way to go, tiger | Lorenzo Berkshire

࣪𖤐 Y5 | 17 . The Wake

STOP CRYING YOUR HEART OUT —OASIS
'Cause all of the stars are fading away, just try not to worry, you'll see them someday.'

Everybody has to wear red for the wake. Not only was it Sirius' favourite colour, but it was the colour of his Hogwarts house (a.k.a, his pride and joy). Cassie, very hesitantly, slips on her maroon dress and puts the matching earrings in her ears. She isn't as pale this time around. Then again, she hasn't cried half as much.

After the initial shock of his death, Cassie cried a total of five times. When Cedric died, she didn't stop crying. This time, it's like she has no energy. She doesn't have it in her to cry all the time. Sirius's death has drained her.

Cassie shakes her head, coming to her senses as somebody knocks on her bathroom door. "Hi, sweetheart." Remus says.

"Hi, dad." she replies, her eyes trailing down to the letter in his hand. Her heart drops.

"It's from your friends. Vick went back to your old house and got all of the post. This was the only thing for you."

Her lungs constrict slightly, but she doesn't let it show. "Can I have it? I'll read it later on."

"Something's happened with them, hasn't it?"

She takes a deep breath and leans against the side, considering whether to tell him everything. "I said goodbye to them yesterday."

"Goodbye? What do you mean goodbye?"

"I said that we couldn't carry on like this. Our friendship was falling apart. I don't know how they'll react so I want to wait until after the wake to read it."

"Oh, Cassie. Are you okay?"

She shrugs, "I feel guilty all the time."

"What for?"

"First of all, me and Enzo have ditched our closest friends. Second of all, I've barely cried over dad's death."

Remus sighs, his eyes heavy. "Your dad had this same conversation with you after Amos' death, sweetheart. You know better than to blame yourself for feeling guilty. Everybody handles grief differently." he shrugs. Remus wanders over to his daughter and lets his fingers trail through her hair. He gathers it all and starts plaiting it. "I mean, I haven't cried much either. I feel numb— like I have no reason to get out of bed in the mornings. Then, I remember that I have you, and suddenly that numbness goes away."

"So all I have to do is think about the good things?"

Remus nods and looks at her in the mirror, "That's exactly what you have to do, pup."

—

Cassie can hear Moody's booming voice all the way from her bedroom. She sits on the edge of her bed, toying with her bracelet. Mostly everyone has already arrived, but Cassie is too nervous to go downstairs. She isn't ready. If she goes downstairs and talks about Sirius, that means it was real— and she isn't prepared for that.

Cassie's head whips up as she recognises Enzo's footsteps up the stairs. Her bedroom door creaks open and Enzo stands in the doorway with a frown. "You coming down, love?" he asks, his tone soft.

She nods, her gaze going back down to her bracelet. "In a minute."

He sighs, hating to see his girlfriend like this again. This has happened once before, and Enzo couldn't bear seeing her go through that much pain. He isn't going to let her go through it again. "Come on, everyone's waiting for you."

She groans and stood up, slowly walking towards Enzo. He puts his hands on each side of her face as she wraps her arms around his torso. "You're going to be okay, Cass." he says.