C. M. Black: Eyes of an Owl
Chapter XXXII: It bears his name
The landscape beneath streaked by, indistinguishable and ever-changing with the unbelievable speed the Thestrals reached. It was liberating, mindless and easy to fly and Cassy wondered if it was akin to the feeling Harry had every time he rode a broomstick. She restrained from stretching her arms out at her sides. It was not the time for it. They had a purpose to fulfil and a battle waiting to commence when they landed. She eyed Harry warily. The wind reflective charm cast over her face allowed her to perfectly see his lowered brow and downturned corners of his lips.
I should have left him at Hogwarts, she thought. Consequences be damned, because she was certain there was more than a petty grudge that kept Voldemort returning to Harry. It made no sense he had sought out the Potters to kill him to begin with, the connection they shared made no sense either and despite what Remus would have her believe, it was no mere coincidence, she was sure of it.
Still, sense dictated she could not have just left him behind. He would have found his own way there to rescue his Godfather whether she wanted him to or not. Her thoughts drifted to her father. The Sun had begun to lower, they had wasted so much time from when he had first been seen to now. It was possible that he might be dead. He could be lying on the ground in the Department of Mysteries bleeding slowly and growing weaker with each moment they spent in the sky; it was possible he was still screaming, hoarse and exhausted. It was also very possible he was at home in Grimmauld Place, cursing his house-elf and ripping apart more precious family photos.
The temperature dropped with the descent of the Sun and the rise in their altitude. Limbs had long since gone stiff and numb when they finally began their decline. London came clearly into view and no one was concerned with being seen by the Muggles – they were sure to soon be arrested anyway.
Cassy and Harry slipped from the Thestrals the moment the hooves touched the ground. She patted hers and mumbles a grateful thank-you. Harry did the same and marched straight to the red telephone box outside of an old stone building she knew to be the Ministry. It was bathed in the departing orange light of the late sunset. Cars streaked by, unaware of the teenagers urging the docile Thestrals out of the road. They stopped and stooped to pick at the rubbish in the gutter.
There was a loud slap as Ron walked into the hindquarters of his Thestral.
Luna skipped to Cassy's side. Her large, protruding eyes regarded the surroundings with mild interest, probably never having been near the Ministry before. Hermione looked agitated, still unsure; Neville appeared oddly steeled, his wand already drawn.
The Floo network was always the travelling method of choice when Cassy had been to the Ministry. She, Draco, and Narcissa would Floo in on slow Wednesday afternoons to see Lucius as he worked, sometimes to bring him lunch or to keep him company after a long meeting. Those days were gone, but Cassy rather wished for them right then as she and six others squashed themselves into the tiny box with a great deal of effort. Harry pulled the door shut.
'Whoever can reach, dial six-two-four-four-two,' he instructed and Ron reached for the dial awkwardly.
Suddenly, a calm female voice filled the phonebox. It said, 'Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your names and purposes.'
Harry reeled off their names quickly, snapping their purpose pointedly at the pre-recorded voice. Seven badges dropped into the coin return slot. Hermione handed Cassy hers. It read: Cassy Black, Rescue Mission.
If everyone came back alive, she would quite like to keep it. It was almost laughable.
'Wands must be checked in at the security desk at the far end of the Atrium,' said the woman.
Harry grunted a rushed agreement. Neville, Hermione, and Luna each put on their badges. Cassy stuffed hers in her pocket as the ground beneath them began to shake. The box descended soundlessly for many feet. A faint gold soon filtered up from the bottom of the glass windows. It illuminated their feet, then their knees, their hips, then chests, then faces as the shimmering light of the Atrium finally slipped into sight. It was dark blue, with twisting gold runes that flickered and flowed across the ceiling. A golden fountain was in the centre of the floor with water flowing from the tips of wands, centaur arrows, goblin hats, and house-elf ears into the pool beneath.
There was no one to greet them at the desk. Cassy had already planned how she would render the security personnel unconscious anyway, so it was fortunate they were not present, it saved her a job. It was also very unfortunate at the same time. It raised the question of why and where they had gone to begin with. Suspiciously, she circled the desk. There were no signs of a struggle, no scrapes or scratches. Nothing appeared out of place. They were simply gone.
'Maybe some of you should stay here,' said Harry suddenly. 'You know, to keep watch.'
'I thought we had already had this conversation?' said Luna. She looked between everyone, as though waiting for someone to correct her.
'Can we just get on with it?' asked Ron firmly.
Harry bit his lip and Cassy felt the mirror weigh heavily in her pocket. Her wand flexed impatiently in her hand, but she steeled herself against any temptation to burst into action. They needed to think and they needed to plan.
'You are all aware,' her voice rang out, strong and calm, 'that whether this is a trap or not, Voldemort will be present down in the department?'
No one replied. Everyone but Harry and Luna paled, as though the reality of the situation had not fully been explored in their minds. They knew it, of course, there was no way it had not crossed their minds, but knowing a fact and knowing the implications of that fact were not the same.
'If that's supposed to deter us then it won't work. We're still going,' announced Neville resolutely. His shoulders were squared and in any other circumstance, Cassy would have smiled.
'C'mon,' called Harry reluctantly from beside a gold lift. He pushed the rattling doors aside and urged them all inside, pressing for floor nine impatiently. Knowingly, Cassy took a hold of a nearby railing. A quiet grumbling sounded, the lift trembled, and then, like a dog let off a lead, it shot away suddenly. Everyone jerked, barely able to remain standing. The numbers flicked by high on the wall as the lift descended, rattling and clanking as though it was about to fall apart beneath their feet. It resonated deafeningly loudly against the apprehensive silence.
The elevator halted as suddenly as it began. The gold barrier shifted away to reveal a solid black door. It bore no markings, not even from wear, and a single brass door handle protruded from the centre. It opened to a great circular room. The walls were black as the doors that lined them. A dark marble floor reflected the faint blue light from the burning candles mounted high on brackets. All wands were drawn and lit, but it did little good. The light seemed to be lost before it could be of much use.
As Neville stepped from the elevator, the door slid itself shut.
'What's it doing?' demanded Ginny.
The walls appeared to spin silently, the blue light vanishing for a second, leaving them with only the ghostly light of their wands. Huddled in the centre and ready to attack, everyone watched with mild trepidation as they halted. Cassy's first thought was that they must have set off some sort of defence mechanism. Such a department should have had rigorous tests and trials if anyone wanted to break into it, but it had been so easy to walk through the doors and straight into uncovering the Ministry's greatest secrets. Nothing else happened, though.
Ron, Neville, and Ginny began to speak in hushed voices to one another, their voices fretful and wary. Cassy frowned at the doors. The exit was gone.
'It must be to stop us finding our way around so easily. We won't be able to tell where we've been and where we haven't, let alone the exit,' muttered Hermione.
'We mark the doors then,' said Cassy.
'That's what I was thinking,' nodded Hermione. She turned to Harry. 'Any idea what we're looking for?'
He swallowed and breathed deeply. 'From this room, I always went into one that kind of glittered. I'll know it when I see it. Let's check each one out then and mark it before it has a chance to change.'
Hermione immediately burnt a large 'X' into the nearest door. Harry opened it to reveal more low ceilings and faint lanterns. The room was mostly empty, with the exception of a few desks pushed to either side. In the centre, however, was a large tank which emitted an unusual, unnerving white glow. There was something terribly ominous about the masses that swam lazily through the placid water. They were rounded at the top with long, thin chords descending, which appeared to move independently of one another. Cassy's breath caught in her throat.
They cannot possibly be what I think they are, she thought in shock. Her hands pressed against the glass of the tank.
'What are they?' whispered Ron.
'They look like some sort of jellyfish,' suggested Neville, squinting.
'Aquavirus Maggots!' chirped Luna and Cassy did not even want to know what those were supposed to be. They all needed their eyes testing, the answer was obvious.
'They're brains,' said Hermione breathlessly.
'What?' demanded Ginny.
Harry joined Cassy by the side of the tank for a moment. Like her, he watched them with a kind of morbid fascination. If they did not have something very serious to pursue, then Cassy could have easily watched them float for hours; she wanted to rummage through the draws and check the notes on what exactly they were doing, what these were for, and how they had got them.
'There are more doors here,' observed Ron.
'I came straight out of the first door and into the room. It has to be one of the ones in the hall,' Harry said confidently, although Cassy could tell he was disheartened by the size of the department. If she was honest, she had expected it to be large and to cover much ground, but she expected the pathway to be so clearly engrained in his mind after months of the visions that it would be easier than this. She had never anticipated the doors would move.
She reluctantly trailed behind her boyfriend back out the door and watched the room change for a second time.
Behind the next for was a room loftier than the last. A foot wide rim of stone formed the first line of two dozen rings that descended far into the ground. The sunken pit resembled an amphitheatre and in the centre of the flat ring on the lowest level was an archway, covered by a tattered, black cloth. Luna moved forward down the steps. She walked towards the arch, a curious expression lifting her features. While that was not unusual in itself, Cassy warily followed her because of the very reason Luna was so curious – the voices.
Cold air blew around them in a manner that was less like a breeze and more like a dozen grazing hands. It was so light and inconsistent that it made skin crawl and limbs squirm to get away. It was unlike anything Cassy had ever felt. As she got closer, she realised it was not just wandering hands but murmuring voices that set her bones on edge.
'What are those voices?' asked Luna.
Cassy walked by, closer to the archway. Her fingers gripped at the cloth tightly.
'What voices?' asked Ginny nervously.
'There aren't any voices,' said Hermione.
'I hear them,' said Harry distantly. He was only now a few feet from Cassy.
'Me too,' said Neville.
It was only Hermione, Ginny, and Ron who seemed unable to hear the indistinguishable voices that flooded the hall so loudly. With that in mind, Cassy ripped the sheet from the arch. The arch was cracked and much taller than it had appeared so far away. There was no obvious pathway for it to lead to; the space that should have been hollow was filled with a rippling, silver substance that moved and flowed like water on an autumn's day.
She breathed out. It was mesmerising. Every fibre of her body told her she should climb through it and it was obvious from the way Harry inched closer to get a better look that his body told him the same.
'Can we leave now? This isn't the right room,' pleaded Hermione. She grabbed Neville's arm to pull him away like Ron took Ginny's. They both wore expressions as serenely curious as Cassy felt. She shook herself mentally and followed from the room, offering a quick push of encouragement to Harry.
When they were all safely in the hall again and the doors had moved, Cassy suggested, 'Perhaps we should do two at a time and not enter if it's wrong. It would be quicker than this.'
They needed to find Sirius if he was even there.
Cassy and Neville opened a door that revealed only darkness. Straining to see, faint shapes and distance lights became visible. Tiny white lights like distant stars and larger, dim orbs hung high above. There looked as though there was no floor, only blackness and tiny lights. Curiously, Cassy took a step forward and Neville held the black of her cloak for security, but her foot touched solid ground.
'It looks like space,' commented Neville in awe.
The orbs that hung above rotated slowly, the star-like lights meant to be just that and the room seemed to never end. Faint shapes like doors seemed to hang high in the air. The abyss was soundless. It did not glitter like Harry had said, it twinkled and even then, the lights were so faint.
'This must be it!' cried Ron from behind them.
Cassy shut and marked the door.
'It can't be it,' said Hermione as Ron rattled the door eagerly. 'Harry's door wasn't locked.'
Harry lowered the knife in his hand that Sirius had given him. He said, 'You're right. Let's keep moving.'
The next door Cassy and Neville opened immediately released a stinging, white light into the gloomy corridor. They shielded their eyes; several hisses sounded behind them as every inch was smothered in the unyielding glow. Black spots flittered through Cassy's eyes when she removed her arm, blinking quickly.
Gleaming clocks hung from every available surface. They ticked and ticked, all out of time and echoing into a din so disorientating it was difficult to know where to look. At the far end of the room was a crystal bell jar, ornate and shining, the source of the intense light. An egg was silhouetted against the shine inside it. It sprouted feathers, then shed them, only to grow them again in what appeared to be an endless cycle.
Of all the rooms she had seen, Cassy thought this was the most intriguing. Although the arch had been mesmerising in its own way, this was Time. This was where Time Turners must have been developed. Peering around eagerly, she spotted them in a cabinet in the far corner. She still rued the fact that she had not borrowed Hermione's Time Turner while she could.
'This is it,' breathed Harry. Everyone had gathered behind them at the light and Harry had pushed his way forward. 'This is the room through that door. This is it.'
Anxiety surged through Cassy's body, but so did eagerness, dread, and impatient anticipation. It bundled inside her into a steeled emotion of readiness. They crept forward, wands drawn. The door swung open. Nothing. There was no one ready to burst into action, nor piercing screams of pain as they had all envisioned. Instead, there were merely towering shelves, lined with small, dusty glass orbs that barely reflected the dim, eerie light of the far-away lanterns. There was no warmth within the room whilst they moved between the closest aisles carefully.
'This is it,' whispered Harry certainly.
Small name tags sat beneath each orb.
'Prophesies,' breathed Cassy.
'What?' whispered Hermione, frowning.
'This is the room of prophecies. Everyone knows the Ministry has one somewhere, but I never expected it to be somewhere as obvious as London in the Department of Mysteries,' she explained quietly. 'This is where they are all recorded and stored.'
Why is this where Harry keeps having dreams of, though? She wondered. Then, she froze. Flashes of the conversation she had had with Remus danced across her mind's eye. Lily sacrifice herself for Harry, a baby who could not even talk more than a handful of words, who probably had not even had his first burst of accidental magic yet. Harry who could offer nothing in defence of the Dark Lord, unless he was prophesied to do so. Her heart sunk.
'We need to leave,' she said urgently, still hushed.
Harry ignored her and liked his lips. 'We're close.'
'Harry, this is not right. We are here because of a prophecy. We must leave now,' she demanded. It all made sense. That is why the Ministry had found people lurking outside and why Voldemort wanted Harry there. He must have wanted Harry to collect it himself, perhaps there were enchantments to prevent someone else collecting it. It could be Bode and his work accident, so mysteriously and suddenly killed in hospital.
Harry turned to her this time. He frowned and frowned deeper at her livid scowl. The panic had given way to intimidation, something easier to manage and easier to enforce into action. If Harry took another step into the room she would gladly fight tooth and nail to drag him out again.
'We have to get Sirius, we have to check,' he said, scandalised.
'Why did Voldemort attack your family that night? Why did he give your mother the option to stand aside and let you be killed alone? The Dark Lord needn't kill a baby unless that baby was prophesied to be his downfall,' she hissed.
'What?' he hissed back. 'Are you mad?'
Quite possibly, thought Cassy, but it was really not the point. They needed to leave. Everyone else was now looking anxious beside them, their wands were held tightly in their fists and their eyes were even more restless than before. Harry, however, just frowned and took a step away.
'Harry!' snapped Cassy.
'Let me check, then we'll go!'
Cassy withdrew the mirror and followed him down the next aisle. She scowled openly at the back of his head. Without warning, he stopped.
'This is it,' he said.
Cassy did not know how he could tell because every aisle looked exactly the same. It was simply rows and rows of dusty orbs and dim lights. In her irritation, she sneered and grabbed his sleeve harshly.
'We have to go now,' she said again.
Harry looked around hopelessly. 'What if they've taken him somewhere else?'
'Harry,' called Ron uneasily. 'Your name's written here.'
Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
Harry breathed out unsteadily. The weight of the situation crashed down on each of them. It was a trap. There was no denying it. It was a trap. Harry plucked the orb from the shelf, captivated.
'Why is it so dark?'
Everyone froze. Stiffly, Cassy glanced down at the mirror she had lowered so unflatteringly. Wide and inquisitive grey eyes stared up at her. Wet hair draped around a pale face and a green towel rested on his shoulders. Sirius blinked.
Shouting sounded faintly in the background of the mirror. The voice was strong, yet female, commanding immediate attention as it shouted his name. Mrs Longbottom had received her note from Neville.
Cassy glanced up to the horrified faces of her friends. Yet, between the heads of Ginny and Neville, something silver flashed distantly.
'It's a trap!' roared Cassy. She fired a red jet of light down the aisle and suddenly colourful streams surrounded them as they rushed to huddle back to back.
Faintly, Cassy thought she might have heard a 'what?' from her father as the mirror was shattered by a passing yellow curse. The remnants hit the ground with high, echoing clinks that drew the room into silence.
They were surrounded by cloaked people in pale silver masks, faceless and unidentifiable.
Harry moved backwards and trod on Ginny's toes. His weight was centred on his back foot, noticed Cassy. They were going to run further into the room and take cover amongst the endless shelves.
One of the Death Eaters moved forward fluidly. The mask dissolved, revealing the angled face and pale hair of Lucius Malfoy. He smirked.
'Careful now. We would not want anyone hurt now, would we?' he drawled and held out his hand. 'Give the prophesy over, Potter.'
Harry did not move.
'Hand it over, Potter,' he said again, more forcefully.
When he still did not move, the tall Death Eater beside Lucius laughed, high and hollow.
'Being brave, Potter? Look what good that's already done you. You can't tell the difference between a dream and reality. You have marched your friends to death,' she said, giggling to herself.
Harry tensed.
Lucius held out his hand again.
Again, Harry did not move.
'Oh, enough of this,' said the woman. 'Accio, pro – '
She did not have the chance to finish for Harry was quicker. She was forced to abandon her spell and deflect it. Once more, she laughed.
'Potter knows how to play,' she cooed. Her hood lowered and her mask dissolved. Instantly, Cassy was struck by how much like Andromeda she appeared. Her face was more skull-like than hers, weathered from years imprisoned, but so close in resemblance that her identity was undeniable. 'We have other ways to persuade you. How about we start with one of the girlies here? Make them scream.'
Her eyes moved from Ginny to Cassy, when Lucius suddenly spoke, 'Do not raise your wand until we have the prophecy.'
Bellatrix shifted lazily on the spot and rolled her eyes. 'We cannot touch Potter, we were never told to leave anyone else alone.' Her eyes fixed again curiously on Cassy, as though trying to figure out a great puzzle.
'Touch anyone and I'll smash the prophecy,' said Harry fiercely.
Cassy could tell by the tenseness of his muscles as he leant against her that he was not as confident as he felt. Neville shook behind her and Hermione was desperately trying to calm herself with forced deep breaths. Ron's hand had gripped Ginny's arm tightly and although Luna showed no obvious signs of panic, Cassy could faintly feel her shortened breaths against her ear.
'What prophecy is this, anyway?' asked Harry quickly. He was buying them time to think.
Bellatrix sneered. 'You jest.'
Cassy looked around at the Death Eaters. There were twelve of them and seven teenagers. They were almost outweighed two-to-one, but they just needed some way to remove as many as possible in one hit.
'Dumbledore never told you the reason you have that scar was hidden within the Ministry?' sneered Lucius.
'No,' continued Harry. 'Although, I'm starting to get a pretty good idea of what it says. Is that why you're all running scared?'
Bellatrix only glanced at Harry in mild annoyance, before she returned to Cassy. She bluntly and suddenly asked, 'Who are you?'
Cassy regarded her coolly.
'That,' introduced Lucius lowly, 'is Cassiopeia Black. Sirius' daughter.'
Bellatrix emitted a short, sharp laugh whilst never opening her lips. She said, 'I thought she looked like Narcissa from a certain angle. I had forgotten that mangy Blood-Traitor cousin of mine had reproduced.'
'Smash shelves,' breathed Harry.
'Well, Narcissa and Lucius did help to raise me,' said Cassy with a cold smile to keep the attention from him a while longer.
Lucius coughed, 'A lost cause from the start, I fear.'
'When I say,' continued Harry.
'A lost cause to a family like yours is only a compliment, dear Lucius,' she announced warmly.
Bellatrix sneered and raised her wand again.
'What is this prophecy and what does it have to do with my scar?' questioned Harry loudly, appearing to dislike the attention Cassy had garnered from the Death Eaters.
Lucius turned, seemingly delighted. His voice became lighter, almost triumphant as he said, 'I cannot believe it. The Dark Lord wondered why you did not come sooner – '
'Now!'
There was a rush of air as everyone burst into life. Great crashes echoed mercilessly through the room as the shelves began to collapse in on themselves and streams of ghostly light spiralled from the smashed prophecies. Whispered lines of dozens of foretold stories rushed around them, the din masking the shouts and footsteps as everyone separated.
They are finally at the Ministry. Yay! There have been many messages about people hoping Sirius won't die and I must say you will have to wait and see!
Thank-you for the lovely reviews and welcome to my new readers. It's quite a hefty series to get through, so I'm glad when I see people like it enough to get through the current 673,000 words (excluding this chapter) total.
I hope you like this one too.
To the "guest" who reviewed, I thought it was quite obvious that Cassy was afraid of allowing Harry to face Voldemort, seeing as he tries to kill him all the time. She wasn't trying to be arrogant in her thoughts, she wanted to keep him out of danger, because injuring or dying herself doesn't compare to the feeling she holds for those close to her. She's protective, sometimes overly so and it gets her into trouble. This time, I feel like it's actually quite a justified passing thought to try and keep someone away from their would-be murderer.
Thanks!