Gryffindor House : Challenge 1 : Follow.

Ron's screaming woke up the entire dormitory from the peaceful slumber in which they all rested.

" What is it Ron" Seamus Finnegan asked obviously annoyed that he had been awakened .

"Sirius Black was. . " That was all Ron could managed to get out before Neville screamed in terror as a big black grim looking dog ran from the third year boys dorm to the Common room. Harry immediately jumped up off his bed and took the same route the grim had. The grim seemed almost human as it waited for Harry in the common room by the portrait as if daring him to pursue him.

As soon as Harry was within the distance the animal believed was close enough, it took off out of the Gryffindor common room and down the maze of corridors. Harry was surprised at how the bear like dog seemed to know it's way around the large castle. From behind him, Harry could hear yells from teachers and others but he was too far and too stubborn to hear what any of them where saying. As they approached the Entrance Hall, it was obvious it was the way the Grim entered for the huge oak doors where open. The grass was soft and cold but felt like pins and needles under Harry's bare feet. The teenager was now trying to keep up with the animal who was sitting at the edge of the forest waiting for Harry to catch up and was what looked to be laughing at him.

Harry wasn't giving up as the dog started to walk into the forest looking back occasionally to see Harry's progress, and once he decided he was close enough, the dog took off in a full sprint, making Harry groan. He was getting tired and his body ached from running into branches and shrubs that lined the forest floor. Harry felt a slight pang of victory as he closed in on the Grim, but that pang was gone as he felt the soft ground under his feet give way. It happened so fast he had no idea what had happened, but it was going to be awhile due to the fact he was unconscious on impact.

Everything hurt as Harry woke up.

"Well" Harry said as he felt the bump on his head "At least I'm not in the hole anymore" "I see you're awake" A voice came from that corner of the dark, falling apart, room. "I've been waiting for you". A figure moved out of the corner; he had waxy looking skin and sunken eyes; Sirius Black looked like the posters that were plastered all over the Wizarding world. Harry felt helpless as he sat across the room, he had no wand, he was pretty sure it was stillon his nightstand where he had left it when he ran after the Grim.

"What do you want?' Harry asked, his voice held more bravery than he felt.

"To talk to you" Sirius replied "I know this isn't the best way to lead you out of the castle but I needed to speak to you before you believed any of the rumors that are going around."

"Rumors?" Harry asked "They aren't rumors, you killed 13 people!"

"I wasn't given a far trial" Sirius explained "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I went to confront Peter Pettigrew about selling your parents to Voldemort."

Harry was surprised. All year he had been told that the man that was standing in front of him was the reason his parents where dead, and he just wanted to finish the job but that was not the case, or so it seemed. The 'murderer' had ample time to kill him while he was out cold or he could have just left him in the hole in an unknown area if the forest.

"You know" Sirius began "You look so much like James, I watched you the other day when you were playing quidditch. You were amazing. "

The next few hours where spent talking about things from quidditch to school and the days when James and Sirius played pranks on random students.

Day light could be seen from the broken window on Harry's right, signaling it was time to leave. Sirius led Harry out of the building into the forest. The chase was at the back of their minds. In the past few hours Harry and Sirius had discovered many things. Sirius loved to watch Harry play quidditch and there was no reason for Harry to be afraid of Sirius. They had crossed the topic of why Sirius was in prison and it made Harry understand everything that was going on.

"You're not going to tell anyone about this are you?" Sirius asked as he placed his arm around Harry's neck.

"No" Harry replied "If they know I know where you are then they would want me to turn you in and I don't want that"

The rest of the walk was silent, Sirius watched Harry from behind a tree as he made his way back to the castle. The grass was now hard and just as cold, but instead of feeling like pins and needles it felt like fire as Harry desperately tried to escape the morning cold. As soon as he walked inside the castle it was obvious everyone had been worried by his exit as he was bombarded by questions by the people waiting anxiously in the Entrance Hall.

"What happened" Ron asked " You've been missing for hours!"

"I Followed the Grim" Harry answered "and when I almost caught it I fell in a hole. I just dug myself out"

Most people in the hall where in awe at Harry's little lie but they didn't need to know it was a lie did they?

Well he personally didn't think so, and as long as he knew the truth that was all that mattered.

Harry watched for Sirius at the next quidditch match, noticing his godfather in Grim form immediately, even from the height he was at. He noticed the animal follow his every move which made Harry happy, knowing he had someone that was watching him who actually knew his father like a brother. After the game Harry waited until the locker room was empty before heading out to visit Sirius. The wind was cold as it whipped around Harry's body like a loose rope flying in the wind, which made everything colder. But that really didn't matter, in fact, for once in his life being followed was the least of his worries, he had family that was there to make everything better, as long as he didn't get caught.

Follow: to watch, observe or play close attention: to take the same direction as something else.

A/N: This is my response for The Get in here and Compete Challenge In the HPFC. Hope you like it