Chapter Eleven: Adopted

Remus wasn't sure what to think when the Thomsons said they wanted to adopt an adult trained dog and Adam recommended the Black German Shepherd to them. Of course, Adam wasn't someone to deceive his customers, so he had been completely honest with them and informed them about the incident where the dog had attacked him.

Unfortunately, when Adam had ensured them that it was a matter of triggering and that, by proper training, this could be prevented in the future, the family didn't seem to mind and requested to meet the dog. So Remus forced a smile on his face and led the four towards the large cage in which slept the black dog, snoring loudly.

When he woke him up by shaking his body gently, the dog looked at him with droopy eyes before standing up. Smiling at him, Remus guided him out of the cage and gestured towards the people who were waiting patiently to meet the dog.

"These are the Thomsons, and they want to to adopt you," he said with a smile, and the youngest members of the family, the two siblings, knelt down in front of the dog and looked questioningly at Remus, asking for his permission to go near him. He nodded his head, and put one hand over the dog's back to make sure that he didn't do anything stupid.

The children crawled closer to the animal, who suddenly stiffened and took a step back, showing his teeth defensively. Remus's hand tightened over his skin and he frowned at him. "It's okay," he said quietly to the children. "He won't hurt you."

The dog looked up at him this time, eyes wide and pleading, and thanks to the time he had spent with him, Remus knew exactly what he wanted to say. He pressed his lips together, confused as to what to do, and ran his fingers gently over his black fur, which was now matted with dirt and dust. He needs a bath, he noted silently to himself.

"Can we go outside and play with him?" the boy asked, while the girl reached out her hand to stroke the dog's head. Remus let out a breath of relief when he didn't react in any undesirable way and instead, allowed the child to pet him.

"It'd be better if we let him get familiar with you first," he stated, and when he was absolutely sure that the dog wouldn't attack anyone, he stood up to talk to the parents, who inquired about the dog's training and where and how he had been found. Remus answered the questions patiently, all the while keeping his eyes on the dog for any suspicious behaviour which, thankfully, did not occur.

The parents walked around the shelter under Remus's guide, and he gave them all sorts of information about different dog breeds and their notable traits. After an hour, when the children were finally satisfied with playing with the dog, they thanked him and left, telling him that they'd let them know their decision over the phone.

Once he had closed the door to the shelter and returned to the strange dog, he was half lying on the ground and chewing on a rubber ball they had been playing with. Remus sat down beside him and stroked his belly, but the dog stood up immediately and backed away. Giving him a flat look that made him look uncannily hilarious, the dog stomped into his cage and sat down on the furthest corner, keeping his face away from him.

Remus chuckled softly and locked the door to the cage, muttering, "Well I can't say I didn't expect that."

❇

Sirius was in a bad mood since the moment he was let out of the cage to meet the stupid Thomsons who, apparently, wanted to adopt him. Personally, he didn't have anything against getting adopted - after all, he knew what he had signed up for when he had decided to stay at the shelter.

What bothered him, however, was how easily he seemed to lose the people he grew to care about.

His brother, his best friends, his godson, the only puppy in the shelter who actually liked him, and now Remus. It wasn't that he did not like the company of the kids - in fact, he believed he would have a good time with them. But it seemed unfairly unfair to him that he had to end up getting hurt every time he began to care for someone.

Maybe Remus didn't actually like him as much as he had thought, judging by the smile he had plastered on his face throughout the meeting. This did not lift his moods a bit.

And then the way he simply locked him up in the cage and left - Sirius decided he would give him the silent treatment until Remus went down on his knees and apologised to him.

Therefore, when a couple of hours later Remus knelt down by his cage and rapped his knuckles on the bars to get his attention, he defiantly turned the other way and scooted away from the door. The rattling stopped and Remus spoke in an amused voice, "So you are still mad at me, are you? Fine, I'll come back later when you have cooled down a bit more."

But Sirius didn't hear any receding footsteps, so he turned his head slightly to see whether he had gone away. He hadn't - he remained sitting beside the cage with his legs crossed below him, pretending to check his fingernails. He groaned internally and turned away.

"Do you want to play outside?" he asked after a minute. Sirius shook his head, not bothering to pretend, and surprisingly, Remus didn't seem to be taken aback. "Alright then, do you want to go shopping?" he asked again, and Sirius remained silent, wagging his tail rapidly behind him in a show of extreme rage. "Hm," Remus hummed and he looked at him to find him tapping his index finger on his cheek, pretending to be in deep thought. "What more can I bribe you with? Do you want to go and see Caspar?"

As much as Sirius wanted to not react, his legs acted before him, and in a heartbeat, he was standing near the door of the cage, barking happily and moving left and right hastily, showing that he was impatient to leave. But Remus didn't open the door, and instead continued to sit calmly outside, gazing at him with wide, green eyes.

"I will take you to Caspar," he said quietly, "but first, you have to tell me that you are not mad at me."

And how do you propose I do that, genius?

Remus lifted his hands and unlocked the door before sliding it open. A harness appeared out of nowhere, which Remus fastened around Sirius's neck. Then putting the leash in place, he asked, "Are you not happy that you're getting adopted?"

Sirius was careful not to shake his head this time, as they were in clear vision of the other workers. Instead, he barked softly and Remus understood it as a no.

"Why not?" he asked quietly, running his fingers over his neck and untangling the jungle his dirty fur had formed. "They'll take good care of you."

Sirius was silent, as he did not know how to translate his emotions into dog language. How do you say, I have lost all of my friends and it would kill me if I have to lose anymore, by barking?

Not knowing how to answer, Sirius chose the next best option. He stepped closer and reached out towards Remus, licking his cheek affectionately. Luckily, Remus understood his message, and laughed softly before saying, "Do you want me to adopt you?"

❇

In his four years of working at the shelter, Remus hadn't thought of adopting a dog. Not because he had anything against having a dog in his house, or having them dirtying all the rooms - he loved dogs too much to ever think that way.

No, he just hadn't thought of adopting one. He was simply happy with all the dogs he spent his time with at the shelter. In fact, if he did decide to adopt one, he felt like he would be betraying the other dogs and he wouldn't feel good about it.

The strange dog, however, was a different matter. He had always avoided getting too attached to any of the dogs that arrived at the shelter, but in the case of the strange dog, he couldn't help it. The dog refrained from making any friends, and after Caspar got adopted, he seemed to be terribly lonely. And the friendship that developed between them was quite unique, as the dog seemed so human like, and he actually understood everything Remus said to him, allowing him to talk to him about anything he felt like.

While they were returning from Caspar's house, the strange dog had a spring in his steps as he trotted along beside Remus. He hadn't told Adam of his decision yet, but he was sure that he would be able to convince the Thomsons if they did decide to adopt him.

On their way back to the shelter, they stopped by the dog store they had visited days ago. "Do you want to buy something?" he inquired, looking down at the black dog, who gazed at him and gave a happy bark, before pulling him towards the entrance. Remus followed, and with a loose hold on the leash, allowed the dog to roam around and look at the different products of the store.

The inside of the store looked like it couldn't decide whether to dress casual or formal. In some places, hung decorative lights and baubles - aftermath of Christmas - while in others, ribbons were torn apart and strewn on the ground, and stockings lay around in different places. The shelves were decorated in some areas, while remaining completely bare in others.

He felt a tug on the leash and turned his head to look at the dog, who was pulling hard on it as he had been too focused on the surroundings. "Okay, sorry," he said with a laugh and continued walking, allowing the dog to sniff around and choose something to buy.

After a while, he seemed satisfied as he skipped over to him and gestured towards a corner of the store. Remus followed his gaze and his eyes fell upon a large shelf that held several dog duvets inside, and he laughed. Walking over to the shelf, he knelt down beside the dog, and said, "The cage wasn't very comfortable for you, was it?" He gave a low, sad bark in reply.

When Remus asked him which duvet he wanted, he again began looking around, and finally settled on a simple coffee coloured one, with small black polka dots. Once again, Remus couldn't keep himself from chuckling. "Not very fancy, I see. Alright then."

He made his way to the counter and asked whether it was possible to book the duvet, so that it could be taken home later on. There was some paperwork necessary, but eventually, after paying half the price, he was told that he could come and take it anytime he wanted. While the cashier was busy counting the money, Remus noticed a Santa hat lying abandoned on the counter, and he picked it up, a memory suddenly striking him - the dog becoming moody when he had forcefully made him wear one of his hats.

With a quick glance at the dog, who was sniffing on a stocking, he showed the hat to the cashier and asked, "Hey, do you mind if I take it?"

The cashier glanced up from his work and shrugged. "No problem, man. Everyone's coming and taking away something."

With a smile and a thank you, Remus put the hat inside his pocket, and after he had paid, he led the dog outside. Once they were out in the snowy grounds, he looked at him before going down on his knees. "You are cold, aren't you? Here, this will help."

He brought out the Santa hat from his pocket and put it on the dog's head, causing his ears to droop on the sides. The dog backed away in alarm and tried to protest, but after a short scuffle, he won and the German Shepherd was left standing like a fool - with a red Santa hat on his head, and a very foul mood.

Remus laughed as he stood up ad secured the leash around his wrist. When the dog gave him a nasty glare, he patted his head lightly and said, "Now, don't be so dramatic. You look adorable with that."

This didn't seem to make him any happier, as he turned his head and glared in the other direction, stomping his feet on the ground. Remus laughed at his antiques and began walking. "Come now," he said and tugged gently on the leash when the dog refused to move. "I have a dog to adopt and a lot of applications to fill."

Finally, the dog gave in and followed him, an obvious and happy spring in his steps.