Harry Potter Halloween Collection Prompt: (color) Black

Snuffles

For weeks, Marlene had been coaxing the large black dog closer and closer to her. She'd been leaving raw chicken out for him to eat every morning as he had turned his nose up at the first bowl of dry dog food she'd left for him. The poor thing had been wandering around her neighborhood all summer and with winter fast approaching, she hated to see him left outside to freeze. He seemed to be afraid of people, running whenever someone even looked at him. She had been slowly building up his trust. Today was the day that she would put that trust to the test.

She saw him appear at the end of the drive, ears perked up as she set the chicken out. Instead of going back inside, Marlene sat in the open doorway and waited. The dog tilted his head, seeming rather confused. He watched her for several minutes before approaching cautiously. She could hear him snuffling, his nose pressed to the ground. He slowed even further when he got closer to her, his grey eyes locked on her. Marlene was barely breathing. She couldn't believe her plan was actually working.

Gaze still fixed on her, the dog lay down at her feet and began eating. Once he had finished, Marlene slowly raised a hand, stopping when he flinched.

"It's okay," she said quietly. "I won't hurt you." When the dog didn't move, Marlene moved her hand up to his nose, turning her palm up for him to sniff. His nose was wet and his breath tickled her skin. She bit back a laugh as he started to lick her hand. She could see his tail wagging, sweeping away the few leaves on the front step. She slowly moved her hand up to gently stroke his head and he leaned into her touch. She felt a sense of happiness fill her. She had never worked at something so hard in her life as she had at gaining this dog's trust, and it had paid off.

"What should I call you?" she asked him. His ears perked up. "What about Snuffles? You certainly do a lot of sniffing." A small woof escaped him and he started panting, his tongue lolling comically from his mouth. "I'll take that as your approval. Snuffles it is."

With another bark of approval, Snuffles followed Marlene into the house.