Sirius the Service Dog

Sirius woke up when Harry stiffened. The door of their compartment opened and a girl with bushy, brown hair stepped in alongside a round-faced boy who had tears in his eyes. Sirius thought he looked vaguely familiar. Maybe he'd known the boy's parents?

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville here lost his." She said.

'Neville!' Sirius thought 'I thought he'd look a bit more like Frank.'

"No, sorry." one of the twins said.

"We can help you look if you want." the other chimed in.

"Really?" Neville sniffed.

"Sure." they chorused.

"Harry, why don't you stay here?" They stood.

"Yeah, Shadow there might scare it off." the twin winked.

Harry smiled a little before looking away. Once the others had left the compartment Sirius sat up and licked Harry's cheek. He hugged the dog tightly.

A few minutes later the door opened again and the Malfoy boy from the robe shop came in. He frowned slightly, confused.

"You're that boy I met in Diagon Alley right? In Madam Malkins?"

Harry nodded.

"I heard people saying Harry Potter was in this compartment. Is that you?"

Another nod. This time accompanied by a blush.

"Oh. Sorry, you're just not what I expected."

Harry's blush darkened and he hid his face in Sirius's fur.

Malfoy shifted his weight nervously before he seemed to catch himself. He straightened and Sirius realized with amusement that he was trying to act like his father again. He kind of wished he could speak so he could tell the boy that arrogance didn't win friends. Because he could see that that's what Malfoy was trying to do. Win friends by acting like his arrogant father.

"I didn't introduce myself before. My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." He stuck his hand out and watched Harry closely for a reaction.

Sirius felt like laughing. The way the boy introduced himself sounded like a muggle spy movie Sirius had watched years ago. He pushed back the feeling and nudged Harry so he'd make a decision. Harry looked up and shook Draco's hand quickly. Draco smiled in relief.

"Do you mind if I sit in here? I'm kind of trying to avoid someone. Or someones I guess. My parents want me to be friends with them, but they're pretty thick."

Sirius huffed, amused. He was babbling. A Malfoy. Babbling. He'd never thought he'd see that.

Harry nodded and Draco sat down across from him. "You don't talk much, do you?"

He shook his head fingers clutching Sirius's fur.

"I'll have to stick to yes and no questions then." Draco thought for a moment. "Do you know what Hogwarts house you're going to be in?"

Harry frowned in confusion and shook his head.

"I think I'll be in Slytherin. My whole family's been in it so I'm pretty sure I will be too. My father says that's where all the best people go, so I have to be in it to get good connections. He also said the other houses are complete rubbish. Ravenclaws are too absorbed in their books to know what's happening in the real world, Hufflepuffs are a bunch of duffers, and Gryffindors all have some sort of brain damage. They're all just too reckless, it's the only explanation. The way he said it Slytherin is the only good house."

Sirius snorted. Figured Malfoy would say things like that. Still, it was interesting. It all sounded familiar of course. He'd heard mostly the same kind of things growing up. His parents way of making sure their prejudices stayed strong and they didn't "taint" the bloodline. He guessed it was a pureblood thing.

Harry was shifting uncomfortably. Of course, he knew next to nothing about the Hogwarts houses. He probably felt stupid or something since he didn't know.

Draco continued chattering away, occasionally asking questions. He actually got Harry to smile a few times. Sirius wondered if they'd end up being friends. He wasn't sure whether to hope for such a thing. On one hand, Harry needed friends. On the other, the boy was a Malfoy. What if he tried to pull Harry into the Dark Arts? Sirius decided to wait. His time in Azkaban had taught him a lot about waiting. If Draco was a good friend to Harry, excellent. If not, well, Sirius was confident in his ability to drive the boy away.

"Harry?" Draco said. He seemed pretty nervous again, "Are we friends?"

Harry hesitated.

"I mean, I'd like to be friends." he smiled almost playfully, "I might even be able to tolerate you if you end up in another house."

Harry blushed slightly.

"So. Are we?"

Harry nodded a small smile touching his lips.

The Weasley twins came back into the compartment, laughing. Draco scowled at them.

"Do you mind? We were trying to have a conversation. Do you often barge onto other people's compartments?" Draco snapped.

"Actually, we were here first." one twin answered, "Right Harry?"

Draco turned to look at him. Harry smiled sheepishly and nodded, fingers gripping Sirius's fur like a lifeline.

Draco blushed, "Oh. Well, I guess I should ask your names. Your first ones anyway, you're clearly Weasleys."

He said 'Weasleys' with a trace of disdain. Sirius disapproved. The twins had been very nice to his godson.

When they introduced themselves Sirius did his best to keep track of which was which. It was easier when they sat down, Fred next to Draco and George next to him.

Draco turned to Harry, "What are you doing with Weasleys anyway? Father always said they were stupid blood traitors who won't amount to anything and shouldn't be spoken to."

"Well your father's wrong." George snapped.

"Our parents said that Malfoys are all slimy gits. Does that mean we shouldn't give you a chance?" Fred glared.

Draco frowned.

Harry was sweating a little and there were tears in his eyes when he spoke. "Please stop."

They all looked at him in shock.

"What was that, Harry?" Fred's voice was much gentler now.

Harry tugged just a little on Sirius's fur. Sirius sat up so Harry could bury his face in the dog's shoulder. "Just stop, please. I- I've n- never had fr-friends before a-and I d-d-don't want t-to lose a-any b-be-because you w-were f-fighting." Sirius could feel his fur getting wet with Harry's tears. Sirius hadn't heard him speak so much in front of anyone, well besides him.

George reached across Sirius to hug Harry. "I'm sorry." he whispered, "We won't fight anymore. You won't lose any of us. Right?" He looked up at his twin and Draco, both of whom nodded firmly.

"You're stuck with us now Harry." Fred smirked, "It'll take a lot to get rid of us."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I guess I can tolerate them. For you of course."

Harry smiled.

An hour or so later they changed into their school robes and the train pulled into the station.

"See you two in the Great Hall!" George called as they parted ways.

"Can't wait to see where you two end up." Fred grinned.

Draco wrapped an arm around Harry. "Come on, Father said first years take boats to the castle. We need to get a free one so Shadow can fit."

Sirius followed the two feeling rather pleased. It looked like Harry would get some good friends after all. Even if one of them was a Malfoy.