18. The Valentine Ball
He was falling. He was falling and there was nothing he could do about it. Harry was restrained as he fought to reach his godfather. He watched as Sirius' back arched gracefully as he headed for the arch. Harry was pulling against his restraints, feeling them burn into his wrists. Harry could feel his voice go hoarse from screaming and he wondered if he was really making such an inhuman howl. "Sirius! Sirius no!" he heard himself yell out hoarsely as the black, ratty veil blew back and forth in an invisible wind. Harry looked around and saw Bellatrix hurry off into another chamber, but Harry didn't care, he was free of his restraints and he was running towards his godfather, his cries coming out in ragged breaths.
Harry was surprised to see that Sirius had not gone through the veil but he was lying peacefully on the ground by the blowing veil. Harry could hear the whispers coming from behind the veil and Harry wanted to reach through and grab those voices. He wanted to silence them for good.
"Harry!" a voice called out and the young boy looked down and saw his godfather staring up at him through dull, lifeless eyes. "Harry!" Sirius gasped out again as he clutched his chest panting slightly.
"Sirius! Sirius, Dumbledore is here and you're going to be alright. Just hang on a little while longer! Please Sirius!" Harry begged grabbing onto the faded folds of the man's robes.
"Keep it secret Harry, keep it secret," the man whispered out and he gave Harry a weak smile before he closed his eyes, his head tilting lifelessly to the side. He was gone.
Harry woke up quickly, clutching his covers to his chest. He looked around to gather his bearings and he saw that he was in his bed. In his bed at Hogwarts. Sirius was nowhere to be found. Sirius had died almost a year ago.
Harry reached for his glasses and put them on, his world becoming clear and vibrant. Did he really just dream Sirius talking to him? Or was that just some sort of wishful thinking? Harry had had that dream hundreds of times before and not once had his departed godfather ever spoken a word to him. It played out exactly how it happened; Lupin was holding him back as he watched Sirius fall through the veil, Bellatrix screaming in triumph while she watched her cousin's demise. Harry seethed with anger when he thought of Bellatrix. He tried to shake his feelings about the Death Eater off but the slow boiling hate remained in the pit of his stomach.
Thankful that it was Saturday, Harry didn't bother to put on his clothes. He saw that his roommates had already left and he tried to flatten his hair down before he headed downstairs. Knowing he was fighting a losing battle when it came to his hair, Harry gave up and walked downstairs and into the common room, finding it almost entirely empty.
Hermione was sitting on one of the couches with Ron, Neville, and Cassie all of them looking extremely morose. Harry saw that both Hermione and Cassie's eyes were red as if they had been crying. And then Harry remembered the happenings of the night before. Half the common room was empty because the students had to go to London to sign their parents' death certificates. There was no telling how many students lost their entire families the night before and Harry could feel a bit of guilt rising in his stomach.
"I can't believe this happened," Harry heard Neville say as the boy sat next to Cassie, wringing his hands together in his lap. Ron was looking into the fire a morose look on his face and Hermione was casting looks at Cassie as if only the two of them knew something.
"G'morning Harry," Ron said looking up at his friend. Harry gave a half hearted wave at his friends before he took a seat next to Hermione who gave him a brave smile before she threw Cassie a reproving look. Harry saw Cassie roll her eyes before she picked up a book on Ancient Wizarding Family Heirlooms and read it with a great deal of interest.
"Is everyone else. . . you know. .. gone?" Harry asked Ron and his heart fell when he nodded solemnly.
"They left around five o' clock this morning. Took the Hogwarts Deluxe Express to King's Cross. Half the school's gone, aside from the Slytherins," Ron added darkly. Harry heard Neville give a small snort and Cassie lifted her eyebrows in agreement as she turned a heavily written on page in her book.
"Are we having classes on Monday?" Harry asked Hermione shook her head sadly.
"McGonagall posted a notice this morning," she announced, "It said that classes would not resume until all the students who lost family members could arrange a proper burial. So there's no telling when classes will start again."
"What are we going to do until then?" Harry asked as he looked into the fire with Ron.
"I don't know. I expect the funerals to be quick. They'll probably be completed by this upcoming Friday. I heard the Colin Creevy saying that he and his brother would have a short ceremony this afternoon. I can't believe this is happening," Hermione said her voice becoming strangely high pitched. It seemed like she was going to start sobbing at any moment.
"Hermione, do you want to take a walk?" Harry heard Cassie ask in a sympathetic voice. Hermione bit her lip and nodded her head, her bushy hair staying in place. He saw Cassie offer the girl a smile and Cassie put her book on her seat walking over to take Hermione by the arm. "We'll have a little talk about things, excuse us," Cassie said to the three boys before she and Hermione started for the portrait.
"Was it just me, or was Cassie actually civil to us for a change?" Ron asked as he grabbed his steaming mug of coffee. It looked like they would be eating breakfast in their common room today judging by the small feast the house elves laid out that morning. With an audible sigh, Harry got to his feet and walked over to the cart, picking out some eggs and pancakes, not eager for the day to start.
*~*~*~*
Later that day, Harry, Hermione and Ron decided to pay a visit to Hagrid. Their homework load had been forced on them by the truckload and now with classes cancelled until further notice, they had gotten most of their mountainous homework completed.
Clothed in cloaks and their Gryffindor scarves and gloves, the three walked through the quiet snow covered grounds heading for the warm hut in the distance. Harry noticed that Hagrid was home. Smoke was curling up from the chimney and Harry could see a large, bulky mass out in the back garden, chopping up firewood.
Harry walked towards the white fenced backyard and leaned against the fence, watching as Hagrid split a three foot wide tree truck with a single blow of his ax. "Hullo Hagrid," Harry said sadly and the great man looked up, snow and chips of wood stuck in his beard.
"Hallo Harry, Ron, H'mione," Hagrid said gruffly as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "It's been a while since you've visited me. Been busy lately?"
"Yeah, really busy. What with everything happening. . ."
"I know, I know. I was in a right state the o'ther night. All them poor kids. . . orphans now. No wheres to go now 'cept for an orphanage. And I know how those places are, no good some o' them. But what are we doin' out here fer? C'mon in and I'll fix up a spot of tea. And maybe I'll make sum o' those scones Harry and Ron are so fond of," Hagrid said with a smile. Harry gave Ron a glance and he saw his friend gulp loudly. Neither of them, Hermione included, were extremely fond of Hagrid's cooking. Last time they ate scones at his house, Ron had thrown one at Harry's head as a joke. The scone went sailing past Harry's head and smacked into the wall, leaving a dent. Thankfully, Hagrid had his back turned then and they had never heard him mention the abrasion in his wall.
After positioning themselves around the fire, and after Hagrid made their tea and scones, the four of them sat down for conversation. "Do you know when classes will start again Hagrid?" Hermione asked as she politely took a sip of his English tea. She made a sour face but smiled through it and Hagrid beamed.
"I'm as much in tha dark as you are Hermione. Dumbledore's keeping all this quiet. It's a great tragedy to the school n' all. Almost six hundred students lost a parent or two parents last night. . ." Hagrid began. Harry's mouth dropped open and Hermione gave a little squeak of surprise. Ron was looking out the window, not wanting to hear the conversation. Harry didn't blame him. "I know. . . if each o' those kids had a pair of parents, there'd be over a thousand dead. You-Know-Who has never done sommat like that before. Not even when he had the power he 'ad before you stopped him 'Arry."
Harry felt his face grow hot and he looked down at his brownish- yellow tea making a half disgusted half pleased face. "But there must have been a warning!" Hermione explained and Harry could see that her eyes were tearing up.
"Nope. No warning, none whatsoever. The Order had no idea this was going to happen, not even Snape found out the information until all those letters showed up. Sommat tells me that You-Know-Who had a lot of inside people pullin' this job."
"I thought Snape was in the inside circle," Ron exclaimed joining on the conversation.
"He is, but I think, and Dumbledore and the staff thinks it too, that the Dark Lord won't include Snape because of his ties with Dumbledore. He doesn't trust Snape enough to bring him in on all the top secret plans. But there was no warning that those attacks were gonna happen. Nothin'. The Ministry's having a field day trying to explain these attacks and they have no explanation. The wizarding world is going to be in a panic. And its all because of that ruddy. . ."
Knowing that Hagrid was going to reveal something important, Harry leaned forward earnestly, hoping that Hagrid wouldn't catch himself. The professor was starting to form the next word when, to Harry's dismay, he caught his mistake. The man straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat looking around innocently. "Hagrid you can tell us," Ron said in an exasperated voice. Hagrid shook his enormous head and made a motion as if to zip his mouth shut.
"That's Order business that I'm not allowed to reveal," he said shaking his head, as if he couldn't believe he almost told them, "You're all far too young."
"We've done loads more than some of the people in the Order have done!" Ron said suddenly outraged. "So Cassie gets to know about everything in the Order and we don't? We're the same age! We're all students!"
"Don't yeh understand? Cassie's in the Order too! She's the mission!" Hagrid's eyes widened and he clapped his hands over his mouth looking horrified. "Dumbledore'll kill me." He whispered.
"What do you mean she's 'the mission' Hagrid? What mission?" Ron asked standing up in his chair.
"I won't say anything more! You three go back up to the castle and stay there! Yeh shouldn't even be down here! Dark times are here and you three are running around like yeh own the place! Go on! Hurry up! And I don't want any of yeh talkin' bout the Order or anything! Understand?" Hagrid said all this quickly as he grabbed their tea cups and plates, throwing them into his sink, some of the plates shattering. He gathered the three of them between his arms, like a mother hen pushing her chicks to the coop. He opened the door in one sweeping motion and pushed them gently outside, shutting the door behind them.
Ron was in a sort of stupor for the rest of the weekend. He would shoot Cassie looks at lunch and dinner but the girl dismissed it thinking Ron was holding a grudge about their fight. Hermione was also quiet and reserved for the rest of the weekend and she and Cassie would disappear after breakfast and dinner to continue their talks.
On Monday, the muggle born students began to shuffle back to school. Most of them looked dead tired and Harry could feel deep sympathy erupt in his stomach every time he passed one of them crying in the halls. The first dinner back in the Great Hall was a sordid affair. Dumbledore donned black robes of mourning rather than his usual purple robe with golden moons and stars. The Creevy brothers were sitting to some of the other Gryffindor students who had lost parents including Seamus and Dean. Both looked at an extreme loss for words and Harry saw that they could only pat each other on the shoulder and offer their words of sympathy before tearing up themselves.
Dinner had just finished and Dumbledore stood up from his seat, raising his hand to silence the already still hall. "First, let me offer my deepest sympathies to all the students who have lost a loved one. My condolences to you and your family members. I would like to remind everyone that counseling is open to all students who wish to talk with a highly trained psychologist wizard or witch. Please see Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick if you would like to schedule an appointment," Dumbledore said humbly. The hall began to murmur slightly and Dumbledore held out his hands again, McGonagall clearing her voice shrilly.
"I have talked to the teachers, and we have agreed to have an event to boost the esteem of our student body. Next weekend we will be having a ball in celebration of St. Valentine's Day. All years are invited to this affair and there will be music, dancing and food for everyone. The Head Boy and Girl as well as the prefects for each of the houses will meet Professor McGonagall after dinner has been finished."
Harry finished up his dinner and he said his goodbyes to Ron and Hermione as they headed up the Head Table to discuss the ball with Professor McGonagall. Harry decided to wait around in the foyer for Ron and Hermione so he could hear about the ball. He was glad he didn't have to have a date for the ball like he did two years ago. Of course, going with Parvati wasn't horrible but he would have much rather gone with Cho that year. But now, Harry was glad he could just fly solo for the year. Harry glanced at his watch and realized that Hermione and Ron were taking more time than he expected. Harry shrugged as he set out for the Gryffindor Common Room but the approaching of footsteps made him stop and turn around.
He saw Hermione running towards him, her face beet red as she skidded to a stop in front of him. Harry laughed under his breath before Hermione gave him a small smile before she looked down at her feet.
"What's up Hermione?" Harry asked as he tried to catch his gaze.
"Um. . .Harry? Will you go to the ball with me?" Hermione asked as she became interested in a speck of dust blowing across the foyer floor.
"What?"
"Will you go to the ball with me?" she asked looking up at him, her face a scarlet red.
"I thought you would go with Ron this year. If I do recall you practically beat the living hell out of him two years ago because he was being a prat," Harry said remembering the scene in the common room after the Yule Ball.
"This is different Harry. Professor McGonagall told us that all prefects needed a date."
"Why didn't you go with Ron then? He's a prefect," Harry pointed out.
"But we aren't allowed to go with another prefect. She told us that was protocol. So will you go with me?" she asked again looking slightly agitated.
"Yeah, I'll go to the ball with you Hermione," Harry said with a smile. Hermione looked up her face showing a line of shock.
"You will?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I mean we're friends right? It's not that big of a deal," Harry said with a smile before he patted Hermione on the shoulder.
"Well, Ron blew the whole asking someone to the dance way out of proportion. The way he carried on it was like having all of your appendages amputated," Hermione explained as the two headed off for the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Who is Ron asking?" Harry asked as they climbed up one of the staircases, skipping the third step from the bottom. It liked to burp up flaming wood chips if stepped on.
"Cassie."
"I thought Ron hated her! Why is he asking her?" Harry asked in shock, his mouth hanging open.
"He didn't want to go with Lavender or Parvati and Cassie was his next choice. Hopefully she isn't going to freak out over the whole thing. Have you patched things up with Cassie or are you two still not speaking to each other?" Hermione asked. Harry looked away. Hermione had been bugging him to make up with Cassie for the past several weeks. The two had not carried out a decent conversation since before their fight at Grimmauld Place and the way things were going, the two weren't anywhere near discussing reconcilement.
"Oh Harry! This has got to stop! It's almost been two months and its driving everyone crazy! Can't you just say you're sorry?" Hermione asked shaking her head sadly.
"No. You heard what she said about Sirius. How can I let her get away with that?"
"Harry, I think its time you let go. Sirius. . . well, Sirius is gone," Hermione pointed out softly hoping that Harry wouldn't explode.
"I can't let go Hermione. It isn't that simple. When you've lost someone close to you, you just can't let go and carry on. But you've never lost anyone special so you don't really know what you're talking about."
"Harry, Sirius was special to me too. We all loved him, but there are times when there's no more we can do. We just have to move on and not forget, but not dwell on it day in and day out. If you accept that he's gone the memories of the times you had with him isn't going to disappear. You'll still remember it. You have to accept it Harry, you have to," Hermione explained as they walked down the hall towards the Fat Lady.
In a way Hermione was right. Harry could accept the fact that Sirius was dead and no matter what he did was going to bring him back from behind that veil. But he couldn't. It wasn't that simple. Nothing was simple in his life and he hated that. Harry shook his head and muttered the password underneath his breath. The Fat Lady swung open and Harry and Hermione were greeted with a warm, cheerful fire in the hearth most of the students sitting around reading or catching up on homework. Harry noticed that some of the muggle born students were sitting around the room with photo albums in their laps, tears running down their faces.
But there were two glowing faces sitting on a couch by the fire. Harry looked over and saw, to his great surprise, that Ron and Cassie were sitting across from each other, cross legged on a couch talking adamantly about Quidditch and the World Cup held the pervious year and Ron's horrible time at the Yule Ball.
"I had these disgusting maroon robes with lace on the hemming. The most hideous robes you've ever seen. I tried to defray my robes but most of the thread hung down. I almost didn't go. I was almost as pretty as my date." Ron said with a laugh.
"Then your date must have been pretty ugly!" Cassie explained before the two erupted into hysterics. Harry saw Parvati nudge Lavender's shoulder in their direction and Harry knew that Padma's twin sister had heard Cassie's outburst. She gave a little 'humph' before she and Lavender walked up to the girls' dormitories.
"Hello Ron, found a date yet?" Harry asked with a smile as he and Hermione took a seat opposite of the two smiling teenagers.
"Yeah, I did. I'm going with Cassie this year. We'll cause a ruckus," Ron said with a wink in Cassie's direction. The girl rolled her eyes and threw her black hair behind her shoulders. "Find your date?"
"Yeah, I'm no Viktor Krum but I guess I'll have to do," Harry said with a laugh and Hermione punched him in the shoulder.
"This ball is going to be very interesting indeed," Ron said with a mischievous smile before he grabbed a canary crème and gave it to an unsuspecting first year. The boy smiled and thanked Ron before he took a bite. Ron and Cassie erupted into laughter as did Harry as the boy turned into an enormous canary, singing a most annoying song. Hermione looked scandalized and scolded Ron for not upholding his prefect duties. Ron just rolled his eyes and went back to talk about Puddlemere United's chance of getting into the World Cup finals.
*~*~*~*
The day before the ball, Harry was lounging with Ron on the Common Room couch both of them working on their Magical Creatures essay on dragons when Cassie walked into the common room a dark smile on her face.
"Harry, I need to talk to you," she said simply as she looked over the couch he was sprawled out on. Ron threw him a knowing look and Harry sat up putting his parchment and book on the table by the couch. He saw Cassie motion for a private little corner in the common room and Harry shot her a confused look as she walked over and sat down on the window seat that overlooked the grounds.
"What is it?" Harry asked curtly. The coldness was edging back into him and he hoped Cassie hadn't pulled him away to mock him or he would give her another black eye, just in time for the dance.
"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said almost three months ago," Cassie said sullenly, looking down at her shoes. Harry stared at her in shock. Cassie apologizing? This was truly unlike the girl he met at the beginning of the year. Harry looked at her and then smirked. "Go on. . ."
"I have to go on? With what? I said I was sorry," Cassie said in an offended voice. She looked at Harry's face before she sighed loudly, "Fine." She said throwing her hands up in defeat, "It was wrong of me to say that about Sirius. I was just in a bad mood that day and wasn't in the mood to play 'Twenty Questions' okay? You just kind of sent me over the edge and I lost it. That and I had not only Remus, Romulus, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and George owling me and talking with me through the fire to make up with you but I had Hermione and Ron breathing down my neck. So you had it easy," Cassie said before she gave a little laugh, "We're still friends right?" She asked as she extended her hand.
Harry looked down at it and noticed a sort of silvery star on the flap of skin between her thumb and her index finger. It wasn't large by any means but it was extremely bright and it shimmered when she moved around. Harry looked at it questioningly and he looked up and saw that Cassie was waiting for a reply. With a smile, Harry took her hand and shook it firmly. "Yeah Cassie, still friends."
Harry and Ron were in their new dress robes lounging on the couch in front of the girls' dormitory. Harry glanced at his watch and saw that the dance would be starting at any moment. Why did girls take so long to get ready? He looked over at Ron and knew he was thinking the same thing. He was looking at the grandfather clock ever so often in the corner and he let out exasperated sighs. 'At least he has new robes this year,' Harry thought to himself. It would save the boy the humiliation at the dance. Ron's brothers had bought him brand new dress robes that actually fit their extremely tall little brother. His robes were a dark red with a golden trim, no lace in sight. Harry looked down at his own robes and smiled at the color. Mrs. Weasly bought him new robes after him and Ron owled them to tell them about the ball. She rose to the occasion magnificently and sent them their robes last night. She had sent Harry an emerald green colored robe that was trimmed in silver. His old one fell to his ankles and if Harry remembered correctly, the robes had to be floor length.
There was a sudden rustling sound from the top of the dormitory stairs. Harry and Ron snapped to attention and stood up, waiting to see who was coming downstairs. Hermione was coming down first. It looked like she was wearing the same robes two years previous but these were different. They were sky blue, formfitting robes and there was a small sort of belt draped around her waist that fell down the front of her robes. There was a triangular section in the front of her robe was a lighter fabric that shimmered every which way she moved. Her brown hair was pulled up again in an elegant bun, small tendrils framing her face. The neckline was embroidered with shimmering little sequins and the sleeves were long, ending in a bell shaped cuff. She was smiling happily as she walked elegantly down the stairs and walked over to Harry.
"Hey Hermione, you look nice," Harry said with a smile as she stood next to him.
"Thank you Harry," she said a happy grin on her face, "You look nice too." There was a silence as the three of them stood and waited for Cassie to come down the steps. Harry heard a throat clearing at the top of the stairs and the three of them looked up. Harry saw Ron's mouth drop open and Hermione reached over and closed his mouth. Cassie bounded down the stairs in a most un-lady like fashion. Her blood red robes billowed around her feet as if she were flying down on a cloud. The hem was embroidered with golden fabric that shimmered like the golden sun. Her sleeves were form fitting and ended with a swooping bell cuff similar to Hermione's. Her black hair was slicked back into a tight bun with curled pieces framing her face.
"Ready guys?" she asked her face bright as she walked up to them. Ron nodded and she smiled throwing her arm around his shoulder, "Let's kick it!"
*~*~*~*
"Did they invite Lockhart back to decorate this place or what?" Ron asked with a sneer as they walked into the Great Hall. Harry laughed under his breath and Hermione gave Ron a scandalized look.
"Who's Lockhart?" Cassie asked Ron as she gazed around in disgust at the decorations. Ron gave a groan of annoyance and took Cassie off to a table to explain their old Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart.
Harry looked around the Hall, Hermione close by. It was true; it looked like Lockhart had been released from St. Mungo's to decorate the Valentine's Ball. There was flying cupids flying around singing wizard love songs and the Great Hall was bathed in a pink light. Harry saw that Dumbledore had booked the Weird Sisters again and there were quite a bit of students out on the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance Hermione?" Harry asked offering her a smile. Hermione nodded and the two headed out to the dance floor, the band striking up one of their hit songs. There was a collective chorus of students yelling out how much they loved the song and Hermione and Harry found they were pushed to the middle of the dance floor.
The song ended and all of a sudden a big band swing song erupted in the room. Harry saw a few couples beginning to swing dance and he stood there stupidly in the middle of the floor with Hermione. He had no idea how to swing. Then, there was a sudden collective cheer coming from his left. Harry saw a large clearing in the middle, two figures dancing away. Harry grabbed Hermione's wrist and they walked over to the crowd as they cheered at the couple inside.
Harry stood on the tips of his toes just in time to see a girl in a red dress fly into the air only to be caught by her dancing partner below. The crowd gasped and cheered. "Out of my way! Prefect coming through! Hogwarts Prefect!" Hermione ordered as she muscled her way through the crowd, Harry following behind her.
The reached the beginning of the clearing and Hermione gasped out loud and grabbed Harry's arm, pointing in amazement. Cassie and Ron were in the middle of the clearing dancing away. Harry looked at them in disbelief; when did they learn how to swing dance? He watched as the two of them whirled around and around the clearing wondering if they would fall over from dizziness. The song ended quickly and the two of them hit their ending poses, the group around them clapping insanely.
The group dispersed and Harry noticed Cassie point her wand at Ron's rapidly moving feet. "Finite Incantantum," she whispered. Ron gave her a thankful look as his feet stopped moving. "That was fun!" Cassie said with a laugh as they walked over to Harry and Hermione.
"Did you not hear McGonagall Ron?" Hermione asked as the four of them walked towards their table, "Spells are not allowed at balls! You could get your badge taken away for that!"
"But you have to admit Hermione we looked cool," Ron said with a boyish grin. Hermione threw up her hands in defeat just as another popular song came on. "Come on Hermione, lets go dance," Ron said before he grabbed her hand and yanked her out on the dance floor.
Harry realized that he was alone with Cassie. He saw her look around the Hall, whistling softly. "Cassie," Harry began. She looked over at Harry and smiled at him, "Do you want to go dance?" he asked with a smile, holding out his hand.
"Sure, why not?" Cassie said with a smile as she put her hand in his. The two of them walked to the edge of the dance floor and began to dance. A few songs later and there was no sign of Ron or Hermione. Harry had scanned the dance floor and saw that they were no where in sight. So he continued to dance with Cassie thinking how much better this ball was than the one two years ago.
A flash of lightning forked across the ceiling of the Great Hall and the doors that lead to the foyer slammed open. Harry and all of the students looked up in alarm as a short, balding figure with a lime green bowler hat bounded into the Great Hall, a dozen or so wizards and witches flanking his sides.
The lights in the Great Hall came up and Harry saw Dumbledore and the rest of the staff stand up from their seats. Harry watched in amazement as Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic walked straight up to him, the wizard guards moving next to him. He felt Cassie grip his arm, her fingers brandishing into his skin.
"What is the meaning of this Cornelius? Bursting into my school in the middle of a school function, with an entire brigade of Hit Wizards no less?" Dumbledore asked calmly as he made his way down to the scene.
"I am here Dumbledore," Fudge said as he hopped from one foot to the other in anticipation, "to make an arrest."
"I am fully aware of all the antics of my students and not one of them, I believe, has done anything worthy to land themselves in Azkaban." Dumbledore said in a quiet voice.
"I'm afraid, Dumbledore, that even you have been deceived," Fudge said with a high pitched weasel like laugh. Fudge suddenly lunged forward pointing his finger in Harry's direction.
"Harry, what's going on?" a voice to his right said. Harry looked over quickly and saw that Ron and Hermione had appeared both of them looking extremely surprised.
"You!" Fudge practically screamed and Harry felt Cassie stand up straight looking at Fudge defiantly.
"What do you want with me?" Cassie asked calmly her stare icy cold.
"You know perfectly well what I want with you girl! Don't try to deny anything!" Harry heard Cassie scoff behind him as she let go of his arm, walking forward into the middle of the dance floor.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Cassie said spreading her arms out against her sides. Harry saw her reach into a small pocket in her robe. She was no doubt clutching her wand.
"You are under arrest! There will be no questions! You are to be taken away quietly! Hand over your wand girl and I swear the Wizengamot will go easier on you!" Fudge snarled.
"Really Fudge, if you are going to cart her off to Azkaban the least you can do is tell her why," Snape said icily. Harry's hatred for Snape was burning so strongly he wanted to go up and break his ugly hooked nose.
Fudge ignored Snape's comment and Harry saw that he was shaking with rage, "Get over here before I have to use force girl!" Cassie didn't move from her spot and Harry watched as Fudge snapped his fingers, the Hit Wizards rushing towards Cassie.
"Custos acclaro!" Fudge yelled loudly. Harry stood transfixed with horror as Cassie's beautiful robes disappeared only to be replaced by ugly, gray robes. Harry had seen those on only one other person. Sirius Black. So she was getting arrested, she was going to Azkaban.
Hermione cried out as the Hit Wizards pushed them out of the way, all three of them falling to the floor. Fudge laughed loudly as all twelve of them brought a struggling Cassie in front of them. They forced the girl down to the ground and Harry saw that her hair was falling out of her bun, pieces falling in her face and becoming tangled.
"Cornelius! You cannot do this! You can't come bursting into Hogwarts and arrest a student!" Dumbledore yelled out. Harry saw that the headmaster almost looked afraid about something. He watched as the old man looked over at Cassie. It seemed the two of them were having a silent conversation before Fudge moved in between them breaking their eye contact.
"What the hell did I do?" Cassie bellowed as she jumped to her feet, the Hit Wizards tackled her to the ground and Harry heard her yell out in protest.
"What did you do? You've been associating with Dark wizards!" Fudge yelled triumphantly.
"What? I haven't been associating with Dark Wizards! What the hell are you talking about?" Cassie screamed out in bewilderment.
"Bindaromus!" Fudge screamed. Harry watched as ropes flew out and bounded Cassie's hands and feet. She let out a frustrated scream as she fell to the ground once more, her head making contact with the floor. Harry heard Hermione give a small scream of terror as a wound opened up on Cassie's forehead. The Hit Wizards nor Cornelius Fudge did anything about this new wound. Fudge snapped his fingers and the Wizard Guards pulled Cassie off of the ground, blood flowing into her eyes.
"You are under arrest by the Ministry of Magic of Great Britain," Fudge began as he walked towards Cassie a menacing glare on his face.
"You can't do this to me! I haven't done anything wrong! Why the hell are you doing this?" Cassie screamed out.
"For being in contact with you father." Cornelius continued as he stopped in front of Cassie bending down so he was eye level with her.
"My father's dead! How the hell am I in contact with him!" Cassie yelled out. Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione his mouth opened. Remus Lupin was dead? What the hell was going on?
"Your father is one of the most wanted dark wizards in the Ministry of Magic!" Fudge declared. Cassie looked at Fudge before she spat in his face. The entire Hall gave a collective gasp. Fudge looked at Cassie and in one fluid motion, brought his fist across her face. Cassie let out a yelp and Harry saw Dumbledore start forward, anger in his eyes. A few Hit Wizards walked in front of Dumbledore stopping him from going any further.
"You're making a big mistake Fudge! You can't do this!" Cassie yelled out.
"Silence you stupid girl! You are under arrest by Order of the Ministry for being in contact with your father, Sirius Black."
He was falling. He was falling and there was nothing he could do about it. Harry was restrained as he fought to reach his godfather. He watched as Sirius' back arched gracefully as he headed for the arch. Harry was pulling against his restraints, feeling them burn into his wrists. Harry could feel his voice go hoarse from screaming and he wondered if he was really making such an inhuman howl. "Sirius! Sirius no!" he heard himself yell out hoarsely as the black, ratty veil blew back and forth in an invisible wind. Harry looked around and saw Bellatrix hurry off into another chamber, but Harry didn't care, he was free of his restraints and he was running towards his godfather, his cries coming out in ragged breaths.
Harry was surprised to see that Sirius had not gone through the veil but he was lying peacefully on the ground by the blowing veil. Harry could hear the whispers coming from behind the veil and Harry wanted to reach through and grab those voices. He wanted to silence them for good.
"Harry!" a voice called out and the young boy looked down and saw his godfather staring up at him through dull, lifeless eyes. "Harry!" Sirius gasped out again as he clutched his chest panting slightly.
"Sirius! Sirius, Dumbledore is here and you're going to be alright. Just hang on a little while longer! Please Sirius!" Harry begged grabbing onto the faded folds of the man's robes.
"Keep it secret Harry, keep it secret," the man whispered out and he gave Harry a weak smile before he closed his eyes, his head tilting lifelessly to the side. He was gone.
Harry woke up quickly, clutching his covers to his chest. He looked around to gather his bearings and he saw that he was in his bed. In his bed at Hogwarts. Sirius was nowhere to be found. Sirius had died almost a year ago.
Harry reached for his glasses and put them on, his world becoming clear and vibrant. Did he really just dream Sirius talking to him? Or was that just some sort of wishful thinking? Harry had had that dream hundreds of times before and not once had his departed godfather ever spoken a word to him. It played out exactly how it happened; Lupin was holding him back as he watched Sirius fall through the veil, Bellatrix screaming in triumph while she watched her cousin's demise. Harry seethed with anger when he thought of Bellatrix. He tried to shake his feelings about the Death Eater off but the slow boiling hate remained in the pit of his stomach.
Thankful that it was Saturday, Harry didn't bother to put on his clothes. He saw that his roommates had already left and he tried to flatten his hair down before he headed downstairs. Knowing he was fighting a losing battle when it came to his hair, Harry gave up and walked downstairs and into the common room, finding it almost entirely empty.
Hermione was sitting on one of the couches with Ron, Neville, and Cassie all of them looking extremely morose. Harry saw that both Hermione and Cassie's eyes were red as if they had been crying. And then Harry remembered the happenings of the night before. Half the common room was empty because the students had to go to London to sign their parents' death certificates. There was no telling how many students lost their entire families the night before and Harry could feel a bit of guilt rising in his stomach.
"I can't believe this happened," Harry heard Neville say as the boy sat next to Cassie, wringing his hands together in his lap. Ron was looking into the fire a morose look on his face and Hermione was casting looks at Cassie as if only the two of them knew something.
"G'morning Harry," Ron said looking up at his friend. Harry gave a half hearted wave at his friends before he took a seat next to Hermione who gave him a brave smile before she threw Cassie a reproving look. Harry saw Cassie roll her eyes before she picked up a book on Ancient Wizarding Family Heirlooms and read it with a great deal of interest.
"Is everyone else. . . you know. .. gone?" Harry asked Ron and his heart fell when he nodded solemnly.
"They left around five o' clock this morning. Took the Hogwarts Deluxe Express to King's Cross. Half the school's gone, aside from the Slytherins," Ron added darkly. Harry heard Neville give a small snort and Cassie lifted her eyebrows in agreement as she turned a heavily written on page in her book.
"Are we having classes on Monday?" Harry asked Hermione shook her head sadly.
"McGonagall posted a notice this morning," she announced, "It said that classes would not resume until all the students who lost family members could arrange a proper burial. So there's no telling when classes will start again."
"What are we going to do until then?" Harry asked as he looked into the fire with Ron.
"I don't know. I expect the funerals to be quick. They'll probably be completed by this upcoming Friday. I heard the Colin Creevy saying that he and his brother would have a short ceremony this afternoon. I can't believe this is happening," Hermione said her voice becoming strangely high pitched. It seemed like she was going to start sobbing at any moment.
"Hermione, do you want to take a walk?" Harry heard Cassie ask in a sympathetic voice. Hermione bit her lip and nodded her head, her bushy hair staying in place. He saw Cassie offer the girl a smile and Cassie put her book on her seat walking over to take Hermione by the arm. "We'll have a little talk about things, excuse us," Cassie said to the three boys before she and Hermione started for the portrait.
"Was it just me, or was Cassie actually civil to us for a change?" Ron asked as he grabbed his steaming mug of coffee. It looked like they would be eating breakfast in their common room today judging by the small feast the house elves laid out that morning. With an audible sigh, Harry got to his feet and walked over to the cart, picking out some eggs and pancakes, not eager for the day to start.
*~*~*~*
Later that day, Harry, Hermione and Ron decided to pay a visit to Hagrid. Their homework load had been forced on them by the truckload and now with classes cancelled until further notice, they had gotten most of their mountainous homework completed.
Clothed in cloaks and their Gryffindor scarves and gloves, the three walked through the quiet snow covered grounds heading for the warm hut in the distance. Harry noticed that Hagrid was home. Smoke was curling up from the chimney and Harry could see a large, bulky mass out in the back garden, chopping up firewood.
Harry walked towards the white fenced backyard and leaned against the fence, watching as Hagrid split a three foot wide tree truck with a single blow of his ax. "Hullo Hagrid," Harry said sadly and the great man looked up, snow and chips of wood stuck in his beard.
"Hallo Harry, Ron, H'mione," Hagrid said gruffly as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "It's been a while since you've visited me. Been busy lately?"
"Yeah, really busy. What with everything happening. . ."
"I know, I know. I was in a right state the o'ther night. All them poor kids. . . orphans now. No wheres to go now 'cept for an orphanage. And I know how those places are, no good some o' them. But what are we doin' out here fer? C'mon in and I'll fix up a spot of tea. And maybe I'll make sum o' those scones Harry and Ron are so fond of," Hagrid said with a smile. Harry gave Ron a glance and he saw his friend gulp loudly. Neither of them, Hermione included, were extremely fond of Hagrid's cooking. Last time they ate scones at his house, Ron had thrown one at Harry's head as a joke. The scone went sailing past Harry's head and smacked into the wall, leaving a dent. Thankfully, Hagrid had his back turned then and they had never heard him mention the abrasion in his wall.
After positioning themselves around the fire, and after Hagrid made their tea and scones, the four of them sat down for conversation. "Do you know when classes will start again Hagrid?" Hermione asked as she politely took a sip of his English tea. She made a sour face but smiled through it and Hagrid beamed.
"I'm as much in tha dark as you are Hermione. Dumbledore's keeping all this quiet. It's a great tragedy to the school n' all. Almost six hundred students lost a parent or two parents last night. . ." Hagrid began. Harry's mouth dropped open and Hermione gave a little squeak of surprise. Ron was looking out the window, not wanting to hear the conversation. Harry didn't blame him. "I know. . . if each o' those kids had a pair of parents, there'd be over a thousand dead. You-Know-Who has never done sommat like that before. Not even when he had the power he 'ad before you stopped him 'Arry."
Harry felt his face grow hot and he looked down at his brownish- yellow tea making a half disgusted half pleased face. "But there must have been a warning!" Hermione explained and Harry could see that her eyes were tearing up.
"Nope. No warning, none whatsoever. The Order had no idea this was going to happen, not even Snape found out the information until all those letters showed up. Sommat tells me that You-Know-Who had a lot of inside people pullin' this job."
"I thought Snape was in the inside circle," Ron exclaimed joining on the conversation.
"He is, but I think, and Dumbledore and the staff thinks it too, that the Dark Lord won't include Snape because of his ties with Dumbledore. He doesn't trust Snape enough to bring him in on all the top secret plans. But there was no warning that those attacks were gonna happen. Nothin'. The Ministry's having a field day trying to explain these attacks and they have no explanation. The wizarding world is going to be in a panic. And its all because of that ruddy. . ."
Knowing that Hagrid was going to reveal something important, Harry leaned forward earnestly, hoping that Hagrid wouldn't catch himself. The professor was starting to form the next word when, to Harry's dismay, he caught his mistake. The man straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat looking around innocently. "Hagrid you can tell us," Ron said in an exasperated voice. Hagrid shook his enormous head and made a motion as if to zip his mouth shut.
"That's Order business that I'm not allowed to reveal," he said shaking his head, as if he couldn't believe he almost told them, "You're all far too young."
"We've done loads more than some of the people in the Order have done!" Ron said suddenly outraged. "So Cassie gets to know about everything in the Order and we don't? We're the same age! We're all students!"
"Don't yeh understand? Cassie's in the Order too! She's the mission!" Hagrid's eyes widened and he clapped his hands over his mouth looking horrified. "Dumbledore'll kill me." He whispered.
"What do you mean she's 'the mission' Hagrid? What mission?" Ron asked standing up in his chair.
"I won't say anything more! You three go back up to the castle and stay there! Yeh shouldn't even be down here! Dark times are here and you three are running around like yeh own the place! Go on! Hurry up! And I don't want any of yeh talkin' bout the Order or anything! Understand?" Hagrid said all this quickly as he grabbed their tea cups and plates, throwing them into his sink, some of the plates shattering. He gathered the three of them between his arms, like a mother hen pushing her chicks to the coop. He opened the door in one sweeping motion and pushed them gently outside, shutting the door behind them.
Ron was in a sort of stupor for the rest of the weekend. He would shoot Cassie looks at lunch and dinner but the girl dismissed it thinking Ron was holding a grudge about their fight. Hermione was also quiet and reserved for the rest of the weekend and she and Cassie would disappear after breakfast and dinner to continue their talks.
On Monday, the muggle born students began to shuffle back to school. Most of them looked dead tired and Harry could feel deep sympathy erupt in his stomach every time he passed one of them crying in the halls. The first dinner back in the Great Hall was a sordid affair. Dumbledore donned black robes of mourning rather than his usual purple robe with golden moons and stars. The Creevy brothers were sitting to some of the other Gryffindor students who had lost parents including Seamus and Dean. Both looked at an extreme loss for words and Harry saw that they could only pat each other on the shoulder and offer their words of sympathy before tearing up themselves.
Dinner had just finished and Dumbledore stood up from his seat, raising his hand to silence the already still hall. "First, let me offer my deepest sympathies to all the students who have lost a loved one. My condolences to you and your family members. I would like to remind everyone that counseling is open to all students who wish to talk with a highly trained psychologist wizard or witch. Please see Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick if you would like to schedule an appointment," Dumbledore said humbly. The hall began to murmur slightly and Dumbledore held out his hands again, McGonagall clearing her voice shrilly.
"I have talked to the teachers, and we have agreed to have an event to boost the esteem of our student body. Next weekend we will be having a ball in celebration of St. Valentine's Day. All years are invited to this affair and there will be music, dancing and food for everyone. The Head Boy and Girl as well as the prefects for each of the houses will meet Professor McGonagall after dinner has been finished."
Harry finished up his dinner and he said his goodbyes to Ron and Hermione as they headed up the Head Table to discuss the ball with Professor McGonagall. Harry decided to wait around in the foyer for Ron and Hermione so he could hear about the ball. He was glad he didn't have to have a date for the ball like he did two years ago. Of course, going with Parvati wasn't horrible but he would have much rather gone with Cho that year. But now, Harry was glad he could just fly solo for the year. Harry glanced at his watch and realized that Hermione and Ron were taking more time than he expected. Harry shrugged as he set out for the Gryffindor Common Room but the approaching of footsteps made him stop and turn around.
He saw Hermione running towards him, her face beet red as she skidded to a stop in front of him. Harry laughed under his breath before Hermione gave him a small smile before she looked down at her feet.
"What's up Hermione?" Harry asked as he tried to catch his gaze.
"Um. . .Harry? Will you go to the ball with me?" Hermione asked as she became interested in a speck of dust blowing across the foyer floor.
"What?"
"Will you go to the ball with me?" she asked looking up at him, her face a scarlet red.
"I thought you would go with Ron this year. If I do recall you practically beat the living hell out of him two years ago because he was being a prat," Harry said remembering the scene in the common room after the Yule Ball.
"This is different Harry. Professor McGonagall told us that all prefects needed a date."
"Why didn't you go with Ron then? He's a prefect," Harry pointed out.
"But we aren't allowed to go with another prefect. She told us that was protocol. So will you go with me?" she asked again looking slightly agitated.
"Yeah, I'll go to the ball with you Hermione," Harry said with a smile. Hermione looked up her face showing a line of shock.
"You will?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I mean we're friends right? It's not that big of a deal," Harry said with a smile before he patted Hermione on the shoulder.
"Well, Ron blew the whole asking someone to the dance way out of proportion. The way he carried on it was like having all of your appendages amputated," Hermione explained as the two headed off for the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Who is Ron asking?" Harry asked as they climbed up one of the staircases, skipping the third step from the bottom. It liked to burp up flaming wood chips if stepped on.
"Cassie."
"I thought Ron hated her! Why is he asking her?" Harry asked in shock, his mouth hanging open.
"He didn't want to go with Lavender or Parvati and Cassie was his next choice. Hopefully she isn't going to freak out over the whole thing. Have you patched things up with Cassie or are you two still not speaking to each other?" Hermione asked. Harry looked away. Hermione had been bugging him to make up with Cassie for the past several weeks. The two had not carried out a decent conversation since before their fight at Grimmauld Place and the way things were going, the two weren't anywhere near discussing reconcilement.
"Oh Harry! This has got to stop! It's almost been two months and its driving everyone crazy! Can't you just say you're sorry?" Hermione asked shaking her head sadly.
"No. You heard what she said about Sirius. How can I let her get away with that?"
"Harry, I think its time you let go. Sirius. . . well, Sirius is gone," Hermione pointed out softly hoping that Harry wouldn't explode.
"I can't let go Hermione. It isn't that simple. When you've lost someone close to you, you just can't let go and carry on. But you've never lost anyone special so you don't really know what you're talking about."
"Harry, Sirius was special to me too. We all loved him, but there are times when there's no more we can do. We just have to move on and not forget, but not dwell on it day in and day out. If you accept that he's gone the memories of the times you had with him isn't going to disappear. You'll still remember it. You have to accept it Harry, you have to," Hermione explained as they walked down the hall towards the Fat Lady.
In a way Hermione was right. Harry could accept the fact that Sirius was dead and no matter what he did was going to bring him back from behind that veil. But he couldn't. It wasn't that simple. Nothing was simple in his life and he hated that. Harry shook his head and muttered the password underneath his breath. The Fat Lady swung open and Harry and Hermione were greeted with a warm, cheerful fire in the hearth most of the students sitting around reading or catching up on homework. Harry noticed that some of the muggle born students were sitting around the room with photo albums in their laps, tears running down their faces.
But there were two glowing faces sitting on a couch by the fire. Harry looked over and saw, to his great surprise, that Ron and Cassie were sitting across from each other, cross legged on a couch talking adamantly about Quidditch and the World Cup held the pervious year and Ron's horrible time at the Yule Ball.
"I had these disgusting maroon robes with lace on the hemming. The most hideous robes you've ever seen. I tried to defray my robes but most of the thread hung down. I almost didn't go. I was almost as pretty as my date." Ron said with a laugh.
"Then your date must have been pretty ugly!" Cassie explained before the two erupted into hysterics. Harry saw Parvati nudge Lavender's shoulder in their direction and Harry knew that Padma's twin sister had heard Cassie's outburst. She gave a little 'humph' before she and Lavender walked up to the girls' dormitories.
"Hello Ron, found a date yet?" Harry asked with a smile as he and Hermione took a seat opposite of the two smiling teenagers.
"Yeah, I did. I'm going with Cassie this year. We'll cause a ruckus," Ron said with a wink in Cassie's direction. The girl rolled her eyes and threw her black hair behind her shoulders. "Find your date?"
"Yeah, I'm no Viktor Krum but I guess I'll have to do," Harry said with a laugh and Hermione punched him in the shoulder.
"This ball is going to be very interesting indeed," Ron said with a mischievous smile before he grabbed a canary crème and gave it to an unsuspecting first year. The boy smiled and thanked Ron before he took a bite. Ron and Cassie erupted into laughter as did Harry as the boy turned into an enormous canary, singing a most annoying song. Hermione looked scandalized and scolded Ron for not upholding his prefect duties. Ron just rolled his eyes and went back to talk about Puddlemere United's chance of getting into the World Cup finals.
*~*~*~*
The day before the ball, Harry was lounging with Ron on the Common Room couch both of them working on their Magical Creatures essay on dragons when Cassie walked into the common room a dark smile on her face.
"Harry, I need to talk to you," she said simply as she looked over the couch he was sprawled out on. Ron threw him a knowing look and Harry sat up putting his parchment and book on the table by the couch. He saw Cassie motion for a private little corner in the common room and Harry shot her a confused look as she walked over and sat down on the window seat that overlooked the grounds.
"What is it?" Harry asked curtly. The coldness was edging back into him and he hoped Cassie hadn't pulled him away to mock him or he would give her another black eye, just in time for the dance.
"Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said almost three months ago," Cassie said sullenly, looking down at her shoes. Harry stared at her in shock. Cassie apologizing? This was truly unlike the girl he met at the beginning of the year. Harry looked at her and then smirked. "Go on. . ."
"I have to go on? With what? I said I was sorry," Cassie said in an offended voice. She looked at Harry's face before she sighed loudly, "Fine." She said throwing her hands up in defeat, "It was wrong of me to say that about Sirius. I was just in a bad mood that day and wasn't in the mood to play 'Twenty Questions' okay? You just kind of sent me over the edge and I lost it. That and I had not only Remus, Romulus, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and George owling me and talking with me through the fire to make up with you but I had Hermione and Ron breathing down my neck. So you had it easy," Cassie said before she gave a little laugh, "We're still friends right?" She asked as she extended her hand.
Harry looked down at it and noticed a sort of silvery star on the flap of skin between her thumb and her index finger. It wasn't large by any means but it was extremely bright and it shimmered when she moved around. Harry looked at it questioningly and he looked up and saw that Cassie was waiting for a reply. With a smile, Harry took her hand and shook it firmly. "Yeah Cassie, still friends."
Harry and Ron were in their new dress robes lounging on the couch in front of the girls' dormitory. Harry glanced at his watch and saw that the dance would be starting at any moment. Why did girls take so long to get ready? He looked over at Ron and knew he was thinking the same thing. He was looking at the grandfather clock ever so often in the corner and he let out exasperated sighs. 'At least he has new robes this year,' Harry thought to himself. It would save the boy the humiliation at the dance. Ron's brothers had bought him brand new dress robes that actually fit their extremely tall little brother. His robes were a dark red with a golden trim, no lace in sight. Harry looked down at his own robes and smiled at the color. Mrs. Weasly bought him new robes after him and Ron owled them to tell them about the ball. She rose to the occasion magnificently and sent them their robes last night. She had sent Harry an emerald green colored robe that was trimmed in silver. His old one fell to his ankles and if Harry remembered correctly, the robes had to be floor length.
There was a sudden rustling sound from the top of the dormitory stairs. Harry and Ron snapped to attention and stood up, waiting to see who was coming downstairs. Hermione was coming down first. It looked like she was wearing the same robes two years previous but these were different. They were sky blue, formfitting robes and there was a small sort of belt draped around her waist that fell down the front of her robes. There was a triangular section in the front of her robe was a lighter fabric that shimmered every which way she moved. Her brown hair was pulled up again in an elegant bun, small tendrils framing her face. The neckline was embroidered with shimmering little sequins and the sleeves were long, ending in a bell shaped cuff. She was smiling happily as she walked elegantly down the stairs and walked over to Harry.
"Hey Hermione, you look nice," Harry said with a smile as she stood next to him.
"Thank you Harry," she said a happy grin on her face, "You look nice too." There was a silence as the three of them stood and waited for Cassie to come down the steps. Harry heard a throat clearing at the top of the stairs and the three of them looked up. Harry saw Ron's mouth drop open and Hermione reached over and closed his mouth. Cassie bounded down the stairs in a most un-lady like fashion. Her blood red robes billowed around her feet as if she were flying down on a cloud. The hem was embroidered with golden fabric that shimmered like the golden sun. Her sleeves were form fitting and ended with a swooping bell cuff similar to Hermione's. Her black hair was slicked back into a tight bun with curled pieces framing her face.
"Ready guys?" she asked her face bright as she walked up to them. Ron nodded and she smiled throwing her arm around his shoulder, "Let's kick it!"
*~*~*~*
"Did they invite Lockhart back to decorate this place or what?" Ron asked with a sneer as they walked into the Great Hall. Harry laughed under his breath and Hermione gave Ron a scandalized look.
"Who's Lockhart?" Cassie asked Ron as she gazed around in disgust at the decorations. Ron gave a groan of annoyance and took Cassie off to a table to explain their old Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart.
Harry looked around the Hall, Hermione close by. It was true; it looked like Lockhart had been released from St. Mungo's to decorate the Valentine's Ball. There was flying cupids flying around singing wizard love songs and the Great Hall was bathed in a pink light. Harry saw that Dumbledore had booked the Weird Sisters again and there were quite a bit of students out on the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance Hermione?" Harry asked offering her a smile. Hermione nodded and the two headed out to the dance floor, the band striking up one of their hit songs. There was a collective chorus of students yelling out how much they loved the song and Hermione and Harry found they were pushed to the middle of the dance floor.
The song ended and all of a sudden a big band swing song erupted in the room. Harry saw a few couples beginning to swing dance and he stood there stupidly in the middle of the floor with Hermione. He had no idea how to swing. Then, there was a sudden collective cheer coming from his left. Harry saw a large clearing in the middle, two figures dancing away. Harry grabbed Hermione's wrist and they walked over to the crowd as they cheered at the couple inside.
Harry stood on the tips of his toes just in time to see a girl in a red dress fly into the air only to be caught by her dancing partner below. The crowd gasped and cheered. "Out of my way! Prefect coming through! Hogwarts Prefect!" Hermione ordered as she muscled her way through the crowd, Harry following behind her.
The reached the beginning of the clearing and Hermione gasped out loud and grabbed Harry's arm, pointing in amazement. Cassie and Ron were in the middle of the clearing dancing away. Harry looked at them in disbelief; when did they learn how to swing dance? He watched as the two of them whirled around and around the clearing wondering if they would fall over from dizziness. The song ended quickly and the two of them hit their ending poses, the group around them clapping insanely.
The group dispersed and Harry noticed Cassie point her wand at Ron's rapidly moving feet. "Finite Incantantum," she whispered. Ron gave her a thankful look as his feet stopped moving. "That was fun!" Cassie said with a laugh as they walked over to Harry and Hermione.
"Did you not hear McGonagall Ron?" Hermione asked as the four of them walked towards their table, "Spells are not allowed at balls! You could get your badge taken away for that!"
"But you have to admit Hermione we looked cool," Ron said with a boyish grin. Hermione threw up her hands in defeat just as another popular song came on. "Come on Hermione, lets go dance," Ron said before he grabbed her hand and yanked her out on the dance floor.
Harry realized that he was alone with Cassie. He saw her look around the Hall, whistling softly. "Cassie," Harry began. She looked over at Harry and smiled at him, "Do you want to go dance?" he asked with a smile, holding out his hand.
"Sure, why not?" Cassie said with a smile as she put her hand in his. The two of them walked to the edge of the dance floor and began to dance. A few songs later and there was no sign of Ron or Hermione. Harry had scanned the dance floor and saw that they were no where in sight. So he continued to dance with Cassie thinking how much better this ball was than the one two years ago.
A flash of lightning forked across the ceiling of the Great Hall and the doors that lead to the foyer slammed open. Harry and all of the students looked up in alarm as a short, balding figure with a lime green bowler hat bounded into the Great Hall, a dozen or so wizards and witches flanking his sides.
The lights in the Great Hall came up and Harry saw Dumbledore and the rest of the staff stand up from their seats. Harry watched in amazement as Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic walked straight up to him, the wizard guards moving next to him. He felt Cassie grip his arm, her fingers brandishing into his skin.
"What is the meaning of this Cornelius? Bursting into my school in the middle of a school function, with an entire brigade of Hit Wizards no less?" Dumbledore asked calmly as he made his way down to the scene.
"I am here Dumbledore," Fudge said as he hopped from one foot to the other in anticipation, "to make an arrest."
"I am fully aware of all the antics of my students and not one of them, I believe, has done anything worthy to land themselves in Azkaban." Dumbledore said in a quiet voice.
"I'm afraid, Dumbledore, that even you have been deceived," Fudge said with a high pitched weasel like laugh. Fudge suddenly lunged forward pointing his finger in Harry's direction.
"Harry, what's going on?" a voice to his right said. Harry looked over quickly and saw that Ron and Hermione had appeared both of them looking extremely surprised.
"You!" Fudge practically screamed and Harry felt Cassie stand up straight looking at Fudge defiantly.
"What do you want with me?" Cassie asked calmly her stare icy cold.
"You know perfectly well what I want with you girl! Don't try to deny anything!" Harry heard Cassie scoff behind him as she let go of his arm, walking forward into the middle of the dance floor.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Cassie said spreading her arms out against her sides. Harry saw her reach into a small pocket in her robe. She was no doubt clutching her wand.
"You are under arrest! There will be no questions! You are to be taken away quietly! Hand over your wand girl and I swear the Wizengamot will go easier on you!" Fudge snarled.
"Really Fudge, if you are going to cart her off to Azkaban the least you can do is tell her why," Snape said icily. Harry's hatred for Snape was burning so strongly he wanted to go up and break his ugly hooked nose.
Fudge ignored Snape's comment and Harry saw that he was shaking with rage, "Get over here before I have to use force girl!" Cassie didn't move from her spot and Harry watched as Fudge snapped his fingers, the Hit Wizards rushing towards Cassie.
"Custos acclaro!" Fudge yelled loudly. Harry stood transfixed with horror as Cassie's beautiful robes disappeared only to be replaced by ugly, gray robes. Harry had seen those on only one other person. Sirius Black. So she was getting arrested, she was going to Azkaban.
Hermione cried out as the Hit Wizards pushed them out of the way, all three of them falling to the floor. Fudge laughed loudly as all twelve of them brought a struggling Cassie in front of them. They forced the girl down to the ground and Harry saw that her hair was falling out of her bun, pieces falling in her face and becoming tangled.
"Cornelius! You cannot do this! You can't come bursting into Hogwarts and arrest a student!" Dumbledore yelled out. Harry saw that the headmaster almost looked afraid about something. He watched as the old man looked over at Cassie. It seemed the two of them were having a silent conversation before Fudge moved in between them breaking their eye contact.
"What the hell did I do?" Cassie bellowed as she jumped to her feet, the Hit Wizards tackled her to the ground and Harry heard her yell out in protest.
"What did you do? You've been associating with Dark wizards!" Fudge yelled triumphantly.
"What? I haven't been associating with Dark Wizards! What the hell are you talking about?" Cassie screamed out in bewilderment.
"Bindaromus!" Fudge screamed. Harry watched as ropes flew out and bounded Cassie's hands and feet. She let out a frustrated scream as she fell to the ground once more, her head making contact with the floor. Harry heard Hermione give a small scream of terror as a wound opened up on Cassie's forehead. The Hit Wizards nor Cornelius Fudge did anything about this new wound. Fudge snapped his fingers and the Wizard Guards pulled Cassie off of the ground, blood flowing into her eyes.
"You are under arrest by the Ministry of Magic of Great Britain," Fudge began as he walked towards Cassie a menacing glare on his face.
"You can't do this to me! I haven't done anything wrong! Why the hell are you doing this?" Cassie screamed out.
"For being in contact with you father." Cornelius continued as he stopped in front of Cassie bending down so he was eye level with her.
"My father's dead! How the hell am I in contact with him!" Cassie yelled out. Harry looked over at Ron and Hermione his mouth opened. Remus Lupin was dead? What the hell was going on?
"Your father is one of the most wanted dark wizards in the Ministry of Magic!" Fudge declared. Cassie looked at Fudge before she spat in his face. The entire Hall gave a collective gasp. Fudge looked at Cassie and in one fluid motion, brought his fist across her face. Cassie let out a yelp and Harry saw Dumbledore start forward, anger in his eyes. A few Hit Wizards walked in front of Dumbledore stopping him from going any further.
"You're making a big mistake Fudge! You can't do this!" Cassie yelled out.
"Silence you stupid girl! You are under arrest by Order of the Ministry for being in contact with your father, Sirius Black."