Arc 1: Immaterial Bonds
Chapter 9: Sleeping Snow
My eyes slowly began to open. My whole body felt heavy and sluggish like a massive weight had been placed directly on my chest. Why did everything hurt so much...? My mind was so hazy...
The room around me was bright, a little cold and well ventilated. Several white beds laid evenly against both sides of the walls with a walkway down the centre. To one end were a set of double doors which must have been the entrance. To the other end was a much smaller door in comparison which seemed to go into, presumably, some sort of office.
I rubbed my eyes and my vision slowly began to adjust further. I was laying in one of the beds near the back side of the room. My clothes had been changed into a sort of hospital gown or pyjama substitute and the blood on my hands had been wiped away. The fresh scars bore into my palms and the dorsal side. They had stopped hurting but it was disheartening to look and be reminded of the suffering I endured.
The smaller of the two doors opened and a woman dressed in white nurse clothes came from inside the room. Her blue eyes lit up when she noticed that I was awake.
"Oh good, you're awake now. I'm Madam Pomfrey, the matron here." she beamed as she placed the back of her hand against my head to check my temperature. "How do you feel?"
I felt exhausted but not... bad. The more I considered my health, the more I felt a strange light hidden inside of me. It began to make the fatigue fade away slowly.
"I feel alright, thank you. Forgive me, what time is it?" I asked, looking around for a clock but failing to see one.
"Breakfast is about to start. If you feel well enough, I may dismiss you so you may go but only if you're absolutely sure you're strong enough." she replied with a raised eyebrow. That trick must work wonders on convincing students who were being brave to go back to their beds.
"Yes, I do think so." I replied and stepped behind one of the screens to get dressed into some clean clothes that had been left nearby. I don't recall bringing any spare clothes with me so someone must have gotten them for me...
"That's a relief for me then. Speaking of, you must reprimand that Severus Snape for how he stormed in here! Normally, he'd use some sort of Levitation Charm to bring any unconscious students to the Hospital Wing but he was carrying you in his arms like some sort of baby! I had to almost pry you from him! Good thing nobody else was here or you'd have made a scene!" she rambled on.
My cheeks immediately flushed at the realisation that, as well as Madam Pomfrey, other students or professors likely saw Snape carrying me...
"Ahh, I'll be sure to speak quite firmly to him next I see him..." I replied bashfully and left the room before she could tell me any more embarrassing details.
*****
The doors of the Great Hall were closed before me but they could not stop the magnitude of voices coming from within. They must have started already... I took a deep gulp and pressed open the doors.
The noises came to a still as hundreds of faces all turned towards me. I was not what they were expecting. The silence was deafening as everyone mutually contemplated what was occurring. The one to break the silence came soon as a young Gryffindor I remember helping in Sprout's Herbology class rose from their chair and pointed straight at me.
"It's Miss Juniper! She's back!" he cried and the hall erupted with cheers and applause. Had these not been the people I had been missing with every fibre of my being... it would have made me shrivel up. But seeing and hearing so many people welcome me back gave me the pride to move on from the trauma I had to conceal from them all.
I began to make my way down the centre walkway and, reminiscent of my first day, there was only one chair free. Many of the professors and staff had shuffled their positions since I left but, true to memory, McGonagall sat beside Dumbledore and two from McGonagall sat Snape, leaving the free chair in between.
Months ago, I would have agonised at sitting in that chair. I knew nobody except the man to my right who I despised almost as much as my father. Now... sitting there gave me hope. They were the people I could rely on and... that man was now someone I cared about close to my heart. With a slightly suppressed skip in my step, I took the chair and McGonagall took immediate notice of my presence and gave a welcoming smile. The cheers and applauds had calmed and the students went back to eating, talking and working.
Everything was whole again.
"How are you, Cassandra?" Snape asked, looking intently over me to make sure I was fully healed.
"I'm alright, just a bit tired. But don't you worry. Madam Pomfrey sends her regards, by the way." I teased and he pressed a hand to his face in shame.
"Disregarding that incident, I hope the clothes I organised for you are appropriate. Madam Pomfrey hurried me to obtain some articles but she did not seem to consider the ethical side of her demands." he continued. In the corner of my eye, I saw Dumbledore and McGonagall leave their seats and go through one of the doors to the side.
"I'm not sure. With how you were acting, I think she may have considered it within the realms of possibility." I joked happily and began to take some pancakes from the main dishes to my plate.
Snape blew out a mildly frustrated puff of air. He really was adorable when he gets flustered.
I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. McGonagall reappeared standing by my side.
"A moment, Cassandra? Be warned, you should prepare yourself." she warned and guided me through the door she had previously gone through with Dumbledore. Snape did not follow. What could this be about?
*****
The room she and I entered into was larger than an office but smaller than a typical classroom. There was a large crackling fireplace and some chairs in front but that wasn't what mattered to me. Instead, stood a man and two women I had the most displeasure in seeing. The Devil in Pink, the False Minister and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones, stood before me.
"There you are, Miss Juniper." Umbridge gritted through her teeth, still vengeful after our last meeting.
"A pleasure it is to see you again, Umbridge." I glared at her and turned to Fudge. "And you too, Minister."
Dumbledore broke the line of sight between us.
"You do not need to be here if you do not wish to be, Miss Juniper." he advised and looked over my shoulder to the door. "I can manage it if you wish to go be with Severus."
"I'm not afraid of them. Tell me, what is going on?" I interrogated as I stood to Dumbledore and McGonagall's side. It felt like a brawl was about to erupt at any moment.
The confident and wise-looking Amelia Bones stood forward and opened a large scroll to read in front of her.
"By order of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, we are directing that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry be forced to close its doors to all students and staff in three days should the perpetrator of the five disappearing students not be caught." Her tone sounded like she was abandoning all of her morals upon reading each word. She didn't agree with this. "This is a final declaration. Failure to comply will result in the appropriate sanctions from the Ministry."
"This is quite unorthodox, Minister. I'm sure you are aware of the efforts that have been made to catch the culprit?" McGonagall protested formally. Umbridge's seemingly innocent yet devious grin only grew.
"And yet, you haven't given a single solid name! How can the Minister have any faith that another student won't go missing?" she spoke in her annoyingly fake high pitched voice.
"Now, now. We do not want any trouble from the Ministry, indeed. We understand your terms." Dumbledore replied humbly. Fudge and Umbridge gave a mutual puff to their chest as Bones watched in slight horror.
"If that is in order then we should be off." Bones stepped forward in an attempt to defuse the situation.
"Wait. Let me talk to him alone." I spat. He looked disgusted at my existence but knew he had no choice against it as his plans for Crystal Lake had been flawed.
"We will be outside if you need anything." Dumbledore whispered. It was just Fudge and me.
"You want to tell me what this is all about?" I snapped. The anger in my face was illuminated by the burning fireplace. He didn't seem intimidated in the slightest.
"Hogwarts has had five students vanish and not one person or thing has been held accountable for it. Parents must protect their children. Hogwarts must close unless-"
"Oh right, because you protected me so well during my entire life. I was so safe with you around! Funny, I seem to recall events differently." The scars on my hands began to burn.
"You always did hold a grudge, Cassandra. You never learn to move on. Our relationship could have been much different had you given your dear father a chance."
"Bullshit! You're the one who never gave me a chance! Hell, I know the only reason you're here is to spite me for exposing you, and Umbridge wanted to see my face when Bones delivered the news! Tell me. Tell me exactly what I ever did to you to make you hate me so much? I've been spending my entire life trying to figure it out and I'm dying to know."
"Because you were pathetic, Cassandra! You were a shameful child who would live up to doing nothing special. You're weak, influenced by your emotions and an embarrassment to me. Tell me, can you cast that Patronus Charm yet? It's been, what, thirteen years and still nothing? Wizards half your age are casting them now. I tried to love you, Cassandra, but you are simply unloveable. You were good for my appearance but you have gone and soiled the small use I had left for you."
I wanted to vomit. It was one thing to suspect it for years but to hear it straight from the man himself was a different feeling entirely.
"The truth hurts, does it not? Is this what you wanted?" he gloated.
I refused to answer. I won't give him that satisfaction...
"No fight left, it seems." he taunted and walked out of the door.
I didn't want to cry; I had been doing far too much of it lately. Though it was justified trauma, he was right, I did let my emotions influence me... What if that was it?
*****
Exiting through a different route to not be seen, I made my way to my room and began to analyse the board once more.
Jessica Marin...
Rayer Terrell...
Christina Becket...
Lionel MacKenna...
Genny Roberts...
I thought deeply about the missing link. The dream I had last night flashed back in my mind. There was a connection.
Marin wished nothing more than to pass her NEWTs and be successful...
Terrell wished for fame and popularity...
Beckett wished for friends...
MacKenna wished for his father to be returned...
Roberts wished to study NEWT-level Potions... or to have Snape return her affections...
Dreams... promising their wishes to be fulfilled... at their darkest moments.
Marin feared failure.
Terrell feared becoming irrelevant once again.
Beckett feared never once having friends and being isolated.
MacKenna feared never seeing his father again.
Roberts feared her grade would mean never being near Snape again.
That was it...! Something invaded their minds and preyed on their vulnerable states. It was influencing their emotions! Offering their most precious desires, they would have no choice but to obey the voice.
Immediately, I went to leave to go inform Snape of my discovery but a strange haze overcame my vision, much like before. My consciousness faded in mere seconds...
*****
"We meet again, Cassandra..."
It was the voice from my last dream. How did it manage to get to me? I had barely been awake for an hour or two since I awoke in the Hospital Wing. That means it either attached itself to me at some point or...
"How are you doing this?" I asked the deep fog-like figure where the voice originated from.
"How I am communicating to you is not important. This is a dream. It is all in your head." it responded monotonously. "I wanted to talk to you more about our previous encounter."
"...go on." I prompted and folded my arms. This was how the five got caught. I have to be extremely careful or else I'll end up like the rest of them...
"I sense your aspirations have changed. Yes, you wish for parents, but there is something else you wish for, I gather. Indeed, you wish for..." The voice paused as if it were human and had to gather thoughts. "Love. Protection. Freedom. I have the power to grant you these favours."
My heart leapt in my chest. I have to resist it. I must.
"...tell me how." I responded not in my own mind.
"It is simple... Come to the..." Once again, the voice distorted and the black void vanished.
*****
I awoke on my desk with my head sitting on my arms. I had fallen asleep and yet none of the restorative effects had come to my body. The sun had begun to set outside so I must have been asleep for a while... What exactly had I been dreaming about? A shot of electricity hit my brain- right, I need to see Snape!
As if on cue, a hard but unoppressive knock rattled against my door. Opening it was, funnily enough, the man I needed to see.
"What happened? What did he do to you?" Snape walked in and gingerly held my arm in the air to inspect me.
"Nothing! He didn't touch me. And you don't need to give me a full physical every time you think something happens!" I protested in a friendly manner knowing that he cared.
"One cannot be too cautious." he responded, letting go of my arm.
"Forget about that, take a look at this." I diverted his attention off me and to my board.
"I figured it out." I pointed to each of the students and explained their wishes and vulnerabilities. It all made sense. "The only issue is that I still can't figure out how they were having dreams. Nobody here could be casting a spell and it doesn't seem to be a creature. It would've been spotted otherwise."
Snape observed the board, portraits and notes in silence.
"It would not be something I would have heard of... but if there were a type of living magic, similar to a Patronus Charm, it could be cast outside of Hogwarts and find its way into the school grounds." he said like it was a ridiculous idea.
A lightbulb lit in my head. That would be the only explanation.
"Severus, you're a genius! I could kiss you!" I exclaimed excitedly. His eyes widened as if to ask for confirmation for what I said.
"I said I would miss you. If it got you, obviously." Nice one, Cassandra. Of course, Snape, the master of discovering lies, would believe that.
"Anyway, if that's the case, then the source must be somewhere in the castle or the grounds. It's most likely outside, I imagine." I continued. All of a sudden, a yawn came over me. But I only just had a nap...
"You must rest." Snape stated and sat me down on the edge of my bed.
"But we're so close..." I yawned once more. My vision was getting blurry. No, I can't sleep...
"We won't be able to make any progress if you push yourself. We have two more days. We may do more work in the morning."
He was right. I hated it when he was right but I could barely keep my eyes open. I wanted him to stay but my words felt so slurred that I couldn't get them out. My body fell flat to the warm sheets below.
"Goodnight, Cassandra." he said looking at me as he opened and shut the door behind him.
"Good... night..."
Everything went back to black.
*****
"Back again so soon?" the voice lulled.
"Not by choice, it seems."
"I keep offering you my services and you truly do not seem interested. Why?" the void said with an insulted tone. For a black haze, it had a lot of feelings.
"Because I'm sure you're the one that's been abducting all of those children." I explained angrily. Despite not having any sort of corporeal form, the void shook itself in disagreement.
"I didn't do anything to them. They all approached me willingly."
"Then explain why they said you threatened them."
"Some needed more persuasion than the others. It happens frequently in human nature. But I promise, no harm shall come to you on your journey to me. You will leave with everything you ever wanted." it edged further.
I suddenly felt no longer in control of my body. There was something else inside of me. Controlling me, moving me, speaking for me. I was nothing more than a host for this void. It had full autonomy over me.
"Tell... me..." My words were not my own and yet they came out of my mouth.
"Good, finally some obedience. It looks as if they have joined us. Listen clearly. Come to the Forbidden Forest. You know what to do. You don't have a choice."
The void snapped out of the dream but I was still stuck. I could do nothing but stare motionlessly.
Whatever that was inhabiting my body... would now be deciding my fate.
It was about to become clear why the Forbidden Forest had earned its title.