CASSANDRA, or Memoires of an Heroine

'And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.' (Genesis, Chapter 1)

It is a truth not quite as universally acknowledged as such truths should be, that a married couple, in possession of a large fortune and a new baby should not be in want of publicity.

So badly is this truth established in the hearts and minds of the reporter clan, that when Cassandra Elizabeth Potter was born on Wednesday the first of April 2009 every single wizarding newspaper in the country (and out of it) thought it their business to announce the new arrival.

The Daily Prophet modestly put a little paragraph on page three; Teen Witch mentioned it in passing but seemed more interested in a quiz (prize- Harry Potter's autograph) to guess the baby's hair colour. Witch Weekly included an interview with Lady Potter which she certainly didn't remember doing. She launched a law suit against them and six months of bloody legal battle later, was able to add 100 more galleons to the already overflowing Potter family coffers.

The Comet, a new tabloid, overdid itself. It allowed the birth to monopolize the front page complete with blown up picture of the child. It was not known how the picture came to be there at all- someone had certainly been 'beetling' around. Oddly enough, The Comet's reporter of the event seemed to have disappered and the Potters were seen to go past the offices whenever they happened to pass with very triumphant faces for some time afterwards.

It was, even at that stage, possible to see which parent Cassandra resembled the most. She was quite small, with a determined chin and bright green eyes. She didn't cry much.

She wasn't actually christened until the year after, when she had a joint christening with Jack and Jill Weasley, who were born two months later. (It was a fine event- Katie Weasley provided the food, her Ladyship the speeches, Professor Shortstraw the clever Latin quotations and Fred and George the jokes.)

Neither the Potters nor the Weasleys had managed to meet anyone who wasn't completely overjoyed at Cassandra's birth. There were some though... Professor Snape for one and Draco Malfoy to quote another.

So unhappy was this latter that he quite turned the milk sour in the Malfoy Manor dairies. He didn't see why, when the births of his son Nero and his daughter Emilia didn't arouse any interest whatsoever in the magical world, that Cassandra's should. After all, reasoned Malfoy incorrectly, the Potters weren't richer than the Malfoys, they didn't have a bigger house or car or job, did they?. And Harry didn't have a pretty, dark, meek, French wife who didn't answer back, did he? So why the fuss?

It is therefore possible to imagine how displeased he was when he first heard the news for, upon entering the parlour of Malfoy Manor, he caught sight of his pretty, dark, meek, French wife who didn't answer back, reading page three of the Daily Prophet with a slight smile on her face.

"Ah, Draco!" she cried when she saw him, "have you read the paper today, mon cher? Such news!"

"Really?" he said without interest. "Have the Parkinson's invested in some Malfoy co-operation shares at last?"

"Mais non! The dear Lady Potter! I am so happy for her!"

"What's happened to her? Has she died?"

"No of course not!"

"Pity. And don't call her 'dear', Elise. You've never met her. I have, and I'm telling you- she's a right b****." He struck his wand hard on the table.

Elise Malfoy bowed her head and nodded, "I am sorry, Draco. Merely, she has had the child, and I'm very happy for her. I mean- for anyone who has had a child."

"What? She had it? Is it very sickly? Likely to pop off soon? Damn her."

"Oh no! She is extremely healthy."

"She? What? We're to be plagued by a little Potter girl scampering on the front page of Teen Witch forever more, are we? Does she come complete with the usual Potter attributes?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh use your minute brain, Elise! Scar, black hair as neat as a pig-pen, round glasses, brain like a leaky water bucket and eyes the colour of overcooked spinach?"

Elise laughed, "she has no scar, of course, Draco. No hair either as yet or glasses and I can't tell what her brain's like. But she does have green eyes."

"She would." He leaned over and snatched the newspaper from his wife's hands, tossed it carelessly into the fire and strode towards the door. "Don't let me catch you reading such junk again, Elise."

"No, Draco." She looked down at her hands.

"We are not interested in the tedious doings of Family Snob. It wouldn't bother us if the Potters had sextuplets. I certainly don't care." Just at the door he turned round and said, "I say Elise, what did you say her name was? And when was she born?"

"Her name is Cassandra, and she was born yesterday, the first of April."

A smile played on Draco's stern features, "What on earth possessed them to call her that?" The smile broadened into a laugh, "She has no chance. Doomed from the start."