"Took longer than usual, Justin."

"They have increased the security at the Special Investigation department so I couldn't sneak out anything from the recordkeeping room," Justin grumbled. Being a secretary for the head Auror Scrimgeour, Justin had the privilege to peruse classified information anytime he wanted. It irated him to find out that everyone including him had to be inspected for entry and exit, hence he had to abort his covert attempt to copy the trial transcript and mission documents.

"What's the point? It's not like this is a top secret mission," Harry sucked a popsicle idly on his sofa, resting his legs on a coffee table. "Even a vagrant in Nocturne Alley knows that the ministry is on the manhunt for me. What's their plan?"

"All I know right now is that Fudge ordered Shacklebolt to collect any muggle record on you. That's just a waste of time, though," Justin irritably whipped his wand. Harry's small luggages shrunk into the size of a backpack "Your Nottingham residence record is only nominal, and what are they going to do with your school histories anyway?"

"Maybe they want to see if I really am a normal squib. If I were Fudge, I would look for any blank history, and dig for what my father did with me during that blank period," said Harry as he blew the popsicle stick into a nearby dustbin. "I wanted to take a break anyways after the last contract with MI5, so this is going to be a vacation for me. I will just need you two to keep your eyes on the Ministry."

"We then need to plan how we will communicate. Two-way mirrors can't work outside the country. Maybe you can make a phone call in Provence, I know France has this phone booth that can transfer you to even mu...gg…."

Harry blinked when Justin's face stopped moving as if fixated by nails. Dean's wand-holding hand hovered still, spell sparks almost touching Harry's luggage but remaining stationary. A slow, chill breeze coursed through the room, turning every object it touched stale and lifeless, like a derelict naturalist painting whose paints chipped away over time. Disbelieving, Harry approached Dean and Justin and touched them. He flinched away, startled by how cold they felt. He then saw a grandfather clock across the room and noticed that the needle stopped moving.

"What the hell…?" Harry reached for his pistol in his thigh pocket, his eyes screening everywhere to look for enemies. Who would be so powerful that they could stop time but leave him unaffected?

Poof!

An old woman and a man unceremoniously fell on the tiles with painful groans. They struggled to gather themselves as Harry immediately aimed his pistols at them. They definitely had wands tightly clutched to their hands, but neither looked from ministry or death eaters. The man with greasy hair quickly gathered himself, and took a defensive stance.

Wizards.

"How unexpected," said the witch as they got on her feet and took a look around, "this looks like a muggle residence - Mr. Thomas and Finch-Fletchley?! Why are they here?"

"I know you may be happy to see your old students, Minerva, but I am afraid we have unwittingly become intruders," Snape held his wand defensively and addressed Harry, "we mean no harm."

"You don't?" Harry raised his eyebrows. "State your business and your affiliation. Who sent you?"

"I believe those two young men - Minerva glanced at Dean and Thomas, surprised - and we are quite well acquainted."

"You said my friends were your students. You must be Professor McGonagall, then."

"That would correct," Minerva chided, "I am Minerva McGonagall, the headmistress of Hogwarts and a head of Gryffindor house. This is Severus Snape, head of Slytherin house and a Potions professor."

"So you must be acquainted with Professor Dumbledore."

Harry suddenly pointed his pistol upward and pulled a trigger. The ethereal blue smoke exploded and shrouded the room. Snape and McGonagall held up shields, but to their surprise, the smoke permeated through the shield and engulfed them. The smoke wrapped them, intrusively slithering over their skins like sniffing for hidden items.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Minerva shouted behind the smoke.

"Hm, Ok."

Harry clapped his hand once, and the smoke dissipated as fast as it had appeared. McGonagall's hair bun was now a disheveled mess, and Snape's face was covered with his own greasy hair. Neither looked particularly pleased.

"Congratulations, you are not liars," Harry mockingly clapped with his right hand tapping on his left hand holding the pistol. "I can't have Death Eaters fool me so that they can sacrifice me for their glorious You-Know-Who."

"Why would he have any interest-" Snape angrily spat, but a realization filled his eyes, "you are Harry Potter?"

"I am Harry Richter, formerly known as Harry Potter." Harry corrected Snape, "pleasure to meet you."

Snape peered into Harry's eyes intently, clearly unsatisfied with Harry's answer. The two stared at each other in a still silence like their time had stopped as well. The stillness could suffocate anyone.

Then, a bullet scratched Snape's shoulder.

"Severus!" Minerva held Snape, who lost his balance for a second. The blood smeared his shoulder robe.

"This is the first and last warning, you impertinent bat," Harry spoke in a low voice, "try to poke my memories again, or professor McGonagall will have to watch me bitch about cleaning bloody brain matters for next thirty minutes."

"A squib who can resist Legilimency," Snape grunted and tended to his wound. "Full of surprise, Potter."

"Severus, invading someone's privacy!" McGonagall, horrified, reprimanded Snape, "I am sorry for his transgression, but we need to hurry. I don't know how long this spell will last, and we need to move you to a hiding place."

"I am going to stop you right there, madam," Harry pointed at his friends, "unfreeze them first."

"What?"

"I am not going, doing, or planning anything without my friends. They have every right to know," Harry pressed on the trigger a little more. "You have to unfreeze the time anyways, right?"

"It can certainly be done, but I cannot guarantee the result because I have never used this counterspell," Minerva spoke carefully to not piss off Harry again. "O tempus, tamquam aqua influunt iterum."

The air warmed up and the surrounding regains its true color like a sunlight thawing icy surfaces, and the clock needle slowly moved forwards again. The air doesn't feel stagnant anymore. The spell sparks that stayed still from Dean's wand hit Harry's luggage, shrinking it into half the size.

"Good," Harry lowered his pistol.

"- you any follow-ups Harry. Woah!"

"My jaw feels stiff," Justin massages his lower face. He sees Snape and McGonagall and almost lands on his butt, "p-professors!"

"My, it's been while since you graduated," said Minerva drily.

"Uh, yes! We are going to a vacation to Madeira. They have beautiful ocean and weather. But uhm, why are you here?"

"This is our new friend, James Ferreira, our portuguese friend that we met at work. He is a squib so you don't need to obliviate him or anything-"

"They know, Justin."

"Huh?"

"Apparently Professor Dumbledore had some sort of plan to protect me if the ministry ever finds out his secret, so these two esteemed professors came to my house, but they didn't expect a squib that can protect himself from this potion master's Legilimency."

"Snape tried to read your mind?" Justin's face got red, "I knew you were self-centered bastard but not this horrid just because you think you can mess around someone you consider weaker than you!"

"Watch it, Mr. Finch-Fletchley-"

"Or what, put me in a detention? Why don't I just go to Rita Skeeter and tell her that you tried to violate a total stranger's mind? I am sure it's illegal right?" Dean brandished his wand at Snape. "Sorry, Professor McGonagall, but I don't forgive anyone trying to hurt my friends."

"Everyone just settle down!" McGonagall screamed. Her face was paler and sweating, and she was holding her chest. "Please do not make any more commotion."

"What is wrong with her?" Dean asked worriedly.

"I believe the spell to undo the time-freeze has put great strain on me," said Minerva. Severus flanked her by her shoulder. "Mr. Potter, do you trust your friends?"

"Absolutely."

"Then are you willing to let them involve in this ordeal even if it means they may lose their lives?"

"We are not afraid to help my friend, even if it means confronting the whole ministry and Death Eaters," Dean smiled valiantly, and Justin nodded. "Harry can hold himself quite well but he sometimes needs his friends that will hold him back from his lunatic behaviors."

"Hey!"

"Mr. Thomas, Mr. Finch-Fletchley. Let me make this very clear. This is not just about you helping Mr. Potter," Snape gritted his teeth, annoyed at Dean and Justin's seemingly oblivious attitude, "this was supposed to be a simple rescue mission to retrieve Harry Potter, but we were not aware of his...anomalies. I do not know what Professor Dumbledore's plan entails yet, but I am sure it is much more than just to keep you away from our society. If you come with us, you will be in it for everything we do to defeat You-Know-Who. Do not take this lightly."

"You take us as some native kids, Professor Snape," Justin scoffed. " we have been through fairly intense shits, sir. We are not oblivious to deaths or anything."

"Justin, Dean. You don't have to follow me. They only want me, not you two," Harry protested.

"Mate. There are going to be bunch of idiots that will want piece of you for all kinds of reasons, do you really think we will just let you throw yourself into a pool of sharks?" Dean slapped Harry's back with a bright smile.

"We trust that you can take care of yourself, but remember we lived with wizards for 8 years not just hang around them. Trust us to help you, okay? " Justin patted Harry's shoulder.

"Don't act like you are my nannies," Harry rolled his eyes, but his mouth was smiling, genuinely for once. "Whera re we going?"

"...Severus, I believe we have to go to Grimauld Place? Since Phineas said that Sirius was cleaning tog et ready for Harry?"

"I am afraid so," Snape showed unbridled annoyance. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Thomas and Mr. Finch-Fletchley, we are going to take you to Sirius Black's manor in London. You may know him as a fugitive who killed 50 muggles and defected to You-Know-Who during the first Wizard War, but we have evidences that he was framed by another Death Eater. Professor Dumbledore has been preparing to schedule a trial for him, but then this happened."

"I think nothing in the future can make me more surprised than what just happened in last few minutes," Dean muttered.

"Portus," McGonagall produced a tin can and enchanted it. The can shone with a weak blue hue. "Hands on the Portkey, everyone."

Whoosh

In a short but powerful blast of energy, they were sucked into a tiny point and disappeared. Whirled into an amorphous spacetime with surroundings that flashed away too fsat to recognize, They endured an unpleasant feeling of their bodies being squeezed and stretched, but as fast as they disappeared from Harry's room, they landed on a black oak floor.

"I would have preferred a train or a side-along Apparition," harry complained and stretched his arms. He lifted Dean and Justin who groaned with dizziness.

"We can't risk the ministry to monitor us," McGonagall, still panting from the magic that undid the time-freeze, got up. "Sirius?"

"I am coming!" A voice was heard across the room. A handsome middle-aged man with curly black hair with trimmed beard hurridely came. "Professor McGonagall, you look horrible!"

"I had to cast a rather taxing spell back there, I am fine. Maybe a cup of tea will do," Minerva wiped her sweat.

"So...where is Harry? I didn't think we would have other wizards here," said Sirius, addressing the three boys.

"I am right here," said Harry.

Sirius stared at Harry blankly. Then, he tightly pulled Harry into his embrace.

"Wait - "

"I missed you so much, kiddo!" Sirius grinned widely with his eyes full of exuberance. He held Harry's face and looked closely. "You somewhat look like Lily and James, but I wouldn't know if I didn't know who you are."

"I honestly don't know what to say to that because I never have met my parents or had any memorabilia," Harry shrugged. There was a bit of hurt in Sirius' eyes.

"And these two are?"

"Dean Thomas and Justin Finch-Fletchley, my friends."

"Hi, Mr. Black."

"Hullo," Dean and Justin greeted, "we heard from Professor McGonagall that you are innocent. Must be a shite to live off the grid for 18 years."

"It sure is, Professor Dumbledore was preparing a trial for my innocence until the godforsaken ministry took him. Wait- " Sirius frowned, "you are not muggles?"

"No, they are totally muggles who are not very surprised by magic," Harry quipped.

"But...I thought you were a squib?"

"Potter has a lot to tell us and Albus," Snape's shrewd looks laid on Harry, who didn't seem intimidated one bit, "after all, it's not a daily occurrence that a squib can deflect a Legilimency."

"You tried to read my godson 's mind!" Sirius bellowed. Harry was mildly worried about Sirius' sudden change in temper, "I could kill you know."

"I shot his shoulder for being rude, though," Harry snickered.

'You did? Excellent!" Sirius was now smiling, unsettling Harry more. "But how did you do it? Do muggles have special shi-ance? Power? Like, electri-kity? Here, we should get some chairs." Sirius summoned six chairs from another room.

"I believe his guardian who is now passed away was a wizard who dropped out of Hogwarts while Albus was actively confronting Grindelwald."

"Really? And Professor Dumbledore didn't know?" Sirius gaped.

"No. We watched the recording of the trial and he was just as surprised."

"Sorry to interrupt, but shouldn't we focus on Harry and whatever plan that Professor Dumbledore seems to have?" Dean raised his voice.

"Yeah, Harry has his own life, you can't just think Professor Dumbledore or whoever tell him what to do," said Dean.

"Then more reasons to tell us everything, Potter. If we want to set boundaries, we have to be candid with each other to avoid any misunderstanding in the future, isn't that right?" Snape demanded.

Harry sat down and lightly tapped his feet. Other sat down as if promised and zeroed in Harry, quietly expecting responses. Harry sighed deeply.

"I want Professor Dumbledore to be here before I say anything. He is your head honcho of this...whatever group it is."

"We are our own vigilante group that has looked out to defeat You-Know-Who since the Wizard War two decades ago, and we have gathered again because he has returned. That is all I will tell you," Snape curtly answered. "We don't know when Albus will be allowed to leave...if he will be allowed to leave."

Poof!

"Kreacher!" Sirius saw a wrinkly, disgruntled-looking house-elf that just apparated in front of him, "why did you come back? I told you stay at Hogwarts and help Professor Slughorn deal with insane amount of letters."

"I was instructed to inform that Professor Dumbledore has temporarily returned to Hogwarts, bastard son of poor mistress," the house-elf vowed and muttered under his breath, "and to bring Harry Potter if he is here."

"Then back to Hogwarts," McGonagall stretched her arms.

"I have never seen a house elf in person," said Harry with an intrigue. The house-elf looked back at him in his eyes with odd expression as if not knowing what Harry was. "What, do I have something on my face?"

"Don't mind him Harry, he is just rude like that," Sirius shooed away Kreacher. The house-elf disappeared to another room, quietly uttering something under his breath again.

Harry could have sworn that he heard something about 'a piece', but he shrugged it off.