I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER - JUST BORROWING
The day of her mother's funeral finally arrived. "Salazar, give me strength," Cassi sighed as she did up the laces on her boots. The last week had been horrendous. After her explosion in the courtyard, her father had turned her training up a notch or ten. Not to mention tomorrow was supposed to be her stupid entrance test.
She was supposed to be at the mausoleum by 10 am and then the Malfoys for luncheon and tea. They were to host the wake. How the hell was she going to get through this day? She took another deep breath and checked herself in the mirror. She looked appropriate. Her mother would have approved.
Her father was waiting for her at the table, sipping his coffee and reading the paper. She gripped the chair beside him, almost as if it would give her strength. "Do I look alright?" Cassi asked, her voice sounding strange to her own ears.
"Yes, quite alright." He paused, looking at her more closely. "You look pale. Do you need a calming draught?" Snape asked.
"I might take you up on that later. For now, I need to be fully in control of myself. We can't afford any mistakes." She said, her voice still sounding unnatural. She looked her father over. He was dressed in formal black robes. He looked quite nice.
"We need to be there before anyone else. It's tradition for you to greet everyone that attends. Remember to make eye contact and" Cassi cut him off. "I know! Make eye contact, shake hands, thank them, and curtsey. I'm aware. It's complete crap, but I'm aware!"
Her father grabbed her upper arm and pushed her into the wall, pinning her with his forearm. "Do not use that disrespectful tone with me!" he spat. Lowering his eyes to hers, he said, "I understand the strain you are under, but we cannot afford to fight against each other!" Looking directly into his dark eyes, she nodded. "Take a deep breath and close it all down. We need to leave if you're to be in your place in time," Snape said, standing upright and letting her go. Cassi did as she was directed. She took a deep cleansing breath and applied her Occlumency shields.
"What if the Dark Lord wants to see me?" She asked, her voice small.
Snape turned sharply to her. "May I ask why you call him the Dark Lord?" his voice silky.
"I call him the Dark Lord because my mother told me to. She said it was the only safe way to refer to him if one had to refer to him at all. I was told never to use his name under any circumstances. She showed me a memory of what happened to a death eater who did." Cassi said.
"You already have your answer then, do you not?" Her father looked directly at her as he said this. She knew he was good, but there would be no way to get her out of it if the Dark Lord called for her directly. "Let us see what happens when the time comes," Snape said, his words clipped and strained. "Come, we need to leave." He gestured for her to come to him.
They flooed together to the mausoleum. Snape waved his wand and lit the candles. The tomb was a beautiful place. It was white marble with high ceilings. The candles sparkled off the wall. There were flowers laid at the base of the plinth. A beautiful mahogany casket held her mother, who looked peaceful. The air was heavy with silence.
Elves weren't allowed to be laid to rest with wizards, but she would find a beautiful spot, somewhere magical, to lay him to rest. She needed to see her friend before the ceremony. She found his body wrapped in a shroud in a back room. "Hello, my friend," Cassi whispered. "How I miss you. I'm going to find a beautiful place for you to rest. I promise."
Cassi asked her father to send Bailey to Hogwarts. He looked at her with raised eyebrows but did as she asked. Cassi had just finished tending to some minor detail when Snape hissed at her to "get in place!" She had just scurried into position in time to see three very blond people walking to the gate. Snape hissed in her ear. "Lord and Lady Malfoy and their son Draco."
As Mr. Malfoy presented himself. "Lord Malfoy," she said gracefully, accepting his hand. She curtseyed, bowing her head in reverence. The simple action rankled. "Utter Bullshit!" she thought to herself. But when she rose and looked him in the eye, he could see nothing but gratitude for his deigning to be in her presence.
"Lady Malfoy," another nod and a curtsey, but not as deep. As her mother always told her, "Propriety matters." She used to hate those lessons, but she was grateful for them now. "Their son Draco," eye contact this time, and the same curtsey as his mother. She could see the smugness in the boy's gaze.
The receiving line continued. Mr. Avery and his wife, Mr. Nott and his son Theodore, Mr. Crabbe and his son Vincent, and Mr. Goyle and his wife and son Gregory were all in attendance. She bowed and curtseyed to each in turn. She would have to wait to vomit and possibly scrub her body with disinfectant until she got home. It was, thankfully, a short ceremony. A short man with wispy white hair presided over the ceremony. He read something about the finality that awaits us all and how the natural order of things prevails in a rather warm melodious voice.
When the Vicar of sorts was done with his readings, he stepped forward and raised his wand. Smoke and sparks rose around the casket, encasing it in white marble like all the others. A silver light showed on top of the marble for a moment. It engraved her name, dates of birth and death, and the Black family motto. She felt the tears threaten. Taking a deep breath, Cassi forced her mind blank. Her face was a mask, unreadable. She would not show weakness in front of these people. They would eat her alive.
Mr. Malfoy stood and announced it was time to return to the Manor. Cassi looked at her father. They would be apparating to the site just outside the manor's gate. She had apparated with her mother before. She knew how it felt. It wasn't her favorite way to travel.
There seemed even to be a pecking order for apparition. They left in the order they appeared. Malfoy first, Snape, Avery, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle. The only reason she could come to was this was their space in the circle. Cassi had seen the circle in her mother's memories. How the death eaters would crawl forward one by one and kiss the hem of their master's robes. She shuddered involuntarily.
She felt Snape turn and brought her mind back to the present. She turned with him, then that horrible feeling of compression and darkness. They apparated onto a gravel drive with long hedgerows on either side. She looked up at her father. He looked satisfied. Nott did well upon landing with his father, Crabbe stumbled and gasped for breath, and Mr. Goyle was fine, but his son vomited into the hedgerow surrounding the manor. Mrs. Goyle and Mrs. Avery were not in attendance. Shit!
The manor was even massive even from this distance. They began the walk up the gravel drive. The grounds were immaculate. There were several live white peacocks on the lawns. The front door was huge and heavy like the entrance to a palace should be. Her father grabbed what looked like a silver snake's head and pulled. Cassi heard a bell sound inside the house. A tiny house elf wearing a tea towel answered the door showing them inside.
The Malfoys were already waiting in their sitting room. Cassi was shown directly to the Malfoys so she could once again thank them for the honor of their presence. If vomiting on them instead of thanking them was an option, she would have chosen the latter.
It was an opulent room with tapestries and ridiculously expensive carpets. A massive fireplace in the center of the room was easily as big as their sitting room at Hogwarts. It was white marble and had ornate snakes carved into it. Above the fireplace was a painting of the Malfoy family. It was probably a few years old, Draco looked younger and smaller.
Cassi saw the boy's heads together and heard Crabbe grunting something to Draco. Draco smirked. Cassi guessed he was telling him about Goyle vomiting into the hedgerow. A little tussle broke out and was squashed quickly by quelling looks from parents, Cassi noted, not Malfoy's parents, however. They were too busy studying their new toy, her.
Cassi was pulled onto a small sofa near the fire by Mrs. Malfoy and served tea by the smallest elf she had ever seen. Accepting her tea graciously, she gave the cup a small sniff before bringing it to her lips, then complimenting Mrs. Malfoy on a superb blend. Her father would murder her if she accepted the cup and didn't attempt to detect anything, but she had to do it without offending their hosts.
There was the endless question about where she'd been all this time and why it took so long to come home. Where had she gone to school, and would she be starting at Hogwarts in the fall? Her father fielded a few questions regarding her education. It was assumed he would take charge of her now that she was here. He allowed her to field the majority of the questions. For some relatively benign ones she gave detail. Others, much less.
Then Mrs. Malfoy proceeded to drop a bomb on her. "Tell me, my dear, why did your mother run away from us all those years ago?" Mrs. Malfoy asked austerely. Cassi was floored. She had been expecting the question, but not this soon. She thought there would be more polite conversation before it all went to hell.
"Well, Madame, out of fear, I expect," Cassi said plainly. It was the truth. Her mother had been terrified. But she would have to spin it so she could still be in the Dark Lords' good graces, and her father still allowed to do his work.
"Oh?" Mrs. Malfoy chirped. "Do tell."
SHIT! Cassi would have to be very careful now. Anything perceived as an insult could ruin it all. Stalling, she took a small sip of tea and went on. "Yes, Madame. When my mother was small, a healer told her she would never be able to bear a child of her own. When she found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic. However, her magic had become unreliable early into her pregnancy." Cassi paused here to find the next direction.
"My mother was in," she paused, " - service – at the time." She said the word 'service' carefully. She wanted to make the meaning plain without saying it outright. "She was terrified her master would grow dissatisfied with her service because of her failing magic." Cassi paused for a moment staring into the fire, "And in displeasing him earn his ire, therefore losing me in the process. She thought this might be her only opportunity to have a child," Cassi finished carefully. "As it happened, she lost her magic temporarily toward the end of her pregnancy with me. It was almost a full month before it returned." Cassi said.
Mrs. Malfoy looked thoughtful. Cassi knew she had lost a child before Draco in the same way. She earned his Lordship's displeasure, and he held the Cruciatus curse on her for so long that she lost her child. Her mother had been present for the event. She had shown Cassi that memory.
"Why did she simply not return when she got her magic back?" Mrs. Malfoy said crisply.
Cassi answered as truthfully and as simply as she could. "You don't leave your master's service Madam, and expect to be welcome back." Mrs. Malfoy sipped her tea and glanced at her husband. Cassi knew the rest of the men were listening.
Mr. Malfoy stepped forward and held out his hand to Cassi. Cassi put down her tea and took his hand. He helped her off the sofa and began walking her toward the fireplace where the men had been gathered. "Well, now, my dear, you are back where you belong. No more wilds of America for you. You're home now, with family." If said by another, the words would have been encouraging and welcoming. From him, they were cold, like words chiseled into stone.
Her father came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She craned her neck to see him and gave him a small smile. He looked satisfied. It had been a test. Cassi had known from the beginning failing was not an option. Some of the men in the circle were eyeing her. She did not like their looks. She pressed back slightly into her father, and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
Finally, gratefully, tea was over. She was off now to meet her uncle for the first time. She wasn't sure where he lived or where he would be. Last she had heard, he was on the run from the ministry. How is it he would have lodgings and an owl to send her a letter? Her head was swimming with questions.
She began the walk down the drive with her father to the apparition point. Grateful to be out in the air again, Cassi was mindful to keep herself a full stride behind her father. Keeping up propriety was important. He was the head of her household. As stupid as it felt, it was keeping her safe.
They got to the apparition point. Taking her father's arm, she felt him twist, and she turned with him into that compressing darkness. When she opened her eyes, she was facing a row of tall houses. The square looked familiar. Her father handed her a small piece of parchment. "Read it quickly and memorize it," he hissed. He set fire to it a second later.
It read The headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix can be found at 12 Grimmauld Place, London. Frowning, she looked at her father, thinking of what she had just read. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a house materialize out of nowhere. She snapped her head around, and sure enough, there it was. Her mother's childhood home. They walked quickly up the stairs. An odd sense of urgency overtook Cassie. Her father grabbed the serpent knocker and knocked twice. The door swung open.
A small wrinkled house elf answered the door. She knew this elf. She had seen him in her mother's memories. Her breath caught in her chest as she stared down at him. He looked older, unkempt, but there was no mistaking that nose. This was Kreacher. "Kreacher?" Cassi whispered. Kreacher looked up at her. Does Miss know Kreacher? Kreacher has never seen Miss before.
Snape pushed her further into the house. Grabbing her chin and turning her face up to him, he put his fingers to his lips, warning her to stay quiet. Frowning, she nodded and followed the little elf. The place felt derelict. It was dark despite the gas lamps that had sputtered into life in the hall. The house felt dank, and it was filthy. The air smelled musty and stale, like a window hadn't been opened in over a decade.
Kreacher led her toward a staircase downward. She looked back questioningly at her father, he nodded for her to proceed. It led to a kitchen dank as the rest of the house. The copper pots were tarnished and dull, a small candle guttered on a very long table. In the corner, there was a man cleaning out mugs and a teapot.
Kreacher did not announce them. He wandered off into a cupboard and closed the door. Her father cleared his throat, and the man looked around. He looked at her father with dislike etched on every line of his face. He looked older, warn, but there was no mistaking it. This was Sirius Black, her uncle. She could see similarities between him and her mother.
He approached her, and she felt her father stiffen behind her. She was gaping at him. She only just realized her mouth was open. She closed it and swallowed. Clearing her throat slightly, she curtseyed, bowing her head in reverence. She wasn't sure he would expect it, but just in case, she made a go of it. "Uncle Sirius, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Cassiopeia Aurora Black. Sir, I am your…Ahhh!" Cassi shrieked as he pulled her up and into a bone-crushing hug spinning her in a circle.
Letting her go and holding her at arm's length, he smiled down at her. "You look so much like her," Sirius said. His voice was hoarse like he hadn't used it for a while. Cassi smiled at him. "You have her eyes and her smile." He croaked. "Come sit down, sit. I'll bring the tea." He hurried off to grab the mismatched tea service and brought it to the table.
She looked behind her at her father. He was a statue. His face was masklike, not betraying a hint of what he was thinking, but his eyes flashed menacingly. Cassi knew there was no love lost between these two, but she did think it was possible for an adult conversation to be had. Seeing her father's current expression and the fact that neither man even acknowledged the other, she might be wrong.
Cassi looked about the kitchen, it was familiar. She had seen this house in her mother's memories. Her mother used to hide down here to escape her father's wrath. Kreacher used to hide her in his cupboard. The place had changed, though. It looked like life hadn't touched this place in decades.
She turned to her father. "I want to make this very clear. I want you to stay. But I don't want you to be uncomfortable either. Would you like to go back to Hogwarts while I visit here?" Cassi was straightforward and plain about it. She wanted it understood that her father was the important one in this scenario.
Snape looked down at her, directly into her eyes. She purposefully had no walls up, he wanted her to see his true intentions. She was worried about him, and she didn't want him made to feel uncomfortable in his nemesis' home. Even if it was technically her family home as well. Sirius, by birth, was the master of the house. He was now Lord Black by title. Even if he couldn't claim it outright due to being on the run, it was still true. "I will stay for now," Snape said, but even though his voice was clipped, his eyes softened somewhat.
"Tell me, how did the service go?" Sirius began as he passed around mugs and put a plate of biscuits on the table. "I'm sorry, I only have tea bags, I'm afraid." He said apologetically. Cassi waved off his apology and sighed dramatically, "The service was all pomp and ceremony. I hated having to try and impress people like that. I felt like a show pony." Cassi grimaced. "But it had to be done. Propriety has its place, I suppose."
"I never held much to it after I left this place," Sirius said. "I let all of that go when I ran away and moved in with the Potter's," Sirius said conversationally.
"We've noticed," her father said coldly. Cassi sighed, and so it begins.
"I don't believe I was asking your opinion, Snivilus," Sirius bristled. It was odd, like watching a dog's hackles rise.
"AS I WAS SAYING!" Cassi said, almost shouting, "I've brought you this. I printed it from one of my memories. It was the day we made cookies in the kitchen when I was about six. She was very happy that day. All smiles and laughs. Even through lessons. This is how I prefer to remember her." She handed her uncle a small framed picture from the bag stashed inside her cloak. Sirius smiled fondly at the photo of his laughing sister.
Sirius told her stories of her mother that she had never heard before. Likewise, Cassi shared what it was like growing up with her mother, what happened that brought her here, and how she was going to attend Hogwarts in the fall. "She always admired you, you know." She told Sirius as their visit was winding down. "She wanted to follow in your footsteps, run away from all of this," Cassi said, gesturing around the room. "But she was scared you wouldn't accept her. She didn't believe the things they said in the paper. She never stopped loving you." Cassi could see a tear form in her uncle's eye. But it was quickly blinked away.
"Feeling sentimental, Black?" Snape hissed. "Does the doggie miss his sister?" he jeered. Rolling her eyes and praying to Salazar for sanity, she glared at her father.
"You know, Snivilus, I've had just about all I'm going to take from you," Sirius said menacingly. SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!
There was a loud BANG like a gunshot, and the teapot shot across the table, squirting boiling tea at Snape. Shielding, he sent a hex at Sirius, knocking him back against the wall. Cassi was just standing there gaping at them, fighting like children. Small strong hands grabbed her and pulled her down, dragging her across the filthy floor into a cupboard.
"Don't worry, Miss Cassiopeia, Kreacher keeps you safe, like he bes keeping your mother safe." The little elf said meaningfully.
"It IS you, Kreacher. I knew it must be," Cassi said with affection. Then she threw her arms around the elf, hugging him. She had seen him saving her mother from a wrathful father a number of times. She had also seen memories of him sneaking her mother salves and sweets to make her feel better after a particularly bad beating.
"Kreacher, I can't let them kill each other. I need to stop this fight." Cassi said with determination as what sounded like an entire china cabinet crashed to the floor.
"No, young mistress, I cannot allows you to." Kreacher croaked, reminding her forcefully of Bailey.
Kissing the little elf on the head, she poked her wand out from the cupboard door and shouted, "IMMOBULUS!" Both men froze, crashing to the floor. She crawled out of the cupboard to survey the carnage. Her uncle had a black eye and a cut lip, her father had a gash on one cheek, and his knuckles were bloody. "I'm surrounded by idiots," Cassi muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose."Expeliarmus!" Cassi said firmly. Both wands flew out of their immobilized owners' hands and into hers.
"Listen to me, both of you! I have had one HELL of a day. I've been belittled, goggled at, put on display, and interrogated. I'm not about to sit here and get blown up by my own family! For my sake, get your shit together so we can honor my mother! OKAY?!" She shouted. Breathing heavily, she eyed the bottle of fire whisky on the sideboard. At least they hadn't managed to break that.
"Finite," she said firmly. They both got to their feet, eyeing their wands still clutched in Cassi's left hand. "Reparo!" The table and chairs repaired themselves, dishes sprang back into the repaired china cabinet, and the iron chandelier hung itself back on the ceiling.
Cassi turned to the pantry and managed to find three unbroken glasses, grabbed them up, and brought the fire whisky to the table. She poured out three generous measures, handing one to each of the bruised egos in front of her. Raising her glass, she said, "Mother, may you find your peace. To Aurora!" Her father and uncle both followed, chanting after her, "To Aurora!" throwing back their drinks.
Cassi made to throw back the drink, but her uncle caught up her short, grabbing the glass out of her hand. "You can hold it for a toast, but you're not drinking it. You're too young!" Sirius said all of a sudden, acting like an adult.
"Says the toddler that was just rolling around on the floor with this one," Cassi said incredulously, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder at her father.
Sirius grimaced at her as her father cuffed her on the back of the head sharply. "Watch how you address me, child," he said dangerously, narrowing his eyes. He snatched the wands out of her hand and threw Sirius on the table. Sirius threw back the second glass. Cassi gripped the bridge of her nose again, wondering how they were the adults in this situation.
"Something else to add?" Snape asked, arching one eyebrow.
"No, Sir," Cassi said simply. She knew he was trying to reestablish authority. It was just easier to let him. She turned to her uncle. "May I see my mother's old room before I go?" Cassi asked, trying for some sanity.
"Maybe next time," Sirius said. "There's a ghoul in there I need to get rid of before it's safe to explore." Sirius cleared his throat and stood up straight. He looked Cassi in the eyes and said with all the formality a guy with a black eye and a busted lip could muster, "I would like to formally accept you into this family. This is your home, should you choose it. It is open to you any time you wish to come."
Where the hell was this guy 10 minutes ago? She wanted to ask. Instead, she went with, "Thank you, Uncle. That's most gracious of you."
"Time to go," Her father said brusquely. He nodded curtly to Sirius and left the kitchen. Sighing, Cassi hugged her uncle. "It really was good to meet you for real, not just see you in memories. I'll try to come back soon." Sirius smiled at her and gestured to the stairs. Cassi spied Kreacher peeking out from his cabinet. "Goodbye, Kreacher. Thank you for looking after me." Cassi said kindly to the elf. Kreacher bowed deeply to her as she left the kitchen. Sirius walked her out, and gave her one last hug at the door. She could hear it locking behind her.
Snape looked down at her. "We will discuss that little display of illegal magic at home," He said waspishly. She signed audibly as she apparated away with her father.
