Cassiopeia loved summer. No school, lots of free time, and, recently, the only time she got to see her brother. Well, he wasn't her actual brother, but he was close enough.

See, Cassiopeia didn't know her family. She was an orphan, found on the side of the road by two officers and brought to Wool's Orphanage when she was a few months old. And here she remained.

Cassiopeia wasn't the most liked resident at the orphanage. Many kids thought she was weird. Truthfully, Cassiopeia thought she herself was weird too.

Whenever she grew too angry little accidents would occur.

Once, a few older kids had pushed her into a lake during a field trip, knowing she couldn't swim. Somehow, Cassiopeia had been able to breathe underwater during her panic and once she pushed herself back to shore a huge wave came from the lake, knocking the older kids down and soaking them to the bone. They had felt cold for two weeks after that incident, no matter how many blankets the matron had given them they couldn't get warm.

Another time, when Cassiopeia was eight, she had been picked to live with a foster family. She was with three other foster kids, two boys and another girl, all older than her. Cassiopeia had thought she could finally be part of a family and someone would finally love her.

Except the love she received wasn't the type she had wanted.

Her foster father had paid special attention to her, something her foster siblings noticed. They took care to keep Cassiopeia with them at all times, except one night they couldn't. Their foster mother had been working late and Alec and Ben, her foster brothers, had a football game. Liza was staying over at a friend's house, leaving Cassiopeia home alone. That was the first night her foster father touched her and that night shocked, afraid, and frozen, Cassiopeia had lost her first kiss.

Things continued to grow, her foster father finding any excuse to be alone with her until one day, weeks later, he stumbled drunkenly into the room she shared with Liza. Both girls woke up with a start at the loud bang of the door against the wall. When he had stumbled and collapsed on top of Cassiopeia, Liza had run out, banging their brothers doors to wake them up. However, their help hadn't been needed. The moment he had attempted to pull Cassiopeia's pants down, something, a force, had crashed out at the man, slamming him into the closet doors.

Liza, Alec, and Ben had rushed into the room tripping over themselves to find a tearful Cassiopeia curled together on the bed and their foster father knocked out cold on the ground feet away. Her social worker appeared the next morning and Cassiopeia never saw her foster family again.

Cassiopeia had never been able to figure out what she had done. Or if it was even her. Maybe, just maybe she had a guardian angel looking out for her.

On her return to Wools the other kids seemed almost scared of her. Like they thought she'd use her "force" and attack them too. So they stayed away. And Cassiopeia was lonely and hated them for how they made her feel. She had already been abandoned by her family, tossed away on the side of the road like garbage.

Even amongst those with no family, she was an outsider. Never belonging. Never loved.

If only the matrons of the orphanage ignored her as much as the kids, maybe then Cassiopeia wouldn't have felt as bitter as she did. Because while the kids ignored her, the matrons never hesitated to remind her that she was a devil child and that no good soul would ever love her. Well, that was alright, Cassiopeia thought, because if having a good soul meant hitting kids with anything within reach and berating them like the matrons did then she didn't want to be a good soul.

The highlight of her life came when Cassiopeia was 9. Cassiopeia's class had a field trip that was joined by the older years. There, they had a buddy system - one older student paired with a younger. Cassiopeia had been paired with Harry Potter, and the two became each other's first friend. They understood each other, both orphans and both bitter about the 'loving' care they received.

Harry told her all about his cupboard, performing all the chores in the house for his Aunt Petunia, and being his Uncle Vernon's and Dudley's punching bag. He spoke bitterly of his drunken parents, lazy good-for-nothings that had gotten themselves killed in a car crash, or so his Aunt Petunia had told him. In exchange, Cassiopeia told him about the mean kids she lived with, how the older years pushed her around and the rest ignored her as if she was a ghost. She also told him of the isolation room and how the matrons would 'punish' her for breathing too loudly.

"When I'm 18, I'll come and adopt you," Harry said one day on their walk after school. He had insisted on walking her to the orphanage first before continuing to the Dursleys after the field trip and had kept with it everyday since.

"You would?!" Cassiopeia asked, awe in her voice as she looked up at the raven-haired boy. Her pigtails swung slightly as she paused in her step.

"Sure," Harry confirmed with a nod. "And if they don't let me, I'll just kidnap you," he shrugged, amusement in his eyes, "not like they'd file a missing report."

"Where would we go?"

And from then on many of their conversations revolved about what they'd do once they were free. Visiting America. Seeing the Eiffel Tower.

"Oh, oh, Rian, can we please please please visit Italy?" Cassiopeia threw herself at Harry, hugging his waist and peering up at him with sparkling grey eyes.

Harry snorted in mirth, raising an eyebrow. Cassiopeia had taken to calling him Rian ever since she had seen a bit of his school files with his full name - Hadrian Potter. Honestly, Harry loved the nickname and especially loved hearing his self-appointed little sister come up with it.

"Why Italy, Peia?" He gave her his full attention, ruffling her hair and laughing as the girl scowled at him before attempting to fix her pigtails. Honestly, Cassiopeia was about as scary as a baby bunny.

"I want to see the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge!" Cassiopeia exclaimed cheerfully. "We learnt all about Italy today in class because Sammy Collins asked about the Colosseum. Oh! Did you know-"

And on went their days with enthusiastic chatter and dreams they knew they may never achieve.

Currently, Cassiopeia was waiting, rather patiently if you asked her, for Harry to arrive. He had returned this summer from a special boarding school, and while she'd never admit it to him, she missed him and his stupidly overprotective tendencies.

Cassiopeia had amazing news to share with him!

And He. Would. Just. Not. Get. Here.

Rather irritated, Cassiopeia layed on the grass under a big tree in the park they usually met at, ignoring the sounds of the other kids' laughter on the playground. She had seen Dudley chasing Timmy Hicks not even ten minutes ago so she knew the great whale wasn't at home terrorizing Harry. She also knew that Harry had already been locked up last week, and so there was no way he had managed to be 'restricted' to his sorry excuse of a bedroom again.

One day, Cassiopeia swore, one day she'd make the Dursley's disappear. She didn't know how yet but she'd do it. Because Harry deserved better than the 'care' the oversized hippo and giraffe gave him.

"Peia!" A loud shout rang in her eyes, making the younger girl bolt straight up, head-butting the raven-haired male in front of her.

"Ouch!" they both exclaimed.

Harry, still rubbing his forehead, took a seat besides Cassiopeia, placing a small package to the side.

"Did you have to be so loud?" Cassiopeia whined, her lower lip jutting out into a pout.

Cassiopeia absolutely hated loud noises. It didn't matter what made the sound, if it was loud, it hurt her eardrums. The noise seemed to rattle in her head, gradually worsening like the height of a thunderstorm.

"Sorry Peia," Harry chuckled, ruffling her hair which was open and pooling down the middle of her back. "I tried getting your attention earlier and you were dead to the world."

Cassiopeia blinked. Oh, she hadn't even noticed Harry approaching. Whoops. With a sheepish grin, the younger girl threw herself at Harry, ignoring the way he initially tensed before relaxing in her touch.

Stupid school, Cassiopeia scowled. Harry had gotten used to her touch, and her to his. But no, now, Harry was away from her for nearly nine months out of the year and now she had to work up to being in his presence all over again. It sucked! Well, technically, adults sucked. They were the reason the both of them were so touched starved and yet weary of foreign touches.

"Tell me more about your school. Then I have news to share!"

Cassiopeia never demanded anything. She asked. Just . . . not as politely as she could've. Why be polite if it wouldn't get you anything?

Harry raised a single eyebrow. Cassiopeia smiled slightly, well being polite to Harry got her lots of hugs, so she could be nice to him. Sometimes. "Please?"

Rolling his eyes, Harry sat back, hands holding his weight from behind him as he stretched his legs out. Cassiopeia graciously allowed him to adjust his position before clambering right back onto his lap. She was like a slightly oversized toddler sometimes, not that Harry didn't adore her. Honestly, Cassiopeia looked like she was still seven, so it wasn't as if she was heavy or anything.

"First, you have a birthday gift to open. Then, you can tell me your news and I'll finish telling you about my school, alright?"

Cassiopeia's eyes lit up at the mention of a gift before her eyes caught a gleam at the rest of Harry's bargain.

"Gift first, then you tell me about school and then I share my news?" Cassiopeia re-negotiated. As impatient as she had been earlier, she was also nervous and didn't want Harry to hate her. Better to prolong the news any way she could.

Harry's emerald eyes narrowed, "you tell me your news, open the present, and I'll think about telling you more about boarding school."

Cassiopeia pouted, she never won.

Harry smirked at her expression, fondly shaking his head.

Harry 101. Cassiopeia 0.

Cassiopeia wrung her hands, shifting slightly on Harry's lap, not that it didn't escape his notice. Her eyes darted to the side quickly before catching his gaze and then averted again.

Growing concerned, Harry shifted, cupping Cassiopeia's face softly and running his thumbs along her cheeks.

"Hey," he began softly, "what's wrong? I thought this was good news?"

A hundred scenarios flew through Harry's head. Cassiopeia wasn't favoring one side or an extremity so she wasn't hurt, at least not severely. But that one elimination placed five more in his racing thoughts. Had someone hurt her? A matron? One of the older kids? Was she getting placed with a foster family?

Harry tensed at the thought of Cassiopeia being moved away. No, he'd never let another man touch her again, he'd sooner kill him before they even made contact with Cassiopeia.

So he was a little blood-thirsty, sue him for Merlin's sake. It was hard pretending he didn't have a vindictive side while at Hogwarts. Everyone wanted the Boy-Who-Lived, they expected an honorable, kind hero. No one wanted a bitter, snarky hero to be the one who saved the day.

"Peia, c'mon," Harry coaxed. "It can't be that bad, alright?"

And then Harry saw it. Slightly crumbled as Cassiopeia pulled it out of her well-worn, faded black shorts, a tan envelope with the insignia of a crest. Harry's eyes widened, staring as Cassiopeia brought the letter out and held it out to him. Harry recognized the crest. He recognized the four quadrants, each with a badger, raven, snake, and lion respectively. It was a Hogwarts letter.

Cassiopeia was a witch.