Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

52 - Old Habits Die Hard

musical mood: youth - troye sivan

...133, 134, 135, 136....

Cass paced back and forth down the hall of Grim Old Place, passing her bedroom door over and over as she counted her steps. There was nothing to do, no books left to read, no potions to brew, no spells to practice. After nearly two weeks of being away from Hogwarts, she was going mad.

...137, 138, 139, 140...

At least Barty was nowhere to be seen. She'd certainly grown tired of him popping up everywhere, scaring her half to death every time.

"Would you cut it out?"

Cass jumped, a yelp escaping her lips, as she whipped around. She'd expected to see Barty, but instead, Sirius Black rested against the wall at the top of the staircase, his hand on the railing. It was still shocking, sometimes, to see the man who she had once thought to be a murderer roaming about the halls of the place she lived. Nearly every time she saw him, she had to momentarily calm herself down, remind herself that he was an innocent man.

"Cut what out?"

"The pacing. The sound is driving me mad."

"It calms me down. Besides, what else am I supposed to do? I'm not allowed to leave."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Neither am I, and you don't see me stomping about."

"I'm not stomping, I'm just walking. Like I said, it calms me down."

"You should get out, get some fresh air. Merlin knows you could use it."

"I can't. Apparently, I'm a target for You-Know-Who, having bested him or whatever. Not that I care much, at this point, I'd prefer he just kill me now and get it over with."

This seemed to amuse Sirius, as the corners of his lips drew upwards. "Oh please, as if You-Know-Who would risk exposing himself to track down a fifteen year old girl. Maybe get one of his death eaters to find you for him, but even then, I reckon they're busy trying to kill Harry instead. Moody is just paranoid, you'll be fine."

"He'll have my head if he catches me leaving. And yours, for encouraging it."

"What's life without a little risk?"

"You're a horrible influence, you know that, right?"

He shrugged, his eyes alight, as if that were a compliment and not an insult. "If you want a good influence, talk to Remus."

"Where is he, anyways?"

"Getting groceries. No idea where Moody went off to, and Tonks is at work. So you'll have no issue sneaking out undetected. Just make sure to get back soon, or I won't be able to cover for you."

"Thanks." Cass gave him a small smile.

"Of course. Anything to stop your bloody stomping."

"Walking!"

*

The first thing Cass did when she met the fresh September air, was walk to Dan's Convenience. She had no idea why, she had no idea what she would say to Connor, assuming he was even there, but she knew she needed to see him. She needed to see someone.

She pushed open the glass door roughly, setting off a bell, but she ignored it as she made her way to the counter. When she spotted Connor, his back turned as he organized the cigarettes behind the register, she let out a sigh of relief.