I obviously don't own Harry Potter. If I did I would be rich, famous, and Sirius Black would never have been murdered.

Chapter 7

When Emmaline returned from retrieving Albus Dumbeldore she noticed that Sirius had not moved from the spot that he was in when she left. Remus however was once again sitting at the table with his head in his hands with a very defeated expression on is face. Emmaline was unsure exactly what the Ministry letter had said; but judging from the look of the two Marauders it had been not been that good.

Albus Dumbeldore entered the kitchen of Number 12 behind Emmaline with eyes twinkling only a little less then normal: but a smile still on his face. He was troubled by the sight of an all too calm and still Sirius, who had never sat still in all the years that Dumbeldore had known him. Even in classes Sirius could be seen fidgiting in his seat or running in the hall. The sight of a still Sirius worried Dumbledore more then the sight of Remus clutching the piece of parchment tightly in his hand.

Dumbeldor silently took a seat at the table while Emmaline went over to where Sirius standing putting her arms around him. "What should I do?" Sirius asked voicing the question that he had been thinking about since the arrival of the letter. He knew what he wanted to do but there was more to consider then him right now, and he wanted to do what was best for everyone this time around.

"First, I believe we should all find out what the parchment has to say," Dumbeldore stated conjuring some tea and biscuits for the four adults. "Then we can discuss what to do next. Remus, can I see the parchment please?" Dumbeldore held out his hand toward Remus waiting patiently for the parchment to be given to him.

Slowly Remus handed the parchment never looking up from the spot he had been staring at for the last five minutes. If anyone could figure out their next step it would be Dumbeldore. Remus had the utmost confidence in the older wizard and knew he would do what was best for everyone concerned. Dumbeldore quickly scanned the parchment before putting it aside and taking a drink of his tea.

"It seems that the Ministry wants you to turn yourself in," Dumbeldore stated ina calm voice. "If you turn yourself in peacefully they are prepared to give you a trial and possibly a pardon for your part in the betrayal and murder of Lily and James and the twelve muggles. They have dropped the murder charge for Peter since he is in Auror custody as we speak. What we need to know is what you want to do, Sirius."

"With all do respect, Headmaster," Sirius started. "I want my name cleared. However, what will happen to Harry. Where will he go and who will take care of him. He needs me right now more then ever before. I will not have him going back to those muggles."

"If Harry's care were not an issue then what would you do?" Dumbeldore asked kindly. "I am sure that we can find someone to take Harry in until the completion of the trial. After which I will help you to gain custody of him."

"I would turn myself in and hope for the best," Sirius muttered. "However, Harry does have to be considered in this."

"If I could interrupt," Remus politely interjected. "I believe that Andromeda and Ted would welcome Harry into their house. Ted after all is a certified healer and Andromeda a respected lawyer. Both of which we need right now. Lily and James had great respect for the both of them."

"That is a good idea," Dumbeldore muttered reflectively. "However, will they be willing to take the risk of having Harry with them."

"We can always ask them," Sirius cottoned on to the idea. Andromeda had always been his favourite cousin and he didn't know what he would have done without her around when he was younger. "I think we should have someone go and ask them or send an owl."

Remus nodded as he rose and walked out of the kitchen to go and retrieve the Tonks family including Nymphadora. Remus had been over to the Tonks house many times over the years often taking solace in their company when he was missing both his old friends and Harry. He knew that they would jump at the chance to take Harry into their house and Andy had been upset for the past two years with worry over where Sirius was and if he were safe. It had taken a lot for Remus not to tell her where Sirius was and that he was indeed safe. Now, though all of that would be remedied and he couldn't wait to be the one to deliver the message.

A short while later Remus was standing in front of a two story dark blue house with light blue shutters. A white picket fence ran a long the sidewalk leading up to the door, a barrier to keep visitors a way from the flowers that were directly behind the fence. Remus walked up to the door and lifted the Raven door knocker and waited for someone to come to the door.

The door was answered by a women that had her long black haired neatly pulled back into a low ponytail and a bright smile on her face. "Remus," the women greeted stepping out of the way to let Remus enter the house. "A little late for a visit; but a pleasure all the same. To what do we owe the privaledge of this visit?"

Remus looked into the eyes of Andromeda Tonks and noticed the sadness in their grey depths, it had been there for far too long and he just hoped that the news he brought today would remove the pain that was there. Andromeda and Sirius had always been close. There might have been eight years between them; but it was Andromeda the Sirius would turn to when things got to be too much.

"Can I come in?" Remus asked casting a glance behind him to the street beyond the the sidewalk. "I have a few things to discuss with you and Ted. They are of a slightly delicate and personal matter."

"Sure, Remus," the older witch gushed opening the door further and stepping to the side. "Mother would be apauled at my manors."

"And when have you ever cared what your mother thought?" A man with brown straight hair exclaimed as he walked into the foyer with a raised eyebrow. "If you cared about what your family thought we would have never been married in the first place. Hi, Remus."

Remus stepped into the comfortable house and looked around. He loved the Tonks' house. There were the typical muggle still pictures in the main rooms such as the living room and kitchen. However the rest of the house had moving pictures through out it. The house was a perfect balance between the muggle world and the wizarding world, one that very few were able to pull off with as much tact.

"Hello, Ted," Remus greeted the other wizard. "Sorry about the late visit. I came to see if the two of you could help a mutual friend. Certain things have come to my attention that I am unable, no matter how willing I am, to take care of. I find myself in need of both of your perfesional and personal help."

"Come now, Remus," Ted muttered. "You were never one to dance a round a problem like this. Spit it out so we can find a solution to the problem."

"Alright," Remus agrees running his hand through his blond wavy hair. "Not long a go it came to my attention that a certain boy was being abused at home. A mutual friend of ours went to retrieve said child and is now may have to face the Wizengmot for another mater. As I said I would gladly take the child in, however because of what I am, I am not allowed."

As Remus told his story, rather the short version of the story Andromeda started to show concern for not only the child; but also the rescuer of said child. "Why were the Aurors not informed of this," Andromeda wondered. "Nothing has come across any desks in the legal department that i know of. Has anyone come to the hospital, Ted?"

"You know that if their had then I would not be able to tell you about it," Ted responded to his wife. Ted tried to remember if there had been any such child in the last few days and was coming up with a blank.

"Because of the popularity of the child Albus deemed it nessasary to treat the child in private," Remus contributed. "Both Severus and Poppy have repaired a lot of the physical damage. However there still is a lot of mental turmoil that the child is going through."

Ted and Andromeda both looked at each other as if having a private conversation before it dawned on them who exactly the child was. There was only one child that could cause such a showing in Albus Dumbeldore and cause him to keep such a secret. "At first, Albus felt that it would be better to keep the child with his rescuer. However recent events have made this impossible any longer."

"This child," Ted exclaimed. "This child is Harry Potter isn't it?" When Remus nodded ted continued. "How long has this been going on and why has no one learned of it before?"

"We are unsure," Remus muttered feeling yet again as if he had failed Lily and James. "All we know is that it got really bad at the beginning of holiday until a week ago. That s when our mutual friend went and retrieved Harry from his relatives. He has been staying at Hogwarts with said friend for the past week."

"This mutual friend wouldn't happen to be a cousin of mine wold it?" Andromeda stated her eyes losing a little of the pain in them. After all her and Ted had not been placed in Ravenclaw for nothing.

"It would," Remus nodded. "We received a letter from the Ministry offering him a full pardon, if he turned himself in no later then tomorrow morning. Since, the school staff are all leaving on vacation there is no place for Harry to go."

"So you want Harry to come here while the trial is going on," Ted stated from next to his wife. "And you would like Andy to represent her cousin in front of the Wizengomot."

"We were hoping that the two of you would agree to this," Remus replied. "We understand that the danger to the both of you and Nymphadoria is great, should you agree. We know last time you tried to stay out of the main fighting for the safety of your child and will understand if you chose not to."

"If we were to turn Harry a way," Andromeda muttered. "What would Lily and James think? They never backed down from a fight when they knew they were in the right. What would they think of us if we were to deny their son some happiness, no mater how brief we have him. It is what Lily and James would have wanted."

Remus couldn't believe how easy this was going, he had been sure that he would have to do a lot more convincing since both Ted and Andromeda had wanted to stay in the background the last time. This time however they were willing to take on a very dangerous mission by taking Harry in even if it was only for a little while.

"Where are they?" Ted asked coming back in to the foyer carrying a small black bag and a briefcase. "We should get going so we can get some work done before the morning."

Remus glanced at the determined wizard and felt for once that everything would work out. "At Grimmauld Place," Remus informed the duo. "We had a meeting earlier and..."

"That is where Nymphy was earlier," Andromeda stated going over to her husband and taking her briefcase. "I never thought I would be welcomed into that house again. At least not while it was in the hands of a Black. For that matter I never thought my cousin would return to the ansestriol home once he left to stay with the Potter's."

The room was dark and Harry laid chained to a bed while a man with long black hair leaned over him. "Aren't you a pretty little thing?" the man sneered looking at the boy. "You are going to so enjoy this." The man held a whip in one hand and was undressing with the other.

Harry knew what was coming but was unable to do anything to stop it. He felt helpless and could feel the tears start to run down his checks. The black haired man let the whip loose and it hit Harry across the chest leaving a faint red mark. The tears continued to fall from Harry's eyes; but he refused to let any noise escape his throat.

A man with light brown hair soon joined the dark hair man and started sneering at Harry also. "Your parents would be disgraced," the other man exclaimed. "You have disgraced the name that they gave you. They would be so ashamed of you."

Harry couldn't help but let the tears fall. He knew his parents would be disappointed in him and wouldn't want anything to do with him after what his uncle had done to him. "You are a disgrace to all wizards," the first man in toned. "You couldn't even stop a simple muggle. Look at you, a whore for everyone to see."

"Cry a little more baby," the second taunted. "Maybe if you cry and beg enough they will forgive you. Look at what you have become, this was not what they gave their lives for."

"You are nothing," the first muttered. "You are less then nothing. You are lower then nothing and will never amount to anything."

"Stop, please stop," Harry screamed. He was in a double four poster bed in a room with brown paint. The bed had a green bedspread that was twisted around him. Harry's hair was sticking to his forehead that was sweating as if he had run a mile in sweltering heat. "I am sorry. Please don't hate me, Mum. Please don't hate me, dad."

Suddenly the door to the room was thrown open and a man with long jet black hair rushed in and over to the bed. Sirius wore a worried expression on his face and the mischivious glint that was usually in his eye was replaced by sadness. Sirius rushed to his godson's bedside in two strides and pulled the boy into a a tight hug.

"It is all right, Harry," Sirius muttered holding the boy tight. "I'm here for you and won't let you go back there."

Harry's eyes flew open as Sirius pulled Harry into a hug, the emerald green eyes that had regained most of the light over the past week were now once again veiled in pain and fear. "Pleases, let me go," Harry cried. "I'll be good. I'll do what you want. Please don't hurt me."

Sirius couldn't believe the words coming out of Harry's mouth. Harry actually thought that he would hurt him, in that moment Sirius could not have hated Vernon Dursley more then he did at that moment. No fifteen, well almost fifteen year old should have to fear someone as much as his godson feared him at this time. "I'm not going to hurt you," Sirius gently stated running his hand a long Harry's back.

"Let me go," Harry started screaming. "Let me go. I don't want you here. You are going to hurt me."

As Remus led the two Tonks into the house he could hear the fear in Harry's voice and the desperation in Sirius's without a thought to the new arrivals the werewolf took the stairs leading to Harry's room two at a time praying to anyone that was listening that he would be able to help the boy he thought of as his cub. He had no idea what had caused the fear in Harry but he would do anything to take it a way.

As Remus walked into harry's room he found the boy hitting and struggling to get out of his godfather's comforting and loose embrace. Remus also noticed the tears in both wizards' eyes. "Harry, we are not going to hurt you," Remus tried to soothe. "We would never hurt you."

Harry turned tired eyes toward remus Lupin and started crying harder. "Please, don't," Harry begged. "I'll be good. Let me go."

Not knowing what else to do Sirius reluctantly let Harry go and watched as the boy curled into himself. Turning sorrow filled eyes to Remus Sirius asked. "What do we do, Rem? I can't leave him like this."

Unnoticed by the two friends Ted Tonks had slipped into the room and had observed the exchange. "Maybe we should leave Harry a lone and go talk down stairs," Ted stated from the door.

As the three wizards entered the dark hall Ted silently cast an observation charm on the room that would alert him if Harry tried to do anything to himself. Quietly the three wizards walked down to the basement kitchen where Andromeda, Emmaline and Nymphadora were waiting at the long table with tea and biscuits. All three of the witches had pensive looks on their faces. "How is he, dad?" Tonks asked from her spot on the table. "Will he ever be the same happy Harry we all knew at the end of the school year?"

"I have no idea," Ted replied looking at his daughter with tears in his eyes. He was mourning the life that Harry had never had and for the one he had lost. "We just have to take it one day at a time. All of us have failed him so much. We have asked so much of him and given him so little."

"Most of the blame goes to me," Sirius in toned. "I promised James and Lily I would look after him if they couldn't. Instead of looking after Harry I went after Peter and he got sent to those those muggles." Sirius spat out muggles as if it were a piece of very raw meat.

"We also promised James and Lily that we would look after Harry if you and they could not," Andromeda muttered. "Even though we were able to we never once went to check on him. We were too afraid, even after HE fell to check on him. The blame goes to all of us; yet none of us. We all did what we thought was right at the time."

"Well, there is nothing we can do about the past," Tonks exclaimed getting up to get some more cups. As she was getting up she tripped on her robes and Remus quickly reached out a steadying hand before she fell onto the floor.

"honestly, Nymph," Andromeda admonished with a sigh. "I have to wonder how you even became an Auror in the first place as clumsy as you are." Andromeda calmly swished her wand a three cups floated onto the table. "Now, Sirius, we must talk about the trial tomorrow. May I see the note so I may ready a case."

calmly Sirius handed his cousin the parchment that he had received earlier and waited for her to read it.