musical mood: king of my heart – taylor swift

On Valentine's Day, the couples of Hogwarts were all packed on the trail that led to Hogsmeade, leaving only lonely singles behind. Cass hadn't expected to be part of the groups going on a date, since that had never been a thing her and George had done before, but that morning, he had left her a note that read simply: Meet me outside the Shrieking Shack.

So, she did, walking alongside Theodore, who was meeting Ana at the Hogs Head. Apparently, they couldn't be seen in a crowded place like the Three Broomsticks, so they had to settle for the cramped, dingy pub instead that no one ever went to.

They spotted Henry as they walked, with a Slytherin girl she didn't know the name of. Cass gave him a wave, to which he simply turned around and pretended he hadn't seen them.

"Rude." Cass frowned. "He's been acting so strange this year. Did I do something to upset him?"

Theodore simply shrugged, though by the convoluted expression on his tan face, he was clearly fighting the urge to say more.

Well, perhaps it was best not to push it.

"How has Ana been doing?" She asked, despite having spoken to Ana earlier that morning. Anything to break the awkward silence between her and the younger Nott brother.

At the mention of Ana, Theodore's entire expression lit up like a Christmas tree. "She's grand. Busy studying for her stupid OWLs, like all you bloody Ravenclaws. But she lets me study with her, so I reckon that's good at least. I'm…I'm really happy with her, Cass. Like, happier than I've ever been, I reckon."

She grinned at him. "I'm happy for you two."

"Thanks." He grinned back, though his expression faltered ever so slightly. "I just worry, though. About my father. I worry I'm putting her in danger."

"Oh, come off it, Theodore. Ana will be fine, and so will you. It isn't like your father is going to murder her or something."

"You'd be surprised." He said under his breath, seemingly more to himself than to Cass.

She frowned at this, but chose not to comment further, assuming Theodore wasn't in the mood to discuss his horrific father on a day that was supposed to be about love.

Cass had never really got the point of Valentine's Day, until this year. It was just another day, why would you need a designated day to tell the person you love that you love them? It felt superficial, to her, and maybe it was, but now, she found herself almost…giddy. Merlin, she'd turned into such a teenage girl, being so flustered about having a boyfriend. Not just a boyfriend, George.

"Good luck." She gave Theodore a wink as they parted ways, he entering the Hogs Head and Cass continuing down the path to where the bench that overlooked the Shrieking Shack was. She assumed that was where George meant to meet her, at least, as that was the closest accessible point to the shack.

Her assumption had been correct, as she turned the corner and was met with the sight of a tuff of red hair peeking out from a bench. He must've heard her footsteps crunching in the snow, as George's head pivoted towards her, a bright grin on his face. "Cassie, you came."

"Did you think I wouldn't?" She frowned as she sat down next to him.

"You don't seem to be the type to be into Valentine's."

"I'm not." Cass admitted with a shrug. "But I am into you. And if that requires participating in cheesy holidays meant for capitalist commercialization, that's fine with me."

"I'm going to pretend I know what those words mean."

"It means, I love you." She leaned up and kissed him.

He grinned against her lips.

"Is there a reason you wanted to meet here, of all places?" She asked when they broke apart, glancing around at the odd scenery. Other than the shrieking shack down the hill, there was nothing nearby them.

"Must I have a reason for everything I do?"

Cass frowned. "Well…I suppose not."

"I'm only joking." The corners of his lips curled up, and she rolled her eyes.

"You're ridiculous."

"I thought it would be nice, over here. You know, more secluded. Less cheesy than a normal date. What did you call them, again? Capitalist commercialization?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"I've also always wanted to go inside the Shrieking Shack." George continued, and Cass's brown eyes grew in horror.

"What?!"

"Yeah, doesn't it seem fun?"

"Doesn't it seem fun!?" She repeated his words, shaking her head in disbelief. "No, of course not! It's haunted!"

"That was a myth." He waved a dismissive hand. "That's where Professor Lupin went during his transformations, back when he went to Hogwarts. The shrieking was well…his werewolf self howling."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I reckon the place is enchanted, to let out howls on every other night, so no one grew suspicious of why it only made noises on the full moon. Not that a werewolf wouldn't have been enough to scare people away."

"I suppose some people might've had some morbid curiosity." Cass said as she stood up, straightening out her skirt. "You have me intrigued, now. Let's go."

"You're for real?" George's expression lit up.

"I don't see why not. Unless you fancy sitting on a bench in the freezing cold for several hours." She rubbed her arms as she spoke, a rough gust of wind hitting them.

"Is this your way of getting me to offer you my jacket?"

"Perhaps."

He rolled his eyes as he shrugged off his jacket and handed it towards her.

"Such a gentleman." She pulled it over her shoulders, revelling in the scent of the lingering muggle cologne he'd been given by Fred for Christmas. According to Fred, now that he officially had a girlfriend, he needed to wear cologne, since girls liked it. Cass hadn't heard of the stuff until then, but she found that Fred had been correct.

His hand slipped into hers as the slid past the fence that separated the shack from them, and she found a giddy feeling fill her. Not just from his hand, of course, but from breaking and entering a place she knew they weren't allowed to be inside. There was something exciting about the whole ordeal, about breaking the rules in such a way. Wow, the twins had really rubbed off on her.

"Ladies first." George said as he opened the wooden door to the shack, the hinges letting out a loud creaking sound that made Cass cringe.

"Such a gentleman." She repeated her earlier statement, rolling her eyes as she stepped inside, George stepping in behind her and shutting the door.

The shack was vacant, barren of anything outside of basic wooden furniture that had been mostly destroyed, likely by Lupin during his werewolf form. There were a few doors that led into what Cass assumed were closets and restrooms, and a small staircase went up to the second floor. The walls were covered in a mixture of cobwebs and scratches, adding to the generally unsettling aura.

"You know, this is where Sirius Black and Harry had that big confrontation, when they all found out he was innocent and Ron's rat was actually that Peter bloke. Lupin was there too, and Snape, apparently. Harry hexed Snape, did you know that?"

Cass shook her head, laughing at the idea of a thirteen year old Harry Potter hexing their fully grown teacher. "How do you know all this stuff about Sirius and Lupin?"

"Being friends with Harry practically ensures drama, even if it's just by means of gossip."

Her eyebrows perked up. "Oh, does it?"

"Yes, but it's totally worth it. I mean, not many friends give our thousand galleon handouts." He said it with a joking tone, obviously not meaning the implication that he was only friends with Potter for his money, but Cass hardly focused on that as she spun around, eyes wide.

"Potter did what?!"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Harry gave Fred and I his Triwizard tournament winnings. A thousand galleons, towards our joke shop."

"Holy shit."

"That's what I said!"

"You know, I've never been Potter's biggest fan, but I must say, he makes it hard to dislike him."

"Why don't you like Harry? I don't get it."

"I don't like a lot of people." She pressed her lips together. When she thought about it, truly thought about it, she couldn't think of a single reason why she didn't like Potter, why she hadn't for all these years despite never being anything but kind towards her. "It's nothing personal. He just…bothers me." She eventually said after a long moment of silence.

"Fair enough." George shrugged, looking around the shack. "Anyways, this place is rather cool, wouldn't you say?"

"I mean, it's creepy, but yeah, I suppose so."

"The creepiness is what makes it cool." He said, rolling his eyes as if it was obvious. "We should renovate the place."

"Why would we do that?"

"So that next year, once I've graduated and you're still in stupid school, you can sneak out of the castle and meet me here, and we will have a proper place to stay."

"You'd want to meet here, of all places? You do realise Hogsmeade has plenty of lovely places to spend time together, right?"

"Yes, but I can't exactly fuck you on the tables of The Three Broomsticks. Unless you're into that, but for some reason, I doubt that you are."

Cass's lips parted in shock as a blush crept onto her freckled face.

"I'm only joking, Cassie, Merlin's beard. I just thought it would be cool to have our own spot, you know?"

"You're ridiculous." She let out a breathy laugh.

"Not that I wouldn't fuck you in here, though."

"You want to have sex in the Shrieking Shack? It's fucking creepy here! I'm pretty sure that's blood on the ceiling."

"That's why I said we'd fix it up." George winked at her, and only then did she realize he'd grown closer to her, only inches separating them. "You're beautiful, you know?"

"Is this your way of trying to get into my pants? Get me alone in a tiny shack and sweet talk me?" She raised her eyebrows, finding that she didn't actually mind if that was the case.

"Well, no, but is it working?"

"You're ridiculous."

"So you've said, Cassie. Many, many times." He took another step towards her, putting his hands on her waist, just above the belt that held her skirt up. His fingers brushed against the leather, as he leaned down and kissed her, rough and full of passion.

She instantly melted into his touch, reaching up and grabbing a fistful of his orange hair, pulling him close to her. He moaned in response to this, a deep, guttural sound, and she thought she might just pass away at the spot.

Luckily, she didn't make a complete fool out of herself by doing anything like collapsing while making out with her boyfriend, but that wasn't out of self control, but instead, because the door into the Shrieking Shack swung open.

The two jumped apart, pivoting around to see what had interrupted them, and Cass nearly burst into a fit of laughter when she made eye contact with none other than Draco Malfoy.

"What the fuck?" He spat, his grey eyes growing wider and wider by the second. Despite having grown up together, Cass hadn't so much as spoken to Malfoy in years, in fact, she hadn't really thought about him either. It was almost odd, someone who she had been relatively close to in her youth (despite hating) becoming nothing more than a passing figure. "Crouch, what the actual fuck are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" Cass responded, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced over at George, whose cheeks were burning bright red, not out of embarrassment, but likely out of anger from being interrupted by such an annoying person. She didn't think George ever got embarrassed.

Malfoy opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Cass noticed something behind him. Not something, but someone. First, she noticed the curly red hair, the same shade as the Weasley's, and next, the hazel eyes, just like Connor's. It was Saoirse Moore.

"What the fuck? Saoirse?" She pushed past George this time, walking up to the two, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her wand. Saoirse took a step backwards, gulping, but it was Malfoy who looked downright horrified.

She remembered the two, how they'd been fighting during the second task the year prior. Did it have anything to do with that? Did the two have some sort of ongoing rivalry that she wasn't aware of? How did Malfoy even knowSaoirse, when they weren't in the same house or year? She couldn't imagine Saoirse would go anywhere with Malfoy on her own free will, either, considering how angry she had been during the aforementioned fight.

"What are you doing?" She repeated her earlier question, but this time it was directed at Saoirse. "Have you been hexed? Malfoy, did you hex her?"

"Why would I have hexed her?" He cried, his breath heavy.

"Because why else would a muggleborn willingly follow you into a shack?" George spoke this time, his wand also drawn and aimed at the blonde prat.

"I'm leaving." Saoirse announced, turning her back to them, and before Cass could object, or question her further, the girl began sprinting away, leaving footprints in the snow behind.

Malfoy turned to follow her, but Cass cut him off by grabbing his wrist and yanking him in place. He tried to tug himself out of her grip, but apparently, he was weaker than her, which she found slightly amusing. She'd never been strong in any way, yet she overpowered Malfoy. He was truly fucking pathetic.

"What the hell were you doing with Saoirse, Malfoy?" She demanded, George's wand only inches from his pale, terrified face. She'd never seen Malfoy so afraid, she almost felt bad for him.

"Nothing! I swear! We just…needed a place to talk."

"Yeah, you were going to just talk alone in a fucking shack? Tell me why I don't believe that."

"Seriously, Malfoy, you're fucking pathetic, trying to hurt a 3rd year." George shook his head. "I always knew you were a sniveling little bastard, but I didn't realise the extent of it."

"I wasn't going to hurt her! I swear!"

"Then what were you up to?" George's wand dug into his neck this time, and he yelped.

"Let me go, please, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Cass's eyes flickered between George and Malfoy, before she slowly let go of his wrist. "Don't hex him, George. Not unless he tries to make a run for it."

"Fine." George moved his wand away from his neck, but kept it raised, just in case.

Malfoy looked like he desperately wanted to run, but he fought his urges, as he took a deep, shaky breath. "Crouch, Weasley, I'm being serious. We just needed a place to talk. Away from…people. I can't exactly be seen with a mudblood, now can I?"

At the usage of the M-word, George flinched, his wand growing closer to Malfoy once again. "Watch your tongue, Malfoy."

Malfoy's nose twitched. "I just needed to talk to her."

"About what?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters when you're fucking around with my…" Cass paused, biting down on her lip. She was going to say friend, but she wasn't in any way a friend of Saoirse's, she never had been. She'd always been her best friend's sister, but now, she wasn't friends with Connor either, not since he called her that awful word… "With a third year." She settled on. "Pick on someone your own size."

"I'm not picking on her! For fucks sake, Crouch, stop being so bloody insufferable! She wanted to meet me!"

"Why on earth would Saoirse Moore want to meet with you?"

Malfoy shook his head, his grey eyes growing red. Was he about to cry? "Crouch, please."

He was begging, all the hints of animosity in his tone gone, replaced with simple, pure desperation. George seemed to notice this too, as he lowered his wand entirely, his brown eyes flickering with an odd look of pity. The same pity Cass felt, about whatever it was that Draco Malfoy was going through.

"Forget it." Cass shook her head, not thinking she could bare seeing Malfoy cry, no matter how much she hated him. Maybe whatever was going on wasn't any of her business. Saoirse was fourteen years old, and impossibly headstrong. She could take care of herself. "Run along, Malfoy. But if you so much as try anything, we'll have your head, understood?"

And with a simple nod in response, Malfoy took off running in a much more frantic manor than Saoirse had.

"Wonder what that was all about." Cass said, more to herself as she watched Malfoy's white hair blend into the snow, growing further and further away. Saoirse was out of view entirely, which Cass figured was a good thing, as long as she was away from Malfoy.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Cass turned to stare at George. "Isn't what obvious?"

"Those two. They have a thing going on."

She would've laughed, had the idea not been so ridiculous that it momentarily stunned her. "You think Draco Malfoy and Saoirse Moore have a thing?"

"Well, yeah." George rolled his eyes. "They wanted to meet up, alone, on Valentine's day. Did you see the way Malfoy was about to cry? He clearly fancies her, but he can't, because she's a muggleborn. If it got out, he'd be ruined."

Cass bit down on her tongue. The idea was so outlandish, Draco Malfoy being into a muggleborn, being into Saoirse, of all people, but it somehow made sense. It certainly explained his odd behaviour.

"I don't know how I feel about that. Isn't he a bit old for her, anyways?"

"Fourteen and fifteen isn't a bad age gap. Just seems worse because she's a third year." George shrugged, before blinking. "Wow, I never thought a day would come where I would be justifying Malfoy's actions."

"I never thought a day would come where I would have the opportunity to see Malfoy hexed, and I'd back down from it."

"It isn't too late for me to run after him and hex him, if you want." George winked at her, twirling his wand in his fingers.

"You're ridiculous."

"Or," He took a step towards her, eyes flickering down to meet hers, the playful look he had been wearing replaced with something else. "We could finish what Malfoy and that ginger so rudely interrupted."

It was growing dark out when the pair finally exited the Shrieking Shack, having spent the afternoon…having fun, and then doing what George had suggested – spiffing the place up. By the time they'd finished, the shack actually looked like a proper home, though the bloodstains on the floor were damn near impossible to get out.

Her hand was entwined with George's as they approached the castle, his jacket still pulled over her shoulders, though it did little to keep the bitter cold of the winter night from sending shivers down her spine. George seemed equally as cold, and she offered to return him his jacket, but he declined.

Just as they were about to enter the castle doors, a voice cut their path off.

"Crouch!"

She turned around to find herself face to face with none other than Henry Nott.

"Hey." She greeted, trying not to let her confusion show. George looked just as baffled – he'd been aware of how strange Henry had been acting this past year, and his brow furrowed in bemusement.

"Can I talk to you? Alone, preferably."

"Sure…er, meet you inside, yeah?" Her eyes met George's, who began to take a step away.

"Of course." He winked at her, before turning around and walking inside the castle.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up to meet Henry's brown eyes. "What's going on, Henry? Is everything okay?"

"No, everything isn't okay."

She blinked, a sense of dread hitting her. The expression on his face…she'd never seen anything like it before. It was a mixture of so many emotions, she momentarily thought he might physically explode. "Well, what's going on?"

"It's about-"

"-Henry!"

The two whipped around to see Theodore springing towards them, sweat pouring down his face, like he had just run a mile. His face was contorted into an expression of panic, as he hastily reached them, his breath heavy.

"Shit." Henry muttered under his breath, so quiet Cass only barely heard him.

"Sorry about that, Cass." Theodore said as he wrapped an arm over his older brother's shoulder and gave her a very much forced smile.

"No worries…" She frowned, as Theodore practically dragged Henry away. The elder Nott brother glanced back at her one last time, giving her a longing, apologetic stare. Cass decided between Malfoy, Saoirse, and the Nott brothers, this was perhaps the strangest Valentine's Day that could've happened.

a/n: sorry for the lack of updates yesterday! I had a super hectic day and forgot haha.