Heavenly Bodies

Part Fourteen | Dark Marks and Dangerous Lessons

The weeks before winter break past without mishap, and yet Cassia's prank on the Marauders remained the talk of the school. Everyone wanted to know who had been brave enough to prank the pranksters, and they were all waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Aren't you the least bit worried?" Regulus asked Cassia one night as they sat at the top of the Astronomy Tower. It had become a tradition for them to meet at least once a week since the beginning of the school year.

"Mmm, maybe a little. But they still have no way to prove it was me, and they can't hurt me. Especially not Potter," Cassia stretched, arching her back. A series of pops made Regulus flinch.

"Why 'especially not Potter'?" Regulus asked. He sometimes felt that he only caught half the conversation when he was with Cass, but in all honesty, he didn't mind much. It could be very entertaining.

"My mum has tea with his quiet often. When I was little, I would go over and play with him," she chuckled softly, "At one point my parents wanted to set up an arranged marriage between us. Thank the stars Euphemia shot that down."

"What, you don't want to Potter's little wife?" Regulus teased. He received a disgusted look from Cassia.

"Don't ever say that to me again." She returned her gaze to the stars overhead, tugging her cloak tighter around her, "Are you ready? To go home?"

"I don't know."

"Did Dumbledore find a way to help you?" Regulus shrugged, his eyes finding the brightest star in the sky.

"Kind of," Cassia tilted her head to look at him, "He wants me to be a double agent."

"Oh." Regulus waited for her to say more, but she stayed quiet.

"Is that all you're going to say?" He asked. She sighed, her eyes never leaving the stars overhead.

"What do you want me to say, Regulus? You've just put yourself in an incredibly dangerous position and you're not even out of Hogwarts yet."

"Do you not think I can take care of myself?" Cassia heard the hurt pride slip into his voice.

"I think you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself," Cassia retorted, "But I also think that Dumbledore had no right to ask that of a fifteen-year-old boy."

A smirk slowly spread across Regulus's face, "Don't tell me you're worried about me, Cass."

She rolled her eyes, but a small blush spread across her face, "You wish, Reg." She shivered, "I'm going inside."

He watched her cross to the door. "Yeah," he whispered to the wind, "Maybe I do."

~

As soon as she stepped off the train, a small form collided with Cassia. She would have fallen over if Regulus hadn't caught her. Laughter bubbled out of her as she hugged Leo tightly. Her parents followed him at a more stately pace but hugged her just the same.

Regulus melted away from the little family, spotting his mother and father standing beside one of the columns. His father clapped him on the back and he kissed his mother's cheek.

"Are you ready, son?"  He nodded, trying to shove down that nervous knot in his throat. It will be fine. I will be fine. I have to be.

"Yeah, let's go."

~

"Hey, Cass, can I talk to you before you go?" Rory asked, giving Leo a fist bump and grinning at her folks. She looked to them herself and they nodded.

"Sure." Rory pulled her a short distance away, pushing his bangs out of his face, "Rory, what's wrong? You keep fussing with your hair."

He looked around, making sure no one was listening, "Cassia, what if I told you Genny isn't my crush?"