Right, sorry this took so long. I promise I'll speed up a bit! J Enjoy!

I'd like to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Tinabedina and Nagh, you lovely, lovely reviews! This part is dedicated to you both! Also to Yoda, I love your story! Keep up the good work!

And a very big thank you to my brother for helping me out with this, your support is invaluable!

Disclaimer; I don't own the H.P characters, all I own is the plot and one or two new characters that have yet to show up!

WARNING! Mild, occasional swearing usually aimed at the Malfoys! (As it should be!)

*

Chapter Four; Return to the Burrow


Over the course of the next few days, Harry went to visit Bella and Lupin whenever he could escape the hawk-laser stares of his aunt and uncle.

The full moon passed and Lupin was looking very ill, but he assured Harry that he would be fine by the end of the week. He also offered to escort Harry to the Weasleys if he wouldn't mind. Harry accepted the offer almost before Lupin had finished the sentence.

The Dursleys had agreed to let Harry go. It hadn't taken much persuasion because this meant that they could get rid of him several weeks earlier than they hoped. Plus the fact that the garden party incident was still fresh in their minds!

Ron had sent Pig back with another letter a few days before Lupin had planned to leave.

Hey Harry!
Can't wait for you to get here! We've got a visitor who I think you'll want to see. Won't say any more on that, I might let something slip!
You should be able to get here by the floo system. (You do remember how to use it, right?) Try and get here before ten o'clock, Mums planning on cooking a huge lunch so it's best if you get here before she takes control of the kitchen fire!
Lupins welcome to come if he wants.
See you then!
Ron

Harry felt even more impatient to leave Privet Drive after that. Who was this mystery visitor?

Harry had already packed his Hogwarts trunk with all his robes, books and just about everything else he owned. One of his most cherished possessions was his top-of-the-range racing broom; the Firebolt. Sirius had sent it to him anonymously for a Christmas present in his third year.

Another good reason for going to the Weasleys was that Harry would be able to play Quidditch. He played Seeker on the Gryffindor house team and needed to practise. After seeing the Quidditch World Cup last summer, Harry was itching to try out some new moves.

When Sunday finally arrived, Harry dragged his trunk and Hedwigs cage over to Bellas home to find Lupin ready to leave, dressed in a worn travelling cloak.

'Ah, Harry!' he said when Harry had pulled his trunk into the living room. 'Are you ready? Do you have everything?'

'Yep, Hedwig's gone on ahead. I didn't think she'd like travelling by floo.'

Bella came into the room holding an odd little ceramic pot and with a dozen cats trailing behind her.

'Well, here you are, you two,' she handed the pot to Lupin. 'It's been a real pleasure having you both around.'

'Shame we can't stay longer but it's best if we go as soon as we can, the Weasleys are expecting us.'

Lupin pulled his wand out of his small battered travelling case and conjured a fire in the grate. Taking a pinch of floo powder he turned to Harry.

'Ready?'

Harry nodded and grabbed hold of his trunk and Hedwigs cage. Lupin threw the powder into the flames which turned emerald green, rising higher than Harry.

'Goodbye, you two!' Bella waved cheerfully as Lupin picked up his case, laid a hand on Harrys shoulder and shouted 'The Burrow!'

Instantly the fire roared and whipped them from Bellas front room into the floo network. As the flames whirled around them, Harry shut his eyes tight to keep out the soot and held his elbows close to his sides as he spun very fast.

Moments later, they began to slow down. Harry opened his eyes slightly, catching glimpses of fireplaces flashing past. Then, all at once, Harry fell forward into the Weasleys kitchen in a cloud of soot. Lupin landed with a thud next to Harry and groaned softly.

'Are you okay Remus?' Harry asked, thinking that he might have hurt himself.

'Yes, I'm fine, Harry.' He said getting up off the floor. 'I'm just not fond of taking the floo. Makes me feel rather queasy.'

At that moment almost the entire Weasley clan burst into the kitchen and in minutes Harry and Lupin were enjoying a large lunch of Mrs Weasleys excellent cooking with the rest of the family.

Mrs Weasley insisted that both of them were 'pitifully thin' and needed 'fattening up'. Harry found it rather difficult to empty his plate with Mrs Weasley pilling more food onto his plate every five minutes while Ron and the twins engaged him in the all consuming Quidditch talk.

'Angelina's left now so we're another player short.' George said between mouthfuls of chicken.

'We need a new captain too,' said Fred. 'Who'd you reckon it's gonna be, Harry?'

'Probably Katie or Alicia,' said Harry truthfully. 'Somehow I can't see either of you two as captain, we'd never get any serious training done!'

'I can't see ourselves as captain either,' laughed George. 'but why not you, Harry?'

Harry looked up from his lunch in surprise.

'Me? Captain?'

'Sure, why not?' said Fred.

'You'd make a great captain, Harry!' said Ron, grinning broadly.

'Hang on, doesn't Professor McGonagal and Madam Hooch decide on who's captain?' asked Harry.

'Yeah, but seriously Harry, out of the five of us left on the team, who else could possibly take on the responsibility?'

'I don't believe that word is part of your vocabulary, George.' Said Percy haughtily from his end of the table.

'Bugger off, Perce!' Ron snapped while Mrs Weasley was in the kitchen getting more lemonade.

Percy swelled angrily but was unable to retaliate as Mrs Weasley came back outside, glaring at her sons as if she'd heard them.

Harry looked down the other end of the table to where Remus and Mr Weasley were talking. Remus was shaking his head sadly as Mr Weasley whispered something to him, a sombre expression on his face.

Harry, although he knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, caught a few snatches of their conversation over the twins taunting of Percy.

'Arthur, you can't. . . . . . . . . . . . not safe. . . . . .'

'. . . . . . . . . . nothing we can do. . . . . . .'

'. . . . . why. . . . . . . . not shown. . . . . . . . . been nothing since. . . . . . . . about Harry.'

Harry instantly focused more on their conversation as Remus mentioned his name.

'Makes no sense. . . . . . . .'

'. . . . . . . . .have to wait. . . . . . . . . . . . . .be safest at Hogwarts. . . . . .'

'. . . . .making people nervous. . . . . . . . . . . . . nothing at all. . . . . . no idea. . . . . .going on. . . . . .'

'Hey, Harry? Earth to Harry, come in Harry!'

'What?' Harry jerked round to see Ron glaring at him.

'Haven't you been listening to a word of what I've been saying?'

'Nope, sorry. What did you say?'

'I've decided to try out for the position of Keeper this year!'

'Really? That's great!' Ron beamed with pleasure.

'How about that then?' said George. 'Three Weasleys on the team!'

'We'll be unstoppable!' Fred grinned.

While this was all good news, Harry made a mental note to speak with Remus later about the Voldemort situation.

After all, what else could they have been talking about?

*

Later that evening Hedwig turned up while Ron and Harry were attempting to make a house of cards. They were using cards from an exploding-snap pack which was making the activity much more interesting!

Hedwig had just settled down next to a snoozing Pigwidgeon when Harry remembered about Rons last letter to him.

'Hey, Ron?'

'Hmm?' Ron was carefully trying to stand two cards together.

'You mentioned something about a visitor in your last letter.' Harry began. 'Who is it?'

Ron, giving up on the cards as they slipped off the structure, looked at Harry excitedly.

'Sorry, but I really can't tell you who it is.' He said, slyly.

'What? But you said they were here!'

'Yeah, well, he had to leave early this morning -'

'He?'

'Or she,' Ron gave him a sidelong look. 'I'm not saying anything other than you'll see him, or her, later on when they get back.'

'When?'

'I just said, later!'

'Who is it?'

'Not telling!'

A loud hoot sounded right behind Harry causing both boys to jump. Hedwig was glaring at the pair of them as she shuffled around on her perch before tucking her head back under her wing.

'Sorry, Hedwig.' Harry said soothingly. The owl gave a soft hoot in reply as she drifted off to sleep.

*

Unfortunately for Harry he was unable to get Ron to tell him the mystery person was, nor could he get a chance to speak with Remus who made a point of leaving the Burrow in the early hours of the morning and returning after dark.

Mrs Weasley had giving him the spare room and didn't object to the hours he kept. Harry could only assume that this had something to do with Voldemorts return but as no one had mentioned anything about it, Harry couldn't help but think that he was deliberately being kept in the dark.

On the flip side Ron was eager to train for the Quidditch tryouts so Harry and the twins readily agreed to 'help' and thus spent the next few days in the small paddock the Weasleys owned.

Ginny often went with them. She was very swift on her old broom and certainly kept Ron busy, throwing an old Quaffle all over the place for him to catch.

Fred and George seemed to be attempting to combine Quidditch with Shuntbumps. (A/N; see Quidditch through the Ages if you don't have a clue what I'm going on about!) The result was that they ended up in a tangled heap on the ground more often than remaining on their brooms.

Harry soared like a hawk on the wind, astride his Firebolt, speeding through the leafy gaps in the trees.

While Quidditch was Harrys passion in life and was a great distraction from just about anything that might be going on; Harry found his mind wandering away from the paddock and focusing more on his godfather, wherever he was.

He still hadn't written back to Harry but there wasn't anything in the Daily Prophet about the Ministry capturing him which in itself was good news. Sirius might not even be in the country for all Harry knew.

Hang on. . . .what if Sirius was Rons mystery visitor?! Ron did mention that Harry would want to see this 'visitor' and Sirius was right at the top of the list. On the other hand, did Rons parents know about Sirius? Had anyone told them the truth, that he wasn't a murderer?

Harry paid for his lapse of concentration at that moment when Ginny accidentally hit him in the back of his head with the Quaffle, nearly causing him to slip off his broom.

'Oh! Sorry, Harry! Are you okay?' Ginny came swooping up beside him, looking anxious.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' Harry adjusted his glasses as they were threatening to fall off and smiled reassuringly at Ginny.

She blushed then said 'What where you thinking about?'

'Huh?'

'You looked. . .distracted. Thinking deep thoughts?'

'Oh, um. . .' Harry thought hard for a moment. Does Ginny know by any chance? Is it safe to ask her?

Harry glanced over at the twins, both of whom were pelting Ron with apples. They looked pretty well occupied. He turned back to Ginny.

'Ginny, can I ask you something?'

Her face lit up.

'Sure!'

Harry paused, wondering how to phrase the question.

'Err. . . . has there been any. . . um. . . .anyone. . . .dropping by the Burrow lately?'

Ginny looked puzzled for a second, then grinned.

'Oh, I know what you're going on about!'

Harry stared.

'You do?'

She nodded.

'Who is it?'

'Can't say.'

'What? Why not?'

'Promised I wouldn't!'

Harry groaned inwardly.

'Irritating isn't it?' Ginny giggled. 'When people know something that you don't?'

'Very. Wait, does everyone here know who this person is?'

Ginny nodded.

Harry heaved a sigh.

'Do you have any idea who it is?' Ginny asked.

'I have one idea who it might be, but I somehow doubt that it's him.'

'Well, you'll find out . . . . . . . eventually.'

And she pulled her broom around and sped off back to the others.

*

In the end, Harry gave up trying to figure out who the Mystery Person was and started looking forward to when Hermione would be back from Bulgaria, then come to stay for a while with the Weasleys.

What Harry found odd was that the Weasleys seemed eager to keep Harry out of the house during the day, Ron and the twins especially.

Every day they suggested going out on their broomsticks or else going down to the village of Ottery St Catchpole. When Harry mentioned going back to the Burrow, one of the twins would 'suddenly remember' something else that Harry hadn't seen yet and drag him off again.

So it wasn't exactly surprising that Harry was beginning to suspect that they were up to something.

Chapter Five; Reunion.


Harry awoke one morning and was surprised to find that Ron wasn't oversleeping as usual. His bed was empty and (what's going on here?) neatly made up. The sunlight streaming through the window caught Harry right in the face, he rolled over shielding his eyes and looked up at the clock on the wall. Ten o'clock?!! Harry sat bolt upright. He hadn't meant to have slept for this long! Why hadn't Ron woken him?

Fighting the lethargy he felt, Harry scrambled out of his camp bed and started pulling on his clothes. Half dressed he stopped. . .looked around. Something was different.

It took Harry a few more seconds to realise that Hedwig and Pig were missing. The cages by the window were empty.

Not only that but the ghoul in the attic was quiet. The whole house was silent. Not a single sound could be heard.

Harry stood still, listening to the silence. Normally the Burrow was a hive of activity and noise. This eerie silence was extremely unnerving.

What if there was something wrong? Had something happened?

Harry went straight to his trunk and dug out his wand. As soon as he had it in his hand, he felt somewhat more confident. Harry knew plenty of spells with which he could defend himself, which was a very good thing with Death Eaters lurking around.

Harry crept to the bedroom door, eased it open and peeked down the corridor.

Nothing there.

Quickly and as quietly as he could, Harry went across the landing, then tiptoed down the stairs, pausing on each landing to listen carefully.

But the Burrow was as silent as a tomb. No hooting of owls. None of the bangs or even smells from Fred and Georges room. There wasn't even the scratching of a quill from Percys room.

'Where is everyone?' Harry muttered under his breath.

He continued his progress down through the silent house to the ground floor. Harry was starting to feel more than a little nervous; his heart was thumping rather painfully and (it seemed) kind of loud in the still air.

Gripping his wand tightly in his fist, Harry snuck over to the kitchen. Empty.

By now, Harry was getting more than a bit worried. There didn't seem to be anyone in the house but him. Why? The Weasleys wouldn't have gone out without him, would they? Very unlikely.

A horrible thought surfaced in his mind. Death Eaters. What if Voldemort had ordered them to attack the Weasleys?! Harry could almost hear Lucius Malfoy suggesting it, the evil bastard!

That didn't fit though. If the Burrow had been attacked and the Weasleys kidnapped, why had Harry been left behind? Plus there was no evidence that a fight of any kind had taken place. Everything was in its usual place.

'Okay, that pretty much rules that out.' Harry spoke softly to himself in order to try and relieve the tension he felt.

THUMP!

Harry whipped round and raised his wand, pointing it out into the hallway.

Something was in the living room.

Slowly, Harry walked out into the hallway and proceeded to the living room.

At the doorway he stopped. The rest of the house was flooded with the morning sunlight but why was this room so dark?

Cautiously, Harry stepped into the room. Then….

'SURPRISE!'

The lights suddenly snapped on and-

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!'

Harry froze in complete shock and blinked hard as his numb brain took in the scene.

A huge multi coloured sparkling banner with the words: Happy Birthday Harry, scrolling across it, was hanging in the air among several balloons of various colours and shapes that altered every few seconds. Clouds of gold and silver streamers were snaking through the air over the heads of all nine Weasleys, Remus, Hermione and. .

'Sirius!'

Harry bounced into the room and ran straight into the open arms of his godfather.

The two embraced for a minute before Harry stepped back and turned to look at the Weasleys with an insanely happy grin on his face.

Mr and Mrs Weasley were beaming at him.

'What is all this?' Harry asked disbelievingly, indicating the marvellous decorations.

'Oh, did we get the date wrong?' Bill asked questioningly. '31st of July is your birthday, isn't it?

'Yeah, but. . . . . why. . . ?' Harry trailed off, almost too overcome to speak.

'Like we need an explanation?' Ron grinned.

Sirius threw an arm around Harrys shoulders.

'Happy Birthday, Harry!'

*

It was, without a doubt, the happiest day of Harrys entire life!

He had never really celebrated his birthday before, but today he was among friends and family all wishing him many happy returns.

Harry had a permanent smile on his face all day long.

A barn owl swooped in through the window around midday carrying a parcel wrapped in blue-green paper and a letter for Harry from Hagrid.

Happy Birthday Harry!
Sorry I couldn't come to ya party but I'm a bit busy right now. I'll be back soon hopefully. See ya at Hogwarts in September. Hope you like the pressie!
From Hagrid.

P.S Olympe says Happy Birthday too.

Harry carefully unwrapped his gift to reveal a beautiful set of gobstones made of blue marble.

He also received a deck of Exploding-snap cards from Fred and a large box of Dr Filibuster Fireworks from George.

Percy had given him a large jar of specially formulated wand polish that would completely eradicate any greasy finger marks from the wood.

Bill presented Harry with a sacred ibis feather quill from Egypt.

'Very useful, those are.' He said as Harry examined it. 'They'll write exactly what you dictate to them. Cuts back on the number of times you get writers cramp doing homework!'

Rons present was a copy of Quidditch Through The Ages. 'This way you don't have to wait ages to get it out of the library.'

Hermione also gave Harry a book; Illusions Made Easy. 'I don't think it's part of the curriculum but I thought you might be interested.' She said nervously as Harry flipped it open to the first chapter: Casting Shadows.

'It's brilliant!' Harry said in earnest. He honestly couldn't wait to try out some the spells!

Hermione glowed with pleasure.

Ginny shyly handed Harry a small parcel wrapped in silver paper. Inside was an emerald green drawstring bag containing a large pink coloured stone about the size of an egg.

'It's a rose quartz.' Ginny explained. 'They have healing powers, not sure how strong they are but if you don't like it-'

'It's really thoughtful of you Ginny. Thank you very much!' Harry smiled at her as she blushed bright scarlet although looking very pleased all the same.

Charlie's present was a miniature backpack.

'It's an owl-post bag.' He said as Hedwig fluttered down from the windowsill to inspect it. 'There's an expansion charm on it so you can put several items in there at once. Another good thing about these is that no matter what you put in there, it will always weigh about as much as a feather!'

Hedwig stood as still as a statue while Charlie demonstrated to Harry how to put the pack on her. Once the pack was secure, Hedwig began strutting up and down the living room table like a model on a catwalk, showing it off proudly.

Mr Weasley had brought a shining silver whistle that hung a scarlet ribbon trimmed with golden thread.

'I've altered it so that only Hedwig can hear it!' he said excitedly. 'It took a while but I've trained her to come when she hears it!'

Harry couldn't stop stammering his thanks for all the gifts. He felt quite embarrassed that couldn't the words to express his feelings but they seemed to understand.

The lights dimmed as Mr Weasley flicked his wand. Then Mrs Weasley entered the living room carrying an enormous cake in the shape of a Quidditch pitch; complete with iced players and balls. Fifteen candles blazed brightly in the semi-darkness as everyone started to sing 'Happy Birthday'.

Hedwig, Pig, Errol and Hermes even joined in, hooting in unison.

Harry blushed, completely embarrassed by the attention.

Mrs Weasley carefully sat the cake down on the table in front of him as the song came to an end and told Harry to make a wish.

Harry had never been able to perform this Muggle tradition before and felt that he ought to wish for something really special for his first ever birthday wish.

He looked up at his godfather, who was sat beside him with a mischievous grin on his glowing face. Even his eyes were sparkling in the flickering candlelight, not at all like they were when Sirius had escaped Azkaban. On the run for a crime he did not commit, unable to prove that he was innocent . . .

Harry looked into the dancing flames and wished.

The candles flared brightly as Harry took a deep breath and blew all of them out in one puff.

*

Later that evening everyone was enjoying second helpings of cake and drinking butterbeers. Fred and George had set off several Filibuster Fireworks, flooding the air with yellow and purple stars. Pig was bordering on hysterical fits of happiness as he zoomed around the room, racing the fireworks through the air and up to the ceiling. Errol had to be placed in the kitchen away from the noise and lights, which he obviously detested. Hermes and Hedwig were sat on the windowsill together, feasting on chocolate owl-treats and dead voles.

Everyone was enjoying the buffet Mrs Weasley had prepared and Charlie had coaxed Hermione into dancing with him to the latest song by the Weird Sisters. Bill and Ginny were 'attempting' some warped version of the waltz together as Fred and George cracked up laughing at the sight of them.

Harry was happily slurping a large glass of Butterbeer when Sirius tapped him on the shoulder and beckoned him to follow.

Sirius led Harry outside into the back garden that was lit softly by glowing fairy lights in the bushes. Sirius stepped onto the lawn and turned to face his godson.

'So, have you enjoyed yourself today?' he asked.

'Yes! Definitely!' Harry smiled up into Sirius' face. 'This is the best day of my whole life!' Then he added, 'Especially because you're here.'

Sirius looked at him for a moment, and then drew him into a hug.

'I'm glad you've had a good time, you deserve it after all that you've been through.' He whispered. 'Now,' he released Harry and spoke normally. 'I've got to give you my present.'

Harry said, 'You don't have to give me anything-'

Sirius chuckled.

'Maybe not, but I want to.' He reached into his robes and produced a parcel wrapped in gold paper and handed to Harry.

Slowly, Harry took the beautiful gift into his hands, feeling it's smooth oblong shape and straight sides.

'Thank you.' Said Harry softly.

'Open it.' Sirius urged him. 'You don't know what you're thanking me for.'

Carefully, Harry slowly unwrapped the gift as Sirius watched in silence.

As the paper fell away, Harry looked down on a handsome leather bound book. There was no title. Harry glanced up at Sirius who indicated that he open it.

Harry opened the cover to the first page and his eyes fell upon a large black and white wizard photograph of Sirius, Remus and his father James, each of them smiling and waving up at him. Not one of them looked a day older than sixteen.

'I know you have photos of your parents but I didn't think you had any of them when they were your age.' Sirius pointed at the photo. 'That was taken during our 'Marauder' years, not long after we became Animagi.'

Harry, completely spellbound, turned the page.

The next photo showed James and Lily beside the Hogwarts Express with Sirius in the background, hanging out of a window, waving and trying to get into the picture. Lily turned round and shoved him out of sight, back into the compartment and slamming the window shut.

On the opposite page was one of Lily and James in what looked like the Gryffindor common room playing wizard chess. James slumped in his seat as Lily sent her Queen piece forward to checkmate the king.

The next one showed James on his broomstick flying around with two other students, tossing a Quaffle to each other.

Page after page of photos, each with one or another of the Marauders (excluding Wormtail) or Lily, either on their own or in a group with other students, all smiling and waving.

Right at the end was a group photo of James, Lily, Remus and Sirius standing on the steps leading up to the oak front doors of Hogwarts in a four-way hug, laughing and joking.

'You like it?'

Harry tore his eyes away from the album.

'Like it? No.' Sirius looked surprised. 'I love it!'

Sirius' face relaxed and looked very much relieved.

'I'm glad. Remus found most of the photos, helped me make it in time.' He glanced over Harrys head towards the house. 'Speak of the Devil.'

Harry turned to see Remus emerge from the house.

'There you are! I was looking for you Harry.' He strode over, rummaging around in his cloak pockets. Finally, he drew out a large yellow parchment envelope.

'It's a joint present from both of us.' He said and handed it to Harry.

Intrigued, Harry opened the envelope and pulled out a large blank square of worn out parchment.

Harry stared at it for a moment. Slowly comprehension dawned.

'Is this . . . .'

'Maybe not new, but certainly improved!' Remus smiled.

Harry took his wand out of his pocket, touched it to the parchment and said, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'

At these words, ink lines appeared, spreading into every corner, forming the infamous Marauders Map.

But as Harry watched, he noticed that there were differences. When he'd last seen the map there had been seven secret passages leading out of Hogwarts to the village of Hogsmeade. Now though . . .

'How many?!'

'Five leading out to Hogsmeade and eight passages around the castle.' Remus said.

'Why weren't they on the map to begin with?' asked Harry.

'Well, it was confiscated during our sixth year,' said Sirius. 'But we kept looking for more passages, we just weren't able to get the map back from Filch.'

'Where did you get this?' Harry frowned. He'd lent it to Moody, or rather Crouch Jr, earlier that year.

'When Dumbledore was telling me what had happened, he mentioned Crouch using a map of yours. Obviously he meant the Marauders Map so just before I left, I swung by the office and snitched it back.' Sirius suddenly looked a lot more, well, serious. 'But Harry I want you to promise me that you won't go sneaking out of Hogwarts-' Harry groaned. 'if Remus or myself aren't there.'

'Huh?' Harry wasn't sure he followed that.

'Listen, this year I want to be as close as possible to Hogwarts. It's my duty to watch out for you, Harry. But I can't guarantee that I'll be there all of the time, so Remus has agreed to help me out with this.'

Remus smiled warmly at Harry who was staring at the two of them. 'Dumbledore knows that we'll be on hand should anything happen. At least one of us will be in the vicinity of Hogsmeade at all times.

'So in theory, you'll be relatively safe.' Sirius gripped Harrys shoulder firmly. 'Promise me you'll stay in the castle?'

'I promise.' Said Harry firmly. 'Cross my heart.'

*

To be continued . . . .


*


Well, there you have it. Chapters four and five finished at last! Jeez my fingers hurt after all that typing! J

I know it's a bit slow getting started but I will get the gang off to Hogwarts soon.

PLEASE REVIEW! It's very encouraging to know that you're enjoying this! (Gets me writing faster!)