They are extremely loyal.
Two days later, Cassie sat on the Hogwarts express on her way home for the holidays. As she stared out the window, she couldn't help but admire the snow-filled Scottish highlands that she had been watching and admiring for years.
Although she knew that she still had a year left at Hogwarts, the thought of not seeing this view again made her heartache. During this trip, Cassie had met her best friends, friends she dearly hoped that she would never lose. However, that thought itself was wishful thinking, especially with what has been happening outside Hogwarts the last years.
She was thankful for the ignorance the school brought, as was she when it came to her parents. Who rarely discussed the topic, at least not while she or her brothers had been around. Though they certainly held no arguments against him. Everything Voldemort stood for were after all things her parents supported wholeheartedly.
As she looked down at Lily's copy of the daily prophet, she knew that the protection and the ignorance Hogwarts offered could only last so long.
New attacks on muggles
Increase in muggle-born disappearances
Death Eaters: Who are they?
Who are the death eaters? It's not just well known that the group calling themselves death eaters are supporters of He Who Must Not Be Named, but it is also a fact. The question is, however, who are they really? With masks covering their faces, it's impossible to say for sure. After all, they could be anyone. They could be the quiet neighbor next door, who always greets you good morning, a hardworking shopkeeper in Diagon Ally, Knockturn Ally, or Hogsmeade. It could be your colleague, your friend, or even your family.
Though the wizarding world is a large community, chances are when you one day get to see who is behind the mask. It'd be someone you know, perhaps even someone you love.
Perhaps I should start subscribing to the daily prophet Cassie thought. After all, that was one of the reasons she never got much information surrounding the outside world during school. She knew that Lily and Remus and some of their other friends subscribed, but Cassie never did, simply because she never had that much interest in reading it. But during these times, she supposed it would be better to know than to be in the dark about the growing terrors.
"There's been more of them?"
Lifting her eyes, she saw Lily, who was staring down at the paper in Cassie's hands. Her features were sad yet solemn as she stared at the headline of the page. Cassie returned her gaze to the article that was placed just above the one she had been reading previously.
"Unfortunately... At least no one from school has been taken, though."
"Not yet anyway," Lily muttered softly as she sat back in her seat.
"You think it will happen?"
"Eventually, I suppose we're safe as long as Dumbledore's here, but.." she trailed off. Her eyes were now fixed on the passing scenery as she tried to take comfort in the beauty outside. "But the moment we're back home, out there.. anything could happen. That's what worries me."
Leaning forward, Cassie laid her hand on top of her friends and gave it a comforting squeeze, causing Lily to meet her eyes. The older girl sent her friend a reassuring smile. "Whatever happens, we'll get through it. All of us."
A small smile spread across Lilys lips as she nodded along. Eying the newspaper once again, another thought seemed to captivate Lily as she couldn't help but ask.
"Have you read what they wrote about the followers?"
"Yeah, listen to this." Cassie tucked a loose lock from her ponytail behind her ear as she cast her eyes down to the article. "Though the wizarding world is a large community, chances are when you one day get to see who is behind the mask; it'd be someone you know, perhaps even someone you love. There's no telling who or where they are, for all you know, they could be watching you this very moment." She quoted. A frustrated sigh filled the compartment as she folded the paper together and threw it on the seat next to her. "Bloody hell, are they trying to scare people? It's things like that that make everyone so paranoid and scared. Cant look over your shoulder in fear that there might be a death eater behind you."
"I reckon he's right, though. It's a bit frightening actually, that we don't really know who they are."
"I bet you anything one of them is our cousin." A voice piped from the entrance door, causing both girls to move their gaze from each other to the person standing in the doorway. Sirius, who seemed rather annoyed as he entered the compartment, lifted the paper and sat down next to his sister. Remus sent the girls a soft smile as he entered and closed the door before taking a seat next to Lily.
As Sirius found the article his sister had previously read, he spoke out with apparent frustration. "Who are the death eaters? It's not just well known that the group calling themselves death eaters are supporters of He Who Must Not Be Named, but it is also a fact. You don't say." he added sarcastically as he continued. "The question is, however, who are they really? Who are they? We know who they are. It is most likely every pureblood Slytherin family that we know of."
Cassie felt a tick in her mind and before she could even stop her self she fired back at him. "Including our own? Do you think our brother is a death eater? What about Rabastan, huh? Can you see those two as death eaters? Because I certainly can't."
"There are several ways of making someone do something they don't want to. Just because they don't want doesn't mean there's no chance it will happen." His eyes met the floor as he spoke, refusing to meet his sister's smoldering gaze as she stared at him, looking slightly annoyed.
"Sirius, not all Slytherins are terrible. But you'll never know if you don't give them a chance. I'm sure it's easier for them to follow Voldemort than the people who accuse them of being evil." Lily stated.
Lily, being the only one of them who had previously been friends with a Slytherin, knew a little bit of the prejudice given to them by all houses, though mostly Gryffindor, it. She thought back to how close she had been with Severus when they were younger but immediately shook that thought out of her head as she heard the words filthy mudblood echoing through her mind.
"For all we know, there can be people from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw who are Death Eaters." She added after a moment.
"You forgot Hufflepuff," Remus spoke, causing the trio to turn their attention towards him. Sirius turned his gaze from the floor and stared amused at his friend, while Lily looked almost taken back for a moment.
"Remus.. darling.. can you even imagine an evil Hufflepuff?" Sirius raised an eyebrow as he waited for a response.
The younger boy blushed deeply. If it was because the three stared at him as if he had grown a third head or if it was the nickname that came from his handsome best friend, he didn't quite know. He tried as hard as he could, though it seemed unsuccessful, to damper the redness in his cheeks. "You never know. I mean, they are extremely loyal."
"The same thing can be said for the Death Eaters. And dogs." Cassie piped in, causing Lily to send her a rather unimpressed glance as before she turned to her friend next to her.
"Honestly, Remus." The redhead started. "Is that what you're thinking about? The start of the Hufflepuff rebellion?" Lily questioned as she furred her brows slightly together.
He rolled his eyes at her as he replied. "All I'm saying is that it could be anyone. We shouldn't let our judgment get clouded by what house they are from. Just because we're a part of one house doesn't mean it defines us. After all, there are more sides to a person than one." He switched his gaze between the trio as he spoke.
Silence lingered in the compartment as the three students thought about what their friend had just said. Cassie turned her gaze back to the window and let her eye rest upon the beautiful scenery they were passing. If she had her way, if she could have been free to do whatever she wanted, she would have gotten a lovely little cottage somewhere in the Scottish highlands, someplace far from people. A place where she would wake up in the morning and just one look outside her window would be enough to take her breath away.
"You're right." She finally said. She settled her gaze on Remus as she continued. "People cant be divided into just four categories. They are much more complex than that." A sudden thought occurred to her as she switched her gaze between the two boys. "Speaking of four, where are Peter and James?"
"James wanted to get something off the trolly, but he was so distracted that when she came around, he didn't notice, so he went off after her. Peter thought he'd follow just to get some more chocolate frogs." Remus grinned as he thought about James's horrified expression when he had heard that the older woman had passed them by.
"Why am I not surprised" she commented with a soft smile playing along her lips. "Oh, I almost forgot." Cassie leaned down to her purse, picking it up and handing it to her brother.
"You're giving me your purse?" He asked as he raised a brow in amusement. "I'm flattered, Cas, but I don't think it's entirely my style." He placed the purse on his right shoulder as he turned slightly towards Remus. "Or what do you think, Moony? Do I look dashing with this?" He said as he made a few poses, showing off the black purse in his arm.
"I think you better put it down before someone laughs at you." the younger boy grinned as he gave a slight nod to his right, letting the attention fall upon a smiling red-haired who was currently biting her lips to keep in her laugh.
Rolling her eyes at her brother, she couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. "Be careful with it. I didn't get the chance to give you the Christmas presents before you finished packing, so I just put them in there."
Sirius gave his sister an uncertain glance before he looked down to inspect the small purse. "They're all in here. Are you sure about that?" He sounded doubtful as he spoke, clearly forgetting that the bag was charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm. After all, there was no way else she would be able to have her brother's presents in there, or Remus's, James's, Peter's, Dorea's, and Harolds. Though she did understand him, the purse was, after all, so small that it could hardly contain one of the presents that she had bought. Although this year, none of the present were by any means small.
"Undetectable Extension Charm, Sirius." Lily sang as she watched his features light up in realization as he mumbled under his breath. "Right. Clearly forgot about that." He studied the purse for a moment longer before remembering the box he had placed in his trunk just a few hours ago."What about your presents?" Sirius asked his sister.
Cassie shrugged her shoulders before letting her words out. "You brought them with you?" She moved her gaze catching the nods of her three friends. You shouldn't be too surprised, Cas, you are the one who forgot to tell them, she thought as she scrunched up her face. "I should probably have told you earlier, but perhaps it's better if you hang on to them. After all, where I'm going, I think the only present i- no actually I would get a comment on every one of them. And not the good kind."
"How so?" Remus asked curiously.
She took a breath as she thought back to some of the previous comments that not only her mother had presented her with over the years, but also her father. And for what it was worth, she knew that now that there were several other pureblood fanatics gathered together, the comments would increase, especially when it came to presents.
"Well.. for starters, and just know this is their opinion, I would never- you know. We all know James is a pureblood, so I thought that would be okay, but now that James's parent has taken in Sirius, it wouldn't completely surprise me if mother's convinced that they are blood traitors."
Lily's eyes widened. "But why? I mean, Sirius is a pureblood too. That doesn't make any sense."
Cassie nodded her head in agreement. "Well, to mother, it does. If I showed up with a present from him." She pointed her thumb at Sirius as she continued. "Chances are that the first ones to see them would be the very flames of the fireplace. When it comes to James, well, my mother thinks of his parents as blood traitors. So fireplace for that one too. Remus and Peter are half-bloods, and you're a muggle-born. Again fireplace."
"How did you do it the previous years?" Remus inquired curiously as he furred his eyebrows slightly.
Sirius let out a deep sigh as he slid further down in his seat, running his fingers through his hair. He met his sister in a stare before turning back to Remus.
"Well, first of all. During Hogwarts, I think we've celebrated Christmas at home three times or something. And believe it or not, we actually managed to hide them rather well." As he spoke, a solemn expression painted his features as he thought about his old room, his old life, the one place he never wanted to go back to. It had been during their three first years at Hogwarts that their parents had demanded the twin's presents during the holidays as a way to de-gryffindorize them, but to no such luck.
"There's a loose floor plank in Sirius's bedroom that our parents don't know about. We used to hide candies or treats that we snuck from the kitchens there when we were younger." She smiled melancholy at the memory before she remembered what happened during their first Christmas at home. The two siblings had been overjoyed by the fact that they had gotten presents from their friends and decided that they would show their parents. Walburga took one look at them and immediately asked where they came from. A sneer covered her face as she narrowed her eyes at the bundle of presents staring at them like they were dirt on her boots.
When Sirius had told his mother that they were from their friends at Hogwarts, Walburga questioned him immediately on who they were, what house, and of course, what was their blood status. The moment she had heard Half-blood, Muggle-born, and Gryffindor, she took the presents in her hands and threw them into the burning fireplace. Claiming that they would not receive anything from anyone lower than them, especially not a mudblood.
The twins locked gaze, watching as their glossy eyes grew filled with tears. That night the two siblings sat in front of the fireplace watching the flames burn bright, and made a promise that they would never do something like that again. They would rather keep something hidden and safe than let their mother find out and break their hearts all over again.
"After what happened during our first year we made sure that our parents would never find any presents that we received from our friends again. Hence our candy hideout became our gift hideout."
Sirius chuckled for a moment before he added. "As long as they weren't too big, or else we had to come up with some more creative solutions. At least until we started spending Christmas here." He looked at Cassie for a moment. "This is your first Christmas at home since Third year, isn't it?"
"well, yes, but I'm not exactly going home, am I?" She responded. "Anyway, if you don't mind, I'd rather open them when we're back at school. At least I'm certain that I get to keep them." Cassie smiled almost tiredly at her friends. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. That way, you wouldn't have to drag them along with you."
"No worries" Lily waved a hand dismissively at her friend as she smiled. "That way, if I don't like what I get for Christmas, I could always switch it out with yours, and you'd never know." She joked, causing the dark-haired girl to grin. "You wish. Do that, Evans, and I'm coming after you."
"How the bloody hell would you do that if you don't know if she did it?" Sirius added as he met his sister's gaze. Cassie's grin grew even more prominent as she shrugged her shoulders and said. "It's a gift, and believe me, if she wanted to switch our presents, it would only be because hers was absolutely horrible."
As a few hours passed by, James and Peter had yet to show, causing the friends to conclude that they must have gotten back to their compartment. For the last fifteen minutes, silence had surrounded the group and both Lily and Remus were busy reading books, Sirius took to reading the Daily Prophet while Cassie was continuing to stare out the window, admiring the scenery, as she had done earlier.
"We're soon there, aren't we?" The sound of Remus's voice broke the silence as he gazed down on his wrist and studied his watch. "You'll write, won't you?" He looked at Cassie.
"Of course I will. Since I have Nova in my room, it shouldn't be a problem." She grinned slightly as she almost wanted to thank her mother for harboring the intense hate for Cassie's owl. As it always made it easier to sent and receive letters from whomever she wanted especially if it were someone her mother didn't like.
Nova felt the same when it came to Walburga. Every time the woman neared the owl, Nova would always try to bite her fingers and started screeching, causing the woman to hold her ears and yell at someone to get the bloody atrocity out of her house right away. However, as long as the owl was kept in Cassie's bedroom and far away from her mother, she was safe.
"Has she bitten mother recently?" Sirius snickered as he looked at his sister hopefully.
"If she had, I'm almost certain that mother would call for Nova's head," Cassie commented as she crossed one foot over the other and leaned her chin on her hand that was propped up by the window.
As the view of the station came into sight, the Hogwarts express slowed down its speed as it got closer and closer to the platform. The moment the train stopped, The four teenagers caught a quick glimpse outside before moving to get their trunks down. As usual, the platform was filled with excited and anticipating parents who were awaiting the arrival of their children and beaming with joy to see them again.
"We'd better go get our things and see if we can find Peter and James," Remus said as he moved his way to Cassie wrapping his arms around her. "Take care, and write as soon as you can. Okay?"
"I promise." She smiled at him before retreating from the hug, only to almost be tackled by another.
"Promise. Promise me that you will write. I want to know everything." Lily wrapped her arms tightly around her friend as she squeezed.
"As long as you don't squeeze the life out of me now." Cassie laughed breathlessly through gently clapped her friend on her back eagerly as she felt a sudden lightness in her head as the air became a problem. "I mean it, Lils."
Sensing her urgency in her voice, Lily immediately loosed her hold on Cassie, causing her to take a deep breath. "Be safe and try to be careful." The redhead whispered in her friend's ear before she drew back, smiling.
"I'll try." She said as she gave her friend the same smile. "You too."
Cassie immediately moved her eyes to her brother, who was looking at her with a rather sad smile. "It's only two weeks Siri. I'll be fine."
He smiled gently at her as he cast his gaze to the floor and shook his head for a moment. As he returned back up, he took her in his arms and hugged her. "You don't have to put on a brave face. If something happens, just write to me and ill come and kick their asses." Cassie closed her eyes and savored the feeling of her older brother. "I'd like to see that happening." She laughed, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
As she leaned back, he smiled at her as he reached up and placed his hand on her head, tousling her hair affectionally. "I mean it, though. If something happens, owl me, and I'll be right there", he said seriously as he looked straight at his sister, who only nodded.
"I'll see you soon." She waved her hand slightly as she watched the two boys retreat out of the compartment, making their way to the one they had previously occupied before. Cassie turned towards Lily, who was waiting on her, with a smile.
"You ready?" Lily asked as she held her trunk in one hand while holding the other on the door frame.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
As the two exited the train, it didn't take long for Lily to spot her parents, who were waving their hands trying to get their daughter's attention. Lily flushed slightly at the sight of them, which only caused Cassie to laugh. As the two separated, Cassie's eyes started to search the platform for any sign of her younger brother, but amidst all the students, it proved to be somewhat a bit more challenging than she thought.
She did, however, catch a glance of Sirius and James, who were laughing as the older gave James a gentle shove, while Remus was smiling along to something that Peter had said. Suddenly in the corner of her eye, she caught the sight of a familiar-looking head. However, it disappeared almost as fast as it came. She found her feet nevertheless moving in that direction, hoping that if she didn't see Regulus, then she would at least catch the sight of her parents.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Cassie apologized as she accidentally bumped into a young boy in his second or third year. As she maneuvered through the crowd, it didn't take long until she reached the back and saw that it was indeed her brother that she had seen. Regulus stood staring down at the ground with his hands folded behind his back, though as Cassie got closer, he raised his gaze and met hers. Instantly his face brightened, though she could tell that he struggled to keep his emotions in check as he continuously threw quick glances to his left, where their parents stood.
Walburga stood tall and proud, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the crowd for her daughter, and the moment her grey eyes caught the sight of her, they narrowed immediately. It seemed that with each step, the girl got closer to her family, her mother's eyes narrowed even more, and a scowl replaced her impatient features.
As she finally reached them, her mother was the first to speak.
"So you're finally here then, huh? Well, let's go. We don't have all day." Walburga sneered at her daughter and immediately placed one hand on her husband's arm and the other on Regulus's shoulder. "Come on now. Grab your brother." she nodded towards her youngest as the impatience in her voice grew with each word that she spoke.
Cassie eyed her father, who seemed almost as stoic as ever. If it wasn't for the fact that she could see his dark eyes narrowing at most of the families that passed them, it seemed for a moment as if he was trying to curse them or something, considering how much he was staring.
Switching her gaze to her brother, who only stared helplessly at her as he reached out his hand. Cassie quickly took it, not wanting to test her mother's patient, and a few moments later, a familiar feeling of her stomach turning appeared as the world before her disappeared and faded into the dark.