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Walking Free

Owie

Harry stumbled over his own feet as Dumbledore led him through the large double doors. As soon as they opened, Harry's face was assaulted by flashing lights, blinding him momentarily. It seemed that every photographer from each newspaper, magazine and news article was there; ready to snap a shot of the newly freed 'Golden Boy'.

Harry groaned inwardly. He didn't want all this attention at the best of times, and right now, all he wanted to do was sleep for a week. He bent his head down and ignored all the calls of his name. Some people began to grab at his arms to get his attention but he shrugged them off. He could hear Dumbledore calling him to come back but Harry refused to listen. He pushed past the crowd and barged out of the Ministry. Once he was outside, Harry hid himself down an ally-way before apparating away.

'Harry? Harry my boy, where are you?' Dumbledore called out.

'I think he left.' Remus said from behind. Albus spun around to face the man. 'I saw him leaving the building. He most likely apparated away.'

Remus turned around when he heard his name from across the room. He stood on his toes and spotted the Weasleys and Hermione coming their way. 'Remus, Remus dear, Remus where's Harry?' Mrs. Weasley asked, her voice thick with emotion.

'Urm…' Remus looked around for his wife and smiled when he spotted her. She snuggled up to his side and he wrapped an arm around her. 'I'm not sure. I think he apparated off somewhere. He just needs some time to himself. I'm sure he'll come back soon though.'

Molly nodded, another round of tears spilling from her eyes. Arthur pulled her into a hug, rubbing soothing circles on her back. 'I think it's time for all of us to go home. I'm sure we'll see Harry in a few days.' Ron looked doubtful but nodded, taking Hermione's hand in his. The family left the ministry, leaving Remus, Tonks and Albus surrounded by photographers.

'We better go.' Remus said, taking Tonks' hand.

'Yes, my boy.' Albus said, patting Remus on the shoulder. 'Look after him, won't you? I find myself afraid that too much damage has been done to fix his relationship with the Wizarding World. I don't know if the boy will ever be able to forgive us.'

The front door closed with a small click as Tonks placed Teddy on the floor. The toddler had been at his grandmother's house for the morning whilst his parents had attended Harry's trial. Remus sighed as he placed his coat on the hanger and followed his wife and son into the little kitchen.

Teddy made a beeline, on somewhat wobbly legs, for the toy box in the corner of the brightly lit room. Grabbing hold of the cuddly toy Harry had bought for him, he promptly stuffed it into his mouth. The werewolf laughed as he watched the toddler before turning to his wife.

'I thought he would be here.' he said with a sigh.

'Maybe he's upstairs. He looked pretty awful earlier. He might have wanted to get some rest!'

'Yeah, maybe. I'll go look.'

Turning out of the room, Remus slowly made his way upstairs. As he reached the landing, he could see that the door to Harry's room was open a jar. Creeping up to the door, the man slowly pushed it open. He let out the breath he had been holding and smiled when he looked into the room. Harry had unceremoniously thrown himself onto the bed and was currently lying on his stomach fast asleep. On closer inspection, the smile slid off Remus' face as he realised the condition Harry was in.

He turned his head towards the corridor and shouted down to his wife. Within seconds, he heard the familiar thumping on the stairs as Tonks climbed up them, Teddy resting on her hip. As she spotted Harry, she smiled.

'Well, at least we found him, eh? Better bruised than dead!' She said cheerfully.

'Awwy!' cried the toddler as he pointed at the teen on the bed! 'Awwy!' He cried again as he tried to leave his mother's grip.

'Yes Teddy! Owie! He is owie! He has lots of owie! Well done!' she cooed to her son as he continued to struggle out of her grasp. She stopped when her husband gave a snort of laughter.

'What? It's good to encourage him!'

'He's saying Harry, Tonks. Not owie!'

'Oh!' She replied, nonplussed, finally placing the boy on the floor and watching him as he stumbled towards the sleeping teen. He smiled at Harry before pointing to a particularly nasty bruise on the side of the teen's head and turning to his parents.

'Owie!' he said sadly.

At this, both Remus and Tonks burst into laughter, which in turn, woke the slumbering teen.

Draco watched the man from across the room, a small smile gracing his lips. His wand was already held gently in his hand, ready. Lucius sat beside his son, keeping an eye on him the whole time. He was slightly surprised at how calm Draco seemed to be. Draco never caused a fuss when asked to do a job by the Dark Lord, but he was never this relaxed about it. Maybe his son had finally grown up and stopped being afraid of taking on a challenge.

At the head of the long table, Voldemort sat, his snake wrapped around him, gazing round at all of his followers. When his eyes fell on Draco, a cruel grin split his lips. He bared his teeth and almost hissed as he whispered Draco's name. The young man met his stare, an almost unnoticeable nod passed between the two. Draco stood and walked around the table to stand in front of the man sitting against the wall. All eyes followed him as he approached Pius Thicknesse, pulling his wand out from his pocket.

As Draco raised his wand, Voldemort cut in. 'Pius, how nice of you to join us.' Draco rolled his eyes, but having his back to the Dark Lord, he didn't notice. 'You will be of much assistance, as I'm sure young Malfoy has explained to you. Go on then, Draco, don't keep us all waiting.'

'Certainly, my Lord.' The blonde raised his wand arm again, pointing it straight at Pius. Just as the word sat on Draco's lips, he raised a single, slender eyebrow. 'Imperio.'

If you didn't know what the curse was supposed to do, you would have thought that it had no affect on the man. Pius sat perfectly still in his seat, his body relaxed. The only thing that had changed was his eyes. They had become wide, his pupils growing to twice their normal size.

'Well done, Draco. Now, tell him what he needs to do.' Voldemort hissed, petting Nagini on the head.

'You are to use your position in the Ministry of Magic to persuade Ministry officials to join the side of the Dark Lord. However, you must be careful. You must go about your daily routine, act as you would normally and don't attract too much attention to yourself. Another thing, never mention this to anyone. You were never here; you were never taken by Death Eaters. If anyone questions you about your absence, give them an excuse. I don't care what you tell them as long as it's plausible. Do you understand?' Pius gave a single nod, his eyes fixed on Draco's. Draco smiled and turned to face Voldemort. The man pulled his lips forward, eyes forming a glare. Draco's smile grew into a sly grin. He turned back to face Pius and added, 'Oh, and if you mess up, the will be no hope for you.'

'Take him away now, Malfoy. Let him go, he knows what he must do.' Draco nodded and released Pius from the chair. Draco ordered Pius to follow him, and the man did so. When Draco reached the door, he turned back and bowed down.

'My Lord.'

Pius watched as Draco did this, and after a quick glance from the blonde, he also bent at the waist in a bow. 'My Lord.' he said in a low, steady voice.

Remus paid the ministry owl that delivered the Daily Prophet with a smile the next morning. The front page was dedicated to Harry and his new found freedom. On closing the window, he sat down in the nearest chair and began to read the article, his morning tea in one hand and a slice of buttered toast in the other.

He smiled up cheerfully at his wife when she entered the room and placed the gurgling toddler into his highchair.

'Morning, love!'

'Anything good in the paper?' Tonks asked from over her shoulder as she prepared Teddy's porridge.

'It's all about Harry. There's a bit on Rodolphus Lestrange's trial. He's been sentenced to twenty years in Azkaban for conspiring against the ministry and torturing Harry amongst other crimes.'

'Well, that's good. Harry should be pleased.'

'Awwy!' cried Teddy as he threw a spoonful of his porridge onto the floor.

'Speaking of, where is he?' Tonks asked as she got out her wand to clear up the mess her son had made.

'I think he's still sleeping. The pain potion I got for him was quite strong. Might have knocked him out for a few hours.' Remus ducked as a spoonful of porridge came flying his way.

'Teddy, NO!' scolded Tonks as the boy attempted to place the bowl onto his head.

'It says here that they are now searching for Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange so that they can send them to Azkaban. About ruddy time if you ask me.' Remus added over the top of Teddy's giggles. Tonks wandered over to their son and tickled him under the chin. The child laughed loudly, squirming in his seat. Tonks laughed with him until she suddenly felt bile rise in her throat. She quickly stood straight and held a hand to her mouth. 'Tonks, are you okay?' Remus asked worriedly.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and nodded, removing her hand from her mouth. 'I'm fine, maybe I just stood up too quickly, or something.' she mumbled as she sat at the table. Remus watched Tonks closely until the colour returned to her cheeks and she was able to stand again.

'Why don't you go lie down, love.' Remus suggested in a soothing voice. 'I'll look after Teddy, go rest.'

His wife nodded and slowly made her way upstairs. Remus picked Teddy up and cuddled him close, his mind still fixed on Tonks. He hoped that that little episode was a one off and not serious. Remus could think of only one thing at that moment, and it terrified him.

Harry woke suddenly from a sharp twinge on his forehead. He grasped it in his hand, cursing under his breath. Voldemort was happy, very happy. His scar only hurt in this way when the man received good news. Recently, Harry's scar would throb continuously. He had gotten used to it a long time ago, but he would never get used to the sudden and immense pain that was coursing though his head at that very moment. The thing that worried him the most about his perpetually prickling scar was that he knew the reason for it was because the connection between Voldemort and himself was growing. The anger he could feel from the Dark Lord was now his. The elation when something had gone right was now not only Lord Voldemort's but also Harry's. Harry couldn't deny it any longer. He had tried to push it to the back of his mind; to ignore it but now that he couldn't go five minutes without feeling that Voldemort was inside him, he had to finally admit to himself that he was scared. He was terrified that he was turning into the man who killed his parents; the man who ruined his life.

Harry never voiced these thoughts to Remus though. The man had enough to worry about without Harry adding to it. Harry worried that one day he might crack; that the foreign emotions would become too much and he would snap. What if he hurt someone? He couldn't bare the thought of that. Remus had done so much for him already. He had housed Harry, fed him, been there in times of need as well as aiding in his bid for freedom. It would hardly be fair if Harry vented his ever growing foul mood onto the man who had taken him in as if he were his own son.

Sitting up, Harry groaned. He sat with his head him his hands, contemplating what he was to do next before putting on his glasses. His sore body protested as he stood up from the warm bed and walked towards the mirror. The teen frowned. He didn't think he had ever looked as bad as he had now. His face was one mass of purple and blue. The mop of black hair was wild on his head and his glasses sat askew on his nose. Taking off his shirt, Harry examined the damage done to him by the auror. He hissed as he touched a particularly nasty bruise.

Donning a clean t-shirt and some trousers, Harry precariously made his way downstairs; his body screaming in protest as he did so.

Upon entering the living room, Harry found Remus, Tonks and Teddy. Mother and son were playing on the floor together whilst Remus sat comfortably on the sofa.

'Hey' Harry called out quietly; his voice cracking from lack of use. Remus and Tonks spun around immediately at the sound of his voice.

'Harry! You're up!' cried Remus as he jumped up from the squishy chair and made his way to the teen.

'How are you feeling?'

'Fine.' This was not true and the entire room knew it. Harry cringed at the look the werewolf gave him. 'Alright, I feel eefing shit, ok?' He added, careful not to swear in front of the toddler.

'I…er, well, lets go into the kitchen and sort you out then.'

Harry merely grunted in response but followed the man into the kitchen. Remus pushed the young man into a seat before turning to the cupboards on the wall. He pulled out a large box and set in on the table.

'What's that?' Harry asked.

'It's all of our medical supplies.' Remus said while fishing through the bottles of potions and pots, all different colours and sizes. He finally pulled out a small tub. 'This is a cream that should heal those bruises. Hold still.' Remus replied as he scooped some cream onto his fingers. He was about to apply some to Harry's face when he stopped, cheeks going red. 'Umm, maybe you should do this.' He shoved the tub towards Harry with his elbow while wiping his hand on a dish towel.

Harry did as Remus had done and scooped some of the white cream onto a single finger. Hesitantly he dabbed the cream onto a large black bruise on his left cheek. Nothing happened but he continued to apply the cream to his sore skin.

'What time is it?' Harry asked, noticing the darkening sky.

Remus checked his watch after fishing out a dark blue vial from the medical box. 'Just past five.' Sensing why Harry had asked, he continued, 'I gave you quite a powerful pain potion last night. Knocked you out for a while, which is no bad thing. You were in need of a long sleep.' Harry looked up the werewolf quizzically. 'To help heal the injuries.' he added at Harry's questioning look.

'Right.' Harry replied gruffly.

'Here, let me help heal those cuts.' Remus got out his wand and with a few flicks, the majority of Harry's cuts healed themselves. 'The deep ones will take a bit longer to heal I'm afraid.' he said with a small frown.

Remus was quite adept when it came to healing minor injuries. He quickly learned how to take care of himself after he had left Hogwarts and did not have Poppy Pomfrey there after transformations to nurse him back to health.

'Feeling better?' Tonks cheerful voice came from the door. Both men turned around to see her stride into the room with Teddy attached to her hip.

'Er…yeah.' Harry answered. In reality, he didn't feel like any of the potions and salves Remus had given him had worked. His scar prickled uncomfortably on his forehead and despite the amount of sleep he had gotten last night, he felt ready to collapse into his bed.

'Did you see the letter the Weasley's sent?' Tonks asked absentmindedly as she placed the turquoise headed baby into the highchair.

'Huh?'

'Tonks, I don't thi-' Remus started but was interrupted by his wife.

'Yeah, they've invited us for dinner on Thursday. To catch up and all that!' She smiled as she turned to face the two men but frowned at their reactions.

Harry glum face had fallen; an angry scowl gracing his lips whereas Remus looked exasperated.

'No.' Harry answered immediately and got up to leave. He didn't want to see anyone. He wanted to be left alone; to mop quietly in his room. He didn't know where the need to be alone had come from. Only a few months ago, he would have given anything to see them. To see his adoptive family and friends but now, when he had the opportunity, it just didn't seem appealing.

'What did I say?' Tonks said sadly as she sat next to her husband who had fallen into a chair after Harry's departure.

Remus sighed, his head in his hands. 'I hadn't told him about the letter. I didn't think he was ready yet. I don't think it's sunk in yet, you know?'

'What's gotten into him? He's really grumpy! You would have thought the he would have been ecstatic about what happened. Has something happened that I don't know about?' Tonks inquired, a worried expression settled on her face.

'I…I don't know. I'd noticed it too. He's gradually drawing himself away. He's fine most of the time, playing with Teddy and everything and then he just snaps. I can't make head not tail of it!'

'He was like it during his fifth year at Hogwarts wasn't he? I overheard Ron and Hermione talking about him during the Christmas holiday after Arthur was attacked. They thought that he was pulling himself away from them and that whenever they questioned him, he would snap at them. But…but that was Voldemort inside him when he was like that, wasn't it?'

'I'd thought that as well. I think his scar is giving him some grief quite a lot of the time.' Remus frowned at his wife.

Teddy gurgled from his seat and smiled at his parents when they turned to look at him. Tonks' eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip began to wobble. She stood up and moved towards her husband. He moved to hug her having noticed how distressed she had become. Remus patted Tonks' back as she wept into his chest.

'I don't want him to hurt Teddy!' she cried loudly, clutching to Remus' shirt.

'It's going to be fine.' Remus supplied, slightly confused and flustered by the way his wife was acting. 'You know that Harry won't harm Teddy. He loves Teddy just as much as we do.'

Tonks then shot up, her tears gone and a scowl over her face. 'He does not love Teddy as much as we do! I love Teddy more than anything in the world. I am his mother. I should be the only one to love him as much as I do! I gave birth to him!'

Remus stared at his wife in shock, her sudden outburst surprising him immensely. Only moments before she had been crying her eyes out and now she was angry and frustrated. If Remus' hadn't been too busy worrying, he would have laughed at the situation. Watching Tonks in one of her mood swings was often very amusing, but they had become very frequent these days.

'Hmm, I'm hungry. What do you want for dinner?' Tonks asked cheerfully as she slipped off of Remus' lap and made her way to the kitchen counter. She started to hum to herself and began to rummage about the cupboards in search of something to eat. Remus realised that there was defiantly something wrong with his wife, he just hoped that it wasn't what he thought it was.

I hope you all liked it! Please review.

TheRandomOneStaringAtYou- I feel bad for Harry right now. He is so sad and lonely. :( I hope you enjoyed this update. Please review!

Tara-Lynn Tam- I'm glad you like it. There should be some Harry, Ron and Hermione soon, so we shall see how they get on. Please review! :)

ebreda- I do enjoy writing the story but i do feel bad for making Harry sad and hurt. I'm glad you like the story. :)

ChessMasterDBZ- Thank you for reviewing the chapter. It's always nice to get feedback and although i appreciate that it wasn't a flame, it did come across like one. I'll try to clear up a few points for you. Firstly, (this covers a few of your points) everyone is stressed because Sirius just died and Voldemort has returned. They were not thinking properly but i can understand why you thought it was strange. I thought that you were a bit harsh when you called it stupid that the Weasleys didn't believe Harry. Their only daughter had just been tortured, possibly by Harry so they want to keep her safe. If Harry was the one to harm her, they wouldn't want him near her. The last thing is that Harry hasn't forgiven Dumbledore yet, as you can see in this chapter. I don't mean this in a negative way at all and i hope that this clears thing up for you. I'm glad that you're still going to read, i do appreciate your time and i hope you continue to review and share your ideas with me. :)

SoccerReader- Thank you for your lovely review. I was touched and it made me really happy. If you are confused about Ginny and Harry, don't worry it will all become clear in later chapters. Please review! :)