the siphon | h. potter

~one~

cassandra

-five months later-

Cassandra was siting in a rickety pub, drinking a tolerable concoction made by the barman. The room was illuminated by floating candles and strands of white lights draped across the walls. Christmas carols and cheers cascaded through the busy streets. It was Christmas Eve, and Diagon Alley was filled with families shopping at the last minute for their gifts. Casandra watched the shoppers outside with longing. Everyone looked happy, as if they had no care in the world. Unfortunately, Cassandra had many worries.

For two hours she hung around the bar, waiting for the red-headed man to appear. She did not look out of place at the bar on Christmas Eve because it was quite common for the bar-goers to see her alone. For the past few months Cassandra had hung around Diagon and Knockturn Alley in an attempt to persuade information out of unaware witches and wizards. Ever since the night her mother died, Cassandra had been on a mission to hunt down the wizards that ruined her life and kill them. Unfortunately, the mission was harder than expected due to her lack of knowledge about current events. Her mother had of course told her the stories about Voldemort and his days of terror. However, since her mother went into hiding while Cassandra was still an embryo, they were not up to date on any of the magical news. This is what brought Cassandra to Diagon and Knockturn Alley so many times throughout the past few months. She conversed with anyone who would, and after many months of prodding and reading the Daily Profit, she had finally learned enough to execute a plan.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of bells, signaling the door had opened. A tall, rather lanky, young man walked in and sat at a booth in the back of the large room. He looked exhausted. He had ghostly pale skin that was covered with freckles from ear to ear and a head of fire red hair that contrasted the dark circles under his eyes. Cassandra easily recognized him from the many pictures she had seen of him in the Daily Prophet. After taking the last sip of her drink, Cassandra stood and approached the table of the red-headed young man. With her most charming smile Cassandra asked, "do you mind if I sit here?" The young man looked rather startled. He quickly shifted in his seat before responding.

"Of course," he smiled.

Cassandra slid into the booth and extended her hand across the table, "I'm Cathrine Cooper." Cassandra never risked using her real name, instead she introduced herself as Cathrine Cooper. She liked it because it made her feel like a spy, which in a way she was.

Across the table the man shook her hand, "I'm Percy Weasley." Of course Cassandra already knew this. She had spent the past few weeks formulating her plan and he was essential. So, she had searched every edition of the Daily Prophet and asked many wizards to find information about Percy Weasley. He was a junior assistant to the Minister of Magic, which is why Cassandra was so interested in him. With his high position in the Ministry he has the ability to access records from the Auror's Office. If everything goes correctly, Cassandra will have enough information about Percy's daily movements and a strand of hair by the end of the night. The first step... get Percy absolutely shitfaced.

After a few minutes of small talk, Cassandra summoned the barman over to their booth with a round of fire whiskeys. Cassandra was careful to not consume as many shots as Percy while they were talking. And after an hour of conversation with Percy, Cassandra knew everything she needed. His large ego was too easy to manipulate. Cassandra took her last shot and rose form the table with minor difficulty.

"It was a pleasure talking to you Percy, but I unfortunately must head home." Cassandra smiled at Percy.

Percy stood up and handed Cassandra her coat. "Are you sure? My flat is only a few block away." Percy asked hopefully. Cassandra quickly explained that she had to meet her family back home and pulled Percy into a hug as if they were old friends. Then, as she was wrapping her hands around his neck, she pulled out a few strands of his hair. Percy winced, "sorry," Cassandra exclaimed, "my ring got caught in your hair!"