Potter's Girl / Butterfly Effect.

89. The Sorting Hat Revisited

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE;

THE SORTING HAT REVISITED

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Hey, losers. He isn't here."

   The Hogwarts Express had been stopped no less than three times since its departure, and each time Death Eaters took to the compartments to search for Harry Potter hidden in an unsuspecting third year's trunk. Neville had clearly gotten sick of their endless hunting; he stood up the moment they entered and shot them down with those five words.

   They left after a moment's pause, glaring daggers at those they passed. Cassie kept her head down under the false pretense of reading Hogwarts; a History, unwilling to put her Glamour disguise to the test just yet. She had no reason to be so nervous, really – nobody had yet stopped her or pulled her to the side, having recognized her for who she truly was. A few people – namely Cormac Mclaggen and Seamus Finnegan – had asked if she was a new student, and Cassie seized the opportunities to test her foolproof backstory.

She had told them exactly what she and Neville had rehearsed; that her name was Victoire Delacour. She was sixteen years old, to be seventeen in three months, as to not worry about the trace. She was a distant cousin of Fleur's on their fathers' sides. As for her accent... Truthfully, her and Neville hadn't worked that bit out. Cassie was dreadful at feigning a French accent; Neville's Gran had chastised her for it and scolded the both of them for 'causing ache to her ears'. Eventually, the two of them decided that Victoire was simply born in France, but raised in Britain, as to not surface too many questions of her inflection.

   "But why're you transferring so late in your education?" Cormac pressed as Cassie finished explaining, his eyes flickering over her body once – one time too many, Cassie thought, as she held back a shudder. Cormac shifted in his seat, leaning in. "Don't get me wrong, I'm mental for the mysterious, fit, new-to-school witch vibe–"

   "Yeah, that'll be enough of that," said Neville, thankfully cutting in and ushering Cassie away from a scoffing Cormac Mclaggen. Cassie gagged dramatically as her and Neville returned to their compartment that was shared with Luna and Ginny. "You alright, Victoire?"

   "Brilliant," she replied, gritting her teeth. She wanted nothing more than to pound in Cormac's oversized nose, but there was no way she could do such a thing. It was all she could do to restrain herself.

   Silence fell over the compartment. Cassie began to fiddle with the hem of her sweater, swallowing thickly as she avoided the harsh brown glare of Ginny Weasley. The ginger had been staring Cassie down ever since their first meeting; Ginny had not yet said anything, but Cassie got the feeling that her cover was on the brim of being blown open. Luna seemed as distant as ever, and Cassie wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad.

   "So.. you lot excited to get back to Hogwarts?" said Neville, probably just trying to make conversation. He winced at his own words, then continued, before anyone could reply, "Yeah, daft question..."

   "I'm always glad to return," Luna hummed, tilting her head to the side and gazing quizzically at the other three; Neville, in particular. "Though I suppose things might look a bit different with Professor Snape as headmaster."

There was another lull in the conversation. All four teenagers evaded each others' eye contact, the only exception being Neville and Cassie, who stared each other down so intently that Ginny cleared her throat to ease what probably fet like tension between the pair.

And then, shocking both Neville and Cassie, Luna added, "It's comforting that Cassie's returning with us, at least."

It took a moment for the words to set in. When they did, Neville spluttered and nearly fell from his seat, while Cassie's jaw dropped open. "You.. know?" she asked, completely and entirely gobsmacked.