There's Something About Albus
by sweaterweather21
Last Chapter: Cat forced herself to reply to her mother's letter, attempted to flirt with a cute boy, and was a bit of a sore loser.
Chapter 4: The One Where Scorpius Has a Hickey
I know I could lie, but I'm telling the truth
Wherever I go, there's a shadow of you
Wherever I Go - OneRepublic
Scorpius was the very picture of relaxation. He had fallen asleep on one of the many overstuffed couches in the Slytherin Common Room, his long limbs sprawled all over.
Cat couldn't quite relate. She had patrol with Scorpius in fifteen minutes, which would probably require waking him up, not to mention several looming deadlines: an essay on the economic effects of the first Wizarding War for History of Magic due tomorrow, at least four more runes to translate, and questions to answer about the properties of mandrakes for Herbology. There was also the upcoming test in Charms she needed to study for, only she couldn't locate her notes from last week.
In vain, she rooted through her messy book bag one more time, finding only crumpled up pieces of parchment and pieces of broken quill. Her notes should be tucked neatly in her folder with the rest of her Charms papers, but somehow the pages covering Flitwick's last lecture eluded her.
Her frustration mounting, Cat abandoned all hope of doing anything productive before leaving for patrol. Though she was all-too aware of the homework she'd have to tackle later, she chose to pull out her novel instead. If Scorpius could lay about all day and pull decent grades out of his ass, she could try to relax for a few minutes as well, at least until she'd have to wake up her lazy lug of a friend.
Unfortunately for Cat, it was always difficult to limit her reading to a few minutes. It would simply not do to pause in the middle of the chapter, and it didn't help that the plot of her mystery novel had picked up so much that Cat actually found it physically difficult to set the book down.
Of course the chapter she had been reading ended on a cliffhanger. Cat's fingers itched to keep turning the pages, and it wasn't like the prone form of Scorpius was about to put up a protest, but they were already five minutes late.
She took out a bit of her frustration on Scorpius, casting a Tickling Jinx with a bit more power than what was probably necessary. He jolted awake, his hands flying to his armpits to combat his invisible torturer.
Cat laughed out loud at the sight of him, immediately giving herself away as the culprit.
"How could you do that to me?" Scorpius whined as he stood up, vainly attempting to fix both his bedhead and his rumpled robes at the same time. "You know I'm ticklish."
Cat merely shrugged, still satisfied with herself. Her previous frustrations were mostly forgotten in the face of Scorpius's disheveled state. She knew her childhood best friend took quite a bit of pride in his normally immaculate appearance. Watching him squirm was fun.
He was still attempting to fix his tie as he followed Cat out of the Slytherin portrait hole. Cat offered to help, but he dismissed her with a flick of his hand.
"How were you sleeping, anyway?" Cat asked curiously. "Don't you still have that essay to write for Professor Pearson?"
Instead of answering, Scorpius merely gave her a wide-eyed look. Cat noticed his lips pressed firmly together and rolled her eyes. He was going to give her the silent treatment.
Well, two could play this game. She would wait it out. Scorpius could never keep his mouth shut for long.
She let the silence fall over them for the first ten minutes of patrol, giving him exactly what he wanted. Meanwhile, she rummaged through her brain for a conversation topic that would force Scorpius to chime in. Sometimes they discussed Quidditch, but those conversations were mostly one-sided, with Cat nodding in agreement as Scorpius complained about Albus catching the Snitch or provided an unnecessarily in-depth analysis of the Falmouth Falcon's newest trade deal. She could always fill him in on the happenings in her own life, but her mother's obsession with Cat's coming-of-age was something she really didn't want to get into either.
She wrinkled her nose. All those topics were boring, anyway. She needed something interesting, something that Scorpius wouldn't be able to resist.
The answer came to her in an instant.
Gossip.
Cat herself wasn't always completely informed on all the happenings in and around Hogwarts castle, but being close friends with Cecily Warrington had its perks. The domineering Slytherin girl was always in the know, which meant that Cat was usually privy to at least a few juicy tidbits. Thank Merlin Cecily had given her the lowdown last night, as there was a certain rumor that Cat knew would be of special interest to Scorpius.
For as much as he tried to feign disinterest, Cat knew Scorpius thrived on hearing all the dirty details.
"You know, Cecily mentioned something interesting last night," Cat began innocently.
To his credit, Scorpius maintained a blank gaze forward. He, too, was well-aware of Cecily's prowess in the art of gossip-mongering, so Cat was impressed at this feat of forced nonchalance.
She decided to up the ante a bit. Scorpius was just so fun to tease.
"Something interesting," she continued slowly, drawing out each syllable, "about your ex-girlfriend." She waited for a moment to let that sink in, giving Scorpius a sidelong look as they continued walking forward.
Almost imperceptibly, Scorpius twitched.
"You know," Cat drawled, sensing weakness now, "I almost didn't believe it myself, but this girl is known for not having the best judgment when it comes to men. Or boys, I should say." This was accompanied by a rather pointed stare directed at the blond.
By this point, Scorpius was humming to himself in an effort to ignore Cat. Her smirk only grew by the minute.
She increased her pace until she had a few meters on Scorpius, and then turned around, effectively cutting him off in the middle of the corridor.
"Now, I could just tell you which one of your ex-girlfriends hooked up with Stewart Pritchard at the party last weekend…"
Scorpius's eyes widened, and Cat knew she had him.
"But I think it might be more fun to make you guess," she finished.
Scorpius took a deep breath, and spoke for the first time during their patrol. "I don't care." He locked eyes with her, and then continued walking, this time at a faster pace. Cat had to turn on her heel quickly and jog a few steps to catch up.
She had to get to the bottom of this. Usually, Scorpius never had the self-control to dismiss such a blatant offering of gossip, and definitely not when it pertained to himself.
"C'mon, I know you think Pritchard is a prick. Don't you want to know who it is?" she goaded, still amazed that he hadn't yet caved.
"Eh, I've moved on."
Scorpius accompanied this declaration with a toss of his head, and it was then that Cat noticed a strange mark on his neck.
"Damn right you have!" she exclaimed giddily. "You have a hickey!"
Impulsively, Scorpius reached to adjust the collar of his robes, but Cat was quicker. She had to stretch a bit to reach his neck, but there it was: a blotchy, red mark, marring the alabaster skin a few inches above his collarbone.
"I do not!" he responded petulantly, almost child-like in the way he attempted to fix his collar one more. His eyes, however, refused to meet hers—and that's how Cat knew she had him.
"You're an embarrassment to Slytherin house with your terrible lying," she chided. "You can't feasibly deny this. The evidence speaks for itself here."
Scorpius mumbled something Cat couldn't quite make out. A smile crept up her face—she was beside herself with the opportunity to interrogate her childhood best friend. It wasn't even the presence of the hickey so much as his denial of it that made her curious. Scorpius tended to be fairly casual in his numerous relationships, and never hesitant to brag about the latest girl he had spent some quality time with in a broomstick cupboard.
"So who's the lucky lady?" she continued. "Usually, the whole school would know about her by now."
To Cat's shock, Scorpius actually flushed. Her jaw dropped, and she let out a low whistle.
When it came to girls, Scorpius was never this tight-lipped. It could only mean one thing.
He cared.
Either that, or he had just snogged someone so horrendously revolting that he could never admit it to Cat. She laughed lightly to herself at the thought.
But now that she took the time to think about it, Scorpius had been acting a bit strangely lately. He had been unusually absent from several meals in the past week, and not to mention elusive when Cat tried to catch up with him after class. Combined with his obvious reluctance to provide her with a name, only one explanation really made sense.
He was serious about someone, and he had been trying to keep it secret.
Keeping secrets was bloody well and good if it meant from the rest of the school, but Cat had been best friends with Scorpius since childhood, and she'd be damned if he didn't clue her in now.
"Seriously, Scor! I'm waiting for an answer here!"
Having been given a few moments to collect himself, Scorpius managed to sound composed when he finally answered Cat.
"Well, I could tell you. But I think it might be more fun to make you guess."
Cat rolled her eyes for the second time, already regretting her previous decision to tempt Scorpius with a piece of juicy gossip. But now the tables had turned, and he was using her own words against her. She didn't have any other options, though, so she rose to the challenge, immediately running through her mind for a list of girls Scorpius had recently interacted with.
"Ramona Blackburn?" she guessed without a lot of confidence. She had seen them chatting after a Prefect Meeting a few days ago, but then again, it had been the younger girl who had seemed more interested in their conversation. Scorpius had looked bored, as always.
"No."
"Carmen Archuleta?" A fellow 6th-year Slytherin, the dark-haired girl wasn't a bad guess. Her crush on Scorpius wasn't exactly discreet, but Cat hadn't seen him give her the time of day recently.
"No."
"Marisol Chadwick?" Cat was getting wilder with her guesses now. Marisol was a Gryffindor, and friends with Rose Weasley. Two strikes. She had been Scorpius's assigned partner in Transfiguration the other day, though, so there was hope.
"No. Fantastic bum that one, though."
"Gross." Cat wrinkled her nose. "What about Tess Davies?"
"Nope. She's old news. Last year, remember?"
Cat didn't, actually. "Desiree Kirke? She's a bit … erm, friendly, right?"
"That she is," Scorpius acquiesced. "But still no."
"This is annoying," Cat complained. Scorpius, however, made no move to enlighten her, so they continued their patrol in silence. He was smirking slightly now, while Cat frowned, deep in thought.
They passed the Ravenclaw portrait hole, and it suddenly came to her.
"Ahh, I know!" she said triumphantly. "Jacqueline Bonnacord. I saw you two in Defense the other day."
Scorpius blinked a few times before responding, as if he was surprised at Cat's correct guess.
"You're right," he said resignedly.
"I knew it!" Cat couldn't resist a bit of gloating, nor the little victory dance she burst into, twirling around in the corridor and flailing her arms into the air.
"I still can't condone your use of Aguamenti, though. Did you really have to get Jacqueline's blouse all wet? I swear Dougie Macmillan was going to pass out, he was ogling her so much. You really ought to be more careful. The girl is part-Veela."
"I know," Scorpius smirked. "Shouldn't you be congratulating me?"
Cat huffed. "I'll congratulate you the next time you don't show off your caveman instincts in front of the whole class."
"Fine," Scorpius retorted. "And I'll save my congratulations for when you actually manage to win a duel."
"Low blow," Cat muttered, but she still managed a smile. It had almost been a week since her embarrassing defeat at the hands of Albus Potter, and she was mostly over it by now. That didn't mean she was back to making eye contact when she passed him between classes, but she could now successfully hear his name without blushing.
Plucking up the courage, she decided to probe Scorpius a little bit more about his messy-haired best friend.
"Albus was surprisingly good," she mentioned in what she hoped was an off-handed tone.
Scorpius scoffed. "Yeah, well, when your dad defeats the darkest wizard of all time, Defense doesn't really seem like a topic you should be slacking off in."
She had to give him that. "I suppose winning duels probably runs in the family."
"He works hard, too," Scorpius piped up, his tone slightly defensive.
"I know that," Cat responded, trying to modify her previous statement. "I just wouldn't be surprised if he's had lessons or extra training or something before."
"Just because that's what it would take to beat you? You're so arrogant, Cat."
Scorpius's words themselves were harsh, but Cat recognized the teasing tone of voice and was forced to laugh at herself once more.
"I have to admit; I was put in my place. Now if only someone would put you in yours."
She paused a moment to gauge Scorpius's reaction. "Jacqueline up for the challenge?" she asked.
"We'll see," he responded cryptically.
From there, their conversation devolved into some more gossip. Cat relayed some more tidbits from last night to Scorpius, who was enjoying himself, though he'd never admit it. Every once in a while, he'd pause to ask Cat to clarify, or chime in with a fact of his own. They finished their patrol quickly, perhaps missing a few late-night mischief-makers thanks to their hearty gossiping session.
They ended up back in front of the Slytherin portrait hole. Scorpius muttered the password ("Phineas") and started to make his way toward his own dormitory. Halfway there, he turned around, his face pensive, a question still clearly waiting on the tip of his tongue.
Cat knew what he was going to ask before he even said it.
"Trinity Flint," Cat answered.
Scorpius looked puzzled.
"The ex-girlfriend. You know, the one who got with Pritchard?"
At this, Scorpius broke into a full-blown laugh. "How'd you know I was going to ask you that?"
"Please," Cat smirked. "I knew it was torturing you not to know."
And with that, Cat left him in the common room and headed toward her own dormitory.
By the next day, Cat still had not found her notes. She had been forced to borrow Annie's to study from, which were barely legible, and had only just managed to complete her homework before going to sleep at 2 AM. She was currently coasting on about five hours of sleep, which wasn't nearly enough.
Her bad luck continued as Charms class began. Flitwick had delivered on his promise from last lecture period of a two-part test on Unbreakable Charms, both theoretical and practical. Considering Cat could cast the charm in her sleep, she wasn't too worried about the practical portion. She did have a few doubts about the written part, considering she hadn't studied the material very thoroughly, giving up after a few minutes trying to decipher Annie's untidy scrawl.
Cat's real misery stemmed from the fact that she had been unable to nab her spot from the previous lesson next to Benjamin Goldstein. Instead, it had been claimed by one of his mates, a bloke with long blond hair tied into a bun. Her only consolation was that there wouldn't be much partner interaction anyway, and therefore not much of an opportunity to attempt flirting with the cute Ravenclaw prefect.
She blamed the man-bun anyway for the missed opportunity.
Stupid man-bun. It looked ridiculous.
Okay, actually it looked great, better than any attempt at a bun Cat tried. Her hair was unfortunately too thick. Cecily had told her once that it looked like a hippogriff took a giant shit on her head, and well, the girl wasn't wrong. Overall she could use a bit more tact, but she did tend to speak the truth.
Cat needed to channel a little bit of Cecily right now, anyway. She finished the theoretic portion of the test, and flipped it over on her desk. She needed to stop being jealous of a stupid man-bun and concentrate on devising a way to strike up a conversation with Benjamin. She could use some of Cecily's advice. Too bad the girl in question was sitting on the other side of the room, engrossed in a conversation with Dahlia even though Flitwick expected silence during tests. He was currently giving her a bit of a glare, not that she she noticed at all.
A shuffle of parchment broke Cat out of her reverie. Following the lead of the random Hufflepuff bloke sitting next to her, she passed her parchment forward, consumed with last minute anxiety—not about her test answers, although she still lamented the loss of her notes, but about how she was supposed to talk to Benjamin before class ended.
For the practical part of the quiz, Flitwick passed out an assortment of objects to all his students. Confident she could tackle whatever he gave to her, Cat allowed herself to glance around the room first. The boy next to her had gotten a rather ugly mirrored vase. His concentrated facial expression reflected in the panes, and Cat resisted the urge to laugh.
Her own object seemed a bit trickier. At first glance, it seemed to be a figurine of sorts, like a miniature castle. As she looked closer, she realized that it was more of a model. Someone had obviously taken the time to put the pieces together in a way that the tiny figure rather resembled Hogwarts. Seemingly held together with only a bit of glue, Cat wondered what she was supposed to do.
She spared another glance around, feeling a bit like a cheater for her wandering eyes. Benjamin was hard at work, focused on a small cupboard with glass panels that sat in front of him. Meanwhile, Annie must've finished casting her charm on a large lamp, because she was currently charming the lampshade into a more stylish color.
Returning to her own object, Cat grew quizzical. It was obviously nothing like the other tasks her classmates received, and she felt a bit put out. Looking up toward the front of the classroom, she made sudden eye contact with Flitwick, who nodded, almost imperceptibly, in her direction.
She nodded back, but immediately grew frustrated. This wasn't even the same application of Unbreakable Charms! Her classmates cast the charm with the intent of reinforcing already existing bonds, where she was supposed to create unbreakable links where there previously hadn't been any bonds at all. It was an unfair quiz, and if she had been uppity enough to have been sorted into Ravenclaw, she probably would've complained about it.
Instead, like a true Slytherin, she stewed quietly. This is what she had been thinking about last lesson, theorizing about the separate applications, instead of listening. Maybe Flitwick had mentioned another variation of the charm to use?
But surely, some of her other classmates would've been tested similarly. Cat did one last sweep of the room—she was the only one.
She had some ideas, of course. They had come to her last lesson, and remained jotted down on that blasted sheet of parchment she had lost.
All her classmates around her were finishing up. Several, including Annie, and annoyingly, Albus Potter, had already handed Flitwick their charmed objects and were heading out of the classroom. Annie shot Cat a sympathetic look, which really didn't help with her mounting frustrations.
For the second time that week, Cat decided to attempt some experimental magic. By modifying her wand movement as well the suffix attached to the incantation, she extrapolated that the property behind the original Unbreakable Charm would spread to the newly-created bonds. She wrote down her ideas on a spare bit of parchment, giving the model another once-over just to be sure.
Well, if Flitwick wanted her to do experimental (and possibly illegal) magic in his own classroom, Cat wasn't going to let him down. She murmured the incantation for her modified charm.
And the miniature castle in front of her promptly exploded.
A combination of plaster and ash rained down around Cat as she stared at the charred remnants of the model. Her eyes fixated on the tiny details, like how only one of the miniature Quidditch hoops in the figurine pitch remained upright and how the decimated trees of the Forbidden Forest looked like they had been ravaged by a forest fire.
Mostly, she wondered how it went wrong.
The sound of laughter cut into her musings. Startled, Cat looked around the room, anticipating a sea of tittering classmates eager to poke fun at the girl who had managed to cause an explosion while attempting an Unbreakable Charm. She was beginning to understand the plight of poor Rory Finnegan, a Hufflepuff who was well-known for both his tendency to cause things to explode and his perpetually singed-off eyebrows.
To her surprise, the source of laughter did not emanate from any of her peers. The classroom had cleared out completely, save for Cat and Professor Flitwick. In fact, it was the diminutive professor himself who was struggling to stifle his amusement.
Cat felt rather annoyed. She wasn't accustomed to failing at anything involving schoolwork, and especially not this spectacularly. Her loss in the duel last week tugged at the back of her mind, but that suddenly seemed inconsequential compared to her complete fiasco of an attempt at an Unbreakable Charm. Even the dim-witted Lilia Stevenson had managed to perform one without exploding anything.
Plus, it seemed awfully unprofessional for Flitwick to be laughing. She looked away to conceal her blush, concentrating on packing up her things before Flitwick's voice cut in.
"Would you please come up here, Miss Zabini?"
Grudgingly, Cat pocketed her wand and abandoned her book bag on the desk. It didn't seem like she had a choice.
Flitwick had stopped laughing now, for which Cat was grateful, but she still couldn't bring herself to speak first. She waited for him to say something, anything, but instead he pulled out a leather-bound notebook, opened it, and with great deliberation, began to write.
At first, Cat wasn't sure if he meant for her to take a look, but after a sidelong glance from Flitwick, she peered over. It was his gradebook, she realized, although confusion dawned over her once more as she saw him mark a bright red "O" in the space next to her name.
The silence was thick for a few moments until Cat felt she could take it no longer.
"Professor?"
Apparently struck mute, Flitwick only smiled in response, his goblin ancestry made slightly more evident by the toothiness of his grin and the slight point to his ears Cat only noticed for the first time up close. He began rummaging through a set of drawers to his right, only stopping when he pulled out a stack of paper.
"I thought about returning these to you before the examination today, Miss Zabini," Flitwick began, finally breaking the silence. "However, considering your level of achievement in this class, I hardly thought you'd need them."
Recognizing her favorite shade of blue ink as well as her own tidy handwriting, Cat realized that Flitwick was holding her notes from lesson last week, the ones she had lost. He held them out to her, and Cat accepted, though she was still confused about her grade on the exam.
"I couldn't help but notice some of your jottings in the margins, young lady. While I can't speak of your merit as an artist based on your doodles, I can say you have quite the aptitude for spell-crafting."
Cat's face must have registered confusion, because Flitwick continued quickly.
"Spell-crafting. Based on spell theory, which, according to your notes in the margins, you have quite the grasp on despite us never covering it in class. In fact, you must humor the antics of your old professor here, for it was mainly for my own amusement that I forced you to test out your theories for the practical exam today."
"So the Hogwarts model… my choice of object was deliberate?"
Flitwick nodded. "Again, you must forgive me for any embarrassment I may have caused. I am well-assured of your proficiency in Unbreakable Charms; I just wanted to give you a little warning of the danger associated by experimenting with spells."
Cat flushed again, ashamed. It was bad enough she had attempted an experimental spell in a duel with Albus Potter, but to perform one during an exam? She was an idiot. There was a reason no sixth-year should mess around with creating their own spells, no matter how fascinating.
Flitwick noticed her reaction. "Oh, I don't mean to discourage you, Miss Zabini. That was quite the spell for you to reproduce on the fly, especially without the aid of your original notes. Notes, I might add, that include quite a clever bit of thinking on your part. I, myself, had never considered several of the applications of an Unbreakable Charm you suggested until I read through them."
He paused sharply, pushing down his spectacles to glance upwards at Cat. "Have you considered a career path after Hogwarts, Miss Zabini?"
"Um, well, I have been thinking about some options…" Cat spluttered, not sure what to say. Her mother seemed to think that Cat would marry well after she graduated, and her father unable to care less about what his daughter did. Cat herself hadn't thought much about it.
"It takes a sharp mind to see all the connections necessary to understand spell theory. Spell-crafting itself is a precise art, one that shouldn't be meddled with unless one proceeds with utmost care. I do, however, believe you have the potential to succeed in this field, and that is not a statement I make lightly."
Cat heard the words coming from Flitwick's mouth, but could not, for the life of her, make sense of any of them.
"I don't understand," she said flatly. "I nearly singed off my hair with that explosion. Isn't that a sign that I should not be experimenting with magic?"
"What was the incantation you used?" Flitwick asked, dismissing her question with one of his own.
"Irrumpia Forcum," Cat responded, "but I hardly see how that matters, considering it didn't work."
"And what modifications did you make to the original wand movement?"
"Well, because a regular Unbreakable Charms calls for a flick and a diagonal jab, I figured a flick and an extended circle might have the unifying effect of properties I was looking for. I'm not sure, though—I was really just extrapolating and quite stupid to attempt that in the first place."
"Nonsense! From idiocy and mistakes our greatest achievements are born. Show me someone who has never failed and I'll show you someone who has never achieved, I say."
He paused for a moment, and Cat thought he was giving his words a little weight for dramatic effect.
"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I did a little revising to your theories, and I think I came up with a spell that works. Pay attention."
Flitwick produced another miniature model of Hogwarts from a cabinet behind his desk. He leveled her with a gaze that made Cat feel small despite her height advantage.
"Irrumpia Forcum!" he exclaimed, his wand moving with the sound of his voice, tracing the shape of an extended circle, followed by a flick and a diagonal jab.
The result really wasn't that dramatic. The model sat in the same spot, looking quite unchanged. Cat wondered what Flitwick had expected. She was surprised to note the rather self-satisfied smile that now occupied his face.
"Go ahead. Test it out."
Slowly, Cat used both hands to lift the model off Flitwick's desk. She glanced over at her professor once more, and he nodded his approval.
Cat shook her head, trying to clear the last lingering doubt. She raised the model above her head, bringing it down with as much force as she could muster, and finally, letting go.
What should have splintered into millions of tiny plaster and wooden fragments, sat perfectly intact on the cool stone floor, as immaculate as ever.
Cat couldn't find words. Her mouth wasn't quite capable of forming them either, as her jaw was currently a bit slack.
"I only really had to modify your spell slightly. The incantation was sufficient, and the addition of an extended circle was necessary for unification. You just needed to complete the unbreakable property by finishing the original wandwork.
"You really have quite the mind for this, Miss Zabini," Flitwick continued, interpreting her silence as the end of all her doubts. "I don't want you to get down on yourself about that explosion earlier. It was really just a warning, an initiation if you will. I'd be willing to give you a few more lessons on spell theory in the future, provided you're interested."
It took several more moments for the shock to wear off before Cat responded. "I still can't believe that worked," she began, stroking the bonds of the model castle she had picked up from the ground, and now held in her arms.
"You almost had it correct on your own," Flitwick said.
"If by almost, you mean it backfired in my face!" But Cat was laughing now, and Flitwick's offer was beginning to sound more tempting. "What do you mean by lessons?"
"Oh, nothing too intense," he assured her. "Perhaps a few times a month, just to test the waters. If you don't enjoy them, we can always stop. I do happen to know that spell-crafting is a lucrative profession – there's quite a demand for spell-crafters right now, both with independent contractors and within the Ministry. Unless you have another profession you're currently seriously considering?"
Cat quickly shook her head. "Um, no. There's nothing, really."
"Well, take a while to consider it. I really think you'd enjoy it. Here, I'll write a note for your next class."
While part of Cat's brain marveled at how fast the time had passed—she had now missed at least half of her Transfiguration lesson—the other half was alight with excitement. Scorpius and Annie would tease her for being nerdy and relishing such academic work, but the thought of experimenting with her own spells really did thrill her.
"Professor," she piped up suddenly, surprising both herself and Flitwick, who smudged the ink on her note, "what nights are you available?"
After a long day of classes, all Cat wanted to do was go to bed early, the usual expectations of a fun Friday night be damned.
Unfortunately, her friends had another idea.
"Come on, Cat, come to the party with us!"
"It'll be fun! Cooper Hawthorne even asked about you last time!"
"You can wear my navy dress and those gold heels of Cecily's!"
"I didn't say she could do that!"
"Shut up, Cece! We want her to come, remember?"
"I have firewhiskey!"
"How about those brown wedges instead?"
"There's going to be a live band!"
"No, the gold ones would look better!"
"I heard James Potter is going to be there!"
"You said you'd come out with us at least once this year!"
"Fine, I guess she can borrow my shoes."
Cat sighed, and laid a hand on Cecily's shoulder. "Don't worry. I won't be borrowing your shoes. I'm not coming."
"Are you sure, sweetie?" Cecily asked. "Because I would let you wear them, even though they kind of complete my outfit right now."
Smiling, Cat continued her refusal. "No, that's all right. I'm content here with my book and Marjorie."
"You know," Dahlia interjected. "Cats, even cats with people names, are no substitute for human companionship."
"Or getting drunk and grinding on cute boys," Annie added.
"Who reads anyway?" Cecily asked.
"Me." Cat put her foot down. "Seriously, I just want to relax tonight. You three go have fun. I know it's not every night Hufflepuff house decides to throw a kegger."
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Annie pleaded, attempting to cajole her best friend by widening her already large brown eyes and sticking out her bottom lip.
"Stop that—you look ridiculous," Cat commanded. "And you know that only works on your brothers, anyway."
"A girl can hope," Annie sighed.
"Seriously. Go have fun!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Cecily joked, making a beeline for the door that seemed unnaturally fast considering the staggeringly tall gold heels she was wearing.
"I mean it. I really do appreciate you asking, though."
"Oh all right," Annie conceded. She sat up from Cat's bed. "We're still on for a breakfast date tomorrow?"
"If I can drag your hungover ass out of bed?" Cat questioned. "Yes."
"Doubtful," Dahlia snorted.
Annie stuck her tongue out at the willowy brunette, but began following her over to the door.
"Now don't keep Marjorie up too late," Annie scolded. "She has a bedtime, you know, or else she gets grouchy."
Cat rolled her eyes. "Oh, leave me alone already!"
Annie smiled, and blew her a kiss goodbye before closing the door behind her.
Cat was good on her word. She managed to read a few more chapters of her novel before passing out on her bed, her feline friend fast asleep right next to her. She dozed for a few peaceful, dreamless hours before being woken by the sound of sniffling.
Nudging Marjorie out of the way, Cat parted the emerald green draperies of her bed to see a forlorn-looking Annie perched on the side of her bed, mascara streaking down her cheeks, still clad in a charcoal-gray party dress, though the zipper had been undone in the back.
"Annie?" Cat said lowly, her voice an odd wavelength due to being awoken so abruptly. "What's wrong? Where's Dahlia and Cecily?"
"They're…HIC…both…HIC…sleeping," Annie rasped between hiccups.
"Shhhh," Cat consoled, her bare feet quietly padding across the space between their beds so she could sit next to her best friend. She scratched her fingers up and down Annie's exposed back.
She let Annie breathe for a while before asking again.
"What happened?"
Another tear ran down her face as she answered. "Sam and I fought."
"Oh sweetie," Cat murmured, continuing to massage her back.
"He was being a bloody…HIC… jackass. All I did was ask him to dance with me for a…HIC… while and he told me to sod off because he wanted to play Butterbeer Pong with his…HIC… mates. Who…HIC… tells their girlfriend to sod…HIC…off?"
Not for the first time, Cat was unsure what to say to make Annie feel better. Sam was a good enough guy, but he and Annie knew how to push each other's buttons, and they were only worse to each other when they had both had too much to drink. It wasn't a pattern exactly, but Cat had seen Annie drunk and upset a few times now, and was beginning to see the common thread.
"Let's talk about it some more in the morning. Let's get you something to drink and into some pajamas first, all right?"
Annie didn't protest, which Cat took as acquiescence. She pulled out a pair of flannel pajama shorts and an oversize t-shirt, making sure it was a hand-me-down from one of Annie's brothers and not one of Sam's old Quidditch jerseys before helping her best friend into them. She poured some water into the glass by Annie's bedside as well, but not before sneaking in a vial of Calming Draught into the contents first.
She watched as Annie took a nice long gulp, and then helped her into her bed, tucking the quilt in after her. Marjorie, evidently sensing her owner's distress, leapt from Cat's bed to the foot of Annie's and curled into a ball.
Cat couldn't help but smile at the cat's protectiveness before crawling back into her own bed, grateful for the lack of boy drama in her own life.
Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with me! I know this chapter was a bit of filler as far as the plot goes, but it was fun to write nevertheless. If you have a moment, I'd love to know what you think :)