way to go, tiger | Lorenzo Berkshire

࣪𖤐 Y3 | 1 . Back to Hogwarts

FINE LINE — HARRY STYLES
'Put a price on emotion'

On the first day of third year, Cassiopeia Diggory is already exhausted. Thriving on five hours of sleep, she forces herself to get out of bed and go up to the Great Hall for breakfast. As she strolls through the halls, the September breeze seeping through the open windows, she rubs her eyes and attempts to massage her neck. Merlin, she needs to sort out her pillows.

She passes by a group of Gryffindors she's friendly with— Padma Patil, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Neville Longbottom. People assume Cassie is a blood-supremacist because of her house, but she couldn't even care less. Cassie isn't even a pureblood herself. Somewhere along the long line of Diggorys, one of them married a Muggle-born. She is a half-blood with no shame. Admittedly, Draco Malfoy held that against her for the first few months of their friendship.

Smiling politely, Cassie pursues her route to the Great Hall. She enters through the large brown doors, and her brown eyes find her group of friends at the Slytherin table. "Morning, Cass." Blaise smiles up at her.

"Morning, you lot." she replies, immediately grabbing the steaming pot of hot water. She pours herself a cup of tea as her friends converse beside her.

"Can you believe Potter fainted? Like he literally fainted— how embarrassing is that?" Draco sneers in a way Cassie has never been able to understand. How can his face look so disgusted yet so pleased at the same time?

Cassie rolls her eyes, listening to his conversation with Theo. Only Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and Draco are at the table this morning. Cassie saw Pansy in the deepest of slumbers and decided not to wake her just yet. After all, they still have an hour until first period. She has no clue as to where Mattheo or Enzo are, however.

"Well, Draco, it sounds to me that you're a little bit obsessed with Potter." Cassie shrugs. "But that's just me; feel free to disagree."

Blaise and Theo snort as Draco's lips part in outrage, and his eyebrows raise. "I am not obsessed! I hate him!"

"Mhm..." Cassie nods, unconvincingly so.

"I don't even care what you have to say, Diggory. Just shut up and drink your tea." Draco sneers, making Cassie chuckle to herself.

Distracting herself from her conversation with Draco, Cassie spots her big brother across the hall. Cedric sends a bright smile her way, and she returns it, feeling happy. He always manages to put a smile on her face.

"Ugh, Mattheo is a nightmare." a very familiar voice groans, sitting down next to Cassie.

"I am not! I'm an orphan, actually, so you can't blame me." Mattheo says in his defense. Mattheo Riddle loves to pull out the childhood trauma card in arguments like these. He knows it makes them feel bad and lets him win.

"Oh! Don't play the orphan card on me, mate." Enzo exclaims. Mattheo cackles and takes a seat opposite Cassie, next to Blaise.

"Chaotic morning, I assume?" Cassie grins at her best friend.

"You have no idea." Enzo sighs dramatically.

The Diggory's have been close with the Berkshires as long as Cassie's ever known. Cassiopeia Diggory does not know life without the joy of Enzo Berkshire. It all started with Victoria Diggory and Elizabeth Berkshire's friendship that bloomed all the way back during their years at Hogwarts— the same with Amos Diggory and Christopher Berkshire. The Diggory children grew up alongside the Berkshires; Enzo and his two older twin siblings, Rose and Atlas.

Cassie and Enzo are the same age— Cedric also the same as Rose and Atlas— and luckily, in the same house. They befriended a particularly chaotic group of marauders on the train in first year after Pansy Parkinson accidentally crashed into Cassie with her trolley. They've all been friends since, only bickering when Draco has a bad day (which is way more often than not).