SERIES: Beyond the Veil
TITLE: 8 – A Dirty Job
AUTHOR: Scorpio
FANDOM: Harry Potter/Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Multi)
RATING: PG (Varies)
SUMMARY: Sirius Black is the 'Grim' animagus known as Padfoot. Padfoot gets a make-over.
Beyond the Veil 7 – A Dirty Job
Padfoot wasn't sure if this was heaven or hell in that he wasn't sure if this was an event to cherish and enjoy, or if he should just curl up in a whimpering ball of humiliation.
He was currently standing in the main girl's locker room shower with soapsuds running down his body while being surrounded by some of the prettiest women he knew. Willow, Buffy, Dawn and Faith were all wearing extremely tight and obscenely short denim shorts and tiny little bikini bathing suit tops. They were running their soapy hands all over him and rubbing shampoos, lotions, crèmes and other products into his fur and skin.
That he was in his canine animagus form was a bit of a downside for his inner pervert. The fact that they insisted he needed this because his dog form was in such a battered and neglected state also limited his enjoyment. Mostly because it was true. Padfoot the Grim may have saved Sirius the human from insanity by shielding his mind from the Dementors, but Azkaban had taken its toll on the large black dog. He was very underweight with his ribs being prominent under fur that was dirty, snarled and matted. He had also smelled strongly of Dementors, dank stone and mold as well as rotting meat.
After he'd escaped, Padfoot had lived for a year on the run in a cave. After he'd opened up Grimmauld Place for the Order, Sirius had been given time to recuperate, but he had avoided becoming Padfoot because of the horrible memories and the time he'd been forced to endure staying as Padfoot for his own safety. As such, Padfoot had never had a chance to clean up, become healthy and recover.
He was getting that in spades now, however.
First, Padfoot had been flea dipped. Not his favorite activity and one which was very embarrassing. He'd also been fed a medicine for heart worms. Dawn and Willow had then very carefully cut out the worst of the matted fur and burrs tangled in his coat even as Buffy and Faith had carefully trimmed back his claws and nails to a manageable length.
Now he was standing under a shower of warm water with shampoos and crèmes being rubbed into his fur to make him clean and fresh smelling. Part of him felt a touch humiliated that he was in such bad shape despite it not being his fault. Part of him simply reveled in the pure enjoyment of being touched so gently and to have people offer up care and concern in his direction. As if getting clean was washing away some of the horror of his past. In truth, it was healing his heart as well as washing his fur.
Still, that didn't change the fact that four of the most beautiful women he knew were fussing over him in a combination of pity and understanding. He didn't like feeling weak or needy, especially when he really was.
The sound of a door opening followed by the steam in the air swirling made Padfoot look across the large bathing room. Xander walked in with an arm full of fluffy white towels and a bag full of stuff hanging from one hand. He watched as the one-eyed man put the towels on a counter and began to unload the bag. Several brushes, combs, spray-in detangler, dog-friendly toothpaste and an overly large toothbrush, lotion specifically designed for paw-pads, and finally a muggle hair dryer appeared. Padfoot didn't even realize he had whimpered until Xander turned his head and grinned at him.
"Hey! No whining!" The man had the nerve to bark out a laugh at Padfoot's make-over of doom. "Just remember, you volunteered for this."
Dawn turned around and shook a soapy finger at Xander. "Hey! No comments from the peanut gallery or I'll have Buffy drag you around the Mall doing pack-mule duty."
Xander held out his hands palm out in surrender. "Fine, I'll be good." He flashed Padfoot a slightly contrite grin. "Sorry, man…you're on your own. Last time Buffy used me as a pack-mule I ended up following her from shop to shop for four hours carrying an ever larger pile of bags. The next day I could barely walk and my hands were cramped up into claws from carrying everything." A cheeky smile. "I still have nightmares."
Buffy stood up from where she had been scrubbing mud out from between Padfoot's toes on his right front paw and planted her hands on her hips.
"Ha, ha. Very funny." She pouted. "I am so totally not that bad."
Padfoot barked out a laugh when Dawn, Willow and Faith all nodded their heads that yes, she really was that bad. Buffy huffed and glared down at him.
"Just for that, I'm not gonna tie a pretty bow around your neck." And to that all Padfoot could think was 'Thank Merlin!', but he knew better than to say that out loud.
"Don't worry," Faith whispered into his one soapy ear. "I won't let B tie any stupid bows in your fur. And if she does, I'll take 'em out for ya."
Not even thinking about it, Padfoot merely reacted to the wave of bow-hatred induced gratitude by running his long tongue up the side of Faith's face in a big slobbery dog kiss. With a squeal of surprise, Faith jerked back and landed on her backside with a splash.
[End: A Dirty Job]