"You're said to be the teachers' favorite student. Do they treat you as an equal?"
Silence.
"I would imagine that they enjoy having a younger friend; maybe some of the professors seem unusually kind to you. Have you noticed that?"
Still nothing.
"I wouldn't be surprised to know that a particular few of them even feel more comfortable around you than around their own peers. Don't you think so? They probably feel more free to talk to you about their troubles."
Not a word. Not even a sound.
"Could it be that some of them wish to make you their confidante, and tell you things about themselves that no one else knows? Has that happened to you before?"
Nothing.
A sigh. Then: "I can see, my dear, that you've opted for intractability. I would advise you to reconsider - however, you must do what you feel your conscience tells you." A quick glance. "I have no doubt that you will warm up to me, but I would suggest that you do so sooner rather than later. The consequences otherwise might not be at all to your liking."
It was later that same morning. Snape, Remus, and Sirius had already left, and the rest of the Order was a nervous wreck. Tonks would periodically wail, "Oh, why did I let him go without me?!" The others sympathized with the young Metamorphmagus, whose hair was now black, but also wanted Cassi back. Nothing else was spoken of besides the mission and Cassi. Kingsley could often be heard muttered consolation to the others, generally something along the lines of "The girl needs rescuing, and ain't nobody better than Snape to find her". Someone was even heard to comment, "They'll be married someday, you know - Cassi and Snape." Everyone was so surprised to hear such a thing that no one knew who had actually said it, but it didn't really matter since it had only been said to divert attention from the young girl's predicament. Cassi was missed by all, but none felt her loss heavier than the Weasley twins.
Ever since they had gone looking for her last night and been unable to find her, George had been furious with everyone and everything. He blamed people for not hearing the kidnapper; he blamed the lunar cycle for making the night so dark and concealing the villain so well; he blamed the Dark Lord for the whole thing; most of all, though, he blamed himself for failing his adopted sister and best friend once again. He stormed throughout Grimmauld Place, making his annoyance at being left out of the rescue mission known. Everyone made sure to stay out of his path.
Fred, on the other hand, suddenly became very quiet after the recovery team left. He disappeared, no one knew where, and couldn't be found for many hours. Mrs. Weasley was beside herself with fear for both Cassi and her two grief-stricken sons. Everyone tried to comfort her, but she refused to be placated. She was in hysterical tears all day, frantically repeating, "Oh, my darling boys! Will they ever recover? They're too young for all this! And my poor sweet Cassandra! What's become of her? She's like another daughter to me...and the boys love her so! Will they ever recover from this blow?" And on and on she went.
The day passed in fearful anticipation. No one knew how long the three men would be - would Cassi be back before dinner? Order members milled around the house anxiously, glancing at each other tensely and praying the men wouldn't be too late. By three in the afternoon, no word had come from them, and Tonks was becoming violently unstable. She kept running into tables and doors as her mind left Grimmauld Place and flew to wherever Remus was, until finally Kingsley, who was standing in as Head of the Order, had to flat-out order Tonks to go rest. She refused at first, but when she broke down and began crying it was easy enough to direct her manually to her room. She didn't reappear that day either.
Dinner came and went. Nobody even thought of food, though lunch had been similarly disregarded. It almost felt like a sin to engage in such a normal activity when an innocent girl was most likely being tortured, and three very important wizards were risking their lives to try and rescue her. All anyone could do was pray that they'd either receive an optimistic message or see the individuals themselves on the doorstep soon. But neither was very likely.
Finally Fred reappeared, his eyes red and raw and his shoulders slumped in defeat, and croakily asked after George. Being in each others' presence comforted them both, and by ten o'clock that night they had retired quietly to the room they used to share with Cassi. Ron later swore that he could hear them crying throughout the night.
Silence reigned in the dungeon.
A frustrated voice: "Well, I shan't pester you any longer, since my presence is so obviously distasteful to you. But fret not, my dear, I shall return in a few hours, and we shall resume where we left off."
Footsteps fading. They pause. Then: "When I return I hope you'll be a bit more cooperative - I give you fair warning, I don't like to be disappointed. If you are as...unvocal...as you have been so far, you shall have more to fear from me than a few bruises."
The footsteps resume, then fade to nothing. The dungeon door slams shut, and the prisoner within finally lets tears fall.