Chapter 6
Arriving at a clearing, Cassidy stuffed the liquid Neville had gotten her into her robes pocket and struggled to carry her copy of the textbook The Monster Book of Monsters. She'd tied it closed with Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, a bubblegum famous for being able to stay a bubble for days on end. What the customers didn't know, however, is that Drooble had also made it extremely strong.
The Sweets, being the manufacturers, obviously did know this.
"Blimey, Cass, you're keeping that devilish book shut with just that?" Seamus said, raising his eyebrows. Cassidy nodded smugly as they all gathered in the clearing, Slytherins included.
"Alright you lot, less chattering. Form a group over there." Hagrid pointed to the far right of the clearing. "And open your books to page 49."
Cassidy followed Ron, Hermione and Harry to form a group as Draco Malfoy spoke up.
"And exactly how do we do that?" He asked, sneering. Although Cassidy hated him more than Arithmancy, she had to admit it was a good question. Hagrid scoffed as if Draco was asking how to breathe.
"Just stroke the spine, of course." Hagrid said. Cassidy shrugged and kept walking with the others, stroking the spine gently. The book purred, and she let out a laugh as it opened.
Unfortunately for Neville Longbottom, the book did not agree with him, and snapped at him as he fell to the ground, trying to fend it off.
"Ahhh! Ah!" Neville yelled while other Gryffindors laughed at him. Cassidy sighed and shut her book, going towards him when Ron suddenly stopped her with his hand on her arm. She turned to look at him, bewildered.
"You can't save him all the time, you know." Ron said lowly as the other two went on. Cassidy scoffed at him, shook his hand off her arm, and went to help Neville.
"No, no! I'm fine!" Neville said as he saw Cassidy approach him. The book was still snapping at him, however, and he fell over. Cassidy sighed and smiled, wrenching the book out of his hands and stroking its spine. Slowly, it calmed down, purring. She put it on the floor beside Neville (binding it with the belt he'd used previously) and knelt down beside him as he propped himself up on his arms.
Slytherins walked past them, jeering at the two, and Neville's face turned red.
"Cassidy, I was alright, you didn't have to—" he started sheepishly.
He stopped talking as she reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair out of Neville's face.
"Of course I had to." She said softly. Neville stared at her, at the way her lips curved up into a smile, at the way the sun caught her hazel brown eyes just right, the way her brown skin glowed.
His throat went dry.
"I think we should catch up with the others. Hagrid's—"
"Cass..."
Cassidy tilted her head. "Nev?"
And then, before he could stop himself, the words tumbled right out of his mouth:
"You're really beautiful."
Silence.
Cassidy's eyes widened.
Neville immediately realized what he'd just said.
"I—wait—no! I mean—yes! But— blimey, that was out loud, wasn't it?" His face burned as he scrambled to his feet, looking like he wanted to sink into the forest floor. "I didn't—I wasn't—I mean, I was—but I wasn't—"
Cassidy's face felt hot.
"I—um—we should—we should catch up with the others," she blurted, snatching up her book.
Neville opened his mouth, looking somewhere between horrified and hopeful, but Cassidy was already walking away, her heart pounding.
Neville stood there for a second, still gripping his book at arm's length like it might explode, before groaning and shoving a hand through his hair.
Cassidy caught up to the others and noticed Ron looked a bit miffed.
"Those books are a bit rough, aren't they?" she said brightly, trying to appear normal as she stepped next to Harry, resting a hand on his shoulder.
Harry looked at her suspiciously—he knew something had happened between her and Neville—but said nothing.
"I think they're funny," Hermione replied.
"Oh yeah, terribly funny," Malfoy drawled sarcastically. "Really witty." Cassidy rolled her eyes.
"Something you could never hope to be," she said with a smirk.
Seamus whistled lowly while Dean chuckled. Draco narrowed his eyes.
"Gods, this place has gone to the dogs," Malfoy muttered. "Wait till my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes."
Crabbe and Goyle snickered on either side of him.
"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said lowly, stepping forward.
Cassidy instinctively put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Potter, stop. He's not worth it," she whispered.
Draco laughed, ignoring him. "So, Sweet, this is your boyfriend of the day, yeah? How greedy."
He stepped in so close their noses almost touched. The Slytherins around them oohed, snickering.
"Shut the fuck up, Malfoy," Cassidy hissed, but Draco just smirked.
"Before we know it, you'll be passing yourself around the whole—"
"Watch your mouth," Ron snapped. Cassidy barely had time to register it before Ron had shoved Draco back a step, his face red with anger.
The Slytherins whooped as Malfoy stumbled.
Draco straightened, brushing himself off, his lips curling into a sneer. "Oh, how noble of you, Weasley. I suppose it's only fair—you get Potter's leftovers for everything else, why not this too?"
Cassidy saw red.
Before Ron could move, she shoved Draco, hard.
Draco stumbled again, nearly falling, but Crabbe and Goyle caught him just in time. The crowd around them gasped.
"You piece of sh—" Cassidy started, stepping forward—
But then Malfoy's expression changed. His face twisted into mock fear as he pointed behind them.
"D-Dementor—DEMENTOR!" he yelped dramatically, jabbing his finger at something over Cassidy's shoulder.
The Gryffindors whirled around—only to be met with nothing.
Laughter erupted from the Slytherins as they all pulled their hoods up, mimicking the Dementors.
"Fuck you, Draco." Cassidy snapped, before Hermione suddenly grabbed both her and Harry by the shoulders, steering them away. "Come on," she muttered, glaring daggers at the Slytherins as she led them off.
Cassidy shrugged Hermione off. "I'm fine," she mumbled, wiping her eyes quickly.
Ron hesitated, watching her, before Neville arrived, followed by Hagrid. Neville noticed Cassidy's expression, and raised his eyebrows in a silent question. She shook her head, avoiding his eyes as Hagrid took his place in front of the class, clearing his throat.
"Right then," Hagrid boomed, clapping his hands together. "Everyone gather 'round!"
Cassidy exhaled slowly, forcing herself to focus as the Gryffindors and Slytherins shuffled into a loose semicircle around Hagrid.
"Now, today's lesson is gonna be very special," Hagrid said, eyes twinkling. "We've got a real treat for yeh lot."
At that moment, a rustling sound came from behind the trees. Cassidy squinted as Hagrid turned and raised his massive arm.
"Come on then, Buckbeak!"
A large, majestic creature stepped into the clearing. Cassidy's breath caught. It had the body of a powerful grey horse, but its front half was that of a giant eagle, with shimmering silver feathers and a sharp, curved beak. Its piercing orange eyes swept over the students, regal and alert.
A few gasps rippled through the class.
"Hagrid," Ron muttered under his breath, eyes wide. "Exactly what is that?"
Hermione let out a soft oh, tilting her head in fascination.
"This here's a hippogriff," he announced proudly. "They're very proud creatures, so respect is key. Yeh don't wanna offend 'em. It may just be the last thing you ever do."
Cassidy noticed Malfoy snicker at the word respect. Git.
"Now, who wants ter go first?" Hagrid asked, looking around excitedly.
Everyone stepped back immediately, including Cassidy. Even Harry, who usually leaped at anything remotely thrilling, seemed to be weighing his options.
Cassidy swallowed, glancing at Buckbeak's massive talons.
"Well done, Harry, well done!" Hagrid said cheerfully, noticing Harry was the only one still standing close to the hippogriff.
Cassidy turned to look at him sharply, along with Ron and Hermione.
"Harry—" Hermione started, but Hagrid beamed even wider, and it didn't look like Harry had much of a choice.
Harry shot his friends a nervous look before being pushed forward by Ron, who received a light smack on the head from Cassidy.
"Ow! What was that for?!" He protested, while Hagrid began giving instructions.
"First thing yeh gotta do is bow," Hagrid said. "Show him yeh mean no harm. And then yeh wait. If he bows back, yer good ter go. If not... well, we'll get to that later."
"If there is a later." Cassidy said, shaking her head slowly.
Harry swallowed and nodded.
Cassidy found herself holding her breath as Harry slowly bent forward in a deep bow.
For a long moment, Buckbeak simply stared at him, unblinking. Then he started to squawk.
"Back off, Harry, back off!" Hagrid warned, shooing Harry away. He stepped on a stick, making Hermione jump and grab Ron's shoulder. Cassidy side-eyed it, seeing how Ron's face grew pink, and looked away quickly. The feeling from Divination class returned.
Then—
Buckbeak bowed back.
The class exhaled collectively.
Cassidy grinned, nudging Ron. "Look at him, our little hippogriff whisperer."
Ron snorted, but there was pride in his eyes.
"Alright, Harry," Hagrid said. "Come a bit closer—reach out, see if he'll let yeh pet him."
Harry stepped forward cautiously, reaching out a hand. Draco shoved through the crowd to get a better look, much to the dismay of multiple Gryffindors.
Cassidy held her breath again, jumping when Buckbeak squawked. Hermione grabbed Ron's hand this time, and Cassidy felt a horrible twist in her gut as Ron took her hand away from Hermione's, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. She stepped away from the two, fighting to keep her eyes on Harry and the hippogriff.
Buckbeak watched him for a moment before letting him stroke the smooth feathers along his beak.
A stunned smile broke out on Harry's face.
Everyone started clapping, and Cassidy whistled.
"Yes, well done Harry! Well done!" Hagrid cheered. "Now you can ride him."
"What?!" Harry said, widening his eyes as Hagrid lifted him onto the hippogriff. Cassidy burst into laughter at his protests, but was called to attention by someone tapping on her shoulder.
It was Seamus.
"Oi, you alright?" He said in a low voice, looking at Harry struggle to grip the hippogriff.
Cassidy blinked, caught off guard.
"'Course," she said quickly, forcing a smirk. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Seamus gave her a look. "Really?"
Dean stepped up beside him, arms crossed. "Seamus told me to punch Malfoy, by the way," he said casually. "Figured I'd let you know, in case you wanted to encourage it."
Cassidy let out a breathy laugh, something tight in her chest loosening slightly.
Seamus nodded solemnly. "You say the word, and I'll do it. Right in that pointy little face."
Cassidy huffed, shaking her head. "Appreciate the offer, but I've already pushed him once today. Might be considered bullying if we keep going."
Dean snorted. "Don't see the issue."
Cassidy rolled her eyes and ruffled Dean and Seamus's hair, leading them to groan involuntarily.
"I'm fine, you sops. No need to worry about me. Now let's get back to the lesson, yeah?"
They nodded, and kept watching Harry, who was now trying to hold on as Buckbeak galloped to take flight.
Suddenly, majestically, Buckbeak spread his wings and rose, and they all ran forward to watch him disappear into the sky.
"Go Potter!" Cassidy yelled, pumping her fist and grinning.
Ron had watched Harry take off too, and was cheering with the others, but stopped to watch Cassidy for a minute, the way her smile lit up her face, the way her eyes shone with excitement.
He felt a tightening in his chest.