White Heather for Protection

A Grim Series of Events

Heather sat comfortably against a large rock at the edge of the Black Lake. She was so close to the water's edge that if she stretched out her admittedly short legs, her shoes would get wet. Considering that she couldn't swim, it was odd how at ease she was.

It was a rare day that she preferred the outdoors to the Den, but Gryffindor was having Quidditch practice, which meant that FredGeorge and Rian were occupied. Wood had banned her from watching the training because he worried about her relaying Gryffindor's game strategies to Slytherin, so Heather found herself lounging by the lake.

She was currently reading (wasn't she always?) one of her well-worn Prince's books. They had become more of pleasure than reference reading by now. She just knew what Fred and George would say if they found these books. It was a challenge getting them to even open one, let alone read for enjoyment. That was not to say that they didn't do any work. The numerous projects all three of them were working on for the joke shop required in-depth understanding of magical theory. The rare times Heather actually got them to do any homework, they got at least Es, to the disbelief of the Professors. It was actually how they hadn't been kicked out of their classes yet.

A flicker of movement in her peripheral vision made her look up warily. Scanning her surroundings, she watched out for danger. This close to the Forbidden Forest, some of its inhabitants occasionally appeared. A black creature at the edge of the treeline caught her attention. As she peered closer, she relaxed.

A large, shaggy dog that had probably seen better days was trotting cautiously towards the lake. It was likely looking for some water. It looked famished, just skin and bones. Heather knew that there were wild dogs roaming the forest, though she wondered why this one had strayed from its pack.

A pang of sympathy hit her; she knew what it was like to go hungry. Standing up, she approached the jittery animal slowly. The dog noticed her arrival and perked to attention. It didn't seem aggressive. On the contrary, it looked eager instead. Perhaps Hagrid took care of it occasionally, so it wasn't scared of humans.

"Hello there, big guy." It truly was a huge dog. Not quite the size of the wolf, but close. She held her hand out for it to sniff. The dog enthusiastically slobbered all over it instead, its tail wagging happily. "Someone's happy today," she said, chuckling. It barked in agreement.

"Are you hungry?" She drew the conclusion from the loud whines she got in reply. "Alright, alright. I've got some sandw-" Before she could finish, the dog bowled her over in its excitement, licking her face messily.

She quickly, but gently, pushed it off and unwrapped the food before a repeat occurred. Casting a cleaning charm, she said, "Calm down! Here, help yourself."

It pounced on the offerings, gobbling away like it hadn't seen food in weeks. It likely hadn't. She carded a hand through the matted fur and it came back filthy. What had this dog been through? "Hold still there, fella, I'm just going to clean you up a bit," she said soothingly. Casting a milder cleansing spell that was animal-friendly, she was glad to see some shine return to the inky pelt.

"There, now don't you look handsome." To her entertainment, the canine preened at her words. Laughing she added, "And vain, too." It just snuffed at her.

"Snuffles!" she said abruptly. He tilted his head and made a questioning noise. She didn't know how a dog could convey that. "I'll call you Snuffles. Do you like that?" He gave an approving bark.

Just then, his hackled rose and he growled menacingly. Surprised, Heather turned around and saw her Head of House walking towards them from the forest. He held a large basket, probably for the materials he had gathered. She tried to calm Snuffles, who was still posed hostilely.