Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

48 - Misery and Mistakes

musical mood: this is me trying - taylor swift

By the next day, everyone in the school knew what had happened - that Barty Crouch Jr. had kidnapped the real Alastor Moody, put Harry Potter's name in the Goblet of Fire, killed his own father, got Cedric Diggory killed, and tried to kill Harry Potter. Everyone knew that he had gotten his soul sucked out the same day by dementors, and had laughed the whole time. Everyone knew that Cassiopeia Crouch, the seemingly unassuming fourth year Ravenclaw, had been involved in the entire thing.

The real Alastor Moody was alive, but barely, recovering in St. Mungo's, which Cass was relieved to hear. She didn't have his death on her as well. There was enough blood on her hands as it was.

Pomfrey had to give her a calming drought, when she had entered the Hospital Wing, because of how much she was hyperventilating, though no tears escaped her. The drought dose ended up being so high, that she collapsed into a deep sleep the moment she lay down on the bed.

She spent two days in the Hospital Wing, even though she could've left much earlier. She wasn't actually physically injured, after all, but she didn't want to face anyone just yet. She turned down all visitors, and would've stayed longer, had Pomfrey not insisted she get up and leave, to make room for new ill students.

So she did. But she didn't return to her dorms, no, she didn't think she could handle that quite yet, handle seeing people. Instead, she kept her head down, ignoring the stares of those she passed by, and made her way to the library.

There was a spot in particular she planned on hiding out in - behind the leprechaun tapestry, where she had hidden with the Weasley twins all those years ago, when the troll had broken into the school. It had been so long, and she'd been so young, so naive. Cass so desperately missed the days when her biggest problem was her father's neglect, and not her father's death.

She swiftly ducked under the tapestry, crawling into the alcove behind it, and hugged her knees to her chest. She didn't cry, no tears came out, but she took deep, shaky breaths as she allowed everything to sink in.

Cedric was dead. Her father was dead. Her brother was dead - or well, as close to dead as he could get. His soul had been sucked out, after all. That might've been the only good thing to come out of all of this. If anything, at least she no longer had to worry about Barty. At least he was dead, for real this time.

Apparently, Potter was claiming that You-Know-Who was back, to anyone that would listen. She didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, it made absolutely no sense, but on the other hand, it made all the sense in the world. It was a conundrum, really.

Not that she cared much for what Potter had to say. What did the motive matter, when everyone was dead anyways? Who cared? Everything had gone to shit, leaving a numb frame of a girl behind.

She pulled out her wand from her robe pocket, examining it. She could do it, she could cast the spell and end her life as well. It would be easy, easier than being judged by the entire school, at least.

Cass shook her head, putting her wand away once again. No. That was stupid. She wasn't going to kill herself, not yet, at least.

"There you are."

Cass shot up, reaching for her wand, but it was just Henry. She lowered her wand when he stared at her in shock.

"Woah, woah, relax, it's just me." He held his hands up in mock surrender. His long hair was pulled back into a bun, and he was sweating, as if he had run there.