Chapter 31

Of Dogs a Werewolves

Between training, classes and antagonizing each other the Mutants were growing restless. They wanted to know what was going on, but all they could get out of the instructors when they returned from the Order was that they were doing all that they could. Neville was a regular visitor in the mutant tower, and was always fascinated by the student's use of their powers.

It had been a good day for Harry, who was now sitting in the common room finishing his essay on a poem by John Donne. Rahne and Ana sat on either side of Harry, Rahne working on the same essay, and Ana reading from her transfiguration book. None of them looked up when the portrait door opened, as people had been going in and out all day. They did look up however when they heard the bark of a dog. Actually they looked up to Rahne, who looked back at them confused. She hadn't barked. At the sound of someone clearing their throat they looked over at the entrance where there was a weary looking man with a great black dog.

"Who-" Started Rahne but Harry gave a great gasp, jumped off the couch and bolted up the stairs. He ran into his room, slammed the door shut and lent against it gasping for breath. He could handle the school being terrified of him, he was used to that now. He could accept the teachers distrust, because they were only looking out for the safety of their students. He had been Heartbroken by Hermione's and Ron's betrayal but he wasn't going to let that get to him anymore. But he couldn't face Sirius. He couldn't survive that. Remus and Sirius were his last ties to his parents, and to loose their trust, to hear them shame him, He wouldn't be able to take it.

He walked over to the tank that housed his snake and picked her up. She sniffed at him with her tongue, tickling his hand. He just gave a small smile and stroked her head when he heard the knock on his door. "Harry? Its Ana, can I come in?" when there was no answer she opened the door and her face fell when she spotted him. "Oh Jack." She sighed as she went to stand beside him beside him.

"I cant do it Ana, I cant take that. I wo-"

"Then we'll send them away." She said earnestly, trying to gain eye contact. "You don't have to do anything. But you cant run forever Jack. There are some things you will have to face, you knew that when you came here. And if it gets bad we will be right there beside you, and we'll show 'em how mutants show unwelcome guests to the door!" When Harry didn't say anything she pressed on. "Look how about I go get some of the others, and then show them up here. That way if things go well we can leave and you can have a bit of privacy," Harry gave a small grunt of disbelief, "And if it doesn't go well then you'll have a full fledged army to help them to the door."

She waited while he mulled it over and got up to leave when he gave a small reluctant nod. Soon Todd came into the room followed by Roberto and Sam. Rahne came in a bit after saying that Ana was showing them up. They entered slowly, Sirius still as a dog, eyeing the small gathering behind Harry.

"Hello Harry, its been quite a long time." Started Remus.

"Hello Professor Lupin." Answered Harry quietly. He was trying not to look directly at them, so as to not see the disappointment in their eyes.

"Harry I hardly think you need to be so formal with me, I'm not even your teacher anymore! Please call me Remus. And, do you think we could talk somewhere more private?" he asked tilting his head discreetly towards the dog at his side. Harry knew he meant that somewhere where Sirius could talk to him as well, but his friends already knew that his godfather was innocent. Just the same, Remus' kind face made the final decision to do this on his own. He could face this, and it was the last thing he had to face.

Harry looked at the friends who merely shot him questioning looks back. He gave a small nod and they trouped out quietly, Ana reassuring him that they would be right outside if needed.

"You have some good friends there Harry." Said Lupin as soon as the door was shut.

Harry had been about to thank him when he was suddenly swept into the Arms of his godfather. Struggling in the massive hug he was receiving he pushed away the first chance he got, not understanding the look of hurt on Sirius' face.

"Harry what's the matter? Why did you run away like that? Aren't you happy to see me? I've been so worried about you!" He exclaimed while Lupin stood silent in the doorway.

"S-sorry, I was just, I mean I didn't-" He stumbled out.

The hurt look on Sirius' face turned into disbelief. "Harry, you don't think that we…. Harry, do you think we believe all that bullshite about you killing your relatives?"

"Don't you?" asked Harry, not wanting to get his hopes up.

"Harry! Do you think that I of all people would think that you would do that? Of course I don't! If you tell me you're innocent then you're innocent! There's no question!"

Harry felt the tears in his eyes and furiously tried to will them away, while looking over at Lupin who was still at the Door.

Seeing that Harry had moved his attention to him he said, "Harry I was there the night that you were willing to spare the life of Pettigrew. You would spare the life of the man who caused your parents death. You wouldn't kill your entire family out of cold blood. I know that, and I wish we could have done something to get you out of Azkaban but the efforts of a Werewolf and an Azkaban escapee would have amounted to nothing. Can you ever forgive us?"

"And look at you!" Sirius exclaimed not even waiting for Harry's answer, taking in his hair and clothes. "All grown up! And lounging with a room full of girls we saw!"

Harry smiled, his heart soaring. "You really believe me then? Your not going to tell me how much my parents would be ashamed of me?"

Their faces grew dark at his words. "Who's been telling you that Harry?" asked Sirius

He shrugged, "Just, people." He left out names wisely. He was soon swept into another hug, and this time he did not try to push away. "I don't think James and Lily could be anything but ecstatic at how you've turned out." He said to Harry. "they would have been so proud of you, and don't you doubt that for a second!" He gave the boy a tight squeeze before letting go. Remus came away from the door and placing a hand on his shoulder he said, "And don't forget how proud we are of you too! I wouldn't expect anyone to turn out as such a fine young man as you have after going through all this!"

Harry whispered a quiet thanks and grinned happily when Sirius asked him where he had been all this time. He launched into the story of his escape, leaving out Ana's name. He knew that the two men would understand. He told them about his life at the Institute, and brought out the photo album that Ana had made for him to show them the pictures. His godfathers face darkened when he saw how he had looked in the beginning, eyes shadowed, and nothing but skin and bones. But as Harry flipped through the book, telling stories that some pictures had with them, both men could see the difference. At one point Sirius had turned to him and said, "You look different."

Harry blinked. "I would hope so, the last time you saw me was almost three years ago! I'm seventeen now, I would look different."

"I think what he meant was that you carry yourself differently." The Werewolf studied him for a moment before, "I suppose it's the lack of pressure that was put on you when you were here. You never did like being the 'Great Harry Potter' I remember."

Nodding Harry looked back to the book and at the last picture. The group of them, all mud slapped and smiling. "I was normal, when I was there I was just like everyone else. They liked me cause I was me. It was perfect." A frown fell onto his face as he turned back to the first picture. Him and his two best friends. "But Voldemort won't ever leave me alone. He's taken my friends; he wants to use them like weapons." He pointed to his blue furred friend. "This is Kurt, he's my best friend. He's always making jokes, and playing around. And now Voldemort has him."

"We're trying our best to get them back Harry." Sirius said. "Remus and I are in the Order, and everyone is doing the best they can to get your friends back. All of Dumbledore's spy's say that their all under impirio, and are otherwise unharmed. Voldemort wont do anything to harm them because he needs them. He made a huge mistake when he took them. He thought that all mutants were unaware of the wizarding world. Now he's gone and given Dumbledore a huge advantage. Because of your friends, we know exactly what mutants he has, and what their powers are. He's not going to kill any of them, not while he needs them so desperately. The difficulty is finding them. Voldemort has done a good job at hiding them. All our spies say that they are kept in a safe house, one that only Voldemort knows about. Every time we think we're close to getting our hands on them, he activates a portkey on them, that transports them away to this safe house. Right now, we're just trying to figure out where that is."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Later, after Harry had assured them that his friends knew of Sirius' innocence, he introduced them to his friends. Roberto and Sam had already left, but the others were only too happy to meet two people that meant so much to Harry.

"And this is Rahne 'Wolfsbane' Sinclair." Said Harry, having introduced Ana and Todd.

"Wolfsbane?" asked Lupin with a curious smile on his lips, "And what is your power?"

The girl only grinned at Harry, who grinned back, before transforming halfway, making her look almost exactly like a werewolf. Unless you knew what you were looking for, as both men did. But that did not stop the looks of shock on their faces.

"Remarkable!" Remus exclaimed after getting over his initial shock.

The girl gave a grin, or at least what was supposed to look like a grin, and transformed the rest of the way. Giving a bark she nudged Sirius' hand, who grinned hugely and rubbed her ears.

"That's amazing! Its like magic!" He shot a grin at Harry, "I bet you could impress your friends with all the magic you could do! If you had a wand of course."

Harry could see Ana watching him out of the corner of his eye. He looked at her and she shrugged and said "Its up to you."

Remus looked back and forth between the two, curious, and the rest of the mutants were watching Harry. Even Rahne had stopped her shameless nuzzling of Sirius' hand to watch.

Sirius, finally noticing the tension in the room looked to his godson. "Harry? What is it?"

Harry bit his lip. He trusted Sirius with his life, and the same with Remus, and as much he had learned from the books Ana had given him, it was not the same as what he could learn from two grown wizards. If he had any questions he would finally have someone he could ask. But was it worth the risk. "There's something else, something I left out before." The two older wizards looked at each other worriedly as Ana discreetly closed the door and put up a silencing spell. "I'm not just taking lessons with the mutants so that I can live in the muggle world. We didn't want anyone to know. If Voldemort found out, or even Dumbledore, no one can know. You can't tell anyone."

Both men shared another look with each other before giving their word that they would keep their silence.

The room descended into silence, as everyone waited for Harry to speak. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"I'm a mutant."

( I was going to leave it there!!! so heres some bonus!!!)

Sirius stared at him for a moment before he started to laugh. "You really had me going there for a moment Harry!"

Remus however, was not laughing. "Sirius, I don't think Harry is having us on."

Sirius took one look at Harry, and seeing the solemn look on his face, the laughter stopped. "What?" he asked bewildered.

"I'm a mutant, just like the others."

Sirius' face was priceless, if the tenson in the room hadn't been so high, harry might have laughed. He looked positively gobsmacked. On the other hand, Remus looked normal, and almost a little pleased.

"I'm very happy for you Harry." He said with a smile.

"You are? Why?" In the muggle world, to be found out as a mutant by loved ones was not always a happy event.

"I was concerted that even though you were treated fairly at this school of yours, you would still feel as an outsider, because you were not a mutant as they were. I suppose that takes care of that worry." He explained pleasantly.

Sirius seemed to come out of whatever trance he was in at this, and asked "Wh- What can you, I mean, what does-"

"What are my powers?" Harry asked, feeling a little better that it had all been said that they had not run from the room yet. When they nodded he explained, "My powers are magic."

Sirius looked at Remus a little worriedly, clearly thinking that Azkaban had left its mark on the boys mind.

"No really, my power allows me to use magic, unlike anyone ever has before. The instructors describe it as 'Magic Manipulation'. I can Sense raw magic, which is everywhere. I can sense it and then draw that magic into myself, and then use it to do what I want it to do. Its hard though, because I need to understand how the magic works first, its not like just saying a spell. I've read so many books on Magic theory but, I was hoping that maybe you two could help me." He finished with a pleading look.

Remus looked quite impressed at the description of his powers. Sirius was back to looking stunned. "Of course we'll help you! Harry that's amazing! I've read several books on the topic of raw magic, and theories on how to work with it. I know Voldemort himself is very interested in the subject as well. It's a good thing you're keeping this quiet. Now I know I have some books back a-" Remus rambled off, pondering on where he had last seen the books.

Harry turned back to his Godfather, who was starting to worry him. "Sirius?" he asked nervously, and failed to get a response.

"Harry," called Ana from behind him. "I think you forgot something." And before either of the two older wizards could react, she shot a tickling charm at the boy. Harry cought it with ease.

"Oh right, because I can manipulate magic, I can also handle it as well." He looked at the purple ball of mist that was floating in his grasp. "The more powerful the spell is, that harder it is for me to hold on to, so I normally just throw them away as soon as I catch them." He then casually threw the charm over his shoulder and Ana had to duck.

"Harry," came Sirius' voice, and Harry turned to see a huge grin spread across his face. "That's Astounding!!!! I cant believe it!! To think all those years we wasted on becoming animagus' when we could have been mutants!!! Harry I hope you have been putting your abilities to good use!"

"Actually Harry and Jamie have been quite the pranking terrors before we came here." Ana said with a grin.

"I'm so proud!" Said a tearful Sirius, while the rest of them just laughed.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Ok I had this done a few days ago, but I wanted to tweak it a bit more before all of you read it! I wanted it to be good, cause I love Sirius and Remus. So I hope it met all of your expectations!!!

Reviews:

Quillian: I'm not sure if Nev is going to have trouble with his wand, probably not though. And there are two things going on with Ginny, but THAT is going to be a surprise!!!

Harrypotterfan7: Glad you like it, and I'm not telling yet!!

Dr Gero: lol, no! there will not be a Ginny Harry relationship, no romance there! Lol I do like those stories every now and then, but at heart, I'm a Harry Luna shipper, but not in this fic. Don't worry, not in this fic.

Mike D: Magneto will be in the next chapter! I'm already writing it out!!!

Eve west: Oo;; lol man that was a funny review!!! I'm SO glad you enjoy the fic!!! And don't you worry, they will be getting whats coming to them!!

Midnightconqueror: glad you like it and I'm sorry but I don't really know of any other good crossovers, all the ones found were left half done. That's why I wrote this one, so that there might be at least one good crossover.

Von: well, you will be happy with this story right up till the last chapter. Because that's when Harry kinda hooks up. Not going to say who with, but its already written and saved, and I like it. Sorry!!!!

Captinplanet2003: If you join my yahoo group, I actually post chapters there days before I update. Plus lots of other goodies

Cole: If you join my yahoo group, I actually post chapters there days before I update. Plus lots of other goodies (lol, gotta love that copy and paste!)

Nefertiri Riddle: You are INSANE! I love you! You totally made my day!!!