AN: I am SO SO SO VERY SORRY that it took me so long to update. I have had this chapter done for the longest time but it would not allow me to upload it to fanfiction. My laptop, ipad, and phone still will not allow it, so I resorted to using one at the public library. Don't worry, I'm NOT giving up this story. I don't know why it won't let me upload from my laptop, as I have emailed FF and not heard back. I hope you enjoy. Please review, what you like, don't like and are looking forward to seeing.
"— and then his hand closed around the snitch," Sirius said animatedly. "It was the greatest catch I've ever seen!"
A smile graced Tonks' face, one of the first true smiles since she'd been captured. Even though Tonks had watched the World Cup with Sirius, the man had insisted on giving her a play by play of the entire match. Tonks was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to bed, but seeing the excitement shine in her cousins eyes, after all those years in Azkaban, made her realize that if things could get better for Sirius then they would get better for her.
"It really was amazing," Tonks said. "Krum is something special."
"He really—" Sirius was cut off by a loud explosion.
Sirius pulled his wand out, and Tonks stood frozen as he ran towards the entrance to the tent. Sirius' sharp intake of breath sounded like another explosion to Tonks. Her mind grew fuzzy as Sirius let loose a string of explicits. She placed her hands on the table in front of her to balance herself.
"Tonks, are you ok?" Tonks shook her head and looked into the eyes of a worried Sirius. She hadn't seen him walk back towards her.
"I'm fine," Tonks said faintly.
"We need to go," Sirius ordered. "Get your wand out."
Tonks fumbled around inside of her robe pockets for her wand, and ran out of the tent on shaking legs. Her stomach jumped into her throat as she stepped outside. Dozens of wizards, tightly packed, and wearing long black robes and bone white masks were walking towards them. Every few steps several wizards would walk out of the formation and bursts of bright light would shoot from their wands as they blew up everything in sight. With every Death Eater who walked off in another direction, one more would talk their place. Tonks stared in horror as screams filled the air.
"Tonks!"
Tonks looked to the right and saw Sirius dueling with one of the Death Eaters. Flashes of her time in captivity swam in the forefront of her mind, and white spots danced in her eyes. It felt as if the air was being sucked away, and her palms began to sweat.
Suddenly, a high pitched scream filled the air. Tonks realized that it was a child, and she forced her terror aside. She tightened the grip on her wand as she blinked the white spots away.
"You're an auror, dammit," Tonks muttered.
A green spell flew past Tonks' head and crashed into her tent. Green flames sprung to life and Tonks felt her auror training kick in. She swallowed, before jumping up and sending spell after spell at the approaching Death Eaters.
The darkness was broken up by flashes of light. Spells flew through the air like owls delivering the morning post. Screams of pain, so horrifying they made you want to claw your ears out echoed around the field. The scent of death hung in the air, and blood flowed like a river down a set of old rickety steps that led up to a ticket booth. And Sirius knew that his twisted cousin was loving every minute of it.
After making sure that Tonks was able to defend herself, Sirius had run off to help a group of terrified foreign teenagers. That was when he ran into Bellatrix, a cruel smile warping her beautiful face. The joy Sirius could see in her eyes made him want to transform into his animagus form and rip her face off.
Sirius could tell that she was enjoying playing with him. Every time he had an opening where he thought he could hit her, she would strike out him like a venomous snake. After nearly five minutes, Sirius could feel his power depleting. After twelve years in Azkaban, his magic wasn't as strong as it used to be, and he became tiredly easily. His moves were becoming sluggish, and he could see that Bellatrix was nowhere near tired. In fact, Bellatrix has a spring in her step that made him loathe her all the more.
Sirius barely dodged a spell, and Bellatrix laughed like she had just heard the world's funniest joke. Sirius felt a surge of fury as he saw a man wearing red auror robes fall to the ground out of the corner of his eye. He gathered his magic and slashed out his arm in a V shaped pattern, and a sickly yellow spell filled the air. Bellatrix slashed out with her wand.
"I've waited twelve long years for this!" Sirius yelled. Spell after spell flew from his wand, faster and more deadly than the ones before. Sirius wanted to end this duel, even if it meant magically exhausting himself in the process.
Bellatrix sent spells just as fast, her curly black hair flowing all around her like a halo. The dark curls stood out harshly against her bone white mask.
"No!" A blood curling scream rang out and Sirius turned his head slightly to the side.
He turned back just in time to dodge the killing curse. The spell blasted apart a tree, sending shards of wood in every direction. Sirius threw spells faster and faster, and finally he hit his mark. Bellatrix stumbled back as a jet of purple crashed into her stomach.
Sirius smiled, as Bellatrix grabbed her stomach with one hand and looked up at Sirius. He couldn't see her face behind the mask she wore, but Sirius could tell his cousin was in shock. Sirius had always been a great duelist, but Bellatrix had always been better.
Sirius' smile quickly vanished when spells came flying at him from two directions. He managed to block Bellatrix' spell, but he was thrown backwards by the blast from another.
Bellatrix walked forward, her arm still wrapped around her stomach, when a shout rang out, "Fall back!" Bellatrix raised her wand when several pops sounded, and three men in red robes surrounded Sirius. Bellatrix yelled in frustration, the sound coming out muffled behind her mask, and she apparated away.
"Are you ok?" An auror with greying hair asked Sirius.
"I'm fine," Sirius said. He winced in pain when he spoke. He touched his stomach and grimaced. A few ribs were no doubt broken.
"Get yourself to the hospital," the same auror said.
A loud voice rang out, "Morsmordre!"
A colossal skull appeared in the sky, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation. One of the aurors cursed, and the three men ran off towards the forest. Sirius wanted to yell after them not to bother, that the Death Eater would be long gone by the time they arrived, but he knew they'd go anyways.
Sirius stood up slowly, every movement hurting his chest. It was strange, less than a minute ago screams filled the air, and now it was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional wail. He could make out fires in the distance, and smoke rising from the forest.
He began walking back towards the tent when he heard a cry of "Sirius" and hissed in pain as Tonks ran into his arms. She pulled away and looked into his face. He could see tear tracks on her cheeks, but she seemed fine.
"I'm sorry," Tonks said in a rush. "Are you ok? What happened?"
"I'll tell you about it when we get back to Grimmauld," Sirius said. "Are you ok?"
Tonks ignored his question. "Grimmauld?" Tonks asked confused. "Aren't we going to St. Mungo's? You should get checked over."
Sirius shook his head. "You know Dumbledore, he'll want to call a meeting right away. Besides, Remus is there, he can fix me up good as new." He held up a hand to stop any protesting.
"Why haven't you healed me yet?" Bellatrix growled.
"The diagnostic spells aren't working properly," Aria Montague said. She looked thoughtful.
"You're supposed to be one of our Lord's best healers, and you can't even perform a diagnostic spell adequately?" Bellatrix spat.
Aria didn't spare Bellatrix even a glance as she waved her wand for what seemed like the millionth time. Bellatrix knew she was being unreasonable, Aria was a friend and one of the best healers in Britain. Bellatrix was merely furious with herself for allowing her cousin to gain the upper hand, even for a moment.
A searing pain shot through Bellatrix and she grasped her stomach. Aria looked at her and frowned.
"What's wrong?" Rodolphus asked.
Bellatrix could see understanding flash in Aria's eyes before the woman once again waved her wand. Her eyes narrowed as Aria's already pale skin went deathly white. Aria said something in Latin and a white mist appeared over Bellatrix' head. Aria raised a shaking hand and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She'd known Aria since their days at Hogwarts, and in all that time she'd only seen the woman lose her composure a handful of times.
"Bellatrix," Aria said slowly, "I need you to control your magic. You need to stay calm."
"Aria," Bellatrix growled warningly. "Spit it out, or friend or not, I'll rip open your throat."
Aria looked towards Rodolphus. Bellatrix pulled her hand away from her husbands.
"What?" Bellatrix snapped.
"I'm so sorry," Aria said. She took a shaky breath. "You were eleven weeks pregnant, Bellatrix. I'm sorry, but the spell caused you to miscarry."
Bellatrix froze as the words sank in. She had been pregnant? How had she not known? She had always wanted more kids, but the time had never been right. And all these weeks she had been pregnant and not known.
"She was pregnant," Rodolphus said quietly. His voice sounded foreign to her. "Pregnant."
"I'm sorry," Aria said quietly.
Bellatrix felt a fury rise inside of her like she had never felt before. Her magic was threatening to lash out.
"Get out," Bellatrix whispered.
"I need to heal your internal injuries first," Aria said hesitantly.
Bellatrix looked up at the healer and her eyes flashed. "Get out!"
Aria sent Rodolphus a pitying glance then spun on her heels and quickly exited the room.
"A baby," Bellatrix said after a minute of silence. Her heart throbbed with a pain so intense it threatened to obliterate all thought. For the first time in years, tears pricked her eyes. "We were going to have a baby."
Rodolphus wrapped his arms around Bellatrix from behind, his chin rested on her shoulder.
"He did this," Bellatrix spat. Sadness and anger were building inside of her at a speed she didn't think possible. Red splotches appeared on her cheeks, and her body shook. "That blood traitor, Sirius, did this to me. To us. To our family."
"He won't get away with it," Rodolphus said. "I promise you, Bella."
Tears fell down Bellatrix' cheeks.
"No, he won't," she said. "But death is too good for him. I want him to suffer, Rodolphus. I want him to beg for death. I want to destroy everything that he loves. I want him to stand helpless as he watches his world fall to pieces." Bellatrix looked down at her stomach where her hand still rested. A painting that hung on the wall exploded. "And Merlin help whoever stands with him."
The kitchen at Grimmauld Place was a large rectangular room. The walls were adorned with black and silver wallpaper, and pans of various colors and shapes hung on the walls. A dark brown wooden table that seated twenty-four, ten on each side and 2 per end, took up half of the room. Papers held down by candlesticks, bowls filled with overripe fruit, and several banged up decks of cards covered the table.
Bill eyed everyone who was sitting at the table from his seat in the corner. There wasn't enough room at the table for the main Order members, so as one of the youngest members he was relegated to one of the seats against the wall. There was an odd assortment of chairs around the walls: rickety, high backed, short and plush, and stools that looked as if they'd break if you weighed too much.
Bill could feel the fear and apprehension in the air as they sat in pregnant silence, broken only by the occasional whisper. It was six in the morning, nearly five hours since the attack at the Quidditch World Cup. Dumbledore had called an emergency meeting, but he had yet to show. Bill wanted him to show, so they could get this meeting over with. He had a full day ahead; meetings at Gringotts for his job as a Curse Breaker, lunch with a client, and he still had to report to Voldemort. Of course, until the meeting took place there was nothing to report.
He looked around the room, and his eyes landed on Tonks. She looked much better than he thought she would. He could see that her eyes were slightly red, as if she'd been crying, but she appeared fine otherwise. Tonks had even switched her hair back to purple. To her right sat Molly, and he wanted to roll his eyes at the mothering he could see her doing towards Tonks. After the World Cup, she had smothered him and his siblings, and when she was content that they were ok she had switched her annoying smothering to Tonks. Better her than me.
His eyes flicked over to Sirius who looked as if he was deep in thought. Then to Remus who was tapping his fingers on the table absentmindedly. He flicked his eyes over Alastor Moody, who was watching everyone, as usual, suspiciously. Then to his right where Percy and Charlie were both staring ahead, Charlie looking bored, and Percy thoughtful.
The door to the kitchen swung open causing several people to jump. Dumbledore walked in, wearing his customary lurid robes. White swirls appeared to be moving against the purple silk as he took a seat at the head of the table. A second later, Snape walked in, a sour look on his face.
"What's he doing here?" Sirius spat, a finger pointing at Snape whose lip curled in disgust.
"Sirius," Dumbledore said warningly. He looked older than usual, deep grooves surrounded his eyes and lips. "Today is not a day for this quarrel of yours." Sirius' cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. "The attack at the Quidditch World Cup is far worse than most of you no doubt feared." Worried glances were exchanged. "I just received word from Cornelius that the death doll reached fifty-seven."
Gasps sounded from all around the room. Bill didn't have to fake the surprise that appeared on his face. He hadn't expected that many people to die. Although, if he was being honest with himself, the number didn't bother him in the least.
"Were all those deaths on our side?" Arthur asked.
"Three death eaters died in the attack," Dumbledore said. Bill glanced sideways at Charlie and Percy, as his stomach knotted. He hoped it was no one he knew. "As did four aurors, and fifty innocent bystanders. Four of those innocent bystanders were muggles."
"Oh no," Molly gasped.
Bill remembered seeing a family of four floating above jeering Death Eaters. He pushed away the fact that two children were murdered. It's for the greater good. He almost snorted, he sounded like Dumbledore.
"Who were the aurors?" Moody asked gruffly. His fake eye spinning around.
"Aaron Grey, Troy Samuels, Jennifer Winston, and Sarah Rhimes," Dumbledore said sadly.
"I know Aaron," Tonks said softly. "I mean, I knew him." Molly placed her hand over Tonks'. "He was a good auror."
"He had a son," Moody grunted. "Four years old, I believe." All around the room heads were shook and tears were wiped away.
Bill raised his eyebrows, he didn't think Moody cared about the personal lives of anyone. He knew he shouldn't be surprised though, Moody never missed anything.
"Who were the Death Eaters that were killed?" Sirius asked.
"Foreigners," Dumbledore said. Some of the tension Bill had been feeling left. "Alexi and his brother Vladimir Blendin and a woman named Kia Lloyd." Bill had never heard of those three before. "Before you ask about the unfortunate deceased," Dumbledore continued, "most of them were older witches and wizards, many of whom died in their tents, having not woke from sleep. Thankfully, no children, aside from the two muggle children, whose lives unfortunately ended too soon, were killed."
"Thank Merlin," McGonagall said. Her lips were drawn into a thin line, and she too looked older than normal.
"Cowards," Sirius spat. "All of them. Attacking after everyone had gone to bed." He looked down at the table in disgust. Bill's jaw tightened. He talks as if the Order hasn't attack Death Eaters on the sly.
"Voldemort," Dumbledore said and most of the room jumped. Dumbledore sighed, "Voldemort is not known for playing fair." Sirius snorted.
"You're one to comment, Black," Snape said silkily.
"Severus," Dumbledore said sharply when Sirius went to retort.
"For Merlin's sake," McGonagall said exasperated. "People are dead. For once, keep civil tongues in your heads!" Sirius pursed his lips and Severus sneered.
"What are we going to do, Albus?" Moody asked gruffly when the room had fallen into silence. "We cannot continue to sit idly by while those dark bastards go around killing whenever they feel like it." He stood up, the tannish scar that marred his cheek stood out in sharp contrast to his pale skin. "Do you know why today so many innocent people died and only three Death Eaters? It's because the Death Eaters don't mess around!" His fake eye twirled crazily in his socket.
"The Death Eaters duel to kill," Moody continued. "If they aren't throwing killing curses at you, you best know they're messing with you!" He looked around the room with his one good eye as though daring someone to contradict him. "The aurors, us, those fighting against the darkness, we don't seek to kill unless we have to. We stun or incapacitate. What do the Death Eaters do when we stun during a fight? They're revived by one of their little friends. We're losing, so I say it's time we start fighting fire with fire."
Murmurs of agreement and hesitation sprung up around the room.
"Alastor," Dumbledore said warily, "killing is never the answer."
"Is dying?" Moody growled. "Because that's what's going to happen to all of us unless something changes. You were alive during Grindelwald's reign of terror." Bill would bet his life, that for just a moment, Dumbledore looked extremely uncomfortable. Interesting. He always wondered if there was more to the famous duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald than the world had been told. "Grindelwald's forces were hindered until the aurors started using brute force. No matter how much you don't want to admit it, Dumbledore, brute force is exactly what we need now."
A heavy silence descended over the room. Bill could feel the tension in the air swirling around. He didn't have to look at his brothers to know that they were watching everyone in the room for their reactions. Bill wasn't surprised by Moody's outburst, after all the gruff auror had always been one of those in the Order to pull their wand out first. However, he was surprised it took the man this long to tell everyone what they should've all been doing all along. They were fools if they thought they stood a chance against Voldemort by throwing stunners.
"As much as I don't like the idea," Arthur said slowly. "Alastor does have a point. Aurors are being slaughtered, the number of Order members are dwindling, and attacks are becoming more frequent. The time to sit by and watch has passed. If we don't do something what's next, Hogwarts?" McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout looked horrified at the idea, as did everyone else in the room.
Bill felt his jaw drop. He had thought his parents would be against Moody's idea, especially his father. Arthur didn't even like to step on spiders.
Dumbledore ran a long thin finger down his crooked nose. It felt to Bill as if everyone in the room was holding their breath, waiting to hear Dumbledore's response.
"I am afraid," Dumbledore sighed heavily, as if he were Atlas holding the world up with his hands, "that Alastor is right. I myself, have tossed the idea around for quite some time. Amelia Bones and I too discussed using more extreme methods in the fight against Voldemort." He's spoken with Amelia about this. That's not surprising. "It does seem that the time is now upon us to resort to more extremes." Dumbledore steepled his fingers and rested his chin on top.
"However," Dumbledore continued, "killing for the sake of killing would make us no better than them. Ending one's life if never as simple as two little words, as many of you unfortunately know." Several of the members shifted uncomfortably in their seats as sadness washed over the room. "Yet, I cannot deny that we must find a way to detain those who would see our world fall apart. If that requires force, then that must be done." Bill glanced at his mother and saw that her head was bowed, no doubt thinking of her long deceased brothers.
"What did Amelia say exactly?" Bill asked. It would be useful information to pass back to Voldemort.
"Due to the egregious horrors committed the night of the Quidditch World Cup, against my recommendation," Dumbledore said gravely, "as of tomorrow, once an auror is engaged by someone considered to be hostile, they will be allowed to use the killing curse."
More murmurs erupted around the room, and Bill wasn't surprised. Aurors were forbidden from using the killing curse, along with the rest of the unforgivables. Aurors were expected to bring in suspects and prisoners, and only resort to curses if absolutely necessary. However, the killing curse was considered too dark to use. The use of the killing curse by aurors had only been made legal twice before in Britain, during Grindelwald's reign, and during the time Voldemort first rose to power.
"What about training?" Bill asked. He wanted to gather as much information as possible. "Surely Amelia knows her aurors need more training."
"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "She is aware, and steps are being made to ensure that all aurors are well equipped in case of a Death Eater attack."
"What can we do?" Remus asked.
As Dumbledore began to give out orders, Bill made sure to memorize every word.
Harrison arrived with barely a pop. The sound of a waterfall reached his ears, and he looked up to see crystal clear water flowing down a twenty foot high rock wall into a large swimming pool. His eyes landed on the figure standing near the edge of the deep end.
"Cass, what's wrong?" Harrison asked. She didn't respond except to cross her bare legs. Her yellow bikini stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin. "Your house elf showed up out of nowhere saying that you needed me right away." He reached her and grabbed her arm. Cass slowly turned around.
Harrison was shocked to see that her eyes were red. It was an odd sight, as Cass hated to show weakness in front of anyone, even Harrison. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her so much as sniffle.
"What is it?" Harrison asked gently.
Cass tucked a strand of long curly hair behind her ear.
"What if something happens to one of us?" Cass asked quietly. Harrison frowned. "What if we go into Hogsmeade one day, all of us in our Slytherin robes, and bam you're dead. Or Daphne. Or Blaise. Or…any of us."
"Cass," Harrison began slowly, "where is this coming from?"
Cass sighed. "We're in the middle of a war, Harrison. People die everyday. Good people. Bad people. What if one of us is next?" A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Hey," Harrison wiped the tear away with his thumb, "none of us are going to die. Aunt Bella would never let anything happen to you or Leo. To any of us." He smiled. "My dad wouldn't either."
"No one is invincible," Cass whispered.
Harrison stared at Cass as she chewed on her bottom lip. He was officially worried. Cass never bit her lip or displayed any other sign of nervousness.
"What happened?" Harrison asked again.
"My mom," Cass swallowed, "last night after the World Cup…" She swallowed again, harder this time. "I know it shouldn't matter, none of us even knew." She covered her mouth. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone, not even you."
"Then why are you?" Harrison asked after she fell silent. Although, he had the feeling he knew what she'd say.
"Your dad is the Dark Lord," Cass replied, "you'll find out sooner or later. And I trust you more than anyone…besides Leo, you know…" Cass looked into his eyes. "My mom found out that she was pregnant, but because of the curse Sirius," she spat his name, "hit her with, she lost it."
Harrison looked sadly at Cass. He had known, his father told him before he left for Lestrange Manor, but he didn't want to tell her that. What he hadn't know was that Cass and Leo had been told. He felt horrible for them, they were family to him, and Sirius had hurt them. He would make sure Sirius paid for what he did.
"I'm sorry," Harrison said honestly. He knew how much his Aunt Bella had wanted another child.
"It was a boy," Cass said. She acted as though she hadn't heard him. "I would've had a baby brother. I shouldn't be upset, I didn't know him, but it still hurts, knowing…"
"He will pay for what he did," Harrison said fiercely. "Aunt Bella, Uncle Rodolphus, Aunt Cissa, none of them will stop until he pays. My father won't either. You know that. He—"
Harrison was cut off when Cass' lips crashed into his. He immediately pulled away and took a step back.
"Cass," Harrison said, a perplexed look on his face, "what are you doing?" Harrison prided himself on knowing how situations would unfold, and this was not at all what he'd expected.
"My mum won't talk to Leo and me about it," Cass said, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "Dad went immediately to work after he told us. Leo is acting like it doesn't matter, but I can see that he's angry."
Cass reached behind her neck and untied her bikini top. Harrison watched as the thin yellow fabric fluttered to the ground. For the second time in less than five minutes he found himself completely caught off guard. Harrison forced himself to look away from Cass exposed breasts, ignoring the fact that he found her state of undress extremely alluring.
"Cass," Harrison said, a slight warning to his tone.
Cass took a long step forward and pressed her naked breasts against his chest. Harrison hated his hormones for causing him to freeze. He was excellent at keeping his cool, but lately his fourteen year old hormones were making him act like Weasley and he hated it. Cass used that second to pull his head down to hers and her tongue snaked its way into his mouth. It took Harrison a few seconds to realize that his hands had found her waist, and that her hand was moving towards the button of his slacks.
"We can't," Harrison said as he pulled away.
Cass stared at him, her eyes still red and her lips on their way to swollen. He stared into her eyes, knowing that if he looked down he wouldn't be able to stop again.
"We're fourteen, Cass," Harrison said as though he was a professor talking to a class, "our hormones have the best of us. We can't do this, not like this."
"Why?" Cass asked. "Am I not good enough?
"Cass," Harrison sighed, "you know that isn't the case. You're one of my best friends." He looked imploringly at her. In this moment he wanted to disappear. He was Harrison Riddle, he wasn't supposed to lose control. "That's why we can't. I'm a lot of things, but I won't take advantage of you. You're vulnerable. You'll wake up tomorrow and laugh about this." Cass shook her head, her curls flying in every direction. "You're a virgin Cass." He ran a hand through his hair. "For Salazar's sake, so am I. And this isn't how it's going to be for you."
Cass looked at him and wrapped her arms around her upper body like some strange acrobat. Realization dawned on her face and she closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Cass said. "Everything seems to be changing so fast. We're growing up. Merlin, even Ron Weasley is acting more grown up." She let out a bark like laugh as if she'd just said the funniest thing in the world. "Then last night." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Harrison." She reached over to a lounge chair and grabbed a green towel that she wrapped around herself. "I'm an idiot."
"You feel like shit," Harrison ran a hand through his hair, "I do understand that."
"When does the great son of Voldemort ever feel like shit?" Cass asked teasingly.
Harrison smiled, if Cass was teasing she was on her way to feeling better. Although he could still see the sadness written all over her.
"I don't," Harrison said haughtily, "I just wanted you to feel better."
Cass laughed, picked up her bikini top and threw it at Harrison. He laughed as he caught the tiny piece of yellow fabric. He was glad she wasn't letting what just happened stop her from being herself around him.
"You're such a prat," Cass said.
Harrison watched as conflicting emotions danced through her eyes.
"We'll all be fine," Harrison said adamantly. "Nothing is going to happen to any of us."
"I want to believe that," Cass said. "But I know that isn't true. Your dad may be Voldemort, and my parents may be Death Eaters, but we don't live in protective bubbles. You know that after last night, everything is going to be different."
Harrison didn't want to say it out loud, but he had the feeling she was right.
AN: The Cass thing may seem out of left field for some, but it's been hinted throughout the story that she's very emotional like her mother, she just doesn't usually allow people to see her upset. & Harrison being intelligent and powerful does NOT make him immune to hormones. I don't think a story about newly 14 year olds would be realistic without them.