I'm suddenly loving writing this fic more than before! Weee! Another flashback just 'cause Nita likes 'em so much. :D


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Sirius paced an empty classroom, pausing occasionally to glace at Cassandra before he resumed his path. She remained silent, throwing him a grin every time he stopped to look at her, then went back to her own task as he returned to his. Though anyone who might have seen Cassandra's task would have thought she had gone completely insane. While Sirius was partaking in the perfectly normal exercise that was pacing, Cassandra magically balancing chess pieces of top of one another but she never seemed satisfied with the way they looked. Every time she got the last one onto the pile she would frown and wave her hand at the stack, causing it to topple onto the ground and she would begin again.

"Cass, what are you doing?" Sirius asked finally, stopping to look at her.

She glanced up at him, then balanced the black Queen on a black bishop. "Rearranging the order of things."

Sirius shook his head. "You can't rearrange the order of things by playing with chess pieces."

Cassandra looked shocked at this. "I can't?"

"No."

"Oh," she said, then shrugged and knocked over the pile once more. "You could have told me earlier."

Sirius resisted the urge to run screaming from the room and beg to be taken back to Azkaban. As much as he loved his friend he couldn't help feeling like he was talking to a small child who didn't understand a single word he said. It was very frustrating.

"Cassandra," he started, lowering himself to the ground by her side, "do you remember anything before Azkaban?"

Her steely eyes met his and she nodded. "Of course, Sirius. I'm not stupid." She smiled. "A little insane, perhaps, but not stupid."

Sirius smiled back. "What do you remember?"

"Hogwarts, you, James and Lily, Remus," she said, still smiling. "I remember my friends, isn't that what's important?"

Sirius stared at her, then sighed. "What's the last thing you remember before being taken away to Azkaban?"

Cassandra blinked a few times, then beamed. "Want to know what my happy memory was, Sirius?"

"No, Cass, I want to know what you remember before-"

"It was that last time we were all together," she said, interrupting him. "We were in Hogsmeade just before Harry was born and we had a picnic. Do you remember?"

Sirius nodded. "I remember."

"That's what kept me alive," she said very seriously. "Picturing James and Lily, alive and happy. Seeing Peter laugh for the first time in ages." She paused, then said, "He had a very beautiful laugh."

Sirius nodded again.

"You and Remus were playing Quidditch on these pathetically small brooms," she said, laughing suddenly. "They could barely lift the two of you off the ground."

"Not to mention we only had a battered Quaffle to play with," Sirius added.

Cassandra nodded and grinned. "That's right. Then the sun started to set and Remus looked at the moon, really looked at it, for the first time in years. Remember how much it used to frighten him? But that night he stared at it full on and he told me that it didn't scare him anymore. We were so happy that night, Sirius, all of us. It was the last happy time before Peter tore it apart."

Sirius remained silent, letting her talk her way toward her last memory before Azkaban.

"They're working together," she said softly. "Prongs and Wormtail. I saw them."

"When?"

"In here," she said, tapping her temple. "They were in here right before they came for Remus."

"Who came for him?" Sirius asked gently.

Cassandra looked down. "We were sleeping," she began. "My parents were coming the next day, I remember that. We had just finished cleaning the entire house and we were exhausted . . . we just fell into bed that night, neither of us checking to make sure the house was locked up." She laughed bitterly. "Not that a simple lock would have stopped Prongs." She shook her head. "No, they came for him and they burst into our bedroom. Wormtail stepped forward and put Remus under the Imperius curse then told him to get up and get his robes. Prongs just stared, he just watched and stared until Remus was ready to leave, then he walked over to him and . . ." she trailed off, tears brimming in her eyes. "He cut him, Sirius. James cut Remus and he spilled his blood on the bed and on me. He told me it was my punishment for seeing things that I shouldn't, but I don't mean to see them, I swear I don't."

"James is dead," Sirius said softly.

Cassandra stared at him, her eyes wide. "I know, Sirius. He's dead, but I saw him and that's what makes me crazy." She shook her head. "They put some sort of binding spell on me and I couldn't move to call the Ministry. They found me like that the next morning, covered in Remus' blood and sobbing into the pillows. What else could they do? I was convicted within days."

"You promise me that's what happened?" Sirius asked.

Cassandra nodded. "I swear it, Sirius. I know what happened."

He looked at her for a long moment then smiled. "You're still in here, aren't you?"

She smiled back. "Every bit of me, but there's times when I don't believe it."

"Times like when you're playing with chess pieces and trying to rearrange the order of things?" he asked.

Cassandra frowned, then looked at the scattered chess pieces. "I was trying to . . ." she trailed off and shook her head. "I'm insane, Sirius, give me a bit of a break."

"You seem fairly coherent to me," Snape said silkily from the doorway and both she and Sirius jumped. He made his way into the room and studied both of them. Cassandra stared back for a long moment then stifled a laugh.

Snape rose an eyebrow at her. "Is something funny?"

"Severus?" she asked. "Severus Snape?"

He frowned. "I am quite certain that I look the same as I did yesterday."

"I don't remember much of yesterday," Cassandra said. "My mind cuts in and out all the time, something I worked very hard on in Azkaban."

Snape inclined his head slightly. "Very well. Then yes, I am indeed Severus Snape."

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. "You haven't changed a bit."

Sirius laughed. "No, that he hasn't."

Snape stared at them both sourly.

"Excited for our little trip, Snapey?" Sirius asked, standing.

Snape cocked an eyebrow. "I can hardly contain my excitement. Isn't it apparent, Black?" he asked, reverting back to the safe haven of addressing Sirius formally.

Cassandra stood up as well, stepping between the two of them. "When do we leave?"

"When you become slightly less insane," Sirius said dryly. "And when Snape stops being such a wet blanket."

Snape snorted and rolled his eyes. "What a joy this will be. Endless months on the road with two disgustingly cheerful Gryffindors. Why don't I just hang myself now and be done with it?"

Sirius grinned and ruffled Snape's hair. "Because then our darling Remmie might die and you couldn't live with that on your shoulders."

Snape growled and patted his hair. "I would have hung myself, Black, his death wouldn't be on my shoulders."

Sirius' grin grew wider. "C'mon, Snapey, let's pack!"


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Pacing took Lupin's mind off his current state and back into the past where he could find memories to entertain him. The past was a safe haven for him while the present scared him more than he cared to think about. The past held his friends, his family, his days at Hogwarts, all things that made him feel safe again. There were certain occasions that he preferred to concentrate on, of course, and he went over them again and again until every detail was perfectly captured in his mind. Winning Quidditch matches were played over and over again, as were the times he had received a secret Valentine in third and seventh year. Lupin had always had the feeling that Sirius sent the one in third year as a joke because he couldn't imagine how many girls as Hogwarts would sign their card, 'Your hairy ... er, beautiful admirer'.

The first time he'd seen Cassandra was also a winning memory, even though it irked him slightly to think about it. It bothered him that he'd never noticed her before, regardless of the fact that they'd been in the same house and what annoyed him even more was that he had been infatuated with her immediately. She, of course, had still been madly infatuated with Sirius.



Lupin glanced up from his homework in the common room when the portrait hole swung open. It was last, nearly curfew and most of the Gryffindors were doing their homework or talking quietly in small groups. It didn't surprise him to see Sirius Black step into the room and he raised a hand to his friend. What Lupin didn't expect was the pretty girl that followed him.

"Hey, Moony," Sirius said, walking toward the couch where Lupin sat. The dark haired girl followed him.

"Hey," Lupin said uncertainly.

"Homework?" Sirius asked, sitting next to his friend. The pretty girl sat next to Sirius, though he completely ignored her.

"Yeah," Lupin said, his eyes on the girl.

Sirius noticed his gaze and turned, finally noticing her behind him. "Cassandra! Good God, why won't you stop following me?"

The girl blushed deeply, but her stunning grey eyes never left Sirius' face.

Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. "Remus, this is Cassandra. Cass, this is Remus."

She tossed him the barest smile, but it had been enough. Remus Lupin was officially infatuated with the girl who was officially infatuated with Sirius.

"When did you get a new best friend?" Lupin asked, still staring at Cassandra.

"Two nights ago," Sirius growled. "Lucius asked her to the Yule Ball and he got a little . . . pushy, let's say. Lucky I was there to stop him, but this is the result. She's been following me around like this all day long. I don't think she even left my side to go to class."

"I assume you're in Gryffindor," Lupin said to Cassandra.

She finally glanced at him and offered him a slightly warmer smile. "Yes. I'm a fourth year."

"I've never seen you before," Lupin said.

Cassandra smiled softly. "No one ever has."

Sirius sighed. "She's convinced she's a wallflower. I noticed her in first year."

"You did?" she asked, then sighed dreamily.

"Good Lord," Sirius groaned. "Yes, Cass, I noticed you during the Sorting Ceremony in your first year. But not like that!"

Lupin just smiled.



That had been their first encounter, not very romantic, he would admit, but it had been a memory worth keeping. She had been beautiful, even at fourteen with thick dark hair and lustrous eyes. He had barely been able to concentrate on his homework that night because she had been sitting so close to him.

Sirius had demanded that she sit on the couch while he took an armchair and played chess with James, so Cassandra had perched obediently beside Lupin. She would glance down on occasion to look at the homework he was doing, then back up at Sirius. It had been torture for Lupin, having his knee brush against hers any time he moved to get a book. The worst had been when he was grumbled under his breath about losing his quill and they had both seen it at the same time.

Cassandra's fingers had closed down on it a second before Lupin's hand and he found himself holding a warm hand rather than a soft feather. He had blinked, then glanced at Cassandra and quickly dropped her hand. She had smiled and handed him the quill and Lupin went back to his homework, sure that his ears were burning. Still, it hadn't hurt anything and she had paid more attention to him that night after their experience with the quill.

Lupin leaned against the wall of his cell and tried on another smile. It felt strange on his face, but he kept it there anyway. They would find him, he was sure of it. She would never give up on him, never.


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