musical mood: the good the bad and the dirty - panic! at the disco

"Go away." Bethany didn't even bother to look up from her book, as Colin Creevey approached the Ravenclaw table. His blonde hair was stuck in front of his face, and he wore a toothy, lopsided grin. Truthfully, he was quite charming, in an adorable, boy next door sort of way - if it was any other girl he chose to go after, he likely would've won her heart by now. But no, this boy had his heart set on the one girl who would never love him.

This time, he held a bouquet of tulips - how he managed to get his hands on so many different types of flowers for every day of the week, Cass hadn't the faintest idea. Even Professor Sprout certainly didn't have that many plants to steal.

"Bethany Isabella Burke-"

"-How the fuck do you know my middle name-"

"-Will you do me the honour-"

"-Go away-"

"-Of attending the Quidditch match with me today?"

"Sure."

Every student that had been in earshot's heads shot up at Bethany's agreement, but no one seemed as shocked by her response, as the boy who had asked her. Colin's green eyes widened, a bright smile forming on his lips. The Ravenclaw table was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

"Really?" Colin asked, extending his arm to hand her the flowers. He was shaking.

"No."

Colin's face fell.

"Harsh, Beth." Theodore said from across the table, just as she shot up, and marched out of the Great Hall, without another word. She kept her chin held high, and just as she exited the room, she flashed her middle finger.

"Sorry, Colin." Lavender patted the boy's arm, as he set the flowers down on the spot where Bethany had been sitting. "Maybe next time."

"Don't get the poor kid's hopes up, Lav." Parvati scolded her. "Colin, I hate to break it to you, but it's probably best if you go for a different girl. Someone less..."

"Sadistic?" Terry offered when Parvati's voice trailed off, his expression blank, though his eyes shone with amusement. For the majority of the time she had known him, Cass had assumed Terry was simply apathetic to everything around her, somewhat similar to her, but now she was sure he just had a resting bitch face, since his words and actions consistently seemed to contradict the way he presented himself. "Heartless? Inhuman?"

"No." Parvati shot him a glare. "I was going to say, someone less emotionally unavailable."

"Bethany isn't emotionally unavailable." Ana said, rather unconvincingly. "But I do have to agree with Parvati. Someone else might be better for you. Sorry, Colin."

"It's alright." Colin said, his face morphing back into a smile. For some reason, he decided to sit down in between Luna and Cass, instead of returning to the Gryffindor table. "It'll work out eventually. I know it."

"It sure will." Padma smiled at the boy - not a fake smile, like the rest of them did. Unlike her twin especially, Padma seemed genuinely convinced. Cass wanted to ask if she was delusional, but thought it rude to do so in front of so many people.

"Are you all going to the Quidditch match today?" Colin asked, swiftly changing the subject.

"Of course!" Naia and Terry said in unison, both seeming appalled by the concept of not going.

"It's Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, right?" Ana asked. After over a year at Hogwarts, she was finally getting into the sport, though that seemed to be mostly from Naia's forcing it down the rest of their throats.

"Yep. Angie's playing, so you have to go." Naia insisted.

"So is Malfoy." Theodore added, and Parvati turned to him, her nose crunched up in disgust.

"Malfoy is on the Quidditch team?! Since when?"

"Since his daddy bought the entire team fancy new brooms." Cass mumbled, not hiding her disdain.

She'd been pissed at him since she found out he'd called Hermione Granger a mudblood in September, and her anger had only grown since. Apparently, he'd said mudblood again, on Halloween, threatening the poor muggle born students - as if the writing on the wall wasn't enough for them to deal with. Even worse, the Ass Tonic prank hadn't affected him in the slightest - the only people who ended up braying like donkeys the next day were Crabbe and Goyle. Sure, it was funny, but they unfortunately hadn't been their main target.

The twins and her would just have to find another way to get back at the blonde prat. Cass found she didn't mind that part as much as she should - she'd get to spend more time with George, after all.

She frowned at her thoughts, pushing them aside.

"He's been talking about it all year. It's dreadful, really. Why do you think I spend so much time with you lot? Being around him makes me want to kill myself." Theodore rolled his eyes, and Terry snorted.

"Will Bethany be going?" Colin asked, eyes wide.

"Probably not." Terry sighed, clearly upset by this. He wasn't even close with Bethany, yet he got upset any time someone in their friend group missed a Quidditch match. He was so odd, truly.

"Well, she might." Cass said, and Colin's head whipped towards her. "Dahlia - her sister, is in the Slytherin team, so she might go to support her."

"Her sister is on the Slytherin team?" Colin clarified, looking oddly troubled by this.

"Er, yeah. Last I checked, she's a chaser for the Slytherins. Is that a problem?"

"Of course it is!" He looked at her as though she was stupid, then placed his head in his hands, like the world was ending and he was the only one who knew. "I have to choose between supporting Harry Potter, my future best friend, and Dahlia Burke, my future sister in law! That's such a hard choice to make."

"I'd root for Gryffindor." Padma added, her voice distant, like she wasn't really paying attention. "I think they'll win. Besides, it is your house."

"Are you just saying they'll win because your sister is in Gryffindor?" Theodore asked with raised eyebrows, adjusting his Slytherin tie. "Because I'll have you know, our team this year is excellent."

"Yeah, excellent at bribery." Cass mumbled under her breath, so quiet she didn't think anyone would hear, though both of the Nott brothers gave her strange looks.

"Padma has never been wrong about a match." Parvati said, and Terry nodded in agreement.

This just seemed to make Colin more upset.

*

The Quidditch match had been an interesting one, indeed. Cass was glad she'd given into Naia and Terry's pressure, and chose to attend. She'd been so fixated on watching the twins - George in particular - fly around, she'd nearly missed Potter being chased across the pitch by some rogue bludger, that ended up breaking his arm. According to Lavender, who had heard from Hermione Granger, that their nitwit Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, had managed to vanish all the bones in poor Potter's arm.

Padma had been correct with her prediction that Gryffindor would win, which had Theodore in a rather melancholy mood. Colin had been taking photographs throughout the entire match. Mostly of Potter, but he got a few shots of Cass and her friends as well. Unfortunately, Bethany hadn't shown up to cheer her sister on, though Cass suspected she'd been trying to avoid her unrelenting courter.

"Let me know when you get them made, Chris. My hair looks fabulous today, and I need to commemorate it." Henry said to Colin, and Cass had to admit, his long black hair did look nice.

"My name is Colin, actually-"

"Whatever." Henry waved a hand, as the crowd wandered through the hallway.

Just as the Ravenclaws, Gryffindors and Slytherins of their groups separated at the main staircase, making their way back to their respective dorms, two tall bodies sidestepped in front of Cass, blocking her path.

"Cassie, we've been looking for you." George said to her, still in his Quidditch uniform. Ana, who had been walking next to her, gave them a funny look, but continued on her way, whereas Naia was so engrossed in a conversation with Luna, she didn't seem to notice. Henry, on the other hand, stayed put next to Cass, as she conversed with the twins.

"What do you two want this time?" She feigned annoyance, though she'd actually been happy to see them.

"To discuss our next prank, of course." Fred said, as if it were obvious, before shifting his gaze to Henry. "Unfortunately, we cannot do so in the presence of a non-ally."

"Please, Nott is harmless." She waved a hand dismissively, and Henry's jaw dropped, offended. "What's our plan next, then? Or should we not talk about this in the hallway? Since non-allies could hear." She said the last bit sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"You prank with them?" Henry stared at Cass, astonished. "You're as straight laced as they come! Did these fools corrupt you or something?"

"You'd think that." She pressed her lips together in a thin line.

"Oi, who are you calling fools?" Fred demanded, trying to sound authoritative, but it failed in every aspect. Fred Weasley was the complete opposite of intimidating, especially to someone as confident as Henry Nott. He carried himself with such a regal grace, that seemed to be exclusive to select pureblood families, such as the Burkes and Malfoys.

Henry scoffed, before walking away, shaking his head as he went. "Have fun, Cassie." He called back at her, her dreaded nickname rolling off his tongue mockingly.

"Only we can call her Cassie!" George shouted back, just as Henry turned the corner.

"I don't think you own the nickname." Cass said.

"Of course we do." Fred took a step forward, as George put a hand on Cass's back, motioning for her to follow them down the hall, and in the opposite direction of the Ravenclaw common room.

She obliged, going with the twins into an area of the castle she had never ventured to - the kitchens.

After tickling a portrait of a pear - yes, actually tickling it, about a dozen house elves surrounded the trio, before they even had time to close the door behind them. An overwhelming smell consumed the massive room - one of baked goods, brownies and cakes and cookies. If smells could cause cavities, all of Cass's teeth would've fallen out at the spot.

"Master Weezeys!" One of the elves was jumping up and down with excitement, as though the twins were some sort of house elf celebrities. To be fair, they were popular enough among the student body, Cass shouldn't have been surprised that the elves liked George and Fred just as much. "Who is the friend you bring us?"

"Tilly, this is Cassie. Cassie, meet Tilly. And Apple, and Misty..." George went around, pointing out every single house elf by name, not hesitating to think about them as he went. He knew them all by heart, something nearly every other wizard would overlook.

Cass didn't even realise she was grinning at this, as the elf called Jerry led the three to a table, while asking if they wanted anything.

"Three butterbeers, please. Thanks, Jerry." Fred ordered from the elf with a smile, before turning to Cass. "You like butterbeer, right? Wait, sorry, that's a stupid question. Who doesn't like butterbeer?"

Cass blinked, not saying a word.

"So," George leaned in, resting his hand on his elbows on the table. "As you know, unfortunately, our ass tonic didn't go to plan."

"Though Crabbe's braying was really bloody funny." Fred added with a snort.

"We need to do something much worse. Now that Malfoy is all for this 'heir of Slytherin' bullshit, or whatever the hell is going on, he really needs to be knocked down a peg." George continued. "And we need to target Malfoy specifically. Not something that could only get to him by chance."

"Right." Cass nodded. "I assume you have an idea, then?"

"Of course we do. We never come unprepared, do we? Once again, you are absolutely necessary for the plan."

"Well, your potions skills are needed. Not you in particular." Fred added, earning a rather harsh glare from George, which she tried not to read too much into. Maybe they were having a fight. Though they seemed fine earlier. "No offence." He said quickly, when he noticed George's fierce gaze.

"None taken." She shifted in her seat, glancing down at the table.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, to ask about what their new prank was, the elf called Apple arrived at their table, with three massive goblets of butterbeer in her tiny arms, which were about the same size as her.

"Here you is!" The eager elf set them down on the table, not spilling an ounce of the liquid in the process. "Enjoy! Let Apple know if you is needing anything else, Mr. Weezeys and Miss Cassie."

"Will do. Thanks again, Apple." George sent the elf off with a wink, before directing his attention to Cass. "I saw you in the stands today, at the game. Brilliant to see you support Gryffindor, right Freddie?"

"Brilliant indeed."

"Bold of you to assume I was supporting Gryffindor." Cass raised her eyebrows with a challenging smirk - one she'd never had anything like before, yet felt completely natural. "I do have Slytherin friends too, you know. Well...one Slytherin friend. But a friend all the same."

"Oh please, we know you like us far more than you do Theodore Nott. He's a bloody nutter - I swear that kid has more energy than we do!"

Cass didn't respond, only bit on her lip to prevent herself from smiling any more than she already was. They weren't wrong - Theodore Nott was a ball of pure, unrelenting energy. She was surprised he hadn't somehow combusted by now.

Fred leaned in. "Anyways, Cassie, we all know you supported Gryffindor, and good thing you did, considering our spectacular win."

"Unfortunate what happened to Harry, though." George continued, and Fred nodded gravely.

"Very unfortunate."

"No doubt Malfoy was behind that one, too." George said with an irritated sigh.

"You think Malfoy was behind that bludger?" Cass's smile faded, her tone shifting to one of seriousness. Every day, she grew more and more shocked by Malfoy's character. She'd known him for so long, and he'd always been a bully, but now...potentially being violent? That bludger could've gotten Potter killed!

No, there was no way Malfoy was behind that. He wouldn't be that reckless. Sure, he was a dick, but he wasn't an idiot.

"Well, someone had to have been. No bludger behaves like that normally. It was tampered with, Hooch is sure of it." George explained. "Only problem is, it's near impossible to figure out who did it."

"It had to have been a Slytherin, though, trying to rig the match so they'd win." Fred said. "Slimey gits, every last one of them..."

"Are you forgetting Dahlia is a Slytherin? And on their Quidditch team, as well?"

"She doesn't count." George waved a hand daftly, brushing her off. "She's an honorary Gryffindor. Anyways, we weren't talking about her, we're talking about Malfoy. He's gone too far this time."

"You don't even know if it was him!" Cass insisted, though her voice wavered, exposing her uncertainty. As much as she wanted to hope it wasn't Malfoy behind it, she knew for a fact he was a complete douchebag, and he hated Potter more than anything. Maybe, in the heat of the moment, he would take things too far.

George eyed her up and down with a knowing smirk that boiled her blood. Instead of saying anything, he just took a long sip from his butterbeer, though his piercing gaze on her did not waver.

"It doesn't matter if he did it, really." Fred glanced between the two, also taking a drink from his goblet. "Malfoy's still going to be the target of our next prank, for his whole pureblood nonsense. It's getting ridiculous."

Cass's drink remained in front of her, untouched, as she nervously fiddled with her hands. There was a spell she had learned early on over the summer to check for most detectable poisons in foods and drinks, which she used before every meal. But her wand was back in her dorm, as she hadn't planned on doing anything except go to the Quidditch match, alongside with her vials of antidotes. She highly doubted the sweet house elves would try to kill her, but she also didn't think Naia would've, and look how that ended up. No, she couldn't afford to be careless.

"Yeah. You're right about that, I suppose. The whole M-word thing is getting a bit much."

"So, Cassie, does that mean you're in?"

"Well, it depends on what your plan is. I'm not going to do anything illegal. Or that could get anyone hurt."

"Illegal?" George clasped a hand to his heart in mock shock. "What do you take us for? No, Freddie and I are perfectly innocent, law-abiding citizens!"

"Whatever you say."

"That's the spirit." He raised his eyebrows playfully, though his grin faulted when he saw her untouched butterbeer, and anxious expression. Fred hadn't seemed to notice, he was distracted watching one of the house elves cooking at a nearby stove, flipping pancakes with a lopsided chef's hat, ears poking out awkwardly.

After taking another long, exaggerated sip of his drink, George set it down on the table with a clang and a sigh. "My butterbeer is a bit warm for my liking. Cassie, let's swap."

Without giving her a chance to react, he swapped their mugs, handing his to her with a knowing, sympathetic smile.

Usually, Cass would've been embarrassed by something like this, by the vulnerability presented, but she found it to be rather touching.

"Thanks."

"No need to thank me. Like I said, mine's too warm." He shot her a signature wink. "Anyway, so we were thinking. If Malfoy thinks it's okay to humiliate muggleborns in the way he's been doing, we ought to humiliate him."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going..." Cass frowned, just as she took a gentle sip from George's butterbeer. It was cold, probably colder than hers had been.

"We're going to slip him a love potion, that you're going to brew." Fred continued, and she spit out the butterbeer.

"Shit, shit sorry!" She apologized between coughs, and once she calmed down, she spoke again. "What the hell?! You can't just slip someone a love potion! That's illegal - like actually illegal! You can get sued for that shit!"

"Oh come on now, no one's ever gotten in trouble for a little love potion. We'll do a light one, the kind that only lasts for a few days. No long term damage, we promise."

"You two are insane." Cass shook her head, running a hand through her long brown hair. "Who would you even make him fall in love with? Because I'm not volunteering myself for that." She gagged at the thought.

"Don't worry, we'd never try to subject you to Malfoy's love." George said. "We'd need your help with that, though. You see, we want to find a willing person, preferably muggleborn, to be our guinea pig. Unfortunately, the only muggleborn we know well enough to ask is Granger, and she refused."

"She called us dingbats." Fred crossed his arms, offended.

"Yes, it was quite rude. Fred here nearly cried." George patted his brother's shoulder in a mock sympathy, as he turned to protest this, but George cut him off before he could speak. "Really, Cassie, Granger could give you a run for your money when it comes to insults."

"Please, no one can out-insult me. I'm Scottish and French, I practically came out of the womb swearing."

"You have a point."

"So, back to Malfoy and his soon-to-be lover." George rested his elbows on the table. "There are a few muggleborns I know you're pals with, if you could at least try to talk them into it. Like Terry Boot. He's muggleborn, right? And that Russian girl, Anastasia or whatever."

"Belarusian." Cass corrected.

"Bless you."

She blinked. "Er...anyways. I'll think about it...and maybe ask Terry." When the twins eyes lit up, she sighed. "I said maybe! Don't get it into your heads!"