Wolfsbane // Neville Longbottom

Chapter 8: Aconite

On Thursday her last class ended at three in the afternoon. Cassie rushed back to her office as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast today. One more night and it was the full moon. Sprout would come over in a second to bring the aconite, aka Wolfsbane, and lavender so that she could finish it before letting it brew for the entire night.

She pulled her cloak off and sat down in her chair. She was tired. After crying for half an hour longer yesterday, Madam Pomfrey had come to her. She had healed her hands and had given her a Calming Draught. She had already apologized to McGonagall for her behaviour this morning but McGonagall had forgiven her in a heartbeat.

There was one person she still had to talk to, the same person she was avoiding at all costs today. She had eaten breakfast before anyone was even awake, lunch got served in her office and for dinner, she planning on going extra late. 

He deserved to know, to talk to her about it, to yell at her even. But she just didn't want to face him yet. She didn't want to hear his words just yet. She wasn't ready for that pain today. She was also scared that she might scold him and flip out due to her being extra irritable.

She closed her eyes for a moment and let her head fall back. She was going to ask Madam Pomfrey for a Sleeping Potion tonight just to get her through. She always slept horribly the night before.

There was a knock on the door and she jumped up again, rubbing her tired eyes. She walked over to the door and opened it but slammed it shut right away again, letting out a high-pitched shriek. Fuck. Her heart started racing. There was a soft sigh.

Neville knocked again.

"Cassie? Could you please let me in? I have aconite and lavender for your potion," he said. "And I want to talk to you." She rested her hand on the doorknob. Her heart was beating in her throat. Fuck, she wasn't ready.

She wasn't ready to face him, to tell him her story. She wasn't ready to hear what he had to say. She wasn't ready for him to leave her too. She wasn't ready for Neville to abandon her.

But she had no choice. She needed the ingredients. She opened the door again, her face the same deep shade of red as Neville's cloak. He smiled at her. He smiled at her. Why wasn't he frowning? Furrowing his eyebrows? Clenching his jaw? Heartbeat racing with anger? No. He was smiling.

"Sorry," she said quickly.

"All good," he said immediately. She stepped aside and let him in. He was carrying a small box with the plants as he stepped inside her office. She took the box from it and walked over to her desk on which the cauldron still stood.

"So," he said, awkwardly fidgeting with his fingers. She was just glad that she had this potion to work on because she was sure she would have been just as much of a wreck as he was. She took her wand and chopped up the lavender before adding it to the cauldron.

"You don't have to tell me. I already know," she mumbled. "You can't be friends with a- me. You can't be friends with me. It's fine. We greet each other as colleagues and nothing more." She chopped up the aconite and put her wand down again.

"What? Of course I want to remain friends, Cassie!" he exclaimed, walking closer to her. She put the chopped up plant in the cauldron and used her wand to stir the potion. Three times clockwise, twice counter-clockwise. She didn't dare look at him. She felt ashamed.

"You don't have to lie. I know what people think. I know what people see when they find out," she told him harshly. She was good at masking the emotion in her voice, especially regarding this topic.

"Look, nothing changes," he said sternly. She had never heard him be this sternly, not even to Nina that one time he took house points from her. She looked up at him, putting her wand away again. She quickly adjusted the temperature and then motioned to the sofa. He sat down and she sat down on the chair.