Young and Helpless

Chapter Nine

Remus whirled around, as the cup in his hand slowly slipped from his fingers, crashing loudly to the floor. Remus' heart raced, as he stared at the calm blue eyes under the half moon spectacles.

"Good Afternoon Dumbledore." Remus replied, after a moment's hesitation.

"How are you managing, Remus?" Dumbledore questioned, an amused smile playing at his lips, as he sat on the table, watching Remus, as he nervously began picking up all the pieces of the broken mug.

"I-I'm pulling t-through." Remus answered. He placed the broken pieces on the counter, before pulling out his wand, and muttering 'Reparo' under his breath.

"I see, well that's good news, no?" Dumbledore spoke, in his calm neutral voice. Remus nodded, pouring the tea into the mugs, and walking over to the table, placing a mug in front of Dumbledore.

"So, from what I understood in your letter, you wished to speak to me about something." Dumbledore began, as he sipped at his tea.

"Yes. Err, I heard a rumor…That the wards have fallen…and I wanted to know if it was true." Remus replied, stirring his tea absent-mindedly. Where is my cool demeanor now? He thought.

"Yes. They are true. But we have a lead-." Dumbledore began, Remus' ears perked up sharply, and he heard his heart beating faster in protest. "-seems that someone stopped by the Dursleys', who are Harry's family members, house and disguised him/herself as a staff member from Harry's school. Ms. Petunia described him as a young man with brown hair, and eyes." Dumbledore.

"Albus. The boy is with me." Remus said suddenly, staring hard at the Headmaster.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes faded, and his face turned stern. Remus held their gaze steadily.

"We thought as much." Dumbledore spoke.

"I had every right." Remus said firmly, as his hesitation slowly dripped away.

"Oh?" Dumbledore commented, sipping at his tea.

"He wasn't safe there anymore! He should have never been put there! I had to take him away, they were-." But Remus was cut off.

"He was very much safe there. Remus, Harry must be kept from Voldemort at all cost. You know that only a blood relative can strengthen the wards. You took him away, and the wards fell. We do not know, if Voldemort has truly left us." Dumbledore interrupted.

Remus felt his anger rise to its peek, and his face began to redden.

"DON'T YOU DARE EVEN START WITH ME, SIR! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW YOU'RE NAMBY-PAMBY THEORY CONCERNING HIS SAFETY IS ALL FALSE! I CAN NAME A GOOD FEW PLACES WHERE HE WOULD BE MUCH SAFER THEN AT THAT LUNATIC PLACE! HE WAS BEING BEATEN, GODDAMNIT! THE POOR KID CAME INTO MY CARE BATTERED AND BRUISED! AND YOU'RE TELLING ME HE IS SAFE THERE? YOU-." Remus shouted suddenly, getting up and letting his chair knock to the floor in a loud clang.

"Remus. Calm Down." Dumbledore interrupted. His voice was soft, but so intense, that Remus faltered.

"I understand how you feel, but you must understand that only blood relatives could sustain half of the charms placed around him. He was presumably safe from any magical danger and-." Dumbledore said, in a calm, but serious voice.

"No, Albus. You haven't seen him! You haven't made any contact with him since that night. You didn't bother to check up on him. WHO KNOWS HOW LONG THIS HAS BEEN GOING. THE POOR KID HAS BEEN SEVERELY BEATEN FOR BEING WHO HE'S BEST AT! HIMSELF!" Remus huffed, and slowly slid back into his chair, lowering his gaze to the table, before rubbing his temples in smooth circles, as he closed his eyes tightly, against the headache that was slowly creeping onto him.

"Can you forgive a foolish old man for his mistakes?" Dumbledore spoke smoothly, from his place.

"I promise Lily and James that no harm would come to him, if they were to leave. They seemed to know something was going to happen sooner or later. I told them I would do everything in my power to keep him safe. I've failed them." Remus said his voice considerably softer then before.

"You have failed no one." Dumbledore reassured, as he silently sipped at his tea.

"Of course I have. I didn't even recognize the boy when I first saw him. He was so thin, and small, he looked almost two years younger then his age. He was so innocent, and yet, you could see the unhappiness in his eyes. I was completely out of it. I didn't know it was him. My first mistake, and then he told me who he was. I remember the Harry I knew, the little baby, always smiling, and murmuring gibberish, and healthy, and being fed regularly. But that Harry's gone. I met up with him a second time, and that's when I found out he was being abused. He ran off. My heart broke, sir. Seeing him. He was afraid of me. He used to know me as Uncle Moony, and now he was afraid of me! And what about Sirius? What would he say? I haven't spoken to him either, in a few weeks. When he finds out…" Remus stopped himself, feeling tears burning against his eyelids, threatening to fall.

"It would be best if only a few knew of this." Dumbledore commented.

Remus snapped his head up.

"OH, Don't you dare tell me NOT to tell Sirius!" Remus muttered angrily, and then as an afterthought, added, "You'll only be wasting your breath."

"I did not say you could not tell Sirius. I was merely stating that it would be best if only a handful of us knew." Dumbledore said weakly, looking suddenly years older.

The Silence that followed was deafening. Both men sat, sipping their teas constantly, while pondering the situation. Finally, Dumbledore spoke up.

"You know you can't keep the boy." He spoke tiredly.

Remus looked up from where he had been staring at a knot on the table, and frowned.

"I'd like to see you stop me. As soon as I can, I'm gaining custody over him, and suing those motherf-…Sorry. I'll be suing them good." Remus growled.

"Remus. Because of your condition, the Ministry won't allow you to take over him. They won't permit it." Dumbledore said.

"But I've given that a lot of thought. Last night, actually. If I gain custody over him, through muggle systems, it automatically cancels out all rules in the Ministry, and Fudge is forced to hand over his approval." Remus said, avoiding the Headmaster's eyes.

"Remus-." Dumbledore began, in his serious tone.

"'Don't you Remus me. You're not my Father. My Father died long ago! I WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE SURE HARRY POTTER IS SAFE. AND NO ONE IS GOING TO STOP ME!" Remus rose from his seat, his fist banging against the table.

"When Mr. Potter was born, you know that guardianship was handed over to Sirius and-." Dumbledore began calmly, dismissing the hissy fit Remus was throwing.

"Both Sirius and I will have the absolute PLEASURE TO TAKE THE BOY AWAY FROM YOUR HANDS." Remus hissed, his voice considerably low.

"Remus this is unaccepted, I am-." Dumbledore tried again, holding a steady calm, but severe gaze on Remus.

"YOU ARE UNACCEPTABLE! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS CONVERSATION!" Remus yelled, before turning his heel…and suddenly faltering.

The small six-year-old stood silently at the doorway, tears streaming down his cheeks…

A/N: Um, First, I'd like to say thanks to Deadly Hope for the great tip. I went back and altered the wording a bit. Also, I was unhappy with Chapter Eight, so I changed it around. The scene is the same, only Harry's actions and feelings are altered. I was moving too quick.

Thanks for all the reviews. I know, another cliffy, and updates aren't as fast, but I try to keep them constant. Any more tips on my writing? Drop a line. I also have my email If you want to make it personal.

(Edited Version - yes 'ties' is now 'teas' like it was suppose to be )