THE GOLD — PHOEBE BRIDGERS
'I don't think I love you anymore. That gold mine changed you.'Cassie, Enzo, Ron and Seamus watch as Fred manages to hold Nigel in the air. "Great!" Harry smiles as walked past, observing what everyone is doing.
Once Fred puts Nigel back down, it's Cho's turn. Cassie notices Chang sending scowls in her direction pretty often— probably from the events of last week's joint practice quidditch match. Hooch often makes two teams play a practice match, and she just so happened to select Ravenclaw on this occasion. Apparently Draco was a bit rough with one of her chasers, but Cassie swears she didn't see it happen (she did). Hooch let Draco off but Chang isn't happy.
Harry puts his hand over Cho's in an attempt to guide her wand. Cassie and Ron share a look as they watch Cho blush. "A little bit higher," Harry says, tightening his grip on Cho's hand.
However, this makes Cho look back at Harry—breaking her contact on Nigel. Poor Nigel flies to the ground with a thud. "Oh my god!" Cho exclaims. Cassie, Ron, Enzo and the twins burst into laughter as Harry walks away guiltily. "Shut up," he mouthes as he spins around, which only makes them laugh more.
At the end of the session, Cassie heads down to Madame Pomfrey's office. No reason in particular, she just fancies a catch-up. Luckily, the Full Moon this month is early on so Cassie will be able to enjoy Christmas without worrying about side-effects or any other cycle related issues. She knocks on Poppy's door lightly, glad that she has no patients at the moment.
Poppy knows who it is before she even opens the door. She squeezes Minerva's shoulder before rising and opening the door. "Hi, dear." Poppy smiles, happy to see her beloved student.
"Hi, is now a good time to talk?" Cassie asks, her eyes darting to Minerva.
"Of course, Minerva gives brilliant— if not better— advice. She won't tell, don't fret." Poppy comforts.
Cassie nods with a smile before entering. She sits on the armchair by the fireplace, opposite Minerva and Poppy. Poppy, as usual, pours her a cup of tea before sitting. "How've you been, Cassie?" she asks.
"I've been alright— better than I was, I think." Cassie shrugs.
"Still getting those nasty nightmares?"
Cassie frowns. "Every time I close my eyes, Poppy. I can't escape them anymore— I think I've learned to accept that. The quicker I accept it, the easier it gets, right?"
"Not necessarily true, dear. You'll deal with them on your own terms. Accept what you want to, and don't what you don't want to." Poppy shrugs.
"I can't even daydream without thinking about him. I'll be doing something completely unrelated to Cedric quite happily, but he's always in the back of my mind. I can try to ignore it but it doesn't go. It's this small ball of grief in my head, I can't seem to let it go. It's even here now as I'm talking to you."
"That's because he was your brother, Cassiopeia. Losing him was never going to be easy, you know that, I know that. The ones we love the most often hurt us the most, sweetheart. Cedric's death will affect you until you see him again, that's a fact— just as yours would affect him." Poppy explains.
"When a soul-tied bond breaks, it breaks even more than a typical heart. You lose half of you. You lose a piece of you that you never thought you would lose. That small ball of grief in the back of your head will never go anywhere, I'm afraid. But you must learn to look at it in a different way— perspective changes everything." Minerva tracks. "For example, you should stop seeing it as a ball of grief, and a ball of love, memories and warmth instead. That's the only way you'll get through it."

YOU ARE READING
way to go, tiger | Lorenzo Berkshire
Fanfiction❝ It's hard to tell but it looks like a tombstone. I'm not one hundred percent sure but there's nothing else it can be." "What does it mean? Check the book." Blaise added. Pansy found the correct page and read out the meaning. "You will feel incred...