Chapter 8

Harry had been so exhausted when he went to bed that morning that he had completely forgotten to warn his guardians of his grandfather's arrival. Therefore, when Remus left his bedroom that morning and saw a strange man moving boxes into the room next to Harry's, he was a bit confused.

Pulling his wand out of his pocket, he pointed it at the man. "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

Charles Potter turned around slowly and looked at the man who had been much younger the last time he had seen him. "Remus?" he asked, surprised. Harry had also forgotten to mention to his grandfather that Remus and Sirius lived with him.

Remus almost dropped his wand. "M-Mr. Potter?" he gasped.

Charles Potter grinned at him. "Now that you're closer to my age than you are to Jamey's, why don't you call me Charley?"

The werewolf lowered his wand slowly. "How—where—" He shook his head. "What's going on?"

Charles laughed. "I take it Harry didn't tell you about my arrival."

Remus shook his head.

"Oh, well. He didn't tell me you were here, either, but that's probably because he was exhausted. He was up most of the night. I'm sure he just forgot to mention it."

"It's difficult to imagine how he could forget to mention something so—shocking," Remus said, and then realized that Charles was still holding the boxes. "Let me help you with that." He took one of the boxes from the older man and followed him into the bedroom. "What happened to you?" he asked, once they had placed the boxes on the bed. "You disappeared, and no one ever found out where you'd gone."

"I came here. Or rather, Harry brought me here."

Remus's face paled. "Oh, God. He didn't!"

"It's all right, Remus. This must have been what happened in the original time frame. Otherwise, I don't know how I could have disappeared into thin air without leaving some sort of trace. And since I'm here, I'll be able to help Harry prepare for his fight against Voldemort."

Remus stared at him a moment, then shook his head. "I feel like I'm still dreaming."

They turned when they heard Sirius shuffle past the room on his way to the kitchen. Sirius glanced in for a moment, still half asleep. "Hi, Remus. Hi, Charley," he said, as he passed. Suddenly, he stopped and rushed back to the door and stood staring at Charles Potter, his eyes as wide as Dobby's. "Ch-Charley? Charles Potter?"

Charles nodded. "Hi, Sirius. How have you been?"

"H-how have I been?" Sirius asked, still in shock. Suddenly he burst into the room and wrapped his arms around the older man in an exuberant hug. "Oh, God! Uncle Charley! How did you get here? I thought you were dead!" He held him at arm's length. "And why haven't you aged?"

"This is the work of your godson," Remus said. "He went into the past and brought his grandfather back to the future."

The color drained from Sirius's face. "He did what?"

Charles and Remus laughed at the look of panic on Sirius's face. Suddenly a muffled voice was heard from Harry's room.

"Hey! Could you keep it down? People are trying to sleep in here!"

Sirius got a mischievous look on his face. He took his wand out of his pocket and went into Harry's room. "Aguamenti!"

Harry shrieked and sat up, giving his godfather a furious look. "Sirius!" he sputtered. "What was that for?"

Sirius shook his wand at the young man menacingly. "For going into the past and getting your grandfather and not telling anybody what you were doing! That's what it's for!"

There was silence for a moment, then a quiet, "Oh. Yeah. I forgot."

"Yeah, well, get up. Your punishment is having to eat breakfast with your family."

"I'm being punished?" Harry asked incredulously. "I bring two people back from the dead, one of which was you, I might add, and this is the thanks I get? Talk about a lack of appreciation!"

"All right. That does it. You just got yourself a double portion of blueberry pancakes, Mister!"

"You're going to force me to eat my favorite food for breakfast?" Harry sighed, defeated. "I should have stayed with the Dursleys!" he grumbled, flipping back the covers and getting out of bed.

Sirius left him to get ready. Remus and Charles were in the hallway, grinning at him when he came out of Harry's room.

"That was quite an impressive display of administering discipline," Charles said.

"Yes," Remus agreed. "Unique, but impressive."

"I have my moments," Sirius responded, placing his wand back in his pocket. "Anyway, he can nap by the pool later."

Charles and Remus burst into laughter.

After a large breakfast of pancakes and sausages, the family, which now consisted of four, followed Charles out of the trunk and into the library of Potter Manor. It was quite an impressive mansion. Built of stone 800 years before, it had been restored and enlarged through the centuries by different members of the Potter clan. It stood in the center of a small island in an expansive forest glade. Several paths led from the mansion, through the forest, to the beach.

In the library, the four men sat before the fireplace. "Are we in the past, Granddad?" Harry asked, looking around the enormous room.

"No, I brought the trunk back to 1996. We're in your present. However, the house elves have kept the mansion just as it was when I left it in 1981. I was afraid it might have fallen into disrepair."

"This isn't where you lived when James was in school," Sirius said. "When I lived with you, you had a house in Wiltshire."

"I'm assuming we still have the house in Wiltshire, but Anna and I moved here while you and Jamey were attending auror training. Voldemort's forces were increasing, and I had to take every precaution not to be captured alive by his Death Eaters."

Harry asked the question he had been wondering since discussing it with the portrait. "Granddad, if this place was so protected, why didn't Mum, Dad, and I move in here instead of going to Godric's Hollow?"

"That's a good question," Charles answered. "The answer is that Jamey couldn't live here because of his profession. The only way on and off this island is by use of a transportation key, like the one used for the trunk. There is no communication to or from the island. The fireplace is not connected to the floo and owls cannot find the island. As an auror, James had to be reachable 24 hours a day. Of course, you and Lily could have come, but they didn't want to separate the family."

"We should make this a home base," Harry said. "This is even safer than the Dursleys or Hogwarts." He looked at his grandfather. "I mean, if it's okay with you."

Charles laughed. "Harry, this is your home. Of course it's all right with me. And I agree; this is probably the safest place on earth. Besides, you'll be able to send and receive post through the trunk since the areas you've charmed for that purpose are off the island."

"Then we'll make this home base 3," Harry said, happily. "I've never had a home before, I mean, before the trunk."

His grandfather smiled at him. "You do now," he said, patting Harry's knee. "Anyway, down to business. I talked with my portrait earlier this morning before the rest of you awoke, and I learned a great deal about what life is like in this time. Because of the prophecy, it seems that you, Harry, are the key to defeating Voldemort for good. We need to make plans. This is not something that you are going to have to deal with alone. We will plan our offensive, organize our allies, and put our plans into action immediately. The sooner we get rid of the old devil the faster we can all settle down and live normal lives."

The others agreed and waited for Charles to continue.

"Now, I assume the Order is still active?" he asked.

"Yes," Remus said. "Albus is still head of the Order, and we have around 20 members."

"Who is Minister of Magic in this time?"

"We have a new one. Rufus Scrimgeour. He used to be an auror."

"Do you know anything about him?"

"He was a good auror," Sirius said. "He was wounded in the line of duty and got stuck on a desk. I don't know much about him, other than that. He was a tough old bloke—looked a bit like a lion."

"I could talk with Albus about him," Remus suggested. "And Kingsley, Moody, and Tonks. They're aurors and members of the Order. Well, Moody's retired now, but he would know more about him than most."

"Yes, we'll also need to talk with them about trustworthy aurors," Charles said. "And we'll need to talk with Albus. Of course, the first thing we need to do is find out where Voldemort is."

"Can the trunk help us do that?" Harry asked.

"It can help us spy on him, but we have to locate him first. My suggestion is that we find a Death Eater to watch, then attach ourselves to him when he's summoned to Voldemort."

"Snape's a Death Eater," Harry said. "We could watch him."

"Severus Snape?"

"Actually, he's a spy for the Order," Remus corrected. "He's also the potions professor at Hogwarts."

"Do you know where he lives?"

Remus shook his head. "No, but—"

"We could send him an owl and follow it," Harry suggested. "Remus, you could owl him and ask him to meet you to discuss getting the wolfsbane potion from him. He'll refuse to make it, anyway, so you wouldn't actually have to meet him."

"Or," Remus said, glaring at Harry for interrupting him. "I could attend the Order meeting tonight and bring the trunk along with me. You could attach yourselves to him before he leaves the meeting."

Sirius snorted and ruffled Harry's hair. "I liked the owl idea myself," he said.

Charles grinned. "Then we'll attend the Order meeting tonight. We'll need to make Harry a member, since he'll be in attendance. He'll just need to swear the oath."

"Dumbledore won't let me," Harry said, sulkily.

"Well, Dumbledore isn't your legal guardian, Harry. Remus is. And Sirius is your godfather and I'm your grandfather, so I don't think that Albus is going to be a problem."

Harry grinned. "Would it sound terribly sappy if I said that it's nice to finally have a family?"

Sirius grabbed him around the neck and ran his knuckles over the top of his head. "Yes, Harry. That sounds sappy, but we forgive you."

"Before Severus leaves, then, we'll move the trunk inside his pocket. Hopefully, we won't have long to wait before he goes to Voldemort."

"He may do it after the meeting," Remus said. "He usually reports to Voldemort immediately after an Order meeting."

"So soon," Charles said thoughtfully, then clapped his hands together. "Well, then, we have a room to prepare. Gentlemen, we need to create a prison. We'll need Dobby for this, Harry. His magic, combined with ours, will create the most secure area known to Wizardkind."

"Is that what the 8th level is for?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely. The Marauders' Prison, gentlemen, is about to become a Death Eaters worst nightmare."

A day of hard work and magic that Harry had never imagine possible produced 40 8-by-8 meter prison cells. The cells were surrounded by thick stones on three sides and a strong wall of steel mesh on the fourth, making it impossible for the prisoner to reach beyond the cell. In front of each line of cells was an aisle 2 meters wide behind which was another stone wall. Stone and steel mesh would be the prisoner's only view. Inside each cell was a stone slab built into the wall. An indestructible mattress was permanently attached to the slab, which would provide both seating and a bed for the prisoner. Folded on top of the mattress were a set of sheets, a blanket, a pillow, a paperback muggle novel, and a plain gray prison robe. On one side of the bed was a toilet with a stone shelf holding toilet paper beside it. A sink was on the other side. Another stone shelf, located above the sink, held a bar of soap and a toothbrush.

The cells were charmed to prevent escape, wandless magic, apparition, disapparition, and animagus transformation. Anyone inside the cell could not perform magic, even if they had a wand. They were also sound proof. There were no openings in the mesh wall for food or water to pass through. Food would magically appear three times a day inside the cell on a muggle paper plate along with a drink in a muggle foam cup. The prisoner would have exactly half an hour to eat before the plate and cup disappeared.

There was a separate cell for prisoners to be magically stripped and scanned for hidden contraband. Another cell, lined with shelves, would serve as a storage area where boxes would hold the prisoners' personal affects. A third cell would serve as an interrogation area. In the middle of that cell was a chair with chains attached. Other chairs were placed in the room for the interrogators.

"How long will we hold prisoners here?" Remus asked.

"Until Voldemort is vanquished and Azkaban is secure," Charles answered. "We can't depend on ministry holding cells. Death Eaters are probably working in the Ministry. Prisoners will be rescued, allowed to escape, or killed, depending on their importance to Voldemort. Besides, with them here, we can question them at will."

"Why did you say this would be the biggest fear for Death Eaters?" Harry asked. "This is much more humane than Azkaban. They'll get fed and have a place to clean up. They'll even have books to read."

"Yes, Harry," Sirius said. "But after 3 days of staring at nothing but 4 walls, having no one to talk to, and hearing nothing but your own voice, it becomes torture."

"Perhaps we should provide some form of exercise," Remus said. "I know they're prisoners, but we should at least give them some sunshine and a place to walk."

Charles looked thoughtful. "We could double the size of this room and build 4 more rooms. We'll make each one a smaller version of the Room of Requirement, but not changeable by the prisoners. We'll put a little park in each one and make the day nice and sunny. Every day, for 45 minutes, a prisoner will be automatically transported to the park where he can enjoy the sun and exercise. Since it's a Room of Requirement, he won't be able to take anything from the area to use as a weapon. After that, he'll be automatically transported back to his cell. Each prisoner will have an assigned time, on the hour, so that there will be 15 minutes between visits. That way, there's no chance of one coming into contact with another one."

"Couldn't one of them leave a message in the dirt or something for another prisoner?" Remus asked.

"No, because we'll charm them so that when one prisoner leaves, the rooms will return to exactly the way they were before anyone entered. Any messages in the dirt or scratches on trees will disappear."

"If Azkaban had been like this, I might not have escaped," Sirius said, only half seriously.

"That's another thing," Charles said. "If possible, I'd like to capture Pettigrew first. We need to get your name cleared, Sirius. Of course, once that's done, he'll probably escape, but we'll just recapture him and put him in our little prison."

"Will 40 cells be enough?" Harry asked.

"Probably not, but if we need to, we can replicate the room and have 40 more," Charles said.