Chapter 3: Tangled Web We Weave
Severus had Cassi's wrists pinned to the wall, and despite her struggling, she couldn't move.
"Snape, this is really none of your business, now let me go," she said quietly, her struggling and avoiding him further exemplifying her guilt in his eyes.
"So you admit it? You're a Death Eater?" he hissed. His cold dark eyes were strangely alight with the situation.
"No, I am not a Death Eater. Now let me go," she said more firmly. Severus took a step closer to avoid her escape.
"I'm not letting go until you explain yourself. I'm already going to take you to Dumbledore as it is," he said venomously. She finally stopped struggling.
"Dumbledore already knows," she said defeated. She would have to tell him.
"Talin, you are conflicting your last plea. How can Dumbledore know that there is nothing to know? You either are or you aren't, you can't have it both ways. And personally," he sneered, "My vote is on the 'are'."
"That's what you think," she said sarcastically.
"Well, if you have nothing to hide, you wouldn't mind if I did this," he implored, and with a sudden movement, took her wrist and raised it above her head, causing the sleeve of her robe to slip down to her shoulder. And on her pale white skin was a black skull with a snake protruding from the mouth, the mark of a Death Eater, the all-familiar mark.
"Explain," he said angrily, his face scarcely an inch from hers.
"Snape, let me go and I'll explain," Cassi said, her anger matching his. Severus made no movement to let her go. "Snape, if you value your reputation at all, you will let me go. Do you realize how this looks?" After a second of consideration, Snape let go and backed away. The students would be coming back from dinner shortly and he didn't want any false rumors flying around the school.
"Only you would think like that," he muttered to her. He grabbed her wrist and jerked her to her classroom. He unlocked the door with his wand and rushed into the room, finally letting her go and closing the door behind him.
"Talk," he said tensely. Cassi fidgeted slightly and then sat down on her stool at the front of her empty classroom, staring off into the corner of her room.
"Fine, but you must swear that you won't tell anyone else, I like my privacy and it really isn't anyone else's business. Come to think of it, it isn't any of your business either but if it'll get you off my back, I'll talk. But first swear what I say is in confidence," she said, visibly tense.
"I'll be the judge of that," he said silkily.
Cassi spoke nervously, though she still maintained her sarcastic tone as she always had. "Alright, you want to know my story, here it is: there is nothing to tell. Nothing. As silly and outlandish as it sounds, it is nothing but the utmost truth." She stared at him, trying to find the right words to explain her story, which wasn't exactly complicated, but it was difficult to explain nonetheless.
"You're being vague. Again. I would like to hear some details on this nothingness, because if it is truly nothing, you should have no problem sharing it," he said, eyes flashing. She sighed and collected her words.
"Gods, you make everything difficult, don't you? Fine, I'll tell you. You want to know who my parents are? Where I was brought up? What school I went to? I wouldn't be able to tell you, because the truth of the matter is that I don't know. This sounds so stupid, but it's true. It was about …oh lets see, fifteen years ago? Yes, that's about right, fifteen years ago I woke up in the middle of the woods without the faintest clue as to what I might be doing there. Or what my name was. Or why that tattoo on my arm burned so much. I still don't. The only thing I remembered was how to perform spells. I don't remember a bloody thing about myself, or anything about this Mark. I am not a Death Eater, because I am who I've become. My name, Cassandra Talin, is just a name I made up when they asked me to fill it in on my job application. So there you have it, you now know my darkest secret, though I doubt you believe it." She spoke very bitterly, and she hated how stupid it sounded when she put it into words. At this moment, she hated him for inquiring, and even more for now knowing.
"Not really," he said in a low voice. "Your story is a bit too fantastic for me."
"Well, it's the truth, take it or leave it, or if it really bothers you, talk to Dumbledore about it. I don't like talking about myself, so if you have any questions ask them now, because this topic is off limits after tonight." Her aire was indifferent again, and she hoped she had said enough to make him back off, as she was really sick of being watched from the shadowy corners of Hogwarts.
"So you expect me to believe all this? It sounds like something out of a storybook! 'One magical day, a girl wakes up and thinks to herself, 'Oh gee, now who am I again?' And then she shrugs and skips off, making it up as she goes'," said Snape, his tone mocking as he mimicked her story. If this situation hadn't been so hard for her, she would have laughed at his imitation, then slapped him good and hard for it, but unfortunately she was too concerned to find the humor in his statement.
"Well, if you put it like that, then of course it sounds impossible," she spat darkly, her Russian accent even more prominent when she was angry. He has no clue how hard it is not knowing anything about yourself, she thought angrily. Her mind reeled. "And I have one question for you, oh great Potions Master, how the hell did you know when the Dark Mark burned?" Though it was a question, her tone was accusatory.
"That is none of your business," he said, not liking where this topic had gone. He turned and was about to leave the room, but she jumped off her stool and blocked the exit to the door.
"Absolutely not Snape. I just told you something I've only told one person, I'm not about to let you frolic around without hearing how you knew," she said quite firmly. Snape glared at her.
"All you need to know is that I used to be one, but I quit and Dumbledore trusts me. Now, if you'll excuse me Miss Talin, I'd like to exit the room," he said, pushing past her (though she would have let him go anyway) and stalking out of the room.
Cassi stared at the closed door with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She really didn't like the fact that he knew so much about her, but something in his last statement calmed her; it was the fact that he still called her Talin, though he knew it wasn't really her name. Cassi instantly berated herself for thinking such things, Cassi was her name, she had known nothing else, and she was who she was. She would never be anyone else.
Still slightly disturbed, she turned and entered her office, soon finding her way to her bedroom. She got ready for bed and tried to sleep, staring hard out the window from under her covers. The moon glared at her and she tried to block it out tonight, it was no longer her source of contentment. Nothing was.
Snape, however, was not going to sleep at all. As soon as he left her classroom, he set off for the second floor. When he reached the gargoyle, he said the password without a second thought and stepped into the hole. He froze for a fraction of a second to listen to Dumbledore's office but no sound came from it with the exception of Dumbledore humming a happy sort of tune. Snape breathed in deeply and stormed into the room.
"Dumbledore, may I have a word?" Severus asked, his anger clearly evident in his voice. Dumbledore looked up from his letter and smiled at Severus.
"Certainly, have a seat," he said kindly, his eyes shining.
"No thanks; I think I'll stand. Dumbledore, do you know what our Defense teacher is?" he said, waiting intently for Dumbledore's reply.
"From what I hear, she's part Russian," stated Dumbledore simply, but Severus stared at him, waiting for him to continue. At this, the Headmaster's eyes grew serious and penetrating. "She told you?" His tone was as serious as the glint in his eyes.
"Well, yes and no. You see Dumbledore, at dinner the Mark burned on my arm, and I turned to her and she was grasping her arm. Well, I immediately sprung up and asked her what was going on, and after some…coaxing she told me," said Severus, ready to jump into his next argument, but Dumbledore cut him off light-heartedly.
"Oh, is that why you both jumped up?" he asked, half smiling. Severus was not amused.
"Good God, no! Dumbledore, that is absurd! Her and I? Don't flatter her," Severus stuttered. Dumbledore laughed.
"Dumbledore, why did you hire her? She could be lying! She could jeopardize everything!" Severus was irate at this point, though still speaking softly with a fierce passion. His black eyes burned at the thought of what Dumbledore was putting at stake. Dumbledore leaned forward.
"Are you really that concerned about her? You must be, you've never questioned my appointments before quite like this-" Dumbledore said in a firm voice, and started speaking again to interrupt Severus' pleas that he wasn't questioning him. "Don't worry Severus, I understand your position, and I know it's a bit of a risk, but she happened to testify under Veritaserum…and I believe her."
"Then I will comply with your trust Dumbledore, I just wished to express my concern," said Severus meekly.
"I understand," he said kindly as Severus left the room. He walked out into the hall, head bowed in concentration. The story, so unbelievable, it can't be true! He walked into his dungeon. And yet, you can't lie under Veritaserum, can you? Impossible, fantastic …but true? Things like that don't happen in real life, but Severus had no choice but to accept this and move on. He cleared his mind of her ridiculous story before going to sleep that night, hoping to forget it entirely.
~
High-pitched laughter rung through the forest. Severus looked up into the canopy of the trees, seeing swatches of the night sky through it. The laugh rung out once again, causing him to become nervous. Perhaps he should leave the forest, things didn't feel right.
He turned around to leave, and jumped when he saw a heavily cloaked figure standing in his path. His nervousness increased to a barely suppressible panic, but he remained rooted to the spot. The figure did not move for a while, then suddenly held out its pale hand and gestured for him to follow it. He swallowed hard and fell into step behind the figure.
Together they trudged through the forest a little ways, Severus hearing no noises other than the swishing of cloaks and the crunching of leaves beneath their feet. He had hung his head to look closer at these leaves, when he realized that there was a sudden absence of sound, and he jerked his head up to see that the cloaked figure was gone. He was left in the middle of a clearing, which appeared to be empty, save the black huddle on the ground.
He stared at the huddle, then was struck with the realization of what it was, taking in a sharp breath and stepping back. The laughing cackled through the trees, echoing in the darkness.
"Severus, I don't know what's going on. Severus, something's not right. Severus, I think he suspects us!" A familiar, eerie voice chanted this softly over and over and he stepped forward, approaching the black mass on the ground. His hands trembled as he reached down to touch it, but jerked back when he caught sight of his hands, which dripped with blood. The voice grew louder.
"Severus, I think he suspects us!"
"No! I didn't mean for it to happen! No!" he shouted back at the voice, his words ringing around the clearing, falling upon unhearing ears. A scream and a laugh sounded back at him, growing louder, closer. He turned away to run, but started when he found another cloaked figure next to him, watching the huddle on the ground with a certain serenity.
"Why? Why didn't you help me? Why, Severus?" asked the small voice in a sob. She held out her blood-soaked hands to him. He jumped back, revolted, but she stepped forward as well.
Severus Snape woke with a start, sitting straight up in bed and breathing hard.
"Damn it," he whispered softly, and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. He was more than used to these kinds of dreams, they had only tortured his sleep for years upon years, but had eventually decreased over time. However, every now and then one would come back to haunt him, persecuting him for his past.
Severus thought hard about the dream. He hadn't dreamed about Her in forever, putting that situation as far back into the dark corners of his memory as he could. What had triggered it again? The moon shone through his window, illuminating his cold room in soft white light.
Cassandra. That silly imp of a girl and her fairy tale past. Though his encounter with her had been a week ago, the details still rung fresh in his mind. His mind was put at ease as he remembered that Cassi had reminded him of Her, that's where all of this had come from. He settled back down under his covers and closed his eyes.
"So you've decided to terrorize me with dreams as well, eh Ms. Talin? I don't think so," he muttered angrily to himself, forcing his mind to calm down.
The following morning, Talin and Snape entered the Great Hall grumpily, neither saying a word to the other. Cassi stole a sideways glance at him, and noticed that he looked very tired, then she smirked and went back to eating, hoping that whatever had kept him up had bothered him to no extent. She became lost in her thoughts.
When Snape turned to her, she started out of her daydreams. She kept her face very blank and waited for the high and mighty one to speak.
"Are you going to the game today?" he placidly asked. She remembered that there was a Quidditch game today, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and she nodded.
"Of course I'll be there, wouldn't want to miss a chance to see Gryffindor play. Of course, I say this in all impartiality, as I'm neutral to all Houses, as all of the teachers are supposed to be," she stated with a sarcastic smile.
"We wouldn't want to show favoritism, would we?" he sneered back at her.
"No, of course not. That would be unethical. Playing favorites among students while bullying others would simply be wrong. Anyone who does that deserves to be fired," she smiled at him once again and stood. "I'll see you at the game then, Snape." She had raised her voice for the last statement. He muttered darkly under his breath and she left the table. A few teachers looked at her retreating figure, then back at him, then smiled slightly and talked to their neighbor animatedly. He glared at each and every one of them for merely thinking what they had assumed, then he too left, still thinking about her in an aggravated way.
An hour later, Cassi walked among the flood of students to the wooden stands. She tore away from the group at the foot of a flight of stairs, walking down a long hallway to a door, then entering into an open-air box with an excellent view of the field. She looked around the box and found it surprisingly full. Spying a spot next to Simon, she started to walk his way, but halted when she saw that it was also next to Snape. She closed her eyes briefly and summoned all her self-control, then walked over and sat between Simon and that evil git.
"Hi there, I was hoping you'd get here before someone took that spot," he said with a smile. She smiled then leaned over to whisper something to him.
"Why, of all places, did you pick a spot near him?" she said in a quiet tone. He laughed and leaned over to her, pushing her hair away from her ear.
"It was all there was left. Though we could go sit with the students, but its not the same view, sorry Cassi." He smiled and patted her on the shoulder in a sympathetic way, and she sighed and smoothed her robes, wishing that Snape would simply implode.
Severus watched the two of them whispering and flirting back and forth, and looked around to see if any one else saw this, but they didn't. He was totally put out; the staff always seemed to pick up whenever Cassi and himself were 'talking', but whenever Simon was there, they seemed to look the other way, annoying him to no end. He gave up, defeated, and put his elbow on his knee, then his chin on his palm to watch the game.
Fortunately, the players had mounted their brooms in the center of the field, and Madam Hooch had the whistle to her lips. It's shrill scream sounded out and the Quaffle was thrown upwards, which was immediately snatched up by the Slytherin Chaser. The game commenced in a whirl of red and green robes and the loud voice of one of Cassi's students, to whom she listened to as she tried to watch everything at once, which was impossible.
Back and forth the Quaffle was thrown, neither team scoring for some time. The Beaters zoomed around the stadium, trying to unseat the Chasers with the wild hits of the Bludger. Before Cassi could see who had the Quaffle, and another shrill whistle was heard, and the game slowed to a stop. Her announcer-student had paused, trying to figure out what had just happened.
"What's going on?" asked Cassi, half to herself, half to Simon. "Who's in possession?" He shrugged.
"Gryffindor has the Quaffle now, Slytherin just got a penalty for cobbing," Snape stated factually, his eyes still on the game as Gryffindor got ready for a penalty shot. He looked sideways and caught the look of puzzlement on her face. "Cobbing is excessive use of the elbows, it's tough to call though, as all the teams tend to play roughly, especially these two."
"Oh," she said, watching the game return to its fast pace. "Thank you."
Snape almost caught himself saying it was no problem, but stopped himself before the words could form on his lips. "Just don't make a bother of yourself anymore," he recovered. That had been close, he had almost been … civil to her. He shook his head, repeating in his mind that games tended to put him off guard.
By the time he had brought his thoughts back around to the game, a Gryffindor Chaser had put the Quaffle through the tallest hoop, and the crowd was going wild. He muttered a curse beneath his breath for being too distracted to see the goal and for the fact that his house was losing.
Roughly an hour later, and three more scores by Gryffindor, the game ended as Harry Potter caught the Golden Snitch as it fluttered about near the base of the three hoops on the Slytherin side. Severus smacked him forehead in disappointment and stood to leave. Cassi stayed however, and watched as Harry flew overhead, glittering ball with flitting wings still in hand, making his lap of honor.
Snape rolled his eyes and sighed. "Come on Cassi, you don't need to inflate Mr. Potter's overly enlarged ego anymore than it already is. You can congratulate him later."
Cassandra whirled around, and gave him an odd look, fixing him with this weird stare for quite some time. "Did you just call me Cassi?" she asked, still puzzled.
He had, and he nearly smacked himself for doing so. "It's your name, isn't it?" he snapped.
"Yes, yes it is, but you've never called me by my first name, let alone my nickname," she said, now following him out the box door and down the stairwell. "I think the most endearing term I've heard from your mouth is 'you stupid girl'. Or maybe it was 'Professor Talin', but of course you have to say it in that horribly acidic way you do, or it loses it's entire effect."
"Yes, well I'll note that in the future I am not to call you by your name," he growled, not liking all this hounding for an error he had made (as rare as they were, and he preferred even those to go unnoticed).
"Actually, I think I'd rather you do call me Cassi. It doesn't sound nearly as hateful as I would have expected. And it is my name, after all. But I don't think I'll call you by your first name just yet." Cassi ended her statement placidly enough, but it was enough to make Snape try to remember if she had ever called him anything but his surname, but no such luck. She is too aware of her actions, he thought angrily. How am I supposed to catch her at her own game if she remember every word she says? Damn her.
Later that afternoon, when Cassi was going through her participation grades in her classroom, she decided that she rather liked the near civility Snape had shown her at the game. She still knew he was a horrible, sniveling man whom she would dearly love to give a black eye, but perhaps he was a little more human-like than what she thought. Well, less bat-like, anyway.
Time plummeted forth into the crisp October, and Cassi found herself very busy the weekend before a test she was to give the following class periods. She awoke early that morning and ate quickly, brushing past Snape on her way out as he entered the Hall.
He watched her pass, then continued up to the high table, thinking that she was in one of those unsociable moods again. She had almost been conversational (or as least as talkative as he had ever seen her) that day in the Quidditch box, but quickly after that she had taken to shutting herself up in her classroom again. Snape thought about this as he ate his breakfast. He decided that since he had caught up on grading all the essays on Thinking Potions that he would spend a bit of time in the teacher's lounge.
He stood and left the Hall, winding has way down the familiar halls until he came to a wooden door on his left. He pushed the door open and sat down in his usual chair by the fireplace, which already had a fire in it. There was a copy of the Daily Prophet next to his chair, so he picked it up and read it with mild interest. He was disgusted at the fact that there were no articles about the Dark happenings in the wizarding world, and even more disgusted when he realized how much the media was controlled by the Ministry. All the articles were happy and upbeat, almost making him wish there were some of those amusing Rita Skeeter articles about Harry. Those had been worth his time to read, but Rita had mysteriously quit the business, and it was rumored that she was working as a shop assistant in some far away city. A pity. He found himself wondering if Cassi had seen any of those articles, but he thought she seemed the type that didn't read that sort of rubbish.
"You should go see her, Severus," said a clear voice from across the room. He set down his paper on his lap and looked up to see who was talking to him. Professor McGonagall was sitting across from him in a wooden chair, her hands folded on her lap. Simon had come in and was sitting at the table near them. He was reading a book and didn't appear to have heard McGonagall.
"Go see who?" said Snape, trying to pretend that he hadn't been thinking about her at that moment. He suspected her of mind reading, and thought if she could that she might want to look into taking up the Divinations position, as the fraud who had the spot now was hopeless at it.
"You know who I'm talking about. I can tell you're thinking about her, you've got that spiteful look on you face and your hands are clenched," she said plainly. Severus immediately cleared his expression and folded his hands, scowling at them for betraying his thoughts. She smiled and continued. "I think she's lonely, you should go see her."
"And what would possess me to do that?" he asked guardedly, and she merely smiled in reply and left the room. Severus growled and picked up his paper again, trying to concentrate on reading it, but no such luck. He decided it wouldn't hurt anyone if he just went to see what she was doing. She could be up to something, he thought. Yes, that's it, she could be up to something. Spending all that time alone, she has to be. And it's my job to make sure nothing goes undetected. I better go see her.
He stood up from his chair, and after shooting a sideways glance at Simon to see if he was watching him, but he wasn't, he continued out the door and down more corridors until he came to the familiar door of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Unfortunately, the door was locked, but there was no light being emitted from the crack between the door and it's frame, so he assumed that she had gone out on one of her little walks again. This was his chance to see exactly what she did on these outings that he had wanted to know about for so long.
Perhaps if he too took a walk, then he might bump into her. This seemed like a good idea to him, so he set off for the Entrance Hall. As he neared the Hall, he heard a loud, deep voice ring out from behind him, and then he felt a huge hand clap him on the shoulder.
"Severus, I 'aven' seen ya out on the grounds fer a long time! 'Ow's life treatin' ya?" said Hagrid in a friendly manner. Severus had long been friends with the game keeper, he was probably the only member of the staff that Severus would fully count as a friend.
Severus looked up at him, not smiling but not scowling, his usual expression when talking to Hagrid. "I'm fair, Hagrid. Fair enough, anyway."
"Was ya goin' fer a walk?" asked the giant man.
"As a matter of fact, I was," said Severus, glad that he had come up with that excuse beforehand.
"D'ya mind if I come with ya? I 'ave to walk 'round the forest's edge anyway. Part of me job, gotta check the perimeter of the grounds," Hagrid said with pride. Severus knew he was very proud to work for Dumbledore, and he took his job very seriously. Severus agreed to go with him.
They walked down the gravel path to the gate, then turned right and walked around the forest's edge, Hagrid's eyes were trained on the forest, but he still chatted jovially with Severus. They discussed the giants that Hagrid had been visiting for the past few summers, and how classes were going for the both of them.
Severus had just begun to forget about the true purpose of his walk when Hagrid stopped suddenly, his eyes off of the forest and on something ahead of him. He held out his arm in front of Severus to stop him.
"We best turn 'round," said Hagrid gently. Severus looked ahead of him to see Cassi sitting perched on a rock at the forest's edge, her knees pulled up to her chin and her eyes closed. "She'll want to be left alone, the poor thing."
"You've talked to her?" asked Severus in disbelief. Cassi hardly socialized with anyone, but he supposed it wouldn't be so radical a change if she were to talk with Hagrid, as she was out on the grounds quite a bit and he was easy to talk to.
"Yeh, we've talked a fair few times," said Hagrid, turning around. Severus followed him, interested.
"Why does she come out here?" he asked, trying to sound casual. Hagrid looked at him hard, as if trying to figure out his motive.
"She likes to be alone sometimes. Sometimes she comes out 'ere to talk. Summit' is botherin' her, but she won' tell me what. I think teachin' has put a bit of a strain on 'er, it's 'ard the first few years, ya know. Maybe you should ask 'er," suggested Hagrid helpfully, but Severus shook his head.
"Somehow I don't think she would appreciate that," said Severus in a very detached sort of way. Hagrid was about to say something, but a crash and a scream was heard at that moment. It had come from near the lake, and both Severus and Hagrid had turned around that direction, trying to see what was going on. They then ran that way, over a slight hill, and a peculiar scene lay before them.
A giant spider, by the looks of it, an Acromantula was poised near the lake, chasing the few students around it who were trying to enjoy their weekend. A tree lay on the ground, which had to have been the crash they heard. Severus took his wand from his belt. Before he could start down there, Cassi was by his side, wand already out.
"Hagrid, go get the Headmaster please," she said, her voice holding a bit of authority Snape hadn't heard there before. Hagrid looked uneasy at leaving them to this monster, but obeyed and ran off to the giant wooden doors on the other side of the castle.
"Snape, get the kids away from the spider. They'll listen to you better than they will me," she explained as they ran down the hill and approached the giant spider. It snapped it pincers menacingly at the students.
"Fine, you distract it," he said and she nodded, that being her plan all along. They split at the bottom of the hill, Cassi running to the spider, and Severus calling the students away from the beast. They ran to him and he led them half way around the castle at a run, the group racing over the dying grass of the grounds.
"If anyone's been hurt, go to the nurse. Otherwise, go back to your Common Rooms," he said, very out of breath, but then turned back. The students followed his commands, heading into the school severely shaken. While he ran back around the castle to the lake, he heard the spider scream in anger, a high pitched roar. He berated himself for leaving Cassi with the thing; not even the most skilled of wizards should handle one of those creatures alone.
He finally came upon the scene he had left. The spider had moved away from the black lake, and Cassi was standing back, hitting it with spells of different colors, yet all of them reflecting off of the spider's skin. It was far too magical to be affected by spells, but they had succeeded in angering it greatly. It took a great step forward and knocked Cassi sideways with one of its long hairy legs. The spider took another step and stood over its prey, clicking its pincers and casting it's dark shadow over her body.
Severus took a deep breath and pointed his wand at it, muttering a string of words under his breath and hitting it with a yellow light. The light wrapped itself around the beast, holding it back. This spell would keep it at bay for about a minute, then it would fail. Cassi shook herself, stood up, and ran close enough to Severus for her to talk to him.
"There's no way we're going to get this thing off the grounds alive, it's been driven mad. We have to kill it," he shouted to her. She nodded and knelt down, pulling a dagger from the near the hem of her robe.
"Hold it like that for just a bit more," she called to him, and he nodded and concentrated on the spell, secretly thinking that she was either very brave or seriously mentally disturbed, or perhaps a bit of both.
While Cassi jogged up to the Acromantula, she tapped her dagger with her wand, saying 'Dirumpo' in a quiet voice, then stuck her wand in her back in sash. The giant spider was stomping like mad, able to move but not able to go anywhere. She ducked under it, immediately jumping away from a leg and a pincer. Then, with as much strength as she could muster, she drove her dagger into the monster's neck. She shot out from under it in a run. Severus' spell failed at that moment, and the spider ran after her.
Cassi ran to Severus, grabbing his wrist and pulling him with her. "Run," she told him simply, and both set off, making sure to keep away from the castle. Cassi's black hair whipped around her as she ran, and her robes fluttered in the breeze. She was breathing hard and the lack of oxygen was making her head spin.
The spider was fiercely annoyed with them, and had almost caught up with them in a fit of anger when it suddenly stopped. Cassi continued to run, and Severus followed her lead. She pushed him down, then fell down herself, covering the back of her head with her hands. Severus barely had time to wonder why she did this when a huge explosion was heard, and a burst of wind blew over them both, small rocks and twigs beating against them. And it was over.
Cassi and Severus lay there in the grass, breathing hard from running so much, trying to regain the strength to stand. Finally Cassi looked over at Severus.
"Are you ok?" she asked, still trying to catch her breath.
"I believe so," he said, looking up to see her, then sitting up entirely. "And you?"
"A few scratches and bruises, I think, but nothing major." She tried to sit up, but groaned and grasped her side. She shook her head and let go immediately, then stood up without so much as a grimace. Severus stood too, and looked back at the creature.
It was still a scary sight. Its legs were splayed out and it's black body twitched. There was an enormous crater on its neck where the dagger had been, and it oozed black blood, soaking the yellowing grass around it, the sun sparkling off it.
Cassi looked over at it and wrinkled her nose. "Receptus," she called out, and immediately her dagger returned to her, the handle flying perfectly into her palm.
"It's indestructible, the best one I have," she said. Severus gave her a questioning look. "I placed an Explosion Curse on it, so it blew up while still remaining in tact. We couldn't curse the Acromantula, so I cursed this. It worked," she said, smiling. She bent down and replaced the dull, iron-colored dagger at the hem of her robe.
"And you carry around a weapon why?" he asked, thinking that if she wasn't mad, then she was certainly paranoid.
"You can never be too careful. I would think you of all people know that, Snape," she said, as both remembered that they were supposed to hate the other. Cassi took a step forward, but her ankle gave out and she fell, unfortunately, right into Severus' arms, who caught her in shock.
"Sorry," she mumbled. "I twisted my ankle in that last run."
"I think you need to go see Madame Pomfrey," he said to her, trying to keep any tone of concern out of his words, but not completely succeeding. "You're rib is cracked too. I watched you stand."
"No, no I'll be fine. And my rib is fine too," she said, but he gave her a slight nudge, and she took in a sharp breath.
He helped her stand up properly again. "Well, you should at least go for the cut on your face. It looks deep." He cupped her chin with his free hand and gently turned her head, looking at the gash across her cheekbone.
"Snape," she said softly, "I've been taking care of myself since forever. I'm used to cuts and bruises. I'll be fine. I just need your help getting up to the castle. From that point on I'll walk on my own. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation as an uncaring bastard." He let go of her chin.
"Alright," he said, letting her lean on his arm, though not really burdening him, as she was too light to do that. They set off for the castle slowing, not talking at all. When they reached the doors, they swung open, seemingly on their own, but the two saw that it was Hagrid, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Harper at the door.
"Did you already defeat it?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes shining.
"Yes. I'm sorry Hagrid," Cassi said as earnestly as possible. She felt a little bad about having to kill a magical creature, especially a spider. She knew he had some friends who were spiders, and she hoped that this creature wasn't related to his friends, or one of them.
"'S ok," he said, smiling at her.
"I'll be out to help you in a second, Dumbledore. I'm helping, uh Miss Talin to the nurse," he said quickly and Dumbledore nodded. Cassi glared at Severus and he looked back at her pointedly.
"I'll help her, Snape," said Simon, and he held out his hand to her. She took it without so much as looking at Snape, then they continued down the hall. Severus watched them for a moment, then turned and led Dumbledore and McGonagall to the body of the spider. As they walked, McGonagall patted him on the shoulder, and he looked at her strangely, trying to read her eyes to see what she knew. She only smiled sympathetically at him.
~
By the time the sun had set that night, the body of the creature had been cleaned up by Ministry wizards, Hagrid had been consoled, and Cassi had seen the nurse and returned to her classroom to finish the test she was making. She scribbled down the last details of it furiously as she thought of how Snape had tricked her into seeing the nurse. She hated being helped, she really did. It had nearly killed her to ask Snape to help her to the castle, but she couldn't have gotten there any other way. And Simon had been so concerned about her it was almost unnerving. She didn't like getting attached to people like that, it would only make things harder if she decided to leave.
She stacked her papers neatly on the desk, making sure everything was in order. When that was done, she picked up her book she had been reading about the history of the Dark Arts over the last seventy years, and flipped to page sixty-five where she had left off. Just as she was starting to get into it, she heard a hard knock on her door.
"Who could that possibly be?" said Cassi sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Come in!" Severus Snape walked into the room, arms folded and eyes darting from her to the floor nervously. She set down her book, interested in what he might have to say that was making him so nervous.
Severus cleared his throat. "I, uh, was wondering how you were doing." He sounded as if he wasn't really concerned, like he was just going through the motions and trying to be polite.
"Oh," she said disappointed, and she sat back in her chair. "I'm fine. I've got more bandages than I need on me, but I'm fine. I would have been fine without going to the Hospital Wing, thank you very much."
"Was your rib broken?" he retorted.
Cassi paused. "Yes. But ribs heal easily, I still would have been fine. And now my ankle is wrapped up tight and it's useless for walking." She paused and gave him a hard look. "Alright, it's my turn for a question. What were you doing out on the grounds this morning? And don't say 'Oh just taking a walk' like you take them everyday, because I know you don't. You were spying on me, weren't you?"
"It's funny how you think I would waste my time with you. It's almost humorous. No, actually, I was taking a walk with Hagrid. You're not his only friend," he said bitterly.
"So then you were talking to him about me, otherwise you wouldn't know that I've been talking to him. You just lost at your own game, Snape," she said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
Severus walked up to her desk and placed both his hands on it. "I don't care what you think, I wasn't out there to find you. You just happened to become a topic in our conversation because we saw you sulking on that rock," he growled in a deep voice. His eyes flashed.
"You've been watching me since I got here. I'm sick of it. I was beginning to think that I had actually seen a human side of you this afternoon, but it must have been another façade. Well I must congratulate you, The Man of Many Masks. I'm not sure who you think you're kidding, but you're not tricking me into believing that you are capable of compassionate emotions, oh great Potions Master," she growled back at him.
"I'm simply being myself, you may take it or leave it. And I'm not the one with masks. Perhaps your reflection in the mirror can help find out whom I'm referring to." He stiffened considerably, and took his hands off her desk. "Dumbledore says there is to be a meeting tomorrow morning about the Acromantula. Good night, Cassandra." He had raised his voice for the last sentence, then stormed out of the room.
"He is such a robot," she said to herself, and she slammed her book down and angrily walked off to her room with a slight limp. She muttered to herself as she slammed through all the doors, giving her bedroom door a particularly hard slam. She saw her reflection as she passed the mirror on her way to her bed. Her eyes stared back at her, alive with anger. The cut on her cheek had been healed so it didn't mar her face anymore, but her cheeks were pink. She hadn't thought Snape had gotten to her quite as much as he had. It wasn't fair; when she insulted him, it rolled off of him like a raindrop, but when the tables turned, she ended up all emotional. She couldn't look at the reflection anymore, so she threw a towel over the mirror. She sat on her bed, fuming, but decided it would do no good to simply sit there and dwell on it, so she busied herself with cleaning her nightstand up. She reorganized her potions and hairbrush, then moved her meager jewelry; a pair of earrings and a necklace which she was particularly fond of, but did not wear. She picked up the necklace and studied the amulet on it.
It was a beautiful iron snake twisted around a heart. The details on it were magnificent; each scale on the snake was visible, and it's little beady eyes glared back at her. She never wore it anymore; she used to wear it when she was younger as the last scrap of her past that she had, but when she decided to let go, she had taken off the necklace. Still, it made her feel nice, like there was something special about it, but she didn't know what, so she set it down in the drawer of her nightstand so it wouldn't distract her anymore.
~
Meanwhile, Severus tried to calm himself. He had come into her classroom genuinely concerned (as much as he didn't show it, but it wasn't her place to question his motives), and he had come out thoroughly insulted. It had been awhile since he had actually allowed himself to get this angered, and he didn't know why she affected him like this. She took his insults as if she had heard them a thousand times, yet he gets all riled up when she insults him? It didn't seem right to Severus. He scowled at the stone floor as he walked aimlessly through the halls.
And since when did McGonagall become so interested in what Severus thought? If he had known she was that damn psychic, he would have remembered never to reveal so much as a scowl to her. Where did she get off thinking that he was…fond of Cassi? He stopped when he thought about this, and had to actually sit down on the base of a statue with his head in his hands in order to think about this. He had no feelings for her, none at all. It wasn't possible. McGonagall had to be wrong. He couldn't have fallen for her. He couldn't. He couldn't. He could. He had.