Disclaimer: Don't own anything you recognize from the HP series. I do own the unknowns though. So hands off!

Story:Jake, London Orphan.

Authoress: AshenWolf

Rated: PG-13

Warnings: Totally AU. No spoilers...well, I don't think so.

Summary: Jake has been a street kid for as long as he could remember. But is he really just an orphan on the streets with his 'brother' Cody or does he have family out there. And what ever happened to the famous Harry Potter who disappeared all those years ago? R and R! It would be much appreciated! AU.

Thanks: Thank you to all my reviewers! I love you all! You helped me to get my butt into motion and write out the rest of this chapter.

Thank You: ERMonkey Burner of Cookies, Shea Loner, wolfawaken, xyvortex, applebottoms, Alligator355, RiverSong DreamShadow, Violet Hatts, rigal, LenJade, azntgr01, FrozenTearz1990, twighlightshadow, allsop, Silver-Entrantress-Elf, Laurinasta Blaze, Stray-89, Hope12, porcupineapple, and Sexyslut. Thank you all so very much! I eat reviews for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So please feed me! I don't wish to die! . Suggestions and insights are always welcome!

Big thanks to JenniferJamesPotter for helping me get over a huge bump in the road, namely "Writer's Block". Much kisses and hugs, Jennifer!

Jake, London Orphan. Chapter 4: Shocks, Confusions, and Revelations.

The shadows of the dead-end alley seemed to darken as the imposing figures of the officers drew closer to their captured prey. Jake's human side was slightly over-taken by his canine side. He was beginning to panic and shift about like a caged animal, which he theoretically was in his current predicament. His small whimpers utterly changed to something quite different. They turned into whines that gradually rose so high in frequency that the humans around Jake could no longer hear them.

Jake backed up slowly as the taller officer's eyes gleamed with something akin to delight, which only caused Jake's fright to rise. The officer's dark brown eyes shifted from side to side in a slow mocking manner before speaking one of the most cliché cop sayings of all time. "There's no where to run kid, so don't even try." This only resulted in the terrified child to look around in an even more jerky and erratic pattern.

Meanwhile, in another part of London...

An amused laugh filled the air as a young man clutched his abdomen and grasped the bricked wall for support. Amber eyes met oceanic blue before entertained chuckles burst out full blast once again. Cody slid down the wall by his best mate's side on the ground, a few sniggers still escaping. "Oh Dan, did ya see his beady eyes? It was priceless."

The owner of the azure eyes ran a slightly greasy hand through his straight, uneven, tangled reddish hair as he smiled a roguish smile. "Hell yeah! How could I miss it? His little eyes just widened beyond…well, I'd say three times any normal size… when he found his nice, big, fat wallet suddenly missing. That was just awesome."

"Yeah and he couldn't even figure out who took it. I, for one, am surprised he didn't hear us laugh our heads off there in the end." Cody replied while fingering a thin, small silver colored chain identical to his Pup's.

For awhile they just basked in the silence as they lounged in the old abandoned warehouse that served as their home, at least until they were forced to move on to other shelter. Daniel, only a year younger then Cody and second in the proverbial seat of command, pulled himself forward and up as he pulled out the before mentioned wallet from his worn-out back pocket. Cody whistled in admiration as his friend pulled the stack out of the glistening black leather wallet.

"Holy cow! That's a lot alright, that should hold us up for a little bit. Maybe we can risk taking in little Amelia to get her cough properly checked out at the local doctor down on Quince. I'm sure that that'll cover it. We can always steal the prescription, if we have to."

Daniel's hands quickly shuffled through the money, counting the notes at a rapid pace. The street kids, including themselves and many of the other older kids, may not be able to read very well, if at all, but they sure as heck could count. It they didn't learn when they were younger how to count they wouldn't have been able to live in the world they currently resided and found refuge in.

Cody nodded in approval of his suggestion for the 15 year old girl in their pack, before pulling his head sharply to the side and bringing his hands up to meet his ears abruptly. His eyes scrunched slightly as if in pain before quickly opening them and getting to his feet.

Daniel only noticed something was amiss when his best mate got to his feet. "Where you going, mate?" he asked curious.

"Out," was the only reply before his leader walked a bit stiffly towards to door. Just before the door closed behind him, Cody uttered a short "Hold down the fort, won't you?" Not even waiting to hear the inquiring worry in Daniel's tone as he replied "yea, sure Coyote, whatever you need," Cody took off at a run towards what he was sure to be his Pup whining in distress.

Back with Jake in the alley.

"Man, I can't wait to take you in. I haven't brought in any of you sniveling brats to the precinct in awhile." He snorted with contempt. "In fact, all you rift-raft should be locked up in some prison, where you belong, you…" he was cut off rather abruptly causing him to stop and look at his fellow companion.

"Christopher, stop that now." The shorter one's kind eyes were glowing a rather annoyed and ticked off blue, green, and auburn as he looked at his friend. "You're scaring the child on purpose and I won't stand for it."

Obviously, the shorter one was in higher rank, or at least been in the job longer and had seniority in their partnership. Christopher, snarled but conceded, though he did so rather reluctantly.

By the time this had happened, our poor Jake was already at the end of the narrow alley, while the two were still half way down. The adult 'seas of blue' came closer once more, with one pulling out a… at least to Jake's eyes…very scary looking pair of handcuffs.

His amber orbs landed on a pot of flowers that extended from a window seal high above the approaching policemen's heads. He closed his eyes for a moment as he desperately mumbled his wish: "just fall, just fall, just fall, and right on their heads…"

He heard the loud clash of impact and the tell tale sound of pottery breaking and a startled gasp and his eyes snapped open once more. He watched, just in time, as the taller officer fell over, his eyes rolling backwards in unconsciousness. His own amber ones widened slightly as he spotted the broken pot, scattered dirt, and disordered lilacs on the ground near a now motionless body.

"Chris! Oh my Gosh, are you alright!" The chubby, still-unknown officer fell to his knees beside his partner as he turned him over. Jake stood motionless just long enough to register the rapidly forming bruise and small rivulet of crimson running its course down the side of the man's head, before running past the unguarded and occupied officer. He had just managed to disappear around the corner as he heard a quite distracted "hey, get back here kid!"

In a Coffee Shop somewhere in London… five minutes previous…

The "Moon-bean's Coffee Shop" was quite well known for its calming atmosphere, cappuccinos, and had a reputation for being overfilled on its best mornings, but it was already afternoon and most customer were going through with their busy lives at work. In one of the more secluded corners sat two friends, comrades for years, and sadly the last of a once famed group that was known as the Marauders in their younger years… not that the average people of London knew anything about them that is.

No their fame, resided in the walls of a school not known to most residents of the city, for it was an enchanting school. It was "enchanting" in more ways then one. We are not talking of course about the dazzling portraits that crowded the walls of its interior or the comforting homey feeling the place seemed to have radiated since the day it was built. We aren't even speaking of the fact that the school was housed in an old and imposing castle. We are talking of the classes that we taught within; for they were not classes we as mere humans are forced to endure. These were so much more. The regular school day encompassed Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Divination, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures…to name a few.

They were wizards and as such the muggles (non-magic folk) knew nothing of them, for it was the desire of their unique race to keep their existence a secret from them. Through sheer determination and strict laws set among their people, their plans succeeded.

The taller of the two, a man with midnight black colored hair with bluish lowlights that was held loosely with a black ribbon at the nape of his neck was sniggering in low undertones as to not disturb others around them. The other, about four inches shorter then his companion, had short chocolate colored hair that looked as if it had never seen a comb in its life. Said man brought a pale delicate hand to his mouth as so to hide his grin at the small joke they seemingly shared together.

The comfortable silence they lapsed into suddenly broke, as Remus John Lupin gave a startled jump and knocked over his cup of coffee as the hand that had been nursing it flew rapidly to his right earlobe. Sirius Orion Black, his dark haired pal, all but shrieked as he knocked over his chair in a desperate retreat from the hot substance. Unfortunately for him, the warm liquid had already spilled itself onto his black jean Levis he sported.

"Damn it," was all that passed his slightly chapped lips as he grabbed a complementary napkin from the simple napkin holder that had thankfully not been caught in the crossfire. "Moony!" he began as he wiped his left leg rather savagely. "What the hell is…," he cut himself short determinedly before he could go on a reprimanding tirade. He instead let his cool gray eyes narrow in concern as his friend's amber eyes radiated a distant pain long put behind him. The ethereal orbs of his lupine comrade seemed to pool in the corners, which caused him even more concern.

In all the years they had known each other, Remus never would cry in the presence of others, let alone in public. He would only let his guard down and let his grief be expressed in the presence of a precious few. Though the thought of his friend being in pain was abhorrent to him, he still felt a bit of pride knowing that he was one of the "precious few" that Remus could take comfort in.

Remus let the hand that had settled on his earlobe relocate itself to the front of his face as he covered his pained eyes and therefore set his whole expression in shadow.

"Remus…what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Sirius's own tanned hand dropped the now moist napkin onto the small round table before resting it upon the other's shoulder in a comforting manner. "Do you want to go?" Sirius knew that Moony wouldn't speak of anything in the shop and would wait until they were alone in the safety of their shared room that they were currently renting at the Leaky Cauldron.

Remus dropped his hand and Sirius marveled at the change in his friend's expression. He was used to the way his canine friend was able to mask his emotions at a moments notice, but in the end when the change took place, it still amazed him. He was the calm and collected Professor everyone knew and loved once more; even the pools in the corners of his eyes had dried. The long-ago pain placed in his amber orbs by a long-ago loss had also vanished.

Sirius was a bit confused when Remus looked over his shoulder and smiled his award-winning charming smile. "I'm terribly sorry for the mess Madam, but I was simply startled and accidentally tipped the cup over. I apologize for the inconvenience and the slight commotion it may have caused you and the customers.

Upon turning, the heir to the Black family estates and fortune, saw the object of his friend's slightly long-winded (at least in his opinion), yet charming, apology. It was a rather short blonde young woman, no more then 24 years, with cerulean eyes that sparkled. She blushed and dipped her long eyelashes in a flirty manner as she gently bit her bottom lip in what Sirius supposed was nervousness. "Oh, don't worry about it sir. It's no problem at all. I'll get it cleaned it up."

Momentarily forgetting the reason why the coffee was overturned, the dark haired man barely reigned in his snort. His 27 year old friend still had it in him to turn the young girls' heads. Sirius had his own share of women followers, but his fan club could never measure up to Remus'. He was sure it had to do with the 'animalistic' aura that surrounded his dear friend.

"Damn him…." He thought a bit jealously.

Sirius smirked as the waitress sauntered away looking back not once, but twice at their table or more obviously Remus. Hey he was a rather good looking chap. He broke from his thoughts as Remus set a few pound notes and a few coins he heard the muggles call "penance" or some other stupid name of the sort. Done paying Remus grabbed a hold of Sirius' arm a bit too tightly and steered themselves out of the coffee shop onto the crowded streets of muggle London.

They had already been walking for a few moments and Sirius' lower arm had become numb with lack of circulation. "Moony, old pal, you're kind of hurting me." They stopped abruptly as the werewolf pulled his hand away from the abused arm like a child getting burned for the first time. There was always one thing about a werewolf you could be sure of. They had amazing strength.

The mask fell for a second giving Sirius a brief glimpse of the hurt his friend was suppressing. Remus sighed as he began to apologize for the second time that day. "I'm so sorry Siri, I…." His admission of guilt was literally pushed to the side as a lanky young man collided with the brunette. Amber met amber for a brief moment before the younger man hurriedly got back up on his feet. He seemed to be in a hurry, but his pride and manners made him stay long enough to offer his hand to the fallen stranger and say a rushed apology before sprinting off in the direction he had been heading once more.

To say Remus was stunned was an understatement, he was flabbergasted. It had been a long while since he had seen another werewolf, for he was sure that was what the 20, perhaps 21 year old young man was. He not only had the tell-tale tawny colored eyes, but the brute force as well. It had been years since someone could mow him down even when he wasn't expecting an impact with anyone or caught unawares, he almost never fell over. It was simply because of his condition that he was a 'bit' stronger then others. He even had the wolfish aura that he himself emanated. He was shocked yes, but now he was even more grieved.

Thankfully for his peace of mind and for Sirius' rampart curiosity and concern they had already reached the Leaky Cauldron. Once inside room number 13, Remus let his mask fall and almost literally plopped onto one of two single beds in the room.

"What's wrong Moony…?" Sirius' uttered for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day. He leaned against the door of their room knowing that Remus was one of those unique individuals that didn't liked to be hugged and touched all that much when in sorrowful mood. Remus remained silent for a moment as he finally let loose the hidden springs in his eyes.

"I know it irrational and illogical, but… I could have sworn I heard my Joshua…." At those words, Sirius' concern turned to his own grief. "But how?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"I don't know Padfoot. I just did. It was like a whimper, but I would know his voice from anywhere. Siri, tell me I'm not going mad. He is dead right? Gone, right?" He began to sound a bit hysterical at those words. Sirius knew it aggrieved him just to utter those words. Pain and hurt lavishly decorated the syllables of the inquiry.

Sirius nodded mournfully. "Yea Moony, he's gone. Those damned caretakers", he practically growled the word, "of his left him to die…" he stopped in his explanation not wanting to go over the fate of his godson again. They both knew the story as well as the rest of the Wizarding world, although the other wizards and witches knew of the poor toddler's fate under a whole other name.

"That's not all Siri. You know the man that tackled me on our way here?" He paused for Sirius' brief nod before continuing. "I could have sworn I smelled Joshua on him as well." There was a brief silence before Remus expressed as an after thought, "He was a werewolf to boot."

"That's impossible isn't it? I mean he's…dead… how can that be possible…" another silence filled the room as Sirius slid soundless down the door to sit on the floor completely ignoring his own single bed next to Remus'.

A quiet, yet humorless laugh abated the stillness. "You're right Padfoot. It is impossible." A sad smile crossed his features. "He's up in heaven with Lily and James to look after him now. I guess with his birthday coming up soon, I subconsciously wanted him here. He'd be going on ten you know?" Another struggled sigh and gasp of breath followed as the tawny haired man forced his sobs away. "I'm being silly…. That's all." Amber eyes gleamed with a new sheet of saline before being roughly wiped away with hands that were so flawlessly clean it would seem as if 'dirt' was not a part of the world.

Not knowing how to respond to brief soliloquy, Sirius merely looked at his companion despondently before shifting glossy shaded eyes to the window that overlooked Diagon Alley. Not another word was spoken for many minutes.

On the London streets.

Jake crawled hurriedly up a stray elm tree's long limbs that overgrew its domain and over a think red wall that marked the end of another alley far from the officers. Sliding over to the other side, he let himself fall softly on his rump as he wiped his brow. He tried to catch his breath as he rested against the smooth brick wall.

After the initial adrenaline rush, he was beginning to feel its toll on his body. Thankfully being a werewolf had some benefits. If he were normal, he might have already passed out from panic, over-exertion, and relief. With his abilities, he just felt a bit haggard; though his mental mind was more beat up then his physical body.

Now that he wasn't worried about being taken in to the authorities and most likely put with some foster family or worse… an orphanage, he began to think about what saved his butt from certain incarceration.

'What happened back there…?' he thought lethargically. He knew for a fact that the pot had no chance of falling over; it had been too far set back for that. His rational mind knew this but in his panicked state at the time, his common sense had given way to foolishness and desperate hope.

'How is it possible…? Did I force my will on it? No, that can't be right. I may be different from everyone else, what with becoming an animal once a month, but it's not like I have powers or anything…right?' A mix of intrigued anticipation, curiousness and worry invaded his system. It was an odd mix of feelings which in the end left him in a state of confusion.

'Nah, I'm already gifted; the gods or whoever gives out this "powers" wouldn't give me another.' That left him a bit miserable, but he attempted to push his melancholy to the side.

It wasn't working. He just couldn't stop thinking about the stupid flower pot. It did just what he wanted; it fell on the mean officer's head, giving him a window to run. That's what truly disturbed him. Objects weren't supposed to follow your every wish and whim. He sat and pondered for a few more minutes before heaving a great sigh of frustration.

"Forget it." He spoke aloud to himself. "It's just not possible. It was just plain old luck."

"Yea, plain luck, my arse." He leaned forward slightly before using the ground as a push up point to make his way home to the warehouse. He walked along the back road for a hardly a few moments before starting abruptly. He twisted around just in time to be grabbed into a firm hold. He struggled for a moment, before he let his nose take in the smell that was presently smothering his senses. He calmed instantly and hugged the tall, muscled and lithe figure back contentedly.

The two stayed that way for quite sometime, before Jake was disentangled and held at arm's width from the man. Lupine eyes met lupine eyes before Jake broke into a joyful grin. "Cody! I'm so hap…." Jake was cut short in his exclamation of delight.

"Where have you been Jake?" Said boy bit his lip slightly as he recoiled from the somewhat harsh tone in his older brother's voice. Guiltily he tried to look anywhere else but the gold pools staring intently at him as he tried to explain himself.

"Well, I was… I was teaching Bethie how to pickpocket and well… Bethie… she got into some trouble and… I ran for it…." His voice had started out on a normal tone for a child getting chided by their "parent", but progressively fell into a whisper that held a little hope for not getting a "spanking". "There were two blue jays and they…."

He was saved from continuing on down that train of thought and explaining his miraculous or even "magical" escape, by another bone-crushing hug from Cody. Jake felt himself trembling and he let his mind wonder briefly about why he would be shaking in the first place. A moment of silence passed as he let his brother hug him to his heart's content… or to his death, whichever came first. In that moment he realized that he wasn't the one that was quivering, but Cody was. Before he could inquire on this new insight Cody finally broke the tranquil stillness that had overcome them.

"I thought I had lost you, Pup." Jake registered the quaking in his brother's voice as well. "I couldn't find you and you had long since stopped crying… I couldn't hear you anymore… I was so scared for you."

Coyote released his death-grip like hold on his honorary family member to hold him loosely in his arms. It would seem that the older boy was quite reluctant to let him go. Cody's slightly disbelieving and self-ridiculing snort filled the air as he continued the conversation.

"I was so frightened that something truly terrible had happened to you, that I seemed to shut down my nose, for only about ten minutes before I found you did I think to look for you by scent." Jake's lips curled slightly as Cody smirked down at him.

There was always perks to being something not human. One of the biggest perks a werewolf had was his heightened senses. Of all of their senses, smell was their greatest asset. A wolf's smelling ability was so powerful and refined that it could sort through thousands of odors and zero in on the special scent of a loved one or pack member—or on any scent the wolf was especially interested in at the moment.

Their hearing was altered from that of a human almost as much as their olfactory sense, so that they could hear the beating of a frantic heart, or the soft breathing of a child that resided many yards away. Werewolves were also capable of detecting sounds that are too faint for the human ear, and could hear sounds pitched at frequencies well above and below that of a human's range.

One perk that was especially great, was the ability to lessen their senses to a certain degree. It was an ability that both werewolves who were slowly breaking apart from each other were rather grateful for. It was already hell trying to sleep in a city that produced more noise then a raging stampede of rhinos, but to have that noise amplified a hundred times over would be cruel.

"I'm sorry I worried you Cody, but you'd be happy to know that I was able to sneak myself around two blue jays today. There was a moment that I thought that I was a goner, but…." He stopped abruptly not knowing if he should continue on that sentence.

He wasn't sure if he should tell his big brother about the pot incident. It wasn't that he didn't love or trust Coyote with all of his heart and soul, but he just didn't feel comfortable about the whole situation yet. Maybe, one day, if it ever happened again, he would say something. He was lost in his thoughts for a moment before he realized that he had left the sentence hanging and tried to hurriedly add in an ending to his mumbling.

"I guess I got lucky or I would sitting in one of those white washed rooms waiting to be dragged away to strangers who want to "take care" of me." Jake shuddered at the thought of an unfamiliar person hugging him or constantly trying to bring him into reluctant and "heart-filled" conversations with them.

He hated outsiders to his pack and could only converse easily with those he grew up with and lived with for a prolonged period of time. It was one of the reasons he felt close to Bethany. She had only been with then a few short months, but he had accepted her within the first short weeks of her arrival. It was something way different from his usual nature, and he had been quite confused about how to deal with it. In the end he had decided to just ignore it. She was different and that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

"Hmm…" Coyote uttered in a skeptical tone, but let it slide. "So, what did the two officers' faces look like with you "luckily" escaped from them?" His mood seemed to have shifted from disbelieving to proud and curious. "Were they utterly shocked that a little midget such as yourself got past them or were they… aghh." He rubbed his left arm fervently, where his pup had punched him. "That hurt you know!" He glared balefully at his shorter companion that looked like him in so many ways.

Jake glared just as forcefully back for a few seconds, before breaking into a devilish smirk. "Yes, I know and it should hurt. You deserve it for calling me such a thing." His grin began to crack, before it faltered into what seemed to be an attempted held back pout. "I'm still just a kid and I'm still growing." His eyes filled with silent tears as he sniffed slightly. "I'll be taller then you one day, Cody. So just watch it." With that he stamped off ahead of his brother.

By this time, Cody felt extremely guilty for making his little brother cry. "Pup! Pup, I'm sorry!" He rushed after his cub, before hugging his small form from behind. "You know, I didn't mean it kiddo. You're tall! You will be taller then me one day…" he uttered other nonsensical words of comfort about the younger's height for a few moments before he noticed Jake's trembling had stopped, along with his saline tears and sniffling.

Cody's smile turned into a frown as he saw Jake's raised eyebrow and tilted lip. Why the little bugger was smirking! A high childish laugh filled the air as Jake pulled away from his sibling, still grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary and got away with it Scot-free. Coyote watched as his pup ran away from him a few steps before turning around jovially and taunting him.

"Didn't I tell you since I was very little that I would be an amazing actor! I can't believe you fell for that!" He chuckled merrily before turning and running down the street the smile never leaving his face.

Shocked and infuriated at himself, Cody just stood there for several moments. "Trick me once, shame on you. Trick me twice, shame on me…." He sighed a great big sigh, before he expressed his own amusement of the situation with a loud guffaw. "Come back here, you little brat!" He yelled after Jake affectionately, before running after him towards their home.

Hogwarts

Somewhere deep in the recesses of an age old fortress situated somewhere in Scotland, a wizard of over a century old raised his white haired head from his mounds of paperwork at a small movement in the very corner of his office.

An elegantly feathered quill of beauty raised itself almost sleepily before dipping itself in a jar of the blackest ink and dragging its fine point lazily across the parchment of a book much thicker then any other book in the elderly man's study.

Smiling slightly at the prospect of another new student, Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, returned his attention back to his work. The day was nearly ended and he had so much more to do. Being the headmaster of such a prestigious school and a confident of the Minister of Magic (bumbling fool that he was) was nice, but the paperwork was murder.

The light from the setting sun gave the man's office a steady glow of pinks, blues, and yellows as the quill finished it's scratching and wiped itself on a self-cleaning hand towel before falling back into a gold, jewel encrusted quill holder that had been put there the day the castle was established centuries previous.

The wet ink from the newly added name glistened stunningly before a drying spell went into effect. The sun's last rays smiled gently down on the words "Jake Alexander Miller" for only a few minutes before being joined by the light of many fire-lanterns flaring to life to replace the coming darkness.

TBC….

June 13, 2005