Chapter Text
If someone had told Corey Johnson, the youngest Minister of Magic the Wizarding world had ever elected, that a dog could use the Floo network, she would have laughed her head off.
Only, it wasn’t a joke.
Sirius had actually jumped with her into the network this morning and was, quite literally, dogging happily around the corridors of the Ministry of Magic.
“Merlin’s pants, stick around, you bloody mutt,” she muttered under her breath, side-eyeing the raven-haired gigantic animal trailing next to her, while she attempted to put her best poker face on for the wide-eyed Ministry employees.
At last, she reached her office and pushed the door open.
“Why Minister, I didn’t know you owned a dog,” said Finnigan, Corey’s most trusted adviser, looking up from his newspaper with surprise. “I thought you had a ginger cat!”
Corey chuckled. “Oh, I still have the cat,” she answered, crashing her briefcase onto her mahogany desk with a flick of her wand, “and trust me, Babylus is most displeased with our new housemate,” she added now taking a good look at the dog and failing to be mad at him. “But I always wanted a dog, and this one showed about three weeks ago on my doorstep, wounded, thin as a rail and starving. I just didn’t have the heart to leave him in the street, you know… my issues.”
The black man shook his head approvingly. “I get it, I get it. You saved his life, that is very noble. But how in Merlin’s beard did he get here?”
Corey grinned. “He’s clever, he figured out he could use the Floo network!”
Finnigan’s eyes rounded. “Blimey, that’s impressive! Must have had a previous Wizard owner then!”
Corey rubbed her chin. “Hum, maybe, I hadn’t thought about that. It would explain a lot. He… does weird things for a dog.”
It was Finnigan’s turn to smirk. “And who’s the smartest Minister of Magic.”
“Oh, shove it, and let’s get to a more important subject, we have work of houses-elves on our backs today. Report. Anything on Kylo Ren?”
Her assistant straightened and swept the dust off his impeccable midnight-blue gown, as if falling into character again. “No, Miss Johnson. Still no sight of him. The last he was spotted was in Scotland about a month ago, and since then nobody has even remotely seen him. We asked the Nightbus if he’d had weird passengers lately - but nothing to declare. The Dementors are standing by, ready for any order. And I remind you we need to schedule a meeting with the Muggle Minister.”
Corey took air into her lungs and sighed, long and slow. She waved her holly-made wand and the desk magically organized itself, shuffling all documents and making neat piles. She spotted the Daily Prophet on another nearby desk, which had probably just been delivered.
Accio Newspaper, she thought, and the paper flew right into her hands.
She opened it, and frowned at the headlines.
“OVER A MONTH SINCE KYLO REN ESCAPES AZKABAN. MUGGLE AUTHORITIES NEED TO BE WARNED!”
The main article was signed by Rita Skeeter. Corey read two lines, before feeling the need to vomit. Skeeter was always such a drama-queen.
Instead, Corey focused on the picture. Below the headlines, a long black-haired man with a strong nose and square jaw, looking murderous, was seated and glaring at the reporters who were flashing cameras at him.
Deep down, Corey couldn’t help but think he had interesting features for an ex-Auror gone dark. For a parricide.
A shiver ran down her spine at the thought.
“Time is galleons,” she said, casting the feeling aside and smashing the paper down. “Please schedule that meeting for this morning. The earlier the better. I’ll find this monster, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
***
The day had been exhausting, to say the least. Freshly changed into her nightgown, Corey yawned as she sat on the edge of her bed, munching on a leftover sandwich summoned from her almost empty fridge. Sirius watched her carefully from his dog-bed. She’d never felt so safe at night since the dog slept next to her. If anybody attempted to break into her house, the imposing animal would defend her.
Suddenly, a ginger furball leapt onto the bed, glaring at Sirius before purring his way toward her and brushing against her shoulder.
“Hey Babylus, don’t be mad at Sirius, he’s not such a bad boy,” she cooed, stroking the cat’s back. “He’ll protect us from harm, won’t you, Sirius?”
The dog barked and Corey beamed at him.
With a flick of her wand, she cast advanced and powerful protection charms on her house and turned the lights out. With an outlawed madman running loose, and given her position as Minister of Magic, she had to take exceptional measures. Some of the Ministry’s best Aurors were also parked all around the block, just in case something happened.
Before her head hit the pillow, she was already sleeping.
Which is why she was completely disoriented when a strange sound woke her up in the middle of the night. She jumped awake, and, frightened, she immediately grabbed her wand.
Scanning the room, she saw it was still dark outside, and the clock indicated it was three in the morning. The protective charms were still on. However, her eyebrow quirked when she realized Sirius was not in his bed next to her.
Something is not right, her witch instincts told her.
As silently as she could, she crept out of her bedroom. Wand pointing ahead of her, she tiptoed her way into the living room; the lights of the city poured through the curtains, allowing her to see, but everything seemed normal.
A rumbling sound came out of the kitchen and the frown on her face deepened.
Was Sirius eating his food? She had to check.
Cautiously, she walked over to the kitchen, making sure she made no noise.
Nearing the kitchen, the blood in her veins froze.
A man was standing with his back to her, in front of the refrigerator. A giant, black-haired man – and was she imagining it, or was that a prisoner’s outfit?
No, don’t tell me…
Suddenly, the man closed the fridge’s door, and morphed into –
– Sirius!
An animagus!
Rey didn’t bother to stifle her shocked gasp. With a flick of her wand, she turned the lights on, and acting on cold blood, she cast the Homorphus Charm– and the dog transformed back into a massive, raven-haired man.
Jet black eyes gaped at her in utter confusion – those eyes!
Kylo Ren!
“You!” she cried out, and was about to cast the petrifying spell, when all of a sudden there was an intense hissing and roaring sound, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Babylus pounce onto Ren’s face.
The man collapsed onto the living room floor, while the cat continued to scratch and assault him. Human and cat hairs flew all over the place.
“GET OFF ME YOU BLOODY ANIMAL!” yelled Ren at the top of his lungs, trying desperately to shove the animal off.
Taking aim, and avoiding her faithful cat, Corey didn’t hesitate. “Petrificus totalus!”
Ren’s legs and arms bound together, immobilizing him completely, while Babylus’ claws were still latched onto his skull while he growled.
Corey rushed to save her cat and crouched over the massive man, as she took the animal by the collar she poked her wand menacingly right into Ren’s neck. The cat hissed his way away from them.
Whining and moaning in pain, Ren slowly opened his eyes, and she saw the cat had made a mess out of him. A deep scratch crossed his face, all bloodied, while dozens of smaller scratches crossed the constellations of moles on his face.
He looked straight at her. “Rey, I can explain,” he said with a hoarse, deep bass, slightly out of breath.
“Explain?!” she roared, grabbing him by the collar of his ragged prisoner’s shirt. “You’re an unregistered Animagus! You’re here to kill me!”
“No, Rey, no I’m here to save you!”
“And you take me for a fool, on top of it!” she tightened her grip onto his collar, nearly tearing it apart in rage. “You ungrateful, twisted, evil, lying - !”
He cut her off. “I’m not lying.”
Her furious eyes locked with his, while he panted underneath her. “I am here to save you”, he repeated, more calmly, “If I’d wanted to kill you, I’d have done it long ago.”
Oh, she hated to admit it, but it was true. Why hadn’t he killed her? He’d been living under her roof for weeks!
She pushed the wand an edge more into his skin.
“You are a convicted murderer, a parricide, an Azkaban escaped prisoner, an ex-Auror who joined forces with Lord Palpatine, and you believe I will eat that lie up? You’re a monster!”
There was a beat of silence.
“Yes, I am,” he replied, staring at her most intensely. “But I’m not what you believe, Rey.”
Her eyes rounded. She hadn’t noticed he’d said her real name. Nobody called her Rey. Nobody knew her true past.
“What did you call me?” she asked threateningly.
“I know exactly who you are, Rey.”
Corey didn’t realize it, but she was now breathing heavily. “Speak, or I will use Veritaserum on you - or you’d rather prefer I use the Sectumsempra curse for someone like you?”
Ren had the guts to smirk. “Ah, there it is, that dark fierceness in you. I’ve been observing you for all these weeks. Show me what you can do, little Miss perfect.”
His words made her shiver. How dare he? Something inside her snapped.
“Shut up!” she barked, and slapped his face. The contact made Kylo’s head spin to the side, and when his eyes locked with hers again, there was wonder and awe in them. His face flushed a deep shade of pink.
Corey ignored it and bared her teeth. “What-are-you-doing-here? How do you know –”
She stopped dead, for she felt a strange feeling beneath her. She hadn’t realized it, but she was quite literally sitting on his petrified body, one hand grabbing his collar, the other holding her wand in his neck.
No –
Don’t tell me he –
She jumped to her feet as if she’d been physically burnt.
Unmistakably, there was a protuberance in his pants.
Her jaw dropped to the floor while she gaped at him, dumbfounded.
In his defense, he looked as if he’d rather confront a Dementor than be there, on the floor, immobilized and sporting a massive boner.
Corey shook her head, closed her eyes and turned around slightly, not wanting to look at it – nor acknowledge the size of that thing. “You pervert! How dare you!”
Ren’s entire face had turned tomato red. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his eyebrows drew upward in utter embarrassment. He looked at anything but her before mumbling: “I-I’m sorry. Y-you’re just very attractive. Your scent is so intoxicating - I-I can’t help it.”
“Jesus Fucking Christ, Ren!”
He swallowed again. “I’m sorry – I didn’t want to scare you, or offend you. And I don’t want to kill you.”
Corey took a deep, slow breath, trying to steady her racing heart.
“So, muggle expression, eh?” he said, as if trying to change the subject.
Corey eyed him suspiciously. Drawing her wand, she cast a binding charm on his legs and hands, which tied together over his midriff. Then, she sat on the couch, at a prudent distance from him. She couldn’t deny she was curious. He had slept, as a dog, in her bedroom for weeks. Ate in her kitchen. Trailed next to her when she did everything. He hadn’t tried to kill her, assault her, or anything. She needed to know the truth.
“Yes, how do you know that?” she inquired, lifting an eyebrow.
“The way you just swore.”
She considered him carefully, noticing he wasn’t using Occlumency. Nonetheless, there was something else. A strange feeling. “Tell me, how do you know my real name?”
He cleared his throat, took air into his lungs and observed her with a look full of purpose. “I was still a very young Auror when one day, the Minister tasked me with the care of a very young child, because Lord Palpatine wanted her dead. I hid the child in an orphanage after he killed her parents. Then, I ended up joining the Dark Lord’s ranks, and I made him believe I had killed the child. My father, Han Solo, who was very ill, concocted a perfect plan to make Palpatine believe I would kill to stay at his side – and this is why I killed my father.”
Corey’s heart leapt and goosebumps broke out on her arms. “A-are you saying – wait, why did Palpatine want the girl dead in the first place?”
“Because a Prophecy said that his grandchild would be the only wizard powerful enough to defeat him.”
Corey swallowed drily, while Ren continued.
“Rey, my name is not Kylo Ren but Ben Solo – You are Lord Palpatine’s granddaughter. I escaped Azkaban transformed into a dog because I learned he’s discovered your true identity.”