Growing Pains

Year 2 was not much different from our first year at Hogwarts. I spent almost all of my time at the Quidditch pitch. Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia all made the Gryffindor team and I was always there supporting them. Whether it was practice or a game, I was always out watching them. Fred and George were my boys and Ang and Alicia were my gals, and I loved supporting them. When I wasn’t at the Quidditch pitch, I did a lot of studying. I learned in my first year that I loved Herbology and Potions, so I dedicated a lot of time to making sure I was excelling in those classes. Snape’s hatred for any student not in Slytherin made Potions tougher, but I think he could see how hard I worked because he seemed to have lightened up on me. Professor Sprout was easy to get along with, no matter what house you came from. 

Before we knew it, we were packing the car full of our trunk to head to King’s Cross for our third year. Charlie was finished with Hogwarts but the car was just as stuffed since Ron was joining us this year. I was going to miss Charlie, but I still had Percy, I guess. When we found out over the summer that he was going to be a prefect, he became almost insufferable about it, but I was happy for him. Fred and George, however, were… less than kind, to put it. To be honest, the twins pranking got a little out of hand this summer, but we still had loads of fun together.

Once the car was loaded, we made our way to the train station. I was wedged between the twins in the back row, as per usual. They messed with Ron the whole way to the station, telling him that he would be given a test to get sorted into the houses and a bunch of other silly lies about Hogwarts. I tried my best to keep the twins lying reasonable, but they love messing with their Ickle Ronniekins. Before I knew it, we were standing with our luggage facing the wall between platforms 9 and 10. I ran behind Percy, Fred, and George, leaving Molly, Ginny, and Ron behind. They took a longer time than usual to come through, but when they did I noticed a short boy with long brown hair and glasses. I knew instantly who he was and was stopped in my tracks. The twins didn’t seem to notice I was no longer with them and began to walk towards the train. I shook myself out of my trance and jogged towards them. George turned to look for me and I smiled at him. “You okay, Cass?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I’m alright,” I said. I turned to wave goodbye to Molly and said to George, “I’m going to get us a compartment. See you on there.” I pulled my bags behind me as I boarded the train. I looked for an empty compartment and put my stuff away. Before I sat, I pulled out the book I was currently reading, Sense and Sensibility. It was another book left to me by Lily, and I put my pictures in there for safekeeping. Once I sat, I pulled out a new photo Remus had given me from Harry’s first birthday. This picture was just Lily, James, Harry, and I. I knew the boy I saw on the platform was him. He had Lily’s eyes. 

After a while, Fred and George found the compartment and settled in. Once they settled, Fred announced he was going to see Lee’s spider. I noticed him giving George a weird look before running off. I had put the photo away before they came in and was pretending to read.

“Cass,” George spoke up. I looked up from my book as he began again, “I have something to tell you. I honestly don’t know how you’ll take it but I think…” 

“Is it about Harry Potter?” I interrupted. He looked at me with wide eyes.

“Um, yes but how did you know? You ran in here before we met him. I didn't think you even saw him.”

“I saw him run onto the platform with Ron. He looks so much like James and has Lily’s eyes, I knew right away. I can’t believe he’s going to Hogwarts this year,” I said. Remus explained to me when I was young that Harry wouldn’t be able to live with us. Around the time Lily and James were killed, the ministry began passing insane anti-werewolf legislation, which is why we couldn’t take Harry in ourselves, even though Remus wanted to. 

“Are you okay?” George asked. It was a good question and to be honest, I didn’t know if I was. 

“I don’t know. It’s definitely strange seeing him but honestly, I’m really excited to get to know him. It’s definitely been a while since I’ve seen him.” 

“Are you going to write Remus and tell him?” George asked. I didn’t even think about it. Is that something I could write in a letter to him? The son of his best friends who were murdered was going to Hogwarts with us this year. Before I could speak up I was interrupted. 

“It’s not exactly a thing you can put in a silly little letter, Georgie,” Fred said, standing in the doorway. 

“Stop reading my mind, Freddie,” I glared at him as he sat across from us. “I think I’ll wait until the holiday.” 

“Good idea,” George said. He turned to Fred, “So, is it true? Did Lee actually have a tarantula?” 

And just like that, the boys were rambling about the spider and all the pranks they could pull on Ron. I opened my book and did my best to tune them out. My eyelids got heavy after a while. I closed my eyes and rested my head on George’s shoulder. I fell asleep thinking about when I should give Harry the picture from his first birthday. I knew he needed it more than I did.  

I missed the comfort of the Gryffindor common room. I loved staying at the burrow, but the common room had the comfort of the Burrow with so much more room. The sorting ceremony was fun to watch, as usual. Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, much to his relief, and so was Harry. I still hadn’t talked to him, I knew I didn’t want to overwhelm him on his first day at Hogwarts. The twins told me that Ron told them Harry lived with awful muggles who told him nothing about our world, so I'm sure telling him about his parents would have made his little head explode. I sat on the couch with my potions textbook. I wanted to read, but I simply stared at the dying fire and let myself get lost in my thoughts. This was going to be an interesting year. 

*3 Months Later* 

My plan of telling Remus about Harry over the holidays was spoiled. I was stuck at Hogwarts this Christmas with the rest of the Weasleys since Molly and Arthur were going to visit Charlie in Romania. I asked Remus if I could come spend the holidays with him, but he insisted I stay at school. I was bummed, but Fred and George reassured me that we would have fun together. I spent the weeks before Christmas making presents for the Weasley boys. I brought my knitting materials and made each of them a scarf. I made a hat for Molly and gloves for Arthur that I made sure to send before they left for their trip. I made socks for Remus and sent a long letter about the last few months at school, making sure to exclude anything about Harry. 

Speaking of Harry, when I learned he was also staying for the holiday, I decided I would give him the photo from his first birthday. Other than exchanging pleasantries when I saw him with Ron in the common room or at Quidditch practice, I never really talked to Harry. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to, the right moment just never came up. I talked to Fred about my plan and he thought it was brilliant. We made a plan that I would pull Harry aside before he went down to breakfast on Christmas morning and that he and George would make sure he got everyone else out of the common room. 

When the time finally came to enact our plan, I was nervous. Everyone was in the common room talking about their presents. Most of us were wearing new sweaters from Molly. We stood up to head to the Great Hall and I tapped Harry on the shoulder. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” He nodded and looked for Ron. Fred and George took their part seriously and were in the process of ushering everyone out of the common room. I went over to the couch in front of the fireplace where I had left my book. I motioned for Harry to come sit next to me and he did. I pulled out the photo and gave it one last glance. The happy faces in the picture gave me the motivation I needed to get through this. 

“I don’t know how to say this, really. From the day you came to Hogwarts, I knew I had to give you this, but I just couldn’t find the right time,” I said, handing him the picture. “This is from your first birthday. I’m the little girl your mom is holding. My brother was best friends with your parents, and I grew up thinking that we were all one big happy family. I don’t remember much about our time together since I was so young, but I remember how much they loved you. Your parents were so kind, Harry. I loved them so much,” I was fighting back tears. Harry went on to tell me about his life. He told me how terrible his aunt and uncle were to him and it broke me. I wish I could tell him how much I wish we could’ve taken him in and raised him with us. When he finished talking, we hugged. 

“I’m here for you, Harry. And I will always remember how incredible your parents were.”

“Can you tell me stories about them?” He asked. We sat in front of the fireplace for what felt like hours talking about Lily and James.