I know I know I know! Bad authoress, not updating in so long! Don't worry, I've been busy…this update is just one of several I've already prepared. I await reviews…but I won't hold my breath. I know I'm not wanted. T.T

Chapter 11: Padfoot

Sarah

I sat down in Professor Lupin's office feeling distinctly as if I shouldn't be there. Lupin himself opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment a green fire started up in the grate behind him. Suddenly, and I mean quite suddenly, Dumbledore walked out of it as if it were completely normal. I stared at the fire, but it had turned back to a regular orange. The dog nudged me away from it when I tried to touch the grate.

"Padfoot is right, Miss Galis, the fire has returned to its original state and will be quite hot now," Lupin said.

I blushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…how did you do that?"

"It's called the Floo Network, but for Hogwarts it is only between the teacher's offices," Dumbledore said, smiling as he sat down in a chair before Lupin's desk. "I understood from speaking with Professor Snape that you wished to speak with me."

Lupin had begun casting spells on his office door, muttering incantations that I couldn't hear.

My face flushed hot. Had I spoken aloud about speaking with Dumbledore and not realized it? "I-I…um…it's just that…I…"

Dumbledore smiled in earnest, the little glitter in his eyes sparking orange in the firelight. "Miss Galis, understand that you will not get into trouble for telling me about the odd dreams that you had the last couple of nights."

I dropped my books with a clatter on the floor. "H-How did you…?"

"It is another element of the Dexterous Empathe skill that you have so readily shown that you have," he said. "I know this must be hard on you, my dear, but I also realize that you have seen something that may be of use. Please, describe these dreams."

I blinked, then slowly nodded. "The first one was in the Forbidden Forest. I could see the castle a little. Harry was with me. There was a man, with really bright red eyes and he looked like a snake. There was a unicorn…he kept trying to get me to kill it. Harry kept pulling me back. He told me I would regret following his commands."

Dumbledore nodded, considering me with very serious eyes now. "Continue. The other dream?"

"I…was in a really huge house. No one could see me this time. A man named Lucius talked to this big green cloud of smoke. He said something about an Elixer and that Narcissa, I guess that's his wife, was waiting. I followed them down into a bedroom and…"

Here I stopped. Would it make any difference if I told them about Snape? I pushed onward anyway. They had to know. Somehow, I knew that.

"And Professor Snape was there. He made a Fertility Potion and this Elixer thing. And he left right after that. Lucius said he would call him when he needed more."

My face went incredibly red now, and I couldn't help the haltering stammer that filled it. "Er….and…um…L-Lucius….went into the bed…and…um…he…he…uh…hadsexwith um, the lady, I guess Narcissa. And then the green cloud, it went in her stomach. It told her that she was going to be in pain. And then, I felt this awful, horrible stinging pain, right in my stomach. Like something was tearing apart my insides and I woke up like that. Hermione woke me up."

For almost a full minute, my headmaster and my Defense professor stared at me. Padfoot lolled across my legs. When had I sat down on the floor? I petted the great shaggy dog's head, relishing in the softness of his fur. The two men exchanged a glance.

"The first is likely either a precognitive dream, or simply a nightmare, though since you can recall it in detail," Dumbledore smiled a touch, "I think we shall go with the former. As for the second…you dreamt it while an actual event was occurring."

I went pale. "So Professor Snape was really brewing stuff for that thing? What's he doing that for?"

"The 'green smoke', as you so eloquently put it, is, in short, Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore, all seriousness pervading his face. "You have witnessed a remarkable thing, Miss Galis, something that will shape the coming years. Tell me, was there any speech from the belly of Narcissa?"

I shook my head. "That I can be sure of. The smoke made it deliberately clear that it could not speak whilst in her."

"That is possibly the best news I've heard since Sirius was let go," said Lupin, grinning broadly. "The bastard can't give orders from in the womb. We may even have a few years till the baby can even get a decent set of vocal chords."

Dumbledore nodded. "And aging spells and potions won't be able to help him, if he wants the body to survive long enough. This is perhaps the best news we've gotten in some time."

I raised my hand, feeling quite foolishly as if I was interrupting a fervent class discussion with something mediocre like a piss trip. "I'm a bit confused. What is such good news about You-Know-Who coming back as a baby?"

"Call him by his name, Miss Galis," Dumbledore said, smiling. "Proper names for things. Now, to answer your question. This means that Voldemort will not be able to move forward with his plans until the child's body and mind have caught up with him. We have a few years to plan."

I nodded. "Okay, then. Um…then what does all this have to do with me?"

"With everyone, really," Dumbledore said. "Your other friends are all a part of this. Mr. Weasley, Misters Nobunaga, Mr. Potter, and Miss Granger. Not so much Miss Granger or Mr. Weasley, but…they are your friends."

"Ron's more Harry's friend, we're all kind of neutral except with me and Hermione," I said. I stroked Padfoot's hind leg, eliciting a plaintive whine from him.

"At any rate, the other reason why we're here," Lupin said. "I've been asked to help you gain enough strength and control of your magic that you can control it, so that you aren't hurt again. Once we're sure that you can handle it, we will take you off of Professor Snape's potions."

I nodded, smiling a bit at that. I liked Professor Lupin.

Dumbledore also spoke up. "I'd like you to take Padfoot with you, Miss Galis. He will be able to dream your dreams that are being blocked by the potion."

"But…how will you ask a dog what he dreamed?" I asked, perplexed.

Lupin smiled. "Oh, you'll find that Padfoot is anything but a dog."

And Padfoot stood up on his paws. I may have blinked. I'm not sure. But in that moment of clarity, Padfoot had gone from being a very cute, loveable, adorable dog, into a cute, kind-looking gentleman around the same age as Professor Lupin. I probably just five feet high jumping to my feet.

"You're a man!"

"Yes." The three men all chuckled at my reaction.

It took me about three heartbeats to recognize him. "You're…Sirius Black. The guy that they just set free from Azkaban."

He scowled, then grinned, and easy, simple gaze in his handsome eyes. "That would be the story, yes."

He was still on all fours on the floor. I sat back down, staring at him uncertainly. He sat back on his ankles, looking for all the world like it was the most natural thing in the world to sit on the floor in a room with two other men and a single eleven-year-old girl.

"This way, the dreams you have will not be pushed into one of your roommate's heads," Lupin said, acting a bit cautious. "Last night, Lavender Brown could not sleep at all after seeing the pain that Narcissa Malfoy was in."

I blinked. Lavender had looked really tired. "Narcissa…Malfoy? Lucius and Narcissa are Draco's parents?"

"In a word, yes," Dumbledore said.

I chewed on my lower lip. "How come you aren't registered, Mr. Black?"

The question was probably a bit strange, because Lupin and he laughed at my question. I felt my face begin to burn, but was saved when he answered. "I wasn't ever really the mood for rules, per se. James, Peter, and I were all unregistered Animagi."

"What about you?" I asked Lupin. "I thought they were your friends, too, right?"

Lupin stopped short. "I'd only mentioned Sirius as my friend. How did you know about James and Peter?"

I blinked. "I don't know."

Dumbledore rumbled quietly. "Which brings us to my next query, Miss Galis."

I waited patiently.

"How is it that one so young like yourself is able to block a seasoned Legillimens with the ease and safely so without casting the Occlumens counter?"

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Huh?" Great answer, Sarah, I thought you were intelligent. "What?" As if that's any better!

Lupin smiled. "Sarah, did you put up mind blocks against people trying to read your mind?"

I blinked. "Well…I've always been a secretive person. So if I didn't want anyone to know something, I'd usually block it out of my own mind. Is that what you mean?"

Lupin and Black chuckled softly. Black was the one who spoke next. "A regular Lily. Wonder if you're related to the Evans at all, kiddo."

I thought about it a minute. "My grandmother's maiden name was Evans. It might be possible. But I'm Muggle born."
"So was Lily Evans," Black said.

I cocked my head to the side. "Well…my grand uncle did have a kid named Petunia, and there was another one but no one mentioned her ever. I haven't met them."

Black began to roar with laughter I hadn't known existed. "Well, I'll be damned again, she's related to Lily!"

"That would make you Harry's cousin or first cousin, or something like that," Lupin explained. I stared at the two, completely dumbfounded.

"Well…couldn't Harry come live with me then, instead of his uncle and aunts?" I asked, blinking. "I mean, they treat him like garbage."

"Second cousin, actually," Dumbledore said. "And I believe that would be up to your parents. Aren't we already hiding several things from your father already?"

I gulped, turning red as the professor and the dog-turned-man regarded me. "Well…yeah, I guess. Dad's not too keen on magic. He's an American and his sister got really deep into Wiccan stuff. She got killed during a séance. He's never forgotten it."
"Damned Muggles," Black muttered. "They can't leave a sleeping dog lie. Gotta mess with everything. Bet they were using a Ouiji, too, drug out all kinds of Dark creatures."

I was shocked. "How'd you know about the Ouiji?"
"Muggles don't realize that the Ouiji is a Dark wizard's way of dragging creatures to the surface," Lupin said. "They usually harbor dinleros, which are traditionally harmless with a simple Stun spell. They usually just leave after they wake up. But with Muggles, it's different."

"At any rate, gentleman, Miss Galis, I think we are through for today. Mr. Black will begin escorting you from now on, Miss Galis. Just think of him as a large, furry bodyguard."

"Very funny, Albus," Black retorted, but a sly smirk had come across his handsome face. He turned to me, still sitting on the floor. "I'd prefer the bed to the floor for once, but if you're not comfortable with that, I'm sure Minerva can Transfigure me up a doggy bed."

"I could Transfigure you a 'doggy bed' myself, but you can sleep in my bed. Just don't turn back!"

"I doubt I'll be able to," he said, chortling. "Albus, Remus, can we stay here a few minutes longer?"

Professors Lupin and Dumbledore both nodded, and thankfully exited through the door rather than the fireplace. Now that had spooked me. When the door shut, he grinned at me lopsided.

"I heard a lot about you since I got here," he said. "Mind if I call you Sarah? You can call me Sirius."

"Er…of course, um…Sirius," I said, rubbing my elbow. "I've never called an elder by their first name before."
He chuckled. "It shows. Your dad was an American, eh? I suspect military."
I jolted. "Just where do you think that from?"

"You lied to him about your school," he said, ticking things off on his fingers, "You don't seem to like him that much, you're immaculately polite, you haven't slouched once in your seat or in here, and not many people would ardently continue calling people 'Professor'."

I blinked. "You've very observant, Mr Bla – Sirius."
"It's either notice stuff or go crazy in Azkaban," he said, waggling his smooth eyebrows at me. He studied me a minute. "You know, it's kind of crazy to mention this…but you sort of even look like Lily. It's a wonder you're not already on dates with uncouth guys."

"I'm not interested in dating," I said.

He laughed again. "Now you even sound like her."

I cocked my head. "How's that?"

"Lily was all books, brains, and know-how. Crazy enough James snapped her up. I always thought she'd end up with Remus, but…turned out they were perfect for each other. Mr. Chaser and his Mrs. Know-It-All. It was amazing she could even stand him talking about Quidditch left an' right."

He fidgeted with the hem of a very old, very battered-looking black robe. "Listen, Sarah…about Harry. Um…I should probably mention that I'm his godfather. Once this whole business with the ole Darkness Sod is over…I'm technically able to take care of him, too."

"I just want him out of the Dursleys. They're cruel and crude," I said. "I think it's great that Harry has somewhere to go, even better. Anyways…I wanted to thank you."
He cocked his head to the side, looking for all the world like the dog he'd turn back into in just a few moments. "Thank me?"

"Yeah. For taking those odd dreams for me. It's like fighting, you know? I can't tell you how horrible they are sometimes."

He ran a delicate, friendly hand down my arm. "Don't worry. If we can help it, you won't ever have to deal with any of this again."

I shrugged. "I don't mind dealing with it. Sometimes. I've always had horrible dreams like these, but it didn't get bad until my first night here. I guess I must have always been getting 'em."

He nodded. "Well, all right, then. I guess I'd better turn back into a mutt and tail you around. Maybe I can get reacquainted with my old stomping grounds and actually learn something this go-round."
I chuckled as he turned back into a dog. Once his tail was wagging, I picked up my books and off we went to do homework.

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No worries, I have plans for little Sirius. Review? Please? Show me I'm loved?