December 22, 1975 - Malfoy Manor

The hair slipped from her hands again, and Cassiopeia sighed in frustration. She ran her fingers through the half-formed braids, resigning herself to appearing at the Yule celebration with hair like a half-wild horse's mane. Maybe she'd get Narcissa to do something, although - no, she wouldn't bother her, the witch already had too much to do.

She glanced into the mounted mirror on her right, surprised when its sight did not reveal her looking like she'd just climbed out from bed. She smiled slightly, turning her head to see the back. It did look wild, but in a good way, she thought. There was just something small missing…

She rummaged through several drawers, certain there would be jewellery in this room. It didn't take long to find it - a beautifully-engraved box - and she meticulously explored each of its shining treasures.

There. It caught her eyes suddenly - a delicate, golden butterfly comb - and she knew it would be perfect. Carefully, she brushed her hair back, and used the comb to pin it into place.

Wonderful.

Storing away the jewellery box, she examined herself again now in the mirror. With her hair pulled back from her face, she looked sharper, older. It was a similar effect to the one made by her dress - its corset top clung to her body, not restrictive, but certainly accentuating her figure, giving her a more… adult look.

"Are you ready, Cassie?"

"Just a second," she called, stealing one last look into the mirror, and grinning. She liked this, liked the powerful feeling it gave her. It was heady.

"You look lovely," Narcissa smiled once she came outside. The elder witch looked wonderful herself, enveloped by a striking red robe which brought out the warmth of her skin. "Go on downstairs. I'll just be getting Severus, and then the two of you can enter together," she said, with a mischievous smile, before it suddenly slipped from her face. "Cassie… is there something… that I don't know about?"

"What do you mean?" she frowned in utter confusion.

"Your comb," she replied, reaching out to brush her fingers over it. "It's gold."

Cassiopeia raised her eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Narcissa sighed, gesturing for her to turn around. Her long fingers quickly unfurled her hair from the comb, and Cassie's skin prickled as the witch used her magic to hold her hair in place. "Gold jewellery is for those engaged or married," she said carefully. "There would be much… talk… if you'd gone in wearing it."

Removing her own, she swapped their accessories, replacing the socially-unacceptable gold with flower-shaped silver. Cassiopeia scowled slightly, more at etiquette rules than Narcissa, and smoothed her hair back down into its curls.

Narcissa, having rearranged her own hair as well, was staring at her with a strange quietness.

"Yes?"

"You didn't know about the implications? I'm afraid - Cassie, the Dark Lord himself will be at the party…" she shook her head. "I'll be getting you some books as soon as possible."

"Cissa - " she protested.

"For my own peace of mind."

Her opposition softened. "Okay."

The celebration was loud; louder than she'd ever expected it to be.

In the confines of the ballroom, it was not only followers of the Dark Lord that had gathered, she recognised, but politicians, and businessmen; fellow purebloods who tooo felt their traditions were being suppressed.

Not followers yet, but on their way to become ones. Cassie shivered, remembering the Dark Lord's ominous tone as he made his speech - disguised, of course, as the Ministry's darling, Valens Gaunt.

Our past is being washed away, slowly but surely, by the horde who would have us live as Muggles, and dine with them as one. Our sacred festivals - Samhain, Litha, Beltane - have been purged from history books, re-labelled by Muggle names, their magic excised. Today, we celebrate Yule - an instrumental holiday in our history as magical peoples. We will not allow it to be erased, we will not allow it to be forgotten.

The look in his eyes…

Afterwards, a classical orchestra had begun to play, and most were distracted by the opportunity to dance, and form connections with the highest of the high. Even she'd allowed herself to be persuaded to dance, and her heart beat oddly loudly as Severus spun her in his arms - unpracticed, but sweetly trying.

The music slowed, and as the two of them made their way off the dance floor, they were approached. Her throat tightened as she caught the short, jet-black hair, and she made to leave.

"Nazyalensky - ," Sirius Black called out arrogantly, all-but-pushing past another dancing couple in an attempt to catch her.

She stilled, her hand gripping Severus' arm like a claw, and slowly turned to face him. "Yes, Black?"

"Would you have this dance with me?" he smirked, and as he noticed her begin to decline, he added, "My father's asked me to speak with you."

Immediately, she quickly surveyed the crowd, but couldn't locate Orion Black. Still, she couldn't just assume Sirius was lying, for if he wasn't…

She bit her lip, and gently squeezed Severus' hand, before releasing it. Lord Black was not someone she wanted to explicitly oppose. "One dance, Black. One."

"Cassie - " Severus protested, glaring at the Gryffindor.

"Don't worry your slimy little heart over it, Severus," Black countered, pulling her into his arms. "Your girlfriend will be safe with me."

With that, he led her onto the dance floor, crossing the entire room in what seemed an attempt to obscure Severus' sight, and move to a less-crowded place. As the next song began to pick up, he held her tightly as they began to sway, not speaking a word but leering explicitly at her chest.

She shivered, and she could see that he'd noticed by his growing smirk.

"What were you asked to speak about?" she asked tightly, attempting to keep as much distance between their bodies as possible. As he answered, she searched the gathering again, desperately attempting to locate the elder Black.

"Oh, nothing much," Sirius replied, stepping so closely to her that she felt his hot breath against her face, and his body against hers. "Just... apologise, y'know?"

There. She met Orion's eyes, and noticed his own widen in surprise. Immediately, it confirmed her suspicions. "Get away from me, Black," she told him, attempting to remove his arms.

He only gripped her tighter, smirking as his hand crept closer to her chest.

Panic seized her. "Stop, Sirius."

Deliberately, he placed his large, warm hand over her breast, and leaned over to whisper something in her ear.

In a split-second decision she took advantage of his momentary imbalance, and desperately pulled away, tearing herself from his forceful grip. She stumbled away from him, almost falling to the ground herself when she was caught. She felt sick.

She spun around to face her aider, meeting the furious gaze of one Orion Black. In that moment, she was certain, absolutely certain, that that wrath was for her, but seconds later he stepped past her, catching his eldest son in a bruising grip.

"Have you no shame, Sirius?" Black hissed, all-but-pushing his son against the wall. "Your false accusations against our family were appalling, but this - I do not wish to see you again."

Sirius stumbled forward, his eyes going wide. "Father - "

"You sicken me, Sirius," he replied, voice rigid, and tightly controlled. "Leave here before I do something worse."

Looking terrified and dismayed, Sirius fled from the room.

Orion turned to her, his face once again a mask of calm. "I apologise for his actions, Miss Nazyalensky. If there is anything our family can do to repay this slight, we will. I will do everything in my power to make certain he does not bother you again."

"I - "

"Orion. I suggest you discuss this incident with your wife."

The Dark Lord appeared behind them, seemingly out of nowhere. His face betrayed nothing of his emotions, but his eyes made the barest movement to meet Cassie's face, scanning her over for a half-second until he was satisfied.

"It will not do for the boy to escape punishment yet again," he added darkly, before disappearing again from their sight.

"If you will excuse me for a moment?" the elder Black said, before making his way across the room to his wife.

Finally alone, Cassiopeia let out a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. She was shaking still, panicked and unnerved, and she didn't know what to do.

Lady Black made her way over to her while Orion disappeared from the room, looking grimly determined.

"Miss Nazyalensky… I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced," the older witch said, a pained smile on her face. "I'm Walburga Black."

"Cassiopeia."

Sirius' mother nodded. "It's unfortunate that these are the circumstances of our first meeting. We had heard of some of his behaviour, but I never thought it'd get this far…" she shook her head. "Nevertheless, he has been, or soon will be, disowned. I do apologise sincerely, Miss Nazyalensky - you should not have had to go through that. If there is anything I can do - "

Cassiopeia nodded perfunctorily, and the woman smiled gratefully. "Regulus, I hope, had not made himself a bother to you?"

"No, not at all," she answered quietly. "He is a fine friend."

"I am glad," she said, then paused. "Would you like me to get a Calming Draught, child? You are quite pale."

"It's - it's all right, Lady Black. I'll just have a seat."

"You do that," she nodded. "Would you like me to call for that Mr. Snape with whom you came?"

"I'd appreciate it," Cassiopeia replied, gratefully sinking into a chaise. She closed her eyes, resting her head against her hands. She felt ragged, and her eyes burned.

Moments later, Severus rushed over to her, robes and hair in disarray. "What happened?" he asked almost breathlessly, scanning her over with his eyes. "Are you all right?"

She put out a hand to stop him from getting closer. "I'm - fine," she replied in a stifled voice, feeling the blood rushing through her ears. "I just need a moment."

He halted, his brow furrowing in concern. Nevertheless he seemed to understand her need for space, and took his place against the wall, observing her.

"Sirius did something," she said finally, lifting her head.

"I'll kill him - " he exclaimed heatedly.

"What? No - Severus. No," she soothed, surprised at his outburst. "No. It wasn't anything that bad. I just... overreacted."

He seemed very skeptical, but nodded for her to go on.

"He's getting disowned, or at least that's what his mother told me," she continued tiredly. "The - " nobody seemed near enough to hear them, but she wouldn't take chances, " - Mr. Gaunt saw what happened."

"Did he seem concerned?" Severus asked, lifting his brow.

She shook her head. "No, nothing like that. More... annoyed, than anything."

Severus hummed, and silence fell for a moment. "What do you want to do, then?"

"I… can we just leave?" she asked wearily. She felt drained, physically and emotionally.

He shrugged. "I doubt we'll be missed. Besides - " his lips twisted in contempt at the socialites glancing not-so-covertly in their direction. "- I doubt whatever has happened will go unnoticed for long."

"Thanks, Sev."

The same night, Narcissa called her over to her study. It was quite a long walk from her own bedroom, and Cassiopeia marvelled again at the sheer magnitude and opulence of Malfoy Manor. To think, a couple of years ago, she could not have imagined anything grander than her small mill town.

"I heard what happened, love."

Of course, she sighed. "I'd hoped it could be kept quiet."

Narcissa handed her a cup of fragrant tea.

"Unfortunately, the young Mr. Black was not exactly subtle in his actions. A small number of people noticed, and then, of course…" she trailed off, seeming annoyed. "But you're alright, I hope? Severus told me you looked a little shaken."

She shook her head, taking a small sip. "No, I'm alright, really."

The older witch smiled at her softly. "That's good to hear. And Cassie - I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I would not have, in the first place, if it were not for - " she glanced at her meaningfully.

Cassie nodded gratefully, and Narcissa smiled. For a few moments, they sat in silence, enjoying each other's company, before Narcissa stood.

She removed two tomes from the bookshelf on the wall, and handed them to her with an air of great importance.

"These are…?"

She traced the cracking edge softly. They were old clearly, and had been read, and re-read many times.

"Etiquette books," she smiled slightly. "They've been in my family for generations."

She recognised the significance,and looked up into Narcissa's eyes. "Thank you."

"Of course, love. Once you read them, write to me with any questions you may — " Narcissa paused, seeming to hear something in the distance.

The two of them became silent and still, as moments later the noise returned, louder now.

A scream.

"Cissa…"

"I shouldn't have called you here," she said tightly, her complexion growing pale.

"Why - ?" Tension ran through her as another blood-curdling scream rent the air. Utterly unsure, she turned to Narcissa for guidance.

"Let's go to your room," she said gravely, grabbing the books. Giving no warning, Narcissa cast on her a silencing spell, before quickly hurrying her towards the East Wing, where her and Severus' bedrooms were located.

As they made the journey, Cassiopeia felt her heart pound wildly. With the spell around her, she could hear nothing - an utter, eerie silence that filled her with dread. She followed Narcissa, the light of her wand lighting the way, and tried to cast the memories of chilling screams from her head.

"What was that?" she asked quietly, once they were enclosed in her room, and the spell had been lifted.

The woman couldn't meet her eyes. "Nothing."

"Cissa… you can say that you can't tell me..."

Her face softened slightly, and her elegant fingers curled in nervousness. "I'd rather you not know, but I suppose..." her eyes became hazy for a second, "...you'll have to, eventually."

Cassiopeia felt that she'd rather not have her suspicions confirmed, but she couldn't keep herself in ignorance for the sake of comfort. "What was that, then?"

"You've heard of the traditions of Yule, yes?" she asked rhetorically, settling on the edge of her bed. "Well, the Dark Lord has decided to… take advantage… of the potent magic today. I did not think it would start this early, or else I would have told you to stay in your room..." she shook her head slightly. "The rituals are usually held at midnight."

"What… kind of rituals?" she asked with a sinking feeling.

She looked reluctant to answer. "You have to understand... the Winter Solstice is not negative in and of itself. The magic which is present on such nights is conducive not only to harm, but to healing. It is only that…"

"The Dark Lord is solely concerned with the former," she finished.

"Yes. I don't know exactly what he plans to do - I've asked Lucius not to tell me - but…" she bit her lip, looking worried. "I have heard of few rituals which require a human offering, but the ones which do - "

"You think… he's killing people for sacrifice?"

She hadn't thought - hadn't considered this would be something he could do. Inexplicably, she saw in her mind an image - a young woman laying bruised, bleeding, and terrified, the Dark Lord's eyes gleaming as he held a ritual knife over her heart. She swallowed.

"Or it could be for entertainment. Let us hope it is only that."

•••

Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule, I've had to split this chapter in two. The next part should come shortly, around Tuesday, I think, and there may or may not be a chapter next Sunday, depending on how much work I have to do. Fortunately, however, school ends in only twenty days, and following that I'll have almost all the time in the world to write this story. Thank you to SilentMayhem, and Stephanie MRV. Have a lovely day.