As far as she was concerned, there was nothing special about Cassidy Winters. She's simply a girl who drinks far too much coffee than she would like to admit and reads books to escape her life as an unwanted orphan. Then, when she appears in a world...
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Harry's POV:
"I'm not sure about this," breathed Hermione as we entered Bathilda's home.
"Don't do anything she says," Cassidy whispered to me. "The second she tries to get you alone, kill her."
I looked at her as though she were crazy. "Kill her-?"
"Come!" called Bathilda from the next room. We had found her a few blocks away from the cemetery and she had led us here.
"It's okay," I told them reassuringly, and I led the way into the sitting room.
Bathilda was tottering around the place lighting candles, but it was still very dark, not to mention extremely dirty.
"Miss Bagshot?" I called as I noticed a picture on a nearby bookshelf. I took the picture into my hand and went over to her. Bathilda looked up at my voice, and the Horcrux beat faster upon my chest. "Who is this person?" I asked her, pushing the picture forward.
She peered at it solemnly, then up at me.
"Do you know who this is?" I repeated. "This man? Do you know him? What's he called?"
Bathilda merely looked vague. Before a flash of red passed my face.
"Bombarda!" I heard Cassidy say from behind me.
I felt a warm liquid hit my clothes and I stumbled back. Blood. I looked to where Bathilda was just seconds before to see a snake perched on the chair staring us down. Nagini.
"Wands out!" Hermione yelled. "Stupefy!"
Nagini had merely moved its body to the side and dodged the spell. I moved behind an armchair and took my wand out.
"Hey, Nagini," Cassidy called out in a taunting voice. "I just wanna say it's too bad you're stuck as a snake. You were kinda cute before the whole blood curse thing."
Nagini hissed, "You foolish girl"
"I can't understand you," Cassidy sighed before jumping up from behind the table she was hiding behind. "Caeco hexia!"
I realized that Nagini was obviously speaking Parseltongue....that was why she wouldn't speak.
"She called you a foolish girl, Cass," I exclaimed.
"Good to know!" Cassidy replied, a smile evident in her tone.
I scrambled up and saw the snake outlined against the landing light. It struck, and Hermione dived aside with a shriek.
Cassidy's deflected curse hit the curtained window, which shattered. Frozen air filled the room as I ducked to avoid another shower of broken glass and my foot slipped on a pencil-like something- my wand.
