Choice – Chapter I: Unexpected Rescue:

Harry woke up to hurried steps, panicked screams, and the crash of bodies. Dully he wondered what was going on when the door to his room was blasted open. A tall man with midnight black hair sprung inside, his face stony and his black eyes piercing. When they locked into Harry's bright green ones, however, the man nearly jumped and gasped, "Oh Merlin."

He must be one of the Aurors, Harry decided. He knew he would have to play along his role to survive; they must never find out who he really was. He let his own eyes widen with supposed fear and started shaking visibly. "Don't...please don't hurt me..." he pleaded before he forced himself into the welcoming darkness.

When he came to, Harry found himself in a small, hard bed. It was nothing compared to the beds of Riddle Manor. But after sleeping on the cold floor for so long, he found that anything would suffice.

Harry moved his head around testingly, and was surprised to find his long- lost glasses beside his bed, whole and good as new. He put them on and realized he must be in a hospital of some sort. A few paces away from his bed, he could see a stout woman whispering sharply to the black-haired man he first saw, a gray-haired man with soft features, and an old man with half-moon glasses and long, white hair and beards. Dumbledore! Harry's stomach tightened immediately, and he gave a small gasp before he could stop himself. Inwardly cursing Voldie for implanting in him such distrust for that old man, he turned to find four pairs of eyes focused on him.

Alright, you can do this. He proceeded to give them his best performance. He gazed around frantically, eyes wild with fear, "Where am I? Where is Master?"

The black-haired man made a sound and looked away abruptly, the grey-haired put a hand on his shoulder, "Sirius." Harry secretly wondered at his drastic reaction when Dumbledore spoke, "How are you feeling child? And you are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Hogwarts?" Harry repeated in what he hoped would be a dumbstruck tone, "Where is Master?"

"Are you referring to the Death Eaters? Or Voldemort?" the old man's face was grave.

Harry furrowed his brows, "Master is Master; he never lets me call him by that V-name."

"It's Voldemort then? The Death Eaters confessed as much..." Dumbledore mused aloud, his blue eyes fixed on Harry. Harry had to try his best to not gulp; he did not like that old man or his penetrating gaze. Suddenly he was very grateful that Voldie had insisted that he be able to shield his inner thoughts well, and he presented what Dumbledore hoped to see on the surface.

Evidently it was good enough for that old man, for he spoke again, softly, "Child, tell us your name."

"I'm the pet...or the kitten sometimes," Harry frowned, smiling inwardly at the horror-struck faces of the adults, "But I suppose Master called me 'Harry' once...he doesn't like that name, though."

Somehow their eyes lit up at the mention of his true name, and man who was called Sirius blurted out, "Harry? Harry Potter?" He turned to the grey- haired man besides him, "I told you Remus! I told you he's not dead. And see how he looks exactly like James! Nearly gave me a heart attack when I first saw him..."

Dumbledore waved his hand for silence, for Harry was looking positively bewildered. When he spoke again his voice was sad, "Harry, do you remember who your parents were?"

"Parents? I have parents? I've been with Master as long as I could remember..." Okay, that was not a lie.

Dumbledore turned his gaze to the adults, "There will be ways to check his parentage; a Birth Spell should do." The other three nodded, and Dumbledore turned to face Harry again, "Now, Harry, it will be a simple spell, and you should feel nothing but warmth. Please don't move as I cast it." Saying so, he flipped his wand and whispered, "Coarguo Genus." (1)

Harry flinched slightly as a warm, white light engulfed him. After its glow was gone, a parchment fell out of nowhere and was picked up by Dumbledore. "Ah..." his blue eyes seemed to twinkle, and he looked less grave.

Sirius snatched the parchment from the old man, and his face filled with joy. "Oh, Harry!" he yelled and gave him a tight hug, which confused Harry to no end. He struggled against the older man and pleaded, "Please don't punish me! I'm sorry..." A perfect image of a victim of abuse. Sirius broke away the embrace a little, with his arms still around the little boy, his full of hurt, "But Harry, I'll never hurt you."

Harry was still stiff in the man's arms; however he did not voice further protest. He hung his head in resignation and seemed prepared to accept whatever was to come. When no blows came, he raised his head a little questioningly. Yes, I'm good, he thought to himself, and decided to humor the adults a little more. "Oh..." he said in sudden realization. And, to Sirius and everybody else's horror, Harry began to loosen the buttons of his pajama.

With shaking hands, Sirius stopped Harry, "Harry? What are you doing?" Harry looked up, perplexed, "Don't you want to play with me?"

"No! Harry...I, I don't want anything from you...Listen, I'm your godfather."

"Godfather?" Oh this was better than he expected.

Dumbledore walked up, "Sirius, let him rest for now. It's too much information." Reluctantly Sirius let go; the stout woman walked up with an at-least- someone-has-some-sense look. She stood between Harry and the others protectively and gently helped Harry drink down some potion. Harry's eye- lids became heavy the moment he swallowed, and he slipped into the blissful embrace of sleep.

When he woke up again, Harry was pleased to find that most of the pain was gone. Feeling better than he had in days, he let out a satisfied little sigh. That was when he realized that he was not alone. The two men...Sirius and Remus were sitting beside his bed and were now exchanging glances as they realized that he'd woken up.

Finally Remus spoke, "H-Harry, this is going to be hard...and I don't expect you to trust us immediately...but please listen to what we have to say."

Harry nodded numbly; it was not like he had any other choice.

Remus gave him a small smile, "Right...We, er, were your parents' best friends. Sirius here is your godfather, as he already told you. Umm...Harry, your 'Master' is vanquished by Professor Dumbledore two weeks ago. But, he, er, is not really your master."

The boy stared at him wide-eyed, "M-Master is gone? And of course he's my Master..."

Remus spoke again, "You see, Harry, Voldemort came to your home when you were one and killed your parents. He then kidnapped you and kept you as-at Riddle Manor."

This was not breaking news for Harry; there was no secret between him and Voldie, but he made sure he looked dumbstruck. He stared at the two men stupidly, then he whispered, "Master killed my parents? He, he killed my parents?"

Remus nodded sadly, "Yes, Harry...now that you are freed, we, we'd like you to live with us; we are your parents' best friends, after all."

"Live with you..?"

Both adults nodded frantically, and Sirius spoke, "Yes, Harry...I haven't been the best godfather, but I promise from now on I won't let anyone hurt you again. Come live with us."

"I...I don't know what to say....I think I need time to think about this, my parents, everything..." Harry almost looked he was sorry.

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by Remus, "He's right; he needs time. He already reacted exceptionally to all the news."

Sirius nodded, and he turned to Harry, "Well, we'll just be outside then...if you need anything, just tell Madam Promfrey."

Harry mused as he heard their steps disappear. Well, if Voldemort really was vanquished like they said, then he really did not have anywhere else to go. This Sirius and Remus seemed really to care about him, and they looked like they were important members of the Light; living with them could bring certain advantages. But, how could Voldie be...Harry knew his...friend; surely Dumbledore was a powerful wizard, but Harry doubted he'd be able to defeat Voldemort just like that. He massaged his nose-bridge and sighed; he would have to ask later when it would not rouse suspicion. As Harry turned on his back, his mind was made up. He smiled; Sirius and Remus would be satisfied with his response.

(1) It's supposed to mean "crystallize body," but as my knowledge of Latin is really quite pathetic, I'd be delighted if anyone'd correct me if the grammar is not quite correct.