CAPTIVATING EMERALD
Chapter 1: Rescuing

"WHERE IS HE?"

"Severus, be reasonable." Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk at Hogwarts, bringing his fingers together to steeple under his chin and looking over his half-moon spectacles at the raging man in front of him. The man stopped suddenly and spread his hands on the desk, leaning forward nearly right in the Headmaster's face.

"I am being reasonable, Albus. Where. Is. He?" He pulled away, crossing his arms over his chest waiting for whichever vague answer he would receive.

"Why are you so suddenly interested in his whereabouts, Severus?" The blue eyes were not twinkling now, and Severus dropped down into the chair, still scowling.

"I promised her, she wanted him to know me. For me to know him. Even after what I called her, she still let me be her friend. She told me, a few months after he was born, that I was almost his godfather. Oh, James wouldn't have that, though." Severus laughed bitterly and shook his head. "No, he had said no son of his would have Snivellus as his godfather, so they chose Black. Lily made me secondary godfather behind James' back though. You didn't know, did you?" Severus sneered at Dumbledore who had a flash of surprise flit over his features before it disappeared again. "If something ever happened to the two of them or Black, Harry would be left in my care. Well, something happened to them and Black is in Azkaban now. So, back to the beginning again. Where. Is. He?"

"There is no proof of this, Severus. Their will's clearly state about Sirius but your name was no where to be found." Dumbledore was still calm even though the Potions Master had broken several of his possessions in his anger earlier.

"Let me see them." Albus gave a sigh and waved his wand, summoning two scrolls with matching pops. Severus reached up to snatch Lily's and read through it, brows knitting in confusion. Albus was speaking the truth in saying his name was not on there, but he read something that tipped him off to where Harry was. Now to find the address. "I see that this is futile. I shall be going back to Spinner's End then. Goodbye Albus." The Headmaster was slightly surprised at the sudden change in the twenty-five year old, but he did not show it. As he quickly made his way down the winding steps and past the gargoyle, Severus ran through one part of the will over and over in his mind.

'Should anything happen to me or James in which we can not care for Harry any longer, he is to go to the care of Sirius Black. If he is unable to care for Harry, he is to be sent to a closest living relative.'

Severus knew where Harry must be. With Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

"Number Four, Privet Drive. Little Whinging, Surrey." Lucius Malfoy read off the parchment and Severus could have kissed the blonde. "Do you really think kidnapping him will make things all right, Severus?"

"I will not kidnap him, I just want to see him. I owe it to Lily to know that her son is growing up properly, no matter the fact he is half Potter's." Severus stood and Lucius followed suit, leading the dark haired man out to the front door.

"And if he is not?"

"Then I kidnap him." Lucius chuckled and shook his head and the two made their goodbyes and once Severus was out of the wards, he apparated. With a subdued crack, he realized he was at the end of Privet Drive, with number fourteen to his left and number thirteen to his right. Striding down the middle of the road, he stopped in front of the driveway of number four, wondering how a wizard could possibly even live in a place like this. It wasn't any different than the houses on either side, even the car was the same style and year, but in an ugly yellow. He took a reassuring breath and made his way up to the door, and knocking twice.

"Boy! Answer the bloody door." Vernon's voice bellowed out from inside and a second later the door clicked open and Severus was met with Lily's eyes looking up in confusion behind too-large circular black frames.

"Hi." Harry spoke timidly and Severus could not believe this was actually Harry. If his math was correct, the boy was five now, but he couldn't possibly be. He was far too small for that, looking barely older than three. His clothes were far too big for him, his hair messy beyond belief and he was far too thin.

"Hello. May I come in?" Harry looked over his shoulder and nodded, pulling the door completely open and letting Severus through. Severus looked around with a sneer, everything was spotless and put together, very muggle and very Petunia.

"Boy! You don't let strangers in the house!" He heard Harry whimper and a click of a lock, wondering what was going on, but Harry's whimpers had disappeared. Vernon stomped into the hall, looking Severus up and down with a sneer of his own. "Who are you, what do you want?" Petunia came in from the backyard and she gasped when she spotted Snape, stepped back and pressed her palms against the wall in shock.

"Snape! What are you doing in my house?" Severus sneered at Petunia and figured there was no point in lying. He looked around the pristine living room in disgust, dragging out the time between answering just to make her uncomfortable. "Well, we don't have all day!"

"I came to see the boy."

"Boy? What boy, we have no boy! Just Dudders, isn't that right?" Petunia's voice was hysteric and Snape moved closer, pulling his wand out.

"Do not lie, Petunia. I just saw him, where is he?"

"Why do you want to see him, he's nothing fancy." Vernon chuckled at his own words and Severus pointed his wand at the whale of a man who paled drastically.

"Nothing fancy? If it were not for him you'd probably be dead, Lord Voldemort would probably have taken over, and even for people like you, that's a very bad thing. Now," He dropped his wand and Vernon's face regained some color as Severus turned to Petunia once more. "I want to see the boy."

"Why?" Snape was silent for several moments, carefully considering his words and laying the truth out on the table. After a minute of debating, he decided and spoke.

"I promised Lily." Both Petunia and Vernon reddened and Snape realized that wasn't the best idea to bring up her sister.

"What do promises mean for you, she's just a freak!"

"Stupefy!" Vernon roared when Petunia crumpled and Snape whirled around and stunned Vernon as well. Dudley stampeded down the stairs when he heard the sound of his parents collapsing and at five he was overweight, a stark contrast to the boy who opened the door.

"You killed 'em! You murdered my parents! They're dead, you ki-"

"Stupefy." Dudley went down just as his parents did and once sure they would not wake up on his locating Harry, he headed off into the hall to retrieve him. He would not leave Harry in this miserable place, and it was obvious they mistreated him. He had heard a lock when Harry's whimpers disappeared, and he passed a small cupboard in the hall under the stairs as he looked around for a shut door, but all of them on the first level were open and no sign of Harry in any of them.

"Help." It was faint, and if Severus wasn't completely quiet he would have missed it entirely. Looking around, Severus tried to locate the source of where the voice came from and soft knocks were echoing through the house. Severus headed down the hall, and the knocks got further apart. As he passed the stairs they became closer together and more frantic until he was standing in front of the little cupboard. "Help." Stunned, Severus unlocked the door magically and Harry slowly got out and Snape could see the ragged blanket he used to keep warm, several spiders crawling around and scraps of paper that Harry played with when he got locked in the cupboard, which was often. No wonder Harry was so small, the cupboard was cramped, definitely not a place a growing child needed to live. Severus wondered if it would stunt him when he grew up, but his mind was more preoccupied with taking Harry out.

"Harry, do you want to leave?" He supposed he should ask Harry in the first place, Severus didn't expect him to want to stay but at least this way if he was questioned he could say that Harry had wanted to leave.

"Is that my name?" Harry looked up at Severus wide eyed, and he got down on one knee so they were eye level.

"You don't know your own name?" Harry shook his head, eyes watery and he was trying to hold back tears.

"No, they call me boy or freak. Especially if I burn dinner or break a plate." Severus was livid. This was no way to treat your sister's son! He was only five and they had him doing things like making dinner, when he could barely reach the stove at all. They treated Harry worse than a house elf, he was surprised they gave him clothing at all. "Yes, I don't like Aunt and Uncle, they yell at me a lot and Dudders hits me. It hurts a lot when his friends play Harry Hunting, I always get beat up, just because I'm small." At that point Harry burst into tears and Severus did not know what to do with a crying child. He awkwardly patted the messy head and Harry flung himself into Severus' arms and refused to let go. "Save me!" He whispered into Severus' hair and that moment he decided he would take the child, consequences be damned.

Picking up the exceptionally light child in his arms, Severus stood and sneered at the accommodations the Dursleys had given Harry and decided that he would need nothing from this place. He reasoned to burn the clothing Harry had on the moment they got out, and to get to Diagon Alley as soon as possible. Harry buried his face into the crook of Severus' neck and the Potions master smiled, something no one alive had seen. The last time he smiled was in fifth year, before he had called Lily a mudblood accidentally.

He returned to the living room where the Dursleys were still knocked out haphazardly over the floor, and he pulled his wand from his robes and thought very quickly about what he should do to them. A good precursory Obliviate of course, so he could not be traced to Harry's disappearance. Possibly a strong enough one to wipe Harry from their memories entirely, it would be much harder for Dumbledore to find Harry again if his precious muggles did not have a single inkling about who Harry Potter was in the first place.

Striding over to Petunia, his lips curled at the thought of addling her mind around. Resisting the urge to completely muck up her brain to the point of dementia, no matter how tempting it sounded at the moment, Severus Obliviated her, making sure every trace of his visit was gone from her memory before starting on Vernon, then Dudley when he was finished with the great oaf.

"What's that?" Harry had turned his head from hiding behind Severus' hair and eyed his wand, slightly scared at the unfamiliar object he hadn't noticed before. Severus looked at the child and then at the wand in his hand and realized he must have had an anti-magic upbringing so far, seeing as Petunia was against any sort of magic when he last spoke to her and Vernon wasn't much better. With a dark glance at the still unconscious relatives of Harry's he headed out the door.

"This is my wand. It helps with my magic." Harry froze then and seemed to shrink away from Severus is possible and he nearly dropped the squirming five year old. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Not allowed to say anything about the m-word!" Ah, his speculations were correct, then, in assuming Harry had grown up anti-magic. Well, by the sound of things, more of a fear than being against it, but that could be easily fixed.

"Harry, you can say magic now. In fact, it's quite encouraged in our world, especially for a young child such as yourself. If you did not know about magic, when you start Hogwarts you will be dreadfully behind with the other children." Harry's eyes widened at the possibility for other children and Severus decided to introduce the small boy in his arms to his godson as soon as possible. Harry smiled slightly and said magic several times, screaming it once when he realized he wasn't going to get hit, causing Severus to wince slightly and chuckle.

Readjusting his grip on Harry, Severus walked away from Number Four, not giving it a second glance and Harry rested his head on Severus' shoulder, looking around eagerly since the Dursleys never let him outside as they headed far from the house Harry would hopefully never step foot in again. Making sure no one was looking, Severus looked at Harry a second, deciding the best way of travel. No doubt apparating would just terrify the little wizard, and portkeying was obviously out. He had no broom and wouldn't be able to manage it with Harry so that left the Knight Bus, and Severus grimaced at the thought of it, but he had no other options short of walking the entire way and he was much too far away for that option, so he threw his arm out and with a bang, the purple triple-decker bus was in front of them and Harry gave a surprised cry before gasping at the bus.

"Who's there?" A short man appeared from behind the sliding doors, looking to be around Severus' age and he wore very large, thick spectacles, his eyesight must have been really awful because his eyes were enlarged in appearance, giving him a close resemblance to Sybill Trelawney, the dotty self-proclaimed Seer who was the very same one which voiced the prophecy that caused Harry's parents to be yanked rather forcefully out from under him, and Severus only remembered too well that it was really half his fault. What he would give to take it all back. He had on a magenta suit that showed about an inch too much of blue argyle socked ankle and a muggle fedora propped on his head in such a way Severus wondered fleetingly how it managed to stay on his head at all. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Severus cleared his throat, his assumptions on the man's vision correct if he could not see him standing plainly in front of him.

"Oh. Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wiz-"

"I know, I know!" Severus snapped at the man and stormed onto the bus, handing him two galleons as he passed. "Wiltshire, England." Pocketing the galleons, the man grumbled about unappreciative kids which had Severus questioning his initial guess on the man's age.

"Where to, Vince?" The driver, a dark skinned woman with waist length dreads pulled back to stay out of her face swiveled in her large couch like driver's seat and stared expectantly at Vince, who peered at the woman a minute like he'd forgotten she was there before clearing his throat.

"Wiltshire, Lily." Severus felt a pang in his chest at the woman's name and hurriedly sat before the purple monstrosity could shoot off, effectively knocking him over. Harry was staring wide eyed out the window as the bus started again and shot out like a bullet, dodging and swerving the traffic littered throughout the streets.

The trip was nearly as nauseating for Harry as apparating or flooing and Severus barely managed to get the stomach calming potion down Harry's throat as they stepped off the Knight Bus, effectively stopping the looming sick that was about to happen in another second without the soothing potion. Walking up the immaculate lawn of the manor to the large doorway, Severus knocked on the door while trying not to jostle Harry into getting sick. A house elf opened the door and let him in without a word, knowing to let him in whenever he had visited. Narcissa came out of her study when she heard the footsteps.

"Severus, what a pleasant – who is that?" Narcissa had stepped closer and Severus shifted Harry so he would not fall from his grip.

"Harry Potter." She gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth in surprise. "His relatives abused him, he does not know how to read or write, 'Cissa!" Her expression went from surprised to anger to mothering.

"Well now he will learn, Draco will love him I am sure. He was always speaking of wanting a younger brother, and Harry could be that." Severus nodded and Harry turned to look at Narcissa from hiding his face in Severus' neck, rubbing his little hand in his eye and looking at Narcissa. "Hello, Harry. My name is Narcissa, but you can call me Cissa or Cissy if you like. I have a son, he is your age. Would you like to meet him?" Harry smiled meekly and nodded. He wasn't allowed to talk to the people at his other school because of Dudley, and now that Dudley wasn't here he could talk to whoever he wanted. Severus moved to put Harry down but he clung tightly to his neck, refusing to be parted with his personal savior. He chuckled and situated Harry back on his hip and walked with Narcissa to Draco's room. She pushed the large door open a minute later and they went in. On the ground was a little blonde boy lying on his stomach, his little socked feet in the air as he colored in the Quidditch players in his book.

"Draco, I would like you to meet someone. He is going to stay in the manor for a while, along with Uncle Sev." He whipped his head around at his mother's voice and scrambled up when he spotted the boy in Severus' arms. Harry squirmed to be put down then, and Snape obliged. Harry timidly walked over to Draco, pushing up his large glasses on his nose with a small smile, his hands clasped behind his back shyly. He was several inches shorter than Draco and the blonde was by no means tall for his age. "This is Harry Potter." Draco's eyes bulged and his mouth dropped before he realized what he was doing and snapped it shut with a click.

"Hi Harry. I'm Draco." This was Harry Potter? He was just a tiny kid, not what Draco had expected at all. Harry gave a small hello and he didn't know what to do now.

"How about you two play until dinner, and then we can go from there?" Narcissa smiled softly to her son and Harry, quickly feeling her heart expand to hold Harry in it's embrace as well the longer he was here and Draco beamed.

"Yes, mother! Come on Harry, let's color. I was coloring in a Quidditch player, but I have a whole book that's empty you could have." Draco had walked away then, going to his desk to find the book and pull out the crayons for Harry to use. Harry had gravitated back to Severus now, holding onto his sleeve. Draco held out the book and crayons and Harry took them with one hand, the other firmly attached to Severus' pant leg.

"Go on, Harry. I will be down the hall with Narcissa." Harry tilted his head back to look at Severus and with a small smile he let go and went to lie on his stomach next to Draco, their shoulders nearly touching. He gave the little boy a last look before heading down to speak with Narcissa, who was currently telling Lucius.

"Harry Potter is in this house?" Lucius looked at Severus and he nodded. "You said you would not kidnap him, Sev."

"They abused him, Luc! He was treated worse than a house elf and they hit him! His vile cousin plays a game called Harry Hunting!" Severus was seething and Lucius put up a hand to stop his tirade.

"Albus will search for him, you do know this, yes?" He hadn't thought of that actually. He could not go to Spinner's End, that would be the first place Albus would go. He probably shouldn't stay at Malfoy Manor considering how close he was to the family.

"He will not take Harry back to those repulsive people!"

"Perhaps, if you are invested in keeping little Harry, you should adopt him. If you are the legal guardian, Albus can not take him away." Lucius sat at the chair behind his desk and Severus nodded twice, thinking the idea over. Lily would want that, he was sure of it. Adopting took months though, and Albus was not an idiot. He could easily find where Harry was and take him before the papers could go through, but it was worth a shot.

"Yes, I shall." Severus nodded again before pacing the room.

"All right, I will get the papers to fill out and get it under way. Though I warn you, it will take several months." Another nod and Severus left with a flourish of robes back to Harry.

Draco and Harry were silently filling the pictures in with their crayons until a house elf apparated into the room, startling Harry as he gave a little scream and hid on the other side of the bed from the elf.

"Dobby is sorry! Dobby did not mean to frighten little Master! Dobby will punish himself later!" The little house elf bashed his head against the carpeted floor which did not have the effect it would normally have and Draco glanced at Harry before turning back to Dobby.

"Dobby stop hurting yourself. What did you come here for?"

"Oh! Little Master and Master Draco are to come down for dinner!" Draco nodded and the house elf disappeared with a crack and he stood, walking over to Harry.

"Are you all right? Did Dobby scare you?" Harry was looking at Draco with wide eyes and nodded quickly. "It's all right, he won't hurt you. He's just a house elf." Draco sat next to Harry who had scooted over once the blonde sat and leaned against him, still shaking slightly. Severus walked in then and looked around before spotting the blonde head on the other side of the bed.

"Harry?"

"Dobby scared Harry, I don't think he's ever seen a house elf before! How silly!" Draco giggled then and Harry got up and went to Severus, holding his hands up and Severus picked the light child up, feeling the little arms wrap around his neck.

"How about we get changed and go to dinner, hmm? We can get rid of these awful clothes and you can wear nice ones, okay?" Harry nodded into his neck and he carried the child into Draco's closet, with the little blonde following to find something for himself. After several head shakes, Harry had picked out light gray pants and a green shirt that matched his eyes, but he didn't know that, he just liked the color. Severus walked back out of the closet and set Harry on the bed, along with his clothes and started to head out.

"Wait!" Severus stopped and looked back at Harry who had scrambled off the bed. "Can you help me? I don't know how to put nice clothes on." Severus nodded and with Draco's help they had Harry dressed in five minutes. Draco noticed Harry had several bruises along his back and some mark that looked like pinches, but Draco said nothing for the moment and Harry gave the two a small smile."Thank you."

The three headed down the stairs to the dining room and Harry took Draco and Severus' hand, surprising both of them, Draco giving the littler hand a squeeze with a grin. They walked into the dining room a few minutes later and Harry stared at the massive table that could easily fit a hundred people. Lucius and Narcissa were there already, sitting at the head and foot of the table. They stood when the others walked in, and Severus sat on one side of the table, Harry and Draco on the other. The elves brought in the first course and Harry had never seen so much food, and he didn't know there was more on the way. He looked at it all but did not move to put any on his plate and Draco stopped scooping the mashed potatoes onto his plate to look at Harry who had his head bowed, looking at his hands in his lap.

"Harry, what are you waiting for? It's good, have some!" Draco scooped a large portion of potatoes and dropped it onto Harry's plate, and Harry's hand slowly inched out to the bowl of corn to accompany his potatoes and had Severus help him with the steak, cutting it into little bite sized pieces. Harry ate slowly, his eyes darting to Lucius every minute or so, thinking he would suddenly lash out and knock the food Harry was eating to the floor and cuff him over the head like Uncle Vernon had, but Lucius did not move from his chair as he ate, so Harry relaxed somewhat. After only one plate of food Harry felt like he was going to explode from all of the food he'd eaten that his shrunken stomach could handle.

Chocolate cake appeared on the table and Harry forgot his fullness and had Severus help him to get a slice and he ate it delightfully, squealing in happiness to himself. He didn't know what he had done to get such a good meal, but whatever it was it must have been very good. Even when he did something at the Dursleys they thought was good he only got another scoop of food for dinner, not dessert or anything like that.

Lucius and Narcissa would talk to Harry and by the time dinner was finished he was calling them Miss Cissy and Uncle Luc. Draco was surprised at this as first, but laughed it off a second later, but still calling them Mother and Father. Harry began picking up the plates to clean and Draco looked at him.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Draco moved out of his chair and took the plates back, putting them on the table and a house elf appeared and took them with a crack, Harry's eyes wide in surprise.

"I always clean the dishes after dinner, if I don't I get punished." The three adults' hearts broke at that revelation, and Draco frowned slightly before putting a soft hand on Harry's shoulder.

"We don't do that here, that's what house elves are for. You don't have to worry about anything like that anymore, we take care of ourselves and let the elves or our parents do the rest." Lucius and Narcissa nodded in agreement and Snape smiled softly to the little boy.

"We do not lay a hand on children here, it is despicable and not all right. You are a good boy, you do not deserve hand punishment. If you do something to break a rule, there is discipline, but we do not punish here, it is inhumane." Lucius seethed at the mere thought of laying a hand on Draco or the muggles hitting Harry. He nodded obediently and Draco smiled.

"Harry, would you like to go shopping tomorrow? We could go to Diagon Alley." Narcissa looked down the table at Harry and he nodded, not knowing what Diagon Alley was but if they all were going he didn't want to be left alone like the Dursleys. "Wonderful, you two head up to bed and we will leave tomorrow at ten." Draco gave both of his parents a respective head bow and Harry followed suit as the two left the dining room, hearing their patter of feet running a second later.

"Diagon Alley! I can't wait, I haven't been there in a while." Draco nearly skipped to his room and Harry followed him into it, not sure where to go and not wanting to get lost. Draco was in his closet already, pulling pajamas out for himself and Harry, handing him the ones that were green pants and a silver shirt, while he had ones that were silver pants and a green shirt. The two dressed in silence until Draco remembered the bruises from changing Harry earlier, and seeing them again now. "Harry, where did the bruises come from?" Harry looked down and blushed, quickly pulling the shirt over his waist.

"My Aunt, Uncle and cousin hit me." Draco's jaw fell open as he stared wide eyed. He couldn't imagine Narcissa or Lucius hitting him, it must be awful. He walked over and gave Harry a hug before climbing into bed.

"Well no one will hit you anymore, and if they do I'll beat them up!" Harry stood at the foot of the bed, looking around for where he was going to sleep. Draco shimmied over, leaving a space for Harry under the covers and patting it. "Come on, Harry!" He looked reluctant, like it was a trap and Draco crawled over on his hands and knees over the bed and grabbed Harry's wrist, pulling back to the top of the bed, bringing Harry with him. "Now get in." He moved the sheets down so Harry could climb under and placed them back once he had done so. The two laid down and Harry scooted closer to Draco, their foreheads touching.

"I've never slept in a bed before." Harry curled up, his legs up tucked close to his body, trying to take as small a space as possible.

"What? Are you serious?" Harry nodded and Draco draped an arm over Harry's shoulder. "Well now you are sleeping in the best bed, mine is the most comfortable bed in the world!" The two laughed a bit and Draco took Harry's glasses off, putting them on the counter without turning around. "Go to sleep, Harry." Draco tilted his head and kissed Harry's forehead the way his mom did when he was scared from nightmares, it had always soothed him and it seemed to do the trick for Harry because when he looked back at him, his eyes were closed. Draco smiled and shut his own, falling into an easy sleep.

Severus went to check on them a few minutes later, and was surprised to see them asleep already, then surprised once more to see them so close on the bed. Harry had taken to Draco quickly, and Draco to Harry. He smiled at the two of them before shutting their door, letting them sleep.

The next morning Harry woke up hugging something very warm to his chest and he didn't know what it was. He never had anything warm at the Dursleys, when it all came crashing back. He wasn't at the Dursleys, he was at Malfoy Manor. He opened his eyes and saw a pale head of hair and remembered that he fell asleep in Draco's bed. He was right, it was a very comfortable bed. Draco stirred and Harry pulled his arm away so he wouldn't get mad for being held like a teddy bear in the middle of the night. Draco opened his eyes and lay flat on his back, then turning his head to look at Harry.

"Good morning, Harry."

"Good morning, Draco."

Harry would stay in the warm bed all day if he could but he remembered they were going to that place, Diagonally or something like that. He got out of bed and Draco followed, both of them dragging their feet through the soft carpet over to the closet to change into the appropriate clothing for the outing. Harry had spent several minutes looking through Draco's clothes to find something he liked only to have the blonde toss them deeper into the closet and choose something else for him.

When Severus came in to collect the two for the trip, Draco had put Harry in dark gray trousers and a deep green shirt that complimented his eyes nicely, and Draco was in black trousers and a silver shirt. Severus looked at the two of them and the corner of his lips quirked up. "Even at five you have impeccable taste, young Draco." The small blonde beamed and gave a fancy bow to his godfather before giving him a hug. "Come, your mother is waiting." Draco grabbed his robes, pulling them on and running out and down to Narcissa in the study where the fireplace was. Harry, however, was far more hesitant. "Harry?"

"I'm scared." He had never been anywhere outside Privet Drive, for the Dursleys did not take him anywhere they took Dudley, opting to have Mrs. Figg babysit him instead. He didn't know anything about the outside world and it frightened him. Snape smiled slightly at the young boy and collected his thoughts together to find something encouraging to say.

"It's all right, no one is going to hurt you anymore. You're not going back to your Aunt and Uncle ever again. You have six more years before Hogwarts, so you don't have to worry about anyone trying to send you back." Harry looked semi-relieved at that, but was not completely at ease. Severus stood again and held his hand out for the little Potter to take, and even though he had offered it, he still was surprised when the small hand grabbed his. He grabbed the robes Harry was going to wear and walked with him down to Narcissa's study where Draco was nearly jumping up and down with his hand in his mother's. Lucius was not there, seeing as people still looked down upon him for his involvement in the first war, and it would be best for him to stay out of sight for a while.

"Ready then? We were going to Floo but it is such a messy ordeal, and you two are too adorable for messiness!" Narcissa touched her elegant finger to both Harry and Draco's noses and they wrinkled them before smiling at her. "So we will apparate. Harry, do not try to pull away from Severus, you might splinch yourself and it is very painful, so hold tight!" Draco had scrunched his face in concentration and a second later they popped out of existence and Harry jumped, startled.

"Us now, don't let go." Severus smiled and felt the tight hold the younger child had on his hand and concentrated on the Leaky Cauldron, apparating away with a crack. The uncomfortable pressure was harder this time with the addition of Harry, but it ended soon enough and Harry was gasping for breath.

"I don't like that very much at all." He looked around and scooted closer to Severus when he saw all the people staring at him he didn't know.

"What're you looking at? Back to your meager lives!" Snape barked out and everyone turned their attentions to their companions, glancing out of the corner of their eyes at Harry. Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking it was beginning to be a very bad idea they ventured out today. "Sorry, Harry. Shall we?" He moved through the Leaky Cauldron to the back entrance where Narcissa and Draco were waiting patiently.

"Finally!" Well, Narcissa was waiting patiently, anyway. Draco took Harry's hand, but Harry kept a firm hold on Severus, and Draco grabbed his mother's hand with the one not in Harry's. The two adults looked at each other over the children's heads before Narcissa reached out with her wand and tapping the correct bricks, Harry gasping in surprise when they started moving. Slowly, the bricks slid aside and up to make an arch and the alley before them was teeming with life, people were rushing about, cats ran between legs, owls hooted through the skies. Draco was looking at Harry, though, with a broad grin on his face as Harry took it all in, staring in awe.

"Welcome, Harry, to Diagon Alley!"
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Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

Harry was half amazed and half frightened out of his wits. He'd never seen so many people at once, and some had noticed him, pointing and whispering behind hands to each other. Draco led Harry to the first shop to the right, Magical Menagerie, Narcissa and Severus following after them quickly.

Harry did not like the smell of the shop, but he liked the pets inside. There were cats hissing at passerbys, toads hopping, owls hooting and rats chattering. Harry avoided the rats and toads, and the cats as well when he almost got his finger bitten off by an angry gray cat. Draco did not let Harry out of his sight, and the smaller wizard kept close to the blonde.

Draco had stopped in front of the owl cages, looking at a particular tawny owl, when Harry saw a tiny white fluff in one cage. It looked like a little furball and Harry jumped slightly when a little head appeared with golden eyes, looking Harry over. It hooted and puffed itself up more, which just made it look like a bigger fluff ball and Harry giggled at it. Draco stepped over to see what Harry was laughing at and smiled at the snowy owl, sticking a pale finger through the bars to attempt to pet it, and the owl nipped his finger lightly, not at all painfully. When Harry saw Draco wasn't hurt from the nip he stuck in his own considerably smaller finger between the bars, and the little ball of fluff jumped from it's perch and onto his tiny finger, earning a squeal in surprise from Harry and one of delight from Draco.

"Oh that's a baby!" The shop owner had come around then, recognizing the adults then Harry with the tiny owl on his finger. "She hasn't taken well to most people, mostly either ignored 'em or bites their fingers, making them bleed and such. Hedwig's her name. Though you can change it if you like!" He grinned at Harry and Harry looked at Severus with wide, pleading eyes.

"Can I get Hedwig?" Draco looked up and nodded, he like the little bird as well.

"Please please please please please!" Narcissa frowned slightly and tapped Draco's little nose.

"Do not beg, Draco."

"Sorry mother, I apologize." Harry was surprised at how Draco acted, it was like he was an adult already! He would never be able to talk like that, even if someone helped him. Narcissa patted Draco's head and everyone turned to look at Severus.

"All right, but this owl is your responsibility Harry. You will need to feed her, clean her cage and keep her healthy or she'll get very sick." Harry's eyes widened further and he nodded eagerly, letting the owner open the cage and he stuck his other hand in for Hedwig to jump onto the offered hand and she leaped onto his little palm. He cupped it and pulled the tiny owl from her cage and pet her with a finger, earning a happy hoot from Hedwig.

"I love Hedwig!" Harry pulled the fluff ball of an owl into his chest, hugging her with a squeal of happiness. This was the first thing that was ever his own, and he would take good care of her. Draco looked somewhat put out when Severus paid for Harry's owl and they left, Draco empty handed. Hedwig had flitted up to Harry's head and that made Harry laugh more, even Severus smiled at the little owl. They went to Twillfit and Tattings, a higher class robes store, and had Harry fitted as Narcissa and Draco went around looking at fabric. They chose bottle green to match his eyes and regular black, because everyone looked good in black. Harry's robes would be ready in a week and they went across the road to the clothing store, because wizards didn't wear robes all the time, especially five year old ones.

Several hours later, Severus was seriously considering hexing both Malfoys and grabbing Harry and making a run for it. They would never be able to leave otherwise. There was already a sizable pile of trousers, shorts, silky shirts and normal tshirts next to Severus on the bench and it was only growing the more Harry tried on.

"Psst!" Severus looked around, not seeing anything and rubbing his head, knowing he was going mad at being locked in here for so long with Draco and Narcissa. "PSST!" Severus looked around again, and over his shoulder, when he saw green eyes peeking out from under the pile of clothing. Severus widened his eyes and glanced at the blondes on the other side of the room.

"How did you get in there?" Harry lifted his head up a little higher, the end of a sleeve dangling over his head before smiling.

"Magic." Severus rolled his eyes at the muggle retort and Harry disappeared again, just as Draco walked by Severus.

"Have you seen Harry, Uncle Sev?" Draco stopped in front of the potions master and he shook his head, the little blonde confused to where Harry had gone. He headed off to a different part of the store with a wave and Harry peeked back out again.

"I like nice clothes as much as the next person, but this is boring now! Let's mess with Draco." Harry giggled and climbed out of the pile of clothing and settled on Severus' lap when Draco walked back again.

"I – what – Harry! You said you didn't know where he was!" Draco pointed a finger up at Severus and the older wizard raised an eyebrow.

"I said no such thing. Did you not see him sitting here?" Harry had buried his face in Severus' robes in feigned sleep but he was really biting his lip in an effort to not laugh. Draco looked flustered and stomped his foot before stalking off to his mother, Severus snickering once the youngest Malfoy was out of hearing range. "I do believe young Draco is not pleased with you at the moment Harry."

"I didn't mean to make him mad at me, I was just trying to have fun!" Harry's eyes watered, feeling bad for making Draco mad and Severus frowned. Lily's eyes were not supposed to look like that. 'Stop it Severus, this isn't Lily. You're only making irreparable damage by thinking her son is her.' The voice in his mind sounded a lot like Sirius, though the voice sounded intelligent and Black was certainly not. He knew Harry wasn't Lily, but he could treat the boy like he treated her, he certainly wouldn't treat Harry like James, that's for sure.

"I'm sure he will be fine, if anything he is mad at me." That did not comfort Harry much and he scrambled off of Severus' lap and ran off to where he last saw the small blonde, wanting to make Draco happy, Hedwig flying around everyone's heads much to the chagrin of the shopkeeper.

Just fifteen minutes later, the four left, each laden with several bags, all for Harry. He was happy that he was getting clothes for just him, but he reminded himself to never bring up shopping in front of Draco or Narcissa, unless he wanted another experience like today.

"Oh! Mother, can we get ice cream before we go back to the manor?" Draco was looking up at Narcissa with wide, pleading eyes, mouthing 'please' over and over again, not daring to say it in such a fashion she did not approve of, and she merely raised a blonde eyebrow, looking at Harry then to Fortescue's before nodding once. Draco grinned and grabbed Harry's hand and pulling him toward the shop, pressing his nose against the cool glass over the ice cream, deciding the impossible; which flavor?

Harry looked in the glass as well, but he had no idea what flavors they were, he couldn't read and he did not know what ice cream was, he certainly wasn't allowed it at the Dursleys. He decided he'd get whatever Draco did, the blonde usually picked the best things anyway, and the way he got excited about the prospect of ice cream made the thing sound really nice. Draco finally pointed to cookie dough, he loved the dough in the ice cream. He wasn't allowed to have cookie dough by itself whenever the elves made cookies, it was undignified to eat uncooked dough like a muggle, but it was perfectly allowed in ice cream and Draco took every chance to have it. Narcissa ordered a simple cup of vanilla and Severus picked rainbow sherbert, earning strange looks from Narcissa before she smiled and shook her head in a way that clearly said 'I don't want to know'. Harry picked the same as Draco and Fortescue gave them heaping helpings and the four made their way to an empty booth.

Harry eyed his ice cream and Severus looked at the boy not eating, and at Draco digging in with fervor. "Something wrong, Harry?"

"I've just – never had ice cream before. What is it, is it good? Does it taste funny?"

"It's great!" Draco chirped, a bit of ice cream managed it's way onto the tip of his nose without him noticing and Harry burst into peals of laughter and Draco looked at Narcissa and Severus in confusion. "What?" The adults were trying not to laugh and Narcissa wiped Draco's nose off with a napkin, a smile quirked on her lips as she finished her ice cream. Harry calmed down and tentatively scooped some ice cream onto his spoon and flicked his tongue out to lick it, tasting it before his eyes brightened and he stuffed a great spoonful into his mouth just as Narcissa and Severus cried to not do it and Harry's face contorted into pain when he received his first brain freeze. He started to cry when the pain was too much, clutching his head and he refused to have any more ice cream after that, giving it to Draco who eagerly finished it for Harry.

Narcissa remembered that she wanted to get a book from Flourish and Blotts, and they made their way to the bookstore just as the sun was beginning to set, and the lights were being turned on. Hedwig hooted warmly from the pocket of Harry's new robes as he followed along with the Malfoys, Severus walking behind so Harry couldn't fall behind. Once inside, Narcissa headed off to the dark arts section and the boys went to the children's side, Draco picking up a book about dragons and Harry picking up a child's potions book, though only able to make out one or two words at all, not even knowing it was a potions book.

Severus stayed with the boys, not wanting them to get snatched or lost, keeping an eye on both of them even though they had split up to look at the books, Harry rounded the corner when Severus turned to look at Draco, he walked forward, looking at the spines on the books he couldn't read and accidentally ran into a woman with a book held high covering her face from the others in the store. She was reading a book about Harry, someone had taken it upon themselves to write about what happened that fateful Halloween and the woman snorted at the information, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and nearly dropping the book on the child that had run into her.

"Sorry." Harry mumbled and looked up at the woman and she glanced down at him and smiled. She looked quickly over the top of her book, noticing Severus looking around for the boy and nodded once.

"Quite all right...Harry." The two locked eyes and before Harry could ask how she knew his name, Severus called him, appearing around the corner and Harry whirled around.

"Harry, there you are. What are you doing in this section? These are biographies, not very interesting, now are they?" Harry opened his mouth to say he had run into the lady and turned to look at her again, but she had disappeared, leaving her book on the bench by his side, Lily, James and Harry looking up with waves and smiles from the book titled 'Harry's Halloween: What Really Happened that Halloween' by Rita Skeeter. Snape did not notice the book, and brought Harry over to where Narcissa and Draco were waiting in line to purchase her book. "No running off like that, Harry. What if you had gotten taken?" What a way to repay Lily, save her child from the abuse of his aunt and uncle only to get him kidnapped right away. Harry nodded, still thinking about the lady when the bell above the door tinkled and several loud voices filled the massive room, causing Harry to look back at the new people walking in.

"Well I heard he was abducted by aliens." A red haired boy about Harry's age smiled smugly like he knew that was the true story and the slightly taller twins Harry assumed to be the boy's brothers shook their heads.

"No way. He'd stunned his relatives-"

"And stole a motorcycle-"

"Riding in style-"

"To the Leaky Cauldron!" Harry was amazed how the redheaded twins could finish each other's sentences. He wondered what they were talking about when a redheaded girl, most likely their sister, squeaked and pointed at Harry, hiding behind one of the twins. There were seven children with the two adults, all of them with fiery red hair and turned to look speculatively at Harry before the mother recognized him.

"Merlin's beard, that's Harry Potter!" Harry widened his eyes and looked around, before he remembered Severus had said he was Harry Potter. The youngest boy looked starstruck, as did the girl, but the twins marched up and shook Harry's littler hand.

"Hiyah Harry!"

"I'm George Weasley!"

"I'm the better twin, Fred!"

"We're identical, you!" Harry looked between them, wide eyed, mouth slightly open in surprise and he smiled at them shyly. Severus realized people had approached them and sneered at the Weasley clan that seemed to have surrounded himself, Harry, Draco and Narcissa. They all introduced themselves to Harry, the adults Molly and Arthur, the first born Bill who Harry thought looked really nice and gave Harry a good hug, Charlie who smiled warmly, Percy who looked like he wished to be anywhere but there, the twins who'd introduced themselves already, Ron who was currently hiding behind Mrs. Weasley and the only daughter, Ginny who was staring at Harry like a star struck fan. Harry shifted closer to Severus when he saw the look on her face and he swiftly moved him closer to Draco and Narcissa, whispering something in the Lady Malfoy's ear before Molly and Arthur turned on Severus.

"So you kidnapped Harry from his relatives, then?" The Weasley children, Harry and Draco widened their eyes at that, and Snape sneered at them.

"Kidnapping is when the person does not wish to leave the premises. Harry willingly left. Did Albus not inform you of what was happening at the Dursley household?"

"Enlighten us, Snape. I'm quite sure your reasons are completely fair and just." Arthur drawled dryly, and Severus was surprised slightly at it before schooling his features quickly. He wasn't a Slytherin for nothing after all.

"They abused him." Molly gasped, as did Bill, Charlie and Percy, the only ones who knew what abuse was before both Weasley adults had their wands pointed at Snape who pointed his wand back equally quick.

"Lies!" Arthur and Molly snarled and Harry backed up until he felt Draco's arms wrap protectively around him. Narcissa hurriedly purchased her book so they could leave as soon as possible.

"You do not believe me? I didn't think you would, but I suppose you are in his manipulative clutches, too. Albus knew what happened to Harry there, and did nothing. He will not go back to that miserable house ever again." Snape snarled and Narcissa walked back and put a soft hand on his shoulder, Draco's hand tightly in her own and his other hand clasped in Harry's. The Weasleys noticed Harry and Draco's hands and it seemed the only ones who didn't see any problem with it were the twins and Bill.

"You've brainwashed the boy! Spouted lies to take him to the Dark!"

"No, I haven't. I've told him nothing but the truth, and the truth makes the Light sound like monsters to him. He's only five and everyone is already dictating his life! You disgust me." Severus took Harry's free hand and left before the Weasleys could say anything, passing by the same woman Harry ran into earlier, lowering her Charms book with her eyes brimming in unshed tears at the conversation she had over heard.

Severus, Narcissa, Draco and Harry promptly apparated back to Malfoy Manor and Arthur apparated to Hogsmeade, heading straight for Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore Snape had Harry. Though he'd been gone one day, there was already a search and Dumbledore would be able to get Harry out of the Death Eater clutches immediately and put into a nice place, possibly the Burrow. Molly took the children back home, Ginny crying at not being able to talk to Harry and Ron gloating like they were best mates even though he said hardly two words to the little wizard. Fred and George had smacked the palm of their hand on their faces, dragging it down slowly at their brother's antics and Bill smirked at the twins. They were the most interesting people he knew, and Bill knew a lot of people. No one at Hogwarts was as good at inventing and creating like the twins and they were hilarious to boot. With a blank glance at Percy, who was most definitely the stuffiest kid ever, Bill flooed to the Burrow after Fred and George, cuffing them on the head in a brotherly fashion and receiving identical arm swats before heading up to their respective rooms.

"Snape has the boy, Albus." Arthur spoke from the comfy chair in front of the Headmaster's desk, declining a lemon drop. Albus had a strange twinkle in his blue eyes and he nodded slowly.

"I had assumed as such. Kidnapping is a jailable offense, do you know where he has been taken, Arthur?" Dumbledore looked over his half moon spectacles at the balding red head, and Arthur only shook his head.

"He didn't say. But it shouldn't be too difficult, right? Just put a trace on Snape's magic and Harry is with him, then someone goes to collect him from the middle of those Death Eaters and bring him back to one of the Order." Dumbledore merely nodded, it was rather simple to track young Harry. He was needed for the master plans, after all, and Dumbledore was not about to let his most important chess piece get tainted into Darkness.

"Correct, my boy." Arthur seemed slightly miffed at being called 'my boy' but said nothing and Dumbledore continued. "I was thinking the Burrow. I'm sure you and Molly wouldn't mind the one extra." He smiled warmly, something he learned a long time ago that usually got people to do as he said, and true to his thought, Arthur nodded eagerly.

"We would love to take in Harry Potter, our young Ginny adores him and Ron wishes to be the best of friends with him."

"Then it is settled, I will collect the boy and bring him to the Burrow. Now if you'll excuse me I have heavy tracking to do." Arthur knew that was his dismissal and he hurried out of the castle to tell Molly that she would have another child to care after.

Albus turned to several of his instruments sitting on the counter top, spinning one, twirling another until a piece of parchment shot out into the air, fluttering softly onto the table, an address printed on the top. With a smirk, Dumbledore grabbed Fawkes and disappeared in a burst of flame.

Severus was fuming when they reached the manor, Narcissa silent and neither Harry nor Draco knew what was going on. The house elves had come to take the bags and put the items away, Dobby staying to protect and help the little master, he had taken very well to Harry, and even though Dobby had scared the living daylights out of Harry the first time he met the elf, Harry supposed the elf wasn't all bad, after he promised to never scare Harry like that again.

"Infuriating Weasleys! Never could keep their noses in their own business though their firstborn is quite the potions maker." Severus shook his head to clear the tangent that was starting to form about Bill Weasley and continued to pace. Harry and Draco were sitting in the chairs, watching him go back and forth and Narcissa merely huffed silently, Lucius as furious once the two adults had told the Malfoy patriarch of the day's activities. Hedwig flew around the room on occasion to stretch her fluffy wings, landing gracefully in Harry's lap and he absently pet her while watching the adults.

"So they believe you've convinced Harry to side with Voldemort?" Severus grimaced and nodded, while Lucius looked thoughtful. "It is not a bad idea actually." Narcissa turned too face her husband in shock and alarm and he raised his hands in defense. "Listen, if we can tell him what the Dark Lord really does, not Dumbledore's rumored perception of what he stands for, Harry will surely choose correctly. Plus, with giving him both sides and allowing him to choose, he could let his own mind come up with the allegiances without them being stuffed into his head positively or negatively like they would have with Dumbledore or any of those others."

"That," Severus began, his tone verging on anger but he paused and let the entirety of Lucius' words sink in, as well as their meaning, "is a good idea." Lucius beamed and Narcissa dropped her jaw to the floor in shock, quickly shutting it when she remembered who and where she was.

"You can't tell him about the Dark Lord now! He's only five, he doesn't even understand magic yet!"

"Would you rather wait until he is seventeen and have his mind poisoned by Albus and the others for the greater good?" It was no secret that 'for the greater good' was how Dumbledore worked, not for the best of the people around, but for what was best in the end, particularly for himself. A great deal of the wizarding world bought that he was using that for the betterment of the world, and they were seeing the manipulations and lies as something good.

Narcissa did not have a chance to say anything because the bell to the front gates rang and another minute later the front doorbell chimed. Not expecting anyone, Lucius and Narcissa stood and headed into the hall, Severus, Harry and Draco looking out to see what was going on. Dobby opened the door and three people stood tall, Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge and Alastor Moody.

"How can Dobby help Dumbly-door?" Lucius smirked at the elf, normally the elves let visitors in to wait in a study, but Dobby kept Dumbledore on the stoop, without anyone telling him to. He was a rather good elf, even if he tended to punish himself more than necessary for thinking he did something wrong when he didn't.

"We have come to collect Harry Potter and put him with a suitable guardian, the savior of the wizarding world will not be in the house of a known Death Eater!" Severus pulled Harry and Draco back into the room and went to the wall of books, pulling one and a hidden hallway appeared, just tall enough for them to stand easily.

"Hide! They must not take Harry!" Draco nodded in determination, Harry looking terrified before Draco pulled him down the hall and out of Severus' sight. He barely had time to stand and move over several feet to not raise suspicion about the bookcase before Dumbledore burst into the room.

"Where is the boy Severus?" Dumbledore strode to the middle of the room and Severus stayed by the shelves.

"What boy?"

"You know very well what boy! Harry Potter! It was told that he was seen in your company at Diagon Alley." Lucius, Narcissa and Severus all seethed inwardly, knowing it was a Weasley who told Dumbledore. Severus raised one shoulder slightly at the Headmaster.

"You've lost Harry Potter? What will the wizarding world do without it's savior?" The Slytherins snickered under their breath behind Dumbledore who was quickly getting rather angry. Moody's glass eye was whirling in it's socket and Severus mentally swore, Moody could see through walls and floors with it, he was no doubtedly seeing the two at that moment. Suddenly, Albus popped away, Lucius, Narcissa and Severus blinking in shock. They had anti apparition wards on the house, much like Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, after bursting out of the hidden hallway that the doorway was hidden behind Draco's desk, the two crawled out and looked around for a place to hide. Draco pulled Harry to the monstrous closet, sure that even if someone looked in there no one could see them behind all of the clothes. He pushed Harry in it, following and closing the door until only a crack of light came through, peeking out to take watch. Harry backed up, hand outstretched slightly behind him for the back of the closet, not feeling it after several steps.

'Draco's closet is big!' Finally Harry felt the wall again, stumbling over toys on the floor. He slid down the wall, pulling his knees into his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs, he looked down at the toys surrounding him. Most were broken or care worn, gadgets and trinkets. The thing that caught his attention, however, was a stuffed dragon. Emerald green with a silver streak from the top of it's head to the tip of it's tail, it reminded him of Draco. He picked up the soft toy and it puffed smoke from it's felt nostrils, just like a real dragon. He clutched it to his chest, wishing his dragon would come and sit with him.

Harry had heard Narcissa call Draco Dragon, and he thought it was a perfect name. From what Draco said when Harry asked, a dragon was fierce, powerful and very protective of it's eggs and babies. Though Harry didn't think of himself as Draco's baby, he knew that Draco was protective of him, like a little brother. Suddenly Draco shut the door completely and pushed the clothing out of the way and hurriedly went to Harry, kneeling next to him and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy, pressing his cheek against Harry's as they both looked at the door, frightened.

"Young Mr. Malfoy I know you are in here, release Harry at once. He can not stay here in the care of your parents or Severus. He needs to be with people who can care for him." Draco was shaking in anger, his parents and Uncle Sev were caring for Harry just fine! He wasn't about to hand his best friend over to Dumbledore, who knows when he'd get to see Harry again? Harry was shaking like a leaf in a stiff wind, holding both the stuffed dragon and his warm dragon close. Soft footsteps creaked around the room and the closet door was flung open and both boys froze in fear of being discovered.

Clothes were pushed aside, some falling off their hangers to pile on the floor. Harry made a soft noise and Draco quietly and quickly put his hand over Harry's mouth to silence him, both staring at the Headmaster's feet, willing them to leave. The feet turned away and the two relaxed, breathing out a small sigh when the shirts in front of them were whipped apart and hands grabbed both Harry and Draco, pulling them up and apart. Draco was struggling against the surprisingly strong hold Dumbledore hand on him, and Harry was looking down at the floor, large tears sliding down his cheeks, terrified of the man in front of him. He wanted Severus, even Lucius or Narcissa, they never handled him this way. He was like Uncle Vernon in Harry's mind, and when Dumbledore let go of Draco Harry flinched harshly, waiting for the cuff that he was sure he would receive.

Draco, who was pushed to the floor, popped up easily and tried to pry Harry out of Dumbledore's grasp but the elder wizard ignored the feeble strength against him and strode out of the room and headed for the front door, reaching the first floor within the minute.

"You're terrifying him! Just look at Harry, he doesn't want to go with you!" Narcissa had rushed forward when Dumbledore appeared, her motherly instincts running into overdrive, wishing she could just hold the child in her arms and will the tears away until he felt safe again. Draco ran down a second after, crying and still trying to pry a silently tearing Harry away from Dumbledore until Moody growled and back handed Draco, knocking him to the floor with a cry and Narcissa screamed for her son, rushing over to him and both Lucius and Severus raised their wands at Moody's head. Harry started wailing to join Draco's cries and it was a madhouse.

"He will be placed in a home where he can be properly loved and cared for, not in the hands of Death Eaters. Goodbye." Harry screamed and started struggling then, wanting to stay with Draco, still clutching the stuffed dragon to his chest with one arm. The door shut behind him, Moody and Fudge and a red spell hit the door, a second too late. Draco's wails were trying to be soothed by Narcissa who had tears streaming down, rubbing Draco's hair in an attempt to calm him down, both Lucius and Severus still livid at Moody hitting Draco, coupled with the fact that Dumbledore practically stole Harry right from under him.

"I – I didn't even get to s-say goodbye!" Draco wailed and buried his face in his mother's long silky blonde hair, clutching her like the world was ending, and for him it was. He'd only known Harry for about two days and his being taken caused his entire world to crumble around him.

"We will get him back, my Dragon. He will be with us again soon." Narcissa soothed Draco and his cries died down until he had cried himself to sleep on her shoulder. She put one hand on his hair and looked at her husband and he nodded in reassurance. They would have Harry again, it was obvious everyone in the room had taken to the little raven haired child in the short span of time he was at the manor.

The two wizards headed off to see what they could do about getting Harry back, Severus to Spinner's End to think and Lucius to his study. Narcissa picked the slumbering Draco up and walked to his room to lay him on the bed, tucking him gently in and pressing a comforting kiss to his forehead before wiping a stray tear away as she shut his door.

Severus stepped out of the floo and kicked the nearest thing in anger, which happened to be an empty cauldron that skittered across the floor, scaring his cat in the process. The people who knew of said cat were surprised when they learned he had it, the cat was tearing through his garden when he first saw it, fur a light ginger with a black spot on the underside. Normally, Severus would have just hexed the cat into next Thursday for annihilating his garden, but when the cat looked up at him it had green eyes that reminded him of Lily, and the cat was spared. It was very thin, he could see the cat's ribs easily under it's fur and he decided to take it in and at least let it return to health before releasing it back out to the streets. That was a year ago when he brought in the cat that only answered to Rose, no matter how hard he tried to get it to be named something more befitting a cat under Severus' care.

Rose looked up at him from under her hiding place under the chair and Severus sighed. Sometimes he wondered if the cat was a human in her past life because the look on her face was plainly saying 'what crawled up your arse and died', and she always could get him to talk about what was wrong with him when he wouldn't tell anyone else. He didn't think anything of it though, she was just a cat it wasn't like she would go off and run to the Prophet. She moved out from her hiding place and stopped in front of his feet, hitting back and looking up at him expectantly. Rose was a very smart cat, all cats were, but she was even more so in Severus' opinion.

"I had him, Rose. I had Harry and was fulfilling my promise to Lily before she died. She wanted me to protect him and Albus stole him away because Lucius and I are Death Eaters. Saying he needs to be in a house where he would be properly cared for and loved. We were caring and loving him just fine on our own!" Severus paused then, realizing what he had said before a small smile curled on his lips. "I love Harry, he's like a son already. It's hard not to, even Lucius adores the boy and you know how difficult Lucius is sometimes." Of course Rose didn't know, she had never left the house and Lucius hadn't ever been to Snape's house, opting for Severus to come to the manor if they needed to speak. Rose only meowed.

"You'd like him Rose." Severus moved to the couch, springs and fluff sticking out of the cushions here and there and Rose jumped up next to him, curling in on herself and he gently scratched behind her ears. "He's very small for his age though, his relatives abused him. Draco was beginning to work wonders on the boy, he was beginning to crack at the shell Harry lives in, but now I know Harry will have retreated even further into it at being taken to people he'd never met before. What if they're like the Weasleys, Harry needs love and attention and he would just be lost in the ruckus of seven other children. He could get taken to someone like the Dursleys, and they treat him like a house elf!" Severus stood suddenly, nearly knocking Rose off the couch in the process.

"I need to get him back! At first, I wanted to keep him safe for Lily, but now I know him, and I was to protect him for himself, because I want to keep him in my life." Severus spoke mostly to himself at the end and rushed around the room, picking up several papers before petting Rose on the head and disappearing in green flames back to Malfoy manor. Rose licked her paw, hoping Severus found a way to bring Harry back to him, from wherever Albus had taken the child.
---

Chapter 2: The Burrow

Harry was still wailing twenty minutes after they had left and Moody was about at his wit's end. Harry had seen Moody back hand Draco and he was scared of being hit, he knew from the Dursleys that crying got him hit more than anything else but he just couldn't get himself to stop. Dumbledore had a hand on Harry's shoulder, pushing him along the walk to the several story house that was precariously leaning like children's building blocks.

He sniffled, face wet with tears and clutching the little dragon to his heart, he decided he was naming the dragon Drake because nothing could replace Draco, but the dragon was helping. About fifteen feet from the door of the house the door burst open and a woman bustled through, coming out to meet them half way.

"I'm so happy to see you, Harry! You'll fit right along with us, loads of boys to have fun and play with here!" Harry merely blinked owlishly at her and Dumbledore pushed him toward her and she put a hand on his shoulder, looking at Albus. "Thank you for allowing us to care for him, Albus."

"No trouble at all, Molly." With a wave, he and Moody left and Harry raised his hand in a rude hand gesture he saw Dudley do to another boy and Mrs. Weasley saw it and smacked the hand.

"You don't do that, bad boy!" Harry's eye's watered, he didn't know what it was exactly, he just knew it wasn't good but he didn't know he would have gotten in trouble for it. His hand stung from her slap and he cradled that into his chest next to his dragon and walked along after Mrs. Weasley into the Burrow. The Weasleys were in various rooms on the first floor, Bill and Charlie teaching Ron how to play Wizard's Chess in the living room, Fred and George dangling a big spider on a string over Ron from behind the couch, Percy reading a large tome on the kitchen table, and Ginny lay on her stomach in the hall, writing in her diary but at the current stage of writing is was just squiggles across the page but she must've been writing about something good from the look on her face.

"All right you lot, Harry's going to live with us from now on! Make him feel at home, and no pranking him!" Mrs. Weasley looked directly at Fred and George who his the spider-on-a-stick behind their backs but it didn't work, the spider loomed over Fred's head and Ron screamed when he finally saw it, bursting into tears which caused an already tearing Harry to start sobbing, dropping down on his bum where he stood and crying into Drake, making it all wet. Everyone ignored Ron and flew to Harry which startled him more to have Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Ginny trying to coddle him into stopping his tears, he rolled into a little ball and cried harder. All of the people were scaring him and he wanted the grandeur of the manor, this place looked like it would fit entirely in his and Draco's rooms combined, the mansion was that much larger than the Burrow. It seemed silly that after four years of the little cupboard under the stairs that two days in a mansion would make him want to be back in the larger house. This house was perfectly nice, it seemed inviting and warm but Harry didn't like any place that didn't have the Malfoys and Severus, they were like his new family.

When Harry didn't respond or uncurl from his fetal position half the Weasleys realized that all the people must've scared him. Mrs. Weasley went back to cleaning dinner dishes, Charlie and Bill took Ginny to put her to to bed and Fred and George went over to calm the still crying Ron, letting Harry have his space for a bit.

It took several minutes and showing hands and pockets empty of little brother startling spiders before Ron even stopped wailing. He was hyperventilating now, trying to catch his breath but no tears fell any longer. Fred took this moment to check on Harry who was still curled into the tiniest little ball at the door to the living room.

"Hey little guy, you okay?" Fred kneeled next to Harry and soothingly rubbed his arm. He got in trouble a lot and tricked his younger siblings making them cry but he also knew how to get them to feel better after he did that, the only reason Mrs. Weasley had yet to seriously punish the twins because they could stop the tears and make the crying Weasley laugh.

Harry opened his bloodshot eyes and shook his head, face slowly contorting to start crying again and Fred quickly shushed the younger boy, running his hand over the dark hair. "Shh Raven, it's okay."

Harry hiccuped and looked at Fred a long moment before croaking out a, "Raven?". Fred smiled and ruffled Harry's hair a bit.

"Yeah, your hair is black like a raven, we give people nicknames, George and I. Bill is Fang because he's got that earring that Mum went mad over when he got it a few months ago, Charlie is Char because he wants to be a dragon tamer and they char with their flames, Percy is Specs because he's the only one with glasses, well besides Dad that is, Georgie is Forge and I'm Gred because no one can tell us apart, Ron is Knight because even though he's just learning, Ron's pretty good at Wizard's Chess already and Ginny is Fireball because have you seen that one angry? Scary sight, that!" Fred chuckled to himself and the very corner of Harry's mouth quirked slightly and he sat up, holding Drake close to his chest, not wanting to lose the dragon. "Up you get, can't have you laying on the floor the whole time." Harry didn't smile but he held strong to Fred when the older boy had helped him stand, he looked at the twin without blinking, committing his face to memory since there were so many people here to know and remember. "Are you tired, Raven?" Harry shook his head, but a loud yawn forced it's way out, then he sheepishly nodded.

"Yes." Harry kept close to Fred, and when he went to get his twin, Harry was glad he didn't have to remember two faces, just one and specific things about each boy to make sure he was talking to the right one. It would be bad if he said he was talking to George and he was actually talking to Fred. He knew he would hate it if someone called him someone else's name and not his own, so he remembered to find things about the twins that made them different from each other, starting in the morning when his brain worked properly after a good night's sleep.

"All right, Forge time to take our little Raven up to bed. He's going with Ron, right?"

"No!" Harry squeaked and latched onto Fred's arm and the redhead looked wide eyed for a minute before slowly nodding.

"Want to room with us for the night, then?" When Harry nodded quickly he turned to George and the two walked up the stairs to the second landing, going to a door that had several papers on it, ranging from 'Fred and George's Room!' to 'Keep Out: No Ron's Allowed'. Harry giggled softly at that note and the twins looked around like they were harboring a dangerous animal behind the innocent cream door, turning the handle and opening the door big enough to slip themselves and Harry in before shutting the door again and locking it for good measure.

The twins' room reflected their personalities. The walls were each painted a different color, black, blue, green and red. Hardly a spot of wall was clear, though, each wall had a different set of taped things on it, the black wall had inventions, the blue had recipes, green with potion ingredients and red with a list of things the two of them had started to invent already.

For being only seven, Fred and George were incredibly smart and intelligent, no matter how much their playful antics attempted to show that they were anything but. It would be difficult to not notice these things when looking at the paper covering the walls and the inventions here and there that they had created from scratch that actually worked. Harry was quite amazed with it all and the twins were quite quickly becoming red haired Draco's of sorts. He didn't much like the others in the house, but he hadn't hung around them long enough to fully form any opinions about them, but he very much enjoyed being around Fred and George, almost as much as Draco or having his little plush dragon.

"You can sleep on my bed, Raven. We're used to sharing a bed anyway!" Fred walked Harry over to the bed by the window with a fancy 'F' on the headboard, helping with taking his shoes off before helping the smaller boy into the comfortable bed, Drake tucked under his chin for safekeeping. Fred pulled his glasses off and ruffled the dark hair before tucking Harry into bed and moving over to George's bed and shutting out the light, the three quickly falling into dreams.

They were woken, seemingly minutes later, by a loud crash downstairs. Fred shot up in surprise, knocking George out of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thump. Harry scrunched his eyes slightly before opening them and finding the world to be slightly blurry around the edges before realizing he didn't have his glasses on. Grabbing them from the side table, he sat up, looking around in a daze, still half asleep.

"Good morning, little Raven!" Fred greeted chirpily and George reciprocated, rubbing his sore bum and Harry only smiled slightly, saying nothing.

"FRED! GEORGE! YOU GET YOUR SORRY SELVES IN HERE AND GET BREAKFAST!"

"Ah, the dulcet tones of dear Bill, come on Raven let's have breakfast!" Fred and George grinned at each other and then looked at Harry who was untangling himself from the sheets, then running his hands along the bed until they found what he was looking for, pulling out the somewhat squished dragon and scurrying over to the twins, tilting his head back just slightly to softly smile to say he was ready to go.

They walked down the crooked stairway into the kitchen, smells of breakfast wafting thickly in the air and Harry's stomach gave a particularly loud rumble in hunger and he flushed in embarrassment. Mr. Weasley was sitting at the head of the table, eating quickly to head off to work, nearly dropping his coffee into his lap in the process. Ron nor Ginny were down yet, Percy was reading yet another book, listlessly stabbing his eggs on occasion to eat but paying more attention to the book and Charlie and Bill were having a contest on who could eat more pancakes. A plate full of pancakes, eggs, hash browns and toast was put in front of Fred, George and Harry as they sat down, one twin on either side of the younger boy. Ron stumbled downstairs then, causing the loudest ruckus Harry had ever heard, more so than Dudley and the boy was several times larger than Ron. A plate of breakfast appeared in front of Ron and he dug in quickly, ignoring everyone else until his stomach was reasonably full.

Harry looked at his breakfast and with one hand clutched the over used fork, a stark contrast to the gleaming silver from the manor and stabbed at his scrambled eggs, tasting them hesitantly. They were good, but ash in comparison to the elves' cooking. Harry supposed he should stop comparing everything to that spectacular and immaculate manor, he was stuck here for the unforeseeable future.

Ron was trying to get his attention, he could tell. For one the boy was looking right at him, talking through a mouthful of food that Harry learned through only a day of meals that was bad manners. For another, everyone was now looking at him, expecting an answer.

"What?" Ron looked irritated at having to repeat himself and promptly chewed the food in his mouth to make it easier to speak but still not swallowing it completely and when he spoke again some food flew out and Harry recoiled back from it, nose wrinkled.

"I said, what are you doing with that stupid dragon? You should have a lion, start things off on the right foot." Fred, George and Charlie gave Ron dirty looks, the twins for Harry's sake and Charlie for insulting a dragon, no matter it's fluffy and felt qualities.

"I-it's Drake." Harry answered, like is was the answer to all questions, and to him it was. It did not placate the red head, however, and he reached across the table and deftly snatched the green dragon from the crook in Harry's arm there it was comfortably held and out of the way of the food. Harry cried out and attempted to take the dragon back, but his arms were too short, he was smaller than Ginny. He scrambled at the table, trying to reach his dragon but Ron held it away, laughing at Harry.

"Why are you being such a tosser?"

"Would you appreciate it if we took Al?" Al was a stuffed lion, Ron's security blanket of sorts and he looked horrified at the prospect of the twins taking it. Fred and George fumed and snatched the dragon, the other cuffing their brother in the head before handing the little dragon back to a sniffling Harry who was wiping his eyes from unshed tears, looking at his barely eaten food with all traces of an appetite gone. "You are a bully, Ronald Weasley." Ron flinched at his whole name and looked down at his plate, eating in silence. Harry twisted in his seat and slid out of it, squeezing between his and Fred's chair and going out into the backyard. A gnome scuttled by him when he passed the garden, aiming a swift kick to his shin that sailed through the air, connecting against nothing and the force making the gnome fall onto it's back with a loud huff.

Harry stopped in the middle of the garden, looking around for somewhere to sit and hide when a little pixie no longer than his hand flitted around and suddenly halted right in front of his face, scrutinizing. The little boy pixie had his hands on his waist, back curved as he peered at Harry's shocked face, searching for something he obviously found because the boy smiled widely.

"'Allo there!" Harry's eyes widened perceptibly and he stuttered out a hello. "What're you doin' here? I never seen you here before! Only those little red headed bits."

"I – I guess I live here now." Harry was still somewhat shocked at the pixie. He had no shirt on, and a plethora of leaves making knee length pants. A long strip of plucked grass was wrapped around his head and he didn't have shoes either. The pixie was rather dirty all over from living outside and Harry couldn't even see his wings in the fervor they were beating, like a hummingbird's in it's quickness.

"Ah, welcome then! I'm Pannington Thunderbrooke, Prince of Wheeze Leeze Garden. But you can call me Pan, if you like! Who're you?" Pan scratched his black hair, crossing his arms over his lithe chest, waiting for an answer.

"I'm Harry."

"You don't look very hairy." Pan looked Harry over and landed his eyes on Harry's hair. "Except there." Harry's hand flew to his messy black hair and he frowned slightly.

"No, Harry Potter."

"You killed the Voldy Mort? I didn't expect you to be so...small."

"I'm five. You're smaller than me!" Pan's face went red, like he didn't want to be reminded of his significantly smaller stature. He flew off in a huff only to return a second later.

"Well in comparison to the red heads you're small. Even the girly is bigger than you." Harry huffed and clutched the little dragon closer, Pan noticed it and was about to say something, amusement dancing in his violet eyes before Harry heard the sounds of people calling him.

"Harry?"

"Little Raven? Har – oh there you are. George, here he is." Harry turned his head and spotted Fred and George pushing leaves aside and heading over a small buzz filled the air and when Harry turned to look at Pan again, he was gone. Harry didn't know quite how he felt about the little pixie boy, he was a bit irksome, but he instinctively wanted to know more, he'd never seen a pixie before.

"What are you doing out here in the garden by yourself? What if you'd hurt yourself?"

"Right, Harry! That would be terrible, but let's not think about that, 'cos you're safe with us now!" George put his arm around Harry's smaller shoulders and Fred ruffled his hair to a further state of mess. They started pulling him out of the garden and back to the house, but Harry wriggled out from under them.

"I want to stay out in the garden. I met a pixie. Pan, he's a prince!" Both Fred and George looked stunned, they didn't know there were pixies in the garden. They looked around them like a hoard of them would suddenly rush forth, but nothing happened. "Pan!" Harry faced the center of the garden and the cap of a red mushroom lifted and Pan's tiny head was exposed.

"What?" He flew out and hovered a foot away from Harry's nose, giving a sudden noise of surprise when he noticed Fred and George behind Harry. "Wheeze Leeze twins!" Pan went into a floating bow, nearly folding completely over at the waist, his hair brushing his feet. "I have seen you pranking the other red head bits, the littlest boy one screams so funnily with the spider!" Pan laughed heartily, grabbing his stomach and leaning back, catching his breath. He lay on his side, as if he were sitting on a couch and propped his head in one hand, looking rather comfortable for floating on nothing. Fred and George chuckled slightly and gave little bows.

"Thank you my good...pixie. We're Fred and George, by the way." Fred pointed respectively and Pan was standing again, chest puffed out in pride as he spoke his whole name and title.

"Pannington Thunderbrooke! Prince of Wheeze Leeze Garden and appointed Potter Pixie!" Harry whipped his head to look at Pan, eyes wide.

"W-what?"

"Appointed Potter Pixie, duh. You bits couldn't see me otherwise. Unappointed pixies are invisible to the human bits." Pan stared incredulously, like it was common knowledge.

"That's why we never knew we had pixies! They're invisible. Wicked!"

"Didn't you know?" Pan looked at Harry, eyebrow raised and the little wizard shook his head.

"So you're like Tinkerbell, then?"

"You know Lady Tink?" In his surprise, Pan dropped several inches, his wings momentarily stunned. He fluttered back up again, newfound respect on his face.

"Tinkerbell was in my cousin's movie about fairy tales."

"Pixie tales."

"Sorry?" Harry looked at Pan, confused. Fred and George had sat down on the cross cross legged and Pan dropped down and stood on Fred's knee, motioning for Harry to sit as well, his wings were getting tired after all.

"We're pixies, not fairies. Fairies can't speak and only have one emotion at a time. Pixies obviously can speak and we're much better than a fairy, at least we can be useful. What can a fairy do, sit around and do nothing, that's what!" Harry giggled at that, finding it strangely and incredibly funny. "Lady Tink is an appointed Pan Pixie, off in Neverland!" Pan pointed up at the blue sky that had no stars visible. "Second star on the right and straight on 'til morning! Or, would be if there were stars out right now." Pan blinked up into the bright light of the sun, hands on his hips again.

"I didn't know Neverland was real. I thought it was all make be-" In an instant Pan was in front of Harry, his hands forcefully keeping his lips closed.

"Don't say that! Saying things are MB causes a plague on a pixie village, slowly and painfully killing each and every pixie, animal and crop. The village becomes dilapidated and the garden the pixies live in dies, never to be revived again. It's happening more and more these days, people thinking pixies and other magical things are MB!"

"Fred! George! Harry! Time for lunch!" Mrs. Weasley called from the door, looking around for the three children but not spotting them, assuming they were playing some sort of game. She called them once again before returning to the kitchen and the three were shocked to realize how long they'd been in the garden.

"Come on Harry, let's go." Fred and George started to get up and Pan flew off of Fred's knee, giving them a salute before turning to a still sitting Harry.

"See you Harry! If you need anything, just whistle! You can whistle, can't you?" Harry's brows furrowed and he looked to the twins and Fred whistled in example, Harry pursing his lips and only the whoosh of air was heard. "Ah, can you snap?" Pan snapped with one hand, and motioned to Harry with the other and Harry brought one hand up and pressed his fingers together, then sliding them creating a loud crack and both he and Pan grinned. "Great! Just snap and I'll find you, no matter where you are. Bye!" Pan drifted away, whistling a happy tune and disappeared under the cap of a large purple mushroom that looked rather poisonous.

"Wow, you've got a pixie. That's something I never expected when we came to find you." Fred was stroking his chin, thinking and George nodded, leaning over to help Harry stand, really noticing the plush dragon in his arms.

"Where did you get that dragon, anyway?" Harry looked down, surprised, he had forgotten that he was still carrying it around in the excitement.

"It's Draco's."

"Draco?"

"Draco Malfoy?" Harry nodded and smiled, hugging the dragon closer, wishing it was Draco and not a stuffed dragon. The twins said nothing and Harry headed off to the door, his stomach rumbling loudly since he had barely had a bite for breakfast. Mrs. Weasley made sandwiches of all sorts and Harry gave the tuna ones a look before grabbing two chicken ones and going into the living room where the others were, Fred and George following with three each. Harry settled on the floor against the couch Bill was sitting at, Fred and George on either side like body guards.

Ron gave Harry a glare from playing Wizard's Chess with Charlie and Harry nearly dropped his sandwich because of it. He didn't give Ron any reason to hate him, if anything he should hate Ron. Harry picked up the fallen sandwich and bit into it vigorously, giving Ron a look that was immediately cut off when a pink and red ball was hurled at him, and after a second he realized it was Ginny.

"Hi Harry! How are you, where were you earlier? I was looking for you because I wanted to talk and I want to be your friend. Mom says you saved us all from You-Know-Who and you're the Boy-Who-Lived! I think that's really cool and I really want to be your friend. Can we be friends, Harry? Can we?" Harry blinked at her, the whole speech about two seconds long and Harry only heard about half.

"Lay off the guy, Gin!"

"Yes, no need to attack him like a particularly good slice of cake!"

"Why do you want to be friends with him, he's just here because no one else wants him." Harry froze at Ron's words, tears filling his eyes and threatening to spill over. It wasn't true, couldn't be! Draco wanted him, right? Uncle Luc, Miss Cissy, Sev? He didn't know what to think anymore and a large tear spilled down his cheek and he hugged his little dragon, rocking slowly trying not to completely sob.

"Merlin, Ron! You just know the best things to say to him!"

"Just don't talk around Harry anymore Ron, since you only make him cry." Fred and George glared at their younger brother and Bill leaned down and calmly soothed Harry by running his hand over the dark head, shushing him to try and get him to stop shaking so hard.

"I want to go home." Harry had pulled his legs up into his chest, wrapping his arms around them and rested his chin on his knees, the soft dragon pressed into his stomach from his legs.

"Harry, you are home. This is your home now." Bill smiled warmly to the crying child, though he couldn't see it since Bill was behind him sitting on the couch.

"No it's not. Home is with Draco, Miss Cissy, Uncle Luc and Sev. This is just a place I live." Harry stood suddenly and ran out of the room, stumbling up the stairs to Fred and George's room, the door shutting with a loud bang.

A minute later, a little ball of fluff came shooting in the window, circling heads looking for the one the little package was for and not finding him, settling on crash landing on Bill's lap, exhausted from carrying the package so far and being such a small owl. Ginny, who was dumbstruck during Harry's troubles, squealed and reached for the owl, only to draw back her hand with a deep bite on her finger, eyes brimming with tears in pain.

"Stupid owl, it bit me!"

"It must not like you, because we have yet to be bit." Fred, George and Bill were petting the white fluff which was Hedwig, Fred untying the package from her tiny leg. "It's for Harry! I wonder if this is his owl, let's bring it to him." Fred and George got up as did Bill to their surprise who wanted to check on Harry. The three made their way up the stairs to the second landing, Fred holding the package and Hedwig resting on Bill's shoulder as they went into the twins' room.

Harry looked at them, surprised and eyes red from crying. He noticed Hedwig perched on Bill's shoulder, then the package in Fred's hands. "Is that for me?" He got off the bed and made his way over to the three Weasleys, taking the package and moving back to the bed, setting the little dragon down to open his package.

The first thing he saw was a note. He frowned at it because he couldn't read it, turning to the three red heads with it extended in a silent request. Bill took it and read through it, Fred and George looking over his shoulder before he read it out loud.

'Dear Harry;

We really miss you at the manor, you were only here a short time but now it feels so lonely. Mother, who is writing this for me because I can't quite write yet, says even the elves are sad you've gone. Father is trying to find a way to get you back, where you belong. Him and Uncle Sev have been talking about something important, but I don't know what, just that you're involved. You left Hedwig so I sent her with the package because we all wanted to send you something because who knows if you are even noticed with all of those others there! I miss you and hope to see you soon, even if you don't come home with us.

Love, Draco

P.S. Dobby says hello, and he wishes you were back, also.'

"Love?" Fred raised an eyebrow and Bill shook his head.

"Malfoy is five, he doesn't know what love even is yet." Harry had his eyes closed since Bill started with 'Dear Harry' and sniffled softly before turning back to the package. Opening his eyes when he was sure nothing would escape, he pulled out a book about dragons, from Draco, a plate of sugar cookies Narcissa made herself, a wrist band with the Malfoy crest on it to remember them by from Lucius and a small photo album from Severus.

There were pictures of Lucius and Narcissa at social events, one of Draco with flour on his nose attempting to make cookies with Narcissa and Dobby, pictures of Severus grumbling and sneering at whoever took the pictures and even a picture of Harry and Draco peacefully and innocently sleeping the first night, taken by Narcissa when she noticed them. On the last page, however, was a strange photograph. The man, obviously Severus, was smiling into the camera, one arm around the woman in the picture. She had long red hair, not unlike any of the Weasleys and bright green eyes, the same as Harry's own. There was something familiar about her, and Harry couldn't place it until he remembered.

It was the woman from the bookstore.
---

Chapter 4: Return of an Old Flame

Rose was pensive, the long fingers absently scratching her head feeling rather nice. She thought about Severus' actions earlier. He had returned, telling her of Harry Potter, only to disappear soon after. No more than thirty minutes later did he arrive again and searched through his stores for what appeared to be photographs. Rose could see now that it was pictures of himself and Lily Evans, but what would anyone need that for more than him? She thought of Harry and that she knew his mother was Lily and he would need them the most. Severus knew Lily, Harry only had blurry memories. Yes, giving Harry the picture of Severus and Lily would be best, Merlin knows the potions master had several.

It was no secret, if one looked, that Severus loved Lily, still loved her. What was a closely guarded secret, however, was that Lily loved Severus. Her love for the Slytherin was different than what she felt for James, though. With the Gryffindor, it was pretty much emotion and fire. The Slytherin enticed the intelligence she so craved to battle her own. Sure, James was a good laugh and he had sudden bursts of intelligence that really didn't last long, but Severus was always quick with insults against the Marauders and he always knew the answers to almost everything.

Rose meowed and her stomach rumbled in hunger, slipping out from under the slender fingers in search of something that would fulfill her empty stomach, something that cat food just didn't fix. Slipping through the little door installed with a flap, she trotted off along to a store to steal food. Yes, she could find something back at the house, but this was more thrilling. She always felt the thrill of being caught during these outings, glad that no one ever severely punished a cat as they would a human.

Slinking up to the grocery store, she saw her chance and darted in before the doors could slide closed after the elderly woman hobbled in. Quickly glancing around to get her bearings, she took off into the produce, dying for a few strawberries. Looking at the plastic the lovely little strawberries were held in, realizing she would have absolutely no way to retrieve even one without someone noticing her, set off for the oranges. Darting out after making absolutely sure no one was there to see her, Rose leaped up and knocked some oranges off the shelf, jumping down and batting a particularly large orange into the shadows, pushing it with her nose until she was outside again and pushed it to a shadowed alley to properly eat it.

Mentally casting wards, long ginger fur receded, tail disappearing, body lengthening, fingers elongating and features shifting until the process was finished and elegant, slender fingers picked at the hard peel of the orange, eyes flicking to the alley entrance every few seconds in fear of being discovered.

Finishing off the juicy orange and reverting back to the furry form, Rose licked her paws clean and removed the wards just before someone knocked her over the head, eliciting a screech and throwing her down. Looking up into the angry face of Albus Dumbledore, Rose breathed in a shaky breath as he started hexing her for no reason at all, unless he'd seen! Oh how awful, all these years without anyone noticing and the person who does is the one she was hiding from. The meddling arse seemed to know everything and she really wouldn't be surprised if he did know. Aiming a hard kick that connected with her ribs, a sickening crack echoed in the alley and Dumbledore apparated, sure the ginger haired cat was now dead.

Wheezing, she valiantly pulled herself along, cradling a broken paw to her chest and limping along as fast as she could on three legs back to Spinner's End and Severus' care. She rounded the corner, the door was in sight and darkness was looming on the edge of her vision, threatening to close over entirely. Just one more minute, then she could let it consume her. She had to get back inside the house or who knows what would happen and who would find her.

Just past the door. Safe. Pain shot through her body, stabbing at her ribs and spiking to her head and her arm, causing her to screech out and fall unconscious. Startling Severus from his work, he ran to the noise and discovered his cat, broken and bleeding on the carpet. Only, in his utter shock and surprise, was not a cat at all. Well, not only a cat. Fur disappeared, hair lengthened, arms and legs grew and bones popping into human form. When the transformation finished, Severus came to a realization, one that was about to send his carefully crafted world into utter mayhem.

For he realized, Lily Evans was bleeding onto his hall way carpet.

Draco was having such a nice dream, Harry was back and they were making, or trying to make, a chocolate cake with Severus, Narcissa and Lucius. He knew it was a dream, however real it felt, because neither his father nor Severus would make a cake when there were elves or Narcissa to do such things. He also knew it was a dream because Harry was most definitely not back, he was still gone to wherever Dumbledore took him. He was startled from the lovely dream with a yell. It was Severus, he knew for a fact, because it was a decidedly male voice, but Lucius never raised his voice for anything.

Keeping his eyes closed in a futile attempt to fall back asleep again, Draco heard the light footsteps of his parents rushing downstairs to see what the commotion was and minutes later he heard his mother scream. That reaction caused Draco to fling the covers off of himself and run to the door, flinging it open and thundering down the hall and several stairs to find where his parents were. He didn't know what he could even do about it if his parents were in trouble of any sort, his magic was still accidental.

He slid into the study where he heard the voices and was struck silent and frozen at the sight before him. All three of them, Lucius, Severus and Narcissa were franticly and hurriedly waving their wands over a bleeding and obviously broken red headed woman unconscious on the floor, staining the white marble of the study. She had on loose sweat pants and t shirt that were getting bloody from her cuts that had healed over already, scar less and smooth. At this time Severus administered several potions into the woman's mouth, green, clear, red, blue swirled with pearly white, murky brown then completely black. After the last drop of the black liquid touched her tongue her eyes flew open and she gave the most blood curdling scream Draco had ever heard in his life and he ran up to them, kneeling next to her head.

"What's wrong with her?" Draco yelled above her screams and she started thrashing, Severus, Narcissa and Lucius shooting forward to hold her limbs down as she healed from the inside, broken ribs snapping back together, bleeding organs returning to their normal state, bones in her hand clicking into place. After about five minutes she was still and silent, breathing harshly and staring blankly at the ceiling, blinking every so often. She took a deep breath as if she were going to scream and Narcissa's hands flew to Draco's ears in protection, he was right by her mouth after all.

"Fuck." Narcissa was very happy she decided to clap her hands over his ears and gave the red head a icy glare for her language but when the Gryffindor said no other words she hesitantly let his head go and Draco looked at his mother quizzically, knowing the red head had said something from the way her mouth moved, but the sound did not permeate the pale hands. "I was doing so well too." She huffed and started to sit up, batting away Severus' hands that were holding her top half down, wincing as her ribs panged slightly. "I blame Dumbledore, meddling coot just tried to kill me! Again!"

The three adults were gob smacked at the woman and Draco was confused. "Who are you?" The red head blinked and looked at him, smiling gently and reaching out a hand to touch his face.

"You're his age, aren't you?" Draco looked at her in confusion, not knowing who he was, but he was spared from answering when Severus spoke.

"Yes." It seemed that he could not say anything further, in his very obvious shock. He was shaking rather harshly and Draco feared for his godfather's health. The red head smiled sadly and relaxed back onto the floor, then looked down at her bloody clothing.

"Oh, ew. I'm all bloody. I swear I am going to exact my revenge on the man the next time I see him!" That seemed to snap everyone out of their shock and they waved their wands over her again, transfiguring her clothing into a clean summer dress, green with yellow flowers dotted along it. She slowly got to her feet, groaning in the process. "Well since I've been found out, where is he? I'll be taking him back now."

"Why? Why did you fake that, pretending to be my cat?"

"Sev, it's a long story. Voldemort didn't attack us, he was coming to try to get us to join him, and you know what? I was going to do it. I was going to go all Dark on Dumbledore because he's just been manipulating from the start, and at least Voldemort is straight to the point, no twinkle eyed 'my boy', or well not for me exactly, since I am a girl, after all. Anyway, Dumbles seemed to know, like bloody always, and interfered. Everything you think Voldemort did, Dumbledore did. He came in and Voldemort was there, and he tried to make sure we did not join Voldemort. James refused to stay light, offering to join Voldemort and Dumbledore killed him!

"I ran upstairs with Harry and the old bastard followed me, and I pleaded for our lives. I knew of the prophecy but I didn't think anything of it, I think Dumbledore just wanted a willing and easy to manipulate pawn. He threw Avada Kedavra at me and I threw up my heaviest shield just before it hit me, not even an inch before me and I fell down like I'd been hit. Voldemort came up then, following Dumbledore and the two had a skirmish and when Voldemort tried to Avada Dumbledore, it hit Harry and I nearly gave away my cover. It didn't kill him, obviously and Dumbledore disappeared immediately. Voldemort was in bad shape, not dead but not quite living at that point either. He fled, leaving the two of us. I knew then that I couldn't just take Harry and run because it would be suspicious is there was no body for me.

"I transfigured a broken chair into my body and giving Harry a kiss I realized he had gotten the lightning bolt scar from deflecting the killing curse. I turned into Rose and left, no one would be suspicious of a little cat being in the area after all. The boys weren't the only unregistered Animagi in Gryffindor, even though they gave me a bit of grief for being a cat. I told them being a cat is a right bit more useful than a bloody stag but they were being idiots. You can't sneak around as a stag, but cats can. Anyway, I hid from everyone, not changing from the cat for several years, progressively getting thinner on the feeble food I could get. I was practically dead for good when I happened upon your house finally, and well, you know the rest really. I was just a cat and stayed that way until I heard you talking about Harry a few days ago. I finally changed back when you lot went to Diagon Alley, which I admit wasn't the best idea. What if I'd been seen? I had been, as it seems, because Dumbledore wouldn't have known that cat was me otherwise." She sighed and flopped into the nearest chair, rather ungracefully and the three adults were silent, taking in all of her information. The way she spoke about Harry must mean that she is his mother, but she was supposed to be dead! Lily Evans was not supposed to be sitting on his cream couch in a green and yellow dress, fuming about the Headmaster at Hogwarts.

"Lily, why didn't you just come out and say you survived?" Severus seemed to be the only one who could get his voice and when Lily spoke again, her voice sounded tired, like she was much older than twenty five.

"Severus, I couldn't just do that. Could you imagine? 'The Potters, murdered!' then two minutes later, 'Lily Lives!' If Old Dumble-bore was trying to kill me, kill me, not make me hide away and disappear, if I said I was alive again, he'd come after me. I feel awful for leaving him with that bitch of a sister and I know theres nothing I can do to make it up to him but I want him back."

"We all do."

"Well, let's get him then! I wasn't put in Gryffindor for nothing, no matter how close to a sneaky snake I became." Severus' jaw fell to the floor and he looked at her with wide eyes a minute before screeching, quite unlike himself.

"What? You were almost a snake?" Lily smiled and nodded, leaning over and shutting his mouth with a click.

"Yes, because of you. I didn't want to be alone, but the hat put me in Gryffindor anyway, stupid thing."

"Well that would have brought about a whole new set of circumstances all by itself. Think, you might even be married to Severus right now!" Lucius good naturedly ribbed both the potions professor and the Gryffindor and the red head fumed and Severus flushed lightly at the thought.

"And if I was? Is there something wrong with Sev, Lucius?" The blonde raised his hands to symbolize he had nothing to say about it and Lily huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "There's nothing wrong with Severus, that's what. He's just different." She looked over her shoulder at the Slytherin and Severus was looking at her with a look Draco didn't quite understand, but it must've been something good because his parents were laughing behind their hands.

"Wait, the Dark Lord is not dead, you say? Where is he then?"

"Hell if I know, Malfoy, I've been a bleedin' cat for four years. I was hoping you'd know actually, since you're like his second hand Death Eater and all. I'm still up for accepting his invitation." Needless to say, the three Slytherins were shocked that the one thought hardcore follower of the Light would accept to be a Death Eater.

"There have been rumors, Albania, Romania and even somewhere in England." Severus looked smug that he knew something that Lucius didn't, and Lucius gave a half hearted glare at him before Lily spoke up again.

"Alright, Voldemort aside for the time being, where's my baby? I refuse to let him live with Petunia and her whale of a husband. And she thought we were the freaks!" She laughed, clutching her stomach and wiped a invisible tear away.

"Er, well Dumbledore took him. We had him because Severus had rescued him from their clutches, but the old codger decided that Harry would be better placed in a house of Light, instead of with the Dark Lord's top Death Eater." There was a tiny screech and Hedwig flew into the open door, circling their heads until landing on Draco's lap, huffing and sticking her tiny leg out to take the letter tied to it.

"It's from Harry, this is Hedwig!" After Lily's questioning of who Hedwig was, and discovering it was his new owl, Draco offered the letter to one of the adults who could read it off for him. Lucius opened it and scanned before reading it off for the benefit of Severus, Lily and Draco, Narcissa already reading over his shoulder.

'Dear Draco, Miss Cissy, Uncle Luc and Sev;

I miss you all too. The Burrow is nice enough even if Ron doesn't like me, he bullies me for no reason. I really like Fred and George, they're funny and nice, they help me when something makes me feel bad and they were the first ones to talk to me as Harry, not whoever I'm supposed to be because of the Boy Who Lived. Bill's nice too, he's the one writing this because I can write worse than you Draco. He sticks up for me too when Ron makes fun of me. Ginny is scary, I don't like her much, she nearly attacked me earlier. Fred and George are now laughing at me but Bill's being nice about it still. Anyway, I miss you all more than you miss me, and I hope I can see you again soon.

Love, Harry

P.S. Fred and George say hello to Draco, and that he sounds like a good bloke from the way I keep going on about him.'

Narcissa gave Lily a knowing look that was well reciprocated and Draco was positively beaming as Lucius finished Harry's letter.

"He talks about me!" He remembered something from the beginning of the letter and looked up to his father. "The Burrow. He's with the Weasleys, then! Let's go!" Draco scrambled up, and Severus, Lily and Narcissa rose from their chairs, ready to go collect little Harry.

"Wait. We can't just go barging in there and demand him back, that will just merit him being taken again and who knows where he'll go then? We need a reason for him to be returned to us." The three lowered slowly, thinking and Draco was bouncing around the room, a ball of excitement to get Harry again.

"What if I write something out, something where I say I want Harry to be in Severus' care? If I do it as a will, it will immediately be changed at Gringotts and nothing can change it, because people do think I am dead. Then I just stay with you, a big personal sacrifice if I do say so myself." Lily sighed deeply, flinging her arm dramatically over her eyes and Severus rolled his eyes, but his mind was flying a million miles a minute. He was still reeling that she was even alive, and now she was proposing to live with him, along with Harry of course. Lucius nodded and went to his desk, pulling out a parchment, quill and ink.

"All right, So I'll just put in that if anything were to happen to us Harry goes to Severus and not to my god awful sister. Why did I do that, again? Oh right, Dumbledore. I swear he's using Harry as a pawn in his master plans, I know James and I were definitely pawns, or at least rooks." Lily smiled to herself at the chess joke and scratched out her will on the parchment. "All right, this is what it says, 'If anything were to happen to myself, Lillian Marie Evans Potter, or James Harold Potter and we can no longer care for our child, Harry James Potter, he should be given to the care of one Severus Snape.' Sound good?" The other adults nodded and Lily signed it. Once the ink dried it disappeared with a pop. Everything was quiet and a minute later a barn owl flew in, perching regally on Lucius' chair back, sticking it's leg out. Lucius untied it and the owl flew off after a hoot and he looked at who the letter was for.

"It's for Sev." He handed the letter over and Severus opened it, reading it out loud as he read it the first time.

"'Severus Snape, it has come to our attentions that Lily Evans has written in her will that you be the primary custodian for her child, Harry James Potter. We at Gringotts know that she has been gone for a while and have only noticed that her will states you in which he should be placed. A copy of the will is enclosed for whatever purposes you may need in acquiring the boy. Best regards, Ragnork, Chief Goblin of Gringotts.' Now we have a reason to collect him, let's go." He stood and Draco bounced around like a ball of energy, only to be claimed by Narcissa as she picked him up to quit running around. Lucius reached for his cane on the desk and Lily reverted back into her animagus form, obviously unable to attend as herself.

Severus put the will in his pocket and they all headed for the door, Lily trotting along until they got past the wards, then she leaped up into his arms and the two apparated, followed by Lucius then Narcissa and Draco. They arrived in Ottery St. Catchpole a split second later, on top of a hill that showed the Burrow to the left and the rook shaped home of the Lovegood family to the right. Turning left, though Draco stared in wonder at the oddly shaped house, the wizards walked to the Burrow in silence.

When they reached the back door, Lucius banged on it with his cane and they waited, hearing the noises behind the shut door before it was flung open.

"Hello, what can I – what are you doing here?" Molly Weasley glared up into their faces, since she was only 5'4 the Malfoys and Snape towered at the smallest being 5'10. Lily jumped down from Severus' arms and swept inside past Molly's skirts, searching for her baby. Severus pulled Lily's will out of his pocket and waved it in front of her face and Narcissa put Draco down and he darted inside, squeezing past Molly to find Harry.

"We've come to collect Harry. It is stated in Lily's will that he be left in my care." Severus threw the letter at Molly and pushed past her inside the house, the two Malfoys following and Molly's eyes widening as she read the letter.

"DRACO!" The excited yell echoed down from upstairs and the adults headed in that direction, finding the boys in the room with the twins, Harry and Draco hugging tightly. "This is Draco, he's nice!" Harry introduced the three to each other even though both knew of each other.

"I found him, Father!" Draco noticed his parents in the doorway and smiled smugly for discovering the boy first and Lily slinked in the door and circled Harry several times and Harry reached a hand out and brushed the bushy tail, giggling.

"Great, now let's go." Lucius looked around him disdainfully, the Burrow was a mess, the twins' room by far the most interesting room with it's inventions and cauldrons bubbling in one corner of the room, which caught Severus' eye. He swept over to them, inspecting them.

"How old are you?" He barked and they raised an eyebrow and stood next to him at their potions.

"Seven. We're trying to make a sleeping potion because we're trying to invent something to make Ron sleep longer, he's a pest! It's not working and we can't figure out why." Snape was silent for a while, stirring the ladle counter clockwise before turning to the twins.

"Did you put in powdered beetle shells?" One twin widened his eyes and the other leaped to the list of ingredients, bringing it to his brother while reading, following the list with his finger. Fred shook his head and George went to a cabinet and pulled the shells out and putting a pinch in and the potion turned to a light orange, like orange juice. "It is correct, now." Severus was surprised to say the least, his third years couldn't make that potion and the only thing the twins got wrong was the powdered shells. Severus turned on his heel and held his hand out to Harry and he instantly took it, his other in the protective grasp of Draco.

"Wait! What about my pixie?"

"What about your what?" Severus looked down at Harry and he pulled his hand out of Severus' and snapped his fingers and a second later a pixie appeared from the corner of the room where a white mushroom cap had appeared, flying up to Harry.

"What did you need, squirt?" Pan looked around and noticed Draco, Lucius, Narcissa, Severus and Lily, narrowing his eyes slightly at them before deciding they were all right and bowing, not quite as extravagantly as Fred and George's bow. "Hello, I'm Pannington Thunderbrooke, Prince of Wheeze Leeze Garden and appointed Potter Pixie. Who're you?"

"Well, I'm Lucius Malfoy, this is my wife Narcissa and my son, Draco. That is Severus Snape." Lily hissed and Lucius rolled his eyes. "That is his...cat." Pan raised his eyebrow at Lily and flew over in front of Draco's face, looking him over.

"I like you squirt. You're interesting." Pan floated cross legged, chin resting on his elbow that was sitting on his knee. "You've got the same feel Harry does. Same, but different."

"And what, exactly, is that?" Draco looked disbelievingly at the pixie, he'd only seen one in books after all and Pan shrugged a shoulder.

"I dunno how to explain it. Harry's like laughter and raindrops. You're like baking cookies and lightning. Anyways, what did you call me for or are you just introducing me to the lads?" Pan grinned and bowed to Narcissa. "And the lovely lady of course." She smiled and Harry blushed.

"Er, yeah. I wanted you to meet my family, and I wanted them to meet you." Harry bit his lip at calling them family but when no one said they weren't he smiled brightly, warming everyone who saw it. Harry turned to look at Narcissa, Severus and Lucius, eyes wide and sparkling when he realized something. "Will Fred, George and Bill be able to visit?" The adults looked at the twins since Bill was not in the room, deciding whether that would be a good idea or not.

"I don't see why not, as long as no one tries to take you away again." Narcissa gave them a pointed look and they raised their hands in innocence.

"We just want Harry to be happy."

"Yes, and that is obviously not here."

"As long as we can visit-"

"We'll be fine!" The two grinned and Harry hugged them individually, not wanting to part from Draco now that he had the blonde close again. Fred handed him his little dragon and Harry smiled at it, then looking over at Draco, smiling wider at him.

"I'm ready to go home." Harry turned to look at the three adults and he noticed the little cat again. "Where'd the kitty come from?" She blinked up at him with the same eyes and smiled before pawing over and pushing her head into his hand before they all headed out and down the stairs.

"You can't take him! I'll tell Dumbledore!" Molly raced up to them and Lucius flew the end of his cane out, the snake head hitting the wall in front of her. Narcissa grabbed Draco's other hand and pulled them along, and Severus turned coldly to the Weasley mother.

"Just watch me." She could barely contain the scared shiver at the tone of voice and Lucius pulled his cane away, rubbing it softly as they all walked out of the apparition wards. Narcissa picked up Harry, Lucius took Draco and Severus held Lily as they all apparated back to the manor, Lily immediately changing back once they arrived, out of Harry's sight.

"So where did the kitty come from?" Harry was beyond happy that he was back with the Malfoys and Severus, and he wondered why no one ever mentioned there was a kitty, but he'd been for a day or so, Harry assumed they never had a chance to tell him.

"Well, the kitty isn't really a kitty, Harry. It's an Animagus, a wizard with the ability to change into an animal form. Lucius, Narcissa and I can all do them, compliments to the Dark Lord requiring it of the Death Eaters. Some are more useful than others, and when you grow up, the both of you will learn to as well. I am a raven, Lucius is a snake, unsurprisingly and Narcissa is an albino peacock." Harry furrowed his brows, somewhat confused.

"So, if the kitty's an amigamus or whatever, and that's a wizard, then who is it?"

"Lily Evans." Harry looked down, trying to think. The name sounded really familiar to him but he didn't know anyone names Lily Evans.

"Who's that?" Harry didn't notice Lily had come into the room, standing behind him in her green sundress. She kneeled to not frighten him more and spoke.

"Your mother." Harry whirled around and was eye to eye with Lily, green met green and both eyes watered and Harry flung his hands around Lily, vague memories of her bursting to the surface and he cried into her shoulder, tears sliding down her own cheeks at having her son back in her arms again.
---

Chapter 5: Black Moon

In an undisclosed location in Albania in the knowledge of two people in the world, hidden very well with wards and protections, a man laid in the comfortable bed, tossing and turning in agony. He had been in a bad sort for nearly five years, and no amount of pain reliving potions he took, it did not stop.

He cursed Dumbledore, the Order, every vehicle of the Light that was manipulated under the old man's hand like puppet strings, cursed himself for not realizing things sooner and going about them sly instead of bold. Slytherins were supposed to be sly and cunning, and he wasn't for a slip of time and it nearly cost him everything. He was barely hanging on by a thread of life, Dumbledore was intent on killing him. Though what Dumbledore did not know, hopefully, was that he'd found a way to make himself immortal. No, it wasn't the most moral way to go about it, but in becoming immortal, there really is no moral way to go about it, since morals lie with letting things run their due course eventually.

What was greater still, was that he had not done it just once, but seven times. Even if one was destroyed it would be nearly impossible for all seven to be destroyed and for someone to kill him. So through this agonizing pain he was currently in, he knew it would not be fatal, since he couldn't die. Hopefully it stopped relatively soon, the pain was irritating to say the least.

Suddenly and rather loudly, the front door was burst off it's hinges and the footsteps of four people echoed up to the second floor of the small house he was residing in, heard their voices hushed, discussing who went where but names were not discernible from the volume and they split up, making a ruckus in their search. Every so often one of them would curse and storm into another room. Light footsteps walked up the stairs and a short redhead peeked in the door before looking behind her and yelling that she found what they were looking for, obviously him.

Mere seconds later, two blondes and a dark haired man were at the door with the red head and all four were bowing. "My lord, we are most relieved you are alive." Then one of them waved their wand in an intricate manor, speaking in a language he did not recognize, and the pain started disappearing.

Ten minutes later it was gone completely and Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, stood from his bed, stretching his unused muscles. Lucius, Severus, Narcissa and Lily bowed again and he waved his hand to make them stop.

"My dear, you are still alive as well, I see." He looked at Lily and she nodded darkly, the four of them cursing Dumbledore under their breaths. "Does your being here with my three most revered followers mean you will join me at last?" Lily looked between the two Malfoys and Severus, the latter giving her hand a squeeze before she turned back to Tom and nodded, kneeling and exposing her left forearm.

"Yes, Dumbledore is manipulative and deceiving, the right way is yours." Tom smiled slightly and grabbed her wrist but pulled her up to standing instead.

"Good, but this is not the place for accepting the mark," Tom turned to acknowledge Lucius, "Perhaps the manor is better suited for such a ceremony?" Lucius and Narcissa nodded in agreement and he returned the single nod. "Good, now let us get out of this hovel." Tom looked around in disdain at his chosen hiding place, glad to be rid of it. The place was an abandoned shack and he did not like being there but it did not matter if he did or not because his pain distorted everything else. He looked at the four adults, Narcissa especially and wondered something that had slipped his mind. "Where is Bella?"

"In Azkaban, my lord. She was captured along with Rabastan and Rodolphus among others."

"Hmm. Well that is most unfortunate. I need my Bella, she is most fun. Let us go, we shall break her free." Narcissa smiled brightly at Tom for rescuing her sister and Lucius and Severus bowed their heads in agreement and Lily just stayed silent. Tom led the way out of the miserable little place and apparated at the door of Azkaban, the other four popping in behind him. It was night and the only guards were Dementors, the wizards deciding that was the only safety precautions needed. Tom smirked and whispered a short spell and the lock on the front door clicked open without a sound. He ushered them in before him and shut the door after they all had walked in. He cast a Patronus, a snake unsurprisingly, to stand at the door and ward off the Dementors as they walked in to rescue the faithful Death Eaters. They passed by the lighter level cells, knowing that the ministry would not place a Death Eater in one of them.

"This way, my lord. High security cells on the fourth floor." Lucius pointed at the sign with his snake cane and Tom nodded his thanks to the eldest Malfoy. They walked past the screaming prisoners, silencing them with a wave of Tom's hand. The five of them went straight to the fourth floor and looked around, checking each cell for the prisoner inside.

"Oh, my Bella, here you are." Tom stood in front of one of the cells and Bellatrix appeared in front of the small window, eyes wide at her rescuer.

"My lord! Is it truly you?" He nodded once, a smirk sliding on his features and Bellatrix nearly burst into tears, backing up to have him burst open her cell door. Lucius had already freed Rodolphus and Narcissa had gotten Rabastan. With a loud crash, Bella was free and she suppressed the urge to hug Tom and instead kneeled and thanked him several times over.

"Sirius!"

"Who-? Merlin's beard. Lily?" A scruffy looking man appeared at the window, wide eyed. "You're alive! Prongs-?" Lily looked down and shook her head and Sirius gave a long sigh. "Are you busting people out? Take me with you! I shouldn't even be here right now, I was framed by that rat Pettigrew!" Sirius growled, Lily backed up several feet and burst his door open, and a black dog trotted out, barking tiredly. She flew to her knees and hugged the dog around the neck and Severus sneered at it, the large dog barking loudly and growling back.

"Now now children, play nicely." Tom admonished and Sirius and Severus said no more, their glares shooting daggers. "All right, now I have my most faithful followers once more, we can take our leave. To Malfoy Manor." He breezed by and the others followed quickly, ready to leave the horrible prison. "Where are the prisoner's wands?" Tom asked no one in particular and a glowing ball appeared out of the end of his wand and bobbed down the aisle to the wand room. It stopped thirteen rooms away and hovered in front of the last room before dissolving. "Ah!" He burst that door open as well, not caring to be careful and headed for the L section for the Lestrange wands, Lily heading to B for Sirius'.

Now with everyone having their own wands, the group left Azkaban in a series of pops, appearing in the study of the manor, making Harry and Draco jump in surprise, then scramble up to stand a second later and Dobby squeaked and popped away to the kitchens. Harry looked shyly at his socked feet and Draco stood straight but looking somewhat nervous.

"Harry, Draco, this is Tom. My lord, this is Harry and Draco." Draco bowed his head respectively and Harry mimicked it quickly, half hiding behind Draco. "Also your Aunt Bellatrix, Uncle Rodolphus and Rabastan. Harry, this is your godfather, Sirius Black." Harry stared at Sirius before edging away from Draco and stood in front of the last remaining Black, looking up at him with bright and curious emerald eyes.

"Hi." He smiled shyly and Sirius smiled in return, dropping down to one knee to be the same height, the two staring at each other for a long minute before Harry hugged Sirius. "More family." He whispered and Sirius nodded, not trusting himself to speak quite yet. He had gotten word that Harry had gotten killed during the attack from Dumbledore, which was why he went after Pettigrew after all then the rat framed him. Sirius was still plotting revenge on the pitiful wizard and possibly the old coot for lying. It wasn't the first time Sirius had caught the Headmaster in a lie and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Bellatrix, who was only slightly crazed in five years of being locked in Azkaban, but only a bit more so than Sirius stepped forward and kneeled in front of Harry. "Hello itty bitty Harry." Her voice was singsongy that showed her sanity was starting to disappear and he looked at her with wide eyes, hands clasped behind his back shyly and neither moved for a while.

"Hello Auntie Bella. Can I call you Auntie Bella?" Harry suddenly looked distraught and Bellatrix put a slim hand on Harry's tiny shoulder and smiled softly, the action making her look far less insane.

"Of course Harry. You've got very pretty eyes little raven." Bellatrix trailed a long nailed finger softly over Harry's cheek and he blushed at the compliment. She stood and took a step backwards, receiving an approving nod from Tom. Draco scooted over and took Harry's littler hand in his and Tom took a seat on one of the high backed chairs in the room, motioning for the others to do the same.

"Harry, I think you should know that even though in the following years people will try to tell you that Tom here had killed your parents and tried to kill you, that these are lies. Lily is quite safe, as you see, plus he only wanted to have your parents with the rest of us. Dumbledore, the man that took you away from us, was the one who killed your father and sent you to the muggles." Severus explained to Harry, Draco squeezing his hand tightly, Tom looking murderous.

"I hate him. He took me from my family!" Harry's eyes flared and the books on the shelves rattled forcefully from his magic and Draco quickly started petting Harry's head, soothing him back down before anything got out of hand.

"Hate is a strong word, young one. I believe you may dislike him, but you are not old enough yet to understand hate." Lucius looked at Harry after he had been calmed, and he nodded, telling himself that when he grew up, he wouldn't like this Dumbledore at all.

"Now, I believe a ceremony is in order." Tom stood gracefully and Bellatrix beamed happily, easily zooming in on Lily as the inductee seeing as Severus and the Malfoys had the Mark, as did she and the Lestrange brothers. Sirius eyed Lily before deciding that if she thought Tom was the way to go, he'd join too. "Another?" Sirius nodded silently and Lily put an arm through his and followed Tom into the ballroom. Tom transfigured the Azkaban robes into Death Eater ones for them all, seeing as he didn't want to wait for everyone to change. In a large pocket the others pulled their specific masks out and settled them over their faces. There were two masks next to Tom and he picked up the one that was thinner and looked at Lily.

"Lily Evans Potter, do you willingly chose to join my cause and become a Death Eater?" Lily kneeled and bowed her head.

"Yes, my lord." He smiled and handed her the mask which she placed easily over her face, molded to be comfortable.

"Do you willingly present your left arm to take the Dark Mark?" She rolled back her left sleeve and held it parallel to the floor.

"Yes, my lord." He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and touched the tip of his wand to her forearm and murmured the spell and a small dot appeared. He pulled the end of his wand away and the mark started forming out from the dot, like snakes until the entire thing was on her left forearm. She was very glad she had a mask on because it was a rather painful process and she did not want anyone to see her tears. "Thank you." Lily stood and then Sirius kneeled as they went through the same process, though Sirius taking the pain easier.

"Two new additions to the family!" Bellatrix hummed happily from behind her mask and everyone could practically see Rodolphus' eyes rolling. How he managed to get married to her was beyond him. She obviously did not love him, that love was sent at the Dark Lord. He did not care, though he thought she was interesting to be around and she was wicked good at Crucio.

"Come, now we must begin our plotting to overthrow Dumbledore, it is his fault all of this has been going downhill." Tom walked out of the room, robes billowing and the other Death Eaters followed diligently, starting to plan things in their minds.

Remus Lupin was not a happy wolf. One, Dumbledore lied. He said harry was safe at the Weasleys, but when he had gone to visit, he'd been taken back by the Malfoys and Severus, according to Molly. Two, there was a breakout from Azkaban, there were no names as of yet but Remus could tell it must be Death Eaters. Three, it was the full moon in two days and that always made him grumpy.

He had formulated an oh-so-brilliant plan of storming up to Malfoy Manor and demanding they let him at least see Harry. Then after that, he would demand to know why Harry was in their custody, and then after that possibly demand to have Harry in his own custody. It was a lot of demanding on his part, especially for being a more calm person but as he knew, the full moon was just around the corner and he was allowed to be demanding at this time of the month, he could just excuse it off on the wolf in him later.

That was how he found himself standing at the door of Malfoy Manor, waiting for someone to answer the door after his knock. The door creaked open and a short house elf appeared by his knee.

"Yes, can Dobby help yous?" Lucius appeared in the hallway about two doors down from the front door, raising an eyebrow at the visitor.

"I want to see Harry, is he here?" Harry poked his head into the hall only to be pulled back by another little hand and hushed voices telling him to not do things like that.

"He is here, yes. Now you saw him. Goodbye!" Lucius barely concealed the snort of laughter as Dobby began to shut the door but Remus stopped it and stepped in.

"Rephrase, then. I want to visit with Harry." Lily walked into the hall from another room, her nose stuck in a book.

"Who was at the door, Lucius?" She looked up and froze, muttering a 'shit' before slapping the book closed.

"Lily?"

"I – er – hello Remus." He blinked furiously, making sure it was not a trick of the light, or even a red head who looked similar but not truly Lily, but alas, it was his once thought dead friend, which led him to the notion that James might be alive too. She saw the look on his face and shook her head, dispelling the thought immediately. "He really is gone." She adjusted her long sleeved green sweater and walked over, giving her friend a hug. "Oh, there's also someone here who wants to see you. Though I do require your wand, we don't need you hexing our guest!" She plucked his wand from his robes pocket and walked along the hallway until the last room before the stairs and motioned for Remus to go in. He looked at her and went in, stopping dead at the back of the familiar head. He turned around and Remus went for his wand only to realize he had given it over, or more accurately, Lily stole it.

"Hey Moony. I know you must want to hex me right now but I didn't do it, I swear! It was the rat, he framed me!" Sirius stepped closer to Remus and the other wizard started to have a panic attack over all of the shocking information. He crumpled to the floor and Sirius darted forward to catch him, both feeling the zaps at the contact. Sirius easily lifted the smaller Marauder up and carried him to the couch a few feet away, Remus stirring slightly in regaining consciousness.

"Sirius? It's not a dream?"

"No, Moony. I'm real." Remus smiled and flung his arms around Sirius' neck.

"I knew you couldn't have betrayed them, you're James' bast friend after all! I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I'm just sorry for everything!" Remus gave a shaky laugh and buried his face in Sirius' neck.

"Not to break up the little reunion, but you are here for a reason, right Remy?" The Marauders stepped apart, but their hands were still entwined as Remus nodded.

"Right. I came to see Harry. I got a bit sidetracked." He smiled to Sirius who smirked back and Harry walked up, Draco close behind him. He looked up innocently with wide green eyes and Remus kneeled to be on the same eye level with him. "Hi Harry, I'm Remus Lupin, but you can call me Moony if you like, it's easier to say." Harry looked at Lily, and she made a shooing motion with her hands and he turned back to Remus and hugged him before stepping back with a smile, Draco's arms wrapping protectively around him.

"Hi Moony." He gave Remus a sweet little smile and the werewolf felt his heart expand to hold enough for the small child and more. Harry only made it too easy to make his way into the hearts of everyone he met, Voldemort included much to the surprise of the adults in attendance.

Authors/Note: I have taken this story into my wing because I could not stand to see it end with no proper ending. This story is the original of the talented author: LyricalPhoenix18, I am merely moving the story along with a few of my ideas. Comments for this chapter will be for LyricalPhoenix18 while the next chapter posted will be Chapter 6 and on. Please be gentle in comments because I do not know where the author originally wanted to go, so I must make a path of my own. Thank you for reading this note and keep an eye open for more chapters as this really is a great plot.