Cass fiddled with the sleeves of her cream-colored cardigan nervously before deciding that if she didn't want to unravel one of her favorite sweaters, she should probably stop. She couldn't help it. She was just so nervous, which seemed ridiculous. This was Enz she was talking about—a boy who was quickly becoming one of her best friends. Why was she nervous?

Her mind couldn't stop thinking about him, even when she didn't want to. She'd be in class struggling to pay attention because all she could think about was his kind eyes or the way he held her close as they watched movies together or the feeling of his lips pressed up against her forehead. You're being silly, Cass told herself. Enzo has never made any hint that he wants you as more than a friend. Don't screw up this friendship with just a crush.

But it was slowly starting to feel like it wasn't just a crush. And that terrified Cass because she'd never felt like this before. Not even with Zacharias.

Being with Enzo was just easy. Being with Lorenzo Berkshire was like sunbathing on a warm summer's day before coming home to a warm pie on the windowsill waiting for you. It was sweet and warm and tingled parts inside of her that she didn't even know could be tingled. With him, grief didn't seem to bother her. With him, she wasn't the lonely twin left on Earth or the girl saddled with trauma. With him, she was the woman she wanted to be.

Cass was horrible at putting herself out there, mainly because she never read social cues correctly. Andie told her for so long that Zacharias was a piece of shit cheater but she'd never listened because she just assumed that was how boyfriends acted. Part of her wondered from time to time if Enzo might ever love her but she wasn't sure she could take that risk and be wrong. After all, she'd been wrong about love before.

"Cass!" Enzo said with a bright smile as he jogged forward to meet her. The sight of his sky-blue eyes made her instantly feel relieved. To be honest, she was surprised when he asked her to Hogsmeade on Monday in Charms Class—so surprised that she was beginning to doubt he'd even asked her that at all. The sight of him running toward her with a dimpled grin was enough to make her racing heart ease. "Wow. You look... great," he said as his eyes traveled up and down her body.

She found herself fiddling with the sweater ends again. It wasn't a particularly special outfit but she'd felt cute when she put it on this morning. A cream cardigan with cute brown buttons, a white camisole underneath a pair of denim overalls, and cream-colored sneakers to match. Her curled hair was in two braids that turned into ponytails halfway down. She'd finished the look with simple makeup—just some blush, mascara, and lipgloss. Yeah, Cass thought she was cute but Enzo was looking at her like she was beautiful. She couldn't help but blush.

"Hey, Enz. You look really nice too," she said as she tried not to check him out too much. That was easier said than done when he was wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, and a backward hat. Seeing his hair poke through the hole in the front was doing something to her stomach. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as they were quickly joined by another Slytherin, a curly-haired boy with an amused face. "Hey, Mattheo."

"Well, if it isn't little Miss Crane," he said as he pulled her into a hug that shocked her. Cass swore she saw a scowl on Enzo's face but it was gone before she could read it. "How's my future wife doing?"

"I don't know. You should ask her."

Enzo just smiled and moved closer to her. Mattheo feigned heartbreak in the most overdramatic way, clutching his heart with a large sigh. "And here I was thinking you and I could have curly-haired babies. They would have been adorable."

"Shoo, Mattheo," Enzo grumbled. "Go bug Nora or something."

The boy flashed pearly white teeth that reminded Cass of a predator catching a whiff of wounded prey. She felt bad for this Nora girl, whoever she was. "Oh, I will."

Enzo rolled his eyes as his friend sauntered away. He scanned the crowd around them for a second before shrugging and turning back to her. "Sorry about that. My sister and one of my other friends asked if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with them today and Mattheo. I don't know where the other two went but Mattheo's hard to miss."

Cass's face fell. So I must have imagined it. He must have brought up his sister and I assumed he was asking me. "I'm sorry. You should definitely go hang out with your sister and your friends," she said as she began to back away.

Enzo's arm shot out and grabbed her hand quickly. Merlin. With hands like these, no wonder he's a good athlete. "No! I asked you first and I fully intend for this to be a day for just us. Aria and Theo are friends so they can entertain themselves and Mattheo can talk to a brick wall. Don't worry about it."

She couldn't help but smile at the feeling of his skin touching hers. "Okay."

He smiled back. Cass could feel her crush growing despite all her attempts to keep it at bay. Crap. I think I'm getting deeper than I thought I would, she thought with a half-hearted sigh.

"So, sunshine. Where to first?"

Her cheeks turned hot at the simple nickname. "I... um... I..." Focus. It's just a name. It's not a declaration of love. "Where do you want to go?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't really visited Hogsmeade a ton. I've only ever made quick pit stops in Honeydukes. Where do you recommend?"

"Honeydukes is good," she said with a smile. They walked across the busy town to the crowded sweet shop. Cass tried to not think too hard about the fact that his hand was in hers as they walked down the street. She was sure that he just forgot to remove it or something.

They reached Honeydukes but before Cass could open the door, Enzo's arm shot out in front of her and held her back. With a soft smile and a softer blush, he held open the door for her and gestured inside. His chivalry made Cass feel warm inside. Or perhaps it was the fact that Honeydukes was at least ten degrees hotter from all the people inside.

As he looked around the packed candy store, Enzo lit up like a... well, like a kid in a candy store. He dragged Cass around to all the samples with energy that even she couldn't match. As he pointed out these giant lollipops to hers, Cass giggled. "Buy it if you want it so badly."

"Only if you share it with me," he replied smoothly with eyes a little darker than before. Cass shivered but tried to not read too much into it.

They finally went up to the register with a bag filled with candy. Cass just shook her head with a grin as she watched him pay for all his treasures. "Do you think you have enough?"

"No," he scoffed. "I plan on having many more movie nights together. Don't you want to have sweets for them?"

The idea of spending nights with Enzo Berkshire was enough to make her feel hot all over. Cass ignored the way her stomach filled with butterflies and instead asked him, "So if you like Honeydukes so much, why don't you come to Hogsmeade more? You could come every weekend. As Head Boy, you could probably come more."

"I don't know." He shrugged but his face was clearly bothered.

Cass placed a gentle hand on his bicep—ignoring how incredible it felt—and smiled gently. "You can tell me, Enz. It's okay. A little vulnerability isn't going to make me go away. I'm not that fickle."

Enzo frowned. "It's not really vulnerability. It just feels like a stupid reason."

"It's not stupid to you so it's not stupid to me."

That seemed to do it because Enzo finally sighed and grumbled, "It's just... I don't really do much outside of Quidditch. It's my whole life. My weekends have always been spent with extra practice and studying strategies. My breaks are filled with camps in other countries. Quidditch has always been pretty much who I am. But lately, I'm hanging out with you and we're watching movies and going to Hogsmeade and now I'm starting to wonder who I am outside of the sport. Like maybe I've missed out on what's around me by only looking down one path." He chuckled humorlessly. "Seems a little stupid to think about in a candy shop."

Cass smiled before doing something that surprised both of them—even her. She stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. "I don't think it's stupid, Enz. I like that you like Quidditch but you're so much more than a sport. I see it and I think you're starting to see it too." She stepped back and smiled at the rosy tint to his cheeks. "Thanks for being vulnerable with me. Now, how about Zonko's?"

. . .

Bloody hell. Enzo's cheek had been burning ever since Cass kissed it. He never wanted to wash his face again so the feeling of her lips would forever linger on him.

He couldn't stop thinking about it. It was all that was on his mind, even as they went to Zonko's and the plant shop and the robes place with all the funny socks. Cass wanted to show him the Shrieking Shack as part of his Hogsmeade introductory tour but Enzo refused, not wanting her to see how much of a baby he was when it came to ghosts. Plus, Cass looked secretly relieved when he said no so he didn't feel the need to give in.

Now, they sat together in The Three Broomsticks as they shared a giant butterbeer milkshake. Well, Enzo took one drink before letting her have the rest because she was too cute (and too bloody hot) with the straw perched on her lips. Cass looked adorable as she leaned forward, curls coming out of her two braids. Her face was the picture of utter concentration as she drank only the whipped cream from the top. He half debated ordering more whipped cream just so she would do the happy wiggle she did when she first took a sip of the sugary stuff.

"So what do you think of Hogsmeade?"

"I really like it." I really like you, he wanted to say. But his nervousness held him back.

Cass smiled. "We should come back."

"Erm, y-yeah," he stuttered because the sun was hitting her face and she looked like she was glowing. "Yeah, that'd be fun."

Cass smiled to herself. "So what's your sister like? I don't think I've met her."

The idea of Aria brought a big grin to his face. "She's great. Super shy and introverted but she has one of the biggest hearts I've ever met. She's my best friend, always has been."

"Even when you were a kid? My cousins hate their younger sisters."

Enzo nodded. "Oh, yeah. I don't think I was hers because she never wanted to hang out with me. She'd always lock herself in her room. One day, I tried to break in by Maman caught me sneaking up the stairs and shouted at me so much, saying that me and my friends frightened Aria. I didn't want to scare my baby sister so I left her alone after that but I tried to hang out with her as much as she let me until I got older and started going off to Quidditch camps while she stayed at Beauxbatons. Now that she's at Hogwarts and in Slytherin, we hang out all the time. She's probably sick of me."

Cass giggled. The sound made him want to wrap his arms around her and never let her go. "I don't think anyone could get sick of you. Now Mattheo? Maybe."

"Are you telling me you don't want curly-haired babies with him?" he asked in mock surprise.

Cass pretended to think before shaking her head. "Curly-haired babies? Definitely. With him? Absolutely not. I don't think I could ever reign someone that extroverted in."

"But you want kids?" he asked as he fought to keep his voice casual because the idea of Cass with babies was doing something to his feelings. He could already picture her holding a blue-eyed baby with the curliest blonde hair. Yeah, he liked that idea a little too much, adjusting himself under the table so he didn't have another accidental surprise screening like at movie night.

"Oh definitely," she said, taking another drink. "As soon as I can. I've always wanted to be a mother, ever since I was little, really. There's something so fulfilling about bringing life into the world."

"Definitely," Enzo said with a mouth drier than any desert. Fuck, he needed to get a hold of himself. "What other dreams do you have?"

"I want to be a healer. What about you?"

He smiled at the idea of Cass being a healer because it fit her so well. She'd be brilliant at it. "I used to think I wanted to play professional Quidditch but now I'm on the fence. Part of me wonders if maybe I've played all that I want to play. But who knows? We'll see. I do know that I want to be a dad." It's actually a very, very, new development, he added mentally because he didn't even know he wanted to be a father until he realized that he wanted to be a father with Cass.

Cass seemed to blush and for a moment, Enzo wondered if her mind went to the same place his did. But that seemed ridiculous and overly hopeful. It must have been the light.

"I think you'll be a great dad, Enzo," Cass said softly before taking another drink. When she pulled back, there was a big glob of whipped cream on her upper lip. Enzo gulped before leaning forward and swiping his thumb across the soft skin. His heart was thudding in his chest at the feeling of her velvet lips against his finger. Enzo licked the whipped cream off his finger before he could do something stupid with his mouth—something that might ruin things between them.

He looked back at Cass to find her gaping at him with flushed cheeks and dark brown eyes. Is she... No. Definitely not. It's that damn lighting again, he thought. But the idea of her being turned on—even if it wasn't real—was enough to make his little friend downstairs appear again. Enzo sighed. We've definitely gone past crush levels, he thought as he watched her drink the rest of the milkshake with a smile on her face.

Yup. Definitely past crush levels.

So in case you didn't catch it, this chapter takes place at the same time as Aria and Theo's date to Hogsmeade! Good thing Enzo turned down the Shrieking Shack, eh?

We're a little further in so what are y'all thinking? Any predictions? Questions, requests, etc.? You liking Cass and Enzo? Let me know in the comments! All my luv xx