AN; This is AU and thus most, if not all, characters will be out of character. Just not too badly I hope. I also know there will be some bashing of characters and some that might at first seem like it but will turn out well in the end. I will post warnings on chapters where there are actual bashing.

This is going to be a long story and not always be Harry-centric. There will also be gay, lesbian and straight relationships, some have been determined and some that haven't been decided yet (I am open for sugestions). Males being pregnant is possible as with females impregnating another female. Swearing, blood, gore, adult themes and sexual situations will happen.

It is un-betaed, so I'll be happy for any gramatical errors that's pointed out. I'm not British nor is English my native tounge.

Standard disclaimer, I don't own anything about Harry Potter, JK Rowling and her affiliates does. I make no money of this and this is merely me playing with her creation.

I

Tall, towering, the spires of the keep glinted bluish white in the brilliant midday sun. The fortress stood tall, built out of the mountain, crowning the peak. White pennants snapped in the cold wind, pale blue wings facing upwards with a golden sword pointing downwards between each wing. The sentries on the battlements carried tall glaives, their faces obscured by the deep, white hoods of their sleeveless surcotes. No heraldry decorated their chest, there was no need.

In the centre of the courtyard stood a delicate octagonal gazebo made out of luminous blue crystal, white gauze curtains moving with the winds. Outside of four of the eight sides a pillar of the same luminous crystal stood ten feet tall. A lump of white gauze lay in the middle of the gazebo, untouched by the icy winds that played with the curtains. Tendrils of dark red seeped out from under the white cloth, as veins from a heart, four large ones towards the pillars, splitting into smaller ones and massing around the base of each one of them, growing into them. Four smaller tendrils moved out towards the empty sides, two burrowing into the earth, two picked up by the winds, their branching tendrils floating aimlessly. The dark red tendrils pulsated unsynchronised from each other.

A sudden shiver ran through all eight tendrils, disturbing their rhythm, making the lump quiver, a dying leaf in the wind.

"Awaken." The word was spoken with no voice, yet all the voices ever heard. "Four and four." The pillars flicked for a moment before they stabilised. "Awaken."

§§§

The cracks in the roof paint had spread. It used to be only a few at the corner by the door to his room, but somehow they had spread outwards towards the middle of the roof. Harry huffed, the roof was probably leaking again. He didn't quite know why he was awake, one moment he was asleep, the next he was contemplating the possibility of a leaky roof.

A tapping on his bedroom window had him sitting up, he had fallen asleep in his dirty clothes, his glasses slightly askew. The owl on the other side of the glass wasn't familiar, it was nondescript, it's feathers a brownish grey and completely average in size. Frowning, Harry got up and reached over his desk to open the window, letting the owl in. It dropped a package on the desk before turning and leaving, Hedwig ruffling her feathers in indignation. Harry took a close look at the wax seal holding the string together, he didn't recognise the image, but it read Archer – Broughton – Davies. He had no idea who it was from or what it could be, he didn't have any opportunity to owl order anything, since Hedwig were locked up in her cage, a punishment for waking the Dursleys with his nightmares. Distrustful of the unknown package and wishing he could write Sirius and ask about the image and the names, Harry sat down on his bed again. He wasn't about to touch anything that he didn't know where came from, he wouldn't put it passed Voldemort to try and get to him through his mail. Even if the rest of the wizarding world didn't know he was back, due to Fudge sticking his head in the sand, he knew differently and he had enough experience with seemingly innocent things being exactly the opposite.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the thought of Cedric and the Tri-wizard cup away, he didn't want to fall into that pit of guilt again, or more than he had to. It was enough to relive it every night. Although, he mused, he hadn't dreamt of the cemetery or Cedric this night. Maybe it was starting to fade, or a sign he was starting to let go of the guilt. But considering his luck, this was just a fluke.

A rap on the door and the sound of the locks being opened, alerted him to the fact that it was seven o'clock and he had ten minutes in the bathroom before he was to start breakfast for the household pigs and make tea for the ever dieting female. Sighing he hurried to the bathroom to take a cold shower and use the loo, brushing his teeth in the shower to save time.

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon barked as he lowered his morning newspaper so he could glower at Harry. "We will be driving to visit Marge and won't be home until late this evening. You got half an hour to get out of the house and I will not have you loitering around the property in the meanwhile. I don't care where you go, but you will not be seen by the neighbours." He shook a sausage thick finger vigorously at Harry, his three chins wobbling with the motion. "You got that, Boy?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon." Harry sighed. Getting to be on his own for the day wasn't so bad, they could have stuck him with a chore list longer than he was tall, although then he would have been able to steal some food out of the fridge or cupboards. Now he would go hungry all day.

Quickly he finished the last of his toast and rinsed his plate and glass before putting it in the dishwasher. Aunt Petunia had gotten it sometime during his last year at Hogwarts, she was probably fed up with doing the dishes her self, and it was a luxury she could boast about. Harry hurried upstairs to snatch a book, it didn't much matter what kind it was, it would be something to pass time with and all his school books was locked up in his trunk in the cupboard under the stairs.

Five minutes later he was strolling away from number four, Privet Drive, aiming for a playground park some ten minutes away. He had grabbed the thickest book in the bookshelf, it was filled by books Dudley had been given, but never read, the book was the size of his thickest textbooks. The day was promising to be just as hot as the previous days had been, the sun high and not a cloud in sight and Harry hoped that some of the benches were in the shade.

As it turned out, none of the benches were currently in any kind of shade, so he sat down under a tree, his back against the trunk. The book in his hands were light grey with blue writing on the front and a small, green planet with two sets of rings.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?" Harry was surprised, how had such a title managed to stay in the Dursley's household? He had no idea what the book was about, but he could very well imagine Vernon or Petunia disliking it based on the title alone. It sounded like nonsense and nonsense was not welcome in their lives. What more was the word hitchhiker, Harry had listened as Vernon countless times ranted about hitchhikers and their loose morals, how they so unashamedly took advantage of good common people and murdered them for their monies. Shrugging, Harry opened the book and started to read.

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun...

Nymphadora Tonks, Nymphadora only to her mother, had been watching Harry from across the playground for hours. Cooling charms and a liberal amount of sunscreen kept her from dying of a heat stroke. Today she was disguised as an elderly gentleman, reading his paper and doing the cross-word puzzle. She'd copied her grandfather, Albert Tonks' style, a man who strongly believed in always being properly groomed and dressed.

It had been a quiet morning and quite frankly she wasn't looking forwards to her Auror shift at three. The parchment work on her desk would alone ensure that her blood pressure rose through the roof. When she had joined the auror academy she had never imagined the wast amount of time they had to spend behind their desks, writing and signing rapports, reading others rapports, court transcripts, it went on and on. So she would so much rather sit here, quietly, watching Harry. Harry who seemed so engrossed in the book he was reading if the animated look on his face was anything to go by. She hadn't seen him this relaxed, or this amused before.

Just as she was about to stab her paper with her pencil, the cross-word was being stupid, how was she to know what a '5-letter Yiddish word for bedbug' was, she noticed a kid with bright dark blue hair walk into the park. He was short, about 5'2'' and skinny, the black tank top not hiding anything. His hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, and even then it reached his bum. What made her blink in surprise was not the hair or the colour of it, it was the small metal balls the sun glinted off on his face. There were three under his bottom lip and a row under and over the end of his left eyebrow. She'd never seen anything like it before and made her wonder if this was some new form muggle fashion that had popped up in the recent years. Her grandfather had had some choice words to say about the girls in the 70's and how they would paint them selves with eastern symbols and non flattering make-up, maybe this was something like that? He did however look tense, he was looking around the playground with a small, unhappy frown and as his eyes landed on her he raised the decorated eyebrow before moving on, searching for something. She became worried when the boy froze for a moment, his face turned towards Harry.

"What'cha readin'?" Harry blinked and looked up, eyes widening at the sight of the strange looking boy standing in front of him. Just about everything about the boy was strange, the hair, the metal studs on his face, even his eyes! They were a deep, rich purple, like sparkling amethysts.

"Er..." He tried, not sure what the guy had asked him, all he could think about was how glad he was that Dudley were far away form the park. Dudley didn't need more kids to torture. The boy lifted an eyebrow in reply.

"The book?" He gestured towards Harry's lap.

"Oh, ehm, it's called The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Harry put a finger on the page he was reading before closing the book and showing the other boy the cover.

"Cool, it's a good book." He said, turning his head away. Harry could see the guy's jaw muscles clenching and unclenching and his entire posture seemed tense, uncomfortable. "Aw, fuck it." He heard him mutter, a scowl twisting over his face. "Listen, I gotta talk to you..."

"You two youngsters aren't having trouble are you?" A gruff voice interrupted the blue haired boy. Harry realised that the elderly man form across the park was standing just behind the kid, his newspaper rolled up in his hand.

"No sir, we..."

"Who are you?!" Harry gaped at the boy, the man had probably only meant to keep the peace.

"Now listen here young man, I don't want you two to cause a kerfuffle..." The old man shook his newspaper at the other boy.

"Can it geezer! No one your age looks at a kid our age like you've been looking at him all day without ulterior motive!" The boy snapped, his eyes hard. Yet, Harry noted, his body seemed relaxed, not ready to fight. Then the words he'd spoken registered and Harry felt himself break out in cold sweat. Not because the old man could be a paedophile, but the old man could be a death eater in disguise.

"WHAT?!" The elderly man squeaked, high pitched and rather girly in Harry's opinion. But the most suspicious thing that happened was a slight flicker in the man's appearance. Quick as lightning, the boy grabbed Harry by the arm and heaved him to his feet.

"RUN!" He yelled, sprinting towards the gate, dragging Harry with him.

"Wait, what?!" Harry exclaimed, not sure what was going on. Merlin's balls, he'd never seen anything like that flicker before, as if the old man had in a fraction of a second been someone else. Glamour charm? He didn't know, and didn't really have time to think it through either, they were running through the streets, the other boy pulling him along at a break neck speed. It was all he could do not to trip over his own feet.

Tonks had no idea what had just happened. She hadn't liked the way the other boy had stalked towards Harry, and then the tense, almost hostile body language he showed when they talked. There had been nothing for it, she'd had to interfere, it was her job to make sure Harry was safe. And she'd never seen the boy before in the neighbourhood, he could very well be a threat. Gritting her teeth she took off after the boys, changing her shape to a young woman as not to draw attention. She would not have anything happening to Harry on her watch, Sirius would kill her.

"In here!" Harry dimly heard a door slam behind them, his chest was on fire, he couldn't breathe properly and his legs felt like jelly. He sank down onto his knees, hands on the floor as he tried to get as much oxygen into his lungs as possible. Dark spots and stars flashed across his vision and blood roared loudly in his ears. It had been years since he'd run that fast and that long, as Dudley got fatter and fatter he also became slower and slower. Harry hadn't needed to run much in the last four years and Quidditch practise didn't involve any cardio or endurance.

"Dad!" Harry looked at the other boy in shock, how come he weren't in the same state as him self, how come he weren't even struggling to breathe? Yes he was breathing harder, but not even half as bad as Harry, and he was standing, walking and even yelling! It shouldn't be possible!

"Ran?" The voice of a man had Harry looking from the other boy to where it came from. A tall, muscular man with rather wild looking white hair and a long scar diagonally across his face had walked into the room. "Sweet Divine! What's going on?"

"Yeah... I'd like... to... know too..." Harry panted, swallowing as he tried to slow down his breathing. The white haired man crossed the room in four long strides and helped Harry onto his feet and into a couch. Harry looked over at the boy, his face was turned away, he was scowling again and his jaw muscles were working hard.

"Ran, what did you do?" The man's voice was sharp, yet his tone mild.

"There was an old geezer ogling him, I got him away." Was the short clipped answer from the boy, Ran. Ran's dad glanced at Harry as if to verify the statement and Harry grimaced, silently hoping that was true and secretly dreading it had been a death eater. And if that was the case, Ran and his dad wouldn't be safe. "Except it wasn't an old man." Harry snapped to attention, had Ran seen the same as him? He didn't notice that Ran's dad had stiffened and was looking sharply at his son.

"Explain!" Ran's scowl deepened at his dad's order.

"I think it was a metamorph, a female, and she'd been watching him all morning."

"And you know this because?" Harry had no idea what a metamorph was or if it was a good thing or a bad thing. It could still be a death eater, but then were these two wizards as well?

"Because she lost focus for a second when I called her a paedophile. Her form fell in the shock." Ran's voice was still hard, defiant.

"Ran." Ran's dad sighed and sat down on the coffee table, running a hand through his already messy hair. "You're being stubborn. Just explain what you were doing, please." And just like that it seemed like all the fight drained form Ran, his shoulders slumped and his chin dropped.

"Fine." Ran sighed. "I just, I was just curious as to why we'd moved here, ya know, so I walked a bit aimlessly around, trying to get a feel of the place. That's when I noticed the old man..." He made a face, his upper lip curling in disgust. "There was no way he could be just an old man, fully dressed in tweed, with a fedora, in this heat. The geezer would have suffered a heat stroke within minutes. But I let it go and walked by." He shrugged, scratching him self behind an ear. "There was something else tickling my senses, so I tried to find out what it was. Took me a while before I found it too."

"Sweet Divine, please tell me you didn't go sticking your nose... Bright Eyes, how many times do we have to tell you..." The only adult in the room looked weary, as if this was a common occurrence.

"I didn't stick my nose into anything dad. What I found was a house warded up the ying-yang." Harry sucked in a harsh breath, there were another wizard family in the neighbourhood? Ran's dad gave him a sidelong glance before looking back at his son, silently telling him to continue. "So I climbed into a nearby tree to see if I could figure out the ward scheme." Ran's dad groaned and put his head in his hands.

"I'm gonna castrate your father..." He muttered softly.

"Didn't get very far tho." Ran shrugged. "The whole place was crawling with cats. There was this one who kept trying to eat my hair..." This time Ran shuddered, but Harry was gaping. There was only one house he knew off that was, as Ran said, crawling with cats.

"Why the bloody hell would Mrs Figg's house be warded?" He blurted out before he had a chance to stop him self.

§§§

Tonks had lost the boys, they were so much faster than she'd anticipated and to her own shame she'd realised just how badly in shape she her self was. She blamed it on all the hours sitting behind the desk doing parchment work, but she also vowed to her self to do something about it. But for now she had to find Harry, because she did not want to tell the next one on the guard, Remus, that she'd lost him. Despite her self she blushed at the thought of the werewolf, she'd only known him for a few weeks but Hecate help her, the man was just so damned good looking! Pushing the thoughts of Remus on the back burner she got back to Harry and how to find him. She had no idea where they would run, she didn't know Harry or his hideouts, if he had any. Scowling to her self she ducked into a narrow hedgerow alley between two houses and pulled out her wand.

"Point me Harry Potter." The wand lying flat in her hand spun around before it stilled, showing her what direction she had to go. Transfiguring her clothes into something more appropriate to her current disguise, a light flowing summer skirt and top, she headed out in the direction of the point me spell.

She'd been forced to repeat the spell a few times as she wasn't able to walk in the direct line, not with houses in the way and needing to find a way around, but in the end she was looking at a house. Initially she'd walked passed it, thinking it was just another obstacle, but when the next spell pointed her back she figured it had to be this one. It was painted grey and looked more or less like the rest of the houses in the street. Taking a deep breath, absently wondering how she was going to pull off 'operation Rescue Harry', Tonks walked up towards the front door. The moment she stepped onto the property she felt wards tickling over her skin, it instantly put her on edge. Witches lived here! There was no record of any magicals living in the area, except for Harry, not at the Ministry or with the Order. It made her teeth itch and getting Harry away became even more important. It was a tricky situation, no matter how badly she wanted just to blast down the door, grab Harry and apparate him back at his house, she couldn't. This was a muggle neighbourhood and despite how deserted the streets might have looked, people could still be watching from inside their houses so she couldn't risk using magic until she was inside. And then there was the factor that if Harry didn't know he was in danger and she just barged in, he might as well think she was the bad guy. Not to mention that Dumbledore had told them to stay hidden and not reveal them selves. Harry was not to know he was being watched. It felt like she was damned if she did and damned if she didn't. But she had to make sure Harry was safe, so there was nothing to it other than just ring the bell and hope.

The sound of the doorbell chiming had the three in the living room looking towards the front door. Harry's question about Mrs Figg was left unanswered as Ran's dad got up to answer the door. He gave both boys a look that clearly said to keep quiet about their conversation and Harry just nodded, trying to figure out why the batty old woman had magical wards on her house. Harry had never in all the time he'd spent there seen or experienced anything that could be magic, her house was nothing like the Burrow, where magic was everywhere. Sure, he didn't have any other magical household to compare with but still, he figured that there would be some magic going on in the house of magic users, even if said magic users lived in a muggle town. Yet if he was to go with that thought and the suspicion that Ran and his dad were wizards, where was the magic in this house. Harry tried to look around without seeming as he was looking, to see if he could spot any magic, there was no clock like Mrs Weasley's on the walls, no knitting needles knitting on their own, no owl perch, no owl. The living room looked strangely muggle and modern, except there was no television to be seen. Most of the walls were covered in bookshelves, with books in the process of being put up, there were a few shelves that were filled, some in the process and more empty. Cardboard boxes were stacked all over and Harry remembered that Ran had said they'd just moved here, so maybe all the magical items where still packed up? The sight of so many books had him thinking of Hermione and how this would look like a dream to her, a living room slash library.

Tonks plastered a bright smile on her lips as the door opened to reveal a really tall and muscular man with snow white hair, cyan blue eyes and a long scar slashed across his face. He was tanned and dressed in a tight t-shirt with cargo shorts. The man was all muscles and he was looking at her rather blankly.

"Hi! Listen I know this is rather awkward, but my cousin Harry..." She didn't get any further before there was a large crash from inside the house, it sounded as if a lot of china had crashed to the floor along with something heavy. So without thinking, she rushed passed him, her wand at the ready and intent on saving Harry. Once inside she was however stopped short at the sight of Harry sitting in a couch and the blue haired boy standing at the side and she realised as she looked at Harry's wide eyes that he was looking at her wand, and that Harry had no idea who she was or that she was there to help him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Harry barked as he shot up from the couch and backed away from her, fear and suspicion now clear in his eyes.

"I'd like to know that too." A wand tip was pressed against her neck, an icy burn was slowly spreading from the contact point and Tonks stood frozen to the spot, not daring to move. A moment later her own wand was yanked from her grip and out of the corner of her left eye she saw the other boy dancing out of reach with it. "Answer!" The order was snapped from behind her, the voice low and dangerous. Harry was looking at her with fearful determination as he continued to back away towards the doorway at the far end of the room. She knew in that moment that she was standing at the precipice and it was a huge one. Something told her this could make or break everything. How and why she didn't know, only that it was all on her. And all she knew was that she wanted Harry to be safe and happy.

"I'll talk." She replied, keeping her eyes locked on Harry. "My name is Nymph..." She took a deep breath, pushing her dislike for her first name away. "Nymphadora Tonks, I'm Sirius' cousin."

Harry felt faint, he watched as the young woman morphed into a different young woman with shockingly bright pink hair and a tiny voice at the back of his head muttered something about being the only one with a normal hair colour. She was claiming to be Sirius' cousin, but Sirius had never spoken about his family, not that Harry had asked either he realised. All they had ever talked about had been him, and his problems. Harry had never thought about getting to know more about his godfather save the fact that he'd been his father's best friend. It was a bit humbling to realised how self absorbed he'd been and that the only times he'd written to Sirius had been when he needed something fixed. Yes, with Sirius on the run, sending letters back and forth would be risking Sirius' location revealed, but still Sirius had come back when he'd heard about his involvement in the tournament. And all they had talked about then had been Harry begging him to go away again and Sirius trying to help him with the tasks.

"And how do you suppose I can verify that? Sirius have never spoken about his family to me and I have no way to contact him and ask." Harry replied, once more cursing the Dursleys for locking up Hedwig. Nymphadora looked a bit dismayed at his answer.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I'm a part of an Order, an Order started by Dumbledore in the last war." She sighed. "The Order have been tasked by Dumbledore to guard you, I've got about two hours left of my shift, Remus Lupin have the next one." Harry wanted to blurt out 'Professor Lupin?' but caught him self before it happened. For all he knew she could be fishing. He'd never heard of any kind of order, unless you counted the death eaters as an order, and none started by Dumbledore, he was sure Hermione would have told him if that was the case.

Tonks could see that Harry still didn't believe her but he did look uncertain and no longer inclined to run off. She had to come up with something to convince him, but she had no idea how. There wasn't much personal information on Harry given as they weren't supposed to talk to him or even let him know they were there and she hadn't been in the Order long, certainly not long enough to know things like who knew him the best and inside information that would be between them and Harry.

"If I could have my wand back I'm willing to give you a vow that I am speaking the truth." She sighed, it was a long shot, but it was the only thing she could think of.

"Shape-shifter if you think I'll let you have your wand, you're an idiot." The growl came from behind her, reminding her that she was still held at wand point and had an angry male behind her. On the other had it had given her an idea.

"Sirius turns into a large black wolfhound!" She almost shouted and watched as Harry's face turned hopeful.

"What is the name of his animagus form?" Harry asked softly, for once willing, it seemed, to believe her.

"I... I don't know." Tonks answered. She really didn't. "All I know is that he keeps changing back and forth into the dog all day long. It drives everyone batty." Harry clenched his jaw and looked down at the floor, Tonks prayed that it had been enough, that he would believe her.

"So you've been sitting at the park all morning, in the sun, disguised as an old man in tweed just to keep an eye on him?" The blue haired boy asked, giving her a hard look.

"Um, yes. There is nothing wrong with an old muggle sitting in the park reading a newspaper, now is there?" Tonks replied, still wondering why he'd called her out in the park as he did.

"Probably not, if it hadn't been thirty degrees and sunny and you hadn't been sitting in the sun, dressed in wool from head to toe and not even sweating." He snorted and Tonks realised just how right he was, she should have gone with her young woman idea.

"But from that to call me a child molester?" That was still smarting and he just shrugged at her.

"Something wasn't right and when you interrupted me telling him... It was the easiest way to know for sure. You passed by the way."

"I passed? Passed what?"

"The test. No paedophile would react with such genuine emotion." And how in Hades would he know that, Tonks wondered.

"Then why did you run?"

"Because you weren't an old man. Your shape flicked for a moment in the shock and I knew there had been something strange with you. There are worse things to encounter than nasty old men." He sneered and Tonks was a bit taken aback with the fact that he'd noticed her form slipping for that tiny moment.

"Eh, right." She had to concede the point and they hadn't known she was there to protect Harry. "But I swear that I'm no threat to either of you. I'm here to make sure no harm comes to Harry."

"So you say." The boy shrugged. "It'll be up to Harry to decide if we should give you the benefit of the doubt or not."

Harry in the meanwhile had been battling with him self, he wanted to believe her, even if that opened another can of worms of questions, but he had promised him self not to be so blue-eyed and naïve any more. He fervently wished he could get confirmation on the things she'd said, just so he could either believe her or run. It would have been so easy to just ring up Sirius and ask, but the wizarding world didn't have telephones, that would have been too convenient.

"I don't know if I should believe you or not." He sighed, shaking his head. "But wizards don't have any way of instant communication and I don't want to stand here for hours waiting for a written reply. And that is a no go anyway, I don't have any way to send a letter."

"But what about your owl?" Nymphadora asked, sounding surprised. Harry made a face, he didn't really want to tell them his uncle had locked her up or tell them he'd been locked out of the house for the day.

"As I said, I don't want to stand here waiting for a reply, it could take hours, and we don't have that." He answered instead.

"You could floo?" She suggested. "Only, I would have to say the address, as it is a secret."

"No floo connection." Ran's dad answered her, giving Harry an apologetic look. Which meant the only other option he had was to give her her wand so she could make a vow, whatever that was.

"How does this vow thing work anyways?"

Tonks blinked, he didn't know how vows worked? How was that... never mind, she thought, mentally shaking her head.

"I will swear on my magic that I'm telling or will be telling the truth and if I lie to you after my magic will be forfeited. That is the simple version anyway." She explained, knowing that the man behind her could and probably would verify that she was right. There was no way for her to find out if he had done that, but Harry seemed to believe her after a moment and that was all that mattered.

"So you need your wand for it, right?" He asked, clearly not happy about that.

"Yes." Tonks answered, she didn't dare nod, there was still a wand pressing lightly into her neck. And Harry looked so unhappy about it all. She just hoped she'd get the chance to make a vow, so he wouldn't need to worry about her being the bad guy.

"Eh, Mister..." Harry had shifted his gaze to the man standing behind her.

"Storm, Dane Storm." Tonks had never heard of any pureblood family named Storm, but then again she hadn't paid much attention when her mother had tried to teach her the names of the pureblood families in Britain.

"Right, thank you." Harry nodded. "Mr Storm, could you please watch out in case she does something she shouldn't if I give her her wand to make a vow with?"

"Of course." Mr Storm agreed and the boy holding her wand looked at Harry. Harry nodded to him and it took all the will power Tonks had not to grin widely as he handed her her wand back. It wouldn't have worked in her favour, no matter how relieved she was to have it back.

"Right." She swallowed and held up her wand, pointing it towards the ceiling. "I, Nymphadora Tonks, do swear upon my magic that what I have told so far is the truth and what I will be telling for the next hour will be the truth. So I say, so mote it be!" Her wand flashed white and when the glow had settled she said softly; "Lumos."

"She is sincere and have spoken true." Mr Storm sighed, and Tonks shuddered lightly as the biting cold of the wand point vanished.

Once again Harry felt as if his legs wouldn't carry him and he carefully made his way towards the couch so he could sit down. She had been telling the truth... and didn't that just put a spanner in the works? He needed to think, to understand. He needed answers.

"Ran, could you get some orange juice and biscuits for Harry?"

"Sure dad." Harry saw Ran giving him a worried look as he walked passed.

"Can I offer you anything, Tonks was it?" Mr Storm asked, gesturing towards the couches and offering her a seat.

"A glass of water would be nice, thank you." She replied, giving Harry a tentative smile. Harry couldn't offer one in return, he was too occupied with trying to make sense of it all.

"DAD! Why are the mugs smashed all over the kitchen floor?" A look of surprise and then defeat flew across Mr Storm's face before he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That damned shelf." He muttered and Harry blinked, remembering the loud crash they'd heard just before Nymphadora had run in. Something that seemed to have happened days ago. Harry groaned silently and rubbed his face with his hands. Why did things like this always happen to him? Some gigantic cosmic joke?

"I thought otosan told you he'd fix the shelf when he got home?" Ran's voice had him looking up, just in time to catch the pack of crisps heading towards him.

"Yes, he did. Go get some water for the lady." Mr Storm shooed his son back to the kitchen. "Eat and drink Harry, you look a bit pale." Harry just nodded and drained half the glass of orange juice in one go, he didn't know just how thirsty he had been. It was blessedly cold and fresh and he could feel it going down his throat and into his stomach. Taking a deep breath he decided to just get started, it didn't feel like he'd get anywhere on his own in this and he wanted to know as much as he could.

"Right, so... what's this about an order and why are you guarding me?"

Tonks had expected that question and she sort of had the answer.

"The Order was, as I said, founded by Dumbledore during the last war, in order to combat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." She saw Harry roll his eyes at the name, but continued. "He resurrected the Order straight after the tournament and I was recruited a month or so ago. It's purpose is still the same, but we're also guarding you. Now that the death eaters are at large again I suppose that Dumbledore thought it best that you were watched, for your own safety."

"And why weren't you supposed to tell me?" Harry frowned at her and she shrugged.

"I have no idea, Dumbledore's orders. Maybe he didn't want your summer disturbed or something. I'm not sure you know any of the ones on guard duty anyway."

"Right, so I've got a round the clock guard, watching my every move and I have no right to know?" He asked incredulously and all she could do was give him an apologetic look, she had no answer to that. "Then care to tell me why Mrs Figg's house is warded through the roof? I thought there weren't any wizards or witches living here other than me."

"Mrs Figg is a squib, Harry. She can't protect her self and needs the extra wards." Tonks reprimanded mildly.

"A squib?!" Harry almost chocked on the crisps.

"Yes, she's one of the few left of the old Order, or so I've been told." She nodded, wondering why they were going down this path in the conversation.

"So, she would know who I am, right? Just like the rest of the wizarding world knew my name even before I knew I was a wizard." Tonks frowned, unsure why Harry seemed to take such umbrage to this.

"Yes, she might be a squib, but she isn't cut off from the wizarding world as most squibs are."

"That, that..." Harry apparently had trouble absorbing what she's said, he looked around wildly as if it would be easier to understand. "Then why did she never tell me who I am? What I am? She had enough opportunities to do so over the years as every time the Dursleys went somewhere they catered me off to her!" The anger is Harry's eyes made her shrink back a bit, but he had a valid point.

"She babysat you and never told you?" She asked, just to clarify. Something was going on and she wanted to have all the facts. Her eyes widened slightly as Harry just about growled back.

"Yes, Hagrid was the one to tell me when he came to give me my Hogwarts letter." Oh dear! Tonks grimaced, no longer surprised at his reaction, but her brain had cottoned onto something else he'd said.

"Why did Hagrid deliver your letter? As far as I remember it's McGonagall or Sprout that deliver the letters to muggleborns and muggle raised."

"Beats me." Harry shrugged and it took Tonks a moment before she got the phrase.

"Right, well..." She swallowed and took a sip of the water she'd forgotten. "I don't know why Mrs Figg didn't tell you, you should probably ask her that."

"Why can't you tell me the floo address to Sirius? I thought he was on the run again." He sounded sullen and she couldn't fault him. Not really. Sirius was someone important to him and as such he probably thought he would be told about such things as where Sirius was staying.

"No, he stayed behind to help Dumbledore get the Order back up and the temporary headquarters under a secrecy charm..."

"Fidelius?" Harry snorted and Tonks blinked, he knew about the fidelius charm but not vows? The fidelius was rather obscure, vows were quite common. "Who's the secret keeper?"

"Eh, Dumbledore I think." She didn't quite know what to make of it, the only thing she did know was that something weren't adding up. "How come you know about something as obscure as the Fidelius charm? I didn't know about it until a month or so ago. And even going as far as to know the specifics of it as well..."

"Because Sirius is accused of being my parents secret keeper. And because he didn't get a trial, I was shipped off to the Dursleys. And because Fudge is a bastard I'm still stuck with them! I told him that Sirius is innocent, I told him Pettigrew is alive and was the real secret keeper, but did he listen? No, he just told me it was all nonsense and summoned a dementor so he could have Sirius kissed on the spot. And because Fudge is a moron Voldemort is now back, Cedric is dead and the ministry is denying the whole thing. And why didn't Sirius get a trial? Because EVERYONE KNEW he was their secret keeper, no use in wasting half an hour and three drops of veritaserum to confirm it was him! Since EVERYONE KNEW!" By this point Harry was almost vibrating with anger, his green eyes hard as flint. "Dumbledore was Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot then and he still is, but have he tried to get Sirius a trial? He knows Sirius is innocent, he might not have thought so then, but he keeps sprouting 'everyone deserves a second chance' so why didn't he, when things had settled down after the last war..." Harry trailed off, shaking his head. "Sometimes I think he didn't want to risk Sirius being innocent as then he would get custody over me. Sometimes I think he wanted me to stay with the Dursleys, ignorant of everything. And now that you've told me that Mrs Figg is a squib, AND a part of the old order Dumbledore ran during the last war, I think that... that she was placed there to spy on me, make sure I stayed ignorant. And she knew how the Dursleys was, it wasn't something I could hide, and that means that Dumbledore knew and wanted it like that." The last part of his rant was almost inaudible, but Tonks had heard it and she was shocked. How could he think like that and yet her heart bled for the boy. It was clear to her that there had to be a huge amount of misunderstandings along the way, surely Dumbledore only wanted what was best for him. But she had enough wits to know telling Harry that would not be welcomed.

"Well, I can't really give you any answer to any of that, because I don't know anything about it." She started and held up her hand as Harry drew a breath to reply. "But I can try to help you find out about some of it. If it's true that Sirius didn't get a trial..."

"It's true!"

"He could have been tried in absentia Harry, and in that case Sirius probably wouldn't know about it." She explained gently. Harry just scowled at her, looking mutinous. "Anyways, I might be able to pull the court transcripts from the archive..."

"How? Why haven't anyone done that before if it's just a matter of..."

"Harry!" Tonks gritted her teeth as he just glared back. "If you just let me finish! I get that you are angry, truly I do, but your getting nowhere if you keep trampling ahead like a rampaging hippogriff. The first rule of an auror is that there is always more than one side of the story. First I have to see if I can get my hands on the court transcripts, and then if there isn't any I can go to my superiors and take it further. There aren't any quick fixes to this. If you want it to stick, you have to do it the right way, through the right channels. Even if you dropped Pettigrew into Madam Bones' lap, singing the truth at the top of his lungs it would not clear Sirius in an instant." She shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I want Sirius cleared as well. He is the head of his house, and without him able to claim his lordship he won't be able to reinstate my mother to the family. Without him free, she will continue to suffer from not being able to access the family magic. So you see, you are not the only fighting in this. I just never knew he hadn't been given a trial."

Harry groaned. Why did he always do this, accuse all and everyone of being against him? Oh he knew most of it came from growing up under the Dursleys roof, he'd learned early that few could be trusted with anything and yet here he was almost biting the head of someone who wanted the same as him, just because they came from different angles. He kept on hating people who didn't tell him everything going on and yet he never offered any information in return. The only reason he'd blurted out that Sirius hadn't gotten a trial was because he'd been pissed, and thus his mouth ran off without him. He did realise he had some rather major flaws, but changing years of behaviour that had kept him alive wasn't as easy as one thought. Yet another thing he'd have to work on he supposed.

"So you can find out if Sirius had had a trial then?" He asked with a sigh.

"Yes, it might take me a while, but I know I can find out. It'll be tricky, I'll need a reason to see the files, but I'll come up with something, don't worry."

"That's the problem, I can't help but worry. I'm cut off out here. No one tells me anything and just expects me to jump when they shout." He snorted, shaking his head. "And now I've found out that witches and wizards are watching me twenty-four seven. It just rubs me the wrong way."

"Yeah, I can see that." Nymphadora nodded. "If it helps, there aren't anyone watching inside the house, just outside and when you leave the property." She gave him a crocked smile. It helped a bit to know no one was spying on the inside, at least then no one could gossip about how Harry Potter was treated as a house elf by his relatives. But it didn't lessen the hurt or the anger. "Anyways, I think I should walk you home, Remus will appear soon and your aunt and uncle must be getting worried..."

"No."

"Harry..."

"Hey, listen lady. If Harry wants to hang out here he can. Remember, your not supposed to talk to him, he is isn't supposed to know he's got a guard or what ever it is you call it and all you need to tell this Remus is that he is visiting a friend." Ran butted in and Harry felt a rush of gratitude towards the other boy, even more so when Nymphadora scowled at him.

"But he isn't supposed to leave Privet Drive!"

"So he's a prisoner in his own home?" This time it was Mr Storm who inserted him self into the conversation.

"Of course not!"

"Then there is no reason he can't stay here. My son doesn't have any friends here and he wants to get to know Harry better. Harry can ring his relatives and tell them where he is if he thinks they are worried."

"I... I... I can't leave Harry here with people we don't know! For all we know you could whisk him away the moment I turn my back!" Sparks were shooting out of Nymphadora's wand and Harry shot to his feet.

"So I'm not allowed to make friends on my own now?! Is that what you're saying? That the ministry or the order have to approve of who I talk to? What would you have done if we hadn't run from you? Would you still have barged in and hexed them black and blue before you grabbed me and apparated me back to the Dursleys? And then be forced to obliviate me as I'd then seen you?" He shouted, his hands clenched so hard his knuckles had turned white. "And here I was starting to believe you were actually someone who could be trusted! Well, I've had enough! You and Dumbledore can shove your order and your guard up the ass! I didn't ask for any of this!"

"I think you should leave. Before I turn my wards on you." Mr Storm said gravely, gesturing to the door, his wand in his hand and pointing at Nymphadora. "And you can tell your replacement not to set a foot on my property. I do not take kindly to people who thinks children should be locked up and kept away for the adults convenience."

Just one look at Harry was enough to tell Tonks just how badly she'd messed up. He was spitting mad and she knew there were no reasoning with him now. It would be best to walk away and try to talk to him the next time she was on guard duty. But she still didn't feel comfortable with leaving him here, she knew nothing about them and they could be death eaters stationed by You-Know-Who to kidnap Harry.

"I'm not leaving without Harry." She said forcefully.

The next thing she knew, she was skidding along the pavement in the street having been thrown out by the wards. Her entire backside was burning from the friction burns and she hit her head on the hard ground as she came to a stop. This was not good, now she would have to tell Remus everything as they had to get Harry out of there and she was going to be late for work! Grumbling about stubborn teens and not doing what was good for them, she gingerly got up on her feet and hurried down the street.

"You know she's now going to get more people here to get me out, right?" Harry sighed and sunk into to couch cushions. The day had so far been a massive roller-coaster of highs and lows. He felt wrung out, chewed out and generally as if he'd been hit by the Knight Bus.

"Oh she can try." Mr Storm shrugged, a dangerous glint in his bright blue eyes. "My husband's wards are not to be toyed with. As it is now, they can drop a nuke on the house and we wouldn't even feel a tremor. The only ones allowed to enter are me, my husband and my son. Anyone else should start counting their limbs and be sure they can manage without."

"So, if ya want to stay for a while, you're safe here." Ran grinned and Harry felt a weak smile stretch his lips in response.

"Thanks, really. I just need some time to adjust to it all. There was a lot of things there that I didn't know and don't know what to do with, now that I do know." He sighed. "And I don't want to put you guys on the spot, you could probably get in trouble with the ministry for this."

"It's the right thing to do. It sounds like you have a lot of things on your plate." Mr Storm said gently, sitting down in the seat vacated by Nymphadora. Ran had sat down sideways in the corner next to Harry, his feet crossed in lotus.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"What's this about a war and is there a new one?" Mr Storm looked a bit confused. "We haven't heard anything about something of the like going on here."

"You don't know?" Harry frowned. Everyone knew about the last war and although only a few believed Voldemort had returned it wouldn't be long before the death eaters would be active again. And then the ministry would be sorry. Taking a deep breath he settled down to explain. "Right, so it all started in the early seventies, I think. There was this guy who started to gather a bunch of purebloods in order to take over the wizarding world. He and his followers didn't think that muggleborns or muggles had the right to live, or anyone of not the right pureblood line for that matter. They terrorised the magical communities, wrecking havoc and the fear spread. No one was safe, they slaughtered whole families, leaving their call sign to show anyone looking who was responsible. No one knew who they were, they were only known as Voldemort and his death eaters, the death eaters wore black robes and masks to hide their identities. People became so afraid of Voldemort that they couldn't even say his name, they still don't. He's mostly referred to as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who. As for the muggle population, they didn't know he'd been preying on them, most of what he did were pinned on muggle terrorists, IRA and the like I think. But he kidnapped muggles to use in hunting games and as entertainment for his followers. There were few who stood up to him and as he started to pick them off one by one they went into hiding. At first in plain sight and then behind secrecy wards and such. Apparently there was a secret order who fought him, but I've never heard of it until today." He shrugged, not sure what to make of all that Nymphadora had said. "Anyways, it all ended on the thirty-first of October in eighty-one. Voldemort had finally gotten his hands on where two his his most outspoken opponents where hiding and he went to eliminate them. He'd decided to take out the entire family, both the adults and their kid. He killed James Potter first and then followed Lily up into the nursery where he killed her while she was begging him to spare her son." Harry swallowed, he'd tried to distance him self as he spoke, but he couldn't set aside his emotions when speaking of his mother. The fact that he relived it all whenever a dementor was near made it even harder. A tissue was waved in front of his face and he took it gingerly, he hadn't realised that tears had started to trickle down his cheeks. Blushing, he wiped his face and continued the story. "After that he turned to their son and used the same spell on him as his parents, the killing curse. But something went wrong, the curse rebounded somehow and it hit Voldemort instead." He sighed and looked down at the tissue in his hands. "No one knows how I survived..." His voice was nothing more than a soft whisper. "But everyone thinks it was 'cause of something I did. I think it was 'cause of something my mum did. How could a kid at fifteen months old stop a grown man from killing him?" Sighing again he leaned forwards and picked up his glass of juice, draining it. "The wizarding world think I'm a hero, they tell their kids stories about me. Everyone knew who I was when I started Hogwarts and I had only known I was a wizard for a month. That my parents had been murdered for a month. Petunia always told me that they died in a car crash. I had enemies before I even knew they existed." He shook his head. "I'm not a hero, I'm just Harry. There is nothing special about me."

"You keep saying the wizarding world as if it's all the witches and wizards in the world." Ran started, poking Harry in the side with a toe. "I hate to break it to ya, but we moved here from Italy, and I've never heard your name before now. We lived in Transylvania before that and no one mentioned you there either. I think you're only famous as far as the British Isles are concerned."

It was strange, Harry mused, that he'd thought that everyone knew who he was. 'You're famous Harry, everyone knows who you are!' 'You're Harry Potter!' 'Blimey, is it really? Harry Potter!' And then when Fleur had called him a little boy, as if she didn't know who he was... He gritted his teeth, he'd been blinded by him self, by his own fame. A fame he vehemently hated. Yet he always assumed people thought they knew him just because he was famous. He'd never thought that that fame was limited in any way.

"This Voldemort guy sounds a bit like Grindelwald to me." Mr Storm mused with a frown, making the scar running across his face more pronounced.

"I don't know much about him, other than he was at large during the second world war." Harry admitted. Binns hadn't exactly covered much history apart from goblin rebellions.

"He kept mostly to the continent, Europe that is. Hid behind the Nazis." Mr Storm shrugged. "Blood purity and other rot."

"Dad isn't the biggest on history." Ran snickered. "But essentially he is correct."

"What about this new threat?

"It's not new, not really." Harry answered. "Voldemort was resurrected some three weeks ago. It..." He swallowed. "It wasn't pretty."

"If ya wanna talk about it, we'll listen." Ran said gently. "But if ya don't that's okay."

"What I'd like to know," Mr Storm sighed. "is how come, if this Voldemort is once again at large, we haven't heard anything about it."

"That's simple." Harry grimaced. "Minister Fudge refuses to believe it's true. Told me and Dumbledore that it was impossible and we were out to get him sacked by telling such lies." He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "The ministry is incompetent, or at least the minister is."

"Sounds dangerous." Mr Storm frowned before he sat up and slapped his hands on his knees. "Not to sound as if I'm taking this lightly or something, but I need to tell Akira I've locked down the house." He gave Harry and Ran a long look. "Just don't tear it down, blow it up or burn it to a crisp."

Harry looked at Ran who was scowling at his dad's retreating back.

"You've done all those three?" He asked, wondering if Ran was anything like the twins. Ran gave him a sheepish look as he picked on a loose thread on his shorts.

"Not really, just slightly. When I was six I blew up parts of my dad's potion lab, at seven I tried to breed fire lizards in the kitchen hearth and when I was nine I caused a small rock slide behind the shed and it collapsed."

Harry couldn't help it, he tried not to laugh, but it came out as a snort and then it morphed into a full laugh. It felt so good to just laugh, after the morning and afternoon he'd had, it bubbled through his veins, made him feel light hearted and light headed.

§§§

Remus Lupin, werewolf, bibliophile, mild tempered and generally Mr Nice Guy was ready to pull out his own hair, scream in frustration and throw The Tantrum of the year. How in the seven hells had Tonks managed to botch up a simple day watch so badly? Oh, she'd told him, and at first he'd been exasperated until she'd gotten to the conversation, then he'd been thoughtful and worried for Harry. But then she'd gotten to the part that had gotten her thrown out and he had just about blown his lid. It shouldn't be possible to be that thick, not as an auror. So he'd told her not to tell anyone about it and just go to work, he'd fix it for her. Not that he knew how, but he'd figure something out.

So here he was, looking at the house Tonks had told him Harry was at and wondering how he was supposed to get to talk to the boy. He did understand why Tonks had reacted like she had, but that didn't mean he thought she'd done the right thing. While he was disillusioned and thus invisible, most message spells would be seen and so they weren't an option, he'd wished for a moment for the communication mirrors that James and Sirius had used in school, but Harry didn't have one and neither did he. He could write a note and send it with an owl, but that would mean leaving his post and he would not leave Harry without possible back up. It was rather annoying the mess Tonks had left for him. Taking a deep breath, he tried to search through his brain for a spell that could go through any ward, be invisible and non threatening.

He'd just about given up when a man, dressed in strange flowing trousers and a loose, oversized tank top stopped to check the mailbox. He was Asian with shoulder length, black hair and had silvery grey eyes. Remus watched as he pulled out a couple of letters and some colourful flyers before he turned and headed towards the driveway. The mailbox! How could he be so stupid? And his chance at getting Harry a message had just walked away, the man was almost at the door. Cursing his own stupidity, he was ready to hex him self, he started pacing up and down the pavement.

§§§

Harry had been helping Ran unpack the rest of his bedroom. Ran had told him that they'd moved here a week ago, but most of their belongings hadn't arrived until yesterday, so he'd been sleeping on a conjured mattress. Apparently the mattress had liked to squeak every time he'd turned, and that it was just like his otosan to give him a squeaking mattress. He had asked then what otosan meant, and Ran had told him it was the Japanese word for father. Harry had pondered on that for a while, pondered on whether or not to ask where his mother was or if he was adopted. Ran didn't look too much like Mr Storm, even if they had the same tan skin, and Harry didn't know what his otosan looked like. He did look a bit Asian, his eyes were almond shaped and slanted, but that didn't nesceseraly mean he was. It had felt strange to steal glances at his new friend as they unpacked, trying to puzzle out the purple eyed boy's heritage, but it also felt good to think of anything so mundane rather than Voldemort.

"Ran! Harry! Dinner!" Mr Storm's voice more or less boomed through the house and Ran massaged his ears.

"I'm not deaf, no matter what he thinks..." He muttered, giving Harry a grin and Harry grinned back. "Come on, I'm hungry."

Downstairs Harry was presented to Akira Ryuzaki Storm, a man almost as tall as Mr Storm and with a soft, slightly shy smile. He told Harry to call him Storm-san as he understood it could be confusing with two mister Storms. Harry had just nodded and thanked him, he had been wondering what to politely call Ran's otosan.

The dining room was packed with more cardboard boxes along the wall, but the round table was seated with four chairs and a large wok pan stood in the middle of the table, a bowl of steaming rice next to it.

"Dig in boys." Mr Storm grinned, handing them paper plates and plastic forks and spoons. Storm-san poured water into slightly cracked mugs, setting them down before them. Harry was nudged into serving him self first, Ran muttering into his ear that he was a guest and guests were given food first. It made him blush slightly, but the smell of the stir-fried vegetables and rice made his mouth water and stomach growl, so he gave him self a generous plate and sat down, thanking them all the same.

"Do not think about it, Harry-kun." Storm-san smiled, helping him self to some rice. "Ran-chan has a hard time making friends. It pleases me greatly to see he has already met and made a friend."

Ran groaned and gave his father a dirty look, but kept on eating. Harry just smiled, he didn't mind being Ran's friend. Ran had already tried to save him from a pervert, even if it turned out not to be one, and hadn't treated him any different when he'd been told of who he was. And it would be nice to have a magical friend to hang out with during the summer.

It was almost ten o'clock before Harry thought to leave. After dinner they had gone back up to Ran's room and Ran had taught him a card game called Pantheons. One had a deck of cards each and in that deck one had creatures pertaining to the god who you played and one had to beat the other's god in order to win. You used your creatures to hurt the other god or their creatures standing in defence, but there were also cards that had other effects, such as spells, curses, hexes and even cards that healed the god or the creatures. Harry had had a great time learning the game and playing it, it was a magical game and when you pitted creatures against each other a small illusion of the beasts fighting appeared, or when they used spells, like a fireball, a small fireball zoomed towards the intended target, leaving the card slightly singed. At first Harry had thought that the card had been damaged, but Ran just waved off his concern, the card would return to normal once the game was over. They had played for hours, laughing and cheering for their cards.

"I should be going back to my aunt and uncle. They should be home soon and I should probably be there when they do." Harry sighed as he got up from the floor. They had spent the last hour looking at the different cards Ran had.

"Right." Ran smiled at him, getting up as well. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure!" Harry grinned, happy that Ran wanted to spend more time with him.

"Besides, if you come here tomorrow, your guards won't be able to snoop on you." Ran had a point, Harry thought. That order had some gall to follow him without his consent, he understood their worry about Voldemort, but if Dumbledore were so concerned he should have had Harry stay somewhere else during the summer. With that in mind he thought it was time he utilised his marauder and slytherin side, time to make their life a bit more miserable.

"I'll probably come by sometime around nine, ten-ish." He grinned as they came into the living room. Mr Storm was laying on the couch with his head in Storm-san's lap, his wand out and pointed at the opposite wall. Storm-san was reading a book, saying no every time Mr Storm changed the colour of the wall. He wasn't even looking up from the book!

"Leaving already Harry?" Mr Storm asked, looking surprised.

"It's almost ten, koi." Storm-san replied, making his husband check the time with a tempus spell.

"Oh." Was all he said.

"Have a good night Harry-kun. Be safe and have pleasant dreams. You are more than welcome back anytime you so wish."

"Thank you." Harry smiled at the two as he bent to tie his shoelaces. "Thank you for dinner and letting me stay for so long. I'll see you tomorrow Ran."

"Night Harry!"

The door shut softly behind him and he breathed in the cooler night air. It was still hot out, but much more manageable and he was already looking forwards to the next day. Walking out into the street he turned towards no4 Privet Drive.

"Harry!" He knew that voice, even if he hadn't heard it for a year. Slowing down he waited for the werewolf to show him self. "Do you have any idea how late it is?" Remus was walking next to him now, dressed in a threadbare tweed suit with his robe folded over his arm.

"I know the time Mr Lupin." He answered, slightly annoyed that the first thing Remus had said had been a reprimand.

"If you know the time, why aren't you home? Your aunt must be worried..."

"The Dursleys aren't worried. They probably aren't even back yet." Harry cut Remus off, a frown creeping over his brow. Hadn't Nymphadora told Remus anything? She said she would, didn't she?

"Not back? They left you alone for the whole day?" Remus sounded surprised which in turn surprised Harry. He had sort of steeled him self for another fight. "Harry... could I ask you a question?"

"Sure..." He glanced sideways at Remus, trying to figure out why the werewolf seemed to hesitate. "You can always ask. Can't promise I'll answer."

"Fair enough." Remus sighed before falling silent, seeming to need time to formulate his question. Harry just kept their pace slow, trying not to get too worked up or nervous about what it was that Remus was going to ask him. He was just about ready to tell the other to just get on with it when Remus spoke; "Do you have a key to the house?"

Harry was a millisecond from blurting out something non complementary about how long it took to ask such a stupid question, but his brain had finally caught up with what Remus was asking and he felt his cheeks flush.

"No." He breathed, not able to look at the werewolf. A hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"Harry, what would you have done if you hadn't meet the Friedland boy?"

"Eh, who?" His quiet shame vanished in the blink of an eye, Harry had no idea who Remus was talking about.

"The Friedland boy. The boy you've been staying with all day?"

"His name isn't Friedland or whatever it was you called it." He chuckled, shaking his head.

"It said so on the mailbox." Remus looked at him quizzically.

"His name is Storm, Remus. Ran Storm." Harry smirked. "Fryland was probably the ones they bought the house from, they just moved here."

"Ah." The werewolf looked a bit sheepish and wasn't that a contradiction of terms. "Eh, well, my question still stands. What would you have done if you hadn't met him?"

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shoving the other into a trouser pocket.

"I'd probably stayed at the park all day. I had a really good, long book to read as well."

"And what about food and drink? You didn't have anything with you, did you?" This time Harry gritted his teeth, not really getting why they were getting worried now all of a sudden. No one had cared before and it felt like it was to late to start now. But he held his tongue about it, he'd heard the genuine worry in Remus' voice and it was a bit touching as well.

"There's a drinking fountain in the park. I would have been fine."

"Maybe. That still doesn't mean I'm okay with it." Remus said gently, his warm brown eyes serious.

"Well, I spent the entire day with Ran and his dads. There was vegetable stir-fry with rice for dinner and müsli with yoghurt and lots of fruit for supper." He didn't add that it had been the most he'd eaten in a day since he came back for the summer.

"Sounds... ehm, healthy." The werewolf seemed a bit put off by the menu, but Harry had loved it and he just grinned back. "And they were okay with you staying for so long?"

"Yeah, seems like I've got a standing invitation to come by. Apparently Ran takes months to make friends when they move, so his dads was really happy." He couldn't help the grin that stretched his lips, thinking about Ran and his dads and their acceptance of him gave him a warm, slightly fuzzy feeling. It was nice.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask..."

"Their not." He cut in, shaking his head. "Don't ask me how I know, but they are good people. I know it could be just them luring me into a false security, but Remus, if I'm to go about thinking everyone is a death eater in disguise I'll go mad. Hells, even you could be one if you are to go down that road. And what about the Dursleys? Ever though about them being convinced by death eaters to hand me over?"

"They can't get to your house Harry." Remus obviously thought that was going to reassure him but Harry just shook his head.

"All they need to do is find out where I went to primary school, check who is my guardians on the records and then pay Vernon a visit at his work."

"Harry, there are wards on your house. They keep you and your aunt, uncle and cousin safe. It's why you need to go back every summer, so that the wards can recharge." That was news to Harry and he frowned at Remus. He didn't know much about wards, but it sounded strange that a ward could do that. Maybe Mr Storm or Storm-san would know.

"And how does that work exactly?" He asked, a sneaking suspicion coiling in his stomach.

"I don't know really." Remus sighed. "Dumbledore put them up when he left you at your aunt." And there it was. Harry knew he had to find out all he could about those wards now, if Dumbledore was behind them he wouldn't trust them for a second.

They were almost at no4 Privet Drive and there were still no lights on, nor did Harry see the car in the driveway but he suddenly remembered the parcel he'd been given that morning.

"Hey Remus, do you know anything about a shop or something called Archer, Brighton and Davies?"

"Archer, Brighton and Davies?" Remus looked a bit puzzled as he rubbed his chin with one hand. "No... but I know of a law firm named Archer, Broughton and Davies. Why do you ask?" Broughton? Wasn't it Brighton? Harry mentally shook his head dismissing the thought.

"An owl delivered a package to me early this morning. Dropped it on my desk. I didn't open it or touch it, but it said it was from those names."

"Maybe I should take that package with me, check it over for curses, hexes and other malevolent charms." Remus mused. "Once it comes up clear I'll give it back."

"I could just take it to Mr Storm. He could check it over and then I wouldn't have to wait until next time you're watching me to get it back." He replied, he was getting rather curious about it now that he knew it was from a law firm. Remus looked like he wanted to protest at that idea but in the end he seemed to change his mind.

"You could do that, but I'd like to know what it is. If it is from a law firm I don't know what it could be about."

"Sure." Harry shrugged, he would need to ask Ran if they had an owl he could borrow, or if Mr Storm or Storm-san could take his reply to the owl office and mail it for him.

"Good." Remus smiled gently and patted his shoulder.

AN; Thank you for reading, it's a slow start I know, but hopefully it's not to bad. -Yrde