Cassandra had never liked that ladder. It had never made sense. She thought she might petition the castle to have it changed into a proper staircase but that was a thought for another day. She was far too excited to see Albus again to be worried about the bloody ladder.
He was still all limbs as she had recalled but taller, older. Of course, they were both so much older than the last time they had seen each other. She'd still been a wee thing then. Albus was the last person she'd ever felt she had a true friend in. Those girls from her house had been horrible, mocking everything about her, but she'd been so desperate for company that she'd almost let herself be destroyed by them.
Almost.
Cassandra was hesitant to step back but there were some rules that couldn't be broken - and not crowding Albus's personal space for too long was one she kept firmly. Her hands flicked dismissively to the mess around her with a harsh scoff, "Too busy, I think. I should have packed things into a trunk and shrunk it down." Cassandra tsk'd sharply, moving to fetch the kettle from over the fire. "I would say 'catch me up on your life' but... We're a bit far from it, aren't we?"