Disclaimer: All rights go to JK Rowling. Anything you don't recognize is mine.
Updated as of 9/18/2019.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Heist and the Heart
The compartment was deathly quiet. Normally, the chugging of the steam engine would have provided some escape from the stifling silence pressing down on them, but the train was no longer moving, squatting somewhere just outside of London with nothing but soggy grey fields and damp grey sky around them, the rain still coming down in pattering sheets.
Cassie continued to stare at the portrait, her heart thumping wildly. Every ounce of logic and reasoning within her attempted to pass the picture of the woman off as irrational, or even an elaborate hoax, but there was a reason she had not been meant for Ravenclaw, as her parents had hoped; no amount of philosophy or rationale could explain what she was seeing.
"Cassie, er, why don't you sit down?" James said, eyeing her with concern. "You look like you're about to faint."
She sagged back into her seat next to Remus, her eyes still on the portrait. The longer she looked at it, the more she realized that the woman was not an exact doppelganger of herself; rather, she appeared to be some kind of relative with an uncannily, disturbingly close resemblance, perhaps.
She had Cassie's angular face, and the brown of her hair and eyes was precisely the same shade of her own, though that was where the most obvious similarities ended. Upon closer observation, her skin was a faintly darker hue, dusted here and there with a few freckles, and her nose was small and round, whereas Cassie's was longer and slimmer, and slightly upturned at the tip. Her brows hung low over her deep eyes, giving her a perpetual pondering expression that conveyed wisdom and thought, something Cassie could never pull off with her arching brows and sharp cheekbones, which just highlighted her imperious features and made her look dour all the time. The discrepancies did nothing to ease her anxiety, however, and she finally became so unnerved that she tore her gaze off the page, looking to Remus.
"I don't understand," she said helplessly. He winced at her tone, obviously not knowing what to say.
"Is there any context at all?" Sirius asked.
"No," she said, glancing back to the book. "All of it is in Old English; I have no idea what it says."
James looked surprised.
"Your tutors never taught you Old English?" he said incredulously.
She shook her head, frowning. "No, Latin." Her perplexed gaze shifted to Sirius, but he merely shrugged.
"Some Latin, but mostly French for me," he said. Remus and Peter both shook their heads mutely, but Cassie wasn't surprised; both boys had attended Muggle primary schools.
"Can you read what it says on the other page?" she asked James, almost desperately.
"I can try," he hedged, scrunching his nose when Cassie passed him the book, as if reluctant to touch it, "but it's been years since I've studied this stuff, so I might not be the best translator."
"Anything helps," she said.
James sighed at her hopeful expression, scratching his head and causing most of his hair to stand up wildly.
"Well, the title is Of the History and Genealogy of the Alderfair Line," he began, flipping through the first brittle pages gingerly. "And it looks like it was started sometime in the early Hellenistic Era."
He looked up to her in shock at this, his hazel eyes wide, and she raised a brow.
"Your family is ancient," he said, a hint of awe lacing his voice. "Merlin, Cassie, your bloodline was there when Rome was created. This was back when Hecate was worshipped! Merlin wasn't even alive back then!"
"That's not that old," she said uncomfortably, wondering why everyone was looking at her with slack jaws. "Most pure-blood families trace back hundreds of years."
"Yeah, but not thousands," Sirius pointed out. "Most only emerged at the start of the Common Era, after Rome fell and the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings were running around. The Sacred Twenty-Eight didn't even become the Sacred Twenty-Eight until the Middle Ages, when all this pure-blood mania started."
Cassie frowned, mulling this new information over. She had known the Alderfairs were an extremely old family, but she hadn't known just how old. Was that why the Alderfairs weren't counted among the Sacred Twenty-Eight families? Because they were so ancient, so much the embodiment of pure-bloods, that the other pure-blood families actually looked up to them? The thought only heightened her discomfort, so instead of responding, she just waved James on to keep reading.
Still looking quite impressed, he continued.
"The page we're looking at appears to be written sometime in the second century of the Common Era, what we live in today. I think this means 1006 CE, but I'm not sure."
"Hogwarts was founded 990 CE, right?" Remus interjected, and they all nodded. He looked thoughtful. "So, this woman possibly could've gone to school here."
"Can we not try to creep me out further?" Cassie complained, shuddering. "I already feel ill enough."
Remus grimaced. "Sorry. Go ahead, James."
"That's about all the context that I got, so I'll try reading now," he said before clearing his throat.
"Lady Miranda Alderfair was born in 979 A.D. to pure-bloods Lord Damian and Lady Eris Alderfair née Bardblood, making her their only child and subsequent heir to her family's fortune and the seventeenth heir of the Alderfair line.
"She was one of the first students to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry upon its founding in 990 A.D., where she graduated in 997 A.D. with the Honors of Heleggo Award and a Prefect of Ravenclaw House." James looked up from the book. "Guess that answers our Hogwarts question, then."
Cassie felt all their eyes upon her, but she simply shrugged, twisting a piece of hair around her finger. "Seems like a show-off to me."
They all cracked a grin, and James continued reading.
"At the age of twenty-six, Lady Alderfair lost both her parents to the effects of dragon-pox, which as of then had no cure, leaving her as the only Alderfair descendant and sole inheritor of everything belonging to the Alderfair family.
"Wealthy as she was, Lady Alderfair did not seek work, choosing to live in relative seclusion in the small wizarding village of Barbury Crest in Scotland. However, she was a patron of scholars and considered herself one, as well, and she contributed much of her time to lecturing at Hogwarts and continuing her magical studies under the guidance of both Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, after a high recommendation by her House Founder, Rowena Ravenclaw. Lady Alderfair paved the way for the recording and transcribing of wizarding mythology, many of which were her own works, including her most famous epic, The Gauntlet of Gryffindor, first written as a gift for her mentor before being published posthumously in Morvin Morstell's popular collection of early Anglican literature, Fabulae ex phantasia altitudinis."
"Wait, I've heard of that before," Cassie cut in. "The Legends of High Fantasy. I think we used to have a copy of it. My mum used to read it to Will and me."
She frowned down at her lap before looking back up to James and raising a haughty brow. "Did I say to stop reading?"
James rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. "My deepest apologies, Princess. I'll get right back to being your adoring servant."
She shot him a rude hand gesture as he went back to the book.
"Despite never marrying, Lady Alderfair fell pregnant in her twenty-eighth year, putting a temporary halt on her work. Much to the scandal of everyone, she kept the identity of the father a secret, though assured the authorities at the time—the High Court of Magick—that the father was also a pure-blood. (This was later confirmed by a Blood Spell performed by the Wizarding High Council). Nine months later, she would give birth to her first and only son, Sebastian Alderfair.
"While her child was still only several months old, Lady Alderfair left him in the care of her governess, Edith Ledger, as she set out upon a trip to the Scottish Highlands, determined to continue her work. However, tragedy struck in the form of…"
James trailed off, troubled, and Cassie exchanged a look with Remus.
"James, what's wrong?" she asked, itching to know what Miranda's tragedy was. "Can you not translate the next part?"
"No, I can," he said reluctantly. Oddly, he shot Remus a furtive look. "Er, sorry. I'll go on."
He cleared his throat again, his finger finding the place where he had left off.
"However, tragedy struck in the form of the full moon. She was attacked by a werewolf in its transitioned form, and thus was infected with lycanthropy."
The compartment had gone eerily still, though Cassie barely noticed, too wrapped up in Miranda's story to notice much else. She could feel Remus beside her, as stiff as a board, but she figured he was just as invested as she was, the tension becoming almost palpable.
After another guilty grimace, James went on.
"Her last works lost and her health now compromised, Lady Alderfair returned home to see her son for the final time. After sealing her will and entrusting it to her governess—in which everything was left to her son Sebastian, along with generous amounts of money being donated to her former school—Lady Alderfair vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. Many suspect that she had taken her own life to escape the curse of lycanthropy, but with no remaining records other than her works, educational awards, and will, it is impossible to conclude her fate, and left purely to speculation."
James closed the book, and the heavy thump of the volume sealing was the only sound any of them dared to make.
Cassie's head reeled. She couldn't make sense of anything. And how could she? A woman who was her ancestor, and just happened to look like her, had vanished off the face of the earth hundreds of years ago, and was now haunting her dreams and cropping up in a strange book that her brother had gifted to her.
"Will doesn't do anything random. Everything he does has purpose," she'd told them once. He had given her the locket with the message inside, and now this book of their family history. But why?
He had to be trying to tell her something. It was the only explanation. She had grown up with Will, known him his whole life—if anyone knew how he worked, it was her. Will loved riddles. He had a flair for mystery and secrets, and even best, he loved making her solve them.
"Cass, er, not to be rude…" Sirius started, breaking her out of her thoughts, and she glanced up to find him staring at her uneasily, "but your family is starkers."
She couldn't help but let out a derisive snort. "I'm aware of that fact, sadly."
"Really?" He shot her a smirk. "I would never have guessed. I mean, you're not exactly normal yourself."
She opened her mouth to retort, but Remus lurched to his feet next to her, looking extremely ill.
"I need some air," he said before stepping out of the compartment and slamming the door behind him so forcefully the glass in the pane rattled, startling them all.
"Is Remus all right?" Cassie asked, rising to her feet in concern. "He looked like he was going to be sick."
The remaining three Marauders traded an indecipherable glance before Sirius got to his feet.
"I'm sure he's fine," he said airily. "Poor bloke must have drunk too much last night; I'll go see if he needs anything."
"I'll come with," Cassie said, wanting nothing more than to be away from that blasted book, but she halted in her tracks when all three boys cried, "No!" in unison.
"Er…" Sirius tried for a grin that came out more like a grimace. Peter looked as if he was prepared to dive out of his seat and tackle her to the ground.
"He'll probably be puking his guts out," James said quickly, shooting her a nervous grin. "He won't want you to see that. Best let Sirius go by himself."
"Er…right," she said, sitting down reluctantly as the dark-haired boy slipped out of the compartment, leaving her in an awkward silence with James and Peter.
"I'm, uh, going to go take advantage of that food trolley," Peter squeaked. "You two want anything?"
Cassie shook her head, her stomach squirming too much to even consider food, but James passed him a couple Knuts, telling the blond boy to get him a sandwich. Peter complied, scrambling out of the compartment and tripping on the doorframe before whisking out of sight.
When the smaller boy had left, Cassie turned on James, only to find that he was studiously avoiding her eyes.
"What the bloody hell was that?" she demanded. When James didn't immediately answer, she crossed her arms and huffed out an irritated breath. "Potter."
"Oh, so it's 'Potter' again, is it?" he said mildly. She glared at him. "What do you want me to say? Sirius is right; he's just not feeling well."
"So, that means I can't be a good friend and see if he's all right?" she asked.
He shrugged, tapping his fingers on the cover of the book.
"Remus is a weird bloke. He doesn't like other people seeing him sick. It's not you; it's him."
She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you just used a cliché to describe this situation." She sat back in her seat, annoyed, when he just shrugged again.
They sat in silence for several moments, she watching the raindrops freeze and coalesce on the window and he fiddling with the book in his lap, flipping through the pages in interest and popping his lips in a bubble continuously.
"Can you please stop that?" she said when his lips made another pop! "I already feel like I'm going mad."
He shrugged, making a lock-and-key motion with his hand and mouth that made her feel guilty for snapping at him. She wasn't trying to be a grouch, but the stress of the last few weeks was starting to buckle down on her, and she wasn't sure how much more she could take without cracking from the pressure.
"All right, Alderfair, spit it out," James said after another minute. She looked to him questioningly to find him already scrutinizing her. "You have your thinking face on."
"The book," she said, flapping her hand to the tome he was still holding. "I'm trying to work out how it all fits."
"You mean with the locket?" She nodded, pressing her forehead to the window and relaxing some as the cold glass met her flushed skin. "Where did the book even come from?"
"Take a wild guess," she said sarcastically.
His eyes lit up. "Ah. The barking brother."
"I don't understand what he wants from me!" she burst out. "First, he becomes a Death Eater, then he's giving me a locket with some kind of bloody warning in it, then he's torturing Muggles, then he's getting cleared of all charges, then he's throwing this book at me, and then he invites You-Know-Who into our house and leaves me alone with him to try and get recruited!"
"Wait a minute, what?" James stared at her with a hardness to his gaze that made her shrink back, inwardly cursing her big mouth. "You only said that Will brought You-Know-Who into your house. You didn't mention anything about speaking with him."
"I-I—" she faltered, flustered at how angry he looked. "I didn't think it was important—"
"Important?" he said incredulously. "Cassie, d'you realize the danger you were in? Did you even stop to think about what could have happened to you? And you didn't tell us, because you thought it was some minor detail?"
"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react like this!" she protested. "James, I get that we're allies, but you can't protect me all the time—"
"No, we're friends, there's a bloody difference!" he snapped. "We protect our friends, Cassie, you know that!"
"I do, James, bloody hell!" she said. "I don't know what you're so upset about, though. It's not like telling you after the fact would have made much of a difference."
He opened and closed his mouth, clearly searching for an argument, until finally settling with, "Friends don't keep secrets, all right? Especially ones this big."
"I know, and I'm sorry for keeping it from you," she said, relieved to hear his voice return to a normal volume again. "I promise to tell you everything from here on out."
"Thank you," he said gruffly, crossing his arms, and she couldn't help but grin at his pouting expression.
"Oh, c'mere, you big baby," she teased, getting up and seating herself next to him. She wrapped her arms around his torso. "You're quite adorable when you sulk, y'know that? You should do it around Lily more often."
"Sod off," he grumbled, but she could hear the smile in his voice when she tucked her head under his chin. He planted a brief kiss to her hair before immediately spitting some of it from his mouth. "Merlin, you ever think of getting a haircut?"
She shrugged. "Sometimes. Not often."
He mumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "You should," before he cleared his throat. "So, er, we ever gonna talk about your doppelganger?"
Cassie wrinkled her nose. "I was hoping to avoid it, but we should."
She sat up, disentangling herself from the lanky limbs of the black-haired boy as he patted the book thoughtfully, adjusting his glasses.
"What are your theories?" he asked her.
She frowned, moving to sit against the window while he faced her on the opposite side of the seat, their legs stretched out next to each other's sides and their arms crossed identically.
"I have a theory about Will," she admitted, "but Miranda? No idea."
"Then we'll start with Will," he said. "What d'you think?"
"There's a riddle, starting with the locket," she said. "The enchantment on it is our first clue, and this book is the second. I think he's trying to get a message to me."
"Like a trail of breadcrumbs," he mused.
She gave him a weird look. "A what?"
He waved a hand. "It was something in this Muggle fairy tale Remus told us our first year. I always liked it."
"Oh," she said, "but yeah, something like that."
"What kind of message would he be trying to send you, though?" he asked. "Join the Death Eaters, sis, it's more fun than you think!"
She rolled her eyes. "No, I don't think he's trying to recruit me. I think…"
She paused, biting her lip, and James raised his brows in a prompting manner. "You think…?"
Cassie took a deep breath. She knew she was going to sound mad, but she had to try.
"I think Will is trying to get me to help him," she admitted. "I think he wants out."
James stared at her. She could see the inkling of pity in his eyes, just like she had known. "Cass…"
"I know, I know, it sounds mad," she said miserably, "but, James, why else would he be doing this?"
"Cassie," he said gently, and angry tears stung her eyes when she heard the pity creeping into his voice, as well. "He's your brother, I get it, and I know you don't want to lose hope…but he's changed. You have to start seeing him as the person he is, not the one he used to be."
"I know," she said, blinking furiously to dash away her tears. "I just don't want him gone. I know I've lost him already, but I don't want him to disappear forever."
She sniffed hard, staring at her knees and discreetly wiping her tears on her scarf as he prudently looked away, taking an interest in the wall across from them.
"Sorry," she said a few minutes later when she'd composed herself again. She gestured to him. "Do you have any theories?"
"A few," he said, turning back to her. "The first one is easy to prove."
She arched a brow. "Oh?"
He asked bluntly, "You're not a time-traveler, are you?"
"Of course not," she said, shaking her head in exasperation. "That's ridiculous."
He raised his hands in defense. "Hey, I was just making sure. You never know these days."
"Any real theories?" she said.
"Well, this one's not really a theory. Just logic." He scrubbed a hand through his hair. "My guess is that Miranda just so happens to look like you because she's your ancestor, and you're from the same bloodline. It's not uncommon for wizards—especially ones from the old pure-blood families—to have strong genetic resemblances, particularly after several generations. In fact, I think I have a great-great-great-great-grandfather who looked exactly like me. So, realistically, you could've just inherited a lot of her looks through the blood of the paternal side of your family tree."
"That surprisingly makes a lot of sense," she said slowly.
"There's a reason some consider me a genius," he said with an arrogant smirk, and she scoffed.
"A modest one, too," she added.
They shared a grin before there was a sudden lurch from the train, and they both sat up at the conductor's voice.
"Thank you for your patience as we worked to get this problem resolved. We will now be on our way, and we should expect to arrive in Hogsmeade Station at ten o'clock. Thank you again, and have a safe and relaxing journey."
"Ugh, that means we're going to miss dinner!" James moaned, clutching his stomach. "Where's Pete with those sandwiches?"
Cassie didn't answer, taking the book from him instead before climbing back onto the seat to return it to her trunk. She made sure to lock her trunk this time before returning to her seat, watching the frozen and wet landscape slip by as the Hogwarts Express hastened to their destination.
It was nearing midnight when Cassie finally began to climb the girls' staircase to her dormitory. James had insisted they go to the kitchens and eat when they arrived to the castle, refusing to go to bed on an empty stomach, and she had joined, more from her own hunger than the boys' pleas.
The three Marauders who hadn't been present for Cassie and James's talk on the train had returned to the compartment shortly after it had begun to move again, and though Remus didn't look as ill as he had before, he'd still seemed quite peaky, but had made his best effort to pitch into the conversation when needed as they told the others their theories. They had all seemed to accept that Cassie's resemblance to Miranda Alderfair was just a bizarre coincidence, but when she'd broached the topic of Will, they all sided with James.
"I'm sorry, Cassie, I know you want to believe otherwise, but I just don't think Will is doing this for anything good," Remus had said, not quite meeting her eyes.
"Then what is he doing?" she argued. "Can someone please enlighten me to that?"
"He's having a laugh with his Death Eater mates at your expense," Sirius said, scowling. "He's pulling your leg, nothing more." Peter had nodded in agreement.
Not wanting to rehash the same argument she'd had with James, she dropped the subject after that, the topic thankfully being stored away for the rest of the journey to Hogwarts and their dinner in the kitchens.
However, the one thing they could all agree on was that time was of the essence now regarding Carlisle, and so over a steaming vat of shepherd's pie, they had planned the break-in for that coming Friday.
Cassie dragged her feet up the stairs, exhausted from the day's happenings. She doubted she would be able to get much sleep that night, however, but she had classes the next morning, so it was worth a try to get at least a couple hours' worth.
Of course, nothing she planned seldom worked out how it was supposed to.
No sooner had she opened the door to her dormitory then she was barreled into by a small but strong force, and she caught a glimpse of brown hair as Alice squeezed her tightly around her middle, nearly lifting her off her feet.
"Cassie!" she squealed, hugging her for a few more seconds before standing back and promptly slapping her arm.
"Ouch! Alice, hey, what was that for?" she griped, rubbing her bicep.
"That was for only writing me one letter over the holiday!" she said, glaring. "I mean, what am I? Chopped flobberworm?"
"Of course not!" Cassie said, aghast. "I just had a lot going on."
"I'll accept your measly excuses, but only because you're my best friend," the petite witch said, hands on her hips, though the effect of intimidation was diminished by her wide grin and sparkling eyes.
"If you two are done with your domestic," Marlene said, rolling her eyes before sweeping Cassie into a flowery-scented hug. "It's so good to see you, Cass! Did you like my present?"
Cassie grimaced, remembering the heavy, cloying perfume bottle the blonde witch had sent her, simply but elegantly labeled Sexy, but she plastered a huge smile on her face when she pulled back, nodding enthusiastically.
"Yeah, it was excellent," she said.
"Brilliant! It was the same one I had been wearing when Sirius first talked to me, so I thought it would be perfect for you the next time you meet a boy!"
"Er, thanks," Cassie said, trading a glance with Alice, who had to bite her thumb to keep from laughing at the expression on her face.
"Hey, Cass," Lily said, stepping in and saving her from Marlene's bright smile as she kissed her cheek lightly. "Good trip?"
"Yeah, for the most part," she said, shrugging. "How's Snape?"
Lily gave her a sharp look.
"Severus is fine, thank you," she said crisply. "His swelling's gone down and his face is back to its normal color, thank Merlin."
"What happened to Snivellus?" Marlene asked, immediately flushing when Lily turned on her with high brows. "Er, sorry. That's what Sirius calls him. I guess I got used to it."
Lily frowned at the mention of the Marauder, but she didn't bother with it, only saying, "Potter decided to have a go at him on the train here. He hit him with a Stinging Hex."
Alice winced, but otherwise didn't look sympathetic, since they had never much liked Snape to begin with.
"That had to hurt," Marlene said, and Lily nodded, looking annoyed before she moved over to her bed, already in her pajamas.
"We should get some sleep," the Prefect said, curling under her sheets. "We have to be up early for lessons."
The other girls grudgingly agreed, and they all muttered hasty goodnights before getting into bed, leaving Cassie to extract her nightclothes from her trunk and change into them.
She crawled into her own four-poster, pulling the hangings together before collapsing back onto her pillow, staring at the canopy above her.
Her fingers reached for the locket against her chest. The gears inside it fluttered at her touch, as if awakening from a doze.
I know you have a secret, she thought to it, and I'm not going to stop until I find out what my brother is hiding inside you.
"Slow down, Cass. It's not like Hogwarts is going to run out of toast anytime soon."
Cassie looked up from her chewing to see the girls all staring at her in varying degrees of amusement and disgust. She swallowed her large bite of toast with some difficulty, reaching for her goblet.
"What? I woke up late and I have places to go before lessons start," she said, accepting the proffered napkin from Alice and wiping off some strawberry marmalade that had dripped onto her tie, though there was still a pinkish stain once she'd removed the worst of it.
"Where do you possibly have to be this early in the morning?" Lily asked, sipping from her tea while she perused that day's Daily Prophet.
"The library," she answered, licking her finger and rubbing it on the stain in a futile attempt to get it out.
Marlene choked on her eggs.
"What are you doing in the library?" she asked incredulously. "We only just got back!"
"And you never voluntarily go to the library," Alice added, eyeing her warily. "Are you feeling all right today, Cass? Any head injuries we should be worried about?"
"Bugger this," Cassie muttered before whipping out her wand and pointing it to the stain. "Scourgify!"
The stain disappeared instantly, and, satisfied, she pocketed her wand again, looking to Alice. "Sorry, Al, what were you saying?"
She just shook her head, and Cassie stuffed the last bit of toast into her mouth before grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll see you in Charms!" she called over her shoulder, waving before rushing out the doors of the Great Hall and making her way to the library at a jog.
By the time she got there, she was out of breath and her hair was in disarray. When she entered, Madam Pince looked up from her desk, eyeing her harshly and seemingly refraining from telling her not to breathe quite so loudly.
Cassie ignored her, striding to the back of the library where the quiet tables were and seeing nobody there, exactly as she had hoped. The only person there besides her was Remus, and he glanced up from the book he was studying as she plopped into the chair next to him, dropping her bag on the table with a dull thunk.
"You're late," he said simply as she gathered her hair back into a ponytail. She made a face at him.
"I didn't hear my alarm go off," she said. "I had to run to get here before lessons started."
"The cardio's good for you," he said, and though she knew he was joking, something about his demeanor was off, and she studied him closer.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"I'm fine," he said shortly.
She frowned at his brusque tone.
"Remus, seriously, what's wrong?" she said. "You've been acting odd since yesterday."
"It's nothing," he mumbled, but when she placed a hand on his arm, he tensed. Her brows furrowed in concern.
"Remus—"
"Cassie, please, don't push this," he said, and she recoiled slightly at his tone. Something sparked in his green eyes, and she stared at him in shock. "Look, I'll be fine in a few days, but it's nothing to worry about, all right?"
"Did I do something?" she asked. "Was it something I said yesterday about Will—?"
"It's not you," he said, shaking his head. "Trust me, this is just something I have to work out alone."
"All right," she said hesitantly, sensing that he didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him. "If you ever need to talk, though, I'm here for you, yeah?"
He gave her a wan smile. "Yeah, of course."
She rubbed his arm reassuringly before he gestured to the books in front of him, two dusty and ancient tomes that looked as if they hadn't been touched in years.
"I found these after browsing the top shelf in the fiction section," he said. "The big one is Morvin Morstell's anthology; the smaller one is Miranda's legendarium."
"Merlin," Cassie said, fingering the cover of her ancestor's book and wrinkling her nose when a thick coat of dust caked her fingertip afterwards. "D'you think this is the original?"
Remus shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "Could be. I haven't gotten a chance to compare the two yet, but since Morstell wrote his anthology after her death, he could have edited it, especially to fit Latin instead of Old English."
"Well, let's hope those tutoring lessons paid off," she said, sliding the two books into her bag and groaning at the weight now that they were combined with her Charms and Potions books. "Thanks for finding them. I'll give James Miranda's book in class."
"Cassie, are you sure there could be a message in these?" Remus asked her uncertainly as they left the library. "I'm not trying to doubt you, but do you really think Will is meaning for you to go through all this trouble?"
"Will loves mysteries more than anyone I've ever known," she said, keeping her voice down even after they had left behind Madam Pince's raptor-like hearing. "He sees it as a sort of game, and I'm the only one who's ever been able to keep up with him. It's important to him, and he never does it just for fun. There has to be a reason behind it. I have a feeling he gave that book to me so I could find that page about Miranda, and if he wants me to solve his little mystery, then that's what I'm going to do."
Remus looked skeptical, but he didn't voice his objections, obviously catching the glint of determination in her eyes.
"Just promise me you'll be careful," he said. "I have a really bad feeling about this, Cassie."
"When have I ever given you such cause for concern?" she asked playfully as they sidled into Professor Flitwick's classroom just as the bell rang, and he gave her a dry look that elicited a snicker from her as he went to take his seat.
Cassie walked casually to her own seat two rows in front of the Marauders, discreetly slipping Miranda's book out of her bag and handing it off to James where he sat at his own desk. He shot her a wink as she took her seat next to Alice, getting out her supplies and settling herself in for the typical review session Professor Flitwick always put them through their first day back.
"Have fun at the library?" Alice asked her from the corner of her mouth, jerking her head back to where Remus was sitting.
Cassie scrunched her nose. "I thought we were past all the assumptions that I fancy him?" she said, and Alice grinned.
"Oh, we are," she said mischievously. "I just like to give you a hard time."
"Thanks," she said drily, and Alice stifled a giggle as Professor Flitwick began speaking from the front of the room.
Charms passed quickly, considering they weren't learning anything new and Professor Flitwick had sent them on ahead a few minutes early. Cassie filed into the corridor with the rest of the class, she and Alice waiting to be joined by Lily and Marlene.
"Sorry, I have to go chase down Jennifer Flynn," Lily said upon emerging from the classroom. "She's supposed to have the new Prefect schedule and I need to see if I have rounds tonight."
They waved her on, and she flashed them a brief smile before taking off down the corridor, calling the Ravenclaw Prefect's name.
"So, Alice, tell us about New Year's with Frank!" Marlene said as the three girls headed aimlessly in the opposite direction, having extra time to kill before their next lesson.
Alice's face turned pink, but she grinned sheepishly when Cassie and Marlene squealed.
"It was wonderful," she said, her smile turning giddy. "His parents were so lovely—well, his dad was. His mother's quite intimidating, but I think she liked me toward the end of the party. But he took me out to the garden when it neared midnight, and when the clock struck…he kissed me!"
The three girls burst into a fit of screaming and laughing, hugging each other and jumping up and down in the middle of the corridor.
"Frank Longbottom actually kissed me!" Alice said as if the more she said it the more real it became.
"Al, this is so exciting! I'm so happy for you!" Cassie cried, hugging her friend tightly.
"He better be asking you out soon, or I'm going to have some words with him," Marlene said.
"D'you really think he'll ask me out, though?" she asked, biting her lip nervously, and Cassie ruffled her hair.
"The poor sap's been pining after you almost as long as James has with Lily," she said. "He's so going to ask you out."
Marlene clapped her hands together. "You can come on double dates with me and Sirius! It'll be perfect!"
Alice wrinkled her nose. "As long as you aren't snogging each other's faces off, then sure, we'd be glad to go with you and—"
"Sirius?"
The girls had rounded a corner to see a bizarre sight, one that involved Sirius Black and a blonde witch that was decidedly not Marlene locked in a fierce battle that involved lots of roaming hands and moving lips, and they all stopped dead in their tracks.
At the sound of Marlene's hurt voice, the snogging couple jumped apart, and Cassie recognized the other witch as the Ravenclaw Prefect from their Charms class that Lily had been trying to find, Jennifer Flynn.
"What the hell is going on?" Marlene asked in a tremulous voice, her eyes fixed on Sirius.
The boy shuffled his feet, but it was Jennifer who stepped up and spoke.
"Don't look so surprised, McKinnon," the Ravenclaw sneered. "Did you really expect Sirius to be so torn up after ending things with you?"
"You know, for a Ravenclaw, you're really stupid," Marlene snapped. "We're still together, in case that fact slipped your pea-sized brain."
At Marlene's words, Jennifer's sneer morphed into a look of sheer panic, and she whirled on Sirius.
"You told me you broke up with her over the holiday," she accused, and Sirius looked as if he wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole.
"Er, well, I was going to today…" he said awkwardly, and Marlene gaped.
"You were going to break up with me?" she asked, her blue eyes filling with tears, and Sirius grimaced.
"Mar, I can explain…"
"No," she said, backing away from him and shaking her head. "No, you can stay here and paw your new plaything. I'm done. We're over."
"Marlene—"
"Don't ever talk to me again!" she yelled before turning the corner and stalking away, her footsteps echoing loudly in the silent corridor.
Alice gave him a scathing look. "You couldn't have waited one bloody day?" she said, shaking her head in disgust before running after Marlene, calling the other girl's name and telling her to wait.
Cassie remained in the corridor with Sirius and Jennifer. When the Ravenclaw made no move to leave, Cassie turned her cold glare on the Prefect, who visibly shrank back from her.
"Are you still here?" she asked the Ravenclaw rudely, and without another word, Jennifer fled down the corridor, leaving her alone with Sirius.
The dark-haired boy stuffed his hands in his pockets, glancing to her guiltily before saying, "Cassie—"
"Save it," she snapped. He shut his mouth immediately. She knew she looked scary in that moment, but she didn't bother to school her features into something more civil. "How bloody idiotic and inconsiderate do you have to be, Black? How could you do something like this to Marlene, one of my best friends?"
"Look, she came on to me, all right?" he said, his grey eyes flashing. "And I was going to break up with Marlene today—"
"Oh, spare me the lousy excuses," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "I'm sure your reasons for betraying my friend are very fascinating, but I truthfully don't care to hear them."
She spun on her heel, marching back the way they'd come. She half-expected Sirius to come after her, but she was surprised yet also relieved when he didn't.
After several minutes of searching, she found Marlene and Alice huddled in an alcove with Lily, who'd apparently already gotten the story. Alice stroked Marlene's hair soothingly while Lily dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief, trying to avoid smearing her mascara.
Cassie joined them wordlessly, sitting at Marlene's feet and taking one of the girl's hands into her own as she sobbed into her chest.
They didn't say anything, choosing to remain silent while Marlene attempted to pull the pieces of her heart back together, her sobs echoing down the empty corridor.
Friday morning saw Cassie curled in an armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room, reading the chapter in her History of Magic book that detailed the rise of the domesticated house-elf trade before going to the class itself in thirty minutes. She had fallen asleep reading it the night before after struggling through a mountain of homework, but the chapter wasn't any more stimulating than it had been previously, and she found her eyes drifting more often than not.
She was interrupted from her blank reading when a presence loomed over her, and she reluctantly tore her eyes away from the page to see James standing with his arms crossed.
"If you're coming to ask me for the hundredth time to let me give Sirius a chance to explain himself, then you can turn right back around," she said haughtily, going back to her book before it was tugged out of her hands. "Oi!"
James dangled the book in front of her, scowling. "Please just do it. If I have to hear him complain one more time about how he doesn't want you to hate him, I'm tying him to a broomstick and sending it into the Whomping Willow."
Cassie's lips twitched at the image that provided, but she kept her scowl firmly in place, unconvinced.
"Remind me again why he's so worried about me, and not the girl he cheated on?" she asked, and James rolled his eyes.
"Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to that nutter," he said, "but you're one of his best mates, Cassie. He can stand us being upset with him because he's known us for so long, but you being mad at him is driving him mental."
"Then why are you being his owl and talking to me while he cowers in your room?" she said crossly. "If he wants to explain himself, then he can come to me."
"So, you'll hear him out?" James asked hopefully.
She snorted. "Not a chance."
He threw up his hands in frustration.
"Cassie, it's been a week! Just talk to him, please." He dropped his voice, leaning in closer before saying, "Listen, we're supposed to be breaking into Carlisle's office tonight, and I am not doing it with the two of you if you're on the outs. Please, just forgive him for one night so we can do this without any problems."
She sniffed disdainfully, standing up and yanking her book back.
"I'll think about it," she said, stuffing it into her bag before exiting through the portrait hole, her glower causing a group of first years to scramble out of her way as she stalked to History of Magic.
She wasn't looking forward to Sirius groveling at her feet, trying to explain away what he did as a mistake and beg for her forgiveness. If anything, he should be the one groveling at Marlene's feet. The blonde witch had been quiet and reserved all week, her humiliation clear to anyone who knew the story—which was everyone in the school, naturally. Cassie couldn't blame her friend; to witness something like that was mortifying, and her anger flared again as she thought back to seeing Sirius with that sodding Ravenclaw.
Cassie threw herself into her desk once she reached Professor Binns' classroom, giving curt nods to Remus and Peter, who were already there. They waved back politely, though kept their distance; despite being all right with them, they'd sensed her vehemence against Sirius the entire week and had kept a safe distance from her, obviously not wanting to be dragged into their row.
She let her eyes travel the classroom, seeing Alice talking to Frank animatedly at the front while Lily meticulously set out her supplies, her movements neat and deft. She glanced over to Marlene. The usually bubbly witch sat subdued in her seat, her face bereft of any makeup and her shoulders hunched. Cassie felt another wave of indignation sweep through her, the feeling only intensifying when James and Sirius slumped into their seats across the aisle from her.
She felt James's eyes on her, but she ignored him, pulling out a piece of parchment paper and her quill as Professor Binns drifted into the classroom, appearing out of the blackboard and not even hesitating before launching into a dull and utterly boring monologue of the House-Elf Trade Triangle of the eighteenth century.
Cassie's Hufflepuff seatmate (whose name she still hadn't learned after sitting next to him for six months) was already fast asleep five minutes in, and she scribbled on her parchment listlessly, her face pulling into a frown when another piece of balled up paper landed on her desk.
She opened it and found a note written in elegant script inside, and she didn't even have to read the message to know that it was Sirius who'd penned it.
Can we talk? Second-floor corridor. Five minutes.
She huffed out an irritated breath, scrawling a hasty Fine before balling it back up and tossing it to him with much more force than was necessary. It bounced off his forehead and he started, clearly not expecting such a violent throw, and she smirked slightly as he got up from his seat and walked out.
Professor Binns did not stop his monologue once, and after waiting a couple more minutes, Cassie stood and followed Sirius out of the classroom; Professor Binns only stopped lecturing for two things, and those were another professor walking into his classroom to give him a message, or if something happened to pass through his body, as Cassie had learned the hard way earlier that year. She wouldn't be surprised if the ghostly professor even remembered her walking out.
She made her way to the second-floor corridor and paused, not seeing a sign of Sirius, but a hand gripped her arm tightly and pulled her into a dark room, the door snapping shut behind her as she tugged her arm out of Sirius's grasp.
"A broom cupboard? Really, Black?" she hissed in the semi-darkness of the closet, her foot hitting a mop bucket and making a little dinging noise. "How is this even remotely helping your situation?"
"It was the only place empty that I could find on such short notice!" he snapped. "Can you not bite my head off?"
"Can you apologize to Marlene and stop acting like an arse?" she retorted.
"Look, I'm really sorry about Marlene, all right?" he said, a touch of guilt straining his voice, but her resolve didn't waver. "I was going to break up with her that day, truly, but—"
"You decided to give Jennifer Flynn the tongue treatment instead?" she finished.
"Tongue treatment?" he repeated, baffled, before cursing when she hit his arm. "Never mind, sheesh! Listen, though, I'm going to apologize to her tomorrow after we get through this thing tonight—ow, Cassie, stop that!"
She'd hit him again. "No, Sirius Orion Black, you are going to apologize to her today. No more excuses!"
"Did you really have to drag my middle name into this?" he asked her petulantly, but he shrank back when she raised her fist again. "All right, calm down, I don't care! Use it as many times as you want. Just please stop hitting me, for the love of Merlin."
"You'll be lucky if Mar doesn't do worse when you try talking to her," she warned.
He grimaced, his teeth glinting white against his olive skin and the dim light they were standing in.
"So, does this mean we're good after I apologize?"
"Sure," she said, shrugging, "but let's get some things straight, Black."
"Oh, boy," he muttered under his breath, and if looks could kill, he would have been six feet under then.
"Firstly, if you don't mean that apology to your sincerest degree, then I will hex you until you turn bald and grow a jungle of back hair instead," she said, jabbing her finger into his chest to emphasize her point. "Secondly, if you ever do anything like that again, to anyone, then we are through being friends, got it?"
"Yes," he said, sounding genuinely cowed, but her victory wasn't secured yet. "Anything else?"
"Thirdly," she said, "I just want to know why you did it."
There was a heartbeat of silence.
"What?" he asked blankly.
"Why did you do it, Sirius?" she repeated. "Why did you do any of it? You've never had a stable relationship before, so what made you agree to dating Marlene? Why did you even start things with Marlene in the first place and not tell me about it, even though you knew she was one of my best mates? Why snog Jennifer Flynn?"
"I don't know, all right!" he burst out. He dragged a hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't know what I was thinking. I didn't want a relationship, but she was so persistent, and she seemed so happy, and I-I couldn't say no. How much of a prick would I have been then?" He chuckled without humor. "I wanted to end it, I really did, but I knew how much she meant to you, and I didn't want to hurt her feelings, especially because you started to mean something to me and I didn't want to jeopardize that, either."
Cassie remained silent, her barbed words stilling on her tongue. Sirius heaved a great breath.
"Jennifer Flynn meant nothing. She sent me a note during class, and I followed her after Flitwick let us go. She initiated everything, but I reciprocated when I shouldn't have. I was just feeling so conflicted and lost after everything that had happened, after you—"
"Me? What did I do?"
"I don't know, and that's why I feel like nothing is making sense!" he said, gripping his hair. She stared at him in bafflement. "None of this makes sense, Cassie! You, your brother, us—all of it! I feel like I'm going mad trying to keep up with it all! And my parents, my brother, everything that's happening in the real world… I feel like I'm falling into this hole, and I keep trying to claw my way out of it, but I can't, and—"
He broke off, breathing heavily, and Cassie realized with a jolt that he was crying. Sirius Black was bloody crying while she stood with him in a broom cupboard, and she had absolutely no idea what to do. If someone had told her last year that this would be happening to her, she would have laughed in their face and sent an owl to St Mungo's to come collect their patient.
"Fuck," he said, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. She watched in panic as his shoulders shook, his breath hitching. "Fuck."
"Sirius…" she started before trailing off, at an utter loss for words. She'd been furious with him not even five minutes ago, and now all she felt was an aching empathy, knowing exactly what he was trying to say.
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice huskier than usual. "You can go now. You don't have to see this."
"No," she said, wrapping her fingers around his wrists and bringing his hands down from his face, his hair falling into his too-bright eyes.
"I know," she said simply, her eyes searching his. "I know."
He stared at her for a long moment before crushing her to his chest, burying his face in her shoulder. She clung back to him just as tightly, blinking back her own tears. They were so young, but they were already going through far too much, and she poured her own emotions into their embrace, their hopes and fears melding together and creating armor around them both, a shield to protect themselves and a sword to protect the ones they loved.
They remained that way for a while, until Sirius regained his composure and pulled away, tossing his hair out of his eyes.
"We should get out of here before class ends and someone finds me in another compromising position," he said, his usual arrogant smirk back in place.
She nodded vigorously. "Agreed."
They emerged from the cupboard, thankfully not being spotted by anyone, before making their way back to the History of Magic classroom. They reached the door, but before they walked inside, Sirius reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Cassie," he said, and she turned back to him, her brows raised. "Thank you for listening," he said, his grey eyes serious as he searched her face. "I'll apologize to Marlene after dinner."
She nodded, only to be stopped from entering again when his grip tightened on her hand, sending a strange flutter through her stomach.
"And Cass? You're a good mate," he said sincerely. He hesitated, looking like he was going to say more, but he just smirked and dropped her hand.
"I know," she replied coolly before shooting him a wink and opening the door.
"We all know the plan, yeah?"
"Yes, James, we've been through this already."
"Just go through it again. One more time."
They all collectively groaned. Peter smacked his head against the footboard where they sat perched on James's bed, the bespectacled boy insisting that everyone have their plan for breaking-in memorized before they even set foot out of the dormitory.
"I'll be posted outside the Defense classroom under the Invisibility Cloak keeping watch," Peter grumbled, drumming his fingers on his thigh and fidgeting anxiously.
"And?" James prompted, causing Peter to puff out his cheeks in a deep sigh.
"If I see anyone coming, I'll knock on the door three times and hoot like an owl."
"Barn owl or screech owl?"
"What? You never specified which one I had to sound like!"
"I know, I was just joking with you."
Peter smacked his head on the footboard again.
"All right, Remus, what about you?"
The sandy-haired boy looked around at them all disapprovingly before sighing. "Professor Carlisle spends her Friday nights grading in the teacher's lounge until about one o'clock in the morning, which gives us about an hour window since we're leaving at midnight."
James nodded encouragingly. "Go on."
Remus made a disgruntled face but continued. "I'll stand guard outside the teacher's lounge, and if she comes out earlier than expected, then I'll occupy her with questions I had about the homework." He gave James a dubious look. "I still don't know how that's going to work. If she sees me she'll be suspicious."
"Of course not," James scoffed. "You're one of the top students, Moony; she'll just think you're a sad overachiever who spends his Friday nights alone doing homework."
He rolled his eyes. "Great."
James clapped his hands, moving on. "All right, Sirius, Cassie, you?"
"We'll be in the office, searching for the papers," Cassie recited, fiddling with the hem of her jumper. She was nervous about breaking into the office, feeling twitchy and flushed, while Sirius was wholly unconcerned, as cool and unruffled as ever. The only sign he was as jittery as the rest of them was his wand tapping a staccato against his knee.
"Excellent," James said cheerfully. "And while you lot are doing the dirty work, I'll be keeping Filch busy."
"Cheers, mate," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.
"It's nearly midnight," Remus said, pulling up his sleeves. "We should start getting into position."
They got up from the bed and began collecting their various items, James passing the Invisibility Cloak to Peter with a subtle, "You rip it, or lose it, and I'll feed you to the acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest."
Peter paled, nodding as he took the cloak reverently.
Remus grabbed his book bag and slung it over his shoulder, looking the very image of a tired but ambitious student, while Cassie and Sirius stowed away their wands, not needing anything else.
"Hey, Prongs, you never told us how exactly you plan on distracting Filch," Sirius said, turning to his friend questioningly.
The other boy's face lit up with an impish grin that told Cassie whatever it was, it could be no good.
"Well, Padfoot—" James grinned, tugging off his jumper and tossing it onto his bed "—let's just say it involves only a minor sacrifice of my dignity."
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Cassie said, her eyes wide as next James unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, as well. "This is not happening."
"It is, Princess, and if I were you, I'd take in all my glory now, because you'll never be seeing it again. You have already seen me shirtless far too many times to be considered normal at this point, and I'm putting a stop to that after tonight."
"Pete," Cassie said in amazement, "please tell me you still have that Muggle camera stashed somewhere in here."
"Cassie, you're a genius," Peter breathed, letting out a mad giggle as he went to fetch it.
She watched in horror as James stripped himself of his shoes and trousers, leaving him standing in his boxers and socks.
"Good Godric, are those Snitches?" she asked, pointing to his underwear, and he gave her an affronted look while Remus and Sirius choked on their laughter behind her.
"Yes, they are," he said, "and I'll have you know, my mum picked them out for me."
"Wait, do your socks match?" Peter asked, whipping out his camera and snapping the picture when James looked down. His eyes bulged behind his glasses when they all roared with laughter.
"Wormtail, burn it!" he said, pointing to the mousy boy, who was doubled over with laughter and clutching the developing photograph.
"Or what?" he wheezed, his voice squeakier than normal. "Are you going to make me buy matching knickers, too?"
"Forget it," James growled, stalking to the door and throwing it open while they tried to contain their laughter. "Just put the cloak on and follow me."
Peter tugged the cloak over the four of them as they trailed after James, having to shuffle along awkwardly since they were all varying heights and walked at different paces. The common room was blessedly empty when they descended, and they tumbled out of the portrait hole with several grunts and curses, James leading in front.
"Aren't you supposed to be in bed, dear?" the Fat Lady called after James, looking quite concerned for the boy's mental health as she took in his unclothed state.
"Am in bed," he mumbled, pretending to bob along like a sleepwalker as the four followed him quietly, Peter having to stuff a fist in his mouth to keep from laughing.
They made it to the sixth-floor corridor without any interference, and Cassie began to unwind some the farther they went. They had worked on this plan for weeks, and they knew what they were doing. They would make it out of this scot-free, and Carlisle would never know what hit her.
They eventually ran into Filch on the fifth floor, and even though he couldn't see them with the cloak on, they still ducked behind a suit of armor, leaving James to fend for himself as the grizzled caretaker caught sight of him.
"Potter!" he said, hobbling over to the boy, his lantern swinging wildly in his hand. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"Palm trees," the boy murmured, his eyes unfocused and his voice dreamy. "Swaying in the wind…"
"What?" Filch growled. "What is this, Potter? Some new prank?"
"They're calling my name," James said, raising his arms. "They want me to be their king!"
"Enough of your nonsense, Potter!" Filch snapped. "I know your little cohorts are around here somewhere—where are they?"
"I will be your king!" James said grandly, throwing his arms around the caretaker. Filch spluttered and struggled, but James held fast to him. "I will take care of you all! Coconuts for everyone!"
"Potter, what in Merlin's name—?"
"GOTCHA!" the boy suddenly shouted before pushing away from Filch and sprinting down the corridor back the way they had come, whooping and hollering as he went and banging on suits of armor.
"POTTER!" Filch roared, dashing after the boy and yelling out a string of obscenities as he chased him down the corridor. Mrs. Norris appeared around the corner, streaking after her owner, but she paused when she reached where the four were hidden, sniffing the air and seeming to gaze right at them with her red eyes. After a particularly loud crash farther down the corridor, however, she continued on, and they all let out a collective breath.
"That was close," Remus muttered as they began to shuffle down the corridor once more.
"That was brilliant," Peter said, his eyes shining with glee and adoration. "I've never been prouder to be James's friend."
"Yeah, well, you can kiss the ground he walks on after we pull this off," Sirius said, and Cassie nodded in agreement, the four falling silent until they had reached the fourth-floor corridor.
"This is it," Cassie whispered as they came to a stop outside of the Defense classroom. "Pete, you stay here."
"Good luck," Remus said as he wriggled out from under the cloak. "I'll go stall Carlisle."
"Good luck," they echoed back, and he had soon disappeared down the dark corridor.
"Remember, three knocks and a hoot," Cassie reminded Peter as she and Sirius removed the cloak from over them.
Peter waved them on, and they ducked into the classroom, shutting the door behind them quietly. It was extremely dark, their only source of light the faint shine of the moon outside, and Sirius got out his wand, murmuring, "Lumos."
"Her office is at the top, there," Cassie said, pointing to a curved stone staircase where a door waited at the top landing.
"Let's go," Sirius said, and they ventured up the stairs, moving silently in case it turned out the professor was in her office, after all.
Sirius tried the knob, but it was locked. Cassie extracted her wand from the waistband of her jeans, moving to the door and waving it in the familiar motion. "Alohomora."
The lock clicked open with a muffled pop. Cassie pushed open the door slowly, wincing when it creaked on its hinges. She poked her head inside, her wand raised, but she let out a tight breath when she saw that the office was empty.
"It's clear," she said. Sirius followed her inside, keeping his wand lit in the total darkness of the room.
"Where should we start?" he asked.
"You take the cabinets; I'll get the desk?" she suggested.
He nodded. "Sounds fair."
He placed his wand on top of the tallest cabinet so they could have more light and began opening drawers while Cassie rifled through the papers on top of the desk first, knowing that she wouldn't find anything useful there but still trying just in case.
After predictably seeing nothing but stacks of graded papers, she tackled the drawers, shoving aside broken quills and empty inkpots and scrap pieces of parchment, searching for anything suspicious.
"So, I talked to Marlene today," Sirius said casually.
Cassie peeped her head up from behind the desk. "How'd that go?"
"Not too bad, all things considering," he said, grimacing slightly. "When she wasn't yelling or threatening to throw a lamp at my head or curse me into oblivion, we managed to come to a civil agreement of sorts."
"And what's that?" she asked, pawing through another drawer and grunting when she again found nothing.
"That I would stop being insensitive to others' feelings, and if I managed that, then we could be friends again."
Cassie's head poked up again. "Haven't I told you that exact thing already?"
He looked sheepish, turning back to his search and speaking to the cabinet instead. "Er, you may have mentioned it before."
"Good to know my advice is so helpful," she grumbled, shutting another drawer in frustration.
She reached for the bottom drawer of the desk, pulling on the handle, but it didn't budge. She frowned and tried it again, but to no avail. She peered closer at the drawer and saw a tiny silver lock just below the handle. Her heart beat faster in excitement. "Sirius! I think I've got something!"
He rushed over as she raised her wand, muttering another, "Alohomora!"
She tugged on the handle again, but the drawer remained stubbornly in place.
"Shit," she hissed. "She must've made it Imperturbable!"
"Look for a key," Sirius said, already feeling the underside of the desk, and Cassie frantically swept over the top again, hunting for anything she might have missed the first time.
There was a large silver and emerald paperweight in the shape of a striking snake holding down a stack of papers, its small silver fangs gleaming in the light from Sirius's wand, a raven-feathered quill, and more papers, but nothing that looked like it contained a key.
Cassie let out a growl of frustration, picking up the paperweight and hitting it on the desk. There was a small hiss of air from under her hand, and then a click as a tiny silver key popped out of the snake's mouth, right in between its fangs.
"I found it!" she said, grabbing the key out of the snake's mouth just as three frantic knocks sounded on the classroom door below, followed by a ghastly impression of an owl.
The two froze. Sirius stood up quickly, grabbing her hand. "We need to go."
"No way!" Cassie said, wrenching her hand out of his grasp. "I have the key. We need to open the drawer!"
"Cassie, did you forget what Peter's signal means?" Sirius hissed. "Carlisle's coming!"
As if to prove his point, the three knocks came again, followed by the abominable hoot.
"Then you go!" she snapped. "There's something important in there, and I'm not leaving until I get it!"
"Godric, you are insufferable!" he whispered harshly. "Just open the damn drawer already!"
Cassie threw him a withering look before inserting the key in the lock, her hands slick from sweat and her heart pounding madly in her chest. She unlocked the drawer and yanked it open. Only two scrolls of parchment sat in the drawer, sealed and marked. She stared, bewildered, until Sirius shook her shoulder urgently. "Grab them and go!"
She obeyed, shoving the scrolls up the sleeves of her jumper before shutting the drawer and locking it, her fingers fumbling in panic.
"Come on!" Sirius urged her. She put the key back into the snake's mouth, watching it disappear into the bowels of the paperweight again as Sirius extinguished his wand and gripped her hand, dragging her out of the office.
She shut the door behind them, sealing it again as they flew down the stairs and ran for the classroom door. Sirius barreled through the door, Cassie nearly falling flat on her face as they both slammed into something solid in front of them.
"Merlin, Pete, watch it—" Sirius snarled before his voice died in his throat, the blood draining from his face.
Cassie followed his gaze and instantly felt her heart drop somewhere beyond her toes, probably burrowing into the earth where her grave would be dug right alongside it.
"So," Professor Carlisle said, her cold eyes freezing them in place and her crimson lips twisting into a smile, giving her the appearance of a savage wolf that had finally hunted down its prey. "Just what you were two doing in my office?"
Next Chapter: The Gauntlet of Gryffindor
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