The Four Houses

Seven

"You have a fairy?" Clara asked as the four walked to the outskirts of the woods. It was winter now.  Kylan's birthday was in ten days and the friends already decided to sneak out to Hogsmede during winter break to celebrate. The four were staying at school for obvious reasons and were excited to find new areas that were otherwise a secret. Apparently, the twins were going back to their house to get scolded over pranks. Of course, they left Kylan with some candy and other gadgets that he could use to prank Snape for them. Kylan gave his birthday present to Alec and Frank immediately after getting it. The day was cold but not cold enough for Frank and Kylan to show off Finn. The four tripped over snow and ice before finally reaching where Finn was living. 

"Where is it?" Alec asked, unsure of whether something was supposed to happen or not. Frank gave him a motion to wait and sure enough, Finn came out of its home with the small flower crown Kylan had made for it. Finn buzzed happily to see its friends and flew towards Frank's shoulder before pausing after seeing the two new faces.

"Guys, this is Finley. Fairy extraordinaire!" Finn buzzed happily at the introduction, happy that the attention was on it, before quickly doing a small circle in the air. The two other friends looked on in shock.

"What in all the fairy tale wonders-?" Clara trailed off, watching the fairy land in her cold hand. Finn buzzed softly, slightly intimidated under Clara's gaze, before shaking its wings and plopping down. It made itself comfortable before resting. The four all looked at the fairy, their hearts melting.

"We technically have shared custody," Frank gestured between him and Kylan. "But you guys can help out too if you'd like. Finley is a rather chipper fairy when it comes to things." Alec slowly reached out his hand to see if the fairy would land on it. The fair hopped off of Clara's hand and floated to Alec's. Alec's hand immediately felt warmer.

"Bloody heck," Alec whispered, slowly tilting his head forward to inspect the creature on his hand. It was sensational. Absolutely brilliant. Alec had never thought that something he used to dream about would become a reality. Was Hogwarts really the place that messed up their lives or was it their parent's inability to realize how blessed Hogwarts really was? Was his father still out there or was he dead? Which house was his father in? Did he have a fairy as well? Alec's mind kept racing as Finn the fairy kept beaming up at Alec, thankful for the attention.

"Hagrid says that if we feed it and take care of it then we can technically call it ours until we graduate. That is if Finn doesn't D-I-E before we graduate." Kylan held out a small chunk of grain and vegetables to which the fairy gorged itself. It gave the boy a buzz of happiness before flying back to its home. Clara and Alec stared on in amazement, still dumbfounded that fairies existed.

"So, what do you guys think?" Frank asked as he walked up to Finn's house to wave an extra goodbye, not noticing that his friends' attention was now on something entirely different. "Pretty cool, right?"

"There's a dog!" 

"Not a dog, a fairy."

"No, Frank, there's a literal dog," Kylan muttered, tapping Frank's shoulder to point at the black mutt that looked extremely hungry. The four friends cautiously approached the pet. Clara knelt down to see if she could find a collar. There was none, but the dog's fur looked absolutely dreadful. Crossing her arms for warmth, Clara turned back to her friends.

"Think we could sneak him back to the castle?"

"And get another detention? I already have eight this week." Alec knelt down beside Clara and beckoned the dog closer with a soft wave. The dog cautiously approached the two, sniffing their hands before sitting politely on the cold floor. Kylan glanced at the fairy food and shyly offered it to the mutt. The dog wagged its tail, cautiously eating the food while trying not to scare the boy. The only time they had seen such a well-behaved dog was when they were all around six. An unproblematic neighbor had moved in. No issues, no addictions, just a normal young couple who would be corrupted by their environment. They had two puppies. Both dalmatian golden retriever mixes. The cutest things the four friends had ever seen. The four six-year-olds took the young couple's kindness to heart and played with the two puppies every day until they were seven and a half. The four had developed a strong bond with the puppies, especially Frank who would literally stay up until two in the morning to make sure the puppies were happy. But then the neighbors turned to alcohol and drugs, like most of the other neighbors. The boyfriend then cheated on the young girl. The two started fighting one night, probably about his many mistresses, and the dogs got caught in the crossfire. The puppies, not even two, were killed. Cause of death stomping. It changed Frank. For better or for worse, Frank never took anything seriously again. Frank also developed attachment issues which, evidently, were being portrayed on the dog in front of them. His glare was cold and intimidating that the dog whimpered and hid behind Clara. Clara sighed, glancing up at Frank.

"Stop glaring, you're scaring it." Frank scoffed, crossing his arms before turning back to the fairies. Alec sighed, glancing back at the filthy dog and gave it a head rub. The dog smiled in appreciation. 

"Don't mind Mr. Sourpants over there, we haven't had the best experiences with dogs." Kylan's eyes darkened for a moment before giving the dog a quick smile. The dog quirked its head to the side, sparing Frank a glance. "Now, are you a boy or a girl?" Clara glanced at Alec in amusement.

"What, you think the dog speaks English?" Alec shrugged.

"Dunno, let's try it. Bark once if you're a girl. Bark twice if you're a boy." The dog barked twice almost immediately causing Alec to smirk at Clara. Clara looked on in shock. "What do you know? One point for me," Kylan rolled his eyes and gave the dog more fairy food before standing up. 

"Should we wash him?" The dog barked in agreement, not enjoying the mudbath he was submerged in. Frank still hadn't left the fairies but quickly stormed away, scoffing harshly and glaring at the dog. The dog whimpered, utterly confused. Clara just rolled her eyes again and waved her wand. The dog was suddenly clean. The dog stared at the girl in amusement. Did a first-year girl just perform a fifth-year spell? Clara felt the dog's stare but brushed it off. The dog's black fur was now gleaming mysteriously in the sunlight. His nails were clipped and his teeth were shining white. The dog barked happily.

"What should we name him?" Clara asked her friends, allowing the cold to wake her up as she shivered.

"Wouldn't it be funny if we named him Sirius?" The dog froze. There was no way he was found out. The three children snorted as if the name was funny. The dog tried to mask his nervousness with a playful bark, trying to make the children see that the joke was not funny but the kids ignored him. 

"I mean, I heard a third-year say that Sirius was as bad as a dog so why not?" The dog felt his previous safety vanish. 

"You know that he could be your dad, right?" Clara joked, not realizing how right she was. Alec rolled his eyes, pushing himself up from the ground. None of them realizing that the dog downright froze.

"If he was my dad then I'd kill him and then tell him to run far away from my mum," The three friends nodded in agreement.

"I'll help you kill him, don't worry." Kylan's voice was almost like a whisper. The three started to walk away before Clara turned.

"Bye Sirius! We'll bring you food later," The dog wagged his tail and waited for the children to go before morphing back into his human form. Sirius sat down on the tree, not caring that he was still out in the open. Did he have a child? The probability was slim, but there was still an option. He remembered the one other time he escaped from Azkaban. He was so drunk that he only remember sleeping with a woman before having to go. Did he use protection? Sirius heard voices so he quickly changed back into his dog form and ran into the woods. Did Remus know?