Hi people! Sorry i'm a bit late in updating, the internet wouldn't work for the past three days! Argg!

Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!

Walking Free

Scars

Harry heard a set of footsteps approaching as he watched his old headmaster. Panic set in as he looked into the piercing blue eyes that he had been so accustomed to during his school career. He did not know what to do. If he apparated, he was in danger of splinching himself or making his wounds worse; however, if he stayed, he was sure that the ministry would take him back to Azkaban. As the footsteps became louder, the approaching figure spoke. Although Harry could not see who it was as they were around the corner, he had a pretty good feeling he knew who the speaker was.

'Albus' he spoke. 'Did you see the boy?'

Silence was his only answer. Harry starred with a mixture of fear and confusion at Dumbledore. The elderly wizard turned to Harry and smiled briefly before turning back to Snape.

'No, Severus, I did not. He is gone. It is time to leave.' Harry heard a low huff from around the corner and then the silence resumed. Dumbledore took a few steps forward but Harry quickly stumbled back.

'Have no fear, Harry; I have no intention of harming you.' Harry's heart clenched as the strong blue eyes locked with his. The trust that Harry had once had for the man before him had all but evaporated and he no longer saw comfort in the man's words. He was nothing to him. A ghost, a ghost from his past that didn't seem to want to be forgotten. Harry was stuck, in an unending spiral of confusion and mistrust. He was all alone.

With nothing more to be said, Harry pulled out his wand and disapparated.

Remus panted as he ran, Harry's cloak in his hand. 'Where is he?' he thought. 'He could have gone anywhere! How am I going to find him now?' Just as Remus was about to stop and give up, he noticed a figure slumped against a wall, clutching his middle. 'Harry!'

Without thinking, Lupin called out to the boy. 'Harry! Harry, it's me! Harry!'

The figure looked up as Remus approached. Just as Remus was about to reach out to him, the figure shot up and violently shoved him in the chest.

'What d'jur want mate?'

At first Remus didn't understand what had happened until he was shoved up against a wall. 'What jur want. What jur bothering me for?' This was defiantly not Harry. The man's breath was heavy with alcohol and smelt foul.

The drunken man had his hands tightly gripped around Remus' biceps and he glared angrily up at him. 'Jur want tur fight? Well do jur?' the man shouted as he shook Remus by the shoulders.

'Um…ur…n...no thank you sir. I...I was just looking for someone.' Remus stammered quickly. He needed to find Harry and fast. Remus was pretty sure that Harry was injured and he probably didn't know of many healing spells. Regaining control of the situation, Remus harshly shoved the man away and glared at him. 'Please leave me alone! I need to find someone quickly so if you will please excuse me, I must be on my-'

'Hey, hey, easy tiger, there's no need to be rushin' off like that. Why don'cha come with me? We could have some fun. How about that, my pretty boy?' The older man reached out and began to stroke Remus down his sides.

Remus was feeling uncomfortable and really rather insulted. The man was breathing heavily down his neck and began to nibble slightly on his right ear. There was nothing left for him to do. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the man's head.

'C'mon now, no need to get violent. I'm only tryin' to have some fun with'cha. Sticks can be dangerous, you know.'

'Oh, you have no idea.'

Dusting his hands down his coat, Remus left the drunken man drooping over a low brick wall. With a sigh, he set off down the street, once again in search of Harry.

The night air was still warm but that didn't stop the chill from running up Remus' back. For some reason the thought of maybe seeing Harry again was somewhat worrying. What if he didn't want to talk to Remus, didn't want his help? Harry might still be angry with the Order for not helping him. Remus knew he would be if he was in Harry's situation.

Remus continued down the long street, hands in his pockets, humming slightly to himself. He felt like he had walked for hours. The street seemed to stretch on for miles into the darkness of the summer night.

As he finally got to the end of the road, he turned left into a small brightly lit ally way. The walls of the houses on either side towered above him. Remus looked up to the sky, as if in search of stars. He smiled when he saw a large cluster of gleaming spots way overhead. He felt somewhat warmed by the sight. It gave him a sense of hope. However, his grin was soon replaced with a frown when the noticed the lights move. It was then that he realised that it was just a plane.

Grumbling to himself he looked back down to the road ahead of him and saw a figure.

Taking a few steps closer, Remus observed the person before him. It was defiantly male. The dark hair fluttered in the slight breeze and Remus could quite clearly see a pair of round glasses that did not sit quite squarely on the man's nose. It was Harry. He was sure of it.

Then Remus saw the blood. It soaked through the boy's shirt and dripped down to his the belt of his trousers. Harry was fumbling with a house key with one hand, while the other was gripping at his chest.

Remus ran forward just as Harry pushed the door open and slipped inside. The door was about to click shut when Remus shoved against it and fell through the opening, onto Harry.

Harry's body was shaking as Remus pulled the boy up into his arms. A layer of sweat coated the boy's face and the cuts over his chest seemed to have finally clotted, as the blood had all but stopped.

'What are you doing here?' Harry crocked.

Remus held him away from him and looked into Harry's face. 'Harry, I need to heal your wounds before they become infected.'

Harry nodded but didn't back down. 'Yeah, okay but why are you here?' he asked again.

Remus sighed and gently led Harry into the living room. Making the boy lay down; Remus lifted his shirt and gasped. Dried blood masked his chest and the cuts were already dirty. Harry had obviously lost a lot of blood but Remus was more shocked by the multiple scars over Harry's body.

They were not new however. They were all completely healed and by the looks of it, a few years old.

'Harry?' Remus asked as he brushed a dark bang out of the raven's eye. 'When did you get all these scars?'

Harry's eyes fluttered closed then opened again but not without a glazed over look about them. 'Hn?' he muttered. 'What? Oh um…' He scrunched up his eyes, as if trying to remember something from a long time ago. Then, suddenly, he sat up and grabbed Remus by the arm, a look of sheer panic in his green orbs.

'D-don't let them get me, Moony.' Harry voice was filled with fear. Complete and utter fear. It was almost child like and it terrified Remus. 'Make it stop, Moony, make it stop!' His body slumped forward in a heap and Remus clung to him, rubbing small, soothing circle on his back.

Harry then began to cough. It wracked through his whole body, shaking him uncontrollably. Remus put his arms around him and helped him to sit up straight. When Harry fell back into the sofa, Remus notice a trail of blood dripping from his mouth.

'Harry we need to talk.' Remus said in a low whisper, as he fidgeted in his seat. Harry was sat opposite him in the small living room. The only thing that answered Remus was the ticking of the clock. He had healed Harry's wounds with some healing spells but he could see that Harry was exhausted. His eyelids were dropping and his head was flopping forward and back as he tried to keep himself from sleep.

'I know that we have a lot to sort through but I just want you to know that you don't have to fear me. I do not want to harm you in anyway or send you back to prison. I'm here to help you.' Remus ran a hand through his hair and tentatively put his cup of tea back down on the coffee table. 'Harry a lot has….Harry? Harry are you awake?'

Remus got his answer soon enough when quiet snoring filled the room. Remus lifted himself from his seat and approached Harry on the sofa. He slid one arm under the raven's legs and another around his shoulders. Remus pulled the boy to his chest and began to make his way to Harry's bedroom. Placing Harry on the bed he quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him.

In the living room once again, Remus settled down onto the sofa and lay down. It was only then that he realised how tired he was and within minutes, he was fast asleep.

The morning light poured in through the window. Harry sat up slowly, gasping at the pain in his chest. Carefully he slipped off the bed and searched his room for clothes.

Everywhere he looked his clothes and other belongings lay scattered over the floor. The draws to his wardrobe had all been pulled out and most were broken.

Harry rummaged through a pile of clothes and found a t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Pulling them on, he trudged through the flat to the kitchen.

To say Harry was startled to see Remus Lupin standing in his kitchen, holding a cup of tea and cooking bacon on his grill was a bit of an understatement.

Harry gave a small yelp of surprise which alerted Remus to his presence.

'Oh, Harry. You're wake. Good. Would you like some tea?'

Harry nodded slowly and lowered himself into one of he kitchen seats. Remus placed a mug of steaming tea on the table and sat down opposite the boy.

'Do you remember anything from last night?' Remus asked casually.

'Um…yeah, bits of it.' Harry said as he took a sip of his drink. 'But, why is this place such a mess?'

Remus sighed. 'Death Eaters. They found out where you were living and well…' Remus indicated the mess in the house with a wave of his hand.

They both lapsed into silence. When they had both eaten, Remus stood and entered the living room. When Harry didn't follow, the werewolf called to him.

Sitting down on the sofa, Harry watched his ex-professor. The man stared back at the boy then rubbed a hand over his tired face.

'Why are you here?'

Remus looked up and took a deep breath. 'I'm here to…talk to you.'

'About what?' Harry asked.

'I…I just need to know one thing, Harry. Did you…did you do it?' Remus' voice sounded pained in a way. It was clear he dreaded the answer to the question that Harry didn't even know how to answer.

'I don't know. I don't remember much.' Harry said quietly.

'Tell me, Harry.' Remus said reassuringly. 'Tell me everything you can. I need to know.'

'It was dark. It was always dark. At least, I think it was. I remember I could hear voices sometimes. They weren't very clear but I could still hear them. Then there was…there was…something, and then…and then I saw you. I saw all of you. And Ginny, she was hurt. Everyone was calling out to her.' Harry grabbed his head as it roared in pain. 'After that, things are a bit fuzzy but I can remember the trial. They didn't let me defend myself. Although, I don't think I could have even if they let me. I don't remember much. It was just…dark.'

Remus nodded, getting up from his seat and sat down next to Harry. 'Is that it?' he asked calmly. 'Do you remember anything else?'

Harry shook his head. No, not at the moment.'

This brought Remus' thoughts back to the night before when Harry had cried out for help. Remus could only guess that some of Harry's memories were starting to come back to him.

After giving the boy some strange muggle pill called 'paracetamol'from Harry's medicine cupboard, Remus began to clear the house up. A lot of the furniture was broken but most of the mess was simply stray objects thrown about the floor.

As Remus tidied the living room, Harry lay down and waited for the pain killers to take affect. It was times like this that he wished he was better at Potions. However, even if the he had mastered the skill that his mother had possessed, he still didn't have any of the right equipment to brew anything.

'Remus?' Harry's quiet voice pulled the man from his cleaning.

'Yes?'

'What happened to everyone while I was in prison?'

Remus bit his lip in thought. 'Hmm, that could take some time to discuss. Everyone is doing different things these days.'

'Ok, well how about you? What have you been doing?'

Remus sat down and looked deeply into Harry's eyes. 'A lot has change Harry. This might be a bit of a surprise but I got married about two years ago.'

Harry raised an eyebrow, and then smiled. 'That's great. Who to?'

Remus blushed, a small smile on his lips. 'Nymphadora Tonks.'

Harry let out a laugh that he had meant to hold back.

'What? Why do you laugh?' Remus asked, a little set back

Harry continued to laugh and waved a hand in front of him. 'No, no it's nothing. I just never imagined you two would get together. I mean, you're just both so different.'

'Yeah, I guess we are.' Remus said as he also felt the corner of his lips lift up into a wide grin. Then he remembered something else. 'Um…yeah, and we err …Wehaveason!' he added rather quickly.

Harry's laughter stopped immediately. He stared at his old friend then a wide smile graced his face. 'That's amazing, Moony. I'm really happy for you both. What's his name?'

Remus grinned back, relieved that Harry hadn't started laughing again. 'He's called Teddy, after Dora's father. He was killed by Death Eaters around a year ago. He's just like her, Harry. He's a metamorphoses. He's so beautiful.' Harry leant over and patted the man on the shoulder, glad Remus was finally happy again.

'So, when can I meet him?'

'Soon, I hope.' Harry gave a nod and sank back further into the tired material of the sofa.

For the rest of the day, the two mainly talked in the living room. Remus did most of the talking as told Harry about what everyone had gone on to do after leaving Hogwarts and also filled him in on the latest news involving Voldemort.

'Voldemort has kept rather quiet since you escaped from Azkaban, until now that is.' Remus said, relaxing back into the sagging chair. 'Before you escaped however, he wreaked havoc in the Ministry. The amount of missing people and deaths increased and he planned many attacks. The Aurors had been having a really difficult time trying to stop him.'

'Hmm, I'm sorry I wasn't there to help out.'

Remus shrugged. 'What were you to do? You were locked up in that disgusting place.' As he said this, a thought struck the man. 'Harry, how did you get out of there anyway. I've been so worried about you that I forgot to ask.'

Harry fidgeted in his seat, looking down at his lap. 'Malfoy.' he muttered almost inaudibly.

Remus didn't speak. Harry didn't look up. They were quiet for a while longer before Remus spoke up.

'Well, that's a bit of a surprise. How exactly did he help you?'

Harry finally looked into the man's face and smiled sheepishly. 'He gave me a portkey. I'm still not sure why, but he did. He said something about 'knowing what his father did'. Anyway, I waited for a while in my cell, and then…the next thing I know, I'm lying in a big muddy field.'

Remus smiled gently and asked, 'What happened then? Where did you go?'

'Well, the field was in Ottery St. Catchpole, where the Weasley's live, so I went into their house while they were out and found all my stuff strangely enough. My trunk was up in the attic with all my things from school in it.'

Remus nodded in understanding. 'That would make sense.'

Harry frowned in confusion. 'What do you mean?'

'After you were arrested, I gave all you belongings to the Weasley twins. They didn't believe that you were guilty and were happy to look after your things until we figured out how to prove you were innocent.'

'Well you didn't try very hard.' Harry muttered darkly. 'I was in there for three years. How much time did you need?'

'Harry, we did our best. With there only being a few of us who believed you were not guilty, there wasn't much we could do. We really did try. The whole of the Wizarding World was against you and being a Werewolf, I didn't get much of a say in anything.'

Harry sighed. 'Okay, sorry. I'm just still angry that everyone turned their backs on me. I still don't fully understand what I was accused of doing. I don't remember killing anyone.'

'That's because you didn't and we are going to prove it.'

Yay! Remus is the best! I love him!

Please review!

aNimeINvasion93- Sorry i do it wrong :) I just find it easier and faster to use ' ' instead of " ". Sorry if you find it annoying. Please keep reviewing.

Allen Pitt- Sorry if it is unclear. I hope this chapter clears it up a bit. Just in case, here are all the people who know he is innocent: Remus, the twins, Dumbledore (he only just found out) and Voldemort and a few of his cronies. I hope this helps! :) For the Australia thing, Harry wouldn't just move away i don't think. He still is unsure as to why he was sent to Azkaban so he wants to prove he is innocent, not just run away.

pinkyroo- Yay! I'm glad you like it! Please keep reviewing. :)

Slytherin66- Poor Ron. He can be a bit of an idiot but he's not that bad! Though Harry is a bit weak and worthless anyway. Poor soul! Please review!

Santa 1- Albus is pretty much on Harry's side but not much is said about it for a while. I'm sure he'll pull through for Harry in the end! Review! :)

Princess Patterson- Yeah, Voldemort wanted to get Harry so he could kill him and eventually defeat the whole of the light side.

Thanks so much for all the reviews! I love them.

Next chapter should be soon. I hope!