A.N. Cassian is pronounced Cash-un. So naturally Cass would be Cash. I'll either use references from the books or movies depending on which I prefer at the time. Okie dokie, that's all for this chapter I believe.

Title: Torn Decisions

Story Rating: T

Chapter Rating: K+

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Chapter Three

Stepping into the shop, Severus inhaled the aroma of herbs, candles, incense, and bottled sprays. It was a smell of familiarity associated with memories; some bittersweet. Walking amongst the shelves he took his time picking out the items he wanted and placing them in his basket. He knew where everything was having visited this particular store frequently and for many years. If any of his colleagues could see him they wouldn't believe it. As a Slytherin and former Death Eater, he was viewed as a muggle hater. Yes, at one point in time he had hated them. His muggle father was to blame for that. Due to that man he knew firsthand how cruel human beings could be without magic. He was one of the reasons Severus had craved power the Dark Lord promised his followers. It had been obvious while he'd been at school that the so called light side wouldn't get him anywhere with the magical world licking the boots of people like Potter and Black.

There were places in the muggle world that Severus found comfort and contentment in however. This little shop on the corner of a friendly shopping square was just such a place. What was interesting about this shop was that it was a front of sorts. While it sold perfectly harmless herbs, teas, pastes, and 'potions' for muggles that were into the 'new age' trend, it also sold those same items of a wizarding nature that you couldn't find in a regular apothecary. The owner of course had notice me not and muggle repelling charms on those that weren't intended for the general public. The man had to jump through a lot of hoops to have a business license and property approved for such a blatant location, but then again, they had been hiding out in the open for a very long time with properties such as the Leaky Cauldron, King's Cross, and other places. For some like Severus who didn't have the time to go to Diagon Alley, places like this were easier and a must have.

Placing small vials of eucalyptus oil and lavender next to a clump of skullcap, Severus was about to head to the counter where the clerk was filling up a haversack with brown paper wrapped packages. Seeing the Potions Master he nodded a greeting with a smile before saying, "Be right with you."

"Oi, Bert," a young voice called from behind a book rack. It caught one's attention not from its rude and incredulous tone, but by the cadence and inflection on some of the words. There wasn't one specific accent but seeming a blend of them to make the voice unique. "Do people actually buy this garbage?"

Beltram or Bert as he preferred to be called was the proprietor of the shop and was usually good natured. The man had a frown as he looked up from placing the last parcel in the bag and addressed the owner of the voice by the books. "Don't hurt my merchandise, Cass."

"I won't." A hand encased in fingerless gloves put a book with the title How to get in Touch with Your Inner Wizard back where he'd taken it from. Stepping out from behind the books and ignoring Severus, the youth went up to the check out. The boy's eyes were hidden behind a pair of smoke tinted sunglasses but a rueful smile played on the corner of the boy's mouth as he muttered, "One time! You'd think you'd let it go by now."

Bert gave a shake of his head with a snort of laughter. "You frightened the poor woman out of her wits and cost me a jar of rare cordyceps."

Severus didn't hear the muttered reply but the boy seemed hardly repentant of the fact that he'd nearly caused someone a heart attack or lost the man business. What did Bert expect from one that dressed like a muggle delinquent? Although, at least this one didn't have baggy jeans as some he'd seen running about. Though what possessed children to wear ball caps backwards he would never know.

"You sure you want 'em all today?" Bert asked handing the bag over to the boy who was digging out some notes out of the pocket of his dark half pant jeans. Nodding, Cass took the strap from Bert after handing over the money and grunted at the full weight. Giving a wave as he left, the boy called out a, "See you next time."

At Severus' arched brow, Bert laughed as he began to add up the potion professor's purchases. "Cassian delivers orders for me. The boy is saving up for an instrument."

"He doesn't look like a musician," he stated only to have the other man laugh again. He noted Severus' interest when he mentioned the boy's name. Bert was sure he knew why but wouldn't divulge anything about his customers. That was another reason why people of both wizard and muggle liked to do business with this shop. Besides his generally friendly nature, Bert wasn't one to pry for details or gossip. The only time the man ever said anything was when he thought it needed saying.

"Looks can be deceiving, as you well know. Like my shop. The boy's a good kid. Talented too." As he wrapped the vials in paper to keep them from breaking, Bert continued on despite the fact he knew that Severus really wasn't one for small talk. "Performs on streets corners during the weekends, really good with these puppets. You should go see for yourself." He didn't have to look at the other man meaningfully to get his point across. "The way he manipulates them puppets is what some might describe as magic."

Severus threw a look at him but the other was busy putting the items Severus had purchased into a bag. He didn't say anything else except to wish the Potions Master a good day. A scowl was the man's answering reply as he left the shop and went to his favorite tea shoppe. Ordering a cup of tea with a honey and apple turnover, the man indulged in the fresh air as he sat at an outdoor table in the shade of its umbrella. He was reading the latest 'advancements' on potions while surreptitiously keeping an eye on the square. A flash of orange caught his attention and turning his gaze to where it had caught, his raven brows furrowed as his eyes narrowed. It was that hoodlum boy from Bert's shop; the gaudy orange hooded shirt with its black abstract designs was hideous enough for him to remember it. It was almost as repulsive as if he was declaring himself to be a Chudley Cannons fan. Taking a quick glance up at the sign printed on the building's window the boy was looking in, he saw that it was an antique store.

Recalling the name Bert had used, Severus inwardly snorted. This boy was hardly the one the Minstry was looking for. The name had to be a coincidence. Even the boy's description was all wrong! This child had dark hair while the missing brat had a lighter brown hair color. Ashwood was the son of a pureblood. This boy practically screamed muggle! This one had a healthy weight and pallor despite being slim and likely on the smaller scale for his age range. There would be one way to find out for sure if Bert wasn't pulling his leg which Severus was sure the man wouldn't do. He'd been trying to tip Severus off without being quite so obvious about it. Even having mentioned that what appeared to be offhand comment about the boy scaring the woman customer before had been a nod at Severus. It was likely the occurrence that had gotten the Minsitry's attention. They had picked up Ashwood's magical signature located in this general area. Since then it had been under surveillance day and night by an Auror. The Minister of Magic (Via Dumbledore no doubt), asked if Severus would mind looking into the matter since he was a frequenter of the district and wouldn't seem out of place. Grudgingly, he had agreed since it meant he would be able to have the luxury to shop and enjoy his time away from any and all Hogwarts Staff and the majority of the students.

If the boy was Ashwood, one had to wonder why he would stick around the area so long. It didn't fit with any of the information they had on the child or his parent. Severus watched the boy walk away from the window and head for the other side of the square towards the residential area. Doubting the boy lived there, the man was sure he was just doing his delivery rounds for Bert. With a suitable lead and done with his shopping for the time being, Severus went back home. It wasn't as if the child was going to run if it was Ashwood. Bert told him that the boy was there every weekend. So, the weekend was when Severus came back to see for himself this so called show, it didn't take long for him to locate the boy. There was a crowd gathering not too far away and there was what could only be described as a loud cacophony of obnoxious noise. He supposed some would have called it music but the man thought that the term was stretching it a bit. Scowling in distaste when a girl screeched nearby, Severus moved away from her and edged closer to the front of the crowd. There he saw the boy from Bert's shop, just as the man said he would.

Today's ensemble was just as bad as the other day's. In place of the orange and black hoody was a grey and black one with a silver cross imprinted on it. He still wore the same gloves and sunglasses despite the overcast day his cap was on the ground with some money already in it for tips. With his cursory glance over, Severus actually let himself not be distracted by the boy's bad taste in clothing, instead he watched as the boy moved and was caught up in the performance. As he watched he noticed quite a few things; one of which was the fact that there was no wasted movements, each step was fluid and smooth making it all seem effortlessly. The smile on the child's face helped to sell the fact despite the truth of it being that like any art, the boy was probably concentrating really hard to make it seem that way for the crowd. Two puppets were dancing in sync with him just as gracefully. Once the song ended, both boy and puppets bowed as the crowd applauded and tossed coins and bills into the cap. Another song and once again puppets and puppeteer were in motion to the beat of the music.

Paying more attention to the puppets, Severus's eyes widened minutely and quickly darted to the boy whose hair started to clump together with sweat. Beads of perspiration were on his upper lip and forehead. The more the man watched, the more certain he was that the child was using magic. He was consciously using magic and it wasn't any magic that he had cast. It looked like the boy had cast an animation spell on the puppets. That wasn't an easy spell, using it was difficult enough on its own without the fact the child had cast it wandless. How good it was and the length of the enchantment lasting depended on the strength and skill of the castor. Considering that Cassian was a twelve year old boy who had held it together for over a half hour and it was expertly cast since Severus hadn't sensed any magic, the boy was as Bert put it, 'talented'. None of the crowd saw what Severus had; the muggles all thought that it was a brilliant show. It seemed as if the boy knew his own limits as well, but needed to pull back a bit sooner than he had.

Taking his last bow the boy told thanked them, apologized and still smiling told them that was it for the day. He sat down nearly spent as the crowd dispersed making sounds of both disappointment and excitement. Now that he wasn't using magic and was sitting down to rest, the boy's clammy skin was starting to take on its usual color. Thankfully, the noise halted from the incredibly old boom box giving everyones ears a break.

'Smart boy,' Severus thought as he watched the boy taking small sips from the water bottle he'd pulled from the deep side pockets of his blue half pants. If he'd gulped instead of sipped and taking it slowing the boy would be throwing what he'd drank back up again. Taking notice of the wizard, Cassian only stated, "Bert said you might come 'round."

"He insisted that I come to your puppet show." Severus watched the boy intently as he said his next sentence. "There was mention how what you seem to do with your puppets is magic."

Cassian didn't react at all as he took another swallow from his water bottle. Bert had told him that he'd mentioned his show to a fellow wizard. Usually Bert didn't interfere in people's lives, but seemed to have taken an exception to Cassian. It had started when the man had made a deal with him about this corner of the square to perform on. When he'd first started out in Covington Garden, he'd had to compete with older more experienced performers. He'd had to learn the rules about where people were allowed to go busking and if he trespassed on another's turf. There were neutral areas that he quickly memorized as well. Bert had stated that he'd be allowed to perform near his place in exchange for delivering packages to his clients that couldn't get about. A bonus was that any tips he'd received he was allowed to keep.

When he'd had that bout of 'accidental' magic, he knew that wizards would be popping up sooner or later. There had been a lot of planning before he'd gone and caused a commotion to attract the Ministry. Doing so in Bert's shop he knew the man would tip off someone since technically Cassian was supposed to be registered at a magical institution. He'd noticed the aurors presence and had wondered who would finally approach him.

"Is that so?" He asked the man. Wiping his mouth with the back of one gloved hand, he recapped his bottle of water and shoved it back into his pocket and stood up. "Well, there are all kinds of magic I suppose. If you believe in that sort of stuff."

"You don't?" It was asked skeptically with a raised brow.

Despite his eyes being blocked by a pair of sunglasses, Severus was sure the boy was staring him straight in the eye, lips pursed, a serious expression on his young face making him seem older. Turning away, Cassian bent and picked up his cap not even counting the bills or coins as he shoved the money in a pocket. Donning the cap, he flipped it backwards, but before he had, Severus had gotten a good look at the patch on the front. It was a variation of the Dark Mark and the Jolly Roger, as if they had been merged into one. In place of crossed bones or cutlasses were lightning bolts. It was only his years of being first a spy, then a double agent for Dumbledore that helped him from reacting and betraying any emotion. Never had he'd seen anyone so brazenly display the Dark Mark for all to see. "What a unique patch."

An ebony eyebrow arched over the smoky glasses as a bit of a smile tugged at the corners of the boy's lips. "You think so? I rather like it myself. I did quite a good job, don't you think?" Giving him a sideways look he innocently asked "You interested in one?"

Busy picking up the limp puppets and his boom box he missed the look that was shot at his back. This brat was increasingly getting on his nerves and seemed as if he wasn't as smart as the Ministry thought. The next words out of his mouth proved it as he risked the Potions Master's ire as he asked, "So, which is it? You for or against the club?"

As if he didn't really care what the answer was, the boy began to walk away forcing Severus to either follow or allow the boy to go his way. The man eyed the boy with annoyance before he fell into step with him knowing which 'club' the boy was referring to. If that was his idea of subtlety, he really needed to work on it. Was the boy a Death Eater in the making and if he wasn't then why would he so openly wear the mark? To provoke? Either way, it was an incredibly stupid thing to do. Adding to the irksome brat's faults was that there was something familiar about the boy but Severus couldn't place his finger on why that was. "Does that mean you are 'for' this club?"

The corner of Cassian's lips twitched. "I'm neutral; at the moment."

The two walked towards the underground and it was at the top of the tube station that the boy turned to the Potions Master. "I'm sure Bert's already told you my name. Might I have yours?"

"Severus." Just because he had figured out that the Cassian that Bert mentioned was Cassian Ashwood that the Ministry was after didn't mean he had to tell the brat his surname. It wasn't as if the child would even know who he was had he gotten his whole name. That was why he was surprised at the alertness that came through the boy's body language. Obviously he now had his undivided attention.

"Severus? As in Severus Snape, the Potions Master and teacher at Hogwarts?" There was something in the tone that the man couldn't place.

"How do you know that?" The man's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He was curious as he watched the boy seemed to have a mental debate with himself. When he did speak it was almost as if he was distracted. "Severus isn't that common a name. And Bert told me about the teachers of Hogwarts."

"Of course he would." Severus muttered almost missing the boy's added, "And my father."

"And your father would be?" he asked irritation rising. There was still a chance that the first names were a coincidence. The boy seemed to debate some more before sighing and drawing a worn but sealed envelope from the back pocket and handed it over to the man. Taking it, Severus saw the name ALBUS DUMBLEDORE written in precise neat calligraphy. Looking up, he saw the boy was already heading down the stairs and called back over his shoulder, "I'm sure it would be easier for you than me to get in touch with him."