My Soul or My Family

Prologue

On July 31, 1980, Cassidy's world ended. She was no longer her parents shining jewel, no longer their precious princess. They had a new treasure to be invested in. At four years old, Cassidy knew what hatred felt like, as she stared down at eyes mirroring her mothers.

Unable to get attention from her parents, who were too busy protecting their pride in joy, she threw herself into books. The Potter Family Library, which was tied to Potter Cottage where they resided, had every book a yearning heart like hers could image. Stories about princesses who grew up without annoying little brothers, to books on what it was like outside the cottage she had grown up. 

Her favorite thing to learn was about the war taking place outside the Cottage she called home. Despite how young she was, she could understand and comprehend things beyond her age, like the concept of war and she knew there was more than just what the storybooks were telling her. 

Little did she know, she would learn about the war sooner than she thought.

Alone on her birthday, stuck in her room in the attic, which she had been moved to after Harry was born since she didn't need to stay in the nursery anymore, she heard movement from outside. 

Peering outside, she could see a shadowy figure heading down the walkway towards the front door, as older kids ran door the street cheering their spoils for Halloween. Making her way down the ladder, she peered down the hallway as the door slammed open. 

She screamed as her mother scooped her and her brother into her arms, leading them to the nursery as her father yelled at them.

"LILY RUN, IT'S HIM! TAKE CASSIDY AND HARRY, GO AND DON'T LOOK BACK I'LL TRY TO HOLD HIM BACK. GO MY LOVE! "James yelled, readying his wand. 

"NO DADDY!" Cassidy screamed, reaching out for her father as the shadowy figure made their way into the house. Making their way into the nursery Lily and Cassidy watched the eerie green light glow, signaling James's death as Lily searched frantically for the portkey they had kept in case of emergency. 

The door to the nursery burst open, revealing the shadowy figure. Lily spun around, accidently scratching Cassidy's cheek causing the Dark Lord to hiss as a stinging sensation cut across his cheek. 

Ignoring the foreign feeling, he stepped forward as Lily moved to block Harry, pulling Cassidy into her arms in front of her. "Move aside Mudblood, and I will let you take your daughter and live."

Lily tried pleading, begging for him to leave and spare her son's life after he had already taken her husbands. But the pleas fell silent on the Dark Lord's ears.

"Enough, AVADA KEDAVERA!" He shouted, watching Lily fall to ground, as Cassidy backed away screaming. Sparing a single glance at the screaming girl, he cast a sleeping charm on her watching her fall to the ground limp with a shuttered breath, before turning back to her brother. "Avada kedavera!" He shouted. 

The spell shot forward, only to ricochet off of Harry, hitting Cassidy in its path before striking the Dark Lord.  The Dark Lord collapsed, falling to one knee as he watched two scars form, one on each child. A lightning bolt, marking the boy who would be his downfall. And a heart, with initials he hadn't seen in years, marking his soulmate. With a final breath, he cursed fate for leading him down the path of his soulmate only to die moments later. 

Moments later, as Harry's screams filled the air of the now seemingly empty cottage, a noble half-giant enters. Hagrid gasps, seeing Lily and Cassidy together on the floor as he takes Harry away. 

Not moments after their departure, Cassidy wakes to find the house empty. The bodies of her parents and her brother had been collected, and a newfound hate festered deep in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she walked downstairs into the basement where the ward stone sat in the heart of the Cottage. Remembering what she had read, she used her powers as a metamorphagus (a big word her mother mentioned in passing when talking about Nymphadora) and shifted into a teenager. Her magic drew her downstairs toward the ward stone.

Taking the ward stone in her hands, she listened to the hum of her magic guiding her and flooded the stones with magic, effectively claiming the house as hers and renewing the ancient ancestral wards hidden and underpowered by the Fidelius Charm one Albus Dumbledore had placed on the Cottage. Setting the stone down, she went back upstairs to take a nap.