musical mood: I am - ive

Cass woke with a start, her chest heaving up and down, and sweat pouring down her face as her eyes shot open. There was a sharp pain in the back of her head, as she lifted herself up, and took in her surroundings. She was in the hospital wing, and suddenly, was flashed back to her first year, when she'd been poisoned and had that dream about Barty. Which hadn't been a dream, not at all, but somehow their Bond had allowed them to communicate.

This time, light poured through the windows, causing her to squint, and press a hand above her face to block out the painful sunlight.

"Miss Crouch, you're awake!" The ever-faithful Madam Pomfrey was already on her feet, and when her eyes met Cass, she rushed over to her side.

"Where's George?" Was the first thing she asked as the healer reached her. She knew what she needed to do, when she saw him next. As much as it hurt her to even think about, she knew something had to be done, and now.

"Mr. Weasley is in class, or should be, but knowing him...no matter." She waved a dismissive hand, and Cass stifled a laugh. "I'll have someone alert him that you're awake."

"No need."

The two of them turned to the entrance of the hospital wing, where George was walking in, hands behind his back. His brown eyes were rimmed red, as though he had been crying, with dark, baggy circles hanging beneath them. His voice was hoarse, and Madam Pomfrey seemed to understand that the two needed to be alone, as she swiftly left the room without so much as a goodbye.

"Hey, Cassie." He gave an awkward wave as he sat down in the chair next to her.

"How long was I out?" She pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing as pain shot up her bad hand from the movement. The hand, the injury...it hadn't been a dream, her conversation with Barty, she knew that for sure. Everything he had said was real, and was the truth.

"Just the night." He bit down on his lip, staring at the floor. "I'm sorry I hexed you. I panicked. I...I told Pomfrey we just found you like that, I wasn't sure what else to do. You weren't waking up, I think you hit your head. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. If I'm remembering things correctly, I was about to kill myself." Her voice was low, as she played a passive role, pretending that the entirety of the night wasn't crystal clear to her now. If she could play it all off as an episode, she could sway George of suspicion, because once again, Barty was right. No one could know what she knew, because no one would believe her, and if they did, it would put them in danger.

He nodded, so slow it was like he was moving underwater. "How much do you remember?"

"Not much." She lied through her teeth. "Just that Henry played a really cruel prank on me, and it sent me into an episode. Is that what happened?"

"Essentially." George's jaw was clenched at the mention of Henry, his nostrils flaring in what was evident anger. Had Cass not been so maxed out with everything that had happened, she would've been somewhat flattered, that George cared so much about her.

He shouldn't.

Him caring put himself in danger.

Besides, there wasn't much to care about, when it came to her. While she'd healed enough to understand that the events of last year hadn't been entirely her fault, she still knew she wasn't worthy of George, or most people, to be honest.

"Henry told me he's in love with you." George said after a long moment of silence.

"Why would he say that?"

"I don't know. It clearly isn't true. Someone who loved you wouldn't fuck with you, not like that." He shook his head. "I hate him. You nearly died because of him."

"I'm fine, George."

"What if you hadn't been, though? What if I hadn't been quick enough, and you'd cast that spell? I know you thought you'd come back to life, or whatever Henry had got into your head, but fuck, Cassie, you basically attempted suicide. Because of him."

"I'm fine, though." She repeated, with more urgency. She didn't want to seem like she was defending Henry, but it was hard to stand by and allow who she considered one of her only friends at the moment to be slandered over something that he hadn't done. He had been telling the truth, and he'd done it at what might've been a risky price. If it somehow reflected onto Ana, if someone hurt her because of Henry's confession...well, she refused to think about that. How would they even get to Ana, after all? She lived so far away, all the way in Belarus, she highly doubted You-Know-Who and Barty would go out of their way to hunt her down.

"But what if you weren't?"

"We won't find out."

"Damn right we won't." He reached over, giving her good hand a squeeze, though she pulled out of his grip. It broke her heart to do it, but she knew she had to. She had to break her heart, break his heart. The heart of the boy she loved more than anyone.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as he looked up to meet her gaze. "Cassie, is everything okay?"

She shook her head, pushing the blankets off of her, and pulling her knees up to her chest, keeping them in place with her hands. She could only hope George didn't notice how much she was trembling.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel guilty." She admitted, telling perhaps the first truth since this conversation began. "You don't deserve to have to put up with my episodes."

"Cassie, if anything is unfair, it's Henry intentionally triggering your episodes, not me putting up with them. You were doing so much better. One setback isn't a big deal." He insisted, though by the tone of his voice, she wasn't sure he believed what he was saying. As if to convince himself, and her, he leaned down, and pressed a kiss against her cheek. "I love you."

Her breath caught in her throat. She needed to, she had to break up with him, now. But the look on his face...breaking his heart wasn't an option, no matter what the consequences may be. She couldn't do it.

Forcing a smile, she cleared her throat, blinking back the burning tears that threatened to fall at any given moment.

"I love you too."

*

March went by in a horrible, miserable blur.

As much as Cass wanted to spend time with Henry, she had to keep up the appearance that she was mad at him - and she was, but not for the reasons she told George. She insisted that she was mad at Henry for sending her into an unneeded episode, when in reality, she was angry because he'd kept Barty a secret from her for so long. She understood why he felt like he had to, but it made her upset nevertheless.

She heard nothing more from Barty, he didn't attempt to communicate through their Bond, which she found herself grateful for. She was planning on breaking into Umbridge's office, and finding that bloody book, but she wasn't sure how to do it, or when. She couldn't get the twins involved, of course, and on her own, she was practically useless when it came to those sorts of things. Sure, she'd stolen the book from Quirrell, but she'd also had help, which she couldn't afford this time around. She was still desperately trying to salvage her reputation as Crazy Crouch, which apparently some of the younger students referred to her as.

It was the first of April, which just so happened to be the twins birthday, when they were crowded inside the Room of Requirement, listening to Potter explain how to do a patronus.

Cass was certainly wary about this. She didn't think it possible for her to cast a patronus - those required pure, utter happiness, something she didn't think she'd experienced in years. Certainly not since her and Connor had their fallout in her third year. That was when everything went to shit in her life, when everything around her collapsed and she found herself living in a state of pure misery.

Sure, George had helped a lot with the misery aspect of her life, but she would never be happy, not in every sense of the word. She'd given up on happiness long ago, and had settled for content. Content was good, nice, she liked content. But was it enough to cast a Patronus? She was almost certain that it wasn't.

Even if she desired happiness enough to fight for it, she never could achieve such a thing, not with Barty still alive, and by the sounds of it, he couldn't die.

She pressed her lips together as George and Fred whipped their wands, and together formed two magpies. The two exchanged excited glances, and Angelina began clapping from next to Fred.

"Nice job, you two!" Harry shouted from across the room, where he was helping out Cho Chang. Next to the two were Naia and Luna, and Cass tore her gaze away from the two.

Even a month later, Naia's voice still rang clearly in her head, the warning that being in a relationship when her mental health was so fragile was a bad idea. Naia didn't even know the half of it, but she had been right. But Cass couldn't find it in her to break up with George, to break up with the one person that brought her from miserable to content, even with everything going on.

She hated lying to him more than just about anything in the world, but she couldn't tell him the truth, for so many reasons. So, she held her tongue, clapping along with everyone else nearby as the twins two magpie danced around the room, eventually evaporating into a whisp of silver.

"Good job." Cass smiled up at George.

"Thanks." He winked at her. "Come on, give it a go."

Her eyes flickered towards Naia, who had just cast a massive lion as her Patronus, that began to prance around the room, roaring and snarling at those it came across. It suited Naia perfectly, a lion. Fierce, loyal, protective.

A searing pain ran through her heart, like a knife, as she realised just how much she missed her friend.

"One moment." She said to George, before pushing across the room towards the curly haired girl.

"-lovely job, really." Luna was saying, and as Cass approached her, her head lifted, her lips curved into a pleasant smile. "Hello, Cassiopeia. How have you been? It's been a while."

"Grand. Thanks." She smiled back, though it was forced. Most of her recent smiles were, come to think of it. "How are you?"

"Brilliant. I just got Naia into veganism."

"It's a lovely lifestyle." Naia grinned, though she didn't look convinced. "It's much more than a diet, I've discovered."

Luna turned back to Cass. "Would you like to join us? It's our pledge to save the animals."

"Er, I would, Luna, but I really like bacon..."

She sighed, as Naia let out a laugh.

"I've missed you, Naia." Cass said suddenly, the words flying out of her before she could stop them. She could feel her face burn up as Naia eyed her, but she continued to speak anyways, careless to how her abrupt confession may seem. "I was really mad at you, but...I understand, now. Where you were coming from, and why you and Padma and Bethany did what you did. I just want you back as a friend now. Is that...okay?"

"Is that okay?" Naia repeated, laughing, and Cass felt like dying of shame on the spot. Fuck, it was too late, Naia hated her now. It was over, it was all over. But before she could sulk back over to George, Naia continued speaking. "Of course it's okay! I've missed you so much, Cass. Fuck, it's sucked in the dorm without you."

"Though it's smelled better." Luna added, and Cass frowned.

"I think she means because of the potions you brew. Not that you smell." Naia interjected, her voice fast.

"Ah."

The two made eye contact, and both burst into a mirrored, giddy smile. Then, without warning, Naia wrapped her arms around Cass in a tight hug.

Oh.

There it was.

Happiness.

Or as close as she was going to get towards it.

Cass swiftly broke out of the hug, whipping out her wand, and pointing it into the air before the happy feeling could run away. "Expecto Patronum!"

At first, she thought she'd done it wrong, because only a blueish-grey sliver came out from her wand, instead of the animal, but then she noticed, the sliver had eyes.

Her patronus was a snake.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"It's an adder!" Naia jumped up and down, clapping her hands, for some reason entranced by the species of snake before her. "That's so cool!"

Just as the adder came, it went, the animal dissolving into a mist of the same colour.

"That was brilliant, Cassie." George said from behind her, wrapping her in an embrace from behind, pressing her back against his and resting his chin on her head.

"It went away." She frowned. It had gone away so quick, it was almost as though it hadn't been there in the first place. But then she realised, just as she saw the snake, and thought of the implications it might possess, her happiness had left her. The adder's lifeline.

"It'll come back." He assured her, and she felt the ends of her lips curl up. "You know, you were my memory. My thought to get my patronus to come."

"I was?"

"Of course. You make me happier than anything on this planet. Except for when you demand that I study." She rolled her eyes, not bothering to attempt to tame the fluttering in her stomach. Fuck, she loved him. So, so much. Too much to let him go.

She gulped, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could, an elf apparated into the room, right next to Potter. The elf wore several socks on their ears, and was shaking, hitting itself, like a bloody maniac. Dobby, was the elf's name, Cass remembered from her many days spend in the kitchens.

"We need to leave." Padma was saying, and Cass knew she was right. She was never wrong, but even if she hadn't been a prophetess, she could tell by the look on both Dobby and Potter's face that something was very, very wrong. "Now. They're coming! Umbridge is coming!"

"Oh shit." Was all George managed to say, before Harry yelled, his voice booming and echoing off the walls, "WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR? RUN!"

And run they did, sprinting out of the room of requirement as fast as they could. Cass lost George in the crowd, as it was pure chaos, everyone pushing towards the exit, pushing and shoving each other as they did. Not that it was intentional, no one actually wanted anyone in Dumbledore's Army to get hurt, or worse, caught, but it had become a madhouse, with no one knowing what to do or where to go, except out.

Cass turned the corner once she was out of the room of requirement, already out of breath from the physical exertion all the running had taken. Fuck, she needed to work out more, she was so out of shape.

Pushing a bit of sweaty hair out of her face, she began frantically glancing around, looking for her friends, looking for George, but they were nowhere to be seen.

The seconds she spent not running proved to be futile, as Dahlia Burke turned the corner, her eyes darkening as she met Cass. "You. I should've known you would be involved in this."

"Dahlia, please-"

"Expelliarmus!" She whipped out her wand and cast the spell before Cass could react, and her wand flew out of her hand and into Dahlia's, which she caught with a surprising amount of grace.

"Now, are you going to come with me, or are you going to be difficult, Crouch?"

"Don't call me Crouch."

"I'll call you whatever I damn well please, Crouch." She said as she approached her, pointing Cass's own wand at her. Why she thought that would be a good idea, she hadn't a clue, surely her wand was loyal to her and not Dahlia, but she didn't want to push her luck by attempting to escape. She'd already been hexed once in the past 24 hours, she didn't need it to happen again.

"You're coming with me." Dahlia continued, as she grabbed Cass's arm with her free hand, roughly tugging her down the hall.

"I can walk myself."

"I don't trust you not to try and run away, like the snivelling little bitch you are."

Cass wanted to insult her back, wanted to say all the cruel things she could imagine, but she held her tongue, if only to not provoke the girl further. It was strange, seeing someone who she'd once actually liked, treating her with such distain. Well, it wasn't like she didn't have it coming. George was a lot to lose, she imagined she'd be just as bitter if someone two years younger than her stole him away from her.

So instead, she allowed herself to be yanked down the hall against her will, cringing at the feeling of Dahlia's hand against her skin, pressing into her so deep that it was likely to leave bruises. She noticed the girl wore a shiny, silver badge that read IS, standing for Inquistorial Squad. Cass had heard of them, but had no idea Dahlia had sunk so low as to join them. Entering a club which was presumably named after the Spanish Inquisition surely wasn't a good look, especially for someone of an ethnic minority, like Dahlia was.

She wondered if Adelaide was in the Inquisitorial Squad alongside her eldest sister. She knew Bethany certainly wasn't, she'd never sink so low, but Adelaide...well, she was certainly hard to read, from the few times Cass had interacted with her. She did know that Malfoy was part of the squad, which she found amusing, given that Saoirse was in Dumbledore's Army. If the two were truly having some sort of fling, they sure did keep secrets from each other.

"Merlin, Umbridge is going to be so bloody pleased with me." Dahlia said, her voice chipper, as her nails dug into Cass's skin. "She hates you, you know?"

"Oh, trust me, I know."

*

The punishment was severe. Detention for a month, for everyone who had been caught, which included Potter, Ron, and Granger, Saoirse, Angelina, Terry, and, unfortunately, the twins. George didn't seem too miffed about it, but Fred was furious, especially when Angelina came back from her first time with the blood quill, almost in tears from it. It had been her first time, and Cass's heart ached with sympathy for the girl.

"How is yours?" George leaned down, examining Cass's hand, which she had cast a bandage wrap on to cover the bleeding, though the pressure against her hand sent searing pain up her arm, all the way to her shoulder. Her head was spinning as she walked, and she had to take slow, meaningful steps, to block out the pain. She'd tried to write with her bad hand, if not to just prevent the writing on it, which only aggravated her injury, but Umbridge had scolded her for it, and threatened to give her more detentions.

She had wanted to argue back, but deemed it not worth it.

"Fine." She forced a smile, though it wavered. "Yours?"

"Also fine. Nothing I'm not used to." Considering the twins...lack of respect for the rules, to say the least, they somehow wound up in detention nearly every night. Cass had scolded them for it many times, even threatening to stop brewing cream for their hands (an entirely empty threat), but they both refused, insisting on continuing to offend Umbridge in every way she could.

Dumbledore was gone. Similar to how he'd been kicked out in her second year, the professor had been forcefully removed from the school, leaving the pink bitch as headmaster. Apparently, Dumbledore was somehow considered a fugitive, since he'd taken responsibility for Dumbledore's Army, and was on the run from the Ministry, who wanted him in Azkaban. Yeah, as if they could overpower Dumbledore. It was laughable just thinking about it.

Percy Weasley had been among those trying to arrest Dumbledore, which Cass was furious about. Just as she had started to like the prick who had annoyed her for so many years, he'd gone and betrayed his entire family for his stupid job at the stupid Ministry. George didn't seem surprised by the twist of events, having cited him being like this for years, but Cass had been oddly hurt by the entire ordeal.

It was April 20th, her last day of detention, but certainly nowhere near the last for the twins.

"Listen, Cassie, we've been meaning to talk to you about something." George was saying, Fred ahead of them, talking to Angelina, his voice low.

"I can't talk right now." She sighed as she began walking even faster than she had been before. "I'm late for my meeting with Flitwick."

"Meeting with Flitwick?"

"Career advice."

"Oh." He frowned. "It'll only take a minute, Cassie. It's important."

They had just reached Flitwick's office, and Cass took a deep breath, trying to shake off her nerves about her upcoming conversation with her head of house. "I'll talk to you after, yeah? It won't take long."

Confliction eclipsed his expression. "Right. Of course. Love you."

"Love you too." She gave his hand a squeeze, before swiftly entering Flitwick's office, shutting the door behind her, separating her from her boyfriend.

"You're late, Miss Crouch."

"Sorry, I had detention." She gave the tiny professor an equally tiny smile, hoping he wasn't too angry with her. Luckily, his expression melted into one of sympathy almost immediately.

"Of course. No worries, then." He clapped his hands together. "Please, have a seat."

She did as he asked, sitting down on the chair across from him, only a desk separating the two. He had a piece of parchment in front of him, which he eyed up and down, reading whatever it contained before glancing up at his student.

"I believe you excel in potions, is that correct?"

"I suppose so, yeah."

"You suppose so? You skipped two years in potions, and are still managing to receive some of the top marks in your class, if not the top marks. Miss Crouch, would you consider a career path in potions?"

"With all due respect, Professor, I doubt I have a career anywhere in my future."

He blinked, clearly not sure how to respond to this. "Er...why do you feel that way?"

"You know."

"Miss Crouch," he pressed his lips together in a thin line, his eyes shining with pity. Pity she didn't want. Maybe she never should've spoken, aired her true thoughts, she should've just gone along her merry way and pretended she had a future. Lied to her professor, so he didn't try to give her a pep talk. "I understand why you may feel that way. But plenty of students have aired similar concerns, about their families. You know we have other students that are children or relatives of death eaters or dark wizards. You're not the only one with a difficult background."

She gulped, only just able to hold back from arguing with him. Those were completely different. Take Bethany, for example, she'd never given anyone any reason to believe she was a death eater sympathizer. Whereas Cass, she'd aided in what had happened to her father and Cedric, and everyone in the wizarding world who didn't live under a rock was aware of that. She'd be lucky to get a job in a muggle place.

"Do you know Mr. Mulpepper? In Diagon Alley. He runs the Apothecary."

Cass nodded. She had written to him many years ago, back when she was still paranoid about being poisoned again, and he was still her go-to supplier for any potions ingredients she needed.

"I think this summer, we could arrange an internship with him, if you'd like. When you graduate, you'd likely be able to score a job there, perhaps even take over when he retires. He's very particular about who he hires, but with my recommendation, I'm sure he'd be happy to allow you an internship."

"I'd love that." She couldn't help but grin in delight, hope building up in her for the first time in what had probably been years. She was breathless, giddy, at the mere idea of a potions internship. Maybe she'd actually have her dream job once she graduated, get to spend her entire life going what she loved. And even better, if the twins opened their joke shop, they wouldn't be far from her in Diagon Alley.

"Then it's sorted. I'll write him tonight."

"Thank you, Professor. Thank you so much."

"Of course, Miss Crouch." He smiled at her, and she was reminded just how much she cared for Flitwick. He was perhaps her favourite professor at this school, and she was so beyond lucky to have him as her head of house. "Remember, we make our own choices, in life. We set our own destiny. Do not let others dictate what you think you can and cannot do."

*

The twins were gone, when Cass left her conversation with Flitwick. She'd imagined George would've stayed and waited for her, but no matter. She could talk to them later, tell him all about her offer at the internship. Assuming she got it, that was. Either way, she was in a significantly better mood than she had been in ages, as she practically skipped out of the professors office, and into the Great Hall for dinner.

When she entered the room, the crowd was ablaze in conversation, voices echoing off the walls, and from the moment Cass entered the room, she could tell something of extreme significance had occurred during her time with Flitwick. She frowned, making her way over to the Gryffindor table, though George and Fred were noticibly absent. Well, maybe they'd gotten another detention.

"Hey, Angelina." She greeted Naia's sister, sitting down across from her. "Where are the twins?"

Angelina's chocolate brown eyes grew. "You don't know?"

"Don't know what...?"

Had something happened to them?!

"George really didn't tell you?" She continued, and Cass shook her head.

"Tell me what?"

"They left."

"They what?!" Cass blinked in confusion.

Left? What the hell did left mean? Had they simply got up and walked out of the school? Or was left code for something far more sinister, like got hurt, or died? No, if one of them was hurt, Angelina would've been far more upset than she seemed. While she was clearly gloomy, she wasn't crying.

"They got on their brooms, turned the hallway into a swamp, and flew away. That's what Fred was telling me, in the halls when we finished detention."

Cass stared at her, wide eyed in disbelief. "You're not serious. Tell me you aren't serious."

"I'm not lying, Cass. Ask anyone. I'm mighty angry about it, if I'm being honest. They just left me. Us. I don't understand how they could do that. They only had a few months left of school, but they chose to just up and leave. It makes no sense."

"I...I don't understand. Why didn't George tell me?"

"Because they're insensitive little pricks." She shrugged, and when Cass took a closer took, Angelina appeared to be one misstep away from bursting into tears.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Cass gulped, standing up and leaving the Great Hall before anyone could stop her, to ask her questions about her boyfriend and his apparent flight from the school. Literal flight.

Why hadn't they told her? Why hadn't George explained what he was doing? That was what he wanted to tell her before her meeting with Flitwick, she knew that now, but why didn't he do it days ago? Weeks ago? Surely they'd had this planned for ages, the twins never did anything on a whim. As chaotic as they were, their pranks were always meticulously planned out, and this was nothing more than an extensive, epic prank.

They had left her behind. George had left her behind.

She wanted to cry, wanted to kick something, wanted to find a broom and race after him and beg him to let her come with. Why hadn't they asked her to join them? She would've, in a heartbeat. She would go anywhere George went, no questions asked.

She hadn't realized she'd started crying until she reached her dorm room - well, not her dorm, but the one she shared with the twins, Lee and Kenneth, and spotted herself in the mirror. Hot, fat tears ran down her cheeks, and this time, she did kick the wall, hard, which sent pain running up her leg. It felt nice, the pain, and she did it again, even harder this time, not wincing at the sensation that ran up her leg, all the way to her hip.

Fuck.

She turned around, and before she could start to think, she began throwing her stuff into her trunk, certain she would have to move back into her dorm with the Ravenclaws. She wasn't sharing simply with Kenneth and Lee, that was for sure. Plus, she imagined they'd enjoy their time alone...

Just as she reached to grab a History of Magic textbook, there was a buzzing sound, coming from underneath the bed she and George had shared. Before he left her.

She frowned, looking under the bed to whatever the source of the noise was. It buzzed again, and only then did she realize, it was her notebook, the one she had George had matching ones to communicate with. She'd forgotten that she'd put a spell on it, so it would buzz every time one of them wrote to the other.

George was trying to contact her.

Taking a deep breath, she reached under the bed and pulled out the notebook, flinging it open to see what he had said, what excuses he had come up with for leaving her.

Cassie, I'm sorry.

I was trying to tell you.

Just as she went to find a quill, did it buzz again.

Please talk to me.

Why didn't you tell me? She wrote back as she wiped her eyes, not wanting to know if teardrops would also bleed through to the other person.

I tried to, today.

You could've told me earlier. You didn't have to wait until today.

I didn't want to upset you.

Did I upset you?

Yes. She didn't care if it made him feel guilty, it was the truth. She was upset - beyond upset, her day had gone from brilliant to shit in a matter of minutes, and it was because he'd left her. Her handwriting was sloppy, worse than her usual clean penmentship, as she didn't bother trying to make herself seem put together. George would've seen through her anyways. Even on paper, she imagined he could read her.

I'm sorry.

Why didn't you take me with?

Seriously? You have to finish school, Cassie.

No I don't. I want to go with you. I hate it here. Everyone judges me.

I thought you were friends with Angie's sister and those girls again.

People still judge me.

Cassie, please. It's going to be okay. I'll see you when school ends, I promise.

You should've taken me with.

I couldn't have. I'm sorry.

She slammed the book shut, this time not opening it when it began to buzz, over and over and over again. Instead, she tossed it into her trunk, and locked the stupid thing shut.

*

"I figured you'd come back." Padma said by way of greeting as Cass strode into the room, slamming the door behind her, not trying to hide her horrible mood. "Bethany, you owe me two galleons."

"Shit." Bethany cursed as she looked up from her book, which she was reading on her bed. "Welcome back, Crouch."

"Don't call me that." She snapped, setting her trunk at the end of her bed, which was covered in miscellaneous items. Clearly, in the several months she'd been sleeping with George, they'd turned her bed into a new means of storage.

"Someone's in a mood."

"Don't tease, her, Beth." Ana chastised from where she was braiding Padma's hair on the floor. "Her boyfriend's just up and left. She's probably upset."

"Upset doesn't begin to describe how I'm feeling." Cass said, as she began to move books off of her bed, setting them on top of the already overflowing bookshelf. Naia stood up to help, grabbing clothes off of the bed, and bringing them to their respective wardrobes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ana turned to look at her, and Cass shook her head.

"I'd rather not. Thank you, though."

"What happened to your hand, Crouch?" Bethany asked, and Cass cringed at the use of her last name. She was beyond sick of people referring to her with it, but it never seemed to click to people. Not to Bethany, at least, who either didn't understand or didn't care. The latter, most likely.

"Umbridge. Punishment for Dumbledore's Army."

"Right." She folded her arms across her chest, brown eyes narrowing at her. "Thanks again, by the way, for not telling me about that."

"You know why we couldn't, Bethany." Naia said, her voice soft. "We've been over this."

"Many, many times." Padma added, and Bethany simply rolled her eyes. If she was genuinely hurt by what they hid from her, Cass couldn't tell.

"Colin didn't tell me either. I guess I'm just not to be trusted, yeah? My friends, my...whatever Colin is."

"You've been going out for two years now, Beth. Surely you can call him your boyfriend now, can't you?" Ana said. This was a mistake.

"Yeah, and can you call Theodore your boyfriend?"

"That's different!" Ana snapped, face swiftly changing colours to as red as her hair.

"Is it?" Bethany cocked her head to the side, and Cass cringed, hating how upset Ana seemed at the mention of Theodore.

When Ana spoke next, her voice was small, barely above a whisper. "I couldn't tell Theodore about Dumbledore's Army either. And Cass couldn't tell Henry, and they're basically best friends. It had to be a secret, Beth. You know that. I wish you understood."

"Forget it." She folded her arms over her chest, and that was that.