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.

------------------------------------------------*----------------------------------------------

All of them thought he was depressed. Whenever they would try to get him involved in anything he would act as though he couldn’t hear them, or would just get up and walk away. He didn’t want to do anything for obvious reasons and he guessed they didn’t understand that. Oh well. There was nothing that he could do about that. It surprised him that it was Lucius who tried the most. Evidently, the man missed the playful side of him; why he couldn’t fathom. He even found himself missing the blond aristocrat as well. He sighed and continued on down the hall to Snape’s room. He hated that the man could make him feel more like himself the closer that he was but he had to hold on to what he had. He scratched on the door and the former Slytherin allowed him entrance. He heard a very uncharacteristic chuckled as he found his spot under the bed. The door closed and he closed his eyes for a little peace when it opened again and the smell of Lucius entered his nose.

“Where is he, Severus?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Pads. He’s been following you and I’m curious as to why you two are on such good terms lately.”

His ears perked at the small amount of jealousy that littered the man’s voice.

“You sound jealous Lucius.”

He heard Lucius snort.

“Whatever you say, Severus. Now where is he?”

“Lucius, there are things that you don’t understand about that dog.”

He heard the regret in Snape's voice and opened his eyes.

“Like what? You have been saying that since you got here and yet you say nothing else. It’s getting old, and fast.”

“I have told you. He is not a normal dog.”

“How is that?”

Lucius was upset, he could tell. He had spent the last couple months learning the voice of the man and not the facial expressions seeing as they never told anyone anything. Why was he so upset?

“Lucius, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

It was silent. So silent, it was loud in his ears. No one moved or even sounded like they took any breaths. What was going on? The air was tense and he didn’t like that he didn’t know why it was. There was something that the two knew that he didn’t. Possibly between them? No, it felt as though it was about him but he couldn’t figure out what. Severus sighed.

“Very well. That dog is Sirius Black.”

His breath caught. What the hell was he doing? Why in Merlin’s name had Snape told him? He growled in his head knowing that Snape would be able to hear him.

“That’s not funny, Severus.”

That voice. He did not recognize that one. What did it mean?

“I’m not being funny, Lucius. I would not tell you this if I was not entirely, one hundred percent sure on this.”

“It can’t be him, Severus. He fell, no one ever comes back.”

“He has, Lucius, and he’s slowly losing himself in the dog. He needs help.”

It was silent again. The blond sounded so defeated. What the hell was going on? He was tempted to nuzzle the blonds’ legs when he sat heavily down on the bed. There was something big that he was missing and couldn’t quite put a paw on it. He couldn’t think straight and knew that it was the dogs fault. He needed to figure this out.

“Prove it. Prove to me that it is him.”

Uh oh. No, this couldn’t be happening. He didn’t want to.

“Come out from under the bed, Sirius.”

He saw Lucius move quickly and whined loud enough for them to hear him. He didn’t want to. He couldn’t. He didn’t understand the hesitation.

“If you want help, Sirius, then get your butt out here. It will take more than just me to help you.”

He whined again and stuck his head out to look up at the blond. Lucius was staring at him as if he had seen a ghost. He whined and went back under. Severus gave a sigh and the next thing he knew he was being drug out from under the bed by the scruff of his neck and right up to Lucius. He yelped and tried to get back under the bed but Lucius grabbed him by the collar that Narcissa had never gotten around to taking off him since the party.

“Calm down. No one is going to hurt you.”

That soothing voice calmed him against his wishes. He didn’t want to calm down. He wanted to yell and freak out. He wanted loose.

“I need something to know it’s you, Sirius. I’ll help you but I have to know.”

The sound was back in the voice which made him whine. What was putting it in there? It wasn’t normal and he wanted it to go away. Stupid dog, since when did he care? He whined and looked at the man to find a gleam in the man’s eyes that he couldn’t put a name to. Another thing that he couldn’t understand was why Lucius was so intent on helping him. What had happened while he was behind the veil? Had he really missed so much? What could he do to prove that it was him, that there was a human inside this form of a dog? He wiggled free and trotted over to Severus to lay a single paw on his knee. He would know and barked when the man did indeed understand that he wanted the parchment, ink, and quill where he could reach them on the floor. He knew Lucius was watching with astonishment and that was what he wanted. Taking the quill in his mouth with a sudden burst of human remembrance, which he knew Snape had something to do with, he dipped the tip of the quill into the ink and began to write. He gave a doggy smile at the sharp intake of breath when he was finished.

“I don’t believe it.”

“Well if that isn’t proof enough then I wouldn’t know what is, Lucius.”

He dropped the quill and sat back to view his handy work. Yeah, he wouldn’t need another form of proof either. When a dog writes out, ‘I am Sirius Black’ on a piece of parchment that neatly, he would definitely need no more convincing.

----------------------------------------*--------------------------------------------

Days went by and then weeks. He was now almost constantly in the company of either Severus or Lucius, which of course was noticed by all others within the house. They would smile softly, and irritatingly knowing, when they caught him following right on the heels of one of the men coming out of their rooms or the library. It wasn’t like he could help it really. No way was it his fault that Lucius had begun to act weird around him. He didn’t like it but he couldn’t figure it out. The blond had never just sat and petted him idly before; not that he was complaining, it was just weird. Severus wasn’t helping much either. Sure the two men would meet in the library to see what they could find, but the dark haired man would nudge him under the table till he would growl and move to lay by the blonds legs. He would hear Lucius chuckle, which would have made him smile if he could, before the man would actually remove a boot and run a foot though his thick fur. He was amazed on how absurdly good that felt. It felt so good at times that he would actually fall asleep. He blamed the dog side, he really did. What other reason could there be?

The weeks soon turned into a month and he was beginning to feel very out of sorts. He didn’t feel human much anymore even though he knew Severus was trying to block it. There were even times when the strain of keeping the dog at bay would show in the man’s posture or features. He had told the former Slytherin to just let it go, but the stubborn man refused to listen. This of course would cause glares and growling which would get Lucius to comment about it and Severus, of course, would tell him. It was when Lucius went completely blank that he decided to just let them do what they wanted. He hated that look on Lucius and never wanted to see it again. It also just made him want to know what the deal was even more. The blond was scaring him. He sighed and left the two to their devices. Outside he went to the cool night air and the sound of the peacocks as they bustled about finding food in the dirt. He sat and watched them for hours. Envy. That was all he felt as he was out there. The stupid birds had it easy. They didn’t have to deal with confusing emotions. They didn’t have to deal with losing their humanity. He snorted. Of course they wouldn’t. They were birds for Merlin’s sake. He growled before standing and shaking out his fur. Getting inside might be a good idea as the urge to just mangle one of them was getting a little too strong to handle.

“I don’t understand, father doesn’t usually lock his door anymore.”

He paused in the doorway and perked his ears. What was wrong with Lucius?

“I don’t get it either honey, but Severus said that he would be fine. He is just going through some tough stuff.”

“Like what?”

Narcissa never answered and he continued his way up the stairs to hear Severus and Lucius still in the library. This was getting ridiculous. They were going to kill themselves in their trying to help him when he had already given up on it. There was no point anymore. He could feel it better than they could see it.

“We’ll find it, don’t worry.”

“Severus, there is nothing in here. It’s…. It’s hopeless.”

He cocked his head to the side at the door. Lucius…his voice sounded so defeated and, dare he say it, depressed.

“Damn it. I will not have both of you giving up on this. There has to be a way and we will find it.”

The determination in the man’s voice shocked him. He couldn’t help but feel warm inside.

“Maybe there is a reason he’s giving up on it, Severus. He can feel the change can’t he. I’m sure he knows it’s hopeless.”

He gave a soft whine. The blond sounded so… dead.

“Would you stop, both of you. There is a way.”

“Why are you so determined, Severus?”

It was quiet. He whined again and stood to scratch at the door. He wanted in. He didn’t like where this was going, but the sound of Severus’ voice stopped his midway raised paw.

“You.”

Lucius? What the hell?

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I don’t… want to see you fail again… if you remember…”

“I remember…”

He sat back down. What were they talking about? Remember… remember what? He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize that Lucius was leaving till the door hit him hard in the nose sending him tumbling with a loud pained yelp.

“Pads!”

He saw Lucius reach for him, but pain overruled and he snapped at the blond. He saw Lucius fall back on the floor and growled at Severus as the man came to the door before turning to growl at Lucius. He was in pain, the blond had done it. There was salt in the air… wait… salt? He stopped growling but still bared his teeth as he stared at the blond on the floor. Grey eyes were shiny and he felt his breath catch as a lone tear slipped down the blonds face. He lowered his head confused as the blond stood. He whined as the man turned and walked away more tears following the first. He barked but the blond kept going. What was happening? He barked again and took a step to follow but was stopped. He looked at Severus who shook his head. He turned back to catch the bedroom door slamming and the door being lock. What had he done? His tail went between his legs and his ears lowered. What did he not understand? His head lowered as he sat down. His eyes closed. What was happening? His chest hurt. It felt as though his heart was being pulled out. He couldn’t breathe well anymore. What was going on? He heard voices but didn’t care. He opened his mouth to let out a dry cough. The voices stopped. He opened his eyes slightly to stare at the floor. Why was his vision spinning? More coughs followed. He was scared. His lungs hurt. Hell, his whole chest throbbed painfully. He stood weakly. He felt sick. What was wrong? More voices, worried, concerned. What were they saying? More coughs and there was blood in his mouth. He coughed it out. He heard gasps and yells. His stomach was churning as he coughed up more metallic fluid. He was shaking. Was he dying again? It hurt to breathe. He closed his eyes again as the spinning became too much. Images. Past, present flashed behind his lids. They didn’t make sense. He couldn’t keep up with them. They were making him dizzy. More yells. He heard Lucius, worried, scared. He opened his eyes to find him but couldn’t see. It hurt. He took a deep breath and let it out in a long howl. Help me, help me, please! He fell to the floor, more blood in his mouth. He heard more yelling and Lucius was the loudest. Scared, worried, desperate. Lucius. He felt his heart stop.

------------------------------------------------*----------------------------------------------

And another chapter. ^.^ had a major writers block on this one but here it is… finally. There is more, so be patient with me. You don’t think I would really leave it like this, do you?
Review!!