Chapter 41 Waking Up and Facing the Facts

Harry was bound to a headstone. A hooded figure checked the bounds. Harry said something but was gagged by a cloth. There was a bundle of robes a foot away from the headstone Harry was bound. It stirred fretfully.

The hooded figure pushed a large cauldron to the grave. The figure busied himself lighting the fire underneath. Something was said, I couldn't make it out through the strange buzzing in my ears.

A large snake slithered away from the cauldron.

The cauldron had started to throw up sparks from being boiled. I couldn't make out what was on the surface.

I knew there was more talking, from the buzzing in my ears, and I watched as the figure pulled open the robes on the ground and revealed what it was.

My mouth opened in a silent scream at the disgusting mass in it. It was something ugly and slimy. It had a child-like appearance, but was scaly-looking. It had no hair on it. I caught a glimpse of his face, it was flat and snakelike, and it's eyes were red.

I watched as it raised it's arms around the figure. And the hood fell back as the figure stood up.

I let out a soundless shout as I saw it was Pettigrew.

He carried the disgusting being to the cauldron and carefully dropped the thing into the cauldron.

I couldn't hear the spell, but I watched as Pettigrew performed it. Taking a bone from the grave under Harry's feet, cutting off his own hand, and then cutting Harry with the same knife and taking a glass vial of Harry's blood to the cauldron.

The liquid turned a blinding white. It flashed such a bright light, I couldn't see anything else and thought I was stuck in the vision. But the light was gone, and a white steam floated out of the cauldron.

A man, slowly stood up from the inside of the cauldron. I got painful chills down my back.

He was not a man I recognized, but I knew who he was.

Lord Voldemort

I was in the dining room of the Malfoy Manor. People I didn't recognize only filled up half of the kitchen table, but Voldemort was sitting at the head. I was sitting next to Narcissa who had her head held high and was saying something.

I was sitting at another table, surrounded by people I didn't recognize, but Sirius and Remus were there. And I was snarling at Mrs. Weasley who had tears in her eyes.

I was sitting in a compartment, laughing at the strange situation. Neville had a small gray cactus and it had just exploded green slime. There was a girl with blonde hair, reading a magazine upside down. I saw that she had cute little radish earrings hanging from her earlobes. The door opened and Cho Chang from Ravenclaw opened it and she and Harry had a short conversation.

I brought up the rear of the group of us. Harry in the lead, Ron and Hermione behind him, Ginny, the blonde girl, and Neville ahead of me. And I raced after them, feeling like I was losing time.

My arm was burning, but I was focused on Draco who was crying in my lap.

I was smiling at Harry as Dumbledore was explaining something to a rather large man, a dreadfully thin woman, and a scared boy. Harry and I were sharing secret looks. He had to leave the room and I smiled at the strange family.

I was racing after Draco and Snape who were leaving the strangely decorated room.

I was sitting with a crowd of people, Dumbeldore was laying on a white slab and there were tears in my eyes. Hagrid was walking back and didn't see Harry's friendly wave.

I could see the fear in Draco's face. He was being forced to torture the man on the ground. Voldemort was angry.

Draco and several other Slytherins were running through a strange corridor with my friends and other kids.

Words were buzzing in my ear as I stood in front of Harry with my arms crossed, clearly in an argument with him.

I sat up, letting out a scream.

"Dear me!" Madam Pomfrey leapt back, putting a hand on her chest.

I burst into tears, my head was hurting and I couldn't remember where I was.

There was a roar from within the castle, somewhere above us.

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey asked in alarm.

I finally looked around. I was in the hospital wing. Harry and Hermione were sitting up in their beds both with wide eyes. I tried to wipe my eyes away but they weren't stopping.

There were angry voices, growing louder as they drew closer.

"Really - they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?" Madam Pomfrey asked, staring at the door she had a hand on my back and was trying to comfort me.

"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out - "

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARTE!" Snape roared from outside the wing. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH - POTTER - AND - ZWART!"

"Severus - be reasonable - Harry and Cassie have been locked up -"

BAM!

I flinched as the door flew up. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came in. Dumbledore was the only one who looked calm. Fudge was angry, but Snape… Snape was FURIOUS.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" Snape bellowed at Harry first. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" He turned to me.

"Professor Snape! Cassie only just woke up!" Madam Pomfrey said, coming to my defense.

"See here, Snape, be reasonable." Fudge said. "This door's been locked, we just saw -"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!"

"Who escaped?" I asked, honestly clueless.

Fudge looked sharply at me.

I tried stopping the tears but they just wouldn't stop!

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER AND ZWART!" Snape was shrieking like a lunatic. "HE DID IT, I KNOW THEY DID IT!"

"That will do, Severus," Dumbledore's voice was quiet. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" Madam Pomfrey was bristling. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione and Cassie are able to be in two places at once. And Madam Pomfrey said that Cassie woke up just before we barged in here. I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further." Dumbledore finished.

Snape stood there, seething staring at Fudge to Dumbledore. He whirled about, making his robes swish behind him, before storming out of the wing.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," Fudge stared after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," Dumbledore gave a quiet chuckle. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" Fudge puffed.

I rubbed my eyes, the visions still flashing before my eyes.

"The Dailey Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well… I'd better go and notify the Ministry…"

"And the dementors?" Dumbledore asked evenly. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh, yes, they'll have to go," Fudge ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy… Completely out of control… no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight… Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance…"

"Hagrid would like that," Dumbledore turned to us who were awake with a smile.

Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door as Fudge and Dumbledore left, locking it. She muttered angrily to herself as she headed back in my direction.

"What is it dear?" She asked as she offered me some chocolate.

"I think it's shock," I whispered as the flow of my tears started to slow down.

"Oh dear. Here's some chocolate, and I'll get you something for shock." She left me to go to her cabinet of potions and brought me a bottle of something.

"Thank you." I said and I drank some.

It took a few seconds to take affect, but I finally stopped crying.

"That's better. Now go to sleep, you all need rest." Madam Pomfrey took the empty bottle and walked to her office.

She was muttering under her breath the whole time.

There was a moan next to me and I was relieved to see that Ron had woken up.

"What - what happened?" He groaned. "Harry? Why are we here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

"You explain," Harry said, helping himself to chocolate on his bedside table.

Hermione explained to a groggy Ron and I what happened. I gave a wet chuckle when she explained that I had caught them sneaking to Hagrid's. Ron had a hard time understanding why she had a Time-Turner, and was upset that I already knew about it.

I was relieved to see that there was a stack of parchment paper and a quill on my bedside table. I wrote down what I had seen and Harry watched me every move I made.

"That is a bloody crazy story!" Ron said when Hermione whispered how they helped Sirius escape.

Hermione nodded and looked like she was ready to go to sleep.

"I have a question for Cassie." Harry spoke up.

I froze, I was on my second to last vision when I looked up at him.

"What is it Harry?" I asked.

"What are you?"

Ron gave a guffaw, "Harry, you've known she's a metamo- "

"She's something else." Harry interrupted Ron.

I held Harry's gaze and looked over at Hermione.

"You dropped down as soon Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf. Your eyes turned foggy and you weren't responding to anything." Hermione answered quietly.

I gave her a thankful nod and looked back at Harry. I wiped my eyes one last time and waited for more tears and was grateful there weren't anymore.

"Let me finish writing down what I saw, then I will tell you everything." I said, gesturing to the papers around me.

He nodded and folded his arms as I finished writing down my visions.

I put the inkpot and quill away and stacked the parchment neatly, ready to go into my journal.

"My last name is Zwart, when you look me up in the library; which I know you haven't, it will say that I am a descendant of Morgana. And Morgana was a Seer." I started to explain.

"Like Trelawney?" Ron asked.

"Trelawney has Seer blood,she's not a complete fraud. But she's not a True Seer, I can't answer anymore questions about her because I don't know. What I do know, is that when I had my memory block, the magic couldn't flow through me like it should have. So I had spikes of Seer ability, when I knew Hagrid was going to teach his first Care of Magical Creatures class, he was going to bring in creatures with feathers. And other little things throughout the school year.

"When the block was finally broken, I didn't have just the feelings anymore. If I did, I didn't know if it was just me saying something, or if it was my Seer coming out. When I went to go get Harry's cloak, I had my first vision. No I can't tell you what it was."

Ron had opened his mouth. When he closed it Harry opened his.

"If I tell you, it can change what happens. And then you would think I was a liar if it didn't happen." I said holding up my hand.

Harry closed his mouth.

"I think, when I saw Harry and Hermione when I shouldn't have, it triggered the visions. They said that after they had seen me I still didn't come out until after they rescued Buckbeak. I don't remember any time gaps. I gave them a head start and for me, no time had passed. I was supposed to see a vision tonight but something - I don't know what - but something just didn't happen. And when Lu - Re - Remus, transformed into a werewolf my mind just couldn't wait until I was safe. I had to see what I needed to see."

I put my hand on the stack of parchment.

"So you're a Seer." Ron stated more than asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

"That's brilliant! You can tell us the answers for future tests!" Ron said in excitement.

Hermione, Harry and I all shared a laugh.

"Ron, it doesn't work that way! I don't get to choose what I see. It comes and goes as it pleases." I said.

"You can still try though!" Ron pleaded.

We laughed as Ron tried to convince me that if I practiced enough I could see when I wanted too.

We were released from the hospital wing the next day at noon. The castle was almost deserted. The third years and older were enjoying another Hogsmeade trip. Ron and Hermione didn't bother going, they stayed with Harry and I. I figured I should stay close to Hogwarts in case I had another 'fainting' spell as Harry put it.

We were enjoying the sun, sitting by the bank of the lake. I was debating taking off my cloak and going for a swim when a shadow fell on us. Hagrid was mopping his sweaty face, his eyes just a little bleary from happy tears.

"Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night." He said to us, "I mean, Black escapin' again, an' everythin' - but guess what?"

"What?" We all asked.

"Beaky! He escaped! He's free! Bin celebratin' all night!" Hagrid said joyfully.

"That's wonderful!" Hermione and I said together.

Ron looked like he was about to laugh so Hermione gave him a pointed look.

"Yeah… can't've tied him up properly," Hagrid looked across the grounds. "I was worried this mornin', mind… though he mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night…"

"What?" Harry asked quickly.

"Blimey, haven' yeh heard?" Hagrid's smile faded. "Er - Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'... Thought everyone'd know by now… Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on the grounds las' night… He's packin' now, o' course."

"He packing?" Harry asked.

"Why?" I asked.

"Leavin' isn' he?" Hagrid looked surprised that we asked.

"Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he can't risk it happenin' again."

Harry and I scrambled to our feet. I forgot about my urge to go for a swim.

"We're going to see him," Harry informed Ron and Hermione.

"But if he's resigned - "

"- doesn't sound like there's anything we can do -"

"I don't care." I shook my head.

I still had questions for him.

"I still want to see him. I'll meet you back here." Harry said.

Together we jogged to the castle and to Lupin's office.

His door was open, like he knew we were coming. The grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered suitcase. His suitcase was nearly full.

"I saw you coming," Lupin smiled at us when Harry went to knock.

He pointed to the Marauder's Map that was open on his desk.

"We just saw Hagrid," Harry said. "And he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is." Lupin nodded solemnly.

"Why?" I asked.

My mother has been dead, I knew that. But now my dad was on the run and I didn't even get to say good-bye to him. And this man - this man was supposed to be a part of my life and he was leaving!

"The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?" Harry asked.

Lupin crossed the floor of his office to close the door behind us.

"No, Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives." Lupin sighed. "That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he - er - accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."

"You're not leaving because of that!" Harry was astonished.

My hair turned red from the anger I was feeling.

"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents… They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you… That must never happen again." Lupin sounded sad.

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Harry said.

"Please, don't go!" I added.

Lupin shook his head, but didn't speak. Instead, he carried on emptying his office.

"Is that why you didn't adopt me?" I asked, my voice quiet.

Lupin froze, and Harry stayed quiet.

"Because you didn't know how you can take care of a child, alone, with your condition?" I clarified.

Lupin turned to look at me.

"I did want to. I was legally able to, for a short time. But I can't anymore. I can't hold down a job, and I don't have a permanent place of residency to be able to take you in." He admitted.

"Is that because Cassie doesn't have living relatives?" Harry asked.

"Technically speaking. Karen was an only child, but she has cousins. They disowned her -" Lupin stopped himself.

"They disowned her for trying to suppress her ability." I filled Harry in.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I think the Zwart family is proud of being of Seer blood, and if one says they don't want to be a Seer, they get disowned?" I guessed, looking at Lupin.

"Correct, Cassie." He nodded.

"Do you want to suppress your ability?" Harry asked me.

Lupin looked at me, a surprised expression on his face.

"I couldn't hide it very well after last night." I answered his unspoken question.

"I don't know, Harry. It would be helpful to see what happens next, but I can't tell anyone what I see." I answered Harry next.

He nodded, I knew he didn't quite understand.

"From what the headmaster told me this morning," Lupin decided to change the subject. "You saved a lot of lives last night, Harry. If I'm proud of anything I've done this year, it's how much you've learned… Tell me about your Patronus."

"How d'you know about that?" Harry asked, successfully distracted.

"What else could have driven the dementors back?" Lupin had a glint in his eye I hadn't seen before.

Harry told Lupin what happened while I hopped up onto Lupin's desk to sit on it, swinging my legs back and forth.

"Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed," Lupin nodded. "You guess right… that's why we called him Prongs."

He threw his last few books into his case; then turned to look at me.

"Can you conjure a corporeal Patronus?" He asked.

"I - I don't know. I thought I did at the match, but I didn't get to see it." I answered.

"Why not give it a go?" Lupin asked, gesturing around the office.

I stayed in my spot, pulling out my wand from its pocket.

I thought of Sirius being free. And how he called me 'Treasure' and how that feeling warmed me up.

"Expecto Patronum!" I flicked my wand.

A great silver bear shot out of my wand.

"Oh my!" Lupin took a step back.

"Wow!" Harry grinned, watching it race around the room.

"Any idea what kind of bear it is?" I asked, watching it too.

"No." Lupin shook his head.

I let the Patronus go and it disappeared in a silver smoke.

"Amazing!"

Harry and I shared a grin.

Lupin looked at the two of us, looking proud.

"Here - I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night." Lupin handed Harry back his Invisibility Cloak.

"And…" He hesitated looking at the Map. "I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you back this as well. It's no use to me, and I dare say you two, Ron and Hermione will find uses for both of them."

Harry took the map and grinned.

"You told me, Moony, Wormtai, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school… you said they'd have thought it was funny."

"And so we would have," Lupin reached to close his case. "I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his son had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle."

There was a knock at the door.

Harry stuffed the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket.

Dumbledore was the one who knocked on the door.

"Your carriage is at the gates, Remus." Dumbledore said, not looking surprised to see Harry and I.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

Lupin picked up his suitcase, and the tank.

"Well - good-bye Harry, Cassie." He was smiling. "It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage.

Remus must have wanted to leave as quickly as he could, before the students saw him again.

"Good-bye, then, Remus." Dumbledore said soberly.

Remus shifted the tank in his arm so that he and Dumbledore could shake hands. Then with a final nod and swift smile to Harry and I, he was gone.

Harry sat down on the chair, staring glumly at me.

I'm sure I had the same expression.

"Why so miserable, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. "You should be very proud of yourself after last night."

"It didn't make any difference," Harry was suddenly bitter. "Pettigrew got away."

"You did though, now a man is free from Azkaban." I said, surprised at his change of attitude.

"She's right. You helped uncover the truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate."

Something swam across Harry's face.

"Professor Dumbledore - yesterday, when I was having my Divination exam, Professor Trelawney went very - very strange."

"Indeed?" Dumbledore was intrigued. "Er - stranger than usual, you mean?"

"Yes… her voice went all deep and her eyes rolled and she said… she said Voldemort's servant was going to set out to return to him before midnight… She said the servant would help him come back to power."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

"She said the servant would help him come back to power." Harry stared up to Dumbledore. "And then she sort of became normal again, and she couldn't remember anything she'd said. Was it - was she making a real prediction?"

I was impressed, and Dumbledore must have been too, from the look on his face.

"Do you know, Harry, I think she might have been," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

He looked at me and then back to Harry.

"Who'd have thought it? That brings her total of real predictions up to two. I should offer her a pay raise…"

I let out a laugh at that.

"But -" Harry looked between Dumbledore and I.

"But - I stopped Sirius and Professor Lupin from killing Pettigrew! That makes it my fault if Voldemort comes back!"

I shook my head as Dumbledore spoke.

"It does not," Dumbledore's voice was calm. "Hasn't your experience with the Time-Turner taught you anything, Harry? The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is difficult business indeed… Professor Trelawney, bless her, is living proof of that… You did a very noble thing, in saving Pettigrew's life."

"But if he helps Voldemort back to power -!"

"Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt… When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them… and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter."

I sat there, letting that information soak in my brain.

"I don't want a connection with Pettigrew!" Harry got a little loud, but he wasn't shouting. "He betrayed my parents!"

"This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me… the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."

Dumbledore let Harry think about that for a minute.

"I knew your father very well, both at Hogwarts and later, Harry." Dumbledore's voice was gentle. "He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am sure of it."

Harry looked at Dumbledore.

"I thought it was my dad who'd conjured my Patronus. I mean, when I saw myself across the lake… I thought I was seeing him."

"An easy mistake to make," Dumbledore answered softly. "I expect you'll tire of hearing it, but you do look extraordinarily like James. Except for his eyes… you have your mother's eyes."

I rolled my eyes at that.

'Funny how a child can look like both parents.' I thought to myself.

"It was stupid, thinking it was him," Harry muttered. "I mean, I knew he was dead."

"That doesn't mean the dead we loved are gone." I said quietly.

Dumbledore nodded at me.

"She's right. You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you produce that particular Patronus. Prongs rode again last night.

It took both Harry and I a moment to realize what Dumbledore had said.

"Last night, Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi," Dumbledore explained with a smile. "An extraordinary achievement - not least, keeping it quiet from me. And then I remembered the most unusual form you Patronus took, when it charged Mr. Malfoy down at your Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. You know, Harry, in a way, you did see your father last night… You found him inside yourself."

Dumbledore left us with that. Harry sat a bit longer, needing to be with his thoughts.

Two chapters within a day of each other! Whatever will you do!? Clearly, I didn't plan this out very well so that's on me, and as you can tell we are very close to the end...

Shout out to afeleon246 for leaving a review letting me know what happened last chapter! I really do appreciate it!

Shout out to Awritingbookworm for leaving a review for this chapter!

Awritingbookworm: I rewrote that particular chapter three times as Cassie, and I just could not figure out how to get it flow how I wanted. So I did a mental reset and went back at it and decided to try it as Harry's point of view and it worked! I was sad that Cassie couldn't say goodbye to her dad, but it worked out! What do you think of her in the chapter?