Dog Star *

by: Raven Mirage

"No animal should ever jump up on the dining room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation." Fran Lebowitz

ii
the great escape

* * *

The sun poked it's head through the trees outside Delilah Tanner's window. She rolled on her side and pulled the pillow over her head. She didn't look at the clock because she knew that if she did she would see exactly what time it was and would have to pull herself out of bed to do whatever menial tasks were set before her on this bright and all-too-cheery day.

She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before even though she had crashed as soon as she arrived through the door. Of course, there had been a brief argument with her father, whom wanted to yell at her for being late home. "... it's dark, and with that psycho running around! He killed thirteen people, Lilah!" She tried to look seriously sorry, although she wasn't, and hurried up to bed.

However, the fight wasn't the reason for her lack of sleep. She kept picturing that poor black dog all alone back at the shelter. She couldn't forget how haunted his eyes looked. If he had been hurt by someone she hoped the owners didn't find him. She knew a nice family that would love a dog like that. Clean him up a little, comb the fur and she bet he would look right handsome. He also needed some food in him, that was obvious. He was either ownerless, or horribly mistreated. Either way it broke her heart.

Once again her mind turned to that pitiful soul. She sighed and listened to the sounds of the house. She could hear mother pittering about in the kitchen, her father was going on about something (probably more his "... that murderer should be caught and killed on spot" bit). He really annoyed her. He was the type of person who would want to destroy the world rather than try to help it. No small bit of hope was good enough. If there was any bad then the world wasn't worth it. Hearing him talk made her sick, but she had learned over the years to hide it well behind her stone façade.

Something landed on her bed and procedded to pad all over her. Her cat, Jinx. Pushing her weariness to the back of her mind she forced herself from bed and deposited Jinx on her desk, where he would sit for the next ten minutes scratching his ears. This was the morning routine. She went to her closet and yanked out a pair of faded blue jean shorts and an oversized t-shirt with the "Garbage" logo across it. She dressed, slipped on her boots and turned to Jinx. "Whadaya think meowzas?" He only paused in his scratching long enough to mew then ignored her. She smirked and departed for the kitchen.

*

Sirius woke to the softened sunlight of morning creeping up over the east. He sat for a moment taking in the gentle splendor. In Azkaban he never had a chance to even the sun, much less admire it, and since he had escaped he had been so busy the thought didn't occur to him. Now that there was nothing else to do he found himself staring at the brilliant orb slowly making its way higher into the sky. There was something about seeing another morning that made things a little more reassuring.

To his knowledge there was no one around so he thought it safe to transform back into a human. At least for now. He'd have to pay attention for the time in which he'd have to return to dog form. The last thing he could do was let that girl see him. He was thoroughly convinced that she, as muggle as she seemed, was a witch. Being that she would most likely recognize him straight off. Unfortunately he was almost just as well known as his Godson. He hated that, but over the years he had come to terms with the fact that he couldn't change it - - at least he told himself that.

The night before he had attempted another escape and failed miserably. It was frustrating that he could flee from Azkaban, but what stopped him now? An eight foot high wire fench with barbed wire on top and a padlock..... It eluded him why the muggles thought so much security was needed for dogs. The situation would have been funny if he wasn't in it. So he admitted something he normally wouldn't allow himself to admit: he needed to be patient. He had to bide his time until he had a means of escape... and he had to do it all as a dog.

"Right lovely mess you've gotten yourself into this time, Padfoot." He said aloud, his deep voice dreary and with a touch of humourlous irony. All the stunts he and his friends - - now all gone save Remus, who probably hated every fiber of his being right now - - had pulled as youngsters and he couldn't find a way out of here. Still, then he had had the use of a wand. He didn't have a wand now. Sirius almost winced at the memory of the ministry snapping his in half after his conviction. Something had died then, he just wished he could just find out what.

*

Delilah took two stairs at a time and swung into the kitchen by the door frame. Her mother was standing over the sink magically washing some dishes. Her father sat at the kitchen table, Daily Prophet in his hands. He didn't seem to notice her at first. Apparently her parents had already eaten, but there was a plate laid out before her usual chair, a glass of milk set beside it. She smiled. She had such a lovely mother.

"Good morning, Mum. Father." She addressed. She never called her father "dad". It just didn't seem to fit the stern man. She dropped into her seat and immediately dug into her food, noting that it was still very warm. "Where's Steven?" Steven was her younger brother. He was eighteen and had just graduated from Hogwarts the year prior.

"He's off galavanting with his good for nothing friends." Her father muttered behind his paper. Then, finally realizing she was there, lowered it and looked at her. "Look who decides to grace us with her prescence. Oh and look..." He shoved the front page at her. The title read: Sirius Black, mass murderer, still a Fugitive.. "See, and it says that he was spotted near here." His gaze narrowed and harded as he regarded her clothes, seemingly forgetting about his "murderer speech," "Lilah, I wish you would stop wearing those muggle clothes."

"I have to wear them for work, Father." She answered drably, her eyes slightly lidded to hide the contempt inside their dark blue depths. "Can't go around in my robes at the Kennel, now can I?"

"And about that," he continued, setting his paper aside to devote his complete attention on her. "I think you ought to quit, working with muggles like that," he shook his head sadly as if that was a crime within itself. Her hands balled into fists under the table and she felt her pale cheeks flushing with red. "You should get a good wizard's job. Why don't you reapply for an auror position." At the sink her mother paused as if death had just crossed the threshold of their lovely little house. The pans clanked together and dropped beneath the suds, disappearing into oblivion.

Delilah found herself rising from her chair, forgetting all about her uneaten food and her half-drunk glass of milk. Her nails bit deep into her palms and she could feel a warm, sticky substance slowly begin to coat her skin. She didn't care. Her voice deadly calm she replied, "I'll try not to be late tonight, father." She sneered the title as if it were a curse word. With that she turned and marched from the house. How dare he mention her becoming an auror again ....

*

The sound of footsteps alerted Sirius to the fact he should once again become canine. Just as he settled himself in the center of his kennel the figure of the young witch with the oceanic eyes came striding into view, her long two-toned hair trailing behind her. She looked especially angry. She fumbled with the door, and even from the distance between them he could make out her hands were saking violently. Twice she dropped her keys and on the third try she gave up leaving them where they fell.

Something was wrong with the young woman. She was deeply upset about something. The day before she had seemed almost carefree, normal. Something had happened to her to make her so angry. He gave a deep, husky woof! to grab her attention. He knew sometimes people would talk to animals more easily than humans. Perhaps she was one of those people. He was very curious.

She jumped at the sound of his bark, then turned to him. Trying to calm herself she walked towards him, her voice wavering despite the attempt to steady it. "Hello there, dog, and how are we this morning?" He just gazed sadly at her, his eyes connecting to hers, almost like they were trying to pull out the information he desired. She dropped onto the ground in front of the kennel door, her fingers gripping at the wire. Tears started pouring down her cheeks in rivulets. "I hate my father." She sobbed.

Sirius left his spot and padded up to the gate. He could see dried blood surrounding four deep crescent marks on each hand. Using his nose he nuzzled her fingers through the wire. He couldn't just sit around like an idiot and let the girl cry. He wouldn't be able to stand himself if he did.

She looked at him, letting her hands fall from the gate. She wiped her eyes. "You must think me an awful loon, don't you?" She questioned. "Sitting here crying like a fool ..."

He snuffled softly and gave a whine as if to say "no I don't." She smiled weakly at him and reached her fingers through. He moved forward and pressed his head against her fingers. "Letting me touch you now, are you?" She teased, allowing herself the momentary pleasure of scratching behind his ear. 'Well, at least you seem to like me." She frowned, then laughed softly. Her laugh was light and melodic. He barked enthusiastically in reply.

He supposed being in this girl's company until he could get away wouldn't be so bad.

*

Delilah couldn't help think how intelligent and human-like that dog was. He had seemed to know something was wrong with her and even - - comforted her? Could dogs do that? Were they smart enough? Of course they were, but still, if she didn't know better she would have claimed the dog was a human. She smiled softly as she thought of the dog. She was becoming horribly attached to him and it hadn't even been a whole day yet. "This could get bad, Ly," she told herself, smirking, "you might actually take the mutt home."

She preoccupied her time cleaning kennels and washing water and food dishes. Some of the animals were used to her and paid her no mind as she went about her work. Others hadn't been there that long so she had some intersting and amusing times with them. She couldn't help but laugh at the way some of the new ones acted. She loved animals to death. They were so precious sometimes and were never mean or hurtful like people. They always seemed to make you feel better.

Delilah gave a quick peek at the black dog. He was lazily lounging in the center of his kennel, his head on his paws. She was surprised to find him watching her. His eyes had probably been following her movements all day. She was suddenly slightly embaressed. Her pale cheeks flushed. Oh, he's just a dog, Delilah. She told herself....

.... but she wasn't completely convinced of that yet.

*

He found it surprisingly easy to accept the fact he was stuck in this place as long as he watched the young woman. It was probably because boredom led to those nasty, negative thoughts that just made you depressed. Also, she intrigued him a bit. She seemed to love animals very much, and enjoyed their company deeply. She seemed to cheer up considerably once she began work cleaning out the kennels and petting on the animals like they were her own, her lilting melodic laugh ringing softly through the air like music.

She finally looked back at him. He caught a colouring to her face and smirked inwardly. Strange one, this girl, but nice. There was something about her that would make him feel really bad about having to leave. Under different circumstances he might not have minded hanging around a while and playing dog for such a young lady. He could only laugh at himself at the thought.

*

Delilah stood at the gate to the "grim's" kennel. She felt like she was in a staring contest. His eyes would not release her's and he followed every move she made. She just knew he was planning a fantastic escape. Finally she threw up her hands in frustration. "How am I ever supposed to get in there if you keep looking at me that way!?" She sighed and placed one hand on her hip, the other at the side of her head. Then, as if a lightning bulb went off into her mind she grinned.

She pulled forth from her back pocket her wand. She gave it a quick wave, muttering something under her breath and pointed it at the dog. "Ha!" He only gazed at her quizically, not understand what she had just done. "... and no you can't maul this stick..." She teased, once more turning her wand at the gate. "Alohomora." She said, not bothering to use the key for the padlock. It clicked open and she removed it. She smirked inwardly as she noticed the dog's eyes watching this almost hungrilly.

*

Sirius waited. She was about to open the gate - - and then he was out of here! Yes, yes, that's it. C'mon, open the gate. That's a good girl.... GOT IT! Suddenly he leapt to his feet and bounded past her. He only had a moment to wonder why she wasn't yelling at him or trying to stop him before he struck an invisible wall and went skittering backwards. Drearily it occured to him.... that first wave of a wand had been a spell also, not just random mutterings.

Delilah appeared over him, laughing. "Silly dog, you aren't hurt are you." He glared at her. "Hey! It's not my fault you mistook it for the indy five-hundred!" She began to chuckle steadily at him as he sat down and procedded to stare. If he didn't know better he'd say she was insane. "By the way, dog," she said, "that was a very simple spell. It keeps you in place by making sure you don't stray too far from the spellcaster.... that would be me." Then she frowned. "Have no idea why I'm telling you this. You're just a dog, right?"

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Wow. Got Chapter 2 out quicker than I thought. Just the next day... that's never happened before. But I do have an unnatural affinity for our sweet lil animagus here. ^_^ Speaking of. Poor Sirius. Thought he was going to get away now didn't he? But, ah, never underestimate a female... Lol.

Hope you liked. Thank you all for your reviews. I didn't expect any at all. And I will indeed try to finish this one.

Sirius: You tend to like to ruin my day, don't you?
Rave: Of course.... but you've got to be used to it by now, right?

Toodles! And don't forget to review!