Cassie still hung out with Severus, when she could find him, but he was avoiding her, and soon it was doing more harm than good for her to force the friendship. The only advice Sirius would offer was to follow her heart.

The problem was she didn't know what her heart wanted. The more she thought about it though, the closer she became to Sirius, and the further she drifted from Severus.

Her decision was made when Severus became more bitter to them all, including her, despite the fact that James and Sirius had not bullied him for a while. She understood Severus's pain, but that did not excuse his actions.

Three and a half years later

"James!" Cassie exclaimed to her brother on Halloween night. "He finally did it! Sirius proposed!"

"That's awesome Cassie," James Potter replied, wrapping his sister in a tight hug.

"Oh! He's expecting me for dinner! I have to go. Bye-bye James, I love you big brother." She hugged him tightly before telling Lily and little Harry good-bye.

Cassie was walking down the street towards the Potter home about ten minutes later, having realized she had forgotten her necklace she had taken off when holding Harry. Suddenly, she heard Lily scream, and it didn't occur to her what was happening. She didn't want to believe it.

Suddenly, she was thrown from her feet from the force of a blast and she hit her head, causing the world to go dark.

When she woke, Sirius was sitting next to her and she felt dried blood on her face. Sirius was casting a spell, and she felt her headache recede.

"Sirius, what happened?" She asked. "Please tell me that it wasn't..."

"Voldemort." Her fiancé replied softly. "James tried to stand up to him, and Lily... Lily wouldn't let him at Harry. He... He killed them both. Harry somehow lived and the curse rebounded... Voldemort is gone but so are they. Everyone thinks I betrayed them. I have to find Peter. I swear I'll kill him."

"Sirius, please... don't do anything stupid... I need you..."

Sirius Black left without another word. Cassie didn't know what to do. Sirius was walking into what was probably a trap and James and Lily were dead.

She went to her apartment and on the second of November she went to the one place she thought she may feel safe at a time like this- Hogwarts. When she arrived,  neither McGonagall nor Dumbledore were anywhere to be found. The person she did find, however, was Severus,  now Professor Snape.

"Severus! I... did you hear...?" She asked, quickly dissolving into tears. Severus did not answer, he only embraced Cassie in an attempt to comfort her. After several moments her Slytherin friend spoke.

"Cassie, Sirius has been arrested."

"What?!"

"He murdered Pettigrew and a bunch of muggles. Some kind of explosive spell," Severus explained. "He betrayed them."

"But he wasn't even the secret-keeper!"  Cassie exclaimed defensively through her tears. "Unless that was a trick too..." Severus was unsure of what to say, and he was glad for the chance to hold her close, despite the less than pleasant circumstances.

"I don't know Cassie. I don't know. Do you want a room?" He asked.

"Perhaps that would be best..." she agreed weakly.

That evening,  she was relaxing in the room Severus had shown her to, trying to calm herself when Dumbledore came to visit her.

"Cassie, I came to inform you that Harry is safe. He is with Lily's family." The headmaster told her.

"Why couldn't you entrust him to me?"

"You are grieving,  not just for your brother but for your love as well. And there is a protective enchantment on the boy placed by his mother's sacrifice. It needs renewal through being near someone of his mother's blood."

Cassie did not speak for several long moments.

"I will buy a house near them," she stated. "I will keep an eye on him. They hated Lily and James and I do not wish to see my nephew mistreated."

"Very well," Dumbledore agreed.

Cassie left the room to find Severus, to tell him of her plan.

"You cannot interfere too much or else they will treat him worse. Bear this in mind, Cassandra." Severus told her, embracing her tightly. When she tried to leave to pack, he kissed her forehead.

A week later, Cassie had settled a deal on a house next door to the Dursley's. She heard Petunia and Vernon complain about her nephew,  and she realized she had made the right decision.

She just wasn't sure how much she could help Harry, but she knew she wanted to honor James.