Sorry about the extended delay in posting. Getting my BSN, and things got a little hairy. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed. It's very much appreciated!
I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER – JUST BORROWING
Cassi finished packing and went to find her father. He wasn't in his quarters, potions lab, or office. She checked the staff lounge as well. Could he be meeting with Dumbledore? She made her way to the Head's office to see if he was there. As she approached the Stone Gargoyle, it sprang to life. Cassi frowned, wondering if Dumbledore was expecting her or if her father was indeed up there.
She reached the top of the spiral staircase and froze. She heard her father's voice. He didn't sound happy about something. She put a silencing spell on herself and pulled out one of Fred and George's extendable ears. Closing her eyes, Cassi silently prayed to Salazar that her stealth was adequate. She didn't want to die before Christmas.
"You are quite the accomplished Occlumens, Severus. I have every faith that you will perform this task admirably," Dumbledore said.
"Headmaster, surely you cannot be serious," Snape said frustratedly. Cassi could almost picture him pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You will teach Harry Occulmency. Before your lessons, you may retrieve my pensive to use as you wish," Dumbledore said. She heard her father begin to speak, but he was cut off as Dumbledore said, "There is nothing left to discuss."
Her father made a frustrated noise, and Cassi heard something break within the office.
"Severus, it is the only way. Sit down, listen to me. I fear the connection between Harry and Voldemort has grown stronger since his return. I cannot give him more incentive to take hold of the boy." Dumbledore's voice was calm but firm. "We will say no more about this now. You have a daughter waiting for you. Go, begin your Christmas Holiday."
Shit! Cassi's eyes widened as she quickly reeled in the extendable ears. She took a quick breath and knocked on the office door, praying her thumping heart wouldn't give her away. She quickly and wordlessly canceled the silencing spell in time for her father to answer the door. He started at her, eyebrow raised, eyes boring into hers.
"Hello, Father," Cassi said cheerfully, stepping past him. "I've been everywhere, and I wasn't sure where else to look, but I thought if you weren't here, at least I'd be able to wish the Headmaster a Happy Christmas."
Her father grabbed her shoulder roughly and spun her to face him. He grasped her chin, forcing her face up to his. He shoved roughly into her mind. Wincing, she pushed forward those memories of her searching for him from room to room. Then the gargoyle coming to life on its own to give her access to the office.
"One day, your lack of trust in me will hurt my feelings," Cassi said, fake pout firmly in place.
"Good afternoon, Cassiopeia. Have you had a good term?" Dumbledore asked kindly, walking over to them, placing his hand on her shoulder, and turning her away from her father. As she looked up at Dumbledore, he gave her a warm smile, eyes twinkling.
"Yes, Headmaster, thank you. It has been quite an adjustment, but I'm doing well," Cassi said, smiling back. "I'm glad I got to see you before leaving the castle. May I give you a Christmas gift?" She asked hopefully.
Dumbledore looked a little surprised but smiled and nodded. Cassi pulled out her wand and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and waved her wand, feeling the magic flow through her. She conjured a tiny teacup rose plant with beautiful white roses. "The flowers should change depending on the weather." She said hopefully.
Dumbledor smiled at her. "They're lovely. Thank you, my dear," he said, eyes twinkling. "Well, let me not keep you from your well-earned break. I will see you both when term resumes."
"Happy Christmas, Professor," Cassi said with a smile.
Her father made a noise of impatience, turned, and held the door open for her. Cassi followed him out and back to his quarters. When they reached the door to his quarters, Snape said, "Go get your things and meet me back here. We will be taking the floo back to Spinner's End."
With a sigh, Cassi collected her belongings and returned to her father's quarters. He was waiting for her in the sitting room, standing next to the fire, staring into the dancing flames. She cleared her throat to announce her presence. He wordlessly held out the container of floo powder. She took a handful and threw it into the fire, clearly saying, "Spinners End!" Cassi stepped into the fire and felt the familiar whoosh of the floo flames.
She stepped out of the fireplace in the kitchen of Spinners End and heard an excited squeal. "Meg is so happy to see young Mistress. Welcome home, Mistress, welcome home," Meg said happily, wiping a stray tear from her eye. Cassi hugged the elf to her, "I've missed you too, Meg," She said as Meg ushered her to the table, taking her cloak. Her father appeared shortly after her. Meg greeted him and took his cloak. Meg went off to hang them up and appeared moments later with a tea service. Cassi sat at the table and waited for her father to speak. She took the tea Meg had given her and sipped slowly. Cassi glanced around the room, noting the lack of holiday decorations, and sighed internally. She had a feeling her father wasn't the celebrating type.
Her father still appeared affected by this conversation with Dumbledore. Cassi could almost feel the tension rolling off him. He took a sip of his tea and closed his eyes. It was a moment before he spoke. "We will be attending Christmas Eve dinner at the Malfoys. Make sure your robes are appropriate for the occasion," her father said. Cassi pulled a face at the mention of dinner with the Malfoy's. It was exhausting to have to pretend constantly. While she felt an affinity for Draco, it would never extend to Mr. Malfoy, not after what happened to her mother.
"We will also be visiting Grimmauld Place toward the end of the Holiday. If you have anything you wish to give the Mutt, wait until we go. It is unwise to have owls flying around the square too often." Snape said, sounding irritated. Cassi frowned but didn't say anything. When Cassi finished her tea, he sent her upstairs to unpack. Cassi did as she was told. Climbing the stairs, Cassi looked around sadly. She had always enjoyed Christmas with her mother. This lack of festivity was very depressing.
Cassi unpacked and searched her wardrobe for appropriate robes for dinner with the Malfoys. She wasn't looking forward to it. The starchy celebrations at Malfoy Manner were not the cake baking, hot chocolate having, and snowball throwing holidays she was used to with her mother. The ache in her chest was overwhelming. She let a few tears escape remembering the Christmas tea towels she used to make for Bailey. Every year it was a little more lurid. It always started slowly with a bow or ribbon. By the end of Christmas day, bows, bells, and baubles hung all over him. He looked like a little roving Christmas tree. Then the three of them would sit in front of the fire, enjoying cocoa and the cake they made together, usually playing chess or reading.
It wasn't long before Meg called Cassi down for dinner. Cassi changed out of her school robes into something more appropriate, washed her hands and face, and went down to the kitchen. Her father was already seated at the head of the table. Cassi took her place to his right. She thanked Meg when she was served and waited for her father to begin eating before she started. He still looked pensive. She noticed he already had a scotch in front of him.
He turned and looked at her slowly and appraisingly. Before he could speak, Cassi asked, "Father, what happened? You've looked like you've been trying to say something since we got home."
He leaned back in his chair, rested his elbows on the arms of the chair, and steepled his fingers. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "What do you know about the Dark Lord and Harry Potter?"
Cassi was surprised by the question. She frowned slightly and said, "I know the Dark Lord tried to kill him when he was a baby. Something happened when the Dark Lord cursed him. The curse rebounded and destroyed the Dark Lord's body and gave Harry a scar. That scar somehow connects Harry to the Dark Lord. I know he has pain from his scar and sometimes has dreams of things to do with the Dark Lord." She said this carefully, trying to stick to the prior knowledge about him and not divulge everything she had learned in the past few months.
"Yes, well. That is primarily correct. However, since the Dark Lord's return, their connection has gotten quite a bit stronger. It seems he could accurately see an event that occurred while he was at Hogwarts involving a member of the Order. More disturbingly, the Dark Lord sensed the connection and now knows one exists," He said calmly and carefully. Cassi tried to look surprised and worried. But she knew this information already. She wanted to ask about Mr. Weasley, but she'd have to wait until she was 'given' that information.
"Which member of the Order? Was anyone injured?" Cassi asked carefully.
"Arthur Weasley was attacked while on duty for the Order. He is gravely injured and in St. Mungo's Hospital," her father said quietly.
"Will he be all right? Where was he when he was attacked?" Cassi asked quickly. She was concerned about Mr. Weasley but wanted as much information as she could get.
"He should make a full recovery," he said carefully.
"Why are you telling me this, Sir?" Cassi asked, trying to sound confused.
"Due to the complex connection Potter and the Dark Lord share, I have been tasked with teaching Potter Occlumency. It is a fool's errand. Potter is lazy, arrogant, and to my knowledge, completely ignorant of the subject," he said, pursing his lips.
Cassi braced herself for the thing she knew she needed to say. "Teaching Occlumency takes trust. Minds are breached, and secrets are learned on both sides. I've noticed that your relationship with Potter is strained," she saw his jaw tighten, and his eyes flash, but she plowed on. "You tend to single him out and push him more than others. Perhaps if you were more," Cassi paused at the murderous look on her father's face. She had wanted to say nicer but instead said, "tolerant of him."
Snape clenched his teeth and launched himself across the table at her. She braced herself for impact. She had known this might not end well but needed to at least give it a go. He grabbed Cassi by the throat, lifting her off the chair and flinging her from him. Cassi fell spectacularly, landing hard on the stone floor.
"He is his father over again! I have never seen anyone more arrogant!" he spat at her.
Looking up at him, she said boldly, "He is no more his father than you are yours!"
"You know nothing of it!" Snape snarled at her.
"I know enough!" Cassi shouted back. She stood quickly, reading herself.
Snape pulled out his wand, and Cassi mirrored him unconsciously.
"No!" Meg screeched and snapped her fingers. Both wands flew out of their hands into her own. "Yous is my family. The only one I has," she said tears spilling out of her eyes onto her tea towel. "Please, Master." Her last words were barely audible. She dropped to her knees at Snape's feet, sobbing and holding his wand out to him. He looked down at her, his expression difficult to read. He took his wand and pocketed it.
She wasn't going to apologize. He was being an ass. What she wanted to do what hex the shit out of him and go to Grimmauld Place.
"Meg, my daughter will be taking dinner in her room," Snape said before striding back to the table and sipping his whiskey. Meg placed Cassi's wand into her hand before gathering her plate from the table. Cassi turned and left the room without a word.
By the time she reached her room, she had quite lost her appetite. Cassi sat on her bed, thinking. It hadn't even been a year since her Mother had passed, and she had come to live with her Father. Despite being in the house with others, Cassi had never felt more alone.
The next day dawned clear and cold. Cassi shivered as she got out of bed and dressed to go downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, her father was at the table sipping coffee and reading the paper. She sat in her usual place. Without acknowledging her, he waved his wand, and a piece of parchment appeared before Cassi. It was a list of potions. As he stood, he said coldly, "I have some ingredients to source this morning. I want these done by dinner, or you will not be eating."
Cassi sighed audibly and started in on her breakfast. If she worked straight through the day, she might finish by dinner. She looked at his retreating back, scowling. She screamed 'ASS!' in her head. He flicked his wand over his shoulder and sent a stinging hex at her, hitting her in the thigh. She jumped and hissed, rubbing her thigh vigorously. 'Merlin, he really was an ass,' Cassi thought ruefully.
After she finished her breakfast, she walked into the coat closet and felt for the last hook on the right. She pulled it down hard. The back wall slid open to reveal a set of stone steps lit by torches. She descended the spiral stairs into the potion's lab. The torches sprang to life when she reached the bottom, bathing the room in a warm glow. Cassi looked around the orderly room. If she were petty, she'd blow it to pieces. But she respected the art of potion making too much to destroy such a beautiful place.
She affixed the parchment to the wall and enlarged it slightly. As she looked down the list, the majority appeared to be for the hospital wing. Things like wound-cleaning potions, cough potions, blood replenishers, and calming draughts would be easy. Wolfsbane potion, which had to be for Mr. Lupin, and an Antidote to Common Poisons were more difficult. Last on the list was the Draught of Living Death.
She waved her wand, and cauldrons soared onto the workspace. Burners slid under cauldrons and lit themselves, and water poured itself into the few cauldrons whose base was water. Cassi flicked her wand, and ingredients soared out of their cupboards to the chopping blocks, where knives began chopping, dicing, and shredding of their own accord. Cassi then started on the bases for the Wolfsbane potion and the Draught of Living Death.
Cassi lost herself to her work. The simmering cauldrons were like a symphony. She enjoyed brewing more than any other form of magic. Before she knew it, the Wolfsbane potion was left to simmer, and she bottled up the others into crystal vials. She began cleaning up her mess when she heard the door open and footsteps began descending the stairs.
Cassi did not turn around. She continued her work until her father cleared his throat. "I just finished the cough potions. Help yourself," Cassi said, pointing to the table where the crate of small potion bottles was labeled and ready for transport. "I also made a batch of Pepper-Up Potion as it's cold and flu season. I thought Madame Pomfrey would appreciate the extra stock."
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Her father asked her, eyeing her shrewdly.
"Nope," Cassi said, a little venom in her voice. She was utterly unconcerned if she missed dinner.
"Watch your cheek," he hissed. "For your information, it's just past three in the afternoon," he said as he walked around the lab.
Cassi said nothing. She had no interest in speaking to him. She would answer directed questions but wouldn't engage otherwise. She returned the ingredients to the cupboards and wiped down the tables.
"How did you complete so many potions in such a short time?" Snape asked silkily.
"I'm a hard worker," Cassi said and continued to clean.
His face darkening, he said, "I said watch your cheek. I will not repeat myself again." He continued to walk around the lab, peering into a cauldron here, looking at a sample there. "Did you use magic?" Snape asked.
"Yes, Sir," Cassi said, emphasizing the word 'sir' and looking at him for the first time. He did not look angry. If anything, he looked curious. She looked at him, watching her. She would not speak first. Silence did not unnerve her.
"I don't believe I've ever seen you brew with magic. Very few Potion Masters brew with magic, preferring instead to prepare the ingredients by hand. They believe it forms more of a connection with the brew. Some Potion Masters even believe they brew a bit of their magic into the potion when they take a more hands-on approach."
She arched her eyebrow at this pronouncement and said, "Are you implying my brew is not as potent as yours because you feel that using magic is a shortcut, Sir?"
"I am sure your brew is adequate," he said mockingly.
Cassi looked at him hard and narrowed her eyes. She pulled out her wand and summoned a potion from her father's store, then took an identical potion from the box she just brewed. She waved her wand and removed the labels from each. She placed them in front of him. "Tell me which one is yours."
"Feeling full of yourself, are we?" he asked sardonically.
"Not full of myself, no. Just confident in my craft. I've been brewing since I could see over a cauldron," Cassi shot back. She continued to clean the work surfaces while her father studied the flasks in front of him. She finished cleaning before her father made a determination. She turned and left the laboratory without a word.
Snape stayed in the laboratory, determined to show that his potion was superior. He decanted both, saving a small portion in the bottom for an efficacy test. Slowly he deconstructed the potions, identifying ingredients as he went. So practiced he was at his craft; he rarely needed to do an identity test on any of the separated ingredients. Shortly into the process, he could identify not only the potion but which one he brewed. Cassi had handed him two fever-reducing potions.
He then put all of his concentration into deciphering the ingredients in his daughter's potion. The ingredients were identical except for one. It appeared as though his daughter added peppermint to the potion. Snape frowned. 'Why would she have done that?' he wondered to himself.
He then tested the efficacy of the potions. His frown deepened. Hers was more efficacious and may very well stave off nausea many felt after taking the potion. The original brew tasted rather horrible, and he could see now how the peppermint his daughter had added would benefit the drinker. He had to admit, he rarely, if ever, thought of the drinker's opinion.
If he was to be truthful with himself, he never thought of the drinker's opinion. He only ever cared about the efficacy and speed of results. Many Potion Masters would not care for the taste or minor side effects. His daughter seemed to be different.
'Damn her,' he thought ruefully. If he stepped back and looked hard at his daughter, she was much like him. He wondered how different he would have been if he had grown up with a mother as she had. She had given him glimpses of her life before. He had read her journal. The emotions surrounding his daughter had to be carefully buried into the long dark chasms in his mind, safe from his Master. He would use her if he knew how Snape felt. That could not happen.
He wondered if she would be able to do what she needed to do to survive this coming war. He had seen the aftermath of her first battle. She didn't hesitate. But that wasn't planned. She didn't know it was coming. Would guilt override her sense of self-preservation? Would he be able to allow her to be hurt or tortured? He would have to. He would have no choice. He needed to keep his position intact to end this.
Meg notified him that dinner was ready. He began cleaning up the lab and the evidence of his failure. He frowned again. He wondered if he should tell her what he found or if her potion was adequate again. Cassiopeia seemed not to like to be called adequate. He wondered why that was. He could not, of course, tell her that her potion was superior. He would not be responsible for his child being outlandishly prideful or getting a big head.
With a sigh, he headed up the stair to dinner. He found his child waiting for him at her place at his table. His child. What an odd statement. How had the fates seen fit to give him a child? He had already proven to be just like his father, abusive and quick to anger. But she had risen to the challenge. Everything he threw at her, she managed to overcome. She didn't fear him like he feared his father. She didn't cringe when he was near or dread his presence. He couldn't fathom why that was.
In every one of his practice duels, he had tried very hard to injure her. He had hoped he wouldn't kill her, but she needed to be ready. She had risen to the challenge. She had risen to every challenge. He stood in the doorway looking at her, looking at his child. An odd feeling filled him. No, that wouldn't do. He wouldn't allow it. Shoving down his emotion as he was so practiced at doing, he put his mask firmly in place.
Taking his seat at his table, he nodded almost imperceptibly at Meg, telling her it was time for service. She sprang forward immediately, serving first her master, then her master's child. Cassiopeia, as was her custom, waited for her father to begin before eating her own dinner. He wondered who taught her that level of propriety. It must have been her mother. But the scenes he had seen in her head showed something entirely different. He wondered if he would ever have that level of comfort with her.
He began eating his dinner and watched as she picked up her knife and fork. He cleared his throat and saw her smile slightly. "I have finished reviewing the two potions. Why did you choose to put peppermint in your potion?" he asked calmly.
"The original potion tastes dreadful. But that wasn't the original reason. The peppermint helps break stubborn temperatures," Cassi said thoughtfully.
Snape nodded at her answer and continued eating. He saw her face fall a little.
"I know I'll never be as good as you. You are a master at your craft, and it was ludicrous to think that my potion would rival yours," Cassi said in defeat.
Not giving an inch, Snape said, "You are still young. There is much time to hone your skill and improve your craft. Your instincts are good. Continue to use them to your advantage."
"Yes, Father. Thank you," Cassi said, then went silent, preferring to concentrate on her dinner instead of her possible failure.
They ate in amicable silence until she excused herself for bed. He retired to the sitting room for a nightcap and his book. He was hopeful to finish it this evening. Instead, he found it hard to concentrate. His thoughts kept wandering to the girl upstairs. He would like nothing more than to lighten up, make it easier. Show her some of the same favor he had always shown Draco. No, that's not a possibility. Not until it was over. If Merlin forbid he died in his quest, he would need to be sure she would survive without him.
