Well, the first part got a fairly warm welcome so I'm going to try and keep working on this. Of course, I have other fics going but hopefully I'll be able to update all of them on a regular basis.
Sirius looked around as the house elf led him quickly down into the basement so that nobody would see him. He'd only gotten to glimpse the foyer but even that had been excessively decorated with a brash display of wealth. It was no secret that the Malfoys were quite wealthy, but it was still dumbfounding to see after spending so much time in the dismal stone hovel that was Azkaban.
Even the basement he was being led into contained prominent indicators of their massive fortune. The stones were polished and well kept, there was a massive wine cellar off to one side and even the laundering stations and tubs down there were gilt and gleaming. The house elf wordlessly led him to a spot and pointed, indicating that he should wait there. He did so, patiently waiting and that elf and several others went and pulled out towels and shampoos. They took these over and set them beside an empty tub in the corner when suddenly a piercing scream came from above.
"Drakkie, you don't want to go down there, it's dark and there's lots of boring things…"
"BAF DWAGGY!"
There was the sound of feet pattering across the floor and Sirius nearly felt sympathy for his cousin. She was evidently having a hard time.
"You cannot take a bath with him! Wait until he's clean, then you can play with him all you like!"
Draco suddenly appeared at the top of the steps, looking for the dog. Narcissa gasped and grabbed him quickly before he could fall. Finding himself caught, the toddler burst into tears. His mother tried in vain to comfort him, but he continued to cry until she sighed again.
Walking down the stairs, followed by another house elf carrying bathing supplies, she took Draco over to where the first group of elves were waiting with Sirius. She put the child down then turned to the elf behind her.
"Dobby, you are to see that they both get suitably cleaned. And… discretion, Dobby. Do it quickly before Lucius finds out."
The elf nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Mistress. Dobby is doing his best to be serving you and young Master, Mistress."
She turned to Draco as the elves started filling the tub with water and lightly scented bath gels.
"Don't tell your father about this," she said with a slight smile then went upstairs.
Draco grinned as Dobby slid the dirty robe off him and another elf spirited it away. Sirius regarded at him quietly, unsurprised that Narcissa would spoil her son terribly. He'd already learned that crying was the best way to get what he wanted and Sirius wondered how much longer it would be until he was uncontrollably bratty. Then Draco stumbled over to the tub and climbed inside, splashing and smiling in Sirius' direction.
"Dwaggy!"
Sirius climbed in after him as the tub began to foam with suds. Draco played in the water while Dobby and the other elves worked shampoo into Sirius' fur and Draco's hair. Dobby also handed Draco a plastic squeaky dragon which he used to 'attack' the mountains of bubbles. Then, he looked at Sirius with wide grey eyes and put the dragon on his head, from which it slid off and fell into the water with a plot. He did it again, but this time it stayed.
"Dwaggy!" He smiled widely and Sirius relented.
Perhaps the boy was being slightly spoiled… well, more than slightly… but he was young, wasn't he? And hadn't he himself had a similarly luxurious childhood as a Black? Sirius licked the boy's pale cheek and he giggled uncontrollably, making the house elves struggle to get him to stay still long enough to scrub him.
At the end of the bath they gave Draco a new pair of training pants and a fluffy bathrobe and dried Sirius off with a set of plush towels. Dobby ran off to tell Narcissa, who came down and fetched the two, leading them upstairs to Draco's bedroom.
Sirius had to admit that the years hadn't done much to Narcissa – she was still the same haughty pureblood he remembered. However, he was surprised, just slightly, to find that his intense dislike of his family did not spread to her child. As Draco jumped on to the bed, he told himself once again that there was still time.
He didn't know what he could possibly do as a dog, but surely there had to be some way he could prevent Lucius and Narcissa from permanently tainting his young cousin. He considered this as Narcissa dressed Draco in a fresh dress robe and the house elves dried and combed his fur. While he wondered just how he'd managed to not end up like his cousins, he felt something being put around his neck.
Tugging himself away once the elves were done he turned around and glimpsed himself in the mirror. He couldn't look because he didn't want Narcissa to think he was 'too' intelligent but he glimpsed a green and silver collar on him and almost shivered despite himself. Slytherin colors… ew.
Draco was done getting dressed as well and his mother examined the job with a critical eye. At last she nodded, apparently satisfied that they were both presentable enough for the party. All of the house elves except for Dobby quickly vacated the nursery and Narcissa looked Draco in the eye.
"Stay put and don't get into trouble," she warned him. "Dobby, you are to look after them both. Any mischief they get into and you will be punished. Understand?"
"Yes, of course mistress, Dobby is understanding. Dobby is understanding very well!" He replied, wringing his hands anxiously.
She walked out, locking the door behind her as she went to go take care of more details. As Sirius looked in the mirror fully, he felt relief to see that he was still quite good looking if not somewhat thin. The collar around his neck was handsome, despite being the wrong colors, and there was a tag on it that read 'Dragon' on one side. As he examined it, Draco pounced on Sirius, grinning and laughing. Sirius barked loudly, pulled away playfully, and cantered around the room. Dobby watched them both nervously as Draco chased Sirius around the furniture and the dog climbed up and down the chairs, leading the laughing boy in the chase. As he paused and panted to get his breath, Sirius heard his stomach growl.
Dobby snapped his fingers and before long two house elves had brought him meat and a bowl of water. His hunger suddenly came back to him and he set about devouring the food while Draco petted him, running his hands over Sirius' now smooth and shiny coat. As he finished, Draco started tugging his ears, trying to drag him back into their games. Sirius complied, being careful so as not to hurt the boy.
Over the next two hours, Dobby supervised as Draco rolled balls towards him and climbed up on his back. Sirius remained well-behaved and put up with all of the pulling, tugging and poking. He only whined slightly when the boy went too far, to let him know that it hurt, and Draco would stop whatever the action was. At last, the boy grew fatigued and slowed down. He paused and toddled up to Sirius' face then kissed him on the nose, standing on tiptoe to reach.
"Love Dwaggy," he said with a sleepy grin before yawning loudly.
Sirius sat down and Draco curled up next to him once again. Dobby hovered for a moment, unsure of whether or not he should put Draco into his cot, but allowed them to remain that way for another hour until Narcissa came again to bring them down to the party.
Narcissa carried the boy while Sirius trotted beside her. They crossed the large lawn to where a massive silver and green tent had been pitched. Food and decorations were everywhere, along with what seemed like hundreds of people milling about. An enormous cake was the centerpiece of the dessert table and it had two huge candles on it that were waiting to be lit.
Lucius was talking to the guests when he saw his wife and child walk up.
"Ah, the man of the hour!" He said with a smile and everybody around him laughed.
Sirius hung back, trying not to get stepped on, as Draco got passed around to the Fudges, the MacNairs, The Goyles, and the Parkinsons. A few of those families had their own small children with them. When Draco started to fuss at the adults' constant poking, they decided as a group that it would be best if the children got to know each other on their own.
Draco squirmed as his mother put his down and as soon as he was free he ran away from the group of small children and over to his new dog.
"I say," Fudge asked, pouring himself a cup of punch and watching as the other children tentatively wandered towards them, "What kind of dog is that?"
Lucius shrugged and sipped his own drink.
"Some stray. He found it on the property – wandered through the woods, I suppose, stopped before it reached the wards – and quite insisted on keeping the wretched thing. Narcissa thought it would be a good present." He sighed. "I should have simply done away with the mutt and gotten him something suitable… purebred… smaller."
Fudge looked at the boy and the dog that were running around on the lawn, refreshed from their naps.
"Well, he does seem very attached."
Lucius nodded.
"I suppose he is. Boys and dogs… Oh well."
"So," said Fudge brightly, changing the subject, "What were you saying about a donation to St. Mungo's?"
Lucius smile silkily.
"I think I should like to make a donation, Minister."
Sirius twisted his head from time to time, trying to glance at what was happening between Lucius and the Minister. However, Draco was busy trying to play with him and he couldn't give himself away by attentively listening. He resumed the chasing game they'd played in the nursery, though only they played it since they other children seemed too intimidated by Sirius' size to join in.
Every few steps, Draco would take a tumble and Sirius would gentle stop until he could lift himself back up. They even rolled on the grass a little. All of this contributed to making Draco's fresh robe as messy as the first. His mother sighed then picked him up and told the children it was time for food and presents.
Their respective parents took them to tables and Draco was set at the head of one. He kept looking towards 'Dragon' and the dog followed obediently, sitting down next to Draco, slightly beneath the table. Narcissa cut up his food and tried to get him to eat some of it, though Draco seemed to prefer his sippy-cup.
Sirius was able to over-hear Lucius conversing with the Minister on the subject of himself. Eventually, others chimed in about how "awful" it was "to have such a filthy beast" on the loose. Sirius felt like growling – not only was he innocent, but many of these people were far worse than he ever was. He was also frustrated since a search meant that he probably wouldn't be out of dog form for some time.
Eventually, after they'd been eating for some time, more house elves cleared the tables and a large stack of presents was placed in front of Draco, both from his parents and those attending the party. The wrap shined in the waning light and the ribbons tangled together as they waited to be opened.
Draco pulled the paper off of them with Narcissa helping until, one by one, with people clapping after each opened present, he'd ripped the wrapping off of all the gifts. They included a child's broom stick which only hovered above the ground, colorful children's books, a plastic set of toys that looked like the Quidditch balls, stuffed dragons, board games, puzzles with large pieces and other assorted children's gifts.
He regarded each with minimal interest and tossed them aside. Narcissa stacked the gifts and when they were through, the house elves once more cleared everything away. The cake was placed in front of Draco and, using her wand, Narcissa lit the two candles.
"Now blow them out and make a wish, Drakkie!"
After three puffs, Draco managed to do it, and was given a large slice of cake which he immediately picked up with his hands, cramming it into his mouth and getting icing all over his face. The guests laughed as Dobby sliced up the cake and the other elves handed each witch or wizard a slice.
While the guests ate, Draco reached for another slice. When his mother gave it to him, he promptly dropped a handful of the chocolate cake in Sirius' direction. He ate it gladly and found that it was quite good – certainly better food than he was used to recently.
Narcissa sighed.
"No, Draco. Food like that is bad for Dragon. You might give him a stomachache!"
'Speak for yourself,' thought Sirius.
Draco pouted but didn't give him anymore. At last, the guests began to leave, one by one, and Narcissa carried Draco back into his room as the house elves started to clean up the lawn. Sirius padded after her, tired from the busy and eventful day he'd had.
He could hardly believe that he'd ended up in the Malfoy household. Of course, now that he was clean and starting to get some of his strength back, there were things to think about. He needed to know what was going on, needed to see how much of a search was being conducted for Sirius Black and, most importantly, needed some way to contact Harry now that he was released.
The home where Dumbledore had taken Harry was far away and Sirius wasn't even sure he knew his way there from Malfoy Manor. He was in no condition to travel, really, and he certainly couldn't make the trip as a human since half the Ministry was undoubtedly looking for him. However, he knew about Lily's family and shuddered to think of what those unpleasant Muggles were doing to his grandson.
He might grow up not knowing magic at all!
'What on earth were you thinking, Dumbledore…' Sirius wondered and regretted, not for the first time, failing to insist that he keep Harry instead of going chasing after Peter.
For now, the wisest course of action, given that even if he found Harry he couldn't take him away since he was technically a convict, seemed to be to remain at the household while he regained his strength and try to think of a way to get around the challenges before him.
He'd set his head down on his paws and was morosely thinking about how much he missed James, Lily and Harry when Narcissa finished changing Draco and bedding him down for the evening. Draco, however, didn't seem to want to fall asleep. He was pointing towards Sirius and his mother sighed.
"Very well, Draco. If I let him sleep with you, do you promise you'll go to bed? No more trouble?"
Draco nodded. Narcissa snapped her fingers and Sirius padded up to the bed, jumping on and curling protectively around Draco. His mother shut the light off and closed the door quietly, allowing them both to get some much needed sleep.
OK, next chapter will probably have at least a slight fast forward. :) I hope that everybody is enjoying the story thus far and if you have comments/criticisms/contributions please feel free to share any and all suggestions in the little box below.