Chapter 10

After agreeing to stay together, Sirius and Ariana began to fall into a routine. Each morning at sunrise, the pair would travel on Buckbeak. They would fly for hours at a time, working to increase their distance from the dementors and death eaters. Around midday, they would located a secluded area and set up camp for the evening, where they would rest and do it all again the next day.

It was straightforward and consistent, two things that life as a runaway rarely supplied. However, food was getting limited. Remus's supplies were almost fully depleted, which convinced Sirius that they needed to go to a town to restock. After all, he could only hunt down so many rabbits and turkeys. The option of deer was always on the table, but considering his late best friend, Sirius decided it would be rather sacrilegious.

Ariana hadn't said much since the discovery of Sirius being her father. She had a plethora of questions, but no idea how to go about them. For so many years, she had been punished for daring to question anything Lucius did. So now, the thought of speaking out of turn still repelled the girl. The most she had spoken to Sirius was that she wanted to stay with him, a discussion that had already stolen most of her bravery.

The nice thing about Sirius was that he let her have her space. They would eat meals together - another foreign activity to Ariana - but in the later hours of the day when she wanted to retire to her room in the tent, he let her. It didn't matter what time it was or what they were currently doing. When she wanted to be alone, he was understanding. It was a simple act, but she cherished the smallest gain of freedom.

So when Sirius woke Ariana up before light, she was a bit surprised. Fortunately, he had the forethought to wake her up with his voice and avoid touching her, lest she be pulled into old memories. When she rose from her hammock, he motioned for her to come out.

"Sorry it's so early love, but I want to get into town without anyone noticing." He explained as he packed up their belongings. They quickly deconstructed the tent and hopped on Buckbeak, taking off into the darkness of the night. It didn't take them long to soar over the town Sirius had referenced and Ariana's breath caught as she made out the outlines of the many buildings it included. It was a stark contrast to Malfoy Manor to say the least.

They landed on the very edge of town near what looked like an abandoned old house with a couple of cracked windows.

"It's safe. I checked in last night." The dog animagus supplied after waving his usual protective enchantments.

"You didn't sleep?" She was unable to ignore her curiosity, noting the hesitation before the man spoke.

"I'm a bit of an insomniac." He replied with a smile, "Besides, we needed to find a temporary safe house."

The temporary safe house he had chosen was definitely run down in Ariana's opinion, but she couldn't ignore the fact that it was a smart move to be on the outskirts of the town. It would prevent anyone from accidentally discovering them.

It was an hour long event convincing Buckbeak to step into the house, and even then, it was clear the hippogriff was not at all pleased with his new living situation. Sirius tied him up in the living room, placating the beast with several dead game for snacks.

Ariana glanced at him, opening her mouth to speak but then closing it again. Sensing the girl's uncertainty, he turned face her.

"You look like you have something to say." He offered her a small smile, "Trust me, I don't bite. Well, not often anyway."

The brief incident with a certain Ron Weasley begged to differ in the back of his mind, but he quickly pushed the thought away.

"Why are we here?" Ariana asked, finally voicing her most prominent question. "Isn't it dangerous to be so close to ... this is a muggle town."

"And what, pray tell, have you been told about muggles?"

She blinked, pursing her lips that her first question had been ignored. Nevertheless, she responded with what she knew.

"That well they don't have magic of course and that they're beneath us and-"

"They're not." The defiance in Sirius's voice was enough to silence Ariana entirely. "Sorry I don't mean to interrupt you, but you've been told wrong. Muggles are no different than us, save for the magical ability you see. One of my good friends in school was muggle born and she was a brilliant witch. Only purebloods obsess over blood status. The whole belief is archaic if you ask me."

"But aren't you pure blood?" She replied after a while, "I um - I remember your surname. It's one of the sacred twenty eight."

It seemed that the mere mention of his own blood status frustrated Sirius, which Ariana found odd. The Malfoys revelled in their blood purity, boasting about it at every chance. She had grown up with the understanding that the pure bloods were the elite, the ones destined to be the finest witches and wizards the world had ever seen. Muggles and mudbloods were the lowest of the low, illegitimate examples of defilement the wizarding world.

She wasn't sure how much she believed of it herself. She knew she had some magic blood within her, otherwise the Malfoys would've tossed her out at the first opportunity. Nevertheless, she had never stopped to think about the opposite side, that maybe magical blood really didn't matter.

"Just because I'm a pure blood doesn't make me better than anyone else," Sirius said thoughtfully, "You should always endeavor to judge others based on how they act, not where they come from."

It was simple advice really, but somehow hearing it from Sirius made it feel more valuable. She nodded in agreement and found herself wanting to live by the same standards. The very idea of having a fresh start in the world, one that wasn't tainted by the Malfoys but was determined by her own actions was terrifyingly freeing. The conversation dwindled after that, during which Sirius finish unpacking and Ariana explored the ins and outs of the new house.

Once the sun fully rose, the former prisoner decided they should go into town to procure some supplies as well as stop by the post office. A little scouting about last night had informed Sirius that there was a small owlrey for magical post just beyond the town hall. He kept this in the back of his head for later, wanting to write to Harry before the boy got home to his aunt and uncle's for the summer.

Ariana was a little apprehensive about going into a predominantly muggle town, particularly since Sirius would have to be a dog during the trip. He assured her that she would be fine and to stick close to him if anything made her uncomfortable. She was provided with a list of items to purchase to restock their supplies.

"What about money?" She had asked as they left the front door. "Do muggles use the same money as us?"

"They don't, which is why we'll stop at the owl post first to exchange some. Remus left us a couple galleons." Sirius supplied, shortly before transforming into his massive black dog animagus form. She took a deep breath, clutching the list he had given her in one hand as she followed him down the beaten path into town.

The first thing she witnessed were giant metal compartments whizzing past at intense speeds, occasionally honking at each other. Her breathing hitched at the sight. This was a muggle town? Sirius did not look the least bit concerned by these large metal beasts, so she assumed it was something relatively normal in the muggle world. Still, the speed of them alone was enough to make her cautious.

Following Sirius down the sidewalk, she tried not to gawk too much at anything odd she saw - and there were a lot of odd things - and the pair eventually made their way to the muggle post. Ariana noticed a slight silvery shine on the side of the building, looking like some sort of entrance. However, no muggle seemed to notice as they continuously walked by.

"Hund!" She nearly jumped at the voice, whipping her head around to see a little german boy running towards them. His mother followed behind, smiling all the way.

"Kan er deinen hund steigheln?" She asked Ariana directly, but quickly switched to a broken english upon seeing the girl's puzzled face. "Can he pet dog, no?"

Sparing a quick glance at Sirius, she nodded. Upon getting his mother's approval, the little boy pet the dog animagus with an excitement like no other. It seemed that Sirius didn't mind for he made a show of licking the boy on the cheek, which elicited a giggle from the child and a chuckle from his mother.

"What dog name?" she asked Ariana as she translated for her son. A brief moment of panic consumed her before she stated the first word to come to mind.

"Snuffles." If she had ever thought dogs were incapable of glaring, she would've been proven dead wrong in that moment. Nevertheless, she forced a smile until the mother and son departed and followed Sirius towards the faintly shimmering entrance. The dog stationed himself outside, nodding for her to enter alone. She took a breath and continued on.

Walking in, it became apparent that this was most definitely the local owlrey. It was a small room, divided off into a parchment section, a quill and ink section, a desk with an extremely bored looking German and an elongated perch with no less than six owls resting upon it.

"Guten Morgan," the German greeted her, but adjusted when she meekly explained to him that she didn't speak German. "My apologies little lady, good morning. What can I do for you?"

She pulled out her list that Sirius had quickly scribbled down for her, listing off parchment, quills and ink with ease. Right beneath however, Sirius had written buy an owl. When she recited it to the wizard, he chuckled.

"None for sale." he replied stiffly. Ariana paused, eyeing the owls to her left.

"Please," she asked, eyes shining. "I- um. Our old owl just died. I haven't been able to write to anyone all summer." She hoped that her vague knowledge of Draco's school years and his incessant insistence on writing to his friends throughout the summer break would pay off. The man eyed her hand me down clothing and chewed on his lip for a moment.

"Very well, but I can only spare this little one." He told her, reaching out for the smallest owl he had. It was no bigger her hand and resembled a large feathery pom pom, but it bounced eagerly onto her outstretched finger. "He'll be a galleon."

After the money exchange, Ariana quickly departed with the supplies in one bag and the tiny owl perched on her shoulder. As she made her way to Sirius, the dog let out a laugh like bark. Or perhaps a bark like laugh?

After a few more purchases, most of them being food and water, the odd pair eventually made their way back to the abandoned house that they had decided to take up a temporary residence in. Once inside the safe confines of their wards, Sirius promptly transformed back.

"Of all the possible dog names in this world," He sighed, stretching his back now that he had regained his human form. "You go for Snuffles?"

"I panicked," Ariana retorted, feeling her cheeks go a little pink. The tiny bird hooted from her shoulder as if to confirm the lackluster name.

"See? Even he agrees! And he's the tiniest puff ball of an owl I've ever seen." This earned him a glare from both girl and owl, causing the man to burst into laughter. Ariana tilted her head to the side, a bit surprised by the sound. It was very similar to his animagus form, but the concept of laughter also an unfamiliar noise all together. After all, the Malfoy family wasn't known for their humor.

"Oh come on, no pouting. I'm only teasing." Sirius chuckled as he noted her gaze. "The bird will do just fine for what I have planned."

The former prisoner picked up the parchment and quill set and sat himself down on the old dining room table. It had been long enough. He was due to write to his godson, Harry Potter. He certainly hoped that Hogwarts hadn't let the students out for the holidays just yet, though he had to admit that having owls fly through the window at Harry's stupid aunt and uncle's house could be entertaining.

Dear Harry,

I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post. Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job. I believe the Dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted. There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt —– Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather. I would also like to apologize for the fright I think I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you. I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable. If ever you need me, send word. Your owl will find me.

I'll write again soon.

Sirius

There. That should be enough of an update for the time being. He also enclosed his own version of a permission slip, vaguely recalling that Harry couldn't go to Hogsmeade without it. After all, what was the perk of being an older student if one couldn't cause mayhem at the Three Broomsticks? Sirius smiled at the memory of the old pub.

Was the lovely Rosmerta still working there? She couldn't have been more than five years his senior when he had still been at school. He and James nearly drove her insane every Hogsmeade trip, but that didn't stop her from laughing and accidentally leaving firewhiskey where they could easily swipe it. Sirius found himself smiling painfully at the memories.

Nevertheless, he reminded himself that Harry deserved to have the same types of experiences with his friends. Perhaps he and that young Weasley boy could get into trouble with Rosmerta or at least enjoy a day at Zonko's joke shop. Sirius made another note on the parchment that Ron could keep the small owl, seeing as it was his fault for costing the boy a pet. With that, he folded up the letter and sealed it into the envelope.

He turned his head to see Ariana staring at him with more than a hint of curiosity. It dawned on him that she probably didn't know about his connection to the now famous boy wizard. Father and daughter made eye contact for a moment before the latter shyly averted her gaze.

"You're allowed to ask me questions, you know." he told her. "I can't guarantee that I'll have answers, but you're always welcome to ask."

She hesitated, no doubt a remnant of her time with the Malfoys. Sirius inwardly cursed Lucius for what seemed like the thousandth time that week.

"Who are you writing to?" She asked softly as she eyed the letter in his hands.

"My godson." This caused her eyes to widen in surprise, "I suppose that would make him your godbrother of sorts. He's right around your age too. His name is Harry Potter."

Her eyes flashed at the name. Despite being the savior of the wizarding world, Harry Potter was not a beloved household name within Malfoy Manors. For starters, it was always Potter. Sure, she had read about his heroic acts when learning her modern history from her tutor, but all positive attributes about the name stopped there. In the Malfoy home, Potter was the reason Draco came back bitter every summer. It was the reason that Lucius had arrived to the manor eager to give her a beating for no reason at all other than to get his anger out at losing his house elf a few years prior. Even her private tutor seemed to detest Potter, his lip curling in distaste during the one lesson he was forced to discuss it.

She had never heard the name without an underlying current of hatred. And yet Sirius spoke it with such ease and care.

The girl sat down beside him as they drifted into a peaceful silence, Sirius packaging up the letter and tying it to the world's smallest owl and Ariana thinking on the newest discovery of her family. The dog animagus let the owl out a window to begin his journey. It was rather comical seeing such a tiny thing carry a letter that was larger than him, but the owl seemed to be rather determined. The softball sized bird flew off into the distance with an impressive speed. Once it was out of sight, Sirius went to their new stash of food for something to nibble on. That was when Ariana let out her next question, one that he really hoped she wouldn't ask.

"Have I got a mother too?"