Sib
by Roff
CHAPTER FOUR
Harry played with Sib for a good while, exercised a bit, and then practiced on some new spells he was learning.
When 8:00 rolled around, Harry met Remus at the door. Remus was expecting to explain to Harry's Order guard what he was doing, but it was Mundungus again and he was asleep already. Remus came in and then he apparated himself and Harry to the hidden spot across the street from Grimmauld Place.
No one had been able to get back in since Sirius died. The Order still knew where the place was since the Fidelius was still in effect, but Kreacher, on the order of Walburga Black's portrait, used the Black wards to lock the place down once Sirius died. She didn't want any of the "filthy half-bloods and Muggleborns entering the house," she told him.
That worked until the new head of house showed up. Kreacher was forced to obey Harry as the new Head of House Black, so he opened the door and let him in, along with Remus. Harry made sure he understood to never lock it down again unless he was given permission by the Black Head of House. Kreacher reluctantly obeyed.
The next thing Harry did once he was inside, was call Dobby.
Pop!
"Dobby is here, Harry Potter sir."
"Great Dobby! You know what to do."
Harry turned back to Kreacher.
"Kreacher, Dobby is my head elf and if he tells you to do something then you better do it. You are on thin ice with me after how you betrayed Sirius and helped get him killed. I don't even want to deal with such a sorry excuse for a house elf. That's why I'm turning you over to Dobby. Mind yourself from here on out." Harry turned back to Dobby. "He's all yours, Dobby. I'll get Remus to take me back now."
"Dobby will not let you down, Harry Potter sir."
"I know, Dobby. You never have. I'll see you later. Ready to take me back, Remus?"
"I guess so. You seem to have this well under control, Harry."
After Remus apparated them back to Privet Drive, Harry explained to him how the elves from Hogwarts were going to help but didn't need to know the secret if they just followed Dobby when he went to fetch them. Remus thought that was brilliant and couldn't wait to see what they did with the place. Harry also let him know about the plan for the dark objects. Remus said the Order would take care of them, no problem.
They had plenty of people in the Order who could deal with cursed objects, especially Dumbledore and Bill Weasley, who could handle just about anything that was cursed.
Harry hurried back up to his room after Remus left. He didn't like leaving Sib alone without himself or Dobby there, but this time they had to leave Hedwig to babysit the little fur ball for just a little while. When Harry opened the door, Hedwig was snoozing up in her cage and he didn't see Sib anywhere.
Harry started looking around, behind things, under things, trying to find the little tiger, but he didn't see him until he checked in the bathroom. Low and behold Sib was using his toilet. Harry was so proud of him he could hardly contain himself.
Sib saw him and started to get excited so Harry quickly went over and knelt down in front of him to pet him and praise him.
"You are such a good boy!"
Once Harry was petting him he went ahead and finished his business. Harry was waiting to see if he would push the button to flush it but he forgot. Harry called him back over and went over putting his paw on the button and pressing so it would flush.
Harry praised him again and then they went to play for a while. Harry would lay down on the floor and mock wrestle with Sib to give him some extra exercise. Harry had started doing this a few days ago in hopes of tiring him out a bit by bedtime.
It only helped a little.
Over the next three days while Dobby was busy at Grimmauld Place, Harry decided to work more with Sib since he was coming along nicely with his house training. He was very close to pushing that button all on his own. Plus, he was growing so fast it was amazing.
Harry wanted to get him accustomed to obeying commands. He would still play with him but he soon taught him the difference between playtime and obedience training. In addition to praise, Harry would often times start playtime with Sib as soon as he successfully did something right in obedience training. Pretty soon, Sib was paying close attention to Harry during the obedience training since he knew a reward was coming as soon as he got it right.
Sib was doing well and learning fast, but on the third day Dobby appeared with distressing news. Out of all the dark objects the elves found in the house, there was one that Kreacher would not leave in the box. After some questioning from Dobby, it was discovered that Kreacher's old master, Regulus Black, had instructed him to destroy the locket just before he died.
Kreacher had been driving himself crazy for years trying to destroy the locket. Plus, the locket was so severely cursed that Dobby was sure Kreacher had been effected by it. He was not sure what to do. Kreacher was torn between obeying his new master and his old master.
Harry had Dobby take him to the house, then he sent Dobby back to watch over Sib while he dealt with Kreacher. It didn't take long for Harry to figure out that the locket was Slytherin's and it was one of Voldemort's horcruxes. He'd felt Voldemort's foul magic before.
He assured Kreacher that Professor Dumbledore would take care of destroying the locket for him and his master Regulus. He then told Kreacher to go to Hogwarts and inform the headmaster that Harry Potter sent him. Then he wanted Kreacher to tell the headmaster everything he shared with Harry. He was to take the locket with him so Professor Dumbledore could destroy it.
Kreacher popped away with the locket while Harry suddenly noticed that the whole house looked completely different. There was no resemblance to the old Black residence anywhere. Everything was new and shiny. The walls had been stripped clean of the old tattered wallpaper and freshly painted with light and bright colors. The wood floors, stairs, and banister had been polished to a shine. There were new lamps throughout the place that were bright, lighting the house in a pleasant way and driving away all the darkness that used to permeate the place.
The biggest difference was the portrait of Walburga Black was no longer on the wall.
Harry couldn't believe the difference. He was still looking around at all the rooms when Kreacher returned. He was actually smiling for once.
"Well, Kreacher, did it get done?"
"Yes, Master. The professor destroyed the locket with a shiny sword. It knocked Kreacher and the headmaster backwards onto the floor when he struck it, but the locket was destroyed and the curse was removed. Kreacher is very happy now."
"I'm glad Kreacher. Now, do you think you can keep this house looking this nice from here on out?"
"Yes, Master. Kreacher will be happy to do it."
"Remus Lupin will be staying here to watch over the place and the Order will likely continue to use it too. If you think you're going to need help with all that, then let me know and I'll find another elf to help you."
"Kreacher can do the work."
"Okay. But let me know if that situation changes."
Kreacher nodded.
"One last thing. Since Remus will be staying here on a more permanent basis, I want you to treat him like the master. He's also going to need a sturdy locked room or cage for him to stay in every full moon. I believe the basement will be a perfect place for that. Can you setup a place for him to use or do I need to send Dobby to take care of that for me?"
"Kreacher will do it right now, Master," and he popped off.
"We'll see, Kreacher. We'll see. …Dobby?"
Pop!
"Yes, Harry Potter sir?"
"I'm ready to go back now."
Dobby took Harry back to his room where he greeted a playful Sib and scratched Hedwig on the chest.
"Hedwig, I need to send Remus a note as soon as I write it. Are you ready for a little trip?"
"Hoot!"
"That's my girl!"
Harry sat down at his desk and began writing.
Remus,
The house is finished. The elves did a great job. Please go there and pick out any bedroom you want. Kreacher is still there and apparently had a change of heart. He's still on probation though. Call him if you need anything. Also, feel free to continue to use it for the bird club, as long as it stays nice that is.
Oh, and thanks for agreeing to live there. I have no desire to do so myself.
Harry
P.S. Check out the basement. Kreacher is supposed to be setting something up for you to use when you need it. If it's not setup right, let me know. I'll send over Dobby. He's quite handy.
Harry folded it up and tied it on Hedwig's leg.
"Safe travels, Hedwig, and you can take your time if you want." With a hoot she was gone.
In August, after Harry's birthday had already passed, Harry had Dobby take him to Diagon Alley for school supplies, new robes, and a new trunk. Harry had already been to Gringotts and put 300,000 galleons in a coin bag with an Undetectable Extension Charm applied to it. He had been studying the special trunks in the catalog that had all the extra outdoor space included and he was pretty sure he'd decided on what he wanted to buy. The extra money was for furnishings and other expenditures he was anticipating.
He went to Madam Malkin's first to get measured for all new robes, then promised to come back and pick them up when they were ready. He then went and gathered all the supplies he needed for school and purchased the textbooks required for the classes. Finally, he went to the store for magical trunks.
He was all set to purchase the trunk he had picked out in the catalog, when the proprietor showed him something brand new. Instead of a trunk, it was an armoire. It stood about seven feet high and had seven drawers on the left side and one single door on the right, big enough for a person to enter.
The drawers were normal enough with slight expansion charms on the bottom two, but the door on the right opened up to a short hallway. Then after a few steps in, it opened into an entryway of a rather large two story house with stairs on the right, as you get past the entryway.
While it had all the right rooms, including five bedrooms, an office, library, lounge, kitchen, and dining room, the biggest selling point was out in the back garden. If you headed out the back door and into the garden, you would see a large, perfectly manicured garden with rich green grass, surrounded by a white picket fence with a hammock hung between two elm trees. The patio had an outside table and four chairs sitting around it.
Beyond the fence was a meadow and beyond the meadow were rolling hills and woods. Beyond that were mountains in the far background.
It was beautiful.
"Is this real and useable? All of it?" asked Harry, amazed at what was inside the armoire.
"Every bit of it, Mr. Potter. The armoires are nicer than the trunks because you actually have a door to enter instead of having to climb down into a trunk. Years ago, Newt Scamander had a small suitcase that was expanded similar to this but he had to climb down into it and anyone with a wider girth would not be able to do the same, unless the opening was magically expanded of course."
"So these type of massive expansions with real outdoors have been around for a while?"
"Yes, but unless you can do it yourself, it can be quite expensive, so not that many are sold. It does take special knowledge to accomplish something as nice as this. Normally, a minimum of masteries in both Charms and Transfiguration is required. Runes play a big part too. Special spells that were created for this type of work are used. Often more than one witch or wizard work on these so all the mastery and knowledge requirements are covered. My wife and I do most of the work."
"Amazing."
"Can I wrap this one up for you, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes, I think so. I believe it will do nicely. However, I just had another idea. I will also need to buy a second trunk."
"You want to buy two of these?!" he asked completely flabbergasted at the possible profit he was about to make.
"Oh! I do apologize. I did not mean to imply that I needed two of these armoires. No. The second trunk will need to be somewhat more normal. The only trunk I currently own is a standard one compartment student trunk I purchased for my first year at Hogwarts. It has served me well, but now I need a multi-compartment trunk with at least one compartment expanded and furnished as a two bedroom flat. I'm not sure what else I will use it for right now, but the other compartments should be available for expansion in case I wish to do something else with them later."
"The runes on the expandable trunks cover expansion of any compartment so you'll be good there."
"Great! I'll definitely take this one, but I want you to keep this one a secret. No one else can know I bought this, as I need to keep it hidden. Understand?"
"No problem, Mr. Potter. Just selling it is good enough for me. I don't have to talk about it."
"Great! Now, let's see the other trunk I need and we have a deal."
"Follow me, Mr. Potter," he said very happily.
When Harry returned to his room, he saw Sib trying to climb up to get to Hedwig. Hedwig was just looking at him like he was nuts. Sib couldn't get to Hedwig but that behavior could not be tolerated in the least. Harry picked Sib up and said 'NO' very sternly and moved him away from the bottom of the dresser to let him know that was not going to be allowed.
"Sib, you mess with Hedwig and she will beat you six ways from Sunday," he said shaking his finger at the cub. "Don't mess with her because you won't win. Trust me on this."
Sib went over to his bed and laid down after he was chastised. He didn't like it when his Harry was disappointed with him. Harry let him think it over while he setup his new trunks.
"Thanks for watching the cub, Hedwig. He's still got a bit to learn, doesn't he?" he asked her.
She hooted back agreeing with him.
First he setup his seven compartment trunk and went into the two bedroom flat that was part of the seventh compartment. He went to the bedroom he was planning on using and took out the shrunk down armoire. Harry placed it on the floor near a wall where he wanted it and then expanded it.
He walked into it via the door on the right and checked out his new expanded space again. The house was not furnished yet. He planned on furnishing the flat first. The house inside the armoire could wait since only the outside part of it was needed more for the near future and Sib would be running around in the house some. Then he had an idea so he climbed back out of both the armoire and the trunk to his bedroom. Going to his old school trunk, Harry opened it and pulled out his Firebolt.
"Come with me Hedwig," he told his owl. "I want to show you something." Sib had stood up from his bed and looked up at Harry holding his broomstick and wondered what he was doing. "Sib? Stay!" Sib laid back down. "I want you to stay here for now. We'll be back later and I'll give you a turn," he said as Hedwig landed on his shoulder.
Harry went into the new trunk and back to his bedroom with Hedwig still tagging along. He then opened the armoire door.
"You're going to like this, Hedwig."
Harry and his owl went through into the armoire where Hedwig saw the inside of the large house. However, when Harry stepped out the back door her eyes widened in surprise. She never expected this.
"Check it out, Hedwig. It's all in this armoire. I thought this would be a good place for Sib to live while I'm at Hogwarts. You can use it too, if you want."
Hedwig took off flying across the meadow. Harry chuckled and climbed on his Firebolt and took off after her. It was great being able to fly again and to be able to do it inside his bedroom was beyond belief. He checked out the place as best he could. It was amazing that it was all real and was sustained by magic. The only thing it didn't have were animals and insects. Well, there was an owl in there now and soon a tiger would join her.
Hedwig came back a little later and landed in one of the elm trees. Harry came back soon after that.
"I'm going to go get Sib and let him play for a bit out here. I'll be back in a minute, girl."
Hedwig hooted and sat there as Harry went back into the house. Harry went and picked up Sib then asked Dobby if at some point he could get him to fix up the bathroom on the first floor of the armoire for Sib, just like the one in his room that he uses.
Of course, Dobby was more than thrilled to do that for his Harry Potter sir.
Harry took Sib out to where Hedwig was and let him down on the grass inside the picket fence. He made sure the gate was closed so Sib wouldn't wander off. Sib was hesitant at first but soon started playing on the grass. Harry went over and laid down in the hammock. He had just dozed off when he heard Sib make a noise, then Hedwig hooted at him.
Harry woke back up to see what was going on. Sib was hungry again already and was trying to get in the hammock with Harry to get his attention, but it was too tall for him.
"Dobby?"
Pop!
"Yes, Harry Potter sir?"
"Sib is hungry again. Can you bring me the bottle? I can also show you where the bathroom is in this place, if you want. That way you can fix it for Sib whenever you get a chance. This is where he will get to run around when I'm at Hogwarts. It will especially come in handy as he gets older and bigger."
"Dobby will be right back."
Dobby popped off and returned with the bottle. Harry had moved and sat down on the grass with Sib. When Dobby gave him the bottle he started to feed the cat. It was a big difference from when he was a tiny cub and Harry had to cradle him in his arms. Now Sib just stood in front of Harry on his hind two legs and with his front two paws on Harry's knees and drank his milk while Harry held the bottle for him.
"In the next few days, I'm going to have to start feeding you meat, Sib. It's getting really close to two months. In fact, maybe we could try some tomorrow, huh?"
"Dobby will prepare some ground raw meat for the fur ball tomorrow and we can see how he handles it."
"Good idea, Dobby. Oh, the bathroom is underneath the stairs in there. There's a cupboard close to where the stairs begin and the room next to it is the downstairs bathroom. That would probably be the best one to fix up for him. I believe he should be happy and safe in here while I'm at school."
"Sib will be very happy with all of this to play in."
"That's the plan, Dobby. I sure hope so."
After Sib finished eating Harry took them all out of the trunks and back into his bedroom. He knew Sib would need the bathroom soon after all that milk so took him back to where he was familiar with where everything is. Sib had even started flushing now after he was done, so life was good.
On September 1, when it was time to go back to Hogwarts, Harry had everything packed and he told his relatives that he wouldn't be back. He put Sib in the armoire, which he was now very familiar with. Dobby had already fixed up the downstairs bathroom for him and Sib had adopted to the new toilet location easy enough.
Since the expansion charms on the inside of the armoire and the trunk were not affected by the outside being expanded or shrunk, Harry was not worried about Sib being in the Armoire when he shrunk his new trunk. Plus, the new seven compartment trunk with a two bedroom flat was now housing both the armoire and Harry's old one compartment trunk in Harry's adopted bedroom. The old trunk was now in the walk-in closet and being used for extra storage.
The new trunk had six other compartments, each one plenty big enough for his Hogwarts items, although he hung up all his new clothes and robes in the bedroom he was using. He also put his Firebolt in the flat. He left one set of robes in a single compartment of his trunk for easy access on the train.
Dobby elected to stay in the flat and finish getting it fixed up. He would also be around to feed Sib during the long train ride and when Harry was busy at school. Sib was eating raw ground meat these days and enjoying it immensely while growing very quickly.
A couple of days previous, Harry had Dobby go purchase all the furniture and beds for the flat and also stock the kitchen and bathrooms with everything they needed. The catalogs from Diagon Alley came in handy for Harry picking out what he wanted. Dobby was still getting everything setup to his liking, plus he added the same toilet for Sib in the ensuite bathroom in Harry's bedroom, just in case he spent time in the flat.
Just before Dobby popped Harry to the train station on the magical side, Harry had him return the Privet Drive bedroom back to normal. Once that was done and Hedwig was on her way flying to the castle, Dobby took Harry's hand and they suddenly appeared on platform nine and three-quarters. Dobby then popped into the trunk which was shrunk down and in Harry's pocket.
Back at Privet Drive, four Order members showed up to escort Harry to the train station, but Petunia told them he had already left and did not plan on ever returning again. They were surprised at that and insisted that they be allowed to check his room. She allowed it and was surprised herself to find the room looking normal again. She was hoping Harry would leave it as it was so she could use the extra space and facilities, maybe even turn it into the new Master Bedroom, if she could get Vernon to agree to it, that is.
Harry made his way toward the train, noticing several students he recognized but none seemed to pay attention to him. He knew he was a little different, especially taller since he had grown another inch over the summer, after the five inch spurt that is, plus he no longer wore glasses and was more muscular, but he was surprised at the lack of people blatantly staring at him. Very different from previous years.
What he didn't see were several girls behind him as he passed by ogling him and wondering who the new hunk was. His black hair was longer now too so it laid down more instead of sticking up all over. The differences were just enough for no one to recognize him from a distance. They had a certain image in their mind of how Harry Potter looked and he just didn't fit that image anymore.
Harry Potter, in their minds, was bespectacled, scrawny and short. He always showed up for the train in horrible looking clothes that were much too big for him. He looked like a ragamuffin. The new guy was in designer looking clothes that fit him quite snuggly. He had no glasses, he was tall and well-built, his longer hair made him look like a young lord, and he carried himself with dignity.
The tight black jeans with black leather boots and bright green buttoned down shirt was speaking volumes to the ones looking his direction. He just never seemed to notice the looks since Harry always tended to keep to himself so he doesn't stand out more. He was never fond of the extra attention.
After he was on the train, Harry started looking for a compartment. He headed to the back of the train, just in case any of his friends were already on board. He found Luna in the last compartment so he joined her.
"Hi, Luna! It's great to see you again!" he said.
Luna looked up from her upside down Quibbler and stared at Harry for a second. She then laid her Quibbler on the seat and stood to hug him.
"Hi, Harry! I almost didn't recognize you," she said hugging him.
She was a petite girl and her head only came up to his chest, which she pressed her head up against.
"I went through a few changes over the summer so I guess I am a bit different, Luna."
A few moments passed and Luna was still hugging Harry. Harry hugged her back some more but she just kept hugging him.
"Uh …Luna? Is anything wrong?"
Luna let go and stepped back reluctantly.
"Sorry, Harry. I guess I was enjoying that a little too much," she said with a smile.
"That's alright, Luna. Anytime you need a hug, just let me know," Harry replied, misinterpreting her meaning.
Luna smiled and sat back down, picking up her Quibbler. Harry sat on the other side. She couldn't believe how much he had changed. She would definitely be taking him up on his offer again. She could use a few more of those hugs.
A couple of minutes later, Neville showed up and joined them. Harry stood and helped him put his trunk in the overhead. After that was completed, Neville turned to Harry.
"Blimey, did you ever go through a growth spurt," he exclaimed.
"Why thank you, Neville," Luna replied still sitting reading the Quibbler. "I'm not really much taller, but my breasts did get a bit bigger. I went up a whole cup size. I'm glad you noticed!
Neville started stammering and his face turned red. Harry was trying not to laugh.
"L-L-Luna! I-I was talking to Harry, b-but I'm sure your b-breasts are nice," he barely got out.
"Oh, well thank you, Neville. I'm quite pleased with their size now."
"Er …no problem, …Luna."
Neville looked at Harry who was standing there with a big grin on his face, he had been laughing silently behind Neville who had a look of pleading on his face for someone to help him. Harry finely controlled himself, but got an idea.
"I'll be the judge of that, Luna," he told her with his hands in front of him and headed her way like he was going to grab her breasts to see for himself.
Luna's eyes grew big as she tried to decide what to do. Before she could respond, Harry started laughing at the look on her face and just dropped his hands.
"Just kidding, Luna," he said between laughs then turned to his other friend as Luna smiled and recovered. "So, Neville, how was your summer?" Harry asked to get things back on track.