Previously

"Well you could try with just their nicknames. A really intelligent post owl can do that even without a address. It's what make them special." She was interrupted by a tapping at his window. Hedwig sat outside on the sill. Misha smiled. "And it looks to me as if you have a particularly intelligent owl. Try it Harry. Worst case scenario, you'll get no answer."

Harry smiled, suddenly hopeful. "Yeah that's a good idea." He leap up off the bed. "What should I write?"

"Nothing right now." Harry turned to look at her in confusion. "We'll miss the Halloween feast!" She said, appalled that he would forget. "It's the best feast of the year. Better than Christmas! Come on!" She jumped up from the bed and dragged him from the room.

Harry thought long and hard about what he wanted to say to the friends of his father. He had never heard from them in all his years growing up. They might have forgotten him. He went through dozens of sheets of paper before settling on one.

Dear Moony/Wormtail/Padfoot,

I apologize for the familiarity in using your nickname but I don't know what else to call you. My name is Harry Potter and I am the son of Lily and James Potter. I found your name in a book my father wrote on animagi and since you were his friend I was wondering if perhaps you could tell me about them.

I don't have anything left of them so anything you could tell me about them would be wonderful.

My address is Harry Potter, The Academy of Magics.

Please write back.

Harry

Hedwig set out with three letters for the friends of her masters father. She only had their nicknames to go by but that was alright. Owls would seek a person out by searching for their identities. As long as the person still thought of themselves as the name on the letter, she would find them.

She reached out looking for any trace of the man named Moony. After a few minutes of searching she found his location to the west. Winging her way over water, fields and mountains she arrived at a small hut in the hills of an uninhabited island off the coast of Ireland. It was nearing sunset as she circled the hut once then twice before locating the human in the front room. She was about to fly down when the man stumbled outside completely naked. Hedwig blinked in surprise. She didn't know much about human customs but she knew enough about their physiology to know that it wasn't good for them to be out without their human feathers at this time of year.

She was contemplating his strange behavior when the sun set completely. As the last rays left the man her sense of him went haywire. Moony was there but this was not Moony. This was someone, something else. But still Moony. Hedwig perched on a branch to watch what was happening. Two Moonys'? Two different people with the same identity or one person with two different identities?

Below her the man known as Moony collapsed and he began to writhe and scream. Hedwig retreated to a higher branch as he began to change. Soon it wasn't a man that laying there but a wolf. Hedwig sat on a high branch watching the man-turned-wolf shake itself and rise. It seemed about to run off through the trees when something caught it's attention. It raised it's nose in to the air and began to sniff around. Hedwig was getting more and more apprehensive the closer it was getting to her tree. When it reached her it's eyes snapped up and found her sitting on a high branch far out of it's reach. The man-turned-wolf let out a low rumble in it's chest. Slowly it lowered itself back to the ground and curled up beneath the tree. Hedwig kept vigil all night but the man who was, and wasn't Moony never moved except in wolfish dreams.

The next morning Remus was unbelievably tired. He lay on the cold damp ground and wondered how long it would take for him to regain the strength to return to his cabin. He wondered why he should bother; countless moons had gone past since anyone had cared about what happened to him.

Years ago he had tried to live for his cub. Baby Prongs. He had gone to Surry a few times on the new moon when the wolf was the quietest to try and catch a glimpse of the boy. He had seen him and one time even talked to him. But then Dumbledore had found out and threatened to report him to the Ministry. Oh that's not what he said, wrapping the words up in concern but that's what it meant. He was forbidden to see Harry; and with the last person from his past gone he had nothing left.

He stirred, trying to ease the lingering pain of the transformation, but it just made him ache worse. He heard a soft hoot from above. Opening his eyes he noticed he was just outside his own hut. That was strange as the wolf hated anything to do with humans. He looked up into the trees. There perched on one of the branches looking at him in concern was a beautiful snowy owl, with letters clutched in it's talons.

"It's alright, little one," he rasped. "I wont hurt you now." The owl hooted again and hopped closer. Apparently seeing no danger the owl glided down from the tree and came to rest on the ground beside him. It was a struggle but Remus managed to lift himself up enough to untie the letter addressed to him. "I'm sorry, I don't have any owl treats for you girl but you caught be at a bad time." The owl gave his finger a nip and retreated back into the air. She paused once circling the clearing making sure he was alright before flying off over the trees. His strength gone, Remus collapsed back onto the ground. It took a few more minutes before he was able to lever himself back up again and make his way into the house.

Clutching the letter he collapsed into his chair by the fireplace. Then, picking up his wand left there the night before for this very reason he summoned a blanked to him and lit the fire. Sipping the cocoa also left from the night before he opened the letter and spat out his drink. His hands were shaking as he sat down his mug and clutched the letter.

It was from his cub! His cub was actually writing to him! Wanted to talk to him! He couldn't believe Dumbledore had even mentioned him. But wait! The Academy of Magics? What was he there? What about Hogwarts? And why did he not know anything about his parents?

With strength he hadn't had in years he summoned a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write his reply. If his cub wanted to know about his parents them he would tell him everything he knew but first he would have some answers.

After leaving her first letter with the wolf-man Hedwig set out to find the next recipient. Heading north she spread her senses and sought out any trace of the man named Wormtail. The first thing that came to her was the certainty that he was alive and answered to the name Wormtail. She could feel his identity strongly. Pushing further she looked for his location. She reached her awareness to its furthermost length.

Nothing.

How could that be? She knew that some extremely rude humans sometimes hid behind post diversion wards but those people always left a Post Box to deliver mail to. And this didn't feel like a magical ward anyway. She couldn't bare to return to her master with an undelivered letter but what else could she do? She decided to keep the letter. Sooner or later the man would come out of hiding and come Hell or high winds she would deliver her masters letter. Her decision made, she once again stretched out her senses, this time looking for Padfoot. Finding the man almost as quickly as the wolf she head off, this time to a barren island to the south west.

Kevin McKnight was a muggleborn auror assigned to the prison of Azkaban. He had shifts of three days on four days off in order to minimise exposure to the Dementors. The morning of November 10th he arrived at his desk for the first day of his shift he found a small pile of letters had been delivered during the night. Most of the letters were for inmates who were only here for a short stay. There was the usual letter from a senile old lady, still writing to an old lover imprisoned for killing a group of muggles in a potions accident fifty years ago and died a few months later. The woman had been informed but didn't seem to able to accept it. She had been writing every week for fifty years. If nothing else it reaffirmed Kevin's faith in love.

This morning there was also another letter in the pile. A short letter addressed to a Padfoot. Kevin checked the log. There was no short term inmate named Padfoot. He checked again. There was no Padfoot among the long term inmates either. Shrugging he made a note and sent the letter off to the Owl Post Office. They had specially trained owls that would be able to return it to it's sender.

Once again Hedwig sought out the elusive Wormtail. Again she got nothing but the feeling of him alive. Frustrated and disappointed she headed back to her master.

When Hedwig returned Harry was studying defense in his room with Drew. She still had one letter tied to he leg. He went to remove it but she wouldn't him have it, and fluttered up to perch on the wardrobe out of reach, looking very annoyed.

"That must be a letter she wasn't able to deliver. Some owls get snooty about delivering letters and take it as a personal insult when they can't."

"Why would she not be able to deliver it?"

"Usually when a letter can't be delivered it's because the recipient is dead. Since Hedwig still wants to deliver it though I'd say the person is alive but behind a mail ward and doesn't have a Post Box to send the mail to. Who were you writing to?"

"Friends of my parents. I don't know anything about them so Misha suggested I write to their friends."

"That's a good idea. But you'd better get that letter of Hedwig. Tell her she can have it when she finds a place to deliver it to."

Harry climbed up on a chair next to the wardrobe to talk to Hedwig, "Come on girl, you can have the letter back when you know where to send it to, I'm not mad you couldn't deliver it. So how about I leave it on my desk and you can take it when you can?"

Hedwig gave him a glare but allowed him to take the letter. She watched him as he left it on the corner of his desk and flew over to make sure she could get it when she needed to. Drew laughed at her antics. "That's one very dedicated owl you have there."

This is a shorter chapter this week but it seemed to be the best place to stop.

I'd like to thank my new beta Primavera-Tiempo for looking over this chapter.

I have part of the next chapter done, I'll post it next week. TIll then keep reviewing.