"The storm ate up September's cry of despair, delighted at its mischief, as all storms are." –Catherynne M. Valente

***

            The months go by, and to Cassie's delight, she's not getting as much criticism as she initially thought she would. Sure, someone calls her out every once in a while, but she's become an expert at shooting people down and having snarky remarks. But for the most part, the students ignore her, and she ignores them. She joins the Quidditch team as a Chaser, using flying to let our some of her pent up frustration. She's quite good at it.

            Out of the four boys and Lily or Alice, Sirius is definitely her closest friend. Their sense of humor is compatible; she thinks this is the main reason they get along so well. They know what the other is thinking just by looking at each other, and they often say things at the same time, which results in a 'jinx' competition that Cassie usually always wins. Walking around with a Sirius who can't speak is the most satisfying feeling. 

            Cassie does great in all of her classes, and she doesn't hate many of them (though she thinks Divination is pure rubbish). Astronomy is probably her favorite. Yes, she sees the irony in that, but she can't help it. Stars are cool.

            "Lily, where are the guys?" she asks upon seeing that the common room is almost deserted.

            Lily shrugs. "Probably doing something they shouldn't be."

            Cassie can only shrug and nod. Outside, the full moon is fully visible and shining brightly. Stars surround it and sparkle. Moving towards the window, Cassie looks out over the grounds. All she can see is the Whomping Willow being suspiciously still.

            Suddenly remembering her detention, Cassie runs out of the common room and to McGonagall's classroom. It might've been a month ago, but McGonagall had postponed it because she needed to find separate detentions for both of them. Malfoy had served his the next night, writing lines, while Cassie had to wait a month because the rain would not quit. Hers also had to be more severe due to her 'reputation'. At least, that was McGonagall's excuse for giving her a more time-consuming task.

            Her detention requires her to scan the edge of the Forbidden Forest for any poisonous plants. She didn't think it was that bad, but then she saw how far the Forest stretched. It's almost two miles long; it'll take her all night to record all the threats that are growing along it so that someone can take care of them.

            It's the dumbest detention she's ever heard of. Sure, she initiated the fight, but all Malfoy had to do was lines! And besides, it's not like any of the students go near the Forbidden Forest anyway. Who exactly are they trying to protect? But Cassie knows from experience that trying to reason with someone who has more authority than her will only land her in trouble. And she got a worse detention because of her falsified reputation. Which is complete bullshit.

            McGonagall meets her at the doors to let her know that Hagrid will be keeping an eye on her. She nods and heads out, walking towards Hagrid's lit up hut. Lucky for her, it's not too cold out yet. She's warm enough in her sweater and leggings. It's perfect detention weather.

            "Hi Hagrid," she greets.

            "Evenin' Cassie," he replies. "I'll be righ' outside tendin' to the pumpkins. Shout if you sense danger."

            She nods and walks the rest of the way to the forest.

            "Lumos." Pulling out a notebook and quill and Herbology textbook, she starts at the edge, examining, and then heads left. Most of the plants she can see are novice, meaning they're poisonous, but not fatal (at least, not right away). Slowly but surely, she moves along the forest, checking over the plants and brooding about how stupid this is.

            When Cassie is more than halfway through, she thinks she spots something in the forest staring at her. They're gray eyes that are way too familiar. They blink slowly. Cassie stares back curiously, wondering what would come this close to the edge of the Forest. She moves forward, intending to get a closer look, but she blinks and the creature is gone. Shrugging, she gets back to work. She doesn't want to be out here all night.

            Finally, after three grueling hours of plant identifying, she's finished. Cassie stuffs her equipment back in her bag and rolls up her parchment carefully. The last thing she needs is to drop it or have it fly away in the wind.

            Before Cassie takes off towards the castle, she takes one last fleeting glance at the forest and does a double take. The grey eyes are back, and this time, they're getting gradually closer. Curious, Cassie walks towards the advancing figure. She knows it sounds like a bad idea, but she can't convince herself that something with eyes like that could be dangerous.

            Upon seeing Cassie walk into the forest, the eyes start running backwards before hastily disappearing. Cassie frowns, walking in deeper, her wand lighting the way. When there's no trace of anyone or anything, she sighs. What started out as a boring task will end that way as well.

            Cassie turns back to go to the castle. She's tired, and her hand hurts from writing a full page of useless knowledge that McGonagall will probably toss away upon seeing completed. Oh well, at least tomorrow is Saturday—

            "Cas?"

            Cassie freezes at the edge of the clearing. The sound came from behind her. Hesitantly, she turns and is thoroughly shocked to see Sirius standing in the spot she just resided in. His hair is untidy, he has fatigue in his eyes, and there are fresh cuts on his hands and bare arms.

            "Sirius? What the hell are you doing out here? Have you been out here all night?"

            Sirius folds his arms, stalking up to her with an almost angry expression on his face. "I could ask you the same question. Did you follow me?"

            "What? No, I was serving my detention for McGonagall. I told you I'd be out here this morning. Did you follow me?"

            Sirius' expression calms upon hearing her claim. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that."

            "What are you doing out here?" Cassie asks again.

            Sirius grins slightly. "Nothing. I couldn't sleep, thought I'd have a little detour around the forest."

            Cassie doesn't believe a word of it but doesn't badger him further.

            "Can I show you something?" Sirius asks before she can respond. He holds out his hand for her, his eyes smiling in the moonlight. Cassie hesitates for one second before placing her hand in his. He leads her into the forest, not deep, until they reach a small meadow that looks drastically out of place. Once Cassie steps into it, she can visibly see where the forest's darkness ends and the light of the meadow starts. There's sunlight there even at night, and flowers bloom all year round, Sirius tells her.

            "How'd you find this place?"

            Sirius shrugs. "Lucky, I guess."

            "It's amazing."

            "How does it make you feel?" Sirius asks in a tone that suggests he's looking for a specific answer.

            Cassie ponders this as she looks around: the soft sunlight, the bright green grass, the daffodils and roses blooming eternally. "Safe." She turns to meet his mysterious grey eyes. "I feel safe here."

            "I thought it was just me," he admits with a smile, thinking of his mentally abusive home life.

            Cassie sits cross legged on the grass; Sirius joins her, hugging his knees loosely beside her. They sit there in silence for what feels like hours but is only minutes. When Cassie leans her head on Sirius' shoulder, he can't suppress a smile; when she entwines their hands, he can't hold in a contented sigh.

            Safe. Sirius thinks. I'm safe here.