Post Tenebras Lux

Chapter Fifty-Eight

A knock on the door caused Cassiopeia to stop cleaning her room and call out, "Come in."

She was shocked when a red-haired girl walked into her room, "Hi, sorry, I just came to tell you how my patrol went. Are you busy? I can come back another time."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm in the middle of a spring clean," Cassiopeia awkwardly smiled at Evans, "So how was it?"

Evans loitered by the door as she watched Cassiopeia continued to tidy her room up, "Well it was no different to usual really. A couple of first-years from Gryffindor tried to sneak out so I gave them detention. I managed to get Rosier to not hex them."

Cassiopeia's head shot up at the mention of the death eaters, "Has he hurt you?"

"No," Evans told her, "He's been angrier this year but also more distant."

"If he hurts you or anyone else, tell me immediately," Cassiopeia told her.

"He's not a good person, is he?"

A large bang from James's room caused Evans to jump, "Sorry about him. He's always noisy. Either working on pranks or listening to music. That boy can be a real nuisance."

"He likes you, you know," Evans blurted out, "You should see the way he looks at you. He talks about you quite a lot without realising. It's cute now that it's not me."

Cassiopeia smiled at the girl, "Was it really that bad?"

"He was a pain. I couldn't even be his friend because of how bad it was. That's the thing with James when he puts his mind to something, he gives it his all. Not that that's really a bad thing."

"He isn't a bad person."

"No, he's one of the good ones."

Cassiopeia smiled slightly before turning serious, "I need to apologise for being so cold to you all these years," Cassiopeia told Evans, "I know it doesn't make up for it but I was brought up to believe muggles were evil. They were the monsters in the stories my parents told us. I feared you before coming to Hogwarts. You know, when I got here I couldn't understand why muggles were exactly the same as me. It was a little confusing. I didn't want to believe my parents were wrong."

Evans moved so she was beside Cassiopeia, "You were never mean to me. You always stopped the other Slytherins from hurting me."

"You didn't deserve their taunts," Cassiopeia told her quietly, "They are the real monsters."

"I'm sorry for calling you evil," Evans sighed, "You were right about Severus."

"Yeah," Cassiopeia pursed her lips, "I really do wish I wasn't. I know he was your friend."

Evans nodded, "Not anymore."

"Cassiopeia," She held out her hand. 

The Gryffindor took it, "Lily."

And that was the start of newfound respect between the girls. They would never become the best of friends but they would never hate the other again.