Cards, Fire & Cinnamon - F.WEASLEY

12

───── ❝Secrets ❞ ─────

Cass woke but kept her eyes closed, desperate to cling to any more rest that she could have. To say she was exhausted would be an understatement. She rolled over, expecting the duvet to come with her. But it didn't. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and squinted as the light from the open window torched her vision. She sat up and looked down, gaze falling on a single blanket instead of the covers of the bed. From the surroundings (the book on the nightstand and the fact that the blanket that usually rested on the edge of his bed was now twisted around her torso) she deduced that she fell asleep while reading last night. Just as that thought crossed through her mind, the bedroom door swung open and in strolled Harry with a cup of tea in his hands. "Good morning sleepyhead," he smiled, handing her the cup.

She took a sip, loving the warm feeling that filled her stomach. "What time is it?" she asked with the mug still against her lips.

"Around ten, I let you sleep in," he smiled, taking a seat at the bottom of her bed,

She raised a brow, "How long have you been up?"

He glanced to the clock then back at her, "About an hour or so," he paused to shrug. "I wake up early." She laughed, wondering how someone could be awake that early when there wasn't the obligation to be.

"Any plans for today?"

"Well..."

And that's how the rest of the days of the break went. It passed like a blur. A blur of adventure and deep talks in front of the fire and with every passing day she fell a little harder for him. That was, until the day the others were to return. Harry and Cass wandered down to the train station a few minutes before it was due to arrive. They sat on a bench out in the cold, having a whispered conversation in case anyone near overheard. "So," he began, looking her in the eyes. "Did you have a good Christmas?" he asked with a slight laugh, even if he did really want to know how she felt.

"I did, wasn't sucky at all," she smiled, reaching forward to hold his hand.

"Good," he laughed, pride ringing clear through his expression. He was happy to have made her so happy. "Are we sticking with what we decided on Christmas Day?" he asked quietly, squeezing her hand a little tighter.

"I think it's probably for the best, so we can figure this out ourselves,"

"What is this? I mean... what are we?" he asked nervously looking between her eyes and her lips. Cass chuckled to herself then lent forward, pressing her cold lips against his for a few moments before she pulled away.

"Does that clear anything up for you?" she asked, looking at the now slightly blushing boy.

He paused, thinking for a moment, "I guess we are... Dating?"

"I think that would be a good summary," she laughed and he soon joined in. Once the train whistle echoed in their ears they stopped and immediately dropped the other's hand. Cass was up first, walking through the forming crowds of people trying to find her friends.

"Cass! Harry!" A familiar voice belonging to Hermione called put and they both turned in the direction it had come from, smiling when they saw her running at them. She immediately flung her arms around a very unsuspecting Cass with a hug that cut off all oxygen.

"A little room to breathe Hermione," she joked, words coming out sharp despite her attempts to soften them. Hermione immediately let go, muttering her apologies before she went and did something similar to Harry. The twins were next to approach, George wrapped her in a huge hug. "Did you guys have a good Christmas?" She asked, her arms still warped around George.

"It was pretty good," Fred replied before pulling his brother out of the way so he could hug the girl that had been on his mind for weeks.

She dropped her voice to a whisper, head nestled just by his ear, "Thank you for the present, it's perfect."

"You're very welcome Cass," he whispered back, hugging her a little tighter before he unwillingly let go. To Cass, Fred seemed different but she could not figure out why. Maybe it was just the way he held himself, did he seem happier? Or maybe it's his hair? It does look shorter. Or maybe it's a new aftershave that smells amazing?

All students headed to the great hall for their evening meal. Once again the hall was abuzz with chatter, people catching up and giving the gifts that had gotten mislain at the bottom of trunks. Cass smiled as she entered the hall, loving the sight of the usual atmosphere returning. The quiet was nice but it was awfully boring. They talked without a break in the conversation until halfway through the meal (after an anecdote about an exploding Christmas pudding from the twins) so Hermione turned to Cass and Harry, intrigue showing in her eyes. "So, how was your Christmas here?" she asked, brow raised as she looked at the two of them expectantly.

Cass turned her head to Harry, mischievous smirk playing with the corner of her lips, "Pretty sucky." She and Harry laughed as everyone looked at them with puzzled expressions.

"Inside joke," Harry quickly added, gently putting his hand on her arm without even thinking. He pulled it away almost immediately but Hermione seemed to catch on to something.

She looked between the two suspiciously, "Get up to anything interesting?"

"Not really, we looked around the castle a bunch and I beat Harry at chess far too many times to count," she joked, nudging him in the arm in the hope to play it off.

"And we went ice skating," Harry added with a smile.

"Ice skating?" Ron echoed, furrowing his eyebrows as he spooned mash potatoes into his mouth.

"Yeah the black lake froze over," she shrugged, taking a sip out of her Goblet. The conversation continued and Cass could not shake the feeling that someone was watching her the entire time. After dinner, she said goodbye to the Gryffindors and headed straight to the Slytherin common room in search of her best friend.

She of course found him sitting in front of the fire. "Oh look at that, did you bleach your roots over the break?" she asked, plopping down in the seat next to him.

"Cass for the last time I do not bleach my hair," he groaned in annoyance, closing the book in his lap.

"So that's not a missed spot?" she asked, eyebrows fakely furrowed as she pointed to a spot on his hair. Draco flinched but didn't move to cover it like she hoped he would.

"I'm not falling for that because it's not bleached," he smirked.

"I'll get you one day," she paused, smiling at him. "How's Blair?" she joked, nudging him with her elbow. Nova plodded down the steps to the common room and made her way into Draco's hoodie pocket, curling up inside to sleep.

"We went out a few times in the break, nothing big," he smiled and that smile told her all she needed to know. He was happy and she loved that.

"See I told you, all you had to do was ask her."

Draco wiped the smile off his face, "How about you and Potter?"

Cass paused, mentally preparing herself to withhold the truth from her best friend. "Oh, that? It's eh, you know?" she said, trying to act disappointed so it looked more believable.

"Oh, that sucks," Draco replied, trying to look as sympathetic as he could. She just waved it away and changed the subject to something a little more interesting. Draco and Cass stayed up late that night, talking and drinking from a bottle in her room that left them both with a banging headache the next morning. Draco had drunkenly shared something with her that he would never be able to take back, it sobered her up immediately. He told her all about his Father.