Potter's Girl / Butterfly Effect.

94. The Three D's of Apparation

CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR;

THE THREE D'S OF APPARATION

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Due to Snape's suspicions about Cassie's friendships with Neville, Ginny, and Luna, Cassie was forced to communicate with the three of them in privacy or using brief, coded letters in case someone deplorable intercepted them – which made it difficult when her birthday came by.

   Neville attempted to gift her some sort of plant, but after a strict glare from Professor Carrow directed in Cassie's direction, Neville cleared his throat and pretended as though he had merely been attempting to place his potted plant on the windowsill behind Cassie.

   She received no birthday gifts or well wishes for her seventeenth birthday, but nothing anyone could have given her would have been better than the assurance that she could now use magic outside of Hogwarts – meaning she didn't have to return after the Christmas holidays.

She could return to Moony – to Tonks, and Mrs. Weasley, and Fred and George – all of the Order members. Perhaps even Ron, if he had safely returned home.

   It had been nearly two weeks since Phineas Black had revealed in front of Cassie that Ron had split from Harry and Hermione, leaving the both of them alone on their hunt for Horcruxes. Cassie had done her best to explain what she knew to Neville, though she doubted he understood a word of what she was saying – it was beyond difficult to describe Harry and Hermione's quest without giving away the fact that they were searching for Horcruxes.

   Christmas holiday was creeping up on the students of the bleak school with surprising speed – and with it; the shivery, harsh winter weather that forced everyone indoors lest they wanted to be freezing their arses off in the courtyards. The Three Broomsticks wasn't an option to warm up with a bottle of butterbeer in, as the students of Hogwarts were forbade from visiting Hogsmeade. Cassie rarely even left her dorm when she didn't have to.

Had she been only a little bit more focused on herself, she would have realized how similar her routine was to that of when she had been grieving the losses of her friends and family: Little to no sleep every night, unfocused in classes (at least, unable to focus until one of the Carrows regained her attention with a Cruciatus Curse), invasive thoughts boring into her mind and providing unwanted anxiety.

But she wasn't focused on herself anymore. She was focused on Dumbledore's Army, that had been reinstated behind her back – she wasn't too upset about it, as she couldn't have been involved anyways – but she provided support for those rebellious enough to join. She was focused on Ron and spent her late nights worrying whether or not he had made it home, or wherever he was going, alright. She lost sleep fretting about Hermione and how difficult it must have been, not knowing where her own parents were or if they were still safe.

   Mostly, though, Cassie's mind found itself wandering to Harry. The Boy Who Lived. Cassie knew Harry – she knew him well enough to know he would be worried about all of these things, along with the Horcruxes and the war and all those other things he had to deal with while on the run.

   Cassie hoped against all odds that Harry was safe, but found even herself second guessing her own wishes; because who was really safe anymore?

   She spent all of her days worrying recently. In her bed at night, tossing and turning; in the library, usually poring over a thick book that her brain refused to retain any information from; sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, staring at her food but not moving to force any into her mouth out of fear that if she opened it, she would spill her guts across the plate.