Harry Potter and the Altered Destinies

Chapter 32: The Dog

I do not own Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban or the Percy Jackson series/characters.

Quotes from book

Mind Talking between Familiar/Bonded

Harry was relaxing outside looking up at the stars with his father. It was a little habit they had picked up on when Harry was younger and felt too claustrophobic. It wasn't even the room he was in, it could be the ballroom (that admittedly Percy was slowly changing into an arena) but Harry would still feel the panic and anxiety that came from just being confined in a four walled room.

So, Percy would help guide Harry outside, breathe the air, and finally relax because he wasn't at the Dursley's where he was confined to the house only if he had no chores or school.

As a result, they developed the habit of just laying down and looking at the stars. It started with Percy explaining the stars and their location as they slowly changed over the year, but lately it was mostly Harry pointing them out from what he learned from both Percy and his astronomy class.

"That's Ursa Minor, and right below is Draco, below him is Hercules the git, and Corona Borealis is beside him," Harry pointed out.

One hand was pointing at the actual stars while the other was petting Lunar who was resting on his chest, his breathing matching hers as she slept peacefully.

"Correct. All right, can you point to me where the Lynx is and then what is below that?" Percy asked softly as his arms were resting behind his head.

"There. Below it is the Ursa Major and Leo Minor. Below them is Canes Venatici," Harry pointed out feeling proud of his knowledge.

Percy smiled at his son but sighed ruefully as he checked the time on his watch. They were out there for two hours as it was now nearing midnight.

"Come on, you have training in the morning. We better get some sleep," Percy said as he slowly stood up and stretched his arms.

"Alright," Harry said as he rubbed his eyes, Lunar made a noise of morose as her pillow moved. She rumbled and flapped lazy to Percy's shoulders where she curled around them like a cat and fell back asleep.

Percy was inside by the time Harry stood up and stretched. Thankfully they hadn't ventured far from the house so Harry was on the porch when he felt eyes watching him.

Blinking sleepily, Harry looked around and tensed when he says grey eyes that seemed to shine under the moonlight. He relaxed slightly when he noticed it was just a dog and how the dog seemed to be lowering its head in a submissive way.

Feeling concerned as Harry noted the dog's ribs seemed to be showing, he inched off the porch and knelt down. There was still quite a distance between them, allowing the dog space if it feels too crowded. Harry called for the dog softly and let one of his hands out.

The dog seemed to respond easily as it took off toward Harry, Harry only had a panic second wondering if he would be bitten before the dog collided with him and started licking his face.

Harry giggled as the dog continued to lick his face and fell backwards from the force of the dog. His giggling alerted Percy inside that his son was still outside and he opened the backdoor.

As soon as the door opened, the dog that had been licking and being gleeful at seeing Harry had tensed above the boy and growled menacing at Percy and lowered himself to protect Harry.

"Dad!" Harry said gleefully seeming to not be bothered with a growling dog on him.

Harry shifted and got out from under the dog as he threw his arms around the growling dog and looked at Percy with puppy-eyes. "Can we keep him?" he asked.

Percy sighed and pinched his nose as Lunar had awoken and was now growling back at the dog from Percy's shoulders.

"Stay away from my mother and his nurturer!" Lunar growled as she spat some fire at the intruder.

The dog jumped away and whimpered as he lowered his head guiltily. "Lunar!" Harry disproved as the dragon jumped through the air and glided onto Harry's shoulder.

Lunar had growled once more at the dog before settling herself on Harry's shoulder. Staking a claim on Harry.

"It's too late dealing with this shit," Percy muttered to himself as he watched the scene unfold.

"I'm going to bed. Do whatever you want for the night, we'll talk more in the morning before training," Percy said as he rubbed his eyes and went backside.

Harry smirked because he knew that if the dog would be staying the night, he would be able to convince his father that a dog would be fine as part of the family. Especially since they already have a dragon, hellhound, unicorn, two pixies, a cat, owl, and a basilisk living with them. If anything, the dog would be considered normal and could be seen with mundanes like Eclipse could be.

Speak of the devil, his cat had appeared at the doorway, examined Harry, Lunar, and the dog. Before looking blankly at Harry, turning around, and walking back inside.

Harry grinned and helped the dog inside before leading him to his own bathroom. Running the tub, he went and grabbed the dog shampoo that his dad had for Mrs.O'Leary and came back to the dog already in the water seeming to be enjoying it's warmth.

"Well, at least I don't have to pick you up," Harry said with a smile. Admittedly, he would've had to use his wandless magic but this way he knew the dog actually liked water.

It took roughly two and a half baths before all the mud and grim was off the dog, and it left Harry having to use his own towel to dry the dog.

He threw the used towel in the hamper to be thrown into the wash first thing in the morning (he would need a shower after training anyway).

"Come on, let's see if we still have some dog chow that dad bought but couldn't use because Mrs.O'Leary is a diva," Harry said with a grin and went toward the garage.

He had found the small bag of dog food that Percy had first attempted to give to Mrs.O'Leary and, after grabbing a small bowl from the kitchen, filled the bowl before taking it with him to his bedroom.

The dog followed him the entire time with a wagging tail, seeming pleased with his clean state.

Lunar had disappeared off his shoulders during the bathing process, so Harry wasn't surprised to note all his animals were in his bedroom.

Neptune and Uranus had their bed by his headboard, Lunar was curled on his extra pillow with Eclipse resting on top of her seeming to enjoy the body heat that Lunar let off, and Hedwig was resting on her perch that was on top of his desk. The book he had gotten for Hagrid was also sitting next to Hedwig, seeming to be asleep.

Harry sat the food bowl by the stack of blankets he had on the floor (sometimes one of his creatures would steal one and make a nest out of it so he just kept a bunch on the floor).

Petting the dog, Harry quickly changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth before sinking into his bed after turning off the light.

The sound of munching was heard for a few minutes before it suddenly stopped and Harry felt the bed jolt as the dog jumped onto it.

Harry moved his hand through the darkness until it came into contact with the fur and felt himself relax further on his stomach as the dog rested by his legs, his head resting over the back of Harry's left leg.

"Snuffles, I think I'll name you Snuffles for now," Harry murmured in the dark and felt the dog wag its tail briefly before sleep pulled him.

Needless to say, after training and breakfast, the dog stayed.

Websites Used in Making Chapter:

http://astronomynow.com/uk-sky-chart/

Word Count: 1319