Daughter of Mine | Harry Potter

XXI.

They left the castle at noon the next day to find a weak silver sun shining down upon the grounds. The weather was milder than it had been all year, and by the time they arrived in Hogsmeade, all four of them had taken off their cloaks and thrown them over their shoulders. The food Sirius had told them to bring was in Harry's bag; they had sneaked a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table. 

They arrived to Hogsmeade early and went to Gladrags Wizardwear to buy gifts for Dobby. Then, at half past one, they made their way up to the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village. 

The group had never been in this direction before. The winding lane was leading them out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, and their gardens larger; they were walking toward the foot of the mountain in whose shadow Hogsmeade lay. They they turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for them, its front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers and a brown bag in its mouth and looking very familiar ... .

"Papá." Lalia smiled at the dog. 

"Hello, Sirius," said Harry when they had reached him. 

The black dog sniffed Harry's bag eagerly, wagged its tail once, then turned and began to trot away from them across the scrubby patch of ground that rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. Harry, Ron, Lalia, and Hermione climbed over the stile and followed.

Sirius led them to the very foot of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. It was easy for him with his four paws, but the four of them were soon out of breath. They followed Sirius higher, up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour they climbed a steep, winding, and stony path, following Sirius's wagging tail, sweating in the sun, the shoulder straps of Harry's bags cutting into his shoulders. 

Then, at last, Sirius slipped out of sight, and when they reached the place where he had vanished, they saw a narrow fissure in the rock. They squeezed into it and found themselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a larger rock, was Buckbeak the hippogriff. Half gray horse, half giant eagle, Buckbeak's fierce orange eye flashed at the sight of them. All four of them bowed low to him, and after regarding them imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly front knees and allowed Lalia to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck. Harry, however, was looking at the black dog, which had just turned into his godfather. 

Sirius was wearing ragged gray robes. His black hair was longer than it had been when he appeared in the fire, and it was untidy and matted once more. He looked very thin. 

"Chicken!" he said hoarsely after removing the old Daily Prophets from his mouth and throwing them down onto the cave floor. 

Harry pulled open his bag and handed over the bundle of chicken legs and bread. 

"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself. Been missing Remus's kitchen."

He grinned up at his daughter and godson, but Harry returned the grin only reluctantly. 

"What're you doing here, Sirius?" he said. 

"Fulfilling my duty as you two's guardian," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very doglike way. "Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be a lovable stray." 

He was still grinning, but seeing the anxiety in Harry's face, said more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter ... well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I'v been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."