As the term went on, Cassie grew increasingly aggravated that Ron, Harry, and Hermione kept avoiding her and were rude during their few interactions. She knew much of it stemmed from their dislike of Severus and the fact that they knew she spent an inordinate amount of time with him, but that didn't make it any less irritating. In particular, she hated that her relationship with the youngest Weasley son had been affected.
They had endured their share of sibling-like spats over the years, certainly, but nothing to this degree. Ron had always been infuriating, but at least he had been her infuriating little brother figure.
One night, while sitting in the Slytherin common room, Cassie overheard Draco laughing as he told Crabbe about Ron's injured hand. She immediately abandoned whatever she had been doing and went to check on him.
Ron hadn't outright ignored her when she entered the hospital wing. Still, he had been decidedly coarse, insisting that a dog had bitten him before turning the conversation around and accusing her of refusing to get back together with Charlie.
She'd stayed for only a few minutes. The stubborn preteen was glaring at her, his injured hand immensely swollen beneath the blankets, and he refused to give her any honest explanation for what had happened.
Just before she stepped over the threshold, however, he had called after her. "Are you going to see Professor Snape?"
Cassie had turned around. "Yes. Why?"
"You shouldn't trust him."
She had stared at him incredulously. "Why, Ron? Why shouldn't I?"
But he had fallen silent. It really was vexing.
At least her rocky relationship with the first-year hadn't influenced her harmony with the other Weasleys. Fred and George were always up for a laugh, which Cassie generally welcomed unless their definition of entertainment involved detention. Percy, while his usual prudish self whenever they crossed paths, didn't seem to hold her rejection of his older brother against her. He remained perfectly polite.
"Mother is rather disappointed, of course," Percy told her one afternoon as they walked across the grounds together. "She was hoping you two would have repaired everything by now."
"Oh." Cassie felt a little pang of guilt. She had never wanted to disappoint Molly. "Well, sometimes things just don't work out, you know."
"Yes, that's what I told her. She's asked me several times if it's because you're seeing someone else, but I told her it's really not anyone else's business."
"No, it's not," Cassie muttered.
"But either way, it seems Mother and Father are preparing for you to stay with us at the Burrow, if you'd like." The statement caught Cassie completely off guard. With everything that had been happening, she hadn't even considered telling the Weasleys that she wasn't planning to stay with them after graduation.
She felt selfish for it. Molly and Arthur were only thinking of her well-being, even after she had rejected Charlie, and she hadn't even bothered to tell them that she had already made other arrangements.
"Oh, Percy, that's very kind of them, but I've made other arrangements," she said quickly.
"You're not staying with the Malfoys again, are you?" Percy asked, giving her a quizzical look. They had reached the Black Lake by then, where students were scattered across the grounds, enjoying the fresh spring air now that the worst of the weather had passed. "Because none of us really care that you and Charlie aren't getting back together. You can stay in Ginny's room again."
Cassie felt uncomfortable. There was no way in the world she was going to tell Percy, of all people, that she intended to move to Cokeworth and into Severus's home on Spinner's End. Not yet.
Not until she had officially graduated. Not until Severus's position at Hogwarts could no longer be threatened by the revelation of their relationship.
"No, I'm not staying with the Malfoys," she assured him. "Just with a friend. But I'll be sure to come out for lots of visits this summer."
The conversation left Cassie feeling strangely whimsical, and she found herself looking forward to the possibility of living under the same roof as Severus.
She pictured quiet mornings with tea. Making breakfast for him and coming home to one another. Spending countless hours curled up in front of his fireplace, much as they had so many times in his dungeon apartments. The images were so domestic, so wonderfully ordinary, that they almost felt dangerous.
Cassie smiled faintly at the thought before reality began poking holes in the fantasy. Her life had never been particularly ordinary. There was no reason to believe it would suddenly become so just because she had graduated from Hogwarts. Still, she let herself indulge the fantasy a little longer.
But worries about the future and fantasies of domestic life aside, Hogwarts kept turning. Cassie and Severus seemed to be caught in an endless loop of patrolling, watching, waiting, and anticipating the next move. They both knew it was only a matter of time before either the Ministry or Quirrell made one.
On Monday of exam week, they were proven right. Cassie had finally received the letter from Bellatrix that told her exactly how she was supposed to respond.
It had started like all the others, with Bellatrix reminiscing about some seemingly harmless memory from their childhood. This one recalled a particular afternoon at Malfoy Manor when the two of them had sat together feeding breadcrumbs to the peacocks. Then the tone changed.
The rest of the letter spelled out very specific, cryptic instructions.
If you can manage to sneak away and get to Hogsmeade tonight, leave your letter under the front door of the Shrieking Shack. I have a collaborator, a friend, really, who will pick it up early in the morning before someone discovers it.
It would mean the world to hear from you, lamb.
I beg you, do not disappoint me.
"Do they really think I'm that foolish?" Cassie spat. She had read the letter three times before finally tossing it onto Dumbledore's desk with a disgusted grimace. "That I'd just waltz into Hogsmeade in the middle of the night and straight into the Ministry's waiting arms?"
"Apparently so," Severus replied dully. He sat beside the desk, his arms folded neatly over his chest, but his expression mirrored her disgust.
"So what, then?" Cassie demanded. "Obviously I'm not going to go. What happens now?"
"I suggest you focus on your exams," Dumbledore said mildly. "There is nothing further we can do at present."
Cassie stared at him. "So we're just reacting to whatever Fudge does next?" She shook her head, running both hands through her hair. "I'm not doing what they're expecting. I'm not walking into their trap. So I sit here and wait for him to do something else? Something more extreme?"
"What do you propose you do instead?"
Cassie opened her mouth, then paused long enough to force herself to think before answering. "I don't know! Call him out. Expose him for even trying this shit!"
"How do you think that would go, Cassie?" Severus had come to Dumbledore's defense, predictably enough. She shot him a glare, but he didn't flinch. "You try to bring what he's attempted into the light," Severus continued, his voice calm and measured, "but when he denies it, who will the rest of the Ministry believe? Who will the public believe?"
Cassie glared at him for several seconds. He was right. Of course he was right. She hated when that happened. She didn't tell him so, but she knew she didn't have to. Severus knew her well enough to read the reluctant acceptance in her silence.
They left Dumbledore's office soon after. There was little point in discussing the matter further. Severus tried to coax her into returning to his apartments to rest before her first examinations, but Cassie had too much negative energy burning through her veins. Instead, she paced in front of the third-floor corridor, almost willing Quirrell to try something right then and there.
She needed an outlet. She needed something she could fight.
Her mind briefly wandered to a far more pleasant way to burn off her frustration—one involving shoving the Potions Master against a wall, slipping her hands beneath his robes, and letting him remind her that there were some problems she could solve without a wand.
But even that fantasy couldn't hold her attention for long. Unfortunately, Severus had a room full of second years to assess.
Too many things hung over her. The Ministry. Bellatrix. Quirrell. The Stone.
Her NEWTs.
And the increasingly terrifying possibility that she might lose her plans for the future before she even had the chance to begin.
Focusing on her exams that day was absolute hell. She was lucky that the practical portions came naturally to her, because when it came time for the written examinations, her brain refused to cooperate. Words blurred together. Questions she knew she could answer seemed suddenly incomprehensible. She would read the same sentence several times before realizing she hadn't absorbed a single word.
When she finished the last examination of the day—Transfiguration—she burst out of the room feeling thoroughly disgusted with herself and the entire situation.
"I can't even focus enough to take my tests!" she complained miserably when she was finally alone with Severus that evening. "It's not fair!"
"You'll do just fine, Cassie." He interrupted her frantic pacing, took both her hands, and pulled her gently toward him. "It's your NEWTs that matter, anyway." He was right again, naturally. The standardized examinations would begin the following week. She had to pull herself together before then.
She repeated that fact to herself as she pressed her face into his chest, breathing in his familiar masculine scent. One week. She could survive one week.
But even with his arms around her, all she could think about was the Ministry. They were expecting her in Hogsmeade. At any moment, they could have Aurors at the ready.
They had one piece of incriminating evidence they could twist into whatever shape they needed: correspondence with Bellatrix Lestrange. That could be enough to deny her the career she had dreamed of pursuing for as long as she could remember.
Or worse. It could be enough to have her imprisoned.
"How many Aurors do you think they have waiting for me?" she asked quietly.
Severus looked down at her. "What?"
"How many do you think they sent to subdue me?" She forced a smile as she looked up at him, trying to make light of the situation even as a tear escaped down her cheek.
"All of them, knowing Fudge," he deadpanned. A strange sound escaped her, somewhere between a laugh and a sob. Severus bent down and pressed a tender, chaste kiss to her lips. "You need to sleep."
"I know."
"And you have your Potions examination tomorrow."
"I know."
"You will take a sleeping draught."
Cassie pulled back enough to give him an irritated look. "You're very bossy."
"And yet you continue to find it endearing."
"Debatable," she quipped. The corner of his mouth twitched.
Eventually, after another small argument—this time about Potter, Quirrell, and the Stone—Severus convinced her to drink the draught. She was asleep within minutes. Her mind and body had desperately needed the rest. The next morning, Cassie awoke feeling somewhat refreshed.
Unfortunately, the moment she remembered what had happened the previous evening- the Ministry waiting for her in Hogsmeade- the knot in her stomach returned.
Still, she made it through her examinations that day. She even found a strange sort of amusement in the fact that three of her Potions classmates had been reduced to tears during their practical. The man she loved most in the world still had the remarkable ability to make nearly functioning adults blubber simply by being callous.
How nice it must be to worry about something so trivial. A professor being mean or looking at you crossly. A poor grade. Cassie's amusement quickly soured into jealousy.
She wanted to tell them to take a walk in her shoes for five minutes.
Then they could worry about things like the government deliberately creating reasons to imprison them. Or prophecies about genocide. Or trying to keep deceptive teachers from murdering the Boy Who Lived.
All while maintaining good grades and preparing for the most important examinations of their lives. Then they'd have proper reasons to cry.
The week dragged on. With every passing hour, Cassie expected Fudge, Aurors, and perhaps even her mother in chains to come bursting through the doors of Hogwarts. But nothing happened.
She finished her examinations without incident, and eventually the school was officially free of classes and exams. For the first time in what felt like ages, Cassie could go outside with Alpit and Juniper to enjoy the sunshine.
"No more exams! No more classes!" Alpit declared, stretching his arms above his head as they headed across the grounds. It seemed the rest of the student body had reached the same conclusion. Students were scattered everywhere, enjoying the warm spring air and their newfound freedom.
The three friends searched for an empty tree where they could sit. "Except for our NEWTs," Juniper pointed out.
Alpit groaned. "June, you have to go and ruin everything, don't you? Just enjoy these next few days off, will you?"
"Next few days?" Juniper repeated, sounding appalled. "I'm taking the afternoon off, Al, but we need to get back to studying straight away."
"Nonsense, June! What are you going to cram into your head in that amount of time?" Alpit turned toward Cassie. "Cass, what are you going to do? Study, like this crazy Ravenclaw over here?"
Cassie barely heard him. Severus was crossing the grounds toward them, moving quickly. His black cloak billowed dramatically behind him as he strode across the grass, his expression grim.
Cassie's heart immediately raced. Something was wrong.
"Oh, Merlin, he's come to tell me I've failed!" Juniper exclaimed.
"Shut up, June," Cassie muttered irritably. She couldn't be bothered with examinations anymore. Not now.
Severus reached them.
"Professor," Cassie greeted him. Alpit and Juniper stepped back as he approached.
"Miss Black." He gave her a slight nod. "Professor Dumbledore requests your presence immediately." Cassie didn't bother looking back at her friends as she fell into step beside him.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"Fudge has requested an urgent meeting with you and Dumbledore," he told her. Cassie's jaw tightened. "You two are leaving for London as soon as possible."
He led her toward the castle. As they reached the staircase to Dumbledore's office, Severus stopped abruptly. "I regret that I must stay here," he said quietly, "to keep an eye on things." His black eyes flicked around the corridor, checking for anyone who might be watching. Then, almost imperceptibly, he reached for her hand. His fingers closed around hers, giving it what he clearly intended to be a reassuring squeeze. Cassie felt like she was going to be sick.
He must have seen it on her face, and his expression softened. "I love you," he whispered. The words pulled her out of the spiraling panic.
Cassie looked up at him. "I love you, too, Severus."
For a moment, neither moved. Then Cassie let go of his hand and forced herself to continue. The brief exchange gave her the motivation she needed to make it the rest of the way to the Headmaster's office, although her heart continued pounding violently against her ribs.
Dumbledore was waiting for her. "Miss Black," he greeted her with a tiny nod. His blue eyes twinkled as serenely as ever.
The calm before the storm.
"Headmaster," Cassie managed.
Dumbledore explained that they had been granted access to the Ministry through the Floo Network and would be leaving immediately.
Cassie came to stand beside him before the grand fireplace. Before stepping into the emerald flames, she turned around one last time.
Severus still stood in the doorway, watching her. She held his gaze for one last second, then stepped into the fire.
The flames swallowed her.
When she emerged into the atrium of the Ministry of Magic, Cassie was struck by the bitter irony that she had become so familiar with the place.
She knew exactly where the security desk was, and she recognized Eric without hesitation. She knew the necessary protocols as he checked her wand.
She was becoming intimately familiar with a building she had no desire to know.
Cassie followed Dumbledore through the crowds of Ministry workers, immediately recognizing their destination. The same dungeon courtroom. The same place where she had been subjected to the Wizengamot before.
She looked through the crowd for one friendly face. Even a glimpse of Arthur might have made her feel better, but he was nowhere to be found. He probably didn't even know this was happening. Had he known, Cassie suspected he would have fought tooth and nail to be there.
Even though Dumbledore aggravated her more often than she cared to admit, she was incredibly grateful to have him beside her. Because when you were walking through a congregation of witches and wizards with Albus Dumbledore, no one paid much attention to his companion. Why would they? Anyone was far less interesting than him.
Cassie almost felt invisible. It was a welcome sensation.
Unfortunately, that ended the moment they entered the courtroom.
They instructed her to sit in the same chair as before. The chains waited. So did the Wizengamot, wearing their plum robes and snooty expressions. It felt like stepping into a recurring nightmare.
Then she saw Lucius Malfoy. He sat near the back of the benches, his silver eyes fixed on her.
For a moment, surprise overcame her. Then something colder settled over her. His hands rested neatly atop his snake-headed cane, his posture perfectly composed. He looked pleased. Not merely smug, but victorious.
Cassie suddenly understood. He wanted her to know that he had won. That his political connections were stronger than anything she could muster. That if she ever dared point a finger at him, she would pay the price.
Her Christmas Eve visit to Malfoy Manor had been a test, and she had failed it.
"Cornelius." Dumbledore's voice broke through her thoughts. Cassie nearly smiled. She knew how much it would irritate the Minister that Dumbledore had addressed him so casually. "To what do Miss Black and I owe this pleasure, and on such a busy day? My students at Hogwarts have only just finished their end-of-year examinations."
"Dumbledore." Fudge spoke through clenched teeth. "I highly suggest that you have a seat on the benches. This matter concerns the accused, not you."
"Seeing as you have not yet explained what you are accusing my student of having done, I think it quite appropriate to remain at her side." Dumbledore placed one calm hand on Cassie's shoulder.
Murmuring began among the Wizengamot. Cassie glanced around the room. More unfamiliar faces than last time.
Aurors were positioned strategically throughout the chamber. Moody was there, but Tonks wasn't. Cassie wondered if she had been deliberately excluded.
"Fine," Fudge snapped. "I don't feel the need to waste anyone else's time further. The reason she is here, Dumbledore, is because your student seems to have been keeping a rather large and very dangerous secret. Something you ought to know!"
"Really?" Dumbledore squeezed Cassie's shoulder. She understood the message immediately. Remain quiet. "Please, Cornelius, enlighten me. I'm sure we are all curious."
More murmuring before Fudge spoke. "Our intelligence informs me, Dumbledore, that Cassiopeia Black has been receiving communications from her mother in Azkaban!" Fudge paused for dramatic effect. "And numerous letters, Dumbledore. Not merely one!"
"That is a crime?" Dumbledore asked, genuinely puzzled. "To receive letters?"
"To hide something of that nature, Dumbledore, is surely perilous! The girl cannot be trusted to have such dark influences in her life, and to keep it a secret! Does it not worry you?" Fudge turned toward the Wizengamot. "Does it not worry all of you?"
"Not at all." Dumbledore reached casually into his robes and produced a lemon drop. "As she has not kept it a secret. She has been showing the letters to her Head of House and to me the entire time." He popped the sweet into his mouth.
The courtroom erupted. Cassie watched, fascinated, as the Wizengamot members began talking over one another. Apparently, this revelation had not been anticipated.
Fudge looked absolutely horrified. Cassie glanced toward Lucius. His smug expression was gone. His eyes narrowed into slits, showing his fury.
Good.
Dumbledore suddenly took Cassie's arm. She looked at him in surprise. He nodded toward the chair, and she scrambled out.
Then she nearly gasped along with everyone else as Dumbledore calmly sat himself down in the chained chair. He looked remarkably comfortable, almost as though he had settled into the most comfortable chair in his office.
Cassie stood beside him awkwardly as Ministry officials began to stand, point, and shout.
"So, if keeping secrets is what we're putting on trial," Dumbledore said, his normally soft voice magically booming throughout the chamber, "then by all means, let us begin."
"Dumbledore, this is madness!" one of the Wizengamot witches shrieked.
"For once, I agree with one of you." Dumbledore looked serenely up at the plum-robed members. "Now, I find it rather rude of me, but I do believe it is in all our best interests to remember that I am a very busy individual. Are you going to put me on trial for keeping Miss Black's letters secret, or not?"
Fudge's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again. "No, Dumbledore. That won't be necessary."
"Excellent." Dumbledore rose from the chair and brushed off the bottom of his robes. "Then my parting words will be this, ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot." The room gradually quieted. "You may be attempting to place blame upon Miss Black for fears that you cannot reasonably explain. But I must also remind you that for Bellatrix Lestrange to send those letters in the first place, someone among you had to have helped her—"
"Dumbledore! That is absolutely ludicrous!" shouted the Minister.
Dumbledore continued as though Fudge hadn't spoken. "—helped her, and planned this entire thing, for reasons I will leave all of you to deduce."
The anarchy that followed was deafening. Dumbledore calmly pointed his wand toward his throat, reducing the volume of his magically amplified voice back to normal. Then he turned toward Cassie.
"Let's head back, shall we?"
Cassie had never been more grateful to have Albus Dumbledore on her side.
They were almost out of the chamber when someone stepped directly into their path. "Cassie." Lucius Malfoy's voice was low and venomous. Cassie was almost impressed that he dared to stop Dumbledore so openly. "Don't think this is over simply because your Headmaster was here to save your little hide."
"Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore said politely, "I suggest that you step aside. I intend to return Miss Black to Hogwarts promptly."
"Oh, I won't keep her long, Dumbledore." Lucius looked past him. Then his eyes fixed on Cassie. "I merely have a few words to exchange with my niece."
Cassie met his stare without blinking. Now she knew. There was no point pretending otherwise. "Was all of this just to make sure you wouldn't have an Auror in the family, Uncle?" she asked. "Because you're afraid I'd turn you in once I had some influence within the Ministry?"
Lucius's lip curled. "The Minister would never believe you over me."
"Yes." Cassie smiled coldly. "I think you've proved that, haven't you?" She stepped around him.
Lucius's face twisted with fury, but Dumbledore was already walking again.
They made their way to the fireplaces, and moments later, Cassie was standing once again in Dumbledore's office. She should have felt victorious.
She hadn't been arrested or branded a criminal. The Ministry's little trap had failed. But Lucius's words lingered.
This isn't over.
Cassie was about to ask Dumbledore what he thought would happen next, perhaps to get his take on how Fudge might respond to such a public embarrassment. Instead, Dumbledore merely said, "Stay here, will you, Cassiopeia?"
He sounded distracted. Before Cassie could ask why, he was already heading toward the door.
"Headmaster?" she called after him. "Professor Dumbledore?"
Nothing. The door closed behind him.
Cassie stared after him. She had half a mind to leave. All she wanted now was to find Severus, tell him what had happened, lie in his arms for a while, and sleep.
But she owed Dumbledore more respect than that after everything he had done for her. So she stayed as he asked. She sat in the chair before his desk. Minutes passed, then more. The office was quiet as Fawkes preened his feathers. A grandfather clock ticked steadily in the corner.
Cassie's eyelids grew heavier. Eventually, she drifted into an uneasy sleep.
A sharp squawk from Fawkes startled her awake. Cassie blinked. The office looked exactly as it had before.
She rubbed her eyes, wondering how long she'd been asleep. A minute, perhaps two. She was mildly irritated now. Maybe Dumbledore had forgotten about her.
She stood, intending to leave. Fawkes suddenly shrieked.
Cassie spun around and froze. A translucent figure hovered before her.
Humanoid. Distorted. Familiar. Her stomach dropped.
The phantom rushed toward her and Cassie stumbled backward. Then the world disappeared.
She felt something invade her. Not touch her, not merely enter her thoughts.
Invade.
It was everywhere. In her skull, behind her eyes, inside her memories. She couldn't breathe or think. She couldn't tell the office from the memories being forced from her mind.
Then came the voice, high and hissing. "Cassiopeia." Her father's voice. She wasn't hearing him with her ears. She was hearing him inside her mind. "You've been rather disappointing."
"Good!" Cassie wheezed, clutching at her throat. She felt as though she were choking and suffocating beneath an invisible weight.
"All year, I've been attempting to alienate you from corrupting influences, but it seems you've spent many years surrounding yourself with them on purpose." Memories flashed of Dumbledore. Andromeda and Ted. The Weasleys. Harry. Severus. "Dumbledore has done a number on you."
Cassie stopped clawing at her throat. It wasn't real. The choking wasn't real, not physically.
He was using Legilimency. And he was using it with terrifying force.
She had to regain control. She had practiced for this. She knew how to defend herself.
Breathe. Build the walls. Push him out.
"I've seen enough of your memories to know that you enjoy being around Muggles and blood traitors."
Another memory was ripped open, then another. Her father's presence tore through her mind without regard for privacy or boundaries. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been brainwashed."
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut and drew a breath. Forced herself to remember who she was. Who she had chosen to become.
But Voldemort only laughed. He began tearing through her memories again, searching deeper. And then she understood what he was looking for—the Stone.
"Such a pity," he hissed. "It would have been so much easier to have you get the Stone for me, rather than use pathetic, insignificant Quirrell." Cassie's heart lurched. "You could have gotten it for me in a matter of days, rather than wait all year to try."
"I never would have done it!" she gasped.
"Yes." His amusement was almost palpable. "It seems you're convinced of that."
Cassie screamed as he forced his way deeper. He was ripping through her memories as though they were nothing more than pages in a book. Her childhood. Her mother. Malfoy Manor. Hogwarts.
Severus.
The first time she had realized she loved him. Their stolen moments. Their plans for the future. Her dreams, her fears. He saw everything.
She was horrified, not merely because he was hurting her, but because he was taking things from her. Pieces of herself that belonged only to her.
"No matter." His voice grew closer, more powerful. "Once I've gained control of you, we'll do great things together."
And that was what finally broke her—the thought of him taking her body.
Using her magic and her mind. Using Severus as leverage against her.
The thought of being trapped inside herself while Voldemort used her hands to destroy everything she loved.
No. Absolutely not.
Cassie gathered every ounce of strength she had left. She stopped fighting him everywhere. Instead, she concentrated it all into one place. One final defense.
Her mind became a house, then a single room. Only one entrance, and Voldemort stood outside it.
She imagined the door, every lock, every bolt. And then she slammed the door shut.
With one decisive, all-consuming burst of mental energy, Cassie forced him out.
The collision was deafening. She felt herself thrown backward as though an invisible force had struck her in the chest. Her body slammed into Dumbledore's desk and pain shot through her spine. Her father's translucent form tore free from her mind with a horrible, furious shriek.
Cassie struggled onto her hands and knees as the apparition shot toward the fireplace. "No." She crawled toward the hearth. She had to know, had to be certain. She thought she saw her father's shadow disappear into the flames, but panic wouldn't let her trust her own eyes.
She didn't even realize Severus had entered the room. "Cassie!" He rushed toward her.
She barely registered him. Her eyes remained fixed on the fireplace. "Is he gone?" she demanded.
Severus dropped to his knees beside her and wrapped both arms around her torso. "I think so." He sounded uncertain.
That terrified her more. Her voice broke. "Is he gone?" she asked again. The sob that followed seemed to tear straight through her.
Severus tightened his arms around her. "Cassie, you're all right. You're here. You're safe." But even as he said it, his voice betrayed him. He had seen her on the floor with fear in her eyes. And he knew exactly what Voldemort was capable of.
Severus had just come from the hospital wing, where he and Dumbledore had helped get Potter back to safety after Quirrell and the Dark Lord attacked the boy. He had thought that was the worst thing he would have to deal with tonight. Then he had opened the door and found Cassie.
For several minutes, neither of them moved. Cassie clung to him, trembling violently. Severus held her as though he could physically keep her together.
Eventually, when her breathing had slowed enough to allow it, he helped her to her feet. She immediately leaned against him. "I want to go to your apartments."
"I know."
"Please."
"I know." But Severus shook his head. "We need to go to the hospital wing."
Cassie wanted to argue. She wanted to refuse. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into his bed and disappear beneath the blankets with him. But she was exhausted, and once again, he was right. Dumbledore would undoubtedly want to know exactly what had happened.
And Severus knew that there was no telling whether Voldemort had left something behind.
One thing, however, was certain. No matter what Poppy said, Severus would insist on privacy curtains. He was not leaving Cassie's side.
Not for any reason. Not that night.