James leaned back in his chair, his grin wide and utterly devious. He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head toward Sirius and Regulus, who had just regained their jackets and were still catching their breath from the earlier dog search. His brown eyes gleamed with a new idea that he was clearly about to unleash on his unsuspecting friends.

"You know," James began, casually, his voice dripping with mischief, "I wonder what would happen if they did a... butt search."

The room fell silent for a moment as Sirius and Regulus processed his words. Sirius's eyes widened in disbelief while Regulus, mid-sip of tea, nearly spat it out.

"A what?" Sirius choked, his voice high-pitched in shock.

Regulus, finally recovering from his almost choking incident, leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "James, you're joking, right?"

But James was clearly anything but joking. His grin only grew wider, and he glanced down at Liesel and Zora, who were sitting patiently at his feet, tails wagging and ears perked, waiting for their next command. Their readiness for action didn't help Sirius and Regulus's nerves.

"I mean, they are trained for thorough searches," James said, trying to sound as innocent as possible, though his grin betrayed him. "And it's been a while since they had a real challenge."

"James," Sirius began, his tone a mixture of incredulity and warning, "don't you dare."

But that only encouraged James more. He leaned back even further in his chair, adopting an almost leisurely posture, as if he was simply having a casual conversation over breakfast. "I don't know, Sirius. It could be... enlightening."

"Enlightening for who?" Regulus shot back, though his lips were twitching upward, betraying the fact that he was already half-amused by the idea. "For the dogs or for us?"

"Both, I imagine," James said with a chuckle. "Besides, they've done every other kind of search already today. Why stop now?"

Sirius stood up, waving his hands in front of him like he was trying to fend off the impending command. "Nope. No way. That's crossing a line, James."

Regulus, still half-laughing, shook his head. "This is madness. Absolute madness."

But James was now fully enjoying himself, especially with Sirius and Regulus's reactions. "Oh, come on. You've survived a little nose work from these girls before. What's one more search? I promise they'll be gentle."

Sirius groaned, running a hand through his already tousled hair. "James Fleamont Potter, if you send those dogs after my arse, I swear..."

At that exact moment, Orion and Walburga walked back into the kitchen, having stepped out briefly to check on something in another room. They both stopped in their tracks, sensing the charged atmosphere and eyeing the trio with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

"What on earth are you three up to now?" Walburga asked, raising an eyebrow as she folded her arms.

Orion, who had a more keen sense for trouble—especially when it involved Sirius—looked from his sons to James and then down to the dogs. "Should I be concerned?"

James turned to the elder Blacks with a grin that suggested that, yes, they should probably be concerned. "Nothing to worry about. We're just discussing whether or not Liesel and Zora should do a 'butt search' on Sirius and Regulus."

Walburga blinked, clearly unsure if she had heard him correctly. "A... what?"

Sirius buried his face in his hands, groaning. "Don't ask, Mother. Just... don't."

But Orion, catching onto the amusement in James's tone and the slight glint of panic in his sons' eyes, chuckled. "I think I know where this is going."

James, now fully encouraged by Orion's laughter, stood up from his chair and whistled softly to get Liesel and Zora's attention. "Let's give it a try, shall we?"

Both dogs perked up instantly, their ears twitching as they awaited their command. James grinned as he gave the command with a dramatic flourish, pointing toward Sirius and Regulus.

"Such am Hintern!" James called out in German, the command specifically tailored to initiate the 'butt search.'

Liesel and Zora, ever the loyal and well-trained Malinois, sprang into action, trotting toward Sirius and Regulus with determined looks on their faces.

Regulus's eyes widened as the dogs approached. "Oh no, they're actually going to do it!"

Sirius jumped out of his seat, trying to sidestep Liesel, who was making a beeline for him. "James, I swear to Merlin if they—"

But before he could finish, Liesel nudged her nose toward Sirius's side, searching carefully and methodically around his waist and hips, making Sirius yelp in both surprise and laughter. "Merlin's beard, get her off me!"

Regulus wasn't faring much better as Zora circled him, her nose prodding at his lower back and sides. He squirmed, trying to evade the dog's thorough search, laughing despite himself. "Alright, alright, I get it! You win!"

James, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, couldn't hold back his laughter any longer. His whole body shook with amusement as he watched his two best friends being subjected to the dog search. Even Orion was laughing now, shaking his head in disbelief at the absurdity of the scene.

Walburga, though initially bewildered, cracked a rare smile at the sight of her sons being outmaneuvered by two determined dogs. "Honestly, boys. You're supposed to be dignified members of the Black family. Look at you now."

Sirius, still dodging Liesel's nose with little success, shot a playful glare at his mother. "You're enjoying this way too much."

Walburga chuckled softly. "Perhaps. But I must say, it's quite entertaining."

After a few more minutes of squirming and yelping, James finally took pity on his friends and called out the command to stop the search. "Abbruch!"

Liesel and Zora immediately halted, returning to sit at James's feet with their tails wagging, clearly proud of their work.

Sirius and Regulus, both breathless and laughing, slumped back into their chairs, trying to recover from the unexpected 'butt search.'

"You're a menace, Potter," Sirius said, still chuckling as he caught his breath. "A menace."

Regulus, adjusting his jacket, shook his head with a grin. "Agreed. But I'll admit, that was... surprisingly fun."

James grinned, giving each of his dogs a well-deserved pat on the head. "Told you it'd be enlightening."

Orion, still chuckling, clapped James on the shoulder. "You know, I think you might fit in with this family better than I originally thought, Potter."

Walburga smiled at that, nodding in agreement. "Indeed. You've certainly brought some... excitement into this house."

James just grinned, leaning down to give Luna a scratch behind her ears. "Glad I could help."

And with that, the morning's amusement finally began to wind down, the laughter echoing through the house as James, Sirius, and Regulus basked in the aftermath of their latest round of mischief.