Chapter Three; Three's Company

'Professor Lupin!'

Remus laughed.

'You're more than welcome to call me Remus, Harry,' he chuckled. 'I'm no longer your teacher, remember?'

Harry sat almost numb in his chair. This had to be a dream. He whipped off his glasses, rubbed his eyes hard, shoved his glasses back on and looked again. Remus was still there.

'Surprised to see me?' he asked.

'Very!' Harry had found his voice again. 'What are you doing here? How long have you been here? Where have you been?'

Remus smiled.

'Nice to know I've been missed.' He turned to Mrs Figg. 'Bella, do you need a hand?'

'Not at all, Remus. You sit down - I won't be long. Oh, I keep forgetting, do you take sugar with your tea?'

'Yes, two lumps please.'

'Right you are.'

Remus picked a sleek Siamese cat off a chair, sat down and placed the cat on his lap. It purred loudly as he tickled it behind the ears.

Harry gaped at him.

Remus had been Harry's favourite Defence against the Dark Arts teacher and he'd been quite upset when the man had resigned at the end of Harry's third year. He was also a werewolf.

Harry had a sudden flashback to the night Voldemort returned. Dumbledore was speaking to Sirius.

'I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd - Lie low at Lupins' for a while, I will contact you there.'

Arabella Figg.

Mrs Figg?

Harry's eyes darted from Remus to Mrs Figg and back again. Several times. Remus noticed and smiled.

'Hasn't she told you?'

'Haven't told him what?' Mrs Figg glanced over her shoulder at Remus.

'That you're a witch, of course.' he said matter-of-factly, watching Harry's jaw drop.

'I was getting around to it young man, just as you interrupted.' she said sternly.

'Why didn't you ever say before now?' Harry was staring at his neighbour in astonishment. Elderly Mrs Figg, his batty old neighbour with an unhealthy obsession for felines, was a witch?

'Well, I doubted you would have believed me.' She sat down heavily with a cup of tea, handing one to Remus. 'Besides, I haven't seen you since you started at Hogwarts and I did promise Albus that I wouldn't reveal myself unless an emergency cropped up.' She took a sip of her tea. 'But I'm sure he'll agree that the Dark Lord getting back on his feet qualifies as an emergency, wouldn't you say, Harry?'

*

Harry spent the whole morning with Remus and Bella. She insisted that Arabella sounded much too fancy. She explained that Professor Dumbledore had needed someone stationed close to where Harry was staying while he was growing up, mainly to ensure his protection and to prevent Voldemort's supporters from finding him.

'The number of wards and barriers over this neighbourhood, you would not believe!' Bella looked rather proud. ' Not a single witch or wizard can enter without my knowing about it.'

'So how did Remus get in?'

'I was invited.' he said.

'No invitation, no entry.' said Bella firmly. 'So long as the wizard means you no harm they can cross the boundaries safely. However, if they are genuinely lost, the wards simply propel them out without harming them - they never even notice that there's a barrier there. Don't want to have any accidents, do we?'

Harry awkwardly brought the subject round to his godfather, worrying as he did so, whether or not Bella actually knew about him. Luckily, Bella caught onto what his nervous babbling meant and quickly assured Harry that she had complete faith in Sirius and had been very much relieved to learn of his innocence from Dumbledore.

'You don't have to worry about him, Harry.' Remus assured him. 'Sirius is more than capable of taking care of himself. He turned up at my home with that Hippogriff of his about a month ago.' He gave Harry a sly smile, knowing full well where the Hippogriff had come from. 'He told me what had happened and Dumbledore contacted us a little while later and we set off at once.'

'To do what?'

Well, our first and most important task is to contact as many people as possible, such as Bella, who fought against the Dark Lord during his initial rise to power.'

'But what about Sirius?'

'We had to separate a while ago. I'm not certain where he is right this minute but he is in regular contact with Dumbledore who assures me that Padfoot is doing well.'

Harry felt much better and immensely relieved. Sirius was fine, he hadn't been caught, but -

'I tried to write to him but Hedwig kept bringing my letters back. Do you have any idea why?'

Remus looked thoughtful.

'That's probably a result of the Disorientation Charm he's using. It creates a bubble-like field around someone that disorientates anybody who deliberately goes near it. We've both been using them in case someone followed us. That's why Hedwig can't find him, the field has been confusing her.'

'So I can't write to him then.' Harry slumped in his chair.

'There's no need for the long face, Harry.' Remus said, gently. 'He'll write to you as soon as he can. You'll just have to be patient.'

'So, how long have you been here anyway?'

'I only arrived the other day. The full moon is coming and I need access to a Wolfsbane Potion. Bella is very skilled with potions and she offered me a place to stay for a while.'

'What? You're not staying long?' Harry couldn't hide his disappointment.

'Once the full moon has passed I'll need to track down Sirius again. We still have a lot of work to do. But until then I'm staying right here.'

'That's great,' said Harry. 'I'm not sure if I could stand being with the Dursleys much longer without anyone to talk to.'

'Considering what you did yesterday, I'm not surprised!' Bella chuckled.

'That was an accident!' Harry insisted. 'And how did you know about that?'

'I have eyes and ears everywhere, Harry.' Bella indicated the cats milling around the kitchen and the Siamese curled up in Remus' lap, purring softly.

'Is that why you have so many cats?'

'It's not the only reason.' she said with a mysterious smile.

'Harry, I think you should be getting back to your uncle's house.' said Remus. 'You've been here all morning. They'll be wondering where you are.'

Harry doubted that the Dursley's had spared him a split second thought, but he agreed that it was time to go. Just as he reached the front door Bella called after him.

'You're welcome here any time, Harry. Just pop round whenever!'

'Thanks Bella!' Harry called back. 'I'll remember that!'

Harry walked slowly back to Privet Drive, thinking. He was feeling much better now that he knew that Sirius was all right and that he had a friendly witch and wizard staying a few streets away. Then he remembered Ron's invitation to stay at the Burrow for the summer. Hard as it was to resist asking the Weasley's to come and rescue him from the Dursleys' clutches, he really wanted to hang around with Bella and Remus for a while. At least until Remus had to leave.

Sneaking back into number four wasn't difficult. Uncle Vernon had left for work and Aunt Petunia was busy in the kitchen, ironing with the radio on. Dudley was in the living room, spreading his bulk out on the sofa, his piggy eyes glued to the television as he shovelled great spoonfuls of mint chocolate ice cream straight out of the tub and into his mouth.

Easing his bedroom door shut, Harry looked over to Hedwig and Pig. Both owls were fast asleep with their heads under their wings. Carefully, so as not to wake them, Harry rummaged through his trunk for some fresh parchment and a bottle of ink. Finding some, Harry sat down at his desk and grabbed his quill.

Ron,

Thanks for the invite but I can't leave just yet. You are not going to believe who showed up at my neighbour's house! Professor Lupin! Turns out the old lady with the cats that the Dursley's got to babysit when I was little is a witch! Nice of her to let me know. Anyway, Remus (That's Professor Lupin) is staying with her for a while because the full moon's coming. As far as I know Sirius is all right, hopefully he'll write me soon.

I'll let you know when I can come and stay.

Have a great holiday!

Harry

Harry scribbled a similar letter to Hermione, and then roused the sleepy owls. Pig wouldn't sit still for Harry to tie Ron's letter to his leg. It took Hedwig flaring her wings and hissing at him before Pig would sit properly.

Harry opened up the window to let them out. As they flapped out of sight, Harry couldn't help thinking that this year, he was actually going to enjoy his summer holiday.

*

To Be Continued

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Please review

All comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.

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Christy – Hi there!  Thanks for coming back!  Um, I guess that was a ff.net error, but it seems okay now.

Lil Lupin – Glad you think so, Lily, but, you know, if you are worried about the side-effects of talking to me I could arrange for an appointment at St. Mungo's – the mental ward doctors are wonderful!  I'm in and out of there all the time! *manic laugh*

MorganD - *Blinks and looks again*  Oh, opps!  Hey, no apologies necessary, Morgan, you're right that should read 'He had always thought'.  My mistake.  Blimey, English is my first language and I still can't get it right! LOL