[46] The Dog at the Door

Hall pocketed the storage pouch and left the Headmaster's office.

Harry stood at the bottom of the spiral staircase. At his feet sat an elegant black dog.

Elegant and dog — those words didn't belong together, but that was the first thing Hall thought. The dog's fur was glossy, well-cared for.

Helena had mentioned a black dog at Hogwarts, leading a Gryffindor student in an Invisibility Cloak on nighttime walks. Several nights in a row.

This was the pair.

Hall hadn't expected Dumbledore to let Sirius stay at Hogwarts.

The black dog caught Hall's stare. It stood and growled.

Harry stepped in front of it. "Hall?"

"Looking for the Headmaster?"

Harry nodded, then shook his head. "He won't see me."

Hall guessed why. The holiday arrangement. Harry finally had a chance at a happy summer. Now he had to go back to that cupboard.

Hall weighed the storage pouch in his pocket. He'd been paid to be the bad guy.

"Are you going to persuade me?" Harry already knew. Dumbledore had tried. Harry refused. The explanation was vague — something about staying at his aunt's until he was seventeen. Harry guessed Dumbledore would ask Hall to help.

"The Headmaster is doing this for your own good —"

A head slowly peeked out from behind Harry.

Merlin.

Could no one warn him about Animagus transformations?

McGonagall transformed fast — you barely saw the cat-human hybrid. But Sirius Black behind Harry was doing it deliberately slowly. The horror effect was off the charts. If Hall hadn't grown up being scared by George and Fred, he'd have lost his composure.

"Slytherin?"

Sirius looked Hall up and down. Disgust at the green trim.

Hall studied him. Not as endearing as the dog form. Gaunt. Sunken cheeks. Rough skin. Stubble. Wild black hair. Bright grey eyes. Black clothes, outdated by a decade. Once handsome, now just a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man.

"Sirius Black." Hall smiled politely.

Harry jumped in. "Dumbledore was looking for Sirius. He got lost, so I brought him here."

Lost. And found his way to you. And you said you were looking for Dumbledore. This explanation wouldn't fool Ron.

Hall remembered Dumbledore's task. "You've brought him. Shall we go back together?"

Sirius's wand was out. Pointed at Hall.

"Sirius!"

"Get out of the way, you despicable Slytherin. I know what you want to say to Harry. I won't agree."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

This man's mental age was below the twins'.

"Since you know, you should also know whose idea it is." Hall wasn't Dumbledore. He sneered. "I owe you nothing."

"Sirius, Hall proved your innocence." Harry pulled him back. "Hall is a good person. He's been helping me since I started. He's my best friend."

Hall's cheeks burned. He hadn't expected Harry to think of him like that.

Sirius was shaken, but his gaze was still awkward. Gryffindors and Slytherins being friends? Had prison changed the world?

"Sirius, Hall is Ron's twin brother."

The bomb dropped.

"Ron! Ron Weasley!" Sirius's voice cracked. "You're a Weasley!?"

Hall tugged his collar, shaking the green fabric. "Hall Weasley."

"Slytherin's... Weasley?"

The gargoyle spoke. Dumbledore's voice. "Sirius. You're here. Why aren't you inside?"

"Oh. Right." Sirius slapped his forehead. "Harry, wait for me." He glanced at Hall and climbed the stairs.

"Sorry. Sirius is sensitive."

More than sensitive. The sole Black heir, former Order of the Phoenix, was overprotective. Like a guard dog, baring teeth at anyone near Harry.

But Harry's face was beaming. Sirius's return was wonderful.

Hall stroked Helena's bracelet. He was now the all-knowing Hogwarts student.

"What are your plans for the holidays, Harry?"

"Sirius said I should stay with him. He has a big yard. We can play Quidditch."

I'm the villain. Tearing apart a happy family.

With business on his mind, Hall turned his attention to more profitable ventures.

Hall decided to slack off. He'd bring up the holiday topic when the time was right. Dumbledore hadn't given a deadline.

Harry had to wait for Sirius, so Hall left. He needed the Room of Requirement. George and Fred had written yesterday — they'd made something interesting.

On the way, Peeves appeared. Hall waved. Peeves shrieked and vanished.

Hall walked to the eighth floor. Hogwarts was being strangely kind to him. The stairs only moved after he'd passed. Maybe it was Helena.

He knocked — three long, two short.

The door opened. George grinned. "Hall! Come quick!"

Inside, George spun around. "Look!"

"I don't see anything different."

"Hit me," Fred said.

Hall made a face. Bizarre request.

"Try it. Won't hurt." George demonstrated. He punched Fred square in the stomach. Hard.

Fred didn't flinch.

Hall was interested. Harm immunity. He punched Fred with about thirty percent strength. Fred staggered back a few steps.

"Hall, you're strong."

But no sign of injury. Hall lifted Fred's shirt.

"Hall, I'm embarrassed!"

White, smooth abdomen. No redness. No bruise. Hall knew his strength. Even thirty percent should have left a mark.

"What did you do?"

The twins exchanged smiles. They pulled out palm-sized dolls from their pockets. Miniature versions of themselves.

"We call them Split Dolls. A derivative product."

Hall examined one. Cotton exterior. Something hard inside. He pulled the doll's shirt aside. A dark bluish-black spot on the abdomen. The colour had seeped from within.

The main body takes damage. The doll absorbs it.

"How much can it take?"

Fred explained. They'd tried to make a moving double and got this instead. The magic circle was carved on a wooden board inside the doll. "Big damage — one hit. Small damage — about ten."

Hall memorised the magic circle. He'd seen something similar in the Restricted Section. A reverse cycle: bind something inside, command it.

But the method used there was crude. Dark.

"We can refine this. Instead of imprisoning something, we connect a person's aura to the doll. The doll becomes a second body. Send it into danger instead of you."

A shrewd smile spread across his face.

The twins had different ideas.

"I could put a doll in every classroom and sleep in the dorm!"

"Quidditch without getting hurt!"

"Two bodies eating ice cream — taste without calories!"

"Two salaries! Endless fun!"

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