Chapter Nine
"We know you were lying," Cassia's Aunt hissed, "how could you even think of lying to us?!"
"I didn't want to be forced into marriage!" Cassia argued back, "how did you find out?!"
"Keaira had some pretty good proof, some letters, over heard conversations, even you went out for the Quidditch team when we told you not too!"
"You're not my parents!" Cassia yelled at them.
"We're forcing you to marry Regulus Black!"
"No! You can't!" Cassia cried.
"It won't be that bad," Keaira smirked, "He is a pureblood after all."
"You can't do this to me!" Cassia yelled, and turned to leave, but the room had no way of exit. All the doorways were covered with solid wall, bookshelves, couches, pictures. She felt trapped, and her head began spinning.
She awoke with a loud crash as she fell out of her bed. "Cassia?" Gretchen asked looking over, "Are you okay?"
Cassia's heart was racing, and she could feel it pulsing through her ears. She couldn't slow her breath either as she wiped away the cold sweat that covered her pale face. She took a moment before nodding to Gretchen and quickly getting to her feet.
She needed to talk to James.
"Cassia, you know you're still in your pajamas, right?" Gretchen asked, but Cassia ignored her as she made her way out of their dorm and into the common room. James wasn't in there, so she decided to check his dormitory. When she opened the door, Peter let out a shrilly yell as he pulled his shirt in front of him, covering himself.
"Cash, what are you doing in here?" Remus asked quickly, finishing his buttons on his shirt.
"Where's James?" she asked, panic written in her voice.
"I think he went down to breakfast with Sirius all ready," Remus informed her.
"Okay, thanks," she said before turning to leave.
"Cash," Remus stopped her. She turned and looked at him questioningly. "You might want to get dressed."
"This is to important for that," Cassia frowned, "it scares me."
Remus followed her frown before she left the room. Cassia made her way down the stairs, and out of the common room, getting many calling her name to point out her wardrobe choice. She took short cuts to get down to the first floor faster, only once being stopped by Peeves, the annoying little ghost that targeted Cassia that morning to throw mud bombs at her.
She dodged them, and quickly made it to the great hall. She ran past some Slytherins that were taunting a couple of Hufflepuffs, but ignored them as she swung the doors open and spotted the Gryffindor table. She made her way over, feeling everyones eyes on her. She spotted James at the furthest end of the Gryffindor table and made her way over to him.
"James, I need to talk to you," she whispered, although the hall was silent, watching and waiting.
"What in the world are you wearing?" James asked horrified that she ran across the castle in a tank top and what appeared to be Muggle boxers.
"James," she hissed, pulling him by his arm. He sighed and got up, leaving a confused Sirius at the table as the two left the Great Hall. She pulled him out of the Great Hall quickly and went to the first door she found that led to a classroom. She ignored the Slytherin's that decided to take notice to the two.
"What's wrong, Cash?" James asked, "that wasn't very subtle, coming in the Great Hall like that."
"I keep having the same dream for the last couple days," Cassia started, "I have a really bad feeling that their going to find out."
"How do you know that they will, Cash? Nobody else knows except for a couple people, and they're not going to tell anyone," James assured her, resting his hands on her shoulders like a brother would to a younger sister. "Keaira doesn't have any proof either to take it back to them."
"It still scares me, James. She's going to get proof that I'm playing Quidditch too, and you know that's not going to be any good," Cassia bit her bottom lip nervously, "they'll kill me."
"I won't let them," James told her once more, "We're in this together, Cassia. Whatever happens, I'm here for you. So is Sirius and the others."
"I'm still scared, James," Cassia sighed and leaned into James who hugged her tightly, "what if everyone finds out?"
"They won't," James told her, still hugging her tightly. He let go and looked at her, "Why don't you go ahead and head back up to your dorm and get changed into uniform?"
"I suppose that would be right," Cassia sighed as she looked at James, "Thank you..."
"For what?" James asked her.
"Everything," she gave him a small smile before turning and leaving the room, followed by James.
A couple of Slytherin's were near the door talking or quickly studying for a test. James and Cassia looked at them warily before separating.
When Cassia returned to the Common Room it was nearly empty except for a couple of late runners. Cassia made her way back to her dorm and pulled on a school uniform before grabbing her bag and leaving to the Great Hall. She wasn't gone for more than thirty minutes, including traveling time, but when she reentered the Great Hall, the chatter was unusually loud, and when she entered, it quickly died down and into hushed whispers.
She took a seat across from James, next to Remus. "I think everyone is talking about me," she told them, "or was it just my imagination that everyone just began to whisper when I walked in?"
"It wasn't just you," Sirius told her, "nobody here knows what's going on, but apparently the Slytherin table does."
"Spells out trouble," Cassia said glancing over her shoulder to see a couple Slytherin girls staring at her. When they realized she had noticed them, they turned quickly away. "Yep, has to be about me, doesn't it?"
"What did you do, Cassia?" James asked her.
"I don't know. It can't be because of my whole coming in here dressed in my pajamas, right?" she asked, worried.
"Hopefully if it is, it'll die down by lunch time," Remus sighed, "I told you that you should have gotten changed before coming down."
"It was a spur of the moment, Rem, you can't expect someone to just be like, oh I should get dressed when it's a time of crisis!"
"Having a bad dream is not a crisis, Cash," Remus informed her.
"This one was," she said sourly as she frowned, biting into her biscuit.
In Potions that morning, Cassia felt awkward as she walked to class with Gretchen and Jacob. "Do you know why everyone keeps staring at me?" Cassia finally asked the two.
"I heard from a Hufflepuff, who heard from a Ravenclaw, who's cousin is in Slytherin, that heard from another Slytherin, who said they over heard you and James talking," Jacob told her, "they said that if they found out that they would kill you. People think that your preggo, Cash."
Cassia stopped walking, her book dropping from her hand as she stared at Jacob, "What?!"
"That's just what I heard," Jacob shrugged, "rumor has it that you took the test this morning and it came out positive. That's why you were in the Great Hall this morning wearing whatever you want to call that, and called James out of the Great Hall."
"How did someone get that from something that was not that?!" Cassia asked, mortified. "Who started this rumor?"
"Nobody knows. There was supposedly a group that overheard," Jacob shrugged as Gretchen pulled Cassia too the class, picking up her book as they went.
Cassia thought back to the group of Slytherins' standing outside the door. She tried to remember who was in the group, but no faces would appear directly. She couldn't pay attention throughout Potions, and often found herself biting her lip, trying not to cry at the thought of ever being pregnant. It was a horrible thing to even say about someone else. She couldn't believe that someone would even spread that around.
It made her uncomfortable, and sick to her stomach, but she ignored the eyes that lied on her until she would be able to talk to James. She took notice that a lot of people began to avoid her, except for Gretchen and Jacob, who both knew the true story then, and was willing to help Cassia clean her name. When she told James what was going on, he seemed almost clueless on the case.
They were thinking of something to do, standing by the lake with Remus, Peter and Sirius, when a little red haired woman nearly flew out of the castle and straight towards them.
"Evans!" James said, almost sounding scared as he noticed the flames in her eyes.
"Irresponsible!" was the first thing that came out of her mouth, "What were you two thinking!? You can be expelled for this!"
James and Cassia flinched, while Sirius exchanged an amused look with Remus. A blond soon followed behind Lily Evans, landing at her side. "Lily, it can't be true," Clover said, pulling Lily's arm back, "just leave them."
"No!" Lily snapped, "I want to know what they were thinking."
"It's not what you think, Lily," Cassia said boldly.
"No! I don't even want to look at you! You're fifteen, Cassia! How could you do something like this?! And with Potter!" she blew up, her face flushed, and her arms crossed, demanding an answer.
"Stop degrading James like he's nothing!" Cassia hissed, "He's a good person and I'm sorry you can't see that. We didn't do nothing. The Slytherin's that overheard James and I talking didn't know what it was about and just assumed things. What they said is wrong."
"And how am I suppose to believe that?" Lily asked, furious.
"I believe it," pipped Remus.
"Shush! I wasn't asking you," Lily hissed before turning back to James and Cassia.
"Because we're not actually engaged," James told her, "it is all an act, and you better keep quiet, Evans."
"James," Cassia elbowed him, giving him an annoyed look.
"What?" Lily Evans took a step back, looking rather shocked.
"I told you it wasn't true, Lil's," Clover tugged at Lily's robe, "You have duty we need to be on, c'mon."
"No, no. Wait a minute," Lily rubbed her temples, her eyes closed as she thought. "You've been pretending to be engaged? What good does that do?"
"It's my fault, Lily," Cassia confessed, "I didn't want to be forced into a marriage I didn't want, and James and Sirius had offered to help me. It was the only thing we could do. Once I had turned seventeen, I would have disappeared from their house, and they wouldn't know anything that happened to me. It was only because I was being selfish."
Cassia hoped that this would work. If she knew Lily Evans the way she thought she did, Lily would take immediate pity on her. She waited, her head bent to shadow her eyes for a small affect.
"You're not being selfish, hun," Lily said, resting a hand on Cassia's shoulder. She took the bait. "If it was something like that, then I understand. I would have picked Potter over Black any day too if it were the case," James' face lit up, "although it is wrong that you are pretending. You're parents are going to find out soon, Cassia, you can't hide it forever."
"Two years isn't forever," Cassia told her, looking up. "That's all I'd need."
"Maybe not," Lily said, glancing at Clover.
"Why do you say that?" Cassia asked, as she glanced to Clover too for an answer.
Clover sighed, "Well, if you want too, you can have a break-upof sorts, but then they'd be able to find out through Keaira, unless you just tell your parents that it was only a fight, and everything is okay. Then you don't have to pretend here, unless your on Holiday and your parents are around."
"That's rather confusing," Sirius miffed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, really," Cassia frowned.
"What don't you get about it?" Clover asked.
"Why break up if we're still going to pretend we're still together around them?" Cassia asked.
"So that means that you can be with whoever you want, and James can... be James," Clover said hesitating as she glanced at Lily. "It will also drive Keaira nuts if she thinks you broke up but you say it was only a fight, and she'll more than likely start to argue with your parents over it. She tries to be very controlling at times."
"At times?" Sirius snorted, "try all the time. I have her in every one of my classes."
"You poor boy," Cassia teased. Sirius stuck his tongue out and pulled down his eye lid.
"So do you understand that now?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, now I do," James stated and Cassia agreed with a nod.
"So when does the perfect break up happen?" Cassia asked the two girls.
"It has to be big, when everyone is around, and then it happens," Clover told them, "You're both Gryffindors, you have to be bold."
"Bold my ass," Cassia snorted, "Clover, you obviously don't know me so well."
"We're a year apart and in separate houses, you expect to much from me," she teased.
"You can do it, Cash," Sirius assured her, "I've been there before."
"I think right now it would be easier if I choose you over James," Cassia laughed.
Once Lily and Clover left back to the castle, Cassia turned to the four boys, "So what's going to be the reason why we break up, James?"
"You could have slept with Remus," Sirius shrugged, "I'd say me, but that's just to low. I'm James' best friend."
"Why me?" Remus defended.
"Well, it wouldn't be Peter," Sirius stated, "it has to be someone with some brains."
"You're cruel, Sirius," Cassia said, pushing him, "Peters a good guy too, isn't that right, Peter?"
Peter blushed a deep red, embarrassed that the attention went straight to him. "Y-yeah," he said meekly.
"And besides, mate, she wouldn't sleep with anyone," James told Sirius, "you know that as well as I do."
"Thanks," Cassia miffed, "What about you? Quidditch captain? Wouldn't you think girls would flock to you and your mad skills?"
"They are quite mad indeed," James grinned. Cassia frowned, he wasn't going to take this seriously.
"James, be serious," Cassia told him. She paused before raising a finger, "not literally be Sirius."
"Okay okay," James laughed, "What would cause us to break-up?"
"What's the case with you Sirius? Why do you and the girl break up?" Cassia asked.
"I'm just usually finished with whatever she was needed for," he shrugged, "usually just a snog buddy, but if they're a bad snog buddy, that's a good reason to dump."
"Of course," Cassia sighed as James laughed, "Remus, what about you?"
He just stared at her stupidly.
"Oh right," Cassia nodded, "Never dated, phooey to you, Rems!"
"Don't even bother asking Peter," Sirius said placing his hands on his hips like a woman. "This is rather hard."
"What if James snogged some girl?" Peter asked.
"But who?" Cassia asked him.
"I-I don't know, it was just a thought," he said becoming more quiet with every syllable.
"What about you, Cash? If you snogged some guy?" James asked her.
"If a girl cheats, it makes her look like a whore, if a guy goes around snogging girls, this it makes him a God," Sirius informed, "to not damage her little reputation, it would have to be you who cheats, James."
"Of course you would know that," Remus commented, getting a dirty look from Sirius.
"Again, the question is, with who?" James asked.
Cassia thought for a second, before it hit her, "I'll be right back. I think I might know who."
Who is it?! lol sorry for the long wait between updates. I should have another chapter or two out today. No worries. =)