Chapter 26: A Little More Hatchet Burial

With an Alsatian who seemed fairly affable to his supposed master – Krait having returned him to that form with some fairly pointed instructions about what to watch for while she did it so he could maybe learn for himself – she relaxed somewhat. Sirius would soon sniff out anyone after Harry. More to be concerned about was Hagrid's disappearance and his replacement by Madam Grubbly-Plank. Krait enjoyed the lesson with the new teacher; they had the chance to see unicorns up close.

"So beautiful…how could he kill one?" murmured Krait to Hermione

"Who?" Hermione was shocked.

"My father….Severus got out of him that he sustained himself with unicorn blood and snake venom…weirdo"

"I thought your soul was cursed if you hurt a unicorn" said Hermione.

"So it is my dear.." Professor Grubbly-Plank overheard. "It is a terrible thing to do…only the most desperate would do it, for unicorn blood can bring someone back from the brink of death. But to kill so beautiful and defenceless a creature leads to a cursed half life."

"What if someone just took blood? Without intent to seriously or permanently harm? Couldn't that be done for St Mungos?" asked Krait.

The Professor shook her head.

"No unicorn would permit it…they are too shy."

Krait looked thoughtful; and spent a long time studying the shape of the unicorns and listening to everything the professor said.

Harry poked the Daily Prophet at them as they came away from class.

It had a nasty article about Hagrid in it, lambasting Professor Dumbledore for employing someone so dangerous as a half giant and making nasty insinuations. Crabbe and Goyle had complained how scared all the pupils were of Hagrid.

"Draco gave it to me" Harry nodded to his new friend.

"That Skeeter woman – the reporter – you know she's an animagus?" said Draco.

"IS she? What of?" asked Krait.

"Beetle…she wanted me to give her information….I said I was not likely to indulge the morbid taste of the proletariat for half lies and scandal about my school….I thought that was almost worthy of Snape…"

"It's not half bad" said Krait. "Beetle, eh? So that's how she finds things out….she flies in and lurks on vegetation literally bugging people. Wonder how she'd like to live out her life as a button."

"I thought that was against your principles?" said Hermione

"For Skeeter I might make an exception…that was pretty decent of you Draco, you don't like Hagrid."

"I guess I like you more than I don't like Hagrid…and you seem to get on with him well enough…and he does support Harry and that's more or less our mission in life, isn't it? Protect Harry, kill Fishface restore er….."

"Restore order to the universe. It is your destiny, search your feelings you know it to be true" supplied Krait. "Good one. Is she registered?"

"I don't think so."

"Hah!" said Hermione. "Then we have her….a little subtle, no, make that unsubtle blackmail. We'll have to talk Hagrid into coming back….Dumbledore would never sack him."

"This one's a better teacher" said Draco, regretfully. "Hagrid really is dreadful"

"The trouble with Hagrid" said Krait "Is that he knows a tremendous amount but he's not that great at imparting it….plus he has a thing about dangerous creatures."

"Yes, it would have been worse if she'd been able to write about those blasted skrewts" said Harry with feeling. "Those Pekes of yours are still after her legs whenever they see her."

"Good, it worked" gloated Krait. "I put a kind of compulsion on them to find her smell very attractive for peeing against….they're very nearly as offensive as the skrewts you know, Fang is terrified of them."

"What's new about that?" scoffed Ron. "Fang's terrified of nearly everything."

"Poor Fang….he's yet to meet Wolf…" grinned Krait.

"Wolf?" asked Draco.

"You really are on our side?" Harry asked tersely.

"Yes"

"He's my Godfather….Sirius Black. And before you create, he was framed for murder by Peter Pettigrew himself who's still alive and serving Fishface."

Draco's eyes grew wide.

"Harry! How could you betray Padfoot to a Malfoy?" Ron was horrified.

"It's not a betrayal…trust has to begin somewhere. I've got to take Draco at his word" said Harry. "If we go through this without trust we'll be no better than the enemy, where every Deatheater is ready to snitch up any other to their master to gain better position and think nothing of doing each other down. We're not like that I trust?"

"I'd have liked to see him prove himself a bit more" grumbled Ron.

"I'm not inordinately fond of you, either, Weasley" said Draco.

"Gentlemen, time out please" said Krait. "We can all work together, that is what is important…We're all slightly jealous of Ron for his fantastic family and his really happy home life, but I for one do not intend to let it interfere with my friendships. Right people?"

Draco shot her a look.

"Right" he said. The other boys muttered agreement. Hermione gave Krait a very searching look indeed; which Krait met blandly.

"What was that about jealousy of Ron?" she asked Krait in the girls' loo.

"I am a little…Draco would be if he knew what real families could be like… I bet Harry would give his right arm to be part of it…Neville has no family life with his strict grandma…you're okay I guess but the rest of us are from dysfunctional backgrounds and vary from the weird to the downright basket cases" said Krait. "Ron's so normal he's abnormal; but he doesn't appreciate it the way he ought to just because his family's not very well off and that's all he sees next to Harry and Draco. He needs an ego boost."

"You're quite devious really, aren't you?" said Hermione.

"It's taken this long to figure that out? I thought you were the cleverest witch of the age" grinned Krait. Hermione blushed.

"You still manage to surprise me….you manage them very well."

"Easy-peasy…I used to have charge of six assorted mixed infants" said Krait. "Handling the simple minds of teenage boys is a doddle by comparison….shoo" she swatted at a stray doxie.

"Be careful, their bite is poisonous" said Hermione.

Krait giggled.

"So's mine!" she said.

-/-

Ron, Hermione and Harry made an abortive attempt to see Hagrid; but he refused to talk to them.

"Leave it to Dumbledore" advised Krait. "SHE might throw aspersions on his abilities but we know he's well clever." She knew that if Harry, Hagrid's closest friend, couldn't get to see him, nobody but Dumbledore could.

"I've a few plans for Rita Skeeter" said Hermione, grimly. "Are you lot coming into Hogsmeade in case we can run into her?"

"Not me" said Krait. "The babes are still too nervous of people to take them into the village; and I'd not abandon them on a Saturday. We'll be taking Wolf for a walk on the downs, he could do with a good run and the chance to get out. Though it would have been quite fun to have got HIM to anoint her legs" she added wistfully.

"I'm not sure he would" said Harry, seriously.

"I thought he liked Hagrid?" said Krait.

"Oh. Yeah, there is that. Look, should we take him into town?"

"Not as much fun for him….why don't the three of you take him for a walk tomorrow? He can slip into a more comfortable shape and so long as you get me to put him back it should be fine….the girls will wonder too if there's a change of plan."

-/-

Sirius seemed to enjoy the chance to have a good run on the moors; he had been accompanying the small group on their morning runs – Hermione having had her way despite Ron's grumbles – but he had more chance to roam here. The little girls, well wrapped against the cold with Lucius Malfoy's money, ran about laughing; they were starting to get healthy roses to their pale cheeks. Krait slipped her hand into Severus' as soon as they were out of sight of the school. He kissed her lightly.

"Life is good" he said, half wonderingly.

"It is….carpe diem as they say, though with my mother's surname that could have two meanings…seize the Day…."

"You are incorrigible…I love you. How's Harry doing with the second task, the egg?"

Krait grinned.

"I think he's decided to be sensible…he keeps lying about how well he's doing with it, but I don't think he's touched it since he first opened it. That Skeeter woman is an unregistered animagus, a beetle….Hermione was talking blackmail and creating an unbreakable jar. She's a real danger. Could she be one of HIS agents or is she just poisonous on her own?"

"I think she's just poisonous on her own….never mind her for now, love. If Miss Granger is determined to deal with her she'll be dealt…Hermione Granger is a resourceful and determined young woman and quite frighteningly clever."

"True" Krait brightened. "Let's steal this day for ourselves while everyone else is in Hogsmeade and forget about school, Fishface, and everything."

He laughed.

"Wonderful idea!"

-/-

Sirius found the conversations between Krait and Severus highly revealing as they had clearly forgotten him; they gave him a lot to ponder. Also what conversations he had with the little girls – or rather the monologues they addressed to him.

Lydia had run back to Severus and Krait, slipping a hand into each and was crowing with delight as they swung her intermittently between them.

Jade smiled approvingly on her little sister and threw a stick for Sirius, which he retrieved; and not feeling like a protracted game insisted on carrying.

"You know, Wolf, I think it's going to be easy for Lydia from now on" Jade confided. "She doesn't really remember Mummy, so she's happy to call Krait Mummy as well as calling Severus Daddy. I'd like to call him Daddy but I still remember HIM and how he hit Mummy until she just lay still and didn't move any more…I was too young then to understand but now I know he murdered her…..if he came here to take us away, he'd hit Severus-Daddy. But then, he's a wizard….do you think he'd be able to turn HIM into a toad or something and use him in a potion?"

Sirius wagged a reassuring tail. He scarcely thought that Severus would have any trouble handling a muggle, however violent.

Jade went on,

"Krait says that she'll deal with HIM. I think she's going to kill him. I certainly hope so."

Sirius found that chilling. A babe her age shouldn't know about such things; but having seen her father murder her mother….

"It's a bit like having a real family like you read about in books" said Jade. "Book families often have dogs, like the Famous Five. George has a dog, and she has parents, and her Daddy is a bit like Severus-Daddy, he spends a lot of time reading and researching and stuff and he barks at people who disturb him….but Severus-Daddy never barks at Lydia and me, he always finds time. That's what being a real Daddy is about, isn't it?" she appealed to Sirius who wagged his tail again. "I could almost think you understood me" said Jade. "I think I shall start to call him Daddy properly. It would make Lydia more comfortable if I called Krait Mummy, but I don't think I can just yet. I think I'll try and not call her anything while I wait for it to be more comfortable…..I guess my mummy would be glad we've got someone to love us now…..I love you too, Wolf, of course, but it's not the same as Mummys and Daddys" she hugged him. Sirius felt quite choked up and dropped his stick to give her a big lick. It was all he could do in this form. Jade did his ears. "And one day I shall win a Triwizard competition like Harry is going to and make them extra proud of me" she said firmly. She threw his stick for him again and Sirius had perforce to collect it.