Mischief Managed

Epilogue

Cassie lightly kicked away a stone that was in her path, as she was bundling herself up against the downpour of the London rain. She kept her head down and moved slowly. When she reached a park that she used to play in when she was younger, she went over and sat on a drenched swing. 

She swayed herself back and forth a little bit, contemplating everything she had just talked about with her parents. She needed some time alone after they were finished and opted to take a walk in this rain to cool herself down. 

After a few moments of complete silence, besides the rain clatter, she heard the swing next to her creek. She looked over and saw Ben. He gave her a lop sided smile and asked, "You talk to them?" She nodded. 

"Did they tell you everything?" Once again, she nodded. "And how are you feeling?" She shook her head with a smile and tears in her eyes. "I never...I never knew, Ben. If only I had known that Harry was my brother and that my real parents were..."

She put her hand over her mouth and started to softly cry. Ben leaned over to her and rested his hand on her knee. "Hey...darling, it's alright," he said. She sniffled and took deep breaths to collect herself. 

"Sad thing is," she said, "is that they didn't even know who my real parents were. They tried tracking them down, but of course they only looked in the muggle records, so nobody existed. They were planning on telling me soon, they just...didn't know how. I feel like my entire life is a lie! Like everyone around me has lied!"

She stood up and paced in the rain. Ben quickly followed her and said, "Hey, hey, hey!" He took her by the arms and pulled her to him. "I have never lied to you," he told her. "I love you. And I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that. I would never lie to you, Cass, please understand that. Not me."

He pressed his forehead against hers and she let out a shaky breath. She put her hands on the sides of his face and said, "I know. I understand. I'm sorry, I just...so many people knew. Nobody bothered to say anything." 

Ben kissed her head and said, "I know, baby, I know. I'm sorry you're going through this. But I'm here and you can always talk to me." He wrapped his arms around her and brought her in for a hug. After a moment, he said, "Let's get you home and get warm."

With his arm securely around her, they started walking home. She said she wasn't quite ready to see her parents yet, so he took her to his house, which was right next door. As soon as they walked in, Ben's parents bombarded her with questions about everything from the tournament, to seeing Voldemort, to being the lost Potter child.

"Mum, dad, that's enough!" Ben harshly told them. "Bloody hell, I would think you out of all people would respect her privacy!" He took Cassie's hand and quickly led her into his room. He gave her some dry clothes to change into and changed with their backs facing each other. 

"Sorry about mum and dad," he said, as he slipped on a dry shirt. "They've been telling stories about the lost--I mean you for years. Guess the excitement got the best of them." He heard her say, "It's fine."

He knew it wasn't. With a soft sigh, he asked, "Are you changed?" A moment later, she said, "Yeah." He turned around and smiled when he saw her in his large pajama bottoms and sweater. "Come here, beautiful," he said, as he stuck his arms out to her. 

She went into them and hugged him tightly. "I don't know what's going to happen next," he told her, "but I do know...I will be with you for all of it."