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Chapter Fourteen

The Prisoner

The grounds were unusually filled on a mid-November day, but it was also an unusual day itself. The winter snows had kept their distance, and this day had been a particularly warm one despite the season. It was such a rare occurrence, in fact, that the professors themselves had given up trying to teach and instead dismissed the students early to gambol in the great outdoors before winter well and truly fell upon them next week, as per the weatherwitch's reports.

Cassie lounged against the trunk of the Marauders' claimed beech tree, enjoying the warm sunshine and crisp breeze. Lily sat propped beside her, her eyes closed in contentment, while Alice and Marlene sprawled at their feet gossiping. The Marauders themselves were some distance away, kicking around a football they'd bribed some fourth-years for.

It was the first time in nearly two weeks that Cassie didn't feel some sense of dread or impending doom looming above her. After their jaunt into the Forbidden Forest, she still felt as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop, for some new thing to happen, although she'd banished Norvina and hadn't heard a peep since.

She'd taken to wearing the locket again out of precaution, and it weighed heavily on her chest, keeping pace with her heart. Sirius had nearly thrown a fit when he saw that she was wearing it again.

He'd been waiting at the bottom of the girls' staircases to walk with her to breakfast the morning after their excursion, but at the sight of the locket, his easy grin had vanished.

"No," he'd said at once. "Absolutely not. No way are you wearing that shit anymore."

Cassie had sighed and given him a tired look. "I'm not leaving it alone when my insane ancestor is trapped inside it. That's just asking for trouble."

He'd scowled. "And I suppose I just have to get used to it?"

Her temper had flared. "Yes, actually. Because if you want to date me, you have to deal with every part of me. Even the parts you don't like."

She'd stormed off then and refused to talk to him for the rest of the day. She'd only relented when he'd brought her a slice of lemon meringue pie as a peace offering, and though they hadn't brought it up since, she knew Sirius was still unhappy about her decision.

However, the thing that annoyed her the most was that everyone else seemed to be on Sirius's side in the matter. They had all tried, to no avail, to convince her to leave the locket alone, but she remained firm in her decision. Couldn't they see that the locket was too dangerous to be left by itself? After everything they had learned about it, it falling into the wrong hands would be disastrous. She hated it just as much as her friends did, but if they truly wanted to keep the world itself safe, she couldn't let it out of her sight.

She was brought back to the present when Lily nudged her shoulder.

"Hey," she said, her green eyes sparkling in the sun. "Are you all right? You're miles away."

Cassie sighed and settled back against the tree. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Well, don't," Lily chastised lightly. "It's a beautiful day and we're bound to not have another one like it for months. You should enjoy it and stop dwelling on things."

"I know." Cassie brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I just can't stop thinking about the other descendants Norvina mentioned. Like, who are they?"

Lily shifted uncomfortably. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, Cass. You put Norvina back where she belongs so she can't bother you again." She hesitated. "And truthfully, I think you've done more than enough. The locket is safe, and you got the answers you needed about your mark. Maybe you should…I dunno…move on?"

The locket squirmed as if in protest. Cassie just watched the Marauders kick around the ball and laugh when Peter tripped over his own feet and faceplanted in the grass.

"Maybe," she said without conviction. "Maybe."

The next week, Cassie trudged down the girls' staircases alone, her bookbag hitting her leg with every step. She'd overslept, so her friends had gone to breakfast without her, not even bothering to wake her up. Miffed and disgruntled, she entered the common room to find Sirius waiting for her, as had become their new morning custom.

"Finally," he said, standing from his chair and throwing a stray copy of Seeker Weekly aside. "I was about to change into Padfoot and come get you myself if you didn't show within the next five minutes."

She grunted as he swung an arm around her shoulders. "Thank my friends for that. They didn't even try waking me up!"

He chuckled. "Alice said they tried to wake you, but you were dead to the world, apparently." He brushed her hair back slightly to peer at her face. "Have you been sleeping well?"

They walked through the portrait hole together. "You should leave the mother hen act to James. He does it much better."

Sirius snorted. "Can I not be concerned for my girlfriend's well-being?"

"Of course, you can. I was just kidding."

He hummed as they made their way through the corridors and to the Great Hall. Cassie removed his arm from her shoulder so she could hold his hand instead. He squeezed her fingers. "Are you having any dreams again?"

She shook her head. "It's strange. I had dreams about Miranda and the locket all the time last year, but now…" The nightmares of her dead parents threatened to resurface, but she pushed them back down. "I don't know."

"Well," he started cautiously, "that may be a good thing."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Your dreams about Miranda gave you clues the last time. Maybe by not having dreams anymore, you don't have to worry about solving any problems."

"What about the Seven Elders, then? They have to be important."

"They're dead," said Sirius with finality. "I think our lives will be a lot easier if we keep it that way and move on."

Cassie frowned. "But why would my father leave me Norvina's name? There has to be something more, Sirius."

He halted abruptly, forcing her to stop as well. He stared at her. "I thought you wanted this to end, Cassie? To be over, so things could go back to normal?"

She let out an exasperated noise. "Of course, I want this to be over, Sirius! But ignoring it in the vain hope that it will just go away isn't something I can afford to do!"

"What changed, then?" he snapped. "Three weeks ago, you were fed up with it all. But now you're back on some bullshit because your nutcase of an ancestor said you had to be?"

She wrenched her hand out of his and stalked down the corridor. "I'm not having this conversation."

He easily caught up to her. "Why? Because you know I'm right?"

"Because you're wrong and you're the one who wants to keep ignoring the locket until something bad happens!"

"Like what?" he scoffed. "I was there too, you know. Norvina said the only way the locket's full power can be accessed is with all seven descendants. You're just one! Nothing can happen." When she stayed silent, he laughed bitterly. "You know what I think? You don't want to drop the locket, or the mystery, or any of it. Because you're afraid that without it, you'll just be ordinary again; that you'll go back to being nothing more than the Invisible Girl."

The words burrowed into Cassie as if Sirius had carved them into her flesh with a knife. She stopped walking and stared at him.

Sirius glared right back. His eyes were cold, his face twisted into his infamous Black scowl. She suddenly felt as if they were both in fifth year again, when he'd been convinced that she was on the path to becoming a Death Eater like her brother, before they'd ever even imagined they could be friends.

Her voice was quiet. "You don't mean that. You can't really…think that?"

He breathed sharply out his nose and glanced away from her. "I don't know what I think anymore, Cass."

She swallowed hard when he said nothing else. Wordlessly, she slipped past him and continued down the corridor, fighting tears all the way.

But distantly, she wondered if he was right.

Cassie didn't speak to anyone all day.

Though her friends must have sensed the frosty tension between her and Sirius, they didn't press her, thankfully. By the time they reached Defense Against the Dark Arts that afternoon, Cassie felt like her lips had been permanently glued shut from not talking.

"I have an exciting challenge for you all," announced Professor Staghart once class began. He swept his tawny eyes over the classroom with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "In lieu of a final exam before the term ends, I've decided to let you all create and present your own research project instead."

Cassie and Marlene shared a wary glance. Professor Staghart noticed their trepidation, for he smiled and raised his hands.

"It will not be like the other boring research projects you've been assigned in other classes," he said. There were a few chuckles at this. "Instead of picking a topic for you, I'm letting you all have complete control over what you want to research. All I ask is that it in some way relates to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Whether you choose to research a Dark creature, a particular spell or wizard, or whatever else, that is up to you and how you can tie that subject back to what we have learned in class. Nothing is taboo or off-limits; however, I do ask that you keep your topic within reason."

He clapped his hands. "Now, I'm giving you this class period to brainstorm and come up with ideas of what you might want to research. If you are unsure of a topic, I will be up in my office to discuss your choices or answer any questions you may have." He flipped the small hourglass atop his desk. "You have ninety minutes beginning…now!"

The class erupted in whispers and excited murmurs as Professor Staghart climbed the stairs and disappeared into his office. Cassie watched him before Marlene elbowed her in the ribs.

"What are you thinking?" the blonde witch asked. "I'm blank."

But Cassie's brain had begun to churn with questions. She stood up.

"I'll be back," she said to a confused Marlene before starting for Staghart's office. Aware of the curious eyes on her back, she did her best to ignore them until she reached the door, which was slightly ajar. She knocked on it.

"Come in," answered Staghart. He glanced up in surprise when Cassie entered. "Miss Alderfair. That was quick. Do you have an idea already?"

"Yes, sir." Cassie shut the door behind her. His eyebrows shot up. "Have you ever heard of the Seven Elder witches?"

He slowly sat behind his desk, keeping his expression neutral. "And where have you heard of that before?"

"A reliable source," she answered shortly. "So, have you?"

"I…ran across them during my work," he admitted. "But why…?"

"I'd like to research them," she said. "Any resources you have, I'd like access to. For my project."

He assessed her carefully. "It seems a very historical topic, Miss Alderfair. Perhaps you should reconsider."

"No, thank you, sir," she said. "I've already made up my mind."

They stared at each other for a long moment. The scars on his face shifted as he grimaced. "Very well. As long as you can relate them back to Defense Against the Dark Arts, I don't see a problem with it." He drew a piece of parchment and a quill toward himself. "I'll make a list of references for you. Some titles may have to be accessed outside of the library, but you are welcome to look through my own personal collection if you need something specific."

"Thank you, sir."

He finished writing and waited to let the ink dry. He gazed at her with unreadable tawny eyes. "Is there anything else I can help you with, Miss Alderfair?"

Cassie sat herself in the chair before his desk. "What did Erebus Kane do to end up in Azkaban?"

Professor Staghart blinked before reclining in his seat. "Does this have anything to do with your research project?"

Cassie smiled thinly. "What do you think?"

Staghart gave her a faint smirk. "Manners, Miss Alderfair. I am still your teacher."

"Are you going to tell me or not? Sir."

He tapped his fingers together. "It's not a pleasant story. And there are still many holes in it which have been left unfilled over the years."

She shook her head. "I just need the basics."

"Very well." He paused. "He was jailed for murder."

Cassie stared blankly. "That's it?"

"That's the distilled version." He sighed. "As you know, Kane was my mentor when I first became a Curse-Breaker." She nodded. "We were…close. It was how I found out the truth of what he had done."

She waited. Staghart leaned forward again and put his elbows on the desk. "I was fresh out of school. Eager. Kane was only a few years older than me, but already he was one of the best Curse-Breakers in the field. When I was assigned to him, I was ecstatic. He became something of an older brother to me." His face darkened, and his scars seemed to stand out more starkly. "Two years into my tenure, he disappeared. I soon learned from the authorities that he had been arrested for murder when they brought me in for questioning. That was how I came to know what he'd done.

"You see, Kane was a brilliant wizard. Ambitious. He'd always been fascinated with how magic truly worked—how wizards and witches differentiated from Muggles, and where our magic originated from."

Cassie shifted in her seat. The words eerily echoed Will and his own ambitions.

"Kane had three older sisters. Madeleine, Rhiannon, and Griselda."

Cassie gaped. "He murdered all three of them?"

Staghart eyed her sharply. "Worse. He experimented on them. Tortured them for months, trying to discern where their magic came from." His shoulders flexed beneath his maroon cloak. "And I never knew. He hid his tracks well."

A knot had formed in Cassie's stomach. "Then how was he arrested?"

Staghart shook his head. "He turned himself in. Why? I couldn't tell you. Perhaps some shred of humanity still inside him that felt remorse? I don't know. And I never will."

"You never saw him again?"

"Once." He scowled. "When he was given a life sentence at his trial. He hadn't spoken a single word the entire time. When he was sentenced, he just nodded and went with the Aurors. That was the last time I ever saw his face."

"I'm…sorry," Cassie murmured. "That must have been awful. Someone so close to you…" She shuddered. "I didn't even go to my brother's trial. I-I couldn't."

Staghart smiled without warmth. "You didn't have to. I just wanted to look into the eyes of the man I'd come to accept as family and ask him why he did it. Why he took my Griselda from me." He stopped, a flash of alarm flitting across his face at the admission before it was concealed. "But I never got the chance. At least I can have some comfort knowing he'll be haunted forever in Azkaban."

The office was silent. Cassie watched Staghart stare into space, as if remembering his former mentor and Griselda Kane. Cassie empathized with his pain. She knew what it was like to have someone you loved taken from you in such a horrific way. She still didn't trust him, but he'd given her some much-needed answers.

She got to her feet and cleared her throat. "Thank you, sir. You've given me a lot to think about."

"Of course, Miss Alderfair," he said without seeing her. "I look forward to hearing more about your research."

Cassie nodded and left him alone with the ghosts of his past.

That night, Sirius found her in the library.

She'd skipped dinner to avoid her friends and work on the Charms essay she had due tomorrow, but she'd only managed to write a sentence before she got distracted by all that she had learned from Professor Staghart that day. She was sure she must've looked like a loon staring blankly at the table for the better part of an hour, but she only glanced up and refocused her eyes when Sirius took the chair beside hers.

He cleared his throat, but she picked up her quill again and turned back to her essay. "I'm busy."

"Yes, zoning out with only half an essay written sure looks taxing," he said drily.

She glared at her parchment. "I used to do this all the time before Will graduated; just sit here, alone. Be the Invisible Girl." He opened his mouth, but she plowed on before he could interrupt. "When Will was still at school, he'd find me at this table. He'd ask me how my day was and sneak me some sweets before he was off again. He was always being called away; by Quidditch; by girls; his friends. I always wished I could've been like him, but I was just…too afraid to put myself out there like that. I had Lily, Alice, and Marlene, and that had been enough."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I hated being the Invisible Girl until Will left and joined the Death Eaters. Then my anonymity became a gift. A shield to hide behind when the news got around. But then you tried to help me with my trunk our first day back." She opened her eyes and gave him a watery smile. "And you hated me, but I didn't care. Because from that moment, you saw me. And so did the others. I wasn't invisible anymore." A tear slipped down her cheek. She brushed it away irritably. "You were right, Sirius. I don't want to be that girl anymore. And as much as I hate it, I know I'd still be her without the locket. For better or worse, it brought all of us together."

He reached up and cupped her chin, gently moving her until they faced each other. He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, and she shivered at the touch.

"I don't care about the locket," he said quietly. "I care about you." He moved his hand to cradle her cheek. "You're not nothing without it, Cassie." He sighed and glanced down to the table. "I was an ass this morning. And I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I just hate that all of this shit keeps happening to you, and I can't—do anything about it."

She grinned faintly. "How many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to protect me?"

He met her eyes again. His silver eyes shined as brightly as the star he was named for when he said, "You better get used to saying it, then. I'm not going to stop."

She laughed. He smiled before his expression turned serious again. "I really am sorry for this morning, Cass. As much as I hate the thought, though, you're probably right about that thing." He nodded to the locket peeking out of the collar of her robes. "It's safer with you."

She nodded. "I'll find a way to get rid of it—forever. I promise."

He sighed. "All right." He sat back and grinned. "Just make it quick, yeah?"

They chuckled. Sirius put an elbow on the table and leaned on it. "Sappy shit aside, anything interesting happen today? How'd your conversation with Staghart go?"

"Well…" She grimaced. "I may have told him I wanted to research the Elders?"

She expected Sirius to blow up, but he only nodded and said, "Naturally."

She grinned nervously. "And, er, I got him to tell me about Erebus Kane."

At this, Sirius sat up again, alert. "And? What'd he say?"

She relayed everything Staghart had told her to Sirius. When she finished, Sirius's eyes were wide.

"Damn," he said. "That's…twisted."

She shook her head. "I still don't understand why Will would want to speak with him specifically, though. It sounds like Kane didn't get any answers from his experiments."

"Unless he did," said Sirius, uneasy.

She slouched in her seat and crossed her arms. "What would Will gain from Kane, though? What is he after?" She blew a piece of hair from her face in frustration. "If I could just find out what—"

She was interrupted when Madam Pince's shrill voice squawked, "Mr. Snape! I will not tolerate loitering in the library!"

Cassie and Sirius turned in their seats to see Severus Snape marched out from the bookshelf right behind Cassie's table, the sallow Slytherin boy held at the point of a feather-duster as the librarian advanced on him.

"Unacceptable!" screeched Madam Pince. "Out at once!"

Sirius bolted to his feet at the sight of Snape. "Were you spying on us?" he demanded loudly, glaring at Snape.

Snape scowled. "Of course not. I was looking for a book." He glowered at Madam Pince. "The Complete Anthology of Antidotes, if you don't mind."

Madam Pince swept her beady eyes over the three before she huffed. "Very well." She stalked away, swishing her feather-duster.

When she'd gone, Sirius took a step closer to Snape. To his credit, Snape stood his ground, but Cassie watched his eyes dart between Sirius's angry face and clenched right hand.

"Well?" said Sirius. "Sticking your ugly nose into our business again, Snivellus?"

At Snape's sneer, Cassie slid to her feet, watching the two boys warily.

"Weren't you listening, Black?" he said. "I was searching for a book. I'd rather not listen to you and your blood traitor whisper sweet nothings to each other anyway—"

"Leave her out of this," Sirius growled, advancing.

"Gladly," said Snape. "She means nothing to me."

"Then what were you doing eavesdropping?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "I'm done being interrogated."

He turned to leave, but Sirius shoved him into the bookshelf so hard that several volumes tumbled onto the floor. The commotion caused half the library to look up from their work in interest. Cassie rushed forward.

"Sirius, stop!" she hissed. "He's not worth it!"

Sirius shrugged her off. "No, Cassie—I'm fed up with this git—always prying—"

Snape laughed, his voice muffled from his face being up against the shelf. "Always playing the tough one, Black, how predictable—"

Sirius pressed his face harder into the shelf, his hand on the back of Snape's neck. He spoke to Cassie. "Five minutes, Cass—that's all I need to get this slimy git off our backs for good—"

"Rematch between Black and Snape!" a third-year Hufflepuff boy whooped behind them. An avid crowd advanced on the two boys, their faces lit up with excitement. After an uncertain glance, Cassie stepped away from Sirius and Snape to address the crowd.

"Go back to your seats," she said in the most authoritative voice she could conjure. "This doesn't concern you."

"You're not a prefect," a younger Ravenclaw boy sneered at her. "You can't tell us what to do."

"I can get a prefect involved," she threatened, but the students were undeterred. They just kept pressing closer, trying to get a good look.

Cassie glanced over her shoulder. "Sirius—"

But he'd already let Snape go. Cassie watched, confused, as Snape staggered back from the bookshelf, red marks on his pale face where he'd been pressed up against it. He straightened his robes, an expression of black loathing on his features, combined with something else she couldn't identify—shock? Triumph? Before she could decipher it, Snape was darting out of the library to the jeers and disappointed murmurs of the crowd.

Cassie gripped Sirius's elbow. "Hey. What happened? What did you say to Snape?"

Sirius's face was flushed in fury, his eyes glinting with a light that made her stomach turn.

"Don't worry about it," he said, his gaze on Snape's retreating back. "All you need to know is that Snape won't be bothering us again."

Cassie stared, uncomprehending, a bad feeling growing in her gut.

What had Sirius done?

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