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"HUFFLEPUFF, IF YOU WOULD PLEASE GATHER YOUR BELONGINGS AND LEAVE THE CLASSROOM, I must talk alone with my House." Severus Snape's sallow voice rung throughout the Potions classroom in the dungeons, where Slytherin and Hufflepuff had just finished their lesson. Cassia grins while looking over at Blaise's sunken figure at the cauldron opposite her; she'd beaten him in the race to making the potion this way round. They watched as the students clad in yellow and black uniform filed out of the eerie dungeon for their dinner, as the bleak man faced his students in Slytherin house.

"I am well aware that some of you already have had rumours of there being a Ball in this castle," Snape started, "This is true. The Yule Ball, precisely. A traditional aspect of the Triwizard Tournament. It will be a formal dance that will take place in two weeks time, on Christmas Day from 8 o'clock in the Great Hall till midnight. I trust you all will behave respectfully in the name of Salazar Slytherin to not tarnish the legacy brought on us. You may leave."

Following Snape's abrupt announcement, Cassia hops down from her chair and begins to make her way down to the Great Hall for dinner. Now in the dungeon corridor, she stands alongside Blaise and Theo, and the three were the last ones to leave the classroom so were alone. Cassia had an excited look on her face.

"So there really is a Ball taking place in the castle? How exciting!" Cassia squeals from between her standing position next to Blaise and Theo.

Theo gave her a weirded-out look.

"What?" Cassia questions defensively. "I love getting dressed up and going to dances."

"You do realise we're going to have to ask someone? To be our date?" Theo points out. His eyes looked like they were going to fall out of his head any minute.

She realised what he was talking about, and waves a hand dismissively. "That's not even a big deal. Me and you will go together. There. Done and dusted."

Theo still looked uncomfortable.. confused, even.

Cassia huffs a puff of air out of her mouth, rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me you're going to go all hormonal and refuse to dance with a girl now? You absolutely loved going with me to the Balls Mum used to hold."

"No, it's not that.." Theo begun to grin. "I just think I'd rather go with some other Beauxbatons lady rather than your ugly coupon."

     At Theo's joking statement, Cassia's mouth dropped open and she tried reaching out to smack him, though Theo dodged it each time.

     "For your information, Theodore," Cassia starts, still attempting to hit at Theo, "I am going to look amazing at the Yule Ball. Mum has already sent my robes and they look gorgeous. So, I think you'll find that on Christmas Day you will find it difficult to not fall for me. So, shut your face Theodore Mortimer Nott and be! Grateful!"

     "Alright, calm down woman, I'm kidding, Merlin!" Theo holds his hands up in surrender as Cassia's attacks came to a halt. "I'm sure you're gonna look great. And anyways. It saves me the hassle of embarrassing myself asking someone else. The girls at Beauxbatons are too pretty and the ones in Durmstrang scare me. They're so... serious."

A satisfactory grin made its way across Cassia's face.

"And not to mention," Theo continues. "Daphne will be happy. She'll think we're dating–"

"Which we're not." Cassia corrects.

"Correct. She'll have to give up at some point though, right?" Theo asks. Cassia nods.

     Cassia realised that for the duration of their conversation, trekking up out of the dungeons to the Great Hall, that Blaise had remained really quiet. She'd even forgotten he was with them. And thing is, he didn't even contribute: he looked really deep in thought, and contemplative. She arches an eyebrow.

     "Blaisey, you good?" Cassia asks, edging around him carefully, not wanting to startle him. He stared straight ahead, eyes boring into a random brick in the dungeon staircase.

     "I'm gonna do it." Blaise says determinedly.

     Cassia sends a look Theo's way, who's also looking puzzled. What was wrong with Blaise?

     "Do what?" Theo asks, his eyes narrowed.

     Blaise inhales deeply.

     "I'm going to ask Astoria to the Ball."

     Both Theo and Cassia shared identical looks of confusion, which quickly turned to that of glee, and Cassia brought a hand up to her parted mouth. Before Blaise new it, they'd both jumped at him, embracing him from both sides.

     "Finally, Blaisey!" Cassia exclaims. "You've grown the necessary balls required at last!"

     Blaise, though being engulfed in hugs from both sides, still appeared to have his eyebrows furrowed.

     "The school will find out about our relationship, though." He says limply.

     Theo scoffs. "Don't flatter yourself, Blaise. You're acting as if the whole school will react to you and Mini Greengrass's relationship like it'd be the Royal Wedding? The most interested person would probably be Daphne. You know, seeing as she thinks Mini Greengrass and Draco are made for each other. Rumour has it, Draco has already agreed to go with Parkinson."

Blaise furrows his eyebrows. Again.

Cassia shares a look with Theo. Again.

"Oh my god, Blaise!" Cassia says, exasperation deep within her voice as she drops both hands on his right shoulder. "Would you stop thinking about it and just go ask her? Nobody will care, and it's not like you two aren't going to be found out some day! We all see you checking her out during meals. You're not that slick, Blaisey."

"I'll have you know that I am slick, Greengrass." Blaise says, huffing out of his nostrils. "And to prove it, I'm going to ask Astoria!"

"Mate, we know. You've said it about three times already." Theo says. "Now would you go and actually do the task before we come to the conclusion that you really aren't slick at all?"

Blaise's reaction took them by whirlwind. Before Cassia and Theo could register his final, inaudible words, Blaise had taken massive strides out of the dungeon corridor, leaving Cassia and Theo to stare after him looking somewhat confused.

"You don't think this'll backfire on him, do you?" Theo asks, his voice searching for some sort of affirmation.

Cassia grimaces with a slow shrug of the shoulders. "Guess we'll see.."

Later on that night, Cassia and Theo were slumped sitting on the sofa in front of the fire in the Slytherin common room, with Maryam and Eva on the armchairs adjacent. The four watch the roaring fire with satisfaction, happy that they managed to grab the seats by the fire before anyone else. It was difficult to get the best seats when pretty much everyone in Slytherin wanted to be warmed by the fire. Tough luck to everyone else.

"You haven't seen Blaise, have you?" Theo asks. "I saw him shortly at Dinner, but he didn't come back with us."

"Nope, haven't seen him." Eva says. Cassia also shakes her head.

Maryam grins. "Why, Theo? You feeling too overwhelmed by all this female presence?"

Theo shoots a glare her way. "Shut it, Ahmed. But yes. I've grown tired of listening to you three talk about all your girl things."

"Theo, what the hell?" Eva says, her eyes shooting back into her head. "We've literally been doing anything but talking." It was true. Maryam was reading a book, Eva was trying to mend her broken mascara wand and Cassia was finishing off an essay for History of Magic.

Theo waves a hand dismissively. "Like that matters. Point is, there's no Blaisey."

Lowering her voice slightly towards Theo, Cassia asks, "You don't think it's to do with him asking Astoria, is it?" From her seat on the sofa, she's slumped down against the armrest with her legs bent, from which she is using as a table to lean her unfinished essay on top of. Theo takes this in, his face scrunching up in contemplation.

"Maybe." He says.

"Hey, if you're missing Blaise so much, why don't you just go to your room? Won't Malfoy be up there anyways?" Eva points out.

"Yeah, but he'll a hundred percent be with with his two minions. And I don't intend on losing my well-earned brain cells by surrounding myself with their presence." Theo states blatantly.

     Just then, Cassia's head shot back abruptly as a large thudding noise progressed through the common room and sat dropped down on the coffee table in front of the fire, taking all those around him by shock. It was Blaise, grinning broadly.

     "Well, there he is Theo." Maryam laughs at the startled look both Theo and Cassia wore at Blaise's sudden appearance.

     "Blaise?" Theo says, his eyebrows raising.

     Blaise's smile grew, his teeth shining through. "She said yes!"

     It was obvious that Blaise was talking about Astoria agreeing to go with him to the Yule Ball. Like Cassia and Theo had expected anything else.

     Theo scoffs. "Like that comes as a shock, Blaisey."

     "You're acting as if you proposed?" Cassia says, laughing. She saw the glare Blaise gave them both from their lack of expected reaction, and stopped laughing immediately, sobering up her expression. "Okay. Sorry. I'm happy for you and Tori. Really. Right, Theo?" (Cassia extended a leg and kicked Theo in the arm.)

     Theo winced following the kick Cassia gave him. "Yeah, Blaisey. We're happy for you and Mini Greengrass."

     "Wait, what?" A voice booms from the side, and they turned to face Eva Abercrombie's incredulous expression. "You're telling me you and Astoria —"

     "Oh, shit, Daphne —" Blaise cut off Eva's question, and his eyes darted to the entrance of the common room behind the sofa. He scrambled rapidly to his feet, heading straight for the boy's dormitories. Cassia and Theo grew confused again, not being able to see behind the sofa, until the livid voice sounding from the back made everything clear.

     "ZABINI, YOU GET YOUR ARSE BACK DOWN HERE AND EXPLAIN SOME THINGS TO ME —"

     "Daph?" Cassia's voice stops a clearly furious Daphne Greengrass from rampaging up the stairs to the boy's dorms, where Blaise was seeking refuge, preventing him from being inevitably slaughtered.

(In years to come, many would say that that was the moment Blaise Zabini owed a lifetime of gratitude to Cassia Greengrass.)

"He got away!" Daphne grunted, coming to a halt and hitting her hands furiously against her thighs. "Did you know he and Tori have been secretly dating?" The look Cassia and Theo shared did not go unseen by Daphne, whose mouth dropped open. "You knew! Both of you! I - I - what in Salazar's name?"

Cassia nodded slowly, cringing to herself. "Sorry, Daph... we've known for a while.." She says cautiously. A few people in the common room turned around at the spectacle Daphne initiated. A few first years looked pretty terrified.

"Why didn't you tell me!" Daphne frowns, her eyebrow creasing. "You're my sister! We're meant to trust each other!"

     Truth be told, those words hurt Cassia. She felt horrible. Because Daphne wasn't wrong, they were sisters and used to always tell each other their secrets. And Cassia knew she kept more than one secret from her twin this year and it just made her want to scream out. Daphne didn't deserve that. And Cassia knows she should tell Daphne about her and Harry. Some secrets though, she just can't tell. Cassia doesn't know why things aren't like they used to be - her and Daphne constantly confiding in each other, trusting each other, like they always did previously. But that doesn't mean Cassia doesn't trust Daphne, no, she trusts Daphne with every cell in her body. They'd been through so much together, from even before they were born. But something feels different this year, and Cassia doesn't like what it's doing to her and Daphne.

Cassia sighs. "It wasn't my secret to tell, okay?" Cassia answers defensively. "It's up to Astoria and Blaise, and they've decided now's the time to tell. Besides, we didn't know how you were going to react!"

"And," Theo adds, "things get even riskier when you factor in you literally trying to set up Mini Greengrass with Draco, along with me and Cass - you're not that easy of a person to convince, Daph."

Daphne scowled. "Still. It'd help to know my little sister was dating the best friend of the guy I tried setting her up with. Oh, as if it'd work anyways. Pansy and Draco are a done deal. It wouldn't have worked out anyways. They're already going to the Ball together. You two are going together, yeah?"

Cassia nods, slightly more relieved that Daphne's rage had simmered down. "We are. As friends. Surely you can admit now that you've seen the aftermath of your matchmaking for Tori that me and Theo won't work out?"

"Nope." Daphne answers confidently. "I still stand by my words. You two would make an amazing couple."

Theo clicks his tongue. "I mean, it wouldn't matter anyways, seeing as Cassia fancies –" He cut himself off, eyes widening. By the look on his face, one could immediately gather that the thought going on inside his mind was shitshitshitshitshit.

Theo, what the fuck. Cassia inhales. "Um–" She begins, her voice confused. Slightly intrigued, even. Who on earth would Theo think she'd fancy? Unless – no. There's no way he'd think of Harry —

"Theodore, what?" Daphne yells, outraged. The poor girl was being told absolutely nothing. "Cassia fancies who?"

"Erm – " Theo glanced sideways at Cassia, who was glaring at him massively. He then looked back at her perturbed twin, and rethought his word choice. "Cass – Cassia fancies the curtains in her dorm room, you know?" He says more confidently, though not at all convincing anyone around him. "Y'know, The velvety ones with the nice cursive pattern going along the length.. Always going on about them... right?"

     Again: what the fuck, Theo?

"Sure?" Cassia agrees, her eyes squinting. Curtains? Curtains! Nice save, Theo. Not slick at all. But nice. She'd rather he said curtains than what she originally thought he'd say. Imagine Daphne's face - if Daphne was already shocked at hearing about Blaise and Astoria, imagine what she'd think about Cassia having an affiliation with Harry? It would also mean Daphne would become aware that that hadn't been the only secret Cassia had kept from her. But it's not like Cassia even fancies Harry. It's not like that's even what was on Theo's mind. Why on earth would Theo say something so untrue like that? Cassia doesn't fancy Harry. At all. Where did he even get the idea from?

"I mean... they're nice curtains, I suppose?" Maryam says. Her expression was just as confused as everyone else's. Her, Eva and Daphne looked at Cassia like she'd sprouted three heads. Theo was trying to hide his face in his hoodie out of sheer embarrassment, his hood up and casually pulling the drawstrings closed on his face. Life, even. He did not want to be seen at this point in time.

"Right, um... okay?" Daphne says. Her face was contorted, and she looked so bewildered. "I guess I'll keep that in mind if I ever have to attend a wedding between my sister and a piece of fabric..."

They were all still staring at Cassia with utmost puzzling expressions.

Cassia clears her throat, wanting to get away from this disturbing conversation. "Who's going with who, then? To the Ball?" She asks.

"Well, most of us knew before they told us. The Gryffindors found out last week, the Weasley twins told me they got their dates to be those Quidditch players Johnson and Spinnet. So most people already have their dates. Snape decided to just be a git and tell us last minute. But so far in Slytherin, Parkinson and Draco." Theo says, his voice muffled from being concealed in his hoodie.

(Cassia couldn't help but smile inwardly that Theo was becoming more accepting towards the twins - perhaps it would be a start to him getting rid of some of the prejudices he held?)

"Blaise and Tori." Daphne adds, somewhat begrudgingly.

"I heard about Bletchley and Davis." Maryam smiles.

"Me and Adrian." Eva says, smiling fondly. "Oh, and Terrence asked Maryam too. How cute!"

Maryam eyed Eva dirtily after the uncharacteristic squeal she let out. "Not cute, Eves. I don't... like him like that. He only asked me because it was the polite thing to do. You know, seeing as our best friends were going together. It made sense."

There was silence. Then, "Stop looking at me like that! I don't like Higgs!" Maryam said, her eyebrows crossed.

"Ouch, Ahmed. You hit a soft spot there. I really thought we were getting somewhere." Out of nowhere, but on perfect cue, Terrence Higgs showed up, holding a hand mockingly to his heart. Adrian followed behind him, sitting on the arm of the chair Eva occupied, pressing a kiss to her head. (They were so cute, Cassia thought.)

"Don't go saying that, Higgs. You well know yourself that's why you asked me too." Maryam scowls.

"Yeah, I mean, as if we would ever date." Terrence smirks. "You're not my type Ahmed, sorry to break it to you."

"No hard feelings whatsoever," Maryam huffs. "You're too immature for me."

"Okay, now that - that hurt." Terrence frowns. His sadness didn't last long, before he teasingly hugged Maryam from the side of her chair, knowing she would respond the way she did, and swatted his arms away.

"Piss off, Higgs."

"Alright." Daphne says, bringing the conversation back on topic. "I also heard that Chang and Diggory are going together?"

"Awe, how do you feel about that, Daph?" Cassia frowns teasingly. "You were proper in love with him over the summer, weren't you?"

Daphne glares back, grinning. "Shush, Cass. That was just over the summer. I'm over him now. You can't blame me, though. He does have nice Quidditch muscles."

"We have Quidditch muscles too?" Adrian speaks up disapprovingly, referring to himself and Terrence.

"No one cares, Pucey." Daphne rolls her eyes. "I mean, apart from Eva."

Adrian glared in her direction, before saying, "I heard that Delacour girl is going with Davies, Ravenclaw's Quidditch Captain."

"Delacour?" Theo says, immediately popping out of his self made hoodie-cave. "She's so pretty."

"We know. You've told us a million times. I suspect the mermaids are even getting fed up of hearing you talk about them." Cassia rolls her eyes.

"Uhm - I also heard that apparently Weasley and Potter are going with the Patil twins?" Maryam adds.

"Really?" Cassia asks. In all their nightly meetings, Harry hadn't yet made clear that he had gotten a date to the Ball. Weird.

"Yeah. I heard it too." Theo confirmed. "Lucky them. They get two of the fittest girls in the year."

Cassia kicked him again. "Well, you get me as your date. So be grateful, Nott." Theo shot her a dirty look.

"I haven't heard much about Krum's date?" Terrence asks. He was now leaning against the top of Maryam's armchair, much to her dismay. He kept rocking it backwards.

"No idea." Cassia shrugs. A thought forms in her mind. She sneaks a glance over to her twin. "Speaking of people's dates that we don't know about... who are you going with, Daph?"

Daphne tenses up right away. She suddenly became aware of the many pairs of eyes trained upon her, and began fiddling with the ends of her hair.

"Me? Well - erm. Here's the thing - it's a secret! You guys will find out at the Ball." Daphne says.

Cassia narrows her eyes. "... You do have a date Daph, don't you?" It would seem odd for Daphne to hide something from her twin, but then again, Daphne was unaware of Cassia's own secrets.

"I do!" Daphne persists confidently. "I got asked last week, in fact."

"O-kay.." Cassia eyes Daphne cautiously, like she didn't believe her. But she did believe Daphne's word, because it was as good as her. If Daphne didn't have a date, then she wouldn't lie about it. Right?

"Anyways." Daphne says, getting to her feet. "I should get to bed. I'll talk to Zabini in the morning." Cassia threw Daphne a scalding look. "It'll just be talking, okay? I won't throttle him just yet."

And when Daphne left, Cassia realised it was in fact nearly half nine and that she should probably get ready for bed too. Eva, Maryam, Terrence and Adrian had all left and so, Cassia and Theo were the last ones to go. Cassia stopped him at the entrance of the dormitory stairs, just as he was about to go up the staircase on the left to his room.

"By the way, Theo?" She asks, a hand on his arm to prevent him from walking up the opposing staircase.

"Yeah?" Theo answers with a puzzled expression.

"Just out of curiosity... earlier on, when you were on about me fancying someone," Cassia begins, and she noticed the way Theo scrunched his face up. "Before you claimed I have an attraction to my curtains, who would you have said had people not been there?"

"I would've said Potter. But Daphne was there, and Maryam, and –"

"Potter, did you say?" Cassia's voice was eerily calm. Theo could suspect something.

"Yeah?"

Cassia takes a deep breath, inhaling through her nostrils before smiling.

"Theo?" She asks.

"...Yeah?" Theo squinted his eyes cautiously.

"You have three seconds to get out of my sight before I do to you what Daphne would've done to Blaise." She told him. And just like that, Theodore Nott disappeared from Cassia Greengrass's sight, bolting up the stairs at record speed and in similar fashion to Blaise Zabini earlier on.

Cassia sighs once he left, massaging her temple with two of her fingers.

Me fancying Potter? What rubbish. To be honest, she didn't know what conjured that thought into his mind. Cassia was sure there was more of a chance that she would actually fancy her curtains instead of the boy himself.

But, still. Curtains...?

———

CHRISTMAS EVE APPROACHED HOGWARTS CASTLE, leaving the grounds to be blanketed in a thick layer of pristine snow. Uneven footprints were revealed from where grass was once visible, the white snow where it was imprinted in being scattered over with wet leaves. The Great Lake was frozen over, with faint scrape marks seen from where students had been ice skating in their free time, now that the holidays had started. In the distance, the Durmstrang ship was seen, frozen atop the lake with icicles finishing off the carved wood. The Beauxbatons paddock of horses were in their own enclosure, with a makeshift tent being built for their warmth. The large carriage a small distance away was twinkling in the darkness, with light spilling through the windows, probably from excited students who couldn't get to bed this early on Christmas Eve. A chilly waft of wind sent through the Astronomy Tower, and the railing surrounding it had a thin yet prickly layer of ice grown around it's metallic bar, the odd icicle or two also sprouting off the end of the frozen substance. Cassia tightens her scarf around her neck, the green and silver colours faintly visible in the darkness.

"Come to think of it Greengrass, you've never really told me much about yourself." Harry says from his seated position, prodding his wand against a frozen icicle on one of the telescopes.

"Well, what do you mean?" Cassia asks, settled on one of the podiums a couple away from Harry, her legs crossed.

Harry shrugs. "It's always me that we talk about, isn't it? Well, not like that. We do talk generally most of the time, but whenever it's something specific, it's always about one of my tragic life stories or how someone's always trying to kill me. Not that I'm not interesting or anything." He adds, grinning smugly.

Cassia scoffs. "You? Interesting? On Salazar's grave." She smiles. "I mean, about me? I'm the younger twin - by 7 minutes - I grew up with all these pureblooded family traditions, and although my family have never had anything against Muggles, I know next to nothing about the Muggle world. Like, we may not be against Muggles, but we've never had anything to do with them either. Seems weird, yeah. But I feel like I'm missing out sometimes? I have hardly stepped foot in the muggle world and have no idea what is so different between our world apart from the absence of magic. There's been wars over there too, like my mum told me a story she heard about both the Muggle World Wars, and it makes me think of how much more expanded things are? Like freaking hell, countries ganged up against each other, and there was a dictator who prosecuted innocent people out for following a religion.. I guess that would be a wizard's equivalent of prosecuting Muggles. Salazar, I'm rambling, aren't I?" Cassia put her face in her hands, shaking her head with her auburn waves flailing from side to side.

But Harry laughs, and he smiled. "No. Carry on." He was intrigued. Really. Harry knew hardly anything about the Slytherin he befriended. But he knew what set her apart from other Slytherins. She had no prejudices. She wouldn't look at a muggle, or a muggle-born and turn her nose up at the sight of them. She seemed to be the most accepting Slytherin he'd ever come across.

Giving him a bashful smile, Cassia continues, "Erm - so much of my time has been spent attending balls, all these dinner parties and I guess that's where I met Theo. He lives with his mum Luciana and his dad Theodore Senior. His mum is lovely, his dad not so much. You know he was a Death Eater? Back when the first Wizarding War happened he got away from imprisonment only just by making an excuse that he was Imperiused or something. He wasn't, Theo's dad and grandfather have both made it clear how Theo's future lies with the Death Eaters too. I feel bad for him."

"Why?" Harry asks, oblivious to what Cassia referred to.

The question came as abrupt to Cassia. Because, was the answer not obvious? Theo was living in a toxic household, filled with abuse and people trying to get the better of him... one would have to feel sorry for him, right?

Cassia squints her eyes slightly. "Because... Theo isn't happy living with his dad? He loathes his father, and hates the way he tries to force all these ideals on him.."

"But... he doesn't believe in those ideals?" Harry inquires. Cassia was surprised at the way he asked the question, because it almost sounded like Harry had made the assumption that Theo was like his dad. And he was not.

"What he doesn't support, Potter," Cassia says, trying to get out a point. She had a feeling he was surprised that a Slytherin existed apart from her that didn't support their family's beliefs in the Dark Arts. But that wasn't Theo. She knew it wasn't. It wasn't most Slytherins. Slytherins might be a bit rude at times, and might have certain prejudices, but they weren't all cold-blooded killers. "Is becoming a murderer like his dad once was. Still is, maybe. Who knows. I don't know what he believes in - whether he sides with his dad or not, I just know he wouldn't stoop to that level."

Cassia glances over at Harry once, and sees him looking at his feet, nodding. She feels the need to add, "Not all Slytherins are evil, surely you figured that one out with me? Otherwise we wouldn't even be here together today."

Harry's head shoots up. "I didn't say–"

"You didn't need to." Cassia, not wanting to argue when it's literally Christmas Eve, ended the conversation there.

Whatever Harry was trying to say next, he seemed to have difficulty with. He was approaching the topic rather carefully. "What about.. what about your parents? Are - are they, erm..–"

"Evil?" Cassia finishes, raising an eyebrow. She chuckles, brushing it off. "No, they're not." She says, answering it casually, like Harry hadn't vaguely accused her best friend of being evil seconds ago. Maybe even her parents too. She didn't want to argue. Not today. "For as long as I know, the Greengrass lineage has never consisted of Death Eaters. We're one of the few historical Wizarding families to be like that. But I still don't know who exactly my parents side with. I guess they're kinda neutral? They may not associate themselves with Muggles, but I know for a fact that they wouldn't ever go the other way.."

Cassia takes a moment for herself. She shakes her head. She knows her parents would never choose the Dark Side. It wasn't who they were. That's not who they were. Phoenix and Marlowe, her amazing parents. To say they'd side with the man who'd inflicted so much pain into so many lives, who'd deprived Harry of having a proper childhood - Cassia just knows that her parents would never go that way. They'd be like every other Greengrass descendant, and follow the neutral path. It may be self-preserving, but it's what led Cassia, her dad, her sisters to be standing on the earth up until now. Because sometimes you need to save your own neck, and by not having an allegiance, that's how the Greengrasses have managed to survive all these years.

"What.. what's it like? Having parents?" The second question of Harry's came out louder than the first, which could have easily been lost in the lowly howls of the winter wind. Cassia smiles sympathetically at him.

    "It's great, I suppose," She shrugs, smiling, "My dad, Phoenix, is an auctioneer. He bids for and auctions off special magical objects, it's quite a strange profession. He comes home with receipts for the weirdest things sometimes. But he always takes me, Daphne and Astoria to places and has always spoilt us rotten. I really think we don't deserve him sometimes. My mum, Marlowe, she's an Obliviator for the Ministry. She erases Muggles' minds if they've seen something they shouldn't have, like how Charlie Weasley said the other day about my mum erasing those Muggles minds for seeing dragons. My mum is great. She's always there to talk to, and I think sometimes she competes with my dad for the most affection off the three of us. They met in Hogwarts. I think they must've left years before your parents, because I don't recall them ever mentioning anything to do with them. My dad was a Slytherin and my mum a Ravenclaw. I guess I've always been lucky in the family department. They've never done wrong by us."

Cassia stops speaking. She looks over at Harry, staring down at his feet, the rim of his glasses reflecting off of the glass of the telescope. She sighed, before nudging his knee with her elbow.

She smiles weakly. "They would be proud of you, you know." Harry looked up at her with an unconvincing upturn of the eyebrow. "No, really! You've escaped death multiple times. You've rescued their best friend from getting his soul sucked out. And you're joint first place in the Triwizard Tournament!"

Harry smirks. "Glad to know I have yet another admirer on my hands."

Cassia scoffs, before grinning. "You wish, Potter." She waits a couple of moments before coming out with, "Erm - I heard you're going to the Ball with one of the Patil twins?"

"Oh yeah. That's right," Harry replies absently. "Parvati. I take it you're going with Nott?"

"Yeah, I am," Cassia nods, "Pretty excited, I won't lie. It's been a while since I've attended a Ball! I wonder how they're going to decorate the hall." When Cassia shifts her gaze back to Harry, she saw he looked quite... uncomfortable. She raises an eyebrow. "You're not excited, then?"

Harry grimaces. "I'm meant to be the first dancer. All the champions dance first. And dancing isn't my thing."

"What?" Cassia exclaims, appalled. "I love dancing! It's so much fun."

"Not when you have two left feet, it isn't." Harry says, squinting his eyes at Cassia's increasingly excited figure.

"I would teach you–!"

     Cassia stops herself, suddenly realising what she'd suggested, and bites her lip, a wave of embarrassment clouding her head. Not smooth, Cass. She checks her watch, not at all taking notice of the time but instead using it as an excuse away from her absurd suggestion. She stands up and points to the stairs of the Tower. "But – erm – it's late. I should probably go–"

Okay, so, Cassia felt bad for leaving Harry before he could even reply. His face was blank, almost like he did want to say something. But she was mortified. Who suggests teaching someone to dance? She felt like it was the worst thing to ever have come out of her mouth. Thank goodness for the darkness being able to hide her reddened cheeks. But just as she'd reached the top of the stairs, his voice stopped her.

"Wait, Greengrass—?"

     She turns, and saw Harry was now standing.

"Uh—yeah?" She says, hoping he doesn't say anything that could embarrass her further.

But instead, Harry's gaze softens, and he smiles. "Merry Christmas."

Cassia's eyes dart to her watch, actually looking at the time this way round. 00:01. Cassia grins, forgetting the previous embarrassment for a moment, and says, "Merry Christmas, Potter."

———

EVA ABERCROMBIE'S CHRISTMAS MORNING ALWAYS STARTED OFF THE SAME WAY.

She would always wake up, a massive smile gracing her radiant features, oddly enough looking like she hadn't even woken up yet (her roommates always envied her way of rolling out of bed looking absolutely perfect), and she'd tie her silk housecoat over herself - obviously red and white, for the festivities. Eva would then hop downstairs from her well-decorated bedroom, and be showered with hugs and kisses and gifts and more gifts from her beloved parents. As she was an only child, Enoch and Astrid Abercrombie had always spoiled their baby Eva.

But this year it was different.

Of course, she wouldn't be spending it with her parents. Eva would spend the holidays still at Hogwarts, for the Yule Ball. And she was attending with Adrian Pucey, whom she'd been dating for just under two months now. Sure, the holiday not being spent with her parents seemed like a big of a loss. But still being able to be with her most treasured friends was just as good.

But anyways, Eva was the first to wake up this year. Maryam, Cassia, Sadie and Ebony were still sound asleep, so she tiptoed over to where her stocking was (slightly annoyed she didn't have her silk housecoat with her) and found it filled with many sweets, chocolates and small gifts, and the Christmas tree in their room had many gifts situated underneath. The mermaids were also singing a sweet tune. It was caught out to be a great Christmas so far.

When she went over to the tree, picking up the first gift and rattling it in her hands, she found a letter on top, addressed to her in her mother Astrid's undeniably cursive handwriting. And when she opened it, and read through whatever message her mother detailed for her, her mouth dropped open, and these were the words that fell out;

"What the fuck?"

Eva gasped as she picked up the letter which she'd dropped amidst her shock at whatever was written inside. Her sudden outburst happened to also wake up her roommates. Cassia groans, propping herself up on her elbows, while Maryam's head shoots up in shock.

"Merry Christmas?" Cassia says questionably. She notices the way Eva's mouth is hanging open, and looks puzzled.

"What's wrong, Eves?" Maryam asks, her brows furrowed. Her morning hair had certainly taken a turn for the worst, as it does every morning. Her black waves were flailing all over the place, spilling out of her braids.

     "It's... it's my parents..." Eva says, a soft sigh escaping her mouth. The letter was hanging limply from her hands, the beautiful cursive letters flowing along a sweet trail. "They've divorced."

———

CASSIA HAD TO BLINK TWICE TO FULLY REALISE WHAT EVA WAS SAYING. Her parents had gotten a divorce? What on earth? All of a sudden, too. From what Cassia had heard from Eva previously, she lived a happy life with her parents. Enoch and Astrid seemed like the happiest (okay, maybe not the happiest.. but you get the gist) couple out there.. at least, it seemed that way. But how could things have escalated so far within a period of months that led to this divorce..?

     "What?!" Maryam says, appalled, her hands covering her mouth. Eva remained where she stood next to the Christmas tree, staring ahead like she'd seen a ghost, her beautiful blonde locks tragically splayed out along her shoulders. Poor Eva, Cassia thought, frowning. For something like this to be what she'd wake up to on Christmas?

     "Let's see the letter." Cassia says, seemingly more composed than her two best friends. She walked across the room, lightly plucking the letter out of Eva's hands, and begun reading it, Maryam coming up to read it from behind her shoulder.

     Bonjour ma chèrie, it read.

     Joyeux Nöel! I miss you dearly, it's sad we cannot be together this year. I hope you like your gift, I remember seeing your face light up at the sight of it in the boutique. I know it'll look amazing with your outfit for the Ball tonight. Make sure to owl me a picture of you an all your friends, I'm sure you all will be looking très magnifique! And especially take a picture of you and that Pucey boy, I am yet to see the boy who has captivated the heart of
ma chère fille.

     I am deeply regretful to tell you, especially through a letter and not face-to-face, that me and your father are no longer together. The divorce papers sent away last night. It is for reasons we both are not ready to disclose to you yet, but I cannot imagine that I know how hurt you are feeling at the moment. Please, ma chèrie, don't let this ruin your day or your opinion of me and your father. We are still your parents and you are still the most treasured object in our lives. In my life. I will always be here for you, ma chèrie.

     Again, I am terribly sorry to have to tell you this through writing, or even to have to tell you this news at all, but it is for the best. I am going back to Bordeaux immediately where I'll be staying in your grandparents' villa, my childhood home. You are more than welcome to stay with me in the holidays, I would really appreciate it. I can even write to Cassia and Maryam's parents, or anyone else's, to ask if they can stay at the villa too, if you would like.

     Once again, I am so sorry. Je t'aime de tout mon cœur. Have a lovely Christmas, ma chèrie.

     Bisous,

     Maman.

Cassia, who finished the letter, handed it over to Maryam, who seemed to want to further analyse the letter as if there were some decrypted code within it. There clearly wasn't. All it was, was Eva's mother's Christmas wishes and her condolences. It couldn't get much simpler than that.

With a frown, Cassia went over and hugged Eva by the shoulders, who'd slumped down against their massive floor pillow. "I'm sorry, Eva." She says.

Eva shook her head. "You shouldn't be. It's not your fault. I don't even know.. how I feel. Like, I know I'm meant to be upset but I'm just.. shocked? And I am so fucking confused." Eva sighs. "What's that even supposed to mean? 'It's for the best', what? What the hell? What is up with all of this? I'm so — Salazar's sake!" She groans, throwing her head back against the wall in aggravation. "On Christmas too? Freaking hell."

Maryam, after finishing the letter, dropped it down onto her bed. She looks at Eva contemplatively. "Have you gotten anything from your dad?"

Sighing, Eva plucks herself off of the pillow. She fishes through the assortment of gifts, finding one in her dad's familiar handwriting, neat but less cursive than her mother's. Oh my god, what if they get remarried and I get a step-family? Eva shudders at the thought.

Eva reads through the letter and after a minute drops it down onto the floor. "It's practically the same as mum's." She says, dropping her shoulders. "Only less emotion. Dad's never been much of a feelings type of person."

They sit in silence for a bit. Even Sadie and Ebony listened in and spoke their own words of sympathy to Eva. Which was unusual, as those two never really communicated with Cassia, Eva and Maryam, even if they were roommates.

"You know what?" Cassia says, attempting to perk up her attitude. Someone needed to. "I get it, this is really upsetting. And confusing. But your mum said to not let this ruin your day!" Cassia smiles at Eva. "So we won't. It's Christmas, we're not gonna mope! Come on, let's get down to the common room. With any luck, there'll still be some baked goods left over from the Hufflepuffs!" Cassia knew her attempt to cheer up Eva had half-worked, for Eva smiled weakly at her. "And not to mention, Mum's sent us all face masks to get ready for the Ball tonight. Even you two!" She grins at Sadie and Ebony, who were pleasantly surprised at being included. Cassia turns back to Eva. "You're going to look stunning for Adrian. Not like you already aren't, but if he doesn't fall in love tonight I wonder when he ever will."

     Eva grins. Though as sweet Cassia's attempts were, the dubious feeling she had at the fact her parents got divorced out of nowhere remained prominent in her head. Things seemed so fine when she left them the day of coming back to Hogwarts. She didn't let them get the best of her, though. She would enjoy Christmas, and she would enjoy the Yule Ball, like everyone else.

     And so, they begun their Christmas Day in the castle. It was the first time Cassia had ever spent Christmas at Hogwarts, but that wasn't to say it wasn't enjoyable. They opened their gifts, each of them receiving masses of sweets, mince pies, and various other gifts and pieces. Turns out the gift Eva's mother was talking about was a pair of bedazzling silver high heels which she could wear with her dress robes.

     And amidst the jewellery, books and clothes her parents, sisters and friends got her, including a box of Honeydukes sweets attached to a beautifully scented jasmine candle from Theo (because he knew how jasmine-scented things were her favourite — she smelt precisely of the pretty plant on a daily basis), there was also a box with unfamiliar though quite messy handwriting in a bit of parchment on top. Cassia frowns curiously before reading it.

     Merry Christmas, Favourite Greengrass! Thank you for the help with the Tournament even if it backfired and had you in detention getting scared shitless by dragons with our brother (yes, Charlie told us he met our Favourite Greengrass). We gave you and Nott the same thing each. You have a bit more in yours of course, seeing as, you know, you're an angel ;) ;)

     She immediately knew who this was from, and couldn't help the laughter she let out after unwrapping the gift and looking at the joke item package, designed with WWW. Salazar, I love those twins.

     When Cassia, Eva and Maryam went down to the common room, followed by Daphne and her roommates along with Theo, Draco and Blaise, they saw the sight that, until today, had thought it was a Christmas rumour. There was a myth that apparently Hufflepuffs always left a massive tray outside of the dungeons for Slytherins, filled with cakes and cookies and tarts and brownies, all baked from the kitchens. Cassia hadn't thought this to be true - but this clearly said otherwise. But she hadn't stayed at Hogwarts over Christmas before either, so there was no way she'd known it to be true. All she knew was that those cookies looked gooey, and she was willing to trade her breakfast for this. It was Christmas, after all.

     "Salazar bless the Hufflepuffs." Theo marvels, reaching out to a tray splayed across the table in the common room. He bit into a blueberry muffin, "Or would it be Helga? I have no idea. I just know that I'll be dreaming over this muffin for the next week."

     "Remind me to never hate on a Hufflepuff ever again." Cassia heard Millicent Bulstrode say, sinking her teeth into a cookie.

     "Do you think those badgers do this for any other house?" Blaise asks, examining a brownie as if one of the Lake's mermaids was going to materialise from it and devour him whole.

     Draco smirks with a Bakewell tart in hand. "Probably not. Most houses are surprised at us being mutual. They don't know this is why."

They then went to breakfast despite gorging on the treats laid out for them, wishing badly that they could thank the Hufflepuffs.

(But it would be a destruction to their ruthless reputation if they were caught being nice...you know? Give the people what they want... if they want soulless, cruel Slytherins, that's what they'll get!)

They had their Christmas lunch too (and Cassia was wondering how on Earth she was able to fit herself into her dress robes after consuming this much food), and before heading back to the common room, Cassia saw Harry. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. Not like anybody would actually pay attention... it's Christmas? They're too busy in themselves. But Theo was one to notice, and he elbowed Cassia with a smirk, who in return glared at him and told him to Shut up.

Soon after their lunch, the fourth-year Slytherins ventured out into the snowy grounds to have a length snowball fight, with the classic Boys vs Girls theme. The girls won, and they accepted I confidently and smugly. ("It's not fair!" Theo said, folding his arms. "There are nearly twice as many girls than there are boys!")

And after detaching themselves from Theo, Blaise, and all the other boys they'd spent the morning and afternoon with, Cassia headed up to the girls' dorm with her roommates to get ready for the ball, with the time nearing four o'clock. They also invited Daphne, Pansy, Millicent and Tracey with them, because, the more the merrier! And especially on Christmas. It was safe to say their dormitory had gotten massively cramped, with nearly twice as many people than it usually inhabited, though no one seemed to mind. All the girls were enjoying their day and time together, wearing face masks and in laughing fits over things they probably wouldn't have thought funny otherwise had it not been for the certain atmosphere reflected around them. They'd been sharing out the sweets they got gifted, along with some spare baked goods left over in the common room from the morning, and were helping each other get their hair, nails and makeup done.

They weren't sure if most of their time had been spent gossiping and messing around than it was actually getting ready, but by half seven they'd stopped their fussing with getting that final curl in place and managed to avoid injury while walking downstairs in their long robes and high heels. (Maryam had taken her heels off after nearly stepping on and ripping one of the frills off of Pansy's pink dress.) Upon entering the common room, they found their dates waiting for them, along with other paired couples making their way out of the dungeons.

"Merlin, Cass," Theo marvels, his eyes widening. "You sure do clean up well!"

Theo wasn't wrong. Cassia looked stunning, with her hair in well-placed ringlets that had the front pinned back with shiny clips, and (after convincing Daphne not to overdo her makeup like that day on Kings' Cross) with minimal makeup, her light skin simply glowing with lightly blushed cheeks. She wore a thinly strapped robe of soft chiffon maroon material that had a v-neck, which cut off at the knees from the front and was long at the back, lightly grazing the floor with its length. She wore dangly earrings which were jewelled and sparkling - a Christmas gift from her parents, finished off with a pair of pale pink strappy high heels.

"Thanks, Theo." Cassia smiles, accepting the arm he extended towards her. "You don't look too bad yourself." Theo wore black robes contrasted against a crisp white shirt, both of which were perfectly ironed and had not a single crease to its name, with a pair of polished pointed shoes.

Everyone else began coupling up afterwards: Eva, wearing pale blue robes with the shiny heels her mother gave her, met a smartly-dressed Adrian, who looked deeply lovestruck. Maryam, who'd straightened out her normally frizzy waved hair, wore fern-coloured robes as she met Terrence. Pansy met Draco, in his ridiculously-collared velvet robes, as Tracey and Miles Bletchley got together along with Millicent and Graham Montague in the year above. Astoria strolled in, wearing robes that were of the same design as Cassia's, only in navy blue. (Marlowe Greengrass always loved having the three sisters coordinate their outfits. It was cute.)

Astoria smiled bashfully as she made her way over to Blaise, who pecked her cheek. Cassia and Theo both grinned. They were so glad that at last they didn't have to hide their relationship anymore. Because they were adorable.

Cassia heard a grunt from behind her. It was Daphne, looking pretty indeed with her robes in a pale yellow colour, though still resembling that of her two sisters. And her hair was decorated with a thin bejewelled headband, while the rest of her hair fanned out in beach waves. But her arms were folded tightly and she was scowling at seeing Blaise and Astoria together, because part of her was still bitter at the fact they hid their relationship from her for so long.

     (Oh, please give me some more time before I have to tell Daphne about me and Potter, Cassia wishes to any deity that'd listen. She wasn't ready for Daphne to find out just yet.)

"Daphne!" Theo exclaims. "You're looking good! Where's your date?"

Daphne snaps out of her glaring-trance, putting an abrupt smile on her face. "Thanks, Theodore! So do you! My date and I agreed to seeing each other in the Entrance Hall."

Cassia frowns in contrast to the excessive smile on Daphne's face. Daphne had avoided telling them who her date was the entire weeks leading up to Ball, and Cassia had a doubt in her head. But Daphne wouldn't lie about not having a date, right? But then, another idea struck Cassia's mind. That there was a chance that, her date wasn't a Slytherin?

"Oh. Alright." Theo says. He glances around between Daphne and all the other paired couples, before looking back at Cassia. "You wanna go? I expect it'll be starting soon."

Cassia grins before nodding. "Let's go." She travels up the dungeons stairs with her arm linked with Theo's, hearing the click-clack noise of her heels against the stone floor, followed by those of whoever trailed behind the two. Approaching the Great Hall, they found it decorated with wreaths and garlands of a deep pine colour decorated all around the Hall, and was covered in glittery silver frost, giving the Hall the distinct impression of a Winter Wonderland. The house tables had gone and in their place were many round, large tables. People and couples all around were greeting each other with gleeful and excitable expressions, bedazzling the halls with their luxurious dress robes.

"Erm, Cass?"

Cassia looks to Theo, whose gaze was trailing afar. She raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" She asks.

Theo pointed to where he was staring. "I think we've found Daphne's date..." Cassia's eyes darted over to where Theo pointed, and found her twin sister conversing with a guy who looked so familiar to Cassia, just at the mere sight of him. Of course he'd be familiar, we go to the same school. He was fairly tall and broad-shouldered, and had curly brown hair which was nearing auburn. He was smiling brightly as he conversed with Daphne.

"Is that –"

"The Hufflepuff who sits behind us in Transfiguration?" Theo finishes. "Yeah, it is." He shares a startled look with Cassia. "No wonder she was keeping it a secret from us. It's a Hufflepuff she's flirting with."

"It's not like Hufflepuffs are so bad, though?" Cassia suggests. "I don't think it should've been that big of a secret? But what was his name? And I could've sworn he played for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team last year. Spencer? Stanley? Sam -?"

Cassia didn't allow herself to finish, when Daphne approached the two, smiling widely with the Hufflepuff attached to her side.

"Hi!" Daphne says, grinning. She gestures to the boy beside her, who smiled nervously. "This is my date, Sterling Donahue!"

Sterling! That was the name!

"Sterling, this is my twin sister Cassia!" She introduces. "And this is Theo, her best friend, well, soon-to-be boyfriend." Daphne adds, winking.

     Cassia rolls her eyes. She still smiled at the boy - Sterling. He seems nice enough. "Hi."

     "Hi!" He replied encouragingly. He had tiny dimples pinching his cheeks, Cassia notices.

     "Hey." Theo says, holding a hand out to Sterling. "I'm Theodore Nott. Junior." He adds, before remarking, "Yes, my dad really is that vain and selfish that he had to name me after him. Tragic, I know."

     Sterling laughs lightly. "That's.. unfortunate. It's good to properly meet you two, though! Don't know if you remember, but I sit behind you two in Transfiguration?"

     "Yeah, I thought I recognised you from somewhere." Cassia says, smiling at him.

     "Erm - I'd love to stay and chat with you two... but it looks like the champions are being called in?" Sterling says, scratching his eyebrow. "But we could all sit at the same table, yeah?"

     "Brilliant idea." Daphne grins. "We'll see you guys after!" She waves at Theo and Cassia, before steering herself and Sterling into the unrecognisable Hall into the mass of dressed up chattering students.

     "Erm - wow." Cassia spoke, blinking a few times as she and Theo walked into the Hall. "So she wanted to hide the fact that she had a Hufflepuff as her date?" She questioned incredulously. "I mean, it's not so bad, is it? Going with someone of a different house. She seemed pretty enthusiastic about introducing him to us, didn't she? I - wow."

     Theo shrugs his shoulders. "No idea. He seems okay, for a Hufflepuff. You girls are confusing, though." Cassia scowls at him, as if to say, What did I do? But Theo had averted his direction elsewhere. Cassia saw that he was looking at the entrance, where the four champions and their dance partners were making their way into the crowded Hall.

     She managed to spot Harry, alongside Parvati Patil who looked really pretty. Harry looked really... uncomfortable, however. Cassia also saw Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang together, along with Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies. And then Viktor Krum with, and Cassia couldn't believe it, that —

     "Pinch me, Cass. Is that — Granger?" Theo says disbelievingly. Cassia couldn't believe it either, because the girl in periwinkle robes looked so different to the book-carrying Hermione Granger they were so accustomed to seeing in class. She looked fetching, to say the least. Nonetheless, Cassia still pinched Theo, for her own amusement. "Ow!" He said, glaring towards her. "I didn't actually mean it, you idiot!"

     Cassia smirks. "You should make yourself clearer next time, then."

     "Still, though.. that really is Granger?" Theo shakes head, still in partial-disbelief. "She looks good. Really good."

     "I know... she does." Cassia says, smiling. She may not particularly like or associate herself with Hermione Granger, but it was nice to see her not be thrown with by taunts by her fellow Slytherins, and instead of them all shouting insults at her, they looked at her somewhat speechlessly.

     Before long, everyone had been sat down at the large tables and their meal orders were placed. The Weird Sisters had begun playing their music, and the pairings began to join up and head onto the dance floor.

     Theo got up from his seat, holding out his hand to Cassia. "May I have this dance?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly.

     "You may." She answers, grinning. Cassia gives her hand to Theo, and the two saunter over to the dance floor.

They soon got engaged in a competition with Fred and George Weasley and their partners Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, who'd challenged Theo and Cassia to circling the dance floor as many times as possible while waltzing. Both Cassia and Theo, who were natural competitors, obviously abided. The three couples proved to be a speeding danger to anyone around them. Nonetheless, they were having fun.

Following a highly enjoyable and energetic round of dancing, where Cassia and Theo had both gotten their fair share of feet stomping and arm flailing along to the Weird Sisters' much more rowdy tunes, Cassia found herself waiting to one side, where Theo suggested to getting them drinks and she happily agreed. She was in dire need of a break after dancing for hours, and she was so sure those heels had completely ruined her feet, as per usual.

     "Salazar, do I need this drink or what?" Theo says, walking back to Cassia with two Butterbeers in hand. "Those Weasley twins really drain the energy out of you. Here, Cass." He outstretched one to Cassia, but frowned when her hand didn't accept it. Theo soon found out why: Cassia's eyes had been focused elsewhere. Focused on the body of Harry Potter alongside Ron Weasley, being one of the only ones sat down at the opposite end from Cassia, while everyone else, including her, were enjoying themselves on the dance floor.

Theo raises an eyebrow, before moving closer to Cassia. "Cass?"

It happened to be that Cassia was so engrossed in the fact that Harry looked so bored in this entirely not boring circumstance, that she didn't expect Theo to be mere inches away from her, and jumped back, startling. "Merlin, Theo." She breathes, then seeing the bottle being offered to her and accepts it. "Don't do that!"

Theo chuckles, as he and Cassia both take a swig of their drinks. She'd resorted to staring back at Harry, taking particular note of how unenthusiastic he looked and that he and Ron were no longer accompanied by their dates.

"You realise you can talk to him, you know?" Theo adds abruptly, swishing the liquid around in his butterbeer bottle. Catching Cassia off-guard yet again, and having her splutter through her drink.

"Erm - what?" Cassia says, wiping the split butterbeer off of her chin. If this boy scares me one more time -

"Go on and talk to Potter." Theo reiterates with a roll of his eyes. Because, his best friend could be so dramatic. And it was so obvious she wanted to approach him. He didn't know a lot about whatever was going on between the two, but that much was obvious.

"Eh, Theo?" She raises an eyebrow, looking at him incredulously, "In front of everyone? You've got to be having a laugh."

"People are going to find out anyways, Cass!" Theo says, his tone laced with exasperation. "Daphne couldn't hide her Hufflepuff lover for long. And the Slytherins didn't really mind him. You can't hide whatever is going on between you forever."

Cassia scoffs. "Yeah, not with you almost exposing me and then making up the excuse that I have an attraction to my curtains. And it'd be an entirely different think with me coming out with being friends with Potter than a Hufflepuff. Slytherins take no mercy on Gryffindors. Especially Potter." She was about to take another sip of butterbeer, then stops halfway through with the bottle raised to her lips. "And, by the way, since you're clearly under the wrong impression, I do not fancy Potter."

"Sure you don't." Theo's expression is bored, and he cannot believe what Cassia is claiming.

"I don't!"

     "You realise you can talk to me if you do fancy him?" He sighs. "I mean, I may be a boy, and I might not like him, but I've had my fair share of relationships in Hogwarts."

     Cassia huffs out a long sigh. This wasn't necessary. "That's sweet Theo, but the only problem is that I don't fancy him! What makes you think I fancy him? You know absolutely nothing!"

     "What else should I know?" Theo asks blatantly. "You meet the guy at the Astronomy Tower most nights and you're super concerned for him. Is it not obvious?"

     Cassia inhales through her nostrils. "Is there not a chance that perhaps the only thing we could be is friends? Does it automatically have to be something more?"

Theo contemplated about to make another retort, when he considered whatever Cassia was saying. Okay, maybe he had jumped to conclusions a bit too fast about his best friend liking the Gryffindor champion. She kept on denying it? And he may still have thought it to be true, but why would she lie about something like that? She wouldn't deny something for nothing. Theo knows Cassia, and he found no reason for her to hide the fact she likes Potter. Maybe she doesn't like him after all? Maybe I'm just being annoying?

Taking a moment to himself, Theo purses his lips. Then shrugs. "Okay. I believe you."

The release of Theo's sudden confession made Cassia's eyes shoot back in her head. Because, what was Theo up to? One minute he was claiming this absurd assumption and the next he actually believes her words? Boys are confusing, Cassia thinks.

"Erm - right?" Cassia says with a squint of her eyes. "Wow."

Theo smirks. "This may be the case at the moment. Just don't blame me for telling you 'I told you so' when you finally come to liking him. It's bound to happen."

"Have fun with that, Theodore, because you're wrong." Cassia shakes her head as she takes another swig of butterbeer, before going back to the dance floor with Theo.

Theo takes one glance at Harry, who's now watching the fight between Ron and Hermione with wide-eyes, before turning to Cassia. "Yeah, I don't like the guy." He says, shaking his head in disapproval. "What do you even see in him?"

***

introducing...

joshua bassett as sterling donahue

***

ok this was nearly 10500 words wtf😭😭 i told you guys this one would be jam-packed! i hope you liked it tho and it wasn't too long for you guys!! (ok it was defos too long but in my defence not all chapters are THIS long)

and we have a new minor character, sterling!! he's not gonna be too important to the storyline, but he's gonna have quite a few appearances!!

also this was the first time in this book that i had anyone else's POV apart from cassia's and it was for a significant reason, i did the part in eva's POV because that links to something happening later on. i enjoyed writing in a different character's POV, and throughout this fic i'll be doing it more for other characters too!!

also U CANT CONVINCE ME THAT SENDING BAKED TREATS ON CHRISTMAS DAY ISN'T AN INCREDIBLY HUFFLEPUFF THING TO DO!!!! like i absolutely LIVE for this headcanon DONT EVEN JUDGE ME🤚🏼

hope u guys enjoyed this and are having a great day and staying safe <3 remember to check out the BLM resources in my bio!!! TWO MORE GOBLET OF FIRE CHAPTERS!!

— saar xxx