Chapter 7

Keeping Cassie Safe

Cassie knew her life was in danger and she was smarter than to stick around to see what happened. The door was still cracked open and she scrambled across the shop, ripped the door open and tore through it like a shot. She could see the lights of Diagon Alley up ahead and she ran like the hounds of hell were after her, which she supposed they probably were. She could hear muffled shouts and screams behind her and she could have sworn that she even saw a red curse pass over her head and hit a sign which disintegrated. When she got to the main street she turned right and ran for all she was worth toward people and noise and light and crowds. She recognized the bookstore and, taking heart that she was going the right direction, ran flat out until she saw the familiar Weasley's Wizard Wheezes sign a few seconds later. She hit the door at a full sprint, throwing herself into the warmth and light of the empty shop and into the arms of the boy standing there - Fred.

"Oh, oh, Fred. I'm being chased. Dark wizards. Malfoy. Hide me! I've got to . . . hide!" She was gasping for air and hoped that he understood what she had said. Fortunately, Fred didn't take time to ask questions, he just shoved her back through the doorway into the storeroom. She heard the door of the shop open seconds later and the angry voice of Richard Blackman echoed through the store. Fred shoved her back behind some boxes, checking to make sure she couldn't be seen. He leaned very close to her, his hand covering her mouth, and for one brief moment, Cassie had the completely inappropriate thought that she wished it had been George standing there instead of Fred. She had never been so afraid in her entire life.

His voice was low in her ear. "Quiet. We'll cover for you." As if she needed to be told. She was afraid to even breathe, although she felt fairly safe, now. George wouldn't let anything happen to her. She was sure of that. When her breathing quieted enough that she could hear something beside her own harsh gasps, she listened to the discussion going on in the main part of the store. What she heard made her heart race in terror once again. They had found her!

"I'll tell you again, Blackman," George was saying, "no one has come through that door in the last 10 minutes except for you. And if you're not here to buy anything, I would appreciate it if you would leave. We are just trying to close."

"She was blond. A young girl. She was running and I saw her come in here. She stole something from me."

"For the last time, she didn't come in here. You are obviously mistaken. Maybe she tricked you somehow."

"There was no trick . . . ." His voice was low but menacing, and Cassie almost involuntarily held her breath. This was a far cry from the syrupy sweet way he had always treated her when she had visited her father at his office. It had been almost a year since she had seen him and she prayed that he wouldn't be able to place her in his memory. But what was he doing here? She just couldn't believe that her dad's boss was a wizard - it just didn't compute.

"Blackman, I can assure you that if she shows up here, we will hold her and let you know. Can't have thieves in the Alley, can we? Bad for business. What was it exactly that she took?" This was Fred now. His voice was also low and calm but it was intense. Cassie was glad they seemed to be accomplished liars.

"That's none of your concern. But I have witnesses and I don't intend to just let her get away with it." Cassie leaned against the wall in her little hideout and mentally kicked herself for getting all of them into this situation. She had known that the shop, and in fact the whole street, were not places she should have been. She wished with all her heart that she had never gone into that shop. The twins and Mr. Blackman were still arguing but Cassie couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. He obviously was accusing them of lying and they were insisting that they were alone in the store. She hoped that they could keep up the front until the man gave up and left.

Suddenly, George's voice was raised and Cassie heard it clearly. "Ah, Dad. Glad to see you."

"Blackman." That was Arthur's voice and Cassie had never heard it sound so cold. "What's going on? It's past closing time." She almost wouldn't have believed it was the same kindly wizard who had been so fascinated with her parents' coffee maker.

The spookily familiar voice explained his story once more and Cassie sincerely hoped no one believed him. She was angry he was impugning her reputation, but she supposed it was stupid to worry about that right at this point. "Weasley, Lupin. I was just telling your sons that I chased a young blond girl into this shop. She is a thief, stole something from me and I want it back."

Arthur spoke again and Cassie felt a frisson of fear slide down her spine, picturing the stand-off in the next room. "Now, there's no need for that. Put it away. Boys, you, too. We can't have these fireworks go off if someone throws a curse wrong." Cassie didn't hear anything else for a long minute. They had obviously all had their wands out. She closed her eyes. She would never forgive herself if any of them got hurt.

After a moment, Mr. Blackman spoke again. "This is not the last of this. She came in here. I was only a few steps behind her and I am positive of it."

"Have they seen her?" That was Lupin.

"No. They claim they haven't. However, I am sure you will agree that they are both accomplished liars. I want to search the store."

"I think not." That was George again. "As I have told you, we are in the process of closing. If you wish to alert the Ministry to your suspicions and bring an appropriate . . ."

"No. That won't be necessary at this point. However, I will remember how helpful the four of you have been." Somehow, that was a threat and Cassie shuddered. She hoped that nothing she did caused them any permanent difficulties. There were several minutes of silence and Cassie wasn't sure whether to come out from behind the boxes or not. She stood very still, undecided and flustered at the complete quiet.

Then she heard raised voices again. "I didn't even know she had been here, Dad. She must have left immediately after you dropped her off."

"I don't think it's fair to blame us when you left her here without even telling us." That was Fred and Cassie felt a new spasm of guilt shoot through her. She had really blown it this time. The twins were getting in trouble because of her. Then the boxes moved and George was there and she was pulled into his warm arms and she pressed her face against the material of his shirt and despite herself she started crying. He held her for a long minute without saying anything and then Lupin took her arm, the portkey held in his other hand.

"I need to get you home. I want to know exactly what just happened. Let's go." Cassie raised a tear-stained face to George but he just smiled faintly. Arthur was standing behind him, looking grave. Lupin turned to him. "Get me some backup. I think there's going to be trouble." Arthur nodded and disapparated.

George was reluctant to let go of Cassie and it was only Lupin's frustrated growl that caused him to let go of her. "It's okay. I'll see you again soon." And then she touched the portkey and she was standing on her front porch and Lupin was knocking on her front door.

A moment later, her front door opened and her mother looked out. She immediately took in the stern look on Lupin's face and Cassie's tear-stained, stricken face and ushered them inside with a gasp.

"Andrew, something's wrong" she called into the family room. Cassie was extremely grateful to know her father was alive and well. Hearing his name mentioned at the horrible meeting had shaken her. Indeed, the entire foundations of her world had shifted a few minutes before and she was grateful for at least the stability of her parents and the muffled noise of her brothers playing in the back bedrooms. Her father had not suddenly turned into a wizard like his boss seemed to have done. He came into the living room looking concernedly at his only daughter.

Remus spoke quietly, but firmly. "Something happened in Diagon Alley. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but Cassie needs to tell me and I think that perhaps it is best if she tells all of us at once. I think . . . I hesitate to say it, but I think it somehow involves your work, Andrew. You do work for someone named Richard Blackman, do you not?"

"Well, yes. He is my immediate supervisor, but I . . ."

"I think that I need to tell you quite a few things, Rebecca and Andrew, that perhaps it will not be easy for you to hear. We must move quickly. I am positive that Cassie was recognized this evening. Her life is in danger and I'm afraid as a consequence all of yours are as well."

The next couple of hours were not easy for either Cassie or her parents. Remus started the entire dreadful conversation by explaining, in quite a matter-of-fact way, that he was a wizard and so was Arthur and that Harry Potter, the boy they had befriended that summer, was one also. Of course, Cassie's mother already knew this but it was new to her father and it took quite a bit of talking to prove it to him. Of course, Remus could do magic, so a few minor charms and her father was halfway convinced. Cassie thought about how awkward it had been when Ron, Harry, and Hermione were trying to convince her of the same things and how disbelieving she had been. She smiled faintly to herself. It was the last time she smiled in a long time.

Remus then went on to explain about Lord Voldemort and his determination to take over the wizarding and Muggle worlds and Harry's role in fighting against it and the reason he had been hiding, etc. He also discussed, again in very matter-of-fact tones, how Cassie had been forced to come to Hogwarts and how they had been so worried about her when she had returned and how they had been taking her to Diagon Alley to help her adjust to the change and how it had been going very well up to that point. Cassie tried not to look at her father too closely. She was afraid she would see that he was angry at her, and she didn't think she could bear it - not tonight.

"Then, I'm afraid that tonight . . . well, I'm not really sure what happened. Cassie, I'd appreciate it if you would tell us exactly what did happen this evening."

"It's my fault completely, Mum, Dad. I was careless. Remus and Arthur left me at the shop and I looked out the window and the decorations were so beautiful and it was starting to get dark so I thought I would just look outside really quickly. I assumed that George and Fred knew I was there even though I hadn't said anything to them. I guess . . . they didn't. Anyway, I started looking at the various windows and soon I got lost. I thought I would ask somebody for directions but some of the stores were closing and . . ." She looked at Lupin pleadingly, hoping he wasn't too angry at her. He was looking very serious, but not angry, exactly. "I think I turned off the main street, well, I know I did actually. I don't know where I ended up. But there were these people and they went into this shop and I followed them. They weren't in the store and I was going to leave but then there was this open door and I could hear people talking, so I went closer, to ask them directions to George's store."

Lupin interrupted her. "What sorts of things were for sale in this shop?"



Cassie shuddered, remembering how horrible some of the objects had looked. " There were all sorts of terrible things in there." She tried to describe a few of the items and what the store looked like and how far into the new alley it had been. "I'm pretty sure that those objects all had to do with dark magic." Lupin nodded, grimacing slightly as she finished her recitation.

"Yes, I think I know where you were. Definitely dark magic. You were definitely somewhere you should not have been." Cassie flushed and stared down at her feet. She felt absolutely terrible. She picked up the story again, though, knowing that the worst was yet to come.

"Anyway, I could hear voices coming from the back room, and then I recognized Lucius Malfoy through the open door. And they were talking and I heard him say my dad's boss's name." Cassie repeated the conversation as exactly as she could. Remus nodded when she got to the part about the Imperius curse, like he wasn't surprised, but her dad spoke up at that point. He hadn't said a word since Remus had described Lord Voldemort and what he was doing.

"What does this Imperius curse do, exactly?"

"It puts the person under total control of the wizard that casts the spell. If you are under Imperius, you have no will of your own. It is a terrible curse and it is strictly forbidden under wizarding law. Unfortunately, as you know, criminals take that very little into account."

"So, if the Prime Minister were to be under this curse, he would do whatever he was told?"

"I'm afraid so. The curse can be fought, but a Muggle, I'm afraid, would have almost no chance of doing that. He would just be literally a puppet." Lupin looked carefully at her father. "Have you set up the meeting that Blackman described?"

"Yes. It was supposed to be on Friday. Blackman doesn't know it yet, but it was postponed until next Tuesday because of a visiting dignitary who has changed his itinerary. But there is a meeting, yes."

Lupin took a deep breath. "At least we have a little time before we have to worry too much about that -- unless of course, knowing that some of their plot was overheard makes them change plans. How protected is your Prime Minister normally? Does he have bodyguards around him, or what?"

"Normally, no. But what if we just warned the Prime Minister about Blackman and had him fired, wouldn't that help? I mean, then he'd be safe."

"Well, that's an option. I wouldn't want to make too many suggestions until we know exactly who is involved in this and what they are trying to accomplish." Lupin looked at Cassie. "Please, finish the story." Her father nodded gravely in agreement and Cassie continued with her story, ending with George pulling her out from behind the boxes in the storeroom. When she dared to look at them again, both her parents looked pale and Cassie wiped at her own face. She hadn't realized it, but she had started crying again during the telling of the story and she stared back down at her feet, wishing with everything she had that she hadn't ever walked out of Fred and George's store that afternoon. Finally, her father spoke.

"So, if my boss is a wizard, which I am still finding difficult to believe, why is he working in our office?"

"Well, it's a front, honestly. One that both our government and yours has sanctioned. He has acted as liaison between our Minister of Magic and the British Prime Minister for many years. To the best of my knowledge, he has done an adequate job. I am very surprised that he has gone over to the dark side but it has certainly happened to others. I don't know what hold Voldemort has gained over him and if it is recent or if these machinations have been in the works for a long time. But that is not important right now. Now, it sounds like there is some plot in motion and we will need to find out exactly what is going on. It is possible that his seeing you, Cassie, changed his mind. He recognized you. He mentioned your name to Malfoy out in the street after he left the shop."

Her father swore, a word that Cassie had never heard him use. Her mother did not correct him. Remus just smiled faintly. "Ditto. As I said, Cassie, your life is in serious danger. I will return immediately to Dumbledore and tell him what has happened this evening and we will certainly do our best to find out exactly what is in the works. We have spies and informants who can infiltrate the group and figure out what is going on. Right now, however, I think we need to concentrate on keeping Cassie safe." Before any of the people in the room could say anything more, Arthur suddenly apparated into the middle of the living room and both Andrew and Rebecca stared in absolute shock at the wizard standing there. Even Cassie was slightly startled. She had seen wizards disapparate but had never seen them apparate and she thought it was a sign of exactly how desperate the situation was that they had done this in front of her parents. Arthur turned to Remus.

"We've got Tonks and Shacklebolt outside now. I don't think we have to worry too much about someone actually getting into the house tonight. They wouldn't dare until they knew for sure that it was Cassie who overheard them. And he wasn't sure. He thought he recognized her but told Malfoy that he wasn't positive." Remus nodded in understanding and then told the silent group that he was going to report to Dumbledore. As he got ready to leave, Cassie took hold of his sleeve.

"I'm really sorry, Remus."

"Cassie, I'm not angry with you. Frustrated, yes, but not angry. But mainly, I'm worried about you."

With that, he disapparated immediately. Arthur then turned to Cassie's parents who were both pale and looked like they might pass out if there were any more nasty surprises thrown at them. He sighed and sat down on the couch. "What a mess. And I feel totally responsible for this." He put his head in his hands and stared down at the floor.

Cassie felt this was unfair. "It's not your fault, Arthur. I left and I shouldn't have." She had known, of course, there was a war going on but somehow it had never touched her in that amazing place and it was easier to pretend that it was all very far away. But it wasn't and now she had put her own life and, even more terrible, the lives of her entire family at risk.

He looked up at her, his face suddenly haggard. "But none of us ever warned you about going down Knockturn Alley or anything else for that matter." Cassie shifted in her chair, feeling terribly guilty about all the trouble she had caused but before she could apologize once again, her mother jumped into the conversation.

"I don't think it really matters who is responsible, Arthur. The important thing is that we need to keep her safe, now. Not worry about why it happened."

Arthur nodded. "That's true. Well, Lupin should be back fairly quickly with some directions from Dumbledore." He stood up and started pacing back and forth in the room. After a moment, Andrew spoke.

"What are a tonks and a shacklebolt? And what exactly do they do outside? To keep us safe, I mean?" Arthur looked vaguely confused and then realized what he had asked.

"Oh, they're not what's. They're who's." Andrew looked completely befuddled and Arthur clarified. "They're people. They're Aurors - um, guards. They'll watch the house tonight and if anyone should try to approach your house, they'll take care of them." Andrew nodded and walked to the window, trying to look out and see who was out there.

"Are they armed, then?" He couldn't see them through the window and after a moment he turned back to the others in the room.

"Yes. And they wouldn't hesitate to kill if it was necessary. They're professionals." Cassie shuddered suddenly. She had done this - had caused this whole mess. It would have been better if she had just had the stupid memory modification spell put on her from the beginning. She chewed nervously on her thumbnail.

"Arthur, would it do any good to have that memory charm thing performed on me now? Maybe we could convince them that I don't know anything. I mean, if I've honestly forgotten it . . ." She looked hopefully up into Arthur's kind face but did not see any clearing of the worry that etched deep lines in his forehead.

"No, Cassie. Memory charms can be reversed and they would never take a chance on leaving you alive if you could get them sent to prison. Plus, if we approached them to tell them about the charm, then they would know you had told others. I'm afraid that we just need to face what happens, now. It'll be all right. You'll see." He forced a smile and Cassie felt her stomach turn over. He was obviously worried sick and consequently, so was she. She stared at the wall for a long time. Her father was sitting there with a miserable expression on his face and Cassie could imagine the hell he must be going through to see his daughter in mortal danger. After a moment her father looked up.

"I could use a stiff drink."

Arthur turned immediately. "That sounds lovely. What have you got?"

Cassie's mother scowled. "We don't have anything. Andrew was joking. He doesn't drink."

Arthur looked very disappointed and Cassie noted that so did her father. "Maybe we should stock some in the future, Rebecca. I have a feeling I'm going to be needing it."

"I should bring you some Ogden's Fire Whiskey when I visit next." Her mother wrinkled her nose in slight distaste although her father nodded his agreement with this idea.

That must be the alcoholic drink of choice for the wizarding world, Cassie thought to herself. It seemed to be everywhere. She thought about warning her father that it might actually catch his mouth on fire, thinking of the Dragon Kisses, but then remembered that George and Fred had actually drunk some of the stuff at Hogwarts and hadn't had any flames in their mouths that she could see.

After a few more moments of silence, her father went to the door and opened it, looking outside, seemingly anxious to confirm for himself that there were guards outside.

"I don't see anyone out there, Arthur. Are you sure that . . ."

Arthur joined him, putting his hand on his shoulder. "You wouldn't see them. They're currently invisible."

"Invisible? You're joking!"

"No. We're here." Cassie heard another muttered curse from her dad after the female voice spoke from the front porch. Then there was a man's voice - deep and calm - also from outside and her father shut the door and came back into the room. He looked shaken, which surprised Cassie as he had already tonight seen Arthur appear out of nowhere. He sat down next to Rebecca and squeezed her hand but didn't explain what he had seen on the porch. The three adults sat quietly and Cassie thought they looked like they were waiting for a death sentence to be handed down from a judge. Arthur tried a few times to make small talk, trying to lighten the mood a little, but beyond the polite necessary responses, her parents did not join in the conversation, so after a while, he abandoned the idea and they all just waited. It seemed to Cassie like they waited for several hours but her watch, which seemed to be frozen, indicated it had really not even been a complete hour before Lupin apparated into the living room. He still looked upset, but his eyes were kind and there was a ghost of a smile on his face.

"I've spoken to Dumbledore and together we have developed a -"

Andrew interrupted. "Who's this Bumblebore person you keep mentioning?"

"It's Dumbledore, Dad. And he's the headmaster at Harry's school."

Her dad's brow furrowed. "What does the headmaster of a boarding school have to do with this and why would his opinion matter in the least? I think you should be talking to the head of your, um, government or something. This is -" Her father would have continued but Lupin put up his hand.

"I'll be happy to explain. Please, why don't you sit down, Andrew?" Her father had started pacing the room, antsy and anxious to do something to make things right again. Cassie imagined, however, that he was feeling very powerless right now, which explained his frustration and anger at the two grown wizards, who were having to do what he could not. Protect his daughter.

"I'd rather walk, I think."

"All right. I have to tell you first of all that the head of our Ministry is a rather incompetent fool. Like so many bureaucrats, present company excluded of course, he thinks of his own job first and the welfare of others comes in a distant second. He has occasional flashes of decency but when the chips are really down, um, we don't usually bother to even notify him."

"Oh. Yes, well. . . I know people like that."

"Yeah. We all do. And things are no different just because we can do magic, I'm afraid." The two men exchanged wry smiles. They had both had experience working with government. The fact that one was Muggle and one was magic didn't change basic human nature. "Dumbledore turned down the position of Minister to remain the headmaster at Hogwarts and he is, in fact if not in title, the most powerful wizard alive today. If Cassie were my daughter, there is no one I would trust more to keep her safe than he."

Arthur agreed quickly. "He's right, Andrew. Dumbledore is the head of the resistence movement against Voldemort. He's the man that we need right now." Cassie knew they were right.

"I've met him, Dad. He's a very powerful wizard." She was relieved when her father visibly relaxed at her words.

Lupin then continued to explain the plan they had developed. "There is a small possibility that by tomorrow Blackman will have convinced himself that it was not Cassie whom he saw in the store and will have decided he will just keep a careful eye on you for the next little while. If that is the case, then your concerns are over other than just making sure that he never sets eyes on her again. But, honestly, that is rather unlikely. He would almost certainly want to find out if there is any possibility that it was Cassie he saw today and will ask you questions about her. He would never come right out and ask you if she could have been in Diagon Alley yesterday or if she's a witch. If he did have the wrong girl and asked you those kinds of questions, it could get him in serious trouble."

"What do you think he will ask me, then?" Cassie's father was looking extremely nervous and Cassie's guilt increased substantially. This was a terrible mess.

"I don't know the man well, so I couldn't really say. If it was me asking, I would just ask how your children are, pretend to remember their names, and ask how they are all enjoying school, etc., etc. Then after another minute, I would ask how old your daughter is and how she is doing in school and everything, what she does in her spare time, that sort of thing."

"Would he really be hoping that I would just come out and say she's a witch or something?"

"No. But I think he would watch for your reaction. If you start getting nervous or agitated, he will know that something is up. Then he would do further investigating, perhaps plan on coming over for a visit, inviting your whole family over to his house for a dinner or something. He would want to see Cassie in person, figuring that he would recognize her if he saw her." Rebecca's mouth tightened into a thin line at this.

"He'll never lay eyes on her again if I have anything to say about it." Her voice was angry and tight. Lupin sighed quietly.

"We all feel that way. It's absolutely vital that until the plot is uncovered and the perpetrators arrested that she not be seen by any of them. I think most of them got a pretty good look at her, didn't they, Cassie?" She nodded. Lupin continued, then, apparently feeling they were all anxious to find out what had to be done. "What we want you to tell him is that she is fine and enjoying school very much, that she is currently attending a boarding school on the continent, Switzerland, perhaps."

"What?!" All three of the Muggles in the room practically shouted in surprise. Lupin held his hand up at the sudden outburst.

"We think it'll work. If he thinks she is going to school somewhere far away from here, he hopefully will be convinced that it couldn't have been her that he saw in the store. And it's important that it's in a different country. To a wizard, distance is very unimportant. A fully-grown wizard can apparate great distances, portkeys are very efficient, and flooing is an option even for young children. But doing any of those things from different continents and countries is significantly more difficult. As she is underage, this even makes it less likely that she would be able to travel here just for a quick visit." Both Andrew and Rebecca nodded, but Cassie could tell by the looks on their faces that they did not understand a single thing Lupin had just said. Of course, neither did she, other than the bit about the portkey. Cassie glanced at Arthur to gauge his reaction. He looked like he had a few questions, himself.

"Remus, won't Blackman think it's strange that she is suddenly gone?" Remus smiled at Arthur.

"Good question. Yes. You must act, Andrew, like she has been gone for several months. In fact, if it fits in well, maybe you could mention that you haven't seen her since this summer and you were looking forward to her visiting for the Christmas break, but she decided to stay there and ski or something. This will, hopefully, discourage him from coming to visit over Christmas as well."

"I don't know - I mean, she has to go to school."

"No. Not anymore." Cassie started and shook her head slightly. What had Remus just said?

"It's just too risky. It's a matter of life and death, Rebecca. Truly." Her mother, who had just been about to protest, shut her mouth with a snap. "We will hide her until the risk has passed. It might be only for a few days. We'll hopefully know more soon. Dumbledore is working quickly to figure out exactly what is going on. Meanwhile, Cassie, you will need to stay in the house. We're working on securing a hiding place right now and we will make sure guards are posted here around the clock. When we need to get you out of here, we will take you to this hiding place."

"Where?" Cassie asked very quietly.

"I'd rather not say right now. But I think you'll like it there."

"Will it be an invisible house like Harry had?" Cassie thought about how lonely Harry had been all alone in his rather depressing house and tried to imagine herself confined in similar circumstances. Both her parents were looking at her rather strangely, but Cassie didn't have the energy to explain. She was suddenly very, very tired.

"No. We've something else in mind." He didn't elaborate further but Cassie felt a little better. She could still remember what the house had looked like when she had gone back to see it after she came home from Hogwarts. And she remembered Harry saying that his parents were murdered in an invisible house like that. She didn't trust that sort of magic very much. Lupin finished explaining what would happen the next day when her dad went into work and Cassie listened without paying much attention. It was just too complicated and she was too sleepy to worry about it. She did get the idea , though. Arthur would be checking in with them periodically as would Lupin throughout the next few days, especially tomorrow. She was supposed to stay in the house, not even looking out the windows or answering the phone. Her father was supposed to go to work and act natural. If Mr. Blackman asked about her or said anything unusual, then he was supposed to call home on the pretense of asking about a dentist appointment. This would be the clue to her mum and everyone else that he had asked and that Cassie had to be moved immediately. Then, her mum was supposed to tell him that the appointment would be in about an hour so her dad would come home and say goodby before she had to leave. The adults talked for a long time about details. Cassie hated the look of worry that seemed now permanently etched on her parents' faces, especially as she had put it there.

Both Cassie and her mother stared in horror at the phone when it rang the next day around 10:00 in the morning. Her mother's hands shook as she answered the phone and Cassie bit her lip and prayed it was just a friend. Then she heard her mother - her voice was slightly tremulous but clear. "Yes, dear. I got that appointment for you without any problem. It's at 11:30. Is that okay? I'll see you soon, then." She hung up the phone and turned to look at Cassie. They looked at each other for a long minute. "He asked."

Cassie swallowed hard and nodded. "What should we do?"

Her mother shrugged. "Wait for Remus or Arthur, I guess. They should be here pretty soon." But despite her mother's words, they both started moving nervously around the house, automatically gathering items that Cassie would need to take with her, no matter where she was going. It somehow helped keep the panic away. Remus only nodded darkly when he was told the news 20 minutes later.

"I was hoping for a few days' grace. The original place we had thought about will not be possible for a little longer. So, we had decided that if you needed to be moved before then, we would take you to Hogwarts. You can pose as a student, blend in with kids your own age. Then, when the other hiding place is ready, you can be moved. Arthur will be happy to go buy everything you need for school, Cassie. You'll need a school uniform and some books, a broomstick, and a wand." Cassie's head was in a whirl. She would be going back to Hogwarts? She could hardly believe it. Remus put his hand firmly on her shoulder and started shaking her. She tried to move away from him. Why was he shaking her? His mouth opened but the words he said didn't make any sense. "Cassie. Cassie. Wake up. Come on. Everyone will be here in just a minute."

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she was looking into Remus' face. He smiled down at her. "I thought you'd want to be awake. Everyone will be here in a minute for a meeting." She looked around, a little disoriented. She was in Dumbledore's office, curled up on one of the extremely comfortable chairs against the softly curving wall. It was true. She was back at Hogwarts.