Fourth Time's a Charm

lxvii. birds

Cassie's POV

The last few days of our fourth year went by faster than I ever would have expected. Classes were mostly canceled, and I spent nearly every minute with the trio, or Helen, Jess, Martin, Phillip. Things were a bit tense between the five of us, the lack of our sixth member very noticeable. We were helping each other, though, because in a way we had all lost a brother.

I made sure they knew exactly what happened that night, including what I learned about myself. It wouldn't have been fair to them, I thought, to keep that to myself under the circumstances. By some miracle, it didn't seem to change things, albeit it was an awkward conversation.

Tonight was the last night at Hogwarts and needless to say it felt weird. Some of the only happy days I ever had were here, and now I was expected to just leave them for two months. I suppose it wasn't all that long, yet it felt like a lifetime.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I were sitting around the floor of the Gryffindor Common room. The couches were right behind us but I found I much preferred the floor to them. It was grounding... quite literally.

"This doesn't feel right," I commented after sitting in silence for a few minutes.

"What doesn't?" Hermione asked.

"This. It's the last day we're going to see each other this year and it's so quiet. And separating for the summer, I don't like that either."

"Well, you know you are all always welcome at the Burrow. And we can write, it's not like this is goodbye forever," Ron remarked, rubbing my arm comfortingly.

"And you're staying with me all summer, you'll be sick of me by the end!" Hermione added. I had spoken briefly to Mr. Diggory and we both agreed it would be for the best.

I noticed Harry hadn't said anything for the duration of the conversation, probably thinking about what was in store for him this summer.

"We aren't going to think about summer anymore."

"You're the one who brought it up?" Hermione and Ron shared a confused look that I pretended to ignore.

"Tonight is tonight, and we are living in the now. And right now, we are together."

I saw Harry smile and felt an odd sense of accomplishment as he joined our discussion of what bird would win in a fight.

"Obviously, a phoenix. Especially Fawkes, he could take any bird. You name it." Harry deadpanned.

"I'm sorry, have you ever seen a bluejay? Those things are brutal!" Hermione rebutted seriously, which made me laugh. How this topic had arisen I couldn't say but the solemnity of the exchange was hilarious.

"Woodpeckers are aggressive," I shrugged. Everyone looked at me, each looking like they had a lot of questions. "What? They're mean."

"Do you just have a thing with birds? First chased by ducks and now you have some grudge against woodpeckers?" Harry raised his eyebrows but I didn't react.

"You've never been the victim of their attacks. Then you'd see."

"She literally fell asleep on Buckbeak, so we know half species aren't included," Hermione added.

"Are we done talking about my personal difficulties with birds?" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air in mock annoyance.

"So you admit it? You have a difficulty with birds?"

I threw a pillow at Ron as hard as I could, not that it yielded much effect. Sometimes pillows were far too soft to have the desired result.

The night was chaos, that much was for sure. But I would never give up a single second of it. Even if it was just me being made fun of for my strong dislike of most birds.