A/N: As much as I might like to, no this won't be a crossover. Partially because my copy of the books are a while away from me (a friend has them, and I don't know when I'll get them back) and it's been a while since I've read the Young Wizard series. Mostly, however it won't be a crossover because I'd like to stay in the Potterverse for the most part. That doesn't mean Harry and gang can't learn from it.

As a side note, I wasn't originally going to bring Hermione in, it's done so much and as I have said before, I'd like this to be a unique fic. Sadly, I just couldn't resist introducing the possibility. Don't be surprised however, if you don't see a lot of her at first.

Why couldn't I've been the one?

She yells up straight to sky.

Why couldn't I've been the one?

But the Moon will never will reply.

No, the Moon will never reply.

- Let's Lumos!

Chapter 12

It was impossible for anyone in the vicinity to not have heard the loud thunk of the book as it met skull. The other library patrons turned briefly to the sound or just ignored it. One redhead, however, seemed keen on investigating.

Sighing to himself, one Remus Lupin stood up and went to perform damage control. He recognized Mafalda's type. Bratty and full of herself, the only redeeming quality he'd noticed was her youth. Her opinions up until now could still be attributed to her raising in part, so he wasn't going to hold it against her.

Well, not completely anyway.

Intercepting the small girl, he noticed the older redheaded man watching her.

"Good to see you again, Mafalda," Remus greeted good-naturedly. "That your father?"

The deer in headlight look was not Mafalda's best, Remus noted with hidden amusement as the young girl looked between Harry and her father. Eventually, she caved in to the teacher like charisma Remus had mastered some years ago while coaching the boys. Although in the end, that didn't matter much as her father had taken it upon himself to come up and introduce himself anyway.

"Who's this then, Poppet?"

Lupin grinned to himself. Yet another successful diversion, why had they had only ever relied on Peter again? He had become rather accomplished at it himself.

"Remus Lupin, pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm here watching Harry and Dudley Dursley. They are friends of the Williams' daughter. I believe you're friends of theirs?"

The redhaired man ended up stuttering out a yes and Remus was able to easily usher them to a different part of the library and a complete different line of conversation.

Had Harry and Dudley known, they would have appreciated the gesture. As it was, they made good on their escape anyway, sliding over to their table having silently agreed that this book was coming home with them.

The rest of the library trip passed without incident. When the time came for the group to leave, they made sure to sneak it in, which was fairly simple since Harry held the library card. Mission accomplished without a hitch, it was only a matter of containing their interest until later in the evening. Something that turned out to be easier than either boy had expected. Both were interested on some level after all, Harry for the possible help and Dudley just because he had slowly grown to appreciate all sorts of stories and this one seemed incredibly promising.

So it was certainly fortunate that a certain Peter Pettigrew had chosen that day to drop by for a visit. He had been sitting on the steps of Uncle Remus' town home, just waiting for them although he could have easily gone inside. Because of this, he was mobbed by the two young boys, both greeting him enthusiastically and inquiring as to how he was and where he had been.

Peter was not as accessible to the two boys as Remus was, given the fact Peter lived and worked in the magical world for the most part. Because of this, he was always a little surprised by the effusiveness of the greetings he received. Remus would just smile at it all like it was perfectly normal, but Peter was not used to being wanted or included having spent so long on the fringes. It was a rather nice feeling, being wanted and fully included.

It almost made him feel guilty that he was here this time more for business then pleasure, but such was his life. Due to the nature of how he spent most o his time at Hogwarts, while he had a grasp on many complicated spells it was only a passing one and his grades and test results certainly did not reflect it. James and Sirius had not spent an overly large amount of time coaching him after all. While Remus probably would have, it was James and Sirius' attention that he had craved, much to his regret now. If only he had the courage to stand up for himself, maybe things would be different for young Harry now.

If only he knew how much he had changed Harry's life for the better, maybe he would be more confident in his own worth. As it was, their two young charges spent the rest of the afternoon regaling Peter with stories and piling question upon question for him to answer.

It would not be until later that night that Harry would sneak into Dudley's room so they could both read the book. Sure, it was a little disappointing for Harry that it was just a story book really, but that did not dampen their curiousity a whit. Especially when they came across the Oath of Wizardry, at that point Dudley was all for saying it just to see if anything would happen. After all, the book had fallen on them unexpectedly without them looking for it, surely that meant something?

Harry was a bit hesitant though and luckily convinced his cousin to wait, especially with the mentions of an ordeal. There wasn't any point in rushing in, even if it was not real. Thus placated, the two read a few more chapters before Harry finally left to sleep.

Petunia came across him in the hall and was surprised to see him awake. To Harry's relief, she did not seem to notice the book clutched at his side. After giving his aunt a story about having needed to use the loo, Harry slipped back into the relative solace of his bedroom, leaving his aunt to her thoughts.

One Petunia Dursley nee Evans had been rather introspective lately, much like her nephew, but for different reasons. While Harry was dealing with the news of his parents' murder and the fact their murderer was still out there and would no doubt come back and try to finish the job he started, Petunia was battling with her conscience and her fear. She could not deny that Harry was old enough to learn the truth they had been shielding him from for so long, she had no idea how to go about it. Part of her was jealous of her nephew, for he no doubt had the same gift his mother and father had – the gift of magic. She had spent many years envying her sister, wishing that she had been the one to get the letter, an invitation to attend Hogwarts that she had no doubt whatsoever would wing its way to Privet Drive come June of Harry's eleventh year.

But more than jealousy, she was afraid of losing her nephew in the same way she had lost her younger sister. Back when they had been little, Lily had practically worshiped the ground she walked on. She, Petunia, of all people had been trusted above all others. When she had not been able to wrap her head around the reality of magic in time, instead fearing what she did not understand, Lily had distanced herself from her once beloved older sister. Not understanding, angry, and jealous, Petunia had done what most children would in her place – lashed out at the one who was causing her all of these hurtful feelings, even though it had been no fault of Lily's. It was only now, years later that she could fully admit that. It was not even that Sirius Black's fault, for Lily had not liked him to begin with either. She had changed her mind only later, and Petunia regretted not having been close enough with her sister to help somehow, even just as support.

Petunia did not want Harry to grow up and away from her the same way Lily had. She knew that he, like Dudley, would grow up anyway, but that was different. Everyone ended up growing away from their mother. Not everyone grew out of an entire world.

One of the other reasons she had not yet told Harry the truth was that she had no idea how to broach the subject. In the back of her mind, she secretly wondered if she could approach the person who first told her about magic and Hogwarts – that strange, intense boy who had been Lily's only true friend for so long. He would know far more than her on the subject.

True, she knew that she could ask Peter or Remus to explain, and she did plan on letting them know at some point soon that they could discuss it. The crux of the matter was though, that Petunia wanted to come clean to the young Harry herself as well as her son. She had not meant to keep it a secret for so long, but like most secrets, the longer it had been kept the harder it got to finally let it go. If she told Harry with the aid of that Snape fellow, then maybe she would be able to avoid the accusing glares of 'did they make you tell me or did you decide on your own to finally unleash havoc on my world?' The trick would lie in convincing the man to actually help her. It was worth thinking on anyway.

/

A certain headmaster named Albus Dumbledore had a lot on his mind at the moment. The Wizengamot was not currently in session, which was a bit of a blessing, but there was always something to do at the school, even if it was just meetings with the professors.

What he was currently pondering, however, had little to do with his position as headmaster and much more as the leader of an organization known as the Order of the Phoenix. Many years ago, he had placed the Prophecy Child in the care of his relatives. In his position as both the leader of the Order and Headmaster, he had heard several stories about the Dursleys. His Deputy Headmistress had been particularly outspoken, saying that no matter the feelings between Lily and her sister, the Dursley household were the worst sort of muggles, bigots little better than the sort that had caused such strife in their own world recently. The Dursleys were hardly about to start a civil war, lacking a leader and the right sort of ammunition, but it had long weighed heavily on the man that he had to leave a young child with them for his safety. He had known it was far from a perfect plan, it was simply the only course of action that formed some sort of definite protection. And he had been glad of it, especially after what had happened to the Longbottoms.

Needless to say, he had been surprised when Mrs. Figg reported that she had seen little Peter Pettigrew, not so little anymore, inquiring after the boys as if he saw them somewhat frequently. He had not expected the Dursleys to allow any of the wizarding world contact with their family, much less the remaining Marauders. It was a surprise, but a nice one. In fact, the only downside he could think of was that Harry's year might be more mischievous than it would have been otherwise. Then again, this was Peter and Remus, their influence might lean a little less towards pranking, but then it's the quiet ones you need to watch out for most….

Suffice it to say that Dumbledore would have worried more if Sirius Black was the one influencing the young Harry Potter, for more reasons than one really after the discovery of the depths of Black's treachery. When the Potters had been betrayed, Albus had not wanted to believe it for he had trusted the young Sirius as well. His newest Potions Master had been particularly bitter about it, given that while Black was in Azkaban now, if justice had been served as Severus Snape had wished all those years ago, the Potter family might still be alive. The only reason Severus had not gloated to the Dumbledore about it was that it was just as much his own fault as Black's that Lily was dead. Well, that and he just was not the type to go out and wave an 'I told you so' in the face of the man who had helped save him. There had been far too much guilt on the young man's plate to heap more on his mentor's.

In another part of the castle, Minerva McGonnagall was pondering the mini lecture Harry had given her on muggle science as a cat. It was clear that he had managed to develop his parents' intelligence without James' need of showing it off extravagantly. Harry had been excited but it had not been the flashy sort of display his father was known for, rather a more hyper version of Lily, or even Remus, come to think of it. Although he was starting to cultivate the sort of charisma that came naturally to James and Remus had always seemed too shy to possess. He was such a happy little boy. Thankfully many of the Deatheaters, including Black, were locked up in Azkaban. That measure along with the blood protection Albus had enabled meant Harry was able to grow up like a normal little boy, without having to worry about his life being in danger, indeed, not even knowing that his life was in peril at all.

McGonnagall frowned slightly, finally pinning down what seemed so wrong about the whole Sirius Black. Lily and James had made Black their son's godfather. That would imply there was some sort of magical filial bond between Harry and Sirius as well as making Harry Black's current legal heir. But if that were the case, then surely Black would be a squib or worse for having betrayed the Potters, for surely he had known the fifteen month old could at least possibly be killed in the melee.

Unless he had been on You-Know-Who's side by that time. But then, that either left Harry with no godfather and just his incapacitated godmother Alice Longbottom… or an unknown godfather. That would bear some looking into, if only because godparents had clout in a child's life as long as they were considered a minor.

The answer was closer than she thought, although it would be quite some time until the truth was revealed but it lay in the hearts of the remaining Marauders, never spoken but silently felt.

Peter and Remus were having their own conversation back at Lupin's town home. Theirs was rather innocuous, just two friends catching up on the goings on in either world – not exactly conversation you wanted your neighbors to get wind of due to secrecy, but not matters of state either. Remus was in the middle of trying to convince his remaining best friend to come and visit more often and for longer periods of time when Harry was dropped off after school. Peter had chosen to visit on one of Harry's days to visit intentionally, so it should not have been a surprise, save for the fact the time had run away from the two men.

Either way, it made for an uncomfortable silence when the young Potter child first burst through the door. Instead of following his usual pattern, he had headed straight towards the study, as he knew his Uncle Remus was actually home, and entered at the precise time he knocked.

"Uncle Remus? Oh, hey Uncle Peter!"

The appellation slipped out accidentally, but noticing the stunned but pleased expression, Harry decided he was not about to mention that.

"I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?" The young boy looked at both of them, as if just noticing the awkward atmosphere.

"That is, unless this is a bad time?"

"No, no, not at all, Prongslet," Remus spoke for himself and the daze Peter. "Questions about homework?"

Harry shifted a little uncomfortably, causing Peter's interest to shoot up as Remus gave the boy a knowing look.

"Not exactly… they're about something else."

Remus moved to shut the door before turning to face his fellow Marauder and the only descendant of the group thus far.

"I'll answer if I can, Harry. Sit down. We might as well bring Peter in. He and I have gotten into enough scraps together; I know we can trust him with a secret."

Winking to his compatriot, Remus flicked his wand, conjuring a comfortable seat for Harry as he and Peter already had chairs.