Brontide

In the next few weeks, Dumbledore’s Army had started practicing and already I noticed a large improvement in not only my own skills but everyone else’s as well. Harry took the time to teach us how to disarm, blow things up, set things on fire, and he was patient with all of it. Hermione, clever as she was, gave us each a special galleon that was enchanted to tell each member when the next meeting would be. I found myself always glancing at my galleon hopefully, wanting to practice and learn some of the harder material. It didn’t take Umbridge long to realize that something was going on and she was getting more and more suspicious, but lucky for us the Room of Requirement kept all of us safe and hidden from her wrath.

On another note, the Christmas holidays had come around and meetings would be on hold until everyone was back at school. In the blink of an eye I had the essentials packed, with Nestor tucked nicely into his cage, and we were on the crimson Hogwarts Express to King’s Cross Station. The trips we’d take on the train were always my favorite. The scenery we passed was beautiful and it was like the five of us were lost in our own little compartment, secluded from the rest of the world.

I was squished between George and Fred, Rae and Lee opposite us with all our bags in the rack above our heads. I’d begun to grow sleepy, and Fred and I were slumped against each other while he and George did little magic tricks with their wands. I watched with half-lidded eyes, jumping when one of them created a giant blue bubble on my nose and popped it, a screech emitting from inside.

When Angelina Johnson walked past our compartment, Lee nudged my shin, looking at me expectantly. I still hadn’t talked to her about going out with Lee. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, but schoolwork had been piling up in preparation for exams and I could never seem to get the girl alone. I gave him a small nod and got up, going into my rucksack and pulling out a pair of jeans and a green sweater Mrs. Weasley had knit for me two years previously. Fred was watching me skeptically.

“I’m changing out of my robes, I’ll be right back,” I told them, opening the compartment door and slipping into the hall. I could see Angelina toward the front of the train at the food trolley, and I made a beeline for that direction.

She looked up as she heard me approach, a smile on her face. “Hi, Cassie. Excited for the holidays?”

I nodded, picking at a loose thread on my robes. “I can’t wait, it’s my favorite time of the year. Listen, could I talk to you real quick?”

Angelina looked hesitant but she eventually followed me into an empty compartment. I told her similar things that I’d told Rae that one night back in November, about keeping her options open and giving things a chance. It took a bit of persuading but after a while, she agreed that she’d let Lee take her out after Christmas break.

I did actually change into the clothes I brought, afterward going back to the compartment and telling Lee the good news.

“YES! Cassie, you're the best!" He grinned, pumping his fist in the air and leaning back against the seat with his hands behind his head. "You heard her, mate. I’ve got a date with Angelina, time to hold up your end of the bargain." He was smirking at Fred, who looked utterly appalled.

“That’s not fair, mate, we never agreed to you having outside help,” he protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

I shrugged. “You never said he couldn’t have help, therefore it was within the boundaries of the bet, was it not?”

Rae was giggling behind her hands profusely, and when Fred looked to his brother for help George only shrugged. “Fine, what do I have to do?”

Lee was quiet for a moment, considering his options. I had an inkling of an idea and leaned over to whisper it in his ear. His eyes lit up and his mouth turned up in a smirk.

After much arguing and persuading, Fred ran up and down the train in his underwear, shooting glitter and bubbles from his wand as he went, and I laughed so hard I thought someone would need to revive me because I couldn’t get air back into my lungs. It was hands down one of the best things I ever saw in my life.

We got to King’s Cross Station and said goodbye to Lee when he found his parents. Mrs. Weasley had come to meet us and enveloped Fred and George in life-threatening hugs, fussing over them and telling them they needed to eat more. It was the same discussion they always had after returning from school.

“Mum,” Fred droned with a roll of his eyes.

“We always eat like vultures,” George grumbled.

“Well, you better keep eating like vultures. You’re both so thin,” she tutted, going over to Ron and Ginny and giving them hugs and pinching their cheeks.

She came over to me and smiled, engulfing me in a big hug, one that I returned happily. I loved Mrs. Weasley like she was my own mother. “Oh, Cassie, dear, you look wonderful. It’s so good to see you.” she beamed.

My smile grew wider, my cheeks turning pink. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Weasley. Happy holidays,”

“Happy holidays to you too, dear. Oh, and Rae, sweetie, it’s good to see you too.” She gave Rae a big squeeze, fixing up her hair. “Short hair has always looked wonderful on you, dear.”

Harry and Hermione had joined us, and after much fussing and hugs, Mrs. Weasley informed us that we’d be spending the holidays at Grimmauld Place. The Order had become even busier and it was easier having everyone in one place, not to mention that Sirius would’ve been spending the holidays alone.

We all held hands before Mrs. Weasley apparated us out of the train station, the horrible feeling like I was being squeezed through a tube overtaking my body. Just before I thought I’d run out of breath, I stumbled onto a cobblestone road and felt my lungs decompress. Straightening myself out, I looked just in time to see the apartment complex in front of us separating in half, and the old Black household appeared in front of us with its front windows drawn closed by black curtains.

Mrs. Weasley knocked on the door a few times and waited, Remus Lupin, my old DADA teacher and member of the Order, answering the door. He quickly questioned Molly to make sure it was actually her before ushering us inside, closing the door behind us and bolting it shut.

The dusty, old air of Sirius’ house filled my nostrils and reminded me of the time I’d spent there during the summer, only this time the place was decorated for Christmas, with holly hanging from the ceiling and above the windows. In the sitting room, a fire was already stoking and candles hovered over the furniture. In the corner, there was a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. It was clear that Molly Weasley had taken over and was trying to make Sirius’ dark, depressing home into something a little more lively.

Lupin greeted us all warmly, shaking my hand. “Hello, Cassie. Happy holidays to you,” he smiled.

“Same to you, Professor,” I said politely.

“No, please, call me Remus. I’m not your professor anymore, you know,” he chuckled lightly.

Sirius had come downstairs at this point, having heard our arrival. He automatically went to his godson Harry and gave him a big, welcoming hug, both of them looking overjoyed. Sirius broke away from the hug, greeting all of us.

“Sorry I couldn’t answer the door, I had to feed Buckbeak. Come in, come in, everyone,” he said, motioning for us to follow him out of the hall. His house-elf, Kreacher, took our bags upstairs begrudgingly, muttering under his breath about dirty wizard blood.

It was as we were passing the curtained portrait of Sirius' mother that she seemed to wake up, the drapes flying open as she began to scream at us.

"MUDBLOODS! FILTH, DIRTYING THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK! HOW DARE YOU -"

"Shut it, you old bat!" Sirius yelled, flicking his wand at the picture so the curtains swung closed again. Her muffled yelling could still be heard through them, and I hurriedly walked past her.

We were nearing the dining area when I saw a head of bubblegum pink hair peek out from there, her familiar face making me grin. Tonks hopped out of her chair and hurried over to us, embracing me tightly.

"Cassie, Rae, it’s so good to see you!” she chimed, pulling away and hugging Rae next. We all went into the dining room, where Mr. Weasley was having a conversation with Kingsley Shacklebolt. More greetings and exchanges went around, and after I’d hugged Mr. Weasley I addressed Kingsley.

“I just wanted to say thank you for keeping your promise,” I said sincerely.

He nodded, knowing exactly what I was talking about. “It was no trouble at all. On Christmas Eve Remus and I will be escorting them here so you can all spend the holidays together.”

I thanked him again and then asked Mrs. Weasley if she needed any help cooking dinner for everyone. I was quickly shooed out of the kitchen.

“Absolutely not, you’re our guest! But thank you for offering, dear,” she told me, “I put out a plate of biscuits in the sitting room if you’d like to help yourself.”

I took a few biscuits and headed back to the dining room so I could talk to Tonks, except they’d closed the door and I heard a low murmur of conversation coming through it. The Order must’ve been having a meeting when we arrived. I wanted to hear what they were discussing, but I feared the creaky floorboards would give my presence away. I decided to head upstairs instead and find where everyone else had gone off to.

Mrs. Weasley had even decorated the upstairs of Sirius’ house. More holly was draped along the walls and floating candles lined the ceilings in the hallways. I walked past Sirius’ room and up some more stairs, coming to the room that Fred and George would be sharing with Ron and Harry. The twins were in there with Rae, lounging around on the beds and laughing about something.

Rae had been leaning up against George, her face turning slightly pink when she noticed me looking at the two of them. I knew from what she told me that he hadn’t made any sort of move on her yet, so she was possibly going to do something about that during winter break. I only wondered when she’d get the nerve to do it.

“Did you bring it?” Fred asked, looking at me upside-down from his bed.

I furrowed my brows. “Did I bring what?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe and munching on a biscuit.

Fred just stared at as if I were supposed to know what he was talking about. He sat upright. “The Firewhiskey, Cass. We wanted to open it now. You brought it, right?”

“Of course I did, hang on,” I said, heading over to the room that Rae and I would be sharing with Hermione and Ginny. I finished the biscuits and found my luggage sitting at the foot of my bed, Hermione and Ginny sitting on their respective beds and talking about something quietly. I opened a window enough to let Nestor out for a bit before opening my trunk, digging through my clothes until I found a brand new bottle of Firewhiskey tucked in with my jeans. I quickly hid it under my sweater and hurried out of the room.

I sat with Fred on his bed, the four of us passing the bottle around contentedly and keeping a watchful eye on the door to make sure no one barged in. I took a swig from the bottle and closed my eyes, a smile finding its way across my face as the liquid burned all the way down my throat.

“I wish we could play Quidditch right now,” George sighed, leaning his back against the wall.

“I'd kill for it to be warm out again, I miss being able to feel my face when I go outside,” Rae said, accepting the bottle from Fred and taking small sips. We heard footsteps outside the door and Rae hid the bottle behind her back, but the footsteps kept going and headed upstairs.

“Can I have my Christmas presents now?” Fred asked me, nudging me in the side. I shook my head and ignored the innocent look he was aiming in my direction.

“No way, you can wait until Christmas Day like everyone else,” I answered.

“But I want to know what you got me now,” he whined, leaning his head on my shoulder. I shrugged him off, moving further down the bed to distance myself from him.

“How do you know I even got you anything, hm?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

He moved closer, his face bearing a tipsy smile. “Because you always get me something for Christmas and my birthday, and instead of waiting I'd like to get it now, please and thank you.” He put out his hands expectantly, closing his eyes.

I glanced over at Rae and George, who were watching this exchange with amusement.

“Okay, okay, keep your eyes closed,” I ordered, quietly rummaging through Ron’s trunk on the floor and pulling out a pair of his underwear. “Alright, are you ready?” I asked. He nodded his head eagerly. “Here you go,” I said, putting the item in Fred’s hands.

He opened his eyes, the smile fading from his face the second he realized what I’d given him. “Are…are these Ron’s…?” I nodded, and he threw them straight at my face. I let out a scream, flinging them at Rae. She promptly threw them back at me, and I yanked them over Fred’s head.

It was at this precise moment that Ron and Harry decided to enter the room, the two of them stopping dead in their tracks. A thick silence filled the room. Fred was frozen, Ron’s underwear still over his head.

“I leave the room for twenty bloody minutes and I come back to find my brother with my underwear on his bloody head,” Ron said slowly, backing out of the room. Harry wasn’t far behind him. “And you lot have Firewhiskey...right. I’ll be going down to dinner now, which is what we came to tell you in the first place. Right, um, dinner’s ready.” And the two of them hurried downstairs, rightfully so.

Fred yanked Ron's undergarment off his head while the three of us burst into laughter the moment they left. I accepted the bottle from Rae and took a nice swig, turning to Fred and offering the bottle to him as an apology of sorts. He looked as if he would like nothing better than to hide under the bed forever…or stab me in the throat. It was hard to tell.

Mrs. Weasley had whipped up a lovely lamb dinner with roasted vegetables, warm rolls, and cranberry sauce. She tried very hard to keep the subject away from the war and anything to do with the Order, which proved to be rather difficult as almost half of the people at the table were in the Order. Mr. Weasley had expressed how excited he was that my parents would be coming to visit. His fascination with muggles knew no bounds, and undoubtedly he wanted to talk to my father about the functions of car motors or refrigerators or something. They both got along well, as did Mrs. Weasley and my mother.

“Rae, where are your parents for the holidays?” Tonks asked through a mouthful of carrots.

Rae looked up from her plate. “I think they’re in Bora Bora or something, last I heard from them,” she said with a shrug. Rae’s mother was a muggle and her father was a wizard. They both loved traveling the world and it wasn’t often they got to see their only daughter, so by now Rae was used to this. When she was younger it used to bother her but she’d since become desensitized by it.

“Ah, okay,” Tonks said awkwardly, her hair turning from its bubblegum pink color to something slightly greyer. She then turned her attention to me, her eyes darting back and forth between me and Fred and making me feel more than a little uncomfortable. Thankfully he and his brother were so infatuated with their food that they didn’t notice this. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask whether anything had changed since her letter. I shook my head slightly, taking a stab at a piece of lamb and eating it. She gave me a knowing look, mouthing the words ‘why not?’. I inwardly groaned; if this was going to be the trending topic during the break then I had no problem shipping myself back to Hogwarts.

‘I’m not interested in him,’ I mouthed back to her, thankful that there were other discussions happening at the same time and I quickly joined in on one.

After dinner everyone lounged around the sitting room, drinking eggnog and chatting by the warm hearth. Rae and I found ourselves sharing a velvet armchair, her legs strewn lazily across my lap. Fred and George kept apparating in and out of the room, much to the displeasure of their mother, who kept yelling about how difficult mending limbs would be if they accidentally splinched themselves. Her words fell on deaf ears because they kept doing it anyway. I’d stuffed myself silly at dinner, and all the food on top of the Firewhiskey made me feel warm and tired.

“Rae,” I said quietly, “let me know when you’re gonna tell him. I’ll make myself scarce.”

She shrugged, having eaten just as much as I had but with more Firewhiskey in her system. “I was thinking maybe tonight I’d do it, get it over with, ‘ya know?”

I glanced over at her, trying to determine what sort of state she was in. “You’re not drunk, are you?”

Rae shook her head. “I’m not drunk, per say, I just gave myself a bit of push is all.” She took a sip of her eggnog, muttering, “Merlin knows I’m gonna need it.”

We played a few games of Exploding Snap with Fred and George before Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley all left for the night. We were getting ready for bed, Rae using the bathroom while the three of us waited on the landing, our pajamas in our arms.

“So Cassie,” Fred said between a yawn, “your parents are coming in a few days.”

I nodded, leaning against the wall as I tried to stay awake. “Yes, I’m aware.”

“Are you excited?” George asked.

I gave a half shrug then nodded. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Is your mum still, ‘ya know, weird about all of this?” Fred asked carefully.

I let out a long sigh, scratching the back of my head. “I dunno, I really hope not. I’m tired of having the same argument with her every time I see her.”

Ever since I was little, before I knew I was a witch or that I possessed the potential to do magic, my mother knew that I’d inherited my grandmother’s magical genes. She never told me she knew, or even that my grandmother had been a witch until my Hogwarts acceptance letter came by owl post. Ever since then, our relationship had become, well, a bit strained. I loved both of my parents dearly, and I knew that they loved me too, but my mother’s overwhelming desire to keep me safe drove me further away from her.

When I’d asked about her reasoning in regards to keeping my magical bloodline a secret, she told me that my grandmother, who’d fully embraced her powers, came very close to death on one of her Auror missions. It was all she would say on the subject. She never told me what’d happened to my grandmother or who she’d been hunting, none of it. Her primary concern was to keep me safe, and she thought that the further away from magic she kept me, the better off I’d be.

In a sense, I could understand her reasoning, though a large part of me understood her attitude towards me to be an act of jealousy. Jealous that she wasn’t able to cast spells, jealous that she wasn’t able to fight dark wizards like her mother, jealous that she couldn’t go away to a magical school, jealous that her mother’s magic had skipped over her and went to me instead. She’d never say it, but I knew.

We all changed for bed and said our goodnights. Rae had turned to George, looking as though she wanted to say something else, but instead turned back around and followed me glumly into our room. Hermione and Ginny appeared to be asleep already and Nestor was sitting atop his cage, a mouse wriggling around in his beak.

“Good job,” I cooed, letting him into his cage so he could enjoy his snack and shutting the window. I glanced over to Rae as she climbed into the bed next to mine, her tired eyes bearing something close to resembling hopelessness. I crawled under my duvet, pulling it up to my chin and wrapping it around my body like a cocoon to keep the chill out.

“I can’t do it,” she said quietly, her face muffled into her pillow, “I’ll never be able to do it at this rate. Can’t he just go away so I never have to see him again and can finally move on with my life?” I heard her sniffle and a choked sob emitted from the pillow. She was crying.

I spotted the Firewhiskey bottle lying next to her, completely empty. I then realized what she’d been doing in the bathroom: trying to drink courage.

“Rae, I’m not sure what to tell you,” I said quietly, hoping the other girls wouldn’t wake up. I didn’t want to have to explain why my best friend was a drunken sobbing mess. “None of this is his fault, he can’t just go away.”

“God, I fucking hate Firewhiskey,” she grumbled, beginning to hiccup. “I’m pathetic.” She started mumbling incoherent sentences for awhile until she finally passed out, which I felt was the best course of action. It was no use trying to comfort her while she was like that. If anything, she might’ve started sobbing louder.

I was having a hard time sleeping that night and opted for going downstairs to get a glass of water. Dragging my duvet with me, I opened the door quietly and tiptoed down the hall. When I got to the room that the boys were sharing I was a little startled when I saw it creak open. Fred poked his head out.

“Can’t sleep?” he whispered. I nodded. “Mind if I join you?” he asked. The sounds of snoring seeped into the hallway, and I motioned for him to follow me.

We walked carefully downstairs, trying not to make too much of a racket. I rummaged through some cabinets in the kitchen and pulled out two cups, handing one to Fred and sitting on a countertop. He joined me, taking some of my blanket and wrapping himself in it, which I didn’t mind.

I pulled my wand from my pajama pants pocket, pointing it to the glass and muttering, “Aguamenti”. Water poured into the glass until it was full, Fred doing the same. I finished off the glass, filling it up again before saying anything.

“Why don’t you just try casting a Silencing Charm?” I pondered, peering over at him from above my glass.

He looked at me with a blank stare. “What?”

“You know, a Silencing Charm? So the snoring stops and you can get some sleep?”

“Oh, that. I guess it would help.”

“I should’ve used one on Rae,” I muttered to myself, her sobs still echoing in my head.

“Why, does she snore too?” Fred half-laughed at the idea.

“No, she-" I stopped myself, fairly sure she wouldn’t want me telling Fred about her woes. “She just wouldn’t stop talking when I was trying to sleep, the ruddy pumpkin head.”

I casually took a sip of my water. The look on Fred’s face clearly told me that he wasn’t even slightly convinced. “Right, and Percy is a practical joker. Come on, Cass, I know she’s got the hots for ole’ Georgie boy. Hell, I’ve known for awhile now.” He polished off his drink and filled it up again, while I thought to myself how her affections were probably fairly obvious.

“Does…does George know?” I asked cautiously.

Fred shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno, not sure how he feels about her, either. There are just some things he can be very private about.”

“I don’t know how he wouldn’t know, what with the way she looks at him,” I said aloud, more to myself.

The cold had found its way back into my bones and I pulled the blanket tighter around my body, Fred’s arm casually around my shoulders. I didn’t question it and embraced the change in topic when Fred started talking about the things he and George had been working on.

“Headless Hats; hats that turn the wearer’s head invisible! We’re thinking about making a whole line of invisible clothing, from cloaks to boots, you name it. Punching Telescopes; telescopes that punch the wearer straight in the eye and leave a nasty bruise. We’re working on a cream to fix that, mind you. Patented Daydream Charms, which, when consumed, will give you vivid, wild daydreams during the most boring lectures.” His eyes twinkled a little whenever he would discuss new Weasley products as if he were talking about his newborn child. “George and I are working on love potions too, but those are still in the blueprint phase. They’ll be a bit tricky. You’ll help us test things out, of course.” He said the last part with such certainty, but he knew I would do it without too much of a fuss.

“Yes, yes, I’ll help you with the usual testing, as long as you’ve made that cream for the Punching Telescopes, and I’m not trying out the love potions,” I said with finality, glancing over at his hand when I realized he was playing with my hair.

Fred finished off the water, putting his glass aside and twirling his wand around between his fingers. A smirk played at the corner of his lips, a mischievous glint in his eyes that I’d become familiar with over the past seven years. He didn’t say anything but instead looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

I shifted around on the countertop, stretching my arms over my head to take some of the strain off my back. “What are you smirking at me like that for? Spit it out.”

“Why don’t you wanna try the love potions, Cass?” he grinned, making me feel even more uncomfortable. My cheeks turned hot.

“B-Because…could you imagine how strange it would be for me to fawn over you or George? No thanks, I’ll pass,” I said awkwardly, turning my gaze in front of me and focusing on the peeling wallpaper.

“I think it’d be hilarious. I’ve never really seen you fawn over anything before,” he replied thoughtfully. I hopped down from the counter, wriggling out of his grasp and taking my blanket with me.

“That’s because I don’t fawn over things, not even irritable redheaded boys who should be sleeping right now,” I said with a yawn. “It’s been lovely chatting with you. Goodnight, git.”

“Tosser.”

“Pumpkin head.”

“Bint.”

“Arsehole.”

“Numpty.”

“Prat.”

“You're right about that one, trollop. Sweet dreams,” he grinned, blowing me a kiss. I threw him a very foul hand gesture before trudging back upstairs, dragging the duvet with me and thinking about how I had the most wonderful set of friends…and how I wasn’t touching their love potions with a ten-foot pole.