MALFOY'S WIFE AND CHILDREN LEAVE TRIAL-

As soon as Cassia saw the headline she slammed the newspaper down on the table. The front page. They were on the front page. A stupid picture of them walking through the ministry after her father's trial.

At the time, she had wanted to put her middle finger up at the photographers. It was only her mother's restraint that meant she didn't. In hindsight, it would've been a better picture if she had. Why couldn't the paparazzi just leave them the fuck alone?

It was now a two weeks since the trial, which had taken place a week after the holidays ended. It had been horrible, sitting in that room with all those judging eyes, weighing in on whether they thought Lucius Malfoy, respected and influential ministry employee, was guilty of being a death eater.

Inside, Cassia knew he was guilty of this. And more, for he was also guilty of several counts of child abuse. But she had chosen not to testify against him, meaning this secret stayed buried inside her the whole time.

But in the end, it didn't matter. Lucius had been found guilty of being a death eater and was given life in Azkaban. According to Rufus Scrimegour, new minister for magic and the judge in the court, he was lucky not to get the dementor's kiss.

So Cassia, her mother and Draco had retreated home, which the girl still wasn't used to being so quiet.

This summer was different than the last. She hadn't been used as a slave yet, or beaten. Yes, her mother had been strangely quiet, and Draco, but they'd not been nasty, or impolite.

She also had access to all her Hogwarts stuff, meaning, for the first time ever, she could write letters to her friends and recieve their replies. She'd written both Poppy and Harry probably a hundred letters each, and was still waiting for some of the replies.

Oh, and Harry. Harry... oh fuck, Cassia was smiling just thinking about him-

After their kiss on the train, she'd looked forward to the day she'd see him again every second since. She'd replayed that kiss and the moment before it in her head so many times she could probably recite it word for word by now.

The only thing was, she didn't know how Harry was feeling. She hoped that he felt the same way, and the evidence from his letters suggested it, but she just didn't know.

However, despite this good thing, the world wasn't going the best at the moment.

Rufus Scrimegour had taken over from Fudge being minister, and wasn't really doing the best. Over the course of the summer, people had gone missing, been killed, tortured and kidnapped, and some muggles had even been targeted, a bride being knocked down only a few days ago. The problem was, the perpetrators were ones that Cassia now sort of knew, and saw quite a lot.

The Malfoys hadn't gone out a lot. Considering Lucius had just been convicted, their social status had plummeted down so far that the whispers were audible if they walked through the streets. The only guests brought to the house were dodgy people. Or rather, non convicted death eaters.

One of whom was Narcissa's sister. Cassia and Draco's Aunt Bellatrix.

Cassia had initially been terrified of meeting all these death eaters, considering the fact that she had literally fought against them during the battle at the ministry, but the weird thing was, they had all forgiven her.

Including Bellatrix.

"Oh, come on Cassia! Don't be shy, water under the bridge!" She had laughed. Then she'd said. "Besides, this year will be different. Now you know which side you're on."

And Cassia hadn't understood that. She hadn't at all.

Why would this year be any different than the others? What did she mean, 'know what side you're on'?

But she hadn't dwelled on it. If she wasn't getting yelled at or reprimanded, she was happy.

Soon she would know that she should've thought better on this.

Very, very soon.

❦︎❦︎❦︎

It was the third week when it got properly suspicious.

There'd been some signs. Some whispers over dinner, some knowing looks behind her back.

But she hadn't really thought anything of it. Why would she? Despite the fucked upness of the world, Cassia's life was going okay. Besides the whole death eaters thing, she was able to write to Poppy and Harry, she was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts, and her father was banged up for life.

However, when things got suspicious, they got very suspicious, causing her to be more confused than ever.

It was the day out, at first. For a whole day, both Draco and Narcissa were out the house, only arriving back home at eleven at night. Cassia had asked questions but they had all been curtly shut down.

Then it was the visits from death eaters. There had only been one or two, at first. Now there was barely a day without Cassia spotting one or two in the house, talking to her mother or brother.

Then it was the weird twitches. Draco seemed to be very uncomfortable these days, almost always frowing or twitching weirdly, sometimes even making small grunts of pain around her.

So it was natural that, by the time the fourth week rolled round, Cassia wanted answers.

But she didn't know how to go about getting them. If she just strolled up to her mother and asked, there were possibilities that the freedoms she'd got this summer would be revoked, and she did not want that to happen.

So there she was, sat up in her room at her desk, reading a newspaper article.

HARRY POTTER: THE CHOSEN ONE?

It was fucking funny, to be honest. It went on about the ministry over the summer, and about the prophecy, and about how it supposedly said that Harry was 'The Chosen One' to vanquish Voldemort.

Clearly 'The Boy Who Lived' wasn't enough for him, Cassia thought with a fond roll of her eyes.

"Sqawk!"

The sound of an approaching owl made her look up, smiling as she saw Oswald flying back into her room window. Her stomach fluttered; she had sent Oswald out to Harry.

"Oswald, come here! Ozzy, come over here!"

Practically begging the owl to come to her, Cassia's heart started to beat faster. As Oswald fluttered over, she untied the letter attached to its beak, opened it and unfolded it, smiling more and more as she read.

Hey Cass,

I'm glad you're having a good summer. I love the fact that you're able to owl us all now, it means we can stay in touch.

Since I last spoke to you, I've actually left the Dursley's (sorry, I know how funny you think my Dudley stories are). But anyway, Dumbledore picked me up from them and took me to meet the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I was there to convince him to come back (he's kinda weird, but not nearly as bad as Umbridge). And then afterwards I was dropped off at the Burrow.

Poppy's here, too. She says she misses you, she really wants to hug you and she wants you back to gossip about whatever you two gossip about. She's here with Parvati and Padma, and Pippa, of course. She's doing better now. About as good as I am.

I hope we're able to meet at Diagon Alley, if everything goes to plan. If it doesn't we'll see you on September First, but I really hope it does.

See you soon, Cass

Harry

Cassia smiled down at the letter. Even though they were all like this, just them talking about everything and nothing, they were so special to her, and she kept every single one.

She sighed, getting a bit of parchment and an ink bottle out and grinning. She would actually write the letter in the morning, but she had to get this first line down right now, because it made her giggle just thinking about it.

Hey Chosen One,

Sorry if that wasn't ego-boosting enough, but I can't bow down to you in a letter...

❦︎❦︎❦︎

It was the fifth week when Cassia was let in.

She hadn't been sure what she was going to be told, she hadn't been sure what the secret would be.

But she would've never expected what she got.

It started off normally.

"Cassia, dear!" Came the familiar voice of her mother, calling her down the stairs. "Come down, your Aunt Bellatrix is here!"

Cassia sighed, putting down the newspaper she was reading (with another funny Harry story inside) and yelling. "Coming!"

She was down the stairs not a moment later, skidding to a halt in the drawing room.

Because not only was Aunt Bellatrix there, but so was Draco. All three of them were sitting facing her at the long table, and Cassia was confused.

"Hello," she said to her aunt, looking at her mother and frowning. "What's going-?"

"Cassia," her mother said solemnly, yet commandingly. "Sit down, please."

It wasn't nasty or mean, so Cassia did it, frowning slightly as she turned in her chair, looking at Draco. Unlike their aunt and mother, he was showing emotion. His face showed fear, but also pride.

What the f-?

"Cassia," Narcissa began, her tone flat and even. "We know you know we've been keeping secrets from you, and we apologise for that," she swallowed. "However, we've now been given permission to tell you what is happening."

Cassia frowned, raising her eyebrows. "Permission?"

Bellatrix, this time, answered, nodding with a smirk. "From the Dark Lord."

And that was when panic set in.

The whole time, Cassia had thought this was a family thing, or even perhaps just a Draco thing.

But no. It was a whole load bigger than that.

Voldemort was involved.

Sorry, what?

Cassia was visibly shocked from this, so Narcissa said. "We know this is a lot, Cassia, and I'm sorry for not telling you, but... we've come to the conclusion that Draco needs some help."

"Help?" Cassia frowned. "Wh-?"

"The Dark Lord has given Draco a task," Bellatrix spoke over her. "A task he will complete over the course of this year at Hogwarts. A task the Dark Lord cannot do himself."

Cassia frowned, asking the obvious. "And... what is that task?"

Bellatrix looked her dead in the eyes as she said it.

"To kill Albus Dumbledore."

In that moment, Cassia's whole world shattered. Wh- what?

Now it all made sense. She was getting recruited for a mission... a mission Voldemort had given her brother. Probably threatened his life on it, as well. And clearly, Voldemort had thought Draco would need some help on this one. So he had decided to ask...

Her?

And then another thing came into her head. The weird twitches Draco would do whenever she got near his forea-

"He's been branded, hasn't he?" Cassia tried to keep her tone devoid of any emotion as she asked it. "Draco's a death eater, isn't he?"

Narcissa looked down, a look of anguish filling her face. Bellatrix, meanwhile, just hissed. "He should be proud. He's taking on a great honour, and he should be happy about it. Instead, he cowers in fear and has a spasm everytime someone even glances in the direction of the mark," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Cassia couldn't breathe. "A- am I-"

"The Dark Lord specified he only wanted you as an aider, someone to help Draco achieve his goal," Bellatrix said. "He might not even speak to you about it, but you will be there, Cassia, inside the castle. It is you he will go to if he needs it."

"And Severus," Narcissa added, looking down.

Snape? Somewhere inside Cassia reacted to this news crazily, but the Cassia on the outside remained calm.

"We've visited him, asked him to help you," Narcissa swallowed. "An- and asked him to fulfill the deed should Draco fail."

This was a worse betrayal than ever, Cassia decided. She had watched, and listened to, Dumbledore defending Snape, saying he wasn't a death eater.

If Snape was the one to kill him... she couldn't even imagine it.

She just couldn't.

And she was still in utter disbelief. But she did know one thing. She was owling Harry as soon as she got out of this room-

"C- can I go now?" She asked in a small stutter, making to get up. "I'm sorry, this has just been a lot to take in-"

"Wait."

Her aunt's command was one word, but it was hard enough to make Cassia, who was already standing up, sit down.

"The Dark Lord's threats to Draco are enough to keep him in line," Bellatrix said to her in a low voice, smirking. "But on the subject of you, Cassia... he was very specific."

Cassia frowned. "Wh-?"

"He wants you to make the unbreakable vow," Narcissa croaked, eyes trained on the table. "To commit yourself to the mission, or..."

As she trailed off, Cassia's eyes widened. She couldn't help it. She'd heard of Unbreakable Vows before, and knew what the consequences were. If you broke it, you died. Cassia could refuse, of course, but if she did...

He'll kill me, Cassia realised in shock. Voldemort's going to kill me if I don't agree to this. If I don't agree to be my brother's little sidekick.

But she also knew that if she did do it, if she did agree, she'd live this whole year as a betrayer. As a traitor.

She'd talk to Poppy, to Harry, to Ron and Hermione, as if she were their friend. And all while harbouring the secret that Draco (and her) were plotting to kill Dumbledore.

Or she could die.

Either by telling her friends about the mission and letting the Umbreakable Vow consume her, or by refusing to follow along with Voldemort's request.

"So, Cassia," Bellatrix cocked her head, raising her eyebrows. "Are you doing this?"

And Cassia had never thought of herself as a coward, had never thought of herself as someone who would just lay down after seeing something not right.

But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do it this time.

Because she wanted to see them.

Ron.

Hermione.

Poppy.

Harry.

She wanted to see them again, and talk to them, and have a good year at Hogwarts with them.

So she did what she would later regret with all her life.

She took a deep breath and said it.

"Yes."