Stars {Remus Lupin} ✓

74. GRADUATION

| CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR |

GRADUATION.

GRADUATION HAD COME FAR QUICKER than Cassiopeia ever expected it to. She couldn't believe that her seven years at Hogwarts were already up and now it was time for her to go out into the real world. The mere thought of having to find a job during the beginnings of a war was causing anxiety to bubble in her stomach, she didn't even know how long she had been sitting on the bathroom door next to the toilet, emptying the contents of her breakfast out into it. But it was certainly longer than she had hoped for.

When she was finally done and the nauseas feeling eased off, the black haired girl slowly cleaned herself up before getting dressed into her best clothes; which consisted of a dark green dress that rested at her mid-thigh, her long legs were cladded in a pair of nude tights. She slipped on a pair of black heels giving her height a boost it certainly needed. She even took the time to comb her usually insanely messy locks before putting them into a nice bun at the back of her head with some stray strands framing her face.

Her make-up was elegantly casual, nude eyeshadow with a thin line of jet black eyeliner that caused her piercing blue eyes to pop. Her plump lips were now a baby pink colour. Looking into the full-body mirror, Cassiopeia felt a small smile tugging at her lips. There was no doubt in her mind that she would dearly miss Hogwarts, but the thought of starting her life with the love of her life sounded exciting; Lyall Lupin had helped the pair find a small cottage not that far from his own one, it was perfect and it meant that the spare bedroom in Sirius' flat was now up for offers and she might've suggested that a certain other Slytherin move in there, but she knew that would take time and patience. 

James had proposed to Lily during the night before their graduation. He kept all of his friends up and snuck Cassiopeia and Olivia into the Gryffindor common to see the proposal. Much to everyone's surprise, Lily actually said yes which resulted in James slapping himself across the face; thinking he was fast asleep, when he realised he wasn't, he almost burst into tears as he shockingly placed the ring onto her finger.

For the rest of that night, the Marauders, Lily, Marlene, Liv and Cass stayed up together in the boy's dormitory, joking around, drinking and enjoying their very last night at the school of witchcraft and wizardry.

"You alright?" Remus' voice caught Cass' attention as they walked hand-in-hand towards the scarlet train for their last ever train ride back home, "You look a bit pale."

"Yeah, I think I drank too much last night," She dismissed it.

He looked at her with a puzzled expression, "You hardly drank though."

"Maybe that's the problem," She chuckled as she placed her other hand on his bicep, hugging his arm closer to her, "I'm fine, Remmy, don't worry."

"How can I not worry?"

"By turning that frown upside down," She giggled, using her fingers to lift Remus' lips up into a smile. As he watched her, he couldn't help but smile genuinely; especially when he saw the happiness radiating from her.

"Come on you two," James said, pushing the couple, "Or we'll leave without you."

Cassiopeia rolled her eyes, she knew the real reason James was so eager to get on the train was due to Lily already boarding it along with Marlene, Liv, Sirius and Peter, and he hadn't been able to spend more than ten minutes away from the redhead recently.

As Remus stayed by the door, gesturing for the Slytherin to get on, James let out an annoyed huffed and pushed her out of the way, stepping onboard first, "How gentlemanly," Cass muttered sarcastically as she followed the spectacled boy in, however, she lingered back slightly, only moving forwards when Remus got on board.

They found their compartment without a single problem, but as soon as Cassiopeia entered, she felt her stomach turn, "Whoever is eating liquorice, if you don't throw it away, I will kill you," She said looking around her friends and brother with a serious expression.

In a flash, Peter jumped out of his seat and rushed over to the window, opening it, he threw the Liquorice Wand out, refusing to make eye contact with the black haired girl. 

"Thank you Peter," She nodded as she sat down besides Remus, ignoring the worried look he was sending her. She took in a deep breath, trying to get the nauseas feeling to disappear.

"What's wrong with you?" Sirius questioned as the train began moving, he eyed her pale - almost green - complexion.

"Nothing," Cassiopeia muttered, "I must've ate something that didn't sit right," She shrugged casually but looked confused when she saw Lily's eyes widening.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Lily suddenly shot out of her seat, causing James to pout as he watched her, "Cass, come with me?"

Cassiopeia looked up at her friend, noticing Lily's wide eyes she nodded, "Okay," Cass muttered, she patted Remus' knee as she stood up, following Lily out of the compartment and towards the girl's bathroom.

"So, you're sick?"

"Yep."

"I see."

Cassiopeia looked more than confused, "What?"

Lily glanced around them, making sure no one was in earshot, "How long have you been sick for?"

The black haired girl shrugged, "Dunno, the last couple of days. It's probably stress, don't fret, Lils," She said, nudging her friend's side as she sent her the most convincing smile she could muster.

"Do you think you could be....you know...pregnant?" The redhead said the last word in a hushed voice.

"Do you want me to vomit on your shoes?" Cassiopeia asked rhetorically, "I'm not pregnant."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Oh, yeah? How do you know that?"

Truthfully, Cassiopeia didn't know, but she assumed that the stress of their N.E.W.T.s, the stress of finishing school, moving into a small cottage with Remus and the upcoming war were good enough reasons for the sickness to come, "Like I said, I'm stressed, it'll probably go away in a day," She said casually but she couldn't help as her thoughts suddenly became wild, could there be a possibility that Lily was actually right?

Lily stopped walking, turning her full body to Cass, "I bet you ten Galleons that I'm right," She held her hand out.

Cassiopeia smirked, placing her hand in Lily's, "You've got yourself a deal, Evans."