Dog Interlude
Running. The wind in his hair, the grass beneath his feet and joy in his heart. And much later but still so long ago, he had learned to take another form. But still the same joy with fur instead of hair and paws for feet. Maybe a joy bigger still for in that skin his emotions were simpler. Freedom.
That hunger for said freedom who pushed him to go and run in the forest when clouds were dark and heavy and static was in the air. His love frowned at him but let him be, only asking him to be careful, which he did until he put a paw on a stone loosened by the heavy rain and got caught in a landslide.
Shaking himself, he got to his feet. Or at least tried ; his right hind leg hurted and he thought it might be broken. Concern bloomed in his mind but he sent reassurance back. They had long spoken of making contact with the people working here, it might prove to be a perfect opportunity! Now, all he needed was to find somewhere where the groundskeeper was more likely to happen upon him...
***
He was woken from his light rest by the ground shaking under the feet of a large person. The groundskeeper was here ! Now, time to make himself known !
***
The small hut, cramped but cozy, and inhabited by a friendly dog, that was where he was going to live from now on. Not bad, all things considered. Hagrid was very gentle with him despite his imposing size and Fang had accepted him as a friend, or at least as not a threat. But the thing he might prefer was his name ; Goldie. Ha ! That man was a genius ! (His love laughed at him a bit but admitted that it was indeed fitting.)
Slowly but surely, he got comfortable, alternating between watching what was happening, following Hagrid on his errands, running with Fang and going back to the castle and to his love's arms. Peaceful days but something in the back of his brain told him it wasn't going to last.
He was right for about a month after the start of school, a trio of kids showed up to the hut to ask Hagrid some questions. And what questions ! It was times like this when he absolutely loved his second skin, when he could eavesdrop in all impunity while being cuddled and scratched behind the ears.
The kids were here because they had encountered a strange and unknown creature in the castle and were quite afraid but unable to ask their DADA teacher. She had only been here for a month but everyone already hated her and she was either oblivious to it or didn't care. He didn't know which was worse, but he personally would have delighted in being able to bite her ankles.
He came back from his enjoyable dreams when he heard the description of the strange creature. All in black and wearing a long black veil adorned with pieces of metal and carrying a cold blue lamp ? Ah yes indeed, he knew who that was ! He huffed and rested his head back on the girl's lap, stretching the rest of his body so that he was on all three kids and dosed off, following a path of tall grass swaying and the cry of a bird above his head.