A day after the full moon, an article on the front page of the Daily Prophet stated that five people died that night. Five people with lycanthropy, or five 'dangerous werewolves' as the Prophet had described them, died. They died because of the prejudices and the ignorance of the Ministry. They lost their lives because of the Ministry's ways and they acted as if it wasn't their fault.
They wouldn't be the last if it continued to be like this.
A whole week had passed and in between classes, dinner and the few hours of sleep they got, Neville and Cassie had been working hard on their plans to reform this 'reform'. Together Hermione, Padma, Percy, Ron, Mandy, Poppy and McGonagall, they had been perfecting their plans and they had even managed to arrange a meeting for Cassie with Minister Shacklebolt.
But Neville was determined to make sure that Cassie would not be drowning in her worries and fears about the situation. They were both fairly stressed out already and though Cassie was dealing with the hardest part, Neville too was ready for a night off.
Luckily, Dean had offered for them to come over to his and Seamus's place for a weekend. Cassie was - surprisingly - excited. She could use a few days to not worry about the Werewolf Registry and the fate of herself and people like her.
So, on Friday afternoon after each of the professor's had finished their last class and duties, they were on their way to apparate towards Dean and Seamus's house near Keswick. Neville was carrying one suitcase which contains both of their stuff for the weekend and Cassie carried a small bag with a gift and some other smaller things of theirs.
"I don't know why, but somehow I'm more nervous for you to meet Dean than I felt when you were meeting my grandmother," he chuckled. Cassie laughed, wrapping her free arm around his waist as they made their way off Hogwarts grounds.
"Well, I already sort of know Dean, don't I? We were in the same year for six years, until he had to leave of course, but still. We spent six years in the same classes," she answered.
"Yes, but it's not like you interacted a lot," he noted.
"True, but I think we'll be okay," she giggled, pressing a kiss on his cheek. She thought it was cute that it was nervous. It showed how important both she and Dean were to him.
"I think so too," he smiled, giving her a soft squeeze. They apparated to the small home Dean and Seamus lived in and Neville knocked on the door. On the outside, it seemed calm and pretty. The garden was perfectly kept and there was a sphere of calmness around. Cassie breathed in deeply and shot a smile at Neville who smiled back just as bright.
"Nev!" Dean opened the door, immediately stumbling out to hug his friend. Neville hugged him back tightly. Dean let go of him and glanced over at Cassie, taking a step in her direction. "Well, hello." His grin was wide and Cassie smiled back kindly in return.
"Hi. I'm Cassie," she said, as if he didn't already know that, and held out her hand. Dean took it but only to pull her into his embrace.
"I'm Dean. But I'm assuming you knew that," he chuckled. She nodded and hugged him back, smiling at Neville who was watching them with bright eyes.
"I did. Nice to see you again. Again. I mean, after Hogwarts and all," she said, a blush appearing on her cheeks. He chuckled and nodded, letting go of her.
"Come on in. Seamus is inside and I left him in the kitchen so we better hurry back or the house will explode soon," he teased, waving them inside. Cassie looked around, walking in behind Neville.
It was a lovely home. Seamus was indeed waiting in the kitchen, which was very big, 'it has to be because I love baking' Dean had said. Seamus shook both their hands, letting Dean take over cooking again.
"Do you need any help, Dean?" Cassie asked him as Seamus took their coats.
"That would be great. How about you help me cook and Nev and Seamus set the table?" he suggested.
"Deal," she said, sliding over next to Dean behind the kitchen counter and taking a knife and cutting board from him, cutting the bell peppers for his dish. Seamus and Neville started setting the table before disappearing into the living room.
"Good. They're gone. Now tell me everything, Cassie," Dean smirked, glancing over at her while stirring the dish he was preparing. "Neville told me some bits but I'd like to hear your side of the story. Two professors in love. How romantic," he chuckled. She rolled her eyes a little and slid the bell peppers into the pan.
"Well, we just started to hang out a lot. A lot. Truly, like every day. And erm, I don't know. He just makes me feel really safe and lovely and just bubbly. Like whenever I'm around him I feel happy. That started to happen and I was terrified. It took me a moment but eventually, I accepted how I felt and how he felt and well, the rest is history," she told him.
"Bah! You're even vaguer than he is," Dean teased. Cassie nudged him with her elbow playfully. "Oi oi! Tell me, Cassie, what's he like?"
"You know Neville. He's kind and caring and-"
"In the sack, Cassie," he whispered, shooting her a wink. Cassie chuckled softly, her cheeks turning pink.
"I have a friend that I'm sure you will adore," she laughed. "But fine. Honestly? He's the best I've ever had. He's so passionate and loving and fuck, he always makes sure that I finish either first or just at all. If he finishes first he'll... you know... to make sure that I finish too. But he's just so amazing. Like all that shyness? Goes away within a second. And just the feeling of his hands around my body... Gosh," she chuckled, her cheeks glowing red. "I mustn't go into detail."
"I happen to love details," he said, chuckling softly. "I always knew that there was something hiding behind that shyness." Cassie laughed and shook her head softly.
"New topic, please. When did you realise you like Seamus? You've been together officially for two and a half? Three months?" she asked curiously. A smile appeared on his lips and he nodded.
"Yes. So you may think it's quick that we're living together," he chuckled, "But we were already living together for two years. And kissing and cuddling and sleeping together and doing things you do in a relationship for almost the same amount of time." Cassie looked at him, surprised.
"Really?" she asked. "Then why did it take you so long to take another step?"
"Well... I've been in love with Seamus since our Sixth Year at Hogwarts. I was just afraid to tell him. He's been my best friend since we've met and I didn't want to ruin that. I also wasn't sure if he liked guys. It was a big risk and I was too scared to take it," he explained.
"That's totally understandable," Cassie nodded. "It's always scared to take the leap of confessing your feelings. I can't even fathom what it's like when it's to your best friend of a decade who you aren't sure is even attracted to your gender."
"Right," he nodded. "So you know, I kept it hidden and then on the night when we got reunited at Hogwarts, after the Battle, we went home together and he kissed me. He kissed me and told me he had missed me so much he wasn't sure how to express it. We kissed and cuddled all night,"
"After that, he backed away a little. You see, Seamus grew up in a very homophobic family. He's told me all about it. I came out to him and all my friends a little bit after all that. He accepted me right away, but he would be calling me 'bro' and punching my shoulder instead of sharing the intimacy we had shared before,"
"It was because he was scared. He knew he was in love with me too but he was terrified of that. All his life he had been told that if you were attracted to the same gender you were a disgrace. That that was wrong. Though he didn't think that way, he couldn't help but feel that about himself,"
"But then he moved in with me two years ago. We missed not being together every day like we were in Hogwarts and well, I was planning on starting a business and he had only just gotten a job so it was convenient financial wise too. But we soon started sharing the bedroom and well, kisses again,"
"It was fine with me. We were acting like boyfriends behind closed doors and in public, we were best friends. I knew he wasn't ready to come out and I didn't want to pressure him. He needed time and I granted him that. But yeah, a few months ago he said he was ready,"
"He didn't want to hide us anymore and he didn't want to call me his best friend. He wanted me to be his partner, his boyfriend. I was super excited to hear those words, of course. So, he was ready and well, he came out to the world as my boyfriend. He doesn't want to label his sexuality, which is totally valid. I'm just happy I can love him openly now," Dean finished, smiling brightly.
"That is indeed great," Cassie nodded. "I'm glad he feels comfortable with who he loves now and that it seems that his judgement for himself has faded. He deserves to love who he loves and to love himself just like everybody else. I'm glad he had you to support him through this battle though." Dean nodded. Cassie gave him a hug. "You're a cute couple."
"So are you and Nev," he smiled, hugging her back tightly. "It wasn't easy for him, he lost his family. But he says it's better this way. Now he has true family who loves him no matter who he loves."
"That's always better than a family that hates you for simply wanting to share the love you have to give," Cassie stated. Dean agreed. "Well, I'd say we can call our lovers for dinner now, right?" Dean looked over at the dish they had made and nodded. Cassie went into the living room and told Seamus and Neville, who were talking about Seamus's job at the Ministry, that dinner was ready.
"No, no, I was practising the Vanishing Spell when I blew up the vase in the Common Room," Seamus corrected Neville who thought he was practising Vera Verto instead. Cassie chuckled.
"Oh, that makes a massive difference," she said sarcastically. Dean snickered softly and Seamus scoffed. "But was that really your most remarkable explosion? I've heard several stories going around about what you made explode over the course of our years at Hogwarts."
"No, his greatest work was when he accidentally made the Gargoyle protecting the Headmaster's Office explode during our Fourth Year," Dean chuckled. Seamus grinned proudly before putting a bite into his mouth.
Cassie sipped her water and glanced over at Neville who was sitting next to her. He had a content smile on his face as he watched his closest friends interact with his girlfriend. She reached over under the table and placed her hand on his thigh, giving it a soft squeeze. He smiled and placed his hand on hers, stroking his thumb on her skin.
"What were you trying to do to it anyway?" she asked Seamus.
"Was trying to perfect the spell to turn my water into rum but after seven years of trying I think the spell may not exist," Seamus sighed. Cassie had to try her hardest to keep a straight face but when Dean started laughing, so did she.
The rest of the dinner was spent laughing, reminiscing old memories of their time at Hogwarts and talking about everything and anything. But dinner wasn't the only plan they had that night; they were going out.
Cassie hadn't been properly out to dance for ages and she was excited that tonight they were going out onto the streets of London to dance their worries away. She changed into a navy blue dress with short puffy sleeves and a flowy skirt that fell to her knees. She felt a little self-conscious about the big, raggedy scar that was visible on her chest but when Neville pressed the gentlest kiss on it, all that insecurity faded away.
"I love you," she said in a whisper. He looked at her, sliding his arms around her waist and leaning his forehead against hers. Neville had changed his button-up shirt for a scarlet shirt on top of black pants and Cassie could devour him right then and there.
"I love you," he whispered back. "Let's just... let's forget about anything that bothers us tonight, okay? Just enjoy the music." She smiled and pressed her lips against his softly, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"Yeah, let's do that," she said.
"Oi, lovebirds!" Seamus called from down the stairs. "Ready to leave or are you not done shagging yet?" They chuckled softly, giving each other one more kiss before slipping on their coats and heading downstairs to meet their friends.
Music was blasting in her ears and while the hands of her boyfriend stayed firmly on her hips as she swayed them from side to side. Cassie had always loved to dance. Perhaps she hadn't always done it in public because it felt awkward and uncomfortable, but tonight she did not care.
These Muggles didn't know who she was, what she was and she frankly did not care. This was her and Neville's and his friends' night out. A night to forget about werewolf reforms, the Ministry of Magic, the fear of losing her job and what she would turn into in a few more weeks.
Tonight was a night to forget everything but the love she shared with Neville.
She turned around in his arms, sliding her hands up from his elbows to his shoulders. She traced a familiar vein in his neck up until her hand was sinking into his hair. His grip tightened on her body and he pulled her closer against him.
As she ground her hips into his, the music switched in the background. She let her head fall back at the sound of a fresh bass and without hesitating, Neville attached his lips onto her neck. It seemed as he didn't have single care on his mind either; tonight was about them and no one else.
A soft smile appeared on her lips and she closed her eyes, trying to fixate on the feeling of his soft kisses on her sweaty, warm skin. She let her fingers trace down his skin again, resting on his jaw before she pushed his face away slightly, looking at him once more.
There was a slight smile on his lips, his eyes filled with joy and desire. Neville loved dancing as much as she did. She placed on hand on the back of his neck and pulled him closer, smashing her lips into his.
Tonight nothing mattered but the music playing over the boxes. Tonight nothing mattered but the people she was with. Tonight no one mattered but Neville; the love of her life.
On Saturday Dean showed them around in his bakery. It was lovely and cosy and Dean beamed with pride and joy as he showed them around. After that, the two couples took a stroll around the town Dean and Seamus lived in, only stopping to grab a quick drink to go.
That afternoon they spent playing games and talking for hours. Dean and Seamus were lovely people and Neville was having the best time, so almost automatically, Cassie was too.
On Sunday morning, they had breakfast together and in the afternoon, after a rather successful and fun weekend away, Cassie and Neville returned to Hogwarts. Both were tired from the fun but busy weekend, filled with excitement and a little piece of peace they had been missing for a while now.
When she fell asleep in his arms that night, she felt content and hopeful. Whatever was going to happen, with Neville by her side, she could handle it all. The good and the bad.