A/N Note:

I often feel that the books/ fanfics don't really portray these magical teenagers as, well, actual teenagers. The only rude words they ever really say are 'bloody' and 'bugger' and while in Britain that is offensive, it's not nearly as vulgar as some of the things we teens say. (I know this from lots of conversations with my friends, ;] though I'm pretty sure I would have to up my content rating if I shared them, heh. )

So I'm going to make an effort to make these brats sound a tad less refined and more like the teenagers that they are.

So.

In the middle of this thing there's a lot of British Slang, and a lot of it's pretty derogatory. I also really just wanted an excuse to use all those cool words/sayings. The conversation in which they are used is a bit forced…but oh well.

Here's a quick reference:

Arsebandit: homosexual man (derogatory… I'm against language like this, but it's how people talk, especially teens)

Beard: A woman who is seen to be romantically linked with a gay man, so protecting his true sexuality from public scrutiny (I never heard this one before, but it seemed fitting)

Needle dick: must I REALLY explain this one?

Slag: prostitute (such a cool word, even though it's so very derogatory)

Scuzzbucket: A despicable or objectionable person (heh)

The Brits are rude… and much much more original than Americans.

I like it. ^_^

ALSO

Right now, I feel like my biggest problem is the story is pretty superficial. Any suggestions? (Seriously, nothing wrong with constructive criticism).

Chapter Five:

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

-Kurt Vonnegut

Cassidy was sitting with Hermione in Gryffindor's Common Room when their Quidditch team came traipsing in, looking worse for wear.

"Hey guys, how was practice?" Cassidy asked, taking in her friends' different expressions: Oliver Wood, irritated at the twins, who were jumping up around and teasing him; Angelina, Alicia and Katie trying to hide their giggles, and Harry, who looked just plain angry.

Oliver answered her. "Fine, except for the fact that we're not playing Slytherin. We're playing Hufflepuff instead." At this, the three female chasers sighed and giggled again.

Oliver glowered, yet soldiered on. "They have a new chaser, Cedric Diggory, he's supposed to be very good. They're not taking it seriously enough. We cannot lose this match!" As he continued his diatribe, with only Ron Weasley listening (while Hermione glared at him from the opposite couch- mad at him for some reason or another), Cassidy turned to Angelina.

"He's the sexy one, yeah?" Her Czech accent was fading a bit, and she was adopting the British style of talking more and more.

"Strong and silent…" Angelina sighed.

"I wouldn't kick him out of bed," nodded Alicia excitedly.

Katie just muttered something about whipped cream, handcuffs and chocolate frogs, turning bright red.

"Well then. Guess I have a good reason to go to the Quidditch Match after all," Cassidy mused.

Fred and George, who had been glowering while this conversation had taken place, jumped on Cassidy now.

"Cassie, love, aren't we a good reason?"

"Hurts our feelings, it does-"

"To think, we thought you cared for us!"

"But no, all you care for is that stinking Diggory boy!"

Cassidy rolled her eyes at the two boys who were currently sobbing into her shoulders, and turned to Harry.

"What's up your bum, Mr. Potter?" Cassidy had become more comfortable talking to him, as she had with everyone. She was able to block out the fact that her father had been the source of his parents' deaths as long as she didn't look at his scar. It wasn't really that good of a system, so it meant she was only able to talk to him about once a week, and not without stuttering quite a bit.

The wild-haired boy was a bit surprised she was talking to him, but he needed someone to rant to, and she was as good as any. Harry had noticed this change in behavior as well, but he chose not to comment on it. He, like everyone else, had generally accepted that she was awed by him and his past; but despite being wrapped up in his own problems (what with a serial killer out to get him) he had noticed that she tended to tear up around him. This was not normal behavior for those who admired him. "That prat, Malfoy, is pretending that his arm is injured and they're using it to get out of playing! They're just afraid of playing in a little wet weather, the bastards." Harry ignored Hermione's cry not to swear, and continued to rave about Malfoy, his anger joining with Wood's tirade.

"That bloody bastard Flint-" Oliver's face was turning purple.

"Fucking Malfoy thinks he can fucking-" Harry's hair seemed to stand on end.

"Wusses out just because of a little rain-" A vein bulged in Oliver's neck

"Lie about every damn thing! 'Ooh, Daddy, the big mean hippogriff was mean to me! Let's kill it!'" Harry flapped his hands about like a princess.

"It's bollocks it is!" Oliver turned towards his teammate.

Cassidy was afraid that Hermione was convulsing from all the cursing.

"Bollocks!" They were now waving their arms at each other, and finished the rant together.

"HE'S NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT!" The two adolescents stomped off in different directions to do God-knows-what, their mannerisms furious.

"We could help!" One of the twins called from next to Cassidy's ear, but he was ignored. The two red-heads had moved onto the arms of the chair Cassidy was curled on, but still insisting on 'resting' their hands on her.

"They rather sounded like you two," commented Katie to Fred and George.

"Except all with the angry…" whimpered Cassidy. Hermione was still twitching, and Ron looked confused about whether he should be worried about his friends, or greatly amused. Finally, like the older Gryffindors, he chose amused.

"That was bloody awesome!"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match, and Cassidy was out in the stands of the Quidditch Pitch, huddled up with Lee, trying to hide under an umbrella. Rain swirled around them, and Cassidy's hair stuck to her face.

She had never particularly enjoyed Quidditch, but with friends such as hers, she was obligated to go and watch the game; even in the nastiest of weather they deserved her support.

They watched as the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor players rose into the air, Lee (McGonagall wanted a match without his colorful commentary) pointing out to her who each member was, passing her his pair of Omniculars. All she could see was rain. It was terrible. They could see nothing through the rain, and even when Lee shouted something to her, she could barely make it out.

Cassidy tried to keep one eye on the twins and another on Harry (and another on her three Chaser friends), but the rain kept sticking to her eyelashes.

This continued for a good amount of time, when she was taken surprise by Lee shouting in her ear. "They see the Snitch! Watch!" Everyone around them was standing excitedly, their cheers futile against the strong wind.

Harry and Cedric were racing towards a golden little ball that only they could see, when the whole stadium grew even colder…

The crowd grew still, and a few gasps of fear sounded near Cassidy.

Lee gripped her arm tightly as they noticed the dementors in the Quidditch field- at least a hundred, if not more. With such a concentration of the demons, the crowd could still feel their effect, even high up in the stadium. Cassidy suppressed a sob as memories she didn't want invaded her brain. Next to her, Lee wasn't having as hard of a time as his makeshift companion. He turned to her, trying to get her out of her state, but a scream of fear drew his attention away.

"HARRY!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee and Cassidy rushed to the castle. They had just watched one of their housemates, one of their friends, fall fifty feet. Cassidy was trembling even as she entered the warmed hall to the Hospital wing.

They rushed into the wing, the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Hermione and Ron turning at the noise.

"Cassie- Cassie, come here. It's okay, he's okay." Fred opened his arms to his friend in comfort, and she pressed her head against his chest. George was right next to them, and he stole the girl from his twin's grasp, resting his chin on top of her head. Cassidy was generally uncomfortable with such blatant displays of affection, even from friends, but the twins and Lee were so relentless in their fondness for her that she just allowed it, even reciprocating the platonic affection- especially when it came to Fred and George.

Lee engaged in discussion with the rest of the Quidditch team about what had happened, everyone purposefully ignorant the exchange between their three friends.

"Shhhh. It's alright, everything's alright," whispered George in her ear. Fred gripped her hand next to her, and then shouted in shock.

"Harry! How're you feeling?" The boy was so good at being blasé about even the most major of events; even such as one of his good friends falling to his probable death…

Cassidy looked up and smiled weakly at the boy in the bed, trying not to cry again. She knew she was being emotional- per usual- but she couldn't help it. Seeing someone fall to their death could be quite traumatizing. She knew she wasn't alone in these feelings, as she could see Hermione Granger from across Harry's knee. The bushy-haired girl looked like a drowned rat (much like everyone else) and her eyes were bloodshot with worry.

It wasn't just her- Alicia was shaking, Fred and George were white under the mud that was slopped on them, and Angelina and Katie were holding back tears.

"What happened?" asked Harry, sitting up quickly. Cassidy recoiled a bit in shock.

"You fell off," offered Fred. "Must've been – what – fifty feet?"

"We thought you'd died," said Alicia quietly.

Cassidy whimpered and dug her head even farther into George's embrace. She couldn't listen as they continued talking, trying – and failing – to block the image of Harry's fall from her mind.

The idea of losing another person, even one who she wasn't particularly close with, petrified her. She did care for him quite a bit; especially when worrying about her father's involvement in his life, and she was so glad he was okay.

The next ten minutes passed by quickly, the team discussing if they could still win the Quidditch Cup, until Madam Pomfrey finally threw them out.

"We'll come and see you later," Fred told Harry. "Don't beat yourself up; you're still the best Seeker we've ever had." He and George proceeded to steer Cassie out the doors, the team and Lee waving goodbye to Harry.

"Cassidy, love, you alright?" George asked his friend.

"I'm fine… Just a little sniffly." She responded, looking at the floor.

He nodded, not really believing her excuse, but accepting it all the same. The threesome had fallen a bit behind their friends, but they could still hear their conversation.

"Did you see Malfoy? He's a bloody scuzzbucket."

"Yeah and that Parkinson chit? She's such a slag."

"Probably a beard, too. You just know Malfoy's an arsebandit."

"He doesn't know though- I doubt his balls have even dropped yet!"

"Ha, right? He's probably got a needle dick."

"They're loony, yeah?" Fred grinned down at his female friend, pulling tight in his arms. "Gods, you're shivering like a leaf!"

George turned to his twin, concerned. "She is?"

"Aye, she's cold as ice!"

Their eyebrows clenched together at the same time, causing little wrinkles to appear on their foreheads. This mirror-action made Cassidy giggle.

"Let's get you upstairs, and you can go take a hot bath." Fred and George hurried her along, practically carrying her with them.

George and Fred both knew that Cassidy was hiding something - or more than one something – and that it was tearing her apart. She always tried to be strong, to live up to the house she was placed in, but sometimes they watched her, and they knew she was breaking apart. Since meeting their Czech friend, they had become instinctively gentle with her, and it wasn't tiring them out a bit. They adored her, as did Lee, but they were starting to think they were taking the wrong approach. She didn't need to be coddled, she needed to be encouraged!

They needed to think of a good prank.

XXXXXXXX

"Miss Williams, if you would like to cause the death of yourself and everyone else in this classroom, then please, do add the bloodwort to your cauldron." Professor Severus Snape gripped Cassidy's arm, stopping her from destruction. His words were soft, but filled with malice, and his black eyes glittered angrily at her.

Cassidy nodded "thank you, Professor," and stepped back. This allowed her Ravenclaw partner, inaptly named Serena to add the correct root, her jowls jiggling nervously.

Cassidy had grown to enjoy Potions, much to the dismay of her fellow Gryffindors. Professor Snape still found many reasons to mock and degrade her- her potions, her family (her secret relation to the infamous Sirius Black most prominent), her house, etcetera. Nonetheless Cassidy had found that his unrelenting insults tended to be real advice and helpful, at that. Fred and George still bristled every time Snape graced her with his thoughts, but Cassidy appreciated them for the truth; despite their harsh nature.

And this was precisely the reason she was staying after class. As the rest of her classmates filed out to go to dinner, Cassidy shooed her friends away. "I just gotta ask a question about the homework. I'll meet you in the Common Room after dinner- I have to go to the library and find some books." She explained to the twins as they looked back at her; she knew they wouldn't follow her into the library. As intelligent as they were, they tended to avoid the place like a Troll Toilet.

She waited until everyone was out of the room, slowly putting her books in her bag. Finally, when it was just her and Snape grading papers in the room, she approached his desk, her shoulders set determinedly.

"Professor Snape… May I ask you a question?"

He looked up from a particularly atrocious essay, and regarded her, annoyed. "Miss Williams, don't just stand there like the useless lump you are. Out with it."

"…Professor… What was…What was my fa-father like? Professor Lupin said you knew him, and… I just want to know." She was fearful, but not of Snape; she was afraid of what he would say.

"Curiousity killed the cat, Miss Williams."

Slowly, Cassidy grew surer of herself. She could take whatever this man threw at her. "Yes, but satisfaction brought it back."

Eyeing her, Snape stood, his chair thrusting backwards. He stalked around the desk, his robe cracking. "Your father was an egotistical, self-absorbed wretch. He believed that he was above the law, that he had the right to act on whatever superficial emotion he wanted." In a moment of weakness, his eyes softened. "…He didn't deserve your mother…"

Cassidy gawked at her Professor, causing the seemingly cold-hearted man to reawaken and glare at her. "Now, I suggest if you have any more questions you ask Professor Lupin. He knew Black very well."

Understanding that the strange statement was a dismissal, Cassidy made a hasty retreat. She hoped she could comprehend what had just transpired.

When the door to his dungeon slammed closed, the lonely Potions Master sat down and hung his head in his hands with a heavy heart.

XXXXXXXX

From the beginning, Cassidy had been able to tell Fred and George Weasley apart. They had only tried switching on her once in the beginning of their friendship, but it was quickly shot down when she had asked Lee if this really worked on their mother. Lee had just laughed at the shocked faces of the twins.

It had turned out Cassidy had a knack for observing people- even twins as close as Fred and George had different personalities.

Fred was always leading the way, while George would just amble along, setting the actual pace. Often, one of them would get distracted, and the other would wait patiently for him, or join in on the interest. Lee was often there too, laughing at their short attention spans; or on the rare occasion, trying to hurry them along.

While Fred was quick to anger and quick to defuse, George was generally pretty laid back unless one of his family or friends was attacked, and then he turned into an angry dragon-man (figuratively, of course). This best shown when George and Cassidy were walking to Charms and a Slytherin fourth year bumped into her and proceeded to call her a dirty whore and told her to go lay on her back, where she belonged.

George had beaten seven shades of shit out of him.

Cassidy had been furious, but secretly she found it endearing. This was a problem, as Cassidy did not particularly condone violence, even when it was meant to protect her.

Both Fred and George insisted on touching her, innocently, but often. At least one of them always had their hand on her arm, her shoulder, her butt… Well, that had only happened once, and Fred had almost lost his hand. Lee often had a protective arm across her shoulder as well, but his touch never gave her the same tingles that the twins' did.

They were her best friends, those three boys. She absolutely adored them, and was growing more and more comfortable with them every day. Maybe soon, she would be able to tell them the truth about what had happened to her family.

She didn't know if she could tell them about Sirius Black, though.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The quickest way to a man's heart is through his chest.

Roseanne

ANOTHER AUTHORS NOTE:

I'm sorry this took so long to get out, I know that I promised it would be earlier… But I'm having issues with where I want to go- I pretty much have the idea of where it will eventually end up, but I don't have the middle.

Now, I know that there are people reading this; I do get Story Alert notifications, you know. It would be MUCH appreciated if I got more reviews- constructive criticism, ideas, etcetera. Please.

Also, I am looking for a Beta Reader, either for this story, or for any of the other fanfictions I am working on. Anyone interested? ^_^