A Grim Return

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters within the books. : ( This story is purely written for mine and your enjoyment and I am receiving to money for the writing of this story.

Summary: Sirius returns from behind the veil, the only problem is that he is stuck in his dog form. It’s not that he isn’t happy to be alive again; he just wants to know why he got thrown in the hands of one Lucius Malfoy and two Severus Snape.

Warnings: This will be slash later in the story. Right now it’s lying toward Lucius/Sirius but it could change to Severus/Sirius as the story progresses. Lucius and Severus may seem to be OOC at some points but the only reason for that is because I believe that there is more to them than meets the eye and I want to play with that possibility.



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The room smelled absolutely delicious. He did not think that he would ever leave. Narcissa, surprisingly enough for him, was going about in the kitchen baking cookies. He tilted his head at her in awe and she would only chuckle down at him. She did not care that he was laying half under the cabinet that she was mixing the ingredients on, so he laid there and watched her be uncharacteristically domestic. It had been a month since he had come to be in the Malfoy household and he was still getting used to the differences that had overcome these people while he was gone. The war was over, for which he was glad, but he could not get any information from any of them. Every time it was mentioned they would go quiet and then the subject would change. It was annoying really, but he understood that some pains just could not be talked about.

“There they are. The first one is yours.”

He wagged his tail as Narcissa smiled and winked down at him. She had a habit of trying to spoil him and by Merlin if he wasn’t letting her. The woman moving about in the kitchen was nothing like the woman he remembered before he had fell through the veil. She was lively and, dare he say it, loving. Every chance she got she was giving him scraps of food or scratches on the head. Besides Harry, she was the first he had allowed to touch him. He was warming to the other two Malfoy’s, allowing them to give him pats on the head every now and then, but nothing too friendly.

“Come on. Let’s go see what the boys are up to.”

He stood and stretched. The best part was he was able to walk again without much trouble. His muscles still yelled at him when he over did it, especially when running around after the white peacocks in the yard and they decided they had enough. Those bloody birds had sharper beaks than it looked. He sniffed the air and looked over at the oven then back to Narcissa.

“Don’t worry about them. The house elves will make sure they won’t burn and will bring them out to us when they are done.”

He just rolled his eyes and followed her out to the gazebo where the other males were conversing about something or another. Harry smiled at him as he ran to the young man reaching down to scratch behind his ears when he sat at his feet. Apparently the boy was 23 now. It made him depressed when he thought of how long he was away. Course he still hadn’t figured out how the dark haired man ended up coming to living at the Malfoy’s. There were so many questions that he needed to ask, but couldn’t figure out a way to ask them while being stuck as his grim like dog form. He sighed and lay down by Harry’s feet and closed his eyes deciding to enjoy the warmth of the spring sun.

“There he is, once again by Harry’s feet. You would think Harry owned him.”

“I don’t think anyone owns him Draco. He just comes and goes as he pleases.”

Well if course he didn’t belong to any one. He snorted. A dog may be what he looked like, but a dog he was not.

“It would seem as though he agrees with Harry.”

“He is really intelligent for a dog. Maybe he’s not a normal dog.”

His ears perked forward. Narcissa didn’t sound accusing, just merely curious. No, he wasn’t a normal dog. Anyone could tell that by looking at him.

“Listen at you Cissa. What else could he be?”

“He looks a lot like a grim to me Lucius. You’ve commented on it yourself a couple of times.”

He sighed. Why did they insist on talking about him? He knew everything there was to know about him where they could only guess. He lifted his head and placed it on Harry’s knee. Could you guys please talk about something more important, like giving out more information about how much time has changed since the veil?

“I think we are boring him.”

“Maybe so. Oh, here’s the cookies.”

He looked up at Narcissa wagging his tail. As promised he got the first one, much to the dismay of both the male Malfoy’s. He loved it when she would do that to them.

“Where are you going dear?”

“The Ministry papers won’t look over themselves, and neither will the new designs that need to be picked out.”

“Oh, very well.”

He snorted as the two left and went back inside as the two that was left laughed. Ministry papers and designs his ass. He knew what they would be up to. He was an idiot, but he wasn’t stupid.

“Finally.”

Huh? He watched as Draco moved from where he was over to sit beside Harry after giving him a quick kiss. A growl surfaced before he could stop it. What the hell?

“I think he’s getting protective Draco.”

“So I hear.”

The two were smiling at him. He stood and stared at them. This was something that he hadn’t even caught a whiff of. He glared at them both demanding answers with a bark. Harry moved to sit beside him and he turned his attention to listen to him.

“Oh great, here you go again.”

“Hush Draco. It’s been a couple of years, and it hasn’t been easy.”

“That’s an understatement.”

He looked at the blond as Harry laughed at him. The two was together, that much he was able to pick up on. He looked back to Harry who was patiently waiting for his attention again.

“It started a little bit before the war ended. Draco and his family had decided that they couldn’t take the pain of following Tom any more. So, Draco came to me. We worked out an agreement where he got what information he could and I would protect his family at the end.”

“It wasn’t easy. The only thing I was concerned with at the time was protecting mother.”

He laid his head in Harry’s lap. A month ago he would have rolled his eyes and snorted at the blond, but now he wasn’t so sure what he was feeling. Everything was so mixed up that he couldn’t make sense of it. It was the only downside of being a dog.

“After the war ended, we stayed in touch. It surprised me at first when Draco would fire call, or just drop by, but I got used to it. I found myself expecting him to visit at a certain time. It was hard on me, when Hermione and Ron were killed, I attached to the first person that could get my mind off of them.”

The young man’s voice cracked when he spoke of his friends causing him to whine and nose Harry’s cheek to give comfort. He smiled at him and began to scratch at his ears in thanks. It made him jump when it was the blond that continued.

“We talked more and went out to places more. The media had a field day with that but we let them have at it. One day things just lead to other things. I can’t really recall how it happened, but I for one am glad that it did.”

He watched as Harry gently held Draco’s hand as the two smiled at each other. It made his heart clench. They had been fighting just to live while he had been prancing about in the clouds. It made him feel terrible though he knew that what had happened couldn’t be fixed. He had fallen behind the veil; he was surprised he was even back now. He stood from his spot causing the two to look at him. Harry smiled when he gave his cheek a gentle lick and patted his head. Then he did something he didn’t even expect to do. He lifted himself to rest his front paws on Draco’s knees and gave his cheek a lick as well. The blond just stared at him for a few seconds before smiling and giving him a pat on the head as well. That done he decided he would give the two sometime to themselves and turned to walk back inside.

“You know, I think I’m going to talk to him like that more often. It was like he was thanking us for the information about us.”

“Maybe he was Draco. Maybe he was.”

He was, though it wasn’t just that. Guilt was plaguing him for reasons that were not his fault, but he would make it up to them. Somehow, someway he would give them something in return for just being able to make it this far together.

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“Where have you been?”

He stopped as he walked in the door and looked up at the blond. Lucius was watching him from beside the small fire and his bed. He sighed, lowering his head, and continued over to the soft pillows. Lucius did not say anything else and for that he was glad. There was a lot on his mind and he didn’t think he would be able to handle the cuddling the four humans tried to give him.

“You act as though it was your child.”

He froze and looked back at the door. Great, just what he needed. Snivellus.

“Leave him alone Severus. He is still healing. Of course I worry.”

He looked at the blond. That was news to him. He shook his head and continued to his pillows and lay down with a huff. Just make Snape leave soon. He did not want to deal with him.

“I can see that. What I can’t see; however, is why he is still here? I’ve never known you to keep anything besides those peacocks of yours.”

“Cissa and Harry are attached to him.”

He turned to look at the two as they came and sat in front of the fire beside him. So, that was it. It was all a show for Lucius to play for his cousin. He should have known, but it didn’t stop the pang of hurt in his chest. The two men were quiet for some time in which he just decided that he would ignore them. It proved more difficult than he thought. He was uncomfortable with Snape so close and didn’t know why. If he felt threatened he could always just bite the evil snake. Then he thought of how upset the others would be, and he wasn’t so sure that Lucius wouldn’t kick him out for biting the other man. He glared at Snape for conflicting him so much.

“What brings you here Sev?”

He snorted. Sev? How had the blond stayed alive?

“To tell the truth, Lucius, I just needed out of that dark house that I force myself to call home.”

Replay the Quidditch match. Did Snape just sound lonely? He lowered his head a little to get a better look at the others expression. By Merlin if the git didn’t look the part.

“I still don’t see why you force yourself to stay there. I’ll go get tea.”

“You? Getting tea?”

“I want to do something.”

He watched the blond shrug and leave. It still surprised him that Lucius did have times when he just wanted to do things on his own, without the help of the elves. He turned back to Snape. Now they were alone and Snape was staring at him with a weird expression. What the hell is going through the man’s mind?

“I hear you are quite intelligent; too intelligent for a mere dog.”

He snorted and raised his head lowering his ears and glaring at the man. What was he getting at? More intelligent than a mere dog? There were intelligent dogs. Had he never heard of Lassie? That bitch was more intelligent than most humans.

“You understand well. No, you are not just a dog; you can’t be.”

He growled. What else could he do? He didn’t know where Snape was going with this. The other was looking at him now like he was a puzzle that he was determined to figure out. He really couldn’t let that happen. He wanted to do this on his own time not because Snivey thought he knew more than he should, course that was always the man’s habit.

“Pads, stop that.”

He stopped, but only because he wanted to.

“Pads? Weird name for a dog”

“It’s just what I’ve shortened it to without knowing apparently. The others named him Padfoot.”

He watched as Snape sat up straighter in his chair but accepted the tea from the blond. This wasn’t good. He could tell by the way the man looked over at him. He just stared back

“Padfoot?”

“Yes. Harry said it randomly and he sort of responded. So, Narcissa talked me into the name, said that it suited him.”
“I bet it does.”

Okay, he definitely knew he was in trouble now. There was no doubt that Snape was putting pieces together in that snake brain of his. He could only hope that he dismissed the idea of him possibly coming back from the veil as impossible. After all, there was no history of it happening before.

“Why don’t you stay here for awhile, Sev, it might do you some good.”

“Now that you mention it, I could do with some time away.”

“Wonderful. I’ll have the house elves pick up anything you need for your stay.”

He looked at the blond like he was crazy. Snape? Stay here? Just what he always wanted. He sighed and laid his head down on his paws in defeat. Things were going to be tricky now. It did not help that the dark haired man was still looking at him like a jigsaw puzzle to be put together.

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Ok. There’s chapter 2. I tried to make it longer and think I succeeded. :) review! I’m open to any suggestions that you may have.