Chapter 20 Living Normally… Or as Normally as Possible

A week had passed since my confession to Ginny. Over the course of the week, I had told Harry, Hermione and Ron about my 'lesson' with Trelawney. Harry and Ron were both shocked to hear about my confession, but Hermione was more distressed than anything.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked me one morning.

"Hermione. I am positive about that as I am positive that someone is going to keep making the Metamorphas Magigas potion and slipping it into my morning pumpkin juice."

My metamorphmagus abilities had slowly come back, and the first thing I did was cover up my black scar again and change my hair to its usual bright pink color. Everyone else in the school was disappointed about the potion wearing off, but I heard a Ravenclaw girl say she was going to make more for herself.

"I just -"

"I want to stop talking about it. It was an accident. And I don't want to think about it more than I have to." I said shortly.

I wasn't sleeping and she knew about it. I had circles under my eyes and I had just managed to change them back to look normal.

"Princess." George happily sat himself next to me and started to twirl my pink hair between his fingers.

"Prince." I turned to him with a smile on my face.

"What are you doing tonight?" He asked as Fred sat down next to him for breakfast.

"Probably studying." I answered.

I felt Hermione beaming next to me. George raised an eyebrow at me.

"Unless you got a better idea?"

Harry and Ron both snorted, I turned to see Hermione's face make up a frown. Looking back at George's face, he was grinning.

"I do have a better idea. You got dark clothes?" George asked.

"Are you really asking about my clothes?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

I felt my cheeks flare up, and George's ears turned red.

"I -"

"I'm kidding," I interrupted him. "I have dark clothes."

"Okay. After dinner, say ten o'clock?" George asked.

"Sure!" I grinned.

When he and Fred started to eat, I turned to Hermione.

"That gives me time to study what I can focus on." I muttered to her.

I didn't want to skim through my time at Hogwarts, but I didn't want to submerge myself into my studies and not have any time for my friends.

"We better get going. We have Transfiguration." Harry stood up.

I nodded and went to give George a kiss on the cheek.

"Have fun in class." He said, his voice muffled from his food.

"You too." I said as we walked.

I fell asleep in Transfiguration. I don't know how. But I did. I woke up when Hermione prodded me in the ribs and showed me her notes that she had just taken.

"Thank you." I mouthed to her.

She nodded as she sniffed.

Throughout the day, my friends would keep me awake as best as they could. Except for when we were in History of Magic. That was the only class they left me sleep the entire period in. And I was grateful for it.

"Hey Cas." Hermione laced her arm through mine.

"Hey Hermione." I answered.

"You should talk to George about the things you tell us." She said, casually.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because he is your boyfriend, isn't he? So even though you have me and Harry to talk to, he wants you to talk to him." Hermione explained quietly as we walked.

"How do you know?" I asked, looking back at George.

"Trust me on this." Was all she said.

I went through the rest of the day chewing my lip and fighting to stay awake. Dinner couldn't come fast enough when Hermione and I were sitting in a corner of the common room.

Hermione had all of her subjects separated by the day and what time they were. We both started to study the subjects we had together, and I was going to try and keep up with the subjects Hermione had that I wasn't taking. I didn't want her to feel like she was going to be swamped with homework.

"Cassie." George had come out of nowhere.

"Woah!" I jumped.

"Sorry!" George laughed.

"It's okay. Are we going now? I thought we were going after dinner?" I asked, looking up at him in confusion.

"Yeah, I've got a basket where I'm taking you." George held a hand out for me.

"Okay, let me go change." I said.

"Actually, we're not going to be sneaking around. But we do have to have you back in the castle before curfew." George pulled my chair out and held my hand as I stood up.

"I'll put your stuff away." Hermione said with a smile.

"Thank you 'Mione." I patted her shoulder as George lead me out of the room.

"So you're going to have me back before curfew?" I tried to tease him.

"Yes." George didn't even smirk or wink at me.

"What? Why?"

"Black is out there, and he may be after you. He got past the dementors once, I wouldn't put it past him to make it past them again." George squeezed my hand as he guided me through the different secret passageways.

"I don't think -"

"I'm not willing to risk your safety." George interrupted me again.

I stopped in my tracks. George didn't realize I had stopped until he pulled me a step forward.

"Are yo -?"

I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his neck. I may have been forceful when I pressed my lips against his. It took him a second to respond. He wrapped his arms around my waist to give me the support to stay as high as I am. And he twisted his head so that we had better access to each other's lips.

I felt him push my back against a wall and he moved one hand to cup the back of my neck. I'm not sure how long we stood there just kissing but he finally pulled away.

"What was that for?" George asked as he put me down gently.

"I thought it was sweet that you are protective of me." I said.

George grinned.

"And to get you to stop interrupting me." I gave his butt a tap and started to walk down the passage.

"I'm sorry about that." He did sound sheepish as he took wide steps to reach me.

"It's okay." I grinned up at him and interlaced my fingers with his again.

We made it out of the passageways and out through the Entrance Hall.

"I've got a question for you." George started to swing our hands as he led me out onto the grounds.

"What is it?" I asked, enjoying the light breeze.

"What made you decide to start touching my butt?" George asked.

I took a moment to think about it as George led me to the Black Lake.

"I guess it was because when I was over your shoulder, and I was at eye level of your… butt and I couldn't resist. If it bothers you I can stop." I answered.

"No it doesn't bother me at all!" George stopped and pulled me around so that my back was against him and we were watching the sun set.

"Okay." I was smiling as we stood there.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close. I placed my hands in the crook of his elbows and leaned my head against his chest.

We watched the sun set over the Black Lake. I watched as the colors of the sky changed from their blue to purple. I didn't realize I had subconsciously started to change my hair to match the colors until George showed me.

"I love that you have this ability." George nuzzled my head.

"Thank you." I smiled as the sky turned from purple to orange.

"Over here." George let me go and lead me around the Lake.

There was a blanket with a basket and two settings.

"A picnic dinner? You spoil me." I was touched.

"You deserve it." George lead me to a spot on the blanket and made sure I was comfortable before sitting down across from me.

"How do you come up with these?" I asked as he started to pull out our dinner.

"Come up with what?"

"These dinner dates." I waited until he had food on his plate before I started to eat.

"I'll be honest, mom likes to talk about her and dad's old days back in school. And she would mention how dad would take her out on these dates." George answered.

"And she doesn't know you've been taking her ideas, does she?" I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

He grinned at me with a wink, "nope!"

I laughed as we enjoyed our dinner and each other's company.

After he had cleaned up our dinner stuff he pulled me close and we watched the stars start to appear.

"Can I talk, and you'll just listen?" I asked.

George shifted so that he was laying more comfortably, "sure. What's going on, Princess?"

I took a deep breath and started talking. I told him about Gertrude and what she used to do. I told him about the day I was sent to the hospital, and I told him about what I had just found out about that day from my time with Trelawney.

"And I - I think I killed her, George." I finally finished.

George took a moment to process everything and we sat there.

"If you did, I'm sure it was an accident." George said.

"Even if it was, I still - I still have to live with that." I had sat up at some point.

George checked his watch again. We had been sitting outside for the better part of two hours. And I would need to be inside in another hour or I will be breaking curfew.

He sat up and pulled me close to him again. I heard a faint growling in the distance and looked around for it.

"I don't know how to help you with that feeling. But I do know that I am here to try to help you. And be what you need me to be." George drew my attention back and pulled me close to him.

"I just don't know what to do." I sighed.

Even though I have talked to Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny about my problems. I did feel better about talking to George about it.

"That's okay. Fred and I don't know what to do after we get out of here. And I know that's not a fair comparison, but it's the best I've got." George said sheepishly.

"I understand." I chuckled.

George checked his watch again.

"Let's get you inside." George stood up and held a hand for me.

"Thank you." I smiled as he helped me stand up.

"Of course, darling. Is there anything else you want to talk about? Just because we're going back into the school, doesn't mean we have to go back to the common room just yet." George waved his wand and said a said a spell and I watched everything folded neatly away into the basket.

"Actually… I want to hear more about you and your family. If that's all right?" I asked as we started walking back to the castle.

There was a rustling behind us. I turned around and George started looking around.

"What do you see?" George asked as we looked through the darkness.

"Nothing." I said, scanning through the darkness.

"Me too. Let's go." George started to walk back to the castle with a quicker stride.

"I've got little legs!" I giggled as I tried to keep up.

"Right, sorry." George slowed down a bit for me.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not in danger." I tried to reassure him.

"You may not be right now, but -"

"But you're not willing to risk it. I know." I squeezed his hand as we made it into the castle.

He squeezed my hand back and lead me through different passageways again.

"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"Somewhere private. You do want to hear about my family still, don't you?" George asked.

"Of course I do!" I smiled up at him.

"Then we're going somewhere else, and I'll be telling you tales of the Weasley family!" George waved his hand dramatically.

We had made it back up the Astrology tower and sat down on the floor looking at the stars. George told me about all of his adventures with his family. I still haven't met Charlie, or Bill, but at the end of the night it felt like I had known them all their lives.

I was yawning and rubbing my eyes when George stood up and lifted me off the ground.

"Let's go to bed. I didn't realize how late it was." George said.

"I'm no -" I yawned, " -t tired."

"You aren't?" George raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe just a little." I pinched my fingers together as we walked down the stairs.

He held my hand as we walked down the stairs, but when we reached the bottom, George threw his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple.

"I enjoy spending time with you, honey." I wrapped my arm behind George's back.

"I enjoy spending time you, too." George nuzzled my head.

We walked in silence most of the way back. George had taken a turn into a passageway and pulled out the map to double check our route. I stretched my arms over my head and let out another yawn.

Suddenly there was a hand on my stomach. I opened my eyes and George was looming over me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my heart racing.

"Do you trust me?" His voice was low and it caused my heart to leap in my chest.

"Yes." I answered.

He took one look at me and nodded. He closed his eyes and I closed mine as well. There was just a moment and George had pushed me against the cold stone. His lips were on mine and his hand was warm on my stomach. I gasped from the sensations I was getting.

George paused and I felt something wet on my lips. I hesitantly opened my mouth and gasped again. His tongue had slid into my mouth and started to rub against my own. I slid my own against his and he pushed me up higher on the wall.

I made a noise and George paused. This time he pulled away.

"Are you okay? Am I going too fast?" He gently put me back down.

"I'm okay. You're doing fine." I put a hand on his cheek.

"Are you sure?" George asked, his brown eyes wide with worry.

"Yes. Do you feel like you're going to fast?" I asked, realizing he wasn't going to kiss me like that again soon.

"A little bit." He admitted.

"If you feel like you're going fast, then we'll go as slow as you want." I laced my fingers with his.

He squeezed my hand and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I'm not sure what came over me." George said once we started back to the Gryffindor Tower.

"I'm not upset about it." I tried to reassure him.

"I don't know why you aren't." George said.

I looked up at him and tried to come off as a comforting presence for him.

'Did I do something wrong?' I thought to myself when we reached the Fat Lady.

We walked into the common room and we turned to each other.

"Good night, princess." George gave me a hug and kissed my cheek.

"Good night, George." I said, and walked up the girls staircase.

I yawned as I entered my room.

"How was it?" Hermione asked.

I jumped a little, "oh!"

"Sorry!" Hermione giggled quietly.

"It's okay. It went well! We had dinner by the lake and I talked to him like you said." I started to change into my pajamas.

"Yeah?" Hermione made room on her bed for me.

"We then went up to the astrology tower and he told me about his family." I sat on the bed and it seemed to get bigger to make room for us.

"What happened next?" Hermione asked.

"Well… On our way back, he kissed me, and I think we were making out? But before we could really get into it, he stopped." I got under the covers with her and we laid down facing each other.

"What was it like?" Hermione asked, yawning as well.

"It was so nice." I sighed dreamily.

I told her about the feelings I had that when he touched my skin and I got goosebumps remembering it.

"Why did it stop so suddenly?" Hermione asked.

"I honestly don't know." I yawned.

Hermione started to mutter sleepily about the different reasons why he stopped so soon as we fell asleep.

George was changing out of his robes when Fred was sitting on his bed.

"What happened?"

Being twins they could tell when something was bothering them.

George looked around and muttered as quietly as he could as not to disturb the other boys in their dorm.

"Freddie…" George sat on the bed with Fred and told him everything he had learned about Cassie.

"I still like her, of course. But… Fred she killed someone. And I know it was an accident, but -"

Fred put his hand George's shoulders, "but she did something she had no control over. Come on, Georgie! I magicked Ron's teddy bear into a spider on accident! Over a stupid boomstick." Fred looked down and shook his head.

"And Cassie told you she was being tortured and she accidently killed the one torturing her. George, it was self defense. And that bothers you?" Fred stood up and shook his head again.

"She just found this out the other day, and it's obvious she told Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Hell, she told Ginny!"

"Ginny?" George looked up in confusion.

"Ginny told me about it while you guys were gone." Fred explained.

"And we don't care, George. Cassie, is still Princess. She's not going to go on a killing spree." Fred continued.

"But she is -" George stopped himself.

Fred stopped pacing and turned to glare at George.

"If you finish that, you will lose her. Just because -!" He took a breath. "She has always been Cassie Zwart. That's not going to change because of who her father is." Fred took a deeper breath and climbed into bed.

"She told you because she wants you to trust her. And because she wants you to see her as Cassie. Don't lose sight of her." Fred said, pulling George off his bed.

George stood looking over his brother and started to dislike the feeling in his chest. He laid down in his own bed and stayed up for most of the night, just thinking.

Uh - oh.

Shout out to MonkeyPower435 for following the story!

Shout out to katie owl, DoTheHarlemShake and Pamela Hutchins for leaving reviews!

katie owl: You'll find out! Don't worry haha!

DoTheHarlemShake: Oh I believe it! I did debate putting her in a psych ward for having a mental breakdown, but that didn't seem to fit very well in the storyline I'm taking.

Pamela Hutchins: We'll just have to see about it.

Shout out to alexjevans07 for adding all of the stories to their favorite list, and for following this story!

Shout out to Takara Rose Oizumi for following this story!