AN: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 5: To the South of France
Harry used the cane to help him limp along behind Sirius. The Auror Wing was quiet, and no one manned the desk or watched the marble fireplace. It felt eerily calm. "I really don't like this," he heard his godfather whisper as they moved down the hall.
No one was at the first guard station before the stairwell either. Something terrible must have happened downstairs to pull all the Orderlies away from their security checkpoints. It wasn't until Sirius stepped onto the second-floor landing that they saw their first person. The mediwitch had several bottles in her hand as she tried to open the door.
"Let me," Sirius said as he stepped over to open the door for her. Harry could see he kept his wand low and ready.
"Thank you," the brunette healer said as she rushed through the door. "They need more Wiggenweld Potions. That smoke is terrible," she muttered without looking over her shoulder. Harry wasn't sure she even looked at Sirius the entire time.
"It might be a little longer than I expected."
Harry had a sudden thought. "Sirius, I don't know where the Leaky Cauldron is from here," he whispered as they moved down another flight of stairs.
His godfather stopped and frowned. "I… hadn't considered that. I'll draw you a map while you're waiting."
Harry shook his head, not that Sirius could see him. They moved to the first floor and onto the side passage he remembered using when he'd arrived. Ahead on the left was the Spare Brooms closet. However, another ten paces was a group of mediwitches and wizards huddled together, talking. Sirius whispered, "let me talk with them. If you can, get in the closet; if not, wait here until you can. Good luck."
With that, he strode out of the stairway door. Harry knew Sirius would flash them his best smile as he swaggered up to the group. Luckily, it seemed one of the mediwitches recognized him.
Harry very carefully followed, keeping to the wall without touching the portraits. "Mr. Black, you should probably head back upstairs," one of the mediwizards said.
"Can I be of assistance? My godson is asleep right now. Master Healer Pomfrey and Healer Light finished prepping him."
"You know, we're all excited to hear about Healer Light's new method of regrowing limbs. Ingenious, using a portion of the patient's body in the regrowth process," one of the witches smiled. "If it works, then we'll need to rethink how we approach the entire process."
It sparked a debate between the mediwitches and wizards. Harry frowned. Hadn't something terrible happened? Why were these healers so calm and content to discuss his healing? Whatever the reason, Sirius was able to distract the group long enough for Harry to sneak up to the Broom Closet. The door was ajar, but opening it further would alert the others.
"I am Sirius, but can I be of any help though?" Sirius smiled as he waved his hand. The Spare Broom closet door opened, almost hitting Harry in the face. "I'll grab a broom… or whatever?"
Something in the way that Sirius' voice trailed off told Harry he hadn't got the response he was looking for. Peeking around the door, he spotted dark expressions on the group of healer's faces. "We appreciate your willingness to help… but… what was done is over. We'll have Aurors hovering over us for sure now," a deep voice complained.
Harry slipped into the Broom Closet and found it much larger than he'd expected. It also didn't just have magical or mundane brooms in it. Lined on the shelves were linen for the beds, cauldrons and chamber pots, neatly stacked piles of the same clothes Madam Pomfrey had given Harry, and white cloaks. As Harry slipped into a corner of the room, where he could see the door, he spied an open barrel with neatly stacked bandages. A few minutes later, the door closed, and his only light source was cut off.
Harry wasn't sure how long Sirius would take, so he tried to make himself comfortable and rest his leg. As he sat in the dark, he tried not to think of all the ways Madam Pomfrey would yell at him. He technically hadn't accepted her apprenticeship, but, at the same time, he had taken the knowledge that she'd given freely. It wasn't fair to her or Healer Light. On the other hand, if he waited in St. Mungo, it would give Voldemort more chances to get him or cause more damage. Someone or someones had died. The Mad Potioneer, as the Daily Prophet called them, was becoming bolder. There had to be a reason.
Every once in a while, he'd hear things rustle in the darkness. At first, he thought it was rats, but after carefully considering what he was hearing, he realized it was the healers Conjuring the items within the storeroom. The door opened after what felt like forever, and a lit wand illuminated the room. Harry froze. It wasn't Sirius.
A mediwizard with long dark hair and piercing dark eyes looked around the room. The wizard frowned. "Empty," he called out behind him. The door closed, and Harry tried to blink away the spots in his eyes.
He wondered if they were trying to find him or something else was happening. An indefinite amount of time passed. Harry tried to occupy his time by going over the muscle structure of his arms, legs, and torso in his mind. It wasn't easy to imagine all the muscle groups, but by looking at his body, he more or less thought he got them right.
When the door opened again, Harry looked up excitedly. He was getting hungry and had no idea how long it had been. Sirius stood in the doorway. "Map is on the shelf, hurry," he said before walking off.
It took Harry a lot longer to stand than he wanted. His legs were cramped, and his right arm spasmed with pain. He'd done an excellent job of ignoring it before, but his body seemed to protest when he started moving. Limping and using the cane for support, Harry got to the shelf, grabbed the paper, and quickly moved away from the door, just in case someone came to close the open door. It took him a moment to adjust to the bright lights of the hallway.
A few mediwitches and wizards roamed the corridor, talking in low voices. Five Orderlies manned the desk at the end of the corridor, each looking grim. They kept looking up the hall toward the lobby. Harry waited for another set of healers to pass before moving onto the main corridor. He got about halfway, just past the Orderlies, when he heard someone say, "did you hear that?"
Harry's initial instinct was to freeze, but he forced himself to lift his cane and walk gingerly toward the lobby door. It was closed.
"I'll check it out," a familiar gruff voice said as footsteps behind Harry grew louder.
Looking back, the witch he'd seen when they arrived strode toward him, her wand drawn. He got out of her way. She waved it once. The lobby door opened. Just as she was about to step in, a figure appeared in the doorway. Tall and wearing deep purple robes, Kingsley Shacklebolt nodded to the Orderly. "Healer," he rumbled.
"Orderly," she shot back.
"Apologizes. I meant no offense."
The witch grumbled something Harry couldn't hear. "I suppose you've come to take over protecting our home then?" she spat.
"No, I've come to offer my assistance. I know my fellow Aurors and I are not welcome at the moment. Which, I suppose I understand, but we need to catch whoever is doing this."
That seemed to mollify the prickly witch's attitude. "Just you then?" she asked, trying to look around Kingsley.
"No, Proudfoot and Tonks are with me. Madam Bones requested that we meet with your senior staff and come up with something that might benefit us both. You want us gone, and we want the killer."
Harry's curiosity burned in his chest, but just then, he wanted to get past Kingsley and into the lobby.
"Alright, I'll take you to Master Healer Vesta Strout," the Orderly grumbled.
Thankfully, Kingsley left the door open for Harry. He took a deep breath and slipped past them as they returned to the security desk. Someone said something behind him, but he slipped into the lobby. The door closed on his heels.
Not much had changed in the last few days except the gaping hole where one of the marble fireplaces had been. It felt like a colony of ants had walked down his back as he shivered. He didn't need to know the whole story to understand what might have happened. Seven Orderlies and two familiar Aurors stood guard over the reception area. The Greeter Witch's desk was now well back from the fireplaces, and a glass wall separated her area from the general patient area. Even then, they had low, dark walls with glass barriers protecting the rows of chairs from anything coming from the fireplaces or the front door.
Harry bit his lip and tried to figure out the optimal way through the maze of barriers. He had a feeling the clear glass was heavily enchanted. If the Aurors were involved, they might even have enchantments to detect invisible intruders. A green flame lit up in the farthest fireplace, and everyone went on alert at the same time. Harry took a deep breath and strode past the first set of barriers near the Greeter Witch's desk.
A witch and her son appeared in the fireplace and stepped forward, only to be met by an Orderly, pointing his wand at them. "State your business," he demanded roughly. "Hands where I can see them, no wands."
The witch's eyes went wide as she pulled her son behind her. "I… I…" she managed to get out.
"Tina, dear," the Greeter Witch called. "Oliver, that's Tina Fawley. She's scheduled for a check-up."
"Right, sorry," the Orderly said as he stepped back.
Harry let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. From the sounds around him, he wasn't the only one. "Blimey," Tonks muttered as he passed three feet from her.
His objective was the double doors at the far end of the hall. Luckily, once he passed the last barrier, there was a wide open space between him and the door, and no one was standing guard.
"Mum, I want to go over there," a young girl said as she rushed out from behind the barrier.
Harry froze as the girl dashed out in front of him and tripped on the edge of his Cloak. He grabbed the material with his right hand, but his fist didn't close all the way.
"Oh, dear," the mother said as she got up to collect her crying child.
Harry felt all the eyes around the room on them. If the Cloak revealed him, the Aurors and Orderlies might not stop to ask questions. His heart stopped as the mother stood on the edge of his Cloak as well, reaching down to pick her crying child up. They went back to their seat without an issue.
With shaking hands, Harry continued toward the door and freedom. At that point, he just wanted to escape St. Mungo alive. Another green flame lit up one of the fireplaces; he knew it was the distraction he needed. He tried to time it correctly. Just as a figure appeared in the fireplace, he opened the door and rushed out into Muggle London.
It was dark, far darker than he'd expected. Two figures stood on the opposite side of the street, just outside the street lamps. Harry only saw them because they moved when he stepped away from the entrance to Purge and Dowse, Ltd. Still invisible, Harry moved up the street to find a suitable place to read Sirius' map.
Luckily, the Leaky Cauldron wasn't far. He took off as fast as his leg would take him. Reaching the famous magical pub at his best speed took fifteen minutes. His right arm started to hurt abominably, so he had to stop to take another Wiggenweld Potion. Thankfully, the potion also helped his left leg, so he didn't need the cane to complete the trip.
Not bothering to wait for someone to open the door to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry slipped inside by opening it by the narrowest of margins. Oddly, that seemed worse than if he'd just thrown the door open.
"Looks like a Vampire tried to get in, Tom," a voice called from near the bar.
Harry noticed how crowded the pub was as he skirted the edges of the tightly packed tables and chairs. He sucked in a deep breath. Getting through the pub might be more challenging than the reception area of St. Mungo.
"Nonsense," the innkeeper called with a laugh. "They are welcome, just as any are," he continued as he waved his hand. The door clicked shut behind Harry. "Whoever you are, you're welcome to come and go. Or stay and have a Fire Whiskey on me," he called.
Harry had a feeling Tom knew someone was standing in the doorway. Moving off, he made his way as carefully as possible through the tables toward the stairs in the back. Sirius wrote on the note that Lupin had a room under Sirius' name on the second floor. It was the same room Harry used when he stayed in before going to Hogwarts. It felt like a lifetime ago.
Remus opened the door on the second knock. "Harry?" he whispered.
"Yeah."
"Come in, come in," Lupin grinned as he opened the door wider. Harry slipped in and started to pull off his Invisibility Cloak. "No, keep it on. Just for now. When Sirius can get away, we'll go into Knockturn Alley around three in the morning."
"What time is it now? I feel like it should be around eleven."
"Fairly close, ten-thirty. What happened that kept you?" Lupin asked as he locked the door behind him and waved his wand.
Harry told Remus everything that had happened that day. "I know the Orderlies don't want the Aurors there," he said when he finished.
"Not surprising. There haven't been a lot of new potential Aurors since Tonks graduated from Alastor's mentorship. Even then, there weren't a lot of students who graduated with the correct marks. Potions was always the class that held them back. I remember an article talking about it recently. Well, St. Mungo took all those highly skilled witches and wizards that would have become Aurors. St. Mungo, Gringotts, and a few mercenary groups have had a nice run of talent for a while."
"Is… that by design?" Harry asked, knowing the type of wizard Snape was.
"I can't speculate one way or another," Lupin answered slowly. "Dumbledore trusts him, but… Severus' teaching methods have robbed the Ministry of many talented witches and wizards who could have been Aurors."
"This was in the Daily Prophet?" Harry snorted.
"No, the Quibbler. Xenophilus ran a few articles his daughter wrote. Luna is a bright young witch. I miss her enlightening comments in class," Remus sighed. "She… didn't have the best time while I was there, but Flitwick said he couldn't play favorites."
"Isn't bullying just bullying?" Harry grumbled.
"Yes, it is. Which is why I spoke to him."
Harry just nodded, then realized Lupin couldn't see him. "Thank you."
"I've been on both ends of that spectrum. I think it's part of growing up. Children, magical or not, are mean because they don't yet understand why acting a certain way is wrong. After a while… it becomes acceptable if authority figures don't address the issue."
Harry mulled over what his ex-professor said. "I suppose… I can see that," he said slowly. He didn't know for sure if that was right. It sounded correct, but he still wasn't sure. "What's the plan from here?" he asked as a way to move off the topic.
"I've been laying a false trail and will continue to do so after you and Sirius have left the country. We're using the fact that the Daily Prophet released the information about Sirius buying up property in the South of France. Using Sirius' Galleons, I also bought up some property that we'll rotate between. Staying in one place is bad if you're on the run… and Harry, we will be on the run."
He nodded, understanding what his friend and mentor were telling him. Voldemort wouldn't stop hunting him if he simply left the country. "Yeah, I figured as much. This is probably going to be my life going forward."
"We're going to teach you every trick in the book and then some that aren't in any books on how to stay ahead of pursuit. You already have a wand up on most with your Cloak. Invisibility Cloaks are hard to come by. Coupled with what we know, your natural gift in magic, and preparation, Sirius and I are confident you'll quickly adapt and thrive. He told me that you're considered an adult, but there are still many things we need to be wary of."
"I'm only considered an adult in Britain," Harry nodded.
"That's one thing, yes. In France, we must be careful about where you use magic. That doesn't mean you can't use it; we'll just need to plan when and where you can use it. At least until you get back to Hogwarts."
Harry ignored Lupin's last sentence. "Are we going to go under a Fidelius Charm?"
"No, not if we're going to move around as much as we are. Sirius, Dumbledore, and myself have a fallback plan. Well… it was Dumbledore's main plan, but Sirius somehow talked me into this. I can hear your snort, you know. But Dumbledore is still the best protection for you. Above and beyond what Sirius or I could offer. Voldemort will be too focused on trying to take over the Ministry for a while or I wouldn't agree on this plan."
Harry hoped things would work out that way, but he knew better. Voldemort wouldn't leave him alone. He would learn everything Sirius and Lupin had to offer and embrace it. "Do you happen to have anything to eat? I'm starved," he said into the silence.
"As a matter of fact, I do." It was chocolate, and Harry loved every bite.
-X-X-X-X-
Sirius swept into the room hours later. Lupin and Harry talked about the healing Madam Pomfrey was teaching him. It was well past three in the morning, and Harry was fighting against sleep. "How did it go?" Remus asked immediately.
"Madam Pomfrey was livid but finally understood why it needed to be done," Sirius grumbled.
"How did Healer Light take it?" Harry asked, now wide awake.
"She… wasn't happy either and was less understanding than Madam Pomfrey was. She had a lot riding on the process of healing your arm," he sighed as he rested against the wall. "She did give me a list of things that you're going to have to do to ensure your hand won't become crippled. In fact, go ahead and start opening and closing your fist. For the first… I think she said week, you'll need to do that as much as possible."
Harry grunted and looked at his right hand. He tried to close his fist. His hand didn't listen to him. He looked up to see Sirius frowning. "Maybe…" he muttered.
"We won't be able to get out of there again," Harry said quickly. "Hopefully, whatever happened won't keep happening with me gone. Actually, what did happen?"
Sirius was quiet for a time. Lupin frowned as he looked between them. "There were actually three attacks, two of which were at the same time. The last… was about an hour after you entered the Broom Closet." Harry blinked. "Yeah, we dodged a Bludger today. I think it's because someone wanted to prevent you from getting your arm back. The first two attacks were in the lobby. Someone sent another crazed wizard through the Floo. That wasn't the problem. He was quickly apprehended. At the same time, an unknown person entered from the street and threw a potion into the fireplace. Whatever it was reacted badly with the Floo Network's green fire. Two Orderlies died from severe burns. Five more were injured severely, and another two had light burns from the green fire."
Lupin sucked in a breath. "The last attack?" he asked softly.
Sirius breathed out. "They came out of the fireplace on the Auror Wing. Three hooded individuals put down the two Orderlies at the security desk without much of a fight. We only know what happened because a mediwitch was changing the bedding in the unit opposite where Harry was supposed to be. They didn't see her. When the three discovered the room empty, they retreated the way they came."
Harry felt a chill down his spine. "Death Eaters?"
"That's my bet, but no one wants to admit that, even after the World Cup," Sirius grumbled. "Harry, you're also to document everything. That's more from me than it was from Madam Pomfrey. I feel bad about possibly robbing Healer Light of getting her Master Healer Certification… but… your safety will always come first."
Harry nodded. It was a good idea. He looked at Lupin. "Could I get some parchment to send them both letters? Not only to thank them, but to explain why," he said.
"We'll get it to them by owl," Sirius said quickly. "I know you're both probably tired, I know I am, but we must make full use of this opportunity. Madam Pomfrey said she'd pass it around that Harry had already been moved to another room to await being healed, somewhere closer to the Potion Room, in case something went wrong. While Healer Light made no such promise, I think she won't try to screw you over. So, the faster we move, the better."
Lupin nodded and rose. He grumbled something and rubbed his back. Harry also got to his feet, his exhaustion hitting him harder than before. He noticed the pain in his arm was returning stronger than before. Trying to clench his fist, he realized why that might be. "How long do you think it'll take to get to the next part of the plan? Whatever that plan is."
Sirius nodded and drew up the hood of his cloak. "We're going through Knockturn Alley. I already have a Porkey set up. Remus will take one, and we'll take the other. It'll help throw off anyone who finds out who we used. One will take Remus to Scottland, where he'll Apparate to catch up with us in a few days. We're headed south to Poole. There, we'll take a Muggle Ferry to France, but get off just before the crossing."
Harry nodded and made sure his Cloak was firmly around him.
Knockturn Alley lived up to its name of being devoted to the Dark Arts. The twisting, dark, dank alleys had dim white or green lanterns to provide the barest light to see by. Harry stumbled more than once over something unseen in the dark. He wasn't the only one. Sirius cursed and shot a red spell at something near the flagstones of the street. In the brief, bright illumination, Harry thought he saw a brownish tentacle of some kind retreat into one of the dark alleys.
"Just a past Noggin and Bonce," his godfather grumbled.
"Two behind," Remus whispered.
Sirius and Lupin turned as one and fired red spells into the darkness behind them. Having been caught unawares by the sudden movement, Harry fell to the ground. A sharp pain in his right arm made his eyes water, but he didn't cry out. "Sorry," Sirius grumbled. "Let me know when you're on your feet. I know I knocked you down."
Harry got up and breathed, "I'm good," but he felt anything but good.
Moribund was the name of the shop that Sirius wanted. A dim orange glow inside indicated the store was open, even at nearly five in the morning. Once inside, Sirius dropped his hood. "Moribund," he called out.
Harry looked around, noting the random rubbish on the shelves. He immediately knew what he was looking at. Objects most commonly used by the Wizarding World for Portkeys. Moribund was an Illegal Portkey maker, or, at least, he could get around whatever regulations were typically required.
"Ahh… Mr. Black… late," a voice called from the dark near the back of the shop.
"I paid for extra time in case there were complications. There were. Portkeys."
"But you didn't write ahead of time like you said you would."
"You want an owl coming here? I'll remember that for next time," Sirius laughed; it didn't sound pleasant.
"No need to be that way, Mr. Black. Ah, the werewolf you're known to be in company with. A marriage already? Eloping, are we?"
Harry thought the shopkeeper was intentionally trying to goad either Sirius or Remus. "My friend is taking the first Portkey," was all his godfather answered. "Shall I hold off the rest of the payment?"
"No, no, you're, of course, welcome to use my wares." Harry saw a slender, gaunt man appear out of the darkness, a wand clutched in his bony fingers. With long, scraggly dark hair matted on one side, the proprietor wouldn't be winning any beauty contests this side of the grave.
After the initial unpleasantness, everything else worked out well. Lupin vanished with a pop, holding a pink basket. When it was Sirius' turn, he blocked Harry's hand from view with his body. The jerking sensation behind Harry's naval was familiar as he and Sirius rocketed into the sky. They landed on a slight rise in the middle of an open field in minutes. He could see the outline of houses to his right and the smell of salt water to his left.
"We're about where we need to be," Sirius said quietly. "Keep hidden. I'm going to move toward the road we scouted out. The Poole Ferry Terminal is ahead of us… about a ten-minute walk or so. We're early, which I planned for. So we'll be on the first ferry."
"No problem," Harry yawned as he picked up the edges of the Cloak and ran to catch up.
"While we're on the ferry, you can get some rest. Since you've had the most practice with Underwater Magic, I'm going to leave getting to shore in your hands."
"Uh… okay," he muttered. "I'm guessing once we get to shore that we'll… what Apparate wherever we're going?"
"No, the first rule of staying out of sight is to use as little magic as possible. All magic leaves traces, as you know very well. I need you to appear in France through the Trace. From there, you'll only use magic in certain places that Remus has mapped out. That way, if someone tracks you, they'll hit those spots first."
Harry mulled things over. "So I need to plan for any time that I use magic that someone will track me?"
"Let me make this very clear. There are more ways to find someone with magic than there are ways to hide from it. I'm going to teach you everything I know, but… you need to understand this now… at some point, we will be discovered. We just need to be found in a location of our choosing. Suppose it's the French Ministry, then great. If it's Voldemort, then we'll have an escape plan."
Sirius stopped and turned around. Harry almost walked into him. "As soon as you're of age, and the Trace is gone, then… and only then, can you do anything more than be on the defensive side of things. The Trace is going to be a problem for you. Which is why this," he said as he waved his hand around, "is temporary. Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Illvermory, wherever you go, will be better than staying on the run. There, you'll have a support system. I need you to understand that now... before we leave Britain... until you're of age, this is our only option. We can turn around right now and go to Dumbledore's safe house, which he has set up. I almost want to do that… but I know you need this, too. You need to feel in control of your life, as much control as we can allow."
Harry thought things through before speaking. "You think this is a bad idea." It wasn't a question.
Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We won't have the Order of the Phoenix to help if something goes wrong. It'll be you, me, and Remus, that's it. In a… not hostile, but certainly not friendly country. That both works in our favor and against us. The French Ministry will not take it well if Death Eaters roam their countryside. I'm anticipating that. Also, as I said, Voldemort needs to secure his power here. I very much doubt if he'll even come to France if he somehow finds us."
Harry mulled things over. "What is your plan… come September?" he asked slowly.
"There's no easy way to say this… I don't even like saying it… but Dumbledore will protect you. Madam Maxime will do her best… and the Magical Congress in America will certainly not tolerate any attempt to kidnap or kill you by any dark wizard. They're rather… zealous about the Dark Arts in general. Much more so than the British Ministry. Dumbledore is probably the best person to protect you as well. I know you're going to hate me for saying it, and I might agree with you in your position, but Hogwarts is the best place for you until you come of age. It's that simple."
Harry grunted, not liking what he was hearing. "Can I… just… I don't know… not go? Stay with you and Lupin? Learn from you two. It's what, two years before I'm of age and the Trace is gone."
"You have no idea how much I want to do just that. The problem… is I know our enemy. I know what lengths he will go to eventually. If… if Voldemort hadn't returned, then yes… yes, I'd do exactly what you suggested. I want to anyway, but I'm not risking it. I'm not risking failing my best friend again; I'm not chancing anything with your life. You deserve more than living on the run. You can't learn to protect yourself if you can't practice the magic required to save your life one day."
Harry really didn't want to hear Sirius' cold logic. "Fine," he sighed. "We'll see what the other two schools say. Maybe Madam Maxime will take me," he muttered.
Sirius nodded and turned back around. "I'm selfish too," he said into the quiet night. "I want you safe and to do well."
Getting onto the ferry a few hours later was laughably easy. Sirius didn't even have to do much, just Confundus a guard and slip onto the wide barge. Harry remained invisible until they found a compartment on the middle deck. Sleep came quickly, even through the tingling pain in his arm. When Sirius woke him hours later, his godfather looked dead on his feet.
"Alright, we're going over the side of the boat near the back. I will create a small distraction, and you go first."
Harry nodded and prepared. He'd tucked away his Indivisibility Cloak and noticed that he and Sirius stuck out a little, but not much. A few people were wearing heavy rain jackets, and if someone didn't look too closely, they might mistake the cloaks they wore for dark jackets of some kind. Hitting the water was cold and shocking, but Harry kept his wand in hand. Someone heard the splash, so he ducked his head underwater and moved away from the boat. Sirius appeared in the dark, cold water a few seconds later.
Getting to shore was easy; however, getting past the morning fisherman in their trawlers wasn't. Harry had to take Sirius farther up the coast than anticipated before finding a secluded spot. It didn't help that there was a small beach with people on it.
"Alright, I have no idea where we are," Harry said as the spell to dry off their clothes warmed him up. His right arm hurt more after being in the cold water for so long.
"We're catching a bus. If I'm right, we're in Place de Collignon… or something close to that," Sirius muttered.
It took another two hours before Sirius could get them a bus headed toward Le Mans.
-X-X-X-X-
A little over eighteen hours later, with three stops to eat and bus changes, Harry stepped off his fifth bus since entering France. Le Puy was the kind of place that Sirius wanted. A small enough city that they could hide in but big enough that they wouldn't stand out too much. The rustic house he'd purchased was southeast of the town, at the end of an older lane. They took a taxi out there, and Sirius paid with francs. While his godfather's French wasn't great, not that Harry could say he was any better, the driver didn't seem to mind.
Harry was used to old-style mortar and stone homes, but the small compound he stood before differed in many ways. First, the red ceramic tiles stood out in stark contrast to what he'd seen in Britain. The area felt very rural, despite not being thirty minutes from Le Puy's heart. Throughout the trip, Harry goggled at the new sights and slight differences between what he expected to see and how the French Muggles lived.
He ran a hand over the walls' flaky white mortar and stone. The texture felt weird to his slightly more responsive right hand. He could make a partially closed fist without too much effort. The architecture was also very different than what he was used to seeing, but not in a bad way. Everything was very boxy, and very little to no wood was used outside the doors and window frames.
"We'll use this place for a few days, then move to another house up the hill. We've got seven places around the city," Sirius said as he stretched.
"What are we going to do for food?" Harry asked as they moved down the narrow lane to the main house. There were four buildings within the compound, each built exactly the same except for the sizes.
"Ah, that's why Remus is coming with us. He or I will stay with you while the other goes far enough away not to trigger the Trace on you. Then, we'll nip over wherever we need to go and return just as fast."
Harry nodded, thinking things over. "How far will you need to walk?"
"That's the rub… we don't exactly know, and Moody wouldn't tell us. We will play it safe and walk to the other house before Apparating away. The houses we have set up aren't close, but they aren't far either. About a five-minute walk."
Harry had a sudden suspicion. "Did you Confundus a bunch of Muggles to sell you their homes?"
"No, they were really for sale. I've been planning something like this for a while, with Remus' help. Only two of the seven places are dumps, and even then, I'll get them fixed up with magic long before we rotate into them."
"I thought you said," Harry started to say but quieted when Sirius opened the door to his temporary home.
"That magic is traceable, it is. However, it's a risk worth taking," Sirius grinned.
The inside was much larger than what the outside of the building should have been. A full kitchen and sitting room took up much of the first floor. Harry could see a bathroom near the stairs and what might have been a bedroom beyond that. "It looks brilliant."
"I can't wait to have you start on everything Remus and I have ready. You're going to wish you decided to stay in St. Mungo with the healers," Sirius grinned evilly. "They weren't pushing you hard enough."
Harry laughed, and when he started, he found that he couldn't stop laughing.