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

60. Gift Or Curse

Things went from bad to worse at Hogwarts.
Without Dumbledore to keep an eye on things, Umbridge could increase her reign of terror.
Fred and George were forced to flee the school on broomsticks, to avoid being chained up in the dungeons and beaten by Filch. Hagrid was also forced to run away, after the Ministry tried to arrest him under the cover of darkness. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated his half-giant blood, which deflected most Stunning spells, so Hagrid was able to escape unharmed.
But McGonagall was not so lucky, as she had been caught in the cross fire, trying to protect Hagrid.

This meant that the only Order member left at Hogwarts, was Snape.
And even though he had trained Cassiopeia in Occlumency, she still didn't completed trust him, since she knew how much he hated Harry.
But there wasn't much Cassiopeia could do to help Harry, as she was trapped in London, hundreds of miles from him.
She just had to pray that he would get to the end of the school year without being expelled.

As June arrived, Cassiopeia couldn't contain her excitement, as she knew Harry would be coming home soon, and she was desperate to see him again.
On one ordinary morning, halfway through the month, she recieved a mysterous package by owl.
She recognised the handwriting on the front of the envelope as she could always spot Narcissa's delicate hand from a mile away.
The pair hadn't written or spoken to each other since Voldemort's return, so Cassiopeia was unsure why her cousin was writing to her out of the blue.

Inside the envelope was a letter containing two simple words; 'I'm sorry'.
Alongside the letter was a beautiful silver pendant in the shape of a heart.
Cassiopeia smiled when she saw it, as she felt it was Narcissa's way of apologising for siding with her husband once again.
Without hesitation, she put the necklace around her, and watched as the pendant hung right over her heart.
Despite all they had been through, Cassiopeia knew that Narcissa still cared about her, and this brought her great happiness.

****

Sirius paced up and down his sister's room, unsure of what to do or how to help.
Cassiopeia was lying still, her forehead drenched with sweat, and her chest struggling to rise and fall.
Remus sat on the edge of the bed, while Kreacher sat on the other side. Both of them stared at Cassiopeia's unconscious body, not knowing what to do.
"Someone think of something, please" begged Sirius.
Remus felt Cassiopeia's pulse again, before looking back to Sirius, "We need a healer".
"Oh yes, great idea. Why don't I just stroll down to St Mungo's and invite one of them to come back here with me" mocked Sirius.
"There's no need to get angry at me, I didn't do this" Remus snapped back.

"I know that. And I'm sorry. But my sister is dying and I don't know how to save her" exclaimed Sirius.
"Alright, calm down, we need to think about this logically. Healthy people don't get sick for no reason, not when they never leave the house. No one has been here all week except for me, and I haven't exactly been out socialising. So it's unlikely I brought an illness in here with me. If I had, you would most likely be sick as well, since both of your immune systems are low, due to being locked in Grimmauld Place for a year" said Remus.
"People can get sick out of nowhere, for no reason. It does happen" countered  Sirius.
"Yes, but people don't usually go from completely healthy, to on deaths door, in a matter of hours. Something must have happened to trigger this".

Sirius turned to Kreacher, "You were with her all morning. Did anything happen to her?".
Kreacher shook his head, "Mistress didn't leave the house. Mistress did nothing out of the ordinary".
"Well something must have happened to cause this. Did she go into a room that we don't usually go into? Did she bump into any nasty household pests? Did she read anything in the paper that caused her to have a heart attack or something?" Demanded Sirius.
"No, nothing like that. Mistress got up and dressed as normal, then came down for breakfast, then once she was done she came up to read her letter-"
"What letter?" Interupted Sirius.