"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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Rushing onto Platform 9 and ¾, Cassie hurriedly bid her parents a goodbye before rushing over to Hermione and Neville. Ignoring her mother's demands that she write more this year, Cassie grabbed Ginny's trunk and led her to the compartment that Hermione had already reserved for them. Not even caring if Harry and Ron were following behind her, she let Neville help her lift the trunk up.
"Good summer, Neville?" Cassie smiled at the boy as she threw herself down onto the seat opposite him.
Whilst she had sent him a birthday card, they hadn't corresponded much due to Cassie's sickly owl and the fact that she shared it with the rest of her family. The tips of Neville's ears turned pink at the attention from the pretty girl as he stammered to form a reply.
"Are you looking forward to your first year?" Hermione asked, turning the attention towards Ginny.
"She's a bit nervous. Aren't you, Gin?" Cassie chuckled, bumping her sister's shoulder.
Ginny nodded, knees jiggling up and down.
"After all, she's the last Weasley. If she doesn't get Gryffindor, that's the chain broken." Cassie recited the words the twins had said only hours before.
Ginny turned a slight shade of green before excusing herself to the bathroom. Laughing to herself, Cassie ran after her sister to ensure she didn't attempt to drown herself in the toilet before the train arrived at Hogwarts.
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On her way back to the compartment, Cassie was alone and too invested in trying to fix her tie that she failed to notice the person coming towards her until she collided with them. Muttering under her breath, she offered the other person her hand so as to pull them up but retracted it when she spotted the pale blond, slicked back hair. Only she could be so unlucky.
"You," she hissed, glaring down at the boy who had yet to pull himself up off the floor.
"I knew you were poor Weasley, I just never knew you were blind." Malfoy taunted, brushing imaginary dust off his Slytherin robes.
His green and silver tie was impeccably made and pulled tightly up to his collar whereas Cassie's gold and red one was haphazardly made and her collar was loose due to the top button being undone. Another indication to how they were polar opposites.
"Maybe I just take pleasure in you grovelling at my feet."
Malfoy snarled and took a predatory step towards her. Thankfully, a Prefect came bustling down the hallway and noticed the tense pair, the air around them crackling dangerously. Sighing at his hothead of a sister, Percy threatened to deduct points from both houses if they didn't return to their compartments. Not wishing to be the reason their Houses started the year with minus points, they hurried down opposite ends of the train, eager to get away from each other.
"Where is Ronald and Harry?" Cassie asked when she returned to her friends, the two boys noticeably absent.
"Perhaps they found a compartment and are too busy stuffing their faces to come find us?" Hermione suggested logically, not even glancing up from the book her nose was buried in.
Cassie let out a noise of agreement but couldn't help the worry bubbling up inside her. Thinking about it, she didn't remember seeing them on the platform before she ran off. But they were right behind her before she went through the barrier. However, her worry turned to excitement when the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station and Cassie got her first real look at Hogwarts. She was back.
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"Hermione, I still can't see them. Can you?" Cassie leaned up, craning her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of her missing friend and twin seated somewhere down the long Gryffindor table.
"Cassie, calm down. It's a big table, they're probably at the end. Now, shush, the Sorting is starting."
Suffering through the long Sorting Ceremony, Cassie politely cheered when the Houses gained new members and silently booed when a small child was sent to the House of Snakes. After what felt like hours, Ginny Weasley was finally called to the front.
Whilst she had joked about Ginny breaking tradition, Cassie hoped that Ginny did get into Gryffindor, purely so that she could keep an eye on her younger sister; to ensure that she was making friends, doing well in school, and just generally being happy at Hogwarts. Not long after the Hat had been placed upon her head, it announced that the last Weasley did, in fact, belong in Gryffindor. Cheering loudly, she clapped her sister on the back when Ginny took the seat next to her, face as red as her hair. Clearly, the Weasley's were a brave bunch.
Abandoning her previous search for the male half of the Golden Quartet, Cassie wasted no time in shovelling chicken pie and mashed potatoes into her mouth the moment they appeared before her. Everyone was catching up after a summer apart. Couples were reuniting with sneaky touches under the table and chaste kisses to the cheek. Friends were teasing each other and rivals were already planning ways of revenge. The prankster trio were already concocting one of their most brilliant pranks yet.
Hermione and Cassie were chattering on and on about the books they had read over the summer, their conversation seemingly endless. Draco was holding court over his band of goons as he chomped down on chicken wings. And, Severus Snape, for their reckless behaviour, was berating Ron and Harry in the dungeons below.
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On their way back to the common room, the girls still hadn't managed to locate Harry and Ron, and even Hermione was beginning to worry. Until they spotted them hanging around outside the Fat Lady, still in their clothes from the morning and figuring out how to get in.
"There you are! Where have you been?" Hermione demanded, babbling on about the rumours of a flying car.
Storming over to her brother, Cassie slapped Ron upside the head for the trouble he had caused before pulling Harry in for a tight hug, relieved that he was okay and still at Hogwarts.
"Typical." Ron muttered, rubbing his head in pain. "Bloody typical."
