little miss black

-92-

"First years, this way please." Cass and Remus lead the new first years up to Gryffindor tower.

"This is the fat lady." Remus said. "Behind here is our common room, and then the dormitories."

"At the moment, the password is Firecrab." Cass said. The fat lady swung open and the first years eagerly clambered through the portrait hole. She allowed Remus to finish their introduction and then sat down beside Sirius in front of the fire.

"You okay?" Sirius said. Cass nodded, flashing him a tired smile.

"Just tired." She said. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. "Merlin, being a prefect is hard work."

"Try being Head Boy." James grumbled from an armchair. "I've only just got back from a meeting with Dumbledore — why he didn't pick Remus beats me."

"Maybe because Dumbledore thought being Head Boy would be a good time for you to bond with a certain Head Girl." Sirius said slyly. James shook his head sadly.

"That ship has sailed." He said. "Lily will never like me back, I've given up trying."

"But, you still like her though right?" Peter asked. James adjusted his glasses.

"Of course I do." He muttered. "What's not to like? I mean the way her hair glows in the sun, the way her eyes sparkle when she's excited, her-"

"And that's my cue." Cass said, standing up. "Enjoy your lovesick chats boys, goodnight." She pecked all four of them on the cheek before heading upstairs to the dormitory.

She was pretty sure she had seen Dorcas, Alice and Lily in the corner of the common room so she expected, and kind of hoped, Marlene would be in the dormitory as she had lost her lighter. She hummed quietly to herself as she pushed the door of the dormitory open.

"Marls? Oh Merlin-" Cass stared at the two girls in front of her. Dorcas and Marlene sprang apart, their faces bright red. They had clearly been involved in a heated makeout session as both of their shirts were unbuttoned and their ties were nowhere to be seen. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." Cass too, had a red face. She felt awful for interrupting her friends — especially as they so clearly did not want to be found.

Dorcas looked utterly mortified, hastily buttoning up her shirt and pushing her hair out of her face. Marlene looked quite relaxed as she casually wiped some lipstick off of Dorcas' cheek with her thumb. Her shirt remained open and Marlene made no move to button it up again.

"I'll uh- I'll just go." Cass muttered.

"Don't be silly Cass. It's your dorm too." Marlene said. She perched on the end of her bed. "We should have locked the door."

"How can you be so calm?" Dorcas hissed. "This was supposed to be a secret."

"Chill Dor, it's just Cass." Marlene laughed. "She's not going to tell anyone." She turned to Cass. "Are you?"

"Of course not." Cass said quickly. "I'm happy for you guys, you're a cute couple."

"Thanks." Marlene grinned. Dorcas looked at Cass uncertainly.

"Please, please don't tell anyone." She said in a small voice.

"I won't." Cass assured her. "Its not my business, it's not anyone's business but yours." Dorcas visibly relaxed. She sat down beside Marlene. "Just out of interest, how long has this been going on for?"

"Erm officially? Since the start of the holidays. Barbados did wonders for us." Marlene winked at Dorcas, who blushed.

"Unofficially? Since about Valentine's Day." Dorcas mumbled.