Post Tenebras Lux

Chapter Sixty

The Potter house was a lot grander than Cassiopeia had imagined. She knew that James's family had a considerable amount of wealth but she had never expected his house to rival that of her parents. There was one thing she knew for certain that it was a happier house full of love. James Potter's parents doted on their son and would never make him feel unloved. It was a family she had always longed to be a part of. 

Sirius ran down the stairs and picked her up enthusiastically, "This will be the first New Year we have spent together in such a long time."

"I don't expect to see much of you, cousin," Cassiopeia teased, "Your attention will be on females you aren't related to."

"Oh shut up," Sirius replied as he grinned at her, "You look stunning, Cassie. James won't be able to stop himself from drooling."

Steps could be heard from behind them and James appeared, "Wow, uh, you look absolutely gorgeous," James stuttered out as he smiled at the girl.

"Thank you," The two smiled at each other.

Sirius awkwardly cleared his throat, "We should probably go and mix with the other guests. Unless you two want to stay here staring at each other."

Cassiopeia laughed as followed her cousin with James by her side. The room they entered was exquisite and reminded Cassiopeia of Slughorn's party the previous year. It was full of witches and wizards she had never seen before.

A woman stopped in front of them and the way she warmly smiled at James made Cassiopeia guess she was his mother, "Mum, this is Cassiopeia, Sirius's cousin."

The woman's smile was suddenly directed towards her and Cassiopeia wanted to cry because of how kind the woman was, "It is lovely to finally meet you, dear. James won't stop talking about you. How beautiful you are," She then whispered so James couldn't hear, "Good on you for beating my son in your lessons."

Cassiopeia beamed, "Thank you for inviting me to this glorious party."

James directed her over to the friends that had been invited. The three other Marauders were there as well as Lily and McKinnon. She smiled at the group and tried to ignore the glare McKinnon sent her. It seemed the two would never be able to get along. 

"I need to go and help my mother in the kitchen," James whispered to her, "I'll be back shortly."

As soon as he left, he was replaced with a short, round man who chomped on a pork pie as he spoke loudly, "I'll tell you, kids, things are getting worse. You need to be prepared to fight when you graduate this summer. The Dark Lord is only getting stronger. Why anyone would support him I don't know. It's those bloody Slytherins. They have always been rotten, even back when I was at school."

McKinnon smirked as she nodded towards Cassiopeia, "She's a Slytherin."

"Oh sorry, what's your name?"

Cassiopeia sighed as she told him, "Cassiopeia Black."

The man visibly gulped as he asked her, "Are you the youngest sister of Bellatrix Lestrange?"

She nodded slowly, knowing what was about to come, "I ought to go and talk to... yes, I'm going over here now."

Cassiopeia tried to hide the fact that she wanted to cry. Sirius glared at the man as he told her, "Ignore him, Cassie. He's just as prejudiced as our family. You shouldn't care about what people like him think."

The truth was Cassiopeia cared greatly. 

"Please excuse me for a second," She quickly told the group before fleeing the room. She ended up bumping into the jolly man she remembered defending her cousin to her father, "I'm terribly sorry."

Mr Potter smiled at the girl until he saw the tears in her eyes, "Is everything okay?"

"I - um - yes."

"You must be a friend of my son James. What's your name?"

"Cassiopeia... Black."

Recognition flashed across his face, "Ah yes, the girl my son won't stop talking about. My wife and I have been waiting to meet you for a while now."

Cassiopeia stared up at him shocked, "You don't care about my surname?"

"Why would I care? Your cousin has been living with us for the past year."

"My family-"

"You are not your family, Cassiopeia," Mr Potter told her, "Never let anyone tell you that you are."

"Thank you, Mr Potter."

"Fleamont please," He smiled gently at her.

"Could you please tell me where the bathroom is?"

As soon as Cassiopeia was alone she wiped the tears that had fallen down her cold cheeks. She knew she would never be able to lose her family's reputation but it still hurt that people judged her before even knowing what she was like. 

Rather than going back down to the party, Cassiopeia explored the house instead. She knew it was rude but she wanted to look at the house James had grown up in. When she entered the large bedroom at the end of the corridor, she realised she was in James's room. It was scarlet red just like the Gryffindor common room and was covered in photos of Quidditch. On the table in corner of his room, Cassiopeia realised there was a photo of her. Shock resonated through her as she couldn't remember it being taken. It was back in their sixth year during one of their Astronomy Tower meetings. 

Pulling back the large curtain, she revealed a balcony. Cassiopeia slipped out onto it and was able to watch from afar as the guests had moved out into the large garden. She observed the groups of people converse and felt envious that they all belonged somewhere. 

She caught sight of her cousin flirting with a girl she had never seen before. A smile appeared on her face as she saw McKinnon glare at Sirius. She was glad the girl was not getting her own way after she purposely told the man earlier about Cassiopeia. 

Peter, Remus and Lily were stood laughing as they sipped their glasses of champagne. James walked out and joined his friends and seemed to question her whereabouts. He stopped and spoke to them for a moment. Cassiopeia realised he hadn't run his hand through his hair as he had finally gelled it so it was tidy. He wore a suit making him look gorgeous. 

It was then that his hazel eyes flitted up to meet hers. A smile gracing his face as he realised where she was. Cassiopeia quickly fled from the balcony, embarrassed that she had been caught. 

She came across a small area, off from the main garden that was full of flowers with a bench in the middle. She sat down and basked in the beauty of the area. "Here you are," James said from behind her. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry," She whispered.

"What did you think of my room?" James quipped.

She rolled her eyes, "Why are you so obsessed with quidditch?"

"It's the greatest sport ever created," He told her, "I'm sorry about that man."

"I'm used to it."

James sighed, "You shouldn't be."

"McKinnon is a bitch," Cassiopeia replied, "She knew what she was doing when she told him I was a Slytherin."

"Marlene doesn't know you like the rest of us," James told her softly.

Cassiopeia chuckled, "I don't think she ever will."

"I'd like to think she will."

She glanced over at him, "Why's that?"

"She's one of my friends, Cass. I want her to like her because you know you'll end up seeing more of her because um-"

Cassiopeia cut him off, "I like you, James."

James was speechless as he stared at her flabbergasted.

"Say something," Cassiopeia whispered.

"I like you too."

"Please don't run away this time."

James furrowed his eyebrows together, "What do you mean?"

Cassiopeia didn't answer, instead, she pressed her lips against his.