Here we go. I was quicker this time. Ok, Ok, so I'm lying. My sister wrote this one. She bombards me with ideas whenever she reads the chapters, especially this one,so in the end I gave up and told her to write the next chapter herself. It follows the story though. I made her change some of her...stranger ideas that would have completely changed the direction that this fic is going. She has a slightly different style of writing than me. I don't know if you'll notice though.


Bang. Albus Dumbledore sat in his study, staring at the door in silence. He had just had to do the hardest thing that he had ever done in his life: harder than placing Harry in the care of his abusive muggle relatives, harder than admitting his mistake with Sirius and Azkaban, even harder than telling Harry his prophecy and the reason his parents died. He had had to tell Remus that Harry was missing.

Dumbledore sighed and put his head in his hands. How had it come to this? Harry was supposed to be safe on the train. It was protected by wards and spells, which were designed to protect the students. Now three of his students were missing. Dumbledore knew that he had lost the respect and friendship of Remus, probably for good. He didn't believe the youngest Weasley at first but it had quickly been proven true when nobody had seen them after the train left the station.

Dumbledore dreaded to think what Molly and Arthur would do when they learnt their youngest son was missing. He had not had a chance to inform them yet. Dumbledore had forbade Ginny Weasley from telling her parents, he needed to tell them in person. He needed to tell Hermione's parents as well, he had to just decide the best way to do it. He was eternally grateful that Sirius was not alive. He didn't want to think about what Sirius would have done when he found out Harry was missing. It had been hard enough telling Remus.

-x-x-x-x-Flashback-x-x-x-x-

Dumbledore slowly rose to his feet and walked to the fireplace. He crouched down in front of the empty great an amazing feat for one of Dumbledore's great age. He took a pinch of floo powder and stuck his head into the fireplace. He dropped the floo powder on the logs lying at the bottom. It immediately flared up at once into emerald green flames.

"12 Grimmauld Place," he said loudly.

Dumbledore's head went spinning through the fireplace whilst his knees remained firmly planted on the floor.

The spinning stopped as abruptly as it had begun. Dumbledore looked out of the fireplace and saw somebody standing at the kitchen table, eating.

"Remus?" he said quietly.

The man jumped and looked at the fireplace.

"Albus?" It was Remus Lupin. "What is it?"

"I need you to come to Hogwarts. We need to talk."

Remus frowned, confused, but stood up and, with a flick of his wand, cleared his plate.

Dumbledore pulled his head out of the fireplace, giving the queer sensation that his head was rotating on his shoulders. He watched the flames flicker and die, and then suddenly flare up again as Remus stepped out of the fireplace. Dumbledore stood up and gestured for Remus to take a seat. The Headmaster sat back on his chair behind his desk and looked sadly at Remus.

"I need to know Remus. When you took Harry to the station, were there any um…suspicious people around?" asked Dumbledore quietly.

Remus shook his head.

"No. You know Moody was watching everybody who entered the platform. We were the first ones there. Moody stayed till the train left. Nobody was there who wasn't supposed to be. Why?" asked Remus warily.

Dumbledore didn't answer; he just looked sadly at Remus.

"What happened?" asked Remus again, this time not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"I'm sorry Remus…" began Dumbledore.

Remus interrupted.

"What did you do?" he said slowly, through gritted teeth.

"Harry, Miss. Granger and Mr. Weasley are missing," said Dumbledore, avoiding looking at Remus.

"WHAT!" exploded Remus. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THEM! THEY TRUSTED YOU!"

Dumbledore stood up and walked in front of his desk.

"I know," he said. "I don't know what happened. All I can say is sorry."

"Sorry?" said Remus in disbelief. "You think sorry can solve this? You said they were safe. You said we didn't need to put any of the Order on the train. We trusted you."

"I know. I–"

"Just be glad Sirius isn't here. He would have killed you" interrupted Remus. He frowned and looked at Dumbledore intently for a moment and then said, "He will be so…" Remus stopped himself "You haven't told Molly and Arthur yet, or Hermione's parents yet have you?"

Dumbledore shook his head.

"I wouldn't know what to say."

"Harry was right about you. You ARE an interfering old fool. A controlling and manipulative old man. I bet you've told Ginny she can't tell her parents Ron's gone."

Dumbledore looked up at Remus and took a step closer.

"What you have to understand Remus. I thought it would be better if they heard it from me as it is my mistake. I was overconfident that Voldemort would not be able to get through the wards."

"You think Voldemort took them?" Dumbledore nodded. "Off a train full of children." Dumbledore nodded again. "Without the train stopping and with no one noticing anything's amiss until they got to school?"

"When you put it like that…"

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?"

Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something when Remus stood up.

"You know what? Don't even bother. I don't care anymore. I can't trust you anymore. It's YOUR fault Sirius was taken from Harry"

"Remus–" began Dumbledore.

"Don't," snapped Remus. He strode over to the door and wrenched it open. "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Where are you going?" asked Dumbledore. True, Remus had a right to be angry, but not act like this.

Remus stared at him for a moment and then said, "I'm going to see Molly and Arthur and the Grangers."

Remus turned away from Dumbledore and stormed out, slamming the door so hard that the doorframe rattled on its hinges.

-x-x-x-x- End Flashback-x-x-x-x-

How were they going to win this war now? Harry knew his importance in this. He knew his prophecy and Dumbledore hoped to Merlin that Harry hadn't told Voldemort. He also knew that Harry hadn't told his friends about the prophecy yet and he was glad about that. Too many people knowing meant it was easier for Voldemort to find out. Dumbledore chose to ignore the fact that the more people that knew the prophecy the easier it was going to be for Harry to talk to people. All Dumbledore was concerned about was getting Harry back so that the war could be won.

Dumbledore expected a Howler any minute from the Weasley's. He heard a bird screech and glanced out of the window. There it was. An owl. Right on time. The owl soared into the room through the open window, landing gently on the desk. It had a bright red envelope clutched in his talons. Dumbledore sighed heavily. Might as well get it over with, he thought. He reached over and took the envelope from the owl. Satisfied that its message had been delivered, the owl launched itself off of the desk and flew out the window, back to its owners. Dumbledore looked at the envelope and then opened it without turning it over. Mrs. Weasley's angry voice was magnified over a hundred times.

"Albus Dumbledore, how could you…"


Remus Lupin left behind two very angry and distraught parents at the Granger residence. He had spent the better part of two hours at their house explaining what was happening in the Wizarding World and what Hermione had to do with it. Remus wished he didn't have to tell them but he was probably more qualified than Dumbledore to do so as he had lost Harry.

Harry. He was the closest thing Remus had to family. Remus cared for Harry like a son and he hated the fact that the poor boy had to suffer for everyone else's mistakes.

Remus found a deserted alley and quickly apparated away with a pop. He instantly appeared in front of 12 Grimmauld Place, his current place of residence. Remus entered the house very quietly, tiptoeing through the hall and up the stairs. This was completely the opposite to how he felt but he didn't want to wake up Mrs. Black. She had been completely unbearable since one of the other portraits decided that it would be a good idea to tell her that her last remaining family member was dead and that Kreacher had now 'disappeared.'

Remus reached his bedroom, but decided not to go inside. He walked further up the corridor and stopped outside another room. He opened the door and stepped inside. It was Sirius' bedroom and it was exactly the same as it had been when Sirius had used it. Remus had forbidden anybody from moving anything and the Order respected his wish, mainly due to the fact that Remus was able to do what he did to Kreacher and show absolutely no remorse. He was so furious and devastated by the loss of his best friend that he had decided that Kreacher was to blame and for that he had do die a very painful death.

Remus looked around the room. The dust made the room feel much more empty and depressing. The room had once been bright red and yellow. Sirius had never been one for colour co-ordination. He wanted his room bright because the rest of the house was so dull. Remus couldn't bring himself to clean the room. He just let it stay as it was. It made him see that Sirius was never coming back. Remus walked over to the bed and sat down heavily. He took one last look at the room and then burst into tears. He cried for Sirius who he would never see again. He cried for Harry, whom he was supposed to protect. He cried for Ron and Hermione, who never once abandoned Harry. He cried for Arthur and Molly, who had lost another child. He cried for James and Lily who had been betrayed. He cried for everyone who had ever lost someone.


Dumbledore flooed into Grimmauld Place. He didn't know what to expect. Remus was furious and Dumbledore was smart enough to realise that he had lost a good friend, probably for good. Arthur and Molly were devastated. They didn't blame him like Remus had but they were still angry at him. In her Howler Molly had demanded that Dumbledore come to Grimmauld Place as soon as possible. She had wanted to talk to him face to face.

"Molly. Are you here?" the old man called tentatively. He looked around the kitchen but he could not see her. He slowly moved over to the door but it was thrown open before he could reach it.

Molly Weasley stood in the doorway. Her face was red and streaked. She had been crying.

"Molly, I am so–" he began. She walked into the kitchen and sat down on one of the wooden chairs by the table.

"No. Don't Albus. We don't blame you. If You-Know-Who had wanted them he would have found a way. It's just, we only saw them a few hours ago and now they're gone. What are we going to do?"

Molly looked so upset, Dumbledore didn't think she was capable of doing very much at the moment. He knew he had to do something but realistically there was not much that he could do.

"I'll call a meeting of the Order. We should make some headway that way."

Molly smiled gratefully. Dumbledore couldn't bring himself to feel terrible for lying to Molly. She had to understand that they probably wouldn't find Ron Harry and Hermione. All Dumbledore could think about was that for once he was eternally grateful Sirius wasn't there. Six of Molly's family were in the Order for Fred and George had joined during he summer, one of her boys still wasn't talking to the family, she had nearly lost her youngest child and only daughter four years previously and now she had lost her youngest son.


Dumbledore stood up. It had been three days since he had talked to Molly. This was the first chance that he had got to be away from Hogwarts. The Order of the Phoenix had been called to Grimmauld Place and were now sitting in front of him. Dumbledore noticed that Remus had not attended. Remus hadn't acknowledged Dumbledore's existence since he had found out about Harry. Molly and Arthur were there though, looking terrible, but still there.

The people in front of him were instantly quiet and gave Dumbledore their full attention. Dumbledore found it very hard to speak. He had spent a great portion of the last three days alone. He realised now why Remus had been furious and refused to talk to him, and why the Grangers wanted their daughter away from the Wizarding World and why Molly and Arthur were distrustful of him now. He wasn't happy about it but he knew why now.

He could not help but feel responsible for the three friends' disappearance. They had most likely run away. He didn't think that Voldemort had them. He just couldn't see him being able to take three people off of a moving train. Harry hated him, Dumbledore realised that now. He should have told the boy everything years ago. It was a mistake not to. Harry had lost the closest thing he ever had to a parent. It was understandable. He probably thought that he had to run away to get some attention, to be treated like a person and not a weapon. His friends had been so loyal to him that they had gone as well. What troubled him, though, was how on earth had they got off of a moving train with all of their things?

"Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger have been missing since they boarded the Hogwarts Express three days ago," he said quietly. Dumbledore had to choke the words out. They were met with a stunned silence.

Tonks regained her voice first. She was now sporting long blue hair.

"How could that happen? I thought they were safe."

"Yes," said Dumbledore wearily. "They should have been safe. I don't know where they have gone. They just disappeared. I need you to start searching immediately. We NEED Harry, you all know why." Everybody present in the room nodded. Dumbledore hadn't known how Harry would react if he told him that everybody in the Order knew the prophecy before him, so he had chosen to omit certain bits of information.

"When I know more about what happened you will all be informed. Right now our main priority is to find Harry."

"What about Ron and Hermione?" asked a voice from the doorway. Dumbledore turned to look at the speaker. It was Remus Lupin. He looked terrible. He looked older that his thirty-six or so years. He had more grey hair than he had ever had before and looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Excuse me?"

"You said the main priority was to find Harry. You didn't mention Ron and Hermione," said Remus loudly.

"Well I meant was that–" began Dumbledore, trying to rectify the situation.

"I know what you meant," interrupted Remus angrily. "All you care about is finding Harry because you believe he's the only one who can destroy Voldemort. You don't care that Ron and Hermione are missing as well. They're just as important. You don't care about them as people. You see Harry as a weapon that needs to be controlled!" Remus was shouting now. Dumbledore really had gone too far now.

"All you care about is yourself!"

"Remus. Calm down. You don't know what you're talking about," said Dumbledore calmly. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"NO. This is your own fault. I can't handle this anymore. You're always like this. I just never realised it." Remus was no longer shouting but he was still absolutely fuming. "We always trusted you blindly. Never questioned you because we believed you were the most capable and knew what you were doing, but you don't. Not really."

The other people in the room were staring in shock at Remus. None of them had expected him to act like this. He was supposed to respect Dumbledore. Dumbledore was the one who trusted him and gave him a job even with what he is. A werewolf.

"You don't give a damn about Ron and Hermione. The only reason you care about Harry is because he's the key to winning the war! You only want him back so he can fulfil that stupid prophecy!"

Remus continued quieter this time, but they could still hear the anger in his voice. "I came because I thought you actually cared about finding them but I see I was wrong." Remus turned to go out the door, stopped looking out into the hallway, his back to Dumbledore. "I just talked to Snape. He gave me a message to give to you because Voldemort called him back again." Remus paused and then said, "HE doesn't have them."

Remus shut the door and walked back to his room, awakening Mrs. Black in the process.

"Filthy half-breeds!" she screamed. "How dare you befoul the house of my fathers. Blood-traitors! Werewolf! Get out!"

"Shut-up you old hag," bellowed Remus down the stairs. He didn't bother going downstairs to shut her up. Someone else could do it. He just wanted to curl up somewhere and forget about everything that was happening. He knew he couldn't though. Harry needed him. Ron and Hermione too. Dumbledore didn't believe they needed finding.

"Mudbloods, scum! Begone from my house! "

As Remus went into his room, he heard the door open again and somebody came running out. They were trying to shut up Mrs. Black. Remus shut the door, blocking out the sound of Mrs. Black's screams, he had something important to do but at that moment he was too exhausted, physically and emotionally, to do it. It could wait a few hours. With that thought entering the back of his mind he collapsed onto his bed, instantly falling into a fitful sleep and letting his subconscious take over.


Dumbledore didn't want to admit it but, for one of the few times in his life, he was afraid, afraid of losing the war against Voldemort. Harry had gone and now there was no hope of winning, this Dumbledore believed fervently in. He was a firm believer in prophecies. Prophecy had led him to victory against Grindlewald. Prophecy had led Gryffindor to victory against Slytherin. Prophecy had foretold Voldemort's rise to power over three hundred years before Tom Riddle was even born. He was afraid that the Order didn't see things the way he did. Remus was right though. Harry may be a person but he was the only thing standing between victory and defeat, but he had to be controlled, protected, until there was no doubt that he would emerge from the battle victorious.

In some ways it was a good thing that Sirius was gone. Harry would be much easier to control now that Sirius wasn't trying to disrupt his plans at every turn, thinking that he knew what was best for his godson. Dumbledore could have laughed aloud when Sirius had said that last year. Sirius had spent most of Harry's life in Azkaban; there was no way he was qualified to raise a child. That was the main reason that Harry had not come to Grimmauld Place straight from the train. Blood protection was part of the reason but mainly it was just because he wanted to control Sirius so that Harry could be controlled as well. Harry was just as safe at Grimmauld Place as he was at Privet Drive, Dumbledore just chose not to inform anybody of this fact.

They NEEDED Harry and Dumbledore knew that if he wanted Harry to stay and fight for the Order then he needed Remus on his side again, but that was going to be very hard. Dumbledore didn't know how he was going to accomplish it. Remus was acting the same way Harry had last year when Sirius had died. He was being very childish. Didn't Remus realise that he was the only one that Harry really trusted? Everyone else could see it, but why couldn't he. Dumbledore knew that now Sirius was gone, Remus would be the one person Harry listened to and trusted and he needed to use that to his advantage, but therein lay the problem. Remus hated him at the moment.


Molly Weasley had retreated to her room very soon after the meeting ended. She was followed closely by her husband. They were both devastated. They didn't blame Dumbledore in the least. Molly couldn't understand why Remus had said all those things to Dumbledore. She knew he was upset, so was she, but that didn't mean she blamed Dumbledore.

"Arthur," she said quietly. He husband turned to face her. "Do you think we'll ever find them?" Her voice trembled.

"Oh, Molly. Of course we will," he said comfortingly. He moved closer to his wife and held her tight. She started sobbing on his shoulder.

"I don't know what I'll do if we lose another one Arthur." She spoke into her husband's shoulder.

"Three Molly. Three. You always said you saw Harry and Hermione so much they might as well be surrogate children, Molly I know this is a bad time but there's somewhere I have to be, Remus needs me on this one, I promise we'll get them back Molly. Have faith, if not in Dumbledore, have faith in me."


Dumbledore left Grimmauld Place in the early hours of the next morning to return to Hogwarts. He wanted to make a stop first though. He needed to see the Hogwarts Express.


Shortly after hearing Dumbledore leave Remus arose from his slumber, grabbed his bag and went to find Arthur Weasley. He could fill hope rising up inside of him, it was going to work, it had to work, if not for his sake then for Harry's.


Dumbledore walked into Kings Cross Station and headed straight up to Platform 9 ¾. The train was left there when it wasn't being used. He walked quickly up the stairs onto Platform 9. It was empty but then again there was little chance of anybody boarding a train at ten minutes past three in the morning. This was just a perfect time to inspect the train without being disturbed. He was the Headmaster so he was perfectly in his rights to look at the train; he just didn't want to answer any awkward questions about why he was actually there.

Dumbledore walked straight through the barrier between Platform's 9 and 10 and appeared on Platform 9 ¾. There was the magnificent scarlet steam train that had delivered students to Hogwarts for over three hundred years.

Dumbledore walked slowly over to one of the many doors and boarded the train. He walked slowly up the train. It had been years since he had last been on this train.


Remus furtively looked over his shoulder, they had to hurry. If Dumbledore or a teacher found them they would have to explain what they were doing and Remus really didn't want to tell that interfering old fool about the Marauders secrets. Remus trusted Arthur though, as Arthur was the only member of the Order of the Phoenix who realised that Dumbledore didn't care about Harry and his friends. He glanced down at his map, it was an exact replica of Harry's map of Hogwarts, but it had extra passageways. When they created the original Marauders map, he and his friends chose not to show all of their secrets, as they knew Filch would probably confiscate it. It had merely been a diversion to stop Filch from taking the proper map.

"Well, are we nearly there?" asked Arthur.

"Yes, it's just round this next corner…oh crap," swore Remus "Sybil's coming"

Remus dragged Arthur into the passageway behind the suit of armour outside the library, a new passageway.

"Okay if we follow this passageway we should find the Room of Requirement, so just keep going straight" instructed Remus.

"I found the um…door?' Arthur said carefully, for you see the door wasn't actually a door, it was more a glowing hole. He stepped aside to let Remus through first. On the other side of the hole the pair found themselves in a room that was bare of all furnishings except for two beanbags positioned in the centre.

"Okay, choose a beanbag," ordered Remus. Arthur chose the one furthest away from the glowing hole, it made him nervous. Remus settled on the other bag.

"Schalk Maclare Acruest Matuare, MATUARE!" screamed Remus.

BANG! An orb appeared, floating just above their head. As they watched, it slowly grew until a face appeared.


There you go. Now please Review and tell me what you think.