Alright. Finally moving forward with the story. It's time for Diagon Alley. So sorry this chapter took so long but I just for the life of me just could not get through it.
It was finally the day when Heather was leaving for Diagon Alley. Tsume, Memphis, Reika, Blaze and Kiba were all coming with her. Blue and Hige would have gone as well but with four pups they had their paws full. Toboe was staying behind to help them out as well. The red haired girl reached into her pocket and felt the paper of the letter she had gotten from Professor McGonagall about the coming school year.
Her special trip with Malfoy was a few weeks ago. After the movie they had simply wandered the streets, poking into shops and looking at graffiti on alley walls. After a few hours of that and dinner, Heather broke into a rundown bowling alley. Her only explanation for that; everyone gets weird ideas at one in the morning. It was kind of funny watching Draco Malfoy, who many considered to be the 'bad boy' of Slytherin, whisper in a panic for Heather to get her claws out of the lock. Her favorite phrase out of his mouth that night was,
"This crazy redhead is going to get me arrested."
Heather felt that most of her friends felt that way about her at one point or another. After that they snuck out before the place opened again and then had breakfast before they flew back to Malfoy Manor. Heather almost felt sorry for the young lord, who walked like a zombie through the front door, no doubt physically and mentally exhausted.
Heather sent a letter to Hermione, explaining what she had done with the little lord and she received a very short letter in return.
TELL ME EVERYTHING!
Leaving the mansion itself for the run to Diagon Alley was a bit of a hasel. December didn't want Heather to leave. The youngest of Blue's pups started crying anytime the young witch tried to hand her off to Hige. The blue eyed pup would wail and reach her pudgy little fists towards the red haired girl who couldn't help but hold her again to make her stop crying. Reika didn't share Heather's love for the pup, or any pup really.
"They drool, smell and keep trying to grab me. I'll play with them when they can hold in their fluids." Was all the snake had to say on the matter.
Heather was finally able to sneak away when Hige got December laughing so much that she didn't realize that Heather was gone with the others until they were well on the way to London and Diagon Alley.
Arriving, she realized Diagon Alley was just as Heather remembered it. Full of colorful shops and even more colorful people. She had changed into her human form along with Blaze and Memphis, but Tsume remained on four paws. Heather would have thought it'd be easier to navigate the crowds as a human but she didn't want to get into a fight with Tsume. With her letter that she'd received McGonagall a few days ago Heather set off through the various shops of Diagon Alley.
She went to the Apothecary to replenish her store of potions ingredients (she had to drag Blaze away as well), and as her school robes were now a little tight, she visited Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and bought new ones. Sadly, she had not grown much in height over the summer. Heather had a feeling that five feet tall was about as high as she was going to get. Most important of all, she had to buy her new school books, which would include those for her two new subjects, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.
Heather got a surprise as she looked in at the bookshop window. Instead of the usual display of gold-embossed spellbooks the size of paving slabs, there was a large iron cage behind the glass that held about a hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters. Torn pages were flying everywhere as the books grappled with each other, locked together in furious wrestling matches and snapping aggressively.
Heather pulled her booklist out of her pocket and consulted it for the first time during the trip. The Monster Book of Monsters was listed as the required book for Care of Magical Creatures. Now Heather understood why Hagrid had said it would come in useful in the letter that he had sent her a few days ago. She felt relieved; she had been wondering whether Hagrid wanted help with some terrifying new pet. She remembered when the book tried to eat Reika the day after she got it. Heather snarled at it and then it scurried under her bed, whimpering in fear. Kiba had walked in just in time to see the book hide. He merely shook his head with a resigned expression on his face.
As Heather entered Flourish and Blotts, the manager came hurrying toward her.
"Hogwarts?" he said abruptly. "Come to get your new books?"
"Yes," said Heather, "I need -"
"Get out of the way," said the manager impatiently, brushing Heather aside. He drew on a pair of very thick gloves, picked up a large, knobbly walking stick, and proceeded toward the door of the Monster Books' cage.
"Hold on," said Heather quickly, "I've already got one of those. "
"Have you?" A look of enormous relief spread over the manager's face. "Thank heavens for that. I've been bitten five times already this morning -"
A loud ripping noise went through the air; two of the Monster Books had seized a third and were pulling it apart. While Blaze and Memphis stared wide eyed at the books, Tsume merely glared at them and bared his teeth.
"Stop it! Stop it!" cried the manager, poking the walking stick through the bars and knocking the books apart. "I'm never stocking them again, never! It's been bedlam! I thought we'd seen the worst when we bought two hundred copies of the Invisible Book of Invisibility - cost a fortune, and we never found them. . . Well. . . is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes," said Heather, looking down her booklist, "I need a Runes Dictionary and Ancient Runes Made Easy by Laurenzoo."
"Ah, starting Ancient Runes, are you?" said the manager, stripping off his gloves and leading Heather into the back of the shop, where there was a corner devoted to the study of Ancient Runes. A small table was stacked with volumes such as Magical Hieroglyphs and Logarithms and Advanced Rune Translation by Yuri Blishen.
"Here you are," said the manager, who had climbed a set of steps to take down a thick, black-bound book. "Ancient Runes Made Easy. Very good guide to all your basic Ancient Runes techniques - spell strengthening, enchanting, wards."
The manager pressed Ancient Runes Made Easy into Heather's hands.
"Anything else?" he said.
"Yes," said Heather, consulting her booklist. "Er - I need Intermediate Transfiguration and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three. "
Heather emerged from Flourish and Blotts ten minutes later with her new books in her pouch necklace and made her way back to the Leaky Cauldron so that she could leave. Hermione was going to let her know when she would be in Dragon Alley, then they'd be able to meet up before the year began. Heather didn't have any interest in staying at the Leaky Cauldron and besides, she was pretty sure Tsume would kill someone if she tried to do so.
As the days slipped by, Heather started looking towards the sky for any sign of Cheza with a letter in her talons. Hunting was plentiful and Heather often spent a lot of time with Blue and her pups. She adored them and was very amused at how December tried to stumble after her on unsteady legs whenever she left. While it was true that their were other pups, it made Heather happy that she wasn't the youngest in the original pack anymore.
Heather woke on the last day of the holidays to a letter on Cheza's leg. It was from Hermione, saying she and the Weasley's were staying at the Leaky Cauldron. Heather gathered up the other wolves that would be going with her to Hogwarts, along with Reika and together they ran back to London and Diagon Alley.
"Heather! Heather!"
Hermione was there, waving frantically at her with a big smile on her face.
"I'm so glad you're here!" said Hermione, grinning at Heather as she sat down. "New haircut?" She asked, looking at Heather's half shaved head.
"Yep, got this after I saved Lady Malfoy from a lynx, along with these." Heather gestured to the scratches on her face that had almost completely faded. Hermione merely shook her head. She had long since given up with Heather's fighting with wild animals. She'd always worry, but she knew there was nothing else she could do about it.
"So, what happened during your little field trip with Malfoy?" Hermione asked. She was obviously dying to know what the sheltered Pureblood thought of the muggle world.
"Besides eating and some light shopping we went to a museum where he learned how quickly we would lose in a war against muggles." Heather paused for Hermione's giggles. As a Muggleborn herself, she was well aware of the great advantage Muggles had against wizard's. Even if they all rode in on dragon back, Heather had no doubt who win between a dragon and a fighter jet.
"We also saw that Pirates of the Caribbean movie-"
"I've been wanting to see that! Is it any good?" Hermione asked, eyes wide.
"Malfoy enjoyed it, if his cheers were anything to go by." Heather said, remembering how the young Malfoy almost leapt out of his seat when Will freed Jack from the gallows.
"But he's actually much more of a goody two shoes than you'd think." Heather said.
"How so?" Hermione asked, smiling a little.
"What's all that, Hermione?" Heather asked, pointing at not one but three bulging bags in the chair next to her.
"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I," said Hermione. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies -"
"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Memphis, the first of Heather's packmates to speak during this little meeting. "I thought you were Muggle-born. Your mum and dad are Muggles. Don't you already know all about Muggles?"
"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view," said Hermione earnestly.
"Are you planning to eat or sleep?" asked Heather, while Fred and George sniggered. Heather decided she wasn't going to bring up how far behind the wizarding world was. Just let the girl do what she wants. Hermione ignored them. She had turned her focus to the wolves sitting nearby.
"I'm so sorry I didn't greet you when you first came here. I didn't notice you." Hermione said.
"It's alright." Blaze said. "You're busy catching up."
"We didn't have anything to say." Tsume said gruffly.
"Alright..." Hermione said slowly, eyeing Tsume nervously. "I've still got ten Galleons," she said, checking her purse. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."
"New book?" said Heather with a smirk.
"No, I don't think so," said Hermione composedly. "I really want an owl. I mean, Heather's got Cheza and you've all got Errol-"
"Who barely functions." Heather snickered and laughed openly when Hermione glared at her. "I'm sure there's a magical creature shop nearby," said Heather, before sniffing the air. "You can get your owl."
So, led by Heather's nose and the scent of fur and feathers, Heather, Hermione and the wolves made their way to the Magical Menagerie while the Weasley's left for the Leaky Cauldron.
There wasn't much room inside, especially for such a large group so Heather's packmates decided to wait outside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages. It was smelly and very noisy because the occupants of these cages were all squeaking, squawking, jabbering, or hissing. The witch behind the counter was already advising a familiar red haired wizard about his rat.
Heather scowled and crossed her arms. Ron never wrote to her over the summer, nor did he ever apologize for accusing her of being the Heir of Slytherin.
'Actually, I guess he was right.' Heather mused to herself. But she didn't release the basilisk. Even if she did, she wouldn't set it on students.
The girl decided it was good that she found out who he was now. He simply wasn't able to accept anything remotely considered 'dark'. If the Heir of Slytherin debacle hadn't separated them, Heather figured her affiliation with Malfoy, not to mention her brutal murder at the young lord's house, would have done that instead.
Perhaps one day they'd be able to reconcile, but they would never be able to rekindle their friendship. Betrayal wasn't something that Heather could easily overlook, especially Ron's sort; blind and ignorant. She wouldn't be the one to make the first steps towards a makeup, if there was one.
"It's my rat," Ron told the witch. "He's been a bit off-color ever since I brought him back from Egypt."
"Put him on the counter," said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black spectacles out of her pocket.
Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him next to the cage of his fellow rats, who stopped their skipping tricks and scuffled to the wire for a better took.
Like nearly everything Ron owned, Scabbers the rat was secondhand (he had once belonged to Ron's brother Percy) and a bit battered. Next to the glossy rats in the cage close to the counter, he looked especially woebegone.
"Hm," said the witch, picking up Scabbers. "How old is this rat?"
"Dunno," said Ron. "Quite old. He used to belong to my brother. "
"What powers does he have?" said the witch, examining Scabbers closely.
"Er -" The truth was that Scabbers had never shown the faintest trace of interesting powers. The witch's eyes moved from Scabbers's tattered left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly.
"He's been through the mill, this one," she said.
"He was like that when Percy gave him to me," said Ron defensively.
"An ordinary common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live longer than three years or so," said the witch. "Now, if you were looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of these -"
She indicated the black rats in a nearby cage, who promptly started skipping. Ron muttered, "Show-offs."
"Well, if you don't want a replacement, you can try this rat tonic," said the witch, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red bottle.
"Okay," said Ron. "How much - OUCH!"
Ron buckled as something huge and orange came soaring from the top of the highest cage, landed on his head, and then propelled itself, spitting madly, at Scabbers.
"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" cried the witch, but Scabbers shot from between her hands like a bar of soap, landed splay-legged on the floor, and then scampered for the door.
"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, racing out of the shop after him; Heather followed.
Deciding to take pity on him, Heather darted out after him and quickly grabbed Scabbers. Holding the wriggling thing by his tail, she handed him off to her ex-friend. Ron stuffed the trembling rat back into his pocket and straightened up, massaging his head. He froze when he saw Heather and put on a look of contempt.
"What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Doing my good deed for the day." Heather said, her lip curling up to reveal a single fang. "Goodbye." She spun on her heel and walked off.
"Should I eat his rat? Teach him some manners?" Reika asked from within Heather's jacket.
"No. Let's not stir things up." Heather replied.
Heather made her way back up the crowded street to the Magical Menagerie. As she reached it, Hermione came out, but she wasn't carrying an owl. Her arms were clamped tightly around the enormous ginger cat.
"You bought that cat?" said Heather, her mouth curling into a smile at the sight of the familiar beast.
"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione, glowing.
In his own way, thought Heather. The cat's ginger fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bowlegged and its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall. Now that Scabbers was out of sight, however, the cat was purring contentedly in Hermione's arms.
"Good kitty, pouncing on that annoying prat!" said Heather, scratching the cat behind his ear, causing the fluffy creature to purr.
"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" said Hermione, always trying to be the mitigator.
"Managed to catch Scabbers." said Heather, pointing back to where she had chased the rat.
"That reminds me, he forgot his rat tonic," said Hermione, holding the small red bottle. "You should have seen this sweet thing, locked in his cage. Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; no one wanted him. "
"A tragedy," said Heather with a smirk as they set off toward the Leaky Cauldron.
They found Mr. Weasley sitting in the bar, reading the Daily Prophet.
"Heather!" he said, smiling as he looked up. "How are you?"
"Fine, thanks," said Heather as she and the others joined Mr. Weasley with their shopping. The wolves sat around by the bar, looking around curiously. Tsume's hackles stood on end, but he was able to keep any growls at bay.
Mr. Weasley put down his paper, and Heather saw a rather interesting picture. She saw a man with a gaunt, sunken face, waxy skin, yellow teeth, and long, matted hair. Heather didn't read much but she got the gist of it; Sirius Black, mass murderer, escaped and still at large.
"They still haven't caught him, then?" She asked, noting the date he had escaped.
"No," said Mr. Weasley, looking extremely grave. "They've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far."
"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" asked Heather asked in curiosity. She didn't have any plans to go bounty hunting but it would be nice to actually get paid for her services. True she didn't need it but it was just the principal of the thing.
"Don't be ridiculous, Heather," said Mr. Weasley, who on closer inspection looked very strained. "Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old witch. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words."
At that moment Mrs. Weasley entered the bar, laden with shopping bags and followed by the twins, Fred and George, who were about to start their fifth year at Hogwarts; the newly elected Head Boy, Percy; and the Weasley's youngest child and only girl, Ginny.
Ginny, who had always been very taken with Heather, seemed even more heartily embarrassed than usual when she saw her, perhaps because she had saved her life during their previous year at Hogwarts. She went very red and muttered "hello" without looking at her. Percy, however, held out his hand solemnly as though he and Heather had never met and said, "Heather. How nice to see you. "
"Hello, Percy," said Heather, trying not to laugh.
"I hope you're well?" said Percy pompously, shaking hands. It was rather like being introduced to the mayor.
"Very well, thanks -"
"Heather!" said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old girl -"
"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Heather's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing. "
Percy scowled.
"That's enough, now," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Mum!" said Fred, as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand, too. "How really corking to see you -"
"I said, that's enough," said Mrs. Weasley, depositing her shopping in an empty chair. "Hello, Heather, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!" she said, swelling with pride.
"And last," Fred muttered under his breath.
"I don't doubt that," said Mrs. Weasley, frowning suddenly. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."
"What do we want to be prefects for?" said George, looking revolted at the very idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life. "
Ginny giggled.
"You want to set a better example for your sister!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.
"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner. . . "
He disappeared and George heaved a sigh.
"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," he told Heather. "But Mum spotted us."
Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair, especially since Ron was seated away from Heather. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlor, and the seven Weasleys, Heather, and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses. Mrs. Weasley had even had a large portion of meat set aside for the wolves.
"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.
"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said Mr. Weasley.
Everyone looked up at him.
"Why?" said Percy curiously.
"It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-"
"- for Humongous Bighead," said Fred.
Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.
"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.
"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," said Mr. Weasley, "and as I work there, they're doing me a favor. . . "
His voice was casual, but Heather couldn't help noticing that Mr. Wesley's ears had gone red, just like Ron's did when he was under pressure. She smelled deception.
"Good thing, too," said Mrs. Weasley briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground. . . You are all packed, aren't you?"
"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed. "
"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy. Heather smirked behind her glass.
After dinner everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for the next day. Ron and Percy were apparently sleeping together so Heather had no doubt that their fighting would keep people up. She was just walking by when she heard angry voices through the wall, and went to see what was going on.
The door of number twelve was ajar and Percy was shouting.
"It was here, on the bedside table, I took it off for polishing -"
"I haven't touched it, all right?" Ron roared back.
"What's up?" said Heather.
"My Head Boy badge is gone," said Percy, rounding on Heather.
"So's Scabbers's Rat Tonic," said Ron, throwing things out of his trunk to look. "I think I might've left it in the bar -"
"You're not going anywhere till you've found my badge!" yelled Percy.
"I'll get Scabbers's stuff, I'm packed," Heather said to Ron, and she went downstairs. She wasn't so petty as to try and get back at him at every little instance.
Heather was halfway along the passage to the bar, which was now very dark, when she heard another pair of angry voices coming from the parlor. A second later, she recognized them as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's. She hesitated, not wanting them to know she'd heard them arguing, when the sound of her own name made her stop, then move closer to the parlor door with the stealth and grace of a hunter
". . . makes no sense not to tell her," Mr. Weasley was saying heatedly. "Heather's got a right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Heather like a child. She's thirteen years old and -"
"Arthur, the truth would terrify her!" said Mrs. Weasley shrilly. "Do you really want to send Heather back to school with that hanging over her? For heaven's sake, she's happy not knowing!"
"I don't want to make her miserable, I want to put her on her guard!" retorted Mr. Weasley. "You know what Heather is like, doing whatever she wants - she hunts in the Forbidden Forest! But Heather mustn't do that this year! When I think what could happen to her out in the wild."
"But she's not dead, she's fine, so what's the point -"
"Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen hide nor hair of him, and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet, we're no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black's after -"
"But Heather will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts. "
"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts. "
"But no one's really sure that Black's after Heather -"
There was a thud on wood, and Heather was sure Mr. Weasley had banged his fist on the table.
"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Blacks been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: "He's at Hogwarts. . . he's at Hogwarts. " Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Heather dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Heather will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Heather stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that..."
There was a silence. Heather grew her wolf ears, desperate to hear more.
"Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you're forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt Heather at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's Headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?"
"Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed."
"Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to catch Black?"
"Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards," said Mr. Weasley heavily. "Nor am I, if it comes to that... but when you're dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you'd rather avoid."
"If they save Heather -"
"- then I will never say another word against them," said Mr. Weasley wearily. "It's late, Molly, we'd better go up. . . "
Heather heard chairs move. As quietly as she could, she hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight on all fours. The parlor door opened, and a few seconds later footsteps told her that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were climbing the stairs.
The bottle of rat tonic was lying under the table they had sat at earlier. Heather waited until she heard Mr. and Mrs. Wesley's bedroom door close, then headed back upstairs with the bottle.
Fred and George were crouching in the shadows on the landing, heaving with laughter as they listened to Percy dismantling his and Ron's room in search of his badge.
"We've got it," Fred whispered to Heather. "We've been improving it. "
The badge now read Bighead Boy.
Heather forced a laugh, went to give Ron the rat tonic, then went to join her packmates. Unlike the others, they didn't rent a room. Instead, they chose to climb onto the flat roof of the leaky cauldron and sleep under the stars. Heather opened a nearby window and began to climb.
So Sirius Black was after her. Just another year at Hogwarts than, with someone trying to kill her. At least she knew who it was this time around. Sirius wasn't some hidden villain but apparently he was feared enough for the Ministry to send two cars to take them all to the station tomorrow, so that the Weasleys could look after Heather until she was on the train.
Heather scaled the side of the building and smirked to herself. Apparently Sirius Black had murdered thirteen people with one curse; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley obviously thought Heather would be panic-stricken if she knew the truth. They obviously didn't know her well and didn't remember past events very well. If Sirius Black could outwit the Azkaban guards before, odds are he would again. Hogwarts had been invaded by Heather's would-be murderers twice in two years. She'd have to face Sirius Black whether she went looking for him or not. That was just the fact of the matter. People had been trying to kill her from the moment she was born. No one had succeeded, at least not permanently.
Heather made it up to the roof and saw her packmates, still in wolf form laying on the roof. Memphis and Blaze were curled up together, sharing body heat to keep the chill of September away. Growing into her own red fur, Heather walked over to where Tsume lay a few feet away from the others, ever the distrustful loner.
"Been a while since we've slept like this, huh?" Heather said quietly, laying down next to the large gray wolf.
"Three years." Tsume said gruffly.
"I know you don't like humans or magic, but thank you for coming with me." Heather said.
"Kiba ordered me to. I'm surprised you didn't throw some big 'I can handle myself' tantrum." His slightly green eyes giving off a small glimmer of mischief.
"I can." Heather said before gently brushing her nose against his cheek. "But I handle myself better with you." Heather's own eyes shone with humor. "Besides, I'm surprised you haven't thrown your own tantrum here yet."
"I don't like humans or magic, but I love you, Heather." Tsume said before curling himself around the young she-wolf. "That's what counts."
"I love you too, Tsume." Heather snuggled into his gray fur and quickly fell asleep under the stars and moonlight.