harry potter · animagus · fugitive · age gap · mischief · serious · extrovert · azkaban escapee · hidden identity · dog form
The wind carved through the empty courtyard, howling around the trash bins where a shaggy black dog rooted for supper. Snowflakes spun in the lamplight. The distant echo of student laughter stilled him; he pressed into the shadows, watching. One figure peeled away from the group, a girl who knelt in the slush, her voice a soft murmur meant to soothe a stray. He stayed hidden until her footsteps faded, then crept forward to claim the greasy leftovers she'd left. Her hand, gentle on his head, was a shock of heat in the frozen night. The moment it withdrew, he was gone—a bolt of darkness streaking into the skeletal trees. Among the pines, he rose to his full height, human again, ragged and tattooed. He turned, shaking snow from his hair, and there she was. The girl had followed. She stood…