"Heard you were being a prat," Remus raised an eyebrow. He was sitting in Sirius' office. It was two days later and he had finally been released from St. Mungo's and returned to work. Kingsley had been released as well.

"Thanks," Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yeah, guess I was," he sighed.

"And it was about Harry," Remus added.

"I got it. I handled the situation badly."

"True, but you also handled it normally."

"What are you talking about?"

"Yeah handled it badly but normally. Sirius. You raised Harry and now he's off doing something downright lethal. It's normal for you to be absolutely terrified for him and lashing out at people," Remus explained.

"I don't see you doing it," Sirius pointed out.

"That's because I've been locking myself in my office for eight hours at a time. I'm not around anyone," Remus grinned.

Sirius smiled. "This is true."

"Everyone knows we're freaking out about Harry. Everyone understands. Everyone knows we don't mean it if we scream at them," Remus stated.

"I just want him back. I want this to be over." Sirius replied.

"I do too. Everyone does. Everyone also knows we're taking it the hardest because we're the ones who have raised him for twelve years," Remus nodded.

"Having another pep talk?" Tonks walked in holding Kingsley's hand.

"Of course. What world would we be in if I didn't give Sirius pep talks?" Remus grinned.

"Everything all right, Kingsley?" Sirius asked.

"Yes. Completely fine," Kingsley nodded.

"Ready to make up for lost time?" Sirius said.

"Not really. I really enjoyed the week I had off. Wish it had been longer," Kingsley sighed. The others laughed.

"Does anyone recognize this house at all?" Harry held up the picture they had found in San Diego. When they had gone back to the old Hufflepuff house in San Diego and found the secret area in the attic, they thought it was empty. The secret room was quite large. It had other rooms leading off it, there were two sets of stairs, one set leading up, the other down. It was almost like a small house. It had taken the trio and Tyler two days to find the photo. It had been hidden behind a fake brick that had been made out of paper. Someone had drawn on a piece of paper and taped the photo to the back then put it on the wall. It looked very real.

"Harry, it looks like a chess piece. It doesn't even look like a house," Hermione said. She was right. It did look like an oversize rook with windows.

"I realize that, Hermione," Harry said.

"It looks familiar, but I can't place it," Ron answered.

"Really? You've seen this place before?" Harry said in surprise.

"I think so. I just can't figure it out though," Ron nodded.

"Have you finished looking through the binder, Hermione?" Harry wondered.

"Not yet. This binder has a ton of stuff to look through," Hermione sighed.

"Keep looking. We need to find out about this place. It must be important," Harry stated. The trio fell quiet and ate their lunch. Tyler, who was noticeably ill, was sleeping on the sofa.

"Harry, when are we destroying the locket?" Hermione asked, turning another page in the binder.

"Couple days. Maybe tomorrow. We'll see what's going on," Harry replied simply.

"Harry, it's been like two weeks. You said we should destroy it almost a week ago," Hermione said, looking up from the pages.

"I know that, Hermione. We've been busy and we can't do it in front of Tyler. He can't know about the locket," Harry told her in exasperation.

"Why can't he know?" Hermione frowned.

"Because three quarters of what we're doing is meant to be secret," Harry answered.

"I'm sure we can trust him, Harry," Hermione stated.

"You've been saying that for the past week," Harry sighed. Ron was watching his friends, not saying a word.

"Because it's true. We can trust him."

"Who says?"

"I say. He's helped us this long. If there was something wrong, he would have done something by now."

"God damn it, Hermione! Did it ever occur to you that he could be working for someone? Not everyone is like me and you and Ron!" Harry snapped, pounding his fist on the table. Ron and Hermione jumped.

"Harry, he's been with us for a week-" Hermione said quietly.

"I don't give a damn about how long he's been supposedly helping us! There is something wrong!"

"He's not a werewolf!"

"Hermione, you know the characteristics of a werewolf just as well as I do! Take a look at Tyler! The characteristics all fit! He's sick as hell out there!"

"We don't even know when the full moon is! He could just be catching something! Why can't you trust him?"

"Because I have trust issues, Hermione! I also know when I can't trust someone and we can't trust him!"

"Harry-"

"No! If you want to trust him, be my guest, but don't expect me to pretend and hang around until something happens," Harry stood up, almost knocking his chair to the floor, and went to his bedroom.

"Thanks for the help," Hermione rounded on Ron.

"What did you want me to do?" Ron frowned.

"Back me up."

"I can't though."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm with Harry on this one. We can't trust Tyler, Hermione," Ron calmly pushed himself back and stood up.

"Ron-"

"I'm sorry. I'm sticking with Harry this time," Ron sighed and went to their bedroom. Hermione looked at the table sadly.

"Are you okay?" Tyler's voice came from the doorway, making Hermione look up.

"I'm fine, Tyler. Thanks," she said, her voice catching. "You should be resting," she added, gazing at him. She had seen the symptoms of a werewolf before the full moon before and she had to admit Tyler fit the description. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark purple and black circles under them. He was deathly pale too. She suddenly stopped her flow of thoughts. Tyler was not a werewolf. He was a friend, was helping them. She was being paranoid.

"Hermione? Are you listening?" Tyler's voice broke into her head.

"What did you say?" Hermione asked, now back to earth.

"I said I've been resting for two and a half days. I think I can survive a few minutes," he repeated.

"I guess."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Harry and Ron are siding against me on something. It's no big deal, really," she told him, forcing a smile.

"What is it?" he asked softly.

Hermione looked into his eyes. She could trust him. There was nothing evil or bad about Tyler at all. "It's a bit embarrassing, really. It's about you."

"Oh?" Tyler raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yeah. For some reason, they believe we can't trust you and I believe otherwise. You've helped us. You wouldn't hurt us," she told him.

"Jealousy," he replied simply.

"Jealousy? Ron and Harry? Of course not. Well, maybe Ron but not Harry. He has nothing to be jealous of," Hermione shook her head.

"Maybe he's jealous that he's not the leader anymore. As for Ron, he's jealous of us," Tyler took Hermione's hand in his.

"Us? What us? I'm with Ron and I love him. Harry is and always will be the leader of this," Hermione wrenched her hand from Tyler and stood. "Go back to sleep, Tyler. I'll see you later at dinner." She closed the binder and went to the room she shared with Ron. When she was gone, Tyler faced forward and a grin spread across his sallow face.

"It's the full moon tomorrow," Sirius told Remus as they walked down a street. They had gone out for lunch together and were heading back to the Ministry, eating what they had left.

"I know," Remus nodded.

"And you're not losing your mind about it because?" Sirius furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't know. Just been working on the cases and thinking about Seth," Remus shrugged, looking at the Ministry coming into view ahead of them.

"We'll help him, Moony," Sirius stated.

"Padfoot, you should just handle the Malfoy case. There's nothing we can do for Seth. He's sentenced to get the Dementor's Kiss in three to four weeks," Remus told him.

"He's your best friend, Moony."

"No, you're my best friend. He's my colleague."

"No, I'm your best friend and brother. He's your colleague and best friend. You can have more than one best friend, mate. You've done it before."

"Sirius, just deal with Malfoy," Remus sighed and they entered the Ministry. "I'll see you later," he departed from Sirius and headed for his department. Sirius breathed deeply and went to his own department.

"Kingsley. Anything on Malfoy?" Sirius asked when Kingsley approached him.

"Nothing too major. He just killed a witch and an Auror," Kingsley told his boss.

"An Auror? Who?" Sirius frowned.

"Ferns. She was a friend of the witch who was killed. Ferns got a call from the witch asking for help. Ferns went and Malfoy killed her."

"Who's the witch?"

"Emma Parker," Kingsley answered. "A Healer."

"I know. She was Remus' Healer when he got attacked," Sirius nodded. "When?"

"Twenty minutes ago."

"Thanks, Kingsley," Sirius continued to his office. He sat at his desk and began absently twirling a quill. Why didn't Remus want Sirius to try help Seth? It didn't make sense. He wasn't going to stop though. He was going to save Seth from the Dementor's Kiss.

Dinner was quiet. No one spoke as everyone was still irritated at each other. The trio and Tyler ate slowly and silently, their gazes fixed on the table and the meal.

"Harry, I-" Hermione spoke.

Harry stopped her. "Don't. Just don't."

"I want to apologize," she continued.

"There's nothing you have to apologized for, Hermione."

"But-"

"Let me finish. You don't have to apologize because I do. I'm sorry for what I said and how I acted," Harry answered.

"I'm sorry too. We're just all stressed and the influence of the-" Hermione was stopped by Ron lightly kicking her under the table.

"Yeah, there's nothing stress-free about what we're doing," Harry smiled. Hermione smiled back.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Ron asked.

"Just staying here, I guess. Figuring things out. We have no where to go. We're not going to that house until we know about it," Harry told them. He looked at Ron when he felt Ron nudge his leg. Ron gave him a look that said 'what about the locket?'. Harry sent a look back that he hoped said 'we'll talk later'. Ron gave a small nod.

"I'm heading to bed. I feel horrible. I'll see you all tomorrow," Tyler pushed away from the table and went to the living room.

"I'm going to bed too. Night, guys," Harry said and went to his bedroom.

"I'm sorry too, Hermione," Ron said.

"Me too. I shouldn't have been so rude," Hermione replied, slipping her hand into Ron's.

"I meant what I said though. I'm with Harry this time," Ron told her.

"I know," she nodded, smiling. He leaned towards her and met her lips. She deepened the kiss, her hands lightly placed on his face. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"If you two are finished, we have stuff to talk about," Harry was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His arms were crossed and he was leaning against the frame, a look of amusement on his face.

His friends quickly parted, blushing furiously. "Harry, don't do that," Hermione said.

"You know I love that you two are together, but keep the making out to a minimum until we get home. We're together here so I can't avoid it. When we get home, I won't have to see it," Harry grinned. "Now come to my room. We have to talk." He turned his back on his friends and went back to his bedroom.

"That was interesting," Ron said sarcastically. "What's funny?" Hermione had begun giggling.

"I knew that would happen soon," she stated between laughs.

"What are you on about?" Ron frowned.

"I knew he would walk in on us kissing sooner or later."

"Oh. Yeah," Ron nodded.

"At least it wasn't Fred and George," Hermione shrugged.

"They've already walked in on us and yelled it throughout the house so everyone knew," Ron raised an eyebrow.

"True," Hermione grinned. "I can't wait to get back to them."

"Same," Ron nodded. They entered Harry's room.

"Finally," Harry stated. They rolled their eyes and sat on the bed. "Now. I want to destroy the locket tomorrow."

"What about Tyler?" Ron frowned.

"That's the problem. Either we need to get him to leave or he has to stay while we leave," Harry replied. "I also want to do it at night."

"Why?" Hermione wondered.

"Precaution. Better chance of no one seeing," Harry said.

"Harry, we're in the middle of a forest. No one will see us," Hermione pointed out.

"Tyler found us, didn't he?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Good point," Hermione agreed.

"How about after he falls asleep? One of us stays to make sure he stays asleep while the other goes with you," Ron suggested.

"It could work," Hermione nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, we'll do it. Ron, you'll come with me while Hermione stays," Harry said.

"All right. We should get to sleep," Ron said. "Night." He and Hermione went to bed. They didn't realize they had left the Daily Prophet on the table with the article about Remus being in the hospital.

Remus sighed quietly and resisted the urge to yell in irritation. "Thank you, Mr. Dawson. You will receive an owl within the next two days if you've been hired," he told the man he was interviewing. He had an open spot in his department that he needed to fill. He had interviewed about twenty-six people and none of them had been fit for the job. "Next!" he called and looked at the next resume.

Seth Ledger
Twenty-three years old
Graduated from Hogwarts
Worked as a waiter at Leaky Cauldron

"Oh lord," Remus groaned. He watched as the young wizard sat down. "Hello, Mr. Ledger."

"Hello."

"Do you have any experience in the work this department does?" Remus asked.

"Umm, well, not exactly," Mr. Ledger hesitated. He was clearly extremely nervous. Remus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I know how to handle a werewolf though. My little brother is a werewolf. He was bitten when he was three."

"Really?" Remus said, interested.

"Yes. He's in his last year at Hogwarts. It's because of Dumbledore he was allowed to attend," Mr. Ledger nodded.

"Same with me," Remus stated. Mr. Ledger looked at him curiously. "I became a werewolf when I was seven. The year I was to begin school was the year Dumbledore became headmaster. He allowed me to attend."

"You're a werewolf?" Mr. Ledger asked.

"Was. My nephew found a cure three years ago," Remus explained.

"You have a family? I thought there was no cure for lycanthropy?"

"There wasn't. We haven't told the Ministry. We tried but the Minister wouldn't believe us. I do have a family. My best friend and cousin, Sirius Black and our nephew, Harry Potter," Remus told him.

"The famous family," Mr. Ledger said.

Remus laughed. "That's us. Harry's in his sixth year."

"How long have you all been together?"

"Eleven years. Since Harry was five."

"So about the job?" Mr. Ledger stated.

"Right. Do you know much about creatures?"

"I read about hundreds of creatures before applying for this job. I even read about ghosts, ghouls, and poltergeists. I don't know why but I did," Mr. Ledger answered.

"All right. This will seem like an easy question but you'll be the first if you get it right," Remus smiled. "When trying to control a young werewolf, do you use a Stunning Spell and why?"

"No, you don't because the immune system of a young werewolf is not fully compatible with Stunners. Instead, it gives the werewolf a burst of energy, making it go wild," Mr. Ledger explained.

"Amazing. No one's gotten that question right," Remus replied.

"It's an easy question. Even if you don't have a werewolf for a brother," Mr. Ledger grinned.

Remus looked at the wizard. He liked Mr. Ledger. "Well, you will receive an owl within the next two days if you get the job," he said.

"Thank you," Mr. Ledger smiled and left the office. Remus smiled. He definitely knew who he was hiring.

He poked his head out his door and called, "Thank you but I have hired someone. Thank you all for applying."

Remus threw down his quill. He couldn't stop thinking about Seth. He should be used to losing friends and those close to him. Remus sighed. It wasn't that he didn't care because he did. A lot. He just figured if he ignored it, it wouldn't hurt as much. That was the problem. He couldn't ignore it and it did hurt.

"Remus? Are you okay?" Tonks asked softly, standing in his office door.

"What are you doing here, Tonks?"

"Sirius asked me to come after you. He's worried about you," she said.

"Well, there's nothing to worry about. I'm fine." he told her.

"Has anyone ever told you how bad you are at lying? You're not fine," Tonks crossed her arms.

"Tonks, I'm fine," Remus said firmly.

"No, you're not," Tonks entered the office and shut the door.

"Tonks-"

"You listen to me, Remus Lupin," she ordered. "If you say you're fine once more, I'll curse you to next year. There's no way in hell that you're fine. I mean, come on. Seth is in Azkaban and getting his soul sucked out in a few weeks. Your kid is out hunting Lord Voldemort with his friends and the son of Fenrir Greyback is accompanying them. So don't give me any crap about you being fine." Remus stared at her. Tonks' hair had begun to turn red. "Were you listening to me?" she put her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I was listening," Remus nodded.

"Well?"

Remus sighed. "Okay, you're right. I'm not fine. I haven't been fine since Harry left." He looked to the pictures on his desk as his eyes watered.

Tonks' hair went back to pink and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Remus, he'll be okay. He'll be home soon. Soon you'll be able to have a normal life with Harry and Sirius."

"You don't know that, Tonks. You don't know he's going to be ok. Or that he'll be home soon," Remus said.

"I do know that. You know why? I know because he's the son of James and Lily. Because he's a Potter. Because he was raised by you and Sirius and no one could have done it any better. He's strong. He's survived many events that were meant to kill him. Remus, he will come home," she squeezed his shoulder.

"Tonks, I-I-Harry-" Remus choked and started crying. Tonks wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Remus' arms went around her waist, automatically hugging her back. He buried his face in her shoulder.

"It'll be okay. We're all here for you and Sirius," Tonks whispered.

"Sirius, have you seen Tonks? She was supposed to meet me ten minutes ago," Kingsley asked.

"I asked her to check on Remus. She might still be in his office," Sirius answered.

"Thanks. See you later, boss," Kingsley waved and walked down the hall. Greeting those he knew as he passed, he headed to Remus' department. He pushed through the glass doors and walked to Remus' office. He knocked on the door. "Tonks, are you here?"

The door opened. "Hey, sorry I'm late. Sirius asked me to check on Remus. The stress is getting to him. He just needs to be with someone," Tonks told him.

"I understand. Is he okay?" Kingsley wondered.

"Hanging in there," she sighed.

"Tonks, you can go. I'll be okay. You go," Remus spoke. His eyes were red but he was a good deal calmer.

"Remus, are you sure? I can stay," Tonks said.

"I'll be all right. Go," Remus nodded, smiling.

"All right. Either I'll be by later or I'll send Sirius," she kissed Remus' cheek then stared at him, worried.

"Don't worry. I'll stay here," he smiled. Still hesitant, Tonks left with Kingsley.

"You can't babysit him, Tonks. He's a grown man," Kingsley stated.

"Yes, a grown man who's life is going to hell with the rest of the world. His life was great until Voldemort came back. And I'm not babysitting. I'm helping," Tonks replied.

"Everyone's life was great until Voldemort came back. His isn't the only life going to hell."

"No, but the one thing he loves more than anything in this world is out there walking into the hands of death," she snapped.

"Don't get mad at me," Kingsley raised his hands in defence.

"Well, you don't seem to give a damn about Sirius and Remus and Harry. They're on the verge of losing Harry and you're not acting like you care," Tonks said, tears filling up her own eyes. She hated thinking that she may never see Harry again.

"I do care, you know that. I love Harry," Kingsley told her.

"You have a funny way of showing it," she turned on her heel and marched away.

"Tonks, what-Tonks! Tonks!" Kingsley shouted as she disappeared around a corner. "Goddamn it!" he cursed and stomped off to his office.