Disclamer:This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
James:Looks at disclaimer: "Th' hell woman? when'd you get so fancy?"
Nikks: "Me? Never! Heehee I Copy-pasted it offa hydaspes's story!" XDXD
James:"Ahh...yeah okay..."
Warnings:...Fish (slight Language)
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NOBODY SAID THAT IT WAS EASY
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Ch. 3: To Catch A Rat.
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November 1st, 1981: The Dursley's later
Vernon Dursley pulled into the drive of number four Privet Drive and slowly shifted himself out of the car.
Petunia had called him earlier that day at his work talking about so bloody stray dog she'd found out in the yard that morning.
First babies, now dogs, what was this a bloody charity house!
Supposedly little Duddums was quite taken with it though, and Petunia said that so far the dog hadn't shown any aggressive tendencies.
Either way, Marge whould be arriving tomorrow to give the dog a full evaluation...
As he reached the house he heard the shreeking laughs of to toddles and Petunia's pathetic cries.
Rushing to the kitchen and past the play pin where Dudders and that other freak child sat, he found his wife was out on the back porch gardenhose in hand trying to bathe what had to have been the biggest dog vernon Dursley had ever seen.
Stepping out into the dim yellow light cast by the porch lamp Vernon took in his wife drenched personage and the dog's almost evil grin.
'Waite, dogs can't grin evilly, dogs don't grin.' Vernon corrected himself, before speaking aloud.
"So this is it aye, the dog?" he muttered. the dog glared at him.
'Dogs don't glare either! Pull yourself togather man! First that bloody cat the other day now a dog?' Vernon scowled.
"Well whatever, Marge is coming tomorrow evening to look him over."
"That's good dear, I'll start dinner as soon as I've dried her off." Petunia said absently.
"It's a female then? Not good, it'll have bloody pups." frowned Vernon.
The dog looked scadelized! or at least it whould have could dogs show emotion.
"Well, I'm not sure what it is really, I wouldn't know what to look for." said Petunia quickly.
"Oh...Well I'll be in the lounge..." said Vernon leaving.
Petunia let out a sigh of relife, she then bent down and whispered in the Padfoot's ear,
"You had better be a male, dog."
Padfoot looked up at her in a reassuring manner, and allowed her to finnish toweling him off.
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November 2nd, 1981: Hogwarts
James stared at the Daily Prophet in disbelife, before crumpling it up, and chucking it acrossed the room nearly hitting Remus as the werewolf entered along with Albus carrying things for morning tea.
"THIS IS REDICULUS! THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW FOR SURE IF HE DID IT YET!" James bellowed stomping over to look out the window.
Setting down the tea set Remus turned to Dumbledore as the man bent to retrive the crumpled Prophet off the floor.
James let out a muffled sob over at the windows.
Dumbledore scaned the artical on the frount page that had upset James so much, not, mind you, that in his current more valnerable emotional state, this was a very hard thing to do.
The wisened face glowed suddenly with unbrideled fury.
Remus started but Dumbledore regained composer quickly.
"It would seem, regaurdless of guilt or innocents, Mr. Black has been deemed a threat to the wizarding world. And it has been decided that he should recive the "Dementor's Kiss" upon capture." Dumbledore said in a stiff forcedly calm tone.
Remus reached groppingly behind him for a chair, pulling it to him and sinking into it speachlessly, he just kept shaking his head no.
"If you'll exscues me gentlemen, I have a few owls to send." said Dumbledore leaving the room.
James suddenly caught Remus's eye "Howlers." said James wiggling his eyebrows.
Despite himself Remus laughed, suddenly James grabbed his hand pulling him toward the door.
"Wha-what on earth James! where are we going?" asked the starteled werewolf as he aloud his best friend to drag him out the door.
"London." replyed the boy shortly.
"Oh no Prongs! No! We are NOT going to go kill/maime/treaten the Minister Of Magic!" Remus panicked.
"Of course not! That's Dumbledore's job!" James said jauntly, "We're going to the blast site and look for clues!"
Remus just nodded wordlessly, and followed his friend down to Hogsmade...
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November 2nd, 1981: Privet Drive
Marge Dursley looked the dog over. "Well Vernon I'd say it's a mutt. Male. Seems to have a good temperment.
A little too wussy for me. I like them to have abit of a snap to 'em, but with little Dudders running around I think this one'd do ya right."
Padfoot scowled at the fat woman, 'WUSSY? THEMS FIGHTING WORDS SISTER!"
"Make for an excelent show dog though. quite, good teeth, nice strait spine," Marge said running a beefy hand along Padfoot's back, "nice firm posteria."
The women said firmly groped Padfoot left buttock!
Padfoot's eyes widened 'GAHH! SHE'S MOLESTING ME!'
An inhuman snicker sounded from behind him, and Padfoot turned to the stubby legged little dog who sat behind him leaning back on it's hounches chorteling at him.
'WHATS SO FUNNY, STUBBY!' cried Padfoot indignantly
'Your as bad a two-legger worryin' your pretty head about personal space, no breedin'.' sniffed the dog pompously.
Padfoot would have liked to tackle the runt but just then Harry toddled over wrapping his arms around Padfoots neck.
'You remember me, don't you Pronglet.' said Padfoot almost sadly licking a small pink cheeck.
The baby giggled "paafoot."
"What did he say?" said Marge looking confused.
"Padfoot." Harry said again, clearly.
"Padfoot? Is that it's name then Vernon?" asked the plump woman.
"Most certainly not! it's name is going to be Winston, after Sir Winston Churchill, Petunia and I decided last night." said the man stiffly.(1)
Harry blinked, Padfoot sulked, 'Poor me...'
Harry leaned forward and kissed the whining dog on the snout, "Luv you Paafoot."
'Thanks Pronglet.' said the dog nuzzling the boy. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...
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November 2nd, 1981 with James and Remus...
Upon arriving on the scean there had been some trouble whith a bloke from the Department Of Magical Law Enforcement.
Luckily it was someone they both knew.
"SB!" cried James happily.(2)
Kingsley Shacklebolt looked over at his old house mates as they ran over to him. (well James ran anyway...)
"Kingsley." Remus said nodding slighty in greeting.
"It's good to see both of you, espeacialy James..." He trailed off not wanting to touch on THAT subject.(3) "So where's Harry? with your parents then?"
"No Mum and Dad are still some where in Asia, Dumbledore knows their secret keeper and owled him last night, so I imagin they'll be back soon." said James, "Harry's at Petunia's...I want to go pick him up but not before I straighten things out here about Peter and Sirius."
Kingsley looked confused as he seemed to put more venom into Peter's name than Sirius's. "But...Wasn't Black your secret keeper?"
"No, Peter was...The rat! Oh hey, by the way, you haven't seen any gray rats with toes missing running around have you?" asked James in that innocent manner that made him sound guilty as sin.
"What are you not telling me Potter?" asked the former Gryffindor
prefect sturnly.
"Oh, just that my dear friend Peter was or is an illigal Animagus..." said
James smiling nonchelauntly.
"A gray rat?" asked Kingsley smiling back.
"Yes and we'd like to try to find some trace of the little bastard before those idiots good-as-kill my other bestfriend." said James sourly.
"Huhn? you'll have to catch me up James I'm on the evidence finding commity, we haven't heard anything more on the case sence yesterday evening." The man said truthfully.
"They want to give him "The Kiss"."
Kingsley stiffened then looked disbelivingly to Remus who nodded.
"They can't do that, there's procedgers that need doing first, Evidence, witness identifacation, Proof of death." reiled off the Auror. "I'm going to go speak with the cheif, be back in a moment..."
"Hang on I gotta say something to my dear mentor as well." said James maching after him.
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Back at the Dursleys...
Padfoot was Begining to think fondly of the idea of simply going human hexxing everybody in said house hold, and taking Harry, and maybe even Dudley...and running as far from here as posible.
This train of thought could have been caused by many things.
But most probably the trigger was that said "dogfather" was currently lying infrount of the boot cupboard listening to the heartrenching wails of his one year old ward, through said boot cupboard door.
"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE NUCEINCE! I'M COMING!" screetched Petunia, storming over and swinning the cupboard door open "Get out!"
Harry toddled out sniffling and wobbled before falling on his butt, sucking on his thumb he looked up at his aunt questioningly.
"Stupid brat..." muttered Petunia, she then scooped the boy up and moved swiftly back into the dinning room.
"So We're on for dinner out tonight right?" asked Marge pointedly.
"Yes, yes Marge our new neighbor Arabella Figg is taking the boys for the night."
"What about the dog? Ripper'll be fine here but I would leave that monstrosity here if I was you." Said Marge stiffly.
"We're leaving Winston with Figg as well, suppose she's got a place to tie him over there." answered Vernon.
"Well then, let's get going shall we." said Marge moving back toward the hall.
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November 2nd, 1981: Back in London...
After firmly establishing that he resented being interupted when about to die by "certain annoying people" James left his now stunned cheif Alastor Moody stairing after him in shock, red Hand print on his face. (4) As the rest of the onlookers burst into fits of laughter.
(5)James looked around at the destroyed street.
"There's no way Padfoot did this...It would have been much bigger..." Remus said looking at the blast site.
"Yes, and those building wouldn't have been left standing either, you know how Pads hates half doing assed-jobs..." muttered James with a smirk.
Remus and James looked at eachother and bit back laughs.
"We just know him oh-so-well..." mutter Remus.
"I know, scary isn't it." laughed James looking at the explosion point.
"Bingo!" he cried looking down at a hole in the pavement that lead down to a sewer line, and more imortantly, the tuft of gray fur that was wedge into the cracked walls of the hole.
Kingsley came over and collected the fur, "We'll run some tests, what are you two gonna do?"
Remus caught the look in his friend's eye and blanched shaking his head,
"Oh no James, NO we're not! I'm NOT going down THERE!"
"We need to go visit Arabella, she breeds kneasles(6), they'll be best for tracking rats, hey SB, you think you can locate some sewer maps?" said the young man chewing on his thumb thoughtfully.
"James are you crazy? by that Peter'll have gone human again and apperated to Merlin knows where!" said Kingsley exsasperatedly.
"Yeah well, funny thing that, both Sirius and Peter are both terribly Clostrophobic, niether of them even know how to apperate...Besides, Peter maybe slow, but he ain't stupid SB. He won't dare go human again, what with Sirius still on the lose and all."
But think of all the placese a rat can hide Prongs, its hopless!" said Remus.
"Ahh, but that's what the kneasles are for." said the boy grinning.
Remus and Kingsley just sighed...
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Meanwhile, in a small garden in Ottery St. Catchpole...
Three year old Percival Ignatious Weasley smilled down at his new little friend.
The gray rat was chewing on the edge of a strawberry Bertie Bots Every Flavor Bean.
Percy grinned, "Your name's Scabbers now, okay?"
The rat looked up at the tot for a moment as if considering, then, as if not finding a problem with said name, the rat lower its head and went back to eatting.
Percy smiled again...
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(1) They wheren't going to keep a female dog, funny tho I like the name Winston and Dudley, I can't Imagine Vernon liking someone as nice as sir Winston Churchil tho...
(2) (S)hackle(B)olt XDXD I thought it was cute.
(3) Lily
(4) What he said he was gonna hit him (tho some how I still feel guilty having him do it...)
(5) This part was lifted from the original draft for chapter two, in the original James goes strait to the ministry and confrounts Fudge about sending Sirius to Azkaban,
then him and Remus go off alone to the ABANDONED blast site to look for clues,
I added Shacklebolts parts in this new version, Originally They are trying to think of a Muggle Born who whould know where to get maps of the sewer line.
(One of Remus's suggestions was Sirius's 7yr. old cousin: Nymphadora Tonks XDXD)
SPOILER: They then thought of Arabella who WAS a squib I've desided sence that she's going to be a witch in this story. so cuts had to be made but I think it came out nicely.
(6) Kneasle is a highly intelliegent cat like Magical Creature, Hermione's cat Crookshanks is part kneasle (sidenote: did you know Crookshanks means Crooked legs?)
A/N: It's all coming together now, Yes James parents Andrew Harold Potter and Jamie Alison Moon Potter are alive in this and will be coming into play in this soon. Poor Sirius...heeheehee.
Also I'm sorry about the sloppy look my stupid computer won't allow me to edit.
Next: We'll Meet Ms. Arabella Figg, And find out about Dudley's secret allergies...
Thanks to:
cuteidanix: Here's your update.
funkygurl3: Hope ya liked it.
hedwig136: Hi Hedwig, glade you like it so far.
kay05: Thanks Kay! hope this answers your question, don't worry they'll get back together next chapter.
Please Review! I even take flames!
-Nikikeya