I am not JK Rowling and I do not own the Harry Potter books or characters.

Chapter 7 – Back to School

It was a new day. A day in which Casalameer's life would take a different direction. At the request of Albus Dumbledore she agreed to fill in the newly vacant post of Muggle Studies. Dumbledore stated that he had great faith in her. She had excelled in her Muggle Studies classes and subscribed to their newspapers. Dumbledore requested that she focus on comparisons and specifically assign the students to the Muggle point of view on witchcraft, including Wicca and origins of magic. As an Auror, Muggle liaisons were not a requirement but Casalameer always felt it necessary to immerse herself in their world whenever possible. Her own cottage was somewhat close to a Muggle town and she was friends with many of the townspeople who thought she was something of a hermit. She had put an anti-Muggle charm on her cottage whenever she needed to use her wand but for the most part she was less guarded around them. A downfall, one might think, but Cas always believed in using magic at home only when necessary.

She made her way to Hogwarts by car. She had bought an old clunker from the mechanic in town. She had packed all her clothes, her wand, her books and …her dog. Snuffles kept switching from the front seat to the back, not making up his mind where to sit. "Snuffles, would you sit still and be quiet?" Cas laughed at her bumbling new friend. She handed him an every flavour bean and watched him spit out what looked like a foot flavoured bean. "Not too yummy, huh pup?" She laughed again. After that, Snuffles calmed down and sat in the seat next to her and laid his head on her lap, making it somewhat difficult for her to drive. She spent the next few hours on the road talking to an oblivious Snuffles who was snoozing beside her. She wasn't sure how Dumbledore would feel about her bringing such a large dog into the school but she didn't think it would be much of a problem. Whenever she said the word, "Hogwarts" in front of Snuffles he would get hyped up and start jumping around, barking with glee. She figured maybe he'd thought she was talking about some kind of food but nonetheless, his enthusiasm was contagious. The last few days at the cottage were happy ones. Snuffles often sat next to the door, guarding it. Casalameer felt very loved by this dog to be protected so readily. The only thing that seemed to frighten him were the Dementors who were nearby a lot since the break out of Sirius Black. Whenever she saw one near the lake, Snuffles would run like a bat out of hell to her room and hide under her bed. But he had nothing to worry about since Cas would never let a Dementor onto her property. SHE would be the one to protect Snuffles.

After a very long drive, Casalameer could see the tips of the turrets of Hogwarts. She slowed down. By this time, Snuffles was wide awake and was looking fixedly in the direction of the school. "Look, Snuff! It's Hogwarts!" Snuffles barked loudly and began to jump over the seat to the back and then to the front again. "You're not excited, are ya?" she asked with a smile. It was good to be going to the school with a friend. She'd already thought up a good place for him to sleep, near the fireplace so he could keep warm at night. She had brought many tins of dog food to last until she got around to Hogsmeade. She drove the car a little farther and opened her window to smell the fresh air. Summer was coming to an end and she could almost smell the leaves waiting to fall. When the school was in plain view, Casalameer stopped the car to take in the scenery. It had been many years since she had been there. She turned to Snuffles. "Okay Snuff, this is it. We're going to live there!" He sat there looking at the school and then crawled over onto Cas' lap. She patted him, though dying under the weight of him. "Come on, boy. Get off so I can drive up to the school!" Instead of taking his place in the seat next to her, he all of a sudden put his front paws over the window. "Hey!" Cas almost yelled, "What are you doing? Stay in the car!" But it was too late. Snuffles had jumped out the window. He turned around and looked at her. "Snuffles, get in the car right now!" She opened the door. He snuffed at her and ran in the opposite direction right into the Forbidden Forest. "Snuffles!" She called after him. She began to run after him but he was already gone. He had disappeared into the forest and it had been a while since Cas had been in there. She knew she'd forget her way and possibly run into worse dangers than Dementors. Dejected, Cas returned to her car and noticed several dark figures gathered around the school entrance. "Dementors," she murmured. "No wonder he ran."

Authors note- Thanks to all who have reviewed, though few you are. I work a lot so it's hard to update as much as I'd like. Take care all of you! And by the way, Cas IS Harry's godmother, to the one who asked why she wasn't. Harry just doesn't know it.