CMBlack: Tears of a Phoenix

by Vindicated Soldiers

Cassy Black's sixth year looked optimistic. The summer was good, Harry had finally begun preparing for his role in war, and her relationship was going strong. The only issues were her suspicious cousin, Draco, and her infuriating inner desire to do more for the war than anyone was willing to let her. Yet when she comes of age, no one will stop her doing what she wanted. CMB Series.

26. The Tower

C. M. Black: Tears of a Phoenix

Chapter XXVI: The Tower

Cassy had doubts over who was happier that she and Harry had worked things out, them or Hermione. They walked into the common room amidst the loud celebrations of Gryffindor holding hands. Hermione's keen eyes singled in on them immediately, having located them across the room before Cassy had even had a chance to comprehend that they must have won their final Quidditch match.

Unbound and untroubled by the throng of giggling bodies in her way, she leapt at Cassy and Harry. Her arms wound tightly around their necks, unbalanced by the stark difference in the pair's heights.

'Oh thank God,' she cried, 'I was going out of my mind!'

Cassy tried to wrestle her hand from Harry's grip to push the emotional girl away, but Harry held tightly and Cassy was forced to endure another painful minute of the crushing embrace.

'Hermione, if you cry on me, I swear - ' she began, but trailed off as another set of brown eyes peeked through the chanting crowd. From ear to ear, Neville beamed. Cassy rolled her eyes to the ceiling and Harry simply laughed.

As June emerged, Harry continued his detentions with Professor Snape. He had conjured a story to cover the reason for his long series of detentions and Professor Snape did not contest it, despite his twisted face clearly mangling with the desire to out all of Harry's wrongdoings. In recompense, he was harder than ever in class on him; his insults were not even thinly veiled anymore, but open, snide and demeaning. Professor McGonagall had loudly argued with him in the corridor after a series of complaints from Harry's fellow sixth-years, but it did not stop the treatment.

'I'm still hoping that one-year curse holds true,' said Ron as he slung his bag over his shoulder and they filed from the gloomy classroom one day. 'Imagine if he died. Do you think we could persuade Lupin to come back?'

The sun beamed brightly through every window of the castle. It was inescapable. As exams drew ever closer, Ginny and Luna disappeared more and more often as they stowed away in distant corners of the castle with students from their own year to revise for their OWLs. Every so many hours, one would appear with a query or to ask for a tip, but for the most part they did their revision and Cassy, Harry, Neville, and Hermione were left to theirs. Although Sixth year exams only counted for a small portion of the grade overall, a maximum of thirty-percent, they still studied as dutifully as they did the previous year, at least, Cassy and Hermione did, for Harry's attention drifted as it always did and Neville dipped in and out of motivation as fear and apathy spiralled through his system.

Exams began in the second week of June. With the significant decrease in subjects to study, even Hermione managed to tear herself away from revision long enough to rummage through the old archives of the library in search of who the Prince could really be. It was not long before she came back with a newspaper clipping and the name "Eileen Prince". Harry dismissed it, adamant the Half-Blood Prince was a man. Cassy cast the pair a lazy look as they argued, she had been midway through helping Harry revise for his Potions exam. While he was capable of holding up the charade of being a genius now that Cassy moved back to his table in class to help him cheat, he was unable to remember much beyond what was in the syllabus. Although, he certainly recalled much more with Professor Slughorn's haphazard, lively teaching style than he ever did with Professor Snape's regimented one.

'I can just tell he's a guy,' defended Harry.

Hermione cast a flat look over his head towar Cassy. Cassy flashed her eyebrows in return and that seemed agreement enough for Hermione that Harry was wrong.

It solved nothing, however, and they continued to feud about the Prince's real identity all through the exam period. Cassy, who had no particular interest in his real name, tuned them out and marvelled at Neville's ability to do the same.

'It's from being around so much nonsense for so long,' he explained one lunch. 'Besides, some of your attitude has rubbed off on me, I guess.'

'The confidence, I hope,' she said.

'More my intolerance of doing nothing when I could be doing something, but if you ask Hermione she'll say I've got a bit of your hard-headedness,' he said with a wink.

Cassy was not even remotely offended. She hummed, 'I'm glad. That means you will not cry on me as you did in first year.'

Neville whined, but to his credit, he did not blush. 'You'd still be helping me find Trevor every week if I hadn't lost him to the Black Lake.'

'I'm thankful for that every day.'

Neville snorted.

When their exams had ended, there was an instant lull in activity. All of the carefully planned and ordered periods of the day suddenly ceased to be. For the sixth-years, there were almost two whole weeks free before the end of the term. For Ginny and Luna, that was not the case.

'This is ridiculous,' moaned Ginny as the threw down her notes and dug the palms of her hands into her eyes.

'We did it last year,' retorted Hermione calmly.

Ginny frowned and cast a hand out to wave madly. 'Yeah, but you guys didn't have anyone looking like the epitome of a holiday over there!' Her eyes were jokingly locked onto Cassy and Harry, who occupied the long sofa. Cassy lay on the plush, scarlet seat, a book hovering above her head and her arms folded comfortably over her stomach. Her feet rested in Harry's lap at the other end of the sofa. A Quidditch book lay over her feet and Harry's own legs were stretched to be perched on the coffee table in front of the fire. Bright, crinkled wrappers surrounded them.

Cassy cast Harry a disdainful eye. 'I would not holiday with a free-loader.'

Harry shrugged. 'If you didn't want me to eat them, you wouldn't have brought them downstairs.'

'I brought it down because I wanted to eat them.'

'Don't even pretend like this is even half your chocolate hoard. It's like a quarter, at most,' snorted Harry.

Cassy smirked, but neither agreed nor denied the claim. Disregarding her comment entirely, Harry reached over and plucked another Chocolate Frog from the pile between Cassy's knee and the sofa back.

'You know, I swear that pile is moving closer and closer to you,' she commented with narrowed eyes.

Harry reached over and put a hand flat against her forehead. Cassy's eyebrows rose in confusion.

'You're delirious!' he announced loudly. 'It's poison from too much chocolate! I'll have to take these all away.'

'I am not a dog!'

Neville, Hermione, and Ginny laughed as Cassy squatted Harry's hands away from her and her chocolate. She grinned and ripped the book from the air, swinging it back with a threat Harry was only too ready to provoke. He hurled a box of Bertie Bott's at her and she batted it away and over towards Neville. The disgusting beans flooded out from the poorly sealed top. They bounced beneath the furniture and gave a breath of vibrant colour to the fire as a couple slipped in. Harry picked up another one.

Before he could launch it, however, a throat cleared behind them.

Lurking at the back of the sofa, a young blond boy stood with a letter in his outstretched hand. 'It's from Professor Dumbledore for you, Harry.'

'Thanks, Jimmy!' said Harry quickly, snatching the letter from his hands. Everyone went silent and Peaks wandered off without a word as the atmosphere around the five Gryffindors began to crackle with excitement and anticipation. Harry ripped the sealed parchment open and his eyes scanned the inked words with unnatural speed.

'Is it?' asked Hermione vaguely; she was desperate to know if it was finally the letter inviting Harry out to hunt for Horcruxes, but they were all very aware of the demanded secrecy and Ginny's presence. Ginny seemed to be aware that it was something she was not to know, having noticed how the evening lessons had stopped, but she still craned her neck to peek at the short sentence.

'He wants me to see him in his office,' said Harry briefly. He leapt from the sofa just as Cassy swung her feet from his lap. He paused only to kiss Cassy good-bye and she murmured "luck luck". The door swung shut and none of the other occupants of the common room seemed any wiser to the great event that was very likely to occur in a few short minutes.

Questions visibly bubbled in the eyes of Cassy's friends and she knew they were all asking what her own mind was erratically asking. If Harry was going right then, where was he going? Would it just be him and Professor Dumbledore? When would he be back? What danger would they face? Would he be alright when he returned?

Cassy's mind loitered on the end result of the task, because, really, she wondered, how would they destroy the Horcrux without risking a limb as Professor Dumbledore had done? Her head tilted thoughtfully. The diary had been destroyed by a Basilisk fang.

'I don't see why I can't know.'

Cassy looked up at Ginny's scowling face, her theories filed away for another time.

'Because Professor -' began Hermione.

'I know, I know,' sighed Ginny, 'It's because I'm younger than you all, isn't it? You'll all be seventeen soon and able to join the Order. If I know the ins and out they worry I'm going to be a liability.'

Neville shook his head and Ginny sighed again, her face set firmly. 'I'm not going to ask, don't worry. I just... I just wish I knew so I don't feel as though you're all creeping around me all the time.'

'Oh, Ginny, we're not,' said Neville sweetly.

'You all look worried, except for Cassy, you looked like you were testing if a gnome could escape a paper bag,' said Ginny, her tone lightening to a tease.

Cassy quirked an eyebrow as Neville and Hermione laughed.

'And what expression does one have when watching a gnome escape a paper bag?' she asked.

'Kinda curious, kinda morbid,' shrugged Ginny. She laughed as Cassy rolled her eyes and for a while, the discussion of Harry's mysterious summoning was cast aside. A few minutes later, Ron, Dean, and Seamus entered from the library and moved to the fireplace, occupying the vacant seats beside Cassy. Ron perched on the arm of Hermione's chair. There was tension between Ginny and Dean, though neither tried to show it. They had never quite been friends to begin with, so when their relationship ended they were left with nothing more than acquaintances through friends of their own. It was nothing compared to the almost audible tension that still existed between Ron and Lavender, which had transferred much in part to Hermione and Lavender. By association, Lavender was cold towards Cassy too, but the two had never been inclined to one another anyway.

Dean and Seamus played several rounds of exploding snap, before Dean swapped places with Neville and he versed Seamus instead. Ginny quickly lost interest in her revision and declared herself the next to face the winner of their match. She had just swapped seats with Neville, Seamus remained the champion, when the portrait swung open noisily and Harry darted back through the room. He did not stop to talk and was suddenly out of sight upstairs in his dormitory. Cassy, Neville, Hermione, and Ginny each exchanged wary expressions.

Only Cassy stood. She lingered several feet from the staircase entrance and listened as Harry's feet thundered back down the swirling staircase. He flew back into sight and stepped around her with reflexive grace, saving them both from crashing to the floor. Immediately, his hands shot up to grip her shoulders, the Invisibility Cloak slung over his arm.

'It's happening tonight,' he rushed. 'Trelawney said she heard a boy celebrating in the Room of Requirements, whatever he needed to fix, he has. Rustle up the DA members and be on guard, use the coins, patrol around, no one will be expecting that.' He reached into his robe pocket. 'Use the potion just in case, spread it out between you guys and Luna.'

By now, all of their friends were watching with tensed shoulders and baited breath.

'What room did she ask for?' murmured Cassy calmly.

Harry's eyes widened a fraction. He whispered, 'Where things are hidden. I love you.'

'I love you too, stay safe,' she said.

'I'm with Dumbledore, nothing will happen,' he said before he ducked down and his lips met hers firmly. There was a lot of things Cassy read from that kiss, the most overwhelming was worry and she spared a thought that perhaps Harry knew her too well, but there was also pride and it glistened in his eyes. Yes, she decided, he certainly knew her too well. 'Be careful.'

'When am I not?'

He grunted, something between a laugh and a whine.

'Harry,' cut in Hermione fretfully. 'You need that potion more than we do.'

'No,' he denied adamantly, 'I'll be fine. Make sure someone keeps an eye on Snape too, okay? I've got to go.'

'Where's he going?' asked Ron as everyone shot into action the moment Harry vanished around the corner. There was a flurry of movement as Hermione raced upstairs to get the Dumbledore's Army master coin, as Ginny sprung from her seat with her wand drawn, and as Neville hurriedly put his shoes back on.

'What's going on?' asked Dean, confused.

'You heard him,' said Ginny. 'We've got to patrol the castle.'

'But why? What was he on about?' questioned Seamus; a wary frown made its way onto his long face.

'Ginny,' called Cassy. She tossed the bottle of molten liquid to the other girl. 'Share it out like Harry said. I will meet you all later.'

'Wait, what about you?' yelled Neville, but Cassy did not stop to answer. She shot from the common room and sprinted down the corridor towards the set of marble staircases. Harry knew what she was planning, that she wanted to try and cut Malfoy off before whatever he was doing could be relayed to Voldemort. If she could get into the Room of Requirement, then she might be able to stop him moving the device, or even destroy it. Whatever it was, he had been desperate to fix it, which meant Voldemort was most likely equally desperate to see it done.

Despite the common room and the Room of Requirement being on the same floor, there was a frustrating lack of pathways to get there. The corridors did not extend from one end the level to the other and instead a maze of up and down staircases created the only pathway to the other end of the castle. It had never been so thwarting before, but Cassy now did not have the time to wait for the steps to swing around to collect her to cross the gap. The late hour meant that not many students lingered on the staircases and few teachers patrolled to stop her making the precarious and dangerous leaps between the still moving steps over the seventy-foot drop down to the entrance hall below. When close enough, she jumped from one staircase to the railings of the seventh-floor, the proper entrance another two twirling staircases away. She gripped the smooth marble tightly and hauled herself up with impressive speed, for no matter how much she would deny it to her family, she did indeed climb up a lot of trees and out of a lot of windows in her childhood and knew the tactics for a successful endeavour very well.

It was a waste of time and Cassy pushed her legs harder to make up for the infuriating loss. She tore down the corridors and skidded to a stop outside a blank stretch of wall. Breathing deeply, she concentrated her thoughts.

I need the room where things are hidden, she silently commanded, show me the room where things are hidden.

After a few slow seconds, the wall began to shift. A single wooden door appeared in the centre.

Cassy pulled out her wand.

With the door open the barest inch, a slow, repetitive wiring met her ears. A short sound played, the beginning of words that suddenly stopped and was followed by a sharp noise as the sound began again. It caught over and over again and the sound of the old gramophone echoed out into the corridor faintly. Light did not flood from the room. It was not encased in darkness either, but rather a faint gloomy light that tinged everything it touched in an autumn orange. Great shadows crept across the floors and up the towering stacks of objects. The piles allowed for a narrow pathway between them, curving and curling in crooked circles. The whining song echoed from the high, arched ceiling, the peaks invisible in the utter darkness that gave Cassy the impression there was no real ceiling, only as much room as would ever be needed to continue to fill the room.

She gazed around with sharp, observing eyes. Slowly and carefully, she began a purposeful creep through the isles. Her ears strained to hear over the gramophone. She did not know what it was she was looking for.

Books lay in heaps, dog-eared and dusty; broomsticks stood huddled together; drawers stuffed with paper, yellowed and torn as people added more to the pile over the decades; jewellery glittered in the flickering light from one of the low chandeliers; a birdcage hung high and empty.

Even when Cassy came across the gramophone, she did not take the needle off the disk. If anyone was present, they would know she was too. However, it made listening for movement much more difficult and time passed quickly without a body in sight. It became increasingly possible that Malfoy had already left and she had missed him. She knew whatever he had had to fix he had not wished to carry out in the street and would most likely not wish to be seen with it in the castle. That meant there was a good chance it was still in the room, yet she was still at a loss as what it could be.

It was then that she rounded a corner and halted. Her eyes were fixed upon a tall, varnished cabinet. It was a cabinet identical to the one she had seen in Borgin and Burkes many months ago.

'Good God,' she muttered. Malfoy intended to bring the Death Eaters into the castle. He had been fixing one-half of a pair.

She raised her wand.

'Who's there?' The voice echoed sharply and before she could destroy the cabinet, she flung a curse straight down the centre of the aisle.

A dark figure darted behind a wardrobe as the spell hit the tower of objects and sent a landslide of books and cauldrons tumbling down. She swung back around to the cabinet, wand raised again. A heavy weight collided with her side, she had been blindsided by the need to destroy the cabinet as quickly as possible that she had not anticipated the figure that descended from the top of the nearest stack. She tumbled to the ground, her hand reflexively gripping the other's throat, his own hand forced her wand-arm flat to the floor.

'What are you doing here?' demanded Malfoy, his grey eyes blazing like lightning amongst storm clouds.

'Stopping you killing everyone,' she snapped back, squeezing his neck. Her nails dug into the soft flesh around his oesophagus. He winced, but did not recoil.

'You don't understand.' Each of his words became progressively weaker as she continued to tighten her grip with every second he did not relent his own grip on her.

'There are eleven-year-olds in this castle and you have invited Death Eaters here! Do you want them to meet Fenrir Greyback? Do you want them to be cursed to live a half-life? To die so young?' she sneered and struggled beneath him. Malfoy had one of his shins heavily weighted across her thighs, pinning it down and the other was in no position to kick effectively.

He paled. He paled further when his eyes flickered up to the cabinet behind him. Cassy seized the moment to twist the wand with her long fingers to grasp it awkwardly and unnaturally. A blue jet of light shot forth, knocking Malfoy from above her and sent him rolling towards the cabinet. She twirled the wand in her fingers and rushed to stand. He wasted no time doing the same. His own wand was clenched tightly in his fist, his knuckles white.

'Cassy,' he said forcefully, 'get out.'

'No,' she bit back.

'Please.'

The word took her by surprise. It was still forceful, yet pleading now. It was a short exhale that sounded desperate, his eyes begging her to leave in a complete change of emotions. His eyebrows were upturned, his face crumpled in a way she had not seen directed at her in so long; she did not understand.

'What - ' she began, but her words fell short when the cabinet rattled noisily.

Malfoy hissed and charged at her. Before she could protest, he had taken her by the arm and dragged her away in only a few short steps. Her eyes remained fixed on the cabinet as a faint pop emitted from within until her view was obscured by a tattered pine door.

'Get in,' he hissed and shoved her inside the wardrobe. Urgently, he ripped his cloak from atop his shirt and flung in on top of her before swinging the door shut. She pulled it off her face, scowling, but made no other movements. She could hear footsteps.

'Draco?' called a voice, high and song-like.

The next footsteps that she heard moved away from the wardrobe.

'Aunt Bella, you got my letter then?' said Malfoy.

Cassy tensed.

Bellatrix did not immediately respond. 'This is exciting, isn't it? Your first mission for the Dark Lord almost complete.' There was a tone of pride in her voice, the kind a parent might have when their child took its first steps.

'Are the others coming?' questioned Malfoy.

'Any minute now,' sang Bellatrix.

Cassy gripped her wand tightly. She could see nothing from within the wardrobe. Cold, uneven, wood lay beneath her, her neck was forced at an awkward angle from the careless way Malfoy had shoved her inside. She dared not move right then for how many Death Eaters might be joining her cousins were an impossible guess. She was not foolish enough to think she could take on a mob by herself, not when that mob contained Bellatrix.

The door opened again and Cassy strained her ears. A low, gruff growl followed.

'Someone's been here. I can smell them.'

She held her breath. She knew she had been right not to dare show herself. The only person worse than Bellatrix, besides Voldemort, was Fenrir Greyback and be had made a very displeased arrival. Despite commanding herself to remain calm, Cassy could not stop her heart pounding in her chest. Although already encased in total darkness, she closed her eyes to focus on his heavy footfalls. They thudded evenly - one, two, three, four – slow and deliberate. She could envision his head tilted back – five, six, seven, eight – his nose in the air, inhaling her scent as he drew closer.

Cassy pulled the cloak higher around her neck.

'I checked the room,' said Malfoy quickly. 'No one is here, not after that bumbling divination teacher entered earlier, but I got rid of her easily enough.'

Greyback emitted a dull hum – nine, ten, eleven, twelve – and stepped passed the wardrobe doors. Cassy's dared not breath, her lungs protested with a dull burn, but she held still, her eyes now open and focusing on the place she knew the centre of the doors to be.

'I can smell her everywhere,' he said lowly.

'She was wandering around trying to find somewhere to hide her sherry bottles,' scoffed Malfoy. 'I spooked her by knocking over that pile over there and she went running.'

Bellatrix let out a piercing cackle. 'Oh, I can give her a proper spook.'

Cassy breathed out into the thick material of Malfoy's Slytherin cloak.

There was another faint pop and the doors opened again. It was only when the Death Eaters began to greet one another that she dared shift to a more comfortable position, slowly and carefully. She counted what could possibly have been nine or ten pops of the Vanishing Cabinet and heard at least seven distinct voices. She did not recognise any beyond the first two entries; Lucius was still in prison.

'So, is Dumbledore in his office?' demanded a woman.

'It doesn't matter where he is now, but where we are is where he will be sooner or later,' said a man calmly. 'He'll come for us and when he does...'

He never finished his sentence, but Cassy assumed a gesture was shared because Bellatrix let out an excited squeal. 'What are we waiting for? Let's go find that old fool!'

Cassy was almost relieved. They had no idea he was not in the castle, but that also meant they would tear through the school until they found him.

'Wait,' called one. 'He might be an old fool, but he's still one of the most powerful wizards of all time.' There was a collective round of hisses. 'I mean it. We need a plan, somewhere to lure him to so he can be dealt with with limited interference.'

The woman spoke again, 'If you're so clever, where are you thinking?'

The other man was silent for a moment. 'The Astronomy Tower. Gibbon, you lure him there and when he arrives, we'll up surprise him from below.'

'What?' splutter Gibbon loudly. 'Why me?'

'Oh, don't complain,' hissed Bellatrix. 'Lure him with our Master's sign, that should bring him quickly and you know how that's always an honour to cast.' There was a threat veiled in her quietly murmured words, a threat that dared anyone to disagree with her, to argue that any action in the servitude of Lord Voldemort was any less than the highest honour.

Gibbon grunted, but he said no more. There was a short silence and for a time. Cassy could not even hear the shifting of clothing.

'What's that hand for, kid?' asked another Death Eater suddenly.

'Just in case,' said Malfoy and Cassy frowned, trying to think of what he could mean.

As though the words shocked them all to life, there was a sudden bustle of movement. No words were exchanged, but Cassy could envision the shared smirks and wicked grins upon their faces as they approached the exit. They must have been planning the break-in all year. To them, it was never a matter of if, but when, and they had had all the time they could possibly have needed to prepare for their attack. It struck Cassy as strange that they should not have a plan already decided upon. A thought struck her mind that it could be a red-herring, a diversion for her to send the staff in the wrong direction and allow them to attack. She dismissed it. They certainly would have killed her. Bellatrix was quite desperate to eradicate the unsavoury members of her maiden House from existence.

They had no plan, she realised, stunned. No matter how inevitable the event of the invasion was, they had not prepared at all. As long as the task was completed, they did not care what happened to the others, as long as they lived themselves. They were just going to get rid of any obstacle as and when it approached. That meant students, that meant staff, and that certainly meant exceeding and alarming levels of unpredictability.

'Malfoy!' The roar was loud and accusing and followed by whizzes and bangs of exchanging spells. Cassy burst from the wardrobe just in time to see the last dark cloak of a Death Eater vanish into a cloud of thick, black smoke. Coughs and gasps of air were silenced by the Room of Requirement swinging its door closed. Cassy was left with only silence.

Whilst aware that her friends were most likely outside, for she was sure she had heard Ron's shout, there was something she knew she needed to take care of first. The Vanishing Cabinet exploded. It shattered into shards of wood that spread across the floor and turned to dust before it could even touch the ground. It was completely irreparable. She made sure of it.

Held loosely in her left hand was Malfoy's cloak; he had known Greyback would be able to smell her and yet he had shielded her smell, protected her even up to the last minute. She clenched the material tightly and then threw it aside.

The corridor outside was still black. The dense smoke had yet to settle and no Lumos or wind charm could move it. She knew the hand Malfoy possessed now, the one to create light for the holder and him alone. Knowing she had little time to waste, Cassy placed her left hand on the wall and with quick steps moved into the darkness. The smoke choked her lungs, agitated her throat and burnt her eyes. She refused to lower her wand, despite knowing that if she smothered her nose and mouth with her robe sleeve it would ease the discomfort; she could hear voices up ahead and could not distinguish if they were friend or foe. As the smoke thinned, she viciously flung her arm out, wand pointed at the first shape she saw.

'Ow!' cried a voice.

'Neville?' called Cassy, stepping forward quickly but warily.

'Cassy!' exclaimed Ginny, her face framed by her flaming red hair. 'Where did you come from?'

Cassy's eyes flicked to Neville, where he was clutching his throat where she had harshly jabbed it accidentally. 'I was in the Room of Requirement. Did you take it?'

'The Liquid Luck? Yeah, we've all had some, we weren't sure if you'd had any before you ran off,' she said.

Satisfied they were who they appeared to be, Cassy waved her hand dismissively, choosing not to admit she had not. It would only worry them and between the five of them already there was surely none left and Cassy did not want them to fuss over that guilt. They needed to alert the staff.

'You need to get to Professor McGonagall,' she said, taking charge, 'to alert the Order.'

'What about you?' asked Ron.

'The Death Eaters are heading upstairs to the Astronomy Tower,' she said quickly. 'They think Professor Dumbledore is still in the castle.'

'I'll go with you,' said Neville immediately.

'You can't go to face them alone!' barked Ginny.

Cassy launched into a run down the corridor. Several curses echoed around her as her friends raced to catch up. Confident they were right behind her, she said, 'I am not going to confront them. I just want to make sure they do not wander. We have to split up'

There was no sign of the Death Eaters down the corridors, no unnecessary destruction, no students lying face-down on the stone. In fact, there appeared to be no trace of them at all. It was only when Cassy turned the final corner before the staircases that she saw another face at all.

A wand was pointed between her eyes. Her own wand was pointed at the centre of a bobbled, green cardigan.

'Who is Blackjack?' she demanded.

Neville, Ginny, and Ron had skidded to a halt behind her. Their own wands were drawn, although they looked uncertain of where it should be pointing.

'Sirius,' said Remus without hesitation.

Cassy lowered her wand and Remus did the same.

'Why are you all out here?' he questioned, a light frown crumpling his scarred face.

'Death Eaters are heading towards the Astronomy Tower right now,' said Cassy bluntly.

'What?'

'We saw them,' said Neville urgently. 'Cassy heard their plans.'

Remus' shoulders tensed. Suddenly, a silvery-white mist surrounded him. The tendrils danced like stems of flowers in a spring breeze before they wove together and a huge wolf appeared beside him. Without so much as a prance or a howl, the wolf shot over the railings and down the amidst the slowly moving staircases, his paws never touching the ground. Remus then turned, a hand cupped to his mouth.

'Minerva!' he bellowed.

Not more than five tense seconds later, Professor McGonagall emerged from a nearby corner.

'Send for the others,' Remus instructed. His command needed no further explanation. In an instant, she vanished back the way she had come.

'What did you hear?' Remus rounded on Cassy expectantly.

'The plan is to lure Professor Dumbledore to the Astronomy Tower by casting the Dark Mark. There, they intend to kill him when he is alone,' she reported.

The muscles of Remus' jaw clenched tightly. 'How did they get in?'

'The Room of Requirement. Borgin and Burkes had the second half to an old Vanishing cabinet.'

He cursed. Darting, his eyes surveyed the area surrounding them.

'What are you doing here?' asked Ron.

'Albus thought some extra defences were needed while he was gone,' answered Remus absently. He turned, as though hearing something they could not. A second later, Sirius and Tonks skidded into sight. Remus merely nodded grimly at them and they both tightened their grips on their wands.

'Where?' demanded Tonks shortly.

'The Astronomy Tower,' replied Remus.

Tonks turned her gaze to the slowly moving staircases, eyeing the best path upwards.

It was only a moment later that Professor McGonagall and Bill emerged from another corner not far away. The elderly witch blew out a deep breath, but the expanded group wasted no time in setting off. The staircases were frozen by the Deputy Headmaster in the most convenient pathway. They ran, skipping over the false steps and avoiding the disappearing barriers like a second nature. On their way, the tiny form of Professor Flitwick was caught in the run as he patrolled the upper floor. With a squeak, he bustled back the way they had come to collect Professor Snape to help in their efforts.

Cassy's stomach twisted at the idea. She said nothing, not knowing where she believed his loyalties to lie.

Ahead of them was a cloaked figure. Behind him were several more, almost invisible in the darkness of the inner corridor. Their feet were positioned on the stairs, ready to turn and run but they had stalled. It was only the pale light of the moon that glimmered from around the corner that allowed Cassy to count the four Death Eaters that loitered still so far from the Astronomy Tower entrance. A further fifth figure stood amongst them, pale-faced with shoulders hunched and looking small amongst the older bodies.

Sirius fired first.

There were no shouts to halt, to leave the castle peacefully, or to announce their presence at all. The grey stream from his wand struck one man in the back and he crumpled to the floor noiselessly. The others spun with their own wands flashing with blinding lights. They retaliated, spreading like starlings at dusk to fill the space the wide corridor allowed. A purple flame flickered and died as it collided with the stone wall, but not before a glimpse of pale skin and amber eyes flashed through the darkness.

Cassy hissed and sidestepped Fenrir Greyback. Her back flattened against the stone. The red lapel of her Gryffindor robe tore as his nails sliced through the thick material like a knife through flesh. In an instant, Remus was at her side. He shoved her back, his body protectively in front of her own; his free hand was splayed openly at his side, ready to catch her if she tried to protest his movement.

Greyback twisted on the spot, still stooped and with a broad grin pulling at his scarred cheeks. His teeth were still long despite his human form. He eyed Remus from head to toe and laughed. He lunged.

There was no time to concentrate on their fight, for as soon as Cassy glanced over her shoulder she saw another figure standing upon the stairs. Slender with sleek, dark hair. A long, crooked wand was held by her side. Bellatrix grinned when Cassy's spell crashed into one of her own. Without hesitation, Bellatrix skipped down the remaining steps and levelled opposite Cassy, who had leapt from the fray to face her.

It occurred a few seconds too late that she was very much alone against Bellatrix. She had been before and she was now, though she was better this time, more capable and more prepared. There was less worry of her deranged relative jaunting to kill one of her injured or unarmed friends this time too. As she dodged, she carefully listened to the battles behind her. She moved back as Bellatrix stepped forward until she could determine the shrieks and the yells and gauge their distance; she knew she had some way between her and Remus.

Somewhere behind her, Malfoy yelped. The low tones of a fierce snarl followed, but Cassy could not discern the words. She was concentrating on attacking Bellatrix's feet to stop her erratic movements. Her eyes sharpened. Bellatrix favoured her left foot, despite always putting her right first.

Another whiz shot by Cassy's ear, yellow and crackling. A quick glance to her right and Professor McGonagall appeared at her side. Her lips were drawn thinly.

'We were having a lovely family moment!' whined Bellatrix and stomped her foot like a petulant child. She chortled at the grave disdain on the teacher's face.

Never taking her eyes from the other before her, Cassy parted her lips to mutter: 'Go for her left side.'

Professor McGonagall's eyebrows flickered down for a brief second before they settled back into a pose of deep contempt. Wordlessly, she agreed to the instructions and a whirl of lightning struck from the tip of her wand. Bellatrix's flames became daggers, projected back at her; her spells hit well-practised shields; her taunts became snaps as she failed to land any blows. A clean cut pulled the flowing fabric of her sleeve apart, revealing a thin yet deep cut on the pale skin. No one was sure quite who put it there, but Bellatrix did not like it at all.

'Bill!'

The cry was high and loud. It tore through the din like a nail through paper.

'Get off him!' screamed Tonks, her words half hidden beneath a feral growl. 'Remus, no!'

One growl became two. Cassy had no idea what had happened and yet she could not turn around. Her attention was pulled towards a shadow in the moonlight. Far above where Bellatrix stood a man descended, his hair wild and his wand waving. A jet of green light spurted carelessly from the end, again and again. Bellatrix turned to sneer at him, snapping demands for him to be careful, but he paid her no attention and another vivid green jet left his wand.

Cassy did not dodge. A stone block was quickly conjured to take the impact - she dared not move in case she left someone else vulnerable behind her. Many curses shot by and in the midst of it, Bellatrix look of back the way she had came. Malfoy followed as he broke away from where he had been duelling Ginny and many of the Death Eaters saw the threat of Avada Kedavra as a perfect cover to retreat.

'Cowards!' Ron bellowed.

The curse was suddenly aimed at him, but it never connected. Before anyone could react, a Death Eater further ahead stumbled, his arm scraped the spell and he dropped heavily to the floor. The man paled and stepped backwards. He tripped up the steps and vanished around the spiral staircase towards the Astronomy Tower.

Neville charged forwards, wand raised. Professor McGonagall's outstretched arm could not reign him back before he smacked noisily onto the floor.

A barrier, identified Cassy as she stepped to help him up. She lay a hand gingerly on the surface. To her surprise, there was no shock or sudden pain. The invisible surface was simply cool beneath her palm.

'Oh my God, Bill!'

Ginny's scream was a reminder that there were more important things to attend to than the barrier.

Cassy could see his wounds from a distance; up close they were even worse. Bill's face was indistinguishable. Blood ran thick and fast from the torn flesh, his eyes closed and barely visible beneath the pooling crimson. Ginny sniffed. She was unable to hold back the flood of emotion that brought tears to her eyes, but they fell no further. Ron's knuckles turned white as his pale skin stretched in an effort not to turn and charge in revenge for his brother. He wretches as Sirius pulled back a flap of loose skin on Bill's chin.

'He's alive,' he announced, shoulders relaxing.

A thankful sob left Ginny and Ron dared to step closer, sinking to his knees beside Bill.

The relief was short-lived. Everyone twisted at the sound of oncoming footsteps, wands raised and ready to attack. At the far end of the corridor, opposite to the Astronomy Tower, Professor Snape burst into view. He ignored Professor McGonagall's grateful greeting and her warning not to approach the barrier. Her words fell short, trailing into silence as without a second thought he passed straight through. Before a word was exchanged, he was gone.

'Cassy,' said Sirius, 'are you alright?'

Cassy turned and nodded to her father whilst surveying him for injuries as he was doing to her. Satisfied he was healthy, she quickly returned to the barrier, muttering as she waved her wand up and down the transparent wall.

'Is anyone hurt?' asked Professor McGonagall, quickly sweeping her eyes over her four Gryffindors. Besides a scratch on Neville's leg and a bruise on Ginny's jaw, they were all unscathed. 'Go to the Tower now. Make sure no one exits.'

'I am part of this Order,' retorted Cassy.

'You're a student and my responsibility,' she returned.

'They intend to kill Professor Dumbledore,' said Neville flatly, 'we're not going anywhere.'

Cassy really thought he has spent too much time with her, answering back with such finality.

Sirius joined her at the barrier, mumbling also. Nothing they did seemed to break it. Cassy had never studied the Dark Mark before, she did not know the components necessary to make or break such a spell and she did not have the time to figure it out.

It was seconds later that footsteps echoed from above. Sirius needlessly flattened Cassy back against the wall as they threw themselves out of the line of fire as not only one but two men emerged, wands drawn and running. Professor Snape had Malfoy by the arm. Malfoy's face was ashen. His feet were always a second behind those of Professor Snape, being tugged and pulled as he failed to find his footing, the urgency to leave so powerful within him he could hardly move at all. Laughter followed, loud and cackling. Cassy knew then what had happened. As the Death Eaters emerged with wide smiles, she knew exactly what had happened.

'Draco!' she bellowed. Her voice was off-set by the cheerful cries of the enemy, the shouts from her friends and family, and the bangs and pops of rapidly flying curses. Malfoy heard her loud and clear, though; he suddenly found his feet and broke into a sprint.

She called after him again, dodging the body-binding hex Snape threw at her over his shoulder. No one noticed as she gave chase, too occupied with the Death Eaters to spare her a second thought. Cassy shielded her back from an incoming curse, the light bright against the marble stairs giving the sneak attack away. With a flick of her wand, Alecto Carrow sprawled onto the ground at the top of the corridor.

The staircase broke beneath Snape and Malfoy's feet. It shattered into a million pieces that scattered down to the entrance hall below like fine snow. The pair dropped heavily and caught themselves two floors below on another staircase. Cassy readied herself, preparing to disintegrate the steps again if they showed any sign of running. Snape did not give her the opportunity to do so, though. A curse as dark as the depths of the Black Lake skimmed past her ear.

'Your aim is off,' she goaded. She had hardly had to move.

The two fled down the steps and Cassy leapt off her own staircase to drop onto one beneath. She was only a staircase away when Snape and Malfoy finally hit the stone floor of the Entrance Hall. The spells they had exchanged on the way down had slowed their departure, but their hurriedness visibly increased when a voice pierced the air and echoed threateningly all around them.

'Snape!' it roared. 'You coward! He trusted you and you killed him!'

Above them and advancing fast was Harry. His face was twisted in unimaginable fury.

Cassy did not wait for him to draw close, just as Snape and Malfoy did not. The relief at seeing him unharmed was pushed back beneath the determination to give chase. She wanted to see the regret on Malfoy's face.

They were half way out on the grounds when she stopped running. Abruptly, she turned to face to voices that approached behind her as Snape shouted for Malfoy to run to the tree line. Harry passed her, stopping just short of her back and continued to shout at Snape. Cassy turned her attention from her pale-faced cousin to the approaching Death Eaters. Hagrid's home was on fire and Fang was tucked beneath his arm. The Death Eaters had circled the castle. Shattered glass and fractured stone lay in their wake.

'Septumsempra!'

The spell was easily deflected by Snape. A short blast of his own had Harry flung backwards; Cassy reached out to steady him, stumbling beneath his weight.

'Don't use my own spell against me, Potter.'

When they both looked up again, when she was confident he was fine, Snape was gone.

For a second, Cassy stood on the grassy slope, not a thought in her mind nor a word on her lips. Everything had happened so quickly. The silence was so consuming, so foreign, despite only mere minutes of madness. Deeply, she inhaled. When she released the breath, she had gathered her thoughts and turned her attention to the trembling body before her.

'Harry,' she said gently but firmly.

He looked away from the spot Snape had once occupied. For a moment, he simply stared down at her, before he said, 'He killed him. He trusted him and he killed him. Malfoy wasn't going to do it.' He began to sluggishly move back up to the castle.

The tall peak of the Astronomy Tower stood unoccupied, unlit save the acrid glow of the Dark Mark high in the night sky. They were no longer alone on the grounds. Bodies trailed from the giant double doors all around the side of the building in tiny clusters. Hesitant, they waited, stood back from the figure that lay on the stone. Tiny gaps and uncertain sobs filled the still air; no one even spoke as Cassy and Harry pushed through the students, they even parted for them without protest.

Slowly, Cassy sunk to her knees beside the Headmaster. His arms were bent, broken from the fall. Not far from his outstretched fingers was his wand. She slipped it into her pocket, making a note to be sure to give it to Professor McGonagall when they saw her next. Carefully, the blood was wiped from Albus' lips with the edge of Harry's Gryffindor cloak. Harry reached up to reposition the half-moon spectacles on the bridge of Albus' crooked nose.

A loud sob sounded and Hagrid lingered some distance away. His dark eyes were indistinguishable in the night, but Cassy knew they were flooded with confused tears.

'Hagrid,' she said steadily, 'he needs to be moved.'

Hagrid gazed at her and then nodded. He nodded more firmly, as if the meaning of the words had settled in his mind and stepped forward as Cassy rose. She moved to Albus' other side and placed a hand softly on Harry's shoulder.

'Harry,' she muttered, 'we need to go. You have to let go of him.' She tugged at his arm lightly and brought him to his unsteady feet. The crowd parted again, this time in a rumble of muttering as the inevitable was confirmed.

It was only when Cassy and Harry entered a far staircase that Harry finally spoke.

'Snape's the Half-Blood Prince,' he blurted numbly.

It was not a question, but Cassy nodded anyway.

'Where are we going?' he then asked.

'To the hospital wing,' she said. 'Bill will be there.'

Harry nodded and asked nothing more about it.

---

Sorry for being so slow! I've not been doing so well recently and it's really demotivated me when it comes to nearly everything, let alone sitting down long enough to concentrate on writing. Today was a good day, so hopefully I'll be able to finish planning seventh year soon. Normally by this stage so late at the end of the year I would have the next one all sorted and a few chapters underway, but I'm struggling a bit at the moment.

Anyway, I will not abandon this story. (Not that I've left this story for more than a month at a time). It might just be a few more weeks until the final chapter of this year comes out and seventh year starts. It's not ideal, but please stick with me!

I hope you liked it.

Thanks!