chosen - harry potter

Chapter 11 - Be There

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

The day before everyone was to return to Hogwarts, Sirius pulled Cassia aside.

"Cassia, I wanted to apologize to you for how I reacted the other day," Sirius nodded, looking sincere. "I was...caught up in the moment. I shouldn't have come after you."

"It's alright, Sirius. I knew you were angry," Cassia said calmly.

"But that is no excuse for me to come after you. I just wanted to apologize before you went back to school. You're the reason I'm not in Azkaban or having to hide out, and I owe you more than getting angry at you. And...you're important to Harry, so you're important to me as well."

"Thank you, Sirius," Cassia said, her face breaking into a grin. "My mum talked to you, didn't she?"

"Yelled at me for twenty minutes," Sirius smiled. "But I mean everything I said."

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

The return to Hogwarts was as normal as it could be. D.A. members were continually asking both Harry and Cassia when the next meeting would be, but they didn't have a clear answer due to his Occlumency lessons. He told everyone that he had to take Remedial Potions, seeming to deeply dread the upcoming lesson.

When he returned to the Common Room from his first lesson, his face was white, with his scar standing out more than usual. 

"Are you alright, Harry?" Cassia said as he sat down.

"Yeah...fine...I dunno," Harry said impatiently, wincing. "Listen...I've just realized something. Whatever Voldemort's after is in the Ministry. I saw it when Snape was going through my head. I saw the dream again."

"So, the thing You-Know-Who is after is in the Ministry of Magic?" Ron asked, whispering.

"In the Department of Mysteries, it's got to be. I saw that door when your dad took me down to the courtrooms for my hearing and it's definitely the same one he was guarding when the snake bit him. What's in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked, looking between Ron and Cassia.

"My mum's told me the people who work there are called 'Unspeakables'. No one really knows what they do in there," Cassia said.

"I'll bet it's something top secret that the Ministry is developing," Hermione said. "Harry, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah...fine..." he said, his hands trembling. "I just feel a bit...I don't like Occlumency much..."

"It's awful the first few times," Cassia smiled sympathetically. "But it gets better the more you do it."

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

The quartet sat at breakfast, Cassia still trying to wake up as she sipped a glass of orange juice. Hermione let out a small yelp behind her Daily Prophet, spreading the newspaper on the table. On it, there were photos of ten wizards and two witches, each captioned with the names of people who had been sent to Azkaban. Cassia's eyes darted over the photos, reading the captions quickly. Her face twisted nervously as she saw the two names she had been hoping weren't there. Winona and Damian Blair.

Winona's face in her mugshot was battered, her eyes swollen and her curly hair matted on the side of her head. Damian looked rather bored. Cassia looked at the headline.

Mass Breakout from Azkaban
Ministry Fears Black, 
Who has Been Arrested,
 Is "Rallying Point" For Past Death Eaters

"What?" Harry said angrily. "Sirius has been arrested? Why do they think he's rallying for Death Eaters when he's been cleared?"