Response To Reviews:

geekymom: Why thank you!

Ale74: I'm glad I've rendered you speechless (wink!). I hope you continue to enjoy this story!

Clive54: I am happy to oblige you! And I'm planning on it for Hermione. I actually like her character, I just hate the way she's loyal to the wrong people sometimes. I'm hoping for her redemption, but let's see where the story takes us, shall we?

Calmzone1: I'm so glad you're invested in this story! You're right, Hermione is so blinded by authority figures, something that manifested before she came to Hogwarts and had no friends. I don't think she's a bad person per se, but she needs to learn to think for herself once and a while; she only began doing that during her fifth year, after being under the 'tender' care of Dolores Umbridge.

It was around noon in the town of Little Whinging, the sun glinting off the cars driving down Privet Drive and basking the people walking the sidewalks in a comforting warmth that wasn't as overbearing as the last couple of days.

As a man and woman made their way down the sidewalk, they suddenly paused, their heads tilted in confusion. After a moment, they both shrugged before turning around and headed in the opposite direction, continuing their conversation as they went.

Remus smiled under the invisibility cloak Dumbledore had lent him as he watched the couple walked away from him. He had placed a Confundus Charm on himself to confuse anyone who came near him since the cloak he was borrowing wasn't as good at hiding him as Harry's was.

'And speaking of Harry,' Remus thought as he stared at the house on the other side of the street.

Number four, Privet Drive.

When Dumbledore had visited him earlier with news about Harry's flight from his relatives' place of residence, a cocktail of emotions had rolled through him. The first emotion he felt was a concern for Harry's well-being. Next, he felt slightly angry about the fact that Harry was foolish enough to leave the safety of his aunt and uncle's home for some stranger. And finally, he felt the determination to get Harry back to where he was best protected.

(Dumbledore had been protecting Harry in James' and Lily's place for the past fourteen years. He obviously knew the best way to keep him safe.)

As Remus stared up at the house, his thoughts roamed the little information he had gotten about Harry's relatives. His uncle, Vernon Dursley, was the only one who worked, although Remus didn't know exactly where; his aunt, Petunia Dursley, as well as Lily's sister, was a stay at home mum, much like Molly Weasley; and his cousin Dudley Dursley, went to the same school his father did. Other than that, Remus barely knew anything about Harry's family.

He didn't speak about them much when Remus was teaching him the Patronus Charm, and even if Harry did talk about them, at the time, Remus was only a teacher to him and didn't know the connection they had. But all that Remus had learned showed that they were an ordinary family; why would Harry leave them just to go live with a stranger?

(A small part of his brain started whispering about how Harry's instant agreement to a new home was very suspicious, but Remus shoved it away.)

He took in a deep breath, trying to steady himself before he had to go closer to the house, but froze when an unfamiliar scent assaulted his nose. Now, smelling the scent of someone unfamiliar wasn't what stopped him in his tracks; it was the tang of magic mixed in with it, and it was very potent. This person could be as strong as Albus himself.

'This isn't good,' Remus thought to himself worriedly. 'I'll need to let Professor Dumbledore know about this straight away.'

He turned sharply on his heel and Apparated away from Privet Drive, with no sign that he was ever there.

Neville Longbottom was sitting at his desk in his room at Longbottom Manor, staring at a letter in his hands.

It had come earlier in the morning, just after he had woken up. After he had seen Hermione's name on the front, he became both confused and intrigued. After all, Hermione never wrote to him during the summer - she hardly spoke to him during the school year! So what urged her to write to him so suddenly?

Eventually, his curiosity won out and he opened the letter and read its contents. What it said had him even more confused and even a bit wary.

He glanced down at the letter again, his eyes scanning the words once more:

Dear Neville,

I wish I could say I'm writing simply to say hello, but this is not the case.

I'm sorry to tell you that Harry has gone missing a couple of days ago. Someone had contacted Professor Dumbledore to warm him of dementors attacking the place Harry lives.

After getting rid of the Dementors, Professor Dumbledore went to make sure Harry was alright - only to discover that he no longer lives there!

Apparently, his aunt told Professor Dumbledore that Harry announced a relative of his sent him an owl telling him he could come live with him. Harry said yes, and left to go to them.

Neville, Professor Dumbledore said that Harry doesn't have any more relatives. Whoever wrote to him was lying.

I can't believe that Harry was foolish enough to believe this person's lies. How could he trust someone he's never even met? After everything he has gone through, he just trusted some stranger! Can you believe that?!

Ron, Fred, George, and I are all writing to Harry on the chance that he'd write back to us. Could you please do the same? And if he does write back, could you let me know? We're all really worried, especially Professor Dumbledore.

See you soon, Neville.

Love, Hermione J Granger

Neville let out a sigh before placing the letter down and covered his face with his hands. Truth be told, he didn't like Hermione very much. Granted, her casting the Full Body-Bind Curse on him in their first year didn't exactly endear him to her, but the way she treated him after becoming friends with Harry and Ron wasn't exactly friendly.

She was only cordially polite, outright dismissive in some cases, and the 'higher than thou' attitude that she had in regards to the school work was supremely irritating.

Neville knew that she was a good person, but she had yet to show it to him personally.

The stuff she wrote in her letter did concern him though. Despite not being on good terms with Hermione and Ron, Harry was a great friend to him. After their first year had ended, Harry had written to him with an apology for allowing Hermione to cast Petrificus Totalus on him and hoped that they could still be friends.

Neville, at first, had been shocked that Harry, of all people, had decided to write him, not only to apologize but to also ask if they could remain friends. He had thought himself as Harry's friend but he had no idea that Harry thought of Neville as his friend too.

He had written back, telling him that he accepted his apology and that 'of course they were still friends!'. When Harry hadn't written back, Neville was worried that he had said something wrong, only for his worries to be lifted when he wrote back sometime later, explaining that he had only then received his letter but was glad that he wasn't mad at him.

The following years at Hogwarts had only strengthened their friendship. He was there when the whole school thought Harry was Slytherin's Heir and shunned him for it; he was there when Malfoy was telling everyone about the way he fainted in the presence of Dementors (and when he learned the reason why Harry had such an extreme reaction, he had to stop himself from marching over to Malfoy and hexing his bollocks off!). He was there when almost everyone, including Ron, had thought Harry entered his name into the Goblet and were treating him harshly, again, and was there for him after he came out the maze with Cedric's dead body.

After all of that, Neville could honestly say that Harry was his best friend.

So hearing from Hermione that his best friend went off with a stranger worried him - but it also confused him. He knew Harry pretty well, and Harry doesn't trust people easily. If Harry really did go with this person willingly, then that must mean he trusted them.

Neville let out another sigh before pulling some parchment towards him and taking out a quill. He'll write to Harry, but not just because Hermione said so. But because Harry was his best friend and he was worried about him.

(If he gets a response from Harry, he doesn't think he'll tell Hermione. Something about the way she spoke in her letter rubbed him the wrong way, especially the constant mentioning of Professor Dumbledore. He's just the Headmaster, why was he involved in this?)

Harry was sitting in his room and on his bed, his legs crossed beneath him.

His eyes were shut and his arms resting in his lap as he breathed in and out in steady beats.

He was once again meditating, this time for two reasons.

The first reason being that learning Occlumency was extremely important, and meditation helped in that regard.

The second reason was to get his emotions under control.

Hunter had said that being able to Occlude also helped with controlling his emotions so they don't get the best of him, especially when he's angry.

So, after reading the letters from his 'worried' friends (Fred and George weren't included in the sarcasm) and from Sirius, and pacing agitatedly in his room for a while, he opted to simply sit on top of his bed to meditate so he could focus on what to do next.

He was seriously tempted to just send back replies to Hermione, Ron, and Sirius with the same three words on each note; Go to hell!

But the more rational side of his brain kicked in and he refrained.

And now, hours later after careful meditation and rational thinking, his anger had calmed down significantly. He was still mad at them for only reaching out to see where he was instead of just checking in on him, but he was no longer a simmering ball of rage.

(Mostly.)

He breathed in deeply one last time before he let it out slowly and opened his eyes.

His eyes stared at his bedspread without really seeing anything as his thoughts raced.

'If I don't write to them, then they'll think something is wrong and that I need 'rescuing' or something even more ridiculous,' Harry thought. 'But if I do write back, then they won't leave it alone until they know everything from where I am to who Hunter is. I wonder, which is the lesser of the two evils?'

In the end, he decided to write back to them anyways. He did want to write to Fred and George after all. 'Besides,' he thought. 'If I write only to them, Mrs. Weasley might demand to see their letter. Or worse, Dumbledore himself.'

He sighed and got off his bed and made his way towards the desk, the afternoon sun shining outside the window. He eyed the opened letters sitting 'innocently' to the side and couldn't help but glare at them. He took out his wand and grabbed all but the one from Fred and George. He tossed them into the air and pointed his wand before exclaiming, "Incendio!"

The letters from Hermione, Ron, and Sirius went up in flames and were turned to ash before their remains hit the floor.

Harry let a smirk cross his face briefly before he became serious again and he turned back towards his desk.

After sitting down, he grabbed a sheet of parchment and dabbed his quill into the inkwell. But before he could begin to write, a tapping noise startled him enough that he dropped his quill. Looking up, he saw a regal-looking owl flapping outside his window. It rapped its beak against Harry's window once again before the green-eyed teen got up to open it.

The owl flew in as soon as the window was opened and settled itself upon Harry's desk. A letter was clutched in its beak.

"I wonder who you belong to," Harry murmured to himself as he approached the sharped-eyed avian. Its feathers were dark brown with small golden spots surrounding its eyes. As soon as Harry took the letter from it, the owl flew off through the open window.

"Huh," Harry said in surprise, the letter still gripped in his hands. "I guess they're not waiting for a response. Or they don't expect me to respond at all."

Curiosity now fully formed, Harry opened the letter. His eyes widened as he read its contents.

Dear Harry,

Heya Harry! I am sorry I haven't written to you before now, I was really busy; These past few weeks Gran had been teaching me how to manage the Longbottom Estate for when I become of age and we finally finished with everything a little while ago.

But that's not important.

I admit that I am not writing to simply say hello. Hermione had written to me, telling a story about how you went off with a stranger and left your relatives' home to go live with them.

She claims that this person was lying to you and conned you into going with them.

However, I've gotten to know you these past four years, Harry. I'd like to think I know you well enough to understand that you don't trust easily, especially adults.

If you trust this person, then that's good enough for me. Just trust your instincts as you've always had. And know that I'm on your side like I've always been.

Write me back as soon as you can.

Your Friend, Neville Longbottom

Harry couldn't keep the smile off his face as he finished Neville's letter.

Unlike Ron and Hermione, the Longbottom Heir has never distrusted Harry or expected him to be something he wasn't. He trusted the boy completely and wasn't afraid to speak his mind when he was with him.

If he had said something in front of Hermione that contradicted something she read, Harry would have had to listen to her telling him how wrong he was and where he could find the book with the correct answer.

(Sometimes her love of books annoyed even him.)

Ron, on the other hand, tended to become jealous and green-eyed whenever Harry's fame and wealth were brought up. It was how he believed that Harry had entered himself in the Triwizard Tournament.

(Harry doesn't understand how Ron doesn't realize that he'd give up all he had if it meant having a caring family like his.)

(He loves both of his friends, but he wasn't blind to their faults.)

Neville, on the other hand, was his friend without any judgment and always stuck by his side.

He didn't need to go and ask Hunter if Neville could be trusted.

Harry already knew he could be.

Back at Grimmauld Place, Hermione sat on her bed in her room that she shared with Ginny, her teeth worrying her lip.

She and the others had sent their letters to Harry earlier that day and had been anxiously awaiting a reply back.

'Oh, I hope he's alright,' Hermione thought. 'Going off to live with some stranger as he did. I hope whoever they are haven't harmed him.'

She was almost sick with concern, and she knew she wasn't the only one. Mrs. Weasley has been cooking almost obsessively after Mr. Weasley left for work with Ginny helping her, Sirius was sulking in the attic with Buckbeak, Ron stayed in the room he was supposed to share with Harry, and even the twins were looking morose whenever they stepped out of their room.

(A part of Hermione wondered when they got so close to Harry to be worrying as much as she and Ron did, but she always shoved those thoughts away.)

There was nothing to distract herself with. She had already finished her summer homework, and they haven't been to Diagon Alley to shop for that year's school books yet, so there was nothing new to read. Plus, Sirius had said the house's library was off-limits because most of the books were cursed.

So, Hermione was stuck doing nothing but worry about Harry the whole day.

Just when Hermione was about to get up to start pacing, the door to her room opened and Ginny's head peeked in.

"Hermione, come quick!" the redhead said urgently. "Hedwig is here with a letter for you, Ron, Sirius, and the twins."

"Really?" Hermione gasped as she jumped up.

"Yes!" Ginny exclaimed impatiently. "Now come on! I want to see what he wrote to you guys."

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Hermione followed Ginny down the stairs and into the dining room to see Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Ron, Fred, and George gathered at the table, a pile of letters on the surface.

Hermione frowned as she sat down. "Where's Hedwig?"

"She didn't stay," Ron answered grumpily. Ron was in the room when Hedwig arrived, waiting for the food his mother was making, along with the twins. The owl simply dropped off the letters, nipped at the fingers of Fred and George when they reached out to pet her and flew off when Ron leaned forward to pet her as well.

Mrs. Weasley sighed before leaning forward. "Well, let's see what he wrote to you all," she said, hiding her apprehension as she passed them the letters that were addressed to them.

Hermione's hands were shaking when she accepted her letter from Mrs. Weasley. She was so nervous to see what Harry had written her. 'Would he be asking for help?' She couldn't help but wonder. 'Would the person who took Harry have hurt him? Is he okay?'

The sound of rustling parchment brought Hermione out of her thoughts to see everyone else opening their letters and she hastily did the same. Her eyes scanned the letter and she frowned. It was a lot shorter than she thought it'd be.

Dear Hermione,

Thanks for being worried about me enough to write to me. But your worry is unnecessary. I am fine and my guardian is taking good care of me.

You might not believe me, but Dumbledore is wrong. My guardian is related to me, even if he isn't a close relative.

Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine.

Harry

Hermione's frown deepened as she reread the letter. 'That was...awfully short,' she thought to herself. Ron, who was next to her was frowning as well. A quick peek at his letter showed her that it was worded exactly the same as hers with only a few differences.

"That's weird," she murmured to herself as she compared the two letters. "Why would he write these?"

A little ways away, Sirius was frowning down at his own letter.

Dear Padfoot,

I am fine. The reason I went with the 'random stranger' as you say, is because they're related to me and because I wanted to.

I'm not in any danger, but thanks for writing anyways.

Talk to you soon.

Harry

"That's it?" Sirius asked aloud. "That's all Harry writes?"

"What?" Mrs. Weasley moved forward. "What did he write?"

Sirius angrily waved his letter around. "Harry said that he's fine and that he went with that stranger because he wanted to and because they're related. They're not! James didn't have any other relatives and Harry was staying with Lily's! Why is Harry listening to a stranger!"

"A stranger?" Mrs. Weasley repeated. "You mean Harry didn't tell you who they are? None of you?" She directed her second question to everyone else.

Hermione shook her head. "No, he just called them his guardian and that he's a relative, just not a close one."

"In the letter to me, he said that his guardian wasn't a Death Eater," Ron added unhappily.

Mrs. Weasley sigh as she placed a hand over her face. "Dear Merlin, she muttered.

Fred and George were hardly paying attention to the others, their eyes still glued to their letter. Because, as it turned out, theirs was different than the others.

Dear Gred and Forge,

You guys have no idea how happy it made me that you two tried to get in touch even though Dumbledore said not to. And yes, I did get your letter.

The person I am with isn't a random stranger, he really is related to me. And, again, yes, the 'stranger' is a he. His name is Hunter. I can't tell you his last name, at least not yet. I can't tell Ron, Hermione, or Padfoot Hunter's name because they'll just turn around and tell Dumbledore, and I DO NOT trust him. You guys shouldn't either.

I'm glad you guys trust me that much. I trust you guys too, which was why I told you Hunter's name. You guys can trust him too, I swear on my life.

I am safe. I promise.

I can't wait to hear from you guys again.

Your Little Brother,

Harry

Fred and George couldn't stop the smiles of relief after they read Harry's words.

He was safe.

He was happy.

That's all that mattered.

However, their smiles faded when they both glanced up and observed the exchanges between Sirius and their mum while the others spoke amongst themselves.

"They can't know," Fred whispered to his twin. "Harry is right; if we let them know they'll just tell Dumbledore."

"I know," George murmured back as he observed them as well. "We didn't need Harry to tell us not to trust Dumbledore. They can't know what he told us."

"I know," Fred agreed as he folded the letter back up. "First chance we get, we'll burn it."

It was at that moment that Ginny turned towards them. "Hey," she called out, getting everyone's attention, "what did Harry write to you two?"

They both shrugged. "Nothing much," George said offhandedly.

Fred nodded. "Just said that he was fine."

"Thanked us for writing."

"Said he was with his relative."

"He'll see us soon."

"Thanked us for being worried."

"Alright, alright, enough," Mrs. Weasley threw her hands up. "Thanks, you two. I'll finish making dinner so guys can eat. Sirius, you might want to write to the Headmaster and let him know what has happened."

As Sirius nodded in agreement, the twins exchanged glances.

They made the right call.

Thank you all for being so patient with me as I wrote this. I know it probably took longer than the others to get posted but it's done now.

I hope you all enjoyed it!

Oh, and for a little sneak peek.

Next chapter, Harry and Hunter are going to stir up trouble.

R&R!