Chapter 39 I don't own Harry Potter or Merlin. Bold is another language.
After Cassie left the Hospital Wing, she made her way to the third floor where Professor Lupin's office was. She figured he had her wand and books so she knocked, hoping he would not be there at all.
"Enter." he called from inside.
"Professor." Cassie greeted shyly. "I-I just wanted to apologize. For leaving like that, it was rude and uncalled for and I accept any punishment you see fit."
"I'm not going to punish you for being afraid, Cassie." he said softly. "Tea?"
"Thanks." Cassie said, nodding gratefully, not sure if she should believe that he wouldn't punish her and sitting down across from him.
"I've seen people run out from lesser boggarts. In fact, I thought you were rather brave. What you saw no doubt scarred you. So much it's your biggest fear. My door's always open. If you ever want to talk."
"Th-that's it?" Cassie asked, tears forming in her eyes.
"Unless there was something more you wanted to say to me. Your belongings are over on that table." he told her, gently looking over at the table where her things lay.
"Th-that white thing, the one you conjured in the train. Was that a Patronus?" she asked quickly, not wanting to lose her courage.
"Yes, it was."
"Is it true that dark wizards can't conjure one? From what I've read…"
"It's slightly more complicated than that. The Patronus is an extremely complicated spell, even some fully qualified wizards aren't able to cast it."
"So, how would you defend against them if you can't conjure one?" Cassie asked.
"Cassie, you are still young, casting a Patronus is far beyond N.E.W.T. level and ridiculously difficult." he told her softly, evading the question as he didn't have a concrete answer for her.
"When that Dementor came into the train, I saw-I saw him and I smelt the blood on the floor and I heard the sound of the blade cutting skin, people screaming for help. It was so much worse than my boggart. Professor, I-I don't ever want to see that again. I-I know it's literally the first class I take with you and I ran out, but I was hoping you might teach me." she told him shyly, tears streaking down her face silently.
"Cassie, I-"
"Please, Professor. I-I cannot see that anymore. I beg you." Cassie told him, taking his hands and leaning forward. "Please."
"I can certainly try. But with your course schedule, it's going to be hard." he said knowingly, her big blue eyes disconcerting as they welled with unshed tears.
"I-I'll make the time. I swear. Th-this is more important to me than knowing how to read tea leaves or how to use numerology to do whatever. Please, Professor." Cassie begged.
"I'll let you know after our next class. Our lessons will probably be on the weekends, you won't have much free time." he told her.
"It's not like I use it anyways." Cassie told him with a forced chuckle. "Uhm bye, Professor."
"Bye, Cassie." he said with a smile, taking the now empty cup of tea and magically washing it.
In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin.
"Look at the state of his robes," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old house elf."
Trials this year were very much like when she played for the first time with Ced and the boys. Exhausting; but, Cassie made the team as Chaser. Her course load was huge, add on top of that the Quidditch practices, which may not have been as rigorous as Wood's, but still… Cassie was going to find next to no time to rest this year. Sunday came and went with most people congratulating her on making the team- except for Ernie, they still weren't talking- and homework being done. Cassie had her first Patronus lesson that day.
"Congratulations on making the Quidditch team, Cassie." Professor Lupin said by way of greeting after lunch that day.
"Thank you, Professor." Cassie said, placing her bag down on one of the tables along the wall and looking at him expectantly.
"The first thing you should know about Dementors, they don't care if you're innocent or not. They feed off hopelessness and despair; that's why some people relive their worst memories. Those memories bring forth all the negative feelings dementors want, everything they crave. If it can, the dementors will feed off you for as long as they can, until all that's left is the shell of a person; soulless and evil, and reliving all the worst memories and experiences every waking moment."
"So how do you…protect against them?" Cassie asked him with intense curiosity.
"Positive, happy memories. And not just any happy memory will do. It has to be an extremely happy memory, one powerful enough to manifest itself in the physical world."
"A non-being? Just like the Dementors?" Cassie asked.
"Never thought of it that way, but yes, sort of. A Patronus is a magical spirit created out of a powerful happy emotion. Dementors are just the opposite, borne out of despair and dark emotions." Lupin said thoughtfully.
"So they don't die?" Cassie asked quietly.
"No, they are amortal, Cassie."
"But they can be negotiated with. Like Poltergeists." Cassie told him, not questioningly.
"It is possible to negotiate with them, but inadvisable. They only negotiate if they are guaranteed something in return. It's why truly Dark wizards don't cast a Patronus, they have the dementors on their side, or at least they know they can gain their allegiance under the right circumstances. They don't need it, although I don't believe they are able to anyway. I see you've done your research." he said amusedly.
"Merlin teases me saying that I'm more Ravenclaw than anything. Once I learn something, I have to learn everything about it. Probably why he and I get along so much, his uncle made him learn mythology and art and history, muggle and wizard, so there's much more teasing material. Especially with his name being Merlin. I mean, that's just too hard to pass up." Cassie said with a light laugh.
"Like drawing on the new professor's face while he's sleeping?" he asked with a knowing look, he and his friends would have done the same thing, just more obscene.
"Exactly! Herimione read me the riot act the next day, but it was so worth it. I almost wish I had done it to Professor Snape. Do you imagine how angry he'd get, the vein popping out in his forehead and his nostrils flaring, oh that's a sight." Cassie said, outlining exactly where the vein was with her index finger and wiping a tear away quickly.
"Prongs and Padfoot would have liked you." he said with a deep chuckle.
"Why'd you call them that?"
"Sorry?" he said, slightly panicking.
"I'm assuming you're speaking of James Potter and Sirius Black, why'd you call them Padfoot and Prongs?" Cassie asked slowly with a furrowed brow.
"Just nicknames we gave each other in school." he answered shortly, "I believe that is all for today. Any questions about the Demenetors."
"No, professor. Thanks. See you tomorrow, I suppose." Cassie said, gathering her belongings and nodding goodbye from the door.
After Boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin-like creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed: in the dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon those who had gotten lost. From Red Caps they moved on to Kappas, creepy, water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds.
Cassie only wished that Divination and Potions were just like his. Worst of all was Potions. Snape was in a particularly vindictive mood these days, and no one was in any doubt why. The story of the Boggart assuming Snape's shape, and the way that Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes, had traveled through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and he was bullying Neville worse than ever, or so Cassie heard.
The story of Cassie's boggart circulated faster than Neville's, and lasted twice as long. Everywhere she went, she felt like eyes were following her. Some looked at her with pity, while others looked at her in disgust. One sixth year Ravenclaw even went so far as to slap her in the corridor between classes once, saying her grandfather was one of the Jews that had been held prisoner in Birkenau.
"Just ignore them, Cassie." Merlin told her one afternoon that he found her sitting under a tree near the Black Lake with tears running down her cheeks. "It's not your fault. You weren't even a thought when he did that."
"But I was already born when my parents tortured Tommy's mother." Cassie whispered to him, leaning her head on his shoulder and letting the fresh tears fall as she stared out over the lake.
"The sins of our fathers aren't our own, Cassie. You are a good person. One of the best I've ever known. This…it'll blow over, people will move on to the next idle gossip, but you have always been a good person. Don't forget that."
"You've known me for two years, Merlin. Less. How would you know what I'm really like?" Cassie said with a small smile.
"I think I'm a good judge of character. And I've not been wrong about someone in a long time. You, my Lady, have a pure soul." Merlin said, giving her a wide smile and kissing her temple, offering her a hand up.
"I'll stay out here for a bit longer, Divination still has me loopy with all that perfume, and it's been all day." Cassie said, playfully swatting his hand away and leaning back against the tree looking out at the lake.
"Okay, but you should eat something, you look horrible. All those classes with Hermione and avoiding the Great Hall will do that to you." he said, giving her a sandwich he had taken out for her.
"Roast beef and ham?" she asked hopefully.
"Roast beef and ham." he told her with a chuckle, leaving her alone with one last goodbye.
After Merlin had gone, the dog approached Cassie slowly, his coat looking slightly cleaner, looking longingly at the sandwich in her hands.
"Here. I can get some more from the kitchens later. Besides, it's very meaty and I figure you must like meaty." Cassie said softly, putting the sandwich down at her feet and backing up enough to let the dog eat it.
"Cassie!" Hermione called out, coming down the slope to her. "Cassie! What are you doing out here? And why's your sandwich on the ground half-eaten?"
"What? Oh, there's a stray in the forest, he comes out sometimes looking for food. Must have run off when you called my name." Cassie said.
"We really need to make a timetable to study. I've been looking for you all over the place! Why are you out here?" she said frantically.
"Three guesses why." Cassie said miserably, standing up and wrapping the sandwich in the piece of cloth it had been in and leaving it on the edge of the trees.
"Cassie, just ignore them. I won't pretend to know, but Harry does. Just talk to him." Hermione advised, preferring not to comment on the sandwich again.
"Yeah, cause we've had so many deep conversations since they found out I'm friends with the Slytherins." she mumbled, dusting herself off and following after Hermione.
"Cassie, they were just surprised is all." Hermione told her softly, walking up the slope with her.
"I tried talking to Draco about Hagrid. Apparently, whatever small friendship we had is gone, Pansy took it upon herself to make sure of that. It seems she thinks he likes me and Pansy made sure he never would again with her embellishments. It's a pity, too. I got their Christmas presents already, but I'm sure they wouldn't like them now. Besides, I've made my opinions on their prejudices quite clear, and doubt they would like to be my friends again."
"I'd say what I think about them, but I'm sure you saw another side to them. And my parents wouldn't appreciate it." Hermione told her wisely.
"I did. And with Daphne and Pansy it was really just idle gossip that made us friends, but Draco was the one who asked to be my friend." Cassie said sadly, looking down at the floor near her feet before she suddenly perked up. "Anyway. Happy Birthday, 'Mione!" Cassie said, hugging her and dragging her excitedly down to the basement.
"Cassie! What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" she cried, startled by the sudden change in the small blonde's mood.
"Well, obviously you know what I'm doing." Cassie told her, stopping in front of the entrance to the common room and tapping out the password. "And I'm taking you to the Hufflepuff common room. I have your birthday present!" Cassie told her excitedly, dragging her further along and sitting her next to Tommy and Leon. "Do not let her move!"
"Won't even think about considering it." Leon said while Cassie went over to her room to look for the present.
"So. A Lion in the Badger's Sett. This is amazing! What shall we do with her, Leon?" Tommy asked teasingly, holding back his smile as Hermione looked around at them nervously.
"The ideas passing through my head would make the Weasleys proud." Leon responded with a wide grin, making Hermione look between the two even more nervously. "Relax, you honestly think Cedric would let us do something? He'd take fifty points off each for doing it. Not to mention Cassie would skin us alive." Leon told her with a chuckle as Cassie ran back into the common room.
"Happy Birthday!" Cassie told her excitedly, holding her gift out anxiously with a wide smile. "Open it!"
"Hey, happy birthday." Tommy and Leon told her while she opened the present, blushing furiously.
"Cassie, It's beautiful! You shouldn't have!" Hermione said, looking at the periwinkle leather tote she'd gotten.
"I really should have. It was going to be your Christmas present, but your bag is falling apart. And I got someone to place an extension charm on it in Diagon Alley, you can now easily put all the books in it, and it won't break. Unless you over-do it. Please don't over-do it."
"Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, hugging her friend tightly.
"Welcome, 'Mione!" Cassie said, returning the hug. "But your birthday present is now your Christmas present." she added, looking at her pointedly
"That's okay! Come on! Let's go show the boys. Bet they forgot this year too." Hermione told her, getting up and leaving. "Thanks for the wishes!" she told the two boys before leaving with Cassie.
"Only girls can get so excited about handbags." Tommy told him when they'd gone with a look.
"You said it." Leon answered, returning the look and going back to whatever they had been talking about previously.
"Cassie, you really shouldn't have. I know this is a designer handbag, and it's almost too much."
"Well, if you don't want it, I'll keep it. Not the biggest fan of periwinkle, more of a lilac or cerulean for my taste, but it's still super cute." Cassie said, taking the tote from her and holding it out to admire it, baiting her friend.
"I did say 'almost'! It's my birthday present, and I will cherish it forever." Hermione said happily, snatching the bag back and holding it closer.
"Wait until you see your Christmas present." Cassie said with twinkling eyes. "I got Mr. Delacour to sign the permission form for Hogsmeade. And there was this shop I saw when I was there over Easter two years ago, we absolutely have to go there. Get you that too!" Cassie said, rattling on about all they would do on their first Hogsmeade weekend all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, already thinking about what could go with the light blue sweater tunic she'd gotten Hermione in Paris for her birthday-although now it's for Christmas.
The days passed rather monotonously; Cassie avoided most people other than her close friends, classes were as interestingly boring as ever. Even Care of Magical Creatures had become boring, looking after flobberworms day after day with a sullen Hagrid.
Cedric called Quidditch practice thrice a week-Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at night- and kept them in a perpetual state of exhaustion. She couldn't begin to imagine how hard Wood was training the Gryffindor team. He was notorious for being relentless with the team and wanting to win. She didn't even want to think about how the other teams were practicing. She knew the Slytherins sometimes had theirs in the mornings, and the Ravenclaws had theirs on the weekends and Mondays, but how long or hard they did was beyond her.
One day when Cassie got back to the common room after spending a few hours studying with Hermione in the library she saw the room abuzz with excitement. When she read the notice on the wall, she realized exactly what the reason behind it was: the first Hogsmeade weekend had already been scheduled for the end of October.
"I can't wait to go!" Cassie heard Leon say behind her when he noticed she was in front of the notice board.
"Nor can I. Last time I was there I fell in love with the book shop!"
"'Course you did. Sounds about right." Leon told her, leading her over to where Cedric and Tommy were sitting.
"So what are your plans for Hogsmeade, then?" Cassie asked slightly defensively.
"Well, I, for one, will be staying as far away from books as possible. Also, there's Honeydukes, and that's the best part. Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks." Leon told her.
"It's a bit predictable and boring, Leon. How about you guys? What are you going to do?"
"Same." they told her in unison.
"Wonder what Merlin's doing." Tommy said thoughtfully. "His clumsiness always makes my day."
"Aw don't be mean! Besides, he's not going. His guardian wasn't in the country when he got the Hogwarts list. He was in Greenland or Iceland, I think. Or maybe in South America. Not really sure anymore, he travels way too much. Hasn't wanted to send an owl because it's way too far for a poor bird to go. Actually, it was Japan, that's where Dragoon was."
"So he's stuck here? He'll be the only one who won't be going!" Leon said in horror.
"Harry's not going either. His uncle wouldn't sign. And with Black escaping, doubt anyone would be willing to bend the rules and let him."
"What do you think he wants?" Cedric said.
"Who? Black?" Cassie asked.
"No, the Queen of England." Tommy sassed.
"Obviously not the Queen of England, Tommy. She's a she. And Ced asked about a 'he'. Boys are boys, and girls are girls; no two ways about it" Cassie sassed back. "Besides, he probably just wants away from the fucking Dementors."
"I have never heard you curse before. You really hate those Dementors." Leon said, shocked.
"Yeah, I hate them. And sorry for cursing." she said blushing slightly.
"No problem. Feel the same way about them myself." Tommy said. "You really think he just wants away from them? Not that he wants revenge for You-know-who."
"Everything I've heard about him makes me think he never was one of Voldemort's followers." Cassie told them offhandedly.
"You're kidding, right?" Cedric asked, wincing as she said his name.
"Dead serious. He was the Potters' best friend, he wouldn't he wouldn't have betrayed them like that." Cassie told them.
"How are you so sure about that?"
"Because James Potter was to him what Gabrielle is to me. Family." Cassie said simply, going to her room and leaving them at that.
The end of October came quickly, Cassie turned in her permission form to Professor Sprout after they were done working with the puffapods one afternoon.
"You sure you won't want to go to Hogsmeade? Fred and George know all the passages in the school, I'm sure they've got one out of the school grounds." Cassie whispered to Merlin after they left the Greenhouses.
"I'm sure. I'll have a nice day at the library."
"When did you start looking like Merlin, 'Mione?" Cassie asked teasingly.
"Really, Cassie?" Merlin asked, shaking his head in amusement.
"Yes, 'Mione. I'm really curious. Have you been brewing Polyjuice Potion without me?" she asked in mock hurt.
"Oh, shove it, Cassie. Come on, I'm starving and you weren't at breakfast today, so you must be too."
"Can we eat in the kitchens, I don't really want all the stares while I eat." Cassie thought at him.
"No. You have friends, and we will seriously maim anyone who even tries to look at you." Merlin told her mentally.
"You're sweet, but even you couldn't get past the whole of the school. Best to avoid!" Cassie told him animatedly, walking down towards the kitchens.
"Suit yourself." he called after her, going into the Great Hall and sitting at the Hufflepuff table.
"Is Cassie okay? She seems strange, not how she usually is." Cedric asked him when he and the other two sat down at the table with him.
"You've heard what her boggart turned into, I can assure you, it was being kind." Merlin said darkly. "She's hurt and doesn't want to deal with all the stares from the rest of the school. Did she tell you that Ravenclaw girl, Rachael, actually slapped her in the middle of the corridor at the beginning of October?"
"No, I hadn't heard about it." Leon mumbled.
"I think she's taking it worse than when Ernie outed her parents last year, before Christmas." Merlin said.
"Has she been sleepwalking again? Has she told you?" Cedric asked him in concern.
"She hasn't said anything to me, but I don't doubt that she may be. She did over summer." Merlin told them.
"I really hope what happened last year doesn't repeat itself." Tommy said.
"I looked through some of the books my uncle left me, but I can't find any to help her. There's someone else, a close friend of my uncles, he might have something. But he lives in the middle of nowhere in Wales, and I'm not exactly sure how to get there."
"What's his name? Maybe one of our dads can find him." Cedric asked, looking between the other two.
"You won't believe me." Merlin said with a smirk.
"Try us."
"Merlin."
"Merlin what?"
"I don't know. Merlin Ambrosius, I think."
"You're right. I don't believe you." Tommy told him. "Isn't Ambrosius one of the names they called King Arthur's Merlin?"
"Yep." Merlin said, raising his eyebrows and taking a bite of his steak with a sarcastic smile.
"Is he one of the Old Religion practitioners?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, and he's really old and knowledgeable. And crazy, he doesn't trust strangers, so it's probably best not to get your fathers involved. He gives Mad-Eye a run for his money."
"Yeah, they'll stay away from him if he's that crazy." Tommy said, moving on to another topic of conversation.
On Halloween morning, Cassie woke in the common room in her pyjamas. It wasn't even dawn but she got up and went to shower. She dressed in a pair of lilac wide-legged trousers and a pearl white oversized knit turtleneck with her rose gold amethyst necklace and earring set and put on her rain boots- the ground was still muddy. After she did her hair and makeup-well, lip-gloss and some mascara- she went to the kitchens for an early breakfast and asked for a sandwich and some scrambled eggs and milk and went out into the chilly October air. She made sure that no one was around and went into the forbidden forest.
"Snuffles!" she called out once, waiting for the dog to approach. She figured it was asleep, or far away, but took a chance and left the food on a conjured up plate. She turned to leave the cover of the forest slowly, hoping the animal that ate the food would be the stray dog that comforted her at the beginning of the term and a few times since then. She walked back into the castle and into the Great Hall for the first time in over two months, sitting down by Merlin who had risen early.
"Hey! You're up early!" he observed, choosing not to say anything about her being in the Great Hall.
"Decided you were right." she said.
"Except there's almost no one in here right now." he pointed out.
"Perks of the nightmares?" Cassie said, giving him a small smile and shrugging her shoulders.
"Been having them again?" Merlin asked in concern as more students filtered into the Great Hall, casting wary glances her way.
"Yeah, I never go any farther than the common room, though. At least I don't think so." Cassie told him.
"You have to tell someone, Cassie." Merlin told her quietly, noticing how Ernie and Hannah were eyeing her.
"I wrote to Dumbledore asking his permission to ask one of the house-elves to do what they did last year."
"Smart, has he written back yet?"
"No, I only wrote him this morning."
"Morning, Cassie! Merlin!" Tommy said, sitting down across from the two.
"Someone's awfully cheery today." Cassie said suspiciously.
"And someone's far more… hungry today." he said, at a loss for a good comeback.
"Really?" Cassie and Merlin asked together.
"It's too early, give me the bacon, Merlin!" Tommy said grumpily, reaching across the table for the plate.
"Aw, leave it to you two to spoil his mood." Cedric said when he sat down next to Tommy.
"You don't care because you won't have to deal with him all day." Leon agreed, sitting down on Tommy's other side.
"Good thing about having friends outside of Hufflepuff." Cassie said teasingly.
"Hey, we have friends outside of Hufflepuff." Cedric said defensively.
"Yeah! Ced's certainly friendly with Cho." Tommy said with a snort.
"Tommy!" he hissed, elbowing him hard.
"Relax, Ced. We won't say anything. Will we, Rosso?"
"Why'd you call him Rosso? Is that his middle name" Leon asked, confused.
"Because he's a good kisser." Cassie said nonchalantly, laughing at their shocked expressions.
"She doesn't know by experience." Merlin said quickly. "I swear!"
"Don't be so shy, Merlin." Cassie said seductively, laughing at the look on his face. "Let's just say I've got it on good authority that he's an amazing kisser."
"Cassie!" Merlin hissed at her.
"What, Tommy and Leon already saw you and Hermione. And I'm sure the Weasleys all had some idea what you and my sister got up to." she said, winking at him suggestively and giggling at the blush that was fighting its way onto his face.
"No!" Tommy and Leon said while Cedric just looked on in confusion.
"Yes! He had quite the love bite for a few days, too. Morgana's revenge for him giving her one."
"I really wish I had gone on that trip with you guys!" Cedric said, wishing he understood what they were saying.
"No, you don't because then you would be getting your own ideas about training, and I would murder you and feed you to the acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest personally." Cassie warned.
"It was that bad?" he asked, half-amused.
"No, it was great. Cassie's just complaining about the hiking-"
"-but it wasn't that bad. We hiked to this really great lake and had a blast, although Cassie did break her ankle-"
"-but Merlin put it right and then her friend's father took her to their St. Mungo's and she was good as new."
"And then he took us through this amazing waterfall concealing a tunnel, it was really fun!" Tommy and Leon took turns saying.
"The hiking was horrible, his clumsiness is contagious, and you two seem like little boys right now!" Cassie corrected them.
"You loved it, Cassie and you know it." Merlin said.
"Not all the times you made me fall." she corrected him.
"So what are you planning to do today, still sticking to books and quills?"
"Maybe." Cassie said, aloof.
"All right, fine. We'll see you later. Make sure you go to Honeydukes and Zonko's." Tommy told her as the three of them stood up and left the Great Hall.
"How are you still eating, Merlin?" Cassie asked as he grabbed some more sausages.
"I'll have you know, first you interrupt me, then Tommy takes the bacon I wanted to serve myself. Then the other two get here, what was I supposed to have eaten? All I could get was porridge, and I don't really want to eat porridge." Merlin said, annoyed.
"Well, then. No need to be so snippy. I get it, you just want to have your breakfast in peace. I can let you do that."
"Cassie, just shut up. Please." Merlin said, annoyed.
"Yeah, okay, I'll shut up, but first…" she reached over and grabbed one of the sausages on his plate, "See you later!" she said with a bright smile, running over to the Entrance Hall and getting in line to leave. Filch was there, standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.
"Have a nice day!" Cassie said brightly when he waved her through.
"Really, first the Slytherins, now him? Guess Ernie was right and you really are as bad as your family." Anthony Goldstein said contemptuously.
"I don't care what you think of me anymore. What my grandfather did was horrendous, and the moment I found out about it, my world shattered. I turned on my family so all the people he helped kill and torture would have justice. If you can't see that, then you don't belong in Ravenclaw, Goldstein. Besides, you've never been nice to me, so why should I be you? Even Filch has been somewhat cordial to me at some point." she scoffed, past her breaking point, and walked faster, catching up with her friends just before they walked past the Dementors.
"I seriously wish I had just stayed behind with Merlin and Harry right now." Cassie said annoyed, shivering as they passed the stupid Dementors and walking closer to Cedric in a sour mood.
"Who was it this time?" he asked in a fed up voice.
"Goldstein. Who knew there were so many Jews in Ravenclaw?" Cassie asked in annoyance as they reached High Street.
"Where to first?" Cedric asked, moving onto lighter topics.
"If it has books or quills that aren't sugar, I'm gone." Tommy said.
"Zonko's. Haven't had a good opportunity to prank anyone all year." Cassie said with a mischievous grin. "I've an idea on how to get the professors again."
"Where do you go off to every Sunday?"
"Extra lessons with Lupin. Trying to get over my Boggart." Cassie said, which wasn't a complete lie.
"Oh. I guess I understand. Hate boggarts." Leon said, holding the door open for Cassie.
"Who doesn't?" Cedric said. "So, what first? Nose biting teacups? Dungbombs?"
"Not dungbombs. Definitely not those, they smell too bad." Cassie said, wrinkling her nose.
"Yes, that's why they're called DUNGbombs, Cassie." Tommy explained slowly, paying for his dungbombs and trick quills at the counter.
"Watch it, Tommy. I may be a bit lax with my pranking, but I am getting better with transfigurations. Imagine yourself with the face of a bulldog. I think you'd make a cute doggie. You always have been very obedient." Cassie said teasingly, taking some trick quills for Harry and Merlin and a few other stuff.
"Honeydukes?" Tommy said when they were finished paying, ignoring her teasing good-naturedly.
"Sure." Cassie said, motioning for them to lead the way.
"You are going to love Honeydukes." Leon said, chatting animatedly as they walked down Main.
"Think Merlin'll like these?" Cassie said, holding up the blood-flavoured lollipops.
"He's not a vampire, I doubt it." Leon said laughing.
"Certainly seems like it sometimes." Cassie mumbled. "I think I'll get him some."
"Your money." they said, breathing deeply and shaking their heads at her.
"I'll see you guys later." Cedric said slowly, looking out the window and running after the pretty Ravenclaw he had spotted.
"Don't think we'll be seeing him until the feast." Tommy said, laughing and turning back around to look out the window. "Actually, I'll see you guys later too." he said distractedly, lightly smacking Leon's arm and running out to catch up with Grace, one of the girls in his year.
"Does he like her?" Cassie asked curiously.
"Why? Are you jealous?" Leon asked teasingly, not showing how much her question hurt him.
"No. Just curious. Why would I be jealous? I broke up with him, remember?" Cassie told him, looking up at him.
"Wanna go to the Shrieking Shack?" Leon asked, changing the subject.
"Sure." Cassie said, paying for her sweets and following him out the door.
They talked animatedly all the way down to the Shrieking Shack on the outskirts of the small village, laughing and joking the whole way. Cassie and Leon made it to the top of a small slope that had a fence separating the shack from the rest of Hogsmeade when someone stuck their leg out and made Cassie trip, taking Leon with her and rolling down to the bottom of the slope roughly.
"Ow." Leon groaned from beside her when they stopped at the foot of the small hill.
Cassie opened her eyes and was able to see two retreating figures, ones she recognised immediately: Pansy and Millicent.
"You okay?" Leon asked, sitting up and rubbing his back.
"Yeah." Cassie groaned, "Might've twisted my ankle though."
"Did you recognise those two girls?" he asked, twisting slightly on the ground to look at her without craning his neck too much.
"No, not really." Cassie said, splaying her arms out and exhaling sharply.
"So, uh, wanna get closer?" he asked nervously, sitting up and drawing his knees up to his chest.
"Than we already are?" Cassie asked him with a strange look.
"To the Shrieking Shack." Leon said with an eye roll.
"No, I'm good here. I think I'll just lay here for a bit. My jumper's already ruined." Cassie said, turning her head to look at where he was sitting.
"Okay, if you're sure. It's supposed to be one of the most haunted buildings in Britain. Not even the ghosts go in there. The Friar told me our third year. Maybe you're just scared." Leon taunted good-naturedly.
"Yeah, right. You wish I were more of a 'fraidy-cat." Cassie replied with a smile, sitting up slowly.
"Guess I should probably know by now, right. You were considered for Gryffindor at some point." Leon said, leaning closer.
"Not that much of a Gryffindor." Cassie said breathlessly, her head spinning.
"Well, I suppose badgers are brave too. They're known to be fearless and all." he said, looking into her eyes.
"Bravery isn't the absence of fear, Leon." Cassie said.
"Yeah, it's pushing through the fear." he finished softly, leaning in closer and brushing his lips against hers softly before kissing her deeper, his fingers running through her curled hair as he relished in her kiss.
"Leon, I-I'm-" Cassie said breathlessly, but Leon cut her off.
"Cassie, you're bleeding! Your hair is caked with blood. Come on, let's go to Madame Pomfrey." he said urgently, standing up and picking her up bridal style, trudging up the slope.
"Leon!" Cassie gasped when he picked her up, her vision swimming as she saw black spots.
He ran into Michael Corner and Terry Boot at the top who both looked at her in horror.
"Bloody hell! What happened to her?"
"Some girls tripped her and she rolled down the slope. She must have hit her head, there's so much blood." he said, thankful for their help with their purchases that still lay at the bottom of the slope.
"Who? That's terrible!" Terry said, shocked.
"No clue, didn't recognise them, but they were definitely from your year." he said, quickly walking back to the gates and past the Dementors, feeling her start to shiver. "Go find Professor Sprout!" he told them when they got inside the castle, Leon going towards the Hospital Wing and the other two going to find Sprout or some other professor.
"She's worse than Mr. Potter!" Madame Pomfrey cried when she saw him carry her into the ward.
"Some girls tripped us when we were going to see the Shrieking Shack. She must have hit her head hard, there's blood caked in her hair. And she said she might have sprained her ankle." Leon said worriedly, standing off to the side when the two Ravenclaws showed up with Professor Sprout in tow.
"Explain." Sprout said simply, looking at Leon, Michael and Terry.
"We were going to see the Shrieking Shack, and when we got to the top of the slope, some girls were hiding in the bushes and tripped her. She grabbed onto me and took me with her. We rolled down to the fenceline and Cassie said she might have sprained her ankle, but when she sat up, I noticed the blood in her hair."
"Yeah, when we got there, she'd fainted and he was carrying her up the slope. We just carried her bags up to the castle, Professor." Terry said.
"Very well, you may leave Mr. Boot and Mr. Corner." Sprout said, dismissing them.
"Sit." Madame Pomfrey said when she was done casting the healing charms on Cassie.
"I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey. Barely a scratch." Leon said.
"This, Mr. Holland, is a big scratch." the matron said, holding his arm out and showing him the two inch gash on the outside of his arm.
"Huh, didn't notice. Thought it might have been hers." he said sheepishly, cowering under the stern gaze of the matron.
"Likely story. We won't know anything until she wakes up, she has a concussion. I'd get something to eat while we wait if I were you."
"I'm not hungry, Madam Pomfrey." he said, pulling a chair out but withering under the matron's stare.
"She needs rest, Mr. Holland."
"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." Leon said, leaving the wing and going down to the kitchens.
"Cassie?!" Merlin said, bursting into the wing a while later. "Cassie?" he asked again, shaking her.
"She has a concussion, we won't know anything until she wakes up." Madam Pomfrey told him, slightly annoyed that he'd shaken the girl.
"I'll wait, thanks." Merlin said, taking a chair and pulling it towards the bedside. He took out a piece of parchment and quill from the bags Cassie had bought in Hogsmeade and began to write a letter to Arthur about her 'accident' and how he'd keep him apprised of everything. When he finished the letter and sent it to him quickly with a glow of his eyes, Merlin cast a silencing charm and made sure there was no one around, casting his magical sense out to make sure he wouldn't be interrupted. He leaned over her and whispered Ic þe þurhhæle þin licsare mid þam sundorcræftas þære ealdaþ æ!
(Spell reads I heal you thoroughly from your mortal wound with those special powers that are ancient! Oh! I took it from the episode of Merlin where Morgana hits her head and Merlin orders the dragon to give him the spell to heal her.)
"Ugh, what happened?" Cassie asked, "Where am I, Merlin?"
"You're in the Hospital Wing, Cass."
"The hospital wing? My head is killing me. What are you talking about? There is no hospital wing."
"Cassie, what's the last thing you remember?" Merlin asked her quickly, hoping her speaking in Old English meant she was remembering.
"I-I think we were...No!" Cassie whispered brokenly, remembering Arthur and Morgana's death on the banks of the Lake of Avalon. "They're dead?" she asked with a broken voice, leaning forward and hugging him tightly while tears rushed down her cheeks and she shook with sobs.
"You know how Arthur's the Once and Future King?" Merlin asked, wiping away the tears on her face after a few moments of her crying against his shoulder.
"Yeah. W-what does that have to do with anything?" Cassie asked, sniffling in confusion.
"Well, Arthur's back. And so's Morgana. They're your siblings." he told her seriously.
"You're mad! Where's Gaius? Is this a dream? Why is my head killing me?!" Cassie told him, looking at him incredulously.
"Cassie, it's been over a thousand years since you all died. You've come back now, and the similarities are subtle and uncanny, but the differences are so much more clear. I promise, I will tell you everything later. But first, you don't know where you are?"
"No." she said tearfully, "Merlin, I'm so confused."
"You have to lower your defenses, Cass. Let me in." Merlin told her softly, taking her hand.
"Let you in where?" Cassie asked, confused.
"Your mind. I know Morgause taught you to shield it, to protect it those few months you were with her. And I know you spent some time with the Catha as well. And this you clearly remembers how because no one's been able to look in. Please, let go of those wards and let me in."
"Well, you're wrong, it was Gildas who taught me this particular spell. Not Morgause. She just taught us dark magic, for the most part. I never did any of it, but still...Okay, fine." Cassie said with trembling lips. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearing her mind and releasing the magic that held the wards together. "Done."
"Unbelievable!" Merlin said with wide, glowing eyes, "Your memories, they're both here. The old and the new. But it's like there's a wall separating them, not letting you access them. And it's starting to chip away."
"What does that mean? Merlin, I'm so confused."
"You hit your head, Cassie. I think you may have-"
"Gone crazy. Believe me, so do I." Cassie joked half-heartedly.
"Cassie, I need to give you back your memories, but, the ones now. Believe me when I say that I hate to do this, but I will go back and read all the books I've collected over the years, everything to figure out how to give you your memories. I promise." he swore to her sincerely.
"I won't remember this will I? I won't remember myself?"
"No, but the…reincarnated I suppose, anyways French Cassie is super fun. Something like what I imagine you were like when you were this age. Reminds me of you." he said cheekily.
"Perhaps because we are the same person, Merlin. And what age is this, exactly?" she asked, dreading hearing the answer.
"Fourteen. Almost." Merlin told her, laughing at her groan. "Ready?" he asked in English, checking a theory.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Cassie said, closing her eyes and feeling his magic fill her mind while she started putting up the wards again.
"Cassie? Cassie?" Merlin asked when she opened her eyes again.
"Hey, Merlin. Why's my head killing me? Did you do something to me?" Cassie teased, smiling weakly.
"No, you and Leon were at the Shrieking Shack…" he started, letting the silencing charm down.
"Oh, I tripped and hit my head, right? Your clumsiness really is contagious." Cassie said.
"That's not quite it and you know it, Cassie. Who tripped you?"
"I can't say." Cassie said; they may not like her right now, but she still would rather keep their acquaintance-ship type thingy, whatever it was they were.
"Pansy and Millicent, right?" Merlin said, making sure she reinforced the partial wards with Occlumency.
"You're a Legilimens!?" Cassie asked, slightly hurt that he'd invaded her privacy.
"Guilty. And you have to tell Sprout, or someone."
"If I do, I'll never live it down, Merlin." Cassie said, making sure she put her carefully constructed walls back up.
"Cassie, you could have died if you hit your head any harder or just a few centimeters lower. What they did was dangerous and it should have repercussions." Merlin said, trying to reason with her.
"Fine, I'll only tell if the worst punishment is detention and points docked. If they get expelled, I won't say a thing." Cassie told him firmly.
"I'll go get Madam Pomfrey." Merlin said, sighing heavily.
"Do you remember what happened?" she asked when she appeared from around the corner.
"Yes. I do." Cassie said softly.
"So what happened?" she asked, checking her eyes and her reflexes.
"Leon and I went to the Shrieking Shack after leaving Honeydukes and when we got near, I tripped and rolled down. I saw two third-year Slytherin girls running away."
"Mr. Rhydderch, go get Professors Snape and Sprout." Madame Pomfrey said, taking out her wand and waving it over Cassie in intricate motions while he left. "It's as if you didn't fall, the concussion's gone and everything."
"Well, you are good at healing me, Madam Pomfrey." Cassie said with a bright smile sitting up.
"And you're a terrible patient, lie back!" she said sternly, pushing Cassie back onto the bed gently and handing her a potion.
"What's that for!? You said I was good as new!" Cassie protested, she hated potions.
"Precaution. Drink!" she ordered as the two Heads walked in.
"Ms. Gratien. I do hope you will not waste my time with false information." Snape drawled after Sprout had exclaimed in relief that she was awake.
"Yes, Professor. What will you do to them, sir?"
"Cassie, just tell us who did it?" Professor Sprout said softly.
"I-not unless they don't get expelled." Cassie said, seeming braver than she felt.
"They will be punished as I see fit, Gratien." Snape said, looking in her eyes.
"I-it was Pansy and Millicent." Cassie said quickly, looking down at her hands.
"If you're lying, Gratien, it'll be you I punish." Snape said dangerously, exiting the wing with a swish of his dark robes.
"Is she fine to leave, Poppy?" Professor Sprout asked.
"I would prefer she stayed overnight." Madam Pomfrey said, fussing over the covers and waving her wand to summon the pitcher of water.
"Who else do you use your ability with?" Cassie asked when they had some dinner brought to the Hospital wing.
"No one." Merlin said quickly.
"Merlin." Cassie said with a raised eyebrow.
"Harry, and occasionally some of the other boys, but Arthur asked me to take care of you, and that's how I go about doing it." Merlin defended himself.
"Why Harry? He's never shown more interest than 'friend' with me."
"Just like Leon?" Merlin asked, smirking. "I'm just making sure he doesn't go doing something ridiculously stupid like last year."
"If I'm not mistaken, you followed us down there, Merlin. And who made him the boss of you? Or made you the overbearing, over-protective big brother." Cassie muttered, playing with the tips of her hair boredly.
"Well, no one knows, so don't tell."
"I won't." Cassie told him, thinking how her next letter to Morgana will be all about his new talent.
"By the way, your walls are still down. And I don't care if you tell Morgana. She's just as hard to read as you."
"Merlin!" Cassie said in astonishment.
"Yes?" he said.
"How do I put them back up?" she asked timidly. "I-it's not from you that I want to hide, I just, um…"
"No worries, Cassie. I know exactly what you mean. I'll tell you tomorrow. I have something to do right now." he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and going to leave the hospital wing. "Besides, they're good enough for most people. Just not me." he said goofily as he got to the door.