Chapter 25

"Daddy, do you have to go?" Cassie whined two days later. The little group stood in the courtyard waiting for Draco to finish. Black in his dog form sat by Harry's feet with Dumbledore giving Ron and Lupin last minute instructions. McGonagall and Snape were standing by the entrance of the school while Hagrid towered next to them.

"You want me to go get Gran don't you?" He asked squatting down in front of her.

"Yes." She looked at the ground frowning.

"Don't worry, Mr. Potter will be here to watch you along with Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall." Draco reassured brushing a stray hair out of her eyes. "Mr. Lupin and Mr. Weasley will come with me to keep me safe. All right?" Cassie bobbed her head, tears filling her eyes. "I'll be back in a week."

"Promise?" Cassie asked.

"Promise." Draco told her smiling and kissing her on the cheek. "You make sure Mr. Potter shows you around."

"He can't braid," she stated grumpily.

"Then you'll have to teach him, won't you?" Draco hugged her, not willing to leave just yet. Unfortunately, he had to pack up his household and finish squaring away his affairs in Aukland. Lupin had volunteered to come along, which surprised him. On the other hand, Dumbledore had ordered Ron to go along.

"I have something for you Snapdragon." He said reaching for the talisman that had been tucked under his shirt. Taking it off, he placed the jade carving around Cassie's neck. "Trina gave this to me and now I'm giving it to you. There is a powerful curse in this and if you're ever in danger, it will protect you. Don't ever take it off, okay?"

"Okay," she replied sticking it down her shirt. "I promise."

Standing up, Draco gave Harry a stern look.

"Don't let anything happen to her Potter." Harry nodded while Draco turned his attention back to his child. "Be good, don't cause any trouble, stay out of the forest and no dragons."

"I only brought that egg home on accident." She protested while the Auror's eyes widened.

"It's a good thing I recognized what it was before it's mother came looking. Bye Snapdragon." He said affectionately before turning and retrieving his broom from Luipin.

They waved good-bye as the three men flew away. Once they were out of sight Cassie turned to Harry.

Wiping her eyes she gazed up at her guardian. There was something she wanted from him.

"Daddy said you were a good Seeker." She crossed her arms in front of her.

"I was," he replied slowly.

"Better than Daddy?" It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"Yes, I suppose I was." Harry wasn't sure what she was up to, but Draco had given fair warning that she had a stubborn streak.

"Then prove it. Show me how to catch a Snitch."

He hemmed for a moment.

"How about we start with flying lessons, then I might show you how to catch a Snitch." He replied slowly trying to remember if that was on the list of things she could do that Draco handed him before breakfast. "I need to make sure you can fly first."

"Oh, I can! Daddy taught me." Cassie replied grinning. Dumbledore chuckled as he headed back inside leaving Harry to round up the suddenly energetic child.

Hagrid could hear the laughter coming from the Quidditch field. Curious, he walked over to investigate the source. Upon entering, the first thing he noticed was Cassiopeia Malfoy hanging upside down on one of the teaching brooms. The second was Harry Potter hovering right below the acrobat, attempting to convince her to sit up right. He had an almost panicked look on his face, while she laughed.

"Havin a bit o' trouble Harry?" Hagrid inquired as Cassie let go of the broom with her hands. Thankfully her legs were firmly wrapped around the handle still.

"Yes," Harry answered briskly not turning his attention from the child. "Cassie, could you please sit up right?"

"Hello Mr. Hagrid! See what I can do?" She called absolutely thrilled that she had an audience.

"I see. Very good." Hagrid congratulated stepping closer.

"Hagrid, I'm trying to get her to stop, not encourage her!" Harry exclaimed exasperatedly. He hoped Draco would be back soon, it'd already been five days and he was at the end of his rope. Snape and McGonagall both were hiding, refusing to help him. She was his responsibility, he was teaching her to play Quidditch. He was perfectly capable of keeping an eye on one small child Snape had declared before disappearing into his lab that morning. The temptation to drop her off with him for babysitting was high. Let Snape deal with her questions and enthusiasm. It was either that or leave her to the whims of Peeves.

The resident poltergeist had discovered the little girl and decided that she was the most wonderful thing he'd seen in years. She was more fun than tormenting the first years he'd declared two days ago while zipping past Harry who'd been on his way to investigate the scream he'd just heard. Cassie wasn't supposed to go near Peeves after he'd gotten her stuck on top of a bookshelf in the library. That didn't stop her from giving Harry gray hairs though.

"Relax, the lil girl is just looking fer some attention." Hagrid gave him a sympathetic look. "Her daddy's gone."

Descending to the ground, Harry dismounted with a sigh. Casting another worried look up at the five-year-old, he thought before he spoke again.

"This is probably the first time Malfoy has ever left her alone for a long period of time. Plus she's in a strange place filled with magic with people she doesn't know." He muttered watching as Cassie pulled herself up into a proper sitting position. Hagrid agreed and they both kept an eye on her as she did a lazy circle around them. Pausing where she'd started, Cassie floated down so that she was eye level with Hagrid.

"Daddy said you had a dragon once." She said, locking her ankles together under the broom.

"Ah, my darlin' Norbert." Hagrid sniffed touched by the words. "You're daddy remembers 'im. 'ow sweet!" Harry doubted there was anything sweet about that memory. He'd probably used it as an example why not to bring home dragon eggs.

"I brought home a dragon egg by accident one time. That's when Daddy told me. He said we could get into a lot of trouble because of it, so we put it back." She bobbed up and down for a moment. "So I don't look for dragons, I look for kiwis, but there aren't any around here."

"No," Harry replied, walking over and grabbing a hold of the broom. "We don't have them in Britain."

"You don't have a lot of things. No kiwis, no seals, no parrots, no black robins, no takahe, no Chevron skinks, no whales..."

"We have whales and seals, but we're too far inland to see them." Harry told her.

"In the summers Daddy, Gran and me would go to the beach." Cassie continued gloomily. "We'd go wading in the ocean or try and find sea serpents." Her face fell. "I wanna to go home."

"I know you do, but Hogwarts is your new home." Harry said gently. She shook her head rapidly, causing her pigtails to smack her in the face.

"I don't want it. I liked my home! Lisa lived next door with Mr. and Mrs. Fa'avah."

"It's not safe there for you anymore." He wished he could make this easier on her, but he couldn't.

"We had TV and Daddy cooked. There was no Lucy-us or Voldigmort. It was Gran, Daddy and me." Cassie whimpered, her eyes filling with tears.

Harry gently pulled the broom and child to him. Wrapping her small arms around his neck, Cassie slid off, startling him in the process. He caught her before she fell while the broom clattered to the ground. Holding him tightly, Cassie buried her head against his shoulder.

"I want Daddy," she said sobbing.

"I know you do." Harry said softly, adjusting his grip so she wouldn't slip. "He'll be back soon."

"How soon?" She whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I don't know."

"What if Lucy-us gets him? Who'll be my daddy?" Her little voice shook as she spoke, causing Harry to wish there was some way he could reassure her that Draco was coming back. Words didn't mean much to her right now, but they were all he had.

"I promise you Lucius won't hurt your daddy." Harry gently stroked her hair. "I'll make sure of it." He felt her nod in understanding, but she wouldn't let go. After a moment he decided it was time for her nap.

Smiling, Hagrid picked up the discarded brooms and followed him. The little girl just needed someone she felt safe with and that person appeared to be Harry Potter. Hopefully if she felt secure, she'd calm down.

"She's a sweetie." He commented as they parted at the broom locker. Harry nodded as Cassie closed her eyes. "She reminds me o' you, I mean with that black hair and friendly manner. Malfoy has donna good job with'er." With that he left the young wizard to put his charge to bed.