I HATE THEM! I FUCKING HATE THEM!" screamed Harry as he stormed out the house with the puppy in tow.

"I don't understand why causing me so much pain brings them so much pleasure! I mean, what have I ever done to them? I cook, clean and so much more for those bastards. I even… no, I don't even want to go there. They take so much from me and give nothing but pain and suffering in return. I just don't know…," ranted Harry once they reached the little park at the end of the street.

"You're lucky. You're Dudley's pet, so you'll be treated like a second son. I can't believe that Dumbledore is doing this to me. He's really just like Uncle Vernon, enjoys watching me suffer. He always has this damn twinkle in his eye whenever he sees me. He's always smiling, even when he's about to send me to this God-awful place. I've told him thousands of times what is going on here… maybe not to the full extent, but nonetheless I tell him. He just brushes it off as me wanting attention. Or he truly enjoys watching my pain. Oh God, I'm doing it again. Talking to myself," sighed Harry, sitting on a bench and putting his face in his hands.

The puppy barked, put her face in between Harry's hands and started to lick his face.

"Heh, what am I saying? You're here, so technically I'm not talking to myself," said Harry as he brought the puppy into his lap.

"Has Dudley given you a name yet?" asked Harry, not really expecting an answer.

The puppy seemed to shake her head.

"Well, then I guess that's what we should do. Let's see. I don't know much about you, besides the fact that you're a purebred Siberian Husky, so I guess we should go with some sort of Slavic name. Hmm… what about Anastasia? She was the youngest daughter of the last Tsar. There are even some rumors that she survived the massacre of her family, but I doubt you really care about that. Would you like that name?" Harry asked the dog.

Her response was to start licking his face excitedly.

"Haha, I'll take that as a yes," said Harry.

"You know, I haven't been able to talk to anyone in a long time. I already told you about my 'friends' but I've never really gotten to sit down and talk with anyone. People just think I'm ungrateful when I do. They see it as me complaining. I know this must sound crazy, but would you listen to me?" Harry asked Anastasia.

Anastasia barked, rested her head in her paws and looked up at Harry respectively.

"Well, let's see. I've lived with my relatives for the past 15 years. I found out I was a wizard at 11. They had never bothered to tell me what my parents and I really were. We're wizards. Well, my parents were wizards. They were killed by this maniac named Voldemort. He's been after me ever since the night I 'defeated' him. I don't really understand what people mean by that. Technically I didn't do anything. For all I know he just screwed up. Dumbledore tells me that it was my mother's love that protected me. I want to believe him, but I just don't feel like I can trust him. Every year I go back to Hogwarts, something bad happens. It seems like more then coincidence to me," said Harry.

Anastasia barked in response.

"So anyway, when I went to Hogwarts, I found my two ex friends, Hermione and Ron. But before them, I met Draco Malfoy. God, when I first saw him, I didn't know what to think. I've known I was gay since I was a kid. I was never close with any girls. Well, I was never allowed to be close to anyone, but I've always felt more of an attraction to guys. Malfoy literally looked like a dark angel. He has this blond hair that just looks like it would feel like silk. His face just looks so… perfect."

"Heh, listen to me. I sound like a bloody school girl. I turned down his hand for friendship because I heard that he was evil. After that… he did seem like he was evil. He always treated me like shit. But I always felt there was something more. Something in his eyes…" Harry started to stare off into space.

Anastasia barked, trying to bring Harry back to earth

"Oh, sorry girl. I get lost in my thoughts a lot. When you can't talk to anyone, you tend to think a lot. Anyway, that's pretty much my school life. Now that Ron, Hermione and I aren't friends anymore and the entire school knows I'm gay, my life pretty much completely sucks. I only used to feel this bad when I came home, but now I get to feel this pain at school too. The feeling that no one loves you, cares whether you live or die. No. I shouldn't say that. Even if everyone hates me now, they would all care if their precious 'saviour' died. Who do I have to save? Friends? Family? No, I have nothing to save. Just a world full of people that either hate or don't give a shit about me," Growled Harry as he clenched his fist, willing himself not to cry.

Anastasia started to whimper and licked Harry's clenched face.

"Well, at least you care. I'll actually have someone to celebrate my 16th birthday with tomorrow. Tonight at midnight I turn 16. Technically at this age I'm an adult wizard and should be allowed to leave this house. But I can't. I don't have my wand, my trunk, or anything else that's mine. I wouldn't have anywhere to go either. I can't go to the burrow. This year I would have gone to live with my godfather. He died last year. It was my entire fault! I was sent a phony vision by Voldemort, telling me that my godfather was in trouble. If I hadn't gone to the Ministry he would never have died…"

"Heh, I used to have an owl too. Her name was Hedwig. She was beautiful. Her feathers were just as white as your fur. She was my only friend after everyone abandoned me. But Uncle Vernon thought that she made me too happy. He and Dudley forced me to watch as he strangled her to death. I didn't even get to say goodbye. He just dumped her in some woods somewhere. She and Sirius were my only friends…" The tears wouldn't stop themselves and they started to stream down Harry's trembling face.

Anastasia just cuddled closer to Harry and let him cry. It was the only thing she could do.