Arc Two: Delusional Reverie
Chapter Nine: Perseverance

Cassandra's Point of View

The fatigue that had been consuming my body suddenly faded and I found myself on the ground of the Great Hall. Slowly, I held myself up on my elbows. It felt so unfamiliar being in my own body again. Seeing the world from a third-person perspective will do that to you.

Dumbledore, McGonagall and Trelawney watched me cautiously. The gap was a lot smaller than it had been previously but they did not dare come further. Severus looked as if he wanted to come and take me up in his arms but he understood it would be reckless.

As if on cue, a horrific pain surfaced in my head. I knew it was Ruberion trying to come back and he would be able to do so soon.

I could hear the sound of heels clicking against the stone flooring as they came ever closer. Barely able to turn my head through the agony, the golden gown of the woman who had stood aside approached with her scales still in hand. Elegantly and refined, she knelt down and pressed a finger to my chin, forcing me to look at her the same way Ruberion did.

"You humans are absurd. Filled with your own selfish fantasies of revenge... The one inside you cares not for the atrocities he would commit, even at the sacrifice of another. You poor lamb." she spoke sympathetically. It was hard to decipher if she meant those words as pity or as distaste. "I will suppress him temporarily. Calamity awaits those who earn its favour."

The pain subsided and the four began to approach. The woman vanished.

"Stay back, Sybill, just in case." McGonagall warned as Trelawney took a step back to protect the sword.

"Cassandra..." Severus huffed worriedly as he swept me up. I had forgotten what his warmth had felt like. It was so sweet and cherishable.

I hardly knew how to speak. Anything could come out of me again.

"Severus, we don't... we don't have much time." I spluttered panicked. "Ruberion will come back and he will unleash Calamity. You need to run away from here as fast as you can. Gather the students and flee."

Dumbledore understood that it was impossible. With so many rooms and students, some of them would be left behind for certain. The only way to save everyone would be...

"My Inner Eye is telling me that... we have to kill Cassandra to protect them." Trelawney timidly wept from behind McGonagall.

"No." Severus snapped which caused Trelawney to flinch backwards.

"Severus, it is the only way." McGonagall rationalised to him.

"I will not lose her again." His grip on me tightened in desperation.

I had to convince him. Trelawney predicted that I had to die and it was the only way to suppress Ruberion for good. He would not stop unless he lost his vessel. If I were to die, Ruberion would die with me. Our souls are linked. Two became one.

"You have to, Severus." I leant back to look him directly in the eye. They were watery and unclear. "Ruberion will possess me and he will unleash Calamity. No matter what you do... I will be gone. Please. As my last wish, save everyone." I couldn't stop the tears that began to fall down my cheeks.

I don't want to die. I had only just found my home. My family. I understood what kindness and love were. How to cherish another. And now, to protect them, I would have to die for them.

"Cassandra... I won't let you die." he whimpered.

"Do it for me, Severus. Save everyone. I'll never forget the time we spent together. They were the best moments of my life and I'll cherish them forever. Thank you for everything you gave me."

I pressed my lips to his. Our final kiss. He began to realise and accept reality.

"If this is how it has to be." He stood up and began to walk away from me.

"It must."

My head began to pound. Ruberion was returning.

"Do it now. He's returning." My voice was hoarse and croaky. All of my body was trembling as I sat on the ground at his mercy.

He readied his wand but he could not bring himself to do it. He couldn't kill the person so special to him. He would not lose another.

"Now! Severus, please!" I begged, screaming at the top of my lungs. The three behind him could only watch on with bated breath. I reached out my hand to him. He could not take it.

Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder. They shared a mutual nod and they came to a non-verbal agreement.

Severus steeled himself. "I'm sorry that I could not save you, Cassandra."

"It's not your fault. Please, do it."

I closed my eyes. All that I could hear was Trelawney's tears and tremors.

"Severus..."

"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled as the same bright green light that killed Utsy came forth to find me.

"I love you." I muttered to myself. The spell hit me. It was over.

"That was not an outcome I had predicted." Ruberion said as we stood together in the clouds. He didn't look upset or mad... He looked surprisingly pleased. "I underestimated your dedication."

"That was always your flaw. You're too cocky. If you had killed Severus, they wouldn't have come to you." I replied as we watched the grey hazes wander by.

"True, but it was entertaining while it lasted." He spoke as if we had been great friends for decades. It wasn't a fight anymore. It was two people who met their end coming to acknowledge their fate.

"I suppose. I'm going to miss everyone." I folded my arms in thought. "Just as things were starting to go right, you had to come along."

He looked at me with an odd expression. It wasn't his usual confident or smug one. It was a regular old smile.

"You were the only one worthy of my time. You should be grateful."

"Grateful for the fact we're both now dead? I think not."

A light chortle escaped his lips. "You only figured out what love is because of me. What would you tell Moaning Myrtle now if she asked?"

I continued to stare out into the horizon as I searched my heart for the answer.

"Love is that feeling where you would do anything to protect someone. That feeling where you accept everything about them and help them progress for the better. Wanting to spend every waking moment with them and see them smile. I think most of all..." I found Ruberion's icy blue eyes. "is never giving up. Holding them dear for all your lives together and working through any trouble that comes your way. That is what I think love is."

He nodded in response. "I never did feel that."

"I'm not surprised. Maybe if you had then you wouldn't have tried to unleash the Calamity."

"The prince of Arifica never felt love either but he knew how to abuse it. What has tainted your soul, darling?" he asked.

"I never found closure from what Father did to me. He took everything from me for so long."

"What would it take for you to forgive him?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure I ever could. I suppose an apology would be a start but... I don't think he would mean it."

"Most likely not. That man is hiding a deep secret, I am certain." he responded.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my ears twitching in anticipation.

I sat down on the soft clouds. Was this void going to be all I would know from now on? Would I have to be stuck with Ruberion? How long would it be until I wished I were alone?

"It's strange not being able to read your thoughts anymore." he redirected. "I would have to say that that's the first time I've properly felt on-edge."

"I scare you?" I repeated for clarification. "That's ridiculous." Why was he avoiding my question?

"You were the one who was able to kill me. Well, we owe Snape that honour but you convinced him. You know..." He sat down alongside me. "You could go back."

My ears twitched at his words. There was no way. He was playing some cruel prank.

"Don't lie to me, Ruberion." I brought my knees to my chest. "You and I both know that's impossible."

"You haven't figured it out yet? You of all people should be able to guess what I am referring to."

My mind pondered as to what he could mean... and then it hit me.

"You don't mean... Harry Potter, do you?"

He smiled fondly. "Clever girl. His mother sacrificed herself for her son and because of that, Voldemort could not touch him."

"But nobody sacrificed themselves for me."

"That is where you are wrong. Consider it a favour for the experience we had together."

"How do I know you're not lying and just going to come back and possess me?"

"I'll cease to be. Whatever this is," he motioned to his body. "will move on. You will be whole again. Here, I'll shake on it." He held out his hand for me to take.

Gradually, I came to take his hand and we shook.

"But I have one more question before you go." I threw in as he stood up.

"Go on."

"Why me?"

"I told you the very first time we danced together." For the first time, his eyes had a touch of warmth to them. "It is because I love you."

With that, he turned and began to walk away. He looked over his shoulder and gave a fond wave. His body began to dissolve into particles until there was nothing of him left.

The grey clouds began to shimmer a peaceful white as if a curse had been lifted from them. Ruberion was telling the truth. He had moved on.

The one counter to the Killing Curse was for a willing sacrifice made by love. I believed him when he said he had never felt what I said love to be but it did not mean he never loved.

In Ruberion's twisted mind, he did love me. It was no traditional love but it was love nonetheless. One born from obsession, fascination and dominance.

It was enough to satisfy the curse as one became two once more.

Despite everything we had gone through, Ruberion was the one who saved me. Owing to him my life felt unimpressive but there were far worse things to be in debt to him for. Just when I thought I finally understood him, he threw me for a loop once more.

If not for Ruberion, I would still be at the Ministry living my old miserable life. I would never have met Severus, Utsy or any of the other professors and students. As messed up and potentially selfish it would be to say, a part of me was glad that the Hound and Ruberion had happened. It saved me. He saved me.

I don't think he intended that kindness but perhaps he understood it. For the first time, his actions weren't for his betterment... but mine.

"...Thank you, Ruberion." I said as my body began to fade away. It was time to leave this arc of my life behind.

"She twitched."

"What?"

"I felt it."

"She cannot have done, Severus, she is-"

My eyes gradually opened and were filled with light. Severus loomed over me with my body cradled against his chest. His eyes were filled with tears but as he took me in, they were filled with shock.

"You... you are..." he trembled weakly. I could feel his shaking as he supported me.

"I told you I wouldn't leave you." I laughed delicately, still recovering the majority of my strength.

"Is he gone, Cassandra?" Dumbledore rushed over and stared me down.

I nodded and gripped Severus's clothes.

"Ruberion is gone. He..." My throat felt dry suddenly. "He sacrificed himself for me. He moved on and he won't be returning."

McGonagall and Trelawney let out audible sighs of relief. Dumbledore patted my shoulder gently.

"Once again, you have saved Hogwarts. You are an asset to this school, Cassandra." he praised. "What can we do to show you our appreciation once more?"

My eyes wandered through the gap between the two women to the small body that lay lifelessly. I knew exactly what I wanted.

Here Lies Utsy: A Mothering Elf to All and a True Hero

The next day, Filch prepared a small grave under the tree that Severus and I ate our picnic at. The cross declared her heroism for all her deeds to be acknowledged and heard.

"I'll miss her." I commented as I held Severus's hand tightly. Utsy wouldn't want me to cry so I did my best to stay strong for her. "She was like a mother to me."

"She would be happy to know that." he responded lightly. His gaze never left me. It was as if he feared if he stopped looking at me for a moment, I would disappear.

I nodded and smiled. The grave was surrounded by the natural wildflowers that had grown from spring's blessings. All kinds of whites, yellows and purples gave so much colour. I took one of the flowers and plucked it. Kneeling down, I placed it upon her grave.

"Utsy, thank you for everything. I'll look after the kitchens for you so you don't have anything to worry about, okay?" I began to choke on the light tears that overwhelmed me. "I owe you so much. Please rest peacefully."

Slowly, I stood back up and Severus placed his arm around my waist.

This school had lost far too much.

I, Cassandra Juniper, vow to Hogwarts as its sworn protector. I will take the burden to keep its inhabitants safe. I swear that with all I can offer. None shall be harmed under my watch.

No more blood shall be spilt.