C. M. Black: Eyes of an Owl

Chapter XV: No societies, please

Cassy awoke with lethargic limbs and tired eyes. Her mind was awake and showed no signs of wishing to switch off again, if it ever had. She could not remember the dream that had woken her, she was merely left with the sinking feeling in her stomach and a distant thought of Tonks. She had not written lately, nor Cassy to her. She was probably busy with her work and duties for the Order. The thought had not crossed her mind before but she found herself missing the light-hearted conversation lately.

Sighing, Cassy stretched her arms high above her head. A dark canopy rested above her bed and her mind moved to the collection of books she had gathered beneath it. She had taken several books from the Black family library and stuffed them in her case under the watchful eyes of her estranged father. Cassy had not heard from him for a while either. Vaguely, she considered writing him a letter to let him know he was not alone, but whether that would help or not she could not decide. She imagined it driving him insane just as much as providing comfort.

Perhaps if I keep it really mundane he will not feel as though he is missing out, thought Cassy.

There was no desire to pay much thought to the lingering question in the back of her mind; a small voice asked her when she had stopped being so bitter with him, when she had accepted him as her father and wanted to send him letters to ensure he was all right. The irritation at him, unjust and cruel as she recognised it to be, had melted away at some point. Surprisingly, she was actually eager to hear from him. The resentment she had built through her childhood, the flaring emotions in her stomach as she had watched other children laugh with their fathers, even be scolded by them, had reared its head with an unwanted fury, but she did not feel it anymore. Oddly, she just felt guilty.

Cassy rolled over towards the clock on her bedside table. The spindly, crooked hands pointed to quarter-to-five. Another loud huff left her lips.

'Ludicrous,' she muttered, sitting up. 'What a stupid time to be awake.'

With only the less-than-joyful knowledge that the first double lesson of the day was to be Defence Against the Dark Arts, Cassy leant over the side of her bed and fished beneath it for the least offensive text she had stored there – she kept them well hidden so a rummaging Hermione could not find her most legally questionable material. The gas lamp on her bedside table flickered on.

Pavarti groaned in the bed opposite at the light and flung an arm above her head as she turned in her sleep.

The pages were lined with gold and the covers a shimmering silver. The silver shifted like a thick liquid as the book tilted in Cassy's hands, oddly reminiscent of the faint glow of unicorn blood she had eyed so cautiously in her first-year. Swirled letters read: 'Occulmency: A Complete and Comprehensive Guide from Beginning to End'.

Often taking her own advice, Cassy had invested in an Occulmency guide. Although not for the reasons the idea had originally grown from – Cassy had little desire to alienate herself anymore – the concept had grown on her. She had, after all, promised to undertake a more useful hobby the summer of fourth-year and Occulmency had appeared as an attractive skill then too, but it was only recently that Cassy had had the time to think any further about it.

Everyone in the Order knew it to some degree, her father had told her. It was something of a pre-requisite for joining. No one could be trusted to handle delicate and confidential information if they could not protect their minds from a basic intrusion, although it had made it hard to accumulate inner-members. The skill was difficult and took no small degree of care when learning. The mind was to be trained, not the body or the senses unlike in other forms of magic. It was less of what one knew and more about how little they could present. Cassy had not been disturbed by this. She knew she was a proficient liar and she possessed a keen enough mind that she and Hermione were locked for top places in every class, with the exception of, perhaps, Defence Against the Dark Arts to which she gave to Harry. So then why she found the steps so difficult to follow she did not know.

There was no method of testing her progress. It was based on how much or how little she felt she had achieved, how the defended her mind seemed to her and how few dreams she had been having of late.

A piece of parchment was slipped from the back of the book. She scribbled down the date and put a number one beside it, marking her dream beneath the few others she had had in the few weeks into her study.

Cassy did not normally dream, not that she could recall, at least. Nor did she know how it felt to have her mind defended because she did not know particularly what it felt like to have it vulnerable. There seemed to be no set definition to it at all. In fact, she was even having issues with the first step. It was imperative that the practitioner had an empty mind, yet she spent so much time concentrating on thinking of having a clear one that she was never entirely convinced she had achieved it at all. When she sought to think of nothing and forced her thought to rest somewhere in her subconscious she merely found herself waking the next morning having fallen asleep without managing to feel any sought of boundary form at all. Worst of all, she often fell asleep with the book in her hand and only succeeded in evoking Hermione's motherliness for not sleeping earlier and pushing herself too hard. If she had read the title, she had not commented on her choice.

A more irritable part of Cassy's mind declared the practice impossible and scolded her for not picking a simple hobby like knitting, but never one to give in when she wanted to know something, Cassy was determined to stick with it, even if it took the next two years to become remotely able. It was fascinating. It was unusual. It was useful. If she could protect her mind, she could protect her secrets. Voldemort was going to have issues getting access to her mind if it came to it whether her defence was like a net or a wall in the end.

Undeterred and, in fact, slightly encouraged by the fact most adult witches and wizards could not claim to have the ability, Cassy turned to her marked page in the first chapter and began to re-read the method all over again. With any luck, by the time she joined the Order at seventeen – and she was determined to do so whatever anyone said – she might even have begun Legilimency too.

By the time Cassy had re-examined her prior efforts and dressed for the day, the other girls in the dorm were beginning to wake. The Sun had begun to rise over the distant Scottish mountains, shining ever later with the approaching winter, but clearly for a change as the grey clouds had finally begun to part.

The book was slipped back under the bed and Cassy packed her bag idly as Hermione tied her shoes on the bed beside her.

'I hope Professor Binns actually marks the essays properly this time. I put a lot of effort into it and I won't stand for him giving the entire class an "A" again. Did you read Ron's? Half of it was made up,' said Hermione.

Cassy glanced at her in amusement. 'You have been awake for half-an-hour, calm down, will you? And yes, I did read it. I was actually very impressed by his imagination. He almost made Troll raids interesting.'

'It was the part where he said the Trolls mounted their victims' heads on the cave wall that got me,' sighed Hermione, shaking her head.

'You can tell where he got that inspiration from,' said Cassy with a grin. 'The house was good for something then.'

'It was the vilest thing I've ever seen. Those elves should have been given a dignified funeral,' grimaced Hermione. 'Kreacher's deluded to want to be up there.'

'Well, I am not saying that his wish is impossible, but I just do not wish to be the one to do it. Too messy, too ugly,' contemplated Cassy airily.

'Cassy!'

'Kidding!'

Hermione threw a pillow at her as Cassy laughed, before she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

'No one will be decapitating anything,' informed Hermione tartly. She ignored Pavarti's horrified expression, who had only caught the very end of the conversation and strode out of the room, leaving a giggling Cassy to follow her into the common room.

Unlike most mornings, the common room was alive with movement. When most people would have already descended for breakfast, they were instead gathered around the notice board near the door.

Hermione craned her neck before she pushed through the crowd with Cassy still in tow. The two emerged at the front and the new notice was easy to spot. In crisp white with plain black lettering, pinned over a collection of colourful posters from the years before, was a very short message that read:

By Order of the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts

All student organisations, societies, teams, groups, and clubs are henceforth disbanded.

She knows, thought Cassy instantly. She knew about their Defence Group. Word had reached Professor Umbridge and she had banned them from meeting, erasing the only technicality Cassy had offered as reassurance to the group.

Beneath it in smaller print groups where of any more than three students – an impossible restriction for her and her friends – and that organisations could be restored with the permission of Professor Umbridge. Wails of mourning for their Quidditch teams surrounded her and the Chess Club began to lament their postponed tournament, apparently impossible to finish before Christmas now.

Cassy pushed her way back through the fray and only turned to ensure Hermione had followed. Beside her, Hermione frowned deeply.

'If anyone has said something to her, the curse will have activated. We'll know who it is,' she assured.

Cassy nodded slowly. This was going to be a pain.

It was only a few minutes more for the noise of the commotion to urge the fifth-year boys from their dormitory. Harry and Neville eyed the board curiously, before they made their way over to Cassy and Hermione curiously. Ron trailed behind them.

'All clubs and societies have been banned,' said Hermione, her lips pursed.

'What?' exclaimed Harry in alarm. 'Why?'

Hermione shook her head. 'It doesn't say.'

'Someone's told then,' said Ron.

'Maybe not. It could not relate to us at all,' offered Neville hopefully.

'Of course it is,' insisted Ron. 'I bet it was that Slytherin who told.'

Cassy scowled.

'Well, we'll know at breakfast, won't we?' said Hermione.

'Why's that?' asked Ron.

Cassy, Harry, and Neville walked ahead of Hermione and Ron as the former explained the enchanted paper to him. Ron's eyes widened and his mouth remained agape for some time before he said, 'You're scary, you know. Brilliant, but honestly scary.'

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Cassy caught the glowing pride on her friend's face in response and rolled her eyes. She did not understand the growing friendship between the pair. There was admiration and exasperation and nothing in-between, yet the two seemed to think nothing strange of it.

'It could have been Shandy's friend,' said Harry suddenly.

Cassy cast him the same frustrated look she had given Ron before.

'Shandy would love to know about it, I'm just saying,' continued Harry, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

'It is unlikely Stephen would have told him or turned us in,' dismissed Cassy lowly. 'Anyway, the problem is now how she knows right now, but rather what we are going to do about it. Everything has just become a lot more difficult.'

Harry pursed his lips at the prospect of secretly navigating twenty people around the castle utterly unseen. It was already going to be a challenge to find a meeting place, but now with the knowledge that they could not cover any accidental discovery with the excuse of a new society's first meeting everything became a tiny bit harder.

Cassy had suggested they filed for a new society status before the meeting. Something mundane enough that people would think nothing of it, but something to explain why so many people participated. It would prevent them needing to be completely discreet, despite the risk of the occasional teacher observation. Now even that was impossible. Professor Umbridge would never let any society with Harry pass.

There was no one at breakfast that had boils splattered across their forehead. It was easy to pick out those they had met in Hogsmeade along the house tables. Nearly all of them had turned to stare as they entered the hall, their eyes wide and alarmed in an effort to communicate their worries, to urge Harry to placate their minds. He did not.

Harry strode to an empty section of the Gryffindor table and sat with his back to the tables. A glowering side-glance was shot at a smiling, seemingly oblivious Professor Umbridge at the head table.

'Spotted anyone?' he asked lowly.

'No,' said Neville.

Cassy locked eyes with Stephen on the next table over. He frowned at her, before she moved to Astoria a few people down. She stared back with pursed lips.

It was not long before Hermione parted from Ron and came to sit with the three of them. Soon after, Ginny hurried to the table with Luna skipping in tow. There were no greetings, but rather a hushed discussion of plans.

'It only proves that this is what we need to do,' said Ginny fiercely.

'They actually fear us,' added Neville.

'We still need somewhere to teach it though,' said Harry.

'We will have to look on the map tonight for anywhere distant enough,' suggested Cassy.

Along the corridors and up the floors, the sound of discontent and panic amongst the students did not end. Scathing remarks followed all the way to History of Magic and Professor Binns failed to notice as the Gryffindors muttered to one another the entire lesson through. It was only Seamus who was unaware of the attempted Defence Society. Dean and Ron were talking around him in heated mutters and Lavender and Pavarti peered nervously at Harry from time to time, trying to catch his eye.

Professor Binns droned on none the wiser to the noise. It was not until Harry hissed loudly that Cassy bothered to look up from her notes. His chair scraped backwards and she managed to catch Hermione's finger pointing to the window before he darted past. Cassy quickly followed his direction and the class went silent.

A white bundle of feathers sat on the windowsill outside, ruffled from the high winds and rain. Large, yellow-eyes peered at them through the glass.

'Hedwig,' gasped Harry. The window was pushed upwards and he tugged the Snowy owl inside before he slammed it shut again. A letter was tied to her leg, but Harry paid it no attention. He wrapped her in his cloak and hurried back to his seat where she shook in his lap.

'Is she all right?' asked Neville.

'She's hurt,' said Harry lowly. His fingers brushed over the rumpled feathers on her wing. She chirped lowly. 'Sir! I feel ill. I need to leave!'

Harry did not wait for Professor Binns to respond. He shot from the room as their teacher mumbled something about it being fine before he continued to ramble more to himself than anyone else. The rest of the class burst into conversation again.

Hermione leant across Neville and hissed, 'Someone must be trying to read his mail!'

'The Dungbomb incident was suspicious,' muttered Cassy thoughtfully. It was unlikely to be an accident or an animal attack when Filch had already been ordered to intercept Harry's post last time.

'I reckon it's Umbridge. She doesn't want the truth getting out, so she'll be watching who Harry speaks to,' said Neville quickly.

'If the letter is from him then we might be in a bit of trouble,' hissed Cassy. She almost considered it a positive thing that the letter was still attached to Hedwig, but that did not mean it had not been read and reattached. Professor Umbridge worked for Fudge after all and he knew of Sirius' innocent. He had refused to do anything about it because it could possibly be protested, Fudge would not care if he put an innocent man away again if it meant securing his position amongst the people.

Cassy pursed her lips.

When the bell rang to signal the next lesson, Cassy walked a little faster to Potions than she ever had before. She passed the students easily and slipped into the dungeons with scanning eyes seeking a head of messy black-hair. It was near to the Potion classroom door that Cassy spotted Harry. Not five feet from him was her cousin and his friends. Cassy slowed to a stop beside Harry with Neville and Hermione behind her.

Malfoy was talking loudly, a wide grin on his face. 'Of course, the Slytherin Quidditch Team was reinstated immediately. As soon as I opened my mouth Umbridge agreed.'

'Is Hedwig okay?' asked Hermione.

'She'll be fine. She's just a bit shaken,' said Harry softly.

'I'm not surprised the Gryffindor team hasn't got permission to reform yet.' Malfoy's voice rang loudly suddenly. Cassy eyed him from the corner of her vision, already irritated. He laughed, not looking at them. 'I mean, the Ministry's been trying to put Potter in a ward for ages now. Somewhere for people with addled brains. You know the one in St. Mungo's? Probably all the time he spent with Muggles growing up, unstable things they are, always losing their minds.'

Had Cassy not reflexively reached to hold Neville back before the words had fully sunken into her brain, she would have launched herself at Malfoy. She linked arms with Neville as Hermione did the same on his other side. He snarled and pulled against them. Harry quickly gripped his collar.

'Oh, oh!' laughed Malfoy. 'Is there a problem?'

The Slytherins had mixed reactions. Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson sniggered, while Knott and Greengrass rolled their eyes at him and continued their own conversation without another glance to the volatile situation. Zabini's eyes slid over Cassy's placid face for the longest moment, before he too turned back to the conversation before. Cassy let her fingers dig the slightest but deeper into Neville's arms when he had. Her shoulders shook with how tense they had become.

How dare he, thought Cassy. How dare he insult Harry; Neville's parents; Hermione's heritage; Cassy's own mother? He had got them all in one sentence. She wanted to wipe that smugness off his face right then and there, all she had to do was release the anger in her chest. She could just let Neville go for him – would that not be fantastic? - or she could push him aside and swing for Malfoy herself, but Cassy did not believe in violence for the sake of violence. She had a temper, she had hit him before, but it was never so raw. A slap for insulting Harry's mother in third-year and many childish fights they had both tumbled in before Hogwarts, but she had never wanted to rip someone apart so badly.

She let go of Neville suddenly and stuffed her hands into her robe pockets. Her first clenched in the thin fabric. She breathed deeply. It made no sense, the anger. It was too much. It was not the first time he had insulted her or her friends, not even her mother, but it was the first time she had felt the need to lunge for him and make him take it all back. She wanted to do it to anyone, actually, as she noticed several sets of eyes watching the four Gryffindors eagerly. One slip of the tongue and she thought she might just swipe for them too. She knew a spell or two to knock the glint from their eyes. It would not be difficult either; she knew just the spell for it. She could make them leave her alone for good. Not for the first time, she felt so uncontrollably angry.

'Cassy?' whispered Harry.

Cassy turned to him with glassy eyes, surprised to see him frowning down at her.

The door closest to them opened. Professor Snape's greasy head poked out. Immediately, his eyes trailed over the way Harry and Hermione had Neville gripped between them and how Malfoy's smile slowly slipped off his face.

'In,' said Professor Snape after a tense second.

Cassy moved her feet slowly. She concentrated on the horrible slipping in her stomach and how the smoky smell of the last lesson made her insides twist and bubble.

'You looked like you wanted to skin him,' hissed Harry in her ear.

'I – I – It does not matter,' breathed Cassy.

'Are you all right?' he asked. He slipped into the seat beside where she had dropped her bag.

It took Cassy a moment to compose herself. She felt sick and so angry. Then again, Cassy found it hard to recall when she did not feel angered around Malfoy anymore.

'I am fine,' she said brightly. Perhaps it was too bright, because Harry just frowned more deeply at her.

Before he could ask anything more, the classroom door opened once again and Cassy did not have to turn to know who it was. Harry groaned loudly and slumped against his desk. The inspection might have been amusing if Cassy had been in the mood to hear Professors Snape and Umbridge snap back at one another with false niceties. As it was, every chuckle or cough that left the vile woman's mouth made Cassy want to burst. Instead, she turned her attention to the task at hand. As well as her own potion, she continuously corrected Harry's wayward potion as he ease dropped on the Professors' conversation at the back of the room, chuckling to himself at something Cassy did not hear.

At the end of the lesson, Professor Snape stared down at Harry's potion in distaste. It was a strange shade of yellow instead of the bright orange intended.

'You are to write exactly what went wrong, Potter. I want it on my desk for Monday,' he drawled, before he swept back to the front of the class.

Harry groaned. 'Thanks, by the way, for trying.'

'Don't worry about it. I would have managed to save it if you had not added that rat tail in the end,' said Cassy. 'It was interesting trying to figure out exactly how you made it when had half the time.'

Harry grinned sheepishly.

'Professor Umbridge was in a particularly good mood today,' commented Hermione as the four traipsed up the corridor.

'She would be, wouldn't she?' said Harry. 'I hope Quidditch is back on for tonight. Perhaps I can just skive Divination and do my homework.'

'Harry!' protested Hermione.

'You said Divination was a waste of time yourself,' retorted Harry, with a shrug.

'I can have the structure for your essay done by the time you get back. All you will have to do is flesh it out. Professor Snape will know if I have written it,' offered Cassy.

Harry turned to her and stared with bright eyes as through looking at an angel. Cassy rolled her eyes and Harry beamed.

Really, such a smile should be criminal, thought Cassy.

'You're a lifesaver, Cass,' he breathed.

'Yes, yes,' she dismissed, waving her hand. She avoided his cheerful, flushed face and tried to think of something less extraordinary in appearance.

Cassy and Hermione parted ways with the boys and instead made their way to Ancient Runes. They met up once more for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Umbridge was just as cheerful as she had been in Potions and it was only the knowledge that the plan was going to go ahead regardless of her efforts that Cassy thought kept Harry in his seat with his mouth closed.

The bell did not ring soon enough. Eagerly, Cassy slipped from the room with a backwards wave to her friends before darting through the throng of oncoming students. The corridor to the library was empty with students having fled for the Great Hall and the promise of dinner. With any luck, although Cassy struggled to believe luck was on her side that day, Stephen would be still in the library, perhaps packing his bag, and she could catch him. He usually spent his free periods in the library or in the Ravenclaw common room.

Cassy turned immediately on her heel when she spotted him.

'Black!' called a voice.

Sneering, Cassy turned back around. Right when she had found Stephen, she had uncovered a rather unfortunate sight of an easily detestable Slytherin sixth-year.

'Shandy,' she replied, much less enthusiastic.

'You are mad at me,' he said.

Cassy stared. She then turned to Stephen. 'Stephen, can I talk with you?'

There was no need to add a request of privacy. Stephen was already half way out his chair before she had finished her sentence.

'Sit.'

Both Cassy and Stephen halted. For a second, Stephen looked as though he might actually follow Shandy's order – delivered cold and sharp, an unusual tone to his cheerful voice – but he then stood and snatched his bag from the tabletop.

'Oh-ho!' laughed Shandy.

There were only a few seconds available for Cassy to study Shandy's face before Stephen strode by and she was forced to follow. Yet, in those few seconds she saw a lot. His face was tensed, carefully masked but no well enough as stress leaked out at the corners of his eyes and the edges of his mouth. His shoulders were relaxed, though his hands dragged stiffly across the table as he flexed his right hand, never quite making a fist.

Cassy walked casually after her friend into the denser part of the library. Her quicker steps were almost unnoticeable, but she did not bother to hide her interest as she rounded on Stephen.

'He is angry,' she said.

'Livid, probably,' he agreed.

'Because you followed me instead of listening to him? It seems rather unwarranted.'

'A lot about him is unwarranted,' he retorted. 'He's been handing insults out all afternoon about you.'

'Lovely to know I still annoy him enough to make him talk about me. Anyway, we will still meet, I am just not sure where yet.'

Stephen nodded. 'I figured as much. Do you want me to tell Astoria?'

'If you would not mind. She is quite allusive,' said Cassy with a smile.

'Noticed that, have you? She's been a bit off lately,' he admitted.

Cassy had noticed. Astoria had been more difficult to locate at meal times and she had not seen her lingering in the hallways as much either. She was as blunt and cheerful as she had always been in conversation, but she could not help but feel as though something was amiss. From the depths of her mind, Cassy tried to recall if she had seen Daphne any less than last year. Nothing arose. Daphne was a cool character at the best of times, even if she and Cassy had competed as children for near enough everything. Cassy was smarter, yet Daphne was always better liked.

'Anyway,' said Cassy, 'I am going to dinner. Are you coming?'

'I've got to finish my homework. I have Charms Club tonight,' replied Stephen.

'You attend Charms Club? It's been reinstated then?' said Cassy, genuinely interested.

Stephen shrugged as though talking of himself was a common occurrence. 'I thought I'd try something new.'

Cassy narrowed her eyes a fraction and Stephen did the same mockingly in return. With a raised eyebrow to let him know she was not wholly convinced that was the reason and he seemed to take some pleasure in her suspicion. Cassy said her goodbye and traipsed back through the library, careful to avoid Shandy. There was something odd about him lately and Cassy was not keen to figure it out right then.

As it turned out, Johnson had been unable to get permission to reinstate the Gryffindor team. Professor Umbridge said she would think about it and so practice was cancelled that night. Still, Harry gazed at Cassy with hopeful eyes and a cheeky smile as they began their homework and with a large sigh, Cassy settled onto the sofa next to him and took the parchment from his hands.

'Just this once,' she said, her arm brushing his as she shifted. She pretended not to notice she had sat closer than necessary. Harry either had not noticed, or not minded, for he just grinned instead and began to work on another piece he had left too long.

'I'm glad you were paying attention to what I put in my potion, because I wasn't,' said Harry.

'One of us had to be, lest we both die,' she replied absently.

'Oh, so it's okay if one of us dies?'

'It might be.'

Harry nudged Cassy. Her quill scrawled across the plan in a thick black line and she did nothing to rectify it. Harry would just have to read around it. As Harry complained about the mess she had made on his work – the mess he had made, she retorted – noise began to increase all around the common room. The twins were testing their newest products on a willing audience, banishing colourful vomit and catching fainting first-years as they slumped to the ground unconscious. The only sound louder than that of the cheerful laughter it invoked was Hermione's grinding teeth.

Harry grinned and rolled up his homework.

'You need to pay more attention in class if you want to be an Auror,' said Cassy as she cast him a playfully pointed look.

Harry shrugged. 'I will when things are sorted... or you could just do my homework every night.'

Cassy shoved his shoulder and rolled her eyes.

'Seriously though, we need to find somewhere. It was going to be hard enough with thirty-odd people anyway, now it's a secret we're in even bigger trouble,' he said.

'The only place I can think of is the third floor. It is still not being used, but it would mean we would have to keep a close eye on the map constantly,' offered Cassy.

Harry hummed and threw back his head. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, before his eyes slowly slid back to Cassy. 'I was going to ask earlier, but are you all right? Malfoy was being a right prat.'

'Yes, he was. Any mention of my mother makes me angry though, and lately he has just been... infuriating. He's trying to discredit me at every turn,' grumbled Cassy.

'I've been telling you for years he's a git,' said Harry.

Cassy cast him a long, narrow-eyed sideways glare. Then, she huffed. 'Fair point,' she said, not having the energy to try and convince Harry that her cousin had his nice traits.

Neither Harry nor Cassy moved from their close proximity on the sofa, even as Neville dropped down on the farthest end with a loud groan of relief. He had been searching high and low in his room for his notes on the dreams he had had all week that he had made for his Divination homework. Harry waved away Neville's complaint of being unable to remember his dreams, Harry had made them up for the last three weeks of the assignment anyway.

Harry blinked slowly and turned back to Cassy. 'Trelawney's on probation, did you know?'

'No,' said Cassy, only mildly interested and even less surprised.

'She was furious during inspection. She spent most of the lesson in tears. It was horrible,' added Neville.

Harry worked with Neville to add more mundane dreams to his chart. Occasionally, more peculiar ideas made their way onto the chart, becoming more bizarre as the month continued to the point where Harry's dreams of Voldemort could not rival the interest Neville's would gather. Harry caught Cassy's eye and winked.

Cassy laughed to herself and shook her head.

Eventually, the noise began to fade. Fred and George packed up their display, having earnt themselves pockets full of Galleons. As their attraction was gone, the other students began to make their way to bed too and soon enough the common room was empty minutes after twelve. Hermione waved her wand around the fireplace in an attempt to remove the lingering smell of vomit. Ginny sat on the floor in front of the sofa, her hands full of brightly wrapped sweets she had stolen from her brothers when their backs were turned. She held up each one and turned them over between her fingers, but there were no words on the paper.

'I can't exactly remember what each one does,' said Ginny.

'Maybe someone should eat one,' said Neville as he bit the end of his quill.

'Well volunteered, Nev,' said Harry, clapping him on the shoulder.

'What, no,' protested Neville quickly.

'I won't clean up anyone's sick,' said Hermione.

'What sick?' came a sudden voice.

Everyone's heads whipped around in surprise. There was no one behind them, or at the stairs, the portrait hole was still shut. In unison, they all turned to the fire. Sure enough, a disembodied head floated amongst the flames.

'Sirius!' greeted Harry excitedly.

'How are things?' asked Sirius.

'Umbridge's banned all clubs. There's no Quidditch,' said Harry.

'Or secret Defence Organisations?' suggested Sirius. He laughed loudly at the scandalised expression of each of their faces. 'You need to choose a better place for meetings. Somewhere noisy so you can't easily be overheard. Mundungus was at the bar, he told us everything. Apparently a Slytherin was there?'

Cassy's eyebrows instantly dipped low. 'She is my friend. I have already said I will take care of anything.'

'I wasn't going to say anything,' defended Sirius quickly.

'Mundungus should have said hello,' said Ginny in disappointment, quickly diverting the conversation.

'He's banned from the Hog's Head, although he would not say why,' said Sirius with a grin. 'Also, I have a message from Molly. She demands that none of her children take part, lest you get into trouble. She advises the rest of you to do the same. That said, Cassy, as your father, I would be most disappointed if you did not take part in a secret, illegal organisation. Same to you as your Godfather, Harry.'

Cassy and Harry grinned.

'Oh, and Neville, your Grandmother was hysterical when she heard,' continued Sirius.

Neville groaned and covered his face with his hands.

'I have never seen her so happy.'

Neville paused and slowly looked at Sirius from between his fingers. 'What?'

'I have never seen her so happy,' repeated Sirius. 'She was so proud she threatened to buy you a new wand, although I am not sure why.'

Neville's cheeks flushed with colour and a beaming smile broke out onto his face. He looked oddly as though he had single-handedly won the Quidditch World Cup. 'Excellent.'

'So, where are you all going to meet then? Mundungus said there were quite a few of you,' asked Sirius merrily.

'We don't know,' said Harry. 'We were planning on working it out tonight.'

'What about the Shrieking Shack? You just need to take the passage on the forth-floor,' suggested Sirius.

'It's blocked,' replied Hermione.

Sirius hummed. His thoughtful face suddenly changed. The flickering image of his grey widened and his head shot to the side, out of sight, just as a foreign hand broke into flames. It grabbed at where he had been and before anyone could see if a face followed it, they had jumped to their feet and scattered behind the furniture. There was no voice to follow.

Slowly, Cassy poked her head out from behind the sofa and beneath a side table. The flames danced orange and transparent. Not a face or hand in sight. Carefully, she stood.

'I think we all know for sure who attacked Hedwig,' said Harry stiffly.

'We need to sort out a meeting place as soon as possible,' breathed Hermione.

After a few minutes of waiting, they were all certain Sirius would not try to contact them again that night. It had been too close. Although Harry's eyes continued to watch the fire closely for some time, he eventually agreed to head to bed with the rest of them. Cassy and Hermione bid goodnight to Ginny as they entered their dormitory and close the door quietly behind them. Cassy waved her wand, igniting the lantern on her bedside table to shed some light in the dark room. Pavarti moaned slightly in her sleep, but she and Lavender continued to sleep soundly.

Hermione glanced at Cassy as she sat on the edge of her bed, brushing through her wild hair.

'Cassy,' she whispered, 'you don't think Sirius only agrees with our plan because he's restless himself do you?'

Cassy looked up at her as she untied her bun.

'I mean, I know he is your father, but I can't help but wonder if he is so desperate to do something useful that he feels as though encouraging us to do something in his place is a good idea,' she expanded. She bit her lip and Cassy mulled the idea over in her mind.

'We did have the idea ourselves, he did not put it in our heads,' offered Cassy quietly after a moment.

'Yes, but he also didn't give us any sort of warnings. He seemed a little too keen,' said Hermione.

Cassy threw the duvet over her legs and stared up at the red curtains above her. The faint sound of the clock on Hermione's bedside table filled the silence. Hermione's sheets ruffled as she tucked herself in and it was only then that Cassy breathed out deeply. The phrase 'you are not nearly as much like your father as I thought' that Sirius had said to Harry only a few weeks before echoed in her mind. He had been upset that Harry did not want him to risk his life to see him. Cassy knew Hermione might be right, but as long as Sirius did not act upon his impulses then Cassy would say nothing more of it.

Another chapter is done! I apologise that this is mainly a connecting chapter.

Chapters sixteen and seventeen will be uploaded together as they relate very heavily, so it might take me a little bit of time to edit them before publishing them, especially as chapter sixteen is 11,300 words. They were honestly not the easiest chapters to write because I had this idea in my head that did not translate very well into words, so I am not too fond of them currently. They are 90-95% original plot.

Anyway, thank-you for the reviews and hello to my new readers! I love getting emails.

Thanks!