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.
Lily sighed in relief, when Moody took Voldemort's body with him. 'Thank Merlin,' she thought, still shaken by the events of the evening, however, glad that everything had turned out so well. Nevertheless, she felt extremely upset by Dumbledore's activities.
Amelia and Sirius remained for an hour, before they returned home, pointing out that it was already after midnight.
Several hours after the fateful events of the evening, Lily and James were still sitting in their cosy kitchen discussing everything. Main topic were Inu's actions to efficiently protect them on the one hand and Dumbledore's activities on the other.
All of a sudden, the fireplace flared up, and the Potters looked over in surprise. At the same time, Inu came running downstairs, positioned himself in front of the fireplace and barked.
"Who might that be? It's almost three o'clock in the morning," Lily blurted out, when her mentor, Minerva McGonagall, stepped out of the fireplace.
Inu immediately quieted down, waggling his tail at the kind witch, who leaned down to gently pet his ears.
"Minerva," Lily greeted her, surprised but also very happy to see the older witch.
"Lily, James," Minerva blurted out, as she stepped over to her and pulled her into a bear's hug. "Thank Merlin it was all just rumours and you're alive. I'm sorry to intrude at this time of the night, but I just had to see that you're all right with my own eyes," she added in a soft voice.
"What exactly were the rumours and where did they come from?" James enquired, as he poured their guest some tea.
Minerva let out a deep sigh, before she explained how Dumbledore had floo called her instructing her to head to the Dursleys' residence. "He said that the two of you had been killed by Voldemort, that only Harry had survived and that Hagrid would take him to his muggle relatives. I protested and told him that, assuming that he was talking facts and not just assumptions, Harry had a godfather, a godmother and a granny, and that I would love to raise him at Hogwarts. He didn't want to listen. I was so happy, when Hagrid arrived in front of the Dursleys' doorstep and told us you were alive. I just had to come here right away. I'm sorry for intruding at this time of the night."
"That's fine. We're up anyway," Lily replied, gently. "I'm glad to see you."
"I still don't get it," James all but growled. "How could Dumbledore know that Voldemort was going to attack tonight, and how did he believe he knew the outcome of the attack?"
"Apparently, Severus told him about the attack. He was devastated, but it was too late to do anything about it. It was Severus who had advised Albus to send you into hiding in the first place by the way."
"Is he a Death Eater?" James enquired, sharply.
"He made a grave mistake, but then he regretted what he did and became Albus' spy," Minerva explained.
"Maybe it was our fault that he joined the Death Eaters in the first place, I mean Sirius' and my fault," James said, pensively. "We probably drove him there by our actions in fifth-year."
Minerva did not reply but not contradict either, and Lily nodded, gravely.
"I will thank him for warning us and sending us into hiding; however," she added, thoughtfully, "I'm going to put up a huge fight with Albus. How dare he tell everyone that Sirius was a traitor? He himself cast the Fidelius charm with Peter as the Secret Keeper. Moreover, how could he assume that we were dead, and why in the world did he want to send Harry to the Dursleys? They're explicitly excluded in our will. Alice is his godmother and you his surrogate granny. Above all, he should have come and check out the situation."
"Lily, I fully agree," Minerva said, grimly. "His manipulations have gone too far this time."
"Please excuse me for a moment. I just want to look in on Harry, considering that Inu came downstairs barking at the fireplace," Lily said and quickly hurried upstairs with Inu following on her heals.
To her surprise, Harry was back in his human form and fast asleep. For an instant, she wondered if she had dreamed seeing him in the form of a canine, however, she quickly dismissed the idea, certain about what she had seen. Inu climbed into bed and crawled under the covers to sleep, cuddled against Harry's stomach.
"Our hero," Lily whispered, smiling, before she returned to the kitchen.
HP
While James went to the ministry in the morning, even if it was a Sunday, he promised Lily to be back at lunchtime at the latest, considering that they had not slept at all that night. Lily spent the day at home with Harry and Inu, deep in thoughts. She also tried to treat the scar on Inu's backside with potions, however, to no avail.
'Oh well, that'll remind us forever what a hero he is,' she thought, smiling as she observed the two babies interact.
"Harry," she spoke up, as she recalled the previous night, "do you remember changing into a dog last night?"
Harry gave her a confused look, before he toddled over to Inu and hugged him close. "Inu," he said, smiling, causing Lily to inwardly grin. 'Inu' had been Harry's second word, right after 'Mum,' and James had been very put out about it, stating that Harry was supposed to say 'Dad' before the canine's name. 'Perhaps he doesn't even remember the transformation,' she thought. 'Oh well, we'll see if it happens again some time.'
Only when Harry and Inu took a much-needed nap after lunch, her thoughts returned to the question what to do with Dumbledore. 'As soon as James is going to come home, I'll head to Hogwarts,' she resolved. 'I need to thank Severus first and then speak with Dumbledore.' To her relief, Minerva had promised to join her for the conversation with the headmaster and to fully support her in the matter.
HP
When James did not return, while the babies were asleep, she decided to send a Howler to Dumbledore, even if only to possibly feel better afterwards.
'Dumbledore, you manipulating old coot, how dare you make assumptions without even verifying them and play with people's lives believing you were infallible? Ignoring people's wills? Destroying a child's life? Lying to the Aurors to destroy another wizard's life? This time, you've gone too far. My husband and I will quit supporting you and your chicken order and never come back. You will get a trial soon and hopefully be rid of your position as headmaster even sooner.'
Casting the Howler charm as forceful as possible, so that the whole school would hopefully be able to hear her shouting, she called asked Merlin, their large snowy owl, to take the letter to the headmaster of Hogwarts as fast as possible.
Merlin gave a short hoot and flew away. 'He's always fast,' Lily thought, smiling, as she observed the white dot on the sky grew smaller.
HP
James did not return before the late afternoon, and Lily had to try hard to not show how upset she was in front of the children, as both Harry and Inu were very sensitive to her moods.
Before she could say anything, James took her hands, looking very stern. "Lily, I'm sorry, but please hear me out," he said in a no-nonsense voice that made her look at him in concern.
"Frank and Alice have been attacked," he informed her.
Lily cast him an incredulous look. "But Voldemort is gone," she stammered in confusion.
"Death Eaters," James growled. "The Lestranges and Barty Crouch Junior. They went and tortured the Longbottoms into telling them where Voldemort went, which they – of course – couldn't. They simply told them that he was dead, and they didn't take it well. They tortured them into insanity."
"Where are they now? Are they dead?" Lily asked, urgently, fighting the tears, as Alice had been her best friend since her first day at Hogwarts.
"They're at St. Mungo's, but the healers don't have much hope to reverse it, as they've been tortured by the Cruciatus curse," James replied, letting out a deep sigh. "Padfoot and I went to see them, and we met Augusta Longbottom. She asks if we can take Neville in, as she's too old to raise a baby."
"Of course," Lily said, lightly. "He's my godson after all."
"I promised her to ask you," James informed her.
"Let's go and get him," Lily replied in determination, "provided that you're all right with it?"
"Yes, but perhaps you should go alone, and I'll watch Harry and Inu," he suggested, pensively. "Inu's wound might hurt if we took him through the fireplace so soon after receiving it."
"Oh, that's true," Lily agreed and instructed him, "Take good care of our babies. I'll be back soon."
HP
James played with Harry for a while, hoping that his wife would return soon. Somehow, he was still shaken by the events of the previous evening, and the news of the Longbottoms, which the Auror office received around lunchtime, when he was just getting ready to return home, did not help to raise his mood either.
"Inu is a hero," he told Harry in a soft voice. "He saved all our lives last night. Unfortunately, the Longbottoms did not have a hero like him in their home."
"Nene?" Harry asked, tentatively.
James nodded. "Yes, Neville's parents can't be with him now, and so, Mummy has gone to fetch Neville here, so he can live with us. Will you be a good brother to him?"
"Nene wif HawwynInu?" Harry blurted out in excitement, and while Lily seemed perfectly capable of understanding his baby speech, James could only guess what it meant.
'Harry's magic must be really strong for him to be able to speak so much already,' he mused, knowing that Neville was not talking at all yet. Of course, he knew that Harry's magic was strong, even if he felt inclined to shake off Lily's observation of their son being a natural Animagus as a phantasy of her mind, which had to be confused after the events of the evening.
To his relief, it did not take long, before Lily returned with Neville and several boxes of clothes and toys.
"Nene!" Harry shouted in apparent excitement and toddled over to the fireplace in what seemed to be a fast pace for a fifteen-month-old, closely followed by Inu.
"Ha," Neville replied, equally happy to see his friend, and hugged Harry and Inu, who gently licked the boy's face.
HP
'Thank Merlin they get along so well,' Lily thought in relief. She was absolutely shocked by the events of the last twenty-four hours, very sad about her best friend's fate, angry at Albus Dumbledore and uncertain how to keep her three children safe in the future.
Leaving the kids to play under James' supervision, she walked up to the nursery and added a second bed, another wardrobe and some additional items to accommodate her godson. The thought 'We could change the guest room into a nursery for Neville' crossed her mind, however, she quickly dismissed it, knowing that Harry and Neville were so close that they would surely prefer living together. 'When they're older, we can still give them separate rooms,' she resolved.
Suddenly, she heard the fireplace flare and Inu begin to bark. Letting out a deep sigh, she made her way downstairs to see who was calling.
HP
It was Minerva, who was just pulling the children into bear hugs followed by Inu.
"Good evening, Lily and James," she then said, a small tear leaking from her eye. "You got Neville here," she added in a soft voice, once the children dashed away to play again.
"He's my godson," Lily explained in an equally gentle voice.
"I'm sorry," Minerva apologized. "This is not really a social visit." Giving Lily and then James a stern look, she added, "Severus and I fear that you're not safe here. Even if you could and should renew the Fidelius charm, considering that – at least according to Albus – they have not caught Pettigrew yet, it would be safer for you if you came to Hogwarts."
"To Hogwarts?" James enquired in apparent surprise, quirking an eyebrow. "What would we do at Hogwarts?"
"Oh, I have some business to do at Hogwarts," Lily spoke up, her anger at the headmaster flaring up again. "I just didn't get around to talk to Dumbledore yet, but I'll have to have a conversation with him and give him a piece of my mind and some more."
Minerva nodded. "Understandable," she agreed, letting out a deep sigh. "Although your Howler could be heard all over the castle. Anyway, I have discussed Albus' actions of last night with Pomona, Filius, Severus and Poppy, and we believe that Albus should not remain the headmaster any longer. In fact, we have several offers for positions for the two of you, and we promise our support in ridding Albus of his position."
"What positions?" James asked, sounding suspicious.
"One point is," Minerva continued, "that Filius would like either of you to take over the Charms position, as he'd prefer teaching History of Magic to replace the ghost. The other point is that Severus would like to be solely responsible as a Potions Master and told me to ask Lily if she would be willing to become the Potions professor."
"On the one hand, I'd like that very much, especially as I intend to research and invent a possible cure for the Longbottoms, but on the other hand, I have to watch two fifteen-month-olds, and above all, doesn't Dumbledore have to agree as the headmaster even if he might not be on the position for much longer?" Lily enquired.
Minerva let out a deep sigh. "I know, and we need to apply to the Board of Governors to rid him of the position. This morning, I've had a long conversation with Godric Gryffindor, whose portrait is guarding the entrance to my private quarters. He relayed to me that as the heir of him and Rowena Ravenclaw, you are the owner of Hogwarts together with Lily. While Voldemort would be an heir of Slytherin, he is dead, even if Albus suggests that he's not really gone for whatever reason, but above all, Slytherin denies that he is his heir. Anyway, Godric told me that you should try to speak with Sopho, the Sorting Hat. He will be able to get rid of the headmaster and select a new headmaster or headmistress for you."
Lily and James exchanged a look. "This sounds like a fairy-tale," Lily finally spoke up.
"I know that the Potters are the heirs of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family," James said, thoughtfully. "That is true. Perhaps we should go and talk to Godric. His portrait should be at Potter Manor as well. If I may suggest something," he began, however, slowly trailed off.
Seeing the two witches look at him in expectation, he explained, "We could set up our own school at Potter Manor. The manor is large enough for a few hundreds of students, we're currently still employing about two dozen house-elves, and we have the financial means for such a project. The manor has a huge library rivalling that of Hogwarts, we have greenhouses, horses and a proper Quidditch pitch. We just need some qualified professors."
"I'm in," Minerva agreed immediately. "As much as I love Hogwarts, I'd like the challenge in spite of my age, and I'm sure that several of my colleagues would join us."
"Why don't we go and check out the manor?" James suggested. "You could still call your colleagues from there and invite them over."
Minerva readily agreed; however, Lily decided to make a small trip to Hogwarts to speak with Severus and the headmaster first. "I really have to pick a bone with Dumbledore," Lily added, anger at the headmaster pressing itself to the front of her mind at the mere thought of the old wizard. "Please take the children with you and ask Gina to make dinner for everyone. I'll take Inu with me."
When Minerva and James readied themselves to take one of the boys each through the fireplace, Lily apparated to Hogsmeade with Inu on her arm, and together, they walked up to the castle. 'Hogwarts is beautiful,' Lily could not help thinking, 'but as long as Dumbledore is the headmaster, it's better if we set up our own school, and Potter Manor is almost a castle itself.' Deep in thoughts, she climbed up to the headmaster's office with Inu running ahead, surprised when the gargoyle simply jumped out of her way. 'Thank Merlin,' she thought in relief. 'I forgot to ask Minerva for the password.' Only when she stood in front of the door to the headmaster's office, the thought that she had forgotten to speak with Severus beforehand crossed her mind, and she decided to speak with him at a later time.
HP
"Lily," Dumbledore greeted her, and Lily had the impression as if the headmaster was not exceedingly happy to see her.
"Dumbledore," she all but growled, refusing the offered lemon-drop with an impatient wave of her hand. She stared at the old wizard in anger. Apparently realising that he had done something wrong, he looked all of his one hundred and forty years. 'Oh well, I hope he realises it, and he deserves everything he gets,' she thought, grimly.
HP
Inu lightly growled at the old wizard. 'He's not as pure as he seems,' he thought. Even if he could not recall having me the man before, he suddenly knew several things about him, things which he had done during his youth. 'He was responsible for his sister's death,' he realised and glared at Dumbledore in confusion. 'Why do I even know such a thing?' he wondered. 'I'm only fifteen months old.'
HP
"Headmaster," Lily began to speak, her voice laced with anger at the old wizard. The fact that Inu continued to growl at Dumbledore only fuelled her feelings. "How dare you," she continued, "send Hagrid to take Harry to the Dursleys without checking what happened in the first place and without consulting our will in the second? How could you just simply assume that we were dead and Harry alive? Did it fit well into your manipulative plans or what?" Intensifying her glare at the old wizard, she continued, "Then you go ahead and accuse Sirius of being a traitor in spite of having cast the Fidelius charm by yourself? How dare you play with people like that?"
"Ah but Lily…" Dumbledore began to speak; however, Lily interrupted him, not caring how rude she appeared.
"Why in the world did you even assume that we were dead and Harry survived? Is there any reasonable explanation apart from your newest plan of manipulation?" she shouted at the old wizard.
"Lily…" he tried in vain to interrupt her tirade.
"Don't Lily me. We're going to have a trial about this," she threatened in a no-nonsense voice. "I've had enough of your manipulations. Moreover, I strongly advise you to retire as headmaster before we make you retire."
"Ah but Lily," the headmaster began anew, however, was interrupted by none other than Godric Gryffindor.
"Dumbledore," the ancient wizard spoke up from his portrait. "Young Lily is completely right, and you've forfeited your position as headmaster of Hogwarts. Please vacate your office at the next opportunity."
"Ah but Godric, I believe that it doesn't lie within the power of a portrait to dismiss headmasters," Dumbledore disagreed. "If Mrs. Potter wishes me to retire, she must write to the Board of Governors."
Suddenly, Lily remembered that Inu was with her and turned her head to look what the canine was doing only to realise in surprise that the Sorting Hat had left his spot on the shelf and was hovering in front of Inu. Dog and Hat stared at each other, and the Hat finally said, "One day, I might choose you as the headmaster, dog hero, but then, I need you to attend Hogwarts first, together with your twin brothers."
To Lily's amusement, Inu returned a soft woof and rose onto his hind paws to give the Sorting Hat's brim a quick lick.
'How strange,' she thought, as she observed the scene. Knowing that there was nothing else she could say to Dumbledore, she quickly excused herself and left the room with Inu running ahead as usual.
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: "The manor".