The Invisibles

Casey was now a third year - that meant she did not have to sneak off of campus to go visit Hogsmeade. However, that did not keep her from doing it.

It was a Wednesday and she was over classes. She wanted out and she packed a bag - her Zonko's stuff, money she had stolen from Sully's friends, and a warm hat, just in case she found need for it. The world was getting colder, and everything was getting closer to the time in which the landscapes would be frosted-tipped. Rain was a constant threat, and she was not about to get pneumonia - she had too much to do.

She waited for class to be start, and that's when she made her escape. Her family had told her of the Whomping Willow trick and its path, so she threw rocks at it until it stilled, before bolting into the opening, clutching her coat around her as the chilly air hit. Her mouse Edgar was curled in one of the pockets of her jacket, and she made sure to move slowly and deliberately, so as to not disturb his sleep - he could get very cranky when he didn't get his mouse-y sleep.

She made the quick dart through Honeydukes, stopping to buy what felt like ten pounds of fudge and a hot chocolate. She began to stroll the village, thinking mildly to herself that she must look like a drop out, a hooligan, or... what else could explain it? She was sure she must look a sight, and for whatever reason, that thought gave her the feeling of power. People were watching, but they wouldn't interfere.

Right?

Lately she'd been having urges to go back to Hogwarts. Was that a good thing or was it a bad thing? She really didn't know, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. She had told herself from the beginning, since the moment she left that she would not return to the school. That was why she went to so much trouble to change her appearance. She didn't want anyone recognizing her and bringing her back to the castle.

But there was one other reason she had wanted to change her appearance, and it had nothing to do with going back to school. She had wanted to avoid her sister finding her. She had been convinced that Hitame wasn't doing anything to look for her, or rescue her from the Death Eaters who had kept her captive for as long as she had been, so she had decided that she would no longer depend on her sister and that as far as she was concerned she did not have a sister anymore.

She was almost completely sure that it wouldn't have bothered her anyways, but that little seed of doubt was always there. Would her sister, who always looked out for her and kept her safe - even if it meant risking her own life - , really not be bothered even a little bit by her sister never coming back to her? It was a little hard to believe but something inside of her kept telling her that she shouldn't be bothered with wondering if she had never come looking for her.

Still.. She always wanted to believe that her sister was still looking for her. Even if she wasn't.

Why did you have to leave me on my own, Hitame? And why do I suddenly want to go back to Hogwarts? she asked herself, staring off into the distance where she could see the castle slightly, a yearning pulling at her heart to go back to the castle even if it was for only a minute. But a minute was too long. Someone could approach her and realize who she was. What are you talking about? You're much too changed for that sh*t to even happen. She scolded herself mentally, sighing and turning her back to the castle that had once been her home.

She entered the Shrieking Shack through a broken window and walked up to the second level, sitting herself on the floor with her back leaned up against the wall. She set the bag she had on her back next to her and let her right hand drop onto it where she let it stay limply. Naomi wondered what she would learn today, if it would be something good or bad, and if it would be of any real interest to her.

Casey liked the Shrieking Shack because it was the place she used to escape with Lily too. Lily had to transform somewhere while she had attended Hogwarts, and the tradition seemed the be the Shrieking Shack. Under the Wolfsbane, Casey was able to sit in the other room while the wolf ran about, chewing on anything it could sink its teeth into. Casey wasn't afraid. If she did get bit or killed, she would have deserved it anyway. But it never even got close to that. The wolf liked her, and Lily was always in enough control to make sure she was never harmed.

It was a sad reminder now, that was true. Lily and Casey did not speak anymore. How their relationship had gone from the sort that Casey went to America rather than be separated from her cousin, Casey could not answer. Lily had cut her out, run away, lied to her, let her worry and cry and think she was dead. And then when she came back, Lily hadn't been brave enough to say a word to her, let alone an apology. Sure, Casey would still mutilate anyone who spoke against her cousin, but she could not do much to speak for her anymore.

Still, it was nice to look at the shack and think of a time when things were total shit. She was roused from her musings, however, when a girl crept around the Shack and scrambled through a broken window. Casey looked around and, seeing no one else, decided to investigate. One hand on her wand, she scrambled over the fence and hurried down the hill, before climbing up the other side to the shack.

She slipped through the window and paused in the empty front room - it seemed others had transformed here since the last time she had been here. Perhaps Lily had come on her own. The thought struck a blow to Casey's heart, but she was soon distracted by a squeak from a floorboard upstairs. Casey slowly took to the stairs, moving quietly, stealthily, like a cat chasing a mouse.

She reached the second floor landing and, upon turning around the hallway, saw a figure rested against the wall. She pulled out her wand and then hesitated. "Naomi?"