musical mood: black water lilies - aurora

"Cassie, come on, please just talk to me."

"I have to get to class, George." She bit down on her tongue, ignoring the funny look Naia was giving her.

He'd been hounding her every day for the past week, sometimes with Fred, and sometimes, like this time, on his own, trying in various ways to get her attention, to get her to talk to him. Today, it was begging.

She knew she was being unfair, that George hadn't actually done anything wrong, but speaking to him was perhaps the last thing she wanted to do, not while she was going through an emotional crisis. He knew about her secret, he knew about Barty, and, perhaps even worse, she fancied him! Could things possibly get any worse?

Of course, there was the matter of Barty being on the loose, but she was safe from him at school, no matter what his threatening notes may say. Her father was safe - she'd actually spotted him the day prior, outside of the golden eagle statue. Everyone was safe, but her mind certainly wasn't sound.

"Cassie will talk to you after class, George. I'll make sure of it." Naia gave him a goofy smile as they entered Moody's classroom. It was a class with the Gryffindors, and they were some of the last people there, taking the only empty spots left.

"Only I can call her Cassie!" He called after Naia, who was giggling as they sat down at their desks.

"So, trouble in paradise?" Naia raised her eyebrows at Cass, who shrugged.

"He's been getting on my nerves, is all." She lied through her teeth.

"You can't dump him because he's getting on your nerves! Lavender will kill you, you know she's a hardcore fan of you two as you know, and I'll get an earful from Angelina for a month. She's really invested in your relationship, by the way."

"Angelina is? I've only spoken to her once."

"Yes, and she thinks you and George are the cutest couple alive."

"Odd."

Moody entered the classroom and began his lesson immediately, and much to Cass's horror, the subject of unforgivable curses was not, in fact, over. No, because today, Moody was going to be placing the imperius curse on all of them, to see if they could fight it.

"Is this legal?" Padma asked, looking around uncertainly. The rest of the students appeared to share the same wariness.

"Do you think the people who will be using this on you care if it's legal, Patil?"

"No, sir."

"Good! Now...Burke, let's start with you."

If Bethany was nervous about being put under an unforgivable curse, she didn't show it. With one swift movement of his wand and a mutter of his breath, Bethany was completely under Moody's control. Assuming, of course, she couldn't fight it.

But Bethany simply stood there, solid in place, eyes closed, as if she were bored by the whole ordeal.

Several moments went by, before Moody lowered his wand. "Nice job, Burke. I'd like to see the rest of you top that."

"Good job, Beth!" Ana smiled at her as she approached the front for her turn, and Bethany actually gave her a soft grin back. It looked foreign on her usually stoic face, but surprisingly suited her - Bethany was beautiful as it was, but when she actually smiled, even just a little, Cass imagined she'd have boys lining up for miles. Of course, she had no interest in boys, except for Colin, who she was for some reason still dating. Had the marriage not been called off yet?

Ana was less skilled than Bethany when it came to fighting the imperius curse, as only a moment after, she began to bark like a dog, even sticking out her tongue to pant.

After a dejected Ana went back to her seat, it was Cass's turn. She tried to remain calm, tried not to think that this was the curse her brother had been slowly fighting for years, her brother that was on the loose still...

"Imperio."

Cass expected her senses to be heightened after the curse had been cast on her, for some reason bracing herself for pain, but the opposite happened. She felt as though she were in some sort of trance, her vision turning into a blur and her mind to mush. It reminded her much of when she had the concussion last year, how out of it she had felt, but to an extreme level.

Apologise to Neville

Cass, who had forgotten Neville Longbottom was even in the room, turned to face him. When their eyes met, Neville shrunk, as if trying to hide from her. She could tell that if he could, he would've fled out of the room.

She didn't want to apologise to him, not in front of the class! No, that was the worst thing she could possibly do in front of all of her peers! She couldn't even face speaking to him in private, it hurt just looking at the poor boy!

But she was moving without telling herself to, it was like she was possessed by a demon, except the demon was Mad Eye Moody, and she was about to face one of her worst fears.

"I'm sorry." She said to Neville when they were only feet away, her tone of voice unique, a sharp way she'd never spoken before.

Neville didn't seem capable of saying anything in response, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. She wasn't sure he'd blinked once since she approached him.

Moody waved his hand, and the dazed sensation left her, leaving only the feeling of shame behind.

"Nice try, Cassiopeia." Moody said, but Cass hardly heard him as she stepped backwards, trembling as she made her way back to her seat.

*

The class couldn't have ended sooner, as Cass practically raced out of the door, hoping the tears she had been holding back for the past hour didn't fall until she was alone. She'd be skipping her next class, of course, and perhaps never show her face in the school again. She could just hide out in her dorm until she starved to death, and what a lovely death that would be.

"Cassie!"

She didn't have to look to know who was approaching her, who grabbed her wrist to prevent her from fleeing.

"Go away, George."

"But Angelina's sister said we could talk."

"Not now." She attempted to tug her arm out of his grip, but his beater strength kept her held tight.

"Yes, now! You've been avoiding me all week!"

"Don't care. Let me go."

"No. We need to talk! I'm sorry if I upset you with the brother stuff-"

Shit. Here came the tears. No, no, she would not cry, she wouldn't dare cry in front of George Weasley, not again, especially not in public! "Let me go or I'll scream."

She didn't see the expression on his face, she'd been refusing to look at him, but she could imagine it was one of dejection, as he let go of her wrist, his fingers still brushing against her skin as she ran down the halls, disappearing into the nearest empty classroom.

The moment the door slammed shut behind her, she collapsed against the wall, and onto the ground in a fit of sobs, in the tears not just about Neville, but all of the events from the past few months resurfacing yet again. The last time she had cried had been with George, over the summer, and she'd been hoping to keep it that way. But things had changed, her brother was still on the loose, she'd seen him, and her father didn't seem to mind one bit. If he cared, he wouldn't be wandering around Hogwarts like he didn't have a care in the world!

Was he trying to get caught?

Cass wasn't sure how much more of this she could take - she had to tell someone soon, even if it meant her father going to Azkaban. Even if it made her an orphan, and Barty's next target, if they didn't catch him.

They let him slip through their grasps once, surely they could again.

No, she couldn't do that, she couldn't betray her father like that, even if he had always been terrible to her. She couldn't subject him to the terrible fate of the dementors, subject herself to orphancy. Besides, where would that leave her? She was technically an accomplice, and she could go to Azkaban as well. Was it worth it? No, she'd rather die than face the dementors, and rather die than face her brother again.

For the millionth time, she wished Connor was there with her. He would be a comfort to her, even if he couldn't fix a thing, his presence always warmed her mood.

Now, without him, she was all alone, and wanted to die. Death would make this all go away.

"Cass?"

She looked up, swiftly wiping her tears away, and there at the door stood the last person she expected to see.

Neville Longbottom.

"Are...are you alright?" He shifted his weight from foot to foot, avoiding eye contact as Cass pushed herself up onto her feet. It was useless to pretend she hadn't been crying, she could only imagine how red and blotchy her face was, but she didn't have to look like a lunatic in the process.

"I..." She wanted to say more, to tell him she was fine, and to leave her be, but her voice caught in her throat.

"I'm sorry Moody made you do that. That wasn't fair of him."

Cass nearly laughed. "You're sorry?! I'm the one who did that in front of the entire class. I should've fought it better."

"I don't think that's how it works."

"I'm sorry." What she was apologising for was up in the air, there were so many things she was sorry for, to Neville in particular. But how exactly do you apologise for your undead brother torturing his parents to insanity? How do you apologise for something you didn't do, yet carry the burden of every day?

"Don't be." Neville bit down on his lip. "You used to scare me, you know?"

"Me?"

He nodded. "I mean, because of your family, but also...you're a bit intimidating. Then I realised, you're just trying to fit in, trying to go unnoticed, because when people notice you, they learn things about you, that you probably don't want them to know. Carrying a legacy like yours, I can't imagine."

In that moment, Cass decided Neville Longbottom was perhaps both the smartest, and the bravest boy she'd ever met.

*

"I don't want to do this anymore."

The words felt like a breath of fresh air as Cass spoke them, staring into George's brown eyes from across the table. They sat alone in the kitchens, just as curfew was ending, and she'd been trying to take a page out of Neville's book, and be brave. Speak her mind. Not be afraid of confrontation.

"Do what?"

"Pretend to date." What else?

"Oh." George blinked, as if he had been expecting her to say something much worse. "Okay. That's fine."

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it. If anyone should be sorry, it's me, for pressuring you into it. We both got what we wanted out of it. I won the Girlfriend Race and had bragging rights with a pretty girlfriend, and Cedric seems rather jealous."

Cass tried to ignore the part where he called her pretty, but that proved to be impossible, and it stuck in her mind for the rest of the night. "I started it, though. At that dinner with my father. Which leads to my second apology. I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I just...needed to process everything. It isn't your fault you know those things, most purebloods do. And I shouldn't have been so mean to you."

"You did threaten to scream when I was trying to talk to you earlier today."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Cassie. I'd love to make you scream someday." He winked at her, and her entire face went red as she processed what he meant by that.

"Did you-are you trying to make a sexual joke with me?! Because we're not fake dating anymore!"

"A sexual joke? Me? Never!" He winked again, and she nearly fell out of her chair. "So, are we friends again?"

"Of course we are."

"Brilliant."

The rest of the night went rather well, with George and Cass chatting away, planning their breakup story, and of course, George making mildly sexual jokes in the process. If she had been unsure before, there was no doubt in her mind now that she fancied George Weasley. The only problem was, she wasn't sure if she was over Cedric yet...could you fancy two people at once? It wasn't like she'd actually get either of them to fancy her back, so what did it matter?

Per usual, he insisted on walking Cass back to her common rooms, which she found to be rather charming, now that she thought about it. Like a knight in shining armour, except there was nothing in the castle to be worried about.

"So, will you help us make the ageing potion?" George asked, referring to the potion he and Fred were planning on making to try to enter the Goblet of Fire.

"By help, I know you mean do all the work. And the answer is no." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not letting you get mauled to death by some rabid lynx in that stupid tournament. Truthfully, I believe anyone who tries to enter is a bloody idiot."

"Your Pretty Boy is entering. So is Angelina."

"Would you stop calling Cedric that?"

"What, Pretty Boy or yours?"

"Both!"

"No can do, Cassie dearest. That would be like asking me to stop calling you Cassie."

She laughed to herself, shaking her head as she did. "You're ridiculous."

*

October flew by in a whirl - Cass still refusing to do the twins potions, Moody being especially odd, and at the end of the month, the two other schools came for the Triwizard tournament. Of course, the twin's plan to fake their age to get in had gone terribly wrong, their potion mixed with Dumbledore's age line temporarily turning them into old men.

Now, the three schools were crowded into the Great Hall, all waiting for the Goblet of Fire to make its decision on the champions. Near the Professors table stood Bartemius, looking awfully put together for a man who had a son on the run. Then again, he'd never looked not put together.

"So, I've been thinking," Parvati, who was sitting with the Ravenclaws, leaned in, gathering the attention of all their friends around them. "We should have a sleepover. You know, give each other makeovers, gossip, and the likes."

"Count me out." Bethany rolled her dark brown eyes. "I have better things to do than makeovers."

"Like what, snog Colin?" Ana raised her eyebrows playfully, and Bethany glared at her.

"No." She snapped, though her tone was unconvincing.

So her and Colin were snogging now? That wasn't good...Cass had a mind to tell her off for it, since she clearly didn't like the poor boy, but opted not to. Who knew where giving Bethany Burke unsolicited advice would land her.

"Well, I'd love to come." Ana grinned.

"Can I come too?" Henry asked.

"Of course you can! You're one of the girls." Lavender said.

Parvati's nose scrunched up. "If he's a girl, does that make me a lesbian?"

No one knew how to reply to that, and luckily, they didn't have to, because the goblet of fire began to hiss, before spitting out the first name.

Dumbledore caught it in a wrinkly hand, announcing the Durmstrang champion as Viktor Krum - the very same Krum that had played in the World Cup.

"No surprise there!" Cass said between claps. Had anyone truly expected anyone else?

"The Beauxbatons champion is...Fleur Delacour!"

Perhaps the most beautiful girl Cass had ever seen rose from her seat with a bright smile, and all the eyes of the men - and some of the women, in the student body were on her as she walked into the back room.

Parvati noticed Henry staring, his gaze lasting a tad too long, and smacked him on the shoulder.

"What did I do?" He asked, brown eyes wide.

Now, for what everyone actually cared about, the Hogwarts champion.

"The Hogwarts champion is...Cedric Diggory!"

Cass's head whipped up at this as the entire Great Hall burst into applause. Cedric smiled and waved, like the bloody Prince Charming he was, and practically strutted into the back room, where all the champions were to meet.

"Now that you and George are broken up, are you going to go back to Cedric?" Padma eyed Cass, eyebrows raised teasingly.

"Please, as if Cedric would ever go for me. Especially now that he's a champion." She rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help the funny feeling in her stomach at the idea of dating the Hogwarts champion.

Cut it out. She told herself, shaking her head. There was no use dwelling on things that could never happen. And Cedric would certainly never happen. Not now especially.

"I heard he's dating Cho Chang." Lavender said. "Not sure how true it is, though. Sorry Cass."

While it felt like a knife to the heart, she shook her head again, playing it off as though it didn't bother her. Cass opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the gasps of the entire Great Hall. She followed their gaze back to the cup, which was now hissing, before spitting out yet another piece of paper.

"There's another champion." Padma whispered, it wasn't a question, but a statement.

And she was correct, because the name Dumbledore called out, his voice calm and placid, was Harry Potter.

*

"Of course. Of bloody course." Cass scoffed as she ran a brush through her straight brown hair. "Potter has always been desperate for attention, but this is a new low for him."

"I dunno, Cass. He seemed pretty surprised when his name came out of that cup. I don't think he put it in there." Padma said, looking unwary.

"I agree." Parvati nodded. They had all gathered in their Ravenclaw dorms, opting to have their sleepover that night, so they could gossip about what had just occurred. "You don't know Harry well, but I do. That's not something he would do, he hates attention."

Cass laughed. "Potter hates attention? That's unlikely."

"I have to agree with Crouch." Henry said.

"Me too." Bethany pursed her lips. She clearly didn't want to be there, but had eventually given in to Ana's pleading to join their sleepover. The only person absent was Luna, who had cited a need to feed some magical creature in the forest. Cass was wary about letting Luna go out on her own, but she figured she could take care of herself. Luna was more powerful than people gave her credit for.

"Thank you!"

"I don't know. Did you see his face? He looked terrified." Ana bit down on her lip.

"Who cares about Potter, anyways?" Terry, the only other boy they had invited, swung his legs off of Cass's bed, where he had been laying. Ana had wanted to invite Theodore, but Cass figured putting the Nott brothers was not a good idea. They were still clearly on bad terms, for whatever reason. "Let's get this sleepover started! Lavender, can you do my makeup?"

"Of course! Get over here!" Lavender beckoned him to the ground, where she pulled out perhaps the largest case of makeup Cass had ever seen, and began dabbing the stuff on his face with a brush.

"Isn't makeup for girls?" Henry's brow furrowed.

"Oh, shut up, Henry!" Lavender waved a hand, dismissing him. "Our skin tones are too different for me to use foundation, but lucky for you, I bought this concealer for Parvati that will fit you perfectly!"

"Oi! It's mine?"

"I'll give it to you after." She waved a hand again, before running the stick over one of Terry's pimples. Cass watched in awe as it was blended into his skin, obstructing it from view. It was like magic, combined with art. She'd never been into makeup before, but now she thought she ought to give it a try.

"You're brilliant with that stuff, Lav." Cass commented.

"Aren't I?"

By the time she was done, Terry's eyelids and cheeks were painted pink, he wore red lipstick, black ink lined his eyes, and Lavender even drew in a fake mole. He looked like an African Marilyn Monroe.

"You look amazing!" Ana clapped, a bright grin on her face.

"I know, right?!" Terry winked at her, and they all collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"My turn!" Henry scrambled to get in front of Lavender.

"Oi, weren't you just saying makeup is for girls?" Naia said from her bed, where she was laying on her stomach, watching the entire thing unfold.

"Did I?" He batted his eyes, feigning innocence.

"When you're done with your makeup, can I braid your hair?" Parvati asked Henry.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes, though he was grinning all the same.

An hour later, all of their faces were covered in makeup. Lavender even painted some of their nails, Cass opting for a bright red, the same shade as Terry's coated lips. Cass had never been one to care one way or another about her appearance, but she had to admit, Lavender's handiwork made her look stunning.

"Okay, Bethany, truth or dare?" Padma asked through pink lips. Bethany had even been convinced to do her makeup, and play games with them. Turns out, Lavender could be very persuasive.

They were all sat in a circle, going around playing truth or dare. Cass remembered she'd play it with Connor, but for some reason, the memory didn't hurt as much as she imagined it would. Maybe it was because she was surrounded by her other friends, and she was in too good of a mood because of them to be brought down.

"Truth."

"Do you fancy anyone?"

Bethany pondered this for a moment, brown eyes shifting. "Yes." She answered finally.

"What!? Who?!"

"That wasn't the question. If you want to know, you'll have to do another truth."

"Ugh, fine."

Bethany turned to Ana. "Ana, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you...to draw a moustache on yourself, with that black stick."

"It's called eyeliner." Lavender said. "And be gentle! That cost a lot of money!"

Ana grabbed the eyeliner and Lavender's handheld mirror, and proceeded to draw a swirly French moustache on herself, though she found it difficult to keep her hand steady between her laughter.

"Alright, Cass, truth or dare?"

"Truth." There was no way in hell she was doing anything to ruin her precious makeup.

"Do you fancy Cedric?"

Her face went bright red. "Maybe." She didn't have to explain that she fancied George as well, assuming she actually did and it wasn't just a phase, her mind confusing their fake relationship for something real.

"Oh my God, you do! Your cheeks are so bloody red! Is that why you and George broke up?" Parvati's eyes were wide.

Well, maybe she ought to tell them the truth.

"George and I were never actually dating. It was a setup."

"What?!" Half of the group exclaimed in unison.

Cass proceeded to explain the entire thing, how she was mad at her father and wanted to piss him off, how Cedric and George had made that bet, and how George convinced her it would be in everyone's interest to pretend to date, and trick everyone.

By the end of her story, everyone was laughing once again.

"I can't believe you tricked us!" Padma said, though she clearly wasn't at all offended.

"To be fair, she wasn't very convincing. We really should've seen it coming." Bethany crossed her arms. "What do you and Weasley even have in common, anyways?"

"Right, my turn. Naia, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Hmm...who do you fancy?"

Naia's tan face went red, and she was visibly nervous. "Er...I don't know if I should say."

"Come on! We won't judge." Parvati said, her eyes pleading.

"Promise you won't judge me?"

"We promise. How bad can it be?" Padma patted Naia on the shoulder.

Her eyes trailed down to the floor, pursing her lips. "Er...I fancy Luna."

Cass blinked. "Why would we judge you for that?"

She shrugged. "Cuz she's a girl. And because, well, it's Luna."

"She is a bit odd." Ana shrugged. "But we'd never judge you for...er...what's the word?"

"Lesbianism?" Naia raised her eyebrows.

"Yes! That."

"Brilliant. I love you guys. I really love you."

"We love you too." Cass leaned across the circle to engulf Naia in a hug, squeezing her tight. This turned into a group hug, all of them surrounding Naia in a massive show of support and love.

"Right, right, my turn to ask someone!" Naia said after everyone went back to their spots, Cass sandwiched in between Henry and Ana. "Henry, truth or dare."

"Dare, duh!"

"I dare you...to kiss the prettiest girl in the room."

Everyone glanced over at Parvati, who was sat next to Henry, waiting for him to lean in and kiss his girlfriend, but that didn't happen.

Cass didn't even realise what was happening until she felt the soft lips of Henry on hers.

It was wrong, it was so very wrong, and sent flashbacks to her kiss with Connor, which had been just as horrible. Henry was her friend, even more importantly, Parvati was her friend! How could Henry do that to his girlfriend?!

She didn't have to think twice before she smacked him, and he leaned back, clutching his cheek with his hand.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She screamed, pushing herself up onto her feet, taking a step backwards. Parvati was already in tears, Padma rubbing her back.

Parvati stood up, and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

The room fell into a silence, with everyone unsure of what to say.

Eventually, Bethany spoke, her lips curved into a sinister smirk. "Well, that was fucked up."