Sloth: Uh...hehe, whoops....I forgot to update. Um...ok, there really isn't an excuse for this. I did have chapter 8 ready like weeks ago. I was just trying to write the next four chapters. I'll tell, I hate boring chapters that have no action in them. I actually skipped some chapters and wrote fighting scenes. However, since I'm in spring break, I will take this week to write the next seven chapters properly instead of doing the action scenes.

Also, I just became aware that some guy named Nick Simmons or something like that is being accused of copying off of Bleach. I will tell you know, as I have before, this story is a harry potter mixed with Bleach concepts. If you've seen Bleach, the swords turning into weapons and the Shikia, and even the mentioning of some Bleach characters are all references to Bleach. Hell, Draco Malfoy's name in this story is Bleach because I wanted it to be a humorous reference to the anime. The only thing I own is the plot and the weapon names/forms/powers. Also, if you've seen or read Bleach, you will recognize someone from the anime in this chapter.

Well, enough of my blabbering. Onto the chapter!

Boss

"Severus!" Autumn cheered as she ran over and gave the man a hug. He gave a light chuckle before returning the hug.

"It's good to see you too Autumn. My, how you've grown into a lovely young lady. I see you haven't allowed the boys to badly influence you."

Bleach scoffed playfully. "We're not bad influences. Are we Rav?"

"No, not at all." He chuckled before going over and giving Severus a short hug. "It's great to see you again Boss."

"Now Raven, I've told you plenty of call me Severus."

"Yeah, but Boss sounds cooler." Bleach commented as he also hugged the man. Severus rolled his eyes. He then turned to the solemn looking red head.

"Red? Don't I get a greeting?"

"Uh, yeah. Hey Boss. Um…I'll be on the porch if you need me."

He turned and hopped out the window to the small landing connected to it. They watched as he slouch down and popped open a butterbeer. Raven sighed before turning to Severus.

"We've kind of run into a few problems the past few weeks."

"Ah yes, I've noticed." He reached into his bag and pulled out the Daily Prophet. He showed the headlines to Raven, who blushed feverishly. The words "Lost Boys Reappear" blared right at him. Autumn took the paper and read over the first few lines.

"During the Death Eater raid on Diagon Alley this past Tuesday, lost boys Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley, accompanied by an unidentified person….I'm an unidentified person? This is why I hate journalists!"

"Clearly you four have been up to some mischief while I was away." Severus chuckled lightly.

"It wasn't our fault." Bleach defended. Severus eyed him and the blond shrunk slightly.

"Really, you didn't," he turned to the paper, "'assault Death Eater Lucius Malfoy with a magical chain and charged into the fray waving swords like barbarians."

"We weren't barbaric with it." Autumn defended. "At least I wasn't…I hope this isn't why you're here to check up on us Severus."

"Yes, well in light of your exposure, I had to make my way over; per request of Minister Yamamoto."

"How is the old fart anyways?" Raven asked before walking over and plopping himself on the couch.

"Same as usual: old and grumpy. When he saw the papers Hedwig delivered, he wanted me to come discipline you for 'showing off to meatheads'."

Bleach instantly stood straight and covered his rear with his hands. "That's not why you're here is it!?"

"Come now B. I think you've all out grown corporal punishment." He raised an eyebrow at the boy. "At least I hope so."

"So if you're not here to spank Blondie until he cried for his mum again," Raven ducked the plastic cup thrown his way, "why are you here? Not that we haven't missed you or anything Boss, but independence is a hard thing to give up."

Nodding, Severus placed his bag down on the couch. He sighed before looking over the three in the room and the one out on the porch. They were a bunch of no good misfits when he had met them and now they were a bunch of teenage misfits. He couldn't be any prouder. When he had first met them, Raven and Red had been trying to steal from his bag. Their excuse was that they were looking for medicine for young Autumn, who had contracted the flu. They were so young to be living on the streets; only ten years of age. The fact that they had managed to live in the muggle world for four years was astonishing and it was only by sheer, dumb luck that he recognized them for the wizards they were.

He remembered how they use to be, as if it were yesterday. They hadn't yet taken on their aliases, going by their given names for years now. He recalled how Harry Potter had been a shy, but intelligent boy. He always seemed to be sizing people up, his emerald green eyes calculating everyone or everything in sight. He had been a lot kinder back then. Severus blamed himself for the boy's snarky attitude. The child possibly spent too much time by his side. He had gone from a sweet, shy child to a brave, snarky young man who eventually took to leading this group of misfits.

The same could be said for Draco Malfoy. The child may have looked like his father, but that was where the similarities end. The boy was more like his mother and even though he was…proud at first, he proved to be quite friendly. Severus was actually surprised to see the blond become friendly with a muggleborn, but when one makes friends, the lines between muggleborn and pureblood become blurred. Now, he the blond was a childish, sarcastic, and playful opposite to the Malfoy standards.

Then there was fragile little Hermione Granger. It seemed as if every day of the week she would catch some sort of ailment due to their living situation. She was reluctant and clung to one of the boys at a time. He had visited them many times before she eventually spoke. She was far from the girl she once been, no longer needing the boys to watch out for her. She was a strong, independent, and fierce woman.

Finally, there was Ron Weasley. Back then, Ron had been the leader of their little group. He was clumsy, hot tempered, and brash, but he was always protective. That boy had been the one to steal from Severus and he watched the man with hawk like eyes whenever he was around one of the younger kids. After the incident however, Severus got to see the softer side of the Weasley and was proud to see the man Ron had become.

"Boss? Boss."

"Hmm? Oh, my apologies. I was musing about something."

"Does this have anything to do with why you're here?" Autumn asked.

"Always the cleaver one Autumn. Yes, it does. I've been thinking, and it may be time you four left London. For good."

Bleach, who had took a sip of butterbeer, spat out in surprise. "Leave?! But we like it here!"

"Even with long lost relatives knocking at your door?"

"Severus, you can't be serious." Autumn asked. She walked over to the couch and sat in front of the man, with Raven by her side. "We've been doing great here. We've even managed to get honest jobs until the war is over."

"Can you honestly tell me you're happy about that?"

There was an awkward silence. To be honest, they weren't all too thrilled about making honest income. They were only doing it to avoid being a part of the war. Not to mention they had already ran into some unpleasant company. From the look on their teacher's face, he knew it too.

"Well….it's fun."

"War is hardly a fun thing Bleach. I can assure you of that. If you plan on staying in London, you all must know that you will be pursued by both sides. You'll eventually have to pick and the side you didn't choose will take out everyone you hold dear to you. Not joining a side will only cause you more suffering."

"You mean like your wife and daughter." Raven said mournfully. Severus sighed.

"Yes. Because I refused to join the Death Eaters, they took the two people I cherished most, despite being neutral in the war. I do not want anything happening to any one of you. I've already talked to a colleague in San Francisco and she'll allow the four of you to reside in her manor with her granddaughters until this whole war is over."

"And if we choose to stay?" Raven asked almost defiantly. Severus smirked.

"If you choose to stay, then I'm afraid you'll have to quit your 'activities'. By now, everyone will know of the Four Blurs and who they are." Autumn made a bitter comment that they only knew three out of four Blurs, which made him chuckle.

"You're going to pick a side aren't you?" Bleach suddenly spoke. Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Bleach, I'm impressed. You've gotten quicker my boy." The blond shrugged passively. "Yes, I am going to join the war this time. Let's say I've unfinished business to take care of."

There was a long silence. They knew what unfinished business he meant. Finally, after what felt like hours in silent musing, Raven decided to speak.

"So…whose side are you on? Snake face or Chick-fill-A?"

"I'll only give you a guess." The man turned to the porch, where Red was trying to drink himself into a stupor. "I take it that the encounter with his siblings didn't go so well?"

"It's just that time of the month." Bleach commented crudely. "He's been moody all week. Seeing his mom and sister only made it worse."

"Ginny also told him something he didn't need to know." Raven added. His green eyes wavered with sympathy as he looked at his friend's back. "We were going to give him some space…"

"But since you're here," Autumn took over, "maybe you could talk to him? You were always good at cheering us up. Besides, he takes too much time looking out for us, he sometimes forget to worry about himself."

"You can't blame him can you? It's just in his nature to be the big brother." He stood up. "I can give it a shot." Three smiled returned to him and he gingerly walked over to the open porch window. He slipped out of the porch, taking a seat next to a passive looked Red. There was an empty bottle of butterbeer next to the boy and he was working on the second. "I see you've been productive."

"Sod off Boss. I'm not in the mood."

"Yes, I can tell. Working for your brothers, seeing your mother, rescuing your sister, and learning the chaos you've left them in. Those do seem to throw off one's mood."

"Stop peeking into my head Boss." Red growled, scooting away from his teacher. "Bloody Legilimen."

"My apologies, but teachers need to know what's troubling their student." Severus told him. He watched Red take another swig of his butterbeer. The boy muttered something about the drink not getting him drunk fast enough, and the man chuckled. "Always the joker."

"Someone has to be."

There was a long silence. Severus could hear the other three members of their group trying to listen in and be inconspicuous about it. However, with the way Bleach and Autumn loved to argue, it was hard not to hear them. A flick of his wrist and a privacy ward was put up. Bleach's cursing only put a smile on his face.

"You do realize that you don't have to keep things bottled up. If you want, you can go to your family-"

"I'm with my family." Red cut him off.

"Very well, then perhaps you could go to the Weasley and settle things with them. If you, as I know you will, want to join in on this war with the others, it is only fair you give them a chance. At least help heal Molly's heart."

"It wouldn't matter." Red said emotionlessly. Severus frowned at the boy's unusually stoic attitude. It almost reminded him of the time…It came to him like a ton of bricks. His face softened and he gently pulled the boy into a one armed hug. Red attempted to dislodge Severus from him, but found himself fighting both his teacher and tears to be quite difficult.

"They won't care you know."

"Yes they will." The boy croaked. "They've spent years looking for me in all the wrong places and if I go back now, I'll only disappoint them."

"You can never disappoint anyone Red. You've spent most of your life protecting Raven, Autumn, and Bleach. You've grown into a great man and despite everything that's happened; you've always managed to pull through. Why on earth you think you'll disappoint them?"

"Boss, I'm a bloody werewolf! I have to go to the Shrieking Shack once a month so I don't get anyone killed. Even with the stupid potion I can't control some of my actions because my magical core." He rubbed his nose with his forearm. "How can I go back when I know I've screwed them over just because I wouldn't stick close to Percy? He almost died because…because of…Why would they want me around?"

Severus held the red head. He knew this was only a side effect from Red's lycanthropy. Unlike other werewolves, thanks to his unique magical core, Red's lycanthropy mostly affected his emotions. Prior to the full moon, he would often be temperamental and easily set off. And though the wolfsbane potion helped with some of the ailments, his emotions were still off balanced.

He recalled that fateful night Red had been bitten. He had been eleven and after having successfully achieving the Shikai, Severus had decided to take them out to celebrate. That might have been their first mistake. The second was staying out too long and letting the boys out of his sight. A werewolf had been out prowling that night and spotted the three young ones. As usual, Red had used himself to protect his "brothers" and he had come just in time to send the beast to hell. It was too late to do anything for Red than to help him through his first few transformations. The boy had been emotional the entire year and hadn't sobered until his twelve birthday.

Now, the boy looked like the fragile child he had been years ago. He let the boy vent out his arrange of emotions. After a while, Severus turned to the boy, who had forgotten his half empty bottle of butterbeer.

"Better?"

"No. I still feel like shit."

"But….?"

Red stared at the streets below, watching cars drive by in the night. He sniffed.

"I don't know. I heard what you said and I sure as hell don't want to leave London. It's just..."

A smiled spread across Severus' face. He knew what Red was going to say and saved the boy the trouble.

"If there is anything I've taught you four, what was it? What, no matter the situation, must you always remember?"

It was Red's turn to smile.

"Anything's possible if you try hard enough."

"Exactly. Now best you get ready. It's going to be a long night." Red nodded and slowly the two went back inside. "And Red." The boy turned to his teacher, "give them a chance at least."

"No promises Boss. I've still got my own pack to look after."

.

.

.

"Run Fred!"

"Right behind you George!"

"Get back here you no good boys!"

It was definitely a sight to behold. When Lily had walked into the joke shop like her son had asked, she hadn't been expecting to see Molly chase after her twin sons with a broom in one hand and a wand in the other. From what Neville had told her, the two other employees Fred and George had hired left moments after Molly fainted. And when the Molly woke up, she calmly called for her sons, and after setting up anti-apparating wards, started attacking them. The fiery haired woman cornered them.

"I'll hex you both into next week!"

"Mum let us explain!"

"We wanted it to be a surprise!"

"Oooh! A surprise!" Molly turned to Lily, with a bright, almost psycho grin on her face. "They wanted it to be a surprise!" She turned to her boys and started hitting Fred with the broom. "How's this for a surprise!"

"Um, Molly maybe you should…" Lily stepped out of the way as the shorter woman ran after George, throwing her patented Spanking charm. "Oh, someone's upset."

"She's been like that for almost an hour now." Ginny spoke from where she stood. Nicholas stood just off to the side with his arms crossed and head down. Normally he would be back in school, but due to the current family matter, James had pulled him out for the day and sent the boy to wait for him in Hogsmeade. Lily went over to comfort her son.

"Nick…"

"I had him. He was right there and I let him get away."

"Nick, you know you can't force someone to do something they don't want. Even if it is for a good cause."

"I wasn't forcing him. It only counts if they're is kicking and screaming involved." She sighed, knowing there was no sense in trying to get him to see otherwise. All Potter men were stubborn mules. As she turned, she saw the biggest mule of them all.

"Hey James. How's work?"

"Terrible," the man replied. "I don't get to do anything when there's trouble around. I feel like a bloody baby sitter." He sighed "Is it true then? About the boys?"

"Unfortunately. They were right here James, right under my nose and I didn't even notice it."

"It's not your fault mum. Those two idiots thought they could hire them and keep it a secret. For what, I'll never know."

They all watch Molly assault the twins with various hexes and multiple broom swipes. Ginny had a sudden chuckle and the Potters turned to her.

"At least my mum's showing an emotion other than sad. Personally I think I like seeing her throttle the two of them." They all chuckled. A violent crash and Fred and George were cornered once again.

"Explain yourselves this instant!" Molly demanded, threatening them with the broom. Fred was the first to break.

"We wanted to get him use to the idea of being near family first!" he shouted. "It was George's idea!"

"I beg your pardon! I believe you were the one who wanted to hire them."

"Ah, but you were the one who didn't want mum coming onto him so suddenly."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Two loud whacks to the head and the boys went silence. A red faced Molly stared at them.

"Now, listen here, the both of you. I don't care whose fault it was, and I don't care for what reason, I just want you to tell me, why would you keep me in the dark? You know how much I've suffered. I lost my own son and you kept him from me? Why would you do that to your own mother?"

Lily walked over to the woman as she was on the verge of tears. The twins both looked guilty and knew no amount of explaining could help them. At that moment, Dumbledore walked into the shop.

"Ah, Lily there you are. I was wondering why you called me."

Multiple looks of confusion met the aging professor. "I didn't call you Professor."

"Oh? But didn't you send your Patronus? You're the only one with a doe."

"Yes but, I've been here trying to calm down Molly. I don't know where-" Lily was cut off when the Emergency Daisy popped in front of her. The Daisy only appeared when a staff member of the Potted Blossom slammed their hand onto it. It would instantly appear in front of the nearest Order member to signal danger.

"Petunia! She's at the restaurant by herself!" Lily quickly dashed out of the joke shop with the others on her trail. The group of wizard sped through Hogsmeade to the restaurant, rushing through the open door. A frantic Petunia greeted them.

"Lily! He's back! That horrible man is back!"

"Who? It can't be Crutch, he's dead."

"Not that ingrate. Him!"

Everyone turned to see a tall man with long black hair and a crooked nose. Sitting around him were four smug looking teenagers. All five of them had a sword strapped to their waist.

"Ah Lily, Professor, it's great to see everyone's here."