James Potter's Little Sister(Severus Snape Fanfic)

16

Cassie left for Hogwarts a week before school was set to start. On her way to what would be her office, she ran into Severus.

"Oh, hello!" She exclaimed.

"Cassie, my official coworker now," he said.

"Yep," she replied brightly. "I was just getting ready to set up my office."

"Would you like my help?"

"Sure!"

Quickly enough they had her office set up comfortably. There was a sofa and armchairs for students to sit in during therapy sessions. The walls were a light blue to calm the students in case they were upset, and despite Hogwarts being a school for ages 11 and up, Cassie insisted on having Legos and crayons as well as pencils, markers, paint, play doh, and other things.

"Why do you need all this stuff?" Severus asked her.

"Because talking is not the best therapy for everyone. Sometimes they just need to not be alone and have something to occupy them. It helps overcome sensory overload ."

"What's that?"

"To put it simply, everything seems ten times more than it really is. Everything is louder, the air pressure feels greater, it feels hard to breathe every slight touch is like it was a shove. "

"That sounds absolutely horrid!"

"It is."

"Isn't there a potion that could cure it?"

"There is but jumping to a medicinal treatment isn't always best. For one thing, some people are against it. For another, it doesn't always work so it's best to start therapeutic treatments first. Besides, some people take other potions for other things and the mixture nullifies each other after consumption."

"True," Severus conceded.

When school started, everyone was talking about Miss Potter. Many of them had heard of her before: she was known throughout the gossiping members of the wizarding world as the woman who was madly in love with mass murderer Sirius Black.

Cassandra, however, was quite concerned with just how many students were coming to see her. Occasionally one or two would come just to meet the lover of a murderer but most of the students she saw came to recieve therapy.

Most of the Slytherins she saw were first and second year students who didn't think they wanted to be there. Some of their friends they had before Hogwarts had avoided them because of their placement. They were ridiculed and called evil by older students. The stigma around Slytherin house was crippling to the eleven and twelve year olds. Her response to them to get them to understand that Slytherin house was not evil was to say, "One of my best friends is a Slytherin, still to this day. And he's not evil at all." Of course this was in reference to the potions master.

The Hufflepuffs she saw were those with social anxiety who thought the Sorting Hat had done them wrong. "To be Hufflepuff is not to be a social butterfly," she told them. "Hufflepuffs are loyal and hard working and patient." Yet again stereotypes, not true house traits had caused the insecurities.

The Ravenclaws she saw were afraid they were not intelligent enough. Many of them were failing one or more classes and felt they did not live up to the standards of their house name. "Wisdom is mentioned, yes, but creativity and wit are also important. While your grades may not be top of the line, your paintings, songs, stories and other things are. Your wit helps you make good comebacks in a war of words and wisdom isn't just grades." When speaking to the Ravenclaws, she was saying all the things she wished someone had said to her.

When Gryffindor came fearing they were not bold enough to be of the lion house, she explained that bravery was as simple as being independent, being different, and being yourself. Bravery was not doing your homework because your friend needed help and you cared more about them than a grade or facing the teachers' anger. It was facing people when you would rather stay in your dorm all day. It was going away to school for the first time ever. Bravery was choosing Gryffindor.

She was glad that her therapies seemed to be helping. There were two cases that puzzled her however.

Ginny Weasley felt overwhelmed by her brothers and her crush. She was also having memory lapses which Cassandra attributed to severe anxiety.

There was a boy that confounded her as well. She didn't know his first name but she could tell that he was a Malfoy by his looks. He had said something about his father not wanting him to speak with her. He felt like he wasn't sure who he really was and she told him it would take time. He thanked her for her words and he left.

Cassandra felt like her therapies were not helping these two children, but was unsure of her next step.

For now, she had plans to meet Severus in Hogsmeade.