Hunting The Traitor

Struggles

Later that night, Remus lay in his bed and was fast asleep. The day in London had proven to be great fun, Harry and his friends had enjoyed it quite a lot, but it had been tiring nevertheless. Remus felt as if they had walked up and down the entire city nearly twice, which they probably had. The kids had enjoyed the London Underground without ends, but after half an hour of driving around without a certain aim the adults had bribed them out of the ground again with ice cream. Then they had been in the Zoo for the rest of the morning, had had a picnic in Green Park for lunch and had spent the afternoon at Madam Tussaud's and in Greenwich.

Remus had felt like falling to the ground and sleeping by four in the afternoon when Eric and Harry had dragged them into the Science Museum and he had already thought that the children would never tire. But eventually, after another round of ice cream in Diagon Alley to complete the day, they had.

Serena had left with little Julia early in the afternoon, and by the time they had dropped Eric and David at their homes in the evening both had been hardly able to keep their eyes open anymore.

Harry hadn't faired much better. As usual, they had walked the remaining distance from David's house because it was only a five-minute walk, but already after some metres Harry had hung behind. Finally, Janus had carried him home and by the time they had entered the house the boy had been fast asleep on his uncle's shoulder, his arms wrapped firmly around Janus' neck. He hadn't even woken up when Remus had put him into his pyjamas and had tucked him into bed.

Richard and Janus hadn't stayed for much longer either and Remus had been quite glad about it. The last thing he needed would be his older brother making fun of him because his godson's birthday party had strained him so much that he went to bed at eight in the evening. Because that was what Remus had done.

Now it was four in the morning and Remus was still deeply asleep in his cocoon of blankets, completely oblivious to everything that was going on around him. Normally he was a light sleeper, waking up even when Harry went to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but this night, he didn't even hear it when the door to his bedroom opened.

Just above the height of the doorknob, a small head with messy black hair poked through the opening. He watched his godfather sleep for some moments, as if contemplating whether to wake him or not. All the while he was rubbing his forehead absent-mindly.

After some moments, he went into the room and closed the door behind him. At the sound of the closing door, Remus began to stir.

"Remus?"

Harry carefully stepped closer to the bed and at the sound of his voice, Remus woke up. Opening one bleary eye he recognized the figure of his godson and ran his hands across his face to get more awake.

"Harry? M-what's wrong?"

Harry shuffled uneasily from one foot to the other and looked at the floor, just as if he was embarrassed.

"Had a nightmare."

Remus nodded and scooped aside a little, making space for Harry on the bed. He lifted the blanket and gestured the boy to lie down beside him.

"Come here."
Harry climbed into the bed and snuggled close to his godfather while Remus tucked the blanket around him. Harry had nightmares from time to time, and inwardly Remus blamed the Dursleys for the greatest part of them. Though the boy surely couldn't remember the time with them consciously, he still carried it with him one way or another.

But mostly when Harry had had nightmares before, Remus had woken up as well from hearing his godson thrash around in his bed. Werewolf hearing was not always a blessing, but in those cases it had at least made sure for Harry that Remus was there shortly after he woke up from the bad dream. The previous day must have strained him really bad if he had slept over Harry's nightmare, Remus supposed.

"Tell me about the nightmare."

It was their little nightmare ritual. Remus would coax the contents of his dreams out of the boy and then make it seem less scary by explaining it to him. But this time, Harry only buried his face in the pillow close to Remus shoulder and shuddered. Remus wrapped his arm around him and gently rubbed his back. The dream must have been really livid to make Harry react like this. When Harry spoke, it was just a teary whisper somewhere below Remus' ear.

"Make the bad men go away Remus. Make them stop it."

"Shhh, it's alright. Just tell me."

Harry hesitated shortly before he began to tell.

"There were those bad men. Bad men in black cloaks and with masks. They had wands. And they...they were hurting those other people. With their wands. They screamed so loud. And then there was this green light and somebody laughed. 'T was a bad laugh, all scary. And then I woke up and my head hurt."

Remus pulled Harry back a little so that he could look at his face in the dim moonlight that filtered through the curtains.

"Where did your head hurt?"

Harry raised a hand and put it on his forehead, just above his scar, and again started to rub it. Remus drew the small hand back and put his own palm across Harry's forehead. He didn't have fever, and the warmth on his forehead could come from the rubbing.

"Does it still hurt?"

Harry nodded.

"A little. Not much. It kinda stings."

As soon as Remus let go off his head, Harry immediately snuggled closer to him again. Remus realized that the boy was shaking.

"Harry, what is it?"

Moments of silence followed during which Remus carefully sniffed the air in the bedroom. Full moon was close, and with it came the heightening of Remus' senses. Though Harry didn't know it, Remus could smell his emotions just as clearly as if he was looking into his godson's face. Maybe even better. And the overwhelming emotion he smelled right now was fear. The little boy in his arms was literally shaking with fear. Worried, Remus pulled his arms tighter around Harry and waited for him to answer the question. When the answer didn't come, he coaxed again.

"Harry, what is wrong?"

A sniff. Ragged breathing. Was Harry about to start crying? Then finally, Harry spoke again, but rather than answering Remus' question he posed a question of his own.

"Will they come here, too?"

"Who?"

"The bad men." As if it was the most logical thing in the world. Of course the bad men, what else could Harry be talking about?

"Why do you think the bad men would be coming here?"

Harry just shrugged his small shoulders.

"I don't know. They...they said it."

Remus was taken aback and for a moment didn't know what to say. When he finally found his voice again, it didn't sound as firm as he would have wished it to.

"They said they would come here?"

Again, Harry only shrugged his shoulders and buried his face deeper into the fabric of Remus' shirt.

"Yes...no...not really. The voice said it, the voice who laughed. It said that they would kill all of the mudbloods, and then Dumbledore and his muggle-loving friends. That's what it said."

Harry stumbled over the word mudblood, as it was a word he had never heard before. Remus suddenly sat bold upright in his bed and immediately lit the lamp next to the it. Harry instinctively drew back from him and scooted towards the edge of the mattress.

"Sorry...I, I really didn't mean to make you angry."

Remus sighed. Another thing he wanted to curse the Dursleys for. Ever since Harry had come to live with him, the boy had been dead frightened to make anybody angry. And even now, after nearly four years of living with Remus, he still apologized whenever he got the feeling that he had disturbed his godfather just a little.

"Harry, you didn't make me angry. Come here."

He gently pulled the small boy towards him again and put him down on the mattress, facing him while he tucked some strands of jet black hair behind the boy's ears in an assuring gesture.

"Remus?"

"Hmm?"
"What's a mudblood?"

Remus sighed.

"Mudblood is a bad name for a witch or wizard who is the child of muggles. It's an insult and I never want to hear you call somebody a mudblood, okay?"

Harry nodded.

"You thought that those bad men would come here because we're friends of Dumbledore, didn't you?"

Harry nodded again. Remus sighed.

"Listen, there are some things I want to explain to you, okay?"

"Okay."
"Alright. You have to know that not all wizards are good people. There are some wizards who believe in things that aren't right, and they also use their magic in the wrong way. Now, before you were born there was one wizard who believed that only those who were born into wizarding families should be allowed to practice magic. He didn't want those who were muggle-born to be taught magic."

Harry looked up.

"Why?"

"Because he thought they were not worth it. He thought they were less magical than the others. That isn't right, it doesn't matter if a wizard's parents are wizards themselves or not. Some of the best wizards have muggle parents. Magic isn't something that depends on blood lines, it doesn't matter where it comes from. It does only matter how it is developed and used, but that wizard didn't believe so. He believed that the so called 'purebloods' were worth more than the muggle-borns or part-muggles. And he found others who believed just the same.

You see, if only this one wizard had thought so, it would not have been dangerous, but the more others believed him, the more dangerous they became. They started to use their magic against those who were muggle born, against those who fought them and even against muggles who didn't have anything to do with our world at all. They started to hurt them and also killed many of them.

But there were others, like Dumbledore, who didn't share those beliefs. And those people started to fight that wizard."

"What was his name?"

Remus looked into Harry's eyes and contemplated whether to tell him. But then again, sooner or later he would have to.

"His name was Voldemort, Harry."

The boy's eyes widened in understanding.

"The one who killed mom and dad?"

Remus nodded.
"Yes Harry. He killed them because your mom and dad stood up against him. James and Lily didn't believe that blood mattered for wizards, they fought against Voldemort, and that was why he killed them.

And even though Voldemort fell the night he killed your parents, he's not dead. And even if he was, there are still people out there who believe in the things he said."

Harry nodded.

"But then they will come here, won't they?"
Remus pulled Harry into a warm embrace again before he continued.

"Harry, it's just been a dream. It hasn't been real, those people in your dream haven't been real. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded against Remus' chest, but then drew back and looked at his godfather with a gaze that was far too grown up for a seven year old boy.

"But you said that those wizards aren't gone. The bad wizards. And if they're not gone, then they will come here because you're not believing in what they say and because you're friends with Dumbledore."

The child's deduction had so much inherent logic that for a moment Remus didn't know whether he should be proud or get frustrated because he didn't have the answers the child obviously wanted.

Remus sighed.

"Harry, people like Dumbledore, your grandpa, your uncle and I stand up against those people because we believe that it's the right thing to do. But we also know that it can be dangerous. That's why we've thought about protection. Nothing can happen to you here, alright? This house is protected so that nobody can come in unless we let them in, that's why I gave you all those rules about what to do when the doorbell rings. Nobody can come here and hurt you or me, absolutely nobody. Those men won't come here, and neither will they come to Janus or grandpa. We're safe, alright?"
Harry nodded into his shoulder.

"I don't want them to hurt you like they hurt those people in my dream, Remus."

"They won't. I won't let them. And your dream has just been a dream, alright? You can go back to sleep, as long as I'm here nobody will harm you."

Harry nodded, but didn't let go of the embrace. Remus smiled. Normally, Harry knew that he was supposed to sleep in his own bed, the times when he had sneaked next to Remus in the middle of the night were long gone, but this night he would make an exception. Harry needed to be assured that there was nothing about his dream that should scare him now, so he'll let him sleep here tonight. He gently eased the small boy onto the mattress next to him and extinguished the light.

"Comfortable?"
Harry snuggled closer and nodded.

"Hmm."

Remus smiled and kissed the top of his godson's head.

"Love you, Remus."
"Love you, too pup. And now sleep. Good night."
"Night Remus."
Harry was back to sleep within minutes, the comfort of the embrace and the sound of Remus' heartbeat lulling him into sleep. But Remus stayed awake for quite a long time, thinking the contents of Harry's dream over and over again. Why had the boy dreamed of men in masks that hurt others with their wands? Men in masks who tortured others sounded like Death Eaters, but there had been no Death Eater activities for years now. Harry didn't even know what a Death Eater was, let alone how they looked like. And though Janus sometimes told the boy stories that definitely weren't meant for such young ears to hear, Remus was fairly sure that his brother had not told Harry anything about Death Eaters.

And why had this voice in his dream talked about Dumbledore and his allies? Remus was fairly sure that Harry had not known the word 'mudblood' before he had gone to sleep that night, but how come he had known it now?

Pondering over and over again where Harry could have heard those things he had dreamed about, Remus found no sleep until it was nearly dawn. By then he had finally convinced himself that Harry's dream truly had only been a dream, that his subconscious had shown him something he must have overheard somewhere. There was nothing behind the dream worth worrying about. The Death Eaters had not acted ever since Voldemort had fallen, and they surely wouldn't start again now.

With this somewhat reassuring thought in his mind, Remus finally closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

To say that Richard had been surprised by his son's sudden will to get custody for Harry would have been like saying that Severus Snape needed to work on his social skills. It would have been an understatement of the bigger sort.

He had proposed his son to visit Harry to get him out of his depression. Richard had expected that Remus would want to visit the child from time to time, never had he thought that his son would immediately pull out the big guns. But after Remus had told him what he had seen at the Dursleys, Richard had had to agree that this was not the place for Harry to grow up. Not because his relatives were muggles, but because they seemed to detest a not even two year old child because of something he had not chosen to be - a wizard. It was a line of thought Richard couldn't really understand, even his ex-wife Nadine had eventually admitted that having a wizard around also had its good sides.

Remus had been willing to storm into the Ministry straight away, but Richard had managed to convince him to at least wait until the next morning.

And that was why he and his son were right now walking pass the outskirts of Hogsmeade, heading for Hogwarts castle. They had agreed that if Albus Dumbledore had been the one deciding to put Harry into his relative's care, then he'd be the one to be told about their plan first.

Yes, their plan. During a rather sleepless night, Richard had thought over and over again about Remus' idea, and the more he had contemplated it, the more he had liked it.

It would be good to have a child around again, after all Richard didn't think his sons would make him a grandfather anytime soon. Remus wasn't even allowed to have own children by the Ministry Regulations on Lycanthropes, and Janus changed his girlfriends so often that every time Richard had managed to remember the momentary girl's name, one or even two others had already replaced her.

And, even more important, having Harry around would surely help Remus cope with everything that had happened in the past months. Already now, after a couple of hours with only the idea to get the guardianship, Remus' condition seemed to have improved a lot. He had slept for a couple of hours straight, had willingly eaten breakfast without complaining not to be hungry, and he had been really eager to leave the house. There seemed to be something he considered worth getting up for, something that overruled the sadness about his friends' death - the will to take care of his godson.

Richard was glad that some of the life seemed to have returned to his son, he was only concerned that this visit at Hogwarts would snap that little ray of hope again. What if Dumbledore straight away refused to even consider the idea? How would Remus react to that?

Richard wished that his son had taken a couple of days more to think about all eventualities, but it had been hard enough to force him to wait for a couple of hours.

Well, if Remus wanted to go through with it, Richard would be at his side and help him, that much was for sure.

With a last glance at his son's determined face, Richard opened the front door of the castle and both men stepped in. They made their way up towards Dumbledore's office in silence. Richard had sent an owl to the headmaster in the morning to inform him of their arrival, and he had immediately replied via fireplace to tell them the password. Due to the fact that it was Christmas holiday, not many students were at the castle and they met nobody on their way upstairs.

When they reached the gargoyle, Richard gave the password and they climbed up the spiral staircase towards Dumbledore's office.

As they knocked on the wooden door, Richard shot Remus another glance and realized that his son was chewing on his lower lip. A gesture he only made when he was extremely nervous, Richard knew that. He gave Remus a reassuring smile while from inside the office Dumbledore's voice told them to come in.

The headmaster's office looked exactly like it had done while Remus had still been at school. With a sad smile he looked around the room, nodding at the portraits of the former headmasters. How often had they been here during his seven years at Hogwarts, he, James, Peter and Sirius, a fuming McGonagall standing next to them because they had once more broken school rules and played pranks on the Slytherins.

Dumbledore had gotten up from his chair when Richard and Remus entered the room.

"Richard, Remus, good morning. Please, take a seat. Can I offer you some tea?"

Both men nodded and while they sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk, the headmaster rung a small bell and a house elf with a tray of tea appeared. After the elf had gone and everybody had a cup of steaming tea in front of them, Dumbledore smiled at his guests.

"Now, how can I help you?"

Remus exhaled deeply and forced himself to remain calm.

"I visited Harry yesterday, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded and his eyes sparkled a little.

"Yes Remus, I knew that. We have a monitoring charm on Privet Drive which immediately alerts me in case a wizard enters the street. Precaution, there are still Death Eaters out there who are not too pleased that little Harry has caused their master's downfall. How is the child doing?"

"I guess that your monitoring charms don't show you what's going on inside of the house, otherwise you would not ask that question."
Dumbledore rose an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong with Harry?"

"Other than that he is neglected and not given any comfort or affection at all, he's holding up fine."

There was a sharp edge to Remus' words which the old wizard didn't miss.

"What do you mean with neglected, Remus?"
"Professor, those aren't the right people to raise a child like Harry. They resent him for what he is and treat him as if he was just a burden, an inconvenience. He's got no toys, nobody spends time with him, he's sitting alone in his playpen for the entire day as far as I could judge."

Dumbledore shook his head.

"Remus, I explained Harry's relatives everything in a letter I left with Harry. I'm sure they understand the situation and only need some time to adjust to having another little child around."

"No Professor, they don't. Absolutely not. I never really believed Lily that her sister was as bad as she told us, but I've seen it. Harry is just sitting around passively while his cousin is being spoiled in front of his eyes."

"Harry is old enough to realize that his parents are gone. He too might need more time to accept his new environment, it's only natural that he's somewhat subdued now."

Remus jumped out of his chair and started pacing in front of the window. Richard was fairly sure that his son didn't even realize what he was doing. Full moon was in two days, Remus' mind must already be a turmoil of man fighting wolf. Maybe it would have been better to delay this conversation until after the transformation, he didn't even dare to think what the full moon night would be like if Dumbledore denied Remus' wish to take Harry in himself.

"Professor, surely you remember the way Harry was before all this happened. Cheerful, active, never sitting still and never stopping to babble. That's been two months ago. Now he's a quiet and shy little boy who didn't even dare to open up the presents I brought him because he was told he didn't earn presents.

Sure, Harry misses his parents, and terribly so, but that's not all there is. And I'm not talking about whether Petunia and her husband give him toys to play with, I'm talking about emotional comfort. Especially with his parents gone, Harry now needs people who care for him. People who spend time with him, who show him some affection, show him that he's loved. With his relatives, he gets none of that.

Petunia has already convinced him that he's a freak, that he has to be treated differently than their own son, just because they don't understand anything about our world. Because they don't want to understand.

Professor, you've written them a letter, but I've talked to Petunia. And it hadn't taken much more of that rubbish she's been talking for me to hex her into oblivion. She'll never understand Harry, and if he grows up there the boy will be scarred for life.

Writing letters won't help here, even talking to them won't help. Harry can't grow up in a house like that, not if I have a say in it. James and Lily would have never wanted their son to live with Petunia, never. I can't let that happen."

Remus dropped back into his chair and took up his cup of tea. Richard noticed that his son's hands were shaking. This was the moment he had been dreading, Remus had told Dumbledore what he knew about Harry's current state and now it was up to the older wizard to decide over the boy's future. And his son's state of mind as Richard feared.

For some long minutes, Dumbledore looked at Remus from intense blue eyes, his face not showing what was going on inside of his head. Finally, he spoke.

"What do you suggest we should do about it, Remus? Even if I'd agree to take Harry out of his relative's care, which is not my decision alone to make, Harry has no other relatives and his appointed guardian is in Azkaban."

Though Dumbledore didn't mention Sirius' name, Remus flinched. But he met his former headmaster's gaze steadily.

"I want custody for Harry. I want him to grow up with me."

Richard looked at the headmaster, but Dumbledore's face didn't change at all when he heard those words. Again, the old wizard's gaze rested on Remus' face and with a touch of fatherly pride Richard noticed that Remus met the gaze calmly, his concern for Harry's wellbeing as well as his determination to offer Harry a better home showing clearly on his face.

Richard didn't know whether it was a battle of wills happening between Remus and Dumbledore in which each of them refused to be the first to look away, or if Dumbledore was trying to read Remus' mind. He didn't doubt that the headmaster could look through people's facades far better than he let anybody know. Never letting go of the eye contact, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Remus, do you have any idea what having custody for Harry Potter implies?"

Remus only nodded.

"First of all it implies raising a child. I know that I'm not the most experienced person in that department, but all the experience I have, I have gained with Harry. The child knows me, he likes me. And I love him. That's already more than he has where he is right now.

I'm perfectly aware of the responsibilities that come along with raising a child, and I know that it'll be difficult sometimes. I've already experienced how troublesome Harry can be when he's not in a good mood, I think I can manage. No, I know I can manage.

But I guess that was not what you wanted to know.

Yes, I know that Harry is not just any child, I know that he's 'famous' and that you surely decided to let him grow up in the muggle world so that this fame doesn't get into his head. And while I don't doubt your decision, I think I'll be able to let him grow up as a wizard without spoiling him with his fame. He's Harry to me, not the Boy Who Lived.

And before you ask, yes I also know that he's still in danger. Voldemort might not be gone for good, and not all the Death Eaters are in Azkaban where they belong. I know he has to be protected, and I'll do anything to provide him with that protection. At whatever personal risk.

To be bluntly honest Professor, I don't have anything to lose. Ever since James, Lily and Peter have died, there's a gap in my life that cannot be filled again. Without a task, without something that's worth getting up for, I don't know why I should go on. And I didn't see anything that could take up that role until I visited Harry.

Harry needs somebody to care for him just as much as I need some reason to go on, something that makes it worth going through all this pain that is my life right now. I need Harry, just like he needs me, and I'm willing to take all the risks that come along with getting custody for him."

Dumbledore absent-mindly scratched his beard.

"You know that it will be far more difficult to convince the Ministry of this than it has been to convince me."

Remus took some moments to let that information settle. Had Dumbledore just said what he thought? Had he just said that he had convinced him?

A small smile spread across the headmaster's face.

"Remus, I don't doubt your abilities to raise young Harry. That is not the point of my concern. One of the reasons why I insisted on Harry being brought up by his relatives is that they can provide him with a protection nobody else can. Blood relations offer the basis for ancient protective magic that is hard to break. With you, Harry would never be as safe as he is with them, and if he really lived with you, protection spells would be needed that limit and interfere strongly with everyday life."

Remus nodded.

"I'm willing to accept that."

"Then there is your lycanthropy."

This time, it was Richard who interrupted.

"I'd be more than willing to help out there. Harry would remain with me, and Remus would transform at my house, not even anywhere near him. Harry would be safe from the wolf and still under the protection of a fully qualified wizard. We only have to convince the Ministry that there is no danger from Remus' lycanthropy during the rest of the month."

Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"The biggest problem is that you're not Harry's official guardian, Remus. There is no legal paper stating you as his custodian. Werewolves aren't allowed custody over children, that's Ministry policy. It'll be hard work to find a reason why they should go around that law, especially since it's Harry Potter you want to have custody for."

Remus bit his lower lip again, this time not so much out of nervousness but rather because he was thinking.

"Every law has its loopholes, and I'll find it."
Richard knew that his son was determined to do just that, but he had his doubts. Remus was highly intelligent, but neither was he a lawyer nor did he know anything about Ministry procedures. Remus would not let go, that much was for sure, but until he would finally find the solution, Harry would be old enough to graduate.

But Richard knew somebody who could be of help. Unfortunately, there was probably no person on this planet who'd be less willing to help Remus out at the moment. But Richard was more than willing to rip open some freshly healed wounds if it helped Remus.

'You're doing it again.'

Richard was glad when Dumbledore interrupted the nagging little voice in his head.

"Gentlemen, we need a plan."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Excerpt from the Ministry regulations concerning case A14022/XD1982:

Case of Guardianship for Harry James Potter; Custody given to Remus J. Lupin on October 16^th, 1982 under the following restrictions:

[...]

§ 3: Due to Remus J. Lupin's lycanthropy, it is hereby designated that at the day of full moon, Remus J. Lupin has to leave the child's side at least six hours before moonrise and does not return close to the child Harry Potter until at least six hours after moonset.

§ 3a: During the full moon nights, a distance of at least forty miles has to remain between Remus J.

Lupin and the child Harry Potter.

The child Harry Potter has to remain in one of the protected areas during the full moon nights,

furthermore he has to remain under the supervision of at least one fully qualified wizard during that

time. For listings of the protected areas see appendix 4, § 7.

There are no exceptional cases of emergency during which §3 and §3a don't apply.

§ 4: To provide maximum security during full moon nights, the lycanthropic Remus J. Lupin has to

agree to participate in the testing program for the recently developed Wolfsbane Potion.

For medical elaboration of that project see appendix 9. The medical risks of that program are not

carried by the Ministry of Magic, but by the participant of the program himself.

[...]

Please note that any violation of the above restrictions will immediately lead to investigation and re-evaluation of the Case of Guardianship.

Signed:

Cornelius S. Fudge, Minister of Magic

London, October 19^th, 1982.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

A loud rumpling sound echoed through Remus Lupin's house early in the afternoon. Harry was upstairs in his room, sulking because Remus had not allowed him to go out and fly in the summer rain that had been pouring down ever since early morning.

Remus was in the study, leafing through a catalogue on French defence literature of the past twenty years when the commotion from the fireplace drew his attention. Immediately, he hurried into the living room and had to suppress a grin when he heard his brother's voice from the fireside.

"I know exactly that you're standing out there, grinning your head off. You'd better let me in Remus, or I'll personally practice some transfiguration on you, do you hear me?"

The grin now spread fully across Remus' face.

"Name please?"

"You bloody well know my name, now let me in, it's not exactly comfortable here!"

"Name please."
The next thing Remus heard was a string of very colourful curses that would have made any sailor blush in embarrassment.

"Janus Lupin. There, happy now? Now, give the password and let me in before I get completely pissed off instead of only very angry!"

Remus sat back in an armchair and smirked smugly. That little game was fun, why not embarrass his brother a little more.

"I'm afraid I need your full name to guarantee that you're really my brother. After all, anybody could come and state he was Janus Lupin."

A moment of stunned silence followed during which Remus thoroughly enjoyed imagining Janus' face right now. His brother positively detested his middle name.

"Remus, I'm warning you one last time..."

"Oh, the way I see it you don't have any other choice, given the fact that you're stuck in my fireplace and have no way to come out until you give me your full name."

More cursing. Oh, Janus definitely wasn't in his best mood today.

"Janus Frederick Lupin. And now give me that blasted password and pray that I'll let you live once I get out of here."

The fun wasn't over yet.

"Okay, okay. Password is: Paris Panthers beat the Dublin Dragons anytime, anywhere."

Stunned silence was all that followed from the fireplace. After a moment, Janus seemed to have collected himself again.

"You want me to repeat THAT?"

"If you don't want to spend the rest of your days in there, yes."

This time the curses contained comments about Remus' state of mind and the suspicion that he had been found in the woods as a baby. Obviously, Janus didn't want to believe that he was really related to the man who had by now successfully kept him locked in the fireplace for about ten minutes.

"Paris Panthers beat the Dublin Dragons anytime, anywhere"

It was hardly more than an incoherent mumble, but the flames in the fireplace turned green to reveal a thoroughly pissed off Janus Lupin.

Remus was by now laughing so hard that he had to grip the sides of the armchair to steady himself. His laughter didn't even subside as his brother raised his wand threateningly at him.

"You...you..."

Remus laughed even harder. The great Janus Lupin at a loss for words, this image would provide him with many happy hours in the future. After some long moments, Remus regained his composure.

"Put that wand away, you might accidentally hurt somebody."

Janus glared at him.

"If I hurt somebody, it won't be accidentally, that much you can believe me." But nevertheless, Janus pocketed his wand again and sat down in an armchair across from Remus.

"Infantile prat. Anything I should know before you leave?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really. Harry is upstairs, pouting because I didn't let him fly in that weather. And before you even think about it, there will be no 'Remus isn't here to forbid it, so why don't you go flying a little', do you understand? The last thing I need now is that Harry gets sick."

"Alright, if you want to take all the fun out of the boy's life..."
"Janus."

Janus raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"Alright, alright. Got the message. No flying today for the little one."

Remus nodded.

"Thank you. Oh, and keep your ears open tonight, Harry has had strange nightmares lately."

Janus raised an eyebrow.

"Why 'strange' nightmares?"

Remus shrugged.

"Well, the night after his birthday he came into my room, completely disturbed. He said something about 'bad men in masks' torturing others with their wands, talking about killing mudbloods and Dumbledore's allies. Sounded nearly like a Death Eater attack what he was describing there. He was pretty worn out by it and refused to go back into his own bed, he was afraid that the bad men would come to our house as well.

The night after that was alright, but last night he came again. This time he didn't tell me, but I guess it was the same nightmare. If he has those dreams again I'll have to do something about it. By the way, do you have any idea how he came to know words like 'mudblood', and also knew what a Death Eater looks like?"
Remus raised an eyebrow in his own, unique way of accusation but Janus only shook his head.

"I swear I never told the child about Death Eaters or taught him such words. He must have heard it somewhere else.

Did you take your potion?"
Noticing his brother's sudden change of topic, Remus gave him a quizzical look but nodded.

"Yes, awful as ever. I swear, whoever decided that Snape should brew that potion for me really wishes me no good. I bet that slimy git makes it taste extra-awful for me."

He checked the clock on the mantelpiece.

"Better say goodbye to the pup and then floo over to dad. The Ministry always gets itchy when I'm only a minute late."

Remus went upstairs and found Harry in his room, still lying on the bed and sulking. With a sigh, he stepped closer.

"Harry? I have to leave in a couple of minutes. Don't you want to say goodbye?"

Not turning around, Harry shook his head. Blasted Potter-stubbornness. Remus sat down on the edge of the mattress and coaxed the boy to look into his eyes.

"You can practice flying as soon as the weather is better. But I don't want to go knowing that you're sulking here because of something like that. I promise that as soon as I'm fine again I'll fly with you."

That promise made Harry raise a curious eyebrow. Seeing Remus on a broom always promised fun. His godfather definitely wasn't made for flying.
Remus fondly smiled down on him and Harry smiled back.

"Bye Harry. I'll see you tomorrow, and don't tease your poor uncle too much, alright?"

Harry nodded.

"Bye Remus."

A quick hug and the promise from Harry to go straight to Janus in case his nightmares returned later Remus left the room and went downstairs again. Janus was sitting in the living room, bent over today's copy of the Daily Prophet.

"I'll leave now. Thanks for taking care of Harry."
"No problem. I just hope you didn't leave him in an awful mood for me to deal with."

Remus smiled and shook his head.

"It should be better in no time. He's just angry that he didn't get his will. See you tomorrow at noon."

"Yeah, take care."

A little surprised by his brother's statement of concern, Remus nodded, grabbed the floo powder and vanished in the fireplace. Not without flashing his brother another grin as he once more repeated the password to the fireplace.

After Remus was gone, Janus sank back into the armchair, burying his head in his hands.

He had not wanted to tell Remus about it, experience had taught him that it wasn't advisable to upset him shortly before a transformation, but Janus had serious doubts that Harry's dreams were nothing but mere nightmares. It couldn't be coincidence.

But Harry also couldn't know about it, because it was 'classified information', meaning the Ministry guarded it in an attempt to hush it up as long as possible. Janus himself only knew because he and his partner had been the ones to investigate the crime scenes, and even if he had wanted to tell Remus he wasn't allowed to.

During the last week, the Ministry had been alerted twice because of strange attacks. Thursday night, the night after Harry's birthday, the family of a muggle-born witch had been attacked and killed. Brutally. And last night, Janus had been called to the house of a mixed wizard and muggle family near London. Five people in the house, all dead. Killing Curse, after excessive Cruciatus torture.

Harry had nightmares twice, and exactly during those nights wizarding families got killed. Harry dreamed about hooded men in masks when the Dark Mark was floating in the sky again. The Ministry was trying to cover up those incidents because they didn't want to believe it was really happening. They were still searching for another explanation where there was none.

None except that the Death Eaters were back.

And Janus didn't really want to think about what that could possibly mean.