Summary: (AU SB/NL) After purchasing a dog, Neville gets more than he expected: Sirius Black, in the flesh, sort of. Trouble is, Black's in hiding and he needs Neville's help and the only way he can switch back and forth from being man's best friend and world's worst criminal is with a kiss. Woops, sorry Neville.

Warnings: AU, book spoilers, mild cussing, Slash, and big age differences at the start. If this bothers you then don't continue reading.

A/N: This should make sense. There are little things (like the Wealeys) that you might get confused about. Don't worry. I'll make it clear soon.

DOGBREATH

CHAPTER FIVE:

Belief of Flight

There were several things in his life that Sirius Black knew he could count on, no matter what. There will always be dark wizards. His own family could account to that. And it was a kind of comfort to realize that he was different, that with each dark wizard there would be a light one. There will always be a problem, no matter what. It was life, and Sirius supposed it would be boring otherwise, even if all the problems were usually aimed in his direction, though that was all based on view point. There will always be guilt. It was shameful, in his life, and with all the deep dark secrets that always popped up, even when he buried them deep, there was no way that there wouldn't be guilt. But those were the facts, and they were on the dark side, but they were stable, something to land on when he could no longer fly. This was all metaphorical, of course, even if he had once had a motorcycle that could take to the skies.

He had assumed that nothing could surprise him. He'd lost everything, and the only thing fueling him onward was his own selfish need to avenge, because he would be a coward otherwise. There was nothing to fear, he was over himself. Nothing else should have mattered.

But as he stood there, his hands shaking as he tired to pool up the water running in the faucet to wash his face, he realized that he was wrong. He was scared, one of the qualities of a true coward, and right then he truly hated himself for it.

He didn't look up at the crooked, little mirror hanging to the side of the medicine cabinet. Sirius did not think he could handle the stare down between his reflection and himself at the moment. Maybe later, though.

It was almost awkward, to be standing on just two legs again, and Sirius frowned as he remembered the conversation he had with Molly earlier.

"It was only a couple of hours, Sirius," she had promised thorough a closed door that blocked them from the chaos that was occurring in her living room. "Three, at the most." She paused then, wringing her wrists in a nervous, twitchy way, and Sirius had to remind himself that he was only a few years younger than her.

"Why?" And Sirius cringed then, hating the croak that always accompanied him after the change back form dog to man, or vise versa.

"I don't know. You've never had that much trouble changing before, right?"

"No," Sirius replied, already tired for some unknown reason. The room was spinning slightly.

"Well, it is a mystery then. And that poor boy, Neville, he's going to have to have his memory erased. I've heard it causes quite a headache."

Sirius gripped the lip of the sink as he was pulled back to the present from memory lane suddenly, his nausea rising. The change never brought him this much discomfort, even when he stayed like a dog for three days while hiding out at Moony's place, all those years ago. Water dripped form his chin and fell to the floor, sliding on his toes, as he dried off his face. The boy's image wouldn't get out of his head.

It would be a shock; Sirius wasn't stupid enough not to realize that. If he was a muggle and a dog turned into an old man, right on top of him, he would have panicked too. But the look that had passed the boy's face, the terror and surprise and just fear that Sirius had hoped no one else would look at him with were there, and he couldn't help but hate himself.

"He would be around Harry's age," he mumbled to himself, counting back the years. And then a stray memory floated back, simplified with his once doggish mind.

"Change back Sirius, there's been a problem with Harry."

Sirius jumped slightly, shocked once again. He opened the door with more force than he should have, and it banged loudly against the wall as he raced down the steps to the first floor. It wasn't the smartest thing to do, his stomach protested with a painful jab, but his head had cleared at the thought of his god son, and he was the most important thing in his life after all.

He reached the landing with a quiet thud; he had always been light on his feet. He eased the door connecting the hallway to the living room open, expecting to see a sleeping boy surrounded by the Weasley clan, presumably talking about getting him home or about Harry. The sight that met him was another blow to his expectations.

"Hey, hey it's alright. We believe you." Charlie cooed out in a soft voice, as if speaking to a frightened, trapped animal. He was always good with that kind of thing, even though he was so young. He was the one who had found Sirius, the one who had coaxed him into the open as a dog. But instead of finding a nymph or a gnome like Sirius expected, he found the young boy, Neville, wedged behind the couch with his back to the wall. He flinched when he saw Sirius leaning over Charlie, but didn't say anything.

"Where's your mother?"

Charlie half turned, and in his crouched position he looked a bit silly. "Out front with dad," he answered with his voice stuck in that soft lull. Out of habit with speaking to Sirius himself, or the fact that he was still concerned with frightening the boy, Sirius didn't know. "Snuffles, you need to talk to them about some stuff, please" At the upturn of his eyebrows Sirius assumed he was talking about Harry, but he jerked his chin at the boy slightly, and Sirius knew that there was something going on.

"Alright," Sirius paused, a little unsure, before making his way to the door.

Charlie continued speaking to the boy, his voice like a quiet lullaby. "Come on, it is fine now. We won't hurt you, I promise. I bet it hurts to be stuck back there. I'll even help you out. Does that sound okay? I'm sure your leg is in a lot of pain right now. Am I right? Let me help you, please…"

Sirius paused just at the door, at a loss. "Charlie?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you…I can't really…I don't think it's wise to go…" Sirius let his sentence hang, not willing to admit his fear of going outside. Going outside would mean changing, and changing would mean having a chance of being stuck again. He did not have the strength to face that again in the same day. Thankfully, Charlie seemed to understand.

"Why don't you wait in here? They should be back soon. Mum just wanted to check on something."

'Something' was probably the magical force field. There must have been more to this than Sirius understood if Molly was freaked out enough to use it.

"Okay…"

He wandered into the kitchen, unwilling to stay in there and watch the boy's frightened face. He was not hungry, but he prowled along the cabinets anyway. Charlie's soft mumbling seemed to have no effect on getting the boy out, but it calmed Sirius a little. Harry's tiny baby face kept popping into his memory. One when he was born, James literally weeping from joy, one with him on Moony's stomach, on the couch, both dozing peacefully, one with his fist full of Lily's fire red hair, one with him on the toy broom Sirius got him, one with…

He stopped, and had to sit down; his nausea had begun to crawl up again. This time the Neville's face came up, and then the fuzzy memory of his tongue on the boy's face (which really didn't seem out of place to Sirius, he was part dog after all) and then the light, a gentle blue, before the change. He wondered if they were related at all.

"Snuffles?" Ginny shuffled into the kitchen, her dad's large rain coat hanging off her. "Snuffles, can you tell, is he out yet?" She peeked over the other door, but cringed back. Sirius guessed she saw the scene he did earlier.

Then she turned, and Sirius was attacked by the sight of unexpected tears in her eyes. "We scared him!" Even whispering, that still came out loud and she waited a minute. Nothing changed. "It was horrible, he started screaming and pleading with daddy. But it's okay now," she wiped at her eyes, and seemed surprised at the tear drops. She added in an off hand way, "He's a wizard too, so it's fine."

Before he could react, or even really register what was said, the rest of the children marched in.

Percy snorted, catching the last of her statement, "Yeah right."

Ginny seemed outraged, "What?"

He continued on, a smug look on his face for knowing something his little sister did not. "Do you really think we can let him go? He has seen Snuffles, and if he is a wizard, he'll have a real chance of knowing exactly who he is."

"Oh." Tears were back in her eyes, and Sirius sighed.

"Just how did you know he was a wizard in the first place?"

"He told me," this time Molly came in. The kitchen was now felt too crowded, but the children shuffled over to make room. "His great aunt's cousin's something or other twice removed is related to Arthur's uncle's something. I have it written down somewhere."

Sirius nodded. Anyone magical had a good chance of being related to a Weasley. Cedrella Black had married a Weasley, so he knew he was intertwined in their family tree somewhere, even if it was somewhat distant.

"Charlie told me I needed to talk to you?"

"Yes, but later dear. I think we have some more important matters first." She stood, and her children parted so she could pass.

"And Harry?"

She paused just outside the door. And for a moment all Sirius could hear was the ticking of the clock. Even Charlie was silent for now.

"He has been abused," she told him without looking up, and Sirius bolted up form his chair. It clattered to the floor. Ginny started tearing up again, but Sirius's mind was elsewhere. "We're going to go get him later. You can come, if you like."