Him - A Harry Potter Love Story

Chapter Fifty-Nine

We didn't have any way to know where our parents were.

Gregory told me that he had opened the box once when he first came here, and the parchment read their address. We both quickly realized that they were in trouble. If it wasn't safe for us to get to them, then it wasn't safe for them to be there at all; wherever that was.

So, I spent months sitting around in the house. Gregory hadn't left once since he came, and neither had I. I sometimes taught him magic, and he told me stories about our parents. I liked hearing how I was similar to them.

The baby was getting big; I was about five months pregnant now. I barely ever took my hands off of the bump, feeling like I needed to protect whatever was inside of me. Grandmother wanted to bring in a healer for me, so I could get an ultrasound, but Grandfather insisted that it would be too dangerous. It would be safer to go to a muggle doctor, in his opinion, because then, there wasn't a chance of me being recognized. However, they hadn't yet made any appointments. While part of me badly wanted to know the gender, I also wanted to wait. I wanted to find out with Harry, even if that meant I had to wait until I was giving birth.

Although, I really didn't mind having to wait for the actual birth. Grandmother gave me a book about pregnancy, and...well, I wasn't too thrilled about what was supposed to happen.

I looked at the parchment every day in hope of seeing what would get me to my parents. I wanted so badly to meet them, and I wouldn't care if it put me in danger. I had no idea what I would say to them, but one of the only things constantly running through my mind was seeing them for the first time.

Another thing running through my mind was Harry.

I was scared beyond belief of what he could be doing right now. I was terrified that I would never see him again; and what was haunting me more than anything, was the thought of him never knowing that he had a child. That my baby would grow up without a father. What this child would have if we both got to be there...it would be loved more than anything else on the planet.

Because my grandparents didn't want me to be walking around a lot, especially outside, Grandmother went out and got pants and shirts that would fit me better. I usually wore sweatpants and hoodies around the house, which really felt better than anything now. It was getting uncomfortable to wear much else, excluding the maternity outfits I had been given that looked like regular clothing.

The days seemed to pass dreadfully slowly. I never stopped looking at the paper. I needed to see it, I needed to be there if it changed.

Amelie had visited many times, but she had her own home to go back to. She had a husband and a child, a six year old. I couldn't meet her, though; it was too dangerous.

However, it was one day in February that changed everything.

The parchment finally didn't say the same words.

"Gregory!" I gasped, awkwardly walking as fast as I could into his room. My eyes were wide, my stomach twisted with fear, and my heart was nearly beating out of my chest. I shoved the paper into his hands, pointing frantically at the words.

Malfoy Manor. Say 'Voldemort.'

"Malfoy Manor?" he muttered.

"I know the family. They all work with You-Know-Who," I explained softly. "They have them."

"What does it mean by say-"

"Stop!" I exclaimed, making him flinch. "Sorry. I'm guessing that the word calls death eaters to us."

"Well...should we do it?" Gregory asked. I shook my head.

"Not we," I said quietly. His face immediately fell.

"Cassie, I-"

"It's not safe for you. You don't know magic, and if they know that you're my brother, they might kill you," I told him. "I'll go somewhere where they won't find you. They'll take me and go. Okay?"

"Oh...okay."

I quickly pulled him into my arms, squeezing my eyes shut to stop myself from crying. "Thank you so much."

"I love you, Cassie," he whispered.

"I love you too," I responded. As I pulled away, I placed my hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eye. "I will come back. I promise."

And then I ran (as well as I could) from the house.

As I stood in the middle of a small, wooded area, the one thing I thought was how glad I was that I decided to wear something other than sweatpants today.

••••••••••

What happened right after I said the name was hard to comprehend. I was suddenly surrounded by death eaters, Bellatrix leading them all.

"Cassandra!" She let out a squeal of mock delight, clasping her hands together as she stepped towards me. "I see you've had a little...fun since the last time I saw you."

"You have my parents," I said, appearing calm on the outside, my voice smooth and level. However, I was a mess on the inside.

"We do," she chuckled, holding up a clipboard with a piece of parchment on it. She held up her quill. "Now, sweetie, mind telling me your name?"

I narrowed my eyes a little.

"Oh, I'm just teasing," she laughed, her eyes searching the paper before marking something off. "Guys, take her to the Manor."

I felt two arms violently grab me and I immediately began to struggle. They were being too forceful...if they hurt my baby, I wouldn't be able to live with myself for making this decision.

I was suddenly in a huge room, surrounded by even more death eaters. I kept trying to get out of the grasps of the men holding me, yelling curses at them.

"Get your hands off of me!" I screamed, resulting in one of them hitting me over the head. "Don't touch me!"

However, with the baby giving me limited movement, I wasn't able to stop them from carrying me down a staircase, one of them releasing me to open a cell door. They pushed me inside, and as soon as their hands left me, I wrapped my arms around the child, worrying that it had been hurt, despite the fact that they never touched my stomach.

"Cassandra?"

I whipped around, my breath catching in my throat.

In front of me stood my parents, their expressions showing emotions I never would be able to describe. I stared at them for a moment for the first time, my mind overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings I didn't know where real.

"Cassandra," my mother repeated as I approached her.

I simply let out a sob and fell into their arms.

They held me tightly, but obviously were being careful of the baby. I could feel them both shaking with silent sobs as I cried in their arms like a child. I felt everything finally coming together, I felt happiness stronger than any other.

"I can't believe I found you," I gasped, pulling away to look at their faces.

"We're so sorry, Cassandra," my father whispered. "We're sorry we didn't get to raise you."

"It's not your fault," I whispered, smiling through the tears.

"How did you know where to go?" Mum whispered, stroking my hair.

"I found Amelie," I said with a laugh. "And then Grandmother and Grandfather. And Gregory, I got to meet him...I used the parchment. I waited for months."

"Oh, we're so proud of you," she said, glancing at Dad. "We wanted to find you, but we knew it wouldn't be safe after so long."

"You shouldn't have come here, though," Dad told me, grabbing my hand. "Not with...not with a child."

"I didn't have any choice," I whispered, wiping away a tear from my face. "I needed to find you."

They both had huge smiles on their faces, as did I.

"We've missed you, Cassandra."