For the Hinny Ficfest 2021. Thank you Clare for organizing this! And thank you WhiffingBook for brainstorming with me and reading the first chapter for me. You're an angel and that story is yours too.

Prompt: "Can I pet your dog?" "Do I know you?"

The first chapter happens the summer after GoF.

"What are you doing here?"

"Are you not happy to see me?" replied Sirius, his wizard robes clashing in the Muggle Park.

Harry, sitting on a swing, sent him an annoyed look. "That's not what I said."

"You seemed pretty happy when I growled at the little Dursley and his mates."

Harry lowered his head, a small smile grazing the corner of his lips remembering Dudley's high-pitched scream when he saw Sirius. "The kid didn't deserve any of it."

"You're right, and nobody does, Harry."

Sirius took a few steps to the frame of the swing, leaning his back on it and crossing his arms. He sighed, looking in front of him with a pensive look on his face. The silence stretched, but Sirius's presence at Harry's side was still comforting. He'd felt so alone lately, his guilt his only company.

"I know it too. That pain," said Sirius after a moment. "Even if it isn't your fault, the guilt gnaws at your insides." He glanced at Harry. "It won't go away. You'll need to learn to live with it."

"Right. Thanks for the pep talk," responded Harry, frowning at the grey sky. Pushing the ground with his foot, he gave himself a little swing in hope to change his mind. Harry was exhausted to see Cedric's lifeless eyes in his head, over and over again, without a single break. It was maddening.

"What I meant is that it's possible to-."

Sirius stopped speaking when he heard the sound of a bicycle in their direction, alert. His presence in the park was a surprise to Harry since his godfather was still supposed to be hiding. Harry should have scolded him, told him how stupid it was to show off himself in a Muggle park. Yet, he never found that energy inside himself and instead, selfishly kept his godfather at his side. He should have known better.

What if Sirius was found and captured? Thrown in Azkaban again? It would be his fault, just like Cedric.

"Change."

Sirius nodded, a severe look crossing his face, and, in an instant, a black dog found himself in front of the swing.

Harry took a heavy breath to try to calm his nerves. Sirius put his head on Harry's lap which helped Harry in soothing his anxiety and he reached to caress Sirius's behind the ears, his fur softer than he'd imagined.

A family with two young kids rolled by with their bicycles on the pavement close to them, the little boy making the bell at his handlebar ring.

"I should go," said Harry, getting up the swing. "Aunt Petunia will already rip off my head because I didn't help her poor baby Duds. Not the time to be late for my chores I reckon."

Sirius let out a bark. Adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose, Harry started walking to the street. The air was chilly and he regretted not having brought a jacket.

Sirius accompanied him on his way, trotting at his side on the pavement, and pushing the moment of their goodbyes for later. Harry didn't want to ask when he'd see his godfather again.

Would it be on the platform on September first? But Harry knew it was unlikely with Voldemort's return and the Aurors who would be there for security measures. It would be too risky. Well, if Fudge ever accepted his return and took it with the seriousness it deserved.

At Hogsmeade maybe then? Harry wanted to laugh at the unfairness of finally getting a godfather, but not being allowed to see him. How lucky he was.

"Can I pet your dog?" said a red haired girl, pulling Harry out of his thoughts. She was bent and looking at Sirius with adoration, an immense smile on her freckled face.

Harry stopped in his tracks. "Do I know you?" he asked, suspicious. Anybody coming close to Sirius would cause Harry to spiral in alarm, expecting the worst, even if the person looked like a simple teenager without any malice. He was well aware what a Polyjuice potion could make possible.

What if they knew who the dog really was and it was just a ruse from the Ministry? Or Voldemort? Harry couldn't take out his wand though or voice his concern in case she was a Muggle.

He couldn't start running away either if she was armed...

The girl placed a lock of her long hair behind her ear, the movement startling Harry, and lifted her bright brown eyes to his. Harry watched her with mistrust and apprehension, ready to do anything to protect his godfather

"Oh no, you don't. I'm sorry. I just found your dog so beautiful," she replied with the sweetest smile. Sirius, for his part, clearly felt like she wasn't a threat because he started licking her hand, which made the girl giggle.

Harry sighed, still feeling a bit uneasy. "Well, I guess you can," he said, a bit exasperated at his godfather who was clearly enjoying how the girl was petting him behind his ears. He would never understand an animagus, he presumed.

"Thank you," she said with a laugh when Sirius started turning around her playfully.

"Er, no problem," responded Harry, putting his hands in his pockets and watching the girl laugh, her hair flying around her when she moved her head to look at Sirius. The tension in his shoulder was beginning to ease.

"What's its name?"

Harry, taken aback, didn't know what to answer to that, fearing that hearing the name Sirius would scare the girl. Muggles and Wizards had heard of his escape.

"Dobby," he answered, voicing the first name that came into his mind.

"Dobby? That's an adorable name. Hi, Dobby! Come here!"

"Ginny! Are you coming or not?" shouted a tall red haired guy who was waiting for her further in the park with a ball at his side.

Harry shifted on his feet awkwardly and wanted nothing more than to be away from everyone at that instant. He wasn't in the mood to socialize, compared to Sirius it seemed.

Ginny turned her head in the tall boy's direction, lifting up a finger to show him she'd arrive in a minute.

"Sorry, that was my brother," she said to Harry, who simply nodded. "Oh you're a good boy!" she said to Sirius, and Harry snorted, but she didn't seem to hear him.

"Your dog is really soft-"

"Ginny! Here you are!" exclaimed a bushy haired girl coming their way. "Oh! What a beautiful dog! Ron, come!" Harry groaned internally, wondering how he could get out of this without sounding rude.

The boy ran to the girls, the ball still in his hands. "What?" he asked.

"That's Ron, my brother, and the girl is Hermione," Ginny told him, before muttering to him "The girl my brother fancies."

The bushy girl, Hermione, bent too, lifting her eyes to Harry. "Can I?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Be my guest," he replied to the girl, his voice sounding annoyed, as the boy started making googoo sounds at Sirius. He didn't even try to hide his irritation at this point.

Amazing.

Three people he didn't know at all were petting Sirius, the wanted supposed-to-be maniac killer, when Harry just wished to get to Privet Drive as soon as possible, knowing Vernon and Petunia were now absolutely cross at him. If he was lucky and he'd mow the lawn quickly enough, he'd hopefully eat tomorrow.

The red haired girl, Ginny apparently, seemed to catch his displeasure though, because she stopped short, glancing at him with a frown.

The wind whistled harder, making the leaves in the trees around dancing. All of a sudden, it got colder, the sky covering itself with dark gray clouds, obscuring the sun.

"You could have told me you didn't want me to pet him, you know? I can speak. I'm Ginny, by the way."

"How did you want me to know you could speak? I didn't even know your name a second ago," Harry replied a bit too harshly, hearing the other girl gasping in indignation. He felt bad when he saw her joyful bright eyes flashing in anger, remembering she'd done nothing wrong, on the contrary. Ginny had been the first person speaking to him like he was a normal person in the last weeks. And Ron and the other girl didn't do anything wrong either, in fact they seemed pretty nice people, Harry was just feeling an intense ball of anger consuming his insides all the time, making it hard to be friendly with anyone.

"Nice to meet you too," Ginny said, crossing her arms.

"Harry," he mumbled.

Sirius's hairy head turned to him, his dog eyes more serious than Harry ever saw them. "Hey mate, we'll go, no need to-" Ron started.

Cedric's face flashed in his mind, again and again. He shut his eyes and pressed his palms to his eyelids, attempting to stop the flow of images. but it was no use. They popped one after the other like a movie, tormenting Harry and leaving him breathless.

"What the fuck?" he heard Ron exclaim.

Opening his eyes, Harry noticed the enraged sky and how Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were now standing up, frowning at the clouds. The girls were rubbing their arms to warm them up, their long hair dancing in every way around them.

Something was wrong, Harry felt it, and he also knew it had everything to do with magic.

"What the hell, the weather changed so fast-"

"Guys, we need to get home before it starts to storm-"

"Go! Now!" Harry said to them, his eyes fixing the horizon, his hand on the pocket where his wand was hidden.

"Why? What's happening?" asked Ron, worried. Ginny was watching Harry with a frown, looking as perturbed as her brother at his words.

They couldn't see the Dementor flying maddely in the sky, Harry remembered in horror, they could only feel the despair taking residence in their every bone. A misery so intense, a depression and sadness so deep, that it could only be associated with these vicious and horrid creatures.

Hermione took a step towards Ron, her head in her hands and her eyes shut. "Ron, I'm not feeling well," she moaned, clutching Ron's t-shirt. Swallowing, he held her, his face getting paler and paler by every second.

A sob escaped Ginny's lips, attracting Harry's complete attention.

His head snapped to her and he watched in fear Ginny panting, a hand on her heart, her eyes looking frightened.

"You need to go, I'm serious! Run!" shouted Harry, himself feeling on the verge to lose it, but he had to make sure they would leave too.

"Kids, now! Let's-"

The screams they let out when they saw Sirius could have been funny if only Harry wasn't already feeling like desperation was filling every inch of his body. The Dementor was still far from them, his silhouette nearly impossible to distinguish if you didn't know what to look for. There was no way Sirius wouldn't have sensed it in his bones, having been in their awful presence for the longer time.

"Bloody hell."

"Where's- where's Dobby?" asked Ginny with a faint voice.

"Ginny, he's Dobby," Harry heard Hermione say, her voice weak.

He turned his face to his godfather and recognized the face of someone determined to get them all to a secure place, which lessened Harry's anxiety a bit. He reckoned there was no way he could have taken care of Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all alone, however stubborn and strong-willed he could have been. He wasn't even allowed to do any magic outside of school, and despite his effort to convince himself it wasn't the same, he couldn't shake off the fact he'd failed to keep Cedric safe.

Glancing at them, he made the vow it would be different. They wouldn't die today. No.

"I'll explain later, okay?" said Harry to them, struggling to keep his head straight.

It was closer and closer, and just like he'd feared, he heard her voice. His mum's voice, screaming and begging to save him, to let him live, only him- Not Harry, not Harry.

"RUN!" roared Sirius behind them.

Sirius grabbed his arm, bringing him back to reality.

"Go, GO!" yelled Sirius to the others, waiting for them to pass before him. Ron didn't wait a second and took Hermione's hand, making sure his sister started running too.

They wouldn't be able to continue running at that speed for long, it was evident, and Harry suspected Sirius knew it too.

"Sirius! You have to do the Patronus Charm to chase it away!"

Sirius nodded, brandishing his wand behind him. He tried several times, each failed attempt making him swear, fear gripping Harry's heart. Sirius glanced at Harry, his eyes widened. "I can't! I haven't managed it since- since that night."

Harry said nothing, concentrated on his breathing.

"GINNY!" screamed Ron, following with Hermione. Harry peeked behind him and to his horror, saw Ginny on the ground, holding her ankle, her face pinched in pain.

"Ginny! Ginny!"

Harry started running in the other direction, being the closest to her. He crouched at her side, his hand on her shoulder. "That's okay, Ginny."

"What's that?!" she asked, nodding towards the Dementor approaching them, her voice filled with fear.

Taking out his wand, he pointed it in front of them, ready to cast the Patronus spell. He didn't care about the Statue of Secrecy, about the fact he was underage and shouldn't do magic. She wasn't going to die. "A Dementor. It's-"

Ron and Hermione arrived at their side only seconds before Sirius. Harry stood up, his heart pumping in his ears. "EXPECTO-"

"TOUCH THAT!" yelled Sirius at them. Harry felt his godfather yank him back, and then he was sucked into a whirlwind, his feet leaving the ground.

The impression there was a hook digging into his navel faded when Harry's feet left the pavement. It was too soon for a Portkey, he told himself, not so soon after the graveyard.

Nausea engulfed him, his heart beating at high-speed, unable to stop the images of Cedric's lifeless body on the ground, the excruciating pain of his wrist being sliced with infinite slowness, the feeling of blood leaking on it, or Voldemort's laugh resonating in his ears.

"Everyone, come here," Sirius said, pulling out a tiny sheet of paper out of his robes. "Read that."

They all approached him, faces white and trembling.

"Who are you?" spat Hermione, frowning at Sirius.

"Wizards," answered Sirius like it made complete sense. "That, that was a Dementor. One of the most vile monsters our world can find. And the address here is mine. Read it in your head please and I'll explain everything once we're safe at home."

"I trust him," said Ginny to Hermione, Ron lifting her on his back, her ankle in a weird angle. "He saved us," she reminded her. Hermione was biting her bottom lip in worry, clearly weighing the pros and cons of trusting them. Harry couldn't blame her.

"I trust you too, Ginny," said Sirius with a smile.

Deciding there was no time to waste, Harry nodded and read the paper in Sirius' hand.

"Ok, fine!" said Hermione.

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.