Chapter 6

Remy was sleeping peacefully, curled up in a ball in the bed, clutching a rolled up bunch of sheets tightly. Mad-Eye stood guard at the foot of the bed. Dumbledore appeared quietly beside him. "You found him then?"

"Told you I would."

"Is he badly hurt?"

Mad-Eye shrugged. "Nothing too bad. Tired, hungry, scared. Badly bruised ribs, welted back, badly injured hand, twisted knee, eye swollen tightly shut, split lip again, various scrapes and bruises. He'll heal just fine, in time."

Dumbledore winced in sympathy as Mad-Eye reeled off the list of injuries. "We couldn't have known what would happen to him." Mad-Eye snorted. Dumbledore sighed. "And now what, Alastor?"

Mad-Eye's expression hardened. "Now I do what I should have done in the first place. I look after him."

Dumbledore shook his head unbelievingly. "And just how are you expecting to manage that particular feat, Alastor? He's a small boy. An Animorph. A wolf. He may even have magic in him, who knows. But just how is he going to fit into your lifestyle? You don't exactly lead a safe, stable life, old friend, you haven't for a long time now, and that's what the boy needs. Safety and stability."

Mad-Eye turned and glared at Dumbledore. "What Remy needs is someone to trust. Someone to look out for him. Someone to explain about Animorphs. And magic. He trusts me, Albus. I don't know why, god knows I haven't really given him cause, but he does. I let him down once, I don't intend to make that mistake again."

"The Ministry are not going to be happy about this."

"I don't give a damn. The Ministry can be as unhappy as they like. I never did much care for their approval anyway." Mad-Eye turned back and watched Remy sleep.

Dumbledore watched with him for a few moments, then patted his old friend on the back. "You know where to find me if you need me, Alastor." Mad-Eye nodded slightly and Dumbledore left as quietly as he'd arrived.


Remy opened his eyes. Well his right eye anyway, noticing his vision was blurry. For a moment he thought he was dead. That was until he heard the light snoring noise from beside his bed. Blinking repeatedly to adjust to the light, he looked around and saw that Al was sitting in a chair beside his bed, leant back, his arms crossed.

Remy shifted slightly in the bed, trying to make himself a little more comfortable. Mad-Eye's eyes popped open immediately.

"How are you feeling, Junior?" Mad-Eye reached one hand out and checked Remy's temples.

"I'm fine." Remy mumbled. "Did anyone get the number of that truck?"

"What truck?" Mad-Eye looked confused.

"The one that hit me. That's how it feels anyway."

Mad-Eye chuckled. "Ah, that truck. It got decommissioned."

Remy lay quietly for a few moments, waiting as his vision cleared and the pounding in his head lessened.

"Thank you."

Mad-Eye frowned. "For what?"

"For rescuing me. And for staying with me. You didn't have to do that."

"I told you I would, kiddo. Now get some sleep so I can get you out of here."


Faces loomed up out of the darkness. Dark, scary faces. Distorted, twisted and freakish. Floating around above him, hurling insults. Telling him he was worthless, useless, un-teachable, a waste of space. He'd never amount to anything. He was a lost cause. Some of the faces were familiar; old teachers, his mother and her various boyfriends, even Ryan from the skate park. Some were just too twisted to recognise. Jared and Saron appeared, Jared with a sneering scowl distorting his face, Saron with his nose at a completely impossible angle to his face. They were mocking him, offering to teach him a lesson. And then Sully swam into view, his face contorted, blood dripping from his eyes, cursing Remy, promising to make him pay.

Remy sat bolt upright in the bed and yelped as his ribs protested painfully. He was breathing in short gasps, struggling to get sufficient oxygen into his lungs, staring around, wide eyed, with no idea where he was.

"Hey, hey, kiddo, it's ok. Calm down. You're safe."

Remy shrank back from Mad-Eye, looking around like a trapped animal. Mad-Eye cursed under his breath and carried on talking calmly.

"It's ok, Remy. No one's going to hurt you. I'm not going to let them." Mad-Eye approached slowly, waiting until Remy stopped trying to retreat backwards through the pillows before reaching for him and pulling him into a firm yet gentle hug, frowning a little as he realized the boy's skin was hot to the touch. Well the healers had said he was likely to develop a fever, better to get it out of his system quickly. He cast a cooling charm to help bring down the fever.

Remy was still scared and lost, and although he usually shied away from close contact, this hug felt safe. Mad-Eye held him close, muttering soothing words in his ear. Slowly Remy relaxed and calmed down, his breathing becoming more regular. Mad-Eye tilted his face upwards, pleased to note the fear had gone from his eyes. Well the one that was open anyway.

"Better?"

Remy tried to say yes, but his throat was so dry, it came out as a croak. Mad-Eye produced his hip flask and held it to Remy's lips. Remy tried turning away from it.

"Hey, it's ok, kiddo, this won't taste bad, I promise. Drink."

Remy took a little sip, half expecting a bitter taste, but it tasted sweet and refreshing. Mad-Eye waited until he'd swallowed before offering the flask again. Remy drank more this time.

"Had enough?"

Remy nodded and yawned sleepily. Mad-Eye chuckled.

"Still tired huh?"

Remy nodded and sighed. "I hate nightmares."

Mad-Eye nodded. "I know, Junior, but you're safe now. Hang on a sec." Mad-Eye manoeuvred himself onto the bed fully, settling in against the head of the bed, adjusting the pillows to get comfortable. The he pulled Remy back against him. Remy instinctively snuggled in. Mad-Eye smiled and pulled the covers up over Remy. "Now get some sleep, kiddo."

Remy nodded, yawned again, closed his eye, and was immediately asleep.


"I really must protest, Mr. Moody. The boy has only just recovered from a fever and still needs time to heal."

Mad-Eye shook his head and slung Remy's pack onto his back. "He doesn't like hospitals. Or doctors. And yes I know you're a healer not a doctor, but to him, it's the same thing. This place is making him nervous. I'll make sure he gets plenty of rest somewhere he feels safe." The healer looked unconvinced, but Mad-Eye ignored him. "Ready, kiddo?"

Remy nodded. "Yep."

Mad-Eye looked expectantly at the healer. Finally he relented. "Very well. It's against my better judgement, but if you insist."

"We do insist, don't we, Remy?"

Remy nodded. "Definitely."

The healer sighed in defeat and handed a small bottle of tablets to Mad-Eye. "For the pain. Use them sparingly. If he's in too much pain, seek help. Or better still bring him back here to St Mungos. Oh, and keep an eye on that dressing on his hand, it may need re-bandaging in a few days."

Mad-Eye pocketed the bottle. "Thanks. Come on, Junior, time to go."

"Where are we going?"

"A safe place."

"Not the Ministry?"

"No, Junior, not the Ministry. A safe place. An old friend of mine has a house nearby. We can stay there while I sort some things out and you heal. Ok?"

Remy nodded. "Ok."

Mad-Eye ruffled his hair. "Good boy."


It was dark when they got to the house. The street lights had flickered into life, casting a strange orange hue on the pavements. There were few people on the streets. The air felt cold on the skin, and a light rain was starting to fall. Remy shivered.

Mad-Eye paused opposite a row of terraced town houses. Remy looked at them curiously, but they looked just like any other row of houses to him. Very small front gardens, a flight of stairs up to the front door, 3 stories high, possibly an attic and maybe even a cellar. He could just make out the street sign, Grimmauld Terrace. He frowned. He'd been here before, well in the area anyway. It was right opposite his favourite skate park. He checked the house numbers. 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 … wait, where was 13? Maybe they miscounted when they numbered the houses. Or maybe they missed it on purpose, out of superstition. Yes, that was probably it. Superstition. Remy looked behind at the park. It was definitely his skate park. Mad-Eye looked around and flicked his hand.

"In we go, Remy." He set off across the road with Remy close behind. A quick knock on the door, and it opened immediately. Mad-Eye pushed Remy inside in front of him. Remy barely had time to realise the number on the door was 13. He paused as his eyes adjusted to the brighter light inside the hallway, confused as to how he'd missed the number 13 from the outside. Mad-Eye pushed him forwards gently.

"That you, Mad-Eye?"

"Yes, Remus, and I have company."

A pale looking young man with wild light brown hair appeared in the doorway at the end of the hallway. "Ah, you must be Remy."

Remy nodded mutely.

"I'm Remus, pleased to meet you." Remy took the proffered hand and shook it. "This could get confusing. Remus and Remy. Hmm. Well I sometimes answer to Moony, but with Mad-Eye around that doesn't help us much."

Remy looked at Remus puzzled.

"Moony and Moody. As bad as Remus and Remy," explained Remus. "I don't suppose you have another name?"

Remy shook his head.

"Ah well, I'm sure we'll manage. Are you two hungry?"

Mad-Eye chuckled. "That depends on who's cooking."

Remus looked affronted. "Me, of course." He smiled at Remy conspiratorially. "Mad-Eye here doesn't trust any ones cooking."

Mad-Eye muttered under his breath. "With good reason."

"Oh, come on. My cooking isn't that bad."

Al grumbled incoherently and Remy found himself grinning.

"So, are you hungry, Remy?"

Remy nodded. "A bit, yeah."

"Let's see what we can find then, shall we?" Remus steered Remy into the kitchen.


Remy was bored. It turned out that Remus was a good cook, and he'd managed to keep a light hearted conversation going throughout the meal. He'd even occasionally poked fun at Mad-Eye. Mad-Eye in turn had taken the teasing with good humor and a grin. But now the two men had withdrawn to the living room next door, leaving Remy to amuse himself at the kitchen table. And he was bored.

Remy retrieved his skateboard from his pack in the hallway, pausing to listen briefly to the conversation. He could only make out the odd word, and they made no sense, so he headed back to the kitchen. He put his board down deck first on the table and studied it closely. No breaks or cracks in the deck. That was good. A few new scratches and dints, and one edge was going to need filing down a little, just to neaten it up a little, but no major damage. The wheels were a bit battered and dog eared, but that was just because he tended to ride wheels to destruction, and these were getting close to that fate. They were good for a while yet. But the trucks!

Remy sighed. The back truck appeared to have sheared completely. Only the wheel itself was still holding it in place. The first time he put any pressure on that truck, and it would snap clean through. Damn. Trucks were expensive, and, as usual, Remy was broke.

Maybe he could fix it. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked. Remy clung to that thought as he rummaged in his jacket pocket for his tool kit. He unscrewed the truck from the board. It was slow going with his hand bandaged up, and a couple of times he slipped with the screwdriver and winced as his hand protested. Eventually he had the truck in his hand. He studied it carefully. It was no good; it was definitely sheared through. Maybe he could just glue it, but he knew from experience that it was still likely to snap the first time he placed any pressure on it. The best solution was new trucks. Remy sighed.

"What's up, kiddo?"

Remy jumped, startled by Mad-Eye's sudden appearance in the doorway. For a big guy with a bad limp, he could move quietly when he wanted to. Remus peered over Mad-Eye's shoulder.

Remy put the truck down on the table. "Bust my board."

Mad-Eye nodded. "Probably when you whacked Saron with it."

Remus stared wide eyed. "He hit Saron? With a skateboard?"

Mad-Eye nodded. "Twice from what I can work out. And bust his nose as well."

"Oh my god. You're kidding. You broke his nose?"

Remy nodded sheepishly. "I didn't mean to break it, but he grabbed me and … well … it just kinda happened."

Remus started laughing. "Oh, don't apologize, Remy. Saron's face has always had a lot of room for improvement."

Remy was a little confused. He wasn't used to being congratulated for fighting. Mad-Eye stomped over and ruffled his hair.

"So how bad is this board?"

Remy shrugged. "Wrecked, till I get new trucks."

"Trucks?"

"The things that hold the wheels to the deck. I snapped the back one." Remy showed him the broken truck. Al examined it closely.

"You can't just glue it or something?"

Remy shook his head. "Nope. Well I could, but as soon as I put any pressure on it, it'll probably just snap in two again, and that would kinda hurt mid ollie. Well not so much the m ollie part, but the landing part would hurt."

Al raised an eyebrow and nodded. "That does sound like it would hurt. Whatever an ollie might be. Looks like you need new trucks."

Remus peered over his shoulder. "Oh I don't know, Mad-Eye. I think we can fix that."

Al looked doubtful. "Maybe. Tomorrow. Bed time for you right now, young man."

Remus pouted. "Aww, but I'm not tired, Mad-Eye." He winked at Remy. Remy started giggling.

Mad-Eye rolled his eye and looked skywards. "Not you, you idiot. Remy."

"Ohhh. Right."

Mad-Eye closed his eye and shook his head. "Not sure who's the bigger kid."

Remus frowned. "I'm bigger than him."

Remy grinned. "Most people are."

Mad-Eye rolled his eye again. "Enough already. You have work to do." He jabbed a finger at Remus, who feigned pain and surprise. "And you need some sleep, Junior."

Remy tried the same expression as Remus, and they both started laughing.

"Ok, I do have work to do. See you later, Remy."

"Night, Remus."