different | h. potter

9

Cassia woke up in a cold sweat at the break of dawn. Needless to say, Moody's lesson was still on her mind. She glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. Squinting in the darkness, she saw that it read 6 am. There were still three hours before class. Cassia tried to go back to sleep, but to no avail; whenever she closed her eyes, she saw nothing but a bright green light.

With a frustrated sigh, she rolled over onto her side. There, on the bedside table before her, laid the latest letter from her parents. Since she had some time to spare, Cassia figured that she might as well write back to them. In the pale light of dawn, she composed a letter consisting of the usual: she was doing well in school, then summarized some of the more important events that have taken place - such as the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament and Draco being Transfigured into a ferret, although she decided not to include the latter - and wished them the best. Once she had finished writing, she got dressed and crept out of her dormitory as quietly as she could, as to not wake anyone, and made her way to the Owlery.

The Owlery was a circular stone room located at the top of the West Tower. It rather cold and draughty due to the fact that none of the windows had glass on them. The floor was entirely covered in straw, owl droppings and the regurgitated skeletons of small rodents. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls of every breed imaginable were nestled here on perches that rose right to the top of the tower, nearly all of them asleep. Cassia spotted her owl perched between a snowy owl and a screech owl, still fast asleep.

"Calypso," she called softly, caressing the owl. 

She slowly woke up, revealing her large dark eyes. Calypso, named after the minor goddess in Greek mythology, was a barn owl. With her salt-and-pepper back and wings, spotted white chest, and distinct heart-shaped face, she was rather beautiful. 

"Sorry for waking you up so early, but... " Cassia said, holding up her letter sheepishly.

Despite being so rudely deprived of her precious slumber, Calypso happily stuck out her leg. She had always been such a patient, docile, and gentle companion. Although Cassia loved her friends dearly, being in her pet's company was a refreshing change from their usual rowdiness.

Just as Cassia began tying the letter to Calypso's outstretched leg, she heard the sound of footsteps fast approaching. She froze. Who else would be up this early? Her first thought was Filch, the caretaker with a passion for apprehending troublesome students. Praying that it wasn't him, she turned around to see who it was. Much to her surprise, Cassia's was met with the familiar sight of untidy dark hair, striking green eyes behind a pair of round glasses, and an unmistakable lighting-shaped scar.

"Clarke," Harry Potter sputtered, equally surprised. He quickly hid his letter beside his back. Despite her newfound curiosity, Cassia chose to ignore his suspicious behaviour.

"Relax, Potter. I'll be out in a second," she said coolly, turning back to her owl.

Potter cleared his throat awkwardly, making his way over to his own owl, which happened to be the snowy owl sleeping next to Calypso. Cassia was rather disappointed in herself for not realizing that that was owl was his; it stood out like a sore thumb every morning, flying over to the Gryffindor table. Cassia shifted slightly over to the left to create some distance between them.

"Hedwig," Potter said, poking his owl, "Hedwig, get up."

The snowy owl opened her amber eyes rather grudgingly. Seeing that it was her owner, she promptly turned around, showing him her tail. Potter huffed in annoyance.

"C'mon, Hedwig," he pleaded, "Please?"

She did not turn around. Instead, she shuffled to the right of her perch, away from him. Potter followed her to her new spot, only for her to move to the left. And it went on like that: Potter chasing after Hedwig, and her pettily avoiding him. Cassia couldn't help but smile at the sight. She wondered if this was a regular occurrence.