* * * *


Dumbledore's eyes swept over the dungeon room, noting that Cassandra seemed perfectly happy sleeping on Snape's couch. The Potions Master, on the other hand, didn't look very impressed with the woman who was sprawled happily on his couch under a thick comforter. Sirius Black was sitting nearby, his dark eyes travelling over Cassandra regularly, even though she was sleeping peacefully.

"James Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

Snape nodded slightly. "Both Sybil and Cassandra seem to believe he's done something."

Dumbledore frowned. "How would that be possible?"

Snape shook his head and sighed. "Believe me, Albus, if I knew I would tell you. It seems so impossible, he's dead, after all. Yet, two seers tell us the same thing, an impossible scenario yes, but we can't completely ignore them."

"Yes, well, one can't always trust Sybil's predictions," Dumbledore murmured thoughtfully. "She hasn't always been the most accurate at her job, but Cassandra . . ." he trailed off and let out a sigh. "I'm at a loss for words, Severus, I really am."

Snape nodded. "As am I. Sybil told us that Cassandra will lead us to where Remus is being held. Should we listen to her? Should we let Cassandra take us halfway across the world? What if she isn't even a true seer? Sirius didn't even know that she saw things until I suggested she might."

"Sirius doesn't know everything, Severus."

Snape sighed. "She was supposed to be one of his closest friends. One would think he would notice something like that."

"The school year is nearly over, Severus," Dumbledore said. "If you wanted to see where Cassandra could take the two of you I would gladly administer your final exam to the students."

Snape nodded slowly, watching Sirius and Cassandra. The woman was obviously asleep, but it didn't seem as though Sirius was ready to let her leave his sight. She turned slightly and murmured something into her pillow and Sirius leaned forward, intent on catching anything she might say to him.

"Sirius, please," Dumbledore said. "We need to discuss matters with you as well. Cassandra will be fine on her own. She's a mere ten feet away from us."

Sirius nodded slowly, then got out of the chair and went to the doorway where Dumbledore and Snape were standing. His eyes remained on Cassandra for a long moment before he could fully commit himself to the conversation.

"Any plans?" he asked.

Snape nodded. "Pack your bags. We're going on a little trip."

"We're going to let her lead us around the world?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Truthfully, Sirius, it seems to be our only option. If Remus really is a key player in the war then we need him. Soon."

Snape nodded in agreement. "His life is at stake, not to mention all of ours, if Sybil and Cassandra speak true."

"They do," Sirius said sharply.

Snape frowned. "Then you believe what they say about Potter?"

Sirius opened his mouth uncertainly, then glanced at Cassandra and closed it.

"I didn't think so," Snape said.

"I didn't say I didn't believe them," Sirius said softly. "I just don't see how it's possible. Does everyone here forget that James is dead?"

Dumbledore touched Sirius's arm. "We do not forget, we're only trying to unwrap this puzzle before something terrible happens."

Sirius nodded slowly. "I know, you're both right." He straightened and stared at the other two men. "When do we leave?"

Dumbledore smiled. "It might be best to let Cassandra have a few nights of peaceful rest before you begin a long journey, Sirius, though I am quite pleased to see you so dedicated to this."

"Are you sure Cass is safe here?" he asked, glancing over at her a final time.

Snape's eyes went to the Headmaster at this as well. "Yes, Albus, are you certain she should stay in my chambers, of all the places in the school?"

Dumbledore's smile grew wider. "And where do you suggest that I have her stay, Severus? I hardly think she'd be comfortable in one of my office chairs or the tower that Sirius stays in. You both know she can't be seen in the school, she is still considered a dangerous criminal."

Sirius cast another worried glance over his shoulder at the mention of this. "You're right," he grudgingly admitted. "She'll be best off here."

Snape cocked an eyebrow, but decided against saying anything more. He didn't need Dumbledore to tell him that Cassandra would be safest in his chambers, he already knew that it was the best place for her, but Snape didn't want to further aggravate the situation Sirius was already in. It was disgustingly apparent how much the man cared for her, he watched over her as if she was his child instead of his friend, just a few years younger than he.

"Both of you should get some rest as well," Dumbledore said. "The days ahead are going to full, they won't be easy." He turned his blue eyes to Sirius. "I want you to work with Cassandra daily, try to make her come out of the shell she created in Azkaban. She needs to be focused in order to find Remus."

Sirius nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Good night then," Dumbledore said, then turned from the doorway and moved down the hall. Sirius and Snape remained where they were standing for a moment longer, then Sirius reached for his invisibility cloak and shrugged it over his shoulders. He disappeared from sight and Snape heard his footsteps fade as he walked down the hall and toward the stairs that would lead him back to his tower.

Snape shut the door and moved deeper into his room, hanging his robes in the closet before turning to study Cassandra. She looked far older than her years, lines crinkling the corners of her eyes and mouth. A few silver hairs glimmered in the dim candlelight, a sharp contrast to her black hair. Snape supposed time in Azkaban could age a person. She was far too thin, her collarbone was visible beneath her pale skin and it looked to Snape like he could probably wrap both hands around her tiny waist. He wondered, briefly, what Lupin would do if he saw her in this state.

It was only a brief thought because she had opened her eyes as he studied her and was now staring at him just as intently. When Snape finally caught her eye, she beamed and he had to smile back. Whatever had ravaged her body in Azkaban certainly hadn't been able to break down her soul. She might be insane, but the woman was happy.

"We're going to find him," she said and Snape wondered if it was a prediction or a statement of hope. "The men have snakes on their backs, but we'll find him and we'll save him."

Snape started forward to ask what she meant by 'snakes on their backs', but Cassandra turned over and closed his eyes before he had the chance. He hurried off to write down her words, knowing that even the strangest thing could mean something.


* * * *


Lupin stared upward at the early morning sky, wondering exactly what Dumbledore planned on doing with Cassandra. The possibilities were endless, of course. He could hide her for the rest of her life, he could turn her into someone else, Muggles did it all the time. He could do any number of things to make sure she never went back to Azkaban and Lupin hoped he did them all, but he still had to wonder if the Headmaster knew about her ability to see.

He himself hadn't known about it until a year after her graduation, the same day she had found out that he was a werewolf. They had been shopping in Hogsmeade, Lupin had jokingly dragged her into a dress shop, hoping to distract her while he bought the ingredients to his potion. If Cassandra had seen him buying wolfsbane she would have known, it would have been impossible for her not to fit the clues together after that. He was never available around the full moon and she wasn't a stupid girl.

So while she was ogling a violet dress, Lupin slipped out and gone to the shop down the street where he bought his wolfsbane. If only she hadn't found the perfect dress for the upcoming wedding that they were supposed to attend, it only Lily hadn't told Cassandra days before that deep green was 'absolutely her colour', then she never would have gone looking for Lupin. But she had, and she had seen the wolfsbane pass into her hand and in that moment she understood everything.

He was far more devastated than she was, of course. It was only natural that Lupin thought she'd be disgusted and repulsed by him, that she'd never want to touch him again. But Cassandra collected his wolfsbane and paid for it when he fled the shop, pushing past her and running down the street. She held the bag carefully as she went in search for him, poking her head into shops and calling his name into allies. It had taken her nearly twenty minutes to find him crouched near the Shrieking Shack, his head in his hands and his entire body shaking.

"Remus," she said and he flinched. She fell silent, staring at him and wondering what she could possibly say. "I don't care," she said finally.

He looked up at her, tears pooled in the corners of his hazel eyes. "How could you not care?" he asked, choking on the words. "I'm a monster."

Cassandra crouched next to him and pushed the bag of wolfsbane into his hands. "You're not a monster, you're just different."

He laughed harshly. "I'm a werewolf."

"Big deal," she said. "I see things and you don't see me complaining."

He stared up at her. "You see things?"

Cassandra nodded. "I'm a seer, Remus, now you know. We both know."

He fell silent, still leaning against the fence that boxed in the Shrieking Shack. He had never known she was a seer and she had never known he was a werewolf. Lupin raised his head slightly and found Cassandra's grey eyes staring at him intently. He could see it there, she really didn't care. So, he smiled, slightly at first, then stood and took her hand.

Cassandra smiled back and said, "There's an amazing dress that I want to buy for James and Lily's wedding. Come on, I'll show it to you."

They had walked back to Hogsmeade together, Cassandra making Lupin tell her exactly how to brew the potion. She had always been better at potions that he was, she would take over the task of making his drink each night, just like she would take over everything else and Lupin would let her. It felt good to let someone else worry for a change and that was quite possibly the moment he had fallen in love with her.

He wondered how she was feeling now, was Azkaban still in her head? Had it driven her completely mad, or would she recover in time? Mostly Lupin wondered if she would be able to lead the others to his prison, because if anyone could it would be her. She was his only hope to escape and he clung to that hope like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. It was the only thing he had left to believe it.

The stars faded above him, the sky slowly turning from navy to blue as streaks of pink shot across the clouds. Lupin wondered where he was, wondered if he and his friends were sharing the same sky. Would they see the pink if they looked out the window, or were they so far away that they would only see the black night? He had no way of knowing, but he pretended that the moon was shining down on them at that moment. He liked to imagine that the moon would watch over them, Cassandra and Sirius, like it had never watched over him.

"Breakfast," a voice grunted and a plate of food was shoved through the door.

Lupin sat up and sighed, beginning another endless day.


* * * *