The Cassiopeia Project [George Weasley] ✓

FIVE

October started with cold wind and wet days, dampening Cassie's mood even more. Her only two friends, Angelina and Alicia, were busy with quidditch and studying, so she had a lot of time alone to think about everything.

A few days after the meeting with Lupin, she had written her aunt Rose with hopes of getting an answer about her father, but the reply had been short and negative, which had sent Cassie back to the beginning: not knowing anything about that mysterious man and with no clue to start investigating. The idea of asking the Professor again had crossed her mind a couple of times since, but she was too afraid to ask him. The man was friendly enough, but she didn't want to push him too far.

However, two weeks into October a notice appeared in the Gryffindor common room. Apparently, they were allowed to visit a small town nearby the last weekend of the month, which made all students in third year and over buzz with excitement.

"What's it?" Asked Angelina as soon as she entered the room, coming from her Quidditch practice covered in mud.

"Hogsmeade weekend." Cassie answered, not looking up from the Charms book she was reading next to the fireplace.

Angelina beamed and, followed by Alicia, sat down in the same couch as her, leaving bits of dirt everywhere.

"Ew." Said Cassie, realising how dirty her friends were. "Was it a quidditch practice or a bath in the mud?"

Both girls laughed while their friend tried to clean the mud stains with magic.

"Blame Fred." Explained Alicia. "He started a fight, we followed and lost."

Cassie arched her eyebrows, but smirked.

"Sounds fun."

"You should come sometime." Angelina suggested, wiggling her eyebrows. "Who knows, you might like it."

"Yeah, right."

Turned out, Quidditch practice wasn't that bad. After some pestering from Angelina, Alicia and the twins, Cassie caved and ended up seated in the bleachers a brisk evening in late October. She was in a very good mood that day, so she cheered over-enthusiastically when any of the chasers scored a goal, shouted inappropriate things at Angelina when she flew by and mocked Fred and George whenever they missed a bludger. It was fun to see them, almost as if she was witnessing a match orchestrated just for her.

"Had fun over there?" Alicia asked when practice ended, smiling tiredly.

Cassie faked indifference, leaning against one of the dressing rooms' wall and trying to hide a smile not very successfully.

"Fancy a ride, Moore?" One of the beaters called, still on his broom. Thankfully, he was wearing his uniform, so Cassie knew he was George.

"I think I'll pass, near-death experiences aren't really my thing." She chuckled, trying to wave them off nonchalantly.

"Come on Moore, I'm sure you'll like it." Fred intervened, hovering above her. Cassie arched her eyebrows.

"How so?"

"I bet you five sickles." He insisted, grinning broadly. George mimicked him, landing next to the girl.

Cassie considered the offer for a moment, weighting pros and cons. She was in such a good mood, that she allowed herself to blow away the bad thoughts creeping at the back of her head.

"I'll take that offer." She finally agreed.

George quickly taught her how to climb onto a broom without falling, and the proper way of steading herself while they hovered a few feet above the grass. The rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, including Oliver Wood, watched with mild interest as they started going up in the air.

"I don't think I'm liking this that much." Cassie's voice was laced with fear, but George just chuckled.

"Hold onto me, I promise you won't fall."

Obediently, she put her arms around his waist, trying not to think too much about how close they were, and how comfortable his back felt. They started flying faster, until he sprinted, and a shriek of surprise left Cassie's throat. She gripped George's waist tighter, closing her eyes and feeling a little bit dizzy. The wind swirled around them, caressing her cheeks and tangling her hair, somehow calming her down. It was pleasant, she thought, resting her head in George's back and smiling. Cassie hadn't felt that calm in months. It was as if all her worries had been left in the ground, and she could momentarily fly away from them.

"Are you okay?"

Cassie hummed in confirmation, and George was satisfied. They did a few laps more and finally descended. When the girl stood on the grass again, her legs were shaking, but her face was happy.

"It wasn't that bad." She conceded, flashing a quick smile at George.

"Knew it!" Yelled Fred, pumping the air with his fist. "Five sickles, please."

Cassie stuck out her tongue at him in a childish manner but handed out the coins anyways. The rest of the team was already in the changing rooms, eager to get to the comfort of the fire in the common room, and the three of them followed, chatting away happily.

⁕⁕⁕

Halloween's day greeted them with cold wind and no rain, unlike the previous weeks. Some other day, this would've been enough for Cassie to think it would be a pretty decent morning, but that was not the case.

She had known it was going to happen since the start of the week but had refused to admit it to herself. Every once in a while, Cassie would experience one of those episodes where she couldn't get out of bed and everything felt numb. Nothing felt like it was worth it, and, overall, she felt like a failure. The amount of stress that fifth-year conveyed didn't help much either.

So that's how she had ended up lying in bed and staring at the ceiling for a solid three hours, only getting out of bed to go to the toilet. Angelina and Alicia had tried in vain to convince her to go to Hogsmeade with them, as Cassie had refused every time, no matter if it was the only opportunity to exit the castle that they would have in weeks. All of that seemed hollow and worthless at the time.

After a while, she decided to go for a walk. Few people would be roaming the halls, so she could get a chance of strolling without a destination. With great effort, she abandoned her comfortable bed and buttoned up the scarlet and black robes over some sweatpants and an old jumper. No one except for some first and second years would see her.

However, things don't usually go as one plans them to. As soon as Cassie stepped into the DADA corridor, a door slowly creaked open, and a warm voice reached her.

"Cassiopeia? What are you doing here?"

It was, of course, Professor Lupin.

She turned around slowly, trying to keep her face neutral. The man was looking at her with interest, and with a quick movement, invited her to go into his office.

"I was just talking to Harry." He mentioned, Cassie standing awkwardly next to the door. "You know him, right?"

"Never talked to him."

"You should. You two have things in common."

Cassie only half-listened while the teacher went on a rant about some creature he would show them in the next class, her mind somewhere else. What could she possibly have in common with Harry Potter, the boy who had defeated Voldemort when he was just a baby?