A pair of hands was on her.
They were pale and large, and strangely familiar. Cassie recognized them as the same hands she had watched make an endless number of potions over the years. Hands that could chop ingredients with meticulous precision, stir a cauldron without hesitation, or turn the pages of a book with long, deliberate fingers.
But now they were touching her.
She couldn't see the person's face. Everything around her was blurred, as though she were looking through a thick fog. The hands moved from her shoulders to her arms, and Cassie shuddered beneath their touch. Something about the movements felt unnervingly familiar, making her feel both safe and deeply uncomfortable at the same time. She squirmed as fingers danced across her belly, and her chest heaved as she wondered where they might go next.
For a few more blissful moments, the hands continued their fluid motions on her fevered flesh, and Cassie could feel something heavenly building inside of her.
She tried to speak, but no words came. The figure leaned closer. Then everything changed.
The hands became cold. One seized her wrist while the other closed around her throat.
Cassie gasped and struggled, desperate to get away. She tried to see the person's face, but there was nothing there. No eyes. No mouth. No distinguishable features at all. Just a dark, indistinct shape hovering over her.
"Get off me!" she screamed. The grip around her throat tightened.
"Foolish girl," a cold, high voice snarled. Suddenly, images began flashing around them. Her childhood. Her parents. Hogwarts. Severus. Charlie. Tonks.
Faces she hadn't thought about in years appeared and disappeared in rapid succession, each memory being dragged forward before another replaced it. It felt as though someone were rifling through her mind like a scrapbook, tearing through pages that did not belong to them.
The pain became unbearable, and she woke with a scream. Several startled voices immediately followed.
"What happened?"
"Cassie?"
"Are you all right?"
Cassie sat bolt upright, her heart pounding violently against her ribs. She stared around the dormitory, breathing hard as the other girls sat up in their beds and looked at her.
For several seconds, she couldn't remember where she was. Then Hogwarts came back to her. Her dormitory. Her bed. Morning.
She pressed a hand against her chest and tried to slow her breathing.
The strangest thing was that she couldn't remember the ending of the dream clearly. She could remember the hands. The dark robes. The sensation that someone had been inside her mind. But the face—or lack of one—was already slipping away.
She rubbed her eyes. Whatever the dream had been, it had left her unsettled. By breakfast, Cassie had mostly managed to convince herself that the dream had been nothing more than that: a dream.
She deliberately kept her eyes away from the High Table, as there was no reason to look up. No reason whatsoever. She certainly didn't need to spend breakfast wondering whether Severus had noticed her staring at him.
She was immensely proud of herself when she managed to leave the Great Hall without looking in his direction even once. She gave herself a mental pat on the back as she headed out to the greenhouses.
Her first class of the day was a rather uneventful double Herbology lesson, which, in Cassie's book, meant it was a rather good one.
Afterward, she received a message from Madam Pince instructing her to report to the library. Cassie headed there to get herself set up for her tutoring sessions.
At first, her thoughts were occupied with what subjects the younger students might need help with during their first week. She wondered whether they would mostly need assistance with essays, studying, or practical work.
Then she realized she was looking around the corridors, subconsciously hoping to catch sight of a tall, black-haired figure moving through the castle.
Cassie sighed. She was going to be in trouble.
It wasn't that she was doing anything wrong. Severus had been a part of her life for years. She knew him better than most students ever could, and he had always been someone she trusted.
But lately, something about him seemed to occupy far too much space in her thoughts. The dream hadn't helped.
Every time she remembered those hands, she thought of him. Every time she heard his voice in the corridors, she wondered whether he had noticed how distracted she'd become. And that was particularly concerning because Cassie knew exactly how capable Severus was of reading minds.
Fortunately, she was naturally gifted in Occlumency, in addition to having been trained by Severus herself. It had been necessary for her to learn the skill at an early age, having been pursued multiple times throughout her childhood by prospective Dark wizards and hopeful followers.
Together, she and the Potions Master had also discovered that she had inherited an unusual ease with Legilimency from Lord Voldemort. That discovery had horrified her.
She had seen Voldemort use Legilimency as a weapon and as a form of torture on countless occasions. Cassie had vowed never to use the ability herself. She knew how easily something like that could become a dangerous misuse of power.
After not seeing Severus during her short journey to the library, Cassie finally managed to refocus her thoughts. She approached Madam Pince, who looked as severe as ever.
"Miss Black, follow me, if you'd please." There wasn't even a hint of a friendly greeting, but Cassie obeyed.
Madam Pince led her to a small room off one side of the library. It had two large desks facing one another, six smaller desks between them, and two cauldrons.
"You may have your choice of desk," Madam Pince explained. "Your hours will be Mondays and Wednesdays, from seven o'clock until nine-thirty. You may switch or take hours from other tutors, pending approval from myself or your Heads of House, of course."
"All right," Cassie replied, and tried not to grimace at the formality of it all. She wanted to help younger students, not perform mandatory community service. "Do I have another tutor working with me?"
The librarian pursed her lips as though Cassie had asked an unnecessarily complicated question. She crossed to the classroom door and pointed toward a piece of parchment tacked to it. Cassie stepped closer. Her name was written there, followed by the name Theodore Quartermaine, a seventh-year Hufflepuff.
She didn't know him very well, but from what she did know, he was kind and friendly toward other students. As far as she knew, he didn't think of her as the antichrist, which was always a promising start.
"You will report here tonight after dinner for orientation," Madam Pince said.
"Orientation?" Cassie turned back toward the librarian, surprised that such a thing was necessary. But Madam Pince had already hurried away to fuss over a student carrying a stack of books so high that they were in danger of tumbling to the floor. Cassie would have used a charm to straighten the stack in a heartbeat if the librarian weren't so adamant that magic not be used anywhere near her precious books.
Then it was lunch. Cassie kept her attention on her food rather than the High Table, going over that morning's Herbology lesson in her head and anticipating what they might be doing in Charms that afternoon.
She had to stay on task this year. Her NEWTs were coming up, and she needed good results if she wanted to be accepted into Auror training. Her marks were usually decent, but some subjects required considerably more effort than others.
Potions, especially Potions. That damn subject had always given her grief. Professor Snape had reminded her time and again over the years: "You do well in certain subjects because of raw talent, not because you have brains. All in all, you really are dense. And you have problems keeping focus, staying on task. You need excitement or grow bored very easily. It is an irksome trait that needs to be trained out of you."
Even as Cassie replayed Severus's insults in her head, she found herself focusing more on the timbre of his voice than the actual message. She shook her head.
"Damnit," she muttered to herself. The girl sitting beside her gave Cassie a strange look as she got up to leave.
Cassie was about to stand when a familiar voice behind her made her jump.
"Miss Black."
Cassie slowly turned to see Severus standing there. He was close enough that he had to step back to allow her to stand fully.
"Hello, Sev—Professor." She took a shaky breath and hoped he didn't notice.
"I'd like to speak with you privately."
"All right."
"Not now. When you are free, Miss Black?" he drawled.
Cassie swallowed as the memory of the dream rushed back. "I have class until dinner, and then orientation for tutoring right afterward." They had just exited the Great Hall. "Can't we just talk now?" She didn't want to spend the rest of the day wondering what he wanted.
"It's not something to discuss in a hallway," he replied. The stern look on his face, combined with the crease deepening between his eyebrows, told Cassie she wasn't going to win this particular argument. Not that she ever really won their arguments. "Come to my office after dinner."
Something about the command struck a nerve. Before she could stop herself, the words came out. "I have an appointment to keep, Professor. You come to the library."
One of his eyebrows rose sharply, and Cassie immediately knew she'd done it.
"How about I put you in detention, Miss Black, and you can forget about your little tutoring endeavors? Will that teach you some respect?" His voice had risen, and several students leaving the Great Hall had begun to stare.
Had any of those students known that Severus had been quietly comforting Cassie only the night before, albeit somewhat unwillingly, they never would have believed it while watching their exchange. To everyone else, this was simply Professor Snape and one of his particularly troublesome students.
Severus had a soft spot for Cassie and might even have admitted he considered her a friend, but he absolutely hated being disrespected in front of the student body.
He expected Cassie to argue as she almost always did. When she didn't, he realized he'd probably taken things a little too far. He would never say that aloud.
"If that's what you choose, Professor Snape," Cassie said quietly. Severus remained silent for several seconds.
"My office after dinner," he finally said. "I won't keep you long."
Cassie nodded. "Yes, sir."
Cassie spent the rest of the day knowing she would have to return to Severus's office. The anticipation proved to be a tremendous distraction.
She found herself thinking about his voice, his scent, and the strange dream from the night before. More than anything, she wondered whether he would somehow know that something was bothering her.
Her mind kept drifting while she practiced the advanced skills she had waited seven years to learn at Hogwarts. Thankfully, Charms came naturally to her. Anything involving wand magic rarely needed to be demonstrated more than once before she understood it.
There were still facts and texts she needed to memorize for the end-of-year examinations, though, and the very idea of failing them made her anxious, even though it was only her second day of classes.
She needed to calm down. Not having Charlie or Tonks there with her was making everything seem worse. After making a mental note to write her cousin a letter sometime in the next couple of days, she felt slightly better.
Then she found herself in Arithmancy, struggling to pay attention to the lecture and the charts that followed. She felt lost. Lonely.
Dinner was a short affair, as Cassie didn't find herself particularly hungry. This time, she deliberately looked toward the High Table. Severus appeared to be nearly finished eating.
Their eyes met, and he gave her a slight nod. Cassie stood.
Before she could leave, however, her attention was caught by Quirrell. He was staring at her, but the moment she focused on him, he looked away.
Cassie frowned. That was odd.
She waited for Severus near the staircase leading toward the dungeons, and they began descending together. "Quirrell was staring at me," she muttered.
"I noticed," Severus replied curtly.
"Thoughts?"
He didn't answer immediately. They passed a group of third-years in the corridor, and Severus gave them brief greetings before continuing. He didn't speak again until they were a safe distance away. "Something is going on."
"What?"
"The usual. Fear. Admiration. Spying for the Ministry," he deadpanned.
Cassie snorted. "That's a new one."
"No, it isn't."
She laughed. "Okay, not new. Just haven't had that happen for a while." Fudge had always been wary of Cassie, particularly as she grew older, and nothing the Ministry did to keep tabs on her surprised her anymore.
They entered Severus's office. "Okay, Severus. I've got a schedule to keep. What did you want to talk about?"
His voice was dangerously low. "First and foremost, do not speak to me that way in front of other students again." His black eyes fixed on her with enough intensity that she nearly looked away, but she didn't. Now that they were alone, she wasn't about to back down from one of his challenges.
"Yes, sir." She managed to make the words sound just sarcastic enough that he blinked several times before continuing.
"Second, the reason I wanted to speak with you is that your dorm mates have informed me of your habitual screaming in your sleep—"
"Habitual? It's the second day of classes!"
Severus leaned forward over his desk, his lip curling. "Do not interrupt me."
"Those bitches," Cassie muttered. Then she looked up. "Sorry."
"Is something going on?" She detected the ever-so-slight softening in his tone. It made her heart flutter. Severus's expression always changed subtly when he was concerned about her and trying desperately not to show it.
"No," she lied. What was she supposed to say? That she was having sex dreams, and he was the recurring star? She didn't want to begin to imagine his reaction to that.
That someone had been inside her mind? She didn't even know if the latter had actually happened.
Severus was looking at her exactly the way he always did when he didn't believe her. They both knew it. "It's important that you come to me if something is going on."
"I've been telling you what's been going on," she said, somewhat sincerely. "When have I ever not?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he folded his long arms across his chest and watched her.
Cassie felt as though he were staring straight through her. For a moment, she wondered whether he was trying to read her mind. She instinctively strengthened her mental defenses.
Severus's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.
Orientation to tutoring consisted mostly of a know-it-all sixth-year Ravenclaw telling Cassie what was expected of her, what constituted cheating, when tutors were allowed to help with homework, and under what rare circumstances students could earn extra credit. Most of it was common sense.
Within twenty minutes, Cassie was back in the main part of the library, starting her own mountain of homework. She was thrilled to find Juniper, Alpit, and a few other students working at the same table and joined them.
They were mostly silent as they worked. Near the end of the evening, however, Cassie felt something strange. A faint tug, barely anything. It felt almost like someone brushing their fingers against the edge of her consciousness.
Cassie froze. She knew what it felt like when someone attempted to enter her mind. This was different.
Tiny. Almost imperceptible.
She strengthened her Occlumency shields and the sensation vanished. Cassie looked around the mostly deserted library.
Nobody seemed to be paying attention to her. She waited. Nothing.
Eventually, she convinced herself that she must have been overtired and returned to her homework. But the feeling stayed with her.
The following morning, the other witches in her dormitory told her that her screaming had woken them again. They said she had sounded as though she were being tortured.
Cassie remembered very little. Only the hand and the black robes. And that horrible sensation of someone searching through her memories. She didn't like it, not one bit.
Today she had Potions. Of all the seventh-years, nine students had performed well enough to advance to the class. Seven of the nine had worked their keisters off to get there.
Cassie was grateful to have Juniper and Alpit beside her, although she could already tell Juniper was sweating bullets.
"Relax, June," Cassie whispered as they unpacked their supplies and textbooks. "Snape isn't even in here yet."
At that precise moment, the classroom door burst open. Severus swept inside wearing a sour expression. Every student's attention immediately turned toward him as they always did. Cassie's stomach flipped.
She couldn't decide whether she was more nervous about the potion or about being in the same room with him after their conversation the night before.
"Wit-Sharpening Potion," Severus announced. "From memory." A collective groan sounded around the classroom. "If you make a mistake, you will start from scratch as many times as necessary. If you have not completed the potion before class ends, you will spend Saturday night in detention copying the instructions, along with the entire textbook." He looked around the room. "Begin."
To say there was pressure was a tremendous understatement. One Hufflepuff was crying within the first twenty minutes after having to restart. During the first hour, three more students had to begin again.
Severus had no problem walking around the room and making their failed potions disappear with a simple wave of his wand.
Ninety minutes in, Alpit was nearly finished. Nearly. His purple solution was only the slightest shade too light. Alpit audibly groaned when Severus made the potion vanish, knowing there was little chance of completing another batch before class ended.
"Detention, Mr. Khatri," the Potions Master declared. Cassie opened her mouth to defend her classmate. Severus must have noticed because he suddenly appeared beside her. He bent slightly toward her. "Yes, Miss Black?"
Cassie could feel his attention fixed on her. She closed her eyes for half a second and swallowed. She was almost finished. She wasn't getting detention.
"Nothing, Professor Snape."
He straightened and walked away without another word, satisfied with her compliance.
Cassie, along with five others, completed the potion. The remaining students were sentenced to Saturday night detention. For one brief second, Cassie found herself wishing she'd been one of them.
"Miss Black. I'm rather surprised," said Severus. Cassie looked up as she packed her things. Several students glanced up, clearly interested in whatever insult was coming next. "Finally learned to pick up a textbook over the holiday, have you?"
Cassie's lips spread into a small smile. "Yeah. Finally learned how to read!" She walked out with an exaggerated spring in her step, and a few muffled giggles followed her.
Cassie knew she'd probably aggravated her Head of House, but she had merely responded to his insult. Still, there was a tiny, ridiculous part of her that wondered whether he might have been disappointed that she wouldn't be spending Saturday night in his classroom.
As the day went on and her first tutoring session grew closer, Cassie began to wonder whether the entire thing had been a terrible idea. The school year was already proving to be busy. The homework load was substantial, and she needed to focus on her studies.
Tutoring would take time away from that, but she reminded herself why she'd volunteered in the first place. It was an opportunity to help younger students, and it would also give her something to put on her extracurricular record. She had not been chosen as a prefect because several parents had written to the school requesting that she not be given that much power or influence. A few of the professors had jumped to her defense, but Cassie had ultimately chosen not to fight the decision.
It was easier, she had decided, to simply stay under the radar.
For much the same reason, she had chosen not to pursue becoming an Animagus. Had she begun the process at Hogwarts, she would eventually have been required to register with the Ministry, and Cassie could already imagine what would happen after that. Whatever animal she became, the public would have access to the information. Every time there was a squirrel, chicken, or other suspiciously familiar creature anywhere near an attack or natural disaster, someone would inevitably point a finger at her.
McGonagall had been sorely disappointed by Cassie's decision not to even consider the possibility, but she had ultimately understood. Cassie had no desire to give the magical community yet another reason to fear her.
After finishing her classes, eating dinner, and starting some of her homework, it was time to head to the library. As she walked, she wondered whether Harry Potter would be seeking homework help that evening. If he did, she hoped they could avoid the subject of her parents for now.
She wasn't ready for that conversation. Not tonight.
When Cassie entered the small classroom, Theodore was already there, settled comfortably at the desk he had apparently claimed for himself. He looked up and greeted her with a warm smile.
"Hello, Cassiopeia," he said.
Cassie winced. "Cassie," she corrected. "Hello, Theodore. Is this your first night, too?"
"Sure is. Can't be much to it, I gather." At first, it seemed he was right.
Students slowly began to file in, most of them first- and second-years who needed help with essays or wanted someone to show them the proper wand movements for particular spells. Not surprisingly, the majority gravitated toward Theodore rather than her.
Cassie assumed it was because they knew who she was. For a solid half-hour, she found herself sitting alone.
Then the bushy-haired girl from the train—Hermione Granger—walked in with Neville Longbottom. Neville's face instantly went green again when he spotted her.
Cassie watched as Hermione hurriedly whispered something in his ear. There was already a line of four students waiting in front of Theodore, and after a moment, Neville seemed to reluctantly agree with whatever Hermione had said. The two of them approached Cassie's desk.
"Hello, Hermione. Neville," Cassie greeted them. "What can I do for you?"
"You know our names?" Neville choked out, looking genuinely surprised.
"Well, yeah," Cassie said slowly, fighting back a laugh. "We met on the train, and I saw you both get Sorted. We kind of go to the same school, so..."
"I just thought, with you being a seventh-year and all..." Neville offered by way of explanation. Hermione nudged him.
"Anyway, we thought we'd get some help with Charms," she said. Cassie waited for her to explain what she needed help with. Instead, Hermione immediately began firing questions at her.
"What spell is used to unlock doors?"
"How would you move your wand to extinguish a flame?"
"What is the correct wand movement for—"
After about five questions delivered in rapid succession, Cassie finally held up a hand. "Wait. Why am I being quizzed?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I just wanted to see how much you know," Hermione answered matter-of-factly. Cassie stared at her for a moment. Had she just been subjected to some sort of test to determine whether she was actually qualified to tutor a Gryffindor?
"Well, I'm not the one learning this stuff. You are," Cassie replied. "So, again, I ask: what can I do for you?"
It turned out that Hermione simply wanted to be asked a series of questions she already knew the answers to. Apparently, testing herself aloud was her preferred method of studying, and Cassie was perfectly happy to oblige the bright young witch.
Every so often, Cassie paused to check on Neville, who had taken a seat at a nearby desk and was listening quietly. "I'm learning just by listening," he assured her.
Cassie smiled. "Then by all means, carry on."
Her tutoring session ended with the two of them. Hermione thanked her profusely for her time, even though Cassie was fairly certain Hermione hadn't actually learned anything new.
Neville, however, looked her directly in the eye when he said good night. It was a small thing, but Cassie couldn't help feeling a little pleased as she made her way toward the dungeons for the night. For the first time that evening, she wondered if perhaps tutoring hadn't been such a bad idea after all.
Then she felt it, that little tug on her mind. Cassie stopped.
She stood perfectly still, trying to determine where it had come from. The sensation was faint but unmistakable—a strange, almost imperceptible pull somewhere at the very edge of her consciousness.
Then it disappeared. Again.
Cassie whipped around, searching the corridor behind her. There was no one there. Her eyes traveled slowly down the empty passageway, taking in every shadow, every doorway, every darkened alcove.
Nothing. Just like last time. A chill ran down her spine.
She turned back toward the dungeons, but the uneasy sensation remained. Something—or someone—had been watching her. She could feel it.
And this time, she couldn't convince herself it was simply her imagination.