Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

AN: TRIGGER WARNING! THIS CHAPTER HAS DARK THEMES THAT INCLUDES BUT NOT LIMITED TO TORTURE, BORDERLINE SEXUAL ASSAULT, MENTIONS SPANKING, ABUSE AND MENTIONING EMOTIONAL NEGLECT OF A CHILD!


Waking up at the crack of dawn, Harry let out a yawn and chuckled to himself when he heard Ron's snoring. It was the day of the Quidditch World cup and Harry had an ace up his sleeve. Vernon had been a bit down in the dumps over the fact that Harry was leaving and that he wouldn't be able to go to the game with him because there just weren't any more seats available. Getting up he wiggled underneath his bed and pried the loose floorboard up with a grin. Reaching in, Harry brought out a single ticket that showed that he was the proud new owner of one of the top boxes near the minister. It was a wonder what throwing his name around a bit could achieve. Now Vernon along with Remus and Sirius could come to the game with him and the Weasley's. Wiggling out from underneath the bed Harry ducked just in time for the flying black dog to land on Ron as it intended to instead of colliding with him. Ron shot up with a yell and tried to get away from Padfoot. With a loud thud, he fell to the floor in a tangled mess of limbs and blankets. Ron huffed and gave a blurry-eyed glare in the general direction of Harry's muffled giggles.

"Get up! We need to eat breakfast and get you boys to the Burrow for the World Cup!" Sirius said with a grin plastered across his face, though the twinkle in his eyes gave away how much he enjoyed himself with the way he woke Ron up. "You're lucky that you're already awake pup or else you would have received the same treatment as Ronald here, but with Remus on you instead. Don't let his slim figure fool you, he feels like he weighs a ton and those elbows of his are bloody sharp!"

"Who knew years of Aunt Petunia waking me up at the crack of dawn would save me from the elbows of pain one day." Harry teased, slipping the box ticket into his pocket before Sirius could notice it.

"Might have been the only thing she drilled into you that was useful." Ron muttered as he got up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

In the kitchen Vernon was manning the stove, the scent of sausage and bacon filled the air pulling a grumble from his stomach. Taking a seat at the magically enlarged table, Harry just watched as Vernon flipped pancakes and turned the sausage and bacon with ease. It came as a surprise that Vernon knew how to cook, but he supposed that Vernon had to know how to cook after all. How would he have eaten before Petunia came along if he didn't? Hearing the sound of Dudley's scream Harry snorted into his coffee and pondered what Moony had done to get him out of bed today.

"Are you ready for the World Cup Harry?" Vernon asked, not bothering to turn around.

"More than ready, I'm so excited for it!"

"I'm going to miss having everyone around the house, it's going to feel empty."

"What are you going on about over there Vernon?" Sirius asked as he plopped down in the seat beside Harry.

"Well, I know that once the boys are at the Burrow you and Remus will be taking off for your own house. I'm going to miss having a full house. To be honest this is the most fun I've had in a very long time."

"Oh no, dear Petunia is just going to have to get used to having more wizards around the house. You're one of us now Vernon, and we don't plan on letting you go. Now your son, on the other hand, we have a lot of work on our hands to get him to straighten up and to accept magic. I think next summer we should go on vacation and drag him along for the ride. Hopefully, by the end of it, he won't be as afraid of magic as he is now because of Petunia's pig-headedness." Remus said as he grabbed the plates to set the table.

"Vernon, did you honestly think for a moment that we would stick around a boring muggle neighborhood for no reason? If we wanted, we could have just taken off with Harry until he went to the Burrow for the world cup. We like you, Vernon, it's as simple as that."

"Yeah, you're pretty cool now that you have the stick out of your arse." Ron mumbled into the table. Freezing, he lifted his head and glanced around the room in shock, "I did not mean to say that." It was as if a dam broke loose with Vernon's bellowing laughter filling the kitchen and the small amount of tension that was building in the room was banished with Ron's sleepy blunder.

"I think that you've spent way too much time with Hagrid." Harry patted his shoulder in a show of sympathy, "I know, sometimes we can't help but pick things up from the adults around us but you must curb your instincts when it comes to Hagrid. It will get you caught every time."

"Oh, piss off Harry!" Ron said right before his head hit the table with a reverberating thud.

"Head off the table if you want breakfast." Vernon said as he brought over the finished food, "And Dudley, get out of the doorway! Pull up a chair and eat. The table isn't going to bite you just because a bit of magic was used on it!"

All though hesitant Dudley's heavy footsteps were heard entering the kitchen. No one paid him any attention at the blunt display of scooting the last chair as far away from the wizards as was possible. The conversation came to a standstill as plates were filled. There was a sense of complete contentment that had never been in the Dursley household. The usual chatter of the usual gossip was blissfully absent, and Vernon looked much better off from it. There was a spark of mischief in his once stern eyes, his posture laid back and relaxed as he looked around the table. He knew from experience that if he didn't wake up before Harry, he would find him at the stove making enough food to feed an army and felt a pang of guilt. There was no way that he could make up for thirteen years worth of unintentional emotional abuse in one summer, but he would spend the rest of his days trying to.

As he milled around the thoughts of Harry and Ron leaving, he couldn't help but feel warmth bubble up in his chest as memories from the last few days went through his mind. The one day that he allowed Dudley to leave the house to hang out with his friends had not gone well for him. He could remember Dudley rushing into the house screaming bloody murder, the intense fear that was in his eyes. He had thought that something had happened, that someone had possibly hurt him or one of his friends until Ron had come bursting through the door. Vernon almost snorted into his coffee at the sight of his twenty-nine stone son hiding behind him from a slip of a boy. But what got to him the most was the fact that when he demanded to know what Dudley did to him, Ron hadn't cared about the words spewed at him, but at what he had said about Harry and his parents. Harry had found himself a friend that would stick through him through thick and thin if he wasn't misjudging the boy's character.

"So what's the plan for the day after I drop the boys off at the Burrow?" Sirius asked, flicking his magically cleaned plate back to its spot in the cupboard.

"Well, I thought we might take a drive around London. See what we could get up to. Much has changed since you were locked up, I thought you might enjoy seeing the sights muggle style."

"But Uncle Vernon you can't, you already have plans. You all have plans." Harry nonchalantly interrupted, standing up to place the dish in the sink.

"We did? Vernon were we supposed to do something for your classroom?" Remus asked in complete confusion.

"No, I didn't have anything planned other than making a large breakfast before the boys have to leave."

"Well I guess Ron and I will sit by our lonesome selves in the top box at the Quidditch World Cup, I mean you guys haven't even packed even though it could end up lasting for quite a while." Harry let out a put upon sigh as he raised the ticket for everyone in the room to see.

"How in the bloody hell did you get that?! I tried for days to get even a lower level box and they were completely sold out!" Sirius shouted as he jumped to his feet, practically salivating over such a great seat.

"Well, when the Irish team heard that I was looking around to buy a box for my family and me, they were quite happy to sell one of their empty boxes to me at half price. So I would suggest getting packed and having Aunt Petunia come home early unless you want to come with us, Dudley?" Harry looked at him with questioning eyes. Seeing his very noticeable shudder Harry didn't need to see him shaking his head or the slight widening of Dudley's eyes to know that he would not be coming with them.

"No, let Pet stay at the hotel for a while longer. I'll give Mrs. Figg a call and see if she will babysit him until we can get back. She's usually up at this time taking care of her cats." Vernon muttered as he reached for the telephone. Snickering, Harry hurried out of the room knowing exactly what Dudley would be going through.

'Hopefully, he'll enjoy the moldy cake and the pictures of all her cats through the years as much as I did.'


Harry once again spluttered as he tumbled out of the fireplace onto the living room floor of the Burrow. Feeling a set of helping hands, he looked up at the sight of Ron's grinning face.

"I hate the floo. Actually, I hate all forms of magical transportation except brooms!"

"Just wait until you go by portkey, now that's a doozy mate." Came the voice of Fred.

"Bloody hell Gred, don't say that! Flooing flings me onto the floor, apparition makes me sick. Portkey's have to be better than that!" Harry turned begging eyes to Ron in hope that he would tell him it was just as easy as riding a broom.

"Don't look at me, it'll be my first time taking a portkey too," Ron said as he raised his hands in a show of peace. Those wide emerald eyes showed only innocence as his lip jutted out, the perfect picture of a kicked puppy. "Plus you know that the twins like to freak people out, I mean look at first year! They said you had to fight a bloody troll to get into your Hogwarts House!"

"Ronald Weasley! You better watch that mouth of yours young man, I raised you better than that! Hello Harry dear, you made it just in time for some breakfast before you leave for the game." Molly grinned and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"That's alright Mrs. Weasley, Ron and I already ate." Harry got out just as the floo flared up again before Vernon and Remus stepped out. Vernon started dusting the soot off his polo shirt, the backpack looking out of place on the usually well to do man. Looking up he spotted the redheaded lady and knew who she was. Ron had gotten his shade of red from his mother. Stepping forward he held out his hand with a large grin.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley I'm Vernon Dursley, Harry's uncle. It's very nice to meet you. I must say you raised young Ron nicely. It was a pleasure to have him at the house for the last few days. I'm sorry for dropping in on you like this, but without you having a telephone I had no way of reaching you beforehand."

"No, it's no trouble at all. We are happy to have any relative of Harry's over." Molly said with a smile, ignoring his outstretched hand in favor of pulling him into a quick hug. "You are welcome to stay for a chat after everyone leaves for the cup, I imagine you must have questions about magic and Hogwarts." Hearing the floo flare up again she turned in confusion until Sirius stepped out.

"Good morning Mrs. Weasley." Sirius said with a large smile.

"Good morning Lord Black, is there anything I can do for you? "

"No Remus, Uncle Vernon and Sirius are here to go to the cup with us." Harry grinned, "Where is Mr. Weasley, I need to talk to him about owling his ticket to someone that hasn't been able to get seats."

"Then we won't be able to go!" Fred sputtered, "You're off your rockers if you think dad would do it." George said while looking at him as if he had grown another head.

"Then I guess you don't want to sit in the top box with us. Such a shame but I guess that means we will have more legroom." Harry mused out loud. Glancing at the twins' dumbfounded expression Harry laughed. In the next moment, Harry was slammed into, the only thing that kept him on his feet was Vernon's strong, steady hand. The muffled shout and the dark bushy hair that clouded his vision left him only one option of who it could be.

"Oh, I missed you guys so much!" Hermione squealed as she let go of Harry only to grab Ron for a bone-crushing hug, "I was so surprised that when I got here yesterday and you weren't here Ron! I can't believe you were allowed to stay over at Harry's." Turning away from their conversation, Harry was pointed outside to the shed by the still shocked twins.

As Harry made his way through the house, he grinned at the thought of how many times Ron was shocked by everyday muggle items. He had spent hours in front of the tv the first night. When Remus, Sirius, and Ron discovered the computer games they were enthralled. Especially when Ron found the chess game that came on every PC, he could have easily spent hours in front of the screen. Unfortunately for him Remus and Sirius wouldn't allow that in the slightest, each wanted their own time on the computer to discover games.

Then there was yesterday when they visited the theater and watched The Little Rascals again. After Ron had heard about it, he seemed very interested in it and asked over lunch about it. Sirius and Remus decided after they ate they would treat everyone with a night out. After the show, Vernon led them to a nearby McDonalds that the purebloods loved. It was now Sirius' favorite restaurant. Coming out of his thoughts, Harry practically skipped into the shed where Arthur had all of his muggle trinkets.

"Good morning Mr. Weasley." Harry said with a bright smile.

"Good morning Harry! Did you get here okay? I heard about what happened the other day after you apperated here with Lord Black." Arthur asked, concerned that the trip was rough on the boy again.

"It was fine if you can look over my floo landings." Harry laughed, "I came out here to talk to you about the cup. I was wondering if you knew a family that would want to go to the cup you could send your ticket to? I managed to buy a top box seat off the Ireland team when they heard that I was looking around for seats."

"Oh my, you did? That's wonderful! I believe the Longbottom's were looking into seats." Arthur started mumbling to himself at the end. Shaking his head in amusement, Harry left the shed. As soon as the shed door opened he could hear Vernon's booming voice. It was the voice he always used whenever the subject of quidditch came up. Rounding the corner of the shed, Harry was surprised to see everyone outside with Vernon waving his arms around in excitement as he talked with the twins.

"Hey, pup! How'd it go with Arthur?" Sirius asked, slinging an arm around his shoulders and guided him towards the group.

"It went good. I think he's planning on sending the ticket to the Longbottoms. I bet Neville is going to love that."

"I bet he will too! Now, we have a bit of time on our hands before we need to leave and the Weasley bunch suggested a quidditch game of our own. It's been decided that you and Ginny will be the seekers and captains. Ginny has me and Fred while you have Ron and George. Fred and George are chasers, me and Ron will be keepers. Remus will be the referee. I tried to get Hermione in the game but she refuses to leave the ground with her nose planted in a book. Though I did notice it was a book about pureblood traditions so maybe we should be thankful about that." Sirius whispered as he glanced over at Hermione with a sly grin, "She might learn something useful that will help her out in life."

"Alright everyone, Harry's here so gather around!" Remus shouted, "We only have two rules. One is to keep it clean and the second rule is specifically for Hary. You are not allowed to pull any Wronski Feints, we don't have time to get Ginny treated if she crashes. Here's your broom Cub, now everyone get in the air!"

Vernon watched as they climbed into the air in amazement. The laws of gravity were being broken right before his eyes. At Remus' shout of 'go' the twins, Ginny and Harry skyrocketed through the air. The twins snatched the quiffle away from each other to score a goal while Harry and Ginny circled the yard looking for the snitch. But Harry wasn't just circling, he was diving, spiraling up into the air, free-falling only to rise again at the last possible second.

"It must be worrying for you to see the way Harry flies." Molly said as she tapped his arm in sympathy with a gentle smile.

"Not at all, in fact I'm a little jealous. I would love to fly the way Harry does, but with me being a muggle I doubt that it would ever be able to happen with today's technology." Vernon sighed wistfully, his gleaming eyes never losing track of Harry in the early morning sunshine. His breath hitched when Harry came out of a corkscrew, his body pressed flat against his broom.

"Harry's caught sight of the snitch!" Remus cheered, "And Ginny's right on his tail!"

Vernon laughed at the sight the twins made. Instead of attempting to win more points before the snitch was caught, they started aiming the quiffle at the two seekers attempting to set them off course. Harry's long hair was whipping around him as he picked up speed, his eyes on nothing but the snitch as he avoided the quiffle. Vernon grinned as he watched Harry practically wrap himself around his broom to gain more speed. The snitch started zooming towards the ground with both Harry and Ginny right behind it. Vernon's heart started racing the closer they got to the ground. At fifteen feet Ginny pulled up, but Harry kept up the chase. Vernon opened his mouth to yell for Harry to pull up but his voice got caught in his throat. At the last possible second, Harry rightened himself with a triumphant grin as he held up the snitch that was fluttering its wings between his clenched fingers.

"And team Potter wins the game!" Remus yelled with a grin. Glancing over at Vernon he chuckled and made his way over, "That was quite a game they put on for not having even half of the needed players."

"I didn't get worried until the end. Does he always fly like that during a game?"

"No, sometimes it's a lot worse." At Vernon's blanched look Remus outright laughed, "During a Slytherin Gryffindor game I've been told that Harry stood up on his broom to catch the snitch. The boy is crazy when it comes to quidditch."

"I'm not crazy, I just love the game. And flying is amazing." Harry said.

"I can agree with you on that mate, but you pull moves that would kill anyone else." Ron piped in, rolling his eyes with a weary grin. Harry laughed as he looked at Vernon. Seeing him looking at his broom Harry grinned.

"Would you like to go up with me Uncle Vernon?"

"No, I can't. The broom couldn't possibly hold both of our weights let alone just mine, I mean just look at it!" Vernon exclaimed as he pointed at the deceptively weak looking broom.

"It's a magical broom, plus after my nimbus 2000 went into the Whomping Willow Sirius made sure that there was an unbreakable charm on my broom. Come on I know you want to." Harry teased while hoovering and patting right behind himself. Seeing the hesitant look Harry floated closer with a small smirk, "Unless you're scared that is."

"Scoot up and make some room." Vernon growled out. Keeping his face straight Harry did as he was told. Feeling Vernon settle down on the broom and wrap his arms around his waist Harry chuckled.

"Hang on tight Uncle Vernon!" Was the only warning Harry gave before he kicked off at neck breaking speeds. Hearing Vernon's slight scream and his arms tightening around his waist Harry laughed. Slowing down once he was close to fifty feet up Harry glanced over his shoulder at Vernon. "Did I forget to mention that there's a sticking charm on the broom to prevent us from falling off?" Harry mentioned nonchalantly.

"Why you little!" The rest of Vernons sentence was cut off as Harry took off. Vernon laughed as Harry went through loops and his heart caught in his throat when they took a steep dive. When they finally landed on the ground, Vernons perfectly neat hair was mused and his grin was infectious.

"That is better than a coaster!" Vernon said as he got off the broom.

"I don't know about coasters but I can say I love flying especially with this broom. It's one of the top brooms available."

"I wish I could fly on my own but I can't complain when I have a wonderful nephew that is willing to take me up." Vernon said as he gave Harry a one armed hug.

"You know, I don't see why you couldn't fly on your own. The enchantments that make the broom fly doesn't rely on the rider's magic." Ron thought out loud as he joined them.

"No he can't! No offence Mr. Dursley but he's a muggle and it's against the law for a muggle to have any magical object." Hermione crossed her arms while standing behind Ron.

"But Hermione, it's not like it's just any muggle. It's Harry's uncle that is already in the know about magic!"

"It doesn't matter Ronald, it's against the law and anyone found guilty of it could be charged a 5,000 galleon fine," Hermione huffed, turning towards Harry, "I wouldn't do it Harry, it's not worth having a record for something so little."

"What makes the bloody difference if Vernon is riding it on his own or with someone else?! He still has a magical broom!" Ron asked in frustration.

"The difference is that Mr. Dursley might be on the broom but he's not in control of it and he's not the only one on it!"

"I actually agree with Ron," Sirius said, "Vernon could ride a broom on his own and there shouldn't be any problems from the ministry with it. Vernon already holds a prominent job within the Wizarding World."

"But he's still a muggle!"

"The muggle is right here and I would rather believe an adult wizard that has worked in law enforcement about this world's laws than a young witch that hasn't even taken her OWLS yet." Vernon said as he looked at Hermione sternly.

"But Mr. Dursley, Sirius has been in prison for twelve years and then on the run for the past year. There have been new and updated laws that have gone through the Wizengamot that he wouldn't have the chance to know about." Hermione said gently with a knowing glint in her eyes, "If Sirius is wrong, then whoever gives you the broom can be in trouble."

"Then it's a good thing that a very rich lord is here along with the heir of two prominit houses." Ron pointed out, "You said yourself that they could just get a fine, well they have more than enough to cover it."

"They may, but do you and your family?" Hermione asked as she cocked a brow, "Because if Mr. Dursley is found using a broom on your family's land then each and every one of you would receive a fine as well. And after the flying car incident in second year, your dad could be fired." Ron's face started paling before the tips of his ears started turning red in anger.

"Hermione, how could you say something like that?!" Harry said in outrage, "Ron and the Weasley's are our friends! There was absolutely no reason to bring up their financial situation!"

"And that's exactly why I'm saying it! There are five Weasley's home right now and if each of them was fined it would come to a total of 25,000 galleons, and on top of that if Mr. Weasley loses his job because there would be two inquiries against him, the ministry has the right to take their home from them and take the remaining difference out of whatever job he might be able to find." Hermione said, her hands on her hips and her expression saying that she knew better. "Is it really worth even risking it just to teach him something as pitiful as riding a broom? I also find it hard to believe that he's found a job within the Wizarding World with how biased it is even just against muggleborns! They kick out their own children if it's found out that they are a squib for Merlin's sake!"

"They are so prejudiced against muggleborns because the ministry changes all their traditions or just plain out bans them from being able to practice them to make muggleborns more comfortable! How would you feel if someone said you can't celebrate Christmas because it makes someone of a different race or religion find it offensive?"

"That's completely different Harry and not true at all." Hermione ground out, "Fine, do as you like but when everyone gets in trouble for this don't say I didn't warn you!" Turning on the ball of her foot Hermione marched into the house furiously.

"Is it true that they can really do that?" Ron asked, his voice little more than a whisper, "Even with Vernon knowing about the Wizarding World?"

"No they can't," Arthur said while strolling up to to group as he looked at the house in amusement with the twins and Ginny right behind him, though from their grim expression they found Hermione's words anything but amusing, "Vernon knows about our world and if he really does have a job then he has every right to be able to buy or have in his possession a magical object. All of you have seemed to have forgotten that I work for the Misuse of Magical Artifacts and I know these laws inside and out. The law specifically states that a muggle that is married to or has guardianship of a witch or wizard may take residence in our world or hold a job here that does not require magic. If the muggle in question does take a job or moves here then they are allowed to own magical objects, create and make potions as well as have medical assistance from a magical healer or nurse."

"So I now have rights here because of my job?"

"That's right, along with having laws that protect you from muggle baiting and things like that. So in this instance, yes Vernon is able to fly and own a broom. Though I won't guarantee that you will be able to fly the broom in the first place. Some muggles are able to while others just can't for some reason or the other. "

And so began Vernons first lesson in flying. Harry and Ron took over coaching him on how to properly sit on a broom after he managed to summon it to his hand. Every now and again Hermione could be seen peeking out the kitchen window in disapproval, but she was paid no mind. Harry figured that she needed to learn from her mistakes, she couldn't possibly know everything, not even Dumbledore did. Though he was probably the closest one to it after the death of Nicolas Flamel. He had thought that after what happened after the trial she might have learned something, but Hermione was always a bit stubborn when she believed she knew what was best. Seeing Sirius whisper in Remus' ear, he threw Remus' look of confusion when Sirius started to sneak off. Of course the only thing he got in return was a secretive smile and a wink from his molten honey eyes.

"That's it Vernon just hover here, you're doing great!" Ron said with clear enthiseum, "Now when you start to feel comfortable, lean forward a bit to go forward but be careful! The more you lean forward the faster you go. To stop just sit up. Now keep close to the ground and I'll walk around with you until you get the hang of it."

"You know, Ron seems like he would make a decent flying coach." Harry jumped at the sound of Remus' voice being so close. Clutching at his chest he sent a feeble glare at him.

"Do you really need to sneak up on people like that? You already got the whole 'big bad werewolf' thing going on. Just about gave me a heart attack." He grumbled. Glancing at Ron and Vernon he gave a soft grin, "Yeah, he really could and I think he would like it to. Maybe I'll bring it up to him sometime."

They stood there watching as Ron led a wobbly Vernon around the yard with the rest of the Weasley children throwing out pointers. Harry glanced around with a small frown on his face when Arthur yelled out they had fifteen minutes left before they would have to leave to catch the portkey.

"Where did Sirius go? If he doesn't hurry he's going to miss the portkey."

"Don't worry about that cub, he should be back any minute now. And if for some reason he doesn't make it then he can just apparate there." Remus grinned.

"That's right, I keep forgetting about the different ways that magical people can travel."

"Don't worry, you'll get there. You have surprisingly gotten along pretty well for being muggle raised."

"Thank you?" Harry said as he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean anything bad by that. But there are plenty of muggle raised children that don't get along very well in the Wizarding World until they are in their sixth or seventh year. Take what Miss Granger just did. You don't mention a family's financial situation. Yes you can mention how their clothes are and what have you, but their actual money situation? It's just not done." Remus said with a shake of his head, "There are many, many things that she needs to learn. Hopefully that book of hers will help before she makes a mistake that she won't be able to come back from. She has a brilliant mind, but a stubborn attitude that makes her believe that she knows everything. "

"I know what you mean." Harry sighed as he glanced at the house, "I love Mione as if she was my own flesh and blood sister, but sometimes she's a bit much. How can she think she knows what's best when both of us have only been apart of this world for only three full school years? There's no possible way that we know even as much as other teen's our own age that have grown up here. We have a lot to learn and little time to learn it in. Everyone might look past our mistakes while we are in Hogwarts, but once we graduate there will be no looking past anything." He finished shaking his head.

"If only Miss Granger thought like you, I wouldn't be so worried about her."

At that moment a loud crack was heard in the backyard. Turning, Harry spotted Sirius with a grin standing close to the house holding a broom. Stifling his laughter, Harry glanced back at Remus and noticed the knowing gleam in the werewolf's eyes. Well now he knew what Sirius had been whispering to Remus about. It was comical to watch Sirius attempt to hide the full sized broom behind his back and casually walk over to where Vernon was still getting coached by Ron.

"Looking good Vernon! Seems like someone is a quick learner!" Sirius said.

"I'm getting there. It's a lot harder than it looks, that's for sure." Vernon replied as he made slow circles with Ron beside him, "It's a bit like riding a bike for the first time. Hopefully it will also be like a bike in the way of never forgetting how to once you learn!" He chuckled.

"Well, I'm sure that you will get loads of practice."

"I don't plan on it, I don't want to take the kids' brooms on a regular basis leaving one of them without one to ride."

"You know I thought of that." Sirius said as he walked beside Vernon on his slow ride, "And that's why I decided that you needed this." Holding out the brand new Firebolt in front of Vernon's face. Harry laughed when Vernon gave a small shout and tumbled off the broom at something suddenly being shoved in his face.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Vernon asked, "Tell me it wasn't something of the twins! Ron told me all about those two and their pranks. We don't have time to have it reversed before we have to leave."

"If it was a prank I wouldn't be getting it from the twins, you are forgetting who you're talking to." Sirius grinned, "I was one of the best pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen! And I just got better with time. I thought that I might get you a little present, but if you don't want it I can always take it back or keep it for myself." He pondered as he rested the flashy handle of the broom on his shoulder and rubbed his chin. Vernon hefted himself up off the ground, absentmindedly brushing the dirt from his clothes. Glancing at Sirius he paused as he caught sight of the broom.

"There's no way that you got me that."

"There's every possibility that I did get it for you, mate."

"I can't take that! It must have cost a small fortune!"

"I can guarantee that it did, but I can also guarantee that if you don't take it that Sirius will keep planting it in your things and even go as far as to enchant it to follow you around until you take it. Trust me, he did the same to me when I wouldn't take one of his ideas as a gift." Remus rolled his eyes affectionately with a chuckle, "There's no talking him out of something once he sets his mind to it. You might as well save yourself the trouble and take it now." With a face splitting grin, Vernon accepted the broom and pulled Sirius into a bone crushing hug with a warm thanks in appreciation.

"Whoa, another Firebolt?" Ron managed to squeak out, "You better be careful when you fly it Mr. Dursley! It is highly tuned to the slightest movement, it was made for Seekers after all and just look at the way that Harry flys!"

"Well would you like to switch me brooms? I know that I wouldn't be able to handle a Firebolt, I can't even manage to stay on your broom when I get distracted. Also, haven't I told you before that it's Vernon?"

"No I can't, what if I accidentally break it or something?!" Ron threw his hands up while having a look of complete panic.

"Like I wouldn't right now?" Vernon snorted, "It would be better if it was in your hands right now, at least you know how to properly ride it. All it would be doing with me is collecting dust."

"Sirius just bought it for you, plus you should be able to get the first ride on it. There's nothing like a ride on a Firebolt!" Ron said, trying to think of any excuse he could not to take the broom.

"I don't mind if you take it until Vernon learns to ride a broom. I'll admit a Firebolt might not have been the best choice for a beginner." Sirius gave a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"See, there's no reason for you not to take the broom until I can actually ride it."

Ron gingerly reached out for the broom with shaking hands and clammy palms. He held the broom reverently, as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Within a second one of the twins flew by and snatched it out of his gentle grip with a laugh. The horrified look caused Sirius' equally horrified mask to almost crumble into booming laughter.

"What the bloody hell are you waiting for?! You better get your arse moving and get that broom back!" Sirius shouted in faux anger, "You barely had the broom in your hands for five seconds and you already lost it!"

Ron paled at the thought of the practically priceless broom being in the twin's hands. Turning he ran towards Harry with wide eyes, not even thinking twice when he grabbed his broom and took off on it. Harry waited until he was far enough away to bust out laughing at the situation. Glancing over at Sirius, he thought that he was having better luck at keeping a straight face. But then again Sirius had been pulling pranks for far longer than he had been. Ron was riding the same broom he had been panicking over less than five seconds ago without a care in the world. If it wasn't for the twins quick maneuvering and tossing it as fast as they could, Ron would have been able to get the broom with no problems. But Ron wasn't a seeker like Harry was, getting the broom away from the twins would have been easy for him. Ron on the other hand would chase after one twin just to have it thrown over his head when he got too close.

"Do you think he realises what he's riding?" Vernon asked quietly.

"No, if he did I bet he would fall straight out of the sky." Remus commented quietly.

"Alright guys, lets go! We have five minutes to meet up with the Diggory's at the portkey!" Arthur yelled with Hermione standing right behind him, "Fred, George give that broom back to your brother and get on the ground!"

With that the chase ended with Ron holding two Firebolts and having the reddest ears that Harry had ever seen.

"Why are you laughing?! Those two could have broken Vernon's brand new broom!" Ron asked as he tossed Harry his broom.

Harry caught it one handed, while snickering. "You do realize that while you were panicking about Uncle Vernon's Firebolt, you were just riding my Firebolt without a second thought?" Ron stopped dead in his tracks with his mouth gaping in disbelief. Glancing at the broom in his hands to the one Harry was holding, Harry started snickering at his dumbfounded look.

"Bloody hell" he whispered before he started to work to catch up with everyone else.

The walk to the meeting place was eventful to say the least. Keeping ten people all together when someone, namely the twins, kept trying to throw someone off course was tough. Sirius and Remus ended up being just as bad as the twins, but worse in some ways because they had magic at their disposal while the twins were limited in what they could do. And then there was Vernon. The once stern and deadly serious man had a deathly serious poker face. If Harry hadn't seen him gently kicking a stick in front of Sirius to trip him up when he wasn't paying attention, Harry would have sworn that he was the most behaved one out of the group for the adults.

Hermione on the other hand, she was so silent with her reading that Harry almost forgot that she was even there. The only times that he really noticed her was when she snorted in irritation over what she read, which was quite often. All the while Arthur was at the front of the group prattling on about muggle appliances and asking Harry what the function of a rubber duck was. It was a hectic walk but fun. The happy chatter of so many people was like a balm on a nerve that Harry didn't even know existed. He could feel the twitching and fluttering of his wings where they were sunk into his skin. From every person there was nothing but happiness, everyone except for one. It was like there was a dark cloud hanging over Hermione, Harry could feel the dark energy pouring out of her. He could practically taste it, the smell of it burnt his nose. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Whatever was going on with Hermione, he needed to get to the bottom of it.

"Ah, there you are Arthur! I thought that you might miss the portkey." Amos said with a smile while eyeing everyone, "Though your group is larger than what we originally planned for."

"We had some last minute people join our group. I'd like to introduce you to Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Vernon Dursley. They are Harry Potter's godfather, honorary godfather, and muggle uncle respectfully. Of course you know my bunch, but this one here is Harry Potter." Arthur said while resting a hand on Harry's shoulder with an easy smile. "And over here we have Hermione Granger."

"Is it really? By Merlin it is!" Amos rushed forward with excitement and shook Harry's hand with a firm grip and a pat to the back, "I couldn't quite believe it myself when my boy Cedric told us about beating you in the Hufflepuff VS Gryffindor match last year. I told him 'Now that will be something to tell the kids!'"

"Dad what have I told you! There was-"

"Pish posh Cedric! You should be proud, who else can someday tell their children that they beat the famous Harry Potter at something!"

"Mr. Diggery, while Cedric did beat him the only reason he was able to was due to the dementor attack." Remus said, his eyes glowing, "I should know, I was the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor last year and made it a habit of being at every one of Harry's games. Harry warned Cedric about the dementors circulating and to get down. Because of the rain and wind, Cedric didn't hear him and kept flying after the snitch straight into a horde of Dementors. If it wasn't for Harry blasting through them and attracting their attention Cedric would have been kissed. As it stands, Harry was almost kissed and fell from his broom at fifty feet up in the air to save your son. But yes, Cedric did win that match. And it was the only match that Harry has ever lost sense joining the team in first year after pulling off a perfect Wronski Feint in front of Professor McGonagal's window, which just so happened to be the first time that he had ever been on a broom with him being muggle raised and all." Amos felt a drop of sweat roll down his back at the predatory smile he received from the normally timid man.

"Yes, yes that does change things quite a bit. Why didn't you say so sooner Cedric?"

"I tried to but you were too hooked on the point of me beating Harry to let me finish. It was a rotten win. We tried to get them to let us have a rematch, but because I had already caught the snitch it was too late. And then on top of it Harry's old broom went straight into the Whomping Willow and was smashed to bits." Cedric stared at his father as the silence started to grow to uncomfortable levels. No one spoke as they started gathering around the old boot that looked like it should have been in a trash bin then in the middle of nowhere.

"Alright now kids and Vernon, the only thing you have to do to take the portkey is hold one finger to the boot. Whatever you do, don't take your finger off this boot."

As they wiggled and squirmed into place, they each managed to get a single finger onto the boot a moment before the portkey activated. The sensation of being hooked around the navel and being flung through the air filled Harry with excitement. One moment he was being spun at high speeds through the air, and in the next he was free falling. He fought his instincts to release his wings to catch the air in an attempt to glide to the ground. Seeing the ground rushing towards him, he tucked himself and just managed to roll with the fall instead of landing with a thud like the others that had never taken a portkey like himself. Standing and dusting himself off, Harry glanced up and watched as the rest of the group gently floated to the ground while cycling their legs. Hearing a groan, Harry looked over and saw Vernon flat on his back and rushed over to help him up. Holding out his hand, Harry pulled Vernon to his feet with very little struggle.

After being reassured several times that Vernon was alright, they climbed the hill to look towards the camp the wizarding world was using. All throughout the camp were tents of different color and shapes, some sporting the colors of the team they were rooting for or instead had an eccentric color scheme. Some were so large that they could easily fit a five member family while others were so small they would only be able to fit one or two people. Beyond the tents he could make out stalls with goods being sold. He could just barely make out the colors for the Bulgarian and Irish teams on some of the merchandise. Then just beyond the stalls was the largest stadium that Harry had ever seen.

"Whoa…" Vernon mumbled with large eyes.

"You can say that again." Harry commented without looking away from the stadium.

"Quite the site isn't it?" Sirius said with a grin, grabbing ahold of both of their shoulders, "Come on then, let's get the tent set up! Amos and Cedric appareated to their own camp site, I think Moony may have scared him a bit."

"He scared me and I wasn't the one he was turning those glowing eyes at!" Vernon said, finally turning his eyes away from the tents.

"He has that effect, though he has only truly gotten that angry over Harry," Sirius chuckled, "You should have seen him when some of the healers wanted to take Harry to have his magic tested the day he was born, he almost blew a gasket! It took me and James to hold him back, and the only reason he didn't blow up half the hospital was because we managed to compromise on him being right outside a glass door so he could see exactly what they was doing with 'his cub'"

"I wasn't that bad." Remus said sheepishly.

"You almost bite poor Amos' head off. Sure he was being a bit cocky, but still."

"Well maybe he will learn not to talk bad about my cub." Remus said nonchalantly as he gently rested his arm on Harry's shoulder in a one armed hug.

"He just said the truth, Cedric did beat me. Sure there was a dementor attack but he still won fair and square, he caught the snitch."

"He may have caught the snitch but you saved his life. That counts for more than catching the snitch. If he can't recognize that then he needed to be reminded about it. Let him know what Cedric should be telling the grandkids about you saving him instead of him beating you at quidditch."

"Well, either way it's in the past. Let's get the camp set up." Harry mumbled.

The ragtag group started making their way down the hill, with the twins ending up rolling down instead of walking when Sirius threw a sticking charm and tripping jinx at them half way down the hill. They rolled down the hill head over arse and stopped at the bottom in a mess of tangled limbs in a daze. They attempted to get up, but even though they talked as if they were one person in two bodies their limbs were not as coordinated as their minds seemed to be. They stumbled and tripped over each other's feet as they tried to catch up to the group. Harry snorted at the sight they made, but gave Sirius a sideways look. The sheepish look he received in return almost made him snort again but his silent demand was met and the twins managed to catch up. Though Harry silently noted to stay away from those three, the twins had war on their minds if he wasn't reading the unholy glint in their eyes wrong. Getting to their assigned spot, Harry watched as Arthur magically set up a small two man tent in disbelief.

"You do have a few more tents in that bag of yours don't you?" Vernon asked.

"No, this one tent should do nicely. Though we will be a bit cramped with everyone, we can make it work." Arthur grinned and held open the tent flap.

Bending down to avoid hitting the tent frame, Harry walked in expecting the normal tent layout. Instead it was the size of a small house, complete with a small kitchen and a living room. It even looked as if there might be some bedrooms and a small bathroom. At least they wouldn't have to worry about finding a Porta Loo in the middle of the night. Glancing back at Vernon, Harry almost wanted to snicker at the dumb founded look he was giving at how large the tent was, but couldn't fault him on his feelings. He must have sported the same expression when he had stepped into the tent himself.

"I've heard about these spells!" Hermione exclaimed, "It's an extension charm! It enlarges everything on the inside while leaving the outside of an object the same. It's also called `wizards space." She smiled as she looked around with a twinkle in her eye, her book tucked under her arm.

"Alright kids, find a room to put your things away in and then meet back up here in five minutes if you want to go check out the stalls before the game starts!" Sirius said as he plopped his bag down on the couch, "I call the couch!"

"Damn, should have known to speak up before you could." Remus said in disappointment and sighed, "Well it looks like we get the floor Vernon. Good thing that we have cushioning charms, or it would be a long night for us."

"There may be cushioning charms, but that doesn't make up for getting up off the floor. I'm getting too old for that."

"You're around the same age as us!" Sirius laughed, "You can't use age as a factor for not getting the couch."

"But I feel far older." Vernon grumbled as he set down his backpack, "Just remember that I have had Petunia's stick in the mud attitude around for the last twenty years, which automatically makes me older." Sirius and Remus stood there in shock, not knowing what to say. If they agreed with him then Vernon could get them for talking bad about his wife. On the other hand if they didn't then Vernon would still have them backed into a corner for backing up Petunia. It was a no win situation, and from the look Vernon was sporting he was expecting them to say something.

"Here Vernon, why don't you take the couch." Sirius grabbed his own things off the couch and invitingly patted it for Vernon as he threw Remus a nervous look, "I'll even add some extra cushioning charms to make it extra soft for you."

"Don't mind if I do, suckers." Vernon said with a look of glee.

There was a second of silence, neither of the two other men made a move as Vernon got comfortable. His face showed his deep satisfaction that he was now on the couch leaving the other two to the floor. They had been duped by Vernon in every sense of the word. Looking at Sirius, Remus nodded his head in silent agreement. Within seconds the two were on Vernon in a royal rumble with an unspoken agreement that the last man left on the couch would get it during the Quidditch World Cup. A tangle of arms and legs were everywhere as they attempted to push each other off. This first to get the boot was Sirius who landed in a dishevelled heap on the ground with Vernon giving a triumphant shout in victory only to end up face first on the floor from Remus' unexpected shove. Remus gave a satisfied wolfy grin as he sprawled on the couch as the victor in their not so silent royal rumble. Hearing peals of laughter the three of them looked towards the hall. Ron and Harry were leaning against each other for support as they laughed. It was obvious that they had seen the fight for the couch.

"That has got to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life!" Ron choked out through his laughter.

"Three grown men fighting over a couch when there's one more room that Mr. Weasley just added on with three full sized beds!" Harry added as he wiped the tears from his eyes, "Did you two forget that you have magic or something? You could have transfigured three beds for all of you!" he pointed out to the two magic users.

"Sirius, why didn't we think of that?" Remus asked while turning to look at the man in question.

"Don't ask me, I'm allowed to forget little things like that! I've been in Azkaban for the last decade! What about you? What's your excuse?" Sirius asked as he fixed his tousled hair.

"My excuse is hanging around you. You know what they say, the longer you stay around the bad boy type, the more brain cells you lose." Remus simppered, standing casually.

One moment he was standing there while checking his nails and the next he was grabbing his bag and bolting for the hall with a large grim-like dog hot on his heels. Vernon started laughing at the sound of a door slamming shut and the sound of Padfoot howling while scratching at the door in an attempt to get him. Hearing the sound of claws clicking against the floor, Harry glanced down the hall in confusion only to start laughing again. Remus obviously had a very good aim as Sirius was still in his dog form, how fur now green with flashing silver stripes. As he got closer, his skirt twinkled as the light caught the glitter flakes and the sound of the bell on his new collar gingled mariely. Hearing Sirius' rumbling growl made Ron snap, he leaned against Harry's shoulder again as he laughed long and loud at the predicament Sirius found himself in.

"Well, it seems as if I'm not the only one that got you today." Vernon said with a chuckle, "Hey Remus! You better get out here and undo whatever you did to the flea bag before me and the kids take off!"

"You better restrain him first!" Remus's muffled voice was heard shouting back.

"He is!" Ron's voice yelled back. Harry glanced around in confusion, Ron had definitely not said that. He could barely even breath at this point, let alone been able to get a word in edgeways. He happened to look towards Vernon and was flabbergasted when he was given a wink right before he started talking.

"Bloody hell, you better hurry up before he gets loose! We can't hold him forever!" Vernon said, sounding exactly like Ron. The sound of a door slamming open was heard, followed by Remus' feet pounding against the floor. Sirius hid just out of sight, crouching down behind the couch. As soon as Remus rounded the corner of the hallway into the livingroom Sirius was on him. Remus let out a girly squeal right before he hit the floor with a loud thud. Sirius slathered him in dog slobber and dug his wet cold nose into every nook and cranny that was within reach.

"How did you do that Uncle Vernon?" Harry questioned, curious about the talent that he didn't know the man had.

"I have almost always been able to imitate every voice that I've ever heard since I was a kid. I can't tell you how many times I used to imitate my old man and talked to my own teachers to get out of trouble. That is until a parent teacher conference came up and they discovered what I was doing. I tell you what, I never did it again after I felt dad's belt when we got home that night." Vernon shook his head with a chuckle, "To make sure that I couldn't do it again they started sending notes back and forth. One thing I couldn't do was replicate his signature, my writing has and always will look like chicken scratch."

"You know, my writing is just as bad with ink and a quill. It has gotten better in the last couple years but it's still pretty bad." Harry mentioned.

"What do you mean ink and quill?"

"Well in the wizarding world everyone uses quill, ink and parchment instead of a notebook and pen. It's really weird but hey if that's the way things go, who am I to say otherwise?" Harry said as he watched the now purple dog chew on a revealed big toe with Remus trying to squirm away while crying tears of laughter.

"I am so glad that I'm the muggle studies teacher, I get to keep writing with my normal pens and paper, I believe that I will have a few classes dedicated to learning how to write with pens as well." Vernon said with a wince at the kick Sirius just recieved to his family jewels. "If these two don't get their act together we might just miss the Cup."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Ron said in determination. Harry watched Ron leave the living room to go to the kitchen sink and filled up a small bucket. After he was done he marched back into the living room where Remus was now on top of a now pink with purple polka dotted Sirius. Standing before the two Ron gulped before straightening his shoulders and tossing the full bucket on them. A scream and howl was heard as the now drenched duo bolted up.

"You guys need to get it together, we want to head to the stalls but can't if you two are rolling around on the floor."

"And you couldn't think of another way to get our attention?" Remus questioned, "And for another thing, you said you were restraining him!"

"No, I said that. But I might have lied about it." Vernon imitated Ron with uncanny accuracy. "Now come on. Do your bibbidi bobbidi boo stuff so we can get going!"


Ron and Harry paired off to look at a stall for the Bulgarian team, Ron was drooling over the miniature statue of Viktor Krum chasing after a snitch. Harry shook his head fondly at him and waited until he went on to the next item before he bought it.

'This will be a great Christmas present and best of all, he would never think of it!" Harry thought. He quickly placed it in his bag as soon as he handed over the seventeen galleons. Glancing around, he noticed that Ron had moved on to the next stall and knowing him he wouldn't be staying there long with all the Irish merchandise being sold. Holding tightly to his bag he started jogging to catch up with him when Ron went around a corner just out of view. Rounding the corner Harry ran into what felt like a living wall. He would have fell if it wasn't for a large hand on his lower back that steadied him. He looked up and came face to face with Marcus Flint.

"Sorry about that." Harry said sheepishly with a tint of red coloring his cheeks, stumbling back out of the gentle hold while pushing his hair over his shoulder.

"Be lucky it was me and not Malfoy. The little shit would have let you fall." Marcus' deep voice rumbled back with a scowl as he looked over his shoulder in the direction he had last seen Draco with his two goons.

"Yes, well thank you for catching me." Harry stuttered out with a timid smile, "I have to go. It was nice seeing you though."

Harry barely caught the sight of Marcus' frown when he took off in a jog down the makeshift street hopefully in the direction Ron was. Glancing back his eyes widened a bit at the sight of Marcus towering form trailing behind him. He could just be taking a second look at the stalls, but something told Harry otherwise. Picking up speed Harry glanced around in the hopes of seeing the signature red hair of the Weasley's. With a relieved smile that he finally caught sight of Ron mooning over a Krum poster with Vernon just two stalls away, he started trying to push his way through the crowd that had gathered around the stalls. Halfway through the crowd, Harry felt the hair on his neck stand on end. Glancing back he could hardly manage to catch the sight of Marcus standing at a stand just across from him. He seemed very interested in a pair of weird looking binoculars. Harry shook his head and turned back to the task at hand, mainly getting through the crowd.

"Ron! Uncle Vernon!" Harry shouted above the noise of other people talking. He grinned in triumph when both turned to look his way, "Stay there! I'll be there in a second!" He shouted. After he managed to get through the crowd, which was a job in and of itself.

"Where did you go?" Ron asked in confusion.

"I was right behind you, that is until I ran into Marcus Flint." Harry said under his breath.

"Marcus Flint? Captain of the Slytherin team Marcus Flint?" Ron inquired in astonishment.

"Yeah, and if it wasn't for him catching me I would have fell on my arse."

"Marcus Flint, the one Slytherin that even other Slytherin's don't like, total and complete arsehole Marcus Flint caught you?! After you ran into him?!" Ron asked after he pulled Harry aside, "Are you sure we are talking about the same Flint?"

"Yes! I know it was so odd for him! Maybe it was someone using polyjuice to replace him?"

"No, who would want to polyjuice into dark and ugly?"

"I wouldn't say he's ugly…" Harry mumbled with a slight blush.

"Are you serious? Have we been going to Hogwarts with the same Flint?"

"I would hope so. He hasn't changed much over the years."

"Harry, he's bloody ugly! I've heard girls going around calling him ugly, mean, and dumb."

"Well, I happen to think that he's pretty cute." Harry admitted. Ron stood there astonished. He placed his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky as Harry browsed through what this booth offered with an air of obliviousness. Letting his chin fall to rest on his chest, Ron let out a sigh. Shaking his head, he caught sight of Marcus eyeing Harry in obvious interest.

"Well don't look now but Mr. Tall Dark and Ugly is looking straight at you." Ron said, "I thought you said you ran into him? Doesn't that imply that he was going in the opposite direction?"

"He was, but I guess he changed his mind and wanted to look at a stall he may have passed up before."

"Yeah, the stall of Harry Potter. And it looks like he may be checking out the arse merchandise. Should I let him know its five galleons per feel? Or should we make it ten?" Ron asked nonchalantly.

"Ronald Weasley!" Harry almost squealed, "If you even try it I'll tell 'Mione that you want to help her with her new house elf project she was going on about to Ginny!"

"Alright, alright! I won't do it, just please don't set her on me please." Ron pleaded.

"I won't if you won't." Harry said pleased with himself for his quick thinking, "Why are you not blowing up about this? I can see you not minding about me liking another guy, but liking a Slytherin not so much."

"Well knowing what I know, I figure that he can't be all bad if you find him appealing. Though definitely not my cup of tea. Plus it helps that my best mate was supposed to be in Slytherin.

" Ron said while twisting up his face, "Though I wouldn't get attached to him if I was you. Your you-know-what could pop up at any time. Friend-zone him and appreciate whatever you see from a distance." Ron cautioned.

"I know." Harry said with slumped shoulders, "I kinda hate that I can't even pick out who I'm going to be with, I have to wait for fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it. And if I don't wait then I put both my heart and whoever I date hearts at risk." he muttered as they walked away from the stall with Vernon trailing at a distance behind them.

"Well at least you know that you'll be happy in the end." Ron said, patting Harry's back.

"Whatever you say Ron."

"Well lookie at what we have here." Draco's voice sneered from behind them, "What is a Weasley doing here of all places? Oh that's right! Daddy won the ministry charity event!" Draco laughed as he coldly eyed Ron.

"Sorry to break it to you Malfoy, but dad gave those tickets away. We have better seats."

"Oh, did someone else decide to take pity on you?"

"Move along Malfoy." Marcus almost growled as he prowled towards the two groups, "Do I need to go to daddy about you trying to create incidents in front of foreign wizards and witches?"

Draco looked Marcus up and down with a distasteful eye, "And what do you care if I put someone in their rightful place?"

Marcus' sneer was enough to make Draco turn away for a split second, "I care because your actions reflect on all English purebloods with you descending from a noble house." Marcus paused and before flicking his eyes towards Harry and Ron, "What would your father say if he found out that a halfblood that has barely been in our world for a few school years and a blood traitor showed a better disposition than his son that he taught from his very own knee."

Draco took a step backwards, before straightening from his timid slouch. Eyeing Marcus, Ron and Harry, he sneered before motioning for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him and threatened his father would hear about this before spinning around and marching away. Ron rolled his eyes at Draco's dramatics before looking towards Marcus. He furrowed his brows as he caught a flash of white as his cloak fluttered in the slight breeze. He dropped to one knee as he acted as if he needed to tie his shoe. Glancing at Marcus' cloak, he almost shouted in shock when he caught sight of two familiar softly glowing white feathers attached to the inside of the black silk. Jerkily he looked up and caught sight of Sirius making a motion to be silent about what he saw. Gulping he gave the slightest nod while standing.

Harry looked at the suddenly red eared Ron out of the corner of his eye before eyeing up Marcus wearly. "Thank you for the help, though it wasn't needed."

"Punk needs to be taught some restraint." Marcus rumbled out as he finally turned away from the blondes retreating back.

"Well, maybe you should teach the blonde peacock some manners." Ron said, "It seems as if he isn't learning any in his own home."

Marcus snorted to himself and rolled his eyes, "He wouldn't learn them to save his life."

"Can't you, I don't know, maybe threaten him with throwing him off the team if he doesn't?"

"Marcus!" A little girl yelled before a small body raced into Marcus, "Guess what Nathan found?! A life sized poster of Krum!" She squealed in delight.

"Where is he Elizabeth?" Marcus' deep voice came out in soothing tones.

Elizabeth detangled herself from his legs and grinned up at his emotionless face, "He's at one of the last stalls before the stadium. He told me to come get you while he stayed there with the poster so it wouldn't get bought. It's the very last one!" Marcus held her small hand in his overly large one as she tugged him towards the stall Nathan was at before he paused and gave Ron and Harry a nod before he allowed Elizabeth to pull him down the cobbled street.

"We better find the others, the game will be starting soon." Ron said with a shaky smile.

Harry looked towards him in bewilderment, "What's going on with you mate? You're acting funny."

"Nothing, nothing at all." Ron denied, "Oh hey, I can see Sirius from here!" He grabbed Harry's wrist and half dragged him to where Sirius was pretending to look through things at a stall across from them with Remus and Vernon.

"How did the browsing go boys?" Sirius asked.

"It went good, it would have been better if we hadn't ran into Malfoy." Harry said as he rolled his eyes, "I swear everytime we run into each other it's like it's an invitation to him to start something."

"I saw that," Sirius said, "I also saw that large man stepping in."

"Not really a man though he does look like one," Remus commented, "That was Marcus Flint. I taught him last year. He will be going into fifth year if I'm not mistaken."

"He's going into his fifth year?!" Vernon exclaimed, "What the bloody hell are his parents feeding him?!"

"The males in the Flint family have always been on the large side. If the rumors are to be believed, they have either troll or giant blood in their line. I always leaned more towards the troll side of the rumor." Sirius casually said, "I'm surprised that he stepped in when he did."

Ron chuckled as he placed an arm over Harry's shoulder, "Well you'll be even more surprised when Harry tells you about what happened earlier." Harry sighed as they left the stall and started looking for the rest of the group.

"Well, I got separated from Ron and as I was jogging after him I ran into Marcus.."


Ron and Vernon shouted in glee as Krum shot through the sky after the snitch with the Irish seeker Lynch hot on his tail. The score was set 10-170, if the Bulgarians managed to score twice before the snitch was caught, they would manage to scrape up a win. Harry was hanging over the railing to the box as he shouted for Viktor to wait it out. Harry jerked back just in time for the seekers to fly past. There was a sense of excitement in the air as the crowds were on their feet screaming and cheering. Harry knew that Viktor wanted to catch the snitch to lose on his own terms. If Lynch caught the snitch, the Bulgarians would not only lose but would also be humiliated at being beat by three hundred and ten points. Harry watched as the two seekers hurled themselves towards the ground at high speeds, their hands stretched out with the snitch just out of reach. As the ground got closer and closer, Lynch withdrew his hand and pulled up out of his vertical dive while Viktor kept going. As the ground came closer, Viktor flattened himself to his broom to build up more speed. Going into a barrel roll, Viktor shot up into the sky with his hand raised above his head gently holding onto the snitch, its gold wings fluttering between his fingers trying to escape his grasp. The stands went wild, the twins in particular were screaming while hugging and jumping around.

Harry was grinning ear to ear as he stopped recording the game on the omnioculars. It had been a great game, but the Irish team was just too good for the Bulgarians to beat. Within the first five minutes of the game, Mullet had scored the first goal. Many times the Bulgarians came close to scoring with the only thing preventing them from doing so was the Irish keeper Ryan. He was at every goal when they tried to score, as if he could predict every move that the Bulgarian chasers would make. Harry grinned as he patted Vernon's back. He was sorely disappointed that his team had lost, though he was somewhat comforted by the fact that at least Krum caught the snitch.

They made their way back towards their tent, the twins in party mode over winning their hair brained bet over the cup with Ludo. Fireworks in the Irish teams colors were being set off, one even taking the shape of a dancing leprechaun. The veela that danced across the field for the Bulgarian team strutted by, flicking their silvery manes over their shoulders and shooting smouldering looks at anyone that caught their eye leaving most men and even some women drooling after them. And some of those men included a completely unprotected Vernon that would have followed after them if it wasn't for Sirius holding onto him until he came back to his senses. While the veela were dazing the masses, the leprechauns were popping up throughout the tents in celebration of their team's victory.

Seeing Ludo, the twins ditched the group before they made it back to collect their winning from the bet. Seeing Nevile when they reached their tent, Harry grinned and pointed them out to Ron and Hermione. Ron and Harry waved happily at him. Glancing at Hermione, he rolled his eyes affectionately when he noticed that she still had her nose happily in between the pages of her book in silent determination to learn more about pureblood customs. He was surprised that she took her nose out long enough to watch the game with them. He chuckled to himself as he remembered how she almost screamed herself horse the one time Bulgaria managed to score. Ron and Harry stayed outside the tent while Nevile navigated his way over with happy smiles.

"Hey Nevile! That was some game!" Ron said as he slapped Nevile's back in greeting.

"It was bloody amazing!" Nevile agreed. Looking over at Harry, he did a double take. "Hey mate, what happened to you over the summer?"

"It's a Family matter." Harry said apologetically, "Sorry Nev."

"It's okay, but I have to say you look much better than what you did last year."

"Thanks." Harry laughed and gave him a one armed hug.

"I heard about the release of Sirius Black. What's going on with that?"

"Well, Sirius is innocent. He was set up to take the fall by Peter Pettigrew." Harry shook his head with a frown, tucking a few strands of hair behind his ear before screams were heard.

At first, the three didn't pay any attention to it, too wrapped up in their conversation about the game. But then, the screams got closer. Harry laughed as he looked around thinking that someone had played a prank. His laugh faded into nothing as his smile slowly dropped from his face. There was smoke, people were starting to run past while screaming in terror. Jerking the tent open, Harry yelled for Sirius. He came running in concerned confusion, with Vernon and Remus a step behind him.

"I think something is going on!" Harry shouted for Sirius to hear him as he pointed towards the smoke. Sirius took one look at it before grabbing the three and dragging them into the tent. He yelled for everyone to gather in the living room with the authority of an auror on the clock. Once Hermione and Ginny got there, Sirius looked around the small group in grim determination.

"Harry, Ron, Nevile, Ginny and Hermione. You five need to run as fast as you can towards the forest and take cover. The World Cup is being attacked. Don't stop for anything and don't get separated. Remus and I are going to go look for the twins and Arthur. We will find you once we reach the forest. I'm sorry pup but we will have to apparate to the Burrow, we don't have any other choice at the moment. Vernon, I need you to go with the kids and make sure that they stay together." Hearing murmurs of agreement Sirius glanced around at the small group of mostly teenagers that wasn't moving and clapped his hands, "Well what are you waiting for?! Move it!"

It was if one of the twins let off a stink bomb, they ran out of the tent at full speed into a crowd that was running as fast as they could to take cover in the forest. The tents were ablaze with the flames so high they looked as if they were kissing the sky. Harry could feel the heat almost singe him as they ran past. One man ran into the group out of nowhere, his robes a light. Harry screamed at the sight of the poor man burning alive, Harry didn't notice that while he was struck with the sight of the man dousing himself with conjured water, his group got further and further away until they were out of sight. Taking off his own robe, Harry got ready to tackle the poor man. The second he was close enough Harry jumped and wrapped his robe around the man. If water wouldn't work, then maybe smothering the fire would. As soon as they hit the ground, Harry started patting the man down, the smell of burning flesh and hair getting stuck in the back of his throat and made his eyes water. The burning man was screaming and writhing in pain as his touch caused even more irritation to his fresh burns. The crowd parted just enough to run around them, no one seemed to see Harry struggle to stay on top of the man to smother the flames as if there were a cloaking charm surrounding them.

Harry didn't notice this, all he cared about was helping him. He didn't notice how his hands started to smear blood, how everywhere he was touching the man was starting to burn. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins. He knew that if he didn't put out the fire, the man was dead. There was no one else that was coming to help. Sirius and Remus would know what to do, but they weren't around to help him. Harry was so concentrated on what he was doing that he didn't notice one person not going around until he was kicked so hard in the head he was thrown off the man and landed in a heap by his feet. Harry looked up at the stars in a daze and subconsciously noticed how the flames were higher and were closer than what they were before. Hearing another pained scream, Harry jerked himself up and grabbed his head as it started to throb. Clumsily he crawled back towards the man and heard another person grown in pain.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you!" The woman said in a panic glancing around, "What are you doing here?! You need to go!" She screamed and jerked as a tent crashed to the ground and some embers landed on her feet.

"I can't! This man is burning and no one else is helping! It's as if no one can see what's going on!" She gulped before coming closer and tried to lift the remains of his now tattered and scorched robe to get a look. She grimaced when he screamed while she had to almost had to peel the fabric away from his skin. Giving Harry a quick look, she squared her shoulders.

"I'm a Medi-Witch. Take off for the forest, I can portkey him directly to Saint Mungo's for treatment."

Harry nodded and got up. Looking around he expected to see someone waiting for him, but no one was there. Gulping past the lump in his throat Harry started running. He would worry about finding the others once he got to the tree line. He made sure to keep an eye on both sides of himself after a tent almost landed on top of him trapping him underneath its red glowing fabric. His lungs protested the more he ran, smoke from the sea of flames that the campsite had turned into within minutes filled his already irritated lungs. The closer he got to the tree line the thinner the smoke and crowd became, until he collapsed to the ground coughing from smoke inhalation. Heaving himself up after the cough settled, he kept going. Hearing a scream, Harry stopped and hid the best that he could by a blackened tent that was still throwing off a bit of smoke as embers threw off a glow of red in the pitch black night. Creeping along in the direction he heard the scream, Harry tried to keep himself undercover of the debris scattered around.

"Crucio!" A male voice said in disgust. Harry's eyes widened when he heard the sound of a child screaming in tortured pain. As silently as he could, Harry crawled to the very edge of the debris that kept him hidden and peeked around it. A man in black robes was just on the other side not even five feet away from him. And with him was a boy that looked like he could have been no older than nine years old. Whatever that spell was, it was hurting the boy and he looked as if he had no intention of stopping it, as if he actually enjoyed causing the child harm. Harry felt as if a piece of himself snapped. Hearing the tear of his shirt, Harry stepped out of his hiding spot as his wings spread out to their maximum wingspan. Harry walked forward and as he did his foot landed on a charred piece of wood that snapped under his weight and alerted the man that he wasn't alone. He swung around with his wand pointed at Harry, but he didn't pay it any mind. There was one thing, and only one thing on his mind and that was getting that boy out of harm's way and back to his parents before he was killed.

He didn't give Harry a moment to spare before he was casting at him. Rays of fluorescent pinks and stormy purples, beams of bloody reds and sickening yellows flew past him as Harry bounded into the sky. The spells kept coming, Harry dodged them before diving. Seeing that Harry was going for the boy that was slowly inching away, he snapped him into his arms and held his wand to the terrified boy's exposed throat.

"I would land if I were you!" He yelled at Harry when he swooped upwards, "We wouldn't want something to happen to the boy's pretty little neck now would we? Accidents do tend to happen in these situations!"

Harry landed and tucked his wings close to his body while eyeing up the man with his glowing emerald green eyes. "Let the boy go."

"I know what you are," He said while eyeing Harry up as he licked his lips, "Submissive angel, how about we make a deal? You submit to me and I'll let the boy go. Or you can refuse and I'll kill him now, though I won't promise you that it would be a quick death. Or that it won't be messy." He laughed and dug his wand further into the boy's neck causing him to whimper.

"If I submit, you'll let the boy go?" Harry asked while trying to come up with a plan to get both himself and the boy out of this alive and free.

"That's right, all you have to do is come over here and take my hand and I'll let him go." Harry squared his shoulders and withheld from shuttering. He could practically imagen what he would do to him if he submitted. The smouldering look he was receiving was enough to make his skin crawl. Harry curled his lips and fluttered his eyes as he started to walk towards the man, his hips swaying from side to side. He stopped just out of reach from him with fluttering wings.

"Let him go and I'll come to you." He whispered as seductively as he could, hoping that the sheer disgust he felt couldn't be heard.

He threw the boy to the ground and stalked forward to grab Harry. Harry took one step towards him, just enough to not lie. He was on him then. A hand was on his arse while the other one snaked its way through his hair, once enough hair was caught between the man's fingers he yanked Harry's head back hard enough to make him grunt at the rough treatment. Harry tried to stay relaxed, to seem willing to have this man's tongue run up the side of his neck, to feel a finger teasing around the waist of his pants. The smell of alcohol was strong on his breath, his hazel eyes gleamed in triumph before he sealed his mouth against Harry's. His lips were rough on his, the feel of his semi hard cock pressed against his stomach almost made Harry gag. Harry just managed to pull his mouth away before the man managed to pri his lips open with his tongue as his fingers loosened in his hair. Harry leaned forward.

"Do I get the honor of knowing who you are?" Harry whispered in his ear.

"Gibbon, that's all you need to know. I'll make sure you're screaming it by the time I'm done with you." He said with a wicked grin.

"Thank you, I would prefer to know the name of the dead man walking." Harry gave a predatory grin as his wings snapped open before beating one hard time around Gibbon. With the descent of his wings, some of his feathers came loose and hardened instantaneously into crystals. There was no possible way for Gibbon to stop the surprise assault. His eyes widened as they punctured his body from every direction, with one traveling through his skull causing his instant death. Harry let him drop to the ground and looked around. The little boy had managed to crawl halfway towards the trees, his limbs shook with every move he made as he let out whimpers of pain. Harry jogged up to him and knelt with his hands up as the little boy scrambled around with a scream.

"Sh, it's ok I won't hurt you I promise."

"You lie! You lied to that man before you killed him. Please don't hurt me, I haven't done anything wrong!"

"No, no I didn't lie to him. He said all I had to do was come to him and he would let you go," Harry gave a weak smile, "I swear I won't harm you. I want to help get you away from here." Harry soothingly said while tentatively holding out his hand. He sniffled a little as he looked up at the blood covered Harry with large terrified eyes and looked at his hand. Harry watched as he tried to push down his fear before he hesitantly took Harry's hand. Harry shuffled forward a bit to get a better look at him.

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Nathan, Nathan Flint." He stuttered out. Harry gulped when he realized just who he had managed to save.

"Nathan, has Marcus ever given you a piggyback ride?"

"You know Marcus?" Nathan asked with wide eyes.

"Yes I do, I go to school with him. My name is Harry Potter, now I need you to answer me so we can get out of there before someone else comes looking for Gibbon."

"No he hasn't." Nathan answered, "I don't know what that even is."

"That's alright," Harry smiled soothingly, "What I need you to do is wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist nice and tight."

After Harry got Nathan situated into position, he stood up and hugged the boy close to himself. "Nathan, I'm going to fly us away from here ok?" Feeling a nod in the crease of his neck where Nathan had his face buried, Harry started running before he pushed himself into the sky with one powerful beat of his wings. He soared high into the sky, hoping the smoke and clouds would conceal him. He circled around the forest until he found a spot that seemed deserted near the center. Staggering as he landed he looked around until he found a tres hollow just large enough to hide Nathan in.

"Nathan, I need you to hide here," Harry said as he pointed it out to him. "I'm going to try and find Marcus and Elizabeth and get them back here."

"Elizabeth was with me when that guy found us. I tried to distract him so he wouldn't hurt Elizabeth." Nathan whimpered as he hugged Harry tighter, "Please you have to find her before she gets hurt!"

"Don't worry, I will try to find her. But first I need you to hide okay?" Harry questioned while kneeling down beside the tree. Nathan nodded and shakily let go of Harry. With Harry's help, Nathan managed to get into the tree with very little problems. "Alright buddy, I'm going to go look for Elizabeth and Marcus and get them back here with you. Stay here, you should be safe."

Nathan nodded his agreement before Harry took off again but this time he flew through the trees. The return trip wasn't as fast, but it gave him cover from the campsite. When the trees started to thin he landed. Getting close to the ground, Harry snuck closer to the campsite, when he ran out of trees to hide him he bolted for the closest tent. Even through his shoes, he could tell that the ground was still hot from where some of the fires were. From debris to debris Harry bolted, looking for Elizabeth and Marcus. Especially Marcus. He needed to know that Elizabeth was missing and that Nathan had been hurt. Getting ready to bolt to the next scorched tent, Harry paused at the sound of voices coming closer.

"Narcissa, you must stop this nonsense! It's not right!"

"Lucius dear, do shut up."

"No I will not! Why do you insist on being a part of this? Look at what your actions are doing to these people, to Draco!" Harry's eyes widened when he heard the sound of skin contact. Peeking through one of the small holes in the tent fabric Harry covered his mouth to stop his gasp from escaping. Lucius' head was tilted to the side with nail marks streaking down his cheek.

"Why must you be so difficult you filthy mongrel?" Narcissa said with a sneer, "These mudbloods and blood traitors must be wiped out of our world before they contaminate every line! Our lord will return soon, if you continue to be so burdensome I am sure that He will have no dilemma sorting you out."

"He is your lord, not mine. And the only one contaminating anything around here is you." Lucius said as he looked at her with pure fury, "The very air around you is dark and twisted, and you spread your darkness around as if it were a highly contagious disease-" Lucius broke off with a heart wrenching scream of pain that stopped as soon as it started and left Lucius sprawled on the ground in convulsions.

"Get up, we must see how Avery is doing and if he has located Gibbon yet." Narcissa said before she turned and left him. Harry got ready to bolt over to him, but Lucius looked directly where he was and shook his head the tiniest bit. Harry clenched his teeth, but stayed and watched as Lucius scratched out a message in the ground before stumbling to his feet and followed after her.

Harry stayed crouched there looking at the spot where Lucius was for a long moment and listened for any sound. When he couldn't hear Lucius' feet crunching against the burnt ground Harry raced to the message. Reading the message he gulped before kicking the dirt and taking off in the opposite direction Lucius had gone. He ran as fast as he could, looking in every direction for Elizabeth and Marcus. As he came across an open field he smiled in relief at the sight of Elizabeth running across it. But his relief turned into horror when he saw a man stand from the tall grass, a wand hanging limply between his fingertips. His vision narrowed down to Elizabeth and not even knowing it he took flight, flying at speeds that were almost unthinkable as he raced towards her. Harry wrapped his arms around her small waist and flew for the clouds. Elizabeth was screaming in his arms terrified. Once Harry broke the cloud bank he slowed down and comforted her with promises that he would take her to Nathan. Hearing the familiar voice calmed her down enough to stop her sobs and slow her tears. Harry flew towards the forest and circled it, looking for the spot he had hidden Nathan. Harry sighed as he finally found it. Landing he let Elizabeth stand on her own.

"Nathan, it's ok you can come out." Harry said and peered inside the tree, "I found Elizabeth, but not Marcus."

"Elizabeth!" Nathan said with happiness, poking his head out of the trunk with a tired grin. Elizabeth rushed to throw herself at him with happy tears, but Harry caught her before she could.

"Slow down honey, Nathan was hurt. You can't throw yourself on him right now."

"Harry saved me. If it wasn't for him… Well I probably wouldn't have made it away from that man."

"Elizabeth! Nathan!" A voice yelled out.

Harry froze for a split second before he nudged Elizabeth inside the tree hollow with Nathan and motioned for them to be silent before standing guard over it. No one and nothing would get through him to those kids, at least not if he could help it. His wings expanded, feathers already hardening into their lethal form. Hearing a rusle from the right, he turned and let his wings beat once. The crystalized feathers launched forward, tearing through the thicket with ease. He heard a yelp and ran towards the noise. Rushing through the hole his feathers had created, he tackled the bent over person who was just beyond with ease. They tumbled down the small hill with Harry landing on top, his thighs clutching both sides of the heavily muscled torso, his wings spread out behind him. Drawing back his fist, he landed the first punch. The second one was blocked before he was thrown off of the man he had downed. Harry bounded from the ground and stood in front of the direction the kids were. He watched as the intruder stumbled to his feet, the outline of one of his feathers sunk deep in his left thigh.

"Who are you and what do you want with Elizabeth and Nathan?" Harry hissed, a red haze filling his vision. "I'll know if you lie, and if you attempt it I'll kill you where you stand."

"Marcus Flint, I want my siblings to take them home!" Marcus growled back. It was as if the red haze that had been slowly growing since the attack began lifted. Harry slowly stood from his crouch with wide eyes and raised his hands in a show of peace before he started walking towards him.

"I am so sorry Marcus," Harry said, "If I would have known, I never would have hurt you. After what happened tonight, I thought it would be better to attack first and ask questions later."

"Potter? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Harry grimaced at the sight of Marcus, his feathers had done more damage than he had thought. In different places his robes were torn, lucky enough they had only grazed him just enough to break the skin and not cause serious injury if he overlooked his thigh. "Will you let me help you up the hill? I have the kids hiding just through the thicket that I came from."

"With this leg I don't think I have much of a choice." he said gruffly, before frowning at his leg, "But first I need to get whatever the hell this thing in my leg is out and wrap it." Harry muttered his agreement and took off the remains of his shirt and tore it into long strips. Marcus braced himself against a tree when Harry got closer.

"On the count of three, I'm going to pull it out alright?"

"Just get it over with." Marcus clenched his teeth and prepared himself. Harry gulped and grabbed ahold of his feather and started counting down.

"MOTHER FUCKER!" Marcus yelled when it was out, "What the fuck is that?!"

"A feather." Harry said, paying more attention to bandaging his leg up than what he was saying.

Marcus looked down in pained disbelief. "A feather? A fucking feather was in my leg?!"

"Yes, one of my feathers to be precise."

"Oh, so you just happened to grow feathers in the last few hours since I saw you?"

"No smart ass, I grew them on my birthday. It's a creature inheritance from my dad."

Marcus paused while looking over Harry. He could just make out bulky appendages peeking out over his shoulders. That left only two creatures that he could think of. "Angel or harpy?"

"Angel."

"Kinda small for a dominant angel ain't you?" he said through clenched teeth when Harry tightened the bandage.

Harry snorted in merth with a tired smile, "Make that a submissive angel."

"Merlin's saggy bollocks," Marcus gasped with pain, "You must be joking. Where in the hell is your family dominant? Or your mate?"

"I got separated from my group during the human stampede at the beginning of the attack. And I haven't found my mate yet, it's not as if I'm just going to fall into their lap. It might take years to find them."

Marcus snorted at Harry's dry sense of humor. When Harry was finished tying the last of the makeshift bandage, he stood and with gentle but firm hands helped Marcus to lean against him. The first thing Harry noticed was how large he was. Marcus was easily two feet taller than himself, making it awkward to stabilize his gate. To make up for his small stature, Harry wrapped one wing around Marcus. The second thing he noticed was how he had a heady scent of leather with hints of earthy undertones. Harry licked his lips as he felt powerful muscles moving against himself with only a thin barrier separating them.

"Marcus, Nathan was hurt during the attack." Harry blurted out.

"What the bloody hell do you mean he was hurt?!" Marcus came to a stop, his voice a rumbling through his chest sending shivers down Harry's back.

"One of the attackers found Nathan and Elizabeth, Nathan managed to distract him long enough for Elizabeth to slip away. When I came across him, he was being put under a spell that had him screaming on the ground."

"Did you hear what the spell was? Or the color of it?"

"Crucio, I didn't catch the color of it."

"Fucking damn it!" Marcus snarled and started to hobble up the hill as fast as he could.

"Whoa, slow down Marcus!"

"No, I need to get to him. That's a torture spell, one of the three unforgivables! When I get my hands on the son of a bitch that put him under that spell I'll kill him."

"Too late, Gibbon is already dead."

"Did you say Gibbon?" Marcus asked as he paused in his rush, looking down into Harry's slightly glowing eyes. He subconsciously noted how the pupils were blown wide.

"Yeah, that's what he told me his name was."

Marcus stared at Harry, unintentionally pulling him closer as the feathers gently brushed against the nape of his neck. He could feel the slight tremor Harry was producing. The more he stared at Harry, the more it felt almost unbearable to have his arm wrapped around his bare shoulders. He turned away from him and started forward again at a slower pace, "Gibbon was one of my parents 'friends' during the war."

Harry kept silent. Marcus had all but admitted that his parents were death eaters with him already knowing that Gibbon was from Lucius and Narcissa's conversation. "If he was a friend of your parents, then why would he do that to Nathan? It makes no sense."

"Nothing makes sense when it comes to death eater scum." Their conversation came to a standstill as they trekked up the hill through the brush. When they finally made it to the open glade, Harry helped him lean against a tree before going over to the hollow.

"Nathan, Elizabeth, it's safe to come out. And look at who I found."

They gingerly poked their heads out wearily, "Who is it?" Nathan asked.

"You would think you would be more happy to see me." Marcus said with a smirk. With a scream of his name Elizabeth was out of the hollow and running into Marcus' outstretched arms. Harry helped Nathan out and carried his shaking form to Marcus. Nathan wasn't in his arms but a second before he started sobbing. Seeing that Marcus was starting to slide down the tree, Harry held him under his arms and helped him sit at its base.

"If Harry wouldn't have found me with Gibbon, I would have never seen you again." Nathan choked out in his chest, "He saved me."

Marcus swallowed hard before looking up at Harry, "He saved you?"

"Yes, he came flying out of nowhere and saved me. Then he hid me here before he went and looked for you and Elizabeth. I was so scared."

"Why?" Marcus asked in bewilderment, "Why would you save them? They are from a dark family, their cores are dark, I don't understand."

Harry smiled and knelt, placing a hand on Nathan and Elizabeth's heads. "It doesn't matter if they are from a dark family, it doesn't matter that they were born with dark cores. What does matter is that they are children, completely and totally innocent. There is a difference between dark and evil."

Harry stood with wings extended when he heard the sound of a twig breaking. Marcus used the tree to stand, pushing the twins between himself and the tree while drawing his want and pointing it over Harry's wing.

"Don't move any closer!" Marcus thundered, "We won't hesitate to use lethal force!"

"My name is Sirius Black. With me are Remus Lupin and Vernon Dursley, we are looking for my godson Harry Potter! He got separated from our group!" Marcus looked down at Harry when he glanced back at him, silently asking if he believed that it was him. Doubt filled Harry's mind and showed in his eyes.

Marcus leaned down to whisper in his ear while keeping his eyes on the clearing, "Is there anything that only they would know? Or just Black? A memory or maybe a phrase?" Harry's lips curled with a hint of a smile and gave a short nod before turning back to the clearing.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" Harry yelled the marauder phrase, prepared if they said the wrong answer.

Sirius, Remus and Vernon walked through the trees with relieved smiles, though they kept their hands raised and where they could see them. "Mischief Managed." Sirius choked out with tears gathering in his eyes. Remus didn't wait for the last syllable to leave Sirius' mouth before he was running across the clearing and dragging Harry into his arms for a short second before cupping his cheeks with frantically shaking hands.

"Where were you?! Vernon said you were right beside him and then you were gone! When we searched for you, we found a man dead with traces of dark magic!"

"There was a man that was on fire, and no one was helping him. He was burning alive and he kept conjuring water on himself but it wasn't doing anything! So I stayed and took my robe and tried smothering the fire. When a medi-witch ran across us, she took over and portkeyed him away to the hospital. I started running for the forest and then I ran across Nathan-"

"Please don't be mad at him," Nathan's voice was wobbly as he shakingly walked towards them, "If he wouldn't have rescued me, I never would have made it back to Marcus." he sniffled.

Remus looked down at him but Vernon beat him to the punch, "Harry saved you?"

"Yes he did," Marcus interrupted and shuffled forward, "Harry found Nathan being tortured with the Cruciatus curse. If it would have gone on for much longer I have no doubts that he would have ended up like the Longbottom's. And feel lucky that you managed to answer right. Potter didn't even give me that much before he attacked to protect my siblings. Took out my leg with those feathers of his before he tackled me and got a punch to the nose before I got him off me."

"Longbottom's? I just saw Neville when the attack first happened and he was perfectly fine. Did something happen after we got split up?"

"Not Neville, his parents. They were tortured at the end of the war by some of You-know-Who's followers after He disappeared with the Cruciatus. It broke their minds, and they are now permanent wards of the Janus Thickey ward. Their minds are so badly broken that they can't even remember their own son." Marcus shook his head with a grim look, "If you wouldn't have stepped in when you did, Nathan would have had a bed right beside them. As it stands he's going to need to be treated for nerve damage."

Harry could feel a lump growing in his throat as tears gathered in his eyes. He broke away from the grasp that Sirius had on him to hug Nathan. "I am so sorry I didn't find him sooner." Harry almost whispered as he looked up at Marcus.

Marcus felt his chest tighten at the sight, "Don't, you found him in time. Nathan, come over here. We need to get home." Harry gave Nathan one last squeeze before he let him go. Nathan fell into Marcus' good leg and waved at Harry.

"We need to get going as well pup, the rest took the portkey back to the borrow. I'm sorry but we need to apparate back, but first you need to hide your wings." Harry nodded and let his wings sink back into his skin and grabbed Sirius' arm with a dis sigh.

"Hey, Potter!" Marcus said, "Thanks for protecting the twins when I couldn't." he said gruffly before portkeying away.


Marcus and the twins landed in the parlor, with Marcus falling with a grunt of pain.

"Marcus! Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked in concern.

"I'll be fine in a moment." He said gruffly, "Wizzle!" A pop was heard as Marcus' personal house elf came into the room, "Get me the bottle of Essence of Dittany in the potions lab."

The elf didn't say anything as it popped away before popping back in within seconds. Marcus instructed Elizabeth to help Nathan get up to his room. Marcus waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore to take off the bandage. Marcus unbuckled his belt and bit down on it before he started undoing the bandage. At first, Marcus hardly felt anything. But then he got to the last layer and winced when the strips of dried bloody fabric started tugging against the wound. Taking a deep breath Marcus didn't give himself time to second guess what he had to do, with a muffled scream he ripped the makeshift bandage away from his leg. He panted through his nose and clutched the belt hard between his teeth as he opened the small bottle of dittany before pouring four brown drops on the wound. He sighed in relief as the skin slowly knitted back together. The pain slowly reduced from the mind numbing pain to something more bearable. 'Damn feather must have broken the bone.' He thought.

"Wizzle, go get the Skele-Gro." He said gruffly as he placed his belt on the floor beside him. Two pops later left him with one of the most dreadfully tasting potions he had ever had the displeasure of tasting. Taking off the cork, Marcus watched as steam swirled out of the bottle in wispy curls. Pouring out the right dosage for himself, Marcus took it like a shot and grimaced as it scorched down his throat.

"Why are you bloodying up my acromantula silk rug, Marcus? Get up off the floor." A man's voice said.

Marcus stiffened before he gingerly stood and tested his leg. "There was an attack at the World Cup, I was injured along with Nathan. I'm going to call the healer soon for Nathan, he was held under the Cruciatus for an unknown length of time. I was just healing myself before I did." Marcus said as he turned to face his father.

"I did not ask why you were injured, I asked why you were bleeding on my rug boy."

"Didn't you just hear what I said? Nathan was held under the Cruciatus! By Gibbon!"

"He should have stayed out of Gibbon's way." Flavius growled out as he stood nose to nose with Marcus, "Now explain to me why you got blood on my almost priceless rug."

"I got blood on your rug because I was injured in the attack while looking for the twins." Marcus wasn't backing down. The twins were his world. He could remember the day they were born, their first word, their first steps. He had taught them everything he knew. The best hiding spot, how to saddle and ride a horse. While their parents left them with the house elves, he had taken them under his wing and guided them, helped molded them into the sweet loving children they were today. "Instead of worrying about the rug, you should be more concerned about your youngest son. I don't think you realize how close he came to being a ward of the Thickey ward tonight because of the actions of one of your acquaintances."

Marcus' head snapped to the side as his lip split open from the blow. "You still have not answered me boy, why did you get blood on my rug?!"

"Master Wizzle be sorrys sir, theres be Healer Wainscott here to be seeings littles Master Nathan."

"This conversation is not over, Wizzle clean this mess up before I return."

Marcus waited until he heard his fathers entertaining laugh before he spit the blood that had been pooling in his mouth from the back hand onto his fathers prized rug. Feeling a tug on his robes he looked down at Wizzle.

"Wizzle be calling Healer lady for 'mergency house call when the mean master came in. Wizzle take care of her Master Marcus." Wizzle whispered.

Marcus knelt down to Wizzles level and met Wizzles adoring green eyes with his own steady dark gaze, "Thank you Wizzle. You should do as my father says and clean the rug before he returns."

"I's be cleaning. You's be going to library." Wizzle said sternly while pointing her finger at him, "Master Marcus must be researching."

Marcus stood with a confused gleam in his eyes. He had to research? Marcus knew better than to ignore Wizzle when she spoke. She may have been a house elf, but she was old for human standards. She had been Flavius' nanny elf before she had become his own personal elf. She liked to humor Flavius by following his orders, but Marcus had tricked him at the young age of eight into freeing her without him even knowing it. She had been happy to be free from him, but didn't want to leave her Master Marcus so being the wise elf that she was she walked Marcus through the ritual to tie herself to him and all from his line, with the condition of being treated fairly. Should she be mistreated intentionally the bond would break with that person.

Stepping through the large double doors into the library, Marcus looked around at the row upon row of shelves filled to the brim with books. A single table stood in the middle of the large room in front of the fireplace. Marcus strolled to the table and sighed when there was not a single book laid out for him. Wizzle was not going to make it easy for him this time it seemed. Hanging his cloak up on the rack beside the desk, he frowned when he caught a flash of white against the black. Kneeling, he flipped his cloak up to get a better look at the inside. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of three pure white feathers stuck there. Reaching out to gently touch one, he jerked it back when he felt a spark of magic run through his fingertips. The feathers slowly floated to the ground, in a mesmerizing show of softness and beauty. But Marcus knew from experience that as beautiful as those feathers were, they were also just as deadly.

Marcus slowly reached out to pick them up, ready to jerk out of the way at a moment's notice. Touching them once more, Marcus was amazed that they stayed the same. Gently he brushed his finger along one and almost dropped it, it was softer than the finest wizarding silk he had ever touched. Standing he went to the creature section of the library and ran a finger over the spine of each book. Finding the books on angels, he grabbed all that he could carry and went back to the table and got to work. He sat for hours, pouring over the pages. Marcus, in a fit of frustration, threw the book he had been reading. Each and everyone of the books he had gone through went over the Fallen with only the barest mentions of angels. Rubbing his face in exhaustion, he stretched before fetching the discarded book. Looking over the open page it had landed he froze before his lips curled into a smirk, heated eyes looking away from the pages to the feathers on the desk.

"No Harry Potter, you wouldn't fall into your mates lap. You impaled his leg with a damn feather instead." He murmured before he got to work replacing the books in their exact order. He refused to have his father find out about Harry, at least not until he found a way out for both himself and the twins. Harry would not become another chess piece on his fathers chess board to be used to manipulate and threaten him with. 'That is, if Harry will accept me as his mate.' Marcus thought. It was time to gather information on Harry Potter, and he knew just the person to get it from.

"Wizzle."

"Master be needing his Wizzle?" Wizzle asked as she popped in beside him.

"I need some parchment, ink, a quill and my money pouch. I will also need you to deliver a letter for me. Make sure that I get a reply back tonight. Do not reveal my identity under any circumstances. Do you understand?" Wizzle nodded before summoning everything onto the desk with a snap of her fingers. Marcus smirked as he dipped the quill and wrote the first few words.

Colin Creevey,

I have need of your knowledge on one Harry Potter. Should you agree to provide the information I seek, I am willing to pay you handsomely for your time...


Harry sat around the kitchen table with Vernon, Sirius, Remus and Ron, a steaming cup of tea in his hands. When they had arrived at the burrow, Mrs. Weasley had been frantic with worry. But she had nothing on Ron. He had almost screamed himself horse at Harry, only to break off and almost hug the life out of him. When he had finally let go, he was concerned when he realized that Ron had been crying. His eyes were red-rimmed and glassy, his hair a disheveled heap as if he had been pulling it in every direction. Ron had nodded his head in grim determination before turning to his mum and demanded that he be let to stay the rest of the summer with Harry. After much debating and talking with Arthur, Molly finally agreed on the condition that Vernon agreed to allow him to stay. With Vernon's nod of agreement Ron had dragged Harry up to his room while he packed his trunk for school and the remainder of his stay in the Dursley household.

"Something else did happen while I was separated from everyone." Harry said, looking up from his full cup and around the table, "While I was looking for Elizabeth, I saw Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."

"I would bet my motorcycle that Lucius set up the attack." Sirius growled out.

"No he had nothing to do with it. It was the opposite really."

"Harry, stop beating around the bloody bush and just tell us." Ron said.

"Lucius was berating Narcissa for being a part of the attack. She slapped him leaving nail marks behind and when he wouldn't drop it and said a few choice words, she did something to him that left him screaming on the ground."

"Did you see what she did at all?" Remus asked, leaning forward on the table.

"No, she had her back towards me. She left him laying in the dirt. When I went to help him get away from her, he got the point across to me not to move. Before he got up to follow her, he scratched out a message for me." Harry said, looking down into his richly brown tean. It's aroma settled his nerves.

"What did it say?" Vernon asked, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. Harry looked up into Vernons eyes, his own showing such despair that almost brought Vernon to tears.

"Help me."