"I've spent all of the love I saved.
We were always a losing game."
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She's a Gryffindor. He's a Slytherin.
She's a Weasley. He's a Malfoy.
She's sweet. He's a bully.
She's dangerous. He's dangerous.
She likes him. He likes he...
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Whilst the four of them spent their evening planning how to get past the Stone, the other members of Gryffindor House spent it ignoring the two First Years that had lost them so many points. Thankfully, Harry no longer seemed bothered by it and Cassie had stopped trying to yell at them all.
The Philosopher's Stone had their undivided attention (which was surprising considering Ron still wanted food and Cassie had been recruited to prank Malfoy).
Leaning on the shoulder of her twin brother, the Weasley girl stifled a yawn as Lee Jordan finally went to bed. Exhaustion washed over her due to the many late nights spent studying but sleep would have to wait. Saving Hogwarts from Evil was far more important than an interesting dream about a land made of Butterbeer and Pumpkin Pasties.
Harry snuck back into the Common Room, cloak in hand, and began strategizing the best way to get to the Third Floor.
"What are you doing?" A small voice said, sounding familiar to Neville.
Trevor in hand, Neville stood at the bottom of the staircase I vibrant blue pyjamas with little bunnies on them, staring at his friends in confusion.
"Go back to bed, Neville." Cassie whispered softly, sending the boy a sweet smile.
"You're going out again." He stated.
"I won't let you lose more points." Neville moved quickly, blocking the way out of the common room. "I'll- I'll fight you!"
"When I told you to stand up for yourself, I didn't mean to us?" Ron rolled his eyes, stepping towards Neville.
Unfortunately, the movement made Neville throw his hands up into fists, Trevor making a dart for freedom. Exasperated, Harry knew they didn't have time to convince Neville to get out of the way so he turned to the two geniuses of the group and begged them to do something.
Whilst Cassie refused to use magic against the poor boy, Hermione quickly struck him with a Full Body Bind. Allowing her two seconds to do so, Cassie placed Neville on the couch so he was comfortable before darting under the cloak and out the door. Sighing, she berated herself for going along with Harry Potter's stupidest plan yet.
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Nerves fried, the quartet reached the door that imprisoned Fluffy. The door was already ajar.
"Snape's already gotten past Fluffy." Harry stated, before noticing the harp on the floor.
Pulling out a wooden flute, he started playing an awful, off-key tune that somehow worked as the snores of three heads filled the room. Rushing over to the trapdoor by the paw of Fluffy, Ron heaved it up and peered down into.... nothing.
A black pit waited at the bottom. Luckily for the other three, Harry offered to go first. An offer that Ron wasted no time in accepting.
"If anything happens to me, send Hedwig to Dumbledore straight away. See you in a minute."
And then he stepped into the hole.
"There's a soft landing. It's safe to come down." Harry's voice called up, slightly distant.
The moment she landed on the soft plant, Cassie began panicking. Vines began sliding around her legs and arms, restraining her. Breath becoming shallow, she tried to calm herself as the feeling of claustrophobia began settling in. She was trapped, in a dark room, with no clue how big it was. She was going to die in this room. Fear clouded her mind and rational thought, so she began struggling against the plant, not searching her brain for the name of it. As the vines got tighter and tighter, the terrified girl clenched her eyes shut and tried to forget where she was. She could hear Ron's worried voice calling for her but her throat was constricted.
"It's Devil's Snare!" Hermione called out, impressed that she'd remembered the name of it.
On the other hand, Ron was less impressed. The plant had begun wrapping around his neck but he feared for his twin sister, who had been silent throughout the whole ordeal.
"HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT YOU'RE A BLOODY WITCH?" He bellowed, before the plant wrapped around his mouth.
As soon as the plant had released its hold on the ginger boy, he rushed over to his sister, pulling her in for a tight hug and reassuring her that she was alright. Still shaken, Cassie gladly took the arm that Ron had offered her for support, taking deep gulps of air.
"Lumos." She whispered, lighting her wand so as to see the space around her.
They were walking down a vast corridor, damp walls surrounding them, and a faint fluttering sound echoing quietly around them.
Entering a brightly lit cavern, Cassie gaped in awe at the golden, flying keys above her head. Whilst they paid no attention to the newcomers, Harry sprinted to the wooden door on the other side of the room, hoping he wasn't about to be attacked by keys.
The door was locked.
"How are we supposed to know which key fits the door?" Cassie asked, pulling away from her brother.
"Wait, they're keys?" Harry asked, looking at the flying objects more closely than before.
Cassie, still slightly shaken, stayed firmly on the ground whilst the other three took to the air to figure out which key fit the lock. Scanning the sky, she noticed that one key had a slightly bent wing and pointed out to the flying trio. Watching Ron crash into the wall had definitely been a highlight though.
Fearing she had been wrong about the key as Harry took his time to get the door unlocked, Cassie sighed in relief as she heard the click of the door unlocking and the heavy wooden swung open. Knowing they were running out of time to stop Snape, (Cassie now believed he was attempting to steal the Stone due to the proof in front of her), the First Years rushed into the next room before stopping abruptly and gaping at the room before them,
