Chapter 18
"I hope Harry's alright." Cassidy said, her expression one of worry. She, Hermione and Ron, were standing close to the Great Hall, all waiting anxiously for Harry Potter's return.
"Weren't you the same one saying not to worry about it, Sweet?" Ron teased, though he felt the same unease Cassidy did when they went to visit him in the hospital wing earlier, and he'd been unconscious. Hermione tapped her foot impatiently, a nervous habit she'd become accustomed to doing. "Where is he?" she muttered, brow furrowed. Suddenly Cassidy shouted out.
"Harry!" She called, her face flooded with relief. The other two looked down to see Harry mostly unscathed, a huge grin plastered across his face.
"Alright there, Ron?" He asked, getting an equally large grin from Ron.
"Alright. You?" Ron replied. Harry shrugged.
"Alright." He said simply. "Hermione?" Harry turned to her.
"Never better." She replied, smiling properly.
"And what about you, Cass?" Harry asked Cassidy.
She shook her head, smiling.
"I'm quite alright, Potter."
Later, as they ate in the Great Hall, after Harry had given Cassidy her necklace back and told her what Dumbledore had said about it, Cassidy and the group huddled together a bit.
"Harry, the nightmare about the necklace I had on the first night... I think it was You-Know-Who... I don't know." Cassidy explained, while the others listened intently. "He said he'd kill you, Harry. That he's going to kill both of us."
The group fell silent, despite all the chatter that went on around them. All four faces were filled with fear, fear of the unknown.
Fear of what could happen to them.
"Well, you heard what Hermione said." Ron said suddenly, breaking the quiet. "As long as Dumbledore's around, You-Know-Who can't touch Harry. Or you, for that matter." Ron said, turning to Cassidy with an encouraging smile. That eased them all a bit.
"Ron's right," chirped Hermione, her usually serious and analytical personality gone. "We're safe." Harry nodded, and turned to Cassidy with a determined expression.
"Don't worry, Cass. Next year, we'll come back even stronger, hopefully. And we'll find out what's going on with your necklace."
"Hopefully," Cassidy repeated, with a small smile. "We'll find out why Dumbledore thinks it enhances something good like Harry's courage and yet is still attracted to something evil like You-Know-Who."
The group nodded.
"Hopefully." They said in unison. Just then, Professor McGonagall used a spoon to hit her goblet, calling the attention of all the students of Hogwarts. The Golden Quartet looked up alongside everyone else, eager to hear what she had to say. Dumbledore stood.
"Another year, gone. And now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding. And the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with 312 points." Dumbledore announced. Scattered clapping was heard in the Great Hall.
"Oh, fiddlesticks." Cassidy muttered, rolling her eyes when she saw Draco making faces at her. Harry shook his head in disappointment, with Ron and Hermione looking very ashamed.
"In third place, Hufflepuff, with 352 points." Slightly stronger clapping was heard now.
"In second place, Ravenclaw, with 426 points." Cheers could be heard with the clapping now, and Cassidy started to wonder if she could sneak off to bed early. She saw Filch eyeing her and thought better of it.
"And in first place, with 472 points, Slytherin!" The Slytherin table cheered, Draco and his cronies shouts of glee louder than anybody else's. Hermione looked like she could kill.
"All I hear is a bunch of snakes hissing." Cassidy muttered, rolling her eyes. Snape was clapping particularly fast, and Ron glared at Draco as he smiled smugly.
"Git." He whispered.
"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin, well done. However," Cassidy perked up immediately, interest piqued. "Recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last-minute points to award." The Gryffindor table rose from their bored stupor, looking at Dumbledore with increasing excitement.
"To Miss Hermione Granger, for good use of intellect, while others were in grave peril, fifty points." The table erupted into cheers, with a 'Well done, 'Mione!' from Cassidy.
"Second, for Mr Ronald Weasley, for the best played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, fifty points." Ron grinned like he'd just won the lottery (because he kind of had), as people cheered for him once more.
"Third, to Miss Cassandra Sweet, for her acute use of charm and wit in helping her friends in dire circumstances, and always standing up for what's right, fifty points." The Gryffindor table cheered again, and Cassidy flourished in the attention.
"And fourth, to Mr Harry Potter, for pure nerve, and outstanding courage. I award Gryffindor house sixty points." The table's shouts of joy grew even louder when they heard Harry's name, and he grinned widely.
"We're well beyond Slytherin!" Hermione whispered with glee, as Cassidy nodded. "Draco looks thoroughly mortified." She commented happily.
"And now," Dumbledore announced yet again, making all the students stop and look towards him. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies. But it takes a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award 10 points to Neville Longbottom!" The Gryffindor table were yelling now, students clapping fervently as Neville looked around in shock.
"Nev, you've done it, you won points for us! I'm terribly sorry for doing what I did to you though, I really am!" Cassidy said, throwing her arms around Neville. He turned red as she drew back, and dropped to the floor. Ron scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"He'll be fine." Cassidy said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice as Harry laughed.
"Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order!" Dumbledore announced, clapping his hands as the green tapestries of Slytherins changed to Gryffindor's.
"Now that's the type of spell I like to see." Cassidy said, eyes twinkling at the change.
"Gryffindor wins the House Cup!" The Gryffindors jumped up, joy radiating off of everyone, their screams deafening as everyone threw up their wizards' caps. The Slytherins did not, however, Draco throwing one down in anger. Everyone rushed to congratulate the five that had won Gryffindor extra points, and for the first time in a while, Cassidy Sweet felt truly at home.
The steam from the Hogwarts Train engine wafted into the air, but it didn't blur Cassidy's vision this time, because she was being pulled along by Hermione. In her words, they needed to hurry up and start planning how to study for the summer on the way home. Cassidy groaned, but she still loved being around one of her best friends.
"C'mon, now, hurry up, you'll be late!" Hagrid the giant scolded some loitering students. Cassidy watched as Harry handed his owl to a chauffeur, grateful that she'd managed to find her own owl, Moony. He always went missing on particular nights. As Cassidy finally followed Hermione onto the train, Harry behind them, he paused.
"What is it, Harry?" Cassidy asked, arching her brow.
"Come on, Harry," Hermione added. Harry hesitated.
"One minute." He told them, walking towards Hagrid quickly. As the two spoke, Cassidy found herself touching the necklace. Hermione noticed.
"What's the matter?" She asked. "Is it warm again?" Cassidy looked at her new friend, the bossy one that was strikingly intelligent, the one she'd met mere months ago but wouldn't trade for the world.
"No, 'Mione. No, it's not. But I'm going to ask my dad about it. There's a lot of questions that need answering." Cassidy said quietly, as she watched Hagrid give a book to Harry, and seeing Harry open it. His eyes lit up, and she felt a strong urge to make sure Harry or any of her friends never got hurt. Hermione smiled at Cassidy, feeling glad she'd met her.
"Well, whatever all this necklace business is about, we'll help you with it, Cass." Hermione said encouragingly, watching Harry shake Hagrid's hand and hug him.
"I worry for Harry, you know. Those Dursleys sound a nightmare." Hermione mused, as Cassidy smiled gently.
"Well, at least he has us now." Cassidy replied, as Ron stuck his head out of the train door and looked towards Harry as he walked back.
"What are you lot talking about?" He asked, as Harry got closer.
"Whether your hair is flammable, with how red it is." Cassidy told him calmly, causing Hermione to giggle.
"Shut up, Cass." Ron snapped, though there was a grin on his face.
"Zip it, Weasley." Cassidy shot back, stepping further into the train as Harry stepped on the entrance stairs, grinning up at the rest of the group.
"Feels a bit strange going home, doesn't it?" Hermione asked him, worried.
"I'm not going home." Harry said, a twinkle in his eye. "Not really." He looked out to Hagrid, who waved at the lot of them as they started to get inside the train, and it pulled off.
Harry stuck his head out of a window, still waving back at Hagrid, as Cassidy told Ron to stop stepping on her foot and Hermione started to lecture the lot on the importance of studying during the holidays.
As the Hogwarts castle faded from view, Cassidy sunk into her seat, watching her friends bicker as she started relaxing.
She couldn't wait for next year.
To be continued….
(If you've read this far, thank you! I'm an amateur writer, so please forgive any mistakes or repetitiveness of words, I'm making this fic for fun only. Please kudos and comment, I'll start on the next book/movie soon)!