Chapter Text
Cassandra stirred awake to the sound of Sebastian and Ominis arguing nearby. Every muscle in her body ached, and her eyelids were too heavy to open.
“I didn’t have time to come and find you!” Sebastian cried. “I read the note and then-”
“Don’t lie to me!” Ominis retorted. “You knew I was in the common room!”
The sheets were soft beneath her and a fire crackled somewhere close by. Not the infirmary then.
“And she didn’t say a word to me when I saw her in the Undercroft! She only left you a note! You two were obviously planning to go without me, and I want to know why!”
She blinked open her eyes and lifted her neck, craning it as she took in her surroundings. The Room of Requirement?
“Ominis, that’s not-”
She pushed herself onto her elbows with a groan. Why am I here?
Their heads turned towards her at the sound. Sebastian’s eyes widened, and his lips parted. His shoulders dropped for a moment. He stepped towards her in a few large strides, a crease forming between his eyebrows.
“What were you thinking? ” Sebastian growled, crossing his arms. “We were supposed to go together.”
“Yes, together. As in the three of us,” Ominis said, coming to stand on the other side of her bed.
Cassandra brought a hand to her forehead as she struggled to remember. What were they supposed to do?
Nerida. Letters. Rookwood laughing. Pain. Green light. A pit carved its way into her chest. Ice flowed through her veins until she was nothing but a hollow shell.
“Cass!” She looked up to see Sebastian’s blazing eyes. She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him and furrowed her brow. He didn't quite seem real… Was she dreaming? “You could have gotten yourself killed!”
“I had to go,” Cassandra murmured. Cool air flowed over her skin. “Rookwood sent another owl. He was going to go after Anne-” Sebastian’s face darkened and he exhaled slowly. “It’s like when Ominis had to help with the basilisk. I had to-”
“That’s not the same!” Sebastian said.
She dropped her gaze to the sheets in front of her, watching the fabric shift from green to black and back again.
“Oh, really? How so?” Ominis asked.
What happened to Professor Fig’s body? She grabbed at the ever-changing blankets.
“She’s my sister! Anything to do with her, I need to be involved!” His Oxfords echoed against the stone floor. “Just… stay here. I have to go.”
There was a pile of ash… Cassandra wrapped the covers around her shoulders, leaning into the warm embrace.
“Sebastian, hold on!” Ominis cried. Their voices grew distant, until the only sound she heard was the ringing in her ears. She lifted her head and looked around the blurry room.
Sebastian moved as quickly as he dared. The moonlight that streamed through the glass windows was his only source of light – he didn’t risk using Lumos, not now.
“Sebastian!” Ominis hissed behind him as he followed. “Hold on, we can’t just-”
“I can’t let them take her,” Sebastian whispered back.
His heart thumped as he stopped in front of the one-eyed witch.
“Dissendium.” He squeezed into the passage.
Ominis followed in his wake, and let out jagged breaths as the walls came close to touching his shoulders.
Once they passed off the school grounds, Sebastian reached back a hand. “I’m going to take your wrist now and apparate us directly to Feldcroft,” he warned.
Ominis gave his quiet assent and allowed Sebastian to take hold of him. He turned on the spot. A crack tore through the quiet, dark hamlet seconds later and signalled their arrival.
Sebastian squinted, trying to see through the falling snow. A bright light shone through a window straight ahead, held up by a shadowed figure. They both disappeared behind the wall.
He and Ominis pulled out their wands. They lifted their feet and the snow crunched beneath their Oxfords. The cold wind bit Sebastian’s exposed hands and face.
The door creaked open and the dark figure emerged, walking towards them. Sebastian’s racing heart slowed as Solomon’s features came into view.
“Anne. Is Anne alri-” A sting slashed across Sebastian’s face and whipped his head to the side.
He lifted a hand to his wet cheek and looked back up at Solomon, whose chest heaved as he glared down at him and Ominis.
“What have you done?” Solomon growled. “Victor Rookwood, showing up in the middle of the night to take your sister, because of you!”
“Anne!” Sebastian’s stomach plummeted. “No… no, she’s not-”
“She’s fine. He was injured enough that I could chase him off myself… But you. You provoked him. You made him come after her!”
“Mr. Sallow, please,” Ominis attempted to intervene. “That’s not-”
“He said he was here because you’d killed two of his lieutenants,” Solomon continued. Ominis stiffened beside him. “And he was here to ‘repay the favour.’”
“That’s not-”
“I don’t care what the truth is, boy! By provoking Victor Rookwood’s ire, you’ve put Anne in danger!” Solomon spat. “We’re leaving. And you… just stay away from her. From all of us.”
Sebastian’s mouth fell open, and all the air evaporated from his lungs.
“You… you can’t…you can’t banish me from my own home! From my twin!”
“Get out of here, boy,” Solomon grunted. He turned and stomped back towards the house.
“No, I won’t let you!” Sebastian took a few steps forward.
“Depulso!” Sebastian flew backwards, crashing into Ominis as they met the cold ground.
“I won’t say it again,” Solomon warned. Sebastian rose as the door closed behind him, followed by the distinct click of the Locking Charm.
Sebastian waded through the half-foot of snow to the door. “Alohamora!” But he knew it wouldn't work. He knew he'd just been- “No… no, he can’t just…”
“Sebastian,” Ominis whispered. “Maybe we should head back… I’m sure Solomon will come to his senses. He’ll tell you where they go.”
Sebastian sighed and let go of the handle. He doubted that. But Anne… she’d find a way to get word to him. She wouldn’t let this stand.
He turned towards Ominis. “I’ll take your sleeve to get us back.”
“Let me heal that first.” He lifted his wand towards Sebastian’s warm, wet cheek. He muttered an incantation, and a light tickle ran over his skin as the cut flesh knit itself back together.
“Thank you.”
Ominis lowered his wand and gave a small nod.
“Alright… I’m taking your sleeve now.” Sebastian reached out and took hold of the loose, black fabric. He turned on the spot and within seconds the two of them stood in the narrow passage just outside Honeydukes’ cellar.
“Did you kill them?”
Sebastian considered his words with care. “I rescued Cass.”
Ominis inhaled sharply.
“I did what I had to do,” Sebastian said. His shoulders almost pressed against the tight walls as they moved towards the safety of the school.
“I know…I just… I’m sorry that you had no choice. It can’t have been easy.”
It was. But of course, Sebastian could never admit that. Never admit to the pure, unbridled rage that had taken him over upon hearing her agonised screams.
He could never tell Ominis that where he should feel remorse for those cretins, there was only a hollow space. Even if he could have saved her without taking their lives, he’d have done it anyway.
He could have lost her tonight. He could have lost both of them. His chest seized up at the thought. But Cassandra and Anne were safe. For now.
“I’m tired,” Sebastian sighed. “Let’s just get back to the Room of Requirement…”
Their footsteps echoed as they shuffled along the narrow corridor and they spoke no more until they reached the secret space.
Sebastian looked towards the bed. He relaxed at the sight of Cassandra’s sleeping form. She lay burrowed beneath the covers. Relieved though he was to see that she was still there, he could hardly go to bed now.
“I… I need to stay the night,” he said, stifling a yawn. “I have to make sure she doesn’t leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I don’t trust either of you not to-” Ominis yawned in turn, “-run off again.”
Sebastian rubbed his hands over his face and slumped into the ivory sofa before the fireplace. “Fine.” He peeked over his shoulder to look at Cassandra, curled onto her side.
The seat beside him sank and Ominis turned to look at him. “Why didn’t you two want me coming along?”
Sebastian hesitated a moment as he searched for the right words. He took a deep breath. “It’s not that we didn’t want-”
“Stop.” Ominis raised a hand and shook his head. “Just… stop lying to me, Sebastian. All I can think is that you two were planning to go after that damned relic. To use it against Rookwood…”
Sebastian swallowed. If we’d known how to use it… “No, Ominis. We weren’t going to do that.”
“Then why, Sebastian?” His voice took on a pleading note. “You can’t stand the idea of her going without you… yet you leave me behind?”
“Rookwood was using the Cruciatus Curse on Professor Fig. We knew there was a risk the curse would be used against Cass or I, too, and… we thought that might be… difficult for you. It was for your own good.”
Ominis chewed his cheek. “I’ll decide what’s for my own good, thank you.”
The two fell silent as they stared into the fire, the tension between them not quite dissipated. But Sebastian knew that Ominis was mollified by the excuse. A few minutes passed, though it felt longer. Sebastian twisted his head back to look at Cassandra, his eyelids heavy as he blinked.
As he turned back towards the mantel, he saw that Ominis’s head was slumped over onto the sofa's arm. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm Sebastian knew too well.
Sebastian yawned and shook his head as he fought back the waves of sleep threatening to overtake him. His head bobbed against his chest, before snapping back up.
He was never going to stay awake at this rate. He stood and paced the room, rubbing his eyes. He stumbled as he fought the urge. He couldn’t rest. He had to stay awake, he had to make sure she didn’t leave when she woke up. He needed-
The bed doubled in size, sheets expanding outwards, and a second pillow appeared. He silently thanked the room for its intervention. He needed to sleep. But he also needed to keep an eye on Cassandra. This could allow him to do both at once.
He approached the bed, shucking off his robes and letting them fall to the floor, then unbuttoned his jacket and tossed it on top. He pulled back the covers on his side, and sat on the edge of the bed, kicking off his Oxfords. He pulled his tie loose and threw it onto his pile of clothes.
The bed creaked as he lay back and brought the covers up over himself. He turned on his side and moved towards Cassandra. He tucked an arm underneath her and pulled her against him until her back met his chest. She moaned, lifting her head and turning it to look back at him through half open eyes.
“‘bastian?” she slurred. “Is Anne…”
“Anne’s fine,” he murmured. Now wasn’t the time. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
She dropped her head back to the pillow with a sigh.
He wrapped his arms tight around her and buried his face into her messy blonde plait. She wouldn’t be able to leave now. Not without him knowing. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The smell of her lavender pomade soothed him as he drifted off.
Sebastian woke to Ominis’s annoyed sigh and opened his eyes to see the back of Cassandra’s head. Her soft breath tickled his forearm. He lifted his head a few inches off the pillow to find Ominis at the foot of the bed, his wand pointed towards them, his other hand pinching the bridge of his nose.
“When I woke up and you weren’t on the sofa… but of course.” He removed his hand from his face and lowered his wand.
Sebastian slowly pulled away from Cassandra. She let out a small whine and twitched as he sat up. “It’s not what it looks like, we’re not-”
Cassandra’s legs thrashed under the covers, kicking Sebastian as she gasped and bolted upright in bed. She stared around the room, eyes wild.
“Hey, hey, it’s fine, you’re fine,” he said, pulling her towards him. She huddled up against his chest, trembling as he put an arm around her. She remained there for a few moments, before her head hit the inside of Sebastian’s elbow as she tore away.
She looked down at the shared bed and back up at him. A crimson flush crept up her cheeks.
“Sebastian, what are you-”
“I had to make sure you weren’t going to leave again.” He crossed his arms as he looked at her, heat crawling up his neck. “The Room thought this was the easiest way.”
“The Room thought…” Ominis muttered under his breath as he pivoted away from the pair, footsteps echoing across the hard floor.
Sebastian turned away and got out of bed. He bent to the floor to pick up his discarded clothing. “And we’re still going to talk about last night,” he growled, pulling his tie around his neck. “But for now we should get to Arithmancy.”
He spun back towards the bed as he pulled his jacket back on, hands clasped over the top button. “I don’t fancy another smacking if we’re- Cass?” She hadn’t gotten up. She was staring at the covers, lip quivering.
“There’s… there’s nothing to…” She began to hyperventilate and tears poured down her cheeks. “B-b-bury…” She covered her face with her hands and let out an agonised cry.
Sebastian sat back on the bed and pulled her towards him, cradling her against his chest. From the corner of his eye he saw Ominis approach.
“A-a-ashes… They… they…” Cassandra sobbed. Sebastian furrowed his brow. Ashes? What did she mean? The pile that was in the corner? Sebastian’s stomach sank as he realised.
“They k-kill-killed him… Soon as I… g-g-ot there,” she wailed. He tightened his arms around her. He turned his head at the small thunk to see Ominis sitting in a newly appeared armchair by the side of the bed, his face pale and his mouth hanging open. He was as lost for words as Sebastian was.
They’d all known it was a possibility – even a probability, that Rookwood would kill Professor Fig. But fools that they were, they’d nonetheless held onto the hope that they could have saved him.
He couldn’t leave her. Not like this. Sebastian wasn’t accustomed to missing classes, but some things were more important than the magical properties of numbers. He could ask Amit or someone else for their notes. He’d risk the punishment for truancy.
Sebastian held her as she cried for what felt like hours, Ominis remaining stunned into silence all the while. But her tears soon dried as exhaustion overcame her and she drifted into sleep.
Cassandra’s head pounded. Her stomach growled and her throat was parched as she opened her eyes to see the white sheets in front of her. She pulled the covers off and wiped the stray hairs from her face.
She turned over. She was alone again. She blinked as she peered over to the other side. There was now a small, wooden bedside table there. Upon it sat a jug of water, a glass, a piece of parchment, and a chocolate skeleton.
She picked up the note, flipping it open to see Sebastian’s messy scrawl, bidding her to rest and promising they would talk later.
She folded the parchment and drank some water. She placed the empty glass down and took the chocolate. She bit into the side of it, moaning in pleasure. She looked back down at it, prepared to take another bite and paused. It was missing an arm now. Her chewing slowed as images flashed through her mind.
Professor Fig’s face, his mouth forming silent words she couldn’t hear as fire ran through her body and she tried in vain not to scream. To not let him see her like that, hunched over on the floor in excruciating pain. The green light hitting his chest. The life leaving his eyes. His head slumping forward, his final moments forever etched into his face, before they’d reduced him to ash.
She struggled for air and shakily returned the remaining skeleton to its drawer, tears pooling in her eyes as she recalled their last conversation. His concerns.
(“The girl I saw standing before the Keepers was angry and reckless.”)
And she’d run straight into Rookwood’s trap. Thinking she was strong enough. Thinking her power alone would be sufficient.
(“They’re concerned. And I can’t say I disagree with them.”)
If she hadn’t flouted the Keepers rules, if she’d just done what she was supposed to do, maybe she would have finished their trials. Maybe she would have been stronger. Maybe she could have saved him.
She needed to talk to the Keepers. To tell them what happened. Maybe this would change things. Maybe they would let her continue. She had to try. This was the path Professor Fig wanted her to take. And maybe… maybe this was why they were so adamant about her doing it alone. Maybe the Keepers had always known.
Professor Rackham’s portrait turned in Cassandra’s direction as she walked into the Map Chamber. She approached the four, giant portraits.
She exhaled as the hollow space in her chest that had let her leave the Room of Requirement began to fill anew.
“You’re back,” Professor Rackham greeted cautiously. “We’ve been worried. Where is your mentor?”
Cassandra took a deep breath. “Professor Fig was murdered.” Her vision began to swim. She dropped her gaze to the floor. She would not do this. She would not cry in front of them.
“Victor Rookwood took him. He… he used him to lure me to his castle. He tortured him…” She choked back a sob and the lump in her throat grew. “I tried to save him. But I failed.”
“Miss Moore,” Professor Fitzgerald said, “you mustn't blame yourse-”
“But it is my fault!” Cassandra cried, lifting her head. “I tried to use Ancient magic to stop Rookwood and his Ashwinders, and it wasn’t enough! I wasn’t strong enough!” She tried to catch her breath as the room came in and out of focus.
“That doesn’t mean you aren’t strong enough,” Professor Fitzgerald continued. “Even the most powerful witch, when outnumbered, cannot possibly-”
“I passed out! ” Cassandra interjected, pacing back and forth as she grabbed at her hair. “It drains me every time I use it. If Sebastian hadn’t…”
Rookwood sneered and aimed his wand at Sebastian’s back. “Avada-”
She clutched her chest as she sank to the floor at the memory. She could barely handle losing Professor Fig. She’d never survive losing him.
“I need to be stronger,” Cassandra pleaded, sniffling as she stared up into Professor Rackham’s face. “I can’t defeat Ranrok otherwise.” She had to be able to do this alone. She couldn’t risk losing anyone else.
Professor Fitzgerald took a deep breath. “Given the circumstances, I believe we have no choice but to proceed.”
“Niamh, you can’t be serious!” Professor Bakar protested. “Listen to her talk about strength, about power! That’s all she’s interested in. How do we even know she’s telling the truth about Professor Fig? We cannot afford to risk-”
“We cannot afford to risk this knowledge falling into Ranrok’s hands,” the stout wizard in the fourth portrait finished for him.
“And while I do not know much about our young friend here, what I do know is that in all those days that I heard my descendant-” Cassandra’s eyes widened, looking up at him as he spat the word, “-torturing that poor man, he never spoke one word against her. He had faith in her. I will trust his judgement.”
Cassandra closed her eyes. His faith was misplaced. But I’ll do better. I will. She took a breath and held it for a beat.
“And as the trial is mine,” Professor Fitzgerald said, “I have the ultimate authority on the matter. And I have decided that it is best if Miss Moore proceeds.”
Cassandra opened her eyes, looking back up at the portraits.
“Then I suppose she shall,” Professor Rackham said dryly.
“Fortunately, the location is relatively close by,” Professor Fitzgerald continued. “But… you’ll need to access the Headmaster’s office.” She sighed. “I had hoped that when the time came, the occupant would be of help to us. Unfortunately, the man is wildly unconcerned with anything but himself. I would suggest entering this afternoon. Professor Black’s left the castle to speak with the Minister of Magic about… about the recent security concerns.”
“Alright…” Cassandra wiped at her tears with her sleeves as her breathing returned to normal. A peaceful numbness spread through her. “What should I be expecting?”
“I’ll explain more when I see you in his office.”
Cassandra rose off the floor and shuffled out of the Map Chamber. If she didn’t know what she was facing, she would have to prepare as she normally did. She patted her pocket. She could brew a few more potions in the Room of Requirement and then head to his office. Luckily, she still remembered the password.
Cassandra stepped into the Headmaster’s office. The buzzing of portraits talking to one another filled her ears.
“What are you doing here?” a portrait asked, startled as he noticed her. Cassandra spun to see a wizard with long, flowing hair and a goatee looking back at her. “Professor Black didn’t say anything about granting a student access to his chambers.”
“I- I’m…” She searched around for an excuse. “I’m here to drop something off for him,” she finished lamely.
“Really? I’m surprised he would ask for a student to deliver it. Usually it’s Professor Sharp who comes in when he needs something brewed.”
“Er, well, Professor Sharp was busy, so he sent me.”
“Well, on with it, then,” the portrait said, shifting within his frame. “Just drop the cure for boils on the desk and be on your way.”
She turned, hiding her snort behind a hand as she proceeded over to his desk. She rubbed at her face, trying not to smile.
She extracted an empty vial from her pocket, making sure the portraits could hear the clinking sound as she mimed placing it on the desk. She glanced behind her, and saw the portrait was now in a heated debate with another (“It absolutely was in 1624, you ignorant egg! I was there!”)
Cassandra tiptoed around, looking up at the portraits and hoping to spot Professor FitzGerald before another noticed her unauthorised entry.
“Over here,” Professor Fitzgerald called. Cassandra approached her frame. A few heads turned her way in curiosity before resuming their own conversations.
“Glad you made it,” Professor Fitzgerald said. “Before we proceed, I wanted to tell you how truly sorry I am about Professor Fig.”
Cassandra bowed her head as she stared at the floor.
“Climb the stairs behind the Headmaster’s desk. Up there, you will find a pedestal. Approach it, and read the book. We shall speak more when you are finished.”
Cassandra walked up to it, and a book appeared. She picked it up, looking at the old, brown tome. It had no title, and no author name on it, though it had a familiar looking rune symbol on the cover: a triangle with a circle and line in the middle. She frowned. Where had she seen it before?
She shrugged as she opened the book. She’d probably come across it in her syllabary.
The book began to float, shadows flowing out of it and all around her. She turned her head to look at them, and nearly yelped as she felt a tug behind her navel and was pulled into the book.
What the hell?!
She looked down at her hands, bewildered to see them in black and white, her surroundings very much the same. She reached into her pocket for her wand, and felt nothing.
She buried her head into her robes and found it empty - no potions, no wand. Nothing. Shit! How was she going to do… whatever it was she needed to do?
“Do not worry. You will encounter the tools you need,” Professor Fitzgerald’s voice purred. “You will bear witness to a fable. You must be cautious. In this place, death takes many forms. Avoid them at all costs.”
Cassandra looked up to see that thorny, bare trees had begun to appear around her. A bridge formed, leading into an old village from where she could hear sobbing. She crossed it, looking around at the villagers levitating corpses onto a cart.
She stopped, startled as a giant, hooded, skeletal figure took shape in the sky.
Death leaned his hands onto the houses. He looked down and raked his bony fingers across the ground. Villagers screamed as shadows swirled in the wake. Human-sized versions of Death formed from the black clouds and looked around at the inhabitants.
One of them turned towards a man who’d begun to run. The reaper swiped its hand through the air and an invisible blade cut through him, reducing the man to nothing but wisps of smoke in the air.
Cassandra ducked and hid behind a crate as the villagers' cries were cut short.
Crap. She had to hide… but how? How could she cross the village without Death seeing her? She didn’t have her wand to cast the Disillusionment Charm.
She peeked out from behind the crate and looked around. She swallowed as she saw the imposing figures search for further victims.
She nearly jumped as a piece of cloth fell from atop the crate, exposing another crate above it that she hadn’t seen before. Wait, how was that possible? She bent down, picking up the lightweight material and examined it. Could it be?
She put her hand inside the material and stifled a laugh as it disappeared before her. An invisibility cloak! Of course!
She wrapped it around herself and crouched low to the ground, ensuring that it covered her entirely before passing by the reapers, who were oblivious to her presence.
Cloaked with the ability to hide from Death, she quickly made her way through the village, stopping only when she found another platform.
The cloak disappeared, and Cassandra turned to see… nothing. The village around her vanished and she stood in the black and white abyss.
“One cannot always hide from Death,” Professor Fitzgerald’s voice echoed around her. “But it can at times be fought.”
Cassandra spun to see a long wand with multiple bumps along the wood appear before her, floating in mid-air.
“Wield the wand you see before you. Do not squander its extraordinary power.”
She smiled, taking the fabled object into her hand, and nearly gasped at the surge in power that ran up her arm.
The world came into being around her, and she found herself standing before a wall. She looked around. She was completely enclosed.
Cassandra pointed the wand at a weak looking section of the keep. “Bombarda!” A huge blast crumbled the wall, the spell far stronger than any she’d cast before.
She couldn’t stop grinning as she stepped over the rubble and made her way up the path. Shadows flew above her as she approached a castle. She passed through the gates into a large, crumbling courtyard.
A giant, skeletal arm rose from the edge and collapsed a series of columns. Death’s face came into view. He dragged his fingers across the stone, reapers and hounds forming from the shadows of his imprints.
Cassandra raised the wand. “Diffindo!” The blade cut through a reaper, and he evaporated into black smoke. She spun towards the growls and saw the dark hounds running towards her, their red eyes hungry.
“Depulso!” The dog was launched away and slammed into the side of a wall as Cassandra ducked, narrowly avoiding a reaper’s cut. She spun, slicing him into shadows before turning her attention to the others. One by one they easily fell to the sheer power of the eldest brother’s wand.
The giant, skeletal figure of Death looked at her, alone in the courtyard, undefeated. Death stepped away and vanished into nothingness.
She felt a sudden drain and looked down at her now empty hand. Her heart sank. She should have known it would disappear, but… God, if only she could have kept it. If only it were real. Rookwood wouldn’t have stood a chance. No one would.
She passed through an archway and descended a small, narrow corridor as she approached a third pedestal.
The world vanished around her once more, as a peculiar, eight-pointed object began to form in front of her. Was this supposed to be the stone? She reached out and took it. She turned it in her hand, examining it. Why did it look so familiar?
The stone had the same rune marking as the book. She must have seen the symbol before in her copy of Beedle the Bard as a child, then. And the stone… well, she didn’t know where she’d seen it before, but it hardly mattered.
She looked at it and felt a spark in her chest. It wouldn’t be real… but… She thought of Professor Fig. If she could only see him one more time, tell him she was sorry… But nothing happened.
“Although you may hide from Death, and you may fight him, he is inevitable,” Professor Fitzgerald’s voice echoed around her. “He comes for us all, in the end.”
Cassandra sighed. She bowed her head and walked through the cemetery, clutching the stone as she heard mourners grieve for their loved ones.
The giant, skeletal figure of Death appeared ahead, wrapping a bony hand around a mausoleum.
She stepped up towards it, and squinted, barely able to make out the name upon it below the skull carving.
Niamh FitzGerald
1423-1479
“You found me. Turn the stone in your hand three times as you think of me. Call me back to you.”
She closed her eyes, doing as instructed. “I am here.” The voice was in front of her.
She opened her eyes and saw the pale figure of Professor Fitzgerald before her. She was more opaque than a ghost, yet not quite alive. “You have conjured me. But you cannot undo what’s been done. The magic of the stone may only bring back a shadow of my former self.”
Professor Fitzgerald turned and began to walk behind the Mausoleum, speaking all the while. But Cassandra didn’t hear her as she followed, clutching the stone. She just had to turn it… turn it thrice and she could speak to Professor Fig.
“-Remember that, as you witness my memory.” Professor Fitzgerald stopped before a large statue atop a pensieve before vanishing into nothingness. A tear fell from her statue and fell into the basin below.
Cassandra turned away from the pensieve. She closed her eyes as she turned the stone in her hand, thinking of Professor Fig.
“It will not work here, my child,” Professor Fitzgerald’s voice called out in a quiet, gentle tone. “You cannot summon him.”
Cassandra opened her eyes, her lip quivering. Then why… Why even give this to me? It felt cruel. But of course, she wasn’t trying to be, Cassandra knew that. It was just a fable. The stone wasn’t real. It only worked on Professor Fitzgerald here because she’d designed the trial.
There was no bringing back Professor Fig. Not here… not anywhere. Cassandra could never speak to him again.
She wiped away her tears and turned back towards the pensieve. She had to continue. She had to do this without him. She gripped the sides and took a deep breath before lowering her head into the pool to watch Professor Fitzgerald’s memory.
Sebastian loosened his scarf as he and his classmates made their way back into the castle after an uneventful Beasts class. The castle floor hummed as the evaporation charm Mr. Moon had placed absorbed the snow that students tracked inside.
He spotted Ominis, leaned up against the staircase to the right, waiting for him.
“How was Transfiguration?” Sebastian asked as he approached. He pulled his gloves and scarf off and shoved them into his pocket.
“It was alright,” Ominis said as the two of them climbed the staircase. “Though far less eventful than your class yesterday.”
Sebastian chuffed a laugh at the memory of Leander's startled expression. As they made their way up towards the astronomy tower, they discussed their other classes and upcoming assignments, both avoiding the subject of Professor Fig.
Soon, they stood in front of the bare wall. Sebastian paced back and forth three times, focusing his intent on conjuring the Room. He turned his head at the familiar sound of the door appearing, and walked into the room with Ominis.
“Alright, Cass, we need to-” Sebastian stopped in his tracks. The double bed was empty. He spun, looking around the room while Ominis waved his wand around.
“I don’t sense her here…”
“She better not have-”
“She wouldn’t, not after what just happened.”
Sebastian turned and stomped from the room, Ominis in tow. “She’d better damn well be in the Undercroft…” Sebastian growled, descending the stairs two at a time.
Cassandra stepped back into the Map Chamber, unsure what to think. Isadora seemed to have good intentions, and she didn’t truly understand why the Keepers were so hesitant to explore her theory, especially since, as she’d already seen, it had worked on her father, who was grateful.
Why did they have to be so damn cryptic? What was she supposed to gain from these trials? She certainly wasn’t getting any more powerful. Although…
She looked up to the Portraits standing before her.
“Er… Professor FitzGerald, what I just saw… was Isadora inhaling painful emotions?”
“She was.”
“It seemed as though she gained some type of power from it. And that she could harness it. But I don’t understand how.”
“She seems more intrigued than repulsed, Niamh,” Professor Bakar interjected.
“I just don’t understand it,” she insisted. She couldn’t afford to lose them now. “I’m not sure what it all means, and I just want to-”
“She wants power,” Professor Bakar said. Fire kindled in Cassandra’s core. “We all heard her before. She hasn’t changed. She’s-”
“What the hell do you think Ranrok wants?” Cassandra spat, glaring at him. “What do you think Rookwood is after? He murdered Professor Fig because they’re after whatever power it is you’re all trying to protect, which you’re still refusing to tell me a damn thing about!”
“Stop, stop!” Professor FitzGerald interrupted as Professor Bakar opened his mouth to reply. “Miss Moore has a point.” Cassandra exhaled in relief. “She’s struggling to understand the responsibility thrust upon her, or the nature of her own power.”
She turned her focus back to Cassandra. “I do not know how she drew power from it, only that she did. But what she did… it had monstrous consequences. I know you do not understand yet. If Professor Rookwood is willing to proceed, you will soon know.”
Cassandra turned to look at the stout wizard. He pulled at the hem of his puffy sleeved shirt. “I believe we may. The next trial is located…” He hesitated. “It’s at my former residence. Rookwood castle.”
The floor seemed to sink underneath Cassandra's feet. “I… I barely made it out of there before… I don’t know if I can… I’m not strong enough.”
“Then the trial can wait until you are,” Professor Rookwood said. “Hone your magic. I will prepare the way when you are ready. Come and see us when you are.”
Cassandra deflated. She couldn’t go back there. Not now. It could be months before she was strong enough. If she ever was. Ranrok and Rookwood would win. Professor Fig’s death would be in vain.
But they weren’t the only ones with answers. She might not be able to speak to Isadora directly, but the Keepers didn’t know about her journals. Cassandra had read enough of them to know some of her experiments with trying to cure pain. Maybe the answers on how to take strength from it would be there too.
The Keepers wanted to keep her weak, ignorant. Isadora could lead her to power. To the strength she needed to stop Ranrok. To defeat Rookwood. To avenge Professor Fig.
She looked back up at the portrait and gave a nod before turning to leave the Map Chamber.
The metal gates opened, allowing Sebastian and Ominis to pass through. The candles in the Undercroft were already lit, illuminating Cassandra’s figure on the floor. She sat with her legs tucked underneath her, a book open on her lap.
A calm coursed through Sebastian as she lifted her head, and their eyes met briefly.
“Hi,” she mumbled.
“There you are,” Sebastian grumbled. He crossed his arms. “You weren’t in the Room. We’d thought you’d gone after Rookwood alone. Again.”
“No, no I know I’m not strong enough to face him right now.” She placed a marker in her book and put it aside. “Actually, I-”
“That’s not the point,” Sebastian interrupted as she rose from the floor. “He threatened Anne. I have to be involved when-”
“I know, I know, Sebastian. I just thought… I thought it couldn’t wait until you were out of detention, so I-”
“You should have come get me anyway!”
“And how was I going to get you out of detention without arousing suspicion?” She quirked an eyebrow. “Professor Weasley’s already keeping a close eye on us. I had no choice, I had to-”
“No choice?” Ominis interjected. “I was right there, Cass, and you said nothing. The two of you only pretended to include me while making your own plans. Risking your lives, leaving me out because you think I’m too delicate?”
“They need me, they’re not going to kill me.” She shifted her weight onto one leg, hand on her hip.
“No, they’ll just kill your mentor and torture you,” Sebastian spat. A wave of guilt ran through him as she winced. But the sound of her screams haunted his memory. “We do this together for a reason. We have each other’s backs so that that doesn’t happen.”
“It’s not going to happen again.” She stared at the floor. “None of it will. No one else is going to die.”
“Right,” Sebastian said. “Because you’re not going to run off alone anymore. You’re not leaving this blasted castle without me.”
“Or me,” Ominis added. “You two are going to stop excluding me. You swore not to keep things from me anymore.”
She lifted her eyes and glanced between the two of them. “Understood.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. He knew perfectly well what that meant. But had she meant it only for Ominis? She must have.
“Good,” Ominis said. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
“We do,” she said. “Now, I was going to tell you when you walked in… I went to the Keepers today, to tell them what…” Her gaze drifted to the floor as she took a breath. “Given what happened to Professor Fig, they agreed to let me proceed with the third trial.”
“Alright,” Sebastian said. “Where is it? We’ll need to plan carefully. Rookwood’s probably got the school and Hogsmeade surrounded by now.”
“It was in Hogwarts – the Headmaster’s office. I completed it this afternoon.” He gritted his teeth. She was only just telling them now, afterwards. He knew she had to do the trials alone, but-
“I was transported into a book to participate in a fable. It was…” She shook her head. “That’s not important. The point is the memory. I saw Isadora inhaling pain, she seemed to get some power from it. But when I asked…” She sighed. “They won’t tell me anything. We’re on our own again.”
Although Sebastian was glad she told them, he didn’t like learning about the trial after the fact. It was at Hogwarts, so she hadn’t left the school, but she’d still done this without them. Without him. He needed to be involved, not informed. He had to talk to Cassandra alone. To make sure they truly did understand one other.
Grace and Nerida sat by the common room windows looking out into the Black Lake. Nerida flipped over the tarot cards that Grace had chosen and began to analyse them.
“Hmmm, the Empress, but she’s upside down. That’s not good, it could mean that you’re-”
Students around them stopped talking. Grace and Nerida looked up to find Cassandra, Ominis, and Sebastian sitting down on a nearby sofa. All heads turned towards them.
Ominis held a hand over his face, resting his other arm across the sofa’s arm. Sebastian sat next to him, his legs stretched out in front of him as he slouched back into the seat, wearing a distant, concentrated expression. Cassandra sat on Sebastian’s other side. Her lips moved as she stared at her feet. She twisted her plait in her hand and muttered something to the two of them.
Grace turned her head at the sound of cards being shuffled to look back to Nerida. She picked up her cards, rising from her chair. “I need a bath.”
“Nerida, you can’t avoid her forever.”
Grace stood and reached out a hand. Nerida shook her head.
“I can’t, Grace. I just… I…” Tears filled her brown eyes and she lowered her head. “I can’t do this.” She pocketed the deck and rushed up the staircase.
Grace sighed and looked back over at the three for a moment. She had to know. She walked over and stopped in front of Cassandra. Her big, green eyes slid up from the floor to look at her.
“Hi,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.
“Cass,” Grace began as she slid into the small space beside her, bumping into her shoulders. “Is everything alright? Last night, you seemed so worried about something, and you never came up to bed. I thought you might be sick, but when I went to visit Nerida she said you’d never come into the infirmary either. I… I didn’t know what happened to you.”
Cassandra gave a forced smile. “I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about.”
She bristled. None of this was fine. “Can we talk? Please?”
Cassandra turned her head over and mumbled something to Sebastian. His dark eyes shadowed. He gave a nod and rose along with Ominis. The pair made their way over to a chess board and sat before it, though Sebastian kept his body angled towards the two of them. Ominis muttered to the chess pieces and a pawn moved forward.
Grace looked back at her. “I have to know, Cass. Why is Rookwood after you?”
“It’s better if you don’t know,” Cassandra said in a hollow voice.
Grace’s heart pinched. “I was there when his scouts attacked us. Nerida was there. Not knowing hasn’t done us any favours.” She hated the whine in her voice. But it wasn’t fair. She deserved the truth.
“I know.” Cassandra’s voice shook. “I can never make it up to Nerida… I can’t protect anyone from…” She turned her face away. Grace leaned forward and touched her shoulder as Sebastian shifted in his chair.
“I’m not asking you to protect me.” She tried to force Cassandra to look at her, but she wouldn’t. “I’m just asking you to talk to me.”
Cassandra turned her face towards her. Her lips parted. But before she said a word she stood and stared at the ceiling. Her long lashes blinked rapidly. “I can’t. Not about this.” She took a deep breath and twisted away as Grace rose. “I… tell Nerida I’m sorry, please. I know she doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore and… that’s probably for the best.”
A pit burrowed its way into Grace’s stomach. “I don’t want us to stop being friends,” she whispered.
Cassandra spun back to look at her, forcing a smile again through the tears that slid down her cheeks. “Of course we’re still friends.”
But it wasn't the way Grace wanted them to be. Cassandra had never confided in her. Not really. Not the way she did with those two. She would never be in her inner circle. Never be the one she snuck off with at all hours. The one she spent the holidays with. All she would ever be was Cassandra’s other friend. She supposed… it would have to be enough.
Grace gave a nod. “Good.”
Cassandra pulled out her wand and pointed it at Professor Fig’s office door. “Alohomora.” She pushed it open and saw a small, wrapped box on the desk. She looked back at Sebastian and Ominis.
“I need a minute alone to…” Her breath hitched. They both nodded and took a step back, granting her space.
She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She picked up the present and took a look at the tag. To Cassandra. Happy Christmas and New Year!
She blinked back the tears and pulled at the small, silver ribbon adorning the green box and took the lid off. Her hands shook as she reached inside and picked up a small, granite, mortar and pestle.
(“How are your classes coming along? Professor Sharp tells me he’s amazed by your prowess. I must say, I never thought I’d hear such high praise from the Potions Master!”
“Quite good, I think. I’m definitely enjoying Potions the most. But I do miss the granite mortar and pestle I used to work with at home. The ingredients get a bit stuck in the grooves in the wooden one. It’s just not as effective…”)
She clutched it to her chest as she sank to the floor. A sob escaped her. The door creaked open behind her and a pair of warm arms wrapped around her.
“I’m sorry, Cass. I’m so sorry,” Sebastian’s voice broke as he whispered in her ear.