Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

3 - A Soviet Invasion

musical mood: are you satisfied? - marina and the diamonds

One other first year female was sorted into Ravenclaw - the foreigner from the boat named Anastasia Vasiliev, though she insisted on Ana. The five of them were escorted by the fifth year prefect, Penelope Clearwater, to the common room, and then their dorms.

While the Ravenclaw common room was regal, with high ceilings lined with books, beautiful stained glass windows, and an intricate chandelier in the centre, the dorms were more relaxed and cosy. There were five four-poster beds in a half circle shape, each of them with dark blue privacy curtains, and a spacious trunk at the foot.

While the other girls rushed to claim their beds, Cass walked over to the window, staring out into the forest beyond Hogwarts castle. They were on an island, but the land seemed to go on forever, trees upon trees that bled into mountains, miles and miles away. Cassiopeia, the constellation, was in full view in the night sky.

Connor would love it here.

Weeks after they first met, the two had learned morse code together, so they could use their flashlights to communicate from across the street, inside their bedroom windows. Sometimes, in the middle of the night when they couldn't sleep, they'd sneak out to the park to see each other. They'd lay in the grass and talk for hours, sometimes until the sun rose up the next day.

It was during one of those times when Connor taught Cass about the constellations. She had heard of them, but had never bothered to read further into what they were. But that night, she'd been upset over something with her father - she couldn't remember the details anymore, and he'd known just how to cheer her up.

"That one," Connor said, pointing up at a cluster of stars, "is Cassiopeia."

"Really?"

He nodded, giving her hand a small squeeze. "See, you're not just a star, you're a whole bunch of stars. If your dad can't see it, he's bloody stupid."

Cass gulped, forcing herself to look away from the window.

The other four girls had already picked their beds out, Padma being closest to the door, followed by an empty bed, Naia, Ana, and what was presumably Bethany, though she had her curtains drawn already. The three others were mid conversation as Cass sat down on her bed, and began changing into her pyjamas.

"So then I said, Angelina, if you talk about Fred Weasley one more time, the first spell I will learn will be one to glue your mouth shut." Naia finished her story, waving her hands around theatrically.

"Is there such a spell?" Ana asked between laughs, and Naia shrugged.

"Probably. There's a spell for everything. At least that's what Angie told me."

"Angelina is your sister, right?" Padma asked.

"Yeah, she's in Gryffindor. A third year."

"Maybe she and Parvati will become friends." Padma rested her chin in her hands, laying on her stomach. Her long black hair was pulled back into a braid, that she had running down her left shoulder. "I don't know how I knew, but the moment the sorting started, I just had this gut feeling that we wouldn't be in the same house. Am I crazy?"

"No." Cass answered before thinking it through. Everyone turned to look at her, and she even thought she heard a rustling in Bethany's bed.

"Lots of wizards have...gut instincts. Predictions, almost." Cass elaborated, going off of something she had read in a book several months ago. "It's normal. In a few years, you can sign up for a Divination elective, to learn more about it. Or check out books in the library, I'm sure they have something."