The Mutt who Lived Chapter 17: Inu to the rescue, a harry potter fanfic

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.

"We really could use Inu in our team," Arcturus said to Minerva upon his return to the MAMA around lunchtime. "Inu helped us to find another evil Death Eater. Nott has been put through the veil and his wife arrested for hiding a wanted criminal. We only checked Nott Manor about a year ago, and no one suspected him to be there now."

"His wife is in Azkaban?" Minerva asked, alert. "What's going to happen to her son?"

"No, she's not in Azkaban yet. She's in a ministry holding cell and needs to have a trial first," Arcturus informed her. "I don't know if they have any other relatives. I suppose that Moody is going to question her under Veritaserum. If she was only loyal to or even afraid of her husband, she won't go to Azkaban. Maybe she'll have to pay a fine, but I don't know. I'm sure Moody will inform you later on. Ask the son if he has other relatives and, in the worst case, keep him here for the time being. As he's only six, he can't be so bad."

"Bad enough for Inu to realise it," Minerva replied, grumpily.

During lunch break, Minerva discussed the matter with her colleagues.

"I know Theodore's mother quite well," Narcissa spoke up, "and she's not a Death Eater. She probably was scared of her husband like I would have been if Lucius approached me."

"Then we'll just hope that Moody comes to the same conclusion, so that we can send the boy home after the last afternoon class," Minerva replied, smiling.

Fortunately, by the time the day school let out, Mrs. Nott was already back at home, so that they did not have to keep her son at the school, especially since Inu had not ceased growling at him.

Lily took Inu aside and, with Harry's interpreting assistance, explained the matter to the canine. She profusely thanked him for alerting them to the problem but instructed him, "Please do not outright growl at him during the next few weeks, but still observe if his attitude changes."

Inu confirmed his understanding with a firm woof and gently licked her hand.

A few weeks later, Emma Granger was released from the muggle hospital, and Lily and Hermione convinced her to come and live at the MAMA for the time being – at least until her husband would be released as well.

'Thank Merlin the manor is big enough to accommodate so many additional people,' Lily thought, as she led Emma to an empty guest room.

Not ready to return to the muggle world and work in her practice, knowing that some of the Death Eaters who had attacked her and her husband, were still running around free, Emma spent the days looking after the younger children of the extended family - Charlus, Regulus and Jonathan.

Dorea, who was now a proud member of the Unicorn class, spent every free minute with Emma and adored her, as she could tell her many interesting stories.

"She reminds me of Hermione," Emma told Lily one day. "Always wanting to know everything, always eager to learn."

"Exactly," Lily replied, smiling, only to add, "Perhaps it's even Hermione's influence, as she has always spent much time with Dorea from the time she came to study here."

"Hermione seems to be absolutely happy," Emma replied and admitted, "I've never seen her as relaxed and thoroughly contented as she seems to be here."

"That's probably because she has friends in her classmates and small siblings in Dorea and the babies," Lily explained what she had realised many months ago.

"And no one calls her freak here like her aunt, uncle and cousin do," Emma added, letting out a deep sigh. "You know," she continued, seemingly more to herself than to Lily, "I wished we could just stay here all together, but that's impossible, because Dan and I are muggles."

Lily remained pensive for a moment, before she replied. "You know, we're still lacking several professors. For example, we still need someone to teach Alchemy, History of Magic and Muggle Studies."

Emma let out a small laugh. "I'm sorry, dear, but I haven't even heard of a subject called Alchemy yet."

Lily smirked. "I can't promise you anything yet, but you or your husband should be able to either teach Muggle Studies or to become the librarian. I'd need to ask Narcissa if she'd be willing to teach History of Magic instead."

After a longer discussion among the colleagues, Emma became the librarian, while Narcissa was going to teach History of Magic from January onwards. At the same time, Minerva instructed Narcissa to suggest to her older sister to become a professor for a newly to be installed subject Law of the Magical World.

When Dan Granger was released from the hospital, Emma informed him of her retirement as a dentist and asked him to remain in the magical world with her, and her husband hesitantly agreed.

"Can't deny my two ladies anything," he told James later on and happily accepted the position of the professor for Muggle Studies from January onwards. "In the meantime, I'm going to sell the practice. Our house is probably just rubble anyway."

"No," James replied, smirking. "My wife has instructed the goblins to renovate or rebuild the place. I haven't seen it yet, but she seemed happy with the goblins' work. If you don't intend to live in the muggle world anymore, we could ask the goblins to sell the house and the practice for you."

Dan agreed, and on Saturday morning, Lily and James took the Grangers to Gringotts to open an account and ask the goblins to deal with their material possessions in the muggle world.

Hermione was over the moon with joy upon hearing that her parents were going to remain at the MAMA together with her.

"Oh Eagle, life is good," she happily told her familiar, as she gently caressed his head feathers.

It was six months later, when Lily and Inu accompanied a new muggleborn student to Diagon Alley to buy her school supplies that Inu suddenly began to growl and fervently attack a man, who had just exited Flourish and Blotts.

"Lucius Malfoy," Lily gasped at the sight of the blonde wizard and sent a Patronus to Arcturus, knowing that the Unspeakables would be the first to respond – usually even faster than the Aurors.

An instant later, a group of three Unspeakables popped up in front of them to restrain the badly injured Death Eater. Without doing as much as tend to his injuries, they attached a Portkey to his arm that would take him right through the veil.

"One day, we're going to get that mutt for our team," Arcturus muttered, before he profusely thanked Lily and Inu for their help in the arrest of a dangerous Death Eater.

Now with Lucius gone, the Aurors were able to penetrate the dungeons at Malfoy Manor, however, only to realise that they were completely deserted. Only a few dark artefacts were left on the shelves, and the Aurors eagerly confiscated them.

"They should have asked Lucius where everyone else is hiding before killing him," Amelia muttered, when the extended family sat together for a late-night tea.

"I believe that it would be safe for our refugees now to return to their homes, don't you think so?" Regina enquired, and everyone nodded their agreement.

'I can't wait to have the manor just for the four of us,' she thought, even though she was spending much time at the MAMA anyway. She was still continuing to study magic with the various professors with the intention of taking her OWLs at the end of the following school year – together with Bill Weasley and his classmates.

A few weeks later, when the extended family was sitting together after dinner to celebrate Hermione's eighth birthday, a hissing voice suddenly penetrated Lily's mind.

"Lily, it's Amaterasu. Can you come to Hogwarts please? I urgently need your help."

Lily quickly informed the family and excused herself, before she alerted Fawkes and asked him to take her to Amaterasu's chamber, feeling strangely reassured when Inu insisted to accompany them.

When they arrived in the chamber, a boy, seemingly a teenager, was standing in front of Amaterasu, hissing something at her that Lily could not understand, while another boy of about eleven was lying on the floor, at least unconscious if not worse.

Before she could figure out let alone ask what was happening, Inu let out a series of hisses and began to attack the older boy.

"Inu, not him, you mussst desstroy the black book over there," Amaterasu suddenly hissed, and Lily was extremely glad that she could understand the basilisk.

Inu immediately let go of the already badly injured boy and turned to the black book, which Lily only noticed, when he buried his teeth into it.

The book let out a loud hiss, followed by a scream, before the older boy vanished into thin air and the book quietened down.

"What was that?" Lily asked, horrified, only to realise that the younger boy was slowly waking up. "Are you all right?" she asked, gently.

"He made the other boy come out of the black book," Amaterasu informed her, only to add, "It'sss evil."

Inu let out a series of barks, and Amaterasu translated for Lily. "Inu says that it's not evil anymore, because he destroyed it."

"Inu, you're the best," Lily said, smiling, as she gently caressed the canine's ears.

Recognising the distinctive red hair as that of the Weasley family, Lily gave the boy a sharp look and enquired, "Are you unharmed?"

"Yes," the boy finally replied, letting out a deep sigh. "It probably was my own fault. I wrote into the book, and it replied. Someone with the name Tom replied, and he knew so much. Today, he told me he wanted to show me something special at Hogwarts, and then suddenly, we ended up here," he told her, only to add, "Thanks for coming. You probably saved my life."

"That was Inu and the basilisk, not me," Lily replied, gently, pointing to the dog, who was calmly talking with Amaterasu. "Fawkes, will you please take…" She interrupted himself, giving the boy a questioning look.

"Percy Weasley," he supplied.

"Very well, Fawkes, will you please take Percy, Inu and me to Dumbledore's office?" Lily asked the phoenix, who immediately hovered in front of them, so that they could grab his tail feathers.

An instant later, the small group found itself in front of Dumbledore's office, and Lily gave the door a sharp knock.

Not waiting for the surprised deputy headmaster to even greet them, she growled, "Do you even know what the students at Hogwarts are doing? This boy was running around the school carrying a Horcrux of Voldemort. Thank Merlin the basilisk in Salazar's chamber contacted me, so that we could save your student's life."

Inu emphasized each syllable of her words with growls and barks in turns.

"A Horcrux?" Dumbledore asked, sharply, looking at the black book with interest.

"Inu destroyed it for us," Lily said, coldly, ignoring the fact that Dumbledore held out his hand.

"Please give it to me," the old wizard then asked.

"No, I'm going to hand it in to the Unspeakables," Lily replied in a no-nonsense voice. "I merely wanted to inform you about the incident and bring young Mr. Weasley to you."

"Ah but as you know, I am only the deputy headmaster…" Dumbledore began to speak, however, Lily did not wait for him to finish.

"Don't underestimate me, Dumbledore. Everyone knows that the so-called headmistress is a mere puppet under your guidance," she growled, and Inu quickly fell in, before Lily left the office with the canine in tow.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue," she heard Percy say, before she closed the door.

"Thanks Fawkes, will you please take us back home?" she then asked in a much friendlier voice, glad when they arrived where they had left an hour ago.

"Let's see if I remember correctly how to make a Howler," Arthur said, grimly, upon hearing the story.

Lily chuckled. "Feel free to ask at any time. I'll gladly turn any letter to your former wife into a Howler."

Everyone laughed at her promise, and Arthur nodded, gratefully.

"Our family owes you a life debt," Bill spoke up, who had joined them for the birthday party. "Thank you so much for saving Percy."

"It's all right," Lily replied. "I only knew what was going on, because the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets is my familiar, and she alerted me to the problem. Inu here destroyed the Horcrux, so that Percy came back to life."

"He really is a hero," Arcturus spoke up from where he was sitting with Minerva in his arms. "Harry?" he addressed the seven-year-old.

"Yes sir?" Harry replied, smiling at the older wizard.

"How about you and your doggy become Mini Unspeakables?" Arcturus suggested. "We could really use a life saver like Inu, and from all I heard your magic is extremely strong, too."

"Grandfather, my godson is only seven in case you haven't noticed," Sirius spoke up, grimly. "Leave him in peace."

"I'd like that, but I have to attend school as well," Harry replied, questioningly.

"You could join us for training on Saturday mornings during school time and on a daily basis during the holidays," Arcturus suggested.

Harry gave Lily a questioning look before turning to James. "Mum, Dad, may Inu and I become Mini Unspeakables?"

"What about me?" Neville blurted out, glaring at Arcturus in apparent disdain. "I'm Harry's and Inu's twin."

"What about us?" Hermione added, eagerly. "Christa, Susan and I want to join them, too," she explained, and the mentioned girls nodded in apparent excitement.

"Yes please, together with Neville, Draco, Christa, Hermione, Susan and Inu, I want to become a Mini Unspeakable," Harry informed Arcturus, having seen her and James nod.

'The seven of them together will make a powerful team at one stage,' she thought, feeling very happy for her three oldest. 'We still need to tell Neville about his parents sooner or later,' she then thought, inwardly groaning at the prospect.

"Very well, I'll discuss this with my colleagues, and I'll come back to you shortly," the old wizard promised, smirking.

Arthur had arranged with Godric that the ancient wizard should let him know when a staff meeting was planned at Hogwarts, and just on time, he sent a house-elf to the castle to deliver his Howler to the woman, whom he had once loved.

'I don't think I ever really loved her. I rather suspect that she put me under some kind of love potion,' he sometimes mused, when he was alone in his bedroom at night.

"Please show us the memory later on," he asked the founders, who happily agreed.

Later the same evening, Rowena appeared in one of the paintings decorating the parlour, where the extended family used to spend their evenings.

"I have a memory to show you," she announced, smirking.

When everyone stared at her with apparent interest, she waved her hand in a complicated movement, and the memory began to play out.

Lily observed how Dumbledore and his supporters gathered in the staff room at Hogwarts, just when one of her own elves popped up and placed a red envelope in front of Molly Weasley.

As soon as she unfolded it in clear annoyance, Arthur's voice sounded through the staffroom.

"Molly, how dare you not take better care of our children? Why in the world was Percy running around Hogwarts carrying a Horcrux of Voldemort? Only Lily Potter's connection to Hogwarts and her dog's fast actions saved Percy's life. You as his guardian now owe the Potter family a life debt. I can't believe how irresponsible you are towards our own children. How anyone could make you headmistress if you're not even able to look after three of your own children is beyond my understanding. I've warned you more than once, but this time, you have gone too far. From now on, you're not allowed to carry the Weasley name anymore. I have already registered our divorce earlier today. Good bye, Molly."

An instant of absolute silence followed the Howler's shouting, before Molly broke it.

"What the… He can't do that," she began to shout at Dumbledore. "Albus, please do something."

The old wizard shook his head. "I'm sorry Molly, but I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do for you." He remained pensive for a moment, before he suggested, "Perhaps you should go and see the goblins about taking on the ladyship over the Prewett family."

"I'll do that first thing tomorrow morning," the redhead replied in apparent determination, "and then I'll take my seat on the Wizengamot," she added as an afterthought.

"She won't have luck with that," Arcturus blurted out at the MAMA, laughing so loud that the extended family looked at him in surprise.

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: "Mini Unspeakables".