Author's Note: Wow, two updates in one day! I deserve a cookie. Thanks again to MimiTaylor, my beta. Enjoy all!

Harry buttoned his last cuff as he went downstairs to breakfast. Today was another "suit day", as Harry was beginning to call the days he was stuck in a suit for the entirety of whatever plans Remus had made for him. He entered the kitchen and smiled at his aunt. "Good morning, Aunt Petunia."

"Good morning, Harry," she said as she placed a bowl of porridge in front of him.

Harry grimaced and reached for the sugar. Porridge was good, but he preferred something on it in the mornings, especially when she served it plain. Bleargh. He dumped as much sugar as possible before adding a healthy dollop of jam on top of the sugar.

"Determined to rot your teeth?" Petunia said as she sat across from him and poured out tea.

"Oh yeah," Harry answered with a smile. "Without a doubt."

"Mm-hm. I hope you enjoy it when you end up in the dentist's chair."

"Yeah. It'll be worth it." Harry told her as he started eating.

"Not if I tell Remus," Petunia warned him.

"Not fair," Harry told her with a pout. Remus was spending a lot of time over at Number Four Privet Drive and Petunia had figured out that all she needed to do was mention one of Harry's behaviors to Remus to have that behavior changed. Harry hated it. It was like having two parents around at all hours. He had to wonder how Ron and Hermione handled it all of the time.

He and Petunia had spent a lot of time talking since he came home from St. Jude's. He still had an appointment once a week with Paul, but he was on his own for the most part when it came to dealing with things. Life had been relatively calm for him since returning to Privet Drive.

He and Remus spent an hour or two every other day or so going over his family's business matters and what was left of the curriculum from his sixth year at Hogwarts. He and his aunt shared the chores around the house. Harry found that chores weren't so bad when someone was working with him. His aunt made a restful companion, and she had opened up a bit more about her childhood, and incidentally, Harry's mother and his own childhood.

She had produced an entire box of things she had kept from Harry's childhood. That box meant more to Harry than almost any other gift he had received. She had photographs, pictures Harry had drawn, school reports, and class work. He and Petunia had spent an entire afternoon going through that box and studying the objects Petunia had saved from Vernon. It was nice. It felt like family.

"Mail's here," one of Harry's bodyguards said from the doorway to the kitchen. Harry looked up and smiled his thanks as he accepted the packet of letters from the man.

"Thanks, Matthew."

"You're welcome. Are we still going to London, then?" he asked, pointing at Harry's suit.

"Yes, unfortunately," Harry muttered darkly. "We'll be staying there three days."

"I'll let everyone know." Matthew disappeared from the kitchen and Harry could only shake his head.

"How much longer do I need to have bodyguards, Aunt Petunia?" he asked sullenly. He didn't like the bodyguards ; he had only agreed because Petunia wanted extra protection.

"I'm not sure. I'll talk to Remus and see what he thinks of everything." She said absently as she opened the newspaper and started reading. Harry could only roll his eyes as he turned back to the mail and started sorting it into different piles of bills, Petunia's mail, and Harry's mail. He found one letter for him. It was cream coloured parchment and held shut with a wax seal. He wondered if this particular envelope had come by owl, or through the Muggle post. He turned it over in his hands and saw the postmark. The muggle way, then. The postman must have had a laugh over the letter. It looked anachronistic, when most people used the sealing kind of envelopes.

Harry slid a thumb under the seal and broke it. He pulled out the card from within and stared. It was an invitation.

Vlad Tepes, Voivod of Wallachia

requests the pleasure of

Harry James Potter and party's

company at his summer home in the Carpathians

for the first two weeks of June to begin on June 1st.

Travel arrangements to and from England will be made for your convenience.

"Dracula invited us to his summer home for two weeks," Harry said as he handed the invitation to his aunt. He spooned some porridge in his mouth and blinked. "What?" he asked.

"Any other person would assume you'd gone round the twist, Harry. That's all." Petunia said as she gave herself a shake and looked at the invitation. "Should I hand this off to Remus, then?" she asked.

"I'd like to go, if it's at all possible." Harry told her as he discreetly dumped more sugar in his porridge. "I liked him, and it would be nice to see a bit of the world. You and Dudley will come with me, right?" he asked.

"I'm sure that can be arranged, Harry. Remus too?"

"Of course," Harry shrugged. "Remus is my advisor. I'll need him along for emergencies." Harry turned back to his breakfast.

"Well, he's on his way, so we can talk it over then." Petunia said as she put the invitation back into the envelope. Harry nodded and pondered what it would be like to be the guest of the world's most well-known vampire.

So,this was Smeltings? The squat brick building reminded Harry of a book he had read for literature class at St. Jude's. Jane Eyre had been a little boring, but it was fun to compare Hogwarts and St. Jude's to Brocklehurst School. Smeltings looked like the Brocklehurst School Harry had built in his mind.

Petunia pulled into a parking place, and Harry, Remus, and Petunia got out of the car to walk around. The bodyguards of the morning, called John and Gregory (though Harry wasn't sure which was which), pulled up in a second car. Harry waited for them and was treated to a lecture about how he was supposed to let them get out of the car first to ensure that the area was secure. Harry promised to be a good little boy and was treated to a barely discernable snort from the other bodyguard. "Just stay close."

"Sure," Harry couldn't help but think that the concerned guard took his job a little too seriously.

"This place is always a mad house." Petunia said crossly as she picked her way through the crowd back to where Harry and his bodyguards were standing. "Why don't you see if you can find your cousin?"

Harry nodded and moved away. He figured all of the teenagers were hiding away from the younger years and their parents. He headed for the back of the main building, tugging at his tie. He wasn't fond of ties, but he figured things could get worse. He wasn't sure how, though. He decided to leave the tie problem behind when his ear caught a hushed conversation.

"I mean it, Dursley!" A harsh voice snarled. "You'd better take care of whatever I send you, regardless of how your mum will feel about it. I have customers in your area."

Harry put out a hand to hold back his guards. Harry extended his magic a bit and saw an image of his cousin pushed against the wall by a...well, Harry supposed he was a student, but he looked much more like an adult. Moreover, he was threatening Harry's cousin with – was that a knife?

"How menacing can you look?" Harry asked his bodyguards in a whisper.

"Somewhere between 'making an offer he can't refuse' to 'want me to send him to the fishes, boss'." One of the bodyguards said with a smirk.

"Good. Try for 'send him to the fishes'," Harry said with a smile. "My cousin is in trouble." Harry stuck his hand in his pocket and conjured some tinted glasses. His guards grinned as Harry ran a quick hand through his hair, calming it. A quick flick of the wrist straightened his tie and smoothed his jacket. He felt a role settle onto his shoulders as he remembered the movie "The Godfather" he had watched with his floor. He lifted his head and turned the corner at a clipped walk.

"Dudley!" Harry said sharply. "I've been looking for you." The other boys froze and Harry found it difficult not to smirk a bit.

"Who's this, then?" the large boy (larger than Dudley) said as he spotted Harry.

"My cousin," Dudley said softly.

"The delinquent?" the bully said in shock as he took in Harry's tailored suit (Remus knew all kinds of handy spells) and guards at his back. Looks like Dud's been telling stories about me.

"You should really put that knife away," Harry said calmly as he lowered his glasses to look over the top of them at the boy. "I'm certain it isn't allowed on school property." Harry said in a bored tone. He turned his attention to Dudley. "Your mother's looking for you, Dudley. Why don't you go find her?" Harry said as he turned his stare back to the other boy. Dudley inched out from under the other boy and scuttled around the corner.

"You're a businessman as well?" Harry asked as he put his hands in his trousers' pockets.

"You could call me that," the other boy offered.

"Your knife," Harry said calmly, "should be away."

"What are you going to do about it?" the boy asked as he slid it into a cover and stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

"I'm not the one you have to worry about," Harry said with a quick look at his guards. Harry saw one of them move out of the corner of his eye and the other boy paled.

"That gun is very impressive for a guard," the boy said shakily.

"You should see what I carry." Harry almost cackled. "Now, you're a businessman, so I'm going to talk to you like one." Harry waited for the other boy to nod before continuing. "I'm not sure what customers you have in my area, but I can assure you that they're my customers now. Understand?"

"Who do you think you are?"

"Let me put it this way, friend. You've never heard of me. You will never hear of me. No matter how many people are put away, or how many people confess, my name will never come up." Harry told him. "I'm invisible, and so is my business. I'd hate to ruin my family's perfect record."

"Record?" Did this boy never know when to quit?

"Well, no one has gone missing in a week..." Harry looked over his right shoulder and he heard the noise of a gun appearing. By the time he faced front again, the boy was running in the opposite direction. "Think he'll tell anyone?"

"He's a bully, sir. Bullies never tell when they've been beaten."

"The name's Harry. Nice touch with the illusions of guns." Harry said happily as the three of them set off towards the cars.

Harry collapsed onto his bed and groaned as his tired body sank into the mattress. He had no idea how tired a person could get, but he was pretty sure that he would beat anyone at that point.

His tests for Hogwarts started the next morning and then carried on for three days. He and his entourage were to report to Wizarding Examination Authority located on the sixth and a half floor of the Ministry of Magic at eight in the morning to begin Harry's testing. Harry paused as his thoughts caught up with him. He had an entourage. He buried his face into his pillow and groaned again. Just when he thought he had adjusted to his life, something else would come up to make him feel different again. He hated it. He wished Paul was there. The two of them had an appointment on Friday. I suppose I can wait.

Harry pushed himself off the bed and went to the table. Remus had made reservations for the entire crew at a hotel just a few streets away from Diagon Alley. It was within walking distance at any rate, and Harry had a feeling that he would be walking the next few days. His aunt had plans, she had told him, plans of a shopping trip. Harry had no way out of it, so he had decided that everyone was going to suffer along with him. Dudley, the guards and Remus were all coming along. Harry could only grin evilly. Everyone always underestimated him when it came to manipulation.

Harry opened his bag and dug out his journal and a pen. He settled at the table and chewed the end of his pen for a few minutes as he thought of what he wanted to write. He tapped the page with a finger while he thought. He and Remus had met with various gentlemen that afternoon and the entire group regaled him with stories about his father at Harry's age. He rubbed his scar and sighed.

I am not my father and I wish that people would quit comparing me to him. I'm sure he was a nice guy most of the time, but I never knew him. The comparisons don't really affect me. Getting compared to him is like being compared to Merlin. No real connection is there. It's just somebody like me. That's all. Why does everyone assume I want to hear something about my father all of the time? He's dead. Stories are nice, but they only keep me looking to the past. The past doesn't really help me today, does it? That's something to ponder.

Being home is strange. Aunt Petunia seems hesitant about something. I know she's not hesitant about waking me up. I wonder what could be bothering her. I hope she isn't tired of me already with all of these meetings and appointments. She's already said that she's going with me when I go to take my placement tests at the Ministry. I don't even know what to think about that. Is she really interested in my life, or is she doing what she has to do as a guardian? When did things get so mixed up?

I think I'll try to get some sleep tonight. I hope Voldemort does not call me. I really don't want to deal with him right now. I don't think I have enough patience to be a good little student tonight, especially since outing Zareh as the spy. Now, the Dark Lord himself is teaching me, as I am too far beyond anyone else's teaching. So I'm smart! Why must I be tortured with lessons with HIM?! I can't believe that I actually miss the essays from Hogwarts.

Harry closed his journal and dropped his head to the tabletop. He was tired. He was so very tired of it all. I can't wait until it's over.

A knock on the door made him sit up. He almost called for the person to come in when he realized that his door was locked. He shoved his journal into his satchel and went to the door. He looked out through the peephole and saw that it was Remus. "Code word?" he called through the door.

"Bond!" Remus said with a smile.

"Come on in," Harry said as he opened his door.

"I've come to see if you're ready for tonight." Remus said as he entered Harry's room carrying a carrier bag.

"Tonight?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Yes...we're all going out to dinner. Did you forget?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did." Harry said as he accepted the bag from Remus. "What's this?" he asked, trying to find the opening to look inside.

"Your aunt's first attempts at shopping. She bought you a new outfit."

"Another one?" Harry asked in horror. His aunt seemed to enjoy picking out clothes for Harry, and was always recommending something for a new wardrobe. "Do I have to wear it tonight?" Harry asked.

"She'd like you to attempt it, yes." Remus said as he brought out his wand. "Shall I clean it for you?" Remus asked.

"Yes," Harry said as he handed the bag back to Remus and started to tug at his tie. "Throw some fabric softener in as well. She always manages to buy something scratchy."

"Mm." Remus didn't say anything more as he turned away from Harry and started spelling the clothing. "Trousers." Remus said as he tossed the pair of jeans to Harry.

"They're called 'jeans', Remus." Harry told him. Remus' answer was only a thrown T-shirt. Harry pulled it on and then turned to the mirror to see if his hair needed fixing. "Aunt Petunia's getting a sense of humor." Harry said once he saw the printed message on his T-shirt.

"She is, isn't she?" Remus asked. "Look at mine." Remus opened his jacket and Harry had to snicker at Remus' expense. "I howl at the moon?" Harry laughed at Remus' expression. "What was she thinking?"

"Probably the same thing when she bought that for you," Remus said, pointing at Harry's own shirt.

"Hey, at least mine is true one hundred percent of the time!"

"Let's go, Future Actor." Remus said as he left the room. Harry only rolled his eyes, grabbed his room key, jacket, and wand, and followed Remus out the door. He only hoped that his aunt's plans for dinner wouldn't have him up too late. Eight in the morning for a teenaged boy without a constant source of caffeine would only end in disaster...or bad grades. He wasn't sure which it would be yet, or which would be worse.

Author's Note: I figured a short chapter was better than no chapter. I'm not sure when I'll be updating again. I graduate from University in May! Agh!