Always You | Rossian

January 14, 1921
10:45 PM
After This
♫

Her shift had gone relatively quickly, considering it was one of her longer ones, but Friday nights were always like that. Very few of the assistants wanted to start their weekend checking in and out books and sorting them or answering the same questions over and over again.

It was usually left up to her to cover, and tonight Cassian had decided to join and help out. When she’d posed the question if he wanted to come on her shift with her or meet up with her after, he’d agreed to the library rather quickly.

Rosalie understood. It was a jarring thing for both of them, and neither of them were willing to be apart right now, even if it meant just quietly working side by side.

It was the end of the night, all students having been effectively vacated as she and Cassian gathered up the Restricted Section returns and stacked them on the old familiar cart. Julia and Kathryn had long gone to bed, so it was up to the two to finish up the last of the work and lock up the library for the night.

A quick wave of her wand at the gate, and the wards lowered momentarily for the two, allowing them to slip into the deeper and more foreboding section of the library. Rosalie had long-since gotten used to the area and it no longer set her on edge like it had in fourth year. Rather, it was just another section, with books that tried to take a chomp out of your hand if you handled them incorrectly.

She didn’t want to talk anymore about what had happened - at least not tonight, figuring both of them could use a break from the heaviness. She needed a little brevity and ease, the past few hours having been relaxed but marked with the shock of what they had just been through.

“Did I tell you about the girl I’m going to introduce to Freddie this summer?” she asked as she slid one of the more growly books into its proper place. She smiled over her shoulder at him. “Her name’s Maggie, and her father is some Ministry bigwig. But she’s a total riot.” She nodded for him to mark the book off on their list as she reached for the next.

“Dark hair, green eyes and has a wicked sense of humor. She’s already excited to meet him.” She didn’t mention that Maggie was also loud and take-charge. The type that would sooner pull Freddie behind a hedge quicker than he could introduce himself. But she was fun. Rosie had always enjoyed being around her when their families spent time together.

She wasn’t paying attention, and the book sighed heavily as she accidentally poked it in its eye, blowing a small puff of flame against her wrist for her carelessness. The girl yelped, dropping the book back on the cart as it protested, and she hissed at the pain that coursed through her skin.

“Can you look at it?” she asked, stepping closer to Cassian, “I can’t really see with how dim it is.”

It had been the longest day the boy had experienced in the last month. The time spent by the lake alone had felt like half his day despite the relatively short time they’d spent there. Even now, it played across his mind. Cassian was relieved to have avoided the disaster in wait. Just hours earlier, he’d been in real danger of losing the girl who had his whole heart, and the realisation of that had left him a bit shell-shocked and quiet throughout the evening.

There was a lot to take in as his body readjusted to being back in the castle with everyone, a lot that needed processing. His friends would want to know where he’d been when they finally managed to pin him down long enough, and there were no doubt already assignments for him to catch up on. While he wasn’t too fussed about what he might have missed, knowing he wouldn’t remain behind for long, it was another drop in an already overflowing bucket.

Time away to decompress was what he knew he needed. His mother and the healer had warned him not to overwhelm himself the moment he arrived. The boy was meant to ease himself back into things, taking small bites that wouldn’t lead to the feeling of his chest constricting like it was now.

He would endure that feeling and more if it meant keeping Rosie close.

Nearly a month apart, only to come back and have her nearly leave him, had filled him with a greater need than one for rest.

Her presence was more soothing than any quiet spot he could’ve found somewhere in the castle. Watching her work–and keeping himself busy with some work of his own–was better medicine than what any of them could’ve suggested.

That kiss had assured him that everything would be alright. It was now left for the rest of him to believe it. Residual tension remained in his muscles, as did traces of his earlier apprehension. They would leave on their own; it would just take time.

“Did I tell you about the girl I’m going to introduce to Freddie this summer?”

“Did you?” Cass asked, his lips quirking upward with amusement while he checked off the book she replaced on the shelf. Rosie had promised his friend she would for all the trouble they’d caused him during the previous summer. Freddie had been hopeful–almost optimistic–but he hadn’t been holding his breath that she was being serious.

“Dark hair, green eyes, and has a wicked sense of humor. She’s already excited to meet him.”

“Don’t reckon I’ll be hearing any complaints when I drag him along next time. Won’t have him in our hair cutting things short either.” As much as Cassian had understood the reason. Freddie had been the voice of reason in the situation, the likely reason they hadn’t ended up being caught. “I’m almost worried to have him distracted like that. One of us has to be responsible.” And it obviously wasn’t going to be him–

Her yelp got his attention immediately. Cassian dropped his clipboard onto the cart as she moved close, his hands already instinctively reaching out to pull her closer.

“Can you look at it? I can’t really see with how dim it is.”

Cass took hold of her wrist with one hand, the other drawing his wand as he cast ‘lumos’ to provide them with more light. He grimaced at the way her wrist was already reddening. “Doesn’t look too bad but…” Ending the lighting charm, the boy cast a milder glacio over the area. Burns were best countered with some cool, and they didn’t exactly have ice packs lying around. His hand tightened enough to ensure she didn’t pull away, even after the ice began to cramp as his wand moved in small circles.

“You gotta be more careful.”

“Don’t reckon I’ll be hearing any complaints when I drag him along next time. Won’t have him in our hair cutting things short either.”

Her thoughts exactly. Rosalie giggled, giving a little shrug of her shoulder. “If I know Maggie, and I think I know her fairly well, we’ll have to tear him away.” Someone would indeed have to be the responsible party. Someone.

Rosie didn’t know who - she’d be busy with Cassian somewhere - but someone. “She’s a nice girl though. Homeschooled. Travels a lot with her mum and sister since her dad works all the time.” And had a weakness for ginger boys. The moment Rosie had told Maggie about him, her friend had been all in. It was almost comical how fast she’d agreed.

She tried not to flinch as the icy air spread across her tinged skin, her shoulder tightening slightly against the conflict of sensations. Her eyes flicked up, watching him as he worked gently on her wrist, a sense of comfort and ease taking flight within her chest.

He was so smart, always full of knowledge and ready to handle whatever was thrown at him. Even a simple freezing charm had her admiring him, thankful that despite everything, he was still hers.

Had she really thought she’d be okay without him? Had she really thought she’d be able to just get through her days like nothing had changed and just go on about her life? Would she really have been able to watch him pass her in the hallways and not reached for his hand or more?

“You gotta be more careful.”

She did. With a great many things, she figured. “Yeah,” she said, finally glancing back down at her skin that was covered in a thin layer of ice. “Thanks love.” She tried to pull back, but he held firmly to her, causing her to catch his eyes again.

“I can’t put the books away if you don’t let me go.” A smile creeped at the edges of her lips, as the offending book now smoked slightly from its binding. She didn’t want him to. After the almost-month that had passed and the horrible afternoon they’d had, she wanted nothing more than to just let him hold her…but there was work to be done.

With a little more tugging, she finally pulled her hand from his, a knowing, playful scolding in her eyes, and gathered up the angry book, quickly maneuvering it back into its place. Pulling the cart with her she wandered deeper into the dark section, closer to where the back stairs led down into the basement area of the library.

“What’s next on the list?” she asked over her shoulder, her hand brushing idly over the spine of the top book as it purred gently in response.

Maggie sounded like a lovely girl. With any luck, the two would hit it off well enough for the boy to have a good time without any notions of falling in love. While nearly as practical as Cassian, Frederick Graham had a habit of seeing stars when he shouldn’t. He trusted his friend not to get attached, but didn’t trust him enough not to whine and mope about it for at least a month or two after it was over.

It was a bridge they would cross when they got there. Summer was still many months off. Plenty of time for him to warn his friend that responsibility would still be his portion. No matter what Maggie ended up doing to him, it would be on him to make sure all four weren’t caught.

Cassian knew better than to make such promises and understood how poor he would be in the role. The boy intended to be very busy.

“I’ll have you do a short write-up of her that I can send to him. Get him excited to be the semi-responsible look-out.” Should they have left that role to someone equally distracted as they would be? Probably not, but without his own form of distraction, they were likely to have a repeat of last summer.

When he was done applying the cooling charm, Cassian kept hold of her wrist for an extra moment, wanting to make sure he’d gotten it. “We’ll need to do it again in another 15 minutes or so.” He’d remember, but it would be good for her to keep it in mind.

This time, when she pulled away, he let her. They still had a cart of books to return, and the night wasn’t getting any younger.

“I can’t put the books away if you don’t let me go.”

“Fine,” he said as he leaned a little closer, “But, so you know, you don’t have to keep injuring yourself. Next time you wanna play doctor, just tell me,” he said, his words full of cheek in a manner that made it clear the boy was melting back into his usual roguish nonsense. The boy even threw in a wink before straightening.

It was amazing how easy it was when it came to her. The world could cloud over, growing so dark and terrible, but Rosie had a way of lifting his spirits enough to keep him afloat.

Cassian followed along after her, reclaiming the clipboard and poring over the list. Deeper and deeper they went, past the books that watched you wherever you went, beyond the ones that some claimed to bring bad luck to some who read them…tomes the board of governors might have a fit if they knew they were housed here. The boy would follow her to the very ends of the world.

Her question prompted a quick search of the list.

“Magick Moste Evile.” He hesitated, double-checking the title. “No way we let this one out–did we?” The boy remembered every book he helped someone sign out, within a reasonable degree of currency to the event.

Maybe Rosie or Ellen had.

He looked up to her. “Got it there on the cart, or is it still missing?”

Cassian Thomas McCormick was trouble incarnate.

As eager as Rosalie was to move on and put the day behind them, the boy seemed to already be pivoting into the next plane of existence with the way he’d leaned into her and given her that devilish wink. It was enough to make her drop everything. The books, her resolve, any sense of responsibility that remained within her. “Don’t look at me like that,” she grinned with a little shake of her head.

In truth, Rosie was relieved that somehow they were already falling back into their old flirtations. It was a pattern of sorts for them. When something bad happened, they’d have their moment where everything felt dark and grim, but as soon as it was resolved or on its way to being, they found each other again with light teases, smiles and the flirtatious words that always set her heart at ease.

They really were going to be okay. Maybe not immediately or instantly. They had a lot to work through together and separately, but them - they would be okay. He still looked at her in the way that had always melted her and made her swoon for him. She still smiled at him like he was the only boy in the world.

The purring tome was slid back into place amongst the dangerous creatures section, and she frowned as she looked back down at the small stack that remained. “Magick Moste Evile?” she repeated, shaking her head slightly, her eyebrows coming together in concern. “No, that one’s not here. I haven’t seen that one at all, and I know I didn’t authorize it.” Maybe Julia had? It wasn’t like her. As much as Julia believed that magic was magic and knowledge should be available to all, that book was a little too on the fringes, even for her. Rosie doubted her cousin would have lent that to anyone much less a student.

“Great,” she breathed, holding her hands out at her side in resignation. “Another one we’ll have to track down. You don’t think it’s that girl again, do you?” Oh well. There was nothing they could do about it tonight.

Three more books. Deeper into the labyrinth they wandered, one book after another shelved, until they came to the final one. It was one of the more docile ones on blood magic, and only shed a bit if you opened it without authorization. She nudged gently past Cassian, her hand brushing his as she climbed up the short ladder and leaned over to slide the book back into its place.

She glanced down at her boyfriend, a small smile greeting him. “Catch me?” she asked cheekily, just before she jumped.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“I assure you,” he drawled, his voice caressing each word as they escaped his lips, “that I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”

Cassian deliberately turned his attention back to his clipboard, letting the denial sit between them. The picture of innocence, he was. Looking at her? Unheard of. Cassian Thomas was set to his purpose of returning restricted books and walking around in dark places as if he didn’t have a bed to return to. Responsible head library assistants such as themselves tended to stick to the task at hand, no deviating, no detours, no doctors.

Unfortunately, responsible head library assistants also had to be concerned when dangerous books went missing. They’d picked a fine year to volunteer their services for the library, as much as Rosie’s could be considered volunteering in the first place. In all the chaos, it had been so easy for things to turn up missing or end up in places they didn’t belong.

It was the sort of headache he hadn’t signed up for, but when it got him alone in quiet places with Rosalie Laurence, he supposed it didn’t leave much room for complaining.

The boy leaned against a safer shelf, watching her look through the remaining pile, double-checking they hadn’t just missed it. In a minute or so, it was confirmed. The book was gone.

“Another one we’ll have to track down. You don’t think it’s that girl again, do you?”

Cassian folded his arms lightly at his chest, taking in her resignation. “I still think we should’ve told Julia about her,” he said. On Rosie’s request, he’d refrained from doing so. They’d gotten the books back, they’d been returned to their shelves, and the girl had been pretty scarce around the library ever since. But this was part of a bigger problem. If books were going missing–dangerous ones–then at some point, the woman in charge would have to know.

Launching off the shelf, he followed her deeper. With each stop they made, the cart got emptier, and he was able to tick off another one on the list.

The final book.

Cassian was about to offer to climb the ladder to return it when the deliberate girl brushed by him with an inviting touch. Innocent, of course. Only doing her job, he was certain.

“Catch me?”

“Wai–wha–”

There was no time for questions. Rosie was airborne in seconds, harkening back to their earliest times working on the theatre stage in the RoR. She’d jumped back then, too. Confident he wouldn’t let her fall.

He didn’t. While he staggered backward from the suddenness of her leap, Cassian did manage to catch her as his back hit the opposing shelf. He tutted at her, briefly stealing a kiss. “There you go, trying to injure yourself again. I already told you you just have to ask.”

She was incorrigible.

He was probably right. Julia probably should have been informed when the little thief had first been caught but…it was handled. They had gotten all the books back, and she really didn’t think the girl would try stealing again now that they knew who she was and what she had done.

Now they had a bigger problem. “Yeah,” she said with resignation and gave a little nod. “I have a shift in the morning so I’ll tell her then. She’s not going to be happy.” Julia never was when she felt someone was purposely subjugating the rules or making a mess of things. Once she found out that one of the most unhinged books had gone missing, Rosalie was certain she and Cassian would both get the smart end of it.

Still, she didn’t want to linger in the dread. Today had been awful enough and she was relishing the light playfulness that had permeated the space between them again.

He caught her, stumbling back a bit into the bookshelves, but caught her nonetheless. She smiled into his kiss, taking one of her own, as blue eyes shined into brown. All she had to do was ask, apparently.

Ask what? She already knew what was on his mind. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” she teased, throwing his own game back at him. She tugged his tie, pulling him closer again as her lips met his for a third time, drinking in the sweet taste of cinnamon, before releasing him and turning back to the cart.

“We have to lock up and get to bed,” she said, her voice a little sing-song as she glanced quickly over her shoulder, a sweet smirk greeting him. She ran her hand through her hair, tilting her head a little to expose her neck.

“Coming?”

Well, she was certainly right about that. In the morning, when she told Julia the news they’d been keeping to themselves for literal months, the woman wasn’t going to be thrilled. Maybe she’d call a meeting, maybe she’d decide she was going to handle it herself. Whatever the case, Cassian could only hope that it wouldn’t mean everyone lost their restricted section access. While he knew it was impossible to read them all, there were still a few on the boy’s reading list that he hadn’t gotten around to yet.

Losing that access because others couldn’t keep their sticky fingers in check would’ve been the perfect way to ruin what was already proving to be a shaky year.

He’d leave it to Rosie. Of the three assistants, the girl was the only one who was family. Ellen was a sweet girl, but he didn’t think Julia would have the patience for her to try explaining the many ways they didn’t know what had really happened.

And the woman likely didn’t like him anymore. It had to be Rosie.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

He might have believed her were their lips not once again pressed together. Rosalie Laurence was many things. Ignorant–especially when it came to matters concerning him–wasn’t one of them. The boy had caught the glint in her eyes, even in the low lighting, and knew the message had already been received. Even more, it had been accepted in their usual song and dance. Cassian McCormick had never been one to turn down a game of cat and mouse, not when the mouse was always so enticing.

He followed behind her after she released his tie, needing no tether to find his home. Cass dropped the clipboard onto the cart she pushed, then paused to fish out the key they would need to get everything locked up.

Not lost, like he’d promised.

She was already gone, making her way back down the dark aisle.

“Coming?”

He would do her one better.

Cassian, with his longer legs and faster strides, cut ahead of her. Approaching the gate, his strides slowed to a casual saunter. He turned to watch her approach, the cart proceeding her as she emerged into the light by the torch.

“Lock up then bed, right,” he said dutifully, the picture of the responsible Ravenclaw prefect. He inserted the key, turning it with a soft click.

“There. Locked up.”

What was next? Bed? There weren’t any of those, but they could certainly make do.