C. M. Black: Eyes of an Owl

Chapter XIV: Into their hands

Cassy had returned from the library just before curfew. Several books were stuffed into her bag, weighing her down on one side and another was held in her arms. She did not stop to greet her friends where they were gathered around the fire besides a quick wave, and instead made her way up to the dormitory.

Her bag was quickly dropped at the foot of her bed and she reached far beneath it to extract an old, slightly raggedy book. The cover was a faded purple, with sharp silver letters spelling 'Occulmency' amongst the tiny, repetitive patterns that lined the background. A red bookmark was stuffed a third of the way in, although Cassy had not touched the book for a number of days. She had been reluctant to advance in it, unsure if what she had read had really sunk into her brain enough to move on, but with the renewed determination to study and vigour within her, she pushed the small worry aside.

Her eyes finally closed at minutes past three in the morning. The book fell to one side of her pillow, her thumb trapped and keeping her place. She had been trying to clear her mind. It was supposed to be the key to the practice. Having no surface emotions, fears, or memories were vital to the mind's defence, but as Cassy stared up at the red canopy in the dark, she was unable to tell if her mind had been purposefully blank or empty from boredom at trying again and again to master the first step.

When her mind did give way to sleep, it was not restful at all. Her determination to not think had resulted in a very active mind instead and Cassy found herself a guest at Tonks' wedding to both Fred and George, set in the garden of the Burrow on a summer's day. She was sat beside Kreacher, a flower tucked in the fold of his pointy ear. On her other side was her father and Remus, both healthier than she had ever seen them in life, more jovial for the former too as he jeered and prodded his old friend, who looked very distraught at the sight of Tonks' marriage. Yet beside that, no one except Cassy seemed to think the ceremony strange. There were tears of joy and the faint cheers of the Order in the background. She even allowed herself to be convinced of the good match by Ginny.

The entire dream was a horribly pleasant affair, so much so that when Cassy awoke she could do nothing but stare up at the canopy until Hermione finally leant over and asked her what was wrong. With a grimace and an eager will to forget the dream, Cassy shook her head and hurried to get ready for the day.

Unable to look at either Fred or George at breakfast without squinting in critical evaluation, Cassy resided in watching Harry blot away the fresh blood on the back of his hand. In her eagerness to study, Cassy had managed to miss Harry's return from detention that night. His cuts were raw, deeper than before and prone to opening as he bent his hand to do much of anything.

'Neville spotted it first,' said Harry, screwing up the soiled serviette.

He had been unable to sneak away. Neville had noticed from near the fireplace as Harry stepped through the Portrait Hole. His short call of concern had only alerted Hermione and Ginny to his injury and the fact that his detentions had very much been more than expected.

Cassy let out a low hum while Harry sighed deeply. She was pleased she had missed the commotion, the moment when the others found out had long since played in her head to the final detail, all correct from Harry's retelling.

'They would be less angry if you had just told them,' said Cassy.

She smiled slyly when Harry cast her a withering glare.

'I don't want to hear that from you,' he said. 'Besides, they were angrier I hadn't told McGonagall all ready.'

As it turned out, it probably would have made little difference if Harry had told Professor McGonagall of his torturous detentions. She stared down at him across the table late into breakfast, he lips pursed and her glasses resting down on the bridge of her nose, very much giving the appearance of an insulted eagle.

'Ten points from you, Mr Potter, for receiving more detentions because they obviously have no effect on you! I warned you not to continue,' she told him sharply.

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but he closed it again quickly as the imposing form of their Head of House was replaced by the stern, just as livid figure of Angelina Johnson, Harry's Quidditch Captain.

'Have I heard right?' she barked. 'Have you landed yourself with more detentions this week too? What about training, Harry? Are you ever going to show up?'

'I didn't choose to get detention!' protested Harry, but Johnson was not listening. She turned sharply on her heel with a dark sneer upon her face and strutted back down the table to her friends without another word.

Harry's teeth ground loudly. His jaw was set.

'Professor McGonagall might be right, you know,' said Hermione as she buttered her toast. 'It would be better if you just let it go with Umbridge this once.'

She and Neville had come downstairs fifteen minutes later than Cassy and Harry. They had been waiting for them in the common room, only to realise they had gone some time later, despite their call as they hopped out of the Portrait Hole. Harry was ravenous from his mostly missed meal the night before.

'You agree with her? I can't just bite my tongue while she lies to everyone, Hermione. I don't care if I get detention every day for the entire year, I won't just sit by,' seethed Harry. He quickly turned to Cassy. 'I suppose you agree with her?'

Cassy scowled. 'Do you want to watch your tone?'

Harry retracted slightly, but continued to jab the eggs on his plate violently. 'Sorry. I just don't get how you can all be so patient.'

Inwardly, Cassy sighed. She knew it was difficult for him to remain quiet. She had spent long nights thinking it over and she knew he must be struggling more than ever. Although she was sure he had come to terms with Cedric's death over summer, every time he turned he was faced with a reminder of it. Each question against him and each call of the truth served to revive the memories of the corpse, of Voldemort being resurrected in front of him, of his arm being cut open for his own being to be used in the vile ritual, and of Pettigrew slicing off his own hand in front of him. Harry had coped with a lot, from Voldemort's attached to Quirrell in First Year, to killing a Basilisk in the Second Year, but he had agreed to those. He had not agreed to face the Dark Lord in the cemetery, he had no time to mentally prepare himself.

'Transfiguration starts in a moment,' said Neville, awkwardly. 'We should probably get going before more points are taken from us.'

Unfortunately, before the doors of the classroom could be shut a pink, cheerful mass slithered in and snuggled itself in the corner of the class. Loudly, as though no effort was put into masking it, Harry sighed from the seat behind. Cassy grinned down at the table top as she rummaged for her textbook.

Like always, Professor McGonagall stood at the very top of the classroom, her wand in one hand and a stick of chalk ready on the desk, her board all ready covered in turning symbols of magical theory. The task was the same as the last lesson, except instead of vanishing snails they were to use mice, which, as Professor McGonagall made a point of stating, were much more difficult due to having bones. Just as the Professor turned to circle the change in theory on the board, a small cough erupted from the back of the class. Professor McGonagall did not even twitch and continued her lecture, ignoring the noise as it came once more.

'Now, Miss Brown, please hand out the mice,' said Professor McGonagall.

There was another short, soft cough.

'Now, the principal of the task is exactly the same as last time, however, this will require much more concentration and a little more force behind it. You don't want to just vanish the bones and have the remainder of your mouse sag on the table.'

Lavender paused, her hand still full of writhing mouse and her nose scrunched.

A louder cough sounded.

'Now, those of you who managed to vanish the snails by jabbing your wands into their sides I recommend refrain this time around. If I have a dozen mice loose in this classroom at the end of the period, I will make you all find them by hand. Besides that, you have an hour in which to practice. Homework will be to continue to practice as we will be moving on from the vanishing spell at the end of the week,' said Professor McGonagall. Her eyes moved from face to face in search of any questions.

A loud, gruff, throaty noise rang from the back of the room.

This time, Professor McGonagall did not ignore it. Instead, her face relaxed and her eyebrows drew up in an unusually pleasant expression.

'Yes, Professor Umbridge, is there something you need?' she said, lightly.

'I was just wondering if you had received my note about inspecting this class,' replied Professor Umbridge, sweetly.

'Of course,' said Professor McGonagall, her polite tone dropping to a flat snap. 'If I had not, I would have asked what you thought you were doing the moment you stepped into my classroom.'

Cassy pursed her lips and tried her best not to smile. She dearly wanted to turn to catch a glimpse of what she was sure was the brilliantly affronted expression on Professor Umbridge's toad-like face. Beside her, Hermione snorted.

Professor McGonagall turned to address the class again, she said, 'Now, does everyone have their mice?'

Yet again, a cough muffled the end of her sentence.

She turned sharply to the corner.

'Professor McGonagall,' said Professor Umbridge with a bright smile, 'you are aware I am filing a report on your performance for the Ministry, to see how you teach?'

'How will you find out about my methods if you insist on interrupting me constantly?' snapped Professor McGonagall.

There was not a single interruption from Professor Umbridge for the remainder of the lesson. A dull scratching reverberated through the room continuously, never ceasing and seemingly growing louder and louder each time Professor McGonagall called for attention, as if Professor Umbridge intended to throw her off course with the irritating sound.

Care of Magical Creatures was not a vast improvement and in fact the class that had all ready been marred by the departure of Hagrid was dulled further by the inspection. The enthusiasm that Professor Grubbly-Plank responded to the questions was infuriating, her eagerness and knowledge shone through to Professor Umbridge to even earn her a compliment. It would only be another mark against Hagrid when he returned. Without the Headmaster in a position to vouch for him, it was unlikely he would ever see his job again in the coming year.

Cassy huffed a deep sigh. She looked beyond Harry beside her, who had buried his nails deeply into the rotting, wooden fence around the creature pen in silent protest. Over at the other end of the pen were the Slytherins, grouped together in a small hoard. They mumbled to one another, some with faint smiles and a small ripple of laughter erupted. Their heads all turned towards the Gryffindors. They laughed again, louder that time.

Draco – Malfoy, Cassy reminded herself quickly – cast his eyes from Neville to Hermione, then straight across to Harry. He did not look at Cassy. His grey eyes glazed straight past her.

It was not until Cassy curled up in one of the plush, scarlet armchairs besides the roaring fire in the common room that Neville turned his worried brown-eyes on her. He sat in the armchair beside her with an unopened book on his lap. Crookshanks smothered Cassy's own work. The giant orange cat purred contentedly as Cassy absently petted his matted fur. Her eyes were fixed on the fire.

'Are you all right?' asked Neville.

Had Cassy been any more distant, she might have jumped at the sudden question, but she had not allowed herself to delve so deeply into her own thoughts. Without turning to him, she said, 'I am fine. Why do you ask?'

'I don't think you're fine at all,' he said.

Cassy turned to look at him in surprise. His eyebrows were dipped lowly and his mouth was pressed into a thin, cross line.

'You've been more distant and aggressive lately. You've pretty much reverted back to your first-year self,' he said.

Cassy regarded him levelly. 'You made friends with me in first-year. You cannot have minded my attitude that much.'

'That's not the point,' he sighed. 'I mean that you're unhappy.'

That much was obvious to anyone surely, thought Cassy. Besides, she was not unhappy as unhappiness went. She was not sure what she felt anymore.

'There is nothing you can do to help. I need to sort this out by myself,' she said after a second of thinking. Her long fingers slowly worked on pulling out the matted lumps of Crookshanks' fur. 'Really though, it's nothing serious. You do not have to keep asking.'

Cassy pretended not to see his light frown and continued to pull at Hermione's cat until he had enough and leapt from her lap to take a less disturbed nap by the fire. Time began to tick by for the two of them and it was not long before Neville leant over to pose a puzzled question to Cassy. Her own essay was quickly forgotten and she had eventually conceded to reading his essay through for him. With a very flat expression, one of reserved exasperation, Cassy handed back the work fifteen minutes later; the essay had not been longer than ten inches long.

Neville grimaced. 'That bad?'

Cassy's dark blue eyes flicked down at the red ink she had covered his work with and looked back up to him with raised eyebrows.

'All right, all right,' muttered Neville.

'Just because Hermione ends up writing half of it for you does not mean I will,' said Cassy, a smile pulling on her lips.

Neville grinned back. 'Where is Hermione, anyway?'

'On Prefect duty with Ron,' said Cassy. She just prayed silently that this time Hermione would not have to return with another complaint about something Ron had said or done, like the night before when he had sworn loudly in front of a gaggle of eleven-year-olds without thinking. Hermione was beginning to find the strangest things to complain about too.

It was only a moment later that the portrait hole opened and Hermione stepped through with Ron at her side. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and from the pleased look on her face, Cassy assumed the patrol had gone well.

'We stopped a group of third-years entering the kitchens and harassing the elves. I don't know where everyone learns the location from. There's nothing in Hogwarts: A History about it,' said Hermione cheerfully, as she dropped down in the armchair opposite.

Elves, Cassy mentally lamented.

'Why were you and Ron near the kitchens?' asked Neville with a thoughtful frown. 'You only have to check around the floor for stragglers. There's no need for you to be downstairs.'

Hermione's face tensed. Her nose was suddenly in the air.

Cassy smirked. 'Oh, Ronald is a bad influence on you.'

'I didn't want to go, but he wanted snacks. At least if I went with him then I knew he'd come back,' said Hermione.

'Sure,' said Cassy lowly.

'Have you guys seen Ginny?' called Ron from the other side of the common room. He sauntered over to the fire and rested his hands on the back of Hermione's chair. 'Mum wanted me to ask her about her shoes or something. I reckon she wants to get her a new pair for Christmas.'

'She's upstairs,' lied Cassy.

'Oh, right. Tell her I want her if you see her?' said Ron.

All three of them nodded and pretended not to watch as Ron headed to the boys staircase. When he was out of sight, Hermione rolled her eyes. 'She's still out with Michael Conner? It's almost curfew.'

'Ron will find out sometime,' said Neville.

'It's best if he doesn't. Her brothers never let her play Quidditch with them when she was younger, let alone will entertain the idea of her having a boyfriend. If I didn't know better, I would say Ginny is trying to get caught,' warned Hermione.

If anyone was to ask Cassy, she would say that that was exactly what Ginny was doing. Ginny had no reservations about her relationship with Conner. If fact, in the past months since Cassy had known, Ginny's confidence had grown exponentially and the level of confidence she displayed around her friends was becoming a more of a certainty around everyone she met. It was as though her new assertiveness was building to confront her brothers, a sort of off-handed wave to let them know she would do as she pleased and that no one could stop her. In part, Cassy thought it related back to Mrs Weasley's insistence that she be excluded from the questioning in Grimmauld Place when Harry arrived. She was too young, the only daughter, something to be protected, and in turn labelled as everything Ginny hated.

Cassy smirked to herself. Ron was in for a shock. Suddenly, her stomach sunk like a rock thrown into a well, heavily and without restraint. If she realised these things, it was only a matter of time before other people did – Harry, for example. Confidence, a short height, and pretty girls where the conclusions Cassy had drawn on what Harry liked. She had not spent nearly enough time to deduce much more about Chang, beyond a level of vulnerability and sweetness she was not sure either she or Ginny possessed. Chang was one thing, but Cassy did not think she wanted to see Ginny and Harry together, bitter and jealous as the idea rang in her own mind. A stranger was manageable, a friend was something else. She and Harry were simply best friends though. There was nothing to compete with because he had no interest in her.

'My walk gave me some time to think actually.'

Cassy was drawn back into reality by the sound of Hermione's voice, left with only the lingering thought that perhaps Ginny was being so careless with her secret not because of her family, but because she wanted Harry to notice. Hermione had said it might draw his attention last summer.

'Think about what?' asked Neville. His face remained pressed to his essay in an effort to read Cassy's curling writing.

Hermione leant in close. 'I want to ask Harry to teach us tonight.'

Like the first time she had heard the proposal, Cassy toyed with the idea in her head. Harry was still in detentions and was behind on his work as it was, yet somehow she did not think he would truly be concerned with that. There was a voice in the back of her mind that had grown since Hermione's last suggestion; it rambled on that Harry might just enjoy the effort. He might disagree at first – and Cassy was sure he would – but once he began teaching he would enjoy it. It might prevent his detentions, it could give him a means to rebel that was useful, proactive in the war effort, and something both Professor Umbridge would loath and the Order would protest to. Both were things he would take pride in, and if not, Cassy was certain she would at least.

'Do you think he'll say yes?' asked Neville eagerly. 'He has to want to do something, even I'm getting tired of reading the papers for word of activity.'

Knowing full well Neville was referring to the Order, Cassy hummed along in agreement.

'I still think he will decline,' commented Cassy. 'He will say he is not qualified and does not know enough, or something.'

'He taught you in third-year though,' combated Neville. A smile was still on his face.

'I almost died,' drawled Cassy. 'If he hadn't taught me then I could have died if I was caught unaware. Although, I suppose we will all be dead if we don't get a move on.'

'Which is why we're going to ask him tonight,' said Hermione, finality in her tone. Her brown-eyes were fixed on Cassy. The other slowly lifted an arched, black eyebrow.

'I'm not asking,' stated Cassy flatly.

Hermione shook her head. 'I wasn't going to ask you to. I was waiting to see if you were on board or not.'

'I think it's a great idea,' admitted Cassy.

'Good, because I know he's going to need some convincing,' said Hermione with finality.

It was not a moment later that the portrait hole opened. In unison, Cassy, Neville, and Hermione turned. Instead of Harry, Ginny stepped through, her eyes widening the slightest fraction at the sight of her friends, but she quickly grinned and threw herself down on the sofa with Cassy and Neville, squashing the latter when he failed to shuffle up in time.

'Hi,' she greeted cheerfully.

'Out a bit late?' asked Hermione, her lips pulled into a faint smirk.

'Oh, was I?' said Ginny with a shrug.

Ginny peered between them with seemingly innocent eyes. Cassy huffed half a laugh at the insincere sight and shook her head. She did not even want to know where Ginny and Michael Conner had traipsed off to, but upon second thoughts she thought she actually rather might. She rather liked the idea of nudging Ron off into that direction one evening to see what happened.

With her eyes gleaming, Cassy did not listen to Hermione re-explaining her decision to Ginny. She finished off her essay and leant over to inspect Neville's freshly edited work. Letting out a low, long hum, Cassy pursed her lips. She turned her head quickly when Neville whipped round to her. She grinned at the floor as she stooped down to pretend to rummage through her stack of books on the floor. Scuffling of paper and an indignant whine let her know Neville had fallen for it. With the parchment close to his face, his eyes quickly darted between his new and original essay and Cassy's curling amendments.

A game of chess began on the coffee table between Cassy and Hermione. Hermione was winning three to two with the best out of five when the common room began to empty. Time passed slowly with the tense final match with four wins to four wins. Ginny proved distracting with her game of solo-Exploding Snap, the loud bangs firing off more than probably natural and had Cassy not been so determined to win she might have spared a thought to tell her to be quiet.

A heavy sigh was heaved by Neville, his work thrown down on the ground, finally completed.

'That was the worst essay of my life,' he said as he stretched out across the sofa and into the space Cassy had long since vacated to a take space on the floor.

'Good practise for your OWLs later this year then!' exclaimed Ginny brightly.

The cards exploded again. Neville groaned.

'Don't. I can't even think about that right now,' he grumbled,

'Or ever,' came a voice from behind.

'Late today,' commented Cassy. She turned to look at him lazily, but her eyes sharpened quickly.

'Harry, your hand!' exclaimed Hermione.

Hanging limply at his side, Harry's hand dripped a slow and steady red. The cut was deeper, the lines sharper, and the skin pinker than the last time he had had detentions with Professor Umbridge. Cassy was to her feet before anyone else. Harry's hand was cupped in hers, her thumb smeared the blood away gently in order to get a clearer view of the wounds. Quickly, Hermione was on her feet. She rushed up the staircase, while Ginny and Neville gathered around Cassy to get a better look themselves. Neville hissed.

'It's fine, honestly,' he said quickly. He took up Hermione's vacated seat by the fire. Cassy sat on the arm, glaring down at him sternly. She released his hand and he cradled it in his lap. The rapid sounds of pattering feet echoed down the winding staircase before Hermione reappeared with a small bottle in one hand and a tissue in the other. She perched on Harry's other side and blotted the tissue with lavender scented oil that she then rubbed on the back of his hand gingerly.

They were all silent for a time.

'Harry,' said Hermione eventually, 'I think we should learn to defend ourselves. We can't keep going like this.'

'What do you mean?' he asked.

'Umbridge is holding us back, we need more,' she continued.

'Like teaching ourselves?' he said, curiously.

'Yes, but we need someone to lead us.' Hermione bit her lip.

Harry's head tilted to one side slightly.

'Who? Dumbledore is all ready tied and no one from the Order can meet us out here even on Hogsmeade weekends – not that that would be frequent enough, really.'

As Hermione sent him an imploring look, Neville shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. Ginny's eyebrows raised pointedly.

'Oh,' said Harry. 'Oh. Oh no.'

Quickly he looked between them. Cassy kept her face neutral even as Harry stared up at her with wide, green eyes.

'Harry, please - ' began Hermione.

'No, Hermione. I can't teach anyone anything. I'm not – I can't,' he snapped, incredulous.

'Yes, you can!' assured Ginny, even louder.

'No, I can't,' repeated Harry. 'Look, none of you know what it's like to face him - '

'I do, which is why I know you can do it. I saw what happened three years ago, I was there in the Chamber with you. You were so much braver than I was. You were brilliant,' stated Ginny, her voice somewhat quieter and firmer than anyone had ever heard it before.

Harry hesitated. His fingers dug into the thin cloth of his trousers.

'That doesn't matter. Fawkes was there. He did all the work. The rest was luck,' he refused.

Whether Harry had contributed to the killing of the Basilisk mattered little in the grander scheme of things, thought Cassy. He had destroyed Voldemort's soul in first-year; he had faced him in person, his full embodiment the year before and had escaped when surrounded by his Death Eaters, glitch or not in the connection of their wands. He had been there. He had been brave and brilliant each time, he knew the events, he had the tactics and that was more than any of the rest of them had. He had all ready proved himself an excellent teacher to her.

Cassy stared down at him and told him exactly what she thought. She held up a single finger each time he tried to interrupt her and even with her eyes trained on his, she noticed the eventual stilling of his shoulders that had quaked with rage at the mere suggestion of him undertaking the task.

'Besides,' she finished, 'Umbridge will be positively mortified.'

She swore she heard a snort from beneath Harry's hands. His face was buried in his palms and in the faint, flickering light of the fire it almost appeared as though his cheeks were tinged pink. Sighing deeply, he scrubbed at his eyes.

'Fine.'

'Fine?' repeated Neville with no small amount of surprise.

'Yeah, I'll try and teach you guys,' agreed Harry.

Neville beamed and Ginny let of a shout of excitement. Hermione let out a breath and turned to smile gratefully at Cassy. She gave a small smile back and joy filled her stomach, finally a sense of anticipation for the year ahead erupted within her. They were finally going to get things started on their own war effort.

'About that,' said Hermione as she wrung her hands.

Harry peered at her slowly and flatly.

'I was thinking that we should let anyone who wants to join... to give everyone the best chance,' she suggested carefully.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he looked towards Cassy, who tilted her head and raised her eyebrows in defeat of the idea.

Not for the last time, Harry heaved a heavy sigh.

'I am sure even Professor Umbridge would understand if I strangled him.' Cassy's flat voice rang loudly in the quiet library. Floating books shuffled into the empty spaces in the hard to reach upper shelves and a dull murmuring of students gathered on tables across the study area covered Cassy's unfriendly suggestion from the prying ears of Madam Pince.

Beside her, Astoria snorted.

'Pretty sure Umbridge would jump at the chance to give you detention, even if it was for hitting that idiot,' said Stephen. His face was turned down to his book, but Cassy could see his smile all the same.

'It would be worth it though,' she muttered, before turning the page of her book.

Shandy's smiling face had been imprinted on her retinas for the past few days. It seemed that whenever she left the common room, he was there; when she left from her classes, he was there; even when she ate and spared a glance around the Great Hall he was always within sight and turned to look straight back at her, as if somehow sensing her gaze. It was driving her mad.

It was one thing, thought Cassy, to harass her on the odd occasion they met, but it was clear to anyone with half a mind that Shandy was going out of his way to find her. Sometimes he said nothing at all, but she could feel his eyes burning into her back at every turn. Hermione had suggested it was paranoia, yet on the third occasion of Shandy tripping her up 'accidentally' outside of Ancient Runes even she had to admit something else was afoot. The worst thing was, in Cassy's opinion, was that he did nothing but just simply trip her up, knock shoulders with her and throw an apology haphazardly over his shoulder, or simply resort to a little name calling of which Cassy did not care for at all. It was constant, he was constant, but it was never enough to react to. It did not seem to be going anywhere and it was simply making her insane. Shandy was clever and manipulative. He was better than childish bullying.

'I've never seen him that petty before, to be honest,' said Stephen thoughtfully. 'He's usually more of a "tear-you-down-and-stomp-on-your-dreams" kind of guy. It's a bit odd.'

'It's probably because he has nothing to use against me. His last attempt failed spectacularly,' suggested Cassy. She recalled the time he had tried to tear her and Neville apart by mentioning to Rita Skeeter of family hand in the tragedy of Neville's parents and how Neville had recovered and the pair had become stronger than ever because of it. Shandy had been livid.

Cassy peered up and down the library clearing. Far away was a huddle of Hufflepuffs. She tilted her head in thought. If Shandy was threatened by his inability to make a dent in her life then perhaps she should merely continue to ensure that; she could involve some Hufflepuffs in her growing circle of acquaintances – Cassy was not seeking friends, but rather influence – just to ensure she had a good range of people to call upon, both in later life and through the war. It could be assumed what the Hufflepuffs would think about Harry, but it would be near impossible to tell if it had not been for Stephen's own friends in the House.

Susan Bones' faint red-hair and round face visible across the library. She was friends with Neville, Cassy was sure, having seen them outside classes a few times together. She might be a good start, especially as her aunt was included in Harry's trial in the summer.

The bell rang and Cassy gathered her belongings. She parted ways with Stephen and Astoria at the staircases and made her way to Charms. Harry and Neville were all ready lingering by the door with her other housemates.

Since the late night conversation, tensions had eased amongst the friends. Harry's mood had improved dramatically the next morning, as if a night's rest had given his mind enough time to see the benefits to their underground club. Cassy had awoken with a sense of excitement too. It was good to finally be taking some sort of action, to do something proactive in the growing dank of school life that Professor Umbridge was determined to cultivate. When she had awoken, her eyes stung less than usual with a plea for more sleep and her steps were fuelled by a pleasant anticipation for the first time since she had boarded the Hogwart's Express a month prior.

Professor McGonagall had looked appraisingly down at Harry in her next class. The next was to be Defence Against the Dark Arts and her critical eye had turned to a look of small relief at dinner when the Gryffindor hourglass had not lost any rubies and Harry had not gained another week of detentions.

Cassy's rumour about Malfoy was spreading nicely, to her knowledge. His shriek rung through breakfast one morning and Cassy dared to peer at him from the corner of her eye, drinking in with satisfaction the brilliant shade of red his pale skin had turned in an instant. Blaise Zambini sat further down the table, his chin on his hand as he watched with dull curiosity. It was only a matter of time before her estranged cousin sought her company out. He would have to come to her eventually as her tales threatened to get wilder with every word. They would talk then. Cassy would make him see her side once and for all and if that really did not work, then Cassy knew the ache in her chest would have to ease forcefully, because her cousin would not be coming around to settle her fears himself. Yet Cassy hoped he did. She could not face losing all three of them – Alphard, Narcissa, and Draco. To have one would be enough for then, but one was never coming back, one was unreachable, and the other was riding on a last ditch effort to simply make him understand what he was preparing to do was ludicrous.

Cassy smiled at Harry and Neville as she stood beside them in the line. Charms class passed without issue, in fact, all the classes had been quiet since Harry had stopped speaking out, although on occasion Cassy suspected the professors not to be setting them homework because of his detentions. They had received none from Professor Flitwick all week and between he and Professor Sprout Gryffindor House had made up all of their lost points.

Before class had even ended, Harry's face began to morph into a look of pure apprehension. He glances between Cassy, Neville, and Hermione in the last few minutes and let out a heavy sigh as the bell sounded and everyone began to pack away.

'Are you sure about this?' he asked lowly.

'Are you sure about this?' countered Neville. 'No one is making you do this if you don't want to.'

Harry shrugged his shoulders. 'Now or never I guess, but what happens if someone tells everyone about it?'

'Then we'll say they're lying and we'll change meeting places,' said Hermione easily.

'We will have a fake organisation name and papers with us if anyone comes to check, do not worry about that,' said Cassy.

At dinner, the four met up with Ginny and Luna before each departing in a different direction across the hall. It had taken several days of bickering before the six of them had agreed on which students to ask to attend the first meeting and sign up of the new Defence Club. They had limited it to people they knew fairly well and trusted to some degree using Cassy's mentally approved list of believers she had gathered in the past month. Harry had protested at the large number they had drawn up in the end, they had settled only the night before with a plan on who was to induct who.

Neville was most familiar with the Hufflepuffs, having met them outside of class during his long afternoons spent in the greenhouses with Professor Sprout in the years previous. Likewise, Luna was in charge of her own house. Hermione had fretted that they might not believe anything she said and had trailed after her on second thought to make sure someone reliable was there to explain whatever strange notion Luna let float from her mouth in the process. Ginny was to ask her brothers, each unlikely to refuse, while Harry tackled the entirety of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

Cassy waved away Ginny's enquiry as to who she would ask. She made sure to ask Stephen first before Luna had a chance to skip over to the Ravenclaw table. He had raised his eyebrows high as she whispered in his ear, but no higher than that of his two friends opposite, one of whom wolf whistled loudly. A loud grunt followed a bang and the boy hissed, bending to clutch his injured shin beneath the table as Stephen narrowed his eyes.

'Sounds like fun,' muttered Stephen back to her. 'Who's leading it?'

'Harry, of course,' said Cassy.

'Hogshead at noon then,' agreed Stephen, a fiery glint in his eye and a playful smile on his lips.

Cassy smiled back, but it quickly pulled back down into a more serious stare. 'I want to ask Astoria.'

'Ask her then,' he said simply, as if the action was without fault.

Following Stephen's confidence, Cassy caught Astoria outside of the hall just as dinner had ended. By the crook of her elbow, she led the taller girl off to one side and ignored the venomous glares the blonde's friends shot her as they retreated back into the dungeons. Astoria peered down at her curiously.

'Yes?' she said.

Cassy took in a deep breath. 'We are starting our own Defence Club.'

'Who is we?' asked Astoria cautiously.

'My friends and I.'

'I see.' Astoria inspected Cassy's face for a few moments as Cassy waited for her to question her some more. When she did not, Cassy looked around carefully, before leaning in a fraction closer.

'We are doing it in secret and I was wondering if you want to join,' she whispered.

'So nothing Ministry approved will be taught there?' queried Astoria, her brows lowered to a flat line.

'No.'

'No textbooks?'

'None.'

'Spells that can actually prevent us being killed?'

'That is the plan.'

Cassy and Astoria stared at each other for a minute.

'And if I told Professor Umbridge?' asked Astoria softly.

'I would lie, we would all lie and although it might not do any good we would not be expelled for it is not illegal to form such a group. You and I would never talk again and I would see to it that once I had covered our tracks that no one in this school trusted you again,' said Cassy, her voice silkier and lower than Astoria's.

Immediately, Cassy knew she had won the game. Astoria's eyes brightened and she grinned widely, flicking her curly blonde hair over her shoulder.

'Great,' she said eagerly. 'When do we start?'

'This Saturday in the Hogshead at noon,' instructed Cassy, grinning.

'I can't believe I get to spend my first Hogsmeade visit in a dingy old pub,' said Astoria, somehow still exuberant. 'When the war is over I am telling Daphne, the look on her face will be excellent. She'll hate you, you know.'

'I am all ready half-way there anyway,' said Cassy flippantly. The older Greengrass sister had never liked seeing Cassy conversing with her family and yet that only encouraged Astoria to seek her out more. 'Just keep quiet about it will you? It will not work if it's not a secret.'

'Yes, yes,' barked Astoria. 'Is Stephen going too?'

'Yes, I all ready asked him.'

'Brilliant. I can't wait.'

As it stood, everyone on their list had been interested in joining. Not a single person had refused, a fact that both assured and depressed Harry greatly. He shifted uneasily on his feet in the dank pub, a warm Butterbeer turning in his hands.

Outside, the wind howled. The weather was bright but was quickly taking a turn for the worst as October began to settle in. The leaves were soft reds and yellows, scattered across the cobbled pathways and filled the guttering of shops and even wedged their way in-between the display products stationed outside the windows. The ground was slick and shiny from rain through the night and the air had quickly become cold enough to turn travellers' noses pink and send chills through their fingers.

Cassy and her friends had arrived in the Hogshead early. A short stop had been made to the book store on the way, but they had not allowed themselves to detour any further. Luckily, or unluckily, they could not decide, the pub was almost empty. A stout, tall witch sat at the bar and two men were perched on high stalls at the furthest table. Only a faint tune filtered out from the record playing in the next room. It was too quiet, unnerving almost, and Cassy was keenly aware that any conversation held would be held for all to hear.

'Why was Filch sniffing you when we left, by the way?' asked Hermione, finally finding a safe topic of conversation.

'Oh, he thinks I'm importing Dungbombs or something. Apparently someone told him so,' said Harry with a shrug.

'Oh?' said Cassy.

'He tried to check my post the other day,' admitted Harry. 'I forgot to mention.'

'I wonder who would tell him that,' said Hermione thoughtfully.

'Probably the Slytherins playing a joke,' suggested Neville.

The conversation faded and the six of them peered around silently.

'Is this the place Hagrid got his dragon from?' whispered Neville, his voice rang loudly in the quiet room.

'Dragon?' piped Luna. Her wide eyes widened even further, almost engulfing her faint eyebrows.

Before anyone could begin to tell that tale, or quieten it as Cassy wished, the door opened and a loud bell rang out. Harry turned the cup anxiously in his hand.

First in was Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who each peered around with no apparent strangeness to the pub. They only completed their greetings when the door opened again and the Quidditch team entered in full, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Ron filed through, with Dean, Lavender, Pavarti and Padma trailing after. Next, and chatting loudly, were Colin and Dennis Creevey. They shuddered in excitement as Fred and George wormed their way past them towards the bar with a collection of coins from the arrivals so far.

'Gryffindor is out in droves,' said Ginny.

When the door opened again, many of the fifth-year Hufflepuffs clambered in. Ernie Macmillian, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbot, and Susan Bones shuffled in as people stumbled backwards into vacant spaces to make room for the ever growing gathering.

'This is more than I expected,' muttered Harry.

'It will be fine,' assured Cassy, not daring to reveal the number yet to come as she counted each head.

Cho Chang and her sneering friend of whom Cassy did not know came next. After them were three Ravenclaw boys, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Conner – Ginny jumped off her stall to greet him - and Terry Boot. A lone blonde Hufflepuff by the name of Zacharias Smith, if Neville had informed them correctly, and then followed in Stephen and Astoria, who caught the door before it had a chance to close entirely.

Cassy smiled at her two friends, who lingered at the back of the group, unnoticed by the rest. Astoria's smile was oddly unsure. Cassy inclined her head and her smile became warmer and what she hoped was more encouraging.

There was no need to hush the crowd. They fell silent the moment Harry shifted, their eyes on him eagerly. Much to his luck, it was Hermione who took a step forward and clapped her hands together.

'Right,' she began hesitantly. 'Well, we're all here because we think the same: we need to defend ourselves and Umbridge is making that difficult. She's rubbish, frankly.' A small cheer erupted from the Gryffindors. 'We need to know how to fight and how to survive, because Lord Voldemort is back!'

There were a few squeaks and the few occupants of the bar turned to stare. The bar man even dropped the glass he had been holding, but Hermione held her head high.

'If we're all here for that, I think we deserve to know how he came back exactly,' called Zacharias Smith with his arms folded across his chest.

'I'm not going to say it. Not now, not ever probably, so if you're all here for that you can just clear off now,' said Harry flatly.

Smith tensed, but he did not move. An unconvinced frown lingered deeply.

'Okay, so - ' stared Hermione once more.

'Is it true you can cast a Corporeal Patronuses?'

Cassy scanned her eyes through the crowd for the owner of the voice. Quickly, she found a red-haired, stout girl off in the gaggle of Hufflepuffs. Susan Bones smiled sheepishly.

'Sorry, my aunt is Madam Bones, so I heard a bit about it. She said it was a stag,' she said.

There was several curious glances from her to Harry. The trial had been a secret, more or less. It had not been in the papers. With half the room curious, Harry nodded. Another murmur erupted.

'Is the Basilisk story true?' called Terry Boot.

'It is,' said Ginny. 'I was there.'

'You actually killed a Basilisk at twelve?' he said in awe.

'Yeah, but - ' began Harry.

Cassy nudged him.

'Harry faced Voldemort in first-year too, over the Philosopher's Stone,' added Neville eagerly.

'So your saying Quirrell actually had You-Know-Who's face stuck on the back of his head?' asked Conner, his nose crinkled.

'He did. Me and Cassy saw him get through the tasks to get there,' he said eagerly.

'I only got to him because you and Cassy were there!' interjected Harry, quickly.

Cassy nudged him again.

'Harry got through the Tournament last year alive.' A gentle Scottish accent rang out louder than all other voices. Chang smiled softly at Harry, a rare sight in recent weeks, her eyes bright with admiration. Cassy found herself scowling before she could stop herself.

'I had a lot of help with the tournament,' said Harry as he shrugged his shoulders.

Cassy nudged him once more and this time Harry turned to frown down at her.

'You're just trying to weasel your way out of teaching us,' accused Smith.

'Shut up, Smith, or go home,' demanded Ron hotly.

'Well, he's called us out here and is now telling us he can't do any of it!' snapped Smith.

'That's not true,' said Fred and George together.

'Everyone calm down,' hushed Hermione. She put her hands in the air as if the gesture would quell them, but her voice merely added to the mix and the noise became louder.

'Why do we have to have such a useless teacher for our OWLs, we'll never pass at this rate!' cried Hannah Abbot.

'This is more important than our OWLs,' said Ernie Macmillian fiercely. 'We need to know how to defend ourselves or we're not going to make it to our exams!'

Everyone fell silent. Nothing had ever been more important to Macmillian than work before.

'The Ministry fears an army,' said Cassy clearly, speaking for the first time. 'They fear that Professor Dumbledore is building a resistance within the school to undermine the Minister's control. We cannot learn to defend ourselves in class because it would give us the means to be a capable generation rising in the discontent of a growing war. There is nothing Minister Fudge fears more than losing control.'

Losing control was why her father was still a convict rather than a free man, a voice in the back of her head reminded her sourly. Fudge could have set him free if he had wished to do so, but the backlash on his term as Prime Minister would be great and Fudge was incapable of maintaining a strong face against his opponents.

Again, everyone was silent. Cassy leant back against the bar. Dressed in all black with her arms folded across her chest, her large, dark-blue eyes were narrowed just enough to stop anyone from thinking of speaking against her. Everyone but the Weasley's stared in shock.

'We need a room to practise in,' said Hermione, drawing the attention away. 'We intend to send out a message to everyone when he have one to arrange the first meeting. Once a week should be enough.'

'As long as it doesn't clash with Quidditch practice,' said Johnson.

'We will try to find a time suitable for everyone, but we ask you work with us. There are a lot of people to accommodate here,' said Cassy.

'I have a list I'd like you to sign,' said Hermione, 'so we know who has joined.'

Several people shifted uneasily.

'I won't leave it lying around,' insisted Hermione impatiently.

The parchment was cursed. Cassy had seen Hermione enchanting it before bed the night before and had approved the plan with enthusiasm. There were too many people they hardly know to risk creating a web of blame and liars if anyone was ever to find out about it. Cassy wanted to tell them all at the end of it, to ensure no one thought to turn them in, but Hermione was vehemently against it. She said it was a precaution, not a threat and while Cassy did not see why it could not be the best of both, she said nothing more. It was Hermione's plan, after all.

Suddenly, there was a loud shout.

'There's a Slytherin here!'

Everyone's heads whipped around in panic, but Cassy spoke first.

'She is here because I invited her. I trust her more than half of you here, so let us say nothing more about it,' she said sharply.

Several people mumbled, Smith more loudly than others, but they allowed Astoria to sign the sheet before she passed it on to Stephen. Astoria smiled at Cassy, nodding her head in thanks.

With the paper signed, it did not take the students long to begin to take their leave. They drifted away in small groups just like they had come and before long, it was just Cassy, Harry, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna left in the bar once more. When the door swung shut with the exit of the last new member, Ginny turned to Cassy with her eyebrows raised high.

'A Slytherin?' she hissed.

'That was Shandy's mate too,' added Harry. 'What if he tells Shandy?'

'I've been friends with both of them since last year,' said Cassy patiently. 'Good friends, in fact, by now. We meet up often through the week, actually. I have no reason to think they will tell anyone.'

There was a brief frown on Harry's face. He snapped, 'Fine.'

Cassy narrowed her eyes. 'Do you look past house colours at all yet?'

'That's not the issue,' he protested, frowning deeper.

'Then what is?' demanded Cassy hotly.

He opened his mouth and quickly closed it again. His head turned to one side as he scowled. 'Forget it.'

'No, say it,' challenged Cassy.

'Guys, stop!' intervened Neville, moving between the two.

'Erm - I'm going to go and catch up with Michael now my nosey brothers have gone,' said Ginny uncertainly.

Hermione clapped her hands together with a tense smile on her face. 'Well, should we get going? We still have time to look around before we have to head back.'

Once in the street, Luna skipped behind next to Cassy and Neville, while Harry and Hermione were a step ahead. Luna looped her arm with Cassy's, who merely shot a flat, questioning look at her friend. Luna leant closer.

'You should just tell him, you know. Neville agrees,' whispered Luna in her light, airy voice.

Cassy stiffened and scowled.

'It would just make things awkward,' she said, not bothering to ask how Luna had known.

Luna hummed and Cassy turned to shoot Neville a dirty look. He looked back in alarm, having missed the exchange.

'I'll tell you one good thing about today, Harry,' said Hermione slyly.

'What?' he asked.

'Cho couldn't keep her eyes off you, could she?'

Cassy stiffened again, but her shoulders then slumped. She had no right to be jealous. For the bubbling cauldron of rage and sadness that boiled every time it was mentioned, Cassy knew she had no right to be angry with him over it, nor with Chang. She might not like her very much, but she was hardly the worst Harry could be interested in, even if Cassy privately loathed that Chang seemed to be starting to like him back too.

'Oh?' said Harry.

' "Oh"? Is that it? I thought you'd be happy,' objected Hermione, her thick brows raised high.

'I'm not unhappy,' protested Harry. 'I just... I don't know. I'm surprised.'

Cassy cleared her throat carefully. 'So, you you still like her?'

Harry ignored her.

Hermione was peering at Harry curiously and then she sighed heavily. Under her breath, she muttered something Cassy could not hear, but she made out the words 'of course' and eyed the smile that then pulled at Hermione's lips suspiciously.

'I really think you should just tell him,' muttered Luna again and Cassy had half a mind to snatch back her arm. She had all ready tried once.

Long chapter! Now the year is getting somewhere.

This probably should have been split in two, but I didn't feel there was enough in either half to make it an interesting chapter on their own, so it remained as one. It's hardly the longest I've published!

I thought I would update quickly because I will be focusing on work a lot this month for a deadline on May 8th, so while I had a free house I cracked on editing this. If there are any mistakes let me know. I have that mood where you have done so much reading and writing in a day that you are no longer sure exactly what you just read.

Some Harry/Cassy moments will arise shortly! I promise that.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

Thanks!