Cards, Fire & Cinnamon - F.WEASLEY

7

───── ❝ A bad day turns good ❞ ─────

Cass sat down at her now usual space at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. She arrived earlier than everyone else, for some apparent reason, and just waited. She often received odd glares from people as she was a Slytherin, sat at the Gryffindor table but she was used to them. The glares beat having to sit with Draco and his friends, given the fact that a blonde-haired boy who sat in between Blaise and Pansy made her nervous - and not the good type of nervous. "Hey Cass," Hermione smiled as she slid into the seat next to her.

"Hey Hermione," she smiled back as everyone else filled in their seats. Fred and George sat a few spaces up from them most mornings but today they sat with them. Cass sat next to Hermione and Harry, across from Fred (who seemed rather content with Nova).

"I can't believe the dance is in two days, it's gone so quickly," she replied rather excitedly. Cass only hummed in reply, not feeling very verbal this morning. She had gotten some bad news from home. Her father had to go on a business trip so she wouldn't be able to go home that Christmas like usual. Staying at the castle for Christmas had put a damper on the holiday. "Are you okay?" Hermione asked, sensing that something was bothering her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she sighed, running her finger across the lip of the goblet in front of her. "Just didn't sleep very well, that's all." She smiled reassuringly, lying straight through her teeth. But no one figured it out, except for Fred who looked at her with a raised brow.

"Oh okay," Hermione replied and Harry simply smiled before getting into a deep conversation with Ron - who was currently stuffing his face with scrambled eggs. Cass took a single sip from a glass of orange juice before she left the hall, heading for someplace she could sit in the quiet for a few minutes.

-

The day went by slowly and she found herself daydreaming in potions. "Cass?" Draco whispered, gently nudging her with his elbow. She didn't stir. "Cassandra," he continued, this time not needing to nudge her as she turned to look at him with a glare that could kill.

"I told you not to call me that," she seethed, jaw clenched through a whisper.

"Are you okay?" he asked, ignoring the look on her face. Her shoulders relaxed and she carefully rubbed her eyes with one hand.

"Yeah Draco, I'm fine," she sighed, knowing that he wouldn't believe it for a second. "I'm just tired, bad dream."

"No you're not, there's something wrong. I can tell," he pressed, searching her azure eyes for whatever she was hiding.

She shook the thought away, "I don't know what you're talking about Draco. I said I'm fine," she whispered back, copying writing down from the blackboard.

Draco resisted the urge to pull that quill from her hand. "You and I both know when you say you're fine, you're not really fine. I might be able to help Cass," he whispered with a soft smile replacing his usual smirk. He hated seeing her like this.

"Draco, I said I'm fine, just leave it." She snapped back, not meaning it to sound so venomous. The book in front of her snapped close as she picked it up. Cass walked out of the room, weaving between students to get out of there quicker. She went straight up to her room, not wanting to talk to or even see anyone else, she wasn't that hungry right now anyway. With a huff she sat at her desk, beginning to write back to her Dad.

Harry had grown to be concerned when she didn't turn up for dinner that evening. He grabbed a few things from the table, tying them in a napkin then headed straight for the library. She wasn't there. Not outside by her tree either. He wanted to look in her bedroom but Gryffindors weren't allowed in there. So, he looked for Draco. And he agreed to help him almost immediately, Draco was just as concerned as he was.