I HAVE A BETA! AND SHE'S AWESOME! So, thanks go out to her for being willing to take on this project with me.
grins responses to the last chapter were so very appreciated. There were several good points brought up by reviews and I can only answer a few of those questions without actually giving away the story.
Though technically Dumbledor has no authority over Harry, his status and his position have given him the opportunities necessary to either influence or manipulate those that do have the authority to make decisions in his own favor. Dumbledor would have to do little to gain cooperation from the Dursley's as they would be too scared or too glad to be rid of Harry to actually care to contest any of the old wizard's requests (and I use that term lightly) in regards to Harry's life. As for Sirius's appointment of Remus and Harry's pseudo-caretaker, it is obviously a new development that Harry has yet to hear about. After the term ended, he was shipped off to Privet Drive and had very little meaningful contact with anyone.
As for the pairing, yes, it is a SLASH fic and it will be a Harry/Draco relationship. Give me time. I refuse to rush them into anything. I hate it when things move too fast for readers to actually get emotionally involved with the characters and their relationships. So I am still setting things up. Draco appears in Chapter four (actually the majority of the chapter is about Draco) and Harry and Draco should (if they stay on task without distracting me from the script) be meeting up in chapter five.
Other questions I can answer only if it doesn't ruin the story to do so.
hide-N-seeker
Chapter Three: Lead On
Harry was vaguely aware of when Hedwig left but felt too tired to do more that squint one eye open long enough to watch her soar out the window. He knew that he shouldn't have been so tired. He hadn't actually done anything for the past few days to make him this exhausted other that muck about in the Pensieve. It was odd the way he felt as physically strained as he did emotionally. He hadn't felt like this since his Occlumency lessons with Snape. It was as if he was being drained, all his energy devoured by some nameless conflict within himself.
Drifting off in the middle of the day was something that he generally frowned upon, himself, probably a care-over from his work filled days through out his childhood. Harry had always been kept too busy to take advantage of something as elementary as a nap, and now that he was older, he couldn't seem to get past the feeling that he was wasting time if he wasn't doing something semi-productive.
It was a brief struggle, but his body's demand for rest overpowered the half-hearted protests of his mind. In mere minutes, Harry was soundly sleeping, the faint breeze coming through the window was the only thing stirring inside the room.
Like most dreams, Harry's started off nice enough, but it took very little time for his vulnerable mind to conjure the monsters he tried so hard to keep at bay in the daylight hours. After less than half hour's peaceful rest, Harry felt the nightmare seeping in. It was strange the way he was aware enough, even in his dreams, to recognize the warnings of coming nightmares. His dreams were odd like that. Sometimes it was as if he was a separate participant, other times, an observer, seeing through another's eyes.
This time, he was neither. Instead, Harry was something different.
Harry noticed the darkness seeping about the edges of the things, shadows cast from nothing taking shape. All too soon, a familiar room with throned seat and circles of black robed men and women flickered into being. It was Voldemort, of course, standing attendance over his grunts, and playing overlord.
It was an all to often seen vision, one that Harry was finding increasingly harder to ignore as they continued to happen. Though Voldemort had seemed to give up on invading Harry's dreams, there were still random moments when Harry was pulled from his own consciousness and into this place. He knew that it was the curse scar that connected them, knew that the link between them ran both ways. The difference was that Harry did not have enough control to direct or efficiently block out the connections when he wanted to. Luckily, the Dark Lord did not seem to notice when Harry was forced to witness these sessions of cruelty.
He was conscious of his role in this particular nightmare. He was not the object of attention, not under scrutiny from the snake-faced bastard or any of his henchmen. He was simply aware of his surroundings. He briefly wondered if this is what being a ghost was like. Flitting about the room, unobserved and uncontested was rather disturbing. He moved closer to the center, edging about the crouched and kneeling forms as if they might feel him had his invisible hands brushed against them. The very air around him was tainted, leaching stray particles of energy from anything near by. The towering figure of the Snake Lord was impressive to those that feared him, which was almost everyone. A round of screams rang though his ears, and Harry noticed the shivers of several of the dark cloaked figures around him. Either they were enjoying listening to someone else's torture, or were disgusted by it. Harry couldn't really tell, since the white masks did their job and effectively hid the faces of the surrounding bodies. There were only a few of the Death Eaters brave enough, or stupid enough to remain uncovered, even in their master's hall. After all, Harry knew, there were spies. They couldn't be that confident, could they?
A glint of silver flashed behind the shapeless masses of black cloaks, and Harry focused on it quick as if the snitch had buzzed by his ear. The light shifted, showing the movement of something pale and ghostly pacing about the edges of the ring of bodies. Harry narrowed his green eyes and waited for it to come into view. There...a white dog...
A pointed muzzle, wolflike and deadly fanged lifted and eyes, red as wine, pierced through him. What ever this thing was, it could see him when no one else could. Harry shuddered when the barred teeth of the animal flashed in the light. He had never seen a dog this big, its large body, still slim and proportioned to its excessive height. It made Sirius's Grim form look like a puppy had it ever been possible to place them side by side. Harry guessed that the animal's head would have stood even with his own, placing those teeth way too close to his neck for comfort. Those red eyes were nothing like Voldemort's. The Dark Lord's were wild, the color of blood and death. These were deep and shadowed with burgundy and intense violet centers. There was no pupil, slit or otherwise, to break that reflective surface either. They were, for lack of a better word, beautiful.
The creature tipped its head to the side and Harry swore that he saw the dog wink at him. Both boy and dog turned back to the scene when the screams reached a higher pitch.
Close enough now to see, Harry was surprised to find it was Wormtail withering about under Bellatrix Lestrange's curse. That explained why he was here pain free. It was only when Voldemort was the one casting the curses that Harry was effected by them. As long as it was Bellatrix behind the wand, Harry was free of pain. Harry watched as she spat out the pain curse again, giggling when the rat was unable to scream anymore.
"Enough," a gravelly voice, seldom used, hissed.
Bellatrix reluctantly lifted the curse, but not her sneer as Pettigrew twitched at their feet.
"Something has gotten past my wards," their master hissed to the collected Death Eaters, looking thoughtfully into the distance. "Find it."
Harry felt his heart stop for a moment, thinking that he must have been discovered when a feminine voice spoke out.
"That won't be necessary," it said, everyone's head turning collectively to find the owner of the voice.
From the shadows, the white dog glided out, seemingly from no where, its head and tail held proudly. Its white fur shimmered now, glowing in the pale light, its red eyes fixed on Voldemort. It was amazing how it seemed to grow even bigger, as Harry watched. Its pointed ears twisted straight forward and it towered over even the tallest of the Death Eaters.
"Merlin..." One of the Death Eaters whispered and stumbled back to his knees.
Several whimpers from the less composed escaped their lips and the dog drew its lips back over those wicked fangs in a grin. Before their eyes, the dog balanced itself on its hind legs, feet spread and arms loose at her side as they lengthened and changed form into the body of a woman just as flawless as her animal form, though there were some differences. Her pointed ears still sat atop her head, swiveling to catch the random sounds in the room, and her eyes remained that unnerving liquid red. The nails on her hands and bare feet were black and curved like claws. Harry had no doubt that they were probably just as sharp. Her tail was still long and plumed, the white fur glistening with its own light from where it emerged from under short white robes.
"Ah," Voldemort smirked at the proud beast. "I wondered when I would see you again. It is near time to renew our alliance, is it not?"
The pointed ears and red eyes followed the Dark Lord as he moved nearer. The human like face was set in an impassive display of one completely unimpressed. "I come with a warning," she barked out instead. "You tread dangerously close to breaking your oath, wizard."
Voldemort's smile faded, his own pointed teeth hidden once more behind his thin lips.
"You would dare-" Bellatrix snapped only to be silenced by her lord.
"Be silent," he hissed. "I will deal with you later." He faced the anthropomorphic figure again and clutched his wand in his hand. "I am not aware of any transgressions on our agreement."
A slight silence descended as the two pairs of red eyes sized each other up. Every other pair of eyes in the room swung back and forth between the two bodies, wondering what alliance and what agreement. None of the Death Eater's present had ever seen a creature like this one, and if they had, they would have remembered. Many of the group looked again, this time assessing the strengths that the creature in front of them could offer if it was indeed an ally.
It was the woman who spoke out, but her words were far from submissive.
"Now I make you aware," she snarled, the canine face contorting in a sharp fanged display. "If you make any more moves against ours, we shall know it. We owe you no allegiance. And should you disregard this warning," she continued, "you will regret it."
"Your people are not my target," the Dark Lord consented, refusing to allow himself to be intimidated.
"We shall see, Riddle."
Voldemort scowled at the use of that name but only nodded in response as the creature flowed back into its four legged form and melted into the night.
Harry wasn't sure what to make of this dream. He had never heard of any such creature, nor had he been able to decipher what they had been talking about. What ever it was, it seemed important. Voldemort did not so much as sneer at the woman when she made her own displeasure known. He hoped that he would remember enough of this to tell the Order when he woke. There was something big buried in those few words, something that might be enough to turn their fortune, though for good or ill, he did not know.
Remus stalked down Privet Drive, making no attempt to hide himself or his anger as he passed the identical houses one by one. He knew he was close to Harry when the wards around the house sent a warning through his own magic. In seconds, he was through, and scanning his surroundings for the green-eyed teenager.
The air was full of summer smells of dirt and growth and heat. The tang of sweat hung about the ground where even the grass suffered the heat. He felt the wolf inside of him press for dominance, and he fought it back again, his eyes flashing golden for a moment. It was his mind, his body, and he would never willingly give into the curse when he still had strength in his body and magic to fight it.
The wolf fought back, like it always did. Their battle brief but taxing, leaving both angry and tired. His pause on the edges of the property were noted by one curious set of liquid red eyes. She could see the two souls in that body clashing and wondered what the wolf-man was thinking. She considered trotting over to ask, but he was too preoccupied to even notice her presence. She watched him as he continued to the house and listened shamelessly as he demanded to see her charge.
She perked up at the thought of seeing the green eyed youth up close and her tail thumped against the ground in reaction. She had been waiting for this moment since her arrival. With a pleased grunt, she stretched and stood, flexing her sleeping muscles. She nodded once to the orange kneazle and stalked closer to the entrance that the wolf had used, assuming it would also serve as the exit.
The husks of flowers were crushed under her paws as she sidled up to the window before bracing herself on the sill. The glass was raised to allow the non-existent breeze to cool the occupants. She pressed her nose to the thin mesh restricting the insects from invading. Inside, she could smell the decay of mortal beings and the fresher, more natural scent of her charge. The tiniest hint of fowl, probably from the white owl, and the wolf's forest scent were the newest smells in the house.
Parallel to her sense of smell was her acute hearing. It was refined enough to pick out the lightest hint of stirring if so much as a mouse had run across the floor. However, at this moment, there was no need to put any effort into listening in on the conversations going on inside the building. If fact, she wouldn't be surprised if her pack sister could hear this from where she was finishing up her own mission many kilometers away to the north.
She pinned her ears back in hopes of muffling the yelling, but it was ineffective. The wolf's scent spiked as the man grew angrier, his words grew in volume as he yelled. She attempted to focus on the actual words rather than their loudness. She caught most of the larger man's reply.
"-kind are not welcome here!"
"I have every right to check up on Harry. You will not deny me admittance to see my last pack mate!"
"Pack mate?" Vernon Dursley blustered. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You're that werewolf!" Petunia shrieked, pointing a bony finger at Remus.
The wolf growled in satisfaction. "I am," he agreed. "And I want to see Harry. Now."
The family huddled together around the livingroom couch, each trying to be the one furthest away from the wizard. It was comical to see the thin frame of Petunia acting as barrier between Remus Lupin and the two whales she called family.
"Upstairs," she bit out, still pointing as if she could ward him away with a wave of her finger.
Remus nodded to her, refusing to be part of the rudeness that these muggles were displaying. He strutted up the steps, following his own sense of smell to the door he recognized as Harry's. The locks were still there, hanging uselessly from the sides of the frame.
He knocked once, allowing the teenager enough time to respond before attempting to turn the knob. "Harry?" he called out when the boy did not answer. He pushed the door open carefully with his foot and stood to the side before cautiously peering around the wall and into the tiny room. "Harry?" he tried again.
He was pleased to note that Harry Potter was indeed there. He just happened to be sleeping rather deeply. He strode over to the bed and leaned over to lightly shake the teen's shoulder. "Harry, wake up."
Harry roused from his dreams, blinking up at the familiar visage of the last Marauder. He focused as best he could before reaching above his head to find where his glasses had fallen. "Professor Lupin?" he asked the blur with a frown. "What are you doing here? Am I in trouble again?"
Remus stared at the rumpled figure strangely. "Not that I know of," he told the sleepy boy. "Should you be?"
Harry snorted. "Well, most people have to do something before they can get in trouble for it. But then again, the things that seem to happen to me are usually not my fault."
"Funny, that's what your dad used to say," Remus responded with a eye-catching grin. "He was lying, of course."
Harry smiled back and swung his long legs off the bed. "So what brings you here?" he asked, giving a little bounce that set the mattress springs squeaking. "The Pensieve," he hesitated, "it's mine to keep, isn't it?"
"Of course it is. That was your birthday present, Harry. It is yours to empty, or add to, as you see fit." Remus ran a gentle hand through Harry's thoroughly mussed hair. "Did you like it?"
"It was the best thing that any of you could have given me." Harry told him quietly. "It really helped, Professor. Thank you, you know, for everything."
He cleared his throat, mindful of the tension still lingering on between himself and Harry. Or perhaps, more truthfully between Harry and everyone else. The events of his life had left the young man little reason to keep faith in the adults in his life much less his fellow peers. He had been dealt the short hand time and again, and had only survived to gamble what was left of his happiness by sheer luck. He sighed and sat down beside the boy, feeling his weight dip the bed ominously.
"Harry, would you like to get out of here?"
"Away from the Dursley's?" Harry interrupted, the melancholy atmosphere dissipating suddenly.
"Hell yeah! What are my options?"
Remus smirked and shook his head at the antics. "You have two options. You can go and stay at Grimmauld place with the Weasley's...or you can come to the Leaky Cauldron with me."
"What about Dumbledore?" Harry interrupted again. "He told me that I was not allowed to leave the house unless I was escorted by a professor."
"Headmaster Dumbledore," Remus chastised. "And I will be returning to the Defense Against the Dark Arts post as of September First."
Harry beamed at the werewolf. "Brilliant!"
Remus watched those vibrant green eyes skip about the room while Harry thought through the offer. He was not surprised to see the teen putting such care into his choices. The poor boy had few opportunities for freedom and the restrictions on his activities were far more than Remus had dared to believe. The locks on the door were not just for show.
"Does that mean that it would just be you and me?" Harry hesitated in asking. "No offense, but aren't you too busy to be babysitting me for the rest of the summer?"
"I would like nothing more than to spend some time with you, Harry, but I understand if you prefer the company of your friends."
"I think..I would rather go with you, Professor. If you'll have me." Harry announced decisively.
"In that case," Remus pulled out his wand, "Let's get you packed."
The pointed nose fell back from the window and all four paws again touched ground. So they were leaving. That was both good and bad news. Good because she got a change of scenery and some exercise, and bad because she would have to reestablish her wards around the boy all over again once they reached their destination. She just hoped that he would hold still long enough for her to work.
She watched her charge leaving the house with the wolf-man and sent a doggie grin at them. They disappeared into the air as soon as they stepped though the wards and she followed her bond with the boy to where they landed so that she was certain of where to find him. She was suspicious that the young dark-haired youth had taken a second look her direction, but also knew that she was adequately shielded from prying eyes. Of course, being of the blood, if he had truly known what to look for, no amount of glamours would have hidden her from his eyes.
She pranced over to her former spot and erased any trace of her stay before carefully un-weaving her spells. She had no desire to return later and find that the magic had returned to its wild state and "influenced" the surroundings in odd ways. With out her guidance, who knows what the strands of energy would attach to...
She shifted her form to something smaller, forcing her body to a more compact animal and sealing her glow away so that she wouldn't be noticed as easily as she hopped through the fabric of space to reach her charge. There were things on that level existence that would have no difficulty in smashing her flat if they so chose. It was better to go unnoticed. She gave the residence of Privet Drive one last look before fading away.
Harry clutched at the nearest stable body when Lupin apperated them directly to Diagon Alley. He glanced around, not surprised to find that it had not changed a bit since he had last seen it. Random witches and wizards wandered from store to store, calling out to familiar faces and spending money on all sorts of magical items.
Professor Lupin led them into the Leaky Cauldron where he secured two rooms for the remainder of the summer. Harry noticed Tonks, her hair a strange shade of green, and Fletcher in the corner, trying to act as if no one could see them. Harry smirked and waved, catching the pair by surprise. Tonks waved back before she noticed her blunder.
A hand at his shoulder pulled his gaze back up to the werewolf.
"I am sorry about that, Harry. Headmaster Dumbledore insisted that they be present."
Harry shrugged that off. "I expected it, actually. I'm not allowed to sneeze without Dumbledore approving it first."
"Harry..." Remus frowned.
"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Harry interrupted his professor before he could begin to lecture him. "Somewhere more...public? And not covered in surveillance charms?" Harry said the last part under his breath but knew by the look on Lupin's face that he had heard him. He pleaded with his eyes. "Please, professor? I do need to talk to you."
Lupin nodded. He led Harry back out into the alley and ushered him away from the inn. "Harry, why so you think that there are surveillance charms at the Cauldron?"
"He's probably looking for something else to hold over my head," Harry sneered. He didn't notice the concerned look that Lupin gave him. "Anything he can use to control me...did you really think that Dumbledore would be content with just those two spying on me?"
"Dumbledore!" Lupin exclaimed. "Harry, the Headmaster only wants to make sure that you are safe-"
"-yeah, I know. He needs me for this war. I'm not stupid."
"I never said you were!" Lupin said and pulled Harry toward the more populated side of the Alley. "Harry, what's going on? Why are you being so hostile toward the Headmaster?"
"Not here," Harry sighed and pointed toward one of the shops. "Would you like some ice cream? My treat?"
Lupin studied the brooding teenager carefully before agreeing to the sweet. Somehow, he was missing several pieces to the puzzle and frankly, he was disturbed by the depths of the anger that Harry was displaying. This was not the laughing, good natured boy he had seen last. If this was the result of Dumbledore's protection, then Remus had some questions of his own.
They entered the shop, where they took an obscene amount of time choosing from the hundreds of flavors before taking the frozen desert to a booth in the back. Harry seemed more interested in playing with his spoon than eating his double scoop sundae, so Remus took the initiative.
"So what did you want to talk about?"
"Profess-"
"Call me Remus, Harry. I haven't been your professor for several years now. When we get back to school, you'll have to call me professor, but until then, there is no need to be so formal."
"Remus, then," Harry agreed with a small grin. "I was wondering..." Harry found it more difficult that he had expected to begin his questioning of the werewolf.
"Harry, you know that you can ask me anything." Remus attempted to reassure the withdrawn teen.
He sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Right. I was wondering about my Mum."
Remus was taken aback by the bluntness of the unexpected topic and by the unconscious gesture so reminiscent of James that he had to take a moment to gather his thoughts before replying. "What about your mother?" he asked carefully.
"Well, can you tell me about her?" Harry lifted pleading green eyes to the dazed wolf.
"I can do that," Remus nodded slowly. "What would you like to know?"
"Everything! Anything!" was the teen's immediate response.
Remus Lupin sat back in his chair and frowned. He couldn't help but wonder why Harry would seem to be so starved for information about his mother after all this time. Surely his aunt had provided that connection to Lily, hadn't she? Suddenly, Remus wasn't so sure that Petunia Dursley had provided anything at all to Harry.
"I just," Harry attempted to explain, "I don't know anything about her. "S-" Harry choked but pushed himself on , "Sirius knew many stories about my Dad, and the marauders. They still talk about him at school some. But my only memory of my mother is from the night she died. I just," Harry lifted his empty hands to emphasize his point, "I need more than that."
The werewolf sat quietly for several more minutes and thought about what Harry had said. He was aware of the nervous tension in the young man across from him and the hesitant flicker of emotion in those green eyes. Taking a chance, Remus leaned back in his chair as to appear less threatening and met those verdant eyes. "There is something else bothering you. I can tell." Remus took a deep breath before jumping straight into what he wanted to say. "I know that I'm not Sirius...or your parent, but I would like to believe that I am your friend."
He watched the werewolf's hands clench around the melting dish of ice cream. It seemed that even after all this time, Remus Lupin was still dealing with the results of years of rejection by the majority of the world he was born into. He was still worried that Harry would reject him. Harry had some abandonment issues of his own and took the chance to reach across the table and place his smaller hand over Remus'.
Slowly he found his reply. "I know you aren't my Godfather, but I wouldn't want you to be. Right now, a friend is exactly what I need. A friend I can trust..."
Remus felt his face split into a grin that lit up his face.
"Remus, I need your word that anything I tell you, will be between us. No telling Dumbledore.."
"Harry, what happened between you and Dumbledore last year?" Remus asked, his concern apparent.
"Before I answer that, I need and honest answer from you." Harry waited for Remus to nod. "Did you know about the prophecy?"
Remus blinked in response and moved closer to the closest person to family he had left. "Perhaps you better start at the beginning. I don't know anything about a prophecy."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Harry told the werewolf to cast some charms to keep them from being overheard and waited for him to finish before he continued. "Before I was born, there was a prophecy...basically, it is the reason that I am still alive, and everyone else is dead."
"Harry," Remus chastised again. "You had better explain."
"Just listen," Harry sighed.
Remus paled as Harry recited the words in a whisper, not totally trusting the spells around them. "Dear Merlin. Harry, who knows about this?"
Harry looked Remus straight in the eye. " More people that I would like, including Voldemort. But as to who knows what the prophecy actually says...you, me, and Dumbledore."
"Albus knew?" Remus growled. "For how long?"
"He was there when the prophecy was made."
"And when did you learn of it?"
"The day Sirius died..."
"Oh, Merlin...Harry, I'm sorry. Albus never told me. He never told any of us." For a few moments he was lost in thought. "He never intended to either, did he?"
"Probably not," Harry agreed darkly. "There is more. Other things that he has done. Dumbledore is a good man, I know, but he's blinded by the very light he serves."
Both men stared down at their ruined ice cream, not able to care about it. They were both far away, lost in their thoughts and memories. Harry came back to reality when the man across from him clenched his fingers into fists and the metal spoon bent in his hand. He considered distracting the wolf from his apparent anger and returned to the topic he was originally interested in. "Remus, what do you know about my mother's family?"
"Only that Lily was muggleborn and that her parents were very excited when she graduated from Hogwarts. That was the only time I met them. They came to the ceremony along with most of the other parents. They were very kind..."
"You met my grandparents?" Harry asked surprised. "Do you remember their names?"
"Their names? Harry? Don't you-"
"No. I don't. I don't know anything! Don't you see, Remus? Everything has been kept from me. Everything that matters. My family, my history, the world I was born into, the truth, my friends when I needed them most," Harry exclaimed bitterly. "But now, I want to know about those things. I have reason to believe that there was more to my mother than any of you knew, and now, you can help me...tell me about Lily Evans...before she became Lily Potter."
"I'll tell you everything I know," Remus promised.
For the first time that day, Harry smiled, really smiled. Remus found that he was glad to be the one to get a glimpse of the bright-eyed youth that Harry had never really gotten a chance to be.
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hide-N-seeker
