Chapter 48

When he came to, at first all Sirius could process was confusion and fear of drowning, since he was being engulfed by waves in the middle of a lake and he didn't remember how he had gotten there. Luckily his brain caught up with his situation quickly enough, reminding him that he had been a hostage held by the merpeople and that waking up meant he had been rescued. His heart warmed up when he remembered that the kid cared about him this much, and he felt overwhelmed by pride and gratefulness —and shame, and guilt— when he understood that Harry had risked everything to save his life again.

He also remembered that he was in his Animagus form and that he was supposed to stay this way if he wanted to retain his soul.

His relief at being alive quickly turned to panic when he caught sight of Harry and saw that he was gasping for breath like a fish out of the water, which no doubt had to do with the two large gills that the kid had grown below his ears.

Gillyweed.

Sirius wasn't sure if there was any way to cancel the effects of that stuff or if one just had to wait an hour until it wore off on its own. It made him uneasy to sit here like ducks waiting for a colony of merpeople to drag them to the bottom of the lake, though, so he decided to at least try to tow the kid to shore. To his desperation, however, he found that he couldn't even begin to paddle in his direction. Damned Goblet! His godson was suffocating a few feet from him and he couldn't do anything!

He had a new panic attack when Harry suddenly disappeared under the surface, but the kid reappeared again after a few seconds looking much better so Sirius assumed he had submerged to take a deep breath of water. Now he met Sirius' eyes and opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out so instead he pointed a hand at something behind him in an urgent gesture.

Sirius paddled around, confused, and was surprized to see the little silver-haired girl that was the Beauxbatons' hostage splashing close by, looking terrified and very much in danger of drowning. He wondered where her champion was as he paddled forward and nuzzled her until the girl grabbed hold of him, crying and mumbling in French about her parents and her sister and the cold and the mermaids. She had been terribly afraid last night before she went into the water, Maxime had had to force the Sleeping Potion into her.

He turned back to his godson just in time to see him point his wand at himself with a webbed hand and cast something non-verbally. Then he waved his wand around and loudly summoned his Firebolt, that must have been floating nearby judging by how quickly the broom came to a stop next to him dripping water. Harry submerged again to breathe before taking hold of it and pointing his wand at himself again.

"Finite Incantatem!"

The gills didn't disappear, but at least Harry managed to take a raspy breath out of the water so the spell must have had some effect. And it clearly was enough for the kid because he immediately jumped onto his broom and, after glancing at the water around him with uneasiness, he reached down to the little girl and tried to persuade her to allow herself be lifted. It didn't seem as if she understood a single word of English, but she plainly understood the name of her sister because as soon as she heard it the girl completely forgot Sirius and eagerly climbed to the broom behind Harry, wrapping her little arms around him with such strength that it made the kid wince and his gills flap.

Now his godson turned back to Sirius and regarded him with hesitation and fear, probably wondering if the broom would take so much weight. Sirius wanted to tell him not to worry, that he could swim back on his own (he had crossed half the North Sea just fine, after all, and if the mermaids bothered him he could just turn back to human and fight them), but of course in his dog form he couldn't say anything and in any case he doubted he would have been able to persuade James' and Lily's son to leave anyone behind.

Before Harry could make any decision, someone else in a broom reached them, an older kid with a mighty scowl that was also wearing swimming trunks and that Sirius recognized as Viktor Krum. The Bulgarian's dark eyes surveyed the waters as if expecting something to jump at them at any second before reaching down to pick up Sirius, who had to make a conscious effort not to growl in response. He didn't trust the Durmstrang champion one bit, but he knew that he was supposed to be Harry's ally and it looked as if he had come to help so Sirius would try to trust Harry's judgement.

"Wait!" half-rasped, half-whizzed Harry when Krum turned his broom around to fly back in the direction he had come from with a slightly humiliated Sirius tucked under his arm. It had to be said that despite his Seeker built Krum seemed to be as strong as a Beater to be able to carry such a massive dog without losing balance. Sirius might be currently skin and bones, but he was still heavy and soaking wet. "I... I have to drop my dog elsewhere. He... he doesn't like crowds."

It made Sirius feel guilty and exasperated to realize that Harry was worried about Sirius' fugitive status. As if that were important now!

"Don't be stupid, Potter," snapped Krum.

"But..."

"The task only ends when the hostage is safe on shore, Potter," said the Bulgarian impatiently. "The Goblet's shore. And time is almost up, we have to go back."

He didn't wait for Harry to argue any further, simply taking off with Sirius, who felt torn between annoyance and approval at Krum's no-nonsense attitude. He was all for getting his godson safely on shore as soon as possible, but he didn't appreciate anyone calling Harry stupid even if he was being silly worrying about Sirius. At least Krum's attitude seemed to do the trick, because a moment later Harry was flying next to him, constantly glancing sideways in concern at Sirius but no longer objecting.

After living in hiding and in almost complete isolation for almost two years —and before that in a cold and despairing cell for over a decade— the reception that Sirius found on shore was overwhelmingly loud. He hadn't been around so many people since that Quidditch match last year when he had taken the risk to go see Harry play, and he definitely didn't remember when he had last been in the spotlight like this.

Of course most of the attention was on the famous champions and on the two silver-haired sisters —one of them bloody and hysterical— who threw at each other's arms screaming in French before Harry could even land properly. But Sirius was receiving a lot of curious looks and pointed fingers too, which he did his best to ignore as he strived to behave like just a dog.

So he shook himself without caring about getting everyone around him wet and then ran to his supposed owner wagging his tail in genuine happiness. It had been so long since he had last been face to face with his godson! He had barely had any time with him last year, and most of that time he had been obsessed with killing Peter or afraid of the Dementors so he had the feeling that they had only really shared a fleeting moment. And yet apparently it had been enough for Harry to want to live with him and for Sirius to become what he would sorely miss. How much closer they could get if they had more than five minutes together?

As he jumped at Harry and tried to lick his face he realized that something was wrong, though. The Gillyweed still hadn't worn off and he seemed to be having more trouble breathing, his gills flapping fruitlessly whenever his chest rose and his lips looking maybe slightly blue (colours were hard to discern when in his dog form). Sirius whined in concern and looked around for Poppy, but the matron had dragged off the French champion —attached to her little sister—, no doubt considering more urgent to deal with bleeding wounds.

He wasn't the only one worried. He could hear people asking Harry if he was all right or calling for the matron, Krum suggesting to take him back to the water so he could breathe. Sirius was in favour of that suggestion, but before the Bulgarian could follow through on it someone tall and dark had forced his way forward, pushing both Sirius and Krum aside, and had began strangling Harry with one hand while smothering him with the other.

Horror-struck, and also enraged since he had recognized Snape as the person trying to kill his godson —who was too weak from the lack of air to present much resistance—, Sirius did the only thing he could do: he pounced at the greasy git and sank his teeth into his arm.

Snape swore, but he didn't release the kid not even when Sirius closed his jaw tighter, tasting blood and feeling his teeth make contact with something hard that must be bone. People around them were screaming, chaos turning to mayhem when in the middle of the struggle Harry suddenly collapsed to the ground and Sirius let go of Snape's arm to lunge at his throat instead. He was cut short by a wave of excruciating pain, though, so incapacitating that he couldn't even remember how to turn back to human, every nerve of his body on fire.

"Enough!" yelled a powerful voice over his pitiful wailing, and the pain mercifully stopped at once although his heart was still racing like crazy. Sirius remained laying down and twitching, barely registering that a collar had been conjured around his neck. "Severus, is Harry breathing normally?"

"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape's angry voice. "Not thanks to that beast."

Sirius shakily climbed back to his feet and saw in confusion that Snape was leaning over an unconscious Harry and casting what might be diagnostic or healing charms. The gills had disappeared and the kid, indeed, seemed to be breathing normally. What the hell?

As he watched, Snape stood up and directed a murderous look at Sirius that nearly froze his blood, since it was full of recognition. Crap. Dumbledore had insisted in that the greasy git was on their side, but even if that were true he didn't need to work for Voldemort to want to send Sirius back to Azkaban. He certainly had a lot of reasons to hate him, and now he could add almost ripping off his arm to the list.

"What's going on here?" demanded Poppy's anxious voice. "Merlin! What happened to your arm, Severus? And why is Potter unconscious? He was fine two minutes ago!"

"He was not fine," snapped the Death Eater, glaring at Poppy in a way that made Sirius want to bite him again. "He was suffocating, something that ought to have been more urgent to attend to than a bit of blood loss."

The matron humphed and leaned over Harry to cast her own diagnostics.

"What did you do?"

"I slid a bezoar down his throat," said Snape, looking down at Sirius with deep hatred in his black eyes. "I'm guessing Potter, like the moron he is, gave himself a Gillyweed overdose."

It was impossible not to feel resentful at Snape's attitude, especially considering that only a minute ago the greasy git had cast an Unforgivable on him knowing full well that he was human, but Sirius was also beginning to feel like an idiot. A bezoar! He should have known that Snape was smarter than trying to kill Harry Potter in front of Dumbledore.

He also felt conflicted, since Snape of all people had acted fast to fix Harry's urgent breathing problem while Sirius had been busy trying to take the man's arm off.

And he was feeling increasingly wary. Back when they were at school Sirius had been able to hold his own against the creepy snake and even take him down, but he had already had the impression last year that the scales might have turned during Sirius' long imprisonment. This Snape carried himself as if he were powerful enough to carry out all the retributions he had always dreamt with, and cunning enough not to leave any evidence behind.

Sirius watched helplessly as his godson was levitated to the first aid tent. He had tried to follow, but Dumbledore had stopped him with a firm tug of his new leash. Others didn't have that problem, he saw with frustration. Hermione —who Sirius was glad to see was alive and well, wrapped in a blanket— threw him a worried look before rushing after Poppy, followed by a boy that looked remarkably like a male version of Alice Longbottom and also by a girl and a pair of twins that were almost certainly Weasleys. Ron wasn't with them, though, which wasn't surprizing but still saddened Sirius. He had thought that kid was all right, that he and Harry were as good and loyal friends as Sirius and James had been, but according to Harry's last letter they still hadn't managed to patch things up.

"Goodness, Severus!" exclaimed another familiar voice, bringing Sirius' attention back to his surroundings. He felt almost choked with emotion at the sight of his old Transfiguration teacher, who looked much older and yet the same as always. "You are bleeding!"

"How observant of you," said Snape dryly. His injured arm hung limp at his side, dripping blood, but he didn't seem to care about it even though it must hurt. Sirius assumed that he didn't want to exhibit weakness in front of him. "Apparently Potter keeps a dangerous creature as a pet. The thing should be put down."

"It was just a misunderstanding," said Dumbledore sternly. "You know how protective familiars can be, Severus, I dare say Snuffles thought his owner was in danger."

Snape was about to answer something no doubt nasty when a raspy laugh made him visibly tense.

"That's a clever dog, if you ask me," growled Moody with amusement. "I might borrow it from Potter sometime, take it for a walk and see if it can sniff out a few more Death Eaters."

Sirius had met Mad-Eye in the past, but the Auror had lost half his nose and acquired multiple new scars since the last time he had seen him face to face so he was taken aback by the sight. There was also something different in his normal eye that made him wonder if perhaps there was a reason why people said he had gone crazy.

Moody's arrival had the fortunate effect of Snape's quick retreat, although it made Sirius uneasy to see that he directed his steps towards the first aid tent. He supposed he might be simply going to have his arm healed, but still, it would be insane to trust Snape anywhere near Harry. The man had no doubt only done the bezoar trick because it would have been suspicious if he didn't move a finger to keep Harry Potter alive. He couldn't have kept Dumbledore fooled for so many years without making seemingly anti-Voldemort moves once in a while.

He was distracted by the approach of yet another Death Eater, called over by Moody probably so he could be sniffed out. Sirius really wanted to growl and take a bite off Karkaroff too, remembering Hermione's expression last night when she had been brought to the hostages' rendezvous, but it would make Moody suspicious if he actually proved himself capable of recognizing Death Eaters so he pretended not to notice the newcomer and instead began tangling his leash around Dumbledore's legs like a real dog would do. Mad-Eye might be on Dumbledore's side, but for all he knew Sirius was just as bad as Snape or even worse so it was best to avoid his suspicion.

"The merpeople are waiting, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff's cold voice. "And I would rather be done with this as soon as possible."

"Oh, yes, of course," said Dumbledore, patiently disentangling Sirius' leash and looking more amused than annoyed at his antics. "Minerva, please let Mr. Potter know that his dog is with me, I will keep him out of trouble."

It was a bit annoying and humiliating to be on a leash, but Sirius couldn't help feeling reassured too, since he was confident that Dumbledore would not allow anyone to ship him back to Azkaban as long as he was under his protection. If he had publicly vouched for a murderous Death Eater then surely he would vouch for Sirius if someone suspected he was an Animagus, right? Although it was a question why Dumbledore had not used his political influence to clear Sirius' name last year, if such influence was powerful enough as to keep Snape out of Azkaban and teaching children. And it was also a question if he would be able to vouch for anyone else after having pretty much burned his reputation for Snape.

Well, Sirius had a lot of questions, most of which Dumbledore kept dodging, and also a lot of complaints. He was still angry about Remus, from whom he hadn't heard anything since last July (although Dumbledore assured him that he was still alive), and about the faulty Age Line, and about Dumbledore's lousy protection around Harry that had led to him becoming a champion.

And about Dumbledore keeping him away from his godson and even trying to send him abroad again. If Sirius had not disregarded that order he might have been too far away to be reached and brought back in time for the second task, so clearly returning to Britain had been the right choice. He shivered to think what would have happened to Harry if Dumbledore had failed to provide his hostage.

At the present time, however, he felt content and relatively safe being walked about by such a powerful wizard. After the lonely hell that had been the last few months, or more exactly the last thirteen years, being in Hogwarts surrounded by people felt like coming back to life. It had not been like this last year, probably because then he had been half mad and had not cared about anything beyond killing Peter and removing such a close threat to James' son. Until that night in the Shack, he had not entertained any hope for himself, feeling undeserving of any role in Harry's life, but he had emerged from the Whomping Willow with a godson and a friend and that had changed everything. He still didn't think he deserved anything, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that his continued survival was important at least for Harry and Remus so he had no choice but to try and get better for them.

Maxime and several other people that must be the other judges were already gathered at the water edge when they arrived. Sirius recognized Bagman and also a kid who might be another Weasley.

"Is this how Potter cheated, then?" asked an unfamiliar person with a possibly Bulgarian accent, examining Sirius critically. "He tricked the Goblet so it would choose a dog as his hostage?"

"Where you involved in it, Dumbledore?" demanded someone else that sounded French.

"I would think that's obvious," said Karkaroff with an expression ten times nastier than Snape's worst. "This is no doubt why he didn't want anyone else to read the names. I warned him last night, but he didn't listen."

Sirius had already heard Karkaroff and Maxime complaining about Harry's cheating last night, but Dumbledore had denied everything and had not explained anything to Sirius in private so he still had no idea what was that about. He was all for Harry cheating if that increased his chances of surviving, but he couldn't imagine how cheating was even possible.

"Snuffles' name came out of the Goblet," said Dumbledore firmly. "And I know for a fact that Harry would sorely miss his dog."

"How did the boy cheat, then?" asked another Bulgarian raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"I have already said that I know nothing about it," said Dumbledore. "Mr. Potter has been warned and penalized, anyway, so I don't think there's any more to say. Now, shall we get on with it?"

No one seemed happy dropping the subject, but the merpeople were now approaching the shore so for the moment they complied. Sirius recognized the Merchieftainess and a few others that had been present during the delivery of the hostages, and noticed that most of them looked angry while some were definitely anguished. The reason became clear when the Merchieftainess and four other mermaids gestured at their throats and opened their mouths as if to speak, no sound coming out. Sirius stared in shock. No wonder they were upset! Taking away their voices was about the worst thing that could be done to merpeople.

Dumbledore said something apologetic in Mermish and immediately waved his wand at the affected mermaids, lifting the Silencing Charms judging by the way they all began testing their harsh voices in relief. The Merchieftainess wasted no time beginning to berate Dumbledore and the other judges, pointing a greyish finger at them while her wild eyes flashed furiously. At some point of her rant two bodies were floated to the surface as proof of whatever the humans were being accused of, and for a horrible moment Sirius feared that Harry had killed them. To his relief, however, Dumbledore rushed to rennervate them with another flick of his wand, so they must have been simply stunned.

The merpeople had visibly calmed down now that they had all recovered their voices or consciousnesses, and the Merchieftainess seemed to have exhausted her rant because she was now speaking in a much more civil way. Sirius would bet that she was now explaining exactly what the hell had happened at the bottom of the lake, but of course he couldn't understand a word (if it could be said that Mermish was composed by words). Most of the judges, including Karkaroff and Maxime, looked as frustrated as he felt, although there were a few besides Dumbledore that seemed to be following the explanation well enough.

When the chief mermaid abruptly stopped talking, at first Sirius didn't understand the reason, but then he followed the direction of her —and all the merpeople's— wary eyes and saw that Harry was approaching, now dressed and healthy-looking. Sirius' heart gave a jump at the sight, once again shocked by how much like James he looked.

Dumbledore didn't even try to restrain him, simply letting go of the leash as Sirius ran to the kid and nearly knocked him over with his enthusiastic greeting. His godson made a disgusted face when he got his face all licked over, but he also smiled, which was beyond a doubt the most amazing thing Sirius had witnessed since before Azkaban. Could this really be the first time he saw Harry smile? And his smile was so much like Lily's! If James had lived he definitely would not have been able to deny anything to his son, he would have spoiled him rotten.

Eventually Harry turned serious and called Sirius a bad dog and ordered him to sit down, so Sirius reluctantly obeyed. Only then he realized that all the judges and merpeople had been staring at the scene, which was probably why Harry looked self-conscious.

"I... I was wondering if I could speak to the merpeople, Professor," said Harry nervously. "I mean, if someone could translate..."

Dumbledore smiled kindly.

"Of course, Harry. Just give us a few minutes, please."

Harry nodded and retreated some distance to give the judges time to finish conferring with the merpeople. Sirius was happy to be tugged along, although he would have liked to hear the mermish explanation translated to human language. He supposed Harry would tell him all about it later, anyway, so for the moment he focused on enjoying the unbelievable fact that he was in Hogwarts with his godson.

Not that he could completely relax, of course. Sirius was constantly looking out for anyone who might be suspecting he wasn't really a dog. What were the odds that it would not occur to anyone —besides Snape— the Animagus possibility? And would Dumbledore be able to stop Snape from exposing him?

Even with all the stress, Sirius would not change this for anything. The risk was keeping his brain more on edge than ever, which was infinitively preferable to his usual depression, and besides being close to Harry eased his anxiety considerably despite knowing that he still would not be able to help him.

"Mr. Potter?"

Sirius was startled out of his reverie by the unexpected proximity of Madam Maxime.

"Yes, madam?" asked Harry looking warily at the towering woman.

"You have Beauxbatons' recognition, Mr. Potter," she said solemnly in a heavily accented English, extending a massive hand at him. "And my personal gratitude as well."

Harry stared at her blankly for a moment, and then just as blankly he shook the proffered hand. Maxime didn't seem to expect him to say anything, because she just nodded and walked away. Sirius looked at his flabbergasted godson with a mixture of amusement and awe.

It seemed that the judges had finished conferring and were scattering away. Dumbledore was still talking with the Merchieftainess, though, and soon he waved Harry —and Sirius— to join him.

"Well, Harry, Merchieftainess Murcus has agreed to listen to what you have to say," said the old man with a serious tone. "I will translate your words as accurately as possible."

"Thank you, Professor." Harry turned to look at the merpeople, guilt and sorrow clear in his eyes. His hands were trembling from nervousness, so Sirius licked his fingers encouragingly. Harry buried one hand in his fur and took a deep breath before addressing the Merchieftainess. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to do any of that, and I think I understand that you were just afraid of the Goblet, but I just couldn't leave that little girl down there. I'm really sorry for threatening you all."

Judging by the way the mermaid's expression slowly softened while Harry spoke, Sirius was prepared to bet that the kid's sincere apology would have been fully understood without any need of his words being translated. All the merpeople's resentment and fear had turned to curiosity and sadness before Dumbledore even began conveying the message.

Still, the Merchieftainess waited until the translation was complete before answering. And again, it wasn't so hard to guess what she might be saying, nor that all the other mermaids and mermen present heartedly agreed with their leader's words.

"She says thank you, Harry," translated Dumbledore, "for not killing anyone. She says sorry, for taking what was yours. And thank you again, for rescuing the little girl. They didn't want to have to hurt her."

The Merchieftainess said something else and extended a hand to Harry.

"She says she hopes you will accept the Merpeople's friendship."

Harry stared at her just as blankly as he had stared at Maxime, which made several merpeople laugh, but then he recovered and hesitantly shook the mermaid's wet hand.

"You have my friendship too, if you want it," he said.

Dumbledore translated that, and all the merpeople smiled and nodded in response. Then several of them approached to shake Harry's hand too and to pat Sirius in the head before one by one disappearing under the surface. The Merchieftainess only remained long enough to say something sharp to Dumbledore that sounded very much like a threat, and then she splashed away too.

"I take my hat off to you, Harry," said the old wizard after a minute, his eyes twinkling at Harry as he actually took off his hat and bowed slightly. "As you know, you will not get a score, but I would award you full marks if I could."

Harry nodded, but his eyes were troubled and he didn't look comfortable at all with the compliment. Sirius wasn't sure how to feel about the whole thing either. On the one hand, he was bursting with pride and desperately wishing James and Lily could hear what their son had done. On the other hand, though, to know that Harry had dangerously provoked a bunch of merpeople to rescue someone else's hostage made him feel the urge to rip off his hair.

It was conflicting, since rescuing a little girl surely was the right thing to do, something that Sirius and probably any Gryffindor would do without a second thought. Was it selfish not to want his godson to risk his life for anyone else, even if it was a little girl? Did Sirius have something Slytherin in him, after all?

He would have never thought he would ever be against taking unnecessary risks and doing stupid things, but to his shock he now found himself mentally rehearsing how his scolding would go if he were able to say anything useful at all to Harry.