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Harry sighed and sat on the back porch of Number Four, Privet Drive. It was very cold for it being mid October and Harry, once again, was out without a jacket. He'd been kicked out while Dudley's friends from school were over and he wasn't allowed to leave the yard. He played with some stems of grass that were growing up next to the cement slab that he sat on and sighed to himself again. A couple of hours later, Harry was shivering and decided to get his body moving a bit to stave off the cold that surrounded him. He got up, brushed himself off and walked out to the back of the yard, behind a few trees. He had seen a few of Dudley's friends do flips and something they called "a cartwheel" and he decided that he would try it out for himself out of boredom.

He had tried quite a few times and fell off to the side every time. He growled under his breath in frustration and tried again, this time hitting the ground much harder than he intended. Both of his feet were in the air and he was sure he almost had it, when he heard a strange pop come from his left wrist. Harry promptly fell to the ground and immediately grabbed his arm, slowly feeling it swell. He was in tears now, thinking of the beatings he would get later if his wrist didn't heal before Dudley's friends left. He sniffled and wiped his face with his shirt, when a familiar looking man appeared in front of him.

Harry gasped under his breath and looked up at the tall man. He was wearing a rather raggedy yet tight looking dark blue suit along with a long, dark trench coat. Harry could tell that from the trench coat, the man was quite fit and muscular and his amber colored eyes and dark brown hair made him all the more entrancing. Harry could smell, even from the few feet of distance, the mans scent was that of burning wood and dirt. The scent made Harry have a vague memory of a man like him and it made Harry feel safe. He tried to look brave as the man asked, "What's the matter, Harry?"

Harry sniffled again and stared at the man before answering. "I really hurt my wrist and how do you know my name? I've never seen you around here before and I know I've never told you my name. Neither has my family, they don't talk to anyone much." Harry watched as the man smiled and looked at Harry from head to toe, smiling even more when he held out his hand and the boy took it.

"My name is Remus Lupin, Harry. I'm living with your elderly neighbor for awhile because she has fallen quite ill. I'm helping to take care of her. She has told me all about you. She says she likes you very much and would love if you could come over later and visit. She told me to tell you that you always make her feel better."

Harry, okay with the man's answer, got up and walked over to the man and smiled, trying not to move his swollen wrist. "I like Mrs. Figg. She always gives me treats when I have to stay at her house while my Aunt and Uncle go out. Will she be alright? I don't want anything bad to happen to her."

Remus noticed the slight panic in the boys voice and couldn't help but look at the boy with concern. "She will be fine, Harry. It's just a bad cold that has left her very weak. She will be fine in a week or two. I'm just helping her look after her cats until the sickness wears off. Now, there is one thing Mrs. Figg didn't tell me. How old are you, Harry?"

Harry smiled as much as possible with his wrist throbbing. "I'm 5. My birthday is in July."

Remus smiled at the young boy and nodded, trying his best to not let it slip that he knew this information already and much more, but he didn't want the small boy to get scared of him, so Remus did the next best thing he could think of. He smiled gently at the boy and spoke softly.

"Harry? How would you like to come over to Mrs. Figg's for a while? I could see to fixing your wrist and you wouldn't have to be out here in this cold all afternoon. How does that sound?"

Remus got his answer as Harry's eyes immediately lit up, making Remus grin. "Alright Harry, you go back to the porch and wait. I'll be right back, I'm going to get Mrs. Figg to call your Aunt and let her know that she wants to see you. I'm sure they won't mind you going. I'll see you in a few minutes." Harry nodded and turned around, slowly heading back to the porch. He sat down and waited, hiding his wrist and a few minutes later, he heard the phone ring from inside the house. Aunt Petunia answered and not thirty seconds later, Harry heard Vernon coming to the door and braced himself.

The door flung open and Vernon barked loudly. "You! Boy! Figg wants you! She's going to put you to work! Go! Don't bother coming back till tomorrow afternoon. Dudley's friends are staying over." Harry nodded and all but ran around the house and up to the house next door. He walked up the sidewalk quickly, holding his wrist as straight as he could to avoid any more pain and knocked lightly on the door. Harry beamed despite the pain as Remus answered the door.

"Hello again, Harry. Mrs. Figg would like to see you before we get to talking. She's back in her bedroom." Harry nodded and slipped silently into the house as Remus stepped aside. He immediately went to the back of the house to the bedroom while Remus went to the kitchen.

"Mrs. Figg? It's me, Harry." he called out softly to the bedroom door. Hearing a faint "come in" Harry pushed open the door and smiled. Mrs. Figg was sitting up in bed, reading with a few of her cats lying across her legs and stomach.

"Good morning, Harry. How are you on this cold morning?" Harry smiled and spoke softly.

"I'm okay, Mrs. Figg. Thank you for inviting me over. How are you feeling?" Mrs. Figg smiled and nodded.

"No problem Harry. I'm fine, better now that I know you're doing well. Oh, I hope you don't mind my friend being here. I'm sure you'll learn to like him in no time."

Harry, not being able to say anything, nodded and smiled. She waved him off and went back to her book as Harry went back out to the living room to find Remus putting a basin of hot water, a few rags and some tea onto the coffee table.

"Ah, there you are Harry. Come sit and we'll talk while I try to fix that poor wrist of yours."

Harry decided to trust the man who kept smiling at him like he knew more than he let on and promised to help him with his injury. Harry sat down on the couch next to Remus and held out his green and yellow colored swollen wrist. Remus studied it for a second then doused a few rags into the scalding hot water that sat in the small bin on the table. He wrung out the rags and placed them gently on Harry's wrist then mumbled a quick spell under his breath. Within half an hour, the swelling and bruising was completely gone.

"Cool! How'd you do that?" Harry asked as every bit of pain seemed to have vanished from his abused and battered body. Harry sighed in happiness and comfort as Remus answered, trying to make his anger against the Dursley's not show in his voice. The spell that Remus cast not only fixed Harry's every wound and injury, but showed Remus in his mind, exactly where each bruise and cut on the small boy had come from.

Moony snarled and raged in the back of Remus's mind. He wanted to pull Harry close to him and hug him for all he was worth. Suddenly, Harry's voice pulled Remus from his thoughts. "Remus? Have I met you before?"

Remus smiled and nodded. "Yes you have, Harry. Only you never called me Remus. You only ever called me Moony." The look on Harry's face spoke volumes to Remus's heart. Harry's eyes grew wide as did his smile. Remus knew the boy remembered him now and set his cup of tea gently back onto the table, speaking to Harry softly.

"How did you remember me?" Harry sipped his drink and set it down carefully before answering.

"Your jacket. It smells like a fire and that smell of earth after it rains, all mixed into one scent. I also remembered your voice. You used to sing me to sleep some nights, didn't you?"

Remus's eyes filled with tears and nodded. Moony had calmed himself for now, but was whining, making Remus's heart break all the more. Remus let the tears slowly fall as Harry leaned over and hugged Remus close to him, Moony breathing in his Cubs scent.

"Please don't cry, Moony." Harry said into Remus' jacket. Remus hugged the boy close and sniffled, trying to control his emotions. Happiness, Sadness and Anger were all melding into one and Moony was back in control. Once he stopped crying, Remus let go of Harry and wiped his eyes.

"Harry, I need you to stay here by yourself for a little while. I need to go and talk to someone okay? I'll be back in about an hour. If Mrs. Figg asks, tell her that I went to see Minerva. Can you do that for me?"

Harry nodded and smiled then hugged Remus tight once more before the man left. Harry decided to eat and watch T.V. while he could.

"Minerva! I'm going to kill them! How could they do that to Harry? He's so small and thin and helpless. They barely feed him and they leave him alone all the time! The clothes he wears are ten sizes too big and he looks like he could keel over and die at any minute! I want him to stay with me…. I want him safe." Remus's voice went from a roar to a small whimper as tears filled his eyes again. He quickly wiped them away though and looked at the woman standing before him, a look of shock on her face as Remus handed her the list he had compiled of Harry's injuries. "They use him as a punching bag Minerva. We need to find a way to get him out of there. Please."

Minerva sighed and ran her fingers through her long, graying hair. It was a Hogsmead weekend, so she was taking a much needed break and literally, letting her hair down. "I shall talk to the Headmaster and see what we can do, this may not work in your favor Remus, but it won't hurt to try." The older wolf couldn't help but get his hopes raised a little by her words, but he thanked her profusely and left to head back to see Harry. He was going to give his young pup a good talking to.

Remus returned to the living room to find Harry curled up asleep on the couch, lightly sucking his thumb. He smiled at the sight and sat down next to the boy and held him tight while he slept. Remus didn't think he'd ever felt his heart swell so much.

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