"As soon as I saw him and Pansy Parkinson snogging in Madam Puddifoot's, I almost gagged. I'm lucky I didn't though, because I didn't have you to clean the puke off my front, and then where would I be?"
"Puke-stained and the laughingstock of your brother and Lee Jordan, I reckon," I giggled, watching Fred roll his eyes and stick his tongue out at me through the mirror.
Since I was barred from visiting Hogsmeade since the Death Eater jailbreak, Fred and I settled for using the mirror to talk all night after I returned home from work. His stories from the weekend included buying as many Sugar Quills and Pumpkin Pasties from Honeyduke's as he could, witnessing my disgusting brother being, well, disgusting with his girlfriend, and Harry humiliating himself and Cho Chang in Madame Puddifoot's, leaving me sufficiently entertained.
"I still can't believe Harry!" I exclaimed, shaking my head wildly. "Cho loved Cedric, and he completely adored her. I was there when Dan first got Cedric to go talk to her, he was ecstatic. Harry's an idiot for being mad at her for wanting to talk about Cedric, and he especially can't be mad at her for getting upset that all he apparently talked about on their date was Hermione!"
"Yeah, well, he's a fifteen-year-old boy, Malfoy! They're all rather stupid, if you ask me," Fred replied. I rolled my eyes again, smirking at him through the glass that separated us.
"All of them except you, I assume?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
He grinned. "All of them, but especially me. You're lucky you didn't know me when I was fifteen."
"Oh, I knew exactly who you were, Weasley, but it's not like I would've been interested. When you were fifteen and I was sixteen…well, I dated Beatrice Shipman until October and then from December to…well, September, it was me and Dan. I was too busy playing the field to notice you."
"Well, I'm lucky you finally came to your senses and left Light for me," he chuckled. "And Beatrice Shipman? Doesn't she- "
"Have eyes that were two different colors? Yep, that was her," I said, blushing at the memories of my first girlfriend. "I always got lost in the one green eye and one brown eye of hers. She was my first Valentine's Day Hogsmeade trip. We went to Honeydukes and then awkwardly snogged between the bookshelves at Tomes and Scroll's. We had some good times, Bea and I."
"The only Valentine's Day date I had to Hogsmeade was Angie. That was the day we both realized we'd kill each other if we ever dated," Fred explained. "Besides, I think she kept imagining I was Annabelle Greengrass or even George."
"Speaking of George, how was his day? Did he and Anna have a good time?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
"Yeah, yeah, they had a good time. I think she misses you," he said. "I think George is thankful she doesn't have backup for taunting him."
"Oh, he can handle it," I said offhandedly, running my fingers through my fringe. "I wish I could've spent the day with you, you know."
"I know, Cass. I've already told you; George and I might not even finish out the school year. For all you know, we could open up shop tomorrow! We've already bought the place; all we need to do is set up and open. We could totally pull it off."
"Be that as it may, Freddie, I don't think you could pull off dropping out of Hogwarts and convincing your mother to be completely fine with it," I countered with a knowing glance. He, however, only rolled his eyes again.
"She knows how we feel about it and so do you. Just you wait, Cass Malfoy. We're going to hit it big, and they're all going to have to deal with it."
"You know I believe in you, Freddie. Both of you. Which is why I'm not worried – out of everyone I think I've ever met, you two need Hogwarts the least. Everything's going to be just fine. I know it."
He nodded, cocking his head and admiring me from his end of the mirror, his eyes full to the brim with adoration.
"You really have, haven't you?" he asked, his voice faraway and his eyes seemingly lost in mine. "You've always believed in me. And you've always loved me, unconditionally."
"What was it you said? I love you 'better than anyone ever had or ever would'? I'm pleased you still think so."
"I'll always think so," he said, pulling his unruly hair back with what appeared to be a rubber band that once belonged to me. "Anyway, I think it's time to turn in; I dunno if you can hear it, but Lee's snoring and George is a light sleeper as it is. We'll talk in a few, alright?"
I nodded, blowing him a quick kiss into the mirror with a wistful grin.
"I love you, Freddie. Stay safe."
"I'll try, Cass. I love you too."
"You were up late, weren't you?" Sirius asked, not looking up from his paper and mug of jet-black coffee.
"Eleven's not all that late, Sirius," I countered, wandering into the kitchen. "You sound like an old man when you say that."
"It's late for us," Remus interjected, his eyes slightly bloodshot and tired from the full moon a few days ago. "We're both in bed by nine thirty. Except for when it's the full moon for me; I'm usually…changed by that time."
"How did we start talking about our bedtimes?" I asked offhandedly, snagging a piece of toast from the table in one hand and a sausage in the other. Sirius looked up and cocked his bushy eyebrow at me.
"Because we've heard you up late laughing and talking with a certain Fred Weasley, that's why," he said. "You two back on good terms, I take it?"
"Seems that way. The mirrors certainly make it easier to communicate while he's away. Where'd all the questions come from? Who are you, my father?" I chided playfully, making Sirius roll his eyes and Remus blush. During the last eight months I'd spent at Grimmauld Place, I'd come to regard both men as the cool older brothers or father figures I never had; nonjudgmental (for the most part), caring, and trying their best to make sure I was as happy and safe as possible. They were better at being parents than my own parents ever were.
"It's just nice to hear you so happy, Cass," Remus finally said. "And as happy as we are that you're happy, you are about to be late for work, I think."
"Damnit!" I hissed, checking my watch before snagging another two pieces of toast. "Tonks'll be here any minute. I'll see you two later!"
As I dashed down the hallway, I heard Sirius call out behind me, jogging down the hall to catch up before I headed out the door.
"Cassie, er, did Fred mention anything about Harry? How he's holding up with Occlumency? With the D.A.?"
I shook my head, confused. Sirius had given Harry the mirror, meaning that Harry should've been able to communicate with Sirius the same way I communicated with Fred. However, between sneaking around with his secret defense group, Occlumency lessons with Snape, and a recent Quibbler article where he told his story about what happened during the third task of the tournament, I was certain Harry had either forgotten about or was too scared to use the mirror, for fear of what might happen to himself or to Sirius, should he be caught.
"Right," he said, quietly resigned. "I was hoping I'd have heard from my own godson, thought the mirrors would be safer, and I'm sure the reaction to that Quibbler article has- "
"I'll ask Fred when we talk next," I said quickly, reaching out to squeeze my cousin's shoulder reassuringly. "I'll be inconspicuous, but I'll ask. I promise."
He nodded, gave me a quick hug before I left, then glided up the stairs and out of sight, the mane of thick, wavy hair falling forward as he hung his head in sadness, shame, and fear.
Mine and Fred's late-night talks became even more regular than they were before. After Valentine's Day, we started talking a few more nights per week, which then turned into every night, where we'd do anything from tell stories about our days to enjoying one another's company in silence, him working on Weasley's Wizard Wheeze's products in secret and me reading, drawing, or pulling cards. Some nights we didn't need to talk; just seeing him and knowing he was there and safe and (for the most part) happy was more than enough for me.
"You know, Weasley, you haven't actually told me what you've been doing in that bloody club Potter's running," I mused, leaning back on my mountain of pillows and blowing a particularly large bubble with the Drooble's Best Blowing Gum I'd bought on my break at work.
"I most certainly have!" Fred exclaimed, shaking his head wildly. "We've been working on Stunning Spells – you should've seen Hermione knock Ron on his arse when we first started – and a whole bunch of other things. I think Harry said we might be learning to cast Patronuses sooner rather than later."
"You ever tried to cast one?" I inquired, cocking my brow at him through the glass. "They're bloody difficult, especially if you've never tried it. Tonks tried to show me how last summer; mine started as a really small wisp of light, but I got to actually take its form for just a few seconds."
"And what form, may I ask, does yours take?" he asked.
I pondered, cocking my head and taking my time answering.
"Guess."
"Are you really going to make me guess? Bloody hell, woman- "
"Guess! I think you'll get it," I pressed.
Fred exhaled loudly, still shaking his head. I watched him adjust his sitting position and lean back against the walls behind his four-poster bed. He pretended to be deep in thought, wiggling his brows and nose in all sorts of funny ways, eliciting the usual giggle from me.
"You give up or do you want to guess?" I whispered. He arched his brow and tilted his chin up defiantly, studying me. Even thought he was messing with me, watching him watch me like that made my cheeks burn and my heart beat a tiny bit louder, a tiny bit faster.
"Your Patronus is a fox."
"Goddamnit, Freddie! I haven't told you that before, have I?!" I exclaimed, a bit too loudly. I should've have been surprised, though; Fred knew me better than most people did, could read me like a book written in a language only he understood because I taught him. It was no surprise he guessed my Patronus's form on the first try.
"Lucky guess, Malfoy," he joked, winking at me through the mirror. "It's not a surprise, though; foxes are cunning and protective and playful, and those are the same three words I'd use to describe you. Not to mention you are a fox, you know."
"I'm going to put this mirror down and not look into it for the rest of the night, Fred Weasley, you mark my words," I hissed, biting my tongue between laughs. Suddenly, my door opened slightly, and Remus poked his head in, his eyes slightly sleepy and his brown hair sticking up from his forehead wildly. I smacked my palm to my forehead when I realized I'd woken him up.
"Oh, for the love of Merlin- "
"While it is rather nice to hear laughter in this house, the walls in this house aren't as thick as you might think," he whispered jokingly. I smiled apologetically.
"We'll keep it down, Remus," I whispered back. "You go back to sleep."
"Hi, Professor!" Fred called from the other side of the mirror. I shushed him, bursting into a fit of giggles as Remus smiled softly and shut the door. I looked back at my snickering boyfriend, the smile lines and freckles on his face more pronounced than ever.
"Does that mean we have to keep quiet now?" he whispered. "I swear Remus is more like your dad than your dad probably is."
I shrugged and closed my eyes slowly, imagining what it would've been like to live here with Sirius and Remus forever; neither of them could've gone out and participated in society like I could, but we could have breakfast together and listen to music and they could tell stories of when they were my age, and the world was at their feet. A year ago, that kind of life would've been like a death sentence to me; now, it sounded like heaven.
"Hey, you awake?" Fred whispered after what felt like forever. My eyes flew open, and I saw him smiling sleepily at me, that same look of adoration taking over his whole face. His hair was tied back again, and he leaned his cheek into the palm of his right hand, just staring at me and smiling. It was the kind of look that made me never want to be looked at by another person; the look that made me fall in love with him last year.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here," I said, rubbing my eyes, which landed on my clock that read eleven forty-two. "It's probably time for bed, yeah? Don't want to keep George awake, do we?"
"Georgie took his life into his hands tonight and snuck off to Ravenclaw Tower to see Anna," he whispered back. "We'll see how his hands look tomorrow. I'll talk to then, okay?"
I nodded, once more blowing a kiss to him through the mirror.
"I love you, Freddie. Stay safe."
"I know. I will. I love you too- "
"WAIT!" I hissed. "I completely forgot to ask you – I need you to give Harry a message for me. Would you mind?"
"Er, yeah, sure. What's the message?"
I paused, considering how to word Sirius's earlier request without giving too much away.
"Tell him to open the parcel from Sirius. That's it. Just…open the parcel from Sirius," I said simply.
"What parcel? Was it a gift? When did he give- "
"Look, Harry will know exactly what I'm talking about when you tell him. 'Open the parcel from Sirius' is all you both need to know."
He huffed again, sleepily conceding.
"I'll tell him. I promise," he whispered, his voice like honey, slow and sweet. "Goodnight, darling."
"Goodnight, Freddie. I love you; you know that?"
He smirked and shook his head, a few wavy pieces of hair falling out of the messy bun and across his forehead.
"I'll never forget it as long as I live. I love you too, Cass."
"I did give him the message, you know," I said to Sirius, taking a sip of coffee over breakfast a few weeks later. "Now it's up to Harry to actually use the damn thing."
"I appreciate you trying, Cass, I really do," Sirius muttered, giving me a small, thin smile as he picked at his toast. Since Harry had been radio silent, Sirius was reverting to the dour, humorless man from November. Between the never-ending news stories about his 'whereabouts,' not being able to speak to Harry, and not being able to leave the house in general, he was mentally and emotionally spent. Remus did his best to cheer him up, but it only did so much.
"Don't forget, Cass, Order meeting tonight," Remus reminded me as I wandered toward the front door. "I think Tonks will be escorting you from work."
"That's not different than most other days, Remus," I said, giving him and Sirius quick hugs before I left. "I'll see you two later!"
After a day of tending to lavender sprigs, making honeywater, and fixing a botched batch of the Wiggenweld Potion, I left work an hour later than expected, rushing into the house with Tonks as the Order was beginning their meeting.
"About time you both arrived," Moody grumbled. "Severus, Minerva, you were saying."
"I asked Albus where he intended to go, and the first place he ruled out was here!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, rubbing her forehead with a pale, freckled hand. I'd never seen my former Transfiguration professor looked so harried; her usually pristine hair was falling from its usually pinned-up style, and her face was full of worry. Snape, on the other hand, was looking as slimy as ever, glaring at me from the head of the table.
"What's happened?" I asked, taking off my cloak and sitting between Mrs. Weasley and Bill. Across from me, Daniel gave me an inconspicuous smile and wave in greeting. McGonagall turned to me.
"Miss Malfoy, it appears that Professor Dumbledore has gone into hiding- "
"Hiding?!" Daniel asked incredulously. "But why?!"
"The Ministry, particularly Cornelius Fudge, has always had it out for the headmaster," Snape said in his usually monotone. "Tonight, it seems, was the final straw. It was either go into hiding or go to Azkaban- "
"Of all the professors at Hogwarts, I would never have pegged Dumbledore for Azkaban," I said. "Probably would've pegged you, Snape."
"Miss Malfoy!" McGonagall exclaimed, shooting me a glare that I hadn't seen since my school days. Next to Daniel, Sirius pursed his lips and desperately tried to hide his laughter.
"Must we always be privy to your inner thoughts, Miss Malfoy?" Snape asked, cocking his eyebrow at me, as if he dared me to say anything more. I leaned back in my chair and continued to listen. If Dumbledore was headed for Azkaban, there had to be a reason – good, bad, or ugly. There had to be one.
"Dolores Umbridge has taken full control of the school," McGonagall explained. "She is the minister's eyes and ears, and since they think Albus is after the position of Minister, they needed to keep him out of the way. Albus is a threat to them, a far bigger threat, they think, than You-Know-Who!"
"In any case, we're going to have to go it alone for a bit until we know more about where he went," Remus said. "Minerva, I expect you'll be holding down the fort as best you can at Hogwarts. Until we know where he went- "
"He really didn't say anything?" Daniel asked. "Professor, he didn't even tell you where he'd be going? Surely he made a plan in advance in case something like this were to happen- "
"Not to me, Mr. Light," McGonagall replied. "I know about as much about Professor Dumbledore's whereabouts as the rest of you."
"I can't say I'm surprised, Minerva," Sirius cut in, leaning back on his chair carelessly. "Dumbledore was never the best at relaying all of the pertinent information, was he?"
McGonagall shot Sirius the same glare she shot me moments ago. Sirius shrugged as if to say you know I'm right, but still stayed quiet. The meeting went by quickly, with Snape giving updates (turns out, that Ministry worker from St. Mungo's, Broderick Bode, had been put under the Imperius Curse by none other than my father, who tried to get him to steal the prophecy from the hall, and then murdered by one of his cronies in his hospital bed), and Mrs. Weasley and I hustling and bustling around to cook dinner for the dozen people who remained in the kitchen.
I tried my best to distract myself, but my thoughts were overwhelming; between learning of my father's continued treachery, Dumbledore's disappearance, and the horrid Defense professor taking over Hogwarts, the world seemed like it was too much to bear. I had my qualms about Dumbledore, but him being going…it spelled trouble for us, even if we tried to stay calm and collected about it.
After dinner and tea with Daniel and Tonks again, I trudged up the stairs to see if Fred was around to talk. I picked up the mirror from my nightstand and whispered his name into the glass before me. Suddenly, his face appeared, but it wasn't the same glowing, happy face I was used to seeing. He looked tired, like he'd been up for days. His eyes were also slightly bloodshot, like he'd been crying.
"Freddie? What's happened? What's wrong?" I asked, not bothering to conceal the alarm in my voice. He stared blankly at me, then lifted his hand to slowly rub his eyes. I waited with bated breath for a response, terrified of what he was about to say.
"We got caught," he whispered, his breath shaking. "Some sixth-year squealed on us. We all got out of the Room of Requirement in time, but Harry got into trouble, I think. I dunno if you heard, but Dumebldore- "
"He's gone, I heard," I finished, pushing my hair from my face roughly. "How were you caught? I don't understand- "
"Cass, it really doesn't matter anymore. None of this does. I'm glad I have your ear because…well, because George and I decided we're going to do it. We're leaving Hogwarts in the next few weeks. I dunno when we're leaving but we can't stay here, and we don't need to stay here. I'd rather be out in the world in the middle of a damn war, running a shop with my brother, being with you, than…"
His voice trailed off; his tone just shy of bubbling over into unbridled rage. Watching him be this upset broke my heart, but his resolve stirred something in me, a deep sense of love and pride that he was doing what he wanted to do. All I could do was smile at him.
"You know, your dad once told me that he was proud of how anti-establishment you and George are," I finally said. "I am too, you know. You get out of there, and as soon as you're free, you come find me."
"That's all? Just 'come find me'? No 'are you sure' or 'your mum's going to kill you'?" he asked, now slightly impressed. I nodded vigorously.
"None of that. You get out of there, leave that bloody school and that horrible woman, and you find me as soon as you're out. This is what you wanted, Freddie. Now you have it and…"
I don't know what came over me, but I could feel tears pricking my eyes as I spoke. I was so proud of Fred; he'd had a hell of a year, but he'd overcome a hell of a lot more, and now his hard work was about to pay off. All the years of mischief and pranking and hellraising were leading up to this moment, the ultimate jailbreak, the last stand.
"Of course, I will, Cass. You're…Merlin, you're everything to me. And I don't care if it's not proper, or if Mum'll kill us, or if there's a bloody war on – I'm getting out of here and I'm starting my life, for however long I've got. With George, with you…blimey, we've got it made, don't you think?"
I laughed out loud, so loud that I think it carried through the whole house. That was the thing with loving Fred Weasley; everything – especially laughter – was magnified tenfold, making laughing with him and loving him larger than life. It made me forget all my stresses, my baggage, the knowledge of my father's treachery, and the uncertainty of what the Order faced right now. Right now, our laughter was everything. The greatest adventure I'd known yet.
"I do, Freddie. Be safe, alright?"
"I will be, Cass. I promise. I love you."
"I know," I said, through the tears on my cheeks. "I love you too."