Padfoot and his Pup

10. | Not A Replacement

This story is a request from KhaulaMujahid. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get it done. I was just going through a bit of writer's block. Let me know if anyone else has nay requests. I might take a while but I'll try my best.

*****

Harry looked around his new room, overwhelmed. It was as large as the Dursleys' living room and decorated with Gryffindor wallpaper. A king sized bed had been placed in the centre with a small nightstand on either side. There was a closet just waiting to be filled in. The carpet felt soft under his bare feet and everything was just perfect. His friends would have given anything to have a room like this.

Only yesterday, he had been starving in that little room which had been given to him by the muggles. This morning, when Sirius had come to pick him up, he'd been elated. The first five days of his summer had been absolutely deplorable. His stomach rumbled since he hadn't eaten anything other than some bread and cheese last night.

"Pup?" His head whipped towards the door at the unfamiliar term of endearment. "Come on downstairs, lunch time. I don't know about you, kiddo but I'm ravenous." Although the words were pretty normal, they were completely different from what Harry was used to.

As the house elves placed the food on the table, Harry clenched his hands so that he wouldn't reach out and grab whatever he could. He hadn't eaten a decent meal since the year end feast at Hogwarts.

"Don't you like it?" Sirius asked and he realised that he hadn't touched his food. Hastily, he took his spoon and shoved a big bite of pasta into his mouth. This was so good! He literally wanted to cry! The pasta was the first proper meal he'd eaten in days. Without realising it, he began to shovel the food down at an alarming rate. This was just so tasty!

"Slow down there, Harry. You'll choke! We have all the time in the world, it's the middle of summer. Take your time." Sirius gently pried the fork from Harry's hand and set it down on the table. Harry's ears burned with embarrassment. This happened to him almost every single time. Every year, when he returned to Hogwarts, the food smelt so inviting that he would eat until he felt sick. He just couldn't help himself.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, clenching his hand. "It's alright, pup, don't worry about it."

"If you want, after lunch, Ron can come over and you'll can hang out or even have a sleepover." Sirius suggested.

Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the suggestion. Sirius just kept getting nicer and nicer with each passing second. Slowly, he finished his food and the plates were cleared away. "He's actually on holiday right now." Harry admitted, feeling dejected. "No matter, he's always welcome once he's back."

"So, how have your school years been?" Sirius asked and once again, Harry was surprised by the genuineness in the man's voice. His godfather sounded like he actually wanted to know. "I know about most of this year. But, I'm totally clueless about what all happened during your first two years."

"They weren't all that great." Harry replied, feeling a little awkward. "I'm sure that's not true, pup. You are the godson of Sirius Black so there's no way they weren't worth it." Sirius ruffled Harry's hair and laughed. "Come on, fill me in. I'll tell you all about my years."

Feeling truly happy, Harry followed his godfather into the living room.

*******

"Harry, old mate, look at what we found." Fred said as he and his twin strolled into Ron's bedroom with an air of exaggerated nonchalance. "Thought you and Ronniekins would want to take a look." George added and pulled out an old, leather bound book from his jacket pocket. "We found it in the lockers the other day, before we took the train home."