I sat next to Cassandra on the couch while the others chatted around us. The conversations were all over the place: Challis and Edius, what to do on spring break, how to cast a shapeshifting spell, even some talk about dark magic. Headmaster Eliphas had been insistent, and we both knew he would send Cassandra away if anything else happened. I couldn't let Casandra go. We moved as a team.
"I'm sorry," Cassandra said and leaned her head against my shoulder. Her hair smelled of strawberries, and her breath was warm and enticing. She laid her arm across mine, feeling her touch nowadays so much different than it had been in the past. "I never meant for you to be involved in the trouble I get into. Headmaster Eliphas should not have spoken to you like that. You were only trying to help. I don't want things to be hard on you because of me."