chosen - harry potter

Chapter 7 - Photo Albums

Madam Pomfrey was adamant about keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the remainder of the weekend, so Ron, Hermione, and Cassia spent nearly all of their time there with Harry. They only left at night, spending all of their time with each other. Cassia noticed that in the hallways in the morning and in the evening, when they were coming to and from the hospital wing, a few people saw her and giggled to each other or whispered. She was unable to hear what they were saying, but she assumed that they were talking about her run-in with the dementor.

On the following Monday, the quartet was all happy that Harry was allowed to leave the hospital wing. They were all at breakfast, happy to be together and not surrounding Harry in bed, when Lavender Brown and Parvarti Patil, giggling with each other, approached them.

"Cassia," Lavender said in a hushed tone, "is it true that you kissed Justin?"

Cassia nearly choked on her food, shocked. "What?"

"He's telling everyone that you kissed him good luck before the Quidditch match," Parvarti said.

"That did not happen," Cassia said, her face twisting. "What a twit."

"Sorry, then," Lavender said, seeming genuinely apologetic. "We'll tell people he's a liar, no worries."

They turned and walked away, talking to each other surprisedly. Cassia fumed. She knew that Justin had been weird recently, but she didn't think he would go that far.

"Kissed him good luck?" Harry said teasingly. "And all I get is a hug..."

"I can't believe he's telling people that," Cassia said. "You believe me, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Cassie," he said, seemingly finding the situation funny. "I knew he fancied you. He's a moron."

"I've got to talk to Will," Cassia said, getting up quickly.

She found Will walking out of the Great Hall, and she was grateful that she didn't have to approach the Hufflepuff table. He saw her and walked toward her.

"Did you kiss Justin?" he asked disgustedly.

"No," she said, her face twisting again. "He's making it up."

"I figured," he said, seeming relieved. "Where have you been recently? I haven't seen you since the Quidditch match."

"In the hospital wing, with Harry. That's why I've just heard about this rumor."

"Merlin, what a loser," Will said, rubbing his eyes and then chuckling. "Do you want me to talk to him or-"

"I want to handle it."

"Got it."

She went to walk back into the Great Hall but was unfortunately stopped by Malfoy, a strangely common experience for her.

"Wow, Bright, your first kiss was a Hufflepuff," he sneered. "That's sad, honestly."

"Eat it, Malfoy. You just wish it was you," Cassia said, walking away from him.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

She found Justin, flanked by a group of Hufflepuffs, in the hallway in between classes. She was with Hermione, Harry, and Ron and she walked forward confidently to squash this problem before it went any further. 

"Hey, Justin," Cassia said coolly. She was curious to see how the group would respond.

Justin looked up, smiling confidently at her. The group pushed him forward, prompting him to speak to her.

"Oh, hi, Cassia," Justin smiled. "Good to see you."

"Right. Listen, I know that you think kissing someone other than your pillow makes you the coolest person in the world, but that doesn't work if you lie about it," Cassia said. "And for further reference, you have to talk to a girl more than twice if you want her to like you at all."