Cassia and Cedric had decided that a walk in the grounds would suffice for their first hang out. Cassia was looking forward to it, but she just hoped that nothing ruined it.

Hint hint, the thing with Poppy, who she still hadn't talked to yet.

And she didn't intend to yet. She had some things to work out before she could.

"Hey."

Cedric's voice pulled her out of her head as she met him in the entrance hall, like they had agreed.

"Hey," she smiled back at him.

"Are you okay? You seemed a bit-"

"Lost in my thoughts?" Cassia raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Cedric laughed. "So, you okay?"

"Yeah," Cassia smiled as they began to walk.

It wasn't actually awkward. She had thought it would be, because he was a guy that was two years older than her and they probably had not a lot in common.

But actually, that wasn't true. Because they clicked right away.

"You like the Holyhead Harpies too?" Cassia asked in shock.

"Well, yeah, but my favourite team is definitely Puddlemere United," Cedric grinned. "I've always dreamed of playing for them, actually, but I never thought I'd be much good because their seekers are the best of the best."

"Are you serious?" Cassia asked with a laugh. "Cedric, you're, like, the best quidditch player in the school!"

"Says the greatest chaser I've ever seen," Cedric smiled at her.

Cassia shook her head. It wasn't true, but it was nice to know he believed it.

And soon, they were talking about all sorts of things, not just common interests.

"You like brussel sprouts? Fuck, ew, that's rank!"

"They're good!"

"What about divination? Who in your year did Trelawney say was gonna die?"

"Me, actually. How wrong is that...?"

"Do you like the Weird Sisters? What's your favourite song...?"

They talked on and on as they walked on and on, until Cassia finally stopped him and said. "Can I ask you a question? Like, a serious question?"

"Of course," Cedric answered.

Cassia took a deep breath. "Are you entering your name into the goblet?"

Cedric looked down, and then back up, and then into her eyes.

Then he nodded.

And Cassia didn't know what made her do it, but in that moment she grabbed his hand in hers and bit her lip.

"Do you not want me to?" Cedric frowned at her. "Cause if you don't-"

"No, you idiot, I can't tell you that!" Cassia chuckled. "It's just- I want you safe, okay?"

Cedric smiled. "Thanks, Cassia, but... I'm a big boy, okay? I can take care of myself."

Cassia dissolved into giggles, her stomach being eaten by butterflies. "Okay, big boy, I'll trust you. It's just... I really don't want to see you hurt."

Cedric was grinning. "That means a lot, Cassia."

And as the girl fell asleep that night, that line was still running through her brain.

❦︎❦︎❦︎

"Cassia?" Hermione asked as she walked down into the common room the next day.

"Yeah?" Cassia asked as she looked up from her book.

"I've lost my book in the dorm, can you help me look for it?"

Cassia heaved a heavy sigh, getting up from the comfy sofa she was sitting on and following Hermione up to the dorm.

"Right, what's this book, and where did you last see it?" She asked once she got inside. "Come on, I don't have all d-"

She froze and stopped speaking as she saw the sight in front of her.

Poppy was standing there, eyes slightly teary, hopeful expression on her face.

"Oh hell no-" Cassia began to turn, but then she heard the door shut and lock behind her.

And then it hit her. Hermione didn't have a lost book. There was no lost book.

It had been a plan all along.

"Hermione! Hermione! Let me the fuck out!" Cassia yelled as she hammered her hands at the door. "Wait-" she drew her wand. "Alohomora! ALOHOMORA-! Fuck!"

She turned back round, looking at Poppy with a venemous stare.

"What the fuck is this, huh?" She questioned, walking towards her.

"I did this because there was no other way," Poppy said calmly. "And we need to talk-"

"But you don't want to listen-"

"Cassia-"

"No, I'm done with thi-"

"Cassia!"

The sharp call of her name made Cassia stop.

"Listen," Poppy's voice was shaking. "We have to fix this, okay? We have to."

"No we don't," Cassia lied.

Poppy scoffed.

"Right, fine! You know what? Fine!" Cassia stormed towards Poppy and sat down on the end of her bed, causing the girl to sit too, opposite her. "What d'you wanna know?"

Poppy looked at her. "I want to know what happened in the summer that caused you to react the way you did."

Cassia steeled herself. That was a loaded question.

"Okay, listen," she started. "I wanted to take some time before I told you this, but you clearly get none of that in the real world, so here goes."

After taking a deep breath, she began explaining. "When we got home from Hogwarts, I was expecting the worst. I was expecting to be hit, to be yelled at, to be abused," she looked down at the floor, her eyes already teary. "But that wasn't what happened."

She wasn't ready, she wasn't ready, she wasn't ready-

"My father did yell... and he took Oswald away... but then he gave me an ultimatum, of sorts," she couldn't look Poppy in the eye. "He told me that... that as long as I was good from now on, and that I followed the rules, and that I didn't try to communicate with my friends... I'd be treated like a proper family member."

Poppy gasped. She had no idea that any of this had taken place.

"And I should've said no," Cassia felt a tear slip down her cheek. "I should've said no, I should've ran, but... I just couldn't. So for four weeks I was good, and I sat there and watched as my father talked shit about the Weasleys, about Potter, about you. I didn't move a muscle when he burned all your letters. I didn't fight at all."

She sobbed gently. "And I'm sorry. I- I know I've been a terrible person, I know."

"And that's why you acted how you did at the world cup," Poppy realised. "Because your father couldn't see you interacting with us, because he would-"

"Go batshit crazy?" Cassia raised her eyebrows. "Yeah. But then I found out that he and my mother were both death eaters, so I don't know what he'd be reprimanding me abou-"

"What?" Poppy let out. "Cassia, you have to tell someo-"

"I'm saying no, and I think you already know why," Cassia's voice had an edge, but she wasn't nearly as mad as before.

Poppy looked down. "That explains... a lot, but... I still don't understand why you didn't just tell me when you were safe."

Cassia looked down, sobbing gently. This was something she hadn't told anyone.

"I didn't tell you because- because you're better off without me," she finally looked into Poppy's eyes, her's shining with tears. "Because I'm fucked up, Poppy, I'm so fucked up. And soon enough, you're gonna get sick of me and my shitty family, so I- I just thought that if I made you hate me, you'd leave, b-but you never d-"

She stopped abruptly as Poppy launched herself at her, wrapping her arms around her and letting Cassia sob into them.

They stayed like that for a while. Cassia was so overcome with sobs that it took a bit of time to calm her, but Poppy tried as hard as she could.

"I'm sorry, too," she said gently, once Cassia had calmed down enough to speak. "I was just so angry - I thought you had told Potter and everyone what was bothering you, and I was unbelievably jealous that you hadn't told me."

"I didn't tell anybody," Cassia said, looking up at the other girl.

"Well, just for the record," Poppy said. "I am not better off without you. You're my best friend, Cass, and I love you more than anything."

Cassia smiled gently. "The feeling's mutual."

"Oh, and also, mum's already invited you to stay next summer, for the whole summer," Poppy said. "We're gonna sneak you off the train and apparate you to ours. You're not safe with your family."

"Did you tell your mum about-"

"No, I didn't tell her anything," Poppy assured her. "But this way, you'll not be living in fear the whole year, and you're able to have fun. And on that note, Cassia Malfoy, we're switching subjects. I want you to tell me everything about Mr Cedric Diggory."

And when Cassia asked how Poppy had found out, she just winked.

"A best friend never reveals her secrets."

❦︎❦︎❦︎

By the time Cassia was sat with Poppy on a bench in the hall that evening, watching people put their names into the Goblet of Fire, the girl felt better than she had in months.

Finally, finally, she had her best friend back.

The goblet was in the centre of the hall, because around it was a while, smoky circle, levitating about a foot off the ground. If you wanted to put your name in, you had to cross the line.

Everyone who put their name in was getting applause at this point, but one in particular got lot's of it.

"Come on Cedric, put it in!"

"Yeah, come on!"

Cassia watched, rolling her eyes slightly, as Cedric's friends pushed him past the line, and he put his name in the goblet. After he did, he looked to Cassia, and gave her a slight smile. She smiled back, glad the blue light from the goblet's flame disguised her flushed cheeks.

"Oh my god, he just looked straight at you!" Poppy whispered in Cassia's head. "And you're blushing- holy shit this is so cute!"

"Haha! YEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!"

Before Cassia could reply, Fred and George Weasley were running into the hall, holding up two vials of some potion. Aging potion, Cassia suspected.

Everyone, including Cassia and Poppy, applauded them as they ran up to the goblet, stepping up on the bench just before they got there.

"Well lads, we've done it!" Fred and George grinned.

"Cooked it up just this morning!"

"It's not going to work," Hermione's voice called from the bottom bench.

Fred and George leaned down either side of her. "Oh yeah, Granger, why's that?"

"You see this? This is an age line," Hermione pointed to the levitating white line around the goblet. "Dumbledore drew it himself."

"So?"

"So," Hermione scoffed. "A genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a dodge as pathetically dimwitted as an aging potion."

"But that's why it's so brilliant," smirked Fred.

"Because it's so pathetically dimwitted," George finished.

The two of them stood up, shaking their potions.

"Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George?"

"Bottoms up!"

And with that, they linked arms and swallowed their potions before jumping straight into the age line's perimeter.

"Yeahhhhhhhh!" They both grinned when nothing happened, fuelling the crowd to cheer more. Cassia was grinning and clapping with Poppy. You could always trust the Weasley twins to liven things up a bit.

And they proved that, as they put their bits of parchment into the goblet.

Because almost as soon as they made contact with the blue flame, it went crazy, shooting off in all different directions and firing the Weasley twins out of the age line's circle.

They landed at the end of the hall, grunting and groaning.

But that wasn't all.

Because their hairs had all greyed, and best of all, they had both gained massive, fuzzy beards.

The twins looked at each other for a few seconds before bursting.

"You said!"

"You said!"

And then they were brawling on the floor, and everyone was gathering round to look and Cassia was grinning and chanting "fight" with Harry, Ron and Poppy and life was good-

And then everything went silent.

As the crowd turned back round, Cassia saw why.

Viktor Krum, Karkaroff by his side, was striding into the hall, past the age line, and tossing his name into the goblet. Everyone silenced for him as he walked in and out, but no one noticed who he glanced at on that way.

But Cassia did.

It was-

Hermione?