Chapter 34
A Rose By Any Other Name

Cassie woke up suddenly, staring in a bit of disorientation at her closed curtains. Then she smiled to herself. Ginny hadn't had to wake her up this morning. That was good. She usually never had problems getting up in the morning and it was strange having to be woken up. Of course, at home she got to use a wonderful invention called an alarm clock. It wasn't that the witches sharing her room didn't understand the basic concept because each of them had one -- it was just that theirs all ran on magic rather than the electric plug that came attached to hers. So, her alarm clock had taken up residence next to her hair dryer in the bottom part of her locked trunk and this entire past week, poor Ginny had taken over the duty. But not today. She sat up and stretched, thinking over her class schedule for Friday. Double Potions right after breakfast which today should be particularly interesting. Then Defense with Remus. This was one of her favorite classes and she was looking forward to it. Then, after lunch was Herbology, the thought of which Cassie acknowledged didn't scare her as badly as it did on Tuesday. But today, she probably could have smiled through three classes of Double Potions because today was Friday. Which meant tomorrow was Saturday. Which meant that tomorrow . . . she got to see George. She had made it through a week of pretending to be a witch. And that was her reward. Not that it had been all bad. It had had its fun moments and its exciting moments.

Cassie shifted in her bed, listening to see if any of the other girls were up. It was still dark and she wondered if she was congratulating herself on waking up on time when it was actually 2 a.m. She stuck her arm under the mattress and pulled out her one item of contraband. An electric torch -- the only concession she got to make for the fact that she couldn't use a, let's see, yes, a Lumos spell. She clicked on the torch and checked her watch. 6:30. Ginny should be waking up in just a few minutes. She smiled to herself as she hid the torch again under the mattress. It was amazing to her that she had fit in as well as she had. And she was actually getting used to this place. Cassie felt that, even with some of the more unpleasant and embarrassing moments, she had learned to accommodate to the strange world of Hogwarts. And, for the most part, she was enjoying her experience. She smiled to herself as she thought of some of the things she had seen and done. She would love to tell her school friends back home about her experiences, but knew she couldn't. Perhaps it was just as well. As she thought of her old school and friends, Cassie couldn't help but wonder what excuse, if any, was given for her sudden disappearance. She hoped they missed her at least a little and wondered when or if, she would see them again. For that matter, she also wondered when she would see her family again.

Cassie was brought out of her private thoughts by the sounds of Ginny stirring in her bed and the curtains being drawn back. Cassie sat up and opened her own bed curtains. She smiled at Ginny's look of surprise.

"You're awake!"

"Yes. I must be getting used to the hours we're being forced to keep."

Ginny laughed. "That's good. Of course, we only have one more week here and then term is over and you can get spoiled sleeping in again." Cassie smiled faintly. She was actually extremely nervous about the end of term. She had no idea where she was going to be sent or what she would be expected to do.

"Ginny? Where do you think I'll go, after this, I mean?"

Ginny looked at her with knitted brows for a minute. "I don't know. I thought they had told you where-" She grimaced as Cassie shook her head.

"I'm nervous. You never saw Harry's place but it . . . I don't know if I could handle that."

"It was that ugly? I mean, it was just a house, right?"

"It wasn't that it was ugly, although it certainly lacked any style. But, he was so alone there."

"Until you." Cassie's eyes flew up to meet Ginny's, terrified suddenly that she had opened a very nasty can of worms. They both sort of skirted around the issue that Harry and Cassie had, well, dated was probably the best term for it, for those three weeks. Ginny's eyes were slightly shadowed now, looking at Cassie. "He . . . had you. He said you saved him."

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean to . . ."

"No. Don't apologize. I'm glad, really. I like the thought that he had someone there to . . . help him. Someone to take care of him." Ginny smiled and Cassie was pleased that the warmth really did meet her eyes. "As for where they are sending you, I'll see if I can think of any ideas. It can't be that hard to guess. Meanwhile, though, we better get up or we'll miss having the shower to ourselves."

Ginny had been right. She had just barely finished drying Cassie's hair when some other girls came into the shower and it had been a bit awkward finishing up the usual morning routine. They finally settled on a story they had worked out earlier in the week with Cassie asking for advice on her hairstyle and Ginny making suggestions and "helping out" with her wand as the hair was curled and styled. It was probably stupid, but it worked. And for some reason that Cassie didn't want to think about too deeply, she couldn't stop smiling this morning. She had a sappy grin on her face that just didn't want to go away. Save it for tomorrow, Spencer, she told herself and then laughed when she realized she was addressing herself by her made-up name. Ginny shot her a puzzled glance at the laugh, but Cassie just waved her hand is dismissal.

The usual planning meeting went rather routinely, and Cassie was pleased that it should be an easy day. If she could just survive Potions. Yes, she had her Skiving Snackboxes, but the nosebleed incident had been so unpleasant that she wasn't sure she wanted to try one of the others. Well, she'd play it by ear. No use panicking now. It was hard to know exactly what Professor Snape would do. The man was certainly an enigma.

"Maybe they'll send you to Grimmauld Place." Ginny quietly hazarded a guess as they walked through the corridors. It's already charmed and you'd be protected there."

"No way." Hermione replied. "If that was the case, she would have gone straight there. It's already so heavily warded that they wouldn't have needed to strengthen them or add more." None of the four friends had been able to suggest any possibilities for Cassie's ultimate destination but they all agree to give it some thought, saying they were pretty good and figuring things out that the adults never thought they could and taking it up as a challenge that they would have it all decided by the end of term. Cassie was grateful for Hermione's reply. She didn't know where or what Grim Old Place was, but she knew it didn't sound very pleasant.

Breakfast had passed without too much incident although she had been forced to bury her head in her hands for several long minutes as she waited for a bright blush to pass. She hoped that no one had noticed. Hermione and Harry had gotten their usual copies of the Daily Prophet and were reading some of the interesting bits out loud to the rest of them. "Oooh," Hermione had mentioned as she scanned the front page, "There's a big Ministry Christmas Party tomorrow night at the Ministry Offices. It says that everyone who is anyone will be there. Ron? Do you think your parents will go? I'd love to . . . too bad students aren't allowed." Ron had been chewing on his waffle and had shaken his head in reply to Hermione's question. After he swallowed, he answered.

"Nah. That's not their cuppa at all. And George and Fred probably won't even be invited. Bill might go, though. It sounds like something he and Fleur would love." It was the mention of George that had sent Cassie into that blush, because she remembered that George had asked her to go and she knew that Ron's parents probably actually would be attending and she couldn't even say anything because she still wasn't ready to tell the others about her and George. She just couldn't bear of the idea of everyone knowing he had dumped her when she confessed that she wasn't a witch after all. It was going to be bad enough having to have Ginny all embarrassed for her and worried about her.

Fortunately, the idea of a fancy Christmas party didn't hold either Ron's or Harry's interest very long and although the girls were obviously interested, conversation moved on rather quickly to a topic that Cassie enjoyed more, even though usually she didn't understand it. Quidditch. She loved to watch them talk about it. Harry always looked happy and relaxed when discussing the latest professional games or players and various moves that the Gryffindor team should try out at next practice. Ginny was getting so involved in the discussion this morning that Hermione had to remind them to go to Potions. "Good luck, Pia."

"Thanks." Cassie swung her bag over her shoulder, then double checked that the Snackboxes were still safely in their pocket. If she had to use them, she would use the Puking ones. She had had quite a bit of pumpkin juice this morning and thought that the violent orange color would look really lovely on Professor Snape's black robes. Sort of Halloween-y. She got an almost malicious thrill out of the thought. If she had to use them, she may as well enjoy the results. She was positive (especially after the nosebleed yesterday) that she wouldn't enjoy the process.

"Maybe Diagon Alley," Ginny suggested as they walked down the stairs. Cassie lit up with that suggested hiding place. That would be great fun. She could see George all the time. Well, if he wanted to see her. Plus, there were shops and people and . . . but Ginny burst that bubble almost immediately. "What am I saying? You can't hide there. Too crowded. Too dangerous. Plus, how would they put wards over the whole Alley. That was a stupid suggestion."

"You're probably right." Cassie hated to admit it, but she was sure that her pleasure and enjoyment were undoubtedly low on the list of Professor Dumbledore's priorities when it came to hiding her. Her mind was so caught up in thoughts about her future hiding place, that she didn't see the danger until it was in her face and it was too late to avoid it. It was tall, blonde, and slender, and it pulled her away from Ginny with an almost possessive touch.

"Spencer. I want to talk to you." He pushed her against the wall and put one arm on each side of her so that he was effectively blocking her from leaving. He wasn't standing terribly close to her because his arms were fairly long, but it was closer than she liked. He was starting to get extremely scary.

"But I don't want to talk to you. Leave me alone." Cassie saw Ginny's eyes, wide and panicked, past Draco's shoulder as he shifted positions and she shook her head. Draco wouldn't really hurt her, not out here in the hall with students walking by. She did hate the idea of anyone seeing him and thinking they were an item, but she was positive that this was exactly the impression Draco wanted to give everyone.

"Pia, I wanted you to know how sorry I was about yesterday. I didn't mean to upset you so badly."

Cassie felt the first flutterings of panic now settling in her stomach. What had happened yesterday that she couldn't remember? She had never even . . . oh, God. Something had happened between Draco and Hermione. What? Hermione hadn't said anything! "Uh . . . well. You did. Whether you meant to or not isn't the point, exactly."

"I know. I understand completely. I was really out of line. So, I wanted to apologize."

"Okay. Apology accepted. I've got to get into class." She tried to push her way past the arm that was holding her in place, but it didn't budge and neither could she. She thought about ducking under it, but his body shifted closer and she realized it would be futile.

"You've still got a few minutes." Draco glanced over his shoulder at Ginny, who looked like she was practically hyperventilating. "And you can tell your watchdog to leave you alone. Merlin. She hangs on you like you were permanently attached at the hip or something."

"We're friends. She knows I'm still adjusting . . . It's none of your business. Let me go, please, Malfoy."

"You called me Draco, yesterday. I liked hearing you say it. Say it again." Cassie was amazed. She could no more imagine Hermione calling Malfoy Draco then she could imagine Ron commenting that his blonde hair was stylishly disheveled, but then on the other hand, why would he lie? She had been there - theoretically.

"I . . . But that was before the, uh, incident. You let me down. I think Malfoy covers it."

"Aaah, come on, Pia. Let's let bygones be bygones. I brought you a present to make up for it." He waved his wand, opened his hand, and held out the most perfect deep red rose Cassie had ever seen. She gasped in surprise.

"Well, I . . . I couldn't take it. It's fine. I told you. Apology accepted. I don't want to be late into Potions. I don't need detention this weekend." Draco pushed the rose into her hand.

"I'll let you go . . . but first I want to hear you say that it wasn't that bad and that you did over-react just a little bit."

"Um . . ." Cassie hated to say anything of the sort, but Ginny was now practically dancing on the spot, plus she had her wand out and Cassie thought that if she didn't get away from Malfoy soon, hexes would start flying and that almost certainly meant detention. All right. She was getting to be a good liar. "Okay. Fine. It wasn't that bad and I over-reacted. Now can I please get to class?" She couldn't miss the smug expression that flitted across his face before he forced it back into contrite mode.

"I didn't think you really minded. Why would you?" But then his arm moved and she stepped closer to Ginny, who grabbed her with a force that Cassie was pretty sure would leave bruises. "Before you go, though, Pia . . . I think it's more appropriate that a gift from me looks like this. Think of me today. I'll be thinking of you." And he waved his wand again and the rose turned from Gryffindor maroon to an almost emerald green and he laughed at her expression of shock. But before she could say anything, he was gone down the hall, black robes trailing behind him. Cassie stared at the green rose in her hand and at Ginny.

"Do you have any idea what that was all about?"

"None. But I suggest we find out before something else happens. Come on or we really will be late."

Cassie hurried up to her usual seat, sliding into it just seconds before the professor entered the room and looked around. His eyes landed briefly on her before he began his lecture. His glance was icy and she shivered briefly, remembering the hatred practically radiating off him the last time she had been in this classroom. She felt none of that today, but he probably was just blocking her out. Well, no use dwelling on that. She had to get through two hours of class. She laid the rose on the table and hurriedly grabbed parchment and quill as well as ink bottle out of her bag. When she uncapped the ink bottle and dipped her quill, she glanced over at Niles who was staring at the rose like he expected it to grow a head and bite him. Of course, in this school, maybe it could. She looked up at him, wondering what was wrong. He looked at her with cold eyes and then turned deliberately away from her, writing rapidly on his own paper.

Professor Snape did test the Veritaserum on three of the students, but he didn't even look Cassie's direction. Not that she was complaining. It was quite revealing to watch him question them. He seemed to be going for the high embarrassment factor, which greatly amused most of the rest of the class but Cassie thought was just plain mean. All the secrets these students had practically been forced to confess would be all over the school by lunchtime and she imagined that it would take a few days for some of the rumors to die down. The only sad thing about Professor Snape's complete refusal to acknowledge her existence was that she had no cause to use a Puking Pastille and by the end of the class, she really wanted to. He deserved it. She was really tempted to hand one in passing to the 7th year Ravenclaw girl that Snape had humiliated beyond belief when he had used the Veritaserum on her, but she decided that having the girl then projectile vomit in public probably wouldn't really help her situation, even if it did get back at Snape, just a little.

Niles didn't say a single word to her through the entire class and Cassie could practically feel the waves of anger emanating from him. It was only as she picked up the green rose to leave class at the end that she understood why. She wanted to drop the rose in disgust, but decided she would stuff it in her bag so she could confront Hermione with it at lunch as proof that she had better confess the entire story so that Cassie wouldn't be caught unawares again, if it wasn't already to late to avert disaster. "He said," Niles began and both of them knew who he meant. "That he would give you that to apologize for yesterday and that if you took it and only accepted his apology, he would leave it Gryffindor red. But if you admitted that you had actually liked what he did, he would turn it Slytherin green. That way, we'd all know. I must say, Spencer. I thought you had a little more class than that." He turned on his heel and stalked out of the Potions classroom and Cassie stared in shock after him.

"The big, bloody, supercilious, . . . conniving, lying, . . .prat!" It wasn't that she couldn't think of enough bad words to describe Draco Malfoy in that moment, it was just that most of them she refused to say in public, even if she could think them in her mind. She told Ginny what Niles had just said and Ginny's expression of disgust rivaled hers.

"So you sat there with that thing on your table the entire class while every Slytherin in the class noticed, even Snape!"

"Yes."

"It'll be all over the school by lunchtime. Ooh. Hermione! When I get my hands on her . . . she's toast!" Cassie couldn't believe this. She had unwittingly been the instigator of what was going to be a very nasty problem. Now everyone would think that she actually liked Draco and her protests about him would fall on deaf ears to anyone other than Ron, Harry, and Hermione. And Ginny, of course. After all, it wasn't like she could exactly confess that she hadn't been at the incident she supposedly enjoyed. She just had a terrible thought flash in her brain and she stopped in amazement at the hurt in her heart.

"What if George hears, tomorrow? He'll hate me even more."

Ginny patted her arm, but continued guiding her down the hall. "Once you've told him the big secret, you can confess about the other. Don't worry."

"But . . ."

"Look. This is a problem. But it will blow over just like everything else. Maybe all the other embarrassing stuff that came out in Potions today will actually be more interesting to people than Draco's love life. Maybe Niles was exaggerating. After all, I think he had a bit of a crush on you at first. Probably still does. So maybe he's just jealous of Draco or something."

"He didn't have a crush on me." But even as she said it, Cassie knew it wasn't true. He had. He had at least liked her a little bit, as a friend, if not more. Now, though, she was pretty sure that he would never even speak to her again if it could possibly be avoided. She felt a threat of a headache behind her eyes and she allowed herself to be led into the Defense classroom a few minutes later in a bit of a daze.

Her worries about the situation with Draco, however, were almost immediately shoved aside when she saw Remus. He looked like death had come for a visit. His face was pale and thin and his hands were practically trembling as he welcomed them to class, his eyes carefully looking over all the students.

"What is wrong with him?" Cassie asked Ginny quickly, as they turned to their books for a moment to look up a new defense spell they would be working on that day.

"Uh , well. He must be sick. I'm sure he'll be better soon." Cassie looked at Ginny with interest. She was obviously lying, but why would she lie about Remus? She knew how close . . . Oh. It suddenly dawned on her and she pursed her lips as she read over the material in the book quickly. It didn't mean much to her, although the various complexities of magic still were fascinating.

"I think today, students, we'll duel again. We took a bit of a break to discuss the Unforgiveable curses and I was pleased at how well you have learned about them. Your essays about the killing curse look to be extremely interesting. However, I know you were enjoying the dueling and I want to make sure you all have plenty of practice before the end of term next week. Who would like to go first?" Cassie watched with a slight smile on her face as the students raised their hands and got paired up. The first dual passed without incident, both students being rather weak in both the casting and defending areas and neither of them being able to do much damage to the other. The next pairing though, shocked and scared her. "All right. Let's see. Ginny. Why don't you show us what you and Pia can do?" Cassie stared at him. Had he lost his mind? There was no way she was getting up there to fight Ginny. She had seen Ginny fight. She'd be dead before she could even hit the floor. She shook her head.

"I really don't think I'm ready, Professor." She tried not to sound to pitiful, but she couldn't help it.

"Oh, come now. Haven't you ever dueled before?" Cassie shook her head, both at the question and at the possibility that she may actually have to get up there and face Ginny . . . who would have her wand . . . pointed at her. "Well, even if you can't protect yourself, you won't get hurt and it's good to learn how to take a hex or a curse, too."

"I -"

"I won't hurt you, come on." Ginny was standing, grinning in what Cassie thought was an almost evil way, apparently not seeing Cassie's complete inability to do anything to defend herself as a major problem.

"I-"

"Just remember your Protego charm. And the one we learned today, of course." Remus smiled and Cassie could have sworn he winked. "Speed is the key. Otherwise, you won't get anything done before Ginny gets you. She's quick." Was that supposed to make her feel better?

"Yes, but-" Ginny was standing at the front of the class now, wand out, smiling. Cassie gave up protesting and walked slowly to the front, holding her wand in her sweaty hand in practically a death grip. She turned and faced Ginny like all the other students had done when paired up and held her wand out, pleased that at least her hand held steady. She didn't look as nervous as she was, then, because she felt like she was practically shivering.

Ginny didn't make her wait long. She winked and then said a word Cassie was sure she had never heard. She tried to at least say the word "Protego" but it didn't come out fast enough and she felt Ginny's spell hit her. It didn't hurt, surprisingly enough. In fact, Cassie thought for a split second, it almost tickled. And then she started laughing, giggling, drawing in deep breaths of air, and laughing again. Remus said the counter curse and everyone smiled.

"Ah, the tickling charm. That is a good one for dueling. Really incapacitates but does no permanent harm. Faster this time, Pia." But, of course, Cassie knew that was just for show. Obviously, he wanted her to learn how to take a curse without flinching or screaming in terror. Okay. She would learn. Four additional times, Ginny hexed, jinxed, charmed, and finally cursed her and even though her "Protegos" were getting faster, it was acknowledged by the entire class that she would obviously need extra practice. As Cassie lay there on the floor after she had been thrown ten feet back by the last curse (landing on a convenient cushion), she contemplated the pattern on the ceiling. Ginny came over to help her up, smiling down at her.

"You, my dear cousin, are going to need some extra tutoring. You didn't do very well at all."

"Thanks." But everyone clapped politely as they were allowed to return to their seats and Ginny winked at her. Cassie sat down cautiously, pleased that she seemed to be suffering no after effects of flying across the room.

After class, she went up to Remus. He smiled at her. "You did well, at both things." Cassie supposed he meant at both taking the curses and at pretending she actually had a chance of defending herself. He handed her an envelope and Cassie was pleased to see that it was a letter from her parents with her mom's handwriting scrawled across the front. "They miss you. But they're fine and pleased that you are so happy here."

"My dad's doing okay?" Remus nodded and then answered another student's question. Remus looked at her again.

"Did you have a question?"

"I just wondered if you were all right." Remus looked puzzled. "I mean . . . I know it's hard, but I didn't expect you to be this ill. I guess I'd never seen you around a full moon before." Suddenly, her eyes got wide and she realized she had probably embarrassed him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to . . "

"I didn't know you knew." Cassie just nodded. It wasn't a secret, obviously, but she imagined that it still wasn't something people usually brought up to him. "It's okay. I'm pleased it doesn't scare you."

"Harry trusts you and likes you. So do I. Thanks for the letter."

"No problem. I won't be going back for a few days for obvious reasons. But if you get a letter written, I'm sure someone can get it to them sooner than that." Ginny motioned to her.

"Come on. We need to get to lunch and we've got to talk to Hermione. If there's any hope of squelching flying rumors, speed is the key." It was as bad, if not worse, than they had imagined. Not every student, but most of them it seemed, had now heard about the green rose and about how Pia and Draco were now an item. And those that didn't, were quickly informed. Cassie kicked herself mentally a thousand times through lunch. Ron informed her that Hermione was studying in the library and that they could find her there afterward. Both Harry and Ron seemed to be the only students in the entire school who were ignorant about the rumor that was now almost visibly flying around the tables. Ginny, who was extremely aggravated, told them about the entire incident, though, thus making Cassie's humiliation complete. Cassie didn't blame Hermione at all. She knew for herself what a devious worm Draco could be. She shouldn't even have given him the benefit of the doubt, that he might actually be sincerely apologizing. No. That would have been completely out of character for him.

All four of them found Hermione at a table in the back of the library, surrounded by very thick books. She was extremely surprised to see them. "What's up, guys? You look worried."

"Well, we are a bit." Ginny started out. "We need to know what happened between you and Draco yesterday."

Hermione flushed bright red. "It was nothing, really. I fixed him, though. I think he was surprised."

"We wish we hadn't been surprised this morning."

"What do you mean?"

"He apologized to Pia."

"Oh. Well, that's good. He should have groveled. The little ferret."

"Hermione. What happened? Tell us the truth. Don't you think Pia deserves to know?" Cassie heard the barely suppressed frustration in Ginny's voice and wondered why Hermione wasn't being more forthcoming. Then she saw Hermione glance over at Ron and something clicked. Hermione didn't want to admit what had happened in front of her boyfriend. Probably not for her own sake, but for his. Ron was staring at her with narrowed eyes, like he was hoping to read the answer in her brain.

"Okay, okay. If it's that important. I'm telling you, though, it wasn't that big of a deal."

"It's a big deal now."

"What are you talking about?"

"The entire school now thinks Cassie and Draco are an item, because of what happened yesterday. Now spill!" Hermione's mouth literally dropped open and she stared at all four of them with a growing dread in her eyes.

"Let's go into a room where we can put a silencing charm on the door. It's too public out here." The four of them retreated into a small private room to the side of a rack of some very dusty looking tomes and the door was sealed and the silencing charm cast before Hermione started sputtering her explanation. "It was during Runes. We were partners, remember?" Everyone nodded. "He sat too close to me on the bench and his arm kept brushing me in a place that girls normally don't let strangers touch them." Hermione flushed. Ron's expression was set and stony. Harry was also looking extremely angry, although Cassie couldn't figure out why. "I finally told him to get away from me. I could have done something else, but I was trying to act like . . .Pia would, you know. It was hard."

"Was that it?" Cassie asked.

"Um, no, actually." Hermione stood up and started pacing. "After a few minutes he was over by me again. Then he put his hand on my back. Very low on my back. Very low." Cassie stared at Hermione. Draco had touch her on the butt, obviously. Ron had just worked this out, too, and Cassie swore that steam was starting to curl up from his ears. "I pulled my wand on him and put the tip of it against his elbow. I did a 'dysesthesia' charm and believe me, he knew it."

"What does that do?" That was a word Cassie was sure she'd never heard before.

"It makes you go numb. Like your arm's asleep or something." Ginny quickly informed her. Hermione was twisting her hands together.

"I told him that I'd aim it at a certain spot and make it permanent if he didn't get his hands off me. He moved his hand, but I don't think he really thought I would do it."

"I'm going to kill him! I'm going to kill him!"

"Ron . . . you can't! I mean . . . he was really touching Cassie, not me, remember?" She sounded near to panic. Cassie wondered rather nastily if her honor wasn't worth having Ron kill Malfoy over. She wouldn't complain.

"Then Harry can murder him! No, I know. We'll both do it." And he marched over to the door like he was about to head out and begin the murdering without another moment's delay. Hermione grabbed his arm, stopping his progress. Harry pulled out his wand to unseal the door, obviously thinking that Ron had a pretty good idea. Ginny glanced over at him briefly and he stopped when she spoke.

"Is that really it? Or did something more happen?" Hermione shook her head, but at the look in Ginny's eyes, she confessed.

"He did it again, later in the class. He scooted over, grabbed me, and, uh, pinched me. I used my wand, put it against his leg and did the spell. He said I should be careful, as I wouldn't want to damage anything permanently. Like I was thinking about . . . well. I think you get the general idea. And then class was over and he . . . left."

"Oh, my God!" Cassie sat down against the wall and buried her face in her hands, unsure whether to cry or laugh. "And I told him that it hadn't been that bad. No wonder he smirked. No wonder he thinks we're an item. He's got such an over-inflated ego that he probably thinks I'd marry him tomorrow if he asked." All five of them sat there for a long moment in silence broken only by Ron's harsh breathing.

Hermione's voice was soft when she finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I should have told you right away, but I was . . . embarrassed. Embarrassed that I hadn't done anything. I never dreamed he would have ever brought it up to you again. Especially not in public." She was near to tears, obviously and Cassie felt bad for her.

"It's okay, Hermione. We'll figure something out. You couldn't have known this would happen." Cassie thought about her happy mood this morning and it was just a distant memory. Today was turning into a disaster.