Cards, Fire & Cinnamon - F.WEASLEY

23

───── ❝ Heading Back to School❞ ─────

September first arrived and Cass was full of dread. As planned, she awoke early and headed back to the house to pack. She felt a chill as she walked through the hallway that led to the stairs, it was coming from an open window in the kitchen. She closed it and soon noticed the untouched projector still sitting on the side only now it was covered in letters. She picked the box up and headed to her room, dumping it into her trunk. She read the letters whilst packing, just in case she missed anything important but mostly they were full of questions as to why she hadn't replied. Fred, Draco and Hermione seemed awfully concerned - she hated that she had made them worry. Within the hour, she had packed up all of her things into her wheeled school trunk.

She was about to take it downstairs, her eye caught a glimpse of the inside of her Dad's room. She felt drawn to go inside. The room was completely spotless, other than the messy bedding. He had a frame on his nightstand too, a wedding picture. Then without a thought, Cass headed to his wardrobe. She took a blue jumper off the hanger and wrapped the frame in it, gently placing it into the top of her bag.

They drove back to the hospital in Tara's car, so she could say goodbye before she was due at the platform. She ran down the hospital corridor, dodging everyone along the way, determined to spend as much time with him as possible. They had an hour but to her, it would never be enough. She walked into the room and immediately felt her senses flooded with despair and grief. She hated this room. Cass sat in the chair and smiled at her father, who seemed rather engrossed in the bear documentary on the tv. It pained him to talk now so they didn't. She just clutched his hand, fighting the tears that wanted to spill.

The clock struck ten and the pit in her stomach enveloped her lungs. Without thinking she leaned over her chair and wrapped him in a hug, careful not to squeeze too tight. He hugged her back and they stayed like that for a few minutes, wordlessly making note of the others embrace. "I love you and am so proud of you Cass," he whispered, voice breaking.

"I love you too Dad," she smiled through the tears. His hand slipped out from hers. "See you at Christmas." She reluctantly stood and heard out of the room, waving goodbye at the door frame. As she got into the car, Cass broke down into tears again. Tara hugged her in an attempt to console but it didn't do anything. They drove to the station and Cass spent the time preparing herself. With piles of makeup, a hairbrush and a mask that wouldn't fall. I hate this. By the time they got there, no one would be able to tell that something was wrong.

At the Gate, her Aunt wrapped her in a hug. "Are you still certain you want to come and stay with us at Christmas?" she asked, a pitiful smile spread across her lips.

"If that's okay, I want to be close,'' she replied, grip tightening on the handle of her luggage. They said their goodbyes and just like that she was on the platform. She headed inside the train, looking for the others. She saw the red first and, as if he had a sixth sense, he turned and they made eye contact. She was overcome with a feeling she knew all too well. Butterflies swarmed and an unfaked smile formed. He looked utterly gorgeous, she could admit that to herself. Cass hadn't seen Fred in this sort of light before but she certainly was not complaining. As soon as that delightful smell of cinnamon hit her nose she felt safer, it was odd but she couldn't unpack all that now. "Hey," she smiled. It seemed they had all been waiting for her. Odd

"Hey Cass!" the twins exclaimed, both wrapping them in hugs one after the other. She needed that hug more than they knew. She struggled not to break down into tears.

"Why are we all standing out here?" she asked, focusing her mind on something different.

"We were trying to find you, Hermione was worried because you stopped replying to letters," Ron explained as they all walked into the compartment. She sat against the window, next to Fred and across from Ron. She made eye contact with Harry and felt more awkward than before but then again, she had more important things to focus on.

"Yeah sorry about that. I didn't mean to cause you any worry, it's been a," she paused, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair. "It's been a busy week."

"Everything okay?" Hermione asked, brow furrowed in concern.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she lied. Fred knew she was. He could tell from the little scrunch in her nose. He draped an arm over her shoulders, a one-armed hug that could be read as something completely different. She looked up at him and smiled.God, I missed this. Maybe Harry was right? Ew I hate that. Maybe I do like him more than I thought. Shit, a male again? Come on get it together Woman.

Laughter soon came to the group, well apart from her. She began to feel rather claustrophobic in the cabin so she stood, needing a little fresh air. A hand on her wrist stopped her though. "Where are you going?" Fred asked, his voice ringing clear with concern. She thought it was sweet that he cared so much.

She pulled a smile. "To find Draco, is that okay?" she joked, feeling oddly disappointed when he let go.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Just wondering." She closed the door behind her and took deep breaths, facing away from their view. After composing herself, she wandered down the corridor in search of Bleachy. He sat near the back of the train with his friends. She opened the door and every face flickered to hers, Draco's lit up.

"I wondered where you have gotten to," he laughed, standing up to give her a hug. She lingered in his hold for a little while longer and he immediately knew that something was up.

"I am in high demand Draco, you have to wait your turn," she laughed. Everyone shuffled in their seats to make room for her. She sat next to Draco and the window and they talked just above a whisper. She told him everything, every single detail and she struggled to keep the tears from flowing. She explained the reason behind sending Nova to him and spent a few minutes just hugging her cat, who seemed rather glad to be reunited with her.

Cass was happy to be back at Hogwarts, she loved it here, but she hated that she wasn't where she wanted to be. The sorting ceremony passed with a blur and one of the only things she remembered from the evening was finally getting to eat a full hot meal. She hadn't had one of those in weeks.

-

She woke from a full night of nightmares. It was too early to go anywhere so she unpacked, blasting the music loud enough so she couldn't hear her own thoughts. That was until she finished putting everything away. She got dressed and headed downstairs in search for Draco, hoping that he had woken up early this Sunday like all the others before it. It appeared he had not. So she went in search of a distraction and her feet happened to lead her to the Gryffindor tower. She walked around for a few minutes, trying to figure out which room belonged to the twins. Thankfully, she could hear their voices behind one of the doors. She knocked, it was silent for a moment then a huge crash followed. They're trying to hide something. Fred opened the door moments later, face slightly flushed. "Oh hey," he laughed, wiping off the look of surprise. "Guys it's fine, it's just Cass." He opened the door fully and there was George along with someone else trying to stuff something under one of the beds.

"What are you doing?" she laughed as Fred invited her into the room. It was messy already and they had only been there for the evening. She loved that.

"We thought you were a prefect or something," George laughed, sitting up on one of the beds. She immediately recognised the other boy from the quidditch announcements, Lee Jordan. "Oh Cass, this is Lee," George introduced, smiling at the boy next to him.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled, sitting down in one of the chairs that sat at an untouched desk.

"So you're Cass... I've heard a lot about you," he replied, glancing over at Fred. George and Lee laughed whereas Fred looked as if he would kill. A conversation quickly began and she found herself laughing. Through it though, she noticed a change in George. His gaze lingered for a little longer and one time she even caught him staring. The tips of his ears turned red and he finally looked away from Lee. This must be the guy that made him realize... She thought they would make a cute couple but would never voice it to anyone. She didn't want to make George uncomfortable.

That evening, after a full day of hanging out in the Gryffindor boys dorm, she retired to her bedroom. After sitting with Nova for a few moments she noticed a pink square on her pillow. Another note from Fred? The butterflies returned as she read it.

'You should come and visit us more often, today was pretty interesting. Fred :)'

She tossed and turned that night but managed to get a little bit of sleep. She dreamed of peaceful things that night.