Set Point Theory

Set Point Theory

Chapter One

"Thought I'd find you here," said James, startling Lily out of her trance. She looked up. If she were still alive, her eyes would have been filled with tears. Her eyes snapped back down to her sleeping son. "I know it isn't right, Lily, but at least Voldemort's people can't touch him here."

Lily made a futile attempt to stroke Harry's hair. "I wish I was a ghost," she muttered.

"You don't mean that."

"At least he'd be able to see me if I was. I could tell him how much I love him...At least he'd know. If Mum hadn't died, at least she could've made sure Petunia and her family weren't so horrible to him. But now he has no one on his side."

"I know this is hard, Lily, but he'll be going to Hogwarts in a few years..."

"Hard? This is impossible! I thought we went to Heaven, not Hell! We have to watch our son being told that he's worthless on a daily basis, one of our best friends rotting in Azkaban because of that traitor, Wormtail, and the rest of our friends going through hell, and we can't do a damn thing about it!"

James looked down at his hands. He noticed Harry's broken glasses sitting next to the bed. "Looks like he had another run-in with Dudley." James couldn't help but snicker as he said his nephew's name. Lily's mouth twitched into a faint smile.

"Leave it to Petunia and Vernon to come up with a name like Dudley," she said.

"Well, you have to admit, it fits," said James. "I never thought that 'Dudley' was a particularly bad name, but when you put it into the context of Petunia and Vernon's son, it kinda has a whole new twist. Has that kid ever done any actual work?"

"I doubt it," said Lily. She looked down at Harry again. "Marge is coming to visit. That's the last thing he needs right now."

"I know, Lily." James put his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"As obsessive as Petunia is about cleanliness, it amazes me that she puts up with those bloody dogs of Marge's, yet she's always going on about Harry's hair."

"Marge isn't a wizard. It's that simple, really."

"I can't wait to see the look on Petunia's face the day Harry gets his letter. I'd like to see her continue trying to hide the truth after that."

"Me too," said James. At that moment, Harry made a small sobbing sound in his sleep. Lily tried to reach for him, but couldn't touch him.

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Annie groaned as the morning sunlight hit her face. She tried pulling the covers over her face, but it was no use. She looked over to see Remus sleeping soundly next to her. It was two nights after the full moon. Although it was nice to see Remus not covered in bandages, Annie still wasn't satisfied with the Wolfsbane Potion. It prevented Remus from tearing himself apart while in wolf form, but he still went through the pain of the actual transformation. There was also the fact that Annie had to go to Severus Snape to learn how to make the potion. He had seemed quite thrilled that one of James Potter's old friends needed his help.

"Something bothering you, Annie?" asked Remus, shaking Annie out of her thoughts.

"How long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes. You look like you were thinking pretty hard about something."

"Just the usual. Go back to sleep."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep." Annie leaned over, gave Remus a quick kiss, sat up, and threw her bathrobe on.

"Where are you going?"

"I need a shower."

Annie headed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. She walked into the living room to see her mother's head in the fireplace.

"What took you so long?" asked Laura Spinnet crossly. "I've been calling you for nearly ten minutes!"

"I was in the shower," said Annie plainly.

"So Remus couldn't answer me either?"

"He's asleep, Mother. He isn't feeling well."

"Oh yes, the full moon was the other night. I should have known--"

"Don't start mother!"

"Well, you did fail to tell us that your fiancé was a werewolf."

"What do you want, Mother?" asked Annie through gritted teeth.

"Alicia's party. Will you be there?"

"I already told Alan and Kathy I would."

"Good. Have you thought any more about the Ministry post?"

"We've been through this before, Mother."

"Well, it is steady work, dear."

"I like the work I'm doing now just fine, thank you."

"Just as you like the--man--you're with now. Does unsteady work go with an unsteady man?"

"Mother," said Annie warningly.

"I just know you can do much better."

"Mother, for the last time, I'm happy with my life!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Annie--"

"Finite Incantatem!" Annie shouted taking her wand out. Her mother's head vanished with a pop! Annie stood up and spotted a picture of Lily and James with Harry that she had taken seven years earlier. She ran her finger along the frame as the three of them waved back at her.

"Your mum seems to be in her usual cheery mood today," said Remus from behind Annie.

"She can keep her cheeriness to herself," said Annie with a scowl as she turned around to face Remus.

"She behaves as she does because she loves you, Annie," said Remus putting his hands on Annie's shoulders. "She just wants you to be happy."

"I am happy--"

"C'mon, Annie, you think I don't see the way you mope around."

"Like you don't? We miss our friends. It's natural to feel a little depressed sometimes. All things considered, I'm very happy with my life. My mother's just pissed because I'm not living the way she thinks I should."

"I'm sure she'll come around eventually." Remus looked over Annie's shoulder at the picture of Lily, James, and Harry. The three of them waved and smiled at him. Annie followed his gaze.

"Things really aren't as they should be," she said.

"No, they certainly aren't. Harry certainly shouldn't be living with Petunia and Vernon."

"Definitely not." Annie looked at the picture thoughtfully. "It really is a lovely day. Why do we take a little trip? I hear it's quite lovely in Surrey."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "You know we're not suppose to interfere."

"I just want to see how he's doing. We haven't seen him since he was a baby and I'm quite certain Lily and James would want someone to make sure their son is alright."

"You're right," said Remus with a smile.

"Good of you to say so. Now let's go."

"Right now?"

"Yes. Unless you aren't feeling up to it yet," said Annie putting her hand on Remus' forehead.

"I'm fine. It's just a little sudden. That's all."

"I know, but the sooner we do this, the better."

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Harry leaned against the tree in the front yard. He figured that he had at least a few minutes before anyone realized he was out there. He planned and cherished those few minutes where he didn't have anyone telling him what a useless burden he was. The insults always seemed to drastically increase whenever Aunt Marge visited.

"Dad told you to stay inside," said Dudley. Harry looked up. Dudley and Piers towered over him looking very smug.

"Go away," Harry whispered.

"But we want to play, Harry. You should join us," said Piers. "It's a really fun game called squash the runt."

Harry jumped to his feet and started backing away. "Lemme alone."

"We can't," said Dudley. "Dad'll be very mad!"

Harry turned and started running down the street as fast as he could. While it was only too easy for him to stay ahead of his fat cousin, the much smaller Piers was able to catch up with him. Piers leapt and knocked Harry to the ground. The concrete sidewalk cut into Harry's cheek and his glasses were broken yet again. Piers turned Harry over and pinned his shoulders to the ground. Dudley sat on his chest making it seem extremely difficult to breath and began pounding on Harry's stomach.

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"What the hell are those kids doing?" Annie asked Remus. The two of them had just Apparated and spotted a couple of children across the street that appeared to be playing some sort of bizarre game. Remus squinted and saw a bit of untidy, jet-black hair.

"My God! They're beating Harry!" he gasped. Annie looked closer. She didn't have Remus' keen werewolf eyesight.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"We've got to do something--" Annie started toward the three boys, but Remus grabbed her arm.

"Annie, you know we're not suppose to interfere."

"With his safety. We're not supposed to interfere with his safety. Does he look safe to you?" Remus looked from Annie to the two boys mercilessly attacking James' son.

"Let's go," he said. The two of them ran across the street.

"GET OFF HIM!" Annie yelled. Piers and Dudley ignored her. Dudley pounded even harder on Harry's stomach. Harry tried to yell out, but couldn't with Dudley's weight on his chest. "I SAID GET OFF HIM!" Annie pulled out her wand and shocked Dudley and Piers. They jumped up, stared at her in shock, and ran down the street screaming.

Remus kneeled beside Harry, who had tears streaming down his small face. Remus was reminded of himself as a small boy. He spotted Harry's broken glasses and picked them up. "Reparo," he muttered tapping them with his wand. "Here, Harry." Remus placed Harry's glasses back on his face.

Harry remained on the ground. His eyes moved from Remus to Annie. He looked neither nervous nor calm, but bewildered.

"Are you badly hurt, Harry? Can you move?" asked Annie, putting her hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry sat up in response.

Harry continued to gaze thoughtfully at the two adults sitting on either side of him. He was certain he had never met them, yet there was something so familiar about them. They clearly knew him because they addressed him by name. Harry was eternally grateful to them for scaring off Dudley and Piers. "Do I know you two?" Harry asked. The man and woman exchanged smiles.

"You knew us pretty well when you were a baby," said the man.

"I'm Annie and this is Remus. We were very good friends with your mummy and daddy," said the woman.

"Before the car crash," asked Harry lowering his eyes. Remus and Annie exchanged confused glances.

"Car crash?" asked the woman

"The one where my mummy and daddy died. The one where I got this." Harry lifted his hair to reveal the scar on his forehead.

"Is that what your aunt and uncle told you?" asked the man. Harry nodded. Remus exchanged a scowl with Annie.

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"Mummy! Daddy! We were attacked!" Dudley shrieked running into the house with Piers.

"What, Pompkin?" asked Petunia running from the kitchen, nearly tripping over Ripper.

"Who attacked you, son?" asked Vernon.

"Some mean old lady," said Dudley. "I think she kidnapped Harry!"

"Why would anyone want to kidnap the runt?" Aunt Marge grunted.

"We'd better check this out," Petunia hissed to Vernon. "I don't want to give those people any reason to come snooping around." Vernon nodded in agreement.

"Can you show us where the mean old lady is, son?" asked Vernon.

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"REMUS! ANNIE! TAKE HARRY AND GET OUT OF HERE! RUN NOW! PLEASE!" Lily screamed.

"They can't hear you, Love," said James sadly as he and his wife watched the scene helplessly.

"There has to be something we can do," said Lily desperately. "I can't just watch our son go back to that horrible house again. Not after what I just saw Dudley doing to him."

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"They're coming," said Remus. "I can hear them."

"Who?" asked Harry.

"Your aunt and uncle," Remus answered. Harry's eyes widened.

"I don't wanna go back. I don't wanna," he said frantically. "Dudley probably said I did something and they'll be real mad at me!"

"You don't have to go back there," said Annie. She held out her arms. "C'mon, Harry, I'll carry you." Annie lifted Harry off the ground. He clung tightly to her neck and buried his face in the shoulder. She and Remus ran around the corner and out of sight.

"This is where the mean old lady attacked us," said Dudley to his parents.

"Old?" Annie whispered with mock indignity. "I'm not old!"

"Dudley's just a stupid prat," said Harry. Remus' mouth twitched into a smile.

"We'd better call the police before the neighbours start talking," said Vernon. He headed back to his house with his wife and son.

"Sounds like we'd better get out of here," said Remus.

"Yes, but where should we go?" asked Annie. "We can't just Apparate."

"You didn't bring any Muggle money, did you?" Annie nodded. "We could take a cab to London and go to the Leaky Cauldron. Then we could use Floo powder to get home."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," said Annie. "Perhaps we should stop at a Muggle shop and pick up a hat for Harry."

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"Keep your face down when we go inside, Harry," Annie whispered as the three of them stepped out of the cab. "There are people who may recognize you."

Harry nodded, still clinging to Annie's neck. He wasn't exactly sure what Annie was talking about. There were a lot of things that Annie and Remus had been discussing since they had pulled Dudley off of him that Harry didn't understand. What was a Muggle and how had Remus fixed his glasses. They weren't even taped anymore.

Annie and Remus opened the door to a pub and walked in. Harry buried his face in Annie's shoulder. He picked up a few words in the conversations of people he was passing. They were words like "Bubbletubber," "Mandrake," and "Kneazle."

"Tom, could we get a private room. This boy isn't feeling well."

"Certainly, Annie. Can I get you anything?" Harry heard a strange voice say.

"Just some tea," said Annie. "Oh, and a wet cloth."

"Of course, right this way." Harry kept his face down as Annie started to walk again. A few seconds later, the conversations Harry was hearing grew muffled and distant. He felt Annie sitting down, then he heard a tray being set on a table and a door close.

"You can look up now, Harry," Annie whispered. Harry looked up. Remus smiled kindly at him and he smiled back weakly.

"Let's get your cheek cleaned up, shall we?" said Remus taking Harry's chin in his hand and lifting it gently to look at the cut on his cheek. Harry wasn't used to being touched so gently when people examined injuries Dudley had inflicted on him. Aunt Petunia always jerked him around, and shouted at him not to cry.

Remus dabbed the cloth lightly on Harry's cut while Annie stroked his hair. It was the first time in his life Harry remembered experiencing any kind of affection from others. "Um..."

"Yes, Harry?" asked Annie.

"What is this place? And how did Remus fix my glasses?" Annie and Remus exchanged glances. Harry noticed that they did a lot of this.

"This, Harry, is a wizard bar," said Annie.

"Wizard?" asked Harry. "Like people who do magic?" Annie and Remus nodded. "My uncle always says that there's no such thing as magic."

"It seems your uncle has been doing a lot of lying to you," said Annie pointing to the scar on Harry's forehead.

"How did I get this?" asked Harry.

"It came from the wizard who killed your parents," said Remus sadly. Harry stared.

"His name was Voldemort," said Annie. "He was pure evil. A few years ago, he and his followers murdered a lot of people. Your mum and dad fought him so he went after them. He couldn't kill you for some reason and he lost his power. Even though he's gone, most people still fear his name," Annie added with a scowl. Harry looked down at the table.

"Green light," he said.

"What?" asked Remus.

"I remember green light. Was that Voldemort?"

"That's what we've heard," said Remus.

Suddenly the door opened, giving the three of them a start. Harry buried his face in Annie's shoulder.

"Arthur!" gasped Annie.

"Thought I'd find you here," said Arthur. Harry heard the door close. "They're going crazy at the ministry. It seems as though Harry Potter's family has contacted the Muggle police saying he was kidnapped," Arthur hissed.

"He was rescued," said Remus. "They were abusing him. Show this man your face, Harry. It's alright." Harry looked up to see a kind-faced balding man with flaming red hair.

"Why haven't you turned us in, Arthur. And why didn't Tom stop us, or did he call you?" asked Annie.

"Tom and the rest of the wizard community don't know anything about this," said Arthur. "We didn't want the wrong people to know that Harry Potter was taken from his home. You are aware that he is protected there."

"We're fully aware of that Arthur, but who's protecting him from the Dursleys?" asked Annie.

"They can't be that bad," said Arthur.

"They are. We wouldn't have taken him if they weren't," said Remus. Arthur opened his mouth, but Annie cut him off.

"Look, Arthur, I grew up with James and Lily was my best friend. Believe me, this isn't what they wanted for their son."

"All right," said Arthur. "Listen, ministry officials are still looking for Harry. They want to take him back to his uncle's--"

"NO," Harry screamed. "I don't wanna go back there!"

"Ssshhh, Harry," said Annie pulling him into a hug. "We won't let them take you."

"You can take him to my place," said Arthur. "We'll contact Dumbledore. He'll be able to help us."

"Thank you, Arthur," said Annie.

"I'll Apparate to my place to tell my wife you're coming. Give me a few minutes to explain the situation to her. Will you be alright using Floo powder?"

"We should be," said Annie.

"Why don't you Apparate with me, Remus?" said Arthur. "You can help explain things to my wife. We're expecting your nephew anyway. He and my son both had to take their Apparition tests today." Remus glanced quickly at Annie and nodded. The two men left the room.

"What's Floo powder?" asked Harry.

"It's one of the ways wizards travel," said Annie. "I'll need you to say 'the Burrow' with me. That's where we're going. Oh, and hold on tight." Harry's stomach gave a small lurch. He had taken in several unfamiliar concepts since Remus and Annie pulled Dudley and Piers off of him. He didn't understand half the things they said. The Leaky Cauldron had to be the oddest place he'd ever been. In spite of that, Harry felt as though he belonged there. However Harry looked at it Remus, Annie, and Arthur were strangers; but Harry trusted them. The thought of never returning to the Dursleys' reinforced that sense of belonging and trust.

"Ready, Harry?" Annie asked after the two of them had waited ten minutes.

"Okay," said Harry. He held tight to Annie as she carried him to the door and peered out into the main room of The Leaky Cauldron to make sure the coast was clear. It was crowded with witches and wizards.

"No one from the Ministry's out there," Annie whispered. "Keep your head down, Harry." Harry complied. Annie moved through the crowds of chattering people in a would-be casual manner. She reached the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and threw it into the flames. "All right, Harry, on the count of three say 'the Burrow' with me."

"A-all right," said Harry.

"One-two-three--"

"The Burrow!" the two of them said together. Harry experienced the most bizarre sensation of his life--up to that point--as he was sucked up through the flames and sent spiralling through space.

The next thing Harry knew, he was being expelled from another fireplace and into a small kitchen. Annie stood up and helped Harry to his feet. He was covered in ash and soot. Harry coughed.

"Oh, dear," said a kind-faced, plump woman with flaming red hair. "First time travelling by Floo powder is always a little rough." The woman approached Harry, pulled out a feather duster, and began brushing the ash off of Harry.

"Harry, this is my wife, Molly," said Arthur walking toward them.

"Have you contacted Dumbledore yet?" asked Annie.

"Yes," said Remus. "We'll have to meet him at the Ministry offices. He still needs some convincing. Don't worry, Harry," Remus continued seeing the uneasy expression on Harry's face. "We won't let anyone take you back to the Dursleys'."