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Sirius Black was no fool yet also a complete and utter fool.
The original intent was a poorly timed joke on his part, suggesting to Harry and Hermione that he should perhaps move in as the new family pet. "After all, I wouldn't be hungry and have a roof over my head. On top of this, the ministry wouldn't suspect the black dog who moved in with the family is an escaped wizard as they don't know I'm an Animagus. Of course, I couldn't be a burden on the Weasley family and I don't want to be the chew toy of Harry's cousin, so that means..."
"No." Hermione glared at him.
"Oh, come on. Who would expect a wizard to be hiding with a Muggle family? It's perfect."
"I said no."
"I was joking. Never take Sirius seriously."
"It's not funny."
Sirius paused, looking at the girl as she stood there with her arms crossing her chest with her lip out ever slightly. Hermione didn't hesitate in giving him a dressing down with her eyes, but she reminded him of someone. He glanced away, swallowing. "Well. I best be going. Take care, Harry."
He flew away on Buckbeak then, still thinking in the back of his head that he'd simply been joking, although he could easily leave the Hippogriff in the care of the groundskeeper, as the ministry wouldn't think to look in the forest for the magical creature. A laugh echoed through the wind as Sirius Black ate up his moment of freedom, remaining ever the wild child of the Black family.
~
" There's nothing wrong in going to King's Cross Station and watching Harry arrive home from Hogwarts so long as I stay outside in my dog form. "
Which, while Sirius was no fool was still a foolish thing to think up, yet - despite not having caught Wormtail, he felt freer than he had in years and wanted to latch onto some form of normality. Showing up as a dog not being anywhere near a form of normal activity didn't once cross his mind. Sirius instead found himself imagining the look on the face of Harry's aunt when she saw a mangy dog near her.
" What are you doing?"
Sirius looked up at Hermione. The girl gave him the same look as before, the look that reminded Sirius of him. He gave her his best doggie glare saying he didn't care. " Spoilsport. "
"Suit yourself. Harry will be very upset if you get caught and your soul sucked out," Hermione turned.
" Oh, she's just like him, sucking the joy out of everything. " Thinking that didn't prevent a voice in the back of his head popping up and telling him that wasn't always the case, that there were times he'd enjoyed spending with him . " On top of that, isn't he the reason you choose Pettigrew over Remus, why you didn't feel you could trust Remus? " Sirius let out a doggie huff and decided on the spur of the moment to follow after the girl. " Might as well annoy her. "
"Go home," Hermione muttered.
" Don't have a home, no-more, no more! Don't have a home no-more, " Sirius sang in his head, laughing at her reaction despite knowing he was a complete and utter fool for following her, let alone coming to Kings Cross Station in the first place.
"And by that, go back to Buckbeak and into hiding," Hermione hissed, sending a glare his way.
Sirius glanced up, finding himself amused at how much her glares looked like the glares he would send his way, but in his hand, he laughed at that thought. " As if there is any connection. "
"Mene! Hey, Hermione!" someone called out.
" Adult male, from the sounds of things, but... " He watched Hermione flinch which made him wonder why she did so, but he watched her start to turn her head in the direction of the person who'd called out for her.
Seeing the man resulted in chills running down his spine, but he didn't know what the worst part about what he saw was.
Sirius watched the man approach Hermione from behind and pull her into a tight hug while his mouth twisted into a grin. If a stranger approaching a thirteen-year-old girl from behind wasn't alarming enough, Sirius recognized the ebony curls and silver-grey eyes which mirrored his own. The man wore a long sleeve turtleneck, covering the faded Dark Mark Sirius knew would be on the man's left forearm.
Sirius barked loudly and rapidly, not waiting for a scream to leave Hermione's mouth that opened up as she turned to verbally engage the stranger who was no stranger to Sirius. Much to his delight, the man let go of Hermione and stumbled backward into the parked cars nearby, but his head made a resounding crack against one of the cars for his trouble of trying to kidnap some random Muggle girl for nefarious things.
He sat on the ground, wagging his tail. Sirius felt pleased with himself, but he enjoyed how the man let out a groan indicating he'd hurt himself. He thought when Hermione turned back that she would look pleased.
She was not.
"Dad!"
His tail stopped wagging. " Bloody hell. You've got to be kidding me. "
Hermione turned around, but the look on her face was the same one Sirius saw on Regulus' face when he'd done something profoundly wrong. "Why did you do that? He's my dad?"
"Oh. Doggie."
" This doesn't make sense. " Sirius watched a pair of grey eyes look right at him.
"Hello, doggie."
" This isn't Regulus. Regulus doesn't act like this."
Yet...
" Maman, can we get a kitten. "
" I've told you before Regulus, that there will be no animals in this house. "
"Dad!"
Sirius turned his attention back to Hermione, who looked down at her father, but the look on her face said she might be finding the situation embarrassing. Hearing her speak made Regulus glance up, wincing as he did so. "Oh." He smiled at her, closing his eyes. "Don't worry. I'm okay."
Regulus stood up, staggering on his feet, but Sirius remembered that look. " That's just like those times he took a spill while playing Quidditch. Regulus isn't alright despite saying otherwise. He was in the infirmary for days. But... " Sirius let out a huff. " Why do you care? He's a bloody Death Eater, Sirius! "
Except he knew. Sirius knew why he cared.
" Where is mom?" Hermione's tone of voice hinted at the fact she already knew, but like Sirius lived so many years with the person in front of them, so had she.
"Your maman ?"
" Oh, it's definitely him. "
"Yes. My maman, as you so quaintly put it." Hermione clenched her hands.
"Your mother had an emergency procedure at the dentist's office, but I thought I'd surprise her by coming and get you rather than having you wait or take the bus back."
"Did you leave my sisters in the car?"
Regulus blinked, still staggering on his feet. "In the car? No. Lizzy's at home watching Jules."
"You left Elizabeth at home to take care of Jules on her own? You know that Jules doesn't listen to her? "
" Lizzy said she wanted a second chance, but it's been some time since..."
"Elizabeth wants the money that comes from watching Jules for you and mom."
"Well, then we should get home then, if you're so worried about the two, right?" Regulus smiled, putting on all of the charms expected of a Black family member. He even let the keys for the car swing around his finger while he tried pretending his balance wasn't off from clobbering his head on one of the nearby cars.
" Odd. That was the one thing Regulus was never able to pull off. More often than not, he disappeared into the background, even when he played Seeker for the Slytherin team. That always pissed James off, but we were possibly the only ones who even remembered he was on the team. "
"You're not driving."
"Why? I'm very good at driving, you know." Regulus mouth formed a pout, which made a pair of black ears go backward as Sirius wondered if the reason Regulus acted so strangely was because of hitting his head, in which case Hermione was likely right about Regulus driving, yet even more surprising was learning his brother had learned to drive.
"I don't know why you're even bringing that up right now, but you are not in any condition to drive home."
"I'm fine. Really, Mene."
" You're not fine, " Sirius thought to himself as Regulus continued to play with the keys by making them loop around his finger. " Well, here goes nothing, but I'm only doing this so the girl isn't in an accident because of his recklessness. I don't care what happens to him. " He knew the last part was a lie on his part but pushed it into the back of his head as he leaped up onto the nearby car. Slipping the keyring off his finger and dashing off with the keys was also easy.
"Hey!" That person called out, turning to follow after, yet a resounding thud told Sirius the head injury got the better of him. Sirius turned around, wagging his tail at the person while they frowned at him. Regulus was down on his knees. "Not funny dog. And your maman is going to kill me for losing the car keys."
"That's what you're worried about?"
"Well, Olivia is definitely going to be furious."
"Honestly, there is plenty for mom to be furious about right now, but she's really going to be furious if we don't get your head checked out."
"I'm..."
"Shut up, Rabbit. You're not fine. You're drawing a crowd, in fact," Hermione said, her arms folded across her chest. A crowd was indeed forming, obviously concerned that there was an emergency happening in front of them.
" Well, my business here is finished," Sirius thought to himself, taking off with the keys.
~
"I'm only returning the car keys, as that would be a major inconvenience to that family of his." Sirius patted Buckbeak's neck. "I really don't care what happens to that brat." The Hippogriff suddenly nudged the side of his head. "Hey. Hey. I really am okay and really don't care about..." He swallowed. "Anyways, I'll be back soon, and we can be on our way."
There was, thankfully, plenty of woods near the Granger household, which meant he could not only hide a Hippogriff in a forest, but he could easily sneak onto the property without being noticed. Sirius still turned into a black dog and approached the place, the keys in his mouth.
The front door opened, and he ducked behind a bush. Peering out, he saw a woman peering inside the house. "Remember, Elizabeth. I expect the mess you let Jules create while Rabbi was gone completely cleaned up by the time I get done at the office, but I expect both of you girls to behave for your older sister. Also, Jules, try too not to do anything that might make Rabbi's head hurt worse than it already does. Be quiet as a mouse today."
"Yes, momma," said one of the other children while Sirius expected Jules was attempting to be as quiet as a mouse as requested. He watched the woman walk down the path and head back to work. When she was gone, Sirius bellycrawled towards the door so he might enter. Opening the door wasn't a difficult task and soon he was in the house, sauntering around looking for a certain someone.
He passed by the kitchen and saw Hermione busy in the kitchen making lunch for her and her siblings, but a chuckle rattled through his head at the thought she hadn't noticed her.
The blonde-haired girl cleaning off handprints in the hallway didn't notice him either when he passed. Taking in the handprints, Sirius noted the bright colors along with the size of the hands which were larger than he expected for a child coloring on the walls. His attention returned to find a certain someone. " He's likely lying down. I hope he's lying down, not that I care. "
Eventually, he found a door open and a familiar figure lying on the bed. With a quick jump, Sirius was on the bed. He walked across the mattress without alerting the person lying on the bed, yet the way Regulus scrunched up his face said things weren't good.
" Not that I care." He dropped the keys onto the bed and lay down, staying completely still as he did so. " Though I can't wait to see the look on his face when he opens his eyes and sees that there is a strange dog in his bed. It will be hilarious. "
"Hello Rabbit," said someone in a whisper, acting under the instructions to be as quiet as a mouse. Sirius felt the child climb up onto the bed yet ignored their movement. They then said, "Hello, doggie."
"Doggie?" Regulus muttered, his mouth twisting into a frown. His silver-grey eyes snapped open. "What dog, Jules?"
Sirius decided to purposefully pant hot air into Regulus' face, mentally laughing the entire time he did so. " This is hilarious! Absolutely hilarious!"
Regulus sat up, looking down at the black dog. His voice strained. "Jules, sweetheart, you're not supposed to bring strange animals into the house without your maman and me knowing you're doing so. I'm not allowed to bring pets into the house without your maman knowing. "
"That is so like him, getting in trouble for bringing home some stray animal, but the fact she wouldn't let us have a pet growing up probably didn't help. " Sirius wagged his tail, only for him to sit up, and his tail stopped wagging when Regulus clamped a hand over his mouth. That didn't prevent him from throwing up whatever his lunch was onto the bed. " Oh, great. "
Of course, Regulus decided to compound the situation by cursing in French while his youngest daughter sat on the foot of the bed. Sirius finally noticed the girl, nor was she a boy like he'd expected after hearing her be called Jules. Out of all three children, she looked the most like a member of the Black family.
"Dad! You're not supposed to..."
Sirius turned to look at the door and saw the girl with blonde hair looking in while the color drained from her face. His tail wagged, loving the reaction. Regulus muttered. "Sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Hermione! Dad threw up all over the bed!"
Sirius heard someone hurrying down the hallway just as Jules decided to say, "Don't worry! The dog can clean it up!"
His attention turned to the girl, horrified at the suggestion. " I am not, absolutely not, eating vomit. "
"What dog?" Hermione's voice strained. She then saw him and pointed her finger at him. "You!"
Sirius felt Regulus shift on the bed, and then lift the car keys, as if a realization crossed his mind. "Wait. The dog came all this way to return the car keys?" He reached out and ruffled the top of said dog's head. "What a smart puppy!"
Regulus smiled at Sirius as Sirius thought to himself. " Why do you always have to be such an idiot? "
"You can't keep him."
"Why not?" Regulus muttered, sounding as if he didn't have the energy to argue.
"Juliet shouldn't have brought him inside in the first place," Elizabeth muttered.
"I didn't. The doggie let himself in," Jules replied.
"Sure he did," Elizabeth muttered.
"We can solve this issue when your mom gets home."
"What you mean is that you'll let the dog stay long enough so that when she gets home she can't resist the puppy dog faces you and Juliet give her and she'll let you both keep the mangy thing. Right, Hermione?" Elizebeth noticed she didn't respond and turned to look at her older sister. "Hermione?"
" This is hilarious, but I doubt he would be acting in such a childlike manner if he knew it was me. In fact... " Sirius bounced up, deciding to lick Regulus' face while imagining the look on his face if he were ever to find out the truth that it wasn't a mere dog kissing him at that moment.
"That's disgusting!" Hermione squeaked out, but the look on her face...
" Priceless! "
"Well, aren't you a lot nicer than you were when we first met, or were you just trying to great me?"
" Oh, wouldn't you just love to hear the explanation of me thinking you were up to something nefarious Death Eater stuff of kidnapping Muggle girls off the street and all the thoughts that went along with that? "
"Dad. Rabbit..." Hermione used that strange nickname for Regulus. "You can't sleep in a bed covered in vomit, so why don't you go upstairs to your old room to sleep?"
"Oh, okay." Regulus complied by getting up, only to wobble slightly. His hand reached out for the nightstand to steady himself.
Sirius stood up to follow. " I don't care, well, about him. But I can't let that idiot upset the girls by doing something insanely stupid. "
"Without the dog," Hermione snapped.
"Uh..." Regulus looked up at her like a child scolded.
" And you're supposed to be the parent! Hillarious! " Sirius wagged his tail in delight.
"I said no dog!" Hermione pointed right at him. He knew the words were aimed at him directly.
"Hermione..." Elizabeth glared at her sister. "Why are you telling the dog off?"
Hermione's mouth opened and Sirius couldn't help but laugh inwardly while she continued glaring at him specifically.
"I'll help dad upstairs."
"That doesn't get you out of cleaning up the mess Jules made while dad was gone and he left you in charge of her."
"Wait..." Regulus paled. "What mess?"
" You didn't notice on your way in? I did. You must have been really out of it. "
"Yeah. Maybe you should just go rest upstairs. And Jules, don't bother dad. Mom told you to be quiet as a mouse."
"But I am."
"That means you're not supposed to bother him at all."
Sirius utilized the fact Hermione was busy lecturing her youngest sister to slip out of the room and follow Regulus up the stairs, but he did it without Elizabeth's offered help. Upstairs though didn't mean simply upstairs, but instead a room in the attic where Regulus flopped down onto the bed while his entire face twisted into a grimace.
A couple of stuffed rabbits fell off the bed while another, the largest one stayed put. Glancing around, Sirius noticed how the bookshelf with worn books, but there were no records in the room let alone a record player. " Did you have to remain such a nerd, Reggie? "
He noticed in a corner a small attached bathroom, but everything about the room seemed like it was added on at a later point in time. A groan from Regulus made him look over at his brother to see him curl up, his hands reaching for the rather large stuffed rabbit that he pulled into himself.
Sirius jumped up on the bed and lay down. No matter how much he tried wrapping his mind around the fact his younger brother went and married a Muggle, even now had Muggle tastes, he couldn't. The whole thing felt like a strange dream that he couldn't put his finger on. Regulus stirred, then looked at him. "Oh. Hello."
The smile Regulus put on for the girls was gone, but he shifted himself up onto his elbows and then a sitting position. With his hand, he beckoned Sirius to come closer. He hesitated, only to finally decide he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Regulus reached out and petted the top of his head while his mouth twisted, although Sirius knew full well that particular look.
The bed suddenly shifted and Regulus brightened even more. "Oh. Hello Crookshanks. I can't hide from you, can I kitty?" Sirius watched Regulus reach out for the cat and lift the huge thing into his lap. His fingers carefully stroked the fur while Regulus took one deep breath after another as if he were calming himself down. "Seems like you already get along with our friend over here, huh? That doesn't mean you can stay though?"
" Wait? Has he figured out who I am? "
"You've got to pass the Jules test before Olivia will let you stay, otherwise she'll find you another home."
" Oh. What that means is I need to be able to deal with the one who painted the wall while you were gone and wanted me to eat vomit. Joy. "
"It would be nice to have someone else to talk to other than Olivia about certain things, particularly since Crookshanks goes to school with Mene. Did you know he's not actually a cat, but part Kneezle?"
" Oh. So you're going to talk about the Wizarding World with me as if I were a dog who can't talk back and share your secrets. Does this Olivia, who I assume is your wife, know about you being a Death Eater, someone who kills and tortures someone like her? What would your girls say? "
Crookshanks hopped down from the bed then while Regulus looked after the cat. A sigh escaped from his lips. Sirius tilted his head, then decided to pounce on Regulus so he might lick his face again. A laugh escaped. "Hey. Don't do that. I -"
"Dad. You're supposed to be resting. If Hermione catches you up, she'll give you an earful, but might even call maman." Sirius looked at her, forgetting she'd come up. "And it's just Hermione's speculation that cat is part what-ever-you-called-it."
"Sure. I'll get to sleep, but you need to clean up whatever mess Jules made, particularly since I've got a nagging feeling your maman told you to do so. "
Sirius watched the girl leave. Regulus sighed and lay down and he lay down next to him, pretending to be that dog that liked to share a bed with their master while thoughts of what Regulus' face would look like if he ever found out raced through his head.
Eventually, Regulus fell asleep, snoring as he did so. Sirius let out a sigh, changing back into a human so he might brush a lock of ebony black hair away from Regulus' eyes while his mind pondered so many questions. Lost in thought, he reached for the left arm to pull back the sleeve and didn't hear the door open again. "What do you think you're doing?"
Sirius glanced up and saw Hermione standing there with a cup of water and what was likely a Muggle potion for the head injury. "Oh. Hello."
"My dad's going to freak out if he sees you there, but you'd better leave."
"And what are you going to do about that?" Sirius asked.
"I'm going to go and get my mom and let her know you're an Animagus."
"Really?" Sirius felt his mouth twitch.
"It's not as if she can turn you into the ministry, given the fact she's a Muggle, right? But I'd appreciate it if you'd stop harassing my dad."
"Really? You think I'm harassing him?"
"What do you call kissing him in your dog form knowing full well you're not a real dog?"
" I'd call it lavishing him with brotherly... " Sirius glanced away. "Does your mother know your father's a Death Eater?"
"What?"
Sirius knew he shouldn't have reacted in such a spiteful manner simply because he almost admitted to himself he still cared. He told himself he didn't care if he strained the relationship between Regulus and his eldest. He continued looking away. "You heard me."
"You do know that I'm Muggleborn, right?"
"So, you want proof of what I said?" Sirius heard Hermione suck in her breath, but his hand reached out for the left arm. He acted despite the small voice telling him he would regret his actions later on as he pulled the sleeve back. He acted despite knowing the small voice telling him she should have already seen the mark on the left forearm. "See? Surely you've seen it before, the Dark Mark on his arm?"
Sirius paused, looking at the left forearm. The faint traces of the Dark Mark were there, but a more noticeable feature was the scars disfiguring the faded mark on his arm. He swallowed, briefly wondering how Regulus hadn't already woken up before turning his head to look at Hermione, the spitefulness he felt dying away.
"You're not looking?"
"He doesn't like people looking at the scars."
"So you haven't gotten a good look at his left forearm, like, ever?"
"No." Hermione set the glass onto the table along with the Muggle potion. "I'll be taking my leave now, but I'd appreciate it if you would leave him alone. He tends to get over-excited, and..." She headed towards the door. "Just don't overstimulate him. It never ends well, but." She clenched her fist. "I'm not leaving this be."
Sirius watched her leave. "Yet you're the one leaving?" He let out a huff and changed back into his dog form, snuggling up close. The scars he saw ran further up, but seeing those scars made him unable to deny the fact he still cared despite everything that happened. " Seriously. Why do you like to mess me up in the head like this, Reggie ." And... " And, I have to admit the reason you're out cold like this is because of my fault. "
He moved closer, so he, like a black dog, lay on top of Regulus, allowing him to hear his heartbeat which in turn proved his idiot younger brother was alive. Another huff left, his mind thinking about how much of an idiot Regulus was in front of his daughter out in the parking lot, yet so very different from when Regulus was a doll under her control. " I know I eventually need to get back to Buckbeak, but... "
The door opened again and he heard the voice of the girls' mother. "Rabbit!" Her voice strained, as if in panic while Regulus stirred underneath him. "Rabbit, you need to wake up."
Regulus' eyes fluttered open, his words slurring as he spoke. "Olivia, what - why are you..."
"Hermione and her professor..." Olivia said.
Sirius let out a huff. " She sent a message to Remus, didn't she? How I don't know, but he and Dumbledore are practically the only ones who would know the truth, so it has to be him. "
"Dad, that dog's an Animagus," Hermione said from behind her mother.
He felt the person underneath him stiffen and start to sit up. He let out a huff and then changed, smiling as he did so. "Well, the dog's out of the bag, so to speak."
"S...Sirius?" Regulus' voice strained, his entire body tensing as Sirius hovered over him, pinning him down without barely doing anything. Sirius continued smiling despite the fact the look on his younger brother's face was far from amusing, with the terrified look on Regulus' face.
"Wait? You know Sirius Black?" Hermione asked.
" You hadn't figured that out from the fact I accused him of being a Death Eater, let alone the fact we look related. "
"Wait? He's from the Black family?" Olivia's voice strained.
Sirius turned his head, looking right at her. The woman was angry. "How much of his past do you know about?"
"Enough to know you're a danger. The entire Black family is."
"Wow." Sirius sighed. "I'm insulted." He glanced back down at Regulus whose eyes were clenched shut. " But then, Regulus is acting as if he is terrified of me. " He reached out a hand wanting to touch Regulus' face. "Don't lump me in with the rest of them."
"Sirius! What the bloody..." He heard Remus, meaning Hermione had indeed made contact with him. "Wait. Regulus?" Remus looked at Hermione. "Your father's Regulus?"
"I'm not actually familiar with that name confused. Well, beyond the fact Sirius told me my dad's a former Death Eater. That's why I contacted you about him being here, professor. Remember?"
"I'm not your professor anymore, remember? So just Lupin is alright. That said..." Remus glanced into the room.
"Tell her I won't hurt him," Sirius stated.
"Hermione? She knows you won't hurt him, but do you really think I can convince her that you won't do something idiotic like you usually do, Padfoot?"
"I'm talking about her!" Sirius pointed his finger at Olivia. "She lumped me in with those monsters, but I want nothing to do with them! I got out the moment I could." He felt Regulus shift under him and looked down. He saw that Regulus opened his eyes but now looked away. His younger brother's lips pushed together, much in the same way they did when something frustrated him. "Reggie?"
"I'm one of those monsters, remember."
"You're not a monster," Hermione protested.
Sirius watched Regulus' lip tremble while one of his hands clenched. "Sorry, Mene." It was then that Regulus' teeth clenched and his eyes closed. "I am one of those monsters you've heard about."
"No, you're not." At first, Sirius thought the woman Regulus married said what he did, but then he realized it came out of his mouth. He let out a sigh and flopped down on the other side of the bed. "That's the worst part about the whole thing. About you becoming a Death Eater like you did."
"Azkaban?"
Sirius turned his head, looking at his younger brother. "Are you asking if I'm going to turn you into the ministry?"
"Well, that's certainly not a problem given the fact you're on the run from the ministry yourself for something you didn't do." Remus sighed. "Why don't we leave these two to talk things over? I've got to see to the Hippogriff that Sirius left in the woods."
"A what?" Regulus sat up in the bed next to him. Sirius looked up, his mouth twisting into a smirk at the look of panic on his younger brother's face, reminding him of how he reacted when they were younger and he did something which would get him into trouble. "When the hell are you going to grow up?"
"Never," Sirius laughed, wondering if the same thing might be said about his younger brother, although there seemed to be far more growth for him than before. "And, I can't stay long."