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11. Fireside Exchange
To Harry's utmost surprise he had a dreamless sleep and woke up the next morning fully refreshed. He looked out the dormitory window and saw that the clouds had moved towards the east and the sun was shining through a few of the wisps that were left behind.
Harry noticed that everyone in the dormitory was gone; their bed sheets in a disorder as if something had come in the middle of the night and disrupted their sleep. Thinking the dancing black cats were doing an encore performance in the Great Hall, Harry hurried to get dressed and headed into the common room. Surely there was someone in there to accompany him down to breakfast.
But to Harry's surprise, the entire common room was deserted. Confused, Harry checked his watched and noted the Quidditch match didn't start in another three hours. Hoping an epidemic didn't sweep the school, leaving Harry to be the only healthy one, he headed down to breakfast, wondering why Ron didn't wake him.
When Harry reached the Great Hall, he was met with a wall of distress from the students. Even the Slytherins looked shaken up. Harry didn't notice as he walked towards the Gryffindor table, that every other student was looking at parchment in their hands, whispering and gossiping loudly.
"What's going on? Who died?" Harry asked as he sat between Ron and Hermione, both of them looking extremely shaken up. Hermione looked at Harry and ruffled the Daily Prophet so it landed on the front page. Ron was extremely pale and looked like he had lost his appetite because he had pushed his food far away from himself.
Harry took the newspaper from Hermione's hands gingerly. He had a feeling something horrible had happened, only this would have forced all the students out of their beds to go into the Great Hall to gossip about whatever the Daily Prophet contained. Harry looked down at the front page and was met with a grisly sight.
There was a picture in the center of the page. Harry noticed a building in the background, but it wasn't much of a building anymore. Harry could see bits of fire burning around the remains of the structure. A few wizards from the Ministry of Magic were talking to a few Aurors all of them looking pale and worn-out. And then at the top of the picture, pointing in the sky was something that struck fear into the hearts of all witches and wizards alike. The Dark Mark. Slowly, hands trembling slightly, Harry read the headline.
Death Eaters Strike The Wizard Museum of History, 30 Dead and Enchanted
Diamond Stolen.
Harry's heart skipped a beat when his eyes scanned across the bit about the enchanted diamond. Surely the Death Eaters didn't find the Black Diamond so soon?
Diagon Alley- Death Eaters attacked the Wizard Museum of History last night at the estimated time of five minutes past eight o'clock on Halloween night. Believed to be a raid for riches and treasures, the servants of You- Know-Who ran rampant through the museum, killing all in their path. No survivors were left behind and no Death Eaters were apprehended. Officials from the Ministry of Magic and a team of Ministry Aurors rushed to the scene of the attack to find the museum in ruins.
"I've never seen anything so horrendous in my entire life!" Matilda Hibbert an official from the Ministry of Magic cried out as they picked through the ruins to obtain destroyed and broken wizard artifacts. The death count in this horrendous attack is in the thirty's but could be expected to rise if more bodies are picked from the ruins. The museum, which usually closes at around five thirty every day, remained open until ten o' clock for a Halloween extravaganza. But the merrymaking turned ugly when the Death Eaters arrived and began their invasion of the museum. What confuses officials the most is that only one artifact seemed to be missing from the ranks.
The museum's curator, who was at home with his family at the time of the attack, has now informed Ministry workers that an ancient artifact was on loan from a Wizard Museum in Germany. The curator (who would like to remain anonymous in case he and his family are being hunted) explained that the German Wizard Museum lent an enchanted diamond to be showcased through the winter months at the Wizard Museum of History. This seemed to be the only piece that was missing from the wreckage of the museum and everyone is confused as to why the Death Eaters stole this particular item when there were works of art worth millions of Galleons right at their fingertips.
"It seems that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was looking for this one particular piece for his own private collection. No one really knows if he is an art collector for one thing. Maybe he just wants it because it's worth a lot of money. Maybe he wanted an excuse to attack a public area and kill as many of people as possible. We really have no idea," explained Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge when he arrived at the scene shortly after midnight. Fudge also explained that the wreckage of the two hundred year old museum would be cleared and the museum would be rebuilt, a monument dedicated to those who perished last night would be placed in the lobby. The names of the victims are being withheld at the moment, but they are scheduled to be released in the following week.
Harry let the newspaper fall onto his plate with a small thud. Thirty people dead, all because Voldemort wanted the Black Diamond. But did he find it? Why had Wormtail and Lestrange defied Voldemort by saying the Black Diamond was impossible to get? Breaking into a museum and killing a group of witches and wizards didn't seem hard to do if one was a Death Eater.
He looked over at Hermione and then at Ron, both of them as pale faced as ever. Hermione looked like she was on the brink of tears as she took the paper away from Harry and placed it in her bag. Harry looked over at the other tables and saw a second year Ravenclaw sob into the shoulder of a peer. "My brother and his family went to that museum every Halloween and I haven't gotten an owl from him, I've sent him twenty since this morning," she cried as her friend patted her shoulder awkwardly not knowing what to do.
Harry could feel the guilt rise in his stomach. Maybe if he told Dumbledore about the Black Diamond they could have been there to protect it and save all the innocent lives that were lost. The Aurors would be waiting for the Death Eaters when they arrived at the museum and they would be captured and sent off to Azkaban. How could he have been so stupid? To think the dreams about Voldemort weren't true when Harry could feel his emotions, feel his scar burst open in pain whenever Voldemort tortured his servants? He was too damn noble, that's what Hermione had told him that one night. And now the attempt to save his nobility had resulted in the brutal murders of thirty or more people.
Harry looked over at Cassandra and met her eyes. Even though her blue eyes showed remorse for those who were killed, she seemed to be relieved about the attack that had happened the night before. Harry gave her a questioning look before Dumbledore stood up in his seat to announce the Great Hall.
"I know that these attacks have come to a bit of a shock to all of you. Therefore, the Quidditch match that was scheduled for today will be canceled. School owls will be available to those who have none if they wish to send letters to their parents. Please do not dwell on the assault that took place last night, go about your daily weekend habits," Dumbledore announced. All the teachers looked solemn as Dumbledore left the Great Hall, no doubt sending owls to the Order and to the Ministry as well.
Harry started to eat his breakfast, the eggs in his mouth tasting bland and plain when Hedwig flew into the Great Hall and dropped a letter onto Harry's lap. Hedwig landed in front of Harry, who fed her a piece of bacon before she took off to head to the Owlrey.
"Who's that from?" Ron asked as he gazed at the letter with utmost interest. Harry shrugged and opened the letter, realizing it was a note from Remus Lupin.
Harry,
No doubt you heard about the attacks that happened last night. Many of the victims were muggle born, their first time in a wizard museum of some sorts. Anyway, I need to talk to you though not over owl in case the letter is seized. Can you be in the Gryffindor common room tomorrow night by the fire at midnight? I must speak with you seeing as it is most urgent. Hope everything is going well, give Ron and Hermione my best. Sincerely,
Remus Lupin
Harry let Ron and Hermione see the letter and he was about to show Cassandra when she abruptly excused herself and hurried out of the Great Hall. Thinking it was her heart pains; Harry then asked Ron and Hermione for their advice.
"I think you should talk to him, tell him about all the dreams you've been having about the Black Diamond for all we know, Lupin knows about it and can tell us why the Death Eaters stole it," Hermione whispered hurriedly as she folded up Lupin's letter and made Harry put it in his robe pocket.
"Besides, you can ask him why Dumbledore gave the Dark Arts job to his brother. And tell him I still think he was the better teacher!" Ron explained trying to turn the serious manner into a funny one.
"Oh Ron, this is important!" Hermione scolded before she wiped off her mouth with her napkin. Harry smiled grateful for Ron's sense of humor during such a serious time. Once they had finished their dinner, they headed for the common room to finish some of their homework the teachers had assigned over the weekend.
They entered the Gryffindor common room to find Cassandra sitting by the fireplace. Harry could see her put away a clear vial, filled with black liquid into the front pocket of her robes. She smiled at the three of them before they sat around the fire and joined her. They noticed that Cassandra was reading through her potions essay fervently trying to catch the little mistakes she made that Snape was sure to count off for.
Harry noticed that Cassandra's eyes were puffy and red again, no doubt crying from the pain that omitted from her heart. Hermione went upstairs to her dormitory to grab her books so she could get started on her schoolwork as well. Dean and Ginny finally convinced Ron to join them outside at the Quidditch pitch to practice for their game since the Ravenclaw and Slytherin match was cancelled for the day.
Cassandra and Harry were alone in the common room once again, everyone else outside, trying to enjoy the last few days of a cool breeze during midday and a mild afternoon before the winter snow came and incased the castle with bitter snow. "What do you think about the attack?" Harry asked her as Hermione hurried upstairs again to find her Arithmancy book.
"Even though the deaths were horrible, it wasn't really that bad," Cassandra explained shrugging her shoulders. Harry looked at her in bewilderment. The attack not that bad? The entire museum had been blown to smithereens, thirty innocent people had been slaughtered and all for a stupid enchanted diamond. How was it in any way not that bad? Harry decided to keep his mouth shut. He had a strange feeling that it wasn't a good thing to upset Cassandra White, nor was it a good thing to have her as an enemy.
"Back!" Hermione exclaimed breathlessly as she hauled her enormous Arithmancy book down the stairs throwing it down on the table behind Cassandra's arm chair. Harry watched as Hermione pulled out her parchment and quill before she opened up the book to the middle and began to read, writing down notes and answers to questions in the process.
Harry looked over at the empty fireplace, knowing that at midnight tomorrow night he would be talking to Lupin, one of Sirius and James' old friends and maybe he would get some answers.
The day went on without any problems. Together, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Cassandra got the bulk of their work done on Saturday so they could spend most of their time on Sunday to wander around the castle and its grounds. It was nearing midnight when Harry and Ron finally started off to bed, Hermione having gone up to her dormitory an hour earlier. The two had left Cassandra in the common room and Harry couldn't help but feel concerned towards the girl. They had left her sitting in the squishy arm chair directly in front of the fireplace which was now roaring with flames. When they had bid her goodnight, she could only murmur back, her gaze transfixed on the roaring blaze in front of her.
"A bit strange today wasn't she?" Ron asked as they got ready for bed, the rest of their roommates were already asleep.
"Yea she was a bit awkward today I think she was just preoccupied with something," Harry explained before he crawled into his bed.
"Like thinking about all those detentions she's been having with Snape? Honestly, if the girl spends more time than she does with the git, people are going to start to speculate," Ron elucidated.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean people are going to start to think that the reason Cassie is spending so much time down there with Snape is because she's like having some sort of-oh I don't know, something like an affair with him," Ron said whispering the last part as if it were forbidden to be talked about inside the castle walls.
Harry looked at Ron in shock. Where did he get the idea that Cassandra was having an affair with Snape? It was ludicrous! If Ron knew the truth about Cassandra, about her heart problems, how only Snape could make the potion to ease her pains, then he would think differently. Harry cried out to Ron rather loudly in a stunned voice, "Cassie would never do something like that. Need I remind you that it's Snape? Need I remind you that Cassandra told him he couldn't listen due to the amount of wax buildup in his ear? Need I remind you about the time she called him a brainless prat right to his face? If those are the markings of a student teacher affair please let me know."
Ron looked at Harry and blushed. "You're right mate that was stupid of me, she hates Snape's guts! More than I do probably! Well, I don't know about you, but I need to get to sleep, after all, we're having a three day weekend and sleeping in past the alarm is always a must!" Ron explained before he said his goodnights and closed the hangings around his bed.
Harry finally placed his head down on his pillow, taking off his glasses and putting them on his bedside table. Thinking about the attacks, Harry fell into a deep sleep.
"You found the Diamond? And so soon?" a high pitched and leery voice exclaimed from his blood red armchair. Harry was back in the Riddle's house in Little Hangleton once more and Voldemort was holding yet another meeting for his Death Eaters.
"Yes my Master, we attacked and killed many who stood in our way! We left utter mayhem in our wake, bringing you your precious jewel in the process," Macnair, a ex-worker of the Ministry of Magic said triumphantly as he stood in front of the Dark Lord, a polished rosewood box in his large, beefy hands. Harry noticed that two more Death Eaters were flanking Macnair's side, probably his accomplices.
"Wonderful Macnair, wonderful. I am most pleased with your efforts. If this is the Diamond I am looking for, then you will be rewarding beyond your wildest dreams," Voldemort sneered out before he raised his hand and bade his Death Eater forward. "I also had Wormtail bring me the Daily Prophet and I saw that you brandished the Dark Mark over the building. Well done, well done, very soon we will launch a full attack on the Ministry and bring that idiot Fudge to his knees, begging us to kill him. But all that will not be able to happen unless I have my Black Diamond. Bring it forward Macnair and we'll see if your Diamond is the one I have searched for."
Harry moved forward and saw the very top of Voldemort's head. Harry could feel his scar burn as Macnair moved forward and kneeled in front of his lord, holding the box up high as if he were offering a sacrifice to a higher being. Harry watched thunderstruck as Voldemort took the box from his Death Eater's trembling hands and gently lifted the golden latch off the box. The lid was slowly raised and staring Voldemort directly in the face was an enormous diamond. Only it wasn't black, it gleamed a deep purple color.
"You fools! You insubordinate fools! This is the wrong Diamond! I asked for the Black Diamond, not the Purple Diamond! The Purple Diamond does nothing for me! It is worthless just as all of you are! You are all worthless! THIS KIND OF FAILURE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED MACNAIR!" Voldemort screamed as he leapt from his chair, the Death Eaters and Harry cowering in fear.
"M-my Lord . . . I am e-extremely sorry! P-p-please accept my sincerest apologies! I never m-m-meant to fail you in anyway! Think of all the fear we imposed to the wizarding world when we attacked the museum. . ."
"You idiot! The Black Diamond cannot be found in a museum! Did you not hear Lestrange and Wormtail defiantly tell me that it was impossible to get? Did it not occur to you that storming a museum and stealing worthless junk, killing people is impossible? No! You didn't think Macnair and for that you will be extremely punished!"
"No! No my lord . . . please my lord. . . I'm sorry s-s-s-so sorry to displease you! I can make it up to you my lord I can make it up to you!" Macnair screamed as tears flew down his face. Harry had never really seen a grown man sob the way the Death Eater, groveling on the floor had, especially one as beefy and manly as Macnair. Harry remembered the man when was asked to perform the task of killing Hagrid's hippogriff Buckbeak. Now the man lay broken on the floor, pleading with his master . . . pleading with all his heart that he would be spared.
"Begging and groveling will get you nowhere. Crucio!" Voldemort screamed pointing his wand directly at Macnair. Harry watched horrorstruck as Macnair curled into a ball, screaming and crying as the pain coursed through his body. "This will teach you to think before you act. This will teach all of you!" Voldemort screamed again as he addressed all of his Death Eaters who nodded in understanding. Voldemort pointed to two Death Eaters that were standing in a corner. "You two," he barked and they both stood rapt with attention, "take Macnair into the attic and torture him until he is but inches from insanity. Maybe extreme torture will teach him to bring me the item I requested." The two servants nodded and dragged Macnair from the room, the man kicking and screaming with all the will he had left. Harry felt no pity towards him. He had killed all those people in the museum, no doubt with some help from fellow friends.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you. If you fail me, if you bring me an artifact and it is not the Black Diamond, you will meet the same fate as Macnair. Do not rest; do not stop until the Black Diamond is in your lord's hands! Do I make myself clear? Remember the Dark Lord shows no mercy, even to his allies!" Voldemort bellowed before he sat back down in his seat, pulling his robes across him. "I will have the Black Diamond and then no one will stand in my way!" Voldemort started to laugh, his high, bone chilling laugh. Harry could feel his scar burning with pain before he was sent back to his bed, far away from the Riddle house, back in his bed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry woke with a start and looked around the room and noticed that everyone was still sleeping soundly, unaware of Harry's nightmares. Harry gazed at his small clock next to his table and realized it was a little after four o' clock in the morning. Knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, Harry dressed and headed downstairs into the common room. He wanted to be able to think about his current dream without Neville snoring like a boarhound.
He walked down the hallway, the thick red carpet muffling his heavy footfalls before he started to walk down the stairs into the common room. He noticed the fire was still roaring in the grate which surprised Harry greatly. The house elves usually extinguished the fire when everybody went up to bed. That could mean only one thing, he was not alone in the common room.
Harry stepped onto the main floor of the Gryffindor common room and headed towards the fireplace. Harry could see the shadows of a person flickering eerily off the walls. Harry walked silently and cautiously into the light of the fire hoping he didn't startle the person that was probably sitting down in one of the armchairs. The firelight sputtered just inches from the person, cloaking him in shadow. The figure didn't move an inch as Harry stood directly in front of it, the source of its light hidden behind Harry's tall figure.
It took Harry a moment to realize that the person sitting in the armchair was, in fact, Cassandra White exactly how he had left her hours before. She wasn't sleeping, but staring at the fire, and Harry could tell she had been crying again. Although she wasn't crying at the moment, Harry could see the long tear stains that had marked her face probably hours before.
Having a feeling she would want to be alone, Harry turned around to leave Cassandra sitting in her over stuffed arm chair when a hand reached out and grabbed his arm, holding onto him weakly.
"Don't go, I need the company," she said quietly her voice hoarse. Harry obliged and sat down in the armchair next to her, letting himself settle into the fluffy, red armchair.
"Have you been down here the entire night?" Harry asked her, Cassandra's eyes never leaving the fire.
"Yea, I have. Sometimes I find it's better to just stay up all night and deal with the pain than go to sleep and wake up countless of times in the middle of the night. Besides, nighttime is the only time when I can think in solitude. Every other time I'm surrounded by people and it's hard for me to think," Cassandra replied her voice unusually raspy.
"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked not believing he had actually had the guts to ask her.
"Just things that's all."
"Would you mind if I asked you to elaborate?"
"I'm just thinking about why I was given all this pains, why I was given to a family that never wanted me why I was chosen to carry. . ." Cassandra's voice died away before she turned around to look at Harry. "It's just been so strange lately."
"What's been so strange?" Harry inquired.
"I don't know. Ever since I've been here, at Hogwarts, I've been having all these memories I've tried so hard to keep locked away but they keep resurfacing. No matter how hard I try, I can't escape my horrible mother and what she did to me. And I think it's been making my conditions worse, but then again Snape's potion has been working wonders," Cassandra explained and Harry could see a solitary tear fall down her face before she wiped it away quickly, "Why are you down here so early?"
"Had another dream," Harry replied shortly.
"About the Diamond?"
"Yes, only it wasn't the Black Diamond," Harry explained and Cassandra tore her eyes away from the fire to give him a strange look. "Some of Voldemort's Death Eaters presented him with a diamond, only it wasn't the Black Diamond, it was the Purple Diamond," Harry explained and he could see Cassandra nod slightly, as if she had known all along. "I hope the Diamond's still safe."
He heard Cassandra muttering something under her breath. It sounded something along the lines of, "Don't worry, its safe." Harry decided not to pursue the matter even more and the two spent the next few hours before dawn and the wakening of the rest of the Gryffindors talking about various things that had happened in their lives.
"You know Cassie up until now I didn't realize how similar we are," Harry explained sometime after five o'clock the sun making its entrance through the western windows.
"What do you mean by that?" Cassandra asked. The fire had finally extinguished the light from the sun illuminating the common room.
"We've never truly known our parents, we've been brought up in places that we never want to go back to again and we both have pains that we wish would go away," Harry clarified before he pointed to his scar. Cassandra nodded, letting him know that she understood him. "It's like we have this connection, its something that I don't have with Hermione and Ron. I know for a fact they don't know what I've been through. Both of them still have families they don't know what it's liked not to be loved," Harry said his voice growing bitter. It was true for the most part; Ron and Hermione both had families that loved them with all their hearts. Harry had no one. He would have said Sirius loved him but Sirius was gone and he wasn't coming back no matter how hard Harry wished.
"You think you're not loved?" Cassandra asked her voice registered with shock. Harry hung his head as if agreeing with her question. He heard the girl scoff in disbelief before she spoke again, "Of course you're loved Harry! Ron and Hermione love you, Hagrid loves you, there are dozens of people in this school alone who care about you, Harry. So don't go off saying you aren't loved because you damn well know you are," Cassandra explained her voice deadly serious. "And just because we have this 'connection' as you call it doesn't mean that you should just leave Hermione and Ron hanging. You know they don't deserve it. You know they've been there for you through just about everything you've survived since you came to Hogwarts."
"I wasn't about to leave Hermione and Ron hanging out to dry Cassie. I can't talk to Hermione and Ron about the pains my scar gives me, Hermione would make me go see Dumbledore and Ron would start to panic, thinking Voldemort would come barging through the entrance to Gryffindor Tower at any moment to kill us all. I can't talk to them about death, I can't talk to them about watching my godfather die right in front of my eyes, they wouldn't understand! At least you have an idea as to what it's like!" Harry exclaimed in a loud whisper so he didn't wake the rest of the House.
"You have no idea. . ."Harry heard her mutter under her breath before she pulled out her vial and took a sharp swig of the potion inside making a disgusted face. "I should stop drinking that stuff all together, it's absolutely repulsive," Cassandra said as she slipped the vial back into her robes.
"And have you drop dead in Transfiguration?" Harry said with a small smile. Cassandra gave Harry an impotent, stern look before she let out a tiny laugh shaking her head in disbelief.
"But seriously Harry, if you need to talk, get something off your chest, and you don't want people fawning all over you, throwing you useless advice, let me know and I'll hear you out," Cassandra explained as her laughter died away. Harry nodded and he could see the laughter still twinkling in her eyes. "Wonderful! I have to run; I need to send an owl to a friend of mine," Cassandra explained before she grabbed her bag beside the armchair and headed towards the owlrey. "See you at breakfast!" And with that said, Cassandra hurried out of the common room.
Harry waited patiently for Ron and Hermione to wake up before they headed down to the Great Hall, Harry explaining the dream he had had last night.
"Well that's good, at least Voldemort doesn't have the Black Diamond, he can't do anything right now," Hermione explained before she pulled out the newspaper once more, her face going slightly pale as she looked at the Dark Mark in the sky.
"How is everybody this fine morning?" a voice asked grandly. The three looked up and saw Cassandra bound towards them, her face full of energy and light. She sat down quickly and proceeded to eat, throwing Harry an inconspicuous wink.
"Where have you been?" Ron asked Cassandra as owls started to fly into the Great Hall, dropping off parcels of sweets and letters from home.
"Just been up in the owlrey, sending letters to some friends back in the States, letting them know how horrible I think Hogwarts is," Cassandra said with a joking laugh when she saw Hermione's face of disbelief.
The owl from the Daily Prophet delivered the newspaper and they saw that there were no new leads in the massacre at the museum on Halloween. Some of the names of the victims had been released and everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw the Ravenclaw that had been frantic with worry yesterday, run out of the Great Hall, tears running down her face. Harry frowned; another family was broken apart thanks to Voldemort and his worthless Death Eaters. Harry hoped Macnair was getting a torture to remember. Cassandra shook her head in sympathy and then went back to eating her breakfast.
Since most of their homework was completed, Hermione dragged Ron, Harry and Cassandra to the library to look up information on the Black Diamond. They had been searching all morning when the lunch bell rang, their hands empty and their brains vacant with information. They had found nothing on the Black Diamond and they had searched through the entire 'Magical Stones' section of the library with no such luck.
Hermione was in a bad mood all the rest of the day. It bothered her that she couldn't find any information about an object in a book and she snapped at anyone who asked her questions about homework.
All too soon, the sun was starting to set and dinner went underway, Harry thinking about his upcoming chat with Remus. Harry wondered if the werewolf had told his brother he was talking with Harry tonight. He had never heard Remus talk about his brother; Harry didn't realize he had had a brother until this year.
Harry enjoyed Romulus Lupin's class thoroughly, the whole class was learning a great deal about the curses of dark wizards and witches, Romulus almost seemed to be preparing them for battle the way he carried on about to always be on alert. He almost reminded Harry of the Imposter Moody in his fourth year and how he would always scream out, "CONSTANT VILIGANCE!" whenever he got the chance.
A sudden laughter made Harry come out of his thoughts and he looked around to find the source of the laughter. Harry could see Neville mustering up his nerve to talk to Cassandra and when he finally said something, he squeaked out loud causing Cassandra to laugh and also making Neville turn a shocking shade of bright pink.
Harry watched as Ron threw Cassandra a look as if to say 'I told you so' and Cassandra just shrugged before she tried to talk to Neville about the fast approaching Quidditch game. Neville could only nod or shake his head while Cassandra was talking to him and Harry heard a few words escape his mouth but they only sounded like 'uh huh,' or 'no.' Hermione rolled her eyes before she started to talk to Ron about why he and Harry should drop Divination and join her in Arithmancy.
Half an hour later, the dishes all cleaned and polished, the group of sixth years headed up to the Gryffindor common room to finish any last bits of homework and to talk about the upcoming Christmas holidays. Cassandra was talking at length about Thanksgiving, an American holiday that surprised a lot of the students that were born to wizard families.
"You mean you cook all day and eat just to give thanks for things?" Ron asked incredulously before Seamus muttered the password and the Fat Lady swung open, permitting their admittance into the common room.
"That's the gist of it, but this'll be the first time I'm not celebrating Thanksgiving, at WillowBoil the headmaster would have line dancing turkeys and have the pheasant reenact the First Thanksgiving, we'd all wear cornucopias on our heads. Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays aside from Christmas and Halloween," Cassandra clarified as she, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all sat down at one of the tables to finish their Dark Arts homework.
"Can you believe some of these curses? They're so horrible! How could anybody do this to another person?" Hermione asked horrified as she flipped through some of the pages in their Dark Arts text books.
"Very easily," Harry muttered as he thought back to his fourth year and last year in the Department of Mysteries. Harry knew how it felt to have the Unforgivable Curses put upon him. He had suffered from the Imperious Curse from Professor Moody in his fourth year; he had been put under the Cruciatus Curse not only during his fourth year, but his fifth year as well. And then there was the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra. He knew that Voldemort had tried to attack him with the curse far more times than he could remember, and he had survived them all. From the time he was a baby when he first blocked the curse to his fourth and fifth year, Voldemort had tried to kill him with the very curse that killed his parents, but he had failed every time. He didn't want Voldemort to try it a fourth time; he didn't want him to try ever again.
Hours passed and around nine o'clock the common room started to clear out, all of the students extremely tired from the day's activities. Ron and Hermione stayed with Harry until half past eleven, both wishing him the best of luck before they headed up to their respected dormitories.
Cassandra had gone up to her dormitory earlier, trying hard to conceal her pain as she trotted up the stairs, drinking from her vial as she went. Harry could tell her heart was still ailing her and he begged her earlier in the night to go see Snape for a better potion.
"It's the best he can do, Harry. Don't worry about it okay? Believe me the pain is much better than it has been," Cassandra explained throwing off Harry's worries as if they were nothing.
At five minutes to eleven, Harry walked over to the fireplace and sat down on a large, overstuffed armchair facing the fire. He thought for a while, thinking about what he would say to his father's old friend. Thirty seconds to go until midnight . . . should he talk to him about Cassandra and her sickness? He knew he shouldn't, he had promised her that he wouldn't tell anybody. Ten seconds to go . . . would they talk about the Halloween massacre? Five seconds. . . what about his brother Romulus Lupin? Would they talk to him? Two seconds . . . and should Harry talk about his dreams of the Black Diamond and Voldemort's quest to find it?
The large clock in the common room struck midnight and Harry looked intently into the fire waiting to catch a glimpse of the older man. And as the last bell struck midnight, a face popped into the fireplace and Harry found himself staring at Remus Lupin or Moony, the last of the Marauders.
"Hello, Harry," Lupin said, the man giving the teenaged boy a toothy grin. Harry could still see the gray hairs that were lining his brown hair but there was still youth left in his amber eyes.
"Hi Moony," Harry answered back shifting his weight in his chair excitedly.
"H-how are you holding up?" Lupin stammered before he looked down, no doubt at his shoes. Harry knew exactly what Lupin was talking about. Even though Harry took Sirius' death extremely hard, he couldn't help but think that Remus took it harder. He had lost James fifteen years ago and now he had lost his best friend just that summer. While Harry spent his summer at the Black House, Lupin had spent most of his time in seclusion closing himself up in his room with multiple things to keep him occupied, no doubt things of Sirius', things that Lupin could remember him by.
"Alright I guess what about you?" Harry asked his voice extremely sincere.
"The holes are closing up, I'm feeling better about it," Lupin answered, "So, how do you like your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"
"Why didn't you tell me that your twin brother was going to be teaching this year?" asked Harry his smile widening.
"I wanted to surprise you, wanted you to think it was me for a split second," Lupin explained a smile twitching on his lips.
"You almost had me fooled. How come I haven't seen him at Sirius' house at all? Isn't he in the Order?"
"In a way yes, he was abroad when you were at Order headquarters somewhere to the west of England, Dumbledore wouldn't tell us where he went although I have an idea . . . but that's not important. Did you receive the news about the massacre on Halloween?"
Harry nodded and shook his head in sympathy for the people who had lost their lives. "One of the Ravenclaw students had an older brother who died, along with his family," Harry explained before he growled under his breath.
"Entire families are being ripped apart because of him. There's chaos at the Ministry because of these attacks, and the Order is working overtime to try to find the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. We just hope he doesn't find what he was looking for in that museum," Lupin explicated.
"You mean the Black Diamond?" Harry questioned. Maybe he would be getting some answers about the diamond.
"How did you know about the Diamond?" Lupin asked in disbelief.
"I've been having dreams again, this time Voldemort wants the Black Diamond and he's sent out all his Death Eaters to try and find it. He said they would attack the ministry as soon as he had the Black Diamond," Harry elucidated as he stared at Lupin's shocked face.
"I don't know why he wants the Diamond. Dumbledore only told us that it had powers we could only dream about. I hope to God, Voldemort didn't get it at the museum," Lupin said in forceful words.
"He didn't. The Black Diamond wasn't at the museum in Diagon Alley. It was the Purple Diamond. He tortured Macnair because he failed to bring him to wrong Diamond. He was pretty mad," Harry said before a shiver went up his spine at the thought of his previous dream.
"Of course Dumbledore would know where the Diamond is. He knows just about everything that's going on in Voldemort's inner circle, thanks to the spy we have in there."
"You mean Snape?" Harry asked.
Lupin stayed silent for a moment before he nodded his head and made Harry swear not to tell anybody about the mole in the Dark Lord's circle. "But I'm sure Dumbledore has the Diamond somewhere safe, or he knows where it is. That man knows everything you know," Lupin said with a smile.
A sudden thud from the girls' dormitory made Lupin and Harry look at each other, fear etched into their faces. "You'd better go, I think there'd be quite a scene if someone came down here to see a grown man's face in the fire," Harry advised.
Lupin nodded and gave Harry a smile. He was just saying goodbye when Tonks appeared in the fire next to Lupin, her hair now long and curly. "Hiya Harry! Long time no see!" Tonks said happily as she turned to look at Lupin. "Before I forget, you have a letter from Cassand . . ."
"Thank you Tonks," Lupin said cutting the young Auror off abruptly. "I'm going to take off, Harry. I need to inform the Order about the news you gave me. If you have anymore dreams, go straight to Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall. Be good in school Harry, we'll keep in touch," Lupin said hastily before there was a pop and he was gone.
The noises coming from the girls' dormitory were becoming louder, almost as if someone was coming down the stairs. Harry hoped that no one was listening in on his conversation with Remus Lupin. He turned around and peered around his armchair, looking at the steps that led up to the dormitory.
Harry held his breath as he watched a tall figure walk down the stairs in a hunched posture. He could hear tiny sobs and moans of pain as the shadow tumbled down the stairs, stifling a scream.
The figure walked into the firelight and Harry tried to press himself against the armchair, to make himself less noticeable. Harry instantly recognized the person to be Cassandra White, her face drained of any source of emotion except pain. She was as white as a ghost and Harry could see the tears flowing down her face as she clutched her heart in pain. She suppressed yet another loud scream as she walked past Harry and out the portrait of the Fat Lady.
Harry thought of going after the young witch, to make sure she would be okay, but something told him not to. He had a feeling that if he was alone with Cassandra, he would ask her if she had anything to do with Remus Lupin and if she did, why was she sending him letters that Harry wasn't supposed to know about?
Knowing he would have to wake up early the next morning to prepare for his classes, Harry started up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, Cassandra's screams from the hallway outside Gryffindor Tower echoing through the common room.
Enjoy!
11. Fireside Exchange
To Harry's utmost surprise he had a dreamless sleep and woke up the next morning fully refreshed. He looked out the dormitory window and saw that the clouds had moved towards the east and the sun was shining through a few of the wisps that were left behind.
Harry noticed that everyone in the dormitory was gone; their bed sheets in a disorder as if something had come in the middle of the night and disrupted their sleep. Thinking the dancing black cats were doing an encore performance in the Great Hall, Harry hurried to get dressed and headed into the common room. Surely there was someone in there to accompany him down to breakfast.
But to Harry's surprise, the entire common room was deserted. Confused, Harry checked his watched and noted the Quidditch match didn't start in another three hours. Hoping an epidemic didn't sweep the school, leaving Harry to be the only healthy one, he headed down to breakfast, wondering why Ron didn't wake him.
When Harry reached the Great Hall, he was met with a wall of distress from the students. Even the Slytherins looked shaken up. Harry didn't notice as he walked towards the Gryffindor table, that every other student was looking at parchment in their hands, whispering and gossiping loudly.
"What's going on? Who died?" Harry asked as he sat between Ron and Hermione, both of them looking extremely shaken up. Hermione looked at Harry and ruffled the Daily Prophet so it landed on the front page. Ron was extremely pale and looked like he had lost his appetite because he had pushed his food far away from himself.
Harry took the newspaper from Hermione's hands gingerly. He had a feeling something horrible had happened, only this would have forced all the students out of their beds to go into the Great Hall to gossip about whatever the Daily Prophet contained. Harry looked down at the front page and was met with a grisly sight.
There was a picture in the center of the page. Harry noticed a building in the background, but it wasn't much of a building anymore. Harry could see bits of fire burning around the remains of the structure. A few wizards from the Ministry of Magic were talking to a few Aurors all of them looking pale and worn-out. And then at the top of the picture, pointing in the sky was something that struck fear into the hearts of all witches and wizards alike. The Dark Mark. Slowly, hands trembling slightly, Harry read the headline.
Death Eaters Strike The Wizard Museum of History, 30 Dead and Enchanted
Diamond Stolen.
Harry's heart skipped a beat when his eyes scanned across the bit about the enchanted diamond. Surely the Death Eaters didn't find the Black Diamond so soon?
Diagon Alley- Death Eaters attacked the Wizard Museum of History last night at the estimated time of five minutes past eight o'clock on Halloween night. Believed to be a raid for riches and treasures, the servants of You- Know-Who ran rampant through the museum, killing all in their path. No survivors were left behind and no Death Eaters were apprehended. Officials from the Ministry of Magic and a team of Ministry Aurors rushed to the scene of the attack to find the museum in ruins.
"I've never seen anything so horrendous in my entire life!" Matilda Hibbert an official from the Ministry of Magic cried out as they picked through the ruins to obtain destroyed and broken wizard artifacts. The death count in this horrendous attack is in the thirty's but could be expected to rise if more bodies are picked from the ruins. The museum, which usually closes at around five thirty every day, remained open until ten o' clock for a Halloween extravaganza. But the merrymaking turned ugly when the Death Eaters arrived and began their invasion of the museum. What confuses officials the most is that only one artifact seemed to be missing from the ranks.
The museum's curator, who was at home with his family at the time of the attack, has now informed Ministry workers that an ancient artifact was on loan from a Wizard Museum in Germany. The curator (who would like to remain anonymous in case he and his family are being hunted) explained that the German Wizard Museum lent an enchanted diamond to be showcased through the winter months at the Wizard Museum of History. This seemed to be the only piece that was missing from the wreckage of the museum and everyone is confused as to why the Death Eaters stole this particular item when there were works of art worth millions of Galleons right at their fingertips.
"It seems that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was looking for this one particular piece for his own private collection. No one really knows if he is an art collector for one thing. Maybe he just wants it because it's worth a lot of money. Maybe he wanted an excuse to attack a public area and kill as many of people as possible. We really have no idea," explained Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge when he arrived at the scene shortly after midnight. Fudge also explained that the wreckage of the two hundred year old museum would be cleared and the museum would be rebuilt, a monument dedicated to those who perished last night would be placed in the lobby. The names of the victims are being withheld at the moment, but they are scheduled to be released in the following week.
Harry let the newspaper fall onto his plate with a small thud. Thirty people dead, all because Voldemort wanted the Black Diamond. But did he find it? Why had Wormtail and Lestrange defied Voldemort by saying the Black Diamond was impossible to get? Breaking into a museum and killing a group of witches and wizards didn't seem hard to do if one was a Death Eater.
He looked over at Hermione and then at Ron, both of them as pale faced as ever. Hermione looked like she was on the brink of tears as she took the paper away from Harry and placed it in her bag. Harry looked over at the other tables and saw a second year Ravenclaw sob into the shoulder of a peer. "My brother and his family went to that museum every Halloween and I haven't gotten an owl from him, I've sent him twenty since this morning," she cried as her friend patted her shoulder awkwardly not knowing what to do.
Harry could feel the guilt rise in his stomach. Maybe if he told Dumbledore about the Black Diamond they could have been there to protect it and save all the innocent lives that were lost. The Aurors would be waiting for the Death Eaters when they arrived at the museum and they would be captured and sent off to Azkaban. How could he have been so stupid? To think the dreams about Voldemort weren't true when Harry could feel his emotions, feel his scar burst open in pain whenever Voldemort tortured his servants? He was too damn noble, that's what Hermione had told him that one night. And now the attempt to save his nobility had resulted in the brutal murders of thirty or more people.
Harry looked over at Cassandra and met her eyes. Even though her blue eyes showed remorse for those who were killed, she seemed to be relieved about the attack that had happened the night before. Harry gave her a questioning look before Dumbledore stood up in his seat to announce the Great Hall.
"I know that these attacks have come to a bit of a shock to all of you. Therefore, the Quidditch match that was scheduled for today will be canceled. School owls will be available to those who have none if they wish to send letters to their parents. Please do not dwell on the assault that took place last night, go about your daily weekend habits," Dumbledore announced. All the teachers looked solemn as Dumbledore left the Great Hall, no doubt sending owls to the Order and to the Ministry as well.
Harry started to eat his breakfast, the eggs in his mouth tasting bland and plain when Hedwig flew into the Great Hall and dropped a letter onto Harry's lap. Hedwig landed in front of Harry, who fed her a piece of bacon before she took off to head to the Owlrey.
"Who's that from?" Ron asked as he gazed at the letter with utmost interest. Harry shrugged and opened the letter, realizing it was a note from Remus Lupin.
Harry,
No doubt you heard about the attacks that happened last night. Many of the victims were muggle born, their first time in a wizard museum of some sorts. Anyway, I need to talk to you though not over owl in case the letter is seized. Can you be in the Gryffindor common room tomorrow night by the fire at midnight? I must speak with you seeing as it is most urgent. Hope everything is going well, give Ron and Hermione my best. Sincerely,
Remus Lupin
Harry let Ron and Hermione see the letter and he was about to show Cassandra when she abruptly excused herself and hurried out of the Great Hall. Thinking it was her heart pains; Harry then asked Ron and Hermione for their advice.
"I think you should talk to him, tell him about all the dreams you've been having about the Black Diamond for all we know, Lupin knows about it and can tell us why the Death Eaters stole it," Hermione whispered hurriedly as she folded up Lupin's letter and made Harry put it in his robe pocket.
"Besides, you can ask him why Dumbledore gave the Dark Arts job to his brother. And tell him I still think he was the better teacher!" Ron explained trying to turn the serious manner into a funny one.
"Oh Ron, this is important!" Hermione scolded before she wiped off her mouth with her napkin. Harry smiled grateful for Ron's sense of humor during such a serious time. Once they had finished their dinner, they headed for the common room to finish some of their homework the teachers had assigned over the weekend.
They entered the Gryffindor common room to find Cassandra sitting by the fireplace. Harry could see her put away a clear vial, filled with black liquid into the front pocket of her robes. She smiled at the three of them before they sat around the fire and joined her. They noticed that Cassandra was reading through her potions essay fervently trying to catch the little mistakes she made that Snape was sure to count off for.
Harry noticed that Cassandra's eyes were puffy and red again, no doubt crying from the pain that omitted from her heart. Hermione went upstairs to her dormitory to grab her books so she could get started on her schoolwork as well. Dean and Ginny finally convinced Ron to join them outside at the Quidditch pitch to practice for their game since the Ravenclaw and Slytherin match was cancelled for the day.
Cassandra and Harry were alone in the common room once again, everyone else outside, trying to enjoy the last few days of a cool breeze during midday and a mild afternoon before the winter snow came and incased the castle with bitter snow. "What do you think about the attack?" Harry asked her as Hermione hurried upstairs again to find her Arithmancy book.
"Even though the deaths were horrible, it wasn't really that bad," Cassandra explained shrugging her shoulders. Harry looked at her in bewilderment. The attack not that bad? The entire museum had been blown to smithereens, thirty innocent people had been slaughtered and all for a stupid enchanted diamond. How was it in any way not that bad? Harry decided to keep his mouth shut. He had a strange feeling that it wasn't a good thing to upset Cassandra White, nor was it a good thing to have her as an enemy.
"Back!" Hermione exclaimed breathlessly as she hauled her enormous Arithmancy book down the stairs throwing it down on the table behind Cassandra's arm chair. Harry watched as Hermione pulled out her parchment and quill before she opened up the book to the middle and began to read, writing down notes and answers to questions in the process.
Harry looked over at the empty fireplace, knowing that at midnight tomorrow night he would be talking to Lupin, one of Sirius and James' old friends and maybe he would get some answers.
The day went on without any problems. Together, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Cassandra got the bulk of their work done on Saturday so they could spend most of their time on Sunday to wander around the castle and its grounds. It was nearing midnight when Harry and Ron finally started off to bed, Hermione having gone up to her dormitory an hour earlier. The two had left Cassandra in the common room and Harry couldn't help but feel concerned towards the girl. They had left her sitting in the squishy arm chair directly in front of the fireplace which was now roaring with flames. When they had bid her goodnight, she could only murmur back, her gaze transfixed on the roaring blaze in front of her.
"A bit strange today wasn't she?" Ron asked as they got ready for bed, the rest of their roommates were already asleep.
"Yea she was a bit awkward today I think she was just preoccupied with something," Harry explained before he crawled into his bed.
"Like thinking about all those detentions she's been having with Snape? Honestly, if the girl spends more time than she does with the git, people are going to start to speculate," Ron elucidated.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean people are going to start to think that the reason Cassie is spending so much time down there with Snape is because she's like having some sort of-oh I don't know, something like an affair with him," Ron said whispering the last part as if it were forbidden to be talked about inside the castle walls.
Harry looked at Ron in shock. Where did he get the idea that Cassandra was having an affair with Snape? It was ludicrous! If Ron knew the truth about Cassandra, about her heart problems, how only Snape could make the potion to ease her pains, then he would think differently. Harry cried out to Ron rather loudly in a stunned voice, "Cassie would never do something like that. Need I remind you that it's Snape? Need I remind you that Cassandra told him he couldn't listen due to the amount of wax buildup in his ear? Need I remind you about the time she called him a brainless prat right to his face? If those are the markings of a student teacher affair please let me know."
Ron looked at Harry and blushed. "You're right mate that was stupid of me, she hates Snape's guts! More than I do probably! Well, I don't know about you, but I need to get to sleep, after all, we're having a three day weekend and sleeping in past the alarm is always a must!" Ron explained before he said his goodnights and closed the hangings around his bed.
Harry finally placed his head down on his pillow, taking off his glasses and putting them on his bedside table. Thinking about the attacks, Harry fell into a deep sleep.
"You found the Diamond? And so soon?" a high pitched and leery voice exclaimed from his blood red armchair. Harry was back in the Riddle's house in Little Hangleton once more and Voldemort was holding yet another meeting for his Death Eaters.
"Yes my Master, we attacked and killed many who stood in our way! We left utter mayhem in our wake, bringing you your precious jewel in the process," Macnair, a ex-worker of the Ministry of Magic said triumphantly as he stood in front of the Dark Lord, a polished rosewood box in his large, beefy hands. Harry noticed that two more Death Eaters were flanking Macnair's side, probably his accomplices.
"Wonderful Macnair, wonderful. I am most pleased with your efforts. If this is the Diamond I am looking for, then you will be rewarding beyond your wildest dreams," Voldemort sneered out before he raised his hand and bade his Death Eater forward. "I also had Wormtail bring me the Daily Prophet and I saw that you brandished the Dark Mark over the building. Well done, well done, very soon we will launch a full attack on the Ministry and bring that idiot Fudge to his knees, begging us to kill him. But all that will not be able to happen unless I have my Black Diamond. Bring it forward Macnair and we'll see if your Diamond is the one I have searched for."
Harry moved forward and saw the very top of Voldemort's head. Harry could feel his scar burn as Macnair moved forward and kneeled in front of his lord, holding the box up high as if he were offering a sacrifice to a higher being. Harry watched thunderstruck as Voldemort took the box from his Death Eater's trembling hands and gently lifted the golden latch off the box. The lid was slowly raised and staring Voldemort directly in the face was an enormous diamond. Only it wasn't black, it gleamed a deep purple color.
"You fools! You insubordinate fools! This is the wrong Diamond! I asked for the Black Diamond, not the Purple Diamond! The Purple Diamond does nothing for me! It is worthless just as all of you are! You are all worthless! THIS KIND OF FAILURE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED MACNAIR!" Voldemort screamed as he leapt from his chair, the Death Eaters and Harry cowering in fear.
"M-my Lord . . . I am e-extremely sorry! P-p-please accept my sincerest apologies! I never m-m-meant to fail you in anyway! Think of all the fear we imposed to the wizarding world when we attacked the museum. . ."
"You idiot! The Black Diamond cannot be found in a museum! Did you not hear Lestrange and Wormtail defiantly tell me that it was impossible to get? Did it not occur to you that storming a museum and stealing worthless junk, killing people is impossible? No! You didn't think Macnair and for that you will be extremely punished!"
"No! No my lord . . . please my lord. . . I'm sorry s-s-s-so sorry to displease you! I can make it up to you my lord I can make it up to you!" Macnair screamed as tears flew down his face. Harry had never really seen a grown man sob the way the Death Eater, groveling on the floor had, especially one as beefy and manly as Macnair. Harry remembered the man when was asked to perform the task of killing Hagrid's hippogriff Buckbeak. Now the man lay broken on the floor, pleading with his master . . . pleading with all his heart that he would be spared.
"Begging and groveling will get you nowhere. Crucio!" Voldemort screamed pointing his wand directly at Macnair. Harry watched horrorstruck as Macnair curled into a ball, screaming and crying as the pain coursed through his body. "This will teach you to think before you act. This will teach all of you!" Voldemort screamed again as he addressed all of his Death Eaters who nodded in understanding. Voldemort pointed to two Death Eaters that were standing in a corner. "You two," he barked and they both stood rapt with attention, "take Macnair into the attic and torture him until he is but inches from insanity. Maybe extreme torture will teach him to bring me the item I requested." The two servants nodded and dragged Macnair from the room, the man kicking and screaming with all the will he had left. Harry felt no pity towards him. He had killed all those people in the museum, no doubt with some help from fellow friends.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you. If you fail me, if you bring me an artifact and it is not the Black Diamond, you will meet the same fate as Macnair. Do not rest; do not stop until the Black Diamond is in your lord's hands! Do I make myself clear? Remember the Dark Lord shows no mercy, even to his allies!" Voldemort bellowed before he sat back down in his seat, pulling his robes across him. "I will have the Black Diamond and then no one will stand in my way!" Voldemort started to laugh, his high, bone chilling laugh. Harry could feel his scar burning with pain before he was sent back to his bed, far away from the Riddle house, back in his bed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry woke with a start and looked around the room and noticed that everyone was still sleeping soundly, unaware of Harry's nightmares. Harry gazed at his small clock next to his table and realized it was a little after four o' clock in the morning. Knowing he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, Harry dressed and headed downstairs into the common room. He wanted to be able to think about his current dream without Neville snoring like a boarhound.
He walked down the hallway, the thick red carpet muffling his heavy footfalls before he started to walk down the stairs into the common room. He noticed the fire was still roaring in the grate which surprised Harry greatly. The house elves usually extinguished the fire when everybody went up to bed. That could mean only one thing, he was not alone in the common room.
Harry stepped onto the main floor of the Gryffindor common room and headed towards the fireplace. Harry could see the shadows of a person flickering eerily off the walls. Harry walked silently and cautiously into the light of the fire hoping he didn't startle the person that was probably sitting down in one of the armchairs. The firelight sputtered just inches from the person, cloaking him in shadow. The figure didn't move an inch as Harry stood directly in front of it, the source of its light hidden behind Harry's tall figure.
It took Harry a moment to realize that the person sitting in the armchair was, in fact, Cassandra White exactly how he had left her hours before. She wasn't sleeping, but staring at the fire, and Harry could tell she had been crying again. Although she wasn't crying at the moment, Harry could see the long tear stains that had marked her face probably hours before.
Having a feeling she would want to be alone, Harry turned around to leave Cassandra sitting in her over stuffed arm chair when a hand reached out and grabbed his arm, holding onto him weakly.
"Don't go, I need the company," she said quietly her voice hoarse. Harry obliged and sat down in the armchair next to her, letting himself settle into the fluffy, red armchair.
"Have you been down here the entire night?" Harry asked her, Cassandra's eyes never leaving the fire.
"Yea, I have. Sometimes I find it's better to just stay up all night and deal with the pain than go to sleep and wake up countless of times in the middle of the night. Besides, nighttime is the only time when I can think in solitude. Every other time I'm surrounded by people and it's hard for me to think," Cassandra replied her voice unusually raspy.
"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked not believing he had actually had the guts to ask her.
"Just things that's all."
"Would you mind if I asked you to elaborate?"
"I'm just thinking about why I was given all this pains, why I was given to a family that never wanted me why I was chosen to carry. . ." Cassandra's voice died away before she turned around to look at Harry. "It's just been so strange lately."
"What's been so strange?" Harry inquired.
"I don't know. Ever since I've been here, at Hogwarts, I've been having all these memories I've tried so hard to keep locked away but they keep resurfacing. No matter how hard I try, I can't escape my horrible mother and what she did to me. And I think it's been making my conditions worse, but then again Snape's potion has been working wonders," Cassandra explained and Harry could see a solitary tear fall down her face before she wiped it away quickly, "Why are you down here so early?"
"Had another dream," Harry replied shortly.
"About the Diamond?"
"Yes, only it wasn't the Black Diamond," Harry explained and Cassandra tore her eyes away from the fire to give him a strange look. "Some of Voldemort's Death Eaters presented him with a diamond, only it wasn't the Black Diamond, it was the Purple Diamond," Harry explained and he could see Cassandra nod slightly, as if she had known all along. "I hope the Diamond's still safe."
He heard Cassandra muttering something under her breath. It sounded something along the lines of, "Don't worry, its safe." Harry decided not to pursue the matter even more and the two spent the next few hours before dawn and the wakening of the rest of the Gryffindors talking about various things that had happened in their lives.
"You know Cassie up until now I didn't realize how similar we are," Harry explained sometime after five o'clock the sun making its entrance through the western windows.
"What do you mean by that?" Cassandra asked. The fire had finally extinguished the light from the sun illuminating the common room.
"We've never truly known our parents, we've been brought up in places that we never want to go back to again and we both have pains that we wish would go away," Harry clarified before he pointed to his scar. Cassandra nodded, letting him know that she understood him. "It's like we have this connection, its something that I don't have with Hermione and Ron. I know for a fact they don't know what I've been through. Both of them still have families they don't know what it's liked not to be loved," Harry said his voice growing bitter. It was true for the most part; Ron and Hermione both had families that loved them with all their hearts. Harry had no one. He would have said Sirius loved him but Sirius was gone and he wasn't coming back no matter how hard Harry wished.
"You think you're not loved?" Cassandra asked her voice registered with shock. Harry hung his head as if agreeing with her question. He heard the girl scoff in disbelief before she spoke again, "Of course you're loved Harry! Ron and Hermione love you, Hagrid loves you, there are dozens of people in this school alone who care about you, Harry. So don't go off saying you aren't loved because you damn well know you are," Cassandra explained her voice deadly serious. "And just because we have this 'connection' as you call it doesn't mean that you should just leave Hermione and Ron hanging. You know they don't deserve it. You know they've been there for you through just about everything you've survived since you came to Hogwarts."
"I wasn't about to leave Hermione and Ron hanging out to dry Cassie. I can't talk to Hermione and Ron about the pains my scar gives me, Hermione would make me go see Dumbledore and Ron would start to panic, thinking Voldemort would come barging through the entrance to Gryffindor Tower at any moment to kill us all. I can't talk to them about death, I can't talk to them about watching my godfather die right in front of my eyes, they wouldn't understand! At least you have an idea as to what it's like!" Harry exclaimed in a loud whisper so he didn't wake the rest of the House.
"You have no idea. . ."Harry heard her mutter under her breath before she pulled out her vial and took a sharp swig of the potion inside making a disgusted face. "I should stop drinking that stuff all together, it's absolutely repulsive," Cassandra said as she slipped the vial back into her robes.
"And have you drop dead in Transfiguration?" Harry said with a small smile. Cassandra gave Harry an impotent, stern look before she let out a tiny laugh shaking her head in disbelief.
"But seriously Harry, if you need to talk, get something off your chest, and you don't want people fawning all over you, throwing you useless advice, let me know and I'll hear you out," Cassandra explained as her laughter died away. Harry nodded and he could see the laughter still twinkling in her eyes. "Wonderful! I have to run; I need to send an owl to a friend of mine," Cassandra explained before she grabbed her bag beside the armchair and headed towards the owlrey. "See you at breakfast!" And with that said, Cassandra hurried out of the common room.
Harry waited patiently for Ron and Hermione to wake up before they headed down to the Great Hall, Harry explaining the dream he had had last night.
"Well that's good, at least Voldemort doesn't have the Black Diamond, he can't do anything right now," Hermione explained before she pulled out the newspaper once more, her face going slightly pale as she looked at the Dark Mark in the sky.
"How is everybody this fine morning?" a voice asked grandly. The three looked up and saw Cassandra bound towards them, her face full of energy and light. She sat down quickly and proceeded to eat, throwing Harry an inconspicuous wink.
"Where have you been?" Ron asked Cassandra as owls started to fly into the Great Hall, dropping off parcels of sweets and letters from home.
"Just been up in the owlrey, sending letters to some friends back in the States, letting them know how horrible I think Hogwarts is," Cassandra said with a joking laugh when she saw Hermione's face of disbelief.
The owl from the Daily Prophet delivered the newspaper and they saw that there were no new leads in the massacre at the museum on Halloween. Some of the names of the victims had been released and everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw the Ravenclaw that had been frantic with worry yesterday, run out of the Great Hall, tears running down her face. Harry frowned; another family was broken apart thanks to Voldemort and his worthless Death Eaters. Harry hoped Macnair was getting a torture to remember. Cassandra shook her head in sympathy and then went back to eating her breakfast.
Since most of their homework was completed, Hermione dragged Ron, Harry and Cassandra to the library to look up information on the Black Diamond. They had been searching all morning when the lunch bell rang, their hands empty and their brains vacant with information. They had found nothing on the Black Diamond and they had searched through the entire 'Magical Stones' section of the library with no such luck.
Hermione was in a bad mood all the rest of the day. It bothered her that she couldn't find any information about an object in a book and she snapped at anyone who asked her questions about homework.
All too soon, the sun was starting to set and dinner went underway, Harry thinking about his upcoming chat with Remus. Harry wondered if the werewolf had told his brother he was talking with Harry tonight. He had never heard Remus talk about his brother; Harry didn't realize he had had a brother until this year.
Harry enjoyed Romulus Lupin's class thoroughly, the whole class was learning a great deal about the curses of dark wizards and witches, Romulus almost seemed to be preparing them for battle the way he carried on about to always be on alert. He almost reminded Harry of the Imposter Moody in his fourth year and how he would always scream out, "CONSTANT VILIGANCE!" whenever he got the chance.
A sudden laughter made Harry come out of his thoughts and he looked around to find the source of the laughter. Harry could see Neville mustering up his nerve to talk to Cassandra and when he finally said something, he squeaked out loud causing Cassandra to laugh and also making Neville turn a shocking shade of bright pink.
Harry watched as Ron threw Cassandra a look as if to say 'I told you so' and Cassandra just shrugged before she tried to talk to Neville about the fast approaching Quidditch game. Neville could only nod or shake his head while Cassandra was talking to him and Harry heard a few words escape his mouth but they only sounded like 'uh huh,' or 'no.' Hermione rolled her eyes before she started to talk to Ron about why he and Harry should drop Divination and join her in Arithmancy.
Half an hour later, the dishes all cleaned and polished, the group of sixth years headed up to the Gryffindor common room to finish any last bits of homework and to talk about the upcoming Christmas holidays. Cassandra was talking at length about Thanksgiving, an American holiday that surprised a lot of the students that were born to wizard families.
"You mean you cook all day and eat just to give thanks for things?" Ron asked incredulously before Seamus muttered the password and the Fat Lady swung open, permitting their admittance into the common room.
"That's the gist of it, but this'll be the first time I'm not celebrating Thanksgiving, at WillowBoil the headmaster would have line dancing turkeys and have the pheasant reenact the First Thanksgiving, we'd all wear cornucopias on our heads. Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays aside from Christmas and Halloween," Cassandra clarified as she, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all sat down at one of the tables to finish their Dark Arts homework.
"Can you believe some of these curses? They're so horrible! How could anybody do this to another person?" Hermione asked horrified as she flipped through some of the pages in their Dark Arts text books.
"Very easily," Harry muttered as he thought back to his fourth year and last year in the Department of Mysteries. Harry knew how it felt to have the Unforgivable Curses put upon him. He had suffered from the Imperious Curse from Professor Moody in his fourth year; he had been put under the Cruciatus Curse not only during his fourth year, but his fifth year as well. And then there was the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra. He knew that Voldemort had tried to attack him with the curse far more times than he could remember, and he had survived them all. From the time he was a baby when he first blocked the curse to his fourth and fifth year, Voldemort had tried to kill him with the very curse that killed his parents, but he had failed every time. He didn't want Voldemort to try it a fourth time; he didn't want him to try ever again.
Hours passed and around nine o'clock the common room started to clear out, all of the students extremely tired from the day's activities. Ron and Hermione stayed with Harry until half past eleven, both wishing him the best of luck before they headed up to their respected dormitories.
Cassandra had gone up to her dormitory earlier, trying hard to conceal her pain as she trotted up the stairs, drinking from her vial as she went. Harry could tell her heart was still ailing her and he begged her earlier in the night to go see Snape for a better potion.
"It's the best he can do, Harry. Don't worry about it okay? Believe me the pain is much better than it has been," Cassandra explained throwing off Harry's worries as if they were nothing.
At five minutes to eleven, Harry walked over to the fireplace and sat down on a large, overstuffed armchair facing the fire. He thought for a while, thinking about what he would say to his father's old friend. Thirty seconds to go until midnight . . . should he talk to him about Cassandra and her sickness? He knew he shouldn't, he had promised her that he wouldn't tell anybody. Ten seconds to go . . . would they talk about the Halloween massacre? Five seconds. . . what about his brother Romulus Lupin? Would they talk to him? Two seconds . . . and should Harry talk about his dreams of the Black Diamond and Voldemort's quest to find it?
The large clock in the common room struck midnight and Harry looked intently into the fire waiting to catch a glimpse of the older man. And as the last bell struck midnight, a face popped into the fireplace and Harry found himself staring at Remus Lupin or Moony, the last of the Marauders.
"Hello, Harry," Lupin said, the man giving the teenaged boy a toothy grin. Harry could still see the gray hairs that were lining his brown hair but there was still youth left in his amber eyes.
"Hi Moony," Harry answered back shifting his weight in his chair excitedly.
"H-how are you holding up?" Lupin stammered before he looked down, no doubt at his shoes. Harry knew exactly what Lupin was talking about. Even though Harry took Sirius' death extremely hard, he couldn't help but think that Remus took it harder. He had lost James fifteen years ago and now he had lost his best friend just that summer. While Harry spent his summer at the Black House, Lupin had spent most of his time in seclusion closing himself up in his room with multiple things to keep him occupied, no doubt things of Sirius', things that Lupin could remember him by.
"Alright I guess what about you?" Harry asked his voice extremely sincere.
"The holes are closing up, I'm feeling better about it," Lupin answered, "So, how do you like your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"
"Why didn't you tell me that your twin brother was going to be teaching this year?" asked Harry his smile widening.
"I wanted to surprise you, wanted you to think it was me for a split second," Lupin explained a smile twitching on his lips.
"You almost had me fooled. How come I haven't seen him at Sirius' house at all? Isn't he in the Order?"
"In a way yes, he was abroad when you were at Order headquarters somewhere to the west of England, Dumbledore wouldn't tell us where he went although I have an idea . . . but that's not important. Did you receive the news about the massacre on Halloween?"
Harry nodded and shook his head in sympathy for the people who had lost their lives. "One of the Ravenclaw students had an older brother who died, along with his family," Harry explained before he growled under his breath.
"Entire families are being ripped apart because of him. There's chaos at the Ministry because of these attacks, and the Order is working overtime to try to find the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. We just hope he doesn't find what he was looking for in that museum," Lupin explicated.
"You mean the Black Diamond?" Harry questioned. Maybe he would be getting some answers about the diamond.
"How did you know about the Diamond?" Lupin asked in disbelief.
"I've been having dreams again, this time Voldemort wants the Black Diamond and he's sent out all his Death Eaters to try and find it. He said they would attack the ministry as soon as he had the Black Diamond," Harry elucidated as he stared at Lupin's shocked face.
"I don't know why he wants the Diamond. Dumbledore only told us that it had powers we could only dream about. I hope to God, Voldemort didn't get it at the museum," Lupin said in forceful words.
"He didn't. The Black Diamond wasn't at the museum in Diagon Alley. It was the Purple Diamond. He tortured Macnair because he failed to bring him to wrong Diamond. He was pretty mad," Harry said before a shiver went up his spine at the thought of his previous dream.
"Of course Dumbledore would know where the Diamond is. He knows just about everything that's going on in Voldemort's inner circle, thanks to the spy we have in there."
"You mean Snape?" Harry asked.
Lupin stayed silent for a moment before he nodded his head and made Harry swear not to tell anybody about the mole in the Dark Lord's circle. "But I'm sure Dumbledore has the Diamond somewhere safe, or he knows where it is. That man knows everything you know," Lupin said with a smile.
A sudden thud from the girls' dormitory made Lupin and Harry look at each other, fear etched into their faces. "You'd better go, I think there'd be quite a scene if someone came down here to see a grown man's face in the fire," Harry advised.
Lupin nodded and gave Harry a smile. He was just saying goodbye when Tonks appeared in the fire next to Lupin, her hair now long and curly. "Hiya Harry! Long time no see!" Tonks said happily as she turned to look at Lupin. "Before I forget, you have a letter from Cassand . . ."
"Thank you Tonks," Lupin said cutting the young Auror off abruptly. "I'm going to take off, Harry. I need to inform the Order about the news you gave me. If you have anymore dreams, go straight to Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall. Be good in school Harry, we'll keep in touch," Lupin said hastily before there was a pop and he was gone.
The noises coming from the girls' dormitory were becoming louder, almost as if someone was coming down the stairs. Harry hoped that no one was listening in on his conversation with Remus Lupin. He turned around and peered around his armchair, looking at the steps that led up to the dormitory.
Harry held his breath as he watched a tall figure walk down the stairs in a hunched posture. He could hear tiny sobs and moans of pain as the shadow tumbled down the stairs, stifling a scream.
The figure walked into the firelight and Harry tried to press himself against the armchair, to make himself less noticeable. Harry instantly recognized the person to be Cassandra White, her face drained of any source of emotion except pain. She was as white as a ghost and Harry could see the tears flowing down her face as she clutched her heart in pain. She suppressed yet another loud scream as she walked past Harry and out the portrait of the Fat Lady.
Harry thought of going after the young witch, to make sure she would be okay, but something told him not to. He had a feeling that if he was alone with Cassandra, he would ask her if she had anything to do with Remus Lupin and if she did, why was she sending him letters that Harry wasn't supposed to know about?
Knowing he would have to wake up early the next morning to prepare for his classes, Harry started up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, Cassandra's screams from the hallway outside Gryffindor Tower echoing through the common room.