musical mood: magic spell - aoa

The rest of the trip went by in a spectacular blur, feeling so fast that if you blinked you would've missed it. Cass couldn't remember a time in her life where she had been so carefree, where she could just relax and enjoy quality time with her friends, without anything looming in the back of her mind.

She'd told them everything - the story of her brother, how he'd joined the Death Eaters as just a teenager, tortured a young couple to insanity (she didn't mention who, in case Neville wasn't comfortable with his part of the tale being told), been sentenced to Azkaban and died in his cell less than a year later. She'd cried, for the first time ever in front of her friends, as she explained how scared she was they'd find out and be wary of her and think of her like she was the same as Barty, and they'd cried too, hugging each other tight and promising to stay friends forever, no matter what secrets they harboured.

"Do the others know?" Padma had asked, rubbing Cass's back.

She shook her head, wiping her tears with the palm of her hand. "I don't think so. Bethany does, and the Nott's probably do, but that's it."

"Are you going to tell them?"

Cass shrugged, biting her lip. "I should, shouldn't I?"

"Only if you're ready."

The rest of the vacation after their emotional session was spent in pure bliss, visiting all the tourist attractions London had to offer. They did see Buckingham Palace, though the Queen was unfortunately absent, much to Lavender's disappointment. The Tower of London was every bit as eerie as Parvati had hoped, and Padma was elated over being able to ride on the massive red buses, instead of apparating everywhere.

Cass found Westminster Abbey to be her favourite destination by far. There was something so creepy, yet captivating, knowing the remains of some of the most influential people in the world were only feet away from her. People she had learned about and been fascinated with since primary school, who had become immortalised by history, were still, at the end of the day, human. They lived, and they died, as nature commanded.

When she was sure no one was looking, Cass took out her wand and conjured flowers to lay next to the urn of The Princes in the Tower, nearly moved to tears as she read about their cruel fate. Families ought to protect each other over anything else, but because of the power struggles of men with their own interests in mind, innocent children suffered. As Cass walked through the gravesites, reading the memorials, that became a theme. Families battling, and children suffering over their parents' sins.

Cass went back to Stromness on the 16th of August, feeling considerably happier than she had on the start of her trip. She only hoped it would last.

She returned back to an empty house, without her father or Winky anywhere in sight, and peering outside of her window and at the dark home across the street, the Moore's appeared to still be in Ireland. Cass frowned, holding a little pin of Edward the Confessor in her hand - something she had gotten for Connor at Westminster Abbey's gift shop. She'd hoped to give it to him in person, but if they didn't get back soon, she'd be off to Hogwarts again.

Oh well, she sighed as she placed it down on her bedside table, directing her attention toward a stack of envelopes on her windowsill.

The first one was nothing special, just a letter from Hogwarts with the list of items she'd need to purchase for her second year. The second one perked her attention, as she opened it with a delicate grip, and read the scrawny handwriting.

Cassie,

If you are not busy, you should come to our house for a few days before school starts. You can share a room with Ginny, she won't mind. Ron has a friend staying with us, which means mum can't say no to us inviting you too, otherwise it's favouritism. We are bored, and we are pretty sure you are too. Also, you owe us many favours now, so you kind of have to.

Yours,

Gred and Forge

*

"Cassie! You made it!" George waved at her from where he sat, as she flew out of the fireplace, and carefully stood up. "We thought you wouldn't come. We owled you two days ago."

"Sorry, I didn't get your letter until now - I was out of town." She rubbed ash off her cheek with the back of her hand.

"'s alright." Fred approached her, his twin right behind, and patted her on the shoulder. "We'll forgive you."

"C'mon, let's give you the grand tour of Castle Weasley." George winked, tugging lightly on Cass' wrist to ensure she followed.

The Weasley's home, also known as The Burrow, was the opposite of the Crouch manor in every possible way. While Cass was used to few people ever inside her house, the Weasley's seemed to be running out of space to put all their children. Noises were few and far between back in quiet, empty Stromness, and Cass couldn't imagine how anyone got any studying done at The Burrow with the seemingly constant sounds. The Crouch's were minimalistic with items, despite Bartemius's generous paycheck, compared to the Weasley's, who had random knick knacks coating the house, leaving hardly any surface untouched.

Meeting the massive family was the best part of her visit by far. Of course, Cass already knew Ron and Percy from Hogwarts, but she hadn't met their little sister Ginny, who's first year it was about to be. Apparently, they had two older brothers as well, Bill and Charlie, though they had moved out, Bill living in Egypt and Charlie in Romania.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley - Arthur and Molly, were interesting, to put it lightly. They'd been in the kitchen, Molly magically doing the dishes and Arthur showing Ginny some book, when the twins had dragged Cass in and introduced her.

"So wonderful to meet you, Cassie, really. The boys talk so much about you." Arthur shook her hand vigorously, seeming so genuine Cass didn't have the heart to correct him on her name. Then, completely out of nowhere, he said, "I hear you know a lot about muggles."

"Er...yeah, you could say that. I went to a muggle primary school."

Arthur clapped his hands together, absolutely beaming. "Brilliant! If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the purpose of a pencil?"

Cass stared at him, trying to dissect if he was joking or not. "Well, you write with it."

"I see...but why don't muggles just use quills like us? It's much easier."

"Pencils have erasers, at the bottom, for if you make mistakes, so you can rewrite it."

Arthur frowned, deep in thought. "But you can erase your mistakes with quills too, with the erasing spell...oh, I see! Thank you, Cassie!"

"Of course." She smiled at him, trying to hide her confusion.

"Also, I always wondered-"

"Oh, Arthur, leave the poor girl alone!" Molly interjected, swatting her husband on the shoulder. "It's lovely to meet you, Cassie. Have Fred and George shown you where you're staying? Ginny's room is a bit cramped, I'm afraid, but I doubt you'd want to share with Percy."

Cass laughed softly. Her and Percy sharing a room seemed as outlandish as her sprouting wings and flying to the moon. "It's fine, really. Thank you for having me."

"So polite! How did you end up friends with my boys, with manners like yours?"

Glancing at the twins, they wore identical knowing smirks, and Cass rolled her eyes, thinking about when they pranked her on the first day. It felt so long ago, even though it hadn't even been a year.

"It's a long story." She said finally, and though that didn't seem to satisfy Molly, she said nothing more on the subject.

They continued to talk, Molly questioning Cass about her time at Hogwarts, and her summer. She told them all about her trip to London, though Arthur jumped in many times to inquire about various muggle things in the large city. He asked how the 'red muggle Knight Buses' move, to which Cass explained as much as she knew about muggle mechanics, and why the Queen's Guards wore strange hats. Cass didn't have an answer to that one.

The most interesting person she ran into at her stay with the Weasley's, was Harry Potter. Literally.

She was walking down the hall to find the twins, who had abandoned her during the mundane conversation with their...unique parents, when Potter turned a corner and ran right into her.

"Sorry!" He apologised as Cass pressed her hand against the wall to keep herself steady.

"It's alright." She paused when she realised who she was talking to, eyes widening. She knew Ron and Harry were best friends, so she shouldn't have been surprised, but running into the Boy Who Lived seemingly out of nowhere was still shocking. "What are you doing here?"

"Er...Ron, Fred and George came and got me the other day. My aunt and uncle weren't going to let me back to Hogwarts otherwise." His green eyes shifted between her and the ground, covered by cracked glasses.

"Why?" Cass frowned. "Is it because of Quirrell? You told them he's dead, right? This year will be safe."

Potter looked stunned, as if the idea of his family being concerned for him was shocking, then laughed softly, seemingly more to himself then to Cass. "Something like that." He paused for a moment, debating if he was going to speak again. "It's Cassie, right? You're Fred and George's friend."

"Cass. And friend is...a stretch."

"Why do the twins call you Cassie, then?"

"Beats me."

Potter smiled, and she smiled back, and when he continued walking down the hall, for some reason Cass chose to follow him, and sat down across from him in the parlour. She'd never had an interest in him before, never paid him much attention, unlike the rest of the school. Even as a new year had nearly begun, he was still just as scrawny and pathetic as he was in the sorting. Though after her stint in the hospital wing, she was also scrawny and pathetic, so who was she to judge?

"Potter." She called out, very much against her better judgement, as he got distracted by Molly's magical knitting needles. An idea had struck her, and though it felt invasive to ask, she figured she ought to. She'd go mad if she didn't even try.

"Hm?" He pushed his glasses up, and straightened his posture.

"If you don't mind, could I ask you something?"

"Er...sure. Go ahead."

"Quirrell...what happened to him? I mean, there are so many rumours I don't know what to believe. Was he possessed, or...?"

"Voldemort." Potter said simply, and Cass' eyes widened as the boy spoke You-Know-Who's name without a single ounce of fear in his voice. Maybe he wasn't as pathetic as she had assumed.

It made sense, to Cass, as everything fell into place, the question that had been lingering in her mind for over a month. Of course. She thought to herself, shaking her head at her own stupidity. How had she not realised it earlier? The Voice was Voldemort.

*

The Weasley clan (plus Potter) went to Diagon Alley on August 30th, to which Cass tagged along, though she separated from the crowd early on. Potter, being the blundering idiot that he was, somehow got lost in the floo system, and now they had no idea where he was.

While the Weasley's were frantically looking for him, Cass just wanted to get her supplies as quickly as possible, and leave. The massive crowds of the shops freaked her out, even if the task itself wasn't completely mundane.

She had one stop to make first, though, before she could even think about going back to the Burrow.

Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary was surprisingly empty, with only a few other Hogwarts students circling through the shelves. A tiny, old man Cass assumed was Mr. Mulpepper ran the front desk, though he looked rather glum from his lack of customers.

"Bloody Lockhart..." He murmured under his breath, though Cass had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

There were a few things Cass needed from her Hogwarts list - a Potions Kit Bag, and a Cleaning Draught, which were easily found near the front, next to the vials for Antidote to Common Poisons. Without thinking about it, she grabbed a handful of them, leaving only two left on the shelf.

"Is there anything I can help you with, dear?" Mr. Mulpepper approached her, eager to finally have a customer to help.

"Yeah, actually. By any chance, do you sell bezoars here?" Cass picked at the skin of her hand, taking a deep breath and ignoring how awkward she felt by her request.

Clearly, she had a reason to feel awkward, as Mr. Mulpepper's eyes widened in shock, his gaze travelling from her youthful face to the vials in her hand. "I'm sorry dear, we don't sell those here. They're incredibly rare, after all."

"I see." Cass bit her lip, trying her best to mask her disappointment. She knew it was a longshot, but if they weren't sold at a potions shop, where else would they be? "Do you know where I could find one?"

Mr. Mulpepper pondered this for a moment. "I have a friend." He said finally, and Cass perked up. "We haven't spoken in a while, but I could reach out to him and ask. He might not have any, but no harm in asking."

"Thank you so much, Sir."

"Of course." He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "They are very expensive, though. Are you sure you want it? And can afford it?"

Cass nodded, and Mr. Mulpepper once again glanced at her handful of poison antidotes with raised eyebrows, though he said nothing on the subject as she checked out. They exchanged information, and he told Cass he'd write to her at Hogwarts once he got word back from his friend - a man he called Horace Slughorn.

The rest of her school shopping went by in a breeze, and it wasn't long before she was back at Flourish and Blotts, where the Weasley's had said to meet back at. She still had a few textbooks to buy from there, though, as she approached the bookstore, she noticed a massive crowd filling the shop and pouring out into the cobblestone streets.

She pushed her way through the swarm of people, spotting the redheaded Weasley's as they were exiting. They had apparently found Potter, who's green eyes were wide as he carried a massive stack of new books that Cass didn't recognize from the supply list. Molly was scolding Arthur, wagging her finger comically. Her husband's hair was skewed, his robes dishevelled, and his face nearly as bright red as his hair.

Cass approached the twins, who were laughing to themselves. "Did something happen?"

"Dad got in a fight with Malfoy. Hagrid had to break it up." George snorted.

"Draco?"

"Nah, his dad. Lucy-shit or something like that."

"Lucius."

"Whatever." George rolled his eyes, though his bright smile remained. "Harry met Lockhart, though. Got a bloody picture with the git and everything."

"Lockhart practically latched himself onto Harry, poor kid." Fred confirmed. "He's such a pompous prat. Don't know how people stand him, really, but mum's obsessed."

"It's that bloody smile." George sighed.

Cass quickly purchased the books she needed, not wanting to spend any more time than necessary inside a room with so many people. Lockhart was still there, signing autographs, and though Molly urged her to get one, Cass insisted she'd do just fine without. The Malfoy's were nowhere to be seen, she figured they'd probably left after Arthur beat the shit out of Lucius. Though he was odd, Cass had to admire him - not many people had the guts to stand up to Lucius Malfoy, after all.