Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

59 - Mad As A Hat

musical mood: I wanna be yours - artic monkeys

"-You were hungry?" Molly stared at her son in sheer disbelief. The two were sat down on the couch, Cass still staring at the spot of blood on her shoe. Molly was standing right in front of them, towering over them, and Moody lingered in the doorframe, his expression unreadable. "So, instead of asking our perfectly good house elf to cook something for you from the countless items of food we have, you decided it would be a good idea to leave the house in the middle of the night, and then stay out for hours after? You-Know-Who is back! One of his followers could've found you, could've killed you!"

"I'm sorry, mum, I am! I just needed some air, I kept thinking about dad, I was going mad staying inside this bloody house. And honestly, I wouldn't put it past Kreacher to try and poison me." George said, earning a smack on the cheek from his mother and a chuckle from Moody. "We were going to come straight back, I swear."

"Well, what prevented you?" Molly folded her arms across her chest, and both of them shifted in their seats. "What kept you outside for five bloody hours?!"

George opened his mouth to speak, but Cass cut him off.

"It was my fault, Molly."

Molly's gaze softened slightly as she met Cass's eye. George's mother had always liked Cass, or so it seemed, at least.

"Cassie-" George began, but she shook her head, still refusing to look in his direction.

"He's lying for me. We weren't hungry, we didn't get anything to eat. The truth is...I had an episode. A bad one. So, I freaked out and I ran out of the house. George followed me. It took hours to find me, but he did, and he brought me to my senses, convinced me I'm safe and all that. I wasn't in my right mind, and if he hadn't come after me, I might've hurt myself."

Molly didn't seem to know what to say to this.

"An...episode?" She blinked after a long silence passed between them.

Cass frowned. Did she not know? It was common knowledge among those who lived with them at Grim Old Place that she'd been institutionalized, but maybe they didn't all know the full story behind it, didn't know the visions she'd been plagued with since the summer began.

"Yeah. Moody can tell you all about them." She glanced over at Moody, who was eyeing her with suspicion. She shrunk under his gaze. Did he not believe her? "Just...don't be mad at George, he was just trying to help me. It's my fault, not his."

She felt George wrap his fingers in between hers, and she inhaled sharply. An internal battle began, whether to pull away or to lean into his grip. She was furious, beyond furious at him, but she couldn't let Molly catch on to that, and his touch felt so good against hers...

"I have to use the loo." Cass stood up suddenly, allowing her hand to slip out of George's grip as she dashed up the stairs.

"I don't understand. What episode?" She heard Molly ask as she turned the corner.

She didn't go into the restroom, though, instead she found herself back inside her own room, locking the door behind her. Part of her expected Barty to be there, just as she had many times before, but he was nowhere to be seen. Somehow, this made her even more anxious. Why wasn't he coming to her? Was he planning something?

You're not seeing him because you're better. Because he's dead. Cass told herself, breathing like she had been in the police station. Inhale, hold, exhale, repeat.

She sat down on her bed, leaning back and resting her head on the soft pillow.

Inhale, hold, exhale, repeat.