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Web of Redemption COMPLETE	By : FemmeBono Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 3455 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
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Chapter 5: Threads combine

    Cassie
considered the next few days as another kind of merry little dance through hell.
Sure enough, after she had taken the strange brew for about a day's time, she
began to have the mother of all cramps periodically throughout the day.
Thankfully, a hot bath that evening lessened the intensity. By next morning,
however, she had finally noticed fibrous tissue on the pads she had requested
from Winky and knew with much relief that she had passed the placenta and
fertilized egg. She fervently thanked all that was holy for men like Severus and
Dumbledore, and once the cramps lessened to nothing she felt much more herself
than she had in ages.

    As the weeks
passed in the run-up to September, Cassie noted a few more strange faces in the
halls. Not only did she witness Rufus Scrimgeour abruptly exiting the grounds in
a huff, but she also discovered that the men she failed to recognize were in
fact Aurors assigned to the castle as well as Hogsmeade in preparation for the
students' arrival. Her lesson planning nearly at an end, Cassie began spending
the fairer days outdoors, walking around the lake or just into the edges of the
Forbidden Forest. Knowing what sort of creatures ran rampant there, she could
not quite bring herself to go in very far, unless she happened to be accompanied by Hagrid. Always, though she mentally told herself these walks were
to acquaint herself with the grounds and to calm her nerves about teaching on
her own for the first time, she found her thoughts instead ran the gamut from
the home she missed, the education classes she'd not fully finished, and the
events of the summer that brought her to Hogwarts' castle doors. True, she had
been majoring in secondary education and had hoped to start the next fall as a
teacher, but by no means had she expected to find herself teaching magical
children in what should have been a fabled world. Cassie could not even begin to
imagine what escapades such children could find themselves in; student teaching
had shown her the shenanigans that non-magical kids could invent. There should
be no end to the creativity of ones with these special abilities. It was bad
enough wondering what to do in the event of a classroom squabble, but the
thought of an outright duel replete with wands had her creasing her forehead in
consternation.

    Well, she'd
handle that as it came. For now, she had been steeling herself for some time
about approaching Severus again. Knowing that she could approach Madame Pomfrey
for the same issue, she rather preferred to see him given the fact that he knew
her situation and would not ask awkward questions. Besides, she was still bitter
at the fact that since he made the same potion regularly for use in the
infirmary, Madame Pomfrey had not bothered to offer it as a means of helping
with the abortion. Well she knew where Poppy could go with her assumptions and
what she could do with herself when she got there. Cassie certainly didn't need
anyone's judgment. Finally resolved, she took a deep breath, braced herself
against the wind as it raced around the corner of the castle, and headed to
Severus' office in the dungeons.

    Down the dark
hall, torches lit themselves as she approached. Cassie retraced her steps from
the first visit to his office. Down the end of the hall, right, left, right
again and almost to the very corner of the building. As she came upon what she
hoped was the correct bare patch of wall, she hesitated briefly. What in the
world did she do now? Knock on the stone? She had no wand. She tapped her fist
lightly in the center of the wall, hoping no one happened upon her looking so
plainly confused about what must be a common convention for any other occupant
of the castle. "State your business," the wall answered
matter-of-factly. "Eh, I need to see Severus? ...if he's in or--not busy, I
guess," she stammered feeling completely foolish to be literally talking to
a wall. "Enter," it replied curtly and opened to reveal the doorway
and Severus seated at his desk beyond.

    "Um, I
don't mean to disturb your work," Cassie said as he looked up expectantly.
"I wasn't sure if you'd be busy but I had a question."

    "Come
in," he beckoned, conjuring a chair. "Sit."

    "Thank you.
Are you still planning lessons? I can come back if--"

    "No, it is
unimportant. Go on with your question." Severus reseated himself, shuffling
the newspaper he had been reading and setting it aside.


"Well," she began, "not that I intend to do this every time I
have an issue, but as it happens I didn't feel comfortable coming to anyone else
considering, you've already been entirely too kind helping me before, I mean,
that was above and beyond any--"

    "Good lord,
is there a point to this?" he cut her off, raising an eyebrow.

    "Yes,
sorry, it's just--" she took a breath. "I can't sleep."

    "Go
on."

    "And I
remember reading that there is such thing as a sleeping draught--" now both
eyebrows arched "--and I don't know if I should try that tack, but just
today Minerva made a remark just in passing that I looked tired, so I thought
maybe--"

    "Mmm."

    "but the
thing is, I don't really want to be trapped in sleep for one and wouldn't
want to be too out of it...and then there's the problem of whether or not
it would be like Muggle sleeping pills and there would be a possibility of
getting addicted...but at the same time, I can't go through this every night and
I don't know what else to do." He
simply continued to stare. "Like I said, I didn't want to bother you with
it, but I don't feel I can talk to Poppy as easily under the
circumstances."

    "Am I to
take it that the main reason you cannot seem to sleep well is that you
have...dreams? Ones that may keep you from wanting to stay locked in them for
hours?"

    "Dreams is
putting it lightly, but yeah, that's it. I keep reliving everything every time I
close my eyes." Afraid she would once again lose her composure in front of
him, she let the explanation hang. She was fairly certain that dealing with
crying women was not in his repertoire. "And I know this has got to be the
safest place for me but given the circumstances I don't want to be stuck in a
sleep I couldn't fight my way out of or feel drugged if I do have to wake up, but I
can't go on waking every hour." Not to mention being unable to go back to
sleep or even go to bed in the first place for fear of the images she would
relive time and again. Much worse was the dirty shamed feeling she had on waking
that cloaked her as she huddled in her darkened bedroom every night.

    Severus,
meanwhile, was still looking at her as if taking her measure. Realizing what he
may be up to, she looked away breaking eye contact and stared instead into the
blazing hearth. From the reclined position he'd taken, Severus leaned forward
resting his arms on the desk.

    "I can, if
you like, give you a Dreamless Sleep Draught that would give you uninterrupted
hours of sleep. It cannot, as you mentioned be taken for long periods--no more
than five days in fact--as it does have an addictive side effect. That should
give you some comfort for a short while."

    "So I can
sleep through the night with no nightmares at all?" She watched as he
summoned a vial and passed it across the desk.

    "Hence it
being called Dreamless, yes."

    Ignoring the
sarcasm, Cassie placed the vial in the pocket of her gown and took a deep breath
before asking the other question that had been plaguing her mind. "So that
only helps me for a week and should these things continue after that, what
should I do?"


"Nothing," he replied, apparently surprised at her asking him for that
sort of advice. "Short of coping with it, and ultimately getting over it,
you simply have to put it from your mind."

    Cassie gaped.
She hadn't quite expected sensitivity, but surely he had some counsel for
managing unpleasant memories. Resigned to getting at least a week's worth of
uninterrupted sleep and not much more, or yet the possibility of asking
Dumbledore for his advice, Cassie rose, thanked Severus for the vial and moved
to take her leave.

    "Of course,
if it does get too much for you and you cannot simply cope I would offer the use
of my Pensieve. I would, naturally, have to remove any unpleasant thoughts for
you, but it would allow you to effectively take them from your mind to be able
to focus on getting a night's rest."

    "I would
appreciate that, thank you. It beats just trying to 'get over it' at any rate.
I'll see what's what after a week, but thanks."

    They were
interrupted by a loud CRACK! and Cassie looked down to find Dobby the house elf
tugging petulantly at her skirts. "Begging pardon, miss, but Dumbledore is
requesting your Muggle professor lady's presence in his office," said the
high-pitched elf. "Sorry, your Professorness but he is asking that she
comes right away if she can." This, directed at Severus, had him nodding
once in response.

    "Very
well," Severus replied. "We're done here I believe."

    "Yes,
thanks again Severus." With another CRACK the elf disappeared leaving
Cassie to exit out the door. She turned back once more to find Severus watching
her, started to speak, then thought the better of it and simply walked out.
Shaking her head as she went up to the headmaster's second-floor office, Cassie
wondered at the fact that Severus hadn't cracked by now under all the pressure
of the things he'd seen and done. She had had months of seeing things she
couldn't cope with. He'd had years. But then, she thought, he had only observed
them being done to others. So she had gone seeking understanding from someone
who did not have it.

***

    Once in
Dumbledore's study, Cassie was surprised when a familiar furry presence jumped
up and started licking her face. "Oh! Lump!" She sank to her knees on
the floor, forgetting herself entirely as she scratched and rubbed ears,
murmuring as the dog waggled and whimpered, glad to be reunited at last
with his owner. Lump, who seemed to be a strange mix of Labrador and something
decidedly hairier, lost composure entirely and rolled belly up in the floor
writhing and snorting.

   Cassie looked up at
Dumbledore, her face aglow with pleasure. "Thank you so much, but how did
you--and why--but?" Dumbledore simply smiled.

   "I have recently
returned from securing the final measures to keep your family safe and while
visiting a bit with them this time they impressed upon me that though they
cannot be with you now, your...er, Lump as you called him might make you
slightly less homesick. In addition," he gestured to the items on his desk,
"they seemed to think you could not live without these either."

   Cassie broke off
rubbing Lump's belly to take in the several cds and (thank God) her cd player
sitting on his desk with a few pictures of her family and friends. "Oh wow,
thank you!" she said taking it all in. "You didn't have to, but, how
will I get it to work," she asked indicating her cd player.

   "I have infused
it with an Operari charm, so it should work without electricity and without
interference from magics about the castle. But enough of this, you can
reacquaint yourself with your belongings when we finish here." At that, he
raised his wand and waved it over his desk, causing the items to disappear.
"What I really called you here about was to inquire as to the condition of
your pregnancy now?"

   "Gone. And no
more cramps. I really do appreciate you and Severus both for your help--and
discretion."

   "Quite so. Now,
if I may, you also do not look as if you've slept."

   "Already taken
care of. I was just seeing Severus about a Dreamless Sleep Draught and he told
me that if I still have nightmares after I've used it that he would allow me to
use his Pensieve." Dumbledore looked surprised, but said nothing more on
the subject.

   "Well, with that
taken care of I feel I must make you aware that certain of your activities have
made the wizarding news. It was no small feat what you did that day my
dear--especially being a Muggle--and short of becoming as much a household name
as Harry Potter, you are somewhat of a legend nowadays. There have been articles
in the Daily Prophet as to the nature of the things you and the other girls
underwent, as well as any number of tales and rumors of how you escaped. You are
now known as the Inimitable Iris."

   "So they like
alliteration. But no one should know who I am. I shouldn't be recognized should
I? Why--"

   "The very fact
that not only has Harry Potter been dubbed the Chosen One, but you as well are
another thorn in the sides of the Death Eaters for the sheer fact that you, like
Harry, give people a person to rally around. You give them hope. This is
furthered by the appearance that all the Malfoys may have met a similar end. For
though we know where they are and that they are safe, witches and wizards
everywhere believe they have disappeared...or worse. The tale will be even more
intriguing of course once young Draco turns up at school in so many days. He
does, however, have a story to cover where he has gone. I do fear he may have a
hard time of things this year, now that his father is known to have been a Death
Eater and worse, the circumstances under which the story came out."

   "Yes, I imagine
he'll be incredibly unpopular what with all the muggleborns and
half-bloods."

   "Naturally. Now
that aside, I do approve of the lesson plans you have given me for the start of
term, so those seem to be in order. On the subject of lessons, however, I will
add that I do plan to divulge your secret to Harry Potter, which will in turn
mean that Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger will be aware of your identity also. I
may, at some point need you to relate information from your wealth of knowledge
and he as well as Severus may be privy to these meetings."

   "Okay. I know
all of them are capable of being trusted implicitly with secrets, and any rate,
if you trust them with this then so do I."

   "Yes, they do
all have my unquestionable faith. Indeed, it seems also that Severus is
uncharacteristically chatty with you as well." He tipped his glance
meaningfully over his glasses. "I must confess I find that a bit
surprising. Severus is typically very close-lipped with most, especially those
he does not know well."

   "Sure, but then
what about him do I not already know?" she said, shaking her head.

   "He grew up with
Lily Evans and her sister, but he hasn't exactly kept in touch with the one
living. And she knows plenty. There are things he won't even tell me, but there
you are. Nevertheless, we have a school year upon us and by all accounts we are
as ready as we'll get. Have you everything you need in that regard, my
dear?"

   "Yes.
Absolutely, the book Professor Burbage was using for her class will suffice and
it should help that they actually have a Muggle around to bounce ideas off of. I
am planning on some classes doing a project later in the year that will require
them to find a Muggleborn and get to know their lifestyles better."

   "That sounds to
be in good order. Although I don't know how this slipped my mind, but I felt I
ought to prepare you for the enrollment of one student in particular who might
surprise you." He paused at Cassie's questioning glance. "Draco Malfoy
has enrolled in your class and over the past several weeks has been hastily
trying to bring himself up to date with material from past classes."

   Cassie realized her
jaw had dropped and closed it with a snap. "How does that work? Why in the
world? Does he still have a vendetta for all Muggles and now desires to know the
enemy or what? Oh lord..."

   Dumbledore raised a
placating hand. "Now, make no mistake he is still very angry and grieving,
but the blind rage has subsided and the old prejudices have been thrown sharply
into contrast. He does want to know more about the 'filth', as he puts it,
who killed his father, but I do find his curiosity promising. He is willing to
learn where he once was content to believe what he was told, and as such, will
likely start drawing his own conclusions. I don't know if he'll ever make a
complete change of heart, but there you are."

   "Interesting.
Well. That'll make life much more interesting."

   "You will, of
course, let me know if any issues arise."

   "Of course. Like
you said, he shouldn't be able to recognize me, so aside from his penchant for
derogatory names it should be fairly uneventful." I hope, she thought.

   "Yes, quite.
Naturally, you can also defer directly to Severus as his head of house as
well."

   "Mmm. That
too."

   "Well, my dear,
if there are no questions I'll bid you good-night."

   "Sure. Thanks
again for everything." She rose, nearly tripping over the dog at her feet
and walked to the door.

   "Have a pleasant
sleep."

   "I will,
thanks," she said, patting her pocket which contained the vial. With that,
she headed back to her room with Lump padding along behind, his claws clicking
on the stone.
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Web of Redemption *COMPLETE*

Web of Redemption COMPLETE