Teen Mutt

A Harry Potter fanfiction by shinigamilovesapples

Chapter 1

I should have expected it, I guess. It is how it always goes. Say something out of line, look at him directly in the eyes, do magic in front of my siblings "just to make them jealous"; it all results in the same thing.

A good slap to the head. At least. It really depends on the severity of what I did or how bad a mood he is in at the time I do it.

This time around I already knew he was mad. His Master, or employer as dad called him, had been brought back to life and he was less forgiving than dad wanted him to be. So I should have known not to do anything that might bring attention to me, but I was in a bad mood myself.

I had gotten an owl from Hogwarts with the list of books I needed for my fourth year, and I had the audacity to ask him when I could go there. We were not poor, but money spent on me was always a bad thing, even more so when it was concerning magic in any sense.

Stupid, when you think about how we live in a magical world, but I was the runt of the litter and also the only one with enough magic to be accepted to Hogwarts. This was probably due to my status as a half-breed, but there was not much I could do about that.

Even so, I was pretty sure my family was glad to be rid of me for a year, even if it meant spending their precious money on my books and other required items. This did not include new clothing much to my dismay, but I had acquired two sundresses that I loved and the rest consisted of my older sister's castaways of ripped jeans and giant hoodies.

To be fair, the hoodies were only giant because I was so much shorter than the rest of my family, who were already a lot sturdier and bigger due to their heritage. Being a werewolf did have it perks, apparently.

Anyway, the blow to my head still came as a shock. I had stayed outside under a tree all day, reading and dreaming of a world far away, when the owl had arrived and I braved myself to go inside and seek out dad.

It hurt, but the burning in my cheeks was more due to anger at the situation and the stupid snickers coming from my older sister and brother.

"How you have managed to get back there yet another year, is still beyond me. I shall have a portkey ready for you in the morning, so you can go there yourself. Anything else you would like to demand, pup?" dad sneered, crossing his arms, daring me to cross him again.

"No Father, I apologise for my disobedience," I murmured, looking at the ground, counting the cracks and bumps.

"Don't worry, pup, I will come by later and make sure you remember your place. Now scram," and I did just that, beelining straight outside and back to the tree I had found refuge beneath. At least the wind was still warm and the sun was out, Autumn not seeming like it was anywhere near to be upon us soon.

I sighed.

I should have expected it, indeed.

[TEEN MUTT]

The next day could not have come sooner. Even with my body protesting as I threw away the covers and left my bed, ready to go to Diagon Alley, I had a smile on my face. Magic always cheered me up, even more so when it was safely away from my family.

The portkey, a muggle coin, was innocently staring at me from the top of my dresser. As soon as I had dressed, I hefted my bag onto my back and grabbed it. Breakfast be damned, I did not want to have my family ruin the good mood I so rarely had.

Appearing in an alley next to the Leaky Cauldron, I stumbled shortly before regaining my balance. I made sure to check that I still had the coin purse for my purchases stored away safely in my pocket, before venturing out of the alley.

The Leaky Cauldron was a sight for sore eyes. As soon as I stepped inside, I felt my body relax. The bustling of witches and wizards enjoying their breakfast, the magic buzzing in the air and against my skin was a welcome retrieve.

I made my way through, going out the back door. I tapped the bricks on the wall and watched as Diagon Alley appeared before my eyes. First year muggleborns were walking around with parents who looked like they may faint whilst halfbloods and purebloods were walking composedly around to find their stores.

And then there was me, walking around alone, eyeing every store as if I was seeing them for the first time. Though there was life in Diagon Alley, people seemed hurried and anxious to get out of there again. Even though the Daily Prophet was spouting bullshit about the headmaster and Harry Potter being insane, nobody liked the idea of the Dark Lord being back.

Unfortunately, I already knew what he was up to. It was one of the lovely perks of having a father who served the man and was as ruthless as the man himself. At least, for now, the Dark Lord was too weak to actually do anybody any harm. I was pretty sure he had Wormtail bathing him and perhaps even feeding him and the image that made, made me feel a little safer.

I had made most of my purchases except for the new DADA books, which did not look interesting at all. As I found them in the bookstore, I could not help scrunching my nose at it. The index made it seem even worse than I had thought.

Who was the lucky prat that had been assigned as the new teacher this year? Despite my father being the one to turn him, Professor Lupin had definitely been a favourite of mine. He was probably the favourite of most students, seeing as he was the only decent teacher in DADA they had had yet.

Every time I had looked at the professor, I had felt an immense sort of guilt. The scent of my father got a lot more prominent around the full moon, and for once I was glad I did not turn every full moon. No, I just got some of the weird perks such as heightened senses and being stronger than the average human.

Other than that, I was absolutely weak at home when I was under the mercy of three full werewolves. I was not sure what my father had expected would happen, when he got a muggle woman pregnant, but it certainly was not a pup who was only half of what it was supposed to be.

I sighed, making my way to the counter to buy the books, when the bell to the door rang and in entered what seemed like the entire Weasley family. It most probably was, even though I had heard that there were two more Weasleys who had already graduated from Hogwarts.

It was hard to imagine having that many siblings and not going entirely insane, especially Ginny, being the only female of the litter.

Said girl spotted me, just as I had placed the books on the counter, waiting for the owner to show up. She smiled brightly, like she always seemed to do, and made her way towards me. Despite being in different houses, we were still in the same year and the rest of the girls in her year were apparently really bitchy, so I sometimes found myself talking to the female Weasley.

"Hey Lolita, please save me from the stupid prats that are my brothers," she said as a greeting and I scoffed.

"I don't think even the muggle God could save you from them, Gin," I said, grinning wolfishly as she started laughing. A cough behind us made us turn to the intruder of the conversation, only to see Mrs. Weasley and the twins.

"I do not think we have met, dear, are you a friend of Ginny's?" the motherly, and very much also a mother, Mrs. Weasley asked me. I looked around, tugging nervously at my sleeves. Whilst chatting with one Weasley could go unseen, the amount of redheads surrounding me would make me stand out like a sore thumb, and I did not want word of me chatting with the enemy to get back to my father.

I forced a polite smile, seeing nobody my father knew in the vicinity.

"It is hard to see much of me, when we are in different houses, but I suppose you could call me and Ginny friends," I teased, sending Ginny a smirk as she spluttered and slapped my arm.

"Take that back, you know we are not friends! How dare you insinuate we are anything but best friends, I am hurt," Ginny exclaimed, pouting, I crossed my arms and lifted an eyebrow, only for another cough to interrupt us.

"Well, I am glad to see that Ginny also has some female friends. Do keep an eye out for her, won't you, dear? Oh, you are of course also always welcome at our home, any friend of my children is-" was all I heard, because just then the bell at the door rang again, and in came Lucius Malfoy with Draco right at his heels.

I felt my body stiffen, trying to tune back into what Mrs. Weasley was saying, but I could not take my focus fully away from the Malfoys to hear what she was telling me. Not the best first impression I had ever made, but I knew I was in deep trouble, first impressions be damned.

As luck would have it, Lucius caught my eyes and smirked upon seeing who I was standing with. I had not way to make a run for it, surrounded as I was, so I heaved a quiet sigh as his cold voice interrupted Mrs. Weasley's kind words to me.

"Ah, I see even the poor have come to make their purchases today, hm? Though I must say, I am quite surprised to see you talking with them, dear Lolita," Lucius said, his head tilted upwards at a positively arrogant angle.

His comment made the twins shoot me weird looks, while Mrs. Weasley seemed to try very hard not to give the man a good old fashioned spanking right then and there.

"Mr. Malfoy, always a pleasure seeing you. I assure you, I was just buying my books whilst making idle conversation with a person from my own year. I hope you'll find everything you are looking for today," I said, straightening myself, praising Merlin when the store owner came over just then, so I could pay for my books and get out of there quickly.

"Indeed, Ms. Greyback. Wouldn't want your father to hear about this, would we? Have a nice day," Lucius said. Mrs. Weasley flinched and blanched as she looked at me again, and I knew that she knew just who had the last name Greyback also. Sending her a stiff smile, I said a quick farewell to Ginny, before legging it out of the store.

Though I desperately wanted to sit down at Fortescue and have an ice cream, I knew that I had to go home. Dad really did not like me dawdling around for too long, I was sure he just hated the idea of me having fun for once.

Looking in my coin purse, I was pleased to see that I still had a nice sum left, and hoped I would be able to buy a new sundress at one of the coming Hogsmeade weekends. But that was in the future, I first had to survive the next couple of days before I was truly safe.

Sighing, I grabbed the muggle coin in my front pocket, seeing heads of red out of the corner of my eye just before I was sucked away.