Arc 3: Enraptured Revelation
Chapter 9: What Hearts Wish, People Fall Victim
"Go on then, cutie, where is it? You're being awfully suspenseful." Patricia prompted eagerly.
"None of this was coincidental. This whole journey was planned for me from the beginning." I began, turning to face their eyes craving knowledge. "The book with the riddle was originally my mother's which she gave to the old man in the bookstore. The confusing part was that she said the riddle didn't match where she found the pieces. Of course, we know where the pieces were. Patricia gave me the first, the next was in the Vault of Fear, then the Ministry, then Gringotts, then the Mirror of Erised, but my mother didn't have the final piece. She couldn't hide what she never had."
"My Inner Eye is cloudy. Do explain for us, Cassandra." Trelawney asked curiously.
"My mother died searching for the Abyssian Blade. It must be with it. We have to find this ancient civilisation and there, we will find the Abyssian Blade and the final piece of Ylgind." I explained.
"But how do you know?" Patricia replied. "How is none of this just one big coincidence?"
"I don't fully know the answer to that but the riddle was made for me by the worshipper all those years ago. The worshipper knew of what was to come. They knew I would make this journey and the Prophecy... The Prophecy showed me finding it, not Elsie. It all fits. I need to find the Abyssian Blade."
"Then where do you suggest we begin?" Severus said.
I hummed lightly to myself as the others thought with me. "If we want to have any idea of where the Abyssian Blade would be, we need my mother's notes. She may not have been able to figure out where it is, but we can know where it isn't. It's a start if anything. My father likely has the journals with him. We need to go to the Ministry."
"Alright! I've always wanted to see what secrets you weirdos- uh, not you, Cassandra- those weirdos keep!" Patricia lept up happily.
"It would not be wise for the four of us to all go together. It would put unnecessary pressure on the Minister." Severus responded. He had a point. Fudge was no good under pressure and the four of us would put him to anxiety.
"Just Severus and I should go." I agreed, much to Patricia's clear disappointment.
"Then Cinnamon and I will hold the fort for you here. We'll look in the library for anything that can help." she cheered and pat Trelawney a little too hard on the back. Seems she came up with her nickname for Trelawney too.
"I will see what the future holds for you, Cassandra." Trelawney added. "Do take care. I do not sense danger but there are signs of conflict."
"Thanks, you two." I said and Severus and I left on our brooms to Hogsmeade and disapparated to the Ministry.
*****
The Ministry never changed each time we visited. The same lobby with the same massive fountain with the same massive statue stood grand and tall. Though it was coming upon evening, there were the remaining stragglers for the late-night shifts doing their work. The lights were slightly more dimmed to hush out the non-workers but that didn't deter us from our business. This was essential.
Severus and I entered the elevator, thankfully not greeted by an unpleasant Umbridge, and pressed the button to take us to Fudge's office. In a matter of seconds, we arrived and paraded our way through. There were a few workers there who recognised me but they did nothing to stop me. It felt strange. The previous time I was here, they all looked at me with such disgust and disdain. Now, they looked pitiful. Why had their expressions changed so significantly?
"He told them something." Severus whispered to me as we continued walking.
"Like what?" I replied.
"I am not certain, but they feel sympathetic."
Mild goosebumps appeared on my skin from the nerves, but a quick rub of my arms removed them, though the feeling didn't disappear.
Eventually, we stood outside of the door that held the man I came to despise. He was my father and yet nothing of the sort. How willing would he be to give me Elsie's journals? And... do I really owe him an opportunity for redemption?
With a deep breath, I knocked on the door. Fudge's typical "come in" sounded through the wood. With slight hesitation, I opened the door to an unprepared Fudge.
"Is everything alright, Cassandra?" he asked with a heavy heart. "I heard about Gringotts."
I had to cough to clear my throat. I wasn't ready for this, nor was I okay. Facing him like this made my soul feel like it was cracking away.
"Yes. We got it." I said. It was difficult to get any words out.
"Then what is it that I can help you with?" he followed. I hated seeing him like this. This man abused me my entire life and here he was trying to pretend none of it happened.
"I want my mother's journals." I said a bit ruggedly. I didn't intend to be demanding but I couldn't control myself. I wanted this encounter to be over.
He sighed and without complaint pulled a thin journal from within a drawer and placed it on the desk for me. "This was the one she was working on before she died. It should help you the most."
"Where are the others?" I asked without thinking. Fudge's face went dark with grief.
"I got rid of them. Having her remnants in the house- it was unbearable for me. I did not think that they would be needed. I thought I could be-" He sighed again, much deeper this time, to try to compose himself. "I thought I would have been better."
I blinked aimlessly at him. I couldn't find it in me to care for his pitifulness. "Thanks." I said, picked up the journal and turned to leave, Severus following.
"Please be careful, Cassandra. I do not want to lose you as well." Fudge pathetically advised. He appeared as if he had more to say but he did not feel entitled to speak further.
"Maybe you should have done something all those years ago instead." I shrugged and the door slammed shut behind me.
"That was interesting." Severus remarked indifferently, though he was observing carefully my mental state.
"Can we just go? I hate being here." I pleaded and we left immediately.
*****
It had since gone nightfall when we came back to Hogwarts. All was silent and dark. We made our way to the library where Patricia and Trelawney were supposed to be researching. When we entered, Patricia was reading a book to candlelight while Trelawney had passed out under a blanket with her head on the table.
"You're back." Patricia spoke quietly so as to not wake Trelawney. "How did it go?"
"He only had this to give us." I showed her the journal. "It's not much but it'll have to do."
"Should we look at it now?" Patricia asked but she knew there wasn't much point with Trelawney fast asleep.
"It's night. We should sleep and reconvene tomorrow." Severus recommended to which we mutually agreed.
Patricia picked Trelawney up and carried her away. I presumed she was going to take her to Trelawney's room but where was she going to be staying? Oh...
Severus and I went to my room. It was horribly dusty and cold despite the summer heat. The elves must have been waiting for just before our return to do the cleaning. The children's portraits were whitened from the flakes. I took each one and gently wiped them clean.
"There. Much better." I smiled.
"Do you still feel guilty?" Severus asked as he prepared himself for bed.
"I don't know if it's so much as guilty as it is..." I analysed my heart for what it was feeling. "a feeling that I could have done more. Maybe if I had been less stubborn and not wasted time on pointless emotions I could of at least saved Genny."
I picked up her portrait and looked at her. She had such a confident smile. She knew she was popular and pretty and she embraced it. Sometimes, I couldn't help but feel jealous of how carefree she used to be.
"We cannot change the past but we can control our future." he replied.
"I know. I won't lie, I can't wait for this to all be over. The past year has been so hectic that I'm excited to sit it out and cruise through time." I laughed to myself. "You know, everything happening so speedily makes it feel like I'm trapped in some novel."
"That would be rather absurd." Severus retorted but he chuckled.
After some more discussion, we lay in bed together under the sheets. I had gotten used to his presence beside me but it felt more scandalous doing it at school. For a time, we were silent as we tried to fall asleep but my mind kept wandering.
"What's wrong?" Severus asked, turning over to look at me.
"I'm remembering the times I had in this room. I remember the days I would come back and... just cry. Utsy would come and try to comfort me. It's because of her that I didn't give up..."
.....
Some Time Ago During The Initial Investigation...
It was another day of feeling positively useless. I had made no progress and my pathetic attempts of avoiding Snape were getting worse each time. I collapsed on the bed, hugged my pillow and burst into tears. A light snap echoed through my ears.
"Why is Miss Juniper crying again?" Utsy asked sadly.
I wiped my tears with my sleeve. She had brought me her signature bowl of soup.
"Oh, it's nothing, Utsy." I lied and took the bowl from her. The soup was warm and soothed my aching heart.
"Miss Juniper can tell Utsy anything. Utsy is a reliable elf." she reassured as she made sure I was eating and calming down.
"Promise you won't tell anyone?" I asked. It wouldn't be the first time Utsy had seen me cry and heard out my woes. She really was the mother I never got to have.
"Utsy promises." she said and lept next to me on the bed as she often did when I was going to tell her a story.
"Well..." I wiped my tears again and took a shaky breath. "I don't know if I can do this. Everyone expects so much from me but I'm not strong enough to do this alone. If I fail, I'll embarrass my father and he'll never let me hear the end of it."
Utsy nodded. "If Miss Juniper's father is a good man, they will understand Miss Juniper did everything she could."
"That's the problem; he isn't a good man. I'll always have to keep fighting him. I really hoped coming here would give me some solace. Maybe I'd understand something about myself outside of my father's shadow. Instead, I think I'm getting worse. I couldn't get to Hogwarts without making an enemy and he won't let up. I can't help but wonder if he's right about me."
"What does the man tell Miss Juniper?" she asked curiously. She patted my knee to grant comfort but my voice was still unsteady.
"He calls me a Ministry rat. That I'm useless and I only achieve anything because I'm too reliant on everything my father told me. At first, I would fight back because I knew who I was. I was stronger than him trying to pin me down. As time went on, I began to feel the holes inside of me. His insults... hurt me because I knew he had a point. I hated who I was. I hate who I am." I clenched the pillow closer to my chest.
Utsy watched on somewhat helplessly. She was evaluating what to say and wanted more information.
"At the same time, I can't help but want to see him. He challenges me. He makes me want to change. Nobody has made me feel like that before. Am I going insane?" I wanted the answer.
"Utsy does not think so. Utsy thinks that Miss Juniper should listen to what he has to say. If Miss Juniper is feeling this way, then there must be something that Miss Juniper wants to learn from it." she replied sincerely.
"What should I do then?"
"Utsy believes that Miss Juniper should confront the man. Miss Juniper should understand what the man is saying. If Miss Juniper continues to avoid the man, the cycle will continue. Utsy believes Miss Juniper is not a bad witch. She will be okay if she believes."
For the first time in so long, I felt my lips upturn. Though she couldn't convey herself perfectly, I understood what she was saying. I needed to understand what Snape was saying because if I felt hurt, there was truth behind his words. Tomorrow... tomorrow I will try to survive his class. I had to do it for my sanity... and for Hogwarts.
"Thank you, Utsy." I said as I pulled her into a hug. Her small body was easy to wrap my arms around and her petite arms barely reached around my sides. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"Utsy will always be there for Miss Juniper if she needs Utsy."
"I hope so."
.....
"To think it was that elf that made you come back to class that day." Severus remarked as he held my hand.
"I might have run away if it wasn't for her. She came to me so often when I was on the verge of collapsing from the stress to make me feel better. I miss her so much." Not being able to see her in the kitchens made me feel voided. I'd never get to taste her soup again. She didn't deserve to die. None of them did. "You know, if it wasn't for her, we'd probably not be together."
"I dread the thought." he replied somewhat startled.
"Me too. ...thanks for listening to me, Severus." I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "We should sleep. Who knows where we'll be off to next."
I managed to fall asleep quickly after talking off my anxieties. I was grateful to have Severus by my side and my friends to support me. I'd never have to feel that loneliness ever again.
*****
The next morning, the four of us met in the courtyard to discuss our next steps. Patricia and Trelawney had brought out some notes and I held my mother's journal in my hand.
"Should Cinnamon and I go first for what we found out about the sword?" Patricia asked and she was visibly excited to get started. We mutually agreed and she rustled through the papers.
"There wasn't much to go off but what we gathered is that the Abyssian Blade is an extremely ancient sword; so ancient that people aren't sure if it really exists..."
"But it has to exist. The Prophecy said so." I butted in.
"Prophecies are only a potential sight into the future. They have the potential to be erroneous." Trelawney confirmed to which Patricia nodded to back her up.
"What is the likelihood of Cassandra's mother's Prophecy being incorrect?" Severus interjected. He didn't want to have my hopes crushed.
"Without knowing the Seer who made it, it is difficult to know." Trelawney elaborated as she thought carefully of possible outcomes. "I may only assume it was truthful."
That fact made me unleash a breath I didn't know I had held in. This wasn't all for nothing, thank Merlin.
Patricia pulled out another piece of paper and began to scan it. "This one says that the Abyssian Blade belonged to an ancient civilisation which must be the one mentioned in the riddle, right? Though it doesn't say which one so it could be any of them. The last thing we got..." She paused as she scanned further. "is that these scholars are not fans of this sword. They say it's dangerous. They don't say why, annoyingly, but there were so many warnings."
That wasn't a good sign. We had such little to go on other than "this sword can and will probably kill you!".
"Are you able to foresee anything, Sybill?" I asked though I knew Severus wouldn't buy what she would say.
"I foresee... some danger but... from a surprising source. I believe if you keep your wits about you, you should be fine." she advised with her hands pressed against her temple to get the best reading possible.
"We should look at the journal now." Severus remarked and I opened it carefully.
The journal was fraying at some of the pages. Despite being mostly in a drawer since its owner's passing, it had not survived well. The middle binding was coming apart as if it had been read multiple times over the years. I read the wording aloud for everyone to hear.
The Abyssian Blade is what I would consider the Holy Grail of my career. Considered lost to time, this sword is a relic of a society long gone from history. The books won't say anything of its existence and if they do, it must all be guesswork. If I were to find it, this would be a great advancement in my career and could lead to more impressive discoveries.
What I have discovered so far is that the Abyssian Blade must be in a place of significance but not known to modern witches and wizards. It could be in a place nearby to a known area if the location was also old.
She then listed a series of locations with multiple crossed off. This was what she was working on before she collapsed... The very bottom suggestion caught me off-guard.
Hogwarts.
"In a place not so far from home..." I remembered from the book. The riddle was about me. Home... Hogwarts was my home... The Forbidden Forest was equally as ancient as Hogwarts, if not more. It would not be impossible for it to be there. And then I remembered that strange large pit Severus and I encountered previously. It felt so out of place that it could only be explained by it having a purpose for being there. This was no random hole in the ground; it was an entrance.
I explained my theory to the trio and they agreed there was something strange about it.
"Then we should go there!" Patricia announced. "Another adventure, this'll be great." She clapped her hands together and was raring to leave at once.
"I don't think you and Sybill should go." I interrupted.
"What? Why?" she protested with a heavy pout.
I looked at Severus and it was clear he agreed. "I want to bring you along but this is my trial to go through. I wouldn't want you to come and end up hurt because of it. You have your own lives to worry about."
The two girls looked at each other. They wanted to disagree but they understood the risks and we wouldn't change our minds.
"I will pray to the spirits for you." Trelawney said nervously.
Patricia lept up and pointed her finger assertively at Severus. "If she gets so much as a scratch on her, I swear Stoic, you will regret it."
*****
After time to prepare, Severus and I made our way towards the hole on the outskirts of the Hound's lair. As expected, the hole was as mighty as previously. Standing near the edge gave me a feeling of wanting to jump in as if it was pulling me in. I picked up a stone and threw it in. Just like before, no noise came back. I took out my wand and shot a light spell down but it disappeared before reaching the bottom.
"We're going in blind..." I whimpered, remembering the Devil's Snare.
"If only we had someone we did not care about to throw in." Severus remarked. I knew he was joking but-
"Cassandra! Oh, and Snape? How interesting to see you two here!"
He didn't-
Lockhart, dressed as regally as always, appeared out of nowhere.
"What are you doing here?" I asked offensively but he was too oblivious to acknowledge it.
"After our meeting at Gringotts, I took to my own adventure. Looks like we had the same idea of coming here!" he paraded proudly.
"It would work." Severus whispered to me.
"You can't! He could die!" I replied.
"I never suggested that he was supposed to live."
I facepalmed but, despite it all, I knew it was more useful to have Lockhart with us as a scapegoat than be without him.
"Why don't you take a closer look, Lockhart?" Severus suggested, stepping aside for Lockhart to approach.
And approach he did.
"My, this is certainly a deep hole. It reminds me of the time that I- AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Without hesitation, Severus shoved him down the hole. It must have been at least thirty seconds of silence. I reckoned he surely was dead.
"How foolish of me to have tripped! Lucky for me, there is a massive pool of water down here! Jump down, you two!" he yelled from the bottom.
"You really are something." I told Severus and he merely shrugged. He knew exactly what he did and the risks involved.
Following Lockhart, we jumped down in unison and were met by the large pool of water Lockhart informed us of. We climbed out of the water to a ledge leading deeper into the cave system. It was pitch black but a quick "Lumos" from our three wands solved that quickly.
Looks like we have to go deeper.