Chapter One: Prologue

By: PenDiva

DISCLAIMER: I do not any of this, of course, it is simply inspired by the amazing characters and books by J.K. Rowling.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first fanfic and I pick up right at the end of Harry's third year and take my own little spin on what happens during the summer before Harry's fourth year and everything that happens after that. I'm expecting this to be a long fanfiction so stay with me here:

...

Harry stood outside Professor Lupin's office and hesitated. He had come up here to say goodbye before he went home to the Dursley's for a month. Knowing this was his last chance to talk to him before he boarded the train, Harry lifted his arm and knocked lightly, pushing the door inwards a little as he did.

"Come in Harry," Remus said, knowing it was him. He was at his desk packing his suitcase as Harry timidly walked into his now bare office.

Harry looked around a little surprised. "Well, you certainly pack quickly."

Remus smiled at Harry knowing he didn't come just to comment on his packing abilities. Harry gazed up at his Professor whom he had learned to admire and respect.

An awkward silence followed, broken by Harry as he said, "Professor - I, I wanted to say - just, um… goodbye before I left. The Dursley's aren't really keen on visitors and well…" Harry stuttered, trying to find the words to express how he was feeling. Professor Lupin was one of the few people who actually cared for him and showed him the love of a parent. Harry was not used to this and clung to this relationship like his life depended on it.

Harry was extremely apprehensive to spend a month with the Dursleys and be away from Remus for so long. After he had satisfied the blood wards, though, he was going to live with Remus and maybe Sirius after they signed some guardianship papers.

Similarly, Remus had grown to care for Harry and took up Sirius's offer to share guardianship of Harry for the last two months of the summer. He knew that Harry hated spending time with the Dursleys. Picking up on Harry's nervousness and fear that only he could with his werewolf senses, Remus walked around the desk and pulled Harry into a hug.

Harry flinched, caught by surprise, and took a second to accept his Professor's sign of affection and then he hugged him back. Remus noticed this and realized that Harry probably hadn't been shown much affection when he was growing up. He silently cursed the Dursley's for treating Harry so terribly.

"It's only for a month and then Sirius and I will take you away from that awful place forever. I promise that you won't stay there any longer than you have to. If that cousin of yours give you any grief, remind them that you have a supposed murderer as a Godfather who is very protective and would hate to hear that you are being mistreated."

Harry smirked at the thought of telling Vernon that. "Don't worry. I will take every chance I get to taunt him." They separated from their hug and Harry hesitated before saying what had really been bothering him this whole time. "By then will Sirius be cleared? I thought that was impossible because Peter escaped."

Remus responded thoughtfully, "Well, I've talked to Dumbledore and I've been writing to Sirius and we think it is possible for him to be fully acquitted even though we never captured Peter. There were five people, including myself, who witnessed what happened in the Shrieking Shack, and they all clearly saw Peter transform into a rat. Spells exist that can test to see if a memory has been tampered with, and I have no doubt in my mind that the Ministry will use them to make sure the memories are legitimate."

Harry nodded, beginning to understand how all this was possible. Still seeing his skepticism, Remus continued saying, "Then, we can use the evidence of the Weasley photo that was in the Daily Prophet and memories from that night 13 years ago to prove that Peter never actually died. With all of that and the fact that he never even got a fair trial last time, I think Sirius could walk away a freed man.

"But is there still a chance that he might go back to Azkaban?" Harry quietly added. This question had been feeding fears in his mind for the past month ever since Remus mentioned that they were going to try to free Sirius. Harry hadn't liked the idea of Sirius turning himself in just for a free trial. People died because of what they thought Sirius did, so what makes Remus so optimistic to think that they would just clear Sirius of all charges?

Remus pursed his lips and briefly thought of how to answer Harry's question. He hated to see Harry so worried for Sirius. Harry obviously felt sick at the thought of his Godfather going back to Azkaban, and Remus didn't know how to tell him that there is a small chance Sirius might be found guilty and sent back to Azkaban.

Reluctantly, Remus finally answered his question. "Harry I would never lie to you. There is a chance that Sirius could go back to Azkaban." Harry's face dropped, even though Remus was simply confirming what he already knew. Remus spoke up again quickly, "But don't you think we have considered this? Sirius knows the risks, and he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't think he had a more than a good chance of being freed. Do you think he wants to go back to that terrible prison?" Harry shook his head, slightly ashamed for being so stupid. Of course Sirius knew what he was doing, why was he so worried? Remus saw this and was instantly reminded of James.

"Harry, it's okay that you feel worried for Sirius. This is exactly what James was like. He cared so much for the people he loved that he hated to see them take risks or put themselves in situations that could possibly hurt them. That's why he came up with the idea to become an animagus and accompany me when I transformed in the Shrieking Shack."

"Really?" Harry said looking up. This was one of the few times Remus had talked about his dad and he soaked up every word.

"Yes, Harry. You care for your friends and for Sirius just like your dad. But I need you to trust me on this. Sirius would never, ever put himself in a situation that wouldn't let him be your guardian. It's what he wants more than anything in the world. He knows what he's doing, and I will be helping him get cleared, so he won't screw it up," Remus finished with a smile. Harry gulped down a few tears and nodded, his head cast down.

"Your father would be very proud of you Harry," Remus said. Two bright green orbs shyly glanced up at him, and Remus had to stop himself from getting too emotional. Lily had looked at him with those same green eyes a long time ago.

He was disrupted from his thoughts as Harry said, "Um, and Remus I also wanted to tell you one other thing." Remus raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"You can tell me anything Harry."

Harry smiled at the thought. He continued softly though and said, "You can't send me my letters while I'm at the Dursleys... And I probably won't be able to send any letters to you."

"And why is that Harry," Remus said patiently.

"Well, I actually might be able to sneak you a few letters through the muggle mail system, but you can't send me anything with owls or even through muggle mail."

Remus looked at him still wanting to know why this was the case. Harry sighed and said, "Vernon hates magic and he hates me, and he doesn't want me to be in contact with anyone from the wizarding world. If he sees owls sending me letters or if he sees that someone is trying to contact me, he might punish me."

"Why would he punish you for getting letters?"

Harry cringed, thinking about Vernon's punishments. He had already vowed never to tell Remus about them however. "Vernon thinks that if someone is trying to get in touch with me, it has something to do with magic, or something like that, and he doesn't want me to use magic on him or Dudley. I don't know, he's just really paranoid about this stuff," Harry rushed to say.

Remus nodded, accepting the answer but suspecting there was more to it.

"Harry, what do you mean Vernon will punish you?"

Harry shrugged, thinking quickly and trying not to make a big deal about his answer. "Probably he won't let me eat meals for a day or he'll give me more chores. It's no big deal," Harry said casually.

"Harry, this is a big deal and I don't want you missing meals. I won't send you any letters, though. Are those Dursleys treating you well and taking care of you, Harry?"

Harry snorted and half heartedly said, "They can barely take care of themselves." At Remus's concerned expression though he added, "Yes, Remus they're treating me fine. They just don't like magic and they are constantly afraid that I will try to use my magic on them. Really, I'm fine," Harry finished looking his teacher straight in the eye so he wouldn't see through his small lie.

Remus smiled but in the back of his mind he questioned whether Harry was really 'fine'. "Okay, Harry. I just care about you too much."

"Thank, you Remus. I… I guess I will be seeing you soon then?"

"Yes, I will come to get you sooner than you can blink," Remus wrapped Harry in one more hug before reminded him that he had a train to catch.

Harry blushed slightly and realized that he had been talking to Remus for a while and he now had to leave. Remus said, "Goodbye Harry."

Harry left from Remus' office and hurried out into the hallway. His trunk and the rest of his bags were right where he left them, outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. Harry grabbed his stuff and hauled it towards the train, suddenly thankful that he packed lightly.

On his way down he pulled a slightly crumpled letter from his pocket. It was addressed to Sirius, and it had what Harry had wanted to say to his Godfather before Sirius had to leave. He wanted to get this letter to him as soon as he could, but he struggled to write it for a few days. Harry had spent a few hours last night trying to put his emotions into words so that he could send it to Sirius with Hedwig.

Now, though, as he thought about what Remus had said, he was even more glad that he had written it. The Dursley's wouldn't let Hedwig out of her cage because they disliked Harry communicating with the wizarding world. Harry had to get this letter to Sirius before he got to the Dursleys. He knew it would mean a lot to his Godfather.

The letter read:

Dear Snuffles,

There were a few things that I have been meaning to tell you after you left. I wanted to apologize. I wrongly accused you in the shrieking shack which I had no business doing without knowing all the facts. I know that you are innocent and I want to help Remus in any way I can to prove that to the ministry and put the right man behind bars.

Remus told me not to worry, but I can't help but imagine what would happen if you are found guilty. Please be careful at the trial. I hate to think about you risking your life just to be my guardian.

I really want to get to know you as my Godfather this summer. Remus said if all goes well you should be cleared by the Ministry by the time I get back from the Dursleys, so we can talk more in a month. My dad trusted you with his life so I know that I can too. I know that you said you felt like you failed me as a Godfather, but that isn't your fault. You were in Azkaban and there wasn't a thing you could do to change that. We can't change what happened in the past so let's put it behind us and try to make the most of this summer.

I will try to send you some letters this summer with Hedwig but last summer Vernon locked up Hedwig and wouldn't let me read the letters people sent me. Don't tell Vernon though, but I think I've found a way around that… If that doesn't work, don't worry if I don't send you any letters for a while. Please don't send me any letters, though. Vernon will punish me for receiving mail from the Wizarding World.

Hopefully, this first month in the summer passes very quickly! I can't wait to see you again. I will count the days until June 30th!

Sincerely,

Harry

Satisfied with the brief letter, Harry quickly folded the letter and addressed it to Sirius using his code name they agreed on while the Ministry was still looking for him. He gave it to Hedwig but not before stroking her feathers affectionately. Hedwig returned the gesture by nipping at Harry's sleeve, but dutifully took Harry's letter and looked questioningly at Harry. Sensing the bird's confusion Harry said, "It's for Sirius, but I had to address it to Snuffles because the Ministry is still looking for him." The intelligent bird hooted in understanding and flew off immediately.

Harry sighed as his thoughts went out to Sirius who was still being pursued by the ministry. As much as Harry wanted him to be freed and declared innocent though, Harry knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if Sirius was sent back to Azkaban. Sirius had been determined to take him away from the Dursley's the minute Harry mentioned how much he hated it there, so Sirius asked Remus to help him get a fair trial.

'What if it doesn't work? What if Sirius is given the Dementor's Kiss?' Harry blinked away a few tears that were threatening to fall as he conjured up images of his Godfather in Azkaban receiving the Kiss. He tried to clear his mind of those depressing thoughts and silently hoped that would never happen. Hastily picking up his stuff again, he kept a brisk pace the rest of the way to the train.

...

Remus stood still for a minute to catch his breath after apparating. In front of him was a grand house that belonged to the Black family but was recently abandoned when Sirius's brother died. It was a few miles off the main village, which was tucked away in Northern London.

Walking into the front room, Remus quickly used the Scourgify spell to clean up the thick layer of dust that coated the furniture. He found the stairs to the right of the main room and remembered the instructions Padfoot had given him. He opened the door to what would be Harry's room. It was very fitting for Harry; roomy, yet cozy but unfortunately the colors definitely resembled that of a Slytherin. Sighing, Remus began a mental list for everything he would have to do to get the room ready for Harry.

Thinking about Harry staying with him for over half the summer greatly brightened his mood, however. He still couldn't bear the thought of Harry staying with those awful muggles, but that couldn't be helped.

Pulling out his wand Remus then began to change all the colors to be fitting for a Gryffindor, and he made the room best fit Harry's needs.

A half an hour later, Remus began to get a little tired from all the magic, but he seemed satisfied with what he had accomplished today. He proceeded to the next room that needed work. Grimly the werewolf began to manually clean what magic had left behind. The first month of the summer was going to be awfully long.

...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all for reading! I have a pretty decent outline for this fanfic, but I don't know if anyone will even read this. I admit this is my first fanfic I've written so please review with constructive criticism! I will try to review all your fanfics in return. Thanks again! I hope to post again in a few days.