Cassiopeia's Tale

Things returned to normal, or as normal as could be expected. The seventh years went to class and revised for the upcoming N.E.W.T.s. They discussed the last Quidditch match of the year and placed their bets. They played pranks on the unfortunate first years of other houses and blamed it on the Slytherins. All around Cass life went on as before, but for her, everything had changed.

She walked through the madness that was life at Hogwarts as if she didn't notice it at all. She stared out of the window during all her classes. She took no notes, and all her journals lay abandoned. She lost her appetite and sat in the Great Hall, staring at her food and not seeing anything. At night she lay awake, staring into the darkness, not knowing what to do.

"...and then Art came to me and told me that it was all Rita's idea and Cass, are you listening to me?"

Cass looked around to where Mara stood with her hands on her hips, frowning rather theatrically.

"Er, no." she said, feeling guilty.

"Well," Mara sighed, "it's your loss. It's quite a good story."

"No, I do want to hear, it's just... I don't know. I don't know where my mind is."

Mara didn't seem to think that this was a very good excuse. "You've never known where your mind is, but it hasn't stopped you before!"

Cass opened her mouth to protest, but they were interrupted by Art Eloff who came striding around the corner, whistling a tune rather out of key.

"Ladies! Fancy seeing you here!" he said spreading his arms comically and bowing.

"No, not really," Cass said morosely. "This is the Great Hall, we were bound to see you here."

"That's right, Cass," Mara sighed. "Rain on everyone's parade."

"Not to worry," Art said, trying to ruffle Cass' hair. "We're all used to Cassie's dark outlook on life. Speaking of dark, Snape wants to see you."

Cass felt as if she'd been winded. "What? Why?"

Mara and Art stared at her for a while and then burst out laughing.

"What?" Cass yelled over their laughter, feeling the colour rise in her cheeks.

Mara gasped for air and held on to Art's shoulder. "You should see your face. You look so guilty! Did you do anything wrong?"

"Yes," Art said, suddenly sounding conspiratorial. "Did you do something wrong? Was it you who locked the Slytherin seeker in the warping cubicle in the girl's bathroom on the second floor?"

Cass glowered at them. "No. I didn't lock anyone in a warping cubicle... I don't even know what that is. It's probably about my recommendation."

And with that she left Mara and Art in the Great Hall and went down to the dungeon on her own.

Snape was in his office. When she entered he lowered his book and regarded her for a while.

Cass frowned. "You wanted to see me, sir?

"Yes," he said, standing up and walking to the bookshelf against the opposite wall. "It's about your recommendation. I have agreed to write you one, but ever since then, you seem to have lost interest in your work. I have had a little talk with Professor Flitwick, and he says that this is not only the case in Potions, but in Charms as well."

He turned to face her, evidently waiting for an explanation. Her heart hammering in her ears, Cass thought vaguely how ironic it was that he of all people wanted an explanation for her listlessness. Unable to think of anything to say, she remained quiet, staring straight ahead of her.

"Whatever it is, it's really of no interest to me," he said after a while, returning to his desk with a new book. "I do, however, want to encourage you to work harder these last few weeks. I cannot speak for your other professors, but you certainly have the potential to receive an Outstanding grade in Potions. I'll remind you that excellent grades can open doors for you in the future."

With that, he held out an envelope to her. It was small and neat and sealed with black wax. Cass reached out to take it, but he held on to it, looking into her eyes. For an infinite moment Cass stood rooted to the spot, looking back into his endless black eyes. Then he let go of the envelope and picked up his book again.

"Thank you, sir," Cass said, almost tripping over the carpet in her haste to get out of his office.

-oOo-

"Well, did you get your recommendation?" Mara asked when Cass joined her for breakfast the next morning.

"Yep," Cass said, helping herself to pumpkin juice and glancing at the staff table. "He told me he thinks I can get an O in Potions, which I suppose must have been a compliment."

"Wow, that is good news!" Mara said, buttering some toast. When she was done, she put it on a plate in front of Cass and waited with her arms folded.

"What's this?" Cass asked, pointing at the offending piece of toast.

"It's breakfast," Mara said. "You need to eat something, and I'm not leaving until you eat it. Honestly, what is wrong with you these days?"

Cass felt the colour rise in her cheeks again. She was sure everyone could see it written on her face. Without a word she took the toast and ate it, thinking that if anyone knew the truth, she would die.

After breakfast she walked down to the Quidditch pitch with Mara and the rest of the school.

"What are you doing here?" Mara asked, sounding more than a little amused. "I can't remember you coming to a match since our first year."

"Well, it's the last match of my school career, and I figured I should watch, since I watched the first one. Makes for nice symmetry." Cass said, sounding more confident than she felt.

"Bah!" Mara laughed. "That's the most ridiculous excuse I've ever heard!"

On the stands almost the whole school was dressed in Ravenclaw blue. "Gryffindor is supporting us, because if we win by 200 points or less the Quidditch Cup goes to them. And the Hufflepuffs will support anyone as long as it's not Slytherin," Mara yelled over the noise, trying to explain to Cass, who had next to no knowledge of Quidditch.

Only a quarter of the school was dressed in Slytherin green, and it was on this quarter that Cass focussed her attention. Searching among the sea of faces, the sounds of the match faded form her ears. She felt guilty for not confiding in Mara, but she feared that no-one would understand.

Art caught the snitch for Ravenclaw just in time and they won by ten points. Afterwards they all walked back to the castle, yelling and cheering and recounting great saves and awful injuries.

"Did you see when Art fell off his broom because Heinz kicked him in the head, and he grabbed onto it only inches off the ground!" Mara yelled jumping up and down, flapping her arms.

"No, did that happen?" Cass asked, feeling bewildered.

"What? You didn't see it?" Mara asked, gaping at Cass in disbelief.

"Er..."

"This is ridiculous." Mara rolled her eyes and grabbed Cass by the arm, leading her to the Ravenclaw common room. "Honestly, if I didn't know better I'd think you were in love!"