◣ 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧 ◥

𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗦

—"MEL. WAKE UP, MEL."

"Kill me, Slytherin. Please kill me."

"Your family will search for me anyway. I'll be dead either way. Kill me now. Please kill me now."

Cassandra gasped as she woke up, clutching her speeding heart. She felt sweat drip down her skin.

Breathing quickly, she looked around the room, looking relieved when she realized she was home. She wasn't there anymore. She was home.

But she didn't feel like it. She didn't feel like she was home.

She loved her parents and her brother. Really.

But she was too different from them.

How come her parents never had nightmares of killing people like Cassandra just did? How come for her parents killing people is just a routine, but for her it had left her haunted?

Still, she wouldn't have changed her parents if she had a chance. She loved them the way they are. She just wished she could feel the same; being loved the way she was.

Cassandra stood up and put her hair in a ponytail—

"We should cut off this pretty hair of hers first—Kill me, Slytherin. Please kill me."

She flinched and let out a breath , trying to calm herself down.

She felt something on her palms, making her eyes widen. She looked at it.

Blood.

Blood everywhere— blood on the dagger— on her palms— on her clothes—

But it was just sweat. Not blood. Just sweat.

She wiped her palms on her shirt, trying to make herself calm down again.

"You're fine," she whispered to herself. She turned a lamp on, looking out of the window.

It was dark— very dark.

Just like the room she was trapped in—

"It's okay," she whispered again. "You're here. Not there."

She glanced at the clock, swallowing when she realized it was three a.m.

How could she fall asleep again? She didn't feel sleepy anymore.

She grabbed a parchment and sat down, taking a quill and starting to write to her friends.

She wrote to Zara.

To Maeve.

To Vanessa.

She wrote about how she was now okay. How nothing was wrong anymore. How she was home and safe and very much alive.

But she didn't feel like she was home, or safe, or even alive.

But at least these words made her friends feel better. It made them less worried and that's what Cassandra wanted.

She wrote and wrote.

And when she was done, she gave them all to her owl, watching as it flew away.

And then she opened the door and went downstairs quietly, not making any noise so that nobody would wake up, even though the manor was so large to the point that even if she had made any noise, nobody would hear it.

When she was in the kitchen, her brows furrowed at the figure sitting on a chair by the table, paperworks all around him.

"Grandfather?" She asked quietly in confusion.

Tom's head snapped up at the voice of his granddaughter. He looked a little shocked at the fact she was awake, but motioned for her to sit next to him. "Why are you awake?"

She shrugged. "Why are you?"

Tom smiled slightly. "Work."

She became quiet, then sighed. "I'm not really safe, am I?"

He stilled. Knowing he couldn't lie to her about this, he shook his head. "Their brother is after you."

She nodded slowly, not surprised. She already had a feeling about this. "How long until he finds me?"

"He won't," replied the man immediately. "We're all searching for him. We'll kill him before he even sees you."

"You were all searching for me and look what happened," she pointed out, swallowing when she realized what she said.

Tom looked guilty, looking like the words did something to his heart. "We tried very hard to find you. They were hiding under the Fidelius charm. And nobody expected them to take you. We were all searching for light families."

"Aren't you supposed to look for people you don't expect?" She pointed out again, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being rude."

"You deserve to snap at me all you want," her grandfather said comfortingly. "I was not able to find you and I deeply apologize for that."

"It's not your fault." Cassandra said and stood up. "But please.. please find their brother. I don't want to go through what I went through again."

"I will," he immediately said. "Do not give it another thought."

She nodded and walked away, trying to ignore her shaky hands.