"Get a load of me, get a load of you walking down the street and I hardly know you. It's just like we were meant to be." –Why Can't I (Liz Phair)


Fred blinked a few more times. It was definitely real. Cassie was just coming out of the back room and crossing the store. She didn't look his way or notice him at all. He ran after Hermione again.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew her?"

"Knew who?" Hermione sounded exasperated.

"The girl I've been trying to find. You could have said that right from the beginning."

Hermione followed his gaze. "Cassie's the girl you've been looking for? I didn't know. Harry didn't tell me her name."

"What else can you tell me about her?" Fred asked urgently.

"Why don't you go ask her yourself?" Hermione smirked.

"She won't tell me!" It was Fred's turn to sound exasperated now.

Hermione continued to smirk at him. "I'm not going to tell you anything. That would make things a little too easy, don't you think?"

"I don't even know her last name," Fred complained.

Hermione paused for a second. "You really don't know anything about her?"

"No, nothing," Fred answered desperately.

"I guess that doesn't come as a surprise. She wasn't really your type…"

"She's completely my type," Fred argued.

"I said she wasn't your type. Past tense, Fred." Hermione resumed putting away the books in her arms.

"Wasn't?" Fred asked slowly. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Ah, you caught on to that, have you?" Hermione asked.

"I knew I went to school with her. I figured that much out. I just don't know why I don't remember her."

"I'm still not telling you anything more. Go talk to her yourself."

Fred paused and looked across the room at Cassie. "I suppose I should."

Hermione was looking directly at him now. "What happened to that confidence you used to have? You would never be afraid to talk to a girl."

"It's still there, I'm just—it's still there! I'm not afraid," Fred stammered. He stood up straighter and looked across the room again.

"You are. Maybe it's because Cassie has a boyfriend and isn't falling at your feet."

"I could care less," Fred shrugged.

"Sure," Hermione said sarcastically. "Go," she prodded, giving him a gentle nudge.

Fred stumbled forward a few steps before glancing back at Hermione. She smiled and nodded, so he took a deep breath and marched across the room, picking up a random book as he went. Cassie was facing the bookshelf, putting away a few books. Fred leaned casually against the shelf and held up the book in his own hand.

"Would you mind telling me how much this is?" he asked with a smirk.

"It-," Cassie began to answer, but then she looked up at him and her mouth dropped open. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking at books," Fred answered, keeping his voice as innocent as possible. "Isn't that what people normally do in bookshops?"

Cassie frowned and snatched the book from his hands. "You were looking for a book on sewing?"

"Well I do live on my own now and I thought sewing might come in handy now that-,"

"Oh, save it," Cassie said, thrusting the book back into his arms. "How did you find out I worked here?"

"I didn't," Fred answered, tossing the book onto a nearby display table.

Cassie shot him a look and went to pick it up. "You mean to say that you, of all people, just chose to walk into a bookshop?"

"Hey that's an insult!" Fred said, crossing his arms. "Anyway, I came here to talk to Hermione."

"Ah, so you were distracting the employees."

"I guess you could say that," Fred smirked. "I suppose I'm distracting you right now too." He sighed dramatically.

"Yes, you are," Cassie sniffed. Then, her expression softened. "But I won't get into too much trouble for it."

"Why's that?" Fred wondered aloud.

"I'm the assistant manager. I just got promoted not too long ago, actually."

"Impressive," Fred said with a whistle.

"Yeah, it's great, but it's not my ideal job. It pays while I'm trying to write my book, though."

"You're writing a book?"

Cassie nodded. "I've never written one before and I swear it's going to be the death of me. I feel like everything is rubbish and it's not going to be good enough."

"I'm sure it's fantastic," Fred said confidently. "What's it about?"

Cassie paused. "Why would I tell you?"

"You should tell me because I'm interested," Fred answered.

"You really are?" Cassie's face actually showed excitement at his words.

"Mhm," Fred nodded. "I'm sure whatever you write is going to be interesting. I mean, you're smart. I knew that right off the bat and plus, you were in Ravenclaw, right?"

"Just because I was in Ravenclaw doesn't mean I'm a genius," Cassie answered.

"Yes it does," Fred argued.

"Sometimes Ravenclaws can be other things besides smart," she said. "There are brave Ravenclaws, loyal Ravenclaws and Ravenclaws that aren't so nice. The same goes for the other houses."

Fred just looked at her. "Yeah, but Ravenclaws are most noted for being smart. Most of them are smart. They can have those other traits, but they all have the fact that they're smart and witty in common."

"Stereotypes," Cassie sighed, but Fred noticed her faint smile, the only hint that she was joking, at least partially.

"Anyway," he said, "what if we just go to the Leaky Cauldron again and talk. I found you here completely by chance, so why don't we forget about the napkin and the Sickle and just hang out. You can tell me all about yourself. It must be some sort of sign that we keep meeting, right?"

"Josh wouldn't like that," Cassie laughed. She started to turn away, but Fred grabbed her arm.

"Why are you doing this, then? Why are you playing games with me if you're still with him? Maybe we should just forget about this fate thing and move on; go our own separate ways and never see each other again. It sure doesn't seem to matter to you."

"It does," she whispered. She looked upset. "It does matter. Look, Fred, it's complicated and a long story. There's so much I need to explain and maybe part of the reason I'm doing this is because I don't want to explain it to you just yet."

"Why not?" Fred asked, his voice rising.

"Can you please be quiet?"

"No," he said defiantly, looking into her eyes.

She looked around before setting down the books in her hand and grabbing Fred's arm and pulling him into the back room of the bookshop. "Fine," she whispered. "I go on my lunch break in ten minutes. Do you think you can wait here until I'm ready to go?"

Fred saluted her, a grin spreading over his face. "Yes, I can."

"Of course, you're all happy now that you got what you wanted. I swear, if Josh finds out…"

"He's not going to hurt you again is he?" Fred's smile fell and he looked at her seriously.

"He didn't do that on purpose. It was an accident. He just gets really angry sometimes…"

"Maybe we shouldn't do this. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Oh, come on, you went through all the trouble of looking for me and asking me to spend time with you and now you're chickening out? Where's that Gryffindor courage?" She smirked and nudged him. Fred's insides flipped at the contact.

"Just because I was in Gryffindor doesn't mean I'm courageous."

Cassie snorted and let out a laugh. Fred felt himself smile at the realization that he had made her laugh. He was used to making people laugh, but with Cassie, it felt like a real accomplishment.

"Oh please," she said. "You are courageous."

"Not all the time," he said honestly. "I'll tell you all about it…one day…" he trailed off dramatically.

Cassie laughed again. "Alright, ten minutes and I'll be back here to get you. Now, just sit, be quiet, and behave yourself until I get back."

"Yes, mother," Fred said sarcastically, a playful grin lifting his lips.

Cassie rolled her eyes this time and left the room. Fred walked around, examining the stacks of boxes and books covering almost every square inch of space. He was ecstatic that he had found Cassie, completely by chance. That had to be fate. Maybe this whole thing wasn't a load of rubbish after all.

Ten minutes later, Fred turned at the sound of the door opening. Well, banging open would be the better term. Fred felt his insides plummet. The last person he wanted to see was barging into the room. It looked like Josh had found out.


A/N: I know, another cliffhanger, but I just had to do it...don't forget to review! :)