evans²| r.lupin

Chapter Eleven

The weird incident at Honeydukes didn't trouble the company for too long. They had more important things to worry about, after all. The Christmas ball would take place in less than a week and they were searching for partners.

"You should ask Remus." Marlene adviced Cassiane who immediately dismissed the idea.

"Are you out of your mind? You know very well that he only has eyes for Faith."

"I agree with Marls." Lily joined in.

Cassiane turned around and chewed the inside of her cheek. "Lily! We were joking-"

"Quit lying to me Cassie. I knew you liked him before you did."

"Awesome. Hold on, what did you say previously? Do you agree with Marlene?"

"I'm aware of how strange that sounds. If you want him as your date for the Ball, you should go for it."

"What about Faith though?"

"I haven't seen her and Remus together since the first Quidditch match." Marlene recalled.

"Alright then. I'll ask him and pray I don't get embarrassed." Cassiane announced and headed to the boys's dorms. Unlike the male students, the female were allowed to go to their dorm which the girls didn't mind at all.

"Cassie! What are you doing here?" Peter welcomed her inside their room.

"I was eh, I was searching for Remus. Is he here?"

"Yeah... He just got a letter though, so he might be busy."

"It's okay, I'll wait." Cassiane walked to his bed, despite Peter's attempt to distract her. "Hi Remus."

"Hey!" He said, a bit more nervously than usual.

"I've been thinking... The Ball is next Saturday and unless something has changed, neither of us has a date so, why not go together?" Before she had finished her sentence, Cassiane understood that he would turn her down. What she never saw coming was Faith, who had been inside the bathroom the whole time. Furthermore, the Hufflepuff was wearing a sweater Cassiane had bought for Remus.

The brunette gulped. She looked back and forth at the two, unable to move or to speak.

"Oh hey Cassiane! What's up?"

Remus ignored her and reached to Cassiane who slowly backed away. "I should leave you alone."

He probably called her name a couple of times but she had no intention of facing the man. However, Remus caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"What happened back there Cas?"

"I... I was just shocked, I guess." Lying wasn't particularly hard for her but Remus didn't seem convinced at all.

"Are you angry about me and Faith?" Remus carefully asked.

"No, of course not! Faith is perfect for you and I'm sorry for upsetting you both."

"Oh, don't even think about it. And when it comes to the ball, I suppose you understand-"

"Yeah, totally." She interrupted him."Please let Faith know I apologised, will you?"

Remus nodded, still feeling that he had missed something about the whole incident. Cassiane gave him a bright smile and the man returned it.

"Will you be okay?"

"I told you not to worry Rem. Anyways, I should return to my room. Lots of homework is patiently waiting for me to do it, eventually."

~~~

Right before the Christmas Ball, many students went to the Hospital Wing, due to a cold that appeared to have affected the youngest Ravenclaws.

In contrast to the majority of the school, Cassiane secretly felt very happy. It was the perfect way to avoid the Ball, without anyone realising the true reason behind her absence. Madam Pomfrey needed a hand in order to deal with more than twenty sick children.

"You're a coward Cassie." Lily argued. "You shouldn't miss the Ball because he has a girlfriend."

"I don't do this for him Lily. I might have to deal with a pandemic in the future and that's my opportunity to practice." She replied.

"You can lie to yourself, but not to me, young lady. I've known you your whole life."

"That's not true, actually. You're barely older than me."

"Listen, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will appreciate your help, but-"

"But I've already made up my mind. Go Lily! Marlene left ten minutes ago!"

Once she was alone, Cassiane went to the Hospital Wing. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty but as usual, she chose not to run away from the problem. She had some patients to look after.

"It's not that I'm not grateful to have you here but I'm simply wondering why you prefer my company than this of your friends." Madam Pomfrey told her at some point.

"I'd hate to be alone tonight so I came to entertain our little patients." The girl lied while smiling at the young children.

"That is very thoughtful of you, Cassiane. Professor McGonagall was right to allow you to start training."

"Thank you Madam. Now, what else can I do?"

"Give some of the sweets to the children and we'll put them to bed. Then, you're free to go. You will go home for the Holidays tomorrow, won't you?"

"Yes! I've actually missed my family a little." Cassiane admitted.

"Well, at least you'll get to see them tomorrow."

When Madam Pomfrey managed to make even the most restless patients fall asleep, she convinced Cassiane to leave.

"Okay madam. Good night and happy holidays."

Her walk back to the Tower was everything but peaceful. Loud music could be heard from the Hall and for a while she was tempted to check out the Ball. Cassiane had almost reached the Tower when she caught a whisper.

She looked over her left shoulder and caught a glimpse of Remus and Faith, holding hands and grinning. Cassiane hurried to enter the Tower, terrified they would spot her.

"That was certainly not how I had pictured Christmas at Hogwarts."