In New York Part 2
… in New York Pt 2
In the end, Sirius had allowed himself to be collared and muzzled. He knew that, if necessary, they would disappear with his animagus form.
For some reason, the items which someone had on them during the animagus transformation didn't transfer over. It was why one could have a wand and wear clothes and still transform. By sheer chance, he had learned that it also worked the other way as well. Prongs had once tried to force him to wear a collar, hoping he would still be wearing it when he turned back. It had stayed with the animagus form.
Once he was taken back to the dog impound, a vet had checked him over, given him a rabies shot, and then turned him over to a volunteer.
This had gotten him washed, which included an absolutely wonderful brushing. After the muzzle had been removed (thank Merlin) and his picture had been taken, he was put in a cage away. Luckily, it was big enough to transform if needed so that he could apparate out.
He had originally planned to leave at the first chance but overall, he decided, he was actually being treated quite well. Having spent enough time in his dog form to be comfortable, he saw no reason at the moment to rush off.
That would change immediately if anyone started talking about neutering.
Being left with food and water and being somewhat comfortable for his dog form, he decided that he would take this opportunity to relax. And so, fed and watered, he went back to sleep.
A few hours later (he had been brought in the middle of the night) workers started coming around and checking on the various dogs. While he noticed that some dogs where very interested, overall – he didn't much care.
However, one of the people brought him out and took him to a room where they went through a ridiculous set of tests to "check his temperament" – he was almost insulted. These tests included his reaction to other dogs (he wasn't interested) and his reaction to people while he was eating food (no need to get aggressive – there was plenty).
After these tests, the worker left the room and came back with a supervisor. "So, what's the problem?"
"I was doing the standard tests. But something's wrong."
"Oh? What's that? Did he fail any of the tests?"
"No. The trouble is – he's too perfect."
"What do you mean?" the supervisor asked curiously.
The worker tried to put it into words. "Well, I read the report from the detectives who got saved by him. He was remarkably responsive to them and followed orders without any hesitation. But the detectives' report said that he was … too responsive. He didn't just respond to regular commands, but regular conversation. He did exactly what they asked. And when I was testing him, I didn't have to do anything to control him. It's as though he understands exactly what I was doing and was humoring me."
The supervisor looked at Sirius. "Maybe he's just well-trained. Have we looked for any reports for missing dogs?"
"We checked. No dog matching his description is missing. If he had such training and then turned up missing, someone would have reported it. Something just doesn't add up. Besides. He's the wrong breed for being a trained police dog."
"Did the vet determine the breed?"
The volunteer flipped a paper on the clipboard. "Look here. The vet said he seems to be some kind of wolfhound/shepherd mix – but none of the types we're used to. His muzzle's not quite the right shape."
The supervisor looked at the papers carefully. He then shrugged. "Well, we could get him tested. What's the plan for him?"
"According to these notes, we're supposed to hold him until they've checked out missing dog reports from any agency. If nothing comes back, he could be adopted out. But Detective Reagan asked us to wait until he talks to some people. No neutering, no adoption, not until a decision is made."
"Reagan? The Commissioner's son?"
"Yeah. Detective Daniel Reagan." The volunteer shrugged.
"Well, we can take care of him for a couple of days until a decision's made. His tests are good – worst case, he gets adopted out. No way a dog this good ends up destroyed."
Sirius was only a little worried. He decided that he would disappear soon. His prank on the police department was becoming less funny as time went on. Still, there was no rush.
Soon thereafter, he was taken back to his cage and left alone again.
Bored, he went back to sleep. The next time he woke up, it was to a voice he recognized.
"… right over here." The two detectives he had helped had shown up again, and with them was an older man in an expensive suit. Sirius got up and looked up in interest, trying to appear like a "good dog".
After a long look, the man in the suit said, "So, this is the dog."
"Yeah. This is the one. He came out of nowhere and disarmed the perp we were chasing. And then followed our orders."
The man looked at him some more. He then turned his head and asked, "What did the vet say?"
The woman, Baez, had the papers. "According to this, no food aggression, and while not perfectly docile, is perfectly obedient; a bit of malnutrition in the past but no worms or other diseases evident. They gave him shots just in case. Overall, he's in good health and has a good attitude."
The man nodded. He then asked, "What do you want to do?"
Reagan shrugged. "I don't know. Hopefully, someone's looking for him. Otherwise, he's a bit too old to be trained as a certified police dog. But I'd hate to see him put down." The detective paused. "I actually think he'd be a good police dog as he is, but without a record and certification, that's a lawsuit waiting to happen."
The man in the suit looked at the younger man with admiration. "Wow. That's a responsible attitude. You're finally growing up."
Baez chuckled, "It had to happen sometime. It only took until he was in his late forties."
Reagan said, "Ha ha," sarcastically. "Thanks, Dad. Now she's going to be giving me crap about that for the next year."
The man, obviously the Commissioner that had been mentioned chuckled. "Someone's got to keep you from having a big head."
"That's what I have Erin and the rest of you are for," Reagan said with amusement.
"Well," the Commissioner said, "we'll keep checking. A dog this good, someone's missing him." The three walked away, talking.
Later that night, there were no other people around and Sirius decided it was time to get out of there. Changing back to his human form (which caused a number of dogs to react) he concentrated anddisapparated.
He was certain that the Reagan's would be completely confused.
It was a few days later and he had found himself in an area of the city which poorer but still alright. The fact that he had a collar now actually seemed to make the people less nervous when they saw him – they assumed he was owned and no one tried to catch him.
He did end up playing with several children in a park who liked the "nice doggy". However, when one of the parents tried to call for a police officer to pick up the loose dog, Sirius booked it out of there.
He had no desire to add to that drama.
However, it was not to be. Late one night he was, once again, slumming in an alleyway. Hearing someone coming, though they tried to be quiet, he hid himself away.
From his place he saw a man carefully walking down the alley. He appeared to be going toward a particular home. Sirius knew that something was wrong when the man, instead of entering through a door, entered through a window that he opened after knocking the glass out.
Being curious, he watched. All of a sudden his sensitive hearing picked up some type of scuffle.
Abandoning his stealth, he jumped through the window and, following the sounds, rushed up a set of stairs and into a room. The man he had seen was attacking a woman in a nightgown.
A moment later, Sirius was fighting with the man who, luckily, was just using physical power to control the woman and not a weapon. His attack allowed the woman to away and rush out of the room.
Once the woman was out, Sirius backed off from the attack and rushed to the door. There were no windows, no other way out. Sirius turned and stood at the door watching the man who was now recovering.
Once again, as long as the man stayed still, Sirius did nothing. As soon as he tried to reach for anything to throw at Sirius or could be used as a weapon, Sirius would growl and menace him.
Sirius decided that if he got something which could be used, he would run away – he wasn't being that reckless.
Soon, however, he heard movement coming from the stairs and, out of his periphery, he saw two people in uniforms with guns forward. They stopped upon seeing him.
"Ma'am? I need you to come up here and call off your dog," the pretty blonde one called out.
"He's not my dog. He just showed up when I was being attacked," he heard the woman call back.
However, Sirius decided that the police could take care of the man and, trying to be non-threatening, he turned and quickly moved the other way and rand into an open door down the hall, which appeared to be a bathroom.
The black woman cop, also attractive, said, "Wow. Okay." Sirius heard the two women cops move into the room and arrest the man.
The second woman then came and closed the door to the bathroom Sirius was in.
In that moment he thought "perfect," with some amusement.
Listening from the bathroom, he heard the two officers call for a pickup, the Sergeant, and animal control.
The Sergeant arrived first. "Okay. So what's the situation?"
"Well, the perp was attacking the female resident."
After a moment he heard the Sergeant say, "Is it just me or does he match the description of the serial rapist we've been looking for?"
The original blonde female said, "No. You're right. Anyway, the attack was interrupted when a dog attacked the perp."
"Where's the dog?" the man asked.
"Locked in the bathroom. But, get this: It's not her dog."
"What?" the voice asked incredulously. "Where did it come from?"
"The victim doesn't know. It just showed up and attacked, allowing her to escape. She rushed out of the house and flagged us down – we were just patrolling down the street."
"So she doesn't know where the dog came from?"
"No."
"What does it look like?" the man asked.
"Well, it's big and black. And as soon as we showed up, it retreated to safety in the bathroom. Mya shut the door to keep him there."
In that moment, Sirius decided it was time to get away. Changing back to his human form and, concentrating on a quiet apparition (it took more effort) he disappeared out of the room.
He didn't want to go back to the pound.
He also resolved to stay away from trouble – he didn't need it.
However, trouble seemed to follow him.
It was early evening just a few days later when he was in an alleyway off of a busy street.
He had spent the previous few days playing "homeless man" and getting himself fed that way using soup kitchens and shelters.
But, once again, he was in an alleyway as a dog.
When he saw the man standing at the edge but hidden, holding a gun, Sirius knew that he was once again going to get involved. Creeping along behind the man, he got fairly close. He saw the man raise his gun and point it at an attractive woman walking down the street.
Sirius felt that pretty women should be able to do just about anything in safety so this offended him. Quickly acting, he once again did his "police dog" gig and, leaping toward the arm, he bit down and pulled the man to the ground. By sheer luck, the man fell out of the shadows he had been hiding in and onto the sidewalk, very near the attractive woman.
The gun had fallen out of his hand and, by sheer luck, landed a few feet from the woman.
Sirius had expected the woman, upon seeing this, to move back as far away as possible.
However, his fight was interrupted by a call, "Freeze!"
Sirius immediately backed off. To his shock, the woman was now holding the gun and pointing it at the man he had attacked.
Sirius backed off. The woman looked at him for a long moment and then looked at the man. "Jason Spritz. You want to tell me why you were waiting in an alley with a gun for me to walk by?"
The man, now on the ground, growled. "Bitch. I can't believe some dog stopped me from making you pay." The man spoke with complete hatred.
The woman shook her head and, reaching in her purse with the hand not holding the gun, she called for police to come.
Sirius was amazed when her name was given as "Erin Reagan." This was the one that Detective Reagan said kept his head small.
As soon as he heard the sirens nearby, Sirius immediately turned and ran down the alley.
This was becoming a habit. It was time to get out of the city proper.
This quiet area, Sirius decided, was not easy pickings for a stray dog looking for anything to eat.
He had assumed that with such big houses, the trash would yield at least something palatable. Outside of some leftover meatloaf earlier that day, he had found nothing.
Just as he was about to check another container, he heard a sound. He quickly hid himself.
An older man, a little stooped, came into view carrying a bag. Lifting the lid, the man suddenly groaned and the bag fell. The old man looked to be in pain as be became unconscious.
Sirius knew he had to do something. Seeing a woman in a nearby back yard he rushed over to the man and started barking as loud as he could.
After a few moments, the woman peered out into the alley and saw him next to the man. She called out in alarm, "Henry!" Sirius stopped barking.
The woman pulled out her phone and called for help. Sirius had no desire to stick around and get caught, so he immediately ran off. He wasn't up for another close call.
He immediately decided to return to where he could more easily find food as a "homeless man."
Through sheer determination, Sirius had finally found the combination of spells necessary to release the charms keeping his Galleons from being tampered with. It took quite a bit of magic, but he soon had defaced the coins sufficiently that they would only be valuable as gold.
Immediately he had located a store advertising "we buy gold" and had made the attempt to sell it.
The man at the counter had immediately started testing it and verified it as gold. "There's no value as a coin – it's too damaged. It looks like it was hit with a hammer. I can only buy it for the regular price of gold."
The man expected Sirius to protest but instead Sirius answered, "That's alright. I expected that. What's today's price?" he asked.
Luckily, the place he went to was reputable and he actually got a large percentage of what it was worth minus a small percentage which was the store's profit margin.
Accepting the bills Sirius asked, "I've got a couple more that are similar. If I bring them by in a couple of days, would that be alright?"
The man shrugged. "We buy gold whatever shape it's in. So that's fine."
"Good. It's been a pleasure doing business."
Sirius immediately left and spent a bit of the money getting himself into better shape. Some new clothes, some food, and a cheap room for a couple of days meant that he was feeling much better.
Taking out his Wizarding pouch, he carefully emptied it: 35 Galleons, 22 Sickles, and a few Knuts. He was desperately happy that he had carried his purse when he had rushed off to the Ministry.
The only reason he had taken to doing so was to gain a sense of feeling "normal" – and wizards carried a purse normally. He could give Remus a few Galleons to run out for things when he had been at Grimmauld Place.
This would, in no way, make him rich here, but he was no longer destitute.
He had returned two days later to the gold shop and sold two more Galleons as well as a couple of Sickles.
With a couple of thousand American dollars and a new set of clothes, he now felt more prepared to contemplate his future.
In truth, he needed to figure out a way to make money. He was tempted to get into the repair business. A little privacy, a little magic, and: Presto!
He also decided he needed to get out of New York City.
Overall, it was a bit too exciting for him. Unfortunately, his accent didn't fit in with other places he had heard of. New York had people from all over the world and no one batted an eye at his accent.
He would need to figure out a way to get to England where it would be even less distinctive.
However, before he left, he wanted to do one thing: He wanted to check on the man who he had seen collapse. Leaving him hadn't felt right and he had wondered if he had survived.
He decided to make one more foray as "Padfoot."
It was the middle of the day when Sirius creeped through the alleyway near the house he had visited a week earlier.
Being silent, Sirius moved until he could look into the back yard of the place.
As expected, it was very quiet. It would take a bit of waiting to see what happened. Concealed behind a bush, he watched the house.
Unfortunately, lying prone as a dog tended to make one fall asleep.
Suddenly, he woke up. The man he had been concerned about was standing a few feet away. "Hello, boy," the man said cheerfully. "What are you doing there?"
Sirius got up and looked at the man. He looked like he was okay. Unlike the more nervous responses he normally got, the man seemed completely comfortable standing there with an unknown dog.
"Come here, boy."
Sirius decided to indulge him. And so, in a casual manner, Sirius trotted out from behind the bush which had semi-hidden him and up to the older man. Stopping in front of the man, he looked up.
"Well. Aren't you a friendly one?" the man said. He reached out with his hand and Sirius sniffed it – only polite to do as a dog. He then looked back up. The man reached to his head and pet it a couple of times.
The man then pulled out his cell phone and made a call. "Moira? Can you come over?"
Sirius was curious and so he waited. Soon, the woman who had answered his barks came over. "Is this the dog you say alerted you when I had my little incident?" he asked the woman.
"Yes. That's the dog, Henry. He's the one that began barking and caused me to come out to look."
"Well, then." The man looked at Sirius. "That deserves at least some water and some food. How would you like some leftover meatloaf?" the man asked.
Sirius played along and gave a cheerful bark.
"Thanks, Moira. I wanted to check."
"Is it safe, Henry? It is a strange dog." She was nervous.
Henry chuckled. "Actually, it's perfectly safe. I know a bit about this dog. It's fine." The woman said goodbye and left. Henry turned and said, "Come on."
Surprisingly, Sirius was led into the house. At the back of the kitchen, Henry put down two bowls. One had water, and one had some meatloaf.
To be polite, Sirius decided to humor the man.
Henry sat down and watched as Sirius ate the food. When he was done, Sirius sat back on his haunches and looked at Henry. "Well, I can't just call you 'the dog'. Let me see your collar." As Henry stood up, Sirius walked over and stood patiently. Reaching down, Henry checked the collar he had been given. There was no tag.
"Well, what do you think of … Blackie?" Sirius whined and dropped his head.
"No, I guess not." Henry went through a few more names and finally Sirius accepted, "Hero."
Sirius was amused. He had played the hero a few times and so he decided that would be fine.
"Come on, hero. It's time for my break to watch the financial report. Got to check my portfolio, make certain my retirement is healthy."
Sirius followed the man to a room containing a television. Henry sat down and motioned Sirius over. Sirius sat down next to Henry's legs and let the man pet his head again. For the next half an hour, Henry watched the financial news.
He then indulged the man a game of catch in the backyard. This seemed to make the old man happy.
After a while, the man sat down in a chair on the back porch and called Sirius over.
"Well, Hero?" Sirius gave him his attention. "I wanted to thank you." Sirius cocked his head.
"You might not know this, but I immediately recognized you. Two and a half weeks ago, you saved my grandson's life when you bit that man attacking him. After you disappeared from the shelter, you appeared again a few days later and helped my other grandson's fiancé to catch a serial rapist they've been looking for for a while. You disappeared out of a locked room then too. And then a couple of days after that, you prevented a man from shooting my granddaughter. And if that wasn't enough, when I had that minor heart incident, you alerted my neighbor and made certain help came."
Henry looked at Sirius a long moment. "I don't know what the deal is with you, but you've done a lot for us. So thanks."
Sirius gave him a cheerful bark.
Henry chuckled and reached over to pat his head again. He then said, "Something about you seems smarter than the average dog. I don't know what it is – but whatever it is, it's been good for us.
In that moment, Sirius began to contemplate the idea of actually changing and telling the Muggle man his story. It was either that or to rush off and disappear. He was certain that if anyone would actually be safe to talk to, it would be him.
Feeling uncertain, Sirius contemplated it for a long moment. Finally he came to a decision. Standing up he ….