I own exactly nothing of this story. The world is completely J.K. Rowling's (besides a few new characters) and she deserves all the credit. I'm just merely playing with the toys she left out.

A/N; Hi! My name is Ryan, and I'm about to say the thing everyone hates to hear at the beginning of a story... this is my first attempt at fanfiction. GASP! I know, I know. But rest assured, I studied creative writing for three years in college, so I at least have the basics down. I promise, this will not be a grammatical/spelling nightmare, but I'm making no promises on the story, itself! I urge you to read the first few chapters, figure out if you like what's going on, and If so stay with me for the journey!

Oh yeah, about those grammatical/spelling errors, I don't have a beta right now, so allow me one or two. If you like the first chapter and are interested on me relying on you way too much let me know! I'd love some help! The first few chapters will be quite short, but don't worry, they will be getting much longer. I expect this to be a long piece, maybe around 30 chapters or so. Please review so I can figure out why I suck!

Chapter 1

"What time is it?"

"12:15… five minutes later than it was last time you asked," whispered the witch with the bubble gum pink Mohawk. "Calm down Bill, he's coming tonight. I know he is."

"Yeah well, I wish he'd hurry up. I'm sick and bloody tired of waiting around for something to get done here." Bill Weasley brushed the hair out of his face and looked up from the backyard of a handsome suburban house. "I can't stand it anymore. He looks so lost," he said, grief evident on his face. "He should have never been sent back."

"You know I agree, but every one of us, including you, has tried persuading Dumbledore to get him out of here. We all got the same response." Nymphadora Tonks looked up to the boy she had come to respect and care for over the past year. Harry Potter sat in his window, a street light shining down on his scarred forehead pressed against the glass. Even in the pale moonlight she could see how pale he was, and how sunken his eyes had become from lack of sleep. She couldn't see the rest of his body, but she could guess that he was once again much too thin for Molly Weasley's liking. "You've been here more nights than I have, does he ever sleep?"

"He tries. His light will stay off for an hour or so and then the dreams hit. It's so hard to hear his screams and not be able to help him." Bill paused to control his emotions. "I've got to hand it to him though. Most nights when he wakes up he goes straight for his text books. He's had to have read all of them through by now."

"Why isn't he reading now do you think?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems like every few nights his screams are especially bad. I'm guessing it's when the dreams are too much for him. He can't seem to do anything except stare into the darkness. I've been here just about every night, and I don't think he's noticed me once. I just hope he knows we're here for him." Bill leaned back against the tree and rubbed his eyes with his balled fists. He took a moment to check his surroundings, a habit most people had grown accustomed to in the past year.

They stood underneath an enormous Elm tree which seemed to stand guard over the property. The rest of the yard was perfectly trimmed and weeded, but underneath this tree was a gathering of weeds and flowers that grew with freedom and would not be kept away. Bill had watched Petunia Dursley come out to this spot many times in the past few weeks, but not once did she attempt to trim the undergrowth. Instead she watered the beautiful white and purple flowers and hummed a song, almost as if she were singing to the flowers themselves. Had Bill paid attention in Herbology he would have recognized the tangle of flowers as the Asiatic lily.

His eyes travelled around the small backyard which was surrounded by a six-foot privacy fence. He could see parts of the houses on either side of Number 4 Privet Drive, and they all looked eerily similar, with the exception that none of the other houses in the neighborhood had as impressive a tree as the one under which they were standing. Bill shifted his gaze back to the window and the face of Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. He tried to imagine the window with prison bars on the outside, which there had been just four years ago. "What time is it now?"

"12:22… Come on Remus…" Tonks pleaded into the night air.

At that moment Harry's two guards heard a sharp 'Pop' fill the night. Both wands were drawn out of instinct as they carefully looked around for the witch or wizard who just apparated nearby. "It's him," said Bill, stuffing his wand back into his pocket and breathing a sigh of relief. "About time."

Tonks turned to look at the new arrival, and immediately felt her stomach drop. Remus Lupin looked nearly as bad as Harry did. She had heard from Arthur and Bill that he had taken Sirius' death hard, but to see him like this was much harder than she expected. Remus was a werewolf, and therefore never incredibly healthy looking or clean cut, but he always had an air of confidence about him. This was a man to turn to in times of need, and he never failed to come through.

Tonight, however, he looked truly awful. His robes were tattered and torn. His hair was a mess, with even more gray than a month ago. His face was gaunt, like that of a man starving to death. But the worst part of his appearance was his eyes. Normally they were so full of life, an interesting swirl of gray and blue, always calculating or studying. They were kind eyes, and sometimes even held the twinkle that Dumbledore was so famous for. Tonks was quite drawn to Remus Lupin's eyes, and it nearly broke her heart to see them now, so lifeless.

Remus closed the gate behind him and staggered into the backyard, to the tree and his friends. With a nod to Bill and a ghost of a smile to Tonks he began to speak.

"So what's the emergency…" Lupin trailed off as his eyes traveled from his friends over the perfectly manicured lawn, up the perfectly clean walls of the house, to the window of the second floor bedroom. As his gaze rested on the face of his best friend's son the werewolf's remaining strength disappeared. He stumbled backwards until he felt Bill catch him from behind, but he never took his eyes off the face of the boy he had come to love.

Bill and Tonks watched as he stared up at Harry and witnessed the physical change that overcame their friend. The look of utter despair that crossed his face was too much for Tonks to bear. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug from the side. If he noticed her arms draped around his chest he did not let on, and Tonks felt the warm tears that fell silently from those desperate eyes land on her sleeves. How long they stood like this, Tonks leaning against Remus who was still supported by Bill, none of them could tell.

When the tears ceased to fall Tonks let go and stepped away. Remus stood up straight, but never looked away from the window. The wind picked up and began to blow the leaves off the trees and the street lights near Number 4 seemed to flicker. Finally, Remus shook himself and turned around. As he faced them Tonks could not hold the gasp that escaped her lips. His face didn't hold the despair she had expected, but a frightening amount of anger and determination. Even Bill, who had worked in the scariest of places, and encountered the most terrifying of beasts, quailed under his stare. This wasn't the look of a loving teacher, mentor and friend; but that of a werewolf, and a very powerful wizard.

Remus didn't speak. He stepped around his friends with surprising quickness and stormed to the gate and outside the wards on Number 4 Privet Drive. He apparated with so loud a 'CRACK' that birds took off from their nests and dogs began to bark.

Tonks turned to Bill Weasley whose gaping mouth made him look exactly how she felt. They snapped out of their reverie and Bill scooped her into a hug and spun her around, whooping with glee. For they knew that the one man who had the intelligence and quick thinking to argue with Dumbledore, the strength and knowledge to fight for Harry, and the underground connections to hide him if need be had just reached his breaking point. They knew he would not stand by and watch Harry suffer, and they knew that tomorrow night Harry Potter would be out of Surrey and with the man who loved him more than Harry knew.

"There it is. Let's go."

Severus Snape took a deep breath and lifted his eyes to the night sky. The red sparks that signaled the execution of their orders floated slowly from the sky, disappearing before reaching the tops of the houses a block away. Severus watched as Remus Lupin, dressed in all black, led the way into the street, and towards the signal. His stride was sure, steady, and his posture was that of a man on a mission. Severus had to admit, despite his loathing of the self-named "Marauders," it was difficult not to respect the werewolf at times like these.

Tonight, Remus wasted no time. Severus, who considered himself quite adept at reading people's thoughts and feelings, could pick up nothing from the werewolf. He had shut everything down. Everything except his desire to see his mission accomplished.

Severus had been in a meeting with Professor Dumbledore when Remus surprised them both by floo-ing directly into the Headmaster's office, an action only taken under extreme circumstances. He was further surprised by the man's behavior once in the office. For as long as Severus had known him, Remus held a tight rein on his emotions. Last night, however, the werewolf had barely taken the time to dust himself off before laying into the Headmaster. His argument was no doubt justified, as it was the same argument presented by multiple Order members, but it was the emotion behind the words, not the words themselves that seemed to strike Dumbledore directly.

For his part, the old man had kept the surprise off his face, but Severus, who knew Albus better than most, could detect the unease in his posture. He knew that Albus had presented this same argument to the Minister of Magic himself, something Remus was unaware of, but the thick-headed leader of the people was too stubborn to listen. Severus met with the Headmaster shortly after this encounter, and witnessed the sorrow in the man's demeanor, but Albus believed that if he were to be seen actively working against the Minister, the public's panic would be uncontrollable, thus rendering the Headmaster helpless. Faced with the fuming werewolf, however, Albus seemed to have a change of heart. And that night, between the three of them, they had formed a plan to remove Harry from his guardian's house, without angering the ministry.

The plan, which had taken hours of discussion, was what brought Severus Snape to Little Whinging on a mild summer night. Severus couldn't help but agree that the mission was necessary, the risks, however, were enormous. He was part of the group led by Remus, whose job was to get into the house, calm Harry down, and escort him to the outside of the wards in order to portkey him out. Severus' presence was required because of the unknown physical state of the boy. Judging from the reports of the night guards, Harry was not doing well at all, and the shock alone could cause serious health problems for him. Severus brought a supply of every emergency potion he could think of in order to be prepared. It was suggested that it would be unsafe for Severus to participate, but none of the wizards were willing to take the risk of someone untrained in potions administering the wrong remedy.

Remus would act as the leader and scout of the group, looking for any Death Eaters or ministry officials. The Order could not risk either group seeing Severus. If the Dark Lord found out he had participated in this rescue mission, his life would be forfeit, and the Order's only spy into Voldemort's group would be gone. It was Remus' job to keep Severus from being seen by whatever means necessary, and Severus was heartened to see how seriously the werewolf took his job.

The third member of their group was Tonks, whose job was to take Harry's place. The idea of a Polyjuice Potion was the original plan, but Tonks, having heard of this refused to let anyone but herself impersonate Harry, her argument being her metamorphagus abilities allowed her to do so without being dependent on a potion. Her argument was hard to ignore, as the Order could not afford any unnecessary risks. Severus watched as the witch stood and followed Remus into the road and towards the target house.

Severus took one last deep breath to settle his nerves, and followed after his companions. He hoped with every ounce of his being that the Weasley twins' distraction would be enough to keep both the Ministry and the Death Eaters away, but he felt that there was too much that could go wrong with this aspect of the plan. Nevertheless, he followed Remus down the road, and onto Privet Drive. The trio crept behind the houses, and proceeded to dash from yard to yard, climbing the fences as quickly as possible to not be seen.

Upon reaching Number 4, the group stopped and regrouped behind the large elm tree. "You both know the plan. Let's do this fast and get out of here without being seen, yeah?" Remus seemed a little uncertain, and it showed in his voice. Severus responded with a nod of his head, as did Tonks, and the Remus led the way to the back door.

"Alohomora," the werewolf whispered. Severus heard the lock click, and followed Remus into the house. As he strode down the hallway to the staircase, he couldn't help but notice how unnaturally clean the place was. The walls were so white that they actually reflected the half-moon's light, something Severus was unfamiliar with spending most of his time in a dungeon. He stormed up the stairs, his robes billowing behind him. He had little regard for the noise of his footsteps, and almost wished the Dursley's would come out of their rooms to complain. He may have felt little affection for the boy, but even a fool could see that he was severely mistreated by his so-called family, and Severus would have had no qualms cursing if the time called for it. He nearly sprinted to the first room on the right, and threw open the door, breaking the cheap lock from the frame.

Harry, sitting at the window, didn't even flinch at the sound of his door being destroyed. Severus stepped aside to let Remus go to the boy, and glanced around the room. He saw the remnants of the meals shoved under the door by Harry's aunt, and was worried to see that even such a meager meal as a bowl of broth and a bread crust was left uneaten. He wondered how long it had been since Harry had had a decent meal, and thought of potions that couldn't be used because of the lack of food in the boy's system. He turned to the bed and realized it was really just an ancient mattress with springs coming through the fabric, and a thin sheet for warmth. His stomach turned as new hatred rose within him for the Dursley's.

Remus slowly approached the boy, who seemed to be lost in a trance. "Harry," he said, his voice almost a whisper. "Harry, can you hear me?"

"Of course I can hear you, professor," his eyes never left the window. "I also saw you sneaking around in the backyard. Why are you here?"

Remus shared a worried glance with Tonks, who was standing by the bedroom doorway. "Right, of course you did." The usually confident wizard seemed uncertain of how to proceed. "Well… we are here to take you away, if you want to join us…"

At this Harry finally tore his eyes away from the window, a disbelieving look in his eyes. Before he could respond, however, everyone in the room tensed as they heard heavy footsteps rushing up the hallway. Harry moved quickly to stand in front of Tonks, wand in hand, seemingly aware of what was to come. Before anyone could move an enraged Vernon Dursley filled the doorway.

"BOY! What is the meaning of this! Bringing other freaks into my house in the dead of night! This is the last straw!" As he bellowed his last word the largest Dursley rushed towards Harry, fist clenched to strike a very powerful blow. Before he could raise his fist, however, he was hit with a banishing hex that sent him flying into the wall on the other side of the hall, where he slumped to the floor, clearly unconscious.

Harry turned quickly to Remus, but it was Severus who held his wand leveled, a look of intense loathing on his face. This seemed to be too much for the boy to bear, as his eyes rolled into his head and he began to fall. With lightning reflexes, Remus scooped Harry up before he could hit the floor and looked to Severus. "That was a very satisfying thud." He moved to lay the boy on the bed. "Do you have anything for Harry?"

"Well his passing out actually makes things easier. Perhaps just a strengthening solution. He is frail beyond belief, but he should keep until morning at least." Severus bent to pour a small vial of light blue liquid into the boy's mouth.

Remus scooped the boy back up, cradling him like a small child and turned to Tonks. "You've been quiet. Second thoughts?" He seemed to ask almost hopefully.

"Not on your life. I just can't get over this place. Severus, I don't know whether to thank you for cursing Dursley, or curse you for getting to him first!" Tonks' hair changed colors as she spoke, showing her anger.

Severus nodded, finally getting control of his emotions. "He will need a memory charm before he wakes. Remus, we need to leave." He pulled out the empty potion vial and tapped it with his wand, enabling it as a portkey. The wards on Number 4 would not allow portkeys in, but out was a different matter.

Remus nodded, but turned back to Tonks. "Be careful. No unnecessary risks. The guard will be outside if you need them, and I'm just a short floo-call away."

Tonks grinned. "Yes, Dad."

"I mean it, be careful."

Her smile softened. "I will. See you soon."

Remus crossed to Severus and put a finger to the potion vial. As they felt the familiar tugging sensation they watched as Tonks walked over to Vernon Dursley, accidently tripping and stepping on his face as she moved to Obliviate him.