~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Four Years Later~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry James Lupin was sitting in his favorite corner of the Carnforth Book Shop reading the first book of the Redwall series completely enamored. He did not hear the window open behind him as he was grabbed and pulled out of the second story window and on to the neighboring roof.

"There you are, Potter, you've given the headmaster quite headache trying to find you." A man with a hard face and greasy black hair grabbed him roughly by the arm. "Your Aunt and Uncle have been worried about you."

"Let me go! I want my dad!"

The tall man gave him a mean look.

"You don't have a dad, that beast down there is not your father!"

"Harry?"

"DAD!" Remus ran to the window

He was getting ready to jump over. "Severus give me back my son!"

"Foolish werewolf, you have no right to raise a child." From his wand a red light shot out sending Remus falling back into the stacks unconscious.

"DA-" Before Harry could finish his call he was gone and reappeared in the living room of Number Four Privet Drive.

"Ah Severus, splendid!" A very old man said clapping his hands. "No trouble I assume?"

"There was some scuffle with the werewolf, headmaster I stunned him."

The old man pursed his lips "I don't suppose he'll be happy with that."

"No, he seemed quite distraught."

Harry had been fighting Severus's grip this entire time, until his arm was getting bruised, still he did not cry out in pain.

"Let me see my dad! He won't let me stay away long!"

"Harry, you must stay here it is much safer." The old man said bending down to his level. "Let him go Severus." Harry looked defiantly into the old man's eyes. "My name is professor Dumbledore. I am headmaster where your dad and mum went to school."

"Why can't I see my dad! I want to see my dad and my mum!" Real distress was written plainly across Harry's face "Please Dumby, please" Harry sat down and began to cry. With a grandfatherly expression Dumbledore placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Harry you must be brave, you will be safe with your Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, they'll be here soon. And pretty soon you will have a home here."

"I (sob) don't want a home here (sob) I (sob) have a home." They heard a car pull up. "Severus, I think its best you leave, I'll explain what's happened to the muggles." Snape bowed and Dissaparated.

"Remus? REMUS!" Tonks ran forward and enervated her husband.

"Harry?" He bolted to his feet. "Where is he?"

"Sweetie what do you-"

"Harry! Severus Snape kidnapped him!"

Tears were falling down both their faces.

"We have to go"

"Where dear?" She stroked his face.

"The Police! They know what to do! The papers. Anywhere!"

Rushing out of the store they ran to the local Police department they brought a picture of Harry Lupin and told them what happened.

"Please! Please, he's my son, my son." Remus broke down again, he couldn't lose his little Pronglet.

"We'll find him! You've given us plenty of information and it's only been less than an hour, it's not likely he made it far."

Remus nodded and made his way out of the station and apparated to London where he could get Harry's name in the press.

Tonks desperately wanted to go to her office at the Ministry, yet that would reveal she had married a werewolf and was the parent of Harry Potter, no good would come of that.

It was evening by the time that Albus Dumbledore left the Dursley's home. It had been a tough sell, yet greed had won the day for him. A large Gringotts bank draft had convinced the Dursley's to accept Harry into their home. It was distasteful he knew, yet the boy needed the best protections available. He hoped dearly that Remus would be reasonable and see that this was for the best, he would approach him in the morning to tell him what had happened.

In an undisclosed location in the North Sea was the island prison of Azkaban, and this morning it was playing host to a tour of the facilities for the British Prime Minister. As they passed the cell of on Sirius Black they heard a voice, weak with disuse.

"Excuse me, Minister?"

"What do you want Black?" Cornelius spat at him.

"I was wondering if I could have that copy of the Guardian, I miss reading it and doing the crosswords."

He stuck his hand out through the bars and grabbed the paper and ran back to his cot as the two ministers walked away. Spreading the paper out he looked down at the child's face that was pictured on the front page. He would recognize that face and those eyes anywhere.

"Harry"

"UP GET UP!"

It was dark in the cupboard Harry rubbed his eyes as his aunt opened the door and grabbed him off the cot.

"Breakfast!"

Harry went to sit at the table but as he was about to sit.. "THAT'S MY SPOT!" His cousin ran on his pudgy legs and pushed Harry out of the chair knocking him on his bum, but he did not cry.

"You take your meals there boy!" Petunia handed him some toast. "I didn't ask for you to come into my home and I won't be wasting money on you."

Harry glared at her and ate his toast in silence. He knew this was only temporary. His dad had always promised to find him, no matter where he was, and then he would make these people pay.

Remus and Nymphadora Lupin stormed the path up to Hogwarts, of course today she would be going by Nymphadora Tonks. It was not legal for her to marry Remus in the wizarding world and keep her job as an Auror. They pushed through the front doors and were on the warpath for the Headmasters office.

"Remus Lupin what is the meaning of this!" Minerva McGonagall called as she briskly walked down the stairs.

"Severus Snape, kidnapped Harry, Albus swore to us that he was on our side!" Tonks hissed.

The change in Minerva's demeanor was shocking in its speed, she had visited all the time and even helped watch Harry on the occasions Ted and Andy couldn't watch. Her heart leapt each and every time he called her 'Aunt Minnie'.

Through clenched teeth "Follow me."

She swiftly turned and walked back upstairs, Tonks and Remus in tow.

"Tootsie Roll!"

Barely waiting for the gargoyle to leap aside the trio stormed up the stairs to find Severus Snape sitting with the Headmaster, before anyone could say anything, three jets of red light hit Snape in the face nearly knocking him into the fire. 'Damn' all three thought at once. Albus stood from his desk and made sure Snape was OK before turning to the three irate people in his office.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, maddeningly calm.

"That…monster…kidnapped my son!" Remus gritted out.

"Is he your son Remus?"

"He was my brother's son Albus, he's as good as mine. I have raised him these past few years, and I will not see him taken away from me! I want Snape to tell me where he is!"

"I'm afraid I cannot let you harm him, he is under my employ and protection"

"Albus!" Minerva cut across him "He will not be harmed, but he will answer for his crime, we will find Remus's son! But if we indeed find out Harry has been harmed, there is no amount of protection you can offer that will protect Severus!" Her Scottish burr was in full flesh, only years of living in the north of England made it possible to understand her.

"Why are you inserting yourself in this situation Minerva?"

"That is neither here nor there Albus, stop stalling, you can't protect your boy for long. Unless, you already-"

"Dammit Albus do you know what Snape did with him?" Remus raged.

"Snape only did as I asked him to" Albus replied, still calm.

The trio standing in the doorway jaws dropped and in an unrecognizable cacophony screamed questions and accusations until Dumbledore held his hands up.

"Do not worry you can be assured that Harry is safe where I settled him"

"Where-"

"I cannot tell you that, for there will most likely be a repeat of what had happened earlier in his young life, I thought better of you Remus."

It was Minerva who responded to this "And I thought better of you Albus" the absolute coldness in her voice rocked Albus to his core and it showed. "This man has showed nothing but absolute adoration and love for that boy, giving him a proper and SAFE upbringing. He is safe about his condition and with the advent of Wolfsbane he will be even safer. Doesn't harry deserve a LOVING home? His mother died so he could be loved."

"And who is to say that he won't know love where he is?"

Remus spoke up at this "The day I went to take Harry from his Aunt and Uncle they had locked him in the cupboard under the stairs. So help me if he has been placed there and they put him there again, there home will burn"

At this declaration Albus had paled. "Is that the course of action you would chose then? Unfortunately werewolves are not allowed parental rights."

"Happily I do have parental rights in the muggle world, and what has transpired here will constitute as kidnapping, I will have Snape's magic bound and him locked up in muggle prison!"

Dumbledore's eyes widened and it was all the confirmation that the three needed, the door slammed behind them and they were quickly moving out of the grounds to Surrey where if Harry was. The second they left the Hogwarts wards they vanished into thin air and appeared on the front lawn of the Dursley's. They felt a tingle of the wards as they passed through, as they intended no harm for Harry they were permitted entrance. Tonks cast a notice me not charm over the household so the neighbors would not see or hear what was really going on inside. With a loud BANG the front door was blasted off its hinges.

"What the devil is going on?" The voice of Vernon Dursley yelled as he stormed into the hallway.

"Get out of my house freaks! You are not welco-"

With a flash Remus had pushed his way through the hall "Alright you bastard where is my so-"

"Dad?" A panicked voice called from under the stairs, after casting a wordless body binding curse he ripped the door open and Harry catapulted into his arms sobbing.

"I knew you'd come, I knew it I knew it" he sobbed out in a litany. Tonks got on her knees too and Harry wrapped his arms around her neck as well. Minerva, while touched by the amount of love displayed walked into the kitchen and at wand point brought Petunia into the hallway, Dudley was at a friend's house.

"Harry," Remus began gently "did this person ever hit you?" Harry nodded into his chest and as much as Remus wanted retribution on these people he knew that Harry needed him and he did not wish to be chucked into Azkaban, or worse get the death penalty, being a werewolf meant he probably would get the Veil for any crime he committed. He stood up, Harry had totally wrapped around him, and gave Minerva a significant look. She nodded grimly and went to erase the memories of Harry from their minds before the three of them apparated to the Lupin's cabin in the north. The protective wards around the Dursley's had fallen again , the next day they would call off the search.

On the northern shore of Scotland a gaunt black dog crawled onto the beach and passed out without the energy to even shake himself dry. A passing fisherman spotted the dog and carried him back to his cabin.

"You're light for a big dog", Sirius merely opened an eye and closed it again.

"Well this is home." It was a small cabin, but very warm a fire was roaring in the corner and the man laid the big dog in front of it and ladled him a bit of stew to nourish the poor beast.

Dumbledore sat in his office contemplating what had happened that day. Had he really been so blind? He sipped from his mug of tea overlooking the sun setting on the lake. If what Remus has said was true, maybe Harry was not so safe at the hands of his relatives. At any rate the boy was not there anymore, the blood wards had fallen again. He took another sip. Maybe he should give him the benefit of the doubt, Minerva trusted Remus unreservedly which was not something the Scottish woman did easily. Still, what about his plans. If he were correct in his assumptions, Voldemort was still out there, Harry was going to need some great protections, living as a muggle would not protect him forever. He really had messed things up. Would Remus forgive him? He knew that he was the kindest most caring person most people would ever meet, but from what he saw today he would go to the ends of the earth if need be to protect Harry. Perhaps he truly was safer with him, he certainly would be happier.

With a shudder he remembered the look of absolute distress on the young boys face, he had been a fool and what was worse his Deputy would no longer trust him. Albus Dumbledore had a lot to atone for; his actions for sure had led to the deaths of many innocents in the Great Blood War. Still he could not shake the image of little Harry pleading with him. Had been so heartless? He vowed from this moment on to be more perceptive and caring of the people around him and not just for the greater good.

He turned to go to his bedchamber when he was struck by another image from earlier, the look on Severus Snape's face. He had trusted Snape; he seemed truly remorseful after what had happened to Lily. But the look on his face as he saw Harry, there was no compassion there, nothing that a person would look at a child who was missing home. While Dumbledore was not innocent in that exchange, Snape looked at Harry with pure contempt, maybe there was something to the complaints against him as a teacher, he had nothing concrete yet, but he was determined to listen to Minerva about how Snape treated the students.

Remus awoke the following morning with a smile on his face, he was in his bed with his wife and son, when just yesterday he wasn't sure if he was going to see him so soon… or ever again. They were going to have to upgrade the wards around their house and the book store, perhaps even his school. It was not going to be cheap, but Gringotts knew who Harry really was. The Ministry may be full of bigoted chumps but the Goblins did not hold that position, in fact they loved thumbing their collective hooked noses at the Ministry. While officially they could not give full control of Harry's inheritance he was able to get control of some of the finances, which he used sparingly, he was however unable to move Harry to the Potter ancestral home. Such bureaucratic deals irritated the hell out of Mooney, but there was no fighting it with the Goblins. Today he would go to Gringotts to get the ward's updated. He gently lifted Harry off his chest and laid him over Dora.

He walked outside of the bedroom and into the main living area. His house was not much larger than the day that he had brought Harry home with him, just two rooms were added and a basement, for his transformations. One of the bedrooms was for Harry and the other was generally for Minerva whenever she came to stay. She was in that room right now, after what had happened she felt the need to be away from Albus and since it was the summer she was able to do that.

Once he was in the kitchen he brought out some eggs, oranges, and a loaf sweet oat bread that he had made a few days ago. He set to frying the eggs and set the kettle to boil. The eggs were slightly popping in the butter when Minerva stepped out of her room in a tartan robe, her bare feet crackling over the hardwood floors. He smiled at her and wished her a good morning as he squeezed her fresh orange juice and poured a cup of English Breakfast. Taking the breakfast the two walked out to the back porch to enjoy the morning sun. The porch was covered by a trellis with vines growing around it. Sitting on a cushioned chair the two began to down the sweet toast and eggs. It was a lovely morning, Remus loved taking his breakfast outside when he could and as he wasn't due to work the book shop until after lunch he was taking this opportunity to eat outside in companionable silence with Minerva.

Dora slowly came out holding a sleeping Harry, they did not want him to wake up alone, she set him on a chair, and he still slept. Remus couldn't help but laugh, Harry really was his father's son.

As Dora was setting down to her own breakfast an owl came with the Morning Prophet. Remus paid the owl and as he scanned the headline he paled.

SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES FROM AZKABAN

Mass murderer Sirius Black, known supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named from Azkaban, it is unclear as to how, as he is the first ever to escape.

Remus couldn't finish, memories of his past flashed around him. He remembered Sirius from his time at Hogwarts…..

It was the morning after a full moon and as usual Remus was in the Hospital wing recovering, thankfully it was Saturday and he would not be missing any class. He was weak and tired but could not get back to sleep. So he had settled on looking out of the window at the mountains, the noise of laughing students rising up through the window. He sighed, he'd never be totally free like that, sure he had his best friends, but would they still want him if they learned what he was? He was terrified of losing them; they were his best and first friends.

He heard them before seeing them, and tried to hide himself before they saw him. Covering his face with his covers he pretended to sleep. But he knew James and Sirius all too well, they had their minds set on something there was nothing that would stop them. He felt weight at the end of his bed and his blanket magically flying to the ceiling.

"Why didn't you tell us?" James badgered first

"Yeah I thought we were your friends?" Sirius was next.

"T-tell you w-what?" Remus stammered horrified…They knew, they weren't happy, they were going to leave him and he would have no friends at all.

"Don't give us that Remy! Madame Pomfrey is blocking the door and no one is here!" James continued.

"So tell us, why haven't you told us?" Sirius pressed on.

Tears were forming in Remus's eyes "I was afraid" he whispered

"Afraid? Afraid of what? We're your friends!" Peter added quietly.

Tears were coming fiercely now "I'm sorry, I was told I couldn't tell anyone (sob) I could be expelled."

"And what makes you so certain we'll let that happen." James asked firmly. "My parents are both on the board of governors, if anyone tries to get you out of school they will block them until you graduate."

"You- you're not going to leave me? I won't be alone?"

"Of course not! You're our brother!" Sirius put in.

Remus broke down again, this time in happy tears as his…brothers… embraced him.

Minerva and Tonks watched Remus quietly knowing where his mind was going, Tonks was holding his hand in support.

"What are we going to do?" he finally managed.

"Well the goblins are coming today love. So we'll have that protection."

"I don't want to fully restrict Harry though, he deserves a childhood, he starts Year One next week" Remus took another sip of his tea.

"There is always going to be risk, he won't even be fully safe at Hogwarts as the two of you should know" Minerva smirked, and the Lupin's blushed while the year difference prevented them from getting together at school they both had gotten into their fair share of trouble that had resulted in more than a few injuries.

"Nevertheless, Harry's safety will be our top priority, can we have the goblins ward his school against Wizards who would wish to do harm to the students?"

Minerva looked pensive for a long while considering the implications, goblins did not have any of the bigotry that a good portion of the wizarding world had, if they had the gold, they very well could do it.

She finished off her cup of tea and set it down "Yes I think we can, it's not like there's a shortage of gold in Harry's vault"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~One Week Later ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sirius was still in the fisherman's cabin recovering, he had spotted the paper and saw that Harry was safe again, followed by a warning of his escape. There was no turning back now, he would not go back to that living hell. He was no longer in a rush, so he figured that he was going to recover even more of his strength. But he was going for Harry, and he was hopeful that their previous friendship would prevent Remy from killing him on sight.

A/N 1: I own nothing

A/N 2: Now that you've read The Hobbit, go read The Lord of the Rings

A/N 3: Go and read some of the stories by Muggledad. He is up there as my favorite fanfiction author.

A/N 4: I throw in a few Bristishism's but excuse my Americanism's too, I don't have the time to always look it up.