Custosae de Lux Lucis

Chapter Three

10:22 A.M.

Dursley Residence

Number 4 Privet Drive

Surrey, England

July 27, 1995

"Cassidy Storm…that is my real name, you know," Cassie whispered to Harry, playing with the loose threads of her threadbare blanket. "I just didn't tell you everything."

"I know," Harry said. "I didn't mean to accuse you…I was just angry that you had to go through something like that and I took it out on you. But I do admit that 'Cassandra Riddle' did sound slightly fishy…"

"Fishy indeed," Cassie smiled sadly, but it quickly disappeared, only to reveal clear anxiety and depression. "Harry…promise me that you won't tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you," she pleaded.

"Sure, I promise," Harry said without hesitation, ever the Gryffindor.

"I don't know who my parents are," Cassie said and Harry went cold. "But I do know that they were a good witch and wizard when they died, despite my father's previous allegiance to the Dark Lord…"

"Don't call him that. You're not his follower."

Cassie smiled sadly. "But I was. I was stolen from my parents when my mother died. My father was killed earlier, not long after my birth, but my mother hid. He killed her without a second thought, only a few months after I was born. The date was October 31st of 1980."

"But that was – "

"Exactly one year before your parents were killed…I know. It seemed that Riddle quite liked Halloween for horrible attacks like that. I spent the first three years of my life locked in a dungeon of Malfoy Manor…until his spirit returned to the manor. Voldemort did not spend ten years in the forests of Albania…in fact he only spent the first three and the last year in those forests. When he returned, he possessed the body of one Rodolphus Lestrange. He loved to torture us little ones in the basement, but one day he announced that he was to pick his heir from the dungeons. All of us children hid in the corners, no one wanting to be chosen, but wishing for a better life at the same time.

"There were so many of us in the basement, but I couldn't stand it anymore when he started torturing a little girl named Melody Black-Malfoy. I shouted for him to start hurting her and magically healed her. I waited for the pain of the Cruciatus Curse to hit me when I stepped in front of the curse for Melody once more, but instead a white shield came in front of me, spurted from the palms of my hands. Voldemort was baffled and intrigued, but despite his beliefs that he would choose a male for his heir, he chose me for my excellent display of my magical power.

"He changed my name…all I knew was the fact that my dad used to call me 'Firefly' or 'Phoenix' because I loved to play with fire when it came to accidental magic. He knew my name, however, and just refused to tell me. I grew up thinking my name was Cassandra Riddle, until I found out from his old diary that his real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. I knew that I was not his biological daughter so I knew my last name couldn't be Riddle.

"I looked around the library, secretly looking at wizarding genealogy in my spare time, determined to find out who I was, but eventually Riddle caught on to what I was doing and told me he burned all wizarding genealogy books. But I found out they were just under wards and wands in the east wing of the manor just a week ago.

"However, in the mean time, Voldemort trained me to be a soldier. I know everything there is to know about Dark Magic and Parselmagic from him. I also learned Light Magic, Grey Magic, Blood Magic, Runic Magic, Animagi Magic, Animagic, Shadow Magic, Phoenix Magic, Elemental Magic, etc. I loved to learn…it was my one escape. Imagine growing up thinking that monster was my father…it was despicable. I spent every moment of my time in the library. I figured the sooner I trained myself up, he sooner I'd go on missions meaning I could escape…how very wrong I was.

"When I was seven, he sent me on my first mission: to kill a half-blood's family that defied him in the first war. I had no intentions of doing so. Instead, I tried to escape, but was quickly captured by Antonin Dolohov. I expected many Cruciatus and pain curses when I got back…but what happened was even worse…" Cassie sobbed into Harry's chest, her legs folded on the couch beside her. Harry stroked her hair softly and pulled her close to him.

"What did he do?" Harry questioned concernedly.

Cassie refused to look at him. Instead, she looked at the floor ashamedly. "I couldn't fight back. He knew so much more magic than I; and ninety-nine percent of my magic was bound. He had his full power and I had nothing." Cassie wrapped her arms around her waist, but no more violent sobs came…only the salty tears that stained her flushed cheeks. "He stole my virginity…over and over again. He did it so much…anytime I displeased him. He did it in front of his followers…in front of his mistress, just to show how powerless anyone would be compared to him. He stole my innocence…my purity…he stole everything from me, including my soul for a while. My soul was broken, my heart, my mind, my body…I felt dirty. But that filth wouldn't fade no matter how many showers I took, no matter how many times I scrubbed the blood away from my skin…no matter how many times water stained my cheeks.

"So I became emotionless. I grew detached. I fought and I became an emotionless soldier. Riddle was pleased…he believed I was finally turning into his proper heir when I didn't fight back against him in front of him…what he didn't know was that I was just biding my time, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"When I was ten, he disappeared, saying he, as Rodolphus Lestrange, was looking for something in the forests of Albania. Apparently, he found it, and a new body. Rodolphus disappeared to his double in Azkaban not a second after Riddle began possessing Quirrell. Voldemort was the one supplying him with enough power to keep his double outside of Azkaban.

"When someone broke into Gringotts, I knew immediately what had happened. I'd met Nicholas Flamel under a disguise several times in my lifetime and I knew about the Sorcerer's Stone. I was horrified that Riddle might actually get it…so I sent a note to Penerell, suggesting they move the stone to Hogwarts and they did. However, I had no idea that he was possessing Quirrell, nor that I was playing right into Riddle's hands. I figured I had to do more so I suggested the enchantments to Nicholas and told him to suggest the Mirror of Erised to Dumbledore. Nick trusts me so he did what I suggested…but Riddle got further than I thought he would and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I thank you for stopping him."

"It was nothing –"

"Yes, it was, Harry. You saved the wizarding world from being attacked by evil much earlier than they were ready for and for that, you deserve everyone's thanks.

"However, I heard about the diary plot much too late. Riddle didn't return for a long while after the Sorcerer's Stone incident, but Malfoy Sr. wasn't appreciating the disrespect he got from Arthur Weasley and I heard him talking to Kevin Wilkinson much too late. Originally, I planned on sending my friend 'Tillie' to warn you about Ginny…"

"Tillie?"

"A house elf I'm friends with, but Tillie was injured by Alecto Carrow and couldn't go. She suggested Dobby go, and though I protested, he seemed so eager so I let him."

"You sent Dobby after me?" Harry said disbelievingly. Cassie cringed.

"Well I wasn't exactly expecting him to try to keep you from going to Hogwarts. I just told him to tell you, but apparently he took your protection detail a tad too far. Instead of warning you about Ginny, he told you not to go back to school, the crazy, overenthusiastic elf. Later, I found out exactly who he worked for and what he was doing to you and immediately ordered him to stop. Then Tillie and I took over your protection detail.

"You can't imagine how thrilled I was to have escaped Malfoy Manor, even if it was just for a little while. Tillie and I popped through the Hogwarts wards –"

"I thought you can't apparate in Hogwarts?"

"Not unless you're a Founders' Heir…but you can use house elf popping. Anyways, we popped down to the Chamber of Secrets, found you and the jealous Weasley boy and Lockhart and I got pissed off that he was trying to wipe your memories so I put up the reflexio shield. It bounced right back at him with no damage to you two at all," she stated smugly.

"Wait, I thought it was because of Ron's broken wand…"

"Nope! Dobby did it the first time. He was mad at Ron."

"Why?"

"Well, I'll explain that later and I don't know the extent of it, but also Draco isn't as bad as he seems…he's got a compulsion charm on him that Lucius put on him to keep him from becoming a so-called blood-traitor. He's really nice to me."

"Well he's an arrogant git at school…"

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy Sr. put a compulsion charm on him…of course he acts like a git at school! He doesn't know how to throw it off. Neither do I for that matter, but I'm looking into it…"

"Why'd you go back?"

"Even after it all, Tillie's master is Voldemort until I firmly stated and understood he was no longer my father with proof. He'd ordered her to keep me at Riddle Manor." Harry was quiet for a minute.

"Any interference in my third year?"

"No, I was dealing with problems of my own then," Cassie whispered softly, suddenly emotionless again.

"What problems?"

"Harry..." Cassie's emotionless mask came back in place.

"Cassie, you don't have to tell me, but maybe it will help."

"Maybe you're right." Harry nodded encouragingly and she sighed, shivering with discomfort. "That was the first time Malfoy Sr. raped me," she whispered.

Harry grit his teeth. "What!"

"I was so afraid I was pregnant as a result. I was starved for a week for letting him touch me. Riddle believed I should have prevented it. The next time he came…well let's just say that my dark arts training wasn't completely useless.

"I remember the few times that year that Tillie used to apparate me and a few friends from the dungeons to Hogwarts for just a few hours. She was never punished because no one ever knew…and Anna Sophia loved seeing her father…"

"Her father?" Harry questioned uncertainly.

"Her name is Anna Sophia Snape, Harry," Cassie whispered. "He doesn't know she's still alive. He doesn't know who took her and he definitely doesn't know where she is. That's part of what turned him into such a heartless bastard. That and the fact that his wife's missing as well…"

"Wife? Snape had a wife and kid?"

"Yes, Harry," Cassie said impatiently. "And Sophie's one of the sweetest people I've ever met so don't tease.

"Then when I was fourteen, Wormtail returned to the Manor. I remember trying so hard not to kill him. I felt that when he betrayed your parents, he took the last chance I had at getting away."

"Why?"

"James and Lily Potter were a world-renown Auror and Unspeakable respectively. Many believed that if Albus Dumbledore couldn't kill Voldemort, then James and Lily were their last hope.

"I also couldn't stand how he turned his back on his friends. It was despicable and it made me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Then Barty Crouch Jr. returned and I heard about the Triwizard Tournament. That was the first time I felt the connection."

"What connection?"

"Do you ever recall feeling depression or fear that wasn't your own? Or something the slightest bit happy, but good, not evil?"

"Yeah," Harry said, unsure as to what she was getting at.

"Harry, I survived the Killing Curse as well." Harry's jaw dropped open. "No, you're not the only one. It's a source of entertainment for Riddle to see how many times he can hit me with the Avada Kedavra and I survive. I always have bruises the next day. It isn't my mom's sacrifice that protects me though. I don't know why exactly I can survive the Killing Curse.

"However, since Riddle tried to kill you with the same curse and it backfired on him, you and I have a connection. I didn't know about the Triwizard plan so I had to tap into your mind to find out what was going on. After a while I began to notice Moody's strange behavior in comparison to the Moody I used to know and I immediately reached the conclusion that Crouch Jr. was acting as an imposter. I tried to warn you, sending signals of suspicion and uncertainty your way, but you didn't seem to notice the drastic change. You passed it off as your own paranoia, not that I can blame you.

"Then your name came out of the goblet. I have to admit, despite my lack of emotion that might be interpreted as hate at the beginning of the week, I'd grown kind of protective and fond of you. You were reckless and rebellious, but had a respect for people who deserved it, except that redheaded friend of yours and Dumbledore and those Seamus and Dean guys and Cho Chang and her friend Marietta. Really! You were driving me mad! Cho Chang was using a love potion on you, for Christ's sake! She wanted to play with your heart until you admitted you liked her and then she'd dump Cedric for the power and fame and money that accompanied a relationship with you. She'd either get pregnant by you or marry you, she figured. Then she wanted someone – and I don't know who - to kill you so that she'd get all the money and the estate."

Harry's face was priceless. "Are you sure…I mean…?"

"Of course I'm bloody well sure! I wouldn't be making accusations like this otherwise! Chang and Edgecombe will both be Death Eaters come May. Their parents already have the Dark Mark. They got it about a week after Voldemort returned.

"Either way, I was terrified for you when your name came out of the goblet. Remind me to thank that Hermione girl for her bit of compassion towards you and strangle that Weasley for his attitude. Honestly! He was driving me crazy, the jealous prat! I watched you go through the first task…do you realize how lucky you were, Harry James Potter? A Hungarian Horntail…honestly you have the worst luck imaginable. I watched you welcome Weasel King back with open arms…you idiot, but he was your friend for a few years I guess," Cassie muttered and shook her head. "The Yule Ball…poor Parvarti...actually I take that back. I don't feel the least bit bad for that bitch, that Death Eater-wannabe. She'll turn out just like her parents, I'm telling you. And Cho! I'm telling you she was bad news. She knew there was a good chance Diggory would die and then she'd go crawling to you and you'd welcome her with open arms…stupid, hormonal male.

"Then the second task came…remind me to thank the Longbottom guy for saving your arse! Why couldn't you have figured out what you were going to do earlier? You were worrying me to death! And seriously? Did Dumbledore really pick Ron to be your most prized friend? It had half the school population wondering if you were gay, number one, not to mention the fact that he's not that supportive in the first place! Why not Hermione or Ginny for crying out loud! And then you saved Gabrielle and Crouch captured her for Moldy's pleasure. God, getting her with the others was extremely difficult…" Cassie mumbled. "The third task." Silence.

"I was out of my fucking mind worried about you, Harry James Potter!" Cassie whispered and tears came to her eyes. "I knew something was going to happen. You have all the Gryffindor courage in the world, but your recklessness really gets me worried sometimes. And it wasn't your fault, so don't even start thinking like that! But I wish you would have done an examining charm on the portkey cup.

"And then the magic of your blood melted the blade from Pettigrew. Wormtail grabbed Cedric, plunging a knife into his neck and bleeding him out into the cauldron. That gave me nightmares for weeks and I couldn't possibly imagine what it was going to do to you. I was devastated for your sake. Then with his return to an actual body and the duel…I was terrified.

"He came back to the manor and immediately greeted me with a nice, cold assault, not that he hadn't done it a million times before as Lestrange. Eventually his beatings became more and more often and there was less time in between. I didn't have time to recover and I was fighting a losing battle.

"But it was the day he made me watch as he tortured and killed kids and Muggles and a few witches and wizards that defied him for fun that I'd finally had enough. I couldn't stand the pain any longer. I talked with Draco. He and I thought out a plan. I got the others to a castle in Scotland that I knew one of us owned and then apparated myself back to the manor…"

"Are you kidding me? And I'm reckless?"

"Harry, I had to. All my notes, my books, and everything from my life were back there and I didn't have a chance to grab it. My notes! Including the ones on how to possibly stop the Unforgivables with a potion and with a shield spell…and my lycanthropy cure. I needed those notes. They may help us win the war. I barely managed to escape. Draco had to help me as did a few of my other Slytherin friends. When they helped me escape, they had to go to the castle as well after accio-ing their belongings.

"I apparated to the nearest place I could think of…a café just outside the shopping district of London. A woman found me on the streets and dragged me to an adoption center. I was put into foster care after they realized I had no records and the Dursleys adopted me later that day. Apparently I was a rare variety in the foster home. I came here, not knowing whom exactly I was going home to, and I literally felt your presence from outside. I almost bolted out of here like a bat out of hell, but something held me back. I put a mask and veil and shield over my emotions and let you see that I was magical before retreating back into my mind. I tried so hard to hate you…I figured it would be easier than trying not to tell you everything, but I couldn't help myself. I needed some kind of comfort and you were steadfast on figuring out what was wrong and…"

"Calm down, Cass, it's fine. I don't mind," Harry calmed her down, running his fingers through her hair once again as she hid her face in his chest.

Finally she looked up at him, smiling softly. "Cass?" she questioned uncertainly.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it seemed to fit," he defended himself and, for the first time, he heard her laugh.

"Don't be so worried, Harry, I'm not gonna hurt you over a nickname," she smiled sadly and Harry put his arms around her again and she leant into his touch. Suddenly, she seemed relaxed for the first time in Harry's memory. "I'm sorry for falling apart on you."

"Don't be. I care about you, Cass, and if there was something wrong, I wanted to know. We're spending the entire summer together after all. You're important to me."

"Thanks, Harry."

The two teenagers chatted meaninglessly for a while before Cassie fell asleep, her head lying on Harry's chest. She was the perfect picture of innocence, Harry thought, but she'd been through so much. She was by no means naïve and innocent anymore.

Jeez. That was a depressing thought. Huh, wonder what Cassie's gonna have us do for training tomorrow. I wonder how that trunk is gonna slow down training time for us…I wonder why she'd doing this…I wonder…

But Harry never recalled what he wondered because, at that moment, Harry's arms tightened around the fifteen year old girl and they both fell asleep.