The Perfect Plan ((Cass))

[Olivia Dawson S6]

Ok. So you’re angry. Big deal. What are you gonna do? You going to try and kidnap the girl and pray Julian comes running back to you? No, no that will never work. He has to realize what he’s missing. He has to realize that this Cassandra girl isn’t his type and that she’s not worth his time. But how are you going to make him realize? It can’t be done by force. He’ll never come back to you if he finds you did something to his lovely wife and whatever else she is bound to have inside of her. The entire school is talking. The reason for their premature marriage is obvious. Why do ninety percent of teen marriages even occur? The little player probably got Cassandra knocked up and the only reason they’re getting married is to make their deed look somewhat less wrong. It’s not a proven fact though of course. I mean, how true could the ’baby rumor’ even be if she’s still willing to get tossed around on that Quidditch pitch every other day? But back on track. No time for the distractions of a silly rumor when you have a plan to brew. You have to find something else, something better. What if you could just charm him into coming back to you? Would that even work? Maybe a love potion? Nah, too shady. Not worth its side effects. Oh, but there’s that really beautiful little number in your closet that would really charm the pants off of him…literally. After all, Julian is still a playboy at heart, everyone knows that. If you could just sway him a little, everything would eventually fall into place. But you have to get close to him, and the only way to do that is to make him think you‘re over him. But how?

Olivia couldn’t help but space off in the middle of History of Magic. Professor Binns’ class was absolutely painful to bare, especially if one was actually paying attention. Not to mention half the class was restless to get out of there anyway. Normally Olivia didn’t even show up to class anyway. Why would she? It’s not like she really even needed this class to begin with. Besides, she had more pressing matters on her mind. Olivia needed to get Julian back, some way, some how. She didn’t know exactly how she was going to do it yet, but she did know that it was going to take time, skill, effort, and a hell of a lot of fresh Olivia Dawson charm and trickery. Olivia was the kind of person who always got what she was after. If a man was the object of her interest, then god damn it she was going to have that man. She didn’t care what it took. And not to go skipping down selfish road, but she was sure that finally getting back with him would be just about the only thing Olivia did that would please her sorry excuse for a motherly figure. He was pure blooded, he was wealthy, and if Olivia won her way back into his heart, she could pretty much guarantee that she wouldn’t have to work nearly as hard as if she was single or married to some average Joe after graduation. But the only question left was how in god’s name was she going to kick that little Gryffindor out of the picture?

Olivia looked around the room aimlessly, searching for an answer. And then, as if God was sending her some kind of sign, there she was. Cassandra Blackfire-Fallon as she was now called. Cassandra sat a few seats in front of her and a row to the right. The moment she saw the sixth year Gryffindor, Olivia smirked wickedly as an idea popped suddenly into her head. It was perfect. It was one of the best plans Olivia had ever thought up. It was brilliant. There were so many ways it could go wrong but Olivia knew how to handle this. She was smart, cunning, and a very good actress when she wanted to be. It’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect. You just have to get close to her. Once you gain her trust, you’ll eventually gain Julian’s trust. And then, once you’re in their inner circle, you use anything they say or do against them. I love it. It’s like breaking them up from the inside. They won’t even see it coming. Ha. And it’s funny how people say you don’t belong in Slytherin house. Oh, how wrong they were. Olivia had to suppress the urge to chuckle wisely at her own brilliant scheme.

She waited patiently for the next ten minutes, actually paying a bit of attention to what Professor Binns was saying. Meanwhile though, she was still contemplating how she was going to approach her. It wouldn’t take far too much effort. Besides, Olivia was a girl that was constantly beaming with confidence. She found no problem in going up to people she barely even knew and starting a conversation. So a Gryffindor she had been going to school for six years with wouldn’t be much of a problem. It had to start somewhere, right? So, when the end of class bell finally echoed upon the walls of the large history room, Olivia immediately rose from her chair and started walking down the isle where Cassandra’s seat was. Then, she “accidentally” knocked over Cassandra’s open book bag, causing quite a few large books, stacks of papers, and quills to come spilling out. Olivia gasped quite convincingly. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry! I’m such a klutz sometimes. Monday mornings. Most of us are barely awake right about now.” Olivia said kindly as she bent down to go pick up her things. It didn’t take her long to get everything in a neat pile on the table. “Hey, you’re Cassandra right? I’m Olivia. We’ve probably played each other in Quidditch. I play Chaser.” The attempt at starting a conversation was going perfectly. It was odd how the two girls had been going to school together for the past six years and barely ever spoke more than two words to each other. It must have been the house differences. They always did manage to get in the way a lot.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

I'm not going to get sick. I'm not going to get sick. I'm not going to get sick. Cassandra Fallon repeated this mantra over and over in her head as Professor Binns droned on in History of Magic. Her stomach rolled to the floor. Oh god, her hand went to her mouth to hold in the bile that was starting to build up in her throat. She couldn't run out of class. She just couldn't. She had already run out of Transfiguration earlier that morning. Julian had been hot on her heels as she tore into the girl's bathroom to vomit. Morning sickness was a pain. It wasn't the sickness itself, but it was the side effects. It wasn't the throwing up, the queasiness, or the lurching of her stomach that caused her the most problems. Oh no, it was the stares of her classmates that caused her agony. Even though Julian and Cassandra denied it everytime, people were beginning to notice. Morning sickness meant one thing. Pregnancy.

I'm not going to get sick. I'm not going to get sick. I'm not going to get sick. Maybe if she kept repeating this, it would wish itself into existence. She only had to hold out a few more minutes, and then, well, she didn't want to think about what was going to happen when she made it to the bathroom. The mere idea of it made her stomach revolt violently. This is all your fault, Julian! God, how she wanted to scream that to the very heavens! All of this was his fault! Why did he have to be dashing? So handsome? So debonair? She could never say no to her husband. If she had said no last May, Cass wouldn't be in this situation. Of course, she couldn't imagine herself without him anymore. She loved him, and that was the end all be all of it.

I'm not going to get sick. I'm not going to get sick. I'm not going to get si- Professor Binns announced the end of class to the relieved room. Sighs went up in unison as people began packing up their belonging in a rush to get to the next class. Cass had a break after this. She had decided to make her way to the prefect's bathroom so she could heave in peace for the next two hours. Dark hair covered her face as she leaned over to retrieve her belongings when a black shoe knocked everything to the floor. It seemed deliberate, but Cass was too distracted to care. She had to get out of there! Now! With hair covering her eyes, she looked up to see a blond haired Slytherin. The girl chattered an apology and introduction as she helped clean up Cass' things.

"I know who you are," Cass said rather bluntly. Rude, she knew, but she had to go! Suddenly, like a miracle, her stomach heaved and settled. It was about noon. Go figure! When being sick would be an excuse, my stomach decides to cooperate, Cass thought to herself glumly. She tried to smooth over her response quickly. "I mean, us quidditch rivals always know the opposition. I'm Cass. Cass Bla -," she stopped herself. It wasn't Blackfire anymore. "I mean, Cass Fallon. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for helping me with my stuff." She picked up the rest of her things and began to head out of the room. She kept up the friendly conversation. Olivia probably was probably trying to pry quidditch information out of her. It was well known that Cass loved to talk, and would strike up a conversation with anyone no matter the house. She didn't discriminate that way. Hell, her husband should be proof enough.

Oh lord! Is she friends with Julian? Maybe that was the case. Olivia was just trying to get to know her since Cass was permanently attached to Julian. Stress started to build. She wasn't really quite sure how to react to the situation. Would it be rude to ignore the girl? Yes, it would be extremely rude. She needed a mundane subject. Something that couldn't get her in trouble. Something they could agree on. "I can't believe Binns. Didn't we study the Troll Wars in first year? Hell, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm not going to remember any of this crap after the exam anyway. I just need it for NEWTS. I just can't believe you need a NEWT in History of Magic to work in some departments of the Ministry. It seems pointless."

The passed the girl's loo on their right as Cass continued to ramble on pointlessly. She looked straight at the door. Like a kitchen timer, her stomach lurched angrily. It was once again telling the Gryffindor who was in charge. Her hand went to her mouth hoping to put a door on the deluge that was about to escape. Cass' books dropped to the floor with a loud thud as she ran through the door. Two first years gasped as she crashed through them trying to make it to the toilet. Not bothering to shut the stall door behind her, she began to pray to the porcelain god before her. She felt her bare knees hit dirty stone floor as she began to get wretch. Cass didn't even hear the door the bathroom open behind her.

[Olivia Dawson S6]

Olivia smiled brightly. She should have really considered acting as a possible career choice. She was pretty damn good at it. Cassandra didn’t seem to suspect a thing, and soon enough, neither would Julian. Her plan was already falling into place. Olivia had always thanked her incredible acting skills for the success behind most of her master plans. She got away with countless schemes both at home and at school because of her ability to think up these master plans, and then the skills that helped her carry these plans out. Olivia had gotten stuff like this down to an art. At this point, failure was not an option. Failure was impossible in Olivia’s opinion. This one was no different than all the others. Sure, this time it involved corrupting someone’s marriage, but you would be surprised how little conscience Olivia actually has. Olivia would have to keep this nice friendly girl attitude for months at a time if she was going to pull this off. It would take a whole lot of time for Cassandra and Julian to even begin to trust her, especially after Cassandra heard word from her lovely husband of the truth behind her new husband‘s past. She probably didn’t know much about him at all, did she? Olivia knew Julian Fallon inside out, and it killed her that Cass probably didn’t, and yet they were married. She was sure he hadn’t told her about all his ex girlfriends. Olivia had no doubt in her mind Cassandra had no idea what had gone on between Julian and her for all of last year. Right now, Olivia had the advantage. She wondered whether or not Cassandra suspected anything of Olivia. She highly doubted it.

Julian wouldn’t have told her, and now he was going to pay for it. Olivia figured Cassandra would be easier to get close to at this point, now that she was so ignorant. Olivia probably wouldn’t have been able to get this close to her had Julian told her of his suspicions of Olivia. He should have warned her Olivia would probably be up to something. Stupid on his part, considering that he knew Olivia well and probably expected her to try and fight back. Stupid, naïve Julian. Maybe he didn’t know Olivia as well as she thought he did. His loss. He could have had an advantage on this playing field, but he lost his chance. Now Olivia had the opportunity to advance. Olivia analyzed the Gryffindor subtly, making sure Cassandra didn’t pick up on what she was doing. She was wearing her beautiful dazzling wedding ring, the ring that should have been on her own finger instead of on Cassandra’s. She looked pale and tired, not to mention slightly sick. She began with a bit of an attitude, placing a guard up. Olivia instinctively took a small step back.

“Ah, yes. Cassandra Fallon. You and your new husband are the talk of the school, you know. I was pretty surprised when I heard. Julian and I used to be pretty close. We did kind of fade apart though, which is fine. Things happen, lives get busy I guess. But you’re union was so surprising. I didn’t even know you two knew each other. But you make a cute couple. I think it’s great this school is finally learning how to break those infamous house barriers. I’ve never been fond of them myself. Sometimes I wonder why I was even placed in Slytherin to begin with.” Olivia maintained a chipper and talkative attitude, continuing with the pleasant conversation as they walked together out into the corridor outside the classroom. She even managed to breeze through the subject of their marriage without even the slightest change in tone. Bravo. You did it once, it shouldn’t be too hard to do it again. Now keep going. This is almost too easy. Said an encouraging voice in her head.

Olivia chuckled at Cassandra’s comment. “Ha, I barely even pay attention in that class. History is my forte, believe it or not. It takes me ten minutes to cover at home what Binns attempts to cover in three classes. It’s simple stuff once you think about it. I use his class to catch up on my sleep. I know it seems weird, but hey, I pass the tests. Potions is another story. I’m terrible at Potions. Dropped the class this year. Couldn’t take another moment of it.” Olivia said with a sigh. So what she said wasn’t entirely a lie. She was good at history and she did actually study her text book before a big test. It wasn’t hard stuff to figure out. It was just memorizing facts, and Olivia had often been told she had practically a photographic memory. It wasn’t like she went home everyday and read what her Professor had attempted to teach that day. She wasn’t that good a student. In fact, her overall average this year was probably about an eighty. Not too bad, but not excellent either. She had no idea how she was going to get through NEWTS. She’d barely passed her OWLS. But that was another story in its entirety. Olivia wasn’t concerned with her studies at the moment. If she got what she wanted (which she probably would) then she’d be pretty much taken care of for the rest of her life…or at least however long their marriage lasted. Olivia looked to her left where Cassandra was walking with her, and noticed that she didn’t look all that well. Her face went even paler than it already was, and seconds later, she dropped her books and dashed into the bathroom like she was about to be sick. Olivia smiled wickedly. She had always suspected Cassandra was pregnant, but this just proved her theory. The next step was to get one of them to admit it. She wouldn’t prompt her about it just yet. She had to take things slow. They had just met.

So, without another second’s hesitation, Olivia dashed into the bathroom behind her to find Cassandra heaving her guts out in the toilet. Olivia sighed and held her hair back as she dumped her insides into the white bowl. Olivia had to look away so as not to get sick herself, and she had to remind herself countless times that this was only the beginning of things. She had to get closer. She had to place herself in a friendly position where Olivia would be the first person they came to when there was a problem. Then, Olivia would use that information to split them apart. Olivia desperately hoped Cassandra would be able to handle the responsibilities of being a single mom. Olivia almost pitied her actually. She wouldn’t even know what hit her. She’d be the unsuspecting victim the entire time, and it actually made Olivia pity her. But that pity was minimal, and didn’t come close to giving Olivia second thoughts about her plan. She was going to follow through with this, no matter how much it took. “Gosh, are you okay? I hope that nasty stomach virus isn’t going around again. Or maybe it was that pumpkin pie yesterday at dinner? It did look a bit funky. You know what helps though? The ends of those puking pastilles. They actually help settle the stomach even when you’re not trying to fake it. I think I have some in my purse actually, here. Should make you feel better.” Olivia said, reaching into her bag and dipping into her secret stash of get-out-of-class emergency supplies. She’d get more later. Gaining Cassandra's trust was far more important at the moment. Olivia would just have to suffer through Herbology.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

"Thanks," Cass said as she took the little pill from Olivia. She didn't understand what was going on. This girl, whom she didn't know from Eve, had just held her hair back as she upchucked her breakfast into the toilet. She wiped her lip and chin with the back of her hand. Walking over to the sink, Cass gazed at her own reflection. Surely the mirror was playing tricks on her. She almost looked normal, a bit pale, but normal. Normalcy had gone out the door when she married Julian. Her life had been turned upside down the moment she took that first sip of wine with him out on the grounds. Slinging her head back, she popped the puking pastille into her mouth. She braced herself over the sink and gazed at herself in the mirror. Shouldn't she look different? Didn't pregnancy make women look different? She looked at the other girl reflected in the mirror. Olivia was staring at her back, not saying anything.

"So, I"m assuming you know, Julian. You are in the same house after all. How do you know him? I'm assuming you met in the common room one night." She washed her hands. Cass composed herself, stood up straight, and began to adjust her clothing. She sighed as she tugged at her skirt. She couldn't make it sit right for some reason. She turned around and smiled at Olivia after making sure she was presentable. "That is why you sought me out, isn't it? Your friends, right?" She took her books from the girl. "I really appreciate your help. I will have to tell Julian that we met. I haven't been well. Lots of stress from Quidditch." Maybe that would cover up the incident. Cass always went a little loopy around Quidditch. Hell, most of the castle knew that. It was well known that the Gryffindor Quidditch captain walked around the castle in a fog for a good week before the first match. The Gryffindor-Slytherin match was approaching. Oh god, what was she going to do? Could she play Quidditch in her condition? She hadn't thought about it, or really discussed the matter with Julian. Participating in a practice was one thing, but an actual game was another matter completely. She could already picture the conversation with Professor Hardy and Madame Hooch. I'm sorry I can't play in the upcoming the game. I'm a little knocked up at the moment. Oh, and yes, my Slytherin husband is the father. Ugh!

"You're on the Slytherin team, right?" She tried to change the subject. Maybe Olivia would forget about what she had just seen. Students get sick all the time. "I'm pretty sure I've batted a few bludgers at you a time or two. No offense taken?" She was taking extra steps to be friends. There was something wrong with the girl though. Cass couldn't put her finger on it, but something just didn't seem right. Even if she was a friend of Julian's, why would she come and find her? She had thought she knew all of Julian's close friends. He had never mentioned Olivia Dawson. It seemed so out of left field. Olivia Dawson and Julian Fallon didn't seem to have the same things in common. Julian was refined, and Olivia was a bit rough around the edges. Wheels turned in her head as she tried to figure the girl out in the span of a few seconds. She couldn't. Her mind only came to one conclusion: opposites attracted.

She headed to the door. "It's funny. Julian's never mentioned you before. I thought I knew all of his friends. He told me he had a lot of casual acquaintances. I didn't know exactly what he meant by that. One girl actually told me he was a bit of a ladies man. I heard rumors about some of his exploits." She opened the bathroom door, but thought better of it. She turned serious suddenly. "Olivia, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anybody about this. You see, there are a lot of rumors going around about me and Julian at the moment." They stood in silence for a moment. She just handed Olivia enough ammunition to take both of them out. "Please know, that all of the rumors aren't true about us." Maybe being straight forward was the best route. She always hated being evasive, but this situation took finesse that Cass didn't have. For the life of her, Cass couldn't keep a secret.