In the Evening: November 2nd

Fawkes had appeared so suddenly that Remus Lupin had been badly startled, to the point that he had crushed the thick mug of hot chocolate he'd been drinking. He pulled the slivers of thick ceramic from his skin and dropped them into the trash, his thoughts pulled between the mess he had inadvertently made to why Fawkes was there. Remus quickly washed his hands off, ignoring the sting of his new, slowly healing wounds, then turned his attention to the phoenix. The mess of hot chocolate and shards of ceramic could wait while he saw to what he assumed Dumbledore had wanted. "Hello there, Fawkes."

The phoenix stared at him with unblinking amber eyes and tilted his gorgeously plumed head to one side. After a moment he held out an envelope for Remus to take. It was thin, and the werewolf took it, blinking almost incredulously at the familiar messy scrawl on the outside. Emotions surged through him, anger first and foremost, and he was nearly tempted to throw it into the fire in his hearth without even glancing at it.

Fawkes had brought it to him, though, so Dumbledore must have had his reasons. Giving a weary sigh he carefully sliced the envelope open and pulled a single piece of parchment from within it. He hesitated for only a second before he unfolded the parchment and let his gaze slide over the words there. He nearly dropped the parchment on the first sentence, his grip tightening slightly enough to crinkle the pages.

Remus,

It was Peter. He betrayed them. James and Lily are now dead because of him. They're dead, Moony, but Harry is safe. He's with me and… I can't explain this over a letter, Moony. Would you please come? Ewan can bring you to us.

Padfoot

He crumpled the short letter once he had finished reading it, his thoughts swirling frantically. James and Lily were dead. Peter had betrayed them. James and Lily were dead. It was Peter's fault. Harry was still alive. Peter had betrayed them all. James and Lily were dead. Harry was safe. Ewan could take him… Ewan?

Remus went completely still, from his thoughts to the unconscious pacing, and looked at the phoenix. He smelled exactly as he remembered Fawkes to smell. He even looked the same. "Fawkes, is your name Ewan now?"

The phoenix trilled merrily and quickly alighted upon Remus' shoulder. Nudging the werewolf on the cheek, Ewan trilled some more.

What on earth was going on? "Take me to Sirius and Harry, please." Without even waiting a beat, he was swirled away in Ewan's flashy flames, the puddle of hot chocolate and ceramic shards forgotten.

They appeared in the lounge of an incredibly spacious and luxurious room, right in front of a man that had the hairs all over his body standing on in. The wolf in him snarled at the unknown threat, and he quickly pulled his wand out.

The stranger didn't flinch, only stared at him with cold hazel eyes. "You had best put your wand away." His tone was clipped, and Remus could read the obvious threat of pain in this stranger's posture. "I have allowed you here in my home, wolf."

Remus stiffened at how this stranger addressed him, his throat going dry while fear started to edge in. He was vaguely aware of a rush of feet coming down some stairs, and then he was barreled into by a large, black dog. He dropped his wand out of shock, while he hit the floor pretty hard himself as one Sirius Black assaulted his face with a dog's tongue.

"Sirius! Stop! Stop, I give!" He tried his best to push Padfoot off, but it was to no avail.

The stranger had the gall to chuckle at them and moved to pick up Remus' dropped wand. It was placed up on an end table, within Remus' sight, and then the stranger moved closer to them. "Sirius, let him up."

Sirius surprisingly followed the order and once he had gotten off of Remus he had returned to his human form. "Sorry 'bout that, Moony, but it was the only way to get your wand off of you."

Remus sat up, wiping the dog slobber from his face, and gave Sirius a nonplussed look. "I was going to put it down, Sirius."

"That is debatable, since you seemed to have been reacting to my presence. Your inner wolf saw me as a threat." The stranger's expression seemed to warm up some, or he at least didn't seem as threatening as before. "You can sense what I am, and your reaction was perfectly natural."

What he was? Remus blinked and stared up at the stranger, who looked perfectly normal to him. Looks were deceiving, however, and his scent stated that he was most certainly not human. "You're… A vampire?" He glanced over to Sirius, who didn't look surprised at this information at all. Just what was going on?

"A vampire, yes. Just not the garden variety kind. I'm special, and there are only a handful of special vampires like myself in the world. We don't play well with each other, and I don't really like the lesser types either. They cause problems for me." The stranger held out a hand for Remus to take, as he was still on the floor.

Remus hesitantly took the man's hand, which felt quite warm for a vampire. It was almost like he was still alive. Standing up, he studied the vampire carefully, who seemed quite at ease with having a werewolf around. "So…"

"Oh, pardon me. My name is Kyrios Stavros. I have invited you here on Sirius' behalf, and I am Harry Potter's primary legal guardian." The vampire, Kyrios, said it so casually that Remus had to run the words through his head a second time. Kyrios, a vampire, was Harry's primary guardian? "Padfoot?"

"Yes, Moony?" Sirius cocked his head to one side as Remus addressed him, looking perfectly alright with everything that was going on.

"What in the bloody hell is going on?"

At Midnight

It had taken several hours, many cups of delicious hot chocolate and a magical straight jacket to convey everything that had happened to Remus. The werewolf had been none too pleased to find out that Dumbledore had intended to abandon little Harry Potter on the stoop of Lily's sister, and had gotten up to head for the fireplace. Kyrios hadn't thought anything on it, but apparently Sirius knew better and thus the reason for the magical straight jacket.

"Oh, believe me, Remus. I would love to tear the old man to pieces, but I am going to make him suffer. A lot. His entire world will crumble around him and he won't be able to do a damn thing about it." Kyrios gave a near saccharine smile with his announcement, which seemed to calm Remus considerably. "I am enlisting yours and Sirius' help to bring him to ruin. We also have Amelia Bones and Ragnok, the King of the Goblins, on our side."

"What about the…" Remus blanched, unable to bring up the subject of Voldemort and the Horcruxes.

"Sebastian will be working on that." Kyrios knew that the demon was capable of hunting down the soul shards and whatever container they were likely to be in. It would simply take time, so there was no telling if it would be months or years before Voldemort was truly gone. As long as the Dark Lord didn't regain a body…

"That aside, Kyrios here has been reading up on the curriculum for Hogwarts, and even I was astonished to find that a lot of classes we had taken aren't even up there anymore." Sirius held out the folder for the Hogwarts curriculum, which Remus tooks. "And a rather... Useless class was added just this past year."

Remus frowned and flipped through the folder. His amber gaze scanned the contents and his frown quickly deepened. "This is… You can't prepare children for the real world like this. A lot of this is outdated too. And Latin is gone?"

"Aren't your spells done in Latin?" Kyrios raised a brow, though the question was quite redundant. "I was also wondering why there isn't a magical primary school."

"Well, Purebloods have their children tutored in their primary years," Sirius cut in, knowing all too well what Pureblood life was like.

"And the children from mixed or non-magical families?" Kyrios' expression was one of concern, because surely there were children of mixed parentage, or even ones that came from a non-magical background.

"Most children from mixed families are not so lucky. The ones from mu-non magical families aren't even aware of their magic until they receive their Hogwarts letter." Remus' explanation was succinct enough, at which Kyrios outright scowled.

"That is unacceptable. There should be a magical primary school so that the children, all of them, can begin to understand, if not grasp, their developing magical powers. It would most certainly help to teach them all Latin in their primary years, as well as other useful skills that will help them when they reach Hogwarts." Kyrios slumped in his armchair and stared at the coffee table between the three of them. "What is it? A lack of funding? No one to teach the children? No teaching materials?"

"If I had to caution a guess, it is probably because no one ever really thought about it." Sirius himself started to frown. "Most Purebloods only care about pushing forward their own agenda. Children born to non-magicals are often ignored, even if they have really good ideas. Those of mixed parentage tend to just keep their heads down and try to get the best jobs they can. Truthfully, the Purebloods are the ones who decide everything for Wizarding Britain. Whether through bribes or bullying, they're the ones who have the most say."

"This is so ass backwards..." Kyrios gave a drawn out sigh and rubbed at his temples. "So, if by some miracle we get the approval to build a magical primary school, what would it take to get this thing going?"

"Well, first things first. Where will the school be located?" Remus had somehow procured a pad of paper and a self-inking quill, and had the quill tip hovering over the paper.

"That would depend on where the students will be coming from. It they will be coming from all over Great Britain then a centralized location would be best. North Yorkshire, specifically the Richmondshire district." He knew that Hogwarts was located in Scotland, which made little sense to him. "We would need to get a land grant and building permits, and make the area…"

"We would want the school to be unplottable, as well as make it so that non magicals cannot see or go near it. The school will also need to be warded." Remus started to jot down notes on his pad of paper, a look of faint concentration settling onto his scarred face.

"We will want top of the line wards, Moony." Sirius picked up a fresh mug of hot chocolate and sipped at the dark liquid. "Do you know how many children might be attending the school?"

"I wouldn't know. Is there some sort of device that can track the birth of every magical person?" It was likely how Hogwarts found out about their future students.

"I believe there is. We would need to request permission to access the magical birth archives." Remus grimaced, because that would certainly be hard information to get. "How will the children be getting to school? And will they be staying at the school for the entire school year?"

"I don't think children that young would be able to handle staying away from their homes and parents like that. Would a daily drop off and pick up work?" Kyrios frowned, unsure of what to say in this case.

"We could do daily drop offs and pick-ups for the First Years. Second Years and up would stay through the week and return home each weekend." Remus made notations for how they would handle the comings and goings of the children, his amber gaze flicking up to meet Kyrios' and then Sirius' eyes. "Staff members should be appointed to collecting the children, so no untoward characters get onto the property."

"That much I can agree on," Kyrios muttered, his thoughts drifting to Albus Dumbledore. "Only staff members and the enrolled students should be allowed on campus. Visitors will need to fill out an application and verify who they are by blood before being allowed on the premises with an escort. They cannot go unaccompanied, even if they were to be the Queen of this country."

Sirius blinked, a bit befuddled by the Queen comment, then leaned over to ask Remus, "We have a Queen?"

"Non-magical monarchy. She and a select few, including the non-magical Prime Minister are aware of our existence. It would be through Her Highness that we are to request a land grant." Remus nudged Sirius aside and resumed his note taking.

"That reminds me. I see there is a Muggle Studies course available, and it is optional at Hogwarts, while there are no classes on Magical Culture and Etiquette. Magical and Non-Magical Culture classes will be mandatory starting with our Second Years and all the way up, and should be combined with History. We should also consider teaching basic mathematics to the students. Physical fitness should be mandatory for all years, as well as Latin." Kyrios paused there and flipped through the folder with the Hogwarts curriculum once more. "Teaching Potions to the students at such a young age would likely be rather unadvisable. Instead, we could maybe have a class on recognizing potion ingredients and how to handle the safer ones for years Four and Five. We could also combine that with Herbology for the same years. Care of Magical Creatures should be another mandatory course, but there aren't many safe creatures to teach about. That should probably be a Fourth and Fifth Year class only. We won't be teaching them magic, so Transfiguration, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts Hogwarts only classes. As for Divination…"

"Divination is a load of rubbish. We never had a Divination class, and from what I can understand is that you need to be born with the Sight." Sirius set down his now empty mug and got up to pace. "From what Lily and James told me, there was supposed to be a prophecy some crackpot made that concerned You-Know-Who and Harry. They never told me what it was, just that there was something."

"There's a prophecy, Padfoot?" This seemed to news to Remus, who set down his quill and notepad to get up and confront Sirius. "Why didn't any of you say something to me?"

"Moony…" A pained look flitted over Sirius' countenance and he quickly looked away from his last living best friend. "I'm sorry, Moony, but we weren't sure…"

"You weren't sure of what?! That you could trust me?! After everything we've been through, after everything all of you did for me! You didn't know if you could trust me?!" Remus' voice began to rise, and it wasn't any surprise to Kyrios that Harry woke up with a cry. This had both friends halting in their tracks while the vampire got up and went upstairs to tend to Harry. A look of defeat came over Remus and he dropped down onto the couch, his head in his hands.

Within a minute Kyrios returned with Harry, bright eyed and still a little fussy. The vampire shot the both of them a cross look then sat down with Harry in the armchair. "Go sort out your issues elsewhere, if you must," Kyrios all but hissed with a flash of fangs.

Harry, on the other hand, had other ideas and as soon as he saw Remus he held his arms out for the werewolf. "Mooey! Mooey!"

Remus startled at the mispronounced moniker that came from Harry's lips and looked up to stare at the child with misty amber eyes. He didn't move, at which Kyrios gave a seemingly suffering sigh and got up once more to bring Harry over.

"He wants his Mooey, obviously," the vampire teased, at which Sirius snickered.

Remus cautiously took Harry into his arms and stared at the child in wonder. He didn't dare move when the fifteen-month-old reached up and patted his cheek, an adorable frown marring his cheek.

"Mooey sad." Harry continued to pat Remus' cheek, which brought a tearful smile to the werewolf's face.

"No, Harry. Mooey is very happy right now." Well, it wasn't a total lie. He was happy that Harry wanted to comfort him, and he couldn't help the tears that slid down his cheeks.

In the Morning: November 3rd

They hadn't gotten anymore done once Harry had woken up, and stayed up for several more hours. The child had clung to Remus, and Sirius, in that time, before acquiescing to go back upstairs with Kyrios when he was starting to get sleepy once more. They called it a night then, Remus taking the second bedroom area while Sirius resumed his Grim form and went to sleep on the floor in front of Harry's crib.

Morning came all too soon for the adults, but Harry was positively excited and bouncing in his crib when Kyrios woke. Careful not to wake the snoozing Sirius, he picked Harry up and carried him downstairs, once diapers and clothes were changed, to find Remus seated on the couch with the notepad from last night and a cup of coffee steaming away on the table.

"I ended up with a rather oddly colored Kneazle kitten in my bed this morning," Remus said without looking up from his notes. There was a slight crease in his forehead and he was mouthing something to himself after a few seconds.

"That would be Bocchan. He is Sebastian's, for all intents and purposes." Kyrios balanced Harry on his hip while he retrieved some baby food and a feeding spoon from the little kitchen area. When he turned around he automatically gave a slight shake of his head as a highchair appeared from nowhere.

"Bocchan?" Remus set down the notepad while a perplexed expression crossed his face as he glanced at Kyrios to see what the vampire was doing.

"It was a nickname to a human that he was contracted to some time ago. Apparently the Kneazle reminded him of that human, so he named it Bocchan." Why he just didn't outwardly name the creature Ciel was beyond him. The Kneazle certainly had Ciel's attitude. "The human was called Ciel." And as if he had been called, the Kneazle kitten appeared, mewing as he twined around Kyrios' feet. "Of course."

Remus frowned as he observed the Kneazle, then got up to help Kyrios with Harry. "Did he just come when you said…"

"Ciel? Yes, I believe he did." Gratefully handing Harry over to Remus, Kyrios bent down and picked up the kitten with a frown. "Not frightened of the big bad vampire anymore, Bocchan? Or do you prefer Ciel?"

The Kneazle stared up at him, then patted a paw against the hand that held him twice.

"I'll be damned," Kyrios muttered, setting the Kneazle down onto the floor. "Oh, this is hilarious." He gave a slight chuckle and twisted open the container of baby food still in his possession. It was promptly passed over to Remus, along with the feeding spoon.

"So, that is Ciel? Why would it be hilarious?" Remus looked a bit perplexed again and began to feed Harry his food.

"Because Sebastian ate his soul when it was time for the little Earl to die." Kyrios shooed the Kneazle kitten away, knowing that he would have to discuss the matter with Sebastian once the demon returned. "Or so he claims."

"I did eat Ciel Phantomhive's soul, and it was quite delicious," Sebastian uttered as he suddenly appeared, a few letters and a newspaper in his hands.

Remus nearly dropped Harry's feeding spoon, at which the child grabbed it from his slackened grip and started to feed himself, albeit messily.

"Michaelis, please do not scare my guests like that," Kyrios chided as he took the proferred letters and paper. "Don't worry, Remus, he doesn't eat souls while under my employ. Instead, he receives my energy in exchange for his services, and my energy is quite limitless." He looked the letters over first, noting the unfamiliar names of Longbottom and Weasley, as well as a letter from Amelia and Ragnok. He set the letters aside for the moment and turned his attention to the newspaper. "Daily Prophet?"

"Oh, that's the magical newspaper for Great Britain," Remus explained as he tried to wrestle the feeding spoon away from Harry. The child started to fuss once it was out of his grasp so the werewolf relented and let Harry continue to feed himself. "They're likely still running articles on Harry."

Kyrios frowned and unfolded the paper, the headline definitely not about Harry. "Four Death Eaters Caught Breaking into the Longbottom Home!" He read the headline aloud, which drew a sharp gasp from Remus. Behind them there was a strangle sort of noise, coming from Sirius who had just woken up and made his way down the stairs.

"Frank and Alice were attacked?!" Sirius rushed over to look at the paper, his hand trembling as he reached for it.

Kyrios scanned the accompanying article and gave a shake of his head. "They had been Fire-Calling Amelia when the break-in occurred. It says they Flooed to Amelia's once they realized what was going on." These were terms that Kyrios was largely unfamiliar with, so he looked to Sirius and Remus for answers.

"Who were the Death Eaters?" Sirius asked hastily, utter relief in his and Remus' expressions.

Kyrios scowled slightly but looked back over the article for the names of the Death Eaters. "Barty Crouch Jr., Rabastan Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange and one Bellatrix Lestrange." He glanced up just in time to catch the spark of anger in Sirius eyes, and the man stormed out of the Suite. "What?"

"Bellatrix is his cousin," Remus explained gently, sender a worried glance after Sirius. "He just needs to cool his head for a bit, then he'll be back. He won't leave Harry."

Kyrios blinked a little then nodded. He understood the situation clearly, so he wasn't going to press the issue. "What is Fire-Calling and this Floo thing?"

"Fire-Calling is actually a variation of Flooing. Flooing is when you take a specially formulated powder and throw it into the flames of a hearth that is connected to the Floo Network. You call out your destination as you do so, then step through the flames. It can be a tricky business though, traveling by Floo. If you mispronounce your destination there is no telling where you'll end up. Fire-Calling is where you only put your head through the flames after you've announced who you want to talk to and where they should be at." Remus finally looked back at Harry and grimaced, the child's face and the front of his clothes covered in baby food.

"Someone certainly needs a bath." Kyrios grinned and moved to help Remus with Harry.