A/N: I like this story so much, I just had to put the next chapter up!

Story: Life, Or Something Like It

Chapter: 2

Genre: Angst/Drama

Rating: PG-13 (Will go up later!)

Summary: Change a few things, and everything else is different. My take on the whole Harry Potter series and how it SHOULD be. Angst and slash warnings.

Warnings: Angst and slash in later chapters!

Thank you to anyone who reviewed! Thanks to my mothers stupidity, we have no internet. The check she paid the cable bill (We have Media Com, which is broadband Internet) bounced. So she has to pay it tomorrow, which is when I will post this. Enjoy and please, please, PLEASE review at the end. I don't do this for no reviews people. I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU LIKE IT! So do me a favor and review! Thanks a bunch! J

A/N2: One more thing, Dudley is NOT over-weight in this story. He's normal sized and Harry is VERY under-weight. Thank you and enjoy. REVIEW!

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Chapter 2: Who Knew?

The two boys currently walking the streets of Surrey had no clue where they were going. All they knew was that they had to get to London to get to Kings Cross. Getting there was the problem. Then there was the fact that September first was a long time away, but they would face the problems one step at a time.

They were both happy to be outside for the time being, just breathing in the fresh air. Dudley was a tad worried though. He noticed the limp in Harry's step and how each time he breathed in, a pained look spread across his face. Dudley silently cursed the man he called father for doing this to his friend and cousin. He really didn't know how they were going to get far with Harry in this condition. He needed a doctor, and bad.

They walked for about a half hour when Harry couldn't take it anymore. He sat down on the curb and put his head in his hands, trying to stop his shaking. Everything hurt so much. Why did his uncle do this to him? Weren't family supposed to love each other? And he was family, as much as his aunt and uncle tried to deny it. Didn't that mean anything to them?

Dudley sat down next to his shaking cousin and put an arm around him for comfort, all the while planning their next move. How could they keep going? He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard a car coming down the street. He looked up and paled in horror. It was his father.

He pulled Harry up to his feet and began pulling him away. His father hadn't seen them yet, so they were in luck. The only problem was that Harry's abused body didn't seem to want to cooperate. "Come on Harry!" he whispered desperately. If his father saw them, they were both dead. It just so happened that luck wasn't on his side.

The red sports car that was actually his father's work vehicle pulled to a stop beside them. Harry looked up at in with pure, unadulterated fear in his eyes. Dudley pulled his cousin to him and turned them so that he was in front of Harry. He was tired of always watching as Harry got hurt. No, this time he would defend him.

He watched as Vernon Dursley got out of the car and walked toward them. Harry let out a whimper of fright and Dudley held him even closer. Little did he know that knew only a fraction of the things that the monster Vernon Dursley had inflicted on his cousin.

"What the hell do you think you two are doing out here? And Dudley, get the hell away from that piece of trash! Do you want to become infected?" Vernon hissed at the boys. Dudley just stood his ground. He wasn't afraid. Okay, so maybe he was afraid a little bit. But who wouldn't be if they had this walrus of a man standing over them with that strange glint in his eye? Dudley had every reason to be afraid, as he was about to find out.

"Don't talk like that about him!" he yelled at his father. "He's a human being, just like you and me! And I won't stand by and just watch as you-" He never got to finish because at that moment, Vernon had had enough. He backhanded his son, who fell into Harry, causing them both to fall to the ground. Harry gasped as Dudley landed on his already sore arm. "Oh Harry! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Dudley asked as he helped his cousin stand.

"I wouldn't worry about him if I were you," stated Vernon as he advanced on the boys. "Who would worry about trash like him any way? He's not good for anything. But, he actually is good for something, aren't you Harry?" He asked his nephew in a sickly sweet voice. Harry paled and screwed his eyes shut, desperately shaking over and over, mumbling to himself.

"Don't you see Dudley? Can't you see what a FREAK he really is? CAN YOU?" Vernon screamed at his son, who was staring, shocked, at what he was seeing Harry do. He turned back to his father. "No, I don't. I see my cousin, who is a great person and like a brother to me. I see my friend, whose always there for me when I need him, despite how he feels. I see one of the best, no, the best person I have ever known, and probably ever will. I see my best friend. He's more of a person than you will ever be, even if you live to be 200 years old. He's my cousin and I love him."

"Do you now?" Asked Vernon, coming ever closer to them. "That was a very sweet little speech you gave, too bad it's the last you'll ever give. You could have done great things you know?"

"You mean like you? I'm sorry, but making a ten year boy do all the work while I lay on my ass and do nothing while getting so drunk that I can't tell my ass from my face, but that'd be all the time with you wouldn't it, is not my cup of tea. And if you think I'd ever hit a kid who was like, 2 million pounds lighter than me, you've got another thing coming. How does it feel dad," he spat the word with hatred, "to be a lowlife dirt ball? Is it fun?"

"How dare you? You little brat!" With that said, Vernon closed the distance between them and punched his son hard in the face. Dudley fell back, but twisted his body so that he didn't land on his cousin again, who was standing there watching everything seemingly in shock.

Vernon Dursley turned to Harry and advanced on him, causing Harry to back up in fright. "So, trying to escape were you? Trying to get away? I don't think so. You'll never get away from this." He was right in Harry's face now, so that his nephew could feel his hot breath on his face, making him shake in fright. "You can't run from the truth, Harry dear. You are nothing but a freak. You always have been and you always will be. No one would ever want a piece of trash like you. Where would you go?" He laughed in Harry's face. "You've already corrupted my son. I won't let you ruin the rest of my life. It's time to put out the trash." He smiled like a maniac and pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket.

Harry's eyes widened in fear. He began to back up again, looking frantically for an escape, for anywhere to go to get away his crazy uncle. He backed up until he hit something. He looked behind him desperately, seeing that he was against a wall, quite literally. He silently prayed for anyone to drive by or come outside and save him, but it was Sunday and no one was out. 'How ironic,' he thought to himself as his uncle hit him again, obviously trying to get in his last bit of fun before he did away with Harry. 'You'd think somebody would have heard all this commotion. Maybe I'm just supposed to die at the tender age of ten. Never even got to my eleventh birthday, which just happens to be tomorrow…'

He noticed vaguely that Dudley had attached himself to Vernon's back, trying to get the knife away, but with no luck. He also noticed his aunt calmly watching the scene unfold from the car, showing no emotion at the thought that her nephew was about to be murdered by her husband. 'She's just going to let her sister's only son die…'

Vernon got Dudley off of him, kicked him hard in the gut, and then turned and did the same to Harry. That was all Harry's already abused body could take. Just before the blackness took him, he saw a man with black, shaggy hair run over and stand in front of him, shielding him from his murderess uncle. As he closed his eyes to the world, the man's world rang out in his ears.

"Step aside, Dursley, and I might make your death painless."

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A big black dog watched as the two boys walked down the street together. He smiled to himself, but was suddenly distracted when he heard a little kids shouts of, "DOGGY! Look mommy, is a doggy!" A kid, about 4 or 5 years old, wandered over to him and began to pet him. Sirius sat still and let the child pet him. "Yes honey, it is a dog, but you shouldn't pet stray dogs. It might be dangerous."

Sirius inwardly rolled his eyes and went over and licked her hand, looking up at her with big chocolate brown puppy eyes. She laughed and bent down to pet him as well. "This one is a good dog. Aren't you," she took a look under him and Sirius let out an indignant bark, "boy." She finished and stood up. "Come on Anna, we'd better be going." She went to grab her daughter, but the girl wiggled away. "Mommy, what if he gots no home? What if he's all alone? I wouldn't like to be alone mommy. Can we keep him?"

Sirius looked for Harry and his cousin and saw them sitting on the curb, so he decided to stay a little longer. "Well, honey, does he have a collar or a doggy tag? If he does he has a home. If he doesn't, he might still have a home. Either that or he's a stray." The little girl looked on his neck for a collar and, upon finding none, hugged him and looked up at her mother. "He gots no tag. Can we keep him, pwease? I wanna doggy real bad, mommy. Pwease?"

Her mom looked torn and Sirius got worried. He couldn't go with them. He had to help his godson. He looked for them but couldn't see them, a car was in the way. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach and struggled to get away from the girl. "What is it boy? Do you have a family?" Anna's mother asked. Sirius barked and gave the dog equivalent of a nod. "Smart dog. See Anna, he has a home. He just didn't get a collar yet. Isn't that right boy?" Sirius barked and nodded again.

"O-tay then. If he says so," said Anna. "Can I get another doggy mamma? I want one…" she pouted. "We'll see. I won't promise anything. We have to talk to your father, and if he says yes, then we'll get a dog. How does that sound?" She asked her pouting daughter. Anna immediately brightened. "YEAH! Daddy wants a doggy too. I knows it. He said so hisself. I GET A DOGGY!" She began dancing around and Sirius barked, prancing along behind her, making her mother laugh. "Looks like this dog is excited for you as well. Say good-bye, we have to get going Anna."

The little girl turned to him and gave him a big hug. "I'wl miss you doggy. You is a good doggy. I wish you was mine." She gave him a kiss and ran to her mother, grabbing her hand. She turned around and waved frantically to him. Sirius barked good-bye and watched as the girl's mother dragged her away.

A noise caught his attention. It sounded like… someone crying out for help or something. He whipped around as fast as a dog can whip and looked frantically for his godson or his godson's cousin. He saw neither and bolted for the spot he had last place he had seen them. He froze at what he saw.

Vernon Dursley, who he knew to be Harry's uncle and had also been entrusted with his safety and well-being was standing over him with a knife, kicking him, while his son was lying the ground trying to get up and yelling for help. He stared at Sirius, wide eyed, as he transformed back into a human.

He immediately ran in front of Harry and faced the monster of a man Harry called uncle. He wanted to do nothing more than kill the bastard with his own two hands, but he couldn't draw attention to himself like that. He was, after all, still on the run. He glared at the man who was staring at him in surprise. His eyes narrowed even further as he heard Harry's harsh breathing behind him. "Step aside, Dursley, and I might make you're death painless."

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A/N: 5 PAGES! Hey, that's a lot for me! With all the paragraphs and such. I don't usually do the paragraphs, but I'm starting to. First chapter, not including A/N's or the little L's I use, only the chapter itself, was 955 words. This chapter without the L's or A/N's is 2,118 words. Over a thousand words more. I'm proud of myself. That's… 1,163 more words. Coolio. I was gonna end it after the fight where Sirius comes and says his line, but I decided to explain where Sirius was. At the end of last chapter it said: They never noticed the big black dog watching them with watery eyes. For anyone who caught that line, it was Sirius. I originally had this chapter with Sirius showing himself to them at the beginning of the chapter, but I like this version better; not as corny or cliché. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review. It'll make my day! J

Peace out-

truthxinxshadow-