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Brontide

Chapter Nine

The next week was a week well spent, in my humble opinion. It was sweater season, for one; anyone who had sweaters hand-knit by Mrs. Weasley was wearing them proudly. Members of the Order were constantly in and out of Sirius’ house, eating dinner with everyone and sharing stories over mugs of eggnog. Mrs. Weasley cooked so much food that I’d wondered whether or not she had an army of house elves to help her. I’d eaten so much that gaining weight was almost inevitable. Rather blissfully, I was surrounded by some of the people who I cared about most in this world, and we spent the week leading up to Christmas finding ways to entertain ourselves, even practicing some of the spells that Harry had taught us.

The day after Rae’s mental breakdown she’d gone back to her normal self, feeling ashamed and vowing to stay away from Firewhiskey for awhile. I’d tried comforting her but she said she didn’t want any pity, just for things to go back to how they were before she went “mental”. I didn’t think she was mental, just confused and very nervous, but she wasn’t hearing any of it. She just wanted to enjoy her winter holidays, and I agreed because I did too.

I’d woken up the morning of Christmas Eve to see snow falling steadily outside my window. It’d barely snowed since our arrival at Grimmauld Place, so I immediately sat up and opened the window, sticking my head outside to look up at the falling snowflakes. Fresh air filled my lungs, snow crystals landed on my tangled blond hair and eyelashes, and I loved it. Buildings and lampposts down the road were coated with ice and snow, and over a foot of it was on the ground already. I knew what I wanted to do that day.

I pulled my head back inside and closed the window, turning to the bed where Rae was still fast asleep. Hermione and Ginny were absent from the room, most likely having already gone down to breakfast. I put on a pair of fuzzy red slippers and shook her shoulders.

“Rae, wake up. It’s snowing.” She answered me with a grunt, not budging an inch. I frowned. “Rae, I’m serious. Come down to breakfast with me so we can eat, I wanna go outside.” She grumbled louder this time, one of her eyes opening slightly.

“Wha…?”

I rolled my eyes, about to shake her some more when Fred and George shambled into the room, their lanky arms and legs hanging almost limp. They were still in their pajamas, rubbing their eyes tiredly with their red hair sticking up all over the place.

“G’morning,” George yawned, stretching his arms over his head.

I mumbled my greetings and pointed to the window. “We’re going outside today. Come with me to get breakfast first.”

They were barely coherent until they looked to where I was pointing, noticeably waking up a bit more. Rae had gone back to sleep, letting out a light snore.

I glared at her even though she couldn’t see it and hopped onto her bed, jumping up and down. I usually took a while to fully wake up in the mornings but this was a different circumstance.

“GET. UP. GET. UP. GET. UP.” I said a word with each jump, waking up not only Rae but Nestor as well, who was looking at me quite unhappily from his cage.

“Alright, alright, I’m up!” she said grouchily, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and glancing at the twins. I hopped off, going through my luggage and pulling out a brush, attempting to tame my hair. I was excited.

The table was covered with biscuits, piles of eggs, sausages and bacon and pitchers of orange juice and milk. We quickly wolfed down our breakfasts, hurrying upstairs to change into clothes fit for the snow. We’d barely gotten back downstairs, still wrapping scarves around our necks and pulling gloves over our hands when Mrs. Weasley blocked the front door, her arms folded over her chest.

“Before any of you go outside, leave your wands inside, please,” she ordered, holding out her hand. There was a collective groan. “No wands or no leaving the house,” she said firmly, “we’re surrounded by muggles and I don’t need them to see one of you -" her eyes went to Fred and George, “-enlarging snowballs or having them chase after people.”

Begrudgingly we pulled our wands out of our pockets and handed them over to Mrs. Weasley, who let us pass. The door closed behind us and immediately the cold whipped at our faces, snow coming down heavier than before. People were out shoveling the walkways and children were playing on the frozen lawns across the street. Fred and George took off at a run, yelling about finding the largest pile of snow to make a snow fort. They struggled to get through the snow even with their boots on.

Rae and I plodded off in the opposite direction until we were a good enough distance away near some pine trees, but close enough where we could still pelt them with snowballs. Automatically we got to work building our fort, the cold still managing to find its way through my gloves until my fingers were numb. By the time our fort was done the numbness had spread to my entire body. I pulled my scarf over my nose and mouth and looked to Rae, snowballs in our hands. We nodded at the same time.

Snow was being launched everywhere, and I had to narrowly duck behind our fort on numerous occasions. The twins were quick and were able to throw the snowballs faster than us. Fred was laughing until one of my snowballs hit him square in the mouth, and George quickly retaliated by hitting both Rae and me in a matter of seconds. It wasn’t long before we were overcome with snow constantly hitting us, more and more of our snowballs missing.

I tapped Rae on the shoulder. “Charge at their fort with me.” She nodded, positioning herself on the other side of our fort. “In three…two…one…go!

We took off at a run, yelling as we charged at the twins at full speed. It took them a moment to realize what we were doing, and by the time we charged through their fort, landing in the snow on our stomachs, they’d only narrowly missed being trampled by us.

We spent the better part of the morning and afternoon burying each other in the snow and making snow wizards. We even set off a few Filibuster's Fireworks that the twins had snuck out, putting them in piles of snow and blowing them up. When we all became so cold that it was unbearable we finally went back inside, changing into warm clothes and drinking hot cocoa near the fireplace with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

Sounds of Celestina Warbeck singing on the radio seeped into the room from the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley loved her, and often when she was preparing meals Celestina’s bellowing voice could be heard for miles. She would be cooking for two extra people, as my parents would be staying Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. Devon was still running around the states, getting out and seeing the world. I was almost envious of him, but more than that I missed my elder brother. I didn’t really have the means to contact him and I would never send Nestor on a trip that long.

Before I knew it, smells of delicious food cooking met my nose and I felt my stomach grumbling. Mr. Weasley headed straight for the dinner table, and Sirius would’ve followed him if someone hadn’t knocked on the front door. He unbolted it, asked a few questions that I couldn’t hear the answers to, but I heard the voices of Remus, Kingsley and my parents. I got up from the sofa I’d been lounging on and hurried out of the sitting room, Rae, Fred and George not far behind me.

Sirius was introducing himself, shaking my father’s hand and leading everyone into the foyer. The four who’d just been traveling were dusted with snow on their clothes and hair, looking thoroughly tired. Even still, my parents’ faces lit up upon seeing me and I embraced them both in tight hugs. My mother was so happy I thought I saw her eyes begin to water.

“Oh, Cassie, we’ve missed you, dear,” she sighed, holding me at arm's length to take a better look at me. She smiled even more, if possible. “Look at you, you’re starting to look too grown up, I can’t take it.” Her blond hair was pulled into a bun, small, thin streaks of grey starting to sprout up. Her blue eyes still shone, but there was something different about them, as though they’d dulled down a bit.

I smiled and looked up at my father, whose brown hair was also beginning to grey a little. “We’ve really missed you, sweetie,” he smiled, wrapping me in his arms tightly.

“I’ve missed you guys too. Come in, come in, Mrs. Weasley’s been cooking up a storm,” I said, ushering them to the dining area. Kreacher had come downstairs to take their bags with much reluctance and haste, disliking muggles even more than Muggle-borns. My parents were taken aback by the old, raggedy house-elf, having never seen one before. I explained to them briefly what a house-elf was before they spotted my friends waiting behind me.

“Rae, sweetie! It’s good to see you,” my mother said cheerily, embracing her in a tight squeeze before looking at Fred and George.

“And you two! Would you stop growing already? You’re making me feel so short, come here.” She hugged both of them and they shook my father’s hand. “Come on, William, Arthur must be wanting to talk to you.”

We entered the dining area, where Ron and Ginny were helping Mrs. Weasley set the table. Harry, Hermione and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley all greeted my parents. I turned to Remus and Kingsley, noticing that someone was missing.

“Where’s Tonks tonight?” I asked quietly. I heard Mrs. Weasley talking to my mother and saying, “Oh, Lyra, you’re looking wonderful.”

“Tonks couldn’t make it tonight, she’s having dinner with her parents,” Remus stated. “In fact, I was invited to join them so I won’t be staying very long.”

I soon joined everyone else at the dining table, seated between my mother and Fred. Mrs. Weasley wasted no time and set the food out almost immediately; pot roast, warm dinner rolls, steamed vegetables, boiled potatoes and a large chicken and ham pie. Everyone dug in eagerly and conversations sprouted up all over the table.

My father and Mr. Weasley, from what I could hear, were talking about computer printers. Sirius was further down the table and talking about the Order and the risks of joining up to the rest of the younger generation. Mrs. Weasley would’ve stopped him in an instant if she hadn’t been discussing knitting patterns and swapping recipes and with my mother. Kingsley and Remus had already left. I glanced over to Fred and George, who were shoveling food into their mouths like they always did.

“You’d think your mother never fed you,” I said with a roll of my eyes, stabbing at a piece of my pot roast.

Fred shrugged, going in for second helpings. “I can’t help it that you let us starve at school, so I might as well stock up now,” he mumbled through mouthfuls of food. I smacked him on the arm. “Ow! Kidding.”

Extra helpings of food were practically thrown at us by Mrs. Weasley, and it wasn’t long before everyone started feeling full to the point of bursting. I hadn’t said much to my parents all throughout dinner. There was a weird tension that I recognized between us and I felt as though it was because they’d been in hiding for almost four months. When Mrs. Weasley started clearing away the table and bringing out dessert, I was able to muster up enough courage to ask them about it.

“So…what’s it like? Being in hiding, I mean,” I asked awkwardly. Mum looked at me before letting out a sigh, smoothing out her pretty red blouse.

“It’s been…difficult to get used to. Your father and I are still not entirely settled in, but we’re trying.” Her brows furrowed slightly, as though she were troubled. “I understand it’s for our protection, and believe me, we’re grateful that the Order’s keeping us safe, it’s just…” She took a deep pause, resting her elbows on the table. “We had lives we were living.”

I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. “Where do they have you both staying?”

“It’s an abandoned building in Eastern Britain. The Order modified it to fit more people, and we have a pretty nice room to ourselves. There’re some other non-magical people living there too who have magical kids concerned for their safety. I think there are spells around the place, since we've been warned not to go a certain distance away from the building. I suppose it could be worse,” she said, ending with a shrug. She changed the subject. “Have you decided what you’ll be doing after school is over?”

I suddenly felt even more awkward and picked up a strawberry tart, chewing on it thoughtfully. “I, uh…I’m not sure. I was thinking of helping Fred and George with their joke shop. They’re gonna need a lot of help.”

“Oh, that sounds nice,” she smiled, “as long as you’re doing what makes you happy. You know, your grandmother almost opened a painting business when she was younger, but she changed her mind and became a - what is it called? An Aurora?”

“An Auror,” I corrected her, suddenly remembering another thing my mother had neglected to tell me. “And another thing,” I said, lowering my voice and narrowing my eyes slightly. “Why didn’t you ever tell me she was in the Order?”

My mother sat up in her chair a little, looking at me with wide eyes. “How did you...?"

“It doesn’t matter how I know,” I said dismissively. I felt Fred’s eyes on the back of my head, no doubt trying to listen in. “What matters is that you kept it from me, on top of all the other things you hid from me for years. Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice was getting a bit angrier.

She looked taken aback, as though I’d shone a huge spotlight on her. “You forgave me for all those other things, and I kept it from you for the same reasons that I kept everything else quiet; I want to protect you, Cassie. When your grandmother was in the Order she was constantly putting herself in danger, and half the time I didn’t even know if she was coming home for dinner. I don’t want you to follow her example and get yourself killed.”

Our conversation was being heard by everyone at this point, and Sirius spoke up. “Your grandmother was in the Order back in the day? Who was she?”

“Her name was Auriga Selwick,” I said quietly, not taking my eyes away from my mother's. My father had put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down, but she shrugged it away.

“Auriga? I remember her,” Sirius pondered. “I was pretty new to the Order at the time but I saw what she could do. She was one hell of a witch.”

I stood up from my seat and felt several pairs of eyes on me. I didn’t care if everyone knew what I was about to say, I just wanted my mum to stop treating me like a child and start seeing me as a capable human being. So, I inhaled deeply, and said in a tone of defiance, “Mum, I’m joining the Order of the Phoenix once I’m done with Hogwarts and there isn’t a thing in the world you can do to stop me.”

It was as if a bomb had gone off in the dining room. My mother yelled “WHAT?!” before jumping up from her seat. My father, though looking thoroughly unhappy about my announcement, tried to get her to sit back down. She wasn’t having any of it.

No, William, I will not sit down! Cassiopeia Alice Bains -"

“- Can make her own decisions!” I yelled, my hands clenched into fists. Fred held onto one of my wrists but I yanked it out of his grasp, adrenaline rushing through my whole body.

“Not with this, no, no, no, I am NOT allowing you to do this,” my mother argued loudly, her eyes blazing. Fred and George started talking from behind me.

“We have to agree with your mum,” George piped up.

“We don't like the idea of you joining the Order, it’s too dangerous,” Fred agreed.

I jolted around to glare at them. “Oh, you’re both ones to talk. I know you’re both joining the minute that you’re out of school and you don’t hear me trying to dissuade you!” They shut up.

Rae, the only one who previously knew of my decision, spoke up. “I’m joining with them.”

The thought of Rae fighting Death Eaters still scared me to no end, but at least I had someone to back me up. “See? Honestly, Mum, how could you possibly believe that I wouldn’t be fighting? I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll all be fighting this war,” I said, turning my gaze to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley, no doubt completely unhappy with my decision, was trying to diffuse the situation. “Please, everyone, can we stop arguing? It’s the holidays. I’m sure you can both discuss this at another time in a civil manner.”

My mother pushed in her chair, tears starting to brim at the corners of her eyes. “Thank you for dinner, Molly. We’re leaving now. Merry Christmas, and all that.” She didn’t look at me when she left but my father cast me an apologetic look, following her out the front door. Mrs. Weasley started babbling about how they forgot their luggage and Mr. Weasley ran upstairs to get it, saying he would apparate them back to their hideout and disappearing after them.

I felt a heavy weight sitting in the pit of my stomach, and though several people were trying to talk to me at once I excused myself and left the dining room, going upstairs and straight to bed. Rae tried to talk to me when she was getting ready for bed that night but I pretended to be asleep, wishing that life wasn’t so difficult and that my grandmother was still alive.

***

Christmas morning was a weird experience. I woke up to see even more snow falling outside, but I couldn’t even bring myself to be happy about it. Sitting up, I found the room to be empty, meaning everyone was already downstairs opening presents. I remembered what happened during dinner the previous night and felt an overwhelming sense of dread. I wanted my mum and me to be able to have a normal conversation without finding some reason to be mad at each other. It was easy with writing letters; I didn’t have to see her look of complete disapproval anytime I did or said something that my grandmother once had.

I adjusted my pajamas, brushed out my hair and put on my slippers before trudging downstairs, carrying multiple presents. Mrs. Weasley had cooked up another mouth-watering breakfast from what I could smell, and it was she who first greeted me when I entered the sitting room. She gave me a tight squeeze around all of the packages I was carrying and held my face in her hands, giving me an encouraging smile.

“Merry Christmas, Cassie,” she said cheerily. “I made you some cocoa. It’s on the mantelpiece when you want it.”

I smiled weakly. “Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, Merry Christmas to you too. Here, this is for you.” I handed her and Mr. Weasley their presents. I’d gotten her a shawl and glove set and Mr. Weasley two books about cars and other automobiles. They both thanked me and gave me my present, which happened to be a purple hand-knit sweater and a large box of homemade fudge, both of which I loved. Mr. Weasley pulled a second, smaller package out of his pocket and handed it to me, answering my confused expression.

“This one’s from your parents,” he said quietly, “they wanted me to give you this after they left.

I took it from him and nodded my head silently. I told myself that I’d look at it later and I went over to where everyone else was, seated around the room and the Christmas tree and chatting away happily. I sat on the floor near Rae, Fred, and George, who’d already started opening presents.

“Merry Christmas,” I said as cheerily as I could, handing them their presents. They seemed a little startled at my attempt but overall relieved.

“Merry Christmas, Cassie,” Rae grinned, leaning over and giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She seemed to be in great spirits.

“Happy Christmas, arse monkey,” Fred said cheekily, and instead of hitting him like I should’ve done I enveloped him and his brother in a big hug, taking them by surprise. “Alright, what’s wrong with you?” Fred asked cautiously.

"Have you taken ill?" George asked quietly.

I pulled away and smiled, nudging their presents towards them. “Shut up and open them.”

I’d gotten Rae a box of Chocolate Frogs, a lavender woolen scarf, and a new Sneakoscope, seeing as she misplaced her previous one. For Fred, I bought a nice big bag of Dungbombs, sugar quills and a book about starting your own business. I gave George some Filibuster’s Fireworks, Hiccough Sweets and a new crimson hat with dangling tassels on it. In return, I was given a bag of crystallized pineapple, a new quill set and several pairs of fuzzy socks from Rae. George had gotten me Pumpkin Pasties and a new rucksack full of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products. From Fred, I’d received a bottle of Firewhiskey, which I kept hidden in its wrappings, a box of Chocolate Skeletons, and something that he wouldn’t give to me right away.

“What is it?” I insisted, trying to see what he was hiding behind his back.

He held up a finger. “I’ll give it to you as long as you don’t get too sentimental.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please, what could I possibly be sentimental about?”

Fred took his hands out from behind his back and placed a round object wrapped in gift wrap in my hands. I glanced at him with my eyebrow raised, carefully pulling the ribbon loose and letting the object fall into my lap. I stared at it as it began to glow red, indicating that I’d forgotten something. It was a Remembrall, but not just any Remembrall.

“Fred…is this…?” I couldn’t quite find words as I picked it up and turned it around in my hands. I saw him nod, his freckled face turning a few shades of pink.

“It’s the same one you’ve had for years, I just got it working again,” he smiled.

I looked at Fred, really looked at him. It was times like this where I remembered exactly why he was my friend and why I cared about him so much. It was because he remembered what was important to me, no matter how silly or trivial it may seem.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, my voice full of sincerity. I was trying not to get all stupid and sentimental. It was difficult, so instead I laughed, engulfing him in another hug. “I don’t even remember what I’ve forgotten!”

I exchanged presents with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and when Tonks, Remus, and Kingsley came over even more gifts were exchanged. Tonks had given Rae and I tickets to go see the Weird Sisters with her over the summer, which I was extremely excited about, and I gave her a large box of assorted Honeydukes sweets. I’d even gotten something for Sirius; a picture of Severus Snape transforming into a large, ugly bat, and he thought it was wildly funny. In return, he’d given me a book titled Self-Defensive Spellwork.

“I figured it would help with what Harry’s been teaching you,” he smiled, tapping his finger lightly on the cover, “and even more if you’ll be joining the Order some day. Your grandmother made the new recruits read this before going on any missions."

I smiled at the thought of her in her prime, giving him a hug. “Thank you, Sirius.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” he said, looking at me when I pulled away, “but I also have a bit of advice for you. Coming from a…difficult family, where we shared very different views about things, I can sort of relate to you. Granted, my family and I never worked our issues out, and it was probably for the better because they weren’t the nicest people. But, in your case, I can see your parents really care about you. They may not understand why you’ve chosen to do this but in time I think they will. Just don’t burn all of your bridges like I did, that’s what I’m trying to say.”

I nodded, feeling the small package that was still in my pocket. I thanked Sirius again and decided it was time to open my parents' Christmas present to me. I preferred to open it in private so I made my way upstairs and into the bedroom I’d been using, closing the door behind me. I sat on my bed and carefully unwrapped the package. Out of it fell a thin silver chain with an oval locket dangling from it. The star formation of Cassiopeia, the constellation I’d been named after, was etched onto the front of it. Hesitantly, I clicked open the locket and immediately felt my heart stop a little.

Inside was a small moving picture of my grandmother, picking me up when I was a baby and spinning me around, both of us laughing. Behind her I could see Devon, barely out of his toddler stage with lots of brown hair, rolling his eyes and drawing all over the kitchen table. I could almost hear her laughter coming from the picture, with the way her eyes crinkled when she was happy and how her whole face glowed, but I’d imagined it.

After looking at the picture repeat itself for about twenty minutes I finally put the necklace around my neck, clicking the locket shut with a sigh. I glanced down at the wrappings and saw a folded up piece of paper tucked inside. Carefully, I unfolded it.

Dear Cassie,

Merry Christmas, sweetie! Your father and I couldn’t decide what to get you, but when we were packing our things away I happened to find this. Your grandmother had wanted me to give it to you a long time ago, but regrettably I misplaced it and hadn’t seen it in years. I know you’ll love it and take good care of it, hopefully better than I have. We both love you so much; have a Happy Christmas, dear!

Love,
Mum and Dad


I looked at my mother’s thin, loopy handwriting for quite awhile, not really knowing what to think. Perhaps I had blown everything out of proportion during dinner, and perhaps she had as well, but I just wished there was some way I could make her understand why I was doing this. I wanted to make the world a safer place for them, for myself, for my friends and whatever children we might have. Even for Devon, though I had no idea where he was at that moment, I only hoped it was somewhere safer than where I was.

If there was one thing that I was certain of, it was this. My mother and her worrying would have to wait, because I was dreading going back to school, between exams looming in the not-so-distant future and Umbridge lurking around like an oversized toad. Dumbledore's Army was the one gleaming light in all of this.
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Good evening, ladies and gents. Here's chapter ten for you! I hope you enjoyed it. It'll be a bit before the next chapter is up, because I haven't even started writing it yet. Thank you to everyone who's been a part of this so far, readers, subscribers, everyone. I hope you keep up with this story, and maybe even leave some feedback!

Also, I named my car Cassiopeia. Go figure.