After the whirlwind of the YEP Symposium, Aria hoped that she would get a few days of respite before they headed back to Cokesworth to spend a few weeks of summer there. There was no incident using the international portkey from Berlin to London, however, the moment she stepped out of the Floo into Grimmauld Place, there was immediate chaos.

"Sirius, you need to calm down!" Remus shouted.

"Calm down? How can I calm down? Harry is gone!"

"Sirius," Kenneth said, "there's no finding him if you're hysterical."

Snape nearly bowled Aria over as he stepped out of the Floo. He scowled at her, clearly tired from all the traveling.

"You are not a novice at the Floo," he said, "you know to get out of the way in case someone else is coming in behind you—,"

"HE'S NOT AT THE BURROW I'VE CHECKED!"

Snape stared at the doorway of the receiving room, eyes widening at Sirius' raised voice. Aria recognized the look on his face and grabbed hold of his arm before he could flee back into the Floo.

"No, no!" she cried, yanking Snape towards the doorway and the raised voices. "If I've got to deal with whatever's going on, you do too."

They came into the front hall just as Sirius came thundering down the stairs followed by Remus and Kenneth. The three men stopped short seeing them and Sirius' shoulders slumped slightly.

"Sorry," he said. "Welcome home. I thought you might be Harry."

"What's wrong with Harry?" Aria asked.

"He's gone," Remus said. "Just . . . we thought he had gone up to his room but he's not there. He's not out in the garden, he's not in the house!"

"What do you mean?" Snape demanded.

"Sirius thinks Harry's run away," Kenneth said. Aria gasped. Run away? Harry? Why would he do that? He loved being with Sirius and Remus, he wouldn't just leave them behind!

"We've been having a rough day," Sirius explained. "It started with the morning paper. Even with Rita Skeeter missing in action, the Daily Prophet still manages to write like it's a fucking Muggle tabloid instead of a newspaper. Anyway, the article was all about wondering if Dumbledore's finally getting too old, has he gone mad, that sort of thing. And then is brought Harry in – Axel's going to have a field day – and practically accused Harry of being a rebellious attention seeker and brought up the Triwizard Tournament as an example of a poor orphan boy looking for any kind of attention."

"But the Daily Prophet reported how Harry wasn't at fault for the whole tournament," Aria said. "We followed that story all last year. The Daily Prophet had a field day going after Crouch and Bagman."

"Seems they've forgotten their own story in the wake of Minister Fudge pulling strings," Sirius sneered. "Anyway, we managed to get him calmed down from that and we were having lunch when Dumbledore showed up." He heaved a huge breath as he started to run out of steam. Remus picked up the narrative.

"Dumbledore wanted to discuss getting the "old crowd" together," he said, giving Snape a significant look. Aria wondered what this "old crowd" was. Was it some kind of club or gang? If Dumbledore ran a magical mafia group, it would be the least surprising thing to come to light in the last few weeks.

"And you think getting the old crowd back together is what sent Potter off?" Snape questioned.

"Dumbledore also wanted to take Harry to train him," Remus continued, ignore Snape's sarcasm. "And he wasn't asking."

"Harry would not like that," Aria piped up. Kenneth placed a hand on her shoulder. She leaned against his side.

"Harry . . . panicked," Remus told Snape. "Screamed at Dumbledore, said he wasn't going anywhere with him, that if he had to train to defeat Voldemort than Sirius and I and you could do it just fine. Dumbledore gave him that look, you know the one, where he's vastly disappointed with you and you better shape up real quick? Then Harry ran off and we heard his bedroom door slam shut."

Remus finished with a tired sigh.

"Sirius told Dumbledore to go fuck himself—,"

"Did you really?" Aria cried. She held up her hand for a high five, but Sirius didn't seem to know what to do with the gesture. Kenneth smacked her hand down with a warning look.

"And Dumbledore left in a big huff," Kenneth said. "After, of course, saying how disappointed he was in everyone for being so selfish for not thinking about the Greater Good."

"He and his Greater Good," Snape muttered.

"I tried to talk to Harry directly afterwards, but he didn't want to talk," Kenneth said. "So, we left him to calm down. And now he's missing."

"Where have you checked?" Snape asked.

"The Burrow," Sirius answered. "And Barty's gone to see if he went to Luddenden Hall—,"

The Floo sounded and they all rushed into the receiving room. Barty knocked soot off his robes and shook his head the moment he saw them.

"He's not there," he said. Sirius gave a panicked cry and grabbed his hair, yanking hard. Remus hurried to untangle Sirius' fingers from his hair.

"Does he know where anyone else lives?" Kenneth asked. "Who else would he go to?"

"I'm going to put a Tracker on him when he gets home!" Sirius cried.

"Aria," Remus turned to Aria, leaning down until they were looking each other square in the eye. "Think. Who else would Harry turn to if he were upset?"

Aria's first thought was Hermione, but she knew Harry didn't know where Hermione lived, and she knew that Harry knew Hermione was abroad at the moment, so he would not go there. If he wasn't at the Burrow or with Neville, that really cut out a whole lot of people because he would not go to any of their housemates' homes. Even without a resurrected Dark Lord running around, there was too much of a risk at showing up at a place like Theo's or Draco's. And she doubted he would go to Daphne's even if that was probably the safest place. And he didn't have any Muggle friends for him to go to . . .

She gasped.

"What?" Sirius cried. "What is it? Have you thought of someone?"

"The Franksons," Aria answered. "They were neighbors to the Dursleys who looked out for Harry when he was there. They still write to him."

"Of course!" Kenneth cried. "How could I've forgotten? They send their letters to me and I forward them to Hogwarts since they don't know about magic."

"What's their address?" Remus asked. Kenneth closed his eyes, as if mentally pulling up an image of an envelope.

"Number 10, Privet Drive," he finally said. Remus kissed his cheek, causing Snape to sneer is disgust, and Sirius darted towards the front door, clearly ready to head straight to Privet Drive.

"Wait!" Aria cried. "That's a Muggle area." Sirius skidded to a halt, looking down at his wizarding robes. He and Remus darted upstairs, quickly changing into clothes that would pass in the Muggle world, even if they were more business casual than what most Muggles wore. Within minutes they were gone, leaving Aria, Kenneth, Snape, and Barty standing in the front hallway.

A haughty sniff came from the portrait of Walburga Black. Sometime in the ensuing chaos, the curtain in front of her portrait had opened, revealing her.

"Serves that no good son of mine right," she said. "Now he knows what it feels like to have a child run away."

"You didn't feel one once of remorse when Sirius ran away," Barty snapped. "Regulus said you took pleasure in blasting Sirius off the family tree."

"Don't speak his name!" Walburga shouted. "None of you are worthy to speak his name! He was a good Black, brought honor to the family! Unlike that degenerate masquerading as Lord of the House!"

Kenneth yanked the curtain back over her portrait and the entryway was silent once again.

Aria turned to Barty.

"Sirius ran away from home?" she asked.

"When he was sixteen," Barty said. "Lived with the Potters after that." He turned away and wandered into the kitchen. Snape followed him leaving Aria and Kenneth in the entryway.

"Was Berlin nice?" Kenneth asked after a minute.

"It was very nice," Aria replied. "I was proposed to." She headed towards the kitchen.

"YOU WERE WHAT?"

Aria cackled, skipping the rest of the way to get some tea from Kreacher, pretending to ignore her dad's hurried footsteps behind her.

"Snape! What's this about someone proposing to my daughter?"

Snape looked like a deer caught in headlights. Aria continued to cackle.

Number 10, Privet Drive, was quiet for once. Victor and Vicky were upstairs in Vicky's room doing something that had them far too quiet, but neither Liam nor Mel were willing to break the peace. Jason was in the living room reading a book, getting a head start on studying for his A-Levels. Mel thought it was hilarious that Jason wanted to start studying the summer before the tests, but Liam thought it showed initiative.

Mel was just putting the finishing touches on dinner when she looked out the kitchen window and spotted a figure climbing over the back fence from Magnolia Crest. Jason's friends had stopped climbing over fences years ago so who would . . .

"Liam!" Mel shouted, wiping her hands hurriedly on a tea towel. Liam popped his head in from the living room.

"What is it?"

"It's Harry," Mel said, crossing straight to the back door and yanking it open, startling Harry as he approached. The boy's green eyes widened behind his glasses, and Mel was reminded of the little boy who had grown up just down a few houses, the one she had been convinced was a wild hooligan for years before the wool was pulled off her eyes and she saw the Dursleys for what they were. The boy before her was well dressed, had clearly been eating well, but there was a wild, frightened look in his eyes, one she had not seen for a long time. When Harry had lived with the Dursleys, he had looked like that sometimes.

"Harry?" Mel cried. "What're you—?"

Harry was in her arms before she could finish. His arms squeezed around her waist, his face pressing against her neck. The glasses were sharp against her skin, but the tears were more worrying.

"Harry," Mel murmured, wrapping her arms around him, one hand immediately going up into Harry's hair. "What's the matter, love?"

Liam appeared at her side, one arm coming around her to keep her from accidentally tipping over.

"Harry," he murmured. "Harry, what're you doing here, lad? I thought you were up in Cokesworth."

Harry just kept crying into Mel's shoulder. Mel twisted about, managing to free her shoulder to better guide Harry into the house. She led him through the kitchen into the living room. Jason looked up in alarm seeing Harry, immediately clearing space on the couch for his mum and Harry to sit.

"Harry," Mel murmured as Liam settled on Harry's other side with a box of tissues. "Harry, what's the matter? How did you get here?"

"Sorry," Harry sobbed. "Sorry, I shouldn't've disturbed you."

"Nonsense," Mel said. "We haven't seen you since you raced off to London after Marge Dursley came and visited last year. We're glad to see you."

"We're just worried, is all," Liam added. "We're glad to see you. We meant it when we said in our letters that you could come visit. But you came over our back fence and you're clearly distraught."

Harry took several deep breaths, still clutching at Mel. Jason disappeared and reappeared with a glass of water which he held out to Harry as he sat on the coffee table, joining his parents in trying to comfort the younger teen.

"The man who . . ." Harry stuttered, still crying, "the man . . . he . . . who killed my parents . . . he found me and kidnapped me and another student." He grabbed a tissue, mopping at his face, even though the tears refused to stop. "He tried to kill me and . . . and we managed to escape but he's still out there." He shuddered. Mel felt tears prick her own eyes. The horrors the boy in front of her had seen in his young life!

"Sirius wants me to see a therapist," Harry said after a few more minutes of crying and taking deep breaths. It seemed he was beginning to truly calm down. "And I . . . and there's a lot of other stuff going on . . . stuff I can't tell you."

"Why can't you tell us?"

"Um . . . it's stuff my parents were involved in. Top secret stuff. I only know about it because the man's out to kill me so I've . . . been informed of some things. I just . . . today I just lost it. I felt like my whole life wasn't mine, that people were making decisions about my life without any input from me and I'm just so tired of feeling like I don't have any control over my own life!"

Mel pulled Harry to her side, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. She pressed a tender kiss to his mop of hair, rubbing his arm up and down.

"Harry," Liam murmured, taking the water from Jason, and pressing it into Harry's hands. "Does your godfather know where you are?"

Harry shook his head, looking very miserable.

"I snuck out," he admitted. "I was mad and screamed at them and . . . oh Merlin! I yelled at them! I'm not supposed to yell at adults." He nearly dropped the water. Jason and Liam hurried to catch the cup. "He'll be so mad!"

Harry began to cry again.

Now Victor and Vicky were aware of something happening and wandered downstairs. The twins gasped seeing Harry. Mel gave Jason a look which he thankfully interpreted correctly and corralled his siblings into the kitchen where he began to dish out dinner for the three of them.

"Harry," Mel murmured, "what do you think your godfather'll do for yelling at him?"

Harry sniffed.

"Uncle Vernon would take the belt to me," he whispered. Mel tightened her grip on Harry. She and Liam shared a knowing look. They had never seen the evidence, but they had certainly suspected. She recalled a conversation she had had with Harry, where he had alluded to the possibility of the Dursleys physically hurting him, but how terrified he was of not being allowed to see the Franksons again if they got involved.

"I've never . . . I've done my best not to make Remus or Sirius upset at me," Harry told them. "I don't think they'd actually hit me, but what other way is there to punish someone?"

"Oh, darling," Mel murmured. "So many ways. We take Jason's phone or restrict TV time."

"And they give me a five-hour lecture," Jason called from the kitchen. "Believe me, you don't want to listen to Dad tell you how the choices you're making are leading you down a path that'll lead to destitution and poverty."

Liam rolled his eyes. Harry managed a wet giggle.

"Have you eaten yet?" Mel asked. Harry shook his head.

"Then let's get some food into you, and after dinner, you can give me your godfather's phone number and we'll call and let him know you're all right. I bet he's worried sick!"

Harry seemed to freeze in her arms, and for a moment, Mel thought he would burst into another wave of tears.

The doorbell rang. Liam sighed, pushing to his feet to see who was calling at this time of day. Mel continued to hold Harry tight, rocking him gently.

"It'll be all right," Mel murmured into his hair. "It will."

"Harry?"

Harry shot to his feet and Mel turned sharply at the new voice. Two men stood in the entry way, Liam just closing the door behind them. Mel recognized one of them, his picture had been plastered all over the news two years ago before he was found innocent and framed for the All-Saint's Day Bombing. Sirius Black was quite handsome, in a sharp aristocratic way. The man beside him seemed more reserved and more like a normal chap, though the scars on his face indicated a harder less normal life. This, Mel thought, must be Remus. Harry had mentioned both men multiple times in his letters.

"Thank Merlin!" Sirius Black breathed, rushing forward and scooping Harry into his arms. Harry hung in his godfather's arms, arms automatically wrapping around the man's neck as he hid his face. Remus stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on Harry's head. Mel hurried to Liam's side, not missing the three faces peering in from the kitchen.

"I was so scared," Sirius murmured, though the room was so silent, his soft voice could be heard like it was being spoken through a bullhorn. "So many possibilities went through my mind, especially when you weren't with Ron or Neville."

"I'm sorry," Harry muttered. "I didn't know where else to go. I didn't . . . I don't want to go with Dumbledore."

Sirius tightened his grip.

"You're not leaving me," he said. "Whatever you thought I was going to agree to, you were wrong. You're staying by my side."

Harry lifted his head, staring wide-eyed at his godfather as the man set him on his feet. Mel's heart ached for the lost, disbelieving boy in front of them.

"R-really?" he questioned. "He didn't make it sound optional."

"You're right, he didn't," Sirius agreed. "But that does not mean it's not. If you want to go with him this summer—,"

"No!"

"Then you won't go with him," Remus stated firmly. "But you should have talked with us about how you were feeling, Harry, not run off without any warning or a note. You could have been hurt. You could have been grabbed!"

Harry hung his head.

Sirius and Remus turned to Mel and Liam.

"Thank you for looking after my godson," Sirius Black said with a small bow. "I cannot tell you how glad I am to find him safe and sound." He stepped forward. "Let me properly introduce myself. I'm Lord Sirius Black and this is my . . . partner. Remus Lupin."

Mel shook his hand, impressed that the lord was so open about having such a relationship. Most people seemed to keep such relationships politely hidden. Not that she had any problem with such a relationship, one of her cousins was a lesbian, but even she kept her relationships pretty private.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Liam said. "We're just glad that Harry's all right. We'd rather he come to us than stay out on the street."

"How did you find out about the Franksons?" Harry asked. "I don't think I mentioned them to you."

"No, but Aria remembered them," Remus answered. "And good thing she did. We didn't know where else to look." Harry leaned his head against Remus' shoulder.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Mel suggested suddenly. Harry had just gotten there, there was no way she was letting that boy out of her sight for at least another hour! "Harry's come a long way from Cokesworth."

"Well, we're actually in London right now," Sirius said. "We're heading up to Cokesworth soon though." He wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder. "Do you want to stay, Harry?"

"Mel's cooking's the best!" Harry cried.

Mel laughed and waved everyone into the kitchen. Victor and Vicky and Jason had hardly touched their meals so it was no great event to add a few more chairs to the table and get everyone served. Victor and Vicky were their usual selves, always able to draw Harry into conversations that melted away the burdens that seemed to weigh the boy down and show him in his true light, a child.

Vicky was telling Harry all about a vivarium she and Victor were building which would not have caused too much alarm in Mel if Harry hadn't asked,

"What goes in a vivarium?"

"My pet snake," Vicky stated.

"Your pet what?" Liam cried. Vicky paused, caught in the act, and a hesitant grin spread across her face as she looked at her parents.

"I mean . . . my imaginary pet snake?" she said, trying to save the situation. Sirius and Remus were trying not to laugh.

"Victoria Gwendolyn Frankson!" Mel warned.

"I found a snake in the back yard," she admitted. "I know you said no pets, but snakes are easy! You just make them a nice habitat and feed them."

"And if they escape their habitat?" Mel asked. "Your dad's horrified of snakes." It's no wonder the twins had been so quiet today. She should have investigated instead of taking a quiet evening. "I want you to release it right now!"

"Mum!" Vicky whined.

"Come on," Harry said, standing. "I love snakes. I'll help you get him into the backyard." The twins and Harry trooped upstairs.

"That girl!" Liam cried, slumping in his seat. "She obsessed with snakes! I don't know what I'm going to do with her."

Jason was desperately trying not to laugh into his peas but was failing miserably.

"I want to thank you for taking Harry into your home," Sirius said, glancing towards the stairs, as if worried that Harry would overhear. "My godson . . . doesn't seem to have a lot of adults he trusts. He's very independent."

"He's use to having to do things himself," Mel explained. "I remember . . . was it two years ago when he started writing to us? He was complaining that he had snuck down to the nearby village without permission from the Dursleys and he was upset that anyone cared." She tapped her chin trying to recall Harry's words. She had the letter saved with all his other letters, but now was not the time to show them to Sirius or Remus, not with Harry in the house. "I think, if I remember correctly, he seemed upset and confused that he had spent so much time here at Privet Drive where no one cared for him, and it was confusing for him to suddenly be in a place where adults cared about whether or not he was safe."

"And that was the year I was an escaped convict," Sirius murmured.

"I was one of his professors then," Remus said. "I remember the incident. He's come such a long way . . . it almost feels like the events of the last year have . . ." he shrugged, a little helplessly.

"Harry told us how the man who killed his parents kidnapped him and another student," Liam said. "Is the other student all right?"

"Cedric's as fine as possible," Remus answered. "There was a moment where Harry thought Cedric had been killed. They managed to escape but . . . we want Harry to see a mind—therapist—and he's under the impression that that makes him a quack even though Sirius and one of his best friends have seen therapists before."

"The Dursleys are not known for their belief in therapy," Liam muttered darkly. "Vernon is the type of man that insists of "manning up" through difficulties. If . . . well . . . we don't have proof, but we think the Dursleys might've been . . ."

"Abusive," Mel finished. "Physically."

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, communicating silently. Remus reached out, touching Sirius' arm as the man's face tightened into a pinched, devastated look.

"We've got a he-doctor's-appointment coming up," Remus said. "We've . . . suspected something of that ilk."

"This isn't the life I wanted for him," Sirius murmured. "We were supposed to all be together and he was going to grow up happy and loved and . . ." he took a deep breath. "Sorry for the melodrama. It's been a whirlwind of a year."

"Harry seemed worried about how you might . . . discipline him," Liam said slowly. "For running away."

"Thank you," Sirius said as feet were heard on the stairs. "We'll remember that when we speak with him at home."

Mel screeched, jumping to her feet seeing the snake Harry was holding. Liam knocked over his chair in his haste to get away from the creature, though everything within both of them told them to snatch the snake away from Harry. Harry grinned, holding up the adder that was curled around his arm.

"Harry!" Mel cried. "Vicky, what possessed you to bring such a creature into this house?"

"It was cute!" Vicky cried. Harry petted the head of the adder, and it seemed most content to be in the boy's arms.

"His name is Ashwind," Harry stated. "And I've spoken to him, and he desires to be released back into the wild."

"I didn't realize how scared he was to be taken into a new place," Vicky cried, very sad and ashamed of herself. "Harry said Ashwind would rather be out in the wild because he's a wild snake."

"Oh, well, thank you for speaking with him," Liam said, a tad sarcastically. "Now could someone please get the venomous snake out of my house?" Harry nodded.

"Say goodbye to Ashwind, Vicky," he said. To Mel's horror, her little girl kissed the snake on the head and the snake did nothing except flick its tongue. Harry patted its head and trotted outside, the twins at his heels, to deposit the creature by a hole in the fence.

Mel turned back to Sirius and Remus who had dropped their faces into their hands, clearly exasperated by their ward as she was with her own children. When the children returned, she directed them to wash their hands. Vicky still looked upset, but she was unmoved. What was her daughter thinking? She was usually much more levelheaded than this!

"I think it's time we take our leave," Sirius said when Harry had finished washing his hands. Harry immediately looked worried, biting his lip, and playing with the edge of his shirt. Remus drew Harry to his side.

"When we get home," Remus said, "I think a good cup of tea will be in order, after Aria ensures you're all right, of course. Then we will talk."

"Just . . . talk?" Harry questioned.

"Just talk," Remus repeated. Harry relaxed a little.

"Please, don't be strangers," Mel said as she and Liam walked them to the front door. She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You can visit whenever you want."

Harry grinned at her, such a different child now than the one that had hopped over the fence and cried in her arms. It was clear he loved Sirius and Remus, and that they loved him. But it was clear to Mel that their journey was going to be a long one, brought on by whatever terrible things had happened in Number 4.

"Don't forget to write," Liam said. "We enjoy your letters."

Harry nodded shyly and, with another thank you, the three of them left Number 10, disappearing down the street into the night.