killer | harry potter

2. no man can see his own end

Cassiopeia seriously considered not showing up.

She could do it. She could lock herself in her house until the whole ordeal was over. In the long run, she could take her sister and go somewhere far away, and start anew. But she knew she wouldn't do it. If she ran, it would give the DMLE all the reason they needed to take a warrant out for her arrest. And she couldn't do that to Rye. Her sister deserved to live peacefully. And looking at her family during dinner, celebrating her accomplishments... Cass had lost enough time with them, she didn't want to miss any more.

So, she headed over to Amber Place on Friday, head held high. Things would work out. Because they had to.

Cassiopeia's cousin and friend, Sara, accompanied her not only for moral support but also as legal counsel, which was allowed to be present during questioning. Sara was only a year older than Cass, so she wasn't very experienced, and there was also the small fact that Sara practiced Muggle law, but Cass wasn't too worried. Sara was damn smart, and she was sure it was pretty much the same to advise on a Wizarding police questioning than on a Muggle police questioning.

Maybe it wasn't that good an idea, but it was the best Cassiopeia could do on short notice. And she didn't want to hire some rando who would charge her an arm and a leg for this.

Harry didn't even blink when he saw that Cass had brought a lawyer. He only greeted them both politely and led them over to an office building not far from The Dancing Broomstick, where the offices of the Magical Law Enforcement Unit was located.

It was still very weird seeing Harry Potter in this context. It was as if the wires had crossed in Cass's brain.

A Canadian Auror, Mr. Bronsard, introduced himself and led the girls into a meeting room. He and Harry sat on one side of the long table and Cassie and Sara on the other.

A witch with a quick-notes quill sat in the corner of the room.

Cassie felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. She barely listened to Auror Bronsard as he explained some technicality to Sara.

"Where were you on the evening of December 26th of 2003?" Harry finally asked his first question.

Cassiopeia took a breath. Steeled herself for what was coming. "Ah, I believe I was in Wiltshire, at Malfoy Manor."

"Do you recall if you were there at around 7 PM?"

"I must have been."

"What where you doing?"

Cassiopeia wanted to snap at him but she reined it in. She caught Sara's eye, who nodded encouragingly. "I don't recall exactly. I must have been working on my dissertation."

"On Christmas?"

"It was December 26th."

Harry scowled. "You know what I mean."

Cassiopeia shrugged. "Master's degrees don't care about the holidays."

"Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts then?"

Cassiopeia hesitated then. "Maybe my mother."

Harry made a face but it was gone in a second. Back to the stoic mask he had on. "Do you know anyone by the name of Kerry Kent?"

"I do not."

"To the best of your recollection... could you tell me exactly what you did on the day I mentioned?"

It was a bit disorienting the rapid change in topics. Cass huffed slightly. "It was months ago, I don't remember. I must've spent the day inside writing my dissertation and just laying around when not."