way to go, tiger | Lorenzo Berkshire

࣪𖤐 Y7 | 10 . Sword of Gryffindor

HOURGLASS — CATFISH & THE BOTTLEMEN
'Chest infect me, waste my days.'

When they arrive at the spot by the river Hermione took them to, Draco looks at Cassie. "I can't stay. You know that." he shrugs.

She tilts her head with a frown. "You kept him safe."

He sighs. "Yeah. Of course I did."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me, Cassie. That's ridiculous."

Cassie steps forward, holding both of his hands. She can see his breath in the cold air. "I love you to the moon and back and even more. All of you. Please, tell them."

"Yeah, I will. I will, Cassie."

She doesn't hesitate before bringing him into her arms. He doesn't stiffen or refuse to hug her back. He hugs her back with all the strength in his body. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Draco."

Then, he's gone.

Cassie takes a long, deep breath, closing her eyes. Behind her, Harry, Hermione and Enzo are pitching the tent and setting up enchantments. Cassie stands by the river until they're finished. She knows when they're finished, because she can feel Enzo standing behind her.

He smiles and stands next to her, turning to face her. "How long's it been?"

"Three months and twenty nine days— that's a hundred and twenty days total."

"I think that's the longest I've ever gone without seeing you in my entire life."

"Oh, definitely."

"I hated every second of it."

Cassie looks at him with a level of fondness she's never felt before. "What was Malfoy Manor's cellar like?"

"How did you know I was there?"

"A lucky guess, really. Seeing Draco confirmed it." she shrugs.

"Oh, it was horrible, Cass. I was so bored."

"I'm not surprised. Did they hurt you? I swear—"

Enzo chuckles, "No. They just didn't feed me often and gave me fuck all to do. I did get a lot of gossip though— people forgot I was down there and could hear their whole conversation, you see."

Cassie chuckles, bowing her head. She finds Enzo's hands and squeezes both of them. "God, I was so scared. I thought about you every second of every day."

"You and I both. Other than that, how've you been holding up?"

Cassie's so vulnerable around Enzo. She can't even try to lie to him— it's physically impossible. At least with Harry and Hermione, she could get away with a white lie. "Not good, really— better, now that you're here. But, yeah. Losing Ron wasn't easy, especially on Hermione. Oh, and then there was hearing Eddie's name on the radio." she sighs.

"Oh, shit. I forgot about that— I heard it too. Where were you when you found out?"

"We had to walk on foot with Ron because he got splinched at the Ministry— so we were walking through a field and had to hide in this barn. Ron always kept the radio on and I'd subconsciously listen with him. I only heard his surname and the city, but I knew." she shrugs.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry."

"What I hate the most about it is that now if I lose mum, I lose every bit of Cedric."

"We both know that's not true, love." he smiles. "He lives through you. He even told you himself— he's always with you, watching over you. As long as you're still alive, so is Cedric— same with Sirius and Amos."