Slightly belated but ... Happy New Year!

Summer Holidays

Harry didn't lower his wand. "Sirius Black," he repeated, sidestepping to keep Lily out of his way.

The man - Sirius - nodded, his eyes wary but somehow soft.

"Would you care to explain why you've chosen this moment to appear?" Harry asked, his tone calm, hiding the turmoil in his head. "And, for that matter, how you found us?" If Sirius had found them . . . maybe they weren't as safe as he'd thought.

Sirius sighed. "It's a long story-"

"I have two months of holiday. I'm sure we have time."

Lily stepped forward again, grimacing, but after looking between them she muttered, "I'll bring your trunk up, sweetie," and left the room.

Harry and Sirius stared at each other for a good minute before Sirius relaxed back into his chair. "Sit down. As I said, it's a long story."

Harry sat on the edge of the chair opposite Sirius. "Go on then."

"When Voldemort killed the Longbottoms and James, the war didn't stop. Lily had fled with you, and I couldn't look - Dumbledore had me and Remus - Remus Lupin, has Lily-" Harry nodded impatiently. "Me and Remus on an important mission to destroy Voldemort. It was top-secret, but unfortunately we didn't make much, if any, progress; by the time Dumbledore was cursed, all we'd achieved was - well that doesn't matter." Sirius took a deep breath. "But anyway, I had to go on the run when Dumbledore died. The borders had been closed years ago, so I couldn't escape, and I didn't know where you were, so I went with Remus into the forests.

"Remus …" Sirius hesitated, giving Harry a searching look.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I know he's a werewolf. Mum told me."

"Oh. Right. Well, anyway, Remus was having a hard time with his … transformations without the Wolfsbane potion, and so we needed money to buy it, or he might have ... might've died."

Harry blinked. Lycanthropy is that bad?

"So we needed to get money, which meant we either had to steal or get jobs. We managed for a time, with a mix of odd jobs and thievery, but about five years ago Remus disappeared." A haunted look came over the man's face. "I- I've never found him." Sirius closed his eyes briefly before continuing. "I was approached by the Resistance when I was searching. I've been doing their work, listening in on conversations, dropping off notes and other stuff for three years now. And we've found out a few things.

"Voldemort's new, perfect world," Sirius spat," has problems. The muggleborns aren't liking the idea that they've been snatched from their families, and we've gained a lot of members that way. Voldemort's planning something, but we are too.

"My mission for the past few months has been recruitment, so I immediately tried to find you. It wasn't easy - I had to keep my ear to the ground, listen for anyone with your descriptions - but I found you eventually by asking the muggles in the nearby towns."

"Should we be worried about being found?" Harry asked, his face tight.

Sirius hesitated. "I don't think so, but when I was asking round, a lot of people had already been asked about you. Someone else is looking, and I don't know who." Seeing Harry's face, Sirius added, "But I highly doubt they'll ask the muggles."

Harry relaxed slightly, but contingency plans were already being formed in his mind. And who was asking questions? He ran through a list of likely figures - there was the ministry, or someone could just be interested in them . . . Or it could be Voldemort. Storing the unsavory thought away, Harry turned his attention back to the fugitive in front of him. "What happened to Remus?"

Sirius' shoulders slumped. "I don't know." His mouth tightened as if it was painful for him to admit. "We gt a few leads, but … they never lead anywhere. It's possible he's been captured, by the werewolf cult or by Voldemort, or …" he fell silent, the end of his sentence hanging in the air. Or he's dead.

Lily came in then, and Harry turned to face her. "You weren't at the station, Mum."

She winced. "I'm really sorry, Harry - Sirius turned up this morning, and I'd lost track of the days - I've been working overtime and bringing work home, I'm getting better work now, might even be promoted - but I only remembered about an hour ago, and I didn't know if someone had followed Sirius. I was going to send you an owl but then you arrived ... did you catch the Knight Bus?"

Harry nodded. He briefly thought about mentioning ow he'd told the conductor the address, but decided against worrying her further. Hopefully she wouldn't think about how, logically, he must have given the address of somewhere near them.

"Right then. Harry do you mind making dinner? I need to ready the guest room."

Harry nodded, ignoring Sirius' weak protest about not wanting to be a bother. "Scrambled egg okay, Mr Black? Sirius?" Harry amended at Sirius' surprised face.

Sirius gave him a crooked grin. "I've been living mainly off scraps and rats for a while, Harry - scrambled egg sounds amazing."

Voldemort waited impatiently in his office. Karkaroff had been expected eight minutes ago.

The door opened, the Headmaster of Durmstrang stepping through. His goatee was not as carefully curled as usual, and his cheeks were flushed.

"You're late."

Karkaroff knelt down. "I am sorry, my Lord. I was held up at the border - I rebounded off the barrier, ended up in Sweden -"

"Igor." Karkaroff instantly stopped speaking. "You came here to answer a question, not wax about your troubles. Stand."

Karkarrof stood, clearly glad not to be tortured on account of his late arrival. He stood before the desk, and Voldemort leaned forward, suppressing a grin at the concealed flinch. "Did you have a new, male, student last September, with any combination of dark hair, green eyes, glasses, and no father? Possibly answering to the name Sam Jamison?"

Karkaroff frowned. "We had a dark-haired boy called Cyle Gott enter second year, with glasses. But he lives with his grandparents."

Voldemort shook his head. "Anyone living with just a mother?"

"We have Steven Kilnov, my Lord. A first-year with commendable skill, but he's fair haired with blue eyes."

Voldemort considered. "Cast a glamour-removing charm on him, discreetly. And make an inquiry on his mother." He'd hoped Potter would be at Durmstang - he'd visited Beauxbatons the week before, with no results. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Karkaroff looked taken aback at how short the discussion had been. "No, my Lord."

"You can go. I want your report on Kilnov within three days."

"Yes, my Lord."

Voldemort fingers started to tap rhythmically on the desk after Karkaroff left. Potter wasn't at Beauxbatons. He was likely not at Durmstrang. The chances had been slim to begin with, he supposed …

Lily Potter, from what Voldemort knew, would never settle for a mediocre education for her son; he wouldn't be in any of the small schools on the continent. No, he must be being home-schooled.

If they had escaped out of Britain then he had very little chance of finding them. But they'd definitely been in Diagon Alley - and the probability of them being able to enter and leave the country at will would be very unlikely.

Voldemort stood up. There was a log of everyone who entered and left the wards - you needed permission and a guide to enter or leave - and so if "Sam Jamison" or someone fitting his description wasn't there, the two must be in Britain.

Voldemort strode out of his office, ignoring the workers he passed.

The Department of British Security was a small but elitist section, filled with people personally vetted by Voldemort himself. He couldn't have a Resistance sympathiser letting people out unauthorised.

He waved the workers who bustled up to him away, heading straight for the book in the entrance room. The room was made of pure granite, and was the only way into or out of Britain; people who tried to Apparate through the wards would be bounced off.

The book was mainly full of politicians and academics, with a few deportations recorded.

The Dark Lord cast a searching charm. The book had six instances of a boy leaving, but under further inspection he saw that none of them fitted the description or were traveling with a woman.

They must still be in Britain.

Voldemort smiled as he went back to his office.

Sirius, it turned out, would be staying with Harry and Lily for quite a while. Originally, he had meant to stay a few days before contacting the resistance, but he and Lily had once been good friends, a friendship that was being rekindled - and as he stayed longer, he seemed to forget about his mission, which Harry noted with satisfaction.

While he agreed with the Resistance, joining them would just add to the danger of being caught. However, he did want to know about Sirius' mission before Dumbledore's fall; it sounded quite important.

The problem was that Sirius wouldn't tell him. No matter how much Harry mentioned the Resistance - which he had to be careful about as it reminded Sirius of how he was supposed to be converting Lily over to them - Sirius never mentioned his and Remus' old mission again.

The two spent quite a lot of time together with Lily working, and Harry came to realise that while Sirius was an accomplished wizard, he was also very immature. This did, however, make him quite fun, and his stories of the practical jokes he'd played at Hogwarts did give Harry some ideas just in case he ever needed to get revenge on anyone.

Harry's twelfth birthday, on the last day of July, was celebrated with a cake, new robes, a book on advanced dueling techniques from Sirius (who had been almost insultingly surprised when he heard how well Harry had done in the competitions) and, later in the evening, a letter bearing the Hogwarts crest.

Lily gasped. "Harry! Your PIE results!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and sat down on the sofa. "Give him the letter, Lily. It's only PIEs."

Lily glared at Sirius but handed Harry the envelope, and after a moment's hesitation, he carefully opened it and slid the parchment out.

There were several pieces, but the top one had Placement Indication Exam Results emblazoned on the top, so Harry let the other fall to the table as he read down the letter.

The following grades indicate a pass: O - Outstanding, E - Exceeds Expectations, A - Acceptable.

The following grades indicate a fail: P - Poor, D - Dreadful, T - Troll.

You may proceed to OWL in subjects where you pass. You may retake a PIE in subjects where you have a P.

You must have at least six pass grades in order to continue. You may retake the year if you have at least three.

Harrikon Evans, your results are:

Transfiuration - O

Defence - O

Herbology - E

Dark Arts - O

Charms - O

Spell Creation - E

Potions - E

Congratulations.

Kind Regards,

Elwen Moffiat, Deputy Head of Education

Harry smiled weakly before passing the paper to Lily, who hugged him tightly. "Well done," she whispered, and when she pulled back he thought he could see small tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Four O's and three E's, two years early. Well done kid," Sirius patted him on the back, though Harry caught a fleeting dark, almost disappointed shadow in the man's eyes before it was wiped away. Ignoring it, Harry grinned back, turning his attention to the parchment on the table. One was a form to fill in for his option topics, and the other … the other was a short letter from Voldemort. He carefully opened the envelope:

Harrikon,

I congratulate you on your test results. What the PIE letter does not tell you is that you achieved one of the highest ever scores in both Defence and Dark Arts, and it was only your history and theory that let you down in Spell Creation. You were also just a few marks off an O in Potions.

I expect you to take your PIEs for your options (I recommend taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes) next June, possibly along with OWLs for some subjects. While I expect you to start your OWL in most of the subjects you have just passed, if you were to drop one (for example Herbology) to make room for another subject that would be acceptable.

While you can self-study if you feel you need to take more subjects than your timetable can take, you can, but I do not advise embarking on too high a goal. Your timetable can stand you taking a total of nine subjects.

I heard that your mother did not pick you up at King's Cross; I trust you are both well?

- Lord Voldemort.

No longer smiling, Harry wordlessly handed the paper over for Sirius and Lily to read. "I don't think he's suspicious," he said quickly. "He's probably attempting to look like a normal person, and thinks poking his nose onto other people's business shows he cares." Harry didn't believe his words, but if Lily thought they weren't safe, they'd pack up and go - go to the Resistance where they would be no safer. And I wouldn't get to go back to Hogwarts.

Lily nodded. "You're probably right." She placed the paper gingerly on the table. "Now, you need to pick your electives. Have you decided yet?"

Harry shook his head. "I'll think about it." He smiled, picking up the letters and turning to go up to his room.

Once there, he shut the door and leaned against it, a pulse of anger shooting through him. How dare Voldemort "recommend" what he take! He doesn't control me!

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. He needed to write a reply, but that could be done later. Options now.

So. He could take nine in total, unless he wanted to self-study, and could only really drop one subject as he wanted to continue everything except Herbology.

It would be best to have a total of ten or so PIEs, so he needed to take three more. Then he could continue in six subjects for OWLs, and take another OWL elective.

Right then. PIEs. Harry reluctantly conceded that Voldemort was right in his recommendations - Arithmancy and Ancient Runes he certainly wanted to take. Care of Magical Creatures also sounded interesting.

In all likelihood, he would probably be able to take the OWL in those subjects at the end of the year if he put enough study time in.

For the extra OWL option … Harry glanced back at the papers. Voldemort hadn't said anything about this; presumably he wasn't expected to take one. But the options letter detailed OWLs as well. He could take Magical Art, Astronomy or Healing.

Harry certainly wasn't a artist, but Astronomy and Healing both sounded interesting. Perhaps he could take one and study the other? Healing would be useful in any case.

He'd take Astronomy and work at Healing in his own time, Harry decided.

Sitting down at his desk, Harry started filling out the form.

Hmm.

Voldemort's head tilted as he looked at the elective form in front of him.

Harrikon had taken his advice … mostly. He'd chosen Arithmancy and Ancient Runes and dropped Herbology, but he'd also decided to take Care of Magical Creatures - Voldemort hoped the boy would drop it after the PIE - and an extra OWL in Astronomy.

Oh well. If the boy bit off more than he could chew, the mental breakdown would at the very least be entertaining.

At least he hadn't taken Magical Art.

An owl tapped on the window, and Voldemort lazily flicked his hand to let it in.

The envelope landed on his desk and the owl swooped out, not even stopping for a rest like most owls. Odd.

He picked up the envelope and turned it over, suppressing an involuntary smirk at the address:

Lord Voldemort,

Ministry of Magic (probably),

Somewhere in London.

Tearing it open, the Dark Lord's red eyes sharpened with interest as he saw the signature of his young pupil.

My Lord, (the letter begun)

Thank you for your congratulations, and for the extra information on my grades.

I expect you've seen my elective choices by now anyway, but if you haven't, I've dropped Herbology and chosen Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures for PIEs and Astronomy for OWLs.

My mother had overslept, which was why she didn't pick me up, but we are both fine. Thank you for your concern.

- Harrikon Evans.

Voldemort frowned slightly; Harrikon had certainly taken his time replying. The Dark Lord had sent his letter in with the PIE results nearly two weeks ago. Someone had misplaced the records in school as he had not been able to get hold of the Evans' address; the PIE results were just labeled with his name.

Now he thought about it, that had been rather odd as well.

There was a knock on the door. Voldemort sighed; that would be Lucius for his report of Death Eater recruitment. He set the letter aside and called for the Malfoy head to enter.

This year's trip to Diagon Alley - again in the last few days of August - brought with it a sense of melancholy. The summer had been a carefree few months; Harry had been Harry again, without any constraints, without any pressure. Lily had been happy to have the house inhabited again, and Sirius had been just as happy to have a stable place to stay.

But now the term was just a few days away. Harry would have to adopt the persona of Harrikon Evans, and while Lily wouldn't be alone, Sirius had been getting a thoughtful, sad look on his face lately. Harry knew he was dwelling on how he should be taking Lily to the Resistance.

Sirius obviously couldn't come to the Alley, so it was just Lily and Harry once again. They visited the bookshop, spending several happy hours in there until Harry noticed Hermione Granger come in and immediately left, hoping Hermione hadn't noticed him. His hopes were in vain, however, for as they left the shop he saw the girl glance over at him resentfully before going over to the shelves full of advanced spellcrafting that he'd been browsing.

Thank Merlin he'd only have a few classes with her this year.

When they passed by Olivander's Harry turned to his mother and, on an impulse, said, "Do you mind if I go in to talk to Mr Olivander for ten minutes? I'll meet you in Fortescue's."

Lily hesitated, but agreed, and Harry, after checking that it was empty, darted into the shop.

Like last time, Olivander was nowhere to be seen, but Harry could feel another presence in the shop. "Mr Olivander, I know you're there. I just want to talk."

After a minute, Olivander emerged from the shadows. "I have expected you for a while, Mr Potter," he said in his papery voice.

Harry nodded curtly. "Why did you tell me to say my wand was Oak and Dragon Heartstring?"

"The Dark Lord," Olivander said slowly, "came looking for a list of wands I sold. I knew that if he saw your name against his brother wand, he would be … curious. Though, from what I have heard, you have peaked his interest already, Mr Potter."

"It wasn't intentional, I assure you," Harry said with a slightly bitter smile. I just didn't realise the rest of Hogwarts was so stupid.

Olivander nodded. "I put the name Sam Jamison against your wand, and gave you a nondescript, relatively common combination."

"Sam Jamison … Jamison … You want him to think that I - that Harry Potter has my wand. But-" Harry cut himself off. "Yes. So he's chasing after 'Sam Jamison' instead of me, thinking he's Harry Potter." Olivander nodded. "I … Thank you."

Olivander inclined his head. "Was there anything else you wished to talk to me about, Mr Potter?"

"No. Thank you." Harry nodded to Olivander before spinning round and leaving.

What had made Olivander decide to help him? He'd got the impression that the wandmaker generally stayed out of conflicts. But it seemed he'd picked a side, Harry's side - even if Harry wasn't sure which one he was on himself.

Lily was waiting at one of the tables around Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Harry's favourite flavour - caramel - under a freezing charm on the table.

"Thanks," Harry said, sitting opposite.

"I want you to be careful," Lily said quietly.

Harry paused in his ice cream eating. "I'm always careful, Mum," he said, flashing her a smile.

Lily smiled back, but it was one of sadness. "Something's going to happen, Harry. I can sense it."

Harry frowned, flicking up a quick charm to avoid eavesdropping. "You can sense it?"

Lily nodded. "I know it sounds stupid, but … yes, I can feel it. Something's coming. Maybe not now, maybe not for years, but it is. And I want you to be careful." She fixed her eyes on him, her face stern. "Perhaps it will be Voldemort, perhaps it will be the Resistance. Perhaps it will be a passing stranger. But something will happen, and you need to be careful."

There was a strange, almost glazed look in her eyes now. Alarmed, Harry leaned forward. "I'll be careful, Mum. I promise."

She smiled, her eyes clearing. "I know."

Harry finished his ice cream as Lily sat back, watching the Alley. He was just about to stand up to leave when Lily said in a low voice, "There's a wizard by Quality Quidditch Supplies. He's been following us."

Harry casually glanced over. "Which one?"

"Black robes, hood." Lily stood up. "Come on, Konor."

Harry took the signal to drop back into his role of Harrikon. "Do we have time to drop by Flourish and Blotts again? There's this book on introductory healing that-"

"No, Konor. I need to put the dinner on, we're having spaghetti bolognese tonight."

Harry rolled his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man start walking in the same direction as they were. He had an odd gait - fluid, but the weight was biased towards the left leg. An injury?

The man didn't try to stop them as they Disapparated.

Voldemort flung down his quill.

It was an uncharacteristic display of anger, and the three in his office - Lucius Malfoy, Rudolphus Lestrange and Amelie - flinched back.

"How," the Dark Lord asked, his voice a growl, "did he manage to escape? From right under your nose, nonetheless!" He glared at Rudolphus.

"I'm very sorry, my Lord." Rudolphus dropped to his knees. "The guard - he must have been a sympathizer. We did manage to injure Weasley-"

"And do you have the guard?"

Rudolphus gulped. "N-no, my Lord. We have his body-"

"His body is not much use, is it?" Voldemort took a deep breath. "Crucio," he hissed. Rudolphus screamed, while Malfoy and Amelie looked on, their expressions blank.

He ended the curse after a few minutes. "Take him away," he ordered. Malfoy and his apprentice picked up the spasming man and carried him out, the door shutting quietly behind them.

Voldemort sat back the desk, plans to combat the development already forming. He'd have someone create a wanted poster. And an article for the Daily Prophet. They needed the population to be on watch more than needing to look good.

Bill Weasley would be found soon enough.

The first of September was another solemn day.

Sirius hadn't said anything about the Resistance; Harry thought he had decided to wait a while. It was clear that the fugitive didn't want to move, although he'd been talking about getting a job in the muggle world, to help pay for his food. Lily had shushed him immediately, but there had been a stubborn look in Sirius' eyes that made Harry smirk.

But Sirius wasn't here now - just Harry, Lily and his trunk. Hedwig had already flown ahead.

Lily hadn't mentioned anything more about being careful, but Harry had caught her worried gaze on him many times.

As the clock hand neared the hour, Lily kissed him on the cheek. "Have fun. Don't work too hard,"

"Me? Of course not," Harry smirked, but he hugged her tightly before picking up his trunk and boarding the train.

Lily had to be at work by eleven, so Harry wasn't surprised when she was gone by the time he'd found an empty compartment. But a lump came into his throat nonetheless.

Ignoring it, Harry cast a locking charm on the door - oh, it was so nice to be able to cast magic freely again - and hissed, "You can come out now."

A small snake slid out from his collar. Harry had, on one of the rare occasions where both Lily and Sirius were out, carried out his experiment to see if he was a true Parselmouth. His efforts had resulted in one snake getting rather attached to him, and refusing to be left behind when he said he would be going back to Hogwarts.

He'd named her Selena.

"Can I go hunting?" Selena asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, you'll get seen, and Voldemort can't know I'm a Parselmouth. I've got some dead frogs, though."

The snake didn't really have facial expressions, but Harry imagined that if they did, Selena would be curling her lip at him. "Dead ones are no fun," she grumbled.

"Tough." Harry fished out the bag of small frogs and fed them to her. She was a common grass snake, green-grey in colour, with black bars down her sides and spots on her head. Harry had found her when she was just twenty centimeters in length; now she was more than double that.

Footsteps sounded and Harry tensed. "Hide."

He looked up to see a short boy - a first year? - knocking on the window. He considered ignoring him, but … Mum would let him in.

Harry lifted the locking charm and the boy, nervously flicking his hair out his eyes, asked timidly, "Can I sit here? There's no other seats -"

No. "Fine."

The boy smiled, not put off by the short tone. "I'm Colin Creevy."

Harry very nearly groaned. "Harrikon Evans."

Colin grinned at him. "What house are you in? I want to go to Gryffindor, it sounds the best - I've got muggle parents, do many people? When do we get to learn spells?"

Harry gritted his teeth and stared out of the window, eventually getting a book out of his trunk.

By the end of the train journey, Harry was itching to curse the boy, but he had to concede one thing: Colin was certainly persistent. Harry hadn't answered him once, and he'd kept taking until his throat was raw, all the way to Hogwarts.

Next time I'll put an Notice-Me-Not charm on my compartment as well.

Harry climbed into a horseless carriage with a couple of other students he didn't recognise, looking up at the night sky. He would be learning Astronomy soon - what secrets were hidden in the stars? He smiled ruefully. Probably none.

Harry was nearly at the Great Hall when he realised the weight around his neck was no longer there. "Oh, no," he muttered, sweeping around. Selena was nowhere to be seen.

Casting one last look at the open doors to the hall - he had five minutes, if that until everyone settled and the first years came in - Harry started running back along the corridor.

He didn't dare call out for her in case someone overheard him, but there was no sign of her. Stopping, he cast the charm to magnify his hearing and stilled, listening.

Nothing.

He sprinted another hundred meters back along the corridor, then stopped again.

Footsteps.

Harry froze, spinning round to look for somewhere to hide. There was a suit of amour - he jumped behind it, his breathing loud in his ears.

The chattering of first years filled his ears, and he stood like a statue as they filed past him. Merlin, what if they'd stepped on Selena? He bit his lip in worry.

As soon as they'd gone, Harry moved again, running deeper into the dungeons, stopping every hundred meters or so.

A few minutes later, he heard it: the slither of scales over stone. He ran down the corridor, stopped, turned and ran down a side corridor.

He could hear the hissing now. "I can smell you … I can catch you …"

She'd gone hunting?! Now? Stupid snake.

At last, he caught sight of the small brown reptile near the side of the corridor. Breathing a sigh of relief, he picked her up and hung her around his neck. She curled around him, her body shaking slightly. "I was lost," she said, her tongue tickling Harry's neck. "Thank you for finding me." She snuggled closer into him, burying herself under his robes.

Harry sighed, his anger disappearing. "Don't slither off next time," he chided. His heard sank as he realised they would be well into the feast now, possibly even past the sorting. Could he skip it? No, he'd be missed. And he was hungry anyway.

He'd just have to try to avoid attention.

I hope Voldemort isn't there.

Sorry for the length of time this took - my excuse is that I've been, in turn: At relatives', internetless, busy and banned from my computer. Unfortunately I'm back to school tomorrow (*cue crying noise*) so I'll update when I can. Hopefully not more than two-week gaps :)

Thank you so much to my reviewers :D Fifty reviews now!

Imaginary prize to anyone who guesses what the start-of-big-plot-point here was :P

[Update 17 Jan: Because of me foolishly committing to several very time consuming activities this weekend, I am currently only about a fifth through the next chapter. It is all planned but frankly I'm tired as heck. As a hint, reviews = energy to write. Thanks :)]