musical mood: somewhere only we know - glee cast (it's the superior version)

"What?!" Henry stared at her as though she'd grown an extra head.

"I want to get married. I want to elope." Cass repeated, a sense of urgency in her tone, as though he were about to get up and run away if she didn't explain herself. "Now. We're both adults now, we can. I don't want to wait, I don't want to have a long, drawn out wedding full of Death Eaters in the audience. I want our wedding to be on our terms, not You-Know-Who's. I want it to be at least a somewhat happy occasion."

He paused for a moment, thinking this over. "Alright."

"Really?" Her eyes grew wide, not expecting this answer.

He nodded. "You're right. I want it to be on our terms. We'd still be following the Dark Lord's orders, he never said we couldn't have our own wedding. There's a wizarding chapel in Hogsmeade, if we go now, the pastor might still be there."

"It's the middle of the night, you don't think he'll be asleep?"

"I honestly don't know." He shrugged. "But it's worth a shot, don't you reckon? If not, we can stay overnight at the Hogsmeade hotel, and go there in the morning."

"We'll need a witness. You can't get married without at least one person in the audience, my father told me that." She pressed her lips together, thinking. Who could they allow to see them marry, without explaining why they were jumping into their marriage?

"Theodore." Henry said, just as the thought of him came to her mind. "Theodore and Malfoy."

She scrunched her nose. "I don't really want Malfoy at my wedding."

"Our wedding." He emphasised, and she rolled her eyes. "And I reckon he ought to come, you know, Death Eater loyalty and whatnot."

"Fine. Malfoy can come." She sighed in defeat. "But if he ruins my wedding, I'll be furious."

"Our wedding." He repeated. "Weddings aren't just about the girls, you know."

"Right, right. Whatever you say, Henry." She waved a dismissive hand, and he grinned. The two stood up, and Cass began to make her way towards the exit of the common room, but Henry stopped her by grabbing onto her wrist. "What?" She frowned.

"Aren't you going to change?"

"Change?"

"Your clothes." There was a silent duh in his tone. "Unless you want to get married in your Hogwarts uniform."

"I quite like my uniform." She brushed her skirt as she spoke. "Besides, I don't really own anything wedding-ish. I definitely don't own a white dress. Do you own a suit?"

"Of course I own a suit. I am a Nott, after all." He rolled his eyes. "But, if you're fine having our infinite union begin in our school uniforms, that's alright with me."

She responded to him by standing on the tips of her toes, and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

*

Cass stood outside of the Slytherin common room, as Henry walked inside, on a mission to fetch Theodore and Malfoy. She continuously shifted her weight from foot to foot as the minutes went by, anxiously awaiting her fiancé's return.

Was this a good idea? Would the two face the wrath of You-Know-Who because of this? More importantly, would Bartybe upset? She highly doubted it, she doubted the two actually cared much about the logistics of her and Henry's wedding, as long as it happened. But it made her worry nevertheless.

Eventually, Henry returned into the hallway, a very sleepy Theodore and a quite irritated Malfoy trudging behind him.

"So, you're actually getting married?" Malfoy questioned Cass as they began to walk down the halls, his voice low as to not alert any wandering prefects or professors that they were out past curfew.

"No, Malfoy, we're just pranking you." She responded, her tone thick with sarcasm. "Don't make us regret allowing you to come along."

"You think I want to be here? I should be working on my task right now, I was reading ways to fix that bloody cabinet, and now I have to go to a wedding?!"

"Oh, shut it." Henry rolled his eyes, and for some reason, Malfoy obliged, not saying another word as they crept through the secret passage and into Hogsmeade.

"You're really getting married in your uniforms?" Theodore questioned the two as they walked on the streets of Hogsmeade. It was a cold night out, with snow blowing in the freezing wind, and Cass shivered at the harsh weather.

"You're really attending your brother's wedding in your pyjamas?" Cass countered through chattering teeth.

"Touché."

"Do you want my jacket?" Henry turned to her, and she shook her head, delicate flakes of snow falling out of her hair as she did.

"I'm alright. Thank you, though."

She met his eyes and, and an instinctive smile grew on her lips. Oddly, despite getting married to someone who wasn't George, she was in a bloody wonderful mood. Perhaps one of the best she'd been in since Connor's murder. She was getting married, something she'd never imagined would happen, and it was to someone she cared a great deal for.

Henry mirrored her grin, and reached over, entwining his hands in hers. His palms were cold, yet his body heat managed to warm her up.

When they reached the chapel, the door was already open, likely from the harsh wind, and they stepped inside, shutting it behind them.

"Who goes there?" An old, raspy voice called out from somewhere deep within the dark. It was impossible to see, no candles were lit, the only light in the small room coming from the windows, in which the moon shone from.

"Are you Pastor Lumen?" Henry asked into the void.

"I am." There was a rustling, followed by a "Lumos", and an old man was illuminated. He held his wand in one hand, and a candlestick in another, as if to use it as a weapon. His hair was as wispy of a white as the moon from the window, and wrinkles of age covered his pale face. When his eyes met the four teens, his gaze softened ever so slightly, and he lowered the candlestick. "What do you want, children? You shouldn't be out so late, it is dangerous times we live in."

"We know." Cass took a step towards the old pastor. "We wouldn't come here if it wasn't important."

"You're here to recruit me, aren't you? I won't join you, I've told your friends that. You'll have to kill me."

"Recruit you?" She frowned. "No, we're here to get married."

"Get married..." He repeated, brow furrowing together. Eventually, he lowered his wand as well, and set the candlestick onto the floor. "You're just children."

"Technically, we're both seventeen." Henry stepped forward this time, reaching down and grabbing Cass's hand. "There is a war coming, Pastor Lumen. We don't know if we'll both survive it. We want to get married, now, before it's too late."

"I see." He nodded, his eyes flickering between the pair, and then the two behind them. "Are you sure?"

They nodded in unison.

Pastor Lumen's lips curled up in a soft smile. "Young love, so beautiful."

Henry's grip on Cass's hand tightened, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Love, that wasn't what she felt towards Henry, but her feelings were intensifying by the day. If she had to get married to someone, she was more than glad that it was him.

"Come, children." He motioned for the four to step forward, and they did, following him down the chapel. "I am sorry if I startled you, I have been avoiding the Death Eaters all year. I thought you were them."

"We're sorry as well, if we scared you." Cass smiled at him, a smile he mirrored. "And we're sorry to come at such a late hour. We just...we didn't want to wait any longer."

"Of course. I understand." He turned, looking behind them at Theodore and Malfoy. "I assume you two are the witnesses."

"Yes." Theodore said. "That's my brother. And he's our friend." He motioned towards Malfoy, who looked just as irritated as he had earlier.

Cass stifled a laugh, at the idea of her and Malfoy being anything close to friends.

"Have a seat, then." He motioned towards the pews, and they did, sitting up at the front. "Do you two have rings?"

"Er...no." Henry's face went red. "Sorry, Cass."

"It's alright." She hadn't expected him to get her a ring. She wasn't a fan of jewellery anyways, outside of her father's ring and Ana's necklace, of which she wore both on a daily basis. "It was sort of last minute." She explained to Pastor Lumen, who nodded in understanding.

"Now, come to the altar."

They obeyed, standing at the altar, unsure of what to do. Cass had never been to a wedding before, she'd only read about them, in muggle books. How did they go? Were wizarding weddings different than muggle ones? She was certain they didn't read from the Bible, but was the rest of the ceremony much different?

"What are your names, children? I need them for the marriage to commence."

"I'm Cassiopeia Crouch. And this is Henry Nott."

"Lovely names." He grinned at them. "Do you have any vows?"

They both shook their heads.

If Pastor Lumen was judging them, he didn't show it, instead nodding. "Right, then. Do you, Henry Nott, take Cassiopeia Crouch, to be your lawfully wedded spouse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do." Henry's eyes bore into hers, and her heart skipped a beat.

Pastor Lumen turned to look at Cass. "Do you, Cassiopeia Crouch, take Henry Nott, to be your lawfully wedded spouse, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

It wasn't a question that needed to be asked. She knew what she needed to do, she knew her fate would be sealed, and she found she didn't mind in the slightest, if she was bound to Henry for the rest of her life.

"I do."

"You may now kiss the bride."

There was a clapping sound, likely from Theodore, but Cass hardly noticed it as Henry pulled her close to her and kissed her. It was brief, chaste, but she felt like it went on forever - she wanted it to go on forever. No thoughts of George entered her mind, like they so often did when she thought about her forced marriage to Henry, her mind was entirely in the present, her thoughts grounded. Henry was now her husband, and she was now his wife.

*

"We need to celebrate." Theodore was practically skipping as they exited the chapel, looking awfully silly in his pyjamas.

"We need to go back to the castle." Malfoy responded with a roll of his grey eyes. "I need to work on my task, and so do you, Theodore."

At the mention of Theodore's task, he shrunk, but he said nothing.

"I agree with Theodore." Cass pressed her lips together as a smile formed. "I'm in the mood to celebrate. I don't want to just go back to sleep after my wedding. And, it's my birthday, so you kind of have to do what I say."

Henry looked down at his watch. "Technically, it isn't your birthday anymore, Cass. It's 1 in the morning." She whipped around to glare at him, and he swiftly spoke again. "But, a drink or something of the sorts does sound nice."

So, the four made their way into the Hogs Head, which was the only pub open at such a late hour. Luckily, Malfoy had brought some money, and begrudgingly agreed to pay for all their drinks.

"What's the occasion?" The bartender, an old man who looked almost identical to Dumbledore asked as he passed them their drinks. "Or are you just sneaking out of the school to party?"

"How do you know we're from Hogwarts?" Henry asked, rather stupidly.

"You're in your uniforms." The Dumbledore lookalike said.

"Oh. Right."

Cass rolled her eyes. "We've just decided to have a drink. You won't send us back, will you?"

It was best that no one knew they got married, as they didn't want questioned asked about it, questions that could somehow get back to You-Know-Who. He'd find out they'd been wed eventually, that was inevitable, but she wasn't prepared for it to be anytime soon.

The man shook his head, an unusual laugh escaping him. "It isn't my business what my customers get up to. Have a nice night."

"Thank you." Cass grinned at him, taking a sip from her firewhiskey. The liquid warmed her senses, but not as much as Henry did when he grabbed her free hand, looking deep into her eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I know our marriage wasn't ideal, for you."

"I'm happy, Henry." She insisted, squeezing his hand tightly. "I swear it. I'm happy, with you. And I'm happy we got to have our wedding on our terms. It was lovely."

He didn't look convinced. "I'll get you a ring. I feel bad, that I forgot about that. And vows, how could I forget about our vows?"

She shook her head, laughing. "I forgot too, don't worry about it, really. I don't need a ring, either. I just need you."

He leaned in and kissed her, and all was well.

*

While outside of Malfoy and Theodore, no one was aware of Cass and Henry's marriage, the student body now all knew they were an official couple. Despite her protests, Henry did end up getting her a lovely ring with a pale pink gemstone, that she opted to wear at all times, alongside her father's ring. While Cass was itching to tell people, namely, Alastor and George, she held back, despite them knowing what her reasons for marrying him would be. Henry was unaware that the two knew she was a Death Eater, and she didn't want it somehow getting back to him.

It was the beginning of March, and Cass and Henry were sat at the Ravenclaw table, eating breakfast and chatting away about this and that.

"-so then, I told Theodore, oh, hello Lavender." Henry looked up as Lavender Brown approached their table. Her blue eyes were wide, and she looked as though she were about to burst into tears.

"Lavender, is everything okay?" Cass asked as she rose from her seat.

"No, everything is not okay! My Won-Won is in the hospital wing! I was only just told today!"

"What?! What happened?" Henry stood up at this as well. Neither of them chose to comment on Lavender's obnoxious nickname for her boyfriend, deeming it not the time.

"He was poisoned! He and Harry and Slughorn went to drink something, and he drank it and just collapsed, apparently."

"Poisoned?" Cass stared at her with wide eyes.

Lavender nodded. "He's still unconscious. My poor baby...I should go see him now, what if he's woken up? He needs me!"

Before either of them could comment, Lavender went dashing out of the Great Hall just as quickly as she had come in.

"Do you think-" Henry began, but Cass cut him off with the raise of her hand.

"Not here." She hissed, knowing exactly what he was about to say. "Let's go somewhere else. Somewhere private."

The two walked out of the Great Hall and into the hallway, glancing around to make sure they were alone. When they confirmed no one was nearby, they continued their conversation in low voices.

"You don't think it was Theodore, do you?" Henry asked her, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the stupidity of the question.

"Of course it was him! Who else would try to kill Slughorn? He may be bloody annoying, but he doesn't seem the type to have very many enemies."

"Clearly he has one - the Dark Lord. Have you figured out why he wants Sluggy dead so badly?"

Cass shook her head. "No, I can't imagine why. Slughorn is old enough to have been You-Know-Who's teacher, though. It could have something to do with that. Honestly, I don't see why it matters, though. At the end of the day, we do as he says. Connor and Ana have warned us about what happens if we don't."

At the mention of Ana, Henry stiffened. "I still can't get it out of my head, Cass, that someone told the Death Eaters where Ana was."

"We don't know someone did, Henry." She shook her head. "It's still possible that it was just a coincidence."

"Cass, the Malfoy manor was raised under an anonymous tip."

She stiffened. She still had no idea if it had been her slip up with George that had resulted in the Malfoy manor's raid under Alastor's orders, which, according to Henry, had been one of the things to trigger Ana's murder. If he knew she was a Death Eater since the summer, though, why had he waited? No, it couldn't have been her, he must've been acting on a different tip entirely.

"And?"

"And, one of us must've slipped up, somehow informing them that the Malfoy's were involved with the Death Eaters still. It was punishment, a punishment for fucking up the mission. Maybe it was because of what Malfoy did to Katie."

"It wouldn't have been a punishment towards Malfoy. He hasn't a single care for Ana."

"A warning, then. Cass, nothing You-Know-Who does is spontaneous. Everything, every single choice he makes has a reason."

"I don't want to believe it. That means someone betrayed us, betrayed Ana. Who would do that?"

"I don't know, Cass." He shook his head. "But I know that because this poison didn't work, another punishment is likely to come. Another warning, to get our acts together. So, not to be rude or anything, but you better be working your arse off with the recruitment."

*

Cass had been slacking, Henry was right. In her time at Hogwarts this year, she'd only managed to get Blaise Zabini on their side, and she had no idea how far his loyalty lay. She had to get to work, and fast, before they were punished again for Ron's poisoning.

There was a Slug Club meeting a few days later, which Cass dragged a begrudging Henry along to. Luckily, Blaise had once again brought Daphne Greengrass along, a girl she thought she might be able to recruit. If she was dating Blaise, who was on their side, chances were, she shared similar opinions to his.

After the club ended, Cass trailed behind Daphne and Blaise, Henry at her side.

"Oi, Greengrass, can I have a word with you?" She said, and Daphne turned around, frowning. The two had never spoken to each other before, and had Cass not had so many scandals, she doubted Daphne would've even known her name.

"Er, sure." She pressed her lips together, clearly trying to be polite. "Blaise, I'll catch up with you later, yeah?"

Blaise gave the three a funny look, but nodded and walked away, leaving them alone.

"Is everything alright, Cassiopeia?"

Cass nodded. "Yeah, er, we just wanted to have a talk with you. We're wondering...how far your loyalties lie, when it comes to the Slytherin house."

"That's an odd question."

"Cass is an odd person." Henry patted her on the shoulder, and she rolled her eyes.

"Daphne," Cass continued, ignoring Henry. "There's a war coming. You're a smart girl. You should be wise about the side you chose."

Her eyebrows perked up. "Are you implying what I think you are?"

"Join the winning side, Daphne. You'll be protected if you do."

A smile formed on the girl's lips, and Cass took that as a sign of victory. "Slytherins are known for their self preservation, Cassiopeia. Trust me, I know what side I will be on, when the time comes."

"And what of your friend Pansy? Where do her loyalties lie?"

"Pansy isn't interested in politics. We don't talk much about the war. But, if you were to talk to her, to convince her onto our side, you'd find she's very easily swayed."

"Thank you."

"This was not the conversation I expected to have today." Daphne let out a soft laugh. "You never fail to intrigue me, Cassiopeia."

She wasn't quite sure how to take that.