Blood Magic ✤ George Weasley ✓

63 - Blood Magic

musical mood: mad woman - taylor swift

The world was spinning.

Cass was on the floor. She didn't remember how she got there, how she'd wound up on her hands and knees, shaking so hard one might think she was having a seizure. She didn't remember falling, or collapsing, or being pushed - how ever she ended up in her current position.

She couldn't breathe.

Henry dropped down next to her, pressing a hand to her back. "Cass, it's okay. Just breathe. In and out."

"It's not okay." She responded, her voice just above a whisper as she struggled to allow air into her lungs. "Are you lying to me? Please tell me you're lying. Please."

Henry stared at her in disbelief. "Why would I lie to you about that?"

"He used Blood Magic on me, didn't he? That's how he survived. That's why I can see him. Isn't it?"

"You can see him?"

She nodded, a churning in her stomach causing her elbows to quiver, as she held herself up, only inches from the ground. Her bad arm ached from the effort, but she was afraid that if she removed her right hand, she'd collapse entirely.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Repeat.

She told herself, over and over, but it didn't work, not like it had before. Air refused to enter her body, refused to push past her closed up throat. Henry's hand was still on her back, rubbing up and down as he pleaded with her to breathe, to just breathe, that it was all going to be okay but she needed to breathe.

"He...he told us what he did. He'd used Blood Magic on you when you were an infant. To keep your father from hurting him...if he hurt him, if he tried to kill him, it would only hurt you. That's partially why your father did what he did, why he kept Barty alive all those years."

And with that, Cass threw up, the alcohol she'd been consuming earlier emptying itself from her stomach and onto the library floor.

Henry didn't seem phased by this, as he continued to rub her back. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, Cass. I just...I didn't know what to do. And Theodore, he loves Ana. If something were to happen to her..."

Cass's head snapped up. "You think Ana will be hurt because you told me?"

"I...I don't know." He admitted, biting down on his lip. "I hope not. But, you deserve to know the truth. Just...fuck, Cass, be careful? Okay?"

At this, she let out a cold, raspy laugh. "You expect me to be careful? How am I supposed to be careful? How can I be careful when my brother is going to try and kill me?"

"He isn't going to kill you." He insisted, finally removing his hand from her back, and instead pressing his fingers against her chin, lifting her head so their eyes met. "You know that. He needs you alive. I don't think you can die, actually. I don't know much about Blood Magic, but doesn't it make you immortal? I don't know...but...you need to be careful. He can't know that you know."

Her stomach churned even more at the idea of being immortal, but luckily, she didn't throw up again. He could be wrong, after all, though something deep inside her told her he wasn't....

"Didn't he think you'd say something? Didn't he think you'd tell me? We're friends." She asked after a long moment of silence. She'd finally managed to figure out how to breathe, and she took deep, laboured breaths, like it was taking every ounce of effort to keep herself alive.

"I don't know what he was thinking when he explained this to us, honestly." He shrugged. "He's mad."

At this, she nearly laughed. Nearly. Instead, her voice was cold as ice when she spoke. "Mad doesn't even begin to describe Barty."