Cassiopeia Nott
I poked at my chicken, tuning out the world around me and allowing myself to get lost in my thoughts. What did Harry mean when he said I won't give up that easily? He hasn't made a move, much less spoken to me in three days.
"Are you ok?" Astoria asked from beside me. "You seem a little off."
"I'm fine." I said with a convincing enough smile. "Just bored of listening to Athena and Theo's arguing." Astoria nodded in agreement as we looked at the two across from us. Usually, Draco would have told them both to shut up but he's no where to be found.
"No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that back when he was a teenager! That's when he got all the bitches!" Theo exclaimed a little too loudly.
"Who in there right mind would sleep with someone named Albus Dumbledore?" Athena asked as she dropped her fork down. "No one. Literally no one. He was probably a loner."
"No. He one hundred percent had girls throwing themselves at him."
"I'm beginning to think you want to throw yourself at him."
"Ugh, Athena! That's disgusting!"
"Are they really arguing about if Dumbledore used to sleep around?" Astoria asked me, not taking her eyes of the pair.
"Wouldn't be the first time." I shrugged before disappearing back into my thoughts.
Was Harry just messing with me? Trying to throw me off balance or something? Trying to prove a point to Draco, maybe? I looked across the great hall to the Gryffindor table. Harry had already been looking at me and smiled when our eyes met.
He then turned to the the girl beside him and said something to Ginny Weasley. Whatever he said, it made her cheeks go scarlet red. He then scooted closer to her and, I think, started flirting with her. She giggled at something he said, her eyes not leaving his for a second, completely mesmerized.
I felt a stinging in my stomach. A burning jealousy took over my every thought. Harry glanced at me and grinned when he saw my disgruntled expression. He leaned even closer to Ginny and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before whispering something in her ear, almost exactly as he had to me in the empty classroom.
I slammed my fork down on the table, causing Athena and Theo to stop arguing and look at me. "I'm going to take a nap." I said, the anger obvious in my voice.
Athena took my hand in hers before I could stand up."I'm almost afraid to ask, but are you ok?"
"Fine. Absolutely fine." I said with the sweetest smile I could manage before I got up and stormed out of the hall, no doubt, leaving Astoria, Theo, and Athena more than confused.
I could barely even think about that right now, though. Who does Harry bloody think he is? Sleeping with me, flirting with me, and then moving on to Ginny!? He's awful. I should have seen it before. I mentally cursed him as I made my way to my dorm.
I slammed the door shut behind me and flopped onto my bed. How could I be so stupid? I should have pushed him off of me the other day. I shouldn't have even slept with him in the first place. My foolishness isn't even the worst part of all this.
The worst part is that now I want him more than ever.
Someone knocked at the door. I groaned in annoyance and dropped my head into my pillow. "Not a good time!" I yelled to whoever was there.
They knocked again a second later. I practically threw my pillow across the room as I got up to go tell the person to come back later. I opened the door to see Harry leaning in the door frame with a smug expression on his face.
My eyes went wide at his presence. "Get in here before someone sees you!" I whisper shouted. I grabbed his collar and pulled him into the room, making sure to lock the door behind me in case someone came back. "What are you doing here?" I demanded.
"So, I'm assuming my plan worked."
"What?"
"Well you're mad at me. My plan worked."
"What plan?"
"My plan to make you jealous." He grinned. "I flirted with Ginny only to try and get a reaction out of you. My plan must have worked considering the fact you're beyond pissed."
I rolled my eyes, feeling stupid for falling for his dumb trick. "You suck." I muttered as I went to go pick up the pillow I threw.
He didn't respond. He only looked around my dorm, his eyes landing on a picture on my night stand. He picked up the picture of Draco, Theo, Athena, and I all playing in the gardens of Malfoy Manor when we were five or six. He set the picture down and turned back to me. "Why did you lie to them about the Amortentia? I doubt they know what I smell like."
"Theo'd kill himself trying to figure out who it is and he wouldn't stop until he did."
"Oh." He paused another moment before asking. "But why'd you have to say Malfoy?"
A small smile formed on my face. "Why? Are you jealous, Potter?"
"Why would I flirt with Ginny if I wasn't?"
It felt more than reassuring to know that he was only flirting with Ginny to make me feel what he felt. But that doesn't mean anythings going to happen. We're still exactly where we were three days ago. "We're going to have to get over this."
"Get over what?"
"These feelings. We're going back to before transfiguration. Before we met. Back when we just ignored each other."
"I don't want to go back to that. You don't either."
"And how are you so sure of that?" I shot back as I crossed my arms.
"I'm not, but there is one way to find out." He said before stepping closer to me. I stepped back a few steps. He moved closer again, I moved back, he got closer, I moved back until I was against the door and there was no more room to move back. I frowned at him.
Our chests were only an inch away from one another's. I forced myself to look up at him, right into his emerald eyes I always seem to melt when I look at. "How do you find out?"
"Like this." He simply responded before connecting our lips, his cheek rising to my hand. I leaned into it, not being able to resist him once again. He was first to pull away. I'm not even scared to admit anymore that I didn't want him to. "Why did you kiss back if this is never happening again?"
I mentally face palmed for falling for another one of his tricks. Why do I have to be like this around him? Unable to stop myself from what I know I shouldn't be doing?
I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I felt frozen. Only able to do one thing. I pulled him back in for another kiss, my hands residing on his cheeks and his moved down to my waist. I could practically feel him grinning against my lips, happy to have won.
We stayed there for a moment, our bodies pressed tightly together, our mouths moving in perfect sync before he pulled away. "So this is happening again, I assume?"
No point in trying to resist it anymore. "This is happening again." I smiled at his bright expression before he pulled me back in again to do the very thing I said I would never do again.
~
"I can't believe I went an entire four days without you." He breathed. I laughed, earning a satisfied smile in response.
"I take it the three days of waiting for the perfect moment to make me jealous was worth it?" I asked.
"Every second of it." I smiled at his words but the smile soon vanished when I thought of what my friends would think. Harry must have noticed because his smile fell as well. "Don't say it."
"Say what?" I asked as I sat up, not wanting to have to see his expression. A sad attempt, considering the fact he also sat up to face me.
"Don't say it's not going to happen again because we both know it will."
I bit my lip in thought. That was what I was going to say, despite knowing I probably wasn't going to go through with it. I remained silent not really having much else to offer.
"What if we make a list?" He suggested. "A list of rules of what we can and cannot do. For example," He reached over and took a piece of parchment and a quill from off my nightstand and began to write.
Harry and Cassie's Shagging Rules
1. No one can know.
"Ok, but I'm changing the title." I said as I took the quill from him. He patiently waited while I scribbled out his title and replaced it with my own.
Harry and Cassie's Strictly Platonic Friends with Benefits Rules
"That's quite a title." He laughed. He then took the quill from me and began to write underneath the first rule. "I know what our next ones can be."
2. No sleeping with anyone else
3. No flirting with anyone else
"Oh, come on." I whined. "I get the first one but why no flirting with anyone else?"
"Nope." He said as he shook his head. "No flirting. Especially not with Malfoy, even if it's fake. Otherwise, I'll continue to flirt with Ginny."
"Do not ever flirt with her again." I said as I took the quill and waved it in his face. "I did not like that one bit."
"And I don't like the thought of you and Malfoy. I already have to live with the knowledge that he got to be like this with you." I thought a second before writing down the next two rules.
4. No talking in public unless necessary
5. No randomly showing up at each others dorms
"Ok, those are good." Harry said as he looked them over. "I want to add one more."
6. Help Harry study (please I need help and you're really smart)
I laughed at his extra comment. "Of course, as long as you help me with potions. I didn't know you were so good at it."
He looked like he had something he wanted to say but instead said something else. "It's just easier this year. I don't have any more rules. What about you?"
"Only one."
7. Don't fall in love
It's the only way this whole thing will work. Feelings have to be left out of it. We can be friends, no more than that. I do recognize that I may have the slightest tiniest crush already, but I'll get over it.
Harry stared at the last rule a little too long, with an expression I couldn't quite read, before looking back up at me. "Deal."
He stuck his hand out for me to shake. I only looked down at it. "Shaking hands is for children and ministry workers."
"Shake on it or no deal."
"Fine." I reluctantly shook his hand. I took the list and folded it into a square before stuffing it in my night stand. I looked back to Harry who had been watching me. "What?"
"Nothing. I was just admiring."
"Admire all you want but keep rule number seven in mind."
"I don't know, I think it's you who should be trying their best not to fall in love with me." He said as he laid back down and looked up at me. "You just can't resist me, you know?"
He laughed as I hit him with a pillow. "Shut up." I said, laughing right along with him.
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(2046 Words - Published February 21, 2021 / Edited May 15, 2021)
I don't know but I have a feeling that rule number seven is going to be broken