[Spitfire : Chapter Twenty-Four]

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31 October, 1993

The thick iron bar created in hopes of keeping Isaac away from Thorfinn Rowle was easily snapped like a twig only days after Isaac's confrontation with Daphne Greengrass. It wasn't because Thorfinn personally sought him out to force him under his midsts,no, it was because Isaac walked up to him expressing his greatest apologies; that he was sick and delirious when he made all his rude remarks. That he wanted to be back with Thorfinn, for there was where he found his greatest delight. With a few desperate pleads, Thorfinn happily accepted Isaac back. Daphne Greengrass didn't like that, she was suspicious of him. The sisterly love she had once had for Isaac was gone, instead, to mask her feeling of betrayal, she portrayed anger against Isaac whenever she could.

Isaac didn't want to go back. The four days he had of singularity with Marcella, Estelle, Cassie and even Cassie's friends were some of the best days he'd had since his first year. He even managed to receive a smile from his sister Harper when she saw him laughing with his familiar blue-haired friend. But eventually, everything good came to an end. During his walk to his late-at-night lesson in the Astronomy Tower, he had been confronted with a wand to his neck and a fist to his jaw. Two Slytherins, their faces hidden by heart-stopping prejudiced masks, threatened him with muffled voices in their best attempt to hide their identities. It worked. By the end Isaac was left with a bloody nose, a purple bruising from a wand tip digging into his neck, and a threat; 'be the true-Slytherin you are or suffer the consequences.'

Isaac didn't know what the consequences were, he didn't want to find out. He skipped his Astronomy lessons that day and ran back to the dungeons, finding Estelle in the common room openly reading a book about muggles in front of a few students who glared into her soul. He didn't plan on confiding in her about it, or anyone for that matter, but she broke him. He told her everything and then she told Marcella everything. Grudgingly, Marcella told Cassie everything and then Cassie told her friends; she didn't need too, but they were her friends. Kennedy Zahel, a head-to-toe freckled loud-mouthed Hufflepuff was surprisingly the one who came up with the plan to help Isaac.

The plan was a completely unrealistic idiotic means to his death, in Isaac's opinion. Kennedy wouldn't hear it, she was convinced it was spectacular and would end in the desired outcome of Isaac being free from his 'true-Slytherin' calling. Everyone thought it was amazing but him, maybe because he would be the main character in it or maybe it was because he never trusted Kennedy. She was evil and scary, shaped with multiple personalities that would either leave him bewildered or frightened. She would probably be able to scare Thorfinn away with a hug. Maybe even make him wet his pants. Isaac would love to see that.

In the completely ridiculous plan there were three (only three) things that they had to do. It started with the creation of a made-up organization called Merlins Cascade of Propaganda-Defying Outlaws. Somehow, Kennedy's freaky badger brain made it up on the spot; another thing Isaac couldn't trust about the girl. She definitely had something supernatural in her blood. In the said made-up group students of all houses would meet up in a secret area in Hogsmeade (the shrieking shack) and talk politics all while deciding how they would handle them. Especially on how to 'handle' the Voldemort-loving wannabe death eaters who lingered around Hogwarts. There was nothing Thorfinn Rowle hated more than his victims fighting back.

Isaac wouldn't join that group, like how he assumed when Kennedy first brought it up, instead, he would expose it. The first step of the plan was going to be him running up to Thorfinn with his tail between his legs apologizing for defying the true-Slytherins. To make himself seem more desperate, he would offer up the rebellion secret. But he wasn't going to give everything up, no, he was just going to give up what he knew; that he was invited to join their first meeting (seeing as he was seen to be trusted, a pariah of Voldemorts movement.)

When Thorfinn would ask for more, he wouldn't know. The next step would've been the hardest only because Isaac or anyone else wouldn't be able to do anything without exposing the fakeness of the plan. Kennedy didn't know whether Thorfinn had the intelligence or not to make this plan go fully through; any smart 'leader' would know what to do with information like this, wouldn't they? They would plant a spy. But was Thorfinn a smart leader? Would he have other ideas with the information and making Isaac join his ranks again would be all for nothing?

After two unbearable days, Thorfinn requested a meeting with Isaac. The anxious boy couldn't confide in anyone about it either, he was left completely and utterly alone. He prayed that he wasn't about to be confronted. Thorfinn could always suspect a lie, it was what made the abnormally large blonde-haired boy even more scarier than he already was. Isaac could remember that day, the relief that filled him, for the rest of his life. The first and only words Thorfinn had spoken to him during that meeting was an order. "You are going to be a spy, you will make friends with those mudbloods, blood traitors, and even that half-breed of yours and tell me everything that goes on during those meetings. Mess this up, Deehan, and you will regret it."

    Despite the threat, Isaac was left giddy. Step two of the plan was a go, now it was time for step three; convincing Thorfinn he was actually doing spy work. Thankfully, the Gryffindors seemed to have a wide imagination. Lying came easy for them. Why did people suspect Slytherins were the liars? Most of the time they were just brutally honest. As September shifted to October, Isaac spent almost every minute of every day with the mudbloods, blood-traitors, and half-breeds gathering 'reliable' information. In reality, he was having some of the best days of his life while making up stories with his friends.

    Now, he was sitting at the Gryffindor table in the great hall eating the Halloween feast. Despite loathing almost every singled body in his own house, besides Marcella and Estelle, he would've rather ate at the Slytherin table. All the Gryffindors did was talk, Isaac could barely get a scoop of mashed potatoes into his mouth before someone else had started a conversation with him. He would glance longingly to his Slytherin friends, peacefully eating and only conversing when they wanted too; and they would only shrug at him. Or at least Marcella would, his fault, he decided to eat over there. Estelle would try and wave him over but he would only shake his head, he was already there, he couldn't just ditch Cassie. Not again.

    "I swear it, if flobberworms were just a tad bit meaner they could take over the world." Kennedy said through chews, her face covered in crumbs. It was her third time sitting at the Gryffindor table that night, she kept switching from her own and back. This time she came back with the topic of what Care of the Magical Creature could dominate the human species.

    "But that's only if they're a tad bit meaner, which they're not." Fiona debated, her heart completely dedicated to the subject. Bless this girl. "They're vegans, blind, and limbless. They're ten-inch blobs of mucus bound together by the crave of cabbage. If a species were to take over the world it'd definitely be the hippogriff."

    "Or maybe the thestral." Rose chimed, rolling her eyes as she wiped the crumbs off of Kennedy's chin. "No one would see them coming."

    "How do we even know they exist?" Kennedy asked. "No one's seen them, I say they're just a bedtime story made to scare children at sleepovers."

    "I've seen a thestral." Cassie said, her brow furrowed.

    "So have I." Isaac added.

    "False," Kennedy said, looking directly at Isaac. He glared at her as she turned back to Cassie. "You must be confused then, they're definitely not real. A ploy made by the Ministry to keep our minds off of real world events."

    "Real world events," Rose inquired in amusement. "such as?"

    "The bloody war!" Kennedy stated. "we've had like, what, two? Perfect time to bring up a horse only death witnessers could see."

    "Ah yes, because a horse would distract people by the fact there were mass genocides happening as well as bad-guy revolutions." Fiona rolled her eyes.

    "Just because you haven't seen one doesn't mean they don't exist." Rose added. "You believe in dragons, don't you? But you've never seen one in real life."

    "But there are actual photographs of dragons, as well as events, animal sanctuaries, and bloody jobs made for the care of dragons." Kennedy explained, shoving Isaac back with her arm when she reached for the butter beside him. That's what their friendship mainly consisted of; pushing and bickering. "But there's nothing for thestrals, just the word of some wackos."

    "Hey," Cassie called in offense, Kennedy only raised a brow. Cassie smirked. "Ken, since you know everything, what is it that pulled our carriage to Hogsmeade earlier?"

    "Magic." The girl simply answered. "Welive in a school of it, it wouldn't be bizarre moving in an un-piloted carriage."

    "Ken, to see a thestral you would have to have seen death sometime in your life." Rose explained. "Mum always tells me that the Grimm created them when he grew lonely, made himself a friend that would last forever."

    "Lovely story," Kennedy slow-clapped. "but Cas hasn't seen any death in her life before, right Cas?"

    "Not that I can remember." Cassie shrugged, though she still questioned herself. She knew for a fact she hadn't seen death during the time with her mum, but there was definitely a time before that; had she seen death? Wouldn't she need to remember seeing the death for herself to see a thestral? Why was she questioning this? She's definitely seen a thestral before.

    "See!" Kennedy exclaimed, pointing at Cassie.

    "How does that help your argument?" Fiona asked, placing her chin lazily onto her palm.

    "It confirms that she's crazy and that thestrals aren't real!' Kennedy grinned, crossing her arms and leaning into Rose.

    "Hey, I'm not crazy." Cassie frowned. "You're just a skeptic, Isaac's seen them too. Right Isaac?"

    "Definitely," Isaac shivered. "those things give me the heebie-jeebies."

    Kennedy coughed. "Wuss."

    "What was that?"

    "Oh, nothing," Kennedy waved him off. "but back on topic, flobberworms could devour the world; change my mind."

     "You say could, meaning that they'd need to evolve into something they're completely not to do so." Fiona debated. "Hippogriffs, on the other hand, would rip your face off with their talons if you looked at them wrong. Therefore, hippogriffs would rule the world."

    Cassie was feeling sick and that was to put it lightly. Ever since she had left the castle earlier that morning to ride to the first Hogsmeade trip of the year she had a pit-feeling boiling in her stomach. She blamed the dementors. She despised those hell-sent creatures. They either targeted her with their greed of consuming all things happy, or she was just weak; no one else were as affected by them as she was. Although, Harry Potter did pass out when one entered the train earlier that year. Maybe they chose the lightning-bolt scarred boy and the blue-haired metamorphmagus on purpose; to torment them because of their oddities.

     Despite the feeling in her stomach, she attempted to include herself in the conversation all she could; it was a must. If she stopped talking for more than an hour her brain would asphyxiate with every word in the Oxford Dictionary. No one noticed her discomfort besides one red-haired boy who Cassie did not want to talk too. For Fred Weasley she had to think in order to talk. For he always spoke with the intent to trick her, it was amusing at times but her brain wasn't functioning that well while she shoved a glazed covered pastry down her already nauseous table.

    He sat at the end of the table with his twin brother and Lee Jordan; another student in Hogwarts known for their extravagant hair. While George and Lee spoke to each other or to the girls in front of them, Fred kept glancing to Cassie and waving her over. Very explicitly she would shake her head no. When she'd do it, she could see his face contort with heartbreak as he mouthed. "Why? Do you not like me anymore?"

    "I'm trying to eat you bloody git." Cassie mouthed back, waving a pastry beside her face.

    His brow furrowed, he mouthed: "What?"

    "Eat," she mouthed in repetition, shaking her head slowly. "no come over."

    "What?" Fred repeated, though, this time he yelled it. Not many people noticed seeing as the great hall was louder than a zoo, but Fred's side of the table surely did. In a second Cassie had about a dozen eyes on her.

    Cassie scrunched her nose and quickly turned to her plate, acting as if she wasn't talking to Fred; her hair turning from its vibrant blues to an embarrassed yellow quickly exposed her. Her stomach continued the exposure with a backflip. Rose was smirking at her, thankfully she was the only one who noticed. Kennedy and Fiona were too busy debating and Isaac was staring in space; something he did a lot.

    The rest of the dinner was spent eating, laughing, and Cassie personally dying internally. Maybe she was just sick, she thought. Dementors weren't that cruel, were they? After watching a delightful Halloween show with the Hogwarts ghosts and Nearly-Headless Nick performing a deadly stunt that a mortal would've died from, and then tilting his head nearly off like a lid sliding off a pot, they made their way back to the dorm. Kennedy had already switched back to her own table when the performance started so Cassie hadn't waited for her when the great hall doors opened to release everyone.

    As they walked Isaac was called over by Thorfinn, the girls wished him luck; Fiona winking oh-so inconspicuously. Rose and Fiona walked ahead of Cassie while the metamorphmagus purposely slowed, her head began to throb; tumor. She quickly shook the thought out of her head which turned out to be a bad idea seeing as she lost balance on the stairs and fell back nearly to her death but instead into someone's arms. Lovely.

    A familiar red-haired boy stood on the step below her while holding her from falling, he grinned. "Hello there gorgeous, miss a step?"

    "Hi George," Cassie groaned, using the wall the steady her on her feet. "shook my head and my body got a little carried away."

    Ignoring her explanation, he scoffed. "How did you know I was George?"

    "Because I'm not an idiot," Cassie replied, rolling her eyes. Ouch. She looked around him, her brow furrowing and hair turning into an army green. "where's Fred . . . and Lee?"

     "Well, we were racing up to the dorms but I guess I got a little ahead of them." George exclaimed. "They should be coming up soon. Also, did you just call my mum an idiot?"

    "What?"

    "You said only idiots can't tell Fred and I apart, my mum can barely do it on one of her good days." George explained, he smirked. "You just called my mum an idiot!"

    "I didn't," Cassie scoffed, her lips quirking a bit. "she has a pass, with all those kids she's got . . . what is it, six?"

    "Seven," George corrected. "Bill, the oldest; graduated before our first year."

    "I could never imagine having seven kids," Cassie shuddered, nearly falling again. "even one sounds like too much."

    "Mums always loved having kids, I bet if she were younger she'd have plenty more." George chuckled. "She's practically adopted Ron's friends Harry and Hermione. Lee too, though she always fusses over his hair, doesn't understand the muggle culture behind it."

    "Your mum sounds wonderful," Cassie stated, her lip quirking at George's smile. "I wish she could practically adopt me. My mums been a menace recently."

    "She would definitely adopt you," George grinned, stepping over a vanishing step—it was like he knew it was going to happen. Thankfully, Cassie was trailing behind him a bit so she also knew to step over. "just gotta get Fred to man up to have you meet her."

    "Why Fred?" Cassie inquired, knocking her shoulder against his playfully. "We're friends, aren't we?"

    "Heck yeah we are," He grinned. "but you're off-limits for me, you're Freddie's property."

    "Am I?" Cassie raised a brow. "Didn't know I was an object, though, my ability does seem a bit mechanical."

    "No, no," George quickly shook his head, mimicking the action with his hands. "I didn't mean it like that, I mean, you're closer to Fred. You and my mum meeting should be under his—"

    "I get what you mean, George," Cassie chuckled, she enjoyed teasing George. Unlike Fred, who was fifty-percent humor and fifty-percent puppy-love, George was easily shaken. He also blushed a lot. He didn't have a crush on her, like how Kennedy had teased, he blushed for everyone. "anyways, I should catch up with Fiona and Rose. We've got secret business to exchange. Thanks for saving me from my death."

    "It was my pleasure." George playfully bowed. Cassie smiled and then began running up the stairs. She, Fiona, and Rose didn't have any business to exchange. She was feeling sick, and the more she spoke the more her dinner seeped its way up her throat. After a few steps she had caught up with her two friends, they immediately began to interrogate her for where she went. They didn't even look for her, why do they care?

    Cassie didn't feel like talking, she just wanted to go to the comfort of her dorm and curl up in a ball on that Halloween night. She despised being sick, it wasn't often, but when she did get sick it was like she had caught the bubonic plague. Her friends called her dramatic, she wished she could transfer what she felt to them. Which she did usually end up doing by sneezing in their direction. She came to a sudden stop on the stairs, looking up she found that there were a bunch of Gryffindor students crowded together. All talking to each other in confusion, trying to get a better look at what was happening upfront. Cassie groaned, flipping her head back, almost losing her balance again, and then she slid slowly down the wall beside her.

    "Cas, you aren't looking so hot." Fiona said, crouching down in front of her as more and more people crowded together.

    Cassie snorted. "Thanks, Fi, you, on the other hand, are looking marvelous today."

    "Oh shush up," Fiona shook her head, she then held a hand out and felt Cassie's head; she furrowed a brow and then felt her cheek. "Merlin, you've got one hell of a fever. Why didn't you go to the hospital wing?"

     "Because I just want to sleeeep!" Cassie whined, internally, she felt slightly relieved; dementors weren't trying to kill her from the inside out. Bacteria was. She sat up, trying to look around the spiral staircase, all she caught sight of were the heads of students. "What's happening up there?"

    "Don't know," Rose answered, joining their conversation. "something's up with the Fat Lady. Percy Weasley just called for Dumbledore."

    "Oh," Cassie said, going wide-eyed and quickly standing up; she shouldn't be sitting when Dumbledore went by, that'd be rude. "I wonder what's up, she didn't seem any different than usual this morning."

    "You never know what's up with her," Rose sighed, Cassie attempted to lean on her but she quickly jumped away. "no way, you're sick! A victim to the pox. I have Quidditch practice in three days I can't afford to catch the plague."

    "What do I got, the pox or the plague?" Cassie asked, the side of her mouth quirking into a mischevious grin. "Make up your mind before I transfer it to you. Personally, I think the plague would be a better way out. Coughing up fire doesn't sound fun."

    "Neither does coughing up blood and lung chunks." Fiona giggled, Rose's face scrunched in disgust.

    "Is this what girls talk about when they're alone?" Asked a voice, Cassie rolled her eyes and turned to find Fred.

    "It's about time you caught up with George, bloody slow-pokes you are."

    "Hey," Lee called in offense. "I was stuck behind Fred, I wasn't going slow. He was."

    "Bloody liar," Fred said, shoving Lee. "this git decided to face plant in front of me and take his time getting up."

    "I didn't decide to!" Lee frowned. "You tripped me!"

    Before Fred could answer, Cassie chuckled; it sounding raspy due to whatever disease she was suffering from. "Tut tut Frederick, didn't mummy ever say to play friendly, or wait, maybe she told George that."

    While George began to snicker, remembering their previous conversation, Fred raised a brow. "Why do you sound like you swallowed a lawnmower?"

    Fiona chimed in. "You know what a lawnmower is?"

    Rose tilted her head. "What's a lawnmower?"

    Neither questions were answered while the crowd began to part, in her delirious state Cassie hadn't noticed until someone's hands were planted on her shoulders and then she felt her body get yanked back. Cassie leaned back onto Fred as Dumbledore went by, his body leaning with determination and beard swaying with sleekness. Professor McGonagall followed behind. As students bristled and the Professors spoke in a hushed whisper, Cassie closed her eyes as her head leaned on Freds shoulder; it was relaxing listening to the vibrations in his chest.

    "We need to find her," Said Dumbledore, the Fat Lady must've been gone. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

   Suddenly, a wisp of light zoomed by. A few people ducked, not wanting to be the victim of the newcomers antics. Instead, Peeves the Poltergeist only cackled, looking directly towards Dumbledore. lYou'll be lucky."

    "What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore calmly asked, Peeves grin faded. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. Instead, he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle.

    "Ashamed, your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," He said happily. "poor thing." He added unconvincingly.

    "Did she say who did it?" Said Dumbledore quietly.

    "Probably a Slytherin," Fred mumbled, finishing his guess with a small snicker. Cassie nearly jumped, she forgot she was leaning on him. He didn't seem to mind.

    "Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

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    Cassie Snows delighted interest in darkness and gruesome acts during her third year never taught her about the man that tore the Fat Lady into shreds. She knew that the dementors were there for someone, for a crazed prisoner from Azkaban. She never cared to find out who. You see, she lived right beside the only prison in her small town. Nearly everyday, due to the lack of security, the bellowing prison sirens would go off alerting another man or woman had broken out. A wizarding breakout didn't intrigue her just like how a regular muggle breakout wouldn't have intrigued her.

    She hadn't even seen any posters about the crazed Sirius Black, just hushed whispers that were quickly broken by Professors. Although, after learning that the man had actually been successful on breaking into Hogwarts, all while defying the dementors, and destroyed the painting guarding the door that led to where she slept; she had finally grew curious.

    Fiona told her he was a madman, that he was vicious, like a dog with rabies, and lived for two purposes; to kill and serve. Lord Voldemort specifically. Rose, on the other hand, told her that he was a charmer like the American serial killer Ted Bundy. That he had a perfect personality that allowed him to act as a spy, only then would he allowed his darker side to be released.

     When the girls had met up with Kennedy, after Dumbledore ordered every student into the great hall to spend the night, Kennedy had told her something entirely different. She actually told her what he had done to make him so monstrous. He killed his best friends. Plural. As well as thirteen other muggles. He was the reason why Harry Potter was an orphan, he had murdered the people he grew up with and then attempted to kill the boy as he was only an infant. He then killed the man who tried to save them all.

    Cassie's sickness was nearly topped by the fear that swirled in her stomach over the man, if she had went to her dorm anytime earlier she could've been the one torn to shreds. A man that dangerous had broken into one of the most impenetrable places in the world. He went to the Gryffindor tower, somehow unnoticed, with the intent to kill someone. A child. Cassie could only imagine how Harry Potter felt, poor kid had already been through enough stuff a World War II veteran could relate too.

    "Rose," Kennedy said, sitting criss-cross on her sleeping bag. An excited grin on her freckled face. "play numbers with me."

    "Ken, you shouldn't be enjoying this." Fiona whispered while Rose obeyed the Hufflepuff.

    "I shouldn't?" Kennedy asked, giving a look around. "The entire school is having a slumber party! This is awesome, now I can sleep beside R— all you guys while in school."

     "Let's not forget we're here because a serial killer got in the school." Myrin Krow stated, apparently she had joined the group.

    "Mass murderer," Cassie corrected, getting all eyes to switch to her. "actually." Her hair would switch to a fearful maroon whenever she thought about it.

    "Oh c'mon, Snow, don't tell me you're scared." Myrin rolled her eyes. "Lunatics probably so deranged by now that he thought the Fat Lady was a scratching post. Besides, if it's true, he's only after Potter; everyone else is fine."

    "Tell that to the Fat Lady." Cassie mumbled, looking down to her feet. Cassie knew that her face was probably as pale as a ghosts, she purposely made her cheeks fuller; she wanted to avoid the hospital wing at all costs. She hated it there, being there almost everyday during her fourth year was enough for the rest of her Hogwarts days. Plus, now that there was a psycho most likely in the school or on its premises, she didn't want to sleep alone. She'd rather sleep with the ladder, almost five hundred students, than with whatever single-digit number of students were sleeping peacefully under Madam Pomfreys nose while highly medicated on whatever potions the woman brewed.

    "C'mon Rose, we've done this a thousand times. When I go left, you go right." Kennedy whispered harshly.

    "I'm bloody trying!" Rose retorted, her voice rising. "If you haven't noticed, we're in the pitch black right now." It was true, Percy Weasley had already called curfew about twenty minutes before. Shutting off all and every light source there was in the great hall. That didn't stop anyone from talking, though, instead people just hid it with whispers. Allowing Percy to go around on a rampage yelling at everyone he could spot with one eye open.

    "Who's talking?" Percy called loudly, quickly, the hall silenced. The red-haired boy grumbled something to himself before continuing his patrol; he could be the next Argus Filch.

    "Bloody twat," Myrin hissed under her breath, peeking her head out from under her blanket, she hid under it when he swept his eyes around the room. Rose and Kennedy, on the other hand, collapsed beside her not-so subtly and there was a bit of a crash. The worst-Weasley hadn't noticed.

    "I can't sit here anymore." Cassie stated, growing restless. Her voice was raspy, something she'd usually find attractive if she weren't coughing up mucus to cause it. She then kicked her sleeping bag off her legs and carefully stood up. Percy Weasley had his back turned to her. She spotted Isaacs unruly hair beside the brooding Marcella Colbert and euphoric Estelle Burke and quickly sprinted over. As Percy turned, hearing her bare feet slap against the cold cement, she crashed beside Isaac who jumped . . . he was actually asleep.

    "Evening ladies," Cassie rasped. "how's Project MCOPDO going?"

    "What the hell you say?" Marcella asked, her head raising a bit.

    "How's project Merlins Cascade of Propaganda-Defying Outlaws going?" Cassie repeated, coughing to top off her question.

    "Bloody hell," Isaac whined, rubbing his eye. "you couldn't have asked tomorrow? When we're actually allowed to talk, and when I won't be sleeping?"

    "Boohoo, it's barely even nine. The only people that should be sleeping are the Aussies, it's nearly sunrise for them." Cassie playfully stated, knocking her shoulder against his. He smirked but quickly hid it by turning onto his side. Keeping his back facing her.

     "He still believes it, project whatever-you-said is still a go." He mumbled. "Now let me sleep, please, or I'll go to wherever you're sleeping and wake you up unnecessarily early."

    "Fine," Cassie coughed, she then turned to Marcella. "how are you today?"

     "Don't talk to me." Marcella responded, looking away and crossing her arms from where she laid on the floor. Expecting this, Cassie was already looking at Estelle.

    "I assume you'll like me to leave too, you're just too nice to say it . . ." Cassie said, seeing Estelle's pleading eyes. She sighed.

     Cassie wasn't normally like this, naturally she was actually quite calm. Or just not as restless as a caffeinated toddler. To keep her mind of things she needed a distraction. And now as everyone slept or was falling asleep, her mind was sparking with all kinds of wrong, plus, her sickness wasn't helping. She went with the next best bet, a trio who wouldn't mind talking to her; the Weasley twins and Lee.

    She spotted them across the way a bit, towards the area where the Gryffindor table would be. They were closer to the wall, she could see a few bodies sitting up against the walls in the shadow created by the house flags. Percy Weasley was too busy scolding a student to notice her running across the entire great hall, dodging every body the best she could and even getting a few yells when she would step and squish some limbs.

    Once there, she quickly planted herself in an empty spot beside Fred. He bore a ginormous grin; a proud grin. "Evening there sunshine, enjoy your trip?"

    "I think I stepped on Cedric Diggory's hand," Cassie immediately frowned. "I should apologize."

    "Don't," George hissed. "let the arse suffer."

    "He's not an arse, he's quite the opposite; he's more like a . . . veela." Cassie fawned, she wasn't exactly that intrigued by the boy. Sure, he was cute, but he was too cute in a sense which was something that bored her. She just enjoyed the reaction from the boys, they had a huge beef going on with the Hufflepuffs; especially Diggory. Rose was the same, the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team was. Diggory was surprisingly very good at Quidditch and nearly caused the Gryffindors to lose the cup many times.

    "If you came over to bloat how much you're in love with Mr. McPerfect then you can go back to wherever you came from." Fred huffed, crossing his arms.

    "Aw, is Freddie-Weddie jealous?" Asked a new voice, joining their conversation. Angelina Johnson, a chaser on the Gryffindor team and a girl know to fraternize with Fred during their earlier years. Cassie didn't know how she felt about the girl.

    "Definitely not," Fred scoffed. "only a Slytherin would be jealous of that fool."

    "I'm actually quite jealous," Cassie said, raising her hand jokingly. "unlike me, he can fly a broom without falling. That's something I'm very jealous of. I fall when I'm only an inch off the ground."

    "I can ride a broom," Fred exasperated, his voice raising a few octaves. "why aren't you jealous of me?"

    "The red hair throws me off," Cassie said, ruffling his hair. Self consciously, he felt his hair. George did too.

    Cassie chuckled, wheezing a bit as she did. "I'm only joking, I love your hair. It reminds me of spaghetti sauce."

    "So you are jealous of my flying capabilities?" Fred smirked, no longer looking self-conscious. Cassie rolled her eyes.

    "Of course, Fred, who wouldn't be jealous of your flying capabilities?" Cassie asked, though it sounded a bit like: "Opf course Fwed, who woodn't be jealous opf yur flyin capabilitieths?"

    "Are you sick?" He asked, his brow furrowing. By then, the others had entered a new conversation with Angelina Johnson and her friends. Cassie nodded, sniffing her running nose and then sneezing. On queue, Percy's head turned and everyone who had been sitting up slid onto their sides like a bunch of immobile infants. Fred has took Cassie into his arms as they dropped. She sniffed again, sounding even more sickly.

    "A bit," She whispered when Percy turned back to another prefect. They slid back up, "a smidge, just barely, actually; it's merely just a runny—"

    "I'm not going to send you to Poppy," Fred chuckled, using his infamous nickname for the healer. "I'm only asking."

    "Oh," Cassie mumbled. "then yes, I am dying. My head is throbbing, my stomach feels like there is a leprechaun doing backflips, and my nose is a never ending faucet of snot and mucus. Let's not forget my bones, they feel like they're being bashed by a trolls mallet."

    "Lovely," he muttered, though he did not move away. If it were he who was sick, she would've surely been ten feet away by then.

    "I'm also freezing," Cassie muttered. "I want to go back to my dorm but I'm also highly terrified of it, so now I'm stuck here. Starting to rethink your decision on being my friend?"

    "Of course not," Fred said, he then leaned up as he began shaking off his sweater. "you're a damsel in distress, I could never leave you alone to suffer. Sweater, m'lady?"

    "I-I guess," Cassie said in surprise, he smiled and handed it over. George smirked at them, pointing towards the two so Lee and Angelina would see; just like George, they grinned giddily.

    "Nothing spitfire-y to say to my statement?" Fred asked, Cassie only looked at him with a miserable expression. "Merlin, you must have something deadly; like the flu or something."

    "At least you didn't say Dragon Pox or the plague." Cassie said, leaning back against the cold hard wall. Her nose red from rubbing it.

    Fred frowned, staring at the pale girl beside him who had her head leaning against the hard stone. Her hair it's natural black color from exhaustion. Despite the sweater, she was still shivering. He looked down at his sleeping bag, where his legs rested, and began to kick it off. She painfully opened a eye and he slid the bag towards her. "Take it."

    "No, no, it's okay." Cassie said, leaning forward. "I've got a sleeping bag over with Ken, Fi, and Rose. I only came over to say hi; I'll get going soon."

    "You look like you're about to mold into the wall," Fred mused. "I doubt you'll be able to subtly get back to your bag without my arse of a brother finding you."

    "I'll be fine." She waved him off, her voice nasally.

    "Will you?" He inquired, she nodded. "Fine, then tell me where your girl-squad is currently at."

    She glared at him but obeyed, looking around. All she could see was body after body, not even the slightest of light, besides the ones shining from the stars on the ceiling. In defeat, she crossed her arms kicked her feet grumpily into the sleeping bag. Fred smirked in victory.

    "We cant have you sleeping on the cement." Cassie frowned, noticing his sweater-less body beside her sitting on the cold cement she was previously sitting on. "Here, you can have the sweater ba—"

    "No, no," He said, shaking his head. "keep it. I don't want whatever you got. I'll sleep with Georgie. We've shared sleeping bags many times during sleepovers at our Aunts house."

    "You're a bit large now though," Cassie raised a brow. "are you sure?"

    "I am," he nodded. Looking down at her. She nodded and sighed, Fred slid down onto his back beside her and eventually they were both staring at the sky on the ceiling above them; the one magically-made to match the one outside. Within minutes Cassie's breathing slowed and Fred knew she was asleep, plus, the snotty snores helped him guess. Poor thing.

    He never asked George if they could share tents, his twin was already half asleep by the time he began to grow tired. Fred gave one last look towards Cassie before he closed his own eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep minutes later on the cold cemented floor while the girl beside him twisted and turned in her sleep with nightmares; some of whom she wouldn't remember having by the morning time and some she'd have a hard time deciphering from nightmare or memory.



Authors Note:

It's 4am and I'm exhausted, I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed towards the end. At the moment I'm kinda running on adrenaline—I found a (scary) centipede in my bathtub. All complaints aside, here's from wholesome Cassie+Fred content, Cassie+George content, and owo Sirius Black content. Vote and comment if you've enjoyed!

July 28, 2019
6,412 words