Hello! So here it is, the third part of Anya Barton's journey. Due to school and job, I've been unable to update weekly, but here is the prologue of Secrets of the Innocent. If you've read the previous versions, then you know how the story will go... plus new material. Characters that hadn't had their say before will have their limelight. Starting with this update.

Many thanks for reading, and don't forget to review. Any criticism is welcome.

00 - Prologue

February 25th, 1979. St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

There was something about hospitals that was equally comforting and foreboding. St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries was not the exception, being a place that bore both warm and cold colours, whose people also changed according to the day. There was no gray in this place, but it did not judge the good or the bad, for it was a sanctuary that sought to heal.

If she ignored her family – which she did –Cassiopeia Black had the fortune of never seeing a Death Eater at St. Mungo's. Most of her friends had a story to share, though not all of them happened in the hospital. She was glad it hadn't happened to her so far; she wouldn't know what to do in the moment. Sometimes she believed she would react like her brother, who'd ended at the Ministry of Magic for brawling like a sixteen-year-old; other times, she thought she would be like Remus, who had to endure the mocking of a murderer in silence so as not to provoke them.

The truth was that Cassiopeia Black had never come into contact with danger. She wasn't as brash as her twin, Sirius, or as cunning as Regulus, her younger brother. She neither was as bold as her cousin Bellatrix, who had proudly stated in the recent family reunion that she'd joined the man who called himself Voldemort and displayed the atrocious skull and snake marked permanently on her arm; or as brave as Bellatrix's sister Andromeda, who had run off with her lover and abandoned the Black's ideals.

Cassiopeia Black didn't exist anymore though. That overprotected, insecure girl had disappeared the moment Alec Barton became her husband. The new young woman, however, wasn't sure who she was –neither the role she played nor the people that surrounded her gave her the benefit of the doubt.

There was no telling who was the good guy or the bad guy. Cassie only knew of two people whose purpose hadn't wavered for the last years, but both were too close for her to ignore.

Being married to Alec Barton wasn't easy. He was her friend and confidant through and through, but the world demanded too much of him. Demanded that he solve all their problems, defeat this Voldemort who had risen from the shadows. He couldn't, but he would.

Cassie had asked him to. So had Thea.

And Thea was dead. Killed by Alec's father. Cassie didn't need to look at the body or at her brother's face to know it; the hopelessness that washed over her from the other healers confirmed the truth. The stench of barbecue only cemented it.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair Thea had to die. It was more unfair an entire family had to die because of her.

Cassie slowed her steps, hearing raised voices.

"Padfoot, I don't think you should –"

"Shut up, James!"

Her best men were there. James Potter always looked like he'd stepped out of a modelling catalogue, and today was no exception. His usually warm aura was dampened by her brother's, who looked like he would jump at James if he so much as breathed.

"Sirius," she called, quickening. The sound of her heels drew both men's attention; James slackened in relief but Sirius continued heaving, his eyes wild. He usually looked like that, but the feral stance screamed danger; Cassie forced herself to not hug him.

The Black twins didn't look much alike now that they were older. Cassie's hair had lightened over the years while Sirius' complexion had darkened. He, being a man, had grown hawkishly tall, while she, being a woman, had grown in all the right places except height. Nowadays their resemblance lay in their gaze. Only three members of the Black family had such silver eyes.

In that moment, Cassie hated the walls. Their white colour made Sirius' eyes look nearly black and she couldn't tell what he would do. She only knew they either got him far away from the morgue or let him have his moment.

Her brother suddenly laughed, the fight leaving him.

"Cass," he said. "Cass, dear, tell Prongs here he's being an arse. How can he joke like that, and in this place!"

James ran both hands through his hair, leaving it messier. He must have been the one to tell him the news then. And his clothes – Merlin, he must have been at the scene. If she was right… Cassiopeia couldn't fathom his calmness. Next to Sirius, she expected him to react pretty much the same.

Then again, James had been the strong one when Sirius had left Grimmauld Place. He'd also been the strong one when Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were dying and when Cassiopeia had panicked an hour before her wedding. Like Alec, James was a natural leader – it'd just taken him a long time to realize his influence.

"Sirius," she repeated. Her voice broke a little. She scratched her eyebrow, wincing at the cold metal of her wedding band. "Can you sit down? Please." Once he calmed down, Cassie led him to the closest bench and pushed him down gently, making him lean his upper body on the wall.

She knelt in from of him, resting her elbows on his thighs. She cupped his hands and looked up at his handsome, tearstained face.

Suddenly, she could see him being twelve again, before the hormones appeared. Cassiopeia had done this back then, when their mother had slapped Sirius for shaming the family with his Sorting. The worst welcome a child could ever receive. That very night, she and Regulus had slept in his room, their younger brother hugging him from behind while Cassiopeia took care of the front, kneeling and listening patiently as he ranted through his sobs.

She hadn't felt the pain in her knees and her back as she knelt before him; hadn't thought of the ugly clothes she would have to wear to hide the rule-shaped bruises. As the eldest, it was her job to look after her siblings. In Cassiopeia's young mind, assuming the responsibility to bear the brunt of Walburga Black's rage was just another part of her duty, as was hiding her wounds from her brothers.

At twenty-years-old, Cassiopeia's – Cassie's loyalties no longer were on her family. Sirius had gone up and left without word years ago, choosing to be a Potter. He loved her, yes, but not at the extent of understanding she needed to protect Reg.

And Reg… Regulus was dead. She had Alec now to protect her, and she protected him (and Thea. But there's no Thea anymore, no more worries about her secrets) with every word she uttered, every action she took. It seemed her old life had been nothing but a test for this new one; rather than a chore, lying was as natural as breathing.

She figured that, if Sirius knew, he would understand. The truths behind the Barton family were not to be trifled with. But years of love and duty gentled her; she looked at her brother straight in the eye, and told him this one truth.

Cassie couldn't quite describe the sound that escaped her brother. It was mournful and full of longing and pain; it didn't sound humane at all and she could taste the promise of revenge in it.

"She promised," he whimpered. "She said she wouldn't leave me – she promised!"

He pushed her, rocking her on her place. Then he ran away, going all the way to the double doors that guarded Thea Rosenberg's corpse.

The moment Sirius disappeared, James' energy died. Running a hand down his face, he took Sirius' previous place; holding his head, he leaned forward so that he was looking directly at the floor.

Cassiopeia, tired, crawled next to him. She didn't have to wait long for him to talk. Used to his ticks, she barely reacted when he sprung up violently, hitting the wall with his head. James himself didn't notice; he was sprouting word after word, tears running down his cheeks.

"No survivors. No. Fucking. Survivors! All of them, they – they burned. Marlene, Jemma and Isaac – Merlin, they were children! They were supposed to go to Hogwarts and learn and play Quidditch and – and –" He gagged. "I think I'm gonna get sick."

Cassiopeia swiftly Accioed a potted plant from the corner of the hallway. Just in time, as James simply seized it and spilled out his dinner.

"I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Burned alive," James said hollowly. "Gone – just like that. Lily was supposed to meet Marlie this weekend and Nat –" He closed his eyes. "Nat wanted to see me and Padfoot today, but he and Moony were at it again…."

"I heard about their fight," Cassie murmured. "Was it really as bad as Alec made it out to be?" She couldn't picture Thea and Sirius fighting – despite her initial reservations, the two were made for each other. The way they tried to make their relationship work, despite their opposite personalities, made one believe true love existed.

James covered his mouth, contemplating. "I don't know. I don't think anyone but them knew. It doesn't feel real – none of this feels right." He looked at her hopelessly. "Is it wrong, thinking I'll see her this Sunday for a drink, just like always?"

"No, James. You're not wrong. This is simply" – a tragedy; a misfortune – "life's unfairness at work." She looked around, expecting to see more familiar faces. "Where's Remus? And Peter – did someone tell them?"

James shook his head. Cassiopeia studied him for a beat before leaning forward and kissing his forehead; James closed his eyes at the touch and did not open them when Cassiopeia stood.

"I'll take over from here," she said gently.

Lily Potter waited at the corner, cradling herself. Her bloodshot eyes had witnessed everything. But when Cassiopeia drew closer, the redhead did not demand answers. Her usual animosity had been overridden by grief. Lily had loved Thea as much as James had.

"I'll take over," Cassiopeia repeated.

She watched the redhead join her husband. Like Lily, she couldn't muster an ounce of jealousy; heaviness had settled over her shoulders, as well as the grim sense of purpose.

Cassie wondered if this was what Alec felt the moment he received the news. If this was the same nightmare he'd lived when his mother died. She also wondered if the feeling would ever go away… and how many times she would have to take care of everything in the future.

For her mind's sake, she would pray every day the next corpse she got to bury wasn't anyone from her family.