A/N: I've had to split this chapter up since it reached 40 pages and counting. I think I left off at the appropriate spot. I hope the build up to the next chapter is well worth it or you guys.

A week later had Remus coming into Lily and James' room. He had come in so suddenly and closed the door behind him, leaning hard against it as though he were averting disaster. James had last seen the expression on his face when Dumbledore nearly caught them planning their next full moon escapade.

"Dumbledore is here," Remus informed them. "He's helping Sirius put his affairs in order."

"Is he dying?" James asked in slight alarm.

"No, but has been thinking about his impending death lately, again. You've noticed his melancholy moods of late," Remus answered.

"He has been acting down," Lily agreed.

"Well, we all know that Sirius is not the same Padfoot we once knew and loved. Azkaban has changed him quite a bit," Remus stated as he took a seat.

Neither James nor Lily said anything to that. Not when they, themselves, haven't felt the same since their death. Not when they were struggling to come to terms with their death and their new lives. They felt disconnected to everything and even towards their friends. Even when they sat together, they never joked or talked about the past. They've asked questions about Harry, but even then, they hadn't yet found a way to connect to anything Remus or Sirius told them. They had yet to even look through the scrapbook that Sirius gave them. But for their friend's sake, they plastered on a brave face and pretended to be happy to be alive again.

"MOONY!" Sirius shouted followed by Mrs. Black's screams and Sirius screaming at her to shut up, again.

Remus groaned as he stood up. "I think this house is beginning to addle his brains more than Azkaban could have," he grumbled as he left to find out what his insane friend wanted.

When he did not return fifteen minutes later, James stood up and pressed his ear to the door. Unable to hear anything, he cracked the door open. The house, it seemed, was silent. "I think the coast is clear," he stated, opening the door even wider. Together, he and Lily made their way down the stairs, stopping at the second landing to see Sirius shooting hexes at his mother's portrait, burning holes in it.

"I'll burn you down if you don't SHUT UP!" Sirius bellowed in responses to his mother's shrieks, a man look in his eye.

At the same time that Lily and James continued to make their way down the stairs, Remus entered the hall, saying, "As you can see, Sirius is about to go insane unless we find a way to remove his mother's portrait." Remus froze when he spotted Lily and James. "Bad, bad timing," he moaned because, standing behind him was Albus Dumbledore.

The expression on Dumbledore's face was unreadable as he stared hard at Lily and James.

Even Sirius stopped his assault on his mother's portrait and wore a guilty expression. Remus, however, was frozen in panic.

Finally, Dumbledore spoke. "A word in the kitchen, now," he said in a level tone.

"We're in for it now," Sirius sing songed just as he used to do when they were kids and were called into the headmaster's office after an out of control prank.

"This is all your fault!" Remus snapped at Sirius as always.

"Interesting," Lily said quietly.

"What?" James asked.

"Just an observation," Lily answered vaguely.

Once inside the kitchen, Dumbledore rounded on Remus and Sirius. "What the two of you did must be the most idiotic and reckless thing either one of you have ever done," he began. "Remus, I expected more of you and Sirius, I don't even know what to expect anymore. You have no idea what you both have caused by raising the dead, you have played with the very forces of nature and cannot even begin to comprehend the consequences of such an action," he ranted.

"I did it for Harry!" Sirius snapped, and Dumbledore rounded on him. "You know what he has been through! You sat there and listened to him as he rehashed the horror of being forced to witness Voldemort's return, of what he had been put through! You know what he has to face!" he shouted.

"And you truly believe that this was the best course of action?" Dumbledore questioned harshly.

"Yes I do," Sirius declared, staring his old headmaster in the eye, back straight. "Harry needs his parents. He should not have to face this war alone."

"And you think that is just cause to manipulate life and death?" Dumbledore demanded.

"Fate owes him," Sirius stated adamantly.

"I've always known you were reckless, Sirius, you have proven so time and time again. But I used to think that you were a very bright wizard, until now. Have you ever stopped to consider what happens next? Have you considered the price that now must be paid for your actions? How much of an adjustment this would mean for Lily and James who have been dead for fourteen years! Or how this may affect Harry?" Dumbledore lectured.

"I would rather say that Harry would be ecstatic to have his parents back, it's what he's dreamed of," Sirius stated.

"Harry has spent most of his life knowing that his parents were dead, Sirius. Imagine the pain he would suffer if he were to get to know them, love them, only to lose them again," Dumbledore pointed out.

At this point, Sirius did falter. "That won't happen," he denied.

"But it could happen. You have no idea what lies ahead of us at this point," Dumbledore insisted.

Remus decided to join in at this point. "We've been helping Lily and James adjust for the past three weeks and I think it is going well, considering the circumstances..."

This however turned out to be the wrong thing to say. Dumbledore seemed to explode. "Three weeks! When were you two planning on sharing this? Do you realize that you have just made Harry vulnerable to an attack for the past three weeks by not telling me the very minute it happened?" he yelled, advancing on them.

"But Harry has the protection placed upon him through Lily's sacrifice," Sirius protested.

"Which became invalid the minute you rose her from the dead. That protection only existed while she was no longer with us. You will have to go collect him immediately, Remus, before anything happens," Dumbledore told them. "And you are to wait at Number four privet drive for Alastor Moody before leaving."

Remus didn't say anything, he felt shamed and instead turned to walk out of the kitchen to do as he was asked. On his way out, he clamped Sirius on the shoulder for support as he was sure that his friend would bear the brunt of the lecture alone. He spotted Lily and James sitting in the parlor and paused, offering them a smile. "I'm off to collect Harry, is there anything you need while I'm out?" he offered.

"No, there's nothing," Lily told him.

Remus nodded and left.

Harry paced in the small confines of his room at Number Four Privet Drive. He had been confined to the Dursley's for several weeks without a word from anyone. With the pressing threat of Voldemort being out there, Harry had begun to feel anxious, expecting to be attacked at any given moment. He kept his wand on him at all times and slept clutching it firmly in his hand, jerking awake at the slightest noise and brandishing his wand, ready to defend himself.

He had written to everyone he trusted, asking for some kind of information about what was happening with Voldemort, but was met by silence. Breaking down, he wrote to Sirius, confident that Sirius would tell him what he needed to hear, but only became frustrated by Sirius' vague response and promptly balled up his letter and tossed it.

But the most eventful thing to have happen on Privet Drive occurred the morning after the new moon(after learning that Remus, one of his dad's best friends, was a werewolf, Harry had kept track of the full moon) three weeks ago. As his Aunt Petunia saw his Uncle Vernon off to work in the morning, Uncle Vernon just collapsed on his way to the car. Aunt Petunia was beside herself, screaming for help. But there would be no help, Vernon Dursley was dead before she could have reached him.

Harry had seen the entire thing from his bedroom window. He knew without a doubt that something magical had been involved. He could feel the crackling in the air as though something huge had just happened to shift the natural balance. Harry only knew that magic could cause such a shift and he could only guess that it had to do with Voldemort. But it had to have been something other than the killing curse, he knew what that looked like and what had happened to Vernon Dursley was not Voldemort's MO. So what magical force could have killed Vernon Dursley? What could Voldemort be doing that could cause the death of someone close, if not emotionally, to Harry to suddenly drop dead without having to be near him?

After that day, however, life at Privet Drive became all too strange without the looming presence of Uncle Vernon. It wasn't that Harry missed him, he held no feelings toward his uncle whatsoever. A part of him thought that this was what people like his uncle got when they thought of their own needs and treated others like garbage, but the bigger part of him had not wanted him to die. However Harry may or may not have felt, he never wished for Vernon to die. But a very small voice in the back of his mind told him that Vernon's death was somehow connected to him.

Ever since that day, Harry minded himself, preferring to keep to his room. The coroner's declared Vernon's death as a result of poor diet and lack of fitness, that his heart just gave out. But Harry knew the truth and he was not about to voice it to his aunt or to Dudley.

Today was the day of the funeral and Harry had elected to stay back. Aunt Petunia pursed her lips when he told her he would not go to the funeral. She was about to make a retort when Aunt Marge made it for her.

"You ungrateful little worm! After all Vernon has done for you and you dare to refuse to pay him any respect," she spluttered.

Harry was done being polite and he refused to take anymore of her abuse. "What has Vernon ever done for me? I think it's more like what he has done to me, locking me away in a cupboard for ten years? Slamming his fist into me if I asked a question? Or how about keeping me chained up behind a locked door and a bared window? You're lucky that I don't go running to the police detailing all the abuse you lot have thrown at me," he said, staring her down coldly.

Marge spluttered as her face turned purple in rage. "You dare, you little ingrate!" she raged.

"You don't scare me. I've faced more horrors than you can even begin to comprehend. You can't intimidate me, Marge. If anything, you should be careful not to threaten me," Harry warned her.

"Are you threatening me?" Marge demanded dangerously.

"Yeah, I am," Harry confirmed, fingering the pocket knife that Sirius gave him in his pocket. He couldn't use his wand to defend himself out of school, but he would defend himself if he had to.

"I'll teach you a lesson in manners, boy!" Marge raged as she lunged toward him, moving to grab his throat but Harry was quicker.

Pulling out his pocketknife, he held it at her throat. "You will keep your hands off of me," he told her firmly.

Surprisingly enough, Marge Dursley did just that and stepped away, her eyes trained on the pocketknife in his hand.

The Dursleys left for the funeral rather quickly after that incident and Harry took the time he had alone to raid the refrigerator when he noticed the lock on the back door turning. Would death eaters attack him during the day? He wondered and tightly gripped his wand as he moved to face the door. He relaxed when the door opened and a familiar figure appeared.

"Professor Lupin?" Harry questioned.

"I'm not your professor anymore, Harry, you can call me by my given name or if you prefer my nickname," Remus told him.

"Right, sorry," Harry said as he put his wand away. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" he asked.

"I'm here to escort you to somewhere safe," Remus told him.

"Does Dumbledore know about this?" Harry asked.

"Of course, he told me to come right away," Remus answered.

"Why? What happened?" Harry demanded.

'It's...really complicated," Remus sighed.

"Try me," Harry prompted.

Remus sighed, evaluating him. "Is there somewhere we can sit? This is something you will need to sit down for."

"Yeah, sure," Harry said and motioned to the kitchen table. Before they took a seat he felt as though he should offer something. "Er...do you want...?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you," Remus said as they sat down.

"Does this have anything to do with Voldemort?" Harry asked immediately.

"No, thankfully. Voldemort has been quite. Actually this concerns you, Harry. I think that before we leave, I will have to prepare you," Remus told him.

"Prepare me for what exactly?" Harry asked as he took a biscuit from Dudley's biscuit jar.

"I'm not sure that you would want to be eating for this conversation," Remus hesitated.

Harry shrugged. "It's fine, I'm actually forbidden from eating these," he stated nonchalantly as he chewed on the biscuit in his hand.

"They forbid you to eat?" Remus questioned.

"Not exactly. I'm not allowed to have anything but the scraps," Harry told him coolly.

Remus stared at him intently. "What else goes on here?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. "Nothing of any real interest," he dismissed. "Actually, if you had come any sooner, you might have seen it where I had to pull this on uncle Vernon's sister," he said, showing Remus the pocketknife. "Sirius gave it to me for Christmas," he explained.

Remus eyed him. "And why, Harry, did you feel the need to do so?" he asked.

"It was either that or let her strangle me," Harry told him.

Remus gawked at him in alarm. "Why haven't you ever mentioned any of this?" he demanded.

"You never asked," Harry told him simply.

"Harry," Remus said, trying not to sound as though he were scalding him. "What your aunt and uncle have been doing is not okay. They shouldn't have been allowed to treat you this way and you should have said something to someone," he stated.

"Would people really have listened?" Harry stated flatly. "Anytime I tried to correct someone by telling them that they don't care, they just brushed it aside. And to be honest, it's been loads better since I started going to Hogwarts," he argued.

"That is not the point, Harry," Remus stated tiredly. Taking a deep breath, he looked around. "Where are your aunt and uncle, I want to have a word with them," he asked.

"They left for the funeral not that long ago," Harry informed him.

"What funeral?" Remus asked.

"Right, you don't know. Uncle Vernon died three weeks ago. He just dropped dead as he was leaving for work. The muggles say it was health related but I know that there was something magical behind it," Harry informed him.

"You think he was killed by a death eater?" Remus asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, there wasn't a spell, not even the killing curse," he answered.

"Are you sure?" Remus pressed.

"Positive. I saw it from my bedroom window. I would know if someone used a spell on him," Harry confirmed.

"Yes, I'm sure you would," Remus agreed.

"You were going to tell me something?" Harry prompted, changing the subject.

Remus marvelled at Harry's ability to jump away from the subject at hand.

"You're not upset over your uncle's passing?" Remus asked.

"Not really. I mean, I didn't want him to die or anything, but I'm not all that upset over the fact that he died. It's not like we were close or anything," Harry answered. "Now tell me why you came here to get me so we can leave before they come back. I want to leave a nice mess for Aunt Petunia to clean up."

"Sirius has too much influence over you," Remus said, shaking his head. "Alright. What I am about to tell you will come as a bit of a shock," he began.

"Whatever it is, I can handle it," Harry told him.

"Oh I don't doubt what you can handle it," Remus stalled. He took a deep breath as he collected his thoughts. "Sirius did something three weeks ago that he might not have..."

"He didn't get caught, did he?" Harry asked worriedly.

"No, nothing like that," Remus assured him.

"Then what is it?" Harry pressed.

There really was no beating around the bush here. "Earlier last month, he found a spellbook among his mother's possessions that detailed certain spells and magic. Very powerful stuff, very dangerous stuff. Most of which, no sane wizard would even dare to use," he explained.

"Okay, so what did he do with it?" Harry asked.

"I see you've quickly assessed the situation," Remus noted.

Harry shrugged "It's Sirius," he stated as though that explained it, which oddly, it did. "And you're stalling," he sussed out.

Remus sighed. "Alright, he did use it. And he was thinking of you at the time..."

"Go on.." Harry prompted when Remus paused.

"Harry," Remus said, "Sirius used this book to raise your parents back from the grave," he said, decided to use the band aid effect.

Harry sat there and stared at him, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. "Have you been drinking?" he finally said.

"What?" Remus asked, not expecting that response.

"It's either that or you've gone completely mental," Harry argued.

"Harry, I know this is a lot to take in..." Remus started.

"No, actually its not, really," Harry said and stood up. "Dumbledore said that no spell existed that could do that," he said.

"He told you that for good reason. Harry these spells are dangerous and they can go wrong, very very wrong," Remus told him.

"So, what you're telling me is that my parents, who have been dead for fourteen years, are suddenly alive, but there is something wrong with them?" Harry demanded, beginning to get rather angry.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. Sirius and I have been with them every minute for the past three weeks and they seem perfectly fine, considering the circumstances. And they want to see you," Remus said, adding the last part to hopefully calm Harry down.

"Three weeks? They've been alive for three weeks and no one has told me?" Harry demanded hotly.

"We wanted to make sure that they were alright before you saw them," Remus explained.

"So what happens now, then?" Harry demanded evenly.

Remus sighed. "As a consequence of Sirius's actions, the protection that Lily gave you when she died is no longer in effect. As a result, you're no longer safe while you remain here. Which is why I'm here, so that I can escort you to someplace safe and explain to you about what has happened," he told him.

Harry nodded. "I need to pack," he said.

"Do you need any help?" Remus offered.

Harry shook his head. "No, I can manage," he said as he made his way upstairs, leaving Remus alone.

Remus watched him go and then stood up. After hearing about Harry's treatment while in this house, he decided to do a little inspecting in order to get a full idea of what was really going on. It took him no time to find the cupboard that once served as Harry's bedroom. He made his way upstairs to find Harry closing his trunk and stuffing some things into his knapsack. The door was open so he walked in. He instantly took note of the bars on the window and the cat flap on the door followed by how the door locked from the outside with chains and deadbolts. Remus was outraged by what he had discovered today and would waste no time in sharing it with those closest to himself and Harry. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"How are we getting to, wherever we're going?" Harry asked.

"Mrs. Figg will drive us," Remus answered him.

Harry gave him a sharp look. "Why would she drive us?" he asked.

"Because she is an ally," Remus told him. "She's a squib," he explained to the puzzled expression on Harry's face.

"That explains the cats, I think," Harry stated.

Remus nodded and checked his watch. "Mad-Eye should be here at any minute to escort us. So let's go downstairs and wait. Are you sure that you have everything?" Remus answered.

"I don't own anything that can't fit in my trunk or rucksack," Harry said.

Remus nodded. "You grab Hedwig and your rucksack, I'll handle your trunk," he said.