Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived (Collected Original Works)

A Powerful Sort of Love (Dumbledore)

“Cassie,” Albus breathed. “I love you.”

“And I you,” Cassie purred.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” he asked, his eyes filled with worry.

“There is nothing in this world that I am surer of Albus,” Cassie replied, her eyes mirroring his own.

“What do I need to do to prepare?” Albus asked gently.

“We need chalk. White chalk. We also need a place to go where we can be alone. It will need to be capable of withstanding powerful magic.” Cassie closed her eyes, trying to picture what else she would need to complete the ceremony.

“You already have a place in mind,” he mused.

“I do,” she admitted. “Would it be possible for us to go to Hogwarts to perform the charm?”

“Aren’t you worries that someone might see us together?” he argued. “It’s not a good idea. There must be a better place. Surely there’s a better place.”

“There is no better place,” Cassie reminded him. “There is simply no other place at all. The Room of Requirement is the only place that is magically powerful enough to withstand the awesome force of the effects of the charm. You know that.”

“It is possible that Grindewald will…”

“I know, my love,” Cassie chided gently, interrupting his confession. “I am aware of the complications that may arise. Just as you are aware that this is one of your only chances to defeat the Dark Lord.”

“When you put it that way, how can a fella refuse?” Some of the twinkle was returning to Albus’ eyes.

Albus’ suddenly teasing demeanor did not fool Cassie for one second. “How can you refuse indeed? I guess that means that I had better scout out some white chalk.” She let him off the hook, sensing how worried he was about the outcome of the venture. “He’s not the only one who can pick up on people’s thoughts.”

Cassie left his side, momentarily to check her storage room for the chalk. “I just need a tiny piece. How can I not have any chalk? Aha! Chalk. I’ve got blue and…green and…pink. Damn. Yellow. Damn. Orange. Damn. I have every color but white. I guess we will have to make a stop on the way to Hogwarts.”

Cassie returned to his side, tugging on his arm gently. “Come, my love, we have a stop to make before we can begin.”

“Lead the way, Mistress” he replied, bowing deeply in mock servitude.

She giggled uncharacteristically before sweeping from the room, her robes floating gently on the still air.

They Apparated onto the cobblestones in the alley behind the Three Broomsticks. They were still in Muggle London, but at the entrance to Diagon Alley. Albus waved his hand in a circular motion, activating the necessary bricks.

“After you,” he gushed as he gestured grandly. “Ladies first.”

“Why thank you, kind Sir,” she replied.

They moved quickly through Diagon Alley, bypassing all of the shops but one. Within minutes, Cassie had purchased a stick of white chalk at Flourish and Blotts with her last two Knuts. She rejoined Albus outside the store and they quickly left the area.

They walked through the crowd purposefully yet cautiously. They made it back to the entrance in record time, each thinking that they had not been seen. However, in the shadows outside of Olivander’s, a menacing figure stood, silently watching them like a hawk.

Albus waved his hand in front of the bricks, in the opposite direction as he had on the other side, opening the portal to Muggle London. Once they were over the threshold, completely outside of Diagon Alley, they Apparated to the Forbidden Forest, just a stone’s throw away from the castle.

As they trudged through the grass to the entrance of the castle, Cassie was deep in thought. Had Albus been aware of her thoughts, he would have been greatly amused. He was not aware of her thoughts, as he was buried deep in his own. “Why does everyone always describe the Forbidden Forest as a stone’s throw away from the castle? It wouldn’t even be a stone’s throw if I were a giant.”

Cassie’s last thought was so vehement that it burst through the barriers Albus had created in his mind while he had been lost in thought. Albus smiled in relief. “Why am I so worried? Cassie seems to be thinking about everything under the sun, except the charm we are about to perform. If she’s not worried, then why am I? She’s the one who has ages of knowledge buried, locked away deep inside her mind that she is willing to share with me. I just have to be open minded enough to accept her help. I think I can do that.”

Albus felt his steps quicken, despite the ever present feeling of dread, as he led the way into the castle. Although Cassie had been there a time or two to visit him, she had not gone to school there. She was unfamiliar with the layout of the castle. “Should something go wrong, she won’t know where to go. She would be trapped in the countless corridors. I can’t think like that. I shouldn’t be worried. I just can’t shake this nagging feeling I have in the pit of my stomach.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the Room of Requirement. Albus explained how the room functioned and Cassie prepared the room. They quickly entered, trying to hurry the least important parts of the charm.

They both knew that it was possible that the fate of the Wizarding world was resting on the outcome of this charm. Cassie drew the chalk circle with shaking hands. She tried to steady herself for the inevitable. She had already foreseen the impending doom that loomed on the horizon.

She stepped into the circle, causing it to light up the room. She beckoned to Albus to join her. They stood, facing each other, the palms of their hands united in love.

<I>“Verus Diligo,”</I> they chanted together.

Albus watched as the look in her eyes morphed to utter terror and then instantaneously back to peace and love. Albus saw a dark shadow fall across her face. “No! This can’t be happening. How did he find us?”

The red flash of light streaked between them, knocking Cassie backwards. Albus had no chance to react before another streak of light flashed in his field of vision and she was violently thrown against the cold stone of the wall.

She uttered a soft cry as she saw her attacker advancing toward the couple. Albus could see a shadow, moving closer, morphing into a shape that he recognized. He watched in horror as the figure raised his wand, aiming it directly at his heart. He felt Cassie’s immense power as she gathered the love in her heart and used it to push him out of harms way. He felt the second flash of light breeze by his neck, narrowly missing him. He lay, crumpled on the floor, wondering how Cassie could have moved him so aggressively while she was maintaining a shield charm. “She was using her shield charm, wasn’t she?”

For a fraction of a moment, he waited, daring to hope. “She must have had her shield up. He just thinks that he has hit us both. She’s fine.”

He heard a loud ‘pop’ and slowly released the pent up breath he did not know he had been holding

“Cassie?” Albus breathed, still clinging to the hope that she lived. “Cassie, it’s me. Cassie.”

He crawled forward, searching for any sign of life, but the curse had hit its mark.

Cassandra Trelawney was gone. Albus collapsed onto the rough wooden floor, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, he didn’t even want to live. “What am I supposed to do now?”