A/N A whole Glynn centered chapter, as we explore their deepening relationship...

Glynn and Cassiopeia were nearly inseparable, and when they did find themselves apart by circumstances, Cassiopeia spent most of the time thinking about him. Lost in such a daydream she was taken completely by surprise by a rogue spell was thrown her way.

It was neither a particularly serious nor powerful hex, a simple stinging jinx that caused more surprise than any harm. Unfortunately for the spell caster, taking Cassiopeia by surprise was a very dangerous thing indeed. Her wand was out in an instant with a considerably more potent jinx leaving her lips before she could even comprehend what had happened.

It was a reflex, to attack immediately, viciously, before asking questions. This attitude had helped her much in her earlier life, but it was also a reflex she had been working on trying to suppress, understanding that her response to surprising situations with violence was not prudent in most situations. But old habits die hard, and her surprise at the situation brought out the violence she tried so hard to control.

Within moments the spell caster, a fifth year Slytherin by the looks of it was blown into a nearby wall, his body stuck fast to the stone, completely immobilising him. His face was turned to the side and his eyes were wide open in shock and pain. She froze, her brain finally catching up with her reflexive reaction to being attacked, and examined her work. It was a combination of two simple spells that worked with surprising efficiency, a basic propelling hex with a sticking jinx. Her heart sank when she saw a thin tendril of blood leak down the stone behind the prone boy, her curse had been strong, fuelled no doubt by her shock, and she had thrown him with a little too much force, enough to cause a head wound.

Bollocks.

She was definitely going to get a load of detention for this for sure. Though she was thankful there were no witnesses to her lapse into violence. Her heart dropped even further as she began to imagine what Professor Snape would say to her when he found out she had bodily injured an upperclassmen. She would be lucky to avoid a meeting with the headmaster, a thought that chilled her. With a grim resignation to her fate, she raised her wand once more to undo the spell, trying to ignore the flinch on the stuck boys face as she moved. She had better get him to the hospital wing to get that injury looked at. She knew Madam Pomfrey could patch up nearly anything, and she wasn't worried about the boy's long-term health, despite the head wound. She was more worried about the impact on her short-term future.

"Cassiopeia?"

Her wand only made it a few millimetres before she was interrupted by an all too familiar voice. Her blood froze; it was in fact the voice that she had just been daydreaming about.

Merlin's hairy bollocks.

"Glynn, this isn't what it looks like." She turned to her- well she wasn't sure exactly what they were, if they even were anything after this. Her mind raced, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for the scene in front of him, but she was having some difficulty. It was pretty incriminating.

"I—" he had a strange look in his eyes, a glint of something, a certain intensity as he looked at her. He licked his lips, trying to phrase whatever it was that he obviously wanted to say.

"I saw him attack you, and merlin's beard Cass, did you defend yourself." He sounded impressed, a little astonishment colouring his words. His heavy gaze never left her eyes. Something about it made it her heartbeat rapidly, and she was suddenly having difficulty breathing. There was almost a heat emanating from him.

"I came as fast as I could, to take away points, and maybe intervene before he could get off another spell. But I can see my help wasn't needed." He finally tore his eyes away from her to examine the boy still pinned to the wall. With a quick wave of his wand the boy fell to the ground in a heap, clutching his head. The Slytherin boy paled when he saw blood on his fingers.

"Oliver, am I going to have to take away points or issue detentions and let everyone know you were beaten thoroughly by a third year, or are you going to patch yourself up and blame it on a quidditch injury?" Everything about Glynn changed as he assumed his prefect role, he stood taller, looking down on the boy, and his voice was strong and sure. Cassiopeia swallowed, power looked good on him.

"Bloody hell, you are crazy." The boy muttered, wincing as he gently cradled his head again. He glanced nervously at Glynn, "I uh, I cant afford anymore detentions, Professor Snape will suspend me from the team." He said sheepishly.

"Then apologize and be on your way. We can keep this between us." Glynn said, crossing his arms and glaring at the boy. Cassiopeia shifted nervously, marvelling the boy filled with such power, in awe of him. He sounded so self assured, and so confident.

With a hasty apology the older boy disappeared, and just as quickly as the attack had come, Cassiopeia found herself alone with Glynn, her mind still reeling from the fortuitous turn of events. She didn't have to deal with Snape nor detentions.

She glanced back at Glynn, whose heavy attention had returned to her and she swallowed nervously. At least she didn't have to worry about detentions so long as Glynn didn't feel like giving them to her, something that was not a forgone conclusion. She still wasn't certain what they were, and if they were even going to continue being friendly now that he saw what she could do

The corridor was empty and quiet. It was one that she found was less trafficked at the school, and she had been on her way to one of her quiet indoor reading spots when she had been ambushed. Glynn still wore his authority as a cloak, changing his whole persona from the dorky boy to someone powerful. His gaze was intense, and she found herself enraptured by it, both totally absorbed and powerless to look away. Her limbs felt weak, her heart fluttered, and her stomach flipped. Glynn remained silent, taking a few deliberate steps closer to her, she backed up, uncertain about his intentions, and found herself breathless at the sudden change in his attitude.

Her back hit the wall, and he stepped closer to her, his front almost touching hers. She gasped, feeling both warm and lacking in the appropriate oxygen needed to function, his eyes were dark and he stared down at her, eyeing her face intently.

Normally Cassiopeia shrunk away from close physical contact with people, but with Glynn it was somehow different. It still made her skin itch, feeling someone's presence so close to hers, but with him it also felt exhilarating. She felt powerless, breathless, and thrilled. He raised a hand, hovering just over her face, as if he wanted to touch her, before he decided against this course of action, instead resting his hand beside her head.

She was overwhelmed by his presence; his arms locked her in place, with one resting on the wall by her torso and the other resting by her face. He was quiet and seemingly enraptured by something. He was also breathing heavily, his chest betraying his heaving, still gazing at her. Finally, as if he couldn't take it anymore he gasped and surged forward towards her.

Cassiopeia's body was both frozen and very warm as Glynn closed the scant distance between them, his lips on hers, his hand finding her side and the other curling around her chin as he pulled her towards him, into the kiss, whilst also pushing her into the wall. He was everywhere, surrounding her, his presence overwhelming her. Her head swam, unable to process what had happened, her stomach flipped, and it wasn't long before she finally responded to the kiss.

Cassiopeia had never kissed anyone before, so she wasn't certain what exactly she should have expected. She had thought it would have been wet, uncomfortable, embarrassing, and perhaps a little overrated.

She never thought kissing could be so—profound. Her head swam, her hands going to his shoulders, as she closed her eyes and kissed the boy back, trying to mimic what he was doing. His lips moved against hers, controlling and confident. It caused a warm flush throughout her body, and when she gasped he used the opportunity to deepen kiss, pulling her bottom lip against his, nipping and teasing.

And just as soon as it had begun he was suddenly gone. He pulled himself away from her, his face bright red and breathing heavily, smoothing back his hair which had gotten slightly mussed during their activity. Cassiopeia panted against the wall, her eyes wide and mouth open, her brain trying to catch up to what had just happened.

"I am so sorry, please forgive me Cassiopeia," Glynn looked wretched, all the unfamiliar confidence and heat gone, replaced by his usual relaxed and mildly dorky persona.

"I shouldn't of—merlin, are you alright?" he gazed at her with concern; he looked like he wanted to physically comfort her but was also afraid of entering her personal space.

"I don't know what came over me. I just, bloody hell, you're just so perfect, and brilliant. And when I saw you defend yourself against that idiot, it was—just wicked. I've never seen anyone react so quickly so nonchalantly…you are just a natural. I—er I just was overwhelmed and so taken. I just—bloody hell, Ive wanted to do that for weeks, and…merlins beard, I had it all planned out, and I go and lose control" He cursed, now pulling at the hair he had just tried to fix.

Cassiopeia blinked as she numbly listened to his apologies. She was still having difficulty breathing and her eyes definitely felt like they were opened a little to wide to convey any type of realistic normal emotion. She was shocked, warm, and was repeating something he said over and over again in her head.

He had wanted to kiss her for weeks. Glynn Gambol, possibly the most perfect boy she had ever met, wanted to kiss her. Glynn Gambol was not intimidated by her spell work, was not afraid of her or wary of her after witnessing her curse another student. Instead he was so impressed that he lost control.

She, Cassiopeia Tonks, made Glynn Gambol lose control.

Ignoring his continued objections and apologies, she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his, not giving herself the chance to think about this course of action anymore than necessary. He froze for a second, uncertain and afraid of spooking her, before he carefully rested his hands on her waist, respectfully and in full control. Where their first kiss had been frenzied and overwhelming, this kiss was warm, slow, and moderated, with both parties in full control of their faculties. Familiar warmth bloomed in her chest as they broke apart slowly, with Glynn resting his forehead against hers, his breath ghosting across her face, his hands loosely holding her close to him.

He had a small smile on his face, his whole body was sagged with relief that he had not scared her away completely, and though his eyes still carried some of his earlier heat, it was tempered, controlled.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he blurted out, before turning beet red once more. "Er, I mean, I had a whole thing planned to ask you, involving flowers, and er—well I had a thing planned, but, merlin I mean, I understand if you don't, of course, its up to you, and I can get you flowers, if that's what you would like…" she placed a finger across his lips, revelling in the her ability to do just that, smiling at his nervousness. Glynn was also so well put together; it was nice to see him uncertain and back footed.

She nodded her assent and he grinned widely. The couple spent the rest of the day attempting to study, but found their eyes straying to each other's, each with a wide and goofy grin on their faces. They also found themselves sitting much closer than necessary. It wasn't long before they abandoned the pretence of studying and passed the time exploring each other's lips. Their kisses were chaste and shy, each one different than their last, each taking the time to become accustomed to each other, and Cassiopeia desperately trying to not make a complete fool of herself with her inexperience.

She grinned through the whole week at everything and nothing, revelling in the newfound knowledge of just how many different types of kisses there were, and was eager to explore more on this particular topic. Luckily she had a very willing and eager partner.

Xxx

Cassiopeia had confided in Glynn early on into their relationship that she didn't know how to be in a relationship. She had very few role models of what was 'normal.' Glynn gave her a warm and reassuring smile, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and promised that he would teach her the ways of relationships.

Term passed by with Glynn and Cassiopeia spending every moment together that they possibly could. Every Hogsmeade weekend, most evenings, and she even began to accompany him to all of his quidditch matches. Glynn had told her that spending all their time together was something that was very normal in relationships and Cassiopeia found herself agreeing wholeheartedly. She loved spending time with Glynn, he was not only her boyfriend, but her closest and dearest friend.

Constance ignored her in all of her classes, leaving Cassiopeia to sit with Asha, her ally in her Slytherin dorm. Daniel reluctantly moved on to other study partners as well, though he at least would throw her halfhearted smiles whenever they made eye contact. She was upset at first when her so called friends distanced themselves, but after a confrontation with Constance in class led to docked house points, and a threatened detention, Cassiopeia's hurt turned to a anger and irritation. She didn't need them, Glynn was a plenty good study partner, and Asha was highly competent and efficient. Asha was not however talkative nor goofy like her other friends had been.

Christmas came and went, the highlight of her trip being the formal introduction of Glynn to both the Tonks and the Malfoys with varying levels of success.

Andromeda was polite and Ted tried his best to intimidate the poor boy, failing miserably and causing all the women in the household to cringe. Nymphadora was surly through dinner, asking pointed questions about how Daniel and Constance were doing, which Cassiopeia tried to delicately handle without tipping off her the elder Tonks of her friendship troubles. It wasn't her fault that they were being so difficult after all, giving her the cold shoulder in class was petty and pointless, and Glynn was a better study buddy anyways. Glynn had told her they were just jealous of what she had, and the longer she was with him, the more she was inclined to agree.

Things had gone more smoothly with the Malfoys, who were charming hosts, and Draco provided delightful child entertainment for the table. Lucius succeeded where Ted had failed, suitably intimidating the poor boy while also cross-examining him. By the end of dinner Narcissa was smirking and Lucius had an amused glint in his eye, both signs of their glowing approval of the boy.

When they weren't together they were writing each other letters, talking about silly things that happened during the day to academic debates about various subjects ranging from ancient runes to charms. After her incident with the Slytherin fifth year that led to her first kiss, Glynn had confided in her that he was very interested in hexes and jinxes, in a very academic way of course. But it provided a common ground for them to discuss, as it was a subject that she also found fascinating.

Glynn helped Cassiopeia realise that she wasn't alone in her interests in the darker side of magic. Glynn was clearly not the sort of wizard who would actively want to hurt people; he barely had a violent bone in his body. But his academic interests closely aligned with hers and she found herself confiding in him more and more as time past, sharing with him things that she had never told anyone before in her life. Things that she had previously worried made her more like her parents, but if Glynn was also interested in the same subjects then how bad could they be? How bad could she be?

Though she had begun confiding in him, she still held some secrets very close to her heart. But the longer she was with him, the more she wondered if one day, maybe she could confide in him her darkest secrets. But for now she enjoyed having someone she could bounce ideas off of for research topics, and who would enjoy her research rabbit holes.

Five months into the relationship Glynn finally questioned her potion intake after noticing once again her attempting to take a subtle sip from a flask she carried. He put down the book he was reading and stared at her pointedly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Cassiopeia said quickly, quickly stashing away the flask.

"You seem to be drinking nothing quite often." He said rather pointedly, irritation flashing across his face.

"It's none of your concern really. Just feeling a little under the weather is all." She faked a cough and stared at her own notes.

He grunted, leaning over to snap her book shut and forcing her to look up at him. "Cassiopeia, you are my girlfriend, therefore everything you do is my concern." He tone was flat and hard, his eyes bored into hers, and his brow was furrowed in consternation. "I worry about you is all, and I want to help. You are always taking sips of whatever that is, and I wont stand for it."

Cassiopeia swallowed nervously, Glynn, normally so quiet and reserved, cloaked himself in his indignation and had put on his prefect persona. He sat taller, closer, and his tone brooked no argument.

"It's just a little pepper up potion." She said nervously, flinching away from him slightly. He made her nervous when he was like this.

"And just where did you get so much pepper up. Madame Pomfrey wouldn't give you so much so often. It can be addictive." His voice was low, serious.

She bristled at the label. She knew very well it was addictive, but she could stop at any time she wanted, it was just convenient and more efficient than coffee. She did not have a problem.

After tersely explaining this to Glynn she was annoyed to see he didn't quite believe her.

"And just why or rather, how did you even start?" he asked.

So she explained to him a slightly edited version of events that led to her current potion schedule. She left out the key information about her nightmares, but kept most the story accurate and brief. She was struggling at first getting to sleep, up all night getting lost in her reading, so she started with the dreamless sleep. Once that started however she was having difficulty staying awake, hence the pepper up.

Glynn frowned and asked where she even found anyone to sell her such an amount of potions. This caused Cassiopeia to flush in embarrassment, and she reluctantly informed him of her Knockturn Alley connection.

Glynn was silent, his eyes unfocused as he mentally replayed everything she told him, looking for any sign of falsehood. His jaw was clenched and he remained very serious, practically towering over her. Cassiopeia's stomach flipped nervously, her skin crawling and she felt slightly nauseous as she waited for his verdict.

She wondered what he would do with the information. Would he go to Professor Snape about it? Or even the headmaster? She knew she could stop when she wanted to, but she didn't want to just yet. It was too important now, during term that she stayed on top of all of her classes. She couldn't afford the slip that would assuredly come.

Even worse than all of that however, was the prospect that he would break up with her, would stop talking to her. She began to realise then how much she liked Glynn, just how far she had fallen for him in the few months since their relationship had been made official. She chose him over all of her other friends, she enjoyed his conversations, his wit, his brain. She felt warm when she was with him, at peace, and like she could be a little more her self than she could with anyone else. She would do anything to keep him.

"Cut your ties with the merchant in Knockturn Alley." He said flatly, looking away from her and back to his book.

Her heart dropped. He wanted her to quit; she swallowed thickly and mentally began planning how she would adjust her schedules without the potions.

"I'll make the potions for you instead. That way I can at least be certain you are getting just that potion, and that the best ingredients are used. I don't want you ever taking potions from dodgy wizards in Knockturn Alley. And this way I will also know just how much you really take, and can intervene if a problem really develops."

She paused. She had never really given any thought to the quality of the potions that she may be purchasing from Knockturn Alley. But still, his meddling irked her. She could take care of herself.

"And just where are you going to make these potions? I thought about making them myself but I couldn't find anywhere with the sufficient privacy for such activities."

Glynn rolled his eyes at her, settling back into his chair with his book. "You let me worry about Cassie. Cut ties with the merchant. This time next week you'll be getting your potions from me." He paused, surveying her, taking in her irritation.

"Cassiopeia, ultimately you can do what you want. But I am worried about you and want to help you the best way I can. Please let me do this for you." He reached for her hand, his voice strained.

Cassiopeia's irritation faded away and was replaced with blooming warmth in her chest. Glynn was only worried, he cared for her, and she initially mistrusted his words because having someone worry for her was still a foreign concept. Sure the Tonks, the Weasleys, and the Malfoys all cared for her in some ways, she always suspected that was because they felt obligated to either through familial ties, guilt, or pity. Glynn genuinely cared for her without any strings attached or obligations, he liked her for her, or at least what he knew of her so far. She nodded in assent and he smiled, gave her a quick kiss, and went back to his reading.

Xxx

Winter turned into spring, the snow thawed and Glynn and Cassiopeia found themselves sitting outside on a sunny spring day. Despite the sun's appearance, there was still a chill in the air, one of the last bites of winter. But it was dry and the chill was refreshing, and the fresh air was revitalising. Being outside also had the advantage of greater privacy, something Glynn and Cassiopeia were taking full advantage of as their study sessions devolved into long snogging sessions, leaving their books unattended.

In between said sessions, Cassiopeia and Glynn read in a comfortable silence, his arm curled around her, and she comfortably tucking into his side. She had taken a small risk, bringing out a book that was not from the Hogwarts library, but from her Uncle Lucius. It was a text that dealt with cursed objects, and she was enraptured.

So far Glynn had not noticed the text that she was reading, too absorbed in his own research project, and she hoped it would remain so. She normally would not bring such a text outside of the privacy of her bed curtains or her abandoned corridor, but she had yet to find the time to read the book, and the promise of somehow finding out more about her mothers cursed bracelet was too tantalising to keep ignoring.

As she read, she smiled as she felt her boyfriend's lips gently grazing her neck, her earlobe. Glynn had evidently grown bored of his reading and was amusing himself by distracting her. She was about to close the book and indulge the boy when he suddenly stopped his ministrations, his eye catching a spell diagram on her book page.

"What're you reading about?" he sounded curious, reaching to pluck the book out of her hands before she could respond. His eyes pored over the pages, flipping through the book a bit, trying to puzzle out the complicated diagrams.

"Glynn, come on, give it back. Its nothing." She tried to protest, but he was quick, hopping to his feet and holding the book well out of her reach.

His laughing smile faded as he began to understand a little of what she was researching. It was some of the darkest magic she had ever read about, curses that did terrible things, curses that were bound to specific people, curses that robbed people of their magic, curses that ultimately killed people if they were lucky, or created a painful existence that was abnormally prolonged if they were not. The fact that Lucius had been so forthcoming in gifting such a book reminded Cassiopeia just what sort of man he really was. The fact that she found it so enrapturing also served to remind herself just who she really was, deep down. It was a facet of her personality that unfortunately Glynn was discovering.

Cassiopeia watched his face intently, trying to discern his reaction. His face was closed off, lost in thought, and she could hear his mind was whirring. Finally, after what seemed like eternity he closed the book and looked her straight in the eye and remained silent.

"It's not what you think Glynn. It's all a purely theoretical interest. I would never dream of using anything in those books on someone." She rushed to fill the silence, to dissuade him from doing something rash, like tell someone else about her readings.

"I, er…well I always had an interest in curses. Some uh, circumstances in my early life ignited this interest. I want to understand how they are made, so I can maybe you know, break them one day. You know spell structures have always interested me."

"Your early life?" he asked quietly, gently placing the book down on the ground.

She swallowed, cursing herself for even bringing it up. "I would prefer, if we, uh, I don't really want to talk about it. The war…" she spoke lowly, her voice losing power at the end, petering out to nothing. It was both a true and sufficiently vague response, "of course." Glynn nodded quickly, accepting her excuse.

He remained silent for a while longer, still lost in thought, Cassiopeia felt nauseous, desperate to get a real reaction out of him, something definitive. "I mean, it's just another one of my research tangents that took a bit of a turn. Surely you've done that too Glynn, followed a line down somewhere questionable?"

He remained silent.

"Look, can we forget this ever happened? Ill get rid of the book and never read into this subject again. I promise, ill even swear on it." She hated the desperation in her voice. But the thought of losing Glynn was sickening, and the idea of losing him because he saw a darker part of her, and rejected her was abhorrent.

She was about to begin openly pleading with him when he finally broke the silence; though his voice was so low that it was a minor miracle she had even heard him.

"The unforgivables." He said quietly, his voice barely qualifying as a whisper.

"What?" she asked, dumbfounded.

He sat back down next to her and looked at her uncertainly, his own fear of judgement present in his eyes and body language. "The imperius curse, to answer your earlier question about questionable research rabbit holes. Have you heard of it?"

It was her turn to be silent and to gaze at him, gobsmacked.

"Of course, er… I mean, I have yes." She responded awkwardly.

Cassiopeia was intimately familiar with many of the unforgivables, though of the three the imperius was the one curse she had the least experience with. She had never cast it herself, though there were moments in her childhood that in retrospect she wondered…. A dark room and a crackling fire came to mind, and a cold high pitched voiced calling her name.

"Cassiopeia."

She snapped back to focus on Glynn, pulling herself abruptly out of her fleeting memory.

"Sorry," she stared up at the boys nervous face.

"I uh, well lets just forget this ever happened. Forget I ever said anything yeah?" he handed her back the book, a flush rising up his neck in embarrassment.

"No, Glynn. I—you don't have to hide from me." He had made himself vulnerable, opening up to her so, and she wanted him to know that it was alright. Merlin, it was more than alright, she was almost relieved she wasn't alone in her darkest interests.

He gazed at her, a myriad of emotions warring on his face. "What is it about curses that you find so interesting?" he sat close to her now, whispering, his eyes darting around looking for eavesdroppers. It would not do for their conversation to be overheard.

Cassiopeia fiddled with her silver bracelet nervously, trying to articulate her feelings without giving too much information away. "I er, well Glynn, you have to understand, I uh, well the war was very er tough for me. I don't want to go into details, or really talk about it, ever. But there were things that I saw, terrible things, and I want to understand how it was done. If I can understand the essence of a curse, maybe I can break it, so no one has to ever experience those things again."

She didn't realise she had started crying until Glynn had reached over to wipe a tear off of her face. Sorrow lines his features, and he looked pained, he loathed to see her in such a state. "Thank you for confiding in me Cassie. The war was harder on some more than others, I was fortunate to be a pureblood and so our family was never directly targeted, but for others…" he trailed off.

He didn't know. He thought she was a victim. Cassiopeia swallowed, burying her feelings and putting up her familiar defences. He would never know, she vowed, he couldn't know what she had did. There were broken families ripped apart today because of her actions, they were the real victims. But Glynn couldn't know that. It was a shameful secret she could never divulge to anyone, especially him.

She swallowed thickly, "I actually think I might have had some experience with that particular curse. I'm not sure, but I think once…perhaps…" she trailed off, trying to remember her feelings on the night she met the dark lord.

Glyn's sorrow melted to fascination as his eyes sharpened, "Really?" he asked, his eagerness to learn more warring with his surprise at her confession. She nodded uncertainly, glancing sideways at him carefully, trying to register his response.

"But that means…" He trailed off, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to his side. She shook her head and he let that particular detail drop.

"What was it like?" his eagerness won the battle and he was rapt with attention, trying to catch her every word.

"It's strange. Mind you, I'm not sure it was that particular spell. Your thoughts go empty, and there is a voice in your head, whispering to you, and oh what a wonderful idea everything seemed." She was back fully in the memory, a little girl, hungry and in search of food, meeting the most powerful wizard who had ever lived.

"All emotion is gone. All feeling is gone. All you can think of doing is listening to the voice." Her voice was quiet as her eyes narrowed, replaying the memory, wondering if it had indeed been the imperius curse. She had come so close to him, without hesitation. She had felt very little of the fear that she would feel during later encounters with the man.

She glanced back at Glynn, momentarily forgetting he was even there, so lost in the memory. He looked into the distance, his arms tight around her, and hunger and yearning lingered in his eyes. She froze at the startling realisation that her description only served to pique his interest more, he was enraptured and almost entranced. Her stomach flipped nervously, and she shifted uncomfortably. His looked was that of someone who was desperate for something, and she worried she knew exactly what.

He asked a few more questions, pumping her for information, and when she finally ran out of details he sighed and relaxed against the tree, pulling her even closer to him, gently kissing the top of her head. "I am sorry you ever had to experience that Cassiopeia. Thank you for indulging me, I promise, that ill try and protect you from that ever happening again." His words were quiet and the pair drifted off into an amicable silence, both pondering the implications of the conversation.

Cassiopeia didn't understand why she felt so uneasy, she pushed those traitorous feelings away and comforted herself in the knowledge that her boyfriend still accepted her. That their relationship was still strong, even in his scant knowledge of her past and darker interests.

Glynn was one of the best people she knew. If he could have these interests, just how bad could she really be?

Xxx

Spring turned into summer and Cassiopeia found herself feuding with Glynn in the final weeks of the term. She had stayed late after class with Professor Quirrell, asking him for help with some difficult readings for her ancient runes class. She always found Professor Quirrell a greater help than Professor Babbling, the ancient runes teacher.

Professor Babbling was a rather absent minded woman, often getting distracted when teaching her students. And where Professor Quirrell had the same problem, Professor Babbling's tangents were neither interesting nor useful, and instead focussed on subject matters entirely unrelated and irrelevant. When she was on topic, Professor Babbling had a very difficult time illustrating information, and she had little patience for those students, namely Cassiopeia, who had read ahead.

In fact, Professor Babbling open disliked Cassiopeia, disapproving of the girl's tendency to delve deeper into topics, lamenting that she would surely learn it wrong, and that no third year had the ability to just figure it out on their own.

Obviously Cassiopeia had not figured out what she knew thus far on her own. She had help from Professor Flitwick and Professor Quirrell in her first two years. This fact seemed to cause the professor to dislike her even more, possibly offended that Cassiopeia sought out those who taught other subjects for help in her own.

Professor Quirrell disliked Professor Babbling, and seemed to take a quiet satisfaction by needling her with the information that her own student came to him for help. Cassiopeia had been honestly surprised to see this trait in her shy and reserved muggle studies professor, figuring he'd avoid confrontation at all costs. But it seemed needling the Ancient Runes professor was acceptable and entertaining for him because she did not react openly, instead huffing and puffing quietly, and taking out her anger on Cassiopeia directly.

Despite the consequences of further angering her teacher, she continued going to Professor Quirrell for help, and he seemed to enjoy giving it to her. One such study session had been unplanned, and had ran longer than either had really expected, as Professor Quirrell got lost down a theoretical rabbit hole and was lecturing about Ancient Runes and curses, a topic she found fascinating.

It wasn't until her stomach growled that she realised how much time had passed. She had originally made plans to meet with Glynn for a session in the library, but talking with Quirrell had distracted her. Excusing herself from the impromptu lesson, she went to go find Glynn at dinner. She figured once she explained what had happened, he would understand and all would be well.

Glynn did not understand. After berating her, in front of a reasonable group of people, that she had been inconsiderate, and disrespectful, that he had worried about her when she didn't show up, and had lost valuable study time he would never get back, and that she should have thought about how her actions affected others. He called her selfish and immature, and stormed off after his tirade, barely letting her get a word in edgewise.

The witnessing students snickered at her expense, and Cassiopeia felt her throat thickening with tears from his reprimand. She had been selfish; she realised, and had really done harm to her relationship. She adored Glynn and if he didn't do well on his exams, it was solely on her. He was right about everything. Slowly spiralling into her own dark thoughts, she barely noticed Nymphadora approach her until she wrapped her arm around her sisters and told everyone still lingering to bugger off.

"Come on Cass, Gambol's just being a git, of course s'not your fault you got distracted." Dora tried reassuring her, "And besides who needs him anyways? You practically spend every waking second with him, its good for you to talk to other people, even if it is only a weird professor."

Anger flashed through Cassiopeia, what did she know about Glynn? She had never liked him much, and now she was trying to poison her against him. She didn't know how kind and sweet he was, how perfect he could be. She shrugged off Dora's comforting embrace and stormed off, with barely a sod off in response.

Glynn ignored her for a week. That would have been bad enough, but he had also neglected to give her the potions she so depended on. The potions that he had taken to brewing her every week, ensuring she had the highest quality ingredients.

She found it hard to sleep, her mind exhausted and her skin crawling. She broke out into a cold sweat and found her muscles going into spasms. She lost all of her appetite, everything she attempted to eat finding its way back out of her almost instantly. She had a pounding headache that didn't seem to go away. She found herself pale, clammy, and couldn't focus in class.

Her professors noticed of course, most offering words of concern. Professor McGonagall even went so far as to send her to the hospital wing, when she noticed the poor girl shivering in the back of the class, her hands shaking so hard that she could barely turn the page without ripping it.

Professor Snape had given her detention when the fumes reacted negatively with her headache, causing her to lose concentration and explode the cauldron. His eyes narrowed and he sent her out of the classroom to sit in the hallway as a temporary punishment, instructing her to return once class was finished.

She stood awkwardly in front of his desk as he ignored her while he organised the student vials placed upon it. She scowled, growing tired of everyone ignoring her.

"Tell me why, Miss Tonks, were you in my class today when Professor McGonagall informed me she had sent you to the Hospital Wing, ill." He drawled, emphasising the name he knew to be false.

Her scowl deepened. "I am feeling much better sir." She said bitterly, grasping her shaking hands in an effort to get them to stop. Her temper was short and her head felt like it was about to split open.

"Fine…" his eyes met hers for a second, and she looked away quickly, making her face carefully blank.

"Fine you say. And yet you somehow manage to blow up a cauldron in your fine health. Are you telling me you are just an imbecile and not sick?"

"yes sir, and imbecile as you say." She responded bitterly.

He was silent.

"Hogwarts has a long history of students overindulging in certain potions." He said pointedly.

"I have no idea what you are talking about professor. Can I please be excused?"

"The symptoms are quite severe. And the longer a witch or wizard takes certain potions, the more intense the side effects, and the longer it takes to get over them." He warned, ignoring that she had even spoken.

"Of course, as a potion's master, I am very well versed in such side effects and can help alleviate them. It is neither easy nor painless, but it is possible. If a student so decides that is the best course of action."

Cassiopeia almost growled at the man, exhaustion now taking over what had once been anxious energy. "Sir, I will reiterate, in case you are hard of hearing after my unfortunate explosion. I have no idea what you are talking about. Sir."

The professor's face fell into a sneer, his lip curling cruelly. "Very well then, two weeks detention with yours truly, to atone for this supposed hearing loss. Now get out of my sight before I take points."

With a sigh of relief she fled the classroom as quickly as she could, searching out Glynn to see if there was anything she could do to make everything between them right again. Fighting was exhausting for her, and it had been a very long time, months in fact, since she had so little contact with the boy.

Glynn finally acknowledged her, though coolly, and listened passively to her apology. By he end of it, his face had cracked and he very slowly gave her the thing that she needed most. Another potion. She gratefully sucked it down, not bothering with measuring out a proper dose, and sighed in relief as her body thrummed with a familiar energy.

Glynn wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. "I am so sorry Cassiopeia, but you have to understand why I was so cold to you. You had to understand what it was like to be stood up and ignored. You had to experience how I felt when you didn't show up. I am sorry you got detention Cassie, but you did bring this on yourself."

She nodded into his shoulder, almost crying in relief at having Glynn back. She had missed him dearly, and had suffered away from him. He was just trying to teach her a lesson, one that she knew she wouldn't have understood if he had just told her his feelings. She took the lesson to heart and vowed to never make Glynn feel that way again.

She wasn't sure she would be strong enough if she was separated from him again.

Xxx

A/N hope you enjoyed! im really not being subtle about what type of person Glynn is, mainly because I am jumping between important milestones in their relationship. This chapter effectively ends her third year and his fifth year. The year is 1987-1988