(A/N: Chapter Three. Thank you to Blue-Inked Frost, Sora, Ann Jinn, Diana, Amanda, SevLoverKat, Fallen-Petals15, Zireael07, WeasleySeeker, Jessie, .princess, Yume, kitkatritrat, Moe and Jack, and illusionlove for reviewing the first two chapters. Concrit is always welcome. Heads up, it will be at least a week before the next chapter. I have finals and papers due all week. Please note that in this story, Dumbledore is not evil. He's just old and set in his ways. )
The next twenty minutes were tense. Moody engaged the panic wards, only allowing those physically present and the Longbottoms entrance. Sirius bounced Harry, who had started fussing. Severus just sat there, still in shock over Lily's death. He blamed himself completely and knew he always would. On top of that, the Longbottoms hadn't even been behind their feared wards. There was quite a bit amiss. At the heart of it lay the Potters' demise, and subsequently the Dark Lord's disappearance. Severus looked at the last of the Potters. He was so young, yet the magical community would likely blow this all out of proportion. He would need to be kept safe, both from the inept fools and the maleficent demons that were so very prevalent in the wizarding world.
The grandfather clock on the mantle ticked off every stressful second. Finally, the fireplace roared green and Frank's head appeared above the hearth.
"Alastor Moody," Frank called out, only to see Moody standing there, looking at him gruffly.
"Do you have your wards up?"
Moody simply nodded.
"I hope you have an adequate reason for taking so long," Moody said sternly.
"I just moved everything in my house to halfway across the country along with my wife and child. Twenty minutes is good."
"You and Alice are both aurors. You should be able to get out of a situation in five minutes flat."
"Moody, auror is not an equivalent term for speed packer. We're out, we're safe, and we're behind the wards," Frank said, before adding contemplatively, "We had a visitor before we left the house."
"Well, boy, who was it? I'm not getting any younger," Moody asked impatiently. He shifted his weight in nervous anticipation.
"Albus Dumbledore stopped by right before we started packing. Wanted to make sure we'd be staying there, just in case anything happened."
Frank trailed off and looked at Moody oddly.
"I was curious how he had any idea that we'd be moving. Although he is the one who suggested we move to that cottage in the first place to add a measure of security and unpredictability."
Moody scanned the room, before frowning sharply. He shook his head and motioned for Frank to continue.
"He left a monitoring charm behind on one of Alice's favorite paintings. It tracks location and monitors for certain spells. She was ever so disappointed when we had to leave the painting behind." He sighed theatrically, then yelped as Alice swatted him.
"Anyway, he sat around for quite a while; he didn't even budge when Neville started squalling. It was only when Alice delegated him to diaper duty that he finally left. Otherwise, we'd have gotten out much quicker. Definitely within ten minutes."
Moody snorted.
"We left behind our own monitoring charms. I'll let you know if anything goes down. Should we assume Dumbledore is hostile?"
"It would probably be best for the time being," Moody agreed. "I'll let you know if that changes."
"Fair enough. I need to go explain to Mother why we've come back and raised the wards."
Moody shut down the floo before sweeping the room with a stronger detection charm. He stopped on the grandfather's clock and practically snarled.
"Albus sent me that for my birthday a few weeks back," he muttered, before he pulled the whole thing down and began bludgeoning it. He looked up when the clock was rubble and the monitoring charm had been diffused.
"If anyone asks, it might have been a Basilisk's egg," he said with a crooked smile.
"But Sir," Sirius asked, "won't Dumbledore know everything that's happened so far?"
"Maybe. I'm guessing that's how he's been knowing where to go with some of the attacks. The clock was tied into the floo, monitoring only that. He could listen in, but he can't tell other locations. He'll know that you contacted me and that Frank contacted me. The raised wards would have blocked the connection on the last floo call."
Albus Dumbledore did not notice that his ward had fallen. The raised wards would prevent him from noticing indefinitely. Even so, he was preoccupied at the moment. Rubeus Hagrid had thundered up to his office, yelling wildly. Albus wondered how many people had heard whatever news Hagrid was spreading aimlessly, and whether it would be futile to engage damage control.
"Dumbledore, the boy's gone!" he bellowed, finally reaching the landing into the office.
"What do you mean, my dear boy?" Albus asked patiently.
"Harry's gone! He wasn't at the house when I got there.
"What?"
"I know," Hagrid sobbed, before blowing his nose in a giant floral handkerchief. "I hope the little tyke didn't go an' wander off."
"Alas, I fear I have no idea what has happened to the boy," Albus said sadly. He could easily imagine Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy attempting anything in order to get their hands on the child of prophesy. It could not be allowed to happen.
His words did little to ebb the man's noisy tears.
"We've gotta do somethin' about it. Little Harry can't be out there, all alone an' with Lily and James gone! We've just gotta."
Albus pondered the problem. If he asked for assistance from anyone in the ministry, there was no guarantee that those higher up wouldn't try to meddle. It would be unwise to lose custody of young Harry to one of them. A similar effect could result from the public finding out about this. even worse, it might incite a riot if the boy was not available to reassure the masses that Voldemort had been nullified. The Order wouldn't be able to keep it quiet. No, his best bet would be to talk with Alastor Moody. Moody could find the boy wherever he was, was trustworthy, and most importantly, was extremely careful. He'd know why the boy needed to be found and kept safe from the loose Death Eaters, and he'd be able to see reason as to why the boy had to go to his relatives. Yes, he'd contact him as soon as he could get Hagrid to stop crying and shoo him out of his office.
"There, there, Hagrid," he told the man reassuringly. "I'll do whatever is needed to find young Harry and keep him safe."
Back at Moody's house, similar plans for safety were being formed.
"We need a plan," Sirius said adamantly. "Someone needs to go after the rat, and I need to get Harry to safety."
"What's your plan?" Moody asked, turning to Severus.
"I'm going with him," Severus stated resolutely.
"No way, Snivellus," Sirius hissed. "He's my godson, and I'm saying no."
"Why would you want to go with them?" Moody asked. "Not that I think it's a bad idea."
"To keep Harry safe," Severus responded.
"You couldn't stand Potter," Sirius snapped. "What makes you think you could treat his son any better? He'll probably look exactly like him."
"What do you see when you look at Harry?" Severus asked Moody.
"A baby."
"Exactly," Severus said firmly. "He's a baby. Most people just chuckle and say how cute he is. But you," he said, pointing at Sirius, "see the best parts of his father in him. I see the best attributes of his mother."
"You think that gives you qualification to raise a child?" Sirius growled.
"Look, it isn't as if any of us were raised in the best manner. Potter was spoiled rotten, you were disowned, and my father was... less than adequate. But if we raise him together, there's a chance that he could turn out how Lily wanted him to be. No one can argue that I did not love Lily. I can ensure that even if her son does not have memories of Lily, he will remember her- remember her as I have since the day I met her when I was only nine."
Sirius opened his mouth, likely to retort, when Moody stopped him.
"There's more than that, Black. Adding Snape to your party has tactical advantages."
"How can anything about living with him be tactical?"
"One, he knows how the enemy thinks. Two, he's earned his Mastery in Potions. It will prevent many a healer call if he can brew the necessary potions for Harry. Three, he's familiar with the Muggle world. That's good, since that's where you three are going."
"What? The Muggle world?" Sirius questioned fearfully.
"Look, lad. I know Dumbledore. He's more likely to give the boy to Lily's sister. He believes she's protected living in the Muggle world."
"That's ridiculous," Severus interjected. "Anyone could look up her address in the telephone book. Petunia is too covetous of normality to ever exclude her information it."
"Exactly."
Moody received two looks of equal incredulity and questioning.
"Snape has roots in the Muggle world. He can blend it. You don't. That adds a level of unpredictability. They'll expect you to be in that old apartment you and James shared before he got married. We'll ward someplace unexpected in the Muggle world, and you will have to stay out of the view of the wizarding world for the next few years."
"What about Remus?" Sirius asked pleadingly.
"His living situation is tracked because he's a werewolf," Moody thought out loud. "However, he's immune to legilimency. He'll likely be forced to work in the Muggle world to find a decent job. He can keep in contact and visit, but he could never live with you while you had Harry, even if there wasn't a need for secrecy. If it weren't Death Eaters, it would be ministry workers and reporters. I trust it would be unnecessary to tell you that he also can't come near on the full moon. There would be far too many trackers out then." Moody nodded to Sirius with finality.
Sirius' shoulders sagged in defeat.
"How long do we have before we need to go?"
"Now. Dumbledore will no doubt be looking for Harry soon. We'll need a way to keep in contact, though. Not floo, and definitely not by owl. Those are far too traceable. We need some way that won't arouse suspicion." He grimaced. "I guess I could always get one of those telephone things."
"Here," Sirius said, thrusting a mirror into Moody's hand. "It was James' communication mirror. You can reach us on that. Just say my name."
He turned to Severus.
"Just because I'm going with this doesn't mean I like you, Snivellus."
"Likewise, Black."
"You'll be expected to do your fair share in chores and in raising Harry."
"I would never have expected it to be any different," Severus said evenly.
"You'll get Wormtail's mirror. I never understood until tonight why he left it at James' last time he visited." Sirius looked at Severus, his grey eyes hard. "If you try to betray us, I'll kill you myself."
"And if you put Lily's son in danger, I'll permanently incapacitate you."
"Good. We understand each other."
"If you two are done bickering in front of the baby, you'd better be on your way. Here's the address for a temporary safe house. It belonged to the Muggle spouse of an old Squib. Never should have ended up in the ministry anyway, and no one knows of it. Transfer as soon as you can find another place. No matter what, use constant vigilance. You never know who or what you'll run into."
Moody ushered them out the door.
"Gentleman, good night," Moody told them firmly as they walked off into the unknown. "And good luck."