Author's note: I'm sorry I'm late! Life caught up with me, and there were some things that I needed to do before uploading, they took more time than I'd thought.

There we go, another chapter down! I estimate we're roughly halfway the story – as I only have an outline in my head, it's a bit hard to tell. Unfortunately, I'll have less time the upcoming weeks to write. I'll still try to upload in two weeks, but it's going to be hard. Even worse, if I don't make that update, I won't be able to upload until October (gah, such a long time!). I'm taking some time off, to come up with new ideas for this story. It has been a bit difficult, as of lately. There are more reasons why I have to take a break, but I'd rather not discuss them. Let me just tell you I'm having a hard time, mentally. But I will continue this, rest assured.

For authenticity, there's going to be some French in here. Then English translation will follow, between bracelets. Comme ça [like this].

Special thanks to mwinter1 – you always remind me I have an audience. Seriously, without you, this story would've died out.

"Sirius! Wake up, now!", a voice shouted.

Sirius blinked sluggishly.

Harry was looking at him from the door frame. Distantly, he heard an odd whistling.

"Whazist?", he asked vaguely, still under the influence of the potion.

"Get up!", Harry whispered, looking back to the corridor.

Cursing, Harry went in the room, and grabbed his arm. "Emergency," he whispered, while Sirius eyed him uncomprehendingly.

Then, he saw two curses speeding their way.

The next moment, they whirled away, in the haze that followed Portkeys.

Hitting the ground of their destination hard - he hadn't expected to be Portkeyed away, after all – he looked around. The hall they were standing in looked ancient, with marble and desks. He frowned. "Where are we?", he asked. And, more importantly, who were those people, he wondered.

He got no reply.

He whirled around, and saw Harry laying there, completely still, with a meaningful red spot, blossoming on his shirt.

Harry's POV, moments after arrival

Whatever curse hit him, it hurt like hell. But, while feeling the cool marble, he realised he'd done it. They had escaped.

"Embassy," he ground out in reply to Sirius. He fought to open his eyes, and won. He looked straight into Sirius' worried eyes.

"Err- shit, what do I do now? Err- "

Harry smiled weakly. "Sirius, breath. There, under that desk, break the glass and bring the coffer," he said, pointing to a desk – and wincing because of the pain.

Sirius blinked and did as told.

"Push the towel on the wound. Push hard," Harry says, grinding his teeth. This is going to hurt.

"Okay, drape the blanket around me," Harry ordered, after he took some deep breaths for the pain.

"Shouldn't I call for help?", Sirius asked dubiously.

"When the glass is broken, an emergency signal goes out."

Harry closes his eyes. Tired, so tired… Should sleep… Dimly, he heard shouting, but it was too late, he slid away in darkness.

Jane POV, a few minutes earlier.

It's late at night, when Jane returns to her house. Things weren't really working out like she'd hoped they would…

Then, an alarm blared. She cursed under her breath, because only limited people would Portkey into the atrium of the embassy. She broke off in a run, hoping she was wrong about her deductions.

She wasn't.

There laid Harry, pale and unconscious, bleeding. There was Sirius, who desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Remus, she knew, was at the WWC – luckily. She noticed from the corner of her eyes that the Aurors who had responded to the alarm, too, pointed their wants at Sirius.

"Laissez-le. Segmentez la zone et prospecte", she orders them. [Leave him. Search the area.]

They hurried off, and she sank to her knees next to Harry. "Keep putting pressure on that wound," she warned Sirius, examining the area of the wound. She cursed under her breath. The injury was on the right side of his body, just below the ribs – excellent to hit the liver, which would explain the extensive blood loss. She turned to the nurse who came running behind the Aurors. "Where's Henry? And his colleague?"

"There's been a major train accident, madam. They were on call," she replies.

Jane closed her eyes. She can't treat Harry here – he needs surgery, and all surgeons are gone from the premises. She can't do it herself. On the same time, she can't transport him – whatever curse it was, hit him hard. "And the medi-witch?", she asks, getting hope.

"Went to St. Mungo's – apparently, some witches were on the same train. They needed her."

Jane cursed. They really needed someone to stay here, in such cases…

That left one option, no matter how unhappy Harry would be with her.

"Get the blankets, get an IV drip going, gather some blood. Get the Dreamless Sleep and Strengthening Potion," she ordered quickly.

"I have to object – ", the nurse began.

"Noted," Jane replied evenly. "Do you have other options?"

The nurse remained silent.

"Sirius, I'm going to take over you position, but we need to time it. On the count of three, you remove your hands," Jane ordered.

"One, two, three!"

Jane took a few calming breaths and closed her eyes, trying to feel Harry with her magic. There it was! Like she'd feared, the liver had been hit. Because of the spiralling during Portkeying, the wound had torn. She concentrated deeply, trying to gather all her energy to fix it.

She couldn't see it, but the other two saw how the blood flow gradually lessened, and flesh seemingly began to grow in the wound. They saw how the wound closed, how scarring began. Finally, Jane leaned back and opened her eyes.

"Report," she ordered, sounding deadly tired. Sirius stared at her in awe, but she didn't even steal a glace his way.

"Hypovolemic shock was setting in," the nurse replied, "but blood pressure is coming up, hart rate down. Sats are back to normal. He's stabilizing."

"Get him to room one, and arrange supervision," she said.

Just at that moment, the stretcher arrived, and they heaved Harry on it. Jane leaned against the wall, eyes closed again, feeling extremely drained. She dimly heard Sirius and the nurse exchange some words, then the stretcher left. She sighed.

"Drink up," Sirius told her seriously, handing her the Strengthening Potion.

She groaned and complied. Leaning back against the wall, she asked: "what happened?"

"I don't really know. One moment, Harry woke me. The next, we're here and he is bleeding. I just saw the curse – "

"Witch one?", she asked.

"Diffindo."

Jane frowned, and got to her feet again. She blinked sluggishly. As on que, the Aurors returned.

"Il n'ya personne, madame," the eldest said. [There is no one, Mrs.]

She nodded and thanked them.

"Did you expect them to be?"

"Yes and no, Sirius. They can't Apparate, they can't Portkey. Two options left: they go back through the woods, or they come past this building. They didn't do the latter, so they did the former. And I'm going to search them with a team."

"Assemblez une équipe," she ordered the head Auror [Gather a team.]

Sirius stared at the corridor Harry disappeared in. "When do you think he'll wake?"

"At least ten hours. If we're not back by then, we're dead."

"All right, I'm coming with you."

Sirius POV, five minutes later, their house

It suddenly feels strange, being here. People attacked us in our own house, and he didn't notice. He can't help feeling guilty about it. Jane gestured to the Aurors, and they burst through the door, checking rooms, yelling clear with their French accents from time to time.

"All clear," the head of their team says.

They step inside together, and Sirius looks around for a bit. The door was clearly unlocked with a rather complex unlocking charm – the lock was protected against the simpler ones – as there were no obvious signs of forced entry. A mug was splattered on the floor of the kitchen, the kettle still on the fire, no longer whistling. The dead silence had something obnoxious about it.

They walked together to Sirius' room. Jane looked around, examined some blood on the ceiling.

"What so interesting there?"

She smiled grimly. "Muggles have a science called forensics. It's about finding the perpetrators of violence. In this case, it can tell me where the attacker stood in relation to the victim."

"I don't understand why they didn't just kill us," Sirius said, "would've been far easier."

Jane shrugs; clearly, she can't provide an answer. Then she frowns, and kneeled on the floor. She looked in the direction of the corridor, then back to the bed.

"They wanted to kill you," she says, pointing to the blood, "the curse would've slashed your throat, had Harry not stood in the way. Although they tried to scrape it to make things look different."

"But why me? I'm innocent- "

Jane looks suddenly guilty. "Jane – what's going on?!"

"Fudge is being pig-headed. He says that you've mislead everyone or something, god only knows. He claims that, should the trial be held here, you would've been found guilty. In normal English, he denies the trial in France. He claims he's investigating some leads, and will make his decision later. It would be awfully convenient, if the problem solved itself with your death, don't you think?"

"Great – just great. Now they've finished locking me up, they want me death. Awesome," the man mumbled.

"But there are other options. Maybe they were after Harry; maybe they wanted to send a message to me. We all have powerful enemies, don't we?"

"So… Maybe they used the cutting charm to frame someone?"

Jane looked thoughtful. "Yes exactly…" she said absentmindedly.

Sirius nodded. "So, what did you want to find in here?"

"What happened. Harry was up, made tea, was alarmed and came to you. Doesn't rule out any of the theories: if they were after you, they still tried to kill you; if they were sending a message to me, it didn't matter who they hit; if they were after Harry, killing you would've shocked him and given them an opportunity," Jane said pensively. "Now we also know how they left; the same way they entered. That means we can follow them into the woods; maybe even catch them."

Moments later, they had assembled at a path into the wood, which the attackers had presumably taken. Except Sirius, everyone was on horseback, spreading in various directions, as they had masked their trails. Sirius and Jane ended up taken the one path Lara and the group had taken the day before. It wasn't long before Sirius was in dog form and caught their scent. They proceeded in an easy trot, Sirius snuffling as much as he could. At one point, they came near a stream, and Sirius morphed back into his human form.

"They probably went into the water. Can't scent them anymore."

Jane harrumphed thoughtfully, and began looking around. Sirius kicked some stones, mumbling about 'escaping terrorists' and 'wasting time'.

It was maybe ten minutes before Jane looked up from where she was studying the ground.

"Tell me, Sirius, what do you see?", she asked.

The tone in her voice made him bite back a sarcastic response. "The stream, there are stones upstream, there are rocks further up there, too. A forest, with no one in the neighbourhood. Us wasting time!"

She smiled. "Ah, no. You can't smell them anymore, but see there, downstream in the stream, there's mud, yes? There are no foot prints in it, and not a mark yet on the paw prints you've left over here. Thus, they went upstream, over the rocks. Because they finally found their brain back."

Sirius blinked.

"Are you coming, sweetie?", she asked teasingly.

He muttered a few choice words under his breath, and they followed the path the attackers had taken.

Jane POV, forest, thirty minutes later

It was not hard, to find out where they went – or at least not in the beginning. Then, they began to mark their trails again. It wasn't difficult for her, but Sirius was lost before they even started. Finally, they stopped, in the middle of the trail.

"Would you look at that," Jane said softly, pulling a piece of cloth out of the thorny bushes.

"No, I don't want to, thank you," Sirius replied dryly.

"I think you do. Because these is a sort of fabric only used for the robes of hitwizards. It's made of acromantula silk and is easier to embroider protective enchantments in." *

Sirius swallowed, and for the first time this night, Jane thought that the government trying to kill him was a serious possibility.

"I'll scout a bit, because I've lost track again," she stated softly. Walking continuously bigger circles around the place where she'd found the cloth. She looked around as much as she could, until she heard something she did not expect to hear in the forest.

Voices.

Sirius POV, forest, same time

Not long after Jane left, his wand was suddenly flying. To his left, two people stood in the shadow of an older oak.

"Would you look at that, colleague," one of them said.

"Wandering straight in our hands, why thank you," the other said.

Sirius eyed them both uneasily. "What do you want?"

"Ah, wouldn't we like to know?", one of them spoke softly.

"Yes, I do, actually."

"Your death," the second one replied easily, raising his wand.

Robes erupted from the tip of his wand, and bound Sirius.

"Diffindo," the first one said.

Only the charm never hit its target. An arrow came flying, straight into the path of the curse, and shattered.

The two people stood there, unmoving. "What the- "

"Drop your wands," a soft, young, female voice said, full of authority.

They started to turn.

"Don't. Drop them. Last warning."

Suddenly, one of them threw the other forward, towards Sirius, and stepped to his right, while raising his wand – only it was thrown out of his hand, pierced by another arrow. His colleague, recovered from his unexpected dive, took his foot and they Disapparated.

Jane cursed, running towards Sirius, sending red sparks flying to alarm the others – she hadn't dared before, when she thought Sirius was under attack – and helped him out of the ropes.

"You okay?", she asked.

"Yeah, yeah. So that solves it, then. They want me," he replied.

Jane shook her head. "Maybe only because you're the only one who has clearly seen them – Harry might not make it, in their opinion. They don't know what we do. But you're probably right. Let's get back."

Jane POV, her house

Walking up to her, with a sinking feeling that something must've gone terribly wrong, he asked: "Jane, what happened here?"

Until he stopped dead in his tracks.

Because on one side of the entrance hall, employees were cleaning what looked suspiciously much like blood.

Her eyes found his, and he saw a lingering sadness in them. "It's Harry," she replied.

The guy can't seem to catch a break, flashed through Henry's head.

Jane POV, Ministry of Magic

After she'd dropped off Sirius, she'd tried to catch some sleep. At exactly six in the morning, she'd send word to Fudge – her PM had already been informed – that she wanted to see him. And there she was, waiting outside his office, until the big-headed fool would finally deem the time right to receive her. Finally, after over half an hour of waiting, his secretary gestured for her to come in.

"Madame ambassador, so nice to see you, even this early in the morning. What can we do for you?"

She raised an eyebrow at the royal plural. "Explain me why two hitwizards where on my propriety, attacking people. On French soil."

Fudge blinked. "I'm sorry, dear, you must have misunderstood- "

"Oh? Are you saying then, that despite your claims from last week, you can buy acromantula silk illegally?"

"Off course not- "

"Then why was it found on the scene of the crime?!"

"There must be an explanation for this, and I'll personally look into it, my dear. This is horrible, and certainly not because of my orders. Accept my sincerest apologies. I hope no one is hurt?"

"A fourteen-year-old has been fighting for his life tonight, Fudge. Save your apologies for someone who actually believes them. Make work of your investigation, and we'll talk again."

She rose and left the room. The 'fighting for his life thing' was an exaggeration, but it would spur him into action, out of fear for the public's reaction. As annoying as she thought him to be, as stupid as he was on a regular basis, this attack seemed out of character for him. If she wanted it to, it could blow up hugely and backfire. Then again, if everything had gone according to plan, there would've been no witnesses. Perhaps Sirius had been right…

But there were other possibilities, and she had to react accordingly. She went back to the atrium and asked for the register of wizards working there. Luckily, the name she'd been looking for was there. She looked up and asked the clerk: "When will Amelia Bones return?"

"In an hour," the clerk responded.

Jane nodded, and left. A young woman stepped out of the shadows, stumbling slightly, and followed her onto the streets.

Unknown individual, outside the Ministry of Magic

The young girl, about fourteen years old, was difficult to follow. Frequently, I thought I was seen, but given that she didn't spook or screamed for help, nor did she turn around for a good look, maybe I was overreacting. She seems to do some window-shopping, probably waiting until the person she inquired about returned. I wonder where she lives – which is the reason I'm following her. On paper she is a ghost, nearly no paperwork about her. She hasn't done anything wrong, and before her time as ambassador, there's very little known about her. Even after becoming ambassador, there's much shadows around her. There are people whispering in the corridors that she's assembling an army of werewolves, but I don't believe it. Only last week, they were whispering about an affair between the Brazilian president and our ambassador there – no truth to it.

As we round yet another corner – jeez, this girl doesn't know what she wants – I stumble over a public trashcan. After a bit of apologies to the shop owner whose shop is now a mess, I look around.

And my heart sinks.

My target has disappeared.

Suddenly, I feel something poking between my shoulder blades.

"Move," a voice whispers in my ear. "Straight on."

I obey. I have no choice. Am I not the only one stalking this girl?

"Next one on the left," the voice orders.

The person is good. I have yet to see an opportunity to safely turn around and seize the wand, or something. It doesn't really reassure me. This is why we work in teams, I can practically hear my partner, Kingsley Shacklebolt, saying that. I hope I can still tell him I realised he was right.

We reach an abandoned building. "Enter it."

And I obey. When I'm used to the darkness inside, I see the girl I've been following watching me emotionlessly.

"Désarmez-la," is the only thing she says [disarm her.]

The person behind me takes my wand, and hands it over to the girl, who studies it.

"Thank you, Jean," she says, nodding to the front door.

He walks out, while she twirls my wand.

"So, you've been following me…" she starts.

I say nothing.

She stares at me for a bit. "Who are you?"

"Novella Light," I reply.

She stares at me. "It's much easier if you don't lie," she replies, still no emotion in her voice.

I swallow.

"Amelia Shacklebolt," I try again.

She snorts. "At least the last one was inventive. Combining the surname of your partner and the first name of your boss is not. Try again, sweetie."

"Nymphadora Tonks," I sigh.

She eyes me for a moment. "Nice to meet you, Nymphadora Tonks. I'm Jane Davidson. Why are you following me?"

I decide to try again. "Fudge ordered me."

"That's a lie. Nice word play, by the way. Light, as opposite to Black, your mother's maiden name. Novella, as in novelty – the first one to do something, in this case, being in the Light and a Black."

I swallow. This girl is good.

"Last chance, or I'll just take my leave and report you. Why?"

"I hoped you are in touch with Sirius Black."

Her face remains impassive, but something flashes through her eyes. Is it… understanding?

"And, if so, what would that mean to you?"

"I would like to send him a message."

"Being?"

I hesitate, and the girl becomes impatient again. "I wanted to meet him, to get to know him. I know he's innocent – my mother never doubted it, but she feared for my future… She was an outcast, and she didn't want me to become one, too."

The girl eyes me for a while. "I'll see what I can do for you… Can you answer a question for me?"

I don't like open questions. "I'll try," I reply.

"If you wanted an investigation against people in the close environment of the PM, with loads of money, and you wanted it done fairly, who would you ask?"

I ponder the question. "Amelia Bones."

The girl nods, and smiles while she throws my wand back to me. "I'll set up an appointment for tomorrow. I'll try to reply to your request by then, but it's going to be hard."

She leaves, and I let out a sigh of relief.

Jane POV, Ministry of Magic

Still pondering her conversation with the strange girl that had followed her, she entered the atrium again. When she had noticed someone was following her, she'd discreetly alarmed her personal guard and asked for a random person in the Atrium. She had, of course, not known for sure that the Shacklebolt on the list was her partner, but it was a solid guess. And it had had its desired effect.

While she was thinking, she saw the wizard she'd actually wanted to speak.

"Mr Arthur Weasley?", she called out. In fact, it was not a question – the red hair was unmistakeable.

"Yes?", a tired looking man answered – not surprising, given that he'd had a busy night shift.

"Hello, I'm Jane Davidson, a friend of your son Ron. I have an… urgent message about a mutual friend of us."

He frowns at her.

"It's about Harry Potter," she said softly, making sure only he can hear her.

He narrows his eyes as he studies her face. "Come with me, then."

And they side-along Apparate her to the Burrow. Harry had talked about it, and he'd not exaggerated. It was a rather charming, warm home. The chickens scurried away, as Mr. Weasley brought her with him to the kitchen.

"Arthur, you're late- "

Mrs. Weasley stops dead.

Mr. Weasley scrapes his throat. "This is Jane Davidson, ambassador for Magical France. She says she's a friend of Ron's."

Before either one of them can say anything else, Ron enters the kitchen, where the rest of the Weasley children are already eating breakfast.

"Jane!", he says, blinking fast. Turning around, he yells: "Hermione! Come down, now!"

Jane represses a smile; Hermione won't like it.

"Madame ambassador, nice to meet you," one of the other children says.

"Oh – I've met you before… Percy Weasley, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's me," he replies seriously.

"How is work at the ministry? Do you like working there?", Jane asks. Last time, she'd met him when he'd came along with Crouch for a statement in the case Black.

"It's daunting, challenging. But I wouldn't want it any other way," he replies.

Jane smiles at him. "Daunting, I still think that about my job every day!"

Now the other Weasleys start introducing themselves, too.

As Hermione enters the kitchen, she says: "Honestly, Ronald, why are you screaming like that? What is so – "her eyes land on Jane.

"Oh, no," she says sadly.

"Perhaps we can sit down?", Jane suggests feebly.

As they do so, Mrs. Weasley asks: "are you here for a special reason, madame Ambassador?"

"You can drop the title, Mrs. Weasley. And yes, I am. Last night, Harry Potter was with me and there was an attack on the estate."

"Where you all right?", the oldest Weasley child inquires.

"I am. But Harry got injured."

"Will he be alright?", Hermione asked anxiously.

She smiles at her. "It was touch and go for a while, but he's out of the woods now."

"Can we visit him?", Ron asks her.

"Indeed, that's why I came. He's been a bit… lonely, and this… Well, I just think he'd needs his friends. I'd be happy to have you over – you can just floo."

"All of us?", Mrs. Weasley asks her now.

"Sure thing, should you want to."

"Who was behind the attack?", Ron asks her suddenly.

She remains silent. Should she tell them about her suspicions, because they could be a target too; or shouldn't she, because she had no proof?

Ron watched her face for a moment. "You took the UK government is involved?"

She sighed. "I've found clothes belonging to hitwizards. I've seen them in person. They are British. Whether they were acting on their own accord, or on the PM's command, I cannot tell you. I've asked an inquiry."

"You think it has to do with what happened in France a few weeks ago," Ron states.

"D'you mean it didn't make the papers here?"

They both shake their heads. "Sirius Black has been declared innocent of all charges," Jane says evenly. "It's proven that Peter Pettigrew betrayed the Potters instead, and staged his own death after Voldemort's demise. However, the PM doesn't want the story to out, as he played a significant role in getting an innocent man in Azkaban, without trial. Neither does Barthy Crouch Sr., who gave the order for shipping to Azkaban."

Percy blinks. "Mister Crouch? My employer?"

Jane eyes him for a bit. "It's entirely possible he did it as a precaution; after all, the Wizarding World was in uproar, after Voldemort's demise. They wanted blood for the murder on the Potters. In Azkaban, no one would come to kill him in his holding cell. Why he did not stand trial after that, is unclear. Perhaps, in the mayhem that was the end of the war, he was simply forgotten. Perhaps it was on purpose, because he would have a large impact on Harry's life, and on politics. I don't assume it was intentional – but it still is possible. You would do wise, Percy, to consider all options at all times."

"Black is innocent?", Charlie asked her "How did that come out?"

Jane blinks, and eyes Ron. He shakes his head; no, he hadn't told anyone about it.

His mother, however, caught the glance. "Ron?!", she asked, half-screaming.

Jane scraped her throat. "I'll see you when you're ready."

She left.

Ron POV, Jane's house

When all of us – except dad – arrive, it has been a while, since Jane's visit. It takes a while to get us all ready. We are shown through the rather large entrance hall, downstairs to the basement, where we meet a man in white coat.

"Ah, you must be the Weasleys. Hello, Hermione. I'm Henry Davidson. Nice to meet you."

There's a chorus of nice-to-meet-you's.

"Come on along! Harry's just awake after his latest nap, albeit a bit groggy from the medications."

They pause before a door with number one on it, and Henry nocks.

The door buzzes open, and there lies our best friend. He's looking rather pale, there's something in his arms and tubes under his nose, but he looks alert enough; that's a good sign.

When he recognises us, his face breaks into a huge grin. "Hello there!"

Hermione dashes past me and gives him a hug, but Ron is too impressed by all the fancy machines bleeping around him. Henry is examining them, and takes some equipment of.

"I'll leave you to it."

"Oh, Henry, where's Jane hiding out?"

Henry frowned. "There was a message for her, and she left immediately after she received it. If you see her, tell her that she should get some sleep, or I'll drug her."

Harry snickered. "I'll try."

Henry walked off, muttering about 'insolent children who don't know their limits'. But he was sure, before Henry rounded the corner, there was a little smile tugging on his lips.

"Hey mate!", Ron says, giving him a manly hug myself.

What follows is an introduction of all the Weasleys.

"Hey Harry mate!", Ron says, after he remembers why he would've written him anyway. "You need to come with us for the WC Quidditch! It's held in England – D'you reckon the Muggles let you go?"

"Oh, I'm sure my guardians will let me come – but you really shouldn't have done that - "

"Nonsense," his mother says, "we're very glad to do so."

"Oh, but I've got an invitation, too! There's a horse-riding benefit game, next week, right next doors. I'm participating," Harry says, pulling a funny face.

"With a little of encouragement," a voice near the door says amusedly. "Knock knock," she continues, mimicking someone knocking.

"Lara, don't scare the lot of us, haven't you heard I'm recovering?", Harry asks teasingly.

"Nah, and all this equipment and you being here went completely over my head," she jokes freely. Then she turns more sober. "My sister is on the way – and she hasn't got good news."

"Does she ever?"

"Thank you," Jane's voice replies dryly from the door her sister just vacated. "Delightful to hear."

"What news do you have, then?", Ron asks.

"I've got to offer: bad news, worse news and… That's it, I believe. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Fire away," Harry replies dryly.

"Your attackers have been found dead."

Harry blinks. "Killing Curse?"

Jane nods. "Authorities have been knocking on the WWC's door in the middle of the night, too."

At the confused looks of the Weasley's, she explains: "the WWC or WereWolf Centre, is a place that Harry and I run. It's a safe harbour for Werewolves, who can change and are being taken care of. The Ministry thinks we're creating an army, but technically, we're hoping if we include werewolves more in society, they won't join Voldemort."

"That's a good plan!", Charlie says enthusiastically. "You'd have to focus on education, and orphaned or abandoned young werewolves…"

Harry and Jane exchange a glance. "We've thought of the first, but not of the latter… Of course, then we'd need some kind of maternal figure…", Jane says trailing off.

Harry scrapes his throat, while arching an eyebrow to Jane. "Oh, yes, that could work, of course," she replies.

"What?", my mother asks confusedly.

"Mrs. Weasley," Harry begins kindly, "how would you feel about doing that? We can set up a contract for you." Jane nods vigorously in the background.

"Oh, but I don't have qualifications."

Jane shrugs. "And? Is there some course one needs to take to be a mother? I think not. But Harry has seen you working with your children, and he recommends you. I don't take that lightly."

Ron privately thinks that mom can make some money, too; something they're always in need off. He has got the feeling Jane and Harry both know the same thing, and it touches him that they've thought about us.

"I'll have the paperwork ready for you in half an hour, and then you can decide what to do, how does that sound?", Jane proposes.
My mother nods, but he can already see she's seriously considering. Ron is glad for her; when we are gone, of towards Hogwarts, the house must be incredibly empty. For someone who likes to be around people like mom, it must be dreadful.

"How did you two meet, actually?", Ron asks curiously. "I know Jane taught Hermione how to ride, but what about you two?"

Harry starts sniggering, while Jane blushes a bright red.

"Oh, would you knock it off! It's not that funny," she groans.

Harry's laughing all out now.

"What's so funny?", a hoarse voice near the door asks.

It's professor Lupin, standing in the doorway. The latter seems to be quite busy, today. With him is a familiar black dog, who enters the room barking and jumps on the bed, licking Harry.

"Ew, Sirius! Gross! Drool over someone else, would you?", he asks laughingly.

The dog barks, jumps down and starts chasing its own tail. Harry smiles, and bursts out laughing when Jane scolds Sirius as he knocks over a standard.

"What's that for, anyway?", Hermione asks curiously. I'm surprised – who would have thought there was something 'Mione didn't know?

"Fluids," Harry replies, smiling reassuringly. "I've lost a bit of blood, need to make up for it. That's why I have the oxygenation- "he gestures to a tube under his nose – "too. Can't that thing get lost?"

Jane sighs. "No, Harry," she replies in a tone like he'd asked that a hundred times already.

Harry frowns. "Jane was just going to tell Ron how we'd become friends," he says.

"Oh, that sounds like a story," Sirius laughs.

"I'm sure Harry can tell it so much better," Jane shoots right back.

"Well… There was a bully on my school who was always bullying me. So, one day, Jane punched him on the nose."

"Jane!", my mother admonishes. Then she reddens, realizing who she is speaking to.

"I know, I know, violence is no solution – although, he did stay away from me afterwards… Besides, I didn't punch him on the nose!"

"Oh, no? Then what would you call it?", Harry asks laughingly.

"His nose and my fist where on the same place and on the same time, because he was too busy insulting you to even notice me," she says, an indignant tone in her voice.

"Isn't that the same thing?", Ron teases her, barely keeping a straight face.

"Oh, shut it!", she crosses her arms stubbornly. "You wanted me to go to the teachers? They never believed Harry anyways."

"That's true," Harry replies sadly. He yawns, and tries to hide it unsuccessfully. But it's not good enough to fool my mother, who beckons us to leave. We say are goodbyes, and Remus, Sirius and Lara decide to accompany us back to the Floo.

Jane POV

Jane eyes Harry for a bit, after the Weasley's have left. That was a fake yawn, and she can't understand where it came from. So, she decide to ask, as this is likely one of the few opportunities were, they'll be alone.

"What was that with not willing to talk to the Weasley's?"

Harry blinks. "I wasn't evading the Weasley's."

Jane stares him down for a while. "Why where you evading your partial guardians, then?"

"I'm tired."

"The sooner we get this over with, the better, then."

Harry sighs; he probably knows that she won't give in. At this point, Jane has become concerned. His blood work shows some trouble with sleeping, more than else. And she wasn't there for him… it has been long enough. Time to show him she is here for him.

"They don't know what happened. At Hogwarts, with your ex…"

"And with Myriam," she realises, understanding dawning. After all, he committed crimes, in all technicalities. To free me, yes, but crimes nonetheless. And there were enough life-threatening situations to scare a few years off one's life. "Harry, it's not like they will abandon you. Nor will we."

"It's just… They didn't know who they took in."

"You think it matters to them? The fact that your risk your life, okay, they might be upset because you nearly died. But they wouldn't not have taken you, because some madman wants your head on a stick. They already know that- "

"But not that he has come close again, twice!"

She sighs. "You have to talk to them, Harry. It's the only way. But I felt the same, when I was adopted. Those Death Eaters had me participate in their crimes; what parent would want their child to mingle with a child like that? But it doesn't matter, because they love you. Because those were all circumstances beyond your control. You and I both have made mistakes, in the past. And we have that right; we're young. What matters is that we learn from them. And that's where our guardians come in: they force us to consider all of our options, before leaping into danger. They tell us when we're wrong, and when we're right. But to do all that, they need to know."

Silence hung in the room. Jane went to the piano in the corner of the room, and started playing Suspicious minds.

"Fine, you're right. But… Will you stay, when I tell? And I really want to take a nap."

She nods and leaves the room. Time to report to my superiors. But before that, something else: she needs to talk to Sirius about Tonks.

* Completely made up by me, myself and I.

Suspicious minds, in the version of Elvis Presley, is one of my favourite pieces of music. All credits to the artist. It describes Harry's struggle here: we're caught in a trap (…) because I love you too much (…); Harry can't talk to his guardians, because he knows they won't take lightly to him facing Voldemort voluntarily. But a huge secret like that stands in the way of any kind of friendship or familiarity. I don't know if it's clear enough, but Harry's afraid they'll either be very angry, or abandon him, because of the risk and what he has done. I'll explore this more next chapter.

I've been meaning to ask – is the change of perspective interesting? Is it still clear what's happening?

Last but not least: can you guess why they used Diffindo, instead of, for example, the killing curse? I'll explore one possible reason next chapter, but I'm curious what you think. Perhaps it's more obvious then i think.