Chapter 16
Lucius Malfoy will get what's coming to him, mark my words." Cassidy hissed, as the four walked across the courtyard. They came across Buckbeak's executioner, who was sharpening his axe slowly.
Cassidy shuddered.
Hermione hadn't spoken to Cassidy, and Cassidy was not one to beg for explanations that wouldn't be offered. She would speak to Hermione once Hermione had spoken to her, yet it was evident the two shared the same opinion on Buckbeak's execution: it was totally unfair.
As they strode towards Hagrid's hut, Harry looked at Cassidy, narrowing his eyes.
"Cass, have you put on a new perfume or something?"
Cassidy gave Harry an odd look; more and more people had been asking her these sorts of questions. "No, Potter, I haven't. Why?"
"You look... different." Harry furrowed his brow.
Cassidy scoffed, and they kept walking, though Hermione kept looking at her from the corner of her eye.
"Can't believe they're gonna kill Buckbeak, it's just too horrible." Hermione expected Cassidy to agree and give a snappy insult to the executioner, but she said nothing, simply pursing her lips as they arrived at the pat to Hagrid's hut. When she saw who was watching the whole thing from afar, she audibly sighed.
"It just got worse." Ron said.
Draco, Crabbe and Pike were huddled together behind a stone, jostling each other and giggling at Hagrid's hut. Before anyone could stop her, Hermione started striding towards the group. Cassidy followed, whistling lowly and chuckling. Harry and Ron hurried after the two girls.
"Look who's here." Pike said, smirking. The other two looked up, and Draco grinned when he saw Hermione and Cassidy rushing towards him.
"Ah, come to see the show?" Draco said.
"You!" Hermione yelled. "You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!" She whipped out her wand, pointing it at Draco's face. He immediately shriveled, whimpering in fear.
"Hermione, no!" Ron said helplessly. "He's not worth it."
"'Mione, swing." Cassidy deadpanned.
"Hermione, do not swing. Whatever that means." Ron said.
"Swing, Hermione, swing." Cassidy said again. Draco started sobbing, and Hermione slowly put down her wand. Cassidy sighed in disappointment, and Hermione turned to her, as Malfoy started to laugh in the background.
"Cassidy."
"Yeah?" Cassidy replied, glaring at Draco over Hermione's shoulder.
"I... I'm sorry for snapping at you. It was out of line."
Cassidy pursed her lips, looking at Hermione for a long moment.
"Do you forgive me?"
Cassidy nodded, smiling. Hermione smiled back at her, before turning around and punching Draco swiftly in the nose. A moment later, Cassidy kneed him in the crotch.
"Agh!" Draco yelped, sinking to the floor.
"Malfoy, are you okay?!" Pike said in alarm, helping Draco up.
"You two want what he's had?" Cassidy said slowly, raising her own fist. Pike and Crabbe shook their heads, running off with Draco.
Before Cassidy could say anything, Hermione flung her arms around her in a tight hug. Cassidy hugged her back, laughing before Hermione drew back.
"That felt good." Hermione said.
"Not just good," Ron said, as Harry smiled down at the two. "Brilliant."
A few minutes later, the four ran down the stone steps to Hagrid's hut, a somber silence settling over them all.
"Oh, Hagrid's gonna be devastated," Cassidy muttered.
They finally made it down to Hagrid's hut, and Cassidy saw Buckbeak relaxing in Hagrid's pumpkin patch. She would've gone over to pet him, but she didn't want to lose one of her eyes.
When they had all settled inside, Cassidy watched Harry and Hagrid look out the window at Buckbeak, speaking in low tones. She nibbled absentmindedly on one of Hagrid rock cakes, being careful not to break any of her brace's brackets.
"Cassidy." She heard Hermione whisper to her. Ron was playing with Fang, Hagrid's dog.
Cassidy turned to her. "What is it, 'Mione?"
"I was wondering...do you fancy anyone?"
Cassidy took a double take.
"What? No, no I don't. Why?" Hermione didn't answer, the firelight reflecting on her pretty pale face. Cassidy's face broke into a teasing grin.
"Why, d'you fancy me?" Cassidy said, waggling her eyebrows. Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Don't be silly. I was just asking." Hermione replied, though there was a sense of relief in her tone, something Cassidy didn't quite catch.
Just then, Ron came to sit with the two girls, and Hagrid turned away from the window.
"We'll stay with you, Hagrid," Hermione said suddenly, standing up.
"You'll do no such thing." Hagrid replied. "I don't want you seeing somethin' like that."
"I promise you, Hagrid, we've seen quite a lot of things." Cassidy sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"Cassie, that's my final word. You just finish your rock cake, drink your tea and be off." Cassidy continued nibbling on her rock cake, feeling that there was no use in arguing.
"Oh, but before you leave, Ron," Hagrid reached into a tin, pulling out what looked like to be an old shoe brush. Ron gasped in delight.
"Scabbers!" Ron said, eyes sparkling as he took the rat back from Hagrid. "You're alive!"
Cassidy's necklace flickered with warmth, but after what Lupin had told her, she ignored it. Despite her unexplainable dislike for the rat, she found herself smiling stupidly at Ron being happy.
"Keep a closer eye on your pets, Ron." Hagrid said. Hermione got up, narrowing her eyes at Ron.
"I think you owe some people an apology." She snapped.
"Right." Ron turned to Hermione and Cassidy. "Next time I see Crookshanks and Moony, I'll let them know."
Cassidy's smile was wiped from her face.
"She meant us." Cassidy snapped, getting up from her chair. A jar behind her suddenly burst, and she whirled around to look at it in confusion.
"Blimey, what was that?!" Hagrid said in alarm. Hermione picked up a small, smooth pebble, and Cassidy felt her necklace begin to warm up.
"Ow!" Harry said, rubbing the back of his head. Cassidy walked over, leaning out the window. She felt a rock hit her forehead.
"Ow! What the—"
"Cassidy, stand back. I think that's the executioner." Harry said, and Hagrid walked over to see Dumbledore, the executioner, and a surly looking man approaching the hut.
"It's nearly dark. You shouldn't be here." Hagrid said breathlessly, but Cassidy saw the color drain from his face, how much this was affecting him.
"Hagrid, are you sure we can't—"
"Cassie, no. That is my final word. If someone sees you lot outside the castle at this time o' night, you'll be in trouble, big trouble. Particularly you, Harry." Hagrid pointed at Harry.
Someone banged on the door, making Cassidy jump.
"I'll be with yer in a moment!" Hagrid called, covering up a Blast-Ended Skrewt before turning to the group and shooing them away.
"Quick, quick." He said.
Cassidy, Harry, Ron and Hermione hurried out the back door, running across the pumpkin patch and hiding behind a particularly large pile of pumpkins. They watched as the surly faced man, a ministry official, spoke to Hagrid.
"I think Hagrid was right," Cassidy whispered shakily.
"What?" Ron whispered back.
"I don't think I can watch." Her breathing hardened.
Ron watched her profile for a moment, then, without a word, put his pinky around hers. Cassidy froze, turning to him for a moment, but, as usual, he refused to meet her eyes. Her heartbeat spiked, but her breathing calmed.
She looked back, their pinky fingers still intertwined.
Suddenly, a twig snapped behind them. Hermione whirled around to look, only for there to be nothing.
"What?" Ron said.
"I thought I just saw... nevermind."
"Let's go." Ron said, and they all ran, Cassidy turning to get a last look of Buckbeak. He seemed tremendously miserable, and she felt genuinely sorry for the grand hippogriff.
They kept running and running, not stopping for a single moment, not until they got to the ledge where Hermione had punched Draco and apologized to Cassidy. From there, they watched helplessly as Dumbledore, the Ministry official, Hagrid and the executioner got out of the hut, and even though they were miles and miles away, Cassidy could still tell that Hagrid had tears in his eyes.
They walked to a place the group could not see, and Cassidy saw the gleam of the axe as it was raised.
"No... they're not actually going to—"
But the loud thud of the axe answered her unfinished question.
Hermione collapsed into Ron's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Ron doesn't hesitate—his arms instinctively wrapped around her, holding her close as she shakes against him. His face is tense, pained, but he says nothing, just lets her cry. Harry watches, torn between sadness and exhaustion, his hand on Hermione's back in silent support.
Cassidy stood just a few feet away, arms wrapped around herself. She wants to go to them—to be part of the moment, to find comfort in them the way they find comfort in each other—but something stops her. Maybe it's the way Ron lets Hermione hold him so tightly. Maybe it's the way Hermione clings to him like he's the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.
A pit forms in Cassidy's stomach, a dull, twisting ache. She doesn't even know why it bothers her so much. Of course Ron would comfort Hermione—Cassidy should be doing the same, should be standing beside them, but she feels frozen. Like she doesn't belong in this moment. Like an outsider in her own group.
Then Ron looks up. Just for a second. His gaze flickers to Cassidy, as if he just realized she's not there with them. Hermione's arms are still around him, but there's something unreadable in his expression—hesitation, maybe. A silent question.
Cassidy quickly looks away, blinking hard. Merlin, not now.
Harry notices. He shifts slightly, as if about to reach for Cassidy, but she moves first. Before he can say anything, she steps toward him, and he pulls her into a hug. "Harry," she says softly, grounding him in the same way she's trying to ground herself.
Hermione's grip on Ron doesn't loosen, but his gaze lingered on Cassidy a moment longer before he finally looks away.
Cassidy doesn't look back.
Suddenly, Ron flinched, making Cassidy look at him again. Scabbers was on the ground, scampering away.
"He bit me!" Ron exclaimed, like he couldn't quite believe it. "Scabbers!"
And he started chasing after Scabbers, and Cassidy immediately started chasing after Ron, yelling.
"Ron, no! That thing could have rabies!" She yelled, almost tripping as Hermione and Harry rushed after the two.
"Ron!" Harry yelled as they ran further.
"Scabbers!" Ron yelled after the rat, his voice cracking. "Come back!"
"Ron, that rat does NOT want to come back!" Cassidy yelled, worry seeping into her voice. "Let him go!"
"I can't let him go, he's mine!" Ron yelled back, still running.
"Wait!" Harry yelled, Hermione beside him.
Ron kept running, launching himself onto Scabbers. Cassidy tripped then, falling just a few centimeters away from the two. Harry and Hermione had finally caught up, but stopped.
"Scabbers!" Ron said gleefully, looking down at the rat in his hands.
"Ron, you complete idiot!" Cassidy croaked, massaging her knee as she sat up. "Do you know what we're under?!"
Ron's face dropped at the sight of Cassidy in pain, and he was about to crawl towards her, when Harry yelled.
"RON! CASSIDY! RUN!"
But Ron looked behind Cassidy, behind Harry, behind Hermione, face paling in horror as he saw what was behind them all.
"Cassidy, get out the way! Harry, Hermione, RUN!" His finger trembled as he pointed. "It's the Grim! And it looks like he brought a friend!"
Cassidy, Harry and Hermione whirled to face behind them, and saw it. A dark, shaggy black dog growled lowly, and the bear Cassidy had been seeing for the past year snarled beside him, eyes on hers.
Her heart stopped, that feeling of familiarity creeping up on her.
Then she screamed.
Immediately, the dog sprung forward, jumping over Harry and Hermione and charging straight towards Ron. Ron scrambled to Cassidy, dragging her out of the way with surprising strength. She rolled, only catching a glimpse of Ron as the black dog dragged him away. She got to her feet, chasing after Ron desperately, trying to cling to him.
The bear galloped after her, blocking her, Harry and Hermione from following Ron and snarling at her threateningly. She didn't care, drawing out her wand and pointing it at the bear as Ron was dragged into the Whomping Willow's roots.
The bear narrowed its eyes, still growling. Cassidy stared back at it, wand poised between its eyes.
Then, slowly, it retreated into the Whomping Willow's roots, eyes on Cassidy until they disappeared into the darkness.