The Clockwork Locket || SIRIUS BLACK

The Book

The rest of the holiday passed far too quickly for Cassie. The days at Potter Manor blurred together in a haze of Quidditch scrimmages between the boys (which she always readily refereed, as she much preferred the ground to a broomstick), hot cocoa and warm butterbeer in the mornings before the fireplace, and spending dinner at the table with the Potters, whom Cassie realized were perhaps the nicest people in the world, and now understood why Sirius was so fond of them.

However, after dinner, their carefree attitude was replaced by an air of seriousness as the five of them would all congregate in James's room once his parents had gone to bed, dressed in pajamas and surrounded by stacks of parchment and loose quills as they talked well into the morning.

The second day at Potter Manor, when their first meeting had taken place, Cassie and Sirius had decided to broach the subject of breaking into Carlisle's office once more to the others, which had been met with mixed emotions.

"I would like to point out that this was my idea first," James said immediately after they were done speaking.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Does that mean you're still in, Prongs?"

James gave him a wicked grin. "'Course, Pads. How could I ever pass up such a grand opportunity?"

Remus looked dubious.

"I dunno," he said slowly, rubbing his chin with his hand. "I still think we should tell Dumbledore."

"No!" Cassie said, too quickly, and she flushed when they all turned to stare at her. She hadn't forgotten You-Know-Who's warning; she knew she couldn't let them tell Dumbledore. It was too dangerous.

"Cassie, it's for the best," Remus said. She crossed her arms and looked away when she realized he was trying to use his reasonable voice with her, the one that always seemed to make her do what he said. "This is far too serious for us—we're just kids! Dumbledore will know what to do."

"No," she repeated, setting her jaw stubbornly. "Will gave the locket to me. I was the one who found out about Carlisle's maps. And I'm not a kid anymore!"

"I knew you were going to say something like that," Remus said, looking pained, "but this could be dangerous, Cassie. We have no idea what we're getting into! Carlisle could actually be a Death Eater, and if so—"

"Then I'm going to expose her to the world," she cut in. "Dumbledore was the one who hired her in the first place! How well would he take it if we suddenly accused her of being a Death Eater? He'd laugh us out of his office if he didn't expel us first!"

Remus still seemed upset, but he didn't immediately answer, scrubbing a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Can't we just compromise?" Peter spoke up for the first time since they'd sat down. They looked over at the small boy picking his hangnails anxiously, his watery blue eyes beseeching them. "Remus is right, but Cassie is, too. Let's just find a way to meet in the middle."

James nodded thoughtfully. "Wormtail has a point."

"Then how about we do this?" Sirius placed his hands on his knees, leaning forward intently as he spoke. "When we get back to school, we break into Carlisle's office." Remus opened his mouth to protest, but Sirius gave him a sharp look. The other boy huffed, propping his back against James's bed. "If we don't find anything, then nothing happens, end of story. But if we find something dodgy, then we all agree to go to Dumbledore, yeah?"

Cassie kept her arms crossed, adamant in her decision to not get the Headmaster involved, but when she saw Remus nodding reluctantly, she threw up her hands in surrender. "Yes, fine, whatever! Now, can we move on to the actual breaking-in part?"