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chapter one / the hogwarts express
AS THE SMELL OF BURNT EGGS drifted around the house, Remus called down the hallway leading to Cassie's bedroom, trying his hardest to wake her up — but most of the time, when it came to Cassie, not even wailing Mandrake could wake her up.
Cassie, however, was already awake. She had been up since five in the morning – just in case, she reasoned, something were to go wrong and she had to leave early. She had repacked her belongings four and a half times and, as Remus called to her, was shoving them all back in the trunk with great difficulty. Remus shouted down the hallway once again, and this time Cassie replied.
"Um.. give me a moment!" she called in response, and Remus returned to the burnt eggs on the skillet in front of him. "How much longer until we have to leave?"
"About.. quarter of an hour?" he replied after consulting the clock on the wall. "Can you be ready by—?"
He faltered as he watched her drag her trunk down the stairs and set it on the floor by the front door.
"Yeah, I think I'll be ready," she confirmed, slightly breathless.
"Good. We've got to stop by Diagon Alley," he informed her, scooping helpings of eggs onto two plates. Cassie raised her eyebrows in confusion, moving to sit at the breakfast table at the same time as Remus.
"Don't we already have all the books I need this year? Why go to Diagon Alley?" she asked, piling salt and pepper onto her eggs. Remus was known for his rubbery eggs, and she had no desire to taste the blandness. "You're a professor, after all. I'd hope you knew what books I'm supposed to have."
"No, no, it's not books; I have a surprise for you, actually," he smiled cheekily and winked. When she gave him a disbelieving look, he shook his head, still smiling. "It's good, it's good. No need to worry."
Twenty minutes later (they had fallen a little behind schedule, as Remus couldn't find his wand and Cassie's left shoe had gone missing), the pair apparated to Diagon Alley. It was bustling with excited students and exhausted parents. Loud spells could be heard coming from Ollivander's. An owl flew over Cassie's head and she watched with a concerned expression as a balding rat was chased out of the pet store with a ginger cat following it. A second later, two arguing teenagers rushed behind them. A boy came out behind them, seemingly quite agitated. He noticed Cassie's gaze and rolled his eyes, gesturing to his friends who were still arguing. Cassie let out a soft laugh and waved at him before Remus pulled her into Flourish and Blotts.
"Hey—" She protested, but quickly shut her mouth out of confusion as he shoved a book into her hands. "What's this, then?"
"A book."
"No, really? I had no idea," she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "I mean, why are you giving it to me? I thought you said it wasn't books."
