Fred
I could pick out George's snores from the rest of the Great Hall's for the past hours, yet I hadn't had a second of sleep. For the first bit, I was too caught up thinking about the possibility of Sirius Black being inside the castle, the fact that everyone had been thinking of the entire year, that he could be here for Harry. Yet even after I pushed those questions from my mind, I still couldn't let myself sleep with her next to me. Her soft breathing only stopping for a second any time she would turn over in her sleep. Did I think anything could happen to us, with Dumbledore and his hand picked staff watching over everyone? No. Did that mean I was going to take my eyes off her, even just the outline of her in the dark room? Absolutely not.
It had been stupid to grab her. She was right, she could have fallen. But I knew I wasn't letting her sleep way in the corner with her friends all by themselves... And she looked so cute, so small, and so fragile. She had been one of the only ones who had appeared to have gotten ready for bed, the rest of them resorted to sleeping in their clothes from dinner. That didn't surprise me about her in the slightest. She had thrown her hair up into the messiest bun, pieces of her hair jutting out and framing her face, and was wearing a dark pink set of pajamas that somehow made her look even smaller than she already was and somehow in the dark room, her freckles were more visible than they had been in Hogsmeade today.
The main reason for my lack of sleep however, was the fact that Cassidy had been shivering in her sleeping bag next to mine for the past five minutes, and I didn't think I could take it anymore. She had balled her fists into the slippery fabric and had it tucked near her face, and even I could admit it was cold in here. I had spent the last 300 seconds debating my course of actions. Everything in me wanted to just reach out and pull the tiny girl closer to me until she stopped shaking, but even in my weary state, I knew that wouldn't end well. If she didn't wake up confused and scared, she would be creeped out and avoid me for the rest of time.
I slowly reached over to the girl and against my better judgement to wake her, slid my fingers across the loose hair around her face softly.
"Cassy..." I whispered, hoping not to wake any of the sleepers near us. She didn't stir, the shivering continued. I leaned closer to her face and shook her shoulder gently. "Cassidy."
Her eyes flew open and she scanned around her for a few seconds before seeming to remember where we were. Then she looked to me, obviously not remembering that she was sleeping with the Gryffindors.
"I'm sorry for waking you... you were shivering." I spoke softly, noticing that she obviously still felt cold. She pressed her hand to her nose, trying to warm it up and I held in a laugh.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you up." She breathed, crossing her legs inside the sleeping bag and moving to lay back on the stone floor.
"You didn't." I lied, watching her for a second before deciding. "You cold?"
She nodded, looking up at the floating candles as if wishing one would make it's way down to us.
"Come here then." I held back a smile, not wanting her to think I meant anything by this. I just didn't want her to spend her whole night frozen solid.
She hesitated for just a second, her eyes scanning the rest of our friends before sliding her bag as close to my body as she could get. It was better than I had hoped, never in a million years would I have thought I would have a half-asleep Cassidy Olsen wrapped beneath my arm, lying her head against my chest.
"Warmer?" I whispered, not being able to hold back my smile any longer, but knowing she couldn't see my face from where she lay. I felt her nod into my chest as the shivers slowly subsided.
"Have you slept yet?" Her voice was sleepy, and I knew it wouldn't be long before her eyes shut again.
"A bit." I lied again. "Someone's teeth were chattering."
"They were not." She let out a soft giggle and I carefully pulled her into my chest closer. "Are you scared?"
"Of Black? No shot. Why, are you scared?" I teased.
"No. Not with you." She murmured. In the seconds I hesitated, trying to think of a witty response, I heard her breathing slow and I knew she was back asleep.
"I've got you, Cass. You're safe with me." I sighed and finally let myself fall into sleep myself.
Cassidy
I felt a new warmth on my face, as if I had fallen asleep outside and the sun was rising. The windows in our dorm weren't that big. I felt so groggy, I didn't want to have to open my eyes for at least the rest of the day, but I knew I had to eventually. I blinked into the bright sun and tried to figure out how I had fallen asleep outside. The clouds rolled overhead, covering the sun for brief seconds at a time before it shone back on my face with a vengeance. Before I could ponder the mystery of the lack of ceiling, however, I felt something cradling me from both sides. I looked back down and nearly jumped up in shock.
I had fallen asleep. In Fred Weasley's arms. I had spent the night probably drooling on his flannel. I scanned the room and found his two brothers sprawled around us, Harry and Hermione next to Ron, all still fast asleep. I had no idea what time it was, or if that even mattered. Memories from the night before were flooding back. Sirius Black breaking in to the school, slashing the portrait entrance to the Gryffindor's common room, all of the students gathered to sleep under the stars in the Great Hall. Fred waking me up in the dead of night because my shivering had kept him awake.
I slowly lifted my head from his chest and tried to slide out of his arms unnoticed. That was all I needed, for his kind gesture to turn into some weird moment between us. There was a difference between him trying to keep me from frostbite and me cuddling up against him the entire night.
What an idiot.
I had barely made it three centimeters when Fred stirred from his slumber, obviously noticing the missing weight he had endured through the night.
"Cassy?" He muttered, his eyes barely open, squinting into the sun as well.
I watched him nervously. It was too late to make a jump for it back to my empty spot on the ground.
"Good morning." He shot me a strange look, as if to ask why I was awake already. "Where you off to?"
"I... didn't mean to fall asleep... on top of you, I'm sorry." I tried to laugh through my embarrassment, but Fred offered me a sleepy smile.
"It was for the good of the entire Hall, your bloody teeth would have woken everyone up eventually. I was just doing my duty as a Gryffindor, you know... chivalry and all."
I wasn't sure how anyone could be this witty from the second they woke up, but I still returned his smile.
"You gonna go back to sleep? Judging from the sun up there it's about half past too fucking early." He slumped back onto the floor, his arms folded into a makeshift pillow behind his head so he could still look up at me.
"No, I'm gonna see if it's safe to go." I looked around the hall for Professor Sprout or really anyone who could tell us the plan for the day.
"I'll take you," Fred climbed to his feet and stretched his long arms high above his head, the fabric of his shirt lifting away from the bottom of his pants, exposing a perfectly outlined V which I did not linger on, pretending to continue in my search for a teacher.
"We'll take her from here Romeo." Bri appeared behind Fred, giving me a soft shove and nearly causing me to trip over the still sleeping George. Maddie and Hannah were at her heels, rubbing their eyes with sleep.
"Ladies, a pleasure as always." He gave us a playful bow and fell back to the floor next to the rest of the clan, his eyes still following us as we walked out.
I snuck a look back and tried to shoot him a last thank you, but was swept from the room too quickly by my apparently exhausted roommates.
"Sprout said," Hannah yawned from behind me, "They searched every floor, every class room, every suit of armor. Black's long gone."
"If he was even here." Maddie grumbled, shielding her face from the light as if once she woke up, she could never fall back to sleep.
"Oh, Maddie, even if it wasn't him, someone slashed the portrait. You're going to argue with Dumbledore?" Bri muttered, tapping the barrels and letting the three of us in with a few first years scampering behind us.
I watched the walls close, just in case, although I believed Dumbledore if he said Sirius Black wasn't in the castle. I hurried after my friends who were already halfway to our room and the four of us collapsed onto our beds the second they were in reach.
Against all odds, Dumbledore had given us Monday off from classes. I suppose having a mass murderer break into your school on arguably the spookiest night of the year had shaken some students up. As much as I welcomed the day off, it meant I hadn't seen Fred in days. Granted I had gotten up early for breakfast and spent the entire day working on our potions essay, so I really would have only gotten to see him for Dinner.
And what was I even going to say when I did see him. Any time the red head crossed my mind now I felt a jolt of panic in my stomach. What was happening to me?
The girls and I all woke up together on Tuesday, well rested from our nap-filled Sunday and our day off from classes. We dressed in our robes, waiting for Maddie to finally be "presentable" enough for her liking and started up for breakfast. I didn't even know why I bothered looking at this rate, no way either of the twins were up this early. But still, I spared a short glance towards their spot on the bench before we sat down to eat.
The cheering charms we had worked on in Charms had thankfully lasted us through Hagrid's hour long discussion of flobberworms and their diets, but was no match for the dread we all felt on our walk up to potions. Especially now as the weather grew colder every day, being down in the dungeons was nearly painful. Tuesdays and Thursdays always had me bundled in at least three layers before I pulled my robes on.
The four of us shuffled in, noting Snape's presence at his desk and staying silent as we took our seats. He didn't bother to look up when the stools scratched the ground, but I still grit my teeth nervously and waited a few seconds to make sure I hadn't cost Hufflepuff any points.
No sooner had I pulled out my potions book, Hermione rushed through the door and fell down into her chair beside mine, seeming as if she was ten minutes late rather than five minutes early.
"Slow down, Hermione, you're going to run yourself ragged!" I gave her a smile, noting the dark circles around her eyes which she hadn't bothered to hide. "You doing okay?"
"What? Yes, I'm fine, why?" She barely paused between words, her hair looking crazier today than her eyes.
"No reason." I finished softly as Snape stood from his desk.
"Today we will be brewing what is commonly referred to as the most dangerous potion ever discovered. This is one I typically do not include in the third year curriculum, but since we are out of mistletoe berries and nightshade, I had to get... creative." He drawled, and I could practically hear the wheels churning inside Hermione's head. "Who can tell me what Amortentia is?"
He took a seat behind his desk again, ignoring Hermione's hand for what felt like minutes before uttering her name without a glance in our direction.
"Amortentia is supposed to be the most powerful love potion in the world, although it can't produce real love, simply an obsession with the person for a matter of time. The potion is said to smell differently to each person who smells it depending on what attracts them." She trailed off, finishing her sentence softly.
"Indeed." Snape started. "As usual, you'll find your ingredients in the cabinets, and I must impress upon you the difficulty and importance of this potion and warn you to read the instructions and warnings before you begin."
Hermione and I knew the drill by now, although even I was unsure if she had read this far in the book yet. On second thought, I was sure she had finished the entire thing. We sat reading our instructions and then Hermione went to gather our supplies while I started the fire beneath our cauldron.
She returned, spilling rose thorns, ashwinder eggs and pearls along our desk and I hurried to catch the eggs and pearls before they dropped to the floor.
"I doubt we'll need this many pearls..." I scanned the first page of the chapter.
"I know but... they're so pretty." She muttered, taking one in her hand for a second before slipping it into the pocket of her robes.
We waited for the water we had poured into our shared cauldron to boil before Hermione picked up the eggs and cracked them one by one into the pot, discarding the shells in a pile at the edge of our desk. We crumbled the thorns into a powder resembling the drawing in the book and shook it on top of the potion giving it a stir and waiting for three minutes like we were told.
While we waited, Hermione pulled over the measuring cup and placed it between the two of us, handing me a tool resembling a cheese grater and a pearl from her collection. I had felt guilty even reading the instructions to sand down the pearls edges until you had a full cup of dust, but it was even worse actually doing it. They were so beautiful, even the dust sparkled. Once we had a full cup and our pearls were nearly the size of a fingernail, we shook the dust out evenly on the surface of our potion and dropped the pearls in, watching the liquid bubble up and change color immediately. The bright red from the rose thorns was now replaced by a white so shimmery and nearly pink that it looked like we had boiled down and liquified a pearl on it's own.
"What do you smell?" Hermione asked and I shook my head as I watched her take a deep whiff.
"I don't believe that it can change smells based on-"
"Times up." Snape growled from his desk, stepping over to the front desks. "I see a decent number of you got your potions to white, well done. Some of yours are still red, so clearly rubbing a stone on a pearl is too difficult for you to handle, as I should have suspected." He shot a look towards the back row at Neville's flaming red potion. "Mr. Finnigan, can you tell the class what you smell in your Amortentia?"
I turned to face the Gryffindor boy in the middle of the room. He rolled his eyes slightly and leaned towards his cauldron for only a moment.
"I smell peppermint and..." He took another sniff. "And cigarettes." He flashed a smirk at his partner next to him as a few girls laughed with him.
"That's quite enough." Snape turned to our side of the room and I let out a silent prayer. He would have to pick Harry, he always did.
"Miss Olsen?" I looked up, careful not to stare directly into his eyes, but still seem respectful. "Your potion?"
I really hated talking in front of the class, especially this class, and especially about something this personal. I leaned in and shut my eyes, trying to place the scent from my potion. Because I had smelled it before.
My eyes shot open immediately.
"Miss Olsen, we're waiting." Snape snapped me back and I blinked quickly, leaning back from the potion.
"I smell... fresh coffee and vanilla and..." I snuck a look at Ron nervously. "Fireworks." I muttered, making a point to not look back at the ginger again.
"And dare I ask, Potter?" Snape finally turned to his favorite prey, thankfully taking the rest of the classes eyes with him.
"Er... I smell..." He faltered, sounding nervous, although that's how everyone feels when Snape is nearby. "Pumpkin bread and oranges, and new books?" A few of the girls snickered at his final answer, but I shot him a warm smile. I knew exactly what new book smell he was referring to.
When Snape finally released us for the day, Hermione and I shot from the room ahead of the boys.
"What did you smell, since only I had to be humiliated in front of the entire class?" I whined as we marched up the steps slowly, allowing the boys time to catch up.
"Fresh grass, brand new parchment, and..." She shot a glance at the boys behind us and shrugged. "That's all."
"Ron?" I asked, turning towards the two boys trailing behind on the staircase.
"Smelled like home, mums cooking, I dunno? I just know I'm hungry now."
"Me too, come on let's grab a snack before dinner." Harry pulled Ron's arm, nearly yanking it free from his body and they were gone in less than a second.
"Well what I think is curious is how Harry, who rarely opens his books, would smell them in his amortentia... And what was it again? Oh right. Oranges." She shot me a glare as we arrived back at the Gryffindor common room where Hermione and I were supposed to be working on our Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment for tomorrow.
"What are you talking about?" I felt my eyebrows furrow as I followed her through the portrait hole and up towards her dorm room.
"I can smell your hair from here, Cassidy!"
"My hair? I... oh..." I pulled my hair through my fingers and breathed in the familiar scent, so familiar in fact that I would have completely forgotten I use a citrus shampoo. "That doesn't mean anything!"
"Why? You don't like Harry?" She asked, pushing the door open to reveal a thankfully empty dormitory.
"What? No, I mean, not no... I don't think about him like that, or boys at all, I don't..."
"Oh, right, because the fireworks in your love potion were your own, yeah?" She smirked, crossing her legs on her bed and staring into my eyes, obviously not going to let up on this conversation.
"We don't know if that potion actually changes scent for any reason, it could be totally random!"
"Which Weasley twin are you secretly in love with, and why won't you admit it?" She began pulling books from her bag, but never losing my eye contact.
"Hermione!" I glared, very conscious that we were in fact in Gryffindor tower, surrounded by the twins closest friends.
"I'm going to figure it out, you know it, I know it. Might as well save me some time, you know I'm taking a good amount of classes, I really can't afford to spend time wondering about-"
"Oh my God..." I sank down on the bed next to hers.
"Give me a hint, at least. They both flirt with you, so I can't tell-"
"They don't." I shook my head violently. "They don't, they're just like that, you know that."
"Alright, Cassidy. Whatever you say." She said, dropping a load of books and parchment on the bed in front of us, and thankfully, the conversation was dropped.