I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER - JUST BORROWING
Cassiopeia Aurora Black was just an ordinary fifteen-year-old witch with jet-black hair and dark eyes. Cassi lived in the countryside with her mother, Aurora Black, and her house elf. Her mother was from England. She was also a Death Eater. So was her father. That fact was never hidden from her. Her mother told her everything, even shared memories with her so she would understand. The most harrowing story her mother told her was when she decided to run. It was the day she found out she was pregnant. Aurora's magic was starting to malfunction. She would have to do it soon. The Dark Lord would see her growing belly, which would end her and her plan, especially without magic. Aurora took her chance one stormy night and hired an illegal port key to take her to France. There she would buy a muggle passport, change her clothes, board a muggle airplane, and fly to America. They wouldn't be able to track her magic past France.
When Aurora landed in Atlanta, she bolted. Not knowing anything about America, she tried staying in remote places. During her last trimester, she temporarily lost her magic. She knew it was a possibility, especially with how unreliable it had been in the beginning. Toward the end of May, she came upon an abandoned farmhouse. She stayed there until she gave birth. On May 30th, under the crescent moon, Cassiopeia Aurora Black came into the world.
A few weeks after Cassi was born, her magic returned. When she bought the farmhouse where her baby was born, she confunded the realtor to put a fake name down on the deed. She put every muggle-repelling charm she knew on the place and set up some detection spells so she would know if someone was approaching. Her baby would be safe. Aurora made the little farm unplottable by being the family's secret keeper. Aurora fixed up the little house and made it perfect. It was bright and airy, just perfect for the two of them. After a few months, her mother acquired a house elf, Bailey. She had found him in New York when they ventured out for potion ingredients she couldn't grow herself. He had just been freed, and he was a mess. His old master was dying and didn't want him bound to a house, alone, with only memories of his family. There was no heir to claim him. His master didn't want that for him, so he freed him. My mother made him a deal. She told him to stay with his old master until he passed, then come to her. She could use the help. Bailey was delighted with the offer. Cassi never remembered a time when Bailey wasn't there. He was her best friend, and she loved him.
Although she had never been to school, her mother and her house elf Bailey filled her days and many nights with lessons. They started teaching her potions when she was tall enough to see over the cauldron. Potions were second nature to her now. She knew many recipes for antidotes and healing potions by heart. They had been taught first, followed by poisons and antidotes. Then once her magic began to make itself known, around the age of 8, her magic training began. Wandless first, trying to hone her abilities. Then healing spells, hexes, and jinxes came next. Cassi was proud to say she excelled at it. Curses came next.
She learned survival skills from her muggle teacher, Mr. Motts. Mr. Motts was a cranky old man with no patience for children except Cassi. She wasn't a normal kid. She didn't "giggle and run around like a lunatic," and she didn't "blast that crap people call music." Cassi, he could tolerate. So he agreed to show her a few things when her mother asked in exchange for fresh eggs and milk. "No magic!" her mother would hiss in her ear. "It all has to be done with resources you'll find along your hike. You need to learn how to survive in a world with or without magic". So, Cassi spent every Saturday for weeks during the summer in the forests surrounding her home, learning how to build shelters, start fires, and place snares and traps to catch food. She hated every minute, but she supposed it made her resourceful. Well, at the very least, she got to spend some time outside instead of bent over her parchment or stirring a cauldron.
They spent most days going through her mother's old Hogwarts books. Her mother taught her fun things like making a teacup tap dance as a reward but reinforcing things like creating fire, water, ice, growing charms, and cleaning charms. Transfiguration was the hardest, but she was learning to conjure now. She managed to conjure a cup and plate, and a blanket. Her mother wanted to make sure she could conjure useful things. When Cassi complained, her mother would say, "You're the most precious thing to me. I need to know you'll be okay if I disappear tomorrow." Cassi would roll her eyes and kiss her mother's cheek. "I love you too," Cassi would whisper.
The little farm they had was entirely self-sustaining. They grew vegetables, raised their own animals, and had a greenhouse for potion ingredients. "We need to be careful," her mother always told her. She would always place a glamor on herself whenever she ventured off the grounds. It was rare her mother had to go to town or to one of the hidden wizarding shops in New York City. It seemed easy to hide things in a city that huge. No one ever made eye contact anyway. They were always rushing around, trying to get where ever Muggles needed to go, but as quickly as possible.
It was a warm summer night toward the end of June. She and her mother watched the fireflies dance outside while toasting hot dogs on skewers when her mother cried out, clutching her left forearm. Alarmed, Cassi looked around, asking, "Mum? What happened?" Aurora rubbed at her forearm furiously for a moment and said, "An ember must have gotten through my sleeve somehow." Hissing slightly and still scrubbing at her arm, she said, "I'll put some salve on this and bring us some lemonade. I'll be right back". When she returned, it was like nothing had happened. They both laughed riotously at something the new calf had discovered. He was only a few days old, so everything was still new to him. The calf found a cricket which jumped up toward his nose as he sniffed at it curiously, causing the calf to bellow in alarm and run toward his mother for safety. It was a beautiful night, Cassi thought, perfect in every way.
When her mother came up and kissed her goodnight, she went through the steps. They went through the steps every night. It was like their own prayer. Aurora asked, "When the alarm sounds, what do you do?" Cassi dutifully replied, "Grab my wand, put on my shoes, grab my bag, assess my surroundings."
"Then?" her mother questioned. Cassi replied, "Try and get a count and direction. Grab the port key off the table by the stairs and put it in my pocket." Her mother never told her where the port key would take her, just that when she got there, she would be safe. That's all her mother ever cared about.
"And the password to the portkey?" her mother asked, eyebrows raised. "Safety," Cassi responded at once. "And how is it activated?" she continued to push. "Tap it twice with my wand" Cassie almost rolled her eyes at the detail of her mother's interrogation. "And we're to be?" she continued to question. "Silent as a mouse, stealth as a cat, quick as a rabbit," Cassi said through a heavy yawn, repeating her mother's mantra as she had since she was little. Cassi knew it was important to her mother for her to be safe. She was told daily what dangers could befall them should the Dark Lord rise again. Occasionally her mother would surprise her and set off the alarms to see if Cassi could perform under pressure. She would pretend to be a masked assailant, set off the wards around the grounds, and make Cassi fight. The last two times she had done this, Cassi had managed to overpower her in under 5 minutes. When she lost, however, she had to drill the next day. Drilling was miserable. She was awoken before dawn, made to run around the property's boundary five times, do endless sit-ups, pushups, and dueling until she was sweaty and exhausted. Cassi learned to get creative quickly. It had been 15 years since her mother came to this place. Surely by now, the Dark Lord was gone, wasn't he? Cassi drifted off peacefully, with a wand clutched in her hand under her pillow just in case.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The boundary alarms sounded. Cassi woke with a start, wand already in her hand, and stepped into her shoes. Peering through the gap in the curtains, she could see several little pops of white light when the men stalking toward the house breached the barrier. "Shit, it's not a drill!" she muttered, turned and grabbed her bag, and shoved it in her pocket as she ran toward the stairs. Cassi's bag looked no bigger than a muggle pencil case. But she would have everything she needed with charms to keep the bag intact and an undetectable extension charm cast on the inside.
"Six!" she yelled as she hurtled down the stairs, grabbed the port key, and ran past her mother, who was running toward the opposite side of the house to cover that entryway. As Cassi neared the back door, it was blasted off its hinges. Spells flew in all directions shattering glass and blasting holes in the wall. Debris hit Cassi full in the face, and she could feel the jagged glass and chunks of stone rip at her skin. Blood began running down her face and into her eyes. She flung herself behind the opposite wall and wiped the blood from her eyes with her sleeve.
"Don't kill her, idiot. The Dark Lord wants her alive," one of the men said. Cassi couldn't believe what she had heard. Did he really say the Dark Lord? She thought frantically. Crouching low, trying to see through the dust and looking for feet, she bellowed, "Stupefy!" and heard a crash that hopefully meant her aim was good. "One down," she thought to herself.
Bailey, the house elf, appeared out of nowhere, trying to take hold of Cassi's sleeve, "Come, young mistress! We must go. Keep yous safe!"
Cassi ripped her arm out of the elf's grip. She hissed, "I'm not leaving my mother! Go help her, Bailey, make sure she's alright."
"Bailey will go if you bes invisible," he whispered frantically. Bailey looked terrified.
Cassi nodded in agreement and rapped herself hard on the head, activating the disillusionment charm. It's harder to hit what you can't see. Her house elf taught her that one. During her drill days, he would sometimes become invisible and hurl clumps of mud at her from all directions as part of her training to increase her awareness and reaction time. It was pretty gross, but it was at least fun. This was decidedly NOT fun. Cassi popped out from around the corner and fired more spells at the remaining assailant, causing him to curse loudly and duck behind the island in the kitchen.
Dimly from behind her, she could hear another battle raging, glass breaking, bellowed oaths, and what sounded like explosions. She ducked as another silver jet of light was flung at her from the masked man. Throwing herself sideways through the doorway and into the room to get a clear shot at him, she screamed, "STUPIFY!" Her attacker deflected the red jet of light.
"Incarcerous!" he yelled, and ropes burst from his wand toward Cassi. Not being able to see her fully, he'd only bound her legs.
"Impedimenta!" Cassi yelled, and this time her aim was true. The spell hit the man in the chest as he was just feet away, and he froze, toppling to the ground.
'Shit, this is tight,' she thought, pulling at the ropes. Spreading her feet as far apart as she could, Cassi muttered, "Diffindo," and sliced quickly through the ropes. Getting up, she ripped open the island drawer, grabbed her hunting knife, and stuffed it into her boot. Trying to be silent like she was taught, she raced toward the chaos at the front of the house. Peeking around the doorway, she could see her mother pinned down. 'She's a genius,' Cassi thought to herself. Her mother had created a fort of sorts with the broken furniture in the room for cover. Two masked men were already down. Spells were flying all over the room from one of the masked men. The little elf Bailey did his best to help her, sending chunks of furniture flying at the masked and hooded men.
"Get out! Leave my Mistress alone!" Bailey screeched in his tiny voice. His large bright blue eyes were fierce. Bailey sent a chunk of a side table flying at the hooded man closest to my mother and her makeshift fortress. It slammed into the side of the head, knocking his hood off. Blood was running down the man's face and ear.
"You shouldn't a done that!" the man bellowed. "Bombarda!" he yelled as Cassi was darting into the room. Fearing Cassi would be hit, Bailey threw himself in front of the spell to protect her. The spell hit Bailey in the chest, spraying her with blood. The shock wave from the spell sent Cassi flying, crashing into the wall. She could hear her mother screaming spells, trying to distract the intruders. Her left shoulder slammed into the radiator, and she heard a crunch. She betrayed her training and cried out in pain. The room spun sickeningly. Cassi thought she might vomit from the pain. A hand grabbed her by the hair at the top of her disillusioned head and wrenched her off the ground. The man shook Cassi violently and slammed her into the wall placing his wand against her throat. Her mother leaped from her place of safety.
"Don't!" she screamed. "Stop, I'll come with you! I'll do anything! Just don't hurt her, please". Hands outstretched in front of her, eyes never leaving Cassi's face.
Cassi's head throbbed horribly, and her left arm was useless. Focusing on her mother's face, Cassi knew what her next step was. She had been training for this her whole life. The moment when they would come for them. Her mother knew she would never be permitted to be free. She knew this was but a brief respite. Once the Dark Lord regained strength, he would find her, kill her and take her daughter.
Cassi blinked hard at her mother, hoping she could see enough of her face, showing her Mum she understood the message behind the stare. Cassi flicked her wand, causing a piece of rubble to fly at the man holding her. The maskless man, momentarily distracted, ducked his head, looking for the source of the spell. Without thinking, Cassi pointed her wand into the maskless man's stomach and screamed, "Confringo!"
He fell to the ground with a scream, his abdomen gaping open, blood pouring out of him. Her mother had sent a jet of green light at the masked man she was dueling with. It hit him in the chest, and he crumpled onto the floor. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw it happen. The masked man from the kitchen, the one she jinxed, bellowed, "Avada Kedavra!". The jet of green light hit her mother in the face, and she fell, eyes wide with shock.
Cassi had fallen to the ground, eyes wide in shock. It couldn't be true; it couldn't have happened. Her mother, her teacher, her whole world, was dead. The masked man, taking advantage of her momentary shock, disarmed her. She saw her wand fly out of her slack grip. Grabbing her by her hair, the man began dragging her towards the door.
He was muttering to himself. "I'll be his favorite. I'm his most loyal. I did what none of the others could do." She knew where they were headed. He was going to try and drag her past the wards and apparate. She would be given to the Dark Lord. For what purpose, she didn't know. To be tortured, killed, or used for whatever nefarious purpose he could think of.
He dragged her across the floor, past her mother. She stared into her mother's lifeless eyes. She looked toward where Bailey lay, desperately trying to defend his beloved family. Adrenalin finally kicked back in, and she started struggling hard. Reaching her right hand toward her boot, she grabbed the hunting knife by the hilt and swung her arm up in a high arch over her head. The blade sunk deep into the man's right flank, causing him to scream in pain, dropping her. Holding onto the knife handle, Cassi pulled herself around and pulled the knife out of the man. "You killed my mother!" she screamed, and her vision went red as she plunged the knife into the man over and over again. It was over before she could register what had happened. The man was dead. Gasping and shaking, she got to her feet.
Cassi retrieved her wand and took the disillusionment charm off herself. She walked slowly over to her mother. She just had to be sure before she left. She needed to know, say goodbye, give her one last kiss, and thank her one last time. She brushed the hair out of her mother's face and felt for a pulse even though somewhere in her head, she knew it was no good. Cassi stared into her mother's eyes. A sob escaped her lips as she bent down and tenderly kissed her mother's forehead. "I love you, mummy," Cassi whispered. Gently she reached down and closed her mother's eyes.
Standing and wobbling slightly, Cassi walked past her mother's body, past poor Bailey, and into the kitchen. She had to be sure the other intruder wouldn't come after her. She walked through the rubble that had once been their kitchen until she found him. Her stunning spell had blasted him back against the banister. The spindles had broken off and impaled him. He wasn't going to cause any trouble anymore.
She only just realized the pain in her leg. There was a large shard of wood sticking out of it. Grasping her bag, she summoned a pressure dressing. She wrenched the wood out of her leg with a scream and slapped the dressing down. "Ferula," she muttered, tapping the dressing. Bandages sprang from her wand and wrapped around her leg. There was nothing she could do about her arm right now. She had to run. Grabbing the port key out of her pocket, she tapped it twice with her wand. It glowed bright red. "Safety," she muttered past, caring where she went next. Nothing mattered anymore. Everything she loved was gone.
She slammed into the stone floor. Gasps and shouts broke through her befuddled mind. Dimly she heard the voices but couldn't make her brain form words to respond. Vaguely she saw wands were drawn, pointing down at her. Blearily she looked up into the men's faces as they swam in and out of focus. It didn't matter anymore. Everything and everyone she loved was gone. Her head spun, the world tilted, and the light narrowed in her vision. She rolled sideways, vomiting all over someone's shiny black shoes, and passed out.