Chapter 4

Juliet Parker was an intelligent woman. She knew all the tricks of her trade and could spot a sign of abuse a mile away. She could also spot when children were faking it. This little boy, one Harry Potter as she was told by Jonathan Meadow, was, to her horror, certainly not faking it. Juliet was a witch, a half blood, and her position as care worker worked in both the muggle and magical world. She of course knew about Harry Potter. But this wasn't about fame. This was about a little boy who needed a good home. Which was why, not an hour after meeting the lad, that she, Jonathan, Julian and Harry found themselves outside number four Privet Drive. And unfortunately, for him, it was Vernon who answered.

'Yes, how can I help yo…YOU!'

The man seemed ready to start a rant when he spotted his nephew, but then pulled himself together. Juliet noticed and gave a discreet nod to Jonathan. They would play this out as a friendly invite for Harry to come over and play with Evangeline, and see where it took them. Jonathan caught the nod, and had been in the detective business long enough to know his cue.

'Has this boy been bothering you? I'll be sure to give him a talking to'.

Jonathan stepped in his path when he made to reach for the child.

'He hasn't bothered us at all. In fact he's been very polite. I should introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Meadow, I live a little ways away from here. I'm actually here to ask if the lad could stay over at my home. My granddaughter you see has grown very attached to him, and asked if he could stay for a while. He's quite shy though and wouldn't give his name, and I wouldn't want to keep calling him lad' Jonathan replied with a look.

Vernon stared as he worked out what this man wanted from him. When he figured it out he gave what he thought was a charming smile.

'Ah right, well can't have that now can we? The boy's name is…'

He paused. Blast what was the freak's name? It began with P didn't it? No wait that was his second name. Wait it was H it started with. Ha…Harold? No. Harry that was it!'

'…Harry. Yes that's the boy's name'.

He gave a quick glare to the freak when he opened his mouth to protest.

'Harry. Well that's a fine name isn't it?' Jonathan said, smiling down at the boy.

Harry was too busy hiding behind Julian to smile back.

'Well now would it be ok if young Harry were to stay with me for a while?' Jonathan then asked.

Vernon gave a look to the others with the man. The woman looked young, wife or daughter. The other one was younger still. This was possibly the cutest most delectable little girl he'd ever seen Vernon thought as he leered at her.

'Why not. Perhaps you'd like to come inside while the fre…while Harry gets his things?'

He stood to the side and waved them in, hands twitching to reach out as the girl passed. He led them into the living room, where Petunia was fussing away at a whiny Dudley.

'This is my lovely wife Petunia, and my dashing son Dudley' Vernon introduced proudly.

Jonathan and Juliet both didn't quite agree with the comments, as they watched the fat boy rip apart a book and push his mum, while Petunia just smiled and handed him another thing to destroy. Julian was pointedly ignoring the pair, scanning the house and picking up little clues, such as the lack of pictures of Harry.

'Boy go and get your things. Would any of you care for some tea?' Vernon asked, the chair groaning as he lowered himself down.

Jonathan waved him off.

'No that's quite alright. Harry would you like some help getting your things?'

Harry chewed his lip and glanced at Vernon, who was beginning to turn red round the edges as he realised the man would see the cupboard and not knowing what to do or say to stop it. Harry knew the signs of Mount Vernon and nodded, quickly leading Jonathan out the door.

'Excuse me, might I use your bathroom?' Juliet asked as they left. Jonathan had his job, she had hers, and she'd been told that Julian could take care of himself. She knew about the martial arts, though the Meadows hadn't meant that when they reassured her about the older boy coming with them.

Vernon pointed out the way and she thanked him and left, discretely taking out a small camera from her pocket. That left the Dursleys with Julian.

'Pet I could use some tea' Vernon said, eyeing up the girl.

'I'll make us both some, and get Duddykins some milk' his wife replied and picked up her son, leaving the room.

Wasting no time, Vernon heaved himself out of the chair.

'You're a pretty thing ain't you?'

The girl just stared at him from her spot beside the window.

'A real pretty girl. You look like you'd be good for a babysitter for my Duddy'.

And then there would be plenty of opportunities to have the girl alone. He reached out to touch her hair, only to back off in shock when her eyes glowed black for a few moments.

'I'm not interested sir. And I'm not a girl. I don't appreciate you undressing me with your eyes' Julian said quietly but coldly. His eyes flashed, almost like black fire, making Vernon stumble back.

'Y…you're one of them! You're a FREAK!' he stammered.

Julian growled quietly.

'And you are a man who wanted to touch me. I should tell you that I am thirteen years old, but I suppose that wouldn't bother you. Just like it didn't bother you when you hurt your nephew'.

'NOW SEE HERE…!' Vernon bellowed.

He shrunk back as black flames licked up around the boy. The others ran back in hearing the yelling.

'You won't need to bother about Harry again. He will never come back here' Julian hissed.

Jonathan knew his son could control his Demon magic better now, but it was clear he was close to turning full Demon on them, so stepped in. He'd talk with Julian afterwards. It had to be something serious to really set Demon off.

'Well I think we have everything we need. Come on Julian, Harry. Let's head home. Miss Parker?'

'I've got all I need as well' she replied, holding up her camera and her care worker badge. Ignoring the magic burst, thankfully passing it off as accidental magic, she turned and gave a glare to the now pale Dursleys.

'A cupboard? Is that how you treat a little boy? I quite agree with young Julian, you won't be seeing your nephew again. Not if I can help it'.

She and Jonathan herded the children out the house. She turned back as Vernon made to argue. Petunia just looked on pale faced.

'Oh and expect a visit from the authorities. We're not finished with you'.

A few days later, and with a little magic to push things along, Harry had been permanently adopted into the Meadow family. It was a pale Vernon who quickly signed the papers presented by Juliet, flanked by two officers who were waiting to escort the man away for child abuse and neglect. They also wished to speak with him regarding Julian's accusations, something Jonathan pushed for when he found out.

Harry's new name, that he himself chose because he liked the sound of it, was Ebony Meadow. Evangeline was ecstatic to have a new brother, and Ebony was just as happy to be with a family who loved him.

OOO

Jonathan was a man on a mission. From the moment the papers were signed, he'd been out digging up as much as he could about Harry Potter. His contacts came through with a wealth of information. Born from muggleborn Lily Evans and pureblood James Potter. Both set of grandparents dead along with the parents. Stuff just about everyone knew. Only direct relatives alive were Petunia, Vernon and Dudley. His parent's Will was sealed following their deaths by one Albus Dumbledore who made himself Harry Potter's magical guardian. That of course was changed to the Meadows upon Harry's adoption. Why the Will was sealed was a mystery, but Jonathan after explaining himself and the situation to the Goblins at Gringotts, was able to obtain a copy. It mentioned that Harry Potter was supposed to go to his godfather, one Sirius Black. If not Black then to the Longbottom family, the Tonks family or a magical orphanage. The Dursleys weren't mentioned at all as a possible guardian, yet he found from Juliet that they were being paid to look after their nephew from the Potter vaults. She assured him this money would be collected and given back as clearly the Dursleys were using it for their own purposes. She also assured him that the Potter assets and money would be made available to Ebony once he turned of age.

Jonathan's next step was to get information on this Sirius Black. He knew the man was in Azkaban for betraying the Potters to Voldemort, but he wanted every loophole covered encase someone tried to take Ebony away from them. His findings surprised him. Black wasn't given a trial. It could be nothing, after all the wizarding world was in chaos after the Potter's deaths, with everyone celebrating the death of Voldemort. But a trial should be given to every witch or wizard to prove for absolutely certain that they were guilty of their crime.

Albus Dumbledore's actions in all this made Jonathan think. The man sealed the Wills, which he signed as a witness so he obviously knew what they said about guardianship. He then ignored them entirely and sent Harry Potter to the Dursleys. And from listening to Petunia's rant to the police, the one year old was left on their doorstep in the middle of the night with nothing but a letter to explain why he was there. No knocking on the door or explaining everything in person, no checking up on the boy. He could have just toddled away and no one would be the wiser. He also could have caught a cold or even pneumonia. These weren't the actions of a leader of the light.

With Vernon in custody, Petunia under investigation and Dudley with Vernon's sister Marge, Juliet had asked a team to check for any wards on the house. They weren't told anything about Harry Potter, just that a muggle family had been taking care of a magical child. For all intent purposes the wards were fine. Monitoring charms for health, which should have gone off like crazy since the boy was there, and wards to keep out those with ill intent. There was also a blood ward around the property. Blood magic was illegal for a reason, and when they examined it further the team were angered to find that it was drawing power directly from the one it was cast upon. This meant Harry Potter spent two years being abused and having his magic drained from him. And there was lingering magic which implied Albus Dumbledore was the one to cast the wards.

Jonathan explained all this to Julian and asked if Demon would be able to break the magic around Ebony. Julian agreed. Together they sat Ebony down and explained to him what Julian was and that Demon was going to help him. Ebony was understandably scared, but with Evangeline and his new grandparents sitting beside him he nervously agreed to let Demon look at him. When Julian changed Ebony shrank back against the couch with a scream. He was encouraged to calm down by Evangeline, who said that her daddy wouldn't hurt anyone, and even though he looked scary he was just a big softy. She proved it by scooting over and hugging Demon. Ebony was still nervous so Jonathan suggested that he be given something to put him asleep while Demon checked him. With the whole family there Ebony felt a little better and drank a dreamless sleep potion. It was a good thing, as he would have been screaming in pain from Demon removing the dark magic if he weren't out cold.

When Demon changed back, a panting Julian explained angrily that there was a piece of Voldemort's soul in Ebony's scar. Demon had been able to remove it, though it had been a struggle. It was almost as if he had been attacked from several bits of soul, rather than just one. He had taken note that the other pieces seemed to come not from Harry but elsewhere, before pushing that information away and destroying the fragment he had. Well, he'd actually eaten it, it had tasted horrible, but Julian wasn't planning on telling his parents that. He'd also done what he was supposed to do and removed any magic traces on Ebony.

Rose had clocked what this meant in regards to Voldemort, and explained it to her increasingly horrified son and husband. Horcruxes, something used to split a person's soul and seal it away. It was supposed to be a way of living forever. It was also supposed to be impossible to do more than once. Demon, being who he was, was able to determine just how much soul was in Harry's scar, and it wasn't much. If a person split their soul once then they were left with half a soul. Split it again and they had a quarter. That alone was enough to drive a person insane, but the sliver Demon had eaten was even less than that, meaning Voldemort had done this more than twice.

Julian now realised why Voldemort always bragged about being immortal, in a sense he was if he made these abominations. Though considering how foolish it would be to place your soul in another person, Ebony's scar must have been done accidentally, if that was even possible. Thankfully with Demon they had a relatively easy way to destroy them. And, as Julian explained, they also had some leads as to where the others were.

Of course they still had no idea what and exactly where they were. The Meadows wanted to bring this information to the authorities, but Julian told them it was best word didn't get around. If people knew about the horcruxes it would send them into a panic when they realised Voldemort was still alive. It would also throw the Meadows into the spotlight if they told others, which they didn't want as it would mean Ebony would be discovered. Julian promised that when he was older, after highschool, that he would use the links he'd found in Ebony's scar and destroy all of them. Even if he had to eat his way through them all to do so, he thought with a grimace.

Any other teen making this promise wouldn't be believed, but Jonathan and Rose knew the power Demon had, and agreed. They were also thanking their lucky stars that Demon had warded their home with its own magic, which would keep anyone from getting in who weren't invited. With the horcrux away, making his scar barely visible, and the magic traces gone, Ebony was introduced to the world of magic and joined his siblings in learning everything he could, eagerly soaking everything he learned up like a sponge. He was also signed up to the local playschool with Evangeline that he enjoyed greatly.

A couple of days later, Sirius Black had some visitors.