Chapter 257. Bubbles and Gulu
"Good afternoon, Professor."
Harry stepped into the office, offered a greeting, and then collapsed into the soft sofa as if he'd returned to his own dormitory.
"Rough day, by the look of it?" Adrian Wesson raised an eyebrow and flicked his wand. A purple drink, fizzing with violet bubbles, floated to a stop in front of Harry. "Try this. It's Professor Flitwick's favourite flavour—slightly improved by me."
Harry looked thoroughly exhausted.
He took a sip of the drink drifting before him, then buried his head in a cushion embroidered with a Thunderbird, offering no verdict as he mumbled, "I've just finished Potions. Snape docked ten points from Gryffindor because I stirred the Invigoration Draught counter-clockwise three times—even though the direction doesn't affect the potion at all…"
The moment Snape's name left Harry's mouth, Sirius Black, who was by the fireplace, pricked up his ears. His large pink tail flicked into the grate by reflex, and several fire salamanders pounced on it in excitement; the blue one got the tip first.
"Pfft—"
Sirius's tail burst into a bright blue flame.
"Awoo!"
Wesson and Harry turned toward the commotion, where a big pink dog writhed, trying to shake free the salamanders clinging to his tail.
It looked, frankly, rather funny.
In truth, Sirius was in despair—Harry was here; he couldn't turn back into a human, and he couldn't use a wand.
Harry ended up moving first. He whipped his wand. "Aguamenti!"
A stream of water landed squarely on the burning tail; a wisp of blue smoke curled up.
Wesson took two steps in one, grabbed the now feeble salamander, and tossed it back into the fireplace.
"Careful, Bubbles," Wesson said, a touch reprovingly.
Bubbles?
Sirius blinked in confusion. Was Wesson talking to him?
Since when did he have that name—and why didn't he know?
"Is his name Bubbles?"
Harry peered curiously at the pink dog. He had the faintest sense of déjà vu—as if they'd met somewhere before.
But he dismissed the thought at once.
Pink dogs weren't common; this one must be a rare breed.
"Yes. He's very well-behaved; you can give him a cuddle," Wesson said with a smile.
At once, Harry sprang off the sofa, ran to Sirius's side, and patted his head.
Sirius lay obediently on the floor without the slightest resistance.
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
No sooner had Harry asked than his messy hair suddenly shook violently. Gulu shot out from within, swelled in mid-air until it was the size of Harry's head, and chomped down on Sirius's still-smouldering tail.
"Aw—"
Startled, Harry hurriedly scooped Gulu back up. Gulu wriggled in his arms, disgruntled, with a tuft of pink dog fur still clamped in its mouth.
"Behave, Gulu!" Harry scolded softly, trying to pry its jaws open. "That is not your snack!"
Sirius let out a very human sigh.
Why was today one calamity after another? He could swear he hadn't provoked anyone.
Still, being this close to Harry wasn't so bad.
At that thought, his eyes grew complicated.
He was the boy's godfather.
He should have taken James and Lily's place in looking after this child.
Of course, Harry had no idea what the dog was thinking. He rubbed Sirius's head again and comforted him: "Don't worry—Gulu won't bite you again."
Sirius gave a cooperative whine in reply.
Just then, Wesson rose from his chair, came over to Harry, and regarded Gulu in his arms, thoughtful. "A word of advice, Harry—you should let Gulu get more exercise."
"What's wrong?" Harry looked puzzled.
"It needs a bit of a release," Wesson explained. "It's been storing up far too much energy, which won't do it any good."
In fact, the Tree of Wisdom had already given him Gulu's read-out:
[Name: Gulu]
[Species: Chinese Chomping Cabbage]
[Level: 3]
[Traits: Gigantification, Energy Accumulation]
[Status: Growing (35%), Energy Overflow (minor)]
It seemed Gulu had stored its energy too long and had picked up an "Energy Overflow" status.
He didn't know exactly what effects that might have, but judging by Gulu's behaviour, it seemed a bit irritable—and that couldn't be good.
"All right," Harry nodded dutifully. "I'll take it out for a walk."
As if it understood, Gulu shrank back down and hid itself in his hair again—its customary place. With Herbology coming up next period, Harry didn't linger in the office.
After Harry left, Sirius turned back into human shape, the ends of his hair still tinged a shade of pink.
"That was Harry Potter, wasn't it?" His voice trembled a little.
"Who else would it be?"
"You're right." Sirius drew a deep breath. "He looks a lot like James."
"Only in appearance," Wesson said, leaning back in his chair. "I didn't know James Potter well, but from where I stand, in every other respect, Harry is much better."
Sirius didn't reply at once; his gaze dimmed.
He had no idea what kind of boy Harry was now.
Strictly speaking, after Harry lost his parents, his godfather should have taken on more responsibility—yet Sirius hadn't.
A sudden worry stirred in him.
Without parental guidance, would a child grow up crooked?
Fortunately, it's never too late to make amends. With any luck, he could clear his name in a few days and appear before Harry in the open.
He was suddenly glad he hadn't found Peter. As Dumbledore had said, keeping Peter alive was the key to clearing his name.
As Sirius sank into thought, the office air flared with a wash of silver light.
Dumbledore's phoenix Patronus appeared out of nowhere in the room.
It opened its beak, and Dumbledore's voice echoed through the office:
"Professor Wesson, bring your pet dog to the Headmaster's office at once. The password is the same as last time."
The instant the words faded, the Patronus dissolved into silver mist and vanished.
"By 'pet dog' he means me?" Sirius pointed at himself, his expression complex.
"Come on."
Wesson stood at once, grabbed his coat, beckoned Sirius, and headed for the door.
If Dumbledore was sending a message by Patronus, it had to be important.
No doubt there'd been progress regarding Peter and Sirius.
Sirius transformed into his Animagus form again and followed immediately.
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