Hi! Sorry it's been a while, i had lots to do but now i've had a holiday i've had time to write again. I'll try to be faster next time.

Please enjoy!

Walking Free

Meeting

The Burrow's kitchen was packed full of order members. The room was a stark contrast from the dark outside. Light bathed every corner and the smell of Molly Weasley's cooking filled the room. It was unusual for meetings to take place in the small family home; however, it was an easy place to get to in short notice so Albus Dumbledore, with the consent of Molly and Arthur, invited the members over for the urgent meeting.

Dumbledore coughed once, ceasing the light conversation taking place at the kitchen table.

'Thank you, friends for coming tonight. I appreciate your attendance on such short notice.' At this, he took a quick glance at the door as Tonks and Remus stumbled into the room, late for some reason unknown to the old headmaster. 'I hate to be, yet again, the bearer of bad news, but it has come to my attention that Voldemort has plans for yet another attack.'

Not before wincing at the use of the Dark Lord's name, the members discussed their opinions of the upcoming attack in hushed whispers.

Silencing them, Dumbledore continued. 'I have been informed, by a reliable source,' Albus shot a look at a grim Severus Snape, 'that the Dark Lord plans to make a public attack at dusk on the third Thursday in November. We believe his aim is to secure places in the ministry and to find Mr Potter. Voldemort is of the opinion that Harry will be drawn to the fight and so will make an appearance.'

There was uproar from some of the order members who worked within the ministry.

'So now, instead of trying to kill the boy, the Dark Lord wants to use him to his advantage?'

'It is believed that this is the case but in fact, Voldemort still intends to kill Harry.' Dumbledore explained in a calm tone.

'Fine then! Why don't we just let old snake face get the boy?' shouted one. 'Look what the kid did; he killed two of our men!'

Dumbledore frowned at the outburst and granted the fuming Auror a disapproving look. Most of the Aurors and a few too many Order member than the headmaster would like, all seemed convinced that Harry was guilty. The aging man himself was not quite so sure and he spent many a night awake in bed, doubting any thoughts or actions concerning Harry in the last few years. He had once been so sure that Harry, the boy he often thought of as his own family, was going to save the wizarding world and grow up to be the man he had always imagined the boy would be. He was now totally unsure what to believe anymore. He knew that Harry no longer trusted him as he once had and Albus was shaken by this realisation. What scared him more was that he had never once, in all three years that the boy had been locked away, gone to visit him. He had always put it to being too busy or not wanting to upset the boy by visiting but Albus knew. He knew that the only reason he had never been to see the young boy, was fear of the boy himself. He was not afraid of what the boy had been accused of doing, but of what he had been made into. Harry had only been fifteen when he had been sentenced to life in Azkaban. Dumbledore couldn't even begin to contemplate how the child must have felt. The only thing that came to mind was absolutely terrified.

The first time in three years that he had seen Harry properly was at the attack in September. He had been stunned by how much the boy had changed. Despite not receiving the correct nourishment during the past three years, he had shot up in height and his whole manner seemed to have matured. Although the mop of messy black hair, which stood up in all directions, gave the boy a rather childlike appearance, Dumbledore could see that Harry had changed since his school days. He looked to be a lot older than his years, which was not surprising considering the situation the boy had found himself in.

In spite of all these changes, the old Harry was still there, hiding away somewhere, not ready to resurface yet. Just by looking into those eyes of his, Albus could see the young boy within. He could feel the pain and fear that Harry had tried so desperately to hide from him. How he had missed those eyes; but they were gone too soon as the emerald had been misted by the deep red of his rival.

With a sigh the headmaster was brought back from his reverie by the odd looks from his fellow Order members.

'Despite what we have all been told and led to believe over the past three years, I still have my doubts about what the truth really is. Friends, I find it hard to contemplate that our dear Harry could possibly do such things, especially at such a young age, but I, just like everyone else present, have no clue as to what to believe anymore. I truly, with all my heart hope that Harry is innocent and I will not rest until I find the truth. I am sure that many of you also wish to know the facts of previous events concerning Harry and I beg you all to help. Don't turn on the boy just yet. It's not fair on him.' Dumbledore lowered himself into his seat and rubbed his weary eyes with thumb and forefinger.

The room was rather still for a few minutes as they all took in and processed what had been said. Finally one Auror, by the name of Welsh, stood and turned to the exhausted headmaster.

'I think you have finally lost it Dumbledore.' he snarled. 'How on earth can you expect us to believe this waffle? There was proof of what Potter did so how can you still honestly believe that he might be innocent?' Albus raised a hand to silence the irate young man but to no avail. 'And what do you mean 'at such a young age'? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had committed terrible things by Potter's age, so what's there to say that the boy won't become just as bad? In this case, age has nothing to do with this!' Welsh made towards the door but stopped as he pulled on his jacket. 'Until you have found something that might convince me otherwise, that boy is just as evil as You-Know-Who and I want nothing to do with you or your ridiculous ideas!' Glancing at his fellow Aurors he sighed loudly, 'Call me when the old fool comes to his senses.'

Once again the room fell silent and more than a few faces looked stunned at the outburst. The elderly wizard at the head of the table placed his head in his hands and muttered, 'If anymore of you feel the same way, please feel free to leave. I do not want to force you to fight for what you do not believe.' And with a wave of his hand, he sent them on their way. Slowly, a few at a time, the majority of the Aurors and ministry workers left the Burrow with some reluctance.

Of the many that made it to the meeting, very few still remained. The Weasleys sat quietly at one end of the long table, looking tired and emotionally drained while Tonks and Remus subtly slipped into a couple of the previously occupied seats. Dumbledore of course sat in his place, rubbing his creased brow jadedly, wondering if what he had done was the best idea. Across the room sat Hermione, Snape, Kingsley, ex-auror Mad-Eye Moody, Neville Longbottom, Hestia Jones, Deadalus Diggle and Mundungus Fletcher all quietly discussing recent events among themselves.

'I am sorry, Molly, Arthur, for causing such a disturbance in your home tonight. I hope you can forgive me.' Molly tried a small smile but it barley reached her eyes and Arthur appeared all together out of the room. His mind must have been elsewhere and deep in thought. Bill gave him a slight nudge which shook him from his thoughts.

'Arr, um yes Albus. I totally agree. Urr, sorry what did you say?'

The headmaster chuckled gently. 'Don't worry Arthur; we have all had a tiresome day. I was just apologising for being the cause of such a disturbance in your humble home. I know that you and your family will also have trouble believing what I said tonight but I would not be doing this if I did not whole heartedly believe that Harry was innocent. I am well aware that I have said that I do not have all the facts and I am not one hundred percent sure of what the truth is but I know that Harry did not harm your daughter. I haven't always been this sure but now I know that I cannot turn on the boy.'

Arthur's eyes seemed to fill with something that Dumbledore couldn't place his finger on. Pity? He wouldn't be surprised. More and more people these days were giving him odd looks and Albus believed many thought him to be going mad.

After a long moment of silence, Arthur spoke.

'We trust you, Albus; you have never lied to us before so we have no reason to go against what you have told us tonight. I cannot speak on behalf of the whole family but I found it difficult to believe that Harry could do such a terrible thing, especially to Ginny. If we can sort out this sordid affair, I would be eternally grateful to you.'

Fred and George gave a nod in agreement whereas the rest of the family still looked a little unsure. Ginny sat very quietly at the end of the table, by her father. She hadn't said very much about Harry since he had escaped from Azkaban and the family didn't like to ask her about it for fear of upsetting her.

Remus' late arrival to the meeting, a result of Tonks' insistence to explain to Harry Teddy's 'bedtime routine' three times before she was satisfied that she was leaving her son in good hands, meant that he and his wife had to stand at the back of the crowded room, until seats became available. They were now sitting opposite Bill and the twins. Tonks was chatting idly away to Bill, discussing baby matters. Bill and Fleur's daughter, Dominique, was the same age as Teddy, born only a few months earlier. Although the two women had never been that close before, they still enjoyed to share ideas and useful tips whenever they saw one another. However, as Fleur was not present, staying home with the baby, Tonks had had to settle for Bill. She had been energetically questioning him about his daughter for almost twenty minutes and it was becoming quite tiresome. When the opportunity appeared, he subtly changed the subject to her own son, Teddy. Tonks beamed with joy and pride as she told of how Teddy could finally climb the stairs by himself. Bill just looked at her, completely unimpressed but trying not to seem board or unkind. The rivalry between Fleur and Tonks about which child was the best really needed to be stopped but it occasionally proved to be rather entertaining.

'So, where is Teddy tonight?' Bill asked. 'Who's looking after him?'

'Oh, um, her-' Remus began but Tonks cut him off.

'The babysitter! Um, yeah!' This was followed by vigorous nodding.

'Really?' Bill asked.

'Yeah, really?' Remus questioned with a raised eyebrow.

'No, it's just; Fleur and I have been looking for a babysitter for a while now. Is your one any good?'

Tonks simply nodded, 'Yeah, yes! He's great, really good!'

'It's a guy?'

Tonks thought about this for a second, 'No! I didn't say he! I said, um, she!'

'Right' Bill murmured before turning to his father.

Rolling his eyes, Remus leant down to whisper in his wife's ear; 'You could have just said it was your Mum, you know.'

Tonks huffed and glared at her husband. 'Don't bring my mother into this!' she hissed.

Remus couldn't help the slight raise at the corner of his lips. Taking a drink from the steaming mug of tea that Molly had just given to him, Remus turned to the side, watching Albus in deep conversation with Mad Eye. The old headmaster had not seemed himself during the meeting; he appeared to be visibly shaken by the comments made about Harry.

With the room silent, Dumbledore spoke, his voice more stable than it had been earlier in the evening. 'Has anyone happened across young Harry recently? If so, please do tell.'

Remus and Tonks exchanged a quick glance at each other before turning back to Albus, shaking their heads; however, they stopped abruptly when Hermione spoke up.

'We did Professor.' Hermione gestured to herself, Ron and the twins as she answered.

Hermione had never gotten used to calling the old headmaster anything other than Professor or Sir; something that the Weasley children considered highly amusing and so spent hours mirthlessly teasing her about it.

All heads turned towards Hermione, Ron and the twins expectantly, waiting for them to elaborate.

'I, well, we wanted to see Harry again so a few days after the attack, we went to look around the area but, we didn't have much luck. I mentioned it to Tonks and she told me that Remus had seen him and gave us the address.' All heads in the room now turned towards Remus and Tonks. Remus gave his a wife a meaningful look. She simply shrugged it off but her cheeks began to turn a light pink in colour.

Hermione continued after a moment, keen to tell everyone about Harry. 'We went to his house after Tonks had given us the address and saw him but,' she paused for breath before continuing, 'well, I don't think he wanted to see us. He took us on a wild goose-chase really!'

Ron interrupted, 'Huh, er, no Hermione, he went to the supermarket!'

'Yes, Ronald!' she replied exasperated. 'I know that, but do you honestly believe that everything that happened when we were there was an accident? The bucket of water, the moving lamp and you falling over into the tinned pears?'

'Actually, I think you will find it was tinned tomatoes, Hermione.' Fred interrupted, speaking for the first time that evening. This earned a large grin from his twin.

'Does it matter? He knew we were following him and so he messed around with us! I doubt he actually want to go to the supermarket!' Hermione cried indignantly, trying to get her point across.

'And how did he seem?' Albus asked when they had finished their bickering.

'Well, he seemed fine I suppose. He's obviously been practising his magic as I think he apparated away!' Hermione had pride in her voice as she said this; her old friend must have been working exceptionally hard if he could apparate without having been taught.

Albus smiled at this. He had noticed that too when he had seen Harry after the attack.

'He's changed a lot though.' Hermione stated, almost sad. 'I didn't think someone could change so much in three years, but, I suppose Azkaban didn't help.'

Snape sneered at this comment, 'Of course he's changed; it's called puberty you insufferable child!'

'Severus' Albus warned.

For perhaps the first time in their lives, the Weasley twins agreed with the surly potions mater. 'Yeah!'

'He's certainly not that…'

'Little kid that didn't know how to get onto platform…'

'9 ¾ all those years ago!' Finished Fred.

The room's occupants, apart from a rather ill-tempered Potions master, were hushed as they thought back to the bespectacled boy who had always been kind and generous despite the troubles he had forever been faced with.

'When was it that you saw him, Remus?' Molly inquired.

Remus placed his mug down on the table and rubbed his hands together in thought. 'It was just after the attack in September. I followed him when it was all over and ended up outside his house. He was in a bad state so I couldn't just leave him. I took him inside and cleaned him up a bit. I'm not too good at healing spells but I did my best.'

'Why did you not mention this before?' questioned Dumbledore.

Remus sighed. 'I never believed that Harry was guilty, Albus but I knew that most of the Order thought otherwise so I didn't tell anyone, apart from Tonks, because I was afraid that you would all go after him. I wanted to explain everything that Harry has told me before everyone goes to find him.' Remus paused and took a deep breath. Tonks linked fingers with her husband, giving them a gentle squeeze of comfort, before she took over.

'Harry doesn't remember much but there are certain things that jog his memories. It's happened a few times now. He'll be doing something perfectly normal but it will suddenly remind him of something that happened and then, well he sort of falls over…' She drifted off, not sure what else to say. The rest of the members around the table stared at her with confusion etched onto their faces.

'Falls over?' Ron asked, confused. 'Wait, how do you know this?'

'He wasn't safe in his flat anymore, so I asked him to come stay with Tonks and me. He's been with us for almost two weeks now. A few times he has had some flash backs of some sort and they always lead to him passing out.'

'Did he tell you about these flash backs?' Dumbledore asked.

'Not really. When I first found him, he just told me what he could remember. It wasn't much. He said that it was always dark.' Remus furrowed his brow, trying to remember what Harry had said at the time. 'He also said that there were voices at times but then he said that the next thing he saw Ginny on the ground, surrounded by the Weasleys. He doesn't really remember the trial, only bits of it. I'm sorry I didn't inform you before, Albus.'

The old wizard smiled gently at the werewolf to reassure him. 'No reason to worry my boy. We now know that Harry is safe so we can begin to find out what really happened. However, this information is not to leave this room.' He glanced around the room, making eye contact with each member, to make sure they understood. 'I know that I can trust the people in this room. You all stayed and want to give Harry another chance. I can not thank you enough for that but if anyone who is biased towards Harry finds out; they will no doubt use it against him.' Everyone around the table nodded, promising to keep their word.

'Now that I am sure that we have made some progress, I believe we have encroached on Molly and Arthur's time and hospitality too long. Come, it is time to leave. Thank you again for coming and thank you Molly and Arthur for allowing us to hold the meeting in you home.'

There was a scraping of chairs if the kitchen floor as the guests made their way towards the front door. Albus slowing got up from his chair and instead of following the crowd, made his way to Molly who stood at the opposite end of the small room.

'Molly, I hope that this unusual meeting has not ruined your evening too much.'

'Oh nonsense Albus, you know that you are always welcome into our home and we are happy to be of assistance to you.' Dumbledore smiled again before turning to make his leave when Molly called him back. 'Sorry to bother you Albus but, I just wanted to say that despite not always believing that Harry was innocent, I do want to help. If there is any chance that we can prove Harry innocent, I want to be as useful as possible. So, please do let us all know how we can help.'

'Of course, Molly. Now, have a good evening and thank you again.' And with a slight nod of the head, Dumbledore went on his way, a new goal in mind.

Just to let you all know, I know that in the books Bill and Fleur's daughter is called Victoire but that is only because she is named after the victory of the battle. As the battle hasn't happened, I just used the name of their second daughter.

I hope you enjoyed it, please review!