Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Language of the Phoenix"

ELanguage of the ElvesE

Chapter Seven

Gadget woke up feeling more comfortable then he had since beginning his work for the Potters seventy years ago. He smiled as he surveyed the room. Everything was just as he remembered from living in the Elf Castle. All the rooms simply and richly decorated.

Each piece of furniture was solid wood, grown out of the trees as High Elves preformed complex spells. All the cloth was silk woven by House Elves and infused with magic. The designs were simple and mostly solids, but the colors were rich and the few images so well designed that they looked real.

Pulling himself out of the comfort of the bed the first thing Gadget noticed about his transformation was his height. His growth spurt of a meter left him feeling as though his world had shrunk. He gracefully strode over to the full length mirror where his small smile turned into a look of shock. He ran his long fingers over his face, assessing the difference.

His ears were smaller and lay closer to his head. Nose and eyes were definitely smaller and looked more human. The color of his skin had softened to a creamer green and his hair was short, spiky and black. Exactly like every other Protector Elf. He smiled at his reflection, yelped, and barked out a laugh. In the whole transforming process he had completely forgotten that Protector Elves possessed elongated canines.

Opening the closet door he assessed its contents and pulled out a simple emerald shirt, black pants and a full length black coat. On his way down the hall he saw Dobby coming out of a door farther down, and the two of them made their way to the dining room. They ate a simple breakfast of fruit and nuts while Logic and Ethics explained the upcoming ceremony that would announce their new status to the Elven community, and christen them with their new names.

An hour later Gadget and Dobby met in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Upon entering the hall they were greeted with a roar of applause. The Hall was filled with High Elves and the Protector and House Elves that had not yet been assigned. Making their way to the end of the Hall they kneeled before Zamaakus who placed a hand on each of their heads.

ELoyal friends, we have come together this morning to bring two new Elves into the ranks of the Protectors. Though they could have elected to stay and serve at their assigned post, they bravely stepped forward to take on a new challenge. Their path is not an easy one. Over the next year of training they will face many hardships that glorified stories cannot fully describe.

When they persevere, and come through as the Elves we have only glimpsed them to be, they will take their place beside the children they have sworn to protect. Gadget, Dobby, those are the names of those who serve. With your new responsibilities come new names.E

He spoke first to Gadget.

ERise Aegelweard, the noble protector. Rise Vilhjalmur the resolute protector.E Zamaakus addressed the crowd and asked them to recognize their brothers. With one voice the congregation of Elves recited the oath.

ETo serve one's master is to fulfill one's destiny. To protect one's bonded is to fulfill their destiny. To enlighten one's people is to create a better destiny for all.E

Vilhjalmur smiled at the crowd as they cheered. Tomorrow would be hell, today he would celebrate.

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James and Lily sat on the bed of their eldest son. The past twelve hours had been filled with more thoughts of Harry than the past year. Lily turned to her husband with tears in her eyes.

"Where is he? How long has he been missing? Why didn't I notice?"

"Lily, no one is to blame. We have been very busy and assumed the house elves would tell us if something was wrong. Seeing as he is nowhere on the grounds he didn't wander off. Someone must have taken him, probably during the commotion of the party."

"But James! That was two days ago! How are we going to explain to the Profit that our son was missing for two days and we didn't even notice? They'll take the twins away from us; there are plenty of people who will want to take them just to say they are the parents of the children-who-lived! James, they can't have my babies!"

By now Lily was close to hysterics and James had only one plan to calm her down.

"Lily, early tomorrow we are going to go to the Profit and tell them that we want them to print an article saying that Harry Potter has been missing for two days. We wanted to make sure that it wasn't a misunderstanding and he accidentally went home with one of our friends or was hiding in some part of the house or on the grounds.

Now that we know that someone has taken him we are desperate for any news and his safe return. Ok? No one is going to take our children away from us Lily. We are the best thing for them and I highly doubt that anyone will try and dispute that."

"Alright." James got up to leave when his wife's voice stopped him. When he turned around she was staring at Harry's bookcase.

"Do you think he's ok?" He sat back down on the bed and gave Lily a hug. "He's fine, I'm sure of it. Father's intuition." Lily gave a halfhearted laugh and the two of them left the room.

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It was two days after the twin's birthday party when the Phoenix Council met. The head of the council was a phoenix by the name of Aaqil (ah KEEL) who was currently the elected leader of the Alliance as well.

Along with the twelve other members he was perched at what could loosely be described as a round table, an ancient relic from the first Phoenix Council. As soon as everyone was perched Aaqil opened the meeting.

"As we all know in twenty-seven years my one hundred years as the head of the Alliance will end and a new member will be elected to its head. As of now the prime candidates are Zamaakus of the Elves and Fahim (fah HEEM) of the Centaurs.

The Merpeople may be nominating Setron, but I believe that they are in agreement that he is not ready to lead such a large and diverse body. It has come to my attention that in the world of the wizards, one has been born that may be a candidate for the position.

Only time will tell if he has the power, understanding, and ingenuity to even be considered as a member of the council, let alone its head. The Alliance will be meeting in one week's time to discuss the actions to be taken regarding the boy.

Our purpose here is to elect the five individuals that will be representing us on the panel. As Fawkes works closely with the wizard Dumbledore, who is currently helping the boy, I nominate him as one of the five. The sky is now open for debate."

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When Draco woke up he was surprised to find there was someone in his bed. He then realized that it wasn't his bed and, furthermore, it wasn't his room. He had almost worked up to a full blown panic when the other body moved. 'Harry.'

The events from the previous night came back slowly. He remembered a strange man and leaving his home because of the Feeling. The man that he had trusted and had let him take a bath. And Harry. Harry had called him "brother" and told him to forget Father.

Draco sat trying to figure out what to do when Harry woke up, "You 'wake too? Good! Let's go get Sirus." Draco couldn't figure Harry out. As he followed the other boy into the hall, watching him practically bounce off the walls, the only conclusion he could come to was that Harry made him feel safe.

And something he would later learn to call loved.

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Remus was in pain. Lots and lots of pain. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. He tried to move his arm, only to find that it didn't respond to his command. Taking a quick assessment he soon found that not much of his body seemed to want to respond at all.

He tried to figure out where he was, what he was doing there, and why he hurt so much. The last thing that he remembered was going on a short mission to a nearby werewolf community, following the twin's party. After that he had headed for home.

He was about to try for movement again when he heard The Voice. He was half relieved, if The Voice was nearby then he was in a safe place. On the other hand, if The Voice was nearby then anymore time spent in this bed was not going to be fun.

"Albus, really, he is not awake and you cannot question him when he is unconscious. It is counterproductive. Please, you must have other things to be going on with."

"My dear Poppy, are you quite sure that he is asleep?"

By now Remus had mastered "opening the eyes" and was practicing facial movement.

"Of course he is! No one could recover that fast from those injures. You are the one that brought him in here! Just look at –"

Remus managed a weak smile.

"Fine, but only five minutes. He really needs to conserve his energy."

"My goodness, I do believe that she is displeased with me. I dare say that we must use this five minutes to our advantage."

"What happened Albus? The last thing I remember was leaving the community. Then waking up here feeling like I was trampled by a hundred Hippogriffs."

"From what I have gathered you are not very far off. Fawkes was on his way somewhere, I'm not quite sure of the details, when he found you. I believe that you may have made a wrong turn and ended up in the Centaurs' territory. You were beaten to a pretty bloody pulp by the time Fawkes brought you back here.

Your werewolf characteristics must account for something, Poppy didn't quite believe that you were going to make it thought the night. Much less be in any state of consciousness after only thirty-five hours."

Remus groaned and closed his eyes.

"In that case I'm going back to sleep. Wake me when the pain stops."

Albus chuckled and got up to leave.

"Feel better soon my friend."

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Sirius yawned as he poured himself a cup of coffee, giving himself five minutes before he woke the boys. There was a flash of light and Fawkes appeared. He dropped a copy of the Daily Profit on the table and with a trill disappeared again. Sirius cocked his eyebrow at the front page headline and sat down to read the article.

Older Brother of the Children-Who-Lived Kidnapped!

The older brother of Anigo and Amaryllis Potter was officially declared kidnapped this morning by his parents Lily and James Potter. In a very emotional interview they explained the two day delay in reporting their son missing. As all you readers know, the party of the year was held two days ago for the saviors of the Wizarding world. In the commotion of the party they believed that Harry must have gone home with one of their friends, and seeing as it was so late, decided that it would be best to let him spend the night. The next morning they called around to all of the people that may have taken him home they found to their horror that none of them had little Harry. There was of course an extensive search of the grounds and the house to make sure that he hadn't wandered off, or was hiding. By the end of a very stressful day the Potters could only conclude that during the party someone had maliciously kidnapped their eldest son. "We would have reported it sooner, but I guess, with everything being so peaceful, we just never expected that anyone would do this!" A tearful Lily told this reporter. Minister Fudge is behind the Potters 100% in getting the boy back safely. If anyone has any information about Harry Potter please contact the Profit, the Ministry, or the Potters. We hope that the brother of the Children-Who-Lived will be found quickly and unharmed.

Sirius looked up as he heard Harry and Draco coming down the hall. He casually pushed the paper aside and asked the boys what they wanted for breakfast. Yesterday he had been furious when there had been no news of Harry in the paper. Today, well, today was a new day. Harry was happy and Draco looked more confident. The Potters didn't seem so important anymore.

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Draco was used to eating whatever was put in front of him, so when Harry asked for toast and eggs he agreed. For perhaps the first time in his short life, Draco had a wonderful breakfast, the food was different then what he was used to in the morning, but really good. And instead of eating alone he was eating with Harry and Sirus.

Harry was talking animatedly, Sirius was laughing and trying to get him to stop long enough to put food in his mouth and Draco would chime in every once in a while to add some information of his own.

Sirius was starting to clean up the dishes while Draco and Harry talked about what they were going to do that day when Albus came through the fireplace. He greeted the boys and nodded to the Profit.

"I see you've read that. Judging by the fact you're here am I to assume that James will not die today?"

"Not today." He turned to the boys.

"I want you both to go brush your teeth and get dressed while I talk to Albus."

"K!" Draco and Harry raced down the hall.

"I'm surprised to see you today Albus, was there something you needed?"

"Actually yes. Do you think you're up to another house guest?"

"You mean besides Neville? Depends on who it is."

"It's Remus."

"Why does he need-? Is he Ok?"

"Not really, it seems he wandered into Centaur territory and they trampled him. Sirius please. He's going to live. He's just going to need a place to stay with someone to look out for him while he heals."

"Yes, of course he can most definitely stay here."

"Excellent, I'm sure that he will be glad to be out from under Poppy's eye." "So would I. Oh, and Albus, Harry's birthday is in two days. I was thinking of having a small party. Just you, me, Remus and the two boys. Will you be able to come?"

"Of course."

"Do you think I could take Draco to Diagon Alley when Remus gets here? I think that Draco might like to pick out a present for Harry."

"That sounds like a good idea. Put glamour on him though. I don't want it to get back to Lucius that you have his son."

"Ok. When do you think that Remus will be ready to move?"

"Based on his progress I think that we can move him tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds good, Harry will be really happy to see him again."

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Harry raced Draco to the bathroom. Together they brushed their teeth. His toothbrush was a wolf and Draco's was a falcon. Then they picked out their clothes, to be ready to go outside with Sirus.

Both ended up with blue jeans and t-shirts. Harry's a bright blue with a snitch on the back and Draco's black, with a white leopard. When Sirus came to get them they went outside to explore the forest.

Harry had a great time exploring. Sirus knew lots and lots about the forest and the names of things. He and Draco had fun finding things and then asking Sirus what their names were. They even found a tree that Sirus said could be their climbing tree.

When Harry's stomach started growling Draco had laughed at the strange noise and Sirus had brought them back inside. Both he and Draco had fun deciding what to have Sirus put on their sandwiches.

He had wanted peanut butter and jelly like the house elves would make him and Draco asked for cheese. Then Sirus had packed the whole lunch into a "picnic" basket and the three of them had found a nice grassy spot outside to eat.

When they were done Sirus had shown them how to find shapes in the clouds.

Draco was having a blast. He had never spent so much time outside before. Over the course of the day he found his resistance to Harry, and especially Sirus, dropping.

By the end of the day when they had all collapsed in a pile after playing a game called tag he realized that he found more comfort than awkwardness when he was around them.

And when Sirus scooped him up and carried him inside he didn't protest.

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When Remus came through the fireplace at 1 o'clock with Albus both boys were sitting on the couch and Sirius was in the armchair. He smiled at his new "pack" and Harry bounced off the couch to give him a hug. Sirius stood up and pulled him into a hug and Draco watched his every movement.

"Welcome home Moony." Sirius smiled.

"We had better get you into a bed, you look like you're about to collapse."

"Really, I'm fine."

"And Poppy will have my head if we listen to you. Come on now, or I will have Sirius carry you."

Harry laughed.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do you cub?"

"Yes! He's smaller then you!"

"He's got a point Moony. Maybe I should just shrink you…"

"Ok, Ok!" He held up his hands in surrender. 'Man, it has been so long since anywhere has felt so much like home.' Albus and Sirius helped him to the bedroom while Harry told him all about what he and Draco and Sirus had done yesterday. When he was settled into the bed Sirius turned to Draco.

"Draco, would you stay with Remus for a minute? I need to talk to Harry and Dumbledore."

"I guess so."

"Ok, we will just be a few minutes."

And Remus was left alone with the small boy. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Draco was not exactly comfortable in his presence. He sighed inwardly. 'Can't blame the boy Lupin, he's just been left in a room with a man eating monster. Most adults would have already run away.' He put on what he hoped looked like a friendly smile.

"You know Draco, just because I'm a werewolf doesn't mean that I'm going to bite you."

Draco cocked his head to the side, "What's a werewolf?"

Remus paused. Ok, so not why the kid was keeping his distance. He wondered how to explain this without being terrifying. It had been so many years since he had had to explain it to anyone and never one so young. Remus briefly thought about just dropping the subject and waiting in silence until Sirius got back. But Draco's expression pulled at him and if they were going to be living together then the boy would find out sooner or later. Besides, there was still that small part of him that had been locked away at nine years old that needed-. He mentally shook himself. A four year old might understand the facts, that's all he could hope for. Silently sending a sorry to Sirius that his conversation was about to be interrupted he said, "Well, um. Well it means that when there's a full moon I turn into a, well, into a wolf."

Draco's curiosity seemed to be overriding his discomfort and he took a few steps closer to the end of the bed.

"What's a full moon?"

"Have you ever looked outside when it's dark?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen the shiny ball in the sky?"

"Yes."

"Well that shinny thing is the moon and when it's a whole circle and not just a part of one that's a full moon." Maybe this conversation wouldn't end so badly.

"And then you get to turn into a wolf?" Maybe.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say 'get to'."

"Why not? Don'tcha get to run real fast?"

"I guess so."

"And smell real good and hear really good?" Remus frowned. It had been years since he had remembered those parts of transforming.

"Well, yes. But I also can't control me. The wolf inside, its takes over and I can't stop it from doing bad things. I just sort of howls and I get pushed away."

"Why don'tcha talk to it, maybe it's just trying to tell you something." Remus stared, wha-?

"Hey Remus, do you think you're up to watching Harry for a couple of hours? Draco and I need to take a shopping trip." 'Curious. I'll have to ask him what they talked about.'

"Yeah, of course." Shaking himself he looked at Draco again. 'Did he have any idea what he just asked?'

"Cool." Sirius knelt in front of Draco.

"Hey Draco, do you think you could come with me for a while. I need your help with some things."

"Ok." He was excited, anything Sirus wanted to do would be cool.

"I wanna come too!"

Sirius laughed. "You have to watch out for Moony! He's really sick and he needs you to take care of him."

"Yeah cub, you aren't going to leave me here by my lonesome are you?" He did his best puppy dog eyes. Harry folded his arms and gave a huge sigh.

"Ok." He pointed at Remus, "but you have to tell me a real good story." Remus held out his hand, "promise." Harry smiled and shook it. He gave his brother a hug goodbye and climbed onto the bed, snuggling up to Remus's side to hear his story. Sirius smiled and knelt down by Draco, "I'm going to need to put a small spell on you, so that no one will recognize you. Ok?" Draco nodded. When Sirius was done the little boy had black hair and blue eyes.

"You look cool!" Draco smiled at Harry and Sirus picked him up.

"We'll see you guys later."

Sirius smiled as they left the room, Remus had started talking about how the four Marauders had meet.

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Sirius and Draco stepped into the fireplace and out into the crowded, dingy, hole in the wall known as the Leaky Cauldron.

When they had cleared the fireplace Sirius went to set the boy down, only to find that Draco's hold on his neck had tightened. Sirius smiled and repositioned his charge. It was nice to know that the boy trusted him.

Nodding to Tom and saying a quick hello to those he recognized, the two made their way out to the courtyard of the pub.

Locating the third brick from the left above the dustbin he tapped it with his wand; and chuckled at Draco's expression when the archway magically appeared, opening into the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley.

Draco unconsciously pressed himself closer to Sirus. He had thought there were a lot of people in the dark room they had appeared in, but wow! He had never seen so many people!

Almost all of them had long robes like Sirus, but some of them were different colors. There were lots and lots of buildings with all sorts of things Draco had never seen sitting outside.

Sirus turned to him smiling, "do you know where you want to go Draco? Or should be just look around for a while?"

"Look 'round."

"Alright then, let's go to one of my favorite shops first."

So He and Sirus went to a place called Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop and they had laughed so hard as Sirus showed him all sorts of things that he and his friends had used to prank the teachers and the other students at Hogwarts.

Draco had especially liked the story about the Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. He had ended up getting Harry a pack of balloons that made your voice go high and squeaky for hours after you blew them up.

The next stop they made was to Gringotts because Sirus said that he needed to get some more money.

Draco couldn't help but stare as they walked up the steps to the bank. It was huge and white and very important looking.

They went up to the desk and Sirus started talking to a strange looking creature that Draco could only think looked like Dobby, but not as friendly. The creature took them on a really cool ride to the vault were the money was.

Sirus had put a couple of handfuls of money into a bag and then they had ridden the fun cart back up to the top. Stepping back out onto the street and into the sunshine Sirus had taken them to Magical Menagerie. They hadn't stayed long however because Draco had found it too loud and smelly.

The next stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Madam Malkin wasn't that busy so after she had measured out a set of robes for Draco, she had set out to make two, one for him and one for Harry who was only about ½ inch taller.

Ten minutes later they were back on their way and Draco decided that he was hungry. Sirus took him to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Florean was a really nice guy and let Draco pick out all the toppings he wanted. When the two of them were done eating Sirus took them to their last stop of the day, Quality Quidditch supplies.

On the way they passed Ollivander's Wand Shop.

"What's that place?"

"That is Ollivander's wand shop."

"What do you get there?"

"Well, that's were all the students going to Hogwarts go to get their wands."

"What's a wand." Sirius pulled his out of his sleeve.

"This here is my wand. You know when I point it at things and say stuff, and then something happens."

"Yeah, it's really cool!"

"Well that's because this wand is magic, it helps me do things. Helps me do magic, you see?" Draco nodded.

"Alright, let's go look at some quidditch supplies!"

'Wait till Harry finds out there's a place that makes magic wands! Maybe we can make our own.'

Draco loved the Quidditch store, and he and Sirus ended up getting two practice brooms. In fact he was so happy that he talked the entire way back to the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron.

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When they got back to the house Sirius reminded Draco that the presents were a secret before the boy bounded off to find Harry. Five seconds later he heard "bye Moony!" and two boys racing down the hall. Sirius took the presents into the bedroom and put them on the bed with his friend before turning to pull some wrapping paper out of a closet. Then he set the presents to wrapping themselves.

When he looked up Remus was giving him a funny look.

"I didn't take your room did I?"

"Well, actually you kinda did."

"Padfoot! I would have been fine in the guestroom!"

"Come on Moony, that's up stairs, this way we're all on the same floor. Now get some rest, I'll wake you up for supper."

"But Sirius, where are you sleeping?"

"Either with the boys or on the couch. You know I can sleep anywhere as a dog."

"As a dog! Great, now I feel really bad."

Sirius laughed and punched his friend in the arm.

"You are such a good guy, now sleep, or I will call The Voice over."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh. I would." And he laughed as Remus rolled over muttering about sadistic friends.

A while later Sirius called for the boys to wash up and to their delight he told them they were eating dinner in Remus's bed. Sirius expanded a table and set it over the bed. Then Draco and Harry sat on the bed opposite of Remus and Sirius pulled up a chair. They had chicken noodle soup and a great time.

When supper was over Sirius sent the dishes to clean themselves and the boys to get ready for their baths. It was just getting dark out by the time Harry and Draco had their teeth brushed and their pj's on and were ready to hear their bedtime story. Harry was again snuggled up to Moony's side and Draco was right next to him. Sirius decided to tell a story instead of read one and even Remus was sucked into his tale of how Merlin first appeared in the Wizarding world.

An hour later the boys were fighting to keep their eyes open so Sirius left the story at to be continued and carried them to bed. After tucking them in he went back to Moony's room and collapsed into a chair, propping his feet up on the bed. The two of them spent the next few hours catching up until Remus fell asleep and Sirius transformed and trotted off to the boy's room.

The next day was Harry's birthday and what a day it was. Harry and Draco woke up as the sun was creeping over the horizon and Sirius made them Harry's birthday breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and orange juice. While the boys washed up and got dressed Sirius got Remus set up in the kitchen with a comfortable chair and a breakfast of oatmeal and milk. On the boy's way back Dumbledore arrived through the fireplace.

"Happy birthday Harry. How does it feel to be a whole year older?"

"Really great! Now me'an Draco are the same age."

"That is great, and good morning to you too Draco. How do you like things here so far?"

"They're great!"

'That's good to know.'

"Albus! Just in time, we are about to make Harry's birthday cake."

"Really, and what spell are you using to make it?" Sirius's answer made him worry, and with good reason. The Marauder was wearing a smirk that rivaled any of Dumbledore's twinkles.

"No spell Albus, we are doing this the muggle way." And he led the excited four year olds into the kitchen.

The rest of the morning was full of laughter and flour as Sirius, Albus, Draco, and Harry tried to make a cake. Remus was excluded from the effort, but not the flour.

In the end, semi questionable cake batter was placed in the oven and Harry's hair was as white as Dumbledore's. Instead of making the boys take a bath Albus used scourgify and the five "boys" went to the living room, for it was the time that everyone was waiting for.

The first present Harry opened was from Draco, and Sirius had to stop him from trying the balloons out right then. Sirius had also let Draco give Harry the broom and promised to show him how to ride it after they had cake.

From Sirius he received the dress robes and some chocolate frogs and a joke book that Albus had brought. Remus had also asked Dumbledore to bring Harry's presents and he gave Harry a chess set and the book by Beedle the Bard, which he promised to read out of before bedtime.

Albus gave Harry a Quaffle and Bertie Bott's every flavor beans. Harry was also surprised that Gidget and Wink sent him presents, his favorite book and his favorite clothes.

Draco was surprised when Sirius gave him two packages, the other broom that they had bought at Diagon Alley and a set of dress robes. Even though Draco had been there when Sirius purchased the gifts, it was the first time that he could ever remember unwrapping presents, and it was fun.

By the time Harry was done opening presents the timer went off on the cake and Sirius went to take it out. Remus showed Harry how to set up the chess set and the two of them played while Albus read aloud a few of the stories from Beedle the Bard.

When Sirius called them into the kitchen twenty minutes later they all laughed at the cake. Sirius had tried his best but, well. No matter what it looked like they all agreed that it tasted great. When they were done Albus offered to clean up the kitchen and Sirius took the boys outside with their brooms.

In no time they were zooming around the yard, Harry with a little more confidence than Draco, but encouraging his brother along. Seeing as they looked like they were having so much fun, Sirius accioed his own broom and joined them. Shortly after Albus and Remus appeared on the porch to watch them.

By four o'clock the boys were getting tired and Albus said he needed to get back to the school. Remus went to his bed to rest before supper and Sirius went to help the boys take their baths. Seeing as they had had so much sugar Sirius decided on meat sandwiches and they again ate on Remus's bed.

When they were done eating Harry and Draco brushed their teeth and Sirius put the dishes away. Remus read them another Beedle the Bard story like he promised and Sirius put them to bed. They fell asleep when their head's hit the pillows. Remus was also worn out so he went to sleep but Sirius flopped down on the couch to read.

Over the next three days nothing really remarkable happened. A pattern was established between the two boys and their mentors. Draco finally asked what a brother was and it was explained to him, after that he spent the entire day addressing Harry only as "Brother". It wasn't until the morning of August 5th that the Potters did something that neither Albus nor Sirius had accounted for.

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Lily and James Potter left the Daily Profit office and quickly Disapparated. Upon arriving home Lily stayed in the entry way while James hurried to his office.

Gigit was about to approach her white faced mistress when James reappeared and the two of them left the house.

Appearing in Diagon Alley they quickly made their way up the steps of Gringotts. James walked up to the desk and in a low voice told the goblin that he wished to speak to someone about a personal matter.

The goblin motioned for another to take his place and led the two humans to the private rooms. With the door secured he turned to his clients.

"What can Gringotts do for you today?"

Lily looked away but James plunged to the heart of the matter.

"We want to disown our son."

If the goblin was surprised he didn't show it.

"Very well. Wait here and I will get the required paperwork."

Seemingly thrown off by the lack of response from the goblin James started to explain himself.

"It's not that we don't love him, it's just that whoever took him wants his inheritance. We just don't want them to have a reason to keep him, so they will give him back. We're not bad peo-"

"If you are quite done sniveling, it is none of my business how you chose to endanger your son. Now if you will excuse me I will go and get the paperwork." When he left Lily turned to her husband.

"We are doing the right thing aren't we? I mean, this will all turn out all right for Harry won't it?"

"Of course Lily. Whoever took Harry hasn't made any demands. Therefore they must want to keep him, not get money for him. They haven't told us because they must think that we would say no.

By disowning him they will be free to adopt him, we will have more time to spend with the twins. After all, someday they are going to have to fight Voldemort again and we could lose them.

Also, this way Harry will have all the attention of whoever adopts him. So everyone wins in this situation, ok? Everything is going to be fine." Even as he said this there was a small itch in the back of his head. He was missing something important about this entire situation. But Lily was looking to him for guidance. He was the pureblood with the answers to this situation. Lily's green eyes were filled with unleashed tears as she looked at him and he knew that she believed in his little fantasy as much as he did. But they had to believe it because really what other option was there? That Harry had been taken and killed for no reason? No, his son was alive and he would dismiss any other ideas to the contrary. He and Lily would do this and either Harry would end up with another family or he would be returned to them. There was no other option.

"I'm just worried. When we cut the ties, James! What if he is alone?"

"Darling, he's three; he will be close to someone." At that time the goblin had returned, cutting off anything else Lily might have said.

An hour later all the paperwork had been signed. Grinning the goblin asked them, "so, will you be burning the name off yourselves, or would you like us to do it remotely?" It was Lily who made the decision.

"We'll have you do it."

"Very well, both of you sign here, in your blood."

With the final deed done the Potters left the bank as hurriedly as they had the Profit, and Lily managed to make it all the way to the bedroom before she broke down at the pain she felt had carved out half her chest.

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Deep in the Potter mansion a large cloth sprang to life. It slowly unrolled exposing perfect stitching depicting the names, birth, and death dates of each member of the Potter line.

At the bottom were three names, one stitched in gold signifying that he was the next heir. At the exact moment that Lily and James signed the last paper a blue flame sprang to life on the very tip of the letter H and slowly burned through all the letters on the boy's name.

When the flame had burned through the dash after the boy's birth date (which had stated just seconds ago that this particular child had been born at exactly 11:59 pm July 31, 1979) miles away he fell down screaming. For even adults are not immune to the pain of being torn from ones family.

That should have been the end. The blackened letters never allowed to produce a golden thread and the next child in line having their name re-sown in gold. But it wasn't, and the whole tapestry pulsed as though it contained a heart.

A single line of crimson shot out of a name much further up the cloth. It started slowly at first, picking its way down the line of descendants, turning the gold line to red, but never changing the color of the names. It seemed to find its way and began moving faster and faster until it came to rest above the blackened piece of fabric.

The tapestry pulsed faster and faster as though trying to unclog a line, until the crimson started to ooze into a shapeless mass over the blackened fabric.

Three floors above little Anigo Potter slept on, not knowing that the ancient magic had refused to name him heir.

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Harry was in pain. One second he was talking to Draco and the next it felt like his heart had been ripped out. Draco heard him scream, saw him fall and begin to shake violently. But all Harry was aware of was that he felt pain, cold, and lonelier than ever before in his short life.

Draco stared in horror as Harry shook on the floor. Then his brain seemed to kick in and he ran down the hallway screaming for Sirius. They met half way and Sirius rushed into the bedroom.

Without pausing he scooped up Harry in one arm and Draco in the other. He ran into the living room and setting Draco down, reached into the small box on the mantle and threw some Floo powder into the fire.

Picking up the blonde haired boy he told him to hold on tight and then stepped into the fire, clearly calling out Headmasters office.

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Albus was enjoying his breakfast of pickled toast and fruit omelets when he felt the ward go off for the fireplace in his office. There were only two people who could use that fireplace without him unlocking it first and both of those people would only use it in an emergency.

Excusing himself from the table he quickly made his way to his office.

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Severus picked up a forkful of eggs and eyed it with contempt. The food wasn't bad, though he had no reason to ever admit that, it was the circumstances that caused him pain. It was the annual midsummer meeting for the teachers and only midway through the second morning the greatest topic of conversation was how once again the Potters had "shocked" the Wizarding world.

McGonagall turned to him and he mentally braced himself.

"Have you read the Profit today?"

"I have much better literature to immerse myself in than the meaningless ramblings of an educationally stunted glory hound."

"Well, I would have thought you would have at least noticed that the poor Potter boy has been declared dead."

Snape snorted.

"One less Potter in the world is something to rejoice over. The brat was probably doing something stupid and deserved it."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow and turned back to her toast.

"No child deserves to die Severus." Snape just glared at his eggs. For some reason they looked even less appetizing than before.

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Upon entering the office Dumbledore paused. Sirius looked absolutely stricken as he tried to contain Harry's spasms while Draco looked on, wide eyed and trembling.

"I don't know what happened. They were playing and I was looking in on Remus, then I heard Harry scream and Draco calling for me and I found him like this!"

"Sirius! You need to calm down or you won't be any help to Harry. Draco, could you please tell me what happened?"

"We were playing with the army and he sounded like he was hurt real bad. Then he fell and started moving like he's now. And I didn't know what to do!" At the end of his explanation the little boy was shaking harder and starting to cry so Sirius gently handed Harry over to Albus and pulled Draco into a hug.

"It's ok Draco, you didn't do anything wrong. In fact it was very good that you went to get me, Ok?"

"'K." Draco sniffed and Dumbledore moved towards the door.

"We are going to have to bring Poppy in on this. I know that I will be able to count on her discretion." The four of them arrived in the infirmary at the same time as the nurse.

"Headmaster, there you are! You left so suddenly from the table that- Oh dear, what it this." Quickly and with as few words as possible Albus explained the highlights of what was going on.

"And we have no idea what has caused him to collapse like this."

"Let me see." Madam Pomfrey ran a practiced eye and wand over the prone boy. When she was done her small form was tense and her lips pinched. She walked away from them and retrieved one of the vials from her cabinet.

"Help me with his head Sirius." When the potion had been swallowed Harry's violent spasms had stopped but his eyes still looked empty and he didn't respond to Sirius's hand on his head or Draco's hand in his. Dumbledore's eyes weren't twinkling.

"What's wrong with him Poppy?"

"He's been disowned headmaster. Under normal circumstanced the child would be aware of what was going on and have the new parents adopt him immediately after the disownment was finalized.

The shock of having his family ripped from him has caused his soul to almost separate from his body. If he isn't adopted soon it could separate completely. The result would be similar to a Dementor's kiss."

Draco didn't know what a Dementor's kiss was but Sirius's reaction made him hold onto Harry's hand tighter.

For a second Albus thought that Sirius might actually explode. When the younger man took off for the doors he quickly locked them. Sirius rounded on the Headmaster.

"Will you adopt Harry?"

"Let me out Albus! I swear I'm going to KI-"

"SIRIUS! Will you adopt Harry?"

Thrown off balance he stuttered, "Of course."

"Then take Harry and Draco to my office, Floo to Gringotts and tell them I am coming with an adoption potion and need a room. Start signing the adoption papers. I should be five minutes behind you."

Sirius grabbed the boys and did what he was told.

Dumbledore caught up to Snape as he headed for the dungeons.

"Severus, I need you to make me an adoption potion."

Snape let out a small sigh as he turned around, "Headmaster, I really-" The lack of twinkling in the blue eyes made him stop.

"Now. Take it to Gringotts when you are done."

With a swish of purple robes he was gone. Severus hurried towards his own office trying to put together who could have caused the Headmaster to be this upset. He didn't like the answer that kept coming up.

Aegelweard – Noble protector, English

Vilhjalmur – Resolute protector, Scandinavian

Aaqil (ah KEEL) – wise, Arabic

Fahim (fah HEEM) – intelligent, scholar, Arabic