XXXVII

Cassiopeia relaxed a bit on her chair when Kreacher left her group alone in the room. She was sitting in the kitchen with both her cousins and Professor Lupin, and she didn't know where Moody had gone, but it made her a lot more comfortable. Somehow, the girl almost felt like she were with her family.

"I have a question," Sirius said after they all served themselves. "We all do, but I'm the only one brave enough to do so."

Cassiopeia glanced at Tonks and Lupin, but they didn't say anything, and she shrugged anyway.

"Well, ask away."

"How did you end up with George?"

The blonde girl chuckled. She wasn't surprised, seeing by how she'd heard that from almost everyone who knew about the two of them.

"It's a bit of a long story," she said slowly.

"We're listening," Sirius grinned. "I've been curious since I heard about you two."

She shifted a bit on her seat.

"Last year, last Christmas to be more exact, we had the TriWizard Tournament at school," she reminded them, feeling Lupin's and Tonks' eyes on her. "And there was this guy and he was my date to the Yule Ball."

"I'm gonna suppose that was not George," her former professor pointed.

"Definitely not George. He was from Durmstrang, he was Krum's friend and about to graduate, though I'm unsure if he actually did."

They all raised curious eyebrows at that, and she continued.

"He was my date and we had a nice night up until a point. We ate, we talked, and we danced. And then he wanted me to show him Hogwarts."

Her older cousin frowned, muttering something under his breath, but didn't interrupt the girl.

"He attacked me in the gardens, we had a very physical fight because I didn't have my wand with me and I'm unsure if he had his," Cas tried to keep her voice in the same tone that she had started, but couldn't really hide her discomfort. "When I thought I had lost, George showed up and helped me. And then professor Snape showed up and took care of the boy while George walked me back to my common room. We became friends after that and one thing led to the other, and we started dating in the summer."

Sirius nodded slowly.

"Do you know what happened to the student who attacked you?" he questioned, sounding genuinely concerned.

Cassiopeia hesitated.

"I heard he was taken care of," she said slowly. "But that's all."

They fell into silence, and the Hufflepuff by Cas' side cleared her throat when it became clear no one else would say anything.

"Well, you two are a really nice couple," she decided. "You look happy."

The blonde girl bit her lip.

"I feel happier," she replied, feeling her cheeks warming up and reddening. "George is very nice, he's one of the best people I know, I'm really thankful for what he did and what he still does."

She gave Cas a small smile.

"You get those eyes when you talk about him," she noticed. "That's good."

Cassiopeia blushed more but chose to ignore it.

"Don't be embarrassed," Tonks reached for a biscuit and looked directly at Lupin's face. "Love is nothing to be less than happy about."

The girl took a breath, a bit confused.

"Okay," she said just over a mutter. "Thank you."