The Mutt who Lived
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story. I am merely borrowing the characters to play with them.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
If you don't like my stories, don't read them. I am only writing for my own fun and for those, who like reading my stories.
"If, and I mean only if, Mum wants to leave Dumbledore's side at Hogwarts, you could offer her a position as a professor for Housekeeping," Bill suggested, giving James and Minerva a questioning look.
Everyone remained pensive for a few minutes, before Minerva finally spoke up.
"Housekeeping would indeed be a subject to possibly consider."
"It would be highly interesting, not only for the upper years," Amelia agreed, thoughtfully. "Especially for those growing up at the MAMA that's swamped with house-elves," she added, glancing at Susan, who was engrossed in a new book together with Christa.
"But Molly Prewitt?" Sirius asked, incredulously. "She's been sending us Howlers on a daily basis for years."
"She actually stopped sending them on the day after Ginny arrived here," James spoke up and, seeing everyone stare at him in clear disbelief, explained, "Gina is listing up all mail, which for some reason remains undelivered, on a daily basis. I must be aware of what's happening at the school," he added, matter-of-factly.
'She really is the best elf one could imagine,' Lily thought, feeling very proud of their head house-elf as well as of her husband, who always kept a clear head.
Arthur cleared his throat, before he slowly began to speak. "Apparently, Ginny fleeing to the MAMA has woken her up. She actually wrote me a letter, which is the first letter I received from her in years. Everything else must have been Howlers and was retained by the kind elves."
A collective gasp followed his announcement, and Arthur seemed slightly hesitant, as he continued to speak. "She apologized for putting me under a love potion going back as far as our Hogwarts days."
"She what?" Sirius blurted out in apparent anger.
"I've suspected that she did it for a long time," Arthur continued, calmly, ignoring the younger wizard's outburst. Anyway, why I'm telling you this is that I believe that she has begun to think about what she did and that she's showing remorse. This doesn't mean, however, that you have to offer her a position here, even if I feel sorry for her."
Minerva let out a deep sigh. "Lily and James, what do you think?" she enquired.
Lily shook her head. "This is just a bit sudden," she admitted. "Right now, I can't imagine working together with her. If you're all for it, I won't hinder you though."
She inwardly sighed in relief, when James spoke up, seeming as calm as always in times of trouble.
"Why don't we just wait and see for a while?" he suggested. "If Dumbledore does as much as hire another professor who's possessed by Voldemort, Lily and I are going to close Hogwarts anyway. When that time comes, we can reconsider, but right now, I don't think that any urgent action is required. Molly is still in the position, which she and Dumbledore chose for herself, so I don't see a problem here right now."
"That's true," Arthur said, warmly. "Thank you for even considering the matter. That's all I can ask for."
'Thank Merlin,' Lily thought, as everyone returned to occupying themselves with their presents.
HP
A few days later, Harry and the Weasley twins headed to the Ministry of Magic to take their Potions OWL. Originally, the OWL had been scheduled for December 22; however, due to one of the ministry examiners being sick, it had been rescheduled to December 29.
A very old wizard oversaw their theoretical test, which took place during the morning. "A first year?" he asked, frowning, as he eyed Harry over his frameless spectacles. "You can't wait to finish school, can you?"
"No sir, it's not that; it's just that first-year Potions classes are boring," Harry replied, honestly, and the twins eagerly showed their agreement by bobbing their heads up and down.
To his relief, the theoretical part was quite easy, and all three of them finished their tests thirty minutes before the scheduled end of the part.
When they left the examination room, Lily was waiting for them together with Inu, who alternately jumped up at them licking their faces with fervour.
"How was the test?" she enquired, smiling, causing the boys to utter a triple "Easy."
"That's good," Lily replied, smiling. "I told you that you didn't have to worry about it. The practical part will go well, too."
To Harry's surprise, his mother took them to a muggle restaurant for lunch, in which dogs were allowed. Each of them devoured a whole pizza with Inu receiving the occasional piece from the three boys.
"Don't give him too much," Lily warned them. "Pizza isn't good for dogs."
=Is it better for phoenixes?= Inu enquired, before he transformed into his Animagus form, only to add, #At least it's delicious in any form.#
Convinced that they were unable to stomach any further piece of pizza, the three boys returned to the exam room for their practical test.
'I hope this will be as easy as the theoretical part,' Harry thought, as he said good-bye to Inu and his mother and entered the room behind the twins.
Each of them had to brew a different potion; however, all three potions were healing potions, which they had already brewed by themselves or assisted Severus with the brewing for Poppy multiple times.
'That was easy,' Harry thought, contentedly, as he stepped into the fireplace to return to the MAMA.
HP
It was a week later, on the third day of classes that Harry was sitting back to back with Ginny at lunchtime and overheard a whispered conversation between her and her best friend Luna.
"They were talking about possibly hiring Mum as a teacher for Housekeeping," Ginny told her friend in apparent excitement.
"It would be good for your mother to get out of Dumbledore's influence," Luna replied, airily, only to add, "I think he's keeping her under a spell. She wasn't as strange, when she was still living at home."
"Do you really think so? How do you know that?" Ginny asked, sounding alert.
"I just know," Luna replied, calmly, causing Harry to turn around in surprise, only to realise that the two girls had no idea that they were being overheard let alone watched from behind.
'Inu,' he thought to his familiar, 'can you tell Sirius that Luna thinks Dumbledore is keeping Ginny's mum under a spell please?'
Slowly rising from his favourite spot on Harry's feet, Inu nodded and trotted over to the teachers' table to inform the only professor who could understand his canine talk.
HP
Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore took his seat at the high table, glad that the morning classes were over giving him some time to ponder what had been bothering him ever since that very morning. The Daily Prophet had informed the magical world in a small side article about the people, who had taken their OWLs at the Ministry of Magic shortly before the end of the year.
'Fred and George Weasley and Harry Potter,' he recalled in disbelief. 'At least Harry is only a first-year, that's for sure, and the twins can't be much older. Just two years if I'm not mistaken. Is that MAMA school so much better than ours?' he wondered, as he chased a small piece of carrot around his plate.
'I really need to do something to improve the reputation of Hogwarts,' he resolved. 'All the Daily Prophet wrote about Hogwarts recently was that Molly received Helga Hufflepuff's needles, and I'm not even sure if they're authentical. We're not a housekeeping school but the best school for magic in Britain,' he thought, grimly. 'Molly should know that she's only a puppet and can't attract so much attention with her nonsense.'
Unfortunately, his colleagues managed to distract him, efficiently preventing him from making any actual plans; however, he resolved to do some research, as soon as the last Transfiguration class for the day was over.
HP
After lunch, Lily kept Harry back. Casting a silencing spell around themselves, she told him, "Thanks for informing us. I don't know if you're aware of it, but Luna is my godchild, and she is a Seer."
"Like you, Mum?" Harry asked, wide-eyed. "How come that you never told me that she's your goddaughter, when she came here to the primary school?"
"Oh dear, I've told you that before, but maybe you were too small to understand it and forgot about it already. And yes son, similar to myself," Lily replied, smiling. "Therefore, as far-fetched as it sounds, there might be some truth behind her statement, but we'll find out eventually. I'll speak with Hogwarts during the weekend."
"All right, Mum," Harry replied in understanding, before he hurried after his friends, who were waiting for him in front of the atrium.
'He really has grown up,' Lily thought, as she proudly looked after her son, as he ran out of the room, 'even if he's still only eleven.'
HP
'Luna seems nice even if a little strange,' Harry thought, as he followed his friends out into the park to head to the greenhouses for their Herbology class.
"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione enquired, giving him a sharp look.
"Yeah, sure," Harry replied, smiling upon realising that Eagle was perched on the girl's shoulder. "Hi Eagle, are you going to accompany us to the greenhouse, driving Professor Sprout nuts again?" he addressed the bird.
#Can't leave all the fun to Mr. Naughty now, can we?# Eagle replied, receiving a reprimanding look from Hermione in return.
"Mr. Naughty?" Harry enquired, giving the girl a questioning look.
"Fawkes," Hermione whispered back, as they just entered the classroom.
'Oh right, we should ask Fawkes to take the phoenix Animagi to Phoenix Land again sometime during the weekend,' Harry thought, as he absentmindedly sat next to Neville and took his Herbology book out of his book bag.
HP
Now that Harry had taken his Potions OWLs, Severus made him brew the same concoctions as his sixth-year students. However, due to the fact that the NEWT level potions were more complex than those for the first-years, he often had to put his cauldron under a stasis charm and continue after the last afternoon class, when he regularly met with the Weasley twins, who were in the same situation.
"You know, Harry," they told him one day shortly before the end of the school year.
"We have an idea…"
"As we should be able to finish our Potions mastery…"
"… at the same time as our NEWTs in the other subjects…"
"… we could try to open a joke shop in Dragonsedge…"
"… if we can find an affordable place."
Harry cast the twins a broad smile. "That's a brilliant idea," he commended them, "and I'm sure that Dad, Sirius, Remus and Severus will support such a project. You should speak with Dad and Sirius about it. They'll be all for it, and maybe they can begin looking for a place at an early time. I'm sure they will financially support you."
The twins nodded in agreement and resolved to speak with James Potter at the earliest possibility.
"Thank Merlin Mum isn't here…"
"… She'd never support such a project…"
"… in contrary to Dad," they added, grinning.
"Even if I can't support you by any financial means, I can help with the brewing if you need my assistance," Harry promised his friends, sincerely.
"Thanks Harry…"
"… Rest assured…"
"… that we'll never refuse…"
"… the assistance of a junior Marauder," the twins replied, pleasantly.
'It's a brilliant idea,' Harry thought in amazement, 'and they will be fantastic at it. I don't have any plans for the time after my NEWTs yet,' he mused, as he absentmindedly stirred his potion seven and a half times counter clockwise. 'I only want to study potions, because I can do it and to possibly assist Mum and Severus with research required to cure people, like they could help Remus, Alice and Frank in the past.'
HP
=You're late,= Inu scolded him, when he entered the first-year common room shortly before curfew.
=Sorry Inu, I'm late, because I talked with the Weasley twins for a while,= Harry replied, as he changed into his canine form to please his familiar. =Did I miss anything?=
=No,= Inu replied, waggling his tail in a movement, which Harry understood as exasperation. =Some of them are really stupid. Hermione tried to explain the Transfiguration homework to Vincent and Gregory three or four times, before they understood what we have to do,= the dog added, letting out a small sigh.
=Oh well, they've always been the thickest,= Harry replied, as he cuddled close to his canine twin on the sofa next to Neville.
"Harry," Susan suddenly addressed him, "we just decided to have another Animagi night on Saturday. Are you in?"
=Of course,= Harry woofed, eagerly nodding his head in agreement.
"I think we should invite the professors," Neville spoke up, looking up from his Charms homework.
"That would have the merit that we could spent some quality time in the park," Christa added, thoughtfully.
"Let's speak with Professor Hooch, when she comes here," Draco suggested.
"You're so lucky. I wished I could already transform into my cat form and join you all," Daphne spoke up, letting out a long sigh.
"You'll manage," Susan said in a soothing voice. "It took us ages, too."
"Exactly," Hermione concurred, just when Rolanda Hooch entered the room and listened to their excited babbling.
"A wonderful idea," she replied in apparent enthusiasm. "Do you mind if I invite my colleagues as well?"
"Please do so," Neville was the first to reply. "We'll probably spend the evening in the park divided into the various groups of animals, before we're going to sleep here in the common room together."
HP
On Saturday evening right after dinner in the atrium, approximately thirty animals of various species headed outside into the park, where they split into groups. While Fawkes and Eagle led the birds on a flight in the direction of Dragonsedge, Harry joined the mammals in the park in his canine form.
After putting up a mock fight together with Neville and Inu against Sirius, the four canines chose to follow James' lead, who was guiding the mammals around the park in his stag form.
They had much fun hiding and chasing each other, before they all gathered around the lake, where the house-elves had prepared a surprise barbeque for the various animals.
Harry curiously looked around. Most of the Animagi were well known; however, there were a few, whom he had only seen once but did not know who they were. There was also a brown bear, whom he definitely had not met before. It was almost as large as James in his stag form and was very friendly.
=That bear is a cool form, but who is it?= he asked the other canines.
Neville and Sirius merely shrugged; however, Inu mumbled something like =Doesn't seem to be human at all.=
=Do I seem to be human?= Neville countered, causing Inu to make a ruckus of smelling his canine brother from all sides.
=You smell human,= Inu finally diagnosed, causing Harry to roll his eyes at his twins.
#You should transform into your phoenix form, young nestling, instead of only hanging out with dogs,# Fawkes trilled from a nearby branch. #You must try these phoenix treats. They're delicious.#
'I will go in my phoenix form again the next time,' Harry thought to the bird, knowing that Fawkes was only able to understand him through telepathy, when he was in his canine form.
After the picnic, most of the teachers retired to their private rooms, and only Sirius in his canine form and Rolanda in her squirrel form remained as chaperone to the Animagi.
"Let's have some fun," Sirius announced, suddenly back in his human form. Casting a series of silencing spells around the area, he pointed his wand at a small branch and turned it into a radio that immediately began to broadcast party music. During the following few hours, all the animals moved to the rhythm of the music, phoenixes dancing along with squirrels, cats, dogs and the bear, and after collecting all the spoons from the remaining food plates, even the niffler joined in the dance.
Only when the first rays of the early morning sun could be seen through the trees, Sirius transformed back into his human form and instructed everyone to go to bed.
"This was a fun night, and you may sleep through breakfast for once, but I wish to see you in the atrium for lunchtime," he added in a strict voice that made Harry inwardly chuckle.
'Only people who don't know Sirius well might be impressed by his strict teacher's voice,' he thought in amusement, as he followed his brothers and friends towards the house, realising in surprise that the bear went in the opposite direction.
'Strange,' he thought, shaking his head in confusion.
tbc...
Thank you so very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome.
Next chapter: "Merlin Strawberry WOS 1.0".
