the magic in the music

II

Diagon Alley was enchanted with the smiles and chatter of all those students who had received their Hogwarts letters the day prior. From anxious parents with no experience with magic to seventh years enjoying the back to school exhilaration while it still lasted, the atmosphere on Diagon Alley on August 31st was like no other.

Cassie longed to experience the excitement of the students around her. Internally her heart was bursting with joy, for she was soon to return home, to her true family. However she had a duty as the descendant of the Ancient and Noble House of Black- to maintain dignity and prestige at all times. So she solemnly sauntered behind her mother, head held high, and spoke only to inform her of the books she needed to purchase.

The Black siblings did not need to purchase robes nor clothes, for their uniforms had been tailored by the finest magical tailor money could buy; Walburga Black's children certainly would not be donning the same clothes as common folk. The woman was keen to limit their time amongst the 'scum of the wizarding world' as much as possible, much to Cassie and Sirius' dismay.

Whilst browsing for her potions textbook, Cassie spotted an unkept mop of thick brown hair in her peripheral vision who just so happened to be browsing for the very same thing. She wasn't surprised to see a mountain of books already in his hand and she so desperately wished she could run over and tease him for being such a bookworm. The consequences for such an interaction would be severe, and instead she hid behind the nearest cabinet praying that he did not notice her, and prayed even harder that he would not be as stupid as to approach her when her mother was close by.

Regulus noticed this subtle interaction and crouched down next to his sister the second his mother's attention was diverted. She shot him a look of confusion before peering round the corner to check if Remus Lupin was still browsing. To both her joy and dismay he was still there, and she thought he looked adorable trying to balance his books whilst focusing on the selection of literature in front of him.

"Go."

"Reg don't be daft, you know mother would curse both him and I on sight."

"I'll distract her- just pull him outside. You know Sirius is off trying to find James, it's not fair that you're here avoiding your best friend. You deserve this."

"I love you Reggie, I owe you one." She ruffled her brother's hair affectionately and darted off toward the boy she had been craving a conversation with all summer long.

"Psst, Rem."

Remus could have sworn he was going crazy. He looked around Flourish and Botts but saw nobody looking at him. He assumed he was just so hopeful he'd bump into his best friend that he was hearing things.

"Rem, down here you bumbling idiot!"

Now he knew that was real. His heart exploded at the sight of Cassie Black, his favourite person in the world. His smile was unparalleled to any other witch or wizard on Diagon Alley, even the first years who were so enthusiastic to begin their adventure at Hogwarts.

"Cassie! Why on Earth are you crawling on the floor, is everything okay?"

"My mother is in the store, I can't let her see me. Pay for your books and meet me outside as quickly as you can, we don't have a lot of time."

With that, she snuck outside and moved out of vision from the window. She trusted her brother, but knew that he could only buy her a small amount of time.

Remus Lupin shoved through the crowd of people waiting to pay and made his way to the front, lying about needing to get to his sick mother to prevent the crowd causing a fuss. He didn't even wait for the cashier to ring up his books before he chucked all of the money his mother had given him on the till and snatched his collection. There was no time to lose- he needed to see Cassie.