A/N: This chapter is not so short. There are two large chucks of flashbacks which are in italics. As this fic is completely written I am going to aim to update every day or two. Fair warning though I just started a new job. As usual unbeated and un Britpicked. Please let me know if you see anything glaring.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I am not profiting in anyway from the writing of this except as an escape from real life stressors.


Kingsley rolled over and groaned as the early morning summer light entered the room of the bed and breakfast where he was staying. For this holiday he had left most magic behind. Until he had run into Harry Potter last night in a motorway service stations of all things. He had a feeling this needed to be as free of magic as possible. He could only assume that Harry resided with his Muggle Aunt and Uncle. Lily had mentioned her sister once during their monthly patrols together his fifth year. Nothing she'd said had been favorable.

He sighed and accepted that he may as well get up before the memories got him off task. After showering and shaving he made the bed and perched on the end to think up a plan. Harry's guardians-whoever they were- had likely come from London and were currently stationary. He'd just checked the tracking charm. They were in Little Whinging, Surrey. He would need to find a library or better yet some local newspapers. Then he could figure out the best way to go about gathering information on young Harry. He needed to be discrete. The last thing he needed was for the wizarding world to descend on Harry because he had been careless.

With that in mind he got ready to leave. It was summer but as he was riding his bike he wore nicely fitting jeans and comfortable shoes, a plain dark grey t shirt and a leather jacket. The jacket would be warm but it was worth the protection. His wand was secured along the back of his neck. Just inside his shirt collar. Unfortunately the heat made long sleeves awkward and he might need to take off his jacket so he couldn't wear the arm holster that he favored. He picked up his wallet making sure his Auror identification was concealed and checking the amount of Muggle money he had. It would do he decided. He gathered up his helmet and locked the door of his room. He had work to do.

Fifteen minutes later he was sitting in a small cafe on the outskirts of Little Whinging reading the morning paper and attacking the eggs the waitress had put in front of him. He was less than five minutes from where the tracking charm was still relatively stationary. He had gone by the neighborhood and seen pristine rows of houses, and it was enough to let him know that it was likely where Harry and his guardians resided.

The bell above the shop door tinkled drawing his attention as two women close to his own age came in. Both carried bags of work and after ordering tea and scones, pulled out what looked like paperwork. He went back to his reading until a phrase in their conversation caught his ear.

"...turned Phyllis' hair blue last year. She swears he did and I saw her afterwards"

He turned to the crossword in his paper listening intently

"Come now, Mary Anne," the woman on the left cajoled, "he couldn't have "and I dare say it was the push she needed to retire anyway."

"Jane!" Mary Anne sounded scandalized.

"Well she did need to retire," Jane returned defensively. "Anyway," she continued, waving the other concerns away. "I'm worried about Harry, he doesn't have any friends, you know that big lump of a cousin of his scares them all away. He ended up on the roof for God's sake and insisted he didn't know how it happened. It's not normal." Jane's voice had risen in agitation and Mary Anne shushed her looking around furtively. Kingsley was the only one in the shop and he was apparently intent on his crossword as the women, obviously teachers at the local primary school began working on plans for the next school year. That gave him an inkling of an idea, but he forced himself to turn his attention to the puzzle for the next 10 minutes. He smiled when he turned to the next clue. It seemed even the paper was with him.

[10. group voluntary labor]


"You have a sister," Kingsley was surprised, "all these months and you haven't mentioned her?" Merlin knew he had mentioned his sister enough. Complaining as any older brother would about the third year in the same house that liked to follow him around. Or rather she had until she started getting asked to Hogsmeade. Now she just yelled at him for scaring all the potential dates away. What was he supposed to do? It wasn't his fault the blokes couldn't handle a little warning to treat his sister right.

He shook his head and looked at the Head Girl, but she wasn't looking at him and her voice was shaky.

"She's not magical...and well, she hates me. Mum and Dad reckon she's jealous but..." Lily sighed, "That doesn't make the names and looks hurt any less, and now she had a pompous git for a boyfriend and she won't tolerate anything abnormal." Lily's voice dripped with venom and it made Kingsley shiver even though he knew it wasn't directed at him. "Christmas hols were horrible," she continued softly. Then she shook it off. "So I don't talk about Petunia, much it's easy to be called Mudblood by people who you expect to hate you. It's much harder to handle "Freak" from someone who used to be your idol."

Kingsley shook his head to clear the memory and stared at the empty notebook in front of him. Then he began to write. His family home, Boxwood, was a fully functioning farm and was on its way to being an accredited care home. His sister and Mum had left the country during the war, and Kingsley was left to do with the property as he pleased as long as he allowed Ollivander occasional access to the grove that had been supplying wand wood for as long as anyone could remember. It had been in his mother's pureblood family for generations, although as wizards originally from the islands they had cared less about blood than many of the old families in Britain.

Anyway, it would make a fine place to keep a child for a week, and the wards were his-that was to say top notch. There had been little Death Eater activity in the last five years and things had returned to normal for most people. He would have to see if he could sell it to the Dursleys as a program of sorts to scare kids away from doing things that would end them in a juvenile detention center. Then if he was still concerned he would go to Dumbledore. Surely he would see reason if Harry's safety was at risk. He had to.


The reconnaissance of what he now knew as the Dursley household was going well. And that was breaking Kingsley's heart. It had not been difficult to find Number Four Privet Drive, for young Harry was out front weeding the garden. By the looks of it he would have a painfully blistering sunburn by the time he was done. Kingsley itched to reach for his wand from where he crouched in the bushes disillusioned, and cast a sunblocking charm, but he stayed his hand. He didn't want to risk being discovered by doing magic; who knew what kind of extra wards Dumbledore had—rightly- put around the place.

So he sat and watched. He slipped inside when Harry was called for lunch and watched him down water and the meager sandwich like a dying man. He noticed Petunia, for he remembered her name now, reading through the mail with pursed lips. Harry watched her uneasily, but didn't say anything. Instead he just put his dishes away and continued outside to finish work on the garden.

Kingsley decided to look around the rest of the house. As an investigator it intrigued him that if he hadn't seen Harry with his own eyes and known he had been here for the last 24 hours he would never guess he lived here. There was no evidence of a second boy. No second child size coat hung on the hook, or art on the ice box and absolutely no pictures.

He moved silently up the stairs having placed all spells on himself a good distance away from the house and took a look. There was the master bedroom and obviously one that belonged to the son Dudley, and what must be a guest room for it didn't look lived in. He frowned as he entered the last room. He had expected it to be Harry's, but it was filled with broken toys and some books and in the corner were obviously bags of old clothes. But there we no trainers half under the bed and the bed itself was neatly made under the toys. A fine coating of dust covered a shelf of obviously unread classics. That begged the question:

Where did Harry sleep?

Come dinnertime Kingsley would wish he didn't know.

Kingsley had watched with his mouth set as Harry helped his Aunt prepare dinner, using the stove under her not so watchful eye. When her husband came home, she greeted him and the family sat down for dinner. Vernon, as Kingsley learned he was called, went on about a recent spree of carjackings and muggings, blaming degenerates and looking at Harry the whole while. Once dinner was cleaned up Petunia cleared her throat taping the mail she had been reading earlier against her palm. Both boys sat. Harry was expressionless, but Dudley's face carried a little smirk.

"I got they boys term reports today Vernon"

"Well let's see them," Dursley boomed," I want to see how our Dudders did."

Petunia looked down, "Mrs. Higgins says that Dudley needs summer school."

"That simply can't be right."

Harry lost his battle with his emotions and let out a little smirk. Vernon latched on to it. "Think it's funny do you boy" His voice was loud and the smirk vanished from Harry's face instantly

"Nooo," Harry said quickly

But Vernon had already grabbed Harry's report and seen the comment that the teacher was very proud of his progress this year. "Impossible," the big man blustered, "you must have switched the report you little brat,"

"But Uncle Vernon I..." Harry pleaded.

"Enough," Vernon bellowed, "I'll have no more of your lies about Dudley." He grabbed Harry by the ear and forcefully lifted him from his kitchen chair. "Into your cupboard now," he continued, and Kingsley could only watch shaking with his own rage as the man opened the cupboard under the stairs and Kingsley had just enough time to see a mattress on the floor before heard the muted thump of Harry falling against it. "No meals for a day. "You'll stay in there too, until you realize you can't use freaky tricks to make us think less of our Dudley."

It took Kingsley an entire recitation of the British Monarchy starting with William the Conqueror to calm down enough that he felt he could leave with some modicum of self-control. Luckily by then the three Dursleys were gathered in front of the telly and would not have heard him leave. Needing to do something with the heat and anger still coursing through him, Kingsley ran the two miles until he thought it was safe to apparate. He did so, removed the charms from himself, and then walked a short distance to his room.

He collapsed backward on the bed trying to still his racing heart.


"Shacklebolt I need a word."

Kingsley looked up from his table surprised, but he cleared the chair next to him none the less and moved the stack of books to the floor. One did not say no when the Head Boy asked for a word. James sat with a huff still sweaty and obviously just from Quidditch Practice.

He cocked his head to indicate he was listening and waited for Potter to continue. They had had little interaction besides the beginning of the year perfect meetings and opposite sides of the Quidditch pitch so Kingsley was curious.

"Look you know Evans- Lily and I have to patrol every night from 10 to midnight right?" Kingsley nodded. "Tomorrow night I err-can't" Kingsley frowned at the non-excuse, but it wasn't unheard of to switch patrols he knew. "Look," Potter continued running a hand through his hair "I'll take your next patrol with Worthington if you.."

Kingsley raised an eyebrow, "I highly doubt either Lily or Professor McGonagall will be amused if you are skiving off of patrol to plan a prank Potter, " Kingsley replied coolly, "And if you think that just because I am a fifth year I will do whatever you ask, you have another thing coming"

"What no!," James got a look from Madame Pince and lowered his voice. "It's not for a prank. I can't tell you alright, I promised." He let out a frustrated sigh. "Look I asked you because I'm worried about the Slytherins. Lily and I have been having some trouble during our patrols."

"Lily can take care of herself."

"What, oh, of course she can," James smiled and was then serious again. More serious than Kingsley had ever seen him. "And so can you, I've seen you your casting 7th year Charms and Defense spells already with a decent amount of power. I'm not worried about Lily, but she can't afford to be with someone incompetent."

Kingsley was stunned into silence. He didn't think anyone had noticed. Potter seemed to take the silence as a need to be more convincing.

"Like I said I'll take your next patrol with Worthington. When is that?"

Kingsley started, finding his voice, "I'll keep my patrol thanks." He spoke perhaps a bit too quickly.

because James looked nonplussed, but then he shrugged and nodded.

"Thanks Shacklebolt, I owe you one. Oh, I meet Lily in the Entrance Hall at five till." He spoke over his shoulder and nearly bumped into the person who was intent on claiming his seat and behind a stack of books. "Oh hello there Worthington," he grinned at her catching some of the book as they toppled from their precarious pile and set them on the table. He turned and winked at Kingsley and then he was gone as quickly as he had come.