Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

4 - Troll in the Library

musical mood: butterfly - f(x)

As Cass got acclimated with her new life at Hogwarts, September bled into October. The tree leaves began to turn into vibrant shades of orange, the days were shorter, and the temperature grew chillier. While she got copious amounts of homework, she found she enjoyed her classes at Hogwarts far more than the ones at her muggle primary school.

Potions remained her best subject, to the annoyance of one Draco Malfoy, who wanted nothing more than Snape's undying approval.

To her greatest surprise, though, Cass found that she actually enjoyed socialising with the other Ravenclaw girls. While she didn't consider them to be friends yet, all of them remained a source of entertainment for her. Naia and Bethany's contrasting personalities made for fun conversations to listen to, and learning about Ana's life in Minsk was always fascinating. Padma on the other hand, was a tad creepy with her predictions, but she still made for good company. Even the two Gryffindors who would often spend time with their group, Parvati and Lavender, weren't too bad.

On the afternoon of Halloween, a day where classes were cut, the girls were sitting at their usual spot on the Ravenclaw table for a late lunch, this time accompanied by a few boys. There was Terry Boot, a muggleborn who wouldn't shut up about Quidditch, and Anthony Goldstein, who didn't talk at all, but would shamelessly stare at you for what felt like hours, without ever blinking.

The Nott brothers also joined them; apparently Theodore preferred the company of Ravenclaws to his Slytherin classmates. Cass didn't blame him. She'd go crazy if she had to spend every waking moment with Malfoy.

Terry was in the middle of a long, winded story about some Quidditch match he read about in an old Daily Prophet article, when the sound of dozens of screeching owls cut him off.

Ana jumped in her seat, to which Padma placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"There are birds! Why are there birds?"

"It's just the mail." Bethany said dully, poking at her meal with a fork.

Several owls flew down to the Ravenclaw table, which Cass paid no mind to, until one swooped down in front of her, holding a letter in its beak. Cassiopeia was written in long, swirly handwriting across the envelope.

Her heart jumped. Was it from Connor? She had written to him twice - sending the letters to her father to have him deliver across the street - but Connor had never wrote back.

Tearing open the envelope, she frowned as she read the opening. Connor certainly did not write this.

My dearest Cassiopeia,

"Who's that from?" Lavender peered over her shoulder.

"My father." Cass responded with a quiver in her voice, blinking in disbelief. It had been almost two months since she had been at Hogwarts, and he hadn't written to her, nor had she expected him to. So why now? Was something wrong?

"What does it say?"

"Don't be nosy, Lav." Parvati swatted her arm playfully, though Lavender's smile dimmed.

Cass ignored the two as she scanned the letter, heart race speeding up.

My dearest Cassiopeia,

I'm so very sorry I wasn't able to see you off when you left in September, and that I haven't written until now. I've been unfortunately tied up with other matters.

I heard you got sorted into Ravenclaw. Congratulations, you're truly growing up to be just like me. How is Hogwarts for you so far? I hope you are focusing on your studies. Are you making friends? Any boys I need to worry about? You know I'll deal with any boy that comes near you.