Chapter Thirty-Nine – Post and Permission Slips

Mrs. Zabini said they couldn't keep the dog in the house, but she didn't say anything about it staying outside. After some coaxing, Harry was able to entice him into the garden with scraps he saved from the dinner table. The dog had been ravenous, confirming Harry's suspicion that he was underfed, and Harry began to set aside a bit of his food at each meal. Within a week, the dog had learned their schedule, and would wait faithfully by the gate for admission to the garden, where Harry would feed and play with him for hours.

If Mrs. Zabini had any suspicions, she did not voice them. The dog never caused any problems, and Harry knew better than to venture outside of the garden again.

Blaise usually joined him in these outdoor romps, and it wasn't long before he suggested they give their canine companion a name. Blaise preferred grand names, such as Behemoth, Alastor, or Marchosias. Harry's tastes ran more common, ranging from Chester to Scully. But no matter what name they tried, the dog would either ignore them entirely, or give them outright snorts of disapproval.

"What about Orcus?" suggested Blaise as the three of them lay in the grass on a particularly hot day.

"You tried that one already," Harry said, wondering where Blaise thought of such ridiculous names in the first place. The dog grunted in agreement, then lifted his paw to gently strike Harry's leg. He did this often whenever Harry and Blaise attempted names, as if he was urging them to think of a better idea, but after several days, it was starting to seem hopeless.

"Then how about Ronove?"

"Too similar to Ron."

"Malphas?"

"Sounds like Malfoy."

"Millie!"

"Millie?" Harry asked, turning his head to look at his friend in confusion. Blaise had propped himself up on his elbows, and was looking toward the back door. Harry tilted his head backward from his reclined position, and saw Millicent Bulstrode standing on the back step, looking down at them with a grin.

Harry scrambled to his feet and rushed to greet her. Mrs. Zabini had arranged for her to come visit in time to celebrate Harry's thirteenth birthday, with the understanding that she would stay with them the rest of the summer, bt they hadn't expected her to arrive until the next day. Millie was clearly pleased with herself for surprising them a day early.

"What's with the dog, Harry?" Millie asked after the necessary greetings were given.

"He's my friend," Harry explained, "I've been feeding him, so now he comes 'round every day."

The dog lifted his head and licked Harry's palm affectionately, as if grateful to be introduced as a friend. Then again, he might have been hoping for a few crumbs stuck to Harry's palm from dinner that day.

"Does he have a name?" Millie asked.

"We've been working on that. Any suggestions?"

Millie considered the dog's dark coat and said, "Pitch?"

"I think we've tried that one before," said Harry.

As if to confirm, the dog whined and sat back on his haunches, where he proceeded to use one of his back paws to scratch behind his ear. His was an attitude of complete indifference. The search for the perfect dog name would continue.

"He doesn't have fleas, does he?" Millie asked. The dog's ears twitched, and he gave a low growl.

"Careful, Millie, I think you've insulted him."

"So long as he doesn't bother my cat, I don't care what he thinks of me."

Millie had come bearing a gift for Harry, which they agreed he would open with the rest of phis presents the following day. Harry was pleased the next morning when owl post arrived, an a package from Hagrid was added to the others.

Hagrid was the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He was also Harry's oldest friend, as he'd come to fetch Harry from the Dursleys the summer before his first year. Known for his enormous size and love of questionable beasts, Harry was curious to know what the large, untidily wrapped package contained. Harry ignored the small pile of gifts from Mrs. Zabini, Blaise, and Millie, and tackled this gift first, ripping the paper open to reveal a large, leather-bound book.

Harry was surprised that Hagrid of all people would send him a book, but he barely had time to read the title, The Monster Book of Monsters, before the book suddenly began to squirm in his hands, and the cover snapped open and shut, as if the book were trying to bite him.

Harry dropped the book to the floor in fright, where it continued to snap and writhe, sending fragments of its own pages flying. Millie and Blaise both jumped out of their chairs, startled away from their half-eaten breakfast. For a moment, all was confusion and chaos, as they scrambled to escape the strange book, which was now scuttling awkwardly across the floor on its spine, despite having no visible means of propulsion. Finally, Mrs. Zabini arrived in the kitchen, took in the general chaos with a single glance, and fired a well-aimed stunning spell at the book.

The book became still instantly, and Harry threw himself down on top of it, uncertain how long a book was expected to remain stunned. Mrs. Zabini said nothing as she tucked her wand into the coil of plaits on the back of her head, strolled to the potion cabinet, and poured a bit of her favorite Pepper-up Potion into her first mug of coffee for the day.

"So what's all the fuss about?" she asked the breathless youths after she had savored her first sip with a rejuvenating shudder.

"Harry's opened one of his birthday gifts," said Blaise with a laugh, sitting back down at the table.

Millie didn't appear to find the situation entertaining. After last year, she was suspicious of enchanted books. She glared at the now tattered text as Harry removed his belt to strap the covers shut and asked, "Is there a note, Harry?"

Harry glanced around the table and saw that Hagrid had enclosed a short card, laying in the torn remains of the wrapping. Harry read the message, but it wasn't very helpful. It merely wished him a happy birthday, and ended with a cryptic statement that he thought Harry might find the enclosed textbook "useful."

Harry and Millie both looked at the textbook in horror, wondering what Hagrid could possibly mean by calling such a wild object "useful." But Blaise gave another laugh and said, "Maybe we can use it against Sirius Black when he shows up."

Harry imagined throwing an angry and violent book into the face of the escaped prisoner and couldn't help but laugh as well, but Mrs. Zabini didn't seem to think Blaise's joke was very funny.

"That's enough of that," she said, "Harry has other presents to open. Go ahead, Harry."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. This was the first birthday he had spent under Mrs. Zabini's roof, and he would have been content merely to spend it with his friends. The gifts were a welcome bonus, and Harry began to open them eagerly.

Mrs. Zabini had given him a brand new broom servicing kit, a fine addition to Nimbus 2000 she had already given Harry during his first year. But this was not all. She had also purchased for him a set of dress robes, new clothes for school, and even some millet for Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl. Harry thanked Mrs. Zabini profusely before moving on to his other gifts, a box of chocolate frogs from Millie and a pack of enchanted playing cards from Blaise. Harry even had a small package from Dobby, the house elf he helped free from the Malfoy household towards the end of the last school term. The elf had sent him an obviously homemade necktie, complete with small embroidered stars. The tie was objectively the ugliest Harry had ever seen, but he grinned and tied it around his collarless neck all the same. Harry had used one of his own school uniform neckties to free the elf, and the gift was a sign that his good deed had not been forgotten.

"What's this one, Harry?" Blaise asked, lifting a plain envelope from a stack of unopened birthday cards.

"Your school lists, I suspect," Mrs. Zabini replied, "Your letters arrived yesterday. I nearly forgot about them."

Harry and Blaise exchanged a glance before seizing their letters and tearing them open. Millie sat back and watched, having received her letter prior to leaving her parent's home.

The arrival of Harry's birthday meant they only had a month before September first, the start of the new school year. Harry passed over the yearly welcome letter to study his school supply list, then noticed a third piece of parchment tucked behind the others.

"What's this?" Harry asked, his eyes running over the word Hogsmeade.

"That'll be the permission form," Millie said, "Third years have the option of visiting the village starting this term."

"Oh, excellent!" Blaise said with excitement, "I've always wanted to check it out. Some of the sixth years were saying there's a joke shop that has all the best products. We could find ways to really annoy Draco this year!"

"Blaise," Mrs. Zabini cautioned, though there was a small smile on her lips. Mrs. Zabini had a long-standing friendship with Draco Malfoy's mother, but it was obvious that she had no real affection for Narcissa's offspring. She only came to Draco's defense out of deference to her friend.

Blaise grabbed Harry's permission form from his hand, bringing both his and Harry's to Mrs. Zabini. He passed them over for her inspection, obviously expecting her to sign the permission forms without a second thought. But Mrs. Zabini looked over the form carefully, inspecting it with a slight frown on her face that gave Harry a nervous feeling.

"I don't know Blaise. Hogwarts is well and good, but the village is another thing."

Harry saw his own concern reflected in Blaise's face as his usual confidence was shaken.

"Hogsmeade is perfectly safe, mum," he said, attempting a tone of carelessness as if to downplay Mrs. Zabini's worries, "There'll be teachers to chaperone. And tons of other students will be there. It's not like we'll be by ourselves."

Mrs. Zabini appeared unconvinced. "How do you know it's safe if you've never been there?"

"Mum, be reasonable. It's Hogsmeade! It's not like a muggle town. Everyone there will know to be on the lookout for Black. There's no way he'd try to attack Harry in Hogsmeade."

It was a poor argument. After all, the Daily Prophet said that Black had killed several people in the middle of a crowded street. If he was as mad as people said, he would have no problem coming after Harry in the wizarding village. Such, at least, appeared to be Mrs. Zabini's opinion, because she folded the permission letters and tucked them into the pocket of her house robe, saying simply that she would "think it over."

Blaise knew better than to test his mother's patience when she was only on her first cup of coffee. He decided on a tactical retreat, though he could be stubborn when he had his mind set on something, and Harry knew this would not be the last time the subject was brought up. For now, Blaise sulked back to the table to rejoin his friends.

"What about you?" Blaise muttered to Millie, "Did your parents sign the form?"

Millie nodded. "But it was a close call for me, too. After what happened last year, I don't think they wanted me venturing out of Dumbledore's supervision."

She gave a cautious glance toward Harry, and added, "Actually, I wasn't sure they were going to let me come visit this summer, either. What with Sirius Black on the loose... I think they wrote to your mum to make sure the ministry was doing everything in their power to make sure this house was safe first."

Her last comment was directed toward Blaise, but Harry felt the pang of guilt all the same. He knew it was wrong, but he still felt responsible for being a burden on both of his friends. Especially Blaise. If Mrs. Zabini hadn't taken on Harry as her responsibility, then she would have no reason not to let her son go to Hogsmeade. But if Harry really was Black's target, then simply being around him put both of his friends in danger.

His gifts opened, and with no appetite to finish his breakfast, Harry suggested they go outside. Mrs. Zabini gave them the usual reminder to remain within the garden boundaries, and they set out, Harry slipping his unfinished breakfast into a napkin on his way out.

He led the way, outstripping his two friends, who continued speaking about Black in hushed tones. He didn't particularly want to hear what they were saying. He was sick of talking about Black.

It was a pleasure to see his familiar friend waiting by the gate. It was earlier than their usual time for meeting, but the dog had his paws resting against the gate, and he barked and wagged his tail at Harry's approach.

Harry gave him an affectionate pat on the head, opening the gate to allow the dog inside.

After a few laps around the garden, chasing his canine friend about until he was out of breath, Harry settled in the grass next to Blaise and Millie. Sadly, they had not done talking about Black. Harry tried his best to ignore them, focusing instead on using his fingers to comb through the tangles of the dog's shaggy coat. But it was hard to remain indifferent while his companions continued to describe Black's crimes.

"Have your parents told you anything about him?' Blaise was asking Millie, "Harry and I read about him in the paper, but my mum won't say more."

"I've heard my parents talking about him," said Millie, "But nothing you couldn't read in The Prophet. Is it true he was a supporter of You-Know-Who?"

A low growl escaped the dog's throat. Harry began to scratch behind his ears, but the motion was halfhearted. He was more focused on his friend's conversation.

"He must have been. Why else would they bother putting so many protections around the house? It's not for me and mum, I can tell you that."

"But he didn't go after Harry when You-Know-Who was destroyed. He went after another wizard. That's why they caught him. He followed the guy and ended up killing all those muggles."

The dog growled again, and this time his lips pulled back into a snarl. Harry shushed him and made soothing sounds, thinking the dog was merely upset that Harry's affectionate strokes had stopped as he became more engrossed in his friends' conversation.

"Right," said Blaise, who didn't appear to notice the dog's agitation, "What was the wizard's name again? The one he killed. I know it was Peter something."

"Peter Pettigrew," said Millie.

The black dog jumped to his feet. The hair on his back bristled and he began snarling and barking viciously. Millie jumped up as well, obviously startled. Her hand reflexively reached for her wand, but since none of them were allowed to use magic outside of school, she didn't have it with her.

It was lucky for the dog that she didn't, as Millie was notoriously talented and hexes and jinxes. Instead, Harry was able to calm the dog with a few soothing whispers and pats to smooth down his ruffled fur. The dog relaxed under Harry's influence, and Blaise was able to convince Millie everything was fine.

"What was that about?" she asked, still tense and refusing to take a seat by the dog again.

"No idea," said Harry, "He's never done anything like that before. He's pretty quiet."

Blaise turned to look toward the woods. Their property was bordered on three sides by a tick copse of trees. They served as a natural barrier between the house and any muggle neighbors who might spy Blaise and Harry practicing their flying, but under the circumstances, they also provided sufficient cover for anyone who might want to spy on the trio.

"Maybe he saw something out there?" Blaise suggested.

They turned their heads toward the thicket and tried to discern any sign of shadow or movement that appeared out of place, but all was normal. Still, the dog's sudden outburst had shaken them all, and they couldn't regain their composure out of doors, feeling too exposed. Wordlessly, the trio slipped back inside, and from the parlor window, Harry watched his canine friend jump easily over the garden fence, disappearing into the trees once again.