Squib On The Run (sequel to Squib In The basement)

61. The Veil

Eventually they arrived in a large room filled with numerous doors, in the centre of which was a dais that held a strange veiled archway, from which Cassiopeia could hear an eerie whispering coming from.
The sound of explosions drew Cassiopeia's eyes away from the archway and back to the present.
She immediately scanned the room and saw Harry hiding safely behind a large rock, beside one of his friends. He looked scared, but otherwise alright.
Sirius was duelling a death eater on the other side of the room, but Cassiopeia could see that he too was fine.

The first body Cassiopeia came across belonged to Alastor, so she left Dumbledore's side, and ran over to him.
She dropped to her knees and began inspecting the wounds covering his body.
"Stay with me Alastor" Shouted Cassiopeia, over the loud battle sounds.
"Hmm" mumbled Alastor, who was barely conscious.
Cassiopeia opened up her satchel and pulled out her bottle of dittany, which she then un screwed before squeezing droplets onto Alastor's open wounds.

Once she was done, she quickly looked up to check on Harry, and when she was certain that he was still safe, she went back to work.
She knew that Alastor's wounds would be healed properly at St Mungo's, but she wanted to make sure he was out of immediate danger.
When that was done, she scanned the room for other casualties, which is when she saw Nymphadora's unmoving body.
Cassiopeia immediately abandoned Alastor, and sprinted across the room.

"Dora! DORA!" Yelled Cassiopeia, as she tried and failed to rouse Nymphadora.
Cassiopeia rummaged in her bag and pulled out a jar of witch hazel leaves.
She then took out a handful and placed them against the large cut on Nymphadora's forehead.
Cassiopeia then carefully began wrapping a bandage around Nymphadora's head, so that it would hold the witch hazel in place.
Once this was done, she dropped dittany onto the rest of Nymphadora's wounds.
The last thing she did was quickly write down on a piece of parchment what she had done, before placing it into Nymphadora's pocket, so the healers at St Mungo's would know what medical care had been given on the scene.

As Cassiopeia stood up, intending to leave a note on Alastor as well, she noticed that there was only one pair still dueling, and it was Bellatrix and Sirius.
All thoughts immediately left her mind, and she found herself walking towards the dais, to where the fight was taking place.
She could see that Sirius and Bellatrix weren't using lethal spells, but she was still worried that one of them was going to get hurt.
When they used to duel for fun as children, neither of them liked to give in, as they always wanted to win. And Cassiopeia knew that this was still the case, even though they were both adults.

"Come on, you can do better than that" taunted Sirius.
Bellatrix frowned, and began upping her game.
Her reflexes were quicker than Sirius's, and she managed to hit him with a Stunning spell before he could block it.
Bellatrix smiled triumphantly as Sirius fell backwards, but as his body disappeared into the veiled archway behind him, her smile faded.

Cassiopeia looked at the spot where her brother had once been, and she felt as if time had suddenly frozen around her.
Sirius had disappeared into the strange archway, and for some reason he had not returned.
The room was silent except for the strange whispers that Cassiopeia had heard earlier on. And it was only then did she realise who was whispering to her.
It was the dead, calling out to her from the great beyond.
And whatever the strange archway was, it led to death.

Bellatrix locked eyes with Cassiopeia, and for a moment she seemed sad and apologetic.
But the moment didn't last long, because Bellatrix had a reputation to live up to.
She quickly put a smile on her face and cackled menacingly, before fleeing from the room.
Cassiopeia watched her cousin leave, before slowly walking towards the archway, as if pulled to it by some invisible force.
She blocked out all the noise and commotion happening around her, and focused only on the strange voices.

Cassiopeia sunk to her knees and stretched out her hand towards the veil, knowing that all of her loved ones were on the other side, waiting for her, just out of reach.
It would be so easy to follow Sirius through the archway, and join him on the other side.
"Cass! CASS!" Screamed Remus, breaking through her trance like state.
"I'm here" whispered Cassiopeia, as she slowly got to her feet.
"It's Harry. He's gone after Bellatrix" revealed Remus.
Cassiopeia quickly spun around, and saw that Harry was indeed nowhere to be found.
"Dumbledore has gone after him" continued Remus.
"I'm going too. Harry needs me" informed Cassiopeia, before turning her back on Remus and sprinting out of the room.

Cassiopeia followed the sound of explosions and screams, until she found herself back in the Atrium.
The place was now an absolute mess, but none of that bothered her, as the only thing that mattered was Harry.
She saw him lying on the floor, beside Dumbledore. But to her suprise, Dumbledore took a step away from Harry, instead of trying to help him.
Cassiopeia was confused by Dumbledore's actions, but she didn't let it stop her from rushing to Harry's side.

When she reached Harry she gasped loudly when she saw red eyes looking back at her, instead of Harry's normal green ones.
"Are you going to kill me now, Dumbledore?" Asked Harry, in an eerie voice that was not his own.
"If death is nothing, then kill the boy?" Taunted Voldemort, using Harry as a mouthpiece.
The thing Cassiopeia had feared the most, had happened, Voldemort was now looking at her through Harry's body. But she couldn't let her fear overwhelm her, for Harry needed her.

Cassiopeia knelt down beside Harry and placed her arms around him, holding him tight to her chest.
"Harry, I know you can hear me. You mustn't let him win, you have to fight him. You can beat him him, I know you can... Listen to my voice, and use it to guide you back to the light. I love you little stag, and I am right here by your side, so please come back to me" insisted Cassiopeia.
She then began rocking Harry in her arms like a baby, and began humming him a lullaby, using the pain she was feeling at losing Sirius, to bring life to her lyrics.

A few moments later Harry's eyes rolled back in his head, and he began violently shaking.
Cassiopeia released him, and watched as Voldemort's shadow sprung from Harry's body.
"Your sentimentality sickens me" spat Voldemort, glaring down at the pair of them.
Cassiopeia held Harry tight to her once more, and tried not to think about how terrifying it was to see Voldemort again. The last time she'd seen him, it had been on one of the worst days of her life. And seeing him again, reminded her of that night.

Voldemort stepped closer to them, but before he could advance all the way, the fireplaces around them suddenly lit up, and a dozen tired looking Ministry employees stepped out, including the Minister for Magic himself.
Seeing that he was outnumbered, Voldemort grabbed hold of an unconscious Bellatrix, and disapparated.
With him gone, Dumbledore calmly approached Fudge, and began explaining what had happened that evening.

Harry began stiring in Cassiopeia's arms, causing her to take her eyes off the Minister and look down at him.
"M...mum" murmered Harry, as he regained consciousness.
"I'm afraid not. It's just me, little one" whispered Cassiopeia.
"Cass" replied Harry, as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"Yep, the one and only... You're going to be alright now Harry, I promise".

Cassiopeia looked back at the Minister and his employees, and she didn't like how they kept looking over at her and Harry.
She knew that any minute they would realise who the person beside Harry was, and then she would be in great danger.
With no magic of her own, there was only one thing Cassiopeia could do.
"Kreacher" she called out.
The loyal elf arrived at her side a few moments later.
"Yes Mistress? How can Kreacher be of service?" He asked.
"Take me home" ordered Cassiopeia.
Kreacher nodded obediently, and took hold of her hand.
Cassiopeia had just enough time to kiss Harry softly on the head, before her and Kreacher disapparated to safety.