CHAPTER 5
Some Moments Later…
Lily jumped at the sound of Stella's shrill shriek, nearly dropping the tray of Bellini refills. Following the horrified woman's line of sight, Lily did, in fact, drop the tray of bellinis. A bloodied and heavily bruised Davy propelled out of the pond and landed in a heap under the ash tree. The children and the rest of the adults screamed in complete terror at the sight. A few seconds later, a heavily bloodied and near-mangled Harry propelled out of the pond to land in a bloody heap next to Davy. Everyone screamed in earnest, all except Lily who choked in horror at the grisly sight. With a deep breath, the witch allowed her Occlumency to assert full and complete control of her emotions, deadening them to less than a dull echo. Then, she struck.
"SsSOMNUSSs MAXxXIMA!" With a sweeping lasso of her wand, every single muggle immediately dropped and fell into a deep sleep, like puppets with their strings cut. With a running pace she made her way over to the two boys, willow wand a blur as diagnostic spells were hissingly cast. Both had suffered multiple contusions along with multiple deep lacerations caused by the Grindylows bites and scratches. They'd both lost a critical amount of blood, with Davy steadily losing quite a lot more due to the massive bite wounds centered near his heart. Harry was suffering from physical and magical exhaustion, along with missing multiple patches of skin that had been ripped away by the Grindylows sharp claws and even sharper teeth. Some parts of his calf and upper arm muscles were exposed to open air, occasionally seizing. Lily calmly choked back her bile.
Creating a tertiary thoughtstream, she immediately cuff-called Severus, calmly informing him that her son and his Muggle friend Davy had been viciously attacked by Grindylows and were in need of serious emergency healing. She mentally projected an image of the Baxter residence and its relative coordinates to him when he calmly asked for the location. Less than a minute later, the soft pop of apparition marked Severus' arrival, bearing a small satchel teeming with healing potions. Without so much as a flinch at the grisly sight, Severus quickly nodded at Lily, and the two best friends immediately got to work.
"CARPE AQUA DIMITISsS!" Tracing over Harry's lungs, the aspirated water immediately escaped and slowly traveled out of his mouth in a thin column that she sharply dispersed with her wand. Harry gave a feeble cough, but otherwise did not wake up. With a few hisses, multiple healing and Blood-Replenishing potions quickly levitated out of Severus' pouch and uncorked themselves, slowly pouring into Harry's mouth all while Lily massaged his throat to ensure he swallowed and didn't choke. To her left, Severus mimicked her spells, and the two watched with mounting relief as the two boys' breathing returned to a semblance of normal.
Summoning some dittany, she quickly pipetted multiple drops of it over Harry's exposed skin, making sure it gave its signature sizzle to ensure that the potion was working. With morbid slowness, Lily keenly watched as her son's skin slowly knit itself back together, adding more dittany to the spots where the muscle seemed to be knitting back slower than the others. Harry gained some more color as his breathing finally leveled, but he was still much too pale for her liking. Casting some additional diagnostic spells, she saw that his vitals were evening out, but there was still a significant amount of damaged bronchioles in his left lung that if left untreated, would incur a major infection. Respiratory healing was a bit trickier than the rest, and she didn't have time to utilize the traditional methods.
Thinking fast, Lily mentally hissed a unique password directed at her cuff. The gold-flecked krait symbol glowed deep blue before its mouth slowly opened as she moved her wrist directly over Harry's mouth. With a sharp 'HISS!' of air, a puff of one aerosolized pure phoenix tear emitted from the krait's maw directly into her son's mouth and nose as he breathed. The miniaturized magical well within the krait carried exactly three drops of freely given phoenix tears. The password initiated a unique mechanism that converted the tear from liquid into highly concentrated gas that could be inhaled by a victim suffering from serious internal organ damage. It'd been a last-minute critical measure Tom had implemented in the war to to be used in the most serious of emergencies. 'No time like the present,' Lily thought.
Another 'HISS!' released another puff of the potent healing gas that she watched Harry diligently inhale. Casting another diagnostic spell, she was pleased to see that not only had his lungs healed, but the internal hemorrhaging to his other organs had healed as well. The same 'HISS!' from her right let her know that Severus was doing the same for Davy.
"TORPOR SsSsANATIO!" The Healing Coma Charm gathered in a shimmering golden mist at the end of her wand, before slowly settling into her son's body. Lily then conjured a stretcher to stabilize his body for transport. Turning to Severus, she was pleased to see him mimic her actions over Davy's body, the young muggle no longer bloodied and dreadfully pallid as he'd previously been.
"Well, young Davy is finally stable." Severus diligently repacked his satchel, before tucking it inside his jacket pocket. "He aspirated quite a substantial amount of water in his lungs as well as that ghastly chest wound, but thanks to the Phoenix tear mist, all the damage should be healed. The bulk of his other injuries were…somewhat superficial, and those have been healed as well. He'll need to be in the healing coma for at least the next three days at the very least. How's Harry?"
"Fine," Lily replied dully. "He's finally stable and his lungs are also healed from the aspirated water. His… his skin has healed from the contusions, and the… flesh has regrown back. It will naturally be sensitive for the next few days, but he will make a full recovery. I expect him to remain in the healing coma for the next few days as well." Severus nodded at her statement, gently rubbing her arm in an effort to comfort her. She grasped his arm gratefully at the gesture in spite of her heavily occluded state.
"Good. You take him to the Evans' Keep, I'll take Davy to the Tonks Clinic and remain with him as needed. As you and I both know there's less likely for there to be any… meddlesome interference. I'll ensure either Ted or Andromeda takes proper care of him, so he can be properly Obliviated. Once that's done, he should be back home with his family in no time." Lily nodded gratefully.
"Sounds good. Mia!" The Evans elf immediately appeared, gasping in shock as she took in the scene before her, massive hazel eyes watering when they landed on Harry's comatose form. The poor elf blanched upon seeing the boys' blood on her Mistress and her best friend's persons, and without prompt, snapped her fingers and rendered their clothing as spotless as before. Severus nodded gratefully while Lily quietly thanked her.
"I appreciate it Mia." She turned and gestured to her son's stretchered form. "Please take Harry to his room at home and initiate Healing Protocol Two. Make sure the vital monitoring orbs are set to twenty-four hour tracking mode, and please ensure the transcribing charm on the orbs creates the written corresponding patient chart as required." Mia bowed obediently.
"It will be done, Mistress." She quickly walked over to Harry and made to snap them away, before suddenly pausing. Eyes turning uncommonly sharp, she suddenly sniffed the air!
"Mia?" asked Lily. "What's going on?" But the elf didn't respond. Rather, she sniffed the air again, bending down to sniff Harry and Davy's forms, before walking near the boundary of the pond and sniffing once more. Then, she viciously growled! The sound was so alien that it caused Lily and Severus' eyes to widen almost comically. Seemingly coming back to herself, Mia spoke once more:
"My apologies Mistress, Lord Prince. Mia could not help but notice the particular stench that still lingered in the air!" She growled once more, startling the two magicals.
"Stench? What stench are you referring to Mia?" asked Severus curiously.
"The stench, sir, of a very wicked elf!" Lily froze though her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"...A very wicked elf? Do you mean a house elf was here Mia?" She and Severus exchanged a sharp look. Without so much as a blink, Severus opened a thoughtstream line with his cuff so Tom could listen in on the conversation.
"Yes Mistress, a very wicked house elf was here. The elf's stench lingers over the water, and I can sense traces of it in the air and on young master Harry and his muggle friend." Mia's hardened expression turned soft at the mention of the boys, turning to look at Harry fondly.
"Can you tell me which elf it was Mia?" Lily asked, eldritch eyes beginning to glow in her mounting anger.
"Unfortunately no Mistress, I can't. Us elves can only ever smell the presence of an elf, but we're not able to pinpoint who the elf is, or who his or her Master is either." Mia lowered her head pitifully, seemingly ashamed that she'd disappointed her Mistress. Quietly swallowing her anger, Lily bent down and rubbed the elf's shoulder.
"No worries Mia, thank you so much for letting me know, you've been a great help, truly." Lily smiled encouragingly at the elf, pleased when her expression brightened.
"You're very welcome Mistress!" With a snap, she and Harry disappeared. Lily's expression immediately hardened as Severus' lips thinned.
"So that explains the Grindylows…" said Severus thoughtfully. "Those creatures would in no way survive the particular ecosystem of this pond, it's only about twenty feet deep and a little under three meters across. A very small colony of five to ten Grindylows requires at least fifty to sixty feet of landlocked freshwater, providing the necessary habitat and food source of fresh fish to keep them sustained. This pond would not be conducive to a horde of Grindylows, at all. Only an exceptionally skilled wizard or witch could summon - or perhaps conjure - a horde like this. That, or a house elf." He turned to the pond with his wand brandished like a sword. With slow and precise movements, two large bubbles of water containing three still-sluggish Grindylows each rose out of the pond's surface. With two sharp jabs, both orbs containing the creatures were banished to observation chambers in his and Lily's respective private labs. "For further examination," he said.
Lily nodded in acknowledgement. "So there's a house elf running amuck doing his or her Master or Mistress' bidding. Which means that there's some pureblood Death Eater who's trying to kill my son." She harshly hissed the words, almost like she was speaking Parseltongue. "All at the behest of the Dark Lord who just couldn't bloody die like he was meant to!" Her eyes flashed just as she felt her temper almost break through her shields. With a deep breath, it retreated.
"That seems to be the case," Severus replied. "But, this does provide a foundation for us to work from. We now know the cause of this attack was a house elf, more than likely under the orders of a Death Eater. A Death Eater, who is more than likely working at the behest of the Dark Lord, now that we know he's still…out there somewhere." He took a pause for a breath. "All we have to do now is somehow catch the elf in the act. I'll look to see what potential spells we may have available in our arsenal suited to that particular purpose. I'm sure Tom will contribute as well." The mental "Of course!" sounded simultaneously in both their minds as the two friends chuckled, before the thoughtstream Severus had opened winked out of existence. Chuckling, the two friends discussed their next course of action:
"Alright," said Severus. "We need an Obliviation and Auror Squad to sort out this mess. We've already gotten some samples of the actual creatures, so that should suffice. Let's take some water and air samples, just in case we're able to find the means to quantify this 'house elf smell' phenomenon. We'll regroup when we get the chance to do some additional research." Lily nodded in agreement as the two quickly worked to get the evidence they needed.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A medium-sized Vesper bat flew out of Severus' wand and circled around both magicals' heads, before coming to hover in front of its master. "Black, we are in immediate need of an emergency Obliviation Squad and at least a two-man Auror backup at a Muggle residence. There have been serious injuries incurred by two minors, though thankfully they have been stabilized. The Patronus will provide the apparition points with the password 'Allonsy'. And please, do try to be discreet." With that, the bat raced off to deliver its message. Severus and Lily quickly hugged, before he disapparated with Davy.
A few minutes later, the distinct pop of apparition sounded, announcing the arrival of Sirius, Mad-Eye Moody, and a three-member Obliviation Squad. As was standard, the Unspeakable-sanctioned squadron all had their identities obscured by Anonymity Glamor charms.
"And just what the hell is going on here?" Mad-Eye's growling rasp thundered, as the grizzled man hobbled up to Lily with his customary limp. By his side, Sirius wore a particularly grim expression that looked completely out of place on his usually genial face as he observed all the felled muggles.
"There was an incident," replied Lily calmly. "Harry and I were attending a birthday party for Davy Baxter, when Davy and Harry were attacked." Sirius' head whipped sharply at that. "Attacked?"
"Yes, attacked. They were swimming in the pond, and I believe both were pulled under by the Grindylows. They-" Lily felt her Occlumency crack as she choked back tears, causing the mens' eyes to soften in sympathy as Sirius reached out a comforting hand to squeeze her shoulder. She smiled gratefully.
"They… they nearly ripped them to shreds… before somehow, they were propelled out of the water." Sirius' eyes goggled at that while Mad-Eye's already thin lips thinned further. "I put the Muggles to sleep while I performed first-aid on the boys with Severus' help. Both are currently stable. Severus took Davy to the Tonks Clinic, and Harry is currently at home further recovering."
"Did you not think it important to make sure Harry also received treatment from the Clinic? Or St. Mungo's for that?" Lily's eyes narrowed.
"I can take care of my son myself, Alastor," she retorted. The two stared intensely at each other for a few moments while Sirius awkwardly fidgeted, before Alastor nodded. "Fine. Black here will take your official statement so you can be off. And with that, the grizzly auror hobbled off, barking orders to the three-member Obliviation Squad. They would be performing a Compound Level Two Memory Wipe that would remove any trace of the attack and seamlessly rewrite the Muggles' memories to remove any and all references within their minds.
"Are you alright Lily?" Sirius asked, tucking Lily into his right side in a gentle hug. Lily sighed and nodded.
"I'm…I'm fine." She took a few deep breaths as Sirius squeezed her a bit tighter. "Harry is alive and that's the most important thing. I'll make sure he's properly healed and taken care of. You'll be by to check in on him right?"
"I bloody well will be!" Lily chuckled at his boisterous response, knowing how protective he was of his only godson. He quickly took Lily's statement, banishing the parchment to his secure evidence file cabinet in the Auror Department. "I'll be needing Snape's statement as well, so I'll have to stop by the clinic to get it before I make my way over to the Keep." Lily nodded at that, internally chuckling at that conversation. "And when that's done, you and I can discuss what your thoughts are about who or what caused all of this. Off the record." He leveled an intense stare at her, pleased when she nodded firmly. The moment was interrupted by Moody bellowing for Sirius to get his skinny arse over to come help him patrol to see if they could acquire any useful clues. Laughing, Lily shooed Sirius away to do his work.
After discreetly casting a few spells of her own, Lily finally disapparated home.
17 July 1992 - Madame Milburga's School of Etiquette - 11:22AM
With a flourish, Hermione pressed the last set of harpsichord keys that marked the end of Picchi's Danze et Toccata. She had never been more grateful for her once hated piano lessons, which had allowed her to keep up with the week's music-themed lessons with relative ease. Well, with the exception of the harp, an instrument Hermione had decided would take a miracle for her to play with any modicum of fluency.
"Excellent work children, especially to you Ms. Granger," said the instructor Viola Thistlewing, lead harpsichordist and composer for the Wizarding Symphony. In the background, Hermione heard and ignored Pansy's faint scoff of disgust. "Thank you very much Madam Thistlewing," Hermione replied, laying her right hand over her heart to convey her (ladylike) sincerity.
"And you as Mr. Finch-Fletchley, very masterfully rendered." Justin mimicked Hermione's actions as he thanked her in kind. "To the rest of you, good effort. Though some were considerably better than others." She leveled a soft frown in the general direction of Pansy, Marietta Edgecombe, and Nyla Harper, all three of whom lightly blushed. Their terrible lack of ability had made for quite the sonic contrast during the lesson.
"All right then. As you all know, next week will begin your official ballroom classes, starting with the waltz. Be advised to review your Valses Nobles as it will be the music utilized for your lessons. Class dismissed, enjoy the remainder of your afternoons!" With that, the assembled students began packing up their things as they headed out of the music room, chattering about the lesson, their plans for the rest of the day, or other completely unrelated topics.
"Where are you headed to Hermione?" Hermione turned to her right to find a smiling Justin.
"Florean Fortescue's! I have about an hour before I meet my parents back in the Leaky Cauldron to Floo home." Justin nodded amiably. "Would you like to join me? We can go over our sheet music exercises and probably get some research done on the waltz that we're meant to learn for our next session. Did you know that the waltz has been around since the early 16th century and actually originated in the lower peasant class and not the nobility? Truly fascinating!" Justin chuckled at her enthusiasm, causing Hermione to lightly blush and clear her throat in embarrassment. While she hadn't been teased about her 'bookworm tendencies' in quite a while, she still forgot that some people could find her enthusiasm… off-putting.
"That actually sounds lovely, I would love to join you! I've been doing some light reading on Bavarian dance history, and it's quite fascinating! Did you know that Bavarian magicals have their own version of the Tarantallegra charm that they would use to dance the traditional Schuhplattler without tiring?" Hermione smiled upon seeing his genuinely enthusiastic expression, pleased to have found some somewhat of a kindred spirit. The two kept chatting as they made their way down the grand staircase leading into the entry foyer, pausing when they heard a quiet voice sound behind them.
"Um… Hermione? Did you say you were headed to get ice-cream?" Amy Wilkes looked more discomforted than Hermione had ever seen her, eyes cast downward.
"Yes I am, I have an hour before my parents come and, well, I wanted to treat myself. Would you like to join me?" Amy shuffled for a few seconds before nodding. "Lovely! The more the merrier! Oh goodness, I almost forgot my manners there! Ms. Amaryllis Wilkes, this is Mr. Justin Finch-Fletchley." The poor girl looked even more uncomfortable at that statement.
"Pleased to formally make your acquaintance Ms. Wilkes." Amy leveled an intense stare at him before nodding. "Well met Mr. Finch-Fletchley." Pleased with her progress, Hermione confidently led the two out of the building into Diagon Alley proper.
From her a lightly hidden alcove in the foyer, Astoria Greengrass quietly watched the interaction, wearing a most shrewd expression that most would consider out of place on the face of an eleven-year old girl.
19 July 1992 - Harry's Room, Evans Keep - 10:16AM
Harry stretched and yawned, feeling his jaw lightly crack at the movement. It had been well over eight days since his attack at the Baxter residence, and quite frankly, he was bored out of his mind. His mother had absolutely refused to let him out of her sight when he'd finally awoken from his healing coma. She'd all but kept him confined to his room, only allowing him to leave to use the bathroom and spend some time in the library to read, do homework, and send intentionally vague letters to his friends. Even Mia was doing her part to keep him confined! Though she doted on him (she'd snuck him a plethora of Honeydukes sweets to enjoy during his confinement), she still followed his mum's orders and made sure not to let him out of the house.
He could understand her paranoia; she'd explained to him what had happened when he'd somehow been magically propelled out of the pond right after Davy. The details had been macabre at best, and on top of his own dreadful memories of the attack, his mother had cried. As in actual tears had run down her face while she'd described finding and healing him and Davy. Harry had never felt more guilty than he did in that moment, absolutely hating to be the cause of his mother's distress. He'd acquiesced to her demand to stay put. She'd been in and out of the Evan's Keep for the past week, spending the bulk of her time working with Severus in his personal lab at the Prince Palace. They were working on perfecting their Claris Mentalis potion, the name they'd given to the treatment used to help heal Eileen's fractured memories. They were due to give a presentation to the Ministry within a month, and if they could demonstrate - with at least three successful candidates - that the potion was indeed effective, they would receive Ministry approval for a patent and subsequent approval for formal use in St. Mungo's.
"At least I have you to keep me company," he hissed lovingly to Selma. His best snake friend adoringly hissed back at him from her terrarium, before slithering to her favorite spot on her sun rock to take a much needed late morning nap.
Huffing a small laugh at her antics, Harry made his way over to his expansive teak desk to continue his 'light reading'. Tom and Libra had taken a brief break from their whirlwind honeymoon to be there when he'd first awoken from his healing coma. They'd both been relieved that he was alive and well. Libra especially had fussed over Harry while the boy had (admittedly) preened at the attention. Sirius had claimed to be "so damned proud of his godson" all while Tom and Lily amusedly rolled their eyes in unison.
Not one to be outdone, Tom had left him an early birthday gift; a copy of the very rare (and quite illegal) Aegis Mentalis, a medieval-era Occlumency text. The only pages Harry could read and access was a section titled Fixing the Mind's Gaze Betwixt the Seven Beats of the Heart. The skill was centered on maintaining a state of heightened perception - or perceptual dilation - that could be maintained for a duration equal to seven beats of the Occlumens' heart. In order to achieve the unique psychic state, it was essential that one maintained their calm to keep a slow enough heart rate to maximize effects. With the right focus, the technique would slow down the person's perception of time as it passes between heartbeats. The initial benefits were meager - one to three seconds of time between heartbeats instead of one. But with practice and experience, one could extend that duration significantly.
Harry had asked Tom the longest he could sustain a dilation, and the man's response had been a rather vague "average of thirty seconds", all while wearing a decidedly devious little smirk. Harry had responded that he was lying and had told him as such, causing the man to laugh in genuine mirth. He'd promised Harry that once he mastered at least ten seconds of dilation, he'd gladly teach him the secret of maintaining a minute long dilation. Tom's expression had turned serious, warning Harry not to attempt the feat on his own unless he wanted to suffer from an aneurysm or a stroke. The older wizard had all but threatened him that should he make that foolish attempt and end up dying for his stupidity, he'd revive him long enough to have to explain to Lily what he'd done and why he'd done it. Harry had shivered and sworn that he'd never make that mistake.
Taking a seat, Harry began the series of standard meditative breathing exercises needed to shift into an Occludic state, pleased that he could go through the exercises much faster than when he'd first undertaken the practice as a ten-year old. Phase One moved into Phase Two then Phase Three, feeling his heart rate slow, emotions dull, and thoughts soundlessly drift to the quietest corners of his mind. He could hear his heartbeat, a steady thumping beat echoing in his mind. With a deep breath, he dilated his perception and fixed his mind's gaze betwixt the beats of his heart.
THUMP… Harry almost jumped when he felt his internal thoughts begin to whir at an almost supernatural rate as everything in his surroundings slowed to a crawl.
THU- "HARRY!" Startled, the young wizard jumped as everything sped up to its normal rate and his thoughts returned to their normal pace. Sirius' voice called for him once more as the boy sighed and put away his reading, making sure to activate the obscuring parsel ward on Selma's terrarium. With a yelled "COMING!", Harry fastened his wand and holster, put on his favorite Slytherin green traveling cloak, and raced down the staircase while his godfather waited for him at the landing. In typical rebel-wizard fashion, the man was dressed in his favorite Lynyrd Skynrd tee, dark wash jeans, and well-loved dragon-hide boots, smartly covered in a casual deep blue Acromantula silk traveling cloak. When he got to the third to last step, Harry gleefully leapt into his godfather's open arms, sending them into a laughing heap on the ground where they tussled for some seconds. Harry finally gained the advantage, pinning his godfather down.
"Say Uncle!" "NEVER!" "Say. UNCLE!" Harry twisted the older man's pinned arm harder. "Fine, fine, UNCLE! Bloody hell, you win!" Harry leapt up and began cheering for his victory as Sirius laughed uproariously at his antics. Finally straightening themselves up, the two of them exchanged a firm hug before Sirius led Harry into the kitchen.
"So, how's my favorite godson?" Sirius eagerly began piling a small plate of the various mini apple and mini mince pies Mia kept fresh, before sitting next to his now-sulking godson.
"Alright I guess, if you can consider my house arrest." His expression turned dark as he bit rather vigorously into his mini apple tart. Sirius chuckled.
"I know you're frustrated mate, but you have to understand from your mum's perspective yeah? She had to practically resuscitate you after Grindylows attacked you and your Muggle friend. She's just being protective, is all. You know you mean the world to her and she's doing what she thinks is best to keep you safe." Lightly mollified but not completely so, Harry sulked.
"Trust me, I understand all that. It's just… I feel a bit like a prisoner, you know? She only lets me outside for less than ten minutes, and she follows me around like a hawk, everywhere. She's even got poor old Mia on guard duty for me when she's working with Severus!" With a groan, Harry pushed his mini pie aside to lightly bang his head against the counter while his godfather looked on sympathetically. Lily had been… more intense than normal. "Why did you come by today anyway Sirius?
"Well I wanted to check in on you to see how you were, naturally. I have today off and was going to spend it running some necessary errands before-"
"Errands? You're running errands?!" Sirius' eyes widened a bit at the slightly feverish intensity in his godson's eyes. "Can I come? Please please please? I'll stay with you the entire time I swear!" The older wizard fidgeted uncomfortably, not really wanting to incur Lily's wrath for taking her son out of the house. Sensing his hesitation, Harry pressed on.
"C'mon Sirius pleeeaassseee! I need to get out of here for a little bit, I'm going stir crazy! C'mon! I'm your godson, isn't there some rule that you can take me out with you to run your errands? That counts as adult supervision, right? Please Sirius, please? I'm begging you here!" Harry clasped his hands in front of him and using some Slytherin sneakiness, made himself look as desperate and pathetic as possible. A few beats passed before Sirius sighed in acquiescence.
"Fine." Harry immediately began cheering, jumping off his seat to run around while whooping in delight. "We need to ask your mum permission first!" Harry lightly deflated. Chuckling, Sirius unsheathed his wand, twelve inch spruce with dragon heartstring.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A massive glowing Irish Wolfhound - Snuffles - sprung from his wand, immediately bounding over to Harry to run merrily around with him. A few beats later it landed in front of its caster, panting as it awaited its message. "Lily, I'm running some errands today and I'd like to take Harry with me. It's a gorgeous day and he could do with some fresh air, you know? And I'll be with him for the entire time, I'm just running some errands, and before you ask, yes, they're all in the safest part of wizarding Britain. Please say yes!" With that, Snuffles licked his face before bounding off.
Harry finally settled back into his seat as the two awaited his mother's response. Seconds agonizingly ticked by, and after almost two whole minutes, Harry began to feel the bitter threads of disappointment spring in him. He was just about to groan in frustration when an imposing Komodo dragon patronus soundlessly pattered in and spoke in Lily's voice:
"Fine, you can take him on your errands to get some fresh air. Mia!" The elf popped in at the sound of her Mistress' voice. "Harry's free to go." Mia nodded as both godfather and godson whooped delightedly. "But be advised Sirius (the Komodo's eyes narrowed dangerously), if a single hair on his head is out of place, I'll take all yours off, got it?"
"M'am, yes m'am!" Sirius saluted the Komodo as it rolled its eyes before fading away. "Well you heard her, Harry, we're on our way!" Harry whooped once more before hugging Sirius fiercely and declaring him the best godfather in the entire known universe and beyond. Mia chuckled at their antics as she waved them goodbye, making sure they entered the Floo in one piece.
AN 1: An interesting tidbit, Komodo dragons have been known to take down and eat whole deer ;) . Fierce fighters and even fiercer predators that can produce venom, quite fitting for our Lily Evans (at least I think so). Haven't decided on a name yet, but we'll see.
AN 2: A Grim/Grim-like patronus for Sirius is a touch heavy-handed, I think the Irish Wolfhound also fits his playful guardian nature quite well. As far as his wand, I also thought dogwood was a bit heavy-handed and a touch too literal for Sirius (the Weasley twins have dogwood wands). Per HP wandlore, spruce wands require a deftness and 'firm hand', working best with someone who is not cautious, fumbling, nervous. Spruce wands have their own ideas about what magic it ought to be called upon to produce, and a firm hand helps curb that. When a spruce wand meets it match, a bold spell-caster with a good/wicked sense of humor, it's superbly helpful, deeply loyal, and capable of producing particularly flamboyant and dramatic effects. I think that fits my Sirius quite well.
AN 3: I'm liking Amy's tentative friendship with Hermione, has potential! Justin too, we'll see how that develops in Year 2