September 1986

"Dad" Harry whined, "Why can't I go to the school, Anna and Neville go to? Do I really have to go to this muggle school?"

"Harry we have been over this." James sighed, "Your mother was a muggleborn and I think it's time you learn something about her culture."

"Dad we already spend a lot of time in the muggle world. I know all about muggles." Harry huffed.

"Harry." Remus said with his usual calm, "You know why you are being sent to a muggle school. Haven't you heard enough stories from Neville and Anna about how they are harassed for being related to you?"

Harry made a face. "I know, but you can teach me this year too, like you taught me last year. Why do I have to go to school?"

"Harry James Potter." Sirius said, trying to imitate Lily's tone when she lectured him. "You are six years old. It is not healthy for a child to not know other children his age. You will go to school and learn about socializing."

"What if no one likes me?" Harry mumbled dejectedly.

"What's that I hear?" Sirius asked. "Well, if you are anything like your father, you would have trouble making people like you."

"Excuse me!" James said indignantly, "Need I remind you that I was very popular at Hogwarts."

"That was only because you had Sirius and I as friends." Remus said with a sly grin.

"Yep. I was the looks, Moony was the brains, and you my friend were the socially awkward dork, pining for a certain redhead."

Harry laughed as he watched the banter between his father and his uncles.

"Oh! Now you find it funny, do you?" James asked with a sly smile.

"I don't" Harry said hurriedly, trying to hide behind Remus but James grabbed him and swung him around, making Harry shriek with laughter.

They continued laughing and joking all the way to the school, taking turns to let Harry ride on their shoulders.

"We are here." Remus said cheerfully, looking at the gates of the school building in front of him.

The energy of the group immediately went down as Harry hesitantly climbed down Sirius' shoulder and looked at the school building apprehensively.

"Hey, it will be alright." James said gently, "You will make loads of friends, you will see."

Harry nodded glumly, "You will be here to pick me up after school." He asked hesitantly.

"Yes. At 3:00 p.m. one of us would be here to pick you up. Okay?"

Harry nodded before letting his father steer him into the principal's office. After a fifteen minute talk with the principal, Harry was handed over to Miss. Cobblepot who was his grade teacher. Harry was introduced to the class and assigned a seat partner called Benjamin Green. Benjamin was the opposite of Harry, he was loud and funny while Harry was quiet and shy, so it was but obvious that Benjamin introduced himself first.

"Hello!" Benjamin said cheerfully, "I am Benjamin but you can call me Ben. I am kind of new here too. You don't speak much do you?"

Harry blushed, "Sorry. I have not been around many kids actually just my cousins. I am Harry by the way."

"Nice to meet you Harry. I bet you will settle down in no time."

Harry smile gratefully but before he could answer Miss. Cobblepot had started the lesson. By the time lunch arrived Harry felt that school could be a good thing. Remus had accelerated his learning process and so he knew a lot more than a lot of people in his grade. Miss. Cobblepot was really impressed with his knowledge and he had been introduced to nearly all his classmates during the breaks between classes and they looked alright.

As Harry walked to lunch with Benjamin, his anxiety from the morning was leaving him till someone forcefully bumped into him from behind.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed, "Hey, watch where you are going!" He shouted at the kid before turning to Ben, "Are you alright?"

"I am fine." Ben said, "And we should leave."

"Why?"

"Because the boy that bumped into you is Dudley Dursley and he is bad news. Oh boy! Here he comes."

Before Harry could say anything, he was shoved into the nearest wall.

"You watch where you are going, new kid!"

"Is there a problem here, Mr. Dursley?" The Principal asked stepping behind Dudley.

"No sir." Dudley said hastily, letting Harry go.

"I thought so. Now Mr. Potter, Mr. Green, and Mr. Polkiss I suggested you run along for lunch. Mr. Dursley we will be having lunch together in my office with your parents. After you, then." The principal said stepping back to let Dudley pass.

"You are in so much trouble, new kid." Piers sneered as soon as the Principal was out of earshot, "Dudley would flush your head in the toilet for getting him into trouble and then he would eat you up good."

"He is kidding, right?" Harry asked Ben.

"I am afraid, not. Dursley is bad news; all of us stay away from him."

Harry somehow forgot to worry about Dudley Dursley as his first day of school ended without further incident. He spent a great evening with his father and uncles and forgot all about a certain Dudley Dursley. The month that followed was much the same with him enjoying school, steering clear out of Dudley's way and coming home to a fun evening with his family.

Harry was coming out of the washroom one day when Dudley and his gang cornered him, before he could do or say anything, Dudley had landed a punch on his stomach. Harry tried to fight back, but was outnumbered four to one. He was suddenly grabbed and dragged into a cubicle. Harry yelled as his head was shoved into a toilet. The water entered his nose, he struggled to get free but it made Dudley hold him down harder before he started the flush.

Suddenly Dudley and the other person holding Harry, let him go with agonised yells. As Harry resurfaced for breath, the scar on his forehead felt like it was ready to explode. He stared at Dudley and his friends who were holding their burnt looking hands before hurling into the toilet. He felt tired and drained and before he could do anything he passed out cold.

When Harry opened his eyes again, he was in a room that he assumed was the school's infirmary and Remus and Ben were sitting at his side.

"Uncle Moony." He groaned, his head pounding. "What are you doing here?"

"Harry! Good God Harry, you scared us. You have been unconscious for over 4 hours. Your dad is with the Principal right now."

Harry tried to sit up but fell back groaning, a hand on his chest.

"Yeah, you might want to take it easy, you broke a rib mate." Ben said sympathetically.

"What happened though? I remember Dudley flushing my head and then he suddenly back off and my scar hurt like it was on fire and I think I vomited but I don't remember cracking a rib."

"That must have been after." Ben said, "When you didn't turn up for lunch, I went looking for you. I found you lying on the floor of the cubicle and there was no one around. But how did you manage to shatter the glass from the cubicles?"

"What? I didn't shatter any glass."

"But there was glass all over the floor." Ben said confused.

"We will discuss all of that later." Remus said hurriedly, "Your dad is here with the principal, I think they want to talk to you."

"I am terribly sorry that you had to go through this ordeal, Mr. Potter." Principal Fitzgerald said gravely. "But I need to know, do you remember who did this to you? I assure you, they will be dealt with severely."

"I-" Harry started giving a quizzical look to Ben.

"It was Dudley Dursley, Sir. Harry says, Dudley and his gang cornered him during lunch and tried to flush his head."

"But how did you break your rib Mr. Potter? Were you in a fight?"

"I- Yeah. Yes. He, Dudley punched me, so I fought back but there were four of them, I don't know something must have happened. It all happened so fast, it is difficult to tell." Harry said looking apologetically at James and Sirius who looked livid, while Remus listened on with a stony look on his face.

"I quite understand that Mr. Potter." Mr. Fitzgerald said, looking uncertainly at James, Sirius and Remus. "Let me just call the doctor and check if you are free to go home. I will go talk to the Dursleys. This has gone out of hand, they need to control their boy."

"If you don't mind, I would like to accompany you to the Dursleys. They are old acquaintances and I believe they would understand you better with me around." James said quietly, though no one missed the silent threat in his voice.

"Ah! Mr. Potter" The doctor said entering the room, "You look good. We have wrapped you up as well as we could. I would have liked for you to stay with us for a week, but your father assures me that you would meet better care at home, so I guess, you could go. But make sure, that he isn't jostled much, he needs rest. If only you would let him stay here for the night-"

"We have been over this." Sirius said, "We assure you he would be looked after with utmost care. His aunt is a Doctor and we are moving him to a different hospital for the night, one which is closer to home."

"Very well, please write down the name of the hospital here and we will arrange for an ambulance to take you to the hospital."

"That won't be necessary." Remus said, "We have already asked for an ambulance from them, it should be here any minute."

"Ah, very well then! I guess Mr. Potter, you are free to go then."

"I should be taking your leave, I have summoned Dudley's parents to my office, I need to be there to talk to them." Mr. Fitzgerald said, getting up. "Get well soon, Mr. Potter. Come along Mr. Green, I will drop you home."

"Get well soon, okay. Can I come visit you, if your dad decides to drop you out of school?" Ben asked.

"Sure and I hope he won't drop me out of the school. But take care of yourself Ben." Harry replied.

"Yeah, you too Harry. I will see you soon. Give me a call if you need help with homework."

"Sirius, Remus, please take Harry home. I will be there soon enough." James said giving Harry a reassuring smile. "I am glad you are fine, Harry." He said bending down to hug his son, "Don't you ever put me through that again."

"Yes, Dad." Harry replied, "I will keep that in mind the next time Dudley tries to bully me."

"Yes. About that, we will talk when I get home. Okay?" James swiftly kissed Harry's forehead before stepping towards the door.

"James." Remus said, "I don't think it is a good idea. You don't have to go talk to them."

"Why not?" James asked, "Their son almost killed Harry! I am sure I have the right to talk to them about it."

"Prongs, think about it." Sirius said, "I am sure they know nothing about Harry. Petunia would have asked her son to stay away from Lily's son."

"But I still need to talk to her! Her son can't do this to anyone's child." James exclaimed.

"No, you don't." Sirius said, "You need to take Harry home and stay with him."

James glared at his friends. "James." Remus said, "Come on. Let it go. Petunia's son is a bully, but she did not set him up on Harry."

"Dad?" Harry asked, "How do you know Dudley's parents?"

James, Remus and Sirius exchanged a look.

"Well…" Sirius started.

"I know you are going to lie to me." Harry said grumpily.

"What?" Remus asked, fighting off a smile. "How do you know that?"

"You three make that face whenever I ask about mum and how did she die."

"Harry." James said gently, "We promised we will tell you all about it when you get a little older."

"I am old." Harry said stubbornly.

"Not old enough, kiddo!" Sirius said with his usual charming smile.

"When will I be old enough?"

"We will let you know, as soon as you reach that age." Remus said with a dry smile, "Now how about getting you home and healing you up in a jiffy?"

Harry nodded.

"He won't take me out of school, will he?" Harry asked as Sirius muttered a spell to bind Harry's chest better.

"I don't know, Prongslet." Sirius replied, "He is your dad, he is also a nutter-"

"He is hearing you right now, Sirius and he will not hesitate from hexing you." James said as he rummaged through his bag for his emergency portkey.

"Told you." Sirius muttered in Harry's ear as Harry laughed.


It was past two in the morning when James shuffled out of Harry's room and entered the study. Sleep eluded him, every time he closed his eyes he could see Harry's small unmoving form on the hospital bed. He shuddered at the memory.

"Is he okay?" Lily asked quietly.

"Yes. It was a clean break; Remus fixed it up in five minutes."

"Are you okay?"

"I have been better."

"He will be fine. He is a strong boy." Dorea added softly.

"He shouldn't have to be strong." James said angrily. "You didn't see him lying in that hospital bed. He looked so small. He shouldn't have to go through any of this. First that blasted prophecy which made Voldemort hunt us, he lost his mother, and he almost died! Now bullies and not to mention someday we would have to tell him why his mother died. Why him? Why my Harry? It's not fair!"

"You are right." Remus said as he walked in. "Harry doesn't deserve any of this. No child does but we cannot wallow. We have to prepare Harry to give him the best shot he could get at surviving."

"That doesn't make it right. He never harmed anyone. Why does this keep happening to us?"

"Prongs, sometimes really bad things happen to good people." Remus said bracingly, "It's just the way things are. You can't let yourself feel this way. You are the person who supported a friend with a furry little problem. You have to be the same person and help Harry deal with Voldemort if and when he returns."

"Do you think he will return?"

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. But we have to prepare Harry nevertheless."

James nodded.

"Although," Remus continued. "He has been quite anxious about going back to school. From what I could understand fractured ribs normally take 6 weeks to heal. Harry would be up and about in less than 6 days. How are we going to keep him engaged for the next five weeks?"

"I don't want him to return to that school." James said, "Maybe we should enrol him at Elma's with Neville and Arianna."

"You know he would hate it if you do that." Remus said.

"Why would he? I am removing him from a traumatic environment."

"James, he is six. He hero worships Sirius and you and pretty much every Potter that ever lived." Remus said, "He has grown up hearing stories of how brave Gryffindors are supposed to be. He is trying to be brave about it. He wants to face Dursley's son again. Not for him but to make all the Potters proud. It's his sense of gaining a self identity."

"He doesn't need to. He is a child and we are already proud of him."

"Yes, but he derives his identity from the fact that he is as brave as his ancestors or Sirius or you."

"That's stupid." James muttered.

"Excuse me! I remember a messy haired 11 year old pull out an imaginary sword and proudly stating that he was a Gryffindor like his father on our first night at Hogwarts." Remus teased.

James smiled at the memory. "You are wrong though." He said.

"About what?"

"Harry may hero- worship Sirius and me but the one person he would hate to disappoint is you." James explained, "I don't know how you do it but he is more worried about letting you down than the rest of us put together."

"He is a good kid. Trust him, he would be fine." Remus said with a grin.

James nodded, "Wait, where is Sirius?"

"With Harry." Remus replied with a mischievous smile.

"Oh no! I bet that monkey is jumping around somewhere by now. He is so restless when he is asked to rest."

"That's precisely why I let Sirius handle him."

"You are the worst mother figure in Harry's life, Moony." James replied with a laugh.

"Eh, Lily would disagree." Remus said winking at Lily. "You are the mother figure. You have always been a mother hen. I am the cool uncle."

"I would disagree on that!" Sirius called from the door.

"Sirius! You left Harry alone?" Lily exclaimed.

"I gave him a dreamless sleep potion first. Jeez, relax. I know my responsibilities." Sirius said dramatically. "And speaking of responsibilities, Remus, did you knock some sense into him?"

"Yes." Remus replied dutifully.

"I hate you both." James said with a pout.

"Yes, Yes. We love you too. Now who wants some firewhisky?" Sirius asked pulling a bottle from his pocket.


To say that Petunia Dursley was having a bad day was an understatement. Dudley had been home for five weeks and there were 3 more weeks to go before his suspension ended. During this time Dudley was supposed to be home schooled, his homework was posted by his teachers regularly. Dudley was also supposed to do some community service. Petunia couldn't believe that she had to lie to her neighbours that Dudley had a contagious disease.

But most of all she couldn't believe that the school had punished her innocent little son based on that little freak's false story. Petunia had tried to show it to the Principal that the freak had burned Dudley's hands. She had tried to show it to the school management that Dudley was the real victim here but no one believed her and of course she had no explanation for the burns. Petunia seethed inside at the injustice of it all as she got up from the kitchen table, where Dudley was having his second breakfast to answer the door.

"Ah! Tuney! It is so nice to see you again!" Sirius chirped as soon as Petunia opened the door, "May we come in? Thanks." He said with a disarming smile as he pushed in past her followed by James, Remus and that violet-eyed woman she had seen once before.

Soon Petunia overcame her shock and hurried in after them.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed at them as she rushed forward to shut the kitchen's door.

"We are here to talk about your son." James answered as the other three flanked him.

"You cannot hurt or threaten my boy without going to prison. I know about your laws." Petunia said confidently.

"What makes you think that our laws haven't changed since we were children?" The woman asked.

"You are lying." Petunia countered, narrowing her eyes.

"Maybe we are, maybe we are not." The woman replied with a shrug. "I don't believe we have been introduced before. I am Alexandra Potter, this is James Potter my brother-in-law and that's Sirius Black his friend, did you know that these two are policemen in our world."

"You can't arrest my son!" Petunia shrieked.

"Why not?" Alexandra asked.

"Alex!" Remus said warningly, "We are not here to harm your son Petunia."

"Not yet!" Sirius piped up cheerfully.

"That is enough." James said, "We are not here to harm anyone. Harry will be returning to school next week. Just make sure that your son stays away from Harry and apologises to him. If I hear that your son so much as accidentally harmed a hair on-"

"Freaks!" Petunia shrieked interrupting James' threat. "Freaks and liars the lot of you. My Diddykins never harmed anyone. Your son burned his hands." She said pointing a finger at him.

"Harry would never do such a thing." Sirius growled, "Your son is lying."

Remus put a hand on Sirius' shoulder as James and Alexandra exchanged a look.

"Mrs. Dursley. Petunia." Remus said soothingly, "May we talk to Dudley?"

"No! I will not let you attack him."

"I assure you, I will not attack him." Remus said gently, "I can come in alone and leave my wand here with James. Is that safe enough for you?"

"No. You will not talk to my son!"

"That is not up for debate." Alexandra cut in sharply, "You either agree with Remus or we force ourselves in. You don't have much choice here."

Petunia gave Alexandra a death glare before opening the door to the kitchen and marching in.

"Hello Dudley." Remus said pleasantly. "My name is Remus Lupin, I work for your school and we are looking into the Harry Potter case again. Your mother tells us that Harry Potter burned your hands, may I see them?"

Dudley sent a quizzical look to his mother, when she nodded he showed his palms to Remus. The burn had healed, but the scars were visible.

"Can you tell me how did this happen?" Remus asked curiously.

Dudley shook his head. "You won't believe me." He muttered.

"Try me. How did this happen?"

"I held his arm and his skin became really hot." Dudley replied vaguely.

"Does Harry burn people normally?"

"I wouldn't know." Dudley said with a shrug.

"So, what were you doing that made him burn you?" Remus asked.

"He is mean." Dudley said, sniffing slightly. "He is very mean to me."

"Are you quite sure that he was bullying you rather than it being the other way round?"

Petunia cleared her throat and looked pointedly at the door as big fat tears started leaking out of Dudley's eyes.

"I see." Remus said thoughtfully. "Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I should get going now. Take care of yourself."

"What did he say?" James asked as soon as Remus walked out of the kitchen.

"Not here." Remus said with a subtle nod towards Petunia who was giving them a calculated look.

"Okay." Alexandra said, "let's go back to the Manor."

"No." Remus said, "We need to go to Hogwarts. We need to inform Dumbledore about it."


It was lunch by the time the four reached Hogwarts. Students were milling into the corridors from every direction, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

James, Sirius and Remus walked in with nostalgic looks on their faces while Alexandra looked around curiously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Alex." James said with a small smile.

"I must say the castle is impressive, but Circe's is much more beautiful." Alexandra teased light heartedly.

"Dumbledore would be at lunch in the Great Hall." Sirius said, "Should we wait outside his office?"

"Ah! I was hoping to catch you before you reached my office." Dumbledore said, materialising in front of the gargoyle to his office.

"Professor!" Remus exclaimed, "How did you know that we are here?"

"That my dear, Remus is for me to know and you to wonder." Dumbledore said with the usual twinkle in his eyes, "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company on such a fine afternoon?"

"It's Harry." Remus said, "And it would be better if we step into your office to talk about it."

"It could be accidental magic." James said after listening to Remus' story.

"It would be a first then." Dumbledore said, "Accidental magic is not supposed to harm anyone. James, are you quite sure that Harry is fine?"

"Yes."

"But that can't be right." Sirius said looking at Dumbledore sharply, "Magic when forced out of someone who couldn't control it, could drive the witch or wizard insane. Magic takes control of the witch or wizard rather than it being the other way round."

"That is quite true, Sirius." Dumbledore conceded.

"Then, it means that it was accidental magic." Alexandra said simply.

"I don't think so, Mrs. Potter." Dumbledore replied gravely, "Accidental magic is a much less destructive and from what we know, it does not harm the young witch or wizard. I believe Harry told one of you that his scar hurt."

James, Sirius and Remus gave Dumbledore startled looks. "He told me that, a few days ago. I am sorry James, I was going to tell you but I guess it slipped my mind."

"He said so, in the hospital too." Remus added

James nodded before looking at Dumbledore, "He said as much to me. What is the meaning of this?"

"I am not very sure." Dumbledore said stroking Fawkes thoughtfully, "But here is my theory. When Lily cast herself between Harry and Voldemort; she gave him a shield much stronger than anything any wizard could ever produce. This shield is a part of his skin; it flows in his body with his blood. I believe, this shield got activated when he was touched by someone who wished to cause him harm."

"That's ridiculous!" James exclaimed as Remus nodded in agreement.

"It might not be." Sirius said slowly, "Remember what the prophecy said, the child would have a power that Voldemort would know nothing about."

"So, you think it is some weird shield around him that Lily left behind?" Remus asked curiously.

Sirius shrugged looking at Dumbledore but before the old wizard could answer Alexandra spoke up.

"I think there is a legend somewhere about Achilles. There are many stories to his origin, but one states that his mother tried to burn away his mortal parts but was interrupted by her husband and thus she left them in anger." She explained, reciting the half forgotten legend from her childhood. "Historians however argue that, the mother was trying to protect her son from a fire. She died in the process but the son survived to be the deadliest fighter of all times. Of course, there are no accounts of Achilles having magical powers but his mother was said to be a Nereid or a helpful witch that lived near the sea ports."

"That's a long assumption, don't you think?" James said not really convinced with the theory.

"It is my boy," Dumbledore said. "But it is also known that Achilles was a deadly fighter. No one was able to wound him."

"So, he might have been a good fighter." James said with a shrug, "His fighting skills do not mean that he was protected by his mother's sacrifice, nor does it mean anything for Harry."

"How do you explain the pain in his scar then?" Sirius asked.

"It's a curse scar, Sirius! It is bound to act up now and then."

"But-" Alexandra however was silenced when Dumbledore raised his hand.

"James, I understand that you don't want to believe that Harry might possess something that would inevitably make him the cause of Voldemort's death but how do you explain Harry's survival on the night that Lily died?" Dumbledore asked gently, "We have to prepare him for what is to come and for that we need to know his strengths."

"Harry is just a boy." James said stubbornly, "I will not allow anyone to turn him into a soldier and rob him off his innocence. Besides, for all we know Voldemort is dead."

"He is not dead." Dumbledore stated in a tone that terrified the occupants of the room. "There are whispers of an evil spirit in the forests of Albania, I have been trying to research this spirit but it eludes me. From what I do know of Tom Riddle's past, he spent quite some time in the forests of Albania. I believe the spirit is a broken, weakened form of Voldemort, the one that escaped the night he attempted to kill Harry."

"If that is so then let's go hunt him down." Remus said, "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"I did not wish to burden you with mere rumours."

"But now you believe that these aren't rumours?" Alexandra asked.

"Yes." Dumbledore admitted heavily.

"Okay, I will go." Remus volunteered.

"I will go with you." Sirius said. "James you need to stay here with Harry. The kid needs you, we will keep you updated, I promise." Sirius added before James could open his mouth.

"So, when do we start?" Remus asked, "And how will we explain your absence to the Auror department, Sirius?"

"I will talk to Cornelius about that." Dumbledore said calmly, "I will send you an owl with the details of your departure. Now, if that is all that you wanted to talk about I would like to be excused. Cornelius summoned me to the Ministry for tea. And if Harry's curse scar acts up again, please do inform me. Good Day."

"I don't like this." James said as they walked towards the castle's gates.

"You don't have to." Alexandra said, "But they are right, Harry needs you here."

"And we will be fine James." Remus assured him.

"Yeah, I will be going with Moony. What could possibly go wrong?" Sirius added lightly.

"Mostly you." Remus teased ducking as Sirius tried to punch his shoulder. James smiled and allowed his friends to lead him out but he couldn't shake off the dread settled in the back of his mind.

AN: So, after several drafts, here is another chapter to my AU fic. Don't forget to read and review and if you are new to us please favourite or follow the story or me or us.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I am sorry for the late update. I had a lot of work for the past month.

Hoping to reading your reviews soon. Please do let me know what you think of it. Your reviews keep me motivated.

Happy Reading.

Much love

The fishes