Chapter 28 Snuffles

I waited a few minutes before leaving the classroom myself. I wanted to give Harry a head start. So I walked back up to Gryffindor tower as quickly as I could without it being weird that I didn't have Harry with me. When I made it to the common room, I was able to slip by the second years. Ginny was out of the Tower, probably with that Ravenclaw I saw her with last year.

I went up the stairs and decided to take a warm shower. I wanted to curl my hair and play with the colors of my hair. So I washed my hair, and dried it over the heater in the middle of the dormitory. I was wearing black sweatpants and my bra since I didn't have to fear anyone coming in unexpectedly.

I sat down in front of a full length I had taken from the bathroom. I had the book Charlotte had given me for Christmas last year and I started to play with the curls. When I decided that I liked how I did my curls, I changed my hair from the black I had been keeping it.

The other students didn't seem to get much joy for giving me the Magigas potion if I already look like how I usually do, so I've been keeping my hair and features as natural as I can.

But I kept my top half of my hair black, and I played with the bottom half. I changed it from the brightest yellow, to the darkest red. And then I decided to darken my hair back to black and with the right light, you can see the shimmering pink in the right light. I messed with it being purple or blue before going with pink highlights in my curly hair.

I thought it was a better effect.

After maybe two hours, I was staring out the window. I couldn't risk going down without attracting attention. I was watching the snow swirl around when lunch finally came. Rather than go down with the crowd and raise suspicion, I opened up my map and waited for the common room to clear out.

I didn't have to wait too long. The common room and the staircase leading to the other ways around the school was cleared out. So I grabbed my Weasley sweater and my cloak. I was going down to the kitchens and grabbing some food for Snuffles. If I had to be alone, I may as well find some quiet company.

I kept the map open and used it to navigate down to the kitchens. It was a short walk with all the secret passages, and since Hogwarts was a place always flowing with magic, I'm pretty sure it was helping the students who would utilize it. Sometimes I would find a wall had moved when I was looking the opposite direction and then turned back around.

If I didn't know better, I thought Hogwarts was alive.

I had made it to the kitchens, and then outside, with only one close call. I didn't see Mr. Filch until a tapestry had moved like it was hiding a breeze and I looked down at my map and saw he was about to turn the corner. So I hid behind the tapestry until he had passed. Walking out the front door was going to be tricky, but the map revealed a way out for me. So I popped out at the courtyard, and the wall behind me disappeared.

"So cool!" I whispered to myself and I put my hood up on my cloak and snuck around the wall and stepped onto the grounds.

It was an open field between me and the Forest and a part of me wished I could make my black cloak turn white, but the snow was falling and it did give me some cover. I looked over my shoulder just to make sure I wasn't being followed. Once I made it into the trees, I put my hood down and started to walk in the direction I had last seen Snuffles.

"Snuffles!" I called out.

The snow was muffling the noise of the forest, and my voice disturbed the peace. I had a soft smile on my face when I heard snow crunching to my left. I looked over and Snuffles was walking towards me.

"Hello good boy!" I crouched down, revealing the basket I had my arm through.

His tail wagged as he sniffed the basket.

"Give me just a second," I said, pulling out my wand and conjuring a blanket onto the snow.

Snuffles stood patiently next to me while I got lunch set up for us.

"I brought extra, mostly because tonight's the last feast I will be having with my friends. Then I'll be visiting some family I didn't know I had." I explained as we settled down on the blanket.

Snuffles started to choke on the food he had just inhaled.

"Easy boy." I started to get up.

In a blink of an eye, my dog Snuffles, disappeared. A man with a thin, pale face sat where he was. I paused. He had black hair, it was stringy and matted, it clearly hadn't been brushed in a long time. His eyes were grey, just like mine.

"Bl-bl-Black!" I stuttered, falling backwards and trying to crawl away from him.

My hair turned white and I watched as Sirius Black spat out his half chewed food and he stood up with ease.

"Don't run." His voice was low, and he took a step towards me.

I flipped over and my legs got tangled in my cloak. I felt the tears start appear in my eyes. I was so scared and just wanted to get somewhere safe!

"Cassie!" The strange voice said.

I don't know what noise I made, but I finally got my legs untangled and I let out a noise. One of fear? One of triumph? Both? But before I could even take a step, my cloak was grabbed and his arms were around me.

I opened my mouth and his hand covered it.

"I'm not going to kill you."

I didn't make any noise, I was trembling against him and I knew he could feel it.

"Cassie, you have taken care of me since the summer. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have." He said, his voice was trying to be gentle, but all I could hear was threats.

He lifted his hand off my mouth.

"What's stopping you from killing me now?" I whispered.

He gave a sigh and suddenly I was cold. He had let me go.

I turned to look at him, I'm sure my eyes were wide.

"I'm not a killer." He stepped away from me, holding his hands up.

I paused for a second.

"Are you working for Voldemort?" I asked.

He gave an empty smile and shook his head.

"Then why did you get sent to Azkaban?"

I was on the balls of my feet. I wanted to run, but the desire to stay was strong.

"That's a long story." Sirius gestured to the blanket.

I glanced back to where I knew where the castle was. I looked back at Sirius and he was already sitting on the blanket again, devouring the food.

'If I die, I die.' I sighed.

Sirius looked up and kept eating when I sat down in front of him.

"So, what's the story?" I asked.

"You mean to tell me, that Ron's rat, Scabbers, is actually Peter Pettigrew?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes." Sirius nodded.

"I don't - I can't - Can you -?" I didn't know what question to ask first.

"I can prove it, I just need the rat." Sirius said.

He had finished some of the food, but I made him stop eating before he made himself throw up.

"How?" I asked.

He opened his mouth.

"Nevermind, I'm sure there's a spell, but I can't just take Scabbers. Ron will get suspicious." I waved off his reply.

"You're not going to get him. As soon as Pettigrew knows that you know, you and your friends can be in danger. And I'm not willing to risk that." Sirius shook his head.

"And how am I supposed to sit by and not help you?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

He gave a chuckle and shook his head.

"You are just like Karen."

I stopped. I had completely forgotten that this man was my father, and he knew more about my mom.

"What was she like?" I asked, my voice quiet.

Sirius paused and looked at me.

"What do you remember about her?" He asked, patting his full stomach.

"I don't remember a lot, I just know what I have been told. She and Lily were best friends, and she died when I was younger."

"Your mom was a strong woman. And she would have made a great mother." He said, his eyes losing focus.

"Did you two love each other?" I asked.

His eyes flashed and he looked at me, something in his eyes.

"At one point, I think I did. But I ended up in love with someone else." He said.

"Was I an accident?"

"No!" That was the first time he was loud.

I flinched away from him, but I didn't get up to run.

"The person I was - am - in love with, we wanted a child. And this person was afraid of passing on certain attributes onto you, so it was decided that I would be the one to -" Sirius paused.

"To get my mom pregnant." I filled in.

"Yes. Sirius nodded.

"What happened to this 'other person.' " I asked.

Sirius sighed and looked towards the castle.

"Sirius?" I asked, using his name for the first time.

"He had lost three of his best friends. I don't blame him for not wanting me anymore." Sirius sounded like he was far away.

"He?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Yes, he." Sirius turned to me and watched me.

I stopped and let my brain think things over.

"So, why didn't he adopt me?" I asked, feeling bitter.

"It is not my place to say, but I can tell you it was for your own safety." Sirius answered.

I didn't want to accept the answer, but I wasn't sure how to fight it.

"You should be getting back to the castle." Sirius said, standing up

"But -"

"I know I have no business telling you what to do, but it's getting late, and you should be getting back so that you don't get sick." He started to walk away.

"What about you?" I asked, also standing up

"I'll be fine. I'm also Snuffles." He gave a grin. "One last thing, please be careful around the Malfoy family. Narcissa is my cousin, but Lucius might use you."

In another blink, the shaggy dog was there again. Snuffles gave a bark and started to walk away. I looked down at the ground and didn't know what to do with all of the food, or with all the information I was just given.

I had decided to take the food back to the kitchens, the elves there had a better idea of what to do with it. I was walking through some of the secret passages when the students started to show up from Hogsmeade. So I slipped into the crowd and changed my hair to the black and pink I picked out. I had forgotten to change it when I was talking to Sirius. I made it to the common room and I grinned when I saw Hermione and Ron were back with Harry. But as soon as Ron saw me, he took Harry upstairs, and Hermione was quick to grab me.

"What -?" I started to ask.

"Not now." She hissed to me and walked me out of the common room.

"What is going on?" I asked quietly.

"Hold on." She hissed again and pulled me into an empty classroom.

We didn't have too long to wait, Harry and Ron walked in after us.

"What is going on?" I asked, getting angry.

"Sirius Black is the reason my parents are dead." Harry answered.

The Big Reveal! We'll learn more about Sirius and this 'other person' granted we all know who it is. But Cassie doesn't so we'll see if she figures it out.

Shout out to mollylivvie for adding all of the stories to your favorites list! I'm not going to put in the last part of your username because it won't show up otherwise.

Shout out to ross . mitchel2302 for following and favoriting this story!

Shout out to luxgal7 for adding all three stories to your favorite's and following list!

Shout out to katie owl, eeemkaaayy and Pamela Hutchins for leaving a review!

katie owl: Thank you! I'm so glad you think that! I struggled with Fudge's speech because I wanted to throw in what happened to her mother since that's still a mystery.

eeemkaaayy: Yes, they finally met! I couldn't wait for them to get together at the end of the year, and the shock of her going to the Malfoy's for the holidays seemed like the opportunity for them to meet!

Pamela Hutchins: And now, now you know.