1984

{ Cassandra }

The Greengrass Manor was located somewhere in the County of Gloucestershire.

Built during the Tudor Era some four hundred years ago, it was home to one of the wealthiest families of Wizarding Britain.

The Greengrasses were proud of their heritage, and the Manor itself was a testament to that.

A magnificent edifice of pale white stone sitting atop a verdant hill, overlooking the sparkling waters of the nearby Severn. It exhibited a delicate sort of beauty.

This beauty found further exhibition in the Manor grounds itself. Decorated with intricate pieces marble statuaries and with fountains crowding it's every corner. The grounds were teeming with beauty and vigor. It had fruit trees laden with peaches and apples and plums. And an expansive garden flowering with a hundred different flowers of a hundred different shades.

Last of all was the greenhouse. Under it's glass dome lay many a magical plant. Some of which, could kill a grown man with ease. And all of which, were incredibly priceless.

It was here that Cassandra found herself, on a hot mid-summer afternoon accompanying her mother as she harvested some ingredients for her Potions work.

Esmeralda Greengrass was a beautiful woman. Lithe, and graceful and full of life. Always smiling, her green eyes alive with laughter, as her raven black hair danced in the summer breeze.

Ethereal. Sometimes so much so, that it seemed that she would feel at home in a painting.

Right now though she was swearing loudly as she busily battled a particularly angry Venomous Tentacula.

"Shit! Those spikes sure are something almost ripped through my robe Cassie grab ahold of it would you." She said hurriedly, as the poisonous plant tried to wrap it's spiky vines around her arms.

Sweating in her thick Dragonhide Gloves and protective gear Cassandra sighed, as she got to work helping her mother harvest the leaves of the Venomous Tentacula.

It was a good long hour before their work in the greenhouse was completed and they started walking back to the Main House.

"So what Potion do you need the Tentacula leaves for?" Cassandra asked her mother.

"A Commission that I recieved recently, an Everlasting Elixir for Strengthening the Mind." She replied.

"What is that? I don't think I've heard of that one before."

"I'm not surprised, you might be gifted and you do have the habit of sneaking into my study to go through my books." Her mother said, giving her an impish grin.

"But Everlasting Elixirs are some of the most Advanced Potions, incredibly difficult to brew and quite a few of them are deemed illegal even."

"Shouldn't you not try to brew one, then?" Cassandra asked, incredulously.

"Well I wouldn't accept such a Commission usually, but the person who asked me for this, I kind of owe them a favour." She said.

"Anyways, the Everlasting Elixir for Strengthening the Mind isn't technically illegal. It lies in what we can say is the moral grey area. Considering there are so very few Practitioners of the Mind Arts, it is a Potion that few use and even fewer know how to brew, so the Ministry doesn't feel the need to regulate it."

"And the Gold is good too." Her mother added, almost as an afterthought.

"Please, as if we need anymore gold." Cassandra grumbled, as they crested the hill leading to the Manor House.

The rest of their journey was made in companionable silence and soon they were indoors away from the sweltering heat of the mid-day Sun.

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Soon after they had put away the ingredients they'd collected, Daphne and Astoria mobbed mother asking her to read to them from the copy of Beedle the Bard that their father had given Daphne on her birthday.

Cassandra spent the rest of the day with her mother and her sisters as she read them stories and fed them hot buttered scones with strawberry jam.

With their father busy attending a Wizengamot session and both their Uncles being out somewhere. It was only the four of them at home today.

So it was after supper at the end of a peaceful summer day, that Cassandra found herself entering her mother's study. Or as she preferred to call it, her Potion Workshop.

It was situated in the basement of the Manor, heavily warded and protected so that the entire house wouldn't collapse on top of them if something went wrong.

This was Cassandra's Sanctum, where she felt most at peace.

She had always wanted a quite, peaceful life. But ever since her early childhood when she recovered the hazy memories of her past life, she knew that wasn't going to be possible.

They lived in an Era of turmoil and if her memories were to be trusted her very presence here was an aberration. She'd changed things by merely existing.

And whatever freakish twist of fate had brought here, she knew it wouldn't leave her alone to a quiet, secluded existence.

Maybe, if she were a Squib that might have been possible. But she wasn't.

Ever since she'd first performed Accidental Magic at only four years old, she'd known that her magic was strong and potent.

It seemed that she was destined for great things.

If only that weren't the case, she thought sighing.

"What is all this?" Cassandra asked, seeing the massive Pentagram that covered most of the room.

It seemed to be drawn in blood, with countless runes and glyphs inscribed in between. And at its centre sat a bubbling silver cauldron, her mother bent over it working busily.

"Oh, this!" Her mother said excitedly, looking up at her.

"Nothing much, a bit of Ritual Magic is all." She said, smiling proudly.

"Is that blood?" Cassandra replied dumbfounded, "Tell me, that isn't blood."

"Umm...it kind of is?" She said, sheepishly. "But don't worry it's not human blood. We don't do Dark things like that here."

When Cassandra gave her a skeptical look, she reconsidered.

"Well, at least I don't. Anyways, this is just Dragon Blood."

That raised a thousand questions of its own, but Cassandra chose to ask the most obvious one.

"And, why are you making a Dragon Blood Pentagram? She asked, "While, also being so smug about it."

"Well of course, I'm proud of it." She pouted, "This is really Advanced Potion Making. None of the childish stuff they teach, back at Hogwarts. This involves one knowing the rudiments of Ritual Magic. Of course, this isn't 'real' Ritual Magic. That's too Dark for my tastes and has plenty of nasty side-effects."

"But still it's a worthy accomplishment. There's a reason high level Potions like Felix Felicis are so difficult to brew. I can count on a single hand, the number of people in Magical Britain who could brew such a thing." She said.

"So it is done then, is it ? The Mind-Strengthening Potion ?" She asked, sitting down cross-legged beside her mother.

"Not even close. This is just Potion water with some ingredients tossed in, right now." She said.

"I've setup the Ritual and prepared all the necessary ingredients. But the actually brewing process will take over six months."

"That is quite the long time-frame." Cassandra said, surprised.

"Well it can only be brewed under a full moon, as is today. And it requires a long time to condense and refine." She replied.

"I would really like to see it, once it's done." Cassandra said.

"Well, I was actually wondering that there's going to be some left over, after I'm done brewing a batch." Her mother said.

"So would you want some?" She asked.

"The Mind-Strengthening Potion? What for?"

"Well it has many beneficial effects, especially if consumed when one is as young as you are. Other than it's obvious application in the Mind Arts, it improves the memory, mental strength, and it even boosts one's intelligence, albeit only a tiny bit."

"And you're sure, it doesn't have any negative after-effects?" Cassandra said, looking at her quizzically.

"Well you might feel a bit detached at times." She said, shrugging.

"Only for me? What about Daphne or Astoria?" She asked.

"There isn't going to be that much, left. And well they're kind of too young to acclimate to it properly. I could just brew them a new batch, once they're of age." She answered.

"Did you have it too? When you were young?" Cassandra asked, staring at the slow rising fumes of the simmering Potion.

"No I didn't. But your father did."

That made sense. Her mother's family had been well off. But not enough to buy their child a ridiculously expensive Potion.

Adrian Greengrass on the other hand, had all the golden Galleons he could ever ask for. Being born as the Heir to the Greengrass Family had it's perks.

"Well if it doesn't have any bad side effects, I guess, I wouldn't mind having some, then." She replied.

"That's good to hear. Now get to work then" Her mother said, nudging her.

"What?" She said, incredulously.

"You heard me." She said, "If you want it, you've got to work for it. I'm in dire need of an assistant for this project. And you'll do just fine."

"I'm only six." Cassandra protested, dumbfounded.

"That's perfect my own little assistant. Just what every mother wishes." She said, pulling her to her feet.

"Now get to work. I need you to bring me six drops of Re'em Blood, three Abraxan hairs, four Fairy Wings, and some Lovage. You'll find them in the Storage Cupboard."

"And do try to hurry up. The Potion isn't going to brew itself." She said, sending her off.

Cassandra sighed as she went to bring them. She loved her mother and she loved learning about Potions.

But it seemed, that sometimes the things that we love are the things that can get on our nerves the most.

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