Harry sat in a waiting room outside the office where Charlie, Lupin, Dumbledore, and the man with the hat had been talking. There were two men sitting across from him. They both kept looking at him, especially at his forehead, and it was starting to make him uneasy. Once or twice one of them would lean towards the other one and whisper something, and the other man would respond. Then they would look at him again, with those odd looks on their faces.

After sitting there for a while, with nothing to do other than swing his feet and trying to see if they could reach the bottom, he heard the door to the room open. The man with the hat (who Harry vaguely remembered as being Mr. Fudge) came out first, followed by the old man. Fudge kept walking, but Dumbledore stopped to talk to the two men watching Harry. After a moment's conversation with them, he walked over to Harry.

"Have you been bored, Harry?"

"A little," Harry admitted.

"Well, I have good news. Remus should be done here shortly. If you will wait for him a little longer, he is merely having a few words with Charlie. After they are finished, Remus will accompany back to your aunt's house. It is late, after all, and I am sure you are longing for your warm bed by now."

Harry opened his mouth to correct him, but thought better and instead asked, "Is Charlie coming with us?"

"No, I am afraid not, Charlie is staying here. Remember what I told you, Harry. It may be best if you forget about Charlie altogether."

Harry shook his head. The old man just did not understand. "Charlie is my friend. He likes me."

Harry thought Dumbledore was smiling, but it was hard to tell because he looked sad at the same time. "Perhaps you will be seeing Charlie in the future," said Dumbledore, "but nothing is certain at this point. I will try my best to make sure you do not have to lose your friend."

"Well, why can't I just stay here? With them?" Harry asked.

"Because you will be better off at your aunt Petunia's house. Don't worry, Remus will go visit your aunt later, and perhaps you can see him then."

Harry nodded for a second and then stopped. "Can I ask you one more question?"

"Of course."

"When will we know if Matt really did all that stuff the other man said he did?"

Again, Dumbledore looked at Harry in that way that he did not like. "I am afraid that Matthew Reid really is not who you thought, Harry. He is guilty of many of the things that he is accused of, and among them is working for the man who killed your parents. Colin Grant, the man who told you all this, has been found. He is in the hospital, but he is going to be fine."

Harry's eyes lit up. "So Matt didn't hurt him."

Dumbledore looked at Harry but did not reply. Finally smiled at Harry mysteriously and said, "I think it would be best if we had this conversation another day, Harry. I have over things I must attend to now, but I will answer all of your questions in due time."

Harry was less than pleased by this answer, but he merely nodded.

Dumbledore smiled and gave Harry a pat on the head. "Don't worry, Harry, everything will turn out."

Harry nodded again and watched Dumbledore walk off.

~.~.~

~.~.~

"I've told you everything," Sirius repeated.

"I don't buy your story, Black. And if I offered to stay here while they made the arrangements to take you downstairs, it wasn't so we could sit and chat and relive old times," Remus bit out.

Sirius stared at his old friend and had to choke back the bitterness he suddenly felt. "I've told you and Dumbledore everything I know, and I explained to you exactly what happened. Something's going on, Remus! Something is happening, and we don't know what it is, or how to stop it. And you know it concerns Harry!"

Remus took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Dumbledore will handle it," Remus said evenly.

"Like he did last time?" Sirius bellowed.

Remus began to pace and tried to ignore Black's argument, but he found it almost impossible to do so. He could not ignore the seriousness of the situation. It seemed they had finally found Harry, but they could only guess at what his captors had planned for him. The two ominous messages the headmaster had received had troubled him greatly; that was obvious.

Finally, Remus said, "I'm sure Dumbledore has a much better idea that you do, Black."

"Harry isn't safe with those muggles."

"You can't expect Dumbledore to trust you with every last detail of his plan, or even to trust you at all," Lupin said coldly. "I am positive that Dumbledore wouldn't send Harry to his aunt's house if he had not already made arrangements to ensure the boy's safety."

"The boy?" Sirius stormed, "That boy is Lily and James' son!"

"Enough!" Remus shook his head and slowly backed away from Sirius. "That's enough! Silencio!"

Sirius struggled momentarily against the bonds Remus had conjured after they had been left alone before giving Remus a look of utter disgust. He shook his head disapprovingly and then lowered it, refusing to look at him any longer.

Remus knew Sirius was furious with him, and it made him uneasy. In fact, though Remus was loath to admit it, there was a small part of him that still craved Sirius' approval and friendship. He had to believe Sirius was lying; it was the only way to stop himself from giving in to the hope that Sirius might be innocent.

Remus shook his head, trying to dispel the flurry of thoughts swirling around his mind. "Harry will be fine."

. ~ . ~ .

. ~ . ~ .

After what felt like a long time to Harry, a small paper airplane flew to one of the men sitting across from him. He opened it up and seemed to read it before showing it to his partner. The other man nodded and they both got up and walked to the door of the office.

The smaller man gave two hard knocks on the door and said, "They're ready for you."

The door opened almost immediately and Charlie walked out of the room with Lupin. Charlie looked at Harry, and started to walk toward him, but the two men, who had been standing on either side of the door, intercepted him immediately. Charlie scowled at the two men who stood on either side of him, not letting him pass.

Confused, Harry walked over to Charlie instead and tugged at the robes he was wearing. "Hi, Charlie."

Lupin looked at the other two men and said, "Dumbledore and the Minister left very specific instructions for me. May I have a word with you about the prisoner's arrangements?"

The bigger man let go of Charlie and joined Lupin immediately, but the shorter one stepped away reluctantly and did not take his eyes off of them.

Charlie, however, looked unconcerned. He smiled at Harry, kneeling down on the floor, and patted Harry on the head. "Harry. How are you feeling?"

Harry nodded. "Good, Charlie. Dumbledore says I don't have parents, but he found me an aunt."

Charlie smiled, though Harry could tell he seemed sad.

"You know, can I ask you a favour, Harry?"

Harry smiled again. "Okay."

"Can you call me Sirius?"

Harry's eyebrows shot up, so Charlie (or was it Sirius, then?) continued, "I don't really like the name Charlie, it's rather boring, don't you think? My name is Sirius, and I rather like it better than Charlie."

"Oh," Harry said, smiling, "well that's okay, Sirius. But why'd you say you were Charlie if you don't like Charlie?"

Sirius smiled, but his eyes still looked kind of sad, "Well, I wanted to try being called Charlie. But I hate it now," Sirius reassured him.

Harry nodded. "I like Harry, but I can imagine if I didn't like it, I would use James instead. That's my name too, you know. And Potter. I have three."

Sirius made an odd noise and lowered his head, covering his face with his hand.

Afraid that he had said something to upset him, Harry quickly added, "But Sirius is a really nice name too. I like it a lot, really."

Harry thought he heard Sirius laugh as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked up again.

"Thank you, Harry. How do you like living with your aunt? Is she nice?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak but he thought better of it and shrugged instead. He did not want Charlie to think he was ungrateful after everything he had done to help him find his family. "I like her house." That was technically not a lie, because his aunt's house was always clean and full of flowers and pretty stuff Harry was not allowed to touch.

"Harry, I wanted to tell you that-" Sirius began.

"...you have done a great job handling everything that has happened, Harry," Lupin interrupted. Sirius put his head down as he noticed that Lupin was standing next to them and giving Sirius one of those looks that made Harry think he was in trouble.

Harry knew that something that he did not understand was going on between the two of them, but he was afraid to ask. Instead, he put his hand on Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, like Remus said. You've been great."

Lupin put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm afraid it's time for me to take you home." Lupin spoke softly.

Sirius stood up and nodded, so Lupin continued, "Charlie-"

"Sirius," Harry interrupted, "he wants to be Sirius."

Lupin looked surprised, and Harry suddenly felt guilty, until he saw Sirius was smiling.

"Okay, well, Sirius is going to be staying here, and Lester will be coming up shortly to take us back to your aunt's house," Lupin said.

Harry did not have time to ask any questions and just then the hallway door opened to reveal the large dark man that had picked Harry up from Lupin's house so many days before.

"Ready, Remus?" asked Lester.

Lupin nodded and Lester stepped forward, grabbing Harry by the hand and leading him out, with Lupin not far behind.

"Bye, Sirius!" Harry yelled out, as soon as he realized what was happening.

One of the other men whose name Harry did not know was holding Sirius' hands behind his back. Sirius tried to step forward, but he was pulled back so he merely smiled back.

. ~ . ~ .

. ~ . ~ .

"I won't have it! Not only do you barge into my house in the middle of the night to bring him back, now you expect me to let you stay on my property and let you do God-knows-what? I absolutely refuse-"

"Mr. Dursley," Lester interrupted him, "there is absolutely no doubt that we will be staying in the vicinity to guard Mr. Potter and your family. We were merely asking for you to accommodate one of our men inside the house for the night, to better ensure your safety.

The horsey looking woman, Harry's aunt, looked horrified and her husband had reached an odd shade of magenta.

"Accomo- Why, I… the deplorable state…. Absolutely not! You can't simply waltz in here and tell me you are going to be trespassing on my property. You are violating our rights and I will not stand-"

"Vernon!" his wife whispered. She leaned in and said to her husband, "Maybe… if there's one of them in here, maybe the ones outside will leave and the neighbours won't see-"

"But Petunia!"

The woman turned to Lester. "Where is the old man? If you're leaving people here to watch the boy, it must mean that we are in danger keeping him here!"

"Exactly!" screamed Dursley triumphantly. "Maybe it's best if you take the boy altogether! I refuse to jeopardize my family for some freak that-"

Lester stood up, wand pointed directly at Vernon. "Would you like to reconsider that statement, Mr. Dursley?"

The large man merely sputtered with rage and stared at Lester, putting his arm out as if to protect his wife. Lester checked his temper and lowered his wand. It was not worth it, he told himself. Harry Potter may not be with these muggles for long, if what the Minister had told him was true.

Vernon Dursley's chest swelled up. "I am going to ask you to leave, now, and you can take the boy with you!"

They just did not understand. Drastic times called for drastic measures.

Lester cleared his throat. "Mr. Dursley, aren't you in the middle of negotiating a very large and profitable contract for your employer? I seem to recall Professor Dumbledore mentioning it."

"What's it to you?" Dursley growled.

"Well, I was just thinking it would be a shame for something to go wrong. It often happens in the business world, you know. People change their minds so suddenly… it's almost like magic. The loss of that client would not sit well with your firm, and I wager they might even find they promoted you too soon."

Petunia Dursley became ghostly white, contrasting heavily with her husband's newly achieved maroon.

"Well," Lester said as pleasantly as he could manage, "I'm glad that's settled. I'll just have a word with Harry before I leave."

Lester had a nasty suspicion that there was something seriously wrong with the Dursley family, and that they were not treating the boy as they should. Aside from him being the Harry Potter, he was only a child, one who had come from who knew what kind of environment. The boy needed stability, and care.

It had been very apparent to Lester that he would likely not receive it in that home. When Lester had told Harry that he needed a word alone with his aunt and uncle and sent him to his room, the boy had walked over to a small door under the stairs that Lester was positive was a cupboard. His aunt had quickly gotten up and led Harry to another room in the back of the house, snapping at him about how he must learn his way around the house.

Lester knocked on the bedroom door, well aware that the Dursleys were watching him from the end of the hall.

"Come in," answered the small voice.

Lester opened the door slowly to find Harry sitting on the bed, looking very uncomfortable. There were no signs that a small boy lived there. On the contrary, the decorations were feminine and the mattress had no bedding, only an old sheet to protect it from dust.

Lester looked back at the nervous aunt and her twitchy-eyed husband.

"I have to go now, Harry. But remember what I told you. If you need anything, what are you supposed to do?"

Harry thought back. "I'm supposed to… knock on the kitchen window?"

"That's right. Take care, Harry."

The boy nodded and waved goodbye, and Lester knew there was nothing he could do to help him. He no longer bothered with being polite to the muggles, who were obviously the worst kind of people; everything wizards disliked in non-magic folk.

As Lester neared the doorway the woman stepped forward, away from her husband.

"We had no idea he was coming to live here," she said defensively, "and we did not have time to fix up the guest bedroom for him. We were going to do it this weekend."

Lester merely rolled his eyes and said, "Good, I hear he likes motorcycles."

After Lester exited the Dursley house, he was greeted by the sight of Remus Lupin arguing with one of the Aurors setting up camp in the lawn.

"But who will be staying inside with Harry?" Lester heard Remus ask.

"I'm afraid Mrs. Dursley and her husband were adamant that they did not want anyone to stay inside the house," Lester spoke from behind, "therefore we… agreed that our people would camp outside and we'd place some muggle repellent charms so as to not arouse suspicion."

Remus looked unconvinced. "Even so, someone should stay inside with Harry. His safety is our priority-"

"They won't budge, but Harry will be very well protected anyway. Apparition is disabled; we have wards strong enough to detect so much as a bloody squirrel looking through the window. And we will have two men out here on guard. The only thing he is in danger of is his family's thick-headedness."

Remus frowned. "I'm not at all convinced that this is the best place for Harry to be."

"I won't lie to you. I'm fairly sure he is not all that happy to be with his new family, but I have to follow orders. I told the kid to tap on the kitchen window if he needed anything. I set up a simple charm on the window last time. If he taps on it, the vibration will trigger an alarm on my pocket watch."

Remus sighed, and Lester knew why. Something did not feel right.

~.~.~

~.~.~

Lucius had returned to his house quite late to find Crabbe and Hastings gone, and Pettigrew nowhere to be found. Moreover, his wife already asleep and could offer no answers. He left his elf with strict orders to warn him if any of the three missing men came back and went to his study to spend a good portion of the night pacing.

Less than an hour after his arrival, the door to his study opened to reveal Peter Pettigrew, being dragged in by his house elf.

"Dobby has found him, Master!"

"Where have you been, Pettigrew?" Lucius growled, pushing the elf away and shutting the door as he pulled Pettigrew into the room.

"O-out, Lucius, trying to find you. Crabbe sent me to tell you that they know where Potter is. That is to say- they're going to know soon."

"What are you talking about?"

"A source- at the Ministry- they found the boy. I had to go find you to tell you that we were trying to find out all the details."

"How did you know that Potter was missing?" Lucius asked suspiciously, "I only recently found out myself."

"I- t-the source. We knew something had to have gone wrong."

"I did not confide the full aspects of my plan to anyone… Why did Crabbe sent you, rather than seek me out himself, or wait until I returned?"

"It was u-urgent. Goyle sent an owl. They are delayed, but they will be here, maybe tomorrow night."

Lucius cursed. He hated delays, although this one might give him a chance to find Potter and spare himself his master's wrath if Pettigrew was right about the Ministry having found the boy. "Where is the letter, then? What else did it say?"

"I… don't know. He must have taken it with him."

"Well, where is Crabbe? And Hastings, for that matter?"

Pettigrew's eyes glossed over for a moment as he thought about it. The man was a complete idiot, if Lucius ever saw one. "I… don't know."

"Who was the source at the Ministry, and how exactly are we to find Potter's location?"

"Crabbe said- we sent out our best Legilimens to find out. He is supposed to be at the house of his relatives. But they're muggles, so we can take him there."

Crabbe, apparently, was showing a presence of mind that Lucius was sure was unprecedented in that man. But how had so much happened during his absence? And who among their depleted ranks was skilled in Legilimency?

"Who are these muggles, and how will we know where to find them?"

Pettigrew seemed to be at a loss once more, so Lucius continued. "Are you even sure this information is correct?"

Pettigrew nodded. "Yes."

"Well, if you're so sure then you will not have a problem if I entrust his retrieval to you."

"I thought maybe you would say that. The Dark Lord will be p-proud. But who will go with me, to help?"

Lucius smiled nastily. "I rather think you can handle it all on your own."

Pettigrew's face fell. "Now- Lucius! The b-boy will be easy, but this is very important. We should-to be sure- we need more men!"

"On the contrary, we need your unique talents. You should be able to do it yourself, after all you thought yourself capable of outsmarting us today. You meant to run away, and you know what the Dark Lord does to those who betray him, do you not? This is your last chance, Pettigrew. Bring me Potter, and I may still let you participate in our master's glorious return. But my kindness does have a limit. One mistake and you will not live to see the Dark Lord."

"I-I didn't mean to run, Lucius. I swear it! I panicked and knew if I transformed, they wouldn't see me-"

"Enough. Bring me Potter, or don't come back at all. And in that case, you had better hide well, because the Dark Lord will find you."

Peter nodded, "I'm only saying, Lucius, the house will be protected. Our source said there would be Aurors inside the house guarding him. How do you expect-"

Lucius smiled coldly. "I don't."