Paddy's Little Pup

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher who likes to twist plots and play with characters, so enjoy.

AN: Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this story, my daughter would have been 26 on the 1st and this story is too much of a reminder of how much I still miss her even after two years have passed. So forgive me for the delay. I have gone back and fixed some discrepancies in the last chapter, as well as explained some things a little better so you might want to reread it, but it's not necessary. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, I appreciate all of you.

AN: For those who have expressed confusion, Mrs. Neely was the muggle teacher and she is an older lady, kind but definitely not Sirius' type. Glynnis Batiste, the I.C.U. nurse, is much younger, very pretty and has a six year old daughter, Marybeth whom she is raising alone.

Chapter 11: Life is Never Boring

As soon as the trio had settled into a familiar routine at the Potter Manor, Sirius had started an owl correspondence with Bill and Charley Weasley who were Gryffindor students in fifth and third year respectively. He had recruited them to continue the pranks on Severus Snape so that the dour and bitter portions master could not prove that it had been Sirius all along, no matter how much he believed him guilty. They told Sirius to never let on about the ongoing pranking to their younger brother Percy since the first year was well on his way to becoming a rule spouting pompous prefect.

Bill and Charlie were more than happy to continue the odd little pranks as long as they didn't actually hurt the man, as neither one of them could stand the sarcastic Professor who always picked on their house no matter what they did. Sirius would send a Potter elf who would sometimes manage to slip a potion into the man's tea, he devised new spells with odd effects that he would cast on some innocuous little object that the boys could leave unobtrusively near where Snape would pass or under the table at the Great Hall where he would sit, and he even sent several person specific spells that could be cast ahead of time on doorways the unsuspecting victim would pass through.

So about once a month poor Professor Snape would find himself speaking in rhymes or in Shakespearean couplets, skipping down the hall while singing George Gershwin show tunes, or being unable to drink anything without it dribbling down his chin and onto his chest. He glared, he snarled and he investigated but he never found the culprit or culprits. Even his passive scanning of the young minds of his students didn't reveal the miscreants since they actually weren't doing the actual pranking; Sirius was so they didn't feel guilty. A deep scan using the actual Legilimens spell would have proven their culpability, but Severus knew that would definitely cross the line, and even though Albus turned a blind eye to his passive legilimens of the students, he wouldn't allow anything more drastic without definite proof and a very good reason.


Sirius continued to disappear at fairly regular intervals but he finally admitted to seeing Glynnis and her daughter Marybeth; his face turning red when Remus finally caught him sneaking in late one night smelling of the lovely nurse's distinctive perfume and a smudge of pale pink lipstick still showing with a blush of color on his slightly swollen lips. After ribbing him royally for several very long minutes, Remus just asked him pointedly when he would be bringing the young Muggle and her daughter home to see Harry.

Sirius blushed rather brightly before admitting he hadn't told the nurse that Harry Potter had actually survived and he really didn't know of any way of informing her without revealing the existence of magic and that was specifically proscribed by the Ministry without special permission, which was seldom granted unless he was actually planning on marrying the muggle nurse. So for now, Harry's continued existence would have to remain a secret and Glynnis and Marybeth wouldn't be visiting the Manor anytime soon.


The trial for the Dursleys had been long and lurid until even the Royal family had taken an interest in the horrific events surrounding the death of the young boy, and the atrocities that came to light at their trial. The Lady Diana had actually appeared one afternoon to witness the testimony of Mrs. Figg in person. Poor Arabella had been so rattled by her presence, or maybe the presence of all of her big and buff body guards, to answer in more than a whisper, but she had been able to relay the poor child's miserable existence properly, and the audio tapes of the tiny little voice talking so matter of fact about being locked up in a boot cupboard for days on end without food left not a single dry eye among the jury and the witnesses in the courtroom.

Petunia's psychological evaluation had revealed deep seated anxieties and an almost psychotic need to be perceived as 'normal' but no real explanation as to how she could treat an innocent baby the way she had; as well as an irrational hatred and jealousy of her sister for being singled out for special schooling. Despite the best effort of her barrister, she was sentenced to ten years in HMP Downview and her parental rights to Dudley were severed.

Vernon had been lambasted by a multitude of prosecution witnesses; his subordinates at Grunnings had multiple stories of his bullying and harassment, his neighbors recounted how he had treated the nephew, as opposed to how he spoiled his son and even encouraged Dudley in bullying other children. The court showed no mercy and sentenced him to the maximum allowed; after reading into the formal record a letter of interest sent by the Queen herself. So Vernon would be locked up in HMP Coldingley for the next twenty years.

Dudley Dursley had been made a ward of the state and committed for long term psychiatric care in a small group facility that would eventually allow him to attend a regular school and perhaps gain some normal social skills; at least that was the long term goals.


Harry, Paddy and Remus continued to build their little family as the year passed almost in the blink of an eye. Harry had taken to learning magic like a fish to water and since he no longer had to pretend not to be smarter than Dudley, his confidence and self esteem grew gradually but steadily. He continued to absorb all of his subjects at a rate to make a Ravenclaw proud, and Remus was constantly struggling to keep lesson plans ahead of the eager young scholar. Paddy and Remus had even begun to teach Harry muggle meditation techniques and martial arts. The first to prepare him for Occlumency lessons later to protect his mind from Snape's invasion and the meddling of the Headmaster; and the later to first regain his flexibility and strength from his accident, and then to help him gain confidence, and the emotional control that went alongside the meditation techniques.

For Harry's seventh birthday, Remus finally gave into Sirius' nagging and allowed Paddy to give the birthday boy a broom, the poor werewolf wondering if he would need to be confined to St. Mungo's after witnessing the first turbulent lesson. Harry had listened, his mouth split wide in a grin from ear to ear as he practically bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement, waiting with barely contained impatience for the verbal lesson to be over so he could push off and fly.

"Okay, son, just push off gently, not too hard, that's right…take it easy…now lean forward just a little bit…." Sirius was patiently giving directions as Harry floated in the summer sun on the afternoon of his seventh birthday.

"Ya-a-a-a-ho-o-o-o-o" Harry squealed as he took off, the wind blowing his messy hair back out of his face. "Look Remus, look…I'm flying….whee-e-e-e." He leaned over, pushing the youth broom forward until he was flying at its maximum speed after just a few moments of hesitation. "Watch, Paddy…this is so great…yeah!" Harry had managed to finish a rather wobbly loop, before taking off down the garden, gaining confidence with each passing minute. By the end of an hour, Sirius and Remus had joined him in the air and the three were playing catch with a bright red quaffle ball. Harry was catching and throwing the large ball as if he had been flying for years. It would be hard to judge who had the biggest grin, Sirius, Remus or Harry.

The sound of clapping from the ground brought their attention to their invited guests for the afternoon. Albus, Minerva, Hagrid, Poppy, Arabella and Filius had all arrived without the three flyers even noticing them. The three landed their cheeks pink and chafed from the sun and wind. The Potter elves had provided a sumptuous picnic for the birthday boy, they all loved the child that would grow up to be their master one day, but for now, Harry was much more interested in having all twelve of the little creatures as friends and sometimes playmates since the Manor was very isolated even without the new Fidelius charm that had been cast with Moony as the secret keeper.

The afternoon flew by with games and flying but Sirius couldn't help but look wistfully at his son and how well he interacted with all of the adults that were there as if he too was an adult. Harry was missing out on a normal childhood once more and Sirius vowed to do everything he could to change that. Harry deserved to have friends his own age and to play and be a child. As he watched Harry deftly serve huge slices of rich chocolate cake to all of the assembled guests, he vowed to speak with Moony that very night about finding age mates for Harry.


It had taken a little while to solve all of the logistical problems, but Harry was now attending a small wizarding primary school near Edinburgh. The school drew students from a wide area since transportation was not a problem for anyone with access to the floo network or a reusable portkey. The classes were small and concentrated on wizarding history, herbology, culture and etiquette classes as well as the normal range of muggle subjects like reading, writing and arithmetic. Since most children were just beginning to show the first signs of accidental magic and had no real reserves or control, the magic available to them was severely limited and no class time was wasted on teaching a subject that they felt no child would be able to do.

Harry was delighted to have friends to play with, there were a mixed bag of children that attended, some purebloods, some halfbloods and even a very few Muggleborns that had exhibited enough magic to register in the Hogwarts' Register already. Harry played happily with the Weasley boys; Sirius was particularly fond of the twins even though they were two years older than Harry. He also liked a shy, nervous boy named Neville, a quiet confident dark haired boy named Blaise and an exuberant, full of mischief slightly older boy named Terry Boot. The girls were beneath the boys' notice at that age, but Harry had noticed the youngest Weasley and thought she wasn't too bad… at least for a girl.


As the little family grew stronger and more comfortable with each other, Harry's self esteem and sense of self worth grew, as well as his confidence in his own abilities. He loved to read; almost as much as flying, well all most as much. His control over his conscious use of magic grew as he was able to master the concentration and self awareness necessary from his ongoing meditation lessons. He was progressing slowly but surely through the levels of his martial arts training. He finally lost the last lingering limp from his badly damaged right leg as well as the full range of flexibility and strength in his back.

Sirius and Remus began taking Harry to visit more and more of the world, both Wizarding and Muggle after he reached eight years old and finally gained control over his accidental magical outbursts. It would have been too difficult to explain to the hotel staff if every vegetable in the kitchen disappeared simply because Harry didn't want to eat anything but meat and potatoes; or that Remus was totally blue in color for an entire day when Harry was mad at his tutor for giving him a pop quiz on history instead of letting Harry study ahead for it.

But when Harry had managed to go over three months without exploding anything, turning someone unexpected colors or changing the food on his plate into something he thought more palatable, the trio began their tour with Diagon Alley and London. Sirius had gotten special Ministry permission for Harry to get his first wand at Olivander's and so on a bright summer day, just after Harry turned nine the trio stepped through the magical barrier and Harry got his first look at the wonder of Diagon Alley. Sirius laughed and swept Harry up, throwing the gobsmacked boy over his shoulder when Harry suddenly stopped; his mouth and eyes wide open as his feet stopped moving.

"Wicked! Can we go exploring all the shops? Can we Paddy, can we?" Harry's voice cracked with excitement as his head swiveled back and forth, trying in vain to look at everything and everyone all at once.

Remus reached up and ruffled the dark hair, marveling once again at how well the curse scar had been removed by Muggle doctors doing something called a 'skin graft' three years ago. A small smooth patch that was hardly noticeable was all that remained of the distinctive mark and allowed Harry to live in peace without everyone gawking at him. No one at his school or in their travels knew the boy as anything other than Harry Grimm.

"Perhaps we can talk old Paddy into a huge sundae at Florien's later if you behave, brat."

"Hey, Uncle Moony, I haven't done anything today!" Harry was outraged at his beloved uncle's implication.

The two men laughed as they had answered identically and simultaneously, "YET!"

Harry's neck was starting to hurt from trying to imitate an owl before the three reached the little shop labeled Olivander's Wands so he was surprised to be even more astonished upon walking through a set of very powerful wards as Paddy pushed him into the shop in front of him. He turned around and looked directly at where an odd little man with eyes like full moons was looking directly at him in surprise.

"Harry Potter…I wasn't expecting you for two more years!"

Sirius and Remus both pulled their wands, Remus searching the small dark shop for the presence of anyone else, while Sirius looked out the grimy windows and then pulled the shades down to keep anyone from looking in.

Harry looked puzzled at the bizarre man, "My name's Harry Grimm and this is my dad, Patrick and my Uncle Remus. You must be mistaken." Harry was adamant and very outspoken.

Mr. Olivander gulped visibly and raised a gnarled old finger to gently remove Harry's unruly black fringe from the right side of his forehead. He drew his breath sharply inward with a hiss of surprise and visibly paled. "I…I…that's never happened before." He bowed deeply, his eyes never leaving the face of the small boy looking at him so solemnly. "I thought you were someone else. The wards around my shop help me to identify and evaluate every witch or wizard who enters. And they have never failed before. I am so sorry Mr. Grimm, is it?" Sirius looked deeply into the old man's eyes before turning to Remus and holding a silent conversation consisting of raised eyebrows, shrugs and hand gestures before turning back to the old man and nodding at him.

"You were correct, Mr. Olivander. This is Harry Potter, but you must realize why we are using aliases. I am afraid we shall require a wizard's oath to never divulge our identity to anyone until we return to the public eye; or we shall have to obliviate you after we are done. It is up to you to choose, though I will tell you I am Sirius Black and a fully trained and certified Auror and Obliviater so either choice will be perfectly safe to you." Sirius looked grimly at the man as he watched him make his decision.

"I am perfectly willing to swear an oath, I never divulge my customer's private information anyway, but I do recognize your need for secrecy and will abide by your action." Mr. Olivander swept both arms wide as he vowed to keep silent and then began the laborious job of finding the right wand for the very talented and strong young boy.

The pile of tried and wrong wands grew and grew until Harry could no longer see much of anything over the pile lying like scattered pick up sticks on the long glass countertop. "I am sorry, child that this is taking so long. I have never had such difficulty in finding the perfect wand for someone. Perhaps…." His voice trailed off as he steepled his fingers under his chin, deep in thought.

Harry was getting tired of spending so long in the creepy little shop with the strangely odd man so he just opened his own senses up, raised both hands to shoulder height and called. "The magic that fits to me… shall come to me…now." He thought hard, his eyes scrunched closed in concentration. A dusty box that was wedged down near the floor at the very back of the narrow building started to shake, the stacks of boxes piled high on top of it falling to the right and left as the shaking grew stronger. With a final shudder that dislodged a shower of millennial old dust and grime, the wooden box flew straight to Harry, hitting him in the chest when he forgot to open his eyes to see if anything had answered his calling. "Ooof, ow that hurts." Harry had caught the long thin box with reflexes honed from years of martial arts training and rubbed his bruised chest with his free hand.

Mr. Olivander, Sirius, and Remus had matching gobsmacked expressions as they looked down at Harry who was trying to wipe some of the dust off of the old carved box with the front of his shirt before Olivander hastily grabbed a frayed but clean white hand towel and took the box from the suddenly complaining nine year old. "Hey that's mine…it wants me…it said so!"

Olivander's hands stopped their cleaning as what the child had said registered with him. "You heard something? The wand spoke to you?" Remus had knelt down next to Harry and was brushing the caked dirt off of the front of his shirt. "What happened, Harry? How do you…"

Sirius had flopped backward onto a rickety old chair that was placed to the side of the countertop and rubbed his eyes with a weary hand, his expression swiftly changing from surprise to concern. "Is that wand cursed, Olivander? Could something dark have affected Harry?"

Olivander finished wiping the dirt and dust off of the intricately carved oak presentation case and smiled in wonder and awe. "Oh no, Mr. Black…I can guarantee that nothing dark has affected young Mr. Potter here. This wand has been in my family's possession for over nine hundred years, waiting for the magical heir that was prophesized so many centuries ago." He pulled his own wand and with a few deft flicks the shop was closed, the door locked and several very comfortable chairs had appeared along with an impressive tea service complete with steaming tea pot and assorted sweets. "Please sit down while I tell you a story that is passed down from Olivander to Olivander and known only to our own family." He motioned with the hand not clutching the box reverently to his chest at the empty chairs.


He began his story, his voice soft and cracked with age. "After the founding of Hogwarts, the school grew and prospered for many long and happy years, until a disagreement between two of the Founder's over the admittance of Muggleborn students grew more and more heated and finally exploded into arguments and then physical fights until one Founder, Salazar Slytherin was defeated soundly by Godric Gryffindor and the three remaining Founders banished him evermore and forever from the castle. The wards were reinforced and set against him and any of his descendants that wished harm upon the school or its inhabitants.

No one knows what triggered the original disagreement or why it eventually came to blows and then swords, but the ending had been foretold by Rowena Ravenclaw, a talented and accurate seer. When Salazar was banished, he vowed to return and turn the castle he had once called home to rubble and dust; and swore upon his life and his magic that he, or someone of his line, would have complete and absolute revenge upon the three remaining Founders and all of their descendants.

As the three were gathering up the belongings that Salazar had been forced to leave, Rowena happened to pick up a small vial of some unknown liquid. She went into a trance and spoke thusly,

A hundred generations will pass as the darkness spreads

Blight upon the land, the light will dim but not die.

Until the innocent child, the champion is born

To push back the darkness and bring light to fair Scotland again.

A babe in his mother's arms he will die

To be reborn as the Dark Lord is vanquished

Into a shade whose spirit will flee.

A decade of years it will wander in darkness most vile

Using darkest arts to survive.

The champion of light will meet the shade twice

Each time more horrific, the suffering and pain growing

Until his blood taken in ritual most vile and the Dark Lord will be reborn

To gather his forces and spread the dark blight over the land once more.

Twice will they battle, the outcome uncertain, the third will end it.

Until with power the Dark Lord knows not,

The power of love and justice and peace, the Champion will prevail.

The reign of justice will once more be balanced

The light will prevail and darkness be vanquished to usher in

The millennia of peace and freedom.

Olivander stopped to conjure a steaming mug of tea which he thirstily gulped before beginning his tale once more. "When Godric and Helga heard the prophecy that Rowena had told, they gathered together all of their tremendous intellect, all of the books that they could find and spent their remaining years studying and deciphering the prophecy. Salazar and his followers had begun a rampage of destruction and hatred, trying to first kill all the Muggleborns they could find and then turning upon all Muggles, regardless of magical ability. Godric and the others came to believe that Salazar had gone mad; Helga suspected that Salazar had contracted syphilis and it had eaten into his mind, but no one knows for sure.

Godric met Salazar one final time and found to his great distress that Salazar was no longer lucid, and did not even recognize the man who had once thought of him as a brother. Godric was able to defeat his former friend and with great sadness and sorrow; he killed him with his sword and burnt his body and scattered the ashes so he could not be brought back. The rest of his followers were quickly hunted down and imprisoned or killed, and the remaining Founders retired from teaching to devote their full time to deciphering the prophecy and finding ways to help the Champion of Peace in his battle.

The task was given to my great, great, many times great grandfather to hold this wand that the three Founders crafted for the Champion foretold. He was told that the wand would somehow find the champion, and would bond as no other wand has ever bonded before. The wizard who is destined to defeat the spawn of Salazar once and for all, is the only one who can safely wield this wand which is filled with a token from each of the three Founder's own animagus form; a claw from Gryffindor's griffin, a crest feather from Rowena's eagle, a tail hair from Helga's badger. The fourth substance is unknown and comes from the vial of liquid that Rowena was holding when she gave the prophecy. There is some speculation that it is the poison of a basilisk, but no one knows for certain.

There is a suite of rooms at Hogwarts that the three made and then hid for the Champion. It contains all of their private libraries and other materials that they felt the child would need to accomplish his task. The holder of this wand is the only one who will be able to find the rooms and reawaken the power of Hogwarts to help him with his task."

Olivander's voice trailed off, but no one spoke for long minutes as they pondered the meaning of his story, until Harry got tired of waiting. He could not only feel the power of the wand calling out to his own magic, he could hear the blasted thing in his own head, its impatience growing stronger with each minutes delay. Harry reached out his right hand and wiggled his fingers in a small wave and the box slipped out of the old wand maker's grasp and flew once more to Harry. With a sigh of relief, Harry opened the box and grasped the wand firmly with his right hand. A huge bouquet of multicolored sparks flew out of the tip, the lights so bright they lit up the dark narrow shop like the brightest fireworks, leaving images of flashes on the retinas of the stunned observers. Harry grinned from ear to ear, his face shining in the glowing lights as he happily waved his new wand.

After a shocked and stunned Olivander waved away any offer of payment, the three wizards left the old wand makers shop and apperated home, too awed and speechless to continue shopping, and Olivander left his shop closed; as he made his way to his ancestral manor house to search for any material or journals left by his ancestors that might help the boy, honored and immensely pleased that he had been the one to witness the dawn of the new age of peace.


AN: Thank you for your patience in waiting for this long overdue update. Thank you for all of your kind support and encouragement on this and my other stories, I appreciate each and every one of you.