DOGGED DISTRACTIONS
By AP MOM/Arlo
"Ew, Vernon, you are such a pig!" the dark haired young man groused, pausing in his stride. Petunia, on the other hand, didn't bother to stop- being far too curious as to what she might find around the corner. This left him in a very odd position, a fact that made the young woman who had just turned down the street giggle as she approached.
"Need a hand, Harry?" she asked, taking the leash that was attached to the rounder of the two dogs so that the young man could untwist both himself and the still moving Petunia.
"Thanks Diana", he told his pretty blond neighbor as he took the lead back from her and guided the two puppies toward him. "I guess I still need some practice walking them both at once."
"Looks like that one doesn't need any more practice eating," she observed tilting her head toward Vernon, who now had an old trainer in his mouth. "Why did you name him Vernon anyway- looks more like a Porky, if you ask me!" she laughed.
Harry grinned. His immediate instinct upon accepting the two Crup puppies as a gift from Dedalus Diggle had been to rename them, thinking it a bit disrespectful-even for his much despised Aunt and Uncle. But the first time he had chastised Vernon ("No, Vernon! Bad, very bad!") he had found it oddly liberating. Then there was the fact the names really did fit rather well. He meant to ask Diggle about that.
"The breeder named them," he shrugged. "I guess they stuck."
Diana nodded. "See, you around, then. Oh, and Harry, we've got the roofers tomorrow. Hope you're not on the night shift!"
"Just got off. Thanks for the warning, though," he responded, as they each continued on their separate ways.
It had been very fortuitous that Diana and her financier husband had recently purchased number eleven Grimmauld Place and immediately began major renovations, as it had given Harry a good cover to restore Number twelve. The fact that up until a few weeks before, no one in the area had even known there WAS a Number 12 had been cause for some distress at the Ministry of Magic. The many layers of protection and unplottable charms needed to be removed and updated so that their young hero could actually live there in peace. Fortunately, a boom in the real estate market, some confundus charms on the neighborhood and some fancy spell work by the Minister himself was all it took to make Harry Potter's residence both magically secure and Muggle friendly.
He stood outside for a few minutes as Vernon finished off the trainer and Petunia looked around nosily admiring the new red door (technically it was Cherries Jubilee but it was the closest to Gryffindor scarlet that Andromeda could find), the shiny brass phoenix door knocker and the stained glass sidelights. The entrance of the house, the rail fence, gate and the front garden had been the first things he had fixed up. Aunt Petunia was right, first impressions matter- too much to some- but Harry didn't want any suspicions about the newly reappeared house. People who walked by only noticed that it looked quite nice, and didn't question that it was there at all.
Harry ushered the two cruppies, as Dedalus called them, inside and removed their leashes, hanging them on the hall tree across from the entrance and walked past the curtained portrait of Walburga Black. That painting of Sirius' mother and his godfather's hated family tree were the next things on Harry's list to go. But first he needed some sleep and he headed upstairs to Sirius' old room. He probably should start considering it his, but he had no intention of touching the attic rooms in this renovation and soon would have a grand Master Suite all his own.
Harry awoke around two and showered and dressed. He headed downstairs, laughing at the sound of high pitched giggles and screechy yaps. As he expected, he found his house elf on the floor of the sitting room playing with the crups. Any reservations Harry had had about having pets were eliminated when Kreacher had taken to the magical dogs as soon as Diggle had brought them into the house, much to everyone's surprise. They made the old elf seem at least twenty years younger. Harry had also grown quite fond of the pair, savoring the excuse to walk around the London neighborhood every chance he got. It made him feel that much more at home there. The dogs had certainly infused new life into the once drab and dark house and its inhabitants.
"Should I walk them before our guests arrive?" Harry asked the elf.
"It is not necessary, Master. Theys been out in the back garden most of the day," Kreacher replied, smiling. "Would Master like something to eat?"
"Will you be serving anything with tea?" he asked in reply.
"Yes, Master. The watercress sandwiches that Miss Narcissa likes and the cucumber ones that young Draco prefers." Harry cringed, he liked the cucumber sandwiches, too. He hated having anything in common with Draco Malfoy.
Kreacher had been quite ambivalent about the afternoon's plans, though he had readily agreed to allow Narcissa Black Malfoy to take both the tapestry and the portrait of Walburga. He still felt tied to his old Mistress and her possessions, and Harry had made sure that he was okay with the transfer. Hopefully, the experts were correct and the permanent sticking charms on both artifacts would be broken by the touch of the last surviving members of the family still remaining on the family tree. And Harry really wanted to get the last remnants of Sirius' hated heirlooms out of the house, if only for his own sanity. Sirius' mother still had the nasty habit of screaming obscenities at guests she disapproved of. More than once he had been awakened after a long Auror shift by her shouts of "Blood traitor, be gone!" and other less polite epithets if Andromeda or Ron showed up. Kreacher had managed to silence her with his magic for a time, but it didn't last long and even the elf had grown tired of the woman's outbursts. After all, "Master Harry needs his sleep", and so Kreacher consented to help in their removal. It would be much easier to have guests at the house, especially Muggle ones, without her hanging around.
So after weeks of planning, negotiations and begging (Harry really, really wanted Andromeda present when her sister came by) Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were coming for tea this afternoon. As was Andromeda Black Tonks, who had just entered the house judging by the voice that had loudly silenced the portrait in the middle of a rant. In the past few months, Harry had spent quite a bit of time in Andromeda's company, both at her home and at Harry's. Like her cousin, Sirius, she took great pride in seeing the house of her ancestors purged of its dark past. It was the only reason she would agree to be in the same room as her sister, except to make sure that no harm came to Harry at their hands. Andromeda had grown quite fond of the young man in the short time they had known each other, despite her initial reservations about his ability to be a good godfather to her orphaned grandson.
"Where's Teddy?" Harry asked coming off the bottom stair and taking her cloak. He noticed she had dressed particularly carefully this afternoon. Rather than her usual jeans, she wore a dark blue Muggle style suit and frilly white blouse. She had even worn her ornate diamond wedding band, which she had been removing because Teddy liked to chew on it.
"Molly's watching him. I don"t want him to be exposed to those kind of people," she replied with a scowl worthy of her sister Bellatrix. Harry was still somewhat disconcerted by her obvious similarities in looks and mannerisms to her sisters, but wouldn't dare mention it to her. She still had a deep hatred of them both, despite Bella's death and Cissy's attempts at reconciliation. Not that Harry was all that fond of the Malfoys either, but family was important and like himself, Andromeda had few relatives left.
Fortunately, the afternoon went quite well. The experts were correct and the two wall hangings came down with ease. Draco was actually quite civil, even making a risque jokes about his Tujours Pur ancestors and chatting about his studies as a Hogwarts day student. He was kind enough to leave Harry a few cucumber sandwiches for later. Narcisssa and Andromeda made polite small talk and photos of Teddy were even passed around. Kreacher brought the hangings to the Malfoys summer house, where they now lived- the Ministry having taken over their Manor- without any complications or tantrums. All in all the afternoon couldn't have gone any better.
If only Vernon hadn't eaten Narcissa's purse.