Fourth Time's a Charm

xiv. friendship

Cassie's POV

Since the moment I woke up I had been kicking myself. I knew I would have a nightmare. Now all the girls in my dorm knew I was messed up. And then somehow Ron and Harry were there. I could only hope it was all a dream. Some incredibly elaborate figments of my imagination.

But as I reached the Great Hall for breakfast, having spent much of the morning trying to avoid the others, their sympathetic faces told me otherwise. I sat down next to Harry, trying to ignore all the stares surrounding me. Word sure did spread fast.

"Hey, Cassie. How're you doing?" Hermione asked as I began filling my plate.

"Fine. I mean, not great. But better," I answered honestly. I hesitated, wondering if I wanted to know the answer to the question I was about to ask. "What exactly happened last night?"

They looked at each other hesitantly. "Oh, come on. What happened, happened. I just want to know how bad it was."

That seemed to convince them, and Hermione started talking. "I woke up and heard a noise coming from your bed. I went to check on you and tried to wake you up but..." she trailed off, self-consciously adjusting her hair.

I noticed now that she had kept her hair covering one side of her face for the whole morning. "Did I hurt you?" I reached across my body to scratch my forearm, something I had found to calm my nerves. I already knew the answer, but hearing Hermione say it was a different type of sensation.

"Yes, but it isn't that bad. Just a quick hit, a small bruise." Hermione rushed to say. Wonderful, I finally make friends and then hit them while I'm unconscious. I'd be real fun at sleepovers.

"I didn't know what to do so I got the boys. Harry came back in with me, and Ron went to get Cedric," Hermione continued.

I felt a hand over mine which had still been rubbing my arm. I looked over to see Harry bringing my hand back down to my side. "You're going to hurt yourself," he whispered, quickly redirecting his attention back towards Hermione. It took me a moment to do the same, ignoring the aggressive churning happening in my stomach.

"How did you manage to get into Hufflepuff?" Harry asked Ron, as if nothing had even happened.

"Some third-years were sneaking out. I asked one of them to find him," Ron replied shortly, much more intent on stuffing food into his face.

They all acted like it wasn't a big deal, but I couldn't help the guilt that rippled through my body. I was already enough of a burden to the Diggorys and now that responsibility was spreading to my friends.

"I'm really sorry, especially about your face, Hermione. You—" I was cut off by all of them protesting at once.

After they determined that nothing they were saying was comprehensible there was a silence filled by Harry. "You don't have to keep apologizing. We might not know exactly what we're getting into, but we don't intend to walk away. No matter what. We'll always be here."

I felt my eyes water as I looked between each of them, genuine expressions shining across their faces. How was it that in such a short period of time I had come to meet so many amazing people?

"Nice going, Harry, you've gone and made her cry," Ron mumbled.

I laughed at the panic that flashed across Harry's face. "No, it's just I've never had friends before. I've never had anybody before."

"Well now you do," Hermione smiled.

"And you're not getting rid of us," Ron added before stealing a piece of toast from her plate.

This sparked an incredibly dramatized argument from both parties that was utterly hilarious to watch.

If this was what friendship was, I wanted every part of it.