Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

Previous Chapter - Harry and Draco made up and talked out some of their fears and insecurities with Severus and Narcissa. The boys start to bond. The basilisk was shrunk down and is now their new pet. Bellatrix has escaped Azkaban and Lucius is alive! BTW, I have no idea what Theo Nott's dad's name is supposed to be so I named him Dorian.

"It was no small task, helping you escape Azkaban," Dorian Nott said sourly to Bellatrix.

"At least I suffered for our master!" Bella hissed.

Dorian rolled his eyes. "Suffered for a dead man."

"How dare you!" Bella pointed her wand at him. "Cru -"

"Stop!" Lucius Malfoy yelled. "We can not exactly afford to fight among ourselves!"

Bella looked darkly at Dorian before giving Lucius a fake smile. "Of course, dear brother-in-law. Oh dear," She said thoughtfully. "I suppose we are not in laws anymore, you were declared legally dead after all, and your marriage ended. And now my dear sister is engaged to another."

Lucius scowled at Bella. "Narcissa either belongs to me or she belongs to no one. I'll kill her, if I have to. Do you have a problem with that?"

Bella twirled her wand. "No. Not if she is a traitor. So unless she makes amends and helps us get the Potter boy...I'll help you kill her."

Dorian sat down after pouring himself a glass of brandy. "Don't forget your boy, he's been getting brainwashed for years. My son Theo has been trying to keep him from falling completely to the light but -" He shrugged.

"I'll deal with my son," Lucius said coldly. "He will join us or die. I won't have him be an embarrassment to me and allow him to live. He will just need some...lessons."

"A few rounds of the Cruciatus will likely get him to see reason," Bella said absently. Her eyes suddenly focused. "But I want the Potter boy. I want him to suffer and I want Severus to have to watch him suffer."

"My son and some of his cohorts have started on that," Mr. Nott said. He hesitated. "Quirrell jumped the gun and tried to kill him."

"What?" Lucius's face darkened. "He what?"

"He tried to kill Potter, was taken to the Ministry," Nott said.

"What kind of idiots do you have working for you?" Bella asked angrily.

"That fool!" Lucius hissed. "He will be given the truth serum and tell the Aurors that I'm still alive!"

Nott smiled. "Actually, no he won't. I have someone in the Ministry who managed to switch out the Veritaserum with poison. Quirrell's dead."

Lucius relaxed. "Good. Serves him right. We have plans for Potter. He can't be killed yet. Not yet. Hurt, humiliated, broken...all those are acceptable."

"Understood."

HP

Harry and Ron were outside, throwing a Quaffle ball around. Hermione had refused, saying it was too cold and was doing homework in the library. Despite the chilly weather, it felt good to be outside.

"It was good of your dad to give back the points," Ron said as he tossed the ball to Harry. "Of course, he shouldn't have taken them in the first place."

Harry caught it. "He apologized. We all talked things out. I know he loves me."

"Of course he does," Ron said. "At least he didn't take points for you running off."

"He was pretty mad," Harry admitted. "The Headmaster closed up the chamber. Too bad, it was cool having it."

"How is Salina?"

"She's doing good. She was really surprised when she woke up and realized how small she was now. But she loves the terrarium and I think she's happier, being somewhere warm taken care of." He glanced briefly at Fang who started barking.

"And has Malfoy stopped being a prat?" Ron asked bluntly.

"I'm working on it, Weasley."

Harry and Ron turned to see Draco, wearing his cloak, scarf and mittens, glaring at Ron. "I admitted I was wrong, didn't I?"

Ron grinned and threw the ball at Draco. "Just making sure. You know, the ball is easier to catch without mittens."

"It's freezing without mittens," Draco said, throwing the ball back. "You two aren't wearing scarves either. And it's loud out here," He threw a mild glare in Fang's direction, whose bark began to get louder.

"You sound like Hermione," Ron grumbled as caught the Quaffle.

Harry chuckled at Draco's affronted look. "I guess we should go inside and get warm."

"Hey 'Arry!" Hagrid waved from his hut. He sighed. "Fang! What's wrong with yeh?"

Fang kept barking at the forest, bending down and wagging his tail and then barking excitedly again.

"What's he looking at?" Harry asked curiously. That was the most active he had ever seen Fang, who usually just slept.

"I don't know," Hagrid frowned and began walking towards the forest.

Harry exchanged a look with Ron and Draco and the three boys quickly followed him, their curiosity too great to ignore.

When Hagrid noticed them, he warned, "Stay behind me."

"What do you think it is? A unicorn?" Draco asked.

"Ooh, I would love to see a unicorn," Harry said, peering around Hagrid.

"I don't see anythin'," Hagrid said with a frown. "I'll have to go inside the forest. Yeh three stay here."

"But -" Harry started to say.

"Okay, we'll stay," Draco said. "No way I want to go inside the forbidden forest," He told Harry and Ron. "Who knows what creepy things are in there."

"Scared?" Ron asked with a smirk.

Draco gave him a glare.

"Ron, there might be spiders in there," Harry teased. "Great big ones."

"Not funny," Ron said, now eyeing the forest warily.

Harry was about to tease some more when he saw gleaming eyes staring at him from inside the forest. He squinted his eyes. Fang? Or was it something else? He glanced at Draco and Ron, who had started tossing the ball to each other again. He took a step closer, thinking he heard some sort of whine. Maybe it was an injured animal? He walked even closer. "Hello?" He whispered. He gasped when a big black, shaggy dog stepped out. "Oh!"

The dog gave a whine.

"What's wrong?" Harry looked down and winced. A large thorn was stuck in the poor dog's foot. "That must hurt," He said sympathetically. "I can try and pull it out for you," He knelt down and held his hand out. The dog stepped closer and nuzzled its nose into his hand. Harry giggled. "Or my friend Hagrid could do it. He's really good with animals."

The dog titled it's head to the side.

"Hmm," Harry said, softly petting the dogs head. "Poor thing. You need a bath and some food. You're thin."

"Harry?" Hagrid stepped out of the forest with Fang, who bounded over to sniff at the dog.

"Ah, so thot's what Fang was lookin' at" Hagrid chuckled.

"He's hurt," Harry said, pointing to the inured paw. "Can you help him?"

"Let's take him to my hut and I'll take it out and put a salve on it," Hagrid said.

"Come on, boy," Harry said, the dog happily following him.

"Where did that come from?" Ron asked when he and Draco noticed the black dog.

"It's kinda of scruffy looking," Draco said disdainfully.

The dog gave a low growl.

"I think he's homeless, look how thin he is," Harry said sadly.

"Poor little thing," Ron said. "I wish my parents would let me have a dog."

Hagrid came out of his hut with a small container and a bandage. "All righ', let's see what we can do."

He slowly lifted the paw onto his massive lap. "This migh' hurt, but try to keep still." He pulled the thorn out quickly yet carefully.

The dog yelped and then gave a long whine.

Harry put his arms around the dog's neck. "It's okay. See? All done. You did great."

Hagrid cleaned the wound and put a salve on it, then covered it with a bandage. "Good as new."

"Thanks Hagrid!" Harry grinned. "Do you think he can stay with you?"

"Well," Hagrid looked at his hopeful expression. "I guess it would be good fer Fang to have a friend. Sure, he can stay with me."

"Thanks Hagrid!" Harry said. "I'll come out and visit him as much as I can."

"Me too," Ron said.

Harry and Ron looked at Draco, who sighed. "Yeah, me too. But he needs a bath. And a name."

"Scruffy?" Harry suggested with a laugh.

"I like it." Ron grinned. "Hagrid, can we borrow a bucket and fill it with soap and water? We can wash him."

"Sure thing," Hagrid said. "After, I'll feed him."

Fang bounded around, watching as the three pre-teens washed Scruffy. Scruffy was not happy, though he didn't try to bite or get away. He whined and kept shaking his body, sending soap and water everywhere.

"Hey!" Draco protested as he was covered with soapy water. He pushed soap bubbles out of his eyes and glared at Scruffy. "Don't do that, mutt."

Scruffy bared his teeth at the blonde.

Harry hid a smile and pet Scruffy on the head. "Don't worry about my brother to be, he's...delicate."

"Am not!"

"Hey, I think I remember the drying charm my mum uses," Ron pointed his wand at Draco. "Et Aridam!"

A blast of heat hit Draco and a second later, Harry burst into laughter. Even Scruffy seemed amused, giving a snort.

"What?" Draco felt his head and his eyes widened. His hair was dry, and sticking straight up. His robes were dry yet as stiff as a board. "Weasley!"

"Oops," Ron said sheepishly. "At least you're dry."

"Gee, thanks," Draco said sourly as he tried to smooth down his hair.

"Hey, guys!"

Harry, Ron and Draco turned to see Hermione. "Professor Snape wants you inside. He says it's too cold to be out!"

"Coming!" Harry called back. He turned to Scruffy, who had been rinsed off and was shaking the water from his fur. "Okay boy, go with Hagrid. He'll get you some food and let you sleep in his hut, where it's warmer." He gave Scruffy a hug before leaving with his friends.

Scruffy watched him go wistfully. Oh, pup. I wish I could tell you who I was. But at least I can see you and you seem all right. I'll be keeping an eye on you. And on the Malfoy boy. And especially on Snivellus.

HP

Severus gave the three boys a look of exasperation. "It's cold outside, why were you out there so long? And Harry, Ron where are your gloves and scarves? Harry, why are you all wet? And Draco, what happened to your hair?"

"We were washing a dog," Harry said as his father cast a drying charm at him. "I found -"

"Weasley attempted to do the drying charm on me," Draco grumbled.

"And you're dry so what's the problem?" Ron rolled his eyes. "I don't see Harry complaining about his hair sticking up."

"Harry's hair always sticks up!"

"Okay, enough! Go to the kitchen and ask the house-elves for some hot chocolate," Severus said with a a shake of his head. Honestly, washing Fang in this weather. Did they not have any common sense?

Harry grinned. He was friends with all the house-elves and knew they would also give them biscuits to go with the hot chocolate.

HP

Severus entered the Headmaster's office, surprised to see Lupin also there. Both men looked worried, which didn't bode well. "What did you need to see me for?"

"Severus, there has been an incident at Azkaban," Dumbledore said. "There was a break out, Bellatrix and Sirius Black managed to escape."

"What? How could something like that happen?" Severus demanded.

"It is being looked into, I don't know all the details yet," Dumbledore said.

"Bellatrix," Severus muttered. She was insane...and dangerous. She had also been the most devoted to Voldemort. "She must be who Quirrell was talking about. He told Harry there were others that would be coming after him. He must have meant Bellatrix and Black."

Remus looked like he wanted to protest.

"Something to say?" Severus asked with a fierce glare.

"It just never made sense to me that Sirius would join up with Voldemort," Remus said. "He hated anything to do with the dark arts."

"It was an act, obviously," Severus said. "He killed your friend Pettigrew, didn't he?"

Remus sighed sadly. "Yes, he did. I still can't...it still seems unbelievable, even after all these years."

Severus began pacing. "What does this mean for Harry? And Draco? Bellatrix may want to connect with her nephew, to use him or hurt him." He'd need to warn Narcissa.

"The boys are safe in the castle," Dumbledore said. "Aurors are searching for Bellatrix and Sirius as we speak."

"Safe in the castle?" Severus sneered. "Like with Quirrell?"

Dumbledore frowned. "You have a point, however the remaining professors have my trust. I will speak to everyone separately to make sure." Being a Legilimens, he could see their surface thoughts while talking to them. He didn't like to use his skill that way, but to protect the children he would.

"What about Lupin?" Severus asked bluntly.

"What about me?" Remus asked in surprise.

"You were friends with Black, perhaps you still consider him your friend," Severus said.

"You think I -" Remus's eyes darkened and for just a moment they took on a gold hue. "I would not do anything to hurt any of the children, especially Harry."

Severus eyed him warily, relieved when Lupin's eyes returned to normal. "I hope that is true."

"It is. Which is why I am here, there is something I need to tell you," Remus said, hesitating for a moment. "Sirius is an Animagus."

Dumbledore looked surprised. "He is? I did not know that."

"He, James and Peter all became Animagus during our fifth year. To keep me company during the full moon," Remus smiled fondly.

"That is quite an accomplishment," Dumbledore said. "Against the rules to do that unsupervised but good of them to do that for you."

"What is Black's Animagus?" Severus asked impatiently.

"A dog." Remus answered.

"Why did you never mention this before?" Severus asked.

"I didn't think about at first," Remus admitted. "When I did, he had already been in prison for a while and never escaped before. I doubt that his form could have aided him or he would have broken out before this. He and Bellatrix obviously had help."

"Well, they won't get near either of my sons," Severus said fiercely. "Or Narcissa. She may need to move here to the castle for protection."

"She is more than welcome to. We will take precautions," Dumbledore said. "We can make sure they boys are escorted to their classes by a professor or prefect, perhaps an earlier curfew? And if they go outside they can have a chaperone with them."

"The boys' might put up a fuss," Remus said.

"Then they can be confined to their dorms," Severus said flatly. "I'm not taking any chances with their safety."

Dumbledore's floo activated and a letter flew out and straight into the older wizards hands. Bemused, he opened it and scanned the note inside. His expression looked troubled and then resigned.

"What is it?"

"It is from the Ministry," Dumbledore said. "They are also concerned about Sirius and Bellatrix possible trying to get into Hogwarts. They are sending guards for the castle."

"Guards?"

"Dementors," Dumbledore said, not looking happy. "I refuse to allow them inside so they will guard the school's entrances and it looks like they will be in Hogsmeade as well."

"All the children will need to be warned," Remus said, shuddering slightly at the thought of the soul sucking creatures.

"I will make an announcement at dinner," Dumbledore said. "I need to go to the Ministry and speak with Cornelius. Please excuse me."

After Dumbledore flooed away, Severus turned to leave before Remus stopped him.

"I meant what I said, I wouldn't do anything to put Harry or any of the children in danger. You can trust me."

Severus hesitated and then nodded. "Thank you, Lupin."

TBC: