𝑨𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒕 - ʜᴊᴘ x ᴏᴄ [𝐌𝐀𝐉𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆&𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆]

𝟐𝟗

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ʙᴇɴᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʀᴀᴘᴅᴏᴏʀ

   ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Cassie's world faded in and out.

Pain throbbed in her skull, her limbs felt heavy, and there was a sharp, burning ache in her ribs where she had hit the floor.

She heard voices. Distant. Fuzzy.

Then—

" Cassie! "

Her eyes snapped open.

Bright, blinding light. White sheets. A hospital bed.

She groaned. "Oh, brilliant," she muttered hoarsely. "I love waking up in the hospital wing. Feels like a personal achievement at this point."

Harry, sitting beside her, let out a shaky laugh. "You're awake," he breathed, relief washing over his face.

Cassie squinted. "No, I'm actually a ghost now. Boo. "

Harry huffed, but he was grinning. "You almost were, you know."

Cassie frowned, struggling to sit up. "What happened?"

Harry hesitated. "Voldemort... he—he left. I think he flew through me, but I passed out after that." He looked down at his hands, flexing them. "I don't know why, but when I touched Quirrell, he burned. Dumbledore said it was because of my mum. Some kind of protection."

Cassie raised an eyebrow. "Alright, that's weirdly poetic. What about me? Why am I here?"

"You got hit pretty hard," Harry admitted. "Madam Pomfrey said you cracked a rib when you fell. She fixed it, but she still wanted to keep you here for a bit."

Cassie clicked her tongue. "Tch. Should've let me walk it off."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because walking off a cracked rib is such a great idea."

Before she could retort, the door to the hospital wing swung open.

Hermione and Ron rushed in, both looking frantic.

"Cassie!" Hermione cried. "You're awake!"

"Mate, that was insane!" Ron exclaimed, plopping into the chair beside Harry. "You took on Quirrell like it was nothing!"

Cassie smirked. "I make it look easy, don't I?"

Hermione huffed. "You could have died! And what were you thinking, pretending to consider Voldemort's offer?"

Cassie shrugged. "Buying time."

Hermione looked exasperated. "That was reckless."

Ron snorted. "Come on, Hermione, it worked. That was the most Slytherin thing I've ever seen—right until she decided to duel a full-grown wizard with nothing but sheer nerve and one year of spellwork."

Cassie grinned. "I call it a balanced skill set."

Hermione groaned, but her worry softened into something like fondness. "You scared us."

Cassie's smirk faltered slightly.

She wasn't used to people worrying about her. The Gaunts certainly never did. But here they were, looking at her like she actually mattered.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, well. Can't get rid of me that easily."

At that moment, the doors opened again, and Professor Dumbledore entered.

"Ah, I see Miss Black is awake," he said pleasantly, his blue eyes twinkling.

The trio scrambled to their feet. Cassie, still sore, just raised an eyebrow. "You here to tell me off, Professor?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Quite the opposite. I wanted to thank you."

Cassie blinked. "Huh?"

"You stood by your friends, despite your reservations. And you proved yourself quite formidable," Dumbledore said, amusement lacing his tone. "Very much like your uncle."

Cassie stiffened. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before."

Dumbledore studied her for a moment. "You carry his defiance, yes. But you also carry your own cunning. Your own instincts. You are not just like him, Cassiopeia. You are your own person."

Cassie wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she just huffed. "Well, thanks, I guess. Next time, I'd appreciate fewer near-death experiences, though."

Dumbledore chuckled again. "Ah, Miss Black... somehow, I doubt that will be the case."

With a final nod, he turned and left.

Cassie slumped back into her pillow, staring at the ceiling.

Ron whistled. "Well, that was something."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. Then he turned to Cassie, a hesitant smile tugging at his lips. "You... you really didn't have to help us, you know."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up, Potter. You lot would've gotten yourselves killed without me."

Harry grinned. "Yeah. We probably would have."

Cassie chuckled, shaking her head. "Next time, try saving the world without dragging me into it."

Ron snorted. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen."

Cassie sighed dramatically. "Figures."

But despite her complaints, she didn't really mind.

Not that she'd ever admit it.