Umbridge led Cassie and Edmund to her office, heels clicking to interrupt the quiet corridors. Edmund would throw Cassie smirks, finding the situation more amusing than serious. Cassie assumed Edmund didn't know the punishment for detention, and thought about his reaction after finding out. They finally reached her office, where Umbridge gestured for Cassie and Edmund to sit after pushing the chairs farther apart.
Her office was- pink. Pink wallpaper covered the walls, along with pictures of kittens. There were several vases of dried flowers spread around the room, each leaving a discreet smell.
"Names and houses?" Umbridge asked, as if these weren't her students and they weren't in their robes.
"Er- Cassiopeia Scamander, Gryffindor."
"Edmund Pevensie, Slytherin."
"Now," she began, "I think a week's detention will do for you two for being out far past hours- in a broom closet."
"We weren't-"
"Enough, Miss Scamander- unless you'd like more detention?" Umbridge asked, Cassie replied with shaking her head. "Very well. I think it'd be best if you both stayed over the holidays to complete the detentions."
"We're both going home for the holidays, though." said Edmund confidently.
"Are any of your family members dying?" asked Umbridge, earning head shakes from both kids. "Then I don't see why you can't spend your holidays at Hogwarts. Unless you both want to so desperately leave Hogwarts that you want me to put in a transfer?"
Both Cassie and Edmund shook their heads slowly as Umbridge smiled brightly at both of them. "Perfect, now head to your dorms before I assign another week's detention."
The two students walked out Umbridge's office in comfortable silence, until Cassie began.
"Do you know what happens at Umbridge's detentions?"
Edmund furrowed his brows in confusion, "How bad could it be?"
"Black punishment quills." Cassie said slowly.
Edmund stopped in his tracks and grabbed Cassie's upper arm, "You're kidding?"
"I wish I was," she sighed, "she uses them on Harry all the time and he comes back to the common room with bloody hands."
He looked conflicted for a second. "I-I'll do double so you don't have to, you're in trouble because of me after all."
"What?" she asked, surprised at the boy's kindness. "No, of course not. I was out late as well, it was bound that I would get caught one of these nights."
"Why were you out, anyway?" he asked.
"I was comforting Cho. Something.. happened and I wanted to make sure she was alright." Cassie replied casually.
"That's really sweet. You really care about your friends, don't you?" said Edmund.
"Of course, I would do the same for you." Cassie said, smiling at the boy who smiled back. Edmund offered to walk her to Gryffindor Tower, to which she denied multiple times but he insisted.
"Careful, the stairs move." said Cassie, guiding Edmund to Gryffindor Tower.
"I'be never been here, to Gryffindor Tower." Edmund said, eyeing the Fat Lady. "How do you get in?"
"Mimbulus mimbletonia." said Cassie, as they watched the portrait swing open to reveal the common room. "I'd say don't tell anyone, but Fred and George throw parties as much as they can, so."
"I won't, Slytherin's password is Pure-Blood, much to my displeasure." Edmund replied, adding that last part to make sure she didn't feel uncomfortable for being a half-blood. "Anyways, Goodnight Cassie. See you during the holidays."
She smiled sheepishly at the boy as he lurked around the portrait, "Goodnight, Edmund."
-
Waking Cassie up the next morning, Hermione was confused on why she was so tired. Cassie explained her getting detention after her shower and how she had to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays.
"Are you sure she said during the holidays?" Hermione asked Cassie at breakfast. The carriages were leaving at noon and they wanted to spend time together. "Where are Ron and Harry?"
"Not sure," Hermione said, "I'm sure they're fine. You should tell your brother you're not going to be home for the holidays."
"Oh, you're right!" Cassie said, quickly standing. "I'll be back."
Cassie made her way to the Hufflepuff table, trying to find her brother. They haven't had as many encounters as they hoped for this year, but he was only a year older so they were close. Once she spotted his short hair, she made her way quickly over to him and sat at the open seat next to him.
"Cassie, hey! How's my little sister doing?" Rolf asked her, making the last part more emphasized.
She just rolled her eyes at her brother, "I have bad news. I can't spend holidays at home."
He looked concerned and was about to speak until his friend spoke up, "Didn't you get caught snogging Pevensie by Umbridge?"
Cassie's mouth dropped open, along with her brother's. He quickly turned to her, "You WHAT!"
"No- no I didn't!" she said exasperatedly. "We were both out after hours and we both got detention."
"Oh, thank Merlin. I can't deal with my sister dating a Pevensie- either Pevensie, please don't tell me which one you got caught with." Rolf said, trying to sound jokingly but failing.
She shook her head slowly, "Could you tell mom and dad I send my love and I'll owl their gifts?"
"Sure, we'll miss you this year." he said honestly. "I don't want to keep Hermione waiting, I'll see you after the holidays."
"Bye, bro." she said, shaking his hair slightly as she walked back to Hermione, who was desperately trying to get her attention.
"Mione, what's wrong?" asked Cassie, worryingly.
"Mr Weasley's at St Margos with the Weasleys and Harry, and Dumbledore's invited us both. We've got to go!" Hermione said, standing up and gathering her books.
"I-I can't, Umbridge will kill me for missing her detentions. Merlin, why is she this awful!" Cassie said, sitting down and throwing her hands in her head. "Mione, you go on without me. Make sure they're all okay and send my regards, I'll owl Mr Weasley on my own."
"Are you sure?" asked Hermione. Once she saw Cassie nodding slowly, she gave the girl a sad look. "I'll write you with the news if Dumbledore doesn't, and send everyone my regards. Don't kill yourself before I get back."
Cassie laughed at the last sentence, "Thank you. Now, go on! I assume Dumbledore has a port key in his office waiting for you?" Hermione nodded slowly. "Well what are you waiting for? I love you, I'll see you after the holidays."
The two hugged, and after Hermione whispered 'I love you more' in Cassie's ear, she ran off to grab her trunk.
Most of Cassie's friends were returning home for the holidays, so she decided to head to the library after finishing her meal. Scanning the shelves for a new book, an orange-reddish cover called her eye- The Alchemist. Timothée had told her to read the book, and since it was a short read she grabbed it and sat at an empty table in the back.
She was on page 62 until someone decided to approach her table. Looking up, she was pleased to see Edmund.
"Mind if I sit?" he asked her.
"I mean, only because the rest of the library's seats are full." Cassie replied sarcastically, gesturing to the empty seats filling the library.
"Oh, you're too kind to me." Edmund said jokingly as he sat down. "The Alchemist? You read classics?"
She smiled, "Do I read them? I love them, I could reread them over and over again. Surprised I haven't read this one yet, but Timothée's a big fan and recommended it. Do you read them?"
"Do I read them? I love them." he replied with a smile. "All jokes aside, I do love them. My favorite has to be Les Misérables."
Cassie gaped at him. "That's my favorite, too."
She pushed her chair closer to him, and began to inform him on what's happening in The Alchemist. He listened intently, and she placed the book in between them so they could both read the pages. They both laughed after gasping at the same time during the reading, and ended up finishing the book at the same time.
Edmund offered the idea that they would pick books for each other that they've read before. Cassie picked The Great Gatsby for Edmund, and he picked Little Women for her. They ended up spending the whole morning in the library, mostly in silence, but the presence of another was comforting. Soon lunch came around, and Cassie was confused when Edmund offered to sit with her.
"Aren't the Slytherins going to see?" she asked him.
"Let them, they're already judgmental." Edmund replied with a smile, standing up and offering his hand to Cassie as a joke.
She smiled at his action and grabbed his hand. Together, they walked to lunch without worrying about the looks of others. It seemed as most of the castle went home for the holidays, leaving no Hufflepuffs, three Ravenclaws, and two Gryffindors and Slytherins. Instead of four tables, one long table was conjured to seat everyone.
As they sat, they both immediately reached for the strawberries causing them to try their best to contain their laughter. Was it that funny? To them, caught up in the moment- it was the funniest thing. Cassie caught Dumbledore's eye who gave her a sparkle. Confused at the interaction, she continued her conversation with Edmund about Quidditch.
"Oh c'mon, Chasers have way more fun than Beaters." argued Cassie. "I can teach you after lunch."
"You want to?" asked Edmund. "If you're okay with it, then sure. You can teach me how to play Chaser."
Cassie smiled brightly, "Great. You're going to have so much fun, I promise."
After finishing their lunch, the two made their way to the Quidditch pitch with their brooms in their hands and spirits high.
"I've never played Keeper before, but try and score on me- you have a good arm." complimented Cassie. She saw Edmund smirking knowingly at her and she scoffed before flying off to the hoops.
Quidditch soon ended, and Cassie was mildly impressed at Edmund's Chaser skills.
"You're not so bad, Ed." said Cassie, next to Edmund as they made their way to dinner.
"Ed? We're on nicknames already." he said jokingly. "What do I call you? Cass?"
"I hope you realize Cassie's already a nickname for Cassiopeia."
"Well obviously, I just thought since you took the first syllable of my name I thought I could take yours."
She smiled at him, something she found herself doing a lot these days. "Cass it is."
They sat at the same spot as lunch during dinner, and sat in comfortable silence most of the time. Cassie was worried about the detention after lunch and decided to eat light, Edmund noticing this realized the reason of her sad look and gave her a softened smile.
"C'mon, we don't want to be late to Umbridge." said Cassie, standing up as Edmund followed.
On the way to the office, they made small talk. "Don't be scared, I'll be there." he told her, sweetly. "I can always hit her, keep that in mind."
Cassie laughed at his comment, "I'll think about it."
She knocked on the door of Umbridge's office, and it was followed by a, "Come in." Umbridge looked excited to see the two and quickly offered them two seats across from each other. The desks they were to sit at had an empty parchment on it, yet held two different quills.
"The quills are different." whispered Cassie to Edmund as they made their way across from each other.
"Miss Scamander and Mister Pevensie, you both have to write 'I won't disregard curfew' until it.. sinks in." Umbridge told them with a smile on her face. She returned to her desk and began signing paperwork, probably forcing kids to jump out the Astronomy Tower if they get below an Acceptance on their OWLs.
Cassie slowly picked up the quill. She felt Edmund's eyes on her, but couldn't manage to look up at him. She placed the tip of the quill against the parchment and began writing, pressing hard against the paper. Cassie immediately regretted pressing hard, feeling the words sinking into her hand. Her hand began to shake in pain, and she bit her lip to prevent a cry from escaping. Looking up at Edmund, she realized he wasn't experiencing any pain at all- his hand was empty as he wrote.
After an hour of pain, blood was now dripping from Cassie's hand and bottom lip.
"I think that's enough for today." said Umbridge cheerily. "You two are dismissed, I'll see you tomorrow."
Cassie dropped her quill quickly, as did Edmund, and they both sat up quickly and excited the room. Edmund grabbed the unharmed hand and dragged her around the corner, and began to examine her hurt hand.
"W- She did this to you!" he said in an angry voice, as tears threatened her eyes. "Cass.."
"I-it's okay." she said between heavy pants. "I'd rather have it be you than me."
"She just did that because you're friends with Harry!" he said once again angrily, but his eyes showed concern and comfort.
"It's alright. I have something in my dorm that's going to help with the pain, you can come if you'd like." Cassie said, beginning to walk to in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.
"If-if you're okay with it." said Edmund nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "How am I going to get up the girls stairs?"
"If I stand on the stairs they won't move for boys." Cassie said, now grabbing his hand impatiently and dragging him to Gryffindor Tower. They sat in comfortable silence until Cassie said the common room password and told him to follow her.
Opening the door to her dorm, Cassie hoped her dorm mates had left it clean- thankfully they had. She pointed to her bed for him to sit on while she entered the bathroom and grabbed the substance.
"You just, put your hand in that?" he asked, eyeing the liquid.
"Yeah, Harry said it made him feel better. Hermione helped me make it for him and she said it went well, so it must work." Cassie replied with joke in her voice.
"Are you sure you're alright?" said Edmund, watching Cassie stick her hand in the bowl and relief run through her. "I can get you something if you'd like."
"You're being too nice." said Cassie, smiling brightly at the boy's offer. "I'm fine, thank you though- it does mean a lot."
He nodded to show he heard her and noticed her plant. "You own plants?"
"Just the one. I don't have a pet myself and plants are less pressure." she replied, now rubbing the liquid off her hand. She let a wince escape her lips and Edmund noticed. He moved to grab her hand until she waved it off.
"You do too much." she said jokingly.
"I-I'm sorry I just don't know when I go too far." Edmund replied, now looking downwards. "I went too far, didn't I?"
"Oh- Edmund no, of course not." said Cassie guiltily. "Usually I take care of people, I'm not used to people taking care of me."
He looked at her, surprised at what she just said. "I'm sorry, I just assumed-"
"No, it's alright." she said while yawning, happy that she was comfortable enough to admit that to him. "I don't usually tell people that, so you should feel very special."
Edmund only smiled at her, something he found himself doing a lot these days. A couple minutes passed until he spoke again. "I hate to end this exciting day, but it's getting late and I don't feel like getting caught past curfew by Umbridge again."
Turning back to see her, he realized she'd already fallen asleep. Realizing he'd have to slide down the stairs, he took his time putting the bed covers over her and making sure she was comfortable. With one look back at her, he exited the dorm and slid down the stairs.