Chapter 3
"Why does stuff like this always happen on my birthday!?" I groaned as I set up my sleeping bag between Hermione's and Pansy's.
"I'm sorry, Cassie," Pansy whispered.
"Happy birthday, Cassie," Hermione said as she kissed my cheek and I felt my face go bright red.
"I, er, um, t- Thanks," I stuttered and Hermione giggled while the others laughed. "We, er, we need to talk."
"About?"
"The Time Turner," I whispered to her and she froze then nodded. Hermione whispered to me all about her Time Turner.
"How did you know about it?"
"My Dad and my Mom. I asked my Dad about how you could do so many classes and my Mom heard and told me that my Auntie Bella was given a Time Turner so she could take all the classes Hogwarts offered for her O.W.L.s other than Muggle Studies. Auntie Bella then ended up dropping Divination by the end of the year so she didn't need the Time Turner anymore. I'm planning on taking all of the classes so I can beat her O.W.L. records. Only the truly outstanding students are offered the Time Turner option." Hermione hesitated for a second.
"I already have a birthday present for you but... Do you want to use my Time Turner with me instead? You could have your birthday present as a Christmas present."
"Wait, really? Yes! That would help me out a lot with my schedule."
...
I spotted Harry falling off of his broom and I quickly used my Air Magic to fly over to him and catch him. I lowered us both to the ground and groaned. Using Air Magic during a storm is not a good idea. That required a lot of energy. At least Hufflepuff won the Match. That puts Slytherin in a better position to win the Cup after we go against Gryffindor. Dumbledore sent the Dementors away and Madam Pomfrey put me and Harry on stretchers she levitated to the Hospital Wing. She moved Harry onto a bed as I moved myself onto the bed next to Harry. "That was very reckless of you, Miss Malfoy. You're still injured, not to mention the Magical exhaustion that could've caused," Madam Pomfrey said as Pansy, Draco, Daphne, Millie, Tracey, Theo, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Hestia, Astoria and Flora crowded around the bed.
"My back hurts," I groaned and Madam Pomfrey scoffed.
"Of course it does, I'm surprised you're only just noticing. Out of the way!" Crabbe and Goyle moved so Madam Pomfrey could see to my back and I heard Fred, George, Ginny, Percy, Ron and Hermione come over.
"Move," Hermione said before pushing Theo and Tracey out of the way. Ron quickly pushed Millie too and Ginny and Ron took her place.
"Okay, that's it," Madam Pomfrey said. "Too many of you. Some of you can go."
"Fred, George, Ginny, Percy, Ron, check on Harry," I said and I grabbed Hermione's hand. "Stay?"
"Of course," Hermione said with a soft smile and Pansy, Daphne and Ginny glared at Hermione. Pansy quickly grabbed my other hand and I smiled at her. The Weasleys left for the other side of Harry's bed. About 10 minutes later, Madam Pomfrey moved over to check on Harry so Crabbe and Goyle retook their spots.
...
I grinned as I spotted Harry, Hermione and Ron looking at the Shrieking Shack. "Well, well," I heard Draco say and I turned around to see Crabbe, Theo and Draco coming down the hill. "You three shopping for your new dream home? Bit grand for you, isn't it, Weasley? Don't your Family, er, sleep in one room?"
"Shut your mouth, Draco," I whispered in his ear from under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. Draco looked spooked. "Play nicely with my friends."
"Sorry. Habit," Draco said with a frown. "Potter... I... Wanted to apologise. For the way I've acted with you in the past. The only reason I acted how I did with you was because you chose to be Weasley's friend instead of mine after he made fun of my name." Ron looked a little regretful. "I... My name is important to me and it really offended me. I know you're friends with Cassie so I'd... I'd like to at least be friendly with you... If you want. I know you know Cassie's secret. That you haven't told anyone and I'm really hoping you keep working on your Occlumency so no one else finds out."
"What secret?" Hermione asked. Right, Ron and Hermione still don't know because they weren't there when Tom exposed himself as The Dark Lord.
"That's not my place to say," Harry said. "You'll have to ask Cassie."
"Can... Can we stay and hang out with you?" Draco asked and Crabbe and Theo looked shocked but followed Draco's lead. "I know you haven't passed your Etiquette Exam yet, Weasley, but you're still a proper Pureblood in training and Potter and Granger, you two have passed..." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other before looking at Draco.
"Sure," they said and I took off the Invisibility Cloak.
"Aw, my Brother's making friends," I said in a 'talking to a baby' tone.
"Shut up, Cassie!" Draco said as his face went red.
...
"Are you okay, Cassie?" Pansy asked after pulling me onto the sofa to lie down with her and Daphne. Daphne gently ran her fingers through my hair. "You look exhausted."
"I had my first session with Harry and Lupin. The Patronus Charm is the first Spell I haven't gotten first try and I don't like it," I complained. "It's exhausting and I'm so sleepy." I yawned as I cuddled closer to Pansy. I pulled Daphne's arm over my stomach and I sighed. I felt a blanket being placed over me and I looked up to see Marcus. I grinned at him before closing my eyes and falling asleep. I don't usually fall asleep in the Common Room but I think I can be forgiven for it this one time. After about an hour, Daphne woke me up. I shoved Daphne away playfully only for her to end up on top of Pansy. The two of them went bright red and I smirked. Pansy and Daphne looked at each other for a moment and I chuckled. They quickly pulled away and I pouted. "Aw, I wanted to see you two kiss!" They went even more red and Pansy started stuttering and quickly left for her dorm room. "You should go after her. Both your and her thoughts were screaming how much you wanted to kiss." Daphne stammered a little but then nodded and she quickly left for her dorm.
...
I smirked as I looked over the Marauder's Map with my black notebook and pen next to me. Let's see... I looked over the Map and smirked when I noticed Oliver Wood's nametag with Marcus'. Called it. I wrote down their names, the time, and where they were in my notebook. Who else is sneaking around to fuck who I can blackmail? Hm... Wait... That's not possible... I froze as I noticed Peter Pettigrew's nametag. He's supposed to be dead. Now this warrants investigation. I quickly snuck out of my bed and grabbed a dressing gown so I wouldn't freeze. I put my shoes on over my socks and quickly left my dorm and then the Common Room. As I made my way to Pettigrew's nametag, I kept an eye on anyone else's nametags getting too close. When I got to the corridor Pettigrew's nametag was on, I looked around but I didn't see anyone. I did hear something, though. Have to be careful. There are Cats everywhere. Not safe. Never safe. Not anymore. Not with him breaking out. It didn't sound like a Human speaking. I looked down and saw a Rat pass me. I quickly looked at the Map and spotted Pettigrew's nametag passing me just as the Rat did. No fucking way! Cousin Siri is innocent. No innocent man would hide as a Rat for 12 years when the guy who apparently tried to kill him was locked up. Pettigrew's an unregistered Animagus... Maybe I should become an Animagus. That would be so cool... Wait, damn it, I should catch the Rat.
"Incarcerous," I whispered but the Spell missed and the Rat ran faster. I went to run after it but was stopped by a voice.
"Cassie, what are you doing out of bed at this time of night?" Sev asked.
"Damn it! He got away!" I moaned.
"Who?"
"Peter Pettigrew," I said and Sev rolled his eyes.
"I am not in the mood for one of your pranks right now, Cassie."
"Professor," a voice called and we turned around to see Professor Lupin.
"Well, well, Lupin. Out for a little walk in the moonlight are we?"
"Cassiopeia, will you come with me? There's something we need to discuss."
"Er, sure," I said and I followed Professor Lupin to his classroom. "Pettigrew's a Rat Animagus." He froze. "I spotted his name on this Map, I got it from Fred and George, and I decided to investigate. I followed it and, while I couldn't see anyone, I heard someone and it didn't sound Human so I looked down and right as a Rat passed me, Pettigrew's nametag did too. He was muttering about Cats and how the Castle isn't safe because Sirius broke out of Azkaban."
"Thanks for telling me, Cassiopeia. I already knew about Peter's Rat form but I didn't know he was still alive."
"But that means Cousin Siri is innocent and he spent 12 years in Azkaban for something he didn't do. With Veritaserum and being able to see people's memories through a Pensieve, he would've been found innocent if he'd had a trial which means he didn't have a trial. That's not right and I'll be writing to the Ministry about it since there's a Kiss-on-sight order for him."
"Yes, well, leave the Map with me and be on your way, Cassiopeia. It's late."
"Okay."
...
SIRIUS BLACK DIDN'T GET A TRIAL!
By Rita Skeeter.
Sirius Orion Black, a former member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, recently escaped Azkaban Prison where he has been since November 1st 1981. It was believed Sirius was in Azkaban for murdering Peter Pettigrew and 12 Muggles by blowing up a street when being cornered by Peter. Peter yelled for everyone to hear that Sirius had been the Secret Keeper of the Potters and the only way that You-Know-Who could've found them was if Sirius had willingly given away where they were hiding. However, it has recently been revealed that Sirius did in fact not get a trial. As the law states one is innocent until proven guilty and Sirius did not get a trial and was, therefore, never proven guilty, one could question why the Ministry had him in Azkaban for 12 years and now has a 'Kiss-on-sight' order as he broke out of Azkaban, where he shouldn't've been until after being found guilty in a trial.
As some of you know, the Ministry had several ways of finding out at the time if Sirius was innocent or guilty from checking his wand to see what his last Spell was to reviewing his memories to Veritaserum (a Potion that makes the person who ingests it tell the truth). However, upon investigation, we at The Daily Prophet have discovered none of these methods were ever used in Sirius' case.
Upon receiving a letter with the information that Sirius never received a trial from Cassiopeia Narcissa Malfoy, Princess of Wizarding Britain and Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (DMLE), immediately removed the 'Kiss-on-sight' order. Minister of Magic, Cornelius Alden Fudge, has refused to remove the Dementors from Azkaban until after the capture and trial of Sirius for 'the people's own safety'.
SIRIUS BLACK IS STILL CONSIDERED HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND WANTED BY THE MINISTRY.
...