The Singing Dog
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable 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.
If you have not read chapter 5 yet, which I only posted yesterday, please go back and read from there - enjoy :).
Harry stared at Neville in surprise. 'He's a doggy, too. That's cool,' he thought, when Neville stumbled on unused four legs, and Inu quickly pulled them all into a mock doggy fight. They rolled around on the floor, having much fun, before they fled upstairs at Neville's Gran's angry voice, pulling Neville with them by accidental magic.
Only when they reached the safety of their own bedroom, the three canines sank onto the floor and began to relax.
=Well done, Neville.= Harry looked at his familiar in appreciation.
=Yes, Neville.=
Neville shook his head, fluffing his fur. =I don't know how.=
They remained quiet for a while, listening to the voices coming from downstairs, before Neville broke the silence, noticing that his grandmother's shouting had stopped. =Can I stay here?=
=Yes.= Harry's and Inu's response was clear and simultaneous. However, just to be sure, they remained where they were, until Lily entered the room and firmly closed the door behind her.
HP
Lily, Severus, Aileen and Augusta observed, the former three in amusement, Augusta in apparent shock, how the three canines played and then ran upstairs.
"Neville!" Augusta gasped, staring at the empty spot in front of her in apparent shock. "You must understand," she said, turning to the others, "that he never did any magic at all. I almost believed that he was a Squib."
Lily shook her head. "He isn't."
"Now I can see that, too." Augusta let out a deep sigh. "Oh Merlin, I am too old for this. Where are Frank and Alice, when I need them?"
Lily cleared her throat. "Augusta, if you wish, you can leave Neville with us. He can grow up together with Harry and his siblings. I am his godmother after all."
Augusta cast her a look that Lily could understand as sadness and hope at the same time.
"Lily, Severus, do you really not mind?" She looked from her to Severus.
"Not at all." Severus was wearing a blank mask, however, nodded in the old witch's direction.
"Very well. Will you allow me to visit him occasionally?"
"Of course. You're welcome here at any time." Lily smiled at the old lady.
"Augusta, you should know that the Potter-Snape family is very friendly and attracts many visitors, who are always welcome here. I already feel at home here." Aileen smiled.
"Aileen, you definitely belong to our extended family, considering that Harry and Draco call you 'Granny'." Severus smirked.
Augusta nodded in apparent understanding. "May I please see Neville for two minutes, before I return home?"
"Yes, of course. Please give me a few minutes to fetch the boys." Lily rose from the sofa and headed to the second floor, wondering if the two-year-olds were able to keep her secret.
HP
"Harry, transform back please." At the same time, she pointed her wand at Neville, making him change back into his human form as well. "Just so you know, Neville, you are not a natural Animagus like Harry. I only made it look that way. In fact, I transfigured you into a dog, so you could impress your grandmother. You must not tell her about it though. Do you understand me?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
=Yes.=
"Good." She unobtrusively cast a wandless charm at Neville that would prevent him from telling his grandmother about the matter, knowing that she could rely on Harry. "Neville, your grandmother has agreed that you stay here with us if that's what you want." Ignoring the children's collective cheer, into which Inu happily chimed in, she continued. "Your grandmother wishes to talk to you for two minutes though. Please do her the favour and speak with her."
Neville nodded, giving her an anxious glance.
"It's all right. She only wants to speak. She's not going to take you with you." Lily smiled, reassuringly, while Inu stood on his back paws to gently lick the boy's cheek.
"Thanks Aunt Lily, thanks Inu."
Smiling, Neville followed Harry and Inu downstairs, where Lily ushered Aileen, Severus and Harry into the kitchen to give Augusta and Neville some privacy. If the old lady forced Neville to do anything that he did not want, Inu would certainly alert them on time to act.
Later on, when the children were in bed, Severus gave her a questioning look. "Am I right that Neville did not perform accidental magic? That was your doing, wasn't it?"
Lily sighed. "You know, I am a mama bear, even if Neville is only my godson."
Severus smiled. "It was well done in any case," he said in a soft voice, before he pulled her into his arms.
HP
A few weeks later, Lily admitted to Severus that she was pregnant, wondering how he would react. 'He should be happy, considering that it was his wish to have a child together,' she thought. However, Severus' reaction completely exceeded her expectations, as he pulled her into a passionate kiss, before he pulled her blouse up and gently caressed her stomach.
"How many weeks?" he breathed.
"Eight weeks now, and our child is supposed to be born sometime mid-September."
"Thanks for making me so happy."
Lily smiled, knowing that for her husband, who usually did not show much emotion, this was a fierce reaction. "Dito," she replied, smiling.
"I will speak with Albus and ask if he can find someone else as Potions professor and allow me to solely remain the Slytherin head and Potions Master. Will you please excuse me for a moment?"
"Of course, dear. Wouldn't it be better to speak with Minerva first though?"
"Yes, that might be more rational. Albus usually tends to listen to her. Shall I invite her for Sunday afternoon?"
"Yes, please do so, when you see her at dinner, which is going to commence in twenty minutes anyway."
Severus nodded grimly. "Yes, I need to go. I'll see you in an hour. Please be careful, especially in the lab. Remember what I told you during your previous pregnancies."
Lily could not help smiling. "Yes dear, I know. I am only pregnant though, not handicapped."
Grumbling to himself, Severus headed towards the connecting door, causing Lily to smile, before she stepped through the other connecting door into her living room, where Harry, Inu, Neville and Draco greeted her in apparent happiness.
Aileen cast her a knowing look. "Did you tell him?"
"Did you not hear him?" Lily smirked.
"No."
"Well, he was happy to say the least."
Narcissa cast her a questioning look, and Lily quickly informed the woman, who had become one of her best friends during the last fifteen months, about her pregnancy.
HP
Minerva was the next to hear the good news, when she followed Severus' invitation on Sunday afternoon. The children immediately stormed up to her. "Hello Granny Mina."
"Hello Harry." Minerva smiled at the excited boy. "And hello Neville, hello Inu. Congratulations, Lily and Severus. I am very happy for you."
"Thank you, Minerva." Lily smiled at the older witch, who had been her mentor ever since she set foot into Hogwarts as an eleven-year-old. "We're very happy, too. We just have two problems, about which we'd like to speak with you. Thank you, Cicero," she said in the direction of the elf, who had just served tea along with Minerva's favourite biscuits. "Would you please be so kind and provide a snack for Harry, Neville and Inu in the kitchen?"
"How can I help?" The older witch looked from Lily to Severus, once Cicero had ushered the children into the kitchen.
"One point is," Severus spoke up, "that I'd like to help more with the apothecary. It is going really well, and Lily and Remus are both extremely busy. Now with Lily pregnant again, I don't want her to brew as much as she did during the last months since the twins were born." He let out a small sigh. "Do you believe that it would be possible to separate the position of the Potions professor from the one of the Potions Master? I would like to remain the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin, if someone else could teach the Potions classes."
Minerva remained pensive for a moment, before she replied. "I don't see why not. Do you have someone in mind as the Potions professor?"
Severus gave Lily a questioning look, knowing that she had already an idea.
"How about Pandora Lovegood? We know her quite well from when we studied for the Potions Mastery together."
"She was a good student, too. Do you believe that she would agree to teach though? What is she doing now?"
Lily sighed. "Actually, she has a girl who is about six months younger than Harry, and she's watching her daughter and brewing experimental potions in her free time. That leads me to our second topic, by the way. Would you be willing to try convincing the headmaster to set up a primary school at Hogwarts? For example, from the age of four? We know of at least five children, who are going to be four next summer and would love to attend, Luna Lovegood not included. There are other children here on the island, who might be interested as well."
Minerva cast her a pensive look. "Do you already have a recommendation for a teacher?" she asked, apparently knowing Lily well enough to know that she would have a solution.
"Yes. Narcissa Malfoy would be available, although she told me that she would rather teach another class, if the primary school will consist of two classes, so that she wouldn't have to teach our own children."
"What about your younger ones?"
"Aileen O'Brien, who is the children's surrogate grandmother, will watch the younger ones here at home. I'll be at home or in the lab anyway. Shall I floo call Pandora and see if she can come over for a moment?"
"Why not?" Minerva nodded her agreement, and Lily quickly headed to the fireplace to call her fellow potions mistress.
HP
A few minutes later, Pandora stepped out of the fireplace together with two-year-old Luna. Harry, Neville and Inu immediately fawned over the girl, who had long, blonde hair and was wearing a dark blue dress with an all-over pattern of cats and dogs that were playing together.
Leaving her children to care for the youngest guest, Lily called Pandora over to the sofa, where Cicero served some more tea, and informed the witch about the reason for the sudden invitation.
"I'd like that," Pandora immediately agreed, "however, only if you set up the primary school and Luna will be allowed to attend it. She only turned two last week."
"We're discussing the summer next year; do I understand this correctly?" Minerva looked from Lily to Severus.
"Yes."
"That means that Luna would be three and a half." Minerva remained pensive for a moment. "If you're a member of the Hogwarts staff, it surely wouldn't be a problem to have her attend the primary school six months earlier."
They discussed the matter for another hour, before Minerva promised to speak with the headmaster after dinner the same day. "Severus, ready yourself to be called into his office right afterwards," she added as an afterthought.
"I know." Severus smirked, as he had not expected any other reaction from Dumbledore. "Please do not tell him the real reason for my wish. I'm just going to pretend that I want more time for research. He should not know anything about the apothecary."
"Of course." Minerva nodded in agreement.
"The apothecary?" Pandora gave him a questioning look.
"My wife and I own the Singing Dog, and…"
"Wait a moment." Pandora stared from Severus to her in apparent shock. "The two of you own the Singing Dog?" Turning to Minerva, she added, "You must know that it's already famous in potions masters' circles. It's said to have the most competent potions masters all over the British and Irish isles. You invented a remedy for the goblin blue moon disease, didn't you?"
"Yes." Severus smirked. "The blue moon disease has certain similarities with lycanthropy in the human world, and in our research for a cure for lycanthropy, we almost accidentally developed a cure for the goblin disease. The potions master of Goblin Island asked if he could try out all our experimental potions, which is why we accidentally found the cure. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for lycanthropy… yet."
"Please do not tell anyone that we're the owners of the Singing Dog," Lily said, imploringly, as she wandlessly and silently cast a charm at the other potions mistress that would unable her to talk about the matter.
"Oh Merlin, congratulations. I am speechless. Even the Daily Prophet had a field day with it, but they neither disclosed the names of the owners nor the place of the apothecary, only the name, 'The Singing Dog.'"
"I am happy to hear that you're so successful." Minerva smiled at the two of them, only to add as an afterthought, "And I am glad that I got to know about it on this occasion."
HP
As could be expected, Severus was called into the headmaster's office an hour after dinner.
"Severus, my boy, how good to visit me on this fine evening. You've really made yourself rare recently," Albus greeted him.
Severus slightly inclined his head, declining the offered lemon drop with an impatient wave of his hand. "I am sorry, Headmaster. I am engrossed in some potions research that takes all my free time besides my responsibilities as potions master, Potions professor and head of Slytherin house."
The headmaster leaned forward in his seat. "May I enquire what you are researching at this time?"
"I am doing what hundreds of potions masters already did in the past. Trying to develop a cure for lycanthropy."
"Ahh." Albus nodded in apparent understanding. "Have you ever heard of the Singing Dog, by the way? The Daily Prophet reported that they have found a cure for some goblin disease that it said to be somehow related to lycanthropy."
Severus shook his head. "No sir. Is that all? I have several concoctions to brew for the hospital wing."
"Just one more thing. Minerva had another idea. She wants to set up a primary school for children from the age of four. What do you think about this?"
Severus quirked an eyebrow, feigning annoyance. "Headmaster, in which way does that concern me?" he enquired with narrowed brows.
"Ah, no, it won't." Albus quickly reassured him. "They're too small for you to teach them in the fine art of brewing."
"Exactly. The elven-year-olds enough of a nightmare, especially the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs." Severus nodded, grimly, inwardly grinning at the thought of buying toddlers' potions kits for Harry's, Draco's and Neville's third birthdays.
"Well, then I won't keep you any longer. Have a good evening, Severus, and don't work too much. I shall speak with Mrs. Lovegood concerning the Potions professor's position. Would you be willing to share your private lab with her, or do we need to set up another potions lab?"
"Please keep these positions completely separate and have the elves install an office as well as her own private lab for her. I will neither share my office nor my personal lab." 'Better to be meticulously exact, or Albus won't understand,' he thought in annoyance.
"All right my boy." Albus nodded in agreement, and Severus quickly took his leave.
HP
To Lily's and Severus' relief, Dumbledore agreed with both suggestions, which he believed to be Minerva's ideas. While both of them would have preferred it if at least the change in the Potions professor's position was going to take place this very summer, they knew that it was not practicable, as Pandora could not teach classes yet, while Luna was so young. While Aileen and Narcissa were nice enough to offer to watch Luna together with their own crowd, Lily and Severus knew that the two witches had their hands full with the oldest trio in combination with the twins and Mireille. The younger trio was going to be one year old soon, and they toddled all around the house, reaching for this and that without magic, witch accidental magic and, as Lily should see one day, with completely willed magic.
One day, Lily returned home, when Neville alerted her to the fact that Jacqueline had to be fed. She entered the living room only to stare at a scene of absolute chaos in shock. Books as well as all kinds of toys and dog toys were scattered around the room.
"What happened here?" she enquired, already pulling her daughter onto her lap.
"Jacqueline and Mireille saw fit to pull all the books out of the bookshelf." Narcissa let out a deep sigh.
"Let me guess, Mireille took the bottom row and Jacqueline the top row."
"Exactly," Aileen agreed. "Her magic must be extremely strong."
Just now, a crying Jaime came running downstairs, closely followed by a growling Inu, before the small boy stumbled on the stairs and fell head-first down.
While Narcissa and Aileen immediately tended to the boy, who seemed to be all right apart from the shock of falling, Lily turned to Inu, knowing that the canine would not have chased the boy if not for a reason.
"Inu, what happened?" she asked in a soft voice.
Inu waggled his tail and turned to the stairs only to run upstairs again.
"Harry?"
"We'll go and see what's wrong." With that, the trio of Harry, Neville and Draco dashed upstairs. It took awfully long, and Lily was just about to storm upstairs herself, when they returned.
Harry let out a deep sigh. "Sorry Mum, Jaime pulled everything out of the wardrobe in your and Dad's bedroom. That's why Inu chased him down."
"Thanks Harry, Draco and Neville. Thanks Inu. Jaime, that was very bold."
Jaime gave her a sad smile, apparently sensing that she was upset at him.
'Oh Merlin, why in the world did I agree to have another child?' Lily thought, suddenly feeling overwhelmed at the idea.
HP
As Severus had told her in advance, Harry, Neville and Draco received potions kits for toddlers for their birthdays. However, to her relief, he immediately set up the rule that they were only allowed to use their potions kits when he or Lily were supervising them. He also made the boys confirm that they had understood said rule and were going to follow it.
If in her opinion, the gift might still be slightly dangerous in a household, where three or in a few weeks' time even four younger children were living, the potions kits were nothing compared with Lucius' gift for his godchildren, when they turned two years old on Harry's fourth birthday.
tbc...
Are you still interested?
Soon, the children will attend the primary school at Hogwarts.
Thank you so much for your kind words on the previous chapter. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and what you expect from this story.