Finally Free ((Finn))

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Clothes shopping. Yes, it was imperative that she find a pair of pants that fit. Cass flipped the pages of a catalogue lazily in her lap. She didn’t know what to buy. Two months pregnant, the Gryffindor was trying to decide what would best hide her growing figure. She could already hear it. Why are you getting so fat, Cass? Quidditch players weren’t known for getting plump during the playing season. No, most were lean, quick, and saucy as they screamed across the field. She was already large for a Quidditch player. She didn’t want to stick out more on her broom. “Lord, what am I going to do? At this rate, I’m going to be buying new stuff every month.” She flicked another page. The magazine’s slick pages made a strange squeaking sound that was unpleasant to the ears as it flipped over. New school uniforms, with elastic in the skirts, had been ordered this morning. She only prayed that they arrived by the end of next week. She was already busting out of the ones she had now. Julian had insisted that she buy new quidditch robes as well. Quality Quidditch Supplies had assured her that her new uniforms would arrive by Friday. She had made sure that the embroidery said ‘Captain Cassandra Fallon’ on the front. She didn’t want anyone getting confused.

She never thought clothes shopping would be so utterly frustrating. She loved shopping, and she was obsessed with clothing. In fact, after her Quidditch career, she hoped to start her own clothing line. Madame Malkin had been so impressed with some of her designs that she allowed Cassandra to sell some of her clothing at her store. It had been quite an ego stroke for her, but it was nothing on the grand scale that Cassandra imagined. She wanted to be famous, rich, and world renowned. Cass wanted her name spoken with the likes of Coco Chanel, Kurt Langerfield, and Betsey Johnson. (Did wizards recognize the names of muggle designers?) However, could she escape the name recognition she would receive from her budding quidditch career? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be known as the quidditch player turned fashion designer. It seemed to give negative connotations. It was a no win situation. She needed the game of quidditch to get her where she wanted. She loved quidditch, but she didn’t want to be a quidditch player for the rest of her life. She always hated those ‘Where Are They Now?’ articles. Photos of retired players were never favorable. Most of the retirees looked rough, and they were usually missing a few teeth. (Especially the beaters!) The photos usually accompanied a short article about their now mediocre life. This thought frustrated her even more. A bit angered, she flipped another page. It ripped with the force. She didn’t want to be a spent, used has-been after her career was over!

She threw the catalog down. With so many questions in her head, she started to wonder if any of her recent decisions had been right. Cass stood up from the overstuffed chair in the common room. She needed to think. She needed to fly! Cass ran up to her dorm room and retrieved her broom. She soon found herself on the pitch that had become her second home while at Hogwarts. Breathing deeply, she nearly inhaled the dirt that cushioned the ground for the players. She had only tumbled once from her broom in her four years of playing quidditch for the Gryffindor team. Too think, that shy third year, who had very nearly not tried out for Harry Potter, would one day become captain. Poor Harry, God rest his soul…

She would probably get in trouble for this, but she didn’t care. Students weren’t normally allowed to use the pitch alone. Fortunately for Cass, her position gave her some leniency on this point. Professor Hardy, her head of house, had never mentioned not doing it to her. McGonagall had never cared what she had done in the name of quidditch as long as she kept winning. So, since it wasn’t completely forbidden, Cass felt that this would be an opportune time to inspect the pitch before their first game. The schedule hadn’t been settled yet, but it was rumored that a Gryffindor-Slytherin match would open the opener. Cass’ team hadn’t lost to Slytherin in four years. She wasn’t going to lose this year with Mary Evans, her Slytherin rival, leading them. People said that Mary was the better beater, but Cass was a better leader. Who and what would win out? Instinctively, she had already floated off the ground, and was now lazily flying around the pitch. It was almost second nature. With every turn, she kicked the speed up just a notch. She could forget about everything up here. She was free from all labels. She wasn’t a mudblood, a Logton, a Blackfire, or a Fallon. She was just Cass. Even with her bird’s eye view, she didn’t see the new arrival. It sort of shocked her that someone would intrude upon her private time. Still, Cass was a pretty stereo typical Gryffindor, and she loved to chat it up with anyone. Even a bit annoyed, she called down to the male figure standing below her. “Hello? Whatcha doing? Do you need some help? Are you lost?”

[Finn Miles H7]

It was just like Finn to leave his broom polishing kit in the players' quarters down by the Quidditch pitch. He had been sitting in his room, wanting to smooth out some of the nicks in the wooden handle of his broom which were from his most recent Quidditch practice when he realized that his polishing oils were never brought back to his room after having them at the pitch. It was a nice day though, and a walk down to the pitch wouldn't hurt him. He took his broom just in case he decided on a quick lap around the pitch to blow the cobwebs from his broom bristles.

Finn made it to the players' quarters and hurried into the changing room where he found the oils in the same place he'd left them. He was happy that nobody had decided to snatch them for their own use. They were quite expensive after all, and he was very partial to using the citrus scented oil. Since he could remember, it was the same oil that Wyatt used before every match, and so Finn had learned to make it a tradition, a superstition of sorts.

After fetching the oils and pocketing them in his robes, Finn made his way out of the quarters and onto the pitch. He spun in place, admiring the peacefulness that the empty stands had to offer. It was a lot different from when there was a Quidditch match occupying the place, spectators cheering on their fellow housemates and waving banners to represent their spirit. It made Finn just slightly envious that his father and brother got to play Quidditch as their job. He wasn't quite nearly good enough to do that though.

As his eyes scanned the empty seats where he Hufflepuff spectators normally cheered from, He saw something zoom past. It was a person, a female to be more precise. Once she slowed enough that he could get a good look at her face, Finn recognized that it was Cass, the captain of the Gryffindor team. She was one of the four females who served as captains for the four different house teams. The fact that all of the captains were female was a point that Finn's father had an opinion on. Finn knew that his father was slightly disappointed that he'd never be as good as Wyatt was. Still, Finn also knew that the captain wasn't necessarily the best player on the team; they were merely the best leader. Quite frankly in their teenage years, most boys weren't always prone to being leaders. A leader required a sharp mind, and for a sixteen year old boy who played Quidditch, brawn was sometimes more important than brains. Finn found that he was simply average in both when it came to the sport.

Cass' voice pulled Finn from his gaze, and he followed her as she flew slowly closer. She was still flying quite high off the ground. "Thanks, but I don't need any help. And, I'm not lost." His voice hinted an annoyance. Cass was confident, and rightfully so. Finn wondered if she was belittling him through her comments. He didn't let it bother him though, as he rarely did, and with a fluid movement, he mounted his broom and kicked off the ground. If they were going to hold a conversation, he wasn't about to stand there and shout all day.

Leveling himself out as he reached Cass in the air, Finn halted in place and took a good look at the empty stands from his new point of view. "You don't often get a private view of the pitch on such a beautiful day like today. Or, maybe you do," he said, glancing back at Cass and remembering she was a captain after all. Perhaps they got special privileges. He also knew though that nobody was supposed to be on the pitch without permission. He hadn't gained permission to be there, but maybe she had. "I'm Finn," he said, assuming she'd introduce herself even though he already knew her name.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cassandra watched as he floated up to meet her in the sky. She began to recognize him as he approached. She was pretty sure he was a Hufflepuff. At least he wasn't a Slytherin. She was sick of Slytherins. "Cass. Cass Blackf-. Cass Fallon. Good to meet ya." She caught herself in mid-sentence. She would never get used to that new last name. A bit of her Manchester accent came out on the last syllable. She hated that accent. She normally tried to suppress it by any means necessary. "Quidditch captains have certain special privileges, yes, but normally those special privileges don't include coming to the pitch this close to curfew. Hardy would have my hyde if she knew I was out here. It might be overlooked when the Slytherin game comes up. You know how those things go." She giggled a knowing giggle. Even though Hardy was a stickler for the rules, quidditch couldn't be ignored. It was about house pride after all.

Cass did a bit of a lazy loopy-loop around Finn. Normally, this maneuver would be scary and intimidating during a game. However, in this setting, it seemed very casual and friendly. She was a good flyer, and it was coming out in her movements. "Finn...Finn...Where I have heard that name before? It's Finn Miles, right?" If you were a good quidditch player, you knew who your enemies were on the field. Cass knew all of her enemies very well. "Didn't your father, brother, mother, cousin play quidditch, or something like that? I know your name; so, I doubt they were the broom boy." She was now floating lazily beside Finn. Her broom bobbed up and down a bit as she did so. "Hufflepuff team, right? I think I've swung my beater's bat at you a few times. No qualms, right?" She smiled that lovely, large smile that she had made famous.

"You are right about the view. It's so different seeing the stadium empty. It gives you a new perspective on things. I always feel so small when I come out here. To think, on game day, I feel that I am the biggest, most hulking thing in the sky." Why was she sharing this with him? She didn't know, but she felt comfortable with him. He was another quidditch player; so, he understood what she meant.

[Finn Miles H7]

As though it had happened a thousand times before, Finn rolled his eyes when Cass said she had recognized his name, knowing that one of his relatives was well-known for Quidditch. "My father and my brother," he clarified with little emotion in his voice. He had learned not to be jealous whenever people recognized his name because of his family's achievements and not his own. "My brother Wyatt plays for Wigtown, and my dad's a referee for the International Quidditch Association." Cass seemed friendly enough in her actions toward him. She was confident, but he couldn't blame her for wanting to be respected for who she was. If she had earned it, then she deserved it. Finn was used to being average at most things. At least average was better than nothing.

"No qualms," he repeated with a sincere grin. Cass went on to share a seemingly personal view about Quidditch. He couldn't help but feel that she was letting down the wall of confidence that she so obviously used to surround herself by. "Did you just call yourself fat?" he asked, laughing as he let go of the broom handle and slowly drifted around Cass. He was a top-notch flyer, but for some reason he seemed to lack the rest of the fundamental skills in Quidditch, hence why he was an average player at best. "Because if I heard right, you just referred to yourself as 'hulking'." Finn smirked at her, deciding she was probably the type who could take a joke. She was serious, but not too serious, something that he valued in a person.

Finn was usually a pro when it came to being social and making friends. He thrived on being around people, but something about Cass caught him off guard. He couldn't place his finger on it. She was a year older than him, and a female at that. Normally, girls tended to hang around guys who were their age or older. It's just the way things worked. As well, Finn didn't usually hang out with a girl, one-on-one. It's just the way he worked. But there he was, just him and Cass. And for some reason, it didn't feel weird for him. It felt... normal?

"So do you think that your big, hulking self might be able to teach me a thing or two about being a damn good Beater?" he asked. "I mean, unless you're afraid that Hufflepuff is going to crush your team of cowardly lions." Finn was joking, but he knew that Hufflepuff did have a solid team. After all, despite being average, Finn would have probably started on any of the other house teams, yet with Hufflepuff, they had such a depth of players that even the average ones were sometimes left on the bench, like himself. "Wyatt never did have much time to show me any tips. And my dad... well, let's just say that he focused on making the good better and not worrying about the average." A hint of disappointment laced his words, but again, Finn had grown used to the way things were, which was why he often focused on life in general and just enjoying it. Today, he was enjoying life.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

"Wigtown!" Cass' eyes got large. "I absolutely love Wigtown! Your brother is that Wyatt Miles!" She was suddenly acting like an idiot fan. Finn was like brushing up against a famous movie star to Cassandra. "I saw him once in a game against the Harpies. Wigtown is my favorite team after the Harpies." Cass' arms started moving around in the air as she started to show Finn what his brother had done during the game. "...And then, he just zoomed out of nowhere. The Harpie's captain was none to pleased. It was so hard for me to pick a side to root for." She smiled at Finn. He looked almost bored with her play by play. "Sorry," she flushed. Poor Finn. She wondered how many times he had listened to people tell him how great his brother was at quidditch. She made a mental note not to talk about it again.

"Lessons on being a beater?" Her excitement suddenly diluted. "You think- you think I'm a good beater?" Her words came out hesitantly. She had never thought of herself as a good beater. Leader, yes. Beater, no. In fact, she was pretty sure that was the only reason she lasted so long as quidditch captain. She blushed again. "I'm honored to think that you think I'm that good. Surely, your brother and father could teach you more." This was unnerving for her. Cass had never learned how to take a compliment. "I would be more than happy to show you some things." A little warm feeling was suddenly growing in her stomach. She was connecting to Finn. She could certainly feel for him being the odd man out in the family. She would forever be the red headed step child of the Blackfire family because of her parent's decisions. This decison plagued her even in the wizarding world. They all knew what Daniel and Cynthia Blackfre did. Every pureblood family in the wizarding world thought of her as a mudblood because of it. She still couldn't understand why people couldn't accept her. She belong to two of the most prestigious pureblood families in England, for god's sakes!

Looking him up and down, she began her critique. "Do you keep that stance when you fly all the time?" Finn seemed to hunch over his broom. "You almost look like you are holding on for dear life. Trust me, you won't fall out, and if you do, Hooch won't let you hit the ground. I know from experience." Cass floated over to his right side. Pushing lightly on his upper back, she continued to talk. "You are far from average, Finn. I've seen you on the field before. I think you are pretty amazing." Did she just tell him that he was amazing? Her right hand took his arm and pushed it back a bit on the handle. Finn's back was now in a straight forty-five degree angle. "There. You need to keep in that angle when flying. It will keep stress off your back. Are you left handed or right handed?" She flew back in front of him, and then turned around to face him. He answered her, and she thought for a moment. Her mind was no longer on quidditch. "Do you really think I'm hulking? I'm getting fat, aren't I?" She frowned deeply, and suddenly looked as if she was going to cry.

[Finn Miles H7]

Three... two... Cass's exclamation of surprise came a second earlier than most. Any true fan of Quidditch, and particularly the young women like Cass, seemed to give a sort of shriek of excitement like Cass had when the found out that Finn's brother was the Wyatt Miles. Finn knew he was good, but wow, he'd have though that Wyatt was some god or something. "I can get you his autograph," Finn said cheekily, rolling his eyes as he cast Cass a grin of amusement. Perhaps though she really was only impressed with Wyatt's Quidditch skills and not his charming smile. She was married after all. Then again, most women melted at the sight of the Miles men when they smiled. Though he was joking, Finn had always told Wyatt that despite lacking in the area of Quidditch, he'd make up for it in the area of charm. Perhaps it was truer than he realized, but Finn's own secret fear of love made him somewhat oblivious to the affect that he did have on girls. He was by far no super charming gentleman, but his natural affinity to just have fun and be laid back did more than he realized to draw girls to him. We're just friends, he'd insist, whether it was in trying to convince his parents or even Bryan for that matter any time that Finn would meet a new girl. And, quite sincerely, for Finn, they always were 'just friends'.

Cass seemed surprised that Finn thought of her as a formidable force when it came to the Beater position. He was a bit shocked that she took his asking for help with such humility. It wasn't that he found her arrogant, he just always thought she had seemed so confident. Then again, part of being good could always be traced back to just believing you were good. Maybe Cass hadn't really convinced herself that she was good. "Look, maybe I can trade you and autograph from Wyatt for your help." He smiled, knowing she'd probably do it without the autograph, just as he'd equally try to get her an autograph of Wyatt's, even if she wasn't able to make the time to help him in return. "I mean, I'm not looking for anything ground-breaking here. Just a few pointers from someone who has done this longer than I have." He shrugged, figuring it was asking a lot for a captain who wasn't even from his own house to help train him to get better. "After all, most of my childhood, I spent dreaming of becoming a world-famous Seeker. I figured that Seekers would be more popular than Chasers. And then I could give Wyatt a real run for his money." He rolled his eyes again, reminiscing of his childish thoughts. Part of them still rang true though. Despite having been recommended for the Beater position, Finn had some hopes of eventually being a Seeker. Even if it was just for a game. He loved a thrill, and something told him that chasing after the elusive golden globe would be a rush that he'd enjoy quite a bit.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to take much bargaining or even begging at that point; Cass seemed more than willing to help him as she began circling and critiquing his flying style. "I may not know Quidditch, but I'm a damn good flyer," he said with a knowing smirk. Perhaps he had been to quick to speak though, as Cass was then complimenting him as though he were an International Quidditch player himself. "Ok, now you're just trying to make me feel good." He felt like a mannequin as Cass poked and prodded. His arm this way, his shoulder that way. And when Cass suddenly stopped, diverging back to the comments of her hulking stature, Finn couldn't help but burst out laughing; probably not the brightest thing for him to do.

"I'm sorry," he said through bits of dying laughter. "Really, I'm not laughing at you." He had stopped laughing at that point, trying to avoid making Cass upset. "I just felt like a total baboon as you were posing me, and then you go and change the subject as though... well, I don't even know. It just seemed funny at the time because you're far from fat." Finn looked at her with slight confusion in his eyes. He bit his lip but then shook his head and tried his best to reposition himself in the post that Cass had been working on. "Now, do you really mean to tell me that if I fly around like this, I'll be a better Beater?" He flashed another smile, trying to give her a hard time. "Cuz if that's what you're saying, then I'll fly around like this." He shrugged, hoping that his joking mood might pull her from any state of silly girlish thoughts of being fat and other crazy things. Women and their minds.... two things that Finn would never fully understand.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

An autograph of Wyatt Miles? Whoa!, Cass began to nod her head. Finn's sarcasm stopped her though. She needed to focus on the task at hand. Quidditch. They were talking about quidditch. Ignoring his laughter, she continued. "It won't make you a better player, but it will steady you on your broom. I find a good playing stance is the first step to becoming a good player. You need to do what is comfortable for you though." She followed up quickly. "And I never said you weren't a good flyer. In fact, I think your a great flyer. You're actually better than me." She didn't want to crowd him. She floated back a little bit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like a baboon. I usually only have to do this sort of stuff with the new third years on my team. Good posture is key."

When Finn said he wanted to be a seeker, Cassandra could only scoff. "A seeker? Everyone wants to be a seeker. Why a seeker? It's the glory, right?" She smiled her crooked half smile that Julian so loved. "Most people want to be the seeker. I never wanted the pressure. I'd rather be hitting the bludgers than having them hit at me." Another thought suddenly creeped into her head. "You know, I'm not helping you because of your family. I would have helped you regardless. I mean, I don't really care who your brother or father is. I'm not that type of pureblood." There she went again; putting her foot in her mouth. "Oh, I'm not saying that your that type either. A lot of people think I'm that type considering, but I'm not." Her hands waved in front of her in a side to side fan motion. She then hunched her shoulders and crossed her arms across her chest. "Sorry, oh damn, this is awkward. I just thought it was odd you said you could get me his autograph right away." Sheepishly, she continued. She was embarrassed to admit this, but she was opening up to him in a way she didn't normally. "I really don't want you to think of me that way."

Finn was comforting in a way that Julian was not. Don't get her wrong, Julian was her husband. He probably knew more about Cassandra than anyone did, but Cass craved a confidant. Solitaire was in Italy, and was too far away. She wasn't going to allow her innermost thoughts and feelings to fly across the country on the leg of an owl. No, she needed someone here at Hogwarts. It seemed that Finn had become that person in this brief exchange. Cass respected Finn. No, not just respected him, she trusted Finn. The hufflepuff's charisma and ease seemed to relax her. Maybe Finn was what she needed.

[Finn Miles H7]

"Of course it's for the glory," Finn said with an unembarrassed lack of shame to admit the truth. "Don't tell me you play Quidditch because you think it's fun," he said with a laugh. "I mean, seriously, those Bludgers can do more than break a bone. You of all people should know that, being a Beater for how many years now." As much as anybody tried to argue that they played the game for fun, it was evident that there would always be some sort of inward motivation that was driven by the aspect of glory and team-spirit. It was a brutal game. Fun, but brutal. Now flying... flying was fun. Simply put, nothing was more relaxing and thrilling than the rush of air as it whipped across your face. But when you added thirteen other people, and not to mention two nasty masses of pure spite (the Bludgers), it turned into Quidditch, the wonderfully chaotic game that everyone admired for the glory. "So yeah," he said again with a more confident tone. "I dream of being a Seeker for the glory." A guilty smile graced his lips as he imagined himself playing alongside his brother in an International Quiddtich game. Perhaps it was only a fantasy, but who said Finn couldn't dream?

"Anyways," he said, refusing to think he was starting to let it bother him that he was only average at a sport that was what his family was centered on. "... I'm not one to judge." Cass had expressed her concern that Finn was putting her in some sort of pureblood mold in which she viewed one's blood as the most important factor of who they were. He shrugged. "Whether you prefer those whose blood is similar to yours or don't care either way, it's your own business." The truth was, it seemed that more and more, less people were concerned about bloodlines. Sure, those people still existed, but their numbers were thinning out as more and more families mixed bloodlines and made the truly pureblooded hard to find. In fact, it seemed as though most bloodlines were tainted with some muggle blood nowadays. Who really cared what or who your parents were? Finn surely didn't, and so it seemed Cass hadn't either, and she made this quite well known.

He laughed at her seemingly nervous bit of babbling. "Don't worry," he said. "You don't have to try to impress me, as though that was what you were even doing anyways. I'm quite unimpressible... Is that even a word?" Finn laughed again. "Now where were we? Oh, right, you were trying to teach me that flying around like a baboon is the best technique, yes?" Finn positioned his hands sillily in the air and flew circles around Cass but then stopped, fearing she might find him juvenile. He hardly wanted her to give up on him because he didn't take it serious enough. Then again, he hadn't wanted this to turn into some sort of practice. He just wanted it to be one friend helping another, nothing too serious. "Maybe we should do this whole Quidditch training thing another time though," he said with a sigh. "I'll admit I'm not really feeling the whole Quidditch thing today. But, I am up for a race to the far set of hoops..." Finn gave Cass a look of intrigue, hovering beside her, ready to jet off at any point should she suddenly take him up on the offer.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

"Well, if you insist!" Cass pushed her broom forward and zoomed off to the hoops. With the wind whipping in her hair, she left Finn behind in her dust. Cass' mind worked during the short trip to the hoops. It was true. She was getting fat. The one thing about her pregnancy she wanted to avoid. The fat factor. Finn, a person who barely knew her, had noticed the extra bulge that was starting to heap around her mid-section. It wouldn't be much longer before she would be fat, ugly, and a burden. Her ankles were already swelling in her mind. She slid to a stop, much like a baseball player would, in front of the hoops that were at the end of the pitch. She had no idea who won the race, but Finn was floating beside her in the air. She frowned. She was fat.

"Are you sure? I mean, really, I want to know the truth. Julian says I always look beautiful. He would never tell me that I was getting fat." She kicked the air like she would kick up dirt on the ground. She was tired and frustrated. She was tired of having this big secret looming over her head. She was frustrated because she couldn't talk to anyone about it. Poor Finn. He probably thought she was insane for dwelling on being fat. She shook her head trying to fling the thoughts out of her head. "You must think I'm silly, Finn. Sorry, I'm just a silly girl with way too many insecurities. I dare say my hus-," she stopped. That was still a hard word to say out loud. "Julian never compliments me enough. It's always nice hearing the words 'your pretty' or some such other nonsense." She sighed. "I've always had a hard time getting dates for various things. I dare say most of the boys in this school view me as the Gryffindor quidditch queen and not as a girl."

She looked off into the distance and pouted. Her thoughts must have been a lead balloon because she started to slowly float to the ground. Some said you had to keep your head in the clouds to keep your broom off the ground. Cass' moods and angst always effected her flying. She continued to yammer as she came down. "Finn, I hate to say it, but you seem to have become my sounding board. You are quite comforting. I hope I haven't bored you." She reached over and patted one of his hands. Electricity seemed to jolt between them from that one small touch. Yes, they had a connection. She looked down at his hands, and then into his eyes. "I almost felt normal for a minute."

[Finn Miles H7]

It took no sort of convincing by Finn, and Cass was off in a flash. He didn't have a lot of time to react though, so he zoomed after her as fast as he could, smiling as he whipped through the air. As his body felt the resistance of the wind, he closed his eyes for just a second and enjoyed the freedom. Opening his eyes, he jolted to a stop just behind Cass. She had beat him by a millisecond. Before he could even declare her a winner though, she had digressed to the topic of her weight, and Finn found himself rolling his eyes, unable to stand why girls tended to do this. He let her have her time though, spilling the inconsistencies and explaining her feelings. If there was one thing Finn had learned, you were never supposed to criticize someone for how they felt. No matter how irrational their feelings might have been, they were real. If you wanted to help them, you had to attack the root of the feeling and not the feeling itself.

"Cass, Cass, Cass..." he said, shaking his head and wondering how he could say something to help encourage her. "You're not... fat!" It seemed silly just trying to convince her otherwise. It was like he was trying to convince a Ravenclaw that they weren't dense or a Gryffindor that they weren't fearful. Well, perhaps it wasn't exactly like that, but Finn could hardly figure how Cass thought herself to be fat. When she continued by explaining that it was rare for Julian to ever compliment her, Finn found himself wondering again how he might even reply. "Well then Julian is..." He stopped there. Finn didn't want to say something he'd regret. "You're a fine girl, Cass," he said. "A fine woman." He corrected himself. He didn't want to say much more than that, fearing he might give the wrong impression. Plus, he only just really got to know much at all about Cass or at least get the chance to interact with her outside of any sort of class or Quidditch. "You have a lot going for you. I wouldn't worry about whether or not people tell you. It's not what they think that matters anyways."

Again, she seemed to be leaving Finn at a loss for words. He found it somewhat odd that she was so open with him. She was married, and a year older than Finn. Why wasn't she off with Julian? Why did she seem to find Finn so comforting? If anything, it scared him a bit, to think that in just a quick period of time, Cass had developed this feeling of trust for him. Part of him wanted to say he felt the same, but Finn was a lot less willing to let down his walls. At least his inner most walls. Aside from them, he was more than willing to let anybody in to an extent. Finn wasn't a secretive or introverted sort of person. He just took complete trust very seriously, and it scared him a bit that Cass was so willing to open herself up to him like this.

"You haven't bored me," he said quickly, wanting to reassure her that this wasn't the case. When she reached out and touched his hand, he felt a sort of instinctive flinch, as though there were some magnetic attraction. Her eyes caught his, and for a second he was lost in the moment. It was only a second though, and he was back to reality. "What's normal?" he asked rhetorically. Finn felt his broom droop a bit and realized his legs were starting to tire from keeping his body balanced on his broom in one position for the few minutes. "I think I'm done flying for today." His head was starting to fill with thoughts, wondering what Cass had meant by her comment. Finn flew back to the ground, certain that Cass was just behind him.

After taking a few steps, he turned back to her, unable to stop from saying what was on his mind. "You're... you're married, Cass. And even more, you're married to Julian Fallon. Do you think it's best if we'd be seen together?" He hoped he wasn't sounding presumptuous. "I mean, I know people can hang out just because their friends, but I don't want Julian to think anything else. God knows I don't need him and a gang of Slytherins on my tail." He bit his lip, hoping Cass knew where he was coming from. "Look, I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I like you Cass. You're a great girl. A great friend." He was sure to emphasize the word friend, and truthfully, that's what he really viewed Cass as after their time together that afternoon. "But if our friendship is going to ruin things for you, then maybe the Quidditch lessons are a bad idea..."