XXXIX

Cassiopeia closed her eyes when George caressed her cheek, and gave his lips one last peck.

"I'm gonna miss being that close to you," he whispered, ignoring everyone looking at them. "I guess I'll see you around the corridors."

She nodded softly, and her boyfriend stepped away from her.

"I have to go now," the blonde looked around the group. "I can't go with you."

Still a bit awkward and embarrassed, she walked to Sirius and gave him a short hug, which her uncle reciprocated, and did the same to Tonks right after.

"Thank you for having me here," she said to her oldest cousin, then turned to the rest of the group which whom she had spent the holidays. "And thank you for Christmas."

"You are welcome, dear," Mrs. Weasley gave the girl a gentle smile. "Be careful."

"Yes, ma'am."

The blonde pulled her wand from her pocket, apparating into an alley close to King's Cross with her luggage, and making sure to hide it before grabbing her chest and walking into the station.

Cass only came close to seeing George and the others when they were all already sat and eating, while trying her best to provide Eleanor with details of her alleged trip to the South of France.

"The sky was very blue in the morning and it was very sunny," Cassiopeia lied. "And some days were warm, but some others could be pretty cold, so our activities were very variable."

Her friend sighed.

"I wish I had someone to invite me to the South of France," she said, a bit sadly. "Instead, I get Roger Davis asking me to be his Valentine's date."

The blonde girl frowned, turning to her best friend in confusion, and the Rosier seemed to realise she'd left something out of the conversation, smiling openly in excitement.

"Oh, we're having a Hogsmeade trip right in Valentine's day. Isn't it nice?"

She nodded a bit, but didn't smile back at her.

"Well, I hope you have fun."

Eleanor furrowed her brows.

"And you're not gonna show up?" she looked confused. "It's Valentine's Day!"

The blue-eyed girl sighed.

"Exactly. What do you want me to be doing out there? Spending Valentine's Day alone because you don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend is completely different from spending it alone because you and your boyfriend can't be together."

Her face changed from surprise and confusion to empathy and sadness, and the brunette by the Malfoy's side rested her elbow on the table.

"Sorry. I forgot that," she muttered. "It must suck for you that he is so far away."

Cassiopeia sighed, trying hard not to look at where she knew her boyfriend was, watching from Gryffindor's table to hers.

"Yeah. It does."

When Cassiopeia turned to Draco, her brother seemed to be looking at her in silence for what felt like more than a short time.

"Do you wanna walk around or something?" he offered. "We haven't had the time to talk."

The girl glanced around herself, but he was already standing up, and she had no choice but to follow him. When Cass reached her brother, he offered her his arm, and guided her outside the Great Hall.

The two Malfoy kids walked silently for a while, until Draco stopped and turned to look at his sister's face.

"I'm gonna ask you a question and I want you think about what you're gonna answer," he said slowly, not in an accusatory tone, but in one of nervousness.

"Alright."

"Why are you hiding your boyfriend from us?"

The blonde girl took a breath.

"Draco…" she sighed out. "I…"

"I know he is from Hogwarts," her brother continued. "I know you haven't gone to France since we last visited it, I know you sneak around Hogwarts at night to see whoever this guy is, and I know there is some reason you don't want us to know him."

She felt her body tense, and rubbed a hand over her own face, trying to find words.

"He is no exactly what mum and dad would want for me," Cassiopeia crossed her arms.

Her brother's lips pressed in a thin line while she tried to find a way to give as little information as possible about George.

"Does he mistreat you? Is pressuring you to…"

"No," his sister shook her head. "No, never. He's an amazing person. He treats me like a princess!" Cassiopeia opened a smile, but it died soon after. "But he's not…"

"A Slytherin," her brother finished her sentence.

She nodded.

George wasn't a Slytherin, nor from a rich family, nor someone who believed in blood supremacy. He was everything her family was repulsed by and, worse than that, in their eyes he was a Weasley.

"I don't want to disappoint them," Cassiopeia muttered.

This time, her words were true. She was bracing herself for the moment she'd need to turn her back to her parents and Draco, but she knew it'd arrive eventually.

"Or you."

Draco just stared at her face, and breathed deep, trying hard not to break down.

"Draco, he is the only person in my life who I know is not involved with…" Cassiopeia stopped her own words. "He is the only place I can look at and know I won't have You-Know-Who's shadow over my shoulder."

To that, Draco swallowed hard.

"What about me?"

She shook her head.

"I can't drag you into this with me," the blonde girl pointed. "And I can't let anyone think that I need you there to make my decisions, I want you out of this, do you hear me?"

Draco frowned.

"I can talk to father, I can try and…"

"I mean what I said," you interrupted him. "I want you out of this."

Her brother felt silence for a moment until finally breaking the space between the two of them and wrapping his arms around her thin frame. He was taller than her now, and she knew he'd be just as tall as her father.

"Do you know what you're doing?" he questioned, a bit strained.

She didn't. If there was one thing Cassiopeia didn't know was what she was doing, but she couldn't say that to him. So, the blue-eyed girl moved away from him and smiled, touching his cheek with her right hand.

"I always know what I'm doing, little brother."