Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.

It was on a summers day that Harry Potter was leaning on a beach tree in Hogwarts grounds supposedly doing an essay for his transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall. Harry was in fact thinking about the man who had betrayed his parents to Voldemort. Sirius Black. Just thinking about him made his blood boil. If Black had not betrayed his mother and father to Voldemort Harry would have been living with them, not with the Dursley's. Harry sighed heavily as he put the essay down. Why couldn't he just have a normal life like everyone else? Just the Harry heard a padding of footsteps to dog looking up at him. The dog was very thin, with shaggy matted fur and deadened eyes. It one was probably a very big creature. Harry suddenly recognised it. It couldn't be, no it couldn't. Was he seeing the Grim Professor Trelawney had described? But no, this dog seemed to be real. It cautiously approached Harry, looking up at him. Then Harry remembered. It was the dog he had seen walking with Hermione's cat, Crookshanks.

"Err, hello," said Harry looking nervously at the dog. It after all had some very sharp fangs. "Do you want food?" Harry knew this probably sounded ridiculous. How could a dog understand what he was saying? Yet Harry had a funny feeling that the dog could understand him. The dog wagged it's tail. Harry pulled out of his pocket wrapped bacon sandwich.

"Here you go," Harry said, unwrapping the sandwich and putting in front of the dog. The dog barked happily making Harry jump, and devoured the sandwich hungrily. Within moments it was gone. "Do you want more?" Harry asked the dog. It nodded frantically and wagged it tail so hard Harry become scared it might fall off. Harry told the dog to wait and fetched more food for the dog. Harry returned moments later with the food and sat back down again, by the beech tree. Harry sighed again. Why was it always him? First the bloody stone, then the basilisk and now a mass murderer was after him. And Dumbledore was making it worse! The old coot kept reassuring him that they would catch Black soon but if they hadn't found him for half a year they wouldn't likely ever catch him. Harry's anger began to mount. Knowing he wouldn't want to cause bursts of magic, he tried to calm down. It was not good to dwell on Sirius Black. Harry decided to speak to the dog, telling him about his abused childhood, his adventures at Hogwarts and how the dementors affected him. The dog was very nice in comforting him, growling at the mention of the Dursleys and whining in comfort when Harry recounted bad bits of his childhood. However, when he started recounting the tales of his adventures, the dog had gotten very angry. It started snarling. Harry supposed after it had not bitten him, he was not angry with him. Harry's contempt for Dumbledore was shared by the dog, who had stood up, looking as savage as ever. Harry thought that he would make a very nice guard and pet

"Would you like me to take you in as a pet?" Harry asked nervously. The dog wagged its tail frantically and Harry laughed. "What shall I name you?" Harry pondered. "Doggy, no, how about paws? Naw." The dog suddenly began to paddle and then lift his foot. "Huh," Harry said confused. The dog repeated its previous action. Then he thought of the perfect name! "Padfoot!" he said delightedly. "Thanks a lot Padfoot" Harry said, scratching his ears. The name sounded perfect but oddly familiar. Harry and Padfoot set of towards the castle, Harry describing his dormitory to Padfoot.


Everyone seem to love Padfoot. Harry's dog usually appeared at mealtimes, rolling around on his stomach, begging for food. When Draco Malfoy came to taunt him, Padfoot would growl menacingly at Malfoy. One look at the dog and Draco Malfoy would be running back to the Slytherin table nearly wetting his pants in fright. Padfoot also seemed to have taken a liking to Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. Unfortunately, Padfoot did not seem to like Scabbers. The first time they had met Scabbers had scampered away in fright at the sight of him. When Scabbers went missing, Ron had blamed Padfoot and Crookshanks for it, going off in a huff when Harry and Hermione defended their pets. Professor Lupin looked oddly at Padfoot each time he saw him and several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something. Overall, Padfoot was a very good pet.

Sirius Black was very angry. He was happy now that he could now walk into the dormitory disguised as his godson's dog whenever he wanted but the downside was that the rat Peter had escaped. Harry was placed with his muggle relatives and Harry's life was constantly in danger at school. Dumbledore was acting like everything was alright and Lupin kept looking at him suspiciously. He whined. He hoped that he would catch the rat soon and he could be freed. It was very nice being a dog but it was also very boring.

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Harry and his fellow Gryffindor students were celebrating their Quidditch victory against Slytherin in the final match. They had won the house cup! Oliver Wood was still sobbing happily while Alicia, Angelina and Katie were cheering loudly. Fred and George were setting of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-start No-heat Fireworks. Seamus Finnigan who had managed to nick some firewhisky was sharing it excitedly to his friends. Sweets and food was strewn across the floor and Gryffindor banners were hanging everywhere. Suddenly their was a ginormous sound of scuttling and squeaking and hundreds of rats came rushing into the Gryffindor common room. There were chaos everywhere. Rats were overturning tables and chairs, ripping the banner Ginny Weasley was waving to shriek with terror. "Ahhhh!" Everyone yelled.

"Lets get out of here!" yelled Fred who was sprinting up the stairs to their dormitory. They did not need telling twice. Girls and boys alike came pounding up the stairs. It was as if they were racing to get a sack of gold at the top.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione screamed over all the noise.

"I've found Scabbers!" Ron shouted back diving into a mass of rats. Padfoot joined the fray. It bounded towards where Ron stood and snatched a rat with its jaws. It was Scabbers! Before anyone could do anything Padfoot closed his mouth. There was a crunching noise and bones of a rat were strewn across the floor.

"Got you!" yelled Ron who picked up a rat. It looked like Scabbers except it had very chubby cheeks. They sprinted up the stairs and reached the top, clutching the banner of the stairs, panting loudly.

"Well at least I've got Scabbers back," said Ron happily. "The food seems to have done him good, look at his chubby cheeks!" Harry and Hermione silently agreed to never tell Ron the fact that the rat wasn't Scabbers, the real Scabbers was in Padfoot's stomach.

"Err, thats nice," said Hermione awkwardly after a pause.

"Its brilliant!" Ron said, beaming. "I think I'll change his name. I know! How about Chubbycheeks!"

The end.