Their Grandfather seemed to need no further explanation for the sudden shaggy black dog that his granddaughters brought home, a dog that certainly didn't look trained as a support companion, and his granddaughters weren't going to dig a hole for themselves by trying to come up with one. The twinkle in his eye when he saw them suggested he knew exactly who the dog really was though. The very first day of classes, the dog that had been dubbed "Snuffles" ("No, you cannot go by your old nickname. Remus works with me and he knew you by that name," Ceri had to explain to a reluctant and slightly horrified Sirius.) followed Fen to her seat up at the high table. He was immediately noticed by the Slytherin table and Sirius was shocked at how normal most of them reacted. He had always figured all Slytherins were like the ones he was related to. These ones cooed over him as he passed and begged "Professor Dumbledore" to let them pet him. He dipped his head to Ceri to acknowledge he was okay with it and allowed a few of them to ruffle his fur and admire his now shiny coat. Fen smirked to herself as she explained to questioning students that he was a "rescue" she found. He rolled his eyes but couldn't say that she wasn't lying.
Fen eventually ordered them to return to their meal as Severus appeared to pass out their schedules. He cast a look at the dog and raised an eyebrow at it and then shook his head with a faint smile. "Another rescue, Fenella?"
"You know me, Severus. Can't resist puppy eyes," she replied easily with a smile as she patted her friend on the arm. Severus had started his first year teaching when Fen started her first year as a student so she was his original favorite student. The more Fen thought about it, she was probably his only favorite. Snuffles seemed displeased with the interaction and nudged Fen with his head towards the table. "Oh calm down, I'm going."
She saw the way Remus eyed the dog with narrowed eyes and a suspicious expression. Of course he probably recognized the large black dog. As she sat down, she murmured, "Do something exceptionally doglike and completely un-Sirius. Remus is watching."
I hate this, Sirius thought towards her before padding back to the Slytherin table and begging for food from the green and black group. She watched nonchalantly as Remus looked surprised for a moment and then shook his head, as if clearing a thought. She let out a deep sigh and set to filling her plate with food. You can come back now, Snuffles.
Nah I'm alright, he replied. She looked over and had to stifle a laugh as she saw him laying across three students' laps as they fed him food and combed through his fur with their fingers. The large black dog looked as if he was in dog heaven so Fen let him be. He needed it after so many years of mental torture.
When it was time to begin class, the dog said goodbye to his new friends by rubbing against them one last time. He then followed after the imposing and slightly terrifying Professor Fenella Dumbledore, who the students never pegged as a dog person but had been seen petting and smiling at the lovable dog. Snuffles quickly became famous and adored, and by the time they reached Fen's classroom, they had said hello to nearly every student they passed. Dogs had never been allowed at Hogwarts before but nothing forbade a professor from having one, something students were quite jealous of.
As students took their seats and took note of the dog sitting dutifully beside the professor's desk, Professor Dumbledore announced, "This is Snuffles, a new friend of mine. He will be with us during our classes. If he becomes a distraction, he will stay in my office and I don't want to lock him up like that. Is this understood?"
"Yes Professor," they chorused all together. With that, her first lesson of the year began. Her first class consisted of mostly third years with a handful of fourth years. Her second period was all fifth years. She had her third period off. Then her last classes of the day were all fourth years and above. Each time she gave them them the talk about Snuffles but none of them had an issue focusing, especially when Sirius moved about the room, giving encouragement. By the end of the school day, Minerva turned in seventy-three new applications for Fen's class for her to sort through and pick which ones she wanted, a task that took Fen and Sirius all the way up to dinner to complete.
"I don't remember your class being an option when I was in school," Sirius asked curiously as the three of them ate dinner in their quarters that evening, Fen chewing her bite and swallowing before answering.
"Because it didn't exist yet. I created it," she told him honestly. He raised his eyebrows as she continued, looking to Ceri. "I created it for her. And students like us, magical kids who don't know a damn thing about the magical society. I feel like it makes orphans and muggleborns start on an uneven playing field so I'm evening it out a bit."
"That's actually… that's brilliant," Sirius commented as her blinked rapidly as if he was seeing her again for the first time. Fen shrugged and returned to her food but Ceri was smirking down at her potatoes. Sometimes there was a perk to being a Legilimens.
The dementors offered Fen and Ceri a heavy amount of uneasy, Fen moreso than her little sister. Every time they came too near, all she heard was the final gasping breaths after the hours of screaming before her mother finally died. Sirius was unaffected when he was Snuffles, exactly how he managed to escape in the first place. He was their silent guardian as they walked about the castle grounds but one night, a handful of weeks into the semester, he made a suggestion.
"Why don't you learn the Patronus charm?" The sisters looked at each other and Ceri shrugged before answering.
"I learned it last year so I've had some practice with it. As for Fen…" Ceri trailed off and looked over at her sister. Fen continued eating for a silent few moments before she cleared her throat.
"I've never made a memory happy enough to form a Patronus," she admitted to them. The silence that suffocated the room made Ceri squirm slightly in her seat. Fen slowly sat her fork down and sighed before she continued. "My happiest memory was being granted the title of alchemy master but that's hardly enough to conjure smoke. Everything else is tainted with sad."
"I'm… I'm so sorry," Sirius replied softly. "Not even memories with Ceri?"
Fen smiled sadly at her sister and touched her hand gently. "She's the spitting image of our mother. I love it but like I said, it's tainted."
"You've never really spoken of your mother before," Sirius said as he also placed his fork down. He was through with eating, he hungered for information now. Ceri placed her fork down as well as she looked to her sister then back to Sirius.
"Let's clean up first. I have a feeling we'll all want our beds once we finish this conversation," Ceri spoke wisely as she stood and began to gather up dishes. She rinsed and stacked her dishes as Sirius and Fen began gathering their own. They deposited them in the sink with a murmured thank you to Ceri as she continued rinsing. The House Elves would get ever so mad if they actually cleaned the dishes themselves so they merely rinsed them and left them be. Once Sirius finished wiping the table down, they all took seats in front of the fire.
"First, you must understand that we know nothing about our father other than he and our mother were already well into their forties when they had me. We know only up until I was born. After that, he just…" Fen trailed off before clearing her throat. "He disappeared. I met him once when I was five. There's a photo of it somewhere. He visited mother often but never stayed. I always thought their marriage was more like that of two business partners working together, rather than two people who deeply loved one another. Now our mother… that was a real witch. A Slytherin in her day and a fully trained alchemist like myself. She was a force to be reckoned with but she had something a very evil wizard wanted."
"Voldemort," Sirius stated. Fen nodded and sighed.
"It began when I was about nine. My magic was just beginning to really manifest in a way I could control and I broke our shield during an argument with my mother. Witches and wizards were on us in a heartbeat. Mum slaughtered them all," Fen told him quietly. "The Ministry cleared her due to it being self-defense but recommended we leave the country. We moved to France, with Mum's mentor Nicolas Flamel. He and his wife took us in and soon enough, mum found out she was pregnant with Ceri."
"She died, giving birth to me," Ceri murmured softly with tears in her eyes. Sirius felt his chest constrict. That's why Fen had no truly happy memories with her sister.
"Nicolas was gone, visiting Dumbledore to ask about us residing with him so I could attend Hogwarts. I had to help Perenelle with my mother. I watched her give birth and I was the first person to hold Ceri when she was born," Fen told him as she smiled over at her sister lovingly. But then her expression went dark again and she added, "And then there was silence. No more panting breaths or screams of pain. And mum was gone."
"So that's what you hear when the dementors are around," he whispered. Fen dipped her head as a way of confirming his statement and Sirius leaned back. He always saw flashes of James and Lily but he could only imagine her own pain. Having no great love for his own mother, he couldn't personally relate but if he had seen Mrs. Potter die when he was younger, especially in such a traumatic way, he probably would be scarred as well. As they all sat for a few more minutes, listening to the lively crackling of the fire, Sirius came up with what he believed to be a wonderful idea. He cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands together and fixed the oldest woman with a firm stare. "I downright hated my mum but I loved James' so I can only imagine what you're feeling. I propose to you that we find a way to generate new memories, happy ones, untainted ones. I feel like with all three of us trying, we'll find something that sparks the right kind of happiness inside you."
"You make me sound devoid of emotion," Fen replied with a small smirk. Sirius shrugged playfully and she threw a pillow from her chair at his head. "Prick."
"Nice upstanding ladies of society do not use such language," Sirius remarked with a mockingly shocked tone, sitting upright and clutching his chest with one hand. Ceri giggled as Fen rolled her eyes dramatically and stood.
"Good thing I'm none of those things. Let's all get to bed before you give me any more reasons to hex you into oblivion," Fen told him with a smile. He grinned in response as he dropped the act and stood with her. With no warning, he scooped her up into a giant hug. Fen initially froze until he murmured.
"You deserve to be happy, Fen." At that, she smiled softly and hugged him in return.
"I will be," she told him positively. As they released one another, neither noticed the look Ceri was giving them with a small, wickedly playful smile.
"Starting tomorrow!" Ceri announced as she hopped to her feet and headed towards her room. Over her shoulder, she told them, "After classes tomorrow, let's meet at the courtyard and I have somewhere so cool to show you guys. It's in the forest so bring wands and walking shoes."
"I always bring both," Fen told her with another roll of her eyes. "You know this."
"I'll be a literal dog so I don't think this applies to me," Sirius also added. Ceri groaned as she continued to her bedroom.
"You two are a nightmare!" she whined as she entered her room and shut the door on them. The pair grinned at each other before also going their separate ways. The only remnant of their conversation taking place was the throw pillow laying discarded on the floor but the memory was ingrained in their minds.
The next day seemed to drag, the excitement of Ceri's surprise hanging over them. Fen felt she had to redirect her students moreso than usual, but perhaps her frustration stemmed from her excitement. By the time the final period ended, Fen was exhausted and ready for her bed. Instead, she grabbed her cloak and nodded her head to Snuffles to indicate she was ready to leave. He quickly jumped up from his place beside her desk and trotted alongside her. They said hello to students they passed, Snuffles offering a quick nuzzle into passing students' hands. They followed a secret spiral staircase downwards, a trick Fen learned her fourth year of Hogwarts. The spiral staircases didn't move and therefore offered a more direct path downward. When they reached the courtyard, they found Ceri already waiting for them with a cheerful smile.
"Come along, we have places to be!" she chirped excitedly as she turned and immediately took off walking as fast as possible. Snuffles and Fen exchanged a look then Fen smiled and shook her head. The two of them set off after the fast-paced girl. As they crossed the grassy expanse of Hogwarts' grounds, Fen caught up with her sister and asked her, "If this place is so amazing, how come you've never showed it to me before?"
"Because I wanted it to be my secret only," Ceri replied with a small smile. Fen rolled her eyes with a smile but raised her hands in surrender.
"Fair enough. Thank you for imparting you're special secret to us," Fen told her with a playfully mocking tone. Ceri laughed as they hit the tree line but froze. She could feel the cold creeping up her spine. Without hesitating, she drew her wand and stated firmly, "Expecto Patronum!"
A shining silver raven flew from the tip of her wand and began to fly in circles around the group as they made their way past a few Dementors that were patrolling. One dared to get too close but the raven pecked at its nonexistent face and it backed away quickly. Fen felt the dread rising in her the longer they stayed floating not ten feet from her but she forced it down, forced herself to ignore the feeling of ice in her veins. The dementors seemed to realize they were too difficult of prey and decided to float away, back towards the castle. As they finally left, light seemed to returned and Fen was able to suck in a deep breath. Snuffles was right next to her, nuzzling into her thigh as she breathed heavily. She patted his head softly as she nodded and slowly calmed down. "I'm okay, I'll be fine."
Snuffles stayed close to her the rest of the way and they all let out a sigh of relief when the cold faded and they knew they were far from the dementors. Ceri looked back with a smile, her spirits lifted, as she said, "We're nearly there!"
"Thank Merlin and Morgana," Fen muttered as she rubbed her arms to get the last of the chill out. Snuffles whined, unable to tell the girls that if he could only switch back for a moment, he had chocolate in his pocket. Within a couple minutes, they broke through dense foliage and Fen froze alongside Ceri as she sucked in a deep breath. The most gorgeous pool of water was sitting in the middle of a clearing. A small rocky outcropping hung over the furthest edge where she could sit and dangle her feet into the water. Small microscopic lights moved throughout the crystal blue water in a dazzling display of colors. Vibrant plants in various shades of purple bloomed alongside the water's edge. Floating above the water were small balls of white magical light that illuminated the area. Fen looked around in wonder and let out a small disbelieving laugh. "You little brat. I can't believe you've been hiding this."
"Well now I'm sharing it, so you're welcome," Ceri shot back with a roll of her eyes and a small smile. Fen looked over at her sister and grasped her hand.
"Thank you," she told her. Ceri walked further into the clearing and gestured for them to come in. As they did, Fen felt them pass through a barrier. She shot her sister a confused look but Ceri merely smiled.
"How do you think I've kept this secret? I have the whole place covered in wards. Sirius, you're safe here," she assured the man who was currently a dog. "Not even Dementors can sense us here. It's like we don't exist."
Sirius transformed back into his human form without further complaint. He stretched and sighed happily. "This place is stunning, Ceri."
"Right? And that's why I've decided to share it with you two," she told him with a bright smile. "Now come on, the pool stays heated so the water feels amazing after walking all day."
Together, the three of them sat on the rock that hung over the water and pulled their shoes off. They tossed their shoes and socks into a pile before rolling up the legs of their pants and dipping their feet into the warm, soothing water. Fen let out a sigh and felt herself finally relax as she sat with her best friend and her sister. Nothing could ruin the moment right then, absolutely nothing.
Halloween arrived and that morning, the three of them got dressed into their costumes. Or rather, Fen and Ceri got dressed while Sirius waited until they were done so they could dress Snuffles. When they were ready, both women came out of their rooms and Sirius found himself frozen, staring at Fen. Her hip-length black curls were left down for once and had flowers and tiny braids weaved throughout it with a crown of wildflowers on her head. Enchanted silvery wings has sprouted from her back, fluttering gently as she walked. Sirius was astounded by how real they looked. She was in a long, flowing silvery-blue dress that looked like water around her feet yet as she walked, he saw satin matching slippers peeking out from under the dress. She had even applied makeup, which Sirius was also blown away by. Simply put, she was stunning. He hadn't realized he was staring until her cheeks began turning red but she refused to look away. Ceri cleared her voice loudly and both of them looked at her. She was in a similar outfit as her sister but she was in a yellow dress with golden wings and a crown of pink flowers. Sirius was blown away by how right and natural they both looked in their outfits, as if it were their true form.
"You two look…" Sirius was short on words as he shook his head.
"Stunning? Gorgeous? Absolutely amazing? Stunning?" Ceri offered him cheekily and he swatted out at her playfully. They both looked at him expectantly and he sighed as he quickly became Snuffles and they grinned. Fen leaned over and placed a crown of blue flowers on his head and he huffed.
"Oh hush. They're not that bad," she told him with a roll of her eyes as she stood back up. "Now come on. We don't want to be late for breakfast."
Together, the trio filed out of their quarters and to the Great Hall. When they reached the large, already open doors, they split. Fen went to the high table as Ceri went to the Ravenclaw table and Snuffles began greeting his favorite students. The Weasleys were high on his list, especially the twins. After finding out that Ceri had a crush on one of them, he often followed the twins around to see if he could overhear them mention Ceri so he could report back to the girl who quickly became the little sister he never had. In a way, Snuffles saw Ceri as a new Reg. He would protect her, he would be there for her, and he would not abandon her. Especially not to the horrors of dating and love.
The twins greeted him with the same enthusiasm as every day and offered him sausage and bacon. As he laid at their feet under the table, he listened to their conversations. Maybe five minutes into his eating, his ears perked up as he heard George say, "Oi, just go talk to her! You've been staring since she walked in."
"I can't do that! She's a seventh year and we're not even in the same House, plus she's our best friend," Fred argued. "She'd probably laugh at me."
Snuffles then got an idea into his head and began whining and nipping gently at the back of Fred's shining red vest he was wearing with his magician's outfit. Fred turned around and asked him, "What is it boy?"
Sirius moved his head in a beckoning motion and walked a few steps away from the twins then looked back. As he did, George commented, "I think he wants you to follow him."
"Where are we going, buddy?" Fred asked him as he got up and began following the dog. Snuffles merely barked and continued leading the boy straight to his newfound little sister. The more he thought about it and how he had been his fifth year, he regretted egging anything on. Nonetheless, he led the boy straight to Ceri and nudged her with his nose. Fred froze as he saw who he was stopped in front of. Ceri looked up and immediately her eyes went wide. A blush spread across her cheeks and a small, nervous smile tugged at Fred's lips. Snuffles trotted away, feeling quite proud of himself.
As he rested by Fen's chair, she leaned down and scratched between his ears as she whispered, "Clever boy."
He hummed happily in response. They stayed that way until it was time for Snuffles to join a particularly nervous group of first years who required his assistance getting to Charms class. When it was time for him to go over to his first years, he became aware of Remus approaching them so he hid behind Fen's chair. He listened intently as his old best friend stopped in front of Fen's spot.
"You look stunning today, Fen," he greeted her. Fen let out a soft laugh and Snuffles felt like snarling but he didn't know why. "I was wondering if you would allow me to walk you to your class?"
"I'd love that, thank you very much Remus. I wanted to talk to you about that case I looked into, the werewolf one," she told him with a smile in her voice that Snuffles felt angry about. He wasn't sure why but he wanted so very badly to bite Remus.
It was that night as Snuffles was walking back to their rooms with Fen that they bumped into a particular trio. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stopped to say hello to the professor and her famous dog on their way up to the Gryffindor tower.
"Hello Professor Dumbledore," the three chorused. Fen smiled and dipped her head to them.
"Hello you three. Staying out of trouble I hope?" she asked them mischievously. They all laughed and went to reply when suddenly Snuffles yelped then began to growl. They all looked down to see Scabbers scurrying away from the large black dog.
"Scabbers! Why'd you bite him for?" Rom demanded of the rat as he scooped him up. Snuffles looked up at Fen and she felt his mind brush against her barriers. She lowered them for a half a second, enough to hear, the rat is Pettigrew for certain. She immediately raised her barriers back up and narrowed her eyes at the rat. Taking the woman's expression as anger towards the rat for biting her dog, Ron began to nervously try to defend his pet as he tried to hide the struggling rat inside his robe.
"Honest, Professor, I have no clue what came over him! He's just been so anxious lately, see, and hasn't been acting himself! I don't think he meant it, he must've just gotten spooked!" Ron tried to say but Fen merely raised her hand and closed her eyes, indicating she wanted to hear no more of it.
"Keep that rat locked up or I'll have no choice but to report it to the Headmaster as a danger to others," she told him firmly. Ron went pale but nodded and quickly shuffled away followed along by a concerned Harry and a confused looking Hermione. Once they were out of sight, the dog and the Professor exchanged a look before continuing quickly to their rooms.
"The bloody bastard is the Weasley boy's rat for sure! I knew it," Sirius hissed the second they got inside past the portrait, the dog immediately transforming into a human again. He wheeled on Fen and yelled, "I told you time and time again."
"Lower your voice!" she demanded. He glared over at her but took a deep breath. She nodded at him before she let out a breath. "Okay our next step is getting the rat. It'll be easier having us because we can enter the common rooms to go get him. We just need to plan a time."
"During the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match," Ceri said from where she sat. Her powers allowed her to scan Sirius and Fen for context into their argument and she pitched her idea to them. The two adults looked at each other before back to Ceri.
"Who would get us into the common room?" Fen asked her curiously. Ceri shrugged with a smile.
"Isn't it obvious? Hermione hates that rat. She'll help us into the common room if we tell her we're trying to diagnose what's wrong with him," Ceri told them with an expression as if to say 'duh'. Fen finally cracked a partial smile and shook her head.
"That's actually a solid plan, Ceri," she told her sister. The younger girl shrugged with a smile before looking to Sirius.
"Sound good to you, Snuffles? One more week and you'll have him in your grasp and we can finally free you." Sirius sucked in a breath and nodded.
"One more week."