Chapter 6
Diagon Alley Again
The next couple of weeks passed normally for Cassie. She never had any owls from Harry telling her that she had really messed up by telling her mum about magic and she never had a very angry Remus Lupin on the doorstep either yelling at her or performing a memory modification spell on her. Of course, she also didn't have any visits from Remus to take her to Diagon Alley and she felt bad about that. She had decided the next time she saw George she would definitely tell him the truth and she wanted to get it over with. She felt like such a liar - she had never lied but she had certainly lied by omitting a few pertinent facts. She remembered how she had yelled at Harry for doing the same thing and felt a twist of guilt in the region of her heart.
So about three days before Halloween, Cassie was very relieved to wake up in the morning to the now familiar tapping on her bedroom window. She opened the window and the owl she could recognize as George's flew in and perched on her bedroom chair. She removed the roll of parchment from its leg and read the familiar writing, thinking with a pang that it might be the last time.
Dear Cassie, I asked my dad last night if he and Remus were going to be bringing you to the shop again before Halloween and he said no. He said it might actually be quite a while as the man they had been meeting with has gone on a rather extended holiday. (I asked if that was a nice way of saying he was dead, but he assured me not.) I guess you probably won't be coming back to the shop with them until December or something. I'm sorry about that because I thought it was really great having you here. I thought maybe you could come on your own, but Dad said you couldn't. Is he wrong? I'd love to see you. By the way, Lee canceled his Halloween party because his parents are going to be in town after all. Too bad. He throws great parties. If you were planning to come, I could still come and get you. I'm sure we could find something to do that night. Diagon Alley is basically one big street festival on Halloween, as you probably know. Send a note back with Icharus if that sounds like fun. Love, George
Cassie read the note through several times. She felt bad that she wouldn't be going back to Diagon Alley for so long, but she really wasn't surprised. Things could not go on the way they were forever. And it was time that she accepted it. She thought with more than a twinge of sadness about how things would be when she could no longer go to Diagon Alley. However, her immediate problem was George. She considered confessing everything in the note she would return with his owl, but thought her news was probably something that was better told in person. But Halloween was definitely out. She could not imagine having George show up at her doorstep and then try to take her somewhere. She tried to imagine the look on her mum and dad's face as they just "popped" to some party. No. It wouldn't be happening, so she would have to tell him and it would be very awkward. She took out a piece of paper and wrote a note back. She decided it would just be easier if she told him yet one more small lie that she was busy that night. She wasn't. She couldn't remember ever really celebrating Halloween before in her life, but she didn't want to explain that to him.
Dear George, I'm sorry that it will be so long before I see you again, also. I had a great time visiting your shop and visiting with you. I was going to have to turn down your invitation for Halloween anyway. I already had something planned, so I'm glad you won't be too disappointed. Please write me again. I love hearing from you. Love, Cassie
She quickly read over her note and thought it was completely inadequate. But it was the best she could do. She rolled it up and tied it on the leg of the owl which was still perched on her chair. A few minutes later the owl soared through her open window into the cold morning air, and Cassie stared a long time at it as it flew out of sight.
That day at school, Cassie actually got asked out on another date by a boy in her English literature class. He was nice looking and Cassie had thought previously that he would be fun to get to know. He suggested a party that some kids from school were having, but Cassie declined. It didn't really sound like something she would enjoy. Instead, they were going to go to a movie. She thought maybe it would be good to go out with someone who was not a wizard and give him a real chance. After all, she better get used to it.
The date went all right, she thought later. He hadn't tried to do anything rude or ignorant and he hadn't treated her like his sister. In fact, he had held her hand for a little while which was nice. Unfortunately, Cassie found herself all night comparing him to Harry and the fun evening they had had watching James Bond all those months ago and was relieved when he let her hand go and didn't try to take it again. At the end of the night, he moved toward her like he wanted to kiss her but she moved aside and pretended she hadn't noticed. She didn't want to kiss him. She kept thinking that he would be so much nicer-looking if he had dark red hair and an infectious grin. So she lay in bed later that night feeling very sorry for herself. She was kind of trapped between the two worlds, wanting to fit into the magical world but not being able to and not being able to settle back into the non-magical one either. She hoped she would eventually be able to reconcile herself to the fact that she was a Muggle and be happy with that again.
That next Saturday, Cassie had no plans. The day stretched long and lonely in front of her and she paced back and forth in her room for a long while. She seriously considered taking the Underground to Diagon Alley. She felt fairly confident she could find the place and even though she didn't have a wand to tap the brick wall behind the pub, she thought that the bartender would probably open the wall for her. Hermione had said he would do that if someone asked him to. And she had a little wizard money left over from her last visit if that would help convince him to do the trick. She decided against it, though. She knew that her being able to go there had been an exception to a pretty hard and fast rule about crossing the line between the two worlds unnecessarily and didn't want to get anyone in any trouble with the wizard government. They didn't seem like the kind and sympathetic types from what few experiences she had heard about. That afternoon, she had another owl from George which kept her from getting totally depressed although what it said did nothing to exactly cheer her up, either. .
Dear Cassie, I'm sorry I haven't written sooner, but I suppose you know how busy we've been lately. I'm sure you read the article in the Prophet about Harry Potter once again fighting off the Dark Lord over Halloween. What is it about that day? I don't think the article mentioned that the whole Order was involved but it was which meant Fred and me, too. So it's probably best that you and I hadn't gotten together. I wouldn't have wanted you to be caught in the middle of that mess. And yes, it was as bad as the paper said. Fortunately, no one was hurt on our side, well not seriously anyway. Dad said this means he and Remus will probably meet with their guy next month as it is important they keep information flowing. So I may not see you again until then . . . unless you let me come to your house and actually take you out on a date. Would that be so bad? Love, George
Cassie felt nauseated as she wrote back a response. She was upset about Voldemort and that George, Harry and others had once again been in danger. She was also frustrated that she didn't know what was happening in the Wizarding World and was afraid she wouldn't know if there was bad news until a long time after it happened or perhaps never, this news from George being a prime example. However, she couldn't let on that she didn't know anything about a battle, so she tried to make her response carefully neutral.
Dear George, I figured that you were all right or I would have heard something. I'm glad to hear from you, though. And I'm really glad that Harry and everyone else was able to fight Lord Voldemort again. Is this war ever going to end? I really want to see you again, but I think it's best if we just meet at the store if your dad and Remus ever bring me back. There are some things you don't know about me that could make your coming here sort of tricky. Ask your dad if you can't wait to find out. He knows everything. Love, Cassie
She tied the note onto the owl's leg with shaking fingers and again watched as the bird flew out of sight. It wasn't fair to George to keep him hanging on like this. She almost hoped Arthur would just tell him the truth so that she didn't have to. She just could never seem to find the right time or the right words.
The next owl that arrived three days later was Hedwig and it was carrying a note from Ginny. She felt a twinge of disappointment that it wasn't Harry's writing which she saw when she opened the parchment, but she read the note with interest, wondering what she could want.
Dear Cassie, This is Ginny. Harry had to fight Voldemort again on Halloween. He beat him back, but it took a lot out of him and he spent a whole week in the hospital wing. He's really feeling down and I'm a little worried about him. I was hoping you might be willing to send him a note. I think it would cheer him up. Ginny
Cassie thought for a little while about what she could possibly say to Harry to cheer him up. Finally, she took a clean piece of some old stationary that had unicorns on the top and wrote a note.
Dear Harry, I heard that you beat Voldemort again. I'm not surprised. You are one of the most amazing people I know. I think that sometimes you feel responsible for all the bad stuff that happens, that somehow if you would just do your job better, it wouldn't. That isn't true. Remember what we talked about that night on the couch? They were willing to fight, even when they thought you were dead. It is not all your responsibility. You will wind up winning this war, I am sure of it. You will, because you are too stubborn to let it happen otherwise. Write back sometime. I love hearing from you. Love, Cassie
She reread the note several times before tying it carefully to Hedwig's leg. She hoped it did what Ginny wanted. She could imagine Harry beating himself up because he had once, again, let Lord Voldemort escape. But she was sure that he had done his best. She had seen him fight and had been amazed at how powerful he was, even though he was only 17. And she truly thought that with all the good people, including George and Fred, fighting on his side, there was no way they were going to lose.
More than week passed before Cassie saw another owl. It was George's and it was resting on her bedroom window sill when she got home from school that afternoon. She was extremely nervous as she opened the window and let the owl in. She wasn't even able to get the parchment off the owl's leg before there was a knock at her door. She gasped. She wasn't sure what to do. She could send the owl back outside, but what if it took off before she was able to grab the parchment? And she really wanted to know what George had to say this time.
"Who is it?"
"It's me. Can I come in?"
"Um, no, Mum. Not right now." Cassie reached for the string that tied the parchment onto the owl's leg, thinking she would just grab it, shoo the bird out, and then let her mum into the room. But she had no sooner grabbed the parchment, than the door opened and her mum poked her head in.
"Cassie, it's not like you to try to keep me out of your room. What's going - oh, my! What is that?"
"It's an owl, mum. You may as well come in. Hurry and shut the door." So then Cassie had to explain about how wizards sent their mail by owl and how this particular owl was George's and that he had just delivered a letter. Cassie wanted to read it desperately, but she also didn't want to read it in front of her mother. She had no idea what the note would say. Her mother seemed rather anxious to leave as Icharus was still waiting to return Cassie's answer and kept flying around the room, obviously impatient to get back. So, after her mum left the room muttering something about why they couldn't use mailboxes, Cassie carefully unrolled the note. It was long, which made her feel at least a little better.
Dear Cassie, I didn't want to ask my dad what you were keeping secret from me. I thought that was something between the two of us, something I wanted to talk about with you in person. But, honestly, I am beginning to despair that I will ever actually see you again. I tried to find your address but couldn't, so I asked Dad how I could apparate to your house. He just said I couldn't and left it at that. I figured out that you must be Muggle-born and that's why you don't have an owl of your own and why you are so nervous for me to come visit. Don't worry about that. My brother's girlfriend Hermione is Muggle-born and she is a really powerful witch. If you ever agree to be my girlfriend (my fingers are crossed), it won't be a problem with me that you're Muggle-born.
I also asked my dad if he could just get you and bring you here to see me if I can't go to you, but he said no. So, I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to see each other. I hope, Cassie, that you feel the same way about me as I do about you. You haven't ever really said so. Fred says that someone as pretty as you would never want to be seen in the company of someone as weird-looking as I am so you probably don't. I hope he's wrong and I hope to see you again, really soon. Love, George
Cassie laughed loudly at the thought of Fred telling George he was weird-looking since, of course, they were almost identical. She also flushed with pleasure at the thought that George (or Fred) thought she was pretty. She flipped the parchment over and wrote an answer quickly.
Dear George, I agree. This is something we need to talk about in person. Thank you for your note. I do want to see you very much. I'll see you very soon, even if I have to come down to your shop myself and get in all sorts of trouble for it. Love, Cassie
She didn't know what else to say to him. It was all just so very complicated. She needed to see him in person and that meant waiting for Remus and Arthur to have a meeting and be willing to take her to Diagon Alley with them. And for all she knew, they would never take her again. She certainly had had no indication of it for a while. But she was serious about seeing George again to tell him that she was a Muggle. She owed him that much, at least. She tied the note onto Icharus' leg and sent him out the window.
She was glad the next two weeks that she was extremely busy in school. Writing term papers and studying for tests kept her focused on doing things and kept her from getting too depressed about the lack of contact from the two older wizards. Her dad had asked her a few times what had happened, and Cassie had said she didn't know. The last time he asked with her mother hovering sympathetically in the background and Cassie had run out of the room crying. Nothing was said again in her presence and she tried as hard as she could to concentrate on what she had to do to get good marks in her classes.
So, when on a rainy Wednesday afternoon she arrived home from school to find Remus and Arthur sitting in her living room having tea with her mother, you could have knocked her over with one of Icharus's feathers. All three looked up and smiled. Cassie's mum explained, "Arthur and Remus arrived about 30 minutes ago and I insisted they take tea. I also made them promise to come by more often and to make sure to stay for dinner this evening as Andrew has missed visiting with them." She smiled at the two men who nodded in agreement. Remus then looked at Cassie.
"Cassie, we have an important meeting this afternoon in Diagon Alley and wondered if you would want to come. But it is a school night, so we understand . .."
"No. I definitely want to come." She wouldn't have cared what sort of schoolwork she had. She wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to go. It had been almost two months since she had last visited there. Her mother made the usual fuss about making sure she was home at a decent hour, but Cassie didn't worry too much. Her mum trusted Remus and Arthur, even though she now knew they were wizards, and Cassie knew that as long as she was with them, her mum wouldn't really be too worried.
The three of them started walking toward the Underground, but Remus pulled them over into a little park a few minutes later and they took a portkey. Cassie wasn't too thrilled, but she also knew that time was of the essence, as it got dark so early in the evening now. Taking the Underground would be too time-consuming. She landed flat on her back in a crowded storeroom and Arthur helped her up. It took her a moment to realize that they were in the back of George and Fred's shop. Oh. She would be seeing him now then. She wished she had a few more minutes to get her thoughts together. She bit her lip, trying to think of a good way to tell him the truth. It was a moment she dreaded but she also was really looking forward to seeing him again, no matter what the reason was.
But when they walked out into the shop, she realized immediately that she would not be having a heart-to-heart conversation with George at this moment. The store was busy and he was surrounded by a large knot of customers demanding attention. Remus and Arthur left her standing there as they went to meet their informant and she looked around for a few minutes. The store was obviously decorated for the holidays as there were displays of green and gold in the front window. She went over and looked at what they had out. There were a lot of candies displayed in pretty packaging and Cassie grimaced, thinking that there would be a lot of people taken in by the innocuous looking wrapping on Christmas morning - until they turned purple or breathed fire. She glanced out the window and froze in absolute amazement. It had been raining at her house and she knew that the temperature in London today was nowhere near the freezing mark. But apparently, no one had told the wizards that. It was snowing here, soft fluffy-looking flakes that coated the street and landed softly on the people passing through a winter wonderland of snowy streets with horse-drawn sleighs. She glanced back, trying to catch George's eye to let him know that she was there and was going to step outside, but he was busy explaining something to a customer so she decided it wouldn't hurt to just go out for just a quick look.
She stepped out of the shop and stared in wonder at the hundreds of Christmas trees lining the sidewalks. She stepped close to one standing nearby and saw that each tree was bedecked with miniature candles burning white, green and red flames and from which Christmas carols could be heard. Cassie stood literally open-mouthed at the sight for a minute. Magic was incredible.
Cassie decided it would be okay for her to stroll along the street and look around a little bit before it got dark. She had been out on her own before and as long as she stayed along the main thoroughfare she would be fine. She pulled her coat tighter around her, grateful for its warmth, and set out to do some window-shopping. She wished that she had thought to grab more money before coming today. She hadn't even thought about shopping for presents because she hadn't realized that wizards would make such a big deal about Christmas. She stared into the first window that she came to, the ice cream shop, and and it wasn't long before she was completely entranced, completely forgetting about her vow to stay close to the twins' store. In the window of the ice cream shop, she saw a scarlet-colored train engine and accompanying cars engraved with the words Hogwarts Express. Cassie remembered Harry had talked about taking a train to school and wondered if this is what it looked like. The miniature train was winding its way around and through mountains of ice cream of various flavors and colors. Along side the tracks were trees and villages made candy and sugar. The entire setting was being sprinkled by magical snowflakes. The miniature people inhabiting the villages were moving and Cassie stared, wishing she could somehow capture the sight for her brothers. They would love it.
Cassie continued her stroll along the street, looking into various shops richly decorated for the season. She then crossed over to one of her favorite shops, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and stood at the storefront window. There were several broomsticks on display and a rather humorous poster of Father Christmas riding on a Firebolt that looked a lot like the one Harry owned. He was waving and nodding, patting the broom as he juggled his large bag. Cassie laughed as he looked like he was about to slip off and then righted himself. The words that scrolled under the jolly old elf touted the safety features of the broom and implied that while flying reindeer were rather unpredictable, a Firebolt could always be depended on to get you where you needed to be. Cassie smiled and went to the next store that caught her eye, Flourish and Blott's.
The popular bookstore's storefront window was adorned with three enchanted snowmen holding caroling books and singing. The caroling books were titled, The Magic of Christmas Carols. There were other holiday-themed books displayed at the feet of the snowmen. Several of them were children's books and they looked amazing. Cassie wished that she had hours to go in and read them. Among the book titles for grown-ups were Christmas Decorating: It's Magic and Putting Fire Into Your Holiday Dishes: Ogden's Fire Whiskey Cooking Guide. She thought back to that dinner at Hogwarts and smiled. That Fire Whiskey seemed to be the drink of choice for wizards. Knowing them, it probably really did catch fire. She decided she didn't want to ever try it.
Before Cassie realized it, it was starting to get dark, and she turned around to go back to the store. She stopped suddenly. The store wasn't in sight. Had she gone further than she realized? She must have done because nothing around here looked familiar. Well, no need to panic. She could just ask somebody where the ice cream shop was. Everyone would know that and then George's shop was just next door.
However, now that she wanted to find someone to ask, she was appalled to note that the streets were almost deserted. Some of the stores were closed, and she realized that if she didn't hurry, all of the customers and shopkeepers would be gone for the night. A small bubble of fear rose in her throat. A horse drawn sleigh raced by her as she tried to get a better look from the street and she jumped out of the way as the horse didn't seem inclined to stop. As she picked herself up from the sidewalk, she realized that she was no longer in Diagon Alley. She had been pushed into a side alley. She looked up and down the narrow street. It was darker here although the snow was still falling. There were a few decorations out, but they seemed rather half-hearted and dingy looking. She had a terrible sense of dread standing here. She tried to suppress the niggling terror that was creeping on the edge of her consciousness. She was about to step back out onto the familiar street when she saw a small group of people pass by across the way. She decided that she would ask them for directions to the ice-cream shop. They had just turned from the Alley and would certainly be able to tell her whether to turn left or right when she got back onto the main thoroughfare.
She tried to call to them, but her voice didn't seem to carry well and they never even slowed down. She tried to catch them, but before she could, they turned into a small shop. Well, it looked a little run-down, but at least there were lights on and customers inside. Once she just had a general idea of where to go, she could leave quickly. Maybe they could even draw her a quick map. She pushed the door open wider and stepped across the threshold. This time, the incredible sense of evil being present was even stronger and she promised herself that she would ask as quickly as possible and leave.
Strange. There was no one in the shop. She looked around, wondering if the people were just standing out of her sight. But no, there was definitely no one in here. She felt the small feeling of panic that had lodged in her stomach the second she had turned and not been able to see the twins' shop expand until it now felt big enough to choke her. She was about to back out of the doorway when she heard voices coming from the back of the shop. That explained where they had gone then. She decided that she would just knock politely on the partially-open door and ask for directions. Then she could leave this spooky place. As she entered further into the shop, however, she gasped. The objects in the shop were dreadful - nothing that she had ever seen before or hoped to ever see again. She wasn't sure, but she was fairly positive these were dark magic objects. They seemed to consist of a lot of shrunken heads and hands and books that looked like they had blood stains on them. She was getting ready to leave the awful shop and take her chances with the darkening street when the voices from the back room got louder. She turned automatically to greet whoever had come out of the door and realized that no one was coming out, the door was just opened wider and she could see the people who were sitting back there. It looked like some sort of meeting -- then she stopped and froze absolutely still. She could see blond hair through the doorway, pale blond. It was all too familiar. She had seen that same hair through Harry's window many months ago many times throughout a very long night when they were trapped inside his enchanted house. She would never forget his name or his appearance. And then the familiar voice echoed through the shop and she couldn't help the involuntary shudder that shook her. The evil that was radiating from him made her weak in the knees. She really needed to get away from here quickly.
"Well, Blackman, I hope this works. Your schemes lately have not been as successful as we had hoped. The Dark Lord is getting very impatient and I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to replace you permanently, if it doesn't." That was certainly Lucius Malfoy speaking. There was no doubt about it. But the thing that shocked Cassie the most was the name of the man whom he addressed. She recognized the name Blackman. It was her father's boss's name. Of course, there could be lots of Blackmans in the world. Her father's boss was certainly not a wizard, so he wouldn't be here, in this obviously wizarding shop. A dark wizarding shop, no less.
There was a mumbled voice. It was quiet but Cassie caught several words, words that seemed terribly out of place in this store. "News media . . . the tabloids . . . the Army." Then another voice spoke, and Cassie did not recognize this one either but at least she could hear what this man said.
"Malfoy's right, Blackman. And I don't think he would be sending you a retirement gift. You wouldn't be around to enjoy it. So you better make sure that the Muggle Prime Minister does as we expect. And the Secretary may have to be neutralized if he gives us any trouble." Cassie's stomach turned over. The Muggle Prime Minister and one of his Secretaries - what did they have to do with anything that would matter to these people? She heard the mumbling again but couldn't catch anything that man said this time.
Then a voice that Cassie certainly did recognize spoke from the back room and she moved a little closer to the door, hoping that she could see if it really was her dad's boss or if she was just imagining things. "He will, he will. The man's too trusting and he's a fool, besides. I've had Robinson set up a private meeting between the PM and myself. He'll be almost pitifully easy to place under the Imperius curse. Then, it's a simple matter of having him announce a change in policy . . . ." Cassie didn't hear anything more because as she attempted to take one step closer to the open door, she knocked against the counter and something fell off and shattered. She gasped in terror. There was no chance they hadn't heard that. It had sounded like a cannon shot in the otherwise silent shop. And sure enough, half a second later the door opened wide and the face of Richard Blackman, definitely her dad's boss, showed through the opening. He was wearing wizard robes, but it was him. She was sure. Cassie glanced into his angry face, and then looked past him into the well-lit room where a small group of wizards was staring out at her, obviously just as shocked as she was to come face-to-face with them. Mr. Blackman, whom she had met on numerous occasions over the past several years, looked at her and she saw a flash of recognition followed immediately by confusion at what she was doing here in this shop. Cassie immediately knew that it was not the time to introduce herself again. She had to get of that shop and she had to get out of there fast.
