Help Is Not On the Way ((Cass))

[Jack Rendel S5]

Jack walked down the hallways, not caring to see so many mudbloods and filth meandering in his way. He was too used to the Slytherins and their many ways of bringing up everyone dirty. Jack had gotten bored of it after four years (finally) and could barely strike a conversation with someone who mentioned their hate for mudbloods. Jack was one of the hypocrite type Slytherins; having a relationship with a girl mudblood in Gryffindor a while back in his third year had left a blotch on his reputation. Mary had no hesitation bringing that up to remind him of his past mistakes. He really didn't mind; for the girl, Bridget Vreeland, was out of the way now. But - as he remembered back - she hadn't been that bad. Over the past few days, Jack had been thinking about whether mudbloods were worth attention or not. He was a Slytherin, that was positive, but did mudbloods really have a chance to be...good? To be equal to the pure, the royal? Jack knew they were not royal, not exactly pure either. Mudbloods, as far as he knew, lived better lives then most purebloods. Including, sadly, him.

The halls in Hogwarts were busy however, the crowd moving about almost touching shoulders. Jack didn't try to avoid contact as he usually did; today he could care less. What was really on his mind was the meeting with Dixie that was soon approaching. He had already promised Mack he would come. He wouldn't turn her down, or disappoint her. The prospect of meeting Dixie was bleak, however, considering she was a loony now. The last thing she could probably remember was Jack attacking Jamie wildly, and Dixie too. He bit his lip, ashamed at his actions. He shouldn't have acted that way, especially since it seemed to have the effect on Dixie that managed to put her in the mental institution. Jack couldn't help but wonder if he could have done something different to change the events. It was in the past, and Jack tried to remind himself that the past could never be changed, but it still bothered him. Somehow, it just couldn't be shrugged off.

After a few moments of restless wondering, Jack committed his feet to taking him to the Courtyard. It probably wasn't nearly as busy as usual, so he could take some peace in the surroundings there. Instead, as he opened the doors adjoining it, his eyes met a sight that wasn't empty. People everywhere - milling about just like he had been - chatting with friends and making that annoying buzzing noise inside Jack's head. The only available spot in the yard was a table where only one girl sat. Jack recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place where. With a shrug, he walked up to her table, zig-zagging through the crowd as best he could. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here." Jack's first words were not of greeting, but almost threat like. "There's no where else to possibly sit, but you could always leave if the shoe doesn't fit." Jack said, using a muggle term for his feelings on the matter.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

" Bloody hell, I can't wait for this day to be over," Cassandra slapped her book bag on the table and sat down heavily on the wooden bench. Many of the students at Hogwarts today had escaped their common rooms to enjoy the unusually warm weather they were having. Not that it was especially warm, but it was nice enough to have a good game of Quidditch. Transfiguration homework, potions ingredients, and animagi books had spilled out her bag. Sighing, she stowed the latter two, and then opened her transfiguration book to the page depicting vanishing spells.

It had been a particularly long week for Cassie what with her mother's and brothers funeral. Uncle Charles had shipped her back to school with her cousin without any respite. Cass' aunt had promised her a trip to Hogsmeade at the beginning of the holidays, and Charles had shoved some Galleons in her hand when she left to buy some respectable clothing. Cass frowned at the thought. She didn't want their charity, but she was pretty sure that Charles had cleaned out her family's vault first thing.

The table shifted under the additional weight of another person sitting down. Looking up, Cass saw Jack Rendel, a Slytherin fourth year. Rolling her eyes, she listed to his greeting with less than enthusiasm. She didn't have time for this today, and she was pretty sure that her frazzled nerves could not handle another confrontation. Taken aback by his muggle greeting, she decided to be as friendly a possible. " Hey, Jack. I haven't seen you in a while. Your more than welcome to join me. By the way, I never thanked you for finding my book bag that day." Cass continued to smile a friends smile during the awkward silence. " Um, have you seen Mack lately? We really haven't gotten to catch up since we returned to school. How is she?" Cass wasn't trying to pry into Mack's life, but she knew that the two were really good friends. She was worried about Mack, and honestly didn't know what had kept the girl from visiting this summer. Ever since Cass had saved Mack from her sister's temper, they had been friends.

[Jack Rendel S5]

Jack raised an eyebrow as Cass greeted his with a friendly smile on her face. He knew that Mack was friends with this girl, but how that could even be possible was beyond him. He didn't say anything in the silence that followed Cass's words. He didn't need to say you're welcome, since that would be a straight out lie. Back when he had found the bag, he had contemplated taking the bag or just leaving it somewhere else besides under the tree. Then, it would be nearly impossible for the owner to find it. Cass then asked about Mack and Jack settled down a little. At least this was a topic they could discuss without throwing insults at each other. He hadn't really felt like doing that anyway, so a small part of him was glad Cass was acting friendly. He had no inspiration to play the crude Slytherin today.

"She's doing...well, I suppose you could say. She never breaks down or does anything strange, but her family is breaking apart. Dixie's in the loony bin - as Mack says, but I'm sure you knew that." Jack smirked a little, wondering if Cass had known that. Mary hadn't either, but he pushed that out of his mind. "I guess you know about Derrek leaving and everything, since that was happening around the end of last year too. And they live in an apartment now." Jack blinked as he thought over the appointment he had with Mack to see Dixie. He was scared, and he really needed to talk to someone about it besides Mack, who would feel bad for bringing him along in the first place. Cass wouldn't understand either, she's just a Gryffindor. Jack put his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath before saying as casually as possible, "I'm going to visit Dixie this weekend."

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

" What? Dixie is an asylum?" Cass stared at Jack in disbelief. This was news to her. Cass had only met Dixie once, and that was only because she had been yelling at Mack in the corridor. Cass has come to Mack's rescue, and that was the only reason why they had become friends. "I always thought Dixie was a bit unhinged after our little fight in the hallway, but I didn't think she was certifiable." As Jack continued, she became extremely worried about her friend. Jack's shoulders seemed to stoop more and more as he unloaded all the information. " I knew that her family was having it rough, but I guess I didn't see everything because of my own personal drama. My life has been kind of hectic since Dad died."

Trying to be sympathetic, she continued to listen to Jack. The deluge seemed to be helping him, and she wasn't going to interrupt him as he was pouring his heart out to her. Cass looked at Jack, shocked, as he mentioned going to visit Dixie. " You're going to visit her? Is that a safe thing to do? I mean, she was extremely violent the time I met her, and she was sort of sane then." Cass looked at Jack, surprised that he was letting her know all this. Wouldn't the founders of Hogwarts have a cow? A Gryffindor and a Slytherin sharing personal thoughts and feelings such as these.

Looking at the boy sympathetically, her family problems seemed to pale in compare to these new facts. " Um, do you think there is anything I can do to help? I'm not trying to press myself on you, but I don't want any of you to get hurt over this."

[Jack Rendel S5]

"Yes, she is. Don't go yelling about it to the whole school though. I'm not sure if Mack would want this many people to know..." Jack shrugged. He direly hoped Mack didn't mind, but that didn't even so much as crease a frown of worry on his face. He was good at a blank, withdrawn looks by now. His lips did wobble a bit at Cass' words, but not much. He didn't look nearly as upset as he should, but Jack never felt upset for anyone much except for himself and Mack. Maybe Padme too, once and a while. Dix, not really. Not until that night she visited Padme's house has he ever felt anything except dislike for that girl. Jack didn't say anything to the part about Cass' dad dying. He had heard about it too; he had been keeping tabs on the Blackfire's every few months, considering he did that to all the wealthy, good purebloood families. His father made sure of it.

Jack let a genuine smile cross his lips and he even let out a small snicker. Cass did have a point; when Dix was sane, she acted quite violent. Jack knew that part well enough. There was also the part about insults flying from her lips as she talked about her sister, Mackenzie. "You have a fine point, Cassandra, but I doubt she's even violent like she was then." He remembered back to when she had rocked back and forth on the couch, kind of like a..."Child." Jack said aloud before he could stop himself. "She acted more like a child when I last so her." He didn't add on that he had been the violent one on that occasion. He wasn't always violent, it's just Dix had been so frustrating...

He shook his head at Cass, almost amazed and amused at the same time. She wanted to make him, Jack Rendel, Slytherin fourth year, better. She actually wanted to help him not get hurt. "I can take care of myself, thanks," he snapped before softening slightly. "No, everything will be fine. It's just I had a hard time keeping control around....Dixie and I really don't want her to..." He didn't bother to finish, since he had decided before the conversation never to mention it to anyone but the people who already knew. Mack knew already; Jamie had blabbed it to her. He quickly shifted for a new subject. "So, you and Mack are good friends, right? If you aren't, I'd appreciate you'd keep your mouth shut about everything I've told you. I don't need Mack angry at me too."

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

" I totally understand about keeping you temper around, Dixie. I nearly hexed her into oblivion the time I met her. She never really intimidated me like she was trying to. She just seemed more desperate than anything else." Cass raised an eyebrow about the fact that Dixie was acting child like. " What do you mean child like? Are you saying she was playing with Barbie's or moping around like a kid? Whatever it is, it can't possibly be good. Regression is never a good thing. It usually only happens to the people who are trying to protect themselves from something. What that is, I don't know."

After her offer of help, Jack seemed to get a bit defensive. " Suit yourself. Any friend of Macks is a friend of mine, and I don't like to see anyone get hurt if I can help it." Putting her transfiguration book back in her bag, she continued to express her opinion on the secret the two now shared. " Of course I'm not going to tell anybody. It's not any of their business. Besides, I would never tell anything left in confidence to me."

Sighing, Cass addressed some of her worries. " I just wish there was a way I could help her. I feel a bit helpless in the whole situation, and you know us Gryffs. The whole ' Boldly going forward bravely crap.' I just hate feeling that way, you know?" Of course Jack didn't understand that. He was a Slytherin for god sakes! When did a Slytherin think about anything that didn't profit them in some way?

[Jack Rendel S5]

Jack didn't say anything to match Cass' words. He had been intimidated by Dix before, but only because she seemed so aggressive. The insults she uttered were rather strange also, but they caught the attention of the one being insulted and made them feel like filth. Dixie had been any normal Slytherin; even going against Mack because she wasn't the best of Slythies. And - now they realized that Mack wasn't really pure and everything else seemed to cave in around them. Jack felt pity for them but couldn't really empathize to their situation. It had never happened to him, after all. He bit his lip, battling over what not to tell and what not to tell.

"She was rocking back and forth," Jack relented. "On the couch in my sister's home. She had this - this distant look on her face, like she was somewhere else instead of in the real world. She looked happy, pleased. And Dixie never looks pleased and happy. Her eyes were glazed over and she kept on rocking, back and forth. Back and forth." Jack smirked. "Does that sound child-like enough for you, or would you consider that mad?" Jack shifted in his chair. He had been surprised upon seeing Dix do this, but he wouldn't do anything, couldn't. Jamie had had the right idea after all; Jack didn't. He had been the stupid one, the selfish one. And now, he had to visit the results. He smirked at Cass as she said she didn't like people to get hurt. "Another Gryffindor moral, right? Or maybe that's in Hufflepuff." Jack pretended to think on it and laughed.

"I'll take your word but if I ever find you told someone, you'll regret it." Jack threatened, not really sure what he would do if that happened. He would have to put blind faith in Cass. He didn't even know her except for a few small run-ins. He arched an eyebrow at Cass. "What her do you mean? Mack or Dixie?" He asked sharply, thinning his lips. "They both need help, if that's what you meant." Jack almost laughed aloud when Cass asked if he knew what she was talking about. He just settled for a sarcastic smile instead. "Of course I know, Cass. I know everything about Gryffindors." He sarcastically replied with a smirk. "Really, I don't know why you Gryffies worry about everyone else. They should worry about themselves, and they can take care of themselves....most of the time. And saying that about a Slytherin that you hardly know, like Dixie? I just can't understand you're thinking on that. It seems silly in the end, doesn't it? Because, who will really care if you try to help or not? The person you help might have wished you didn't help or you will wish you hadn't. Since, after a while, that person will lean on you and expect you to be there every time they stumble. In the end, you'll end up hurting them more then the first situation you helped them out of. Do you get what I'm saying?"

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

" Rocking back and forth?" Cass raised an eyebrow in surprise. She honestly didn't see Dixie Holden do that, but she didn't believe that Jack would lie to her about the situation. " I'm sorry to say, Jack, that does sound a bit mad. How did she get in that condition? I mean, I always knew she was a bit....unstable, but I never thought she would fall into this kind of... dementia." Cass had hesitated on some of her words, not sure what to call Dixie's newfound psychosis. To think, that someone that young could actually lose here mind.

As the conversation turned towards the subject of who she would help, Cass shrugged. " I would help either one of them. I've never been discriminatory on that subject. Dixie is Mack's sister, and that means she directly effects my friend." Cass' hazel eyes held Jack's gaze. " If Dixie needs something from me, I would give it to her."

Cass sighed. " Jack, I don't think the question is why Gryffindor's want to help other people. The question is more like, ' Why are we Gryffindor's?' Everyone needs help at some point in their lives, Jack. If it wasn't for the people who cared, many people would be.... Well, I'm not sure what they would be." Cass bit her lip in hesitation. She wasn't quite sure how to make this point. " People need crutches every once in a while. How else would they be able to recover from stumbling? And who else to help you but your friends?" Cassandra didn't wait on Jack's answer. "Look at you. Here you are, helping Mack in her time of need. You don't have too, but your doing it without selfishness? I mean, what do you really have to gain from it all?"

[Jack Rendel S5]

((*huggles* I was gone so long and now I'm back! For a little. I'm going to do my best with Jack, but I haven't gotten into Jack-mode for a while now, so please bear with me. lol. ))

He smirked at Cass. She was right. Dixie did sound mad, by describing her as rocking back and forth. And to think....it was the truth. He felt new dread seep into him at the on-coming meeting. He wasn't about to show Cass his feeling though, so he stifled the fear, like a belly-ache, and focused on her words. "I never thought that either, but no one thought the Death Eaters would attack Diagon Alley, did they?" Jack shrugged. He wasn't sure what he was getting to at saying that, and he didn't want to explain it. It was more of saying everyone should be ready for anything, including him. He hadn't been expecting Dixie to fall into a...a... He skipped over that thought. And for all the secrets of Roger and Tessa. That letter. What had it meant?

"Of course, if you did something good to Dixie, it could go to Mack in a bad way. Dixie was always....unstable, as you put it. She used things to her advantage, good or bad. You have to think of who you're helping first before helping them. Even if they're your friends' sister. If she was like Dixie, then why help her? She didn't need any help until...a while ago." Jack sighed and shrugged. He didn't want to talk about this subject anymore. He remembered trying to make Dixie take the necklace and her refusal. Then Jamie nearly attacking him. Bloody hell! His face flushed at the mere thought of Jamie. That -

"Mmm..." Jack brought himself back to Cass's words. "More like Slytherins?" He suggested when she couldn't think of any words to describe whatever she was saying. It sounded like she was describing Slytherins in a different form then most. Not straight-forward, but more...more... Jack smirked and shook his head, his dark hair bouncing around. He swatted it away from his eyes. He smirked again and spread out his arms wide. "You've caught me, Miss Blackfire. I'm a hypocrite. Couldn't you guess from before? I help Mack because I want to help her. I tried to help Dixie when I realized she needed help. I help my sister because she can't help herself. Mack helps me because she wants too. We all gain nothing from it but confidence in one another." Jack bit his lip and looked up at the clouds, not wanting to speak about the subject any longer.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

As the conversation continued, Jack seemed to become more and more uncomfortable. " Yes, it could always come back and hurt someone. A person can't ignore a friend's bad situation..." Cass trailed off as she watched Jack's face become a violent shade of red. She could tell he was becoming angry over something, but she couldn't even begin to fathom what was going on in his mind.

" You're not a hypocrite, Jack." Cass looked down at the ground while a blush crept across her lips. Cass looked back at him through her black hair, trying to understand him. Jack was an odd one, and she really couldn't figure out his mechanizations. " You just care about Mack, and there is nothing wrong with that. I would give up anything for my friends. Hell, I would do anything for my cousin, and he is about the biggest prat there is." Cassandra pushed her hair behind her ears, and turned her hazel eyes toward him. Jack was gazing at the sky, obviously trying to ignore her. Sighing, she reached down into her book bag and pulled out a little white book.

" I understand about confidence. I haven't had a lot of it since my family died." Cass held the little book in her lap. " However, you've just proved my point. You gaining confidence, and confidence is a very hard thing to come by." Gulping, she continued. " When I came to this school, I was nothing more than a mudblood with a chip on my shoulder. It took me three years to even think I could be as good as a pureblood, and even then I doubted it." Cass lowered her eyes to the ground, ashamed to tell the rest of the story. " When I found out I was a Blackfire, I was shocked. I thought I was finally going to be just as good as any pureblood, but things didn't change. I was still the same person, and through that I learned I didn't need that pureblood stamp to be good enough."

[Jack Rendel S5]

Jack smirked at Cass but didn't reply. He couldn't help but wonder why she had so many morals. It seemed like she had one for every situation. Jack could hardly keep up with it, let alone live up to it. How did she do it? Did she just do something, somehow, that made things easier for her then for others? Jack watched a cloud move across the sky. It looked like a hippo with a lop-sided head. Cass's words droned around his heads, buzzed in his ears, before he suddenly realized what she was saying.

"What did you need to be good enough, then? Yourself, or was it something more?" Jack asked, not sure why he found the subject intruging. In reality, he was just trying to find something to put against Cassandra. He couldn't blame her for thinking that being a pureblood would make you better; Jack had thought that too. And look at him now. He wasn't even the person he used to be, or wanted to be. What was the point? "Did you have to do something to be good enough? I'm really just curious. What made you good enough? Or are you still trying to be good enough by helping other people?" Jack smirked and ran a hand through his hair, taking his eyes off of the clouds to look at the Gryffie while she answered.

((Sorry it's so short. ))

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

The conversation was starting to turn personal for Cassandra. Not only was she about to share personal thoughts and feeling with Jack, but she had listened to him poor his heart about Mack. " Okay, what the hell? I will go ahead and tell you. We've seemed to tell every other secret today, why not one more?" Cass faced Jack. " I finally decided I didn't have to be as good as them. Honestly, it just didn't matter to me anymore. Pureblood families have all the same problems as anyone else, if not more. Not only do they have to worry about the normal stuff, but they also have to stroke their pureblood mania."

Cass gulped and continued. " I'm sure you heard about Pyro getting disowned last year. He hated his father so bad, and now they are like one big happy family again. You can't tell me that both Pyro and his father don't have something up there sleeve. They are probably plotting the other one's demise as we speak. Also, my Uncle just seems excited about having me living with them. I know he must of gotten something out of the deal. You know, something like, House the orphan and I will make sure you get rewarded. Of course, I'm not sure who would do that. Truly, the only people who had my best interests at heart are dead?"

Cass turned away too look off into the distance. " Why are you so interested away? Your a Slytherin, you don't normally burden yourself with the interests of anybody that isn't pureblooded." Cass turned her eyes back to him. " Now, it's time for you to answer something." This conversation was turning into a really twisted form of truth or dare. " Why are you so interested in the ramblings of a Gryffindor anyway? Is my life so full of drama that it is better than daytime television?"

[Jack Rendel S5]

Jack raised an eyebrow. Cass was getting upset over nothing. He had asked what made her good enough, and she suddenly gets all excited about nothing at all. She talked way too much then what Jack had expected her to. Truly, he had only expected a short answer, nothing with details or anything, but here she was telling him all this stuff that he... didn't want to hear. He sighed and flicked his eyes up and down quickly in a half-roll. He must have given out the wrong vibe or something to make her so upset so quickly. He smirked as she asked him why he was so interested in what she had to say and why he was so interested in the 'ramblings of a Gryffie.' Jack flicked back his hair, appearing annoyed.

"I guess it's not exactly obvious," he drawled lazily, his eyebrows rising a little closer to his hair line. "I was brought up thinking that there is no other side to the story except my side, or my fathers' side. Especially my fathers' side. I'm just beginning to see that there's more then one side; that there can be many sides. I was just... curious to hear what your side was about that certain questing, as no one would have answered with the same words." Jack smirked at her. "Is that a good enough answer? You didn't have to explain yourself on that question, but you did. I didn't make you do anything, you didn't have to tell me, but you did. So it's not my fault that you say things too quickly or got the wrong impression." Jack blinked, wondering if he was in the right saying something like that.

He decided not to comment on all she had said. If he gave his thoughts on the matters in Cass' life, he would probably end up offending her, and that would make her all 'up-beat' again. Jack leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry to disappoint you but no, your life isn't so dramatic I would pass it up for a muggle television show." Jack said with a twisted smirk. This was really going the wrong way. Shooting questions at each other like some daring game... "I mean, it's dramatic in some form, but I've seen and heard of worse." Jack added with a devilish smirk. He looked back at the clouds. "Anymore fantastic questions you wish to ask, or is it my turn?" He looked back at Cass with a raised eyebrow, starting to think that they were playing some sort of game here.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

" Don't worry about it, Jack. I was just trying to explain my position is all. It's a bit of a complicated situation, you know? It just seems like our conversation is taking a turn that I wasn't expecting it too." This last statement was very much true. She hadn't come out here expecting to poor her heart out to a Slytherin. Hell, she hadn't even told Mack or Pyro half of the things she had shared with him. " Your just comfortable to talk to is all. That's not a bad thing." Cass stood up and stretched her arms toward the sky and yawned. " Wow, it seems like a lot of people have gone in." Cass looked around at the empty lawn. " Wow, must be the end of the world. An empty courtyard and a Gryffindor and Slytherin having a polite conversation."

Sitting back down, she looked back at Jack. " Nope, I'm out of questions at the moment. Go ahead, shoot. I'm sure I can come up with a modest answer to one of your inquiries."