AUGUST IS A FEVER, ella jane

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"How the bloody hell are you going to smuggle all of that out here?" Cassiah asked incredulously, eyeing Ron's dinner plate. It was piled high with a couple of desserts wavering precariously at the top. "Seriously, Ron, is all that really necessary?"

"'Course it's necessary," Ron replied, grinning ear to ear, "I have a match later. This is fuel."

Cassiah snorted, finding herself matching his huge smile. She plucked one of the chocolate cupcakes off the top. "Some fuel," she teased, licking a stripe across the vanilla frosting. She felt Ron's gaze a bit heavier on her as she licked the frosting off of the cupcake and her lips and ducked her head, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, it's yours now, I guess," Ron shrugged.

"You seriously wouldn't eat a cupcake because I licked it?" Cassiah crowed, waving it in his face. "I mean, it's not like you've never had my whole tongue in your mouth before, right?"

She blushed a little bit as she referenced their past, but of course, Ron made it comfortable as always.

"Hmm, I don't know it's been a while. Remind me?" he teased back, sticking out his tongue and sticking it right in her face. Cassiah shrieked with laughter, swatting at him playfully as nearly causing him to drop his already-precarious tray.

"In all seriousness though," Cassiah reasoned once their laughter finally subsided, "How are you gonna sneak that giant tray out of here? It's not exactly discrete."

Ron gave her a devious grin that spelled nothing but trouble.

"Who said I was sneaking it?" he smirked, rising to his feet and gesturing for Cassiah to follow him. They started walking casually down the rows of tables and Cassiah followed along, confused.

"See that last table down there?" Ron asked, nodding towards the last two seats in the Gryffindor tables before the entrance to the hall. Cassiah nodded in affirmation, and Ron continued, "We're going to walk like we're meaning to go sit down over there. Then as soon as we get to that spot, we break into a sprint and hope that we can outrun anyone who tries to stop us."

"Ron!" Cassiah gasped, but she was still laughing in amusement despite being nervous. She wasn't into breaking the rules. Merlin, she was a prefect, for Godrick's sake.

"Don't pussy out on me now, Black," Ron chided and Cassiah scoffed. She was not going to look lame in front of Ron. There was no point, anyways. She knew he could talk her into just about anything. He'd once even convinced her to break into the boathouse to hook up. And then, of course, there was skinny dipping in the lake just a few months ago.

"I'm not pussying out on you," Cassie replied defensively, sneaking a nervous glance around the room. "I definitely didn't wear the right bra for running through the halls today, though."

"Good," Ron caught her gaze and wiggled his eyebrows mischievously. "Not that I would notice."

Cassiah's jaw dropped. "Bloody hell, you pervert!" she exclaimed but found that she wasn't actually mad.

They were nearing that final stretch of chairs before it was time to make their escape.

"Okay..." Ron said under his breath, readjusting his plate in his hands. "When I say go."

"Why can't I be the one to say go?" Cassiah hissed.

"Because it's my plan so I'll say go!" Ron whisper-yelled back at her.

"Fine."

They took those final two steps.

"Go!" Ron declared and they both broke into a dead sprint, not even looking back.

Cassiah's shoes didn't have the best grip so she struggled to gain traction for a moment. "Mr. Weasley! Ms. Black!" she heard McGonagall calling out after them, but the sounds of the woman's voice faded as she tore off down the hallway, catching up with Ron.

The sounds of Ron's low, goofy laugh echoed off the walls of the castle and mixed with Cassiah's high-pitched giggles and shrieks. Her chest felt light like her soul might just burst out of her chest and fly up, up, up, and away. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this carefree and happy.

But if she had stopped to think about it, she would've been able to guess who she was with.

They passed by a group of Slytherin first-years who watched their prefect flash by in a fluffy of laughter and robes and stray crisps flying off of Ron's plate. Their jaws dropped as they watched her whiz by, but she didn't even notice. All she could focus on was how free she felt, how much true, wholesome fun she was having.

Ron remained a few feet ahead of her as they neared the Gryffindor tower, and he threw his head back to glance over his shoulder. He was smiling big, all his teeth showing as he cackled and motioned for Cassiah to catch up and follow him into the common room.

Cassiah grabbed onto the sleeve of his robe, trying to gain traction so she didn't go slip-sliding headfirst into the wall because her shoes had no friction.

It didn't work, and everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. She grabbed for the sleeve of his t-shirt, but she missed, and he flinched, allowing for Cassiah's back to hit the wall as he went tumbling forward, his chest bumping against hers and he stuck his arms out, stopping himself from slamming into her and crushing her smaller body under his giant one.

The tray of food he was carrying flew out of his hands, but miraculously landed right-side up. However, the same could not be said for Cassiah's sandwich, which had landed on the floor with a splat.

"You bumbling idiot!" he mused, barely able to get the words out over his breathless laughter.

Cassiah shrieked in amusement and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall. "I'm sorry! These bloody boots have no traction and I figured I wouldn't be much help with studying for Potions if I ended up concussed!"

"So you use me as your human shield?!" Ron cried incredulously, but he was still giggling like a schoolboy. His laughter finally began to die down and he smiled down at Cassiah where she was boxed between his arms against the wall. "S'okay, Black. I'll always be a human shield when you need me to."

His tone was light but from the soft smile on his lips, Cassiah knew he meant it, too. She felt her heart flutter in her chest a bit and she fought down a blush.

"Release me," she demanded with a grin, batting playfully at his arms on either side of her head. Normally, she'd be able to manipulate her way out of this situation, but Ron wasn't most people. She swore those arms of his got bigger every day.

"Make me," replied Ron, his lips forming into a smirk that showed he knew that Cassiah couldn't move him if she tried.

The moment the words left his mouth, they both broke eye contact, Cassiah blushing and Ron coughing out an awkward laugh as she instinctually thought about the ways she might make him move.

Ignore it, she reminded herself. Push it down. The tension was just because they had a past. It didn't mean there was any chemistry lingering between them. They were really just friends this time, and they both meant it.

"Get off of me or I won't help you study for the test, you brute."

With that, Ron pushed himself back off the wall, the muscles in his biceps and forearms twinging a bit with the force, and backed away. He turned to Cassiah's sad sandwich and stooped to pick it up off the ground. He held it up, furrowing his brow as he inspected it and declared,

"Your sandwich survived. Thirty-second rule, right?"

Cassiah scoffed and rolled her eyes, "It's five seconds, Weasley. But I'm hungry enough to not care."

"That's my girl," Ron praised, passing her the defiled sandwich. Cassiah ducked her head to hide the way her cheeks turned pink at being called his girl. She wished that Theodore would talk to her that way sometimes. After so long with Ron, she found she was used to that level of affection and flirtatiousness, but that just wasn't Theodore's way. She couldn't help but crave it anyway.

Ron mumbles the password, and Cassiah, being nosey as usual, strains to hear it. Apparently, in a stroke of genius, they've changed it from QUIDDITCH to BUTTERBEER. Merlin, they're a bunch of bloody idiots, she giggles to herself.

When they enter the common room, the space is almost entirely empty except for a few third-year students in the corner that Cassiah does not recognize. Ron does, of course, and throws them a friendly wave from across the room. Typical Ron. He makes it a point to know everybody and make sure that they feel welcome – just like how she'd welcomed Cassiah and her Slytherin friends into his world time and time again this past year, she remembers.

"Where is everybody?" Cassiah asked curiously as she made herself comfortable on one of the couches. She had been here so many times that she felt like she could make herself at home. Even when she'd been away for a few weeks or even months, Gryffindor tower always felt warm and inviting, nevermind the fact that she was a Slytherin.

"The guys are down in the hall having dinner, which you saw. Most of the others are headed down to the Quidditch pitch to try to get good seats for the match later," he explained, before adding with a wink, "Or pregaming in some hidden part of the castle."

Cassiah snorted. How on-brand for Gryffindor house to make a party out of any occasion.

"Very responsible of you to be here studying instead of hanging out with the team," she noted.

The table of third years erupted into laughter over a joke that neither Cassiah nor Ron could hear. He groaned and shoved his hands into his ears.

"Come on, don't be dramatic," Cassiah chided.

"You know I have a hard time focusing when there's a bunch of distractions," Ron pouted in response. "They're gonna keep being loud. I can already tell."

Cassiah started rummaging through her bag to produce her Potions textbook and had just got it in her grasp when she heard the younger students start yelling and cheering. They must've been playing some sort of game.

"I mean, if none of the guys are there, we could just go to your room?" she suggested. She could practically see Ron's brain short-circuit when she spoke but he blinked really hard and replied,

"Yeah. Good idea." He grabbed his tray and his book bag and stood up, gesturing for Cassiah to follow him upstairs.

When they got up to his dormitory, Ron dumped his belongings haphazardly onto the floor, plopping himself down beside his collection of things. Cassiah followed suit, leaning her back against the bed.

"Merlin, I'm fuckin' starved," Ron grumbled, grabbing a fork and knife and digging into whatever it was he had stashed on the plate. Cassiah couldn't keep track of the weird mixture of foods he'd stolen.

"You always are," Cassiah sing-songed as she pulled her textbook out once more and flipped to the chapter they were going to be tested on. "So, Poison Antidotes, yeah?"

"Uh-huh," Ron nodded absently through a mouthful of what was definitely roast chicken.

"Why don't we start with Golpalott's Third Law?" she suggested, comparing her notes to the text in front of her. "Do you know it?"

Ron shook his head and chuckled. "If I knew it, would I be forcing you to come sneak here and teach me?"

"Who said I was sneaking?" Cassiah grew defensive.

"I had a feeling," Ron raised his eyebrows, "And your reaction definitely just confirmed it. Your boyfriend's jealous of our friendship."

Cassiah flushed at being so easily read. It was embarrassing that people knew her new boyfriend was so... distrustful. But she decided to ignore it and recite the law for Ron instead:

"The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components," she read. "Does that make sense?"

"D'you wanna smoke a little bit?"

Merlin, he had the attention span of a golden retriever puppy. They were never going to get anything done at this rate. But she had to admit she was tempted. She had felt pretty good the other day when she'd taken a few hits of that joint.

"I'll tell you what," Cassiah bargained, and watching Ron's eyes grow wide. She knew he was expecting her to chastise him and say no, but she was going to be fun today. "If you can pay attention for forty-five minutes – actually pay attention and not just fuck around – I will smoke with you."

Ron grinned. "Deal," he declared, pulling his own notebook into his lap and producing a beat-up-looking pencil out of the pocket of his pants. "Glapolt's Third Law."

"Golpalott's," Cassiah corrected him with a sigh. How could he seriously not know the name when they had already covered his First and Second laws in this class? This was going to be a long forty-five minutes.

_____

The clock tower began to chime, announcing that an entire hour had passed and not just the forty-minutes promised.

Ron immediately perked up at the sound and flipped his notebook shut.

"Am I that boring?" Cassiah scoffed, feigning insult at Ron's eagerness to be done studying.

"It's quite the opposite actually," Ron explained, "Potions is boring. You and the other half of my dinner are both much, much more interesting."

He stretched himself out as far as he could, straining to reach the middle drawer of his desk without having to get up. He let out a little grunt at the exertion but still managed to pull the drawer open and blindly fumble for what he was looking for.

"Ah, there you are," Ron mumbled to himself and then squirmed to get back into his sitting position, criss-cross apple sauce. He produced a little metal cigarette case that was dwarfed by the large size of his hands. When he popped it open, more than a few expertly rolled joints sat inside. "Do me a favor a crack the window, Cassie?"

"Why should I have to get up?" Cassiah frowned.

"Because I'm resting up the big match," Ron retorted, his blue eyes twinkling because he knew he was testing her. She got up anyway and pushed the old window ajar with a loud creak.

Ron casually watched her cross back across the carpet to sit down next to him as he used his wand to light the joint and take the first hit. Well, the first several, but he knew Cassiah wouldn't complain.

"Give it here," Cassiah said, leaning a bit so that she'd be able to take it from him. Ron was admittedly surprised by her bluntness. Ha, blunt-ness, he thought.

"C'mere," he ordered in response, and Cassiah leaned even further, looking a bit confused. Instead of passing her the smoking joint, he delicately placed it between her pouted lips. Her eyes widened in surprise at his actions at first, but she quickly mastered herself and inhaled, keeping eye contact. Merlin, those big hazel eyes and her mouth wrapped around the joint. She had no idea what she did to him.

"There you go..." he muttered quietly to her. She reached out to take it in her hand but he swatted her away again playfully. "I got ya," he insisted as he placed it back in her mouth for another hit. She rolled her eyes as she turned towards the window and exhaled.

Her smugness was cut short, though, when she began coughing lightly. Ron could tell that she was trying to hold them in, embarrassed.

"Cough as much as you want, Cassie. That'll get you higher," he chuckled reassuringly as he sucked on the joint. He leaned back against the bed, too,

now, so they were side by side, but definitely nowhere near touching.

"Okay," Cassiah rasped quietly. "That's not nearly as smooth as the pipe," she observed.

They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes, sharing the joint and finishing up their dinners. Ron noticed Cassiah swiping a small sugar cookie off his

plate, but he didn't say anything because he felt bad about her gross floor-sandwich from earlier.

"So, besides having to sneak around with one of your oldest friends, how are things with you and Theodore?" he finally asked. He didn't mean to be nosy or accusatory with his question; he wanted to show her that he was trying to be a real friend and not just an ex.

Okay, and maybe he also wanted to know if there might be trouble in paradise.

"Things are going well between us," Cassiah said carefully and then added a less-assured, "I guess."

Ron felt his eyebrows shoot up his forehead and disappear under his shaggy, red fringe. He couldn't help that he had such an expressive face. "You guess?"

"He really is so gentlemanly. He comes to my room every morning to carry my books to class and we help each other with our homework. He even–

"Cassie. Don't pretend like you didn't hear me. I know you have crazy good hearing. What do you mean you guess?" Ron dead-panned, completely seeing through her attempt to distract him. The only question was: why? Why did

she feel the need to convince him, her ex-boyfriend, that Theodore is good to her? Then a terrible thought occurred to him – one that caused a hot pit to burn in his stomach.

"Is he hurting you?"

"What?!" gasped Cassiah incredulously. "No!"

"Okay well, then what is it, then?" Ron pressed on. "I know it's something from that sheepish look on your face."

"I don't want to say," she murmured so quietly that Ron had to strain to hear it.

Now he was intrigued. "Cassiah, now you have to say it."

"You're going to be all weird and mad about it."

"I won't. I promise," Ron promised. He tried not to overthink about what it might be. "Just tell me."

Cassiah groaned, dramatically burying her face in her hands, before sitting back up again and asking Ron with all seriousness: "When you and I first started sleeping together, things didn't really click for a while right?"

Ron couldn't help it. He let out a surprised little guffaw that he just could not hold in and then clapped his hand over his mouth. He could not believe she just told him that.

"For real, Ron. It's not a big deal," Cassiah justified, "I mean... We're just getting to know each other."

Ron knew that was a lie. It would be a big deal to Cassie. She cares about things like that in a relationship. And things between him and Cassiah had always been electric. Fuck, he had never been able to control himself around her.

"No, you're right," he lied back anyway. He knew this was what she needed to hear. "Think about our first time together. I didn't even last sixty seconds. Nothing can be worse than that."

Cassiah's dark eyes caught on his and Ron could practically see the relief wash across her face.

"Yeah," she whispered.

Merlin, what did she mean by that? What was that look in her eye? So soft and caring but so sensual at the same time. She couldn't be doing it on purpose. She must've had no idea she was even looking at him like that.