the siphon | h. potter

~eleven~

cassandra

It was a Friday night. Cassandra should be getting drunk in the boys' dorm, but instead she was sitting in Dumbledore's office. At least it was an interesting place to be. There was always something for Cassandra to stare at while she pretended to listen to whatever Dumbledore was saying.

Cassandra was watching a globe spin when she heard her name. Cassandra turned to Dumbledore who was looking at her like a parent looked at their toddler who was misbehaving. Shit, Cassandra thought.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore sighed and Cassandra sunk into her chair in embarrassment, "We need to understand the full extent of your powers. Have you ever tested your limits?"

"No, we were only in the beginning of my training before my mum... before she died. I wasn't born with all of my abilities. When I was little I could only consume magic accidentally. Only after I accidentally siphoned my mom when I was eleven was when she started teaching me how to control it. Over the years I've learned how to do it on a bigger scale. I could probably absorb all the magic in the room if I wanted too."

"Let's not do that," Dumbledore chuckled, "But I am interested in how big of an area you can siphon magic from."

Dumbledore walked out from behind his desk and over to Cassandra. He held out his hand to Cassandra and she grabbed it. As soon as her fingers brushed Dumbledore's skin she could feel a tug from the pit of her stomach and her body began to spin. When she opened her eyes she was standing on the island in the middle of the Black Lake.

"I thought no one could Apparate in or out of Hogwarts grounds," Cassandra questioned.

"I've temporarily lifted the enchantments around Hogwarts," Dumbledore shrugged.

"I didn't know that was possible."

"Well... being me has it's privileges," Dumbledore smiled, "but due to safety concerns, we should probably make this quick."

With the wave of his wand, Dumbledore animated all of the plants on the island. The trees began to dance and wave their branches, the grass wiggled against the wind, and bushes rolled around the island.

"If you please," Dumbledore waved to the island around them.

Cassandra dropped to her knees and began to concentrate. Fairly easily she began to siphon the magic from the island. The plants within a ten foot radiance stopped moving and Cassandra smiled. After a few seconds however, it became harder. She had never siphoned magic for so long.

As more and more magic entered her body, Cassandra winced. It was becoming uncomfortable, but she didn't stop. The magic was like a drug, it hurt but she wanted more, a lot more.

She didn't want to stop, but Cassandra's concentration was broken by a loud thump. Cassandra looked up and found Dumbledore laying on the ground. "Dumbledore!" she shouted and ran over to his body. She turned Dumbledore over and found him regaining consiousness. Cassandra let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"I'm alright," Dumbledore grunted as he sat him. Cassandra helped him to his feet then stepped away. "That was insightful." Dumbledore noted.

"W-what happened?"

"I think you absorbed my magic as you were siphoning the island."

"I'm sorry, I've never been able to do that before. It doesn't make sense I wasn't touching you, I shouldn't have been able to do that," Cassandra frantically said.

"It's alright. I asked to see the full extent of you powers, you were merely giving me the answer I was seeking."

Despite Dumbledore's assurance, Cassandra still felt extremely guilty. However, what bothered her the most was how good she felt. There was so much magic coursing through her veins Cassandra doubted there any limits on what she can do. When Dumbledore outstretched his hand to Cassandra she could barely look at him as she took it.