[Spitfire : Chapter Seventy]

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18 June, 1996

Cassie's hand reeked of the metallic aroma of blood. Already, two hours had passed before she and Isaac Deehan checked in for their evening detention. The end of the year was nearing, and yet Umbridge wanted the two to suffer as much as they could before they graduated. The pain no longer affected her, the shredded skin on top her hand became used to the constant punishment it endured. Now she just waited bordely until the shorthand of the clock struck nine . . . she had to begin packing. School ended in five days exactly, and her dorm still looked like how it had in early March.

    Isaac was seated in the desk six feet to her right, stretching his hand every so often as it dripped blood on the birchwood desk. Cassie would occasionally glance at him, hoping he'd see her and engage a silent conversation with her--he had yet to notice her, making her somewhat annoyed at his surrounding obliviousness.

    "Hem hem," Umbridge coughed every so often . . . normally when Cassie wasn't looking down at her stack of parchments.

    Cassie's finger traced over the words carved into her hand, some of which she had to repeat multiple times during her series of daily detentions; "I will not change who I am, I will stay natural and pure." She cringed at the words . . . they sounded a bit like something Kendra would say. Kendra was a delightful mother, a woman Cassie would have risked her life for if there ever came an instance--but Kendra's stance on Cassie's ability always left a sour taste, and sour memory in Cassie's mind.

    "Forty-five minutes," Umbridge announced, humming as she scribbled onto a sheet of parchment.

    Isaac looked up, finally glancing at Cassie. The blue-haired metamorphmagus flashes a smile at him. He frowned, looking down at her hand and then pointing down at his own. Cassie's smile faltered, but did not vanish. She held up her bloodied hand and made a thumbs up, showing she was fine. She silently retorted her question, he copied her actions.

    Cassie had been caught in the great hall with blue hair in the early morning, prompting her last week of school with daily evening detentions. Isaac, however, had gotten on the wrong side of the Inquisitorial Squad--whenever he did anything, he was returned detentions. Crabbe and Goyle especially targeted him as they were the two former friends of Thorfinn Rowle.

    A crash outside the DADA classroom alerted the three inhabitants of ruckus outside. Cassie lifted her arm to reach for her wand, but remembered Umbridge had taken her wand. On queue, Umbridge stood up with a complex expression twisted on her face. The woman nearly jumped out of her skin when the DADA classroom doors swung open.

    "Ms. Collins!" Umbridge yelled, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "What business?"

    "Dolores!" Wendy gasped, her heart clutching her chest. "Dolores, something's happened."

    "What is it?" Umbridge asked, glaring at her two students to sit down.

    "It's terrible, Dolores," Wendy feigned, her eyebrows stressing upward. "An absolute travesty!"

    "Spit it out, Collins!"

    "The Great Hall, Dolores.'' Wendy told, "I--You need to see it for yourself."

    Dolores wore an expression of concern, but her eyes held a look with other underlying intentions. "Collins, watch these two--make sure they do not leave before nine."

    Once Umbridge was at the end of the corridor, Wendy straightened and adopted a serious expression. "Alright, we're leaving."

    "What's happening?" Cassie asked, readily standing up.

    "What happened in the Great Hall?" Isaac asked, also standing.

    "Nothing," Wendy responded, rummaging through Umbridge's desk for the two teens' wands. "Just Peeves. But we're leaving, there's a battle--the Order needs us."

    Isaac gulped, "The Order?"

    "Where at?" Cassie asked, "is everyone okay?"

    "As far as I know," Wendy said, tossing Cassie and Isaac their respected wands. "It's in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. All those Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban earlier this month . . . they're all there."

    "Bellatrix, too?" Cassie asked, her eyes wide.

    "Yes, apparently You-Know-Who as well." Wendy told solemnly.

    "How are we going to get there?" Isaac asked. "We can't apparate out of Hogwarts."

    "We can, actually," Wendy told, directing them both down the opposite corridor Umbridge ran down. "back in the day I learned of some secret areas of the castle. I'll be able to get us out--the Ministry apparition guards have already been laid down, we'll be doing a one way trip."

    "One way?!'' Isaac asked, bewildered. "The Ministry is bloody halfway across the country!"

    "But it's do-able," Wendy stated, and she stopped. "Alright, here we are--you two hold my hands, yeah?"

    "I-I don't know if I should be going." Isaac hesitated.

    "Well I definitely am," Cassie told Wendy, "and you can't stop me."

    "I wasn't even going to try, I don't care what he thinks things—we need you there." Wendy sighed, she looked at Isaac. "C'mon, mate, we need you there--we trust you."

    "Wendy . . ."

    "Please, Isaac," Cassie asked, her leg bouncing anxiously and bloody flowing with adrenaline.

    "A-Alright, I'll go." Isaac said, every cell in his body told him to run.

    "Great," Wendy said, closing her eyes and holding the two teens hands tight. "Hold your breaths."

    Cassie looked at Wendy inquiringly. "Wh--"

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"—y?" The tang of the unprepared apparition left a sour feeling swirling in Cassie's chest. Cassie hadn't even felt her feet touch the ground before she was on her knees, belching as she attempted to sway the fondle of bile running up her throat like it was a trekway. Isaac was beside her, swaying himself as he held a protective arm over his eyes to deter the shining lights flashing ahead of them. That was when Cassie realized what was happening around her; war.

    "I'm sorry guys," Wendy panted, her face white as a demiguise's fur. "The weak spot in the shield wasn't as weak as I thought it to be."

    "We need to fight," Cassie said, coughing and using the wall to help herself onto her feet. "How many are there?"

    "I only know of five, but I highly doubt that's the right census." Wendy told, "back in the day, there'd be Death Eater expeditions with up to thirty men and women. We may as well treat this scenario the same."

    "How do we tell them from us?" Isaac asked, his own face paling as screams and shouts emerged from the hall ahead of them.

    "They've got masks, lad." Wendy said, frowning. "Y-You'll be able to tell who they are, they've given me the heebie-jeebies since I first heard of those prejudiced freaks."

    "I'm going in," Cassie said, she was finally balanced on her feet--her strive to protect her friends and family consuming all and any discomfort she felt from the unsolicited apparition across England.

    Wendy nodded in agreement, strifefully following behind her with determination. She had to protect her boys. However, when she realized Isaac wasn't following her, she stopped. A few meters ahead of them, Cassie paused unsurely herself. "Isaac, mate, you coming?"

    Isaac gulped, scratching the back of his neck anxiously. "Wend, I-I don't think I can do this."

    "Why not, mate?"

    "Yeah, Isaac," Cassie asked, the hint of aggression laced in her tone. "Why not?"

    The boy gulped again, "They might recognize me in there."

    "They'll recognize all of us!" Cassie said, eager to join the battle. "After this, we'll be on the hit-list of all of those freaks. But you agreed to help, didn't you, Isaac? You have to help us."

    "Cass," Isaac frowned, confidence escaping him as every second passed. "Thorfinn might be in there . . ."

    "So?!" Snarked Cassie.

    Isaac flinched, and Wendy's expression softened. "Oi, lass, he doesn't have to fight if he doesn't want to. I shouldn't even let you fight, your da'll kill me after this." Cassie huffed, looking longingly back toward where there were flashes of colorful light. "Isaac, you stay out here. If anyone gets hurt, I'll try my best to take them here. Take care of the injured, yeah?"

    "Y-Yeah," Isaac nodded, slightly relieved by Wendy's alternative. "Good luck."

    Wendy saluted the boy, and then joined Cassie who gave one last glance toward Isaac before the two entered the room of the battle. The Department of Mysteries--a dark room lit by floating lanterns, an odd portal-like structure in the center of the room. And bodies . . . moving bodies . . . fighting bodies. Everyone shot spells at each other, whether or not it was the Death Eaters or the Order. Cassie was bewitched by all the flashing lights, her hair fading into a frightened white.

    "Protego!" Wendy shouted, and a spell heading straight toward Cassie was shot back to its deliverer; Albert Runcorn, according to his retail workers badge. "Cass, pay attention! This is a battle!"

    "I-I thought they were meant to have masks!"

    "I suppose I was wrong, lass," Wendy told, "we're just going to have to recognize who we are fighting with. Cass, will you be able to fight?"

    "Yes, I can do it." Cassie said surely, her hair converting to a fiery red.

    "Good, I'll see you later, then." Without another word, Wendy ran into battle--shooting spells wildey at who she recognised to be enemies.

    Cassie allowed herself a moment to think, observing the room for familiar faces. The first familiar face she could see was Ginny Weasley, beside her, Luna Lovegood. They seemed to be holding their grounds fiercely, fighting a white-haired middle-aged man Cassie could recognize to be a Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy. Neville Longbottom, on queue, shot a spell at Malfoy which caused the man to slip and fall--good lad, Cassie thought. Ron and Hermione were near the other side of the room fighting a group of four, Cassie couldn't recognize the faces of any of their opposers. Harry was ahead of her, in front of the wonky portal-like structure that wavered with mystic colors and shades. Beside him, Sirius--thank Merlin he was safe. Cassie could also recognize Remus, the alternative metamorphmagus, and other members of the Order of the Phoenix--she didn't have enough time to search more carefully before a tall man with a bulging nose decided to hex a horn onto her tailbone.

    "Nasum Sardinis!" Cassie retorted, shooting back an equally-as-harming hex. That was when it hit her. Was she fighting to kill, or to detain? The opposers were surely fighting to kill, how was she supposed to respond? Her opposer's nose leaked slimy sardines the length of enlarged leeches.

He was furious, "Crucio!"

"Condeliquesco!" The curse fell short a mere couple meters away from her. Dissipating from her retorted defensive spell.

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Crucio!" Three spells were flying toward Cassie, two of which could definitely knock her unconscious. Cassie ducked the first one, and used a shielding spell to block the next two--before she could retort, the man continued to shoot a series of spells at her. A part of Cassie began to panic, if anyone else noticed this . . . she would surely be done for. That was surely this man's tactic, keep her occupied so one of his buddies could knock her down from the back. Shite. Shite. Shite. Shite. Shi--

"Incarcerous!" From behind her opposer, Cassie watched as a beam of orange light hit him in the back--knocking him onto the ground. Standing behind him was Harry Potter who waved her over, beside him was Sirius Black simultaneously fighting someone else all while waving at her. "Oi, Cass!"

"Harry!" Cassie said, running over. "Sirius! Are you two okay?"

"Better yet," Sirius began, silently shooting a hex toward his dark-haired opposer, "are you?"

"I-I'm fine, thanks for helping me, Harry." Cassie said, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"That's alright . . ." Said the boy, looking around wildey for someone else to fight. Without any other warning, the bespectacled boy ran off and began fighting Lucius Malfoy.

"I told Wendy to keep you out of here," Sirius grumbled as he managed himself a moment of intermediate rest. "No wonder she was fired from the Ministry, that lass listens to jack-shite."

"Wendy told me, and then told me she didn't care about what you thought." Cassie said, looking eye-to-eye with her father. "I don't either, I'm fighting, no matter what you say."

Sirius looked at her silently, his face contorting ever-so slightly as he thought of a way to respond. Was he trying to calculate a way to discipline her? There was a loud crash, distracting the two blacks from the predicament between them--Sirius ran off, helping Harry who was falling short in the battle against the senior Malfoy. Moments later, Cassie was sought away from the portal-like structure and was forced into a battle with twin Death Eater's. The metamorphmagus was able to incarcerate one of the twins into a binding spell, the other was more than eager to put up a fight.

A jet of red light flew in between Cassie and her opposer, momentarily pausing their fight. Cassie's heart dropped to the balls of her feet when she noticed the spell was directed toward Sirius. Fortunately, he managed to dodge the jet of light with a swift dodge. "Come on," Cassie heard Sirius shout, his voice echoing around the cavernous room. "You can do better than that!"

Fights ensued, Cassie returned to fighting her opposer before he even realized there was a spell headed his way. Cassie managed to incarcerate him the same way she did to his sister, without a final glance at him, she knocked his binded body unconscious.

Right as Cassie looked up, ready to pursue another fight, she watched as the deranged Bellatrix Lestrange pointed a wand in her direction, a little above her head. A second later, a red beam came hurtling her way. Except . . . it wasn't heading directly at her. It was heading to Sirius Black, who fought right in front of the portal-like structure in the center of the cavernous room. Sirius had his back aimed in the direction the hex was coming from . . . whatever hex it was, was definitely bound to strike him head-on.

Cassie's legs were running before she could give it a single thought, she dodged oncoming spells and even managed to trip an unsuspecting Death Eater. Someone shouted her name, she couldn't tell who--Sirius was turning to face her, the white of his clothes were beginning to glow red from the spell hurtling toward him. Someone around her shot a separate spell, at the same time as someone else's parseltongue-like words were shouted aloud--Cassie was leaping into the air.

And then she landed on her arse. But hey, she did it. She took the spell . . . a spell. A blue spell? Oh no. The last Cassie could hear before falling unconscious were screams . . . one's of fear, grief, and desperation.

AUTHORS NOTE

ah shit, *bites lower lip seductively* whasss poppingggggg

Heeeyyyy, please ignore the fact i didn't edit this. But like—CLIFF HANGER. this authors note is terrible, sorry, i'm delusional.

let's see how long it takes me to update again :-;

Vote and comment if you liked this chapter, or if you just want to be nice—it'd be appreciated. (:

January 5, 2021
2,575 words