musical mood: female robbery - the neighbourhood

Cass often had a difficult time sleeping. Ever since the Barty and Connor things, as she referred to them in her mind, her nights had been plagued with bad dreams, of everyone around her being tortured and murdered, of Connor screaming how much he hated her, and so forth.

It was one of those nights.

In this dream, she was standing in Connor and Fionn's bedroom, her brothers wand not aimed at her, but aimed at Connor instead, who was cowering on his bed, hugging his knees to his chest and pleading.

The words came out in slow, slurred speech, as though they were talking underwater. Cass couldn't understand a word anyone around her was saying, but she could tell the tone. Connor desperate. Barty threatening.

"Stop!" She ran over, pulling on Barty's arm, trying to aim his wand away from her ex best friend. "Don't hurt him! Please!"

Barty didn't even seem to notice her efforts, as his long wand remained pointed at the blonde boy without so much as a glance at Cass.

"Please stop! Barty, I beg you! Don't hurt him! Please, Barty! Hurt me instead!" She screamed, still trying with all her might to pull him away.

There was a bang from behind them, the sound of the bedroom door flying open, so hard it nearly fell off its hinges. Whoever was at the door, though, Cass would not see, as she jumped out of her dream and into reality with a start.

She was on the floor of her dorm, next to her bed - she must've fallen off in her sleep, breathing heavy, with a metallic taste in her mouth and a pounding headache.

"What the..." Naia rolled over on her bed, awoken by the commotion, tired brown eyes meeting Cass's with a groan. "What's happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm brilliant, sorry. It was just a bad dream, go back to sleep." Cass moved to push herself up to her feet, but a dull pain ran through her right hand, causing her to stumble. Her head was pounding with pain just as bad as her hand, and her vision spun as she moved through the darkness, finding her bed and sitting on it with more effort than it should've taken.

"Right. G'night." Naia yawned, rolling over, her back facing Cass.

*

"Hey Cass!" Cedric waved as she entered the potions classroom the next day, his brown hair pushed back with what Cass assumed was sleekeezy, the weird hair gel that wizard lads used. George was sat across from him, back to his normal, non-donkey self, wearing a knowing smirk, and Adrian Pucey was, as usual, glaring at her. She hardly noticed.

The first half of the day had gone by in a blur for her, full of dull pains in her hand and head, and a complete inability to focus on anything going on around her. No one had seemed to notice, as their exams were coming up soon. Ravenclaws didn't take well to exams, Cass least of all, considering she was taking her potions OWLs this year.

"Hey." She greeted a beat too late, sitting down next to him with a wonky grin. Smiling made her head hurt even more, and she bit down on her tongue.

Cedric blinked, his expression morphing into one of concern. "Are you alright?"

"Er...I think so?"

"You think so?"

She nodded, the motion sending another stab of pain into her skull. She instinctively rubbed the back of her head with her right hand, the one that was in just as much, if not more pain, and flinched at the impact.

"You just seem a bit...off."

"I see."

"Bloody hell, Cassie, what in great Godric happened to your hand?!" George jumped up suddenly, reaching over and gently cupping her right hand. "It's all bruised up, what the fuck?"

"It is?" She frowned, looking down at her hand. For some reason, the light contact with George's skin didn't cause it to ache any more than it already was, though she could hardly focus on it, her vision was so blurry. Between the headache and the dizziness, she felt as though she had just downed an entire bottle of firewhisky in one sitting.

Was it bruised? She genuinely couldn't tell, no matter how hard she tried.

"I'm taking you to the Hospital Wing." He said, pulling her by her left wrist up onto her feet, and turning to Cedric. "Tell Snape we won't be in class."

"I'll come too." Cedric stood up, like a proper knight in shining armour. If Cass wasn't in her current state of light delirium, this certainly would've made her cheery. Cedric volunteering to take her to the hospital wing? Was he jealous of George?

"I've got it, Diggory." George said a bit too aggressively, walking towards the exit, pulling Cass along as he went. She nearly fell over, stumbling as they went. "You just keep sitting there and looking pretty."

Cedric, not one to take offence, nor give up, raced after them, taking to her right side as they walked through the hallway. Well, the boys walked. Cass was tripping over her own two feet like a toddler just learning to walk for the first time.

"Cassie, seriously, what the hell happened?" George eyed her up and down, between sending furious glares at Cedric, who looked just as worried.

"I have no idea." She admitted. "I'm just as...what's the word...confused. I'm just as confused as you are."

"She might have a concussion." Cedric said, his hand on her back to keep her steady. Merlin, that boy was so bloody chivalrous.

"How the hell would she have gotten a concussion?" George snapped. "It's not like she does much other than sit around and be a nerd."

"Oi! I'm right here."

"It's true." He shrugged, a small smile slipping onto his lips. "Besides, that doesn't explain her hand."

Cass wished she knew what they were talking about with her apparently bruised up hand, but her vision simply wouldn't focus for long enough to properly examine it. She hadn't done anything to injure herself so severely, unless falling out of her bed the night prior counted, which she very much doubted.

George remained bickering with Cedric, who didn't seem to want any part in this, and by the time the three reached the hospital wing, the poor boy looked absolutely exasperated. Why George was so insistent on antagonising Cedric, Cass would analyse later. Right now, her head and hand hurt too much to think about anything outside of the pain.

"Miss Crouch! Again?" Pomfrey rushed over to them, away from a Hufflepuff girl who had a massive rash on her face, her inflamed skin peeling and oozing with green puss. Even in her near delirium, Cass instantly recognized it as a failed Cure to Acne potion. "What happened this time?"

Cedric, who still had his hand on her back, spoke for her. "Er, she has this massive injury on her hand, and she's acting...funny. I don't know how to explain it."

"Funny?" Pomfrey raised her eyebrows, as George sent yet another glare at Cedric.

He shrugged, and she began walking towards a bed, motioning for them to follow.

"Come sit, Crouch. You look like hell."

She obliged, stumbling her way to the bed and sitting down on the scratchy blanket, her head spinning from the motion.

Pomfrey didn't use magic, like she usually would for running a diagnostic spell, instead, she simply examined Cass's injuries, beginning with her hand, which ached from the contact as the Healer gently held it up.

"Good Merlin child, what did you do?" She shook her head, speaking mostly to herself. Though this wouldn't be the most shock she would express - when she moved to examine the back of Cass's head, pushing back her brown hair and earning a flinch from Cass, Pomfrey let out a gasp.

"Is it bad?" Cedric shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"I doubt we'd be here if it was good, pretty boy." George rolled his eyes in a very Cass-like manner.

Pomfrey didn't answer them, instead forced Cass's chin up, making eye contact with her. "Do you have any memory of how you could've been injured?"

She shook her head. "I fell off my bed last night, but that's it."

"No, that couldn't have done this...this is just typical. Memory loss. That's the last thing we need." Pomfrey sighed, reaching for her wand. "I'll need to run more thorough diagnostic tests, especially on your hand, but this is not good...you certainly have a concussion, and several broken bones in your hand. You should've come here straight away!"

"Broken bones?" Cass blinked, completely dumbfounded. How the hell...

Pomfrey attempted to shoo Cedric and George out of the Hospital Wing, but both of them refused to leave, and eventually the poor healer gave up.

She gave Cass a pain potion and a concussion cure, but insisted on keeping her overnight anyways. Now that she was no longer in a state of a constant daze, she felt even more befuddled by the events of the day. How the hell could she have gotten that injured without remembering it?

"So, you seriously don't remember a thing?" Cedric said from the chair he sat on. She was upright in the hospital bed, picking at the bandages Pomfrey had wrapped her hand in.

"It isn't that I don't remember anything, I do. I remember my entire day and yesterday just fine. I only can't recall how I could've possibly gotten this injured. Like I said before, all I did was fall out of bed."

George snorted. "How'd that happen?"

"Bad dream." She shrugged, not wanting to elaborate.

"I overheard Pomfrey talking to someone, she thinks you were attacked." Cedric said, earning a confused stare from both Cass and George. "Something about the angle of your head injury."

"Attacked?" She nearly laughed at this. "I think I would know if I was attacked."

"Yeah, I don't really get it either. But she said it looked like you were hit with something."

"Well, I wasn't, so...I don't know. I'm just as confused as you lot. Pomfrey could be being dramatic as well."

Neither of the boys seemed to believe her, but didn't say anything regarding it. Truthfully, Cass was a bit freaked out by the concept of sustaining injuries without any hint of how, but she supposed that was the last thing she should be worried about. Her brother being alive certainly took the cake. It had been months, and yet the reminder was consistent, and the stress from it was growing to be impossible to deal with. Did stress cause memory loss? Perhaps that was the origin.

She pursed her lips to prevent a groan of annoyance from slipping out. Seriously, of course this would happen to her.

"You two can leave, you know? I'm all good now."

Cedric shrugged, gazing around warily, like he wasn't sure what to say. "I have a free period, so..."

"And I'd rather kill myself then go to my Divination class." George flashed a playful grin, putting his hands behind his head and stretching his legs out. "But I think Cassie was hinting that she wants you to leave, though, Pretty Boy."

"I wasn't!" Cass glared at him.

"Maybe she wants you to leave, George." Cedric said with an uncharacteristic scowl. Or, the closest thing a Hufflepuff could get to a scowl.

"A little bit, yeah." Cass mumbled under her breath, though she didn't think either of them heard. The two were too busy sending furious glares at each other - she wasn't sure she'd ever seen Cedric look as annoyed as he did in this moment. It was no secret they didn't get along well, especially in her presence, for Merlin knows what reason, but it was getting to be obnoxious.

"Cass!" A voice called out from the door, and before she could even look up, Padma Patil was running up to her. "I just found out what happened! Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Er, yeah, I'm all good. Just a concussion."

"And a broken hand." Cedric added.

"She may never brew a potion again." George gave a solemn nod, and Cass glared at him.

"Don't be dramatic, or I will kick you out."

"Ohh, so scary. I'm trembling with fear, Cassie."

"What happened to your hand?" Padma sat down on the bed next to her, looking down at the bandages.

She shrugged. "That's what we're trying to figure out. It should be fine, though."

"Well, you missed a lot. Bethany got another howler from her uncle, threatening stuff about her dad because of Colin, whatever that meant. Do you know anything about her dad?"

Cass did. From the little she knew about the Burke family, Cuthred Burke had been imprisoned shortly after the war for being a Death Eater, and remained in Azkaban to this day. He was certainly more crazy than his brother Cynric, who had avoided trials all together. She couldn't imagine Cuthred would be any more happy with his daughter dating a muggleborn than his brother, and Cass also knew she would be dead if she disclosed any of this to Padma.

She shook her head. "Nope, not a thing."

"Damn." Padma looked down, dejected. "You always seem to know these things."

"Sorry."

"Bethany's the crazy one, right?" George jumped into the conversation. "The one that's dating that kid with the camera."

"Yeah, him." Padma nodded, turning back to Cass. "Anyways, I can't believe you missed this. After getting that howler, she snogged Colin in the middle of the Great Hall! Like in front of everyone!"

"Holy shit, are you serious?!"

"Dead serious. It was so weird. This is the type of shit that will go down in Hogwarts history."

Even Cedric seemed disturbed by the idea of Bethany Burke and Colin Creevey's public display of affection, his nose scrunching up.

"The Great Snogging!" George exclaimed.

"What?"

"That's what it'll be called. The Great Snogging. Pureblood meets muggleborn lips. Those two are truly the Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth of the twentieth century."

"You're disgusting, Weasley." Cass eyed him up and down, though she had to admit, The Great Snogging had a ring to it.

"Oh come on, you know you'd love a public snog. It's romantic."

Her cheeks instantly began to glow, and she intentionally kept her eyes from meeting Cedric's. "You're a pig, you know that?"

"Oh, I know."

Padma snorted, before standing up again. "Well, I just thought I'd stop by to make sure you're all right and tell you the news. Have fun with your boyfriends." She shot Cass a wink, before skipping out of the Hospital Wing.

"They're not my boyfriends!" Cass called out as she left, even more red than before. She really needed to get her blushing under control - it was beyond embarrassing at this point.

"Boyfriends, ey?" George raised an eyebrow. She couldn't will herself to look at Cedric. "Not sure about good old Ceddy over here, but I'm not really down for sharing. You want to be my girlfriend, you got to be mine."

"Like you'd ever be able to get a girlfriend." Cedric said with a laugh, and Cass was so shocked she was able to turn to him, wide eyed and gaping.

"Is that a challenge, Pretty Boy?" George raised his eyebrows, challenging. Nothing like his usual playful banters with Cass.

"Oh my God, you two, please stop." Cass groaned, her forehead resting in her hand.

"It wasn't a challenge, but if you take it as such, who am I to stop you?"

"Cedric, I will kill you!" Cass pursed her lips together.

"Great! It's on! First of us to get a girlfriend wins." George clapped his hands together, earning a shush from Pomfrey.

"Wins what?" Cedric raised his eyebrows, and Cass wanted to scream. He was actually taking part in this?!

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet...but when I come up with something I'll let you know."

"This is a terrible idea, you two." She sighed. "Whoever you ask out is going to be really pissed when they find out it's just for a bet. Assuming either of you could ever actually get someone to say yes, which I find unlikely."

"Oi, if your creepy friend Burke can get a lover, so can I!" George folded his arms across his chest. "I'll have you know, I have quite a few suitors, I just don't have time for women, so I reject them. I'm married to the pranking industry, as I'm sure you're aware."

"No one with suiters would call them suiters, Weasley." Cedric said with a snort. He didn't brag that he'd certainly have a better chance at winning, that women were practically lining up at the chance to be with him, even though he could've. Cedric was just too modest, and it drove Cass mad.

"You two are mad, really." She shook her head.

"Cassie, will you go out with me?"

"I may have a broken hand, but I'm not opposed to punching you, Weasley."

*

"So, I ran some tests, and you have severe nerve damage." Pomfrey explained the next day as Cass sat up on her bed. Her hand was still in bandages, and the pain potion had worn off, causing pain to shoot up her arm with any movement. "I'm not sure what you did, Crouch, but this is bad."

"How bad?" She blinked.

"It'll be months before you can move your hand properly again, but I doubt you'll ever have full mobility. You'd best start getting used to working with your left hand."

She gulped. Why couldn't she remember what had happened? She was stuck without the ability to use her hand, and she had no idea why. It was ridiculous.

Would she be able to brew potions like normal? What if she failed her OWLs with Snape this year?! What if she could never brew potions properly again? Who even was she without potions? Okay, that was a bit dramatic...