Chosen by Chance
It was weird to think of himself as a Champion for Hogwarts, granted… Cassius knew that Potter was a champion for their school as well. But he as well believed that he had cheated and apparently his fame as the Boy-Who-Lived wasn't enough for him. He didn't need Malfoy to tell him that either. Everyone in Slytherin believed it. And it wasn't enough for him that Slytherin would finally get the credit that they deserved. For once, the school wouldn't hate them. But… they were Slytherins. That apparently was enough reason for the school to hate them.
And unlike, Potter, Cassius didn't enter into the Tournament to get any fame. He had no desire to have eternal glory. Though he was sure that his parents believed that is why he entered. Granted, he was expected to enter his name anyways.
But he wanted the gold.
Cassius was no fool, he knew that the Dark Lord wasn't dead as everyone believed. Most Slytherins knew this... You could almost sense a hint of fear from a lot of them. They knew what was expected of them. Several of them were terrified of that thought alone.
That is what awaited Cassius, it could be a year or many years from now. But it was inevitable. Getting those Galleons would be a step to run away.
Cassius shared a glance with Graham.
He had been friends with him for years, he knew that he had his back no matter what. He had the same expectations from his own parents. Though he was younger than him, he had more time than he did. He sometimes envied Graham sometimes for that.
He was seventeen while Graham was only a year younger than him. He could still use Hogwarts to escape during the year. He couldn't.
That is why he wanted the gold; he had stowed a lot of his parents' fortune in a private account but that didn't mean they couldn't find out.
It wasn't like it was a widely known secret, it was kept on the downlow for a reason. He couldn't risk any of this getting out. And given that he had made it through the first two tasks, he figured he was doing pretty well with that.
Though, most of the time, it didn't even cross Cassius' mind about the other Hogwarts champion, despite that he was still alive, which was a surprise given on how dangerous these tasks were.
It wouldn't occur to Cassius until much later on how much of victim that Potter was.
But for that moment, all he was to him, was a Gryffindor and a cheat.
He may not be Malfoy and try to purposely agonize him at every opportunity. But he didn't go to talk to him either. Maybe if he had, perhaps he may have seen how alone and scared he was.
But he never did. He just kept to himself and avoided most of the Slytherins, unless you count Graham. You weren't supposed to get outside help, but Cassius didn't care. The pair of them were trying to plan what was going to happen for the third task. All he knew was that it would be a maze. They had shown them the hedges that were growing on the Quidditch Field. It had been hard to contain his anger on what they did to their pitch.
It was the same with every other task that they had. Cassius wouldn't accept anyone else's help. He could still recall when Potter had tried to approach him. He hadn't let that Gryffindor get anywhere near him. He had been cursed way too many times by them. He knew that the Gryffindor champion would be no different.
He probably wouldn't have realized who was approaching him if not for Graham elbowing him in the side.
"Great… the Gryffindor is here…" Cassius had muttered. "Let's go, maybe get some peace and quiet for once."
"A rare thing especially if a Gryffindor is around," Graham agreed.
The pair of them had turned away, preparing to go back inside.
"Cassius!" Harry Potter had shouted at him.
Cassius hadn't ever remembered turning so fast before. He wasn't sure on why he got so mad at the time, but he did.
"Let me get something straight, Potter! You do not get familiar with me! I'm a Slytherin and you're just an arrogant Gryffindor! You do not know me, and I do not want to know you!"
Potter's jaw was gapped, "that—that isn't what I meant by that. I just wanted to help—"
"You give help!? Don't make me laugh! I don't need any help from some pesky nosy ass Gryffindor! I don't have to rely on fame unlike some people!" Cassius had snarled at him before turning once more.
Potter had never approached him again, for that he was thankful. Though he did notice getting several letters, all of which, he had burned. He was not about to get cursed because he happened to open some mysterious and unknown letter.
Though Graham did question him later about it. Since he had gotten some letters as well, those had been eventually burned.
Slytherins were not fools. But he had made it through the first task just fine. Though dragons were nothing to joke about. Even the second task hadn't been that terrible. You just had to remember to keep your respect especially in someone else's territory.
That led him to preparing for the final task.
It felt like Cassius was studying for his NEWTS instead of the Triwizard Tournament. Trying to cover everything that may be thrown at him. Even if that meant going over every spell he knew, dark curses too. Never knew if you may need it. He was a bit glad he had taken Creatures as long as you could. He had a nagging feeling he would need it for this moment.
Anything could be in that blasted maze. So, spells and creatures were his priority at that moment. Most of the spells he was looking at were Charms and Defense. That didn't mean he slacked in his other subjects. It was more of a precaution as he went over everything.
He knew what it meant if he didn't.
Death.
And Graham was there to help him, even if that was dueling or quizzing him on anything possible. He didn't know what he would do without his best mate to help him every step of the way.
So, with that, he didn't expect to go through the third task and team up with Potter. He figured he would curse the fourth year before he would ever do that. But that is what happened.
If you asked him later, he still wouldn't be able to say why. There was just this nagging feeling that he could trust Potter. He didn't trust anyone... unless you were Graham. But that had taken years. Not minutes.
Even when they teamed up, Cassius knew he wouldn't have let Potter get the cup before him. And he apparently thought the same as they grabbed the glowing cup at the same time.
The Slytherin was very familiar with the feeling of a portkey. He assumed it would bring them to the front of the maze.
He was wrong.
It was some type of graveyard that they appeared in. Though, once he heard footsteps. It was more of self-preservation than anything that he cast a strong Disillusionment Charm over himself.
Forgetting the fact that Potter probably hadn't learned that Charm just yet. He was out in the open, almost defenseless.
He saw Potter turning around in fear, green eyes wide in horror and Cassius could hear him muttering, "The nightmares, the graveyard, Riddle." None of it made sense to him, but it appeared the Gryffindor knew what they were.
But he stayed silent as it appeared he had entered into own of his own nightmares. But he could absolutely nothing as Harry Potter was forced against a gravestone.
His eyes watched in horror as he personally witnessed his worst nightmare. The rebirth of the Dark Lord. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He knew he would be getting a letter from his parents later. They would force him to be marked if they had their way. He wasn't going to allow that.
But for the first time, he felt helpless as he watched. Even to the point where the Dark Lord forced Potter to duel him. He knew he would have frozen.
It was once Potter hid behind one of the gravestones, did he move.
Cassius made care to watch where he was stepping but moving fast as well. He grabbed the wrist of the Gryffindor.
He struggled against him as he cast a nonverbal Summoning Charm the portkey back to them. He was not going to let Potter be the reason he died that night.
When they landed, Cassius finally lose focus as his Disillusionment Charm over him faded.
Potter had struggled against him until that moment.
"Warrington?" Harry said, shocked.
"I think... after all of that... you can call me Cassius," the Slytherin said, his eyes still wide in disbelief.
"I-I thought..."
Cassius gave an unsurprised snort, "I know what you thought. You wouldn't be the first."
"Why would you though? I figured you would be the first to apparate away and leave me there," Harry wanted to know.
"It doesn't matter now, Potter."
"What do you mean by that? Of course, it matters," Harry replied.
"He'll be after my blood soon enough anyways. Besides, they had anti-apparition wards set up. The portkey was the only option," Cassius muttered.
"But—"
"It wouldn't matter if I saved your life or not. The moment I refuse the mark... He'll want my dead body. You don't just refuse the Dark Lord and walk away alive. I intend to fight and this decision of mine... Will have consequences, whether I like them or not," Cassius explained.
"But he didn't see you..."
Cassius snorted, "the moment I lost focus he did. Even if he didn't, there were countless of Death Eaters that did. They had a real good glimpse of who helped famous Harry Potter."
"Then... I'll help."
"You don't know what you're saying. This isn't just school. This life or death. There is no third option, Potter."
"Yes, I do. He wants me dead anyways; he has since I was a baby. May as well do something worthwhile to piss him off while I can. If that means to help and aid a rogue Slytherin by their point of view. So, be it," Harry swore.
"Guess that means I get to be forced to help Gryffindors," a voice muttered, dryly.
"Don't act like you're thrilled by that, Graham," Cassius snapped.
The Slytherin grinned at them.
Harry's eyes flickered between the pair of them.
"Potter, meet Graham… or Montague as Gryffindors call him," Cassius muttered.
Graham shrugged, "looks like the Minister is taking his time getting here though…"
Cassius glanced around; they had appeared near the front of the maze. The commotion had been loud, so it was easy enough to cover up their conversation. But nobody had approached them yet. There would no doubt be a ceremony later.
It was obvious that nobody had expected for two champions to win but it was still a Hogwarts victory, regardless.
The reward from winning the TriWizard Tournament had been split between Harry and Cassius. Though Harry had given him his own winnings.
Cassius had never been more dumbfounded than that moment. It wasn't something he was expecting, especially from Harry Potter.
"I'm not some charity case, Potter," Cassius growled.
Harry didn't back down, "if I get to call you, Cassius, then you have to call me, Harry."
The Slytherin rolled his eyes, "fine. Whatever."
"And I know you aren't some charity case. It isn't about that. I know you need this more than I do. I got plenty of money. You would put it to better use than it just sitting in my vault," Harry crossed his arms.
"You got some guts, you know that," Cassius muttered.
"I could have told you that from the first moment," Graham chipped in.
"And you didn't say a single word," Cassius hissed.
Graham smirked, "looks like you had it handled just fine."
Cassius rolled his eyes as Harry snickered.
There wasn't really much talk after that before Graham and Cassius went back to their own compartment. And when they did, it was tense.
The compartment door had been sealed, to prevent anyone that would try to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"What will you do if you see them?" Graham asked.
"It's not like they would be able to seal off Kings Cross and attack the station. Not yet, anyways," Cassius reminded.
"And you think they will care if they curse some muggles?" Graham scoffed.
"His name isn't in the papers. They won't want anyone to know just yet. So, any drastic measures wouldn't be taken in the public eye," Cassius replied.
"You really don't believe that?" Graham raised an eyebrow.
Cassius snorted, "not sure what to believe anymore, mate. Never thought I be friendly with a Gryffindor. Harry Potter, no less. It's not like I can try to fight and kill them all."
"Then, your mistake is thinking that you will be fighting this alone. You'll be damned if I let you be killed because of them. Because I am going to fight this damn war with every last breath that I got," Graham vowed.
"And if you go home…" Cassius muttered.
"It's going to be my death anyway. I won't ever be marked; I won't live that life. I won't ever bow to him," Graham retorted.
"Marcus did pay for it…" Cassius mumbled.
"And he lost…" Graham cursed under his breath.
He could remember the silence that overtaken the Common Room at the start of the year. Nobody had known why a former Slytherin had been murdered. It was all in the Daily Prophet.
A freak accident.
It was all lie. Cassius knew that wasn't true. It had been Terence that revealed it. Graham had known as well.
He had rebelled against his parents. His Death Eater parents.
Pressured that he would take the Dark Mark, like they had done.
Marcus had refused. So, he had been killed for it.
"Lose or win, it doesn't matter," Cassius commented. "I rather lose knowing I wouldn't let him win."
"Looks like we are about to find out…" Graham muttered, his eyes looking out their compartment window.
Cassius looked over to what he was talking about.
"Fuck," he cursed, "we need to go."
The Hogwarts Expressed had stopped moments ago.
"Let them be distracted with their own children. From there, use the Floo Networks, they won't be far," Cassius planned out.
Their trucks had been shrunk and stowed away into their pockets. Getting off the train was the easy part. Which most of the plan was using the crowd to slip by unnoticed.
They noticed several Death Eaters there at Kings Cross.
Lucius and Narcissa were easy to spot with their blonde hair, they did have a child that just finished his fourth year. You could also spot the father of several younger students. Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle. They already knew they were lower ranked Death Eaters.
Then they caught glimpse of their own parents. That was when they knew they needed to run.
Cassius dashed, literally dragging Graham behind him.
It was probably an odd sight to see people running in the station. He didn't hear any curses thrown but that didn't mean there weren't. It felt like forever before he reached the Floo gate before vanishing into the green flames.
Cassius let the familiar sensation run through him before being spat out of a fireplace.
"We can stay here tonight and get our shit together," Cassius groaned as he stood up from where Graham had knocked him onto the ground as they exited the Floo.
"We can go to Gringotts tomorrow, might have to use Glamours and Charms while we are in Diagon though."
The temporary safe house they were at had used to belong to his uncle, given to Cassius when he died, unfortunately, it wasn't warded and wouldn't keep them safe long term. Not to mention, his parents knew the safehouses they had in their family. It would take them a bit to go through them all. So, they had a few days at most.
Which is why he already had prearranged the safe house they would go to. He could do the Wards, Runes, and Charms himself. That had been his main focus, at Hogwarts and his Apprenticeship.
"Thankfully my new manager at Gringotts managed to arrange everything. Although it was a pain to do everything by owl," Cassius huffed.
"Horlunk was able to transfer a fair amount of my trust, unfortunately, my parents had previously arranged contracts on my trust to stop me from taking it all within two years. And they will probably cancel the account before I get much more out of it."
Graham nodded, knowing his parents had probably done the same.
"The money from the tournament will help so much. I can't believe he just handed it all over. Bloody Gryffindor," Cassius shook his head.
Graham gave a small laugh at that one. Though he had been just as surprised and shocked.
"And I rather not touch the other account unless I have to. But they won't be able to get their hands on it, especially that I've hit my maturity. Too bad I won't be there when the Goblins tell them how much they got drained," Cassius huffed.
Graham's lips twitched at that, knowing that he would want to do the same to his own parents as well.
He had seen the look of rage on his parents' face when they had escaped. He knew they would want their revenge on him. They would have to use Glamours, they would have no choice. There was no way around it.
It hadn't been hard to get the new safehouse set up after Cassius had met up with Horlunk. The money had been exchanged and now it was official. The property was now in Cassius' name and there was no way his parents or anyone on their side would be able to find them.
And apparently Harry Potter had decided to intervene and tell one of his friends.
That was how Cassius had come face to face with Bill Weasley. And that was how he got the aide of having an experienced Curse Breaker that was helping him with Warding his house.
And as prideful as Cassius was, he was not about to turn doing his help. But he really did want to curse Potter and his damn meddling. He knew that he knew well enough about Wards and Runes. But he did not have Bill Weasley's experience. He was the kind of person he would love to learn from.
So, perhaps Potter wasn't the only Gryffindor that didn't mind Slytherins. Or rather, former Slytherins. Since he technically did graduate Hogwarts. It didn't feel like it.
But he did like the new place. It had plenty of rooms. It was a bit bigger than his old home, if you could call it that. And he kind of liked that.
Cassius didn't know what he was going to tell his Mentor about his apprenticeship. He pretty much had graduated and completed it. But it wasn't like he could go out and enter a full-time job given the current situation. Even though nobody knew it, they were going to be looking for him.
Which meant, he would need to step up his game. He was not planning on letting them find him and kill him. Which of course, he needed to fight on his own and kill them first. Both he and Graham knew it.
"The ranks in the Outer Circle has probably grown since then," Graham had reminded him.
"Won't change the fact that he has this thing about marking them," Cassius grinned. "But we at least have something to start with."
"And bring his attention to us," Graham frowned.
"It's already been on us, especially after today. But I say, if we come across any of his Inner and Outer Circle, take them out," he replied.
"Sounds like a plan. Not a safe one, one that will probably get us killed," Graham brought up.
"Best way to cripple him and take him out for good," Cassius grimaced.
"Then, we will have to start at Diagon, they will most likely be expecting for one of us to venture there. A surprise attack and to keep it out of eye's view. I rather not be wanted by the Ministry just yet," Graham suggested.
Cassius gave him a big grin. He knew that by the end of this, being wanted by the Ministry was probably the least of their worries.
And that was how the summer had been spent.
Glamours had to be used every time they had gone out. But Cassius knew that he would be continuing this even while Graham went to complete his final year at Hogwarts. He had wished that they had been in the same year, given everything that was going around. They had already taken care of a few Death Eaters but they had a long way to go.
But not once did they see anything about His return in the Daily Prophet.
There was a lot of worry, considering on how quiet the Dark side was being at that moment. Even with all their actions, they figured there may be something… Did he never notice?
There hadn't been any attacks, raids, or any strange disappearances. Currently, Minister Fudge, Lucius Malfoy, and a witch that resembled a toad, were using this to run a smear campaign against Potter and Dumbledore. That wasn't the worrying part though. It was the letters from Potter and he had had no idea. Those called friends of his weren't saying a damn thing to him. Nor was the light side or even Dumbledore, every letter was kept unanswered, keeping him entirely in the dark. In fact, Graham had been beyond furious because it turned out they hadn't gotten him into a Mind Healer after almost dying last year, only to discover it wasn't the first time. Graham had found a trusted mind healer and recommended her, since then he and Cassius would pick him up in disguise from her building and take Harry to the muggle world for lunch afterwards. He had used her as his Mind Healer as well, but it was different when you grew up around the Dark Arts.
Even then, going out to lunch in the muggle world made him feel at ease. They felt safer in the Muggle world than they had in the Magical World, not without reason, of course.
It was with this, that the day finally came for Graham to finally return back to Hogwarts for his final year. They had the preparations set; they would use the same method just like they did when they escaped. Thankfully, his Floo was set up that you could Floo out, the only way to Floo in was to have the correct passphrase.
So, it was an easy way to get Graham to the Hogwarts Express, there he was still protected. At least for now.
During the year, Cassius felt he had made the most progress. He knew the numbers of the Death Eaters were dwindling down as every day passed.
Though letters from Graham came every once in a while. Usually about the changes at Hogwarts and who the Ministry had put in. One of them had been the witch at Harry's hearing at the Ministry. The same toad of a witch that Cassius had recalled before. He had said her name was Dolores Umbridge. Though he noticed, even as a Slytherin, she had a careful eye on him.
But he noticed the only house not receiving her detentions was Slytherin.
Cassius mostly pushed the bothersome witch out of his mind. Since Graham hadn't really noted that she was a hassle to deal with. Perhaps there was a borderline on suspicion, but that was it.
He even created a rune to help detect Dark Magic, hoping it would be enough to find those that had the Dark Mark. That was not something you could hide very easily. It worked well enough.
He usually would let his face be glimpsed for a short time, so that they would give him chase. That was when he would strike and kill them. He doubted a Gryffindor like Potter would approve such methods. He didn't seem as bad during the summer as he had been during the year. Less… Gryffindor… if you could say that.
This was a war, as Cassius looked at it, you could fight one with Stunners. Well… you could… but you would lose. And by losing, he meant, you would get killed.
That didn't mean that Cassius didn't have some close calls. A few Killing Curses that got too close for his liking. But soon enough he would have to move up to finding and eliminating the Inner Circle. And he knew… he could not do that on his own.
He knew his death would be coming someday, but he didn't want to make it sooner than it needed to be.
And that was when the letter came.
It had been written by Graham, begging for his help. Which came to a surprise, he couldn't think of a situation that dire at Hogwarts that he would do that. But he hadn't hesitated.
Though, instead of using a glamour, he cast the most powerful Disillusionment Charm he could. It had the place where he was supposed to meet his mate.
An abandoned classroom near the dungeons.
Cassius hadn't taken two steps before seeing the panic ridden look.
"Cass… it's Harry!"
"Harry? What happened now?" Cassius was confused.
"That toad of a witch, she been forcing him to use a Blood Quill and now he's determined he has to go to the Department of Mysteries."
Cassius' lips thinned, "why would he go there."
"It's a trap, says he saw his Godfather being tortured there. He said he was going whether I liked it or not."
"You're shagging him…" Cassius realized, mouth gapped.
Graham huffed, "like it matters!"
Cassius shrugged, "guess not. Looks like our plans may be stepped up a notch…"
Graham nodded with a determined look.
The older Slytherin rolled his eyes, "you would fall for a Gryffindor… let's go then."
"We can use Snape's Floo, with Umbridge gone at the moment, it won't be under surveillance," Graham commented, leading them towards the Slytherin Common. It happened to be linked with Snape's office. Who he knew for a fact, was out of his office and it would be empty.
It had seemed that using the Floo to get the Ministry of Magic had been the easy part. But they had no idea where Harry Potter was yet. So, the pair of them were hoping that they would beat the Gryffindor and hopefully uncover the trap they had set.
Both Slytherins knew about the Department of Mysteries. The Unspeakables worked there but even they didn't expect to be able to walk in and nothing happen.
Where was all the security and guards?
There was nothing, granted both of them were under Disillusionment Charms. Then they both felt it. Somebody was there as well. And it looked like they were about to find out who.
A shadow caught Graham's eyes, that was when he grabbed Cassius' arm and pointed, silently nodding. Lucius Malfoy was here; they were quick to the follow the blonde Death Eater around the winding halls into the Department of Mysteries. Cassius growled when he saw the Lestranges all there, starting to split up. Fuck. This wasn't good.
They knew there were more of them, most likely disillusioned like they were.
A simple Killing Curse would put an end to Lucius, they both knew how talented of a wizard he was. But there was the Lestranges, not to mention who knew how many elite...
Bellatrix was hopping from foot to foot in excitement, cackling loudly.
"Settle Bella!" Lucius snapped "If you give us away before the Potter boy gets here our Lord will not be pleased,"
Cassius could feel his eyes widened, so they had beaten Harry there. Which probably wasn't a surprise if he didn't apparate or Floo. And he was still too young to know how to apparate just yet. Though given how complex the chambers were... you never knew if he was already there and they didn't know it yet.
That was when he saw Lucius start to head in the other direction. He decided to follow, if he got far enough way... He may be able to take him out and then rejoin Graham.
He figured that was mistake pretty quickly, leaving Graham alone when as he finally got Lucius far enough away to take him out when a very loud scream came from behind them.
Lucius sprinted back to find Bellatrix bleeding on the floor and Graham with a face of stone standing over her, "You won't get to do any of that to Harry," Graham sneered, "You are done for!" Cassius watched as Graham killed the most formidable Death Eater quickly before leaping into the fight as Lucius tried to kill Graham.
He didn't hesitate to cast a Killing Curse at Lucius' back before he could try to curse his best mate. But perhaps, both of those were a mistake because now they were surrounded.
Rodolphus was staring at his wife's body in shock and horror, although Cassius knew they hadn't been in love or even interested in each other that way, they had been best friends and had been so since their years in Hogwarts. It was a split second when he saw Rodolphus' expression turn to fury and he let out a wordless scream turning to look at Cassius and Graham. Cassius barely had time to shove Graham out of the way as he countered the dark purple curse Rodolphus had sent at them.
Which there really wasn't any way to counter it, besides to dodge and quickly look back to see it hit another Death Eater. One of the Carrows, it looked like.
Cassius had to wince at the piercing scream that echoed in the room. Yeah... he definitely didn't want to be a victim of that curse.
Antonin Dolohov, the prick, had always been good at creating Dark Magic spells, Cassius wasn't even sure for certain what the purple curse did. But he knew it was one of Dolohov's and was awful.
Given by the scream... he was proven right and looked like he had shown other Death Eaters it as well. This was not doing good for him.
"So, the traitors decide to show their face," someone hissed at them.
When Cassius turned to look who spoken, he screamed at the Crucio that nailed him.
Rowle… The bastard.
"Better to be known as a traitor than to serve someone who is lower than a Half-Blood, practically a Mud-Blood!" Cassius spat.
"How dare you spread lies about our Lord!" Rabastan shrieked from behind him.
Cassius shared at grin with Graham, "you sure that he doesn't have Black blood in him? He's definitely got that shrieking trait down."
"Maybe he just took lessons from Bella, or his mother had an affair with one of the Blacks," Graham cackled as he took down Rowle with a Bone Breaking Curse to his leg.
Cassius helped finish him off with a Severing Hex to his neck as blood began to pool around him.
"And if you don't believe me about your precious... Half-Blooded Lord... you can't seriously tell me that you thought that Voldemort was his actual name?" Cassius scoffed at the thought.
"Tom Riddle is a Half-Blood from a squib mother and muggle father!" Graham laughed as he dueled with Avery Senor. He and Cassius had been doing their own research into the Dark Lord through archives and Gringotts while Harry was in his therapy sessions. It had been a shock to them all, although thanks to the diary, Harry had known about the muggle father with the last name Riddle.
Of course, there was also when he decided to reveal all of this at the graveyard just last year. He had practically admitted to all of it. And he just happened to know what would rub the Elite the most. The fact that they were practically serving a Mudblood as their Lord. He was really a Half-Blood, since his mother had been a witch, but in their minds... they wouldn't look at it that way.
How much of a simpleton could they be not to question the name... Voldemort really? Every Pureblood he knew would question their last name. It wasn't like he was going to admit that his last name was Riddle. But perhaps, that how idiotic the Wizarding World had gotten... nobody could recall who he had been before Voldemort and the first war. All of his followers were the children of his original followers. He knew for a fact that Abraxas Malfoy was one of the very first Death Eaters, given the fact of how much Lucius Malfoy had gloated about it during his childhood.
Surely Rabastan knew that though? His father Reinhard was in classes with Tom Riddle with Abraxas as well. But then again, those who devoted their lives to Voldemort couldn't be called smart or freethinkers.
Cassius groaned as a fire curse hit his right arm, clenching his jaw he kept fighting, taking down a low-ranking death eater he didn't recognize, before Rabastan and Rodolphus were back. Their black eyes blown wide, as if they were high, Rabastan screeching about how they, Cassius and Graham were going to ruin everything.
They were pretty sure that was the last of the Lower Circle, since the pair of them had taken out them out during the summer. Cassius had finished that during the year.
That didn't change that they were outnumbered. Then more witches and wizards started to surround them.
Cassius had a sinking feeling until he recognized one of them, they had red hair.
"You really didn't think you could have all the fun, did you?" A familiar voice said.
"Bill?!" Graham spluttered, eyes blinking when a woman with purple hair popped in next to him.
"Ooh, you know them?" She asked Bill, with her head tilted to the side.
"Yeah, they can be trusted," Bill grinned, with an added wink to Graham, apparently the redhead knew about him with Harry.
"The rest of the Order is here," Bill said to Cassius, "I alerted them after Graham Flooed me to tell me that Harry and my idiot brother had taken off."
"They should be here soon," Bill added as he threw a curse at another Death Eater who charged them.
"And yet you sent me a fucking letter..." Cassius grumbled as he rolled to avoid a Killing Curse.
"Where is my godson?!" Sirius shouted as he reached them, Graham was blasted in the side by Rodolphus and let out a scream, Cassius and Bill reacted together, throwing curse after curse at the Death Eater.
Cassius had to duck several curses, some that were a bit of a close call. That was while teaming up with Bill against a single Death Eater. Though he had to keep in mind that Rodolphus was more than just a simple Death Eater, he was part of the Voldemort's Inner Circle for a reason.
He needed to get to Graham, which was proving to be really difficult. This was just part the fight that was going around them. The entire chamber was a battleground. Though he could no longer hear Sirius' voice and he didn't dare to look to see where the older wizard had gone.
Suddenly, Rodolphus was surrounded in a bright green light. The Killing Curse taking all life from the man, Cassius let out a breath as Rodolphus fell to his knees showing Graham standing behind him. But Cassius' friend was pale, blood leaking from his stomach and mouth. He was swaying dangerously.
"Graham!" Cassius shouted as he darted across the room, avoiding all the spells that were being aimed in his direction.
The younger Slytherin collapsed into his arms.
"Can't say I don't know how to kill a Death Eater," he laughed as he spat out some of the blood.
"No, no, no," Cassius shook his head, "You don't get to die on me!"
"Come on Cass," Graham coughed, "You aren't stupid. Besides we always said, it didn't matter if we made it or not."
"Because we wouldn't make it if we stayed anyway," Cassius nodded, blinking back tears. His anger growing. Graham was seventeen, he was eighteen, their parents should have protected them. Dumbledore should have protected them. Harry was fifteen. Cassius watched as the life left his best friend's body, there was a painful scream that had everyone flinching, Cassius was unaware it was coming from him as he saw Graham's father fighting Bill Weasley.
"I will make sure that you get the honor that you deserve, my friend," Cassius murmured.
His feet felt unsteady when he got back up, which soon faded to the back of his mind. He joined back into the battle with Bill, he was going to make them all pay. If not for himself, for Graham.
He didn't even know how many of them were dead. Death Eaters, the Order... He knew he killed several of them. As had... Graham...
He had a vicious grin on his face as he took down Graham's father, saving Bill's life in the process. Bill gripped his shoulder, grief and apologies on his face. But they were dragged into another duel before anything could be said.
Graham was gone, Cassius felt cold and empty as he took out anyone could.
If there was any good news for him... it was that Graham's father was dead. The same one that had been grinning when he had seen him fallen. Cassius almost couldn't take it.
There were still so many, and he lost count how many times he had to duck to avoid a stray Killing Curse.
He wound up tripping over Sirius and Remus' bodies, laying near the other where they had been looking for Harry in the chaos, unaware he wasn't there yet. The expression of concern for their godson etched on their face. They should have been focused on what was around them… But he couldn't fault them for it either. That was when Cassius froze as the room suddenly felt stifled, compressed, heavy dark magic settled over all of them.
Voldemort.
He had never been around the wizard and yet... he knew. It felt tainted and wrong. Were all the Death Eaters dead? He never really took a chance to look around him.
He heard the gasps from the Order members and the Death Eaters calling out for their Lord. A shudder went through Cassius' body as he turned slowly, blood covering his robes. There he was, the Dark Lord. Pale skin, a snake face, bright red eyes, and flowing black robes.
"Let me guess... one of your Death Eaters happened to be a coward and decided to call you instead of fighting themselves," Cassius murmured.
Probably saying those words, wasn't a good idea. But Cassius no longer cared. Either he was going to make it, or he wasn't. He was not going to be a coward and run. He would see this through until he was dead.
Voldemort appeared to have heard him though, as the snake visage turned to look at him. A thin smirk stretched his lips, eyes widening.
"Ah, you are a brave one, the Slytherin who helped Potter escape me at my father's graveyard," his voice uncomfortable to hear, almost a hiss.
Cassius just stared at him, defiantly.
"A muggle if I recall correctly. Seemed intent on telling Harry the entire tale."
Voldemort's face drew into fury and Cassius' eyebrows raised as his Father stepped up behind Voldemort and scowled at him.
"How dare you insult our Lord!"
Cassius laughed, "how is it an insult if the truth came sprouting from the creature himself!?"
"I should have expected more of you, Father... Groveling to someone who is less than a muggle. Then again... I was also a disappointment to you to begin with."
"Ah, so the young man is your offspring, Cyrus," Voldemort hissed.
Cassius took great pleasure as his father flinched and bowed to the monster.
"Don't feel so good to be on the other side of it... does it... Father?" Cassius smirked. While, he didn't feel an inch of fear, only vengeance and rage at the monster before him.
"Cassius!" His father roared, forgetting his fear of his Lord as he leapt at his son, wand up, prepared to curse him again. But Voldemort was unimpressed. Not only had Cyrus failed to raise his progeny correctly, but now he was acting without thinking. And with that Cyrus dropped dead at the hands of his own Lord.
"Not sure if I am happy because he's dead or annoyed because I didn't get to do it," Cassius grumbled, as he gave a half glance to his dead body.
Voldemort smirked, "You are a mouthy child, aren't you? Now, where is Potter?"
Cassius shrugged, "probably still at Hogwarts. I was told that you tended to underestimate Gryffindors. Apparently, they were right. Can't even set up a decent trap and all your Death Eaters are dead. You lost."
"I never lose," Voldemort sneered, "Your friend is dead, Black and Lupin are dead, so is Mad-Eye, how is that losing, you delusional child?!"
"Can't win another of your wars without your precious army. Bellatrix is dead. Lucius is dead. Even your most precious spy is dead. It's only you left," Cassius grinned.
"Spy?" Bill panted from behind Cassius, Fenrir had slashed his face open in three deep wounds and in the quiet since Voldemort appeared, Fleur Delacour was tending to him.
Cassius felt a twinge of sympathy for Bill. He didn't think he would get anything from the wounds. Like transforming once a month... but the scars would never leave him.
"Yes, spy. He can easily be found dead in his office. Too bad he didn't have an opportunity to take any of his enemies out beforehand," Cassius replied
Voldemort twitched and sneered, "So that is why Severus ignored my call for this attack."
Many of the Order gasped at that but Cassius just nodded.
"Perhaps that is where your perfect leader and Headmaster is," Voldemort chuckled, "Sorting out his precious spy's body and trying to find who did it."
Cassius blanched, "he's no leader of mine! I don't give any fucks about Dumbledore! Or have you noticed that all your followers and minions are dead and not just stunned."
"Now it is your turn to die," Cassius sneered as he raised his wand, thinking of Graham, of Harry, of Black and Lupin, of his own shitty childhood. He never thought of himself as a good guy, a hero, empathic. But he knew if he did this, and won, he could save others from what they all went through. He made eye contact with Voldemort again. Either he would end up with Graham or he avenged him, both options worked for him.
"Fuck you, snake face!" He shouted, moving his wand, "Avada Kedavra!"
Cassius had the satisfaction of seeing the shock that overtook the Dark Lord's face. Like it hadn't occurred to him that someone would try to cast the Killing Curse at him.
And that was where he fell. Dead.
It was finally over. The Dark Lord was finally dead. Despite that, Cassius didn't know how he felt about that.
He heard everyone cheering and crying over those they lost, but he felt empty, his revenge wasn't as satisfactory as he wanted.
All that buildup over the years... and Graham dead... It didn't feel like enough. Like it should have been something different. There was a small feel of relief before it vanished. He just didn't feel anything.
"Cassius!" He heard Bill scream, he turned around too late, only to see a purple light and feel an intense pressure as it hit his chest. Gasping for breath he collapsed to the ground as Bill raced to his side.
He vaguely heard a small duel between someone. His body was trembling and all he could feel was burning pain. It felt like his body was being lit on fire.
"Bill..." Cassius choked out, he could barely get a breath in.
"What do I do?!" Bill was screaming as he ran his wand over Cassius' body. But there was nothing he could do. Cassius could feel his magic being drained and his organs shutting down. He didn't know how he knew what was happening, but he could feel every painful inch of it.
"Tell Harry… "He had to take a sharp breath in before looking at Bill, "I am sorry I couldn't…" he gasped, "save Graham."
It took more effort to get the next sentence out.
"But... there's nothing... nothing you can do. Guess that's what the spell does... I'm sorry..."
Cassius could already feel his vision starting to go black before he heard a scream. He knew who it was. But the last thing he saw was a flash of raven hair over a body, the same body of his best mate. Then his hand hit the ground, unmoving.