Chapter Five: New Friend

5 December, 1981

The day was chilly as snow drifted lazily in the air, and the workers of the shelter wanted nothing better than to go home and hide under a blanket. But their duties to look after the dogs and the amount of love they stored for those animals surpassed any comfort they sought, and despite the howling wind slamming against the windows, they went on about their work with smiles on their faces.

Among the devoted workers was Remus Lupin, who had been working at the shelter for the past five years, since he was sixteen. The shelter was his home, and he couldn't imagine living a day without the dogs as his company. With a thick woolen cloak wrapped around him, he gritted his teeth to stop the chatter of his teeth, and paced in and out of the shelter busily, making sure the dogs were well cared for.

Though the dogs loved the cold weather, there were still a few who managed to fall sick, especially those with a weak immune system, usually the ones that have been abused. It pained him to think that humans could be as heartless as to hurt a dog, but the sad thing was that people like that would always exist, no matter what.

As he walked into the cage room to make sure the dogs were comfortable, he heard the bell ringing as the door opened and a family of four arrived. He felt something heavy drop inside his chest, as it always did when people came to adopt a dog. But he kept a smile on his face and greeted the visitors, guiding them around the shelter and giving them information on the various types of breeds available. Then he left them to walk around by themselves and get familiar with the dogs.

He returned after checking on the sick dogs, and found the youngest member of the family holding a puppy in his arms, who was licking his face. When he came closer, he noticed that the puppy was the Siberian Husky - cotton ball. Remus walked over to them and smiled. "You want to adopt him?"

The boy was about fourteen years old, and he grinned at Remus. "Yes, he seems to like me."

With a sigh, Remus reached out and stroked cotton ball's neck, already anticipating the reaction of the strange dog. He led them to another room, where the paperwork was carried out, and the information was filled in. Then, after telling the family about all the things they needed to buy - leash, bowl, chew toys and various other accessories - they left, and Remus held the puppy in his arms for a few minutes, running his hand over his body gently, and then took him over to the large cage where the black German Shepherd was sleeping.

He opened the door of the cage and gestured the dog to come out. "Let's go for a walk," he said and the dog trudged after him.

He was hit with a cold blow as soon as he opened the door, but none of his canine companions seemed to be bothered by the chilly wind, both running outside to play in the snow. There were a couple of other dogs outside too, and he stood in a corner and watched them play.

After about half an hour, cotton ball seemed to get tired, and he collapsed dramatically on the ground, bringing Remus to laugh. He could guess who he had learnt the antics from. The strange dog walked over to him and nudged him a few times, as though asking him to play, but when the husky didn't comply, he lay down next to him, allowing the puppy to rest his head on his paws.

Remus stepped towards them and sat down beside them, the black dog looking at him with wide eyes. "So," he said, feeling slightly stupid as he realised he was hesitating in talking to a dog, "you were sleeping so you probably didn't notice it, but your friend here is getting adopted. They would come and pick him up in a day or two."

For a moment, he thought the dog wouldn't react, but then his head whipped up to look at him, and Remus was actually quite glad that he wasn't made to look like a fool. The dog curled up protectively around the white puppy, who, apparently feeling comfortable, snuggled closer to him. Remus began to feel sad and heartless, for having given the news to him.

"I'll take you to visit him, don't worry," he assured him, but he didn't seem to be too happy as he bared his teeth and growled at him, taking him by surprise. Odd and arrogant though he seemed, the strange dog was hardly ever violent and impulsively, Remus backed away, a shadow of fear crossing his face. No matter how much he loved dogs, violent ones were usually very dangerous and he didn't want to be on their bad side. But the dog didn't do anything, instead, he turned away and began licking the puppy's face.

Remus got to his feet and scooped up cotton ball with one hand. "Let's get inside," he said, and walked towards the door which felt incredibly welcoming after the cruelly cold weather outside, and the black dog followed after him, as he could sense, quite grudgingly.

❇

Sirius knew the husky would be adopted sooner or later, but he was still quite shocked when Remus told him. He really liked his new friend, as he was probably the only one who wasn't intimidated by him, and he wondered how he would spend the days without him cuddling by his side.

As he followed Remus inside, he felt slightly guilty for having bared his teeth at him. He hadn't expected him to get scared, for he had always seen him as someone who could calm down a dog simply by his presence. Even though Sirius had been vaccinated after his arrival at the shelter, he could guess that a dog bite would be extremely painful, and maybe even fatal for a large and strong one like himself, though he would never purposefully bite a human.

After he entered his cage, Remus deposited the puppy beside him and left. Sirius picked up the ball that was in the cage and began playing with him.

❇

6 December, 1981

Cotton ball was taken away the next day, and Sirius licked his face until his fur was all tangled in saliva. The puppy, of course, didn't understand that he was being adopted and that he would no longer come here, and he was quite excited to play with his new owners, especially the fourteen year old boy. Sirius, however, felt grateful when Remus asked the family for their permission to visit their house with him so that he could meet his friend, and fortunately, they accepted.

When the husky left, it suddenly dawned upon Sirius that he was alone. Again. Gloomily, he settled down in on corner of his cage and stared into the emptiness, until his eyes lost focus. In a blurred vision, he saw the shelter emptying up as workers began to leave and soon, the lights were turned off, except for the one in a far corner of the room, giving a dull yellowish light that spread evenly around them, and in a matter of a few minutes, he fell asleep.

He must have slept for a long time, for, when he woke up, he found most of the cages were empty - they usually took the dogs out for walks in the afternoon. A small bowl was inside his cage, something he remembered to have been absent the night before, and he crawled to it and found his food. Though he was hungry, he didn't feel very enthusiastic, and ate his breakfast very slowly - the food didn't seem to want to go down his throat.

After he had finished his breakfast, he fell asleep again.

Sirius didn't know how long he was out, but when he woke up, he found Remus crouching next to his cage, shaking him gently to wake him up. When he looked at him with half open eyes, he smiled. "Come on, I'll take you out."

Reluctantly, Sirius got on his feet and dragged himself out of the cage. He was usually very excited to leave his prison, but after his friend was gone, he didn't feel like doing anything other than eating and sleeping.

As he stood in front of Remus, he held out a leash and a harness. "You have to wear it today." Sirius didn't protest, instead stood quietly as he wrapped the harness around his chest.

Sirius didn't notice where he was going until Remus led him out of the large wrought iron gate that lined the grounds. He looked inquisitively at Remus, but he was busy fumbling with something in his pockets. After a while, Remus smiled at him and said, "I thought a walk outside might make you feel better."

Grateful, and slightly surprised, Sirius gave a soft bark and began to walk by his side, occasionally stopping to kick pebbles or play with some random kids that didn't seem to be scared of him.

After about ten minutes, Remus stopped, and Sirius looked up from the tin can he was chewing on to see they were standing in front of a park. A dog park, to be exact, as there were plenty of dogs running around. They walked in.

❇

Remus had felt quite bad for the dog when he found him sleeping away his day. Dogs normally did not enjoy sleeping that long, and he could understand that he was missing his friend. So he had decided to take him to the nearest dog park to lift his mood.

He was right in thinking that it would make him feel better, for no sooner had they stepped inside, than the dog sprinted away from him and began running around the park, barking happily. Though Remus was glad to see him like that, he knew he couldn't let him run around freely as it might disturb the other dogs present, and even start a fight - in fact, he had kept a loose hold on the leash because he hadn't expected him to run away - so he ran after him, and it took him quite a while to grab his leash and get him to stop.

Once the dog settled down, Remus knelt in front of him and gave him a warning look. "Don't do that," he said, pointing his finger at him to let him know what he did wasn't right. "The other dogs might not be as friendly as you are, and they may not like you running around like that."

The dog hung his head, and he laughed lightly. "It's okay. You can play with me."

He brought out a toy from inside the pouch that hung from his belt, and immediately, the dog perked up, attempting to take the toy from him. He moved the toy around, keeping it just out of his reach, until he jumped and grabbed it. They played tug of war for a while, before Remus hurled it away and the dog chased after it.

They played for a long time, and Remus couldn't help but laugh as the dog came back with the toy in his mouth, each time wagging his tail madly. Finally, he got exhausted, and instead of depositing the toy next to him, he deposited himself on Remus's lap, panting heavily. Remus smiled and stroked the spot behind his ear. "You're cute," he said, and the dog let out a soft bark in reply.

After a while, the sun began to sink, and Remus remembered that he had a job and he was supposed to be at the shelter. Immediately, he straightened up and was about to push the dog off of him, before realising that he had fallen asleep.

"Are you serious?" he exclaimed, and for some reason, he woke up immediately and looked at him with wide eyes. "You slept all day today, and you are sleeping again?"

He yawned and got to his feet. The harness around his chest was messed up, and Remus leaned in to straighten it, when he felt the dog licking his cheek. He smiled and looked at him. "Did you have fun?"

It almost - almost - looked like he was about to nod, but he didn't. He barked and Remus took it as a yes. "Let's go back."

He was about to stand up, but the dog whined and sat on his lap again. "What? You don't want to go?" he asked, and he gave another whine. "You can't stay here forever, you know?"

This time, instead of whining, he found Remus's hand and began to lick his palm, as though pleading him to stay a little longer. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. I will lose my job if I skip like this."

Somehow, that got his attention, and he stood up, albeit reluctantly. He had a sad expression on his face that made Remus laugh. "I didn't know a dog could be so dramatic."

If he hadn't known any better, he would have said that the dog narrowed his eyes at him. Gathering the leash up, he gave him a large treat of chicken and walked out of the park, saying, "You are adorable, you know that?"