Do you remember who you are?

Harry was momentarily stunned by the question. How could I forget who I am?

Then it dawned on him what Cassandra meant. Instead of backing down, he countered, "Who I am? Oh, I remember now. Last year, Mr. Septimus entrusted you to me."

Cassandra froze at Harry’s words.

This little guy, lying in wait for me?

"Is that so?" Cassandra’s lips curled slightly. "Funny, I don’t recall you taking up that ’entrusted’ responsibility, do you, Potter?"

"If you’d like, I can take it up now," Harry replied, his cheek thicker than ever. Teasing Cassandra came so naturally to him it was almost second nature. "So, how would you like me to take responsibility? Should I be a good brother like Ignatius, or the ideal son-in-law Mr. Septimus had in mind?"

Such bold words were unlike anything Cassandra had ever heard, least of all from Harry. She hadn’t expected him to be so audacious.

How dare he!

Her thin lips trembled for a moment before she snapped, "Shameless!"

She turned to leave, but Harry blocked her path.

"What more do you want?" Cassandra demanded, her tone laced with irritation.

Yet Harry noticed her footsteps had paused.

From what he knew of Cassandra, if she were truly furious, she’d have hurled a few curses at him by now and stormed off without a backward glance.

Which meant... she wasn’t actually angry.

This realization steadied Harry’s nerves.

"You still haven’t told me how you want me to take responsibility, Cass," Harry said, using her nickname with a playful lilt.

"Hmph." Cassandra’s expression turned pitying. "You’ve really gone astray, haven’t you? Corrupted by that wretched Grindelwald woman... and now you’ve got the nerve to talk back to me."

Talk back to you? I don’t think so.

But Harry didn’t say that aloud. Instead, he followed her lead. "After we leave Malfoy Manor, how about coming with me to Grimmauld Place?"

"So, you’re inviting me?" Cassandra gave a soft laugh. "I’ll take it as such, but... Potter, you invited that Grindelwald woman too, didn’t you?"

"Oh, no, I didn’t," Harry said honestly. "She’s already left Britain for Austria. Word is, she’s joined their Ministry of Magic."

Cassandra’s expression faltered, her face darkening.

"So, I’m your backup choice, am I, Potter?"

"No way!" Harry responded quickly, his words tumbling out. "You’ve always been my first choice, Cass—before, now, and always."

"Is that so?" Cassandra’s lips twitched into a half-smile, her tone betraying a hint of satisfaction.

"Of course it’s true," Harry said earnestly. "When have I ever lied to you?"

Cassandra thought for a moment. Indeed, Harry had never lied to her.

In that regard, he was reliably trustworthy.

"I’ll take your word for it, then," Cassandra said with a haughty air. "Fine. If I don’t have any other plans, I’ll go with you to Grimmauld Place."

Harry nodded eagerly, though inwardly he thought, What other plans could you possibly have?

Having secured Cassandra’s agreement to visit Malfoy Manor together, Harry returned to his compartment, gave Ron and the others a quick wave, and headed to the Slytherin carriage.

Draco was already waiting outside. Spotting Harry, he rushed forward excitedly. "Come on, Harry! Cassandra’s been waiting inside for ages."

Not quite. We parted ways less than five minutes ago, Harry thought, but he flashed a smile nonetheless.

Inside the compartment, Cassandra was engrossed in a book.

At the sound of Harry entering, she spoke without looking up. "Looks like you remembered our agreed time."

"Of course I did," Harry replied, choosing not to sit across from her but right beside her.

It was the closest they’d been outside of magical practice—well, not entirely, there was that time in the Forbidden Forest.

The faint, unique scent of Cassandra filled his senses, and Harry couldn’t resist leaning closer to her.

"What are you reading?"

His interest clearly wasn’t in the book; it was an excuse to get closer to the girl beside him.

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone," Cassandra said, a playful glint in her eye. "It’s about a brave little wizard who stops a murderous dark lord from getting his hands on the Philosopher’s Stone."

Of course, she’d made up the title on the spot, having heard about Harry’s first-year adventures and weaving it into a cheeky jab.

"The author’s got a terrible taste in names," Harry said, raising an eyebrow, his face now dangerously close to hers. "But the story sounds intriguing. Care to tell me more?"

"Of course," Cassandra said, clearing her throat and holding the book up dramatically. "This little thief named Harry Potter, after defeating the dark lord, didn’t return the Philosopher’s Stone to its rightful owner, that poor old man. Instead, he kept it for himself. Truly despicable behavior. I hope you take it as a lesson, Harry, and don’t become such a shameful person."

"Fair point," Harry said, nodding thoughtfully. "This shameless thief keeping the Philosopher’s Stone was disgraceful, sure, but he did save an innocent girl’s life. After all, she needed the stone to sustain her vitality, didn’t she?"

"Hmph." Cassandra let out a dissatisfied huff.

Harry was about to say more when the train’s long whistle pierced the air.

"We’ve arrived," Cassandra said, standing and shoving the book into Harry’s hands. "Keep this safe for me, Potter. First, we’ll go say hello to your godfather, Black, then head to Malfoy Manor together."

So you’re calling him ’godfather’ now too, huh?

Harry’s heart lifted, but he didn’t point it out. He knew Cassandra’s pride—if he teased her about it, she’d likely clam up.

They stepped off the train, with Draco trailing not far behind, a giddy smile plastered on his face as he watched his great-aunt and soon-to-be great-uncle, clearly reveling in the moment.

At the station exit, Sirius Black wasn’t alone. The Malfoys stood beside him, seemingly deep in conversation.

They appeared to be getting along well enough—Sirius didn’t show any signs of impatience. For someone like him, tolerating pure-blood supremacists was a stretch, so it was clear the Malfoys hadn’t pushed their usual ideologies, at least not enough to annoy him.

Spotting Harry and Cassandra, Sirius waved them over. "Harry, Miss Malfoy, over here!"

Harry approached and said to Sirius, "By the way, godfather, Cassandra just mentioned she wants me to go with her to Malfoy Manor."

"Narcissa’s already filled me in," Sirius said with a smile. "I’ll come along too—they’ve extended an invitation to me as well."

"That’s brilliant," Harry said, grinning.

He turned to the Malfoys. "Good to see you, Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy."

"And you, Mr. Potter," Lucius replied, his smile devoid of any pretense, radiating a sincerity Harry hadn’t seen before.

"Shall we, then?" Lucius said.

They boarded the carriage, and the Thestrals took flight.

It wasn’t until they reached Malfoy Manor that Harry realized something was off.

"What’s wrong, Potter?" Cassandra asked, noticing the shift in his expression.

Harry held up a finger, counting the passengers in the carriage, then turned to Cassandra. "Cass, don’t you think we’re missing someone?"

Missing someone?

Prompted by Harry’s words, the Malfoys also sensed something amiss.

"Oh no!" Narcissa bolted upright. "Draco! We left Draco at the station!"

Meanwhile, back at the station, Draco stared forlornly at the sky where the carriage had vanished, on the verge of tears.

"What’s wrong, Malfoy?" Ron, emerging from the station, noticed Draco’s devastated expression and approached curiously.

"I..." Draco turned slowly, tears streaming down his face. "My parents left me behind and went off with Harry and the others..."

Ron let out a stifled snort but quickly composed himself. Mocking someone in this situation wasn’t right, even if it was... well, Malfoy.

"If you’ve got nowhere to go, you can come to my place for now," Ron offered. "It might not be as fancy as your house, but it’s... you know, homey enough."

"I suppose that’ll do," Draco said reluctantly. "I just hope they realize I didn’t get on soon, but..."

Ron shaded his eyes, peering into the distance. "They haven’t come back for you yet, so they probably haven’t noticed."

Draco took a deep breath, choosing silence.

"Here’s an idea," Hermione said, pulling out a brick-like object. "I’ll call Veratia and have her tell Harry you didn’t make it. That way, your parents won’t worry and can pick you up at the Weasleys’. Sound good?"

"That’d be great, Granger," Draco said sincerely.

From his perspective, Hermione fiddled with the brick-like device for a while before speaking into it, as if possessed.

After a moment, she lowered the device and gave them an OK gesture.

"All set," she said. "Veratia’s called Harry, so you can head to the Weasleys’ without worry, Malfoy."

Draco’s curiosity, however, was piqued by the strange object.

"What’s that?" he asked.

"Oh, this?" Hermione nodded. "It’s a mobile phone. As the name suggests, it’s a phone you can use anywhere. Think of it as a tool for real-time long-distance communication."

"Merlin’s beard!" Draco exclaimed. "Something like that exists? How’s it made?"

"It’s Muggle technology," Hermione explained patiently. "You could think of it as Muggle magic. Does that make sense?"

"Technology?" Draco stored the word away. "I don’t fully get it, but it sounds impressive..."

Influenced by Harry, Draco no longer held the same disdain for Muggles. He could see the potential in something like this "technology."

If Father could develop something like this in the wizarding world, could the Malfoys...

Draco decided he needed to discuss this "technology" with his father. But for now...

"Could you tell me more about technology, Hermione?" Draco asked, like a sponge eager to soak up knowledge. "Honestly, I’m pretty curious about science..."

Before he could finish, Mr. Weasley’s voice called out from behind.

"Hey, kids!" Mr. Weasley said cheerfully. "I’ve arranged with Mr. Granger to have dinner at their place tonight before heading back. Sound good, Ron?"

Then he noticed Draco. "A new face?" He looked Draco up and down. "You’re Lucius’s boy, aren’t you?"

"Hello, Mr. Weasley," Draco greeted politely.

"Draco’s parents forgot him at the station," Ron explained. "Hermione just called Harry to let him know, so Draco’s staying with us for now."

"If it’s the Grangers’ place, I’m fine with that," Draco said quickly, eager to experience Muggle life firsthand.

He’d heard the Grangers were well-off, so their home would likely have plenty of fascinating Muggle things. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Hermione can explain it all to me then, Draco thought, quite pleased with his plan.

Meanwhile, Harry received Veratia’s call.

The moment Cassandra saw Veratia’s face and heard her voice, her expression soured.

Why is this woman always lingering like a ghost?

"Got it, thanks," Harry said, nodding as he ended the call.

He turned to the Malfoys—no, not the Forgetfuls, the Malfoys—and said, "Draco’s at the Weasleys’ for now. No need to worry. We can pick him up tomorrow."

"If Arthur’s looking after Draco, I’m at ease," Lucius said, exhaling in relief.

Despite their occasional differences, Lucius trusted Arthur Weasley’s character implicitly.

--

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