Lily woke up early the morning after her brothers left for Hogwarts. She yawned, sighed. Taking a deep breath, she smelled pancakes, and realized that she was hungry. Still in her pajamas, Lily walked down to the kitchen.

As soon as she was downstairs, Lily knew something was wrong. First of all, her father was talking to someone in the kitchen. Usually he was at work before she woke up. Lily went into the kitchen and saw that there were three strangers at the table. She went over to her father.

Two of the strangers were grown-ups. She recognized them from the train station yesterday. They were Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Her parents had talked to them a bit before they left. But the third person wasn’t a grown-up. She was a little girl, apparently the same age as Lily. The girl had long blonde hair that was almost white, and she had very blue eyes. She also looked frightened.

“We want to thank you for doing this,” said Mr. Malfoy to Lily’s parents. “We owe you a lot.”

Lily couldn’t help thinking how odd this all was. What were the Malfoys doing in her kitchen? Her father had always said that they never got along at school. And why was Mr. Malfoy humbling himself, thanking her father over and over? He had been a Slytherin, and they were famous for being con-artists, sneaking around, and generally being evil. Lily had never imagined Slytherins as this polite or earnest.

“Oh, it’s no problem. You have a good cause. We’re happy to help,” said Lily’s father, putting an arm around her as he spoke. Lily was beginning to see that the over-politeness was there to cover up the awkwardness. But what were they helping with?

The Malfoys got up and left. All except the little girl. This was very strange.

“Daddy, what’s going on? What were they doing here?” Lily asked her father.

“Lily, this is Cassiopeia. She’ll be staying with us for a while because her parents are going away. Won’t that be nice?”

Lily stared at her father as the he had started singing opera. What? What? WHAT? This strange girl comes through the door, and all of a sudden she’s some kind of bizarre playmate? Lily fought down the urge to scream.

Cassiopeia did not participate in breakfast. Instead, she mumbled something about having already eaten, then walked out of the room.

“What is she doing here?” demanded Lily after Cassiopeia had left.

“You wouldn’t understand, Lily. Please be reasonable,” her mother replied patiently.
“I do understand! I understand that you hated the Malfoys until a few seconds ago, and now you’ve gone and- and- adopted one of them! Why is she here? She probably hates us, too. Have you both gone mad?” Lily was furious.

“Now, Lily, calm down for a moment,” said her father. “I’ll tell you because I know this is fairly confusing, but-“

“Harry,” said her mother warningly.

“She’ll figure it out eventually, she always does.” To Lily, he said, “I will tell you a little about what’s going on, but not all of it. Some of it is top secret, but I will tell you some.

“Cassiopeia is here because her parents are in hiding. She doesn’t know where, and nor do I, but she knows that they are safe.”

“Why are they hiding? Are they in trouble? If they’re hiding, how come Scorpius is at Hogwarts?” Lily always asked lots of questions.

“That is a secret. I do know that they sent Scorpius to school because he’s safer there then anywhere in the world. But Cassiopeia is nine. She can’t go to school, and she can’t hide with her parents; it’s too dangerous. So they asked us to take her in until they don’t have to hide anymore.

“Also, this is important: whatever happens, do not tell anyone that she is here. Otherwise she could get hurt, you could get hurt, or all of us could get hurt.”

Lily nodded. She supposed this was important. After all, her father wouldn’t tell her about it unless it was really important. But she couldn’t help thinking, as she glanced toward the door, that this was going to be a long school year.

~

Cassi had always been shy. That’s why she didn’t talk at all when she arrived at number 12 Grimmauld Place with her parents. She hadn’t spoken a word to Mr. and Mrs. Potter. She had had to suppress the urge to fly out the window after her parents when the left. But the worst part had been when the red-haired girl had walked in and sat down on Mr. Potter’s lap, asking who Cassi was.

It was so awful that Cassi had lied about having eaten breakfast before she arrived. After she had closed the door, she heard the other girl (Lily or Lilac or something like that) say loudly, “What is she doing here?” Cassi felt her stomach drop through her toes and fall to the center of the earth, where it burned like a toasted marshmallow.

Cassi swallowed her tears, saving them for when she was in bed that night. She walked into the spacious living room. It was neat and tidy. Cassi wondered if the Potters had a house elf. It didn’t seem like their style.

On one wall was a large window that looked out onto the street. It was surrounded by white, lacey curtains, and it had a comfortable looking window seat. On the opposite wall were three shelves filled with nothing but books. But what caught her eye was not the books or fancy window. It was the pictures.

At the Manor, where Cassi lived with her parents and older brother, they certainly had pictures; big portraits of old family members dressed in black, all of them looking solemn or bored. But here, the pictures were somehow… happier. There were several family portraits (but everyone was smiling); a smiling ginger haired baby, his face covered in food; a picture three happy children, one with black hair, two red-headed, holding up presents on Christmas day; a group of children at a train station, smiling and waving. So many pictures…

Cassi stared at them, awed. So awed that when a girl’s voice said, “What are you staring at?”, Cassi jumped so high she had a chance to see when the chandelier had been dusted last.

"Nothing... just your pictures. You've got so many..." It sounded lame, even to Cassi. The girl came closer, giving Cassi the once-over, like a lion examining its prey before attack. Cassi stared back, looking at the girl who hated her with such a passion. Finally, she had the courage to speak.

"I didn't quite catch your name?" she said. The Other Girl looked at Cassi as though she had just asked for a pint of blood instead of identification.

"Lily," she said after a minute. "Lily Potter. C'mon, we'd better get your things upstairs. Cassi nodded mutely. She followed Lily like a robot. The two walked silently up the long flight of stairs. When they came to Lily's room, Cassi was surprised. Did she have to share? With the girl who looked at Cassi like she wouldn't mind if she dropped dead? Cassi shuddered.

Lily, unfortunately, saw the look of aversion on Cassi's face. "Look, I don't like this any more than you do. You wanted to go with your parents; I would've been quite happy if you'd left with them, too. But we can't change the situation. So while you're here, I have a few rules. That's my desk over there; and that's my bed. So this is MY side of the room, got that?" Then she walked away, leaving Cassi very much alone, very tired, and very sad.

~

Lily stormed downstairs, away from that awful Malfoy girl. Why had her parents picked this year to take in refugees? Lily went to the kitchen to talk to her mother, like she always did when things were looking worse than hopeless.

"So, I suppose you've got Cassiopeia settled in, then?" said Lily's mother as she walked in. "On the other hand, maybe not..." Lily looked ready to explode.

"Do you mind my asking why the Malfoys couldn't have asked somebody else to take in their child? Dad doesn't even like them! Neither do you! And now, I've got to share my room-"

Her mother broke in:"Lily Luna Potter, will you just keep your voice down? Look," and here she sat down at the table across from Lily, "we have to do our best to make her feel a little more welcome, alright? I know you're upset, believe me. But think about how she feels."

"How do I do that?" asked Lily, exasperated. "How can I? I don't even know her."

"That's the point; you don't know her. How would you feel if Dad and I had to leave because we were in trouble and we had to leave you with the Malfoys?"

Lily thought she knew where this was going, so she said cheekily, "I'd be perfectly fine." Her mother sighed. "Just get to know her a bit. You may find you don't hate her after all." Her mother got up and wen back to the dishes. Lily sighed. "I can't. I just can't," she whispered. She got up from the table and went out of the room, almost knocking Cassi over. She didn't even stop to explain, and she didn't feel anything when she saw the look on Cassi's pale face.

~

I don't think you have ever been struck by lightening. Nor have I, and not many people go through that horrible experience. But Cassi was sure she knew how it felt. For several minutes she couldn't move. Then, remembering why she had come downstairs in the first place, she walked into the kitchen.

Mrs. Potter, a slim lady with big brown eyes and hair that was (if at all possible) redder than Lily's. At the moment, the eyes were tired, but they brightened when they spotted Cassi.

"I wondered when you'd be down." When Cassi looked surprised, Mrs. Potter only smiled. "You don't lie very well dear. I saved you a bit of breakfast. It's not warm, but it will just have to do." She smiled at Cassi.

Cassi took the plate, muttered a "thanks" and sat down at th table. Mrs. Potter sat down across from her. It was coming. Cassi could feel it.

"Listen, about Lily," Mrs. Potter began after Cassi had finished eating. Cassi normally would have blocked her out. But there was something about the kind brown eyes that made Cassi split in half, pouring out her story to the kind woman in the same way Cassi's mother used to pour lemonade on hot summer days.

"She doesn't like me. I don't know why, but I think it has something to do with my father. She just flat out doesn't like me. She thinks I hate her, but I don't. I haven't got any friends except my brother, and Mum told me he's not aloud to write to me! What am going to do?"

Cassi had kept up bravely until now, never shedding a tear, not even when her parents had left without even giving her a hug. But now the tears flowed out of her as steadily as the words now poured out of her mouth. She couldn't stop them, couldn't control them, and after a few minutes she didn't try to.


~

Ginny got up while the little girl was sobbing. She made cocoa, just as she did whenever her children were upset. At first she didn't know how to respond. Her first instinct was to say that Lily didn't hate her, but with a nine-year-old girl, she knew that the response would be a rather whiny,"Yes she does!"

When her crying had been reduced to sniffling, Ginny handed over the cocoa. "Feel a little better?" The child nodded. "Do they call you Cassiopeia, or something shorter?"

"Just Cassi."

"That's a nice name. Let me tell you something Cassi."

"What?"

"Lily doesn't hate you, exactly. She's just used to having most of our attention focused on her. She's the very youngest in the family, and she's not used to sharing everything. Just give her time."

Cassi nodded. But she looked very unconvinced.