Harry Potter and the Power of Time

by RossWrock

Now AU, 6th Year, following OoTP. Tired of the way Dumbledore and the Order treat him, and ready to face his destiny, Harry dedicates long hours to muggle and magical training to take the fight to Voldemort for a change. Slight HPGW, not shippy though.

10. First Blood, Part II

Harry Potter and the Power of Time

Chapter 10 – First Blood, Part II

"WHAT!!!"

The whole room cringed at the volume of Molly Weasley's voice. All had experienced some form of the Weasley temper in the past, but none had seen her so worried since her daughter had been kidnapped many years ago. "What do you mean he's gone missing? Where could he go?"

Dumbledore had expected this response, yet it didn't make hearing it any easier. It was now almost a week after he had received Harry's response, and he had just finished telling the entire Order of the Phoenix that Harry had left Privet Drive.

"Molly, if you would just calm down, I'll explain fully. For the time being, we have no reason to believe that Harry's in danger, or that Voldemort knows he's gone missing. The quicker we can find Harry, the safer he'll be. So please, calm down and let's get through this." Dumbledore only half believed his words. He had very little hopes of finding Harry after a week of intensive searching. No owls had been able to locate him, nor Fawkes his phoenix. Although phoenixes didn't have post owls' gift of magically locating people no matter where they were, Dumbledore had hoped Harry's unique bond with the bird would prove useful. It had not.

It took another few minutes for Arthur to calm his wife enough to retake her seat, and listen to Dumbledore's explanation.

"Like I said, in Harry's response letter he mentioned that he left Privet Drive, and has no intentions of returning. He also admitted to intentionally deceiving us, and in retrospect it looks like young Harry was up to more than just tending to his injured owl during his trip to Diagon Alley. I wonder if Hedwig was even injured in the first place. I must admit that we never visited Eeylop's Owl Emporium to verify that part of Harry's story, we only visited the Leaky Cauldron and Flourish & Blotts.

"Since I didn't want to prematurely alarm anyone, and the fact that Harry has gone missing must not reach the ears of any Death Eaters, I only told a few select people about Harry's departure. Remus, Alastor, Kingsley, and myself have all been conducting thorough searches since then, and have as yet not turned up any results. No one in Diagon Alley has seen Harry or someone matching his description, and his muggle relatives have no idea where he went, or even when he left."

Madame Amelia Bones decided to interrupt the wizened wizard at this point. "Albus, what do you mean his relatives don't know when he left? How could they not?"

Molly Weasley scoffed at the question, and had a look on her face that almost matched the sneer Snape had perfected over the many years.

"Amelia," Dumbledore explained, "since you're not personally familiar with Harry, and it's a well hidden fact, you must realize that Harry's aunt and uncle don't appreciate him as they should. In fact, in past years I've learned that their treatment of Harry almost borders abuse. They've never struck him as far as I know, but they hold no love for him either. From what I've been told, in the summer months Harry is usually required to do the majority of household chores, and is rationed very little food to eat. While his cousin is lavished with toys and gifts, Harry only recently earned the right to sleep in a bed. The nine years before the arrival of his Hogwart's letter, he was forced to sleep on a cot in the small compartment under the stairs. The fact that the Dursleys don't care what has happened to Harry is the only thing about this whole affair that doesn't surprise me."

The whole room silenced at hearing Dumbledore's explanation. Only the Weasleys, Remus, Hagrid, and McGonagall knew the extent of Harry's treatment at home. The rest were surprised to learn that the Boy-Who-Lived was treated so badly. Even Snape, who prided himself in his teasing Harry about being "spoiled and arrogant" look surprised, and even mildly ashamed.

"But if that's so, and you knew about it, why is Harry still staying at that place? Surely someone else is willing to look after him during his summers?" Madame Bones asked the question so many others had in the past, one that Dumbledore found harder to justify each time he answered.

"Because Amelia, even though Harry isn't shown much love at home, for reasons I'll not get into it remains the safest place for him to be, with the possible exception of Hogwarts. If the Dursleys ever do come to abuse him, I will be first in line to remove him from their home. But as long as Harry's basic needs are met, the protections in place make it virtually impossible for Voldemort or his men to find or hurt Harry."

Madame Bones would have argued further, but she was interrupted mid-sentence by Snape who had had enough. He just wanted to get to the point of the meeting.

"Headmaster, what have you found out about Potter? It's been almost a full week. Surely there must be some leads we could follow?"

Dumbledore turned to face his potions master. "Not as many as you would think, Severus. I myself don't know how it was accomplished, but Harry seems to have disappeared without a trace. Remus headed the investigation; I'll let him tell all we know. Remus?"

Remus Lupin stood from the corner he was sitting in. The past few weeks had been good for him, and he had retreated from the cave of despair he'd been in following Sirius's death. The correspondence he shared with Harry had helped immensely, and the memories of the single personal visit had helped him through his last monthly transformation. Although Snape's Wolfsbane potion continued to work, without Padfoot around his time spent during the full moon was very depressing.

"Thank you Headmaster. We, that is myself, Alastor, and Kingsley, first noticed a change in Harry's schedule the day of his birthday. Up until then, each afternoon he left his house for a run, which would usually last about an hour. The day of his birthday however, he never left the house. We didn't think it unusual, and thought he merely took the day off to open his gifts. Later that afternoon Albus informed us of Harry's departure, and I went in to investigate.

Remus paused and tried to keep his face void of emotions. "I had long heard about the Dursleys of course, both from Harry himself and some of the others who have had contact with them. I myself even met them briefly at the train station this past year. I can honestly say any reports about them not liking our kind are grossly underrated. The second Petunia Dursley opened the front door and saw me, she slammed it in my face, yelling and screaming for her husband. When Vernon opened the front door, he demanded to know what I wanted, and what right did I have to show myself on his front lawn wearing, and I quote, 'those freaky clothes.' And I don't think he was referring to their slightly worn look either." Remus said this last part with a bit of a chuckle.

"I explained as civilly as I could that I came to inquire about Harry, and was informed that Harry hadn't been seen by them in weeks. When I insisted on seeing him, the man rushed me into the house, and escorted me upstairs. I was directed into a small bedroom, where besides the most uncomfortable bed I've ever laid eyes on and a few pieces of rickety furniture, the room showed no sign of habitation. When I questioned Dursley about it, he said that he and Harry had come to an agreement, and that they were to totally ignore each other the entire summer. It seems that Harry wasn't doing his normal summer chores either, and that he wasn't even eating with them. In fact, I still have no idea how Harry managed to eat at all this summer. The only times he did leave his room, to run each afternoon, was when the Dursleys were all out of the house.

"After performing a few spells, I came to the conclusion that there were no traces of portkey use or apparition, the house fireplace hadn't been connected to the floo network, and there was no detection of dark magic being used. It looks like Harry just vanished. A wide canvas of the area showed no further clues, and the Knight Bus had not picked up any passengers nearby during the timeframe. Since then myself, Alastor, Kingsley, and Dumbledore have each searched different areas, and each investigated personal hunches, but have found no further trace. His friends haven't heard from him either. They last heard from him in response to his birthday gifts, and were told not to try to contact him again. He mentioned that the owls might be intercepted, and they didn't find anything suspicious about that. None of them know Harry's missing, and I'd hate to be the one to tell them."

Dumbledore stood back up as Remus finished. "Thank you Remus; very thorough. So everyone, that's where we stand now. It's been a week, and the four of us haven't found one clue, so I thought it time to include the rest of the Order in this crisis. I was reluctant to at first, as Harry point blank told me not to waste my time or resources to look for him. He even warned me against scolding him in the fall for running off. But I thought I'd ask the opinion of the rest of you. What should we do now?"

Most in the room were speechless. It wasn't too often that Dumbledore, as head of the Order of the Phoenix, asked what the group's course of action should be. Those that knew him well, like Snape and McGonagall, became immediately worried that Dumbledore had already run out of options. Others who thought that Dumbledore was merely asking for advice, had a few questions to clear up so issues.

Diggle spoke up, in his normal excited tone. He had always been a big fan of Harry's, and thought the young wizard could do no wrong. "Albus, what do you mean Harry warned you not to scold him in the fall? Doesn't he know how much danger he's in?"

Dumbledore gave a grim smile, which he had gotten to know well that past week. "What I mean Dedalus, is that Harry kindly reminded me that the only authority I have over him is as Hogwart's Headmaster. As I'm not his guardian, and with the passing of Sirius the Dursleys are, I have no right to interfere in his life. And as the Dursleys are quite happy with Harry being gone from their home, they have no wish no look for him. Harry was just pointing out that he will not be punished for disobeying my wishes, when I have no legal say in this matter. I only hope that the precautions Harry took will last the summer. We certainly can't find him, so I only assume that Voldemort can't either."

Emmiline Vance spoke up next. "Did he contact anyone else that might know what he's up to? What about Remus, or his friends? Someone must have a hint of what's going on?"

"As I said already," Remus answered, "I have no idea how this happened. I met with Harry days before, and I got no hint of deception or him planning to do anything rash. Which leads me to believe that he'd been planning this for some time. I spoke to all of his friends, and none of them suspect anything."

"I noticed something peculiar." McGonagall broke the silence that followed. "At first I thought it was nothing, but now I see it could mean something. I'm not sure. In registering for his classes, Mr. Potter only chose to enlist in five classes, one which he doesn't meet the requirements for. I thought it strange for him to continue with so few courses, especially considering he had one of the top OWL results of his year. But he mentioned that with Quidditch practice, the D.A., his extra curricular classes (she gave a brief look to Snape), and prefect duties, he thought it best to have a light course load."

"What's the D.A.?" Someone asked.

"Ah," Dumbledore gave a genuine smile this time, "the D.A. refers to a group of students Harry started last year to practice defensive spells. With the lack of proper lessons, they formed a club that broke the High Inquisitor's new rules. I daresay many of the fifth and seventh year students owe their outstanding OWL and NEWT DADA scores to Harry and his friends. I've asked him to continue with the group this year, and to even expand upon it. He's agreed, and that was the one bit of good news his last letter contained."

"What exactly did that letter say? You read the last one to us." Snape was curt as always.

"I'm sorry Severus, but this time the letter is of a more personal nature, and contains some information I'm not willing to share. I have told you everything pertinent however."

"What did Minerva mean about Harry's prefect duties? Since when is he a prefect?" Molly Weasley asked; a question Dumbledore wasn't prepared for.

He simply stared at her. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Molly, Arthur," he started, "I'm sorry to have to tell you, but Ron's been dismissed as Gryffindor's sixth year prefect. It was in his Hogwart's letter, he should have told you by now."

"WHAT? He never said a thing! I know he didn't score too well on his OWLs, but five is a fair number, it's even more than the twins got when...."

"Molly," this time it was McGonagall who spoke, "it's more than just his low OWL scores. More than one prefect has complained that Ron has been neglecting his duties. He totally avoids confrontation in his own house, and only reprimanded other students, mostly those in Slytherin. Several times in fact, when Hermione had to punish Gryffindors, and looked to Ron for support, he refused to take a side. In all fairness, I think it might have to do with some of the teasing he took from his brothers. Still, that doesn't excuse the fact. As you know we don't appoint prefects only to enforce school rules, but also to provide role models to their fellow students. Ron simply hasn't been meeting those standards, and it was my decision to remove his prefect status. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Molly was fuming now. "Not as sorry as Ron will be when we talk next!" Arthur winced at the tone of voice his wife was using. He knew when to stay away, and he also knew his youngest son was in for a world of hurt in the near future.

"Well, I hope that answers your question Molly, but I'm afraid we have to return to the issue of Mr. Potter." Dumbledore wanted to avoid anymore sidetracks as time was precious. "The question is what do we do now that he is...."

Just then Fred and George barged in the door. Even though they weren't in school any longer, they still hadn't been inducted as Order of the Phoenix members yet. As such, while they were let in on some secrets (like the fact that Harry was missing), they had to remain in the kitchen during formal meetings. It came as a big surprise when they announced their reason for interrupting the meeting.

"Mom, Dumbledore!" The twins almost spoke as one. Fred, or maybe it was George, continued as the other caught his breath. "Harry; his head's in the fireplace! He's okay!"

A loud murmur went through the room, and more than one person got up and started for the door.

"Wait!" The other twin yelled. "He only wants to speak to Remus. He says if he sees anyone else in the kitchen, he'll leave. He sounds serious."

Remus turned to Dumbledore. He was dying to talk to Harry and find out what was going on, but wanted to hear what Dumbledore had to say first. Harry would surely wait a few moments. Remus raised his eyebrows and simply said, "Well?"

Dumbledore didn't hesitate. "Well play it safe for now. Remus, go see what he wants, and try to find out anything you can. If possible, convince him to tell us his location. When you're done, come back immediately. Understand?"

Remus nodded and ran through the door. The twins tried to slip a few extendable ears under the kitchen door after him, but he cast a charm to prevent it. When he turned towards the hearth, Harry face was grinning at him.

"Hey Remus, what's up?"

"Harry! Do you have any idea how worried we've been about you? Molly Weasley's almost had daily heart attacks just at the mention of your name, which has been a very popular topic let me tell you. Where are you?"

Harry just smiled. "Sorry to scare everyone, but as I wrote Dumbledore, I had a few things to do, and couldn't with you lot breathing down my neck. I'm fine, but don't have a lot of time. If you want to know more, meet me at the park from two weeks ago in half an hour. Bring your wand, and come alone." Harry's tone dropped to dead serious at that last part.

Remus wasn't satisfied with that response. "Harry, where have you been? I tried to...."

"A half hour Remus, by the swing set, and come alone. If you don't, no one will see me till September. Bye." And with that, Harry's head disappeared.

After reentering the parlor, and shooing the Weasley twins back into the kitchen, Remus quickly updated the Order on his short conversation.

"Albus, please say I can go alone! I need to know that Harry's safe." Remus decided he would go even if Dumbledore didn't agree. It was then 5:20 in the afternoon. The Order had had a rare afternoon meeting because some members had business to take care of later that night. He'd have to meet Harry at 5:45 regardless of the Order's decision. Luckily Dumbledore said yes. What he didn't tell Remus was that he wouldn't be going alone. Dumbledore hated to do it, but one way or another, Harry was coming back to Order HQ that night!

---

It was 5:30, and Harry was already in the small park, under his invisibility cloak, waiting for Remus. He had apparated to the park immediately after his fire-call, as he wanted to be there early in case the Order tried anything funny. He trusted Remus enough to show up alone, but not Dumbledore. They still didn't know that Harry could apparate, or that he held a portkey in his hands, so Harry was confident that if something went wrong, he could escape before they had a chance to get to him.

As he waited for Remus, Harry reflected back on the past day, and all that had happened since his second vision of Voldemort that summer. It too had been uncomfortably vivid, but Harry thought himself lucky as he now knew what Voldemort was up too.

The vision had been of another meeting with the same Death Eaters. They had finally learned that Harry had gone missing, and reported that no owls had been sent or received by his friends. Lucius, who had been watching Hermione's house, told his master that the family had left town, and Voldemort wanted Wormtail to go in and investigate. He was to take five others as back up, but would break into the house alone, and look through Hermione's things. Voldemort hoped that among her letters and possessions, she had left a clue to Harry's whereabouts. None of the Death Eaters knew that his friends were just as clueless as they were.

The rest of the day Harry spent planning out and preparing for the following night, when Wormtail would make the trip. He felt confident about taking on the weak wizard himself, but was cautious about the five others as back up. He did have the element of surprise, but didn't want to risk anything as it was his first real encounter with Death Eaters since he started to train. Harry briefly thought about asking Ron and some of the other D.A. students to help, but knew they weren't up to the task. None of them had trained the summer, and Harry's didn't want to risk them. The only other person he even considered asking to help was Remus. Even if he was in Dumbledore's camp, Harry knew he had a personal score to settle with Pettigrew, and would jump at the chance.

And so it came that Harry used his new fireplace for the first time, and called HQ for Remus, not knowing he was interrupting a meeting. The floo had been connected for a few days now, but thanks to the all-powerful Fidelius Charm, couldn't be accessed by anyone who didn't know its location. For those who did know (only Harry and the elves right now), his home was designated as Harry's Hideaway.

Harry wasn't shocked at Remus's surprised reaction at hearing from him. The past few nights had provided for interesting dreams of different Order member's reactions to his disappearance. It was while he reminisced that Remus apparated to the swing set, almost two minutes early. Still under cover of his cloak, Harry crept up to Remus slowly, taking extra precaution not to make a sound that his heightened werewolf senses might pick up. His eyes scanned the rest of the park; his magical lens fully in use now. Harry had caught on quick to the x-ray function, but hadn't much opportunity to use it with only himself alone in his flat. Harry didn't even consider using his magical lens to pry into the house-elves private lives. That was just too weird.

Harry found out he wasn't being paranoid after all. A few seconds after Remus sat on the highest swing to wait for Harry, he spotted three figures thirty meters off, hidden under invisibility cloaks. Moody's magical eye hadn't spotted him yet, and Tonks and Snape so far posed no threat. The three spread out to begin their search.

However, just Moody's presence was a worry, and Harry quit the commando routine and broke out in a full sprint for Remus. He was only a few feet away, but a stunning spell could travel a few feet very fast.

Remus had just a couple seconds to notice a body appear out of thin air, as Harry ripped off his invisibility cloak, and tucked it into his jacket. He started to speak, but Harry cut him off. The others had also taken notice of him now, and were about to intervene.

"Not now, and hold on!" Harry had taken Remus's arm, and pressed the hair comb he had brought with him into his hand, while still keeping a firm grip on it himself.

With a devilish smile Harry turned to Snape, who was the closest, just as he began to raise his wand. The surprise Snape showed at Harry's ability to see him through the cloak provided the extra time needed for him to escape.

"So long sucker! Activate!"

The key word activated the comb portkey, and with the familiar tug behind their navels, Harry and Remus disappeared from the small park, leaving three very surprised and concerned wizards behind.

---

Miles away, Harry and Remus crashed to the ground behind a tool shed, in a fairly large back yard. Harry still hadn't gotten the hang of arriving by Portkey, and Remus had been unprepared. It took them both a moment to gather themselves and take in their new surrounding.

"Harry, where in the bloody hell are we? And how'd you get a portkey?" Remus had a million other questions, but wanted to start with the most obvious.

"Not now Remus, we've got to get off this street. Follow me, and I'll answer your questions later." Harry left no room for argument because he took off for the front yard of the house, and began down the street. The scenery was familiar to Remus, but he couldn't place it yet.

Some of his questions were answered after a four block walk, when the two turned up the long winding driveway of a familiar house.

"Harry, why are we at Hermione's house? They're gone; no one's home."

Harry only turned around and raised his finger to his lips, motioning Remus to be quiet. At the end of the driveway, Harry turned not towards the front door, but for a side entrance, near the garage. He surprised Remus once more when he whipped out his wand and used an unlocking spell to open the door. Remus started to splutter, but Harry guided him in the door before he could speak. The two made their way inside, and Remus plunked down in a kitchen chair, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Are you mad? First you go running off without any protection! Then you pull some crazy cloak and dagger stunt and whisk us away from the meeting you set up; with a portkey no less! And now you're using magic out of school. Fudge is sure to expel you this time! And with the way you've been treating Dumbledore, I'd not be surprised if he let you this time!"

Harry laughed. Apparently Remus hadn't noticed the extreme lack of owls delivering expulsion papers. "Remus, relax. As I said in my letters, I'm perfectly safe where I've been staying. I used a portkey back at the park because Moody, Snape, and Tonks were all there under invisibility cloaks, and I had warned you to show up alone. And in case you haven't noticed, there are no owls around. I'm not going to be expelled, because the Ministry hasn't detected my use of magic. And even if they did, I doubt Professor Dumbledore would sit back and let them expel me. We may not be getting along right now, but neither of us hates the other. If push came to shove, he'd still do everything in his power to keep me in school, I'm sure."

Remus started to relax. He knew what Harry had said about Dumbledore was true, and was mildly interested in how Harry's magic use had gone undetected, but was more shocked at the news that he'd been followed by Order members. If Snape alone had shown up, he might have thought that it was the action of a single person. But if three had shown like Harry had said, then it was certainly Dumbledore's doing. Remus was a little hurt that he hadn't been told, not that he would have agreed.

"Harry, how do you know that there were others at the park? And please believe me, I had no idea I was being followed."

"Don't worry, I know. I guess it was Dumbledore's idea. That's just one small thing he's done lately that's caused me to no longer trust him. It'd surprise even you how manipulative and sneaky he really is. I still don't know what house Dumbledore was in when he went to Hogwarts, but I've been wondering if it might be Slytherin. Even though it's for the greater good, as he says, I think he's been in power to long. He thinks of others too much as pawns, and not as equal partners in the fight against Voldemort. I don't think he's doing it intentionally, he just doesn't understand how deeply his actions effect other people. Especially people who aren't given a choice, like me. And about the invisibility cloaks, I've learned to see through them. It's easy when you have your own to practice with. I expected Dumbledore to do something like that, so I was expecting more than just you to show. That's why I had the portkey ready. I'm glad it worked too, I wasn't sure if it would bring us to the right place. I kind of rushed in making it, and didn't have time to test it out beforehand."

Remus blanched. "You m-made a portkey? How, that's im-impossible!"

The look on Remus's face was priceless; and Harry had to choke back a grin. "No, it's not impossible, just difficult. I've been studying them since the summer started, but that's the first one I've made that travels more than a five mile distance."

The answer wasn't enough for the werewolf. "But, you can't just learn to make a portkey out of thin air! It's a Ministry controlled spell, only those authorized know how. I can't even make a portkey!"

"I doubt Barty Crouch Jr. was a Ministry employee when he made the Triwizard cup into one." Harry retorted. "It's possible to learn how if one's willing to break a few rules. I'll explain more if you want later, but we haven't much time. It's past six, and the sun will set in a few minutes. Don't you want to know why I called you?"

Remus looked puzzled. "Harry, that's not even among my top fifteen questions. I've practically been assigned a list to ask you. I just assumed you wanted to assure us all that you're OK, and that you'd decided to come back to headquarters with me."

"I've never going back to live there!" Snarled Harry. "I told Dumbledore that, and he better believe it! I called because I had another dream, and it presents an opportunity."

Harry spent the next half hour describing the second dream he had to Remus, and told him what he hadn't told Dumbledore about the first one. He described how the dreams were more clear than others had been in the past, and how he could actually feel what Voldemort was thinking. That's how he knew most of the information he acquired. Remus wanted to know how Harry had gained additional insight, but Harry avoided answering the question. There wasn't enough time before Wormtail could show up, and Harry was right in that the name earned him a guttural response from Remus.

"So Peter's coming here tonight, and will be entering the house alone?" He got a nod to his question. "Then he's a dead man!" He spat.

Harry had expected Remus to feel like that. The first time he had the opportunity to kill his former friend, he almost got to. Only Harry had stopped him from doing so, and look how that had turned out. But exposing Pettigrew was the only way to clear Sirius's name, even if it was in postmortem.

"Remus," Harry explained carefully, "I'll not get between you and Wormtail again. I learned my lesson, and a lot would have gone very differently if you had killed him the first time you wanted. Voldemort may not even have come back. But just remember, if you kill him, Sirius's name will never be cleared. It doesn't mean as much to me now as it did when he was alive, but I'd still like to see his innocence proven. If killing Pettigrew is more important to you than that, then it's OK with me. I'll leave the choice to you. Just think about it, and don't act irrationally."

Harry could tell he had given the man a lot to think about, and for the first time that night, Remus stopped asking questions. Harry left him at the kitchen table with his thoughts.

"I'm going to have a look around, and set up some detection spells. They'll trigger when Wormtail shows, which could happen anytime. Take a moment, and meet me upstairs. I want to wait for him in Hermione's room. That's where he'll be heading, so that's where we'll wait for him."

Remus nodded and Harry left. He checked to make sure all the windows and doors were locked, and looked for any openings along the walls that a rat might be able to crawl through. But the Granger's home appeared to be well kept, and Harry was thankful that it was one less thing he had to worry about.

In his studies, Harry had come across a simple charm that he now put in place. It was intended for use by young parents, to make sure their kids didn't get into any cupboards or drawers that they weren't suppose to. When a drawer or door the charm had been cast on opened, a small crystal that the charms were tied to would heat up. The crystal could be worn around the neck or as a bracelet, and the parents would know that their kids were up to no good.

Harry had made the crystal earlier in the morning, and it was just the dried form of a simple potion. Once he cast the charm over all the windows and doors of the house, Harry put the crystal around his neck, and tucked it into both his shirt and dragon hide vest. Knowing he would likely see combat tonight, Harry wore his full set of dragon hide clothes, minus the cloak. It was too heavy to be practical, and Harry worried that if the fighting got dirty, which it most certainly would, that it would just get in the way. In a proper duel the extra protection the cloak provided might prove useful, but not when he might be jumping behind furniture, or using some of the muggle techniques he had been practicing.

When Harry entered Hermione's room, he found Remus already there. It wasn't the first trip Remus had made to the Granger's home. Over the years, he had made a few trips during the summers to see if Hermione remained safe, and he'd even been staking it out since the arrival of Harry's first letter. But neither man had ever been inside before, and they each fought their curiosity to look through some of Hermione's things.

The bedroom was decorated just like Harry had imagine; books everywhere. Most were muggle books, both fiction and non, but a few wizard titles caught both their eyes. The furniture was made of a complicated wicker, and the walls had a flowery wallpaper on them that wasn't too overpowering. The whole house was impeccably clean, and Harry made a promise to leave it like that, even if he had to stay a whole day to repair any damage from the fighting.

Both men remained quiet as they waited for Wormtail to show. Harry had shown Remus the crystal he had set up, and explained how it worked. Remus was impressed, but saved any questions he had for later. The two briefly discussed how best to approach Wormtail once he showed, and agreed upon a plan. After that was out of the way, they waited in silence. Remus sat at Hermione's large desk, Harry on the bed.

Over an hour passed before the crystal Harry wore began to heat up. The charm didn't let the wearer know which door or window was being opened, but Harry's x-ray lens did a fine job. He stood up quickly as he got ready. Tonight, he would fight some Death Eaters.

"Remus, he's here," Harry whispered. "He just entered the same door we used, and he's searching the lower floor."

"How do you know?"

Harry hadn't told him about his magical lens, and preferred it that way. He remembered Pavarti's discomfort at the thought of Moody's magical eye, and didn't want to make people feel the same way about him. That's why he lied to Remus earlier about being able to see through invisibility cloaks. He had neglected to mention he could see through everything else as well.

"It's the charm, I can sense where he entered." Remus also didn't know about the charm's shortcomings. "Get ready, he'll be at the staircase soon."

Remus nodded and got in position. The two had agreed that Harry would be the one to confront Wormtail at first, and hopefully it would startle him. Harry hoped the prospect of his capture for Voldemort would keep the Death Eater from running outside and bringing back the others. While Wormtail was concentrating on Harry, Remus would be hiding in the closet. He'd step out and stun or kill the man, he hadn't said which yet. If all went as planned, Harry wouldn't have to fire a single shot. However, Harry wanted a chance to use some of the spells he had learned, and almost hoped things got a little messy.

Boy, did he ever get his wish.

---

When Peter Pettigrew entered the Granger residence that night, he hadn't expected a lot. More than anyone else, he knew Harry's friends well from his years spent as Ron's pet Scabbers. That's why he knew that Hermione would never had left for vacation had she known that Harry had gone missing. Yet, he was ordered to go through her things, on the off chance he might find a clue. He had tried to get another to do the chore, perhaps someone like Lucius who would do anything to gain favor with the Dark Lord, but no one wanted to. The task was unimportant, so naturally it was left for him. At least his master had been kind enough to allow him to bring back up, something which had surprised Wormtail.

Now as he went through the rooms in the lower floor, making sure that he was alone and giving a half-hearted search for clues, Wormatail was already making excuses that he'd have to give his master about not finding anything useful. It wasn't a matter of whether he would be punished or not for proving useless, it was a matter of how much he would be punished.

The first floor was empty of anything meaningful, and the small man crept up the staircase slowly. The best bet he had at finding anything, no matter how futile it proved to be, was in Hermione's bedroom. So that's where he headed first. There were four bedrooms upstairs. The master suite was obvious, and Wormtail only poked his head in one of the guest rooms before he found Hermione's. What he found inside it was more than he had expected though.

There, sitting on the comfortable bed, starring straight at him, was none other than Harry Potter himself. A smarter man would have wondered why he was there, and why he seemed to be waiting. Peter Pettigrew however, was too overcome with greed to think about these things. If he could deliver Potter to his master, he might finally command some respect among the other Death Eaters. Not to mention the rewards he'd get for delivering the boy for his master to kill himself.

"Hello Peter," Harry greeted him, "I can't say it's good to see you again."

Wormtail was surprised at the almost jovial tone of Harry's voice. He became a little tense, but hid it well. One of the few talents Peter had was to hide his emotions when he needed to. The only one he couldn't fool was Voldemort.

"What are you doing here? No matter, you won't be staying long. To think I got sent here on a foolish errand, only to come across the golden prize!" Wormtail drew his wand, and noticed with satisfaction that Harry didn't have his. "Come with me quietly, and you won't get hurt."

Harry laughed. "I don't plan on getting hurt Wormtail." The laugh became much more vicious now. "That's more than I can say about you though!"

"What do you mean?" It didn't take a lot to make Wormtail nervous.

"I mean, look behind you. I'm afraid you're about to be cursed."

The Death Eater almost did look behind him. He had made his way into the bedroom now after closing the door. But Wormtail had seen enough cheesy muggle movies to know that it was all a ploy to distract him. Harry may not have a wand, but he knew that the young wizard had a knack for getting out of dangerous situations. He didn't avert his attention even a little.

"I'm not going to fall for that old trick. What do you take me for? An idiot?"

Harry smiled again, and looked over Wormtail's shoulder. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Expelliarmus!" Remus had just stepped out of the closet, and had decided to disarm his former friend. The small wizard flew back and crashed into the bed, and his wand sailed into Remus's waiting hand. Harry, not wanting to be close to Pettigrew, at the same time got up off the bed and went to stand next to Remus.

"Hello Peter!" Remus snarled. He had pocketed Wormtail's wand now, and was pointing his own right at the downed wizard.

At the sound of Remus's voice, Pettigrew froze in fear. He hadn't seen who had attacked him, and now he knew why Harry was so calm when first encountered. He recognized the cold voice, and remembered the last time he had heard it. He had barely escaped with his life that night. He only hoped to do the same again.

Slowly he turned around to face Remus. He was on the far side of the bed, and there were no windows or doors close enough to escape. He was doomed.

"Moony," he pleaded, "please don't! You got me, I give up! Congratulations! Just don't hurt me!"

"Hurt you?" Remus said icily. "I'm thinking about killing you! The only reason I haven't yet is because you alone can prove Sirius's innocence. But Harry said I could do either, and that it was my choice. So what should I do Peter? Kill you, or let you rot in prison?"

Wormtail turned to Harry. Remus was too emotional, and wouldn't listen to him. "Harry, please, stop him. You saved me once before. Please, I'll do anything you want!"

Harry's voice was just as unforgiving as his father's friend. "Really Wormtail? I seem to recall another time you said that. We've been here before haven't we? And what did you do last time, when I saved your life? You went and resurrected the bastard that killed my parents! And now Cedric, and Sirius, and so many others are dead, all thanks to you! I say let Remus do what he wants. Personally I think death is too good for you, but there's not a worse choice."

A frightful full minute passed for the captured Wormtail. A few times Remus raised his wand and looked like he was about to use it against him, but then stopped. Finally he lowered it, but not fully.

"I'd like nothing better than to end your miserable life Peter. To make you pay for what you've done to James and Lily, and to Sirius. And if there's any justice in the world, then they could continue to punish you in the afterlife. But it means a lot to Harry for Sirius's name to be cleared, and it means something to me as well. So you'll live, for now. You'll answer for your crimes, and finally confess. You'll also tell us everything you know about your master and his plans. Then maybe, if you've said something useful, I'll let you live."

Before Wormtail could utter out another word, Remus cast a full body bind on him. He snapped to attention, and fell back against the bed, stiff as a board.

"I'm proud of you Remus," Harry said. "It took a lot to do that. I'm sure Sirius and my parents would be proud."

Remus sighed. "I'm still not sure it was the right choice. Even when we turn him over to the aurors, there's always the chance he'll escape or be broken out. Even if he was seen, Fudge would only claim him to be an imposter. Only with a full trial can we finally clear Sirius's name, and that's a long time off."

He and Harry should have felt better about finally capturing Wormtail, but the seriousness of the situation prevented it. Remus was right in that capturing Wormtail was a far cry from actually proving his guilt. The trial at the earliest would be held in a month, and that was plenty of time for something to go wrong. Especially with an idiot like Fudge in office, and Lucius Malfoy back in his good graces.

The two levitated Wormtail down the stairs and towards the side door. Due to security wards put in place on Hermione's house by the Order, it was impossible to apparate in or out right then. They decided to carefully go back to the portkey's arrival site for further conversation. Neither could see any other wizards through the windows, but wanted to be as safe as possible while they continued their discussion. Remus still had many questions to ask Harry, and Harry hadn't yet decided how many to answer. Both wizards were on the lookout for Wormtail's allies as they left the house, but found no Death Eaters.

Instead, they found the night air was cooler than they remembered. Too cold.

"Remus," Harry whispered, "is that feeling what I think it is?"

"What feeling? The cold?" Remus had felt the strong chill, but thought it unusual at best.

Harry couldn't believe that Remus couldn't sense them; it was almost overpowering. But then he remembered he was more highly effected by them than other wizards. Ever since his third year.

"Remus," Harry struggled to get out, "get ready for some company."

"Who?"

"Dementors!"

At Harry's statement, Remus grew rigid with fear. Although he was familiar with them, and had even been in their presence more times than he cared to count, he had never had to fight off a hostile Dementor. They had for years been under Ministry control, and only recently had abandoned their posts to side with Voldemort. He had been stupid to assume Wormtail's back up would be other Death Eaters. Those he knew he could handle. But of the two of them, only Harry had experience fighting off Dementors. He hoped it would be enough. As the cold feeling and dampening effects became more pronounced, Remus conjured a happy memory for a patronus. It was a few years since he had last cast one, but the skill never left a wizard. It was like riding a bike.

"Remus, put Wormtail down in the bushes. This could get ugly. Hopefully there's only five of them." It amazed Remus how in control Harry was. He knew that he had been in this situation before, but then it had only been two Dementors. At least someone had their wits about them. Remus had totally forgot about the floating wizard behind him. And if they lost Wormtail, it really would have made Remus wished he killed him earlier.

He stashed his frozen prisoner in the bushes, and noticed with some satisfaction that the bushes had thorns on them. Then he went to join Harry. He could hear the start of voices in his head now; his parents' screams when they learned he had been bitten by a werewolf. He could only imagine what Harry must be hearing.

Which was a lot. The Dementors still weren't in sight, but Harry's head was exploding with dialogue of his parents' death, Cedric's murder, Sirius's falling through the veil, and a smattering of other unpleasantries. He would have passed out by now, if not for his advanced Occlumency training. As each voice called out in his head, Harry herded it into a subset of his inner mind sphere; one he designated for his life's horrors. Once the voices were in there they didn't completely disappear, but became muffled instead. It wasn't pleasant, but it was bearable.

Harry and Remus were back to back now, in the side yard between Hermione's house and her neighbors'. The Dementors should have been in sight by now, now that the sense of coldness and overwhelming fear was so strong, but none were visible.

That's because they were on top of the roof, unseen by the two wizards.

It was mere luck that Remus managed to look up before they attacked. He had wanted to see if the moon would hide behind a cloud anytime soon, which might cut off their light source. What he saw instead were five Dementors, just as they leaped off the Granger's rooftop.

A normal man would have fallen like a sack, but the dark creatures floated down soundlessly. It gave Remus just enough time to push Harry out of the way, and raise his wand to meet them.

"Expecto Patronum!" Two Dementors were nearly on him when his silver wolf rushed out of his wand. It wasn't the most powerful patronus he'd ever cast, but in the surprising moment it proved to be enough.

The two Dementors split at the confrontation with the silver animal totem. Each Dementor headed in a different direction, one north of Harry and Remus's position, the other south. The patronus, not being able to choose which direction to travel, remained in the middle, and soon vanished. Meanwhile the other three creatures had joined their brethren on the ground. The five completely surrounded the two wizards, quickly closing in from a distance of twenty feet.

Harry had just picked himself off the ground when he noticed the five beasts surrounding him and Remus. They resumed their back to back stance, and Remus was getting ready for another volley.

"Harry! Cast your patronus towards the street! When they scatter, run for your life! We've got to get out from between them!"

Harry didn't say a word, instead he drew up a happy memory, waiting for the Dementors to get just a little closer. The nearer they were, they more they would run from his stag.

When the Dementors were only ten feet away, he felt like that was plenty close for him. It was him that ordered Remus around now.

"Remus, now! EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Remus had gotten the spell of a little sooner than Harry, and his silver wolf was the first to take form. It was larger and more defined than the first time, and just as effective. It did indeed drive a wedge between the Dementors, but neither Harry nor Remus had to run towards the street. Not to mention they couldn't; they were frozen from shock at what else they saw.

On the tail of Remus's wolf patronus, Harry's formed a second later. It was the familiar shape of Prongs, the animagus form of his father. Only this time it was much larger than it had ever been before; not to mention a different color. Harry's patronus was gold!

The huge form of Prongs raced to the rightmost Dementor, and impaled it with his antlers. A high pitched shriek that couldn't possibly be human issued from the dark creature, as it was torn and mangled. The Dementor wasn't just rushed off by the patronus; it was shredded to pieces. The robe clad husk collapsed on the ground a moment later, and Harry's stag headed for the next Dementor.

As Remus stood watching the spectacle, he didn't even think to recast his own patronus. It wasn't needed. The two wizards stood side by side, and watched as all the Dementors were made short order of. The fallen creatures still emitted futile life signs as they withered on the ground, but there was no need to worry, they weren't a danger anymore.

At last the gold patronus was finished, and returned to the one who had cast him. At Harry's side, the stag gave a deep bow to his maker, and then vanished.

"Ha-Harry?" Remus stuttered. "What just happened?"

Remus had to repeat the question before he got a response.

"I don't know. I didn't know that was possible. Did you?"

Remus turned to look him squarely in the face. "Harry, nothing like that has ever happened in wizarding history. If I'm not mistaken, those Dementors are either dead, or dying. It's supposed to be impossible to harm a Dementor. The only spell useful against them is the Patronus Charm, and that only drives them away. At least till now. What did you do differently?"

Harry thought about it. The only thing he could think of was the Occlumency techniques he had been using. When he called upon a happy memory to use, he instead called upon the whole subset of his happy memories. They were all tied together in a sense, so it was possible he used the strength of all his happy memories, not just a single one.

He couldn't get into that with Remus now though. It would take too long to explain the full details of his Occlumency training, and the ground was littered with rotting corpses. Some were still showing signs of life, but not many.

"I think I might know, but I'm not sure. I'll tell you later. Anyways, we've got bigger problems. What do we do with five dead Dementors?"

But before Remus could answer, another voice spoke up. Or rather hissed. It seemed that Seth had something to add, which was very unusual in itself.

"Dementor? Why do you call the soul-eatersss that name?"

Over the last few weeks, Harry had gotten used to his mostly silent new friend. The single companion he had had with his former master all those years ago had conditioned Seth to be very quiet, and often times he went the full day without even speaking to Harry. The only time he had really talked was when Harry had been decorating his house. Seth had made a few useful suggestions about some of the guest rooms when he saw that Harry was running out of ideas, and they had surprisingly been very good ones.

The only time Seth was guaranteed to talk was the half hour before Harry fell asleep. While meditating and organizing the day's thoughts in his mind, Harry conversed with the small snake. The topics were never the same twice, the conversation intelligent, and it helped Harry wind down from a hard day of training.

"Soul-eatersss? Is that what you call them? Wizardsss today call them Dementorsss. They've been working for the Ministry guarding the prison for many yearsss, but have recently left and gone to Voldemort. How do you know about them?"

"Harry?" Remus asked. "Why are you hissing at your hand?"

It took a moment for Harry to remember that Remus had never heard him speak Parseltongue before, and he also didn't know about Seth.

"Sorry Remus. I forgot to introduce you to Seth." Harry held up his hand for Remus to see. "It's a ring I bought in Diagon Alley, in the same shop I bought my watch. Later at home, I found out the snake wasn't just animated like I thought, but he was ensouled instead. Seth was made by a lonely wizard a long time ago; I haven't figured out when yet. Since that wizard died, he's been passed along from one person to the next. Nobody spoke Parseltongue till I came along, so I'm the first who can understand him. He just asked why I call them Dementors. I answered, and asked how he knew what they were. From what I gather, the old wizard who made him led a very sheltered life. I'm surprised he's knows what a Dementor is."

Remus nodded and said something else, but Harry tuned him out so he could listen to Seth's response.

"My old master was one of the dark wizardsss who created the foul beastsss. It wasss before I was made, but he talked about it many yearsss later. They actually aren't beastsss at all. They're the life forcesss of dark wizardsss who have died. Before death the dark wizardsss performed blood ritualsss to prolong their livesss. While their physical bodiesss would die, their magical essencesss would live on. The tale you told me of this Voldemort soundsss very similar. But while your Voldemort existed only as a spirit after hisss death, these dark wizardsss became more. Besidesss the blood ritualsss they had performed, they created a spell that would give new formsss to their spiritsss.

"My master was part of a council of seventeen dark lordsss that performed the first spellsss. Each dark spirit became a soul-eater. At first they were weak, but with each soul they took, they grew in power. It was because of them that my master turned from his evil waysss. The soul-eatersss eventually broke away from the dark lord council, and yearsss later they ate the soulsss of his wife and children. He long studied waysss to reverse the effect, but never succeeded. I know not the golden spell you just cast. In my master'sss time it was impossible to harm, or even control a soul-eater."

"It's still supposed to be impossible," Harry muttered.

At Remus's questioning look, Harry quickly repeated what he was just told by Seth. He had understood the first time hearing it the huge implications of this new knowledge. As he repeated it for Remus, it sunk in even further. Remus was just as blown away as Harry.

"Harry, do you know what this means? No one alive knows the history or origins of Dementors, and your talking ring of all things just gave you more information than is written in hundreds of books. That ring must be a lot older that it looks."

The two would have gone on longer discussing the ramifications, but were interrupted as the five Dementor bodies all gave one last heave, and then stopped. Harry hadn't the nerve to poke at them with his foot. He certainly wasn't going to peel back a hood and take a look underneath. It was just as well though, as the black robes suddenly turned an ash grey, and then turned to dust in front of their eyes. Then they made another sound, but his one wasn't one of misery, it was one of relief.

From each of the five piles of dust and ash, a countless number of small white vapors rose. Most evaporated into the night air, some others hovered about for a moment, then also disappeared. But a small number grew in size, until they became the unmistakable forms of actual people. They weren't ghosts as Harry and Remus knew them, but the forms came very close.

"Re-Remus?" It was Harry's turn to stutter. "What are those?"

"I don't know." It seemed tonight was full of surprises.

It was good that someone, or rather something, knew what was going on. One of the larger forms drifted towards the two. As it approached it took on further definition, and the male form spoke in an old form of Anglo-Saxon.

Luckily Remus the scholar could interpret the dead language, and translated for Harry. After a lengthy conversation, the ghost form stopped and Remus turned to Harry. Remus had an odd look of amazement and fear on his face.

"Harry, you're not going to believe this! However you did it, when you killed those Dementors, you released all the souls they had ever eaten. Imagine! Every single person ever kissed by the Dementor is now free. From what I was told, all evil souls were destroyed with the original dark wizard spirit. The most recently ingested souls went to seek out their bodies; to see if they're still alive. Other souls moved on, to where I have no idea. The afterlife I would guess. These that remain are the ones that have nowhere else to go. I don't know what that means exactly, but they either can't move on to the afterlife, or don't want to. Frances here was a farmer, and he says he's seen too many horrors living inside a Dementor for over fourteen centuries. He says he's not comfortable moving on until he can see enough good to counter the evil. As you freed him, he's asking you what to do."

"What do I know about what souls do after they're dead? Tell him I'm the last person he should be asking!" It was all too much for Harry. No longer in danger, he sunk down to his knees and put his hands up to his head. Now was not the time to decide the future for so many. From the looks of the translucent spirits, there were over fifty of them. "Remus, I have no idea what to do!"

Remus wasn't listening however. He was now pacing back and forth, talking in hushed tones to himself.

"....this changes everything. Probably get awarded the Order of Merlin, first class for this. But they'll want to know how Harry cast the charm, and he doesn't know. Plus he's not allowed to do magic out of school; I still have to find out about that. Flitwick might have some answers. He's an expert on the Patronus, he taught me after all. I'll floo him tonight, when I get back to headquarters...."

Remus continued on is his ramblings, and Harry began to see the humor in the situation. What had happened must have easily been the most important wizard discovery since all twelve uses for dragons' blood was discovered, maybe even longer! No one could possibly know how to handle the situation, not just Remus and Harry.

Harry looked up to the spirit forms, wondering what he was going to tell them. As he did, he noticed a rustling in the brush behind where Remus was still pacing. There was someone coming out from the bushes.

Wormtail! In all the commotion of the Dementor attack, and the following revelation of the released souls, they had forgotten about their discarded prisoner. Harry didn't know how he broke out of the full body bind he had been in, but he had more than a half hour to do it.

It was pure luck that Harry was on his knees, in position facing the bushes. Remus still hadn't noticed, and Wormtail was closing the seven foot gap between the two. He wasn't armed with a wand, but that didn't matter. To Remus, he was armed with something much more dangerous. He was armed with his hand!

The magical hand Voldemort had gifted him at his own resurrection ceremony hadn't lost its significance to Harry. He knew that the silver hand was mighty dangerous to his werewolf friend, but he had no idea how dangerous. Could just a simple touch kill Remus? Did the silver have to get into his bloodstream to hurt him? Or were the muggles right, and only a silver bullet could do the job? Harry didn't plan on finding out.

He could have easily flicked his wrist to retrieve his wand, but Harry didn't. It wasn't because he was scared; the incident in Knockturn Alley prompted him to practice his draw endlessly. Instead, instinct told Harry to reach for Hedwig's wand in his boot holster, which was in easy reach from his kneeled position.

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

Instead of a beam of light like what was supposed to happen, a searchlight erupted from Harry's wand tip, enveloping both the attacking wizard and the still oblivious Remus.

The spell, which Harry had learned in preparation for the third task years before, was only intended to slow down a person or object in its path. Instead, Harry's spell caused both men to stop moving all together. He supposed they could have been moving at a very slow pace, but if so it couldn't be detected by the human eye.

"Whew! That was close!" Harry remarked to himself as he stood and approached the two others. Upon further examination, it was closer than even he first realized. Wormtail's silver hand was raised in a fist, and was frozen in a downwards swing aimed at Remus's head. The two body parts were less than a foot apart.

Not wanting to chance accidental contact, Harry used a mobilicorpus spell to levitate Remus away from the offending hand. Once at a safe distance, he set Remus down and ended the spell on him.

"Finite Incantatum."

Remus looked puzzeled for a moment, as his location had changed and Harry was all of a sudden in his face. Before he could ask, Harry pointed over his shoulder at the still frozen Wormtail, and all was understood. Remus's face turned green as he realized how close he came to death.

"How close was his hand?" Remus didn't really want to know, but at the same time he had to.

"Less than a foot. It was close. If you want to rethink your decision about him, I'll understand. I'm almost willing to kill him myself."

"No, whether he attacks me or another, it doesn't change anything." The werewolf had apparently decided to stick with his earlier decision. "It's just another charge he'll have to face. But Harry, what spell did you use. It wasn't the body bind, because he'd have fallen over."

"I used Impedimenta. I was aiming at Wormtail, but my wand's a little temperamental at times. I guess I got carried away, and the spell hit both of you. As long as it worked, I don't mind." Harry held up his wand to show Remus.

It was yet another shock for the older wizard. In his time teaching Harry, both in class and during their private sessions, he had come to recognize the boy's wand. The one he now held wasn't it. Not to mention that it was hard to stop the motion of one man completely with the spell, let alone two.

"Harry, how'd you get a new wand? And where's your old one? Is that the wand you used to cast the gold patronus with?"

"Sorry Remus," Harry responded, "too many questions for now. I've got answers for you, but let's go somewhere more comfortable. But first I need to take care of a problem. I can't let anything like this happen again."

Harry re-holstered Hedwig's wand, and drew his more familiar one. The spell he had in mind wasn't one he was very familiar with, and he wanted to be sure he got it right. Slowly, he made his way over to Wormtail and his silver hand.

"Harry?" Remus questioned. "What are you doing?"

"Just undoing some of Voldemort's handiwork. I'm not sure if this will work, but I have an idea it will. Stand back, I don't want any to splash on you."

Before Remus could ask what he was talking about, Harry leveled his wand at Wormtail's magical hand and spoke an incantation he had never used before; only read about.

"Ferverfacio!"

Remus wasn't familiar with the incantation, but he could plainly see its effects. A narrow beam of white shot towards the silver hand, and Harry focused it at its base where silver met flesh. Slowly, very slowly, the white light intensified to a soft blue, and the silver began to glow white hot. Then unmistakably, small beads of silver started to drip of the metal hand. The spell was melting the silver!

Harry's brow furrowed in concentration as the beam of light became wider, but no less bright. The whole hand was enveloped now, and silver started to flow off in rivers. Wormtail's robes started to burn, and Remus's delicate olfactory glands even picked up the smell of burnt flesh. It seems that to make sure he got the whole thing, Harry was aiming a little above where he need to on Wormtail's arm.

The Impedimenta spell must have really frozen him in place, because Wormatil made no sound, and his face showed no discomfort. Remus couldn't say the same. Now that the silver had all run to the ground, he could plainly see an open festering wound. The blood flow had been frozen in time as well, but that didn't stop the bright red veins from showing, or the grisly white of hewn bone from poking out of the severed limb. It looked as if Wormtail had only just cut off his hand, instead of two years prior.

"Harry, what did you just do?" Remus had never heard of a spell like that. The temperatures required to melt silver were incredible, and nothing he knew could even approach it.

"I used a metalworking charm I read about. In the sixteenth century, blacksmith wizards used it to fashion cutlery, jewelry, and decorations. It hasn't been used much since, but when I read about it being able to melt almost any metal, I studied it for just this occasion. I didn't know Wormtail would get so close to being able to use his hand tonight, but I knew it was always a possibility. Now even if he does escape, he won't pose a threat to you."

Remus grimly nodded. He knew Harry was right, but it still seemed cruel to do. "We can't just leave the wound open like that. The moment you unfreeze him, he'll bleed to death."

In silent reply, Harry cast a cauterizing spell on the limb. It was an advanced spell he hadn't practiced before, but Harry didn't really care how carelessly it worked. If it left a huge scar, all the better. When he was done, Harry turned to Remus and saw the man was still a bit queasy looking. Harry didn't know if it was from the wound, or the fact that Harry had caused it. He feared the latter.

"Don't look at me like that; I didn't chop off his hand! The stupid git did it himself!"

Remus barked out a loud laugh at the inappropriate joke. But it lightened the mood considerably, and Harry decided to move onto another topic.

"Now we've got to get rid of all these spirits. Any ideas?"

Remus laughed again. "None at all! I suppose they could follow you around until you decide what to do with them. They could be your posse!"

Harry growled. "Not funny. I just don't have the time right now to deal with this. I expect to be up half the night as it is just answering your questions. Stay here." With Remus left to guard over Wormtail, Harry walked back to the form of Frances the farmer.

He couldn't speak Anglo-Saxon, so Harry called over another spirit who spoke English, albeit an older form. A quick conversation later, he was back at Remus's side. The spirits had started away, traveling to the north.

"What did you tell them?" Asked Remus.

"I told them I had no idea what they wanted of me, and I had no time right now to figure it out. So I told them to take some time to explore the world, sort of to catch up with the times. In four weeks they'll meet me back at school. I told them about Hogsmeade, and the Shrieking Shack. I hope you don't mind me using it, but I told them to stay in there so they don't draw attention. Hopefully by then I'll know what to do."

"Good answer," replied Remus. Again, Harry showed wisdom beyond his years. It was starting to surprise Remus less and less.

"I thought so. Anyways, now that that's taken care of, let's get out of here. I believe you have a list of questions to ask?"

Another laugh from Remus. "The Order will have to wait. I've got my own bloody questions to ask first. So far I've gotten very little answers, and have only learned more things to ask about!"

Harry smiled. "Good, that's part of what I want to talk to you about. But let's get out of here first." With some quick wand work, Wormtail was unfrozen, and then stunned, body binded, and shackled just for good measure. He wasn't getting away again as easily. But without his magical hand, Harry doubted he had the power to counter anymore curses.

"Ready for another portkey trip?"

Remus blanched. "Another one? Never mind, I don't even want to know. Let's just do this."

Harry motioned to his watch, and placed Worntail's remaining hand on it as well. One of the many functions of the watch was an emergency portkey, which could be set to any location, and activated by a key word. Harry had learned about this weeks ago, and had even used it already. It differed from a normal portkey in that he hadn't had to cast the Portus spell on his watch; he just had to set it while standing in the place he wanted to transport to. That's what Harry used now to transfer Remus, Wormtail, and himself.

"Soccer." It wasn't the most creative key word, but it was one that he wouldn't say accidentally. Being the American term for football, and a muggle sport at that, Harry couldn't think of a single situation where he might use the term in a normal conversation. Even Dean Thomas had never used the word, and he was crazy about football.

The small circle above the watch's 6 lit up a pale yellow color, and when it faded back to white, the three travelers were standing in the basement of Harry's apartment building. They hadn't fallen down this time, either because they were prepared, or because the portkey was different that most others. Harry didn't care; it was refreshing not having to get up from a sprawled pile on the floor.

He had chosen the basement of his building because it was rarely used. The only thing down there was the building's rec room and utility meters, and they were both on the other side of the long hallway. Having the arrival point here instead of in his apartment allowed Harry to bring guests, who hadn't yet been told the secret of where he lived. It was also a great destination for him to escape to, if the situation ever arose. Harry still didn't know what to do with Remus, but now had a chance to figure it out.

Wormtail was cast carelessly aside, but kept an eye on as Harry conjured two chairs to sit in. He motioned for Remus to take one, and sat in the other as he likewise conjured tea and biscuits for the two of them. The basement's damp setting wasn't an ideal spot for a snack, but it would have to do for now.

"Is this your idea of a more comfortable place to discuss things? Harry, please don't tell me you've been living in a basement for an entire week!" Remus looked around in the dark shadows as Harry poured the cuppa. It was a good thing Remus wasn't paying too much attention.

As the two tucked into the warm brew, Harry came right out with his major concerns.

"Remus, I have no problem answering any and all of your questions. But I don't want to share anything with the others." He didn't have to mention Dumbledore by name. "I know everyone's only trying to look out for me, but lately that's been coming at a cost of my personal freedom. Last summer I was practically a prisoner at headquarters, and I have no doubt this summer would have been even worse. I had a funny thought earlier this summer. I thought that Dumbledore and the Order would keep me safe no matter what, even if they had to lock me in a Gringott's vault to do so. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Remus nodded. He understood perfectly, but the others didn't have any other suggestions as to what to do with Harry. Calmly, he explained this to the boy. Harry had a response for him though.

"What they don't understand, and what I've been trying to say for more than a year, is that I want to make the decisions having to do with my own life; or at least be part of making them. I know I'm in danger; I'm not stupid. But I still won't give up all my freedoms. I don't see why a compromise can't be made, but Dumbledore would never agree to it. Even the slightest chance I'd get hurt is too much for him, and that's why this whole thing with me running away started. That, and Dumbledore hasn't been honest with me, ever. He's been lying and skipping over truths ever since I met him."

Harry had to give some examples to Remus to make his point, and told about some of the conversation he'd had with Dumbledore in his office at the end of the previous year. The only topic he avoided was mention of the prophecy. He also told Remus about his family vault and the letter his parents had left him. He told how Dumbledore was watching over the amounts of money he spent. He told about how Dumbledore manipulated members of his own Order, as evident by the three cloaked figures who had followed Remus to the park that evening. Harry also explained how he felt betrayed that Dumbledore went against his parents' wishes. He'd placed Harry in the safest home possible, at the sacrifice of also being in the most loveless home possible. James and Lily never would have wanted that for their son.

In retrospect, Dumbledore had always explained his actions in as brief of a way as possible. Now Remus knew why. The man was unscrupulous! No wonder Harry had rebelled. Any sane person would have done the same if they were told the same lies, and grew up in the same environment. Just the one short conversation with the Dursleys was too much for Remus; he couldn't imagine a whole childhood with those dreadful people.

"So Remus, you understand, at least in part, why I don't want to have anything to do with Dumbledore or the Order. As individuals, they're all fine. Well, maybe not Snape. But when they get together to dictate my life, I'd rather be kissed by a blast-ended-skewt, because at least then I have an idea of what's happening. So if you still want to ask all those questions you can, but first you have to promise not to tell Dumbledore or the Order anything. When you return, you can tell them that I'm fine, and we had a nice long talk, but you can't even tell them the littlest facts. That I can do magic, that we were attacked tonight, about the released spirits; nothing. I promise to tell them all in time, but not now. Probably not till school starts at the very least, possibly longer. It's up to you. If you want to know about me, then they can't."

The question wasn't a tough one for Remus. If he had to carry the secret for Harry, if only to know that he was safe and how he was able to do the things he had performed so far, than he would. Dumbledore would hopefully understand the need to gain Harry's trust. The other members of the Order wouldn't, but Remus could stand up to them. It's not as if any of them were close friends. His last had been Sirius, and now only Harry was left to fill that void.

"OK, I agree." It was that simple.

"Great," Harry smiled, "then let's get out of this dump." The two stood, and with a wave of his wand the teapot and chairs disappeared. Harry led Remus to the lift entrance with Wormtail trailing behind, and pressed the button to call for it. Remus said nothing, but was wondering how Harry had managed to possibly rent a flat being underage. He didn't have to wait long.

The building still had no other tenants, so Harry was sure the lift would be empty when it arrived. Once the three were inside, with Wormtail levitated in a vertical position because of the lack of room, Harry turned to face Remus.

"Remus, repeat after me. Harry Potter lives on the thirteenth floor."

Remus didn't repeat, but his eyebrows crawled into his hairline. A quick glance at the bank of elevator buttons confirmed his suspicion, that apparently there was no thirteenth floor. Which could only mean that....

"Harry, you didn't! You couldn't have?"

"If you're referring to me placing the entire thirteenth floor of this building under the Fidelius Charm, then yes I did, and I certainly could have!" He was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. "Remus, say Harry Potter lives on the thirteenth floor."

Remus almost didn't. If he said it and it was true, then god knows what else Harry had been up to this summer. He thought the portkey programming had been impressive, as Remus didn't know how to make one. But a Fidelius Charm! It was unheard of. In fact, the only person he knew that had ever cast the spell had been Dumbledore. For both Lilly and James, and Grimmauld Place, he had been the one to cast the charm. Even if Peter had been the actual secret keeper that once, it was Dumbledore who had actually done all the spell work at Godric's Hollow. Peter had only activated the spell. How on earth had Harry learned this? There was only one way to find out.

"Harry Potter lives on the thirteenth floor."

And Remus's worst fears came true, as a new button appeared and pushed aside a few others. Harry pressed it, and the lift began its climb. The ride couldn't have been that long, but to Remus it seemed to last an eternity.

Finally, with an annoying little "ding" the lift doors opened, and Remus immediately assumed they had pressed the wrong button by mistake. The space before him was incredible. A huge fireplace was directly in front of him, off in the distance. It was made of flagstone and ornate Italian marble, and had crafted owls and lions engraved in the mantelpiece. To either side of the fireplace was open space, housing some of the most comfortable and expensive looking furniture he'd ever seen. Yet, as nice as the place looked, it wasn't oppressive like so many museum-like homes. It had a comfortable, lived-in look that was very inviting. So inviting, that Remus was the first to step out of the lift. Harry followed him, and slapped him on the back while the two stepped down the entranceway steps.

"Remus, welcome to my home!"

It was a good thing the house-elves had already retired for the night, because the additional shock would have most certainly killed Remus right then. The man couldn't even form a sentence! Harry took pity on him and led him to one of the leather armchairs in the living room area. He himself took a seat on a nearby couch, and summoned a butterbeer. It was one of his last five. Apparently the magical cases did have a limit, and Harry estimated it at about eighty bottles per case.

It was half past nine when the two stepped out into Harry's new home. Four hours later, Remus still had many questions.

Harry had spent the time wisely going over his actions for the past weeks. He didn't mention anything about using the time tuner, but left out little else. As his duplicate selves were in his trunk where they always were, he didn't have to worry about Remus seeing them. Besides, if they had already lived through this experience, then they knew that Remus was present. As the thought struck him, Harry promised to have a discussion with his other selves about the night's events, and why they hadn't warned him about the Dementors.

The first onslaught of questions came after Harry described his first trip to Diagon and Knockturn Allies. He explained more about what he had learned in Gringotts, and told Remus about all of his purchases. He pulled out some of the books he had bought, both the legal and illegal copies, to show him how he had learned to program portkeys and learned the Fidelius Charm. He even got to show Remus his new broomstick, and had to tell a detailed account of how he came about his new wand.

Remus couldn't believe that the brilliant white bird in front of him was the same snowy owl he'd seen so many times before, but the evidence couldn't be avoided. They had the same personality, the same eyes, and the phoenix responded to Harry's calls. That certainly explained the power of the new wand Harry had shown him.

At the mention of his guardian tattoos, Remus showed more than a fair amount of interest. Being the intellect that he was, he was very interested in the tribal tattooing process, and asked if Harry minded removing his shirt so he could take a look. Harry hadn't planned on it, but complied. Remus approved of the dragon hide vest, but said little else. That's because he too took a silent moment to appreciate the tattoos of the forms of his former friends. As he was facing away from Remus, Harry had no idea if the older wizard had broken down crying like he had. Then again Remus had had some warning, and the tattoos weren't branded into his own skin.

His description of Occlumency likewise impressed his former teacher. Harry tried his best to describe the process he had gone through, but it felt incomplete. It was just impossible to explain something that had taken him weeks to understand himself. Remus did seem to grasp his hypothesis of harnessing all his happy memories in summoning his patronus, and agreed that it could be the cause of the golden stag. Remus suggested that Harry try to repeat the process when he had some spare time.

The trip into muggle London wasn't as exciting as the rest of his stories, but Harry spent the time to explain how he came upon the building he now lived in, and how he thought up the idea of hiding the entire floor. That led to an impromptu tour, which Harry gladly gave. It was satisfying showing off his hard work and meticulous detail, and Remus was more than impressed that Harry had transfigured everything from a box of toothpicks and a few scraps of metal and leather.

"Harry, it wouldn't surprise me if you could pass your transfiguration NEWT right now! This stuff is amazing, I couldn't even dream of half the things you've done!"

"Well," he blushed, "I had a lot of help from Dobby and Winky. They're in the one room I didn't show you. I sent Hedwig with a letter to them to ask if they wanted to work for me, and after giving a two weeks notice, they swooped in and have been taking care of me since. As far as I know, Dumbledore thinks they went off to work for a family of witches. Does he suspect anything?"

"Not a thing, at least he hasn't mentioned it. And with how we've been dissecting your situation, he would have brought it up by now if he thought Dobby had anything to do with you. It seems your hoax worked. I still can't believe you did all this!"

Harry agreed. "I can't believe it either sometimes. It's such a big space, I wonder if I'll ever use half the rooms I have. And there're a few spaces that are still empty. If fact, if you can't get your hands on any Wolfsbane, feel free to use one of the empty rooms anytime. I'm sure it can be converted to be safe, and the Fidelius Charm soundproofs us to the neighboring floors. Just do me a favor, and stay on the west wing. They may not be able to hear you below, but I sure will."

Remus swallowed hard. It wasn't a grand gesture, but Harry had just offered to share his home; with him in his wolf form no less. It was an incredibly considerate act for such a young man.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude or anything. I still can use the Shrieking Shack if I ever need."

Harry shook his head. "No you can't. Remember, I told all those spirits to go there. I don't think they'd appreciate spending their time with another "Dark Creature." Besides, I'll hardly know you're here the place is so big. So far you're the only other person, besides the elves, that know of it. If you want, you're welcome anytime. Just don't tell anyone about it. Even though the charm protects it, I don't want to answer any uncomfortable questions."

"Like how you could just steal an entire building floor?" Remus asked. He wasn't judgmental, it was simply him stating a fact. "How many flats were on this floor in the first place? Eight?"

Harry answered. "Seven actually, and I already decided what to do about my taking the place. I admit, when I first found it, I didn't think about it much. I figured that if people didn't know it was here, then they wouldn't be missing anything. I was so excited, I guess I wasn't thinking straight. But Hermione would skin me alive if she found out I didn't pay rent for such a huge place. Once the building opens, I plan on making anonymous donations to the building manager. I'll figure out the rent for all seven flats, or I'll just ask what the whole building cost to construct, and pay my share. I'll decide later."

"Good idea. But you don't plan on telling her, do you? Or Ron? If they know, it'll be a lot harder to keep this secret." Remus cautioned Harry.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on telling them anytime soon. But in the future I most certainly will. Even Dumbledore will find out eventually, but that's a long time coming. He's got a lot of things to make up for before I'd think about inviting him into my home. I didn't spend all this time just to make a summer place to stay, you know. I plan on living here for a long time. That's why there's so much room. Ten years down the road, if I'm still alive, I'll have quite a pad, don't you think?" The bad joke didn't cover the morbid slip he had made about possibly being dead just a few years from now. Unfortunately, it was a distinct possibility.

"I'm glad you see yourself getting along with Dumbledore in the future," Remus let Harry know. "By the tone of your two letters, some of us were getting worried about you. Anyways, it's getting late. Or rather, early. What do you want to do about him?" Remus pointed to the unconscious Wormtail; slumped by the front door. "If I can't tell the Order about tonight, it'll be hard to explain him. I guess I could always drop him at the Ministry instead."

"No, don't do that. He'd surely escape from them with Fudge in charge." Harry paused to think. He wouldn't mind leaving him stunned for a few weeks, but didn't know if it was possible. Plus, he posed a great security risk. He possibly knew too much about Harry's new abilities. He might have been awake during the Dementor fight, and could have seen too much. Harry didn't want to let Pettigrew be interrogated by the Ministry or the Order of the Phoenix until he knew for sure what he had witnessed.

"I'll take care of him. I'll stash him in one of the empty rooms I have, and fix up a cell or something." At Remus's worried looks, Harry only continued. "Don't worry, I've leaned a lot more than you've seen. I'll take care of it. If you're tired, why don't you spend the night? You can break in one of the guestrooms, and we can have breakfast tomorrow morning together."

It took longer to convince Remus to let him kept Wormtail then to spend the night, but eventually the older, and very tired wizard gave in. Who was he to argue? If Harry could conjure a golden patronus that could kill Dementors, program a portkey himself, perform the Fidelius Charm, and cast an impedimenta spell that could freeze two fully trained wizards; then he surely could keep one unarmed, and unhanded wizard safely behind bars. But he had one last question.

"Harry, what would you have done if I hadn't agreed to not tell the Order anything? Or what if I'm lying?"

Harry laughed. "You're not lying, I slipped a truth serum into the tea I served you in the basement. I can't brew Veritaserum yet, but the one I used is strong enough for simple yes and no answers. If you hadn't agreed, I never would have shown you up here. Then I would have wiped your memory, and portkeyed you back to the park. You never would have known seven hours had passed. You would still be waiting for me to show up for the meeting. But I knew you would agree, so I wasn't worried."

"You can obliviate too?"

"Sure," Harry joked, "didn't I mention it? You don't think I went a whole month without having some fun with the Dursleys, did you? But I couldn't very well have them remember I was using magic against them. So I wiped all three before I left. The only thing they remembered is that I stayed in my room the entire summer, and that they agreed to stay away from me."

Remus joined in Harry's laughing. "I wondered why they didn't have a clue as to what you'd been up to. Not even they could be so neglectful. When I talked to them, it seemed they almost didn't know who I was talking about."

After the laughs died down, the two wished each other a pleasant sleep, and drifted off to separate wings of the house. Both had been worn out by the night's many trials and tribulations, and were off to sleep moments after hitting their bed's soft pillows. Harry really had done a great job in transfiguring them.

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AUTHOR NOTES:

Well, that's the first bit of action, hoped everyone liked it. I found it much harder to write than anything else yet, but figure I'll only get better with practice. This chapter should also address a lot of questions reviewers had about Harry's attitude towards various Order members. Anyone win some $$$ betting on the Superbowl? I live in Charlotte, and was disappointed the Panthers came so close to winning. If only Ray Finkle was the place kicker for the Pats; I would have killed for a 'wide right!' Anyways, next chapter should be about a week, give or take. The summer will end, and soon Harry will be back aboard the Hogwarts express. It's about freaking time too. I've read whole stories and their sequels that haven't been as long as my summer, but oh well. Oh, I also want to give credit to Horst Pollman (see my bio page) for the idea of the golden patronus. I've actually seen it a few times, but he was the first. I plan on explaining the ability differently, but the general concept is the same. I liked it so much I just had to steal it. Some people will complain it's too much of a "superpower," but remember Harry has at least one power that "Voldemort knows not of." I plan on explaining in future chapters, and all I can say is give me a chance. Harry won't be casting impossible spells, just difficult ones. But remember, he has been eating/breathing/sleeping training for the entire summer, thrice over. I hope that justifies his increased magical abilities to any pessimists. Later.

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Updated 11/18/04

I know originally my grammar and spelling could have been better, so I've gone through (I had to for the Schnoogle version anyway) and corrected all that I could find. This is the final version, folks! If you would like to reread the entire fic, there's also other stuff I changed to, besides the spelling. Nothing that will confuse a reader if they don't, but just enough to clean up some edges, and fix some mistakes in the mythology I made. Later all!

Ross