Tʜᴇ Dᴀʀᴋ Lᴏʀᴅ's Aɴɢᴇʟ | Tom Riddle √

30: A Hidden Headquarters

"What are you reading, Cassie? Seems like it's interesting," Ron remarked, diverting Cassiopeia's attention from the book she was engrossed in. Hermione and Ron had invited her to join them. She acknowledged hesitantly and now found herself sitting on the bed with them, reading the book that Kreacher had obtained for her. They were engaged in a discussion, but Cassiopeia couldn't hear them as she was deeply immersed in her book.

"Yeah, kind of," Cassiopeia replied. "It's a muggle book; I don't think you guys will find it interesting."

"What's that?" Hermione, who was seated next to her, flipped the book over to read the title. "Same Soul, Many Bodies. Is it something about life after death?"

"Yeah, sort of. It's about reincarnation," Cassiopeia stated, her voice filled with curiosity as she tried to find her place in the book.

"Do you believe in those?" Ron questioned skeptically. Cassiopeia closed the book, realizing that she wouldn't be able to read it further with their conversation. She wasn't annoyed but suddenly felt a little uncomfortable being so close to these people.

"Actually, I don't. But I was curious about this, so I talked with Professor Binns. He also has no belief in them, but we discussed the concept, which led me to do my own interesting research," Cassiopeia explained confidently, not wanting to reveal that she was lying.

"You're a bit of a bookworm like Hermione?" Ron shook his head in mild disappointment.

"Sort of, but I'm really interested in muggle literature," Cassiopeia chuckled.

"Seriously?" Hermione's mouth formed an 'O' of surprise. "That's highly unexpected."

"Why?" Cassiopeia looked at her with amusement at the way Hermione had phrased it.

"When you're in an insane pure-blood manor, how could you show interest in those things, especially muggle things?" Hermione's hands gestured as she made her point very seriously.

"I have my ways, guys. There's a house-elf I can trust. He always provided me with enough books, which I used to hide under the bed. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring them here," Cassiopeia sighed, remembering how she had ended up here without a clear plan.

"Who's your favorite author?" Hermione's interest was piqued.

"I like Shakespeare the most, and apart from him, Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy," Cassiopeia explained as she set the book on the nightstand.

"Guys, we're straying from the conversation. What will happen to Harry? Can't we get him back to Hogwarts?" Ron interjected, nearly leaving Cassiopeia dumbfounded.

"What happened to him? Is he okay?" Cassiopeia asked, curious and clueless about what Ron was talking about.

"Did you really not hear what we were talking about for the past few minutes?" Ron's brows furrowed at her, and she shook her head. "Bloody hell, were you really that absorbed in the book?"

"Ron, be quiet," Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Harry has been expelled from Hogwarts."

"What? How? Why?" Cassiopeia shot a barrage of questions.

"He used magic, the Patronus charm. He was attacked by Dementors," Ron answered, holding an envelope.

"Seriously?" Cassiopeia gulped, recalling how she and Draco had used magic to break into Abraxas's room.

Suddenly, she sensed someone's presence near the closed doorway, which had been shut just moments ago. Before she could even turn to get a clear view of the person, Hermione had thrown herself at him. Harry stumbled back, taken by surprise at Hermione's sudden reaction, but he didn't forget to hug her back.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione exclaimed upon seeing her best friend. Ron and Cassiopeia quickly stood up from their spots and walked over to them, observing Harry, who was breathing a bit faster. Before he could say a word, Hermione started speaking rapidly.

"Are you alright? We overheard them talking about the Dementor attack. You must tell us everything," Hermione insisted, her curiosity getting the best of her. Harry nodded, still trying to process his friends' sudden reaction.

"Let the man breathe, Hermione," Ron chimed in, glancing at her in amusement. Cassiopeia couldn't help but chuckle at Ron's comment.

"Hey, I hope you're alright," Cassiopeia embraced him warmly, a friendly smile on her face. Harry said nothing but nodded as she pulled away. Cassiopeia noticed that his heartbeat wasn't normal. Hermione, however, continued her relentless questioning.

"And this hearing at the Ministry. It's just outrageous. I've looked it up. They can't simply expel you," Hermione babbled, ignoring Harry's need for a moment to collect himself.

"Yeah," Harry replied quietly, his voice tinged with bitterness. "There's a lot of that going around at the moment."

Harry entered the room, scanning his surroundings. "So, what is this place?"

"It's headquarters," Ron explained, while Cassiopeia remained seated on the bed, observing Harry as he explored the room.

"Of the Order of the Phoenix," Hermione added. "It's a secret society. Dumbledore formed it back when they fought You-Know-Who."

"Couldn't have put any of this in a letter, I suppose?" Harry lamented, his frustration growing. Ron and Hermione exchanged concerned glances. Cassiopeia, meanwhile, was caught in the whirlwind of information and the tension in the room, still pondering her mission to return Voldemort to his former self.

"We wanted to write, mate," Ron said nervously. "Really, we did. Only—"

"Only what?" Harry interrupted Ron, and Hermione chimed in.

"Only Dumbledore made us swear not to tell you anything."

A tense silence hung in the room as all three friends stared at each other. Harry's frustration continued to mount as he demanded answers.

"I think you should calm down, Harry," Cassiopeia suggested, sensing the thick tension in the air. Harry appeared deeply upset and angry about being kept in the dark. "Just breathe first."

"No, Cassie, I need to know," Harry said, his voice filled with disappointment. "Why would he keep me in the dark? Maybe I could help. I'm the one who saw Voldemort return, I'm the one who fought him, who saw Cedric Diggory get killed—"

"Harry," George's voice interrupted as he and his twin, Fred, appeared behind Harry. Their sudden appearance startled everyone in the room.

"Thought we heard your dulcet tone," Fred added, making Harry turn around to face them.

"Don't bottle it up, though. Let it out," George advised, echoing his twin's sentiments.

As the twins continued to speak, Cassiopeia felt her own mission tugging at her focus. She wasn't interested in hearing the conversation; she needed to work on her mission to bring Tom Riddle back. She knew that every second was precious, and it wouldn't take long for Voldemort to cast the deadly Avada Kedavra curse.

"You alright, Cassie?" Ginny asked asshe joined them. Cassiopeia nodded and quickly retreated to her room, searchingfor something to secure the Horcruxes she intended to find.