AN/ Hey everyone. I know, huge gap between updates, my sincere apologies, but I have been sick and also University has taken a lot of time up that I would usually use for writing. Learning a new language from scratch on top of a teaching degree is hard. Anyway, here is the next chapter, short I know, but it ends at a turning point so making it longer wouldn't work. Anyway, enjoy.

NB: Italics Younger Harry's mind voice, spirits mind voice.

Disclaimer: as always, not mine, I am just borrowing for a while.

Chapter 7: Reunion and Revelation

Remus Lupin stared up and down Privet Drive in bemusement. The street practically screamed normal to the point where it was almost scary. He slipped his hand into the pocket of the faded muggle slacks he was wearing and drew out Harry's return letter once more where the young wizard outlined how to get to his Aunt's house.

It was odd really. He had never actually met Lily's sister at all and come to think of it, he couldn't really recall her ever talking about her much either. The few times he could remember the woman ever coming up in conversation he had noted a veiled look of sorrow and disgust in the witch's bright green eyes; it was an expression he had never though he would see.

Lily Evans had been one of the most accepting and forgiving people he had ever had the privilege to meet. She had a way of seeing into a persons heart and accepting them for who they were. She had married James Potter after all and he was far from being an angelic specimen of wizard kind. Even after she had found out that he himself was a werewolf, she hadn't turned away from him. In fact, she had tried her hardest to find any information she could in order to help her husband's friend.

Therefore it had disturbed him greatly when Dumbledore had announced he was leaving young Harry with his mother's sister; but in the end he had backed down. After all, it wasn't like he could take the boy in, not with ministry laws as they were and with his so called traitorous godfather in prison, there wasn't anywhere suitable for him to be sheltered.

Shaking out of his memories, the werewolf slipped his hands into his pockets and strolled casually along the street, his sharp eyes taking note of the brass numbers on the doors until he spotted number four.

Taking in the neat house before him, Remus looked at the house on one side, then the house on the other and shook his head. If it wasn't for the fact that the neat gardens contained different plants, he would swear that someone had cast a duplication spell a few times in order the populate the street instead of building individual houses.

'Well, here we go.' Straightening his shoulders, he made his way up to the front door and tapped on the white wood.

The door was opened by a thin, horse faced woman and Remus found himself blinking in mild surprise, she looked nothing like Lily, "Mrs Petunia Dursley I presume." He greeted softly, giving the faintest of bows.

The woman's thin eyebrow rose slightly and her sharps eyes travelled over his appearance, taking in his mildly shabby clothes, his tired eyes and his grey streaked light brow hair. "And who might you be?" she finally asked.

Remus had to hold back from blinking again at her disagreeable tone and he forced a faint smile on his face. "My name is Remus Lupin, madam. I was a friend of your sister. I am here to see Harry, if I may."

At the mention of Lily, Petunia Dursleys eyes went flat and travelled over him again, this time a sneer on her thin face, "You are one of them." She sniffed, "If you are here to see the boy, he is in his bedroom. I am warning you now, I do not wish you in my house, so take your meeting somewhere else. If my husband finds out I let one of your kind around here, there will be hell to pay." At that she turned and gestured sharply for him to follow.

Remus could feel a frown come across his features, he didn't think she knew of him being a werewolf, so he figured that she was talking about him being a wizard. But how she could harbour such resentment with a witch for a sister and a wizard for a nephew, he couldn't fathom.

He followed the woman into the house and looked around curiously, the frown on his face deepening as he noticed pictures on the walls and mantle of a large blond boy but not a single trace of a child that resembled Harry.

Petunia's rather shrill voice drew his attention, she was standing at the bottom of the stairs, "Boy, you have a visitor. Get yourself down here and sort this out before Vernon gets home." She turned to face him with a sour twist to her lips, "Well, he's at the end of the hall, don't take too long." With that she spun and stalked through to the kitchen and Remus turned his attention to the stairs, not knowing what to think anymore.

Walking up the stairs, he made his way down the short hall to the last door and knocked softly. There was a faint, "Come in." and he pushed it open and glanced into the room only to stare in pained surprise. Seated on the bed, dressed in a red and silver robe and reading through a textbook laying open on his lap was a slender, undersized version of James Potter.

A soft whisper shook him out of his shock and he thought he heard the boy stutter "Remus." before a look of what he could only describe as grief spread across those familiar features and the boy ducked his head. A second later, he looked up again and his bright green eyes shone with pleasure;

"Mr Lupin, please come in. I didn't expect you to arrive so soon."

Mildly curious at the odd change that had come over the boy in those few seconds, Remus let a kind smile spread across his face and closed the door as he stepped into the room. "I understand there were a few matters you wished to discuss with me concerning your parents, Harry." He said by way of greeting.

The boy nodded and slipped off the bed, going over to a wooden chest sitting on his desk, "Yes, there are a few things that I need to sort through before going to school and I was hoping you could help me." He stated calmly, "But I think it would be better if we found somewhere else to discuss matters as this isn't exactly the right environment for this sort of business."

Even more curious then when he had first read Harry's letter, Remus found himself nodding in agreement, "I can take us to the Leaky Cauldron if you wish, I am sure that Tom would be willing to give us access to one of the parlour's if we asked him."

Harry smiled up at him and he felt his stomach jump at seeing those sparkling eyes again and he found himself smiling in return.

Harry tucked the box under his arm then turned to look at him expectantly, "I think we will have to get outside the protections on the house first, but I should be able to.. ah.. transport us once we are clear." He explained, not real sure how much about magic the boy actually knew. Harry rolled his eyes at him however;

"The wards on this house are to keep people out, not to keep them in." he explained patiently and a faint frown came over his face, "But I do think that I am going to need your help to apparate, I'm not too sure on my control at the moment and I wouldn't want to leave half of myself spread across London."

Remus felt his brain go slightly numb with bafflement, not knowing how to react at all and Harry took pity on him, touching his arm lightly and giving him a faint smile, "Don't worry Mr Lupin, everything will become clear once we are in a secure location."

Wanting to get to the bottom off all this, Remus pulled himself together and held his arm out to his young passenger. As soon as that thin hand gripped his sleeve tightly, he apparated them directly to the Leaky Cauldron.

It didn't take much persuasion for them to get one of the private parlours on the second floor and as soon as the door closed behind the retreating innkeeper, Harry cast a few privacy charms that Remus could actually feel shimmering in the air from the strength of them and turned to face him.

"I'm sorry for all the evasiveness, Mr Lupin," he began and Remus held back from a grimace, that wasn't a name he wanted Harry to call him. He had used to call him Mooney when he was small, too bad it was so long ago now, he gave a tired smile and turned his full attention to the boy in front of him, "There are a few things that I need to tell you and I only ask that you keep an open mind."

After all the mystery, Remus was quite willing to accept just about anything so he nodded in agreement and saw Harry's shoulders relax slightly as he smiled happily and closed his eyes.

Curiously enough, his expression went blank for a moment and when he looked at him again, those green eyes were no longer so clear. Their bright green depths tempered with pain and grief and far too knowledgeable for the young face they dominated, "Hello, Mooney." He whispered.

It had been more of a blow than Harry had expected, seeing Remus again. When the older wizard had slipped his head through the door, Harry had felt a blow to his stomach, as if he had been kicked. He had stared for a second, his mind flooding with images of an older version of the werewolf, worn down and bleeding, his eyes dull with pain as he lay dying in his arms. It was too much for him and with a wrench, the older spirit withdrew leaving the younger to take over.

While Harry managed to get them somewhere where they could talk, the spirit battled with his grief, all the while, revelling in being in his old friends presence once again. By the time Harry turned over control to him once again, he had regained his equilibrium enough to be amused at the total confusion on the werewolf's face as he greeted him.

"I think you might want to sit down, old friend, as this is going to take some explaining."

His amusement grew as Remus looked even more baffled as he took his advice and sat across from his in one of the worn seats.

"Much of what I am going to tell you is going to be hard to believe, I'm sure," he began, shifting a little uncomfortably;

"That has to be the understatement of the century."

"Be quiet, I could do without the commentary." The younger spirit just snorted and he turned his attention outwards once more, a rueful expression on his face.

"I'm sure you have noticed, that my personality is a little… fragmented." Again there came a snicker from the back of his mind, but this time he ignored it.

Remus's eyes had become slightly calculating and Harry found himself shifting slightly on his seat in nervousness, "The truth of the matter is, I am not who you think I am, or at least not entirely."

Remus's eyebrow shot up and Harry sighed in frustration,

"Look, I'm not saying this very well, hopefully I can make you understand without you freaking. The truth is, there are two souls living within this body."

Harry held his breath, waiting for an explosion that never came. Remus just stared at him, his expression blank.

"Ah, I'm not sure I follow you." He said at last, "Are you telling me there is two people living inside Harry's body?"

Harry let out a chuckle, "Well sort of." He amended, "The second soul, me, is actually an older version of myself. The one you were talking to earlier is the eleven year old Harry."
Remus blinked at him then shook his head, "What in the hell is going on here? How is it possible to have to ages of your own soul within you?"

Harry bit his lip then sighed, "To answer that, I am going to have to tell you everything that led up to it." he said softly. "Just remember to keep an open mind as there are some things I am going to tell you that are going to be more then disturbing."

Remus sat back with a nod, his eyes shielded, giving away none of his thoughts and Harry braced himself, diving head long into an edited version of his life of hell.

As he spoke, Remus lost his composed look and his expression became more and more distressed. He went from sitting back in his chair to almost falling on the floor as he leaned forward, taking in everything Harry said.

As he explained about Sirius's innocence and subsequent death, the man almost went catatonic. Brutally ignoring the man's distress, Harry ploughed on, knowing that if he didn't get everything out now, he would never be able to find to the courage later on.

By the time he reached the end of it, he was shaking with stress and Remus was clutching at his hands, his eyes wide with shock and gleaming with the wild protectiveness that he had come to associate with the wolf over the years towards those he considered family.

"My god Harry." The man whispered as he fell silent, and Harry found himself being pulled into a fierce embrace.

Harry went rigid at first then collapsed in his arms, fighting against tears that he knew he wouldn't be able to stop if he let start, "I have missed you so much, Mooney." He almost whimpered, "The thought of having to go through all of that all over again is so hard."

In the back of his mind he felt the warm presence of his younger soul and he managed to smile softly at the support the other silently offered, "At least this time I am not alone."

Remus pulled back and studied his eyes and Harry felt his smile become faintly amused, "As I said, there are two of us in here now." He tapped at his forehead, "I didn't absorb the younger soul, instead we sort of exist in a kind of harmony. Most of the time we are more or less merged but it is possible for the two of us to think independently."

With that he shifted his consciousness and the younger Harry came to the fore, both of them chuckling as Remus's eyes widened, no doubt seeing the change in their eyes, "That's right, sir. I was wondering if I could call you Mooney as well? It is a little odd with my older self knowing you and me not. Although I do have access to his memories."

A rather delighted smile slowly spread across the werewolf's face and tears glinted in his soft brown eyes, "Of course you can Harry, and it is so good to see you again. I have missed you so." He hugged him again and Harry found himself laughing along with him as the stress overflowing from his older self abruptly released him and he felt slightly light headed.

Pulling back, he smiled and closed his eyes. Giving the slight twist of his thoughts, a shimmer appeared off to his left and his older spirit appeared, his expression one of pain filled joy. Seeing his face, Remus swore softly and shook his head. "So this is what James would have looked like if he had lived longer." He said softly, reaching out as if to touch the spirits face, his eyes were sad as they travelled over the image and Harry bit his lip at the sorrow that radiated off the man, "But then again," he continued, taking in the haggard features, the ragged robes and the haunted eyes, "Maybe not. You have seen so much pain. I can't see how you made the choice to endure this all again."

The older Harry snorted and cast a look at his younger counterpart, "That's easy, Mooney." He answered softly, "This time I intend to do things differently. This time I do not intend to loose everyone I care about." He cast his eyes back to the werewolf, his expression grim, "I had to set things right."

He fell silent and each of them became lost in their own thoughts before Remus spoke again, his voice soft, "You said in your letter that there was something you needed my help with."

The spirit nodded, "Yes. You see, there are a few things we need to set in order before we go back to school, mainly setting up somewhere to live other then Aunt Petunia's." he saw the expression on Remus' face and he held up his hand to forestall him, "I know Dumbledore had reason for me to stay there, after all, I have lived this life already, but I have to tell you now, that the protections offered by the wards were not worth it in the end. When Voldemort finally came for me, they didn't hold up. Not only that, but my presence there put the Dursleys in danger." His mouth twisted in disgust and Harry rolled his eyes in sympathy, "They may not be the most intelligent or tolerant muggles in the known universe, but they didn't deserve to be on the end of Death Eater wands." He shook his head and his face grew grim, "Not only that, but we also need to come up with a plan to set Sirius free."

At his words, Remus started badly and his face went white, "Sirius." He whispered and Harry wrapped his small arm around the man's thin shoulders, "He really is innocent. And I never questioned it." his voice started to shake and the spirit shook his head in sympathy.

"It's alright you know." He said softly, "He understood in the end. The both of you thought the other was the traitor, when it was Peter all along. The important thing is that you now know and we can work to get him free and maybe this time he will not end up a fugitive." His face tightened and pain flashed in his eyes, "And maybe this time I won't get him killed." He whispered.

Harry looked back and forth between both solum faces and had to keep from rolling his eyes, "Really, you two. I think it would be more productive to discuss what we are going to do instead of dwelling on regrets both past," here he stabbed a glance at Remus, "And future." That one went to his older half, "After all, isn't that why we called Mooney here in the first place?"

The spirit smiled ruefully at him and shook his head, "Sorry." He muttered. Turning his gaze back to Remus he sighed, "What we wanted to talk to you about was helping us with some of the details that would be impossible for an eleven year old wizard. Mostly we have been able to get around much of the rules and laws but there are a few things that will need an adult to accomplish."

Remus eyes had gone shrewd again as he glanced back and forth between the two of them, "Just what rules have you managed to circumvent?" he asked suspiciously.

The spirit snorted and Harry contrived to look completely innocent, a performance that earned them a raised eyebrow in return.

Instead of replying, Harry drew his wand out of his sleave and muttered a soft levitation charm on the foot stool. Remus watched the piece of furniture raise into the air, rotate slowly then sink to the ground again, all without saying a word.

"How, may I ask, have you managed to work around the underage magic laws?" he asked mildly and Harry snickered at the tightly suppressed emotions behind the blank expression.

"Simple," the spirit explained, "Young Harry Potter is exempt from the laws as long as he is in the presence of his magical tutor."

Remus raised an eyebrow again and Harry laughed, "He managed to change our aura so that it reads as two." He chuckled, "That way, I'm always registered as being in the presence of my tutor so the underage laws no longer apply."

Remus continued to stare at them then surprisingly started to laugh, "Brilliant," he finally marvelled, shaking his head, "Absolutely brilliant. Alright, you have my attention," he smiled softly, "Not that you really needed to gain it. What did you have in mind?"

Harry read what the other wanted him to do and he lifted the chest from where he had placed it on the small table and carefully lifted the lid. Inside was an entire filing cabinets worth of shrunken paperwork. Flicking his wand he caught the piece that flitted out at his request and tapped it to return it to it'd original size. "First things first," he started, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "We need to organise us a new home."

As he outlined his ideas on setting the ruin of Godrics Hollow liveable once more, Harry watched the expression on Remus face become rather distracted. Reading through the paperwork the older wizard muttered to himself then asked absently, "What about the Potter Estate? I'm sure the family wards would be more then strong enough to keep you safe, especially if you are able to enhance them at all."

He looked up to catch the spirit staring at him in shock, "What's the matter?" he asked with a surprised blink.

The older Harry shook his head slowly, "What are you talking about?" he asked finally, "What estate?"

Remus blinked at him again, "The family estate. The one passed down from generation to generation. Surely you received it with the rest of your inheritance once you reached majority?"

The spirit shook his head and his face twisted with bitterness, "No, I didn't." he rasped, "Just another thing the headmaster neglected to mention to me I suppose."

Remus went back to shuffling through the papers, looking for something in particular, "Not necessarily." He answered absently, "It is entirely possible that the headmaster didn't know about it. The older pureblood families are very paranoid about their family estates, even the Potter's. The protections on the place make it impossible to even remember the existence of it unless you have been keyed to the wards. Makes the fidilius charm look like a first year party trick in comparison."

The older spirit frowned, "Hang on, if that is so, then how come mum and dad were in the cottage instead of the manor the night Vodemort attacked if it had protections that good?"

Remus looked up at him and his eyes grew sad, "Because all of us were keyed to the wards after James' parents died. But then there was that fiasco with finding out there was a traitor in our midst, so we decided to use the fidilius charm on the cottage instead. That way there was less of a chance of anything going wrong as only the secret keeper would know the location." His expression grew taut with pain, "I always wondered if we had made a mistake about that." He muttered.

The spirit frowned as he considered this new information and Harry could follow echoes of his thoughts and smiled.

With a chuckle, the spirit threw him a smile, both in his head and through his projection and shook his head at Lupin, "If it is at all possible for us to set up at the manor, then by all means, I think it would be a good move. If the protections on the place are as good as you say then we will be able to plan effectively without having to be concerned with being interrupted and there will be plenty of room for both you and Sirius once we set him free."

Remus's head snapped up at that and he stared back and forth between the two of them causing Harry to laugh, "You really didn't think we were going to abandon you once you helped us out did you?" he chided gently, shaking his head.

His older self reached out a hand to lay it on the older wizards knee, even if he couldn't touch him and met the wide eyes with his own pain filled green. "Mooney, I already lost you once." He told him softly, "You are family, there is no way you are going back to that dingy little flat of yours to live all alone. You need not be concerned about the full moon, I intend to address that particular matter as soon as I can and as for Sirius, we will get him back. You can count on it." as he spoke, Harry slipped from his chair and came up behind the projection. Slowly putting out his hand, he merged with the image and as he spoke the last, both souls merged to stare out at the werewolf in complete agreement and sincerity.

Remus continued to stare into the green eye before him for a moment longer, desperate hope fighting it's way across his face and eventually he threw himself forward to encase Harry's thin shoulders in a fierce embrace, "You can count on my support, Harry. I swear it." he whispered harshly.

Eventually he pulled back and Harry smiled at him in reassurance before turning his attention to the paperwork still packed into the small chest, "I think that our first point of action would be to visit the manor." He announced, "From what I have been able to make out, once I signed the forms at Gringotts, all of my families assets were transferred over to my control so there shouldn't be any trouble in that regard."

Remus made an interrogative noise and Harry glanced up to meet his eye, "I'd been meaning to ask you how you managed that." The older wizard commented, a bemused sound in his voice, "The restrictions Dumbledore and the ministry set on the Potter estates were pretty extensive from what I could gather."

Harry snorted as he sifted though more documents, "Goblins politics come in handy when you know how to follow them." He answered absently, "Years ago I had to work closely with them for a time when Voldemort decided the bank was a tasty target. The goblins work under an entirely different set of laws, ones in which wizarding law rarely interfere. In regards to the bank, they are generally willing to allow the ministry to dictate how things are run but if something crosses the line into what they deem inappropriate, they will intervene. It is just my good fortune that they believe that no one has rights over another's assets, no matter what the circumstances. Marriages combine the assets of two people, all of which are expanded to include direct family, but there are no outside influences that can be imposed. For example it is exceedingly difficult for the ministry to freeze the assets of a criminal without the cooperation of the goblins." Harry shook his head and snorted, "Idiots, they should realise that antagonising the creatures that hold the keys to their very fortunes is not an intelligent move."

Remus chuckled and shook his head, Harry caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow at the expression on the man's face.

"Which Harry am I talking to at the moment?" he asked with faint amusement, earning him a smile in return as Harry snickered.

"Both of us, I'm afraid." He answered, "We usually remain combined unless doing something that requires two minds or if we are discussing something. Not that it really matters as our minds are open to each other, so anything said by one is echoed by the other."

Remus shook his head, "You certainly have landed yourself into an interesting predicament."

Harry frowned in thought as he sat back on his heals, his eyes scanning the papers he was preparing to pack back into the chest, "There is something I was wondering about." He ventured finally, "This whole matter of the manor and everything, if the only reason that you didn't reveal it was because of Sirius being a traitor, why didn't you tell me about it after we found out what had happened? It would have been so much easier on him if he could have stayed there instead of going on the run like he had to."

Remus shook his head ruefully and helped him gather up the rest of the paperwork, "That one I can answer. The wards on the place have a time period on them. Anyone keyed to them who is not of the blood needs those keys to be renewed every so often otherwise the wards kick back in. I would guess that at the moment, I would no longer be able to pass the wards and would even have a difficult time finding the place unless I was really concentrating on finding it. In another year at most I would probably have completely forgotten its existence."

Blinking at that bit of information, Harry shook his head ruefully, "Undone by our own protections, how ironic." He mused, slipping the paperwork back into its chest. Glancing around to make sure he had everything he rose to his feet and looked to the older wizard, "So how about it Mooney, what say we go track us down a manor."

……………………………….

AN/ I know, super short chapter, but I am on holidays at the moment so I should be able to get more of this done. Huge thank you to all your reviews, I read them all whenever I have a spare moment, and they are all appreciated. Keep an eye out for more updates, I'll try to get as much done in the time off from uni as I can. Until next chapter;

See Ya