Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, in fact, I believe Harry Potter might own me, that is how obsessed I am. Oh yeah, I don't own any of the other characters, places, or things, that are familiar to you.

This is an answer to Severitus Challenge-for details on challenge please look up pen name "Severitus"

A/N:

Thanks Reviewers Pure Black, Makalani Astral, Anna Taure, Honor, ShadowedHand, DeeDee, Opal, white-blaze-dragon, kateydidnt!!!!

The letter is a common way for HP to find out info, another is a diary, but I just can't picture Sirius keeping a journal (although I would love to read it if he did!), not to mention he'll have to be somewhere to find the diary (Honor). You'll find out more about the Marauders always being there (ShadowedHand-Swedish, huh, cool!). There are many twists & turns (DeeDee)
Opal: Thanks for pointing that out about Lily...I went back briefly to glance over that in my story, but couldn't find it, will have to go more in depth this weekend.

The letter is in bold print

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Chapter 3 careful what you ask for

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Well, Harry thought, he did ask for something, anything to keep him from thinking about the events of last year. Wow! Adopted! How does someone even begin to process that? Of course, that's assuming that the letter is real and is not someone's idea of a joke. The only people he could think of who would even attempt a joke like that would be Fred and George Weasley. They may love jokes, but Harry really didn't think they would do that to him, especially signing Sirius's name to the letter, knowing that Harry would still be upset by his death. Hey, Harry suddenly thought, how did that letter get to me? It's been over a week since he died, he couldn't have sent it before he left. All Sirius mentioned in the letter was that if I was reading it, then he was dead. Maybe the letter was charmed to be delivered after his death. Does such a charm exist? Hermoine would know, Harry thought. The question is, should he ask her? How could Harry explain why he was asking her? Harry really didn't want to tell anyone that he received a letter from Sirius, let alone the topic Sirius addressed in the letter.

The letter. Adopted. Harry gave a little snort as an arbitrary thought came to him. Snape can't really hate him now for being James' son. Of course, being Snape, he would come up with another reason to hate him, and relatively easy too, Harry would bet. Harry doesn't know how he can say that he was so much like James either, since they weren't related by blood.

A new thought occurred to Harry, while he was contemplating Snape's hatred of him. Why did he look so much like James and have Lily's eyes? He quickly pulls out the photo album Hagrid had given him after his first year at Hogwarts and standing in front of the mirror, he holds a picture of Lily & James next to his face and looks into the mirror. He has Lily's eyes & nose, the other facial features are James' as is his hair, of course. That can't be a coincidence he thought. There has to be an explanation for that as well.

Now he wishes he was back in school. At least there he would have access to the library and could try to look up various spells and charms that might explain some of this. Plus if he was in school, he might be able to find a way to get (okay, trick) Hermoine to help without telling her the reason, she loved doing research.

Harry began to wonder what his natural parents looked like. Shouldn't he look more like them? He doesn't even know their names! He read the section of the letter again that mentions his mother. Ohhhh, how he wishes Sirius had put her name in the letter. They obviously knew it since it should have been on the birth certificate they found. His father, however, that was another story. Apparently his mother didn't list his father on his birth certificate, so that information is unknown. It's possible that this information died with his mother, he might never know who is father was. Maybe she didn't know who it was? Maybe she was ashamed of who it was? If they were married, it wouldn't have been a big deal, right? Not to mention that people would assume that that is who his father was. Maybe he was already dead and she figured it didn't matter?

Glancing down at the letter again, another line caught his eye. His mother's family didn't want him! Why not? He wondered. Maybe they knew who his father was and didn't approve. Maybe they thought he would be just like his father (whoever he was) and didn't want to be associated with him. It had to be something pretty bad, Harry thought. After 5 years in the wizarding world, he knew that wizards (and witches) placed a lot of stock in family and bloodlines. Family was sacred in the wizarding world, even more so than in the muggle world. If he had the name of his mother, he might be able to track down her family. They might not have wanted anything to do with him previously, but they were family. After all, Harry thought, they had to be better than the Dursley's.

The Dursley's! He wasn't related to Aunt Petunia! Harry's heart did a little dance of joy at the thought that there was no actual blood relation between him and his 'caregivers' for the past 15 years. Wait, no blood connection? What about the wards? How could they work on blood magic, if that blood wasn't the same? Another question that Hermione could discover the answer to in less than hour. The wards seemed to have worked for the last 15 years, so Harry guessed that they still worked. And at that thought, the boy finally drifted off into slumber.

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Remus Lupin sat at the table in his guest quarters at Hogwarts. Dumbledore was allowing him to stay there in between Order assignments and during the full moon. Due to the events last spring, the order wasn't sure how safe 12 Grimmauld Place would be. Even though Kreacher couldn't tell anyone the location of HQ, someone might be able to put the pieces together. Kreacher was the one who helped lay the plan for Harry. Because of the Malfoy's, Voldemort & many other DE's probably knew that Kreacher was the house elf that served the Black family. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that most likely the order's HQ was one of the Black estates. Because of that, the order was no longer using the Black Estate as its headquarters, and Remus couldn't use it as his living quarters either. Even if no one else could see the actual buiding, they would be able to determine its general location and just sit and wait for someone to approach or depart.

Thinking of Kreacher and the events of last month made Remus think about Sirius. Remus had a hard time believing Sirius was gone. This was worse than when Sirius was in Azkaban. Remus couldn't believe that he was the last of the faithful Marauders. James has been gone for 15 years. Two years ago, Peter was finally revealed as the traitor he was. And Sirius, after being wrongfully imprisoned for 12 years and on the run for the last 3, was dead. The only one left to look after things was him. The most important item to look after was Harry. Now with his parents and godfather gone, the responsibility for his health and well-being was passed onto Remus, as he was the closest thing Harry had to a male wizarding relative. Remus didn't know if he could handle this. He was worried about how Harry was doing with Sirius's death. Last year Cedric had died in front of him and by the end of that summer, Harry was upset, angry, in some ways, unrecognizable (at least in attitude) to the people who cared about him. Remus knew that had Harry blamed himself for Cedric's death. Everyone tried to tell Harry that it wasn't his fault. No one knew that the cup had been made into a portkey. No one knew that Moody was actually a Death Eater using polyjuice potion. But still, Harry blamed himself. What was Harry going to be like by the end of this summer if had to spend the entire summer like he did last year, just remembering Sirius, and most likely dreaming about his death. Remus hoped that Harry wasn't blaming himself for Sirius's death, but knowing Harry as he did, Remus felt that that was an impossible dream. Remus didn't think there was anyway Harry wasn't going to blame himself for his godfather's death. But what could he do, Remus thought?

Remus was just about to pour himself another cup of tea when an owl flew into his room. Remus, still caught up in his thoughts about Harry and Sirius, automatically took the letter from the owl and opened it. Looking down at the opened piece of parchment, Remus gasped in shock as he recognized his friend's handwriting, not noticing a second letter falling from the envelope.

Moony,

I hope this letter finds you well. By now, you should realize that you are the last of the faithful Marauders. With this comes the responsibility of looking after Harry. I am sure that he is going to take my death hard. Harry's emotions are his biggest asset, but during times like these, can also be his largest hindrance. There is a lot more going on with Harry right now than just dealing with my death and Voldemort's attacks.

Harry should have received a letter from me by now as well. I am not sure how he will react to the information in that letter. Look after him, he will need some time to think about things, but he will also need your support while he decides what to do with the information he received. I know that this is a hard thing to ask, but I must request that you don't inquire about what was in his letter. When he is ready, he will talk to you about the contents of the letter. After he starts talking to you about the contents of his letter, give him the enclosed letter, telling him that I entrusted it to you until he was ready.

I am sorry for not telling you more, but it is Harry's story to tell. I just ask that you look after him and watch over him since James, Lily, and I are not able to do so. Love and care for him like a son, as we did. He will be searching for family and I hope that he finds it in you and his friends. Be sure to remind him how much we loved him, and how much we want him to live. Not just exist, but live.

Your Faithful Marauder,

Padfoot
June 1, 1996

Remus leaned back in his chair thinking. If he felt like he needed to do something before regarding Harry, that feeling was multiplied now. He didn't know what Sirius's letter to Harry had contained, but if Sirius was worried about Harry's reaction, than it has to be more than a simple goodbye. Without even thinking about what he was doing or where he was going, Remus left his room and started walking the hallways of Hogwarts.

Apparently, subconsciously, Remus knew what he had to do. He was jarred found his thoughts by a voice asking him if he wanted a lemon drop. This surprised Remus, since he wasn't aware that he had left his rooms, let alone, walked into the headmaster's office. He brought his attention to where he was, and took a seat across the desk from Albus.

"Albus," Remus spoke softly, "I'm worried about Harry. He didn't handle Cedric's death well last year and how much more will Sirius's death affect him? He can't spend the entire summer alone like he did last year, just dwelling on the events that happened. We need to get Harry away from his relatives, to be around other people, people that will support him and help him deal with Sirius's death. I know that Grimmauld Place isn't secure, and truthfully I'm glad, I don't think Harry can handle being there, and I know that I can't. But there has to be someplace that is as safe for Harry to be right now, besides his relative's house. Surely there is some reason you can think of to bring Harry here."

At the mention of Harry, the twinkle in Albus's eyes faded and a saddened look came upon his face. When Remus finished speaking, Albus studied Remus for a minute before replying, trying to figure out what else was going on in the werewolf's mind. "I was actually thinking that Harry should continue his Occlumency lessons over the summer. Let me finalize some arrangements and let Harry know. We should have him here by the end of the week."

After thanking Albus, Remus left the headmaster's office and headed back to his rooms, feeling better that he would be able to keep an eye on Harry and maybe figure out what was in his letter from Sirius.

Remus spent most of the following days in voluntary solitary confinement in his rooms. He must have read Sirius's letter at least 20 times, searching for more clues about what was going on with Harry. It has to be something major in Harry's life since Sirius mentioned it right after mentioning his own death and Voldemort's attacks on Harry. Not too mention that Sirius wrote about the fact that he wrote Harry. Remus wasn't able to determine if the information that the letter contained was good or bad. The only thing Sirius mentioned was that he wasn't sure how Harry would react. That was puzzling, even though the two hadn't spent much time together, Sirius always seemed to be aware of how Harry operated, what he was feeling & thinking. Once Harry arrived, he would have to try to figure out Harry's emotional state. If he was cheerful and content, then the information would have been good news; if he was sullen, moody or angry then Remus would conclude that it was bad news.

The one thing that angered Remus was how Sirius kept telling him to look after Harry. Sirius should know him well enough to know that there is no way he would desert Harry. When Harry was a child, before Lily & James went into hiding, Remus viewed the six of them (the Marauders, Lily & Harry) as a pack, with Harry as the cub. He couldn't desert Harry any more than he could desert his own child. Of course he would look after Harry, love him like a son & be the family Harry is searching for. Why would Sirius even think he needed to mention that?

Letting go of his anger, he started thinking once again on what could be so major that Sirius won't tell me, but insists that I wait for Harry to mention it. How am I suppose to support Harry when I don't know the reason he needs that support? I could always mention that I received a letter from Sirius, without revealing that I know that Harry also received a letter from Sirius. That would be a good opportunity for Harry to mention his own letter from Sirius. With that plan in mind, Remus fell asleep.

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End Chapter 3

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This is my first fanfic, so any feedback is appreciated.

Next chapter, a (very?) little bit of Sev.

9/24/2004