Always thought I'd finish this story and the chapter below would be the start of a side story in this universe. Doesn't look like that'll happen but I thought I'd share this but with you guys since it's been sitting written on my laptop for years. Enjoy!
"Hey Remus! You're home early," Sirius says as I walk in through our front door some Friday evening. I look at my watch but it seems to be the normal time I get home.
"No I'm not…" I watch him as he comes over to me, and grabs my coat, helping me take it off before hanging it up for me. "Siri, what's going on?"
"Nothing. Why do you think something's going on?" he asks heading to the kitchen. I follow and am surprised to see that he has been cooking, and by the looks of it, he has made all of my favorites. "Why are you trying to butter me up? Did Teddy break another window? Cause I told you last time that it wasn't that big of a deal and we could easily fix it with magic," when he doesn't reply, I get nervous so continue to ramble. "Is Harry getting picked on again at school? Come on Siri, just tell me."
"I did something sort of stupid. I mean I know I should have talked to you first, but I saw him sitting there and I couldn't just leave him. We are supposed to go pick him up tomorrow, but Remus he has been there for months! Who could do such-"
"Wait Sirius, slow down. Who are you talking about?"
"I adopted a dog," he says turning back to the stove so he isn't looking at me.
"What?! Sirius! I thought that we agreed that even though Teddy wants a puppy, and we were going to get him one for his sixth birthday that we were going to wait a bit until Harry is a little older too. I told you that I didn't want to have to deal with potty training while we are both working and both the boys are too young to really help."
"Well I guess it's a good thing that Max is an adult Labrador! He is already potty trained," he says turning to me and giving me a sheepish look.
"Unbelievable, that's your excuse?"
"No, look Remus, I was in Hogsmeade today during my lunch break I needed to go to pick up some new ink and I was running low on parchment. Max was just sitting there in the middle of the street, so I obviously went over to him but he didn't have a collar on and he of course started to follow me around. So I went into Broomsticks, and Rosemertta told me about the kennel they have for stray pets! I didn't even know those things existed.
"So I took him there and the lady working there smiled when she saw Max, and just walked him to the back like it was no big deal. She told me that Max's family moved out of the country and couldn't take him with them so they left him behind. Can you imagine? Well anyway, apparently he has been adopted three other times and has never found a family that he fits well with and is always returned. Apparently she lets him out to wander Hogsmeade because he always finds his way back."
"Sirius there has to be a reason all of those families have brought the dog back. Do you even know if he is good with kids?" I ask, shaking my head still trying to wrap my brain around it all.
"His first family had two kids, an 8 year old girl and a 3 year old boy. The lady at the kennel says she thinks all the families brought him back because he had too much energy and they didn't have kids to help Max run it all off," he says, handing me a glass of tea that he had been making.
"Sirius… we just finally are getting settled with having two boys, with us both working, and getting into a routine… I honestly don't think getting a dog is in our best interests right now," I say shaking my head and moving to sit down at the kitchen table.
"Alright, but at least meet the beast first? Then you will understand why I want him so much! I honestly think he will fit in perfectly with our family."
"Fine. We can go in the morning. What did you tell the woman that worked at the kennel?"
"Well… I sort of said we'd adopt him. I explained that I would have to talk to you about all of this first but I may have said that you would most likely say yes…"
"Sirius! You know how I feel about you doing stuff like that. Now if we go in and we say no she will know that it is because of me. I hate playing the bad guy like that," I say staring down at my hands. "First thing in the morning, we will drop the boys off at my parents and then we can head to the kennel, alright?"
That's how I find myself quickly getting ready before our two little monsters wake up and want breakfast. Sirius said he would make breakfast this morning, but I know he is still in bed. I head downstairs and start to make up a batch of pancakes. I know that Teddy and Harry will be ecstatic.
"What are we gonna do today?" Harry asks around a mouthful of pancake.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Harry," Sirius scolds him. "And you and Teddy are heading to Grandma and Grandpa's for a little bit this morning."
"Awww but it's Saturday! We never go there on the weekends," Teddy chimes in.
"Yeah, but you like your grandparents, and it is only for a little bit. Then we will pick you up and come home. We can do whatever you two like today," I interject trying to prevent any tears or anger that could be caused by the trip to my parents.
After eating Sirius and I quickly wipe down both of the boys to get rid of any lingering maple syrup and stickiness. We let the boys go pick out their clothes and get dressed, but after a couple of minutes I make sure to stop and peek my head into the room to make sure they are actually getting dressed and not just playing toys. It's a good thing I did, because I find Harry sitting on the floor of his room playing with his train set.
"Come on Harry, you can play trains later. Did you pick out an outfit yet?" I ask him and he shakes his head. I quickly opens his dresser grabbing him some jeans and a t-shirt to wear before laying them out on the bed and telling him to get dressed.
"Remus, did you floo and ask your parents if they could watch the boys this morning? We can't just drop them off and hope for the best. I mean you're parents already do so much for us."
"Alright, well then while I floo them how about you go and make sure both boys are ready and that they are putting their shoes on?"
"Mom? Dad?" I yell walking in through the fireplace and stepping out of the living room and into the hallway. I am surprised to find the house empty, but now that I am here and no one is around I remember my mother telling me that they were spending the weekend away with some of their friends, staying at a bed and breakfast. I take a deep breath before sighing and heading back home. This last minute it is unfair to ask someone to watch the boys. But I really don't want to take them with us, there is no way we would leave without the dog.
"Hey, everything all set?" Sirius asks standing at the front door with both of our boys ready to leave.
"No. I forgot that my parents were going out of town this weekend. Mom told me about it on Wednesday when I picked the boys up from their house. She gave me the contact information for the bed and breakfast in case of emergency."
"So what are we going to do then? We could ask Molly, I am sure she'd be willing to. Or we could just floo to Hogwarts and ask someone there to watch them…"
"Let's just head out. I am sure Hagrid wouldn't mind watching the boys. He always wants an excuse to see them," Teddy cheers and I startle, I almost forgot that the boys were with us and listening to us.
We floo in through Sirius' office before heading out of Hogwarts and down to Hagrid's hut.
"Hey Hagrid," Sirius greets knocking on the door. "I know this is sort of last minute, but is there any way that you can watch the two of our boys for a little while? Remus and I have an errand to run in Hogsmead, and it would be better if the boys weren't around."
"Sure! You know I love having the tykes around! I've got to check on the hippogriff herd but that can wait until you two are back. I am sure Fang would like some time to run around."
Once we know that both of our boys are all set, we head out and down towards Hogsmead. I follow Sirius' lead through town and to the kennel that I am pretty sure I have never seen before. We walk in through the front door and are greeted by a kind faced woman who looks as if she has spent the morning running around in the mud.
"Sirius! I wasn't sure when you would be stopping by! I told Max this morning that he wasn't allowed to go out roaming through the village because you'd be stopping by again. And this handsome man must be your husband! It's a pleasure to meet you," she says extending her hand.
I smile at her and shake her hand.
"I heard you two are looking for a dog for your boy?" she says walking back behind the small counter and rifling through some paperwork. "I am a bit surprised you two didn't bring your kids along."
"Yeah, well it's more that our eldest has been begging for a puppy for almost a year now, and has recently gotten his brother to join in on hounding us. We didn't bring them with us because Remus isn't positive that a dog is something he wants right now, so we didn't want our boys to get their hopes up."
"Well if you two will wait here for a minute I will go and bring Max out," she says walking through a doorway behind the counter and down the hall. Sirius and I stand there waiting, but it isn't long until we hear a bit of commotion before I look up and see a large brown blob heading towards us.
"Maxie!" Sirius yells opening his arms wide like he is greeting an old friend and not the stray dog he just befriended yesterday. The dog bounds over to him before jumping up and placing his paws and Sirius' shoulders so that he can greet Sirius with licks on his face. He jumps down and sits down in front of Sirius who squats down to pet him some more.
"He's good with children right? I mean a dog this big could do some serious damage to a little kid if it wanted to," I say watching Sirius and Max. I have to admit that Max seems pretty friendly.
"Yes, his previous family had a couple of children. Since he has been with me he has never had an issue with a kid."
"Now Maxie, this here is Remus and he is the only thing standing between you and coming home with us, so be a good dog and impress him," Sirius says holding the dog's head in his hands and looking it in the eyes, he points over at me and the big dog get up and walks over to me, sits down, perks it's ears and cocks his head to the side.
"It's housebroken to right?" I ask mainly just as a distraction from the beast.
"Yes."
"Aw come on Rem! Think of how excited the boys will be."
I look down at the large dog in front of me, and I can't help but admit that Sirius has a point. Not only would our boys be ecstatic, but it is clear that Sirius would be as well. Also, Teddy has been asking for a puppy, and Sirius and I were thinking of getting one. The idea of getting a full grown dog that is already house broken is definitely appealing.
We fill out all of the necessary paperwork before paying and walking out with the dog on a leash. Sirius insisted that we use a leash even though the woman working at the kennel guaranteed that the dog would stay near us at all times.
When we make it back to Hogwarts, I knock on Hagrid's door while Sirius stands off behind me with Max.
"Papa!" I am greeted by shouts from both boys and Harry extending his arms towards me to be picked up. One thing that we have noticed with Harry, is that he seems to crave affection, and neither Sirius nor I are willing to deny him of it.
"Daddy and I have a surprise for you two," I say to them.
"What is it?" Teddy asks bouncing, trying to and contain his excitement.
"You have to go outside to find out," I say putting Harry back on the ground so he can rush off with Teddy. Before I even make it down Hagrid's front steps, Harry is back at me with his arms about my waist and holding tight. "Harry? What's wrong?" I ask picking him up once more.
"It's really big. Is it gonna eat me? Aunt Marge had a dog and it used to chase me around the yard and it was much smaller than that one," he mumbles into my shoulder, and I realize that he is slightly trembling.
"It's alright Harry. Max is a very nice dog, and he really wanted some kids to run around outside and play with. I thought you wanted a dog too?"
"Teddy said that we would get a puppy and it would be really little... he said puppies sleep a lot and that it wouldn't ever chase me or bug me."
Well this was unexpected. I look over at Sirius but whether he noticed Harry was upset and knew I would take of it, or is just oblivious to the situation, I do not know. One thing is for sure, one of our boys is near bursting he is so excited about our new addition while the other seems terrified.
Not long after this, we decide to head home so that our new dog can get acquainted with his new house. Maybe with us all being home Harry will be able to realize that he has nothing to fear with Max.
We feed the boys a quick lunch while Max makes his way around the house investigating his new surroundings. Teddy can barely sit still long enough to finish his sandwich, and Sirius and I have to keep reminding him to slow down before he chokes. Harry on the other hand is much more subdued. As soon as Teddy is finished he runs off to find where Max has gotten to, but Harry decides to stay at the table a while longer.
"Teddy! Why don't you and I take Max outside so can he explore the yard?" Sirius calls up the stairs to him, and it is not long before I hear both Teddy and Max come barreling down the stairs.
"Don't run in the house!" I reprimand from the kitchen where I am cleaning up from lunch. "Harry do you want to go out with them?" I ask him where he is sitting at the table coloring. He quickly shakes his head.
Sirius, Teddy, and Max spend the majority of the afternoon outside in the yard. I stay inside with Harry, but am eventually able to coax him into joining the others outside. I don't want to push him, but at the same time I don't want him to spend the whole day avoiding Max. So far, Max has not done anything to show that he is aggressive so I don't think Harry has any reason to fear him. We walk out into the backyard, with Harry keeping a firm grasp on my pant leg.
"It's alright Harry, I'm not going anywhere," I tell him, patting him on the head.
It doesn't take long for Max to notice us approaching, and he quickly bounds over to us. As soon as Harry sees Max, he is quick to try and duck behind me.
"Sit Max," I tell him firmly and I am surprised when he abruptly obeys. "Here Harry, hold out your hand like me and let him sniff you. Then you can pat him on the head," I tell Harry who is still half behind me while I extend my own hand forward in demonstration.
Tentatively Harry copies me, and when he hesitantly begins to pat Max on the head, the dog stay perfectly still only letting out a small whine when Harry stops. It's not long before Harry finds himself brave enough to inch closer to the dog, though he still is extremely hesitant. Teddy quickly comes running over and Max jumps up ready to go chase after him, and Harry quickly jumps back away from the sudden movement. This seems to make Max pause, and he slowly inches towards Harry until he is closer enough to lick his check before turning and going off after Teddy. Harry lets out a small giggle when he does.
After that moment, Harry is content to just sit and watch Teddy run around with Max but he seems a lot less fearful of the big dog. I immediately feel a hundred times better about the situation knowing that it is only a matter of time before Harry feels perfectly comfortable around the beast.
Sirius and I both agreed to the dog sleeping out in the enclosed back porch. I can only imagine having that giant on our couches at night, and I do not want to have to clean up all the dog hair on the furniture. So it was agreed that he could sleep on the porch. The porch has all windows, and a screened in back door which we closed the window on when we found out it was supposed to storm that night. Max would be protected from the elements and wouldn't be able to get into anything in the house, it was a win-win.
After bathing and putting both boys to bed Sirius and I stayed up together, like most nights though this time we had a loudly snoring dog on the ground at our feet.
"You like Max, right? I know Teddy is over the moon, but you think we made the right choice right?" Sirius asks me, while we are snuggled up on the couch together.
"No, I think we did. Teddy is definitely ecstatic, and Harry seems to be getting used to him. But, don't you ever go making a decision like that without me again."
"Yeah, I'm sorry I sort of sprung that all on you. I didn't really give you a choice in the matter, I realize that. I just wanted our boys to be happy," he says in his defense.
"You spoil them rotten," I tease, before pushing Sirius off of the couch. "Now go put the dog out on the porch. I don't know about you, but I'm beat after today."
Just as I am drifting off to sleep, with Sirius practically wrapped around me (he has always been a big cuddler) I am startled back into reality by a loud howl. One howl is quickly followed by another, and then another, and another. I sigh and roll over, away from Sirius who grumbles, while shoving a pillow over my head to try and block it out.
"Sirius, go see what's got the dog all wound up," I say pushing him lightly to make sure he is listening. I know he is awake, there is no way he could be sleeping through the incessant howls.
"Shush, I am trying to sleep. You go see."
"I'm too comfortable, besides you are the one that wanted the dog anyways. It's your responsibility."
Before he can reply, there is a creak as our door is pushed open. I sit up and look over to see Harry standing the doorway.
"You alright there pup?" Sirius asks him, while swinging his legs over the bed and standing up to go to Harry.
"Why's Max howling?" he asks us while rubbing his eyes.
"Don't you worry about that. Let's get you back into bed and then I will go check on him to make sure he is alright, okay?" Sirius asks while grabbing one of Harry's hands to lead him out the door.
I settle back into the pillows knowing that Sirius will take care of everything.
A couple of hours later I am again woken up, but this time it is to a loud clap of thunder. I sit up and glance at the clock see that we must have lost power. I roll over and am surprised to discover that Harry isn't in our bed. Every once and awhile, a really bad storm will bring Teddy to our room as well. But, almost every time it storms Harry ends up tucked away in our bed. The thunder doesn't scare him, but the lightning sure does, and many times we have had to turn on all the lights in the bed room just to block out the lightning so Harry could fall back asleep. Of course, this also makes it impossible for Sirius and I to fall back asleep but that hardly matters.
I decide to get up and go check on both of the boys just in case someone is awake and just too afraid to wander through the dark hallway to our room. First I stop in Teddy's room to find the boy sprawled across the bed, with his head where his feet should be and his blanket on the floor. I laugh slightly to myself before rearranging him on the bed and tucking him in once more. Then I head into Harry's room, where I stop in the doorway surprised at what I see before heading back to our room to wake up Sirius so he can witness it as well.
Though Sirius grumbles at being awoken he smiles when he walks into Harry's room to see what made me wake him up in the first place. It seems that Harry has found himself a protector, and his name is Max. Max opens his eyes when we walk into the room, but doesn't move other than that, almost as if he is afraid that he will disturb Harry. They are both laying with their head on the pillows and Harry is wrapped around Max from behind. As I move closer, I chuckle lightly at realizing that Harry has them both tucked under the blankets.
Sirius and I head back to our room together and as we are drifting off to bed I hear him mutter to me.
"I know we agreed to let Max sleep out on the porch, sorry I let him back in."
"I was wondering how he made it back into the house. What made you do it?" I ask him.
"Harry. What else? I tucked him back into bed and he said that Max was probably just scared because he could hear the thunder in the distance like Harry could. Harry then asked me if I would leave him out in the porch when he gets scared of the storm. I told him of course not, and he replied saying that Max was now a member of the family as well and that it wasn't nice of us to leave him out there when we wouldn't do that to anyone else. How could I after that?" he replies. "Leaving Max out there when we wouldn't leave Harry or Teddy out there probably reminded him of his aunt and uncle. You know, how they favored their son over Harry. We can still keep Max off of the couches though, just probably not out on the back porch," Sirius says with a laugh.
"I can't say I blame you for letting him in. And so much for keeping him off of the beds, I should have known with our two boys around that those boundaries were never going to last," I say, and Sirius and I soon dissolve into a laughing fit over how quickly that plan fell to pieces.
"Well I suppose we don't have to worry about Harry being afraid of Max after this."
"Now I am more worried about the amount of trouble those three will be able to cause together. What have we gotten ourselves into?" I joke, and it's not long after that I fall asleep a smile still on my lips