Harry slowly chewed his sandwich, waiting for Remus to break the awkward silence. He was not one to show emotion and this last outburst was simply mortifying to him. He was thankful though that Remus did not seem to be holding it against him and was currently staring off into space.

"Well Harry, I think there are some things we need to talk about. Admittedly, I was not planning on bringing you back with me. Your aunt simply wanted someone she could get answers from and someone from our world that you could perhaps spend a bit of time with to help you cope. Please, don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to have you stay," he added as Harry glanced nervously down at his plate, obviously feeling as though he had intruded. "However, with my condition and your predicament, we need to decide on some things. First, what are we going to do about protection? Your safety is compromised here. The house is unplottable, and I can put up wards, but you expressed a need to be alone, and I will respect that, but that means the Order will not be trailing you. Then, we have the matter of my being a werewolf. Someone will need to watch you," he reasoned. Harry was about to protest that he did not need a babysitter but from the look Remus was giving him, he knew it was just as much for his piece of mind, as for Harry's protection. Harry nodded and thought about his options.

He could go and stay with someone, the Weasley's perhaps, but that just did not appeal to him. There he would be fussed over and he would need to confront Ron (and perhaps Hermione) about the prophecy and what had happened at the Ministry. He needed to be alone with someone who did not view him as a child and knew that he needed space, so that was out of the option. There was the option of going to Grimmauld Place and staying with the Order. The adults there were probably clever enough to leave him alone, but then again, he had no desire to go anywhere near that house, but the idea of being surrounded by then was good. He figured that Remus would be fine with someone coming over to stay with him. They were in a remote place and only three people knew where he was so it would not be necessary for an entire guard to come over. Yeah, that sounded good. He introduced the idea to Remus who contemplated it for a moment.

"Well, admittedly, I would prefer that you left the house. I would be transforming in the basement, which is warded and locked so the likely-hood of me getting out is very slim, but there nonetheless. But, I guess you have already decided against that option? All right, I'm sure that that can be arranged. Did you have anyone in mind? Mad-eye or Kingsley perhaps?" he suggested. Harry pictured the members and immediately ruled out several. Snape, Mundungus, and Mad-eye were out of the question. He had nothing against Moody; he respected him as an auror, but he could be very... over-bearing at times. He thought about Kingsley, then Hestia Jones and Emmeline Vance, but he did not know them very well so that did not appeal to him. Basically, that left the older Weasleys, the Hogwart's teachers, Professor Dumbledore, and Tonks. He immediately dismissed the idea of one of his teachers watching him. That just seemed awkward to him and the idea of spending a night in the presence of Professor McGonagall just scared him. Dumbledore was also dismissed, as he was not ready to face the older wizard, having destroyed his office just a week or so ago. The Weasley brothers, Bill and Charlie did not sound bad, but then again, if Mrs. Weasley found about that they knew where he was, then it was likely that she could persuade them to tell her.

"How about Tonks?" he suggested. Remus chocked on the water he had just sipped and began coughing. Harry found this most unusual of a reaction, but shrugged it off, guessing that Harry would have picked someone more experienced or someone he was more familiar with.

"A-are you sure about that? I mean, Tonks here... and I... I never thought you were particularly close," Remus stumbled over the words.

"Yeah well, she seems cool and like someone who would not think of me as a little kid who needs to be constantly watched but who could do the job should the need arise," he explained. "Besides, she was Sirius's cousin and that could be comforting, and maybe this would give her something to focus on. But, are you alright with that?"

"Yes, I'm fine with that. Why wouldn't I be? Tonks is a very capable member of the Order and you make some very good points. I will contact her later to ask about it," he answered perhaps a tad defensively. Now Harry was intrigued. He felt there was something more to this picture, but now was not the time to pry. "Alright, so then there is the whole getting you better thing. I find the best thing to do is get a project going. So, is there anything you would be interested in doing, a skill you want to learn or a subject of interest to you?" Harry thought about it but shrugged; he really didn't know.

"I like Defense against the Dark Arts, and some of that stuff is cool," he mumbled. He wasn't really interested in anything right now.

"Alright, well we can investigate aspects of that. I know you're not really into anything right now Harry, but we have to get you back into something that isn't mourning. Besides, between the war, our isolation, and my financial state, things will get boring real quick for you here, so I recommend you find something soon." Harry nodded in understanding and fumbled with his rolled up sleeve. He was in one of Dudley's old t-shirts that was huge on his lackey frame. He had to roll the sleeve up be able to use his arms. Remus watched him for a moment, his eyebrows knit together. "Harry, what are you wearing?" he asked, observing the state of his clothes.

"Some of Dudley's old things. It was this or my uniform," he explained. Remus shook his head and sighed.

"We'll have to go shopping sometime. However, I think some of my old things are up in the attic and they should be fine until then. Come on," he prompted, clearing the counter with a flick of his wand. They head back down the hall and with another flick, a ladder dropped down from the ceiling. The two climbed up and came out in a dusty, messy room. Boxes and trunks were all over the place. Remus moved over to let Harry come up, but he looked utterly confounded on where to begin. There must have been a million places to start. Thankfully, his mother was just as organized as he was and the boxes were labeled, so his stuff was quickly identified. He levitated the twenty or so boxes marked "Remi's stuff" down the ladder and into Harry's room. They quickly left the dusty room and began to open boxes.

"I can't believe she kept my baby clothes!" Remus cried as he held up a tiny pair of socks and a bib. Harry laughed, trying to imagine Professor Lupin as a baby.

"Well, I'm sure they were very special to her, Remi," he teased, invoking the dreaded nickname, earning him a swift glare.

"Don't go there. You should have heard some of the names Lily gave you, Shnookims," he fired back. Harry turned a bright red as Remus chuckled softly.

"She really called me that?" Harry asked as he opened a box of books.

"Yes, and James and Sirius hated it. They claimed it was insulting to their Prong-let," he explained with a sad smile. Harry returned his smile with a nod.

"I like that, Prong-let. Did I have any other names?" he asked curiously. This was something he was interested in, his childhood. He had grown-up in a household where he had been referred to as "boy" and "him" and on occasion "it". It was nice to know that at least for sometime he had been referred to affectionately.

"Well, Sirius liked to refer to you as Puffball, and I... well, I called you Pup," he admitted. Harry was surprised, sort of grasping the affection behind the name.

"Pup," he repeated it, trying it on for size, "I like it." Remus blushed and muttered 'thanks.'

"Oh, here we go," he said, waving Harry over to a box filled with jeans, shirts, and robes. He left Harry to change and was allowed reentrance after a few minutes. He assessed Harry's new appearance and gave him an approving nod. "It seems a fairly good fit, perhaps a bit too long, but much better than Dudley's things. Yes, they'll definitely work for now." Harry looked down at his appearance, very pleased with the results. He looked over at the boxes then back at Lupin.

"You want to go through the rest of them?" he asked. Remus got a smile that was reminiscent of a child on Christmas and the two spent the afternoon looking through the boxes. Many of them contained old books, some had toys, and others held more clothes from different stages of life. Finally, one trunk remained. Harry opened it to find it filled with pictures and letters. Remus leaned over to see what was in it and his face fell a bit, but simultaneously took on a new glimmer of happiness. He pulled the stacks out of the trunk and he and Harry huddled close so they could read the letters or examine the photographs to which Harry would get a long explanation of the situation under which it was taken. They started out from his Hogwart's days, letters from Sirius, James, sometimes Peter, and few other people, then turned into letters from after school and the tone of these letters definitely held a darker tone, though they always held pleasant topics. There was also Harry's parents' wedding invitation, his birth announcement, and other such things. One letter though really struck his attention.

Dear Mooney,

We're sorry you could not make it to Harry's first birthday. We know how much you would have loved to have been there, hope you're feeling better. It was a very small affair, just tea with Bathilda. Poor girl, her memory's definitely going, but she's been so sweet to us. Harry seemed to have enjoyed himself. He definitely has your love of chocolate as his cake was smeared all over him. James blames you for that. Thank you for the stuffed wolf; Harry loves it. He clung to it all night long. I think the cat felt a bit rejected, but she's forgotten that because Harry's nearly run her over on his toy broom. Remind me to kill Sirius for giving him that. I honestly don't know why you hang around with those two crazies Remus.

Besides that, things are very quiet and dull here. James is going mad with boredom and Dumbledore has his cloak still so he can't escape. I wish you could come and visit for his sake, but with the Order and your condition, I imagine that would be too difficult. Take care of yourself and we'll see you soon.

Lots of love,
Lily

Remus and Harry both had tears in their eyes by the time they finished that. For Harry, it was proof that his parents had really existed and that he had been loved. It also gave him insight into a life he could not remember. He had had a cat; he used to sleep with a stuffed wolf; Sirius gave him his first broom and he was dangerous on it; Lily formed her g's the same way.

"This was the last letter I got from her. After that, it was too dangerous to send post. I did get to see them one time after that, but it was only for a few minutes under grave circumstances," Remus explained tearfully. Harry, although hesitant, leaned in and put an arm around him. Remus smiled and pulled Harry in close. "I can't tell you how happy I was to hear you were alive. Through the darkness, you were a tiny little beacon of hope. I was actually going to go and get you from your aunt and uncle's but Dumbledore stopped me, explaining the situation. I don't know that there wasn't a day when I thought about you, wondering what you were doing, what you looked like, and I felt helpless not being able to take care of you. So when Dumbledore offered me a teaching position, I jumped on it knowing that I would be able to see you again, and believe me, that was an amazing year being able to see how wonderful you've become Pup. I'm proud of you, Sirius was, and I know your parents would be too." Harry felt a fresh wave of tears, but this time, it was from the undeniable feeling of being loved.

A/N: Sorry this took soooo long! I've been focusing on another story that I just was enthralled in thanks to a school paper and whatnot. So, here is the next chapter. I hope to start updating more regularly. Preferably, I will be most of the way through this story by the time school begins, because then I will be excited to write and make time in my hectic schedule to update whereas this is build-up stuff. So please read and review and remember, if you hated it, don't just tell me, tell me how to make it better.