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.
During the last two weeks before the Christmas holidays, the midterm tests took place. While the written tests were set in the morning, they had to take turns doing their practical tests during the afternoons.
While Inu was somehow able to read by now, he was unable to write, and he had not mastered a spell to have his replies written onto a parchment by magic. Therefore, every day, when the practical exams were over, Sirius sat down with Inu and went through the first-years' test of the day with him, as he was the only adult able to comprehend dog talk.
'How boring,' Inu thought. 'The practical tests are at least somehow interesting, but just sitting down answering questions is more than stupid. I'd rather go for a run along the shore with Padfoot.' He knew better than to complain, however, glad that he was allowed to attend classes together with his twins in contrary to all the other animals, such as cats, birds etc., living in the school.
At least, when they were finished, which usually did not take long in the teacher's opinion, even if Inu disagreed in that point, he received a bone to enjoy during the evening.
HP
The adults of the extended family were not surprised, when their children, the Mini Unspeakables, received best grades in their first-year tests; however, Lily felt extremely proud of her other baby, when Inu scored as high as his siblings.
"He'll be able to pass at least his Transfiguration OWL with a top grade, considering that he's a phoenix Animagus," James informed her.
"Oh right, we all received thirty points in our exams for the Animagus transformation," Lily recalled. 'Ahh, even if I see the children every day in class or at meal times, I'm looking forward to having them at home during the holidays,' she thought, smiling in anticipation.
Her good mood, however, suddenly vanished, when Hogwarts contacted her through telepathy. 'Lily dear, please gather your family in the staff room. I've shared a memory with Rowena, which she will show you. Once again, I'm going to require your help.'
Lily rose from the sofa, where she was sitting between her children Dorea and Charlus. "Hogwarts just contacted me," she spoke up in a no-nonsense voice, which even the Marauders used to understand. "Rowena is going to show us a memory in the staff room."
"Oh Merlin, what did they do now?" Minerva blurted out in apparent exasperation, as they headed to the staff room together.
HP
When they arrived in the staff room, Rowena was already waiting for them alone in the painting of the four ancient witches and wizards.
"Hogwarts showed us a memory, which you need to see," she greeted them, waving her wand, as soon as they took their seats.
The area next to her in the painting changed to a white background, where she made the memory appear.
Beginning of memory
They found themselves in what seemed to be a teacher's office at Hogwarts. Quirinus Quirrell, whom they knew to be the current Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, was sitting behind his desk, slowly taking off his turban.
'I wonder why he's wearing that thing,' Lily thought in disgust, only to be taken aback, when a raspy voice suddenly spoke up.
"Quirrell, I suppose you know what to do."
"Y…yes…. Ma… Master," the professor stuttered, seemingly frightened.
"The bitch of a headmistress has received the needles of Helga Hufflepuff," the voice continued. "I need them."
"Y… Yes… Ma… Master," Quirrell confirmed.
"Stupid," James growled. "I've known him for years, and he never stuttered before."
Several of their colleagues nodded in confirmation. "That's extremely strange. I wonder why," Sirius uttered.
When Quirrell slightly turned around, Lily could see an ugly face hanging out from the back of his head and joined in the collective gasp of her family.
"Go and get them at midnight tonight!" the voice instructed the professor, who let out a small shudder before repeating his earlier response.
"And already stop that stuttering," the voice all but growled.
"Yes Master," Quirrell responded, firmly.
"And when you're in the headmistress' office, look out for the sword of Gryffindor," the voice added. "I'm sure that Dumbledore is keeping it somewhere around that office."
With that, Quirrell rose from the chair and left the office in favour of what Lily assumed had to be his private quarters.
End of memory
"When did that scene occur?" James asked, sharply.
"Earlier this evening," Rowena replied, sighing. "Hogwarts alerted us immediately afterwards.
"Is Quirrell possessed by someone?" Narcissa enquired in apparent disbelief.
"Could that be Voldemort?" Remus added, pensively.
"Yeah, probably," Sirius said, grimly.
"What?" Frank blurted out in apparent shock.
"It is possible," Arcturus admitted and, looking at Frank, added, "He's found a way to come back by making Horcruxes, which I suppose is why he wants these two remaining items of the founders of Hogwarts."
"Helga's needles and Godric's sword," Alice added, thoughtfully.
"To make more Horcruxes," Remus gasped in apparent disbelief.
"We'll be ready," Arcturus said, grimly. "We've already destroyed most if not all of the others."
"I wished we were still able to charm the gargoyle in front of Godric's office to kick his dirty butt," Helga growled, when she rejoined Rowena in the painting.
"Just tell us how to do that, and we'll see to it," James replied, grimly, causing Lily to nod her agreement.
"What does Hogwarts want us to do?" she spoke up, thoughtfully, thinking, 'We should go to Hogwarts and try to stop him in any case.'
They discussed the matter for a while, before Lily, James and Arcturus decided to head to Hogwarts shortly before midnight the same evening. 'It's almost eleven now anyway,' she realised in surprise.
"Let's take the dog hero with us, and if necessary, my colleagues apart from the minis can be there in a blink," Arcturus suggested, pensively.
Lily nodded in determination. "Fawkes," she called the phoenix, knowing that he would listen to her calling.
An instant later, the bird appeared in a bright flash.
"Thanks for coming, Fawkes," Lily addressed him. "Could you please send Inu over? I don't want to send him a Patronus to not wake Harry up, as I'm sure they're sleeping together."
#I'll wake the young busybody,# Fawkes promised, and Lily realised in surprise that she was able to comprehend the bird's response.
"How come that I can suddenly understand you?" she asked in confusion.
#I'm a phoenix, the king of all birds,# Fawkes trilled, fluffing his back feathers, #and it's my turn to decide if I allow a lowly dove, owl or eagle to comprehend my babbling.# With that, the phoenix flashed away, leaving the humans to stare at the empty spot in awe that turned into surprise, when Lily translated the bird's words.
"What an arrogant git," Bill blurted out. "I thought phoenixes were so good."
"Well, Harry told me last summer that Fawkes didn't behave well towards Hermione," Lily recalled, "because she was only an eagle as he said according to Harry."
=Yeah, but that was because he wanted to take the phoenixes to phoenix land, and an eagle wouldn't be able to go there,= Inu, who had just dashed into the room on time to hear Bill and her, explained, and Arcturus quickly translated.
"Since when can you understand Inu?" Lily asked, staring at the old wizard in bewilderment.
"Ever since I learned from your son that it was possible to have a second Animagus form and became a canine Animagus," Arcturus admitted, smirking. "If I allow a doggy to be a member of my group, I must be able to communicate with him," he added, matter-of-factly, causing everyone to nod in apparent amazement.
HP
Lily cradled Inu close, as she followed James and Arcturus through the fireplace into the founders' quarters at Hogwarts.
"Thank you so much for coming so quickly," Hogwarts spoke up, when they reached the parlour. "Professor Quirrell is still in his private quarters."
"We're going to watch the gargoyle," James informed the castle. "Arcturus will put us under invisibility charms."
"That's better," Hogwarts agreed. "He is good at Defence and has a dangerous guest with him."
"Exactly," Arcturus spoke up, grimly.
The old Unspeakable turned himself invisible before casting invisibility charms at the Potters, making sure that they still could see each other, and motioned Inu to do the same.
A moment later, Inu was invisible as well.
"Very good," Arcturus commended the dog. "Now can you make yourself visible again only to your mother and myself?"
It took a few seconds, before the canine slowly morphed back into view.
"Well done," Arcturus said. "James, can you see him?"
"Nope," James replied in a firm voice. "Inu, that was well done."
"Shall we go then?" Lily suggested. "We need to check where to hide, before he arrives."
The four traipsed through the otherwise dormant castle, until they reached the gargoyle that was guarding the headmistress' office.
"Perhaps we should speak with the gargoyle. If it will let us in, we should hide behind it, and we could also explain the situation and ask it to not allow Quirrell entrance," James whispered, and Lily full-heartedly agreed.
"I'll speak with the gargoyle," she suggested and stepped in front of the gargoyle that immediately jumped aside.
"Thank you," she said, warmly. "Now, we received notice that Professor Quirrell, who is possessed by Voldemort, is going to try to steal items of the founders from the headmistress' office, and we came to prevent him from doing so."
"Come in and hide inside," the gargoyle responded. "Shall I let the professor in if he gives me the correct password?"
"Please don't let him in," Lily replied in a firm voice. "As the owner of Hogwarts, we request that you to keep him out."
"Understood. I will keep Professor Quirrell out," the gargoyle confirmed.
"Thank you very much," Lily replied and let out a relieved sigh, noticing in amusement that Inu stood on his hind paws, put his front paws against the gargoyle and gently licked it to express his gratitude.
An instant later, a light buzz sounded through the corridor, when the Sorting Hat suddenly showed up and settled onto Inu's head with a thud.
=Ah, what are you good for nothing hat doing on my head again?= Inu all but growled, and Arcturus quickly translated.
"I'm only here to help if help is required. If you need Godric's sword, it can be pulled out of me," the Hat replied, quietly, "and now sit quietly, Dog Hero. Be careful that you don't kick me off."
=Shhhh,= Inu suddenly informed them. =He's coming.=
It still took several seconds, before they could see the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Together, they observed how Quirrell, who was now wearing his turban again, approached the gargoyle. "Kni… knitting needles," the professor told the gargoyle, which, however, did not budge. "Knitting needles," Quirrell repeated, sounding slightly impatient. However, the gargoyle remained, where it was.
"Knitting needles. That's the password, and now open," a second voice, which they had heard in the memory earlier, spoke up – to no avail.
"Is th.. th.. the passw… www… word wrong?" Quirrell enquired.
"No, but I'm not going to open for thieves," the gargoyle replied without any emotion.
"I'm a pro… prof… fessor here," Quirrell emphasized, slowly getting angry.
"You're harbouring a criminal," the gargoyle replied, just when Quirrell raised his wand at it.
Seeing the professor raise his wand at the gargoyle, Inu jumped up at the gargoyle and down in front of it to attack the wizard, kicking the Sorting Hat off, as he went.
Lily held her breath, when Inu raised the Elder wand.
"That's the dog," the second voice suddenly shouted in apparent panic. "Kill him, before he kills us."
Not wavering for a moment, Inu pointed the Elder Sand at the wizard, who now in turn raised his own wand at him, and cast a stunning spell at Quirrell, the Elder Wand cancelling the killing curse sent by the professor.
When the professor fell to the ground in defeat, Inu bit him left and right, eager to reach the man's bloodstream with his teeth thus making the possessing spirit flee in apparent agony.
Together, they observed how a black cloud left from the professor's head, vanishing through the nearest wall.
"That went well," Arcturus stated, contentedly. "Well done, Dog Hero."
"What are we going to do with Quirrell?" Lily asked in concern. "Do you want to just leave him here?"
"Just leave him. I shall alert the headmistress," the gargoyle promised, and, uttering their thanks, the four residents of the MAMA returned to the founders' quarters with the Sorting Hat riding on Inu's head.
=The professor should be all right,= Inu informed them, once they reached the founders' quarters, only to add, =I'm not a murderer you know.=
"Thank you very much for what you did tonight," Lily replied in a soft voice, once Sopho had translated Inu's barks, before Arcturus even got around to it.
=Thanks Hat,= Inu barked, before he playfully kicked his companion off again.
"Dog Hero, you're evil," the Hat growled, good-naturedly.
HP
Harry was extremely excited. Right now, he and his friends were attending the Leaving feast before their first holidays ever since they had become first-year students. On the one hand, he was sad to see his friends go home for two weeks, even if he had experienced the same situation ever since they had been four-year-olds. On the other hand, he was looking forward to Christmas and to how his family would react to their presents.
During his private tutoring with Severus, while the twins had brewed a series of joke candies, he had brewed assorted packs of chocolates for his extended family. Just like Berty Botts Beans, the chocolates were filled with all kinds of different ingredients that gave them exotic tastes. He had to admit to himself that he felt proud of his self-made gifts. The only problem was that Inu was not allowed to eat chocolate, as chocolate was toxic for dogs. He had asked Gina and Dobby for an advice, and Gina had helped him bake special biscuits for dogs, made from wheat, eggs, olive oil and carrots. 'I just hope Inu will like them,' Harry thought, while he absentmindedly ate his dinner.
HP
Inu did not just like the biscuits – he absolutely loved them, and by the time Harry was finished opening his own Christmas presents, the box with biscuits was already half empty.
To everyone's surprise, the six Weasley children, including Bill, who had already been a teacher at the MAMA for more than a year, all received hand-knitted sweaters from their mother.
"According to Mum, she knitted them using the knitting needles of Helga Hufflepuff," Ginny stated, wide-eyed, after reading her mother's letter. "Dad, has she completely gone nuts now?"
"I don't think so," Lily spoke up. "I've heard that they're keeping Helga's knitting needles in the headmistress' office at Hogwarts."
"She must be desperate to knit sweaters for all six of them," Arthur spoke up in a small voice. "Somehow, I feel bad for her, almost as if I had wronged her badly."
Ginny shook her head. "No Dad, you haven't," she said, warmly. "Mum made a huge mistake. She chose Professor Dumbledore over all of us, but she never realised it."
"Wise words coming from our little sister," Charlie spoke up, gently pulling the ten-year-old into a hug.
"Perhaps we could invite her here and see how she'll fare without Dumbledore nearby," Percy suggested, glancing at his father.
"What would she do here?" Sirius asked, wide-eyed, glaring at the fifth-year student.
"She won't leave Ron alone at Hogwarts anyway," Ginny replied, sighing, "and he wouldn't be able to adjust here."
"I have an idea," Bill spoke up, thoughtfully, as he let his eyes wander around the extended family.
"And what might that be?" James asked, grimly.
'As much as can understand Arthur, I'm not sure if I want Molly Prewitt here,' Lily thought, inwardly groaning, as she gently petted Inu's belly. 'I thought the Weasleys were all hiding here from her.'
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: "Molly Prewitt" (probably; not sure yet).