CHAPTER SIXTY;

SIGNS OF AFFECTION

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The thought of planning her life beyond the next year frightened Cassie beyond measure. With the war advancing – and everyone knew there was a war, by now – and Voldemort growing in strength.. how was Cassie to know she'd even survive long enough to make it past seventh year?

Nevertheless, she pondered on potential Wizarding jobs to pursue. Immediately into her research, she knew she did not want to be anything in the Muggle world; it required too high of expectations in Muggle Studies for her liking. Becoming a Professor would've been cool, if it did not require her to return to Hogwarts after having just made it out..

Eventually, she settled for asking Professor Mcgonagall about looking into Magical Law Enforcement.

Cassie entered her Head of House's classroom at precisely 5:00 on the dot and sat in the chair across from Mcgonagall's desk. Pamphlets adorned the wooden surface in an organized chaos. Only the top of Mcgonagall's head was visible to Cassie as the Professor straightened a few pamphlets and brochures. Cassie, stupidly thinking Mcgonagall had not noticed her entry, cleared her throat.

   "Yes, I know you're here, Black," Mcgonagall said sharply, lifting her head and straightening her glasses. She cleared her throat and picked up the pamphlet sitting in the dead center of her desk. "Anyway. As I'm sure you know, this meeting is to talk over any career ideas you might have, and to help you decide which subjects you should continue into sixth and seventh years–"

   There was a high-pitched throat cleared from behind Cassie; the teenager started and turned over her shoulder to face Umbridge. The Headmistress held her clipboard in one hand and a positively pink quill in the other. She smiled upon noticing Cassie's eyes on her and said, "Oh, don't mind me. I'm only here in case this session goes... problematic."

   "Miss Black," said Mcgonagall bitterly, though not in a way that suggested she were upset with Cassie – more sour because Umbridge was in the room. "As I was saying, you seem to have a knack for.. ah," she referred to another slip of parchment, though her brow creased in the slightest as she said, "Divination. Figures. There are plenty of job options for those gifted with the ability of Sight, and–"

"I want to work in Magical Law Enforcement," Cassie interjected forcefully. Mcgonagall peered up at her from behind the rims of her glasses, a guarded expression on her face. There was a soft sputter of indignation from behind. And though she did not turn around, Cassie took immense pleasure in the dumbfounded reaction she only knew Umbridge had given.

"Well, that certainly is an option," Mcgonagall began, shuffling a few more papers around on her desk in search of a certain one. When she found it, she picked it up, frowned thoughtfully at it, and then turned it toward Cassie, who took hold and gazed down upon it.

   "No, Professor," she said, shaking her head and sliding the parchment back toward Mcgonagall, "I don't want to just be an Auror – I want to be Head of Law Enforcement."

   Professor Mcgonagall's brow raised slightly, though out of surprise or out of impressiveness, Cassie did not know. The classroom fell silent beyond the sound of Umbridge's quill scribbling furiously across her clipboard from behind Cassie. Finally, after what felt like an hour, Mcgonagall said, "I suppose this has to do with your father."

   "Right you are, Professor," Cassie said, flashing the witch a bright grin. Mcgonagall did not seem amused, so Cassie dropped the smile and replaced it with a serious expression, before going on. "He was sent to Azkaban without a trial. Surely he isn't the first to be treated so unfairly, and I intend to make a difference in innocent people's lives. But.. I can only do that if I work hard enough to pursue this career."

   Mcgonagall pursed her lips so tight that the skin surrounding them turned white as she stared Cassie down. The teenager did not budge – she kept her look of determination and stared back at Mcgonagall, though it was after a moment that she realized the Professor was not glaring at her, but at Umbridge. Cassie turned; the Headmistress had been stifling a giggle.

   "Excuse you, Headmistress, I'm trying to have a talk with my Head of House about my future," said Cassie coolly, her lips upturned in a polite smile. "So please, refrain from the giggling and throat-clearing until the end."

"Oh, I just found it amusing that you're still on this," said Umbridge, her shoulders raising in yet another silent giggle.

"Still on what?" said Cassie without missing a beat.

"That you're so convinced of this lie that Sirius Black is innocent," said Umbridge curtly.

"Oh believe me, Headmistress, there are lots of things I am convinced of, and none of them are lies."

"Perhaps another night in detention shall turn you down the right path," said Umbridge, making a mark on her clipboard.

"Perhaps not," said Cassie, arching an eyebrow. "Perhaps you know I'm telling the truth and therefore you believe you've got to toss a blanket over Harry and I before we spread our beliefs across the school. Perhaps your precious Minister also knows the truth but refuses to–"

"Enough!" said Umbridge shrilly, clutching her clipboard against her chest. "Detention. My office, tonight, once you finish with this session."

Once the woman had turned and stormed from the classroom, Cassie slowly spun back around to face Mcgonagall and, in turn, the consequences of her actions – yet she was surprised to see her Professor looking quite pleased.

"Why d'you look like that?" Cassie queried. She could've sworn Mcgonagall's lips twitched upward for a fraction of a second. "Are you going to take points from me? Because you saw, she–"

"I have no idea what you're on about, Miss Black, I just went temporarily deaf and therefore cannot take any points from Gryffindor," said Mcgonagall, tipping her head back down to the brochure in her hand. "Now, about Law Enforcement..."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The story of Fred and George's flight to freedom had traveled so quickly around the school that Cassie was surprised to hear it had only happened that day. Unfortunately, she missed the send-off due to her Career Advice session with Mcgonagall, but by the amount of times she'd been told the story, it felt like she'd been there, anyway.

   The tales of Fred and George nearly distracted the school from the upcoming Quidditch match – nearly. Ron was still nervous as ever, and the fact that they were up against Ravenclaw did not calm his nerves. Atticus, ever humble, was the exact opposite.

   "No, no, Cassie," he was telling her on the day of the match at lunch, "I'm telling you. I don't even have to practice. You've seen Weasley play! All I have to do is sit back and look for the Snitch, right? Boot's got Weasley covered, and–"

"Why is she here?" interjected Cho Chang's voice rudely. Cassie spun around to see Harry's former love interest standing before her, arms crossed and looking quite upset.

"Having a nice chat with my cousin," said Cassie, looking from Atticus to Cho. "What's got your wand in a knot?"

"Oh, and I'm just to assume you haven't heard?" said Cho, flustered as she threw her hands into the air. "He didn't go running to you the moment I left?"

Cassie fell short of a reply and instead scrunched her eyebrows together. "Uh.. what?"

"Harry!" Cho said angrily. "Well, if you're going to play dumb, then I won't tell you! I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day, Black... Go on then, I'm sure your boyfriend's waiting for you!"

And the dark-haired Ravenclaw stormed off, her gaggle of friends trailing behind her and sending Cassie dirty looks over their shoulders. Cassie, herself, sat speechless with her mouth open and did not come back to reality until Atticus nudged her shoulder.

   "What the bloody hell was that all about?" he said loudly, eyes stuck on the door Cho had just stormed out of. When his gaze returned to Cassie, he was bemused to find her glaring at the back of a certain Gryffindor's head. "What's going on, Cass?"

   "I think I've got an idea," she said quietly, picking up her bag and stomping off to the Gryffindor table. Harry looked up to her and beamed, but the smile melted very quickly at the look on her face.

   "What'd you tell Chang on Valentine's Day?" Cassie said accusingly, crossing her arms. Harry sputtered on his drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.

   "Uhhh," he said, very smartly.

   "Did you tell her you were going to meet me as an excuse to ditch your date?" she said, looking to him expectantly.

"Right, I think we should–" Ron began, nodding pointedly toward Hermione and beginning to stand, though he sat down rather quickly as Cassie shot him a glare.

Harry, to his credit, seemed genuinely confused. "What?" he said, forehead crinkled in thought. He shook his head. "No, I only said I was going to meet Hermione.. D'you think she just assumed I was lying so I could meet you?"

Cassie paled and her angry expression faded into that of realization. "She thinks we're a couple," she muttered, dropping into the seat across from Harry and rubbing her forehead. "How many people think the same? Are we known as a– Oh, Merlin.."

"Oi, Neville," said Ron as Hermione reached over to pat Cassie on the back. "How many people outside of our House think Harry and Cassie are dating?"

Neville's eyes widened slightly and he licked his lips nervously. "Erm.. would you be mad if I said nearly everyone?"

"What!?" said Cassie, looking to Neville with a panicked expression. Neville seemed just as stressed.

"Well, I mean..," Neville swallowed nervously, "you did reject every boy that asked you to Hogsmeade, Cassie.. and everyone knows you two are really good friends."

"So they just assumed we're.." Cassie trailed off and looked to Harry, though gaped at him upon seeing his casual demeanor. "Don't tell me you don't care."

"I don't," he said quickly, shrugging. "I mean, who're they to say what we are?"

"So you're just fine with this then?" Cassie asked awkwardly, lowering her voice. Harry shrugged.

"Whether or not people think we're snogging is the least of my worries," he said. "There are bigger matters I've got to focus on."

   Cassie fell silent. She slowly realized Harry was right; who cared whether or not the two of them were a thing when the Dark Lord was hiding away and waiting to pounce?

   "Now that that's settled," said Fred, looking to Ron swiftly, "Ickle Ronniekins needs to get out to the pitch. I will not allow us to lose to Ravenclaw, little brother, so get your arse out there."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The day was perfect for a Quidditch match; blue skies, not a single cloud visible, soft breeze to provide a bit of a cooling factor for the players. Cassie attended the match in a group with Harry, Hermione, Neville, Fred, and George, Luna having been cheering for her own team with an animatronic eagle atop her head that cawed every time the blue team scored.

Truth be told, the match could not have started off worse. Ron nearly fell off his broom the moment Madam Hooch's whistle sounded and shot them off; he had to be stabilized by a very reproachful-looking Angelina.

"Atticus was right," said Cassie grimly, shielding her eyes as a Quaffle soared into the ring over Ron's shoulder, "their team didn't even need to practice. All they have to do is sit back and let Ron do their work for them."

"I'm sure something'll turn around," said Hermione optimistically, but even Cassie could tell there was a bit of nervousness laced in her tone. Fortunately – or.. unfortunately –, the Slytherins saved Hermione from having to continue her pep-talk.

"Weasley cannot save a single thing, he cannot block a single ring.." they chanted in harmony.

The match played out much like the first five minutes: Ron missing a few goals; a few feigned Snitch sightings by Atticus, only to be tricked in return by Ginny (they were both stupendous Seekers, and it was very neck-and-neck between them); until finally, something so nerve-wracking happened that Cassie had to grab hold of Harry's hand to keep her from keeling over the protective railings.

   Roger Davies, of Ravenclaw, soared toward the Gryffindor's goalposts with a Quaffle in hand, his focus fixated on the right goal – but, mercifully, Ron seemed to realize he was being juked and lurched to the left at the very last minute.

   "He's done it," Cassie muttered over the deafening roar of the Gryffindor's pride. "He actually blocked something..?"

   "Always the tone of surprise," Hermione chided, though she could not erase the shocked expression from her face before Cassie noticed.

   Harry had gone quite stiff and silent. Cassie did not know the reason until she looked down – her hand was still atop his, their fingers delicately touching at the tips. She looked up quickly and drew her hand back.

   Then, she froze again, as Harry reached over and took hold of her hand for a second time. This time, he did not let go.