Author's Notes: This winter was hard and I was just starting to feel better when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. My state has been under a stay-at-home order for two weeks and I'm working from home. I finally spent some time working on my writing to escape reality. I'd love to know what you think.

The First April

Cassius had gotten a scroll and small package at breakfast but he hadn't opened them at the table. Now that they were in their classroom, Cassius was sitting cross-legged on the wide windowsill, smiling as he read whatever was written on the scroll. Cassius had a nice smile, Corbin thought to himself.

"Is that from your mum and dad?" Corbin asked curiously. He had seen Cassius's brother and aunt, but Cassius had never mentioned his parents.

"From my aunt," Cassius answered, putting down the scroll.

"From your Aunt Malfoy?" Corbin asked, remembering the wizarding custom of referring to aunts and uncles by their surname.

"Who?" Cassius looked up at him with a raised brow, as he started opening the package.

"Your aunt - at the last visiting weekend, your aunt was here and she has hair like yours, so she's a Malfoy."

"She was. But she's been married to my Uncle Black since before I was born," Cassius said, pulling a biscuit tin, a book, an ink pot, and two quills from the small box.

"Oh, your Aunt Black," Corbin murmured, thinking that this aunt had to be the intended recipient of the unfinished letter he had found in Hogwarts a History. He wondered if she was the mother of Regulus and Sirius Black. He'd never seen Cassius talking to either one of them. He'd gone to school with three of his cousins, one in the same grade, and he couldn't imagine not talking to them….he missed them terribly. He wasn't able to phone them since Hogwarts didn't have a telephone and he couldn't write, his parents would be furious if they heard an owl had delivered a letter to someone in their family. His thoughts were interrupted by something bumping his hand. He looked down to see the open biscuit tin. Corbin smiled and took a biscuit, putting it in his mouth before he could say thank you.

They sat in companionable silence, eating several biscuits each.

"My mother's dead," Cassius said softly, "She died. Killed. She killed herself dead."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Corbin said. He wondered if the wizarding world believed that people like Cassius's mother would burn in hell for what they had done. It was what Corbin had been taught: suicide was a sin. "You must miss her."

"I don't remember her," Cassius said, looking out the window, "I was little."

Corbin watched as tears began to run unchecked down Cassius's pale cheek. He reached out tentatively, and put his hand on top of Cassius's. He breathed in sharply as Cassius moved to take Corbin's hand in an iron grip. They sat in silence for a long while and Corbin was just beginning to resign himself to never having feeling in his hand again when Cassius let it go and stood up.

"I finished the reading for Herbology so you can have the book now." Cassius said, as if nothing had happened.

"Thanks," Corbin said, before he could stop himself. Cassius didn't answer as he opened their Care of Magical Creatures book.

Owen looked down the table at where Hill was sitting by himself, reading a book as he ate a bowl of soup. Hill was strange, Owen thought to himself. Even though it was almost the end of the school year, he hadn't made any friends. He was almost as quiet as Cassie was now, which reminded him…

"Cassie, has Dumbledore told you if you'll be in classes again next year?"

Cassius nodded, reaching for the pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Yes, he told you or yes you'll be in classes?" Owen asked.

"In classes."

"That's brilliant!" Owen grinned, "Then we can sit together and study together and you won't be stuck with Hill."

"What do you mean?" Cassius asked, glancing over to where Hill sat.

"You've had to spend every day with him, it must be boring, he never talks," Owen said.

Cassius looked confused.

"What?" Owen asked, unsure of what Cassius could be confused about.

"He doesn't talk?" Cassius asked.

"Barely does," Owen nodded, "You must know that."

"I think he talks to me."

"Oh," Owen looked over at Hill again, Hill's soup spoon was almost to his open mouth but Hill was ignoring it as he turned the page in his book. Owen wondered what was so interesting.

"Is your father coming to visit this weekend?" Corbin asked.

"No. No," Cassius shook his head. "He can't leave home anymore. It's not safe. My grandfather and great-grandfather are going to visit. You'll like them, only if Great-Grandfather asks you where we're sailing, please say the Galápagos Islands."

Corbin laughed, "Really?"

"It doesn't hurt to humour him." Cassius was obviously reciting something another family member had said.

"No, it doesn't." Corbin agreed, schooling his face to be more solemn. "How long has he been sailing there?"

Cassius thought for a moment, "For as long as I can remember."

"He doesn't mind that it's taking a long time?" Corbin decided it didn't hurt to pretend Cassius had a good memory.

"Oh, he's not always sailing there. Sometimes he's on a train to Ipswich," Cassius smiled.

Corbin was looking forward to meeting Cassius's grandfather and great-grandfather, and he wondered what was wrong with Cassius's father that the world was too hazardous for him.