To Catch A Thief | Cassian

September 6, 1920
After Lunch
Following This Thread

"What do you mean she just took the book and ran?" Rosalie sighed heavily, running her hand through her hair as she groaned. It was only the sixth day of term, and already there were crises piling up - many of which had nothing to do with Professor Halloway's wild theories and antics. Apparently, when Cassian, Bear and Everleigh were doing book returns, a girl had toppled their carts and a book had gone missing in the confusion.

'Bloodlines and Binding' was a Restricted Section book, but more than that, it was an extremely dangerous book if left in the hands of someone untrained in the areas of ancestral or blood magic. The amount of things that could go wrong where numerous, and Julia had entrusted them as her Head Assistants to ensure these sorts of things didn't happen.

It meant if they didn't find the book quickly, they and Ellen were all in for a world of hurt.

Luckily, the school was in rather short supply of students, so it shouldn't be terribly difficult to identify the culprit and take back what was theirs. She had half a mind to get Rae involved. Their little Slytherin tsunami would be a great henchwoman, and probably put the fear of God in the thief. But the less cooks in the kitchen, the less messy this would probably be.

"Okay," she said, straightening and decided the faster they tried to take the girl down, the less likely Julia was to find out. "You said you think she was around third year? What did she look like? Did she say anything at all?"

Rosie gathered up the stack of RS permission forms that she'd just signed off on for various professors and tucked them neatly into the cabinet, before locking it and stuffing the key in Cassian's robe pocket. "Try not to lose that one, Casanova," she said, a smirk playing on her lips as she rolled her eyes.

Cassian hadn't been able to get his mind off the incident, even a day later. It was with good reason. 'Bloodlines and Binding' wasn't the sort of book to be left lying around--despite that being the way he'd found it in the first place. More and more, it was becoming very clear that chaos was the order of the day inside the library. That book hadn't been the only one belonging to the restricted section that he'd found just lying around, but it was the one that got away while he'd been distracted by his housemates.

"What do you mean she just took the book and ran?"

"Just that," he said, shifting so she had better access to his pocket. "One minute we were standing around, re-sorting the history section, and the next, she crashed right into us. I thought I'd seen something tucked into her robes, but everything had happened so quickly that I couldn't be sure. By the time it was obvious the book was gone, so was she."

Three assistants were standing around, and none had noticed the blatant theft. If they didn't find that book soon, they'd have to tell Julia. Cassian didn't imagine that conversation would go well, and he didn't think he was very interested in having it either. This wasn't how he thought he'd start the term as a head assistant.

That only left one option. Find the book.

Cass rolled his eyes playfully at the insistence that he not lose the key. "Just don't have random girls bumping into me, and it shouldn't be a problem." Frankly, he'd prefer if no one bumped into him. Now that he knew there was a chance it would be a pickpocketing tactic, the boy had become aware of his location in relation to others.

"The weird thing is...I'm sure I've seen her in the library before." The boy never forgot a face. He hesitated a moment, trying to think. "Always...alone, I'm sure. Really long bangs, dark hair. Kinda skittish..."

Yeah, he remembered her now.

Cassian snapped his fingers. "Come with me." He thought he knew where she was--where he hoped she'd be anyway. Thieves were usually too smart to return to the scene of the crime, no?

"Just don't have random girls bumping into me, and it shouldn't be a problem."

Her smirk grew as she narrowed her eyes at him. He was so clever, wasn't he? "You're lucky you're cute," she said, tugging him by the collar to press her lips briefly against his. "Maybe take that down a notch and all the girls will stop bumping into you." She gave him another cheeky smile and a playful shove for emphasis.

"The weird thing is...I'm sure I've seen her in the library before. Always...alone, I'm sure. Really long bangs, dark hair. Kinda skittish..."

Actually, that sounded really familiar. Rosie was sure she had seen the girl he was describing a few times. There was a younger girl, a little bit of a loner who came in every so often that fit that description. Timid, skittish, didn't really talk to anyone or ever ask for help.

Shit. She thought she'd remembered the girl turning in a Restricted Section permission form at one point that had been denied. Something about the material being far too beyond Julia's comfort level for a younger year - and her justification had been a little off.

She couldn't remember the book. Maybe it was the same girl.

"Come with me."

He didn't need to tell her twice. If he knew where to find that book, all the better. Her fingers interlocked with his as she followed him, her steps doubled to keep up with his long strides. "Where are we going?"

"Sounds a little impossible," Cass replied, tugging her in to steal a second kiss before she could pull away, "but for you, I suppose I'm willing to try anything at least once."

In this case, the Ravenclaw couldn't be any more sure than he was now that that particular bump had nothing to do with his curly hair and freckles. The unassuming girl who'd often moved through the library like a spectre had played her cards right and had seen the perfect moment to strike. He could only imagine how long she must've been waiting for an opportunity like the one that presented itself to her the day before. On some level, he didn't blame her for taking it. He was of the opinion that knowledge should never be restricted in the first place.

He just...wished this didn't become a pain in the ass for them in the aftermath.

"Where are we going?"

Cassian placed a finger to his lips in lieu of offering up any explanations. He gestured for Rosie to continue following as he made his way down the aisle and led them across two others. Rather than enter this one, he paused just beyond view, peering past the shelf to the other side, where the library opened up to house the study tables.

"She's there," he said, his tone as incredulous as he felt. Knowing what she'd done...the girl had actually come back. Cass squinted, trying to get a look at what she was doing. She was lost in a book, as she often was, but it wasn't the one they were looking for. No, that one lay within the pile she had stacked next to her, one elbow resting atop the pile while she gave in to her distractions.

"Okay, here's what we'll do." Easing back, he turned to look at Rosie. "I'm the one she nicked it from. Seeing me coming might spook her. You walk up to her, tell her...tell her whatever. I know you've got it." The girl had spent enough time in theatre with him to know how to improvise. "I'll come in from the aisle back there, out of sight and swipe it."

He didn't know if the girl was a runner and didn't think he wanted to find out.

A second kiss. Ugh, he could be so smooth. She rolled her eyes, her lips still quirked upwards in a smile. "Yeah alright, Casanova," she brushed him off, as she followed him through the main part of the library. The way other girls looked at Cassian didn't slip past her notice. Those curls, sweet freckles, deep brown eyes and smug grin were enough to catch any girl's attention. Add in his charm and Cassian had them tripping over themselves, suddenly very interested in books they’d never so much as glanced at before.

She quieted at his gesture, keeping close behind him as they snuck down an aisle and past two more. When he paused, she peered around him, following his gaze to the girl that was sitting at one of the far study tables. It was the girl she'd thought of. Audacious girl, wasn't she to swipe the book when she hadn't gotten her way into the Restricted Section. If the girl hadn't made it completely Cassian and Rosalie's problem, the Gryffindor might have been somewhat impressed by her persistence.

As it was, she was not impressed, rather annoyed now, actually.

"I'm the one she nicked it from. Seeing me coming might spook her. You walk up to her, tell her...tell her whatever. I know you've got it."

She eased back when he did, a look of skepticism creeping across her features as he tasked her with the job of distraction. "In all the time you've known me," her low response came, "have you ever taken me for an actress?" She grinned a little, and sighed. There was a reason she'd never let Cassian cast her in his plays. She was a behind-the-scenes girl, and liked it that way. "Alright fine, but be quick. Otherwise I'm going to have to employ Rae to threaten her for it." And then they'd have an even bigger mess trying to figure out what the Slytherin would want for her troubles.

Rosie slipped around the corner, grabbing a few books off the shelf as she did. She wandered casually back up the aisle towards the study table area, making her gait as casual as possible. Her eyes fell on the book tucked inconspicuously between two others. The little thief. What in the world could she possibly want with such a book?

"Hi," she said brightly, smiling sweetly as the girl looked up from her book. She didn't respond, only stared as though she were looking right through Rosie. "I'm one of the Head Assistants, and I...noticed you're in here all the time."

Nothing. Just...nothing. Was the girl a mute, like Kate?

"Anyway," Rosie said, her eyes glancing away for the slightest second to catch sight of Cassian, and she moved herself slightly to the left, taking the girl's gaze away from the direction of her books. "We're starting a new program, the assistants that is," she racked her brain for any sort of inspiration. "Well, it's really a book club and..."

"I don't like book clubs."

So she could speak! "Great, because it's definitely not a book club," Rosie pivoted, her eyes once again flicking towards Cass as he crept closer, and then back to the girl before she could notice.

"But you just said..."

"It's actually more of a book organization," Rosie improvised, keeping her tone bright and breezy, "where we pair students with books that...match their temperament! Like a matchmaking service, but for literature." The girl frowned, confusion crossing her features.

As Cassian moved closer, Rosalie bent down, talking lowly so the girl would have to lean in to her. "Personally, I think it's a little ridiculous too, but apparently someone though Beedle the Bard was everyone's soulmate, so now we're tasked with ensuring things are lined up appropriately."

"In all the time you've known me, have you ever taken me for an actress?"

"Serious answer?" he asked, his brow quirking up in a tease. Rosalie Laurence had been a great actress. She'd convinced a large portion of the school's population that she was a proper lady, soft spoken and sweet. She'd given them the impression she was a wallflower of sorts, eager to agree and please. While many of those things may have been true, none of them had been for at least the last year. Cassian was smug for the part he played in that, but even smugger to find out she'd had it in her all along.

Now she continued the ruse for the sake of Merlin knew what, and he got to watch her perform this ritual as if it were still the skin she lived in.

If only they knew.

Cass listened from a distance as Rosie approached the girl. A book club. It wasn't a bad idea. For a girl who liked to hang out in the library as often as she did, it might have been right up her alley.

Or not.

Book clubs weren't really her thing. Cassian hesitated behind the shelf, knowing it wasn't the right time to swoop in when she clearly wasn't very committed to the line of conversation. He'd have to hope Rosie was as quick on her feet as she needed to be. Peering around the corner, he could see the wheels turning quickly behind her eyes, but his girlfriend never wavered. She pivoted in a flash. The leaning in was genius. If you couldn't beguile the attention out of someone, the next option was always to physically take it.

With the girl now perturbed by this new suggestion and even more by the invasion of her space, the boy crept up behind her. When he was close enough, he nicked the entire pile. Frankly, if she'd stolen one book, there was every chance of finding another she shouldn't have had in her possession.

And so it was.

Cassian tutted, startling the poor girl who whipped around in her chair to face him. Her face drained itself of colour as realisation lit her pale eyes.

"Chronomancy and the Fractured Hour...proper banned in most places, that one." He shuffled it to the bottom of the pile before reading the next title. "The Alkahest Codex... Merlin, you've been busy--ah, here we are. Bloodlines and Binding. We've got a proper book thief, Rosie. Do we even have some of these logged as taken out?"

The girl sat, her mouth agape, while her face continued to grow ashen. She was obviously embarrassed, brought to tears by her own chagrin. She'd never been much for words in the first place, and now she floundered, hard. Had Cassian noticed, he may have eased up on the quips, but his mind was occupied with checking the rest of the pile.

"Sorry, I'm really not interested - "

Cassian snatched her pile of books, just as the girl was reaching for them to make her getaway. He shuffled through them, Rosie watching as the thief's eyes widened and the color drained from her face. "It's bloody brilliant to steal from people who you have to see every day," Rosie began, her annoyance immediately taking over the fake-sweet demeanor she'd been betraying.

"Chronomancy and the Fractured Hour...proper banned in most places, that one." Chronomancy?! She had more than one Restricted Section book, and one about time-breaking no less. How in the world had this little girl managed -

"The Alkahest Codex... Merlin, you've been busy."

And matter-breaking? Rosalie's mouth fell open slightly, ready to continue her telling off when she caught sight of tears in the girl's eyes. Oh. Shit. She...hadn't wanted the girl to cry or get upset. Rosie just wanted the book(s) back, and to ensure she didn't try this stunt again. She could have gotten all the HA's in serious, serious trouble had Julia and the Headmistress been made aware, and it could have shut down the assistant program altogether.

"Cass," she said softly, trying to get his attention.

"Ah, here we are. 'Bloodlines and Binding'. We've got a proper book thief, Rosie. Do we even have some of these logged as taken out?"

"No," she said, torn between the relief that they'd retrieved the books, and...ruddy concern for the girl who looked about ready to fall apart. "Cassian." She caught his eye and nodded down to the girl for him to catch a glimpse of what she was seeing. She sighed heavily. They had the books back, there was no point in chastising the girl or humiliating her. They probably just needed to figure out why she was doing it so they could prevent her doing it again.

"Time-breaking, matter-breaking and binding rituals?" Rosie asked, leaning slightly on the girl's desk so she wouldn't try to make a run for it. "What are you trying to do? Go back in time and stop the conception of Merlin?" It was sarcasm of course but...really, what was she trying to do?!

As he thought, not properly logged. Had they not chanced upon this remarkable find, they would've never known these books were missing until they did the audits, and those wouldn't be until at least the end of the month, if not the end of the semester. By then, the girl may have returned them or locked them away for whatever purposes required her to collect so many questionable reads. Cassian clicked his tongue lightly, finding a fourth book that shouldn't have been in her possession.

Were they going to have to tell Julia? Probably, yeah? One book they could excuse. Even two wouldn't be enough to get the boy too hot and bothered, but the girl was collecting her own mini library of the dark and foreboding arts. While not inherently a problem, if she kept it up, she was going to get them all in trouble.

It was easy to admire the ambition, less easy to admire her disregard for the trouble it would cause others.

"Cassian."

The boy glanced up from the books for the first time, catching Rosie's gaze. Not understanding at first, his eyes fell next on the girl, who looked like she was ready to crawl out of her skin and be anywhere else. He got it, really, wanting something bad enough but being told you couldn't for one reason or another. Whether she was mad curious or trying to achieve an end, Cassian could understand not wanting to be stopped by anything. That said, he also understood that if not them, Miss Laurence would handle the situation, and he didn't think she'd take any kinder to having her books swiped from an area you needed proper clearance to visit.

"Time-breaking, matter-breaking and binding rituals? What are you trying to do? Go back in time and stop the conception of Merlin?"

The humour was lost on the girl. With her last bit of courage, she wiggled by Rosie, out of her seat, and made a run for it. A nearby bauble, not a fan of her turning the library into a race track, was in hot pursuit, but the moment the girl hit the door, it relented.

Cassian sighed heavily, returning his gaze to his girlfriend. "Come on, let's get these put back where they belong. We should..." He gazed briefly at the door, conflicted by his next sentence. "We should probably tell Julia. Let her figure out how to handle this." He didn't think the girl had ill intentions, but the road to hell was paved with all the good ones, and sometimes, it was the ones you didn't suspect.

The boy was fine leaving this one to the librarian.