Cass got off the train feeling quite.... nervous. Despite Hermione's constant reassurances, Cass couldn't get the feeling out of her head that something was wrong.
They climbed into what seemed to be enchanted carriages, pulling themselves towards the grand castle. But Cass wasn't very excited. At the gate, Professor Flitwick lead the students inside before the sorting began.
However, Cass didn't sit down. Instead, she pulled her Professor aside and told him her fears.
"Oh, dear." He said, a worried look on his face. "Well, I'll alert the teachers of the missing students. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be found. Now, why don't you just go sit down-" He said calmly, as if he was talking to a wild animal.
"I can't!" Cass protested. "If Selena is hurt, or missing, or- I just need to be there when we fine her. Please?" She begged
"Very well. Follow me."
He lead her up to the high table, where Dumbledore and the other teachers sat.
"Headmaster!" Flitwick squeaked, catching the attention of all of the teachers.
"Miss. Wilson here says that Miss. Allen nor Mr. Potter and Weasley ever made it on platform 9 3/4."
Dumbledore just nodded.
"I noticed when you and Miss. Granger arrived. The five of you are not often separated." He said.
"We'll need someone to go out looking for them. I have no doubt that your friends have found their own way to Hogwarts, considering what they went through last year, these are three very motivated children."
"That's what I'm worried about, sir." Cass said.
Dumbledore smiled.
"Well, I don't think you'll be able to enjoy the feast while you're wracked with worry. Minerva will sit with you in her office. After all, the missing students are all in your house." He said, directing the end of the conversation to the Transfiguration Professor.
Professor McGonagall stood, and walked to Cass's side.
"And we'll need someone out on the grounds, for when they do arrive."
"I will look for them, Professor." Said Snape immediately. Cass tried not to roll her eyes. He was probably excited, looking for a reason to give out some early detentions.
"Very well."
Professor McGonagall lead Cass up to her own office.
McGonagall sat down, but the worried Slytherin remained standing, pacing back and forth while anxiously chewing her nails.
"Miss. Wilson, why don't you take a seat?"
"I can't... Selena could be hurt or-or dead!" She gulped.
"Miss. Wilson, I assure you that Miss. Allen is going to be okay." McGonagall tried to reassure her.
"But we don't know that! For all I know, Selena could've been kidnapped or something awful! How do I even know that she is on her way to Hogwarts, like Professor Flitwick said? Any number of awful things could be happening to Selena... and Harry and Ron too."
"I'm sure that is not the case. The three of them are quite resilient. They'll be fine."
~~~~
"Is it just me or are we loosing altitude?"
"Not the time, Selena!"
The engine gave another nasty groan. The car began to shudder, loosing speed despite how hard Ron pushed on the accelerator.
"I'm making jokes to cover up my terror!" Selena snapped at Ron. "BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE IN THIS DAMN CAR!!"
"Just go straight ahead! Hogwarts is so close!" Said Harry.
"The lake is closer!" Snapped Selena, gripping the seat in fear.
"I know, Selena!" Ron hissed.
"It's still getting closer, Ron!" She snapped back with malice.
Ron's knuckles were bone white on the steering wheel.
"Come on, come on." He whispered to the car.
Selena had gripped onto the seat for dear life, keeping Jovi close to her chest with her other hand.
Then there was a loud clunk. And then engine died completely.
"Nooooooo!!" Ron yelled, spinning the steering wheel madly as a large, stone, castle wall came closer and closer.
The car swerved in an arc, Ron doing his best to dodge greenhouses, vegetable patches, and more.
Selena had her eyes screwed shut, trying to ignore the continued drop in her stomach as they dropped closer and closer to the ground.
"Stop! Stop!" Ron yelled, whacking his wand against the dashboard.
"WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!!" Harry suddenly bellowed.
Selena's eyes snapped open at that remark. She saw Harry desperately lunge for the steering wheel but he was too late and—
CRUNCH
"Are you guys okay?" Asked Harry over the sound of Hedwig screeching and Jovi yowling.
"I'm okay." Groaned Selena. "Just whiplashed. And I have scratches from Jovi."
"My wand.. look at my wand—" Said Ron in a terrified voice. He sounded as if he was going to vomit.
"At least nothing else happened-" Said Selena, grabbing her camera and inspecting it for marks. "Let's get out of-"
She never got to finish her sentence. For at that very moment, something with the force of a charging bull rammed into the side of the car, sending Harry sprawling into Ron's lap.
"What—"
Ron gasped and began pointing, his mouth gaping open like he wanted to scream but could find it in him to do so.
A branch the size of a python crashed into the windshield. The tree was attacking them. It's trunk was doubled over, and all of its branches were pummeling the car.
Selena gave a frightened shout as a branch came crashing down on the roof, leaving a huge dent. She jumped at the sound, a flash going off as she did so. She had accidentally activated the camera, and it was snapping away furiously. Selena didn't seem to notice, nor did either of the boys.
Pounding on the windshield were more small, gnarly branches and each side of the car was being attacked.
"Run for it!" Ron shouted, throwing his shoulder against the door trying to bust it open. A branch smacked into his door, sending him flying back and leaving a sizable dent.
"I was right! We are going to DIE!" Wailed Selena.
Ron looked up at the sagging roof of the car as the battering ram of a tree pounded at them relentlessly. A branch broke through the windshield and knocked Ron in the face, him holding a gushing nose.
All of a sudden, the floor began to vibrate and the loud purr of the engine stared again.
"Reverse!" Harry shouted as branches whipped at the car, leaving many scratches.
The car shot backwards, giving all of them whiplash. The tree was still trying to reach them and a sickening creak sounded from its roots as the tree strained to get them.
"That was close." Panted Ron, patting the car that had stopped a fair distance from the tree. "Well done, car."
But the car wasn't done. With five sharp clunks, all five doors opened, including the trunk. The seats tipped sideways and their seatbelts unbuckled themselves. Falling to the ground, not knowing what exactly was happening, Selena pushed herself up, still holding onto her cat and camera.
If she had the time, Selena would have said something along the lines of "What the hell?" Or "Am I crazy or did a car just kick us out?" But, She was in too much shock, as the car wasn't done. It threw out all of their luggage. Hedwig the Screeching Owl's cage got launched into the air, where she broke free and flew to the castle in a flurry.
Then the car, steaming and broken, drove into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest, ignoring Ron as the twelve year old chased after the car in exasperation.
"Can you believe out luck?" Said Ron with angry misery, bending over to pick up Scabber's cage. "Of all the trees in the damn world, we just had to hit the one that hits back."
"Come on." Said Harry wearily. "We best get up to the school."
They bent over; bruised, sore, and slight bloody; and picked their luggage up, trudging back to the castle while trying to ignore the tree, still wildly swinging it's branches.
They arrived at the steps in front of the grand wooden doors leading into Hogwarts.
"I think the feast has already started." Said Ron, dropping his trunk at the door and peering through a window.
The other two followed.
"I think it's the sorting." Mused Ron as the three of them peered in the window.
Hundreds of candles lit up the Great Hall, golden silverware and platters devoid of food while Professor Sprout stood at the head of the Great Hall, Sorting Hat in hand. This didn't strike any of them as odd, as they automatically assumed the teachers rotated Sorting every year. They didn't know that Professor McGonagall was actually in her office doing her best to calm down a frantic Slytherin.
"Look, there's your sister." Harry pointed out.
Ginny was easily spotted in the throng of scared first-years, due to her trademark Weasley hair.
"Reminds me of last year." Remarked Selena.
"Would be even more like last year if we were inside." Said Ron sadly.
"And even more so if I gave you a black eye for trash talking my friend. Take what you can get." Selena remarked.
"Point."
"Wait, guys.. where's Snape? And Professor McGonagall?" Said Harry all of a sudden.
The two redheads looked at the High Table, and saw that Harry was right. Two seats were empty.
"Maybe he's ill!" Said Ron hopefully.
"Maybe he left because he lost the Defense Against the Dark Arts job to LockHart." Said Harry smartly. "If I lost a job to him...."
"Wait... speaking of, I can't see Cass anywhere. She's not at Slytherin table. And she can't sit anywhere else during Sorting."
"Selena, look at the bigger picture here. I mean, Snape could've been sacked!" Said Ron gleefully. "I mean, everybody hates him-"
"Or maybe." Came a cold voice behind them, causing the hearts of the second years to skip a beat. "He'a waiting to hear why the three of you didn't arrive on the school train."
They spun around to see Severus Snape, the Potions Master and easily the meanest Professor in Hogwarts standing behind them. Not to mention the unexplained grudge against Harry, Selena, and by extension, Ron, since they were all so close.
"Follow me." He said, not even trying to hide his sick, gleeful smile. They were in a world of trouble, and Snape knew it.
Fighting not to say anything as she knew it would make everything ten times worse, Selena followed the man, not daring to look at him or her friends.
They entered Hogwarts, the warmth and light of the Great Hall just one door away. But Snape lead them away from the Great Hall, and down into the cold dungeons.
"In!" He snapped, pointing to a door halfway down the cold passageway at the end of the spiral staircase.
They entered Snape's office, a room that Selena was very familiar with, as she had spent one or two detentions in there. The walls were lined with large, glass jars of unknown materials, floating in an unknown liquid. The fireplaces was empty, making the room shadowy and cold.
Snape closed the door, causing Ron to jump at the noise. he turned to look at them.
"So," He said in that soft, threatening voice of his, "the train isn't good enough for famous Harry Potter and his loyal, red headed, sidekicks. It's a wonder the Wilson girl wasn't idiotic enough to join you."
Selena began to say something, not happy with the grumpy old man, but Ron elbowed her in the side, halting her speech that would've guaranteed them even more trouble.
"No, sir." Began Harry, rather politely. "It was the barrier at King's Cross, it—"
"Silence!" Snape said coldly. "What have you done with the car."
Snape pulled out a rolled up newspaper from inside his robes. It was today's issue of the Evening Prophet.
"You were seen!" He hissed, showing the headline: FLYING FORS ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES. Cruelly, he began to read aloud from the article.
"Two Muggles in London, combined they saw an old car flying over the Post Office Tower... at noon in Norfolk, Mrs. Hetty Bayliss, while handing out her washing... Mr. Angus Fleet of Peebles, reported to police... Six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?" He said, giving Ron an incredibly nasty look.
"Dear, dear... his own son." He teased, still smiling nastily.
Selena suddenly realized the implications of what they did. If anyone realized that Mr. Weasley had been the one to bewitch the car... none of them had thought that far ahead.
"I also noticed," Snape continued gleefully, "in my search of the park, that considerable damage to a valuable Whomping Willow."
"More valuable than three children?" Selena sassed.
"Silence!" Snapped Snape again. "Unfortunately, none of you are in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You wait here."
~~~~
Cass bit at her nails as she awaited any news. At first, it was worrying, but the more the girl thought about it, the worse she felt. Logically, what were the odds that Selena, Harry, and Ron were safely on their way back to Hogwarts? I mean, Magic was one thing, but being stranded at a train station without any adults... anything could happen.
Before she could think about it anymore,the door opened and in strode Snape, with a rather concerning grin on his face.
"Professor, I've found them." He said, still joyful. This alone concerned Cass, as she knew anything involving the Golden Quintet was sure to bring a frown to Snape's face. Unless they were in some sort of trouble. Big trouble.
"It appears Potter felt himself unworthy of the Hogwarts Express and decided to fly to Hogwarts in an enchanted car. And not only that," he added gleefully, "they crashed their car into the Whomping Willow, damaging it heavily."
"WHAT!" Exclaimed Cass, jumping up out of her seat. "Are they okay? A car crash-"
Snape ignored her.
"Where are they?" Said McGonagall, sounding angry.
"They're in my office, awaiting punishment."
"Then what are we still doing here?" Cass Said, heading towards the door.
Ten awkward minutes later, Snape pushed himself to the front of the pack and the teacher filed in.
"Selena!"
"Cass, is that you?" Selena said, confused.
Cass swerved her way around McGonagall and pushed her away past Snape.
Immediately, Cass swept Selena up in a hug, almost knocking her over.
"Cass, relax, I'm fine." Selena reassured, gently pushing her friend off after she hugged back.
"No you aren't. You're bleeding. What happened?"
"Well-"
"We were wondering the same thing."
They students all looked at Professor McGonagall, who looked angry as ever. She raised her wand and the a fire roared to life in the empty fireplace.
"Sit." She demanded. The four of them did so, even though Cass knew she wasn't in any trouble.
"Explain."
Ron began telling the story, from when the barrier locked itself shut and they crashed, to the Whomping Willow.
"So, really, Professor, we had no choice. We couldn't get on the train."
"Why didn't you send us a letter? I believe you have an owl." Professor McGonagall said coldly to Harry.
"I— I didn't think—" Harry stuttered, while Selena face palmed and tried not to laugh.
"Selena, are you laughing?" Cass whispered.
"It's just— how could we have been so stupid?" She laughed into her palm.
Before anyone could say anything else, there came a knock at the door. Happily, Snape went to open it to reveal Dumbledore, looking unusually grave. Seeing their Headmaster look so serious and disappointed made Selena feel suddenly ashamed and disappointed as well.
Before, she realized how stupid that they had been, and probably deserved punishment, but seeing Dumbledore walk in looking that upset... She realized the entire weight of their actions.
There was a long silence where he simply stared at the three of them, as Cass wasn't in trouble.
"Please explain why you did this." He finally said.
Harry told Dumbledore the story, while the others just sat in silence. Even Cass, who had technically done nothing wrong, felt like she was a target of his disappointment.
When Harry finished his tale, Dumbledore just continued to peer at them. Ron let out a sad sigh.
"We'll go get our stuff." He said in a hopeless voice.
"What are you talking about, Weasley?" McGonagall said.
"Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?"
"What? But Professors—" Cass began to protest, but was silenced when Dumbledore held up his hand.
"Not today, Mr. Weasley." He said. Selena, and all of the other kids, felt a huge weight lifted from their shoulders.
"But I must impress upon you the seriousness of what you've done. I will be writing to the three of your families tonight. I must also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you."
"Oh, thank God." Said Cassiopeia, throughly relieved. "If you got expelled, I would've have to do something to get expelled too. And I rather like it here."
"You wouldn't." Scoffed Selena.
"Wouldn't you?" Countered Cass.
"Touché."
"Professor Dumbledore." Snape interrupted after clearing his throat. "These children have caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree and flouted the Decree for Restriction of Underage Wizardry. Surely acts of these nature—"
"I'm well aware of our bylaws, Serverus, having written more than a few myself—"
Selena broke into a loud coughing fit, trying her best to disguise her laughter.
"Besides," continued Dumbledore, not acknowledging the poor attempt to cover up a laugh, "it is up to Professor McGonagall to decide their punishments. They are in her house and therefore her responsibility."
He then turned to Professor McGonagall. "I must go back to the Feast, Minerva, I've got to give out a few notices. Come, Severus, there's a delicious looking custard tart I want to sample."
Dumbledore stood by the open doorway, allowing Snape to go first. The Potions Master shot the four of them a look of pure venom and swept off.
Now alone with Professor McGonagall, the four looked up at her as she stared down at them like an eagle. Although, to be fair, she always looked like that.
"Weasley, you and Allen had better get to the hospital wing. You're bleeding."
"It's nothing." Said Ron, wiping away the blood around his nose.
"That's just from my cat." Said Selena, referencing the many small scratches on her forearm. "He got scared during the crash. He's a jumpy little dude."
"Professor, I wanted to watch my sister being Sorted-"
"The Sorting Ceremony is over." Said McGonagall. "Your sister is in Gryffindor as well."
"Oh, good." Said Ron.
"And speaking of Gryffindor-" McGonagall said, suddenly sounding stricter than before, but before she could redact any points, Harry cut in with a sudden stroke of genius.
"Professor, when we took the car, term hadn't started yet. So Gryffindor shouldn't really have points taken, should it?" He finished, watching her anxiously as he hoped this would work.
McGonagall gave him a stern look, but she also seemed to be holding back a smile.
"I will not be taking any points from Gryffindor. But the three of you will receive a detention."
She raised her wand again and pointed it at Snape's desk. A large plate of small subs, four goblets, and a jug of iced pumpkin juice appeared with a pop.
"Oh, thank God. I felt like I was about to pass out. I haven't eaten since like six this morning! We didn't even have any water on the car.." Said Selena, grabbing a sub.
"No wonder you look so sickly." Said Ron.
"Rude."
"You will eat here and then go straight up to your dormitories. I must also return to the feast."
When the door shut behind her, Ron let out a long, low whistle.
"I thought we'd had it." He said, grabbing a sandwich.
"So did I." Agreed Harry, going for a sandwich as well.
"Can you believe our luck though?" Said Ron, his voice muffled by sandwich. "Fred and George must've flown the car five or six times and nobody ever saw them."
"I do wonder though, why couldn't we get through the barrier?" Said Selena.
Harry just shrugged. "We'll have to watch our step from now on though."
"Yeah... wish we could've gone up to the feast. I wanted to try some custard tart, too." Said Selena.
"McGonagall probably didn't want you fools showing off." Joked Cass.
"Didn't want people thinking it was clever to fly a car." Agreed Ron.
They sat there, eating as many sandwiches as they could hold and sipping on ice cold pumpkin juice, when Cass looked over to Selena and realized the girl had fallen asleep in her chair, exhausted after the exciting day.
"We should probably wake her up." Said Ron, yawing as he was ready for bed as well, having driven all day.
"No, I'm up, I'm up." Groaned Selena, as she could be a light sleeper. She pushed herself out of the chair.
"Let's go." She yawned.
"I'll walk you guys up." Said Cass. "You look like you need some supervision." She teased.
They walked the familiar path to Gryffindor tower, which was just as much Cass's home as it was theirs. The castle was oddly quiet, so they all figured the feast was over.
"Password?" Said the Fat Lady, who noticed the group of four students as they approached.
"Er—" Said Harry who, like the others, had no idea what the dormitory password was. They hasn't seen any prefects, and had no way of knowing how to get in without a password.
"There you are!"
They turned around at the unexpected sound to find Hermione, the fifth member of their quintet.
"Where have you been?" She demanded, hands on her hips. "There's been rumors flying around! You've been expelled for flying a car to Hogwarts!"
"Well..." Said Ron, knowing there was a lecture coming up. "We haven't been expelled."
"Are you telling me that you did fly here!"
"Hey, I'm not apart of this." Said Cass.
"Yeah, Hermione, can you just skip the lecture? We're tired." Said Selena, leaning on Cass's shoulder.
"Could you just tell us the password?" Groaned Ron.
"It's 'wattlebird'." Said Hermione. "But that's not the point-"
But they never found out her point, at least not that night, for the portrait swung open and they were all tugged inside. Even Cass. It seemed as if all of Gryffindor was awake, waiting for them to arrive. They were clapped for, patted on the back, and they were all cheering.
"Brilliant!" Yelled Lee Jordan, a good friend of the twins'. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow! People will be talking about that one for years to come!"
Selena had her hand shaken by a third year who had never looked her way before. In fact, that third year had never liked Selena due to her and Cass being so close and hanging out in Gryffindor all the time.
"Why couldn't we've come in the car, eh?" Demanded Fred and George who had pushed their way to the center of the crowd where the second years were.
Ron blushed red, grinning embarrassedly and rubbing the back of his neck.
"It was sorta a last minute decision." Selena said, now fully awake from all the excitement.
She felt something hit her side— Harry had nudged her with his elbow and gestures to Percy Weasley, who was doing his best to fight his way to them, scowl on his face.
"Got to go upstairs, we're real tired." Said Ron, faking a yawn.
They waved bye to Hermione and they separated, Selena heading to the girls dorm and the boys to the boys dorm. Cass turned to leave but Selena grabbed her sleeve.
"Where you going?"
"My dorm, I need to get back and go to bed. It was an emotionally exhausting day."
"Why don't you just sleep here tonight?" Selena said.
"I can't." Protested Cass.
"Why not?" Whined Selena. "You're already here, we haven't seen each other all day, and I'd bet you don't know your password either." She said smartly.
"Fair point. Let's go." Said Cass, giving in and following Selena to her dorm.
It was the same dorm the girl slept in last year, the names of all its inhabitants on the door.
"We should probably get to bed soon." Said Cass, undressing in the empty room (save Selena) and putting on a pair of shorts and t-shirt from Selena's bag. "Wouldn't want Hermione finding us awake and lecturing us until morning."
"Agreed."
They curled up into the bed, which was a tight fit, but they managed. Pulling the cover up over their cold legs, the two girls fell asleep not long after that, holding each other and falling asleep happily.
//AN: also I'm currently going back and SLIGHTLY editing some things in previous chapters, such as fixing some small typos and just doctoring a few awkward sentences. Also after a lot of thought I've decided to re-write Madame Violet as an unexplained thing instead of a foster-home situation. You'll learn about it later... probably in their third year or maybe sooner... but the main reason I'm changing it up is because if Madame Violet was their foster family then any SelenaXCass stuff would be incest and I'm not about that life and I didn't want this book to even be remotely interpreted as such. So yeah, just a heads up there will be some gradual changes but nothing you'll need to re-read the book for. //