The Marauders Era

I'm here for you

Cassie had almost forgotten how easy it was to talk to Rabastan. How smooth the conversations went and how he could manage to unknowingly distract her from certain things. But even so, even as she sat across him drinking from her mug of butterbeer, even as she watched him, heard his laugh ringing through her ears, watching him talk while a smile stretched across his lips, she couldn't do anything but think.

She still had some trouble truly believing that he was really there, like it wasn't something madeentirely up by her mind. Of course, the hard chest rising against her head and the strong arms wrapped around her waist made that impossible.

But still, even as she sat there watching him raise his mug, she couldn't help but feel almost scared to blink. As if something terrible might happen. No, she thought to herself. She knew exactly what it was she was afraid of. What if she blinked, and the moment she opened her eyes and met his, the warmth, the kindness, it was all gone. What if she blinked and the Rabastan she knew, the Rabastan she, well cared about, was gone, and in its place, she saw the familiar empty and cold eyes that have been haunting her sleep for the past weeks.

The nightmares had increased since returning to school. However, none of them had been as bad as the first or as the one she had that night when she called him by the mirror. When she first saw him, any thoughts of the dreams that had lingered in her mind had disappeared. Although, the longer she looked at him, the more she heard his voice and looked into his eyes, the more they appeared.

Truthfully, Cassie didn't know what it meant, but one thing was certain, she was scared.

"Are you okay?" his voice snapped her back to the reality she had zoned out from.

"Yeah, I'm fine." her smile was strained as she tried to both sound and look convincing.

Rabastan narrowed his eyes, furring his brows slightly, not believing a word that came from her mouth. "Why do I get the feeling that's not entierly the truth?"

"It's nothing," She said absentmindedly, lifting her mug to her mouth.

"Doesn't look like nothing." He paused, "Is it the dream?" he asked, causing her to choke on her drink.

Her throat burned as she started coughing uncontrollably while burying her face in her elbow. Tears gathered in her eyes as she coughed harshly. "Are you okay?" He leaned forward, worry painted on his features.

Just as Cassie nodded, another cough racked through her. Just as intense as the previous one. Suddenly Rabastan stood up and disappeared, only to return a few moments later with a mug of water.

"Here, drink this," he said, watching as she took the mug and started to drown the water.

She almost wanted to sigh in relief as the cold liquid made its way down her throat. The calming effect worked almost immediately. During the first sip, another cough ran through her, but with each sip they lessen until there was none.

This time Cassie wasn't able to hide the satisfaction as she sighed loudly when setting the mug to the table.

"Thank you." she breathed out, her voice much more hoarser and raspier than normal.

"Well, it wasn't blue delight, but I figured the water would work just fine."

She cringed at the mention of the time she had choked at the Christmas party and decided to drown her glass with alcohol instead of getting water. It helped, but it also made her drunker.

"I'd rather not let it go to my head this time." Cassie chuckled.

He smiled softly, though it faded as if he remembered his previous question. Her teeth toyed with her lower lip as she felt his eyes heavily on her. As if his stare was unconsciously trying to burn through her skin.