Rain was violently pouring down by the time the Hogwarts Express slowed to a halt. Cassius, who had fallen asleep some hours ago, jolted awake.

"Someone had a good nap," Persephone drawled from her seat, smirking at Cassius.

"Oh, shut up, Avery," he muttered in response. She merely laughed in response.

Cassius glanced out the window, and found it to be storming. Gathering his things, Cassius shuddered as he and Persephone climbed off the train along with the rest of the Hogwarts students. Persephone smirked at her friend.

"Scared of a little rain, Warrington?" she teased, poking him in the ribs.

Cassius stuck his tongue out at Persephone, but had no response for her; it was no secret that he had never been a fan of storms. But nevertheless, he followed Persephone out into the storm, attempting to dodge the larger puddles, and climbed into the first available carriage.

Unfortunately, that carriage was already occupied by Ginny Weasley and one of her Gryffindor friends from third year. Too wet to find another carriage, Cassius and Persephone hesitantly sat down, careful to sit on the opposite side of the carriage. Ginny offered Persephone and Cassius a cautious smile. Ginny's friend, on the other hand, sniffed as if she had smelled something unpleasant.

"Of course we get stuck with two Slytherins," the girl said rudely.

Cassius rolled his eyes, but Persephone's burned with a fire crafted from vengeance. "Of course we get stuck with a bitch."

The Gryffindor bitch, as Persephone so eloquently called her, glared at the pair of Slytherins. Persephone smirked back, her face coolly emotionless. If Cassius had his sketchpad available, he would've drawn the icy mask of impassiveness that his friend so easily wore. Out of the two of them, Persephone could slip into the role of the typical Slytherin at the flick of a switch, easily donning an icy mask of bitchiness. Sometimes, it scared Cassius how quickly the change came over her, but he would never admit that to Persephone.

"There's no need to be rude," said Ginny lightly, but it was unclear who she was speaking to.

Ginny's friend rolled her eyes and scowled, but Ginny merely offered Persephone and Cassius a small smile. Persephone smiled back, but it was a dangerous one. It was like fire and poison were staring each other down, and it was terrifying to watch.

Thankfully, the carriage ride was short and no one exchanged any more words. All too soon, Cassius found himself running through the rain once more, trailing behind Persephone. He was panting by the time he staggered onto the steps of Hogwarts, only to be greeted by Peeves, who was finding joy in dropping water-filled balloons onto the soaking students below him.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked aloud angrily, managing to duck a balloon that instead hit Ron Weasley. Splotches of water splattered onto Cassius' robes, and he cursed loudly. His shoes and socks were already soaked, causing him to be freezing, and now his robes were more wet than the rest of him. There was a reason why Cassius hated storms, and this was one of them.

Persephone laughed at her friend, somehow managing to look pristine despite having just ran through rain. Her hair was neat in her braid, and her robes weren't even creased and looked as if they hadn't just been running through a storm. There was something almost frustrating at her impeccable appearance that never seemed to falter.

"You're looking a bit soaked," she to Cassius cheerfully. He stuck out his tongue at her, and together, they walked towards the Great Hall.

The four tables were yet to be stacked with food, but Cassius' stomach growled at the thought of it as he realized that it had been a few hours since he had last ate. He and Persephone made their way to the Slytherin table, careful to sit near the end. There weren't many other Slytherins that were found of the "Avery" family, so Cassius and Persephone often found themselves isolated from the most isolated house of Hogwarts.

"I hope the Sorting is over soon," Cassius grumbled, attempting to wring out his wet hair. "I'm starving and tired. And I don't know if I'm going to make it through an entire sorting."

"You're cheerful," said Persephone with a grin. "But I wouldn't worry; everyone here seems pretty miserable."

Cassius looked around, and sure enough, there were plenty unhappy faces miserably staring at the doors, waiting for the first years to march into the Great Hall. He turned back to Persephone, surprised to see the worried expression on her face. But as soon as she noticed him looking at her, Persephone's face contorted back into a smile. And for the first time, Cassius noticed how forced her smile truly was.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

Persephone stared back at him, her gaze convincingly confused. "Nothing. Just tired."

Cassius knew the words were a lie, but he didn't push her; if something was bothering Persephone, she would tell him eventually. Cassius knew better than to force her.

Finally, the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing a small crowd of shivering, soaking first years, who were miserably shuffling forwards. They looked equal parts scared and exhausted.

"Remember when that was us?" Persephone asked in a low voice, smirking at the group of eleven-year-olds.

"I don't think we were ever that small," Cassius retorted. "Seriously, I think this is the shortest group yet."

The Sorting Hat had burst into song, one that Cassius drowned out. Every year, it sounded nearly the same, nothing more than an expositional piece for all the first years to hear. And every year, Slytherin was slighted in the song, a mention of their tendency to be power-hungry or ambitious to a fault. Even a hat hated the Slytherin house. And, based on the blank stares around him, hardly anyone else was paying the singing hat much attention either.

Finally, the song drew to a close, and a pattering of applause filled the Great Hall. One by one, names were called and the first years were sorted.

"Baddock, Malcolm" was the first to be sorted into Slytherin. There was a relieved kind of smile on his face as he sat at the Slytherin table. Cassius felt bad for him, almost; Malcolm Baddock didn't know the difficulties of being in Slytherin. But, based on the booing that sounded from the direction of the Gryffindor table, he was going to find out soon. Persephone's hand grew pale as she tightly clutched a butter knife in her grip at the sound. Anger rippled from her in waves, but she did nothing but glare.

Cassius didn't blame her; there was nothing that they could do. Any sort of house pride usually resulted in Slytherins getting into trouble while Gryffindor was awarded more points for merely existing. No, they had learned long ago that it was best not to interfere.

Finally, the sorting was over, and Dumbledore stood up.

Persephone scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes, earning shocked gazes from a handful of first years that sat near them. "I swear to Merlin that I will scream if he gives some long-winded speech again; I'm starving!"

Cassius could only laugh, half-drowning out Dumbledore's order to "tuck in."

Food appeared on the tables, and Cassius had to stop himself from snatching the food from the table. Persephone seemed to struggle with the same problem. Finally, they were able to fill their plates. They ate in silence, half-listening to the conversations around them.

"So, what did your mother actually tell you at the train station?" Cassius asked around a mouthful of food.

Persephone froze, her fork stuck halfway between her plate and her mouth. "I already told you," she lied smoothly.

"Come on, Pers, I know you better than that. Artemis looked really shaken, really worried. So, what did she tell you?"

Persephone glanced to the first years sitting near them, and leaned in closer to Cassius. "She told me that something horrible is going to happen at Hogwarts this year, and it's going to involve Harry Potter."

Cassius rolled his eyes. "I could have told you that."

But Persephone was serious, her face carved from marble. "And she told me that it has something to do with what her and...and Dad did, all those years ago. Something horrible is going to happen, Cassius."

"It's Hogwarts. How horrible could it get?"

Just then, the door slammed open, revealing a man with a fake eye and a billowing black cape. There was something rather unsettling about his appearance, especially the way that lightning seemed to frame his silhouette.

"That is really not great timing," sighed Cassius, taking an apathetic sip of pumpkin juice.

• • •

- DROWNING MY THOUGHTS OUT
WITH THE SOUNDS -
[ young god / halsey ]