musical mood: everybody wants to rule the world - tears for fears

"Where were you yesterday, Miss Crouch?" Umbridge asked as she approached Cass's desk. "You weren't in detention, like you were supposed to be."

Naia, who was next to her, gave Cass a funny look. "You told me you went." She hissed at her, her voice just low enough that Umbridge couldn't hear. Cass had come back from her time in the closet with George so late at night, that all of her dormmates had fallen asleep, and she had to creep around to keep from waking them.

The pink bitch Umbridge had been named High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, whatever that meant, meaning she could basically do whatever she wanted, within the laws of the Ministry, at least. Her power now overruled even Dumbledore, despite him having been Headmaster for decades, and she not having any prior teaching experiences.

"I was sick." Cass lied. "Throwing up all over."

"Well, you look fine now, so, you'll have two detentions with me to make up for it. Tonight and tomorrow night."

"Brilliant. See you then." She forced a smile, though as Umbridge turned her back and walked away, she flashed her middle finger.

*

George hadn't been lying, about Umbridge's sadistic form of detention. She wasn't the only one in detention, however, Saoirse Moore was there with her, and by the unscarred skin of her hands, it must've been her first as well.

She felt a stab of guilt as she made eye contact with Connor's little sister, as she thought about him. She ought to write to him, ought to explain why she never came back for him, explain to him that she loved George and was sorry for leading him on. She was a horrible friend. How could she do that?

"You two will be doing lines for me." Umbitch's words sent Cass out of her thoughts, as she gave them a false smile, a sickeningly sweet one that made her want to barf. "Miss Moore, you'll be writing, I must respect my professors. Miss Crouch, I must do as I'm told.

"How original."

"There will be no need to talk."

"Of course not." Cass pressed her lips together and glanced over at Saoirse, who had already begun to write her lines. She watched as her pale skin began to break open, and Saoirse let out a tiny gasp.

"Is something wrong dear?" Umbitch looked up, and Cass quickly grabbed her quill and began to write.

"No, Professor." Saoirse hissed, her voice full of venom. "Everything is grand."

"Wonderful." Umbridge reached over, taking a sip of her tea as she flipped the pages of a book entitled The Life and Legacy of Cornelius Fudge.

Cass rolled her eyes as a stinging pain shot through her bad hand - the hand she wasn't writing with. Her right hand had always been sensitive to the touch, ever since, well, whatever happened to it happened, but this was next to unbearable. With every line she wrote, it was line her skin was on fire, burning down to the bone, and by the time the lesson had ended, she had nearly passed out.

She certainly didn't think she could manage another detention the next day, as she stumbled out of Umbitch's office, Saoirse at her side. Her hand was bleeding, but she didn't seem to be too miffed by it, rubbing the blood off on her robe like it was water.

"Are you alright?" She looked up at Cass in a rare expression of sympathy, that she didn't think she'd ever seen on the youngest Moore's face. She paused for a moment, trying to confirm Saoirse had actually spoken, and she hadn't just imagined it.

"My hand is killing me." She eventually said. Blood dripped down the back of her hand freely, landing on the tile floors, and while it would've been smart to do so, it hurt too much to apply any pressure to it, to halt the bleeding in any way.

"I didn't mean about your hand."

"Oh?"

"I heard from...from someone, that you went to the loony bin."

"From who?"

"Doesn't matter who."

How was it that everyone seemed to know? Sure, Dahlia finding out and telling George made sense, but Saoirse? How could it have possibly gotten back to her? "I'm fine now. I just had a rough time."

"Hm, well, Connor wrote me, asking if I'd heard from you. Sounds like you guys made up, and that he misses you a lot. You should write to him, tell him you're back at school."

"Will do." She pursed her lips together as they turned the corner.

"Cassie!" A voice called out, and a smile broke onto her face as she made eye contact with George Weasley. All the pain that had been in her hand was a back thought now, as George jogged up to her, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Fred was shortly behind him, mid-conversation with Angelina, who looked up at Cass and waved.

"Gross." Saoirse muttered, pushing past them and walking down the halls.

"Well, isn't she lovely." George raised his eyebrows. "Who was that?"

"Saoirse Moore." Cass paused, before adding, "Connor's little sister."

"I see." His brow creased as he looked down, his gaze meeting Cass's bloody hand. He paled at the sight. "Holy shit, Cassie, that's a lot of blood."

"Yeah, well..." She shrugged, unsure of what to say. Another drop of blood fell onto the stone floor.

"What does it say? I can't tell."

"Same as yours - I must do as I'm told. Honestly, that bitch is pretty uncreative."

He laughed, though it was clearly forced. His grip around her shoulder tightened slightly, as he pulled her closer against him. "Well, Cassie, I have a surprise for you."

"You do?"

"Yup, I think you'll love it."

"Well, what is it?"

"Come on, follow me." He grabbed her non bleeding hand, entwining their fingers as he practically dragged her down the halls. Fred and Angelina trailed behind them - wherever it was Cass and George were going, apparently the two were accompanying them.

Eventually, they reached...a wall. Just a wall. Cass blinked, glancing over at George, who had begun to pace in front of the thing like he was going insane.

And they say I'm mad. She thought to herself, brow furrowing in confusion. Her confusion only grew when, as he finished pacing for the third time, a massive door slowly began to form in the wall.

"What is this?"

"Freddie, check the coast." George called over to his twin, ignoring Cass's question.

Fred peaked down the bend of the hallway, and gave a thumbs up.

"Brilliant." George pushed open the door, motioning for Cass to enter. "Ladies first."

"Such a gentleman." She rolled her eyes as stepped inside the room and glanced around. They weren't the only people who occupied it - the place was crowded with students, many of whom she didn't recognize, but they were clearly not all there by coincidence. Harry Potter was among them, doing some sort of demonstration, and all the eyes of the students were on him.

George approached Cass from behind, leaning in and whispering into her ear, "Welcome to Dumbledore's Army."

Turns out, Potter had become an underground professor of sorts. In protest of Umbridge's refusal to teach anything, he'd taken matters into his own hands, because he was Harry bloody Potter, and he couldn't just allow any form of injustice to happen.

While Cass thought it was a tad obnoxious of him, she had to admit, he certainly had guts, defying Umbridge so severely. She could only imagine what would happen if she were to find out...

"Naia! Over here!" Angelina called over to her younger sister as Potter finished talking - they were to split into groups and practice disarming each other. While Cass had mastered expelliarmus ages ago, she knew most of the students hadn't.

"Hi Angie!" Naia approached them, her hand entwined with Luna's. When her eyes travelled over to Cass, her brow furrowed together. "Oh, hey Cass, what...what are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I reckon." She bit down on her lip.

"Fair enough." She let out a dry laugh, before her gaze met Cass's bloodied hand. "Holy shit, what happened?"

"Umbridge." Cass and George said in unison, the tone in the latter's voice biting, as though he were the one in pain and not Cass.

"Really? I've never seen it this bad..." She whipped out her wand, and with a spell Cass didn't recognize, her bad hand was now covered in a tight wrapped bandage. It hurt like a bitch, the sensation of the cloth against her damaged nerves, but she supposed it was better than bleeding everywhere until it clotted.

"Thanks." Cass smiled at her friend as she tucked her wand back into her pocket.

Naia mirrored her grin. "Of course! Well, I suppose I ought to go practice the spell with Luna...oh Cass, by the way, just in case, don't tell Bethany about this. Or the Notts."

"Er, why?"

"Well...you know their families. It isn't that I don't trust them, but if it got back to Bethany's uncle or Theodore and Henry's dad...it simply wouldn't end well, alright? Just trust me. Ana and Colin have already agreed to keep it a secret, even though we both know they love them."

Cass's eyebrows jumped up. So, was Ana and Theodore's thing not a secret as she had assumed? Or maybe Naia just could sense those things.

Naia walked away with Luna at her side, Luna saying something to her about Nargles.

Cass turned to George. "Partners?"

"Of course." He winked at her, and oh Merlin, that bloody look was enough to nearly do her in. "Two galleons I win."

"You're on."

They took a few steps away from each other, though they made eye contact the entire time. It was hard to not look away from him, from his bright brown eyes and mischievous smile, and when he raised his wand and cast his spell, Cass had been so distracted by staring, she hadn't had the time to block it.

Her wand went flying, and he caught it with his left hand, waving it triumphantly. "You owe me two galleons, Cassie."

She couldn't even be annoyed with herself.

George handed Cass her wand back, giving her a knowing smirk, like he was aware how he'd someone managed to distract her. If a Death Eater that looked like George tried to attack her, she was toast.

Potter was going around, checking everyone's forms, stances, the way they held their wand, and eventually, he approached Cass and George. Cass had finally gotten herself together, and managed to disarm George, much to his dismay.

"I forgot how good you were at magic." He sighed, though he was grinning.

"Nice job, Cass." Potter gave her a smile, which she returned.

"Thank you. You're a good teacher."

"Thanks. You're going well too, George."

"I'm Fred."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am." George insisted, and Cass stifled a laugh.

"Why are you with Cass, then, and not Angelina?"

"Alright, you got me."

Potter rolled his eyes, turning back to Cass. "It's nice to see you're back, Cass. I'm glad Umbridge didn't manage to keep you out forever."

"Er...thanks." She frowned, unsure of what to say. She hadn't thought Potter would've even noticed that she'd been expelled; it wasn't like they were friends or anything. "I'm glad to be back."

With one last smile, he moved on to the next duo - Naia and Luna.

She turned back to George, handing him his wand. "Right, let's go again."

By the end of the Dumbledore's Army meeting, Cass was in surprisingly good spirits. It was just about curfew, but George insisted on walking her back to her common room anyways, despite the risk of him running late to his own.

"I'm only doing my boyfriend duties." He explained to her when she questioned him on it, and she nearly choked on her own tongue.

"Boyfriend duties?"

He stared at her, an amused grin slipping onto his lips. "What, did you think I was a one snog kind of bloke? No, Cassie, I'm afraid you're stuck with me now, whether you like it or not."

"Well, I certainly don't mind it."

"Have I mentioned that I love you?"

"No, I don't think you have." She raised her eyebrows, teasing him.

"Well, I do. Very, very much." They approached the Ravenclaw common room, his hand entwined with hers. Cass had never imagined herself to ever be in a real relationship, let alone one where they did things like hold hands and flirt in public, but now that she was, she couldn't imagine it any other way. There was something nice, securing, about George being able to express how he felt without worry for who would've seen. A significant difference from Cedric, whom she'd kept her snog with a secret from most people to this day.

When she left him to enter the Ravenclaw common room, very regrettably so, and entered her dorm room, she was met with her dormmates, all of whom had left Dumbledore's Army before her. All, except Bethany, of course, who, by the looks of it, hadn't even noticed they'd been gone. She was laying in her bed, on her stomach, nose in a book, and didn't even look up as Cass entered.

However, Naia did look up, brown eyes sparkling and her lips curled in a grin. "Cass, you didn't tell me you'd gotten together with George!"

"What?" Padma shot up at this, her hair half brushed. "You're dating George? Like, for real this time?"

"Er...yeah, I suppose I am."

"Since when?" Ana asked. "You must tell us everything!"

"Er...since like...yesterday." Cass paused, thinking about this. Were they dating? He'd just called himself her boyfriend, surely that meant they were, but of course, being Cass, a tiny voice in the back of her head was telling her otherwise. That he was just saying it to mess with her, and his love confession had been fabricated. One of his pranks.

She shook her head to herself, probably looking crazy to her dormmates, who were staring at her with anticipation. That was a silly thought, George had never given her a reason not to trust him, and she did trust him, more than she trusted anyone, actually.

"Well, I'm happy for you two." Naia grinned, which Cass mirrored.

"Thanks. I'm happy for us too." It sounded cheesy, but it was true - she was genuinely elated by her newfound relationship status. As she changed into her pyjamas and made her way into her bed, she found herself in a position she hadn't been for a long time - having something to live for.

*

Despite Theodore and Ana's new relationship being that of a couple, instead of friends, Cass hadn't seen the two together since she'd walked in on them. Every time they passed each other in the halls, their gazes averted from each other, like they were pretending the other didn't exist.

Henry, on the other hand, seemed to be avoiding all his Ravenclaw friends, much like how he had been behaving towards his brother from the year prior. Instead, he sat almost exclusively with the Slytherins, looking absolutely miserable every time Malfoy tried to speak to him.

Why he'd seemingly abandoned his usual friends, Cass had no idea, but when she tried to speak with him, he'd quickly find a way to exit their conversation. Eventually, she just stopped trying to understand, decided that the Nott brothers were too complicated to deal with. They'd come around eventually, they always seemed to.

In early November, she went in to the kitchens to meet up with the twins, who said that they had a new prank in mind for their favourite professor, the pink bitch. There had been a Quidditch match that day between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but she hadn't attended, having a mountain of NEWT potions homework to catch up on.

When she ticked the pear, and entered the kitchens, she was met with a shocking site - George had a black eye, and Fred a bruise stretched across his left cheek. They were both clearly furious, their faces glowing a bright red, and Cass swiftly ran up to George. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Malfoy." He muttered, spitting out his name with distain.

"We beat him up." Fred added with a sigh. "Us and Harry. He got in a few punches himself, though. Bloody anaemic rat, got us banned off the team for it. Angelina is furious, she's refusing to speak to me. Reckon I deserve that."

"Why would you do that?!"

"Doesn't matter." George shook his head. "Good luck to them, finding better players than us, Harry especially. He's the best seeker this team has ever head - including our brother Charlie."

Cass pressed her lips together. "I don't like the look of your bruises. I should make you a cream, I've done it for Henry before and it worked wonders."

"Nah, I quite like my black eye." George tried to wink at her, though it came off quite weird, given that his eye was practically swollen shut. "It makes me look kind of badass, wouldn't you say?"

"It looks painful." Cass insisted.

He shrugged, grinning playfully, and she couldn't help but do the same.

"You're ridiculous."

George stood up from his table, leaning in and planting a kiss on her lips. She smiled against his touch, pulling him closer.

"Ahem." Fred cleared his throat loudly. "I'm still here, you know?"

George pulled away, grinning. "Sorry, Freddie. Cassie's simply too irresistible. I can't not snog her, you know?"

A blush crept onto her cheeks, though she hoped it didn't show. "So, you called me in here for a prank?"

"Of course. Why else would I voluntarily speak to my girlfriend? You do know I'm only dating you for your potions skills, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Right. What do you need me to do?"

"We want to brew a love potion."

Her eyes widened in horror. "What? No, not again, never again! If you lot make Malfoy fall in love with me again I'll pitch myself off the Astronomy tower!"

"This time we promise it will go to the intended person."

"It better." She pressed her lips in a thin line, sending a threatening glare at the twins. "Who do you want to fall in love with who then?"

"We reckon it would be hilarious to have Filch fall in love with Umbridge."

"What?!"

George laughed at her reaction. "Yeah, we can slip a love potion into some sort of candies or something like that, have them sent to him from a secret admirer, and get him to be obsessed with her. I don't know who I'd feel worse for."

"Imagine having Filch in love with you." Fred scrunched his nose in disgust. "I suppose Umbridge deserves it, though."

"Like I said, I'd jump off the Astronomy tower."

"Well, we certainly can't have that happening." George flung an arm over her shoulder as she finally took a seat at the empty chair next to him. Fred rolled his eyes.

"You really think he'll buy it, though? The secret admirer thing?"

George nodded. "I'd say he's desperate enough."

"Fair enough." Her eyes narrowed at the twins. "If you mess with me with this, you'll regret it, got it?"

"Yes, Cassie." The two of them said in unison.