September 13, 1975 - Hogwarts

That morning, the Great Hall was unusually quiet. Before breakfast, the Headmaster had made a quick address to the school, informing them that the night before a seventh-year student had gone missing, having never returned from the trip to Hogsmeade. He'd told them not to worry, and half an hour later the announcement was almost gone from their minds.

Until, of course -

"Cassie – have you seen this?" Aurora asked, her voice odd. Looking up, it was clear that something had disturbed her; her eyes had grown wide, and the blood had drained from her face.

Silently, she passed the morning's paper over to her, and it was immediately clear what had shaken her so badly.

HOGWARTS SEVENTH–YEAR, R. WILKES, FOUND DEAD IN HOGSMEADE VILLAGE, the headline read. Dark Magic present at scene.

Below it, a portrait of the boy's face was twisted into an ugly scowl, and the green-and-silver tie around his neck seemed to shine menacingly. Next to it, a photo of the death site was busy with Aurors, who bustled around casting spells, and hiding the scene from view.

Biting her lip, Cassie handed back the paper, sure that her countenance was no better then Aurora's now.

A student, dead. And worst of all, she recognised that face.

"You really do think you're better than everyone, don't you?" Sirius Black called out from behind her. Gritting her teeth, Cassiopeia continued to make her way to the Transfiguration classroom, refusing to give him the attention.

She'd taken a lesser-known path, wanting to get away from the mournful atmosphere that'd enveloped her housemates; apparently, that had not been the best choice to make.

A bolt of light flashed past her, and she whirled around to face him, drawing her wand. "What do you want, Black?"

The Gryffindor's eyes were mirthful, as if celebrating the reaction he'd elicited from her. Next to him, Potter and Pettigrew stood casually, supporting Black but leaving themselves unarmed; Remus was nowhere to be found.

"I don't like it when you ignore me."

"Why the hell would I ever listen to you?" she asked flippantly, eyes seeking out a sympathetic schoolmate in the hallway. Unfortunately, the few that'd been around were firstie Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, and had quickly scattered with Black's spell. Damn it.

He ignored her response, the self-satisfied smirk curling around his lips only seeming to grow wider. "It's actually disgusting how much you want it. I saw you and Snape got back together - is his greasy cock not enough?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That dead guy," he shrugged, playing with his wand. "First you want to marry him, and then when it comes down to it you play coy. Should've just let him fuck you; would've made Snivellus jealous."

"I never wanted to marry anyone - " she replied defensively. A few people had started to gather around them, and it was putting her on edge.

"Ah, so you've only been propositioning half the school because you're a whore."

Anger clouded over her eyes, and she snapped. "What's it to you, Black? You're so fucking fascinated by my supposed lack of virtue, any sane person would wonder if there's anything more to it. Or are you jealous all the attention isn't on you?"

"Shouldn't it be?" he asked arrogantly, though his grip on his wand tightened. "The only thing a person should be wondering is just how you're attracting all this attention. Then again, Dark Magic is all you snakes are good at. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if it was one of you that killed Wilkes."

"Doubtful," she retorted. "Unlike you, we stick by our own." She made a show of looking around, "Where's Remus? Have you left him because he at least doesn't make a sport out of cursing others for no reason? Because there is no reason, is there? You just like feeling the power; like having someone at your mercy - "

"Expulso!" was the enraged shout that met her, and she only just managed to create her shield.

"Can you not bear to hear it?" she taunted. "And I thought Gryffindor was the house of the brave."

"You cunt - "

"Don't have anything else to say?"

The next thing she knew was a wand in her face, and Black's enraged face just inches from hers a curse on her lips. In that split-second, she knew she wouldn't have enough time to protect herself. So, she did the only thing that came to mind.

"What the fuck - ?" Black howled, grasping at his face, which was effusing blood.

His curse had gone wide, shattering a door further down the corridor, and his wand had clattered to the floor as her hand had made contact with his skin.

Cassiopeia glancing down at her hand. Speckles of blood adorned it, and a kind of subdued dread rose up in her as she truly registered her actions.

"What is going on here?"

Professor McGonagall swept up the hallway, parting the crowd of students in her way. Her face was set in a disapproving frown, which was made even more severe when she looked upon the scene.

"To the Hospital Wing, Mr. Black," she said, pursing her lips. "Miss Nazyalensky, come with me."

The road to the Headmaster's office had been made in silence, only broken when Cassiopeia asked to be allowed to clean her hands. She'd been given a nod of approval by the professor, but the disappointment was practically radiating off of her in waves.

"Go in, Miss Nazyalensky."

Reluctantly, she stepped through to the Headmaster's office, her head bowed. The fight had long since gone out of her.

"Minerva, Miss. Nazyalensky - is there a problem?"

The professor guided her into an armchair, sitting down on another one next to hers. She rested her hands, one over the other, and sighed. "The lass was fighting with that boy, Sirius Black. Miss Nazyalensky?"

"It's true," she replied a little defiantly, never raising her eyes. "Black followed me, started insulting me, tried to curse me, and almost blew me to shreds - am I not allowed to defend myself, then?"

By the end of her 'speech' she had been boring her eyes into the watery-blue ones of Albus Dumbledore, who did not seem at all bothered by her explanation of the events.

He folded his hands carefully over his desk, and leaned forward. "But were you hurt, Miss Nazyalensky?"

"No - "

"Were you disarmed, so that you would have no chance to defend yourself?"

"No - "

"Then I see no reason to go to extremes - ." He glanced up. "One of my portraits informed me that you physically assaulted Mr. Black."

"Albus – " McGonagall's tone had become softer, and she turned to Cassiopeia. "Is this true, lass, that he threatened you?"

She tilted her head. "If by 'threaten' you mean holding his wand centimetres from my face, after having screamed insults at me and tried to curse me, then yes."

Dumbledore tried to take back control of the conversation. "Still, that is no reason to hurt Mr. Black. Especially as severely as you did." He settled his half-moon glasses on the tip of his nose, and looked down at her. "Violence will not be tolerated at Hogwarts."

"Really?" She couldn't control herself, even as her stomach dropped in fear of the consequences facing her. "Then why is there never any punishment for bullying? - "

"Miss - "

"Or for attempted murder?"

"We are not here to discuss the actions of others, only your own," the Headmaster said firmly. "Now - "

He was interrupted by McGonagall, whose voice had taken on a thoughtful tone. "It is true, Albus; you have always been soft on those boys. For any other, their actions would have warranted expulsion."

"Minerva - "

"No, Albus," she replied, her voice taking on an edge. "You have always refused to grant punishment to Mr. Snape's tormentors, even when it was clear that they were deliberately targeting him, and instigating their confrontations."

"Mr. Snape has always made it clear that he is more than willing to fight back."

"Perhaps so, but I have seen many of their fights over the years; he is almost always worse off, and almost exclusively the one who takes the blame for such incidents. I find it hard to believe that a single boy would try to take on three or four at a time."

"What is done is done," he said conclusively. "Let us now turn to Miss Nazyalensky's punishment."

The professor pursed her lips, but nodded. "I believe an appropriate consequence would be one week of detention."

"For physical assault?"

"And two weeks of detention for Mr. Black, for instigating a confrontation, as well as his two attempts to violently curse Miss. Nazyalensky."

"Two weeks is quite excessive, I believe. Mr. Black, after all, did not cause any harm."

"With all due respect, sir, he would have, had I not stopped him. Probably blown half my face off."

"And you believe so… how?"

Cassie tilted her head, boring her eyes into his. Inexplicably, the memory replayed in her mind, as she described it. "When the curse went wide, one of the storage rooms' doors was completely destroyed."

McGonagall cut in, "Surely the desecration of school property is reason enough for punishment?"

There was a moment of silence, and the Headmaster observed the both of them with a forbidding air, before nodding. Exhilaration filled her, but alongside it a sinking feeling in her stomach, as if she'd just unwittingly made a grave mistake.

Moments later, however, the two of them paused on the stairwell, and McGonagall placed a hand on her shoulder. "I apologise for my harsh reaction; yet, as an educator, I must disapprove of your conduct, even if I now believe it to be justified. As anyone else, however..." she smiled faintly, "I hope you've finally knocked some sense into that lad. Merlin knows he needs it."

•••

100 thousand words. Wow. I never thought I'd get here, and I'm sure I couldn't have done it without your support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who reads these stories, who interacts with them, and most of all to SilentMayhem, without whom this story would have be so much worse. I can't put into words how much I appreciate all of you. Have a lovely week.