Cassiopeia Lovegood. (Sirius Black Love Story.)

Chapter 40.

The duel was today. 

It was a Hogsmeade weekend but she had told the Marauders that she couldn't come to Hogsmeade today. 

At breakfast she nodded at Regulus silently telling him that she was gonna be fine. 

"We'll bring you back loads." Peter promised. 

"Thanks Pete." She gave him a small smile and picked at her food. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sirius asked. 

"Yeah just need to catch up in Arithmancy and learn a bit on Runes." 

"Okay." Sirius said sceptically. 

"Well I hope you all have fun." She gave them a big smile before leaving the Great Hall. 

She knew they wouldn't leave for another forty minutes so she began her trek down to Hogsmeade. 

It took about twenty five minutes to make it to the Shrieking Shack. 

She heard a twig snap behind her and a spell flew passed her ear. A malevolent grin spread across her face and her wand was instantly in her hand. 

"Now that wasn't very fair was it?" She hissed and turned to Matthew Crabbe. "First you bow."

She bowed and when he didn't she raised her wand and began controlling his body forcing him to bow. 

"Didn't your parents teach you how to duel." She said scathingly. "Now we duel." 

She released his body from her spell and he fell to his knees gasping. 

"You know I thought Death Eaters were more formidable." 

She pointed her wand and yanked it back violently which made Matthew go flying through the air similarly in the way Mulciber had flown through the air a week before. 

"My my how pathetic. These are the people killing and terrorising the world. I must say the aurors are equally pathetic if they can't defeat you." 

Matthew raised his wand and shot a reducto at her which she casually sidestepped and shot back a nasty cutting hex. 

"Matthew Crabbe son of Bruenhilda and Carina Crabbe and father of Nicola Crabbe. Graduated Hogwarts in 1939. Holds seat 36 in the Wizegamot. Married to Dorothy Crabbe but having an affair with Georgie Nott. Exactly 27 house elves work in your home." 

Matthew had gone paler as she said almost every detail of his life. 

"Need I go on? Incendio." Fire shot at him and burned the ends of his robes. 

"T-they were r-right about you." Matthew stuttered.

"Oh do tell I love gossip." 

"You're a psychotic bitch." 

"Oh I thought Death Eaters would be a bit more original." She pouted sadly. "But this has begun to bore me. Now I need to go back to school so just do me a favour and don't move while I call the aurors. And don't try to apparate there's already wards up to prevent that." She pointed her wand at him threateningly. "Don't take my warning lightly." 

"CASSIE!" She heard a boy's voice yell and groaned inwardly. Sirius. "What are you doing?" He said gasping. 

"Well I was about to call the aurors but now you're here you can do it for me and I don't risk this guy trying to hit me with a first year level jinx. Isn't that right Matthew." 

"How the hell did you get a Death Eater." Sirius hissed in her ear. 

"Hey he came for me not the other way around." 

Matthew yanked his wand out and tried to send a Crucio her way. 

She cast a mirroring charm and it bounced back towards him. "Pathetic Crabbe I honestly thought Death Eaters got some form of training but obviously I was wrong." 

Ten minutes later. 

"And how did you come across Mr Crabbe?" An auror asked. Cassiopeia was scowling at him dangerously. She didn't trust a single auror since she had been taken in a few months ago. 

"I told you I was walking so I could see the Shrieking Shack and he came out of nowhere like a lunatic and tried to kill me." 

"His body is showing signs of the Cruciatus curse. Did you or Mr Black cast an Unforgivable on him?" 

"He cast the spell, I simply made it backfire." She snorted. 

"And what do you think the reason behind the attack was?" 

"I think we both know that answer to that question." 

"You may be requested to appear as witness to his trial." 

"A word of warning Mr Crabbe has been showing signs of delusion. Screaming about duels and traitors. I think he needs treatment as I don't think he's in his right mind." 

"Thank you for your concern Miss Lovegood we shall see to it that he is examined." 

"Thank you." Cassiopeia nodded and walked away. She saw Sirius being questioned by another auror but he was let go after a few minutes. 

Cassiopeia tried to speed walk away before he could catch her but he caught her arm. 

"You have a lot of explaining to do. And don't lie. I can still see right through your lies." 

"You wouldn't understand." She shrugged off his hands and began walking away again. 

"Well make me understand then." He replied jogging to catch up with her quick strides. 

"No." 

"Why not!" 

"Because I'm not dragging you down any deeper into the mess than you already are." She snapped and speeded up again. 

"If you're in danger then I want to help." 

"Fine you want to know Sirius." She shoved him roughly into a patch of trees so nobody could see them and quickly put up a silencing charm. 

"What are you-" 

"Shut it you asked and now you're receiving. The Death Eaters are out for my blood. They want me dead so they started a game. Every two weeks one Death Eater challenges me to a duel. This time it was Matthew Crabbe and as you can see I won easily." 

"Hold on hold on go back. You accepted the duel!" 

"Of course I did. No self-respecting Lovegood would turn away from a duel no matter who they were duelling." 

"But-but that's mental. You're sixteen!" 

"You of all people should understand what happens if you turn down a duel." 

"Is that why you keep meeting with Regulus?" 

"Yeah. He warned me ages ago about their plan. I've been learning Dark Magic for a reason." 

"You could've told us." 

"Could I?"