musical mood: human - dodie

Cass planned for the next day to be smooth sailing - she'd go to class and catch up and what she had missed the day she had been locked in Quirrell's closet, she'd give Percy the book for him to translate, along with however many galleons he requested for compensation, and she'd spend the evening with her classmates, who, other than Bethany, she was growing more and more fond of as the year went by. Even the boys - namely Terry and the Nott brothers, weren't half bad once she got to know them, even if Henry was a bit dim, Theodore eccentric and Terry's dull eyes pierced into your soul.

The only problem was, she had forgotten the significance of that day, February 27th, when she sat down for breakfast between Naia and Ana. She was late - having spent the morning using various spells to disguise the cover of the mysterious book, which now read The Complete Collection of William Shakespeare. Of course, all the polaroids, letters and whatnot from inside remained under her bed, which she told herself she would look through soon. How soon soonactually was, she hadn't a clue.

"Happy birthday!!" Padma's smile brightened from where she sat across from her, just as she was about to begin eating.

Cass paused. "It's my birthday?"

Birthdays in the Crouch family meant little to nothing - she'd never had a birthday party like all the other kids in her class, nor ever felt the need to. It was just another day, why did it matter when she was born? Her idea of a birthday celebration was watching The Real Ghostbusters on Connor's telly with a bowl of ice cream. Now, with that tradition out the window, she had no incentive to remember.

Everyone stared at her.

"Erm, yeah." Padma said uncertaintly. "I think so."

How Padma knew her birthday was a mystery to Cass, considering she didn't even remember it herself. But she didn't have time to ask, before Naia spoke, looking at her with wide brown eyes.

"How could you not tell us about your birthday?!" Naia said, sounding appalled by the concept. "I would've got you something!"

Cass was about to tell Naia off for unnecessary gift giving, but Terry jumped in.

"This came in the post for you." He held out a letter, which Cass tentatively took from him, prepared for it to be another forgery. It was her birthday, for Merlin's sake, she wasn't about to stress over yet another emotionally damaging note.

But when she opened it, she sighed in relief at the messy, distinctive handwriting, and poor spelling. She knew exactly who this was from, and couldn't have been happier.

Deer Cass,

Happy birthday! I hope your dick head dad does not take this again. If your reading this Bartymus BartimusBarrymiss Cass's dad, you suck and I hate you.

I hope you have a good 12th birthday and you are having fun at your new scool. I miss you very much and it sucked watching gostbusters with out you.

Love you

Connor

Cass smiled, folding the letter very gently, and tucked it in her pocket.

"Who was that from?" Parvati asked, eyeing her up and down. "A boyfriend?"

"You look smitten, whoever it is." Lavender agreed.

"Merlin, no. It's a friend back home. You lot sound like Malfoy." Cass rolled her eyes, remembering how Malfoy used to tease her for 'dating a muggle'. Her and Connor as more than friends? As if. They were practically siblings, not to mention far too young for romance.

Though her mood was considerably better now that she had heard from her best friend, even when Naia forced a party hat she had conjured out of thin air onto her head, and paraded her around all her classes, announcing it was her birthday to anyone who would listen.

Mortifyingly, Cedric Diggory had passed them in the halls, and had given them a strange look. "Happy birthday, Cass." He forced a smile, though the confusion in his expression was impossible to ignore. "And, uh, nice hair."

"Thanks." She pursed her lips, her face burning bright red.

"Do you fancy him?!" Parvati whispered when Cedric was out of earshot. "He's a bit old for you, don't you think? Can't blame you though, he's a hunk, and on the Quidditch team!"

"What is it with you and assuming I fancy people today?" She rolled her eyes, and pushed her way towards History of Magic.

*

Class went by in a breeze, with many birthday wishes, which Cass thought was rather sweet. Ana somehow coaxed a "happy birthday" out of Bethany, and Henry even gave her his spare chocolate frog, which came with Gilderoy Lockhart's card.

"That one's rare!" Ron Weasley, a boy she had never spoken to before, exclaimed when he saw it. "Happy birthday, by the way."

After class, Cass made her way to the library while the rest of her classmates headed to the Great Hall for lunch. They protested, saying they wanted to celebrate her birthday, but she promised them they could during dinner. There were other, much more important matters to attend to, now.

Not wanting to seem completely unprofessional, Cass removed her pointy birthday hat and tucked it in her robe pocket when she entered the vast room. Percy was easily spotted in a back table - between his height and flaming hair, he was nearly impossible to miss.

"Good afternoon, Cass." He greeted when she sat down across from him. Of course, his Prefect badge was stuck on his robes. "I hope your day has been well."

She stared at him. She'd never seen someone so formal in her life, and she'd met Cornelius Fudge once.

"Thanks." She replied, glancing around. There were a few other students lingering in the shelves, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to them. When she deemed it Quirrell-free, she pulled out the massive book from her bag, and slid it across the table to the wide-eyed redhead. It was best to get this done as fast as possible.

"I think you said it was in a different language." Percy said after several silent moments, staring at her like she was an idiot. "This is Shakespeare. Sure, it's utter nonsense, but it's still english."

She snorted.

"I disguised the cover. You can use finite to fix it-oi! Not now, not where anyone else will see!" Cass urged him as he pulled out his wand.

"Why-"

"Don't ask questions." She said simply, reaching into her other pocket, and pulling out the sack of coins, placing it down in front of him. From a distance, it must've been an odd site to interpret, perhaps something between a drug deal and a tutoring session. Did wizards have drugs? "That's fifteen galleons. I trust you'll keep to your word. No questions, no telling anyone, and report to me the instant you figure it out."

She hadn't thought Percy's eyes could possibly grow any larger, but they did, as his gaze darted back and forth between Cass and the money, as if she had given him the entire Crouch fortune. For a moment, she thought he wasn't going to take it, but eventually, he slipped his fingers through the bag's thin cloth handles, and actually smiled. Percy Weasley smiling was an unusual image indeed, but it surprisingly suited him, and Cass couldn't help but smile back as he pushed the book into his bag.

"I'll be in touch."

*

Dinner in the Great Hall, much like breakfast, was a spectacle. Now that the Ravenclaws had, albeit little, time in advance to prepare, they insisted the house elves in the kitchen make a cake, and had the entire table sing Happy Birthday to Cass as she hid her burning red face in her hands.

Several students from other tables joined in on the chants as well - the Weasley twins voices were distinguishably off tune, and Malfoy's mocking singing was enough to make Cass want to disappear entirely.

"Raise your glass!" Naia nudged Cass, handing her a goblet full of pumpkin juice. She wore a content smile, and her brown eyes were slightly glossy, as she held out her own cup.

"Cheers." Cass clinked them together, taking a sip, and glancing around at her classmates with a newfound appreciation for them. Sure, it had been beyond embarrassing having everyone sing to her, but she felt oddly touched by the attention she had received. People she hardly even knew wished her a happy birthday! Even Harry Potter, who Cass had never directly interacted with, had smiled at her in the hallway, though she quickly fled when she realised Neville Longbottom was next to him.

"So, how does it feel to be twelve?" Ana asked, taking a bite out of the cake. "Your last year before you become a teenager!"

"It feels the same." Cass lied.

The truth was, nothing felt the same anymore. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had more than one person she could count on, who was all the way back in Stromness. Naia, Ana, Padma, Parvati, Lavender, Terry, Theodore and Henry were all her friends, she could feel it now, with every passing second it accrued to her just how much they cared about her, and she cared for in return. Even Bethany, who currently was somewhere at the Slytherin table with her sister Dahlia, she was fond of, despite her being a proper bitch sometimes.

How did she end up like this? How did she go from a complete outsider in Stromness, to someone with friends, so many bloody friends, and good ones at that?! Friends who remembered her birthday, who collected her mail, who complimented her and let her borrow their notes and worried about her when she was having a rough time - who noticed she was having a rough time in the first place, because goodness knows she would never say it out loud.

What had she ever done to deserve so many amazing people?

Without warning, Cass felt tears prick at her eyes, which she wiped away with the sleeve of her robe before anyone could see.

"Thank you guys. Truly." She smiled weakly at her friends, taking another sip of the pumpkin juice Naia gave her.

"'Course." Terry lifted his chin, a rare grin on his usually placid face, and held out his goblet. "Cheers?"

"Cheers." Cass agreed, clinking her glass against his, and downing the rest of her drink.

"One of you lot should've brought firewhiskey!" Theodore complained rather loudly, his mouth full of cake, earning a sharp glare from McGonagall all the way at the Professor's table.

"We're eleven, Theodore, or have you forgotten?" Lavender rolled her eyes.

"Twelve, now, for Cass." Ana patted her on the shoulder, grinning merrily, and handing Cass a plate. "Have some cake! It is very good!"

She obliged, and despite never having been a big cake fan, Ana was correct. It was delicious, and for the second time since dinner had started, she felt close to tears by the amount of kindness around her.

Oh Merlin, she was going to cry, she realised when her throat tightened and her lungs began to ache.

"I'll be right back." Cass stood up from her seat and rushed out of the Great Hall, Naia waving lazily as she left.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was directly above the Great Hall, on the second floor, so she quickly made her way up there, not wanting to be caught crying if someone happened upon her in the nearest lavatory. Hardly anyone went in there, after all.

"You again!" Myrtle spat as Cass leaned against the same sink as before, trying to catch her breath. She had calmed down - she didn't feel the urge to sob from happiness anymore, but her throat still ached and her head suddenly began to spin. "If you hurt my sink again, I'll hurt you! Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah." Cass waved a hand, her voice coming out hoarse.

What the hell?

The tightening in her throat grew worse, and she felt her stomach clench up as well, like she was about to be sick. Her heart rate picked up exponentially, and while Myrtle was still shrieking obnoxiously, her words didn't register to Cass at all. Instead, her ears rang, her vision grew spotty, and she couldn't breathe no matter how hard she tried.

This wasn't a panic attack - she'd had those once before, and besides, what did she have to panic about? It had been a perfect day. No, this was much worse.

Not knowing what was happening, was about to cause a panic attack, though not being able to breathe trumped the unknown in her mind. Her throat had closed up completely, like someone was strangling her, though she still refused to cry as a revelation set in. She was going to die here, in fucking Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

She ought to go back to the Great Hall, or to the Hospital Wing, but her legs refused to work, and even if they had, she doubted she could get far considering how much she was trembling. She could scream for help - hopefully someone would hear her, or even try to convince Myrtle to get help, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.

As Cass's vision went hazy, her heart rate slowed down, as if giving up.

Fuck. She closed her eyes, the tears she had been trying to prevent now falling freely down her cheeks. The last thing she remembered was her head slamming against Myrtle's precious sink as her legs gave out.