Chapter 46

Harry lay in the hospital wing, his dad on one side and Sirius on the other. Neither had left his side, all through when Dumbledore had left to contact the Order members and Moody had come to the headmaster's had wanted Harry to come with him to be questioned, he said, even though Dumbledore had just finished having Harry relive everything that had happened in the graveyard. Harry had been shocked when Moody had desperately persisted, and the two Marauders had their wands aimed at him in half a second. They'd simply said that was not Alastor Moody, that he would never have gone against Dumbledore and tried taking him when Dumbledore had told him to stay.

They'd been there when the imposter, Barty Crouch Jr, had been forced to confess how his father had smuggled him out of Azkaban for his mother's sake, how he'd stolen the wand at the Quiddich World Cup, how Voldemort had eventually come for him with Wormtail's help and had him impersonate Moody and guide Harry through the Tournament until Wormtail had him touch the Cup.

His guardians had been there with him every second, but now he woke up to hear them arguing outside the hospital wing.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking? You know how Harry's affected by them. When Dumbledore hears you brought a dementor into the castle with innocent children-" Remus' voice was filled with fury Harry had never heard in it before. Harry kept his eyes shut and listened when Dumbledore came and was told how Fudge had brought a dementor into the castle, and the second it had sensed Crouch- well, Harry knew Crouch was worse than dead. And now he wouldn't be able to tell why he had done all those things. But according to Fudge, Crouch had been only a madman under the delusion he was looking for Voldemort.

"Young Diggory has already told you he saw Pettigrew in the maze," Dumbledore said with authority. "There are more people involved in this than just Crouch and this is much worse than a madman acting alone to come after Harry."

"Diggory must have had a head injury. Pettigrew wouldn't have come to Hogwarts. He's on the run. Unless of course we have any more escaped convicts who are really only trying to prove their innocence."

Harry opened his eyes and saw Sirius looked ready to punch Fudge for the sarcasm in that last statement. Remus kept a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You may remember that Pettigrew can turn into a rat," Dumbledore said. "He had no worries about being caught since he could hide in any small crevice. And if you won't believe Mr. Diggory, others saw Voldemort return."

Fudge flinched at the use of Voldemort's name, then said "If by others you mean Potter, I wouldn't say his word is exactly trustworthy." He held up a copy of that morning's Daily Prophet with the headline "Harry Potter: Disturbed and Dangerous."

"How can anyone trust a parslemouth? And add into that the fact that he's been having fits in Divination class and that he was raised by-"

At that Sirius took a dangerous step towards him, and only the fact that Fudge hadn't completed the sentence and Dumbledore stood between them kept Fudge from getting hit that time. Remus had a look on his face that was a mix of hurt and anger.

"Harry was raised as normally as any child who has lost their parents and who has been targeted by the most evil wizard of all time could be," Dumbledore said. "Remus' condition has not affected his ability to raise a child. Harry has endured more, shown more courage than anyone should have to. And he's come out of it as sane as anyone else. His scar hurts him when Voldemort is near or feeling especially murderous, but it has not affected his brain."

"And we don't appreciate anyone implying that it has!" Sirius added.

Remus was about to speak his mind too when Tonks and Kingsley came in.

"I can assure you Fudge, nothing has impaired my mind or Tonk's either," Kingsley said.

"And both of us, along with Remus and Sirius, saw Harry dueling Voldemort," Tonks finished.

Fudge knew he was cornered. There was no real way he could completely deny the others had seen something. Still, when Dumbledore told him the steps that would have to be taken, namely removing the dementors from Azkaban and sending envoys to the giants, Fudge flat out refused.

"People hate giants! End of my career! I suppose next you'll be wanting me to approach the wer-" He was looking at Remus, but a glance at Sirius cut him off.

"Just because someone is a giant or a werewolf doesn't make them evil," Harry said, letting the others know he was awake. He couldn't stand hearing one more word against werewolves. Fudge glared at him as the Marauders tried to get him to lay back down.

"If you'd seen some of the things they did in the war-" Fudge started.

"Maybe they felt the very ministry that should have been protecting their rights denied them. And just because some of them are that way doesn't mean they all are."

But it was more than Fudge not liking giants and werewolves. He loved his office too much to risk loosing it, even if it meant saving lives. The minister left saying he would soon be in contact about how Hogwarts was run. Harry felt his guardians gently push him back onto the overstuffed pillow.

"Just rest now, Cub," Remus said. "You've been through enough."

But there was no rest for Harry at the moment.

"What happens now? Voldemort's back and the Ministry isn't going to do a thing."

Sirius sighed. "It looks like the old crowd will have to get back together."

"You mean the Order of-"

Dumbledore nodded. "Most of them were already contacted today while we were searching for you. We'd do well to see if we can recruit some new members too. Voldemort will surely be looking for more people to join him."

"Besides," Remus said. "The Ministry can't keep acting as if everything is normal. They can keep quiet and make sure others do the same, but sooner or later they'll have to do something and admit the truth. And since we all saw Voldemort, we have a good chance of getting people to believe the truth. The important thing now is for you to rest and get better."

He handed Harry a cup of dreamless sleep, and Harry drifted off again in a matter of seconds.

The next time Harry woke, it was to another argument. But this time the voices arguing were ones Harry was glad to hear.

"Please Madame Pomfrey. I have to see my broth-" Mila stopped herself as she realized what she was about to say, but then she continued. "My brother."

Madame Pomfrey's voice was strict but gentle.

"You'll have to stay with Minerva. Harry is resting right now, and to have a child so young around him-"

"My sister can stay if she wants," Harry said. Mila smiled at him. It was clear she was glad he had called her that.

"I can assure you Mila won't be any trouble," Remus told the healer. He didn't call her his daughter yet. Mila had never had a brother before so it wasn't hard for her to see Harry that way. But she had known what it was to have parents and Remus was sure she still loved them in spite of how they had left her. So as much as Remus thought of her as his daughter, he wasn't a hundred percent sure how she felt about that yet.

After looking thoughtfully at Mila for a moment, Madame Pomfrey's motherly feelings for Remus took over.

"All right Remus, if you'll vouch for her."

The little girl went over to where Harry was laying, soon joined by Remus and Sirius.

As soon as Madame Pomfrey would let them, Ron, Hermione, and Neville came to see him. The twins, Ginny, and Luna took their turns visiting too. Thankfully, nobody asked Harry to relive what had happened in the graveyard. There was even some good news. Hermione had figured out how Skeeter had gotten information nobody had ever talked about in front of she told them about the reporter being an illegal animagus and how she'd blackmailed her, Sirius had commented that he'd be sure to stock up on bug spray. Harry thought it was wonderful that people could still joke after what had happened. Which was where the idea that came to Harry later got it's start. Cedric had come to see Harry and tried to get him to take the winnings.

"But I didn't win anything," Harry told him. "We were going to grab the cup together anyway. Technically I was taken out of the tournament."

"So was I," Cedric said. "And I was unconscious before you were kidnapped. So actually you lasted longer than I did."

"Look, let's not start this again," Harry groaned. "Hey, I have a better idea. How do you feel about joke shops? I think we'll all be needing a few laughs."

Looking at him confused Cedric asked "Are you thinking of opening one?"

"No, but the Weasley twins are. They just need a little start up money."

At that, Cedric smiled.

"With those two running it, it's bound to be a success. Sounds like a good investment to me."

Of course, when the end of the year came neither Remus nor Sirius wanted Harry to ride the train. Voldemort had come close to killing him already that year, was back at full power and gaining followers. The last thing they wanted was for Harry to be attacked on the train.

"I don't want to be treated differently," Harry told them. "I just want to be a normal teenager."

"But we just can't leave you open to another attack," Remus told him.

"I don't think he'd attack the train. He's never come out in the open before."

Sirius shook his head. "Not taking the chance."

"But if there is a risk, what about the others? Won't they be in danger?"

"Two teachers will ride the train with them to be sure the students all get to King's Cross safely," Remus said. "You'll be coming with us right away."

In the end, Harry had no choice. While Tonks watched Mila, Remus and Sirius took Harry strait to Privet Drive.. Both would be staying to be sure there was no trouble, and they only stayed as long as they had to for the blood protection to hold. They'd go to Phoenix House as soon as possible. The protective spells that made it perfect as a school for werewolves also made it the perfect headquarters for the Order. It was time to start doing what they could to fight back.

"Remus John Lupin how could you do such a thing!"

Remus decided to play innocent.

"What do you mean, Dora?"

It wasn't doing any good. He was facing one mad metamorphmagus. Tonks had volunteered immediately to join the Order- which Remus knew meant danger.

"Why did you ask Dumbledore not to let me join the Order? You practically begged him. Do you think I couldn't handle it?"

"Of course I think you can handle it. But skill has nothing to do with it. A lot of skilled witches and wizards have been killed because of this." He started ticking them off on his fingers. "Lily and James. The McKinnons, the Bones. Whole families whipped out. The Prewett brothers taken down by five death eaters. Benjy Fenwick- all we found of him were pieces. Caradoc Dearborn we never found at all. We tell ourselves we're better prepared this time, but it would be hoping for too much to believe we'll all survive. And years from now when they talk about those killed in this war, your name isn't going to be on that list."

"And what about your name being on it? You think I'm just going to set around waiting to hear that you and the others got yourselves killed?" Her hair went red. "And you have met Moody right? The bloke with the scars, fake eye and wooden leg? He didn't get those by falling out of bed you know. You think being an Auror is a nice safe job?"

"All the more reason not to put yourself in more danger. And the others and myself have all been through this before. You don't know what you'd be getting into."

"I can handle myself as well as the others can. Why didn't you try getting Sirius to leave the Order? Or McGonagall or Snape?"

Remus groaned. "There'd be no stopping Sirius. Merlin knows he's the best friend anybody could ever have, but sometimes he doesn't know the difference between danger and fun."

"You still didn't answer my question."

Remus raised a brow as if not understanding, so she continued.

"Why did you try keeping me out of the Order when you wouldn't have done that with anyone else? We're all taking the same risks."

Remus spoke in an outburst

"Because I lo-" He stopped himself. Both were quiet for a moment.

"You won't say it, will you?" Tonks asked.

"Say what?" He pretended not to know.

She shook her head. "Never mind. You will someday." She kissed him. "In the meantime, I can wait. And don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm going to go on whatever missions I have to and see who else I can get to join. My friend Alex is already thinking of fighting with us."

Remus' face went blank even though he half shouted. "Alex!"

"Yes, a friend of mine from Auror school."

"Oh," Remus said angrily. "Well, I mean I thought- Well, it's probably better anyway it's just-" He choked. Now Tonks was really confused.

"What are you talking about?" Then she understood and laughed. "Oh, Alexandra would get a laugh out of that one."

"Alex- Alexandra?" Remus's face lit. As much as he felt Tonks deserved better, he couldn't hide his relief. He started breathing easier. "Oh. Well that's different."

"I thought it might be," Tonks said, still chuckling.