DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER

"Aunty, don't go," Harry was crying as he and Susan hugged Aunt Amelia.

Amelia hugged them and said, "I have to go to work Harry, but I will come back home. Don't be afraid Harry, of course I'll come back home soon enough. And Uncle Remus will be here."

Harry hugged her and said, "Come back."

Amelia kissed his cheek and said, "I'll be back soon Harry, and then if it's not too late, I'll take you and Susan swimming. Okay?"

"Okay," Harry replied, sniffing.

Amelia hugged Harry and Susan and kissed their cheeks saying, "Be good my babies, remember to listen to what Uncle Remus says, okay?"

"Okay Aunty," Both Harry and Susan replied.

Remus who was standing behind the kids, having arrived just a few minutes ago, hugged both the kids and said, "It'll be ok, don't worry."

Amelia then stood up and waved to them before exiting through the front door and walking a good distance away from the house after a final goodbye to the kids and Remus before proceeding to apparate to the Ministry of Magic.

Harry was standing rooted to the spot just outside. Susan came and pulled him inside saying, "Come Harry."

She led him to a cupboard under the stairs and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Remus came and unlocked it, and Susan opened the door to pull out two small brooms. Handing one to Harry, she said, "One for me, one for you."

Harry who was still wondering what was going on, took one of the brooms and started to sweep. Susan took it from him and said, "No, look."

Putting the second broom down, she held the first broom horizontally and mounted it. She said, "Look," and shot forward away from the cupboard and into the dining room before slowly turning around and flying back towards Harry. She stopped in front of him and got off. Holding the second broom towards him, she said, "Now you fly."

Harry, looking quite excited, was about to take the broom, but then Remus came over and took the toy brooms saying, "Susan, Harry, if you want to fly, it has to be outside. Not here. Why don't we go to the backyard? Otherwise, you might crash easily in here and break something. Come on."

With that, he led the kids to the back door, a sliding glass door at the back of the dining room, right next to the staircase, and opened it.

They then entered the backyard.

Harry's eyes widened with amazement as he looked all around. The backyard was quite huge, surrounded by a high fence. On the right side, there were some trees, some of them close together. And in those trees, there was a large treehouse with some stairs leading up to it on one end and a ladder at the other end. The treehouse itself had two main compartments, each one in a tree, both connected by a rope bridge. There were two slides that led down to the ground from one compartment. Both compartments were each connected by a rope bridge to a ship built in a large oak tree. The ship itself had slides leading to the ground, one on each side. Hanging from a branch of a tree just in front of the one holding the treehouse with steps were a tire swing and a bench swing.

On the left side of the backyard, close to the house, in a glass enclosure, there was a big swimming pool with a circular spa pool with a stony wall and an opening to move directly between the swimming pool and the spa. On one side, it was shallow and had steps leading into it. The other side was the deep end which was about 8 feet. On one side of the part of the pool which was 4-6 feet, closer to the house, there was a closed spiraling waterslide (of course, it was not activated now). Of course, since it was in a glass house, which itself was modified with magic, one could go for a swim even during winter or even during a storm and still be protected (of course, not that anyone would want to swim during a storm). Plus, there was an enclosed passageway which led to a room behind the staircase from where you could come out and into the house, just in case.

Beyond both the swimming pool and the treehouse, there was quite a lot of open space, just large enough to fly about on brooms (best suited for toy brooms) or play football and run about.

Remus went about checking to see if there were Muggle repelling charms around. Luckily, there were. For, Amelia had cast them around in the morning in case the children wanted to use toy brooms.

After a few minutes, he told the children who were standing in front of the backdoor, "You can fly about here now."

Harry exclaimed, "I get to fly!" With that, he adjusted the broom in the same way that Susan had done it and sat on it. Remus was just about to say something when Harry leaned forward and suddenly took off, shooting forward.

Remus was amazed as he beheld Harry getting the hang of it. He remembered that Sirius had given him a toy broomstick for his first birthday. It seemed Harry had remembered a photo of himself flying on a broom, years ago, that Amelia had shown him. And it seemed that his body knew how to do it still.

Remus' cub was a no doubt a natural.

Harry laughed in delight as he turned around in circles, with Susan chasing behind him yelling, "I'm gonna get you Harry."

A few minutes later, Harry skidded to a halt in front of Remus and shouted, "I can fly! I can fly!"

Remus patted Harry saying, "You're a natural. I can't believe it, you've done great! James would be so proud of you! He was a really good flier himself."

"Thank you Uncle Remus," Harry replied.

Turning to Susan, Remus said, "You fly very well too."

Susan asked, "What about my Daddy?"

Remus replied, "Well, your Aunt Amelia knows much better about your Daddy's flying than I do, but I'm sure he'd be very proud of you."

Susan smiled and hugged Remus. He hugged her back.

Harry and Susan flew around for quite some time. At some point, Remus brought out a small football that he had gotten and used it to play catch with them. Harry and Susan managed to catch the ball a number of times on their brooms, although Harry caught the ball more than Susan.

Remus smiled as he imagined Harry becoming a chaser or a seeker later on.

Around 12:30 pm, Remus who was standing near the backdoor called out, "Harry, Susan, come on, it's time for lunch. And Hannah is on her way."

"Hannah, Hannah," Harry chanted excitedly.

That morning, Amelia had explained to Mrs. Abbott that Remus would be watching Harry and Susan for the day and that there were some things that needed to be explained. Mrs. Abbott had listened and had suggested meeting around lunchtime.

Sure enough, just as Harry and Susan reached Remus and got off their brooms, a familiar girl shot out through the backdoor, running towards Harry and Susan. Harry hugged her as soon as she reached him. Susan joined in.

Mrs. Abbott emerged into the backyard and smilingly called out, "Hello Harry and Susan. Aren't you hungry? Come on."

A few minutes later, Harry, Susan and Hannah were sitting on a picnic mat under the tree with swings, eating mashed potatoes, sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, onions, tomatoes and olives, and some freshly made corn on the cob. On another mat, Remus and Mrs. Abbott were sitting nearby.

And some distance away, a tabby cat was observing the group, purring happily.

Mrs. Abbott spoke, "Amelia told me this morning that there were some explanations regarding Harry Potter."

Remus spoke, "Yes, there's quite some explaining to do, but before we can trust you with that information, we need you to promise to see Harry as any other child."

Mrs. Abbott replied, "Of course, you have my word. I had a feeling that it was Harry Potter because of the scar on his forehead. Of course, my husband nearly fell all over him because of his title and I had to stop him. Well yes, it's true that Harry stopped You-Know-Who, but the way many people see him, that's not right. A child lost his parents. He needs love and care, not the glamour that people attribute to him."

She breathed deeply before continuing, "As a mother, I feel that way."

Remus said, "I'm glad to hear that, and I appreciate that. But will Mr. Abbott react in the same way as you?"

Mrs. Abbott replied, "I had to talk to him yesterday about titles. He won't be fawning all over Harry for sure."

Remus said, "Then perhaps I should explain why Harry is staying with Amelia. You heard that he was supposed to be living with Muggles for safety, right?"

Mrs. Abbott answered, "Yes."

Remus explained, "Well you see, his Muggle relatives, the Dursleys were quite cruel to him. Harry's aunt and uncle do not like magic, Harry's aunt being his mother's sister especially. They treated him horribly and forced him to do chores while spoiling their own son. He was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. They let their own son beat up Harry and get away with it, and even punished Harry when his cousin framed him by trampling flowers and stuff like that and then telling his mother that Harry did it. No explaining, no talk about it afterwards, no hugs or even friendly pats or something, just harshness, punishments, slaps, utter scorn, disdain. They even lied to him saying that his parents didn't want him and they died in a car crash. They saw him as a burden to them and neglected and abused him, all because his parents, his mother especially were magical."

Mrs. Abbott gasped and covered her mouth. She cried out, "How can anyone be so heartless?! Poor child! Those Muggles should be sued, put into jail for what they did!"

Remus replied, "Amelia says she's planning to sue the Dursleys soon."

Mrs. Abbott replied, "When that happens, please let me know."

Remus said, "And one more thing, please do not spread the word that Harry is here."

Mrs. Abbott replied firmly, "You have my word. I promise I won't."

After lunch, the kids took a nap under the tree while Remus and Mrs. Abbott watched them. An hour later, they woke up and played on until 4:30 pm. Hannah and Mrs. Abbott left afterwards with plenty of hugs.

Just after they left, Harry went to the front door and looked out onto the street, wondering if he'd see his Aunt Amelia coming. She was not in sight.

Remus went up to Harry and asked, "Harry is something wrong?"

Harry stared at the street and said, "Aunty. I want Aunty."

Remus said, "She'll be back soon. She said she'll come back in the evening. Maybe she's just coming a little later than we thought."

Tears were forming in Harry's eyes and he cried out, "I want my Aunt Ami. Ami…"

And with that, he burst out crying. Remus instantly hugged him, trying to comfort him saying, "Harry, your Aunt loves you, she'll come home. Come on Harry, why don't we read something together?"

But Harry continued to cry out, feeling quite abandoned, "I want my Aunty!"

Pushing Remus' hands away, Harry tried to run outside, but he tripped on the doorstep and lay sprawled on the porch. Remus helped him to sit and checked for bruises. Luckily, there weren't any, but Harry was crying even harder.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around him and a familiar voice calling out, "Oh my poor baby, I've got you, Aunt Ami's got you now. Come to Aunty." Harry looked up and found himself looking into Aunt Amelia's eyes.

Amelia, kneeling down at Harry's level, gently wiped away his tears while whispering words of comfort. Harry eventually stopped crying and buried his face in Amelia's bosom.

Just then, Susan came to the front door. Upon seeing her Aunt, she rushed over to her and hugged her tightly. Amelia, with one arm wrapped around Harry, wrapped the other one around Susan to hug her back.

Turning to Remus, Amelia asked, "Good evening Remus, did something happen?"

Remus replied, "Harry was missing you. Just after Hannah and her mother went back home, he was looking out to see if you were coming."

Amelia turned to Harry and said, "Oh my baby, did you miss me? I've got you now. Come relax in my arms my baby."

Saying so, she picked up Harry and carried him inside the house before removing her shoes and sitting on a sofa in the living room, perpendicular to the fireplace, with Harry's head resting on her left shoulder and Susan coming over to put her head in Amelia's lap. Amelia gently passed her fingers through their hair before adjusting Harry and Susan so that they were lying down on the sofa with both of their heads in her lap.

She looked at Remus who was sitting on the other sofa and said, "I wanted to come home earlier but Crouch just wouldn't let me. He gave me quite a lot of paperwork and I had to attend some meetings. And he took out his exasperation on some DMLE members including me. He's just so exasperated because of me trying to help Sirius. I wasn't able to try and start the process for guardianship at all. How did it go today?"

Remus replied, "Lovely, and you won't believe it, but Harry's a natural at flying. He and Susan played in the backyard on their toy broomsticks this morning, and he didn't need any explanations or anything. He just took off and…, he was in the air, completely fine, no fear or anything, perfectly fine when he landed. No accidents."

Amelia opened her mouth in surprise and said, "Oh wow that's so amazing! I had actually planned to explain how to fly to Harry either today after work or tomorrow, but now he probably won't need it, although he's not allowed to fly unsupervised, until he's older; same with Susan."

She kissed Harry and said, "Harry, my smart little one, I can't believe you flew so well! I'm so happy! Did you have fun?"

Harry replied, "Yes."

Amelia said, "You and Susie had quite a lot of fun, didn't you? Now, I'm back and I've got you. I have something specially planned for you. Just wait and see."

Remus then proceeded to tell her about what had happened that day. Amelia was quite happy to know about Mrs. Abbott's views on the situation.

And meanwhile, outside the living room window, the same tabby cat was watching them.

Some minutes later, around 5:15 pm, Remus left for his cottage after many hugs and kisses from the kids and a hug from Amelia.

Around 5:20, Amelia took the kids out to the backyard, thinking to spend a little time getting the evening sun with the kids before taking them for a swim.

And then Harry and Susan noticed something near the trees looking at them. It was a cat.

"Cat," Harry yelled excitedly, bounding over to pet it, with Susan following him.

The cat moved towards them and stood still when they reached it, purring and meowing as they proceeded to pet it.

Amelia moved towards them quickly, thinking that it was a stray.

Just as she neared them, the cat turned to look at her intently. Amelia was quite surprised at how it was staring at her and wondered just what was going on.

She turned to the kids and said, "Harry, Susan, get behind me."

Just as the kids scurried behind her, the cat turned into a woman with glasses, her hair tied in a bun, and a pointed hat, one that Amelia recognized as none other than Minerva McGonagall.

The kids, having seen that happening so suddenly, screamed and clung on tightly to Amelia's legs.

Susan cried out, "The cat is a woman, the cat is a woman!"

Harry cried out, "She is a cat woman."

Amelia looked sternly at Harry and Susan and said warningly, "Harry, Susan," but Minerva smiled and said, "It's alright. There's no need to be afraid. I am a woman but I can turn into a cat, so you are correct. In a way, I am a cat woman."

Turning to Minerva, Amelia asked, "Minerva McGonagall, what are you doing here?"

Minerva said, "I can explain, but first I must apologize for coming here uninvited and trespassing. And more importantly, I want to say that I'm just so happy to see Harry safe, loved and cared for and not neglected and abused."

Amelia smiled at that.

Minerva then continued, "What I have to tell you would best not be heard by the little ones. Could I speak to you, alone?"

Amelia said to the kids, "Harry, Susan, why don't you go play near the trees? I'll be watching you, and I'll join you in a minute, okay?"

"Okay," Harry and Susan replied, looking slightly disappointed that they would have to wait for their aunt to play with them. They ran to the tree with the swings and Harry got into the tire swing with Susan running behind him to push him.

Minerva and Amelia observed the kids playing with smiles on their faces before the former turned to the latter saying, "I must inform you, Albus Dumbledore knows that Harry is not in Little Whinging with the Dursleys and wants to find him."

Amelia asked, "How did he find out?"

Minerva replied, "He appointed a squib, Arabella Figg to watch over Harry. Just this morning, he heard from her that Harry was not with his relatives and had not been seen or heard of for the past few days. Severus Snape thinks that the Malfoys might have taken him, but I was sure that only someone who cares about Harry would take him, and I was right when I felt it would be you. I have been watching you the whole day, and I'm just so happy that you and Remus are taking such good care of him."

Amelia asked, "Does Dumbledore suspect me?"

Minerva replied, "Not yet."

Amelia replied, "Well, I suppose I should tell you why I brought Harry here."

And with that, she proceeded to explain how she had gone and checked up on Harry, had seen the abuse meted out to him by the Dursleys, and had finally taken Harry away to live with her.

Minerva was absolutely horrified by what she had heard. Angrily, she said, "I told him! I told Albus not to send him there! I told him they were the worst sort of Muggles, but he insisted upon leaving him there saying that they're his only family!"

Amelia asked, "Are you going to tell Dumbledore?"

Minerva declared, "Oh, I assure you, I have no intention of telling him anything! At the most, I shall just tell him that Harry is safe where he should be, loved and cared for."

Amelia nodded her head in approval.

Minerva asked, "But if he finds out somehow, he will no doubt try to send Harry back there."

Amelia declared, a little darkly but surely, "Let him come up to me and demand that himself. He'll take Harry back there over my dead body! There's no way I will let anyone take Harry away from me."

Minerva smiled and said, "I suppose you are planning to keep his whereabouts secret as much as possible."

Amelia replied, "Oh yes. If Crouch finds out, he'll probably try to take Harry from me and accuse me of holding him as a hostage."

Minerva asked, confused, "But aren't you a member of Law Enforcement?"

Amelia answered, "It's true, but I have done something which has made him quite exasperated, and Crouch is quite a ruthless man."

Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Tell me, do you truly believe that Sirius Black betrayed James and Lily?"

Minerva replied sadly, "I didn't want to believe it when I heard about it, I was so shocked. I just couldn't believe it. Sirius and James were like brothers, and Sirius was made Harry's godfather. How could he have turned on the family that loved him so much?! It's so painful to think about it. One moment he's seen fondling Harry, and later on it turns out that he was You-Know-Who's spy and betrayed the Potters!"

Amelia asked, "If you were to hear that Sirius was innocent all along, and he was framed, how would you react?"

Minerva looked at her and replied, "I don't know if I can really visualize that, but if it were to happen that way, I would be more than happy to welcome him back with open arms."

Amelia explained, "Well, because what I have to tell you will change everything. You see, Sirius is innocent. He was never a spy for Voldemort. Peter Pettigrew was the traitor. Sirius was imprisoned without even a trial, by none other than Bartemius Crouch. I was shocked when I heard about no trial or interrogation using Veritaserum. What's to say he wasn't framed? So I begged Crouch to give him a trial, but he refused. Later on in the beginning of April, he agreed to give him one, but only at the end of this year. I tried to convince him to advance it, and finally, he agreed, but he declared that he would not advance it any earlier than the end of July. When I went to inform Sirius about his upcoming trial, he was in a horrible state. He said that he 'as good as' betrayed them by suggesting that they use Peter Pettigrew as the secret keeper and that he deserves Azkaban. And most importantly, when I was about to leave, he literally begged me to check up on Harry. I'm not joking, Sirius was literally crying when he asked me to make sure that Harry's alright. If it were not for that, Harry would not be with me right now, but would be suffering from abuse by those horrible Muggles Vernon and Petunia Dursley."

Minerva was stunned by Amelia's explanation. After a few moments, she said, "If Sirius actually asked you to check up on Harry the way he did, then it must mean that he actually cares about him. There is hope for Sirius after all. I truly pray that you are right about this."

Amelia replied, "I'm glad you agree with me on this."

Minerva said, "I won't tell anyone about this, and I think if Albus is to know, it is best that you tell him rather than someone else telling him. If anyone can persuade Crouch, it's him."

Amelia said, "That's true, although I'm sure he'll try to send Harry back to the Dursleys, which is why I'm not inclined to tell him just yet. I might have to keep Harry hidden until Sirius is proven innocent. Then Sirius can get custody of Harry and move in with us."

Minerva smiled and replied, "That way, you can keep Harry safe and he will have Sirius in his life."

Amelia replied, "And if there is an upcoming wedding, you'll be invited for sure."

Minerva simply smiled.

"Aunty," Amelia heard a voice cry out. She looked down to see Harry and Susan tugging her sleeves.

Smiling at them, she said, "Susan, Harry, this is your Aunt Minerva. She knew you when you were a small baby Harry."

Harry looked at Minerva who waved to him smilingly and asked, "You knowed you when I was a baby?"

Minerva smiled and said, "Knew, not knowed, and yes, I knew you when you were a small baby. I used to turn into a cat to make you happy. You loved it every time I became a cat."

Harry asked, "Really?"

Minerva answered, "Really. Would you like me to become a cat?"

Susan and Harry both answered excitedly, "Yes please!"

Minerva turned into a cat and meowed as Harry and Susan started petting her. She ran around them in circles and played with them for a while before shifting back into a woman and giving them a big hug.

They all had their tea, hot cocoa for the kids, and Minerva left afterwards, but not before kissing the kids on their cheeks and hugging them, and in turn receiving several hugs and kisses from them.