{{OOC: Permission to Godmod Brooke Walters by Melanie granted }}

Cassana curled into her queen sized, fluffy comforter clad inn room bed with a smile on her face.

She thought about how happy she was to have something so normal as a Girl's Weekend. It also felt very maturing, like super adult-ish. Not to say Cassie was immature, but she was a 19 year old woman who watched Netflix, wore frilly dresses, and ate candy like a three year old. As fate would have it, she lucked out in a roommate three weeks ago.

Three weeks, maybe a short time to others, was like an eternity and an hour to Cassie. It dragged on with classes and tire, but it went fast when she got to spend time with her roommate she was assigned. Brooke was, well, amazing. She and Cassie matched pitch on enthusiasm, on common likes and dislikes, and sometimes Cassie liked to imagine that maybe, if the world had been kinder to her and Gabriella maybe they'd act the same way her and Brooke did. Except, self-consciousness swallowed Cassie whole when she considered telling Brooke she thought of her as anything more than just a good friend or roommate.

In the past three weeks, Cassie had taken on the job of tutoring Brooke. It was a challenge in someways because Cassie wasn't an avid teacher, but also because it felt dangerous that two klutzes were allowed in the same vicinity of fire and materials that could maim. Luckily there had been no major accidents. She found that even outside of class she spent a lot of time with Brooke. Sometimes it was shopping (which normally ended in a step reprimanding to watch where they walked), sometimes it was walking around (one time they had managed to ruin a flash mob in London), and the safest was when they simply found a place to plop down and eat after a grueling potions' tutoring session.

"I propose," Cassie had begun during a dinner after one session, "that you and I go to Avalon, spend the weekend at a pub, and simply enjoy the beach and the sights. No school, no nothing, just two great friends and the sea." Brooke heartily agreed and they packed their bags, Brooke parted with her boyfriend (whom she was with when she wasn't with Cassie) and Cassie parted with her books.

Currently curled into her inn room bed, one of the two queen sized beds with huge, soft, comforters that made the sleepers and resters feel like they were being hugged by a sweet pillow. There were two of those, one kitchen/dining island area, one desk with a chair in the corner next to a window that overlooked the streets of Avalon, a large space of floor between the two beds, and a door (clearly).

She bit her lower lip before grasping the pillow her head was laying on and shucking it to the floor, then rolling off the bed and onto the floor with a thump.

"Psst, Brooke, I don't want to sleep, can we talk or something instead?" Cassie whined, even though they had a day full of Pier games and other stuff planned for their last Sunday in Avalon, Cassie's energy was to never be underestimated for it fluctuated at the strangest of time's. 0100 in the morning included. "Please?" This part was a beg, like a sister begging for her other sister's item or something like that. Cassie pouted in the dark, waiting for Brooke to reply.

Cassie rarely had "bonding" moments with Gabriella, and this entire weekend was just one big forever bond waiting to happen. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd had a sleepover with a friend much less an entire weekend away with another. During sleepovers there was a common theme of talking about the usual, other people, boys, school, and drama. Those were all irrelevant when one was out of pubescent age.

"Okay, truth or dare sounds like the best," she nodded excitedly, smiling brightly, even as she flinched when the lights helped her eyes focus on her friend's mass of curls. They were a vibrant color that reminded her of-

"Except," Cassie said, sitting up now too, her own wand in her hand, "nothing to do with fire, elements, food, wood, potions, water, or - no magic actually." She cringed. "There's a large possibility one of us could elementally screw up again and suddenly we're suspended from magic." She shuddered at the thought before waving her hand in front of her face. "But that doesn't mean it's not fun, though! We can still do silly dares, I mean we're both smart and creative I'm sure we'll figure something out." She added quickly. It wasn't that she didn't trust Brooke to not give her something that would get her and her magic in jeopardy, she didn't trust herself to not create another "incident". Merlin knows how upset Joe would be if they landed in jail or something akin to that.

Cassie was glad that Brooke was easy to get along with, also entertaining. Some day, Cassie would argue that they needed their own show. It would be a dynamic and fascinating TV show, that Netflix would appreciate more than that some of the stuff they had on there.

"It's not like we're evil people," Cassie pointed out, "I mean witches don't hurt people." She paused before adding extra words with a pointed, teasing stare. "Or each other."

Cassie took the moment to grasp a hair tie off the adjacent nightstand with ease to tie her hair back from her face, enjoying the warm room air on her. She snorted with laughter when the coin ended in her favor. She bit her lower lip, contemplating whether or not to bring up a question that sort of haunted her for a while since they met as temporary roommates. She pushed it aside, she'd ask that later. This time she clapped her hands together and grinned mischievously.

"So, truth huh?" She tapped her chin pretending to think about the question before leaning forward, eyes dancing with tease in it, watching Brooke's face for any freckles to appear when she asked her question, "does Joe kiss with tongue?" She asked, baring her tongue in a joking gesture.

Cassie was always often taken aback by how alike Brooke and her, but also how different they are. Cassie was no innocent baby, but she also wasn't the most experienced nineteen year old. She'd lived a fairly sheltered life growing up. No her parents never lied to her or deliberately excluded her from the horrors of the world, but that didn't mean she had personally gone through life and gone through these things. However, she did know people who had gone through those sorts of terrible things. It made her stomach churn and she'd change the subject, too nervous to try and psychologically help them.

"Well, I mean a Potioneer nerd who spends all her time reading and basically cooking versus an Auror who goes out and does all cool super-spy stuff? I'd be doomed." She concluded dramatically, lifting a hand to her face in joking horror. "I'm kidding, kinda." She giggled.

She bit her lower lip to contain her mirth at the way that Brooke's face was simply aglow with freckles - in a totally adorable way - but it was the equivalent to a blush in Cassie's eyes.

"I'd expect nothing of an A plus gentleman like Joe," Cassie said honestly smiling widely at the mention of her best- sort of - friend's boyfriend. "One of these days I'm going to have to met him you know." She said, her intent in good nature and serious.

"Well, since I'm an open book," she said with a grin, "I'll have to test that intelligence of yours, which is pretty big as you know, and choose truth, see what kind of dirt you can dig up." She joked.

At Brooke's attempt to look scary, Cassie fell into a tremulous amount of giggles because the idea of her being remotely threatening to Cassana was ridiculously. Mostly because she knew where Brooke lived (with her duh) and that was enough of a reason for her to not be scared. She also trusted Brooke to not hurt her. She laughed at the joke.

"Naturally." She rolled her eyes grinning, knees still pulled up to her chest.

When she landed on the ground too Cassie's grin grew large.

"Pfft, I'm sure it's sloppy like a dog," she blew a raspberry at her quite childishly, giggling at the absurdity, "didn't you know I'm called the Archive of Secrets?" She joked. "I'll find your secrets eventually!" She threatened, half-serious, half-joking. She bit her lower lip, was she still hurting after Tom? No because he was worlds away and she would never have to see him ever, Cassie thought with relief. However her sister...

"I guess, it would have to be about my sister," she smiled weakly, "we're closer than she and I are." She honestly said, feeling a little downtrodden thinking of Gabriella. "I'll go dare on my next turn, but for now what sort of secrets are you keeping from the Archive of Secrets?" She cajoled before adding with a saucy grin. "Unless you'd like some sort of brilliant dare from yours truly."

Cassie always found herself laughing uncontrollably around Brooke and this was no different. When she flirted, Cassie literally snorted. Like a pig. Then peeling laughter erupted from her and she was outright dying of laughter. She held her stomach for a moment before greedily drinking in the air tor regulate her breath again.

"We're ridiculous," she declared after her laughing fit. "In a totally good way of course, not in a like wow we say dumb stuff so we're ridiculous but in a wow we are incredibly hilarious to the point that it's ridiculous." Realizing she was rambling and it wasn't making sense she grinned. "It's too late for me to philosop-philosopho-philosophize." She screwed up the word philosophize multiple times before finally getting it right. She laughed again.

"Truth huh?" She bit her lower lip before realization dawned on her, eyes full of mirth and curiosity. "Have you, y'know, done the do? Made the beasts with two backs?" She just assumed that it was Joe of course if she had, but she couldn't help asking it since Joe and Brooke had been together for quite a while as far as she knew.

Cassana was sure of very few things in life. She was sure that her favorite color was pink, that her mother was Idna and her father was Macen and her sister was Gabriella, that the sky was blue but prettiest when a lighter shade of magenta or pink, and that Brooke was her first real friend. The first real friend she'd had because of their kindred spirits. A world where two people similar, but different, could meet and become close. What a world.

"We are pretty great huh?" Cassie said smugly, "I mean I know I'm great, and since we're friends I guess you are too," she joked, mock-boasting. Her voice was too exaggerated to be taken seriously.

Then at Brooke's next words, Cassie felt her heart stop. Everything about Brooke had changed, the jovial mood gone, and Cassana felt nervous. She was ready to make a joke about Joe or something, but looking at the pale of Brooke's face in the light, she knew better. She lifted her hand to place it over Brooke's and then interlock their fingers, a sign of patience. Then Cassie's heart went out to Brooke as she tried to reign in her emotions. Rage that Brooke had been defiled in such a way, sorrow for the loss, and tinges of admiration that her roommate was so strong that she powered through that kind of event.

"You don't have to say anything," she had chosen the appropriate amount of words, just a few, not a lot, but enough to show her support, "I won't think any less or more of you for whatever happens next, I mean I'll think more of you but that's pretty hard to think you're more amazing than you already are." As per usual, Cassie was eluded into a ramble.

Cassie smiled reassuringly, gently as she could, but not in a patronizing way. She didn't want to offend Brooke, but she wanted desperately to show that she was there for her roommate however way she needed her. She felt indignant offense hit her that Brooke would ever think she'd in anyway be a burden to Cassie. Even if they had been friends for a mere short months, they'd done enough together to make her feel sure that their friendship was worth more than gold, more than money, more than the chance to become the world's best Potioneer/Auror. At least that's how Cassana felt.

"You'll never be a burden to me, Brooke," Cassie said confidently squeezing the redhead's hand in assurance. She couldn't believe the enormous strength the witch before her must have to overcome such a tragedy. It made her heart ache for her friend. "Joe sounds like the best kind of guy." She said added smiling, supposing it must have been hard on both of them to get over it together. However they had. They had and they had done so with love for each other. She felt relieved to know Brooke was okay.

"Was it-how long ago was it?" Cassie asked, curious. "I'd like to know, please. You don't have to say everything if you don't want to." She added after a moment.

When Brooke spoke, Cassie listened with avid interest apparent on her face. No she'd never heard of the Murray's; America didn't give to shites for blood purity. The only things she knew about England during her life in America were the events of the Second Wizarding War, the issues that brought and that prejudice would never die.

At the fact that this Josh had clearly had it out for Brooke, she felt outraged. Silently she was glad she never went to Hogwarts, she would've gotten expelled for sucker punching this jackhole in the face. Of course, from the way Brooke described him, she would've gotten worse than expelled.

She couldn't interrupt her friend, didn't have the strength too, tears of pity, of silent anger rose to her eyes and she wiped them away quickly with the back of her hand. She stayed silent, staring at her friend with eyes not full of pity but admiration. At her story about the Perfect's bathroom of the actual events, Cassie could imagine it. It made the tears well up again; anger and frustration that her friend had been treated like so. She'd read the books of what happened to muggleborns in the Second Wizarding War, knew of the horror's but never of an act full of such depravity.

And Joe! She'd never met her roommate's boyfriend but her heart was in pieces for these two. Two people who were made of hearts of gold, able to find each other, become each others' strengths; it was the stuff great storytellers worked to discover.

"Yo-," she cleared out her throat, the hoarseness from held back sobs making it sound deeper, "you're a- you-." She stopped trying to find words.

Instead she threw her arms around Brooke's neck and drew her in for a tight hug. She pulled away, arm's still on Brooke's person, eyes full of the gentle care one had for someone whom they loved.

"You- I-," she was speechless. It was simply amazing to her that Brooke had gone through so much and was able to laugh, able to smile, able to love. There weren't enough people like her in the world she decided. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes to center herself. When she opened brown eyes again they were filled with intense adoration.

"You are brilliant Brooke, clumsy, intelligent, and breathtaking. For all your strength, there is nothing in the world that can stop you, and-and you are my best friend." That last part she said more as a declaration rather than a statement.

When Brooke started laughing, Cassie felt indignant anger rise and she felt silly. Surely Brooke wasn't pranking her or playing a mean joke by saying that? Maybe she was actually a witch actress trying to figure out how to play the part of a clumsy dork and that's why she'd taken up a room with Cassie. Maybe Brooke was actually a spy from her parents to watch her and make sure she stay a chaste and intelligent witch. Or maybe Brooke was actually the thought-to-be-deceased Dumbledore disguising herself to find the next Severus Snape.

Okay that third idea was a little far fetched, but a girl could dream! Especially a girl who had a deep love for potions. The first theory was out of the option because there had been too many almost-fires for Cassie to count on one hand at their dorm and she hadn't been the only cause. The second one was also discredited because her parents were surprised she'd gotten a roommate when she told them as well as wary and offered to buy her another living space. To which, Cassie huffed and declined. So she pouted at Brooke's laughter, pulling back to stare contemplatively at her roommate, awaiting an explanation.

However, the explanation was plausible and Cassie felt herself glow under it so she smiled at Brooke.

"And I'm glad I've got you to console me, honestly," she said, replying to Brooke's reassuring smile with one of her own.

Cassie scoffed at Brooke's disclaimer to being intelligent or clumsy.

"I'm a truth-teller, Brooke, I've got no reason to lie." She giggled. "You can't tell me you're not honestly clumsy, that's the greatest understatement of the year."

In reply to Brooke's hug she held the other witch tightly, too glad to have something she'd never thought she'd have; a genuine, real, best friend right there before her. She held her there for a moment before pulling back and yawning.

"You are definitely my best friend too, Brooke," Cassie confirmed.

"I think it's beddie by for me," she proclaimed as she stood up before she crawled onto her bed, facing her friend so she might wake up facing her best friend.