The riddle-door shuddered open with a grinding sigh, stone shifting aside as if relieved to no longer stand in their way.
Beyond it lay a vast circular chamber, the ceiling lost to enchanted darkness, the floor etched in pale silver runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
In a setting fitting of a final boss.
Cassius sat atop of demonic looking throne on the opposite end, swirling a wineglass of fruitpunch.
Looking boredly towards the door.
"So, you've infiltrated my lair, reach this far... fine i suppose i should entertain you before you meet your end."
Placing down his wineglass and rather exageratedly getting up from his seat before flourishing the red cape he was now sporting.
Making a proper dramatic entrance as the 'final boss'.
Calm in a way that made every instinct scream, even though everyone here knew he was about to face off 8v1 in the coming conflict.
In each hand he held a wand — his own in his left hand while a new wand was wielded at the same time in his right.
"Heh, eight on one, I like those odds."
Snape hissed, "You insane child—"
Cassius flicked his left wand.
A streak of sickly green light ripped through the air.
Snape froze.
The girls screamed.
Remus lunged to shield them—
And the curse splattered against the floor in harmless smoke, dissolving into green mist.
Creating a smokescreen between him and his opponent obscuring their vision.
Cassius smiled faintly seeing the various reactions to his enhanced fake killing curse.
Snape's face went white, then red. "You dare—"
As his father looked to scold the boy for sending them all into various bouts of heart attack.
Ginny reacted not holding back, wanting revenge for the shock of her life just now.
"STUPEFY!"
A red bolt shot across the room—
Cassius twirled both wands, caught the spell between them, compressed it like clay, and threw it back twice as strong.
Ginny yelped.
Daphne threw herself in the way, conjuring a dome of glittering ice that cracked but held.
Hermione followed with a silent disarming charm.
Astoria with a chain of stinging jabs.
Cho with a precision cutter.
Luna with… something that looked suspiciously like conjured bees.
Cassius deflected all of it — some with shields, some with parries, some with pure footwork alone, moving like liquid shadow.
Remus darted in from the left.
Snape flanked from the right.
Cassius twisted, dropped low—
Twin blasts of raw force erupted from his wands, knocking both professors off-balance.
Not down.
But back.
Remus grunted. "He's faster than before."
Snape snarled, "He's showing off."
Like a master spellward, Cassius stood almost in the center of the room, twirling around like a ballroom dancer.
Fending off attacks from all sides as his attackers not only flanked him but had taken up positions forming a circle around him.
But even still he managed to not only take on all their incoming blow, reflecting some back to the origional caster or their neighbors.
All while simultaneously casting his own attack spells keeping everyone else on their toes.
The air itself was absolutely crackling with magic.
Curses, Hexes, and Jinxes were flying near constantly.
As everyone had adapted and everyone was now easily going all out to achieve victory without holding back save for truly lethal curses.
~
Remus barked, "Push him! Now!"
They surged forward.
Ginny and Astoria rushed the left flank, firing rapid stunners.
Cho supported from behind with precise spellfire.
Hermione and Daphne coordinated on the right, weaving shields and counter-curses.
Luna… floated?
She drifted sideways, humming, firing bizarre hexes that bounced unpredictably.
Cassius was forced to move — truly move — for the first time.
Astoria's stunner grazed his ribs.
He winced.
Hermione's breaker nearly took his left wand.
Daphne's frostbolt hit his knee, leaving a trail of ice.
Remus closed in—
"EXPULSO!"
Cassius snapped his right wand toward the floor.
A blast of force sent everyone flying backward.
Dust filled the room.
But for the first time, Cassius wasn't unscathed.
He touched his ribs, exhaling sharply. "That stung."
Snape panted. "Good."
~
The battle itself carried on much in this way, with Cassius the final boss putting up a very valiant struggle but against their numbers he simply could not contend.
Perhaps if he remained on one side of the room with a wall at his back, but having taken up position in the dead center of the room exposing numerous positions from which to target his weakpoints the battle had become a forgone conclusion and everyone knew it.
The only question now was just how long the stubborn fool could hold out against their relentless assault.
After another dozen minutes of stiff resistance the growing cracks finally meant the boy wonder had accumulated enough damage.
Receiving another stunning spell.
Cassius's knees buckled.
Daphne's modified aguamenti blasting him with ice struck hard.
Snape followed up knocking both his wands from his hands.
Meanwhile Ginny fired the final stunner—
THUD.
Cassius hit the ground hard after being blasted away a foot or two.
Silence.
Dust drifted lazily downward.
Ginny, panting, asked, "Did… did we win?"
Cassius rolled onto his back, groaning staring up at the black void sky above.
Breathing heavily and utterly spend, and yet grinning like a madman.
"You," he wheezed, "absolutely… did."
Remus let out a long breath.
Snape collapsed to sit on the floor, robes scorched. "Merlin preserve me."
Cassius pushed himself up, chuckling despite the pain.
"Well done," he said softly. "All of you passed."
He tapped the floor.
The far wall rumbled, and a staircase unfolded upward — not deeper.
Upward.
Toward open air.
Freedom.
"Exit's that way," Cassius said. "Let's go home."
the girls first look at one another before locking eyes with him once more, and each breaking into smiles that could summon forth a sunny day.
Watching on from the sidelines, Severus could only graciously accept the assistance offered to him by Remus as after such rigourous activity his legs were still a wee bit wobbly.
But deep in his heart Severus couldnt help looking on at his son surrounded by girls and cracked the subtlest of grins, feeling proud of the son he'd managed to father even if he could barely claim to have raised him.