Wolfsbane // Neville Longbottom

Chapter 6: Birthday

Her birthday fell on a Saturday that year. Cassie was excited about it. She hadn't been this excited about her birthday since she had turned seventeen and had finally come of age. Today, she turned twenty-one. She was so young, yet she felt so old (physically, emotionally and mentally).

Not tonight though, tonight she was going to be a bit reckless. A bit. She had never been truly reckless and wasn't planning on doing it now. Padma, Mandy and Hermione were coming to Hogsmeade and they were going to have a birthday dinner followed by drinks. Loads of drinks.

Cassie had invited Neville too. They had become friends and the more the merrier. It was possible that Hermione was taking Ron, who finally was her boyfriend, Mandy was bringing Ernest Macmillan, her boyfriend, and Padma was talking about taking her partner too but hadn't specified yet who it was, and Cassie was rather curious.

All day she had been wished a happy birthday by the other professors and several students who had overheard the professors. She had received two gifts, one from her aunt Lydia who lived in Italy (she didn't know about Cassie's lycanthropy) and one from Anthony. That one surprised her the most.

She knew her parents hadn't mentioned her lycanthropy to any family members but she only ever received gifts from aunt Lydia anyway. She was her favourite aunt and Cassie was her favourite niece. Cassie always wanted to be like her one day. Her aunt had sent her a new book, one she had never read before, along with a book to learn Italian.

But, Anthony knew about her lycanthropy. Anthony knew and they had broken up over it. Why would he send her a present? Why would he send her a picture frame with a picture of them and a card saying 'I miss you. Happy birthday'? Did he want her back? Did she want him back? She wasn't sure. Actually, she was. No. She threw the picture in the bin along with the card.

Besides, Cassie had a very strict no-gift policy. Her aunt always broke it, saying it was a stupid policy, but Cassie preferred a fun day or evening with her loved ones than presents. She also always felt a little awkward receiving them. Everyone always stared at you as you unwrapped them and even if you hated it, you had to force yourself to like it. She didn't really like the idea of it.

In the evening, she got dressed in a red plaid dress that hugged her body. It had straps. She wore an off-white shirt underneath that had puffy sleeves. She pulled a pair of tights on her scarred legs. She let her hair down and put on some golden earrings. She never wore silver anymore - obviously.

There was a knock on her done just after she had finished putting a shade of red lipstick on. "Coming!" she called out. She pulled on her black cloak and hurried to the door. "Hi Neville," she smiled at him as she opened the door.

He looked really nice. He was wearing black pants, a white shirt and over that a brown, corduroy jacket. His cloak hung over his arms. His hair was done nicely and he smelled like cologne. A really nice cologne.

"Wow," he said, his cheeks flushing red. She smiled a little and looked down at the outfit that peeked from underneath her cloak. She looked beautiful too. "You look really nice, really. Really beautiful. Really."

"You like really nice too, really. Really handsome," she teased him a little and hugged him. "Really." He chuckled and shook his head. She locked the door with her wand and started walking with him. The sound of her heels filled the corridor.

"Are you excited about your birthday dinner?" he asked her politely. He had already wished her a happy birthday at breakfast. He had been the first one to actually.

"Oh yes. I'm very excited to see my friends again. I haven't seen them in almost two months," she told him. "Ron is coming too, you know! Might be nice to see him. Mandy is taking Ernest, of course. Padma was bringing a partner too but she didn't tell me who it is."