Chapter 35 Birthday Date

The next day I was able to eat breakfast with my friends.

"So if I were to try and use the Magigas potion, I would have to practice every day to try and breathe under the water." Harry reiterated.

"Yes, Harry." I nodded again.

Draco was a lot more relaxed about eating with us at the Gryffindor table.

I was thinking about eating with Cassius or inviting him to eat with us one of these days.


We found ourselves in the library every free moment.

We couldn't find anything about breathing underwater and we were all starting to get antsy as the weeks went by.

Cassius had me eat dinner with him for a couple of days.

That was a weird experience.

Christensen would glare at me, but some of the Slytherins were starting to warm up.

The conversation was still stiff when I was around, but as soon as I brought out some Defense Against the Dark Arts homework they were quick to jump and help.

Astrid Hexum was the one who was quick to offer her help.

She and I both disliked Moody, but for different reasons. He would go out of his way and make little comments about her parents. She wouldn't say what was said, but she knew that his comments were supposed to dig at her. And they did.

I told them about how he treated Draco, and that rubbed me the wrong way.

Astrid, Leo Jones, and a few other people looked away sheepishly.

"I hold no ill will towards anyone for something I had no control over." I told them quickly.

"How can you not have any animosity towards us?" Leo asked me, waving his arm around.

"What have you done to me?" I asked him, taking a bite of my food.

"What have I -? I haven't done anything!" Leo was starting to look angry.

"Exactly. You haven't done anything, not towards me, not towards my friends. Why should I hate you for not doing anything?" I asked him again.

He blinked at me.

Cassius put his arm around my shoulder.

"If you have animosity towards me personally, I think you're an absolute walnut. Now my house, I understand." I told him.

There were several reactions. Some people spat out their drinks, others choked on their food, and they all tried to cover their mouths.

"Walnut?!" Leo actually looked offended.

Cassius let out a good laugh at that.

Astrid, who was sitting on my other side nudged my shoulder with hers.

"I haven't heard that one before!" She laughed.

Leo even started to laugh at what I had said.

"For someone who is fifteen -" Leo started.

"Fourteen. I turn fifteen in a week." I corrected him.

"Fourteen! You are wise!" Leo let his head roll back.

I laughed at that.

"The next Hogsmeade trip is after the Second Task, and it's after your birthday. How about we celebrate with another date?" Cassius asked.

I lit up at that but -

"I can't. My friends and I are going to celebrate it at Hogsmeade." I told him.

His face fell.

"Then how about I plan a date for your birthday?" He asked.

"That can work. Do you want to do a date for my birthday, and then a date for after the Second Task?" I asked him.

His eyes danced with happiness, but his face didn't give anything away.

"Sounds like a plan." He said.

His hand was under the table and he put his hand on my thigh. I put my hand on his and squeezed his.

He lightly squeezed my thigh and went back to eating.

'What are we doing?' I asked myself.

I looked over at my friends and they didn't seem too concerned about anything.

Draco was even eating dinner with them and he was telling a story to Harry who was nodding.

'Draco, do you have feelings for a certain Chosen One?' I thought to myself.


On the day of my birthday I woke up with a box of sweets from my friends.

'We knew you didn't want anything but we still wanted to get you something for your birthday.' Hermione's handwriting said.

"Thanks 'Mione." I smiled at her as I opened a pumpkin pasty and munched on it.

Narcissa had sent me more cleaning solution for my nose piercing and a note.

'If you want another piercing, I'll pay for it. Happy birthday, Cassie.'

"I think I'll get my helix piercing or forward helix piercing." I told Hermione, pointing to the areas on my ear.

"Why?" She asked, looking repulsed.

"Because why not?" I asked her again as I got ready for the day.

I was grateful that Valentine's Day was not a big deal to the teachers at this school. Lockhart had not made that much of an impression, thankfully.

For breakfast I ate with my friends, and Draco. He didn't know what to get me for my birthday so he told me to tell him when I see something and he'll get it for me.

I told him I would do just that when the time came.

I didn't tell him that his mom was offering to pay for another piercing for me. I didn't know if that was a bad thing to mention or not.


After a day of going to classes, being told Happy Birthday and Happy Valentines, I was ready for the day to be over and I had completely forgot that Cassius had planned a date until I saw him standing by the doors leading into the Great Hall.

"I forgot!" I whispered to Hermione.

She let out a chuckle at that and walked by Cassius, giving him a polite wave.

"Hello, Birthday Girl." He grinned at me.

"Hi. I forgot that we were going on a date." I told him sheepishly.

I was pretty sure my eye make-up was a little runny, and I had little flyaway hairs from the day.

"You look beautiful." He told me and kissed my forehead.

"Thanks." I smiled up at him.

"Come on. We're going down to the kitchens for a private meal." He told me.

He took my hand and led me away from the crowd, and down the staircase that was starting to get familiar.

"That sounds great!" I didn't mean to sound as excited as I did.

He looked back at me.

"Have you been there already?" He asked.

"Yeah, with my friends." I told him.

He nodded and continued leading me to the kitchens.

He tickled the pear and pulled the door open for me.

"After you." He gestured.

"Thank you.

"Miss Cassie!" I was greeted by Mindy hugging my waist.

"Hello, Mindy!" I hugged her.

She pulled away from me with a huge grin on her face.

"Mr. Warrington told us that he was bringing a special girl here. Mindy had no idea it was you!" She said cheerily.

I let out a laugh at that.

She took my hand and led me to a little table off to the side that was set up for Cassius and I.

"Hello, Cassie Zwart!" Dobby was wearing the socks Harry had given him for Christmas, Ron's sweater, and a different patterned tea cozy today.

His tea cozy was pink with red hearts to match the holiday.

"Hello, Dobby!" I greeted him.

Cassius pulled out the chair for me. He was watching me interacting with the House Elves.

"How's Winky?' I asked, keeping my voice low.

I saw her sitting by the fire. She was wearing a pink dress today, but it was stained on the front. She was drinking a bottle of butterbeer.

"Winky's -" Dobby and Mindy looked at each other and then to Winky.

"I understand." I told them.

I didn't want them to feel bad about talking about her.

"I'll be right back with your meal." Mindy curtsied.

"How are you enjoying work?" I asked Dobby.

He was grinning at me.

"Dobby is enjoying work, missus! Dobby just had his day off!" He said proudly.

I watched Cassius' eyes widen at that.

"That's wonderful! What did you do?" I asked him.

"Dobby learned to knit! Dobby wants to make his own clothes!" He said proudly, stretching his sweater out.

I grinned broadly at that.

"That's wonderful, Dobby!" I told him.

I was honestly excited for him.

"Thank you, missus!" He beamed at me.

"I better get back to work, missus. Happy Birthday!" He told me and then ran off into the kitchen.

"Thank you, Dobby!" I called out to him.

I turned back to Cassius who was staring at me with a calculated look.

"What?" I asked him, tilting my head.

"How do you do that?" He asked.

"Do what?" I retorted.

"Get people to like you." He told me.

I blinked at that.

"I put in the effort. Mindy was the elf who -" I trailed off.

I didn't want to tell him, but I guess I had to now.

"Mindy was the one who served me and George on my thirteenth birthday. She and I have gotten friendlier with my visits. Dobby used to be the Malfoy's house elf, when he was excused he came here and he wanted payment -"

"That's outrageous! Why would an elf want payment for doing their job?" Cassius asked furiously.

We held eye contact for a moment.

"Repeat that question." I told him.

"Why would an elf want payment for doing their job?" He asked again, holding my eye contact.

"Repeat it again." I told him.

"Why would an elf want… payment…" He finally realized what he was saying.

"I understand that there's more to these politics of servitude and wizards and elves and other things. But I don't understand why wizards won't pay their elves." I told him.

Mindy brought over our dinner.

It was a chicken parmesan with a side salad and a loaf of warm garlic bread.

"Thank you Mindy." I told her.

"You're welcome, missus!" She grinned at me.

Cassius nodded to her and she walked away to help the other elves with dinner.

"Because elves like doing what they do." Cassius told me when she was out of ear shot.

"Do they know anything else?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" He asked me.

We hadn't started on our plates, but I wasn't worried about our food getting cold.

"Do they know anything outside of this?" I asked, gesturing around us.

The elves were organized with their roles. They were refilling jugs with water, pumpkin juice, and other sorts of liquids. Others were replacing food plates with more food to keep up with what the kids were eating upstairs.

"Why does it matter?" Cassius asked me.

"Do you see that Elf, sitting by the fire?" I pointed to Winky.

"Yeah, what about her?" He asked, giving her one glance.

"She doesn't know what to do with herself. She was excused from her household and now she doesn't know what else to do. No one will hire an elf that was excused. She doesn't have any sorts of hobbies to pursue. Dobby is learning how to knit, he gets paid one Galleon a week, and only one day off per a month. Because working is all he knows.

Winky didn't want to be excused from her job. Something happened to her and it was inevitable. But even if she was still at that place, wouldn't a hobby just be a better way of living?" I started a tangent.

I didn't realize how much Hermione was rubbing off on me.

Cassius stared at me with a calculated look on his face.

"Elves enjoy working." He stated firmly.

"Yes, yes, I've heard it from Ron before." I said patiently. "But do you want to live the rest of your life just working?" I asked him.

He frowned at that.

"I'm not a house-elf." He pointed out.

"Neither am I! But they have minds of their own! Decisions they have to make! Right and wrongs are taught to them! Just because they don't look like you or me, doesn't mean they should be treated inferior!" I told him.

"They are a working class." He said, his argument sounding feeble.

"And wizards aren't?" I shot back.

This time he was starting to glare at me.

I didn't know what to say back to him.

"I thought you were only focused on bringing the school together." His tone sounded accusatory.

"What about after school?" I asked him.

He blinked at me.

"What?" He asked.

I stared at him.

"When you're graduated and gone. What are you going to do after school? You're just going to go to work and be able to work with anyone? Or are you going to be prejudiced against anyone outside of Slytherin house?" I asked him.

"I'm trying to bring this school together, just like you." He crossed his arms.

I put my hands on the table, leaning forward.

"But what about the people outside of this school!? Work at the Ministry and hope for the best?" I asked him again.

He glared at me.

"So it's only fair for us to have dreams outside of school, but house-elves, goblins, and other magical beings can't?" I asked him, trying to keep a calm composure.

He glared at me some more.

"If you don't want to listen to me anymore about this subject, I'll drop it." I told him.

"You make me think of things I've never had to think about before. I don't like it. But it's something I have to start thinking about. Looking at things from a different perspective." He admitted.

He moved his arms and grabbed his utensils and started to eat with a furious vigor.

I let out a chuckle and started to eat my own dinner.

"What are you planning on doing after you graduate, if the school doesn't have any openings for a teaching position?" Cassius asked me, trying to bring the mood back from where it had gone.

"Probably open up a muggle psychic shop." I answered casually.

He choked on his food.

The look he gave me made me give out a bark of laughter.

"I'm kidding! I'll probably just work at the Ministry or at a shop in Diagon Alley." I answered.

"Why would you even think about going into the muggle world?" He asked.

I looked at him.

"I grew up in it." I deadpanned.

He blinked, his cheeks flushing.

"Right, sorry. I forgot." He answered.

"But now that I think of it… Maybe a magical orphanage would be helpful." I said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"There was another girl there, her name was Gertrude. She knew I was a witch. I don't know if she was a Squib or a witch, but she knew. If there's an orphanage out there where all little witches and wizards could go to, it would make the transition easier for when they come to Hogwarts." I said, letting the thoughts run through my head.

"Her name was?" He asked.

I froze.

I slipped up.

"Yes, was. There was an incident and she died." I told him.

"How did she die?" He asked, his voice getting soft.

I looked at him.

If he was going to leave me because of this knowledge, then so be it.

I took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out.

"I killed her."

"You what?" He asked, blinking at that.

"I killed her." I admitted again.

He stared at me, looking into my face. His eyes moved to look at my scar.

"Did she give you that?" He asked.

He dropped his fork and reached his hand across the table to brush my scar.

"She did. Along with several other scars I do keep covered up." I nodded.

"What happened?" He asked.

I told him the story. How she tied me to a bedpost and carved the word 'baby' into my stomach. How she threatened to kill me if I made any noise. How the magic inside me pushed her away and her head hit the dresser wrong.

"That's not your fault." He said.

"Yes, it is. I pushed her away." I told him.

"No! You didn't know where she was going to land, or even how she was going to land. You were only trying to protect yourself and it went wrong. But it was not your fault." He said, reaching his hand to grab mine.

I couldn't help the tears that started to form.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Are you going to break with me now that you know that about me?" I couldn't help asking the question.

He blinked at me, and then his shoulders raised a little bit.

"Is that why Weasley and you stopped dating? He thought that you were a killer?" He asked, his voice low.

"He thought like father, like daughter." I laughed harshly.

I don't think I would ever get over that.

Cassius pushed himself away from the table, breathed through his nose and out of his mouth.

"What a bloody wanker." He hissed under his breath.

"He did try apologizing though. He wanted to get back together but I don't think I could ever get back with him. What's to stop him from breaking up with me again?" I told Cassius.

He leaned forward again and put his hand under my chin, gently lifting my head so that I was looking at him.

"The only reason why I would break up with you is because you cheated on me." He said softly.

I shook my head lightly at that.

"I wasn't ready for this talk, but I guess now is better than never. I don't think it's fair to you, or to me, if we keep this up while you're out of school. You're going to meet women who are looking for a husband, or will share the same interests as you. And I'm still going to be here. Studying." I started.

"No." He shook his head.

"Yes." I nodded.

"No. When that time comes, we'll be prepared for it. Right now, I just want to enjoy you challenging me. Making me think from different perspectives. Living in the moment. Just spending time together." He said, his thumb moving back and forth on my jaw.

"Even learning about the worst of each other?" I asked him, my voice quiet.

"Even that." He nodded.

I grinned at him.

I moved my face away from his hand so that I could wipe my eyes away.

We spent the rest of dinner trying to bring the mood back up.

I ended up telling him about what pranks I would pull while I was staying at the orphanage.

For dessert, he had the elves make me a pumpkin pie instead of a cake this time with vanilla ice cream.

"I know you like pumpkin pasties, so I figured I would give you something else pumpkin." He said as I put some whipped cream on my pie.

"Thank you." I laughed as we started on dessert.


I told him he didn't have to walk me to my common room. But he insisted.

And I was glad he did.

He had pulled me into a secret passage of sorts and we were the only two in the area.

Dinner had finished at some point and we were just about to reach curfew.

But I wasn't concentrating on that.

I was more focused on Cassius's mouth on mine, and his hands were holding my butt, pushing me up against the wall.

I had my legs wrapped around his waist and I was fully aware of the compromising position I was in.

He had originally pushed me up against the wall trying to be romantic. But when he kissed me, I didn't let him go.

I wanted him to keep kissing me. Not because George stopped, but because I liked the feeling I was getting.

He gave me chills and I wanted to keep feeling those chills.

And I liked that I could feel him getting the chills.

I moved one of my hands from his neck and I trailed down his chest.

I felt his nipple harden from my hand and I chuckled at that.

His gasp of surprise when I put my hand under his shirt to feel his skin gave me the opportunity to put my tongue in his mouth.

He pushed himself against me and I felt him against my thigh.

When Cassius went to position himself better against me I pulled away.

"Wait." I said, breathless.

"What is it?" He asked, pulling himself back just a little bit.

"Can you put me down, just for a second?" I asked.

"Am I going too fast?" He asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"No, I am." I told him.

"You… you haven't -?" He asked, gesturing to me.

"No." I shook my head.

"You and Weasley?" He asked.

"No. He broke up with me after our first make out session. And I haven't been interested in anyone since." I told him.

I took a step away from him to clear my head.

"Do you want to go slower?" He asked, shuffling his legs in a weird way.

"Can I have a minute to gather my thoughts?" I asked him.

"Yeah, sorry." He said.

I took a deep breath in, held in, and then let it out.

"I want to… have sex with you. But I'm scared since the most I've done is make out. I would rather learn how to do other things before getting to the sex part of our relationship." I told him, not confident with how I was wording myself.

He nodded in understanding.

"You don't want to be standing in a place where we could get caught for your first time." He reiterated.

"Exactly." I nodded.

He let out a laugh at that.

"Okay, we'll just stick with making out in places where we could get caught." He teased me.

I flushed at that but laughed.

"Can we just go a bit slower when it comes to the physical stuff?" I asked him.

"Yeah, we can do that." He nodded to me.

"Thank you." I sighed in relief.

We stood there awkwardly for a bit before he closed the space between.

"Are you sure you want it to be me?" He asked, cupping my face with his hands.

"If it ends up being you, then it's you. If it ends up not being you, then it's not you." I told him.

I saw the flash of hurt across his face but then he nodded in understanding.

"I didn't mean to say that to hurt you. It's the truth. I don't know when I'll be ready, but I know it's not tonight." I told him, putting my hands on his wrists.

"I understand, you're just a blunt person." He said.

I was starting to laugh when he kissed me again.

Which started another make out session between us.


Whew that was a bit steamy, wasn't it? Also, I have a few chapters where I won't have a title for them. The reason being, I couldn't figure out how to name some of them.

Shout out to LilyKarlylany for adding both me and this story to your following and favorite list!

Shout out to vastika . goel for adding the stories, and me, to your follow and favorite list!

Shout out to Pamela Hutchins and LunaChaseFoster for leaving a review!

Pamela Hutchins: If there ever calls for another scene where she is swimming, I'm sure she will try again.

LunaChaseFoster: They really are!