Chapter 23 A/N I do not own Harry Potter; Sentences taken from the book are not mine. Any grammar errors can be attributed to my mushy brain, 41 pages of Physical Chemistry will do that to you.
"I almost don't want to leave!" Cassie said the day she was to take a portkey into London.
"We don't want you to leave either, dear. But you have to go back to school." Claude said.
"I know. I just didn't realize how much I missed you all." Cassie said through tearful eyes, setting her trunk down and giving Claude, Apolline, Arthur and the girls a big hug. The carriages for Beauxbatons didn't leave until the next day, and Arthur and Morgana had been able to sneak out for a bit to say goodbye to Cassie.
"Bye, Cassie. Have fun for the rest of the year, yeah? Don't study so much." Fleur told her.
"You rarely ever see me study anyways, I'm too busy pranking with Merlin and the Weasleys." Cassie replied.
"I do hope that's not true, Cassie." Claude said, looking at her disapprovingly.
"I'm third in my year, behind Hermione and Draco." Cassie answered, giving them both a grin as Claude and Apolline took her luggage and moved it closer to where they would take the portkey.
"Only because Merlin and I don't love homework more than life." Cassie whispered to her friends.
"Don't forget to let him know we're all camping over summer!" Fleur told her tearfully.
"I won't. You'll love him when you meet him. I think he and Arthur would get along swimmingly!" Cassie said brightly.
"You've called him an idiot at least twice a day since you got here! Is that supposed to be an indirect?!" he asked teasingly.
"Not very indirect, though, is it Arthur?" Cassie retorted teasingly.
"Oh, ha ha." he said, giving her another tight hug. "I'll miss you, Cassie. Don't forget to write no matter what. I want to hear it. Even if it's about that boyfriend of yours. Especially if it's to do with your nightmares or sleepwalking." he whispered into her hair kissing her gently.
"I won't, brother. I love you." Cassie said into his chest, hugging him tighter for a moment before he stepped back, pretending he got some dust in his eye and asking Fleur for some eye drops.
"You will write? Won't you?" Morgana asked tearfully.
"You'll get tired of seeing my letters, 'Gana" Cassie replied with a watery smile, hugging her close.
"Ha! Suppose I might. You always have been one to exaggerate with everything." Morgana said cheekily.
"Oh, I'm going to miss your cheek and wit! Suppose only Harry really has the same bite as you, 'Gana. Well, Hermione does too, but hers is more of a smart-witty, not a funny-witty or Morgana-witty. You have a special brand of wit all of your own."
"You certainly changed in Hogwarts! Even grew boobs! Which is totally unfair, by the way, since I'm older than you."
"'Gana!" Cassie cried, her face beet-red and her arms crossed over her chest, scandalized.
"Well, she has a point." Gabrielle said, laughing at Cassie's reaction.
"You two are going to terrorize Beauxbatons, mark my words. I can see I'm going to be replaced as your best friend, G."
"Never! A girl can have more than one best friend." Gabrielle said, putting on airs of mystery.
"Aloof doesn't suit you, G." Cassie said through giggles.
"Had to try it, didn't I." she answered, grinning toothily.
"I'll miss the two of you! My twin sister and my best friend!" Cassie said, tears forming on her eyes again.
"Cassie, you'll miss the portkey!" Apolline called from a few paces away.
"Coming!" Cassie called back, quickly giving both Morgana and Gabrielle quick hugs once more and running over to the portkey that was just outside the property boundaries where their wards were set up. "Bye! Love you!" Cassie called as the portkey glowed blue; she felt the hook behind her navel once more and before she knew it, she had arrived near enough to King's Cross station.
Apolline and Claude walked with her onto the platform as if they were her real parents and kissed her goodbye, staying there until the train had rounded a corner, and they no longer saw her, both with tearful eyes.
"Hey, Cass!" Tommy said when he found her looking out the window of the compartment onto the platform longingly.
"Hey, Tommy!" Cassie said, brightening.
"Guess I'm a statue is all." Leon said, stepping into the compartment after Tommy. "I mean it's all good and well that you two are dating and all, but I do still exist!" he said good-naturedly, grinning at them both as they blushed deeply.
"Yeah, it may have slipped out last week." Tommy said, bashfully looking at her.
"It's okay, you were all I talked about with my sister and Gabrielle for a whole day. Guess the 'cat's out of the bag' as the saying goes." Cassie said, just as bashful.
"Your sister? I thought you were estranged." Tommy said, confused.
"Operative word there being estranged." Cassie said with the widest smile possible.
"That makes no sense." Leon said dubiously.
"I meant were, past tense and the -ed in estranged also, not the whole word." Cassie corrected herself
"You two made up?!" Tommy asked, happy for her.
"Yeah. Apparently Dumbledore's been sending letters to my parents about my sleepwalking since January. They never answered, though it would have surprised me if they had, and he sent one to my brother with pictures of what happened that Pomfrey took."
"Sleepwalking? You've been sleepwalking?" Leon asked, confused.
"Yeah, back in January when I had the sling and the crutch for like the whole month. I didn't slip. Apparently, I was so determined to get to the library in my sleep I didn't even feel when I broke my bones with all the times I walked into walls and corners." Cassie said sheepishly.
"Why didn't you guys say anything?" he asked, showing his hurt at their lack of trust.
"Flitwick and Sprout wouldn't let me and Cedric say anything." Tommy said.
"And then I made them swear not to say anything. I was afraid I might have been the one behind all the attacks." Cassie said quietly.
"That's ridiculous! You would never- But others wouldn't see it that way." he said, recognition shining in his eye.
"Exactly. Besides, I had no clue what I was doing when I did sleepwalk. Apparently, I went to the library or the kitchens. One of the house-elves told me so. He said 'Miss comes into the kitchens at night sometimes, speaking an old language and asking for odd food.' Which does explain why I was never hungry in the mornings, but doesn't explain why the cravings were so strong they made me sleepwalk. And the library I can't explain, really. We can do magic on the train, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Leon answered, reeling from the change in subject.
"I promised 'Gana I'd send her a letter when I was on the train." Cassie answered, taking out a bit of parchment and writing on it: On the train to Hogwarts! Love you and Arthur, -Cassie
"Okay, you came back stranger than you left, I don't think you should go back over summer."
"Well, my siblings and the Delacours are going camping with me and Merlin over summer. It's up to him where we're going, but still… probably won't be in France."
"You, camping for two months, I'd like to see that."
"Just a week, the girls and I wouldn't be able to take much longer than that." Cassie said fondly. "Now, I really hope it gets to her!" Cassie squealed, closing her eyes and holding her wand over the note, feeling her magic rise in her and picturing clearly Morgana's purple purse. When she felt her magic start to release, she waved her wand in a closing spiral.
"No way!"
"Wicked!"
"It worked?!" Cassie asked excitedly, feeling giddy.
"I don't even know what you did, but it worked!" Tommy said, astounded.
"What classes are you taking next year?" Leon asked, still looking around to see if the note was anywhere.
"Haven't decided yet." Cassie said slowly, a sheepish grin on her face
"Sounds about right." Leon snorted.
"I was going to talk to Hermione, get her opinion. Unfortunately, my brother wasn't much help in that regard."
"Yeah, well with that bit of magic, you'd be good at anything." Tommy said, taking her hand in his.
"I guess so." Cassie said quietly, blushing at their awe-struck looks.
"Where did you even learn to do that?" Leon asked, astounded.
"Remember last Easter before I left I asked if I could borrow your owl, and then said I already sent the letter, well I messed around a bit with the magic then, and it worked. I was surprised, and unsure if I'd just made it disappear, but didn't find out if it actually worked until I met back up with Gabrielle." Cassie told them.
They exchanged stories of how their holidays went for much of the train ride, Leon even mentioning the small prank he'd managed to play with the Weasley twin's help. Apparently, they'd been looking into muggle pranks as well, and had the brilliant idea to 'modify' the hair-dye-in-the-shampoo prank to change color every morning-or when water touched their hair. Some potion that was finished with a color-changing charm. Cassie was impressed they figured out how to do it, and knew she would be badgering those two on how they managed to figure it out. For the few moments Leon had gone, his excuse being some bet he had pending with a fourth-year Ravenclaw, Tommy and Cassie had closed the curtains in their compartment and had a few minutes of stolen, uninterrupted bliss.
"Tell me, Tommy. You told him to leave us alone for a bit, didn't you?" Cassie asked from where she was nestled into his side, an amused smile gracing her features.
"It's possible I might have strongly hinted that he should leave for a while." Tommy replied, looking at her with a smile.
"You are terribly sure of yourself, you know." Cassie said, punctuating the sentence with a quick kiss.
"Am I?" he asked, leaning down and kissing her deeply, both of them pulling apart red-faced when Leon walked into the compartment.
"Seriously?! I've been gone for fifteen minutes, you're still not done?!"
"She's French." Tommy answered jokingly, a smile on his face, earning him an elbow to the gut and a glare.
"I understand Merlin now. For someone so tiny, she packs a hell of a punch!" Tommy grunted.
"If you two will excuse me, I must get changed into my Hogwarts robes." Cassie said after a few minutes of joking, an eyebrow raised as she waited for them to get up and leave.
"Don't let us stop you." Leon joked, and Cassie huffed and slapped him, not gently for lack of a better word(I may have forgotten my words temporarily there), on the shoulder before pulling him and Tommy up and out of the compartment.
"Feisty." Leon said, rubbing his stinging arm and leaning against the door.
"French." Tommy corrected, copying his pose. "And deceptively strong."
"You can come in now." Cassie said smiling sweetly. Dangerously. "I'll let you two change now. I think I'll see if I can't find someone else to visit with a while."
"Now we've done it!" Tommy said, watching her leave muttering in French. About a half hour later, Cassie came back, somewhat annoyed.
"Uh-oh. I know that face. What happened now?" Leon asked as Cassie came in and Tommy took his feet off the bench.
"Macmillan. Who else?" Cassie huffed annoyingly. "I was just sitting, talking with Luna and hearing how she and her father were sure the hunchback horn snorkack, or something along those lines, was real and they were researching where they would most likely find him over break when Macmillan showed up and began to berate me over what a good job Potter had been doing and how loyal I was to Hufflepuff and-Urgh! I had to leave, he was testing my limits again and I was about to explode worse than an Erumpent horn!" Cassie said angrily, relaxing a little when Tommy took her gently by the hand and pulled her down onto the seat, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles with one hand and wrapping his other around her slight frame.
"Does that mean we're forgiven for being idiots."
"No, you're not idiots." Cassie said fondly, finally calmed down enough from her ire to find what they'd said earlier slightly funny. "You are dollopheads, though."
"There's no such word." Leon said.
"Is too." Cassie retorted, relaxing into Tommy's side.
"Describe dollop-head." Tommy said slightly amused from beside her.
"In two words?"
"Yeah."
"Hmmm. Merlin."
"That was one." Leon said laughing.
"I know, but I realized my other answer would have been three words, so I went with one." Cassie shrugged, standing up as the train came to a stop and hooking her fingers through Tommy's.
When they stepped off the platform, Cassie saw the strangest looking animals and walked over to the carriages where she decided she would pet them. She didn't know what type of animals they were, they were oddly skeletal and leathery, but not leathery at the same time. She found it hard to describe them well, but they looked like horses with wings.
"What are you doing?" Leon and Tommy asked when they saw her pet thin air.
"Petting the horse thingy that's pulling the carriages." Cassie answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"There's nothing there, Cassie." Tommy said, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her over to the back of the carriage and helping her onto it.
"Of course there is! It's a great big horse with wings! How can you not see them?" Cassie asked confused.
"I don't know. Magic, maybe."
"I'm going to find out what those things are!" Cassie declared, knowing she would be spending a lot of time in the library anyways. She still hadn't figured out who the boy from her nightmares was, or why she had grabbed that book from the Restricted section before holiday.
"I don't doubt you will." Tommy said, kissing her head and leaving her to her thoughts, joking around with Leon for a bit.
"We're here, Cass." Tommy said softly, letting Leon help her out of the carriage.
"How can you two not see them?" Cassie asked, looking right at the horse thingy's eyes. They were eerily white with no pupils, or expressions, but she had no sense of foreboding from them.
"You're not crazy. I can see them too." Luna said, walking up to the thestral Cassie was looking at and petting him.
"Do you know what they are?"
"Not sure what they're called, but the herd lives up near the forest. I sometimes go feed them. You're welcome to come if you like."
"I think I will." Cassie said with a smile, looping her arm through Luna's and walking into the castle.
"Mate, your girlfriend's brilliant and everything, but she's a bit mad." Leon told him with a chuckle patting him on the back.
"Yeah. Let me just see…" Tommy said, walking slowly with his hands outstretched to see if there really was something there. He walked right into the animal's face and recoiled. "There's really something there! Have we learned about it in Care of Magical Creatures yet?" he asked his friend, who admittedly paid better attention than him in class anyway.
"Probably not." he said, shrugging and going into the castle. "Come on, I'm starving, and your girlfriend didn't let us get any candy on the train."
"You could have gotten some if you wanted."
"She called me fat!"
"To which you responded like a ten year old and stomped out, Leon." Tommy said laughing.
"I was simply taking the hint and leaving you two alone again, like you said. Besides, I needed my three Galleons. You two got together before the year ended. I won the bet."
"I really don't like that you two made a bet." Tommy said, a bit disgruntled at them.
"Oh, no it was the whole year. Ced said you two would get together over summer, at that camping trip Merlin invited us on. I said if you two weren't together by Easter, I'd eat one of Hagrid's stoat sandwiches."
"Anyone say by January? That's technically when we 'got together' just after we got back from holiday." Tommy told him, looking at him sideways.
"Merlin! You two can really keep a secret! Did anyone know?"
"I'm sure Hermione Granger knew. She is Cassie's best girl friend here."
"Those two are a very unexpected friendship, Cassie's so...girly and Hermione's so studious."
"Cassie sleepwalks to the library. How much more studious can you get?" Tommy asked him quietly enough that no one else would hear him.
"True. I forgot." Leon said, sitting at the Hufflepuff table across from Cedric
"She just told you!" Tommy said sitting down next to Cedric.
"Eh." Leon shrugged, then dug into the steak-and-kidney pie that was in front of him.
"Who told him what?" Cedric asked, butting into the middle of the conversation.
"Cassie told him how she 'slipped' in January." Tommy said, conveying what she really told him with a raise of his eyebrows and a look of his eyes.
"Ah. Yeah, she made us swear not to tell anyone."
"Makes sense. Where'd she go?"
"Ravenclaw table." Cedric said, nodding his head where she was in a lively conversation with the pretty Ravenclaw Quidditch seeker and Luna.
After dinner, Cassie bade both Ravenclaws goodbye and went to find Hermione, absolutely desperate for help in deciding what classes to take. She found Percy and he told her that the last place he'd seen her was in the library, to try there.
"Hermione!" Cassie whispered in relief, taking the seat across from her and pulling the papers out from her robe pocket. She had made sure to keep them on her all day in case she found Hermione quickly. "Thank goodness I've found you! I need help deciding what classes to take next year, and I'm completely at a loss! Everyone I talk to says contradictory things, and my head is bound to explode. My brother couldn't even help me and he had to do the same for Beauxbatons!" Cassie said, practically in hysterics.
"I know what you mean, I have absolutely no idea what to take either, and Harry and Ron seem to be taking this as a joke, Harry just closed his eyes and picked whichever one his wand prodded!"
"That sounds like him, he should be more serious about this!"
"That's what I said!"
The two second-years continued their whispered conversation for another hour in the library. The two girls had decided to ignore what everyone else was doing or had said and signed up for everything; both agreeing they would help each other throughout the year. They went up to McGonagall's office, being the deputy headmistress, and told her the reasons behind their choices-or lack thereof really-and hoped she would find a solution for them.
"Anything exciting happen over break?" Cassie asked when they both left McGonagall's office.
"No. We haven't found anything else on Riddle, Harry still hasn't decided what to do with the diary. Actually, Merlin and Ron had a slight competition in wizard's chess. Apparently, Merlin's gotten pretty good playing against Ron, it was pretty much the most exciting thing to happen."
"Sounds about right. Where's the goofball, anyways? We have to plan our camping trip."
"What camping trip?" Hermione asked curiously.
"He didn't tell you guys? Well he invited me and a few other Hufflepuffs to go camping with him over summer. I think he didn't want to be alone, he hasn't actually got anyone to be with over summer, his whole family's gone and he said his guardian is off on business trips all the time." Cassie said.
"Oh, that's so sad. Do you think maybe it's a Hufflepuff only trip?" she asked nervously.
"No, it's definitely not a Hufflepuff only trip. I kind of invited myself and the Delacours along, and now my brother and sister. And since we were talking in front of Ced, Leon and Tommy, he invited them too. Now that I think about it, he might have just been joking about camping because we were talking about the time one of his friends stuck his hand in a beehive while they were camping." Cassie said thoughtfully. "Oops." she offered with a goofy smile.
"Come on. I'm sure he's playing chess with Ron again. He's quite competitive." Hermione said with a giggle.
"Any progress on the kissy front?" Cassie asked, making eyes and bumping her friend with her shoulder teasingly.
"No." She said miserably. "It's like I don't exist."
"We're going to change that. Why don't you just go up and kiss him?"
"Are you mad!? I would never do that!"
"But you're a Gryffindor! Where's that bravery and impulsiveness you're all famous for? Just walk up to him, and kiss him!" Cassie said, not paying attention if there was anyone around.
"Kiss who?" came a curious voice from around the corner.
"No one!" Hermione cried, blushing beet red as Merlin's goofy smile came into view.
"Aw, come on. Kiss who? I won't laugh, Hermione. Even if it's Ron." Merlin joked, earning a disapproving look from Cassie.
"No one!" she squeaked, running up to the Gryffindor Tower and leaving the two Hufflepuffs in the hallway.
"What'd I do?" he asked, his head tilting to one side, confused.
"You're such a dollophead, Merlin." Cassie said, turning around and heading to the basement.
"How do you know that word?" Merlin asked, stopping in the middle of the staircase to some people's annoyance.
"What do you mean, you've said it to me before." Cassie asked confused.
"No I haven't. Clotpole, sure. Prat, maybe. But not dollophead. I've only ever ca-I mean I've never called you that before. You're not a dollophead." he said to her, remembering himself, "Most of the time." he amended.
"I'm almost sure you've said it at some point. It seems like your kind of word." Cassie told him, rolling her eyes and continuing down to the basement.
"If you say so. What classes did you sign up for? They were due today." Merlin asked.
"Couldn't decide, Hermione and I-"
"Say no more." Merlin said quickly, noticing her getting ready to rant.
"You asked." she mumbled irritated. "I'm just going to go to bed, then. Quidditch practice tomorrow." Cassie said when they got to the basement.
"You never go to sleep at nine, are you okay."
"Sure, perfectly fine. Tired and not wanting to go to Quidditch practice tomorrow. We're playing Gryffindor and Maxine has us practicing just as hard as Wood's training his team. Even though I'm probably not even going to be in the game." Cassie said, kissing him goodnight and going straight to her room and plopping on the bed, falling asleep quickly, hoping the few weeks without nightmares would continue.
Her nightmares came quicker that night. In no time at all, she was dreaming about the handsome boy with the cold eyes and the frozen animals near the library. This time, however, she saw a peacock, a stag and a dog falling down onto thousands of rat bones. When she woke in the morning, covered in sweat, she found herself in one of the corners of the common room and groaned. She'd been sleepwalking again, and this time had no idea where she went. She stood up grumpily and, seeing that it was barely six in the morning, went to take a long hot shower to wash away the fear and anxiety from not knowing what she had done the night before.
She went to the kitchens for an early breakfast, asking for a chocolate filled croissant and some milk then left for the library, intent on finding out more about the boy from her dreams. She would just have to wait to find out what those horse-like creatures were. She only waited for a few minutes before Madam Pince opened the library, looking at her suspiciously.
"Good morning, Madam Pince. I trust you had a pleasant holiday?" Cassie greeted politely.
"Pleasant enough, Miss Gratien." she answered, going to her desk and starting her day, keeping a vigilant eye on the girl. She still wasn't very pleased that Cassie decided to sleepwalk into the library and bleed all over.
Cassie walked through the shelves, she had no real time frame for the boy in her dream, but decided to look for him before Dumbledore became Headmaster, while he was a Professor at Hogwarts. She wound through the sections, trying to find the books she had been looking at before the holiday. It took her the better part of an hour, but she eventually found what she had been looking for; the pictures of the prefects, Quidditch captains and Head Boy and Girl from each year. She flipped through the pages gingerly, not wanting Madam Pince to be even more angry at her. She flipped through years and years worth of pictures and names, hoping just one of them would be the boy from her ever-present nightmares. Starting from the moment he became Defense Professor sometime in the 1910's, Cassie sat down with a sigh and began examining every picture she found, hoping for the face of the boy. She flipped through almost forty years' of pictures before an annoyed looking Maxine appeared behind her, arms crossed and Quidditch robes on.
"Why aren't you at the Quidditch pitch?" She hissed, not daring to speak any louder.
"Lost track of time, Maxine. I'm sorry." Cassie said, looking up at her with bloodshot eyes.
"How long have you been here? What are you even doing?"
"Nothing." Cassie muttered quietly, closing the book and standing up to put it back in its place, turning around to answer her first question. "I've been here since the library opened."
"You've been here for five hours?" she asked incredulously.
"Suppose so, yeah." Cassie said, grabbing her bag and walking out with Maxine.
"Well, let's just hurry up and get to the pitch, everyone's been waiting for you. Malcolm got hurt and won't be able to play next game. You're in!" she said with an excited smile.
"I'll train hard. And beat the Gryffindor's, I know their minds." she said excitedly, winking conspiratorially and tapping her head.
"Guess it's going to work to our favor, then." she said, chuckling as she went over to all the other Hufflepuffs while Cassie went to change. They trained hard everyday, and much to her disappointment they did so at noon. Her complexion would be ruined by the end of the year if they kept this up for much longer. Although, she was glad it was the last game of the season.
Sometime in the following week, between practices and classes, Cassie found herself up at Gryffindor Tower, doing her homework with Hermione and enjoying the day of respite from practice. She found that it was far more inviting to be up in 'the Lion's den' as Fred and George had called it than being in her own common room. Ernie had taken it upon himself to make her stay miserable, reminding her of her parents and their affiliations whenever he felt like it. For a Hufflepuff, he was certainly a right git! So, the evening before the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor game, Cassie found herself once more in the Gryffindor common room, joking around with Fred and George about ways to sabotage each other before the game. It was all hypothetical, of course, they wouldn't play like that. But that didn't mean the pranks could't resume after the game. When Harry came up in a brighter mood than she had seen in a while, Cassie said bye to the beaters, told them she was going to annoy the seeker to death and see if that helped them win.
"Hey, Harry!" Cassie said, walking up to his dorm with him.
"Hey, Cassie! Don't let Wood see you here, he'll go ballistick." Harry whispered teasingly at her.
"Eh, I've already been bugging him and Gred for a while. He doesn't mind." Cassie said, waving her hand dismissively.
They walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, both in happy moods, but finding a frantic looking Neville at the top of the stairs quickly soured it.
"Harry - I don't know who did it - I just found-" Neville said, clearly upset; he opened the door, watching Harry fearfully and Cassie gasped when she saw what had happened.
The contents of Harry's trunk had been thrown everywhere. His cloak lay ripped on the floor. The bedclothes had been pulled off his four-poster and the drawer had been pulled out of his bedside cabinet, the contents strewn over the mattress. Harry walked over to the bed, open-mouthed, treading on a few loose pages of Travels with Trolls. As he and Neville pulled the blankets back onto his bed, Ron, Dean, and Seamus came in. Dean swore loudly; earning a reproving "Dean!" from Cassie.
"What happened, Harry?" Seamus asked.
"No idea," said Harry. But Ron was examining Harry's robes. All the pockets were hanging out.
"Someone's been looking for something," said Ron. "Is there anything missing?"
Harry started to pick up all his things and throw them into his trunk. It was only as he threw the last of the Lockhart books back into it that he realized what wasn't there.
"Riddle's diary's gone," he said in an undertone to Ron and Cassie.
"What?" they both said, aghast.
Harry jerked his head toward the dormitory door and Ron and Cassie followed him out. They hurried down to the Gryffindor common room, which was half-empty, and joined Hermione, who was sitting alone, reading a book called Ancient Runes Made Easy. Hermione looked aghast at the news.
"But - only a Gryffindor could have stolen - nobody else knows our password-"
"Other than me and Merlin, but neither of us have it. He's been in detention all day in the Hospital Wing, courtesy of Professor Snape." Cassie said.
"Exactly," said Harry.
Saturday came quickly, and Cassie's stress levels were about close to bursting. She hadn't been able to go back to the library and continue her search for the boy. Her nightmares were relentless, every night she woke up in a different place, and it was terrifying her that she remembered nothing, even if the house-elves all said she just walked from her room to another part of the castle and went back to sleep: She had half a mind to just go to Madame Pomfrey and ask if she could stay the rest of the year there. She was so physically exhausted that she couldn't even think about pranks!
"Perfect Quidditch conditions!" said Wood enthusiastically at the Gryffindor table, loading the team's plates with scrambled eggs. She made her way up to breakfast, taking her usual spot next to Harry, Ron and Hermione when she felt hands drag her up. "Harry, buck up there, you need a decent breakfast."
"Oh, no you don't! Not today!" Tommy said, dragging her over to the Hufflepuff table by the waist and ignoring her indignant cry.
"Tommy! It's just breakfast!" Cassie cried as he kept carrying her over, ignoring the snickers of the Gryffindor team.
"Yeah, with the enemy! Have you forgotten you're playing today?"
"Trying to!" she said back, sitting across from Cedric.
"No need to be nervous, you'll do perfectly." he reassured her with a kind smile as Tommy sat down next to her.
"Fine! But I'm not eating that!" she said, eyeing the pile of bacon Tommy was plating for her.
"Oh, yes you are! We need you to bulk up! You're so light I could carry you over with one hand." he said, making the other players on the team laugh and Cassie blush.
"Don't forget, I can always transfigure your Quidditch robes into a top hat and tails!" Cassie warned.
"You wouldn't! You want us to win just as much." Tommy said, taking a bite of the bacon she refused to eat and smiling at her as he chewed. Cassie shook her head and put some jam on toast and ate it, looking reproachfully at the boys eating so much.
"How do you people eat so much this early?!" Cassie asked, shaking her head and putting her piece of toast down.
"We're English!" Tommy said, nudging her.
"I think I'll go get the creme solaire. The sun is very bright today." Cassie said, her appetite gone and her nerves running free.
"Wait up! I'll come with you." Merlin said standing up from the table and taking the sausages with him as he followed her down to the basement.
Harry had been staring down the packed Gryffindor table, wondering if the new owner of Riddle's diary was right in front of his eyes. Hermione had been urging him to report the robbery, but Harry didn't like the idea. He'd have to tell a teacher all about the diary, and how many people knew why Hagrid had been expelled fifty years ago? He didn't want to be the one who brought it all up again. As he left the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione to go and collect his Quidditch things, another very serious worry was added to Harry's growing list. He had just set foot on the marble staircase when he heard it yet again.
Harry shouted aloud and Ron and Hermione both jumped away from him in alarm. Merlin and Cassie, who had started going down to the basement ran back up at the sound.
"The voice!" said Harry, looking over his shoulder. "I just heard it again - didn't you?"
Ron shook his head, wide-eyed. Hermione, however, clapped a hand to her forehead.
"Harry - I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!" And she sprinted away, up the stairs.
"What does she understand?" said Harry distractedly, still looking around, trying to tell where the voice had come from.
"Loads more than I do," said Ron, shaking his head.
"Oh!" Cassie said, going to follow her up but being stopped by Ernie saying she shouldn't have been substitute when her true alliance was with Gryffindor, making her tear up and run back down to the basement instead. Merlin looked torn, but decided to follow her down. Worst case, he can just trip spectacularly and she'd forget.
"I'll check on Hermione in a bit. Cassie-" Merlin said apologetically, gesturing down to the basement before going to speak with her.
"But why's she got to go to the library?"
"Because that's what Hermione does," said Ron, shrugging. "When in doubt, go to the library."
Harry stood, irresolute, trying to catch the voice again, but people were now emerging from the Great Hall behind him, talking loudly, exiting through the front doors on their way to the Quidditch pitch.
"You'd better get moving," said Ron. "It's nearly eleven - the match-"
Merlin had been able to talk Cassie into running up quickly and going to the match, if only to prove to the prat he was wrong.
She was warming up on the field when Maxine called her over, last minute huddle to talk tactics. She was quickly getting nervous about it, and Tommy noticing this rubbed his hand soothingly on her back. Suddenly, Professor McGonagall's voice sounded, making her breathe a sigh of relief and then groan in disappointment.
"This match has been cancelled," Professor McGonagall called through the megaphone, addressing the packed stadium. There were boos and shouts. Oliver Wood, looking devastated, landed and ran toward Professor McGonagall without getting off his broomstick. He was shouting something about the cup and Gryffindor that Cassie wasn't able to hear, but McGonagall ignored him, continuing to speak through the megaphone, saying: "All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!" Then she lowered the megaphone and beckoned Harry over to her.
"Potter, I think you'd better come with me..."
Wondering how she could possibly suspect him this time, Harry saw Ron detach himself from the complaining crowd; he came running up to them as they set off toward the castle. To Harry's surprise, Professor McGonagall didn't object.
"Yes, perhaps you'd better come, too, Weasley..."
"Merlin what's going on? Why are Harry and Ron following Professor McGonagall?" Cassie asked him when he joined her.
"I don't know, but it doesn't seem good. Let's go!" he said, taking her hand and running to catch up with them.
Some of the students swarming around them were grumbling about the match being canceled; others looked worried. Harry and Ron followed Professor McGonagall back into the school and up the marble staircase. But they weren't taken to anybody's office this time.
"This will be a bit of a shock," said Professor McGonagall in a surprisingly gentle voice as they approached the infirmary. "There has been another attack... another double attack."
Harry's insides did a horrible somersault. Professor McGonagall pushed the door open and he and Ron entered… Madam Pomfrey was bending over a fifth-year girl with long, curly hair. Harry recognized her as the Ravenclaw they'd accidentally asked for directions to the Slytherin common room. And on the bed next to her was-
"Hermione!" Ron groaned.
Hermione lay utterly still, her eyes open and glassy.
"No." Cassie said quietly, clutching onto Merlin for support.
"They were found near the library," said Professor McGonagall, startled for a second by the two Hufflepuff's appearance. "I don't suppose either of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them..."
She was holding up a small, circular mirror. Harry and Ron shook their heads, both staring at Hermione.
"Near the library?" Cassie asked in a terrified voice.
"Yes, Miss Gratien. Near the library." she said gently, her eyes following as Cassie walked forward hesitatingly to hold Hermione's hand gently.
"Cassie, I wouldn't-" Merlin started to say, but was quietened when she gasped at feeling Hermione's hand and started crying, going back to Merlin's side and burying her face in his chest.
"I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower, and you two will come with us. When I am done, I will escort you down to your common room." said Professor McGonagall heavily. "I need to address the students in any case."
They walked up silently, Cassie holding onto Merlin tightly.
"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities."
The Gryffindors packed inside the common room listened to Professor McGonagall in silence. She rolled up the parchment from which she had been reading and said in a somewhat choked voice, "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward. Mr. Rhydderch, Miss Gratien, I will escort you down to your common room." She climbed somewhat awkwardly out of the portrait hole, and the Gryffindors began talking immediately.
"Professor?" Cassie asked quietly after they were far enough away from Gryffindor Tower.
"Yes, Miss Gratien?" she asked, stopping on the staircase
"I-I need to sp-speak with P-professor Dumbledore, please." Cassie said nervously, tripping over her words in her fear and grief.
"I'll escort Mr. Rhydderch down first, then we can go to the Headmaster's office.
"H-he can come. I trust him." Cassie said in a small voice, clinging onto him tighter.
"Very well." she said, looking at her for a moment before turning around and walking towards Dumbledore's office, the two students in tow.
She gave the password to the Gargoyle and stepped onto the stairs, the two students stepping on behind her; when they stopped ascending, she knocked on the door and opened it, allowing them to step forward.
"Yes?" Dumbledore asked graveley upon seeing the student's faces.
"Miss Gratien asked to speak with you, Albus." McGonagall said seriously.
"P-professor, is it me?" Cassie asked him in a small voice, tears streaming down her pale face.
"No. It's safe to say that you are not behind these attacks, Miss Gratien." Dumbledore said, looking at her.
"But, those dreams! A-and I've been sleepwalking to the library! H-how can you be sure?!" Cassie asked frantically.
"Cassie! I can't tell you why you've been having those dreams, or why you've been sleepwalking. But I can say that you've done nothing; the house-elves have been watching over you, in case you do end up sleepwalking as happened in January and hurt yourself. But you only sleepwalk to some other place. Nothing else." Dumbledore told her slowly, calming her down with his reassurances.
"But, I-I've been seeing two animals near the library frozen on the floor for months!" Cassie said fearfully.
"You're a Seer." Merlin breathed out. "But, that's-how? You weren't-" he said, the gears turning in his brain as he thought it all through with a furrowed brow.
"I'm not a Seer, Merlin, I've never given a prophecy." Cassie said, sniffling.
"Have you heard of the Old Religion?" he asked, after a moment, letting it sink in, looking between the professors and her.
"No." they all said in unison.
"The Old Religion was the religion of the druids, over a thousand years ago. Their Seers weren't like Seers now. The future came to them in dreams, most of the time; or sometimes through scrying or crystals. Much like the Seers of now, the gift is something that comes from birth and it can't be controlled; it's innate, involuntary."
"That doesn't explain anything, Merlin!" Cassie cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
"May I ask how you know this, Mr. Rhydderch?" Dumbledore asked him, studying him carefully over his fingertips.
"My uncle and my father were practitioners of the Old Religion before they died. My uncle taught me, he told me what a Seer was and-"
"Well, I don't want it! I hate it, teach me how to control it, Merlin! Please!" Cassie begged him through tearful eyes, grasping his shirt in her small fists.
"I can't, Cassie, I don't know how. My uncle left me his books and everything, but I was never taught. I'm not a Seer. There's books, but they're in Olde English most likely." Merlin said softly, looking into her eyes.
"Will it always be like this?" Cassie asked brokenly, sitting down and receiving the glass of water that Dumbledore held out for her.
"Maybe, maybe not." he admitted after a moment of thought.
"If you have any other dreams such as those, I would ask you to tell me, Miss Gratien." Dumbledore said behind his touching fingertips, observing them both closely.
"Y-yes sir. I'll tell you." Cassie said sniffling.
"Vey well, Minerva, would you please escort them back to their common room?"
"Yes, Albus. Come along." she said, motioning for them to go forward.
"Professor? I don't know if this is one of those prophecy things, but I had a dream a few nights ago about a stag, a peacock and a dog falling onto rat bones. I have no clue what it means, though." Cassie said from where she was standing on the other side of the office.
"Thank you, Cassie." Dumbledore said from his desk, receiving a nod from Cassie as she turned around and left his office.
"Will something stop the sleepwalking?" she asked Merlin when they were on the Grand Staircase with McGonagall.
"My uncle said something about a spell they used to place on something to keep the dreams at bay."
"Like what?"
"A bracelet, a ring, anything really."
"Are there many practitioners of the Old Religion?" McGonagall asked curiously.
"Less and less, my dear Professor." one of the portraits answered.
"Ah, Merlin. I didn't know you practiced the Old Religion. Makes sense now why you're named after him." McGonagall said to both portrait Merlin and student Merlin.
"Yes, well, High hopes and all." Merlin said cheekily, looking at the portrait of the old man and winking. "Think I'm going to start growing out my beard." he said, trying to lighten the mood by rubbing his chin with his fingers, imitating the portrait.
"You might know!" Cassie cried wide-eyed. "How can I stop the dreams?!"
"I'm afraid you can't stop them, my Lady. You can learn to control them with time. And there is a spell that can stop some of the effects of your magic bleeding out when you're asleep and making you sleepwalk, but I'm afraid there's no one alive who can cast it. The Old Religion is scarce, and true sorcerers even more so." he said sadly, crushing her hopes and looking at student Merlin accusingly.
"But Merlin, you practiced, wouldn't you be able to?" Cassie asked after they walked down to the basement in silence.
"Maybe, but I've never tried, Cassie. I don't know if I have the talent for it. Any Old magic that I might've done before I turned eleven was uncontrolled, I just thought it and it happened." Merlin said. "Instinctual, even."
"Really?" McGonagall asked, curious. "Even the magic is different?"
"Yes. Uhm." Merlin said, looking around and letting his magic flare up, lighting the torches with a look and glow of his eyes. "I don't actually know any incantations or spells. I've never tried. My uncle taught me more potions and charms, he was a healer after all." he answered sheepishly.
"Oh." Cassie said, her emotions so jumbled she wasn't even surprised by the flash of his eyes.
"Yeah." Merlin replied, not knowing what else to do.
"If it were any other time, Mr. Rhydderch, I would ask more questions, but, alas, now is not a moment for this." she said, tapping the password and letting them through. "I expect both of you to stay here, don't go up to the hospital wing without permission." she told them sternly.
"Yes, professor." they said at the same time, bidding her good night and stepping further into the common room.
The moment they exited the tunnel every Hufflepuff was staring at the two of them.
"Who did Potter attack now?" Ernie asked, earning a red-eyed glare from Cassie.
"Harry Potter is not the Heir of Slytherin!" she said furiously, her emotions getting the better of her and her magic flaring up.
"Cassie, stop!" Merlin told her firmly, his hand on her shoulder grounding her some.
"I'm going to sleep." she told no one and everyone, walking angrily to the girls' corridor and slamming the door.
"Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater were petrified. I'd think twice before saying it's Harry's fault. She's one of his best friends." Merlin told them all coldly, going to his own room and slamming the door.
The next morning Cassie and Merlin took the seats farthest from their housemates at the Hufflepuff table, not wanting anyone near them. Harry and Ron seemed to have the same idea and sat down across from the two Hufflepuffs, ignoring everyone's looks.
"You'll never guess what happened last night." Harry said quietly.
"Neither will you." Cassie said.
"What do you mean?"
"Apparently, I'm a Seer of Old. That's why I've been sleepwalking. And I've been seeing Hermione and Penelope get petrified since January." Cassie said miserably.
"What?!" Harry and Ron said at the same time.
"Exactly. But you three are the only ones that know. I haven't even written my family. I don't know what to tell them. I don't even know what I'm dreaming." she said, pushing her breakfast around on the plate.
"What happened to you two?" Merlin asked
"Fudge showed up, the Minister of Magic. He took Hagrid to Azkaban and Malfoy's father showed up, forced Dumbledore to leave the school."
"What?!" Cassie and Merlin asked, mirroring Harry and Ron's reaction to her revelation.
"Poor Hagrid, those dementors are nasty business." Merlin said, as Cassie looked close to tears again.
"Dumbledore said something, though, he said 'you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me... Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it'. I feel like he'd said it to me." Harry said softly.
"Well, he might know something we don't. Maybe he figured out my last dream." Cassie said.
"As far as dreams go, that was seriously vague, Cassie. A stag, a dog and a peacock fall onto rat bones." Merlin said disbelievingly; he much preferred Morgana's, at least hers weren't confusing.
"Trust me Merlin, if I could stop these damn dreams, I would!" Cassie cried, uncharacteristically cursing as she pushed the small amount of food on her plate around.