Tourjours pur

Part 6

Over the next week, Bellatrix slowly starts appearing more and more around me. I walk to a class? She happens to be taking the same route. I eat early? She wants to eat early too. I imagine she's been told to keep an eye on me. On the Tuesday, a week since I burst into tears and refused to come out the bathroom, I notice James, Peter, Sirius and Remus all sat at breakfast, unable to sit still. I sit down with them, staring sceptically. Peter smiles at me, and asks, "Are you okay Cassi?"
"Alright, thanks Pete," I shrug, "Just tired. How long have you all been up for and why are you staring at the Slytherin table like that? Not you in particular Pete. Or even you, Remus. James, Sirius?"
Sirius nods, and mumbles, "Oh, yeah, I agree."
James is silent. Remus hands me a plate of toast, and I stare at it for a second. It's split into quarters, each with a different spread. Marmalade on one, lemon curd on another, butter and jam. Confused, I bite into it, but before I can ask anything, Remus says, "Sirius said you liked experimenting with different foods, but you're not allowed to at home. I thought you'd like to try it!"
It's not bad. I finish it in about ten minutes, and join the boys staring. The Slytherin boys, every single one of them, are scratching at their skin frantically. Some of them using their hands, others with wands. Sirius bursts into laughter, clinging to James as they scream laughing. Remus slaps them both, and they both shut up, silently wetting themselves with laughter. Peter smiles awkwardly, giving them away. I sigh, "Sirius, you know how angry your parent's will be-"
"They wont find out," Sirius shrugs. Part of me wants to scream at Sirius. Another part of me wants to hit him. I sort of want to congratulate him, but a huge part of me wants to write to Aunt Walburga. I would never, but if I did... If I did, Aunt Walburga would be grateful I was keeping her updated. She'd tell my mother how good I was being, and I might still be treated well. Mother might send me sweets like she does for the girls.

Talking about sweets, an owl drops a little parcel onto table in front of me. It has my name written on the envelope with it, in big, swirly writing. Familiar writing. Andy's writing. I rip open the letter, and read:
Dear Cass,
I know you might not want to hear from me. Believe me though, I've been trying to convince myself to write for ages now. Sirius wrote to me, explaining your situation, and I wanted to offer my advice. Don't snitch on Sirius, no matter what. As far as you are concerned, he is an angel at Hogwarts. While I don't recommend snitching, I also don't think wrapping yourself in with his trouble making is going to go down well with anyone. Don't bring attention to yourself. I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you are out of place already. A Black in Gryffindor? Nobody needs more of a reason to dislike you. If Mother or Father ask, you are so sad in Gryffindor, and know deep down you're in the wrong place.
Bellatrix and Narcissa aren't going to like your house. I haven't been specifically told, but Sirius implied that Bella laid her hands on you? If she touches you again, kick her shins, and yank on her hair. That was always how I won fights against her. Other than that, leave her alone. I know part of you will want to talk to her, but never be the first one to reach out. If you want, I can keep sending you sweets. Just ask Sirius to send a letter my way, or write yourself. There's no pressure there though. I'm always here if you need someone to talk to. Always. Sirius says you've not been going to lessons. I suppose there is no point. You've learnt all you need to know to pass your OWLS. Mother always made sure you knew your stuff. In my opinion, you were the smartest out of all of us girls. I love you.
-Andy

I open the box, and peer in. A selection of all my favourite sweets, from all of my favourite shops. I share them with the boys, popping one in my mouth as Lily sits down next to us. She takes a sweet on her own, and beams at me. I laugh as her face turns red, and she swallows it, grimacing.
"Don't you like it, Evans?" James smiles.
"That's awful," Lily wrinkles her nose up, "What do you people put in sweets? I mean, I know there's some weird stuff, but that's so bad."
I shrug, "When you grow up with siblings, you kind of learn to accept you're going to get the worst stuff. I really like these."
"Petunia never gave me the more disgusting stuff!" Lily protests. I look at the boys, who don't have siblings. Sirius does, but he'd give Reggie the good stuff willingly. I say, "Trust me, she did. I mean, Andy used to... never mind."
"Who's Andy?" Peter asks. I look at Sirius, who had become surprisingly interested in the table he's sat at. Truly, I hope its an interesting table, because I'm going to push his face into it if he interrupts me. I mutter, "My sister."
"I thought you only had two sisters," Peter says. I mutter, "She ran away with a muggle born man. I don't know where she is. I don't care to know. Nobody needs to be told about this."
"That's fine," James shrugs, "More importantly, it's nearly Christmas, so where is everyone going for the holidays? I'm going home!"
"Home," Lily smiles, "I'll be able to see Petunia and mum and dad!"
Peter shrugs, "Home."
I look at Sirius, who is even more interested in the table.
"It's a tradition for my family to stay with Sirius's over Christmas," I say, "So I'll be going there with Sirius. I've started being able to convince our parents to let me sleep on a mattress of Sirius's room."
"About that," Sirius says, "Mother says that's fine again. She actually wrote, and I quote 'keeping you in the same room will make you both realise how infuriating Gryffindor's are' so fun..."