Bloody hell Dorcas!
During her time away, Cassie had forgotten just how comfortable the beds in the dormitory were, how the sight of the snow falling outside of their window had a magical ability to make her forget what was troubling her. Or at least it used to.
For the last few hours, she had been curled up against her headboard, trying to study. Whether it was because she was utterly bored or if there was something else she wasn't entirely sure about, but ever so often, her eyes would trail off to the mirror lying at the foot of her bed. She wondered briefly if she should look at it once more, but the possibility of seeing her reflection yet again made her pause. During the first week back, Cassie had managed a few days of not giving in to her desires of looking into the mirror, for if she did, how on earth would she manage to get him off her mind.
After her fourth day back, she had woken up in the middle of the night, her body slick with sweat as her limbs trembled from terror. It had been the same nightmare as the cottage. She didn't know if it was because it felt so real or the way he looked at her that terrified her the most. Worried out of her mind, she quickly found the mirror and muttered his name. A soft light appeared, and for a few moments, there was nothing until suddenly, a mop of messy dark hair and a pair of tired eyes appeared. Even as it was clear he had just woken up, the moment he recognized her features in the dark, his face softened, and his lips curled in a warm smile. A smile that only lasted for a second until he noticed her terror-stricken eyes and the dark strands of hair clinging to her too pale face.
He had been so worried about her that any fear Cassie had about her dream faded away. The pair laid talking with each other for a few hours before Cassie fell asleep with the mirror propped up on the pillow next to her.
After that night, the mirror would not be too far from her reach whenever she was in the dormitory. She could almost curse herself, but the relief of seeing his face triumphed the small voice telling her that if she wanted to get him out of her head, the mirror would have to go.
Whenever Marlene had seen her friend with the mirror, a smug smile danced on her lips as she couldn't help but start teasing the older girl mercilessly. As the blonde was unaware of her friend's nightmares, she only thought the girl kept the mirror close because she liked him. It hadn't taken more than a day or two before Dorcas and Lily joined in as well. Alice was the only one who had at least tried to keep the teasing to a minimum.
It had only been a few days since the first letter from Rabastan had arrived, a few days since the dark grey owl had tapped on her window, just like he had done that day when he came bearing the man's first letter. Thankfully she had been almost alone in their room when the owl came. Unfortunately, it was Marlene that had been sitting on top of Lily's bed as the two worked on their potions essay when the owl came.
Even if the blonde had never met him before, she was so excited when the letter had arrived. So much that Cassie started teasing her lightly as if Dorcas was the one who received a letter.
Cassie's eyes roamed the parchment with the blonde hanging over her shoulders, letting both of their sights be filled with his elegant handwriting. Her lips tugged up to a smile as she read the plans his mother had made for him. It seemed like Cerys had been rather adamant that Rabastan was going to escort, as he had said, the two ladies on their journey to France. He had also mentioned that her mother had thrown a fit when she had gotten a letter saying that the dress shop didn't have any open appointments with a consult until the end of March. It seemed as if there were quite a few weddings or parties happening throughout the spring and summer.
Just the way he had word himself about going to France with their mothers told Cassie enough. She could almost envision the look on his face while writing it. One part of her was glad that she wasn’t going with them, but yet she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take the two ladies to find a dress. She just hoped her mother wouldn't appear with a feathered ball gown on her wedding day.
And there it was, she had tried, she had really tried to keep the thoughts out of her mind whenever she wasn’t alone. Mostly due to the fact that she had a terrible poker face. It seemed so far, yet it was only seven months. Seven months that would pass by as quickly as the previous months had.
She truly regretted not talking more about it with Rabastan during the vacation. It had been brought up a few times, most of them as a joke, but still... It had been so easy before Christmas, so easy to pretend that it wasn't going to happen or to forget it since it wasn’t until a long time. But since her return to school, the thought had sometimes lingered heavily in her mind as she lay staring up at the ceiling in the dormitory.
As her eyes went past the middle of the letter, she couldn't help but smile softly as he mentioned the cottage she had grown to love in the span of three days. It seemed as if he longed back there just as much as she did. She had learned that after dropping her off at the station, he'd gone back to the manor and was currently staying there, 'observing' as much about the wedding plans as his mother wished for.
Cassie had been so deep in her thoughts that she almost missed her friend.
"It's been fifteen minutes Cas. If you keep this up, you might never finish," Dorcas said as she looked up from the textbook spread open on her bed.
While Lily had gone to the library to look for Remus, and James, but she would rather jump in the Black lake than to admit that. Alice had gone to find Frank, and Marlene was off with Sirius doing merlin knows what. The only thing Cassie knew was that the two were not up to any good. She had been left with Dorcas in the dormitory as the two tried to get some studying done, but that was easier said than done.
"Can you blame me? This is so boring," Cassie groaned. "Besides, you almost dosed off five minutes ago."
"Like you said, can you blame me?" Dorcas asked rhetorically. "I swear to Merlin, if this chapter doesn't end in four pages or less, I'm losing it."
Cassie looked down at the book in her lap and started counting the pages from where she was until she came upon the next chapter. It was certainly longer than the number of pages Dorcas had mentioned, but she supposed that the girl had gotten further along with her reading than Cassie. "What page are you on?"
"Eh, two hundred and twelve," she said, lowering her eyes to the end of the page. "You?"
It seemed like she was a few pages ahead of her, though it wasn't really that strange, as Cassie had zoned out at the mirror a few times. "Two hundred and seven, sorry to break it to you, but it seems like you have around seven or so pages to go."
"This is ridiculous." She groaned, burying her head in her book. "Completely and utterly ridiculous. I miss Christmas."
Cassie couldn't help but give her friend an amused look as she silently agreed with her. She, too, missed Christmas, but for another reason than Dorcas. Though she didn't have to suffer along with her mother or Cerys, she found that she missed being with her brother freely, without worrying about anyone from school, and she missed her friend.
An odd feeling appeared in her stomach as she thought about it, though as she ignored it, she couldn’t ignore just how far the two of them had come. From their first letter in September to their meeting in October, the days spent at the cottage and the sunrise in Andromeda’s back yard. She had to admit, the fact that the two of them had gotten so close was a relief to her, especially considering how close they would get in several months.
Her face burned as she thought about it. The wedding night was the one thing apart from the wedding. She had tried her hardest to block out from her mind. For a while, she had even managed to convince herself that there was no such thing as a wedding night. But she knew better.
"Oh-oh."
Cassie looked up from her book, noticing how Dorcas was looking at her. She couldn't help but ask. "What?"
"You have that look on your face."
"What look?"
"The look you get when thinking about the wedding, don't think I haven't noticed," Dorcas stated. She grew quiet and studied Cassie for a moment, taking in the older girls blushing face. "You little perv," she said suddenly as a smug grin appeared.
"Wha- I'm not a perv." Cassie stuttered. "You don't even know what I'm thinking about."
"Oh, I know enough.” She teased. “You have your wedding thinking face along with the fact that your face looks like Lily's hair. So unless you're getting aroused thinking about the wedding, I assume that your thinking about the wedding night and possibly Rabastan’s coc-"
"Oh my g- bloody hell Dorcas" Cassie shrieked, her face even redder than before as she buried her head in her hands, unable to look her friend in the eyes.
Dorcas rolled around on her bed, so she was facing the ceiling, and burst out laughing. Her laugh rang through the room while Cassie switched her hands for her pillow that had previously rested between her back and the headboard.
"Come on. It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Dorcas laughed. "When I started dating Marlene, I often found myself thinking about it, hell even before we got together." She said, almost proudly.
Cassie couldn't fight the disgust coursing through her veins as she replied. "Not something I want to know."
"Yeah, well, too bad." Dorcas shrugged.
"Though for the record, I was not thinking about Rabastan's- well, you know. Honestly, Dor, I think you've been reading too much of those books of yours."
The younger girl grinned wickedly. "There's no such thing as reading too much, especially when it comes to books like that. You know, you should try one, you might find it rather interesting. Lily certainly did."
Cassie's eyes widened at the mention of the redhead. "Lily's been reading those books?"
Dorcas nodded. "She seems to really like them. Might give her a few tips when the time comes, and James grows some balls."
"Doesn't matter if he grows them or not. It's Lily that needs to say yes. Or rather accept her ever-growing feelings."
"True..." She toyed with one of the curls she had wrapped around her finger as she added. "Though your brother did tell me that the two of them exchanged an awfully lot of letters this Christmas."
"Really?" Cassie asked, intrigued as she leaned forward. Lily hadn't mentioned any letters, however... now that she thought about it, their conversation back at the express appeared in her mind. Lily had, after all, said that she was up late responding to a letter James had sent her.
"I think this is the year." She stated so confidently that Dorcas arched a brow skeptically.
"You really think so?"
She nodded. After all, how long could the two of them continue this? It was almost as ridiculous as a certain other pair. "They have been studying together a lot, writing letters, as you said, and there's the fact that she invited him to the Christmas party. Not to mention the two of them have already kissed."
Dorcas didn't seem all that convinced as she scrunched her nose. "Yeah, but they went as friends. She made that very clear."
"It's Lily," She retorted deadpan, "Do you really think after all these years of rejecting him and denying it, that getting her to confess is going to be easy? I wouldn't be surprised if James asked her again, she would automatically turn him down before she can even let him finish, just because she’s so used to it."
"True enough." Dorcas paused, her brown eyes lighted up as something dawned on her. "Although… her birthday is coming up soon. What do you say we play a little, matchmaker?"
The thought brought a wide smile to Cassie's lips and immediately filled her eyes with mischief. The last time they had played matchmaker or Little Cupid, as Marlene liked to call it, had been almost a year ago with Alice and Frank, though Frank managed most without their help, so she wasn't really sure if it counted.
" Say, a little alcohol, some nice music, and an opportunity where they are together, what could possibly go wrong."
Well, everything, but she didn't say that.
For the next half hour, the two girls spend their time sharing ideas of what they could do and whether or not to involve any of the other girls or the marauders. Remus, Cassie had said, would probably be a good idea to add since he and Lily were good friends, but also because he's rather smart. Sirius, on the other hand, could go both ways. He was unpredictable with his ideas sometimes. Either they were brilliant or just prone to disaster. Peter could probably be of some use as well. The boy did occasionally have some really good ideas.
After a while, Dorcas became painfully aware of the book she had abandoned next to her pillow by her headboard while she sat at the foot of her bed facing her friend.
"Suppose we should finish reading." she groaned softly. Ready to throw the textbook out of their window.
Cassie bit back a groan and only smiled encouragingly. Or at least tried to. She wasn't sure if it was a smile or a grimace that filled her face.
The next day Cassie had been the one to find herself in the library. At first, she was surprised that she hadn't seen any of the others when she entered the secret room, but it wasn't really all that surprising when she thought about it. Classes hadn't been entirely over yet. She was just lucky to have a free period at the end of the day.
Her quill flew furiously across her parchment as she worked on her charms essay that was due next Thursday, she had debated with waiting, but if the next week was going to be any similar to the previous ones, she reckoned it was for the best to get it done when she had the time.
"I have no idea what to do. I can't ask her, can I? I mean- I want it to be a surprise."
"I'm sure you'll find something. It can't be that hard."
Cassie looked up just as two familiar faces made their way into their hidden corner of the library. The curiousness that swarmed inside of her grew too much as she noticed how frustrated and almost helpless James seemed as he drew his fingers through his hair. "Find what?"
"Oh, there you are," Sirius dumped his bag on the large table, causing a loud thud sound to echo through the room, making Cassie winch.
"You know, if you're trying to let Madam Pince know where we are, you are doing an excellent job."
"Oh hush," he waved dismissively at his sister while sitting down in front of her.
Her eyes lingered on her brother for a moment before switching her focus to the troubled teen who leaned back in his seat next to his best friend, running his fingers yet again through his hair while letting a rather loud sigh fill the room.
"What's with him?" She said, turning back to her brother, who was flipping through his Alchemy book trying to find the right page.
"He can’t find out what to get Lily for her birthday," His eyes not leaving the book as he spoke. "I already told him to just ask her if there's something she wants, or I don't know- write her a song or something."
"A song?" James threw his friend a dumbfounded look.
"Yeah, you can call it My Lily flower or Dear Lily-pad," He paused for a moment and looked up as if something struck him. "Peter and I can be backup dancers, and Remus, well, he can just stand there and look pretty. We could have matching outfits, you know, red suits. It would match her hair." His eyes shone brightly, and his entire body screamed with excitement so much that Cassie immediately slapped a hand over her mouth to retain her snort. "Bloody hell, that is a fantastic idea. Let's do that."
"It is a great idea if you are planning to chase her off." Cassie chuckled lightly, causing a brief grin to pass by James. Though it was gone so fast, she wondered for a moment if it had been there at all.
Sirius leaned back in his seat as he loosened his tie slightly, though his fingers itched to take the bloody thing off."Isn't it every girl's dream to have a boy write a song about them?"
"Lily's not just every girl, certainly not to James." Cassie countered swiftly. "Why don't you take a trip to Hogsmeade and see if you can find anything."
James groaned loudly. "But it's just that. I don't even know what to look for. If it's a new set of quills she needs or a book she's been wanting. The fact that it's just been Christmas makes this a whole lot harder." His fingers found their way yet again to his locks, only this time, instead of removing them, they gripped the ends of his unruly hair.
"I know running your hand through your hair is both a nervous habit and honestly just a habit, but unless you want to go bald by the time you're twenty, I suggest let go of your hair before you start pulling it out."
His hazel eyes widened, and it seemed as if it had just now occurred to James what he was doing as his hands fell from his head so fast one would think it was on fire.
"What about last year?"
James cringed as the thought of last year appeared in his mind. Last year was something that he wasn't entirely proud of, though he was certain that he was speaking for more people than himself when saying that their fifth year had truly not been anything worth feeling proud of.
"He wrote her that poem, remember?" as recognition swirled in a pair of dark eyes, James longed for his invisibility cloak more than anything.
Cassie winced slightly at the memory of the poor gift. The idea was overall good, even romantic, but the poem, however... James was no poet, that was for sure, though she had to give it to him to somehow find anything that went with Lily-pad.
"How about we try to stay away from poems and songs or anything written unless you plan to write her a sweet letter. Though-" She stopped, letting the idea roam her head for a moment. "Maybe you should stick to something more- well, safer."
"Like what?" James asked hopelessly.
For a moment, Cassie was silent as she thought. Honestly, there wasn't much she could come up with. Much like the previous years, Lily was always a bit difficult when it came to birthday wishes as she didn't feel they needed to get her something that soon after Christmas. However, instead of asking, they learned to be observant. They usually wrote down some of the things the redhead would wish for Christmas and then cross them out if she got them. The group would pluck among the remaining things if there were any or just pay attention to if there was anything she was running low on. Which they had, the girls had covered everything. While Remus had gotten her a new book, she had no idea what either Peter or her brother had planned, but every time they saw the redhead, a knowing grin would appear along with a certain look, one that Cassie had no idea what meant.
"Why don't you join Sirius and Peter with whatever they are doing?"
A mop of dark hair snapped up from his book as he immediately started shaking his head. "No, no way. Sorry Prongs, but that's not happening." He closed his textbook, giving up on trying to learn anything from it with his sulking friend around. "Pete and I have worked hard for this. Besides, if you truly want to make an impression on her or get her to go out with you, just get her something that reminds you of her." He paused briefly, and his eyes got a faraway look, almost as if he recalled some hidden memory.
"Something that when you see it, you just know. Like you can already envision their smiling face the moment they look at it. That little twinkle in their eyes, and though they try to hide it, their joy is almost too much, causing the biggest smile to appear." He smiled softly as he spoke
"Wow." Cassie crossed her arms as she leaned back in her seat, "That was awfully sentimental of you." She said.
During Sirius's rant, all signs of distress had faded from James, as the corner of his mouth tilted as he joked."It was, wasn't it? Makes me wonder who he spoke of."
Sirius's face did not betray him as he raised a finger at his friend, causing the two to laugh. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I was merely trying to explain to you the reaction of the perfect present, which considering the previous ones you've given, you obviously know nothing about."
"Ouch, Padfoot," James exclaimed as his hand rose just above his heart. "You wound me. Besides Lily's different, I doubt she gets that expression Remus gets every time you give him chocolate."
Sirius sent his friend a lazy glance as he retorted. "Who said anything about Remus?"
"Well, wasn't it him you were talking about? I'm not stupid, you know."
"Oh really? Could have fooled me sometimes."
James rolled his eyes, sending his friend a sharp look. "Like you're any better."
"Of course I am. I mean, have you seen me." Sirius grinned deviously.
At first, Cassie tried to bite back the smile as she listened to the two idiots in front of her, but as James got more resistant and Sirius got more defensive, she didn't bother and let a full smile blossom on her face.
"Look, why don't I come with you to Hogsmeade? That way, I can at least let you know what the others have gotten, so you don't buy anything similar." James's shoulders sagged in relief as she spoke, "And you," She started, turning to her brother. "We are not stupid."
"I don't know what you're talking about." He defended, crossing his arms, ignoring the knowing look shining in his sister's eyes.
"Sure you don't."
As Sirius opened his book again, fully intending to ignore the two others, Cassie and James shared a look, both knowing exactly what the other was thinking.
They were truly ridiculous, she thought, recalling what she had told herself yesterday. Completely utterly ridiculous.