Brontide

Lunch came and went, and before we knew it, it came time to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts. When thinking about the subject, the first thing that would normally come to mind would be practicing useful defense spells, learning how to protect yourself, identifying potentially dangerous things you could encounter, things of that nature.

But what did we learn in Professor Umbridge’s classroom? Certainly nothing like that, no, in her class all we did was read out of a bloody textbook and get tested on the chapters. It wasn’t even as though the book was advising us to use defensive spells when needed, either. Some Ravenclaw girl on the second day of classes had asked whether or not we’d actually be using these spells, and when Umbridge informed her that there was no need for us to use them because we weren’t in any danger, I resisted the urge to jump over Toad Face’s desk and beat her with my copy of Defensive Magical Theory.

It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. We’re not in any danger? I beg to fucking differ, you ludicrous imbecile. Oh no, don’t mind the fact that every day, there are forces such as Death Eaters, Dementors and worse trying to get inside the castle so they could get their hands on people like Harry Potter. Don’t mind the fact that as you sit there, sipping your tea with that hideous smile on your face, there are people dying and disappearing. There are families being torn apart, the Order of the Phoenix working their arses off to protect as many people as possible, and all the while, Dolores Jane Umbridge, you didn’t do shit.

That was all I could think about during DADA that day. Rae sat next to me, staring blankly at the open book in front of her and not even trying to read it. I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t yell and scream in protest at how stupid all of this was and how Umbridge should be thrown off the Astronomy tower, and how that still wouldn’t be enough for me. The twins would glance over every once in awhile to find me sitting stony-faced, glaring at my book as though it’d wronged me. When the bell finally rang, everyone happily scrambled out of the room without hesitation.

Rae went off to go serve another detention in Flitwick’s office writing lines and Lee needed to work on a paper, so the twins and I headed out to the Black Lake. The afternoon sun was low in the sky, pinks and oranges mixing with the clouds in streaks. There was a bit of a breeze, and as I looked out at the mountains across the lake, I saw the tentacles of the Giant Squid resting just above the surface so it could bask in the sun.

“She’s a horrible woman,” I said quietly, sitting on the ground with my back against a large rock, which the twins sat down on.

“Did you see what she did to Harry’s hand?” Fred asked, his foot dangerously close to my head. I looked up at them.

“No, what did she do?”

“He had detention with her all last week, and she made him write lines using his own blood,” George replied, shaking his head in disgust.

So the rumors were true, then. “What did he even do in the first place?” I asked.

“He told her that You-Know-Who is back, which she obviously didn’t like too much,” Fred said, playing with my hair. I turned my gaze to the water in front of me, glaring at it.

“Voldemort,” I said quietly. I felt them both wince a bit at the use of his name. I turned my glare to them. “Voldemort is his name and I’m not going to be a coward about it,” I said sternly. “Do you think that if I say it he’ll appear and try to murder me? I’d love to see him try; this place has more protective charms than ever before.” I took a deep breath. “DO YOU HEAR THAT, ARSEHAT?!” I yelled out to the water, “WHY DON’T YOU TRY BREAKING IN HERE SO I COULD HAVE A LAUGH?!”

Fred and George exchanged looks before sighing. They knew I was stubborn.

We sat in silence for quite a bit, watching the sun set behind the mountains. We got up once our tummies started to rumble and turned to head back inside, linking arms with me in the middle. I didn’t say anything at the time, but I was certain then that as soon as school was done and over with I was joining up with the Order of the Phoenix. Sitting around and doing nothing when people out there needed help was not something I was good at. No amount of protesting from the twins, Rae, Mrs. Weasley or my parents would ever change my mind.

***

Dinner was uneventful. Rae and I didn’t eat too much, mostly because we’d be going down to the kitchens once the boys turned in for the night. I was hoping she’d be doing most of the talking, as I wasn’t a very talkative person and there wasn’t really much to discuss on my part. This was mainly for her benefit, which was more than fine. I’d happily be an ear for her any day.

The usual chatter around the dining room was about Umbridge, which was how it’d been since day one of her unfortunate arrival. In truth, I was sick of hearing about her and her horrible ways. I tuned most of it out and half listened to the twins while they talked about how their Puking Pastilles made a first year throw up for five hours straight, which was far more interesting anyway.

We went back to the common room after dinner, which was quite crowded as it usually was. Some people were studying, other played Wizard’s Chess or caught up on school gossip. Harry, Ron and Hermione were seated around the fire in their usual spots, Hermione’s nose in some book, which didn’t surprise me. Ron and Harry glanced up as we kicked some first years off some squishy armchairs or sat on the rug. In the firelight, I could see words etched into the back of Harry’s left hand, bearing the phrase, "I must not tell lies”. He noticed me looking and pulled the sleeve of his robe over it.

I scratched at an itch on my shoulder. “So Ron, I heard you tried out for Keeper. Did you get it?”

Gryffindor Quidditch team tryouts had been held sometime Monday evening, and the twins and Harry were still on the team as the Beaters and Seeker. A Keeper was still needed, however, and once I’d heard Ron was trying out I silently hoped he’d inherited his elder brothers’ Quidditch skills.

The twins sniggered quietly to themselves at this, finding all of this to be quite funny. Ron’s face visibly paled. Hermione had peeked out from behind her book.

“I-I might’ve, yeah,” he gulped, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. “What of it?”

“Oh, we’re going to have loads of fun with you on the team, Ron,” Fred said sarcastically and laughed, stopping when Ron showed him his middle finger. “Do that again and we’ll see just how fast I can curse that finger off.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you don’t get hit by too many bludgers,” George grinned, high-fiving his twin.

Ron did not seem comforted by this in the least. Hermione shot the twins a glare before disappearing behind her enormous book again. Harry looked at Ron’s scowling face before turning to the twins.

“Well, Ron did great at the tryouts, just ask Angelina. Right, Ron?” Harry said, trying to cheer him up. Ron answered with a grunt.

I smacked Ron on the knee. “Oh stop moping. You made the team, you should be celebrating right now. Here, I know what you need.” Ron looked at me a tad bit frightened as I rummaged through my bag on the floor, pulling out a bottle of Firewhiskey. I felt the twins watching me as I passed this over to Ron, who was looking between me and the bottle with wide eyes.

“Take it,” I shrugged, “you look like you need a pick me up. I have others, anyway.”

This time Hermione slammed her book shut. We all jumped in surprise.

“Ron, you’re a Prefect, if you keep that you can get into serious trouble!” she hissed, looking at Ron and me incredulously.

Ron looked at her like she’d gone completely mental and turned away from her, clutching the bottle. “No way! Hermione, honestly, you need to loosen up." Her glare didn’t falter. “Cassie’s right. I made the team, I need to celebrate." He jumped up from his seat, his mood noticeably brighter. “C’mon Harry, let’s go get Dean and Seamus, and Neville if we can find him. Do you think Neville drinks?” Harry and Ron walked away to the boy’s dormitories, the latter walking with a bit of a skip in his step. Hermione got up too, grabbing her book and bag and looking at me as though she despised me, storming off to a different part of the common room without another word.

Sighing contentedly, I looked over at the twins, frowning when I realized they were shooting me some serious glares. “What?”

“You had Firewhiskey on you and you didn’t even save any for us?!” Fred exclaimed. Rae was already rummaging through my bag, undoubtedly looking to see if I had another bottle stashed inside. Lee Jordan had wandered over at the mention of Firewhiskey.

“I don’t have any more in there,” I grumbled, folding my arms. She pushed the bag away grumpily. “And I was saving it for a rainy day, but Ron looked like he needed a drink or something, so…” I shrugged. Lee groaned and flopped down on the floor next to me.

“I should’ve gotten some as a reward,” he mumbled into the carpet, “I finished Snape’s essay in less than two hours.”

“You’d better let me look at it, I haven’t even started mine yet,” I said, shaking my head when he rolled his eyes. I looked through my bag again, pulling out a green lollipop and throwing it at him. “Here, take this and quit being stupid. You people are going to leave me with nothing to snack on.”

He took the lollipop and grinned, announcing he had other homework to do before going up to his room. The twins and Rae had started fighting over my bag.

“Give it here, you little-“

“Stop kicking me, damn it, I just want-“

Instead of taking my bag from them, like I probably should’ve done, I watched in amusement as a wrestling match ensued right in front of me. The three of them rolled around on the floor, my bag long forgotten, as strings of profanity flew from their mouths. I wished I had a camera and wondered vaguely where that Colin Creevey kid was.

Only after George’s shoe connected with my throat did I decide to put an end to the violence. Enough was enough. After much prying apart of limbs and empty threats did they finally stop trying to maul each other. The four of us sat on the floor, flustered with our hair and clothing all disheveled. I rubbed my sore neck and patted down my hair while Rae adjusted her shirt, leaving her tie undone. Her face turned a bit pinker when she noticed George looking at her.

“Well, this has been rather fun,” Fred announced, clapping his hands together once, “but I think we’ll turn in early, won’t we George?”

“Jeez, Rae, you really punch hard,” George mumbled and rubbed his arm, getting up from the floor after his twin and bidding us goodnight, heading upstairs.

Rae and I sat around the common room for a while longer, starting some homework and waiting for more people to go to bed so we could leave. We took in the warmth of the fireplace and chatted idly for the better part of an hour. By the time the common room had emptied out it was almost ten, a few stragglers studying or playing a final round of Exploding Snap. We gathered our things, climbing out through the portrait hole.

It came as a great surprise to me that the way down to the kitchens was a clear path. There weren’t any signs of Filch or Mrs. Norris, which could only be good signs. We only had to hide once upon coming across the Bloody Baron, who I actively sought to avoid on a regular basis. He wasn’t pleasant in the slightest.

The kitchens, which were located near the Hufflepuff common room, were concealed behind a large portrait of a bowl of fruit behind a doorway near the Great Hall. I reached up and tickled the pear, which let out a quick giggle before turning into a doorknob. The familiar room was as big as the Great Hall with hordes of house elves running around upon our arrival, bowing and offering us tea, biscuits, and pudding left, right and center. Through the masses of big-eared creatures came Dobby the house elf, donning an orange tea cozy on his head and a pair of mismatching socks. He skipped toward us, his huge eyes twinkling and a big smile upon his face,

“Miss Bains, Miss Turner, it is so good to see you,” he said delightedly, reaching up to shake our hands. We smiled and let him guide us to a table.

“Hello, Dobby. How are you?” I asked, scooting in across from Rae and placing my bag on the bench.

Dobby stared up at us, joy in his eyes. “Dobby is quite well, Miss, quite well indeed. Dobby loves working for Professor Dumbledore, he lets Dobby wear clothes.” He motioned to his tea cozy and socks, which the other elves stared at with extreme distaste, slowly going back to work.

“That’s great, Dobby,” Rae smiled. We had always liked Dobby. “Do you mind getting us something to eat? We’re sort of hungry, and-“

But she didn’t need to finish her sentence, because a group of house elves was already around us, offering up more tea and sandwiches and bowls of pudding. Thanking them and waving to Dobby as he went somewhere else in the room, we took some of everything and dug in immediately.

Rae and I spooned pudding into our mouths from the depths of an enormous bowl between us. I wondered briefly how the elves, seemingly fragile and feeble, were even able to carry it to us. I focused on the purpose of our visit, which was to let Rae do some venting.

“So Rae, talk to me,” I mumbled, my mouth full of chocolaty goodness, “what’s been going on with you lately? I feel like there’s something you aren’t telling me.”

She turned slightly pink, shifting around on the bench uncomfortably as she stared uselessly at the pudding on her spoon. She ate it and rested her elbows on the table, taking her sweet time and pondering her thoughts.

“It was sometime in July, I think. I remember we were at the Burrow playing three-on-three Quidditch with the twins, Ron and Ginny.” That didn’t help me much, considering a large portion of my summer was spent playing Quidditch in the Burrow’s orchard. I was always horrible at it. “We stopped playing after you fell off your broom and landed in a mud puddle.”

It was then that I recalled which day it was. “Okay, go on.”

“Fred was laughing so obnoxiously that you pulled him into the mud with you, and Ron and Ginny were busy arguing over who’d won. George and I went off on our own and talked under the willow tree for a bit, and we kissed sort of and I kind of really liked it and yeah.” By this time her face was a bright, burning red. She hid her face in her arms on the table.

I just stared, and stared, and stared a little bit more, just until my eyes started to water, and then I blinked.

The lack of response to her story caused her to look up and meet my wide-eyed stare. Her mouth twitched into a smile. “What?”

“YOU KISSED GEORGE, THAT’S WHAT!” I yelled excitedly, jumping up from my seat and startling quite a few house elves in the process. Rae was sipping her tea awkwardly, looking anywhere else but at me. I was so ecstatic I couldn’t even sit. I paced back and forth in front of the table instead, practically skipping, really.

I was trying to picture their wedding now, George wearing a bright purple suit while Fred, his best man, wore one of an electric blue. Rae would be dressed in a wedding gown so frilly and poofy you would barely find her underneath all that material. I’d be the maid of honor, wearing some ridiculous ensemble of my own making, maybe even a costume of sorts. And Lee could help them make their vows, wearing some extravagant red robes or something, and all the while Mr. Weasley would have to hold Mrs. Weasley back because surely she wouldn’t approve of such blatant disregard of tradition.

“We agreed that it wouldn’t happen again, I don’t see what you’re so happy about.” Rae’s voice poked its way back into my thoughts, causing my pacing to cease.

“Excuse me, did I hear correctly? Did you just say that it wouldn’t happen again? I should kick you,” I mumbled, shaking my head and crossing my arms. Rae glared at me from over her cup of tea.

“Well, what do you want me to do now, go running up to him and profess my never-ending affection towards him? We agreed that it was a mistake and that it would never, ever happen again, okay? I don’t even think he enjoyed the kiss that much, really,” she said quieter, twiddling her thumbs in her lap, “we sort of…bumped noses at first. Talk about awkward.”

I sat back down, regaining my composure and eating a whole sandwich before saying anything else. “As your best friend and confidant, I highly suggest that you nullify the agreement to never kiss him again. You should talk to him when you’re ready and find out if he’s interested. It’s obvious to me that this ‘crush’ you harbor for him is not going away anytime soon so you might as well do something about it.”

Rae closed her eyes and sighed. “We’ll see. I have a lot to think about,”

The rest of our meal was spent in silence, none of the food going to waste. When we were finally full was said goodbye to Dobby and the house elves and thanked them for the food, stealthily making our way back upstairs.

We were back in the girl’s dormitories and Rae was out cold. She lay on her bed eagle-spread on her stomach, not even bothering to close her curtains or change out of her clothes. The moonlight shone through the nearest window, finding its way directly to my four-poster bed. The clock on the wall read 1:31 a.m. I had been lying in my bed for an hour, unable to sleep. I tossed and turned so much that it was maddening; I had too much on my mind, too many things to worry about that even though I was tired, sleep was impossible. I let out a sigh and pulled the duvet tightly around me, rolling onto my side and staring at my dresser. On top of it sat the letter from my parents. I hadn’t responded yet.

I threw the duvet off and pulled my bag out from under my bed, searching for a quill, some parchment, and an ink pot. I sat up, rubbing my eyes tiredly and dipping my quill in the ink, using the dresser as a table.

Dear Mum and Dad,

Everything’s been going pretty well so far. You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve been doing a great job of staying out of trouble, but as for Fred and George, Mum, you know there’s no stopping them when they’re already so set in their ways. They make school interesting, to say the least. We all say hello, and as for you going into hiding, I hope all is well…wherever you are. Kingsley had mentioned something about putting up protective spells for you shortly before I left Padfoot’s house. I just want the both of you to be safe, and you’re right about Devon going to the states; I believe he’ll be much safer there.

As for Christmas, you don’t even have to ask Mrs. Weasley if it’s alright to join us, and I know Mr. Weasley would be pleased. You know how he is about Muggles.

Times are changing, as you can probably tell. Even here at Hogwarts things are going to start getting bad, I can feel it. At least this is my last year here, although I will admit that I’ll miss it. I wish you could see the castle. It’s a beautiful place.

I hope to hear from you soon. Please be careful of whom you trust. People from the Order are safe, but keeping out of the public eye would be the best thing for you right now. I miss you both; be safe.

Sincerely,
Cassie

I folded the letter into fours and left it on top of the dresser, next to the one from my parents. I could hear Rae breathing quietly in her sleep, the dormitory pretty much quiet apart from the occasional hoot of an owl outside. The curtains for the window were pulled back, revealing the stretch of pitch-black sky dotted with stars, an almost full moon sitting high up. I lay back on my bed, wrapped in my duvet again and staring up at the cracked stone ceiling, contemplating anything and everything I could think of.

Whenever I was alone, my mind would find itself at unease. That safe feeling that the presence of a friend provided would disappear, leaving me to think about reality and the fear that came with it. Thinking about the war raging miles away made me feel rather small and useless. Even if I did decide to fight, what use would I be? I’d be inexperienced in comparison to most and an easy target for sure. When I really thought about it, I figured I’d probably be one of the many to die young. Just someone else gone, just one less person to fight against Voldemort, just another statistic.

I briefly wondered how Mrs. Weasley must’ve been feeling. I knew that she’d lost her brothers Gideon and Fabian Prewett during the First Wizarding War, and now she had to relive that fear all over again, with Arthur, Bill and Charlie in the Order, Fred and George wanting to join the second they left school…

That night I had a dream about my grandmother, the first one I’d had in years. I could tell it was some sort of memory from when I was younger, about eight or nine years previously. It was before my grandmother was sick and we were planting flowers in my backyard, these beautiful red tulips. Her grey-blonde hair was wrapped in a bun and her eyes were bright and lively, the two of us hard at work under the sun. I dug my trowel into the soft soil, making a good sized hole. She handed me a tulip and I put it in the ground, covering the roots with soil the way she showed me. She smiled proudly and kissed my head.

“Very good, Cassie, you learn quickly. Here, let's do a few more over here and then take a break, how does that sound?” she asked. I nodded and helped her finish, both of us hot and tired by the time we were done. We went inside and my mother brought us each a cup of water, my grandmother and I sitting at the kitchen table.

I was telling her about the few friends I had in school and how we liked to play house. I then asked her if she had any friends and she smiled a little. Upon hearing this Mum stopped doing the dishes, looking at her own mother.

“I’ve had some friends over the years, yes,” she said, taking a sip of her water. “I have this one friend named Remus, who is very hairy but caring. I have another friend named Albus, he’s the smartest person I know and he has a beard. Elphias, he’s old like me and writes for the newspaper.” She pulled an old photograph out of her pocket and started pointing out the friends in question. For a moment I thought I saw the people in the photograph move, but I rubbed my eyes and figured it was just my imagination.

I pointed to two people in the front, a woman with long wavy hair and the man next to her who wore glasses. “Who’re they, grandma?”

She let out a small sigh, her mouth set in a thin line. “Those were my friends Lily and James. They…aren’t around anymore. That’s me,” she pointed to herself in the photo, changing the subject.

“Who’s that big guy?” I asked, pointing to the huge person that stood next to her in the back.

She smiled again. “That’s Hagrid, he may seem scary but he’s one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet.”

My mother intervened. “Mother, can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked quietly, her voice seeming a bit strained. My grandmother cast her a look but got up anyway, following my mother into the basement and closing the door behind them. I waited a minute before tiptoeing over to the door, opening it a crack. They were talking quietly and it was hard to hear what they were saying. However, I was able to make out a few things.

“…don’t want you saying anything to her…dangerous…you almost died…” That was my mother.

“…only right…has to know soon…part of her heritage that you’re hiding…” That was my grandmother.

I couldn’t hear anything else so I closed the door, sitting back at the table. I was confused and had no idea what any of this was about, so I went back to looking at the picture, thinking about how my grandmother’s friends had weird names.

I woke up in the middle of the night, not sure why I hadn’t remembered any of this earlier. My grandmother had been a member of the Order..