C. M. Black: Eyes of an Owl

Chapter XII: Friends and fire-calls

'Harry is going to suffer,' said Hermione flatly.

'I know,' agreed Cassy, not looking up from her book. The scraping of a quill sounded beside her noisily; Hermione had returned to writing, her mind finally having retracted from the bright light of the morning sun visible through the slitted window of the Gryffindor Tower.

'He really should have done his homework through the week instead of saving it until tonight to do,' continued Hermione.

Cassy let out a non-committal hum.

'He should be here instead of helping Ron fly before training.' Hermione's stress at juggling her own work was melting over into an aggravated concern for everyone else, much as it had in Third-year when she had possession of the Time Turner. Cassy was careful not to feed into it.

'I would do the same thing, to be fair,' piped Ginny from the armchair across from them. 'I would love to be on the team.'

'Try out next year then,' said Cassy distantly.

'I intend to. I want to be a Chaser. I already know a fair bit about flying. I used to take my brothers' brooms since I was six and go flying in secret, but they don't know that,' said Ginny and Cassy and Hermione laughed.

Despite having a very productive first day of term, Harry had let all of his work pile up to the weekend. The spirit that seemed to propel him along so bizarrely in Potions had long since vanished. After detention, he never had much desire to work, or do much of anything but sleep, his work piling to the point he did not even know where to begin, so he was simply not.

Neville, on the other hand, had begun everything, but was nowhere to be seen that Saturday morning. He had left breakfast early with Luna by his side and had failed to return. No one questioned them, none of them having full comprehension of their friendship or the patience to sit and figure it out.

Harry did not return from flying until lunch, where he slunk into the Great Hall with Ron by his side, both looking thoroughly miserable. The pair of them thudded down into seats and sluggishly began to pile their plates with food that they pushed from place to place.

'What's wrong?' asked Ginny.

'I'm sure you'll do better next time,' said Hermione warmly.

Her smile was met with an icy gaze. Ron scowled at her and pushed his plate back loudly.

'Think I did badly, do you? Thanks, Hermione,' he snapped.

'No, I only thought - ' she said quickly.

'You only thought I'd do badly and that's why everyone is down? Yeah, cheers,' he growled, before he swung his gangly legs over the bench and stalked from the hall without having eaten a thing.

'Don't be such a git!' called Ginny loudly after him, ignoring the curiously turned heads.

'So, what did happen then?' asked Cassy lowly.

Harry shifted in his seat and sighed. 'Training was horrible. Katie had one of the twins' sweets by mistake and no one could stop the bleeding, so she had to go in. Fred and George took her guiltily and we couldn't train without Beaters and one Chaser down. Ron was just nervous.'

Everyone understood what "just nervous" really meant. He had been awful. He had probably not caught a single Quaffle all practice and his failure had only added to the frayed nerves of the team. Harry was too kind to say it though and no one called him out on it either, content with mutual glances between the three girls.

'The Slytherins were there too,' continued Harry, his tone even duller than before. 'It took most of my effort to not smack Malfoy, let alone concentrate on the Snitch.'

He watched Cassy from the corner of his eye, but she was doing the same back to him. Her expression remained neutral and her tone calm.

'Perhaps you should have just swung a Bludger at him and be done with it. I am sure the twins would not have minded in the slightest,' she said pleasantly.

Cassy took a long sip of her pumpkin juice. Carefully, she did not look at the alarmed and curious stares of Hermione and Ginny, but kept her eyes down on the plate of half-eaten food in front of her. She did not want to discuss her estranged cousin then or at any other time.

Anyway, she reasoned, Harry would soon ask and everyone would find out that way. There was no need to bring it up over lunch.

The four of them only remained in the hall for a few minutes longer before heading back to the Tower. Cassy and Hermione were determined to finish all of their homework by the evening so they could have Sunday free, while Ginny was content to play cards by herself on the floor in the meantime. Harry, however, began to make gradual progress in all subjects, swapping and changing from one to another as his attention waned.

By dinner, Cassy and Hermione had stretched their limbs and entered a frustrating, challenging tournament of chess in which they were the only competitors. With a draw in wins with five each, they agreed to call and halt and followed Harry and Ginny down to the meal with little protest. Neville was present at the Gryffindor table, with Luna sat opposite. They were talking merrily, breaking only to greet their friends as they sat around them, before they continued to speak as if no one else was there.

Having eaten quickly, Cassy dismissed herself before dessert.

'I will see you all back in the common room,' she said as she stood.

'Where are you off to?' asked Ginny.

'To see Stephen,' replied Cassy easily.

'Why?' questioned Harry. He was frowning again and Cassy could not place why he seemed to dislike the Ravenclaw so much, but she did not want to dive into that right then. He would only dismiss it.

'Because,' she said, straightening out her skirt, 'I have not been able to see him properly all week, nor write as much as I would have liked over summer.'

Harry's expression did not ease, but Cassy turned and strode from the room without another word. She stood beside the large, double doors that lead to the grounds. They were wide open. A light, cool breeze drifted through into the entrance hall, teasing at the chill that was sure to come as the weather continued to worsen and Britain was forced to say farewell to summer once more. The sky was already beginning to darken each evening, earlier and earlier, and Cassy found herself waking before sunrise more often as the days began ever shorter.

People passed her without comment. She passively gazed at each one; her eyes, trained for detail, noted each time their shoulders tensed, or how lips threatened to upturn in a condescending grin. Many more passed her without a single sign of acknowledgement beyond perhaps a glance. The stares were nothing compared to what was given to Harry when they believed no one to be looking, but she was not the one claiming Voldemort had returned, threatening to upheave their lives in the worst of ways; she was also a Black and despite being in Gryffindor, Cassy could not claim that it diminished the wariness attached to her family name. She was rather pleased for it too. People would be more likely to try and ridicule them if they did not fear she might either hospitalise them or complain to her convicted, mass-murdering, first-man-to-escape-Azkaban father. It was a fear that had never quite recovered from Third-year, but she did not really mind anymore.

'Let them be fools,' she mumbled to herself. 'Let them fear it too though.'

Her eyes had slid to the students leaving the hall. Stephen was not amongst them, but other recognisable faces were. Leading the small group was Draco, with Pansy by his side. She giggled and sneered at the sight of Cassy, her shrill shriek echoed across the hall.

Cassy kept her eyes level with Parkinson. She would not be cowed by such a petty girl.

Parkinson seemed to note the stare. Suddenly, her hand levelled with her neck, then drew up and away sharply as her head snapped to the side. She gasped and choked in what appeared to be an imitation of a noose.

Cassy watched with a flat stare. She suspected it was a jab at her mother's apparent suicide and the cackling that broke out amongst them merely confirmed it, but Cassy did not even care. Her attention moved to Draco; he was not looking at her, only at Parkinson with a sparing smile on his pale face.

'A bit too close to home, Black?' cawed Parkinson. 'Well, don't be rude! Acknowledge that I am speaking to you! I don't know why I'm surprised. Manners don't come easily to Muggles. It must have tainted your blood.'

'How original, Parkinson. You have only had the last fifteen-years to come up with that. I must say I am impressed by the speed of your wit,' said Cassy levelly.

Parkinson growled.

'Careful, Pansy,' chortled Goyle. 'You wouldn't want to provoke her into madness like her parents. She might just hex us all like her parents!'

'If we're lucky, she might be more like her mum and just off herself though,' added Crabbe from behind him.

Everyone cackled and Cassy smiled grimly. It did not hurt. It was a lie. So false, so obviously false that not a single nerve twinged at the sound.

Draco, however, twitched.

'Is there a problem, Draco?' she asked smoothly, her voice too pleasant, too composed for anyone's liking but her own. The Slytherins stopped laughing and frowned at her once more.

'Don't refer to me so closely,' snapped Draco viscously. 'I don't want my name said by someone like you.'

'Like me?' she questioned patiently. 'A Black?'

'A traitor,' he spat.

There was no scathing laughter from his friends. Their faces looked absent, confused even. He clearly had not told them the whole story, not a single word of why he had pulled away from her, why he could now ridicule her when there was a silent agreement to leave her be each and every year before. They had not questioned it either, their faces showing no sign of curiosity or triumph at new knowledge, just surprised and unsteady, not knowing how to react when the argument was resting precariously on the boundary of becoming very real.

Cassy smiled wider, her grin more amused, triumphant, mocking – sadistic almost, as she shook her head.

'You should consider your house placement, if you so blindly accept such an obvious lie from your parents,' she said, her voice still patient and warm. 'Then again, you are too dependent for Ravenclaw, choosing nothing beyond the knowledge fed to you; too craven for Gryffindor, never to face your own wrongdoings when the time calls for it; too selfish for Hufflepuff, choosing yourself above all others when it comes to it, traitorous to those you claimed to have mattered. Where else would you go but to the house you would like to think you are? Surely, one house must have other leeching, cowardly, self-obsessed, redundant members to match? Oh, there they are behind you. How silly of me!'

Cassy laughed falsely, high and sweet. She beat down a genuine laugh at the sights of their faces, each red and mortified, twisted in rage as their hands drew their wands from their pockets. Her own wand had slipped into her hand as she spoke, ready and waiting, anticipation high and ready for the fight if only they were willing to take the first step.

'Don't, said Malfoy suddenly. 'There's a hall full of people.'

So he has noticed, thought Cassy. A smile was burnt onto her lips, remaining long after it should have gone. It neither grew nor faltered as Malfoy's friends mumbled and put their wands away.

'She insulted you though!' said Parkinson, shrilly.

'The reason wouldn't matter. There are too many of us to get away with an attack on one person, especially not so close to the Headmaster,' said Malfoy coolly.

His eyes finally locked with Cassy's.

'Another time then,' said Parkinson.

Malfoy did not answer. He turned on his heel and headed straight for the dungeons. Slowly, with various sneers and glares, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle followed him and Cassy was left by herself with only the rustling of the leaves outside and the dull chatter from the Great Hall to fill her ears.

Alphard would have clouted Malfoy for his insolence, but he would have grounded Cassy too for her reaction. Narcissa would have sorted Malfoy out quickly, forcing an apology to sort the matter before it became a fight. Yet, neither of them were there. Alphard was not there to be the bond anymore, and Narcissa – Mrs Malfoy, moreover, - was not there to drag them all into line with etiquette when even Alphard began to stray for his amusement. No one was there anymore.

'Sorry I'm late!' huffed Stephen suddenly. He jogged slowly to her side and raised a hand to remove his glasses. 'Natalia wanted to speak with me for once, so I got caught up.'

Cassy gave him a flat stare. If he had just been on time she would not have had to have the conversation she had with Malfoy.

'It is fine,' she said.

The two walked out onto the grounds. The sun had begun to lower, casting the green hills in a faint yellow light and forming long, weak shadows around the edge of the Forbidden Forest. They spoke of the week that had passed. Cassy explained about her Defence Against the Dark Art lessons, how tedious they were and the issues it had caused. Stephen snorted. He had heard all about Harry's outburst, the entire school had. His face became sober suddenly.

'I need this year to be good or I'll never get an Outstanding in my N.E. . If I get anything below that, I'll have to retake the test at the Adult Wizarding Education Centre the summer after seventh-year, or I'll never be accepted to be a Curse Breaker,' he explained with a bitter scowl.

'I know a Curse Breaker,' commented Cassy. 'His name is Bill Weasley. He worked in the Pyramids in Egypt for several years and has recently returned to work in Britain.'

'Egypt is fine, but it is a bit overdone by now, Wizards have been trying to get into there for years. Take me to China. That's where the best cases are,' said Stephen wistfully.

There was a short pause.

'If you know all about Harry then, do you know anything about what is thought of him?' asked Cassy. Her voice sounded casual, but the question was really anything but. Stephen glanced down at her, his hands were stuffed into his jacket pockets and he heaved out a heavy sigh. Cassy readied herself for the unpleasant news.

'I want to say there is a straight forward answer to that, but truthfully, there isn't,' he said. His brown eyes burnt brightly in the orange light of the setting sun. 'Honestly, I have friends in all the houses, most think He is probably back, but none of them are willing to bet money on it. There is the issue of explaining how and why. If Potter could do that, his popularity would soar.'

'We do not know how he returned. Harry outlined a ritual, but he didn't really understand it all and I have looked, but... I don't believe it is something easy to come across. Otherwise everyone would be raising people from the dead,' admitted Cassy.

Between her reading on curses, Cassy had flicked through the occasional book for rituals. Not for herself, but to better understand what had happened, perhaps give Harry peace of mind if she could show him what he had been a part instead of brushing it aside as it had been. Yet, she had been unable to reassure him without it. He closed off when it was mentioned. His eyes flickered if Cedric was mentioned – guilt, so much guilt, and Cassy had no idea what to do for him. People were not her strength.

'With Umbridge asking students to tell on each other if they try to persuade others You-Know-Who had returned, support is going to be even harder to come by,' continued Stephen, having not noticed Cassy's internal woe.

'So, if you are well connected, what is it the Ravenclaws say?' queried Cassy.

She took a seat on one of the recumbent limbs of an old yew tree down by the lake. The water in front danced yellow and white from the light above, the shimmering black depths of the water rippled from the centre, spreading to the shores unevenly. Slowly, large, sweeping tentacles broke through the surface and the Giant Squid emerged. It remained immobile, simply floating effortlessly as it took in the last of the day's sun.

'We are divided on the whole,' said Stephen. 'Some think it is obvious that the greatest Dark Lord in history could bring himself back to life, but others struggle with the concept. There are too many questions and we happen to like our answers. Your friend, Luna Lovegood, isn't doing a great job of helping your cause, you know. She tells anyone who listens that You-Know-Who has returned, but given what people think of her, the response is less than brilliant.'

Cassy smiled.

'Hufflepuff, however, seem to be dubious. Largely they do believe because Dumbledore has said so, but again, it goes both ways. Slytherin is a pretty obvious house,' finished Stephen.

'They know Voldemort had returned but are not going to speak out about it because it does not benefit them to do so,' confirmed Cassy. She sighed deeply and looked to the sky. 'Half of them are Death Eater children, whether they follow the ideology or not themselves. It benefits no one to speak out in their cases. Keeping their heads above water at this point really is the most sensible action.'

'Have you told that to Potter when he runs his mouth?' asked Stephen in amusement.

'I might have,' grumbled Cassy.

Stephen laughed.

'Well, at least now you can tell Potter he does have support if he is willing to fight for it.'

Cassy was not sure Harry really was, but that was a thought for another time. Instead, she changed the subject, passing the conversation over easily into more comfortable territory for them both. They discussed school, summer, what Astoria has been up to, and how Natalia Faulks seemed to finally coming around to Stephen. They spoke for a while, the sun set before Cassy climbed back to the Gryffindor Tower. It was longer than she had expected, but it was not unwelcome. She had almost forgotten the incident with the Slytherins, until she sat opposite her friends at the tiny table they claimed in the common room. Her mind began to slow again, it began to whirl back to old thoughts and Cassy found that when it came to her family, supposed or not, she was utterly unable to push them to the back of her mind.

The weekend passed by uneventfully. As intended Cassy and Hermione had Sunday completely free, although Hermione had returned to researching House-elves and knitting, while Cassy had picked up one of her more questionable books with the front charmed to look like an old Potions textbook. Harry had cast an unappreciative eye over the cover, remarking that she was mad for studying already as he worked through his last essay. By lunch, he too was done and it was only Neville who remained with a heavy workload until late that night.

Ron, who was in much the same boat as Neville, sat by the fire, his eyes bloodshot and his head lolling occasionally as he fought off sleep. While the two had been exchanging ideas earlier on, it seemed to have petered off into silence. Their quills scratched slowly, illustrating each tired thought drawn from the recesses of their minds. Cassy was still waiting to be asked to help, but twelve hours into the work she had begun to suspect for the first time that Neville really did not want it. It made her slightly curious as to how his work was going, but she brushed it aside and continued in her game of Draughts against Ginny, both of whom were trying to learn the game at the same time.

Harry was content on the plush sofa. His long legs were stretched across it and his arm fell across his face, hiding his eyes. A book was abandoned on his chest from where he had made an attempt to read on in his studies. It had been abandoned half-an-hour later after being caught staring at the fire for the fifth time.

'Harry, go to bed,' said Ron sharply. 'You're making me jealous.'

'I'm not tired,' said Harry, not moving. 'It's just that this is the most time I have had to relax all week.'

'Good for you,' said Ron with a huff.

The edges of Harry's lips upturned into a sly smile and Cassy smiled so slightly at the sight of it. She turned back quickly at the quick taps as Ginny picked up a handful of her counters.

'That wasn't a fair move!' protested Cassy.

'It was, you weren't paying attention,' said Ginny.

'You cannot hop over like that to take that many, your turn should have ended there,' said Cassy, pointing to a spot on the board.

'Says who?' asked Ginny indignantly.

'Neville,' called Cassy sharply. 'Are you almost finished with your homework? We need you to referee the match.'

'Draughts shouldn't need a referee, but go on then. I have the conclusion to write,' said Neville slowly, clearly trying to retain the line of thought he had been scribbling down.

'Why is Neville your referee?' asked Harry. His arm had finally been lifted and he was peering at their game with lazy interest.

'Because it is his game,' said Cassy. 'He brought it over to Grimmy one day in the summer.'

'Not that we played much,' said Neville. 'It was about the time Kreacher burst the water pipe.'

'Ah, I heard about that,' said Harry. He could still clearly recall Cassy's scathing voice as she picked up the mirror-call shortly afterwards, covered in a layer of dust and splattered with water all down what appeared to be one of her more expensive dresses.

'Ron,' called Hermione.

'Can it wait?' asked Ron lowly as he continued to write.

'Ron, it's Hermes, isn't it?' said Hermione.

Everyone turned to the window. Sure enough, a dark owl was perched on the windowsill outside. A letter flapped in the wind tethered to his leg and he tapped the glass with his beak expectantly.

'Why is Percy writing?' asked Ginny, standing.

Ron hurried over to the window. He pulled it open and Hermes hopped inside and stuck out his leg. The letter was addressed to only Ron.

'Blimey, what does he want?' he muttered.

Ron sunk into the middle of the sofa once Harry had moved to sit up. Ginny quickly sat herself on his other side and all three of them peered curiously down at the letter before Ron ripped it from the envelope.

Cassy cast a light frown to Neville, who copied it back to her.

Hermione leant over the back of the sofa to read too. Everyone's expressions had darked after only a minute and Cassy was pleased with her decision to remain on the floor. It was none of her business what was going on internally with the Weasley family and it was clearly not good news she was missing out on.

It look only a moment for Ginny to exclaim, '"Continued fraternisation with that boy?" Who does he think he is?'

Harry's lips were pursed. 'What does he mean Dumbledore might not be in charge much longer?'

Exactly what it sounds like, thought Cassy as her mind placed the most likely purpose of the letter together. She had already told Harry the Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts. They had never liked the Headmaster and he had been supporting Harry's version of events over theirs. He was a threat, at least, more so than he had always been to Fudge.

She watched the four faces flicker and change in front of her. Neville had stopped writing to watch too. His frown had deepened and his lips curled downwards unhappily, as if awaiting the worst.

'Oh, please,' snorted Ginny loudly. 'The Ministry don't have a better view on anything, especially not Harry. Who is Percy trying to convince?'

'I don't get it,' said Ron, crumbling the letter suddenly in his hand. 'What does he think he's doing?'

'Trying to turn you against me,' said Harry dully. His green eyes had become glazed and his jaw set. 'You read it: "Unbalanced and violent".'

'Forget him, Harry,' said Hermione.

'How can he speak about our parents like that! He's done enough damage as it is. There's no need to insult them all over again!' hissed Ginny.

'You are going to have to calm down and tell Neville and I what was in the letter,' said Cassy rationally.

Ron looked down at the paper ball in his fists.

'Well,' said Hermione tentatively, 'Percy congratulated Ron on becoming Prefect and then said it might be best if he... refrained from associating with Harry because it might damage his future prospects.'

'If you want to "server ties" with me, I promise I won't be violent,' said Harry, his voice slightly wonky and he laughed.

'He is such a git!' growled Ron, ripping the paper up into tiny squares before hurtling them all at the fire. 'Ignore that, Harry. We have more important things to worry about and right now mine is my homework.'

Ron moved fluidly back to his previous chair. The parchment and quill were picked up once more and with new energy, Ron began to read back his last paragraph to himself.

'Oh, give it here,' said Hermione suddenly. A peculiar expression had taken over her features. 'I'll take a look if you promise never to leave your homework to the last minute again.'

Ron stared at her with the expression that Hermione had just saved his life.

'I should tell Fred and George what Percy wrote. If they knew he was calling our parents dangerously misguided and what not then they would have something to say about it,' grumbled Ginny as she slipped back into place opposite Cassy.

Cassy frowned. 'Perhaps you should leave the topic for now. Harry does not need to think about it anymore right now.'

Ginny scowled down at the board, yet nodded all the same.

A quick glance towards the raven-haired boy told Cassy that he was already sinking into deep thought about it. For once, his expression seemed not to be anger, but a generally thoughtfulness that Cassy suspected was prevailing due to his own tired mind failing to conjure anything deeper.

'Percy mentioned that Sturgis Podmore was a friend of Dumbledore's. Doesn't he work for the Order?' asked Harry suddenly.

Cassy was now very curious as to what Percy had written.

'Yeah. He seems to think he's a petty criminal though, that that's who our parent's associate with because of Dumbledore,' said Ron, frowning. 'A six-month sentence to Azkaban is hardly petty, is it?'

'I want to know what he was doing in the Ministry at one o'clock,' said Hermione.

'Moreover, what is inside that door he tried to enter,' added Cassy.

Podmore was not an unfamiliar name to the six of them. They had heard his coming and goings through the summer, although Cassy believed she had only seen him once, and her last memory was of Moody's muttered complaint that Podmore was becoming as unreliable as Fletcher at the station on September 1st.

'He was probably tricked into going there. I bet the Ministry framed him,' said Ron, excitedly. 'I mean, think about it. They suspected he worked for Dumbledore, so they lured him to the Ministry and framed him, except, he probably wasn't trying to get through a door at all. It was just a cover up for them trying to get rid of him.'

That raised the question of how someone was low profile as Podmore was discovered when the more precarious positions were still moving freely, but Hermione beamed over at Ron and nodded.

'That sounds very plausible. I wouldn't be surprised at all,' she said.

Cassy frowned slightly. She wanted to ask what Ron thought would have lured someone to the Ministry at that time, given that he was supposed to be working against Death Eaters and the Ministry did not believe they existed any longer. There was nothing that sprung to mind that would cause him to go, but she was unwilling to strike the possibility out completely. There was too much that she did not know about the Order. Catching her expression, Harry gave her his own dubious stare, just as doubtful as she was.

'Backtracking, if I may, you mentioned about the Headmaster not being in power,' said Cassy, turning the conversation to a more useful, interesting avenue.

Ron looked down at her. 'Oh, he said to look in tomorrow's paper and see. He never actually said what he meant. In fact, he was a bit vague on everything.'

Looking down at the Draught board, Cassy considered his words. Percy had written to Ron in the guise of congratulating him on his position as Prefect, while in reality warning him to stay away from Harry, whom Percy had known for years. He had criticised his parents, their weakness supposedly being their blind trust in Professor Dumbledore, who would no longer be trusted. Percy had moved on to support a higher authority then. He had always been loyal to the Headmaster when he was at school, but it seemed it was nothing more than a fickle connection born out of his desire to be figure of respected power himself. He was merely working his way up. Cassy respected ambition, but that boy had no loyalty and so no worth to take up her valuable thinking time.

She drew back from her thoughts quickly. Her eyebrows rose high as Harry slipped from the sofa and crawled along the carpet straight towards where she and Ginny sat. He passed them, halting to kneel behind Ginny where she sat in front of the fire.

'Harry, what are you doing?' asked Neville, breaking his silence.

'I saw Sirius in the flames,' replied Harry. His head was bent low to the burning fire.

'Really?' asked Cassy. She crawled past Ginny and sat on Harry's other side in front of the grate.

'I swear,' said Harry.

Cassy reached up to push Harry's forehead back, muttering distantly that he would burn his face if he got any closer. Her eyes were trained on the fire too and she heard shifting behind her as the other's moved to peak at the orange glow.

'Like he did in the Triwizard Tournament, you mean?' asked Hermione as she stood stooped behind Cassy.

Neville and Ron joined them too and Cassy was suddenly aware of how odd the sight would be if anyone was to enter the common room at that moment. Instead of focusing on that, she kept her attention on the waving flames and brightly burning logs at the bottom of the stone fireplace. They continued to flicker and crackle softly, uninterrupted by any strange faces, or surprising voices; that is, until the flames contorted suddenly in front of her, showing an angular face and long dark-hair staring back at her.

'Sirius!' gasped Hermione.

He grinned back at them.

'What are you doing here?' asked Harry quickly.

'Answering your letter, of course,' said Sirius, as if it was obvious.

Everyone turned to Harry.

'What letter?' demanded Hermione.

'Why did you write a letter?' questioned Ginny.

'Has something happened?' queried Neville, concerned.

'I forgot to mention it, besides, it wasn't anything serious. I just wrote a letter,' defended Harry quickly. 'Besides, Cassy knew.'

Cassy pursed her lips. He has taken her advice and written about his scar hurting. That was a very serious issue. 'I was unaware you actually followed through with it.'

'See, even Cassy didn't know,' pointed out Ron.

'Why were you writing to him though?' repeated Hermione.

'Just some stuff. Nothing to worry about, but my scar hurt again the other day, so I thought I'd write,' said Harry.

'Harry, that is very serious! You should have gone to Dumbledore,' said Hermione sharply.

'Oh, yeah, because that's the only part of me he cares about, isn't it? And I was going to tell you, but you started talking about knitting and asked me to help and Hermione, I just can't knit.' Harry shrugged, his eyebrows raising higher and higher the longer he spoke.

'Well, neither can Hermione really, can she?' reassured Ron.

'What's that supposed to mean?' snapped Hermione.

'Well, have you ever looked that those things you call hat?' asked Ron with a shrug.

'For your information, they do not look like "woolly bladders"!' growled Hermione.

'Yeah, they do,' said Ron dismissively. 'And Cassy thinks so too. She laughed when I said it.'

'I did not,' lied Cassy immediately. 'Leave me out of this.'

Beside her, Cassy heard quiet laughter. She turned to see her father's head bobbing amongst the flames joyfully as he watched everyone bicker, the meaning of the conversation long lost. He caught her gaze, his grey eyes crinkling in mirth. She sighed and he sniggered.

'How are you?' he asked. His voice seemed to break through the argument and everyone began to settle down again.

'I am fine. What about yourself?' she responded, feeling as though it was only a partial lie.

'I'm the same as always. I am glad to see school's cheered you up a bit. You were thunderous when you left. It reminded me a lot of Regulus,' said Sirius, his nose crinkled slightly.

School had done quite the opposite, but calmly, she repeated, 'I am fine, really,' and Sirius nodded in acceptance before turning back to Harry.

'While I am glad everyone is so lively, this is not the best method of communication, so I probably can't stay too long,' he said, looking between them.

'Right,' said Harry.

'First, your scar. I know it must be uncomfortable when it hurts like it does, but we talked it over and decided it is probably not anything to be immediately worried about. It ached all of last year, after all,' relayed Sirius calmly.

'Yeah, I know. Dumbledore said it happened when Voldemort experienced a powerful emotion. So, you don't think it has anything to do with Umbridge?' asked Harry.

'I doubt it. She's vile, but the world is not split into Death Eaters and good people. If you want to know how awful she is you should speak to Remus. She drafted a piece of Anti-Werewolf legislation a few years back that prevents Remus finding work. However, she is no Death Eater known to us.'

'Is she scared of them then? Werewolves?' asked Cassy curiously.

'All half-breeds,' clarified Sirius. 'She campaigned to have merpeople all tagged last year, but imagine wasting time on that when there are toe-rags like Kreacher running loose.'

Hermione made a noise of indignation, but Harry and Ron laughed.

'What are Umbridge's lessons like then?' continued Sirius the moment Hermione opened her mouth to protest. 'The Ministry doesn't want you learning anything useful.'

'Anything that can be used against them,' added Cassy and Sirius grinned at her.

'Exactly.'

'Use against them?' echoed Neville, frowning.

'What, like we're building some sort of wizard army to revolt?' asked Harry, incredulous.

'Exactly that. That is Fudge's worst fears,' said Sirius. He sounded awfully amused as if he could think of absolutely nothing better than a child army turning against the Minister of Magic. Cassy knew Fudge was paranoid and she reasoned the lack of practical lessons to be due to fear of Harry's support, but not that he would go as far as to fear an overthrow. They wanted to protect themselves, not usurp the government.

'How ridiculous!' cried Hermione.

'Is Dumbledore going to do anything about it? We've heard something is going to be in the paper tomorrow about him,' said Ron eagerly.

Sirius' face lost its amusement. His eyebrows dropped and his lips turned down bitterly. He said, 'I haven't seen anyone from the Order for a while now. They all vanished when you did.'

Appearing in the fire was nothing more than a way to communicate with someone besides Kreacher, Cassy thought.

'I expect they're just busy with Order stuff,' offered Neville kindly, but Sirius did not appear assured at all. If anything, his eyes darkened further.

'And Hagrid?' asked Harry, as if sensing the impending rage.

'Don't worry about it. We have been told he is fine. No contact has been made since he was separated from Madam Maxine, but we would know if something had happened. A half-giant is rather hard to miss and Hagrid isn't easy to bring down. Madam Maxine seemed to think he would be fine too, so we will wait and see,' explained Sirius simply.

'So, no one knows where he is?' asked Harry in alarm.

'Not exactly, but Dumbledore is certain he is fine,' said Sirius.

Everyone looked at each other sceptically. It was impossible to tell that Hagrid was fine, but he was a half-giant and they were less than easy to subdue. Yet, Cassy could not help but worry as to why he found himself separated from Madam Maxine. Sirius had not said if they were separated willingly or through battle, but surely if it was the latter then they would be more concerned for his health. Hagrid must have willingly split ways, but Cassy was back to the question of why.

'You know,' said Sirius slowly after a moment of silence, 'I can always come and meet you all on your next Hogsmeade weekend.'

'No!' they all called together.

Sirius was taken aback.

'You could be caught,' said Hermione quickly.

'I'll go as Padfoot,' he combated easily.

'Malfoy knows something about that – he made a remark, but that doesn't matter. If you're caught, you'll be put straight back in Azkaban. Just, just say where you are for a bit longer, okay?' implored Harry. He almost sounded as if he was pleading, as if he knew how desperate Sirius was to escape in any way possible like Cassy did. She had witnessed it day in and day out when it had just been the two of them. She knew how overwhelming the sensation of entrapment that the house generated by simply setting foot through the door. Cassy would not admit it, but she would love to see her father. He had been a calming force through the months; he was someone who empathised and allowed her room to breathe, he never expected more of her than she was willing to give and she loathed to say it but she had become attached very quickly to him.

'The risk would have made it fun for James.'

She was very attached to her father who was acting like a complete child.

She looked down at his flickering face with a frown. Sirius was frowning too, his lips pulled thin.

'You're less like your father than I thought,' he said flatly.

Cassy's face dropped into a scowl.

'I have to go, I think Kreacher must be coming,' he said. There was a bang and a clatter from behind him. 'Kreacher is definitely coming. Write soon and stay out of serious trouble.'

With those departing words, Sirius was gone. The flames flickered blankly, lacking any sort of eyes and there was no voice to answer back. Harry stared at the burning logs for a moment, before he rose and stretched his back.

'Well, I think I will go to bed now then,' he said.

Cassy jumped to her feet before any of the others. She heard muttering break out, but Cassy did not stop to see if any of it was directed at her. Her hands trailed around the edge of the entrance and up the cold stones of the boys' stairwell. Harry had moved quickly. He paused mid step to turn to her with surprise across his face.

'Cassy?' he said, blinking.

'Um,' said Cassy. Suddenly, she felt very foolish. There should have been some sort of plan in her mind of what to say. Now, she simply stood staring at him, her mouth half-open and ready for words that struggled to appear in her brain, let alone make it to her mouth. In the end, she shook her head and blurted, 'Don't take what my father said to heart. He is just angry because he is alone and that has nothing to do with you. Besides, you are not James, but just Harry and that is better.'

Just Harry? Cassy groaned internally. What a stupid thing to say, she thought, how childish she sounded. How unnecessary.

'Just Harry?' repeated Harry, blankly.

'Yes,' said Cassy awkwardly, wishing she had not bothered at all. 'To me you are Harry, not the Boy-Who-Lived, not the famous liar, not James Potter. Just Harry.'

If Cassy had thought the first statement was stupid then she had reached an all-time high of idiocy with the words that tumbled from her mouth. She bit her lip, waiting for the scoff, or the scrunched nosed. He did none of that. Instead, the brightest, widest smile she had seen in days spread across his face.

'Thanks,' he said softly, before he turned on his heel and retreated back to the boys' dormitories.

Cassy was left standing blankly on the staircase.

This chapter had lots of stuff going on in it, but it is one of those connection chapters, so I hope it reads all right. I will try and update sooner than I have been, but my dissertation is due in May and I decided on an area of study not commonly done, so I have dug myself a hole in which I am burying myself in work in slowly.

Small confrontation with Draco and a little bit of pro-activeness from Cassy. She's more interested in knowing who is and is not in favour of Harry than the group were in the book and will hopefully put it to good use later on. This chapter signals the divide between her and her cousins. She is no longer willing to refer to them with familiarity and hope for their understanding, she has come to a resolution and as you know, Cassy will do her best to stick to it now.

Other than that, I just want to say thank-you for the lovely reviews. I hope you continue to enjoy the year!

Thanks!