After dinner, Harry led Ron up to the seventh floor.
Standing before the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed by trolls, Harry silently focused on needing the Order of the Phoenix’s lounge.
“Hey, the door looks a bit different this time,” Ron suddenly said.
Harry glanced up. This time, the wall revealed a bronze door symbolizing a lounge instead of the silver door of the meeting room or the brass one representing the dueling chamber.
“Let’s go,” Harry said, patting Ron’s back. “You know how it works—this room can change as needed. It should be a lounge this time.”
Ron followed Harry into the Room of Requirement.
“Wow,” he marveled at the distinct decorations for the four houses. “All four houses are represented here… wait, why does Slytherin have more chairs than the others?”
Harry considered it for a moment. The Order had eight members, with four from Slytherin. It was no surprise that their seats outnumbered the others.
“Surely you don’t expect Hufflepuff’s one member or Ravenclaw’s lone representative to each need four chairs,” Harry thought wryly.
“Ha, Gryffindor is right next to Slytherin—that’s just…” Ron trailed off with a grumble.
Harry shrugged. It was Veratia’s decision. She discovered the Room of Requirement, so naturally, she designed the layout.
This arrangement had left Cassandra in a foul mood for weeks, giving Harry nothing but icy looks whenever they crossed paths. After all, Veratia’s seat was right next to Harry’s.
After grumbling, Ron flopped down into the chair that originally belonged to Gareth Weasley. It made sense—Gareth was Ron’s great-grandfather.
“This is quite a nice place, Harry,” Ron said, stretching like a cat in his chair, his flaming red hair mussing up. “Honestly, Hermione should’ve come to see this too. Oh, weren’t we going to recruit Seamus and Neville as well? Hmm, we might as well move all the Slytherin chairs over since we’re obviously not inviting any Slytherins to join us, are we?”
As soon as Ron finished speaking, three more chairs appeared in the Gryffindor section.
“That’s amazing,” Ron said excitedly. “I’ll go check out the window—this view is way better than what we have in the Gryffindor Tower.”
“Mm,” Harry murmured, nodding as Ron walked off. He sat down in Veratia’s seat, his thoughts drifting a century back in time.
--
“Harry?”
Veratia slipped her arms around Harry’s.
“Huh? Oh…” Harry answered reflexively, caught off guard.
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“Come look at the view with me,” Veratia said, tugging him toward the window. “You know, the Slytherin common room is underground. We never get to enjoy such a wonderful sight.”
“I’d remind you,” Cassandra’s cold voice interrupted from behind, full of disdain, “that this is the Room of Requirement—our Order’s meeting space. And it’s winter, not springtime when magical creatures are breeding. You two—”
She stopped mid-sentence when Veratia turned to face her.
Veratia’s striking violet eyes curved into crescent moons, her thin lips curling into a victorious smirk.
“The moonlight is beautiful tonight,” Veratia said.
--
“The moonlight is beautiful tonight,” Harry echoed softly, gazing out the window.
“Isn’t it?” Ron responded absentmindedly. “Look, our dorm doesn’t have this kind of view where you can see the entire Black Lake—oh, there’s Percy and Fred horsing around, and Lee Jordan’s joined in… huh?”
“What’s wrong?” Harry asked, distracted.
“There’s a notebook here,” Ron said, bending to pick up a book from a nearby cabinet. “There’s a letter tucked inside too, Harry. It’s signed by C.C. Malfoy… Is that an ancestor of the Malfoys? I know Draco’s father is Lucius, and his grandfather was Abraxas, but none of them match C.C.”
C.C. Malfoy?
Harry shot up from his seat and hurried to Ron’s side.
“Where? Let me see!” he demanded eagerly.
“Here,” Ron handed the notebook and letter to Harry but hesitated. “Harry, these are someone else’s belongings… Isn’t it a bit improper for us to just read them?”
Harry glanced at Ron, then turned back and walked away.
Ron shrugged. He had no interest in the Malfoy family, preferring to watch his brothers’ antics outside the window instead.
C.C. was Cassandra’s initials—her full name was Cassandra Cecilia Malfoy.
Sitting back down, Harry first opened the letter.
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> **[To Veratia Grindelwald,
>
> I regretfully decline your proposal. Using a Time-Turner to move forward even one year entails a great cost, let alone traveling a century into the future to search for this Potter.
>
> I urge you to let go of your infatuation, riddled as it is with pink-hued delusions. Face reality. Chasing after a boy at the expense of your family is a foolish pursuit of an unattainable dream.
>
> Perhaps you and this Potter are alike—arrogant and self-absorbed… Regardless, I will not accept your proposal to seek out a boy unrelated to me.
>
> —C.C. Malfoy]**
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Even though Harry had braced himself, he still felt a pang of sadness.
Why?
Cassandra was insufferable—always condescending, bossing him around, and humiliating him.
He thought he had come to terms with her disdain. But seeing this letter, why did he feel so disheartened?
Maybe Cassandra was right. She had a family—a father and brothers who loved her deeply. Harry could never forget the way she lit up with pride whenever she mentioned “my father.”
A child who wasn’t doted on by their father wouldn’t show off like that.
Even Draco Malfoy, for all his haughty, unbearable arrogance, had a family that loved him dearly.
Harry reread the letter three times before sighing and folding it back into the notebook.
He turned to the first page. The notebook’s cover bore Cassandra’s name.
It was her journal of spell research and musings.
Something about the notebook felt off to Harry, though he couldn’t pinpoint why.
As he flipped through, it appeared to chronicle her studies from her first year at Hogwarts.
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**The alternative applications of the Lumos Charm… The feasibility of using the Levitation Charm for object control…
[Too bad that Potter ended up in Gryffindor. I thought I could make him my lackey…]
[His green eyes look timid, like those of a fawn. Quite adorable, actually. I wouldn’t mind having a little brother like him.]**
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**Explorations into the Stunning Spell’s mechanics… Quickening the casting of Exploding Hexes…
[Today, that hopelessly foolish Potter and I encountered dark wizards in the Forbidden Forest. He’s such a liability—clumsy and unable to use spells properly… Ha, I hope he realizes how weak he is and obediently follows behind me like a proper lackey.]**
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Harry felt a lump in his throat.
The moonlight streamed onto his face, and the cool night breeze ruffled his hair, just like that night in the Forbidden Forest.
----
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