Half an hour later and they were settled into the box, in the comfy seats, the pre-game excitement setting in.

Well, it would've been.

But her father had taken that away from her.

Everytime Cassia tried to enjoy herself, their faces flashed through her mind. Hermione's. Ron's. Poppy's. Potter's.

She was so fucking sick of this. And not just the friends thing. She was also sick of towing the line, just rolling over and being a doormat as her father snapped at, dictated cruelly, was rude to and hurt her and others.

She was so sick of pretending that she was okay with it. At least last summer she was being herself, even if her so-called family hated her for it.

Now she was just a shell of that girl. A coward. She was so desperate to be accepted into her 'family' that she had forgotten her friends. Hurt them, even.

And fuck, did she wish she didn't-

"Sit up straight, Cassia."

Her father's voice snapped her out of her head and she nodded, mumbling something about being sorry before sitting up better.

Just as the Irish team came flying onto the pitch.

For the first time that summer, Cassia felt like herself as she was clapping the seven Irish players, shooting onto the pitch with streams of white and green smoke following them.

She knew them all by name, having researched the team as soon as England were eliminated and Ireland were announced to be in the final.

And for once, her father didn't tell her to be quiet, and her mother didn't tap her and ask her to lower her volume. So she whooped and cheered, Cornelius Fudge doing the same thing a row across.

As the smoke exploded into a giant glittery leprechaun that started to dance to the music in the air, the crowd started to cheer.

"IRELAND, IRELAND, IRELAND!"

And Cassia joined in.

"HERE COME THE BULGARIANS!"

Then, before she knew it, there was a yell, and seven players dressed in blood red robes were rushing through the leprechaun, disintegrating it.

Now, unlike the Irish, Cassia only knew the name of one Bulgarian player; the most famous one. Their seeker, Viktor Krum. The best seeker in the world, apparently.

He was really good, really young, and really, really famous.

And the Bulgarian team seemed to be taking advantage of this, as a big projection of Krum suddenly appeared on the other side of the stands, and flew round as he did.

Cassia couldn't see him, but she heard the cheers he was given as he flew round, raising his arms and grinning.

"Good evening!"

She hadn't noticed Fudge stand up and put a wand to his throat, projecting his voice around the whole stadium.

"As Minister for Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final of the four hundred and twenty second quidditch world cup! Let the match..." he raised his wand, getting ready to set off the bang that would sound at the start. "Begin!"

BANG!

And they were off.

And it was quidditch like Cassia had never seen before.

Straight away, the Irish chasers grabbed the quaffle, but they didn't hang about with it, like what sometimes happened when Cassia played. They shot straight up the pitch in a formation the girl had never seen, dodging the Bulagrians the whole way.

Not before long, the one in the centre had scored, and a roar erupted from all the Irish fans in the stands. Cassia's hands were already raw from clapping but she went on regardless. The team deserved it.

The game was amazing. Cassia was into it and not coming out, suddenly not caring about the issues with her father and her friends.

Bulgaria may have had Krum, but the whole Irish team was fucking amazing. In ten minutes, two more quaffles had been shot through the hoops at the Bulgarian end, upping the score to thirty-nil.

This only caused the Bulgarian beaters to get more aggressive as they hit the budgers, hoping to get an Irish chaser off their broom.

They didn't succeed, but they did distract them enough so the Bulgarian chasers could steal the quaffle off them, racing up the pitch and scoring their first goal.

After fifteen more minutes and ten more Irish goals scored, said team was leading with a hundred and thirty points to ten. Cassia could see the Bulgarians get angrier and angrier, and as they did, the game got dirtier and dirtier.

The Irish soon got a penalty as one of the Bulgarians deliberately flew into one of their chasers as they were trying to score. This resulted in another ten points for Ireland, and as they scored another three times in a span of ten minutes, the score was upped to a hundred and seventy to ten.

The beaters were now acting with no mercy, particularly the Bulgarian ones. However, the Irish were certainly not innocent, as one of them sent a bludger careening into Viktor Krum's face.

There was a loud crack that Cassia swore she heard, and blood spurted from Krum's nose.

But somehow, there was no penalty called.

"Oh, come on!" Someone else in the box yelled. "Time out! He can't play like that-"

"Look at Lynch!"

Iyvan Lynch was Ireland's seeker, and whilst it could be said that he wasn't as good as Krum, he certainly had something in this moment.

Because he had upped the speed tenfold, and even though Cassia didn't like to look at Potter, she knew the look on Lynch's face, having seen it on her seeker's face many times before.

"He's seen the snitch," Cassia murmured, leaning forward in her seat.

But he wasn't the only one. Krum was now on his tail, catching up to him, diving at the same time as him from a humongous height, blood spraying behind him.

And they were going down, both following the snitch, all of the crowd following them and now not the chasers or the beaters.

And they were getting low, so low, and Cassia was wincing because they were going to crash-

Well, not both of them.

In a flash, Lynch hit the ground and tumbled off his broom, rolling a few metres away from it.

Krum, however, had pulled up, hovering just above the ground, holding something up high, showing it to the crowd.

Something golden.

The snitch.

"What-?" Cassia frowned. The snitch only got you a hundred and fifty, and it wasn't enough-

The whole crowd seemed to realise this as all the Irish fans got up, cheering and clapping and whooping like maniacs. Cassia was among them, absolutely mad with joy, jumping up and down.

"IRELAND WIN!" Cornelius Fudge yelled out to the crowd, voice projected again. "KRUM CATCHES THE SNITCH BUT IRELAND WIN!"

And she knew why Krum had done it, really, as he shouldered the loss bravely. He had wanted to end the game on his own terms, without any input from the Irish.

And she admired that. But in reality she was too happy that Ireland had won to care about much else.

"Calm down, Cassia."

But of course. Of fucking course, her father would ruin this moment.

Because that's all he did.

And something inside Cassia was fucking screaming to defy him. Screaming to tell him that she was done, that she wasn't abiding by his rules anymore, that she was finished being a part of his 'family'.

But she just nodded meekly, and turned back to watch the Irish victory lap.

Because that's what she was nowadays.

A coward.

❦︎❦︎❦︎

Back in the cabin, and Cassia was still reliving the Irish victory, instead of doing what she wanted, which was to go and find her friends and explain. Explain what she was going through.

However, she couldn't.

She hadn't really thought about what was going to happen at Hogwarts. She knew that if Draco heard or saw her hanging out with Poppy, or Potter and his friends, he would be sending an owl straight to her father who would then subsequently sent a howler straight back at her. That meant she couldn't speak to them at all during lessons, and she would have to be extra careful in the common room, making sure no informants were around. That is, if they still even wanted to be around her.

Fuck. She wasn't sure how much more she could take of this.

After getting back from the match, she had gone straight to her room, not really conversing with her parents or brother at all.

Only then did it strike her that things in the cabin had gone stupendously, absolutely, completely quiet.

"Wha-?"

She was up and out her room in a flash, practically running down the stairs then stalling at a halt as she saw the sight in the kitchen.

Draco was in there. Alone. He was sitting on a chair, chin rested on one hand, his legs bouncing up and down faster than she had ever seen them.

"What's going on?" Was out of Cassia's mouth before she could stop it.

Her brother's head snapped round and she frowned heavily when got a look at his eyes. They showed sadness, but also something else; fear.

"Cassia-"

"What. Is going. On?" Cassia asked in absolute shock. Draco shouldn't be sad, or scared, their team had just won, what-?

"Cassia, just go back upstairs," Draco continued.

"Not until you tell me what's happening, or you get mother and father to!"

Upon yelling this, Cassia halted. It was only then that it occurred to her that those two people weren't present.

"Where are mother and father?" She asked, voice low and suddenly with an edge of fear herself.

Draco looked straight at her. "How should I know?"

"Because you do! You must think I'm an absolute idiot, Draco, just tell me what's fucking going o-"

And that was when she stopped. Went silent. Still.

Because an ear piercing scream was resounding through the air.

Instantly, Cassia locked eyes with Draco. Her's were wide, his weren't. He- he fucking knew-

"What's going on?" Cassia asked again. "Draco, what's- what's happeni-"

Another scream.

Cassia was running. Before she even realised it, she was outside, sprinting full pelt back to the campsite.

"CASSIA! COME BACK! WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO LEAVE!"

"THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME THAT!" The girl hollered back, not turning round, just continuing to run.

When she got to the campsite, she stopped, stood still in the middle of the chaos, and was about to scream herself.

Tents were on fire, and smoke was clogging the site. People were screaming, running all over, and amongst all that, a band of black robed and black masked people were marching, holding sticks of fire and shooting spells in random directions.

"Death eaters," Cassia murmured, her whole body frozen in shock.

Voldemort's supporters. Back in the day, just after Potter defeated him, her mother and father had been accused of being them. They had got out of it, denying any claims-

But it was clear they had just lied.

"Cassia!" Draco was suddenly by her side, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her back. "Cassia, let's just go back-"

"NO!" Cassia roared, tears in her eyes as she looked at him. "You knew about this?" She questioned.

Draco was speechless. No answer.

Cassia was crying now, tears slipping down her face. What had she been thinking? All summer, she had tried to fit in with these people, with her family.

"You're sick!" She yelled at her brother. "Sick!"

"Cassia-"

"No!" Cassia yelled, throwing his arm off, looking Draco levelly in the eye. Her lip wobbled and her eyes filled again as she looked at him, throwing his arm off. "No."

And with that, she ran off into the chaos, ignoring the yells she couldn't hear behind her.

She didn't know what she was doing, where she was going. One thought was in her mind, though. One name.

Poppy.

I have to get to Poppy.

And she was sprinting through the mass of fire and fleeing people. She didn't want to look at the death eaters. Didn't want to think that both her father and mother were probably under those masks.

And then, by some stroke of luck, she saw her. Caught a glimpse of her. Poppy.

She was caught up in the crowd, holding desperately onto Parvati, Padma, Hermione and Ron. She couldn't see Potter anywhere.

"POPPY!" She yelled, voice hoarse by how loud she was. "POPPY!"

And for a second, her best friend did look up, and did glance in her direction.

Her lips were just forming her name when Cassia got shoved to the side, stumbling in another direction and losing sight of Poppy and the others.

And she was sprinting, trying to get back to them, needing to get there, to explain herse-

"Urgh!"

"Argh!"

"Ug-"

"Wh-?"

In a flash, Cassia had crashed right into someone and toppled them both over onto the ground, rolling them a few metres with how fast she was running.

"Urgh..." Cassia murmured, holding a hand up to her forehead and feeling liquid drip onto her fingers. Blood. She had been cut on the head.

She had hit her head.

Well, that explained why she felt so dizzy.

"C... Cassia?"

That's Potter's voice, the crazy part of her brain said, as his voice smoothed over it, floating in and out. The more rational part told her, it can't be fucking Potter, it can't be!

Nevertheless, she swore it was his face she saw just before she blacked out, right next to him on the campsite ground.

❦︎❦︎❦︎

BANG!

The sound resounded in Cassia's sore head as she came to, wincing slightly.

BOOM!

What- what's going on? The girl thought as she looked around. This certainly wasn't her bed in the cabin.

The sky was still dark, from what she could see from the smoke clouding it above her.

CRASH!

And- and what's that noise?

"Cassia?"

A small whisper next to her made her turn, the movement hurting, seeing Potter next to her.

So it had been him.

She nodded.

BASH!

"What's-?" She frowned. "What's going o-?"

"MORSMORDRE!"

Before she could even complete her sentence, there was a loud shout from across the campsite. Cassia didn't understand what he was saying, but she did know that next second, there was a symbol in the air.

A skull with a snake through it's mouth.

Cassia's eyes went wide. That was the Dark Mark. The symbol that the death eaters would put outside a building whenever they had murdered there-

Cassia moved to sit up, despite the dizziness and the hurt. She winced, squeezing her eyes shut, and then she turned to Potter, who instantly put a finger over his lips.

"What?" Cassia mouthed, confused.

Then Potter slowly raised his hand, pointing at a spot just behind her head.

Cassia instantly spun, ignoring the pain and seeking out what Potter was telling her to shut up over.

She found it in seconds, eyes widening and a small gasp escaping her lips.

Across the site, about fifteen metres away from them, stood a man. Now, Cassia hadn't seen it but she would've put good money on him being the one to cast the mark.

However, all the curiosity and pain disappeared from her body as the man went still, staring at- at them.

And then he started to walk towards them.

With a gasp of fear, Cassia scrambled backwards on the ground. She couldn't get up, she would probably pass out again if she d-

"Come on, Cassia!"

With a hiss of her name and a grunt, Harry Potter had practically picked her up, and was now holding her arm as they ran away from the man.

"Harry! Haaaaarrrrryyyyyy!"

"Where are you?!"

"Harry!"

Somewhere in the back of her brain, Cassia recognised those voices. Hermione, Ron, and Poppy were calling Potter.

"We've been looking for you for ages!"

In a flash, the three of them were in front of them, taking in Harry, and then the girl beside him.

"Oh, thank god," Hermione breathed, squeezing Harry's arm and giving Cassia a slight smile.

Ron, meanwhile, was less subtle. "We thought we lost you, m- oh... hey, Cassia."

Cassia looked down at her battered converse shoes. "Hi," she muttered, kicking the ground.

"You okay?"

She had thought Poppy was talking to her. Or rather, hoped.

But, as she looked up, she saw her best friend wasn't even looking in her direction, and hadn't even acknowledged her. She was looking at Potter instead, and concern was written on her face.

A spark of jealousy lit inside Cassia.

But Potter didn't let it light into a fire as he nodded at Poppy, looking up to the sky. "What is that?"

And suddenly, Potter was letting out a gasp of pain, clutching the lighting bolt scar on his forehead.

"Wha-?"

"Stupefy!"

About seven people from all around the group of five fired the spells at once, and they had to duck to avoid them as the red lights shot above their heads.

"Stop! STOP! That's my son! THAT'S MY SON AND HIS FRIENDS!"

Arthur Weasley was running past all the others and to the five of them, absolutely livid.

"Ron, Harry, Hermione, Poppy, you alright?" He checked, only glancing at Cassia.

"We came back for Harry," Ron nodded. "That's how picked up Cassia, as w-"

"Which one of you conjured it?" A man wearing a bowler hat with a twirly moustashe was rushing towards them, his wand flitting between all five of them.

"The fuck?" Cassia exclaimed. "You think one of us conjured the dark m-"

"She's right, Crouch, you can't possibly-" Arthur interrupted her.

"That is a lie!" This Crouch (who Cassia now recognised as a ministry official) shouted over everyone. "You've been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Crime?" Potter was confused.

"Barty! They're just kids!" Arthur was still imploring Crouch to listen.

"What crime?" Harry went on.

"That's the dark mark, Potter, it's his mark," Cassia hissed to the boy, who's eyes went wide.

"Voldemort?" He looked at her, and she nodded. Then he turned to the ministry workers. "Those people tonight, in the masks, they were his too, weren't they? His- followers?"

"Death eaters," Arthur nodded.

Crouch, who was suddenly less confident with wide eyes and a mouth half open, said. "Follow me."

But, as they turned, Cassia felt the need to shout. "There was a man, before, over there!" She pointed to where he had been. "When Potter and I woke up."

This only seemed to make Fudge more agitated as he shouted. "All of you, this way!"

Arthur, meanwhile, looked to Harry and Cassia. "A man? Who? What did he look like?"

"I don't know," Harry shook his head. "We didn't see his face."

And Cassia didn't say it, as they walked away, but she was still betting her money on it.

That he had conjured the mark.