way to go, tiger | Lorenzo Berkshire

࣪𖤐 Y4 | 19 . Claws

ANGEL IN LOTHIAN — SAM FENDER
'I claw until my skin comes apart, until I feel something.'

One night in late March, Cassie finds herself wandering the halls after being discharged from the Infirmary following a full moon. She can hear sobbing down a hall and curiosity gets the better of her. She follows the sound all the way down past the Hufflepuff common room.

Oh my... is that Eddie?

"Eddie?" Cassie gasps, kneeling down beside him. He looks up with a heaving chest. "Oh Merlin, what happened?" He shakes his head as she tries to pull him towards her. "Please, Eddie. What happened?"

"I can't— you're his sister." he manages to get out.

"Yeah, I am, but if he's done something wrong you need to tell me. I love my brother to death but if he's hurt you..."

"No, no. Nothing like that, Cass. It's just—"

"What?"

"I can't, Cassie. He hasn't told you— it's not my place."

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on. Cedric tells me everything eventually— even the stuff he tries to hide from both me and himself. It all comes out eventually. I'm asking you to tell me so I can talk to my brother."

Eddie wipes his eyes and presses his palms to his puffy eyes. "I'm fucking in love with him, Cassie, and it's killing me."

Oh.

Cassie should've been shocked at this. She should've gasped, her hand should've flew to her mouth in disbelief. But she's not shocked, or taken aback. If anything, Cassie isn't at all surprised it's something like that. But is Cedric gay? Is this an unrequited thing? Does Cedric know?

"Oh, Eddie." Cassie sighs and puts her hand over his on his knee. "Do you want to talk about it and why you and Cedric haven't spoken since December?"

"He— he took that Chang girl to the ball with him. I was jealous and... frustrated with him. I ignored him all night. I didn't explain myself the next morning and he didn't bother talking to me."

"Is..." she sighs. "Is he— is he in love with you?"

Eddie raises his shoulders, unable to form a response. "You fucking tell me, Black."

Cassie chews her lip. "Look, I don't know what your situation is with Cedric or how he feels about you, but do you know what I know for a fact?"

"What?"

"He loves you. Fuck, he loves you, Eddie. You're literally all he talks about. Oh, Eddie did this today... Eddie said this, how funny is that? Eddie this, Eddie that. You mean everything to him. If you love him, you will fight for him. Love is not an always easy task, but it's one that always wins."

"You mean that?"

"Yes, of course I do. Whether it's platonic, romantic or not, I don't care really, Cedric loves you. He loves you so much it's breaking him to the bone. You think I haven't noticed how quiet he is nowadays, or how he's handling dad's death ten times worse without you? He's miserable, Ed."

"He is?"

"Of course he is. He may love me to pieces, but I'm not you, Eddie. He misses you." she sighs. "Think about it, okay? Just think. If I have to tie Cedric to a chair to make him listen to you, I'll do it. He's the most stubborn twat alive when it comes to arguments, but he comes around."

"I— thank you, Cassie. Please don't tell him I was out here. I ran out here to get away from it all."

"No, of course not. You'll speak to him when you're ready, and I won't say a thing. It's not the first time I've kept a secret from him." she smiles, trying to cheer him up.