Cassius woke with a full-grown kneazle on his face.
Or so he thought.
Reality asserted itself with the very un-kneazle-like sound of Luna Lovegood humming in her sleep beside his ear, her hair sprawled across half his cheek like an enchanted spiderweb.
"Mmgh—" he tried to inhale.
Failed.
Struggled.
A small but firm arm squeezed around his ribs—Astoria's.
His left leg was pinned under Hermione, who had somehow cocooned herself in his blanket like a smug caterpillar.
Daphne lay draped across his stomach like a cat staking a claim.
Ginny had curled against his shoulder, snoring faintly.
And Cho rested against his back, one hand still fisted in the fabric of his shirt.
Six tiny dragons.
One massively overburdened heir.
Cassius groaned into the pillow.
"This… was a mistake."
Lady Draconis drifted above the bed like a smug, ancient chandelier.
"On the contrary," she purred, "this is hilarious."
Cassius shot her a glare that held all the despair of a fourteen-year-old boy who had just realized his life might never again know peace.
The ghost smirked.
"You should not have used the Command, my heir. It makes them… clingy."
"They were clingy before."
"Yes," she said, "but now they feel validated."
Cassius closed his eyes.
He considered death.
Death considered him back.
And decided he had suffered enough.
Very slowly—carefully—he extricated himself from the pile of sleeping limbs, slipping out like a thief escaping his own crime scene.
He staggered to the washbasin, splashed water on his face, and stared into the mirror.
The mirror stared back with the expression of someone who had made choices and would now face consequences.
Lots of consequences.
Maybe enough to merit time travel just to warn his past self.
He dried his face.
With a flick of his wand was dressed in his robes of the day.
Behind him came a chorus of soft groans and shifting blankets as the girls began to wake.
Luna blinked up at him, dreamy but sharp. "Good morning, Master Cassius."
"Don't start," he begged.
Daphne sat up, hair a storm. "You used the Command on us."
"Yes."
"We forgive you."
"I didn't ask—"
"You Commanded," Hermione reminded primly, stretching like a cat before adjusting her tie. "Therefore it counts."
Cassius massaged the bridge of his nose. "It wasn't meant as a punishment."
"We know," Cho said gently.
Ginny smirked. "Doesn't mean you're off the hook."
Six pairs of eyes focused on him with predatory synchronicity.
Cassius took a step back.
Lady Draconis clapped her ghostly hands, delighted. "And now for the second price."
"The what—"
"The price," the Lady repeated. "What you paid last night was only the first. The emotional toll." She gave a flourish. "Now comes the responsibility."
Cassius stiffened. "No."
"Yes," Hermione said at the same moment.
"You're forming an organization," Daphne declared.
"A group," Astoria added.
"A club," Luna said dreamily.
"A league," Ginny muttered.
Cho crossed her arms. "And we're it."
Cassius blinked. "Absolutely not."
Six voices corrected him in harmony:
"Absolutely yes."
Lady Draconis leaned back, floating lazily like a smug storm cloud.
"This is what happens when you frighten your subordinates. They become determined to prepare."
Cassius frowned. "Prepare for what?"
Hermione gave him a look that suggested she was mentally drafting a list titled Reasons Cassius Is Not Allowed To Leave The Castle Unsupervised.
"Cassius," she said softly, "The Dark Lord sent death eaters to hogwarts. Hogwarts, and from what you've said they came here for two reasons, to capture harry, and to get revenge on you."
Daphne nodded. "We're not stupid. We know what's coming."
Astoria crossed her arms. "We're the House of Draconis. We should be ready."
Cassius opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Ginny stepped closer. "You're already training us for combat, we're only asking that you increase the training to proper levels to let us stand your side next time rather than being left on the sidelines."
Silence fell.
Weighted.
Real.
Cassius looked at each of them, seeing not children or clingy girls or the six thorns in his patience—but six witches who had chosen him long before he'd ever understood what that meant.
He looked at Lady Draconis.
Her ghostly eyes shone with something like pride.
The girls were only asking that he see them as proper partners, forces to stand shoulder to shoulder on the frontlines, not to be seen as mere children.
To be put in their place most by a child even younger than they themselves were.
Cassius exhaled.
A long, slow, defeated sound.
"…Fine."
Six faces lit up instantly.
"But," he continued sharply, raising a hand, "it's small. It stays small. No expanding, no recruiting, no turning this into some kind of cult."
Daphne huffed. "We wouldn't."
Cassius gave her a flat look.
"Okay, I wouldn't," she corrected.
"This group—whatever it becomes—will stay between us," Cassius said. "Just the seven of us. No outsiders. No fanfare."
Ginny grinned. "Just us."
"Our organization," Cho agreed.
Hermione scribbled something on a conjured parchment. "We'll need a name, structure, meeting schedules, equipment lists—"
"No," Cassius said quickly.
"Yes," Hermione said stubbornly.
Luna tilted her head. "Names have power. They decide direction."
Cassius sighed again.
He thought.
Then the word came to him—quiet, steady, certain.
"Luminari."
The room stilled.
The girls exchanged looks.
Then Hermione smiled. "Luminari. Light bearers."
Daphne smirked. "Those fight the shadows."
Ginny cracked her knuckles. "Sounds cool."
Cho nodded thoughtfully. "Fitting."
Astoria grinned. "Ours."
Luna whispered it again. "Luminari."
Lady Draconis glowed with smug approval. "A fine choice for a secret order that pretends it is not a secret order."
Cassius shot her a look.
"Do not start."
She only smirked. "Too late."
The ancient ghost had clearly been hanging out with the girls far to long her mannerisms had been changing adapting to become more like a teenager herself rather than the orderly matron who roamed with poise and prestige.
Cassius shook his head. "Luminari stays small. Seven members. That's final."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, dictator Cassius. We hear you."
"We obey you," Luna added.
"Sometimes," Daphne muttered.
"Never in spirit," Ginny said.
"But always in loyalty," Cho finished.
Cassius rubbed his temples.
Merlin help him.
He'd survived Bellatrix.
He'd survived a dragon flight in the dead of night.
He'd survived sleeping with six girls attempting to crush his ribcage.
But this?
This would kill him for sure.
Lady Draconis floated beside him, whispering like a delighted viper.
"Congratulations, my heir. Your relationship advances."
He closed his eyes.
Groaning as his only response.
Luminari was born.
And with it, any hope of a quiet life died a swift, merciless death.