Prologue
5 years earlier
“Wait up!” Cassandra Vaughn called out to the two retreating figures ahead of her. The hill she was currently climbing hadn’t appeared that steep from the bottom. Then again, she hadn’t been able to see all the rocks and holes that littered their ascent. She’d tripped and stumbled, falling further and further behind the two red headed twins who had raced ahead trying to beat each other to the summit.
“Come on slow coach, what’s taking you so long?”
Eyes still glued to the path ahead she muttered, “Oh you know me, just trying not to break an ankle” sarcasm dripping from every word she said.
“What was that you said Cassie? Didn’t quite catch it.” Letting out a small shriek she whipped her head to the side. Standing there bending slightly so he could look her in the eyes was Fred Weasley, a mischievous smirk plastered across his face, a humorous glint in his hazel eyes.
“You scared the gob stones out of me!” She shouted, hitting him in the chest making him stumble backwards. Letting out a loud boisterous laugh Fred grabbed a hold of her hand and began dragging her along, giggles and pants of exertion tumbling from both of their lips.
“Took you long enough!” chuckled George swinging an arm around her shoulders. Letting out a huff and pulling away from George's sweaty grip, she swirled around her white cotton sundress fanning out around her. Her breath caught in her throat, from the summit of the hill she could see the Devonshire countryside laid out before them like a patchwork quilt. Dense emerald green hedgerows intersected each other over the lush green fields. A glittering sapphire river wound lazily through the scene, the August sun reflecting brightly off its surface. Up on the hill a light breeze danced through the long grass, a nice reprieve from the sun shining down on them from high in the sky. Turning around and shielding her eyes she spotted The Burrow, the home of her second family the Weasley’s. From her vantage point she could see the higgledy-piggledy design of The Burrow looking just as magnificent and magical from afar, floor on floor of mismatched cladding balanced precariously on top of each other. In the front garden she could see minuscule white dots flapping around, the chickens had been let out of the coop. The tin roof of Mr Weasley’s garage was sending up scorching waves of heat. The orchard, normally alive with the shouts and whoops of a Weasley family Quidditch game, was motionless not even the slight breeze from the hill could reach the trees down there in the valley.
Suddenly an obnoxious laugh snapped her out of her daze, dragging her eyes away from the tranquil landscape in front of her she spun around. Her eyes landed on the twins, sat crossed legged in the swaying grass, their cheeks flushed with laughter. She slowly ambled over to them, throwing herself down on the floor between the twins.
“What’s so funny?” she giggled, looking between the pair.
George gestured to the floor in front of them. What appeared to be an average garden beetle was crawling through the grass, however rather than its shell being its regular inky black colour it was flashing various brightly coloured garish patterns; from an orange and turquoise checkerboard pattern, to a yellow and purple zig zag, to a red and pink polka dot pattern.
Cassie let out a small breathy chuckle before asking “How did the two of you manage that?”
With a cocky smirk and a flourish Fred bought out his new wand. Next to him George began spinning his own wand nonchalantly between his long slender fingers.
“Got them yesterday with Mum in Diagon Alley.” George said smugly.
“She made us promise we would lock them away in our trunks ready for tomorrow, but we had to get at least a bit of practice in!” joked Fred.
Cassie felt a pit begin to form in her stomach whilst tears pricked her eyes. She’d been dreading tomorrow for months, the thought of losing her two best friends was unbearable. They’d grown up together, they knew each other inside out and back to front, the adults had always referred to Cassie as their triplet. And now, because they were 6 months older than her, they were eligible to start their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, leaving Cassandra behind. Not noticing that Cassie was completely lost in her own thoughts the twins continued to prattle on, joking and laughing with each other. Her attention was brought back to the conversation when she heard the expression “almost set fire to himself this morning.”
“What?” cried Cassie.
Snorting George repeated “Fred set fire to his bed sheets this morning, whilst still lying in them! Thought he was going to set fire to himself. I had to throw my cup of water over him.”
Wide eyed Cassie looked over to Fred, subtly scanning his body for any signs of injury, instantly calming when she found none.
“I wanted to see how easy the Incendio charm was! Surprisingly a tiny spark can set quite a big fire,” Fred said as he brushed his neck in embarrassment, a small blush appearing on his freckled cheeks.
“Surprisingly?” questioned Cassie cocking her eyebrow and trying not to laugh.
“We’ve banned that spell until we can research it properly, okay?” mumbled Fred, turning a deeper shade of red.
“Magic is banned outside of Hogwarts anyway, what if the ministry finds out? Of course you two would be the only students to get expelled before ever even stepping a foot through the door.” Cassie said, taking note of how whiny and bossy her tone sounded.
“Never knew you were such a stickler for the rules Vaughn. Kingsley finally brushing off on you?” George joked.
“Yeah, you weren’t so law-abiding when you were stealing Charlie’s broom and planting it in Percy’s room. Or when you turned the stairs into a slide, making us all slide down them on pillows and blankets. Or when you were playing catch with Mum’s vase, smashed it and blamed it on poor, old, decrepit Errol. Or… umph.” Cassandra had used all of her weight to tackle Fred, causing them both to fall backwards sprawled in the grass. Blushing, she pushed herself away from him, both of them letting out an awkward chuckle.
That was how the three of them stayed, all afternoon, lounging in a circle in the grass reminiscing about the past. Shouting, outrageous snorts of laughter and the occasional shriek shattered the tranquil silence of the countryside around them.
The sun was beginning to set, the golden orb just hovering above the horizon and the air was beginning to cool. Throwing her head back to bask in the last of the summer sun's rays, Cassie quickly clambered to her feet, brushing the grass and dirt off of her dress as she went.
“Come on, Molly will have our heads if we’re late back for dinner.” Cassie encouraged. The lanky twins stumbled to their feet and began to follow her.
“Race?” Fred questioned, nudging Cassie in the ribs whilst George nodded his head excitedly.
“Because that idea worked so well on the way up! It's almost like you want me to break something!” Cassie muttered, trying to keep a straight face.
“Not our fault you’ve got the coordination of a drunk hippogriff,” snorted George with a shrug.
“Go on without me” wailed Cassie dramatically throwing herself to the floor, “I’ll meet you at the bottom.”
“Where’s your sense of daring and adventure?” asked Fred, rounding on Cassie. Cassie noted a mischievous glint in his eye, a wide smirk began spreading across his face. Before she even had a chance to get up and run his arms were around her waist, throwing her over his shoulder. Shouting to his twin he took off quickly, sprinting down the hill. Fred and Cassie’s laughter combined into one, peppered with Cassie’s shrill screams. Her head flopping, rhythmically hitting his back uncontrollably. His pace slowed to a walk when he reached the bottom of the hill, his breathing coming out in short puffs.
“Please put me down Fred,” Cassie said, a laugh still evident in her voice.
“Nope” came his reply, a cheeky grin on his face.
“Please” the shorter girl whined, “all that bouncing around has definitely bruised a rib.”
“Hmmm” Fred replied, pretending to be deep in thought, “I’ve got a better idea.” Suddenly he grasped her wrist in one hand and threw her legs around with the other, bracing herself to hit the floor with a hard thump, she closed her eyes. Then she felt warm hands against the back of her thighs as he pulled her into a piggy back position.
“Better?” Fred questioned. Blushing Cassie was only able to hum in approval.
All of Cassie’s senses appeared to have heightened. She could feel the pressure of Fred’s hands against her bare skin and his soft hair brushing her face as she peered over his shoulder. The sound of his uneven breathing. The smell of cinnamon, gunpowder and smoke was emanating from the boy, all tied together with a hint of lavender. It was an odd combination of smells and entirely unique. Her stomach felt like it was doing somersaults, it was a completely new feeling for her, one she had never experienced before. Shaking her head out of her daze, she dropped her chin onto Fred’s shoulders and listened to the twins' plan to reign havoc on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The walk back to The Burrow hadn’t been a long one. They’d continued down the dusty mud track until they’d reached a small gap in the hedgerow, wiggling through it, they had appeared in the Weasley’s apple orchard. The smell of apple blossom and the sound of lazy bee’s buzzing from one flower to the next filled their senses. It was truly peaceful.
“Are you going to let me down yet?” Cassie whispered in Fred’s ear.
“Nope,” Fred replied smugly, looping through the trees and up the winding path to the Weasley’s back garden. The garden could only really be described as an open field, it was littered with wild flowers, rusting gardening equipment and long forgotten about Quidditch paraphernalia.
As they got closer to the house it was clear that they had made it back just in time. The twins' older brothers, Bill, Charlie and Percy were putting a couple of tables together, tightly packing in mismatched chairs for everyone. Their younger brother Ron was placing a plate in front of each chair, whilst the youngest Weasley, Ginny, followed him around with cutlery.
“Here they come, the terrible trio!” cheered Charlie as soon as he saw them traipsing through the overgrown lawn.
“Where did you lot disappear to? Mum’s been going mad.” Bill stated.
“You definitely woke the dragon,” sniggered Charlie.
“We always wake the dragon,” the twins mumbled, rolling their eyes.
The small group jumped when they heard the bang of the back door slamming open, rattling on its hinges. Stepping through the door was a short plump woman, a mane of bright ginger frizzy hair created a halo around her head. She stopped on the small uneven back step, surveying the group, her small brown eyes flitting from one person to another. When her eyes finally landed on the trio her cheeks began to flush a bright crimson.
“Where have you been?” screeched out Molly Weasley.
“We just went up the hill,” Fred began.
“Spent the afternoon chatting, that's all!” George backed him up.
“So I spend my day acting as your house elf? Doing your washing, packing your trunks, making sure that you are all ready to leave tomorrow morning whilst you're off frolicking up the hill chatting?”
“We were already packed!” shouted the twins in unison.
“Screwing up dirty washing and your brand new school robes and throwing them into your trunk with some stink pellets is not packing!” squawked Molly. Her eyes narrowing, her pupils becoming slits.
“Your school books were still in the bag under your beds, George your cauldron still had chicken feed in it and Fred your school tie was round the cat's neck. What were you going to do? You can’t go through life flashing a smirk and telling a couple of jokes! You both need to grow up!” Molly said, getting more riled up as she went on.
Something began to bubble in Cassie’s chest, she hated the way that Molly was speaking to them. Stepping in front of the twins and meeting the eye of the Weasley matriarch she calmly stated “This is all my fault really Mrs Weasley, I wanted to spend the last day of summer with them. They’re going off to school tomorrow and I don’t know when I’ll next see them.” Her throat was suddenly becoming tighter, there was a lump forming in it that wouldn’t go away no matter how many times she swallowed and tears were beginning to prick in her eyes. Blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay she continued “I’m not sure what I’m going to do without them.”
Mrs Weasley’s face began to soften seeing the obvious distress that the young girl before her was in. Letting out a small huff she shuffled past putting the dish of boiled potatoes on the table. The air was full of tension, each person watching Mrs Weasley’s every move.
“Arthur and Kingsley will be back from work any minute. The least the three of you can do is help me bring out the food and set it on the table.”
“Of course Mrs Weasley. I really am sorry,” replied Cassie, rushing forward eagerly to help.
“I was young once too.” Molly said with a small smile, resting her hand lovingly on the young girl's cheek. “Thank you for always looking after my boys, I don’t even want to think about the kind of trouble they’ll get into without you there!”
Behind the pair the two identical boys let out a huff of exasperation.
“We’ll be fine, we’re practically grownups now!” huffed out Fred making his way towards the kitchen, his twin not far behind, nodding enthusiastically in agreement.
Molly looked Cassie up and down mumbling “they’ll be fine,” more to herself than anyone else. Grasping the young witch's hand in her own, she led her inside.
Laid out on every surface inside the Weasleys small kitchen were different dishes overflowing with various foods, beef and chicken, mash and roasted potatoes, an assortment of vegetables and three large quart jugs nearly overflowing with gravy. On the kitchen table were three large desserts, a chocolate gateau, a lemon tart and some sort of fruit crumble. Custard, cream and ice cream were also all ready to accompany the delicious desserts. Cassie felt her stomach sink with guilt, not only had Molly needed to pack everything for the twins' departure tomorrow morning, she had also spent the day slaving away to create a feast for the whole family to enjoy. Going up behind the small witch, Cassie wrapped her arms around Molly’s shoulders, resting her head on her right shoulder, whispering in her ear, “I’m sorry, we should have been here to help. Thank you, this all looks amazing.” Giving the young girl's arm a little squeeze and loving tap she turned around pulling her into a loving embrace, “you are most welcome dear,” before pulling away she gave the witch, who had become a second daughter to her, a small kiss on the crown of her head.
“Go on now, help the boys bring out all of this food whilst I sort some drinks out,” Molly said, giving Cassie a slight push towards the back door. Cassie picked up two bowls filled to the brim with vegetables and made her way outside to set them on the wooden tables.
Once all of the food had been laid out down the middle of the table and bottles of pumpkin juice and butterbeer had been passed around, Cassie and the rest of the Weasley’s sat down around the table. Cassie managed to squeeze herself between the twins, barely having enough room to raise her arms to use her cutlery. Mrs Weasley was beginning to look flustered again, constantly looking between the night sky and her battered gold wrist watch, muttering “They’re late, I told them 7.45 at the latest. I told them.”
Just when it seemed Molly was about to lose the little remaining patience she possessed a small ‘pop’ echoed across the garden. Striding into view came two figures. One was significantly larger than the other, his deep purple cloak flowing behind him and a single gold hoop earring hanging from his right ear. The other was a shorter man, his bright red hair was thinning on the crown of his head and his brown blazer was creased and moth eaten. Kingsley and Mr Weasley had finally arrived. Molly stood, hands on her hips, tapping her foot impatiently. Sheepishly Mr Weasley pulled her into a hug, profusely apologising, sending a small smile to the children sat around the table. Kingsley skirted around Molly, a look crossed between terror and remorse on his face. Stopping behind Cassie’s chair he placed his hands on her shoulders, kissing the top of his daughter’s head.
“Good day?” he whispered in her ear. Turning around smiling she nodded.
Once the two gentlemen had taken their seats, dinner began. Food was piled onto their plates, laughs and giggles rang out into the cool night air, the chatting never ceased. Once they had all finished the main course Molly bought out the gigantic desserts, using a hover charm to lay them carefully onto the table. Later, when they were all stuffed and the dishes had been whisked away by magic, the topic of conversation turned to more boring subjects discussed solely by the adults, the falling price of the galleon, the hunt for dark wizards who had so far avoided punishment and finally the plan for the big day tomorrow. The Weasley’s had five children leaving on the Hogwarts express tomorrow and it sounded like a well-timed mission to get them all there safely and on time. Whilst Cassie’s ears had pricked at that conversation the other children around the table were showing clear disinterest: Bill and Charlie had pulled out a game of exploding snap, Percy was reading one of his new text books, the twins were discussing a plan that so far included an ever battering boomerang and 12 well placed stick pellets, Ron had decided to have seconds of pudding (Cassie was sure that he never stopped eating) and Ginny appeared to be fast asleep her head buried in her arms that were lent on the table. The scene before her was entirely peaceful, she felt content surrounded by the warmth and love of her family.
Suddenly a heavy weight landed on her left shoulder, dragging her from her thoughts. Turning her head slightly her stormy grey eyes met the caramel coloured eyes of Fred Weasley who had decided to use her shoulder as his own personal pillow.
“How are you doing there smidge? You’ve been staring at the custard dripping from the corner of Ronniekins’ mouth for the last 10 minutes. I’m guessing that is what is causing the look of horror and absolute devastation on your face” Fred stated with a snort.
Ron’s hand instantly went to his mouth, wiping away the dribble of custard with a small groan. His face turning a bright shade of scarlet. The twins let out a howling laugh of amusement.
Lightly digging his elbows into the young girls’ ribs Fred tried again to get Cassie’s attention.
“Come on Cass, tell Dr Weasley what’s the matter.”
A small smile began tugging at the side of her lips, despite the dull pain in her chest and the lump that was beginning to form in her throat. Wrapping her arm around his and laying her head on his shoulder she took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. The comforting smell of gunpowder, cinnamon, smoke and lavender filled her senses, her eyes closed breathing in his warmth. She was acutely aware of her heart beginning to race for the second time that day, being close to Fred appeared to have that effect on her all of a sudden. When she finally felt as though she wasn’t about to burst into tears she opened her eyes, turned her head to look at him and simply replied “I’m really going to miss you, that’s all.”
Fred’s face softened a reassuring smile appearing on his face.
“We’re coming home in December for Christmas, the school has loads of owls that we can borrow to send you letters about all of our misdemeanours and before you know it we’ll be home for summer! You’ll only have to be completely miserable for a year without us. Then next year you’ll be joining us at Hogwarts!”
Cassie chuckled, “was that supposed to make me feel better? Plus you know Maya wants me to go to Beauxbatons, then I’ll have to be miserable for 7 years without you!”
“School doesn’t last forever Cass, we’ll have Christmas’ and Summers no matter where you go. Once that’s all over we’ll be out in the big wide world with no one to tell us what to do.”
Fred seemed so sure that Cassie couldn’t help but believe him. She found it reassuring to think that when he thought of the future, years from now after school and beyond, she played a part in his future, just as he played a part in hers. Smiling and feeling more content about the situation than she had in months, she curled into his side throwing an arm around his slumped waist, whilst he lazily draped an arm over her shoulder pulling her in even closer. That was how they sat, late into the evening chatting, playing and laughing.
The moon was glowing high in the sky when Kingsley finally stood up at the end of the table, stretching his hands high over his head and letting out a big yawn.
“I’m afraid that we let the time run away from us, it’s late and we will not impose on you any longer Molly. Thank you for your hospitality and the delicious meal.” Kingsley said, fondly looking at the portly woman across the table. Turning he made eye contact with the exhausted girl curled up against Fred Weasley.
“Come on you, let’s get you home, you look exhausted. Mother Maya will be worried,” Kingsley laughed a cheeky glint in his eye.
Cassie couldn’t help but giggle at the stupid nickname they had given Maya, her adopted mother. Kingsley and Maya weren’t her parents, but they were as good as. They had taken her in at the age of 2, and from that day on had treated her as though they were her biological parents. Cassie’s biological mother had died in childbirth and her father had been killed due to his work as an Auror, therefore Kingsley became the over protective doting father and Maya the gentle benevolent mother, Cassie really couldn’t wish for better parents.
Untangling herself from Fred she clumsily got up and began saying her goodbyes.
“Goodbye Mrs Weasley. Thank you so much for letting me stay and sorry, for earlier I mean. I should have been around to help you.” Cassie nervously blurted out, worried that the Weasley woman would still be angry at her.
“Nonsense, no thank you’s or apologies needed.” Smiled Mrs Weasley bringing the young girl into one of her infamous bone crushing hugs. “You look after yourself, do you hear me? Just because my two misfit sons won’t be around doesn’t mean you need to make yourself a stranger. You are always welcome here dear.” whispered Mrs Weasley. Abruptly, Cassie was being tugged away from Mrs Weasley, two arms under her armpits and two around her waist.
“Group hug!” George shouted in her ear, squashing her against another body, presumably Fred’s. They were in a tangle of arms and legs squashed together so hard they could barely breathe. When they finally pulled away they were all red faced and giggling. The adults stood to the side watching the group of children with fond smiles on their faces. Mrs Weasley was dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief laughing at the children’s antics.
“They really are going to miss each other, aren’t they?” Questioned Mr Weasley.
“Cassie has been moping for months, she even asked me to put in a special word for her with Dumbledore. Apparently with all of the work that Maya forces upon her she’ll be more than able to keep up. Bless her. She’s acting like she’s about to lose a limb!” replied Kingsley affectionately.
“They’ve been best friends for as long as they can remember. You’ve been dropping her round for play dates since they were two years old! They’ve spent nearly every minute of every day together for the last 10 years!” Molly stated emotionally.
The adult’s attention was drawn back to the group of children by squawking screams. The twins were trying to lift a flailing Cassie onto their shoulders, whilst the other Weasley siblings were standing in a loose semi-circle around them egging the twins on and laughing at Cassie’s reluctance.
“Ow! Your big ogre foot kicked me in the eye!” screamed Fred.
“My petite fairy feet would be nowhere near your eye if you would put me down!” Cassie screamed back sassily.
“Right that’s it, pay back!” the twins shouted together, laughing evilly.
George grabbed her ankles, Fred grabbed her wrists and began swinging her wildly between them, taunting her and threatening to throw her across the garden.
“This is the biggest gnome we’ve ever caught degnoming the garden, right Freddie?” questioned George.
“Right Georgie” replied Fred, a menacing look in his eye.
“Do you think we’ll be able to toss her over the hedge like the others?” Fred said, slightly releasing his grip on her wrists.
“Put me down!” screamed out Cassie, unable to hold in her obnoxious laughter.
“Fine, you can get away with it. Just this once Vaughn!” George shouted, laughing maniacally.
The twins stopped swinging her, gently lowering her to the ground and letting go of her limbs. Instantly she jumped up, running her fingers through her long chocolate brown hair trying to tame the unruly mess and dusting off her summer dress. Thank the gods she was wearing shorts underneath.
She could tell by the way that Kingsley was checking his watch he was growing impatient. He’d been at work all day and she knew he was in work again tomorrow, he was probably exhausted. Sadly she turned to each of the twins, pulling them into a tight hug worthy of Molly.
“Good luck. Be good, work hard and please please please write.” she begged. The twins nodded in unison. Although they would surely deny it they both appeared to have tears in their eyes threatening to spill over any moment. She then turned around going along the line of Weasley children giving hugs of goodbye and whispering good luck to those who would be returning to Hogwarts. The last in line was little Ginny Weasley who stared up at her and then buried her head in the older girl’s chest.
Chuckling slightly Cassie whispered in her ear “I’m not going anywhere Gin. I’ll see you soon I promise!”
Turning around she walked straight into the chest of Fred Weasley. He pulled her tightly to him, burying his face in her hair, swaying them slightly from side to side. She heard a couple of sniffles coming from the boy before he pulled away.
“I always get the last hug.” He mumbled, eyes glassy. All she could do was give him a weak watery smile as she crossed the lawn and went to stand beside Kingsley. Gently he took her small hand in his squeezing it slightly, then the world fell out from under her feet and she was apparated away from the Burrow and her second family. Her last thought before the intense squeezing and spinning sensation of apparition took hold was how was she going to live without Fred Weasley?