A Kind of Magic

Twenty-One

Gollum jumped at her from the darkness filling the flat the moment she walked through the door, startling her. 

And yet it was something he always did, demanding to be taken for a walk after the long hours he spent closed inside during Fiona's shifts, on the weekends when Freddie was at her mum's and the poor dog was left alone. But he had never startled her like this... Tonight, her head was so full of the three strangers that she had almost forgotten her dog. Botheration...

"Do..down...!" She stammered under the weight of Gollum's huge paws on her shoulders as she switched on the light; standing on his hind legs, the charcoal coloured Irish Wolfhound was taller than her.

He obeyed after bestowing a loving lick to her cheek, and she hugged him around his furry neck, muttering words of apology for having been gone for so long.

"Come on then," she said, releasing the dog into the corridor before he could start scratching the door, removing her cardigan and reaching to the clothes rack placed by the entrance for a rain proof jacket, Gollum's leash and a dog whistle. Not that the leash was of any use, the massive dog was too powerful for her to restrain, but she found out that it instilled a feeling of safety in the passersby who otherwise gave the tiny woman with an enormous dark dog a wide berth. And he listened to the whistle well, Gollum was tame like a puppy, a gentle giant.

She switched off the light and locked the door again, finding Gollum sitting at the top of the stairs, waiting for her permission to descend.

"Go," she allowed. "Slow and silent."

She smiled when he looked into her eyes as if he understood and agreed before creeping down the ill-lit staircase noiseless like a shadow to wait for her again by the front door.

"Mind the road, as always," she told him. "We'll go to the park. Slow and calm, or I'll have to put this on you if you start scaring people, understood?" She waved the leash in his face, and he looked instantly away in understanding; he disliked using the leash just like she did.

Gilderoy jumped in surprise when he saw the enormous dog bounding out of the door he and his companions were observing from across the road, huddled around the only tree growing in the cobbled pavement near the pub, hiding from the rain rather than from curious looks-- the streets in this part of the city were abandoned this time of the night.

The dog was almost bigger than the woman who followed it closely in the direction of the park, spreading at the end of the road. A familiar looking woman. Alaric's daughter. 

He grinned-- the woman apparently had a penchant for monsters-- as his eyes left her retreating figure to observe Peregrine. 

The dragon shifter was smiling, obviously enjoying the sight of the short woman with the beast of a dog. She was unpredictable and full of surprises, and Peregrine was taken by her; it was as clear as day. 

Leodhais looked at Peregrine too-- he would never have expected to see His Darkness falling for a woman, a woman so... humanly plain and ordinary, and yet here he was, the smile playing on his lips speaking volumes about his melting heart.

"What?" Peregrine growled suddenly, making them both jump. "Come on, we need to follow her. She may have a monster of a dog as a guardian, but I've spent enough time in this world to know that it's not safe for a woman to walk in a park at night."

They nodded simply, there was no point in disagreeing with the dragon once he set his mind on something, and as one separated themselves from the tree and followed her through the night and drizzling rain at a careful distance.

Fiona had a feeling that she was being followed even before she reached the park, with Gollum a few steps in front of her oblivious to anything but the scent of rainwashed grass and trees floating on the shredded veil of fog that coiled in the night air surrounding them.