Squib On The Run (sequel to Squib In The basement)

39. Family And Guardians

Of course Dumbledore was extremely reluctant to have Sirius and Cassiopeia at Hogwarts, but he reluctantly decided to help them. Since someone was out to get Harry, he agreed that the more eyes on him the better.
He disguised Cassiopeia as an older lady with grey hair, and gave her a fake back story that she was a Squib who lived near Harry, who used to watch over him on Dumbledore's behalf.
Cassiopeia and Padfoot were then taken into the castle, and placed in a room with the family members of other tributes.
Molly Weasley and her eldest son Bill were also there to represent Harry's family, since Dumbledore had already asked them to be there, and he didn't want to turn them away.

There were three other familys in the room with them, but Molly was the only one paying Cassiopeia any kind of attention.
"Dumbledore said that you are also here to support Harry. So, who exactly might you be?" Asked Molly.
It was a nice enough question, but Cassiopeia could sense a more serious tone underneath.
She was terrified that Molly was going to find out who she was, but she was also pleased by how protective Molly was over Harry. It warmed her heart to know that Molly had taken Harry under her motherly wing.

"My name is Ceecee Smith. I live near young Harry, and I watched over him as he grew up" lied Cassiopeia.
"I see. And were you aware of how he was treated at the Dursleys?" Molly asked, unable to mask her accusatory tone at all.
"I was. And I passed all of this information onto Dumbledore. He was aware the whole time about how Harry was treated. But I was ordered not to interfere. I am only a Squib afterall, so there was little I could to do to help Harry, other than offer him a nice cup of tea after school, and somewhere safe to hide during the holidays" answered Cassiopeia.

"I see... And you felt the need to bring your dog with you today" said Molly.
"He is a very loyal companion. I have no husband. It's just been me and Snuffles for many years now" informed Cassiopeia.
"Snuffles, is a rather strange name for a dog" commented Molly.
"Harry named him actually, when I brought him home as a puppy. I thought the name Harry came up with was sweet, so I didn't change it"
"Harry must have been adorable when he was younger"
"Yes, he was a sweet little boy".

Harry walked in with the other champions a few moments later, saving Cassiopeia from any more awkward questions.
He stared curiously at Cassiopeia as he hugged Molly, but when he looked closely at Padfoot, his eyes suddenly widened.
"Cee, what are you doing here?" Asked Harry, using his old name for Cassiopeia, to stop anyone from getting suspicious of her.
"Dumbledore invited me and Snuffles here to wish you luck before the final task" answered Cassiopeia, as she patted Padfoot's head.
Harry smiled as he hugged her, before bending down to pet Padfoot.

"Well, I'm glad to see you both" said Harry, as he stood back up.
"And we are happy to see you too. Now, why don't you show us around this charming school of yours" suggested Cassiopeia.
"Of course. Follow me" encouraged Harry, leading the way out of the small room.
"It is good to be back at Hogwarts again" exclaimed Molly with delight.
"I always wanted to come here as a child, and I'm very excited to finally get the chance to see the place I've heard so much about" admitted Cassiopeia.
"I'll show you all my favourite places" promised Harry.
"Well, we've got all day, so take your time" replied Cassiopeia.

****

After Harry had shown them around the whole castle, they gathered in the great hall for dinner.
Padfoot sat under the table, and Cassiopeia kept passing food down to him, as she knew he was just as hungry as she was, due to not having eaten probably for months.
But one person not eating was Harry, who was just pushing food around on his plate using his fork.
"You need to eat something" encouraged Cassiopeia.
"How can I, when I'm going to be fighting for my life inside a maze in only an hours time" mumbled Harry.
"You're going to need your strength for the maze. You'll do yourself no favours by being hungry. The last thing you want, while you're fending off whatever is in there, is to be worrying about your stomach growling" insisted Cassiopeia.

"I'm too anxious to keep anything down. I'm scared I'm just going to throw whatever I eat back up" admitted Harry.
"You have no need to be anxious. From what I've heard, you aced your first 2 trials, and this one will be no different. This maze will no doubt be full of creatures and other deterrents. Which are exactly the kinds of things you faced while searching for the Philosopher's Stone. And you were only 11 back then. You've learned loads more magic since then" reminded Cassiopeia.
"I had Ron and Hermione's help back then. I would've never even got past the first challenge without them" informed Harry.

"You've been training for weeks for this task though, so I am sure that you are ready for this. You may not be as old as the other champions, but you are just as strong and talented. You've gotten this far in the tournament haven't you?" Questioned Cassiopeia.
"I guess" mumbled Harry.
"Look Harry, if you are this worried about competing in the trial tonight, then don't bother trying to win" replied Cassiopeia.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you have enter that maze with everyone else, since you are one of the champions, but you don't have to try and win. Once you are inside you can easily surrender and let the others battle it out. You don't have to put yourself into any danger tonight, if you don't want to".

"But I'll look like a right coward if I have to withdraw after only 5 minutes. It isn't the Gryffindor thing to do. And I don't want everyone to think badly about me" admitted Harry.
"Who cares what the general public thinks? The people that really matter, aren't going to judge you for leaving the maze early... Besides, I would much rather a living cowardly godson, than a brave dead one. And Sirius and me will be proud of you whatever happens" whispered Cassiopeia.
Harry looked over at Molly, who was too busy talking to Ron and Bill, to listen to their conversation.
"I guess you've got a point" agreed Harry.
"Well, I am pretty smart" winked Cassiopeia, as she passed Padfoot another chicken leg.

Harry sighed and picked his fork back up, which he then used to stab a piece of potato.
"That's my boy" praised Cassiopeia, as Harry put the potato into his mouth and began to chew it.
"Once this is over, where are you and Snuffles going to go?" Asked Harry.
"I don't know. But what I do know is, that once this trial is over, I am going to sleep well tonight" exclaimed Cassiopeia.
"Yeah me too. I can't wait to have this whole Triwizard Tournament behind me" replied Harry.
"Well, in a few hours it will be. And then we can all move on"
"Sounds good to me".