Severus wasn't quite sure how they'd gone from the platform to on a tube so quickly. One moment, he was buying rail tickets, the next, he was being dragged across Merlin knew how many rails in a desperate but successful attempt to elude an unknown pursuer. He was simply happy that they'd avoided a potentially bad situation, but it was more than a bit worrisome that they had been followed. He leaned back, staring at Sirius. Black. He would have never placed them sitting across from each other on a train, and likely would have hexed anyone who had suggested that it could happen. He pulled out the railway map and studied it. They had a bit of time left before they needed to switch lines again, so Severus stretched out.

His relaxation was short lived. With a squall, Harry made sure that both adults remembered that he was there. As both of them worked to quiet the screaming child, Severus couldn't help but to think that it would be a long night.

"It's worse," Moody said firmly.

"Surely you're overreacting," Dumbledore said, attempting to push through on the issue.

"Albus, you can't honestly believe that."

However, one look proved differently. Moody stood up, clanking on his wooden foot.

"Come on," he said.

"Pardon me?"

"You're insistent that you're right. Well let's go see Petunia Dursley for ourselves. You can talk over the situation with her. If she is willing to have the child, we'll discuss his location. But you can't use any magic to convince her or her family, nor can you make any threats."

"I can handle this alone," Dumbledore told Moody firmly, trying to evade the issue. "There's no real need for you to join."

"I don't think so, Albus. I don't trust you not to interfere in some way. Now go grab whatever notes you have detailing your plan of action and let's get going."

Albus cowered slightly.

"You don't have an action plan written yet?" Moody asked sarcastically. "What were you going to do, leave him on the doorstep in a basket?"

Albus pointedly looked away

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Albus. You may be a premiere politician and a very intelligent old coot, but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better to have someone around to do all of your thinking for you. Now come on," he said, dragging Dumbledore toward the fireplace and to his impending doom.

It didn't take them long to arrive on a plain street in Surrey. Moody figured that it might be too late for the residents to be happy about receiving visitors, but he wasn't particularly concerned. No one said he had to play fairly.

They walked up to Number Four, Privet Drive, and Moody knocked sharply. He could hear some stirrings within, but no one came to answer the door. He flicked his eye upward to the house. His eye was the newest model, yet metal always seemed to give him problems. It wasn't particularly pretty to try to see something, only to have the picture distorted and marred by nails. It was incentive not to rely solely upon his eye. He could vaguely make out a woman who he assumed was Petunia sitting up in bed. He rapped on the door again with a bit more force than necessary, but it brought the desired results. Moments later, the door swung open.

"What do you want?" Petunia hissed.

"Hello Petunia," Albus began charmingly. All of his charm couldn't help him, and it was only Moody's quick reaction that kept the door open.

"Such hospitality, Petunia," Moody said sarcastically, shoving his way into the house. He motioned Albus to step inside, before closing the door.

"Get out!" Petunia hissed. "We want nothing to do with your freakiness here."

"Now Petunia, surely you can't mean that," Albus said sadly. "Your sister…"

"Don't you dare speak of the freak who calls herself my sister in my presence."

"She is your sister."

"No! She is a changeling, sent only to torment me and bring her devilishness to the world. Just like the rest of you."

"Dursley, it's genetics. She had a gene you don't have," Moody said firmly.

"Had?"

"She passed away tonight," Albus said softly.

"Good riddance," Petunia spat

"Surely you can't mean that," Dumbledore repeated plaintively.

"Albus, I think we're done here. It's apparent what she thinks."

"But it's for the best! Petunia, you must take Lily's son," Dumbledore insisted frantically.

"Filthy child. I refuse to have that sort around my home," she said adamantly. "He would taint my precious son."

"That isn't what you thought when you were a child."

Petunia opened her mouth to respond, but was stopped by her husband entering the room.

"Get out of my house," he boomed, cracking his knuckled menacingly. "How dare you bring this riffraff into my house"

"Vernon, you'll wake up Dudley," Petunia said softly.

"Vernon Dursley," Moody sneered. "Glad to see you've changed so much since the wedding."

The only way he'd changed was in the waistband, which had increased over the past few years.

Vernon reddened but continued.

"You're freaks, the whole lot of you. We're normal people and we don't abide by that sort of thing. Best thing to do with the lot of you is drown you from birth. Then we wouldn't have to worry about you contaminating the rest of us decent folks."

"Magic isn't contagious," Dumbledore began, disregarding Moody's attempt to stop him. "And Harry would be protected here. He would protect your family as well."

"No way in hell," Vernon yelled, as Moody turned on Dumbledore as well, dragging him from the house, tuning out Vernon's threats on all the ways he would kill the runt.

"Why on earth would you think that, Albus? It's apparent they wouldn't keep him a day before dumping him off somewhere, or worse."

"I can build blood wards around their house, using Petunia's familial link to seal them. They might not be full power, but they would protect him from evil."

"They would protect him from nothing, especially not his family!"

"It's for the greater good," Dumbledore said weakly.

"Are you going senile, old man? The worst evil would be fueling the wards, wards which would do a fat lot of good when they would be willing to hand him off to the first Death Eater they met. Hell, that lout was willing to kill the child himself. They have no business raising their own child, much less Harry Potter!"

In that moment, Moody realized that Dumbledore was most likely was blind to the effect his machinations had. He couldn't trust his friend not to follow his own convoluted plan. He was certainly glad he couldn't trace owls. He'd tried to keep Frank in an unsound house, for reasons unknown. He'd tapped Moody's fireplace. Worst, he'd intended to leave Harry with the worst muggles imaginable.

"I need to put out an order to arrest Sirius Black while we're at it. He was the Potters' secret keeper."

Moody growled.

"If that happens, I'll wring your neck. Bagnold and Crouch are so ready for this war to be done, they might have him kissed in the process."

"Why would you care? You've always believed in ridding the world of Death Eaters."

"Do you honestly think Sirius Black was their secret keeper?"

"It seems logical."

"You wouldn't know logical if it hit you," Moody muttered under his breath, before fixing Dumbledore with a menacing look. "Look, James told me when he went into hiding, that if Sirius was ever captured, to get peter and protect him. What do you think that means?"

"That Black would go after Peter too."

"Use your brain! It means that Peter was the true secret keeper. Are you that senile?"

Dumbledore shrugged off the comment about senility.

"Alastor, we must find Harry. It's important for the future. The Death Eaters might have him and it's important he's under our protection."

"Albus, what do you think a Death Eater would do to him?"

They would kill him," Dumbledore said gravely.

"He's the one who just defeated their undefeatable dark lord. They won't kill him. They would likely take him in, treat him like one of their own, and convert him to the cause. He has either too much power or too much potential to waste. He would be the best treated, even over any of their children. They would never kill him."

Moody stopped for a moment, suddenly wary.

"By the way, how did it all get out? They've been announcing Voldemort's defeat, the Potters' death, and "the-boy-who-lived"'s survival every fifteen minutes on the Wizarding Wireless Network. That isn't the best strategy for secrecy."

"Hagrid may have had quite a bit to drink," Dumbledore said sheepishly. "He told everyone at the bar and everyone along the way. It's been sent out in a special issue of the Daily Prophet. "

"You told the man who couldn't keep a secret. Wonderful. So much for constant vigilance on your part. How'd you know?"

"I had monitoring wards on the house. They told me when the wards fell."

"When were the Aurors called?"

"Well…"

"Oh wait," Moody snapped, "I already know the answer. You never called them, even though the wards fell. Don't think I won't figure out why you were willing to let them die, and how it ties to Harry Potter."

He caught sight of Dumbledore watching him contemplatively.

"And don't even try to obliviate me. You don't want to know how many safeguards constant vigilance means. Last person who tried to wipe my memory only made me figure out the case twice as fast. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

"I still believe that this is the best place for Harry," Dumbledore said stiffly. "I hope that I can trust you to help me find him."

"Albus, the Potters filed an affidavit against him living with the Dursleys the moment they made their will. It was filed in both the Wizarding and Muggle World, as well as with several law firms. That won't disappear. You're out of luck on getting him placed there; the publicity from that would get you kicked off the Wizengamot and likely they'd remove you from the Supreme Mugwump position. But I want to find him just as much as you do. I can't stomach the idea of him being raised by Death Eaters any more than you can."

"You'll do what you feel is right. Now I must get back to Hogwarts. I have to contact Severus about the open Potions position."

Moody shook his head at the brightly dressed old man. Albus Dumbledore was hopeless. With that, he turned on his heel and apparated to the home of one of few men who would be able to help him with what he needed.

Severus and Sirius had finally shushed the toddler, only to realize that they'd arrived at the station. They'd spent the whole trip soothing Harry, and they had to switch lines and wake him up again. By the time they had gotten Harry settled again, they were well on their way to their final destination, minus any unwanted company. As they stretched out, Sirius looked over at Severus.

"How'd you even know where I lived?"

"What?" Severus questioned, shaking his head in surprise.

"You managed to find my house, and I'm positive I never gave you the location. How did you do it?"

"Oh." Severus looked slightly amused. "Do you remember Anna Markus?"

"The pureblood Ravenclaw I dated during seventh year? Yeah, what about her?"

"That's the one. For some reason, she seemed to think you'd wise up, rejoin the family, and marry her. She wanted the name the Black family had, and you were the easiest way to it as the eldest son. When you didn't propose or rejoin the family, she tried to hire me to hunt you down for revenge. She swore you lead her on."

Sirius was speechless, the shock evident on his face.

"I politely refused. Not only did I find it odd that she came to a Death Eater to get her dirty work done, murder and mayhem for pay leaves too great of a paper trail."

"I always knew she was crazy," Sirius commented. "I wonder where she found my flat's address though."

"I think she swiped it from Records in the Ministry; she worked there. She came in handy though, since I wouldn't have your address otherwise. Last I knew, she was trying to cozy up to Rockwood. He has the prestige, if not the money."

"Hey Severus? Let's not take out hits on each other while we're living together."

Much as Severus was loath to admit it, he wouldn't want to be at the end of Sirius Black's wand or devious mind. There were times when he made Bellatrix look bad.

"Agreed."

With that they shook hands, unknowingly sealing a truce that would last longer than either would have considered possible or prudent.

A/N: I know there was a lot of Moody and Dumbledore in this chapter. It turns out that I like writing Moody. However, the next chapter will have quite a bit more of Sirius and Severus in it (unless my muse runs away from me again). The chapter after will bring Harry into the mix finally. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.