Harry walked around in a daze. He bumped into someone and fell over, not bothering to put his hands out to stop the fall. The person helped him up, and their mouth seemed to move a bit, but Harry couldn't comprehend what the person was trying to say. He walked away from them, not apologising; he couldn't even remember where he was going. Harry knew his life had been complicated before; his parents were both dead, he was a wizard, he'd defeated a very powerful dark lord as a baby, who had then come back to try and kill him for many years afterwards, and all the while without Harry knowing why.

            But this was ridiculous.

            Harry was heir to the founder of his house, Godric Griffindor, he had new powers that had only now come into power, his girlfriend had just died to save him, and there was a strange but beautiful new girl in a rival house to Harry who Harry really liked but who was afraid of Harry and didn't want to turn him into a snowflake.

            Harry laughed out loud. A few people in the corridor stopped to stare at Harry who appeared to be laughing at the voices in his head, but they saw nothing too strange and continued walking as Harry's laughter died down. He wanted to scream away all his thoughts; he had never felt more confused in his life.

            Ron came round the corner then and a smile appeared on his face as he saw his best friend. He was about to open his mouth when Harry slung an arm around Ron's shoulder. After a hesitation, very slowly, with a strange smile on his face, Harry said, "Hello."

            "Er…hi…Harry," said Ron, frowning. "Are…you ok?"

            Harry nodded his head ferociously. "YYYYes," he slurred. "I'm gooooood. Th-" he hiccupped, "-thanks."

            "Dude, are you drunk?!" Ron asked in bewilderment. Harry nearly fell again, and Ron put an arm around him to help hold his friend up.

            "Nnnnnnno," Harry said, frowning. "De-de-definit…" Harry paused, looking thoughtful. Suddenly he burst out laughing. "You know, I think I might be, I can't remember. Isn't that strange?" He started laughing again. "It is Christmas after all. Yep, it is you know," Harry said confidently.

            Ron frowned in order to keep himself from laughing. "Yes, I know. That's why we have to get you to the hall. It's the Christmas Feast tonight, remember? Last night with everyone here."

            Harry looked confused, and didn't say anything for a while. Ron was getting worried that Harry had fallen asleep with his eyes closed or something, when he spoke: "Who?"

            Ron sighed. "Well you can't go like this. Come on."

"Idon'twannawherearewegoingI'mhungry." Harry said all this very quickly and quietly, and Ron didn't understand what he said. He didn't bother to find out, though. He was worried. Harry had sworn he would never get drunk. And so far he never had.

Ron dragged Harry all the way to the common room, said the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady and the two walked (or slid) into the common room. The only two in there were Lavender and Seamus. Everyone else had already gone down to dinner. In normal circumstances, Ron would've made a joke at Seamus and Lavender deep in conversation together, alone, away from where they should be. Ron knew his brothers would be disappointed in him, but he had more important things on his hands. (Literally. He was still half-carrying, half-dragging Harry.)

Lavender and Seamus almost jumped when the portrait hole shut behind Ron and Harry. Ron knew he had to say something. Even something small. He couldn't let this go unnoticed. "You two look guilty. What are you up to?" Ron said, smirking.

"Don't you have more important things to worry about?" Lavender said curiously, looking at Harry worriedly.

"What happened to him?" Seamus asked, rushing over to catch the already falling Harry.

"Well I'm DEFINITELY not drunk. I'm not am I Ron? He knows. He's not drunk. Drunk people can't swim," said Harry, standing up straight, then falling onto a chair. He laughed again. "But then again, I can't swim," he muttered to himself.

Lavender raised an eyebrow at Ron. "Don't look at me," Ron said, putting his hands up. "I bumped into him in a corridor and found him like this."

"Didn't he say he was never going to drink?" Seamus queried.

"Well never this much, anyway."

Lavender sighed, and knelt down by Harry's side. "Harry? What happened?"

Harry was about to answer, when he felt something rush up from his insides, and turned away from Lavender, vomiting on the floor next to her. She jumped up in disgust, and Harry fell to the floor, knocking himself unconscious.

            Harry's senses fluttered awake and he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was a blinding light. He sheltered his eyes with an arm and moaned. He felt as if there was a heavy metal rock concert and a formula one car race going on inside his brain all at once. It hurt.

            "Good morning sleepyhead," said a cheery and familiar voice.

            "Ron," Harry moaned. "How drunk was I?"

            Harry took his arm away and blinked at the figure standing above him. Someone handed him his glasses, and once he'd put them on, a glass of water appeared in front of his eyes. He took it gratefully and gulped the liquid down.

            He lay back, sitting up, and looked around him. He was in his dormitory (thankfully Ron hadn't taken him to the Hospital Wing, or else Dumbledore would have found out, and he'd have had his Head Boy badge taken away for sure) and the only people in there was himself and Ron.

            Ron smiled at him. "Very drunk," he answered finally. Harry moaned again and closed his eyes. A thought popped into his head. He opened them again and looked at Ron worriedly. "Who saw me like this?"

            "Well Dumbledore didn't, if that's why you're asking." Harry sighed in relief. "Lavender and Seamus. They had to help me carry you up the stairs after you'd vomited and knocked yourself out."

            Harry moaned again. He closed his eyes. "I'm never drinking again."

            "I thought you were never going to get drunk in the first place," Ron pointed out. "Why did you?" he asked more seriously.

            "I don't know." Harry shrugged. "I just felt confused. I mean, there's all this stuff about powers, and Voldemort, and being the heir to Godric Griffindor and…" Harry paused, and Ron felt that he was going to say something else, but he didn't.

            Ron knew what Harry was going to say, and it was only as his best friend looked away from him that he realised his deep torment inside. "Wow," Ron said. "You really do love her don't you?"

            Harry didn't need to ask who. He didn't even say anything. "I loved Hermione," was all he said eventually.

            "Harry, she's dead, ok? Dead. She's gone. She's not coming back and there's nothing you or anyone can do to make her come back," Ron said harshly, making Harry stare. Then, more softly, Ron said, "I know you feel as if you're betraying Hermione, but you're not. She's gone, and you still love her, you always will, but you can't never go out with anyone ever again. You can't never love anyone new."

            "I can't fall in love with a Slytherin."              

            The depth of Ron's understanding had only been a few inches deep. Now it swam up and filled the whole of his brain. Cassandra was a Slytherin. Harry was a Griffindor. Tom Riddle (Voldemort, the Dark Lord, he-who-must-not-be-named) had been in Slytherin. Ron breathed out deeply. "Oh," was all he said, hoping Harry would know he understood.

            "It's like falling in love with the person who killed Hermione," Harry said. "It would be, well, it is beyond betrayal."

            "But it's not, though," Ron pointed out. "It's not falling in love with the person who killed Hermione, 'cause we know how bad that would be." Harry smiled wryly at the thought of falling in love with Voldemort. "It's just Cassandra."

            Harry laughed. "You say that like you know her, Ron!" Harry said, amazed at how Ron could say this so lightly. "We don't know anything about her! She never speaks of where she's from, or of her family, and she's in Slytherin. There must be a reason why she's in Slytherin."

            Ron thought about it a moment. "You were nearly put in Slytherin."

            "Yeah, but I wasn't. Because I didn't want to be put in Slytherin. Cassandra obviously wanted to be in that house. There must be a reason for that!"

            "Maybe she was too scared to argue with the hat," Ron suggested, then realised how stupid that had sounded. "Is this what's worrying you? You got drunk over a girl?" Ron laughed, trying to lighten up the mood.

            Harry looked away glumly. "Yeah, but it's not just a girl, is it? It's a Slytherin girl."

            "Remember what Hermione said when she became a vegetarian?" Ron said after a while, remembering something Hermione had said in their fifth year. " 'We all want what we cannot have. Meat is my forbidden fruit. I never wanted it before, and now I can't have it, I think I'm going to die without it!' " Harry smiled, obviously recalling the moment in his mind

            "Yeah, except my meat is going out with my sworn enemy," Harry pointed out, lightening up a bit."

            "Harry, I'm not stupid," Ron said, dragging his friend out of bed. "I've seen the way you and Cassandra are together. She does like you, even if it's not in the same way as you like her." He got some trousers from Harry drawers and flung them at his best friend. "Now go talk to her before I do!"

            Harry laughed, and Ron went out of the room, satisfied with his friend's reaction.

            As Harry wandered the corridors of Hogswarts, a thought pregnated his mind: What if Cassandra wasn't even in the castle? What if she had gone home for Christmas? Well, he knew one thing at least. Malfoy had gone; he went home every Christmas. So he was safe from him at least. All Harry wanted, needed to do, was to understand what the hell was going on. And with Malfoy there that could be a bit complicated. Malfoy was very protective over Cassandra.

            Just as Harry thought all this, a familiar figure walked around the corner, tucking a familiar strand of black hair behind her ear. Harry gulped and stopped walking. Cassandra spotted him and hesitated, searching his face, before cautiously walking over.

            Cassandra reached Harry and stopped at a few paces in front of him. "Hi," she said softly.

            "I need to talk to you," Harry said.

            Cassandra paused. "Yeah, I thought you might say that."

            There was an awkward silence, and Harry wasn't quite sure what to say next. He'd had this big plan; go find Cassandra, talk to Cassandra, feel better. That was the plan. But Harry hadn't quite figured out what to say exactly. I mean, what should he say? Cassandra, I think I may be in love with you, even though you're a Slytherin, even though you're my enemy's girlfriend, even if you are afraid of me and don't want to turn me into a snowflake. Finally, he asked, "Cassandra, has Malfoy gone home for Christmas?"

            Cassandra smiled gently. "Whenever we talk it always has to lead back to him, doesn't it." Harry thought for a moment that she wasn't going to answer his question, but she did. "No. He hasn't. I know apparently he usually does, but Draco didn't tell me why he's not going home this Christmas."

            Harry frowned in confusion. For a moment he felt slightly worried; what bad thing was happening that was making Malfoy want to stay at the school he hates for Christmas? Maybe Harry had better talk to Dumbledore. Malfoy's dad, Lucius Malfoy, was a Death Eater after all. It could have something to do with Voldemort.

            Don't get ahead of yourself, Harry, his brain told him. Did you think of the fact that maybe Malfoy just wants to spend Christmas with his girlfriend this year? With this new thought safely implanted in his brain, Harry opened his mouth to talk to Cassandra about what was annoying him. "Cassandra," he started slowly. He paused. Then it all came out in a rush; "What was all that about snowflakes the other day?"

            Cassandra frowned, looking confused. Then her mouth opened in horror. "Oh no… That conversation didn't really happen, did it? I thought it was all a dream."

            Harry frowned in confusion and placed his hand on Cassandra's arm softly. "It did feel like a dream, but if we both remember it, dream or reality, it still means something." Cassandra looked up into Harry's eyes in pain. "What does it all mean, Cassandra?" Then he said something that he hadn't even thought about before he said it. "Why are you in such pain? What is it about me that frightens you so much?"

            A small tear drop fell from Cassandra's eye and rolled gently down her cheek. She looked in pain, and avoided Harry's gentle eyes, looking down at her feet. "What frightens me, is…I think I'm falling in love with you," she whispered. Harry took in a deep breath. Then Cassandra looked up again and stepped back angrily. "But it's just so stupid and so ludicrous! It would never work! This isn't what's meant to happen!"

            Harry bit his lip. "Cassandra, if I wasn't a Griffindor, then would it be easier?" Cassandra didn't say anything. "Look, this rivalry that's gone on between Griffindor and Slytherin has lasted for centuries. It hasn't just happened because me and Malfoy hate each other's guts. It isn't personal. Well, the thing between me and Malfoy is, but between Griffindor and Slytherin, that just goes back a long way. That has nothing to do with you and me."

            Cassandra looked up as the words "you and me" were finally spoken. Finally penetrating the tensed air with words that both had desperately wanted to say and to believe. Cassandra walked firmly forward then and put her hands on his shoulders, pressing her lips strongly against Harry's. Harry's eyes widened in shock, before he closed them happily, and wrapped his arms around Cassandra, all thoughts of rivalry, all thoughts of Draco or Hermione filtering happily from his brain.

            But then it all went wrong.

Harry pulled back, swearing loudly. He clenched his eyes together tightly, hand clutching at the forehead where he had been scarred for life; the scar he had as a result from Voldemort's curse. It was burning painfully, more painfully than it ever had before. Harry just managed to whisper "Cassandra…" before falling to the floor and passing out.

            Harry woke up feeling light-headed. He didn't open his eyes, instead he felt his way through his memories trying hard to remember what had just happened. Then he heard voices above him. It sounded like Sirius. Slowly he let his eyes flitter open. Dumbledore and Sirius were standing a little away from him. They were talking in hushed voices, and both looked rather worried.

            "Harry, you're awake!" Harry looked to the other side of him to see Ron kneeling by his bed. Harry sat up slowly. "Hi, Ron," he said, getting up on his elbows. Before he was fully up he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked round to see Sirius gently pushing him back down. Harry felt too weak to resist and let the hand guide him back down to his bed. "What's going on?" Harry asked, looking in turn to each of the faces around him.

            Dumbledore came to sit on a chair next to him. "We were going t o ask you that, Harry," he said gently, as though his voice might hurt Harry if it was too loud.

            Harry frowned. "I don't know." He looked around him then to Sirius. "Why am I in the hospital wing?"

            "You don't remember?" Sirius asked worriedly.

            "No…" Harry said slowly. Then a thought occurred to him. "Where's…where's…" he couldn't remember.

            "Where's who?" said Ron.

            Harry looked at his face and narrowed his eyes in thought. "I…I can't remember. The girl. She…" Harry stopped again. He shook his head and laughed. "I don't know. Never mind."

            Ron bit his lip and moved his head to Harry's ear. "Cassandra…" he whispered. Harry widened his eyes. Yes, Cassandra. That was her name.

            "Yeah, that was it!" Harry said smiling, memory of a sweet black-haired girl coming back to him. But then other memories came back to him and hi smile began to fade. He looked away from Ron, remembering. Then he closed his eyes as the final thought came to him. "Oh God…" he whispered.

            "What is it, Harry?" Harry opened his eyes to his god-father looking down on him. "Do you remember what happened?" Harry slowly nodded his head. When he offered no more information, Dumbledore spoke; "Harry? Tell us what happened." he said, waiting for the boy to speak.

            Harry wasn't sure what to say. He didn't really know what had happened himself. The only thing he could think of to say…he said it. "Why don't you ask Cassandra Leaks."

            Dumbledore frowned. "The new girl who was put into Slytherin?" Harry nodded. At that moment Harry could hear loud footsteps coming down to the door of the hospital wing. The doors flung open and Snape strode in. He was frowning and his whole face obviously couldn't show how much anger Snape felt at that moment in time.

            He stood there for a moment, enough time for Dumbledore to speak his name in acknowledgement. Enough time for Sirius to painfully pretend he cared about what he was doing there, before Snape strode forward and grabbed the neck of Harry's night shirt, shaking him roughly. "I warned you!" he yelled. "I warned you! You stupid idiot! I told you to stay away from her! You didn't listen to me!"

            Dumbledore pulled away the raging Snape in strong hands and tried to calm him down. "Severus, what is going on? Calm yourself down!"

            Snape breathed in heavily, never taking his infuriated eyes off Harry. "I tried to warn you. I did warn you. You stupid, stupid boy."

            Harry frowned. "Professor, what are you talking about?" he asked.

            Snape didn't say anything. He closed his eyes. "Severus?" Dumbledore pressed.

            Snape opened his eyes again. "I saw you, Potter. I saw you with Cassandra. I tried to warn you to stay away from her. You should have listened to me."

            "Why?" Harry asked slowly, frowning.

            Snape looked at Dumbledore and Sirius, even Ron, in wonder. Wondering if he dared tell them the secret that would surely get him killed. "Cassandra Leaks is a fake. Her name isn't Cassandra Leaks."

            "Are you telling me that I let a fraud into my school?" Dumbledore inquired.

            Snape nodded. "Yes."

            "Then who is she?" Sirius asked, glancing at Harry.

            Snape took in a deep breath and purposely didn't look at Harry but instead at Dumbledore. "Her name is Cassandra Riddle." Harry opened his eyes in horror and his mouth fell open. Snape turned to look at him. "She is V-Voldemort's daughter."

a/n: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wouldn't you agree this is an exclamation marky time? I would think so! Anyone who guessed this would happen, please say so. LoL. Review and I'll update. It's as simple and easy as that!

The next chapter is the start of Part Two: The Fight. Yayness. I couldn't wait for this to all happen (this is my favourite chapter) and now it has, I hope you all like it.

~rowan

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