musical mood: emperors new clothes - panic! at the disco

The rest of the summer went by in a rather blissful blur for Cass, an unusual thing indeed. The fake relationship went well, despite setbacks (being George's insufferable nature). The Weasley family seemed shocked, to say the least, but were overall quite supportive. Molly even promised to knit Cass her own jumper for Christmas, which made her heart soar.

They got their OWL results back, Cass receiving an O in potions for the OWL class she took, alongside the twins both also getting O's. No doubt, thanks to her work on all their group assignments.

Potter and Granger showed up for the World Cup in late August, much to Molly's pleasure. It seemed as though Potter was her favourite child, including that of her own. They were awoken bright and early to head out for the World Cup, where they'd be camping out.

Percy went on and on at breakfast about Bartemius and his internship, completely oblivious to how uncomfortable it was making Cass. George, who everyone was now under the impression was Cass's boyfriend, kept eyeing her, as if he was worried that she'd storm off again, like she had at the dinner from hell.

Thankfully, Percy chose to apparate instead of joining them. Cass wasn't sure she'd be able to handle any more of his boasting. She'd feel bad for him, having to work with her father, had Percy not driven her so bloody insane.

"We're meeting with the Diggory's." George elbowed her as they finally exited the Burrow and began to trek to where the portkey was.

"So?" Cass feigned indifference.

"So, you'll get to meet your future father-in-law."

"I highly doubt I'm going to marry Cedric."

"You never know."

"Don't I? Chances are, I haven't even met my future husband yet."

"You never know." George repeated, staring off in contemplation. "Your future husband could be closer than you think."

"Future husband?" Fred cut in, walking closer to them from where he had been talking with Ron, Potter and Granger. "I hope you two aren't talking about marriage already, you've only been together for a few weeks. You're both a bit too young for the whole ball and chain as well, wouldn't you say? But then again, I reckon Ginny already has her wedding with Harry planned out."

Fred was, like everyone else, under the impression that the two of them were a genuine couple. Cass thought it would've been best to tell him, but George convinced her otherwise, as his twin was apparently a terrible secret keeper. Besides, tricking everyone was part of the fun, wasn't it? That's what George said, at least.

"You two certainly make an...interesting couple." Granger commented from behind them, as George entwined his hand with Cass's. Her good hand, not the one that still had random spasms and ached with every gentle touch. "I never would've taken George for your type, Cass."

Says the person in love with Ron Weasley. She wanted to respond, but bit her tongue. Cass was too distracted to form words, anyways, with the feeling of George's fingers clasped in hers. It shouldn't be distracting at all, really, she shouldn't care one bit, but the sensation made her stomach flurry just as it did when she was around Cedric.

"Oh, I'm certainly her type." George sent a wink in Cass's direction. "It is very odd, you'd think she'd end up with someone like Percy, but nope."

"You and Percy would make much more sense. If he was younger, that is." Hermione said.

"Percy and Cassie, a match made in nerd heaven." Fred snorted.

Cass rolled her eyes. "As if! I wouldn't touch your brother with a ten foot pole if a million galleons were on the line. And like Hermione said, he's far too old for me."

"Why are you lot all trying to set up my girlfriend with some other bloke?" George shook his head in disdain.

The word girlfriend sent Cass's stomach into yet another flurry, yet another thing she didn't quite understand. Her having feelings for George Weasley were just as unlikely as Cedric liking her back. Girlfriend shouldn't mean anything to her, because it meant nothing to George either, just another silly little trick for him, and a way to anger the people around her for Cass.

They'd come up with boundaries, of course. Hand holding was fine, which was what they were doing now, and perhaps an arm around the shoulder, but no hugging, and absolutely no snogging. If snogging George was anything like it had been with Connor, Cass would prefer to avoid it by all means necessary. She'd prefer to never kiss another soul if it would be as awkward and miserable as her first experience. But for some reason, snogging George didn't sound bad, like it had in her tainted memory with Connor...

There was no time to dwell on it, as they approached a tree on their walk, and Cedric quite literally jumped in front of Cass from where he sat atop a branch.

"What the hell?" She stumbled backwards, nearly falling over, only being kept upright by George's hand entwined with hers.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to surprise you." Cedric gave her a goofy smile, and her stomach did a backflip. "Nice to see you Cass, Fred."

"George." George corrected. Fred looked up at the mention of his name from where he was next to his father, chatting with Amos Diggory. Cass could hear bits and pieces of the conversation, something about Potter and Cedric and Quidditch. At the mention of the stupid sport, she redirected her attention towards George and Cedric.

"Oh, my bad. Nice to see you, George."

"You as well, Ceddy. It's especially lovely to see you today, given that you now owe me ten galleons."

Cass bit her lip to suppress a groan of annoyance.

"I do?"

"Yes, because I won the girlfriend race. Unless you suddenly have a girlfriend, which for some reason I doubt."

"You did?" Cedric seemed genuinely shocked by this. "Who's the girl?"

"It's good old Cassie, of course." George patted her on the head, and she swatted his hand away. "It's about time she said yes to me, wouldn't you say?"

Cedric raised his eyebrows. "Cass, is this true? You're actually dating George?"

"It is." She felt her face go red. Was he jealous? Or was he just upset he lost the girlfriend race? Surely it was the second one.

"You are aware he only asked you out to win the money, right?"

"That's not true." She and George said at the same time, a hint of defensiveness in both of their tones.

While Cedric's concern was sweet and all, part of her was upset by the implication that George would be so cruel to her. Sure, he was a maniac, but he wasn't mean.

"I mean, you were saying just a few weeks ago that you'd rather drink bleach than date him." Fred jumped into the conversation, evidentially bored from the adults talking. From what it sounded like, Amos was, per usual, bragging to Arthur about Cedric's Quidditch skills, and Cass felt a pang of jealousy seer through her. What she wouldn't give to have a parent who bragged about her.

"Yes, well, people change."

"But do you?"

Cass bit on the side of her cheek, choosing to not respond.

"Well, assuming there's no weird motive behind this, or trickery with Cass, I will have your money when we return back to school."

"Trickery? Me? Never!"

The group, now with Cedric and Amos added, travelled to a boot on top of a hill - the portkey that sent them flying in the air and landing Merlin knows how far away, at the location of the World Cup. Tents were lined up as far as the eye could see, with witches and wizards from all over the globe gathered to watch the Quidditch match. It was fascinating, witnessing so many people from so many different countries and cultures gathered together for one event, something Cass had never seen before in her life. Growing up in tiny, isolated Stromness, there was little room for diversity. Irish was considered a different race there, for fucks sake, and it was the 90s!

They set up their tent quickly, Arthur using an expansion charm to do so, giving Cass, Ginny and Hermione their own separate room from all the boys.

"Cass!" A voice called out, and Cass whipped around from where she was outside of the tent, but hardly had time to process who was speaking to her before she was smothered in a tight hug.

"Lavender! Hi!" She hugged her friend back, squeezing her tight, despite the discomfort she felt. When she eventually let go, she spotted the Patil twins right behind her, wearing identical smiles. Next to them was Henry, who's hand was entwined with Parvati's. "How are you lot?"

"Wonderful! How are you?" Parvati responded.

"Brilliant. I'm here with the Weasley's."

Lavender perked up at this. "Is Harry with you as well?"

Cass nodded.

"Lucky! All I got to do this summer was spend time with those two lovebirds." She pointed her thumb behind her at Henry and Parvati, her lips pursed in a thin line.

"You two are a couple?" Cass stared incredulously. They could've told her they were planning on stealing the moon and she would've been less shocked.

"Yep." Lavender answered for them, rolling her eyes. "They've been insufferable."

"Have not!" Henry scoffed.

"They have." Padma confirmed with a grave nod. "It's been bloody unbearable. Any chance I can move in with you?"

Cass snorted. "I've been spending the summer with the Weasleys. If you think that's any more bearable than Henry and Parvati's...romance, I have news for you."

"Are you talking about me, Cassie?" George jumped into the conversation, his eyes sparkling.

"She's saying you're insufferable." Henry said with a sly grin, and Parvati elbowed him. "Ouch!"

"Insufferable? Me? Cassie, how could you say that about your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?!" The four of Cass's friends exclaimed in unison, each wearing a more shocked expression than the next.

"I believe the word used was unbearable, actually." Cass said, biting down on her lip.

"Oi, hold on a moment, you're the prophetess, right?" George's eyes narrowed at Padma, a look of excitement sliding onto his expression.

"Prophetess?"

"Yeah, our dear Cassie told Fred and I that you're always making predictions in divination, and getting Quidditch matches correct."

"Er, yeah, I guess."

"Oi, Freddie, get over here!"

"What?" Fred groaned, stepping around from the other side of the tent, where he had been hidden from view. "I was just about to make a bet with Ludo Bagman about the game. By the way, you'll never guess who's here!"

Before Fred could say who exactly was there, George spoke.

"Well don't make your bet yet, good old Patil here is going to tell us who will win!"

"I am?" Padma's eyebrows jumped up. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, I'm not always right..."

"That's nonsense." Parvati shook her head at her sister. "You haven't been wrong about a game since first year."

"Come on Patil, who's gonna win? I have to make a bet with Anthony as well." Henry said, all of them staring at Padma expectantly.

She closed her dark brown eyes, thinking deep. After several moments went by, Cass thought she might not say anything, but eventually she spoke. "Ireland."

"Yes!" The twins high fived.

"But...Krum catches the snitch."

"Really? Oh boy, Ron will have a field day. He's in love with that man, I sweat to Merlin."

"C'mon George, let's go make our bet with Bagman. How much should we say?"

"Thirty galleons?"

"Don't even think about it!" Cass swiftly abandoned her other friends, and followed the two to the other side of the tent, mostly to make sure they didn't bet thirty bloody galleons. They were such idiots, truly...

But when she turned the corner, her breath caught in her throat, as her eyes widened at the person before her, mid-conversation with Ludo Bagman and Percy.

Oh Merlin, no, not again.

"Cassiopeia." Bartemius sent her a curt nod as a greeting.

"Father." She responded, just as coolly. Of course he would come to the match, he was a Ministry official, after all, and nearly all of them were here. And of course, he'd be hanging around the same tent as the Weasley's, since Percy was the only person who could tolerate him. But it still disturbed Cass, who was hoping to finally have a night away from the thoughts of her fucked up family.

*

Between the Veela's, the fireworks, and the match itself, Cass finally understood the hype around Quidditch, which she had never truly enjoyed before that moment. All frustrations about the unfairness of her life, things that remained stuck in her mind for months without end seemed to float away for the moment, as she found herself absorbed in the sport. Viktor Krum especially caught her eye - like Ron had said a million times, he was a brilliant flyer, pulling off some sort of lift that she couldn't remember the name of, but seemed impressive.

Just as Padma had predicted, not only did Ireland win, but Krum ended up catching the snitch as well. This left the twins in high spirits, as they had won the bet they'd made with Ludo Bagman. The two were practically skipping back to the tents, as Cass trailed behind them, laughing with Cedric. While the Diggory's had gotten their own tent (right next to the Weasley's), they'd watched the match with them as well. It turns out, the families were neighbours, and Arthur and Amos were rather close, as were Molly and Mrs. Diggory. Somehow, Arthur managed to stand Amos' constant bragging about his son, which drove even Cedric-crazy Cass mad.

Cedric's expression shifted from what it was while he was making a joke about something that happened at the match, where an Irish player nearly fell off their broom. "Cass, in all seriousness, what's going on with you and George?"

She felt her face heat up. "I've told you. We're together. That's all there is to it."

"And you're sure he isn't using you for the girlfriend bet?"

Cass knew Cedric was being caring, but as it had earlier, it pissed her off once again. Part of the incentive for the faking dating was supposed to be making Cedric jealous, but if it was, he wasn't showing it, and instead was just annoying the shit out of Cass. Sure, George had asked her out before because of the girlfriend race, but that had been a joke. She wasn't incompetent, and George wasn't cruel.

"Believe it or not, people can want to date me without ulterior motives. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not completely repulsive."

"I didn't say that you were."

"Brilliant. Are we done now?"

"If you want to be." Cedric bit down on the side of his cheek, the two now walking in an awkward silence. They had just made it back to the tent, the Weasley's already inside, when he spoke again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply-"

Whatever Cedric was going to apologise for implying was cut off by an ear-splitting scream.

"What was that?" Cass heard Ginny cry out from the tent.

"Probably the Irish, celebrating their victory." Fred said, but Cass knew in her gut he was wrong. No celebrating scream sounded like that, no, that was a scream of pure terror. It sent chills to her bone, as another one soon followed, and another, and another, until the night sky was filled with cries of horror.

From a distance, Cass could see figures, just close enough that she could make out their black hoods, silver masks, and objects floating above them. No, those weren't objects at all... "Are those people?"

Yes, there were people suspended above them. Meaning those in the masks and hoods could only be one thing...Death Eaters, headed straight for the tents.

"We need to get out of here." Cedric's breath was heavy, as he grabbed onto her good hand and began to pull her away, moving towards the forest. "We should hide in the forest. It's safer in there. They won't come looking for us."

She didn't protest, or even bother to imagine the implications of Cedric's hand in hers, as she followed him, pushing past the frantic crowd trying to get away, and towards the forest.

There were so many people, brushing against every inch of them as they ran around, just as panicked as Cass felt. At some point, her hand slipped from Cedric's grip, and when she reached the end of the forest line, she found Cedric was no longer there with her.

"Cedric?" She called into the night, but her voice was drowned out.

Maybe he was already in the forest.

It was dark, and creepy, and Cass was sure she saw at least a dozen spiders, but she made her way through the forest anyways, trying to go as deep as possible without getting completely lost in the process. Surely she wouldn't run into any Death Eaters in here, and chances were, Cedric was close nearby.

What were Death Eaters even doing here? It was a Quidditch match, for fucks sake, and now they had kidnapped people - presumably muggles, and were levitating them around like barbarians. They were barbarians, plain and simple.

For perhaps the first time, Cass was glad her father was here. He'd take care of it. The Ministry would take care of it, and everyone would be okay. She just needed to hide, for the time being.

A twig snapped.

Cass whipped around, her brown hair going askew from its ponytail, and her heart dropping at the sight before her.

Fifty or so yards away stood a figure, too far away to see a face, but close enough that Cass could tell it was a man, his back towards her, and his wand to the sky, as he stumbled for his footing, like he hadn't walked properly in years.

"Morsmordre!"

A green light shot from the man's trembling wand, which he held in his left hand, and a figure appeared in the sky, massive and chilling. A snake, and a skull, all disfigured, with the tail coming out of the skulls mouth, and a loud hissing emerging from it, that sent a chill down Cass's spine.

The dark mark. You-Know-Who's mark.

If she had any doubts that the masked people from before were death eaters, she was sure now. They had invaded the world cup, one had gone rogue, and was only yards away from her. So much for the forest being safe.

Cass froze in place.

Move! She internally screamed at her useless limbs, which refused to obey her. It was like she was frozen in place, paralyzed in fear that the man would spot her. Please, move!

She hadn't spoken out loud, but for a moment, she feared that she had, when the death eater whipped around, now facing directly at her.

Run! For fucks sake, run, Cass! She screamed at herself, but it was no use. She couldn't, she was still frozen, still as a statue, as the man made his way towards her. He was stumbling as he did, his wand raised, aimed at her freckled face.

As he approached her, she finally got a good look at the man, the death eater, the figure that had cast the dark mark into the sky. He was emaciated, as if he hadn't had a proper meal in years, his bones visible, sticking out from the holes in his robes (of which there were many, gashes stretching all over), he wasn't dressed like the rest of the death eaters, no fine black robes, no mask. He had little to no muscles, his cheekbones were high, his brown eyes wide, and he recognized Cass at the exact moment she did him. It would've been impossible to not recognize the madman that was her brother.

"Barty."

"Cassiopeia."

They said each other's names at the same time, and at the moment, it was impossible to tell who was more shocked. The two simply stared at each other for a brief second, but his expression diffused quickly into one of maniacal amusement, as he began cackling just like a villain out of a cartoon after they think they'd defeated the good guy.

"What's so funny?" She breathed, her voice thin and wispy as she spoke without thinking.

"I didn't plan to meet you like this." He said between laughs, as if this was the most amusing thing in the world. "What a lovely family reunion, wouldn't you say, dear sister?"

Run. Cass told herself, and this time, her body obeyed her, as she made a mad dash away from him, frantically sprinting through the forest. She was running as fast as she could, which apparently, was quite fast, with adrenaline rushing through her veins. She had no idea where she was going, just away, far away from-

"STUPEFY!"