Discovering You

“H.”

“No.”

“Okay…L?”

“No.” Cassandra scribbled down the letter and drew another line. “You are terrible at hangman, Potter.”

Harry frowned at the parchment in her hands. “K.”

“No. Ha ha, you die.”

She looked down with pleasure at the incomplete word and the little stick figure next to it. “I am just too good at hangman.”

Harry shook his head. “You are, Cass, it’s embarrassing. You always win.”

“I think I’ve found where my true talent lies.” Cassandra suddenly grinned, and drew messy black hair and a lightening scar on the hanging stick figure. “It’s you!” She added a pair of cartoon glasses.

“Good likeness,” snickered Ron, coming over as Cassandra was sketching a cheering Voldemort in the background. “Cass, I was coming to find you, we’ve got Quidditch practice now.”

Harry forced down the immediate surge of jealousy he felt as Cassandra nodded, putting her quill down and jumping off his lap. He still missed, more than he could have imagined the excitement of a Quidditch match. He would have even suffered through one of Oliver Wood’s long, early morning pep talks for the chance to be out there again, with a cheering crowd and Lee Jordan commentating, and the golden snitch fluttering just in front of him, the thrill of the chase. Sitting in the crowds with Hermione jumping up and down beside him every time Ron saved a goal did not even compare to actually playing.

“Okay.” Cassandra bent down and kissed Harry’s forehead. “You wait, Ron, you will be completely infantile compared to me. I bet you…well, only three Knuts, but still…anyway, I bet that you won’t be able to save one single goal that I shoot at you today-“

“Cass, could you wait behind a moment?”

Cassandra turned round and saw Hermione, who had her arms folded and was wearing her most serious expression.

“Meet you there,” she told Ron, who clambered out of the portrait hole, sending questioning glances at Hermione.

“What?”

Hermione glanced around, then leaned forwards and spoke in a hushed voice. “I know what you’re doing.”

Cassandra frowned, then raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, Quidditch practice.”

“No!” Hermione sighed. “I mean what you and Rachel are doing. In the Room of Requirement.”

Cassandra froze. Hermione did not look excited at the thought of raising the four founders, did not, exactly, look particularly impressed at the whole idea. She lean her head back.

“Yeah?”

Hermione looked stunned, then shook her head. “Cass, please, have you any idea what you’re doing? It’s impossible, no magic can raise the dead, and anyway, it sounds highly dangerous. Do you know how many people who give their right arm to even have all the memories of the founders you have? And what could be done with them? With you?” As Cassandra raised her eyebrows and very obviously yawned Hermione leant forward. “People think descendants of the founders have power, power beyond imagining-“

“Are you saying I don’t?”

“No! Well, yes! Remember what Dumbledore said last year? You don’t have any special power, Cass? I’m sorry, I know you’d like to-“

“Did I ever say that?”

“No, I didn’t mean-“

“And, by the way, it isn’t actually ‘raising the dead’. It happened last year. It’s a combination of their spirit and memories. Rachel said they won’t be truly alive, but it will seem like they are.”

Cassandra leant back against the wall, feeling rather flat. It had been exciting when it was only her and Rachel who had known, a secret, something special and important. Hermione had ruined that.

“How did you find out?”

Hermione smiled a little. “I thought it was a little odd when you asked if you could borrow my copy of Hogwarts: A History.”

Cassandra smiled back at her at this. “I don’t know why you still had it after we met that Garino freak who wrote it.”

“Well, yes, but…Cass, that’s off the subject. You don’t understand!”

“Sorry, but no, I don’t.” Cassandra snorted, tossing back her head and also folding her arms. “What is wrong with it? Rachel has all the memories. All we need to do is finish the potion, hook it up to this weird machine thing that is all Rachel’s work, I’m not even allowed to touch it, and then hey presto! It’s done. It can’t go wrong. And,” she continued hurriedly, seeing Hermione open her mouth to voice another point, “How can it be dangerous? It’s the founders, Hermione. Okay, they are massively powerful, but they’re not harmful to anyone.”

“I think you’re forgetting Slytherin,” said Hermione disapprovingly.

“If Slytherin is anything like Gryffindor, which I think he is, then when he sees Gryffindor, he’ll want to make amends. I know Gryffindor did. Please, Hermione. I honestly don’t see what’s wrong with it. They’ll come back. The founders will come back. They’re the best, most powerful wizards there ever were.”

Hermione shook her head, biting her bottom lip. “Why? Why do we need them?”

“Why…why do we need them?” Cassandra raised her eyebrows. “Hermione, think of Hogwarts! Think of what they’ll do here! And Bellatrix and Grimstone aren’t exactly lying dormant, are they, the idiots, they’re building up an army for Merlin’s sake, but don’t you see? Because, you know, if we have the founders then we can stop that. Everything will be totally, completely, utterly fine.” She smiled encouragingly. “Think of all the magic they could perform. They could truly heal Harry’s injury Voldemort gave him last year. They could-“

“Stop it!” Hermione had her hands held up in a defensive position. “Haven’t you thought of the danger? What if Bellatrix and Grimstone find out about this. They could make you and Rachel into weapons.”

“Which is why we kept it a secret, hello!”

Hermione sighed, and leant against the wall next to Cassandra. “Please, Cass. You aren’t thinking properly, about the danger this could-“

“I don’t care, Hermione!”

Hermione jerked back, looking hurt. She and Cassandra had never had a proper argument. They had disagreements, certainly, but they were about commonplace things, like homework and clothes…Cassandra had never sounded so angry when talking to her.

“I don’t care about what you think will happen, Hermione, okay? Because it won’t. It won’t go wrong. It’s fine.” Cassandra’s face was flushed red, her hair rippling down her back, her eyes fiery and defiant.

“I’m sorry,” said Hermione, and Cassandra calmed.

“Good.” They stayed in silence for a while, then Cassandra groaned, running her hand through her hair. “Oh, I’m sorry too, Hermione, you know I love you really.”

“I’m just trying to help you. I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I don’t think it’s safe, and it’s very unlikely it will actually work,” Hermione said.

Cassandra grinned. “Watch this space, Miss Granger. And prepare to be very surprised.” She nodded, widening her eyes importantly and smiled. “So, are you coming to watch the practice? Or not?”

“Not,” said Hermione, shaking her head, thinking fast. “I need to go to the library.”

To research as much as I can about the four founders of Hogwarts, she thought as the two of them clambered out of the portrait hole. And to see if it is actually possible to raise the dead.