CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE;

YULETIDE

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Snow fell in thick blankets over the course of the next week. Hogwarts was slowly adorned with Christmas decorations.

   The cheerfulness of it all solely contradicted Cassie's constantly dull mood.

   She spent her last few days of the semester either in the library with Atticus or the Hufflepuff common room with Cedric, but never with both at the same time. She was still keen on figuring out what had happened between them, but every time she asked either of them, Cedric replied with, "It's Atticus's business, not mine"; and, Atticus, "It's alright, I promise." Neither were convincing.

   On Christmas morning, Hermione awoke Cassie horrifyingly early.

Let the record show, it did not happen without contradiction, though: Cassie rolled over and shoved her face into her pillow. "Let me sleep."

"No can do," said Hermione brightly, bouncing over to Cassie's bed and pulling the covers off of her. "We've got to get going."

"Why is it that you're in such a peppy mood today, Hermione?" she queried, pulling herself slowly out of bed and to the bathroom.

"Oh, you'll see," she said, though her bright mood slowly seeped into impatience as Cassie took longer and longer to get ready. By the time she was finished, Hermione was tapping her foot on the floor and watching irritatedly. "Ready?"

"Yes, b–"

"Good," she said. Hermione reached out and pulled Cassie by the arm down the stairs, across the common room, and along the hallways, though she didn't stop in front of the Great Hall.

"Hermione, where are we going? I'm starving."

"Trust the process," was all Hermione said. This confused Cassie enough to keep her silent for the rest of the journey.

Finally, Hermione slowed to a stop at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the Owlery.

Cassie looked up the stairs, then back to Hermione. Her cheeks were twinged pink, as Hermione had dragged her outside with no attempt of a warning of the weather's harshness. "Why in the world are we here?"

"Go. Just go up. Now," said Hermione, pushing Cassie's back until she began to walk up the stairs. She checked her watch again and sighed. "Now, Cassie!"

"Fine, fine." Cassie finally caved and climbed up the stairs, many thoughts running through her head as to what she would find up here that was so important that she had to do it on an empty stomach.

But her hunger soon vanished as her eyes fell upon the big black dog sitting patiently in the Owlery. He stood as she entered and began wagging his tail.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, peeking out the window to see if anyone was around. Sirius transformed back to his human form, grinning. He looked better than when she'd last seen him in person; his hair wasn't matted, he had evidently taken a shower, and he'd gained back the weight he'd lost from so few meals in Azkaban.

"Came to give you your gift in person," he said in a tone that suggested that this were the most obvious thing in the world. Cassie let out a short, shocked laugh, before running forward and, on impulse, hugging him. He was shocked for a moment, then hugged her back.

   "I'm serious, this isn't safe," she said, pulling away from the hug. "You could easily get caught."

   "Now that can't be possible, because I'm–"

   "If you're about to say that you're Sirius, I'm leaving."

   He laughed and she smiled. "You can't leave yet, anyway, I have to give you your gift." Sirius turned around and shuffled something around. Cassie stretched to get a view of what he was messing with, but he turned around again. "Close your eyes."

    Cassie squinted suspiciously at him. "I've fallen for that trick with Fred and George before, I'm not that thick."

   "Oh, stop," he gave a barking laugh, "you don't really believe me to be on their level? Just trust me."

She closed her eyes reluctantly and waited, listening to the shuffling coming from in front of her.

   "Okay, open!" said Sirius. She did, and she could easily say that she was not expecting to see her father holding a maroon ballgown before himself. Cassie blinked. Sirius frowned. "What, do you not like it?"

   "Oh, it's for me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "I adore it, I just thought my gift was you wearing a ballgown."

   He rolled his eyes and held out the dress. "It's from me. And your mother, I suppose. It.. it was hers, she always wanted to pass it down to our daughter." He said this warily, as though the topic of parental sentimentality was something sensitive, but Cassie's heart swelled. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling very tearful as she held it in her hands.

The skirt was a chiffon material that seemed to literally glow as Cassie gazed at it. The bodice held a corset-shape with a sweetheart neckline, shimmers sprinkled atop it delicately. The only word to describe it was perfect.

"It's... wow," said Cassie, still gazing at it with glossy eyes. "I mean, I don't– I don't know what to say.."

"You don't have to say anything," said Sirius, smiling. "I'm glad you like it."

"It looks a little big," she said gingerly, holding it in front of herself and raising an eyebrow to Sirius. He grinned down at her cheekily.

"Are we or are we not wizards?" he asked. "It will resize itself to fit you perfectly. Trust me, it did for your mother, and she looked brilliant in it."

Cassie beamed up at her dad again. "Thank you, really. It's.. beautiful."

"It's nothing," he said, scoffing. "Have to make up for missing twelve years of your life somehow, right?"

Normally, a statement like this might've made Cassie uncomfortable, but she didn't mind. In fact, she laughed. Probably expecting a negative reaction, Sirius let out a small, relieved sigh, and laughed with her.

"I've got to get to breakfast," she said, clutching the dress to herself as though it were going somewhere. "But I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Soon," he agreed, smiling. The two hugged again, careful not to squish the dress, and Cassie left the big black dog in the Owlery.

"So? Did you enjoy it?" Hermione asked eagerly on their way back to the common room.

"Yes," said Cassie honestly, her grey eyes on the dress still in her hands. Hermione had to pull her back before she ran into a crowd of third years. "I really– did you plan this?"

"Well," Hermione said sheepishly, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I might've come up with the idea, but Sirius was the one who really planned everything out."

"Hermione!" said Cassie, her jaw dropping. "How on earth did you keep it secret?"

"It really was hard, I almost spilled it so many times," she said, her eyes wide. "Anyway, Harry says he wants to give you your present alone."

"Well, unless it involves an apology from him and Ron for being ignorant gits, then–"

"Just meet him in the common room, I've got to go do something," said Hermione hurriedly, rushing off to a group of students. She held her box of S.P.E.W. pins under her arm.

"Fairy lights," said Cassie to the Fat Lady as she arrived; the password had only recently been changed from 'Acta, non verba'.

"And happy Christmas to you!" the Fat Lady exclaimed, obviously having gotten well into the wine bottles in her portrait. Her friend was nearly passed out. Cassie scoffed lightly as she passed through the portrait tunnel.

The common room wasn't nearly as busy as it had been the night after the first task, as everyone was either getting ready for the ball, grabbing a last-minute date, or opening their Christmas presents in the warmth of their room. Harry sat at a desk by the window.

"Cassie!" he said upon noticing her entry, standing and rushing over to meet her in the center of the common room. He seemed quite nervous. "I've been meaning to give you your gift, but you weren't at breakfast."

"Yeah, I actually–" For a split second, she debated whether or not to tell Harry about seeing her dad. "I just.. had to do something. You alright, Harry?"

"Okay, first," he said seriously, "are you mad about the things Ron's said? Because even I could tell–"

"I just think he was being dense," she said, matter-of-factly, "but I'm not really mad at either of you. Though you are tossers."

Harry visibly relaxed. "Oh, good," he said, smiling. "Anyway, here's your present." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and held it out. Cassie glanced from him to the gift curiously, then picked it up and opened it. Inside was a dainty necklace with a charm of two small butterflies at the end.

"It's– um, it's butterflies," he said, suddenly very nervous, "because you... remind me... of one? I'm not sure how to explain it, really, you j–"

Cassie cut him off as she threw herself into him with a hug. "I love it, Harry, I really do," she whispered, squeezing his shoulders. "Thank you."

"It– it's nothing," he stammered, hugging her back gingerly. "And I had something else to ask you, so.."

She pulled back from the hug, now smiling, and nodded. "What is it?" she asked, still gazing at the necklace.

"I was just–" his eyes landed on the dress draped over her arm and widened. "Is that your dress?"

"Oh, yeah," she beamed, holding it out. "Isn't it pretty? My dad gave it to me."

"Very– very pretty," he said, nodding.

"What were you saying?" she asked, looking back to him. When she met his eyes, he averted his gaze and cleared his throat.

"I was wondering.. well, you don't really have a date for the ball, do you?"

   Cassie sighed and shook her head. "What gave it away?" she asked with a weak laugh.

   He smiled softly. "I was wondering if you.. I've been meaning to ask, but... er, would you like to be my date to the ball?"

Cassie fell silent. The butterfly charms seemed to have moved from her necklace into her belly.

"It could only be as friends, if you want, a– and I need a partner, to dance with—you know, because I'm a champion–" he added quickly, "and you really don't even have to say yes, I was j–"

"Yes," she breathed, a smile playing at her lips again. "Yes, I'd love to go with you."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

They spent most of their morning in the Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a large feast. And, after a snowball fight in the courtyard in which Cassie and Hermione did not participate, the two girls returned to their dorm to get ready for the ball.

   "What, you need three hours?" Ron called after them, but his teasing went ignored. "WHO ARE YOU GOING WITH, HERMIONE!?"

   This also went ignored.

   "There really is no point in him finding out, he'll see tonight when you arrive with your date," Cassie pointed out as they ascended the stairs to their dormitories. "But anyway, who are you going with?"

   "Later," said Hermione, nodding pointedly at Lavender and Parvarti, who had shut their mouths quickly and were obviously trying to find the answer to this question as well.

   Soon, the other two girls had finished getting ready and left the dorm with a foul look in Cassie's direction. She turned to Hermione, bemused.

   "They don't like you very much," she said flatly, applying a gel-like substance to her hair. "You're better than them at Divination, I believe, and they're jealous. I wouldn't stress on it, if I were you," she snorted, shaking her head.

   "Oh," said Cassie, unbothered and returning to the makeup she had been attempting to put on her face.

  Three hours later, the looks were completed and there were no other words to describe Hermione and Cassie than "wow". They stared at themselves in the mirror, clutching onto each other's arms.

   "We look... good," said Hermione, shocked.

   "Always the tone of surprise," teased Cassie, though she was grinning too widely for it to be perceived as sarcastic. "Shall we go meet our dates, then?"

   "You go on, I'm meeting him at the ball," said Hermione. She gave Cassie one last once-over and smiled. "You really look beautiful."

   "And you, too," said Cassie earnestly, gazing over Hermione's outfit again.

   Hermione giggled and looked at herself in the mirror again, then back to Cassie. "Go!"

   She hugged Hermione before descending the steps to the common room nervously, glancing around to see Harry or Ron or Ginny. The boys spotted her before she did them, and when her gaze finally landed on the two boys, they were staring at her with wide eyes.

   "Evening, boys," she said, walking swiftly over to them. "Alright there, Ron?"

   He nodded wordlessly.

   "Parvarti'll be down in a moment," she said, glancing over Ron's dress robes.

   He nodded again. Cassie blinked and turned to face Harry.

   "Shall we?" she asked, smiling, though she didn't wait for a reply before hooking her arm with Harry's and walking through the portrait hole.

"Potter! There you are!" said Mcgonagall once the pair had arrived. "Bring your date; the champions' dance will be beginning soon." Then she walked off, chastising a pair of Ravenclaws who were much too close.

"You look nice," Harry blurted to Cassie. She blinked, taken aback. "I meant to tell you when I first saw you, I just.. couldn't find the words."

"Oh. Thank you," she smiled amicably, trying and hopefully succeeding in playing it cool on the outside. Saying that her stomach filled with butterflies would have been an understatement; more like boulders – the nerves were finally getting to her.

   "Cassie!" called Cedric. Both her and Harry turned to see the Hufflepuff, Cho Chang attached to his side. Cassie smiled at the two of them.

   "You look great, both of you," she said, grinning. She couldn't help but notice how Harry stayed silent and averted his eyes, but it was truly none of her business anymore. In any case, Cassie was lucky she had the privilege of going to the ball with the boy she liked.

"You look beautiful, Cassie," Cho cooed, her eyes fawning over the girl's outfit.

Cassie smiled, but before she could reply, Mcgonagall called for the champions again. Cass turned to Harry.

"You ready?" she asked, a playful smirk on her lips.

"Not at all. Can I back out?" Harry muttered as they walked along the other champions to the center of the Great Hall.

Cassie laughed softly. "No, we're doing this. Wanna make bets on who embarrasses themself more?"

"It'd be a losing bet; I didn't make it to any of the dance lessons."

"There were dance lessons?" They made grim eye contact and Cassie groaned softly.

   "Let's get this over with," said Harry, taking ahold of Cassie's waist gingerly as she placed her hands on his shoulders. They were now uncomfortably close, so much so that Cassie decided eye contact would have been much too awkward, so she avoided looking at him for too long. After a moment, her eyes landed on Viktor and his date. She sputtered.

   "Harry, spin me," she said under her breath.

   "What?"

   "I want you to see who Krum's dancing with."

   He spun her around and she watched as his eyes scanned the dancers for Krum. They had obviously found him, as they widened in shock.

   "Is that–?"

   "Hermione," hissed Cassie, glancing over her shoulder. "No wonder she wouldn't tell us who she was going with, eh?"

   "Cassie, don't look," said Harry suddenly, his eyes fixated on a point behind her head.

   On instinct, she turned, and her eyes landed on Fleur Delacour – though not by herself. Her pale hands were placed delicately on Atticus's shoulders as they danced to the music. Cassie actually tripped at the sight.

   "Blimey," she muttered, watching her cousin dance with the girl. "Unbelievable. My own cousin."

They soon were tired of dancing and, once the Wicked Sisters began to play, took seats on the side and watched everything exhaustedly.

"Hot, isn't it?"

Cassie turned to see Hermione taking a seat next to her, looking quite flushed and in high spirits.

   "Viktor's gone to get us some drinks," she said, unable to stop herself from smiling. She was practically glowing.

   Ron gave her a withering look. "Viktor? He hasn't asked you to call him Vicky yet?"

   "What's with you?" said Hermione in shock, her smile slowly fading from her lips.

   "If you don't know," said Ron scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you."

   "Ron, what–"

   "He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Harry! You're fraternizing with the enemy, you are!"

   Harry and Cassie shared a wordless glance and both stood, easily able to slip away without Ron or Hermione noticing them.

   "Excuse me, Harry, my boy!" a voice called. The couple turned to see Ludo Bagman sauntering over to them, a wide grin on his face. He glanced over Cassie with an appraising look, the corners of his mouth quirking down into a thoughtful frown. "Excuse me, girl, do you mind leaving us? I need to talk with–"

   "Her name is Cassie," said Harry, "not girl."

   Bagman watched Harry intently, then nodded. "Right. Miss Lupin, I'm fully aware," he said, his gaze only flickering to her once more. "May I?" He strode off with Harry before Cassie could even open her mouth.

   The rest of the ball she spent sitting to the side and watching. Observing. Harry had wandered off to Merlin knows where, leaving her dateless and pitiful.

When midnight finally rolled around, Cassie exited the Great Hall with Hermione and Ron at her side. They were bickering relentlessly, something Cassie was well sick of, on top of everything.

   "... pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does! And not as a last resort!" Hermione finished angrily, snatching back Cassie's attention. Hermione's eyes snapped to a boy who'd just walked up. She screwed up her face furiously. "Harry! Where have you been!?"

   "I've j–"

   "Nevermind! Off to bed, all three of you!" she shouted, her cheeks flushed red and tears dripping down her front. She wiped her face quickly. When Cassie didn't move, Hermione rounded on her. "Go!"

   Cassie reluctantly began her trek up the stairs, sighing. "You lot give me a headache."