A Warm Cup of Tea

[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

Although she wasnt a big fan of tea, since she was more of a coffee drinker, she could still enjoy a hot cup of tea. Luckily it was Saturday and since she had completed all of her homework so she had the ability to just go and sit in the tea shop. When she left the castle it was mid afternoon and the sky was blue and clear with the occasional puffy cloud filling space. The air was cool since it was later September so instead of jeans and a t shirt she had on her house sweatshirt. The house sweat shirt was black with the crest of Slytherin on the front and then she had on normal jeans. After all she was out of class so why get dressed up.

After the short walk to Hogsmeade she then turned down the road which lead to the tea shop. There was the normal couple sitting down and talking or making out over a cup of tea. She didnt care that she was surrounded by couples because she wanted that cup of tea. After paying she found herself a nice table to sit at and enjoy. The tea was warm and in her bag she had a reading book and the news paper. First she pulled out the newspaper and opened it to the front page. Headlines were boring since nothing was happening in the world.

She read in major story before opening up the paper and looking to see if there was anything inside that caught her eye. She took a sip of her tea and sighed. When the paper lost her interest she looked up to see who was in the shop with her. A few couples, half of which were making out, and then a small group of friends. Cassandra wondering if she would ever find someone to make out with at the tea shop. It sounded like a nice idea but doing something so private in such a public setting confused her. Oh well she assumed they enjoyed it. She took another sip of her tea and turned to the door to see if anyone was about to come in.

[James Rivers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2v1ndpe.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 200px; height: 500px;]   If I could write you a song to make you fall in love I would already have you up under my arm - - - - - - - - - ► A Warm Cup of Tea James removed his apron and replaced it on his peg in the staff room, underneath he wore simple Jeans and a t-shirt. As Zonko's main stock boy the large or complicated deliveries were always made during his shifts. Today they had received a large order of biting Frisbees and James had come out the worse for it. One of the delivery men had dropped a box of Frisbees as he entered the shop and James had spent the next hour chasing them around the room, trying to replace the damaged displays as he went. Not that actually catching them had been much fun either. Usually he caught one because it had attached itself to his arm. Then came the part where he had to try and put it back in the box without more latching on. All-in-all, James needed a cup of tea. Normally James avoided Madam Puddifoot's like the plague but there were only so many Frisbee bites you could take without needing a cup of brew now. As he trundled down Hogsmead high street, pulling on his hoodie, he couldn't help but cringe at the thought of the snogging fest which awaited him. Despite James' accurate reputation as a flirt, he was a romantic at heart. But the couples in the tea shop, in his humble opinion were anything but romantics. They were show-offs, lording their prize in front of all the singletons. Not that James minded being single but a lot of his friends avoided the tea shop because they were single or newly broken-up and didn't want someone else's relationship shoved in the faces. However, Madam Pudifoot did do a lovely cuppa. The bell tingled lightly above his head as he walked in. Behind the counter, the fussy stout woman with an obsession for doilies, more commonly known as Madam Puddifoot, was drying tea cups. James let the door swing shut behind him and walked to the counter. With his most charming smile he ordered his tea, handed over his money and turned to survey the seating options. There were a ot of tables taken up by couples kissing or being disgustingly soppy over their drinks. One table was taken by a large group of friends, probably the Gobstone club or something similar. Only one chair remained empty and inviting. James vaguely recognised the girl sat there, she may have been in his class or one of Kadie's many study friends. By the jumper, she held a Slytherin crest which explained why she hadn't seen her James had been reluctantly dragged along to a few of those study sessions and they all seemed to blur into one long nap with Kadie and other random people in the background. Either way, she was a pretty girl, the same age as James with a spare seat at her table. If that wasn't an invite he wasn't the son of a shoe maker. Which he was. James carried his cup of hot tea to the table. "Mind if I sit here?"

[/color] he asked as he pulled up a chair opposite her, "Everywhere else appears to be taken"[/color] he said with a conspiratory smile and a glance around at all the full tea shop. "I'm James by the way."[/color] The young Gryffindor knew that any minute now, the girl's boyfriend would probably arrive or she would tell him that she was waiting for someone, James knew that she would probably tell him to clear off, but it was always worth a try. After all, if you don't ask, the answer is always no.

[/div]

you think you're cooler than me

TAGS: Cassandra , WORDS: 5-9-3 ,

LYRICS: Cooler than me - Mike Posner

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[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She had noticed the boy coming into the shop but she did not pay much attention to him since he looked busy. She just assumed he was grabbing something to drink and then going back to wherever he was going. So she took a sip of her tea and then turned back to the news paper in front of her. She pulled a muggle newspaper out of her bag and quickly slipped it inside of her wixard newspaper. her dad had sent it to her this morning and she was excited to see what was going on in the muggle world. However there was another reason why she really read the muggle newspaper.

She flipped pages until she came across the place where people announce engagments, marriages, and births. Her mothers last name was Davis. She first looked at the names in engagments and gave a soft sigh of relief. Her mother was not engaged again, and neither had her sister or brother. After her mother left Cassandra always wondered where she went and what she did. Then she always wondered if her siblings would reach out to her when important times came. But after 3 years of no contact she gave up hope.

If anyone asked why she was reading a muggle newspaper she jsut planned to tell them that she was taking muggle studies and that it was a homework assignment. She put the paper down when she finished reading the announments and took a sip of her tea. It was supposed to be calming but she did not feel calm. As she finished her sip the same boy who looked busy came over to her table. Then he asked to sit down with her.

"Yeah that seats empty. Feel free." She said and then waited to see where this was going to go. Anyone who saw them was probably confused that a Gryffindor was sitting with a Slytherin. "Nice to meet you James. I am Cassandra." She replied. Then she took a quick glance to see if there were any other Slytherins around. Of course she knew about the rivarly but she did not care about it and besides she was trying to be more friendly. And in the end it was just a cup of tea, she could leave whenever.

[James Rivers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2v1ndpe.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 200px; height: 500px;]   If I could write you a song to make you fall in love I would already have you up under my arm - - - - - - - - - ► A Warm Cup of Tea James smiled at the girl's reply. The seat was free. This, he deduced, probably meant she was single. If she was waiting to meet someone in Madam Pudifoot's, it would be a boy. A boyfriend, or a potential one. There was nothing James liked more in life than a single girl with a free seat for James Rivers. She went on to introduce herself as Cassandra, an interesting and unusual name. What interested him more was the little glance around the shop afterwards. Obviously she felt a little, if only on a subconscious level, wary of sitting with him. Whether it was because of his house, his reputation or some other factor, he didn't know. But it could be fun to find out. James moved to pick up his tea cup (white china with an outdated pink floral pattern - very manly), and noticed the newspapers lying on the table. The Daily Prophet was there, but folded among it's pages, he couldn't help but notice a muggle newspaper. So, she was sneakily reading muggle newspapers, eh? Not very Slytherin of her. Personally, James couldn't care less about what linage someone was. While he may not have been the best advertisement for how muggle-borns could make good witches or wizards; his best friend shared his muggle origins and was one of the best witches or their year. True enough, both sets of muggle parents were not particularly nice people but that wasn't the point. James' Father owned a shoe shop which had been the family business for four generations and for eleven years had expected to hand it down to his only son. His only son had come home from his first year at Hogwarts with other ideas though and when those other ideas didn't change after his second year at school, James was thrown from his parent's house. He had begun life as a muggle, briefly straddled both worlds and now, if anyone asked, he was a wizard without parents. James didn't make any effort to keep up with the news of either muggle or wizarding world, being carefree and somewhat lazy. He heard bits, here and there. His grandmother often put snippets of muggle news into her letters and if something big happened in the magical world, the common room was the best place to find out about it. But clearly Cassandra set a lot of store with keeping up the world outside of Hogwarts. So a Slytherin who was a little conscious of sitting with him and who secretly read muggle newspapers. This had fun written all over it. It also had very pretty written all over it. James had noticed that too. "So, Cassandra,"

[/color] he said, taking a small sip of his hot tea, "an intelligent, pretty, young lady, alone in a tea shop? That doesn't make sense to me!"[/color] He gave her a flash of his smile before continuing, "Anything exciting happening in the world?"[/color][/b][/color] James asked innocently. Would she mention the muggle newspaper? Then again, she really was very pretty so he wasn't sure if he really cared.


[/div]

you think you're cooler than me

TAGS: Cassandra , WORDS: 5-1-0 ,

LYRICS: Cooler than me - Mike Posner

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[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She was very self concious of her muggle side because she was in Slytherin. Everyone she spoke to would talk about how muggle borns were bad but what was worse was when a pureblood mated with a muggle. Well her father was a pureblood and came from a great family while her mother was pure muggle. When asked about her past she would often avoid the question or just say its me and my dad. That was were she left it since at this point it was just her and her father.

Once he sat down she looked over him just to see if she could draw anything from his appearance. To her he seemed like a good Gryffindor guy who showed all of those qualities. There was nothing wrong with those qualities of Gryffindors but she already felt like an outcast in Slytherin so she did not want to add to her reputation, expecially after one of the popular girls in the house started to hang out with her. But since the shop was already full she assumed she would not get to see anyone new entering the shop.

"I drink coffee and I figured some tea would be a good idea." She explained and then he mentioned the newspaper. "The usual stuff... worlds coming to an end and we are all about to die." She explained and then quickly folded up the newspaper so that it would not be taking over the entire table. Then she took another sip of her tea. "So why are you here? Where you hopeing to pick up a single lady for the evening?"

After she said that she waited for his reaction to see if he was actually looking for a girl for the evening or just someone to talk to. It was nice to have someone to talk to for once since she was used to sitting at the tea shop alone or being in the castle alone. She put the newspaper on her lap so the table was now completely cleared except for their cups of tea.

[James Rivers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2v1ndpe.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 200px; height: 500px;]   If I could write you a song to make you fall in love I would already have you up under my arm - - - - - - - - - ► A Warm Cup of Tea James couldn't help but laugh at her response; the world was coming to an end and they were all about to die. James could think of better places to die that Madam Pudifoot's!! He could certainly think of a lot cooler places to die. Still, at least he had a nice cup of tea! HE couldn't help but notice the vague answer though. Maybe she just wanted to talk about something more interesting than the news though, it certain was implied by her next questions. James flashed his smile again, place his tea cup carefully back onto it's saucer and said teasingly, "well, they're two very different questions. I am here because I work just down the road and after a long shift full of Fanged Frisbees, I needed a nice cup of tea and some pleasant company."

[/color] He leant forward and lowered his voice like he was telling Cassandra a secret, "And as much as I hate the decor and the disgusting need to suck your partners face off in front of the whole shop, you can get a lovely cup of tea here."[/color] He leant back with a half smile, "And as for the second question, I'm always hoping to pick up a single young lady and if I'd know the ones as pretty as you drank here, I would be in more often! Pretty single ladies make the best conversation."[/color] He said, eyes sparkling.

James took another sip of tea and studied the Slytherin over the lip. He knew she was testing him; to see if his intentions were honourable. But James wondered if she was judging him on his forward manner and flirtatious ways. James liked to talk to people, anyone and he loved to flirt with girls but to him it was always harmless. He respected women, any girlfriends he'd had were treated like princesses. He wasn't into flings and certainly wasn't into the typical relationships exhibited in the tea shop. James couldn't stand those who felt the need to show off their other half, like some kind of prize that they had won by being the best. Equally he couldn't stand those who hid their relationships like they were embarrassed by their partners. Relations should be natural, casual in public, intense in private. That's how James saw it. Many girlfriends had gotten fed up with his refusal to make grand gestures or snog in public. Well, and the flirting with other girls. Lots of girlfriends hadn't liked that. Or his friendship with Kadie. Looking back, James was amazed any relationships had lasted more than a week!

James replaced his tea cup, linked his fingers together and leaned forward on the table. "So, I know you're a Slytherin. I would say you're single although I can't work out why. I recognise you which probably means I've had classes with you, so you're a fifth year. Annnd.... Hmmm... I would say you're already desperately in love with me! How am I doing so far?"[/color] He grinned, showing that he was only joking, "Oh, and you're a coffee drinker with a secret passion for tea! Cheeky!"[/color] James watched her with his blue eyes, waiting to see how she would take his light joking.


[/div]

you think you're cooler than me

TAGS: Cassandra , WORDS: 5-3-4 ,

LYRICS: Cooler than me - Mike Posner

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[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

Secretly Cassandra had a very despressed side to her. Afterall she did have her mom and siblings walk out on her while she was in school and has never heard from them. On top of all of that she was worried about her blood status and if anything would happen to her. If the world did end like they always say then it would not bother her since her life was stuck in this depressed area. Somedays she thought it might be a blessing, so then the strong would survive and create a better race of human. of course she hoped they were witches and wizards that survived so everyone could be magical. But she doubted that would happen.

She thought for a moment about fanged frisbees. Could they really be all that fun for children? Every time you play then you get bitten and hurt. She figured it could be fun if you were throwing it your enemy.

Then she heard what he said after he leaned closer. "but the snogging is so much fun." she said just to see his reaction. Reactions were always the best and she felt like the statment was out of character. One trait she knew she had from Slytherin was her ability to be interesting and keep her the other person guessing about her charcter. "so why do pretty women have better conversations?" She asked just out of curiously. In her opinion everyone had the potiental for good conversation. Although pretty women were at least pretty to look at so even if she was not talking then the guy had something to look at.

She never really saw herself as extremely pretty. Maybe she was decent looking but her body was just normal. She never saw boys flocking to talk to her or carry her books like they did for other girls. Some of the girls in her house could just give guys this look and they would basically be begging for a date with them. It happened so often and Cassandra just felt left out or like she missed something along the way. She looked back down at the tea and swirled it around in the cup a bit.

"Why would you guess that I am single? Is it because I am not snogging anyone in this place or some other reason?" She asked but never answered if he was right. Then she laughed when he suggested that she was madly in love with him. "In that area you are wrong since I am not desperately in love with you." She said and gave him a smile since she just disproved him.

[James Rivers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2v1ndpe.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 200px; height: 500px;]   If I could write you a song to make you fall in love I would already have you up under my arm - - - - - - - - - ► A Warm Cup of Tea James smiled at Arianne's answer. She was teasing him back - always a good sign. It meant she wasn't offended by his joking and was willing to take the conversation further. And that was something he was very glad of. Cassandra seemed like a nice enough girl; she hadn't automatically turned him away or ignored him when he sat down with her which meant she either had a sense of adventure or curiosity or both. She was also very good looking, but in a normal girl sort of way. Like the girl next door crush that every teenage boy had. James had never been really attracted to the kinds of girls who knew how gorgeous they were and used it as a kind of weapon against men. They tended not to be interested in conversation either, preferring, in his experience, to cut to the chase.   Girls who had never believed themselves particularly good looking were often better at conversation because they'd had more practise at it. Having spent their lives believing they needed to depend on their ability to converse rather than their ability to stun with looks, meant they were almost always better at conversation than the girls who walked around like they owned the place. But that was a lot to put into a few words over a cup of tea with a stranger. "Oh, Cassandra,"

[/color] he sighed, "I have nothing against snogging - don't get me wrong, I think it's one of God's greatest gifts. But it's only a gift for the two involved. Not quite as fabulous for those watching! And as for your question; don't ask me to unravel the mystery the is the female mind. Personally I will talk to anyone and everyone, as you may have noticed, but if they're pretty it does seem to make the conversation flow a little easier."[/color] He gave her another flash of his smile.
 
As she looked down, swirling the tea around her cup and asked why he thought she was single, James felt the first jolt of fear that he may have offended her. Despite his light teasing, James never intended to offend and always felt terribly guilty if he did. But then she laughed, the first time James had heard her do so, and he smiled again. He wasn't in trouble, she was just curious.
 
"Well, first things first. I would guess that you were single first, by the fact that you aren't meeting anyone here because you let me sit down at table. Second, you didn't automatically react or get upset when I implied you were single earlier which most girls in relationships do, unless they're looking for a bit on the side. Thirdly, you put your paper away which means you're interested in talking to me, even if only subconsciously, you're sizing me up. And lastly because a girl as pretty as you would have a boyfriend who doted on her and would never let her sit alone in Madam Pudifoot's on a Saturday evening. So I guess you're either single or you're in a relationship but looking for a bit on the side and as you seem like a decent sort of girl (despite being Slytherin) I went for the first option. Phew!"[/color] He breathed out dramatically and flopped back, as if exhausted in his chair.
 
Then he raised his eyebrows at her and his face became slightly more serious, "So now you know the inner workings of my mind, I have a question for you; why hide a muggle newspaper?"[/color] He asked, nodding towards where she had just put her two papers away. Perhaps that was too personal, but she could always tell him to shove off.


[/div]

you think you're cooler than me

TAGS: Cassandra , WORDS: 6-1-6 ,

LYRICS: Cooler than me - Mike Posner

Notes: curiously, james went very posh for this post!

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[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She women running the shop was right, her tea was ment to be calming. At this moment Cassandra felt so calm and relaxed. Probably because he was easy to talk to and he seemed to enjoy conversation. Normally she kept to herself and spoke to the people in her house. However she had been working on being more talkative to people and at least with James it was pretty easy.

Then she listened to his answer to her previous questions. It made sense since the female mind was complicated and snogging was kind of a private event. Public kissing to show everyone that you are a couple was ok in small kisses. Tongue action was left for the dorm room or wherever you are when its private. She tried to image what snogging felt like. Was it wet? Then her mind wandered to if she was to snog James where would they go? He could not go to her common room and she could not go to his. As she was thinking she noticed that her tea was almost gone so she quickly tapped the side of the cup and muttered something so it filled back up with boiling hot tea. Thats better she thought.

Should she tell him if she was single or not? His answer was interesting because it took in many different aspects. But at the end of the answer she decided to answer him. "I am single. I just like the tea shop and when all of the people are snogging they are quiet so I can get some reading done and still be amoung my peers." She said and took a small sip of tea.

Then he asked her about the muggle news paper. For a moment she did not know what to do. "um... I am reading it for muggle studies class." She said and figured he would not believe her. It was a believeable lie but she was not in muggle studies class. "But actually... I am a half blood. I keep it a secret because of the people in my house." She explained and looked down at the newspaper in her lap. "Promise you wont tell anyone?"

[James Rivers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2v1ndpe.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 200px; height: 500px;]   If I could write you a song to make you fall in love I would already have you up under my arm - - - - - - - - - ► A Warm Cup of Tea James watched her thinking about his answer as he took a sip of his cooling tea. He couldn't help but wonder just how experienced she was in relationships. James was an easy going sort of person so really wasn't judgemental about how much experience someone had (unless it was a LOT - then he couldn't help but judge). James had found that although going into a relationship with someone who had been in a serious relationship before was often easier at the start, things got more complicated after a while as each partner expected different things from the union. Whereas dating a girl who had never really had a boyfriend before was, at first a lot more slow and cautious but after a while it became easier to get into a rhythm with each other. James' relationships usually lasted weeks or years, rarely between the two extremes. James knew, just as every boy like him knew, that there were complications in dating someone from a different house but the Gryffindor tried to see the perks. Firstly, you didn't spend all your time with each other so the need to kill the other person didn't arise. Secondly, when you did spend time with that person, it was all the more special. Thirdly, it meant you each had a different group of friends which made arguments or break ups much less messy and also meant you had someone to either moan at if things were going badly or tell all the exciting details to when it was going well. Fourthly, and most apt for James, was that when you were in different houses, it was easier to pretend you were still single. For Mr. Rivers this meant he could continue his flirting without the scolding looks across the common room or worrying about who he was upsetting. Unfortunately there were downsides. His flirting with other girls, harmless as it was, had been the cause of many a break up. His biggest problem in relationships though, had been Kadie Taylor. His best friend and almost constant ally. So many girlfriends had suspected something between the two of them which had just never been there. More than one girl had given him the ultimatum "It's me or Kadie" and he always picked his best friend, just as she would for him. If for nothing else, then for the fact that he would have one less sofa to sleep on over the summer holidays! James was a little surprised when Cassandra confessed that she was single. Not from the fact that he had been right, but that she'd caved so easily. She had seemed to be guarding it like a secret but had given in at the force of his argument. He honestly could never work out why there were so many single girls like this. Guys his age were too busy chasing after the well developed girls with blond hair and fake nails when the real gems hid in places like the teashop or the library, behind a veil of self-doubt and shyness. The quiet ones kissed just as well as the obnoxious ones (he'd checked) and kissed less people, which was always a bonus. James raised an eyebrow when she claimed to be reading the newspaper for muggle studies; mostly because why would you hide your homework but also because hardly any Slytherins took muggle studies, famous as they were for being obsessed with 'pure blood'. James was muggle born but knew that hardly any witch or wizard now days was actually pure blood. There just weren't enough magical people to go around! And with a portion of magical people, like himself, born to muggles the pure blood was spread pretty thin. However, once again the truth wasn't long in coming. His eyebrows raised a little further but then the smile broke out across his face. "Don't worry,"

[/color] he assured her, "I'm hardly going to get hung up about your blood status. I'm muggle born myself although, my parents being who they are, I'm the last to admit it. So I won't tell if you won't!"[/color] He gave her a cheeky wink and drained the remainder of his tea cup before copying her refill spell so that his cup was brimming. "So, what's your deal then? Wizarding Father fell for muggle Mother, whirlwind romance, beautiful baby girl and happy ever after? And I'm sure there must be a ton of 'half bloods' in Slytherin who're hiding it!"[/color] he smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way, "You could lead the Slytherin revolution!"[/color]

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you think you're cooler than me

TAGS: Cassandra , WORDS: 7-5-9 ,

LYRICS: Cooler than me - Mike Posner

Notes: muse gone mad!

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[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

She wasnt sure how to answer him when he aksed about her blood line. She had never told anyone about her blood line. "Um... my mother was a muggle." She said. "She and my dad married and he kept his blood a secret from her until I showed that I had magical blood in me. Then he admitted everything and ended up leaving my dad." She explained and sighed. "I have an older brother and sister that I havent seen since my mom left."

The whole point to reading the muggle newspaper was to make sure that her siblings and her mother were still normal and not off getting married or having babies. It was so she wouldnt miss out on important times in their lives even thought they had enver contacted her. The last time she hear from her mom was the letter her mom snet that said that she was sorry about this that she was leaving her father.

"i am hiding it since I've heard so many people in my house talk about how they hate half bloods because they are worse than muggles." She explained. Sometimes she feared for her life when they talked about murdering they half bloods because they were worse than muggle borns. it scared her alot, so she kept her blood status a secret until the moment she told james.

it felt great to talk to someone about her being a half blood. her father had fallen in love with her mother and choose to keep his past a secret so now Cassandra was choosen to suffer. But Cassandra did not want to suffer anymore. She wanted a life where she wasnt going to hide her blood line. But until she left the Slytherin house then she would have to hide her blood line.

She played with her tea for a moment and then looked back up at him. "So tell me about your past since i just told you mine." She said and waited to see if he would. It only made sense for him to tell her his since she just old him her biggest secret.

[James Rivers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2v1ndpe.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 200px; height: 500px;]   If I could write you a song to make you fall in love I would already have you up under my arm - - - - - - - - - ► A Warm Cup of Tea James' face remained serious while she spoke. He was definitely a light-hearted, jokey sort of person but when a nice girl was telling you her mother had left because she had a magical husband and daughter, you kept the jokes to a minimum. Although he couldn't help but frown at the thought of her brother and sister not keeping in touch. Although James was an only child so he didn't know how a sibling relationship truly worked. He could see why she would hide her blood status, considering her house but couldn't help but wonder why she wore her Slytherin jumper when she was intending on reading a muggle paper. Maybe she just hadn't thought that far ahead. After all, James hadn't thought to take his dragon hid gloves to work even though he knew the Fanged Frisbees were due in. He did feel for her though. James knew what it was like to have parents abandon you because of magic, although at least she still had her Father. Sounded like he was a decent sort of guy. Well, apart from hiding the fact he was a wizard from his wife. That must have been hard for Cassandra; learning magic existed, that she was a witch and losing most of her family in one fell swoop. At least James' parents had initially been excited about the prospect of a wizard in the family. James couldn't help but scowl when Cassandra mentioned how half-bloods were viewed in her house, but didn't press the issue. She clearly found her blood status to be something to be ashamed of within Slytherin, or at least, all the other Slytherins saw it that way. James knew that the whole of Slytherin house couldn't be made of pure blood wizards. There just weren't that many left with pure, 100% wizarding blood and some of them were in other houses. He imagined that those she had heard talking about their hatred of half-bloods were probably hiding some blood status secrets of their own, desperate to cover their own backs. James couldn't feel that it was such a stupid prejudice to hold and openly admitted that he instantly judged anyone who held that prejudice. He watched her play with her tea cup then smiled grimly at her question. He exhaled quickly from his nose, in a sort of half sigh, before answering, "Well, both my parents are muggles. My Dad owns a shoe shop, the family's lived above it for five generations now. I'm actually James Rivers the Fifth, technically! So, as the only child I grew up expecting to work in the shop and eventually own it and pass it down to my own son. But then I got my Hogwarts letter. Dad was thrilled. He dreamed of magical ways to improve shoe making. Aiming high obviously."

[/color] He gave a quick, humourless smile. "Well, I came home after my first year and told them I wanted to be a Quidditch player! They weren't impressed but imagined that I'd grow out of it. Except when I came home from second year, I still wanted to play a magical game they'd never heard of professionally. Dad's dreams were shattered. So they disowned me. Started cooking meals for two, telling friends I had died and introducing themselves as a childless couple. So obviously I didn't hang around there. I sofa surfed for the rest of the summer. Eventually my Gran found out what had happened. Well she was so mad at my parents that she got in contact with me and stopped talking to them until they took me back in. Which has yet to happen! So I stay at Hogwarts at Christmas then spend the summer with my Gran or on friend's couches. I prefer to tell people I just don't have any parents, I feel ashamed to be related to them really."[/color] He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a 'what-can-you-do-about-it' sort of smile, as he reached for his tea. He took a quick sip then asked, "So, what's your Dad like? Does he work in the magical world? And does he use magic around the house now your Mum's gone?"[/color]

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you think you're cooler than me

TAGS: Cassandra , WORDS: 6-9-1 ,

LYRICS: Cooler than me - Mike Posner

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[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

After she told him about her situation she felt like she sucked all of the fun out of their conversation. Now it was very depressing and she felt bad. She glanced down at her muggle newspaper and then made sure it was tucked away into her backpack. No one would ahve seen it since she kept it blocked by the wizarding newspaper. if one of her Slytherin friends had joined her and saw it then you would have told them that she was reading it for muggles study class and that it was a totally lame assignment since muggles were so boring.

She was thinking back to one night in the common room during her second year where they were talking about blood status and pulled out the old year books from the Slytherin house to find everyone's parents. Everyone who was definately pureblood could pick thier parents out right away. Of course she knew that there were others that hid thier blood status like Cassandra but they all had decent lies like 'my parents went to a different school' or 'oh my parents were homeschooled by thier pureblooded parents'. But then there was an idiot first year who said that he was muggle born. She cant recall ever seeing him again.

Then she listened to his story. It was just as sad as her story and now she felt bad that she brought all it up since she really just wanted to have fun. They were two very depressed people. "at least your Gran had stood up for you and been there for you." She said and gave a soft smile to at least bring up the mood. "my dad is good. He owns a little shop in Diagon Alley off one of those little side streets but he sells potions supplies. And oh yes he uses magic so much now that my mom has left." She said. "We actually moved to a more private area outside of London so we can do magic... well he can. I am only 15 so I cant yet." She said and smiled. She took another sip of tea. "by the way if you ever need... my dad loves having people over since the house feels empty without my mom and siblins. So we have an open couch if you ever need."

[James Rivers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/2v1ndpe.jpg), border: solid #ffffff 5px; width: 200px; height: 500px;]   If I could write you a song to make you fall in love I would already have you up under my arm - - - - - - - - - ► A Warm Cup of Tea James saw the look on her face and was sorry for bringing the whole subject of family history up. It clearly upset her. And while James had long ago stopped being upset about his parents' behaviour it still triggered a raw angry feeling somewhere down in his gut. So one upset and one angry teenager didn't make for very light conversation. Luckily, it sounded like Cassandra's Dad was a decent sort of guy, who obviously took good care of his daughter. It was just a shame her Mum hadn't stuck around to find out about the gifts her husband and daughter possessed. Not dissimilar to James' own parents who couldn't even wait until their son turned seventeen and could show them what he had learned with the talents he had been born with. But Cassandra had turned the subject to lighter topics and James smiled as she talked about her Father's shop and their moving house. Her offer was more than generous, although he couldn't help but believe she was perhaps only mentioning it to bring the subject round to lighter topics. All the same, he gave her a smile as he replied, "Well, it'd probably be a good idea to ask your Father first! Some strange kid turning up on his doorstep during the summer holiday could be a bit of a shock! What would be brilliant would be a summer job! I mean this place,"

[/color] He gestured to the town around them, "quietens down when school breaks out. Usually I find myself a job in a muggle shop as I'm not much use in Diagon alley, being too young to do magic out of school and all. Plus I imagine you help him out over the summer and there's only so much non-magical help a small ingredients shop needs! But if you guys ever did want help, I'd happily comply."[/color] He gave her another grin.

Usually at the end of summer term, he bought himself a bag full of floo powder then found himself a friend with charitable parents and a spare sofa. Usually he started at Kadie's house (behind her parents back - but they weren't nice people so who cared!) stayed a couple of weeks, then moved to his Gran's for a weekend - he didn't like too stay too long, she didn't have much money and he felt himself a burden. Then the rest of the holidays he'd move between houses, taking the floo network to the nearest abandoned house he could find to his place of work. He made sure he earned himself enough money to buy his school supplies and get him through the year as his job as Zonko's was only two or three shifts a week as school work always came first.

James thought he better bring the talk around to something far more important than his own stupid family. He took a sip of his tea, his eyes twinkling at Cassandra over the cup, "So, you know, you're really very beautiful. If you weren't in Slytherin I might consider starting up a conversation out of no where, maybe in a coffee shop, just to have an excuse to talk to you."[/color] His eyes continued to twinkle as he took another sip of tea. While James liked to flirt, it wasn't very often he was truly attracted to someone, he might think them good looking, but to actually be attractive to him, a girl needed a personality to match her looks. He was finding talking to Cassandra, really very easy.


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you think you're cooler than me

TAGS: Cassandra , WORDS: 5-9-1 ,

LYRICS: Cooler than me - Mike Posner

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[Cassandra Lynn Murphy]

"i am not going to lie... my dad would not care. He just wants the house full of life again. it has been very quiet lately." She explained. Actually she went home for a weekend about a month ago. Her dad got permission from the head master and she took the Floo network home for the weekend. It was really a depressing visit. She spent the entire weekend cleaning and cooking for her dad. At least she would make a good house wife one day, if the time ever came. Eventually she saw herself working and not being just a stay at home wife. But why bother thinking about the future.

"yeah that age restriction is a killer. I would just love to practice magic while at home. It would make keeping the house clean so much easier and I would be able to work on more advanced skilled." She said. It was truely her dream to be able to use magic while at home. Every day she would practice. Once in a while her father let her help him with a potion but she was not able to do it on her own. He had to be there to help. "And I will let him know that if he needs help there is a volunteer."

She thought about her last summer home. It was kind of boring since her friends did not come to visit and the most enjoyment she got was walking around Diagon alley and seeing other magical people. Then she bought a cat last summer and spent most of her time taking care of the cat. Her cat was a pretty light grey color with some white spots. It made the summer alot more enjoyable. Her dad even seemed to perk up a bit when she brought home the cat.

When she looked back at James she noticed the sparkle in his eyes. Then she kind of blushed when he said that she was beautiful. "Um... Thank you. But I am a Slytherin and you are still talking to me." She commented. "So does this mean that you will come up and talk to me in the hallways before class even though I am a slytherin?" She asked and smirked as she waited for his answer. Thier houses were very different and very much against each other so it could be interested if they were to be seen in the hallway talking together. How would the other Slytherin Girls react? She smiled as she thought about it.