C. M. Black: Blood of a Dog

Chapter I: Azkaban

All windows in the house were open, trying to entice inside some of the occasional breeze that could make the scolding heat of late July bearable. The weather was unfavourable, even though the weather of Canterbury was known to be milder than other areas of the country, Cassy much preferred the winter months spent in Scotland with heavy snowfall and frosted windows.

She sat in the library upstairs, having pulled everything she wanted from the second floor and stuffing it into various places in the coolest room at the back of the house. Papers were strewn across the dark stained floorboards, some stacked against the chairs and rolled into a scroll, placed to one side, but not forgotten. A large piece of parchment was secured to the ground with weighty objects in each of the four corners, smoothing out the thick surface as Cassy carefully twisted the compass again, measuring out another two points to mark on.

Her right hand twisted over her left side, trying to reach for a finer piece of charcoal.

'Next time Cassy, perhaps you should move the paper around, rather than hopping to the other side. Or at least remember to move your equipment too,' she muttered to herself, leaning over precariously as she refused to again measure out the coordinates.

Just as her fingers connected, they slipped and she toppled sideways, the noise masked by the greater bang from downstairs. Cassy lay on the floor for a moment, eyes trained towards the open door. Several more bangs followed, then low, hushed voices, which quickly rose to shouts and thunderous footsteps. Moving quickly, she pulled herself up, folded her parchment and silently hurried to shut the door, grabbing her wand from the little table beside it.

'Strip everything down,' shouted a man from somewhere down the hall.

Cassy readied herself behind the sofa. She considered transfiguring the door, or adding a protective charm over the surface, but she knew it would only add suspicion. That would surely alert whomever was inside that there was already an occupant and although she liked to believe she was not completely defenceless, she had more sense than to assume she could singularly counter that many.

Alone I might have a chance, she thought. Ducking below the back of the chair, she sat stock-still, her wand still raised and ready as the door opened. Her heart gave a nervous jitter as the footsteps grew louder. She needed to contact Alphard, she reasoned, but there was nothing to be done for the moment, except hiding.

Silence. The door banged against the table behind it and then – nothing. There were no rushing footsteps and calling voices, no furniture was over-turned. There was only the slight shuffling of feet after a moment of complete stillness.

Cassy breathed slowly, watching a shadow spread across the wall in front of her, until the man himself was within sight. Balding and stout, he picked up a photo-frame from the little circular table not far from the sofa.

'Be careful, Martins,' came a voice. 'It would be best not to-'

Narrowing her eyes in thought, Cassy flicked her wand, whispering, 'Confundo!'

Martins staggered, the frame slipping from his hand and crashing to the floor. As the other man, whom Cassy looked to just long enough to spot his greying hair, rushed to his side to steady him, Cassy slipped out from behind the sofa. Her steps could not be heard over Matins' confused babbles and she dared not look back. Instead, she darted into the small cupboard as someone emerged from her bedroom. The door was then pushed to, allowing Cassy to crouch against the only clear wall space. She gave a great, uneven sigh into her hand.

She stayed there for a time, simply waiting for Alphard to return. No one entered, assuming it to be nothing more than a store cupboard for some of Alphard's less harmful creations and having checked it once, was certain there would be nothing of value within it. At least, that is what Cassy assumed as the invaders trekked back and forth, moving and upturning furniture, as if searching for something important.

Cassy kept her eyes trained on the ceiling, willing Alphard to hurry home.

There was another whoosh of sound, the Floo having been activated. More voices filled the living room, the loudest being a deep, gruff one that commanded authority and the sound that followed suggested he got it. Cassy frowned when she heard the heavy footstep, followed by a dull clunk.

Perhaps he had a walking stick, she mused.

It was not a stick, but in fact, a wooden leg, as Cassy found when she was suddenly at his feet.

Pain coursed through her body, each muscle seizing, forcing her to remain on the floor where she had been forcibly relocated to. Her breath was shaky, lungs feeling like ice and her heart beating too fast in comparison. She could feel her eyes glazing over, losing focus, and just managing to see the huddle of feet that surrounded her.

Warmed, Cassy debated not rising, but her mind decided against it. She could not expect to agree with even herself that she should just stay put, but instead conceded in kicking her feet over the edge of the bed – her bed.

Despite the ransacking it had endured earlier, her bedroom appeared relatively unscathed. The furniture was shifted and many items out of place, even, Cassy noted with annoyance, her photograph of her, Harry and Neville she had been sent in previous June was dismounted from the wall.

She ran a hand over her cheek, irritated and sore. The voices downstairs could not be heard clearly through the closed door, but she was pleased to note there was a noticeable lack of shouting. Knowing that she needed to know what was happening, she stood and strode towards the door. Perhaps the invaders had locked her in, or perhaps they were no longer there at all, for it seemed strangely curious that they should tuck her into bed.

She pulled open the door, revealing a man with pale skin and a long, shiny face. 'You're up at last then.'

'Why are you here?' asked Cassy bluntly.

The man recoiled slightly and opened his mouth slowly. 'I'm Jennings. I'm here with the Auror squad.'

'And what business do Aurors have in my home?' she said lowly. She was missing something, she was sure of it. Alphard had never been known to delve into the darker aspects of magic, not publicly at least. Although he knew a lot about them, he had never practised any such art and so their house was void of anything the Ministry would find interesting, bar some very old texts that could be considered boarder line dark depending on who was viewing them. A raid just did not seem sensible.

Jennings did not reply immediately and when he did, it was to tell her that Alphard was downstairs and that he had requested her presence when she awoke. Neither of them made to move.

'I will not go first, you will have to,' she said.

'What?' asked Jennings, blinking in surprise. 'No, I have to keep an eye on you.'

'And I have to keep an eye on you,' she said plainly. Mirroring his expression, Cassy lowered her eyebrows, eyes then sharpening in annoyance. 'What evidence do you have that you are an Auror?'

'Good, she has some sense,' said a voice from behind her.

Cassy whirled around, keeping her back angled to her door, enabling her to see both the new stranger and Jennings. Her hands flexed at her side when she took in his appearance; greyed hair, stout stature and a rough face. However, they were not the most defining feature, for what really set her on edge, was the large, protruding eye, electric blue in colour and darting madly from side to side.

'Like it?' he said gruffly. 'Nothing can past this eye, not even walls.'

Cassy, knowing it was too late to stop staring when he had already caught her, pursed her lips and gazed intently, waiting for him to say something else. When he did, he did not address her, but rather Jennings, whom he told to return to the attic to aid their investigation.

'Come with me, kid,' he then said to her.

Cassy was surprised when he turned his back on her, opting to follow slowly. From where she stood, she could see each step and with each one, got another glimpse of an odd, wooden foot that she could not quite make out properly. Squinting in thought, she leaned her head a little closer.

'Keep doing that, Lass, and you're going to trip down the stairs,' he said lowly, startling her. She straightened up again and said nothing. Apparently his eye could do more than simply see through walls; it could see through the back of his head.

They reached the bottom of the staircase, his wooden foot clunking heavily and Cassy wondered how he ever managed to sneak up on her. None the less, she followed him into the sitting room, which was occupied by many faces, only one of whom she recognised. The room fell into silence.

'Cassy, sit,' said Alphard, tapping the seat next to him.

She strode through the centre of the room, carefully avoiding all eyes before placing herself down carefully. Folding her hands in her lap, she looked to him and received no further correspondence. His eyes were instead trained on the man who had collected her, who appeared not to be in any sort of hurry when he took a long swig from his hip-flask before speaking.

'Sorry for such a loud intrusion, Alphard, the first squad was sent while we were still discussing the matter. Not that there's much to be discussed is there? We've got to find him soon, or the nation will be in panic.'

'While I do not blame you, Alastor, I am livid at what the Ministry has done to my home. I have not seen him since he was a boy and I have no intention of now. He is not here,' replied Alphard icily.

'Now, now, Mr. Black. These are all precautions, you see. That's why we even have Moody here, but, you know,' said another man, waving to the gruff man, 'we thought – we thought that maybe he would... come back for her.' He jerked his head in Cassy's direction.

Quickly her eyes narrowed and a dozen questions bubbled in her mind, none of which left her mouth. Instead, she turned to Alphard, who was still not looking at her. Cassy's lips curled back when a woman spoke up, addressing her directly. She was not the only one, for Alphard tightened his hands into fists, too.

'Go back,' hissed Alphard, ' you have no business telling her. I will do it myself when I see fit.'

Had Cassy not been so irritated already, she may have blinked in surprise like the woman did. However, she merely tightened her hands together.

'Surely she needs to know now?' barked the woman, rising to stand.

'It is none of your-' started Alphard, words half-mingling with the woman's continuing ones.

'Your father-'

'My father?' repeated Cassy loudly. Silence followed her exclamation, even the woman looked unsure of herself now she had said it and shrunk back at the low growl from Alphard. 'What does that man have to do with anything?'

'Cassy, he's escaped Azkaban,' said Alphard, sighing.

She did not move. The words kept repeating in her mind as an odd sense of unease finally settled in her stomach. It had been a long time since she had felt it, a sense of panic that was not the one born from danger, or the adventurous panic she often felt as a child; but a fear from knowing nothing. She knew nothing at all about him.

The occupants shuffled, bar Moody who seemed not to have noticed the heavy atmosphere as he drank. They looked to each other, even the portraits gazed awkwardly around, some opting to leave their canvases all together for a cheerier one. The only nose came from upstairs, a loud bang followed by shattering, Alphard's storeroom finally penetrated and damaged in one foul swoop.

Alphard stood, holding his arms stiffly by his side, said, 'I would like you all to leave.'

'You can't-' began the same man from earlier, but Moody held up his hand to silence him.

'There's nothing here. The squad upstairs should be done by now and Nymphadora will return soon with the report from the investigation team of Azkaban, many of us are needed there. We'll be off, but remember, if we get even a whiff that you're helping him, you'll find yourself hauled straight to the ministry, the girl too, if need be,' he said, before turning and striding out of the room. Slowly, the others followed silently, until only Cassy and Alphard were in the house.

The grandfather clock in the hall ticked loudly and the sound of Alphard's ring scraping on his trousers, a usually inaudible noise, broke the silence in the most aggravating of ways. Cassy would rather be faced with absolute solitude, silence that would allow her to calm and think, but there was no such place.

Eventually, she let out a shaky breath. There was not much Cassy would admit to being clueless towards, but this was one of them. She supposed she should feel angry, that her no-good father had escaped the impenetrable prison, or concerned for what her friends may think. However, these were only secondary to the burning rising from her heart. It was not sympathy or hope, but anger. Anger that reminded her he was nothing to her, title excluded he was nothing.

'Do you think he will come for me?' she said hoarsely. Her eyes remained fixed on a spot in front of her, refusing to move even as Alphard shifted and squeezed her hand tighter.

'Do you wish him to?'

'No.'

The house would take the better part of a day and a half to return to normal. Alphard had made a list of damages that he intended to bill the Ministry for, as well as lodging a complaint for the forcible use of spells on a minor.

Cassy retrieved her work from behind the sofa in the library where she had left it and was pleased to see it was very much intact. Although Alphard was not. Upon discovering her transmutation diagram, she was thoroughly scolded and he threatened that if she was not already grounded for the summer, she surely would have been for attempting such a dangerous branch of magic at her age.

'You are only as young as you feel,' she said simply.

Alphard disagreed, stating the saying could not work both ways – Cassy did not see why not – and he was even less impressed with her comment stating that if he did not intend for her to further her studies while he is absent, he would secure his potion supplies better. The diagram was confiscated and Cassy was sent to her room after dinner, but she did not mind.

With legs crossed, she sat on her bed, holding a small, rectangular mirror. She tilted it back and forth, waiting for an image that was not her own to appear like it had many times that summer.

'Harry,' she called. There was a flicker of movement, green paper against a white ceiling, then the familiar face of her friend popped into view.

'You haven't been trying too long, have you?' he asked, grinning. His hair was dishevelled and there were spots of water across the front of his black top, highly visible in the intense evening sun.

'Busy were you?' she said.

Harry nodded and looked down at his top, tutting, but still wiping his damp hands on the hem. 'I was washing up after dinner and Dudley threw a fork into the bowl. Needless to say, we got into an argument and I got sent to my room just now, which is why I look a bit of a mess.'

There was a rattling and a loud bark, causing Harry to look to the side with a smile. With a smile of her own, Cassy called, 'Hello, Hedwig.'

Hedwig barked again.

'She says hello,' said Harry.

Faintly, Cassy could hear movements before a sudden shout of, 'Will you keep that ruddy bird quiet?' came through Harry's door. He gave a half-hearted apology back and turned to Cassy expectantly.

'So,' he said, 'how have you been?'

Cassy grimaced. 'I have something I need to tell you and it is not good news, so please listen carefully.' She paused and Harry nodded, saying nothing and allowing her to collect herself. Cassy looked up at the ceiling for a moment, not wanting to see his concerned stare, because she did not want to see how it would change by the end of her explanation. 'Yesterday, something happened that the rest of society is not yet aware of.'

'Right?' prompted Harry.

'My- someone...' she stumbled, biting her lip. It should not have been so difficult to begin, but it was. She wanted to just say it, admit that her father had escaped and see how he reacted, but she could not. She had to think. 'Do you remember in our first year that I said my father is not around and that I have never met him? Well, that is because for the last twelve years he has been in Azkaban.'

'Your dad's in prison?' said Harry loudly, eyebrows shooting to his hairline. 'Right, so – uh-'

'You can ask why,' she said flatly, glancing down at the mirror to see him staring sheepishly.

'Okay, so – er, why?'

'To be blunt, he killed thirteen Muggles,' she said as Harry stared, 'with one curse, apparently.'

'One curse? You can't kill that many people with one curse,' protested Harry. 'So, how is this news no one knows of yet? Has he been released?'

There was a moment of silence, before Cassy spoke quietly, 'No, he has escaped.'

'Escaped Azkaban?' parroted Harry.

'Escaped Azkaban,' she confirmed.

'But that's impossible.'

'So they say,' she said with a sigh. 'Look, I only found out earlier today when the Ministry raided my home. They seem to think... he may try and see me, but others seemed a little more sceptical when it was said. They have not told us much at this stage, just that we are going to be monitored.'

Harry was quiet for a moment, various emotions flickered across this tanned face. He watched Cassy with unnerving thought, forcibly holding her gaze. Eventually, he said, 'Why wouldn't he want to see you?'

'That's – that's also complicated,' she said. 'Besides the Ministry and Alphard and I, you are the only person that knows. I need you to tell Neville, Hermione, Ginny, and Dean not to send me any letters for the rest of the summer, I probably will not receive them anyway. I don't want anyone else involved, either.'

Harry nodded slowly. 'What should I tell them?'

'The truth I suppose, although, when it is revealed that he has escaped, I am sure they will all figure it out on their own.' Cassy thought that Harry had taken the news remarkably well, despite being shocked. She could tell he was holding something back, his tone slightly strained, but his face held concern for her that she had not expected, but upon considering this, knew she probably should have. Harry often cared too much, he was too kind and forgiving. To think anything less of him would be insulting; she should have had more faith in her friends.

They spoke a while longer, trailing off the topic of her father and onto more trivial matters, such as Harry's sudden sun tan, or the crack in the left lens of his glasses. They parted at midnight and Harry's final words were not to worry and he said it with a smile, making Cassy offer a lopsided one back at him in relief.

A short chapter by my usual standards by a few thousand words, but it is intended to kick the year off. I hope you like it so far!

I always assumed that the houses of those he was close to would be raided and considering this one holds his daughter I thought it was an appropriate place to begin looking. I know Moody was retired by this point, but I kind of feel that a high-profile Death Eater breaking out of the most secure prison in the world might call for him to be doing a little sideline work.

Anyway, I will update within the next two weeks when my writing has moved in a bit.

Thanks!