Hey everyone, especially Tygervamp, I hope you're enjoying the story. There're just a few things I want to mention.

I try to get the animal information down to a tee (I work with dogs, which helps a lot) Things like marking, behavior, and protection are thing I work into the story, and try to see how Sirius think during the story.

The reason that James and Lily seem so frustrated with Harry is because they're young parents—remember, they died in their twenties!

And even though Rowling never describes his breed, and the real Hachiko was an Akita, I always imagine Padfoot as a Bouvier des Flandres, except with a long tail and short beard.

Hope you enjoy this! Reviews always appreciated!

"So what's going on today love?" Lily asked, stirring sugar into her coffee.

James shrugged, casting a spell on the frying pan. The bacon immediately started sizzling.

"It's just gonna be a short lesson today. Some art some math, lunch, then the—."

A bark halted James's words. Sirius was looking up at him, demanding his share.

"Alright Padfoot alright," James said, smiling even as he rolled his eyes. With a flick of his wand a piece of bacon leapt off the pan. It flopped into Sirius's food dish and was gone almost as quickly.

"No more boy," James said, waving his own piece in front of the begging grey eyes. "Long day today, I need my strength."

"Yes, because greasy, artery-clogging bacon is going to provide that." Lily sipped her coffee, wrinkling her nose at the dog who seemed hypnotized by her drink. "You wouldn't want this; it's too hot for you." Her gaze wandered to James, who was trying to hide the fact that he'd just slipped another piece of meat to the ground.

"James, why do you call him Padfoot anyways?"

James grinned. "Cause he's got a pad on each foot." He crouched down, lifted up one of Sirius's (who was protesting as loudly as he could with bacon in his mouth) paws, displaying the pad-print markings. "See? Part of a matching set!"

Lily sighed. "Yeah, I see that shape every time he comes in from outside, imprinted in mud allover my house. I remember, I know this was before we were dating, but I remember you used to call Sirius—not you!" she scowled at the dog, who'd turned towards her at the sound of his name. "The real Sirius Black." Looking back at hr husband, she said, "You called him Padfoot too. James, is there something you're not telling me?"

A crease appeared between James's eyes. "Like…"

"Like that this isn't just a dog. No one ever found Sirius's—not you, you big dolt! Well maybe you, but anyway—body. And you got this one," she pointed at the cur lapping spilled eggs off the floor, "right after he died. Almost right after. And you always talk to him like he can understand, not in that mock baby way most people do to pets, but like he understands what you say, and he always seems to understand you, although now that I think about it, Black always did act like a dog, so it's hard to tell the difference besides four legs and a tail. And you insisted that he live with us, even though you know I don't like dogs. My poor cat practically lives under our bed she's so scared of him." Her green eyes scanned James's face. "Am I right?"

Before he could come up with an answer, a wail started from upstairs. Lily sighed and shook her head as she left the kitchen. James could just make out the words "That child never gives me a break," followed by the scurry of feet on the stairs.

James gave a big sigh of relief as he scrambled his eggs.

"That was close. Finally, a good reason for Harry's non-stop crying. Dunno how I was supposed to answer that one. What should I tell her Sirius? That you me and Wormtail're illegal Animagi so we can control Moony who by the way is a werewolf? So he can get in trouble with the Order and the Ministry and have his life ruined further for something he can't control? That I wanted something leftover from our Marauder days, a secret to myself? Yeah, we'd be doing him a favor there. To let something slip that might help us against Voldemort?"

He looked down. Sirius was staring at him, a sympathetic look on his face, though James knew that the expression was meant for the eggs and bacon slips still sizzling on the pan, begging to be dropped to the floor.

"You've had enough Pad, I need to eat too y'know, or else we'll be late." He ate slowly, talking between bites.

"I hate doing all this. Cowering in hiding, stuck here or at school, using Wormtail as a Secret Keeper. These are dark times boy, I don't know how much this'll all help us." He paused to check his watch.

"Almost eight. Don't worry." He ran his hands down the dog's back and picked up his suitcase. "We're having a party in class today and I'll bring lots of candy home for you."

Lily came down as James and Sirius exited the kitchen, a very fussy Harry in her arms.

"I can't take it anymore. All the screaming and crying over nothing. I can take it in doses, but without Bathilda here anymore, I'll never sleep properly again."

James noticed too how tired Lily was. There were deep lines under her beautiful green eyes and a grey tinge to her skin.

"Lil, I know you've been upset since you resigned, but it was for the best. Dumbledore only wants those in higher positions still out there, and Harry needs you."

"You're a teacher, I was an officer, and which do you think is higher up?"

But James raised his hand.

"You know it's not in that regard Lil. There're already plenty of Aurors stationed in the police and government offices. I need to protect the kids. You need to protect ours." He kissed her on the lips, then Harry, who was still wailing, on the cheek.

"We'll see you both tonight. Miss you."

"Miss you too," Lily sighed as James and Sirius walked out the door. As she watched it close, she couldn't shake away a tingly feeling in her spine.

"Oh cheer up," she said, both to herself and her crying son. "We'll have a good day today. After all, it's Halloween!"

James and Sirius made their usual way to King's Cross, with just one minor change…

"I can't do this," James muttered as he ducked into the forest. "I feel like I'm being watched Pad. They could be anywhere, Death Eaters. We're not safe when we leave the house, even if Peter's guarding it"

He pulled out his wand, tapped his briefcase with it, and both objects vanished. He would just say he'd them in his desk the day before. Then he dropped to all fours and turned into a stag.

Sirius shook his head, his ear flapping. What was this strange animal? Where'd it come from? He did the only logical thing: he crouched, pulled back his ears, bared his teeth, and growled.

"Sirius, it's me!" James tried to say, though only an eerie, squealing sort of sound escaped his mouth. The dog liked this even less—his jaws snapped, his haunches quivered—

James turned back into himself; he didn't want Sirius to attack him anymore than the Death Eaters. Sirius instantly relaxed; he rose to his feet and leaned against James, tongue hanging out his mouth.

James scratched him behind the ears. "OK, let's try this again." He offered his hand for Sirius to sniff, and changed it into a hoof. The dog's eyes flashed and he crouched again, growling…

This wasn't going to work. Tired, furious, and vulnerable without his wand, James, a man again, ran out of the forest, his jeans catching on twigs, a dog at his side. Knowing he would be late for working, he walked the long miles, Sirius bouncing around his feet.

This was the proof, James realized, that Sirius had truly changed. He had been stuck in dog form for so long, assisted by Snape's curses, he'd lost his mind along with his body. Back at Hogwarts, the sight of the stag had made him bark and wag his tail, though in a very human way neither could explain. They would run around the ground and Hogsmeade, keeping a close eyes on Lupin, barely controllable in werewolf form, but have the best times doing so. Running around on all fours, scaring the villagers and creatures in the forest, finally combining their findings into the Marauder's Map. James missed all that, and he was sure, if Sirius had the mind and tongue to, would've agreed.

By the time they reached King's Cross, James was exhausted. While a fit man, the pressure of the Order, having Voldemort on his tail, Peter protecting his family, and dozens of kids to watch over was taking its toll on him, draining his strength. He bought a coffee from the hotdog vendor and rubbed it between his numb fingers. Brilliantly coloured leaves swirled around him; it was definitely fall now. He went over to the booth for a ticket. As he made to pull money from his pocket the cup slipped, spilling brown liquid on the pavement. He sighed. Ah well, it wasn't as good as Lily's tea anyway.

Ticket in hand, his train about to leave, he walked back over to Sirius.

"Bye boy," he said, kneeling and scrunching the dog's head between his hands. Sirius twitched his tail and kissed James's face. This scene said it all: of the bond between them, of the love they had, as friends, as brothers, as cousins, as man and dog, their loyalty never wavered.

"See you tonight," He straightened up, patted Sirius once more on the head, and started for the doors. Their eyes never left each other, even as the door closed.

Content that James was safely on his way, Sirius started home. Just as always.

"Now I know angles seem hard to understand," James said, drawing a few on the blackboard, "but they're really quite simple. See—"

"Why do we have to do this?" a ten-year-old boy asked from his desk. There were a few "yeah"s and "why"s from other desks.

"Because you need to learn this," James said, trying to keep calm. "Imagine if you were to become a carpenter, or an artist, you'd need to know this—"

"But we don't," said the same boy.

A similar argument bounced around the class. James tried to explain how math aided them in their everyday lives, but the kids would have none of this, arguing that math was boring and they could always use a calculator. Before James could retaliate, the bell rang, and the students left for lunch.

When the last student had left, James closed the classroom door and let out a gasp of relief. It was a nightmare, he thought, returning to his desk, being a teacher. These fifth year primaries made Harry look like a quiet, sweet, lovely boy—not that he wasn't, but his banshee-like wail could make one forget his gentleness. These kids, their noises, smart-guy attitudes, and swear words James didn't remembering knowing at their age, at least Harry couldn't talk yet. He grunted, pulled a doughnut out of his briefcase, and nibbled it as he marked some papers. Most of them he covered with red X's.

Something landed on his desk, making no noise even as it ruffled the papers. A silver lynx stood before him, its misty eyes seeming to pierce his soul.

"Voldemort knows your location," the creature said in Kingsley's voice. "He knows where you are. You must go home, you must leave this instant." And before James could say anything, the Patronus turned round in a circle, and vanished.

James stood stock still, his eyes glued to where the lynx had been. His heart seemed to blur it was beating so fast; questions rushed through his head. Voldemort knew where he was? His undercover job? Did he know about their Secret Keeper, where he and his family were? What about Sirius?

Knowing what might happen, he grabbed his wand, which was in a desk drawer, and, gripping it very tightly, turned around. And he was gone.

It was almost five o'clock, and Sirius had just arrived at the train station. Tail and ears high, fur coating him against the bitter wind, he was as happy as ever.

The hotdog vendor glanced over at him, and dropped a piece of raw meat. Sirius galloped over and devoured it on the spot.

"Hungry aren't ya boy?" the man asked, smiling. Sirius was a regular customer, even if he never paid. "Here for your friend?" Sirius licked his lips. As jaunty as ever, he walked towards his grassy spot.

The clock struck five, a train whistle blew, and he became very still. It was time.

A few minutes later the doors open, people spilled out of them, all on their way to somewhere. Sirius watched them, quivering with excitement. Confusion grew, however, when James didn't come. Where was he?

The crowd started to thin, some of them patted him on the head, but he ignored them. Their hands were distracted him; what if he missed James?

The last person came out of the station, a stranger. Sirius stayed where he was. James was coming, he always did. He curled up in a ball, his eyes still aimed at the doors, waiting for his master.

A rush of emotions was going through James: angry, worry, fear, hunger, and especially annoyance.

Nothing had happened. No one in the Order had sent Lily a warning, and she'd become very cross when she found out why he was home early, thinking it was an excuse to abandon the kids. She was hardly ruffled by Kingsley's message, saying it didn't mean their location was given away, and Death Eaters sent false messages all the time. She'd also been quite unconcerned about Sirius, saying it was to dangerous to go get him from King's Cross, that the mangy mutt would come home when he realized James wasn't there. It was such an unpredictable time, too dangerous to do even the simplest things.

James yawned, even though it was just past eight. Harry was at his feet, trying to catch the smoke puffing from his father's wand. He laughed as it changed colours, making James smile. How easily his son was amused, how unaware he was of his possible destiny, how dangerous these times were.

Lily opened the door, hair falling across her face. "James, time for Harry to go to bed."

"Alright," he said, scooping Harry up and handing him over. "Night son."

As his wife and child left the room, James threw his wand onto the sofa, and stretched. He yawned widely; all these kids were sapping his energy.

BOOM!

A loud sound brought James out of his thoughts. He ran for the threshold where it had come from. He knew what was there before he reached the front door.

Tall, skeletal, livid red eyes gleaming under his hood: Lord Voldemort.

James wasted no time.

"Lily, take Harry and go!" he shouted, panic in his voice. "It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

Hold him off, but he had no wand. Voldemort saw this, laughed at his vulnerability, like a deer in the headlights. He raised his wand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

James saw the flash of green light, and then nothing more.

The gleaming clock said it was almost midnight. Sirius wouldn't have noticed this even if he could tell time. He was still at the train station, still waiting. Where was James?

Other trains had come, more people filing out the doors, but none of them had that black hair, those glasses, that smell of warmth and familiarity, even as their fingers traced through his fur. They didn't have the right touch.

Now all the train had gone, the hotdog vendor had packed up, and Sirius was alone, more alone than he'd ever been in his whole life. James had never been this late before.

He got up, stretched his sore muscles, and started back home, his head still turned towards the station, even long after it was out of sight. The route home seemed to take longer than usual, with no warm hand on his had, no laughing figure with a spring in his step. Sirius felt very much alone.

He froze when he saw his home—or rather, where his home had been. Now it was a ruin of wood and brick. He smelt something burning—smoke was rising from all over. He ran in, squeezing between wooden strips and plaster and small fires. He froze again when he saw what was there.

A burly figure twice the height of a normal man was standing there, looking very bear-like as he crouched in the darkness. Salty tears were streaming down his mane and he let out wails like a wounded wolf. Sirius smelt something else about him— something small and living was in his hand, something that was also howling.

"Oy!' the bearish man said, "aren't yah the Potter's dog?"

Sirius didn't pause. He lunged forward and seized his jaws over the man's leg, or what he could it was so big around. No one was going to take Harry—nobody!

"Ah, geroff me, yeh stinkin' cur!" A hard kick sent Sirius flying across the rubble. He got to his feet gingerly, wincing on three hurt legs. He snarled at the man. What had he done with James?

"Alright there boy, if yeh want Harry, yeh gotta come with us then."

And careful not to upset Harry, Hagrid gently clambered his way out of the ruined house, Sirius limping behind. So caught up in what was happening to Harry, questions of what had happened to his home and why James wasn't at the station, Sirius hadn't seen nor scented the two mounds of dead flesh left behind in the ruin, one the body of his faithful friend, the other of his wonderful wife.