Capítulo 51: Minty Green
Only seconds passed by, yet it felt like an eternity as Cassie waited for Dumbledore's response. Her heartbeat was thudding in her ears, and yet somewhere one of the elder wizard's many trinkets was clanking loud enough that had it been within her reach, she would have knocked it to the ground in annoyance. As she waited, she didn't dare let her eyes wander from his face. She was certain she would miss something paramount if she did, a truth that he would conveniently leave out when he finally decided to open his weathered mouth and speak.
"Cassiopeia," said Dumbledore placidly, "What would put such a troubling thought into your head?"
"Albus," Cassie countered with forced composure. She could already sense his ambiguity. "Please, just answer me. Please."
The headmaster's expression softened at her begging, and for the first time in a while, she felt like he might have a genuine concern for her feelings. Or, he could be putting on a facade, she reminded herself. Dumbledore was masterful at coming across like the benignant figure most people thought him to be, and sometimes it fooled even her.
"My dear girl," he said with a small sigh, "I fear that I may have kept you in the dark for far too long."
"Bullshit!" she cried, standing up suddenly. In that instant, she had lost any sense of poise she had been holding on to. "You've always gone out of your way to keep it that way!" She turned away from him, not able to look at him any longer. She feared if she did, she would do something senseless in her anger.
"It would be insulting of me to dispute that statement," Dumbledore continued. Cassie's gaze locked on Fawkes. The phoenix was still sleeping, either unaware or ignoring the fact that there was an argument brewing in the same room between two extremely powerful sorcerers. "And for that, I apologize, Cassiopeia. Sometimes I forget that you are no longer my young student."
She turned on her heel, slamming her hands on the headmaster's desk as she leaned down to glare at him. "Albus, stop trying to distract me!"
"Of course," he replied, stroking his white beard idly as he studied the black-haired witch. "You would like to know the current state of your soul."
She hoped the headmaster would stay on topic, now that they were finally there. "It makes sense, doesn't it? Why I've been reacting so badly to the dementors? I murdered someone, after all - "
"That is where you and I disagree, Cassiopeia."
She scoffed, folding her arms across her chest as she stood up straight. "Do you not recall extensively planning Sombria's death at my wand? How is that not murder?"
"When killing is done for virtuous reasons - "
"Stop," she hissed. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't speak to me like a naive child."
"I do not intend to deceive you," Dumbledore replied gently. "Although I can hardly blame you for jumping to that conclusion." He watched her silently for a few moments as she slowly paced in front of his desk, and then he motioned toward the empty chair. "Please, have a seat, Cassiopeia."
She complied, plopping into the cushy chair and glowering at the elderly wizard sitting across from her. Past conversations between them were going through her head, ones where he didn't deny grooming her as a weapon, how he had kept a prophecy about her fate in the next wizarding war from her, and how he failed to mention that he sent her to another continent to kill an infamous dark witch. She didn't realize she was gritting her teeth until Dumbledore cleared his throat, pulling her back into reality. "So you're trying to convince me that what I did was noble, is that it?"
"Whether you believe it or not is beside the point, although there is an innumerable amount of our kind that would tell you the same thing."
Cassie shook her head. She wanted to snarl at him, 'Was Da Gama's killing of her son just as honorable?' But it would only get them further off-topic. "Okay. Fine. Hurrah, I killed Sombria, everyone rejoice! That doesn't answer my question, Albus!"
"Any killing of a human being, whether justified or not, does damage to the soul, I am afraid. To know to what extent is impossible." He said it slowly, clearly. She didn't miss a word.
She expected knowing to be more impactful. But there wasn't much emotion running through her veins, nothing other than a vague sense of relief from finally getting the frustrating headmaster to answer her. "So how do I fix it?"
"Remorse."
"It can't be that simple."
"It is," Dumbledore argued lightly, "and forgive me if I am completely out of line by saying so, but I think you have gone through your fair share of penance." Cassie frowned as she considered his words, her eyes falling to her lap. She was wondering if perhaps she hadn't been remorseful enough, and Dumbledore seemed to read her thoughts. "Which leads me to my next topic up for our scrutiny, because I have no doubt that it would not be possible for you to feel any more anguish than you have for killing Sombria." Cassie couldn't stop the tears that fell. She sniffed, trying to swallow down the lump that had formed in her throat. She was fortunate to have a number of people she felt comfortable being vulnerable in front of; Albus Dumbledore was not one of them.
Her voice was hoarse when she spoke next. "You think my soul is healing."
"I am confident that it is, yes."
"Then why do I have such an issue with the dementors?"
"That is what is so interesting, Cassiopeia," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. "Even if your soul was irreparably damaged, there are plenty of wizards in that state that are not affected as you are. The dementors may be attracted to them more for whatever reason, but they don't become paralyzed and helpless as you do." Cassie looked at him with disdain. She didn't find this interesting in the least.
"Okay," she said dully, "so what is your theory?"
"I would like you to use the Pensieve. I know you are not keen to do so, but I think it would point us in the right direction."
Dumbledore was right, Cassie wasn't thrilled about having to relive the experience of killing Sombria again. But she agreed to it. As she extracted the memory from her temple, she wondered how this devious wizard had managed to get her to do something she didn't want to yet again, when every cell of her knew that he was a master of manipulation. Even with that knowledge making her feel slightly sick to her stomach, she let him accompany her into the jewel-encrusted basin. They stood next to each other in silence as the battle in the dense Amazon forest played out in front of them. Cassie's pulse pounded in her ears as she watched her first interactions with Sombria, thinking it was the start of some sort of panic attack.
"Keep your focus," Dumbledore was encouraging her, although she barely registered that he was speaking to her. His memory-form had immobilized the dark witch now, and Cassie was approaching her to sift through her mind like it was an open book. She could recall the feeling of using Legilimency on Sombria with such ease, even though she barely used it by choice. The memories she had seen had been gruesome and traumatizing, but the act itself felt...Cassie couldn't quite put a word to it...luxurious? As she realized she was associating a positive feeling with Legilimency, something she could never correlate with anything other than the cruelty of her father, she suddenly felt horrified.
She clamored for distraction. It came in the form of watching the rage form on her face as she pulled out of Sombria's mind. It was always didactic observing herself from the perspective of another, but seeing how tenacious she suddenly appeared was electrifying. She looked at Dumbledore, whose eyes were fixated on memory-Cassie. He looked vainglorious, rapacious even as she started to exchange curses with Sombria. Eager to see his attack dog at work, she thought scornfully.
Her heartbeat quickened in her chest as the duel intensified. She knew what was coming, so why did she feel so exhilarated watching it? Perhaps what she thought was an oncoming fit of terror really just exultation in her own abilities. Was she really that arrogant?
When Dumbledore pulled the two of them out of his Pensieve, Cassie felt much more confused than when they went in. The Headmaster seemed to sense this and didn't speak until they were settled at his desk again. "How did looking back on that duel affect you, Cassiopeia?" he asked plainly.
Cassie took a moment to gather her thoughts. He was watching her closely again, and she had to shake the image of his voracious expression while in the Pensieve so she could find her words. "I thought it would be more unnerving, if I'm being honest."
He nodded, looking appeased. "You did not become incapacitated, as I anticipated might be the outcome. I am a bit bewildered myself."
Her eyes were locked on the candy dish in the corner of his desk that was nearly overflowing with toffees, but her mind was elsewhere. All she could focus on was her expression when she cast the spell that finally ended Sauda Sombria's life. She had looked fulfilled, like killing her had been satiating. Gratifying, even.
"Cassie," came Dumbledore's voice, and it seemed far away as it pulled her from deep within her own mind once again.
"Yes," she breathed, trying to regain concentration.
"I know it is getting late," he said, "But I would like to discuss an option with you."
She nodded, and then Dumbledore was standing and throwing floo powder into his fireplace. Before she could protest what was happening, he had summoned Lupin, and the professor appeared in a whirl of green flames. He, too, was wearing a night robe, although his wasn't nearly as fluffy and cozy-looking as Dumbledore's was.
"Professor Dumbledore, Miss Black," said Lupin politely, dusting off his drab gray robe, "To what do I owe this late-night visit?"
Cassie sat back in her chair, looking between the two wizards. She was rather unimpressed, as she didn't think for one second that Lupin hadn't been expecting the Headmaster to need him.
"Remus and I have been discussing your predicament - " Dumbledore started.
"Of course you have," Cassie interjected coldly.
Lupin ran a hand through his sand-colored hair, looking at her sheepishly. "Boy, Severus sure has rubbed off on you."
"Excuse me?"
"Just - your mannerisms...nevermind," Lupin tried to explain. Cassie knew what he was trying to say, but she wasn't having it.
"So we're back to square one," she mused, her eyes landing on Dumbledore. "Speaking with everyone else about my problems and then telling me after the fact."
"Remus is the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and since your issue involves dementors, I found it only appropriate, Cassiopeia," Dumbledore replied. He looked between the two of them, amused, as if he sensed the tension. He probably knows I'm intentionally trying to avoid the blasted man, Cassie thought angrily.
"So what did you two discuss, then?" she asked with feigned interest, resting her chin on her palm as she stared at them with wide eyes. "Did you two have tea? Share a biscuit or two while you talked about my issue?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her, a look she had come to associate with a silent warning that she was on thin ice. Lupin was gawking at her with his mouth slightly agape, likely stunned that she was willing to speak to the Headmaster in that manner.
"Would you like to hear it or not, Cassiopeia?" Dumbledore asked. Oddly enough, he waved his wand to reheat his and Cassie's tea that was long since forgotten and conjured a third cup for Lupin. The younger wizard pulled up a chair next to Cassie and took a sip, giving her an ironic wink.
She sighed, waving her hand to indicate her compliance. "I think the dementors aren't necessarily affecting you, per se," Lupin started. "My theory is that whatever bad memory they're bringing forth is what is causing you to - to, well - "
"Freeze," she finished for him. Damn the man and his need to be considerate all the time.
"Yes," Lupin continued. "And that memory's negative impact combined with a dementor's inherent heinousness are what's to blame."
Cassie carefully mulled over Lupin's theory. "But Albus and I delved into the memory that's been coming up the most when the dementors attack. I was fine when we were in the Pensieve," she said. A little too fine, but she didn't want to think about that.
"I think I've found a solution," Lupin said. "It's a bit of a stretch, and it would have to be carefully supervised, especially since you're at risk for hallucinating and accidentally using your powers..."
Cassie snorted. "What? That sounds unnecessarily risky!"
Dumbledore looked unusually somber. "Cassiopeia," he said quietly, and she knew he meant every word he said next. "Leaving you in this vulnerable state is riskier than anything we are proposing."
It was past midnight when Cassie was back in Severus's quarters. She had a few hours of sleep before he was back from patrolling, and then she was repeating everything to him. He reacted angrily, which is all she could expect from him in his over-tired state. She was emotionally drained at that point.
"Why didn't Dumbledore run this past me?" he seethed.
"You're not my keeper." She stated it as a fact, not intending to aggravate him further. It didn't work.
"And he involved Lupin! How can Dumbledore assume he can even be trusted with any of this information?"
"He obviously trusts him or he wouldn't have hired him," Cassie pointed out. This earned her an offended glare, and she regretted the words immediately. There could be no positive words said in relation to Remus Lupin, not between the two of them. "Do you think the Diviner's elixir could help?"
"By intentionally making you inebriated and then meditate on the one memory that has been inflicting trauma on you since it happened? I think not!" he snapped. Lupin had told her about a potion that contained Salvia divinorum, in addition to a few other ingredients with hallucinogenic properties. It sounded like a ridiculous plan even to Cassie. But even Dumbledore was pushing her to try it, because something had to help her.
"But Severus - "
He turned, his lips curled in a snarl as he bore down on her. "I will not take the advice from that hack of a professor!"
"So what are we going to do, then," she challenged, not flinching as his unblinking dark eyes glared.
"Anything other than having you do what the werewolf suggests!" His abrasiveness was making her blood boil. She matched his sneer, her face inches from him as she silently egged him on. To do what, she wasn't certain, but she wasn't going to shrink away from his intimidating stance.
"You're as stubborn as a mule," she told him, what was meant to be an insult. Her tone had been a tad more sultry than she had expected, surprising even herself. She hadn't realized that she had his robes balled in her fists and was pulling him to her until that moment.
"And you, my dear, are absolutely maddening," Severus murmured as he slowly backed the young witch into his bedroom room wall, pinning her there. When she looked up at him, there was a fire still burning in the man's onyx eyes. Now, the flames that were once crackling in anger were raging for her.
They didn't bother to move from that spot as they continued on their conquest. Severus lavished her in kisses, determined to keep their contact even as he unzipped her pants and pushed them down. She eagerly kicked them off, her dainty hands moving to free her lover of his own cloth constraints. Satisfied with pushing them down only far enough so she could grasp him in her hand, she smiled into his mouth when she elicited a throaty moan as she slowly stroked him.
He suddenly grasped her under her thighs, lifting her up as she wrapped her legs around his narrow waist, her hands burying themselves into his raven hair. There were no formalities when the Potions Master began to thrust into her with fervor. The only sounds in the dungeon room were heavy breathing and skin slapping on skin.
Breathing was peppered with loud moans. Cassie was losing herself in their activities, her own excitement building as Severus panted in her ear, when he spoke. "Tell me you're mine," he demanded.
"I'm yours," she affirmed without hesitation. He pounded into her faster, harder. Sweat was beading on his pale forehead.
"Say it again." His voice was low, husky. That alone was enough to take her over the edge.
"I'm yours!" she whined as his fingers dug into her creamy thighs even harder, sure to leave bruises for the next day. She didn't care.
"Again!" he growled, his teeth grazing sensitive skin on her neck.
"I'm yours, Severus!" Cassie cried out. He bit down as he finished, the sharp pain and his animalistic urges adding to the sensations that pushed her into her own climax.
He left tender kisses over the bite mark as they came back down to reality, cursing himself for leaving something so crude on her body. At his insistence, she let him rub a healing ointment over it, and it disappeared in a few minutes. Cassie was studying her now-healed neck in the mirror, and Severus cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her.
"I liked having a mark from you," she said coyly. He looked amused as came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, planting a kiss on her ear.
"I love you, Cassie."
"I love you, too, Sev."
Days passed, and Cassie and Severus weren't any closer to figuring out her dementor problem. She tried to bring up using the Diviner's elixir a few times, but each time he dismissed her, acting as though the suggestion was out of the question. Although she was grateful that attempting to initiate a conversation on the sore subject wasn't making him instantly lose his temper, she wasn't happy that he was rejecting her opinion on the matter.
It was late evening when Cassie attempted to approach the topic again. They were each grading papers, although Cassie was trying to get through a stack of sixth-year essays for McGonagall while Severus muddled through fourth-year Potions. There had been a constant tension between the two of them for the last few days, and even the thought of speaking of the elixir again was making her head throb. But she couldn't sit idly on the issue any longer, and neither of them was eager to have her face the dementors again.
"I told you it is a foolish idea," Severus said lowly after she spoke, his eyes not leaving the parchment in front of him. "Why you feel the need to speak of it yet again is beyond me - "
"Is it actually a foolish idea," Cassie snapped, "Or is it the person who came up with it?"
His black eyes flashed in anger as they met hers. "Do you think I cannot see beyond my personal animosity? That I would let my emotions get in the way of reason?"
"Like I do?" Cassie said, throwing down her quill.
"Listen to your melodramatic words, you daft girl," he said icily. "As you are unjustly putting words into my mouth you are answering your own question, are you not?"
She blinked, caught off guard by his insult. This issue, it was wearing on them. As she studied his furrowed brow and disapproving glare, a realization hit her. "Severus, you still think I should just get over it, don't you. That I need to buck up and move on, that my reaction to the dementors is some personal weakness," she said quietly. His expression changed from one of discontent to astonishment, as though her words made him understand his true feelings on the matter.
He opened his mouth to speak but must have decided against it. However he was intending to respond, he must have decided that it only add salt to the wound and thought better of it. His tact was lost on her.
It was the next morning that she made a decision, and it was one that didn't sit right even as she was making her way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It was early Saturday morning, well before students would be up for breakfast and the corridors were empty. What she was doing was innocent enough, going to see one of her colleagues, but it felt like she would be getting caught if someone saw her en route.
There was no answer when she knocked on the classroom door, but it wasn't locked. For a few moments, she was alone until Lupin emerged from his office, a jovial look on his face, perhaps expecting a student that had questions about a homework assignment.
"Miss Black," he said, not hiding his surprise. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this early in the morning?"
"The Diviner's elixir," she said, not interested in beating around the bush. "Have you taken it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I've found it extremely helpful when there's been an obvious disconnect between mind and spirit," he replied. He leaned back against his desk, watching her carefully. "Does this mean you're considering using it?"
"I don't think I have a choice," she said frankly. "I have no other course of action."
"You always have a choice."
She scoffed. "Does the Headmaster still want me to go through with this?"
Lupin looked out the window, his focus elsewhere as he considered his words. "He is strongly encouraging its use, yes."
Cassie didn't need to discuss it any further. Minutes later, Lupin was headed to Hogsmeade and then straight to Diagon Alley where the elixir could be purchased. He had asked her if Severus possibly had a vial in his stores. He didn't have much to say when she told him that the Potions Master was opposed to her taking it.
The hour that Lupin was gone felt like an eternity. By the time he could get back and they used it, they would definitely be missing breakfast and quite possibly lunch. She had told Severus that she would be spending the majority of her day helping Trelawney prep for her seventh-year Ovomancy lessons next week. She could only hope that the odd Divination professor would stay holed up in her classroom like she usually did, or he would quickly discover that she was up to something else. Blatantly lying to him that morning was already making her stomach churn. She had high hopes that her deception would pay off at the end of the day.
Lupin returned with the tiny bottle of mint green liquid. After triple-checking that the door was locked, Cassie settled onto the floor of the professor's office as he sat directly across from her.
"You're competent at stunning people?" Cassie asked as she crossed her legs, hoping that the position would help her meditate when the effects of the potion started to take hold.
"I am," Lupin said, "Although I doubt that will be needed. People usually don't become agitated or aggressive while under its influence."
"Nevermind other people," Cassie said, pulling her wand out of her robes and handing it to him. "At the first sign that I seem like I might start using magic, knock me out."
He smirked at her. "If I'm holding onto your wand, what danger could there be?"
Cassie had closed her eyes in an attempt to relax. She opened one eye to look at him as she said, "Don't be stupid, Remus."
"Yes, ma'am."
She closed her eyes again, jumping slightly as Lupin placed the vial in her extended hand. After a moment's hesitation, she brought it to her lips and tipped it back. As the elixir coated her throat, it left behind a cool, tingling sensation. For the first few seconds, she felt nothing. And then gradually, she began to feel like she was floating. The darkness around her changed, at first just into waves of white light. As she looked around her, colors of every shade formed. She laughed in delight at the sight. It felt like she was inside a kaleidoscope, a Muggle optical instrument that Arthur had shown her during one of her summer visits to the Burrow. As she recalled the memory, members of the Weasley family began to appear beside, above, below her, as if the rules of the normal world didn't apply here.
"This is wonderful!" Cassie declared, looking around at so many faces that she adored. Suddenly, Ted, Andromeda, and Dora were there, too. Peace ran through her very being. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned to face them. It was Charlie. "But you don't belong with us," he said.
"I don't?" she asked, bewildered.
"You belong with them," he said. Stone-faced, he pointed behind her. She turned again, and a shudder ran through her when she saw Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco standing there. The colors surrounding them were different. They were darker, mixed with scarlet and violet.
"Are you sure?" Cassie asked. "I don't think that's right."
"Do as you're told," Charlie said. "Accept it."
Her legs weren't moving, and yet she was suddenly nearer to the blond-haired family as if she were drifting. As she got closer, she noticed her uncle's eyes were red, not silver like they normally were. His pupils were slits. "Daughter," he said, beckoning her with an outstretched hand, and then she realized that he was Lord Voldemort, and Narcissa had been replaced by Bellatrix.
"No!" cried Cassie, "I won't go with you!"
"It doesn't matter," Bellatrix cooed, a cruel smile on her beautiful features, "you already are."
"Are what?" Cassie asked, terrified. She was cold, shivering. Beams of red and purple light were dancing around them in the dark, her own power born out of her fear.
"You are us," hissed the voice of Saudia Sombria, her face glowing from the dashes of blue on her face. Cassie opened her mouth to scream in protest. Just as her voice left her throat, they all disappeared.
She was suddenly standing in a forest. No, a clearing in a forest, something man-made. A duel between two raven-haired witches was taking place, and off to the side, she could see the silvery forms of herself and Albus Dumbledore watching. The elder wizard looked pleased.
For the first time since entering this hallucinatory state, Cassie felt lucid. "I'm watching myself watch myself duel Sombria," she muttered, wondering if the potion had made her go mad. Seeing Dumbledore yet again watch her as she took down Sombria made her feel used, dirty. But it didn't tell her anything new. So her eyes traveled to the Pensieve-version of herself.
What she saw on her own face stole her breath. Her expression was as carnivorous as Dumbledore's was. And then all she desired was to see the end of the duel up close, knowing an answer might be there. Without another whisp of a thought, she was in the midst of it, able to see every change in her face as she moved. She delivered the final blow, the one that ended Sombria's life, and she saw an array of emotions. She was smug, satisfied, relieved. What she hadn't expected was to see enjoyment.
"No," Cassie whispered.
"Don't fret," Bellatrix said, suddenly at her side again. "It's inevitable." She ran her fingers through Cassie's hair, almost lovingly, and then pressed her pointer finger to her temple. Cassie felt like she was falling as memories started to bombard her.
It was her second year. Hundreds of hooded figures were kneeling down before her as someone spoke in her ear. "In you, we see the same greatness as the Dark Lord. We devote ourselves to you and the cause we hope you find worthy..."
The scene shifted in a whirl of color. It was her seventh year. She was fending off four attackers in Hogsmeade, merely defending herself. That changed the instant she realized they were trying to kill her. In a matter of moments, she incapacitated them, and the look on her face as she was magically strangling one of the wizards and dragging him to her was much the same as when she had killed Sombria. "No, no, you have to mean it," she said, mocking the man's feeble attempt at the Killing Curse...
Cassie was in the Forbidden Forest surrounded by centaurs. She had been seeking answers about her prophecy, and Firenze had been kind enough to comply. "But you said that I will bring carnage," Cassie said, "And you will," Firenze confirmed without emotion...
She was on the Astronomy Tower. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were grooming me as a weapon, Headmaster," Cassie was saying to Dumbledore. He nodded, replying, "It's what you were put on this earth to be, Cassiopeia..."
Severus and Cassie were fighting about getting involved with Muggle affairs, and Cassie had lost her temper. "You need to understand, that I am powerful, I am capable," she was saying, a dangerous expression on her face. Severus looked nervous, a rare expression for the stoic wizard. "And if I come across some disgusting, good-for-nothing scumbag that needs to be taught a lesson so he doesn't hurt me or anyone else, then you bet your ass that I'm going to do whatever it is I want, Muggle or not..."
She and Severus were in Ollivander's after her wand had been destroyed. "Why are none of them responding to me?" Cassie asked desperately. Ollivander responded, "You are in a stage of transition, aren't you, Miss Black?" "I suppose I am," she said. "The internal confusion of your own identity is befuddling to the wands," Ollivander told her...
She was in a tent in the Amazon rainforest with Dumbledore, locked in a heated exchange. He was about to convince her that killing Sombria was the right thing to do. "I would be killing someone, Headmaster! Are you able to accept that fact so easily? I'm eighteen years old, for Merlin's sake!" she cried. His next words were like a blow to her very soul. "It might be the first time that you take someone's life," he said, "But I assure you, it will not be the last."
The falling stopped. She wasn't sure where she landed, but this place was light and quiet. She thought she was alone, and then she turned to see Dumbledore standing there. At the moment, she was feeling detached from the emotions she knew she would normally be feeling.
"What have you learned?" asked the Headmaster.
She didn't know how she knew the answer from the onslaught of information that had just been thrown at her. But a conclusion just came to her, like it bubbled up from her subconscious. Like it had been there the entire time.
"I liked killing Sombria," she told him like she was giving him an answer in class. "And not because it was justified or because it was my duty...I liked the act itself."
"Very good!"
"But how does that help me with the dementors?" she asked, and he looked at her thoughtfully.
"I think, now that you will not be putting so much effort into repressing this truth, the memory will not cause such a negative reaction. In fact, it may no longer be a bad memory at all."
Cassie laughed. "But Albus, that makes me a monster!"
He smiled, touching her lightly on the nose like she was a small child. "The pumpkin doesn't roll far from the vine, does it, my dear?"
She felt heavier now, and the colors around her were fading. She could sense that she was in the Defense Against the Dark Art classroom, and Dumbledore disappeared. She was delighted to see that Severus was seated on the floor in front of her. He was watching her intently, leaning back against the wall with an arm draped casually on a bent knee.
"I've figured it out!" she said gleefully, and she leaned forward, pulling on his shirt and attacking him with a kiss in celebration. He tensed under her touch, but only for a moment. She was too elated to notice. She crawled closer to him, her hands gripping his hair as she pressed her chest into his, and she pushed him back, intending to climb on top of him.
The potion was almost fully worn off when she noticed that the hair in her grip felt different. It was shorter, coarser than she was used to. And Severus's scent...he usually smelled of herbs and faint smoke and minty aftershave. Today he smelled like cinnamon and coffee and a bit musty, like he had been spending a lot of time in the DADA classroom...
"What the fucking hell!" Cassie yelled, pulling away from Lupin so quickly that she knocked his head on the wall a bit. He was rubbing the sore spot as she looked at him in disgust, growing angrier when she noticed that he was flushed and slightly out of breath. "Were you just going to let me keep going?"
"Cassie, I'm sorry, you caught me by surprise - "
"Did I?" she seethed. She scrambled to her feet, and when she remembered that he still had her wand, she held out her hand. It flew to her and she wasted no time in pointing it at him. "And if I had torn off your pants, would that have been a nice surprise as well?"
Lupin stood as well, his hands in front of him to show reprieve. "It was only a few seconds of kissing. Like I said, you caught me off guard, and by the time I realized what was happening you were screaming at me - "
"You're blushing!" she snapped angrily.
"Well, forgive me! It isn't every day that a young beautiful witch attacks me without notice!" Lupin protested. "Will you calm down? Did the potion work?"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" she shouted, and then she huffed in anger, stuffing her wand into her pants pocket. She took a few moments to collect herself. "Yes, it worked. But fuck, I don't think it was worth it now!"
Lupin shook his head in disbelief. "Severus doesn't have to know what happened."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Cassie stormed from his office. "Do me a favor, and don't give me any more relationship advice!"
She was almost out of the classroom when she heard him yell after her, "You're welcome!"
She thought she had her nerves under control as she slammed the door shut. Much to her dismay, as soon as she pictured Severus's face, her stomach churned, and the contents of her nearly empty stomach ended up on the corridor floor.
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