Tʜᴇ Dᴀʀᴋ Lᴏʀᴅ's Aɴɢᴇʟ | Tom Riddle √

113: A Midnight Meeting with Harry

Cassiopeia Black sat at her desk, rereading the letter she had just penned. The room was dimly lit, and the only sound was the faint scratching of her quill. The letter was addressed to Kreacher, and she needed his help urgently.

Kreacher,

I hope you are doing well at Little Hangleton. I need your help, Kreacher. Can you visit me as soon as you get this letter, please?

Miss. Arctula."

She carefully folded the letter and sent it through Zeus, her faithful owl. The urgency in her heart was palpable. She needed to know what was hidden in the fake locket, what her father had truly written.

A week had passed since she was discharged from the hospital wing, and her nights had been tormented by restless sleep. The voices of her parents haunted her dreams, questioning how she could love their murderer. Cassiopeia tried to explain herself in her dreams, but the truth was far from simple.

Tonight, she found herself unable to sleep once more, so she wandered through the dark and empty corridors of Hogwarts. The winter night was cold, and she wrapped Tom's white shirt around her, wearing only her jeans and no shoes. The biting cold against her bare feet seemed to momentarily distract her from the emotional pain that gnawed at her.

With bare feet, she ventured to the Black Lake, shivering as the winter breeze washed over her. The water lapped at her feet, and she took a deep breath before wading in until it reached her chest. The sensation of cold water against her skin was a kind of release, a respite from the turmoil in her mind.

As she stood in the water, eyes closed, she felt a strange calm wash over her. The cold was penetrating, and the thin material of Tom's shirt clung to her, intensifying the sensation. For a brief moment, it felt like a relief, a way to escape from her inner turmoil. She had traded emotional pain for physical discomfort, and at that moment, it seemed like a fair trade.

However, her solitary moment of respite was broken by a surprised voice calling her name.

"Cassie?"

Startled, Cassiopeia opened her eyes and turned to see a familiar figure in a Gryffindor robe and scarf. It was Harry Potter.

"What are you doing here?" Harry approached her, extending his hand. "Come out, it's freezing, silly."

Cassiopeia hesitated but eventually accepted his hand, allowing him to help her out of the water. The cold wind hit her wet body, making her shiver even more.

Cassiopeia sneezed, almost startling the boy in front of her.

"Sorry," she bit her bottom lip before another one or two sneezes left her.

"Uhm, Cassie... uhmm," Harry looked away nervously. "Uhhh, yo—y ur clothes..errr—mm—er ...they are see-through."

Eyes widened, Cassiopeia looked down and saw her black lace bra almost visible through the wet white shirt. Quickly, she took her wand from her jean pocket and charmed herself dry.

"I—I'm s-sorry," she was embarrassed by the unexpected situation. "I—I should go."

"Y—yeah, I'm too," Harry said as they both avoided eye contact, heading out of the rain.

But before leaving, they both accidentally bumped their foreheads clumsily. Cassiopeia winced as Harry did the same. She cleared her throat, attempting to ease the awkward moment.

"I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable," she pressed her lips together and finally looked at the boy, who was still rubbing his forehead. "Harry...!"

"I'm sorry, I—I didn't know how to tell that either," he stuttered, looking at her. Cassiopeia smiled as he quickly reciprocated it. "What are you doing here?"