Potter's Girl / Butterfly Effect.

82. Liquid Luck

CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO;

LIQUID LUCK

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The Felix Felicis swelled inside Cassie's chest and brought upon her a great feeling of euphoria – one she had not felt in Merlin knew how long.

   She had been assigned the task of patrolling the empty hallway that harbored the Room of Requirements. Nobody came and nobody went, so she simply stalked back and forth with her wand out in case a first or second year came stumbling into the hallway and she could gently direct them back to their respective common room.

   In retrospect, Cassie wished it had been a lost first year that she came across.

It had been something around three quarters of an hour when the door to the Room of Requirement gave a great grumbling sound. Cassie tilted her head to the side and approached cautiously, her wand held at arm's length as she used her other hand to grasp the doorknob.

Suddenly, a stray cat ran by, and Cassie stumbled back. She frowned. Perhaps the cat was lost... Her gut told her to follow the feline, and she did as her gut told her, all the way around the corner. The cat disappeared into the darkness just as Cassie heard a cackling laughter coming from the hallway she had just left – a much too familiar and bone-chilling cackle that burned hatred into Cassie's veins.

She crept back to the corner she had come from, light on her toes and taking care to not make any extra noise. Peeking around the corner, her sense of bravery and leadership failed her. Cassie paled as her eyes landed on the Death Eaters storming down the hall, followed by none other than Draco bloody Malfoy.

Despite her fear, she could not help the deep sense of loathing she felt toward her cousin — and to everyone who had not listened to her and Harry when they insisted that Malfoy was a Death Eater. Perhaps if their accusations had been taken seriously, Malfoy would have been expelled – even better, thrown into Azkaban – and not parading around behind a group of bloodthirsty Dark Magic practitioners.

   Now, Cassie's mouth ran dry as her mind raced with ideas of how to alert her fellow D.A. members that trouble was on the way. And then, like a lightbulb, her eyes popped open with a concept.

   She'd seen Moony do it, along with nearly every adult member of the Order, so maybe it was time to try it. Cassie raised her wand, cleared her throat, thought of her strongest memory (still the memory of Cedric dotting Malfoy straight on the nose), and muttered, "Expecto Patronum."

   A wispy trail of white light erupted from her wand until it came together to form a swarm of butterflies. She smiled softly to herself, then cleared her throat. "To the following: Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. Quote, Death Eaters in the castle. Coming from the direction of the Room of Requirements; looks like they're heading in you're direction, Ron. Everyone who can safely, get to Ron's aide. I'll be coming as soon as it's clear."

   Her butterflies seemed to nod as one before they fluttered off into the distance to alert her friends of the emergency at hand. They arrived almost as soon as Cassie's Patronus had disappeared down the hallway; Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, all racing down toward the Room of Requirement. Cassie met them in front of the door.

"Did you see them?" she asked, panic lacing the edge of her voice. For her friends' sakes, she put on a brave, set face and looked to them in determination.

"They blasted us with that bloody Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder by Fred and George," Ron grumbled. "Got past us too easily. We'd lost them by the time we made it to a lit hallway."