Mischief Managed ~ Part 2

Chapter 2

"That is your father with his first broomstick," Sirius said, as he pointed to the moving picture in the scrapbook. "He was a damn good Quidditch player, but not nearly as good as you and Harry, I'm sure." Cassie smiled down at the picture and ran her thumb over it.

Sirius then took the picture out and handed it to her. "Take it," he told her. "Better you having it than me." She took it with tears welling in her eyes. "Thank you," she told him. "Thank you for this and for telling me more about them." Sirius closed the scrapbook, then stood up and put it away.

"Whatever you want to know," he told her. "Now, apologies for the change in subject, but..." he sat down next to her, "...I need to ask. You and Benedict...he isn't with you because of your name, is he?" He looked genuinely concerned, which made Cassie smile.

She shook her head and told him, "No. We've been dating for over a year now, so before I found out all of this. He's been a rock through all of it and I couldn't love someone more." Sirius smiled for a moment, but then let it falter. "The reason I ask," he said, "is because a lot of people are going to try and use you, Cass. They will try to get close to you for terrible reasons. Just be careful."

This made her think that she couldn't make anymore friends. She'll be too cautious now, too skeptical. "I will," she told him. He smiled, then patted her shoulder. "Good," he told her. "Now, I'm afraid I have some business to attend to, but I will see you and Harry and dinner tonight."

When she walked out of the room, she let out a sigh and walked upstairs. "Hey, Cass," she heard Hermione say from the bottom of the stairs. Cassie turned to look at her as she said, "We're all going to go into town, get our minds of Harry. Would you like to join?"

Cassie was tempted to stay, but she needed her mind off a lot of things right now. After nodding, Hermione smiled and said, "Great! We'll leave whenever you're ready." Cassie continued her way upstairs, then shut the door when she got into the room.

After sitting down on her bed, she let out a strangled sigh, then started to cry. This is not what she wanted. She didn't ask for any of this. Why was it happening to her? Sometimes she wishes she were never born, never born a Potter. She can't even muster up to call herself Cassie Potter.

She'll always be Cassie Hansen.

A few minutes into crying, she started to get herself even more worked up to a point where she just felt...rage. She suddenly felt so angry and she didn't know why. She felt like she immediately needed to unleash it!

She took the object nearest to her (her schoolbooks), then threw them at the wall with an aggravated scream. She then fell to the floor and started sobbing. Putting her hands over her eyes, she just cried into them.

She took a few deep breaths to quickly calm herself, then got up and went into the bathroom. It took a little while, but she eventually got herself cleaned up enough and went downstairs. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Ben were waiting for her.

"Alright, let's go!" Ginny excitedly said. "I'm excited to get out and learn more about muggles!" Ron looked at her like she was crazy and said, "You're bloody man, woman." They all walked out the door with Ben and Cassie behind.

"You alright, love?" He softly asked, while taking her hand. She nodded, but didn't say anything. They all walked down the street, Ron and Ginny fascinated by everything around them, while Hermione watched in entertainment.

In the meantime, Ben was staring at Cassie in worry. "Do you want to grab something to eat?" He gently asked. She just shook her head. He pursed his lips, then said, "You look a little tired. Did you get any sleep?" Again, she shook her head.

"It's those dreams again," he stated, "the ones you had over summer. He's in them again, isn't he?" He knows her so well. She's been having these awful dreams about Voldemort. In these dreams, he kills everyone she loves; her (adopted) parents, Harry, Ben, Hermione, Ron...everyone.

She took a deep breath, then told him, "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll be fine." He didn't press the matter anymore. They continued to walk, occasionally Cassie would chuckle at how fascinated Ginny and Ron were at muggle things, but never being completely herself.

They eventually did grab something eat for lunch, but Cassie didn't eat. "Darling, you should have something," Ben said into her ear. She shrugged him away from her and didn't say anything. "Ben's right, Cass," Hermione said, "you could use some food in you."

Ron agreed, saying, "It'll make you feel better." Ginny, she could tell, was going to pipe in, but before she could, Cassie snapped and shouted, "I said I'm not hungry!" All of them stared at her in shock. Ben gently put his hand over her's and said, "Cass, it's all--."

She quickly stood up from the table and walked out without another word. She walked quickly back the way they came, until she ended up back at the house. She slammed the door shut behind her when she walked in, then rushed upstairs.

Mrs. Weasley came out to ask what was going on, but Cassie was already in her room.

After letting out a strangled sob, Cassie threw herself into bed and curled up. She didn't know what was happening to her! She just suddenly felt so angry! She then started to feel bad about yelling at her friends that way. They didn't deserve that, they were just trying to help her.

She eventually cried herself into a much needed sleep.

The next time she woke up, it was to feeling arms wrap around her waist from behind. She immediately knew it was Ben. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. He didn't say anything, making her think he was mad at her. "I don't know what's coming over me. I just...I think I need help, to talk to someone."

Again, he didn't say anything. With a loud sigh, she started to turn to face him as she said, "I understand that your mad--ah!" She screamed when she saw Voldemort grinning madly at her. He was dressed in Ben's clothes, the same he was wearing when they went out earlier.

She screamed again, but this time, she jolted up from the bed she was sleeping in. She looked around and saw it was dark in the room. Hermione sat up from her bed and turned on the light. "Are you alright?" She sleepily asked.

Cassie was in too much shock to speak. Suddenly, the bedroom door opened to Ben, Harry and Ron, all with their wands out. "Bloody hell," Ron sighed in relief. "We thought someone had come in here and attacked you or something!"

Ben immediately saw the look of fear on her face. "Guys, give us a minute," he told Ron and Harry. He then went over to her bed and sat down next to her. "Hey," he softly said, brushing her hair from her face. "Darling, it's alright."

He brought her in for a hug and she immediately responded with wrapping her arms tightly around him. "I'm sorry," she shakily whispered. He gently shushed her and smoothed down her hair. "Come on, I'll make you some tea and we'll talk."

After helping her out of bed, he took her hand and led her downstairs. When they got to the kitchen, he sat her down, then made them some tea. He told her about Harry's verdict as he did and she actually cracked a small smile. "Today, at lunch," she said, once he sat down with her, "I didn't...I didn't mean to yell at you guys."

Ben quickly shook his head and told her, "Don't you worry about that. I wanted to come after you when you left, but Hermione told me to give you your space. By the time we got back, you were dead asleep and I didn't have the heart to wake you. You're exhausted, Cass, you've been through a lot these past few days. It's understandable that you would snap at some point."

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Talk to me, baby," he gently prodded. "Let me know what's going on in that funny little head of yours." She smiled when he bopped her head with his finger.

It faded once she thought about her dream. "He keeps showing up," she quietly told him. "Everywhere I go, I see him, I feel him. It's like he's deep inside me and I can't get him out. I don't want to feel the way I've been feeling, not anymore. It's miserable. He's going to take over me, get to me, I know it."

Ben put his hand on her cheek and gently stroked it with his thumb. "As long as I'm here, he is not going anywhere near you," he sternly told her. "I will protect you, Cass. We all will."

He brought her in for a hug and breathed her in. If she's like this here...he can't imagine her at school.