The Girl Who Had No Escape [1]

Year 1- 5

After five days of torture Cassiopeia was finally let out of the dungeons where she proceeded to her room to get showered and ready for school, as it was now 9:00 and the train left at exactly 11:00. However, she would not have the Reid family to send her off as they have things to do. So, she showered, put on the pre-readied outfit, along with her jewellery- which she hid under her top-, and then proceeded to put her hair into a French braid. As she was just getting Liberty's cage ready for travel, Cassiopeia heard the door of her bedroom open and saw Ara walking into her room.

"Cassiopeia, can I talk to you?" Cassiopeia had never had anything against Ara, except the fact that she didn't stop the torture, however she knew that if Ara did stop William then he would begin to hurt her. So, Cassiopeia accepted the fact that Ara couldn't stop the torture, and with that she began to accept Ara as a motherly figure.

"Of course, madame." She replied with a curtsey, while proceeding to put Liberty in her cage.

"This is for you," she said as she took out a box from her bag along with two letters. "This letter is from your birth mother, it was given to us at the orphanage and declares that you would open it when you get to Hogwarts, and when you are alone. And this letter and gift is from your birth father, not your step-father, and he gave it to the orphanage also. We figured that you would want to open them both together." She proceeded to hand the two letters and box to Cassiopeia, with a smile, however she was slightly confused about the step-father part but chose to ignore it for the moment.

"Thank you. What do you think Sir will do if I don't get into Slytherin?" Cassiopeia replied while putting the box and letters deep into her suitcase. This was always a fear of Cassiopeia's due to the fact that her adoptive family has been in Slytherin for generations, but her real parents had been in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, and she knew that it was a strong requirement of being 'pure-blood' to be in Slytherin, so she always feared the sorting. She had read about it in Hogwarts- A History, when she was 8, and now it was a constant fear.

"Well, let us hope that that day never comes, and that you get sorted into Slytherin." She said with a face of fear, knowing that her husband would not take it well. They nodded to each other and looked at the time, it was 9:30, Ara turned to Cassiopeia. "Do you want breakfast?"

"No thank you, madame. After not having food for a while it takes me a while to want food again. I will just eat at the feast." Ara nodded in understanding, with a sad look in her eyes, and she left the room. Cassiopeia now awaited William, who would tell her the unforgettable speech on who to talk to and who not to talk to.

As if on command William opened the door to Cassiopeia's bedroom and proceeded inside and gestured her to sit on the bed. She obliged and sat next to him, and he began the speech. When she was done, he turned to her.

"I know that you will not do anything to disappoint me, or there will be consequences. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Pass me your arm and a bandage." William ordered. Cassiopeia did as he asked, he wrapped a bandage around her scar and grabbed his wand, muttering a few enchantments. "Right, this will stop your scar from being seen, the only person that can remove this bandage is myself and yourself. When you take it off and put it back on, you need to make sure you whisper the enchantments." William took out a piece of parchment and also a quill, writing the enchantments. She took it, muttering a 'thank you'.

"Good, now let's get go. We will be taking the car and I will be leaving you at the station where you will find the platform. Now say goodbye to Ara and Lyra, as they are going shopping."

"Yes, Sir."

Cassiopeia took her bags downstairs and found Ara and Lyra. She said goodbye to them both, Lyra was crying but Cassiopeia couldn't cry, or William would hurt her for showing weakness. She hugged her sister tightly and proceeded to curtsey to Ara. Ara turned to Cassiopeia and whispered "Don't give him a reason to hurt you. Goodbye, my dear."

Just as they went to leave William turned to Cassiopeia and looked to her, he noticed that she had worn a long sleeve t-shirt to hide the scars on her wrists but she hadn't covered the ones still on her face.

"Do you want the bruises on your face covered?" Cassiopeia moved to the mirror to look at the bruises, they were all over her face, some darker than others. She turned to William.

"How long would the charm last, Sir?" She asked.

"It would last for two days, probably early hours of Monday morning. But then during the day Monday they would be back, but I'm sure they would have faded before then." He explained.

"Okay then, is that okay, Sir?"

"Sure, wouldn't want people thinking that we beat you. Would we?" He questioned, testing her.

"No, Sir."

William chanted the word of the enchantment and Cassiopeia watched in the mirror as her face cleared. He nodded and she returned the grateful nod.

They made it to the car and drove to the platform.

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Thanks for reading 

-Zoe