Me and Padfoot – Chapter One: There Goes Marge...and Harry

Author: Kitty Savella

Rating: T

Pairing (overall): Platonic Harry/Sirius, Love triangle Sirius/James/Remus (past), Remus/Severus (past and future), past James/Lily and past unrequited Severus/Lily

Warning: Minor runs away, possible foul language, unrequited love, mentions of vaguely adult themes, slash and het, mention of polyamorous relationship.

Vernon's sister Marge just won't stop talking. First she insults Harry's father by calling him a drunk, then she insinuates that the problem isn't him at all, but Harry's mum. The boy can't take it anymore and his magic explodes around him, causing the woman to slowly start inflating. She steadily grows larger and larger until she's inflated like a rather large and ugly balloon. Her buoyancy is great and she lifts off the ground, flouting right out of the dining room and into the solarium.

Someone forget to close the solarium doors and Marge, the size of an elephant seal by now, bounces around the ceiling of the room and right out the doors. Vernon tries his hardest to keep hold of his ballooned sister, but her dog, Ripper, grabs hold of his leg and begins to shake it around, causing Vernon to let go and Marge to float into the air and away from Number Four Privet Drive.

Harry is still so angry that instead of watching the whole spectacle, he goes up to his room and packs his trunk. He lets Hedwig out of her cage and tells her to find him later. With no idea exactly where he's going, Harry rushes down the stairs towards the front door of the house, trunk in tow.

By this time Vernon and Petunia have watched Marge float away and corner Harry at the bottom of the stairs. Vernon gets up in Harry's face and growls, "You fix this! You put her right!"

"No! She deserves what she got!" Harry screams back at Vernon, pushing past him and his aunt and leaves the house in a huff.

As Harry storms down Privet Drive to Magnolia Crescent, he sees a rather large black dog with scraggly hair in the bushes. However, instead of raising his wand and trying to defend himself from the frightening-looking animal, he gets down on all fours and makes kissing noises and tries to get the dog to come to him. After several tense moments, the dog eases a bit more from the shadows. When Harry gets a good look at the size of the large black dog, he falls in love with it instantly.

Leaving his trunk on the side of the road, he slowly gets up and makes his way across the street. The dog lightly growls, but doesn't back away. Once Harry steps up on the curb of the street, the dog pounces. Harry braces for claws and bites, but what he gets instead are playful nips and large wet licks of the tongue. The boy laughs and hugs the dog close to himself.

"Are you a stray, boy?" Harry asks, not expecting an answer. "I am. I ran away from home because I can't stand my stupid family. You'll be my family, now. I think I'll call you Snuffles, because you like to snuffle me." The brunette scratched behind the dog's ear and he started wagging his tail vigorously.

"Okay, boy, stay here so I can go get my trunk, and then we'll go. I'll even let you lead the way." Harry turned to walk back across the street and took two steps forward when Snuffles growled and held on to the back of Harry's jumper with his teeth. There was someone coming up the drive towards Harry's discarded trunk. It was an elderly woman with a plastic rain cap on her head. Mrs. Figg.

Harry ducked down into the bushes with his new dog and waited to see if she'd pass by the trunk with no notice, or if she'd stop and look around for it's owner. It seemed as though luck were on his side, as Mrs. Figg paid the trunk no mind at all and continued walking until she turned down Magnolia Crescent and went on her merry way.

As soon as the coast was clear, Harry and Snuffles both ran across the street, grabbed the trunk, then went back to their hiding spot. Snuffles used his nose to point which way he thought they should go, then led Harry in that direction. The two of them walked for hours, avoiding people as often as possible and acting inconspicuous when avoiding them was impossible.

The brunette got tons of odd looks for walking down the street with a trunk and a dog, and whenever anyone asked, Harry simply replied, "On my way to the train station. Can't be late, you know." It seemed to pacify all of the people Harry was forced to talk to.

After a full day of walking, Harry was growing increasingly tired, and they were still in the city. "Snuffles, I know you're a dog and probably can't understand a word I'm saying to you right now, but I'm tired. I can't walk anymore. I need to stop and rest and eat something."

Snuffles turned his head and lifted one ear as if to say, "I'm listening."

"We need to find someplace to rest that's safe, so we can pick up the journey tomorrow. Maybe an abandoned building, near a market?" Harry had a few quid in his pocket thanks to Hermione. It wouldn't get much, but it should be enough for a small roll or something and something for Snuffles.

Even though Harry thought Snuffles wouldn't be able to understand him, as soon as he was finished telling the dog where they needed to go, he was off. The large dog began to trot towards the shadier side of town, and while it made Harry a bit nervous, he knew that was the only place they were going to find an abandoned building.

It didn't take them long to find a semi-comfortable place to sleep. Snuffles led them straight to an abandoned building on the outskirts of the reputable part of town. There was a market just two doors down, and all of the windows were boarded up, so the building itself was fairly warm. Harry made up a bed for himself and Snuffles with some of his school cloaks, and got comfortable. He would have gone straight to the market for food, but it had taken so long to get this far through town from Little Whinging that the market was closed.

"Snuffles, I think we're going to have a lot of fun, you and I." Snuffles nuzzled Harry in the side and let out a little doggy huff/sigh and settled in closer to Harry's side. It was going to be a long next day, and if they didn't get a move on, they would take forever to get out of town and into the countryside.

"Hedwig, you found us!" Harry cried. The snowy owl landed on Harry's arm and held out the letters that she held in her beak. As Harry took them, the pretty bird nuzzled her owner's hand before taking off again, most likely looking for her breakfast.

Harry looked at the first of the letters that he had received. It looked like it was in a regular Muggle envelope, so it must have been from Hermione. The letter read:

Dearest Harry,

Where the heck are you? Dumbledore has told us that you've run away and that no one can find you. He has implored Ron and I to try and get into contact with you so that maybe you'll come back. Oh, why did you leave your family's house? You know that you're safer there than anywhere else. It really can't have been so bad there that you had no other choice than to leave. I'm sure your aunt and uncle miss you very much and would like you to return home as well. However, if you insist upon being away from there, you may come and stay with me. I already cleared it with my parents, so it won't be any imposition. Please, Harry, I just wish you'd let us know where you are and that you're okay.

Love, Hermione

Harry scoffed. She thought he was overreacting. It was so bad that he didn't want to be at his family's anymore.

"Oh, Snuffles, she just doesn't understand. They were horrible to me. Sure, maybe they didn't smack me around like they could have, but they starved me, and locked me in a cupboard. They lied about my parents and told me that they died in a car accident. Uncle Vernon locked me in my room with bars on my windows. I had to do all of the chores in the house, including making breakfast for everyone, whether I got to eat or not.

"It was terrible, boy. I never want to go back there again."

Snuffles whined and nuzzled Harry's hand, as if to say, "You won't have to."

Harry smiled and opened the next letter. This one was from Ron, and wasn't as delicate as Hermione's.

Harry,

Um, Dumbledore asked us to write you. I guess you ran away or something. Really, I don't blame you, but why didn't you come to the burrow, mate? You know you're always welcome. Anyways, please send Hedwig when you get the chance and let me know you're okay, at least. Maybe I can even come and hang out with you.

Ron

With another smile, Harry folded up the letter and put it next to Hermione's. He was glad that his friends were worried about him, and especially glad that at least Ron understood why he had to leave. He had one more letter to read, and he had a feeling he knew who it was from before he even looked. If both Ron and Hermione had written him, then the only other person who would try would be Dumbledore himself.

Dear Harry,

It has come to my attention that something transpired at the home of your relatives and that you felt the need to run away. I'm sorry that you felt that way, but everyone blows up their aunt at some time or another, and that is no reason to leave the protection your family gives you. You must send word of your whereabouts to me, Ron or Hermione at once so that we can see you safely back behind strong wards. You are much too vulnerable out in the world, more vulnerable than you might realize.

Albus Dumbledore

Sardonically, Harry chuckled. "Dumbledore doesn't care about me. He just wants me where he can keep an eye on me. Well, too bad for him. I'm not going to play into that anymore. It's just me and you, Snuffles. We'll have grand adventures, and neither of us will ever feel unloved again.

That night, Harry and Snuffles curled close together and slept deeply, not at all worried about the days that lay ahead or the hardships they might face. It was a sleep of peace and youth, unfettered by the cold, cruel world that continued around them. Harry snored softly, his hand secure in the deceptively soft fur at the nape of Snuffle's neck. As far as either were concerned, all was finally well with the world.

A/N: So, here is another story. I hope you liked this first chapter. The second one is in the works and should be completed soon. Please remember to review. Reviews make me happy and write faster.