School Days ((Nasser))

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cassandra and Craig Blackfire moved through the barrier easily as Craig pushed the trolley. The trolley was not filled with the normal implements that most traveler's used, but, instead, a trunk that almost overflowed with wizarding robes, a cage that held a very old cat that looked liked it had seen better days, and a cauldron perched precariously on top of it all. As Cassandra watched all the people flow in and out of the barrier, Craig tried to put her cauldron in. After finally managing it, Craig put his arm on his sister's shoulder to let her know it was time to be on her way.

" I have to go, already? Craig, the train isn't even leaving for another thirty minutes." Craig smiled at his sister. "Yes, Cassandra, I know it doesn't leave for a little bit yet, but I would feel a bit safer knowing you were on the train." Cass snorted at the last remark since she had been attacked at Hogwarts at the end of the following year. She also knew that her mother didn't come with them to the Express because she was afraid for her life. Charles Blackfire knew about them, and he would do anything to wipe them from this earth.

Cass looked over and saw two men who she had never seen before inspecting the train. One of them had flaming red hair and the other one looked a little worse for wear. Frowning, she gave her brother a hug and kiss on the cheek. " I will see you soon Cassandra." He looked down at her sadly, almost as if he didn't believe his own words.

Cassandra boarded the train and waved goodbye as she ducked inside. Heaving a sigh of relief, she was glad to be away from him. He had seemed so solemn since his mysterious trip out of the house the other day. Walking down the train, she began to look in each compartment to find an empty seat or some friends. Unfortunately, Cassandra was greeted by an older group of Slytherins.

" Well, there she is. The luckiest mudblood in England," the tallest one said with a sneer on his face. Cass remained quiet, not really wanting the confrontation at the moment. Turning around, she saw someone coming up behind her. Not knowing who it was, she turned toward the threat that was in front of her. The tall one continued. " So, are you going to continue to pass yourself off as a Blackfire, or are you going to go back to the lowlife scuff that you really are?" Cass shrugged at this remark, and tried to move around the group that had congregated. Unable to, she realized that she was going to have to endure the barrage of insults that was going to come her way.

[Nasser Salah G6]

The transition from the Muggle world to the magical world had never been easy for Nasser Salah, who was the only wizard in his large family; the Salahs had seven children. Nasser was lucky enough to have a very understanding family that supported him, but he often wondered at how it was that he was the only one in his seven siblings who could do magic. It was one of life's mysteries that he supposed would always remain unsolvable, but it wasn't always easy being caught in between two worlds, one in which you were completely on your own and another one where you had so many people who cared about you but didn’t understand something that had become the most important thing in your life; actually the most important part of your life. Nasser couldn’t help but ponder on that as he stroked his youngest sister's hair. She was still young but she knew that Nasser went away for most of the year and had attached herself firmly to his right leg. Try and push the thought as he might Nasser couldn't help think about when the time finally came for him to start his life on his own, away from his family and away from this world. He hadn't figured that one out yet – and Nasser didn't like leaving things to chance and believe they would just work out. He tried to keep smiling as he waved at his family and then walked onto the platform. He looked back one last time as the Salah's car went away, and then gave himself a little shake and headed for the barrier.

A few seconds later Nasser found himself amid the bustle and crowd of his fellow Hogwarts students, and he couldn’t help but smile and feel a lift of spirit as he looked around for a familiar face. He had boarded the train and it was moving before he found someone he knew, but not in the situation he had imagined he would find her. As Nasser walked up to his fellow Gryffindor Quidditch team member Cassandra his hackles rose as he heard what the Slytherins were saying to her.

"Wow, this really must be a record. I never knew you enjoyed losing points for Slytherin so much. Or perhaps it is being in detention that you find so pleasurable?" said Nasser with his eyes narrowed. The Slytherins glared daggers at Nasser, sizing him up and wondering whether he would carry out his threat. "Come on Cass," said Nasser, leading her into the train by walking through two of the Slytherins who had looked like they were itching to hit him. He then looked back at the Slytherins angrily. He couldn’t believe that they had already started looking for trouble when they'd just arrived at the station, and had half-expected them to throw caution to the wind and start insulting him for being a Muggle-born.

"What was that about?" asked Nasser, taking Cass' suitcase and placing it in on a shelf. He did not try and hide his surprise nor did he stop to think he might be prying into Cass' business; the surprise that Cass might be anything but a Muggle-born had made him speak before he thought about what he was saying.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Being led away by Nasser, Cassandra let her thoughts settle from the wild jumble. Cass was angry about the confrontation. They acted as if this was all her fault! She couldn't help the decisions her parents made before she was born! Without a word, Cass sat down in teh compartment with Nasser. He was showing her such kindness, something she felt she didn't deserve from any wizard. However, Cassie did feel that he should have his answer since he rescued her from the snakes.

Cass sighed. She hated telling this story. " Well, it's a bit complicated..." She trailed off, not really knowing where to begin. " Have you ever heard of Daniel and Cynthia Blackfire?" Strange how such a complex story can begin so simply, she thought to herself.

She began by telling him about her mother and father and how the two noble Slytherin purebloods and son left the wizarding world to live as muggles. Their return was cancelled when they had her, and had become content with their lives until her father died of lung cancer. The story became more twisted as she relayed her first meeting with Pyro, and the few outings together.

" Shortly after Dad's death, this ring appeared near my bed at school." She tapped the ring that she wore with the Blackfire family crest. " I didn't know what it was until Dana Coran stumbled across a family album while clearing some of my father's things from our attic. Mother was never going to tell me, and in her head I was going to be a muggleborn forever. Upon discovery of the album, she was forced to tell me. After that, mother decided she didn't want to be a muggle, she wanted to be a pureblood. We bought a nice house, changed our last name, and have attempted to live." Cass shrugged her shoulders. " Not bad for a muggle born, huh?"

Nasser was the first person to her the full story. He looked almost baffled by the information. To lift the tension, she attempted a joke. " Is there anything I left out? I'm pretty sure there are more rumors out there that I don't know about."

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser listened attentively to Cass, and all sorts of questions came into his head. He wondered how it was that she had sustained a friendship with a Slytherin, how her parents had been able to hide their secret for so long from her, and how she had finally discovered the amazing truth. He didn't want to interrupt her though so he let her continue her tale surprise often showing in his dark green eyes. They were accented today by Nasser's skin which was much darker than its usual olive colour. Nasser had spent most of his summer by the sea in the sun and his skin had turned the colour of milk chocolate. He rubbed his nose as he often did when he was a bit confused or unsure where to start, then commented on what she said last.

"I haven’t paying much attention to the rumours, last year was kind of hard for me, I mean I had other things to worry about other than gossip, really," admitted Nasser. This news had come to him as a complete shock, and he wondered how he would feel had he been in Cass' position. Nasser wasn't ashamed of being a muggle-born and never would be. But how he would have felt had he been in Cass' position… he really wasn't sure. He ignored the comment about it being pretty good for a Muggle-born for Nasser didn't think so and from Cass' tone he felt that neither did she. Nasser looked at Cass for a moment directly in the eyes, then away again. He looked out of the window though there was nothing that interested him outside and then he asked her quietly, "Are you happy, Cass?" Nasser and Cassandra were not close friends, but he did know she was generally a cheerful. Somehow she didn’t look it right now, even though the summer was just over and they were going back to school, which if was not as safe as it had once been, was still more secure than most of the places in the magical world.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Caught off guard by his question, Cassie stumbled over her words for a moment. " Happy? I guess if you want to call it that. I mean, I don't have to really worry about anything anymore. It wasn't like it used to be, you know? With the house falling down around our shoulders, and Dad being sick. Half of the time it was a miracle that we had food in the house." Cass bit her lip. Was she really happy? No, not really. Life was complicated, but wasn't everybodies? " Well, I do kind of like how it used to be. I was at least proud of who I was before, but know I'm not so sure." She looked at Nasser with her hazel eyes. " I mean, I'm running from an Uncle I've never met, my family is a moving target, and I have to be someone I'm not."

Cassie felt the train begin to move, and she looked out the window and saw the platform move away. " My mother has been telling me what a disgrace to the family I am. You know, being in Gryffindor. I've put up with a lot of abuse over the summer from most of them. However, I don't want to discriminate against them just because of their house. I mean, that makes me as bad as them. That is one of the things that led me to be friends with Pyro. Well, that and a snowball in the back of the head." Cass smiled at the fond memory, no sure if Nasser had heard about their snowball fight on the grounds last winter.

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser frowned slightly as he listened to Cass; it was hard to understand all that had happened to her in the past year as he didn’t know all the people she was talking about and her family had made some rather strange decisions. Her friendship – or rather her turbulent with the Slytherin Pyro seemed a bit strange to him too, and Nasser remembered with a pang how his own friendship with Perseus had been. "Oh, so your family was in Slytherin? That's funny, I mean most Slytherins wouldn't consider living as Muggles, they would think it was beneath them." Nasser looked out of the window and back at Cass again before he decided to share something with her about himself that wasn't very easy for him to admit, and he thought a bit before speaking, trying to find the right words.

"You know what Cass; you don’t have to be proud of your family to be proud of yourself. I'm very thankful for my own family, they're all very supportive though they're muggles, but - I lost my two best friends last year and it really affected my self-esteem. I felt that I couldn’t be proud of myself anymore – that it had to be something wrong with me that would make two people desert me. But I guess I figured somewhere along the way I didn’t need them to make me feel proud of myself, that it was what I did for myself that would make the difference to me," said Nasser contemplatively. Nasser shrugged his shoulders. "What I'm trying is I don’t think you should let any of this change the way you feel about yourself Cass. What do you think you should change about yourself?" he asked, this time taking care to sound a little less inquisitive. Nasser had long forgotten about his shyness and no longer minded talking to people on a personal level but he didn’t like embarrassing anyone that was for sure.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass pulled her legs under her chin and thought about what Nasser had said. Poor guy, losing two of his best friends. That was horrible. She was pretty sure she wouldn't of survived last year without Dana, Mack, or Pyro. Kris, another Slytherin acquaintance, had also been very important in her personal growth last year. Cassandra could hear the train's whistle, and wondered why it was already sounding. Normally, it only sounded if they were nearing the station. Cass shrugged off the feeling of dread that began to overcome her. " Personally, I don't think I need to change anything about myself. I think I'm a little rough around the edges. For example, I don't know which fork to begin with when I'm at a fancy dinner party, and I can't walk very well in heels. If I do wear them, I normally end up face down in the floor at least once during the evening." Cass remembered breaking her nose during a tryst in heels.

" I'm sorry about your friends though. That is terrible. I understand totally about that. I have one friend going to Beuxbattons and one going to the Salem Witches Institute. I don't get to see them very often, but I've made friends at Hogwarts. I didn't have many my first few years here. Honestly, every time I saw a Prefect or the Head Boy or Girl I would run in the other direction. I was never doing anything wrong, I was just very intimidated by them." Cass giggled when she remembered Percy Weasley, the Head Boy her first year. " I don't know if you remember Percy Weasley or not, but he always frightened me so." She stood up and puffed out her chest in a very Percy-ish manner. " I remembered when he walked the first years up to the dormitories. He puffed out his chest like he was so incredibly important." Cass doubled over in a fit of giggles and fell back into her seat.

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser smiled and chose his next words carefully, thinking that Cass was different than a lot of girls he knew but not in a bad way, quite the opposite. "Well, see that's what I mean. With all due respect to your family – they made a decision that affected your whole life – and you had to go along with that without being given a choice in the matter. So perhaps now you can think a bit more about what you want to do rather than what they want you to do Cass – and I'm glad you're aren’t going to change in any way. There are still good short guys out there you know," he said jokingly, when she said she didn’t like wearing heels.

"I – I did miss them very much at first. Still do at times in fact, but I've moved on, made some knew friends, maybe not as close, but I see it happening somewhere along the way. It took a while for me to see that – I was beginning to forget that you shouldn't give up just because you're on your own for a while. I've learnt a lot from that experience I guess, the best thing is it took my shyness away," he admitted. "Percy, yeah sure I remember him. Yeah, that was so annoying and yet funny," said Nasser chuckling, amused by Cass' fit of giggles and her accurate imitation of Percy Weasley. "Gosh, even I got on the wrong side of him." He went back to the story of how Cass had discovered she was pureblood as he was quite intrigued by it. "So how is your relationship with that Slytherin friend of yours now? Does he know you’re as pure as he is now?" said Nasser, with a slight sarcastic note in his voice as he said the word "pure".

((So sorry for the late reply))