The Cassiopeia Project [George Weasley] ✓

THREE

"Black's been sighted!"

The sudden cry made all the Gryffindors turn their heads towards a nervous-looking third year. Angelina and Alicia rushed to see what was all that about, while Cassie ate her scrambled eggs numbly, not really caring about what happened. However, her breakfast was soon interrupted by a tawny owl landing just in front of her, with a piece of parchment attached to its leg.

"What's that about?" Cassie wondered out loud, untying the string in the owl's leg.

The letter was concise, written in neat handwriting that left no room for misunderstandings.

Meet me at eleven o'clock in my office.

Professor Lupin.

Cassie stared at it, dumbfounded. Why would Lupin want to meet her at his office on a Saturday morning? Had she done something bad? Maybe he wanted to talk more about her mother, ask about her death or something, but it was still weird. She pondered not going for a second but decided against it. Professor Lupin seemed kind, and she trusted him not to hurt her in any way purposely.

"Hey, Cassie, take a look at this."

Angelina's voice took her out of her trance, and she turned to see a newspaper laid on the table, with a big picture of a man covering almost all the cover. In bold letters, the title read Black sighted, and proceeded to explain how a muggle had seen the fugitive not far from Hogwarts, but the aurors had arrived too late.

"This is that Azkaban escapee, right?" Cassie asked, looking briefly at her friend. Angelina nodded.

"Yes. He's the first one that manages to get out." She answered, shuddering. "I wouldn't want to go there."

Cassie agreed silently, remembering everything her mother had explained about dementors and their power. She looked at the moving picture of Sirius Black once again, studying him.

He had long, messy black hair, and a sunken face. She would have thought he was a corpse, if it weren't for his deep grey eyes, that had a hint of life in them. Black looked positively mad while screaming at the camera. Still, Cassie couldn't help but feel a smidge of empathy. That man looked so familiar to her...

A foggy memory popped up in her head, her mother's presence on it, but went away as soon as it came.

"Scary, isn't him?" Said one of the Weasley twins, who had been reading over her shoulder while she was absorbed in her thoughts.

Cassie jumped a little and turned to look at them, shrugging.

"I guess."

⁕⁕⁕

At eleven o'clock, Cassie stood in front of Professor Lupin's doorway. She hadn't really told anyone about it, keeping it for herself to muse about. Her hand raised almost on its own accord and knocked twice on the wooden door, her breath hitching when she heard the calm voice in the other side.

"Come in."

Professor Lupin's office was luminous and simple, with wooden furniture and few decorations. The teacher stood next to the window, contemplating the castle grounds where a handful of students were doing various activities. Cassie closed the door slowly and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"Tea?"

She nodded and sat down in the chair that awaited her. The Professor tapped the kettle with his wand and then sat in front of her, looking slightly concerned.

"You may be aware of the situation we're living currently." He started. Cassie nodded again. "With Sirius Black in the run, every bit of information is crucial."

"I don't know anything about Black, sir." Cassie interrupted nervously. Why was Lupin asking her those questions? Black couldn't possibly have anything to do with her.

Professor Lupin looked strangely relieved, sparking even more Cassie's suspicion. There was something she was missing out on.

"It was just a routine question, Miss Moore." He tried to explain, seeing the obvious discomfort and suspicion in the girl's face. "We're making sure none of the students hide anything from us."

Cassie still didn't believe him fully, but let it slide for the moment. She took a sip from her tea cup and looked directly at the man in front of her. He always appeared exhausted, and too old for his actual age. If he had gone to school with her mother, that must mean that he was at least thirty-three years old; but he looked many more, with greying hair and all.

The redhead was pondering if she should go or not, when a new inquiry popped up in her brain. It was a bit personal, and maybe too out there, but she had to ask him.

"Professor Lupin."

"Yes?"

"You knew my mother, right?"

His demeanour turned tense, and he nodded. Sadness was written all over his face, and that was what drove Cassie to ask him.

"Why didn't you go to the funeral?"

Lupin was clearly taken aback, as he wasn't expecting that question at all, but answered nonetheless.

"I wasn't invited."

His voice trembled the slightest bit.

"We invited all her friends. Aunt Rose oversaw that." Cassie insisted. Lupin shook his head.

"I knew Rose Moore. She didn't exactly like me... or my friends, for that matter." He disclosed, his voice almost a whisper. Cassie bit her lip, nervous, and a memory flashed in her mind.

"Mum always said she didn't like dad either." She mused, lost in thought. Another question then hit her, hard.

"Did you know my father?"

Professor Lupin refused to meet her gaze, busying himself with the almost finished cup of tea.

"I thought I did."

An uncomfortable silence settled in, so Cassie bid goodbye and awkwardly left the office without further ado. In her mind, thousands of thoughts swirled around, and she tried to remember everything she could about her father.

As she walked down the halls towards the common room, Cassie tried to picture at least her father's face, to no avail. He had supposedly disappeared when she was three years old, and her mother never talked about him. They hadn't married because of their young age, so the man's last name was also unknown to her. There was no way of knowing who it was... unless she asked aunt Rose.

Her aunt Rose was the only one apart from her mom that had been gifted with magic in the Moore household. They were five siblings, all with muggle ancestors, so the presence of two witches in the family was quite the event. She was two years younger than Diana, and had gone to Ravenclaw, unlike her sister, who was a Hufflepuff. Rose had always been more serious and judgemental than her older sister, and the only thing Cassie really knew about their relationship was that she had never approved of Diana having a baby at the age of eighteen. She didn't like Cassie's dad either, and only had nasty words when asked about him, so she had soon lost interest in that. If her dad had been a bad man, she didn't want to know it.

However, the blatant lie of Professor Lupin had sparked her interest again. He had obviously known her father, but he didn't want to talk about it, so Cassie had to investigate by pushing her living relatives a bit more until they gave in.

She was determined to find out the truth about her father, whether it was good or bad. Somehow, at the very bottom of her heart rested a faint hope, a desire to know if he still was around.

A/N: Two chapters in one night, wow. Probably nobody is reading this, though, but feels nice to pretend to have readers. Anyways, I'm bored out of my mind. If you happen to stumble upon this book, you're welcome to vote or comment, or even talk to me. I'd really appreciate it.

Also English isn't my first language, so feel free to point out any grammar mistakes.

Thank you.