For disclaimer see first chapter.

oooooo

There seemed to be some kind of impasse, everyone waiting for someone else to move. Harry thought that somehow the new person was on the opposite side of whichever side Alexis occupied. He wasn't all clear about which side that was, though. Things were getting tense, Alexis was still touching her left wrist with her right. The two men that had come with her were standing completely still. Ermina was ever so slowly crouching down, preparing for something.

In a flurry of movements, Ermina launched herself at Harry, to his great surprise. However, by some strange feat of acrobatics Alexis managed to insert herself between the attacker and the would-be victim. Ermina sneered and brandished a vicious looking knife, before Harry had time to shout a warning Alexis had launched herself at the attacker. Harry wasn't completely sure what happened next but in a few seconds there was a dead body with the head cut off laying on the driveway. Alexis was standing besides it with a bloodied knife in one hand and a small smile on her face. Both men were straining in place, like dogs on the end of their leads. Alexis held out her hand and the dark haired man handed her a handkerchief.

"Thanks, Emilio. We need to get rid of this, now." She said, wiping her hand free of the blood that had stained it. She did look a bit disgusted when she realised that there were spots of blood on her shirt.

Harry's brain just engaged again and he realised that a dead body on the driveway would cause him some serious trouble and not just with his aunt and uncle but with the local authorities as well. He was just about to point this out when two more blond men stepped forward as if from thin air. Harry was quite sure that they hadn't apparated, the lack of sound was a clue, but where had they come from. They quickly disposed of the body and most of the blood that had managed to seep out. Harry once again tried to speak up but this time he was cut off by a rather upset Remus wandered into the scene.

"What is going on here? Harry, get inside, it isn't safe, we don't know these people." Apparently it had been Remus' turn to watch him.

"Back off." Alexis ordered and to the surprise of both Harry and Remus, the werewolf did, with lowered eyes and generally looking subservient. "This is no place to discuss this, suffice to say is that Harry here, is in danger." Harry saw her point, his aunt and uncle's front lawn was definitely not the right place to discuss this, or anything, really. He'd been lucky they were out and hadn't been here to see the… killing.

"Where?" Harry asked. "I shouldn't leave the house." He added, sadly. At least Alexis didn't seem as if she was going to say anything about where they'd met before.

"Um, you're a wizard, right? Can't you make a ward against people noticing us?"

"Harry can't." Remus answered. "And I can't either, but I can put up wards against anyone listening in. If you promise to tell me what this is all about."

"I can only tell what I know." Alexis replied and waited. It took a second or two before Harry realised that maybe they should move to the back of the house. That way they would be shielded from people seeing them. He led the way, feeling only slightly ridiculous, and the others follow, though Harry knew very well that they could have found their own way. Once there Remus makes four small marks in the ground with his wand before telling everyone to keep inside them. Then he mumbles an incantation, Harry thinks he doesn't want to speak it out loud, in case the not-quite-muggles hear. They are strange, Harry decides, because they aren't magical, or they would have had wands of their own, and they'd also have been able to erect the ward themselves. Yet, they aren't muggle, they know of magic. Maybe they were squibs? Or at least Alexis was, it was, after all, her that made most of the talking.

"Why don't we start with introducing ourselves?" Remus asks, politely, though there is a not of barely hidden suspicion in his voice.

"I'm Alexis Smith, this is Emilio Estevanza." Alexis says, completely ignoring the blond man besides her. Emilio is the black haired man. Harry took the time to study the three people a bit. He knew that Remus would keep them occupied for a while.

Alexis was neither tall nor short but in the presence of Emilio she appeared small. She had a friendly face, blue eyes and long hair. The hair wavered somewhere between a light brown and a dark blond but where the light hit it there was highlights in copper and gold. It was lighter than last time he'd seen it but that could have been the lighting. She wore similar clothes to last time, though instead of a blouse she wore a tight green top. She looked more relaxed now than last time. Harry tried to spot where she'd put her knife but couldn't see it. He also didn't want to be too obvious in his starring.

Before she had a chance to notice Harry moved his eyes to the right of the woman and they ended up on Emilio, a very tall Emilio. He must have been the tallest man Harry'd ever met. He had black hair and green eyes not unlike his own. He also wore dark trousers, it seemed to be a theme amongst the group, though Emilio's looked as if they were made from leather. He wore a strange blueish grey shirt that did nothing for his rather pale complexion.

On the other side of Alexis the other man stood, tall, but not very tall, and sporting short blond hair and dark blue eyes that met Harry's for a heartbeat. Harry prepared himself to look away but instead it was the stranger that averted his gaze first. The man's shirt were of similar cut as Emilio's though it was a pale green instead of grey.

"Doesn't he have a name?" Remus asks.

"Not while he's on duty, no." She replies. Remus's bright enough not to pursue that particular question.

"On Duty?" Harry asked, confused.

"Yes, he's one of my guards." She answered, looking for all the world as if it was normal for someone to have guards.

"You're guarded all the time?"

"Most of the time." She amended, nodding. Emilio grinned, there was obviously some story behind that, other than loosing her guards, for that's what the other blond men must have been, that first time he'd met her.

"Well, then, I'm Remus Lupin. This is Harry Potter, but you already knew that. Now, would you mind explaining?" Harry couldn't understand why the usually rather friendly werewolf was this terse with Alexis, she hadn't done anything… except saving his life.

"As you wish." She said and settled in one of the garden chairs. Neither of the men accompanying her moved to do the same. Harry decided that he wanted to sit, whether the others did or not, he'd been standing or crouching in the garden all day. "Ermina, and the likes of her, are very dangerous, as you might have noticed, and it seems like they are now working for that Voldemort guy. After what I've heard that's a bad thing for Harry."

"We can protect him." Remus close to growled.

"Are you absolutely positive? It didn't look as if you were doing a good job just then." She replied.

"Harry's already under the threat of You-know-who and his followers, as long as he stays within the wards he's safe. And we're watching him all the time."

"Who? Voldemort? Were Ermina inside the wards when she attacked?"

"Eh… yes, to both questions."

"Have you asked Harry what he thinks about being confined to one house for the whole summer? Add to that that he knows he's followed all the time. He's a teenager, he's embarrassed about stuff as it is, he doesn't need any additional reasons."

"He knows it's for his best!" Remus said.

"That doesn't always help, trust me. A cage is always a cage no matter how pretty." Alexis replied and both of her companions looked at her oddly, perhaps sadly, their expressions were hard to read, or so Harry thought.

"How can you say something like that? His life is on the line!" Remus argued.

"So is mine, I still move about, though. I still have a life worth saving. And shouldn't we rightfully ask Harry about this? Harry?"

"It does kind of suck to be stuck here all the time." Harry said, looking apologetically at Remus. The werewolf looked somewhat stumped. Harry didn't mention that he regularly left the wards to go in search for some time by himself. It seemed as if those who had been watching him during his 'outings' hadn't said anything either. "Headmaster Dumbledore made it so that I couldn't get any mail, I could be traced through it, he said. He didn't even tell me about it until yesterday. On top of that he even intercepted my Hogwarts letter so that I wouldn't be tempted to go to Diagon alley." Harry choose to ignore that his voice had gone slightly hysterical. Remus looked at him sadly.

"You may call me, Remus, Harry. I've said so before. And I didn't know what the Headmaster had done."

"What I can offer are a couple of guards that can keep you safe from the likes of Ermina. I'm not sure how they would react if faced by wizards, though." Alexis said. The blond man looked as if he wanted to protest but instead it was Emilio who spoke.

"Are you sure?"

"We're already involved, we clean up our own messes. He won't disagree."

"La-" The blond man started, unable to keep quiet any longer.

"Do you doubt what I'm saying?" Alexis shot back, not sounding friendly at the least. The blond man gave a quick bow but didn't speak up. Alexis seemed happy with that. Both Harry and Remus watched the scene developing with a mix of amusement and trepidation.

"Is my suggestion acceptable?"

"I can't really decide that without contacting…" Remus started but he saw the torn look decorating Harry's features and stopped.

"What would change?" Harry asked after thinking for a moment or two.

"Well," Alexis started before Remus had a chance to speak. "as I see it, our guards are perfectly able to protect you without impeding on your person. Also, they're able to protect you even outside of the wards. I do not think that stopping your mail or forbidding you from leaving the warded area makes you safer. I think we can work something out." She added with a wink.

"I think you should contact Dumbledore before you make any definite plans." Remus said cautiously.

"The headmaster?" Alexis asked.

"Yes." Harry said, he felt compelled to give some information, if they were going to guard him they ought to know. He was still not sure if he wanted them to or not. It seemed too good an offer. "Albus Dumbledore is Headmaster in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he's also the leader of those who oppose Voldemort." Harry noticed that Remus flinched at the mention of the dark lord's name.

"Okay, but how do we do that?" She asked.

"We owl him." Remus answered.

"Owl? What does that stand for?" Alexis looked confused.

"No." Harry said with a laugh. Apparently Alexis weren't as perfect as he'd first though. She wasn't squib, though, if she had been she would have known about the owls. "We use owls to deliver letters."

"Oh. That doesn't make any sense at all but when in Rome. How do you go about this 'owling'?" Alexis asked.

"You write a letter and give it to a postal owl." Harry patiently explained.

"And one would find one such owl, where exactly?" Alexis seemed intrigued by the idea; Emilio looked as if he was laughing at her while not doing it. She noticed but appeared as if she didn't care.

"Don't worry, I have one. Let me just get Hedwig and some parchment." Harry said before hurrying away.

"I suppose Hedwig is the name of his owl?" He heard Alexis ask. It didn't take long to gather some parchment, a quill and ink, he'd forgotten where he'd put his pen, and he opened the window to allow Hedwig to fly through. He cast a quick glance at the clock and worriedly noted that the Dursleys would return soon.

"Here you are." He said, hoping it would show that he had some kind of manners.

"Thanks." Alexis said and looked at the quill quizzically. "Eh… Emilio, would you mind writing this, you who actually can handle one of these?" She handed the quill to Emilio who smiled and seated himself next to Alexis to be able to put the parchment on the table. He scratched down some words before looking up again.

"What should I write?"

"Tell him that there are some very good assassins that have joined Voldemort. That we, a rather exclusive bodyguard service, offer our help to guard a Mr Harry Potter as we've realised that some of our former employees have converted to the other side. We will supply at least two guards at any given time as long as the threat remains. If needed be we will come to school with Mr Potter to ensure his safety." Alexis went quiet for a bit before adding. "If he feels the need to contact us he can either owl Mr Potter. Give him the address to one of our mailboxes too, just in case. Give it to me to sign." Emilio looked at Alexis for a moment or two before handing her the letter. She signed it with flourish and folded it quickly.

"Now what?" She asked.

"Hedwig." Harry softly called and the white owl came swooping down from the tree she'd been perched in. "Just tie it to her leg." He said offering his arm, complete with owl, to Alexis.

"Why don't you do it?" She said. "I don't think she wants me anywhere near her. Animals have a habit of disliking me."

"Er… Sure." Harry said and took the letter. Cheeking the front of the letter to see that it was addressed he tied it to Hedwig's leg before sending her off while telling her to go to the headmaster. After the owl had left Harry fidgeted a bit.

"Um… my relatives will return soon." He started. He didn't want to confess that if they stayed he'd probably get thrown into his room and wouldn't get fed again until school started.

"I understand." Alexis said. "Well, we're finished here, aren't we? I'll either come by myself or send one of the guards, to see if we've gotten any mail but other than that you shouldn't notice any of them."

"Er, but how will I recognise them?" Harry asked, he had a feeling that Remus also wanted that question asked. It wasn't as if he knew the 'new' guards.

"Don't worry, you will recognise them." Alexis said with a smile before walking through the silence barrier. The blond man turned to say something to her and she replied but neither Harry nor Remus knew what since the ward worked both ways.

"Don't worry Harry, I'm sure everything works out." Remus said and hugged Harry before dispelling the ward and leaving Harry alone in the backyard.