Disclaimer: Sorry I have no funny line about how we don't know own Harry Potter and all the characters that go along with it, so yeah don't sue us. K thanks!
Chapter Thirteen
Casselle read and reread the letter at least five times feeling as if she had won the lottery.
Cass,
I will be there to break you out sometime next week. I don't want to say too much in this just in case someone finds this. Write me back and let me know which window is yours. Plan on this Thursday, so start packing! If I don't get a response I'll assume this has been intercepted and we will go with plan B.
See you soon,
James
Casselle laughed as she grabbed a bit of spare parchment and wrote a quick response before attaching it to James's owl and watching it fly into the distance, wondering with mild interest what plan B would have been.
She had been home for a little over a month and had the bruises to prove it. She had been right about her reception after the stunt she pulled at Christmas and then again at Easter. Upon arriving home she was immediately locked in her room without meals for three days. That was hardly the worst of it though.
She walked over to her mirror wincing at her reflection she had a dark bruise across her cheek and she looked like she had lost fifteen pounds since she had been home. Her hair was a knotted mess as was the rest of her body, bruises standing out against her pale skin.
Her jaw clenched as a wave of rage passed through her, she hated her family, every last one of them. "It will all be over in two days," she promised herself turning from the mirror.
She went about gathering her things over the next two days and had managed to locate everything but her wand, which her father had taken from her in the car on the way home.
Casselle was riddled with tension on Thursday. She stared out the window anxiously wishing James had given her more information. She had no idea how he was coming or how he planned on getting in or how they were going to get their hands on her wand.
She tried to focus her energy on making herself look presentable. She dabbed makeup over the bruise making it look much lighter than it actually was. She was also able to work a brush through her hair pulling it into a ponytail. She dawned a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, disgusted at how loose they fit her, showing as little of her flesh as she could. There was nothing she could do about the bags under her eyes or the grim look that refused to leave her face, but this was as good as she was going to get.
She contented herself to sit at the window and stare off into the distance for the remainder of the day. She watched the sun climb into the sky and then sink into the distance. With every hour that passed she became more nervous that something had gone wrong and that James wasn't actually coming.
She must have dozed off because she was woken up by a strange tapping noise. She sat up confused before her eyes rested on her window. A smiling James sitting on a broom could be made out through the glass.
Casselle jumped up and opened the window throwing her arms around the boy in front of her, "You have no idea how glad I am to see you," she whispered.
James grinned "Oi, let go so I can get inside before you knock me off my broom"
Casselle laughed softly moving to allow James into her room. It was then that she noticed the other figure hovering behind James. She stared at Sirius for a moment attempting to feel angry with him but not quite getting there.
She bit her lip as he landed next to James.
"Where are your things?" James asked.
"In the trunk…but he took my wand."
James nodded, "Do you know where it is?"
Casselle nodded, "He locked it in the trunk in his room at the foot of his bed"
James and Sirius shared a look, "Stay here we'll be back," James replied.
"Wait," she hissed. "One you don't even know where his room is, two I'm not letting you two go alone."
James sighed, "Fine but you have to stay behind us."
Casselle nodded and the trio made their way out of her room and down the hall to the master bedroom. She nodded towards the door and the three of them held their breath as Sirius eased the door open. The two boys crept into the room leaving Casselle in the doorway to keep an eye on her parents.
She heard the click of the lock on the trunk and stiffened her eyes trained on her father. His breathing however, stayed even and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Luck must have been on their side that night because James and Sirius retrieved the wand without any trouble. The three of them crept back down the hallway and to Casselle's room only daring to talk after they closed the door.
"And I was suspecting some kind of challenge," James teased tossing the wand to Casselle.
Casselle smiled, "We're not out of the woods yet, come on let's get out of here."
"Going somewhere?"
Casselle whipped around meeting Nathaniel's eye, "As a matter of fact I am."
Her brother sneered raising his wand, "tsk tsk little sister, father will not be pleased."
Casselle smiled coldly, "I guess he can discuss it with me next summer."
"Crucio," Nathaniel hissed chuckling as Casselle collapsed to the floor.
The pain was extraordinary and it took all of her will power to not scream out. Her body felt like it was being stabbed over and over again and she bit down on her lip tasting blood as she curled into a ball on the floor.
And then the pain was gone as quickly as it came. Casselle opened her eyes, disoriented and found James kneeling next to her.
"Cass, are you okay? Can you hear me?"
She blinked clearing her vision of the tears she hadn't even been aware of, "I-I'm fine, where's Nathaniel? What happened?"
James grinned, "You don't have to worry about him, Sirius is handling it."
Casselle managed to sit up, she was physically unharmed but she felt as if she had been through a beating. From this angle she could see Sirius standing over her brother. It seemed like he had preformed a full body bind on Nathaniel who was laying unmoving on the floor.
Sirius wore a look of disgust as he stared down at her brother, "You're disgusting," he hissed raising his wand, "Cru-"
"Sirius NO!" Casselle yelled getting to her feet.
Sirius stopped mid curse, "It's what he deserves," he hissed glaring down at Nathaniel.
"It would make you no better than him."
Sirius lowered his wand, appalled at what he had almost done. Seeing Casselle like that had made something inside him snap, "You're right he's not worth it."
"We better get out of here, I think we made a little too much noise," James interjected looking nervously at the door.
The other two nodded and James helped Casselle to the window, "You'll have to ride with Sirius and I'll take your trunk."
Casselle nodded mounting the broom behind Sirius.
"Better hold on, wouldn't want you falling off," Sirius whispered taking her hands and placing them around his stomach.
Casselle blushed at the proximately, but didn't complain as she rested her head against his back. She felt safe for the first time in a long time.
Her eyes snapped open as she heard a roar from inside of her room. Her father was standing at the door, his eyes wild with rage.
"Casselle Marie Dawson you get your ass back in this room or so help me God!" he lunged across the room reaching out for her.
"GO!" James yelled kicking off from the window and up into the night sky. Sirius followed suit and Casselle's grip tightened as they soared off into the night.
"Did you see the look on his face," James laughed as they touched down in his yard.
Casselle grinned and Sirius laughed with his friend, "If only we had had a camera," Casselle replied wistfully.
James and Sirius chuckled, "Come on I'll show you to your room," James replied flicking his wand at the trunk and making it float behind them.
Casselle followed the two boys tiredly up the stairs and down a hallway, "Me and Sirius are in this one and you'll be in this one right here," James said pointing at the room right next to his. "They share a bathroom, but we promise not to come barging in on you."
Casselle raised her eyebrows staring pointedly at Sirius, "And how long do you think this one will keep to that," she teased.
Sirius pretended to be offended, "That hurts Dawson, insinuating that I'm not an honorable man," he shook his head like the mere thought was ridiculous.
James and Casselle rolled their eyes ignoring his antics. James flicked his wand and Casselle's trunk drifted into her room. "Night Cass," James called going into his respective room.
"Night" she whispered glancing at Sirius who hadn't moved from the hall.
Sirius waited until James had shut the door behind him before taking a step towards Casselle.
"Are you okay Cass?" he whispered touching her face gently.
She closed her eyes relishing in the warmth his hand provided, "I'm okay," she breathed.
"Liar," he whispered his breath tickling her cheek as he moved closer.
She opened her eyes her ice blue meeting his stormy gray, "Your right I'm not okay not even close."
He rested his forehead against hers, "I'm sorry we didn't come earlier," his hand slide down her face and rested lightly against her neck.
Casselle shivered as his fingers grazed her flushed skin, "It's alright."
"Oi mate are you coming or what?" James called sticking his head out of the door. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the situation, "Oh erm, sorry didn't mean to interrupt…"
Sirius sighed stepping away from Casselle and running a hand through his hair, "Be there in a minute Prongs."
Casselle smiled unsure whether she was happy or disappointed about the interruption. "I'll see you in the morning Sirius." She said turning to walk into her new room.
"Wait," Sirius whispered grabbing her shoulder and turning her to face him. His lips found hers in a soft kiss. "Sweet dreams," he breathed against her mouth before turning and going into his own room.
Casselle brought her hands to her mouth smiling as she made her way into her room.
She slipped into a tank top and pajama pants before laying down on her bed. Relief washed over her as she realized that she didn't have to live in fear of her father's anger for at least a year, all thanks to James and Sirius. Her mind stayed on the image of Sirius, the look of concern on his face when they were in the hall. The soft touch of his lips against hers, she fell asleep thinking of his stormy gray eyes and crooked smile.
Casselle woke up to yelling the next morning, immediately her body tensed waiting for her father to show his face at her door. Then she remembered last night, and that she wasn't at home anymore.
She listened intently, trying to hear what was going on.
"James! Leave me alone!" She heard Sirius roar.
"Oh come on mate! It's past ten I made sure it was," James whined.
Casselle walked to the door of the bathroom that connected the two rooms, and noticed that the door to the boys room was open. She saw Sirius under the covers, with James jumping on his bed.
"Ten is not late enough! Go back to bed!" The blanket yelled.
"But I'm already awake, I can't go back to bed now."
"Sometimes I wonder why I even moved in here; I am never going to get a good night's sleep living with you," Sirius moaned rolling the blanket off of his head. He looked up and saw Casselle in the doorway smiling at the two boys. His gaze lowered to her bare arms and sucked in a breath suddenly wide awake.
Sirius jumped out of bed, and Casselle shrunk back shocked by his reaction. She turned to go back into her own room, but Sirius caught her wrist lightly.
"Where did these come from?" He asked softly, running his hand down her arm.
Casselle cursed herself for forgetting a sweatshirt. "Erm…" but she knew it was pointless to lie, Sirius would know the truth. "My father wasn't too happy with me when I got home..." She explained not making eye contact with either of the boys.
"He did this to you, because you didn't go home for the holidays didn't he?" Sirius asked darkly.
Casselle nodded slowly.
James sucked in a breath, "I'll kill him."
Casselle looked up with pleading eyes, "James…"
"He's right, that man is dead," Sirius said, staring at her bruises.
"Stop." She voice soft but strong. "I appreciate this, I really do. I love what you two have done for me, but you can't. My father is a powerful man, he can make things happen. I know he's just a muggle but that doesn't mean he can't hurt you. Don't laugh Sirius I'm serious. You need to leave it alone; I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself if something happened to you two." She pulled her wrist out of Sirius's grip lightly, and folded her arms. "I know you two think you can do anything, but you can't. Sooner or later something is going to happen, and I don't want it to be because of me." She looked the two boys in the eye before continuing. "Promise me, you will not go near my father, or my brother for that matter."
Sirius and James both looked away from her stubbornly.
"Promise," She said sternly.
"I promise," James said quietly, Sirius on the other hand remained silent.
"Sirius."
"Fine, I promise. But if he hurts you again I'm not gonna put up with it." He looked up at her, his eyes flashing a steely gray.
"Fine, now I am going to take a shower. Don't either of you get any funny ideas while I am in there," She warned closing the door behind her.
When she finally emerged from the shower, she slid on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt and went downstairs into the kitchen. The delicious smell of bacon and eggs led her in the right directions. Sure enough James and Sirius were stuffing their faces with Bacon when she walked in.
There was an older woman at the stove flipping pancakes in a pan, she turned when Casselle entered. "Oh you must be Casselle, I'm James's mother Elsie, have a seat we have plenty of food, if James and Sirius would stop stuffing their faces." She scolded playfully.
"Thank you," Casselle said, as James complained, "Mum we are growing boys we need as much protein as we can get."
"Well save more than the scraps for your guest here."
Casselle took a plate, and grabbed two pancakes and a few pieces of bacon, munching on them slowly. She poured herself some orange juice, and doused her pancakes in syrup. Taking a bite, she moaned inwardly at how delicious and fluffy the pancakes were.
"Yeah, mum makes the best pancakes ever." James said noticing her expression.
"Oh stop," Mrs. Potter said blushing.
"It's true Mrs. Potter. I have never tasted anything like them," Sirius said with a mouth full of said pancakes.
"You two are too kind. Now finish eating, I am going to go get ready," She said placing the last of the pancakes on the table, and leaving the kitchen.
"How can you two eat like this every day and not be huge?" She asked incredulously.
"We have a fast metabolism." Sirius said smugly as he grabbed another pancake.
"Lucky," She scoffed finishing her pancakes.
"Well I'm off to take a shower, I'll be back in a bit," James said getting up from the table and heading upstairs.
Sirius leaned back from the table balancing his chair on two legs. "So are you going to tell me what happened before we got you?" He asked.
"No." She said shortly. "It's over, there's nothing to talk about."
"Come on Cass."
"No, I don't want to think about it," She replied folding her arms across her chest.
"Cass you should talk about it…it helps to talk about it."
"I told you I don't want to think about it, so just drop it okay?" Casselle snapped.
"Fine, don't tell me." He shot angrily getting up from his chair and heading to the back porch.
Casselle blew a puff of breath out in agitation. "Sirius," She called walking after him. She found him staring out at the backyard of the Potter's house. "I'm sorry okay, I just can't. I don't want to have to keep reliving what happened. It's over now, can't we just forget about it?" She pleaded with him.
He turned toward her. "Casselle." He pulled her into a hug, Casselle stiffened at first but then relaxed in his arms. She loved the feeling of his warm arms wrapped around her; her heart skipped a beat as she realized something she'd been denying to herself for a year now, she liked Sirius Black.
"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I should have understood that you didn't want to talk about it. It'll be okay, you don't have to relive that ever again." He hugged her tighter as she wrapped her arms around him; tears springing to her eyes unexpectedly.
"Sirius," She said pulling away and wiping the tears from her eyes quickly. "Thank you. For everything."
"It was my pleasure, love." He said pulling her chin up so their lips met.
Casselle pulled away and glared at him playfully, "I thought we agreed on friends. I'm pretty sure James would not be okay if you did that."
Sirius grinned his crooked grin, "I believe you agreed on friends, I was against it."
"Well I'm not going back on what I said. Just because you have saved me from my family a few times, that doesn't mean you aren't still a player," She said backing out of his arms.
"Oh come on. I haven't been with anyone in a year!" He complained.
"Well make it two, and then we can talk," She said turning to head back inside.
"Wait." He grabbed her wrist pulling her back outside. "Will you go on a date with me, please?" He asked, his gray eyes pleading with her.
"What? No," She said confused.
"Why not? Just one date, and then we will really know if there is even something there."
Casselle thought about it, she knew there was definitely something there, but she was not about to admit it to Sirius. "Fine, one date."
"I knew you couldn't resist my charm for long. How about next Friday?"
"Whatever," Casselle said rolling her eyes and went back inside smiling, going to her room to fix her hair and put on a lighter shirt for the day.
When Sirius came down from his shower Casselle and James were laughing over a game of Chess. He watched as Casselle threw her head back in a full laugh, her whole face lighting up with the pure emotion. He couldn't get over how her beauty hit him at random times. She pulled her long hair over her shoulder and looked back at him, a smile on her face; it warmed Sirius to see her look at him with that much joy.
"Hey, do you want to play? I'm getting kind of bored of it," She said moving over on the couch she was sitting on.
Sirius sat down next to her, closer than a real friend would.
"Aw I hate playing against you, you cheat every time," James said leaning back in his chair.
"I don't cheat! Just because you're no good at the game," Sirius argued.
"I consider beating me cheating," James replied with a cheeky grin urging his queen forward to take Sirius's rook.
"You certainly made a mess of this," Sirius muttered studying the board before making his move.
Casselle smiled softly watching the two boys play feeling more at ease than she had in a long time.
Well there you have it! They are finally going to get their date! If you are so excited for it you can't contain it you better review! ;) We greatly appreciate all the reviews we have already received so keep it up!