Cassia's POV

The next day, Harry and I decided to go visit Professor Lupin. It was the last day of third year, and we wanted to see how he was doing after the werewolf incident.

Sure enough, he was in his office, but to our surprise, he was packing his belongings. He turned to face us once we reached the doorway. "Hello, Harry, Cassia. I saw you coming." He pointed his wand at the map.

"Y-You've been sacked?" Harry asked.

Lupin shook his head. "No. No, I resigned," he corrected us, ripping up a paper.

"Why?" I asked.

He sighed. "Well, it seems somebody let slip the nature of my condition. This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving and parents will not be wanting a...well, someone like me teaching their children." He stopped packing for a moment and looked at us. "Why do you look so miserable?"

"None of it made any difference. Pettigrew escaped," Harry replied.

Lupin looked pretty shocked at these words. "Didn't make any difference? Harry, Cassia, it made all the difference in the world. You uncovered the truth. You both saved an innocent man from a terrible fate. It made all the difference in the world." He walked up to us, map in hand. "Now, since I am no longer your teacher, I feel no harm whatsoever in giving this back to you. It is time for us to say goodbye, but I feel sure we'll meet again someday. Until then," he pointed his wand at the map, "Mischief managed." The map folded up and went blank again. With that, Professor Lupin left.

<><><><><>

Harry and I headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Harry, wherever did you get it?" someone asked, coming up to my brother.

"Can I have a go? After you, of course?" Seamus asked.

Ron was leaning on a crutch, but he looked extremely guilty. "I'm sorry, Harry. I-I didn't mean to open it. It was badly wrapped, uh..." he fumbled. He pointed at the twins. "They made me do it."

"Did not!" the twins both objected at the same time.

A long, brown package in the shape of a broomstick was resting on the Gryffindor table. I helped Harry open it, and sure enough, there was a broomstick in there. One neither of us had ever seen before.

"It's a Firebolt! Fastest broom in the world," Seamus told us.

"Wonder who sent it," I said.

Hermione held up a Hippogriff feather. "This came with it."

Harry and I looked at each other and smiled. It was from Sirius.

<><><><><>

We all ran out to the courtyard, Harry holding the broom.

"Go on, Harry! Try it out!" Dean encouraged us.

Fred handed me his broom. "Cass, why don't you race him?"

I looked at Harry, who nodded.

We both got on our brooms and took off into the sky, Harry screaming and laughing at the same time. He did beat me, but I didn't care, because we had so much fun racing each other and flying around in the sky.

<><><><><>

About a month after school had let out for summer vacation, I was just sitting on my bed, reading the latest issue of Teen Vogue, with Ivy curled up against my side. I'd let Ethel out of the house so she could go for a nice midday flight, stretch her wings a little bit.

I'd received letters from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and Sirius. Ron said that Mrs. Weasley was wondering when Harry and I would be visiting the Burrow next, and who could blame her? Since we'd met Ron's mother, she'd practically adopted my brother and I.

Hermione, as usual, wanted me to get started on getting my supplies for the next year, but as usual, I ignored her. I wasn't going to get my books at the start of my summer break! That was usually something done the month before term started.

Sirius' letter basically said he was just checking in on his godson and goddaughter. He'd also mentioned that if any boys started giving me grief, they'd have to answer to his fists. Yep, he's already starting to become like a second father.

I had to explain in my letters to Cedric how it was Peter Pettigrew who had betrayed mine and Harry's parents, and not Sirius, like we'd previously thought. Cedric's response was one of utter shock, but he eventually believed me, and he promised to help us clear Sirius' name someday.

And last but certainly not least, I was owning back and forth with my brother. Harry's summer had not gotten off to a good start, to say the least. I knew this from the letters he'd sent me. Evidently, our cousin Dudley had to go on a diet because he'd "reached the size and weight of a young killer whale", according to the people at Dudley's private school, Smeltings. To make him feel better, Aunt Petunia had suggested the whole family go on a diet. But that didn't change the fact that Harry still got less good than our cousin did. Harry had sent blatant pleas for help to me, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, and -- of course -- Sirius. So I'd basically raided the pantry, taking a bag of Oreos and owling them to my brother. Of course, I did give him something for our birthday as well. Andromeda had made devil's food cupcakes with peanut butter frosting that day, and I stuck one in a plastic container and owled it to Harry.

Anyway, back to today. While I was reading, I heard voices coming from downstairs. Three people were talking downstairs. I recognized the first voice as belonging to my adoptive sister, Dora. The second and third ones sounded like my parents. But I couldn't tell who the last person was. His voice was a little bit muffled.

Soon, I heard someone come up the stairs after almost tripping on them. Well, that's definitely Dora. She poked her head into my room. "Hey, Cassi, some guy who goes to Hogwarts is downstairs. He wants to talk to you."

"Did he say who he was?" I asked, putting down the magazine.

"Cedric Diggory," Dora replied. A playful grin formed on her face. "Seems like he has the hots for you..."

"Shut up, Dora," I muttered, my face turning at least three shades redder. I followed her downstairs and into the living room. There on the couch, talking with my adoptive parents, was Cedric. All three of them looked up once they saw Dora and I come in.

"Cassia, dear, Cedric was just talking about you," Andromeda said.

I started getting a little nervous on the inside.
"And...what exactly were you saying?"

"How amazing you are," Cedric answered.

Ted spoke up. "Cassia, Cedric has something he wants to tell you, but he thought it'd be best if he did so in private."

Cedric stood up and gently took my hand, leading me to the door. "Don't worry, sir. I'll make sure she gets back safely," he assured Ted.

We took a walk through a nearby park, before sitting down on a bench by the lake. There was a bit of an awkward silence between the two of us for a while. Neither one of us made eye contact with the other. I twiddled my thumbs nervously, waiting to hear what my friend sitting next to me had to say.

Cedric sighed, looking up at me. "Look, Cassia, we've known each other for a few years, and recently, I've, uh...I've started developing these...feelings for you."

Surprised, I looked up at him. "For how long?"

"About a month after school started up again. It was when you kissed me on the cheek," he admitted.

I was shocked. He actually likes me back? So many thoughts were racing through my brain, I couldn't even keep track.

"Please, say something," Cedric pleaded.

"So I guess this means we're dating now, huh?" I guessed. The words basically just vomited out of me.

Cedric was confused at first, but then his expression changed to one of surprise. "You -- you like me back?" he questioned.

I nodded, unable to contain my joy any longer. The next thing I knew, I was pouncing on him, capturing his lips with my own. He seemed taken aback by my actions, but he melted into the kiss almost immediately. Our tongues battled for dominance, but his won out. We were so distracted by the kissing that we didn't even notice us falling off the bench and onto the grass. As much as I wanted the kiss to last longer, the need to breathe forced us to pull apart.

"If we're going to be a couple, then I have to do this right," Cedric panted. "Cassia, will you go out with me?"

"Yes..." I said, trying to catch my breath. "And by the way, you're quite the kisser."

"You're not so bad yourself," Cedric replied.

I heaved a sigh of relief. "Phew! I thought I was a little rusty, with this being my first time kissing and all..."

Cedric nodded. "Understandable."

"I can only imagine how Harry and Sirius will react when we tell them about us," I mused.

"Don't worry, love. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Cedric assured me. "Besides, I can handle them."

I giggled, and leaned my head on his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of broomstick cleaner and pine trees that seemed to hang around him. Sure, the world isn't perfect, but this moment was. Lying on the grass, on top of my boyfriend -- I can't believe I can call him that now! -- without a care in the world.

End of Year 3