"Just a little bit farther!" Charlie called out to his team members. Seeing a red jet of light coming towards his face, he quickly ducked to avoid it as he heard a tinkling laughter. "Yes, laugh all you want, Lovegood, just remember who's in charge here," he called out sarcastically. Schooling the smile off of her face, she let go of one of the ropes she was holding and saluted him. "Sir, yes sir!" She yelled, before losing her balance as the Chinese Fireball pulled against her restraints again, trying to shoot more flames at Charlie.
They made it to the clearing at the Dragon Reserve in Romania that they would be keeping the dragons at until it was time to transport them to Hogwarts for the Tournament. After setting up boundary wards so that the beasts couldn't escape, the team made their way back to Base. Nova was leaving for a day to surprise Harry at King's Cross Station and see him off to Hogwarts for his Fourth Year. She sat for a quick dinner with the guys before saying her goodbyes and stepping into the Floo. "King's Cross Platform 9 ¾ !" She cried, before the green flames rose up and whisked her away.
Nova stepped onto the Platform and appraised her surroundings with a keen eye. She was about 2 hours early, so there wasn't much activity and she easily spotted the large black dog staring at the Barrier. He was incredibly dirty and thin, and seemed to be waiting for someone to come through, but after a few people came and went without him moving, she decided to approach the animal. "Here, boy," She said, reaching her hand out to offer him a piece of the pastry she had been snacking on. The dog cautiously inched towards the offered food and gingerly took it from her hand. "Good boy!" She smiled at him, "Do you want the rest?" The dog almost seemed to nod before taking the rest of her snack and almost swallowing it whole. With a bemused expression on her face, Nova extended her hand this time to softly pat the dog on the head. The poor mutt leaned into her touch and wagged his tail. She giggled and scratched him behind his ears saying, "I bet you do this for all the ladies. Either that, or you just want more food," The dog gave the canine-equivalent of a shrug before giving her his best puppy-dog look.
"Alright, alright. We can go get you some more from the vendor, just come with me," He obediently trailed after her, and she gave the dog a strange expression. "Can you understand English?" The dog nodded at her and looked almost bashful. "Well, I guess magic can do some crazy things.." She muttered to herself, shaking her head and offering the sandwich to him.
The strange dog walked the sandwich over to the bench that they were sitting at, and began to dig in as Nova absentmindedly pet his head and checked her watch. "I don't know who you're waiting on, pup, but it's about to get real crowded," Looking up from his meal, he gave an excited yip. "You must be waiting on one of the students, then. I thought they didn't allow familiars in Hogwarts?" The shaggy dog ducked his head and gave a sad sigh.
"Nova!" Came a voice that seemed to be quickly approaching her. Bracing herself for a hug from her godson, she stood to catch the teenager in her arms before realizing that he had showed down before reaching her. Dismayed that he was growing up so fast, she still brought Draco in for a nice big hug. "Hello, little one! You're all grown up now," She exclaimed, ruffling his perfectly set hair. Draco threw her a scowl white frantically trying to fix it before his Father caught up to them. Lucius was only a couple of meters away when the black dog started growling. "No, Black! Bad dog," she intoned while bopping him on the nose. Her scold seemed to startle the dog, as he just sat back and looked at her in a dazed way.
"Is that his name? Black?" Asked Draco. "No, that's his color, or could you not notice while you were trying so desperately to fix your hair?" She teased him, sticking out her tongue. As Lucius arrived at her side, she pulled both of the Malfoy boys in for a hug with either arm and snuggled in. "I've missed you guys while I've been away, but man do I have some great inappropriate stories to tell you over tea!" With a haughty scoff, Lucius asked, "And when will that be? We haven't gotten more than letters from you for the last 3 years, Little Sun,"
"Soon! Very soon. I'll be closer than you think this year," Winking, and then exchanging a meaningful look with Lucius, she let go of the platinum haired men. "Cissy should be here any moment, so we are going to head to the Apparation point, but come join us later if you wish. She keeps saying how she misses her honorary little sister," "Sounds good, I'll see you boys soon!" She gave them each a kiss on the cheek in farewell before slipping Draco a wrapped present into his pocket. As the Malfoys walked away, Nova sat back down on the bench and continues to pet the dog. Not a moment later, a dejected looking Harry came meandering through the barrier, pushing his trolley. He looked rail thin, but he had his expanded trunk and owl on his cart, and she could see the ring and pendant on his person.
"Hey kid, you really shouldn't be walking alone in these parts. Never know who may find you!" Nova called out to him. Harry's head snapped up with an angry retort on the tip of his tongue before he saw Nova and all of the annoyance in his expression melted to shock. The scruffy haired 14 year old sprinted over to her, but unlike the last teen who ran to her, he didn't stop. His hug plowed right into her and knocked them both over into the dog. A happy, but uneasy expression crossed Harry's face as he looked from Nova to the dog. "Hey, Sir- Snuffles! What are you doing here?" He hesitantly asked the dog. He was answered by a slobbery lick on his face that he wiped off with a disgusted expression.
"I guess we were waiting for the same person, huh?" She asked the excited pup who was now running in happy circles, chasing his own tail. "What did you say his name was, Har? Snuffles?"
"Err… well, it was sort of the first thing that came into my head, you know? He started following me a couple months back and I haven't really gotten a chance to name him yet."
"He should have a proper name if you're going to keep him. What about 'Aten' since you're my starchild?"
The dog gave a loud bark that almost sounded like a laugh, and bounded up and gave a lick to Nova's face as well. "Well, I guess that settles it then, Aten!" She scratched Aten's head, "Hey Har, how do you plan on taking him with you? I didn't think they allowed dogs at Hogwarts,"
Harry squirmed for a minute, "They don't.. I guess I figured he would just go back to wherever he came from.."
"Nonsense, he can come with me! That way at least he will be fed and taken care of for whenever you want to see him,"
The boy looked up at her with hopeful eyes, "Really? You wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not, now come on. You're as thin as a rail, let's get you some lunch." Harry rolled his eyes, but made his way over to the vendor with Nova and Aten anyways. He watched as she ordered two large sandwiches and handed one to him and gave the other to the dog. It was almost time for the train to leave and the station was full of parents pushing their way around and kids trying to find their friends. He didn't spot anyone he knew, so he put the wrapped sandwich into his side bag and turned to give his goodbyes to his companions. After hugging Aten, and giving him a whispered promise to write, Harry straightened up and gave Nova a long hug.
"Be good for me, Star Child, and I'll take good care of Aten. Be careful and know that I'll be close by if you need me," He gave her a strange look at her perplexing message before promising that he would stay safe and keep studying and all of the stuff he assumed a parent would want to hear if he had one. It felt weird to have her here in person, taking care of him, but it was a good kind of weird. "Love you, Har. Know that I'm proud of how well you've been doing so far," She ran her hand through his unruly locks one more time before spinning his shoulders and giving him a push in the direction of the train. As he was walking away, he called back a quick and bewildered, "Love you too!" While reflecting that that had been the first time that someone had ever told him that they loved him in person.
The dog and girl looked on, watching the boy they both thought of as a surrogate son board the Hogwarts Express for the first time. After a moment, she looked down at the mangy mutt, "Well first things first, mister. You need a bath before I can bring you to Romania,"
Aten cocked his head at the mention of Romania, but the promise of a nice bath had him trotting along beside her to the Apparation point.