Chapter Two: Welcome to Diagon Alley
Harry walked into the Leaky Cauldron after getting off of the Knight Bus. Quickly walking past a man in a pinstriped suit and a bowler hat who appeared to be looking for someone – 'Was that Minister Fudge?' – Harry took off his glasses and moved a hand though his hair to make sure that it drooped down over his forehead and was covering his scar. He kept his head angled down as he walked towards Tom at the bar.
Harry was glad that the Leaky Cauldron didn't have very many patrons that night since he kept accidentally bumping into chairs as he walked through the room. The dog was dutifully following behind him as Harry shuffled his way across the floor, dragging his trunk and owl cage to the left of him.
Tom was standing behind the bar cleaning out a glass with a wet rag. When he noticed Harry coming to a stop in front of the bar, Tom glanced up and asked, "Can I help you?"
"I need a room for me and my dog," Harry responded, making sure to look down at the bar and not at Tom. Harry hoped that if he avoided eye contact and didn't face anyone head on, he'd be able to keep from being recognized. The dog was quietly sitting at Harry's feet shifting its head back and forth as it looked around at the surroundings.
Looking over the bar and down at the dog, Tom's eye's widened at the size of the dog.
"Your dog is… big." Tom said hesitantly.
"Yes. Will that be a problem?" asked Harry, sounding worried. 'I hope not. I don't know where else I could go at the moment.'
"No. Not a problem. You'll just have to pay a little extra for the room in case the dog causes any damage," replied Tom as he set down the rag and the glass he'd been cleaning on the bar. Tom turned to small cupboard on a sidewall behind the bar and opened it, revealing a bunch of hanging keys and a few empty hooks. Grabbing a key, Tom closed the cupboard door, looked back over at Harry, and said, "Follow me."
As Tom walked out from behind the bar and over to the stairs, Harry put his glasses back on so he could see where he was going. It would be embarrassing (and most likely painful) if he somehow managed to fall down the stairs because he couldn't see where he was stepping.
Harry started walking and patted his free hand against the side of his leg, calling for the dog to follow him, "Come on, boy!"
Harry and the dog walked behind Tom to one of the rooms. When Tom unlocked and opened the door, Harry's first thought about the room that he'd been given was that it was a bit bigger than his room at Privet Drive. It would be able to comfortably fit him and his large dog for however long they decided to stay at the Leaky Cauldron.
There was a three-panel window with a window seat on the far side of the room. A bed was on the right side of the room next to a door leading to a small bathroom. On the left side of the room, directly opposite of the bed, there was a wooden desk and chair.
Harry set his trunk down on the bed and Hedwig's cage on the floor before opening his trunk and asking Tom how much it would be to rent the room for a few nights. Once Tom told Harry the price, Harry retrieved the necessary amount of money to pay for the room.
It was already getting late and Harry was tired, physically and emotionally, so when he went to pay Tom for the room, Harry temporarily forgot about not wanting to fully face anyone just in case someone recognized him.
So it was understandable that, when Harry went to hand over the correct amount of coins for his room, rather than looking down, Harry looked straight at Tom.
"Harry Potter!" gasped Tom, ignoring Harry's outstretched hand with the payment for the room. "I thought you looked familiar!"
Cursing himself for lifting his head and being recognized, Harry said, "Yeah, that's me. I was kind of hoping not to be noticed because people seem to make a big deal about me being… you know, the Boy-Who-Lived and whatnot… and I just wanted a quiet night after my journey here."
'Not to mention that I recently inflated someone with magic, which is most likely very illegal, so I'm not exactly keen on announcing my presence everywhere I go.'
"Understandable, Mr. Potter. Completely understandable. Don't worry. I won't tell a soul you're here," Tom said enthusiastically as he grabbed the money from Harry's hand and replaced it with his room key.
"Thank you!" Harry said, very happy that he might not have just ruined his chance at being able to remain anonymous for however long he decided to stay at the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry still vividly remembered his first visit to the Leaky Cauldron when he and Hagrid had been attempting to pass through on their way to Diagon Alley. Of course, Harry just had to be recognized; so a mob formed around him and everyone kept trying to talk to him and shake his hand. It wasn't exactly Harry's idea of a great time. In fact, it was on his mental list of Top Ten Things To Never Be Repeated. The Leaky Cauldron "meet and greet" was on the list along with getting bitten by a Basilisk, facing Voldemort during his first and second year, and suffering through another class with Lockhart. The attention he received during his first time at the Leaky Cauldron was the kind of attention that Harry actively avoided, if he could help it.
"Oh, well, I won't tell anyone except for Minister Fudge," Tom said, not noticing the way that Harry's face started to pale. "He actually stopped by a few minutes ago and asked if you were here. He seemed quite worried about you. If he's already left the area, then I'll have to send him an owl to let him know that you're here."
'WHAT?!'
"Umm, no, that won't be necessary, Tom," Harry practically squeaked out as his mind raced to find something, anything, to keep Tom from alerting the Minister to Harry's location. "But, uhh, thank you… I actually ran into him outside of the Cauldron as I was getting off of the Knight Bus. So the Minister already knows that I'm here. Don't worry about sending him an owl."
"…Okay, good," Tom replied, looking a little concerned since the reassuring smile that Harry tried to give Tom ended up looking a little constipated.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Harry self-consciously rubbed the scar on his forehead and said, "Well, it's getting late and I'm kinda tired. So…"
"Oh. Oh, right! Of course! Let me just get out of your way," Tom said before he turned and walked out of the room.
Shutting the door and locking it, Harry turned and leaned back against the door for a moment.
"Great," he sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. "The Minister of Magic is looking for me. Apparently not just any Ministry official could look for me, it had to be the Minister himself… Now what do I do?"
Looking at the dog, Harry asked, "I don't suppose you know any good places to run away to or any spots to hide at? Perhaps in Aruba? I've heard it's quite nice there this time of the year."
The dog made a snuffling noise again as it sat down and scratched the left side of its face with its back paw.
"I guess that's a no. Well, hopefully I won't be in too much trouble," Harry said as he walked passed the dog and over to his trunk to closed the lid on it. "I mean, it was accidental magic. It's not like I did it on purpose."
Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage off of the floor and moved it over to the window seat.
Turning his attention back to the dog, Harry knelt down beside it and started scratching behind its ears. The light in the dingy room wasn't that good, but Harry could see that the dog's fur was completely filthy and horribly matted. 'Poor thing.'
"You're so filthy!" Harry said softly, "I can't believe that I let you lay on my lap for the entire time that we were on the Knight Bus."
Snuffling again, the dog made an attempt to lick Harry's face.
"Nope!" Harry laughed as he leaned back and out of the way.
The dog got up on all four paws and tried to lick Harry's face again.
"Nooo!" laughed Harry as he brought a hand up to shove the dog's nose away from his face.
Harry got back to his feet and smiled as the dog snorted. Walking over to the bathroom, Harry looked back over his shoulder at the dog.
"Come on, boy. Let's get you cleaned up."
The dog slowly got up and followed Harry towards the bathroom, but stopped at the doorway.
Looking around, Harry saw a small sink and mirror, a toilet, and a bathtub. He couldn't see any shampoo, but he did find a bar of soap near the bathtub. Harry went to the tub and turned the knobs to fill it with warm water. Hunting around the room for something he could use as a washcloth, Harry saw two hand towels on a rack by the sink and decided he'd use one of the towels to help clean the dog.
Once the tub had enough water, Harry stuck his hand in to make sure it wasn't too hot or too cold. Finding it to be warm enough, Harry turned to the dog. It was watching Harry from its position standing just inside the bathroom door.
"Come on. Time to get clean," Harry called out to the dog.
Snorting, the dog sat down and turned its head away from Harry.
"Don't be like that. You're absolutely filthy! I won't be taking you anywhere looking like you do right now."
For a moment or two, the dog didn't move, but then it made a noise that sounded like a loud sigh. The dog turned its head to look back at Harry and reluctantly stood back up.
"Come on," Harry encouraged.
The dog slowly walked towards the tub and Harry. Standing on its hind paws, the dog put its forepaws on the edge of the tub and looked down at the water.
"See, it doesn't look that bad… Just go in gently. We don't want water to get all over the room."
The dog seemed to ignore what Harry had said and jumped into the tub, splashing the water everywhere.
"Gah! Look what you did!" Harry exclaimed, more amused than upset, pointing to his wet clothes and the water puddling on the floor.
Making a snuffling, snorting type of sound, the dog sat down in the water.
"You did that on purpose," Harry accused, giving the dog a flat look. The dog looked at Harry, entirely unrepentant.
"Oh well," Harry sighed. "I suppose I was going to get wet cleaning you up anyway."
Rolling up his sleeves, Harry grabbed the bar of soap in one hand and used the other to push the dog down further into the water to get all of its fur wet. Keeping its head above the water, the dog submitted itself to the washing with little protest.
Harry got the dog to stand up in the tub, scrubbed the dog down with the bar of soap, and then got it to lay back down in the water to rinse the soap out of its fur. Harry was gentle as he washed the dog's head, being careful not to get soap in the dog's eyes. The only problem that Harry ran into was that his hands kept getting caught in the dog's matted fur.
After three scrub-downs with the bar of soap, the water in the tub was dark brown and very murky with chunks of grass, twigs, and other unidentifiable objects floating around. Telling the dog to stay, Harry drained the tub, filled it with a bit of water to rinse out the bottom, drained it again, and then filled it back up with warm water. Once again, Harry scrubbed down the dog with the bar of soap and rinsed out its fur. It was easier for Harry to run his fingers through the dog's fur, but it was still pretty matted.
After numerous times scrubbing, rinsing, draining the tub, and filling it back up again, the water in the tub remained mostly clear and Harry was able to get out almost all of the knots and matted places in the dog's fur.
Looking around the bathroom, Harry realized he'd forgotten to find something to dry the dog off with. The only thing that might be of help was the other small hand towel on the rack by the sink.
'Well, I guess that's better than nothing.'
"Ready to get out?" Harry asked as he pulled the plug on the tub, draining it for the final time.
The dog 'woofed' at him and put his forepaws on the edge of the tub.
"Woah! Hold on! Let me try to get you dried off a bit before you get out."
Grabbing the hand towel from the rack that was about the size of the dog's head, Harry shook it out and proceeded to vigorously scrub the dog with it. When the towel was damp and no longer actually helping to dry the dog, Harry draped it over the side of the tub.
"Okay, I think that's about as dry as I'm going to getcha. Come on out!"
The dog jumped out of the tub and landed on the floor in front of Harry. It cocked its head to the side as it looked at Harry for a moment, almost as if it was considering something.
"What?"
The dog snorted before shaking itself, trying to dry out its fur some more.
"No! Wait! Stop! You're getting me all wet again!" Harry exclaimed as he quickly grabbed the damp towel to try to use it as a shield.
The dog stopped shaking out its fur and trotted back into the main room, absolutely unapologetic.
Sighing, Harry followed the dog into the room and grabbed a change of clothes from his trunk.
'Ugh. My clothes reek of wet dog. Actually, I think the room smells like wet dog now. Not that that's much of a surprise considering I just spent the better part of an hour cleaning a dog.'
As Harry changed into his dry clothes, the dog jumped up on the bed and made itself comfortable. Harry returned to the bathroom to hang his wet clothes over the side of the tub to let them dry out a bit before walking back into the main room and over to the bed.
Harry had almost made it to the bed, but a tapping noise distracted him. Looking for the source of the sound, Harry glanced at the window and saw that Hedwig was tapping at the window asking to be let in. Harry quickly walked over to the window and opened one of the panels. Hedwig glided into the room and landed on Harry's left shoulder.
"Hello Hedwig," Harry greeted, lightly brushing two fingers over the feathers on her chest. "How was your flight tonight? Did you catch anything good for your dinner?"
In response, Hedwig clicked her beak at Harry and then started grooming the hair above Harry's ear.
"I've made a new friend Hedwig," he said as he slowly walked back over towards the bed. "I hope you'll get along with him. He's quite nice when he's not getting you all wet."
Hedwig paused her grooming of Harry's hair and looked over at the dog. It was curled up on top of the covers with its eyes closed.
Dismissing the dog with a glance, Hedwig gave one final nip to Harry's hair before gliding from Harry's shoulder to one of the bed posts at the foot of the bed. She fluffed out her feathers for a moment before settling down to sleep, tucking her head under one of her wings.
Harry watched Hedwig for a moment longer and then he turned his attention back to the tired dog on the bed.
'I wonder if I should try to sleep on the bed with the dog. He's been pretty friendly so far, but I don't want to assume things and get accidentally mauled to death in my sleep if the dog wakes up before me and feels threatened by my presence or something… Decisions, decisions.'
As Harry was considering where to sleep, the dog opened its eyes and raised its head to look at Harry. Cautiously sitting on the bed, Harry raised his hand and began petting the dog. Its black fur was clean and somewhat soft.
"Hey boy. Would you mind sharing the bed?"
The dog 'woofed' and nuzzled its head into Harry's hand.
"I guess I'll take that as you not minding."
Since he hadn't been looking forward to sleeping on the floor or forcing the dog to sleep on the floor, Harry decided to hope for the best and go ahead and share the bed with the dog.
Harry stood back up and turned off the lights. Making his way back to the bed, Harry took off his glasses and placed them on the nightstand before pulling back the covers and slipping under them. The dog moved from its curled up position near the end of the bed to get closer to Harry. It settled down on top of the covers next to Harry and rested its head on Harry's stomach.
Bringing his hand out from under the covers, Harry began petting the dog's head.
"You know, I'm going to have to think of a name for you."
The dog made another snuffling noise before licking Harry's palm. Giving the dog one more pet, Harry rested his hand on the dog's side.
"Goodnight."
...
The dog was in a bit of a pickle.
On one hand, he wanted to stay with Harry to make sure that Harry stayed safe and protected. On the other hand, he wanted to go and hunt down that rat bastard before it could get anywhere near Harry.
He knew that that rat would be at Hogwarts and that his best bet would be to get to Hogwarts too, but he didn't want Harry to even be within the same country as that rat, let alone the same building. Especially since that bastard had already spent two years in the castle with Harry.
As the dog looked at Harry's sleeping face, he decided that he couldn't leave Harry all by himself. He would stay with Harry and protect him. Even though he really wanted to get revenge against that treacherous rat, Harry would be his first priority.
Once before, he had placed his revenge against that rat before Harry and look where that got him. He had been thrown in prison while that rat bastard roamed free. He was supposed to have been there for Harry. He had promised James and Lily to watch over and protect Harry should anything happen to them.
He failed them once. He was not going to fail them again.
He would stay with Harry, no matter what.
Closing his eyes and resting his head back down on Harry's stomach, the dog drifted off to sleep, hoping that whatever name Harry decided to call him wouldn't be too ridiculous.
...
Bright and early the next morning, Harry was suddenly woken up. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to remember where he was. The slight shifting of a warm weight pressed against his side reminded Harry of the events that brought him to that room.
'I got angry, did magic, left Privet Drive, found a dog, and came to the Leaky Cauldron. Right. Now what?'
Sitting up slowly so as to not wake up the dog, Harry stretch his arms above his head and looked around the room.
'Hmm… What woke me up?'
Carefully getting out of the bed, Harry walked over to the window and saw that the sun was just barely over the horizon. A rather impatient knocking noise kept him from further taking in the view from the window.
'I guess that solves the mystery of what woke me up. It sounds like that isn't the first time whoever's knocking knocked.'
Making his way over to the door, Harry paused with his hand on the doorknob.
'I wonder who it is… Tom's the only person who knows I'm here. It's most likely him.'
Harry opened the door and found himself face to face with the Minister of Magic.
'Well, that's not Tom. This is unfortunate,' Harry distantly thought. 'Goodbye freedom, hello expulsion and jail time.'
"Good morning, Mr. Potter. I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic," Fudge said as he brushed passed Harry and into the room.
"You don't know how relieved I am to find you safe and sound here at the Leaky Cauldron. I originally came last night, but the barman, Tom, said you weren't here. Imagine my surprise when I received an owl from him about an hour later saying that you'd arrived and booked a room! Since it was so late, I didn't feel that it was necessary to disturb you from you rest last night seeing as I knew that you were perfectly fine here."
'Oh gee! Thanks a lot, Tom. I won't tell a soul my a– wait a minute; did he just say he was relieved to find me safe and sound? Why would he be concerned about my safety? And why wouldn't I be safe?' Harry wondered as the Minister continued to talk.
"It was very reckless of you," the Minister said. "To go running from your Aunt and Uncle's house late last night. I suppose you were a bit upset about your use of accidental magic and concerned for your… Aunt Marge, was it? But it's all been cleared up now. The scene was contained and your Aunt Marge's memory of that event has been modified so that she is still unaware of the existence of magic."
"How were her memories modified?" Harry asked, deciding to ignore the Minister's chastisement of his decision to run from the Dursley's house.
'Honestly the best option for me was to run. If I'd stayed, it's likely I wouldn't've made it back to Hogwarts with my skin intact... And modifying Marge's memory? Was it something like what Lockhart did? Did they make her forget or did they make her remember something entirely different?'
"Obliviators. Surely you should know about them!" the Minister waved a hand back and forth, dismissing the subject of Obliviators. "Anyway, although everything has been set right, your Aunt and Uncle feel that it would be in your best interest if you were to stay out of the house until you return to Hogwarts. I'd assume that your Aunt Marge will be staying with them for a while longer and they want to avoid another incident like the one that occurred last night. Since you already have a room here at the Leaky Cauldron, I believe that it would be best if you simply stayed here until the first of September. You can spend all of your time here in the Leaky Cauldron or you can go wander around Diagon Alley. I'll alert some of the shopkeepers so that they can help keep an eye on you. But you must not go anywhere else."
Fudge paused for a second before moving towards Harry.
"Also, I must –"
The Minister was interrupted by a feral growl.
Startled, both Harry and Fudge looked over at the bed where there was a large, black dog ready to pounce and baring its teeth at the Minister. The angered dog caused Hedwig to puff up in alarm before she flew from the bed post over to her cage and settled on top of it, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings.
"What?! What is… i-is that a–"
Harry quickly interrupted Fudge's stuttering.
"A dog. My dog. He's my dog. I just got him and he, well, he doesn't like strangers?" Harry's rambling statement had turned into a question at the end since he wasn't really sure why the dog was acting the way it was.
"I just… Let me calm him down," Harry said.
Slowly making his way across the floor, Harry started whispering to the dog as he approached the bed.
"Hey. It's okay. Everything is fine. I'm fine. You're fine."
The dog tore his gaze from the Minister to Harry as Harry drew closer. Reaching out his hand, Harry said, "It's okay. He's not here to hurt anyone."
The dog tilted his head, considering what Harry said, before relaxing as Harry sat on the bed beside him and carded his fingers through the dog's fur.
"Well, I must say –"
But Harry interrupted Fudge once again.
"See, he's fine. You must've just startled him."
After a moment, Fudge warily asked, "Why did you decide to get such a large dog?"
'And it's your business because?' Harry thought before answering, "I got him for… protection."
"Ah, well, very well. Good, ah, good decision, I say! Well… I suppose I should be heading out now. I'm a very busy person after all," Fudge chortled.
Fudge was walking out of the room, but before he left, he turned back to Harry and said, "Remember you can roam around the Leaky Cauldron or Diagon Alley, but you are not to go anywhere else."
"Why?" Harry asked, but the Minister was already gone.
Receiving no answer to his question, Harry turned his full attention to the dog and saw that he was staring at the door.
Harry got up and closed the door before walking back to the bed, holding out his hand. The dog nuzzled his nose into Harry's palm.
"Do you think I should go get us something to eat for breakfast?" Harry asked as sat down beside the dog and ran his fingers through the dog's fur.
Thumping his tail in response, the dog gave a quiet 'woof' of agreement.
"I thought so. Let me go and see what I can –"
Harry fell silent as a knock sounded at the door again before it was opened. Bracing himself for another visit from the Minister or some other official, Harry was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Tom coming into the room with a tray of breakfast food.
Tom set the tray of food on the desk as he said, "Good morning, Mr. Potter. The Minister asked me to bring you a breakfast tray before he left."
As Tom turned and headed back out the door, Harry called out, "Thanks!"
Tom nodded at Harry and then shut the door as he left.
Obviously hungry, the dog stared longingly at the desk where Tom had set the food. Harry thought that it was odd that the dog remained on the bed instead of pouncing on the food the moment Tom carried it into the room.
"Sit here for a moment and I'll share the food with you," Harry said, getting up to go get the tray from the desk. Harry heard the dog's tail thumping down on the bed in excitement.
There was a good portion of scrambled eggs, two slices of buttered toast, four sausage links, four crispy pieces of bacon, and a tall glass of orange juice.
Returning to the bed with the breakfast tray in his hands, Harry sat back down next to the dog and held out one of the sausages. He had to pull his hand back quickly to avoid getting it chomped on by the eager dog.
Deciding to take the safer course of action, Harry picked up the plate and put the three other links of sausage and all of the bacon on the tray. Harry held the plate of eggs and toast on his lap and grabbed the glass of orange juice. He placed the tray of meat on the bed in front of the dog. As the dog gobbled down the meat, Harry ate his own breakfast and downed the orange juice in a few big gulps. The dog whined for more when the both of them had finished eating.
"I'm sorry, boy, but I don't have any more. Besides, I don't want you to get sick by eating too much, too soon."
Harry put his plate and glass back on the tray before getting up and carrying the tray over to the desk.
Looking at the dog on the bed, Harry went over and sat down beside him once again.
"Before we do anything else, I have to introduce you to one of my very first friends."
Cocking his head to the side as if he was curious, the dog kept his eyes on Harry.
"The owl resting on top of the cage is Hedwig," Harry said, pointing to the owl. "I'm afraid you startled her this morning when the Minister came by."
The dog looked a bit sheepish as he gazed over at Hedwig. Hedwig was staring at Harry and the dog.
"She's very smart and very kind. I'm sure you'll both get along once she knows you're not a threat to her."
Harry shifted his gaze between Hedwig and the dog for a few moments before reaching out and putting his hand on top of the dog's head causing the dog to turn his attention back to Harry.
"I'm going to need a name for you. I can't keep calling you boy."
Petting the dog, Harry started listing out options.
"I supposed Blackie is too cliché. Hmm… Midnight, maybe. Since I found you, or rather, since we found each other at night," teased Harry.
The dog put his head on his paws and whined.
"No?" Harry questioned. "Alright. How about Thumper? You've been thumping your tail a lot this morning."
The dog whined even louder and put a paw on his nose.
"Okay, okay. I get it. You don't like that name."
The dog sat up and then rolled over. Showing his belly to Harry, the dog made a snuffling sound, trying to get Harry to scratch his belly. It was quiet for a moment as Harry rubbed the dog's belly.
"Alright. I think I have a good name for you. And if you don't like this name then I'm all out of ideas for the moment."
The dog perked up and looked at Harry from his position on his back.
"What do you think of the name Snuffles?"
The dog seemed to think it over for a bit before giving a soft bark.
"I take it that means you like it?"
Rolling over, the dog pushed his nose against Harry's palm and then licked it.
"Okay, then. Snuffles it is."
...
In the days that followed, Harry primarily stayed in his room at the Leaky Cauldron with Snuffles. The only times that Harry left were to ask Tom for some towels for his bathroom, to take Snuffles on short walks outside, and to go get some shampoo and food for the both of them.
Hedwig would stay in the room and rest during the day before going out to fly and hunt during the night. At mealtimes when Hedwig was up and awake, Harry would offer Hedwig some pieces of his meal, but she'd usually decline and just groom Harry's hair from his shoulders or attempt to get some rest in her cage or on one of the bed posts.
Harry's main reason for mostly staying in his room was that he was trying to focus on getting Snuffles back to full health, or as healthy as Harry could get him, by feeding him and letting him rest. During the day, whenever Snuffles was resting, Harry would work on his summer assignments.
About a week after Harry and Snuffles had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron (and after Harry had finally finished his grueling Potions essay), Harry decided it was time for the both of them to explore Diagon Alley and get some fresh air for more than just the five minute bursts that they'd been getting whenever he'd take Snuffles outside to do his business.
After Harry and Snuffles ate breakfast, Harry checked to make sure that he had his room key before walking out of the room with Snuffles eagerly following behind him. Harry nodded to Tom on his way out of the Leaky Cauldron. A moment later, after few misplaced taps on a few wrong bricks, Harry tapped the correct sequence on the right bricks and Diagon Alley appeared before them.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Snuffles," Harry said, smiling down at his dog.
Snuffles responded by brushing up against Harry's legs and then turning to give Harry a push behind his knees.
"Okay, okay. I'm going. You don't have to push."
Snuffles 'woofed' and walked beside Harry as they weaved their way through the large crowds that gathered in front of the shops.
After the fifth person jumped back, startled, and muttered the word, "Grim", Harry decided that their first stop in Diagon Alley would be Flourish & Blotts; because while the first two people to flinch away from Snuffles were tolerable, by the fifth person, that reaction was starting to grate on Harry's nerves.
Pausing for a moment, Harry sighed. There was a little girl pulling on her father's hand and pointing at Snuffles. When the man saw Snuffles, he covered his daughter's eyes and swiftly pulled her away.
"This is getting ridiculous," Harry said. "You know, I thought that you were a fairly good-looking dog, but I guess that with the way that people are reacting to you, you must be horrifyingly hideous to look at. Am I really that blind or does the sight of you offend people or something?"
Playfully growling, Snuffles lightly head-butted Harry behind the knees, causing Harry to stumble forward a bit.
"Oh, you know I like you. I don't care about how you look or how other people are reacting," Harry smiled. "Come on, we're almost at the bookstore."
Harry was determined to find out what exactly a Grim was and why people were so afraid of it. So, he was going to pull a Hermione and hit the books. Research. Not the most fun thing he could be doing with his time, but it was something that he needed to do.
"Sorry Snuffles, but I don't think they'll let me take you into the store," Harry said once they reached Flourish & Blotts.
Crouching down in front of Snuffles, Harry asked him to sit and stay there for a few minutes while Harry tried to find a few books.
"I don't think anyone will try to snatch you, what with most people are thinking you're this 'Grim' creature, but if someone tries, you have my permission to bite them."
Snuffles 'woofed' in agreement and sat down a few steps away from the store's entrance.
"Good boy."
Leaving Snuffles outside, Harry walked into the bookstore and saw the rows upon rows of bookshelves that stretched throughout the store. Not exactly sure where to start, Harry decided that, since he had Snuffles waiting for him, he'd just ask an employee. Harry walked around a large cage full of multiple copies of the growling and snarling Monster Book of Monsters towards the back of the store where he saw someone sitting behind a cash register.
"Excuse me," Harry politely said to the employee.
"Yes? How can I help y– Harry Potter!" the woman exclaimed once she finally got a good look at Harry's face.
"Yeah, that's me," Harry said, a bit awkwardly. "Um, I was looking for a book or two about a certain creature and was wondering if you could help me some books about it."
"Oh! Yes, of course. What are you looking for?"
"A book with any information about a large dog-looking creature called a Grim."
"A Grim? Looking to study Divination are we?" the woman said as she got up and started walking towards a bookshelf on the far right of the first floor of the store.
"What? Divination? No. Well, yes, actually, I'll be taking that class back at Hogwarts, but that's not… Er, never mind. I'm just interested in learning about what a Grim is," responded Harry as he followed along behind her.
"Here we are, dearie. While a Grim is a magical creature, a lot of information about them can be found in the Divination section," she said, running her hand along the bookshelf in front of her.
"I'd recommend looking through a few of these books and then if you go to the bookshelf that is the third from the left when you first walk in the store, you'll find our most popular selection of books on magical creatures. Personally, I'd get one from the Divination section and one or two from the magical creature section."
"Thank you!" Harry said as he stepped forward to take a closer look at the books before him.
"No problem. If you have any more questions, I'll be back at the register," the woman said before leaving Harry to browse the selection of books.
Harry looked at the spines of the books, occasionally pulling some out to see if they were what he needed. Eventually, he found one that looked promising: Grim, Grimm, and Grimmer: Is Death in Your Future?
Not wanting to spend too much time in the store when Snuffles was still outside, Harry hurried over to the bookshelf with information on magical creatures. It took him a while longer to go through the magical creature books since there was a lot of information about a variety of creatures, but he was able to narrow it down to one book: Canines and Cupboards: Magical Creatures that Look like Your Dog. And upon seeing Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Harry was reminded that he already had that particular text in his trunk. He'd have to have a look at it when he got back to his room at the Leaky Cauldron.
Taking the two books that he'd decided on to the lady at the register, Harry bought his books with no problems and walked back outside. Snuffles was still sitting where Harry had left him.
Upon seeing Harry, Snuffles tail started to wag and he got up and rubbed his side against Harry's legs.
"Hey Snuffles," Harry said, crouching down to scratch him behind his ears. "I think I found what I was looking for. And if not, we can always come back here… Actually, now that I think about it, we'll have to come back here. I still need to get my school books for this year."
Harry straightened back up and looked around.
"Do you want to continue to wander around the Alley for a bit? Then we can head back to the Cauldron for lunch," Harry asked Snuffles. "And after lunch, I'll have to make a brief stop at Gringotts to get some more money so that I can buy my school supplies for this coming year."
Snuffles 'woofed' and circled around Harry before walking away from him. Turning to look back at Harry, Snuffles 'woofed' again and tossed his head back and forth.
"Eager to explore, are you?" Harry laughed.
Catching up to Snuffles, Harry walked side by side with his dog, carrying the bag with his two books as they strolled up and down Diagon Alley.
...
Later that evening, Harry and Snuffles returned to their room at the Leaky Cauldron after a day of wandering around Diagon Alley and buying the required school supplies for Harry, taking only a short break for lunch.
Harry stopped by the bar to grab some dinner from Tom on the way up to his room. Once they made it up the stairs and Harry unlocked the door to their room, Snuffles began circling around Harry's legs as Harry brought the food into the room.
"Quit it, Snuffles. You're going to make me trip and drop the food."
Snuffles immediately sat down where he had stood, causing Harry to have to step around him.
Placing the food tray on the table, Harry split the meal with half of the food staying on the plate and half of the food going on the tray. Harry sat at the desk to eat his meal and placed the tray on the floor for Snuffles to eat.
Once they finished eating, Harry took his plate and the tray back downstairs to Tom and returned to find Snuffles laying on the bed. Harry grabbed the two books that he bought on Grims and tossed them on the bed next to Snuffles. He turned and walked over to his trunk, opening it and searching for his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Upon finding the book, Harry also tossed it onto the bed. Snuffles cracked open an eye to glance at Harry, before closing it and snuffling into his paws.
Harry changed into his pajamas and hopped onto the bed, jostling Snuffles as the mattress moved. Opening both eyes this time, Snuffles glared at Harry.
"Oh, don't be like that. Come here," Harry said, patting at the spot beside him.
Sighing, Snuffles got up and flopped down in the spot that Harry had indicated.
Harry cracked open his copy of Grim, Grimm, and Grimmer: Is Death in Your Future? with one hand and used his other hand to run his fingers through Snuffles fur. After a few minutes, Harry looked over at Snuffles and scratched him behind his ears, gaining the dog's attention.
"So, did you know that a Grim is considered to be a bringer of death? In Divination, the Grim is the 'omen of ultimate demise or death'," Harry quoted in an ominous voice before returning to speaking regularly. "It's no wonder that most people seem to be afraid of you, Snuffles. You look almost exactly like the Grim that's pictured in this book."
Taking a moment to really look at the dog, Harry asked, "…You're not a Grim, are you?"
Snuffles sat up and nosed the book off of Harry's lap. As the book fell off of Harry's lap and then off of the edge of the bed, Snuffles knocked his head against Harry's hand, asking to be petted some more.
"I just bought that book and you're already throwing it on the ground!" Harry exclaimed in mock outrage as he complied with Snuffles silent plea to be petted.
Harry carded his fingers through the dog's fur and said, "Of course you're not a Grim. If you were, I think I'd already be dead. Either I'm really lucky or you're just a large, black dog. And I'm more than willing to bet that you're just a dog, Snuffles."
Snuffles stared up at Harry and almost looked offended, if a dog could look offended, that is.
"Not that you're just a dog, Snuffles," Harry reassured. "You're also my friend and I'm very grateful that I have you. I think I'd be lonely here if you weren't with me."
Snuffles licked Harry's hand before nuzzling into his stomach and 'woofing'.
"Yeah, yeah, I like you too," Harry said as he brought his arms around the dog to give him a hug.
Releasing Snuffles from the hug, Harry picked up Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and continued to read about Grims as he ran his fingers through Snuffles' fur.
After an hour or so, Harry closed the book, stopped petting Snuffles, and got off of the bed. Snuffles whined at the loss.
"Don't be like that. I'm just going to get ready for bed. It's been long day, what with having to listen to people scream in fear at the sight of you in the Alley," Harry teased. "I'm tired and I'm pretty sure you're tired too. Also, I know you're not completely healthy yet, so you need all the rest you can get."
Harry went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he returned to the main room, he saw that Snuffles was already asleep in the middle of the bed. Using both hands to gently scoot Snuffles over a bit, Harry slipped under the covers and closed his eyes.
Harry fell asleep wondering what tomorrow would bring.
...
Author's Note:
… And with that we are now caught up to where I left off at with See Who I Am! The next chapter will be all new material! Get excited!
Also, you might've noticed the shift from using "it" to "he" in reference to the dog Snuffles. My reasoning for this is that, at first, Snuffles is just a nameless dog that isn't identified as male or female. But, after Harry finds the dog and becomes more comfortable with the dog, Snuffles is referred to as a "he". Similar to how if you saw a muddy dog approaching you, you'd likely exclaim, "Ugh! Look at that dog! It's filthy!" or "Keep it away from me!" But when you're referring to your own dog or a friend's dog, you'd likely say something like, "I heard about your dog. How's he doing?" or "I just picked him up from the groomers. Look how handsome he is!" So, yeah, that's my reasoning for starting out with "it" and transitioning to "he" in reference to Snuffles.
And… Although I already have a plan for where this story is heading (and I've already written a couple chapters in advance), I'm always open to any suggestions or ideas that you might have, if you'd like to tell me about what you think or share a theory with me – I can't guarantee that I'll be able to incorporate any of the ideas/suggestions that you have (or confirm any guesses as to where the characters will end up – I'd like to keep some twists and turns a surprise), but I do have some wiggle room with the fic to do some stuff – so lay it on me and I'll see what I can do! :)
Any mistakes, grammar or otherwise, are my own. Let me know if you see anything that you think needs to be corrected.