And I'm back! I have officially pegged down my inspiration and its currently trying to chew through the ropes again but don't worry. It won't get free anytime soon. I'll keep a tighter watch on it from now on I swear.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter Thirty

By Rosa241

Sirius POV:

I knew that the ministry would visit at some point. It was inevitable that they'd be keeping tabs on me since my release. I'd have thought that I'd have aurors down here or politicians but not this girl. Well I suppose I should call her a woman but to me she seems like a girl to me. Facing her now I should feel on edge and I do…but not for the reasons I would have thought.

Harry.

She was here about Harry.

"I work for the child protection department."

Truth be told it had never occurred to me that the ministry even had a child protection department. I can't say that I've spent much time in my life thinking about it. Why were they so interested in Harry? He was okay, wasn't he?

"Mr Black firstly I must apologise for my sudden arrival. I wish I could have given you more warning but time really is of the essence now." Time is of the essence? What's wrong with my godson?

"You said you were here about Harry." Nodding her head she gives me a kind smile before reaching into the folder she had arrived with and pulling out a picture.

The boy looking up at me from the photograph takes my breath away. He looks so much like James, so much like my best friend. Those eyes though, those eyes are pure Lily. I haven't seen him in such a long time, so many years. I can feel my eyes watering but I don't let them fall.

"We've had a few people come forward with their…shall we say concerns about Harry. I'm just investigating those." Concerns?

"Whatever do you mean? What concerns?" I wish Mooney was here with me. When she'd arrived he'd excused himself to give us some privacy knowing full well his enhanced hearing would enable him to hear our conversation anyway. From the way that she pauses it's obvious she's thinking carefully about what she can and can't say next.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss an open investigation. Sorry." From her expression she really is sorry. "Currently Harry's living with his guardians, Petunia and Vernon Dursley."

"Yes, he mentioned them once in his letters." Her eyes seem to perk up at the mention of the letters and for a moment I wonder whether I've said something wrong.

"I've been made aware that the two of you have been exchanging letters. Had he mentioned his aunt and uncle much? Told you any details of his life with them?" My worry spikes a bit more at her words but I force myself to think back.

Come to think of it I don't think he's ever really mentioned them other than that once.

"No actually he hasn't. Nothing really." She doesn't seem surprised at my words and something within me tenses at that. What does she know?

"You were friends with both of Harry's parents correct?" A lump appears in my throat at the mention of my late friends and I simply nod. "What do you know of their relationship to Harry's aunt and uncle?"

"Well I know that things were tense between them." At her questioning look I find myself explaining again. "Lily and Petunia had some sort of falling out and they seemed to lose contact. They weren't really that close. When Lily and James got married they sent them an invitation but never heard anything back."

"Her own sister didn't attend the wedding?" It's the first time that I've seen her even slightly rattled since she arrived.

"No. Lily kept insisting that the response just got lost in the post or that they'd forgotten to send it back. When they didn't arrive on the day she was ever so upset." I remember that day. I remember how much her face fell when she walked down the aisle and saw the empty chairs she'd insisted that they put out. "Deep down she knew they weren't coming but she kept hoping that they'd arrive late. They never did."

"That sounds awful. Did Lily ever find out why?" Yes. Yes she did.

"She didn't need to, she knew why." She always knew why. "Petunia hated magic. Lily only ever spoke of it once but once was enough. Petunia called her a freak on a daily basis and told her that everything about her was unnatural."

"A freak? That must have been hard for her." It was. Lily would never talk about it but I could see the look in her eyes when she was reminded of her sister. "I suppose they made up though, giving that she left Harry to her."

Left him to…

"No, no you've gotten it wrong. Lily and Petunia never made up. In fact she went round there when she was pregnant with Harry. She'd gotten word from their mother that Petunia had given birth to a son and she wished to see her nephew. Her and James were all but thrown out of that house by those people."

"But she left Harry to her sister. Her will, it stated that she wished for her son to remain with her family." Remain with her family? Her will?

"James and Lily they…they always asked that I be the one to take care of Harry if anything should happen. Then again I was too busy being locked up for a crime I didn't commit to be able to do that." Her hand, which had previously been writing down our conversation, stops mid air and for a moment she seems to freeze. It's only a moment before the professional mask comes back on but a moments enough.

"What is it?" She shakes her head, pretending not to have heard me, before continuing to write. "What is it?"

"I was merely under the impression that Lily willed her sister to be Harry's caregiver. Perhaps I've gotten

"I was merely under the impression that Lily willed her sister to be Harry's caregiver. Perhaps I've gotten my facts wrong." She hadn't. Something tells me that this girl didn't get her facts wrong.

"Lily wouldn't have wanted Harry to live with Petunia not after everything she'd said to her. James wouldn't have allowed it anyway. If not me then he'd have gone to Remus, although whether the ministry would have allowed that what with…" Her eyes knit together at my words and she urges me to continue.

"What Sirius is trying not to say is that I'm a werewolf." The surprise shows on her face for less than a second before she schools her expression and smiles.

"Ah. I can imagine that the Ministry would have had some issues with that. They've never been very open minded when it comes to werewolves." For a moment she says nothing and packs the papers away in the folder before standing. "I really must be going. Thank you for everything, you've been most helpful."

She makes her way to the door before halting, her hand hovering above the handle for just a second. As she turns back around there's something in her eyes that I can't quite place.

"Mr Black one last question if I may. Had the situation been different would you have wanted to take care of Harry? On a permanent basis I mean." With a sad smile I answer with complete honesty.

"I would have been honoured."

Jennett POV:

The anger I'd felt when I'd walked out of the ministry an hour ago had bubbled just below the surface and now was raging a storm. Truth be told there were only two things that truly got my anger going off. One was watching a child slip under the radar, watching a child fall through the cracks of the system sent shivers down my spine and lit a fire in my heart. The other…the other was sitting right in front of me.

"How could you Albus? How could you ignore this?" The letter clenched in my shaking hand was the source of my rage. Looking down at the letter I can't help the words coming back into my brain.

Arabella,

You have written to me again about a matter I thought we'd cleared up. I thought we'd put this to bed. I've investigated and found nothing to be wrong with the way Harry is being treated. I know that you have your worries but please do not intervene. Harry does not know of the magical world and must not know until he is old enough to understand.

If it calms you I will investigate again.

Yours,

Albus

"I'm afraid I do not know what you mean?" My usual calm and cool persona has disappeared underneath my rage.

"She wrote to you. She wrote to you about what that boy was going through, what she suspected and you told her not to worry. You told her you would investigate and instead you did nothing!" He opens his mouth, attempting no doubt to explain himself, but he doesn't get the chance. "I've checked the records and low and behold there have been no official record of any visits to Harry Potter. Not a single one. How could that be?"

It's common practice that when a magical child is placed into the care of a non magical family there are a series of checks that have to be done. None of these were done when Harry went into the care of his aunt and uncle. Until our investigation started there was no record of Harry Potter within the system. How can that be?

"I have always had Harry's best interests at heart. You have to know that." I do. If there's one thing that I will always know to be true is that no matter what he cares deeply about everyone of his students. It's the reason he's so well respected. He cares about them all.

"I know you have Albus but that doesn't excuse this. That doesn't excuse the fact that Mrs Figg wrote to you more than once about the treatment Harry was receiving and at no point did you do anything about it. You have your reasons for that I'm sure but none of them matter to me." Something in me sparks again when he speaks next.

"Jennett you must understand-" That's as far as he gets before my nerves shred and my anger rises once more.

"No Albus. I've always stood by you but I will not stand by you on this. Whatever your reasons for keeping that boy in that…that place…they are not good enough. No child should be forced into neglect and abuse." He startles at the word abuse and for the first time I see something akin to realisation come across his face. Good. "I warn you Albus against interfering into this investigation."

"Interfering? I don't understand." The genuine confusion on his face pleases me. After reading the letter a million thoughts had gone through my mind the most prominent of which had been whether he would try to halt the investigation. Thankfully it would appear I was wrong.

"Good. Let's keep it that way. That boy deserves a loving home and guardians who care for him, I will see it done no matter what." With that I turn and make my leave. Albus is a good man who clearly cares deeply for Harry but he's made a mistake. He should have investigated that house many years ago. If he had he'd have seen that things weren't right. He'd have seen the truth. Mistakes have been made here and I am going to put them right come what may.

Percy POV:

Hey Percy,

Hope your Christmas is going better than mine.

I hate my cousins!

Seriously I hate them with a burning passion. They're the most annoying people I've ever met in my life and why we have to spend every Christmas with them is beyond me. I get that they're family but I'd happily never speak to them. All they do is criticize everything my mum does. Nothings ever good enough for them.

Anyway rant over with.

I've been exchanging letters with Neville like we said. I think he might be starting to trust me. Honestly I swear that kid has absolutely no confidence in himself.

The rest of Olivers letter had pretty much been about his conversations with Neville and guilt flows through me. It had been no secret that the boy wasn't treated great at school by those Syltherins but no one had really done anything about it. We should have put a stop to it years ago and no one did. Well that's going to chance this time round.

"Percy! Come on stop wasting time we want to get the game started." Ginny's shouted words were met a moment later by mums voice.

"Ginny don't shout up the stairs." Their voices make me smile and I shake my head.

"I'll be down in a moment." I call as I place the letter away carefully.

Heading downstairs it almost shocks me when the world freezes into place.

You have done well.

The familiar green glow fades as the girl appears in front of me.

But there is still more to be done. The fight is far from over.

"I know but like I said to you before. Harry needs to be away from his aunt and uncle to really flourish and if Neville had an ounce of confidence in himself he'd have been so much better." We've had this conversation before but apparently she needs reassuring.

Things are changing. The future is less clear.

With that she vanishes and the world seems to carry on once more.

The future is less clear? What does that mean?

Don't hate me! I know, I know but Dumbledore tasked Mrs Figg with looking after Harry and I find it hard to believe she didn't report to him. Dumbledore apparently didn't notice the full extent of the neglect Harry suffered since he brushed Mrs Figg off as reading too much into things. Sorry but Dumbledore had to be on the receiving end for my plan to work out. I couldn't have him interfering and insisting that Harry stayed with the Dursleys.

Until next time,

Bye x