Chapter 8

Pia Spencer

Cassie stood nervously, unsure of who exactly was coming to this meeting and also unsure of what it was for. She did feel a little comforted in the fact that Remus was smiling at her and even Professor Dumbledore had a little half smile on his lips. In Cassie's experience, he didn't smile very much so she took that as a positive sign. There was a noise in the stairwell and then the door opened and in walked four very familiar people. They were laughing and teasing each other. Harry was holding Ginny's hand while Hermione's arm was linked with Ron's. They all looked expectantly at the headmaster, but he didn't say anything. Harry caught Remus's eye and then he saw Cassie. She almost laughed at the look on his face as his eyes quickly swept over her face and took in her school uniform. Everyone else turned to look at her also and then she did laugh, because they all looked absolutely stunned.

Hermione was the first to say anything. "Oh, it's so good to see you again! What are you doing here?" She walked right up to Cassie and enfolded her in a big hug, which surprised Cassie a little but she returned the hug warmly, feeling her world right itself just a little bit instead of spinning completely off its axis as it had been for the last 24 hours or so. When Hermione stepped back to look Cassie over, Ginny was standing right by her and she also hugged Cassie.

"Are you all right? You don't look very happy."

"Well . . . . not really. But it's a long story." Harry approached the three of them, overhearing Cassie's quiet comments.

"What's wrong? Is your family all right? Are you hurt?" Cassie smiled up at him and waited for the familiar ache to surface. Surprisingly, it didn't and she stepped closer to him. She stood on tiptoe and reached for his shoulders. He had grown at least another inch since she had seen him in the summer and she really had to stretch. She kissed him on the cheek as his arms slid around her waist and hugged her close to him. "It's so good to see you. But I have to admit, I'm very shocked."

"Well, I'm shocked, too, believe me. Everyone's okay for right now. I'm here because it's the safest place for me, I guess. I'll explain everything, don't worry." She stepped back and everyone looked at Ron, expecting him to come hug her, too, although Cassie thought he probably wouldn't do it. She was right. He flushed a little, stammered hello, and then stuck out his hand. Hermione made an exasperated noise, but Cassie just smiled. She liked Ron well enough but hugging him would be a little strange. She shook his hand warmly.

"Are . . . are you going to school here, then?" Ron asked, never afraid to ask the blunt questions.

Cassie smiled. "Sort of."

"But . . . but . . . it's a little late to be starting school. Did you just find out you're a witch or something?" Ron had a very puzzled expression on his face, obviously trying to figure out why this Muggle girl was here at Hogwarts. Remus laughed and Professor Dumbledore chuckled, and Ron's face settled into a scowl.

"Oh, I get it. You're just teasing us." Ron said this like he was a little disappointed that something exciting wasn't going to be happening after all. He threw himself in a chair and crossed his arms. His long legs stretched out in an ungainly manner before him and Cassie noted with interest the difference between him and Ginny. Sure, they both had the flaming red hair and ruddy complexion. But while Ron was tall and lanky, Ginny was more like the twins, smaller in stature but well built and muscular. Cassie was again struck by how beautiful Ginny's hair was and how it complemented her brown eyes.



"She's not teasing, Mr. Weasley. Miss Robinson is indeed going to be attending Hogwarts. But to answer your question, no, she did not just find out she is a witch. She is here now because her life is in danger and she needs somewhere to hide."

"Oh." They all said it simultaneously, and then they all looked at each other and at Cassie and grinned. She smiled back. Harry looked worried, though, behind the smile.

"How is her life in danger? Who wants to hurt her? Is it Voldemort or is it just a Muggle thing?" He stopped, looking at Dumbledore for an explanation.

"Why don't we sit down for a few minutes. I have some explanations to make and then some decisions have to be made. That is the purpose of this meeting." There were some chairs rearranged and one extra even drawn up for Remus but soon all six of them were sitting in front of Dumbledore's desk and he was sitting behind it, with his fingertips touching under his chin as he surveyed each of them in turn. "First of all, what is said in this meeting is absolutely top secret. If you spread this information about, it could mean Miss Robinson's life and that of her family. I trust you all. If I did not, you would not be here." Cassie noted that Harry looked even more concerned as Dumbledore said this. "I do not want to tell you the whole story tonight. It is a rather long story and I think Miss Robinson can fill you all in at another time. As it is, she is tired and needs to get to bed. The sooner we can get through the decisions that need to be made, the better in my opinion." He turned to Remus. "Why don't you briefly explain what happened yesterday?"

Remus raised an eyebrow, apparently not pleased at being the one who had to tell the bad news. "I have been taking Cassie to Diagon Alley periodically as some of you might know." Cassie had certainly expected that at least Harry would know, but he looked as surprised as the rest of them that the visits were still happening. "When I took her yesterday, she got a little lost and wandered down Knockturn Alley. It was dark and she went into a store to ask directions." Cassie was surprised at the concern that filled each of the four faces. Apparently, it wasn't just Muggles that didn't belong down that street. She shuddered, remembering the horrible dark feeling of that street and the even stronger feeling of evil inside the actual shop. "When she was in there, she overheard a conversation that could be very incriminating for the wizards having it. It involves a plot to take over the Muggle government." There were various gasps and muted exclamations of surprise. "Unfortunately, she was discovered and seen. And even more unfortunately, the wizard who saw her recognized her."

"What?" Harry practically jumped out of his chair at that. "Remus, I don't want to criticize you or anything, but she could . . ."

Cassie interrupted. "Don't blame Remus, Harry, please. It was my fault completely. I wandered off on my own. He just made it sound better than it was to avoid embarrassing me. But, really, it was all completely my own stupidity." Harry glanced at her and then sat back down.

"All right. Sorry, Remus."

"It's okay. I certainly do blame myself for a great deal of what has happened, despite what she says. Anyway, it just so happened that the wizard who saw her is her dad's boss." He paused again as the four students made various noises of shock and amazement. "He was fairly sure that it was her although he could not quite figure out how she came to be in Knockturn Alley. He chased her and she managed to escape thanks to quick feet and quick thinking by your brothers." He glanced at Ginny and Ron. "They hid her from Blackman and Malfoy and other dark wizards trying to catch her and would have undoubtedly killed her on the spot."

"Malfoy!!!" Cassie winced as both Ron and Harry yelled the name together. She had seriously been hoping his name wouldn't come up until later. She knew that if they heard it, there would have to be yet another lengthy explanation about his presence.

"Yes. He was there. He was the one threatening my dad's boss with Voldemort's displeasure. I recognized him through the door and that's why I even stayed a little longer to hear the conversation." Cassie bit her lip. "I was stupid but that's what happened." Harry scowled heavily.

"So this Blackman and Malfoy are chasing after her?"

Dumbledore took over the story again. "Yes. And they asked all sorts of questions about her to her father the next day at work. We felt that she could not be at home any longer. We needed to hide her and this is the safest place we could think of. So, here she is. And she will stay here until another hiding place is available or until the plot is revealed and the schemers arrested."

There was a stunned silence for quite a few moments. Finally, it was Hermione who asked the obvious question. "But, she's not a witch. How is she going to fool anyone?" Cassie had been wondering this herself. She somehow didn't think that just looking the part and waving her wand around a lot was going to help her out much.

"I'm not going to class, Hermione. That would be too difficult." Cassie had decided from the first moment this plan had been revealed to her that there was no way she was going to actually attempt to do any magic. It was just ludicrous to even consider. She would just hide in her dorm room and pretend to have the flu. It was only for a few days, after all.

"Wrong, Miss Robinson. You will be attending a full schedule of classes. In fact, you will be attending advanced classes for most of the days. You will be attending each and every class with Miss Weasley." Dumbledore was not smiling now. He was looking seriously at her, and Cassie felt her eyes widen in surprise.

"What? But, that's impossible. The teachers would immediately figure out that I'm a . . .Muggle. It would never work."

Hermione jumped into the conversation again. Both Ron and Harry seemed to be too dumbstruck to say anything. Ron's mouth was open again, and Harry looked like he was going to explode. Cassie noticed that Ginny grabbed his hand and was talking softly to him. He seemed to calm quickly after that and then Cassie tuned in to what Hermione was saying.

" . . . . It's just not possible." The expression on the headmaster's face was still very stern but Cassie noticed for the first time that his eyes kind of sparkled and she had the impression that he was trying not to laugh.

"I find the word impossible to be vastly overused, Miss Granger, especially if applied to anything that the four of you want to accomplish. And since this little adventure would require a significant amount of sneaking, lying, tricking, and general pulling the wool over your professors' eyes, you should all be ideally suited." Hermione scowled this time, like she was insulted, but Remus laughed loudly and that seemed to encourage the others to join in. Cassie wasn't sure what was so funny, but the humor of the situation was infectious and she found herself chuckling along with the others. "I'm not going to tell you how to do it, Miss Granger. I'm simply going to tell you that it has to happen. She will be with the 6th year Gryffindor girls in their dormitory. She will eat with them, visit with them, and blend into the scenery as much as possible. Tomorrow is Friday. Cassie will attend class first thing tomorrow morning with Miss Weasley."

"But that's potions!" Ginny spoke up, now, slight panic in her voice. "It won't work, not at all. Snape would know immediately. You've got to tell him to go easy on her, at least." But Dumbledore was shaking his head.



"No. No one can know beyond the boundaries of this room. Well, Arthur already knows of course, but he is not here at school. It is vital that it remain secret as we are unsure of who exactly is involved in this plot." Cassie saw Harry's features harden at those words and she wished she could ask what he was thinking about but she couldn't and then Dumbledore was speaking again.

"We have a particular problem in the form of Mr. Malfoy as well." There was an instant hush in the room as if all good humor had just been sucked out by a powerful vacuum. "He has undoubtedly been told by his father of the situation and will be keeping his eyes open for anything suspicious." Dumbledore made this little announcement into an absolute dead still silence.

"Well then, this definitely will not work. If he tells his father that a blond girl just suddenly appeared at Hogwarts, there is no way that he won't put two and two together. And she's not exactly inconspicuous. Plus, didn't you say they know her name?" This was Harry and he was looking somewhat relieved, like he had just exposed the major flaw in the plot and it would have to be abandoned. Dumbledore nodded.

"Exactly. Again, I think that some solutions can be found, but we certainly are going to have to be creative." Abandoning the plot did not seem to be an option.

"Well, what solutions?" Everyone looked at the headmaster, waiting for him to tell them what to do.

"I think you need to come up with them on your own. You know the minds of the other students. Think about what story you would believe if a new student, a 6th year, suddenly showed up in the middle of the year. Think about how you can avoid making Mr. Malfoy suspicious. Think about how you can convince others that she is indeed a witch. I think that our seven bright minds assembled here can come up with some feasible ideas."

"But certainly you've thought about all this!" Harry was looking quite panicked now and Cassie thought her face probably looked the same. She had expected that the entire plan would have been worked out already, not that she would have to figure out how to hide herself. It just wasn't possible.

"Truthfully, Harry. I haven't. Time has been so very short. I have some thoughts of how it could possibly be done. But it's not me that has to be convinced. It's students your own age, students who think like you do. So, any ideas?"

Hermione spoke up first. "Let's make a list of the things we need to decide and what story we agree on. That way, we won't forget anything and we can make sure that everything makes sense. Does anyone have any parchment?" A few minutes later, she was sitting, quill in hand, finishing a fairly long list and Cassie had a feeling that they were never going to be able to think of lies to fit each of these questions. And even if they did, she wasn't sure she could keep them all straight. Hermione considered the list. "I think that's everything. Let me read the list and see if anyone else has any ideas of something else. First, we need to decide why she is here and why she has never come to Hogwarts before now. We need to decide how much magical education she has had and who has taught her. We need to decide on her blood-line. We need to decide where she lives. We need to decide how she got placed in Gryffindor. We need to change her name. Anything else?"

No one said anything for a long minute. Cassie said quietly, "I think we need to think of the reason I'm here first, that might help with the rest of the things."

"Yes. That's a good point." Remus finally spoke. Cassie had forgotten he was in the room, he had been so quiet. "I think the war is the obvious answer. Something happened to her parents or something. . . ."

"I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, unless she's going to be blubbering all the time like she's remembering her poor dead parents, people are going to get suspicious." Ginny glared at Ron, apparently thinking that his comments were insensitive toward Harry. Ron didn't notice and Cassie laughed silently to herself. He sure seemed to go through life with blinders on to what anyone else thought - well, unless they hit him over the head with it.

"He's right. I wouldn't blubber enough for them to be dead. Maybe hurt, though?"

"They couldn't be in St. Mungo's, though. Everyone seems to know everyone in there all the time. People can be fooled but it's difficult."

"Mr. Potter is right. It's too easy to check about patients in St. Mungo's." Dumbledore was leaning back in his chair, watching their discussion, and it made Cassie feel a little better that he was going to help even if he was not actively participating with any solutions at the moment.

"What if my parents weren't dead, just moved?"

"Oooh, yeah. Like they'd been abroad or something, traveling a lot, and then the war made them decide to come back to help fight. They've got to be on our side, of course. Otherwise, it'd be hard for us to be friends with her."

"That makes sense. Plus that story would make it hard to pin down any exact previous home address."

"And it would explain why she hasn't gone to Hogwarts or any other wizarding school, if they've been traveling a lot."

"Her parents were teaching her at home."

"We better say they were pretty bad teachers. It would explain why she can't do any magic."

"No, Ron. We don't want to say that. She's got to be adequate at magic. Maybe not highly skilled but at least competent. Otherwise, she couldn't take advanced classes with Ginny."

"So . . . what? They've maybe joined the Order or something and can't finish teaching her, so they sent her here to finish? That doesn't make much sense to me. Why not just finish teaching her later, after things have settled down?" Everyone nodded. Cassie looked out the window at the dark night and wished that she could think of something to help. Then she had a thought.

"What if I've come because I'm related to someone who comes here and my parents felt I would be safe here? It's supposed to be really safe here, isn't it?" Cassie's voice sounded quite timid in the quiet and she kicked herself mentally. She needed to sound a lot more confident of herself if this was going to work.

Everyone nodded. Hermione sucked on the end of the quill and thought. "Ginny. You can be Ginny's cousin. You guys have a huge family, don't you?"

"Well, it's pretty decent-sized. Huge might be a bit of an exaggeration."

"How many cousins do you have?" Harry asked, as if unsure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Uh, for first and second cousins? On both sides of the family? I think about 120 or something." Everyone laughed, even Remus and Dumbledore. Cassie knew that both Harry and Hermione were only children. She had a bigger family, but 120 cousins! Was that even possible? She had quite a few cousins herself, but nowhere near that many.

Ron spoke up, defending his family's honor. "Hey, we're trying to protect the wizarding world from extinction. Somebody has to do it!"

"I'm surprised they have any time to do anything else."

"Oh, very funny, Harry!" There were more good-natured laughs.

"Well, then who's to say you don't have a cousin exactly your age whose parents, at a loss of what to do with her now that they're actively fighting, uh, Voldemort, send her to be with Ginny? Especially, oh yes, especially if they haven't really found a place to live yet as things are so chaotic?"

"No one. It's entirely feasible." Ginny smiled. "Welcome to the family, Cassie. We don't have a lot of money but there's always room for one more."

"There is one problem with her being a Weasley." Ron was smiling. "It's her hair. Almost all of us have red hair."

"You mean in your cousins and everything?" Hermione looked shocked. "How is that possible?" Ron just shrugged, obviously unsure himself, but not thinking it was anything that unusual.

Dumbledore spoke again. "Hair is easy to color. We could do it magically for tonight, but a permanent dye is probably a safer way to go. I'll get some for you to use by tomorrow." Cassie looked at Ginny and Ron's hair and tried to imagine it on her own head. She wasn't sure she would like the way it looked. Dumbledore looked at the group. "I think that's a reasonable set of ideas. She's a Weasley family member, parents traveling abroad for years, teaching her magic themselves. She learns fairly well, although not brilliantly. Then, the war starts and they decide to come to Britain to help fight Lord Voldemort. However, concerned for their daughter's safety, they send her to Hogwarts to stay with her cousins until the immediate danger has passed. Yes, I think that sounds like something students would understand."

They all sat quietly for a while, trying to decide if there were any flaws in this plan. No one, apparently, thought of any because after a time, Hermione started crossing off items from the list. "Okay, we've settled that. This works. Uh-huh. Oh, wait. Her blood-line. We didn't settle on that."

"If she's in our family, she'd have to be pure-blood. I don't think we have any other kind of wizard related to us."

"You've got to. Even Sirius had Tonks."

"No. Honestly, Harry. I don't think we do."

"It would be easier to say she was half and half. It would allow for some eccentricities, like if she says something wrong or doesn't understand something."

"If you say she's half and half it will raise red flags with pure-bloods, Harry, like Malfoy. He knows. God, I hate to say it, but you know he's related to us somehow. He'd ask a million questions. She's just going to have to be pure-blood if she's related to us."

"Does all this matter? Who's going to care?" Cassie thought this was a ridiculous conversation to be having. She felt a distant headache forming behind her left eye, and she was anxious to get decisions made so she could go to bed.

"Everyone will care. Everyone will ask. It matters." Hermione answered her and she looked vaguely upset. Cassie knew, of course, that Hermione was what wizards called Muggle-born. Did it matter that much? "So, pure-blood, then. Just a bit of a ditz?" Hermione got herself under control.

"Hey, I resent that." Cassie tried not to let Hermione's comment hurt her feelings. She was accused occasionally of being a dumb blond, although once people got to know her, they realized that was patently untrue. Cassie was pretty positive she didn't want people thinking she was an idiot, even if when it came to magic she was.

"No, Cassie. I don't mean I really think you are one. It's just that you're bound to say something wrong sometime. We need to have some excuse."

"All right, I guess."



"As for Gryffindor, let's just say she was sorted up in the office. If she's a Weasley, than her being in Gryffindor will not be unexpected." Everyone else nodded and Cassie decided not to ask what they meant. She didn't want to have to ask about every single thing. Only if it was really important.

"Her robes are too new for our family, I'm afraid." Ginny was looking Cassie over critically.

"Oh, that's ridiculous. You can't all be . . . ." Hermione broke off in a bit of an embarrassed silence. Cassie watched Ron color a little.

"No, just most of us. Seems to be a bit of a curse or something." Whatever it was they were talking about, Ginny seemed more comfortable with the idea than Ron. She didn't even look flustered during this brief exchange.

"Well, then her father is an exception to the rule. It'll keep her from getting teased about one more thing." Hermione consulted her list once more. "I think we just need to decide on a name. It has to be one you will answer to without forgetting we're talking to you. Any ideas?"

"Um, one. I don't know if it will do, but I'd answer to it naturally. My brothers call me Pia." She looked a little bit shyly around the room. It was such a strange name, one she really never used, but she was used to answering to it, and felt that it would be easier than making one up completely. Fortunately no one was laughing.

"Yeah. That works. It's cute, but not so far out in left field that people wonder. I like it. Is it going to be Pia Weasley?"

"No, no. I don't think so. That would mean she's related on my dad's side and it's more likely really to be on my mom's, now that I think about it. We don't have to say exactly, if we just pick a new last name for her. It makes it harder to trace anyway."

"Good point, Ron." Remus said. "Think of something that's not too unusual, but not so common that people think you're making it up." No one volunteered anything for a minute. Finally, Harry said something and Cassie nodded in relief.

"When I was hiding, I used Evans. It was my mum's maiden name. It made it easier to remember. What's your mum's maiden name, Cass . . . I mean, Pia?"

"It was Spencer. I think that would work. Pia Spencer. Yeah. I like it." Everyone around the room nodded their agreement and Cassie noticed that Harry and Ginny were trying it out, seeing if they liked the sound of it. Harry grinned, and Cassie felt a spurt of happiness rush through her. This might work after all.

Hermione finally said. "Okay, we all need to get in the habit of calling her Pia, even when we're alone. It's vital that no one get suspicious that her name isn't real." More nodding and apparently everyone was satisfied because Hermione waved her wand over the list and then folded it and tucked it into the pocket of her robes. "I've enchanted it so no one can see it but us. But we may need to refer to it later. I think we also need to avoid volunteering information about . . .Pia. It would be bad if our stories contradicted each other and someone got suspicious. I think that if someone asks you something, you should just say you don't know and then tell them to ask Pia herself."

"Well, then. I think we're done here. Miss Spencer. I'm sure you're anxious to get up to your room. It's been a very long couple of days for you. There's just one thing - your hair."

Cassie watched with some trepidation as Dumbledore raised his wand to her. He didn't scare her, exactly, because she knew Harry trusted him. It was just that he was so powerful. Cassie knew he could do anything he wanted to her at that moment, and it was a bit disconcerting. Then he smiled down at her and she felt a little better. He flicked the wand, muttering something she couldn't understand, and then lowered it. "What do you think?" A mirror appeared on his desk and she bent down to see what she looked like. She smiled, surprised. She was just barely red-haired. Most of the blonde was still there, but there was a definite reddish tinge to it. Her mum called this color of hair strawberry blond and it looked fairly natural on her.

Cassie thought it was pretty and she patted her hair rather self-consciously. "Will I fit in now with the Weasley clan?" Everyone nodded but then Ron brought up something of possibly even more importance.

"So, we've got her story all straightened out and now she looks the part, but I think we're overlooking one very major problem. When she points her wand at something, nothing is going to happen. She can't do that too many times without someone getting mighty suspicious." Cassie felt faint. He was right, of course. In the excitement of the other discussion, Cassie had forgotten one very basic point. The people in this school were going to expect her to be able to do magic. She looked with pleading eyes at the headmaster. He smiled faintly back at her.

It was Hermione, though, who provided the answers. "I've got some ideas. I think it best we have a variety of things in our arsenal, so to speak, so that different situations can be handled in different ways." She didn't say anything else, though, and after about a minute of everyone staring at her, she said, "Well, I'm not going to tell you tonight. I want to think a few things over first. I want to see if some things are even going to be an option. I'll talk to Ginny and Cassie about these in the morning, boys. We'll let you know what we decide."

"I think we were just effectively shut out, Harry." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I'd have to agree. See, the problem, Ron, is that we are now outnumbered. There are three of them and only two of us."

"Well, at least you know how I've felt all along, then, don't you?" Hermione shook her finger at them and everyone laughed. Cassie was reminded forcefully that the three of them, Hermione, Ron, and Harry had been an almost inseparable unit. Well, before Harry met her. And then there was Ginny who took her place. And now, they were opening their circle a little more for her once again. And she felt a sudden overwhelming sense of gratitude that they would let her be their friend.