Chapter 1
My lungs hurt. Each breath I take is shallow and rushed.
My throat burns and my mouth feels as dry as sand.
My legs tremble in fatigue and seem to be ready to give out with each step I take.
But I cannot stop moving. I cannot afford to stop running. Because when I do I know he will find me.
He will track me down like a predator hunts down his prey. My feet keep hitting the ground. I have tot keep moving.
The sound of the forest around me seem to echo like a canon shot. Every snap of a twig sounds like a call for him. Every rustle from the leaves on the ground like a beacon of my location.
I cannot stop. So I go on. Each minute taking me further into the dark shadows between the threes around me as I desperately try to find solace in there cold and dark embrace.
I follow no path as I run I just run.
A snap on my right gets my attention away from my path just a second to long as I lose my footing and fall to the floor. Hitting my head on a stone laying om the ground.
My vision is swimming in my eyes as I try to look around.
My hand comes up to my face as I gently prod the place I seem to have hit only to coat my fingers with the blood slowly running down my face from the new wound.
"Shit" I mumble to myself.
"Good job Cassandra, really wonderful. Not as if I'm running for my life here." I berate myself.
"I don't know love, must say you are making it exceptionally easy for me to track you down."
My body freezes. It can't be. Not him, please not him. I beg to the heavens even though I know it is futile.
Rough hands grip my shoulders and roll me onto my back. A man is standing over me.
His tall and strong frame blocking most of the moonlight that seeps through the threes above us.
A sneer placed on his face, a face I know so well.
A brown mop of unruly hair. Freckles all over. A mouth I know to almost always smirk now pressed into a thin line of contempt.
A strong jawline set in anticipation. And those beautiful hazel eyes I used to see kindness and laughter in now dead cold.
Above me stands Sebastian Sallow. And as I look to my former friend I am to late to notice the wand being raised until it is pointing between my eyes.
"I told you I would make you pay for what you did, Cassy. Any last words?"
"S..sebastian, please...please I beg you i...it wasn't me...please."
Sebastian lets out a breath of displeasure. And slowly lowers the wand.
"Farewell Cassy."
"W..what?"
"Avada cadavra"
A bright green light fills my vision as everything turns to black.
I grasp for air as I shoot upright in bed. That dream had been a little to real for me.
As I try to calm my frantically beating heart I look around the little save place I had build for myself.
Form the warm honey and gold colored walls to the open fire place where a happy fire ate at the provided wood.
A big and cozy couch across from the fireplace worn form years of use.
A small round table to the side pressed against one of the walls with two chairs to sit on.
Pot with plants and trinkets littering the space.
I love this space and a feeling of safety fills me as I look around the room.
"I'm just in my suitcase, it was just a bad dream nothing to worry about."
I tell myself as I get out of bed and make my way through a small hallway to the kitchen.
As I wave my wand to make myself an cup of tea I start to think om why I dreamed of him.
I hadn't thought about him in ages. Well not as intense as this at least.
Sebastian Sallow had been my first friend when I started at Hogwarts in my fifth year.
We had been almost inseparable, but after what happened with his uncle.
It didn't end well. Actually that was an understatement.
After sebastian had killed his uncle I had tried to convince him to let the dark arts go, for him to see he went to far.
He disagreed and after shouting at each other for a while I left to go back to Hogwarts.
And he? Well... sebastian had decided to try and save his precious relic.
Apparently only to be caught trying to control inferi by the aurors with a badly fixed dark relic and shaking with desperation for it to work like it had before.
He had blamed me. I could still here his screams of revenge after he was sentenced.
How he had looked at her with hatred and anger and vowed to make her pay for what I had done. For turning him in to the aurors.
I hadn't reacted. Hadn't allowed myself to react.
Sebastian was determined to blame her for his stay in Azkaban.
Sure his treads had hurt her during the trial but she didn't think much of them until about four years later.
When a note had been sent to her little apartment. Thinking of the few words on that little piece of paper had shivers running down her spine.
"You will pay. ~S." was all it had said.
But it was enough for her to pack her bags and run. Especially when the daily prophet that morning had proclaimed Sebastian Sallow to have been released early from his sentence because of good behavior and him being a minor when the incident occurred.
By lunch she had bought a suitcase and enchanted it with undetectable extensions of a small apartment on the inside.
By diner all her belongings were moved into her new living space and her contract for the small bedroom apartment she had been staying at was canceled.
And when the sun rose the next day she had moved to a little hotel room where she would stay until she would relocate.
Cassandra had after her Hogwarts graduation become one of the most sought after magical theorist in Europe.
Using her ancient magic to study its unique abilities to study magic and unravel many a secret of the old days.
Her easy connecting to magical creatures and beats and her strong moral stance helped her to secure a somewhat friendly working relationship with the goblins of Gringotts.
Mostly she broke into old crypts and unraveled its secrets, any objects she found that she had no use for were donated to the bank in exchange of them funding her trips and helping her publish her findings of the mysteries and magic there.
She was happy with her chosen field and work and if it by chance allowed her to move constantly and never stay in one place for long, than she wouldn't mind the convenience of using it to not being easy to find for a certain wizard she had once seen as her best friend.
After she had finished her cup of tea Cassandra decided to get ready for the day.
She had been traveling to a new job site for almost three weeks now. Her use of muggle transportation instead of a wizarding sort delayed her exponentially but the far distances were to much to apparate and she did not like the portkeys as they were much too easy to track and often made her sick.
She picked her outfit for the day, consisting of a leather pants and corset top set with comfortable but sturdy knee high boots.
Putting her soft brown hair up in a simple bun she slowly started to make her way up to the ladder that served as the entrance of her hidden save space.
Cassandra had been asked by an third party, to come and help with a special tomb they had found a little over 5 years ago, instead of Gringots themselves.
She had been slightly irritated and insulted at not having been invited to take a look until now.
Cassandra cast an revelio and checked her wards ensuring they were undisturbed before opening the briefcase and exiting her home into the dingy hotel room she had rented for the night.
Sneezing form the dust in the room she shrunk her case removed her wards and any traces of her having been there and made her way to the hotel exit.
Stepping into an almost empty street she headed towards the given address where much to her disdain a portkey would be waiting for her and a few other like minded wixen to travel together from that point. And even though Cassandra had avoided portkey travel if she could, she was realistic enough to know sometimes there was just no other way.
Reaching her destination she quickly made her way inside to be greeted my three older wizards already waiting.
The wizards greeted her politely but with judgement in there eyes and all took hold of and old piece of parchment that laid on the table between them.
Muttering a polite hello back to them I take a step forward and touch the parchment just in as I take hold I feel a familiar tuck in my belly as we were swept away to the destination awaiting.
Keeping my eyes closed wile I wait for the nausea to lessen I try focusing on my breathing to help me settle.
I can hear the other wizards moving about, probably to leave the portkey point to make it to their assignments, I had been informed that I was the only new person to be added to the team this month.
"No' a fan o' travlin by porkey, are ya lass?" a deep voice asks of me with a steep accent.
I blinked as I look around to find the owner of the voice. An slightly older man stands not too far from me.
"No I'm not the biggest fan. Never seems to agree with the stomach."
I respond The man gives a huff, and then tips his hat to me.
"the name is Ian Mcdowl lass. don't ya seem to be a wee bit young to travel all this way on ya own aren't ya lass?"
"I'm twenty five years old so I would hope I am old enough to go out on my own by now don't you think?"
I try to keep the sharpness out of my voice. It is sadly an often occurring statement people make.
They don’t agree with a woman traveling on her own especially not an unmarried one.
Lots of Hogwash if you ask me. Luckily for me the goblins don't care about these social rules when dealing with wixen kind which serves me fine.
"Well com alon than lass, I will show ya ya room."
He starts leading me toward where I belief my room to be wile muttering under his breath about something I cant hear.
"Thank u mister Mcdo"
"Non o' that nonsn's the name is Ian lass, Im no mister."
"Thank u thank Ian."
I offer in response. He gives me a huff and leads me through a door onto the ...street?
At my surprise Ian lets out another huff.
"To many peopl' busy with the tomb lass, had to liv' som'ere."
As I look around I realize this project was a lot bigger than I had believed it to be.
Because right now Cassandra appeared to be standing in not a tent camp in the middle of the Egyptian dessert.
But what appeared to be a small village that seemingly emerged from the sandy flanks of empty dunes around them.
As I take in my surroundings I try to keep up with Ian's large strides as he continues his way.
After a brisk ten minute walk we arrive at a cabin of sorts.
It is just outside of the village the building still in sight while far away enough to have some privacy, with the front door facing towards the dessert instead the settlements behind the building.
"ya will be shar'n with an curs'breaker or somthin. He's from En'land to so we figured the two of you w'uldn't mind. He is probly abou' here somewhere, ya will meet im soon 'nough. See ya about lass."
Ian gives an parting wave with his fingers and quickly strides away.
Leaving me alone with the silent cabin. I look at the cabin uncertain I don't particularly like the sharing my space but then again I have my briefcase and would probably spend most of my time by the tomb anyway.
I take a few deep breaths draw my wand and make my way in.
The inside of the cabin is sparkly decorated there is a uncomfortable looking couch facing the small fireplace.
A small square table pressed into a corner leaving only two chairs available next to a small kitchen.
A thin but long desk on the other side of the room with two chairs next to each other.
The desk was completely covered with books papers and trinkets witch she found to have created a messy pile that threatened to spill onto the floors.
A door in the left corner led her into a hallway, going parallel with the other room, with two doors.
The first door seemed to be locked, likely being her roommates, Cassandra thought to herself. As she opened the last door she found a cramped but clean room inside.
A single bed pressed to the far wall a small bedside table that would fit nothing more than her wand and maybe a glass of water.
To her left was a door that revealed an small bathroom with a shower, bath, toilet and bassinet.
She snorted at the strange addition of the bath especially as the rest of the cabin seems so sparsely furnished.
Turning back she made her way back into her new room. Cassandra took out the shrunken suitcase form her pocket and taped it to turn it back into its natural size.
With that she place it behind the bed in a dark corner.
She then raises her wand to create several simple but effective and strong ward around her room.
Happy with the results she turns her heel and starts to make her way back to the village.
"Time to find out what is going on with that tomb I guess."