A/N: I don't own HP.
Stray
It was a rather cloudy day. The sun hid itself behind a certain cloud, but the weather didn't bug Harry at all. He didn't feel a chilling wind, but he still kept his wand up. Years in Auror training taught him to never let his guard down. His reminder was always the rough voice of one Mad-Eye Moody, barking the words "Constant Vigilance!" at him.
A noise from a bush to his left caught him off guard. Great, how's that for vigilant? He squinted his eyes and raised his wand hesitantly. This street was a muggle street, and using magic in front of them wouldn't be advisable.
There was another noise, this time it wasn't one that frightened him, but it was rather familiar. A memory of his third year came back to him. Except then he'd been utterly frightened of the dog. This time, however, was much, much better. He would never run from a stray dog again.
He put his wand away and crouched down. There it was. Shaggy, skeletal and in need of a wash. Harry's hand made a dive for his inner pocket. He just knew asking for the leftovers from the restaurant were a good idea. He'd met up with Ginny there. He pulled out the food wrapped in tinfoil and opened it carefully. Gingerly he laid it on the ground, not removing his eyes from the dog. The dog sniffed the air. The food's scent wafted him, and Harry was sure he was about to start salivating.
So much like Sirius that day in the cave…
The dog spotted the food, and then Harry. His head tilted to the right as one ear flopped down. It was a very sweet image to uphold. Harry smiled at the dog – thinking he was insane for actually smiling to a dog.
The stray crawled forward, tail between its legs. It prodded the food with its nose, and then he dived in. Wolfing down the food, not leaving a minute to the chance that the giver might take it away.
As soon as it was done it looked at Harry with large, brown eyes.
"You're welcome." Harry chuckled, picking up the empty tinfoil. "No, be good, all right?"
The dog answered in a friendly bark. It dashed forward and licked Harry's hand before trotting off in another direction.
From that moment on Harry promised he would never pass a stray dog and feed it. Even if he had to go buy food, he would give the poor animals a meal.
After all, Sirius was once a stringy, thin thing too.
A/N: Please review!