'Ready are you?' It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still moustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry, carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of Harry.

'You must be Harry's family!' said Mrs Weasley

'In a manor of speaking', said Uncle Vernon. 'Hurry up boy, we haven't got all day'. He walked away.

Harry hung back for a last word with Ron and Hermione, 'see you over the summer, then'.

'Hope you have – er – a good holiday' said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling, chapter 17)

Following the meeting at King's Cross Hermione was quiet and withdrawn as she made her way across London to Victoria station with her parents. She didn't notice the worried looks they exchanged, the subsequent silent conversation or the agreement that was reached.

Finally, they boarded the train for Brighton. Hermione brightened when she realised it was an old style slam door train and they were able to have a whole compartment to themselves.

'The express is just like this' she explained bouncing slightly in her seat as she looked out the window at the bustling station.

Once her Dad took the seat next to her Hermione leant into him as he wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head, 'it's great to have you home kiddo, Mum and I have missed you.'

'Oh Dad, I've missed you both so much too! It's been so hard being away from you, it's why I don't understand Harry's relatives at the station at all!'

As the train pulled out of the station and made its wat to the coast Hermione and her parents caught up over the years events.

'Do Harry's relatives write to him often?' Mrs Granger asked

'No, not at all and its such as shame because Hedwig is such a bright owl and must be so bored! I know that they wrote at Christmas and asked if Harry could spend the summer hols at school rather than at home but Dumbledore said it wasn't possible. They also sent him 50p as a present, Harry gave it to Ron who was baffled!' Hermione finished with a huff

'Did they send any other presents?' Mrs Granger asked with a smile, ' I hope he liked what we sent'

'Oh he loved our present mummy and Mrs Weasley was also really kind. His relatives didn't send anything else and I don't think they spend much money on him at all, his clothes are far too big and look second hand. He's super skinny and I've noticed that he always puts some food in his bag after each meal but I've never seen him snack'.

Mr Granger's eyebrows raised at this but it went unnoticed by Hermione whose eyes were shutting involuntarily as she was lulled into sleep by the noise and motion of the train.

'Has Harry ever mentioned that they hit him sweetheart?' Mr Granger asked softly

Hermione yawned and murmured, 'I don't think so, he said that his Aunt has swung a frying pan at him, his bedroom was a cupboard under the stairs before his letter came and…' Hermione yawned again and stretched like a cat before going quiet and curling more tightly into her Dad's side.

'and what kitten?' Mr Granger prodded gently

'oh sorry Daddy and, he'll flinch if people loom over him or move their hands really quickly. If people are yelling he tries to make himself smaller. He also doesn't take his own safety seriously; first the broom, then Fluffy, the duel, the troll and finally Quirrelmort. He's my best friend but he can be hard work!' with that she settled down and fell asleep.

Hermione woke with a start as the train pulled into Brighton and her parents started to gather their belongings. 'Can we have fish and chips for tea Mum?' she asked brightly.

'Of course love, let's throw all this stuff in the car and we can eat on the pier'.

That night, after Hermione had gone to bed Mr and Mrs Granger were sitting at the dining table reflecting on what they saw and heard that day.

'What do you think?' asked Mr Granger

"I think there's a clear reason and lots of evidence for a concern. We should raise an alert' Mrs Granger replied reaching out and squeezing her husband's hand

'And, if they find something? Or, nothing at all? I can't believe no one has mentioned it before'. Mr Granger squeezed her hand in return

"Either way, we've done the right thing love. It's fortunate that we renewed our safeguarding training this week, I fear that if it wasn't so fresh in our minds we wouldn't have noticed' Mrs Granger said with a shudder

"Well, we have noticed.' Mr Granger said with finality, 'Let's raise the alert first thing and then spend the day on the beach with Hermione' he leant forwards and kissed his wife.

The next morning they did just that, and started a chain of events that would change Harry's life forever.

Kath let out a heart felt sigh as she looked at the pile of safeguarding alerts on her desk, she hated this part of her job.

The first of the pile was a professional referral that had been faxed through, it was a referral from Drs Granger regarding Harry Potter, a friend of their daughters who attended the same boarding school but both were now home for the summer. Kath felt the bile rise in her throat as she reviewed their statement. By the end she felt that this may be a Section 47 case and so organised a multi-disciplinary case team involving health, education and the Police.

Sometime later

Detective Young opened the meeting, ' since we last met I've confirmed that Harry's parents; Lily (nee Evans) and James Potter died in October 1981. I've also tracked down their Will that Mrs Potter had lodged with her families Solicitors. Interestingly the Will had never been read and furthermore explicitly states the Dursley's should never be granted custody of Harry.'

Kath gasped, 'how did this happen? Who was named as Harry's guardian and were the hell are they?'

Detective Young shook his head, 'no idea Kath but, it gets stranger. Turns out the guardian named in the Will is a Peer, the Baronet of Wrottesley to be specific. I've asked a friend at the Lords to track him down. Once we've located him, if he wants to take custody of Harry or not, that's when we move in and remove Harry from his current dwelling.'

Sometime later

Many miles away on an island in the North Sea a group of well-dressed men approached a cell, where a hunched figure could just been seen in the dim light 'Sirius Orion Black, Baronet of Wrottesley?'

The figure raised his said as he responded, 'I haven't heard that in a while, yes that's me. God save the Queen etc…'

One of the men snorted and tried to cover it up with a cough, 'you've been illegally detained for over a decade. That ends today. Stand up and come with us, a warrant has been issued for Pettigrew's arrest'

Sirius staggered to his feet, 'truly? This isn't a prank? Has Dumbledore sorted things out a last?'

That lead to more snorts, 'the British Government doesn't prank Sir and I can promise that Dumbledore had nothing to do with this'

Sirius shook his head, 'well whatever, of course I'll come with you! When can I see Harry? How is he? Where's he been?'

The men shuffled their feet and didn't look Sirius in the eye, 'you need to be debriefed first, and honestly Sir, you need a bath!'

Freshly bathed, clean shaven, hair shorn and having consumed the best meal he'd had in over a decade Sirius asked the questions that had been plaguing him for hours, 'how did you get me out and, how is Harry?''

''Those are related answers Sir and I'll do my best to explain briefly. I just ask that you hold questions for the end. Oh and you might need this', the man speaking placed a glass and decanter next to Sirius, who nodded for him to continue.

'My name is Edward Davies and I'm the liaison Clerk between the House of Lords and the Wizengamot. As you know many of the sacred 28 have a Muggle title too so it makes sense to have a liaison. Last week I was contacted by a Detective Young who was looking to contact the Guardian of Harry Potter as it had been decided his Aunt and Uncle were unfit. I investigated and discovered that not only had you never had a trial, the Potter's Will had never been read and moreover, previous complaints about the Dursley's treatment of the boy had been dismissed.'

'Using my powers under Statue of Secrecy I was able to have you pardoned and re-instated as Harry's legal guardian in both the Muggle and Wizarding world. The Goblins were a great help with the Will, I'd recommend you thanking the horde personally as soon as you can.'

'As for the dismissing of complaints it bought to light that our Law books haven't been updated since the early 1800s! Muggles have made huge advancements in child protection, equalities and many other things since then. Obliviation is increasingly difficult with easily available cameras, local news TV and radio plus faxes, pagers and telephones. I fear that if mobile phones become more common and the Berners-Lee interweb takes off, within ten years we won't be able to obliviate anyone and will be at real risk of exposure to the Muggle world!'

'The Wizengamot have asked me to set up a taskforce to make recommendations for updating the Statute books as well as integrating Muggle technological advancements into our world. I know you and Remus Lupin have a lot of experience in the Muggle world and would be grateful for you involvement.'

Sirius stood, 'I'll be involved in whatever you need once I've got custody of Harry and know he's safe.'

It was half past seven in the evening when at last, exhausted he heard Aunt Petunia was calling him… Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper. The moment he had finished Aunt Petunia whisked away his plate, 'upstairs! Hurry!'

He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the doorbell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs, 'Remember boy – one sound…'

Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe, slipped inside, closed the door and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it. (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling, chapter 1)

Dudley opened the door with a polite bow, and saw two men, one in Police Uniform, and another wearing a leather jacket and a haunted expression 'can I take your… Hang on, you're not the Mason's you're Pigs, what d'ya want?'

Uncle Vernon squeezed Dudley's shoulder to silence him, 'pardon my son officers, he's rehearsing for a school play. He goes to Smeltings you know, very prestigious, they encourage Method acting. Please step through. My wife, Petunia is in the kitchen preparing for a dinner party, our guests are due shortly, but I'm sure she can bring refreshments if you want anything?'

The uniformed officer spoke first, 'refreshments aren't necessary Mr Dursley. Can you confirm that you and your wife have been the guardian of Harry Potter since November 1981?'

'Yes, for our sins. Always a trouble maker that one. What's the boy done now? Boy!' he yelled up the stairs, 'get down here now. The Police are here for you.'

Harry made his way down the stairs warily, 'how can I help officers?'

'Harry, don't you recognise me?' the man in the leather jacket stepped forward, his heart skipping and chest tightening as he took in Harry's boney frame, hunched with exhaustion and swamped in cast offs. His eyes scanning constantly seemingly for escape routes.

'No, I'm sorry. I've never seen any of you before' Harry replied confused.

Unable to take it any more Sirius sprang forward and wrapped Harry in his arms and sobbed noisily into his hair. Harry stiffened but then inhaled deeply and relaxed as the scent stirred up memories from deep within his mind. Eyebrows high and eyes wide Harry exclaimed, 'Star! Woof Star!' and then shook his head, 'no idea where that came from. It can't be your name'

Sirius chuckled and step back, abashed, 'my name is Sirius, you struggled with that as a baby and so called me Stat'

Not to be deterred Harry pushed, 'but what about the woof?'

'I errr had a dog, I'll show you later' Sirius hedged 'anyway I'm here to take custody of you as per your parents Will. Assuming you want me to that is?'

'I can leave here and live with you? Of course I want to!' Harry yelled,

'Excellent, go grab your stuff. Quickly now, I'll explain later'. Harry thundered up the stairs leaving the speechless Dursley's and chucking offers plus Sirius for dust. Once he got to his room he found that Dobby had packed all his things, even the ones hidden under the floor board into his trunk and then transfigured that into a holdall. Hedwig was waiting in her cage. Harry grabbed everything and went back downstairs.

Uncle Vernon was purple-faced and yelling at Sirius whilst Aunt Petunia shrieked and shielded Dudley

'Say goodbye Harry, you're never coming back here again' Sirius had his hand on Harry's shoulder as he said this.

Harry nodded once at the Dursleys and allowed Sirius to lead him out of the house. They passed the Mason's on the drive and heard the officer arrest Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia for neglect and abuse of both children. Of course, this meant that the Mason's heard it too. Mr and Mrs Dursley were lead out to a Police car, Petunia yelling for her Duddykins and Vernon for his lawyer. A little while later Kath escorted Dudley out, carrying a similar holdall to Harry's.

Harry turned to Siris and said, 'lets go home', with a smile and 'hold tight' Sirius disapperated them away from Privet Drive for good.