musical mood: orgel – e.so
Back in December, Cass had vowed to herself to never speak to her father again, a vow that would be unwillingly broken only seven months later.
There had been a knock at the door, to which Cass stood up from her round of Wizards Chess with Ron to answer. A pleasant interruption, since she had been losing miserably.
And now, the man who had been responsible for nearly every terrible thing that had happened to Cass now stood only feet in front of her, at the entrance to the Burrow, dressed as posh as usual. He clearly looked just as surprised to see her as she was him, his brown eyes wide and his lips split apart.
She slammed the door shut.
"Who was it?" Molly called out from the dining room, which she was cleaning vigorously.
"No one." Cass responded, hoping the tremble in her voice didn't give her lie away.
"Is Mr. Crouch here already?" Percy's head poked out from the living room.
"You knew he was coming?!"
"Er, yeah, we invited him for dinner. We told you this."
"No you didn't! Arthur said you should invite him last week, not that you actually did!"
"Oh. That's my bad, then, my apologies." Percy said as he pushed past her to open the door, his shoulder brushing against hers as he did. She fought the urge to shove him. "Hello Mr. Crouch! Do come in."
Bloody pushover.
"I'm going to kill you, Percy Weasley." Cass muttered under her breath as Bartemius stepped into the Burrow, looking far less dishevelled as he did before. He must've managed to collect himself – which was surprising that he had to do such. Cass would've figured he'd at least tried to figure out where she was spending the summer, it wasn't like it would've been difficult. But of course, he never did care.
"Hello, Weatherby. Hello, Cassiopeia." He said her name with no emotion, as though she meant nothing to him.
"Weatherby?" Cass raised her eyebrows, glancing at Percy, who simply shrugged.
Of course. She shook her head, feeling an odd tang of sympathy for Percy. He couldn't bother to remember his name.
"Mr. Crouch! It's so lovely to meet you!" Molly rushed out of the dining room to greet him, shaking his hand enough enthusiasm to make Bartemius shift uncomfortably. "I've heard lots about you from Arthur! Thank you so much for hiring my son, this internship will be wonderful for him."
"Mum!" Percy pursed his lips together, an embarrassed blush creeping onto his cheeks.
"Right, Mr. Crouch, let me show you to the dining room. Dinner should be ready soon. My apologies for the mess..."
"Please, call me Bartemius."
As Molly and Bartemius walked away, Cass shot a furious glare at Percy.
"You're a prat, you know that, right?"
"So I've been told." He shrugged. Clearly the insult didn't bother him. "Why do you hate him so much?"
"That's none of your business."
"You're making it my business, by behaving like this. By being angry at me for taking this internship – which you have no right to be upset about, by the way. It isn't like we're friends. I hardly know you, and I doubt that will ever change. So grow up, and be thankful you have a father in the first place."
"You wouldn't understand." Cass shook her head, fighting her desire to slap him. Percy seemed to make her especially violent. Who did he think he was, speaking to her like that?! Acting as though he understood her situation. The audacity! No, no one understood what she was going through, and perhaps that was for the best. She wouldn't wish the Barty and Connor situations on her worst enemy, not even Malfoy or Percy. "And I'm not...I'm not just angry. I'm worried, as well. I'm warning you." She lowered her voice, leaning in. "My father...he's not what he seems. Just...be careful."
"What are you on about?"
Cass opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted.
"Cassiopeia." Bartemius called out for her from inside the dining room. Most of the Weasley clan had already appeared in their seats. "Are you coming?"
"Of course." She forced a smile, walking into the dining room. There was an empty chair in between her father and Ginny, and one between George and Ron. Bartemius stared at her expectantly, as though he was hoping she'd sit next to him, for Merlin knows what reason.
She sat down next to George.
Chatter began, mostly Ministry talk between Arthur, Percy and Bartemius, so nothing of any interest to Cass. Molly brought out the food, some sort of meat Cass didn't care enough to recognise. She wasn't hungry, and didn't care much about being rude in the moment.
"So, Cassiopeia, how has your summer been?" Bartemius eventually asked.
"Brilliant. I've never been happier in my life." She lied through her teeth. Sure, the Burrow was better than Stromness, but without Connor...there wasn't much of a purpose. But if Bartemius thought she liked it better here, that she was happier here, maybe he'd care. Maybe he'd feel inadequate. Jealous. Guilty.
"That's great to hear." If Bartemius felt anything, he didn't show it.
Cass bit down on her lip. That didn't go to plan.
"And how was your summer, father? Anything...interesting happen?" She cocked her head to the side.
"Just work." His eyes met hers for a brief moment, before he glanced back down at his plate. "Winky misses you."
"Winky can cope."
"Who the fuck is Winky?" Fred frowned.
"Language, Fred!" Molly scolded.
"Winky is our house elf." Bartemius explained.
"Your house elf." Cass corrected with a smile, eyes searching his for any sort of reaction.
He gave none.
"Yes, my mistake. And will you all be attending the Quidditch World Cup?"
"We are!" Arthur interjected with a bright grin, clearly eager to change the topic. "All of us, plus Cassie, and Ron's friends Harry and Hermione."
"Harry as in...Harry Potter?"
"The very same."
"Cassiopeia, you never told me you were friends with Harry Potter."
She nearly laughed. Her and Potter friends? That was just as likely as her being friends with Neville Longbottom. "I'm not. Ron is. I've hardly spoken to him."
"I thought you were friends with Ron."
Ron looked up at this, still chewing a mouthful of food. "No, Cass is friends with Fred and George."
"Merlin, Ronald, you're disgusting." Ginny glared at her brother.
"Actually," Cass interjected, as an idea hit her, a last ditch effort to get a reaction out of Bartemius. A terrible, horrible idea that she knew she'd regret, but she couldn't help it. "George and I have an announcement to make."
"We do?" George met her intense stare. "Er, I mean, we do. I think. Do we?"
"Shut up." She hissed, before looking back at her father. "We're a couple."
Fred did a spit take. Ron coughed up his food. Ginny began to laugh. Even George seemed pleasantly surprised, eyebrows raised, but he didn't say anything, just eyed her up and down, likely searching for answers to why she was doing what she was doing.
The only person who didn't seem in any form of shock, was, of course, Bartemius.
He paused, clearly thinking this through. "Thirteen is a bit young to be dating, isn't it? Aren't you older than her, Greg?"
Cass let out a soft laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. It hurt every time, even though she should be used to it. Every goddamn time he confirmed his lack of awareness for her, it was a punch to the gut.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to...bye." She stood up, fleeing the table like a soldier running from a bomb. Except, the bomb was her tears and it exploded the moment she shut Ginny's bedroom door behind her, collapsing on the cot in an array of sobs.
It had been quite a while since the last time she'd cried. Cass usually did her best to limit overt displays of emotions like that to a minimum, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. She'd combust if she tried.
He really didn't care, did he? She'd made a fool out of herself for nothing. Now she'd have to explain to the Weasley's, who had so kindly let her into their home, that she was not, in fact, dating George, but simply claimed to be to get a failed rise out of her father. But nothing upset him with her, nothing made him care. He thought she was thirteen, for fucks sake, and yet, she still had a duty to protect his secret. If she didn't, he'd be in Azkaban, and it would be her fault. It wasn't fair, none of this burden was fair.
Cass punched the pillow, groaning when pain shot up her right hand.
"Cassie?"
"Fuck off."
"Oi, no need to be rude. I'm just here to chat." George shut the door behind him, walking into the dark room and sitting down next to Cass, bouncing up and down on the mattress.
"Sorry."
"For telling me to fuck off, or for telling our families that we're a couple?"
"Both. I'm sorry for making a scene. For using you to make my douchebag father upset."
George snorted, giving her a pat on the back. "Well, there's no need for being sorry. It was getting dull, you simply livened it up."
"Yeah, by antagonising my father and embarrassing your family."
"Please, they've seen far worse. I doubt they're even thinking about it right now. Percy probably has them listening to his stories of how perfect he is." His hand remained rested on her back as she sniffed back a laugh. "Why do you hate him so much?"
She didn't have to ask who the him he was referring to was.
"He's not a good father."
He bit his lip, worry in his eyes. "Does he...hurt you? Because we can contact the Ministry, get you permanently away from him. He can get thrown in Azkaban for that sort of thing."
She shook her head, thinking about Henry as she did. As awful as Bartemius was, she'd forever be grateful he never hurt her like John did to his children. "No. He's not abusive. He's just...never there. He's never been there for me. Not when it mattered. Not when I was being bullied in primary school, not when I felt miserable at Hogwarts without Connor, not when I was recovering from being poisoned. He doesn't...care about me. I'm just a nuisance, that he can't be bothered to pay attention to. I mean, you heard him. He thought I was thirteen, for fucks sake. All I want is a reaction out of him, something to show that he...you know, loves me, but that will never happen. I just need to accept that."
When George didn't say anything, Cass continued, her voice trembling as she spoke. She shouldn't say a word more, she should contain herself, but she didn't think she knew how. She had to get her feelings out, even if it was to George Weasley, of all people.
"He's...keeping a secret. A really bad secret. If it gets out, a lot of people will get into trouble, and I'm being forced to keep it, to protect him, when he's never done anything to protect me. It isn't fair, him putting me in this position, but I can't...I can't betray him either. Not like that. It's all pretty fucked up, isn't it?"
"Can I ask what the secret is?"
"You can, but I won't tell you."
"Fair enough."
"I'm sorry again. For using you to get a rise out of my father. Your family will probably have a lot of questions now."
George pondered this for a moment, his brown eyes staring into hers. "Not if we are dating."
Cass hoped she didn't look as flustered as she felt. To hear him say words like that...but she fancied Cedric! Why was her heart beating at the concept of dating George, when Cedric had been the image of her fancy for over a year?
"I'm not going to date you." She finally said.
"I know. But they don't. We could pretend."
"Pretend to date? What's the point in that?"
"Well, you'd make your dad angry that you're dating an older boy, and trust me, he will get upset after a while, it's in dads' DNA to hate their daughters' boyfriends. It'll also make Cedric jealous - oi, don't deny it, everyone knows you fancy him!"
She shook her head in a mixture of amusement and befuddlement. George was truly anything but predictable. "And you'd gain what, from this arrangement?"
"I'd win the Girlfriend Race! Ten galleons towards Fred and I's future joke shop. Plus, I'd be getting a rather beautiful fake girlfriend to brag about."
Cass snorted, an awkward sound considering she'd been crying just minutes prior.
"You really think that's a good idea? To pretend to date?"
"It's a brilliant idea! Do you not agree?"
She shrugged. "I'll admit, it's not the worst idea you've tried to get me involved with. I sort of have to agree to it, though, don't I? Considering the stunt I pulled earlier?"
"I wasn't aware anyone told you what to do." He winked at her, and she went red.
"They don't." She agreed, though she wasn't sure that was true, not anymore. She didn't feel very in control of her life, that was for sure. Had she ever been? Perhaps control of oneself - free will - was simply an illusion, a false idea of security, that could be ripped away as quick and easy as her life had fallen apart.
"I'm sensing a but."
"I don't know what I should do." She admitted. "I feel like my life is falling apart."
"What you should do is agree to be my fake girlfriend. Maybe that'll fix all your problems."
"I must admit, it certainly couldn't make anything worse. I imagine that's impossible – things being worse than they are."
"You never know. It could always be worse. Someone could like, die."
"Fair enough. Since when did you become a pessimist? That's my job."
"Someone has to take over while you're busy dealing with an emotional crisis."
Cass snorted. "You're ridiculous, you do know that, right?"
"Of course I do." He winked. "Now, what do you say, fake girlfriend? Shall we return downstairs and flex ourselves as the newest happy couple to our hopefully very disapproving families?"
"Disapproving?" She raised her eyebrows, smiling for the first time since she came up there. "Good luck with that. Arthur adores me. Ever since I explained to him what a VHS is."
"Yes, and you still need to explain it to me as well. I just don't understand how the pictures move without magic!"