A few weeks later, Sophia was out in a valley, lying on her stomach drawing, when she spotted an enormous shaggy dog peeking out at her from behind the trees on the edge of the valley. It looked tired and worn, but absorbed in her. She had a feeling she'd seen it somewhere before. She didn't know where.
"Hey Pooch, C'mere doggy, doggy." She stretched a hand in its direction. The dog looked startled at the attention but trotted over to her cautiously.
"Hey there, boy. Are you a boy?" She peeked. "Yep. Boy."
She stretched out her hand and touched its muzzle. It was wet. It sniffed her hand, then licked it. She laughed.
"So, you're friendly then, eh?" The dog barked happily. She stroked its matted fur. Then she put her arms around its hungry body. "I like you. I think I'm going to keep you. " The dog licked her cheek at the words, making her laugh again.
"Wow. You are very loveable, huh?" Almost as if it understood her, the dog barked, then continued licking her face. "But we have got to get you a bath first, what do you think?"
The dog wagged its tail happily as it waited for her to gather her art supplies.
"So what am I going to name you? How about . . . Char? You know, like Charcoal. 'cause you're so black. I'm Black too. My name's Sophie Black. My dad is Sirius Black. He's in Azkaban." The dog poised it ears and cocked its head up at her. She stopped, glad for someone to talk to, someone who'd listen and not look angry or hurt at the mention of her father. "He went there before I was born, and I've never seen him. I talk to him though."
The dog barked, as if surprised. She sank into the grass, facing the dog. "He left me this notebook, and his memory is locked in it, so I get to talk to him. I want to ask him all these questions, you see, but he can't answer any of them. "
The dog licked her fingers comfortingly, and she continued slowly. "Everyone believes he's this murderer, and I know I'm supposed to believe it too, I mean there's all this evidence, but something in there just isn't right, you know?" The dog was looking at her sympathetically and a little excitedly, wagging its tail. She shook her head. Sympathetically? Dogs can't sympathize, she scolded herself. She stared into its pale eyes, and she could have sworn she heard it think: Don't worry, I'm here.
She squeezed her eyes shut, and told herself she was hallucinating from hunger, then got up once again and headed for home, the dog at her heels.
The house was empty when she arrived, and she was glad. She planned to give the dog a good bath and feed him a nice big meal before showing it to her sister and mother. She didn't stand a chance of keeping it, not with the current state of its appearance. She unrolled the garden hose, got an enormous bar of soap, changed into some old clothes, and prepared to get soaked to the skin.
But the dog was oddly obedient, and seemed to enjoy the bath greatly. He allowed her to wash his fur with soap twice and rinse him thoroughly, before removing himself a few meters and shaking the excess water off of himself. Sophia stared in disbelief. This was one smart dog. She went inside to look for a brush, while the dog continued shaking itself off under an apple tree.
When she returned, she brushed its long shaggy black fur until it gleamed. Then she returned inside the house and prepared a meal from the leftover meatloaf and chicken soup from last night's dinner. The dog lapped up all of the soup eagerly, then finished off every bit of the meatloaf. It looked up at her expectantly.
"More?" She asked in amazement. The portion she'd just served had been very generous. The dog looked as if it hadn't eaten this much in weeks. It barked in answer, and she returned with a plateful of moussaca, a sort of casserole made with ground pork, potatoes and eggs. The dog seemed to like this very much and finished it off rather quickly.
She was chewing the last of her Honeydukes' Best Darkest of the Dark Chocolate bars, when the dog sat in front of her and looked at her treat expectantly.
"Oh, no. Sweets aren't good for your eyesight." She insisted.
The dog growled softly then emitted a bark that plainly meant: you believe those people?
"Oh, fine." She bit off a piece and gave the rest of it to the dog, who ate it just as eagerly as it had the rest of the food.
Sophia and the dog, newly renamed Snuffles, sat quietly on the table in the garden when Elly returned from work. Sophia was smearing charcoal, and putting the finishing touches on her picture of the dog, while it lay at her feet, content and sleeping.
"Well, who's this?" Elly asked, secretly happy that for the first time since her return from Hogwarts, her daughter wasn't sporting thick eye makeup.
"His name is Snuffles. I want to keep him. I've never had a pet or anything. Please?" She looked into her mother's eyes for the first time in a long while.
"Sure, as long as he's well behaved." Her mum replied, happy to once again be on her daughter's good side. The dog continued to sleep, as the mother made her way into the kitchen to prepare dinner, and Sophia filled in the dog's eyes with blue oil pastel, and closed her drawing pad.
Not bad, she thought, I'll hang it in my room.
Vieara and Kellen returned in time for dinner, and took seats at the table, while Sophia was in the shower. As she was drying off, for the first time since she returned home, Sophia didn't think about Azkaban or her mum hiding secrets. She thought about dinner, consisting of fettuccini alfredo and yummy tiramisu, and she thought about the rest of the summer. She wanted to write a story of a girl's relationship with her father, and the dog had inspired an idea for a series of paintings of animals. Dogs, mostly.
She pulled on a denim skirt and black T-shirt, brushed her hair up absentmindedly, while planning the paintings. She was halfway down the stairs, when her mum yelled "Sophia! Dinner!". The dog ran after her, ears flapping excitedly. When it reached the bottom step it seemed to leap on Elly. It stood on its back paws before she had even realized what was happening licked her face, yelping. It then moved on to Vieara, who was ready. She caught the dogs front paws before they had perched on her shoulders and lowered it to the ground, laughing.
"I'll only pet you if you promise not to knock me over," She said and the dog barked in response and licked her fingers.
The meal was served, and delicious. During dinner, there was much conversation, little of which Sophia joined into, about Quidditch and the new Firebolt broomstick that had just come out. Sophia was dropping a piece of chicken from her fettuccini alfredo to Snuffles every once in a while, but mostly chewing thoughtfully and staring out the window. Suddenly a light spot appeared in the darkening sky. It grew closer and closer, until she could make out the shape of a light brown Hogwarts owl, carrying a large parchment letter. It swiftly flew into the kitchen and landed on the back of Vieara's now-empty chair. Elly reached for it, and the owl hooted, tired after the long journey.
Sophia finished her last bites and cleared the table while her mum fetched the owl some water and a few Owl Treats. She slid the dishes into the sink, collected her new pet, and went outside, sitting under the kitchen window. The light form the room made a nice shape on the now dark grass. Snuffles put his head in her lap and she stroked it absentmindedly, staring at Sirius in the sky.
There was a great crash in the kitchen, and a faint cry of "No, it can't be!" above her head. Sophia froze, and heard voices yelling from the second floor.
"Are you all right mum?" She heard her sister yell. She remained quite under the window. Her mum went upstairs, and Sophia quietly snuck back into the kitchen to see what had happened. She saw a shattered bowl lying on the floor in shards, and a letter that looked as if it had fluttered to the floor, underneath the table. She picked it up.
Eleonora-
I'm sorry to inform you that Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban. The Ministry learned this a few days back, but have just told me the news. I am writing immediately. I must warn you, he may be after the girls, and Harry Potter. You must be careful. Take every possible precaution, and do not leave them alone for a moment. Dementors will search for him, and will no doubt find him very soon.
I'm sorry, I know this must be very painful for you.
Keep in contact.
Signed,
Albus Dumbledore