A/N: Just a heads up, I've noticed there are many different interpretations of Sirius's personality/behavior. In some stories he's goofy and daft, in others he's broody and has anger issues, in one story he was a lunatic with no sense of morale. So just keep in mind that if you don't like the way I wrote his character, there are many other stories on here that could be exactly what you're looking for.
With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter.
June 28th (Monday), 1993
No.201 Brackendale Road, Camberley, England
"I even set my alarm, Ebony! How in Merlin's name didn't it go…oh." Roxana reached for her most hated item, the small white alarm clock that screeched like a banshee, and saw that she'd never pressed the "set" button. The time was currently twelve and the train left at twelve twenty. She rushed to her suitcase and began sorting through the mountain of clothing, trying to find something clean.
Alas, she found a cream t-shirt with the black faded logo, Hard Rock Cafe, and a pair of black ripped jean shorts. Matched with her black tie up sandals, she did a cat eye and applied mascara in record time before she quickly grabbed her purse and rushed out the empty house.
"Roxana!" A voice carried across the neighboring lawn and Roxana quickly finished locking the door before making her way across in order to greet Ted Tonks.
"Morning. How are you, Ted?" She grinned realizing he was probably starting on another one of his "house projects." First it had been the birdhouse in the backyard, then it'd been the koi fish pond that unfortunately, didn't house any fish, and now it looked like he was in the process of planting a… rose garden?
"I'm fine, just dandy. How was your trip to Romania?" He placed a dirt covered shovel on the ground and took off his gardening gloves.
"It was nice seeing the family, but I'm glad to be back in England." She shrugged and worried her lip at the thought of running the mile it took to the train station.
"And where are you headed?"
She smiled shyly. "The train station and then to Little Whinging. Um... the train leaves in eleven minutes, so I really must be..."
"Nonsense, I'll drive you there." Unknown to the man, Andromeda had stepped out of the house, waved to Roxana and was currently mimicking her husband's words with her hands on her hips. She rolled her eyes in amusement as he finished. "By the time you get the car out of the garage, her train would have already left, Ted."
"Good God, woman!" Ted ran his hand through his hair as his wife stepped past him and the large pile of dirt that blocked the stone path.
She embraced her daughters friend and guided her into the house.
"How about we catch up and I'll apparate you to Little Whinging around one?"
"That'd be perfect, Mrs. Tonks."
"It's Andromeda, please. I swear, Ted's mother was truly a witch of a woman. I don't like being reminded of that bitch."
Roxana chuckled as she hung her purse on an empty hook in the entry way.
"I'll be out with tea and cookies in a minute. Make yourself comfortable, Roxana."
Little Whinging train station, Surrey
1:12pm
"Thanks again for dropping me off. I'll see you on Sunday. Say hello to Dora for me." Roxana told the witch who'd be stopping by the Ministry of Magic on her way back.
"Not a problem. I can't wait to surprise Nymphadora on her lunch break. Oh, be careful and always look behind you. Are you sure you don't want me to apparate you on the way back?"
"I'm sure, Andromeda." Roxana smiled as the witch apparated from the train station. Apparently, Tonks hadn't written to her mother in over a week, so it was of Andromeda's utmost importance to "surprise her at work." She considered sending her friend a quick note of warning, but decide against it, in eager anticipation of Dora's reaction.
Checking her watch and noticing she still had a good hour before meeting her friend, she decided to call up Hermione. The girl's current number and schedule was still fresh in Roxana's mind, thanks to the letter she'd received the day before.
She began looking for a phone booth. Making it to Magnolia Road, she saw a sign with a phone depiction, pointing towards the street parallel, Magnolia Crescent Boulevard.
Roxana made her way down the narrow road. The street came at a dead end where the park began. But due to the small size of the drug store building, there was a semi darkened area in front of it; a useless parking lot, perhaps. Useless since the phone booth blocked half the entry from the street, not to mention it was only big enough for say, two cars. The drugstore probably couldn't even be seen from where the street started.
Right next to the park entrance, was her destination, but as Roxana passed the drug store, something stopped her in her path.
On the small sidewalk, stood a middle aged, immaculately dressed man in a suit, tie, briefcase and all… kicking a man in the ribs, wearing loose ragged clothing and sitting down. She was frozen in her spot as she watched the one sided fight transpire. The apparent homeless man wasn't doing anything to protect himself.
As she stared on with a frightened deer in the headlights expression, unable to look away, the businessman put all the force he had behind an aimed kick to the man's lower sternum. A sharp gasp left her, echoing loudly in the empty space. The bastard turned his head to look at her, apparently coming to his senses before looking back at the man on the ground.
"Scum like you don't deserve to live." With that he stalked in her direction, in the direction of the narrow road. He spit in front of her feet, fixed his jacket and disappeared onto the main street.
She was finding it difficult to breathe, her vision blurring with unshed tears of disgust. The man was hunched over his knees, his head buried so that she couldn't see his face or the pain he was in.
Swaying slightly, she rushed into the drug store, grabbed a basket and began throwing anything that looked worthy. Two large bags of crisps, a four pack water box, three Cadbury chocolate bars, a bag of chocolate biscuits, a box of bandages, a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and a large Beatles logo shirt were all the items she picked up before making her way to the cash register. Eyeing the contents on the counter, grabbing two small miniature bottles of vodka and a red plastic lighter she took out her wallet.
"I'll also have a pack of Marlboros." The old, greying man at the counter didn't even blink as he passed her the desired product and took her money without any small talk. Roxana looked anxiously out the store window as she took the receipt. He's still there. Good.
She didn't ask where the bathroom was, instead followed the sign. Locking the door and grimacing at the stench in the small space, she placed the plastic bag on the sink and began searching in her purse.
Last year, when she'd ventured into the popular Diagon Alley apothecary for Dreamless Sleep potion, Ginny had spotted a first aid kit filled with vials of the most common and useful potions. Being the best friend of two very adventurous redheads, she instantly saw it's potential, hence buying the kit to keep on her at all times.
Breathing frantically, she found one of the vodka bottles that held the same amount of volume as the vials, unscrewed the cap and threw the contents back. The burning liquid calmed her beating heart as she opened the vial holding a bone mending potion.
The reason she'd gasped earlier, during the fight, was due to the crack she'd heard on the last kick. His ribs must have broken. She poured the potion into the vodka bottle and screwed the cap as tightly as she could.
I'm breaking so, so many laws right now. She repeated the process, this time replacing the vodka with pain potion. The potion vials would appear unlabeled to muggles, hence the reason why Roxana was doing this, aware that even a homeless person would think twice before drinking an unmarked liquid. She desperately hoped he would drink them. The potion would be in effect the moment he swallowed. If he took the bone mending potion first, the taste would most likely make him question the next bottle's contents, but his ribs would be fixed. If he took the pain potion first, all his pain would disappear and perhaps prompt him to drink the other bottle as well. Either way, he would live another day.
Hastily leaving the store, she slowly approached the man that hadn't moved an inch since she'd left. Holding her breath as she approached him closer, Roxana placed the cigarette box and lighter down as a sort of peace treaty.
He didn't budge. Frowning, she took a better look at him. Long black matted hair fell down his broad back in tangles. Tattooed fingers held his legs in a death grip, but she couldn't help admire the intricate details. He was filthy though, very filthy.
How long have you been on the streets? Roxana sighed and placed the plastic bag filled with her small offerings next to the cigarettes. She pulled away after taking a second to make sure she could hear his heart beating and see his slow intake of breath.
Standing straight, Roxana whispered a small phrase of encouragement, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." Sure it was cliche, but it seemed like the perfect thing to say. She then turned and walked towards the phone booth, trying with all her might not to appear affected by anything that had transpired in the last twenty minutes.
"Bonjour, Hermione." Roxana said when her friends voice answered at the end of the line. She leaned on the glass booth, facing the park, and tried once more to close the damn door, but the hinge was broken off.
"Roxana! I'm so glad your calling! How are you?" She chuckled at the pure joy behind the familiar voice.
"I'm alright." She twirled the phone wire around her fingers as excitement overtook her.
"Actually, I'm in Little Whinging right now."
"Mon dieu, you're going to see…"
"To see Harry James Potter. Yes, of course. I saw him yesterday, too." Roxana bit her lip to stop herself from grinning.
"How was he? Where his glasses broken? His glasses are always broken."
She laughed into the phone, "...And his hair never stays down. But no, his glasses where fine."
"How'd you get in the house? Did his aunt let you in?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Tell me!"
"I climbed up to his window."
"What?!"
"Uhuh. We both know how much his relatives hate magic," She whispered the word, "and I really don't want him getting in trouble because of me."
"Those… those ugh! I mean you're bringing him food! For Merlin's sake! Was he being fed?"
"He said he was. I kind of wish the Weasleys were in the country so he could spend at least half the summer with Molly's cooking." Roxana put more coins in the machine, just in case.
"At least he's got you." She heard Hermione sigh on the other side of the phone.
Roxana bit her lip debating her thoughts. "Want to know a secret?"
"What is it?"
"When I turn eighteen I'm going to adopt him just to get him out of there. I know he doesn't need my help and he'll only have two more years left of Hogwarts, but those people are awful."
"That's a wonderful gesture… but you have to be married or twenty one to adopt in England."
"Fucking hell… I'll just have to get married." Her Gryffindor persistence was making an appearance.
Hermione chuckled, "To whom?"
She gave up, "I don't know." Her plan was apparently not going to work. Damn it, it was such a good idea.
Hermione changed topics. "What happened with the guy in your letter? Why didn't you get along with him?"
"Demetri, started telling me what I should and shouldn't do with my life."
"Like…?"
"He wants me to transfer to Durmstrang just because he's worried about me."
"Because of Black?"
"Yes, because of Sirius Black, who else?"
"Well, he is dangerous."
"That doesn't mean I should pack up my things and leave England!"
"I guess you're right."
Roxana just sighed in response.
"Just watch yourself okay?"
"You know, you're probably the tenth or so person who's told me that."
"Well... you are gallivanting around England by yourself. To be honest, bad things are attracted to you almost as much as they are to Harry."
"Thanks for the truly enlightening pep talk, Hermione."
"I'm sorry. It's just that you seem to be taking the whole state of things a bit lightly."
"I won't lock myself away until this whole thing blows over. I have things to do and people to see. He doesn't even have a wand. I'd like to think that my chances of survival are in my favor."
"You can barely even lift your own owl cage up, Roxana!"
She reddened, remembering that awkward moment in the common room.
"How many people are there in England?"
"Uh…" Hermione didn't know at the top of her head.
"A lot. The chance of me, Roxana Constantin of meeting Sirius Black are one in a million. Or something like that."
"Alright... fine, you have a point."
"Thank you."
"So how's your homework…" Hermione was interrupted by screech on Roxana's end. "What!"
A big black dog had come running out of the park entrance and the sudden unexpected movement caused Roxana to jump. The dog came walking towards her looking friendly enough, so she didn't feel the need to budge. Instead she said the first thing that came into her mind with an evil smirk on her face.
"It's Sirius Black," she whispered in a frightened tone. She winked towards the dog as it stopped at her words.
"What!?" The poor girl screamed through the phone.
"I'm only joking with you. Sorry, I just couldn't resist." She laughed joyfully, the sound echoed in the phone booth and the dog let his tongue drop as he panted from the summer heat.
"Roxana!" Hermione whined in amusement.
"Blame the twins." She shrugged.
"So what did scare you this time?"
"A dog. And he looks to be a stray?" She tilted her head as she phrased the question, her attention falling on the topic of discussion.
The dog had no collar and his fur wasn't neatly groomed. She opened the phone booth door completely and sat down with her legs on the pavement. The dog stood a few feet away from her as though wishing to respect her space.
"A dog, really?!" Hermione giggled through the phone. Roxana's eyes widened when she thought she saw the dog nod. I only drank two shots of vodka!
"Hermione, I might be going crazy. I think the dog just nodded."
"Maybe he's smart. I read that kneazles are really intelligent animals in the Wizarding world."
"Are you a smart boy?" She asked the large black dog. It nodded. "He said… yes."
"Well, ask him something else." Hermione prompted her.
Roxana tilted her head, "Do you belong to anyone?" It shook its head. "Nope." She whispered in the phone.
"Go on." The third year was beginning to get more and more curious. She backtracked a bit, "You're not pranking me again are you?"
Roxana frowned and pouted, "Will you bark for my friend?" Her mouth fell open when it did as she wanted.
"Maybe the dog is your familiar. I just finished a book on them. You remember how I said I wanted a cat right?"
"Yup." Roxana was barely listening to a word her friend was saying as she stared at the dog with a look of fascination. "Are you a girl?"
"What… oh, you were asking the dog." Hermione chuckled and put a few extra coins in the hotel phone, just so she could be entertained a while longer.
The dog shook its head. "It's a boy." Roxana told her friend.
"How old is he?"
"I really don't think he'd be able to answer that, Herm…" Her mouth fell open when the dog brushed his right paw, five times, against the pavement, "what the actual… he says he's five."
"How much is that in human years?" Hermione asked.
Roxana narrowed her eyes on her nails, her grandparents used to have a dog. "Maybe like twenty five?" She had no clue, but the dog did. He shook his head.
"Forty?" He looked offended and shook his head more forcefully. "Thirty four?" The dog's eyes widened and he nodded.
"He's older than you." Hermione said matter of factually.
"Thanks for the obvious, Sherlock." Roxana rolled her eyes.
"Ask him something else."
"Will you bite me?" He shook his head, it almost looked like he was frowning. "Would you hurt me?" The dog leaned his head on his front paws and whimpered before shaking his head.
"Then come closer so I can pet you." She held out her left hand and waited. Hesitantly he nudged her palm with his head, before sitting down next to her and wagging his tail.
"What's does he look like?"
"He has…" She gently turned the dogs head, "grey eyes and black fur. And he's freaking huge. He's very skinny, though." How haven't I noticed? His rib cage could be seen. "Hmm." She was worrying her lip as she scratched behind his ear.
"Are you going to keep him?"
Roxana sighed, "My mom doesn't like animals."
"Doesn't matter, he could wait by the train station and walk you to Harry's house."
She did have a point. Roxana rested her head on her bent knees, "Would you do that for me? I'll bring you food." The dog wagged his tail and leaned in more to her touch.
"You should name him." Hermione paused thinking of a name Roxana would despise, "Can you please name him Tybalt?"
Roxana chuckled and the dog whimpered and sat frowning at her, "You're kidding right? What kind of name is Tybalt?"
"What about Dracula?" Hermione bit her tongue to hide a chuckle when her friend gasped.
"You did not just suggest that. A Romanian girl... naming her dog 'Dracula.' Very original." Roxana rolled her eyes and the black dog shook his head.
"You said he won't bite." Hermione burst out laughing and Roxana followed suit.
"Hermione, you're a gem." Wiping under her eyes, she focused on the dog next to her. "How about Dante?"
"Like Dante Alighieri?" Hermione didn't know all that much about Italian literature but he was said to be the Shakespeare of the East.
"Sure. Do you like that name boy?" She asked hopefully. The dog tilted his head, stuck out his tongue and nodded.
"He's also a drama queen, Hermione."
"Too bad you can't bring him to Hogwarts."
"We'll see." Roxana grinned at her new friend, hardly believing that she was talking to a dog and that he was actually replying back.
1:58pm
After Roxana finished her conversation with Hermione, she'd gone back into the drug store and bought two medium sized bags of dog food and a bottle of water.
It didn't miss her attention that the homeless man she'd helped earlier was no longer there. She watched Dante eat one whole bag of food in the park as she dutifully hid the other bag in the bushes, knowing that she couldn't very well carry the bag around with her.
Picking up the Chinese food, teriyaki chicken this time, she made her way to Harry's house with Dante matching her every step.
"You see Dante, I'm a witch. Shocking, right? I was shocked when I found out too. Though that's a story for another time. We're here." Roxana looked up at Number Four Privet Drive.
"Now, the boy I was telling you about, Harry, is on the second floor. You're going to have to wait here. Can you do that for me?" Roxana bent down to his height and patted his head. He gave her a small "woof." Grinning she stood and caught Hedwig's attention. Harry came into view, opened the window and greeted her.
"Hey, Ana. Who's your friend?"
"This is Dante. I just met him. He's very well behaved and a genius." Roxana grinned brightly at the dog. "Try to stay hidden, okay." With that she repeated her way of getting up to Harry's room. She could hear Dante whimpering slightly the whole time as she did so and waved to him, hoping to calm his nerves when she was safely in the house.
"So you just... picked up a stray?" Harry ate a forkful of rice. He had a look of disbelief on his face, but his eyes shone with admiration. Roxana nodded as she closed the empty box of rice.
"I was speaking with Hermione in the phone booth, the one next to the park, when he just came over. Hermione and I asked him questions for a good fifteen minutes. He answered by nodding or shaking his head. Oh, and when we asked how old he was, he tapped his paw five times. He's brilliant."
Harry smiled and stuck his head out the window. The big black dog, Dante, was sitting down regally. His back was straight and his nose was pointed up towards the street.
Coming up behind Harry, leaning her upper body out the large window, she could barely hide her surprise at the overly pompous position Dante was in. He no longer looked like a dirty stray, but like a pedigree bred dog belonging to the richest of the rich.
Not having it, she teased him, "Meowwww!"
Dante's ears perked up, did that frown of his, stood up on all fours and turned his head left and right looking for the culprit.
"Do it again." Harry whispered in an amused tone.
"Meow...meow." She held out the last syllable. Secretly commending herself for being able to fool even her animagus's stereotypical enemy, Roxana smirked. Dante turned his attention up to the window and tilted his head in confusion.
Placing her pointer finger on her lips, she winked and meowed again. The dog barked softly and sat down in a much more relaxed stance.
"What are you going to do with him?" Harry asked walking back into the sunlit room.
Roxana sighed and turned away from the window crossing her arms over her chest.
"I wish I could bring him home with me. Feed him, bathe him," she chuckled, "give him a good home. But I can't because of my parents. You see, they travel a lot when I'm away, so I can see their argument. He would be sent to a shelter and locking him in a cage would be cruel."
Harry gave her a sad smile and rubbed his chin.
"I'm still going to feed him and if he behaves, I'll see if I can some how bring him to Hogwarts."
"Dog's aren't allowed, though. Are they?" Harry frowned, trying to picture the school letter they always received at the beginning of August.
"No, they aren't. But what if he stayed in the Forbidden Forest? No one would question it. He'd just be seen as a stray that wandered in from Hogsmeade."
"That's actually a really good idea. How are you going to get him there though?"
Roxana shrugged, "I'll find a way. But right now, we need to formulate a plan on how we're going to get your school things out of the cupboard downstairs."
Harry ran his hand through his hair. "Petunia is going out tomorrow… something about a tea party. Dudley is going to be home, though."
Roxana grinned evilly, "I think it's about time I met that cousin of yours, don't you think?"
7:30pm
After Roxana had climbed down from the window and said goodbye to Harry, Dante had followed her all the way back to the train station.
"Thanks boy." Taking out her ticket and the bag of dog food, even she had to admit to feeling safer with her new companion.
The day had already turned into night and not all the streets had lights. She leaned down behind a tree and poured half of the dog food out, giving him a good pat on the head before standing. "I'll see you tomorrow, Dante."
June 29th (Tuesday), 1993
No.201 Brackendale Road, Camberley, England
Hey Tonks,
How's your week going? I'll tell you about mine when I see you on Thursday. What time are you coming to pick me up? Any more news about Tony?
It's too bad that the Aurors haven't gotten any leads on Black's whereabouts.
How surprised were you when you saw your mom yesterday? I wish I could've been there.
Bye Badger,
Roxana
Roxana closed the letter, addressed the envelope and gave it to Ebony. She then began getting ready. Sorting through her closet, since she'd finally unpacked the night before, she chose a tight red v-neck top, and her favorite pair of black flared out jeans. The whole outfit hugged her curves almost too tightly, however, that was the look she was going for today. Putting on leather flip flops, and finishing the last touches to her makeup: a gold smoky eye, with liner and mascara; she then made her way to the kitchen.
She found her favorite cup all the way in the back of the cupboard before she started making the only beverage that could wake her up. Coffee is a god send.
Opening a cupboard she found the expensive rose flavored sweets she'd bought in Romania. She ate two of the flavor-able cubes, hoping to make them last as long as she could. As the microwave buzzed on, she found a muggle newspaper lying on the counter. Flipping through, searching for anything on Black and finding nothing... disappointed her greatly. Why is he so difficult to find? Not only were the muggle police helping the Aurors, but every normal person in England was surely keeping an eye out for him.
Little Whinging, Surrey
Sirius' pov
It was a bright, sunny Tuesday in Little Whinging. Children were playing in the park, their old nannies sitting dutifully on benches sharing the latest gossip, while Sirius watched from under the shade of an oak tree. A little boy with black hair, no older than four, ran passed him on the attempt of catching a butterfly.
Letting out a faint breath, Sirius wondered if Harry had ever been taken to this park when he was young. Probably not.
A low growl left his throat at the mere thought of Lily's sister. How dare she not feed him? Care for him? Anger, getting the better of him, he shook his head forcefully to get the ideas out of his head.
A flash of red at the park entrance caught his attention. He blinked twice, filling with dread.
He'd forgotten to wait for the witch from yesterday at the train station. Roxana Constantin the girl who, in his mind, deserved all the good things in the world.
She'd given him, the human him, a bag of gold necessities that were currently hidden in a bush. Even going as far as cleverly replacing vodka with healing potions, which he recognized the scent of immediately.
Whatever her motives were for helping him by risking a trip for questioning at the Ministry, he was thankful. Once he'd realized she was a witch, he'd made his way over to her, regretting it completely now, with the plan of stealing her wand. Hearing her say Harry's name had stopped him in his tracks. She was going to see him, see how his boy was doing… if he was alright. She was going to bring him food because the people responsible for taking care of him where morons.
After that, the conversation took a turn that made him wince; they talked about him. Of the convicted murder the world thought he was. Though, blocking most of it out, her persistence had been admirable and he smirked at the irony. "The chance of me, Roxana Constantin meeting Sirius Black are one in a million." She had been the one in a million, unknowingly, of course.
Frightening her by accident, he was surprised by her kindness. Forgo mentioning the fact that big black dogs were a stereotype for the Grim, even Sirius had to admit his animagus could be down right scary. Though she hadn't seemed bothered by the fact, and had playfully began asking him questions. He'd recognized the possible benefit of seeing his pup if he befriended her, so he answered truthfully.
He knew he'd have to work for it. Who'd want to pick up a random stray? But then she asked him shyly if he'd wait for her at the train station and walk with her to Harry's and for the first time in a very, very long time he felt hope.
The more the day went by, the more he found himself liking the witch; not viewing her as just a way to get to Harry anymore. She'd bought him doggy food and given him enough to last a normal fed dog at least a week. Must have seen my ribs. She'd even named him, for Merlin's sake. Dante, was nice; Tybalt, reminded him of Snivellus. Nerdy as she was, he noticed she did have a playful streak.
She'd meowed a couple of times and he could've sworn to Godric it'd been a real feline. Not to mention her freaking awesome way of getting up to the Harry's room. Sirius wondered what lead her to obtain the ease and grace of climbing a brick wall. Did they force students to climb up to the Astronomy tower now or was she secretly a rebel?
Eyeing her from across the park he concluded she was the latter. At least she was dressed the part: black choker, leather boots and purse and messy hair. Taking his pity on the girl that was obviously searching for him, he slowly walked over with a confident and joyful stride.
His path was intercepted when, out of nowhere, a random kid, a little brunette dressed in the frilliest, pinkest dress he'd ever laid unfortunate eyes on, barged into his destination.
Roxana fell right on her bum, wincing, and looking eye to eye level with the kid.
"Sorry," the little pip squeak didn't sound anything close to being even remotely apologetic and leaned in to get a good look at Roxana. "Lady are you a princess?"
Sirius bit his tongue to keep out a bark of a laugh as the witch's eyes widened.
"Ah...no. I'm more like… the good witch." She carefully got up from the ground giving the young child a smile.
"But you're not ugly and where's your wand?" The child crossed her arms over her chest looking very doubtful. Roxana's mouth fell open and she didn't even blink when her eyes landed on him.
"Um… thanks? But you see… the evil witches are the green ones that turn into dragons." Sirius, thinking fast, brought a stick over to her.
"And here's my wand." Roxana bit her lip trying not to laugh. She patted Dante's head.
"Aren't witches supposed to have cats? Not dogs?" Sirius frowned at the obvious unjust stereotype.
"They can if they choose." Roxana grinned at him and rubbed his ear.
"Do you ride a broom?"
This was Roxana's moment to frown, "I don't like it very much."
"Yeah, it seems scary." The girl nodded.
"Are you supposed to be Aurora? From Sleeping Beauty?"
"I wanted to be Cinderella, but mother couldn't find a blue dress."
"I see. Well, run off and find your prince, sweetie. You wouldn't want to miss him talking to me, now would you?"
"Bleh! Boys are disgusting!" She held out the last word with a look of horror on her face.
Roxana chuckled, "I completely understand." Sirius stuck his tongue back in his mouth.
"You do?"
"Of course. Princes are silly and foolish. They don't have manners and forget to act like gentlemen." She leaned in to whisper in the little girl's ear. "Kings however, are a totally different story."
Sirius grinned like a fool when the eight or so year old, pressed her eyes shut and shook her head forcefully, her straight hair getting messed up in the process. Realizing it was a very not princess like thing to do, she stopped and first opened one eye before opening them both. "So you're a queen and a witch?"
Roxana laughed cheerfully and didn't answer the question, "And you are a very adorable princess. Come on, Dante."
Following her out of the park and being awarded with food prompted him to wait for her outside the drugstore. Though seeing her come out with a leather collar made him weary. He backed away slowly when she approached him.
Roxana noticed her mistake and hurriedly put the leash away. "I'm not going to collar you, don't worry. It's part of the plan to get Harry's school stuff out of the cupboard. Let's go get Harry some Italian food. I'll explain on the way." Sensing she was telling the truth he went with her.
Roxana's pov
"I'm hopefully going to charm his cousin into helping me find my… poor, lost dog. While that happens, Harry's going to sneak downstairs, break into the cupboard and take his things. Your job Dante is to lead us away from the house for at least ten minutes. Maybe you could bark a few times so it seems more believable. Do you think you can do that?" Roxana asked taking the wrapping off a cherry lollipop. Dante barked twice and she smiled at him.
"We're here." She waved to Hedwig, and when Harry opened the window the owl swooped down to get the food and deliver it to him.
They weren't sure if she'd be able to get up to the window after the plan was completed. "Hey, Harry. I thought you might have gotten sick of Chinese food, so I got you some spaghetti and meatballs. You ready?"
Harry grinned, relieving his owl of the burden and quickly taking a peek inside. "Thanks Ana. And yeah, let me just close my window." Harry looked down at her with a funny face, "He'll totally fall for you. Don't wander off too far, Dante." Roxana chuckled as the dog barked in what seemed to be understanding.
"Bye. Owl me a letter on how it turns out. Good luck." Roxana waved, popping the candy in her mouth and taking out the leash. "Ready Dante?" Nodding he took off in a slow run.
"Oh, finally someone answers their door!" Roxana giggled when Dudley Dursley opened the door to Four Privet Drive.
She inwardly cringed at his appearance. Harry wasn't joking when he'd said he was overweight. He blinked a couple of times, checking her out.
"Need help with something?" He cleared his throat and tried to make his voice go an octave lower. He failed miserably in Roxana's opinion.
She smiled, licked her lips and began, "You see, I was in the neighborhood, when my…" He wasn't even meeting her gaze, or looking at her face for that matter. "My dog escaped from his leash and ran off." She sniffed for good measure and sighed deeply.
"Is that so?" He gave her a smirk.
Eyes up here kid. "Hmh, could you help me find him?" He was already closing the door behind him, nodding and licking his lips.
"He went that way." Dante barked from far away, and she began jogging in the direction. If Harry's horrid cousin planned to enjoy whatever he thought this was, he was going to be sorely wrong.
Not being able to keep up, he fell in step a few feet behind her. "What's your name?"
She instantly lied. "Katerina. What's yours?" She cast a quick glance over her shoulder. He was staring at her ass. What a pig.
"Dudley. You come by here often?"
"Not really." They passed a field of grass and an underground tunnel of sorts. Two more minutes to go. You can do this.
"What's your dog look like?"
"He's big and black." Speaking louder so Dante could get the message and come into view.
She breathed a sigh of relief when they heard one bark, then another before her darling dog was running towards her full force.
"Dante!" Roxana squealed as he nearly knocked her down from excitement.
"Why do you have a such a damn ass big dog?!"
Anger flared in her eyes, but she quickly adopted a look of happiness, ignoring his comment. "I'm so glad we found him. Thanks." To her surprise Dante began pawing at her leg.
"What is it boy?" He turned up his neck to her. Getting the idea with a flutter in her heart, she collared him.
"Do you want to get some pizza or something?"
Roxana shook her head, "No, thanks. I really have to go, my parents are probably worried about me."
As she turned, Dudley grabbed at her wrist, hard. The sudden pain made her grasp loosen enough to let go of the lollipop and with a harsh tug he made her face him. "I didn't follow you for nothing in return, you bitch."
Before she could react however, Dante started growling. He'd instantly took on a stance that, in Roxana's mind, could only have resembled a lion stalking it's prey. Eyes changed from grey to gold, as he revealed his canines.
Dudley let go, leaving red marks on her right wrist and gave her a nasty sneer. That's when everything got blurry.
Sirius' pov
He barked angrily, a consistent growl in his throat as he tried to get closer to Harry's idiotic cousin. I'll make you pay for everything you've done to Harry and this witch!
The next time he barked he pulled on the leash hard enough to almost reach the kids ankle. Snapping furiously and almost foaming at the mouth, he couldn't care less that he was behaving like a rabid animal. As his teeth were about to sink into the jean material of the git's pants, Sirius felt a searing pain in his right leg and fell sideways. He fucking kicked me!
A loud gasp left Roxana's throat, and as she was distractedly looking down at him, Dudley advanced on her.
Sirius let out a warning bark. Stay focused!
She turned around just as Dudley's hand made contact with her cheek. In the quiet field, the sound of the slap echoed in his ears. He whimpered. By the sheer force, she was knocked off her feet. Standing at once, ignoring the pounding ache in his leg, he growled loudly and jumped two seconds too late as Dudley's right foot met Roxana's rib cage. That's when the kid backed off and started running, at the sound of her scream. I'll kill you, you good for nothing fucking bastard!
"No… stay." She was staring at him while holding her side, trying to get the words out and wincing with each inhale of breath. Tears were streaming down her face steadily, but the intensity of her pain must have been too much because her eyes began to flutter.
How could I be so blind! By her side, he nudged her reddened cheek gently, and fought himself on whether or not he should change back to his human form. She'll be frightened, try to run and end up hurting herself even more. She leaned completely on her back and took a deep breath that caught in her throat when her chest expanded fully.
"Bag. There's… kit." Her eyes remained closed as he quickly nudged her purse open and with extreme distress, sorted through it. His nose hit something thin and long. Her wand. The idea of using it for his own selfish benefit was long gone. Only a few flicks and she'll be healed. But he couldn't risk it.
Finding a small satchel, taking it between his teeth with the utmost caution, he placed it next to her left hand.
He frowned seeing the silver bracelet on her wrist for the first time. He didn't have the patience to tell what the small charm actually was, all he knew was that it looked to be canine.
Groaning, Roxana forced the zipper open, and without looking, her fingers traced over the potion vials. Only two were missing out of the set of fourteen. She took the pain potion first and then the bone mending one. He'd taken them the other way around.
Five minutes passed… she began to regain color, ten minutes went by… she was breathing normally. Roxana carefully sat up, offering him a sad half smile.
"How are you feeling?" Did you really just ask me that? He growled, before adopting a face of guilt and tilted his head left to right. His leg was hurting, but nothing was broken.
"What a fucking asshole. And Harry has to live with that pervert!" Roxana rubbed her cheek and Sirius let out another growl.
Sighing, she reached in her purse and pulled out the last thing Sirius thought she would. A metal flask. Expertly twisting the cap off in one fluid motion, she threw the contents back. Slowly, her head fell backwards as she drank the whole thing in four breaths. How did you come about Firewhiskey? Licking her lips and throwing it back into the hidden depths of her bag, her eyes meet his questioning ones.
"Don't look at me like that, I've never gotten drunk before." She smirked and he wondered what memory she was pulling up in that mind of hers.
"Hmm, I wonder what happened to that man from yesterday." Uh me? Or…?
"Oh, yeah, you weren't there. A bastard, was kicking this homeless person for no reason. Broke at least five of his ribs! What I don't get, is why the man didn't fight back? Protect himself? Then again, things wouldn't have sided in his favor with today's justice system. Honestly, nothing's different between the muggle and Wizarding world on that regard. Both of them are corrupt."
Tell me about it.
"Anyways, I couldn't just walk away. I mean, he was obviously hurt even if he tried not to show it." She rolled her eyes.
I didn't want to scare you.
"So, what I did was... I switched two tiny bottles of vodka with healing potions. One for his ribs and one for the pain. I really, really hope he took them. He didn't look well."
I wish I could tell you how much I appreciate what you did for me.
"He wasn't there today. Hopefully he's okay and not… dead." She shivered and stood, picking the purse up with her.
I'm alright and right next to you. The irony. But if you knew who I was, you wouldn't be saying things like this.
Looking out onto the field of grass that seemed to stretch on for miles, she smiled prettily, "He had the most unique tattoos on his fingers."
Huh, thanks. I'm quite fond of them too.
She sighed, "I'll probably never see him again."
I doubt that, Sirius thought looking up at her.
A/N: So what did you think?
Thanks for reading.
