***

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OKAY, SO, CASSIA HAD A THEORY, AND IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS A PREMATURE ONE, but now it was all she got. Literally. She had looked absolutely everywhere for information regarding Eva's dad and any who's, what's, or how's about him being a Death Eater. And it all went to that very fact with as little evidence as possible. It made no sense while it still did. And that's where Cassia's theory comes into play.

     Enoch Abercrombie, Eva Abercrombie's father, was spotted as a Death Eater by none other than Harry Potter on the day of the Final Task. Enoch Abercrombie hadn't been sighted as a Death Eater before that. Previously, Enoch Abercrombie had divorced his wife Astrid Lallemant on Christmas Eve. Out of nowhere. And as Cassia tried picking up the pieces of the story, the only link she'd been able to factor in was that in conjunction to the psychopathic murderer, Midlothian Manson.

You see, because Midlothian Manson was jailed in Azkaban for over thirteen years. Yet on the night of the Quidditch World Cup Final, when the first sighting of Death Eaters were made official, Manson was reported as... dead. But as people had discovered, when his body was retrieved, there was no soul within. And it hadn't been sucked out by the dementors.

Cassia has heard of dark magic that allows for people to transfer their soul to possess that of another. And Midlothian Manson was reported to be someone who'd used that type of magic before. So, given that Manson seemed to be the exact candidate, and given that Enoch Abercrombie had no previous connection to the Death Eaters...

Cassia thinks that Enoch Abercrombie's body is possessed by the soul of Midlothian Manson.

But it was just a theory, right? It didn't have to be true, did it?

At least, that's the primary thought of Cassia's as she halted Eva in the midst of her heading to lunch, telling the blonde, Uh, hey, do you have a minute? I sort of need to say something... Eva, though she was confused, nodded. And now they were here, with Cassia pacing her dorm and Eva sitting on the bed with a leg folded over the other, looking at the Greengrass twin with curiosity.

After some time, Eva frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. "Did you not have something to say? I, er, I'm kinda hungry, if you didn't know."

"Right." Cassia's head snaps up. She rubs her hands together, her legs striding back and forth along their dorm room. "Um, okay. Do you, er, know how your dad is at the moment?"

Eva's eyebrows crease. "He's doing good, as far as I know. We don't talk as much since the divorce. I suppose you could say I'm in contact more with Mum now instead. We kinda... distanced a little."

"Oh," says Cassia. She bites her lip. "Is there any reason why?"

Eva shrugs. "I suppose divorce just does that. Maybe I've always been a bit closer to Mum, but I still write to Dad and all that."

"You don't, by chance, think it could be for any other reason?"

"What are you getting at?" An eyebrow lifts, Eva growing more curious with what her roommate had to say.

Cassia's cheeks filled with heat. She can't believe she's doing this.

"Have you ever, uh, thought of the possibility that your dad might be involved in something else... say, the Death Eaters?"

Cassia stayed silent as she waited for Eva to respond. To shout, to speak, to move. But nothing came. Eva purses her lips, her icy eyes deadly as a blade to the throat.

     "You're right," says Eva.

Cassia's face drops.

     "No," says Cassia, shaking her head, "no. What?"

     "It's true," Eva repeats.

     "You're not meant to say that." Cassia was in disbelief. "You're supposed to be outraged, like shouting at me or something, mad that I've accused your father of such a thing—your father. What? This isn't how it's supposed to be. You're supposed to slap or punch me or something, be angry, but you're not angry. Why? You're not meant to—you're not meant to say this."

     "As entertaining as punching or slapping you would be," Eva muses, "It doesn't take away the fact that yes, you're right."

     Cassia finds herself repeatedly lifting her mouth to speak, for it to only clamp shut once more. Okay, she knew Eva's dad was a Death Eater. But this was different. This was the confirmation she never wanted. This was one of her best friends knowing that her own father was apart of the supremacist group feared by so many.

     "I know, I was... shocked too," Eva nods. "Cried for a bit after seeing my father with that horrid tattoo, but I got over it. How did you find out?"

     Cassia frowns, noticing how the subtlety in Eva's voice hadn't been able to mask its tremble. "How did you?"

     "I asked first."

     She still couldn't believe how calm Eva was at all of this. "Harry," says Cassia. "At the end of fourth year. He told me he'd seen a Death Eater during the Third Task and that he looked just like you and had the same surname. One plus one equals two, and Harry realised he needed to tell me about it. I've known for a while... I should've came to you about it sooner."

     But Eva still didn't look mad at all. The blonde frowns. "Why didn't you?"

     Cassia sighs, leaning against her hands on the back of a bedpost. "It was the end of the year, and you seemed so happy for a while after the divorce, and so happy with Adrian, and I didn't want to spoil the mood. And because I didn't know if it was the truth. So I'd been researching, trying to find any evidence..."

     "And did you?"

     "Nothing certain," says Cassia. "What about you, then? How did you find out? Hopefully in a clearer way than me."

     "I found out much later than you, that's for sure," Eva begins. "But... my mother, she comes from a family of Legilimens, right? Which means the gene passed onto me... one day during the summer holidays last year, I was staying at my dad's, and I didn't mean to but I touched him by accident and I think I looked into his mind. It was so all of a sudden, and I'd never explored these abilities before, but this time it just happened and I saw all of these memories, horrid ones, filled with death and so much suffering—of other people. And he was at the start of it all. But..." Amidst her storytelling, which Cassia listened to intently with her eyebrows furrowed, Eva's eyes squint, growing deep in thought. "There was one thing, and I don't know how to explain it... but at one point it was all just dark and I felt cold. And I saw shadows, and suffering that was his, and there were bars that just give off that prison-hostage-vibe. But my father's never been in Azkaban. That's for sure."

     Cassia shifts uncomfortably. While she was still in disbelief over this revelation, she could still recognise the parallel at hand.

     "But..." says Cassia, "...what if he was?"

     Lifting an eyebrow, Eva sits up straight. "Now I'm interested."

With a harsh, rattling breath, Cassia nods, her attempt at smiling failing. She mumbles something incoherent while she heads over to bedside drawer, undoing the lock she designed herself with the key she designed herself.

"I've been doing research, uh," Cassia hands the bundle to Eva, "Since Harry told me about this. Because I didn't want it to be true, that's your father, and there should have been proper evidence before I, uh, accused your father of being a Death Eater. I didn't get much, but this was the best I found. And, well, I don't remember how I got there, but this... just read it yourself."

So Cassia leaves Eva in excruciating silence, nothing but light toe taps and faint paper rustling, to read all that she'd gathered about her hypothesis in the last months. It had all of it. The article about Midlothian Manson's arrest, his death, the dark magic he used and how it could lead to the possibility of human possession. Cassia could do nothing else but watch and wait for reality to implode upon her.

But it wasn't the implosion Cassia expected.

She didn't know why she'd thought Eva would react violently. Eva wasn't a violent person. Harsh sometimes, sure. Maybe a bit scary. So when Eva finally finished reading through Cassia's research and set it down on the bed, her eyes widened for a minute as if she became aware of a life-changing epiphany. And then, the Greengrass twin stumbled back at the force with which the Abercrombie girl ran at her for a startling embrace, the tightness of her grip being the only thing keeping her upright.

It took Cassia a few seconds and many blinks and mental punches to realise that yes, Eva was here, and she was hugging her. After finding out all of... that. And Cassia had no idea why, even though the smell of Eva's perfume was sure to be captivating her senses. (She understood, and always knew, why everyone went crazy for the blonde.)

"Uh, Eva?" Cassia draws her attention back to them both in the moment, her arms restricted to her sides, the slightly taller girl with a threatening grip that bound every part of her to the spot.

The blonde steps back, holding Cassia at arms length, and every part of her screamed placidity and she breathes faintly from her nose.

"Cassia Mileva Greengrass, I could literally marry you and every inch of your beautiful, golden, soul."

Cassia was very confused.

     "Cassia, oh my god, do you remember that pact we made back in second year?" Eva was the one pacing now. "The one where if we were both single and unmarried by the age of thirty that we'd marry each other? I—if I wasn't in love with Adrian and if you weren't falling so hard for Potter then I'd do it, I'd do it right now, god Cassia, you—I could literally—"

     "Eva." says Cassia, her eyes pretty much falling out, holding up a halting hand. "Eva, the hell? What are you talking about?"

     Eva stops pacing and turns to face Cassia dead in the eye. She walks forward, and plants her hands on each of Cassia's shoulders.

     "You solved it, Cass." says Eva. "You solved it all. It makes so much sense, it—"

     "Makes sense that your father isn't actually a Death Eater but that a deranged killer has possessed him instead?" Eva nods eagerly. Cassia raises an eyebrow. "Did not expect that."

     "No, but just think, it's the best explanation, why else would all those memories of Azkaban be there? My dad's never been in prison, and also, why else would my parents be divorced? I'm telling you my mum probably knew about it but didn't know how to deal with it, that's why she went ahead with the divorce and moved back to France, oh my god, it's so clear."

Though she didn't want to admit it, Cassia felt oddly content at having her hypothesis be true. Or at least, agreed upon. But while it may have solved one problem, it opened the door to a ton others.

"So..." says Cassia, "...your dad is possessed."

Eva pauses for a minute, before that previous happiness disappeared and her face dropped, a sigh being released. "My dad is possessed."

"I'm sorry," Cassia purses her lips, "I didn't want it to be true."

"I know," Eva rubs the side of Cassia's arm, offering her a smile. "At least we have the upper hand, since I'm pretty sure Manson—my dad—whatever—has no idea that we know. I can, uh, come up with a plan."

Cassia folds her arms, arching an eyebrow. "And where in this plan is Blaise Zabini involved?"

Alarmed, Eva's head shoots up. "Um—?"

"I know he's involved, Eves," Cassia sighs, "I don't know how, but I don't buy him knowing about your father and just talking to you like that like it's normal—no offence, you two aren't really compatible as friends—but I know he has a part in this."

Eva lifts her mouth to speak, for it to only be replaced with a sigh. She rubs a hand over face. "You're—you're right. We're not friends. God, he's so far up his own ass. I salute your sister for being able to deal with him."

Cassia can't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I know. What's—what's up with him, then?"

"You see, he—"

Before Eva can explain the door to the dormitory is thrown open and Maryam bursts in, beside herself with laughter. She flops down on a bed that wasn't even hers, clutching onto her ribs for dear life.

Eva and Cassia shoot the girl a look.

"Oh—hey—" After a moment of heaped giggles, Maryam sits up, shooting grins their way. "Hey."

"Hi?" says Cassia.

"What's made your day, then?" Eva narrows her eyes.

"The Weasley twins and the best heist ever, that's what," Maryam expresses with ease.

"What happened this time?" asks Cassia.

"So, we schemed together, obviously, wanting to get our revenge on Montague—and it finally happened today! The twins set off these amazing fireworks and Montague, being the arse he is, tried to stop them but the three of us got him stuck away in the Vanishing Cabinet in the first floor! Funniest sight ever, definitely beats that feeling of the toad becoming headmaster—speaking of, the toad and Filch were literally all over the place in trying to get rid of the fireworks, it's been such a good day, wow."

     "Are they still happening?" asks Cassia.

     "They are!" says Maryam. "George—Fred, actually, I think? He said they'd probably last the entire afternoon which is amazing since we still have classes. They sure do know how to welcome a new headmaster."

"I have no words for them," says Eva, while a smile tugs at her lips.

Flashing the blonde a content grin, Maryam drops herself down onto the bed beside Eva and Cassia, lounging with her arms behind her. "So what were you guys talking about?"

Cassia and Eva share a look.

Eva clears her throat, "Um, so my dad might be a Death Eater..."

(At that, Maryam almost lost her balance from her arms on the bed.)

Cassia says, "And he might also be possessed..."

     (And this time, Maryam's eyes widen telescopically.)

     "Did I just hear that correct, or are the fireworks messing with my head?" asks Maryam. Shock overcomes her when Eva nods, entirely somber.

     "Uh, while we're at it..." says Cassia, "..I thought I'd eventually have to tell you guys that... I found out my father is also a Death Eater."

     While Eva gasps, Maryam is looking at Cassia with a raised eyebrow saying, "I cannot believe you managed to say that with a straight face."

     Cassia shrugs. She hated how saying this was now the norm for her. She never wanted for this to be the norm. Her father doesn't even know that she knows. She's not even sure if her mother knows... and all she wants is to talk to her father and just be assured that what he's doing is not out of malice. She wasn't someone who gave chances as much as her little sister Astoria did, but she wants to know that her father is still the very man who raised her, who laid on the grass beneath the stars with her, who spent so much time fashioning the most difficult Easter egg hunts for her... She just wants to know that that man is still her father. Not the Death Eater. She hates every inch of this, more than she could hate anything in the world. God, she hates Voldemort.

     "How did you find that one out?" Eva asks.

     "It involved a certain Malfoy boy wanting to do something remotely decent while still being an arse," Cassia tells her. "It was also the reason me and Theo fell out, but I'll leave that story for another day."

     Shaking her head, Eva sighs. "That is... horrible. I'm sorry."

     "Funny how messed up our lives have gotten in the past year," Cassia says, a depreciating chuckle falling from her lips.

     "Speak for yourself." Maryam holds her hands up, "Thank fuck my parents were never rich. Money corrupts people. No offence."

     "None taken." Cassia and Eva say at the same time.

     "Hey, you know what sounds like a plan?" says Maryam. "Let's each break some people's knees. I'll take Ol' Voldy, that'll be fun, Cass, you take Malfoy's dad, he annoys me, oh and Eva, you can take the guy that possessed your dad. Which, out of curiosity, is?"

     Eyes wide at Maryam's implication, Eva answers, "Midlothian Manson, who apparently died in Azkaban."

     Maryam looked horrified. "Not him! Gross—but, it will make the knee-breaking more satisfying."

     Cassia frowns. "It'd help if he still had knees to break. His body is gone. Disintegrated, probably. It's his soul that's possessed Eva's dad."

     "Although," says Eva, sounding hopeful, "Once we get his soul out we'll find a way to kick his ass that has the equivalence of breaking his knees."

     "That is, assuming your father's soul hasn't been taken over completely by Manson." Maryam didn't want to sound too pessimistic, but the girl was known for her harsh remarks.

     "No," Eva says, her voice trying to convince herself more than anyone else, "My dad's still in there... I know it. Besides, I... know people. People that can help. Aside from you guys."

     Cassia gives Eva a pointed look. "Do one of these guys happen to be Blaise Zabini?"

     "Again with him?" Eva shoots Cassia a glare. "It's not that deep."

     "Well I'll know that if you actually tell me what's going on with him!"

     "Couldn't you ask him yourself?"

     "I would if he wasn't so cryptic all the time." Cassia rolls her eyes.

     "I just—fine." Eva sighs. "I was gonna tell you anyways, before this one burst in."

     Maryam, who was looking at a crossword puzzle on the back of Midlothian Manson's newspaper article has her head shoot up, her eyes furrowing. Cassia recognises the familiar handwriting from an attempt at the puzzle.

     "Right, um, okay..." Eva puts off. "I might have mentioned that my dad had a secret girlfriend before?"

     "Yes," Cassia says and Maryam nods.

     "Well, it wasn't a secret... it's just that..."  Eva groans, slapping a hand to her face. She dropped her hand after a second, and she doesn't look too pleased as she says, "His girlfriend is Zabini's mum."

     "Shut up!" says Maryam and Cassia feels her jaw drop. While it wasn't the clearest of explanations... it was an explanation nonetheless. Blaise's mother (A.K.A, one of the best people alive) and Eva's father were an item. Holy smokes.

     "Hang on, this means you and Blaise are—" Cassia begins, but Eva's deadly stare halts her right there.

     "Don't say it." Eva's voice thundered. "Don't you dare." Cassia's hands lift in a surrender.

     "You know, the pieces sort of fit." Eva admits after some time of leaving the other two girls to revel in the revelation. "I never did get what Zabini's mum saw in my father, anyways. She, on the other hand, she's amazing, she has everyone falling at her feet. But—oh my god. What if she's only dating him for leverage? What if she knows he's possessed? Love potion—Holy—What if—holy cow, my mind will literally explode."

     "Then let's go down and see those fireworks before that happens," Cassia chuckles. Eva, grinning, agrees, and Maryam was at the door before Cassia had even clipped her robe on. Cassia hoped Eva's father could be brought back—she really did.

     Soon after, Cassia, Maryam and Eva decided to head down where all the festivities were happening. And they weren't disappointed. The  Entrance Hall, courtyard and everything surrounding were bombarded in a variegated mass of fireworks, whizzing and crackling and popping and banging. Ecstatic students we're running all around, goggling at the fireworks with massive cheering smiles on their faces, while the Inquisitorial Squad scampering around like mindless vandals. Cassia spotted Pansy Parkinson among them. Pansy and Daphne hadn't spoken at all since their argument the previous day.

     "This is amazing." Cassia marvels, her eye making out Umbridge's stout figure aimlessly trying to distinguish the fireworks. She also sees Theo—who'd waved at Cassia upon seeing her—helping Fred (she thinks?) to set up a bracket for one of the fireworks. She grins.

     "Right?" Maryam yells.

     "Hey, I see Adrian!" Eva says over the cacophony of sounds, giving the other two a heads up as she ran in the direction of Adrian Pucey at a far end, burying her hands in his raven hair as she pulled him in for a deep kiss induced by mass euphoria.

      A Catherine wheel bangs just ahead of Cassia, giving shockwaves to her roots but nonetheless eliciting a hearty laugh from the girl.

     "Favourite Greengrass, heads up!" A flurry of ginger hair whips past Cassia alongside a fizzling tube being chucked towards Cassia, and as Cassia manages to catch it in time, George Weasley sends her a wink in passing.

     The firework in hand, Cassia turned to her left and saw that Maryam had been lost among the crowd, but that became the last thing in mind for Cassia Greengrass when instantly hands pull her in by the waist and a pair of lips meet hers. The firsthand shock she'd received with Harry's abrupt materialisation melted among the kiss, and as she leant further in, wounding her hands around his neck, her panic was lost all among the cheers of absent students and exploding firework noises around them. Cassia hadn't realised that she'd let go of the firework in hand and it fizzled up, exploding into a mass of green, blue, red sparks directly above them in that moment. Harry pulled away, his hands still on her waist, leaning his forehead against hers, shooting her a smile.

     "Hi," says Cassia.

     "Hi," says Harry.

     "What was that for?" She asks.

     "Oh, dunno," Harry clicks his tongue, "I'm happy. You and Nott are friends again, Occlumency lesson got cancelled, these fireworks, seeing you... call it living in the moment, if you may."

     Cassia smiles. "Suppose we should do more of that, right?"

     "Oh, definitely," Harry nods subtly before flashing her a grin.

     "I, uh, told Eva about her father just now," says Cassia, her fingers rustling through the hair at the nape of Harry's neck. They were entirely oblivious to the atmosphere around them, but the cheering was still very loud.

     Harry raises an eyebrow. "How did that go?"

     Cassia presses her lips in a line. "She hugged me and told me she wanted to marry me."

     "Oh," says Harry, "So, very well, then?"

     "Very well," Cassia confirms.

     "Well, in that case," says Harry, "I'm happy."

     "Really?" Cassia quips. "Hadn't realised."

     Harry shakes his head, laughing. "Oh, shut up."

     With a smirk, Cassia, her arms still around his neck, tugs them forward and his lips are on hers once more. It's moments like these that Cassia would happily be frozen into place, have all this happiness and hilarity radiated around her, in herself, in Harry. The past couple days, while it resulted in Umbridge becoming Headmaster, Theo and Cassia had become friends once more, and Cassia was no longer holding that secret against Eva. It felt... lighter.

     That big pit of hellfire that had gotten unleashed on Cassia's life? It didn't seem so big anymore.

***

oooh quicker update because this chapter wasn't as long as the other!!! i'm tryna separate some stuff since some of the chapters in the books are so jam-packed holy my chapters could go to 10000 words with all of them—

i found out a couple of days ago that scotland will be going back into lockdown after christmas and that i have an extra week of school holidays along with one week of online school. while i'm so pissed cos it's deadass my last year of school and i have to spend more time at home, it means that i'll probs be able to do quite a few more updates!!!

i'm gonna try and get the next chapter done for christmas-ish and hopefully in this time i can finish OOTP !!! you guys are NOT gonna be ready for what i have planned omfg

and speaking of what i have planned, in conjunction with this fic starting from HBP i'm going to release a george weasley fic which i am SO excited for and i hope all of you guys can join me for this too!!!

thank you guys so much for reading and supporting me it means everything!!! you honestly have no idea how much it means we have 40k views guys!!! ily all sm!!!