Author's Note: I realize this is cutting it very close to the sixth book, but I didn't want to take the chance that any of the characters involved in my story would die, so I figured I should at least get one or two chapters out before the new book.
Haunted
By Be Boring
Prologue: Snape's True Worst Memory
Bright lights, loud music, glittering fairies, and eager, dancing bodies filled the large room that most were accustomed to seeing with four long tables seated with chattering students. For this special occasion, the tables had been hidden away to make room for several smaller tables and a large buffet. It was the two-year reunion party for the seventh years of 1976, all of whom were making the most of it. Well, the majority of them anyway.
Severus Snape glanced around at the festivities with disgust. As far as he was concerned, all his former classmates were making fools of themselves. Why they would want to embarrass themselves by moving their bodies in what they thought to be seductive manners for people they hadn't seen for the past two years and might never see again was beyond him. Besides, having a two-year reunion party was ridiculous. Who had a reunion after only two years? He suspected that Dumbledore was trying to round up more people to fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, whose power had been increasing for the last several years. He didn't even know why he had bothered coming, he definitely didn't want to be any closer to these buffoons any longer than he absolutely had to. He had personally hoped never to see another one of these smiling faces again. Then again, there was one face that he would like to see again, and it had just entered the Great Hall.
Long, wavy blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and a fair-skinned innocence definitely set Cassandra Malfoy apart from the other females in the room. Still, her startling beauty was actually only one of the reasons that Severus was so fascinated with her. She had a sharp wit, incredible intelligence, and an undeniable charm that made her unlike any person he had ever met. The fact that she seemed to be able to tolerate him was another point in her favor as well.
Cassandra didn't seem to notice the blatant stares she was getting as she made her way across the room to Severus. Despite the attention she received regularly from her male classmates, she was blissfully unaware of their attraction to her. If anything, the attention made her uncomfortable. Unlike the rest of her family, she was extremely modest and didn't like being the center of attention. Perhaps this was what had made the Sorting Hat choose to place her in Hufflepuff ten years ago. Although her family hadn't been pleased about that, they easily forgot it when they found out that she had almost instantly made a connection with Severus Snape. No matter what anyone else thought, Cassandra felt that Severus was largely misunderstood. She honestly couldn't see why those two awful Gryffindor boys had insisted on picking on him. Still, she had never intervened because of her fear of being turned into a social outcast. Despite the fact that she wasn't like her family in many ways, her pride still somehow managed to come before what she felt was right.
Over the past two years, Severus had been studying Potions more in depth, but Cassandra's parents had sent her off to a private magic university, cutting her off from all of her friends. He hadn't even been able to write to her while she was gone, so he'd been waiting for the opportunity to find out everything she had been studying. She was a bright girl, he had no doubt that she was excelling in whatever she had chosen for herself.
Happiness radiated from her lovely face as she hugged Severus. "I didn't think you would show up. I know you didn't want to."
Severus bit back the sarcastic reply that normally would have sprung from his lips and managed to return her smile. He wasn't particularly comfortable with public displays of emotion, but he figured he could let it go since it had been so long since they'd last seen each other. "I decided I could put up with it as long as you were here." He blushed slightly, that had sounded so corny that he couldn't believe he had said it. To try and save face, he added, "Nobody else from our class can hold a conversation for longer than thirty seconds."
Slightly stunned but definitely pleased, Cassandra grabbed his hand. "Let's go get something to eat, I ended up missing dinner because of all the packing I had to do. I'll be spending the summer with my parents, and I'll be leaving for their house tomorrow."
They passed a group of Slytherins who were laughing raucously. Severus tried to speed up, but before they could pass the group, Lucius Malfoy had reached out and gripped his arm firmly. He offered a charming smile to Cassandra as he started pulling Severus away. "Excuse me, dear cousin, while I borrow your date for a moment."
Severus, who knew that "a moment" could turn out to be quite some time, mouthed to Cassandra "Go on," before Lucius pulled him out into the entrance hall. Pulling his arm out of the other man's grip, he took a step back and rolled his eyes. "What did you want to talk to me about this time, Lucius?"
Lucius chuckled at the dark, greasy-haired twenty-year-old. "You know what I want to talk about."
Severus crossed his arms angrily. "I'm not going to go meet the Dark Lord. I've done what you asked and made potions when you requested it, but I'm not interested in becoming one of those death people." Quite honestly, Severus had been very interested in Voldemort's way of doing things, but his respect for Dumbledore held him back from taking any action. Who would want to be pitted against Albus Dumbledore? Besides, without Dumbledore or Cassandra, Severus was quite sure that he would have left Hogwarts long before graduating, even if only to attend a different school.
A strange smile crossed Lucius's face. "They're Death Eaters, and I think you'd be a rather good one. I've mentioned you by name to him the last few times I brought him the potions you've made, so he knows my source now." Lucius had been an active Death Eater ever since graduation, but up until recently, Voldemort had been under the impression -- or Lucius believed he was -- that Lucius was the one making the potions. Severus only obliged because he was drawn to the way Voldemort handled things.
At the meaningful look on his face, Severus blanched slightly. "Wait, he doesn't think that I'm coming to see him, does he?"
"Of course he does, your parents were just as excited to get you to meet him as I was. I naturally told him that you would be joining me the next time I brought in a potion."
Severus had to use almost all of his self-control to keep from punching the grinning man in front of him, as well as to hold back the rush of fury that passed through him on the mention of his parents. With very forced politeness, he spat out, "Then you can tell him that there's been a mistake, I'm not interested in going to meet him. Now, if you'll excuse me, your cousin is waiting for me back in the hall."
Just as he reached out and grabbed the door to head inside, Lucius caught the back of his robes. "I almost forgot, don't drink any of the pumpkin juice."
It's not like he needed to worry about that too much, Severus wasn't a big fan of pumpkin juice. "Why?" he asked, although he could already guess the answer.
"Antonin put in a Confusion Draught just for laughs. With the energy of all the people out there, I'd hate to not be thinking clearly. Who knows what could happen?"
He nodded his thanks briskly before walking back into the Great Hall. He had hardly gone ten steps when a voice rang out, "Oh my, is Snivellus wearing dress robes?I hope there aren't any children around, I wouldn't want them to be traumatized for life!"
He heaved a deep sigh and deliberately kept his eyes averted from the area of floor that was ten feet to his left, where a man with unkempt black hair was sneering at him. 'Don't answer him, just find Cassandra. She won't like it if I get into another fight with him.' Besides, James had obviously had something to drink before coming to the party and wasn't thinking clearly. Cassandra would be even less impressed if he picked a fight with an intoxicated man. He couldn't help but think longingly of the end of the party, he'd never have to see James Potter's laughing face again. It gave him a bit of satisfaction to see Sirius Black gulping down a large glass of pumpkin juice, but his eyes were still searching for his date.
Finally, he spotted her sitting at a small table alone, finishing off her drink and picking up one of the many tiny sandwiches that were sitting on her plate. She grinned at him as he sat down. "You'd think that they would at least make these sandwiches a bit bigger than bite-size. I've already eaten at least ten of the little damn things and I still don't feel anywhere near full. I think my juice was more filling."
Now Severus's attention was wholly on the empty glass in front of her. "What kind of juice did you have?"
She shrugged and popped another mini-sandwich into her mouth. "I didn't look at the pitcher I poured it out of, but I think it's pumpkin juice. Tastes funny, though."
Great, this evening was just turning out fantastic so far. "How much have you had?"
She frowned slightly, although she didn't seem very concerned. "Somewhere around three or four glasses. It's so warm in here that I get thirsty every ten seconds." A look of shock crossed her face as he grabbed her arm and dragged her into one of the corridors and into an empty classroom. "What's wrong? What's going on?"
He firmly sat her down on a desk and moved away from her. "There was a Confusion Draught in the pumpkin juice, it'll probably come into effect any minute now."
"But I don't want to miss the party! Come on, I feel fine, and Confusion Draughts aren't too severe. As long as you're next to me, I'll be fine."
"No, I don't want to take any chances. You'll hardly know what you're doing, and you won't remember much of the party anyway after the potion takes effect. I don't want you to do anything you'll regret."
The words didn't seem to have changed her mind at all, but he didn't have time to try and convince her. The door behind him opened and James walked in, his eyes widening at the sight of them together in the dark classroom. A rueful smile passed over his face. "Wow, Snivellus, I knew you were desperate for some action, but in the middle of a classroom? Really, I thought you had more style."
Cassandra scowled and tried to grab Severus's arm, but he threw it off. Before he knew it, he and James were in the corridor, sending jinxes at each other. Admittedly, Severus wasn't as talented as James as far as dueling went, but he could hold his own. In only ten minutes, he had James backing up the first stairway they came to.
"Impedimenta!" he shouted, but James had already raised his wand.
"Protego!" James cried back. Severus didn't have any time to dodge his returning spell, they were standing too close, and he was sent flying backward. The scene around him started spinning, the floor seemed to be approaching rather quickly, there was a brief flash of the panicked expression on James's face, then his head snapped off a table at the bottom of the stairs and everything went black.
The pain that seared through Severus's head as he sat up was almost unbearable. It took him several moments of staring at his surroundings before he realized that he was in the infirmary. His hand instinctively shot up to the back of his head, but there was nothing there. Madam Pomfrey must have already healed the wound, but the pain in his head was still there. His eyes immediately turned to the bedside table, and with a rush of relief he picked up the small cup of potion that was there. Taking a quick gulp of it, he slid out of bed and slipped back into his shoes.
'Cassandra,' he thought suddenly. How long had he been up here? She had to be wondering where he was. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was not too long after midnight. He'd been out for over two hours. Finishing his potion, he headed down to the Great Hall. There were still several people dancing, but it was less than half the number of people that had been there before.
It didn't surprise him too much when she wasn't in the classroom he had left her in, it wasn't in her nature to sit back and do what she was told. He just hoped that she used some of her common sense and went to Hogsmeade to go to bed or something when he didn't come back. People under the influence of a Confusion Draught often did things they would never have dreamed of doing if they were in their right mind. It took away all of their inhibitions and often left their memories of the time a little hazy. In fact, it wasn't too different from being drunk, but without the hangover the next day.
He eventually reached out and grabbed the robes of Melissa Houthen, one of Cassandra's close friends. "Hey, have you seen Cassandra lately?"
Melissa pointed down one of the other corridors. "She went that way with somebody. I didn't see who it was, but I never saw her come back."
Severus immediately took off down the corridor, shoving open doors as he went. Who would she have come here with? All of her friends were still in the Great Hall, there was no one else for her to be alone with. Then again, with a Confusion Draught, she could wind up talking to pretty much anyone. No other possibilities even entered his mind. It wasn't until he was nearly at the end of the hall that he heard something. He froze and held his breath, listening for whatever it was. Soon, he heard some kind of creaking noise coming from the room to his right. Moving as silently as possible, he slid the door open and peered inside. To his disgust, it looked like two people were sleeping on the floor. The noise had been caused by the man, who was nearest to the door, as he rolled over and nudged a desk with his leg. His back was facing Severus, and his body was blocking the view of most of the woman's body. Severus was just about to leave when the man rolled over again. Now he smirked as the man's face came into clear view; Sirius Black reached up drowsily and shoved some of his long hair out of his mouth and promptly slumped back down and started snoring.
Severus crept closer in spite of himself. He couldn't help but be a little curious as to who Black had managed to trick into sleeping with him. He had made it almost halfway to the couple when the woman rolled onto her back, fully exposing her naked body as the robes she had been using as blankets fell off of her. Suddenly, Severus's stomach dropped. She had long blonde hair. Although it was covering her face, panic was rising in his throat. He slid closer and brushed some of her hair gently off her face, then stopped breathing. Air simply would not make its way into his lungs, his body seemed to have shut down.
"No," he whispered. "NO!" At his shout, both Sirius and Cassandra were startled awake. Cassandra looked up into his face serenely, looking somewhat dazed and glassy-eyed. "Sev? What are you doing here?" She glanced down at herself and automatically pulled her robes back over her. "Why am I...?" The words stopped in her throat. Her eyes had finally landed on Sirius, who looked just as dazed as she did.
Severus ran out of the room, leaning against the wall of the corridor while trying to stop his body from shaking. There had to be a mistake, even under the influence of a Confusion Draught Cassandra would never betray him like that. She knew how he felt about Sirius Black. How could she do this? With a sort of grim satisfaction, he listened to her panic in the other room.
"What's going on? What happened?" she practically shouted.
"Oh please, what do you think happened? We drank a little funny-tasting pumpkin juice from the party and woke up together naked, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Although his comments were sarcastic, Sirius didn't sound much calmer than Cassandra.
Her voice shook as she answered. "I don't care how much of that Confusion Draught was in the juice, I wouldn't have done anything with you. I wouldn't have..."
"Just snap out of it. I still remember actually doing it, so I can guarantee that it happened." There was a slight pause, then he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like an asshole. It's just that I wasn't expecting this at all."
"You weren't expecting it? You weren't expecting it? What about me? I was wandering around in some kind of daze, and then you came along and decided to have some fun!"
"That's not fair! It's not like I set out to do anything with you! Here, you're going to hurt yourself that way, let me help."
Severus could only assume that he had moved toward her, because Cassandra nearly burst out in hysterics. "Don't touch me! I don't want you anywhere near me! I have to go talk to someone."
Severus ran away from the door and back into the Great Hall, he had no interest in talking to her. His mind was still too disturbed by what he had seen to talk to her yet. Somehow, it had pleased him to hear her freaking out like that, after what she had done he wanted her to feel some pain. The fact that it wasn't her fault didn't really make an appearance in his mind.
Hearing the hurried footsteps behind him that indicated Cassandra was coming, Severus strode purposefully across the room and out the front doors of Hogwarts. He had nearly made it all the way to the front gate when a voice called out to him. "Snape! Slow down!"
He sighed and turned to see Lucius running after him. "Let me guess, you still want me to join you in being part of the group of Muggle torturers?"
Lucius chuckled. "It's not just Muggles that the Dark Lord deals with. He also wants to get rid of Mudbloods and people who support them."
The faces of James Potter and Sirius Black swam in Severus's mind. "Then I hope you still plan on having company when you go to meet him."
Severus Snape sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily and dripping sweat. What had made him dream about that? He hadn't so much as thought of the time when he'd decided to become a Death Eater for several years. His eyes shot to the calendar. It had been nearly eighteen and a half years since he had attended that horrible party. It was hard to believe that it had been so long, the memories were still so fresh. That had been the last time he had seen Cassandra, he'd avoided any chance of meeting her after that incident. After a few months, she had stopped trying to contact him and that had been the last he'd heard from her. A couple years later he had asked Lucius what had ever happened to her, but he hadn't known. She seemed to have just disappeared. Perhaps she had wanted to start fresh somewhere, without the burden of her family's strict views hanging over her head. Still, he'd always wondered where she had ended up.
Shaking his head, he climbed out of bed and stole a glance at the clock on the wall. 5:00 AM. Well, I may as well get ready. He had been busy for the last few days refilling his stockrooms with ingredients. School would be starting in a few days, and he needed his supplies.
Madam Cassa, the owner of the White Charm Inn of Hogsmeade, was just starting to fill up her baskets of sweets that she left at every door for her guests when the bell on her front door sounded. She walked out to the front hall of her inn, then smiled sweetly at the newcomer. This would certainly be the most attractive guest in her inn. Before her stood a teenage girl, probably around seventeen years old, that was about 5'6" with long, deep brown hair that was wavy until it reached the ends with a gentle spiral curl. She had bright blue eyes that seemed to hold a certain playfulness, and her slightly tanned but otherwise fair skin and full lips seemed to finish off a dark-haired porcelain doll. Madam Cassa's breath nearly caught in her throat when the girl smiled in a friendly manner, showing brilliantly white teeth. The girl seemed to notice her reaction, although she wasn't rude enough to comment.
"Are there any rooms available? I'm sorry for stopping in at this hour of the morning, but it was the earliest I could make it and I didn't want to wait."
"That's quite all right, dear," Madam Cassa said in her cheery manner. "I'm always up this early, and there's plenty of room for you here. I hope you had enough rest before you arrived, because it gets rather difficult to get any sleep once people start moving around outside. Hogsmeade isn't a very quiet place."
The girl laughed. "That okay, I've been told I could sleep through an explosion, so a noisy city won't bother me. I really could use some sleep though, I've been awake all night. I'm pretty excited, I'll be starting at Hogwarts in a few days."
"Where are you transferring from?"
"I was home-schooled."
"Why are you coming to Hogwarts, then?"
The girl flushed slightly and hesitated before replying, "My mother died a month ago."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Madam Cassa said immediately. As she walked behind the front desk and reached down to grab the guest book, she added, "I don't believe you told me your name, dear."
Once again the girl smiled enigmatically, forcing away the sadness that had entered her voice only moments ago. "My name's Necia Holt." As she watched Madam Cassa writing her name down in the guest book, she glanced down at her luggage. Hopefully the older woman hadn't noticed that the name on her luggage tags was different. She smiled again as she was led up to her room, letting it slide off her face when the door finally closed behind her. Necia Malfoy had arrived in Hogsmeade.
