Harry discovered early on the fifth day after his bonding that he could talk to Fluffy mentally. It had happened accidentally at first. The Cerberus had been sniffing his way around the Gryffindor common room when Harry had thought 'sit down, already' rather strongly. Three heads had turned in his direction and the dog had sat, inconveniently blocking the stairways to the girls dorm rooms. Harry had been having fun using this new found ability to confuse the Slytherins. It was fun to torment them.

The boy had needed to sign a formal contract stating that Fluffy was his new familiar. This seemed to even be accepted by the castle itself, because doorways and classrooms would magically readjust to fit the large dog as he loped after Harry. The Cerberus was insatiably curious about everything, having been given very limited access to the grounds in the past. Now, five days after having woken up in the hospital calling for Fluffy, Harry was finally starting to feel settled into his new role as a bond-mate.

Harry, Ron and Hermione, with Fluffy scuffling along behind them, made their way into the potions classroom. They sat at an empty table and began setting out their books and quills. Harry mentally asked Fluffy to sit somewhere out of the way and the giant creature had decided the area around Snape's desk would fit the bill. Its long black tail thumped happily against the stone floor when the headmaster finally swooped into the room, robes billowing. It had been obvious almost right away that whatever strong emotions Harry felt toward a person was also shared by the Cerberus and sometimes that could cause problems.

At Snape's entrance, the dog walked over to the potion's master and gave him a playful lick. It started at the man's boots and went up his entire right side, coating him with saliva and causing his greasy hair to stand on end. Pure silence filled the classroom for a very long moment and then Fluffy let out a self-satisfied bark and the students burst into laughter. Most of them tried to hide it, but Harry and Ron were clutching their sides and falling out of their chairs. Snape looked furious.

"Mr. Snape, if you would be so kind as to call off your..." He was at a loss for words, mouth forming around one possible descriptor after another without settling on any. "...Fluffy, out of my classroom. Now."

Harry gave the dog a playful pat on its way out into the hall as it obediently followed the boy's mental directions. A quick cleaning charm eradicated all evidence of what had just taken place, but the room was still echoing with titters when the teacher began writing that day's potion on the board. Snape's face remained flushed through the remainder of the class much to Harry and Ron's amusement. Hermione just looked sympathetic, slapping Ron's shoulder in admonishment. The redhead rubbed his arm, but toned down his mirth at the headmaster's bad luck.

-

That evening the trio of friends were lounging around the Gryffindor common room when Snape made an unexpected appearance. Fluffy was sprawled out on his back in front of the fireplace with Ginny reading at his side, scratching the dog's stomach absently. No one was surprised by the headmaster's visits anymore; the Gryffindors had come to realize that Harry and Snape were family and nothing would change that. So they accepted it.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Snape asked, coming to stand next to his son.

"Fine. A bit hungry, could do with a butter beer," the boy quipped.

Snape gave an exasperated sigh. "Harry."

"Really, dad, I'm fine."

"No magical problems in class?"

"Well, if you count sucking at transfiguration then, yeah...otherwise, no. I'm perfectly alright," Harry reassured the man.

It was going to take a while to truly convince his father that he had been unharmed by the magical bond that had infiltrated their lives. If anything, he felt more stable now that there was a steady emotional background of trust and loyalty cushioning his thoughts. His nightmares weren't so bad when he could share the pain with someone who didn't need him to talk. Although he might not have chosen it for himself, Harry was glad that he had Fluffy in his life.

"Are you staying in the dorm tonight?"

"Yeah, dad."

"And your monster?" Snape said with word with a light smile.

Harry grinned and looked over at where Fluffy was dozing happily in the warmth of the fire. "He likes sitting in the window."

Snape's eyebrows shot up. "In the window?"

"The castle kinda grows around Fluffy sometimes and the window ledge gets bigger for him," Harry tried to explain with a shrug. "He likes it."

"Hmm. I see. Well, it's good to know that Hogwarts herself is accepting your new bond. Have a good night, Harry," Snape said the last softly. "Weasleys, Ms. Granger." He nodded to them before leaving the common room.

"Night, dad," Harry called as the portrait hole shut.

"You have that man wrapped around your finger," Ginny said. She was smiling.

"Nah. He's still a greasy haired git," Harry's mouth lifted up in a quirk, "But he's my greasy haired git."

Fluffy gave a huff of agreement from several feet away, one of his heads lolling to the side so he could look over at Harry. The flickering flames gave the impression that the dog had winked. Even though he didn't know what would happen next in his crazy life, Harry felt good about facing the future. He had a dad, his friends, a newly formed bond that pulsed warmly in his mind.

Being the Boy Who Lived wasn't too bad.