Chapter 31

A Surprising Visit

It seemed like an hour before the door swung open and Harry looked down into Matthew's face. He felt a little better when the boy smiled openly and warmly. At least the whole family didn't hate him.

"Hi, Matthew. Is Cassie here?"

"Yeah. I don't think she knew you were coming, though. She hasn't been mooning around here like she usually does."

Harry flushed a little. "No, this is kind of a surprise visit." Matthew moved aside to let Harry into the house and Harry immediately realized that he was the one surprised.

"Excuse the suitcases and things. We're all going on a trip tomorrow and we just found out so we've got a lot to do."

"A trip?" He could barely get the words out. They seemed to have gotten caught partway up his throat. "Where are you going?" Harry was positive that Cassie had not mentioned going on any sort of trip. The nervous feeling he had had all morning suddenly multiplied into downright panic. She was leaving? Going away? He wanted to pelt Matthew with a million questions but suddenly,

"Matthew! Where have you gotten to? You've got to get your clothes packed now, young man!"

"Coming, coming. Jeesh, didn't you hear the knocking?" His voice was irritable as he wandered toward his mother, who was obviously calling from a back bedroom. He turned as he was leaving the entry hall, "Well, come on. Mum'll be glad to have help." Harry followed woodenly into the family room where it looked like every closet in the house had exploded, spilling their contents in bright bombs of color. There were multiple suitcases in the room, most open and obviously in the middle of being packed. Harry could barely think. She was leaving! Leaving without saying goodbye! All the anger Harry had felt the day before came flooding back, only to be quickly banished by a feeling of such acute emptiness that he caught his breath at the pain of it. Old wounds, thought long healed, were suddenly ripped open, exposing nerve endings that throbbed and screamed in agony. He couldn't bear it. No, he simply couldn't bear it. He could not go through this again. He bit his lip to hold back what felt suspiciously like a sob in the back of his throat.

Then he straightened his spine and squared his shoulders. He may not be the best at handling emotional outbursts from other people but he was very good at suppressing them in himself. He almost never cried and he wasn't going to now. He heard footsteps behind him and turned. Mrs. Robinson smiled a wan smile at him. Harry thought she looked exhausted. "Matthew said you were here but I thought he was just trying to get Cassie all riled up. We weren't expecting you today." Obviously, he thought. He didn't say it. It wasn't her fault that everything had gone so terribly wrong.

She crossed the room to a suitcase, where she put the pile of clothes she had been holding in her arms. She pushed her hair back from her forehead and at that moment, Harry was reminded forcefully of Cassie. She did that when she was tired. He stirred himself from the dark thoughts he was having.

"Matthew mentioned you need some help?" He tried to sound cheerful, like he knew all about the trip and didn't mind that they would be taking his heart with them.

"Oh, yes. I would love it. But I think Cassie will probably want to talk to you first. She really wanted to reach you earlier today but couldn't . . . ." Just then, Harry heard a soft little catch of breath behind him and turned to face Cassie who had just entered the room. She had another armful of clothes and had obviously not expected to find him here.

He wanted to hug her but she had too much stuff in her arms. And truthfully, he wasn't sure that she would welcome his touching her at all. The words they had said to each other the afternoon before had made him unsure of exactly what their relationship was; and the fact that she was leaving made the situation even more confusing. He just stared at her as she walked over to her mother and put the clothes down with the others. Mrs. Robinson smiled at Harry again and left the room. Cassie started folding the clothes into very small little bundles and packing them into the suitcase. She seemed agitated and her hands were shaking slightly as they moved automatically through the small pile.

"Harry, I'm . . . I wanted to call earlier today and tell you . . . but you still haven't given me your phone number and I didn't have time to walk over there. Mum was going to drive me this afternoon. I thought I could find the house even though I can't recall the numbers exactly. It's weird, I can never remember your address." Harry wasn't sure what the point of that tidbit of information was. Was she trying to accuse him of once again withholding things from her? He felt a brief flare of frustration. He thought that maybe she was right -- this was never going to work out.

She finally stopped folding the clothes and walked over to him where he still stood in the middle of the room. He was still standing where he had stopped on first entering the room, unsure of what was going on. He thought that maybe he should try to move his feet now. They seemed strangely disconnected from the rest of him and he wasn't sure that they would obey him anyway.

Cassie stood about a foot away from him and looked searchingly up into his face. He thought he saw relief there as well as a little bit of guilt, maybe some nervousness. He could not really read her well enough to be able to decipher her mood. He knew she wasn't angry anymore - if that had truly been how she had felt the day before. She did seem a little sad, a little distant, more hesitant than Harry had ever seen her. She always seemed to move through his life with such single-minded determination. This was a side to her that he was not familiar with - a fact that threw him even more off kilter than he already was.

He lifted his arm, indicating the barely organized chaos around the room. "When were you going to tell me about this?"

"What? Oh, well. That's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. I needed to . . . ."

The message to move seemed to have gotten through to his feet finally and he took a step toward her, only to have her back up, seemingly not wanting to get too much into his personal space. Or not let him get too much into hers.

"My dad got a phone call last night. He has to fill in for a sick colleague at some really boring meeting. The only good thing is that it is in France and the whole family can go."

"When?" Harry wanted to ask more, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Just last night. I told you."

"No. I mean when are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. But that's actually what I wanted to . . . ."

Just then, Mrs. Robinson stepped into the room again. "Got everything settled?" Settled? Harry thought. How could they get this settled? She continued, "Is that all right then?" She must have seen the look of utter confusion on his face because she looked at Cassie. "You haven't told him yet?" A small shake of the head and then Harry was really puzzled. The pertinent facts seem to have all been covered. Of course, there was the fact that he thought he might implode from loneliness, but he doubted that it what she meant.

"Look, Harry. What I've been trying to tell you, is . . . ." She looked imploringly at her mother. Mrs. Robinson smiled.

"What she is trying to say, Harry, is that despite the potential thrill of spending an entire week in the exciting company of her parents and her two sweet younger brothers, Cassie has declined the offer of a free vacation in France." Harry's heart stopped completely. It restarted again, doing double time, when Mrs. Robinson finished by saying, "She thought that she had something more interesting she could be doing here - I know I can't imagine what it is." She laughed, a warm friendly laugh that again reminded Harry very much of her daughter's. They may not look anything alike, but they certainly did have the same laugh, one that Harry still thought he would follow to the gates of hell if it meant he could hear it just one more time.

"Anyway, I'm sure you two will have a much better time here together than either of you would have with Cassie in France. But . . ." She took a deep breath and looked directly into Harry's face. " . . . . I expect that you will continue to behave in a responsible way. I have been very impressed at the way you have treated my daughter and if I had any thoughts that such behavior would not continue I can assure you that she would not be allowed to stay - no matter how much of a tantrum she threw." Harry heard an embarrassed squeal from Cassie. He flushed bright pink. He had never been told in such clear terms that he better keep himself in line. Not that he had any intentions of doing otherwise, but it was still embarrassing to be so bluntly put in his place.

The next couple of hours reminded Harry very much of the last day of summers he had spent at the Burrow when the Weasleys, he and Hermione were trying to pack to get ready to go back to school. Everyone was hustling around trying to make sure nothing was forgotten, laundry was being done and sorted, Mrs. Robinson was bustling about busily trying to make sure that the boys had packed enough socks and underwear. Harry helped out as much as he could. He was so busy he did not have much of a chance to visit with Cassie who continued to hurry from one room to another on various errands for her mother. Every so often her mother would remind Cassie of something else she wanted her to do while they were away. Cassie would dutifully add it to an ever-growing list.

Slowly they were making order out of the chaos in the family room. As with any other last- minute adventure, a few things went wrong. Matthew and John were running around at one point and knocked over the case holding all the medicines and what was obviously Mrs. Robinson's make up. It made a big mess, but on top of that, the lid broke, snapping off one of the hinges. Needless to say, the next few minutes were a little tense with Mrs. Robinson muttering harsh punishments under her breath for the two boys and Harry trying (unsuccessfully) to see if it could be repaired. She was so distressed that Harry really considered for a few seconds using his wand and fixing the thing, but couldn't figure out how to do it without anyone becoming suspicious. Cassie came in from outside a few moments later and noticed the problem.

"Don't worry, Mum, I've got one you can use. Remember you and dad gave me one for Christmas?" Cassie turned to Matthew and asked him to go into her room and retrieve the small case from her closet. A few minutes later, Matthew returned with the makeup case and a mischievous grin on his face. He handed the case to his mother and grinned at Cassie. Harry could feel her getting tense. Matthew went out into the hall, clutching a piece of paper and Cassie followed, apparently able to tell from his expression that he was up to no good and that it had something to do with her. Soon afterward, there was a screech of outrage and "You had no right to go poking about on my desk in my private things, you little brat!" Harry met Mrs. Robinson's eyes and they both strode out into the hall.

Harry raised his eyebrows at the scene that met his eyes. Cassie was standing with her fists clenched and Matthew was still grinning dancing just out of her reach. His mother walked over to him and held out her hand. Matthew reluctantly turned the paper over to his mother, and then said, "I had no idea that they were getting married. I guess as the brother, I don't get to know such interesting details." Cassie's face went white. Harry was a little confused until she got the paper back from her mother and Harry could see over her shoulder. She was holding a piece of note paper with doodles of hearts and flowers all over it. In the middle of the doodling was written Harry James Evans and Cassiopeia Ann Evans. She crumpled it quickly, obviously very embarrassed. Harry wasn't sure whether to laugh or not. He had noticed at school that girls tended to try their names out with all of their boyfriend's names, so he knew that it didn't mean anything. He had caught Hermione writing variations on the name Granger-Weasley more times than he cared to count although he always acted like he hadn't noticed. What was making him laugh was Cassie, whose blanched face was quickly turning red.

Cassie ran into her bedroom and it took her quite a few minutes before she came out again. She blushed when she saw Harry but he smiled at her and she seemed to relax. About five o'clock, Mrs. Robinson came into the family room where Harry and Cassie were helping John re-pack his suitcase. He had somehow managed to avoid packing any socks. "Would the two of you mind going out and picking up some take-out for tonight's dinner? I just don't want to make a mess in the kitchen. How about some Indian food? Cassie, you know that little Indian restaurant we like - the one five blocks south of here?" She grabbed the phone and called in an order, but the names meant nothing to Harry. He had never had Indian food but hoped he would like it. He was starving. Everyone else seemed quite happy with the idea. Cassie got some money from her mother and smiled at Harry. He smiled back and they stepped outside.

As the two got out onto the street, Harry turned and looked at Cassie. She gave him another awkward, shy smile and waited to see what he would do or say. Harry wanted to pull her close to him and kiss her, but he too felt a little awkward given the circumstances. Instead, he reached out his hand and took hers. They walked in silence a few minutes when Cassie turned to Harry and apologized for the day before.

"No," Harry said, "I need to apologize to you. I know it's hard putting up with all these things I can't tell you. I wish I could tell you more; but I can't."

"I'm sorry I'm so impatient. My mum often says it's my biggest fault."

Harry stopped and looked into Cassie's eyes. He thought for a moment he could happily drown in her deep blue eyes. "What changed your mind?"

"Well, my mum could tell I was really upset yesterday when I came home. So, she talked to me for a long time about why I was upset. We talked about you, me, what my expectations are, about relationships in general and what's really important right now. I realized that I may never know everything about you. I also remembered you keep telling me you're going to be going away soon and I . . . ." She glanced away for a moment, blushing slightly under his steady gaze, and then continued, "I want to be with you as much as possible before you do go. Besides," she smiled, "maybe someday you will feel you can tell me everything."

Harry reached out and gently pulled Cassie into his arms. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as his wound around her waist. He then tightened his grip ever so gently until she was snug against him and he could feel the heat of her body against his. He felt so comfortable holding her in his arms. Harry thought back to all the scenarios he had concocted in his mind earlier today. None of them had had this happy of an ending. He felt like he wanted to do something to prove that he really would be as open with her as possible.

Harry suddenly had a thought come to his mind. He hesitated for only a moment and then forged ahead, before his common sense could assert itself. "Cassie, I want you to ask me one question that you really want answered and I will answer it honestly."

"I don't want to ask you anything. It's not important any more."

"It's important to me. I want . . . . I want to. I mean I want you to understand something completely."

"What? Just tell me."

"No. I don't mean that. I mean, I don't care what it is, just something. Something I can be totally open about. Something I don't have to pretend about anymore." Harry hoped he didn't sound as pitiful to her as he did to himself.

"Just tell me something then, something that you don't like pretending about." There were several long moments of silence. His name. That was the thing he most wanted to tell her. It was stupid but when she kissed him and called him a made-up name, it hurt. And it had hurt a little to see her writing on that paper earlier, when it wasn't real. But, of course, he couldn't. He couldn't think of anything he could tell her, really. Nothing.

"Please, Cassie. You must have one question. One thing. That can be my . . . . my price to pay for you to trust me, to believe me." She looked sideways at him.

"Do you really want me to?" He nodded. "Okay."

"Take your time to think about it. You can ask anytime that you think of one." He fully expected her to have to sort through a million questions in her mind before coming up with a good one. But, suddenly,

"I already know my question."

"What? You can't. Already?"

"Yes. I already know my question."

"Well, what is it, then?" He was probably insane to do this. He had thought this morning of a lot of things she might ask about and a lot of things he might possibly be able to tell her. He supposed that she could ask him a difficult question that might give away the fact he was a wizard or explain about something magic. He hoped he could do a decent job of making it sound normal. What she did ask surprised him. It was a simple question. Very simple. Oh, so complicated.

"What I want to know, Harry, more than anything else about you is this . . . . Who is after you, why, and what would they do if they found you?" He stood there, blinking, for several minutes on the street.

"You know, Cassie, I can answer that question for you, but not out here in public. I need somewhere to tell you where no one can overhear me."

"Is it that secretive?"

"Yes. I mean, I am in hiding, after all."

"Oh. I didn't know you were really serious about that." Harry glanced around. He could certainly wait until they got back to her house, but then her parents and brothers would be there. He didn't want to wait too long, either. He wanted to tell her right now, before he could change his mind. Down the street, he saw a small park, a patch of grass, really, but they could sit there and he could keep his eye out to see if anyone was approaching.

"Yeah. I'm serious. Come here. We can talk here, I think." There was a picnic table and not much else there, but that was perfect. No one else was in the park and truthfully considering the fact it was dinner time, Harry doubted anyone would be wandering in. Harry considered whether sitting at the table was quite the right setting, but he decided that it was probably as good a place as anywhere. There was really no way to say it that made it decent.

She looked at him expectantly, her face open and anxious and Harry hoped that what he said didn't ruin that. "There is this . . . .person. His name is Voldemort, Lord Voldemort. He's very bad . . . He's evil. He wants to kill me."

"What?!!"

"He wants to kill me. He's tried several different times, about six times, actually."

"But I don't understand. Why would he want to kill you? I mean, you're . . . ."

"Still young. I know. That's partly why."

"I still don't understand."

"Well. He wants everyone to think he's some super powerful . . . . person, so that they're afraid of him and will do what he wants. After all, if one person, especially a kid, can refuse to do what he says, then, well. . . . you know, everyone could and then where would he be?"

"But, you . . . ." Harry could hear the unasked question.

"Yeah. I got in his way once. He can't stand that. And he can't stand everyone else knowing I didn't, uh, do what he wanted. Especially since I'm so young. It just drives him crazy to think I'm still around. I can guarantee you that if he even had a hint of where I was, he would not hesitate for one second to kill me. And that's why I'm hiding, Cassie. Really hiding." He stared down at his hands for a second before he dared to look at her.

Cassie sat for a few moments in shocked silence and then gave an involuntary shudder. She looked at Harry and he saw fear, pain, and confusion in her eyes. Her question was a whisper, "Is he like a gangster or something?"

Harry thought about that for a minute and then said, "Well, that's probably a good way to put it. He has a group of people around him who are almost as evil as he is and who would gladly kill me if they found me." Harry put his arm around Cassie and they sat in silence for a few minutes. He did feel a little better that now she knew what he was dealing with. He hoped she felt better but he didn't suppose she did. That sort of news was kind of hard to feel pleased about. Finally, they agreed they better get to the restaurant.

Harry and Cassie quickly went to the restaurant, picked up the food, and returned home at a fast pace. Cassie seemed really nervous, apparently fearing that someone would jump them at any moment. Harry realized he would have to talk to her later about the fact that she didn't have to be quite so worried, but decided that could wait.

By the time they arrived back at the Robinson's, they were acutely aware of the length of time they had been gone. However, no one seemed to have noticed as everyone seemed to still be scurrying about trying to finish the packing and other preparations for the trip. Mr. Robinson had arrived home from the office and joined in what was left of the frenzy. They all happily took a respite when the food arrived.