"Glad to see you're back and everything," Granger pointed out, catching up to her in the corridor. "Though maybe this will teach you to study more."

"Lay off her, would you, Hermione?" Weasley asked. "It's getting annoying. Just because you study all the bloody time doesn't mean we have to."

"Well maybe if you'd studied more, you'd do better in classes, Ronald."

"Maybe if you didn't insist on studying so much people would actually want to hang out with you."

"Just because you don't want to doesn't mean that everyone hates studying," she argued, looping an arm around Cassandra's shoulders. "Isn't that right, Cass?"

"Oh, look at that! I have Transfiguration today!" She took a step back, disentangling herself from Granger's arm. "With Slytherins. So...should probably go to that then."

She hurried off toward the classroom before either one of them could say a word. Cassandra sighed and slid into the seat next to Draco, dropping her things onto the ground.

"Problems?" he asked.

"Granger and Weasley."

"Ah, that explains it."

"Yeah."

"Want me to curse them?" he offered.

"You wouldn't last against Granger. She may be annoying, but she does know her spells."

"And I don't?"

"You know how to intimidate people. Besides, pretty sure she would go whimpering to Dumbledore or something and your dad's not going to help you then,"

"Yours might. Or one of your godparents."

"Do you want to see Aunt Minnie when she's upset? Really?"

He shuddered. "Never mind."

"Smart boy."

"Shut up."

"Quiet, students!" McGonagall called out as she walked in. "Settle down now and open your books to the last chapter where we left off. We'll be continuing our lesson…."

"At least it's gotten better," Draco muttered as they left. "I still have no idea what she's saying half the time."

"She's my godmother and I don't know." Cassandra shrugged.

"Scabbers! Come back!" Weasley shouted, barrelling past them.

She gasped, being shoved to the side.

"Oi!" Draco called out, running after him. "Who do you think you are? My father will hear about this!"

"Draco!" Cassandra shouted, running after him. "Draco! Come back!"

They ran out toward the school grounds, chasing Weasley until he dived toward the ground, clutching a squealing rat between his hands.

"Got you!" He sighed and sat up. "I've been looking all over for you, Scabbers!"

"You really think it's worth shoving people just to get your filthy little pet?" Draco sneered. "Really?"

"Scabbers has been in my family for eleven years!" Weasley got to his feet. "Just because he's mine doesn't mean that you have to go after him."

"As if I'd actually care for your stinking little pet!"

Something made a low noise and she turned, seeing a black dog there, growling at them. "Um, guys?"

"Ow!" Weasley winced, dropping the rat. "He bit me!"

"Serves you right!"

"Draco!" Cassandra ducked, pulling him down with her, as the dog leapt over them. It chased the rat, both of them vanishing beneath the tree.

"No! Scabbers!" Weasley shouted, running after his pet. "You leave him alone!"

"Weasley!" Cassandra warned, reaching for her wand. "Immobulus!"

The Whomping Willow slowed to a halt, coming to stop inches above Weasley's head before he too vanished beneath the tree.

"Good one," Draco praised, getting to his own feet before offering her a hand.

"Thanks."

"He is so going to be murdered down there."

"Then we might as well go."

"Hang on!" He grabbed her arm to stop her. "Haven't you heard the stories of what's below that tree? And students have actually gotten attacked when they tried to get past the thing!"

"I know." She smirked and walked toward the entrance. "I've heard the story. Are you coming or not?"

"Fine!" He groaned and followed her. "But don't expect me to stick my neck out for that Weasley!"

She rolled her eyes and felt her way along the tunnel. "It's not that bad."

"Really? How do you know, exactly? Did You-Know-Who tell you?"

"Uncle Moony." She shrugged. "My parents went in here once on accident. It's how my mom and Uncle Moony became friends."

"So you know what's supposed to be at the end of this thing then?"

"Not...exactly…? Look, I know enough to know that it's not anything too dangerous."

"How is that supposed to be reassuring, exactly? And this is utterly ridiculous. Lumos." His wand lit up. "No idea why you didn't do yours."

"With my luck it would cause the entire tunnel to collapse on us," she muttered, following behind him. "Or worse. Spells aren't exactly my best, in case you haven't noticed. Something just loves to go wrong."

"And you haven't gotten any lessons from You-Know-Who yet?"

"No. I don't think my dad would let him teach me. I haven't been allowed back at the manor for some reason. Not once. And it's not just because of the wards. My dad absolutely refuses to let me go back there. Can't explain it. I keep trying to think of a reason, but…."

"You haven't missed much there. At least, according to my father, you haven't missed anything."

Draco stopped once they reached the end of the tunnel and dimmed his wand. Cassandra followed him out of the tunnel, seeing the old room. There were several claw marks on the floorboards and the building looked as if it had been abandoned for several decades.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"No idea."

"No! Scabbers!" Weasley shrieked.

She crept up the stairs and Draco followed. Cassandra stiffened as one creaked under her foot. The shouting stopped and she could see the outline of a figure standing in the doorway.

"Expeli—" Draco began only for his wand to fly out of his hand and into the man's.

They gasped, being dragged toward the man. He grabbed their arms and shoved them over toward Weasley.

"Great!" he shouted, glaring at them. "Now you've interrupted me!"

"You're the one who took my wand!" Draco shouted, standing. "Just you wait until—"

"Not the best time," Cassandra pointed out, grabbing his arm to yank him back down. "He has a wand. You don't."

"You're the smart one, aren't you?" the man asked, eyeing her. "Not going to try and fight me then? Not going to defend your friends?"

"Don't!" Weasley shouted. "It's Sirius Black!"

She blinked in surprise. He looked nothing like the teenager she had seen in the photograph at Lupin's home. His gray eyes had dulled, his hair had lost its shine, his once-handsome face had grown haggard and his skin looked almost waxy, stretched over several bones beneath his prison robes. Cassandra looked over at Draco, seeing the scared expression on his face.

Black smirked. "Not going to hide behind your precious father now, eh? And you." He pointed the wand at Cassandra. "Whose kid are you, hm?"

"What?" Ron asked. "You mean you don't know your own kid?"

"Mine?" he laughed. "Never had a kid! So who are you really, eh?"

She stood, glaring at him. "Not afraid of you."

"You're rather brave, aren't you?"

"I've seen worst monsters than you."

"You're sure about that?"

"Away from him!" Lupin shouted, running into the room, pointing his wand at her.

"Here to stop me?" Black asked, eyeing him. "With that old thing?"

"At least now you look like yourself. As mad as you are."

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" He grinned. "I found him at last! We can do it!"

"You've been helping him?" Draco asked. "You've been helping Black sneak into the castle? Don't you know what he's done?"

"Of course I know what he's done," Lupin pointed out.

"Oh, come on!" Sirius called out. "Can't we get on with it? I want to kill him! Now!"

"At least let them have an explanation," he argued.

"Yes, because that will help!"

"Cassandra has the right to know what happened that night," he argued.

"He told You-Know-Who about my mom," she pointed out. "You're the reason she's dead!"

"How can that even be real when I don't know who your mom is?" Black shouted.

"She's supposed to be your kid though!" Ron added. "That's what everyone's been saying!"

"Do yourself a favor and be quiet, Weasley!" Draco muttered, crossing his arms.

"Everyone just calm down, alright?" Lupin asked, holding up his hands. "Just deep breaths and calm down."

"How can I be calm when I am this close to getting what I've been waiting for this whole time?" Black argued. "Twelve years, Remus! I did my waiting! Twelve years! In Azkaban! And this time I am going to make Pettigrew pay for what he's done!"

"Expelliarmus!" Snape shouted, running into the room.

The wand flew out of Black's hand as they turned to see him.

"Well, well, well," he pointed out, walking into the room. "I had hoped that I would be the one to capture you."

"Severus—" Lupin began.

"Don't," he growled, pointing the wand at him. "I tried to tell Dumbledore that you were helping and old friend into the castle. But I didn't know that I would be the one putting him back where he belongs."

"Yes, of course!" Black shouted, grinning. "Once again the wrong conclusion as usual, Snape! Now why don't you run along so Remus and I can finish this!"

He held the wand up to Sirius's throat as Lupin moved, putting himself closer to Cassandra and the others.

"I could do it, you know," Snape threatened. "But why deny the dementors?"

"Severus…."

"Oh, just the coward like always?" Black argued. "Old habit by now?"

"Sirius, don't—"

"Oh, shut it, Remus!"

"Look at you two arguing away like an old married couple?"

"At least Remus and I would've had a chance! Still planning the wedding?"

He shoved the wand at Black's throat. "Maybe I'll send you to the dementors. At least then you get the Dementor's Kiss. It's said to be unbearable to watch, but I promise you that I will do my best to see you suffer."

"Is that really needed?" Lupin called out.

"Of course it's needed!" Black argued. "He just wants to get his pretty little revenge even if he has to kill an innocent man!"

"Don't pretend to be what you're not."

"Oh, like you?"

"Really, now!" Lupin shouted. "Let's just calm down! Talk it out, maybe? There are children here."

"Quiet or you'll be next."

"Stupefy!" Lupin shouted, knocking Snape out. "Sorry about that," he muttered to Cassandra, putting his wand away as he walked toward Black. "I had to. Now, why don't we all take a deep breath, calm down, and you can explain all about Pettigrew. Our friend at school, remember?"

"But he's dead, isn't he?" Cassandra asked.

"No he's not!" Black shouted. "Bloody coward hid himself away! And he's in this room! Right there!" He pointed at Weasley.

"What? Me? You must be joking!"

"Not you! The rat!"

"No! Scabbers has been in my family for eleven years! You can't just have him!"

"Yes I can!" Black dove for the rat, grabbing the squealing rodent as he shoved the other two aside.

Cassandra watched as Black held the screeching thing while Draco went to grab his wand.

"Not yet," Black pointed out, knocking Draco out of the way to get the wand. "First I get to kill him!"

"No!" Weasley shouted, going to grab the rat. "Leave him alone!"

"Quiet you!"

The rat fell to the ground, scampering around the room.

"Scabbers!"

"Not so fast!" Black growled, firing a spell at the rodent.

Cassandra screamed as it came toward her, climbing up on the bed to avoid the rodent touching her as it dove under the mattress. There was a grunt and the two men lunged forward, dragging a grown man out from underneath.

She stared at him and the light brown hair, squinty blue eyes. His nails were more like claws and he had a large bald patch on top of his head. He looked more like a rat than an actual human.

He looked up at them, grinning as he saw who it was. "Remus? Sirius! My old friends!"

"Shut it!" Black shouted. "Shut it you little coward!"

The newcomer ran off, taking shelter behind a couch instead. "It wasn't my fault!"

"You sold Elaine to You-Know-Who!" Lupin added, cornering him. "Right after you sold James and Lily!"

"I didn't mean to!" Pettigrew whimpered. "The Dark Lord! You have no idea the sort of power he possesses! He would've killed me!"

"And you didn't think about them?" Sirius roared. "You didn't think that if he left you alive, Remus and I would be the ones to kill you instead? Together!"

"Stop!" Cassandra shouted, getting to her feet.

"Cassandra," Lupin began. "This man is the reason—"

"I know. Take him to the castle instead."

"Bless you girl," Pettigrew whimpered, starting to crawl toward her.

"Get off her!" Draco shouted.

"You want to let this man live?" Black demanded.

"I was going to suggest taking him to the dementors instead," she explained. "Let him have your cell in Azkaban. Seems better that he rot there."

The two men glanced at each other and nodded in agreement. Lupin waved his wand, tying Pettigrew up as he whimpered in fright.

"Boy," Black called out, tossing Draco his wand. "I can move this one on my own without magic." He grabbed Pettigrew by the collar and roughly hauled him to his feet, dragging him to the door.

"We better hurry," Lupin pointed out. "He's not completely mad, but I'd rather not leave Sirius and Peter alone for too long."

The two boys nodded and scrambled after him, jostling each other to be the first one out. Lupin sighed and waved his wand, levitating Snape.

"Come on, Cassandra," he called out. "We'll let him follow us. Didn't think I was going to leave him here, did you?"

"So he's the one who betrayed my mom?" she asked as they walked.

"I'm afraid so. Faked his own death to escape, as well."

"He didn't go back to the Dark Lord."

"He's always been a bit more of a coward than most Gryffindors. Someone with as much power as You-Know-Who would've been attractive to him. He hung out around James for that same reason. James was the popular one at Hogwarts, the best Quidditch player on the team…."

"What about the dog though? Because there was a dog first…."

"Sirius, James, and Pettigrew were all animagus," he explained as they entered the tunnel. "They learned how to turn themselves into animals at will during Hogwarts. Sirius was a dog, James was a stag, and Pettigrew—"

"A rat?" she guessed.

Lupin nodded. "Now that I look at it, I'm guessing you didn't like him from the beginning. Every time he tried to give you a present, you would just throw it right back in his face, screaming your head off until he went away."

"I never liked rats."

"But, by becoming animagi, they made those nights much more bearable for me. I was less alone on those nights and any other day. They knew what I was and stayed around. They were also just about some of the only friends I had at Hogwarts. Even after what happened with your parents, I'm ashamed to say that I couldn't abandon them." He sighed. "Elaine though...she was the only other person who knew what I was. And she stayed. Even surprised me when she made me your godfather. I couldn't imagine that I could possibly take care of you with my condition, but she trusted me to do so."

"She sounds like she was nice."

"She was. She was also fierce. She was the only one who ever stood up for your dad—Lily tried a few times, but Elaine was the one who would threaten to hex Sirius. Didn't help that he fancied her."

"Black liked my mom?"

"He did. Obviously she chose your dad, but he did try. You know, you did remind me of her back there. That look in your eye…. It was the same one she would have defending Severus. She might've been a Slytherin, but she there were moments when she would have the bravery of a Gryffindor."

"And here I am being a Ravenclaw."

"She would've still be proud about that. You're her daughter, Cassandra. That alone made her proud. Trust me. I saw her looking at you after you were born, and I could've sworn that she was the happiest woman alive."

"Thanks, Uncle Moony."

"Don't let them take me!" Pettigrew whimpered as they approached the exit. "Sweet girl, clever girl! Please! Don't let them send me to the dementors!"

"Get back here!" Black shouted, dragging him away from the exit.

Lupin sighed and set Snape down. "Should probably go deal with him, eh? The sooner we get him to the dementors, the better. You three should stay here where it's safer. Oh, and be sure to stay far away from that tree. Don't want to get hit. Trust me."

"Did we just free a mass murderer from Azkaban?" Draco asked as they walked off. "And then get dumped here with an unconscious professor?"

"Looks that way." Cassandra shrugged.

"But who is your dad supposed to be then?" Weasley asked. "Cause it isn't Sirius Black!"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! Aren't you at least a bit curious, Malfoy?"

"I already know who her dad is."

"What? How can you know who her dad is?"

"Because she's my friend?"

Snape groaned and sat up, looking around in confusion. He stood and glared at them.

"Where are they?"

"No idea." Draco shrugged. "Told us to wait here."

"Well then get up and go to the castle where you belong!" he instructed, hauling Draco to his feet. "And don't come near this tree again! Or else it'll be a hundred points from each of your houses."

"Yes, professor," they murmured.

Cassandra walked up to Lupin's office and knocked on the door.

"Ah, Cassandra," he greeted. "I trust you're all packed up then?"

She nodded. "How'd things go with the dementors?"

"Good and bad. The minister at least got to see that Pettigrew had faked his death and declared Sirius innocent. However, Pettigrew escaped at the last second before the dementors could get to him."

"So that means the dementors are going to stay here then?" she guessed.

"Quite the opposite, actually. Pettigrew will no doubt run off to You-Know-Who and the ministry has no idea where that could be. So Pettigrew is going to vanish into the air and the dementors will be returned to Azkaban." He smiled. "Not too bad for my first year as a professor. Honestly, I was thinking it might just be a bit worse."

"I can't imagine it getting any worse. Especially with you here, Uncle Moony."

"Oh, and you might want to give this back to those twins." He held the map out toward her. "Before they get into more trouble sneaking around at night without it."

"I will." She sighed. "Uncle Moony?"

"Yes?"

"What am I supposed to do about Weasley? I mean, he knows that Sirius isn't my dad. It won't be long before everyone is asking me who he is again."

"I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out."

"I wish I didn't have to lie."

"We all have something to keep secret," he pointed out. "And there are times when those secrets are far from easy to keep. If it wasn't for that pesky Death Eater registry out there, I would say let them all know who your father is. As it stands…." He shrugged. "Life has a way of never being easy."

"You can say that again."

"Shall we go to the feast then? The last one wasn't always my favorite, but it was still worth going to."

"So I heard that Sirius Black is actually innocent," Minerva pointed out.

"And yet the real one got away," Severus muttered. "Pettigrew. He was the one who betrayed us then...who betrayed Elaine."

"I'm just as upset about him as you are. None of us saw his betrayal coming, which makes it all the more worse."

"But now he's mostly likely gone to the Dark Lord," Severus pointed out, eyeing Cassandra as she sat at the Ravenclaw table, chatting with a first year. "Which means that he will still be close to her."

"Cassandra is far more powerful than anyone gives her credit for," Minerva pointed out. "Even you don't give her enough credit at times. If it wasn't for her magic, she'd be more powerful and know far more spells than some of the seventh years."

"She would." He sighed. "Once she stops being afraid of her magic, she'll be extremely powerful; powerful enough perhaps to match the Dark Lord himself."

Which makes me all the more worried at what Albus might be planning, she silently added, glancing over at the headmaster, whose eyes were trained on the Ravenclaw table.

Still, she couldn't help but feel happy for how eagerly her goddaughter chatted with her new friend. She was certainly growing up fast though. Minerva couldn't help but also wonder how long it would be before her destiny finally caught up to her.

A/N: And that is officially the end of this one! Hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know what you guys thought about this fic via review and I will see all of you later! By for now :)

PS: The New Chosen One is now officially up! Go read the sequel!