Nearly six years had passed at Privet Drive since Dumbledore abandoned Harry on the Dursley's doorstep. A fact he was blissfully ignorant of, believing the social service dropped him off after his drunken parents' car crash. Something the Dursley never let him forget, as they called him a freak and made him do all the cores to get him a good head on his shoulder, unlike his deviant genitors.

So Harry grew up a quiet and lonely boy avoiding his relatives' unwanted attention and spending all his free time at Little Whinging's park, occasionally running from Big D's little gang, his own cousin's group of bullies: Dudley, Dennis, Gordon, Malcolm, and Piers.

They were yet again pursuing him, throwing stones at him as they could not catch up, especially Dudley, sweating hard, staggering like a pig that just learned to walk on its hind legs. Or they would have trouble catching up if he were not for him tripping on roots and losing his glasses after getting hit by a lucky shot.

Harry was in a rather tricky position at the moment as the gangs were closing up on him, but that was about to change. A dog appeared out of the woods and gnawed on Malcolm's leg before tripping Dudley, effectively scaring the gang off, wailing as if a bloodthirsty single-headed hellhound had attacked them.

It was true that the dog was quite frightening. It was big as a Mastiff, fur black as the night, shaggy as a sheepdog, overall resembling a big bad wolf from fairy tales. But it showed no sign of aggressiveness now that the gang was gone and just sat away from Harry, its tail slowly wagging left and right, though its stares were looking graves and concerned.

"Thank you," Harry timidly whispered, picking up his glasses. And the dog barked joyfully in reply as if it understood what Harry had been saying.

A few minutes passed like this, Harry retreating slowly while the grim dog kept staring peacefully. Then the boy waved at the dog and ran away, unaware that the dog quietly followed his track standing his ground under the nearest bushes.

§§§

After their first encounter and his somewhat shady first impression, Padfoot became a permanent component of Harry's life, driving away Dudley's gang and playing with Harry every day after school.

He and his first and only friend picked the name out of a grim local folklore story, and Harry kept thinking that the dog somewhat understood every he said and responded in kind. It further alienated him from his peers and got him quite a few beatings from the Dursleys before it got old, but it was all worth it.

Thinking she was clever, a popular blond girl named Stacy pointed out that Harry and Padfoot were a good match for each other as their look and demeanor were very much alike. But Harry did not care. From a very young age, he learned that appearances were deceiving and that people were rarely gratuitously kind and welcoming.

Each time he opened his heart to anyone but Padfoot, they became means or gave him the cold shoulder shortly after. Even a teacher who looked concerned about the Dursleys' beating and hugged him as he turned into a crying mess from the forced confession acted as if nothing happened the next day and pointedly ignored him afterward. And so he accidentally turned her hair wig blue in a fit of rage and received a good beating from the Dursleys afterward.

There was no point fighting back or trying to explain the strange things that kept happening around him. There was no point being angry at the unfairness of it all, as there was nothing to do about his anger but bottle it up until it exploded most unpredictably.

Only Padfoot understood and sometimes lashed out at Dudley when his cousin when the beating got especially cruel, which in turn diverted the attention back to the piggy boy and away from him. The big shaggy black dog had become his lifeline, his only ray of sunshine, and Harry would never have it any other way.

§§§

Things changed after Harry confided in Padfoot about the Zoo debacle, the speaking boa, and the vanishing glass. Padfoot straightens, pulling him by the sleeves to follow him into the wood. Then he brushed against Harry's leg and took his distance, facing him.

Then the dog Harry loved so much started shifting, slowly turning into a man as threatening as the dog first was. A tall, pale, and skinny man with long dirty nails and black hair, hollow grey eyes, pale skin, and the look of a man who had been through a life of pain.

Harry panicked and tried to run away, but the man took him by the wrist, and calmy said:

"It's okay, Harry. It's still me, Padfoot. I wish you never had to see me like this." He admitted, looking shameful. "But we had to talk, and it could not wait any longer."

Harry looked the man in the eyes and recognized the truth in them. So he nodded. Gently escaped Padfoot grasp and sat under a nearby tree, distance away from the man.

"You are a wizard, Harry," Padfoot said in a whisper. "Soon, you will get your Hogwarts Admittance letter, a school where you will meet kids your age, doing magic, just like you. They would accept you for who you are, and some might even become real friends.

But speaking to snake... that's a secret you should keep close to your chest. People fear what they do not understand. Wizards will be highly prejudiced about it. Only the worst kind of people, people like those that killed your parents, will think highly of it."

But Harry stopped listening the moment Padfoot mentioned his parents.

"You said my parents were killed? But the Dursley told me..."

"They lied to you," the man cut him off. "Your uncle and aunt... they are the worst sort of muggles. So don't trust anything they said."

"Muggles?" Harry repeated.

"Non-magical people. Some are good, some are bad, but telling them about magic is always a bad idea, same with snakes and wizards."

Harry did not know how to react and stayed put, quietly thinking for a while before asking:

"Who are you to me? How did you know my parents?"

It was Padfoot turn to be speechless, evidently searching for words.

"I'm your dogfather." He joked before his eyes got lost and his tone grave. "I was your father's best friend at school. And a decent if an annoying friend of your mother once they got together. They asked me to take care of you if something happened to them. I'm so sorry I failed you and could not reach you sooner. I have been in a dark place." He faked a cough before correcting. "darker place."

Again, Harry pondered what Padfoot just said before asking again:

"Tell me everything about my parent. And the school. And..." He interrupted himself, thinking, "Basically, everything."

And so Padfoot did.