chosen - harry potter

Prologue

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

"I just don't...I don't understand," she said, her eyes glittering with tears as comprehension settled upon her. "This can't be happening."

"I understand how hard this must be for you."

"Then why don't you take her? Is this not putting us in loads of danger? If not from her, from everyone who will be trying to-"

"I can assure you she is not dangerous. And as for the others, as far as I know, the majority of them are in Azkaban or hiding. But regardless, they can not harm you while she is living under this roof. You are protected as long as you treat her as your own."

She sighed hard, sinking into her armchair. "And Winona?"

"In Azkaban. I assume she will be there for a very long time."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, clutching her baby close to her heart.

"I'll keep her safe."

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣

The Brights were a typical family. That being, a typical wizarding family.

Finn and Wendy Bright met during their years in Hogwarts. They had a simple, sweet love. Everything seemed to come easily to them when it came to their relationship. Both of them were grateful for this, especially when the war erupted. Nothing could separate them.

They had two kids, Will, and a year later, Cassia. They were their pride and joy. Despite Will and Cassia's occasional fights, they were a happy family who loved each other's presence greatly.

Though it had never been a topic of discussion in their home, Cassia and Will were half-bloods. Finn was Muggle-born, and Wendy came from a pureblood family. The Bright name had a long family history of defending muggle-borns and half-bloods, so Finn and Wendy had decided to keep her last name when they married.

Cassia and Will took after their mother, both physically and in their personality. While their father was light-haired, both Will and Cassia had dark hair and eyes, matching Wendy's. They also had taken on the chatty, friendly personality that Wendy had always been known for.

Cassia Bright truly loved her life - and she didn't keep it a secret. As a child, she was always seen bubbly and smiling, and her smile could truly light up a room. At the same time, she was quick-witted and was always trying to make the people around her laugh. The mixture of the warmth of the way she grew up and the magic flowing through her veins created a sweet, happy little girl.

Magic had come rather easily to her even when she was young, but she was told to keep it to a minimum by her parents after they had caught her making her stuffed bear float behind her across the house. She would use it to swipe sweets from her brother without him, or their parents, noticing.

Cassia was close to her mother, always talking with her as they made dinner and listening to her stories about Hogwarts. The group of friends she had, the stories of wandering the castle grounds, the ventures to Hogsmeade...of course, Cassia was ecstatic to go to Hogwarts.

She wasn't as close to her father. Finn was a quiet, hard-working man, but he never made much of an effort to connect with Cassia. Or Will, for that matter. It just wasn't in his nature, as he had told Wendy hundreds of times.

Finn and Wendy both worked for much of the day; Finn worked in the Ministry, in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and Wendy worked as an Auror. Luckily for them, a large family took residence near them, and Molly Weasley, their mother, was more than happy to watch over Will and Cassia when needed. Cassia spent a large portion of her childhood in the Burrow, and she and Will were considered by the Weasleys to be part of the family. Molly and Arthur treated them as their own. It was a wonder they didn't sprout red hair from the tops of their heads.

Growing up so close to the Weasleys, Cassia's personality took after theirs in many ways. She grew to be rather good at Quidditch, too, fighting Fred and George to be able to play as Beater whenever she could.

She saw Bill and Charlie very rarely, but she was sure that they were two of the coolest people she had ever met. Especially Charlie, who was a dragon tamer. It fascinated her.

Percy often told Cassia all the ways to succeed at Hogwarts, and while Cassia would pretend to be disinterested, she would actually take the tips to heart, trying to commit them to memory.

Fred and George would let her in on their pranks from time to time, too. She would giggle as Percy would constantly "misplace" his personal items.

Ron and Ginny were two of Cassia's best friends. Cassia and Ron were usually sitting in his room, talking and playing Wizard's Chest. She was close to Ginny, too, but Ginny and Ron did not seem to get along at all. So, Cassia divided her time between the two of them. Cassia and Ginny constantly shared their reciprocated joy to have another girl around.

As the years passed, the Burrow grew quieter and quieter, especially after Fred and George left for Hogwarts. The year proceeding, Will got his letter, which he never hesitated to rub in Cassia's face. Despite his bragging, Cassia's and her best friend, Ron's, letters arrived a year later, after both of them had turned eleven.

"Good morning, everyone," Mr. Weasley said, striding into the kitchen one summer morning, "We've got letters from school."

He tossed everyone their letters, passing Cassia's and Ron's and giving them a light pat on the back. The two kids shared a look of excitement.

They both ate their breakfast quickly before darting up the stairs to Ron's room and reading through both of their respective letters.

"Are you excited?" Cassia asked after skimming through the letter.

"Of course I am, I just hope I get into Gryffindor," he said, not looking up. "What about you, Cass?"

"'Course!"

They spent the rest of the day up in Ron's room, discussing Hogwarts and wishing they could afford the latest broomstick.

When Cassia's parents returned home, she and Will walked down the dirt path to their house, Cassia incessantly rambling about what she was looking forward to at school.

She strolled into her home, greeting her parents and continuing her consistent rambling.

"I kinda hope I get Gryffindor, so I can be with Ron and Fred and George," she said, ticking the Weasley siblings off on her fingers. "Oh, and Percy too, I suppose. Anything but Hufflepuff," she finished, looking at Will with an annoying grin.

"Alright," Will huffed, being a Hufflepuff himself. "I'm off to bed."

Cassia hurried to bed soon after, clutching her letter under her arm. She placed it on her dresser, looking out her window at the stars. The summer heat and the sweet smell of wild grasses wafted into her room, and she could see a brown owl flying overhead. She wondered if it was a wild owl, or if it was returning from delivering a letter.

She thought about Hogwarts. She was looking forward to it much more than she had expected. The idea of meeting new people, being away from home, and being able to use magic filled her with more excitement than she had ever felt.

Her parents always proclaimed how Hogwarts had made them who they were.

Who would Cassia be?

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