Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The most awesome author ever by the name of J.K. Rowling, however, does. And I invite you all to read the series.
"Alex! Alex!" An excited 5'1, 14 year old comes rocketing around a corner. Her purple and pink dyed bangs covering her eyes as she stands panting in front of her 'brother'. Alex turns around, exasperated at her excitement. "What mythical adventure caused you a near death experience this time Niona?" Chocolate eyes beam up at her brother as a mischievous grin plays around her face. "I have a surprise for you!" That's when any reasonable person would have cause for worry, to Alex, this was almost routine. "What poor, defenseless, helpless creature did you bring home today." That's when he heard his boyfriend scream. "No! No! No! Please come back here little puppy!" Little was not the word for the mountain of scruffy, tangled, brush-weed that came careening through his living room. "You can't be serious." His boyfriend came inside the kitchen holding a broken leash. "Nope, he's Rufus!" This brought his attention back to his adopted sister. He still couldn't decide whether she was the best, or the worst thing to ever happen to him. "Did you take a walk in the forbidden forest and happen to find Fang hiding under a tree?" At this Niona stuck out her tongue. "All he needs is a bath. I'm sure he is a very Fluffy dog underneath the obvious neglect he's been given." Acknowledging the challenge Alex decided to continue. "The way he looks he could have come from the underworld." At this point Brad decided to remind them that he was still in the room. "I told her we should have gotten a kitten instead." Alex looked over at Brad only to see the football player hopelessly trying to step over the mound of dirt and hair that was Niona's new dog. "No, she should have gotten two goldfish and put them in a zen tank." Niona was now glaring at the both of them. "No, I am sticking with Rufus." Alex smirked, "What about Remus?" Brad looked bewildered for a moment but decided they were coming up with names. "What about Ronald?" Alex looking slightly surprised added, "Or Rolf." Brad, coming to a conclusion, blurted, "Or Renaldo!" At this both Niona and Alex looked at him with confusion. "I thought we were saying 'r' names." At this Alex laughed. "Close, we've been referencing Harry Potter characters whose names begin with the letter 'r'." At this Brad looked slightly ashamed. "I've never seen Harry Potter." Alex spit out his tea while Niona exclaimed, "WHAT!" At this point Brad looked as though he expected to be cursed. Instead, Niona just grabbed his arm and said, "You poor uncultured being, I am going to sit you down and we are going to marathon all the movies." At this point Alex walked over with a, "No, no, no! He has to read the books first." Niona looked up at Alex in defiance. "Reading the books would take too long. He can read them after the movies." In order to keep the siblings from dueling, Brad decided it would be a good idea to remind the two of the dog that looked like it was wearing Hagrid's finest formal wear. "May I remind you of the mythical beast known as Rufus taking up the entire doorway?" At this moment the said 'mythical beast' emitted a noise that could be appropriately compared to something of a sleeping dragons snore. "I'll get the kiddie pool."
"I'll get the shampoo bottles."
"I'll turn on the hose."
And after the three managed to drag the dog into the tub, they began the rinse and repeat process. A good couple hours went by, building a pile of trash they managed to wash, clip, and groom the now recognizable dog. "Still scruffy," a now soaking wet and not-so-much better looking Alex said. "He has an air of pride about him," Brad added. "He really is like Rufus!" an excitable Niona exclaimed while hugging the sopping wet dog. "Alright, alright, I'll dry the dog while you two get cleaned up and later we can have movie night." Niona's eyes lit up as she ran upstairs. "You sure you don't need any help?" Brad asked Alex stopping at the gate leading out of the backyard. "Nah, I'm good. See you in a little?" With a wave of a hand and a response to be back soon Brad left to get cleaned up. "So, it's just you and me dog." The dog looked at him. "I just hope you stay downstairs." The dog proceeded to look at him, perhaps in a more inquiring way. "I guess we're gonna have to get along." Now the dog just looked uninterested as it laid down in the empty pool as Alex sighed. "Sit up and let's get this over with." Roughly a half an hour later, all three were in Alex's living room. "I know you feel as though you have responsibilities to care for not-so-magical creatures, but you could have ignored Rufus." Niona looked up at Alex with big, pleading eyes. "But, no one else was going to take care of him. So I became the 'chosen one'." Alex crossed his arms. "You could have a blast-ended skrewt burn your house down and still you would think it was cute." Brad, who was intently watching the movie, shushed both people while staring down the screen. At this Niona turned back toward the television still hugging the giant beast on the floor, sometimes pointing things out to the dog. Alex laid back on the couch looking over at his family, smiling to himself.
