Si... You know the deal.

His Boy

Chapter Eight: The Minister.

"Sirius… Sirius!" Remus whispered in his ear, giving him a delicate shake, but not wanting to wake the sleeping little boy next to his best mate. Sirius groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing at his eyes and glancing over at the red illuminated numbers of his clock. He glared at Remus.

"It's five in the bloody morning, Moony. What the hell?"

"Sirius, we have to hide Harry. I've just gotten a call from Dumbledore, he says the Minister is on her way and she wants to take him away with her. Something about child protection acts, but you and I both know quite well the real reason why. Remember back when she was appointed? She's in cahoots with the Malfoys, who are supporters of You-Know-Who. Dumbledore has it on good authority that they've paid her well to have her bring Harry to the them, something about having a spy from the Order inside the Ministry. Anyway, since we technically didn't go about getting him the legal way, she can claim we kidnapped him and take him away."

"Shit." Sirius climbed out of the bed and picked up the little boy in his arms, not quite sure what to do with the sleeping child. There weren't many places they could hide him here. "What are we going to do?"

"Dumbledore is trying to stall her the best he can. But knowing the Minister, she's bound to get here within minutes. Dumbledore said something about the Lovegoods, just over a couple of the hills and in a house shaped like a rook."

"They live in a house shaped like a bird?"

"No, you dolt. Like a chess rook. A castle!" Remus stated, frustrated as he picked Harry's lion up from the bed before dropping it back down. "We've got to wake him… there's no way you'll be able to apparate or Floo with him, he still has the Trace on him. They'll know. You'll have to run, and there's no way you'll get there in time unless…"

"I'm on all fours." Sirius nodded and set the boy down on the bed, giving him a prod. He stirred and sat up, letting out a grumpy whimper that stated clearly that he had not finished sleeping yet. Remus handed the little boy his glasses and he put them on. "Hey Harry, sorry to wake you, but you and I have to go see some friends now."

"Why?"

"Well, because we…" Sirius was torn. How could he give a satisfactory explaination to this one? "We need to play hide and seek. You know how to play that, right?"

Harry nodded hugging up his lion and holding it tightly. "Chu hide until the seeker finds chu."

"Right. In this case though, we don't want the seeker to find us, cause she's a mean, nasty old lady ok? So we've got to go hide at our friends house. Want to see more magic?"

"Alright." Harry nodded, too sleepy to really understand what was going on. He was much more interested in the idea of going back to bed, but Padfoot had told him they had to do this, so he'd try and stay awake.

Sirius grabbed his wand and shifted, his body moving until he was all four legs and covered in shaggy black fur, a massive dog. Harry's eyes were wide as saucers, definitely awake now. He reached out a tentative hand, placing it on his godfather's head and giving it a scratch. The dog's tail wagged and he lifted his head to lick Harry's cheek. The little boy giggled and then looked up at Remus.

"Padfoot's a doggy, Moony!"

"Yes, he is!" Remus said happily, lifting the little boy up from the bed and placing him onto the dog's back. Padfoot shifted his shoulders, making sure Harry was on securely. Remus quickly tied a string about Padfoot's neck, creating a makeshift collar. "You hold onto this Harry and don't let go. I've got to stay here, but Padfoot is going to take you to the Lovegoods, ok?"

"Ok, Moony." Harry said, looking quite excited at the idea of riding a dog. He looked quite like an adult on top of a horse, Padfoot was so big. "Wait!"

"What is it Harry?" Remus asked kindly.

"Can I takes a picha' wid me?"

"Sure. Hurry though."

Harry slid off of Padfoot's back and ran to his bedroom. He grabbed his picture of his mommy laughing (it was the smallest and would fit in his pocket) and then slipped it into the front pocket of his pajama shirt. He buttoned the pocket closed, not wanting to lose it. He climbed off of the bed and onto Padfoot's back "Ok."

Harry leaned forward, grabbing hold of the string with both of his hands as Sirius moved, bounding carefully down the stairs and around the corner to the door Harry knew led into the kitchen. He pressed through it and then reared back as they reached the screen door that would take them into the back garden. He pushed the handle down with his paws and the door flew open. It was then that he began to run.

Harry hunched over on Sirius's back, the wind whipping through his hair as the dog ran as fast as he could, barreling through the large, wonderful back garden and onwards over the stretching of the wide grassy hills. Harry was starting to feel quite sick. Sirius was moving too fast, and it was all so bumpy. "Slow down, Padfoot!" But the dog didn't seem to hear him, he just kept his pace right on up, knowing that if he slowed down in the least, the more likely it was that they would be caught.

…

Remus straightened Harry's bedroom, getting rid of any and all signs that any little boy had been there. He'd fixed the covers on the bed, closed the music box, and put the book they'd been reading the night before away. He also hurried to the hamper in the bathroom, where he had put Harry's dirty clothes from yesterday, folded them, and then placed them in the bottommost drawer in the little boy's dresser. He had just removed the picture Harry had drawn before dinner the night before off of the refrigerator when the doorbell rang. He quickly folded the drawing and shoved it under the sink.

Moving slowly to make it appear as though he had only just gotten up, Remus walked to answer the door. He tugged it open with a yawn and smiled pleasantly. Standing upon the doorstep was a concerned looking Dumbledore and a little witch with her graying hair pulled back into a messy bun. She wore robes of the deepest green and an expression that made her look like she had been force fed a lemon. "Ah, good morning, Minister, good morning professor, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

The little witch stepped over the threshold as Lupin beckoned her and Dumbledore into the house. He closed the door behind them and then gestured towards the living room. "Do come have a seat, can I get you coffee, tea?

"No no, that will not be necessary." The little witch waved him off as she moved into the living room.

"It has come to my knowledge, Mr. Black has illegally removed a child from the home of his only living relatives. As law states, children shall not be taken from their home by anyone except for a Ministry official of the Department for the Protection of Magical Children, after which the department will place them in a suitable foster care facility or the home of another family member or legal guardian." The Minister stated almost as soon as she had sat down.

"And as I have told you, Millicent…" Dumbledore stated calmly. "You have misheard. The letter I sent you clearly stated that Sirius has requested to take legal custody of Harry as was written in the Potters' will. We simply visited the residence of Harry's relatives, found it to not be a safe environment for him, and called upon a Ministry official to retrieve the boy. She has all of the paperwork."

"You're hiding the boy here somewhere, aren't you Mr. Lupin?" Millicent ignored Dumbledore, keeping her eyes focused on Lupin. "He's probably hiding somewhere with Mr. Black as we speak. Where are they?"

"Sirius is out for his morning stroll, and Harry isn't here."

"At five thirty in the morning?"

"He likes the sunrise after his wrongful time in Azkaban."

"And if the child is not here, then why has Mr. Black bought a new house?" The Minister inquired curiously, looking around. She rose from the couch and started through into the hallway where she proceeded up the stairs. "Why must he have a new house when, from what the records show, already own a number twelve, Grimmauld Place in London?"

"Sirius desires a good place for Harry to grow up, that is all. As Harry's legal guardian, stated by James and Lily's will, it is only proper that he'll be given custody of Harry after the papers are cleared." Remus stated simply, catching Dumbledore's eye once they reached the first landing and the little witch began throwing doors open, peering into rooms. She was obviously looking for a place where a grown man and little boy could hide.

…..

Harry had turned quite green by the time he and Sirius reached the large black column that was the Lovegood's house. Sirius sat down, Harry sliding down off of his back and feeling quite relieved to do so. That had been one of the bumpiest, fastest things the little boy had ever done, and he hadn't liked it too much. If Sirius had only gone slower.

The dog morphed back into a man and scooped up his godson, holding him tightly in his arms and rubbing his back as he knocked on the door, breathing heavily. The door opened and a woman in a dressing gown answered. She was quite beautiful, with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She had a little girl on her hip, a tiny little clone of herself. She beckoned Sirius in, gazing around her wild and out of control garden anxiously. "Inside, hurry."

The woman closed the door behind them and Sirius collapsed into one of the wooden kitchen chairs, leaning back. First he was woken up early, and now he'd just run about three miles at a sprint, his body having not even fully recovered from Azkaban yet. He murmured a thanks as the woman placed a glass of water in front of him and chugged it, not letting go of Harry as he did so. Once he'd caught his breath, he looked up at the woman who was watching him concernedly. "I cannot thank you enough."

"It's not a problem. Dumbledore called me early this morning and explained everything. I'm Tricia Lovegood, from the Department for the Protection of Magical Children. I've been working on the papers you need all morning. I don't approve of the way you went about getting Harry, but I do admire how much you must care about him to risk being thrown back in Azkaban for kidnapping." Tricia sat down at the table, snuggling the little blonde girl close. The child was quite the pretty little thing, a little younger than Harry. "You're very lucky, that unlike in the Muggle world, it is the department that deals with these things on its own most the time and we rarely ever need to hold a trial unless the other party involved wishes to keep the child within their custody."

"They locked him in a cupboard under the stairs. They're not going to be trying to get him back." Sirius explained simply, hugging Harry just a little tighter. Harry's stomach had calmed down from the wild ride and he was now clinging to Sirius, his head buried against his shoulder, hiding from the new stranger.

"So, there was definitely abuse?" Tricia asked kindly, kissing her daughter and bending to place her on the floor. The little girl gave a happy laugh and scampered over to where some paper and finger paints were sitting on the floor. She sat down, dipped her entire hand into the blue jar and began going at it.

Sirius shifted Harry slightly and lifted the little boy's pajama pants down a bit, revealing the bruises made from Vernon Dursley's belt. "You tell me." Tricia gasped, her eyes widening. "I took him to St. Mungo's yesterday for a check-up. He's malnourished as well."

"I'll get the Healer's report added to my papers later then. We'll take legal action against the people responsible as well. They'll not get away with treating a child so poorly. I'll get the papers finished up, do the obligatory background check, and have to take a look at your home as well to make sure it is a safe environment for a child to be in. And since it's a high priority, I should be able to get it all done today and have the papers cleared by five. Then you'll be able to take Harry home and not even the Minister will be able to remove him from your care. Here… just sign the bottom of this and I'll fill out the rest. It's the request form for custody." Sirius took up the quill and quickly signed the bottom of the page. Tricia took it back. "You should probably get back. It'll look suspicious if you're not there. Get about quarter of a mile away from the house and then apparate. That way they won't be able to associate your apparation with Harry's Trace. I'll keep an eye on him, and if anyone asks, I've been doing so for the past two days."

"Alright." Sirius nodded and slid Harry down off of his lap, placing him on the floor. He kissed the little boy's head and placed his hands on his shoulders. "Ok, Prongslet, here's the deal. You're going to stay with Mrs. Lovegood for the day ok? She's a very very nice lady and I wouldn't be leaving you here with her otherwise, understood? And if anybody asks, you've been here since you left the Dursleys."

"Ok Padfoot." Harry nodded, flinging his arms about his godfather's neck and breaking down in tears. He didn't want him to leave. What if he never came back?

"I will see you later then, Harry. I promise, nobody is going to take you away from me. You're mine forever and ever because I love you." Harry sniffled, feeling a little bit better as Sirius let go of him and he nodded.

"Ok."

"Be good." Sirius ruffled his hair and gave him another kiss, not liking the idea of leaving him when he'd barely been away from him in the past forty eight hours. He wanted to stay with his little boy, but he knew he had other things to do if he even wanted to keep the kid. "I'll see you soon."

As soon as Sirius had left, Tricia crouched down in front of Harry with a very kind smile and spoke in a soft voice so as not to frighten him further. "Hi Harry. I'm Tricia and you're going to have lots of fun today. Would you like to go paint with my Luna while I make breakfast?" Harry glanced over at the little blonde girl. She seemed to be having a lot of fun with the paints. He nodded. "Well, go on and paint then. I'll let you know when it's time to eat." Harry nodded again and rubbed at his eyes, trying to be brave. He missed his Padfoot already, but he would be good and do as the lady said. She didn't seem so bad, but you could never tell with grown-ups.

…...

"I'll ask you one more time, Mr. Lupin, where are they hiding?" Millicent seemed to be getting angrier and angrier as she tore open door after door on the first landing. She went into Harry's playroom and even tipped over the toy chest in her search for the little boy.

"I've told you already, they're not here. Sirius is talking a stroll and Harry is with a foster care family. We haven't even seen him in the past couple of days." Remus explained exasperatedly.

"I believe, Millicent, you'll find that if you cast a revealing charm, that there is no one in the house aside from us." The Minister turned red at this and gave a wave of her wand, having clearly forgotten there was a spell for this.

"Homenum Revealio!" The little witch looked confused for a moment, gazing around.

"Harry is in the capable hands of the Ministry's very own Tricia Lovegood, and Sirius Black is simply taking a stroll." Dumbledore confirmed and then gestured out the front upstairs window. "Here he comes now."

Sirius was coming up the front walk of the stone cottage, whistling pleasantly and breathing in the sunshine. He wanted to look as impossibly innocent as possible, something he had gotten quite good at during his days at Hogwarts when accused of pranks. McGonagall had seen right through him, but then, this Minister was no McGonagall. She would be easy to fool, he hoped. He hopped up the front steps and in the door, entering the downstairs hallway just as Remus, Dumbledore, and Millicent were coming down the stairs.

"Ah, good morning, Minister!" Sirius beamed at her, bowing. "To what do we owe this honor?"

"Black." The Minister glared at him, and if looks could kill, well… Sirius would be lying dead on the floor. He just kept smiling at her though. "What makes you think you could possibly have what it takes to raise a child, especially one was unique as Harry Potter?"

"I'm sure we'll do just fine, given the chance, Minister. Harry is family after all."

"We?"

"Remus and I. It is our duty, as Harry's parents' very best friends, to make sure that Harry is well looked after. Lily, of all people, would not have named me godfather if she did not think I was capable of taking care of the most precious thing in the world to her. And you should know how picky a woman can be about her most precious of possessions, Minister."

"So you, a previously convicted felon…"

"A wrongly accused man." Remus stepped in.

"And a werewolf, A WEREWOLF, plan on raising one of the wizarding world's most famous people?"

"Yes. We do." Sirius stated proudly. "But to us, he'll always be just Harry Potter, our best mate's son."

"This is an absolute outrage. I will not stand for it. Harry Potter shall not be coming to live here, if I have any say whatsoever over the matter, which, I can assure you, as Minister of Magic, I do!"

"Actually, Millicent, I believe you'll find that, though you may be the Minister of Magic, so long as the Head of the Department for the Protection of Magical Children deems them capable of taking care of Harry, you cannot, legally, do anything. Contracts are binding things, and the Department for the Protection of Magical Children has done everything possible to avoid any and all loopholes within their contracts. As Harry's legal guardian appointed by his parents, Sirius has every right to have custody of the boy."

"And what would you know about the Department for the Protection of Magical Children's contracts, Dumbledore? Last I checked, you ran a school, which is not part of the Ministry." Millicent stated angrily, puffing up like a bird.

"Well, it can't possibly be the fact that I run a school, as you have just said. A school where a thousand magical children attend and where myself and my staff are responsible for them twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, for nine months out of the year minus holidays for which some of our students do not return home. No, the Department for the Protection of Magical Children couldn't have anything to do with something like that, now could they, Millicent? " Dumbledore stated quite calmly and rationally, his face very serious indeed. Sirius began to cough to try and cover up his laughter while Remus snorted and feigned getting a hanky from his pocket.

"Well I… You say he is at the Lovegood's?"

"Yes, Minister. I'm sure Tricia would be perfectly pleased to see you. Why don't you go pay her a visit and see for yourself how Harry is doing?"

I just might, Dumbledore. Good day to you."

"Good day Minister."

"Mr. Black. Mr. Lupin." Millicent nodded cordially.

"Minister." Remus stated, nodding back at her while Sirius continued to hack, unable to help himself. He was still reeling from what Dumbledore had said. The door closed behind the little witch and Sirius fell to the floor, bursting out with mirth, tears rolling down his cheeks. Remus fell to sit on the stairs, bending over with laughter and Dumbledore chuckled.

"Well, now that that is taken care of." The old Headmaster said after quite some time. "Why don't we go out back and see that shed of your's, Sirius? Perhaps we can make it properly werewolf proof. We should probably also set some repealing spells around the perimeter of the house, just to be safe. You and Remus will have nothing to worry about come full moon."

"Thank you, Dumbledore." Remus stated seriously, rising from his place. The last thing he wanted to do was to harm Harry on accident.

…

Harry liked Luna. She was quite fun and imaginative; playing with her was just as good as reading books on the train with Hermione. Mrs. Lovegood had served them both some pancakes and then sent them upstairs so she could get more of the paperwork done without them underfoot. Both children were covered in paint, running around Luna's pretty bedroom in a game of what Luna called 'Nab the Nargle'. Harry wasn't quite sure what a nargle was, or how to nab one, but he did know he was having a good time running around Luna's bedroom with a pillowcase held above his head.

"Gets it, Hawwy! Gets it!" Luna laughed, jumping up and down on her bed with her own pillowcase held high. "Ova dere! Ova dere!" Harry had found out earlier that Luna had proudly just turned three the month before and he had very happily stated that he was a whole four years old. He didn't mind that she was younger than him though. He figured maybe he could teach her a few things while he was here, like how to jump super duper high or do a somersault. He was quite good at somersaults, his preschool teachers had taught him how to do them.

"I'mma get it!" Harry laughed, jumping into the air where Luna was pointing. The little girl jumped off her bed with a loud thud and ran to him.

"Dids you gets it?" She asked curiously, pulling at Harry's pillowcase and peeking inside. "Aww… no nawgles. We twy 'gain. Oh! Dere Hawwy!" She laughed and pointed above her bed. They both ran to climb up on it and began jumping for the nargle. Harry didn't see anything, but he guessed Luna did because she kept pointing and telling him it was there.

Tricia smiled as she listened to the noises coming from up above in her little girl's bedroom. It was nice to know that her Luna was having fun someone her own age for a change. Her husband was up on the second floor in their living room, writing an article for that magazine of his that he claimed would be taking off any time now. She had total faith that it would. He was a brilliant writer and he had some wonderful ideas that needed to be shared with the world, such as that of the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Brilliant creatures those were, though she'd never seen one.

Looking up as a knock came upon the door, Tricia sighed, knowing full well who it probably was. Luckily, she had completed all of the forms Sirius would need to get custody of Harry. She had already sent an owl for the background check and she'd go over to check out the house that afternoon. She could work from home easily enough, especially when she needed to take in a child in need. Quickly, she slipped the forms back into Harry's file and shove in the middle of a stack of other files she had on the table. She opened the top on and placed it in front of her seat, making it look as though that had been the one she was working on. She tugged the door open and forced a smile. "Why good morning, Minister. What brings you around these parts?"

"I have come to inquire about a specific case, Lovegood. There are… nasty rumors going about and I just wanted to make sure everything was in proper accordance with the law."

"Of course, Minister. Come right in, I'm just finishing up a little paperwork here. Have a seat, can I get you anything to drink?"

"No no, I can only stay a few minutes." The little witch sat down in one of the little wooden kitchen chairs, eyeing the place with disdain. Were those… handprints and crayon on the lower cupboards?

Spotting her eyeing Luna's handiwork, Tricia felt a little defensive. She took her seat again and motioned towards the cupboards. "My daughter enjoys sprucing our home up with little bits of art. Now, what was the case you had a question about?"

"Potter, H. J. Case number 252."

"Ah yes." Tricia nodded and dug into the pile of files, searching for the correct one. She pulled it on and set it down upon the table in front of herself, opening it. "Now, your question, Minister?"

"There are some rumors going about that Sirius Black kidnapped the boy from his relatives' house in Little Whinging."

"Oh, I wonder who could have started that one. Whomever it was was greatly misinformed. I extracted Harry Potter from the house myself. I received a call from Mr. Black stating that he had reason to believe the child was being treated poorly and I'm glad he did. Kept in a cupboard under the stairs, bruises all over his rear end, obviously underfed. It's quite lucky that the child is still alive." Tricia stated, her voice full of disgust at how those awful Muggles had treated the boy.

"And you have all of the proper papers on this?"

"Of course." Tricia handed her the paper she'd filled out on the 'extraction' of Harry and the request Sirius had signed asking for full legal custody. "As you can see, everything is in order. I'm just waiting for… oh! That must be it." She stood up the allow the owl that had just tapped on the window into the little kitchen. She untied the letter from its leg and tore it open, reading it over. "Oh, this is excellent. It seems Mr. Black's back ground check has gone through and he hasn't a single flaw worth mentioning. This is fantastic. I'll just give him a call to let him know and then pop down to his home to do a check and make sure it's safe for Harry…"

"It's not. There's going to be a werewolf living there. He could harm the boy." Millicent grasped desperately, seeming to be trying to find a single reason why Black could not have custody of Harry Potter. She knew of course, that the house would pass inspection.

"You mean Remus Lupin, right? I have a background check on him here as well. Let's see… oh my! Straight O's in all of his exams during school, a Prefect… Currently unemployed, but as he will not be considered the main caregiver, this isn't an issue… So long as they take the necessary precautions at full moon, I'm sure they'll be just fine." Tricia smiled pleasantly, setting the papers down upon the file.

"Black is unemployed! He just got out of Azkaban, so he hasn't got a job."

"It says here that he's an ex-Auror, so I'm sure he could have his job back in no time at all. Besides, look at these figures for his vaults at Gringotts. He'd be a wonderful applicant for any child. Is there anything else I can help you with today, Minister?"

"I would like to see the child for myself. He's here, isn't he? It says on the extraction paper that he was automatically placed in your care as a foster parent."

"Yes. He's just upstairs, can't you hear them? But I'm afraid he doesn't take well to strangers…" Tricia pointed to ceiling where the sounds of laughter and tiny footsteps could be heard. They got louder, echoing on the spiraling staircase now and Luna flew into the room, closely followed by Harry who was holding a pillow case very tightly as though worried to let go of it.

"Mummy! Mummy! Hawwy catchded a nawgle! Hawwy catchded its!" Luna shouted with pure glee, apperantly not the least bit concerned about the guest in the kitchen. "Shows Mummy, Hawwy. Shows Mummy the nawgle!" The little girl laughed, jumping up in down in a circle around the table, her whole being full of innocent delight.

Harry stepped forward nervously, biting his lower lip and holding the bag out to the kind lady who had fed him breakfast. He knew she had to be alright, Padfoot had said she was, hadn't he? He sure hoped so… he couldn't remember.

Tricia took the pillowcase and peeked inside. She laughed. "Oh my word, so you have. A job well done, Harry. Why don't we go set it free outside? That way it can fly but not make our brains woozy."

Harry nodded, eying the new strange woman at the table nervously. He reached out a hand and clutched tightly to Luna's dress, hiding behind the little girl. He didn't like this new lady, she was creepy looking with crazy sharp pointed teeth as she smiled down at them.

"Why, hello there, Harry. It's very nice to meet you." Her voice was sickly sweet, almost like the medicine Aunt Petunia used to force down his throat whenever he had a cough so that her precious Diddykins wouldn't catch it. Harry retreated further, hiding behind Tricia's chair and dragging Luna with him. He didn't know why, but he felt some instinctive urge not to let that lady anywhere near his new friend. She was bad. No matter how nice she pretended to be… he could see it in her cold, dark eyes. "Can I ask you a couple of questions sweetheart?"

Harry shook his head. Normally he wouldn't have said no to any adult, but he really, really was frightened by this woman. He didn't know why, maybe it had something to do with her eyes or her teeth, but he knew he was not about to say a single thing to her unless forced. Her smiled faded into a frown and Harry tugged Luna closer, wrapping his little arms around her from behind and keeping her with him behind Tricia.

"Is he always this shy?"

"I told you, he's not good around strangers. It's a trust issue. Why don't you leave the question asking to me, Minister?"

"Fine then. I want to know about the other night, when you retrieved him."

Tricia left her chair and Harry pulled Luna closer, stepping back against the wall as the little girl looked up at him in confusion, smiling like this was a silly new game to be playing. The blonde woman crouched down. "Harry, sweetheart, do you remember when I came to get you from your relatives' house?"

Harry was confused. He hadn't met Mrs. Lovegood until today. It had been his Padfoot who had taken him away from the Dursleys. His brow furrowed and he nodded, hoping this was the correct answer. Something was going on, but he didn't know what it was. All he knew was that Mrs. Lovegood was…. She was lying to the other woman. He gulped and whispered. "Padfoot?"

"Yes, with Padfoot. Good, you do remember."

"Padfoot? What is a Padfoot?"

"It's what he calls Mr. Black, some old family nickname. Anyway, Harry, do you remember why I came to get you?" Harry nodded, he knew the answer to that one, and his face lit up.

"My Padfoot wants me. When's he coming?" Harry asked curiously, wanting to know when Padfoot would be back to get him. Now that the other lady was blocked from view by Mrs. Lovegood, he felt a little bit safer.

"As soon as I finish up a few more things, hunny." Tricia turned to look up at the Minister. "He keeps asking after him. It's a very good sign that he almost remembers who he is. He'll make an excellent caregiver. He even came to St. Mungo's yesterday, to your check up, remember?"

"Mhm!" Harry nodded delightedly, remembering the nice lady who had given him the sticker and the little bag full of teeth cleaning things. He had liked his check up.

"I think that's probably enough questions for today. It's all in the official report if you want to go over it. Minister."

"Ask him about his family."

"No. Now is not the time to be reminding him of that. He needs happy things."

"My Padfoot gived me dis." Harry stated every so proudly, digging into his pocket and pulling out the photo of his mummy. He hugged it and then held it up for Tricia to see. "She's my booooootiful Mummy."

"Oh, she is very beautiful Harry. I remember, Padfoot gave you that at the hospital yesterday when we met up with him." This was not the truth, but Harry nodded anyway. Mrs. Lovegood kept lying, but he figured, if she was lying, she must have a pretty good reason. She was a very nice lady and he liked her fairly well, if only because she was Luna's mummy.

"Well, I can see that my time here is wasted." The Minister stated quite unpleasantly. "Have a good day, Lovegood."

"Good day, Minister." Tricia smiled at her. "Can you guys says bye to the Minister?"

"Bye bye ugly lady!" Luna stated happily, waving one slightly pudgy hand after the woman. She glared down at her and Luna just kept on smiling, not the least bit shaken. Harry was pleased to see the Minister go. He didn't like her one bit, no did not.

"Why don't we go release that nargle now, huh?" Tricia stated simply, picking up the pillowcase from where she had set it down. The two children nodded and followed her out into the front garden, Luna dancing and singing about setting nargles free and Harry watching curiously. He wanted to know if he could actually see what he bad caught.

Yay another one! I hope you enjoyed it! I loved writing this chapter. Lemme know what you thought!

Love always,

S.Q.O.