Notes: Sorry this was so long in coming. But it's here. Finally. Rejoince. And yes, that's spelled wrong for a reason.

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Cassandra watched Lucius carefully, noting the way he paced the room warily, a selected path before he even walked it. He was meticulous, even in his pacing. It annoyed Cassandra to no end, watching Lucius walk back and forth, around the coffee table and beside the chair she was currently tied to. As he passed her, he would pause and stare at her, sometimes running his fingers across her arm. She hated his touch, hated the way his cold fingertips felt against her skin.

He was nervous, she could feel it in the air when he passed by. He was tense and the sound of his footsteps echoed like gunshots in the near silent room. His hands trembled slightly when he touched her skin and she followed his hands with her eyes, waiting for him to reach out to her again.

"Cassandra," he hissed suddenly, turning on her with a jerk.

"What?" she asked.

Lucius stared at her, his head cocked to one side. "Why are you really here?"

She sighed and merely shook her head.

"You are about to come face to face with Voldemort," he growled, kneeling so that he could look her in the eye. "That very thought should scare you more than anything."

A smile twitched at the corner of Cassandra's mouth. "I spent six months in Azkaban. He can't possibly compare to that."

Lucius arched one of his eyebrows. "You think so?" He stood, turning away from her. "We will see, won't we?"

Only moments later the door banged inward and a tall man in black robes swept into the room. The air grew colder and Cassandra shivered violently against her bonds.

"You're not so cocky now, are you?" Lucius snapped.

"Lucius!" the man growled and Cassandra glanced up at him to see glowing red eyes beneath his dark hood. His face was shadowed, but she could see the flaring nostrils, only tiny slits on his face.

"My Lord," Lucius said, bending slightly.

"You failed me," Voldemort growled angrily. "You failed me completely."

"I have brought Sirius Black to you, my Lord and-"

"Do you see fit to talk back to me as if I were one of your equals, Lucius?" Voldemort asked, his voice dropping to a deadly smooth level.

"No, my Lord," Lucius stuttered quickly. "Please accept my apologies."

There was a long silence that stretched for many moments before Voldemort chuckled deeply.

"You are lucky that I'm so forgiving, Lucius," he said. "But you have still failed me. Sirius Black is here, yes, but Cassandra Harvey is also here. She should be dead."

"I brought her here to use against Remus Lupin," Lucius said.

Voldemort's crimson gaze slipped to her and she shrunk back into the chair.

"Use against Lupin," he murmured softly, staring at her. "I suppose she would be useful in convincing him to cooperate, wouldn't she?" Finally he glanced back at Lucius and nodded curtly. "You have made a wise decision bringing her here, but that still does not make up for letting Severus Snape escape. I wanted him dead. If he died then we would not have to worry about him meddling in our affairs . . . betraying us like he did."

"I trusted the wrong people with his life," Lucius admitted. "I should have seen to his death myself."

"You are right about that."

"But, I have good news, my Lord."

Voldemort turned to him. "Good news?"

"Cassandra . . . she is also an animagus."

Voldemort smiled coldly. "That fact has long been known to me, Lucius. How else do you suppose she escaped from Azkaban?"

"We can use her powers as well," Lucius said quietly and Cassandra had to strain to hear.

"She can serve as a replacement should anything happen to one of the other three," Voldemort said. "But she cannot be used in the ritual as well. You seem to have forgotten, Lucius, what we are doing is very strong magic. We can't afford to have too much power flow into your body."

Lucius' eyes fell and he nodded. "Of course, you're right, my Lord. What should I do with her for now?"

Voldemort's gaze fell on Cassandra again. "You must prepare for tonight. Lock her up."

Lucius nodded, then went to Cassandra and put the Imperius curse on her before he untied the thick ropes keeping her restrained.

"Come," he said in a toneless voice and Cassandra followed him down long, dark halls. Her mind reached out for any sound she heard, hoping that maybe it was Remus locked behind one of the thick doors they passed. If she could imagine that he was huddled in a corner, waiting for her, then she was sure they'd be okay. If she just kept herself focused on finding Remus and Sirius and getting out, she would be able to do it.

"Looking for Remus?" Lucius asked as they walked. "I wouldn't bother if I were you. If he hasn't killed himself yet, I'm sure he fairly close to doing it. You see, we told Remus that you're dead."

Cassandra fought against the curse, needing to reach out and strangle Lucius more than anything but she couldn't move. She couldn't even produce a squeak of indignation.

"Not that it will matter much when he does find out you're alive," he continued. "He'll be dead soon enough and you . . . well, I don't know what Voldemort has planned for you but if I have my way you won't be leaving for a very long time."

He removed an old fashioned key from his pocket and unlocked a door on his left. "Even if you had your wand, you wouldn't be able to escape." As he led her inside, he held up the key. "They're charmed so that nothing but this can break the barrier of the room."

Cassandra tried to glare at him.

"Don't worry," Lucius said, "you won't be in here for too long. The ritual is scheduled to start just as the moon rises."

The door closed behind me and Cassandra could hear his footsteps fade as the curse slowly relaxed its hold on her body. Slowly she was able to collapse against the wall, her fingernails scraping against the stone in anger. She couldn't believe that they had been stupid enough to allow themselves to be caught. Now, rather than being one of three coming to rescue Remus, she was one of three waiting to be rescued by Snape. She didn't like how things looked from inside the cell anymore than she had liked how things had looked from outside. Either way their chances seemed grim.

"Sirius?" she called, wondering if she was being kept anywhere near him. "Sirius?"

No answer came to her, just the creak of a door somewhere down the hall and footsteps moving away from her.

"Remus?" she tried, pressing her ear against the stone wall. She could hear nothing on the other side but a soft scuffling and even that ceased after a few moments.

Cassandra slumped to the floor and rested her head against the wall, staring upward at the tiny window near the top of her cell. Whatever was happening, whatever sick plan Voldemort and Lucius was come up with, she wasn't going to give up that easily. Cassandra had come there for a reason and she hoped that she'd be able to follow through.
* * * *
"Get up," Lucius growled, the toe of his boot jostling uncomfortably against Cassandra's ribs. She groaned and pushed herself up from the ground. Somehow she had actually managed to fall asleep in her cell and now Lucius was standing over her.

"The sun is setting," he said. "Get up."

Cassandra struggled to her feet and Lucius grabbed her wrists, pinning them behind her back and winding a rope around them.

"Why not just use the Imperius curse on me?" she mumbled.

Lucius chuckled near her ear. "Because seeing you try to get away is just so much more fun."

"You know that's always where the bad guy makes his mistake," Cassandra said patiently. "They only do something halfway and then the heroine escapes and-" she cringed as Lucius tightened the ropes enough to cut off the blood flow to her hands.

He laughed again. "You were saying?"

Cassandra just glared at him as he led her out of her cell and back down the long hall they had come originally. Her hands throbbed already and burned from the lack of blood but she kept her mouth shut and her eyes on Lucius. He seemed excited beneath the cool surface, tension bubbling under his stone cold exterior. Something big was happening. Whatever they were planning wasn't anything small.

"In here," Lucius growled, then pushed her roughly into a room on her left.

Cassandra glanced around quickly before she stumbled on the carpet and fell, her head slamming against the arm of the couch as she went down. She didn't see the three men who were seated side by side on the couch until Lucius hauled her back to her feet and threw her in the direction of a chair across from them. She caught a glimpse of Sirius as she collapsed in the chair, then straightened her body to look at all three.

A breath caught in her throat and she struggled to remember how to continue the breathing process. It had all seemed so easy only moments earlier and now . . . well, now Remus Lupin was sitting on the couch across from her, bound at his ankles and wrists. His head was hanging down, nearly slumped against his knees and Sirius kept elbowing him in the side and whispering things to him.

"Remus?" Cassandra whispered finally.

He jerked slightly at his name, but didn't even raise his head. His hands were trembling against his knees and he was far more thin than she had ever seen him. He looked like he was dying right before her eyes, wasting away as the wolf slowly took over.

"Remus," she said again, much more urgently.

"Remus," Sirius whispered. He nudged his friend. "Remus, Cassandra is here."

"You're not funny," Remus murmured, his voice soft and gravelly.

"I'm not trying to be," Sirius said, frowning slightly. "Cass is sitting across from us."

Remus chuckled darkly. "Cass is dead, Siri. I saw Lucius kill her."

Cassandra shook her head, her brow creasing in confusion. "No, Remus, I'm not dead. I'm right here."

Very slowly, as if it hurt to move, Remus lifted his head. His blue eyes stared out blearily from under his lank hair and finally, he shook his head.

"Cass is dead," he whispered, tears collecting in the corners of his eyes. "You're not Cassandra. She's dead." His head fell back down to his hands and he slumped over, half asleep.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Cassandra growled in Lucius' direction.

He merely held up his hand and smiled softly. Cassandra had yet to notice the third man sitting on the couch, cringing away from Sirius and trying to melt into to upholstery.

"You!" Cassandra growled when she finally saw him. Peter glanced at her fearfully and a moment later Cassandra pushed off the chair to get to him.

Peter squeaked and tried to get away, but Cassandra was upon him before he could move. Her hands were still tied behind her back, but that didn't prevent her from bringing her knee up between his legs and kneeing him as hard as she could. Her forehead cracked against his and Peter groaned, sliding to the floor in pain. Cassandra collapsed on top of him, her knees digging into his stomach in chest.

"You," she cried, trying to kick him in the ribs. She struggled to get up, then kicked him twice. "I hate you! This all happened because of you!"

"Cass!" Sirius said sharply, standing.

She paused, then turned to look at him, tears running in small streams down her cheeks.

"Don't," he said simply. He could see the muscles in her jaw clenching as she backed slowly away from Peter.

"Well," Lucius said happily, "that was entertaining."

Sirius and Cassandra both glared at him in response.

"Now, let's start the real show, shall we?" Lucius asked, then turned his cold glare onto Peter. "Wormtail, do you care to show your friends the lovely potion you've been making for me?"

Peter whimpered from the floor, then slowly got to his feet. "I can't," he whispered.

Lucius cocked his head. "Can't? You can do whatever you put your mind to!" he exclaimed, sarcasm tainting his words.

Peter swallowed and shook his head. "No, you can't make me. I-I won't do it again."

"Why not, Wormtail? Does it scare you?"

Cassandra watched this exchange in confusion, her mind unable to grasp exactly what they were speaking of. What in the world would Peter be scared of? She glanced down to find his wrists tied as well and her confusion deepened. He was supposed to be one of them, Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater.

Lucius' smile grew and he strode across the room to a large cupboard. His slim hands wrapped around the matching handles on each side of the doors, then drew them open quickly. Stuffed inside the cramped space, his neck bent at an old angle and his skin dried and decayed, was James Potter.

Cassandra felt bile rise at the back of her throat and she turned away as an awful stench filled the room. Beside her, Sirius bite back a shout of surprise while Remus only stared at the cabinet with confusion lighting up his otherwise expressionless eyes.

"What . . . what are you doing with him?" Cassandra asked.

Lucius reached into the cabinet and withdrew a small vial. With his other hand he reached up and plucked a single hair from James' head. Sirius made a gagging noise deep in his throat as Lucius uncapped the vial and dropped in the hair. The potion hissed and popped and Cassandra had to turn away as Lucius lifted it to his lips and drank the entire thing.

"Oh God," Sirius whispered from beside her and she turned her eyes back toward Lucius to see his skin ripple and his hair darken.

She stared, transfixed, as Lucius became James Potter before her eyes. Lucius grinned at her before reaching for the glasses sitting nearby and perching them on his nose. It completed the look, it brought everything together and finally it made sense.

"You were in our bedroom that night," Cassandra growled. "You took Remus away and made me believe I was insane because I saw James."

Lucius smirked. "You've finally figured things out, have you?"

"I don't get it," Sirius said, staring at him. "Why go to all this trouble just to change into a dead man?"

Lucius shrugged. "Turning into James was . . . more fun than anything when it first started. Seeing Remus stare at me like I was the spirit of one of his best friends was far more enjoyable than I could have ever imagined, but believe me, there is a far more profitable reason." Lucius paused, letting James' eyes sweep over the group. A sickening smile that never would have touched James' lips now looked at home there.

"The Marauders are together once more," he sneered. "And one needs to be an animagus to take those abilities from others."

"But you're not!" Sirius exclaimed.

"No," Lucius drawled, "but James was."

"You aren't," Cassandra insisted. "The potion doesn't change you internally. You can't change into Prongs."

He turned James' eyes on hers and she shivered suddenly; she felt cold.

"You're right," he said, "but whatever entity that takes their power and transfers it to me doesn't know that."

"It's a stupid risk," Sirius growled.

Lucius smiled coldly. "But it's worth it. You've no idea of the power I'll have if this works."

"You're insane," Sirius muttered.

Lucius chuckled darkly. "Not as insane as you'll be once I'm done with you."
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