It was the last day of term and all her fellow roommates had cleared out the dormitory, in eager anticipation to go back home for the summer break. Cassie sat alone on the edge of her bed, looking down at her half-filled trunk, as she contemplated what to do. Unlike the rest of her peers, who seemed as though they couldn’t leave the school fast enough, Cassie was far less inclined to do the same.
The thought of going home to a house which had once filled her with so much warmth and happiness, but now was one she barely recognised, made her feel sick to her stomach. Though she loves her father, the position he has put her in strikes her with nothing but pain and resentment over what is now a regretfully strained relationship.
The last thing she wanted was to go home and face that reality (which in itself was a punch to the gut), but more so, since she was going to have to deal with the fact she was going to be there.
And unfortunately if today’s Witch Weekly headline was anything to go by (one which was rather shamelessly waved right in front of her face - thank you very much Rose Weasley, you utter cow), Cassie assumed she would be.
She scoffed as she tried to forget the glaring words on the front page of the paper that was now firmly imprinted in her memory.
Second time the charm? Draco Malfoy and fiancée Astoria Greengrass expecting their first child together.
The not-so-subtle wording of the headline was what grated Cassie the most, despite the nauseating content of the article. It was clearly another dig at her father, for not producing the first-born male heir that was expected of him, in his first marriage. Never mind the fact said child was also not Pureblood, which in itself was considered blasphemous amongst The Sacred Twenty Eight.
And beneath the headline was a rather sickening photo of the couple walking down Diagon Alley, hand-in-hand, with Astoria’s small bump, proudly on display beneath a form fitting dress robe.
Her lips curled in disgust at the mere memory of it.
Not at all a sight you want to see after just consuming a hearty lunch. She was lucky her stomach didn’t empty itself right there and then in the middle of the Great Hall.
Though she wasn’t entirely blindsided by the news, the extremely public reminder had completely thrown Cassie. If James hadn’t had been by her side at the time, to try to diffuse the tension between her and his stupid, ginger, rat-faced cousin, whom had every intention of goading Cassie with the article, she was pretty sure she would’ve smacked her into next week.
What followed that though, was even worse. All throughout the day she could tell something was off, as people were looking at her whilst talking in hushed tones whenever she walked past.
Can you believe Draco Malfoy is already engaged and having a baby with someone else, not twelve months after burying his wife? We all knew he was a heartless bastard but...
I bet you five galleons that he never actually loved her. That he just used her for her fame and reputation to restore the Malfoy name. I mean, how else could someone move on so quickly?
If you ask me, I think she trapped him into marriage when she got pregnant with Cassie. And that it was actually Astoria he was in love with all this time…
Cassie wanted nothing more in that moment than to unleash a tsunami of Fiendfyre at every single person who dared to insult her family with such baseless speculation, but even more so, when they so callously disrespected her Mum.
No one disrespects her Mum.
As the anger from today reared it’s ugly head again, Cassie leaned forward, with her elbows on her knees and gripped the roots of her hair tightly and screamed in frustration. She then immediately got up and kicked her trunk with loud grunt to the opposite side of the dorm.
"Fuck!" she cried at the top her lungs, not caring if there were people still downstairs in the common room or other dorms.
On instinct she then clasped her hand onto the heart shaped locket she wore around her neck, to try to ground herself as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply in and out of her nose.
Breath in and out.. in and out, her Mum would always say to her, whenever her temper got the better of her. That’s it darling, in and out. Everything’s going to be okay.
A single tear tracked down her cheek which she was quick to wipe away with the sleeve of her cardigan, as she remembered her mother’s calming and comforting words.
"Are you… are you okay?"
Cassie’s eyes widened as she whipped her head around to see none other than Sebastian Nott, standing unsurely in the doorway to the girls dormitory looking rather concerned.
Cassie groaned internally. As if it couldn’t get any worse, she thought. Of all people to walk in on her when she was in the middle of a colossal meltdown. The one person she’s fancied the pants off since first year, who she’s never had the courage to talk to, is now going to think she’s a raging lunatic.
"I heard a loud noise and someone shouting and thought—"
"It’s fine." she interrupted quickly. "I—I tripped over my trunk, that’s all. I’m fine."
"You don’t look fine."
"Well I am, alright?"
She didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but it was very clear from her tear stained, flushed cheeks, puffy eyes and hyperventilating chest that she was in fact not fine.
But she wasn’t about to stand there and pour her heart out like some unstable weirdo, to the most beautiful boy in entire school. Her life was already humiliating enough, thank you very much.
He narrowed his eyes at her rather obvious lie.
"You’re Cassiopeia Malfoy." He said matter-of-factly.
Cassie blinked.
She must’ve misheard. She absolutely must’ve, because there was no actual way Sebastian Nott, Head Boy and Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team had any sort of awareness of her existence up until this very moment, let alone knew her name. That’s just absurd.
"You—You know who I am?" she asked, almost in disbelief.
He chuckled lightly to himself, seemingly amused, to which Cassie raised an eyebrow.
"What’s so funny?"
"Nothing, just—you seem a little shocked that I know who you are. I would’ve thought that the only child of the most well-known Muggle-born War Heroine and former Death Eater in Wizarding Britain, would be well accustomed to fame and recognition by now." He teased.
He was right. He was fucking right.
"I—I mean, I’m not that famous." She argued, weakly.
She could see that Sebastian was about to interject to try to counter her, but she was quick to continue.
"I know my parents caused quite the stir in Wizarding Britain, but that doesn’t mean to say that I expect people to care or even know who I am because of it, far from it in fact."
She tried to sound matter-of-factly, if only to stop her looking like some clueless idiot. Whether he was buying it though, was entirely another matter.
"Besides," she continued confidently, "I much prefer to keep a low profile. I wouldn’t expect the Head Boy And Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch Team to understand that."
She really didn’t know where this otherworldly confidence was coming from, but if she had to hazard a guess it was probably her subconscious telling her she needed to overcompensate for the fact that Hogwarts’ championed Sex God happened to walk in on her in the midst of an embarrassing nervous breakdown.
It may or may not also be because she’s happened to observe over time that he has a recurring tendency to only date girls with strong, witty personalities. Not that she had the time nor energy to care about such frivolous information that had no bearing on her day-to-day life nor enriched her mind.
To her surprise, Sebastian simply smirked, as he leaned against the door. "Touché".
Fuck why does he look so good when he smirks like that?
A quiet few seconds followed, where neither said anything—both unsure of what to say next. Cassie nervously clasped onto her necklace once again out of habit and cleared her throat.
"I should really… " she gestured to her recently abused trunk, which was still yet to be packed.
"Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful hair?" he remarked confidently as he leaned against the door frame, casually.
Cassie blinked. Did he just compliment her? And her hair off all things? Merlin, she was not expecting that.
"I—uh, no—no, I don’t think so." She stuttered. Smooth.
"Well, except from my parents obviously, but that’s probably not what you meant.." She blushed lightly and sheepishly tucked a loose brown curl behind her ear. "Ironically, a lot of people see my hair as being one of the most disappointing things about me—being a Malfoy and all. In the eyes of many, I’m not a true Malfoy without the signature platinum blonde hair. That and the fact that I’m not a pureblood. Obviously."
Merlin, what was she saying? Now is really not the time to be self-depricating.
"Shit, I don’t know why I said that. Just ignore me." She cringed. "But—thank you. That’s very kind of you to say."
"You’re most welcome, Cassiopeia." he purred, his voice incredibly deep and sultry. "And can I say, even though we’ve only just formally met, I find it incredibly difficult to believe that any part of you could be described as ‘disappointing’."
His eyes glinted with something, but before Cassie even had a chance to mentally process what he’d said he’d already turned around and left.
Did he just—Was he flirting with her? Cassie stood there, speechless; her abused half-packed trunk now long forgotten.