Updated as of 3/25/2021.
Chapter Forty
The Beginning
Cassie awoke, shivering in the dark.
She was cold, so very cold. As if someone had ripped out her core and replaced it with ice. Not even the blanket covering her body provided any warmth, nor did the hospital-issued pajamas she wore.
She barely remembered Sirius carrying her to the hospital wing. Ever since she collapsed in Dumbledore's office, her world had become hazy and warped, like she was trapped beneath the surface of an icy river, taking everything in through a layer of distortion. She thought Sirius had kissed her before leaving—or maybe she had dreamed it. Right then, she could not recall the feel of his lips even if she tried. She felt…nothing.
Will had been arrested. For murder. For murdering their—
She couldn't finish the thought, couldn't bear thinking that her mother and father—
She closed her eyes, struggling to breathe.
Her mother. So bright, so vivacious. Her blue eyes had always sparkled with a certain delight, a spark of mischief and wildness that years of pure-blood grooming could never dull. She had always protected Cassie, always loved her in the way her father never could. And now—
Breathe. Breathe.
And the last words she'd said to her father: "Hatred will not save you in the end. And when your darkest moment comes—and it will come—then think on that and wonder how you came to be such a loathsome bastard."
She'd meant it. Godric, she'd meant it. It was what she'd been thinking for years, but never had the courage to say. Not until then. She wondered if he remembered it as he met Death's embrace.
Breathe. Breathe.
She still couldn't—didn't want to—believe it. Lukas and Eleanor Alderfair…dead. And Will…
No. No. He wouldn't have killed them. He's good. My brother is still good. And he's gone…
But he wasn't, not anymore. Alastor Moody had taken him into custody because he had confessed. Will had confessed to murdering their parents.
Murder.
Cassie couldn't hold it in any longer. A sob tore out of her throat, harsh and raw. Agony filled her lungs with fire, melting the ice at her core until she was choking on the smoke, and she couldn't breathe—
"Cassie, Cassie, it's okay. I've got you, Princess, I've got you. I've got you, Cassie."
She blinked through her tears to see James curling up beside her in her cot, wearing the same hospital pajamas she was. Through blurry eyes, she saw his pale face and the pained wince he tried to hide as he settled himself down, but she couldn't speak. His arms wrapped around her, strong and comforting, and Cassie clung to him tightly. She knew she would shatter if she let go. Already she could feel the cracks in her heart, her soul. If she let go of him, she would break into a thousand pieces, and no one would be able to save her then.
"Don't let go," she begged. "Don't let go, James, please don't let go."
"I won't," he said fiercely. "I'm not going anywhere, Cassie, I swear. I swear."
Pain howled through every hollow place in her soul. Pain of what she had lost, pain of what she would continue to lose once she was out of her tiny cot, where nothing existed but her, James, and the pain. Her mother was lost. Will was lost. And any shred of innocence she may have once had—lost.
"I hated him," she found herself saying between heaving gasps of air. "I hated my father for who he was, for how he treated me. But I never wanted him—dead." She groaned. "And Mum…" She cried harder. "Why is this happening to me? Whywhywhywhy…"
"You're strong, Cassie," James said, speaking into her hair. "Godric, you're so damn strong. And I'm right here, you hear me? I'm not leaving you, Cass. I won't leave you."
Cassie cried until her voice gave out and she went limp in James's arms. When that happened, he laid her gently on her back and pulled the covers over both of them. She settled in beside him and rested her head on his shoulder while he flung his arm across her chest, still holding her together, still keeping her from breaking. There was intimacy in the way they were tangled together, but not in the sense that it would have been had Sirius been in James's place. Sirius was the ice to her fire—balance. A perfect complement. But James was just as much fire as she was. They understood each other in a way that no one else could.
As they lay together in the darkness, James's fire fed her the embers she would need to keep her own blazing. Even if it was only a flicker.
Even if it was only ash.
The next morning, Professor McGonagall found them in the same position, and though her brows contracted, she didn't comment.
"I've come to tell you both that due to…extenuating circumstances, you are both exempt from your Transfiguration O.W.L.," the professor said, sounding like she did not agree with the decision at all. "Madam Pomfrey has also informed me that you two are cleared to leave after breakfast."
James nodded, still bleary-eyed from sleep, but Cassie sat, motionless. Professor McGonagall turned to her.
"Miss Alderfair." Her eyes softened. "Professor Dumbledore has granted you a leave of absence. You do not have to be present for the last two weeks of school while you…adjust. In fact, you will be leaving today after dinner."
"Where will I be going?" Cassie said bitterly. "My parents are dead, and my brother is in Auror custody."
Professor McGonagall flinched. "The headmaster has contacted your next-of-kin. Your mother's sister, Olivia Hastings, will be here to escort you to her home, where you will be staying until further accommodations are arranged or you turn seventeen, whichever comes first."
Cassie blinked. She hadn't seen her aunt since she was three. Lukas had forbidden any of them to have contact with her despite being Eleanor's sister, but that never surprised Cassie. According to what little she knew about her aunt from her mother, she'd melted down her share of her family's fortune and turned it into wedding rings for herself and the Muggle man she eloped with.
When Cassie didn't say anything, Professor McGonagall placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.
"Take care of yourself, Miss Alderfair," she said quietly before whisking out of the hospital wing.
"So," James said when she was gone, "your aunt, eh?"
"I guess so." Cassie frowned. "You know, I don't even remember what she looks like."
"Maybe she won't be so bad," he said, mussing up his hair and stretching. He pinched Cassie's side. "Or maybe she tortures kittens in her spare time."
She whacked his hand away, scowling. "I've had enough of one Carlisle already. If she turns out to be anything like that witch, they'll have to arrest me next."
James sat up, suddenly serious. "Do you think he did it?"
She didn't need to hear his cautious tone to understand who he was talking about. "Of course not. Will's been working against Voldemort this whole time. He's always been on the right side. Why would he do such a horrible thing?"
He bit his lip. "There are ways to make people do things," he said. "Not just torture, but stuff like the Imperius Curse. If the Death Eaters got to Will before Dumbledore's Order—"
"I'm well aware of what those bastards are capable of," she snapped. "I don't need you to remind me. They already forced Will to do all sorts of terrible stuff, like those Muggle attacks. Do you think the possibility hasn't crossed my mind?"
"I know, Cass. Sorry." He rubbed both hands through his hair, making it stand up even straighter. "What are you going to do, then?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, James. Take it one day at a time, I s'pose."
"Sometimes that's all we can do." He grinned and punched her arm lightly. "And you know we're always here for you, yeah?"
She couldn't help the small smirk that tugged at her mouth. "How could I forget? You only remind me eight times a day."
He shoved her with his shoulder. "Nine, you ninny. Get it right."
She shoved him back. "Such a mother hen."
"You know, once, I resented that statement," he said. "But after putting up with you and all your insane bullshit this year? I think I'll have to take on that role to keep you and the others from dying."
She raised her brows. "Is that a threat or a promise, Potter?"
"Both, Alderfair." He grinned mischievously. "I solemnly swear."
Cassie stood in the entrance hall later that day, her trunk and Osbourne's cage at her feet. The tawny owl watched her with somber amber eyes, as if he knew what was happening.
Dinner had ended a half-hour ago, and it was perhaps the most grueling meal she had ever been subjected to. The news about her parents and brother had spread like wildfire, and the whole day had been déjà vu, like the time in fourth year when it'd first gotten out that Will had joined the Death Eaters. Some offered their sympathies—namely, her professors and friends, but a few acquaintances from Gryffindor as well. But mostly, everyone just stared and whispered. She'd become so accustomed to it over the last two years, though, that it hardly fazed her anymore.
The silver lining, of course, was finding out that Professor Carlisle had been sacked.
"No one's seen her, obviously," Alice chattered as Cassie packed, "after what you did to her—which was bloody brilliant, by the way—serves that witch right—"
"But Dumbledore announced it at breakfast," Lily said, interrupting Alice's stream of words. "The Prophet hasn't mentioned it yet, but—well, you've seen the papers. All they can talk about are your parents and Will."
Cassie had seen the Daily Prophet's headline that morning: LUKAS AND ELEANOR ALDERFAIR FOUND DEAD IN FAMILY HOME; SON ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF MURDER. She hadn't bothered to read the rest.
"Nothing's been done about the Slytherins yet, though," Marlene grumbled. "I think they're still being questioned, but we all know they're going to say that Carlisle coerced them somehow." She scoffed. "Funny, how they all tout blood purity until it comes time for their actions to have consequences."
"Trust me," Cassie said, "we haven't seen the last of them yet." She thought of Avery and Regulus Black. "Any of them."
And just like that, she was ready to leave. As she stood in the entrance hall, surrounded by her friends, she couldn't help but reflect on the year she'd had. Lily, Alice, and Marlene were there, but they always had been. Perhaps she'd been too quick to judge them before, about not understanding her situation, especially when they hadn't wavered at all, even in the face of danger. But other things had changed for her that year as well, clearly evidenced by the new presence of the Marauders.
James was the first to step forward and hug her.
"You be safe, Princess," he said. His grip was so hard it nearly cracked her spine. "Owl if you need anything. And you know my house is always open."
"I know," she said, patting his back. "Thank you, James. For everything." She squeezed his middle harder to emphasize her point, and he winked when he let her go.
Peter scuttled forward next, giving her an awkward hug that left him blushing. "Sorry, Cass. Um, feel better."
She held out a fist, and Peter stared, stunned, before his face lit up and he bumped it with his own. "You remembered!"
"'Course I did, Pete," she said. "That's what best friends are for, right?"
Peter blushed again, but he was nearly bouncing when he returned to stand next to James.
"This whole one-on-one thing is getting weird," Cassie said. "Can't we all just, like, group hug or something?"
"Don't need to ask me twice," Alice chirped, skipping up to Cassie and flinging her arms around her neck.
Lily and Marlene followed, and the four girls stood close together, holding each other tightly and sharing watery smiles.
"Lils, stop crying," Cassie said. "We're seeing each other in a few weeks at the funeral, remember?"
"I know, I know," she said, sniffing. "I'm just gonna miss you, Cass."
Cassie kissed the top of her head. "I'll miss you too, Lils, but we'll see each other soon."
She nodded, and Marlene took the opportunity to swoop in and kiss Cassie's cheeks.
"Chin up, love," she said. "Remember: You are Cassie Alderfair. The rest of us are just mere mortals. Own up to it."
Cassie made a face. "Mar, you're so weird, but I love you."
The blonde witch beamed back at her. "I know. Love you too."
When the girls finally released her, Cassie turned her gaze on Remus. "You're not going to get out of this, you know."
He heaved a long-suffering sigh and approached her. "With you? No way." But he embraced her tightly and said, "I'm glad we made that alliance, Cassie Alderfair. I never knew how much I needed a friend like you until you became it."
Tears sprung to her eyes at his words, but she managed to wipe them on her sleeve when no one was looking as she pulled away.
"Don't tell anyone I said this," she whispered, "but you've always been my favorite, Remus."
He grinned and said, "No promises. I'll tell James, if only to see him cry."
She finally found the strength to laugh as Remus turned away, and she was amazed at how good it felt. That left her with Sirius as her final good-bye, and James cleared his throat pointedly.
"All right, kids, let's clear out," he said, hauling Remus and Peter away by their shirt collars. "The lovebirds need their last snog."
Cassie rolled her eyes, but she watched fondly as her friends left to go back to the common room. When they were out of sight, Sirius strolled up to her, hands in his pockets and that signature smirk on his face.
"I'm not saying any farewells," he said. "Not when I know I'll be seeing you again."
"I wouldn't expect you to," she replied. "You never did seem to be the overly sentimental type."
He reached out and grabbed her chin between his forefinger and thumb, tilting her head up until she was looking into his silver eyes.
"I'm not saying good-bye because this isn't good-bye," he said. "They're too final. I don't like them."
"No good-byes allowed," she said, attempting to nod. "Got it."
"No good-byes allowed," he agreed.
"So, what is this then?" She gestured between them.
He quirked his lips, thinking, before he said, "A promise."
"A promise of what?"
"That I will see you again." He met her eyes again, and she felt the ashes in her heart stir.
"Isn't that already a given?"
"When it comes to you?" He snorted. "Not at all."
"Fine, then." She moved closer to him, until their chests were pressed together, and she could feel his heart pounding against her own. He still held her chin captive, but she angled her mouth to his, whispered, "I promise that I will see you again," and kissed him.
It was everything she couldn't put into words and more. It was gratitude, for taking a chance on her, for choosing her, and it was every small moment they ever shared over the months. It was the night she sat with him on the kitchen stairs so he wouldn't be alone on his birthday, the night they'd laid on the roof of Potter Manor looking at the stars, and every night since then when she'd tossed and turned, wondering if he felt the same. It was secret touches and stolen glances when no one was paying any attention, and it was wild and reckless and lovely and exhilarating. But most of all, it was hope. For a better tomorrow, for a better future, when the world wasn't on the brink of war and they could just be.
When she finally drew away, he was staring at her, wide-eyed and breathless. He licked his lips. "That was…"
"Epic?" she supplied.
He nodded. "Epic."
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Until next time, Sirius Black."
And when she faced the double doors and walked out of Hogwarts, she held on to the image of him and the burgeoning hope in her chest, and stepped into the unknown.
The sun was setting when Cassie arrived at the front gates of the school. The grounds were washed in a shade of rosy gold as she approached Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall. They were speaking to a dark-haired woman wearing Muggle attire—faded blue jeans and a loose white blouse, with tall leather boots and a matching brown jacket. When the woman turned, Cassie's heart nearly stopped.
It was like she was looking at her mother—a younger, shorter, and curvier version, but Cassie could see her mother represented in the woman's features. From her thick, dark hair, almond-shaped eyes, and high cheekbones to the slight pout of her lips and the way she stood—it was Eleanor incarnate. The only obvious difference Cassie could spot was the eye color; while her mother's eyes had been a vivid blue, this woman's were a soft hazel, and they were wide when she stared at Cassie.
"Dear Merlin," the woman breathed. "Cassie? Is that you?"
Cassie nodded, unsure of what to say. The woman seemed to shake herself out of her stupor, for she cleared her throat and held out a hesitant hand.
"You were just a child the last time I saw you," she said. "I doubt you remember me, but I'm your aunt, Olivia. I'm your mother's sister."
Cassie took her aunt's hand. It was warm and soft, but her fingertips were rough. Maybe she was an artist of some sort. Cassie gave her a tentative smile. "It's…nice to meet you, Aunt Olivia. Again."
Olivia smiled and clasped her hand tighter. "Please, just call me Liv. I know how strange this all is. You don't have to call me 'Aunt' unless you're comfortable with it."
Cassie nodded, and Liv pulled away, that soft smile still on her face when she turned back to the headmaster and Professor McGonagall.
"It was good to see you again, Albus, Minerva," she said, shaking each of their hands in turn. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get Cassie back to my home before it's dark."
"Of course," Dumbledore said, as genial as ever. "Take care, Olivia."
Before she was left alone with an aunt she barely knew, Dumbledore stopped before Cassie and rested a hand on her shoulder, eyeing her seriously.
"Remain adamant, Miss Alderfair," he said quietly. "This is only the beginning."
She turned to him, confused. "Sir?"
But he only squeezed her shoulder before striding away, back to the castle. Professor McGonagall followed him, but she paused and gave Cassie a curt nod. As she whisked away, Cassie smiled slightly to herself; a nod from Professor McGonagall was almost like receiving a hug from the stern witch.
The lanterns had flickered on as Professor Dumbledore spoke to her, and Cassie turned to take in the sight of Hogwarts one last time. The castle was reverting to shadow as the night closed in, but its windows and towers gleamed like tiny golden stars. She found Gryffindor Tower and imagined her friends sitting in the common room: Lily would be studying, of course, and probably yelling at James for talking too loudly, much to the amusement of Alice and Marlene. She could picture Remus reading in his favorite armchair by the fire and Peter pestering some fourth-years into playing Exploding Snap with him. And though she doubted it, she imagined Sirius staring out the window, hoping to catch a last glimpse of her just as she was trying to do of him.
"Cassie?" Liv said softly. "Are you ready to go?"
Cassie tore her eyes away from the tower. Liv was standing uncertainly, watching her, but Cassie took a chance and smiled at her.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm ready."
Liv held out her arm for Side-Along Apparition, and Cassie took it. Before she was swept away into compressing darkness, she looked back at Hogwarts and sent a thought toward it.
I'll be back.
The funeral for Lukas and Eleanor Alderfair was held on the twenty-fourth of June of 1976.
The day had dawned clear and bright, which was a stark contrast to Cassie's mood as she'd awoken in the guest bedroom of her aunt's house—her new bedroom, her new house. She rather wished that the weather would be cold, wet, and grey—an accurate representation of what she was feeling.
For the past two weeks, Cassie had been the equivalent of an Inferius. Her body moved, but they were not her movements. Her heart beat, her lungs breathed, her brain thought, but she did not feel in control of herself at all. It was like she had just become…hollow. A living corpse doomed to enact the necessities for life without feeling any of it.
She barely ate. She barely slept. And when she did, her dreams were filled with blood and her parents' mangled corpses, with Will standing over them and laughing, their hearts dead and cold in his hands. She hadn't seen her brother since his arrest, nor had she spoken to him. She wasn't sure if she was capable of it. But she knew she had to, eventually. She had to hear the truth from his lips.
Whatever truth it turned out to be.
Cassie dressed slowly that morning, donning a long white dress and a black veil. Liv, thankfully, had handled the funeral arrangements, and decided to modernize the ceremony while still retaining some old Wizarding traditions. Guests could wear either black or white; black, to symbolize the more recent trends of grief and mourning, and white, as was the old pure-blood custom, to represent rebirth and hope that the soul lives on, even after death. Cassie thought both colors had their own merits, and she had chosen her clothes to honor them.
And perhaps to have her own last, private rebellion against her father.
She didn't bother with makeup or fancy hairstyles. The veil would be covering her most of the time, and what was the point? It was a funeral, not a pageant. But after encountering herself in the mirror, with her limp hair, dull eyes, and pale skin, she decided that perhaps some color wouldn't be amiss. She chose a deep ruby lipstick from the bottom of her cosmetics bag and applied it. She could never stand wearing the lipstick before, but she'd always kept it to please her mother, who insisted that it was her "perfect match." Looking now, though, she saw that Eleanor had been right; the color brought out the dark tones in her eyes and hair, making her look older, sharper. She dropped the lipstick in her bag and walked out of the bathroom before she could cry.
Liv Apparated them to Alderfair Manor. The gardens had been transformed into a reception area, with white-clothed tables and gold china. Flowers and alder trees bloomed and swayed in the summer breeze, but Cassie hardly noticed. Liv touched her elbow gently.
"The ceremony begins in an hour," she said. "I thought you might like to have some time alone with them before…"
She trailed off, but Cassie heard the unspoken words: Before the tombs are sealed. Alderfair Manor had the family mausoleum built on the grounds, beyond the gardens, overlooking the moors below the hill. It was where her parents' final resting place would be, locked away in tombs of black marble.
Cassie nodded, squeezing her hand in gratitude. Liv smiled, sympathetic, her hazel eyes soft. She wondered, then, what her and her mother's relationship had been like. Had they loved each other? Hated each other? Why had Eleanor pretended like she never had a sister to begin with? There were so many questions Cassie had now that her mother could never answer.
But instead of asking her aunt, she turned and walked down the path that would take her to the mausoleum, not even seeing the beautiful gardens around her that she had once loved to wander for hours on end. All she could see was the pristine white building ahead of her, with its sleek pillars of white stone and ash-wood doors. Above the doors, their family name and words gleamed out in gold: Fortes fortuna iuvat. Fortune favors the brave.
Cassie pushed open the doors and stepped into the building. It was ice cold. Without the sun to warm her skin, goosebumps erupted on her bare arms, but she forced herself to walk deeper into the mausoleum. Her heels echoed loudly on the marble floors, reverberating back to her throughout the long, low-lying building. On both sides glistened black doors with the names of her ancestors engraved upon them. She paused once before the door that read Miranda Alderfair and pressed her palm to it.
"Thank you," she whispered. "I hope you're free now."
She went farther. At the end of the long walkway stood two black tombs, open on daises. Cassie's knees turned to jelly, but she kept walking until she stood before the tombs.
Sweat beaded under her arms and on the back of her neck despite how cold she was. Her stomach roiled, her breath turned shallow, but she forced herself to take a step. Another. Until she could reach out and touch the tomb on her left.
The marble bit into the flesh of her hand like a frozen blade. Inside the tomb, Lukas Alderfair's pale face rested, his eyes closed, and his hands clasped on his beloved gold pocket-watch, its surface glittering against his black robes. If he wasn't so still, Cassie could almost imagine he was sleeping.
Even in death, her father looked displeased, as if he didn't approve of it. To her intense relief, however, he looked unharmed. Eerily perfect, actually. She let out a shaky breath. Of course, he would look fine. What had she been expecting? A severed head?
Looking at her father now, so pale, so dead, Cassie felt as if she were being cleaved in two. She had never hated her father. Hated his ideology, hated his treatment of her and others, yes, but she had never been able to truly hate him. Perhaps she'd hoped that one day he would change, and that was why she could never bring herself to condemn him absolutely. But this—this was hurt. She hurt over her father. Over the man he could've been. Of the man she had wanted to save, to bring into the Light. But he was gone, and so was her last chance to have him love her and be proud of having a daughter like her.
Cassie turned away, throat burning, and looked at her mother. They had dressed her in sapphire blue robes, the color so similar to her eyes that it knocked the breath from Cassie's lungs. Her hair had been left unbound, rippling around her head like black waves in a sea of night. She was so beautiful, even in that black tomb. It was agony. Her mother had been good. She hadn't deserved to die. She didn't deserve to be in a tomb, to be sealed away forever, gone—
She didn't realize she was screaming until the sound echoed back at her, piercing and anguished. She sank to her knees and screamed again, feeling it claw out of her throat with fangs and talons, ripping her apart. She only stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned, chest heaving, to see Will.
"You," she breathed. The word scraped along her throat, making her voice ragged. "You did this. You did this! You did this!"
She was screaming again, beating her fists against his chest, wanting nothing more than to tear his throat out with her teeth and watch his blood stain his white robes red.
"You did this you did this you did this—"
"Cassie, stop!" He grabbed her wrists, and she howled, twisting to get free. "Cassie, listen to me! LISTEN TO ME!"
"No!" She wrenched against his grip. "You don't say shit! They told me! You confessed! You killed them!"
"I had to." There were tears in his eyes as he struggled to hold her. "Cassie, I had to. Please, you have to listen—"
"I sent you away," she cried. "I made you forget—to protect you—and you killed them." She trembled in his grasp. "Whose side are you really on?"
"Yours, Cassie," he said. A tear slipped from his eye, quickly followed by more. "I'm on the side that will save both of us in the end. You have to believe me."
She finally managed to shove him away. "You are not on my side," she hissed. "For two years, you made me believe you were a Death Eater. And then you played me into believing you were really good when all this time, you were planning to murder our parents—for what? To regain your master's trust? To prove you're his most loyal servant?"
"Cassie, if you would just listen—"
"You are nothing but a deceitful coward. I never should've trusted you—"
"CASSIE, I'M NOT YOUR ENEMY!"
His voice thundered in the mausoleum, so loud it momentarily stunned her. Seizing his chance, Will continued in a rush.
"Yes, I'll admit, I joined the Death Eaters when I graduated, but you don't understand. It was like, like this voice was telling me what to do, and I was naïve, and I listened—"
"Salazar Slytherin," she said. A memory had ignited within her. "It was Salazar Slytherin's voice you heard. He told me, in the Fountain of Youth. He was the one persuading you to join Voldemort and to find the locket."
Will stared at her, his dark eyes wide in his ashen face. "How do you know about that?"
"I followed the clues," she said. Her mind was whirring now, but Will pressed on.
"Right. But, Cassie… A part of me did want to join the Death Eaters. Without any influence. Blood purity…it seemed to make sense at the time. It really did. But when I got in deeper, when I got closer to the Dark Lord and his inner circle, and saw what they were doing…I got cold feet. I wanted out."
He clenched his fists by his sides. "H-he made me stay. He forced me to do things…" He shut his eyes. "I was in too deep. I knew too much. But he couldn't kill me, not if he wanted to keep the other pure-blood families on his side. So he…made me torture and kill Muggles and Muggle-borns. As punishment. And he thought that maybe I would learn to love it, like all his other followers do."
He opened his eyes, and Cassie saw the anguish there, raw and bloody. There was remorse too, but she didn't let herself think about that yet. She just kept listening.
"I made mistakes," he said. "A whole fucking lot of them. Especially when I tried taking the locket from you." He grimaced. "You were right, Cass. I gave you the locket and the book, so you would find whatever it was he was looking for. I traced the locket to Miranda, but I needed you to do the rest. I knew you would be safe at Hogwarts, and he was watching me."
"I found it," she said quietly. She heard her brother's sharp intake of breath, but she was staring at the floor. "It was the Gauntlet of Gryffindor. That was what he was looking for. What he tasked Carlisle with finding." She took a deep breath. "But it's gone now. It's destroyed."
"You did it?" he whispered. He took a few stumbling steps closer to her, staring at her as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "Cassie, you actually did it."
She shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I did." She turned her gaze back to him. "That still doesn't explain why our parents are dead."
"The Imperius Curse," he said. His eyes flicked to the tombs behind her, and a shadow passed over his face. "The Death Eaters found me in Romania. Undid your spell, so I remembered who I was. And as punishment…" He shuddered. "He told me to turn myself in afterwards. He said…he plans to have Azkaban break me. So he doesn't have to. I only remember because he made me. He doesn't want me forgetting my place."
Cassie could feel her rage ebbing away as she took in her brother's defeated stance, the dead look in his eyes that spoke of grief beyond words.
"Why didn't you tell the Aurors all this?" she asked. "If he removed the spell so you remembered, then why didn't you tell the Aurors?"
"Because he's infiltrated the Ministry," he said. "He has spies everywhere. And the Aurors heading my case are his. He wants me to go to Azkaban, Cassie. He wants to break me, so he can use me."
"Use you for what?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. But I don't plan on finding out. I won't go back to him, Cassie."
"What do you mean?"
He looked away from her, his jaw working for a few moments, before he said, "I'm going to go to Azkaban."
"What?"
"He's only getting more powerful, Cassie. I have to stop him."
"And you think Azkaban is going to help you with that?" She seized Will's arm. "Are you mad?"
"What other option is there?" he said.
"Join the Order of the Phoenix," she said. "Will, Dumbledore is creating his own army to oppose Voldemort's. Tell him everything you told me, he can help you—"
Will snorted derisively. "I wouldn't serve Dumbledore if he were the last wizard on Earth." He rubbed his jaw. "I learned things with the Death Eaters, Cassie. Their methods may not appeal to me, but their philosophy isn't totally wrong."
Cassie pulled away from him as if he'd scalded her. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that there's some truth to what they preach," he said. Cassie listened with growing unease as he went on. "Wizards have been in hiding for too long. In fact, we should never have gone into hiding in the first place. The Muggles may outnumber us, they may persecute us, but we are more powerful than them." He shook his head. "I don't agree with the notions of making Muggles slaves or killing those that are Muggle-born. But wizards have been, and always will be, superior. Especially those of pure-blood. Especially us, Cassie."
He swept his arm to the tombs around them. "We have one of the oldest bloodlines in history, Cassie. Our ancestors wielded magic and might when gods still mingled with the mortals of this world. Lord Voldemort is nothing but a fear-monger to those of lesser Houses—he forgets who the true royalty of the Wizarding world are. And I'm going to remind him."
Cassie stared, aghast. "Will, what…? I don't…"
"There's someone in Azkaban I must find," he said, ignoring her. He was pacing the mausoleum now, lost in thought. "Someone who belongs to a House as ancient as ours. Once I find him, then the Dark Lord's reign will end."
Cassie's throat was dry as she said, "Who?"
"Erebus Kane," he said. "And once we topple Lord Voldemort, Cassie, a new world will dawn. A world where wizards and Muggles can coexist peacefully. We will no longer have to hide, and those with no magic will no longer fear us. And we will be at the helm of it all, Cassie. You and me. Brother and sister, on the same side. As it was always meant to be."
He extended a hand to her. "Join me."
Cassie stared at him. She used to hate her brother for joining the Death Eaters and leaving her alone. But then she'd learned the truth; that Will wasn't really a Death Eater, that he was tortured and forced to kill. Despite that, he had never stopped helping her. Never gave up on trying to stop Voldemort. He wanted to see Voldemort and the Death Eaters go down as badly as she did. They could create a new society, a better society, where people like Lily wouldn't be discriminated against, where wizards and Muggles could live in harmony, unafraid of each other…
"And what about those who would stand against us?" she asked. "There will be opposition from both sides. You know this."
Will smiled. "Magic is might, Sister. The Alderfair line is more than just an old House. The magic of gods and ancients still flows in our veins. Anyone foolish enough to oppose us should be aware of that and the consequences they will face for their rebellion. As for our enemies." His smile turned predatory. "They would be vanquished."
Slowly, Cassie smiled. The tombs of their parents were forgotten as she stepped forward, each step deliberate, confident. She reached for Will's outstretched hand and clasped it, moving until they stood together, face-to-face.
Will's dark eyes burned with triumph and war. She saw the future he had in store for them within his gaze, the bright and glorious world that they would create from power and might. She gripped his hand tighter and leaned in. "May I tell you something, Brother?"
He smiled. "Anything for you, Sparks."
She smiled back. "I wish that you had died instead of Mother and Father."
Will's face drained of color. "What?"
Cassie kept smiling. "You sicken me. You claim you want a better world, but you are prepared to do unspeakable acts to attain it. How is that any better than what Voldemort is doing now?"
"Because he does not have a vision," he said. Anger was replacing the shock in his tone. "The Dark Lord would have blood purists and fear tactics plague his society of slaves and subservient sheep, but I am better than him. I will take this world into the future, not the past. And if that means blood and fire to achieve my perfect world, then so be it."
Cassie released her brother's hand. "Good-bye, Will."
His face contorted, and Cassie saw what she had always seen, but ignored out of ignorant hope and love. A darkness had poisoned her brother, twisting him into something unrecognizable. It was a shadow, but different from the ones she'd seen in the hearts of Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort. Will had not embraced the Dark; he'd fed on it, and now he thrived because of it.
"You will regret this, Cassie," he hissed.
Before she left the mausoleum, she paused and looked back at him.
And saw nothing but a stranger staring back at her.
"I hope you rot in Azkaban," was all she said.
The sounds of violins and chattering guests followed Cassie as she stepped into her old bedroom in Alderfair Manor. She removed the veil from her hair and tossed it carelessly on her bed, crossing to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the gardens. If she didn't think about it, she could almost imagine that the reception proceeding below was another of her parents' aggravating, dreadfully boring garden parties, and she had snuck away upstairs to hide in her room until the whole thing was over with. But her parents were in tombs, and her brother was gone—vanished off to somewhere by the Aurors that had escorted him.
A knock on the doorframe stirred her from her observations. Her aunt, Liv, stood in the threshold, smiling sadly.
"I was wondering where you went," she said. "Your friends are looking for you."
Cassie sighed. The girls and the Marauders had practically been glued to her side the whole day. She'd only managed to escape ten minutes ago to find some peace.
"I know," she said. "Will you tell them I'm in the loo or something? I just…need a few minutes alone."
"Of course." Liv smiled again, glancing around the room until she spotted something on Cassie's dresser. "Oh, this is pretty! Where did you get this?"
In the gathering dark, Cassie couldn't see what it was. She moved closer, squinting, only to stop dead, her heart sputtering in her chest.
Liv held the clockwork locket in her hands, admiring the silver-and-ruby necklace. It was whole and perfect—not broken after being smashed under Cassie's shoe, not dirty from lying abandoned in the Forbidden Forest for weeks—but unmarked and unblemished.
"Why don't you put it on?" Liv said. "It will look lovely with your dress. Here, let me."
Cassie could only stand, frozen, as Liv put the locket on her. As it settled against her chest, she could feel the metal gears synching to her heartbeat again, and the locket seemed to hum in contentment.
"There," Liv said. "Perfect. Come downstairs when you're ready, all right?"
When she was gone, Cassie looked down at the locket, and tried to ignore the dread creeping into her core.
"If Peter sings Bohemian Rhapsody one more time after this, I'm staking him to a tree in his rat form."
Sirius snickered, handing Cassie another glass of butterbeer. "Cut him some slack. It's the only song he knows."
Cassie rolled her eyes, grumbling about where exactly she would cut Peter as the mousy boy mimicked the guitar solo of the song for the fifth time. She accepted the glass from Sirius and sipped on it for a moment as he did the same, both of them watching what was happening in the sitting room, she with a scowl and he with a grin.
Peter was religiously singing the lyrics to the Queen song as James cheered him on, pouring shots of firewhiskey for himself and Marlene. Lily and Alice were on the floor, laughing at Peter's rendition of the song, while Remus shook his head, chuckling into his own butterbeer. The funeral had ended a long time ago, but Cassie had invited her friends to stay the night, not wanting to be alone in Alderfair Manor on her last night there. Liv had returned home for the night, leaving just Cassie and the other Gryffindors, and it hadn't taken very long for them to find the liquor cabinet (with Liddy's help, of course).
"C'mon," Sirius said, tugging on her hand. "Let's get out of here before you curse Pete."
Cassie followed him back into the gardens, letting the stillness of the night wash over her. He led her to a bench underneath one of the alder trees and pulled her down beside him, draining the rest of his butterbeer as he did so.
"You know," he said after a few minutes of silence, "I had a feeling that fifth year was going to be one for the books. But I can honestly say that all of this was entirely unexpected." He gestured to her and the grounds of the manor.
She raised a brow. "Regretting that alliance now, Black?"
He smirked. "Never, Alderfair."
She sighed, nestling her head into his shoulder. "I thought this year was going to be like all the others. I just wanted to be invisible again." She scoffed. "And instead my brother turns out to be just as horrible as I used to think he was, and I have a price on my head. Go figure."
"But you also made four new best friends who would do anything for you," he countered. He kissed her forehead. "That's gotta count for something, right?"
Her eyes filled with tears, but she met his gaze and nodded. "Yeah," she said, her voice hoarse. "It counts for a lot of things."
"See?" he said. "Not all bad, then."
She was quiet for a moment, until she said, "There's a war coming, Sirius. I can feel it." She looked up at him. "What are we going to do?"
"We're going to fight." His voice held no hesitation, no uncertainty. "Whatever may come, we're going to fight it." He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it, his breath tickling her fingertips as he pressed his lips to them individually before speaking again. "We're in this together, Cassie. Side-by-side, no matter what. Always."
"Always," she mused. "That's not a bad word." She took his hand in hers and squeezed tightly. She could feel the light and life of him melding with her own, the ice to her flickering flame, two shields forging together to become one sword. "Always."
She remembered the words Dumbledore had spoken to her: This is only the beginning.
So she held Sirius tighter, and together, they watched the coming dawn.
End of Book 1
Thank you to everyone who continues to find this story and leave their support. It means more to me than you will ever know. I wish you all the very best, old and new readers alike.
If you're so inclined, please check out Book 2 of the Cassie Alderfair series, The Phoenix Ascending, or any of my other works posted under my profile.
Much love,
drwatsonn