Chapter 2
All of my friends were Pureblood, other than Will, Jenny, Jace and Terry who were half-bloods. Some half-bloods are tolerable. Most aren't, though.
"Baxter Yarrow," Minnie called out. She placed the hat on the boy's head when he sat down. That kid is definitely a Mudblood. The hat didn't say anything for a couple of minutes.
"Hufflepuff!" The hat yelled and the Hufflepuff table cheered while the other tables clapped. The boy sat down at the Hufflepuff table.
"William Weasley." A ginger boy sat on the stool and the hat was silent for a minute.
"Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table burst into cheers and applause as the other tables clapped.
...
Over the last few years, only a few things of importance had happened...
- Most of my friends finished Hogwarts. I made new friends that also finished. Over the years, however, my most notable new friends were: Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks (half-blood), Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Percy Weasley, Penelope Clearwater (half-blood), Oliver Wood, Marcus Flint, Lucian Bole, Lee Jordan, Lucas Rosier, Ruby Lockwood, David Cruz (half-blood), Abraxas Fenders, Hendric Nott, Fennick Rowle and Mary Macmillan.
(As it's near the end of the summer holidays now, I'll be in my first year in a month. Cho is going to be a second year with Mary, Dave and Luke. Ced, George, Fred and Lee are going to be third years. Ruby, Luce and Brax are going to be fourth years. Mark, Perce, Ollie and Pen are going to be fifth years. Fen is going to be a sixth year and Ric is going to be a seventh year. All the Weasleys have been Gryffindors as well as Lee and Ollie - Dora was a Hufflepuff like Ced and Mary - Pen, Ruby, Dave and Cho are Ravenclaws - Brax, Mark, Luke, Fen, Luce and Ric are all Slytherins.)
- I also became really close with the other Professors in the school. They kept calling me The Brightest Witch of Her Age. I viewed all of them (except for whoever is going to be our new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor as I haven't met him yet. I do know his name will be Professor Quirrell, though) as aunts and uncles and I sometimes call Minnie, mom, now too (she cried and hugged me for three hours after I called her that for the first time).
- I've been allowed to sit in on lessons for the last three years and, even though I still don't have a wand, I've participated in them for the last two years (mainly just helping out but in Potions, I get to brew my own and Sev does any necessary wand-work). I could just start my fifth year now and pass the O.W.L.s at the end of the year but Dumbles denied the request even though all the Professors were against him. Apparently, students aren't allowed to skip years (even though it's happened in the past).
- Over the holidays, I spend time staying with my mom at McGonagall Manor or staying at my friends' houses. I made friends with Bill, Perce, Charlie, Fred and George's little brother, Ron, but I don't like their sister, Ginny. She's a selfish brat. I also became friends with Luna Lovegood. She lives a little way away from the Weasleys' house. The Weasley parents don't like me, though. I also visit Dex, Katie and Penny sometimes too and Dora (her mom is the prettiest person I've ever met and six-year-old me was mortified when I accidentally asked her if she was an angel - Dora hasn't let me live it down five years later). I've been to Ced, Cho, Ollie, Luce, Luke, Ruby, Brax, Mark, Mary and Ric's houses. Next summer, I'm supposed to visit Fen and Pen's houses and Lee and Dave's houses the summer after.
- I've spent a lot of time flying and Ro and Minnie keep telling me how good I am at Quidditch. Just before the holidays started, they stormed Dumbles' office and demanded he let me on the Quidditch team of whatever House I'm Sorted into immediately during my first year and refused to take no for an answer. All my friends were really proud of me.
- I became really good at wandless and non-verbal magic. While I can't perform spells in the classes I sit in on with a wand, I did start doing them wandlessly and non-verbally. The Professors were all really shocked by my talent. Especially when they discovered that I'm a natural Legilimens and Occlumens and didn't even know it (they weren't very happy when they found out I was a Parselmouth but they got over it pretty fast). I also discovered that Dora and I are the first Metamorphmagi in two-and-a-half centuries. That made it easy to play pranks and ensure that only I, if anyone, got caught as they couldn't give me detention, expel me or kick me off school grounds as my mom worked there and I wasn't actually a student. Mom and uncle Sev would lecture me but only about getting caught.
"Cassie! Are you ready, sweetie?" Mom asked. "Severus is here to take you to Diagon Alley to get your supplies and meet up with your friends."
"Ready, mom." I ran to the front door and hugged Sev. "Hi, Sev. I missed you."
"I missed you too, little one."
"Bye, mom. Good luck with the Muggles and Mudbloods."
"Thanks, Cassie," mom said. "I'm gonna need it. They're so hopeless." Sev and I left the Manor's wards and he apparated us to Knockturn Alley.
"What do you want to get first? I know you don't have much because we all got you quite a bit for your Christmas presents. What do you have left?"
"Just my wand, familiar and stuff for Defence Against the Dark Arts. I have the rest... Oh! And a broom."
"Let's go to Gringott's first then get your stuff for DADA and then your wand and your familiar. We'll save your broom for last, Cassie. I'm sure that's what you're most excited about."
"Yep!" We went to Gringott's and got my DADA stuff. Ollivander had me try seven different wands before he randomly stopped, started muttering to himself and then went into the back. He brought out another wand.
"This wand is a 12 3/4 inch, Dragon Heartstring, unyielding with a duel Wood of Acacia and Aspen. I rarely sell duel Wood Wands. However, I think you should try it." I took the wand and it immediately felt right. This was definitely the one.
"This one."
"Hmm. Interesting. As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental. For that to be paired with Acacia Wood, A very unusual Wand Wood, which I have found creates tricky wands that often refuse to produce magic for any but their owner, and also withhold their best effects from all but those most gifted. This sensitivity renders them difficult to place, and I keep only a small stock for those witches or wizards of sufficient subtlety, for Acacia is not suited to what is commonly known as ‘bangs-and-smells’ magic. When well-matched, an Acacia Wand matches any for power, though it is often underrated due to the peculiarity of its temperament. And Aspen Wood, Wand-quality Aspen Wood is white and fine-grained, and highly prized by all wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory and its usually outstanding charmwork. The proper owner of the Aspen Wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the Aspen Wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. An infamous and secretive eighteenth-century duelling club, which called itself The Silver Spears, was reputed to admit only those who owned Aspen Wands. In my experience, Aspen Wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries. And to have it unyielding too... Wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair – although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the Wand Wood, core and length, nor of the owner’s life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique. In this case, even more so... For this wand to choose you... You will be capable of incredible things beyond my imagination." For fucks sake... Please tell me it's finally over! That was so boring. Sev and I finally leave the shop and I breathe a sigh of relief and Sev chuckled.
"Don't be like that, Sevy! That was exhausting. I never want to go back there again!" Sev chuckled again so I shoved him. I turned around to storm off in the direction of the animals but I bumped into someone and they fell on the floor. It was a blonde boy about my age. I held my hand out to him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do that." He looked behind me for a few seconds then took my hand and I helped him up.
"You should be more careful," a voice from behind him said. I faced the woman who was talking and she's... Stunning. The only person I've ever met that was anywhere near as gorgeous as her was Andy, Dora's mom. Holy shit.
"Hi."
"Hello, Narcissa," Sev said. I faced him again.
"Uncle Sev, we need to go soon or I won't be able to get my broom before meeting with the others and we still have to get my familiar and I have no idea what animal I want or even if I'll be able to pick just one type of animal and today's the only day we can get my broom 'cus Minnie and you are busy for the rest of the week and then it'll be time for Hogwarts and I won't use one of the school's brooms for Quidditch 'cus they're absolute trash and I'll get myself killed and you'll be all alone and so will Minnie and she'll die all sad with like fifty cats and--"
"Whoa," Sev chuckled. "Don't forget to breathe, Cassie. We have plenty of time and no one's dying any time soon. Even if we run out of time, I'll order one for you and it'll be at Hogwarts way before the first game of the season. Now, why don't you introduce yourself." He cast that silencing spell he refuses to teach me. He can tell I'm going to complain about it again and beats me to it. "I'll teach you the spell before Halloween. I promise. Now, don't forget your real name and the one people at Hogwarts know you as."
"Good." I turned towards the boy, Narcissa and, who I assume to be, the boy's father. "Hi, I'm Cassiopeia Narcissa Merope Riddle-Black and I go by Cassie but those at Hogwarts know me as Hermione Jean McGonagall and Mia. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You're the Dark Lord and Regulus' daughter," Narcissa whispered. "I thought you were dead." She pulled me into a hug. "I'm Narcissa Andromeda Malfoy." She pointed at the boy. "My son, Draco Lucius Malfoy, and my husband," she pointed at Draco's dad. "Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. The pleasure is all ours, Princess."
"Draco? Luna's cousin?"
"Yeah," Draco said.
"She talks about you all the time." Sev brought down his spell.
"You mentioned going to buy a broom? Isn't she about to start her first year?" Lucius inquired as we started walking towards the pet shop.