Unfortunately, neither Klaus nor Elijah got the reunion they were hoping for, or any reunion really.

Damon, after busting out the Original's first choices for the sacrifice. Made a detour back to "Alaric's" unguarded apartment, where Harry's unconscious body still laid. Picked up the boy and dropped him off at the Forbes home on his way to stop the ritual.

But it seemed all his "valiant" efforts were for not. The curse was broken.

Klaus officially became a full-fledged Hybrid. Elena's Aunt Jenna and a werewolf named Jules were dead. The doppelganger was too for a while but "John Gilbert" her biological father used a spell to trade his life for her own. Caroline was just relieved that they lived through it and her surrogate little brother was safe at home at last.

Something Klaus was not to pleased about when he came "home" to find his brother missing! And Damon's scent all over the apartment. If that bloody Salvatore wasn't already dying from a werewolf bite, in the worst pain imaginable. He would've gone after him.

Instead, the Hybrid settled for tracking his scent all the way to the Forbes' house but was stopped from entering the property by the Blood Wards. Angrily he shouted through the open upstairs window,

"You can't keep him from me forever! Sooner or later I WILL be back! And you will pay…"

It was only after "fulfilling" his deal with Elijah about "reuniting" him with their family that he heard the news from a desperately eager for the cure, Stefan Salvatore: HARRY HAD DIED!

At first Klaus didn't want to believe it, he even compelled the Vampire to tell him the truth. But the answer was painfully the same. Apparently moving Harry from the apartment had jeopardized his health. He'd woken up briefly at "home" only to die mere seconds later! Then not make it through the transition.

The words "Outraged" and "Devastated" didn't even begin to describe what Niklaus Mikaelson was feeling at that moment. He almost killed Stefan, never mind making a deal with him. He would most definitely not save Damon Salvatore! It was only after the younger brother pledged his servitude as a "Ripper" that Klaus reconsidered his position, but he had a warning:

Should Damon ever cross his path again? He was a Dead Man for REAL!

Needless to say, Damon got the cure in time, though it came at a price. For Both brothers.

See Stefan before going to the Original had taken a page out of Katherine's book, and drunk Vervain. He had lied to Klaus' face about Harry. Yes, the boy had woken up. But much to his cousins' delight. he was alive and actually healthier than ever. It was Harry and Elena's continued existences that he planned to take with him to his grave. He promised himself as he followed Klaus into the truck that would lead them out of Mystic Falls.

...

It wasn't until Spring Break that Harry was allowed to go anywhere unchaperoned. And even then, Caroline watched and listened from a distance.

Klaus was gone, but so was Stefan. Everyone missed him, especially Elena.

Things had quieted down in Mystic Falls, settling into an almost hum drum routine. That is until the last week of June after school got out.

Tyler Lockwood had taken pity on Harry when the poor boy protested going to the mall on a Saturday for clothes shopping with Caroline. So, he instead invited him to hang out for the afternoon. Maybe a little one on one time on the Basketball court? While the werewolf was mainly a Football player, he could hold his own on an amateur game like this.

The boys were in midgame when a bark was heard from the bushes behind them. The barking kept up until they decided to quit and investigate. Tyler's animal senses led them to a very large shaggy black dog who seemed to be trapped in the stickers.

"Hey boy, easy there…" said Harry as they slowly approached the animal. The dog's ears seemed to perk up and its tail tried to wag at the sight of the younger teen.

"You're going to be alright," assured Tyler as they quickly began work to free him. Soon he was loose, and the mutt took turns jumping up and down on each boy, licking their faces.

"Ok, okay! You're welcome buddy! Now go on home, where you belong."

"Ah, Tyler. I think he's a stray" said Harry inspecting his neck, finding no collar or tags.

"Well what are we going to do? My mom would never let me bring a dog home, even before Dad died. Little does she know that she already has a different kind of canine living with her."

"You still haven't told her yet?"

Tyler shook his head, "Not unless I have to."

The dog cocked its head to the side, as if listening to their conversation.

Harry sighed, "I guess I could take him, even if it's just for one night. Hopefully Liz and Caroline will be as understanding as they were in the past."

"Are you sure that's a good idea man? Considering what Caroline is? Now, I'm not speaking out against your cousin. She's my girl but I don't think most animals react well to-!"

"Other than leaving him here, or calling Animal Control. What choice do we have? Besides, she doesn't drink Animal blood or even blood directly from the vein. She prefers it from donated bags to the hospital or the bank."

"I see your point Harry, but let's start walking home and maybe he'll go another way?"

"Alright,"

Quickly they started walking back to the court and picked up their discarded ball. Talking casually until the boys reached the driveway. Nobody was home yet, Harry funneled with the hide a key to get inside when- ("Bark!")

They turned around to find that the black dog had followed them.

"Okay, I guess he's staying then,"

"I guess so," the other boy replied, as it began to wag its tail.

"Tyler, I need a favor?"

"What?"

Soon Tyler Lockwood was actually carrying the dog through the Forbes home and into the first bathroom.

"Here we go," he grunted, putting him down tile. Never before had he been so grateful for his increased strength from the Werewolf gene.

"So, what's your plan Harry?" he asked as the boy re-entered with a ton of towels, shutting the door behind.

"I can't present him to the family all tangled and dirty, and neither Liz nor Caroline would be happy if he tracked mud all over the carpet they had just cleaned. Which is why I had you carry him."

Soon the tub was filled, "Okay Pooch, time for a bath," Tyler said, picking him up and plopping him in with a giant splash. It took the two of them combined to get that dog washed, scrubbed, dried and finally detangled. He was that large!

"What kind of breed is he?"

"I don't know, maybe something mixed with Great Dane probably? Based on his size and big head."

"Harry! Tyler! I'm home! Are you here?!" called Caroline, coming in the front door with her arms full. Both boys slowly came out of the bathroom, making sure its door was completely shut. "Hey there, what took you so long? But first, can you help me with these bags?"

Tyler and Harry each took a load,

"The prices at the mall were amazing! 30 to almost 50% off. I couldn't help myself, so I splurged! How was your day? Did you do your male bonding thing?" asked Caroline with a smile, as she began to put her stuff away.

"We started to but-("Bark!") ("Bark!")

"Is that a dog?"

Harry took a deep breath, "Caroline, I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, it is, we were playing in the park and-!" Her cousin and her boyfriend took turns telling her the whole story. By the time they were done, Caroline had a poker face.

"I can't say that I approve Harry, but I'm not Mom. We'll see what she has to say whether he can spend the night or not. In the meantime, let me meet this handsome mutt"

"Hey!" said Tyler.

Coming down the hallway Caroline opened the door and practically gushed over his beautiful black fur and soft brown eyes. After a few seconds the dog seemed to take a liking to her too. Allowing her to pet him as he sniffed her, even gave her a little lick of approval at the end.

When Sheriff Forbes came home about 7:00, dinner was already on the table.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Usually when I come home after a long day like today, there's mainly leftovers to reheat in the microwave. You guys want something, now what is it?"

Both her kids looked at each other before responding. "There's a dog in the house,"

"What?"

"When Tyler and I were playing Basketball earlier, we came across one trapped in the sticker bushes. We freed it and I guess it chose to follow us home. Please Cousin Liz, just let him stay one night? Then we'll figure out what to do in the morning. We cleaned him up really good, he could be someone's pet. With the way he was interacting with us but he had no ID on him."

The Sheriff sighed, "Let me see him…"

...

It didn't take long before Liz, like her daughter was instantly won over.

"He can stay for a week, by then we'll know what to do. In the meantime, I am going to make a call with the Vet Monday Morning and see if we can get him in."

The Dog's ears went back at that.

Sunday came and left, all day long that dog seemed to be faithfully following Harry everywhere, sticking to him like glue or a…

"Hey! Why don't we call him "Shadow"? suggested Caroline at Breakfast.

"What?"

"Well we honestly can't keep calling him "The Dog". It wouldn't be right."

"Caroline, you're not supposed to name it, because if you do. You're just going to get attached. And we don't know how long he'll be here. Besides, aren't you finding it uncomfortable?"

"Mom, I don't crave animal blood. It's not even appealing. Even when Stefan does it, there's a gag reflex that you have to fight. Plus, Harry needs a companion/ bodyguard. I can't be there all the time and he wants his independence. It's a perfect compromise. And I also think Shadow here is still young enough to learn a few new tricks."

"I'll think about it," said Liz eyeing the large dog as he gobbled up the leftover chicken breasts in the dish. She had to admit though; he did seem very attached to Harry. She'd even caught him sleeping at the foot of the boy's bed the last two nights, rather than the prepared "bed" in the kitchen.

Going to the Vet was an interesting experience. Shadow did not like it very much, especially when it came to the shots and the thermometer. While driving there, the sheriff, had made up her mind. Shadow was going to stay and serve her surrogate son. So, they now would have two pets in the house, a bird and a dog. She just hoped Harry would continue to be responsible. Liz was very subtle in her announcement, she paid to additionally have him microchipped at the Vet and stopped by the pet store to get Shadow a collar and other supplies. She chose red to match his fur and golden and sliver tags. Letting the dog walk into the house ahead of her.

Harry was overjoyed at the news and drifted off to sleep that night, softly petting his fur. Shadow however was wide awake as his mind attempted to catch up with what had happened these last few days, this entire year actually. See, Shadow had another name he went by: "Sirius Black!"

Yes, the very one Ron had warned him about in his howler. But he didn't know the real story at the time, hardly anyone in the world did.

Sirius was never a follower of Voldemort. He never betrayed the Potters. That was all Wormtail-! Peter Pettigrew's doing. Sirius had been framed when he went after Peter upon discovering the truth. And paid the price for it, twelve years in Azkaban!

He'd broken out, almost a year ago when he saw a picture of Wormtail in his Animagus form on the front page of the Daily Prophet. He was Ronald Weasley's pet rat "Scabbers." Sirius nearly laughed at the irony.

He was a pet now himself. But the difference is he loved his boy and would protect him with his life, just like he promised James. He was finally getting the chance to do what he should have done.

Granted, it wasn't ideal. But a definite improvement over his last living quarters. At least two square meals a day, not counting a few snacks in-between. A warm place to sleep, and a seemingly "loving" family, with a job to be with his godson.

It appeared his luck was finally starting to turn for the better.

At the beginning of the month he'd finally caught up with the rat, reunited with Remus and learned the answer as to why Harry wasn't at Hogwarts from his friends. Snevilus then busted him just as Remus turned into a werewolf. Causing Pettigrew to escape once again. Hermione surprised him using a time turner to free Buckbeak and himself from their impending execution. Before finally letting it slip as to where Harry was, and that it might be a good place to hide. He had never been more grateful that she had, even if he had fallen off Buckbeak into the sticker bushes.

But that had brought him to Harry.

The boy wasn't quite what he'd been expecting as far as looks. He'd remembered making a bet with James and Lily that Harry would need glasses eventually, but he didn't wear them. Making Lily's features a little more pronounced in his face. Though after watching Harry in the bathroom yesterday morning, he soon discovered the answer.

Tiny glasses, the size of your eyeball? What brilliant Geniuses some muggles were! Then again, he had been very fond of Muggle creations ever since the motorcycle.

One thing was for certain, this "Mystic Falls" was sure a fascinating place to be.

Already in Harry's small group of new friends there were a few of muggles, even a witch, a werewolf and vampires that all worked together. His favorite Vampire by far was Caroline, and it wasn't just because she was easy on the eyes.

He wondered what Remus would say if he knew that here in America, vampires and werewolves could date each other.

Yeah, he'd spotted Caroline and Tyler heavily making out on the way up the stairs. It was an interesting world he was living in. Licking Harry's face before stretching out he thought yawning:

('Night Pup, I'll see you in the morning. When my "Training" begins…)