Man's Best Friend

Summery: It's the summer before the trio's final year at Hogwarts. Everything that happened with Sirius in their third year never happened and no one knows about him, except of course Lupin, who is still teaching DADA at Hogwarts.

A/N: Let me know what you think about this. I'm not too sure about this story, since this is my first Hermione/Sirius fic.

Chapter One

Hermione hugged Mr. Weasley and stepped back. "Tell the family I'll see them at the end of summer."

Mr. Weasley nodded. "I will. Have a good summer, Hermione." He said and apperated away.

Hermione sighed and turned to look at her childhood home that seemed so strange every time she returned from Hogwarts. Adjusting the bag hanging from her shoulder she looked up towards the night sky. She watched stars and for a moment, she felt as though she were back at Hogwarts. A twig snapped behind her and she spun around, her wand aimed in front of her. The bushes across the street moved a bit and she gripped her wand tighter. She inhaled sharply when she saw a pair of eyes and snarling teeth. A large black dog stepped out of the bushes and into the road. Just as it stepped forward a horn blared and the dog looked up just as a car passed. Hermione let out a small scream and covered her mouth with her hands as the dog rolled beneath the car's tires. They didn't even stop. Dropping her bag, she ran into the street and fell to her knees beside the dog, who whimpered and was covered in cuts.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…" She tucked her wand into the waistband of her jeans and struggled to pull the dog out of the road.

Once she and the dog were on her front lawn, she ran inside the house yelling for her parents. She grabbed a washcloth and a bowl, filling it with warm water and ran back outside, her parents following her.

"Honey, what is going on? Is that a wolf?" feared her mother.

"It's a dog. He was hit by a car. They didn't even stop!" Hermione cried and she started wiping off some of the blood with the damp washcloth.

"Hermione, dear, back up a bit." said her father and he bent down to pick up the hurt dog. "Go get some extra pillows and a blanket from the linen closet, dear."

Hermione's father carried in the dog and Hermione returned a few moments later with a couple of pillows and a blanket. She dropped the pillows on the ground, side by side, and placed the blanket over them. Her mother walked in, holding the bowl of water and washcloth as her father gently placed the dog on the makeshift dog bed.

"We'll call a vet in the morning." Said her father as Hermione took the bowl of water and washcloth and began cleaning the cuts on the dogs body. "Hermione, dear, I don't want you getting attached."

Hermione looked up. "You're not going to have him put down, are you?"

"Honey, if there's nothing we can do, we're gonna have to put him down."

"What! No!" Hermione wrapped her arms the dogs neck, holding its head against her. "I'll take care of him! Please, you can't put him down!" The dog whimpered.

"Honey…"

"If I got hit by a car, would you put me down?" she challenged.

"You know we wouldn't. That's completely different." Said her father.

"Snuffles!"

Her parents looked at each other then back at their daughter. "What?"

"Snuffles! That's his name. You can't kill him now. He's got a name!"

Her father sighed and her mother placed an arm on his shoulder. Hermione clearly wasn't going to give up on this. He looked at her and let out another sigh. "Fine. We can keep him. But he's your responsibility. Understand? And keep him quiet. I don't want him barking all the time."

Hermione jumped up and hugged her parents. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, then sat back down beside the dog and began cleaning the dog's wounds again.

"We're going back to bed. Make sure you get some sleep and not fuss over that damn thing all night." said her father as he climbed the steps.

"Language, dear." she heard her mother say.

Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to taking care of the dog. Thankfully he wasn't hurt as badly as she thought. Just some cuts and possibly a sprained leg. The dog whimpered and placed his head on her lap. Smiling softly, she scratched his head. Her smile grew when his tail began wagging. She looked down at his face. His eyes were closed and if she hadn't known better, she could have swore he was smiling. Shaking her head, she placed a kiss on his head between his ears and stood up. Walking to the kitchen, she grabbed a large silver mixing bowl and filled it with water, then placed it on the ground beside Snuffles. Remembering her things out in the yard, she quickly grabbed them and left them on the couch for the morning. Patting Snuffles on the head once more, she climbed the stairs to her room.

Sirius watched her climb the steps and waited until he heard the soft click of the door before he stood up. Stretching, his bones shifted and his fur vanished as he turned from Snuffles into his human form. He glanced down at his shoulder where there was a large cut. He picked up the washcloth and held it against the cut. He wandered into the kitchen. Staying quiet, he made himself a sandwich and something to drink. Keeping an eye on the doorway, he quickly ate his food and transformed back into Snuffles.

Hermione undressed and climbed into bed, not bothering to pull on her pajamas. She heard a small tapping and smiled as she listened to Snuffles walk around downstairs, his claws tapping against the wood floor and tile every step he took. Shaking her head lightly, she shut off the light. Relaxing into the warm covers she smiled again. Maybe he wouldn't have to go to the vet.