"Who?" Cassandra thought carefully about who Harry knew, "Oh wait, you can't mean-the Flamels? Do you have any idea how much most people would pay for an invite like that? I mean there are some that would even kill for that sort of invitation."
"I know. So could you call Aunt Petunia and let her know. I suppose you should also tell the trustees. That way they don't feel slighted when I don't accept their invites this year. I think if I still send them Christmas gifts it should be okay. Oh and contact Jack; we'll have to figure out another time to do the consult on my wardrobe. Tell him I'll send him sketches and my ideas. My growth has slowed a little the last month or so I think my current wardrobe will suffice until spring."
"Will do. Are you going to send your response from school?"
"I'd like to, but I think you should check with Aunt Petunia first. So I'll pen it and send it on to you, once she okays it you can send it on via Hedwig. No other owl will get through."
"Okay."
"I've got class."
"I figured. I'll call your aunt in a bit."
"Sounds good."
Cassandra made a point of explaining to Petunia just how prestigious the invitation from the Flamels was before asking if she had permission to forward Harry's response. She wasn't terribly surprised when Petunia asked her to contact Felicia Corner and ask her to tea in Surrey. Of all the trustees Petunia was still the most comfortable with Felicia. After she got off the phone she flooed to the offices of Corner, Davies, and Ogden. She knew there would be a brief wait but she didn't expect it to take long.
Two hours later she was practically dancing. She had procured not only the permission of Harry's trustees, but she had been told to not forward Harry's response to the Flamels until she had invitations for the Flamels to their parties as well.
Cassandra really liked working for Harry, she revelled in the freedom she had as Harry's assistant. Her father was a staunch pureblood. Women in his mind should be decorative and obedient. He had been pleased that three of the ten children he had forced on her mother didn't suffer from the Yaxley "curse", but had been furious that Cassandra's magic had proved to be so weak. He had thought of her as property to be sold away to his own advantage. Thanks to Harry she'd been able to thumb her nose at his plans.
Harry treated her with respect she usually didn't get from anyone in the magical world. Her pay wasn't outstanding but the benefits were hard to beat. The apartment, an expense account that allowed her to go out to the theater once a month and to the cinema weekly, the fact that the work she did was very interesting, and the fact that he had quietly arranged that two nights a weeks she had access to a tutor so she could get her muggle qualifications had made it so she had no regrets about working for someone so much younger than her.
Of course one of the things neither of them announced to either Petunia or the trustees was that Cassandra quietly fed Harry information on anything and everything he wanted to know. Cassandra for all her weak magic hadn't been in Ravenclaw for nothing. She understood the magical world very well, and with her help Harry was rapidly overcoming the handicap of being raised in the muggle world, in fact he was turning it into a strength by taking advantage of muggle technology, information availability and a more global viewpoint.
Sirius hadn't been given a choice by Paige. She had half bullied, half coaxed him into recognizing his own faults. Sirius now wished he had taken a different tack and waited until he was better before talking to Harry. Instead he'd judged his godson based on a robe, based on his own prejudice and now his godson refused to have anything to do with him. Remus talked about how Harry had friends in all the houses.
Harry might have disappointed him by being in Slytherin, but the truth was James hadn't been like Sirius' parents. James and Lily, while possibly a bit disappointed, would have been proud of Harry regardless of the house he was sorted into. He had failed the cousin he loved best and honorary brother in so many ways. He was sure that until he managed to mend things with Harry, there would be no forgiveness in the afterlife for him. It hadn't been Albus Dumbledore who got him free of prison, no, it had been his godson. Sirius had trouble sleeping from guilt stacked upon guilt about the ways his godson had risen above the call of duty, and in all the ways he had failed in his.
He had asked Paige how she would apologize if she were him. Her answer had been far from comforting. "Grovel, then grovel some more, he's Slytherin so find out what matters to him, find ways you can help him, expect nothing back when you give him what he wants on a silver platter then expect to grovel some more. Oh, and did I say grovel? Then when it's all said and done be sure you thank him for the opportunity to grovel."
"I was afraid of that. Is that really how he struck you?
"Actually I've never met him. His secretary, yes, him, no. She did the preliminary and thorough interview. Lord Potter merely made the offer in writing. In true Slytherin fashion he offered me a bargain I couldn't refuse. I base my recommendation on my knowledge of Slytherins in general.
"If I were you I would first stop writing your godson. Those ashes were rather eloquent. Instead I would seek out his secretary, win her over enough that she'll tell you how to earn a second, no, sorry, third chance with your godson."
"How do I find her?"
....
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