C. M. Black: Eyes of an Owl

Chapter XXVIII: Questions and truths

The real events were kept between them. No one was to know that Albus Dumbledore did, in fact, have a genuine army to fall back on against the Ministry, or that Kingsley, one of the most trusted men in the Ministry, was part of it. None of that stopped the tale of his flight from circulating with growing dramatics which hauntingly veered close to the real events.

Professor Umbridge stood proudly at breakfast the next morning and announced she was to be the new Headmistress to no one's surprise. Beyond a few Slytherins, very few, in fact, noted Cassy eagerly, no one clapped. As if the announcement was not enough, posters were placed on every notice board throughout the school, reiterating her new position. By that lunch though it had become popular news that she was unable to access the Headmaster's Office; the gargoyle simply would not budge. None of the staff seemed keen to help.

'I suppose she fancies herself in that chair,' hissed Hermione as they entered the Entrance Hall after lunch. 'As if her vile head needed to swell any larger.'

'I can't wait to see what new rules she imposes. Whipping, I bet,' said Ginny sarcastically.

'Twenty-points from Gryffindor!' came a joyous voice.

Everyone looked up to see Malfoy lingering on the stairs, a hand on his hip and a wide smile on his face.

'For what?' demanded Ginny.

Malfoy eyed Cassy up and down. 'Well, it's not so much anything you have done, just more because she exists.'

Cassy did not react. Her eyes flickered down to the silver pin with an 'I' embossed on it.

'Fuck off, Malfoy,' snapped Harry.

'Five points for language!' called Malfoy, his smile even wider than before.

'You can't abuse the Prefect system like this!' protested Hermione.

'I'm part of the Inquisitorial Squad.' He tapped the pin on his chest. He moved down the steps, stopping a mere foot in front of them. 'It's a group set up by the Headmistress. She hand picked up personally for showing loyalty to the Minister. So, I don't have to answer to Prefect duties anymore, Granger. So, take five points off for being a Mudblood, five from Scarhead because I dislike you, Five from Longbottom and Weasley for being Blood-Traitors…' He paused at Luna. 'Who actually are you?'

Luna smiled serenely and stared over his head, most likely having spied Nargals, or something of the sort.

Malfoy frowned and then turned to Cassy and jabbed her sharply in the chest. 'Ten points from you for tainting my mother's family.'

Enough.

The next sound was a sharp cry as Malfoy hit the ground. Blood spurted from his nose and Cassy's fist was clenched as she slowly lowered it back to her side.

'You really are beginning to irritate me,' she said coldly.

'Fifty-points from Gryffindor, you mental cow!' he squawked. 'Umbridge will hear about this!'

As she watched his retreating back, she could not help but think at least he was not tattling on her to his father. She knew she should not be so violent. It was frowned upon when they were children, though he used to hit her too back then, but sometimes words failed to penetrate his skull. After all, after years of growls and snappy retorts, one would have expected him to leave her heritage out of the conversation.

'Cassy!' reprimanded Hermione.

Cassy waved a hand, unconcerned. She had had enough detentions to know she could handle whatever Professor Umbridge set.

'You shouldn't have done that,' fretted Neville.

'He's right,' said Harry.

Cassy turned sharply, startled.

'You should have let me break his nose,' he continued.

Cassy grinned.

'I think Cassy made a good enough go of that already,' smirked Ginny.

Ginny and Luna went their separate ways to Charms, while Cassy, Harry, Neville, and Hermione headed to Herbology. The greenhouse was stuffy and bright as always in mid-Spring, but the atmosphere was more unbearable still with Professor Sprout's unusually short temper. The cheerful woman slammed the pots down on each desk and stood for no talking unless it was of how Dumbledore had cursed Professor Umbridge quite rightfully into the ground.

All the staff seemed to operate on a similar vain to Professor Sprout. Their disapproval of the new Headmistress could not be clearer. They made no move to stop the spreading stories or to correct the students when they hissed and growled in complaint. The only one who seemed unfazed was Professor Snape.

When the class was finally released, hot and slightly sweaty from the humidity of the greenhouse, the fifth-years quickly began to retreat back up the marble staircases towards the Gryffindor common room, eager to wash and cool themselves before dinner. Talking with Dean and Seamus ahead, Ron suddenly made a hand gesture his mother undoubtedly would have clouted him for over to an adjacent staircase. With their shirts untucked and ties loosened, Fred and George sneered playfully back. They hopped over quickly during a transfer connection and joined the fifth-year Gryffindors on their trek.

'Cassy!' exclaimed George. 'The woman of the hour!'

'Yes?' drawled Cassy.

'Our good friend,' continued Fred.

'Our buddy.'

'Our pal.'

'What do you want?' she asked, rolling her eyes in amusement.

'What went on between you and Malfoy? We heard the little slime complaining all the way to the hospital wing,' said Fred, grinning.

'So did all of our Transfiguration class, actually. I don't think McGonagall was too impressed,' shrugged George.

Cassy hummed flatly. She was certainly getting a detention. She gave the pair an abridge version of events, emphasising Malfoy's new position and implying with speculative distaste what was sure to follow. With a mischievous smirk and half-lidded eyes, Cassy said, 'I do hope you two do not intend to be quiet now. It would be devastating not to break the new Headmistress into her new role.'

They laughed. 'We're way ahead of you.'

'The only thing worth sticking around for was the DA,' said Fred. 'Now that's gone things need to liven up a bit.'

Hermione turned and eyed the pair critically. 'Be careful. She'll be even worse now there is no one standing in her way.'

'Don't you worry about us, Hermione,' said George and he tapped her nose. 'We'll be just fine, won't we, Fred?'

'Of course, George. We've got an excellent plan.'

The pair winked and ran ahead and shoved Ron into the railings.

'I wish I could be as confident as them,' said Neville wistfully.

Cassy dearly hoped she was there to witness their plan unfold, whatever it was. They seemed more eager than she had ever seen them before and given the tense situation it was most likely to be a spectacular display. One phrase echoed through her mind distantly, though. 'The only thing worth sticking around for was the DA', Fred had said. It sounded as though they planned on going somewhere.

Before Cassy could give it any real thought, her name was called in a low, sneering tone she had come to associate with being in trouble.

'Potter, Black,' called Filch, hobbling towards them. 'Come with me.'

'Why?' demanded Harry.

'You'll see,' he sneered.

The two went without another word. Filch would occasionally turn back to check they were still following as they descended back to the second floor again. He looked unusually pleased and it did not take long for Cassy to realise his joy was because they were heading directly to Professor Umbridge's office.

'I've been telling Dumbledore for years he was too soft on yeh,' said Filch. 'Wouldn't be so clever if a good whipping was in store, you yeh? String yeh up by yer ankles and leave yeh to rot until I say so. Oh, when decree number twenty-nine comes in, neither of yeh will be so cocky. I've had enough of yeh breaking the rules over the years. Things will be different with her in charge.'

Cassy paid no attention to his ramblings. Hell would break loose if parents found their children were being whipped. It would never pass, not for any serious length of time, at least. The only reason Fudge was still managing was because of the fear people held at being branded a traitor to the government, but that would not hold back a torrent of complaints at such punishments. Briefly, Cassy wondered if she would be whipped for punching Malfoy earlier, but what greeted her when the door opened was much worse than any corporal punishment. It was the beaming face of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.

Beside him was Professor Umbridge who sat at her desk with a typically repulsive smile. In front of her were two cups of tea and only two. They were full, untouched and placed directly in front of two chairs on the opposite side of the desk. To her right sat a large, gold plaque reading: 'Headmistress' and behind her on the wall and chained to the ground like trophies were Harry, Fred, and George's brooms.

'Thank-you, Argus,' said Professor Umbridge sweetly.

'No problem at all, Ma'am. None at all,' he said and slunk back out the door.

As soon as it closed, Fudge clapped his hands and exclaimed, 'Harry Potter, it really has been too long. Do take a seat, both of you.'

'Drinks?' asked Professor Umbridge.

'No, thank-you,' said Cassy.

'Tea? Pumpkin juice? Coffee,' she asked.

'Nothing, thank-you,' said Harry.

'I wish for you both to have a drink with us. I already made you tea, but I can change it if you like.' Her voice had become high and sweet. She was annoyed.

'Tea is fine, thank-you,' said both Cassy and Harry with varying degrees of suspicion.

Cassy looked at the tea and then at the two cups Professor Umbridge had conjured on her desk. She made a show of pouring the milk in slowly and delicately. Cassy took the chance to turn to Harry and move her eyes pointedly from his cup to his eyes and shake her head a fraction. He nodded in the same way, already on the same line of thought. Alistair Moody would disembowel them for willingly drinking something given by a known enemy.

With the cups resting in their hands, they all fell silent.

'Drink up,' laughed Fudge hesitantly. He was wearing a forced, awkward smile again.

Cassy and Harry raised the cups to their lips, never parting them before putting the cups back into their laps.

Professor Umbridge smiled. 'Minister Fudge has some questions he needs you to answer completely truthfully, okay?'

They both turn to him expectantly and he nestled into a seat on the opposite side of the desk at last. The teacup steamed in front of him.

'Where is Sirius Black?' he asked.

Harry recoiled. Startled, he said, 'We don't know.'

'Oh, come now, Harry,' said Fudge in good humour.

'We never kept in contact. We never saw him again,' lied Cassy. A false frown was fixed on her face in an effort to appear confused.

'Right. Well, drink up! There's no sense in letting the tea get cold.' His voice was considerably cooler, but he did his best to keep a smile on his lips as they pretended to drink once more. 'It's important we find him and get him out of the way of the investigations that are going on. People are afraid he may have had a part in some scary events lately and if we find him we can clear his name.'

'The breakout you mean?' said Harry flatly. 'The Government was pretty keen to blame him, weren't they?'

Umbridge snarled. 'You need to have some respect – '

'It's quite all right,' said Fudge with false kindness. 'I assure you, Harry, we had nothing to do with that. People blamed Sirius because they were scared and the cause is unknown.'

Cassy stamped on Harry's foot to stop him snapping 'Voldemort'.

A faint banging began outside.

'As I said, Minister, we have not spoken to him. He has no reason to contact us,' she said imploringly.

'He was in the fireplace,' stated Professor Umbridge flatly.

Harry did his best look of shock and asked, 'In the fireplace? What do you mean?'

'You surely cannot mean a Firecall?' added Cassy, playing along. 'A Firecall is like a partial Floo, but used to hold conversations. Surely someone would have noticed.'

'Don't play dumb,' snapped Professor Umbridge.

Cassy pretended to drink as she spoke, keenly aware of Fudge's eyes on her. He laughed slightly. 'Surely you cannot expect us to believe you simply let him leave that night and he has not tried to contact you both since?'

Her features schooled into a cold mask in the blink of an eye. Fudge recoiled.

'Sir, with all due respect, what reason do I have for keeping in contact with my father?' she asked icily. 'He was involved in my life for a year before gallivanting away and getting himself involved in a mess that saw him imprisoned for twelve-years. Wrongfully or not, he has not played such a big part in my life that I would seek him out and he obviously did not care enough for me to keep out of trouble. If he does get into contact, I will be sure to tell you, Minister, so you can arrange the trial he deserves.'

Fudge continued to look startled at her cold words. Even Harry had tensed at the start of her expert lie.

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat. 'Where is Albus Dumbledore?'

'I don't know,' answered Harry, seemingly perplexed.

'You and Dumbledore are always together,' she said.

Harry frowned. 'I haven't spoken to him much all year. I honestly have no idea where he's gone.'

Fudge made a noise of disappointment.

'Everything is being watched. I will find out of there is anything I should know,' said Professor Umbridge sweetly.

The banging outside grew louder and louder as if growing closer.

Cassy stuck her hand in her pocket to grab her wand and banished half the liquid from her and Harry's cups.

'You have detention, Miss Black, tonight at five, for assaulting another student,' said Professor Umbridge.

Cassy nodded, unconcerned.

Just as she and Harry rose to leave, the door banged open and colourful streams of sparked filled the room. Deafening bangs chorused around them and Catherine Wheels flared into life. Professor Umbridge shrieked. Her arms rose to cover her head, while Harry let out a tremendous laugh. Whilst she blindly reached for her wand, Cassy and Harry sprinted from the room, following the explosions to the staircases. Sparks rose high, forming giant dragons and shattering into colourful rain all through the castle. The railings were lined with students screeching and cheering with each flash. Harry laughed loudly at the sight and Cassy grinned at the chaos in front of them.

'Is this good enough?' came a voice from behind her.

She turned to George and sighed heavily. 'I suppose it will have to suffice.'

'Is that a challenge?' Fred and George asked together.

'It might be,' smirked Cassy.

They were not able to enjoy the display for much longer as Professor Umbridge scurried down the hall, wand drawn and livid. She screamed at the crowds to go back to their common rooms and if anyone later asked they all blamed the lack of movement on the explosions drowning out her voice. There was nothing quite like the display, fierce and uncompromising as the explosions tore several portraits off the walls.

In the din, Cassy and Harry took the opportunity to escape onto the quiet grounds. Bangs, pops, and whizzes still echoed beside the lake where they could finally hear themselves speak, though their ears still rang.

'Veritaserum,' said Harry.

'If they had not believed they had drugged us then there is no way we would not have been interrogated harsher,' agreed Cassy.

The two walked leisurely around the placid lake.

'I can't believe Fudge actually asked us about Sirius and tried to make it look like he cared,' scoffed Harry. 'I don't believe for a moment he wasn't the one to blame him. He's terrified of the truth getting out about his innocence.'

'We need to be careful. If anyone hears even a suggestion of him now we will be lucky to just be expelled and not arrested,' she sighed.

Fireworks exploded through a window in the distance.

'How long do you think they will go on for?' asked Cassy.

'Knowing the twins, at least another week.'

The library was oddly crowded with Dumbledore's Army members in the days that followed. No one bothered to hide their association anymore and Cassy found herself often approached by many of them, having built good relations with them over the last few months. Even Astoria had found herself with friends in other houses as the walls between her and them broke down with Cassy's ever-watchful eyes and Astoria's own brash and stubborn determination to at least try and connect.

The conversation was usually polite, although sometimes genuinely friendly. She mostly said that yes, Harry was faring well, she was fine herself, and revision was going well. She had volunteered to help Ginny and Luna with their revision in the library and watched over their summoning and banishing spells. Ginny would send things soaring towards her and Luna would vanish them before they collided with anyone in a sort of hazardous game. When Madam Pince made her rounds the books would clatter to the ground and the two would turn to Cassy as if having been conversing all the while with her.

'Your cousin docked me ten points today for smiling,' said Ernie Macmillan from the table next to their own.

Cassy sighed.

Ginny smirked over at him. 'You could always ask Cassy to punch him in the face again.'

'You hit him?' asked Macmillan incredulously.

'I was deducted fifty-points and had a detention, but it was worth it,' said Cassy idly. She did not believe in violence unless necessary, unless it came to Draco Malfoy, to which it always felt needed. She supposed their old squabbles as children still stuck in her bones.

Susan Bones giggled into her hand while Macmillan looked as though he could kiss her.

They spoke for the better part of an hour before the two Hufflepuffs bid the girls goodnight and retreated back to their common room. The Sun had begun to set outside, casting a bright orange light through the tall, arched windows as it descended slowly behind the high Scottish mountains. The library had fallen into a quiet hush as it grew closer and closer to curfew. The faint shuffling of books to the far side meant Madam Pince had not yet begun her rounds to clear the lingering students for the night.

Ginny watched Luna with interest, her hand propped up her chin and her lips were parted for some time in thought. There was clearly something she wished to ask her studying friend and Cassy pretended not to be curious as she finished up the last sentence of her Potions essay.

'What are you going to do about Neville?' asked Ginny at last.

Cassy continued to pretend to read through her work. She had always known there was something going on between the two, but it never felt appropriate to ask and now Ginny was about to solve the nagging curiosity for her.

'I like him very much,' said Luna simply.

'But?' prompted Ginny.

'Is it possible for someone to not realise they like someone?' she asked. A light frown marred her usually serene features. An unusual look of confusion drew her features together in an unexplainably bizarre expression.

Ginny frowned. 'What do you mean?'

Luna did not respond and instead looked at Cassy. Unable to pretend she was not listening anymore, she turned to meet her gaze.

'When did you start having feelings for Harry?' she asked.

Cassy was quiet for a moment, then said, 'I realised in fourth-year, but upon thinking about it I suppose it was more likely to have started sometime in third-year.'

'And how did you know you liked him?'

That is a bit personal, her inner-self protested. She supposed it was something that friends told each other, but Cassy did not like to share and that certainly felt like sharing. She took a minute to think and replied, 'I just did. He was something different in my mind and always the first person I turned to.'

And the one I feared judging me most, she added in thought, but no one needed to know that bit.

A shadow suddenly fell across their table and Cassy felt the heat rise in her cheeks at the sight of the very person they had been speaking of. Mortified, Cassy scanned his face for any sign he had heard her, but his expression was grim and unless he had come over with the explicit intent of breaking up with her she was confident her words had not caused it and she would like to think some rare verbally expressed sentiment would cheer him up if he was unhappy, so she concluded he must not have heard her.

'What's the matter?' she asked.

'Just had a terrible Occulmency lesson,' said Harry and he dropped into a seat beside her.

Cassy did not ask him to explain. She knew he would not want to, not yet. His face was pinched and stressed, his eyes defeated. Instead, she smiled quickly at Luna in apology for the interruption and set herself the task of trying to distract Harry instead. It did not work too well, for while he laughed at her sarcastic comments the problem was still clearly at the front of his mind. The four only had another fifteen-minutes in the library before Madam Pince finally circled the room and asked them to leave. Ginny walked ahead with Luna with the excuse there was something she wished to speak to her about. It was probably true to some extent, Cassy knew, for she too wanted to continue the conversation she had been mid-way through with Luna and get to the bottom of her questions. When they disappeared, taking a long route to the Ravenclaw common room, Cassy still said nothing. It was Harry who sighed deeply.

'I know you're going to tell me I shouldn't have,' he began slowly, 'but I looked in a Pevensie in Snape's office.'

Cassy raised an eyebrow at him. He was right. He should not have looked, but even she could not deny such an opportunity would have been very tempting.

'I saw a memory of his Defence Against the Dark Arts exam for his OWLs. My parents were there, Sirius too.'

Cassy waited for him to continue his explanation, but instead his frown deepened into a hateful scowl.

'My dad's vile.'

Cassy recoiled in shock.

'I can't imagine why my mum married him unless she was forced to,' he continued venomously.

'Slow down,' commanded Cassy as she took hold of his arms. 'Where is this coming from?'

She pulled him to a stop just in time to prevent him walking off the edge of the moving staircase.

'He was a bully. He taunted Snape for no reason and when my mum asked him why he just said it was because he existed. He's like Malfoy.' He spat the words and refused to meet Cassy's eye. The disappointment was evident in the slump of his shoulders and the far-away look in his burning green eyes. He had always thought so highly of his parents, so to see his father as anything less than wonderful must have struck his heart harder than he would have imagined.

Calmly, Cassy turned him to face her. 'What did you see?'

'My dad strung Snape up by the ankle with some sort of spell after Snape tried to curse him and cut his cheek instead. Sirius stunned Snape with Petrificus Totalus before Snape could hex back. My mum ordered him to put him down, but then my dad said he only would if she went on a date with him and she said she would rather date the Giant Squid than a bullying toerag like him, which is apt, I suppose.' He sighed. 'When my mum tried to defend Snape he said he didn't need help from a Mudblood like her and dad tried to make him apologise, but she wouldn't have any of it and said he made her sick. That was the end of it. How did they ever get together when he was so nasty?'

Cassy was not at all surprised her father had joined in. They had been best-friends, often making two people as bad as one another when together and it was no secret to her how much Sirius loathed Professor Snape.

'I just feel… I always thought it was a compliment when people compared me to my father. Professor McGonagall once said he was like Fred and George, so I always thought he liked a good laugh, but not at the expense of others. I never thought they were bullies,' said Harry.

They two began walking again, very slowly and with hushed voices, having missed the start of curfew.

'Sirius always goes on about how great my dad was, but…' he continued.

'But what kind of person is he himself, you wonder,' said Cassy in understanding. 'I understand. What you have to be aware of is that you witnessed a memory of a fifteen-year-old boy, and yes, before you say it, we are in the same year and no I am sure you would not do the same, but that does not mean James did not grow into someone wonderful by the time he left school and married your mother. You saw a memory from Professor Snape's perspective and yes, it seems like James was unwarranted in his behaviour, but he did call your mother a Mudblood, so I refuse to believe he is an innocent party in all of this. I very much doubt anyone who slings that word around, especially towards someone who was trying to help them, does not have their own faults. It hardly seemed to be the first time such a thing had happened, so perhaps you should speak to Blackjack and find out a little more about it before you write your father from your good books completely.'

Harry hummed in a distinctly dissatisfied manner.

'Remus, then,' she offered.

He shook his head and said, 'At least my mum seemed nice enough. It makes sense why Snape hates me so much now, though.'

Cassy tensed and sneered, 'There is no excuse to treat you like he does. You are not your father like I am not mine. He treats everyone terribly and I refuse to accept that a school rivalry can warrant anything like he does. He treats Neville with exactly the same loathing and he is here to teach the students, not bully them like he might have been bullied. It is not your fault and as a grown man he should be able to understand that. A memory of a bully does not excuse anything else he went on to do.'

Her tone startled him for a moment, but by the end of her little rant Harry seemed to be pacified.

'To hate someone so much you would publicly humiliate them like that, though,' he said, trailing off.

'Don't pretend you did not laugh when Barty Crouch Jr. turned Malfoy into a ferret last year,' scoffed Cassy.

Harry managed a laugh. 'Point taken.'

If Cassy was honest, she was irritated to find her father had taken part in such blatantly horrid acts at school. Perhaps if she knew a reason such things occurred then she would have been more understanding, but she never believed anyone should bully another. Occasionally, and admittedly more than was sometimes warranted, she did hit her cousin, which was not so different from cursing or jinxing him. He had even hit her back on the odd occasion and had quickly learnt Cassy was inclined to brawl if her fists were all she had, propriety be damned. She supposed it was not so different. If James had punched Professor Snape then she supposed Harry would not mind so much as he often itched to do the same himself, but it must be the humiliation of the task that really strangled the positive image of his father for him.

She loathed the way Harry was sure to mull over the memory over and over in his mind, worsening the thoughts unless she could break him from that chain truly before he slept that night. What he really needed to do was contact her father and discuss it with him and discover more of his own father's better traits, but Harry appeared as though he would rather drown himself in the lake than talk to him right then.

'Snape caught me looking and doesn't want to teach me Occulmency anymore,' he said suddenly.

Cassy blinked and then sighed deeply. Of course, that was Harry's secondary issue with the events. To anyone else that might have seemed vitally important, but she supposed there was no helping it now. She rubbed her temples and said, 'We better brush up on our skills then. I'll add it to the timetable of revision.'

Harry grinned, thankful there was no lecture attached to her words, and swooped down to kiss her head.

My issue with this year of the series is that it takes forever to get anywhere. The book takes so long to get to the point of it all that I feel like I have twenty-eight chapters of filler work to do yet so much of it is important to arriving at the end it was impossible to edit down.

Anyway, thank-you all for the kind reviews on the last chapter. I have officially finished plotting year six, which should not be nearly as complex or long-winded as this year is. I do appreciate how straight forward the plot is.

To Xenocanaan: She very well might be curious! I don't promise it will result in anything until much later though.

Thanks!