Chapter Seven: Attack

13 December, 1981

Sirius was met with a cloud of white fur that toppled him backwards as soon as the door of the house opened. He yelped, as he couldn't recognise his friend, who was now nearly as big as he was, but once he saw the familiar white face streaked with black, and the same habit of nudging him with his snout, he barked happily and leapt onto him, causing him to fall backwards.

Caspar, as he was now called, barked to express his delight and Sirius licked his face a few times to show that he was pleased to see him. But he had forgotten that Caspar has grown stronger and he was taken aback when the husky pushed him off and got on his feet.

They ran around the house while Caspar's owners watched them, and Sirius saw Remus having a conversation with the youngest member of the family, who he assumed to be closest with the dog. After a while, Caspar led him to another room, a small one, with a mattress big enough for a toddler, lying on the ground, which was strewn with chew toys and chicken bones. It took him a while to register that the room belonged to Caspar and his eyes widened in wonder.

Caspar picked up a long toy in his mouth and approached him, and he bit on the other end before they began to play tug of war.

Lost in games, Sirius thought that he could easily forget he was a human and spend the remainder of his life as a dog. Surely, someone would adopt him sooner or later, even though he was an adult dog, and from what he had seen in the shelter, only a very few people adopted adult dogs. Nevertheless, he wouldn't mind living in the shelter either - as much as he hated staying in the cage, the shelter had become his home, especially with Remus taking him on regular walks everyday.

Of course, the thought of staying that way reminded him about the war that was brewing in the wizarding world. With Harry Potter dead, Voldemort was on the rise and was surely getting stronger. Many people were probably getting killed and injured everyday trying to fight the death eaters, and there he was - disguised as a dog and hiding in a cage.

Sirius had never hated himself more.

But then again, all his friends were dead and one of them was a death eater - he didn't know, but he assumed that Azkaban has been taken over by Voldemort - and there was nothing left for him back there. So why should he go back?

As selfish as it sounded, Sirius felt that he wasn't ready to return, so he convinced himself that he would probably return someday, when he had come to terms with his friends' and godson's deaths.

❇

When they left Caspar's house, Sirius felt incredibly happy and light, glad to have met his friend. He hopped along beside Remus, who was smiling, and occasionally kicked the snow on the ground just to express his happiness. After a while, Remus spoke. "Were you pleased to meet him?"

Sirius looked at him and barked a few times. He had finally stopped shaking or nodding his head and had learnt from the other dogs in the shelter what each type of bark meant and put them to good use. Remus smiled at his response and said, "Let's go shopping. I know a good dog store nearby."

The dog store brightened Sirius's mood immediately, and he forgot any guilt he had initially felt for hiding like a coward. He skipped around and looked at chew toys that were stacked in shelves, large leashes that hung from hooks on the walls, and though he didn't like being tied to a leash, he had to admit that those colourful ones would make him look undeniably handsome (which he already was, but still), and he ran to one corner where he found a nice big bowl - he didn't like the one he was given in the shelter, it was too old and smelly - but he determinedly avoided the area where artificial dog food was kept - he absolutely hated them.

After running around for a good amount of time, Remus finally stopped him by pulling on the leash. He knelt down before him and said, "Look, you are not my pet dog, so I have no right to buy you anything as it would be unfair for the other dogs in the shelter. But I am still doing it because I like you a lot, so I will buy you only one thing. Okay? Now choose."

He loosened his hold on the leash and allowed Sirius to move around. His eyes landed on the toys and he thought how wonderful it would be to chew on them, but finally, he decided to get the bowl. His old one really stunk.

He stood in front of a pair of bright red bowls connected together - they were large and would add some colour to his little cage - and gestured towards them as he looked at Remus. He came and picked up the bowl, sending him an odd look. "Really? So many toys here, and you choose this?"

He barked to show affirmation and Remus smiled. "As you wish. Now that I think of it, your bowls were too dirty anyway."

❇

Once the bowls were bought, Remus went back again and bought a small toy for the dog, just as a reward. Then after giving him a treat of beef jerky, he left the shop with the leash held loosely between his fingers, with the toy and the bowls packaged into a bag that was in his other hand, and the dog trotted along happily behind him. The sun had already sunk, but their path was illuminated by the dim lights of the street lamps.

"I've probably said it a lot, but you really are a very strange dog," he said, looking down at him and the dog tilted his head to the side. He laughed.

"You understand everything I say, don't you? Well, except for the scientific things I sometimes blabber about."

The dog barked, and he knew it meant yes.

"Apart from strange, you are also very intelligent."

He looked at him with a deep frown on his forehead, thinking. He wondered how the dog was so smart. He had never seen one like him before. Previously, he had thought that the dog was a very well trained one, but surely he hadn't been trained for every single thing he did. The way he looked at him - those strange, piercing grey eyes - it was almost - and there was only one word for it - human. It was not only the way he looked at him, but even the appearance of the eyes did not look very dog-like.

Remus was so deep in thought that he didn't see his surroundings and nearly got hit by a car, which honked loudly, ordering him to move away. The horn zapped his attention and he panicked when he saw he was just outside the footpath, the car merely a few feet from him. His eyes widened in fear, but the dog appeared and pushed against him, throwing him onto the footpath.

When his breathing rate steadied, he noticed the dog beside him, jumping and barking loudly, as though scolding him for being so foolish. Despite the cold, he found himself breaking into a sweat and he stumbled across the footpath until he reached a bench on the side. He sat down, his legs shaking.

The dog had stopped barking now, and climbed onto the bench. He was big, so he could reach his face when he sat on his hind legs beside him and Remus calmed down considerably when he felt the dog licking his face affectionately. He couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you," he muttered, trying not to look at the few passersby who were giving him odd looks. He must have looked really stupid - walking onto the road like that. He noticed there was something strange about the surroundings, something ominous, but due to his panic stricken mind, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. With a sigh, he enveloped his arms around the dog's neck, stroking his fur. He kept his head on Remus's shoulder, and once again, he thought about how human like he acted.

"Are you really a dog?" he muttered softly, and for a moment, just a moment, he felt that the dog froze. It must have been his imagination though, as the next moment, the dog snuggled close to him and allowed him to run his fingers through his soft black fur.

Suddenly, as the panic that had clouded his mind washed away, he frowned, looking at the far end of the road, where there seemed to be a commotion. Gently pushing the dog away, he stood up and frowned into the distance. Something was wrong alright. People were running about, cars were going astray, and he could now make out the faint sound that had roused his suspicion - it was the sound of screaming and crying. His fingers tightened around the leash and he took a step back. He realised that the car that almost ran over him was probably fleeing from whatever was happening there. He was about to turn around, but then hesitated and turned back again. Should he go and help?

But he wasn't sure how he could help. He noticed that a couple of police cars had already gathered as he squinted hard to look, and he could hear gunshots and what seemed like fireworks - there were a lot of lights. He was torn between going to the site of the commotion or going back to the shelter, but suddenly, he noticed how odd his dog was acting.

He was standing on the ground now, his fur was all standing on its end, his teeth were bared, ears perked up, and Remus could hear him rumbling. These were clear signs of a dog about to attack. He frowned, pulling the leash. "Come on, let's go home," he said, but the dog didn't listen. He made to move forward, towards the commotion - something seemed to have angered him.

Remus suddenly felt scared. It was one thing when there was a disturbance going on, but if your dog turned violent without any reason, it meant double danger. Remus couldn't leave him there, but neither could he find a way to make him follow him.

"Mate, what's wrong?" he asked in a soft voice, hoping it would calm the dog down. He carefully reached his hand out to touch him, but just then the dog turned to look at him, and he flinched away. He composed himself again, trying not to let his fear show. He spoke again, using a low, soothing voice because he wasn't exactly sure the dog wouldn't attack him. "Listen, everything is fine, okay? Relax yourself, and I will take you back to the shelter. Okay, just calm down."

He stared into his eyes, not breaking eye contact. It was a trick he had learnt in his five years of working at a dog shelter - eye contact was an important part of gaining a dog's trust. A dog probably could look into their owner's eyes and say that they actually cared for him.

His heart beat maddeningly against his chest. The dog wasn't fully calm yet - his tail was stiffened up and his fur was still standing on end - and it was obvious that he was trying hard not bare his teeth. He raised one hand in front of him, hoping to touch his snout, while the other hand tightened on the leash.

It was a mistake.

The dog's eyes immediately went to the leash he was holding, and glanced up at him again. He bared his teeth and growled. Remus had only one second to stumble back and release the leash, before the eighty pound dog pounced on him, sending him sprawling to the ground. He couldn't move as the dog stood over him and he didn't dare push him away, lest it anger him more. He had a vague image of black fur and bared teeth, before he felt claws digging into his shirt and piercing his skin. His eyes widened in fear and he covered his face, deciding that his hands were a better candidate as the dog's victim, but then the dog suddenly stopped. His breathing ragged, Remus dared to move his hands from his face and looked at the dog, who was now staring at him. Then he leapt off and ran - directly towards the spot where there was clearly a fight going on.

Remus sat up and allowed himself three seconds to bring his breathing under control. Then he leapt to his feet and, ignoring the sharp pain on his chest, ran in the opposite direction, mixing himself among the scared crowd, the sound of gunshots getting louder and ringing ominously in his ears.