Snape was startled out of sleep at 2 o'clock in the morning, four days after his most recent visit to Grimmauld, by a messenger Patronus. A silvery lynx stood in the middle of the small room, staring intently at him, then suddenly a voice Snape recognized boomed throughout the house at Spinners End. "You're required immediately at Headquarters; emergency meeting. A possible information leak has arisen." As the misty animal was still dissolving, Snape had already crossed the room and begun collecting the items he'd need if they decided to hunt down and interrogate someone. Six and a half minutes later he was seated with the rest of the Order in Black's dining room. Everyone looked tense, but especially the Weasleys, Black, and Lupin, who had just stood from his chair tiredly. His face was very pale, causing his scars to stand out and casting another layer of solemnity over the whole affair. The scattered whisperings went silent as Lupin cleared his throat to address the gathering.

"I'm afraid we've got a bit of a dilemma on our hands, one which will take some consideration and forethought," he began. "As you all know, we're facing a potential information leak. We don't know many details of this situation, only the big picture, but that's certainly dire enough. All we know is that at around eleven last night, one of us was kidnapped and is now being held prisoner, we suspect at the home of a Death Eater." Lupin paused briefly, and Snape's eyes darted around the room to see who was missing. Ah...Mundungus Fletcher. He cursed inwardly - the coward would spill all their secrets in the blink of an eye. Even under a secrecy spell, he would probably find some way to foil the Order. From the other side of the room, a worried Tonks asked, "Who's missing, Remus?" Snape sneered across the room in her direction - Hufflepuffs. Never a lick of brains. Couldn't she look around and figure it out herself?

Lupin took a deep breath, stared at the table, then looked up and said quietly, "Cassi Renner."

The room went perfectly still. Snape was openly staring at Lupin, who was looking at Tonks with despair and pain in his eyes. Tonks wore an expression of horror to match Sirius', although he was quite obviously furious too. Many of the other Order members had expressions of anger - they had gotten to know Cassi over the past weeks, and not a single one disliked her. The room was dead still as everyone processed what had occurred - and what its implications were.

Everyone was startled out of the silence when Snape stood suddenly, a look of pure hatred on his face. He whirled around and began to stride to the door when Lupin asked tiredly, "Snape, what in the name of Merlin are you doing?" Without missing a step, Snape snarled back, "I'm getting her."

Lupin and Black exchanged glances, then Black darted up and blocked Snape's path. In return he received what was probably the most dangerous glare he had ever seen in his life, but he didn't back down. "Snape, we all know you like to have your own way. But not this time." At that, Snape whipped out his wand and pointed it at Black's neck. Sirius was ready for him. "Don't threaten me," he growled, "you'll regret it later." Their wands crossed, Snape ground out, "You can't stop me, Black, I'll kill you if you try. I won't leave her to be tortured and killed, I won't desert her when she is in danger."

To Snape's surprise, Sirius lowered his wand with a satisfied look. "That's what I want to hear," he said approvingly. "Now, you're going to need help, Snape, I don't care how sneaky you are. This is a Death Eater's home we're talking about. You need reinforcements," he added, a grim note to his voice, "and I'm going to get her, with or without you. So we might as well work together on this."

Snape considered for a moment, then he nodded tersely. "I'm leaving now," was all he said before another voice spoke up. "I'm coming too," said Lupin, who had come up behind them. The three of them looked at each other, silently daring the others to say anything. The room was silent, all knowing that any of them might never come back from this mission. All of them thought it was worth it. Lupin knew he could never live with himself if he didn't try to do something. Black missed the sunshine that flooded through his rotten old thrice-cursed house whenever Cassi was around and was furious anyone would touch her. And Snape was also furious, and also missed her sunshine, and would also hate himself if he abandoned her. But he had another reason too.

If all went well - if they managed to rescue her, if he made it out alive, if she made it out alive - he was going to love her and never leave her again. And that was a promise.

Four hours later, Cassi was just starting to wake up from the narcotic she had fallen victim to. She was tied securely to a chair sitting in a cold, empty, dark dungeon. Her head was fuzzy, she couldn't concentrate on anything...she vaguely noticed that her hands wouldn't move, and she thought to use a wandless spell to free herself, but she couldn't quite remember the word she wanted. Over and over she tried to think of what to say, and it was hovering right there, just far enough out of reach that she could never hope to capture it. The drug, whatever it was, was still heavy in her bloodstream when footsteps announced the arrival of her captor.

"Ah, starting to wake, are we?" asked a fuzzily familiar voice. The name was right there...so close...frustrated by her lack of control over herself, she tried to thrash feebly. She stopped, though, when she felt something cold and hard press down on her neck. Even with her blurry vision, she could see that it was a cane with an ornate silver head. Still, the name didn't click until its owner walked into view. "Now now, my dear, we mustn't neglect our manners," said Lucius Malfoy with a condescending sneer. Cassi tried her best to glare at him, but felt that it wasn't nearly as intimidating as she had hoped. Malfoy's thin lips curled into a smirk as he bent down to whisper into her ear.

"Now listen carefully, my dear, because I don't like to repeat myself - I don't want much from you. Just a little bit of information. My Draco tells me that you have become...quite good friends with our dear Potions master, and that you know him better than most of his students. One can only wonder why he chose you as his toy-" Cassi shot him an indignant glare "-certainly you are pretty, and he could easily use you to make others envious. However, even if he was just using you for his own purposes, I can now use you for mine. I merely wish to know whether he has told you anything about himself, about his loyalties...his true loyalties."

Had Cassi had control of her limbs, she would have frozen in fear. He suspects. Merlin's beard, he suspects that Snape's double-crossing Voldemort. She knew Snape was treading dangerous waters, and now the currents may have carried him too far from shore - she might be the last hope of escape before he was swept over the waterfall and dashed to pieces at the bottom.

Malfoy straightened and began to pace as he continued in his silky voice, "I have my suspicions. Up till now, Snape has always been at the Dark Lord's right hand. Now is my chance to take his place! Can you imagine the tortures the Dark Lord would have in store for one who had so thoroughly betrayed him?" Cassi squeezed her eyes shut. Yes, I can imagine it. She could not, under any circumstances, tell Malfoy anything. It would be the end of Severus' life if she did.

Malfoy paused his pacing to stand behind her. "The sleep drug is still heavy in your body, so you won't be able to talk for a few more hours. But rest assured, my dear, I will be back to hear what you would like to tell me." With one last sneer, he strode from the room.

The resounding clang of her dungeon door echoed hauntingly in Cassi's ears until the narcotic claimed her again.