The only reason Cassie managed to muddle through the next two days of classes was that the holiday break was just around the corner. She was certain she was headed for some sort of breakdown, her emotions seemingly stretched taut and ready to snap at the slightest provocation.
No matter how much she meditated, how many times she tried to clear her mind and push away everything she had learned in the Forbidden Forest only nights before, she couldn't shake the sense of foreboding that had settled over her. She found herself lost in thought more often than not, searching inward when she should have been paying attention in class and taking notes. Other students would speak to her or brush past her in the corridors, and she would startle so dramatically that they often stopped and stared.
If she had been keeping a tally of the people who asked whether she was all right—or looked at her as though she had finally lost her mind—she would have lost count by lunchtime on the first day.
For the past three years, Cassie had spent her entire holiday break at the Burrow. This year, however, Molly and Arthur were going to Romania to visit Charlie, which meant Cassie would spend most of the holidays at Hogwarts.
Normally, she would have been disappointed to miss the warmth and chaos of the Weasley household. But now, she found herself almost relieved to have an excuse to remain at the castle. She could stay close to Severus.
Right now, he was her anchor. The one person who could make the world feel solid beneath her feet when everything inside her seemed to be shifting. He was the only thing keeping her from spiraling completely out of control, and they both knew it.
So, when Cassie finished her very last lecture before the holiday break officially began, she went straight to his office.
He wasn't there. She sighed and settled herself at his desk, pulling out her Transfiguration textbook. She figured she could at least review the chapters Professor McGonagall had just covered.
Within minutes, however, she found herself reading the same few sentences over and over without absorbing a single word. Finally, she slammed the book shut and sighed in frustration.
There was no point. She sat there for several more minutes, waiting for Severus to return, growing increasingly aware that she had no idea where he was or when he might come back. Eventually, she realized that sitting alone with nothing but her thoughts was far worse than wandering aimlessly. She abruptly got to her feet and left.
Cassie stormed through the dungeons without any particular destination in mind, avoiding eye contact with students who were happily chattering about the upcoming holidays. She was halfway down one of the corridors when she heard someone call her name.
"Cass!" She ignored it. "Cass!" Still ignoring it, she continued walking until a hand caught the sleeve of her robes and tugged. "Cass!"
"What?" she snapped, intending to intimidate whoever had been rude enough to interrupt her aimless wandering. Then she turned and saw Draco.
"I called your name three times," he grumbled, as though her failure to notice him had been an enormous inconvenience. Cassie rolled her eyes.
"I was distracted." She folded her arms across her chest, making it clear she wasn't in the mood to deal with his usual egotistical attitude. "What do you want?"
"It's about Christmas."
"Of course it is."
"Mother wanted me to ask you if you wanted to stay at the Manor for the holidays—"
"I already replied to her letter," Cassie interrupted. "And the answer is no."
It was true that Narcissa had invited her to spend the holiday at Malfoy Manor. Cassie still had no idea why. They hadn't exactly left things on good terms the last time they'd seen one another, and Cassie had no desire to spend more time with her aunt and uncle than was absolutely necessary.
"But she said it would mean a lot to her and Father," Draco said. Cassie looked at him in surprise. There was something different in his expression. His usual aloof drawl had softened, and for once, he sounded genuinely sincere.
"She actually said that?"
"Yes." Draco nodded emphatically. "She told me you said no, but she kept pestering me to ask you again. She's written to me three times in the last week and a half."
"And you're just coming to me now? The day before you're leaving?" Cassie shook her head. "Well, the answer is still no, Draco. I'm staying here, and I'm going to Andromeda's on Christmas Day."
"Father won't allow it—"
"He doesn't have a say!" Cassie snapped, her temper flaring. "Now leave me the hell alone, Draco." She turned to walk away.
"Please?" The word was so quiet that she almost missed it. Cassie stopped. She turned slowly, staring at him as though he had just spoken in Gobbledegook. "At least for Christmas Eve?" Draco pleaded. "Grandfather's going to be there. You know how much of a prig he is."
He was referring to Lucius's father, Abraxas, and Cassie knew all too well what a contemptible man the elder Malfoy was—particularly toward his only grandson.
She sighed. Her heartstrings had been pulled, and she hated that Draco knew exactly how to do it.
"Fine," she said. His face brightened. Cassie pointed a warning finger at him. "I'll be there to buffer for you. But only Christmas Eve."
The usual smugness returned to Draco's face. Cassie felt a twinge of regret as she bade him farewell and continued down the corridor.
But even with the displeasure of spending Christmas Eve at Malfoy Manor now looming over her, her usual worries quickly came flooding back.
Maybe she shouldn't be around Lucius and Narcissa. Maybe they'd influence her negatively. Maybe they'd push her toward the wrong side. Maybe, when the time came, they would help make her want to go to her father if he returned.
When. Not if.
The thought sent another shudder through her. When he came back.
Her feet carried her through the castle almost of their own accord while her mind churned. Maybe she shouldn't continue her Hogwarts education at all and should leave now.
She could flee the country. Go somewhere across the world where nobody knew who she was, where nobody knew her parents, where she couldn't be tempted or manipulated into embracing the Dark Arts.
If she removed herself from the equation, perhaps she couldn't become the person Firenze had predicted. Perhaps she couldn't contribute to the deaths of innocent people.
She was pulled out of her thoughts only when she realized where her feet had taken her. The Astronomy Tower.
Cassie stared up at the winding staircase for a moment before beginning the climb without hesitation. The higher she went, the colder the air became. Somehow, the chill helped. It cleared her head, if only slightly, and by the time she reached the top, she felt as though she could finally breathe.
She stepped onto the balcony and took a deep breath. From this height, the Hogwarts grounds looked so peaceful.
Students appeared as tiny black specks below, moving about in the snow and making the most of their last few hours together before the holidays. Most traveled in groups—friends laughing, shoving one another playfully, throwing snowballs and making plans to see each other again after the break.
Cassie felt a pang of envy. She wished she could have a life like that. Something simple.
Something where her greatest concerns were grades, friends, and whether some boy might ask her out.
Instead, she was standing alone at the top of a tower, anticipating a war she knew would eventually come. A war her father would be responsible for.
A war she desperately wanted to stop, despite having no idea how.
"It's a view like this that can make one feel very small and insignificant."
Cassie gasped and spun around. Dumbledore stood behind her, calm and collected as ever, dressed in rich cherry-colored robes that looked considerably warmer than the thin uniform she currently wore.
"Headmaster," she greeted him with a meek smile. Their last interaction had been in front of the Mirror of Erised, and she couldn't help feeling awkward at the memory.
"You came up here seeking clarity, Miss Black?" Dumbledore asked as he slowly came to stand beside her, gazing out over the grounds.
"Yes, sir." She wanted to leave. She was still very much in the mood for solitude, but she didn't want to be rude to the Headmaster.
"Have you found it?"
Cassie scoffed. "No. Not in the slightest."
Dumbledore nodded, leaning forward slightly as though examining a group of students who had begun a snowball fight near the Black Lake.
Cassie watched them for a moment. They looked so carefree.
"Miss Black," Dumbledore began, "I'd like to discuss with you what you saw in the mirror the other night."
Cassie's guard immediately went up. "I don't."
"But at times, we must do what we don't want to." He turned to look at her. "Will you have this conversation with me, Miss Black? Afterward, I will let you begin your holiday break along with the rest of the students."
Cassie sighed. "Yes, Headmaster."
"Thank you for your cooperation." Dumbledore's tone was kind, but Cassie wasn't fooled. "I simply wish to reiterate that I don't necessarily believe what you saw was actually a manifestation of your subconscious."
"Professor Snape already ran that theory by me." Cassie folded her arms. "And I'm glad that you have confidence in me, sir. I really am. But I'm not so sure."
"Yes. Severus has informed me that you are doubting yourself—and your ability to remain true to your convictions." Dumbledore's gaze settled on her. "But I believe that whoever was going through your memories at night, and whoever was attempting to use Legilimency on you during the day, was trying to make you feel this way. They were trying to make you question your own heart."
"Well, they were successful." Cassie's voice cracked. "Because they got to me, and here I am, confused as all hell! I must be a lot weaker than you anticipated."
"But you're not, Miss Black." Dumbledore's response was immediate. "You're not weak. Not at all. You mustn't allow yourself to believe that."
"Why? she demanded, but the question came quietly. "Why is it important?"
Dumbledore studied her for several moments before answering. "You must have assumed by now that Severus has informed me of what you learned from the centaurs."
"Yes, of course." Her voice remained calm, but the exasperation was returning. "I'm well aware that the two of you discuss me behind my back and that I only get to hear whatever you decide to divulge."
His eyebrows rose slightly. He was clearly surprised by her boldness. "Then it is common knowledge among the three of us that Lord Voldemort will rise again." Cassie's stomach tightened. "Part of the prophecy you heard from the centaurs, while alarming, I am sure, was not new information to Severus or me. From the night he lost his powers, I have anticipated his return—and with it, another war." Dumbledore paused. "So what we must prepare for, then, is that you will have a vital role in it."
"A vital role in it," Cassie repeated the words slowly. "But for what side, Headmaster? That's still up in the air! What if he returns, and I go to his side? What if you're forced to fight me on top of everything else?"
"You say it as though you have no choice in the matter, Cassiopeia." Dumbledore's voice remained maddeningly gentle. "As though you will simply be a passive bystander when the time comes to decide what you will fight for. That will not be the case."
"Maybe it would just be better if I'm not part of the equation."
"All right." Dumbledore looked at her over his half-moon spectacles. "Then what do you suggest? How do we solve that problem?"
She didn't hesitate. "I'll leave the country. Another continent. Across the globe."
"Who's to say that would stop your father from coming there to fetch you?" Dumbledore's tone was almost conversational. "And then you'd be alone. Much more vulnerable to his influence."
"Erase my memories," she said. Dumbledore frowned slightly. "I'd have no opinions about any of this. No one would have any clue who I was. I could disappear into some enormous city—"
"And then he would find you, brainwash you, and you would still possess the same abilities you do now. He would use you to accomplish whatever he wished." His voice hardened slightly. "Sticking your head in the sand is not the answer. Your memories make you who you are, Cassiopeia. They remind you why you believe what you believe."
"If you knew what I've seen," said Cassie, "You wouldn't be saying that. Since the mirror, I've been reliving it all in my dreams. All the horrors I saw as a child."
"Then use it." Dumbledore's sudden sharpness stopped her. He stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Use those emotions. Channel them. Understand that you aren't weak. You are strong. When the time comes, remember the pain and suffering your father and his followers inflicted upon others. Remember it, and perhaps you will want to return that suffering to them."
Cassie closed her eyes. A nightmare from the previous night flashed through her mind.
Her father with a Muggle. The man was screaming as Voldemort slowly burned the skin from his body with a curse, moving methodically from his limbs to his torso and finally toward his face.
It had been intended as a lesson for her.
The memory had lasted only minutes. The nightmare had seemed to last for hours.
Cassie inhaled slowly, then exhaled. Again. By the time she opened her eyes, she had managed to force the image away. But her voice trembled. "You don't understand. That day in Hogsmeade, Headmaster, I was about to lose control. I don't know what I was about to do to that man who tried to use the Unforgivables on me. I don't know whether I was about to hurt him or kill him, but I was so angry." Her eyes filled with tears. "If the professors hadn't intervened—"
"Then you'll learn to channel it." Dumbledore's voice was calm again. "Keep the outrage, but direct it toward where it would be most useful."
Cassie stared at him. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were grooming me as a weapon, Headmaster." She wanted him to deny it. She wanted him to be offended. She wanted him to tell her that the very idea was preposterous.
Instead, Dumbledore nodded. "It's what you were put on this earth to be, Cassiopeia." His tone softened again, almost tenderly, but it didn't soften the blow.
Cassie stared at him in utter bewilderment. "Can I leave now?" The words were barely a whisper. Tears began falling freely down her cheeks.
"There's one more thing," he told her. Cassie closed her eyes. "I know you still have your heart set on training to become an Auror. But, in the spirit of our conversation, I feel I must tell you that I have been pursuing your enrollment in another type of advanced education."
Cassie's eyes snapped open. "What?"
"It's out of the country. It specializes in dueling and combat training. Nothing is set in stone, of course—"
"Of course not, considering I haven't agreed to anything of the sort!" Her voice rose. "How dare you plan my future without even talking to me first!" She turned toward the staircase.
"Cassiopeia, I don't mean to upset you—"
"I don't want to hear it!" She descended the tower without another word. She was grateful Dumbledore didn't follow. In her current state, she was half-convinced she might try to hex him, and she really didn't need that particular stain on her disciplinary record.
Cassie headed straight for Severus's office. This time, she was pleased to find him there, seated behind his desk.
"Where the fuck were you?" The words flew from her mouth before she could stop them.
Severus looked up. His black eyes flashed dangerously, his brows drawing together and creating the telltale crease between them. He was ready for a fight.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked silkily. He placed both hands on the desk and pushed his chair backward in one smooth movement before standing.
Cassie almost smiled. He was deliberately positioning himself to meet her aggression with his own.
"I came here after my last class," she continued. "I needed you, and you weren't here. So where the fuck were you?"
"I don't need to answer to you, little witch!" He snarled the words. "You have developed some newfound valor, coming in here and speaking to me this way."
"Did you know?" Her question stopped him.
"What?"
"You heard me, Severus!" Cassie glared at him. "Answer the question. Did you fucking know?" For a fraction of a second, he hesitated. That was all it took. Cassie rounded the desk in several hurried steps and slammed both hands against his chest, forcing him to stumble backward. "Answer me, damn it!"
"Cassie, what has gotten into you?"
"Dumbledore!" She shoved him again. "Trying to send me off to some mercenary training! Tell me you didn't know. Tell me you weren't keeping it from me!"
"I didn't!"
"Liar!" She shoved him again. Severus caught both her wrists before she could do it a fourth time.
"Cassie!" The ground beneath them rumbled. Glass vials on the shelves clinked and rattled. Severus pushed her back against the wall, pinning her there—not to hurt her, but because he needed to stop her from destroying his laboratory and herself along with it. "Get a hold of yourself! I didn't know! You need to calm down before you break everything in here!"
A flask fell from a shelf and shattered against the stone floor. Then another. The noise finally penetrated the fury clouding Cassie's mind.
She didn't want this. She didn't want to smash his possessions. She didn't want to hurt him.
She certainly didn't want to become the person everyone seemed so convinced she might become.
She looked up. Her blue eyes locked onto his coal-black ones. They were searching hers with the same desperate intensity she felt inside herself.
Severus released her wrists only to pull her away from the wall and wrap both arms tightly around her.
Cassie's breathing began to slow. The rattling shelves quieted. The groaning beneath their feet gradually faded until the room was still again.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Her tears had replaced her anger. "I'm so sorry."
Severus buried his face against her neck, holding her tighter. "Stop apologizing."
They remained that way until neither of them could hear anything but their own breathing.
"Severus?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm so tired," she whispered. He released her, took her hand, and without another word, led her into his quarters. Once they were settled beside one another on the loveseat, they returned to the subject with considerably less intensity.
Cassie began at the beginning, recounting her entire conversation with Dumbledore. When she finished, she sat quietly and allowed Severus several moments to consider it.
"I'll admit that he didn't approach the matter with much tact," Severus finally said.
"But?" Cassie looked at him. "What, Sev? You agree with him? That it's something I should consider?"
"I don't know, Cassie." He sighed. "I don't know enough about the institution to say either way."
She leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. "So that's what I am to you, too? Just some vessel for destruction?"
"I didn't say that." He reached toward her. "And neither did he."
"Stop defending him!" Cassie stood abruptly. She needed distance. From Severus. From Dumbledore. From everyone.
Severus rose after her and caught her arm, but she immediately wrenched herself free. "You want to be an Auror," he said. "This wouldn't be entirely different."
"Being a Dark wizard catcher for the Ministry and being groomed to play a part in a war are two very different things, Severus!" She turned on him.
His expression had hardened. "So what do you think will happen, Cassie, if you choose not to partake in this war? That you can simply ignore it? That you can go about your life and pretend it doesn't exist?" His voice rose. "The Dark wizards you'd be hunting would be your father's followers anyway!"
Cassie stopped. The words hit because they were true. But she wasn't in the mood to hear the truth.
She was in the mood to be stubborn. Difficult. She wanted someone to tell her that she had the right to do whatever she wanted rather than telling her what she needed to do. "Damn it, Severus Snape!" She shoved him again.
Bitterness flashed across his pale features. "What now, you brazen, asinine girl?" He took a threatening step, his height towering over her.
"Why do you have to be so fucking logical all the time?" He opened his mouth to respond. Cassie didn't let him.
She closed the distance between them, reached up, pulled his face down to hers, and kissed him. It was abrupt and demanding. A declaration that, for the moment, the conversation was over. She had another agenda.
The anger between them had nowhere else to go, and for the first few minutes they wrestled for control as fiercely as they had argued. Cassie caught his lower lip between her teeth, tugging at it, and Severus responded by threading a hand into her hair and pulling her head back so he could kiss along her jaw and neck.
They moved backward almost without realizing it, eventually collapsing onto the loveseat in a tangle of limbs.
For a while, nothing existed beyond the warmth of the other.
No prophecy. No Dumbledore. No Voldemort. No war.
Only them.
The intimacy that followed was frantic at first, born as much from desperation as desire. They clung to each other as though physical closeness could somehow make the rest of the world disappear.
And, for a little while, it did. Cassie needed him.
She needed his closeness, his presence, the reassurance that he was there and that, at least for these few moments, everything was all right.
Severus would never admit it, but he was perpetually amazed that someone as passionate and vibrant as Cassie could be so enthralled by someone as icy and melancholy as himself.
Some small, deeply buried part of him remained terrified that she would eventually wake up and realize she had chosen poorly. That she would realize he was too closed off.
Too damaged. Too broken.
But none of that mattered then. When they were together, the rest of the world fell away. Cassie could simply be Cassie. Not Voldemort's daughter. Not Bellatrix Lestrange's child or a potential weapon. Not a prophecy waiting to happen.
Just herself. And that, more than anything, was what made being with Severus feel like peace.
She relished the opportunity for a diversion. She moved to the floor and knelt between his legs. For once, he didn't question her when she reached for his belt.
For the next blissful minutes, her only focus was him. The way he felt in her mouth. The way he groaned and panted under her touch. She had one objective, and that was to give the shuddering wizard in her hands pleasure.
He pulled on her hair as waves of ecstasy washed over him with a loud moan. She admired the rare flush on his face and drank in the sight of him sweaty and spent. But he took only a few moments to steady his breathing before he pulled her back onto the loveseat. Now it was his turn to kneel between splayed legs.
When they finally collapsed together, tangled in one another's arms, Cassie felt the first genuine quiet in her mind that she had experienced in days.
For several minutes afterward, she lay against him with her cheek nestled in the crook of his neck. Her finger traced idly along his arm.
Then she noticed the faded Dark Mark on his left forearm.
It was something she had grown so accustomed to seeing that most of the time she barely registered it. But now it seemed impossible to ignore. The symbol pulled her straight back into reality. Back toward the future and the inevitable conflict waiting for them.
Back toward the question of which side Severus himself would stand on when Voldemort returned.
Her brief peace vanished.
The next few days became a kind of refuge for Cassie.
She spent as much of the holiday as she could in Severus's apartments, where she could avoid the rest of the castle and, more importantly, avoid thinking.
Severus still spent portions of his time patrolling the corridors. Quirrell needed watching, and Potter needed monitoring, but whenever he finished, he returned to her. Much of their time was spent curled together in front of the fireplace, although Cassie knew she probably ought to devote at least some of her time to studying.
One afternoon, while Severus was out following Quirrell, Cassie decided to spend some time on the grounds with Fred and George. She had intended to find Ron and Harry afterward, but was surprised to learn they were spending an unusual amount of time studying in the library. Whatever they were doing was a mystery to her.
At least Harry was safe under Madam Pince's watchful eye. Quirrell couldn't possibly get to him there.
She also knew Severus had spoken to Dumbledore at least once about their conversation in the Astronomy Tower. He brought it up one evening. Cassie immediately tried to shut the conversation down. This was her holiday break.
She knew perfectly well that reality didn't stop simply because school was out, but for now, she wanted to pretend it had. They argued.
Eventually, she silenced him by catching his jaw in one hand and kissing him deeply while simultaneously slipping her other hand down his magically loosened trousers.
She had discovered that being deliberately brazen while seducing Severus was remarkably effective. Soon enough, they forgot the argument.
Or, at least, postponed.
Christmas Eve arrived before Cassie was ready. While preparing to travel to Malfoy Manor, she briefly considered canceling altogether. Severus would have none of it.
"You told Draco you would attend," he said curtly. "Not going would only disappoint him."
"You have such a soft spot for him." She narrowed her eyes. "Why is that?"
"And you are unfairly callous with him."
"The little shit—"
"Is not his father." The sharpness in his voice stopped her.
Cassie folded her arms across her chest. They had had this argument many times. In the spirit of the holiday, she had no intention of having it again. "Why don't you come to dinner with me?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She had asked him several times before.
Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a familiar gesture that told her he was becoming annoyed but was attempting to contain it. Cassie stifled a giggle.
"We've been over this, Cassie. I would be more than willing to attend, but as I've told you, I don't feel comfortable leaving Potter here with Quirrell."
"Lucius will be disappointed."
"Yes. As he's already informed me," he said dryly. "Sorry to disappoint both of you in one evening."
Cassie sighed and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Sev, you don't disappoint me." This time, she openly giggled. Severus turned around, reached around her, and gave her a sharp pinch on the behind. Cassie laughed harder.
Even with the mass hysteria surrounding her seemingly quieted, no one wanted to risk Cassie traveling to Hogsmeade yet. So the fireplace in Severus's office was temporarily granted access to Malfoy Manor.
Cassie stood before it, dreading the visit but determined to get it over with. She kissed Severus. "Wish me luck."
He raised an eyebrow. "You'll be fine," he intoned. She pretended that was a warm sentiment.
Then she threw the Floo powder into the fire, stepped into the emerald flames, and clearly declared her destination. She arrived in the Manor's entry hall and was almost relieved to find it deserted.
Cassie briefly considered going straight to her room and staying there until dinner was announced. Then she heard approaching footsteps.
"Cousin!" Draco entered the room looking far too enthusiastic. He wore a dark green bathrobe, his normally slicked-back platinum hair hanging messily around his face. He had clearly been lounging about the Manor as he normally did whenever there were no guests to impress. "You're late!"
Cassie rolled her eyes. "Dinner is at seven tonight, and it's noon. How am I late?"
Draco ignored her. "Come on. Mother let me open some of my gifts early. Let's go see them!"
With nothing better to do, Cassie followed him into one of the estate's many recreational rooms. He showed her his new miniature Quidditch set, which let players arrange the pieces into formations and command them to perform different plays—or even recreate famous matches.
He showed her several new books, though he seemed rather uninterested in those.
She watched with feigned enthusiasm as he tore through pack after pack of Chocolate Frogs, crumpling and discarding cards he already had or didn't care about.
After an hour or so, they settled into several rounds of Exploding Snap. Only when Draco grew hungry enough to wander into the kitchen in search of a snack did Cassie follow him. And there, she ran into Narcissa.
"Aunt Cissy," said Cassie.
"Hello, Cassie." Narcissa looked her niece up and down. "So kind of you to join us for the holiday. Draco tells me he practically had to beg you."
Cassie looked away from her aunt and surveyed the room. House-elves hurried about preparing the evening meal, which appeared to consist of roast, potatoes, vegetables, and a staggering assortment of desserts.
Draco was hovering around Dobby, pestering him for something to eat. "Draco, for God's sake, make yourself a sandwich," Cassie snapped. Draco scrunched up his nose.
"Don't talk to him that way!" Narcissa scolded. Cassie wasn't having it.
"Someone ought to teach him some self-sufficiency," she retorted. She began gathering ingredients.
"What do we have servants for?" Narcissa asked shrewdly. Cassie glared at her as she slapped the haphazardly assembled sandwich onto a plate and handed it to Draco, ushering him away from the increasingly overwhelmed house-elves.
"If I never have to set foot in this house again, it will be too soon." She turned to leave. And nearly walked straight into Lucius.
He stood in the doorway, looking as smug as ever. "Now, now," he drawled. "What's this I hear? You've been home less than two hours, and already my girls are fighting?"
"Excuse me." Cassie moved past Lucius, but he followed.
"Such a cold greeting. You don't seem grateful at all that we invited you here for the holiday, when no one else would." Cassie barked out a laugh.
"You act as though you did me a favor, Uncle Lucius. The only reason I came is that I know your father will be here, and I didn't want Draco to have to deal with him alone."
"You're a disrespectful little thing, considering what I did for you at the Ministry," Lucius sneered.
Cassie stopped and turned. She walked toward him, feeling her blood beginning to boil. "I don't know what your play is, Uncle, but I don't want any part of your little game. I'll come to dinner, and then I'm gone." Lucius looked as though he was about to say something, then thought better of it. Cassie smirked. "Go ahead, Uncle. I know you want to say something about me visiting my blood-traitor aunt or my Muggle-born uncle. Please, do it." She stepped closer. "See how it ends for you."
Lucius stopped following her.
Cassie went upstairs to her room and was left alone for the next few hours. She spent most of that time lying on her bed and remembering exactly why she hated this place. For every pleasant memory she could summon, there were dozens of terrible ones waiting behind it.
Draco returned much later, this time dressed in neatly pressed dress robes, his hair once again slicked perfectly into place. Cassie knew dinner would be soon.
She had changed into a set of silvery dress robes kept in her wardrobe for occasions like this. She knew that refusing to dress appropriately would only create another argument.
"You ready?" she asked her younger cousin.
Draco nodded. He looked nervous. For all his arrogance and swagger, Cassie had to remind herself that he was still an insecure child beneath it all.
They made their way downstairs and into the formal dining room. Cassie immediately noticed that Abraxas occupied the head of the table, sitting in Lucius's usual place. Lucius and Narcissa sipped red wine, elegant and poised in their finest robes. Anyone looking through the doorway might have assumed they were preparing to entertain the Minister himself, not sit down to Christmas Eve dinner with their own family.
"Hello, grandson." Abraxas's voice was imperious.
Draco bowed his head. "Good evening, Grandfather." He took his seat.
Abraxas turned his attention toward Cassie. "Miss Black." His gaze traveled slowly over her, much as Narcissa's had earlier, as though he were inspecting livestock at auction.
"Grandfather Malfoy." Cassie gave him the same shallow bow Draco had offered, gritting her teeth as she did it.
"Don't we make a handsome gathering?" Abraxas said as the house-elves entered through the servants' doors with the first course. "And tell me, Draco, how is your first year at the wizarding school progressing?"
"Rather well, Grandfather. I'm making rather good marks."
"And sorted into Slytherin. Not that anyone is surprised," his grandfather mused. Lucius raised his glass.
"Yes," Narcissa added warmly. "Slytherin's Head of House is rather fond of him. He's a friend of the family and speaks highly of Draco. Says he does well in all his classes."
"Isn't the current Head of House that half-blood?" Abraxas took a sip of wine. "I'd be rather uncertain of what one of those says, wouldn't I?"
Draco's expression fell. Cassie immediately wanted to stab her fork through the old man's hand.
Instead, she smiled sweetly. "Professor Snape is a brilliant wizard and the best Potions Master Hogwarts has ever seen. So I'd believe every word he says, Grandfather Malfoy."
She winked at Draco.
"Nonsense, Black," said Abraxas as he waved dismissively. "Horace Slughorn is the finest Potions Master Hogwarts has ever had. And that title will remain with him until a pure-blood witch or wizard can compete for it."
"Yes, I agree," Lucius said, nodding.
Cassie shot him a glare. "Uncle Lucius." She folded her hands neatly before her, pretending to be deeply interested in the conversation. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you—or did you not—insist that Professor Snape join us for dinner tonight, only for him to decline?" Lucius's expression soured. "So do you find him worthy of your company or not?"
Lucius glared at her. Then Abraxas began looking between them.
"He declined, knowing that you would be here," Lucius sneered. "Wonderful company that you are, my precious niece."
"Now, now." Abraxas raised a hand. "No need for abrasiveness at this table. It is Christmas Eve, after all."
"No, of course not, Grandfather Malfoy," Narcissa agreed as she discreetly kicked Cassie's shin beneath the table.
"My apologies," Cassie said with a subdued wince.
Abraxas turned his attention toward Draco again. "Now, I hear the Potter boy is in first year. How are things going with him? Do you get along?"
Cassie felt heat rise into her chest. This dinner was not going to remain peaceful. She might as well leave now.
"He's a dunce and full of himself," Draco answered quickly, shoveling food into his mouth. "I hate him."
"But he's the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, I hear," Abraxas said with a raised eyebrow. "So there must be some reason for his vanity, eh?"
Draco looked as though he might choke.
"Yes," Lucius said. "I've told Draco to at least try to get along with the boy, but he's failed miserably. Apparently he's incapable of controlling himself."
"It's incredibly rare for first years to make their Quidditch teams," Cassie said, attempting to relieve some of the pressure on Draco. That was why she was here, after all. "But perhaps next year he could try out."
"Speaking of talented Quidditch players..." Abraxas turned his attention toward Cassie. "Are you still seeing the Weasley boy? Tainting yourself with the blood traitor?"
"No." Cassie seethed. "I'm not."
"I see." Abraxas took another sip of wine. "So who ended it?"
"He did," Narcissa said quickly. At least the attention was off Draco.
"So, Cassiopeia. Daughter of the Dark Lord and of the Noble House of Black. With all of that grandeur flowing through your veins, you can't even manage to keep a dirty Weasley interested in you?" He smiled coldly. "Where exactly has my son gone wrong in raising you?"
"Father." Lucius looked defeated already, but desperate to defend himself. "I assure you, we have tried every means necessary to ensure that she has aligned her viewpoints with ours—"
"Don't bother!" Cassie snapped. She cut him off before he could humiliate himself any further. "I'll just have to remind Grandfather Malfoy that I am, in fact, a half-blood. Perhaps that's why I've been unable to follow all your precious rules."
Narcissa gasped. Then, absolute silence. Abraxas looked horrified. Draco froze with a piece of roast halfway to his mouth.
Lucius accidentally knocked over his wineglass. Red liquid spilled across the tablecloth, slowly creeping toward the plates.
"Blasphemy!" Abraxas cried. He shoved himself to his feet, pointing an arthritic finger at Cassie as he shook from head to toe. "How dare you speak such words against the Dark Lord! You should be whipped simply for uttering such an absurdity!"
Cassie calmly took another bite of food. "Oh, should I?" She looked up at him. "Then why don't you come over here and try?"
Cassie had expected the dinner to end badly. She hadn't expected Abraxas to be the first one to demand that it end.
Once he was out the door and on his way home, the family's carefully maintained façade finally cracked.
"You ungrateful brat!" Narcissa declared. "Speaking to Lucius's father that way, in our home!"
Cassie laughed darkly. "Your priorities are so ass-backwards, it's insane. Don't worry. I'll be out of your hair soon enough." She pushed back her chair. "I think I'll go to Aunt Andromeda's early."
"If she'll have you," sneered Narcissa. Cassie stopped. She turned slowly.
"Excuse me?" she hissed. Narcissa's expression faltered. "What exactly is that supposed to mean? Did you threaten her?"
"No!" Lucius answered immediately. "But it seems like a pattern, doesn't it, my dear Cassiopeia?" His voice had become quieter. "You threw our affections for you away and gave your loyalty to the Weasleys. And now here you are with us again because they don't want you."
Cassie gritted her teeth. "They're in Romania visiting Charlie. Otherwise, I'd be at the Burrow."
"Visiting their son who rejected you," Narcissa said haughtily.
"Yeah. Sometimes people break up!" Cassie threw her hands up. "Sorry I didn't feel like traveling out of the country to see my ex-boyfriend! Merlin, you two are bat-shit crazy. What was the point of inviting me here, exactly?"
"Because we're family," said Lucius as he looked down his nose at her. His arrogance made Cassie want to hit him. "And even though we had a fight, that doesn't simply make it go away."
"No." Cassie looked between him and Narcissa. "There's something more than that. There's always something with you two, isn't there?" She glanced toward Draco. She wished he weren't there to hear this. She wished he were somewhere else—playing with his miniature Quidditch set, pestering the house-elves, doing absolutely anything other than witnessing the animosity between her and his parents yet again. "Did you want to make sure I wasn't going to turn you in?" Lucius went very still before he looked toward Draco.
Apparently, Lucius had come to the same conclusion. "Draco." His voice hardened. "Go upstairs." Draco looked between his parents and Cassie before reluctantly leaving the room. Once he was gone, Lucius took several steps toward her. "Turn me in for what?"
"Don't play stupid, Uncle." Cassie rolled her eyes. "For threatening Andromeda. For offering to fund me to become the next Dark Lord—"
Narcissa's voice cracked like a whip. "Don't you ever speak of that in this house again! The audacity! To accuse us of such things when all we wanted was to have you home for Christmas!" To Cassie's surprise, tears began spilling down Narcissa's cheeks.
Cassie couldn't tell whether they were genuine. That was the worst part.
Lucius's voice was quiet now. "Believe it or not..." He placed an arm around Narcissa's shoulders. "We actually care about you, my niece."
Cassie stared at them. For several moments, she couldn't find a response as her emotions warred within her.
Narcissa was crying. Lucius was comforting her. It was Christmas. For one brief, foolish moment, Cassie almost apologized. But she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.
Instead, she said her goodbyes to Draco and left the Manor, intending to Apparate to the Tonks household for the remainder of Christmas. She was actually looking forward to it. A home where she could be herself.
A home where she wouldn't have to listen to endless lectures about blood purity or be reminded that she was expected to become something she had never wanted to be.
But as she stepped away from the Manor grounds, one thought refused to leave her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone wrong. That somewhere during the strange, uncomfortable evening, she had failed a test.
A test she hadn't even known she was taking.