cassandra
"If she doesn't wake up soon we're going to have to send her to St. Mungo's."
"With all due respect, Poppy, I don't think that's a good idea."
"With all due respect, Albus, it's not your decision to make. You put me in charge of the hospital wing and it's my responsibility to give these students the best care possible... We still don't know the curse that was used against her. St. Mungo's has more resources than I do, they will be able to treat her better."
"My apologies. You're right of course. If this potion doesn't work... we will transfer her in the morning."
Cassandra could feel the thick veils of sleep lifting as she listened to the conversation. Slowly, she gained the ability to wiggle her toes, then the other parts of her body.
By the time she opened her eyes, Dumbledore was already calling Madam Pomfrey back into the room.
The room around her was unfamiliar, but the stone architecture alerted Cassandra she had somehow made it back to the castle. The last thing she could remember was her fight as Voldemort. Her skin crawled as she remembered the feeling of his magic.
"Wha- what is going on?" Cassandra mumbled.
Sticking out of her left arm was a long tube with a bright blue fluid flowing through it. Cassandra raised her shaking arm to rip it out, but a hand stopped her.
"Calm down, Miss Dalton," Dumbledore said softly.
Madam Pomfrey came running into the room and began fiddling with the medical equipment around the room.
It was difficult for Cassandra to see the adults looming above her bed. A large beam of sunlight was shining directly on her face. The warmth was comforting, but it was difficult to see anything past the intense light.
"Wait," Cassandra said while raising her hand to block the light. If it was light outside then she had to have been unconscious for at least a few hours, "how long was I out?"
"You were unconscious for almost two weeks."
"Two weeks?!"
"I know this might be difficult to process, but I need you to remain calm," Madam Pomfrey said while wrapping a blood pressure monitor around her arm.
"How is that possible?"
"You were hit by an unknown curse and it left you in a coma-like state," she explained. "You teenagers are so careless. I mean for heaven's sake going to the Ministry of Magic to fight Death Eaters? Unbelievable," Madam Pomfrey muttered while continuing to take her blood pressure.
The reminder of the Department of Ministry brought Cassandra back to her senses.
"Sirius? He's dead, isn't he?" she said softly.
"Poppy, could you give us a minute?" Dumbledore asked politely. Madam Pomfrey agreed, but made it clear to Dumbledore she wholeheartedly did not approve.
Once Madam Pomfrey left the room, Dumbledore turned back to Cassandra, "I'm sorry my dear girl, but yes, Sirius is dead."
Although she already knew, it was hard to hear Dumbledore confirm the nightmare. Everything that happened at the Ministry seemed like it had happened to someone else. She wanted nothing more than for it to have all been one really bad dream. But she wasn't that lucky.
"He was my—"
"Your father, yes. Professor McGonagall told me."
"It's bloody amazing isn't it? I mean who needs parents anyways?" Cassandra laughed while ripping the tubes from her arms.
"Cassandra—"
"I don't want to talk about it," Cassandra interrupted. Luckily, Dumbledore dropped the subject.
"The End of Term Feast is about to begin, maybe you'd like to go see your friends. I know they've been worried sick about you."
"Yeah... I'll do that."
Once Dumbledore left the room, Cassandra changed into her school robes. She was surprised to find out they no longer fit. Cassandra had never been stick thin, but after her time in the hospital she had lost a significant amount of weight. The robes were drowning her now small figure.
Maybe a feast is a good idea, she thought as she looked at herself in the mirror.
On the other side of the door, she could hear Madam Pomfrey scolding Dumbledore. She obviously didn't approve of Cassandra leaving the hospital wing. But Cassandra didn't much care.
After the Gryffindor tie was successfully knotted around her neck, Cassandra ran from the hospital wing before anyone could stop her. She didn't stop until she reached the Great Hall which was a impressive feat considering her weakened state.
The sight of the Hall lifted Cassandra's spirts significantly. The sound of chattering students filled the air. The warm candle light, along with the light of the setting sun cast a comforting light across the room. For a fleeting moment she felt a flicker of happiness.
"Cassandra!" she heard someone exclaim. And before she understood what was going on she felt a body crash itself into hers.
Hermione was suffocating Cassandra with the biggest hug imaginable. Ron was close behind, and joined once he caught up.
Cassandra smiled into their shoulders and hugged them back. Through all of her grief she had forgotten that she still had her friends.
When she looked up, Cassandra found every eye in the room staring at her. It seemed as if every student in the room wanted a glimpse of the girl who came back from the dead. Well everyone except one person.
"Where's Harry?" she asked as Ron and Hermione pulled away. They looked at each other before turning back to Cassandra. Neither of them were wearing an expression Cassandra was particularly found of.
"He's not here." Ron said softly.
"Well is he coming down soon? I want to talk to him."
"He's not coming."
"What do you mean?"
"It's been difficult for him since Sirius died. He's rarely left his dorm," Hermione explained.
"Oh..."
"Why don't we get some food?" Hermione smiled and guided Cassandra down the Hall towards the Gryffindor table.
The End of Term Feast was different from the other feasts at Hogwarts. Everyone was bustling with anticipation, whether it was for summer break or the announcement for the winner of the House Cup. Cassandra, however, was anticipating the arrival of food.
When she sat down at the table every Gryffindor turned their head in her direction as if they were waiting for her to speak. "I'm guessing everyone knows about our excursion to the Ministry," Cassandra whispered to Hermione.
"Yeah, that didn't stay a secret for very long."
"Thought so," Cassandra nodded and began fiddling with the rings on her fingers in an attempt to distract herself from the attention.
Luckily, the ringing of a glass grabbed the attention of the room soon after and everyone forgot about her. Meanwhile Cassandra was so focused on the thought of food she didn't head a single word of Dumbledore's speech.
The food finally appeared after Dumbledore announced Slytherin as the winners of the House Cup. No one was surprised considering Umbridge had a vendetta against Gryffindor the entire year. Cassandra and Harry most definitely had lost more points than they gained.
After Cassandra successfully ate her weight in food, she turned back to Ron who was looking at her with a very impressed expression. "I'll meet you guys back at the common room, I'm going to bring Harry some food," Cassandra said to Hermione and Ron while wrapping up a few crisps and Harry's favorite chicken.
Much to Cassandra's delight, once she left the Great Hall there was no one left to gawk at her. She suddenly saw the appeal of Harry's decision to not attend the feast, the silence was soothing.
The Gryffindor Common Room was equally quiet. It was littered with discarded study guides and overpacked luggage waiting to be taken to the train. It was difficult to walk throughout the room, but luckily the path to the staircase was clear. And thanks to the outdated gender roles dominant when the castle was built, Cassandra was able to make the ascent to the boys' dormitories with ease.
She knocked softly on the Harry's door before opening the door. After only one step inside Cassandra knew that Harry wasn't doing well. The room resembled a cave more than a dorm. Every curtain was drawn and the temperature was noticeably low.
With the help of a lone candle, Cassandra was able to spot Harry laying on his bed facing the other direction. He didn't even bother to turn to see who had walked through the door.
"Hi, Harry."
"Cass?" Harry jumped.
When he turned to face her, the light creeping into the room from the hallway allowed Cassandra to see his face. He looked the same way she felt, completely and utterly overwhelmed by relentless grief. His eyes were dark and hallow and his smile was weak and tired.
"I brought you some food from the feast, I thought you might be hungry," she said while pulling the wrapped food from her pockets.
Harry swung his legs over the bed and sat up. The mention of food clearly grabbed his attention, but he quickly lost interest in the matter.
"You're awake?"
"Yeah I woke up about an hour ago. I thought I would see you in the Great Hall, but everyone told me you haven't left your room." Cassandra walked over to Harry and stopped in front of him, "How are you feeling?"
Cassandra reached for Harry's hand, but he quickly stood up instead. Her finger lingered in the air as she noticed the bloody bandages wrapped around each fist.
"I'm doing okay," Harry mumbled.
"I'm sorry that was a stupid question."
The silence in the room was deafening. Cassandra turned the ring on her thumb as she struggled to find the courage to say what she came to tell him. She practiced the entire walk about here how she would tell Harry about being her father. But now that she was standing before him, her entire script disappeared from her head.
Before she lost her confidence, Cassandra blurted, "Harry, there's something I want to tell you-"
"Wait... I need to say something first," Harry interrupted. Cassandra was taken aback, but she didn't argue, he seemed just as anxious as her.
"Um, alright."
Cassandra watched as Harry struggled to make eye contact. The entire conversation felt wrong. Cassandra and Harry had always been able to talk to each other, even the first day they met. Her anxiety was rising with each passing second.
"Look, you've been a great friend." Harry began. Her heart began to pound in response. She didn't like the direction this was going. "And I know we were heading in a different direction a few days ago... but I can't see you as anything more than a friend."
"What?" Cass winced. She couldn't believe it... she wouldn't believe it. Cass shook her head, "I don't believe you, you can't even look at me."
Harry took a deep breath and raised his head once more, "I don't have feelings for you."
"Well great... that's great," Cass trembled, "I guess I should leave then, keep the food," she threw the food onto his bed and turned away before he could see her tears.
Cassandra didn't even bother closing the door as she ran from Harry's room. She didn't imagine things could worsen after Sirius died. She thought she had already hit rock bottom. But turns out there were long, sharp spikes waiting for her below.
As she neared the common room Ron and Hermione began calling her name, but Cassandra didn't slow her pace until she reached her room. Hermione tried to follow but Cassandra locked the door behind her.
The floorboards creaked beneath her feet as Cassandra paced in the bedroom. How could she be so stupid? She expected a boy she had known for only months to care for her. Harry was too good and too kind. Cassandra didn't deserve him.
Thoughts were buzzing inside Cassandra's head at a million miles and hour. She desperately grasped for the bottle of Firewhiskey hiding inside her nightstand. Instead, her fingers brushed across a piece of parchment. Tentatively, Cassandra lifted the folded papers. Her hands began shaking as she realized what it was.
Carefully, she broke the seal she had made. The wax broke to pieces and crumbled to the ground. The yellowed parchment crackled as it opened and Cassandra struggled to breathe. Inclosed was her own loopy, slanted writing, messy with excitement. She lost all composure as she began to read the letter.
Dear Sirius,
This isn't a message one usually discloses in a letter, but I'm not sure when I will be able to tell you in person. I don't know how to put this, so I'll just say it. I think I'm your daughter.
My mum was Farrah Croswell, but I only knew her as Diane Dalton. She went into hiding before I was born to protect me from Voldemort. She knew he would kill everyone between him and me, so she faked her death to protect me... and to protect you. I was born seven months later.
I know this is a lot to comprehend. I can only wish that maybe one day we could become a family. I know it's a lot to ask, and I'm sorry if it's too much. But I really hope you say yes, I really hope.
-Cassandra Croswell-Black
A sob ripped through Cassandra's body as she finished the letter she had written only days before. How could everything go wrong so fast? She gained a father and lost him in only two days.
When she looked around the dorm room, Cassandra only saw the hope she had once had. It was unbearable. Stiffing more sobs, Cassandra ripped her enchanted bag from where it hung. It soon became full with clothing and other belongings.
Cassandra ignored the knocks of her roommates as she collected her things. The room was crushing her and she needed out.
With a deep breath Cassandra concentrated on the many layers of enchantments surrounding her. It was like being underwater and feeling the rush of currents sweeping you away. It took great difficulty, but Cassandra managed to siphon the wards just enough to slip through.
She appeared on a dark cobblestone street. The familiar smell of bakeries and sewage blew through the air. The familiarity of Paris slowed her panic slightly and allowed Cassandra to take a deep breath for the first time in minutes.
Around her, Montmartre was bustling with nighttime traffic as the main street became nearer. Cassandra loved Diagonal Alley, but the Paris equivalent was her favorite. The baked goods were exceptional and the french language was music to her ears.
Cassandra made way to the bronze statue leading to the rest of muggle France. The statue swept her skirts and she walked through the barrier.
Within minutes Cassandra stepped through the threshold of the last remaining safe house her mother had kept. It was not as nice as the one in London, but it was comfortable enough.
The apartment was filled with cobwebs and dust from years of neglect, but warmth still shone through. Her mother had once decorated this place to be a home. Luckily, the bed was perfectly suitable. Cassandra collapsed into the rich covers and let out the sobs she had been holding in. Her fingers grasped the blankets, looking for something to comfort her, but nothing was there. She shook uncontrollably as all the events of the past days hit her at once. All she was left to do was hug her knees against her chest and let the sadness escape.
**********
A/N
And Year 5 is done.
It's crazy to think that I'm already a third done with this book. I have some great things planned and i'm excited to start writing Year 6. I hope you guys are excited too because this book is only going to get better :)
Until next week,
-Madds
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