Chapter 5

Grey

Dinner was a decidedly awkward affair, what with the tension between Harry, Ron and Hermione and 's misguided attempts to fatten him up after not eating in so long which really just made him feel ill. Sirius had however managed to impart some key information to him over the course of the meal, like that Mundungus Fletcher owed Dumbledore for getting him out of trouble, as well as that Voldemort was attempting to find something that he didn't have before. He of course could not go into great detail in front of the Weasley's. Harry, Remus and Sirius were all careful to keep up appearances throughout the meal, despite their loyalty to Dumbledore being shaken; they managed to keep up the farce. Sirius acted as he always did, rash and fiercely protective of Harry, while Remus pretended he was completely calm about the subject but thought Harry out to be filled in. Harry on the other hand, acted indignant at the idea that he would not be told what was going on with Voldemort, and appeared to be the Gryffindor Golden Boy to the bone, while inside, Harry was feeling his more Slytherin side peek through. The Twins had talked to Harry quietly about there business dealings while everyone was distracted at dinner and this made Harry pause to think about the potential value of their sneakiness, and just how loyal they might be to their family and Dumbledore.

When dinner finally ended and the others headed to bed, Sirius and Remus surreptitiously pulled Harry aside under the pretense of wanting to catch up with their deceased best friend's son. Slowly and surely they headed up the stairs to the attic, Harry downing his pain potion as soon as they were out of sight. Once they had reached the attic, Sirius pulled out a two way mirror and contacted Snape, who flooed through the upstairs fireplace that only Remus, Sirius and Snape had previously known existed. They each seated themselves on either the sofa or one of the chairs that was there and before any conversations began Snape pulled out his wand and started muttering every anti-spying and listening spell he knew, which was quite numerous do to his own paranoia and his precarious position as a spy in Voldemort's ranks.

Now that they were all settled, Harry allowed himself to relax and said, "So what are we going to do about Dumbledore and Voldemort?" in a bland tone that told of his tiredness, "I don't agree with what Dumbledore's doing but I don't agree with Voldemort either, it's not as if what Dumbledore things is all good, but what Voldemort thinks isn't all bad either, I mean Muggles knowing about Magic? Can you just see it? Look at my Aunt and Uncle. And some dark magic can be good, as well as light being used for bad, I've read about the different spells, and I really don't see that much of a difference, honestly."

Harry had such a desperate look in his eye, as if they would abandon him for saying it, but instead they immediately jumped right in.

"Have to agree with you on that kiddo, you don't just grow up as a Black and not learn that there are good aspects to dark magic as well as bad aspects to light magic and I have to agree that Muggles and magic don't really mix, some are alright about it, but others….."

"Cub, I'm a werewolf you won't see me disagreeing about Dark Magics they're part of me and as for the Muggles, one only has to read about the Spanish Inquisition to see how bad there knowing about us could be" said Remus gently.

"Harry-do you really think I of all people would think ill of you for seeing what an asset the Dark Arts can be? As for the Muggles, well let's just say that my father was much along the lines of the Dursley's and leave it at that. However, this doesn't solve the initial problem of Dumbledore and Voldemort's misbegotten war," drawled Snape, but there was a warmer undercurrent to his words than usual.

"What if- what if we created a third side to this war—a grey area?" Harry said softly, almost in a whisper, after thinking for a long moment.

Intelligence, cunning and half formed plans began glimmering behind the eyes of the quartet sitting in the attic of that dingy house, that and one more emotion, and a tiny strand of hope.

AN: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I was on vacation and didn't have access to a computer. Hope you all keep enjoying this fic. Also, I'm debating what couples I might want to have later on in this so if you have any suggestions please feel free to tell me. :D