Chapter Five

Notice me not

Ginny Weasley drank her milk in silence, which was an odd occurrence in the Weasley household. Her father was at work, her mother doing the shopping, five of her six brothers no longer lived at home and the sixth was upstairs still sleeping. She gulped down the creamy liquid and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She then bit down into a grilled cheese sandwich and chewed slowly, savouring the warm, greasy taste. One week till Hogwarts, her fifth year. Ginny grimaced, she'd broken up with Dean Thomas at the end of the year and running into him was just going to be messy. She wondered how Luna was doing, the two had befriended one another in third year, the Ravenclaw was definitely interesting, even if she was off her rocker half the time. Ginny allowed her thoughts to wonder briefly back to first year, how alone she'd felt and how much she'd grown since then. She could have laughed at the reason. Being possessed by an evil teen from the fifties seemed to have taken her out of her shyness, the complete opposite effect her parents and brothers had been expecting. She supposed she should thank Riddle, she still hated him for what he made her do, but it had made her the person she was today.

"Ginny?" she turned to see her older brother, Ron, come down the stairs.

"Morning sleepy," she teased him lightly, "It's lunch time you know?"

Ron Weasley yawned and ran a hand through his fire top hair.

"Yeah," he said a little grumpily, "My date was a little late last night."

Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her brother and instead took another bite of her grilled cheese. What the boy saw in Lavender Brown, she would never know. The two had gotten together a little before the end of the term and had been on and off dating over the summer. Still, she supposed, if it kept her brother's nose out of her business, then by all means, snog the girl.

"Mum says it's your turn to weed the garden this week," she informed him and was answered with a groan, "And don't forget, Hermione's staying on Sunday, we're taking her to the station with us on Monday."

Ron froze for a moment, his cheeks burning red, he cleared his throat and gave a groan.

"Granger?" he said exasperatedly, "Honestly Gin, how did you make friends with the know-it-all?"

Ginny just smiled and shrugged, she knew about her brother's long standing crush on the muggle born girl, ever since second year when he had been the one to find her petrified. The poor boy had never looked so terrified. Although his attitude towards her improved slightly from then on, well, Ron would always be a clueless git.

So now he'd given up and was dating Lavender Brown, Ginny had been the one to see the tears in Hermione's eyes on that day, but like everything else, Hermione Granger pushed it aside and went back to her studies.

"She's not so bad," said Ginny, trying to bait her brother, "She does always help you with your essays-"

"And lectures me for not doing it afterwards," Ron grumbled.

"You have to admit Ron," said Ginny, "You wouldn't have done so well in your OWLs last year if she hadn't been there to perk you up and get you to study when you needed it."

Ron remained silent, as though considering his sister's words. He knew she was right, she knew he did and that's what he hated.

"Whatever," he said, waving it off and walking over to the cupboards to grab some brunch. Ginny sighed and returned to her grilled cheese. She wondered what this year was going to be like.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Take off the cap!"

"No!"

"Take it off!"

"No!"

"Harry!"

"Sirius!"

"Jameson!"

"Black!"

Remus sighed, week three of Harry's training, so far professors Flitwick, Sprout, McGonagall and Snape had visited the boy numerous times. Snape merely sneered every time he entered the apartment to teach the boy basic potions. Though as Lupin watched, Harry was able to create each potion perfectly, even adding his own flare at times.

"Just like chemistry," the boy had commented to the glaring face of Professor Severus Snape, "I was pretty good at that."

Snape, of course, found any errors he could to fault the boy and it was obvious by the end of each lesson that neither student nor teacher liked each other one bit. Snape though, had spared the child an almost friendly smile, it seemed that despite the dislike, Snape was clearly impressed the boy had caught on so quickly. Lupin couldn't help but smile at that, Snape didn't warm up to people easily, only sparing any favouritism for the Slytherins. Remus had no doubt that if by some twisted even the boy was sorted into Slytherin, Severus Snape would all the happier, but the fact that Harry seemed to like his Defence teacher more than anyone else, for which Lupin was flattered, made Harry as bad as a Marauder in Snape's eyes.

"Arrogant brat!" he heard Snape mutter sharply under his breath, "Reminds me of-"

But the rest was drowned out. Still, it was amazing that Harry was picking up magic so quickly, not even purebloods had that much talent. Harry Jameson, it was safe to say, was most certainly a talented boy. Even strict McGonagall had been impressed by the boy's aptitude for learning.

"The boy's a quick study," she commented, "He seems determined more than anything else though."

Remus frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

Professor McGonagall shook her head.

"He reminds me of someone though," she sighed, "It would be interesting to see him without his cap on."

Remus had to agree, even he was curious, but he respected the boy's privacy. Remus Lupin had quickly realised that Harry Jameson wore the cap for a reason, something in his past perhaps? Whatever it was, he felt the boy would not reveal his face until he trusted them, although, he had promised to remove it at Hogwarts. This confused Remus, perhaps he thought no one would be able to recognise him there?

Sirius, on the other hand, respected nothing and continuously attempted to rid the boy of his cap. These little escapades usually ended with Sirius being jinxed, hexed or immobilized.

"Alright!" demanded Sirius, entering the room covered in bats, "Whose the wise guy that taught him the bat bogey hex?"

Lupin chuckled, waving his wand to remove the spell.

"You did."

Sirius opened his mouth to reply, then chuckled sheepishly. He turned and bellowed.

"Until next time Jameson!"

Harry entered the kitchen a moment later carrying a heavy looking book under his arm, he turned and grinned at Sirius from under his cap.

"As always Black!" he said back in the same tone Sirius had used. Sirius Black chuckled, he kind of liked the boy, sort of reminded him of himself and his best friend James Potter when they were growing up. Maybe a bit more toned down and serious than he and James had been, but the same initial spirit was there. If he wasn't so much of a bookworm at the moment, he might be good to teach the fine art of pranking to. Sirius couldn't help but imagine releasing such a thing on old Minnie. He smiled at the thought, McGonagall would likely kill him.

"Professor Lupin?" said Harry, turning to the other man, "I was writing that essay you assigned me on a specific dark creature-"

"Which did you choose?" asked Sirius curiously.

"Dementors," said Harry with a slight shudder. Sirius could understand the boy's repulsion and couldn't help but think of what he'd have done if ever he were to end up in Azkaban with those things.

"Well what's the problem?" asked Remus.

"I was looking for additional information on them," continued Harry, "And I think this book is incorrect."

"About what?" asked Remus, surprised.

"It says werewolves are dark creatures," said Harry, "But that can't be right, I mean, they're mostly human…"

He trailed off, Remus and Sirius had both gone pale with shock and were looking at Harry oddly.

"Professor Lupin?" asked Harry, he frowned, thinking he'd made a mistake, "Sorry, I just thought because they had no control of their actions it was unfair to classify them as-"

"No Harry," said Lupin softly, an oddly relieved and happy look coming over his face, "You're right, it's a curse, not a choice."

"Okay," said Harry slowly, "But I mean, it's ridiculous, don't you choose whether you are dark or not? It's the same thing you told me about magic, it's neither good or evil, it depends on who uses it."

Lupin nodded a little stiffly.

"People usually think of the harm they can cause if they get out of control," he explained, "They hate werewolves because they are simply scared."

"But that's not fair!" Harry protested, "With advancements like the Wolf's Bane potion, surely-"

"It hasn't been around that long," interrupted Remus, "Only the last ten years or so, people still hold true to their old beliefs that werewolves are evil creatures, it's not fair, but unfortunately, it's life."

"That's bloody stupid," Harry said darkly, "They are just humans with a once a month problem, I mean, Black could be a werewolf and I'd never know."

Black and Lupin looked at one another for a moment before they both threw back their heads and started laughing. Harry looked at them in confusion, his hand still on the book, he reached up to fix his glasses under his cap a little nervously. He didn't think it was that funny.

"Yeah," said Black, still smiling, "You better watch who you jinx then, I might just lose control one night and come after you."

Harry smiled back, catching the joke.

"Nah," he said with a shake of his head, "You act too much like a spoilt mutt to be a wolf, and besides, someone has to keep you in line."

Remus tried not to laugh, the boy had shot Sirius down as quickly as any Ravenclaw would, or even a Lily Potter. In fact, the last time it had happened it had been Lily. Sirius put on a pout like a child which made Harry laugh too, he lifted his cap slightly to get a better look at Sirius' face. Their eyes met for the first time ever, and Sirius nearly gasped. Bottle green, he was looking into Lily Potter's eyes, magnified by round, duck tapped glasses and surrounded by James Potter's face. The oh so familiar features on the young boy struck an ice pick into Sirius' heart and his breathe caught in his throat. Then, just as quickly as it happened, it was over, and Harry was walking away to finish his essay.

"Clever boy," commented Remus softly, a fond look in his eyes.

"R-Remus," Sirius stuttered, unnerved, "I think that was Harry."

"Well of course that was Harry," Remus chuckled, "Don't tell me he hit you with another hex-"

"No," said Sirius, looking at Remus solemnly, "That was our Harry. Harry James Potter."

"Don't be silly-" Remus froze. He looked at Sirius, who raised an eyebrow. Any other time and the dog like Marauder would have smirked at his friends shocked expression, at the fact he had figured out something before the young werewolf. This was not one of those times. Remus' mind was reeling, everything that had puzzled him, seemed to fit together all at once. The Patronus Charm, he'd completely forgotten he'd thought it had resembled Prongs that night, and the strange familiarity he had around Harry seemed to make sense. He was James and Lily's son after all.

"All this time," Remus sat down heavily on a chair, "Of course! How did we not see it before?"

"Dunno," shrugged Sirius, still a little flustered, "You usually notice these thing before I do."

Remus glared at him, Sirius looked at how deflated his old friend look, how were they ever going to explain to James-

"What do we do now?" he sighed.

Remus shook his head, looking at the kitchen floor, utterly shocked.

"I-I don't know," he said.

Sirius remained silent for a moment.

"We need to tell him," he said, "Get that cap off him, make sure-"

"No!" Remus said suddenly, standing up. Sirius jumped slightly at his friend's forceful rejection of the idea.

"But-" he began in protest.

"Use your head, Black!" his old friend snapped at him, "If there is the slightest, most miniscule chance that this boy is not Harry Potter, than we could lose the trust we've began to build with him."

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius, clearly confused.

"Think!" Remus said, "What do we know about Harry Jameson?"

"Uh, he's learning to be a wizard?"

"Carry on."

"Um," Sirius shrugged, "He's got a good sense of humour, he picks up things quickly, he likes treacle tart, he's a spit of James, he never takes off his cap-"

"Exactly!" cried Remus, "And why do you think he never removes his cap?"

"Bad hat hair?"

"No!" Remus nearly slapped him, "Why would a child, who never mentions his family, never talks about himself and never lets anyone close to him, wear a cap?"

"He uh, doesn't want anyone to see his face?"

"Why?" Remus' eyes flashed dangerously.

"Because-" Sirius thought for a moment, "He-he doesn't trust us yet?"

"Bravo Sirius," said Remus sarcastically, giving him a hand, "Brilliant deduction."

"But-" Sirius frowned, "I've been trying to take that cap off for weeks and he just takes it as a joke!"

"You haven't taken it seriously though," Remus pointed out, "And you usually teach him a jinx or spell to use in defence before you try and you never really try to get the cap, just entice him to practice the spell. If we forcibly removed the cap, even if he was Harry Potter, why would he believe us? We would have breached his trust in us."

"Damn it!" Sirius cursed, finally seeing Remus' point, "Then how do we find out?"

Remus Lupin frowned, thinking heavily. How would they find out? How could they possibly now for sure when there was no way to prove it other than the fact that the boy looked scarily like James? Unless-

"The Sorting Hat!" he said suddenly, "It reads minds, memories, everything! If there's the smallest memory of his one year old self, the Hat will find it!"

Sirius watched Remus, the mad look he got when thinking of something that just might work was in his face and he was brought back momentarily to a time when the Marauders were all young, loyal and innocent. Well, innocent to an extent.

"Then what?" asked Sirius, "What do we tell James and Lily? They're trying to find this Harry Green boy, we don't know yet why Harry would even change his name."

"You would," pointed out Remus, "If you had been taken by the muggle police you'd probably change your name to throw them off. James too. You Aurors are taught to do that, Harry did the same thing."

Sirius looked at Remus for a long moment, before he puffed out his chest in pride, he remembered James had always hoped Harry would be one of two things when he grew up; the world's greatest Quidditch player or the world's greatest prankster. Auror wasn't exactly up there, but now a days, he was glad Harry had those dendancies.

"Auror instincts," Sirius said softly, "James would be proud."

"Not Lily," Remus commented dryly, "I assure you."

Sirius flinched slightly. Lily was perhaps the only voice of reason in the Potter household at times, her and Ally. The little girl may only be eleven, but she had Lily's temper and ice cold reason to match, yet was in some ways as mischievous as her father had been at the same age. Sirius briefly wondered what kind of life Harry had gone through these fifteen years, what kind of experiences he's had. Was he a hidden prankster underneath the bookworm charade? He'd already experienced a bit of the Evans wit from the boy and some of the Potter's pension for trouble seemed to be in there too. He didn't know the boy well enough though, his own godson! He wished more than anything he had been there while Harry was growing up, watched James teach him how to fly, spoilt the child behind his mother's back even shared stories of the Marauder days with him, always embarrassing James in the end of course.

"Notice me not," Remus murmured suddenly, he gave a loud laugh and repeated louder, "Notice me not! That's it!"

"What's it?" Sirius asked with confusion.

"Tell me this," Remus said excitedly, "I know you've been trying to remove the cap, but have you ever felt the compulsion to actually see his face."

"Well," Sirius thought for a moment, "The first time, yes, but not really since."

"Neither have I," said Remus, "Strange, don't you think? Two members of the Marauders, the most curious, dig their noses into other people's business group on the planet and we didn't try to really see Harry's face."

"I guess," Sirius shrugged, "Maybe we're losing our touch-"

"No," interrupted Remus with a smile, "Do you remember back in Seventh Year, when the war was reaching its peak? That little spell Flitwick taught us to deflect enemies from our presence? A weak suggestion for them not to notice us?"

"Yeah," said Sirius, looking thoughtful, "I remember, the Notice-Me-Not charm, handy little thing."

"I think Harry's been performing the charm on himself accidentally for years," Remus grinned in triumph, "Think about it, how else has he managed to avoid unwanted attention for so long, it wasn't just Lily's spell, it was him too!"

"The spell's too weak to be detected by the Ministry," Sirius continued, his eyes widening with realisation, "You don't even need a wand for it, once you know how you can do it at whim."

"If," Remus cut him off, "We are to assume that this is Harry Green as well, then the blood protection in the magic would have protected him for as long as he was working for the Dursleys."

Sirius flinched again. Petunia Dursley was not what he would call a nice woman, in fact she was the exact opposite of nice. It was hard to believe she was related in anyway to Lily, never mind the fact that they were sisters!

"And the Notice-Me-Not kept him completely shielded," Sirius concluded, sitting down and shaking his head, so they were going to have to wait and he'd have to keep his big mouth shut this whole week. A Notice-Me-Not spell, of all things! He couldn't wait to see his godson again and as his godson. He'd be alone to take Harry to the train on Monday as Remus would be dealing with his 'furry little problem,' the night before. Sirius hoped he could look at Harry again without crying.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry lay on his bed, reading a potions book, he rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses and sighed. Professor Snape would no doubt put him through his paces tomorrow and he wanted to be prepared. At the present he was reading on how to prepare a Draught of Living Death, Harry did not like the sound of it, but knew it was a highly complex potion and one Sixth Years were supposed to know.

Harry sighed, rubbing his tired eyes again, he hadn't crammed this much since his end of year exams last year, but was used to it. Probably more than people realised. He wasn't a bookworm or a know-it-all, but he refused to fail because he didn't try. Having to work most of the time when he wasn't at school, Harry had learned very early on how to memorise things as quickly as possible, the constant practice had given him a semi-photographic memory. In other words, whether he liked it or not, Harry was doomed to retain information, no matter how useless or important it was. He put down the potions book and whipped his cap off, he ran a hand through his messy black hair, fluffing it up slightly. He took the photo from the hat's rim and stared at it again. He didn't know why, but for some reason he felt like he was closer to this woman than he had ever been before. It was like the magic was a connection to her, he knew now that his mother must have been a witch, that was the only explanation for the moving photo. Harry had seen dozens since entering the wizarding world, moving pictures in newspapers and magazines. Therefore, his photo had to be magical too, which meant that one or both of his parents were magical. Harry smiled as his mother kissed his infant head and reluctantly decided to put the photo away. He left his cap off, no doubt Black was gone by now and Lupin, well Professor Lupin no doubt wouldn't think anything of it if he did see. He had his own secrets after all, Harry's eyes briefly wandered across the room where his book on dark creatures lay, he closed his eyes and shook his head. He pushed away his previous thoughts and instead tried to imagine what Hogwarts was going to be like. He smiled as he drifted off to sleep.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Hours later, after Sirius had left and it was almost time for supper, Remus went upstairs to the guest room to call Harry down for dinner. He knocked softly on the door of the spare bedroom which had turned into Harry's room. Remus didn't like the small London apartment he lived in at present and wished desperately to return to his small home in the forests, but with him going to Hogwarts this year, it was unlikely he'd be there till summer. Receiving no answer he opened the door slowly, shaking his head with a knowing smile at the sight of the books and parchment strewn around the room. He had been working hard. Remus looked over to the bed and almost cried out, there, sleeping without a care in the world was James Potter.

No, Remus reminded himself as he took in the subtle differences in the nose and mouth and the youthful appearance, Not James, Harry.

Remus closed the door again, he'd give the boy another half hour, he walked away with a smile on his weary face.

Harry Potter.

Revision 5- This one was the most important revision because I added in the Notice-Me-Not spell. A friend of mine suggested I put it in, I don't know where she got it from cause I don't remember it in the books, but anyway, I thought it fitted in a little better. Please note, some chapters will be deleted to be re-adjusted in order to be put up again. If anyone would like me to put a summary up instead of re-reading the whole thing, I'll just tell you what I've added to each chapter.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

~Southern Hearts~