the plate. Kingsley raised his eyebrows with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.
“Got enough pancakes with your syrup?” he chuckled.
“Dry pancakes are the worst!” said Cassie defensively, swatting her brother's thieving hand away from her plate as she spoke. Kingsley rolled his eyes at the girl’s dramatics. He then opened his mouth as if to say something then snapped it shut again. Cassie raised her eyebrows looking at the man.
With a small sheepish grin he said, “Please be careful over the next couple of days, make sure that you stay with your friends and look after each other. If you get lost or separated from the group, find a member of the security group, they’ll be able to help you. Make sure you’re polite and listen to Mr and Mrs Carlisle. But most importantly have fun, I want to hear all about it when you get home tomorrow evening.”
Cassie smiled, rolling her eyes slightly. It had taken nearly all summer to convince Kingsley to let her go to the World Cup with her friends. He had always been over protective and constantly worried about her safety, meaning he was reluctant to let her attend the final game. Maya had come to her rescue when she had pointed out that The Ministry for Magic was in charge of security and Cassie would probably know half of the Aurors that were stationed there. He had also heard of other colleagues such as the Diggory’s, Abbott’s and Weasley’s attending with their families. Cassie was well known at the Ministry, she’d attended every holiday party since she was a young girl and had completed a summer internship in the potions department last year to gain some experience, so there would be no shortage of people looking out for her. Once he was reminded that she had also achieved top marks last year at school and was to become the Head of Year during her upcoming 5th year he couldn’t argue. Cassie was a sensible girl, he could trust her, he hoped…
“I’ll be fine Dad, I’ll be with Odette and Hugo the whole time. We’re meeting Bonnie, Fabian and Libby there,” babbled Cassie excitedly “we’re going to have the best time ever. Mr Carlisle has got the best tickets, in one of the upper boxes,” she squealed. Kingsley couldn’t help but laugh at the young girl’s excitement.
“And you’re packed, all ready to go?” Maya questioned as she sat down next to Cassie, briefly looking towards the clock on the wall. It was her time to worry. “It’s supposed to get warmer today. Have you packed some shorts or a dress? I washed and laid out your Ireland Quidditch jumper on your bed, is that in your bag? I put some money in your purse, make sure to buy yourself a small memento, okay?”
“Slow down M&M,” Kingsley sighed. Maya had plenty of silly nicknames given to her courtesy of Cassie and Kingsley. As Cassie had grown older and began to understand her adoption more, she’d questioned what she should call Kingsley and Maya. She’d jokily begun to call Maya, Mother Maya, at the age of 6 and it had stuck, Kingsley had taken it upon himself to shorten the name to M&M when he’d found a muggle chocolate of the same name on one of his raids. Ever since M&M’s were a staple in the Shacklebolt house. Since her twin brothers Jasper and Theodore had come along 5 years ago Cassie had reverted back to calling them Mum and Dad around them, to prevent any confusion.
“I’ve got everything Mum, I’ve packed a dress and a pair of shorts just in case. My jumper is folded in my bag. Pyjamas, toothbrush and toothpaste, hairbrush, pants, toiletries and wand.” Cassie had been using her fingers to check objects off of her list. “My bag is packed and ready to go by the door” Cassie finished smugly. Maya glanced proudly at the young witch and smiled.
The Shacklebolt family sat around the breakfast table, merrily eating and chatting until they heard a whoosh from the room next door. As they stood to go and greet their guest another whoosh was heard accompanied with a scream and a crash. Abandoning their breakfast entirely the family rushed to the living room, upon slamming the door open they were met with quite a scene. Sprawled on the rug before the hearth were Hugo and Odette, two of Cassie’s best friends, covered in soot and in a tangle of arms and legs. It became clear that Odette had managed to floo directly on top of her brother Hugo who was currently underneath the young girl groaning, whenever Odette made a move to get up Hugo would let out an uncharacteristically girly squeal.
“Odette you lump of centaur dung. If you were any worse at magic you would be a squib. Stop digging your ridiculously bony elbows into my ribs and sit still.” Hugo growled.
Stifling a laugh Cassie stepped forward and grabbed the girl under the arms pulling her up. Odette scrambled to her feet profusely apologising to everyone, her cheeks visibly red under the layer of soot on her face.
“Honestly Odd, you’re going first next time so I can break your spine,” muttered Hugo, pulling himself from the floor. Turning to Cassie a cheeky grin appeared on his face as he pulled her into a tight hug, tugging her long hair jokily as he did.
“Hugo!” she screamed. “You’re covered in soot and grime, it’s all over me!” she huffed.
From behind Cassie heard a giggle.
“That means I can do this!” Odette pulled the taller girl into a second hug, looping her arms around Cassie’s waist and squeezing.
“Stop Odd! I’ve just had breakfast, I’m going to be sick!” she squealed.
“We’ve just missed you so much!” the twins said at the same time, glaring at each other when they realised.
Suddenly, taking everyone by surprise the fireplace glowed emerald green again, a tall figure appearing in the fireplace. Henry the oldest Carlisle child stepped out of the fireplace.
The Carlisle twins were a petite pair, with fairy-like features. Both had sharp high cheekbones, deep blue upturned eyes and thin pink lips. They both had caramel hair that framed their faces with unruly ringlets and snow white skin with rosy pink cheeks. Although they would vehemently deny it, the family resemblance was uncanny. Henry on the other hand was the complete opposite of the twins, Libby (another of Cassie’s best friends) would describe Henry as tall, dark and handsome, often fanning her face jokily as she did. He stood at around 6 foot 3 inches tall and had a broader muscular build. He had just finished his 7th Year at Beauxbatons last year and was preparing to work in the International Magical Office of Law, in London. If she was being honest, Cassie didn’t understand all of the attention Henry got from girls.
Someone tapping on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts, turning she smiled up at Henry.
“I would offer to give you a hug,” Cassie chuckled, “but your siblings have covered me in grime. Wouldn’t want your fancy shirt and trousers to get mucky, now would we?”
Henry laughed “Ah, that’s why you look like a house elf! I thought you were going for a new look!” jokily brushing off some non-existent dirt from his shoulder.
Cassie heard a collection of laughs and giggles from behind her. Looking down at her clothes she couldn’t help the flash of disappointment she felt, her favourite jumper was covered in pitch black soot that would surely stain. Panicked she realised she’d need to run upstairs before Mr and Mrs Carlisle came, to get dressed. She wouldn’t have time for a shower unfortunately but she’d be able to scrub up with a damp washcloth. Noticing the tension and stress on his daughter's face, Kingsley stepped towards her with a knowing smile, muttering the scourgify spell under his breath. Upon inspecting her newly cleaned jumper, she stared up at Kingsley smiling and muttering a quick “thank you.”
Kingsley spent the next couple of minutes going around the living room cleaning the soot from everything. He started with Hugo and Odette, making sure that they appeared just as clean and perfectly turned out as they had before they’d flooed to the Shacklebolt residence. He then set about cleaning the grime from the carpet, rug, mantelpiece, sofa and ceiling (Cassie was sure how the twins had managed to coat the ceiling and chandelier with soot as well). Odette spent her time following him around, repeatedly expressing her most sincere apologies, becoming more and more red in the face.
Once Kingsley had managed to return the living room to its former state, Maya led the Carlisle’s through to the kitchen, offering them some breakfast. Hugo began shovelling in the pancakes, barely taking a breath between bites; Odette and Henry stood leaning against the kitchen surfaces, cradling hot mugs of tea and coffee, staring at him with identical looks of horror and disgust.
“Hugo if you choke no one is going to help you, I’ll give your ticket to one of my friends,” Henry said, unable to hide his revulsion.
“Sorry, I’m starving!” Hugo whined.
“You ate breakfast less than an hour ago!” Odette replied, a hint of amusement twinkling in her eyes.
“Leave him alone, he’s a growing boy.” Kingsley said, slapping Hugo hard on the shoulder and handing him a napkin to wipe his face. Hugo just grimaced.
The kitchen was filled with excited chatter, everyone was talking about the Hungarian seeker, Viktor Krum, and his use of the infamous Wronski Feint throughout the tournament. Theo and Jasper’s heads were on a swivel listening to an argument between Henry and Kingsley. Henry argued that Hungary had the best seeker in the world and were sure to win, whilst Kingsley told him to not be so cocky, Ireland had their strongest team in years! Although Cassie was supporting Ireland in the match that evening, she was now worried that she would be supporting the losing side.
“I’ve got a jumper and scarf to wear this evening. I’ve packed some face paint so that we can paint flags on our cheeks” Hugo said, bouncing with excitement.
“I’ve just got one of Kingsley’s old Ireland Quidditch jumpers, it’s pretty oversized but at least it will keep me warm,” shrugged Cassie.
“Oo vintage!” Odette replied “Don’t suppose he’s got another one going? I’ve just bought a scarf and dark green jumper.”
Cassie shook her head regretfully.
“Maybe Libby will have something you can borrow, I expect she’s bought 3 trunks for the two days we’re there!” Cassie joked. “If not, I'm sure there will be plenty of Irish merchandise we can buy, I wouldn’t worry,” she said with an encouraging smile.
It was clear that the group of young people were getting impatient. Every few minutes the conversation would die down and the group would look expectantly at the clock. When the tension in the room got too much Maya excused herself with Jasper and Theo, saying they needed to get ready for the day. Theo and Jasper ran to Cassie, giving her a quick hug before charging upstairs without a backwards glance. Maya pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head
“Have fun!” Maya called, before closing the kitchen door behind her and heading upstairs to figure out why the boys were shouting so loud.
Kingsley sat at the kitchen table, a brown work file in front of him leafing through the pages, skim reading the information. Cassie plopped herself down beside him resting her chin on her arms, watching him.
“Can I help you?” he chuckled.
“Well, mum said she’d given me a couple of galleons in my bag. I babysat, cleaned the kitchen and folded the laundry. I was just wondering if I had maybe earned a bit of extra pocket money,” she asked hopefully, making her eyes as big and wide as possible.
Kingsley looked down his nose at her, an amused look on his face.
“I was wondering why you had all of a sudden become so helpful. I see it has come at a price!” pulling out his wallet, Kingsley placed 20 galleons in front of her on the table. She looked up at him in wonder.
Laughing at the look on his daughter's face he said, “Everything will be incredibly expensive when you’re there. Use some to buy snacks for you and your friends and the rest you can spend on souvenirs.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Cassie squealed, standing up and throwing her arms around his shoulders.
They were interrupted by a distinctive ‘pop’ echoing through the room. Standing before them with huge smiles on their faces were Mr and Mrs Carlisle. Both were dressed in an odd assortment of muggle clothes, Mr Carlisle was wearing a button down shirt, tie and blazer and basketball shorts, whilst Mrs Carlisle was wearing what appeared to be a tulle ball gown with a crochet jumper over top. At least they had matched colours was all Cassie could think.
“Are we all ready to go?” asked Mr Carlisle, excitement clear in his voice. Cassie ran to the front door to grab her bag. A chorus of yes’s resounded through the kitchen.
“Quickly, quickly then! We’ve got 2 minutes before our scheduled apparition slot! We can’t be late!” Came the shrill voice of Mrs Carlisle.
“Odette you are with me, we all know your luck with magic. Hugo you go with Henry. And Cassandra dear, nice to see you again, you may go with Mrs Carlisle.” instructed Mr Carlisle.
Quickly the children each rushed to their partner, Henry, Hugo and Odette deliberately pushing and shoving each other out of the way. Cassie timidly walked towards Mrs Carlisle, giving her a small shy smile. She was an average size woman, with an incredibly striking face. It was clear who both Hugo and Odette looked like.
“Hello,” Cassie said nervously, “thank you for inviting me to join your family at the World Cup Mrs Carlisle. I truly am incredibly grateful.”
Mrs Carlisle beamed down at Cassie. “No problem at all Dear. We’re excited to have you join us!”
“Quick, quick, it's time to go!” boomed Mr Carlisle looking at the leather strapped watch, wrapped tightly around his chunky wrist.
Cassie secured her bag on her shoulder, wrapping her right hand tightly around its handle and quickly patted her pocket, hearing the light tinkle of the galleons inside. Mrs Carlisle grabbed her left hand holding it firmly in her own.
The last thing Cassie heard before she disappeared was Odette loudly exclaiming “What on earth are you wearing?”