"How many books did you buy?" Ron asked as he watched Hermione open her beaded back and skillfully slide a large stack of books inside.
"Just a few," Hermione said. "Rose has been really interested in Runes lately, so I picked her up some beginner translation books. And Hugo's been into all of the new plants Neville has been bringing by, so I thought he might like some Herbology books to look through."
"She's not going to be happy until our children have read the entire inventory of Flourish and Blotts," Ron muttered to Harry.
"Now then," Hermione said, closing her bag. "Where did Lily and Hugo get off to?"
"They're up there," Harry said, pointing to the two six-year olds, who were looking into a nearby store window.
"Well we need to head back to the Burrow, soon," Hermione said, looking at her watch. "Molly said dinner would be ready by seven."
"Hopefully the older kids will be done with their Quidditch match by then," Ron said as the three walked towards the children. "So Lil and Hugo won't be upset about not being able to join in yet. Smart idea taking them out shopping, Hermione, though I reckon you just wanted an excuse to buy more books."
"Oh hush," Hermione said, rolling her eyes as they reached the children, who were peering into Magical Menagerie. "Alright, you two, are you ready to go back to the Burrow? Grandmum is probably waiting on us to serve dinner."
"Look at all the animals, mum," Hugo said, pointing to the various breeds of owls, cats, dogs, and amphibians roaming around the store.
"Yes, I see,' Hermione smiled. "You know, this is the store where I bought Crookshanks. Do you remember that, Ron?"
"Thing jumped on my face, that's rather hard to forget," Ron muttered darkly.
"Daddy, look at all the dogs!" Lily said, turning to her father. "Aren't they cute?"
"Very cute, Lily," Harry chuckled.
"I like that puppy right there," Lily said, pointing to a large, black dog who was pawing at her through the window. "And he likes me too."
"Does he now?" Harry asked, amused.
"Yes, I think so," Lily nodded seriously. "But I think all of the other dogs have been mean to him. Look at his ears; they're all scratched up."
"She's right," Ron commented, looking at the dog, who indeed had several healed scars along his ears and snout."
"Poor thing," Hermione sighed. "You know, this store really should have better conditions for these animals. I reckon if I go into the office tomorrow, I can start the process to have a piece of legislation passed that would improve the living standards at stores like this."
"Course you could," Ron said, smiling fondly at his wife.
"Daddy," Lily said. "How come the other dogs were mean to him?"
"Oh, I-I don't know, Lils," Harry frowned. "Maybe the dogs were just playing around and things got out of hand."
"No, because none of the other dogs have any marks on them," Lily said shrewdly, looking around the pet store.
"Smart kid," Ron said. "Wonder where she gets that from…"
"Oh, well, then I don't know what happened to him, Lily," Harry said, choosing to ignore Ron's comment. "But come on, we need to get going back to the Burrow."
"No!" Lily said. "Daddy, we can't leave Muffin here! He could get hurt even worse!"
"Muffin?" Harry repeated.
"That's his name," Lily nodded. "Because his fur is the same color as the chocolate muffins that grandmum makes that I love so much."
"She named it?" Ron said. "Uh-oh…"
"Lily, I know you're upset about the dog-"
"Muffin," Lily corrected her father.
"Er, sorry, Muffin," Harry said. "But there's nothing we can do right now."
"Yes there is," Lily said. "We can take Muffin home with us!"
"Oh, um, we-we can't do that," Harry said quickly.
"Why not?" Lily asked innocently.
"Because, you-your mum would just about kill me if I let you come home with a dog," Harry said. "Especially one that big."
"But daddy, he's hurt!" Lily said. "He needs someone to take care of him! Please, daddy?"
"Lily," Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, but the answer is no. I'm not getting you a dog."
Lily looked down at her feet and let out a soft sigh. "Okay, daddy…Can I say goodbye to Muffin, though?"
"Er, sure," Harry nodded.
Lily turned back to the window, where Muffin the dog was still pawing sadly at her.
"I'm sorry, Muffin, but my daddy says you can't come home with me," Lily said in a shaky voice. "I wish you could, though, because I would love you so much and we'd be best friends."
"I thought I was your best friend," Hugo frowned.
"You're my best human friend," Lily said. "But I can have best friends who aren't human too. Everybody needs best friends, even animals."
"She's really trying to break you, isn't she?" Ron whispered to Harry. "That's probably the sweetest thing I've ever heard."
Harry sighed. "She's as crafty as her mother…"
"Anyway," Lily said, turning back to Muffin. "I have to go now, but I hope even though I have to leave you behind, you'll always remember me. I'll always remember you, Muffin."
Harry ran his fingers through his hair, watching a single tear fall from his daughter's eye as she blew a kiss to the dog through the glass.
"Alright, daddy," Lily sniffed, turning towards him. "I suppose we should go now. I don't want to make this harder on Muffin than it has to be."
"Um, alright, er, Lily, look," Harry said. "I-I suppose if you promise to look after Muffin and take good care of him…we-we can buy him."
"Really?" Lily gasped, her eyes widening. "We can?"
"Yes," Harry nodded weakly. "We can."
"Thank you, daddy!" Lily beamed, throwing her arms around her father. "You're the best! Hugo, come on! Let's go inside and tell Muffin the good news in person!"
"Harry..." Hermione said as the children raced into the store. "You do realize Ginny's going to be furious with you."
"Well what was he supposed to do? You heard that performance," Ron snickered. "Bloke took down the Darkest wizard in history but crumples in the face of a six-year old."
"Oh like you're any better with Rose," Hermione said, shaking her head. "She has you wrapped around her finger just like Lily does with Harry."
"Hey, Lily does not have me wrapped around her finger," Harry defended.
"She just charmed a dog out of you," Hermione said, amused.
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but found that he had no response.