TRUST ME ── Harry Potter

( 029, a tight squeeze )

( CHAPTER TWENTYNINE, "But she's been resting for hours!" )

REMUS LUPIN HAD FALLEN ASLEEP ON the chair next to Cassie's bed after he told the others to go get some rest in one of the dormrooms. Rowan stayed the night in the boys' dormroom, and Aurora stayed in the girls'. Remus woke up, almost forgetting what had happened the day before. When he woke up, he looked at Cassie, frowning when he saw that she wasn't awake. He had hoped she would be awake, but she wasn't, and he couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his face.

"I am so sorry," He said, even though Cassie couldn't hear him. "I'm so sorry I left, I wanted to stay, I did. But I wrote a note explaining everything, Francesca should've told you guys about it. I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner, I should've been there for you when you needed me, and I wasn't. I love you so much, Cassiopeia Dorcas Lu--Smith."

Madam Pomfrey approached him, "Why don't you go have some breakfast and freshen yourself up," She told him, "You need to eat. I'll take care of her while you're gone."

Remus sighed and nodded, getting up and leaving the hospital wing. Poppy felt bad for the man, she had cared for him since he was eleven, and she had been doing the same for Rowan every month and Cassie every other day. Cassie was a lot like her mother, she was incredibly clumsy and always ended up injured.

She looked at Cassie, and couldn't help but frown. Cassie was a sweet girl, she loved keeping other people company ( Poppy had a feeling that's why she was always going to the hospital wing, she even went there when she had a paper cut ), she was a bright student, too. She couldn't imagine the pain her family were in.

McGonagall entered the hospital wing. "How is she doing?" She asked Poppy, approaching the woman who was at the side of Cassie's bed. "I suspect Pamona will be here soon, she would've come last night but she had been ill."

Poppy sighed, "She should be awake by now," She told Minnie. "I don't know why she isn't."

Minnie frowned, "I'm sure she'll be awake soon," She told Poppy, "She's a strong girl, she'll fight through it."

As soon as she said that, Pamona entered with Francesca following behind her. "Is she going to be okay?" She asked, looking over at Poppy.

Poppy nodded her head as Francesca grabbed Cassie's hand, tears staining her cheeks. "Oh, my dear, Cassie." She was saying, "Please be okay."

"Mum?" Rowan said from the door, Callie and Aurora were behind him. "I thought you were busy with work."

Fran looked behind her to Rowan, nodding her head. "I am," She said, "But my children are more important. Wha — What happened?"

As the other three entered the hospital wing, McGonagall told them all to take a seat, so they did. "It was an unforgivable." She informed Fran. "The person who done this is in Azkaban now, but we all assume this happened because of something Azalea was saying to Cassie."

Fran sobbed. "How long will she be asleep?" She asked, her heart dropping.

McGonagall sighed, "Well, we don't know. Hopefully not too long, she should wake up soon."

Fran let out a sob. "Please wake up, Cassie."

SOON LATER, FRAN HAD left, and now, Callie was sat in the chair, Aurora and Rowan had gone to get some food from the kitchens, and Harry, Hermione and Ron had just entered the hospital wing.

"I think it's time you wake up," Callie said quietly, grabbing Cassie's hand. "It's so boring without you, and it's Christmas tomorrow. You need to wake up, Cass, please."

Callie felt Cassie's hand squeeze her own. "I didn't imagine that, did I?" She asked Harry, Hermione and Ron.

"Imagine what?" Ron questioned in confusion.

"Cassie... she —" Cassie squeezed Callie's hand again, this time it was tighter and the other three noticed it, "POPPY!  POPPY! COME QUICK! CASSIE'S AWAKE! SHE'S AWAKE! You worried me so much, oh my—I am so fucking happy you're awake, are you okay? Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

Cassie squinted, the bright lights hurting her eyes. She lifted her hands to cover her eyes. "Why am I even he—?" She cut herself off as the memories flooded back to her. "Is Azalea okay?"

"Yes, she's okay. But don't worry about her right now. How are you feeling?" Callie asked, frowning.

"I don't know." Cassie mumbled. "My whole body is aching. I wanted him to kill me, I wanted the pain to just be over with."

"Cass," Harry said, "You're okay now, he's not gonna be able to do that to you ever again."

Ron pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing. "He's thankfully rotting in Azkaban, the dirty little rat."

Hermione grabbed Cassie's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I'm going to go get you something to eat, is chocolate cake okay?"

Cassie nodded her head. "It's my favourite." She told Hermione, who rushed out to get her something to eat.

Poppy approached them, "You can sleep in the dormroom tonight," She said, "But for now, you need to rest."

Ron looked at Poppy, "But she's been resting for hours!"

A/N: Honestly, Ron isn't wrong. Thank god these chapters are over, I'm excited to write about all the gifts she got for Christmas. Cassie is going to get emotional in the next chapter once she realises they all actually really do care about and love her. I'm also going to say it again; If anybody needs to rant or to chat, you can always message me!
QOTD: what is your favourite spell?
AOTD: expecto patronum!