Entwined (Ron Weasley X Female OC)

The Sweet Family were many things, but early birds were not one of them.

"Joshua, have you seen my lucky cloak?!" Amira yelled from the bathroom. Cassidy was sitting in the kitchen, nibbling on a piece of toast and watching the calm scenery outside.

"No, I haven't! Just leave it behind, we're running late!"

"I can't leave it behind, or our team won't win!" She shouted back.

Cassidy was absentmindedly playing with her necklace now, whistling.

"Cassandra, stop whistling! I hope you've packed your things."

Cassidy rolled her eyes, fiddling with the strap of her duffel bag. Of course she'd packed. Yesterday. Like a normal, responsible person.

Something crashed upstairs.

Joshua groaned. "What now?"

Amira appeared in the doorway, looking frazzled. "Your daughter put a levitation charm on my cloak and now I can't catch it!"

Cassidy raised an eyebrow. "First of all, that was not me. Second of all, if it's floating, just—y'know—Accio it?"

Amira blinked. "...I hate when you make sense."

With a flick of her hand, the cloak zoomed into her arms, before Amira stuffed it into her tiny handbag. Joshua rubbed his temples, muttering something about "chaos before dawn."

Outside, the sky was starting to lighten, which meant one thing—they were officially late.

Cassidy stretched lazily, looking at her parents. "So, are we leaving, or are we waiting for Mum to hex her own clothing?"

The Sweets were going to use Floo powder to go to the Weasley's home in St. Ottery Catchpole, and use a Portkey to get to the Quidditch Cup with them. Arthur Weasley and Joshua Sweet had become good friends as of late, being that Joshua had connections in the Ministry and Arthur worked there, after all. They'd agreed on the traveling arrangements a week ago, and apparently Harry and Hermione were staying with the Weasleys, too. It'd be a good way to start talking to them again, Cassidy thought, twirling a lock of her kinky hair. She remembered what had happened the last time she'd done that, and dropped her hand.

"Okay, Cassandra." Joshua said, getting his bags and going towards the fireplace. "All set?"

Cassidy's father was dressed in a black trench coat, a navy suit underneath with black leather gloves adorned on his hands. He had a flat cap on his head. Even going to something as fun as the Quidditch Cup, he strived to look his best.

Amira looked effortlessly beautiful, as usual. She was a tall, curvy woman, one that made wizards stop in their tracks without the need of Veela magic. She sported an elegant pixie cut, and was dressed in a long, flowing navy skirt and a pretty white long sleeved blouse. Her silver earrings resembled swirling lollipops, reminding people constantly who and what she was affiliated with.

Cassidy, however, simply yawned, stretching her arms above her head before running a hand over her stomach, smoothing down the fitted brown top she had picked for the day. The ribbed fabric clung to her curves, the deep V-neckline revealing a glimpse of the delicate lace camisole underneath. It was a warm day, but she wanted something comfortable—something that hugged her just right but wouldn't suffocate her in the summer heat.

Her favorite pair of flared jeans sat snugly at her waist, hugging her hips before flowing out dramatically at the bottom, just the way she liked. She stood, checking her reflection in the living room mirror. The jeans made her legs look longer, the dark wash subtly fading around the knees and thighs. She turned to the side, admiring the way the outfit shaped her figure. Cute. Practical. Easy to run in if needed.

"Are you done admiring yourself, Cassandra?" Joshua said glumly, stuffing his hand into the jar of Floo powder and throwing a handful into the fireplace. "Merlin knows enough boys are going to do that for you."

Cassidy rolled her eyes. "Dad, it won't even be that bad. It's only a little Veela blood. They'll probably just look twice, that's all."

Joshua scoffed. "If Remus and Sirius were here, they'd agree with making you stay home."

"If Uncle Moony and Padfoot were here, they'd tell you to relax." Cassidy retorted, getting up and shouldering her duffel bag. "Now can we go?"

Shaking her head, Amira took her little handbag and went in front of the fireplace first.

"Darling, won't you pack a bit more?" Joshua said worriedly.

"Oh hush, Joshua. There's much more in here than you think." Amira winked at him and kissed Joshua on the cheek, making a rather silly grin spread on his face.

Turning to the fireplace, she shouted.

"The Burrow!"

And then she disappeared in a swirl of colorful flames. Joshua raised his eyebrows at Cassidy before tossing in some Floo powder of his own.

"Remember, no boys. Especially not that Weasley boy."

"Dad, for the thousandth time, his name is Ron!" Cassidy yelled after her dad as he stepped into the flames and disappeared.

Sighing, she got up— wondering for a moment how Hermione, Harry and Ron would react to how much she'd changed— and shook the thought out of her head. It'd be normal, obviously. Nothing would change.

Right?

She stepped towards the furnace, clutching her necklace gently. She shouldered her duffel bag yet again, and tossed in the Floo powder.

"The Burrow!"

And she was gone.

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"Hey Ron, where're we actually going?" Harry asked Ron, as they walked through the forest. Birds twittered above them, and the family's footsteps crunched in the dirt path.

"Dunno... hey Dad! Where're we going?!" Ron yelled to Arthur Weasley, who was walking in front of them.

"Wherever the fog is, keep up! And look out for the Sweets, will you?!"

Harry had come to the Burrow last night, and Hermione, who walked beside the two boys with Ginny and the twins, had come to the Burrow that very morning. Cassidy and her parents hadn't arrived yet, so Arthur had resolved to start off without them. 'They'll catch up with us soon,' was his excuse, though he kept looking over his shoulder to see if they were around.

"Cass is probably still sleeping." Ron muttered, sniggering with Harry.

"Oh, do shut up, Ron." Hermione said. "You weren't exactly a light sleeper when I woke you up this morning."

Ron made a face at her, and she and Ginny rolled their eyes at him before whispering to each other.

"Girls are weird," Ron muttered, and Harry nodded in agreement.

"Arthur!" A rough but cheerful voice called out to Arthur. "About time, son!"

"Sorry about that, boss," Arthur said, getting closer to the source of the voice with the rest of the group. "Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start." He shot a pointed look at Ron, who simply yawned. "We'll need to keep waiting for Joshua, though, he'll be here soon."

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone." Arthur introduced a happy looking middle aged man to the rest of the group. He wore a flat cap with a jacket, and a sweater with a tie could be seen underneath. "Works with me, at the Ministry."

Suddenly, a very handsome looking boy dropped out of a tree.

"A strapping young man, must be Cedric, am I right?" Arthur said, holding out his hand for Cedric to shake. He took it enthusiastically.

"Yes, sir." He replied softly.

Ginny and Hermione shared a look, smiling to themselves.

All of a sudden, a loud, booming voice called out, startling the group.

"ARTHUR! Terribly sorry we're late! Cassandra here got lost in the woods, and—"

"Dad, I think they can hear you." Cassidy hissed, all previous built-up confidence to face her friends gone. She hid her face with her hands, walking close to her mother.

Harry, Ron and Hermione squinted at their approaching figures.

"There's Cassidy's dad... and her mum... wait Harry, who do you reckon that is?" Ron said, squinting harder as they got closer.

Hermione blinked. "It's Cassidy." Ginny looked over Hermione's shoulder, and her eyes widened. Ron scoffed, though his eyes were trained on what seemed to be Cassidy.

"Don't be silly Hermione, that's not—"

But it was.

Avoiding eye contact with any of her friends as Joshua went to go and greet Amos and Arthur with Amira, Cassidy Sweet feebly waved at everyone.

"Hello, guys. Sorry I didn't write, I was..."

Cassidy continued talking, and Hermione and Ginny hugged her before she kept speaking again, but Ron couldn't hear a single word she was saying. He'd never admit it to anyone, not even himself, but he'd always thought Cassidy was pretty. But this, this was—

"—yeah, apparently my ancestor was half-Veela, can you imagine it?" Cassidy continued, oblivious to Ron's jaw on the floor. "So now I've got to deal with all that. My grandma was furious when I said I wouldn't suppress it, though. We had to push her out." Cassidy giggled with the girls, and Ron felt his heart flutter.

Slowly, George and Fred snuck up behind Ron and closed his mouth for him. He shook his head, out of a daze.

"Snap out of it, mate." They said in unison, smirking, though George's smile was a bit strained. Cedric strode over to Cassidy, offering his hand. Cassidy took it, shaking it gently and smiling.

"Cedric Diggory." Cedric said, nodding.

"Cassidy Sweet, nice to meet you." She replied, and Ron noticed her voice was smoother than before, a little bit deeper but in all the right ways.

"Alright, you two," Joshua suddenly appeared, clapping his hand on Cassidy and Cedric's shoulders, though it could be noted that he gripped Cedric's shoulder a little tighter. "Let's be off. The Portkey won't find itself."

Cedric, polite as ever, nodded before walking forward with Amos. Cassidy rolled her eyes at her father before going off with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Honestly, Joshua." Amira said, shaking her ahead at her husband as she walked with him. Joshua said nothing, a smug smile on his face.

"So," Ron said as the group walked through the forest. "You're part Veela, then."

"Hello, Cassidy. Why, my holiday was good, Cassidy, how about yours?" Cassidy teased, rolling her eyes as Hermione giggled. "That'd be a nice question, Ron."

Ron scoffed. "Yeah, well, maybe if you'd written at all this summer, I would've had the chance to ask."

Cassidy looked at Ron, noticing that he'd gotten taller, and grown out his hair. Her cheeks warmed, though she chalked it up to summer heat.

Harry nodded. "Seriously, Cass. We didn't hear a word from you."

Hermione frowned, her voice laced with concern. "We were starting to worry something had happened."

Cassidy bit her lip, feeling an odd mixture of guilt and frustration. "I know, I know—I wanted to write, I tried to, but..." She hesitated for a moment, fingers brushing against her necklace. "I needed time to figure some things out."

Ginny caught up to them, nudging her. "Like what? Your Veela thing?"

Cassidy exhaled, shifting her duffel bag higher on her shoulder. "Partly. But it's not just that." She glanced at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, lowering her voice so that only they could hear. "It's my necklace."

Ginny sensed that this was private and stalked off towards the twins, a bit miffed. Hermione's eyes immediately sharpened. "What about it?"

Cassidy hesitated. "I think—no, I know—it's important. Like I said the last time, my dad told me it was special when I was younger, but I don't think he'll ever say more than that. And I need to find out what I can before it's too late."

Harry frowned. "Too late?"

Cassidy sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know exactly what I mean by that. But something's changing—I can feel it."

The group walked in silence for a moment, the only sound being the crunch of leaves beneath their feet.

Hermione was the first to speak. "Have you done any research on it? Looked through any old texts?"

Cassidy gave a sheepish smile. "That's where you come in."

Ron groaned. "Oh, great. More homework."

Cassidy laughed and playfully nudged him, and Ron's ears went pink.

This was going to be an interesting Quidditch Cup.

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