When we align; a Neville Longbottom fanfiction

Walking the grounds had become somewhat of a tradition for Cass whenever she felt like the walls of the castle would crumble on her. She'd always liked being outside, but now she enjoyed it more than ever. The morning after the gathering, she found herself wandering around, thinking about the previous evening, letting the crisp October air fill her lungs.

As she approached the Black Lake, she saw someone throwing pebbles by the shore. His olive skin shone in the faint sun, the muscles on his toned shoulders and long arms flexing as he flung yet another stone, breaking the calm surface of the water. When he heard her, he turned around. His bare torso was covered in pink scars that reflected the light. Cass got the feeling that she had already seen him somewhere. His triangular face, fine brown hair and prominent brown eyes darkened by eyeliner were almost familiar. He bared his teeth as she kept walking toward him with furrowed eyebrows.

"I know you." She said, coming to a halt a few steps away from him.

"You do?" He smirked, passing a hand through his hair.

She had already seen that smirk a couple of years back, in a dusty, black and white photograph hung in a hidden MACUSA corridor.

"You're Jacob Graves."

His smirk transformed into a hearty laugh as he grabbed a shirt hung on a branch of a nearby tree. "I thought you were going to say that you had seen me in your dreams," he buttoned his shirt and went back to looking at Cass, who had snorted,  "I would have put some clothes on if I thought you actually knew me."

"Oh, it's fine. I did enjoy the view." She rolled her eyes, trying her best to bite back a smile.

Jacob gave a bow, his forehead almost touching the ground. "How do you know me?"

"I used to work at MACUSA, Unidentifiables. You were an Auror."

"Indeed." He studied her for a minute. "I don't seem to remember you."

"Right," Cass blushed, holding out a hand, "I'm Cassandra Pierce, I teach Potions."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cassandra." He held her hand for a moment longer than necessary, his gaze still lingering on her. "Your accent is super British. I've been here for four years and..." he brought a hand to his lips, acknowledging his New York accent with a laugh.

"That's because I was born here," she explained, looking at the lake, "I only transferred to Ilvermorny after my fifth year."

He nodded, giving her a long, curious look. "What made you change schools?"

"Same reason that made you come here, I reckon. The War."

"Yeah." He sighed. He didn't speak for a couple of minutes but joined her in gazing at the water. "Let me guess," he said, raising an eyebrow, "Pukwudgie?"

Cass tilted her head backwards in a booming laugh. "Not at all. Horned Serpent. You? Thunderbird?"

"You got it." He winked. "How did you know?"

She shrugged. "Just a feeling."

They chatted for hours. Jacob shared his frustration with MACUSA's indifference when Voldemort had returned. He had pushed for intervening in the Ministry's aid but was shot down, dishonourably discharged and intimated to leave the country, if he so hardly desired to fight. That's what he had done. That was also the reason his photograph had been moved from the Auror department.

"One of my mates," he said the word in a forced British accent, making Cass laugh, "stole it and hung it in his department. You might know him. Jeff Cohen?"