Caden was not sure if he should tell people where his mother was. The looks he was receiving every time someone walked passed him was beginning to become unbearable. His eyes would occasionally steal a glance from the back door that led out into the gardens. But no one seemed to notice, or at least he thought they did not.

He tried to act innocent enough. Laurie would drag him over to the buffet table where his mouth would water at the sight of the cookies and the beautifully decorated cakes. He filled his plate with every thing on the table that sparked his interest and followed Laurie back to a table where her parents were seated.

Remus carefully watched as Caden quietly begin to eat his food for a moment while Tonks helped Laurie cut up her steak. He noticed the anxious expression on the boy's face and could not help but wonder what would have caused that. Perhaps he, like Remus, was worried about Hermione. No one had seen her in over an hour or so. He noticed that Ron was beginning to panic while Harry tried getting away from the photographers to help him look for her.

"So Caden," he said, getting the boy's attention. "Do you know where your mother is?"

Caden's head shot up from the plate in front of him. "No." He said, too quickly for Remus's liking. He eyed the four-year-old suspiciously. Caden shuddered and looked away.

Ron came up to Remus while his eyes looked around the ballroom frantically. "We don't know where Hermione is."

They both turned to Caden, who quickly jumped down from the chair. His hands were behind his back as he stammered, "I d-don't know where she is." Remus and Ron both noticed the sudden glance over at the door that led outside.

"Caden, is your mother outside?" Ron asked him.

"No she isn't!" Caden exclaimed.

Ron went over to the boy and easily lifted him up using the back of his shirt. He looked into Caden's dark eyes and he looked back, frightened. "Caden, listen to me. Your mother is missing, and even though You-Know-Who is gone for good, it's still not safe out there. Now show us where she is."

"But she's safe." Caden reasoned. Ron gave him a look that told him he did not believe him. He placed the boy carefully back down on the ground as Harry came running up to him with Ginny.

"I've checked with everyone and no one knows where she is," he told them breathlessly with his hands on his knees. He and Ginny had bolted away from the photographers as they were changing films.

Ron and Remus looked over at the now-pale Caden. Harry and Ginny followed their gaze as Caden took a step back. Even though he knew he should trust his mother's friends, Caden did not like the fact that four adults, all of whom were like towering giants to him, were watching him to a point where he could not easily slip away as they discussed the situation.

"Caden has been withholding some information," Remus said to Harry and Ginny, not taking his eyes off the boy.

"You know where she is?" Ginny asked eagerly, causing Caden to take another large step away from them.

He nodded. "Mama is fine. She probably doesn't want you talking to her anyways." He told them, remembering the images that caused him to go as red as Ginny and Ron's hair, eventually making him return back inside at a very quick pace.

"Caden, it's still not safe for her to wander off alone," Harry reminded him.

He glared at them and crossed his arms. "I know," he said, slightly annoyed.

"There are still a lot of Death Eaters running around," Ginny added.

"I know," Caden repeated in the same tone.

Within the next moment, Caden found himself being pushed firmly, but somewhat gently, towards the direction of the garden doors by Ron. The group was now joined by Tonks, Laurie, and two Ministry officials that had been searching with Ron for the past hour for Hermione. Caden was not exactly sure where they had come from, but he did not give them another look. They were tall and each had a pair of large arms that looked as though they could break Caden's back in two if he was to go and give them a hug. He did not, obviously. He was rather frightened of them.

So Caden was in front of the group, leading them towards the gardens. He did not know exactly what to expect when he rounded the hedge and the fountain became visible. He was not sure what his parents would be doing. Caden knew they would probably be still catching up with each other, but he did not want the others to see them. Even at his young age, Caden was embarrassed by his parents.

But before they even went around the hedge, his fears were confirmed. Caden froze in his tracks as he heard his father say in a dark growl, "Where are you going? I wasn't finished yet." That was then followed by his mother screaming and a soft thud to the ground.

Ron instantly took out his wand and motioned for Caden and the rest to stay back, like Caden was going to move anyways. He, Harry, Remus, and the two Ministry officials ran around the hedge. They heard Ron bellow, "Expelliarmus!" A loud smash was heard and Caden heard his mother scream once again. But this time he knew something was wrong. That particular scream sounded as though she was frightened and shock. Ignoring Ginny and Tonks's pleas for him to stay put, he quickly dashed around the hedge.

The first thing he saw, when he caught up with Harry and the others, was a large black lump on the ground. Caden felt his heart stop when he realized that it was his father, lying on the stone ground motionless with a large gash on his forehead. Ron had smashed him against the building, ten feet from where Caden's mother was and maybe twenty feet high.

Caden then noticed his mother, who was looking at his father with the same look of shock on her face. She had been lying in the grass for there were blades of grass attached to the dress she was wearing. He had seen her after a rough night before, but that was nothing compared to what she looked like now. Her dress was twisted oddly and her lipstick was smeared. Her hair was not what it looked like when Caden had seen her last. She looked as though she had been sleeping on a broomstick while in motion.

Her eyes darted from his father to him, and she used her wand to quickly fix herself. Hermione then ran over to Roland and checked the wound on his head. Caden hesitantly walked up to her and his father and knelt down beside her. He was afraid to see if he was dead. Hermione glared back at Ron, Harry, and the others before shouting, "How could you?"

Ron and Harry exchanged glances as Hermione revived Roland. He groaned in pain, but sat up, hands on his throbbing head. "Why, I outta–" Perhaps he would have said more about his plan had Caden not been there. He looked over at his son, who let out a sigh of relief knowing his father was well enough to think about revenge. Roland finished his sentence silently in his mind, but threw a menacing look at group of people staring fifteen feet away at him and his family.

Caden got to his feet when Hermione helped Roland up and gently touched the newly-formed wound. "Are you alright?" She asked him softly.

He nodded but did not look at her. Instead Roland put his hand on Caden's shoulder and pulled Hermione closer to him, protectively. He then whispered in her ear, "Who are they?"

"They're my friends," She whispered back.

Roland snorted. "Some friends you've got there."

Caden looked up at his father with a grin on his face. Roland smirked back down at him and ruffled his hair. Hermione raised her eyebrows at both of them and smiled at her son and his father. Roland's back suddenly stiffened and his eyes looked away from Caden and glared at Harry, Remus, and Ron, who were coming over.

Hermione's smiled faded as she noticed that Roland had brought Caden between them. He obviously did not trust them with his son. Roland gave them a warning look when they were perhaps five feet away from them. The look Ron wore on his face matched Roland's anger, but he also held hints of confusion the others wore. She did not recognize the other two men with them and she placed both hands on Caden's shoulders, bring him in front of her.

The men, however, were not looking at Caden nor Hermione, neither were they looking at Roland straight in the eye. They were more interested in his forearm as where Harry, Ron, and Remus. Hermione glanced down and, to her horror, realized Roland's Dark Mark was clearly visible. His sleeve had been pushed up passed his elbow when he had flown through the air, giving everyone a perfect view. Hermione did not even bother to wonder why it was showing after Voldemort's death, she was only concerned about what the men would do to him.

One of the men rubbed his chin and smirked at Roland as his tattoo continued to wiggle around noticeable. Caden, unaware of what was being displayed, instinctively moved closer to his parents, eyes on the men. He was confused when he noticed the horrid his mother wore. The other Ministry man took a step closer towards Roland and made a swift move, getting a tight grip around Roland's wrist.

"I thought you looked familiar. Long time, no see, huh Roland? I see you've gotten taller." The man said in a tone Caden did not like.

Roland looked at him murderously. "Good to see you, too, Stebbins and you too, Zeller. I see you've both gotten fatter." He said darkly.

Zeller joined Stebbins, looking at Roland half amused, half furious. "You're not as young as you once were, Roland. Don't think you'll escape this time."

Hermione noticed the mock hurt on Roland's face when Zeller implied that he was old. "I wouldn't be talking, Zeller. You look as though you've only got a few good ones left. Do you really want to waste them on me?"

He winced when Stebbins tightened his grip. Roland glared at him and growled. Stebbins, however, returned Roland's silent threat. "You're under arrest, Roland. Azkaban will finally be housing the son of the Dark Lord for good."

When Caden heard those words come out of Stebbins mouth, his jaw dropped. Hermione wore the same face. He looked helplessly from her to his father, who instantly dropped his act. Roland stood in his place when Stebbins motioned for him to follow and would not move.

Stebbins growled at him. "You're coming with us now!"

Caden held on to his father's leg and looked up at him. "You're not leaving again, are you?"

Roland looked back at him with eyes of sorrow. He opened his mouth to answer but Stebbins did it for him instead. "He's too dangerous to be left here. He's coming with us. Don't worry about him. We'll take good care of him."

But Caden held on as Zeller grabbed Roland roughly by the upper arm, pulling him along. "No!" He shouted at them. "Don't take him away!"

"Let go, boy!" Zeller ordered.

Hermione caught Roland's eyes as she tried to grab a hold of her son, who refused to let go for anyone even her. Roland tried to get out of Zeller's grip to give her one last kiss goodbye. She held her breath as Zeller took out his wand and soon had it up against Roland's neck. He instantly stopped resisting and looked at her helplessly. She bit her lip as she knew Roland really had to go once more while she gently pulled Caden off of his leg.

She brought her son into a hug as a new sound now entered the garden. There were more voices now and the sound of rapid click followed by a flash told Hermione that the media had arrived to see Roland's arrest. Hermione did not even bother to wonder why everyone had turned up, much less heard that he was in the area. Within one hour she was back in Roland's arms, only to be torn away again.

Caden wiggled out of her embrace and looked around frantically for Roland through the bright flashing lights. He was able to make him out near the hedge and ran up to him. Roland felt him grab a hold of his cloak and looked down, silently pleading him to let go before he got hurt. Stebbins lifted Caden up easily as gave him an evil grin.

"You just don't give up, do you?"

"I'll take him," Ginny told Stebbins. Remus and Tonks had the gardens after the reporters came and almost trampled Laurie. Harry and Ron were watching the scene before them, wondering if they should try to call of Roland's arrest or comfort Hermione. Harry had no power yet, he would be starting the job in a few days. Ron then decided to go to Hermione, knowing that his say would probably mean nothing.

"Caden, you have to let go." Roland told him gently. "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright."

He looked up at the woman who was taking Caden away. They locked eyes for a brief moment, but it seemed like an hour. Roland held his breath as her blue eyes widened in realization. She gave him a small smile as Stebbins handed Caden over to her. Roland watched the redhead leave with his son over to Hermione. His head dropped as Stebbins and Zeller pushed away the reporters and apparated him to Azkaban.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you," he muttered under his breath as he continued to wrap the bandage around his arm. "Perhaps I can smuggle you out of here."

Roland looked up at him thoughtfully. "You mean it?"

"YOU BETTER NOT MEAN IT!" A shrill voice hollered from the other room, making them both jump. A short plump woman around her early thirties entered the room with a cigarette in her hand. The woman had hair the color of plums and dark red lipstick. She wore a maroon cloak that was clear to small for her, but she did not seem to care. She was glaring at the both of them with her piercing green eyes.

"I will not have you ruin his chances of becoming the next Dark Lord! If he goes with you, you'll get all of the Gryffindor crap stuck in his head." She snapped at her brother.

He stood up so that he towered over her and looked at her menacingly. Roland looked from his uncle to his mother. He knew neither was about to back down. His mother had her hands on her hips and was giving his uncle a disgusted look, while the grip on his wand was so tight, his knuckles turned white.

"I'll do with my nephew whatever I'll please," he snarled. "You've lost the right to be his mother after you refused to take him to a healer when you threw a metal spike at him. What would've happened if I didn't come over today? His arm is turning green, Cecilia!" He yelled at her.

She slapped his face, but he did not even wince. "Don't you tell me how to raise my son, Roland! You weren't so successful with yours."

Roland watched as the color drained from his uncle's face. He was shocked that his mother had dared to bring that up. His uncle looked as though he had been hit hard in the stomach with a broomstick. Roland hated to see him like this. He glared at his mother, who was giving his uncle a stern look. But there was a moment when it looked as though she had regretted saying those words.

Finally, he let out a deep breath. "What happened to my boy was out of my control. But at least I tried to make him better, unlike you. Roland doesn't deserve this, and if are still the sister I thought you were, you know this too."

His mother did not say anything. But she held her nose high in the air, making him angrier. "Give the boy to me, Cecilia. I'm his godfather." He reasoned.

"Well that was a mistake." She told him.

But to Roland's surprise, his uncle chuckled. "No, it wasn't and you know that. He's named after me as well."

"That's only because you were there screaming at me to pick a name." She shot back.

"We were in the middle of nowhere being shot at with curses!" He defended.

Roland had to admit that his favorite story of all time was him being born. His uncle and mother had been fleeing from a burning village where they had been hiding out from both the Ministry and Voldemort's followers. The Ministry wanted his mother and Voldemort wanted his uncle. Roland's uncle began to panic when his mother told him the baby was coming. He carried her behind a rather large rock as the Death Eaters and Ministry began firing at them and themselves.

His uncle was dodging and firing curses left to right as she quickly thought of a name. Roland was not sure why they chose that particular moment to decide on a name for him. They could have waited until they were not under attack while trying to calm down a crying baby, he would not have minded. In the heat of the moment, his uncle began to call out random names until his mother finally screamed over the shouts of the men and wailing of the baby, "ROLAND, SHUT UP!"

He, the baby, must have been shocked because he instantly stopped crying. His uncle looked down at the baby and smirked at his mother. "Well there you go. Roland it is then." She must have really hated him at that moment.

Roland came back to reality when he heard the shouting die down. His mother and uncle were looking at him strangely. Roland held his breath and turned red as he realized he must have been laughing at the memory.

His mother turned back to his uncle. "Look, you're already a strange influence on the boy. You better leave before…" Her voice trailed off.

That one moment had been the only time Roland had seen his mother looking at anyone with concern. His uncle nodded, understanding what she meant. She and her son lived in an old mansion which, on Voldemort's orders, was to be protected at all costs. He never really liked his uncle and the rest of his mother's family. Roland even had reason to believe he no longer liked his mother too after finding out that she had been a Gryffindor. But he needed her to raise his heir.

The older Roland gave her a hug and whispered to her, "Take care of yourself, little sis, and my little godson too."

She shot her son a look when her brother was not looking and left the room without saying a goodbye to him. His uncle rolled his eyes and turned to face his nephew. He knelt down so they were facing face to face. "If she or anyone else does something to you, you know how to contact me, right?"

Roland glanced over at the two-way mirror on the nightstand beside his bed and nodded. His uncle smiled at him and then pulled a package wrapped in red paper with golden stripes out of thin air. Roland looked at it with interest when he placed it on his lap.

"What's this for?" He asked him.

"It's your birthday present," His uncle answered. His smiled faded when Roland did not react. "My little bud's turning five today. That's a big day, isn't it?"

Roland shrugged and carefully tore of the paper. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized what laid before him was a blanket. It was dark green with a flannel pattern, but it felt as smooth as silk and thick as leather. But what really surprised Roland that, unlike the other things he own, this blanket looked new.

"I didn't think your mother would like Gryffindor colors, so I gave you a green one instead." His uncle explained. "You'll never find anything else like it, Roland. It will keep you warm no matter how cold it is."

The sound of the front door slammed below them and his uncle silently cursed. Heavy footsteps could be heard on the wooden floor below them. His uncle ruffled his hair and quietly stood up straight. He looked back down at his nephew, who looked at him with concerned eyes.

"I'll come back in a few days, Roland." He promised and quickly left the bedroom.

But he never did.