Chapter 41
After Hogsmeade

Cassie felt like she was floating as the group walked along the road that led back to the castle. The cold air didn't phase her because she felt warm all the way through. She kept replaying her time with George over and over again in her head. Ginny had given her a secretive smile as they had started back to the castle. "Don't worry. You'll see him again very soon, I imagine, even if he has to floo over to Hogsmeade and walk to the castle three times this week. I've never seen him like that before." Cassie had blushed but was thrilled at Ginny's comments.

They turned the last corner before they could actually see the castle and Cassie suddenly felt her stomach drop through her toes. She stopped and stared in horrified agony at the remains of the castle. "Oh, no! Oh, NO! What happened? Oh, my God! Where is everyone? Are they all dead?" She looked frantically at Harry's face, trusting he would know what to do in the crisis. But instead of finding the calm resolution she was used to seeing in such situations, she saw a very confused and worried expression.

"Are you all right, Pia?"

"No! I'm not all right! Are you insane? Look!" But no one looked. They were all just staring at her.

"Pia . . ." Hermione was speaking very slowly, like she thought Cassie had lost all touch with reality and didn't want to upset her. "What's wrong?"

"The castle! It's been destroyed! Look at it!" Suddenly, much to her horror, they all laughed and she wondered if they were all Death Eaters just polyjuiced to look like her friends. Certainly the real Harry and Hermione wouldn't be laughing at this destruction and death that was in front of them.

"I think the Muggle-repellant charms on the place are working, Pia. That's all. The castle is still there. Don't worry about it."

"What?"

"They haven't been working on you before, I guess. I kind of wondered why not." Harry was still looking amused at Cassie's horrified expression.

Hermione apparently had thought of this before. "I figured it was because she was inside the spell. But I didn't think about her going outside it today when we went to Hogsmeade. Otherwise, we could have warned her or something." Cassie remembered vaguely Harry talking about these charms the first time she had come to the castle.

"But, . . . but how can I get in? I can't see the castle anymore." She actually did believe what they said, although she wasn't sure if it would do her any good. Maybe now that she had left, she would never be able to get in again.

"Look. Sometimes the biggest part of magic is just believing. I think if you get close to it and believe that it's there, you'll see it again." Cassie considered this for a moment.

"Okay. That doesn't sound too hard." But as she started down the winding path from the gate toward the castle itself, her feet slowed until she once again came to dead standstill in the middle of the road. "I've got to go home. Something's wrong."

Harry's expression clouded over again, but Hermione took Cassie firmly by the arm. "It's just the charm, Pia. Come on." She walked a few more steps, telling herself to walk forward toward the castle that she knew was actually there. But then she again had the horrible feeling that she needed to leave.

"No, I've really got to go. My dog died, I think."

"You don't have a dog, Pia. Remember, you're allergic." Harry looked very frustrated, like he didn't quite know what to do about her. He managed to coax her a few steps closer, but they were still at least 200 feet from the castle. Cassie planted her feet again. She didn't care what they said. She shouldn't be here. She needed to leave. Now.

"There may be ghosts there. I can't go in there. It's dangerous." Her voice was low but intense and she actually managed to turn around on the road. But, then, she felt Ron's hand on her arm, restraining her. She tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but he was relentless.

In a very loud voice, he stated, "I'm sorry that your ankle hurts so bad, Pia. We shouldn't have let you walk this far. Madam Pomfrey will want to see if it's sprained." And then, he just simply picked her up, cradling her in his arms like she was a baby. Cassie tried to get down. Obviously, Ron had lost his marbles. Her ankle didn't hurt. She needed to get away from here.

Hermione pulled her wand out and Cassie wanted to hit it away. "Don't point that thing at me." But before she could even finish the sentence, she suddenly felt much calmer. Actually, Ron was plenty strong to carry her and she didn't care where he was taking her. She would be safe there, she was sure. Cassie relaxed in Ron's arms, snuggling against the warmth of his chest. She heard the others talking, but she didn't really register what they were saying. She heard Ron's heartbeat steady under her ear and she had the strange thought that she hoped Hermione wasn't jealous.

She didn't remember much about the rest of the trip to the castle and it had the sort of unrealistic feeling of a dream when she tried to remember it later. Cassie remembered hearing Ron mention that even though she was pretty lightweight, it was going to be hard to carry her up all those flights of stairs to Gryffindor Tower. She heard Harry say he would carry her part of the way and then Hermione say something about helping them out. She felt the touch of a wand and then a strange feeling of floating came over her. She grabbed onto Ron tighter because she was sure that if he let her go she would float up and not stop until she hit the ceiling. She heard soft laughter under her ear and she closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the floor as it receded below her. The next thing she was really conscious of was being laid on her bed by Ginny and Hermione and having them take off her shoes.

"Is she asleep or what, exactly?" Ginny asked Hermione as they tucked a blanket over her. Cassie listened with a strange sense of detachment. She was almost curious herself.

"No, she's not asleep. Just really, really relaxed. I've already removed the spell, it will just take a while to wear off. Should we wrap her ankle? There were lots of people who asked what was wrong with her." That was interesting. Cassie did not remember one single thing about that.

"I don't think so. I've never seen Pomfrey wrap anyone before. If anyone asks, which I doubt, we'll just say that Pia wanted to rest it and see if it felt better and it did."

"Okay. That works for me. I'm going to go up to my room to put these things away and then I'll be back before dinner. Keep an eye on her. I don't think there will be any problem, but I don't want to leave her alone."

"Sure. I'll read or something." Cassie lay there for a long time, unsure of what to do. She felt like with a great effort she could get up but she wasn't sure she wanted to. And she wasn't sure she could really face Ginny, or Hermione for that matter. And the idea of going downstairs and actually facing Harry or Ron was even worse. It was much easier to lay here and not have to say or do anything. What had happened at the gates of Hogwarts had been a very unpleasant experience for her. She wrestled for quite a long time with feelings of embarrassment, frustration and disappointment. She had almost convinced herself that she really could fit in and belong in this world. True, she couldn't do magic, but otherwise, she was just like all of them, right? However, the harsh reality had come crashing painfully in with the way she had acted. She couldn't believe she had actually been taken in by the castle-in-ruins anti-Muggle defense. How stupid. She didn't belong here at all. Obviously. They all knew it. She had been the only one who was insane enough to not accept reality. Well, maybe George was functioning under the same delusion. Or maybe not. Maybe he was just pretending to avoid hurting her feelings.

She laid there for about 10 minutes listening to Ginny's quiet movements from the next bed, examining each and every word George had said to her that day, trying to (despite her secret hoping that she couldn't) find the point in the conversation where he had been lying to her. She finally decided that she wasn't getting anywhere and thought it was probably time to sit up and face the music. After all, she couldn't lay here the rest of the week, no matter how tempting that idea sounded at the moment. She stole a glance over toward Ginny's bed. Ginny sensed the movement and was up and over by her bed in about five seconds. "How are you feeling?"

Cassie sat up and looked at Ginny sheepishly. "Like an idiot." Ginny scowled and was about to respond when the door opened. Elspeth walked in, a big grin on her face. Ginny and Cassie both smiled back at her. It was good to see her so happy.

"Hi." Elspeth said cheerily. "Are you feeling better, Pia? We saw you were having trouble and heard you hurt your ankle."

Cassie blushed and tried to smile reassuringly at Elspeth. "Uh, yeah, it's much better now. I'm not really sure what happened; I must have twisted it or something. There's no reason to really ask how are you doing. We saw you and Collin at the Hungry House Elf. You two looked great together. And I don't think you'd need a broom to fly at the moment."

Elspeth blushed and got an even larger grin. "You're right. I feel like I am floating. And I didn't eat any of the fizzing whizbees or anything." She sat down on her bed and picked up her pillow. "The whole afternoon was wonderful, just absolutely wonderful." Both girls looked at her expectantly, but she didn't elaborate.

"Well," Ginny coaxed with a smile on her face, "Did he kiss you?"

"Yes!" she beamed.

"Well, come on, Elspeth. Tell us about it. Where did he kiss you? How was it?"

"Oh, it was great. He kissed me outside of the restaurant and it was more of a pretty quick peck, but still really nice. Then, he kissed me after we left Honeyduke's; that was a little longer and a lot nicer. And, each time we stopped on the walk from Hogsmeade, the kisses got better and better. By the time we stopped and sat on that bench right inside the gate, well," her eyes were gleaming with excitement, "it was really wonderful. We sat there for quite awhile and just kissed and kissed."

Ginny giggled and Cassie joined in. "Whoa! That's a lot of kissing for one day -- your first real official date."

Elspeth looked a little chagrined. "I know. I told him that, too."

"And what did he say?"

"He just said that we had known each other for six years of school and that that meant more than just going out on dates."

Ginny was grinning almost as widely as Elspeth. "I can't believe you two kissed that much! Next thing you're going to tell me is you're headed up to the Astronomy Tower!"

Elspeth gave an embarrassed grin. "Well, Colin is going to try to make an appointment for us for Wednesday afternoon."

Cassie's eyes widened in surprise. Ginny laughed. "Elspeth McCrae, I can't believe you're really going to go up to the Astronomy Tower!"

Elspeth's face turned a bright shade of red. "We're just going to kiss. We're not going to do anything else. Besides, where else could we go for some privacy? We're not about to snog down in the commons room like some couples do." She looked at Ginny slyly. "Where do you and Harry go to be together? You know, kiss and stuff."

Ginny blushed. "I'm not going to tell you where we go. That's why we go there, because no one else knows about it." Cassie laughed at the expression on Ginny's face which was a combination of embarrassment at having to admit they actually did kiss and indignation that someone would actually expect her to give away the secret of where they did it. Elspeth and Ginny looked at her and Ginny's eyes sparkled with mischief. Cassie supposed that she would get hers when they were alone again.

"Colin is so, so wonderful." She brushed her hair quickly, touched up her make-up, and then turned to leave. "Well, I'm going down to meet him. We're going down to dinner."

"But Elspeth, dinner isn't being served for at least another forty-five minutes." Ginny glanced at her watch.

"Yeah. I know." Elspeth grinned breathlessly as she headed down the stairs.

Cassie and Ginny looked at each other with surprised expressions after Elspeth had left. Cassie grinned. "I think we created a monster."

"Yeah," Ginny laughed. "And she used to be so shy. I guess my little girl is growing up." She wiped a fake tear from her eye and Cassie laughed again. "Speaking of kissing, how it was with you and George? And I want details. Juicy details. Just remember he is my brother, so nothing that will make me want to poke my eyes out with my wand or anything, please."

Before Cassie could say anything in response, the room door again opened and admitted Hermione. She looked with some concern at Cassie. "Hi."

"Hi." Cassie tried not to let the blush she could feel just under her skin escape.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm embarrassed." She may as well be honest, she supposed.

"Embarrassed? What are you embarrassed about?"

"Making a fool of myself, maybe? That's obvious, isn't it?"

"You didn't make a fool of yourself."

"Hah. I didn't see either of you being carried up the walkway to the castle, pretending you sprained your ankle."

Hermione looked a little uncomfortable at that comment. "But . . . you were just doing what you were supposed to do. The spells are powerful. They have to be or someone would find the castle."

"But I knew it was here. You told me it was . . . and I wasn't strong enough to fight through the stupid spells." Cassie bit her lip and turned her head into her pillow. She had been over this already in her head several times over the last few minutes, and it wasn't getting any better.

"That was our fault. Because we didn't warn you." Ginny sat down on her own bed and looked seriously at her two friends. "If we had told you in advance, you would have been okay. I'm sure of it. You would still have been nervous, but you could have told yourself that it was all just a charm. But by the time we even thought to tell you, you were already under them and you really had no chance. So, if anyone should be embarrassed, it's us." For the first time, Cassie felt a little less like an idiot.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Personally, I think you did great."

"Me, too," Hermione chimed in. "You didn't run screaming or anything." Cassie looked at the two of them, carefully studying their faces to see if they were just patronizing her. They weren't.

"Okay. Thanks. I appreciate it." All three of them sat there in silence for a minute. Finally, Hermione spoke up.

"So . . . what's with you and George? I thought you two hardly knew each other."

"Um . . . me and George?"

Hermione nodded, completely serious. "I'm sure you remember him. The tall redheaded boy you couldn't take your eyes off of today." Cassie flushed.

"Nothing's going on. I don't know what you mean." Hermione just looked at her. Ginny didn't say a word. Cassie felt like Snape was staring her down and all her secrets were being exposed. "Well, he is handsome. And I think he's got a great sense of humor." After another moment of silence, she finally confessed. "And I think he's wonderful. But I don't think he feels the same way about me."

"He likes her." Ginny finally spoke and Hermione swiveled her head around to stare at her.

"So you knew about this?"

"Of course. He likes her, a lot. I've never seen him like this before." Cassie flushed and she wasn't sure if it was due to embarrassment or pleasure.

"He may not like me that much."

"I've read his letters. He likes you."

"Letters?! He's written you letters? Here, at school, I mean?"

"One or two."

"Or three or four."

"Shut it, Ginny." But Cassie wasn't laughing. She really wished she had a wand that worked and she could send a silencing spell in her roommate's direction. "She's exaggerating."

"I am, huh? Let's see. There was the letter . . ."

"But you've only been here a week! He's sent you four letters in a week?" Hermione was absolutely incredulous.

"He's just . . . he didn't know . . . all the facts, so to speak. I think that may change."

"He knows all the facts now and he's more in love with her than ever."

"He is not in love with me!"

"Hmmm." Hermione was studying her carefully again.

"Look, Hermione. I know this can't go anywhere, all right? I don't intend for it to go anywhere. I may never see him again." But even as her brain thought those words and forced them out past her lips, her heart was screaming in protest that it couldn't be true. She met Hermione's gaze squarely now. "Please, please don't tell Harry or Ron. I don't want them to know."

"I'm pretty sure that Ron didn't notice anything today, but I'm almost positive Harry did."

"Oh, no! How? I thought we were subtle."

"Subtle!!!" Both girls said it together and then Hermione nodded again. "Yeah, you were subtle all right. Like a freight train." Cassie blushed bright pink. She had thought they were being pretty careful not to be seen overtly touching. But she supposed that the glances aimed at her and the way they were never more than a few inches apart probably began to be fairly obvious after a while. "But, I won't mention it to either Harry or Ron. I don't understand why not, though."

"Okay. Well, George and Harry are friends. And I'm afraid that if Harry knew about me and George, it might change something between them. And I'm only temporary. I don't want to cause problems."

"I can understand that, I guess." She looked at Cassie with a questioning expression. "But you probably can't hide it forever."

"There's no reason for them ever to see the two of us together again as far as I know." She really tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but she didn't think she did a very good job.

"Uh. Okay. Well, um, why don't you get up and get ready for dinner? I have a surprise for you that I think you'll like. I think it will cheer you up."

Cassie grimaced and swung her legs off the side of the bed, noting with some surprise that her shoes were across the room. She had expected them to be on the floor by her bed. Without even really thinking about it, she picked up her wand off the side table. She didn't want to get up and step on the cold floor to get them. "Accio shoes!" she said, pointing her wand at them. Both Ginny and Hermione stared at her and she looked down at her wand hand. "What am I doing? I've been around you people too long!" And all three of them laughed as Hermione went over and tossed the shoes onto Cassie's lap.

"Accio that, Pia!" As they headed down the stairs a few minutes later, Cassie was begging to know what the surprise was that Hermione had teased her with. "No. I'm not telling you. Stop asking. You'll find out in just a few minutes." Ron and Harry were waiting down in the common room and even though Cassie was a little embarrassed to face them, neither of them even looked at her strangely. They just told her they were happy she was feeling better.

All five of them started walking through the school in a direction that Cassie was pretty sure she had never gone before. It was quiet in the halls and Cassie looked around with interest at the paintings they were passing. She never tired of looking at the different paintings through the castle, even when she had passed them several times. Because, of course, all of them changed all the time, so it was like new paintings every time she walked by. Finally, they arrived at their destination. She had no idea where they were in the castle but everyone else was looking at her expectantly. "What? Why are we here?"

"You honestly don't see anything unusual in this hall?" Hermione asked while Ginny muffled a giggle behind her hand. Cassie looked around at the walls and then up at the ceiling. As far as she could tell, it was just a hall - identical to all the others in the school. But then she looked at the floor, and her eyes widened.

"Is this . . . the infamous swamp?" She walked toward the wall, toward a rather strange looking section of floor against the wall. It looked to her like someone had spilled a bucket of mud that had not gotten cleaned up yet.

"Well. It's part of it. Originally it filled the whole corridor and Filch had to punt students across it for classes. It was so funny!" Ginny laughed. "Anyway, Flitwick was so impressed with their work that he left this little reminder. And . . . well, you can see that no one will ever be allowed to forget why it's here." Cassie squatted down. There was a large plaque on a post next to the swamp and she was curious to know what it said. As she read the 2 foot square sign, she kept glancing at the unassuming patch of muddy water, amazed.

The plaque's text read:

"This sign was erected on the one-year anniversary of the creation of this swamp, on April 27, 1997. Fred Weasley and George Weasley, both of Gryffindor House, created a large swamp here in this corridor as an act of sedition and rebellion against the oppressive control of the usurper 'Headmistress' Dolores Jane Umbridge, who had declared war on the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Immediately after its creation, the two wizards were threatened with detention, violence, and probable torture by Argus Filch, who worked in conjunction with 'Headmistress' Umbridge to control the students. However, the brave warriors, sensing that a return to schooling would not be possible under her illegal dictatorship, and feeling the need to make a definitive statement about their disgust toward the puppet regime left school in a bold maneuver that will be remembered in perpetuity by grateful Hogwarts students and their posterity. To commemorate this event, one of the first in the second war against Lord Voldemort, this plaque was created and donated by members of the D.A., who honor their bravery and skill."

Cassie read the sign twice and then stood up. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. She looked at the other four and all of them were smiling broadly. "Um. It's a bit over the top, I think."

"Definitely." Harry grinned.

"I can assume that neither of them have ever actually seen this sign?"

"If they had, it would probably not still be there. They would be embarrassed to think that such a fuss had been made."

"I guess I won't mention it to them. But, I think I'll come up here and write down what it says. Just to remember." Everyone nodded. "I have no idea where I am, though, so maybe one of you girls can bring me back here tomorrow?"

"Sure. I'll be happy to. Maybe after lunch tomorrow? Before we hit the books?" Cassie nodded happily at Ginny. "Great. That's settled, then. I'm ready for dinner."

"Yeah. Me, too. I'm starving." Everyone looked with amazement at Ron. "What?"

Dinner was a pleasant affair, although Cassie was really not hungry at all. The entire student body seemed to be in a relaxed and cheerful mood; undoubtedly the chance to be away from school at Hogsmeade coupled with the upcoming Christmas holidays had put a smile on everyone's face. She nibbled at a roll and ate a small salad so that she wouldn't die of starvation before Sunday's late breakfast. Neville had wound up sitting next to her on one side while Ginny and then Harry occupied the bench on her other side. Ron and Hermione had originally sat down across from them, but had been coerced into moving to another area of the bench completely by Seamus and Dean and there was a lot of loud laughing and joking from their new location. Colin and Elspeth were completely wrapped up in each other and Cassie doubted that either of them would have looked around if the entire castle fell down around their ears. Cassie visited most of the time with Neville. And she didn't even complain when most of his conversation seemed to focus on Herbology. She just nodded a lot and mumbled a vague response or two when it seemed necessary. Finally, though, everyone was done eating and their was a general consensus amongst the four of them that they were finished with the meal. They all stood.

"Would you mind, er, if I, er, walked with you up to the tower, Pia? You're interesting to talk to."

"No. That would be lovely, Neville. I would appreciate your company. Sometimes I feel like a third wheel with those two, or a fifth wheel if Ron and Hermione are with us."

"I understand what you mean." They walked slowly out of the Great Hall, feeling no need to hurry up to Gryffindor Tower. Cassie was positive that she would fall asleep early tonight, and truthfully, her feet were killing her and she was looking forward to kicking off her shoes and relaxing with her feet held up to the fire on an ottoman. Neville heard his name called by the Ravenclaw girl that Cassie still could not quite understand. The Ravenclaw house, from what she understood, was supposed to consist of the extremely bright students. She wondered if this girl had somehow slipped in undetected like a spy plane under radar. She didn't seem to be quite connected to reality. Neville smiled in apology. "I'll just be a minute. Luna likes to keep tabs on me. Would you mind waiting?"

"Not at all. I'll just wait in the entrance hall, though, okay?" Neville nodded and stepped over to the slight blonde girl. She would have gone over with him but two things stopped her. First, she got the impression that Luna liked Neville and she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Second, her rather prominent eyes looked right through Cassie's soul and she sometimes wondered if the girl knew her secret. She didn't know how or why, but she seemed to know a lot more about things than most people gave her credit for. Not that this changed her opinion about her suitability for Ravenclaw. She stepped into the entrance hall which was filled with chattering students who didn't want the day to end. She smiled and nodded at people she recognized and looked around at the beautiful Christmas decorations, perfectly content to wait for Neville.

Cassie felt a hand on her arm after a few minutes and turned, assuming that Neville had caught up with her. But instead of his pleasant round face she saw the narrow pale visage of a boy she had last seen face down in a mud puddle. She would have smiled over that remembered image, but she was too nervous. "Does the mudblood know you're snogging her boyfriend?" His voice was low, for her ears only.

"What?" Cassie was genuinely confused. She had no idea what he was talking about and tried to pull her arm away from him.

"I'll repeat myself. Does the mudblood know you are snogging her boyfriend? Because I would be happy to inform her. It would be one of the more pleasant conversations I've had with her."

Cassie felt like shaking her head to clear the cobwebs. The mudblood was Hermione, certainly, . . . but Ron's carrying her up the stairs into the castle could hardly be construed as snogging. And why was he even mentioning Ron instead of giving her a difficult time about George. Suddenly, Cassie understood. Draco thought it had been Ron with her this afternoon behind Honeyduke's. Her puzzled expression cleared. "Ah. I thought you would not want that spread about. Imagine the difficulties it would cause in Gryffindor . . . it almost makes me want to tell her just to see what she does." Cassie pulled on her arm again trying to get away from him.

"You're disgusting. And you don't know what you're talking about." She kept her voice as quiet as his, praying that Ginny and Harry would notice who had accosted her and come to her rescue.

"I got a good look at the two of you before he sent that mess down on my head. And you definitely were not discussing Quidditch scores. You were snogging with him! But I'd be willing to keep it quiet if you're willing to do something for me. I think you'd enjoy it."

Cassie frowned. The git was still trying to proposition her. "Go away. I do not want to talk to you." His hand tightened on her arm and she realized that she was not going to be getting away until he let her go. His wiry frame was stronger than it looked. "Let go of me, Draco. You're hurting me."

He just smirked. "I'll let you go when I'm ready. Stop fighting me. I want to talk to you." Cassie tried to glance around to see someone, anyone, who would help her. There were people walking all around, several of them looking at them curiously, but none of them who knew the true story behind the rumours that she and Draco were a couple.

"There's nothing to talk about. I didn't do anything this afternoon that I'm ashamed of. It wasn't me sneaking and spying on other people."

Draco smirked. His voice was louder this time when he spoke. "So, it doesn't bother you that you are cavorting with someone who already has a girlfriend? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. If that's the case, maybe you should go after Potter. According to the stupid girls in Gryffindor house, he's a better catch by far than the stupid Weasel." Despite all her efforts to let that just bounce off her, Cassie could feel the heat rising in her face. He, of course, noticed. "Ah. You've thought about chasing Potter. Maybe you've even caught him." Draco looked her up and down. "Maybe you're keeping both of them on a leash. That would be interesting." Cassie could feel her stomach start to clench in panic. "Maybe you've got all the Gryffindor boys on a leash. It wouldn't surprise me. You can practically hear them panting over you even from the Slytherin table. They probably don't mind sharing."

"Get away from her, Malfoy! Pia isn't like that at all. You don't know her, obviously. She's a very nice girl." Neville was standing next to her and Cassie closed her eyes in gratitude. Even if Neville couldn't get her out of this mess, he would at least get Harry or a professor or someone, anyone.

"Oh, shut it, Longbottom. Everyone knows you are panting after her as much if not more than anyone else in this school. And as far as her being nice. . . . well, that's what I think. She's being very nice to everyone. Very nice. She could be nice to me and I wouldn't complain." His voice now was raised and many of the students had turned to observe the tableau and Cassie's face flamed as she heard muted giggles and murmurs in the gathering crowd. Neville turned deep red and gripped his wand but Cassie shook her head at him trying to indicate that he shouldn't try to take Malfoy on alone.

"So, how about it, Spencer? You could be nice to me. And I'd be very nice back. I've never had any complaints." More giggles. Then out of the corner of her eye, Cassie saw the bright red of Ginny's hair pushing through the crowd. Relief flooded through her. Her rescue couldn't be too far in the future.

"Let her go, Malfoy! She doesn't want anything to do with you!" Cassie saw that Ginny had her wand out and she suddenly remembered that she should be threatening Malfoy with that hex. Maybe that would convince him to let her go at least. Her arm was asleep from the elbow down from lack of blood circulation and she hoped that she could at least hold the wand as she did her acting part.

"I wouldn't say that, Weasel. She is apparently being very . . . accommodating to every boy in this school! Have you asked Potter how close he has gotten to your little cousin? And what about your brother?" He was practically yelling now and Cassie could see students coming out of the Great Hall to see what was going on in the entrance hall. Wonderful. Let everyone witness this embarrassing scene. Why not? Cassie couldn't see Ginny's face, but she could imagine it because Draco laughed and it wasn't a friendly laugh. "I've hit a nerve, have I? Potter and Weasel, both of them. Ha! Guess that leaves the mudblood completely out of the picture. Well, if she asks nicely, I could maybe help her out. . . If I can bring myself to do so."

Cassie struggled to reach for her wand. It was difficult but somehow in the twisting and maneuvering, she got her arm free from Draco's grip. It might also have been because he reached for his own wand. She didn't know, all she knew was that suddenly she was standing alone. She instinctively reached for her real wand and then hesitated. She needed the fake one, George's wand. So, instead of reaching into her sleeve where her unicorn-core wand was stored, she reached into the neck of her robes to pull out the doctored one. Draco laughed again and in the complete utter stillness of the entrance hall, his voice rang out, echoing off the stone. "Oh, don't undress here, my dear. Unlike your cousin, I'd prefer to enjoy you privately. I know just the place. We can be alone, and you can demonstrate whether Longbottom here was right about you being a very . . . nice . . . girl." She took one step forward and the crack of her open hand connecting with his cheek echoed through the stillness. She gripped George's wand tighter and ran like the hounds of hell were chasing her up the steps to Gryffindor tower.