The three wizards walked with Amelia to the kitchen, making sure to give her some of the excellent tea that Molly had made that morning. "When I talked to Minerva last night, she informed me that you were seeking custody of Harry Potter," she looked at the three, who nodded, "and that the two of you were seeking to clear your records so that you can help raise Mr. Potter and do more work for the Order of the Phoenix. I must say that I am quite surprised to see you here, Head Auror Malfoy."
"You'll see the reason once you open Harry's custody file, Madame Bones." The four sat at the kitchen table. Amelia tapped the piece of paper she had brought with her.
"Let's see..." she read aloud, "The complete files of Harrison Orion Abraxas Black Malfoy." A look of realization dawned on her face. "Mother of the underage wizard: Liliana Aurelia McGonagall Black-Malfoy, pureblood, murdered 31 October 1981 by Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. Father: Gawain Gideon Abraxas Malfoy, pureblood, currently employed by the French Ministry of Magic as Head Auror." She skimmed the rest of the information. "It seems, Head Auror Malfoy, that you should have been given sole custody of your son at the moment of your wife's murder. The files say that Albus Dumbledore blatantly violated the wills of both your wife and James Potter by putting your son with your wife's sister, who filed a request with the Ministry keep the child away from her as her muggle husband had shown a potentially dangerous aversion to magic. I would recommend filing a claim against Headmaster Dumbledore."
"We're going to do that eventually, Madame Bones, but at this time, we have more important issues to attend to," Severus sighed.
Amelia nodded, and tapped her piece of parchment once again, this time bringing up Gawain's background information. "You are in good standing with both the French and British Ministries of Magic, despite your brother's involvement with Voldemort. I assume that you have enough money and a suitable dwelling in which to raise your son?"
"That goes without saying. My mother and grandparents make sure I always have several million galleons, though I don't ever use much. I also get paid quite well by the French."
"Do you love your son, Head Auror Malfoy?" Amelia had to ask, it was a required question in custody cases.
"If I would have been allowed to take care of him when Lily died, we wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation, because Harry would be happy and safe in Paris, surrounded by the same loving people that surround him now. Of course I love him." There was a distinct sadness in Gawain's voice. Severus had to look away from Amelia for a moment so that she wouldn't notice that his dark eyes showed the same sadness.
"I declare the underage wizard Harrison Orion Abraxas Black Malfoy to be in the sole custody of his father, Gawain Gideon Abraxas Malfoy. This custody is fully legal and cannot be contested by anyone, especially Lucius Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore."A white light enveloped the parchment. "Your brother shall be receiving notification of the denial of his adoption claim within the next few hours."
"Thank you, Madame Bones. This means a lot to all of us." Gawain shook her hand and went back to join the group in the sitting room.
Remus looked at Gawain with tired eyes. None of them, with the exception of Ginny, who was leaning on George's shoulder, had slept since Severus had set Harry on the couch several hours earlier. "Please tell me that you've got him."
Gawain sat on the other end of the couch that the werewolf occupied. "I did. Harry will never have to go back to the Dursleys again. I own a large house in Paris, with a huge yard, great for playing Quidditch," Gawain sighed. "I think it would be best if we move Harry there as soon as possible, that way Dumbledore can't get near him."
Ron spoke up from where he still sat on the floor. "Harry would love a yard where he could play Quidditch. He was the youngest Hogwarts seeker in a century, you know."
"I'm glad you think so. You would all stay there with us, of course. I have a direct floo connection to the British and French Ministry buildings, and it is much safer than your home would be, Molly, Arthur, seeing as Pettigrew knows exactly where you live. I also quite doubt that Sirius wants to spend much more time in this house. He hated it here when he was a kid, and that awful portrait of his mother hasn't shut up since I walked in. Honestly, the only real 'blood-traitors' in this house are Sirius and I, since he ran away and I refuse to talk to my brother. Muggleborns, no matter what that stupid woman ever said, are wonderful people who are usually very powerful." Gawain looked at Remus. "And do you know what, Remus? I like werewolves, too. We employ several in our Auror department in Paris and I have no doubts that you could find a well paying job there. No one in France cares whether a person turns into a wolf every month or not."
"Well said, Mal--Gawain. I certainly would not mind moving out of this place." Sirius plunked himself down in between Remus and Gawain. "It turns out that since the Ministry didn't give me a fair trial, they shouldn't have declared me a fugitive in the first place. SO…I'm all cleared now."
A few minutes later, Severus came out of the kitchen, declaring that if anyone wanted to get to Harry now, the person would die before Harry was even touched. After that, they came up with a schedule for "Harry-watching." Each group of four or five would take an eight hour shift at Harry's bedside. The groups were going well, until Ron pointed out that the only five left were the two Marauders, the twins, and Poppy.
"Are you sure that's such a good idea, putting the twins with those two, Hermione? They don't need anymore prank ideas , and we all, well most of us anyway, know about what Professor--"
"Remus, Ron, Remus. I'm not your professor anymore." Remus couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Fred and George were going to go crazy.
"Sorry. We all know what Remus and Sirius got up to at school." Ron crossed his arms.
"What exactly did they do at school, oh dearest little brother?"
"I'm not going to tell you. They've given you clues, you know."
The twins thought for a moment before identical looks of realization dawned on their faces.
"You and you are the…"The two gasped. "THE MARAUDERS??"
"Merlin help us." Minerva threw up her hands in exasperation. "This year is going to be worse than ever."
A/n: Sorry it took me so long to update...school has taken over my life. Why, you ask? Because instead of taking all easier classes like most American high school seniors do, I'm taking a slew of difficult classes. It's rather fun though, so I'm not complaining, there's just a lot of homework. PLEASE REVIEW!!