A/N (a long one, I'm afraid!): Hi guys! So I began this story back in July 2016, had the idea since May 2015. Unfortunately the original was going nowhere near the direction I wanted it to so I have deleted the whole thing and instead replaced it with my true vision of the story. I hope that it is enjoyable and a lot better than the other one! For this story, Lucius is not in Azkaban. It will also contain other POV at least in the earlier chapters.

On another note, my character Cassie may look like my other character Clementine (from Third Year Secrets and the other two in the series, please check them out!) and have a talent in Potions like she does but they're not the same! I am combining two story ideas together for this one, which I hope will produce a better story. Anyway, enjoy, favourite, follow and let me know how this is!

Two days after the end of her sixth year, Cassie Hannett left her home for the very last time to move in with her long-term boyfriend George Weasley, and her best friend Fred. She had offered to help out in the shop when needed, and they had more than willingly let her move in. In exchange for doing a few shifts in the shop, George told her he would buy her everything she needed and anything else she wanted. Between the two of them, the twins had so much money that they could afford to splash out occasionally. Cassie had spotted a beautiful necklace in one of the shops, a green gem in the shape of a heart on a silver chain. She planned to drop several hints to George as soon as possible.

The flat above the shop was small but cosy and homely. George and Cassie shared the bigger bedroom and Fred had the smaller room next door. The master bedroom had an en-suite, there was another bathroom, and the living room and kitchen were combined in one fairly spacious room.

The first day Cassie moved in, she had a look through the kitchen cupboards as she had offered to do some shopping for the three of them. She was horrified at the contents of their cupboards.

"Sugarplum's sweets and chesnuts?" Cassie asked when confronting the two of them. "Is this all you've been eating?"

"Only for the past two weeks," George said with a nervous chuckle. Cassie could be quite fiery at times. He was right to be nervous.

"I can't even believe you two!" Cassie spluttered. "It's a good thing you're both so tall, or I would have found two beached whales instead of you two today!"

Cassie decided that she would be in charge of cooking, and the twins didn't dare stop her. Besides, everyone who knew Cassie at Hogwarts also knew of her talent for cooking and baking. It was something that she loved to do, and something that she loved sharing with those close to her.

"Have you had any fruit or vegetables recently?" Cassie quizzed them. The blank look on George's face and the guilty look on Fred's face said it all. She shook her head at them, not truly cross. More incredulous than anything else, really.

Moving in with Fred and George meant it was the start of quite a nice, fairly carefree life. Between cooking, doing several shifts (which was always enjoyable), going shopping for food and essentials and occasionally visiting the Burrow with the twins, Cassie had a good routine. She was rarely alone, mostly due to the fact that it was far too dangerous in this day and age to be going out alone. Still, with their towering physical presence and skills at magic, the twins were good protection. Cassie always felt protected around them.

Shifts were always fun, especially if Fred or George were with her. In a shop full of magic tricks, you never knew what was going to happen. It wasn't exactly fun when a child threw up, or if something exploded and left green sticky good everywhere, but most of the time the unexpected occurrences were something to have a laugh at. And generally, there was precious little to laugh at.

Everything felt different after Dumbledore's death. Now the future seemed uncertain. And Cassie still had one more year at Hogwarts, arguably the most important one, though the twins would naturally disagree.

'Can I even go back?' Cassie mused one day. It was towards the end of the day, and Fred was just out at the back fetching some more Fainting Fancies (they had been particularly popular that day). It had been a week since she'd moved in, and every single day she wondered the same thing. Without Dumbledore, how could she hope to stay on? He was the only one that had known her secret; not even the twins knew.

Cassie sighed unhappily. Her eyes wandered across the shop, looking at a group of young boys picking up boxes and peering inside. They didn't look the troublesome sort, so she avoided staring and making them uncomfortable, and instead glanced outside. It was a horrible day; grey, foggy and completely gloomy. 'Rather appropriate considering the current state of things,' Cassie thought with another sigh. Then her breath caught in her throat, and she froze.

There was a dark, lone figure stood outside the shop. He wasn't facing it; the man was stood with the shop on his right side, but his head was tilting towards the door and his impossibly dark eyes were staring straight at her. They were dead-looking, but extremely focussed.

'Oh Lord,' Cassie thought, instinctively reaching for her wand. 'What am I supposed to do?' When would Fred be back? Was the creepy man going to enter the shop? Cassie hoped with all her heart that he wouldn't. She couldn't trust herself not to hex him – or worse.

Before either she or the man could move or act, Fred came out of the back carrying some boxes.

"For you guys," Fred beamed, his voice loud and bright like it always was. The group of boys headed over towards him, their faces wreathed in smiles, but Cassie had her eyes fixed firmly upon the man outside. He stared at her without moving for another second, then straightened up, looked ahead and walked on slowly.

The boys were fussing now, and Cassie was willing them out of the shop so she could talk to Fred. By the time they'd paid and Fred had put up the 'closed' sign, Cassie was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Hey, Cass, what's wrong?" Fred asked upon glancing at her, rushing over at once. This was the side of the twins that most people missed; the caring side, the side that was sensitive to social and emotional cues.

"Did you see that weird man outside?" Cassie said, gulping. Fred had his arm round her, looking concerned.

"No, I was more focussed on getting those little buggers out of the shop. What did he look like? Did you recognise him?"

Cassie considered. Now that she thought about it, there was something familiar about him. Had she seen him in the Daily Prophet? Unlikely. Had she seen him on a 'Wanted' poster? The thought made him shudder.

"For peace of mind, perhaps we'd better put Enchantments up around-" Fred pondered, interrupted by George racing down the stairs. He had a look of blazing fury in his eyes.

"Our bastard of a brother's in the Daily Prophet!" George said furiously. He brandished it at Fred. Cassie understood immediately that the 'bastard' was Percy.

As they began abusing the black sheep of the Weasley family, the idea to put up enchantments was forgotten.

~~~(O.O)~~~

"You are right, m'lord," Scabior said lazily, prowling round between the chairs. He leaned against the chair, ignoring the occupant of it, and rested his other hand casually on his hip. "She is in their shop."

The Snatcher locked eyes with Lucius Malfoy, the owner of the home in which they were all currently gathered in. Scabior was the only non-Death Eater permitted there and felt a slight sense of pride at having been invited. Lucius on the other hand was clearly not delighted at his presence. The two men had never gotten along well. Scabior thought Lucius was a thick, posh twat with a ridiculous accent; Lucius thought he was a thick, scummy twat with a dreadfully common accent. The difference in ranks also led to conflict between the two.

"Get your arm off my chair before you lose it," the inhabitant of the chair told him. The voice belonged to none other than Bellatrix Lestrange. Scabior removed his arm immediately; he may not have feared Lucius, but Bellatrix was something else entirely.

"My apologies, Madam Lestrange," Scabior said in an oily voice. Bellatrix merely sniffed, not even gracing him with a reply, and Lucius smirked slightly.

"Thank you, Scabior, for your work." The high voice of Voldemort came from the top of the table. "Were you spotted at all?"

"Erm…" Scabior thought wildly about what story he could spin. The girl had seen him, but that was what he had secretly wanted. He'd seen from the pictures that she was a real beauty, but in the flesh she was even more mesmerising. The look of pure terror across those gorgeous features brought a stupid smile to the Snatcher's face, and he forgot to answer for a second.

With a small flick of his wand, Voldemort was able to regain Scabior's attention. The Snatcher flinched; the sensation had been like an electrical volt shooting through his entire body.

"I asked you a question," Voldemort said dangerously.

"Do not ignore your Lord!" Bellatrix hissed at him.

"I- I don't think so," Scabior stammered, looking into the terrifying red eyes. With another small flick came another painful sensation, this time far more intense.

"Do not lie to Lord Voldemort. You were seen, weren't you?"

"I- But- All right, I might have been seen. But so what?" Scabior asked ignorantly. He found himself crashing to the floor involuntarily, with a sensation so painful that he groaned aloud.

"Because by being seen you could have ruined the entire plan!" Voldemort's voice rose angrily. "Do not allow yourself to be seen again, do you understand?"

Scabior nodded, getting to his feet and wincing.

"Yes, m'lord."

"Now, there must be a way to lure her out. You said that she hasn't left the shop in days, Rodolphus, is that correct?" Voldemort addressed Bellatrix's husband.

"Yes, my Lord. I believe Yaxley mentioned to me that if she does leave, she goes with those Blood Traitor twins, is that true?" Rodolphus turned to Yaxley. Scabior listened with interest, folding his arms and looking at the brutal faced Ministry worker.

"Ay. She makes sure they walk on either side of her, most likely as protection. So there needs to be a time when she leaves the shop and one of us can jump in and grab her, then bring her back here."

"How to do that?" Narcissa mused. She had her own personal reasons for hating the girl, despite never meeting her. In fact, Narcissa couldn't even remember her name. Beside her, Draco sat with his face carefully emotionless.

"A convincing letter, perhaps?" This was the voice of her husband, Lucius. "One written from a friend of hers. I'm sure my son knows enough about her from school to give us information that would help us."

Draco nodded, somewhat unwillingly. "Yeah. I'm sure I do."

Scabior eyed the young man with interest. He'd heard the story of the girl and Draco. After seeing her, he could only wish that it had been him instead of the Malfoy boy…

"Just wait till I get my hands on her," Bellatrix snarled, tapping her clawed fingernails on the table. "She won't know what hit her. I'll make her pay."

"If we Transfigure one of us into an owl," Rabastan suggested excitedly, "then you could claim it was from any one of her little schoolfriends. And no matter who she says to send it back to, the so-called 'owl' would know to come back to here."

"Perfect," Bellatrix said, looking satisfied. Rabastan looked pleased too; Bellatrix was not one to hand out compliments. "Who could it be from? Give us names, Draco."

Draco stared at the table. "Urm… well… she was sort of friends with everyone-"

"But who would she be likely to reply to?" Lucius asked impatiently. "Who were her close friends at school?"

"Well… there was Harry, Ron and Hermione-"

"Perfect!" Bellatrix breathed, her mad eyes lit up. She was getting visibly excited now. "Make the letter from any one of them-"

"Not Harry," Draco interrupted. "His owl is too distinct. Hermione doesn't own an owl, she's a filthy Mudblood. And Ron would be more likely to write to his brothers… She was closest to Hermione… I know! Make the letter out to be from her while she's staying at the Weasley's filthy hovel."

"Perhaps you ought to write the letter, Draco, seeing as you are more used to those three fools than we are," Voldemort addressed Draco directly. He nodded, unable to look his master in the eyes.

"I'll volunteer to become the owl," Alecto Carrow offered, raising a fat arm. "It'll give me a chance to take a look at the bitch."

"Fantastic plan, everyone," Scabior said suddenly, and the Death Eater's turned to look at him. He didn't notice the repulsed looks on most of their faces. "You all know how to contact me, let me know what's happening and I'll be the one to kidnap her. I am the Head Snatcher, after all." With a sarcastic wave, he Disapparated.

"How could we ever have let that vile man into our house?" Narcissa whispered to herself.

~~~(O.O)~~~

Cassie, blissfully unaware of any plans involving her, was rather enjoying her new life.

Sometimes – just sometimes though – she got a slight twinge of sadness at the lack of freedom this new life gave her. Sometimes she looked out the window of the flat and gazed out onto the gloomy street, with a strange yearning to jump out and run – not run away, but just to stretch her legs and enjoy some freedom.

Several days after the meeting which would seal her fate, Cassie found herself staring out the window again, watching groups of people (no-one evertravelled alone anymore) go by. She envied their freedom, even though they likely didn't feel any freer than she did. The melancholy feeling was getting worse as the days dragged on; she was about to make a roast dinner for the three of them, usually a task she enjoyed, but now she could barely muster up the enthusiasm.

With a sigh, she got back to the kitchen. Staring at the ingredients set out, she decided to abandon the plan of making a roast, and instead decided to make something simpler. Within minutes of clearing up and beginning the new meal, Cassie became engrossed in her task. Consequently, the sound of creaking floorboards barely startled her. She didn't even look up as she opened a tin of tomatoes.

"Is that Fred, or George?" she said, not really paying much attention.

"Nice lil' place you got 'ere," an unfamiliar voice said. This gained her full attention, and she spun around, to see the creepy man staring straight at her. Cassie let out a shriek.

"Wh- who are you?" Cassie asked in a rather high-pitched voice. Her heart was racing, and she rested her hand instinctively on the knife on the table. He chuckled, unafraid.

"I could tell you, but then I'd 'ave to kill you, and wouldn't it be a shame to 'ave to kill someone as pretty as yourself?" the man said, leering at her.

Cassie was lost for words, staring at the disgusting man with a mingled feeling of revulsion and fear. Luckily, she was saved from responding. There were sudden, loud footsteps, followed by George calling up," Cass? Who are you speaking to?"

Quick as a flash, the man Disapparated, just as George came in. He looked around, frowning.

"Cass?"

"George, that creepy man was in here!" Cassie said hysterically, realising that she had been shaking like mad the entire time. "He was so dirty and you should've seen the way he was looking at me! Oh Merlin!" She collapsed into his arms.

"Merlin's beard, Cass. Are you okay? Did he touch you at all?"

Cassie tried to stop trembling. "I'm fine, he didn't get a chance to come anywhere near me."

"We're going to have to put up more enchantments round this place, or we might have to abandon it soon." He looked around, apparently on the lookout for more intruders. "I'll get Fred, he's usually better at this sort of spell than I am. You can come with me downstairs, he won't touch you if you're with me," George said confidently, taking her arm and gently leading her away. Cassie wasn't sure, but the feeling of having support and someone to lookout for her was a new and wonderfully reassuring one.