To Kill a Puppy Dog

Chapter Four:

Visions from the Past

Aubrey spent the rest of the night unpacking and making Silverstar Hollow feel more like home. She sat the only picture of her parents that she had on the mantle along with a photo of her Aunt Morgaine. The picture of her aunt waved at her and she smiled. Feeling tired and tense she decided that a long hot bath was just what she needed to wash the day away. Being sure each door was spell locked and the windows were charmed to bite if anyone tried to get in she shuffled to the bathroom. She stopped in her bedroom to grab a CD player. She held it in her hand and looked at it as if it were something she had never seen. She forced a laugh. It was funny, she hadn't lived in a Muggle town since she was nine, but because she was Muggle born she desperately wanted to keep a piece of her parents life. She sometimes found herself going to Muggle Movies or using Muggle contraptions like the CD player. It made her feel close to them. Thinking of her parents made her angry.

Snatched away from me when I was nine. She thought bitterly as she stalked into the bathroom. By that evil Voldemort supporting bastard. It reminded her of why she was there. What she wanted...no, what she had to do. Maybe they were right. Maybe all she wanted was revenge. Shaking her head she found the most relaxing CD she owned and placed it into the player. Pushing the button and hopping in the tub she allowed the classical music to engulf her, the water to calm and relax her. She closed her eyes. She would catch him.

A few hours later, relaxed and tired, Aubrey Phoenix climbed into bed. The room smelled like roses and lilacs, which reminded her of her mother. The CD player continued to play in the bathroom and within moments she was asleep.

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The street was crowded and Aubrey's mother Elizabeth held her wrist tightly. Aubrey's father Louis was in front of them.

"Mother let me go!" Aubrey said angrily. She was nine years old; she didn't need to hold her mother's hand.

"Well then keep up!" her mother snapped. She was tired from the trip and visiting her husband's strange sister Morgaine was her least favorite activity. She didn't like exposing Aubrey to that woman. "I don't know why we had to go see her anyway,"

"Liz," Aubrey's father snapped turning sharply to glare at his wife. "She's my sister. Just because you have a thing against witches doesn't mean you can take your anger out on Aubrey. I hate to break it to you but Aubrey's going to be like her whether you like it or not, I'm just glad someone in my family can explain to us what's going on."

"It's not normal. She's not normal. I want to take Aubrey to a doctor,"

"No," Louis said. "And that's final."

Aubrey caught sight of a kitten near an alleyway and wandered away from her parents. She started playing with the cat and was vaguely aware of the two men standing in the middle of the street, wands drawn. She heard shouting and looked up just in time to see a tall man with long black hair raise a long stick like Aunt Morgaine had. She was about to point this out to her mother but there was a flash of light and a huge explosion. She stumbled back into the shelter of the alleyway and waited for the dust to clear. The short chubby man that the tall man had called Peter was gone and people were lying on the ground unmoving. Her mother and father were not standing where they had been. Panicking she ran over toward the carnage and found her mother and father lying together. She shook them but they did not move. She started crying and while shaking her mother promised that she would be normal if she woke up. It didn't work. She watched as the man with the long hair was lead away laughing and she hated him. He had taken her mom and dad away from her. She rose from her spot and blind with rage she began to run. She was unsure how long or how far she had run but when she finally collapsed in exhaustion all she wanted was to wake up in her Aunt Morgaine's house. She closed her eyes and it began to rain. The rain was cool and refreshing to her and she allowed herself to sleep. When she awoke she was lying on her aunt's doorstep. How she had gotten from London to America no one could explain. Her aunt had welcomed her with open arms and she began to sob. 'He'll pay,' she thought.

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Aubrey sat up and blinked. She hated it when she dreamt about that terrible day. The day Sirius Black claimed the lives of thirteen people. Stretching she looked at her clock. Four twenty-seven am. Sighing she rose from the bed and dressed in black robes. She glanced in the mirror.

"What are you doing up so early?" the mirror inquired.

"No time like the present," she replied. She searched for a moment and found her satchel. Placing a notebook and pen (again, holding onto those Muggle coils) as well as some money and sunglasses into it, she grabbed the golden port key from the dresser. "Let's see what your home can tell me," she said aloud to herself as she turned the top of the key.

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She found herself standing in front of a large brick house. There were shutters on the windows and she noticed that each pair of shutters for the upstairs windows had something different on them.

"Peculiar," she said aloud. She took her notebook from her satchel and fished around for her pencil. "Hmmm....a buck, a wolf, and a dog," she said. There was a fourth animal but the shutter had been almost completely destroyed. The shutters for the downstairs windows contained all the animals, the fourth again having been destroyed.

She walked up onto the porch, which was falling into disrepair, and unlocked the door. There was a large greeting room, which was painted a dark red color. The paint was faded and peeling but Aubrey felt as if the room was inviting and warm at one time. Dust, dirt, and leaves covered the floor and crunched under her feet. She closed the door and with a wave of her wand she held a handful of floating candles. She lit one and let it float from her hand. She noticed a dent in the wall. He must have come in here, slamming the door into the wall. She thought. There was a small table near the wall that had been broken into several pieces. He's violent. She thought.

She proceeded into the living room and lit a few more candles. It had been painted in a red and gold pattern. School colors. She guessed. The sofa was dusty and coffee table had been broken. She walked over to the mantle where she found pictures. She pulled each one down from the mantle and looked at it. The first one, she noticed, was Remus Lupin. He looked young and alive and she noticed that his eyes were bright and excited. The picture winked at her and she smiled. She then felt the all too familiar tingle in her fingers that she got right before an object gave her a clue. Her talent. Almost everything she touched showed her something. She closed her eyes.

Remus was sitting with three other boys laughing mischievously. They were leaned over a piece of parchment.

"No Padfoot," Remus said, "The tunnel goes there," he said pointing.

"Thanks Moony," Padfoot said. He drew a few lines. "There!" he said.

"Well done," a boy with unkempt black hair said mockingly.

"Thanks Prongs," Padfoot said. He leaned back and the words "The Marauders Map" glistened along the top. Under those words were the names Misters Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.

Aubrey blinked as the vision cleared. She got her notebook out and wrote 'Moony = Remus' in it along with the other names and placed Remus' picture back on the mantle. She lifted the second from its spot on the mantle. The boy had unkempt black hair and blue eyes. She didn't know who he was. The tingling sensation came again and again she saw something.

The boy with black hair looked excitedly at a large red train. The words "Hogwarts Express" were in gold along the front. He looked anxious. Nervous. Excited. He turned just in time to be tackled by someone who could only be Sirius Black.

"James!" Sirius yelled knocking the boy to the ground and rubbing his knuckles into his head. James yelped for mercy and smiled at his best friend.

Aubrey laughed as the vision faded. She noticed a strange look in James' eyes and realized that he was an Animagus. Scribbling this in her notebook she realized that all she felt from these visions was happiness. Sirius seemed to be so close to these people. So happy, free, and sweet. This didn't make sense. She wrote 'James Potter = Prongs.' Such odd nicknames. She picked up the third picture and realized it was Sirius Black. He had shoulder length black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. The ponytail was resting on his shoulder and his gray blue eyes twinkled. He had a smile unlike any other. She could not help but smile despite herself. She closed her eyes and another vision came but this one was different.

There was a clearing. She felt lower to the ground than she normally would. There was a small rat scurrying in front of the eyes she was seeing through and she felt resentment and contempt for this rat. Beside her was a large majestic buck and on the other side was a wolf. They all seemed inseparable, as if they were friends despite the fact that they should have been enemies. They were standing near a large Whomping willow tree. The rat scuttled up the tree and within seconds the branches stop flailing. Then, one by one, each animal scurried down a hole and through a passageway. They reached a large dark room.

The vision ended. Why did these animals form this group? A wolf, a buck, and a rat? What was the animal from whose eyes she was seeing through? She looked at the picture again and noticed something that flickered in the eyes of Sirius Black.

He's an Animagus. She thought happily. She jotted this down in her notebook. She placed this photo back and it just smiled. She noticed one final photo but it had been torn in half, frame and all. She placed them pieced together and recognized this man instantly. He was one of Sirius Black's friends. He was the one Sirius blew up in the street. This was Peter Pettigrew. She held the two pieces and expected a vision but got nothing. Jotting a note about the condition of the photo down in her notebook she placed it back onto the mantle. She looked around and saw more broken furniture. Wandering aimlessly through the house she noticed a set of doors. When she tried to open them she realized they were locked. Pulling her wand from inside her robes she said "Alohomora," and the doors opened. Again she lit a few candles and she gasped at what she saw. The room seemed to have four different personalities. The far wall was lined from top to bottom with books. There was not an empty space on the wall. A chair sat under the window and a candelabra sat beside the chair. The wall to the left had drawings and painting all over it. There was an art table setting to one side. Old and dried up paints were in drawers and a few on top. There were paintbrushes in a cup that once held water. Another drawer held quills of all colors and shades. Sirius' name was on one of the many sketchbooks in this art desk. The wall to the right had racing brooms and Quidditch equipment of all sorts hanging on it. A small bookshelf sat in the middle and every book written about Quidditch was on this shelf. Upon inspection Aubrey noticed that the most recent book had been added. Each one had a ribbon wrapped around it and a note attached. Each note was addressed to James Potter.

This is too weird. If he betray them...if he wanted James dead, why would he add books to this collection? Guilt? Is there more to this that the Ministry is telling me? Aubrey wondered. She placed the book back on the shelf and picked up another. She then looked at the far wall and noticed it had been completely destroyed. Noting all of this in her notebook she went upstairs. Again each room had it's own distinct personality. She was baffled by the time she left. It seemed that Sirius had devoted his home to these three people. People he was supposed to have betrayed and even killed. What confused her even more is the fact that he destroyed everything that had to do with Peter Pettigrew. Was he feeling guilty for killing Peter? Or were the stories wrong? She had to find out. Not only did she owe it to her parents, but also she owed it to herself and everyone else he had killed.

Finally, after going through each room in the house and becoming more and more confused she wandered into the back yard. There were Quidditch hoops set up in the far corner. She smiled again. She looked up at the sky and began to pick out each constellation. She saw the big black dog. Her mind began to work.

Sirius Black. Sirius. The Egyptian North Star. Part of the black dog. Sirius the star Sirius Black. Sirius was an Animagus. The black dog that followed her that day in Hogsmeade. The dog on the shutters. "He's a dog!" she exclaimed to herself. She wondered if his name had been a coincidence or if his mother knew deep down inside what he would be. She sat on the back porch and read through her notes. Four friends. Four animals. Four nicknames. James was Prongs. Prongs...antlers on a buck...James was the buck. Sirius...Sirius was the dog, he had to be. Dog...paws...Padfoot? Yes that had to be it. That left Remus and Peter. Remus Lupin. Another star. The wolf. He lives in Wolves Grove. Wolves. Moon. Moony. Remus was Moony. By default that meant that Peter was the rat. Wormtail. They were Animagi all of them. But no, Remus wasn't an Animagus she would have seen it in his eyes the way she saw it in James and Sirius' eyes. She realized that he was a werewolf and noted it in her notebook. Suddenly exhausted again she turned the top of the port key and found herself back in Silverstar Hollow. Placing her satchel carefully in the closet she changed back into her nightclothes and climbed back into bed. She was confused. If Sirius seemed so nice and so close to these people, why would he hurt them? One thing crossed her mind before she fell asleep. Maybe he didn't.

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Chapter Five:

Here and gone

Aubrey awoke to bright sunshine filtering in through the window. She sat up and blinked. She looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was nearly noon. Rising from the bed and showering quickly she dressed in robes of maroon and she ran downstairs to fix herself a quick breakfast. Deciding that she would wander around Hogsmeade in an attempt to find the black dog she had seen the day before she grabbed her satchel and headed out. The day was warm and bright. Placing a pair of sunglasses on her face she began to walk in the direction of Hogsmeade. She didn't have to wait very long to find the large black dog she had seen the day before. If that dog is Sirius Black he'll notice me following him. Diving behind one of the buildings she transformed into a purple songbird. Souring high in the sky she followed the large dog.

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Sirius reached the caves and lay on the cool ground for a moment. He had gotten a surprise visit from Remus the night before warning him about the new Auror in charge of finding him.

"She's not like the others," Remus had said. "She's...different. She's not even from around here,"

Remus had told him she was from America and she was probably one of the best they had.

"What's that matter?" Sirius had said bitterly. "Fudge running out of people to send for me?"

Sirius lay there, his eyes closed, and replayed the conversation he had with Dumbledore later that night in his mind. He had decided to find out anything he could about her. Dumbledore told him everything.

"Her special talent is that when she touches an item it will sometimes show her things."

"What kind of things?" Sirius asked.

"Well, anything really from a memory to the location of the person who owns the article," Dumbledore had said. "I would hate to see the effect that necklace of yours would have on her. The visions would be so intense that she would probably pass out,"

"Why?" Sirius inquired.

"Because her mind already pulls visions from articles...if the vision is both induced and automatic, it would be very strong,"

His ears perked up when he heard the flapping of wings. Rising from his spot on the ground he took on his human form because his sixth sense told him something was wrong. He hid in a small nook just big enough for him and watched the entrance of the cave. Within minutes a girl appeared in the entrance way would could only be Aubrey Phoenix.

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Aubrey cautiously walked into the cave. She knew that she should probably have her wand out but because she saw no one she thought maybe she was wrong. She was sure that dog had come in here but it seemed to have disappeared. The cave was cold and damp and she shivered. This was odd. Something was not right. Deciding that venturing here alone was not a good idea she turned to leave. Once outside she rendered herself invisible and she stood in the entrance to the cave. She didn't have to wait long, as soon as he was sure she had gone Sirius emerged from his hiding place. Smiling to herself she stepped inside the cave. Sirius heard her footsteps.

"Who's there?" he demanded. She said nothing. Neither one moved nor spoke or even breathed. Sirius was in no mood to play these games. Pulling the wand that Harry had provided him with from his robes he uttered a spell that would render any invisibility spell useless.

"Shit," Aubrey said. Should she run? No. She did not come all this way to run away from the man who took her parents away from her. She felt herself become visible and she stood tall. "Sirius Black, you are under arrest," she said in a shaky voice.

"Only if you can catch me," he said snidely. He had to admit he was impressed, none of the others had found him. She drew her wand.

"Expelliarmus," they said in unison. Both wands flew from their owners' hands.

Now what do I do? She thought. Fight like a Muggle? She silently thanked her Aunt for insisting she took Muggle Combat at Silvermoon. She dove for her wand and Sirius moved to cut her off. He caught her wrist and spun her around so that her back was to his chest. She was pinned to him. He had his arm around her neck, the other still holding onto her wrist, which was across her waist. She wriggled in his grasp.

"How did you find me?" he demanded.

"None of your business," she shot back. She was trying desperately to find a way out of this mess. He would surely kill her. Sorry mom and dad, I failed you. She thought.

"I knew that Fudge had found someone else stupid enough to try to capture me but I didn't expect you to find me so quickly," Sirius said.

"Well I'm not like the others," she said angrily. "And Fudge didn't find me, I volunteered,"

Why? Sirius thought. He didn't ask. This girl thought he was guilty and he had to prove to her he wasn't. Remembering Dumbledore's words once again he pulled a silver chain from his pocket.

"Sweet dreams," he said placing the necklace in her hand.

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As soon as her fingers closed over the necklace she felt as if she were falling. She closed her eyes. There was a flash of blue.

Sirius, Harry, and a group of other people including Remus Lupin were walking through a dark passageway. Sirius had just told Harry he was his godfather and that he could move in with him once his name was clear. Harry was ecstatic and excitedly asked when he could move in with Sirius. He was surprised by Harry's enthusiasm and overjoyed that Harry wanted to leave someone whom he called "the Dursleys."

There was a flash of red.

James Potter stood beside a bed. A woman with flowing red hair lay in the bed holding a small bundle. Her green eyes twinkled excitedly.

"James," she said. "I want you to meet your son,"

A flash of white.

Remus Lupin stood in a dark and dingy room. Harry and two other children were there as was Sirius Black. Remus and Sirius were talking and the conclusion that Sirius was innocent was reached. Happy that his best friend had not betrayed James, Remus ran across the room and hugged Sirius tightly.

A flash of green.

This memory was familiar to Aubrey.

A chubby man who could only be Peter Pettigrew stood at one end of the street. He had an evil glint in his eyes. There was Sirius. He shouted for Peter to face him and Peter did so but not before placing his wand behind his back. Uttering a small incantation sparks flew from Peter's wand and the street blew up. Muggles collapsed to the ground and she saw her parents' final moments again. She saw through the mist and dust and watched as Peter Pettigrew became a rat and scurried down the hole in the street.

The last memory ended just as Aubrey hit the ground of the caves.

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