Disclaimer: Characters and setting still not mine. Wouldn't mind a Simon.

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Chapter 51: Snuffles is a Good Doggie

They planned it out in Simon's stable, Harry, Draco and Luna, with the rain drumming on the wooden roof almost drowning out their voices and making it impossible for others to listen in. Luna had been allowed off her detention this one evening, but more because Sprout was too busy with the students who'd not had letters to supervise one eccentric Ravenclaw.

The excitement over the letters still raged. Draco seemed almost relieved about the sudden deluge, because after this abrupt contact with the outside world there were things in Slytherin he needed to keep an eye on, and he left immediately after they agreed to postpone the harvest until tomorrow night. He was trusting in Harry to get the details right – details like Neville not mucking things up, and Ginny coming along because a sorceress on your side was definitely a plus. Harry didn't mind the implication that if anything went wrong it would be his fault – once Draco had gone he had the evening to spend with Luna. Alone. Hermione and Ron (Hermione more than Ron) had agreed that, with the rain, it was better to go over their notes for the potion again rather than trudge through a sodden forest with monsters at large and visibility down to nil. They would talk to him later, back in Gryffindor.

In the meantime, he and Luna had time to themselves for the first time in… too long.

Well, almost alone.

There was, of course, the matter of a certain tall, black, bad-tempered chaperone.

For now, however, as the last light of the long summer evening was soaked up by the rain and low clouds and took with it Comrade Malfoy as well as the last long-legged flying insects zigging and zagging their ways homewards, Simon relaxed in the company enough to lie down in the thick oat straw put down by Hagrid, giving a nice bulk for Harry and Luna to lean back against as they talked or watched the rain in cosy silence. Luna, tucked under Harry's arm, moved slightly against him as Simon's ribs moved in and out like the gentlest swell on the sea, and the rightness of it filled Harry's chest with a warmth better than his first butterbeer. But this warmth was the one that was always fresh, always new, always with that bittersweet tang of stealing something from the world – a slice of happiness for him, Harry Potter, a slice all the sweeter for being shared with Luna Lovegood. He should be declared dead by his relatives more often if this was the Heaven he ended up in, he thought, and then had to tell Luna why he was smiling.

She didn't become indignant at the awfulness of his relatives, merely gazed solemnly into the rain which was tinted with silver as the moon rose, just like her eyes. "I guess that means you're up for grabs, family-wise," she said. "Thank goodness. I'd hate for your family and mine to meet up. And now you can come on that trip to Australia to find a bunyip with Daddy and me."

"Not your uncle?"

"Well, we'll have to see."

And there was that touch of sadness again. Poor Luna hadn't had a letter from her father or her uncle. Not even a copy of the Quibbler.

Harry tightened his arm around her before the happiness could completely slip away.

Simon's eyelashes fell and the horse began to snore softly. Taking his chance, Harry leaned sideways and turned his head so his lips brushed Luna's. And the warmth in his chest fluttered like butterfly wings when her lips pressed back and he felt them move, voicelessly saying his name as if it was the most precious of spells. He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes as she traced his ear with fingertips light as cobwebs. And he prayed the moment would never en–

"Woof."

His eyes snapped open. A massive black dog was emerging from the rain. It halted uncertainly in the doorway and barked again.

"Oh, bugger off," Harry muttered.

Snuffles canted his head to the side and cocked one ear. He was probably trying to look pathetic or cute or something. It wouldn't work, of course.

"Oh, poor puppy," said Luna. "He's getting soaked out there. Come on in, Snuffles." She patted the ground. "Here boy."

Harry rolled his eyes.

Had the poor puppy come silently, seen them kissing, then retreated and barked to alert them, or had it barked to find out where they were? Harry hoped for the latter, but given the absurdity of his luck expected the former.

Whatever it was, Simon was awake now. One last snore broken off by a snort that sounded just like Ron waking up, and Simon raised his head out of the straw to see what had woken him. One long-suffering sigh later and the head flopped back. The hoof by Harry's ankle twitched as the horse cantered through its dreams.

The dog shook the water out of its coat before entering. Harry appreciated that politeness more than he appreciated the gleam of amusement in its eyes.

"How's that voyeurism coming along?" he asked snidely.

Snuffles wagged his tail and licked Luna's face with a wide, sloppy tongue.

"Ugh!" she laughed. "Poo – wet dog smell."

Snuffles looked affronted.

"Maybe you could give him a bubble bath," Harry suggested, before remembering Sirius saying a dog leaping with joy into a bubble bath was a dead giveaway as an Animagus.

Snuffles' eyes brightened.

"As soon as the Blockade is lifted I want to get some pet shampoo – Simon's mane is getting too oily and the soap Hagrid has just doesn't deal with it properly. I'll use the shampoo on Snuffles, too – how about it, puppy?"

Snuffles' jaw dropped in a canine grin at Luna.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere else helping Remus?" Harry said pointedly to Snuffles.

The dog yawned.

"We should take him with us tomorrow night," Luna said. "Let's ask Professor Lupin if we can borrow Snuffles."

Harry grimaced. "Er… Let's discuss that later. And I'm sure Lupin wouldn't want his little Gryffindor doggie getting involved in a project Slytherins –" he glared at Snuffles "– are involved in. This is the dog that growled at Draco, remember."

"'A' Slytherin," Luna corrected. "I'm reasonably sure Draco doesn't have multiple personality disorder…"

"Only reasonably sure?"

"…And Snuffles has been very well behaved since that. Simon kicking him might actually have been a good thing. He's a good doggie now, aren't you, Snuffles?"

Snuffles' level stare at Harry while Luna rubbed the dog's ears suggested two things: yes, he was a good doggie who deserved all the ear-rubs that were due to him, and this good doggie wanted to know what the bloody hell Harry was getting himself into this time.

Harry glared back. "I'll discuss it with him later, if you like. Lupin, that is." No he wouldn't. Or if he did, it would be without telling Remus anything too incriminating, such as anything remotely connected to what the real plan was.

Snuffles nodded, or perhaps it was merely coincidence the way Luna's fingers were scratching beneath his chin that made it look like he was thinking hard at Harry: you'd damn well better.

ooOOoo

While the rain didn't put a damper on the evening, Snuffles' presence did. Harry and Luna checked the new, lighter, summer cover McGonagall had transfigured for Simon (after Draco had mentioned in her hearing that the nights were getting too warm for the old one), found it fitted just as well as the old, and strolled back down the hill towards the castle with an umbrella spell over their heads. Snuffles loped ahead of them, just far enough for Harry to feel comfortable holding hands with Luna. The Animagus was tactful enough to give them some space in the shadow by the doors into the castle – Harry took the opportunity to give Luna one last kiss, then said, "Um… I've just got to go down and see Hagrid…"

Luna accepted the lie with a misty smile that could have meant anything from her believing it to the Martian Space Bunny Colony sending her telepathic messages letting her know Harry Potter was a big fat fibber.

Harry, Snuffles at his heels, set off back into the rain.

They didn't go to see Hagrid. They made it as far as the stable where the vrikolaki had attacked, where Snuffles sniffed around to make sure there would be no-one to see.

And when they were sure, Harry and the dog crept into the gloom, where a lamp high in the rafters spluttered into life and illuminated the cobwebs and the dark stain by the empty loosebox down at the end… Hagrid hadn't been able to lift the bloodstain, although the smell had gone after a month.

Harry shut the doors and dropped the crossbar.

A moment later, the shaggy black dog had become a shaggy Sirius Black.

"I think you'd better explain a few things, Harry."

Harry bit down on his anger – it was almost reflex these days when anyone older questioned him. "I need your word you won't let this get back to Professor Lupin. Or any of the professors. Or anyone other than me, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Neville, Luna and Ginny."

Sirius clapped a hand over his eyes and groaned. "You're involving Neville and Ginny now? Does the headmaster know?"

"I hope not." Although after Dumbledore's superficially superficial comment about the weather, Harry was feeling a little rattled on that score.

"Merlin save us…"

"Someone has to. And I'm sick of waiting for someone else to come galloping in to the rescue."

"The Ministry and the Aurors…"

"Oh, come on, Sirius, you know better than just about anyone the Ministry's as useful in an emergency as a rubber chicken. A headless rubber chicken. And as for the Aurors… the two we've still got here are either in a coma or down in the Dungeons hiding from the Marshmallow People."

"Oh, is that where Price is? I thought I still smelled him around, but… Okay, so you've got a point. But it's incomplete. There are people – lots of people – at Hogwarts capable of helping you carry out a project. Why the secrecy?"

"Because last time Hermione made a suggestion to Sprout, she was told to write children's stories with her marvellous imagination, and Lupin said to run off and let the grown ups handle things," Harry said bitterly.

"He wouldn't have said that…"

"No, I can't remember the words, but that was what he meant."

"He's got your best interests at heart. They all – we all do, Harry. You're just getting impatient."

"Don't you start patronising me, too."

"I'm not being patronising, I'm stating a fact. Don't you bloody well get all moody teenager on me," Sirius snapped. "Do you think it's fun for me knowing you're likely to run into something dangerous and get hurt or killed? I've been trying my hardest to hold off on the overbearing guardian act because I thought you didn't deserve it, but now it looks like you're about to go and do something reckless again and, God, Harry, haven't you any idea how many grey hairs you've given me in the last month, what with your time travelling stunt and insane pets and Slytherin friends? … And yes, okay, I admit Simon's not insane and I've got to say I approve of how protective he is of you and your friends… as for Malfoy, I'm reserving judgement – I know his family too well – hell, his mother's related to me, so that should give you some idea of how leery I am of Draco," he spat, holding up a hand and shaking it for emphasis, "especially given that malevolent fucker who sired him… and all I can trust myself to say about the time travel right now is that you were one very, very lucky lad to come back from it. Yes, I know I was an arsehole to you back then and you hate me now because of it, but as far as I'm concerned that's beside the point. And the point is… it's… I'm not going to let you go out and bump yourself off doing something stupid."

Harry, a little astonished at hearing his godfather swear, said, "You're telling me what to do? You think you have that right?"

Sirius paused, swallowed, then said softly, "I know I have that right. Your parents gave me that right. But… not as an autocratic privilege."

"What do you mean?" said Harry, bristling at the mention of his parents. Just the word 'parents' was like a knife in the gut.

Sirius might have sensed that. He paused another moment before saying, "I mean that we need some middle ground. Somewhere between you running around like it's Lord of the Flies – ask Hermione if you haven't done it in Muggle Studies – and Nineteen Eighty-four. Not anarchy, but not a dictatorship, either. Somewhere where you listen to me and I trust you. And vice versa."

"But what if I don't want that?" What if I can't?

"Don't you?" Sirius asked. "Are you so sure?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know what I want. I wanted a dad for ages. Until I met him. Now… now I've had so many adults – people who claim they're adults, that is – mucking me about, I don't think having a father's worth it."

"Then I guess it's up to me – with your co-operation – to show you that it is. If it's any consolation, I didn't have anyone to fill in as responsible grown-up until after I left my parents', and it was a bit late then."

"What about Dumbledore? He always stuck up for you," Harry challenged.

Sirius looked down. "In retrospect, it was a bit like making a child be good by offering it candy all the time. I'm not saying Dumbledore's motives were bad. He's admitted that he was pretty worried about me going bad, so I guess he thought if he indulged me I'd stick with the good guys." He frowned.

Harry wondered if he was thinking of Snape, too. Or Regulus. Now there was a minefield to be trod in another conversation. "Who… who was it?"

"Who? The token adult in my life? Your grandfather, actually." Sirius smiled lopsidedly and ran his thumb along his stubbled jaw. "He was the first one who ever took me to task for being inconsiderate of another's feelings. And before you ask, it was your mum. I said something dumb the first time we were all around at your grandparents' for Sunday dinner, something about how she'd brought flowers and it was inappropriate because wizard families didn't do that sort of thing and she would have known if she'd been born into a wizard family… I didn't mean it to be nasty, but Lily was hurt. She was trying to make a good impression, you see… Well, your grandfather – good man, he was – he took me outside after dessert and told me that this was his house and in his house he expected a certain level of manners, and snobbery certainly wasn't good manners in the Potter house, despite what James' behaviour might suggest at times. He said that while he and your grandmother enjoyed my company, they wouldn't allow me back inside unless I was prepared to moderate my behaviour and stop being offensive to the other guests."

"But you weren't trying to be offensive…"

"I… always liked trying to wind people up. What your grandfather pointed out was how I had to remember that people didn't always see that as fun. Or funny. It was very different to Hogwarts, suddenly out in the adult world…"

"Not so very different," Harry whispered, remembering a time in the library with a young Sirius Black. And a time in the evening up on Squirrel Hill. And a time at night on the full moon...

"Maybe not." He sighed. "Probably not, in fact. Harry, I'd never consider myself a good role model for you – quite the opposite, in fact – but I know what it's like to be sixteen and feel like you're the sum and total of all that is capable of giving you advice and protection, and you need no-one other than your friends, whom you can ignore if you have a mind to. But in retrospect it wasn't such a hot theory and I made a lot of mistakes. Oh, I had my triumphs, but they've faded. Dementors tend to take the glittery things from your memory and leave the shadows, and although I try to ignore them I know there are a lot of shadows I made by not paying attention to people who knew better than me. Not so many cared about me as care about you – your grandparents were two who did, and I wish I'd repaid them better than by being so stupid as to trust Pettigrew over Remus. But I'm not completely thick despite appearances, and I don't want you feeling like you've got no adults fighting in your corner. Remus –"

"– Has turned into Snape."

Sirius' eyebrows flew up, then drew together. "I guess it could seem that way." He grimaced. "What an awful thought. But he's definitely on your side. You've no idea how upset he was when you disappeared. And then when you came back and we found out how we'd treated you in the past… He… Well…"

Harry was shaking his head. "I don't want him involved."

Sirius looked angry. And a little hurt, for some reason. "All right. But in that case you're involving me."

"Providing you don't interfere, I guess…"

"I shall be there in a purely advisory capacity. Unless something needs to be bitten."

Harry smiled reluctantly. "Hopefully not. Although Simon tends to take care of that for us, we're not planning anything dangerous."

"No time travel?"

"No. Just a spot of extracurricular Herbology."

"In anyone else I'd suspect they were growing their own drugs. In you… growing your own drugs would be preferable…"

"Hey!" Harry laughed, then sobered quickly. He didn't want to laugh with Sirius. They weren't friends. Not friends, no, but Harry would be an idiot to turn down an offer of help. "All right. Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Well, I was due for a flea bath…"

ooOOoo