Excerpts for Occlumency taken from the compendium Kindle version of OOTP Ch 24 page 2289 - 2308
I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER – JUST BORROWING
Classes were finished in what felt like no time, and it was 6 pm. Where had the day gone? Making excuses to her friends, again, Cassi, as was decreed, was in her father's office grading first-year assignments. Any 5th year worth anything should be able to grade first-year assignments. Her father had borrowed Dumbledore's pensive and was removing specific memories he did not wish Potter to have access to. She supposed that was a fair trade.
Cassi heard a knock on the door, and Potter appeared. Cassi was in the shadows near the desk, but he didn't see her immediately. She smiled slightly. "Psst," she whispered. Looking around, Potter caught her eye, smirked, and visibly relaxed.
"Shut the door behind you, Potter." Snape's voice was like ice.
Cassi sat, watching the interaction and frowning slightly. She watched as Harry's shoulders tensed, and her father looked down his nose at him like he was filth. She fixed her disapproving glare on the paper in front of her. This wasn't something she was going to be able to fix. There was no way to explain that her father blamed a boy for something he wasn't even alive to witness. She stayed quiet, listening to the conversation.
The curse the Dark Lord hit Harry with, it transpired, formed a link between them. Harry's vision of the snake and Mr. Weasley was such a forceful intrusion on the Dark Lord's thoughts that he now knows it exists. There was now the possibility that the Dark Lord could use that connection to destroy Harry and the Order.
Cassi couldn't understand why Dumbledore wasn't telling Harry this himself. Why had he never bothered in five years of magical training to explain what happened? Especially now that the Dark Lord was back and gaining strength.
As her father carefully delivered the scarce information Dumbledore allowed him to give, she could see Harry's mind spinning. He was reeling. None of that would help him in his future endeavor at Occlumency.
For Occlumency to be successful, one needs to be devoid of emotion. Or at least shut down the feelings relating to the memory one was trying to hide. If Harry continued the way he was going, not only getting himself riled up but infuriating her father, he would find it impossible to resist the strength of her Father's spell.
Finally, they stood and faced each other, wands out. Predictably Snape gave Harry minimal information. He was struggling to repel her father from his mind. She had to give the boy credit; he never backed down or gave up.
Harry had fallen to the ground for what had to have been the fourth time. It was brutal to witness. Harry was as white as a sheet, and sweat beaded his forehead. His eyes were rolling in his head. His head snapped up, and he shouted, "I KNOW! I KNOW!"
Her father lifted the spell when he shouted out. He hadn't even had to opportunity to try and resist.
"What happened then, Potter?" he asked, eyeing Harry intently.
"I saw – I remembered," Harry panted. "I've just realized…"
"Realized what?" Snape asked sharply.
He looked up at Snape. "What's in the Department of Mysteries?"
Cassi's eyes flicked to her father's face. Shit! There was something there. She could see it in his eyes.
"What did you say?" Snape asked quietly. He looked unnerved.
"I said, what's in the Department of Mysteries, sir?" Harry said.
"And why," said Snape slowly, "would you ask such a thing?"
"Because," said Harry, watching Snape closely for a reaction, "that corridor I've just seen – I've been dreaming about it for months – I've just recognized it – it leads to the Department of Mysteries … and I think Voldemort wants something from –"
"I have told you not to say the Dark Lord's name!"
Cassi winced when he mentioned the Dark Lord's name. Her father looked angry and agitated. He was trying to play it off but was unsuccessful.
"There are many things in the Department of Mysteries, Potter, few of which you would understand and none of which concern you, do I make myself plain?"
"Yes," Harry said. Cassi could see him rubbing his forehead where his scar was. She wondered if it was hurting him. It was certainly standing out more vividly than it was when he first came in the room.
"I want you back here same time on Wednesday, and we will continue work then."
"Fine," said Harry.
"You are to rid your mind of all emotion every night before sleep – empty it, make it blank and calm, you understand?"
"Yes," said Harry.
He looked like his mind was a thousand miles away. She knew he wouldn't remember a thing her father was telling him just now. Dammit. If they weren't careful, he would go off on another foolish mission and maybe, this time, succeed in getting himself killed.
"And be warned, Potter… I shall know if you have not practiced…"
Of course, threatening him will make him want to learn faster. Cassi rolled her eyes behind her father's back. Sometimes he was incredibly obtuse. Cassi heard Harry mumble something, and he all but stumbled out the door, closing it behind him.
"Shouldn't you see him to the Hospital Wing, Father? He didn't look well when he left." Cassi said, frowning with concern and the closed office door.
"I am not his nursemaid. If he needs the Hospital, he knows where it is." He said, standing over her, arms crossed.
"You know he's going to look for, whatever this thing is, if you don't give him more information, don't you?" Cassi said, returning to the papers she was grading. "He was way too interested in knowing more about the Department of Mysteries," she said as she frowned, correcting answers.
"You will not encourage him," Snape said sharply.
"I do not intend to encourage him. I am simply telling you that all you have done tonight was peak his curiosity. If someone does not sit him down and tell him what he needs to know, even the basics of it, he will run with whatever idea comes to him."
"If you intend on sleeping tonight, you should finish those papers," he said, trying to change the subject.
"You can change the subject if you like, but that will not change anything," she said, smirking. "He's gone off before. He will do it again."
Snape made a noise of frustration and swiped down his face with his hand. "Infernal children will be the death of me," he muttered and left the room.
Her father returned sometime later with tea. Cassi had been steadily grading papers since he left earlier. It felt like it was getting late. She wondered how he ever found himself to be a professor. Grading was horribly dull.
There was a sudden sharp intake of breath, and Cassi looked around to see her father grasping his left forearm. Shit!
"How will you go? Umbridge…" Cassi started.
"Dumbledore's office. I must go. Finish and go to bed." He gripped her shoulder tightly before leaving.
Cassi stared into the fire for a few moments before returning to her work. He hadn't been gone long. It was less than an hour before the office door flew open.
"Come, you are needed. It is time," he said sharply, grabbing supplies from his cabinet.
Cassi saw the potions he was pulling from the stores. Healing potions and wound supplies. She pulled down a few other things she thought would be handy.
He pulled her from the room and through the corridors. She followed wordlessly, as always. They reached the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office.
"Fizzing Whizzbee," Snape whispered, and the gargoyle sprang to life. They hurried up the spiral staircase toward the office.
Dumbledore was waiting for them with the door open. His expression was grave as Cassi's eyes locked on his. He handed Snape an old cup.
"We will be back by morning," Snape said.
The port key took them beyond the boundaries of Hogwarts. They were on the road to Hogsmeade, where they apparated home for Christmas Holiday. But this time, there was no holiday. He turned on the spot, and she turned with him into the unknown blackness.
Cold air filled her lungs, and familiar hedgerows came into view. Cassi knew where they were but not why they were there. She quickly followed her father down the drive and to the entrance. The door sprang open of its own accord. She followed her father through the house. He stopped abruptly before a glorious marble staircase and pulled the candle bracket on the wall closest to the stairs. A doorway slid open on the side of the staircase.
Snape grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him, through the door, and down the stairs. The walls were rough stone, with torches hung in intervals on the way down, not unlike the hallways in the dungeons at school. When they reached the bottom, he pulled her down a corridor to the left. There were six cells cut into the wall with iron bars for doors. As they hurried past, Cassi swore she saw bones on the floor of the last one.
Her father pulled her to the right into an open stone room lit by more torches. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all the same rough stone as if this room was carved from a mountainside. At first glance, there were what Cassi thought were piles of rags strewn all over the floor. Then one of the piles stirred. Her eyes darted to the other piles, and she could see faint movement. The stench that was coming from them was overwhelming. It was of unwashed flesh, the filth of innumerable days, infection, and possibly blood.
"What is this?" Cassi gasped.
A drawling voice came out of the gloom, "We have liberated the other loyal followers of the Dark Lord from the depths of Azkaban. They are in pitiful shape. We require your expertise." The man stepped into the light. Lucius Malfoy stood before her, proud in his Death Eater's robes, a smirk on his face.
Cassi looked around the room. There were ten piles of rags. Ten more Death Eaters to swell the Dark Lord's ranks. She swallowed hard and whispered to her father, "Azkaban did this? And you've brought me here to treat them?"
"Well, they can hardly go to St. Mungo's, now, can they?" Mr. Malfoy drawled.
Cassi threw Mr. Malfoy the coldest look she could muster and pulled herself up to her full height. She removed her cloak and pulled out her wand. "I'll need full use of your elves," she said coldly.
She waved her wand in a sweeping motion around the dungeon and increased the lighting. She flicked her wand again several times and conjured cots and blankets. She then levitated each person onto a cot and covered them with blankets. She flicked her wand for a third time, and a table appeared against the wall. She pulled her bag out of her pocket, pricked her finger, and opened it. She looked directly at Mr. Malfoy as she waved her wand for a fourth time. Two cauldrons and several bottles of ingredients flew from her bag and set themselves up on the table she just conjured.
"Your elves, sir? Are you going to call them?" Cassi asked, her tone imperious. Mr. Malfoy opened his mouth to speak, but she turned her back on him.
Cassi walked over to her table of ingredients and potions just as Mrs. Malfoy appeared. She greeted her cousin briefly and rather coldly, her mind spinning with tasks and lists. Cassi felt something to her left and looked around. There was nothing there that she could see, but she could sense something. Whatever it was could wait. She had work to do.
She cast a diagnostic spell on each of the individuals in the cots. She pulled down blankets briefly when infection or injury was shown in the diagnostic.
With a slight popping noise, two tiny elves appeared at her feet. Cassi looked down at them. "I need a very rich hot chocolate and some hearty bone broth. Quickly. Bring the hot chocolate first." The elves gave a slight bow and left with a pop.
She busied herself with the first person. He looked to be unconscious. He had a pockmarked face and greasy hair. He was filthy. There was a large wound on his leg that looked like it had been infected for quite a while. Cassi cleaned his wound with a purple potion that smoked, but as she dabbed the wound, she could see the puss starting to clear and the redness starting to fade. She waved her wand over the man again, cleaning most of the grime off him.
After bandaging his wound, Cassi held her hand out, wandlessly summoning a healing potion for the man. She propped him up and began tipping the potion slowly down his throat. He coughed slightly but swallowed and grimaced in his sleep.
She repeated the process for the next person. Cleaning and bandaging the wound and supplying potion. Until the elves came back with a cauldron of hot chocolate.
"Father, I need your assistance. They are all suffering from advanced malnutrition. They cannot handle solid food presently. I need your help getting some hot chocolate and some of these nutrient potions down their throats," Cassi said, handing him a few potion vials. "After completing that, please begin another batch of healing potion and calming draught. I fear we will run low by morning." Surprisingly he did as she was asked. Cassi would have been shocked had she not been so hyper-focused on what she was doing.
Slowly they began waking. Some stared into space, not seeing anything, accepting Cassi's care. Others started screaming and thrashing at an invisible something. Bellatrix, Cassi's cousin, was one of those that was screaming.
She launched herself at Cassi, shrieking and spitting, hands curled into claws with long filthy jagged nails. Instead of stunning her, which would have done more harm than good, she used one of the spells her father had taught her and had Bellatrix hanging upside down by her ankle. Cassi flicked her wand, and bandages flew from them, trapping Bellatrix's arms.
She sighed and flicked her wand again, and Bellatrix, still writhing and spitting, was laid down in her cot. Mrs. Malfoy rushed forward, ready to intervene, but Cassi forestalled her. Cassi held Bella by her hair to prevent being bitten, forcing a calming draught down her throat. Cassi slapped her hand over her mouth and nose to make her swallow. Bellatrix slumped against Cassi.
"Cousin, I don't know if you can hear me, but I am here to help. I will try hard not to hurt you," Cassi said as she lay Bella back in her cot.
On and on, this went throughout the night. Cassi, and occasionally her father, heading off the multitude of nightmarish delusions the ten were experiencing. And still, the presence or being or whatever it was watched from the shadows. Cassi could feel the power radiating from it.
As dawn approached, the ten were calmer, remembering something of themselves and their names, and able to drink broth. Cassi was exhausted as she checked wounds and bandages.
Rabastan grabbed her arm and tried to force her face toward him. She wandlessly threw up a shield charm. She drew her wand and pinned the frail-looking man to the bed snarling n his face, "If you touch me like that again, the least of your worries will be dementors." He laughed as she pushed away from him.
Mrs. Malfoy was crooning to her sister, Bellatrix, whom Cassi had kept restrained. She stroked her hair and showed her photos. She called Cassi over to Bella's bedside. Bella looked wary.
"Yes, Madam?" Cassi asked exhaustedly.
"Let me introduce you to my sister, Bellatrix. Bella, this is young Cassiopeia. She is Aurora's daughter. She came home to us and joined our cause," Mrs. Malfoy said softly to her sister.
"It is a pleasure to meet you finally. I apologize for the extreme measures but I did not want you injured. Are you still having hallucinations? Any pain?"
"No, no hallucinations. Some pain, but what is life without pain, yes?" Bells said, smiling at Cassi. She looked utterly insane.
"Yes, quite true," Cassi paused. "Let me get you some more broth. You need your strength if you are to serve our Lord." Cassi flicked her wand, and a bowl of broth soared toward her. She gave it to Mrs. Malfoy to hold. "Please let your sister assist you." When Bella angrily protested, Cassi said. "You have made a great sacrifice. Let us honor you." That statement seemed to quell Bella's protests, if only temporarily.
She walked back toward the table to check the timers on the potions. She got a prickling feeling on the back of her neck and once again felt that power radiating from her left. It felt as though it was coming closer. Cassi spun to her left, waving her wand. She cast a revealing charm, then a shield charm. SHIT!
Cassi's mouth fell open, and then her knees hit the floor. The Dark Lord stood before her in the flesh. Her nightmare brought to life. He was a terrifying sight. His face was flat and snakelike, eyes red with slits for pupils, skin pale and white. He gleamed in the torchlight. A giant snake was wrapped around his shoulders. There were gasps from his conscious followers freed from the depths of Azkaban. They scrambled from their cots and onto their knees.
"Stand up, child. Stand up," he said in his high cold voice. Chills ran down Cassi's back. It was as if ice had fallen into the pit of her stomach. Her legs felt like lead, but still, she obeyed.
Cassi stood, head bowed, terrified to make eye contact. He walked towards her. The only sound he made was the slight rustling noise from his robes as they dragged across the rough stone floors. He hissed his snake language to the snake and heard her hiss back. Cassi listened to the small slap of the snake's body as she glided to the floor. He put his long-fingered, ghostly white hand on Cassi's shoulder, turning her to walk with him.
"You have done well, child. Lord Voldemort is pleased with you. This very nearly makes up for you taking the lives of those that came to collect you over the summer," he said as he walked her toward the people kneeling on the floor. Her father, the Malfoys, all of the rescued that were conscious, all on their knees. As she looked around the room, she noticed that some were trembling, Mr. Malfoy included.
"Welcome back, my Death Eaters. I may have brought about your liberation, but it is Cassiopeia that has brought you back to health. This talented child will become a powerful Death Eater. Will you not, my child?" said the Dark Lord.
"Yes, My Lord," said Cassi mechanically.
"First, a lesson. You, my child, need to learn the price of disobedience."
Cassi felt the thrill of dread. She braced as best she could for the inevitable. The tall thin, nightmarish man walked a few steps to her right, surveying her as one surveyed prey.
The Dark Lord pulled his wand from his robes and pointed it at Cassi. "Crucio," he said almost lazily.
Cassi fell to the floor, screaming in unendurable agony. It was a pain she had never felt before, white-hot and sharp. Her very bones were on fire. Her father had given her a small sample during their duels, but he must not have had his whole might behind it. It was nothing compared to what she was feeling now.
Just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Cassi was left gasping and shaking on the cold stone floor. She was not sure how long the pain had lasted. Seconds? Minutes? She was dazed.
"This is a lesson all of my followers understand thoroughly before promising themselves to me," he hissed softly in her ear. Cassi nodded her head and whimpered. He raised his wand again and said, "Crucio."
Cassi's mouth was open in a silent scream, her body rigid and trembling, tears pouring from her eyes. She sucked in a great rattling gasp and screamed so loudly she thought her throat might tear. She could not escape the pain. It was past comprehension. She would certainly die of it. This is how her life would end.
He lowered his wand, and the pain ended. Cassi rolled onto her back, gasping for breath. Over and over, the agony came and went. And over and over, Cassi screamed and writhed. The pain was all she knew, all she could focus on. The small respites were a cruel joke.
He lowered his wand again. The Dark Lord stood over her, watching her. She was barely breathing; eyes closed, braced for more pain. But it did not come.
"You are strong, child. You did not once beg or plead. That takes much self-control. You are truly your father's daughter," the Dark Lord said. His high cold voice sounded amused.
Cassi rolled onto her side, struggling to push herself into a kneeling position. It felt like her very soul was burning. All her nerves were shattered. Cassi knew she could fix it with a nerve replenishment potion. She just had to survive long enough. Finally making it to her knees, she sat there trembling uncontrollably. "Thank you, My Lord," she choked out, trying desperately not to vomit.
"Hold out your arm," the cold, cruel voice said. "We don't want you disappearing again, do we?"
Barely conscious, Cassi held out her left arm. He held the tip of his wand to her flesh, and she watched him as he burned the mark into her skin. She was barely aware of the pain from the mark. When he finished, he allowed her to crawl forward and kiss the hem of his robes.
"Rise, child, and rejoice in your new family. Death Eaters, welcome her."
Cassi struggled to get to her feet. The room spun sickeningly. She was embraced by her father first, who could not help but notice the dead look in her eye. He whispered in her ear, "Hold on. It's almost done. You've done well."
Dimly she could hear her Master congratulating her father on training Cassi so well. She heard him accept his Master's gratitude. If she could have killed him herself, she would have, even if that meant dying in the process.
Then Mrs. Malfoy whispered and cooed in her ear praise and encouragement as she embraced her. Mr. Malfoy gripped her shoulder. Some that she had cared for smiled weakly and squeezed her hand. Bellatrix beamed at her and beckoned her closer.
"I am so glad I could be here for your big day. We are very proud of you!" Bellatrix said vehemently.
She took a deep breath and made one more round checking on the people in her care. She could not help but wonder how this would help the Order. How could this be what Dumbledore had planned for her? Was she just an emergency backup plan in case her father was killed?
Gratefully it was time to go back to school. She left instructions with Mrs. Malfoy to care for the Death Eaters that escaped Azkaban. She was expected to care for these people. Care about these people. She would rather force-feed them all poison.
She walked, zombie-like, with her father toward the stairs. He half carried, half dragged her up the stairs, into the foyer, and out the front door. Dawn had broken. The light dazzled Cassi's eyes after the darkness of the Malfoy dungeon. The cold air helped snap her out of her daze.
She staggered to the apparition point. She could barely turn with her father, who had her in a vice-like grip. She stumbled slightly on landing. Snape pulled the portkey of his robes, and it glowed blue. She barely got a hand on it in time.
Cassi slammed into Dumbledore's office floor. She was pale and sweating despite the freezing temperature outside. She struggled to her knees and summoned the trash bin in time to vomit spectacularly.
"Severus, tell me what has happened," she heard Dumbledore demand of her father as she continued to vomit. She could hear noise, talking, them discussing the night behind her, but she did not care.
When there were no further contents in her stomach, and she was done dry heaving, she sat back on her feet and pulled the bag from her robes. She opened her bag and fished out the nerve replenishment and pain potions. She downed the pain reliever first, then the nerve potion. She was still trembling, but the pain was better.
Her father helped her to her feet. The pain may have been better, but she still felt numb. Dumbledore stepped forward to take her hands and helped her to a chair.
"My dear, you have done well. You have successfully infiltrated Voldemort's inner circle," Dumbledore said proudly. "Your father has updated me on the escaped Death Eaters. All that is left for you to do is rest. I am sorry, but you must walk to your father's quarters. The floo is still being monitored, and we cannot have Professor Umbridge getting suspicious," he said kindly. Cassi could only nod.
Her father helped her stand and supported her as they walked down to the dungeons. Gratefully she saw no one on her way down. Cassi could only imagine what she must look like. Her father helped her to her bed, then brought back some more nerve potion and dreamless sleep. She did not fight or complain. She downed the potion and lay back on her pillow. A single tear escaped her eye as she fell asleep.