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Happy Reading!
~Aislin
12. Shocking Surprises
The next day at breakfast, Harry explained his conversation with Lupin and Tonks' sudden appearance with enthusiasm. Hermione looked at Harry; perplexed thinking about a logical answer to Harry's bursting questions. Ron looked absolutely amazed that Lupin was in contact with Cassandra and wanted to know why she was in contact with their ex- professor.
"But why did she come downstairs screaming and crying?" Hermione asked Harry giving him a questioning glance. It was then Harry could feel the bottom of his stomach give out from underneath him. He hadn't realized he had told Hermione and Ron that the reason his conversation with Lupin was cut short was because Cassandra made an unscheduled appearance, and hadn't even noticed Harry because she was in an extreme amount of pain.
"I don't know. Maybe she saw her mark for that potion's exam," Harry explained trying his best to get himself out of this awful confrontation.
"Since when has Cassie been concerned with her potion grade?" Hermione asked her eyes hardening. She knew Harry was lying to her and she crossed her arms before she gave him another one of her accusing looks. "Harry what's going on?"
"None of your business Hermione," a voice said behind Harry. Harry turned around quickly and saw Cassandra shooting a spiteful glare at Hermione and an accusing glance at Harry.
"Glad you could join us Cassie," Hermione said her voice growing cold, "Been writing to your good friend Remus lately?" she asked as if it were regular conversation.
"Who?" Cassandra asked clearly confused.
"Remus, Remus Lupin. . . have you been writing to him?" Hermione asked her voice rising.
"Oh you mean Professor Lupin's brother?" Cassandra asked the light coming to her face.
"Yes, have you been writing to him?"
"Of course I have!" Cassandra said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The three of them looked at Cassandra in shock as she sat down and began to eat.
"Why have you been writing to him?"
"Well, he and his brother did accompany me from WillowBoil to Hogwarts; I stayed with them for the summer. Romulus took care of me for the most part, seeing as Remus leaves once a month for certain . . . things," Cassandra explained, "We've been writing to each other so he knows I'm adjusting well into Hogwarts."
Hermione looked flabbergasted at Cassandra as she ate rapidly her eyes shining brightly as if everything were a huge joke, "But thank you for the third degree, Hermione. We should do that more often, really jolts my brain for the day. See you in Potions," Cassandra said throwing Harry a wink before she downed the rest of her pumpkin juice and hurried out of the Great Hall.
"What the hell was that about?" Ron asked in disbelief. Hermione shook her head and muttered something about idiot American girls before she too excused herself from the table to go and look things up in the library.
"But it's only eight o' clock in the morning! Why the ruddy hell would she want to go to the library this early?" Ron questioned Harry who merely shrugged his head and went back to reading about Fearless Charms.
Twenty minutes later, Harry and Ron found themselves sitting down in Snape's classroom, Hermione on the right of Ron. Harry looked around to see if he could catch a glimpse of Cassandra, hoping she wasn't mad at him for almost spilling her secret. It came to quite a shock when he realized that Cassandra wasn't in Potions at all and when Professor Snape came into the room, he had a feeling Cassandra wouldn't be coming to class.
"We're working on the Confusion Concoction today, one of the most difficult potions you will have to work on probably this entire year," Snape explained before he rested a hand on Neville's table, giving him a sneering look, "There's no one here to stand up for you today Mr. Longbottom." Neville looked at Snape in fear and he gulped down a lump in his throat before he looked up at the blackboard and started to copy down the instructions for the potion. Neville looked petrified as he started to cut up his flobberworm ends, placing them into his cauldron of boiling water.
"Harry do you know Cassie was writing to Lupin?" Hermione asked in a hush voice while she was stirring her potion counter clockwise.
"Not until today when she told us about it," Harry answered before he looked up at the board once more. Spiced Dragonflies needed to be added into his potion.
"And what about the pains she's been having Harry? Do you know anything about that? Why is she even having pains?" Hermione countered as she stared at him with utmost sincerity.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come off it Harry I know you know what is going on with Cassie, she told you something didn't she? What did she tell you? What's so important that she made you keep it from your friends?"
"If you are quite finished with your interrogation of Mr. Potter, perhaps you could try to finish your potion. Fifteen points from Gryffindor," a silky voice sneered from above them. Harry and Hermione looked up to see Professor Snape standing above them, a leering smile plastered on his face. Hermione mumbled her apologies and went back to her potion quickly. Expecting Snape to turn around and torture Neville who was already having trouble with his Confusion Concoction, Harry went back to his work. A throat cleared above him and Harry looked up once more to see Snape giving him a malicious glare. "I'd like to see you after class Mr. Potter," he said quietly before he turned around to give Neville unmerciful hell.
*~*~*
Fifteen points from Gryffindor deducted and an extremely terrified Neville Longbottom later, the sixth year Slytherins and Gryffindors filed out of the potions dungeon, heading to their next classes. Ron and Hermione promised they would wait for Harry after his interrogation with Professor Snape but Harry sent them ahead. He had a feeling Hermione would question him about Cassandra's heart condition and Ron would curse Snape's name and Harry didn't want anymore points deducted from Gryffindor.
Snape beckoned Harry into his office, the Potion's Master was slouched over his desk writing something on a piece of parchment. Harry saw a large cauldron sitting in the back of the office, a terrible and disgusting smell coming from the black cauldron. Harry could see the black smoke rising and he had an idea as to what the potion was.
"So," Snape began as he looked up at Harry. The boy could tell Snape was getting agitated, "Saint Potter has decided to stick his nose in another person's business. What do you know about her condition?"
Harry, knowing who he was talking about, opened his mouth to speak but the door opened and Cassandra walked in, a sort of pained look on her face. Harry saw Snape's mouth curl into a vicious sneer as Cassandra gave Harry a confusing look before she walked up to the Professor and held out the empty vial.
"Here you are Professor, thought you'd might like to refill that for me," Cassandra said, her blue eyes shining brightly as the professor took the vial from her hands and walked towards the vat in the back of the room.
"Thank you Miss White, are you sure you want me to fill this up with him in the room?" Professor Snape asked throwing a hand towards Harry.
"I don't care, he already knows about my heart problems," Cassandra said carelessly throwing Harry a look that seemed to be asking, 'Why are you in Snape's office?'
"Then surely you'd care if I told you he almost spilled the secret of your heart condition to that loud mouth Miss Granger?" Snape asked as he filled up her vial.
"I beg your pardon?" Cassandra asked looking at Snape in disbelief and throwing Harry another confused look.
"Your nosy friend Miss Granger kept questioning Potter about your conditions, and he almost told her everything," Professor Snape explained a large sneer coming over his face. Harry could feel his insides go cold as Cassie turned to look at Harry, her face twisted in anger.
"You know you promise me that you wouldn't tell anyone Harry. What the hell is your problem?" Cassandra asked her voice rising, her eyes like to cold blue stones of ice.
"I wasn't going to tell her, Cassie," Harry exclaimed, he could hear someone coughing; it sounded like Snape was snickering.
"Like hell you weren't. I trusted you Harry. . ."
"I told you running around at night screaming about your pains wasn't a good idea, someone was bound to figure it out," Snape explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Shut up Snape nobody asked for your opinion!" Cassie snapped her face contorting into an unrecognizable mask of anger, "Just give me my damn potion so I can go to my next class."
Harry watched in shock as Snape succumbed to her wishes and gave her the vial, now filled with its black contents. She snatched it from his grasp and hurried from the room, shooting Harry a malevolent look as she passed.
"Don't tell anyone about her condition, Potter or you'll have me to deal with," Snape explained coldly before Harry was excused. Harry hurried out of the room and jogged to his Dark Arts class, praying he wasn't late.
When Harry arrived in Professor Lupin's class, most of the students were already situated around the room. Harry searched the room, trying to find Cassandra but he only saw Hermione and Ron waving to him frantically begging to know what happened in Snape's office. Harry finally saw Cassandra enter the room right as the late bell sounded. She threw him a dirty look before she sat down in the very back of the room a dark look settling on her face.
"What happened with Snape?" Hermione asked fiercely as the class waited for Professor Lupin to begin the lesson.
"Nothing, but you did get Cassie downright pissed at me," Harry explained sourly before he got out his text book and opened it up, deciding to ignore Hermione.
"What?" Hermione asked in a shocked voice. She grabbed Harry's book and closed it, forcing him to look at her. "Why is she mad at you?"
"Maybe because you're being too nosy for your own good," Harry muttered as he took the book back from Hermione.
"Easy there, Harry. What's wrong?" Ron asked coming to Hermione's defense.
"Snape convinced Cassandra that I was going to tell you her secret and she got extremely irked at me," Harry explained before he looked back at Cassandra, she ignored him.
"What did she do?" Ron asked.
"Well, she did tell Snape to shut up," Harry added with a smile, "and he didn't take off any points whatsoever." Ron looked like someone had smacked him in the face.
"She told him to shut up, and he didn't take off any points?" he asked flabbergasted, "She's my hero."
"Yeah well she's probably mad at me and Hermione so you can go off and worship your hero," Harry explained somberly before Professor Lupin walked into the room a smile plastered on his face.
The class had passed their exams about the more advanced dark creatures with flying colors and now they were delving into the Dark Wizard and his curses. "Books away, wands out," Lupin announced which made all of the students smile. "Today," Romulus announced as he sat on top of his desk, "we're going to be practicing some of the curses that a Dark Wizard, not a major threat to the wizarding world mind you, uses. Do I have any volunteers?" No one raised their hands, they knew that sixth and seventh years researched the curses and the dark arts more than the rest of the school but no one could believe that they were finally there, in sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the teacher asking someone to be his victim. "Ah, Miss White, you seem very agitated today, why don't you come up here and demonstrate some dueling attacks with me?" Romulus requested. Harry could hear Cassandra mumble to herself before she walked to the front of the room, a displeased look on her face. "If you could so kindly move the desks to the back of the room and stay there, I'm afraid we'll need some room," Lupin advised. The students obliged and once they were situated in the back of the room, Lupin and Cassandra took their ready positions.
"I've heard WillowBoil Academy is known for its excellent Dark Arts classes as well as their dueling classes as well," Lupin announced to the class, "Let's see what our transfer student can do."
Without warning Cassandra jumped forward and shouted out, "Impedimenta!" Lupin flew back and landed on soft cushions that had been placed around the classroom earlier. Lupin jumped back up to his feet and brushed his hair out of his eyes. He scowled at Cassandra, "You weren't supposed to start until I counted to three," he exclaimed loudly.
"Do you think that if you're dueling a dark wizard they're going to count to three?" Cassandra asked with a smile before she drew her wand back again, "Expelliarmus!" But this time, Lupin was prepared, just as she shouted out the disarming charm, Lupin screamed out, "Protego!" and the spell was deflected off of the professor, totally unaffecting him.
And so for about twenty minutes the two went back and forth, shouting out charms and curses the students had learned in their first five years of school. When finally, Lupin halted their duel and looked at her, a serious look on his face.
"Familiar with some of the Dark Curses?" he asked her with a mischievous smile on his face. "Ready for those?"
Hermione looked at Harry and Ron, a look of panic in her face, "Some of those curses are illegal!" she proclaimed before she looked back at the witch and wizard battling at the front of room.
"Ready when you are Professor," she said the same smile stretched on her face. The two circled around each other, deadly serious looks on their faces. Finally, Cassandra stepped forward and shouted, "Bloodatus!" Lupin was thrown off his feet and when he got back to his feet, Hermione and many of the girls screamed. A large gash had appeared on Lupin's forehead, blood spilling out. He looked like he was in some amount of pain before he quickly pointed his wand to his face and muttered, "Clotarmus.' The blood immediately started to clot and he was left with a nasty looking scab.
"Tormentaramus!" Lupin yelled loudly before a blast of yellow sparks hit Cassie square in the chest.
"That's like the Cruciatus curse only less severe, it's banned!" Hermione whispered fervently. Many of the students gasped in shock, expecting to see Cassandra drop to the floor in pain but it didn't happen. She was laughing. Laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks, it was if the Tormentaramus curse hadn't affected her at all. Lupin nodded in understanding before he smiled once more.
"Crucio." The class erupted into screams. Any teacher who put any of the Unforgivable Curses on the students was likely to get sacked and sent off to Azkaban. But there was the exception of the imposter Moody in their fourth year who used the Imperius Curse to teach them to throw it off completely. The students watched in horror as Cassandra dropped to her knees and offered a tiny scream of pain. Harry shook his head. This wasn't how people acted when they were put under the Cruciatus Curse. He should know he was put under it many times. There was no explaining the pain one felt when placed under that curse. They watched flabbergasted as Cassandra yelled the same curse at their teacher.
Lupin dropped to the ground, withering in pain and screaming with agony. Cassandra lifted the curse immediately and gave him an apologetic look. Wasting no time, Lupin rose to his feet as fast as he could. "KEEPASORIA!" He bellowed as loud as he could. A stream of white light smacked Cassandra square in the heart. A look of shock and pain overcame the laughter on her face and she uttered the loudest scream Harry had ever heard. Her face turned a deathly white before she fell to her knees and started to gag, clutching her chest, clawing at her heart, as if she were trying to rip it out.
A look of horror passed over Professor Lupin's face and he immediately lifted the curse off of the student. Cassandra fell face first onto the floor, a trickle of blood coming out the side of her mouth.
"C-c-c-class d-dismissed," Lupin stammered, his face almost as pale as Cassandra's. Not wanting to leave their fellow student, the sixth year Gryffindors all lingered around the classroom. "I SAID CLASS DISMISSED!" Lupin screamed out making all the students jump before they rushed out of the classroom.
Harry waited outside the classroom, hoping Lupin was able to revive Cassandra so he could have a word with her. Hermione and Ron stayed by his side, talking about the events that had happened in the classroom.
"What was that curse he yelled? 'Keepasoria? I've never heard of that curse before in my life," Hermione explained, "It's not even in our text book."
"Well, like Harry said, she does have pains, maybe she has a heart condition," Ron suggested before he looked at Harry trying to see if he had guessed right.
Harry was about to answer him when Professor Lupin walked out of his classroom, Cassandra placed on a magic stretcher. Her hair was matted to her head with sweat, her face still deathly pale. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was in a dreamless sleep. Harry could see that the blood that was creeping out of her mouth was cleared away and there was a slight residue of black liquid around her lips.
"Is she alright Professor?" Harry asked as he and his two friends surrounded the unconscious girl.
"I think she'll be fine. I'm just taking her to the hospital wing so Madame Pomfrey can have a look at her," Lupin explained to the three students.
"Won't she get expelled? Won't you get fired?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"Why would that happen Miss Granger?"
"Both of you used one of the Unforgivable Curses. That means time in Azkaban."
"I will ask you not to worry about that Miss Granger. Now, I think you must be getting to your next class," Lupin explained excusing himself and the unconscious girl.
"That was a bit weird don't you think?" Harry asked as they headed towards Herbology.
"A little too weird." Hermione whispered back.
*~*~*~*
The story of Cassandra White and Romulus Lupin's duel spread through the school like wildfire. By lunchtime not only was the Gryffindor table discussing it, but the other three house tables as well. Everyone was extremely shocked when Cassandra entered the Great Hall near the end of lunch, looking as though the duel demonstration with the Dark Arts teacher had never happened. Many of the Gryffindors surrounded her as soon as she sat down, asking her questions about the fight with a fully trained wizard.
"Did it hurt? What was it like being under the Cruciatus Curse?"
"How badly did you beat Lupin up?"
"Hey there's a fourth year in Slytherin I don't like. Do you think you could . . ."
Harry decided to block out everything at the moment as he tried to figure out Cassandra's relationship with the Lupin brothers. Harry recalled the time when Malfoy had cursed Cassie in the hallway sending her into a kind of short lived coma. He remembered that Cassie had almost called the Professor by his first name and they were heading towards their first Dark Arts lesson that day. They hadn't even met Romulus Lupin until that very day. The second time was just the other night when he was talking to Remus Lupin in the fire up in the Gryffindor common room. Why was Remus Lupin in contact with Cassandra? Was he really making sure she was doing okay in Hogwarts? Couldn't Cassie just go to Professor Lupin in his office to inform him about any of her discomforts?
"Hey Harry, Ron, we have Quidditch practice this afternoon," Ginny explained to her older brother and his friend. "I don't know if I should tell Cassie, I think she's been through enough for one day."
"I think she already knows," Ron muttered. Sure enough, Dean Thomas was sitting next to Cassie, explaining about the Quidditch practice and who was going to win the upcoming game between Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
"She's going to kill herself one of these days," Hermione muttered under her breath.
*~*~*~*
The rest of the day went by smoothly. Katie Bell was extremely happy with the practice that afternoon; she complimented Neville and Cassie on their exceptional playing and explained to her team that she had high hopes for the Quidditch team during the rest of the year.
"We all know that Slytherin is going to flatten Ravenclaw. Even though their Nimbus brooms are outdated by three years, they're still pretty good. But with Harry's broom we should be just fine."
And so the weekend arrived, the first bit of frost arriving on the ground the morning of the Slytherin-Ravenclaw game. Katie had predicted correctly; Slytherin had steamrolled Ravenclaw, two hundred seventeen to ninety. And as the Slytherins gloated about their win all through the next week, Harry hoped they would beat Hufflepuff just so they could put the Slytherin Quidditch team on their guard.
It was two weeks after Cassie's duel with Professor Lupin and she was still upset at Harry and Hermione. She would talk to Ron, but not with the usual gusto she had when all four of them weren't upset at one another. She completely ignored Harry and Hermione during meals and even in the common room, opting for a large armchair far away from the fire and even further away from the usual social hubbub of the common room.
The day of the match against Hufflepuff dawned bright and sunny, with a hint of a strong breeze that would pass through the trees in the Forbidden Forest. After they ate their breakfast, the seven Gryffindor Quidditch players headed down to the locker rooms to get ready for the game.
Neville appeared to be paler than the Bloody Baron as he fixed his arm padding a lump rising in his throat. Cassie on the other hand was extremely calm for it being her first game of the season. Ron was just about as calm as Harry, who was polishing the handle on his Firebolt right before Katie entered the locker room, a grim look settled onto her face.
"I know we have the best team in this entire school and I know we'll do just fine out there, so everyone just do their best. Neville and Cassie, I want you all over those Bludgers. Ron, keep your eye on the Quaffle. Ginny, Dean and myself will handle all the scoring and Harry, you just keep your eyes out for the snitch. The sooner you catch it the better off we'll be. Good luck everyone," Katie said before she picked up her broom and the team walked calmly out onto the pitch.
The crowd was yelling loudly as the fourteen players mounted their brooms, Madame Hooch releasing all the balls save the Quaffle. She blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air.
"The second Quidditch game of the season has begun! Weasly takes the Quaffle and passes it off to Thomas . . . oh! Nearly got hit by that bludger there Ginny but thanks to Cassandra White, Hogwarts' new transfer student she was saved from a rather nasty collision. It's a shocker that White can play Quidditch. In the States they usually play Qudpot which consists of . . ."
"Mr. Finnigan, I asked you to take this position because you weren't chosen to be on the house team. I didn't ask you to tell us about different sports played on broomsticks," Professor McGonagall commented to the sixth year Gryffindor who had replaced Lee Jordan as the commentator for the Quidditch Games.
"Sorry there professor. Thomas passes the Quaffle to Bell, the Gryffindor captain. She approaches the Hufflepuff Keeper . . .TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!" Seamus Finnigan screamed before ten points appeared on the score board. The crowd roared as the game resumed, the Hufflepuff Chasers grabbing the Quaffle, heading towards Ron who was watching the Quaffle with an immense sort of hunger.
Harry circled around the pitch, trying to catch a glimpse of the Golden Snitch but it was not such luck. Instead he watched the game for a moment, his eyes searching the pitch every so often. He watched as one of the Chasers from Hufflepuff, Derek Tames approach Ron with the Quaffle. He knew Ron was improving immensely in practices but he still couldn't help but feel that Ron wasn't nearly as good as Oliver Wood.
"I don't believe it! Gryffindor Beater, Cassandra White smashes the Bludger into Tames' path! The Quaffle is stolen by Ginny Weasly . . .wonderful hit made by White!" Seamus yelled excitedly into the microphone.
Indeed Cassie had appeared out of nowhere and smacked a bludger straight into Derek Tames' flight path. She had hit the ball with such accuracy it could have put Fred and George to shame. Harry looked around and saw that Neville was having troubles approaching the Bludger. Every time the black ball came near him he would duck his head and place his club in the air, trying to blindly hit the Bludger.
Harry could hear a lot of the Slytherins laughing at their newly acquired Beater and even from his position fifty feet above the pitch; Harry could see that Neville had acquired a rather heavy blush.
The game proceeded and Harry clapped with the rest of the spectators as Gryffindor pulled ahead, fifty to twenty. He circled around the pitch a few times to throw off his jitters when he saw one of the Beaters from Hufflepuff smash a Bludger in his direction.
"Neville, get that ball!" someone screamed from the pitch. Harry knew that he couldn't outrun the ball; even on his trusty broomstick the Bludger was too close. He watched as Neville made a sorry attempt to go after Harry, his Cleansweep Seven was so slow even the Bludger was out flying him.
A sudden blur of scarlet and gold shot in front of Harry, brandishing a club before it smacked the ball away from him, hitting the tail of the opposite team's broom. Harry watched Cassie fly away from him, heading after Neville, probably giving him a pep talk to go after the Bludger more.
"And White makes a spectacular move that probably saves the Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter! This girl can certainly whack the heck out of that Bludger!" Seamus screamed in excitement. Cassie was a blur around the pitch as she smacked the balls all over the place, away from her teammates and towards the Hufflepuff team.
Neville was trying his best to measure up to Cassie but at the rate she was going it looked as if Gryffindor only needed one Beater. He could see Cassie's face as she smacked a Bludger towards the Hufflepuff Captain. There was so much anger in her face Harry thought she could kill someone. All of a sudden, Harry saw Justin Finch-Fletchly, the Hufflepuff seeker, dive down from his position a few feet above Harry. Harry looked down and saw the snitch, zipping around Neville's head.
The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were screaming as Harry went into a spectacular dive gaining on Justin in a matter of minutes. They were neck and neck as he pulled up along side of Justin, arm outstretched, his fingers inches from the Golden Snitch. They were approaching the ground at a breakneck speed before Justin finally pulled out leaving Harry to grab the snitch and end the game.
The Gryffindors went wild with excitement as Harry held his right hand up, the snitch held firmly in his grasp. The Gryffindor team sank to the earth, happy and ecstatic that they had bulldozed Hufflepuff in the first game.
"GRYFFINDOR WIND THREE HUNDRED FIFTY TO THIRTY!" Seamus cried happily into the microphone, his voice almost lost over the screams of the crowd.
"Great job team! Great job! Let's hit the showers!" Katie exclaimed happily as she dismounted her broom and put her arm around Cassie, beaming brightly. "Amazing defense there Cassandra! If you just work a bit with Neville you could give Fred and George a run for their money!"
"I don't think that's possible Katie," a happy go-lucky voice exclaimed from behind her. She jumped and turned around in one swift movement to see Fred and George Weasly, dressed in expensive sweaters and pants, wearing lurid green dragon skin boots standing behind her idiotic grins on their faces.
"Why are you two here?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest a large smile playing her lips.
"Well, our brother Ron told us about our replacements, wanted to see them for ourselves." Fred explained before he opened his arms grandly and swept Cassandra White in an enormous hug.
"Wonderfully played game if I do say so myself! Absolutely spiffing!" George said happily as he smacked Cassandra on the back.
"The infamous Fred and George I presume?" Cassandra asked the same joking smile on her lips. The twins nodded excitedly before they both put arms around her shoulders and led her away towards the locker rooms.
"Now, Ron has told us about your escapades with Snape. Did you really call him a brainless git?"
"And you really," Fred began before he lowered his voice to a whisper, "single handedly along with Ron's mates, cancelled all the classes?" Cassandra beamed brightly and they both whistled lowly.
"Well, you certainly are trying to replace us. I'll be surprised if someone asks about us in a couple of months and they'll say 'Fred and George who?'" Cassie laughed loudly before she stopped them in the middle of the pitch patting both of them on the back.
"I don't think that's even possible. But hey, as a kind of 'glad to meet you gift,'" Cassie began as she pulled out two cylinder cases and presenting them to the older boys, "have some Every Flavor Beans, they came out with a new case last week."
Fred and George took the cases without question and they tore away at the wrapping surrounding the case before they pried the lids off. Both Fred and George screamed in surprise when a large, plush snake flew out of the cylinder bottles hitting them both square in the nose. The twins retrieved their flying fake snakes and walked back over to Cassie, humongous smiles on their faces before they laughed hysterically.
"What were those?" Fred asked in between laughs as he pushed the snake back in its case.
"They're a kind of prank that some of the muggles use on each other. I visited your shop in Diagon Alley and had a feeling you needed some new material," Cassie explained happily.
"You know, anytime you want to work for us, give us an owl. I have a feeling these babies are gonna put us on the map. Especially if we enchant the snakes to bit people on the nose!" George exclaimed happily before they said goodbye to Cassie to go talk to their younger brother and sister.
Cassie turned around to watch them go, a smile on her face but her gaze landed on Harry and she immediately frowned giving him a nasty look. She turned around quickly and headed towards the locker rooms, her Quidditch robes billowing out behind her as a strong breeze ran through the pitch, sending shivers up Harry's spine.
*~*~*~*
There was a large party in the Gryffindor common room that night to celebrate Gryffindor's win against Hufflepuff. They would be up against Ravenclaw after the winter holiday and if they won, they would more than likely face Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup.
Harry kept his distance from Cassandra that night. He had a feeling that she and Hermione had a large row after the game because they couldn't even look at each other. Hermione explained to Harry that after she talked to Cassie, the girl stormed up to the owlrey and stayed in there for the rest of the day. He knew Cassie shouldn't be bothered and she should blow off some steam before he tried to explain things to her again.
The party finally dwindled an hour before midnight. Many of the students headed off to bed, including Hermione and Cassie. Harry stayed up with Ginny and Ron, discussing their plans for the fast approaching winter holidays.
"I think we're all going to- well you know where for Christmas. All our families are there so it should be extremely interesting to have everyone there for the holidays," Ginny explained before she let out an enormous yawn excusing herself to head up to bed.
A few moments later, Harry and Ron unanimously decided to head up to bed leaving their discussions for tomorrow.
*~*~*
"I think we have an idea where the Black Diamond is my lord," the sneaky voice of Wormtail announced through a smoky haze. Harry tried to brush the fog out of his face but it wouldn't work, he was stuck in the fog wandering aimlessly, listening to the voices around him.
"Excellent, Wormtail. I hope you do not fail me you know the consequences if you do," Voldemort said in his high pitched, cold voice.
"Y-y-yes m-m-master. I do know my m-m-master," Wormtail stammered.
"I want that Diamond found by the time June gets here. That should be more than enough time. That way, we can attack the Ministry with my enchanted gem and no one can stand in my way. Not even little Harry Potter. But if you fail me, do know that there are many people who would kill to serve me." Voldemort announced to his Death Eaters. Harry could hear the unanimous agreement from Voldemort's servants and that's when his scar began to burn horribly, Voldemort's laughter echoing through his head.
*~*~*
Harry woke up with a start, his heart pounding and sweat matting his hair down to his head. He grabbed his glasses and put them on. He glanced at his clock and noticed that it was a bit after three o' clock in the morning. Wiping the sweat off his face, Harry put on his bathrobe and left his dormitory and five sleeping roommates behind him.
Once he was out in the hallway, Harry thought he could hear two voices coming from the downstairs common room. Walking silently, hoping not to disturb the two talking voices, Harry made his way down the stairway.
He almost fell down the remaining five stairs when he saw that Remus Lupin was in the fire, talking seriously to a person sitting in a large overstuffed armchair.
"You're sure you want people to know? Wouldn't that be bad for you? I don't want your first year to be horrible for you," Lupin asked his lips pursed together in thought.
"I'm not worried in the least bit Remus. To tell you the truth I really don't care about anything anymore."
"Romulus told me about the game today, told me you did amazing as a Beater, just like your father," Lupin said with a wink.
"Yeah I guess I was," Cassandra White said with a smile.
"Listen, I really need to go. You watch after yourself, I wanted to kill Romulus for making you duel with him. He could have killed you," Remus Lupin said anger edging around his voice.
"It wasn't his fault. I wanted to fight him. Put the old man in his place," Cassie said with a laugh.
"Hey, you best remember that 'old man' is as old as me!" Lupin said with a chuckle. "I'll talk to you next week Cassie."
"Bye," Cassie said before Lupin disappeared with a pop.
Harry continued to walk down the stairs totally forgetting that the third stair from the bottom always creaked if you stepped on it. The quiet croak of the stairs erupted through the silence of the room as if a bomb were exploding.
Cassie turned around quickly her face pale before her eyes narrowed and she scowled. "Oh. It's you."
"Cassie listen," Harry began as he walked towards her, taking a seat on the armchair next to her, "I wasn't going to tell Hermione about anything. She kept asking me about it; Snape blew it way out of proportion. You know how Hermione is, she has to know everything!" Harry explained hoping she would believe him.
He saw her expression soften and she looked into the fire. "How much did you hear?" she asked quietly before she looked at him again.
"What? Your conversation with Lupin?"
"Yeah . . . how much did you hear?" she repeated somberly.
"When he asked you if you wanted people to know about it." Harry explained hoping; praying she would tell him what she was talking about with Remus.
"I think its time I told you a little something about me. I came to Hogwarts not wanting people to know who my parents were. I thought if they knew about my parentage they would freak out. I don't know if you figured out all the clues that I accidentally dropped, calling Romulus by his first name when we didn't even know him, why I was writing to Remus. I thought Hermione was going to figure it out, but she got mixed signals, she thought I was somebody else's kid."
"What are you saying Cassie?" Harry asked he had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"Harry," Cassie began, her blue eyes deadly serious, "Remus Lupin is my father."
*~*~*~*
BUM BUM BUM! Ya'll know what to do now (review!)
Lily Skylo: Thanks so much for your kind words! You will find out what the pain is in due time, just be a bit more patient!
Ronit: Thank you tons for emailing me your suspicions and I'm glad you're going to continue to read it!
Snivellus: Yay you're back! I missed reading your story and I missed hearing from you! Glad to see you came back! And thank you for your wonderful reviews! They're the bestest! I'm sorry Harry didn't get to kick or punch Ron lol but maybe he will later? I don't know.
Well, I probably won't update unless I get about oh say 30 reviews.
Happy Reading!
~Aislin
12. Shocking Surprises
The next day at breakfast, Harry explained his conversation with Lupin and Tonks' sudden appearance with enthusiasm. Hermione looked at Harry; perplexed thinking about a logical answer to Harry's bursting questions. Ron looked absolutely amazed that Lupin was in contact with Cassandra and wanted to know why she was in contact with their ex- professor.
"But why did she come downstairs screaming and crying?" Hermione asked Harry giving him a questioning glance. It was then Harry could feel the bottom of his stomach give out from underneath him. He hadn't realized he had told Hermione and Ron that the reason his conversation with Lupin was cut short was because Cassandra made an unscheduled appearance, and hadn't even noticed Harry because she was in an extreme amount of pain.
"I don't know. Maybe she saw her mark for that potion's exam," Harry explained trying his best to get himself out of this awful confrontation.
"Since when has Cassie been concerned with her potion grade?" Hermione asked her eyes hardening. She knew Harry was lying to her and she crossed her arms before she gave him another one of her accusing looks. "Harry what's going on?"
"None of your business Hermione," a voice said behind Harry. Harry turned around quickly and saw Cassandra shooting a spiteful glare at Hermione and an accusing glance at Harry.
"Glad you could join us Cassie," Hermione said her voice growing cold, "Been writing to your good friend Remus lately?" she asked as if it were regular conversation.
"Who?" Cassandra asked clearly confused.
"Remus, Remus Lupin. . . have you been writing to him?" Hermione asked her voice rising.
"Oh you mean Professor Lupin's brother?" Cassandra asked the light coming to her face.
"Yes, have you been writing to him?"
"Of course I have!" Cassandra said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The three of them looked at Cassandra in shock as she sat down and began to eat.
"Why have you been writing to him?"
"Well, he and his brother did accompany me from WillowBoil to Hogwarts; I stayed with them for the summer. Romulus took care of me for the most part, seeing as Remus leaves once a month for certain . . . things," Cassandra explained, "We've been writing to each other so he knows I'm adjusting well into Hogwarts."
Hermione looked flabbergasted at Cassandra as she ate rapidly her eyes shining brightly as if everything were a huge joke, "But thank you for the third degree, Hermione. We should do that more often, really jolts my brain for the day. See you in Potions," Cassandra said throwing Harry a wink before she downed the rest of her pumpkin juice and hurried out of the Great Hall.
"What the hell was that about?" Ron asked in disbelief. Hermione shook her head and muttered something about idiot American girls before she too excused herself from the table to go and look things up in the library.
"But it's only eight o' clock in the morning! Why the ruddy hell would she want to go to the library this early?" Ron questioned Harry who merely shrugged his head and went back to reading about Fearless Charms.
Twenty minutes later, Harry and Ron found themselves sitting down in Snape's classroom, Hermione on the right of Ron. Harry looked around to see if he could catch a glimpse of Cassandra, hoping she wasn't mad at him for almost spilling her secret. It came to quite a shock when he realized that Cassandra wasn't in Potions at all and when Professor Snape came into the room, he had a feeling Cassandra wouldn't be coming to class.
"We're working on the Confusion Concoction today, one of the most difficult potions you will have to work on probably this entire year," Snape explained before he rested a hand on Neville's table, giving him a sneering look, "There's no one here to stand up for you today Mr. Longbottom." Neville looked at Snape in fear and he gulped down a lump in his throat before he looked up at the blackboard and started to copy down the instructions for the potion. Neville looked petrified as he started to cut up his flobberworm ends, placing them into his cauldron of boiling water.
"Harry do you know Cassie was writing to Lupin?" Hermione asked in a hush voice while she was stirring her potion counter clockwise.
"Not until today when she told us about it," Harry answered before he looked up at the board once more. Spiced Dragonflies needed to be added into his potion.
"And what about the pains she's been having Harry? Do you know anything about that? Why is she even having pains?" Hermione countered as she stared at him with utmost sincerity.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come off it Harry I know you know what is going on with Cassie, she told you something didn't she? What did she tell you? What's so important that she made you keep it from your friends?"
"If you are quite finished with your interrogation of Mr. Potter, perhaps you could try to finish your potion. Fifteen points from Gryffindor," a silky voice sneered from above them. Harry and Hermione looked up to see Professor Snape standing above them, a leering smile plastered on his face. Hermione mumbled her apologies and went back to her potion quickly. Expecting Snape to turn around and torture Neville who was already having trouble with his Confusion Concoction, Harry went back to his work. A throat cleared above him and Harry looked up once more to see Snape giving him a malicious glare. "I'd like to see you after class Mr. Potter," he said quietly before he turned around to give Neville unmerciful hell.
*~*~*
Fifteen points from Gryffindor deducted and an extremely terrified Neville Longbottom later, the sixth year Slytherins and Gryffindors filed out of the potions dungeon, heading to their next classes. Ron and Hermione promised they would wait for Harry after his interrogation with Professor Snape but Harry sent them ahead. He had a feeling Hermione would question him about Cassandra's heart condition and Ron would curse Snape's name and Harry didn't want anymore points deducted from Gryffindor.
Snape beckoned Harry into his office, the Potion's Master was slouched over his desk writing something on a piece of parchment. Harry saw a large cauldron sitting in the back of the office, a terrible and disgusting smell coming from the black cauldron. Harry could see the black smoke rising and he had an idea as to what the potion was.
"So," Snape began as he looked up at Harry. The boy could tell Snape was getting agitated, "Saint Potter has decided to stick his nose in another person's business. What do you know about her condition?"
Harry, knowing who he was talking about, opened his mouth to speak but the door opened and Cassandra walked in, a sort of pained look on her face. Harry saw Snape's mouth curl into a vicious sneer as Cassandra gave Harry a confusing look before she walked up to the Professor and held out the empty vial.
"Here you are Professor, thought you'd might like to refill that for me," Cassandra said, her blue eyes shining brightly as the professor took the vial from her hands and walked towards the vat in the back of the room.
"Thank you Miss White, are you sure you want me to fill this up with him in the room?" Professor Snape asked throwing a hand towards Harry.
"I don't care, he already knows about my heart problems," Cassandra said carelessly throwing Harry a look that seemed to be asking, 'Why are you in Snape's office?'
"Then surely you'd care if I told you he almost spilled the secret of your heart condition to that loud mouth Miss Granger?" Snape asked as he filled up her vial.
"I beg your pardon?" Cassandra asked looking at Snape in disbelief and throwing Harry another confused look.
"Your nosy friend Miss Granger kept questioning Potter about your conditions, and he almost told her everything," Professor Snape explained a large sneer coming over his face. Harry could feel his insides go cold as Cassie turned to look at Harry, her face twisted in anger.
"You know you promise me that you wouldn't tell anyone Harry. What the hell is your problem?" Cassandra asked her voice rising, her eyes like to cold blue stones of ice.
"I wasn't going to tell her, Cassie," Harry exclaimed, he could hear someone coughing; it sounded like Snape was snickering.
"Like hell you weren't. I trusted you Harry. . ."
"I told you running around at night screaming about your pains wasn't a good idea, someone was bound to figure it out," Snape explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Shut up Snape nobody asked for your opinion!" Cassie snapped her face contorting into an unrecognizable mask of anger, "Just give me my damn potion so I can go to my next class."
Harry watched in shock as Snape succumbed to her wishes and gave her the vial, now filled with its black contents. She snatched it from his grasp and hurried from the room, shooting Harry a malevolent look as she passed.
"Don't tell anyone about her condition, Potter or you'll have me to deal with," Snape explained coldly before Harry was excused. Harry hurried out of the room and jogged to his Dark Arts class, praying he wasn't late.
When Harry arrived in Professor Lupin's class, most of the students were already situated around the room. Harry searched the room, trying to find Cassandra but he only saw Hermione and Ron waving to him frantically begging to know what happened in Snape's office. Harry finally saw Cassandra enter the room right as the late bell sounded. She threw him a dirty look before she sat down in the very back of the room a dark look settling on her face.
"What happened with Snape?" Hermione asked fiercely as the class waited for Professor Lupin to begin the lesson.
"Nothing, but you did get Cassie downright pissed at me," Harry explained sourly before he got out his text book and opened it up, deciding to ignore Hermione.
"What?" Hermione asked in a shocked voice. She grabbed Harry's book and closed it, forcing him to look at her. "Why is she mad at you?"
"Maybe because you're being too nosy for your own good," Harry muttered as he took the book back from Hermione.
"Easy there, Harry. What's wrong?" Ron asked coming to Hermione's defense.
"Snape convinced Cassandra that I was going to tell you her secret and she got extremely irked at me," Harry explained before he looked back at Cassandra, she ignored him.
"What did she do?" Ron asked.
"Well, she did tell Snape to shut up," Harry added with a smile, "and he didn't take off any points whatsoever." Ron looked like someone had smacked him in the face.
"She told him to shut up, and he didn't take off any points?" he asked flabbergasted, "She's my hero."
"Yeah well she's probably mad at me and Hermione so you can go off and worship your hero," Harry explained somberly before Professor Lupin walked into the room a smile plastered on his face.
The class had passed their exams about the more advanced dark creatures with flying colors and now they were delving into the Dark Wizard and his curses. "Books away, wands out," Lupin announced which made all of the students smile. "Today," Romulus announced as he sat on top of his desk, "we're going to be practicing some of the curses that a Dark Wizard, not a major threat to the wizarding world mind you, uses. Do I have any volunteers?" No one raised their hands, they knew that sixth and seventh years researched the curses and the dark arts more than the rest of the school but no one could believe that they were finally there, in sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the teacher asking someone to be his victim. "Ah, Miss White, you seem very agitated today, why don't you come up here and demonstrate some dueling attacks with me?" Romulus requested. Harry could hear Cassandra mumble to herself before she walked to the front of the room, a displeased look on her face. "If you could so kindly move the desks to the back of the room and stay there, I'm afraid we'll need some room," Lupin advised. The students obliged and once they were situated in the back of the room, Lupin and Cassandra took their ready positions.
"I've heard WillowBoil Academy is known for its excellent Dark Arts classes as well as their dueling classes as well," Lupin announced to the class, "Let's see what our transfer student can do."
Without warning Cassandra jumped forward and shouted out, "Impedimenta!" Lupin flew back and landed on soft cushions that had been placed around the classroom earlier. Lupin jumped back up to his feet and brushed his hair out of his eyes. He scowled at Cassandra, "You weren't supposed to start until I counted to three," he exclaimed loudly.
"Do you think that if you're dueling a dark wizard they're going to count to three?" Cassandra asked with a smile before she drew her wand back again, "Expelliarmus!" But this time, Lupin was prepared, just as she shouted out the disarming charm, Lupin screamed out, "Protego!" and the spell was deflected off of the professor, totally unaffecting him.
And so for about twenty minutes the two went back and forth, shouting out charms and curses the students had learned in their first five years of school. When finally, Lupin halted their duel and looked at her, a serious look on his face.
"Familiar with some of the Dark Curses?" he asked her with a mischievous smile on his face. "Ready for those?"
Hermione looked at Harry and Ron, a look of panic in her face, "Some of those curses are illegal!" she proclaimed before she looked back at the witch and wizard battling at the front of room.
"Ready when you are Professor," she said the same smile stretched on her face. The two circled around each other, deadly serious looks on their faces. Finally, Cassandra stepped forward and shouted, "Bloodatus!" Lupin was thrown off his feet and when he got back to his feet, Hermione and many of the girls screamed. A large gash had appeared on Lupin's forehead, blood spilling out. He looked like he was in some amount of pain before he quickly pointed his wand to his face and muttered, "Clotarmus.' The blood immediately started to clot and he was left with a nasty looking scab.
"Tormentaramus!" Lupin yelled loudly before a blast of yellow sparks hit Cassie square in the chest.
"That's like the Cruciatus curse only less severe, it's banned!" Hermione whispered fervently. Many of the students gasped in shock, expecting to see Cassandra drop to the floor in pain but it didn't happen. She was laughing. Laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks, it was if the Tormentaramus curse hadn't affected her at all. Lupin nodded in understanding before he smiled once more.
"Crucio." The class erupted into screams. Any teacher who put any of the Unforgivable Curses on the students was likely to get sacked and sent off to Azkaban. But there was the exception of the imposter Moody in their fourth year who used the Imperius Curse to teach them to throw it off completely. The students watched in horror as Cassandra dropped to her knees and offered a tiny scream of pain. Harry shook his head. This wasn't how people acted when they were put under the Cruciatus Curse. He should know he was put under it many times. There was no explaining the pain one felt when placed under that curse. They watched flabbergasted as Cassandra yelled the same curse at their teacher.
Lupin dropped to the ground, withering in pain and screaming with agony. Cassandra lifted the curse immediately and gave him an apologetic look. Wasting no time, Lupin rose to his feet as fast as he could. "KEEPASORIA!" He bellowed as loud as he could. A stream of white light smacked Cassandra square in the heart. A look of shock and pain overcame the laughter on her face and she uttered the loudest scream Harry had ever heard. Her face turned a deathly white before she fell to her knees and started to gag, clutching her chest, clawing at her heart, as if she were trying to rip it out.
A look of horror passed over Professor Lupin's face and he immediately lifted the curse off of the student. Cassandra fell face first onto the floor, a trickle of blood coming out the side of her mouth.
"C-c-c-class d-dismissed," Lupin stammered, his face almost as pale as Cassandra's. Not wanting to leave their fellow student, the sixth year Gryffindors all lingered around the classroom. "I SAID CLASS DISMISSED!" Lupin screamed out making all the students jump before they rushed out of the classroom.
Harry waited outside the classroom, hoping Lupin was able to revive Cassandra so he could have a word with her. Hermione and Ron stayed by his side, talking about the events that had happened in the classroom.
"What was that curse he yelled? 'Keepasoria? I've never heard of that curse before in my life," Hermione explained, "It's not even in our text book."
"Well, like Harry said, she does have pains, maybe she has a heart condition," Ron suggested before he looked at Harry trying to see if he had guessed right.
Harry was about to answer him when Professor Lupin walked out of his classroom, Cassandra placed on a magic stretcher. Her hair was matted to her head with sweat, her face still deathly pale. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was in a dreamless sleep. Harry could see that the blood that was creeping out of her mouth was cleared away and there was a slight residue of black liquid around her lips.
"Is she alright Professor?" Harry asked as he and his two friends surrounded the unconscious girl.
"I think she'll be fine. I'm just taking her to the hospital wing so Madame Pomfrey can have a look at her," Lupin explained to the three students.
"Won't she get expelled? Won't you get fired?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"Why would that happen Miss Granger?"
"Both of you used one of the Unforgivable Curses. That means time in Azkaban."
"I will ask you not to worry about that Miss Granger. Now, I think you must be getting to your next class," Lupin explained excusing himself and the unconscious girl.
"That was a bit weird don't you think?" Harry asked as they headed towards Herbology.
"A little too weird." Hermione whispered back.
*~*~*~*
The story of Cassandra White and Romulus Lupin's duel spread through the school like wildfire. By lunchtime not only was the Gryffindor table discussing it, but the other three house tables as well. Everyone was extremely shocked when Cassandra entered the Great Hall near the end of lunch, looking as though the duel demonstration with the Dark Arts teacher had never happened. Many of the Gryffindors surrounded her as soon as she sat down, asking her questions about the fight with a fully trained wizard.
"Did it hurt? What was it like being under the Cruciatus Curse?"
"How badly did you beat Lupin up?"
"Hey there's a fourth year in Slytherin I don't like. Do you think you could . . ."
Harry decided to block out everything at the moment as he tried to figure out Cassandra's relationship with the Lupin brothers. Harry recalled the time when Malfoy had cursed Cassie in the hallway sending her into a kind of short lived coma. He remembered that Cassie had almost called the Professor by his first name and they were heading towards their first Dark Arts lesson that day. They hadn't even met Romulus Lupin until that very day. The second time was just the other night when he was talking to Remus Lupin in the fire up in the Gryffindor common room. Why was Remus Lupin in contact with Cassandra? Was he really making sure she was doing okay in Hogwarts? Couldn't Cassie just go to Professor Lupin in his office to inform him about any of her discomforts?
"Hey Harry, Ron, we have Quidditch practice this afternoon," Ginny explained to her older brother and his friend. "I don't know if I should tell Cassie, I think she's been through enough for one day."
"I think she already knows," Ron muttered. Sure enough, Dean Thomas was sitting next to Cassie, explaining about the Quidditch practice and who was going to win the upcoming game between Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
"She's going to kill herself one of these days," Hermione muttered under her breath.
*~*~*~*
The rest of the day went by smoothly. Katie Bell was extremely happy with the practice that afternoon; she complimented Neville and Cassie on their exceptional playing and explained to her team that she had high hopes for the Quidditch team during the rest of the year.
"We all know that Slytherin is going to flatten Ravenclaw. Even though their Nimbus brooms are outdated by three years, they're still pretty good. But with Harry's broom we should be just fine."
And so the weekend arrived, the first bit of frost arriving on the ground the morning of the Slytherin-Ravenclaw game. Katie had predicted correctly; Slytherin had steamrolled Ravenclaw, two hundred seventeen to ninety. And as the Slytherins gloated about their win all through the next week, Harry hoped they would beat Hufflepuff just so they could put the Slytherin Quidditch team on their guard.
It was two weeks after Cassie's duel with Professor Lupin and she was still upset at Harry and Hermione. She would talk to Ron, but not with the usual gusto she had when all four of them weren't upset at one another. She completely ignored Harry and Hermione during meals and even in the common room, opting for a large armchair far away from the fire and even further away from the usual social hubbub of the common room.
The day of the match against Hufflepuff dawned bright and sunny, with a hint of a strong breeze that would pass through the trees in the Forbidden Forest. After they ate their breakfast, the seven Gryffindor Quidditch players headed down to the locker rooms to get ready for the game.
Neville appeared to be paler than the Bloody Baron as he fixed his arm padding a lump rising in his throat. Cassie on the other hand was extremely calm for it being her first game of the season. Ron was just about as calm as Harry, who was polishing the handle on his Firebolt right before Katie entered the locker room, a grim look settled onto her face.
"I know we have the best team in this entire school and I know we'll do just fine out there, so everyone just do their best. Neville and Cassie, I want you all over those Bludgers. Ron, keep your eye on the Quaffle. Ginny, Dean and myself will handle all the scoring and Harry, you just keep your eyes out for the snitch. The sooner you catch it the better off we'll be. Good luck everyone," Katie said before she picked up her broom and the team walked calmly out onto the pitch.
The crowd was yelling loudly as the fourteen players mounted their brooms, Madame Hooch releasing all the balls save the Quaffle. She blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air.
"The second Quidditch game of the season has begun! Weasly takes the Quaffle and passes it off to Thomas . . . oh! Nearly got hit by that bludger there Ginny but thanks to Cassandra White, Hogwarts' new transfer student she was saved from a rather nasty collision. It's a shocker that White can play Quidditch. In the States they usually play Qudpot which consists of . . ."
"Mr. Finnigan, I asked you to take this position because you weren't chosen to be on the house team. I didn't ask you to tell us about different sports played on broomsticks," Professor McGonagall commented to the sixth year Gryffindor who had replaced Lee Jordan as the commentator for the Quidditch Games.
"Sorry there professor. Thomas passes the Quaffle to Bell, the Gryffindor captain. She approaches the Hufflepuff Keeper . . .TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!" Seamus Finnigan screamed before ten points appeared on the score board. The crowd roared as the game resumed, the Hufflepuff Chasers grabbing the Quaffle, heading towards Ron who was watching the Quaffle with an immense sort of hunger.
Harry circled around the pitch, trying to catch a glimpse of the Golden Snitch but it was not such luck. Instead he watched the game for a moment, his eyes searching the pitch every so often. He watched as one of the Chasers from Hufflepuff, Derek Tames approach Ron with the Quaffle. He knew Ron was improving immensely in practices but he still couldn't help but feel that Ron wasn't nearly as good as Oliver Wood.
"I don't believe it! Gryffindor Beater, Cassandra White smashes the Bludger into Tames' path! The Quaffle is stolen by Ginny Weasly . . .wonderful hit made by White!" Seamus yelled excitedly into the microphone.
Indeed Cassie had appeared out of nowhere and smacked a bludger straight into Derek Tames' flight path. She had hit the ball with such accuracy it could have put Fred and George to shame. Harry looked around and saw that Neville was having troubles approaching the Bludger. Every time the black ball came near him he would duck his head and place his club in the air, trying to blindly hit the Bludger.
Harry could hear a lot of the Slytherins laughing at their newly acquired Beater and even from his position fifty feet above the pitch; Harry could see that Neville had acquired a rather heavy blush.
The game proceeded and Harry clapped with the rest of the spectators as Gryffindor pulled ahead, fifty to twenty. He circled around the pitch a few times to throw off his jitters when he saw one of the Beaters from Hufflepuff smash a Bludger in his direction.
"Neville, get that ball!" someone screamed from the pitch. Harry knew that he couldn't outrun the ball; even on his trusty broomstick the Bludger was too close. He watched as Neville made a sorry attempt to go after Harry, his Cleansweep Seven was so slow even the Bludger was out flying him.
A sudden blur of scarlet and gold shot in front of Harry, brandishing a club before it smacked the ball away from him, hitting the tail of the opposite team's broom. Harry watched Cassie fly away from him, heading after Neville, probably giving him a pep talk to go after the Bludger more.
"And White makes a spectacular move that probably saves the Gryffindor Seeker Harry Potter! This girl can certainly whack the heck out of that Bludger!" Seamus screamed in excitement. Cassie was a blur around the pitch as she smacked the balls all over the place, away from her teammates and towards the Hufflepuff team.
Neville was trying his best to measure up to Cassie but at the rate she was going it looked as if Gryffindor only needed one Beater. He could see Cassie's face as she smacked a Bludger towards the Hufflepuff Captain. There was so much anger in her face Harry thought she could kill someone. All of a sudden, Harry saw Justin Finch-Fletchly, the Hufflepuff seeker, dive down from his position a few feet above Harry. Harry looked down and saw the snitch, zipping around Neville's head.
The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were screaming as Harry went into a spectacular dive gaining on Justin in a matter of minutes. They were neck and neck as he pulled up along side of Justin, arm outstretched, his fingers inches from the Golden Snitch. They were approaching the ground at a breakneck speed before Justin finally pulled out leaving Harry to grab the snitch and end the game.
The Gryffindors went wild with excitement as Harry held his right hand up, the snitch held firmly in his grasp. The Gryffindor team sank to the earth, happy and ecstatic that they had bulldozed Hufflepuff in the first game.
"GRYFFINDOR WIND THREE HUNDRED FIFTY TO THIRTY!" Seamus cried happily into the microphone, his voice almost lost over the screams of the crowd.
"Great job team! Great job! Let's hit the showers!" Katie exclaimed happily as she dismounted her broom and put her arm around Cassie, beaming brightly. "Amazing defense there Cassandra! If you just work a bit with Neville you could give Fred and George a run for their money!"
"I don't think that's possible Katie," a happy go-lucky voice exclaimed from behind her. She jumped and turned around in one swift movement to see Fred and George Weasly, dressed in expensive sweaters and pants, wearing lurid green dragon skin boots standing behind her idiotic grins on their faces.
"Why are you two here?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest a large smile playing her lips.
"Well, our brother Ron told us about our replacements, wanted to see them for ourselves." Fred explained before he opened his arms grandly and swept Cassandra White in an enormous hug.
"Wonderfully played game if I do say so myself! Absolutely spiffing!" George said happily as he smacked Cassandra on the back.
"The infamous Fred and George I presume?" Cassandra asked the same joking smile on her lips. The twins nodded excitedly before they both put arms around her shoulders and led her away towards the locker rooms.
"Now, Ron has told us about your escapades with Snape. Did you really call him a brainless git?"
"And you really," Fred began before he lowered his voice to a whisper, "single handedly along with Ron's mates, cancelled all the classes?" Cassandra beamed brightly and they both whistled lowly.
"Well, you certainly are trying to replace us. I'll be surprised if someone asks about us in a couple of months and they'll say 'Fred and George who?'" Cassie laughed loudly before she stopped them in the middle of the pitch patting both of them on the back.
"I don't think that's even possible. But hey, as a kind of 'glad to meet you gift,'" Cassie began as she pulled out two cylinder cases and presenting them to the older boys, "have some Every Flavor Beans, they came out with a new case last week."
Fred and George took the cases without question and they tore away at the wrapping surrounding the case before they pried the lids off. Both Fred and George screamed in surprise when a large, plush snake flew out of the cylinder bottles hitting them both square in the nose. The twins retrieved their flying fake snakes and walked back over to Cassie, humongous smiles on their faces before they laughed hysterically.
"What were those?" Fred asked in between laughs as he pushed the snake back in its case.
"They're a kind of prank that some of the muggles use on each other. I visited your shop in Diagon Alley and had a feeling you needed some new material," Cassie explained happily.
"You know, anytime you want to work for us, give us an owl. I have a feeling these babies are gonna put us on the map. Especially if we enchant the snakes to bit people on the nose!" George exclaimed happily before they said goodbye to Cassie to go talk to their younger brother and sister.
Cassie turned around to watch them go, a smile on her face but her gaze landed on Harry and she immediately frowned giving him a nasty look. She turned around quickly and headed towards the locker rooms, her Quidditch robes billowing out behind her as a strong breeze ran through the pitch, sending shivers up Harry's spine.
*~*~*~*
There was a large party in the Gryffindor common room that night to celebrate Gryffindor's win against Hufflepuff. They would be up against Ravenclaw after the winter holiday and if they won, they would more than likely face Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup.
Harry kept his distance from Cassandra that night. He had a feeling that she and Hermione had a large row after the game because they couldn't even look at each other. Hermione explained to Harry that after she talked to Cassie, the girl stormed up to the owlrey and stayed in there for the rest of the day. He knew Cassie shouldn't be bothered and she should blow off some steam before he tried to explain things to her again.
The party finally dwindled an hour before midnight. Many of the students headed off to bed, including Hermione and Cassie. Harry stayed up with Ginny and Ron, discussing their plans for the fast approaching winter holidays.
"I think we're all going to- well you know where for Christmas. All our families are there so it should be extremely interesting to have everyone there for the holidays," Ginny explained before she let out an enormous yawn excusing herself to head up to bed.
A few moments later, Harry and Ron unanimously decided to head up to bed leaving their discussions for tomorrow.
*~*~*
"I think we have an idea where the Black Diamond is my lord," the sneaky voice of Wormtail announced through a smoky haze. Harry tried to brush the fog out of his face but it wouldn't work, he was stuck in the fog wandering aimlessly, listening to the voices around him.
"Excellent, Wormtail. I hope you do not fail me you know the consequences if you do," Voldemort said in his high pitched, cold voice.
"Y-y-yes m-m-master. I do know my m-m-master," Wormtail stammered.
"I want that Diamond found by the time June gets here. That should be more than enough time. That way, we can attack the Ministry with my enchanted gem and no one can stand in my way. Not even little Harry Potter. But if you fail me, do know that there are many people who would kill to serve me." Voldemort announced to his Death Eaters. Harry could hear the unanimous agreement from Voldemort's servants and that's when his scar began to burn horribly, Voldemort's laughter echoing through his head.
*~*~*
Harry woke up with a start, his heart pounding and sweat matting his hair down to his head. He grabbed his glasses and put them on. He glanced at his clock and noticed that it was a bit after three o' clock in the morning. Wiping the sweat off his face, Harry put on his bathrobe and left his dormitory and five sleeping roommates behind him.
Once he was out in the hallway, Harry thought he could hear two voices coming from the downstairs common room. Walking silently, hoping not to disturb the two talking voices, Harry made his way down the stairway.
He almost fell down the remaining five stairs when he saw that Remus Lupin was in the fire, talking seriously to a person sitting in a large overstuffed armchair.
"You're sure you want people to know? Wouldn't that be bad for you? I don't want your first year to be horrible for you," Lupin asked his lips pursed together in thought.
"I'm not worried in the least bit Remus. To tell you the truth I really don't care about anything anymore."
"Romulus told me about the game today, told me you did amazing as a Beater, just like your father," Lupin said with a wink.
"Yeah I guess I was," Cassandra White said with a smile.
"Listen, I really need to go. You watch after yourself, I wanted to kill Romulus for making you duel with him. He could have killed you," Remus Lupin said anger edging around his voice.
"It wasn't his fault. I wanted to fight him. Put the old man in his place," Cassie said with a laugh.
"Hey, you best remember that 'old man' is as old as me!" Lupin said with a chuckle. "I'll talk to you next week Cassie."
"Bye," Cassie said before Lupin disappeared with a pop.
Harry continued to walk down the stairs totally forgetting that the third stair from the bottom always creaked if you stepped on it. The quiet croak of the stairs erupted through the silence of the room as if a bomb were exploding.
Cassie turned around quickly her face pale before her eyes narrowed and she scowled. "Oh. It's you."
"Cassie listen," Harry began as he walked towards her, taking a seat on the armchair next to her, "I wasn't going to tell Hermione about anything. She kept asking me about it; Snape blew it way out of proportion. You know how Hermione is, she has to know everything!" Harry explained hoping she would believe him.
He saw her expression soften and she looked into the fire. "How much did you hear?" she asked quietly before she looked at him again.
"What? Your conversation with Lupin?"
"Yeah . . . how much did you hear?" she repeated somberly.
"When he asked you if you wanted people to know about it." Harry explained hoping; praying she would tell him what she was talking about with Remus.
"I think its time I told you a little something about me. I came to Hogwarts not wanting people to know who my parents were. I thought if they knew about my parentage they would freak out. I don't know if you figured out all the clues that I accidentally dropped, calling Romulus by his first name when we didn't even know him, why I was writing to Remus. I thought Hermione was going to figure it out, but she got mixed signals, she thought I was somebody else's kid."
"What are you saying Cassie?" Harry asked he had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"Harry," Cassie began, her blue eyes deadly serious, "Remus Lupin is my father."
*~*~*~*
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