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A/N: The big 30! Yay!!! Now if I can get 300 reviews I shall be happy. =p

Chapter 30: The fears and fearlessness of children

Harry looked at the man in front of him in contemplation. The man smiled at the boy with a twinkle in his eye. Harry tilted his head as if studying him some more.

Harry stuck out his tongue at the old man.

Dumbledore laughed, happy to finally get a response from the boy. 'Draco is being a lot more cooperative where Remus was trying to give the boy a bath.' Dumbledore thought then listened for a moment. 'At least, he was.' From the sounds coming from the room down the hall, Remus was having as much luck giving Draco a bath as Dumbledore was getting Harry to go to bed.

"No." Harry stated firmly when Dumbledore attempted to tuck him in once more.

"Would you like me to read you a story? Would that get you to go to sleep? Or a lullaby?" Dumbledore was getting desperate.

Harry contemplated the old man once again. "Sing to me and Dwaco." Harry said giving his best pleading look.

"Oh so that is why you won't go to sleep. You have gotten used to having your brother with you." Dumbledore's eyes lit at the sudden answer.

Remus came in sopping wet with Draco wrapped warmly in a fluffy towel.

"Next time, you can give them a bath." Remus said before setting the boy on the bed to dress him.

After both boys were tucked in, Dumbledore concentrated trying to think of a lullaby for the two boys.

Hush my little darlings
Don't say a word.
Listen to this lullaby
And close your sweet gentle eyes
And dream of the places
Far from this world.
Don't fret my darling children
I'm here so don't you cry.
I'm here to hold your hand
To guide you through these foreign lands
And take you to the clouds up in the sky.
Sleep and be peaceful
Don't wake alarmed
I'm here to protect you
Protect you from harm.
Yes, my darling babies
I'll be here for you
So when you wake and see the light
I'll be right here within your sight
And hold you like I always do.
So hush, my little darlings
Sleep and be free
Dream the dreams of sunshine
And cold water streams.
I'm always there with you
So don't be afraid
I'm here I'll always be
To play with you and you will see
The love that I made
For you... {1}

Remus smiled as the lullaby calmed the boys. If he thought they were energetic before, he was wrong. He had learned in the last few days that these two boys had almost doubled in their amount of energy. It had come to the point where Remus had to have constant help.

Dumbledore though was happy to help. Hermione, Ron, Tonks, and the other staff (with the exception of Snape) were happy to help look after the boys. That is until they did it once. Then they were reluctant to volunteer again.

Remus pulled the covers up to cover the two boys and kissed both their heads before turning the light out.

Morning came all too quickly for Remus who was awoken by two rather bouncy little boys.

"Moony! Can you teach me to fly? Can you?" Draco asked the man who was still trying to sleep.

"Later maybe Draco. Please just go back to sleep." Remus tried to convince the boy.

"But why?"

"Because I'm tired."

"Why are you tired?" Harry asked.

"Because I was chasing you and your brother yesterday."

"But why does that make you tired?"

"Because I'm old."

"Why are you old?"

The boys continued to ask questions until Remus groaned in frustration. "Do you two want to go to breakfast?" he finally asked.

The boys' faces lit up. "Yay!" they shouted.

"Go get dressed then." Remus ordered. The boys knew how to dress themselves so long as Remus laid their clothes out first. Hermione was teaching them their alphabet and how to count (they were learning quickly) as well.

Remus herded the boys downstairs where they quickly darted to the Gryffindor table to greet their friends. They climbed into their seats and began talking about anything they could think of.

"Moony is going to teach us to fly today!" Harry suddenly shouted.

Remus' eyes widened. "I did not say that!" he tried to defend.

"Uh huh! I asked you dis morning!" Draco declared loudly. Their speech had gotten better but they still slipped up a lot.

Remus looked at the little boy in horror. How was he supposed to know what he was agreeing to in his semiconscious state?

Harry turned his best puppy dog look on his Guardian and stuck his lip out in a pout. "Pease Moony. I wanna learn. Weally. We pwomise to be careful." He pleaded with the man.

Dumbledore chuckled from his spot. "It seems you are stuck Remus. Unless you can find someone else to teach them, but they are a handful."

Madam Hooch brightened up. "I'll help. I can help you teach them to fly."

Remus sighed. "Fine, fine." He gave in. He headed towards his seat next to Tonks muttering something about children that should have been sorted into Slytherin.
Out on the pitch, Madam Hooch had taken out her slowest but sturdiest brooms. Dumbledore would kill her if she let the two boys get hurt while learning, not to mention what Remus would do.

Meanwhile, Harry and Draco were jumping up and down and pushing each other, their childish version of 'Tag.' Remus soon called them over and Madam Hooch began her instructions.

After the twins had mounted, not noticing the growing crowd, (it was a Saturday) they took off. It was obvious both boys were naturals because they immediately resumed their game of tag in the air. Remus almost had a heart attack when Harry did a loop-de-loop.

Soon they were competing with who could do what and Remus called them down, terrified that they would fall and break their necks.

"That's enough flying for today." Remus informed the two happy children.

"But why?" Draco started hoping to get more flying time.

Remus rolled his eyes and started inside. The twins smiled and remounted their brooms. They took off and raced each other at breakneck speed towards the broom shack. When they got there, Harry went to put both brooms up and Draco locked him in.

Suddenly it all came back to Harry and he began to cry. He didn't want to be in the cupboard! He didn't mean to run into Dudley! He didn't mean to eat more than Dudley. He didn't know how to stop being a freak.

Harry started to quiet down and curled into a ball. If he made too much noise, he would get punished more. He really was hungry and didn't want to have to go without lunch. He curled up in a little ball, his shoulders shaking with sobs trying to get out, he would just wait here and be a good little boy until Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia stopped being mad at him.

All the while more memories were coming back into his little mind. Memories of years with little food, hand-me-down clothes, and living in the little cupboard under the stairs.
Remus looked around and couldn't find the two boys. 'They must still be outside!' the thought suddenly hit him. He bolted out the door.

Draco was laughing at his little joke. He had begun the childhood tradition of sibling rivalry fairly enough. He didn't notice the crying, nor did he notice the sudden silence coming from the shack.
Draco noticed Remus coming running towards him. When the werewolf finally reached him, Draco noticed a worried look in his eye.

"Where is Harry?" he asked looking around.

"In there." Draco said looking guilty.

"Why is he in there?" Remus asked knowing the little boy had something to do with it.

"Because I locked 'em in dere." Draco admitted.

Remus opened the door to find Harry tightly wrapped around himself. Anger at the Dursleys flashed in Remus' mind.

Draco saw the anger in Remus' eyes and backed away. Memories of Lucius having the same anger in his eyes coming forward in his mind. Lucius always beat him for being un-Slytherin-like. 'Maybe I shouldn't have told him the truth.' Draco thought all of a sudden. 'Its not very Slytherin like to tell the truth. Maybe Moony would hit him too.'

Remus scooped up Harry and cradled his little body to him. Then he turned toward Draco surprised to see him backing off with fear in his eyes.

Remus took a step toward Draco. Draco raised his hands to protect his face.

"I'm not going to hit you Draco." Remus reassured as he tried to approach again. Draco eyed him cautiously.

"Its alright." Remus would have continued if not for the small sob from the child in his arms. "Shh, Harry I have you." Remus comforted. Harry latched onto his robes and began crying in confusion at the sudden kindness after coming out of the cupboard.

Draco edged slightly closer.

"Come here Draco. I won't hurt you. I'm not mad at you, you were just having fun." Remus tried to coax the child to him.

Draco slowly joined the other two and Remus took his hand.

They made their way up to the castle.

{1} this lullaby was written by a writer on under the pen name Laenavesse. It can be found at fictionpress. (sorry it wouldn't accept the link)