Chapter nine.


He was freezing cold and hopeless , he could feel each limb losing its function, /felt/ his legs go numb and his skin peel off like a fruit's. It was horrific. Chillingly heart wrenching and traumatizing, it was one of those things he knew he would never forget. He was terrified out of his mind and unable to call out, completely forgotten. /Dying/. The sensation was unspeakable.

Then all of a sudden a loud noise hit him. Out of nowhere, just as he remembered his Dad, the lighting struck the tree, Harry only had time to register the dismaying and blinding light above him before his head hit the back of the trunk brutally, and he was over taken by the excruciating pain as he blacked out. His bliss didn't last long.

Limbs that had gone numb long ago, were now on fire, he could see them burning with blurry eyes but couldn't feel them burn, at first his mind couldn't comprehend the image, but soon, the flames were everywhere, every bit of his skin, his hair, and God... His face. Although the confined hole wasn't big enough for Harry to trash or yell, it was enough for the smoke to chock him within seconds, and damn, it hurt.

He was so confused and in pain that he couldn't feel himself burning in a tree, he just heard his blood rush in his ears and his body catch on fire, he heard the cackling of fire more than feeling the flames catch on his body, he felt the awful smell than seeing it out of his soot covered glasses, thankfully they were charmed and did not burn, providing some protection for his eyes, but the small mercy wasn't enough for Harry to hold on to his consciousness.

He was floating. The sharp smell of the smoke was etched in his nose and throat for a long time, and then as soon as he could actually breath again there was this smell, this repulsive odor of torched skin, and Harry instantly felt like gagging, but even the thought of moving a muscle in his face made his heart give away.
As sharp cold needles landed on his skin like acid, Harry Potter finally succumbed to unconsciousness.

Xx

He knew something was different in an instant. The extreme weight pulling his body down was very strong, aside from the fact that his body felt heavy, yet weightless, the gravity pulled him down to the soft surface beneath as if binding him. Despite the heaviness, Harry knew that his skin was not in contact with the soft cover underneath. There was something thick, firm and yet a little soft, preventing him from feeling skin, it scratched a little, but that was the least of his worries. If he could have frowned, he would have, because something felt wrong. Everything felt wrong.

To the tip of his fingers and back to his eyes, everything felt out of place, almost acting out of habit, Harry stilled. He was used to waking up in confusion, specially after difficult nights... But never in an unfamiliar environment, where was he? He had no recollection of where he was, and what had happened to him, his mind itched to count, to calm him down in a stressful situation, but he was too stubborn. He could still be dreaming for all he knew.

Harry kept his breath steady and inspected his situation. He smelt disinfectant in the air, the smell torched his nostrils, and it was quite familiar. Harry let his breath out slowly through his mouth, he wriggled his tongue in his overly dry mouth to test function and breathed in relief. At least that one seemed to be working.
His head was naked. As soon as he reigned his senses, he felt the blunt chill on his scalp, and immediately shuddered.

Opening his mouth to call out, Harry stopped suddenly. Why was he so confused, and drowsy? Where was he? No matter how hard he pushed, his mind just came out blank. He gulped the big lump in throat, and brushed off the urge to cry. How could he even call out to someone? What if he was in danger? Darn, he couldn't remember anything.

He took another deep breath, and licked his lips with almost no saliva left in his mouth. Start easy... Start easy... He thought.

My name is Harry Potter. He knew that. He was fourteen, he had green eyes and black unruly hair, he was short... What else?

He was adopted. He had a Dad. Yeah... He remembered that part too, he had a stuffed rabbit, and a few friends...

So far, bits and pieces of his life had came back to him, identity, family, that kind of stuff were all there... What he was confused about now, were his location, his situation, the reason he was there and his dad's whereabouts. Which he would find out eventually.

Feeling more confident, Harry's head jerked in pain as he nodded to himself. Groaning, the boy cursed. It hurt!

The sting brought him back to the realm of reality once again, and he couldn't help but gasp as he was suddenly engulfed in pain. He couldn't open his eyes, they were heavy enough that Harry felt like they were glued together, and his body ached. It ached terribly, specially his legs, he gave an experimental wiggle of his toes, only to find them firmly wrapped up too.

Alright... So he was bound... He was hurt, he didn't know where he was... His sense of urgency was rising rapidly.

He gulped painfully, feeling his chest tighten and his skin flare . He tried to focus, taking deep breaths, and try to remember how did he end up here.
He almost convulsed as the pictures rushed back in one go, and his other senses joined him with a heavy jolt. There was a loud voice beeping next to his ears for a minute before it was tuned out completely. Panicked, and in pain, Harry tried to open his eyes, only to find them forcefully closed. His hands fumbled up to his face but then another set of hands grabbed his forcefully and yet gently, and contained them.

He gasped, horrified, vivid images swirled in the front of his mind. He had ran away. In a storm. Harry remembered every second, every scrape and tear he had shed, his stiff legs, the rain, his head pulsing with pain and pumped with calming draught, out of his mind, how had he ended up in a tree, freezing... Then a lighting struck...

The beeping sound went off again, wailing with him in fear and pain and confusion.

Until there was a voice, speaking gibberish in his ear. Maybe not gibberish, but Harry was so freaked out that he couldn't hear them properly. He focused on the voice, feminine, old, and familiar. Harry couldn't place it, all he could see in his mind was the dingy dark cupboard, the tarnished view from the filters, and the woman with sweet perfume.

Janet. His mind supplied and Harry nearly fainted.

Janet. Her petite frame, as she leaned down and waved her wand over his head every three weeks, her shrill voice ringing in his ears, and God, that smile... That horrible, sweet and twisted smile he hated so much. Even in childhood, he could tell the smile was mocking, meant to be comforting, and gentle, but in contrast with her unforgivable actions afterwards.

Just as he was worked up enough to start screaming, there was a sudden pang like pain in his chest before his vision went dark again.

Xx

"You really did a number on yourself, didn't you young man?" Harry winced as the roll was peeled off his face, his face immediately felt bare.

Harry gulped, but didn't dare open his eyes in fear that they would fall out of his sockets. They felt very weird and /detached / from his face. It made him wonder how worse off he was, for them to wrap everything they couldn't heal in gauze and bandages. Literally everywhere except his face that is.

"Harry? Can you hear me?" a Wand poked him and took his wandering hand before it got to his head.

"Yes." , his throat and specially his neck were very sore, and his voice came out abysmally hoarse.

"Alright then, can you open your eyes please?" the clinical sound prodded his cheekbones, way close to his eyes for Harry's comfort. The boy gulped and peeled his eyes open.

The sight wasn't what he was expecting, his vision was way more blurry than it was before without his glasses, his sight was so bad that he almost hit himself with his pretty thick arm cast. The healer caught the wandering hand just in time and shined a intense light in his eyes.

"Hey!" Harry cried out, trying to draw back, the man didn't even apologized as he instructed Harry to follow the light with his eyes.

Still blinking out the bright spots in his vision, Harry surveyed the room, glad that it was empty. But was startled with the sharp colors gracing the walls Harry had originally assumed white.

He swallowed thickly. "Where am I?" was it just him, or did his voice sound thicker than usual?

"A private ward in St. Mungo's. Your father insisted." Harry visibly flinched at the mention of his dad and his guts churned. What was he going to do now? What had even happened to him? Where was Dad? Did he even want Dad here with him? All of those questions came back with a jolt and Harry grazed his lips in anxiety.

"Hey there Harry, easy... Can't have you overexerted can we? I can call in your Dad if you want."

No, he shook his head vigorously, even though it hurt. No, he didn't want to even think about anyone but himself right now.

"Alright then, let's check those burns huh? The spell won't hurt but you might feel a little disoriented, you sure you don't want me to call someone in? There's a whole squad waiting outside." healer Johnson forced out a laugh and lowered him down again. Harry was half tempted to tell him to call someone in for his glasses, but instead just closed his eyes.

Much to his astonishment and surprise the man didn't go for the bandages or even his chest, the wand was hovering over his /face/, Harry blinked owlishly and frowned, gasping a little as something shape and cold settled over his face like a halo.

"What...?" the man hushed him and Harry couldn't do anything but stare . His face felt fine! In fact, it was the only place that was actually pain free. Why was the man checking out his face when his chest basically felt on fire?!

He was then, eerily aware of the constant chill on his skull. /Directly/ on his scalp, and his eyes widened farther, realization hitting him like a train.

"Where are my glasses?" he couldn't make out the man's outline, much less his face, but could tell that the man tensed.

"Let me run my check and then we'll talk alright? No reason to panic now, I will just call in a relative and you relax." this man definitely didn't know about bedside manners, because Harry knew something was wrong in an instant and he was still drugged.

"I'm not going to die, right?" he asked anxiously, eyes squinting to make out the man's gray goatee and his matching gray turtleneck.

"No! Of course not, that's a little dramatic don't you think?"

Harry felt his head rise up and stared skeptically. "I was almost frozen to death in a tree and then struck by a lighting." and if that wasn't dramatic enough then what was?

His throat clogged again as he remembered why he had ran away in the first place, the scenes played out in his mind like a movie as the healer droned on and he answered unnecessary questions. Harry thought a little unethical, that the healer was withholding some sort of information from him, but was too tired to really press the man for answers, whatever it was he would say it anyway.

The man did say it, when he made sure that Harry was fine, despite being almost a dead corpse the night before. But then, Harry almost wished that he had died.
When the healer cleared his throat and finished his report by saying that both his face and head had completely burned off. As in, his hair, eyebrows, and his scalp, which had peeled over, because of the literal and drastic temperature change. Harry blanched, blurry images of flames consuming his face surged into his mind.
Burned. His hair, and his face were both burned to a crisp. To that point he hadn't shed a tear, did not have a panic attack, and frankly was shocked enough not pass out from some minor injuries. But this was too much.

Healer Johnson asked if he wanted see for himself and assured him that the face would heal eventually but Harry couldn't, he was so distraught and overwhelmed that he could barely breath properly, he was betrayed and lied thank had run away, he didn't need his ugly face to top it off as well.

"We can use concealment charms Harry, if they really bother you, but your face heals faster if you didn't. Harry? Do you want me to call your father in?"
Harry declined and closed his eyes, blinking to keep the tears at bay, he inhaled deeply and shook his head, letting the man to run his checkup and get the hell out of his room, he didn't even flinch at the needles puncturing his arm.

In his state of shock, he noticed that the Weasley parents entered and sat next to him, while Harry closed his eyes and feigned sleep. The heart monitor gave him away though, but none of the adults called him on it, nor did they tried to touch him, for which Harry was very grateful.

He was tempted to look in the mirror, to see just how ugly and freakish he was, to witness his nightmares coming true first hand, but knew that the moment he opened his eyes he would start crying and Harry was done doing that. He was done being a baby. As a way to punish himself, he crossed his arms over his chest and kept his eyes securely closed. Humorously, he felt like a polar bear, completely wrapped up in white, his arms were twice their normal size and wrapped in /thick/ bandages, and his face was surely.... Burned and disfigured and bare.

Though Harry didn't feel any different. His face mostly felt the same as always, as far as he knew, his eyes and his nose were still intact, his mouth worked good enough and his ears still functioned.

That didn't mean he was fine by any means, he was /not/ fine. Not just physically, but mentally Harry felt like screaming. Now that he had nothing to distract himself with, and the Weasley parents were literally breathing down his neck, Harry had nothing to do other than replaying his memories one after the other, he pinpointed every time his dad had lied to him, every time Harry had foolishly trusted him and Janet. And then compared them to his forgotten childhood, the Janets were pretty much the same, and frustratingly, Harry's urge to murder her grew with each passing second.

Every few seconds, after his drowsy mind drifted back to reality, Harry remembered to calm himself down so the heart monitor wouldn't tap dance and worry the others, the Weasleys were just waiting for an excuse to drug him again. Though, right now, Harry wasn't so opposed to the idea.

He was half tempted to accept the pain relievers and knock himself out, but was afraid that Dad or Janet came in with him unable to defend himself, Harry needed that control when he had to face them, and thus lied to the nurse through his gritted teeth as his body seared.

He didn't know how much time passed again, but by the time he finished counting to one hundred and back, a nurse named Mary had finally given him some pain reliever shots (against his will) and some guy was talking to Mr. Weasley about the muggle painkiller pills.

There was a single knock on his door and someone stepped in, striding right to his side.

Harry's nose flared and his eyelashes fluttered furiously again his raw skin. Dad was here. He could /feel/ the man as he entered the room briskly. His heart clenched. Was Dad mad at him?! For running away? For stirring up this much trouble? If not before, Harry was certain that Dad wouldn't want him any longer now that he looked hideous. He must have really looked like the freak he was.

Harry huffed, why did it matter?! He's the one who should be mad, not that liar hypocrite! But in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't help but think otherwise.
"How long has he been awake?" the silky voice asked, the sound of brisk steps echoed in Harry's ears. He clenched his eyes tighter, seeing as it was the only organ that he was able to move.

"Just an hour after you left for the ministry. I /think/ he's okay now." Harry wanted to sneer, make a sarcastic comeback or preferably, start yelling but that stupid nurse had dosed him up, even the roof of his mouth felt sluggish and gross. Dad was at the ministry, why?

"Did the healer talk to him?" the voice was considerably closer than the last time.

Mrs. Weasley sounded dubious as she answered. "He did, though, Harry is taking it way better than we thought he would."

Harry rolled his eyes. /Harry/ was lying there right next to them!

"I see. Thank you, Molly, Arthur, I can't say how grateful I am. Your help was truly invaluable, I shall make it up to you as soon as..."

"Nonsense Severus. Harry is like a son to us." Harry doubted that very much, but also couldn't brush off the sincerity in her voice. He felt like a naughty child eavesdropping on his parent's conversations.

"Nonetheless, I am forever grateful. Thank you again Molly, Arthur, why don't you go and rest a little?" the dismissal was not lost on Harry, and he could almost imagine his dad's pointed stare following the hurried married couple out of his room.

He stiffened, feeling the surge of anger and hatred rush past him again.

"Harry? I know you're awake." Harry almost rolled his eyes. It wouldn't exactly take a genius to notice that.

"Do you have any pains? Discomfort? How's your chest doing? Your face?" Harry stubbornly pursed his lips

"Please, we need to talk son. You need to know everything Harry, it's not what you think." Dad pleaded, but made no move to physically touch him, not that Harry wanted him to, but still...

He didn't stop the snort of disbelief from escaping his mouth, and opened his eyes. He cruelly glared at the man's direction.

Not what you think?! Oh Harry knows exactly what he should think, he had no doubts about it.

/This man/ had befriended his almost aunt, who was completely in on his abuse, even had a hand in it for years, then he managed to date the said woman, and by some terrible twist of fate, wanted to marry the woman even after knowing who and what she was. And if things weren't bad enough, he didn't only hide this from Harry, but he allegedly slept with her and knocked her up, succeeding to complete Harry's vicious circle of life... Only this time, Harry had an ugly reminder for the rest of his life to carry on.

"Harry please..." he swallowed.

"Get out." he didn't have it him to lash out. Not really. He only had himself to blame.

"I know you're angry and hurt, but you must listen, this is important..."

"Important like what? Like Jan....." he couldn't say her name. " Like /her/? Or important like the fact that you knew about it all while?" it took every effort out of him to not loose his head, and a great amount of saliva, so he wouldn't chock on his own words.

"We don't have much time Harry, please. I need you to listen with an open mind before...."

Harry lost it.

"Open mind?! You want me to think with an open mind?! FUCK YOU! AND FUCK THAT BITCH! FUCK ALL OF YOU! YOU LIED TO ME! YOU FUCKING LIED TO ME! YOU SLEPT WITH HER! HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME?!" his throat was sobbing for relief, and his voice didn't have enough to carry one shouting, but Harry was not finished, not in the slightest.

Before the potion master could stop him, Harry sat up and viciously pulled the IV out, thus proceeding to stop all of the fucking machines running around him.

"You... You knew... You knew everything, I saw it. I saw what you did to her!" he was beyond disgust, he was beyond indignation, he was /sick/.
Dad shook his head and grabbed his shoulders firmly, trying to lower him down. Harry didn't back down.

"LET GO YOU SICK BASTARD! LET ME GO!"

"I wanted what was best for you, I always do, let me explain and stop shouting, you're hurting yourself..." Harry snarled, frustrated that he couldn't do much and was forced into lying down again.

"I think we're beyond me hurting, it's not like you give a fuck anyway." he savagely snapped, his eyes blazing with rage.

"If you just sit still and..."

"How? How can you just stand there?! Without a /shred/ of regret and still order me around? How?!"

Even without his glasses, Harry could see the man's frozen expression, the hurt etched in his features, and curled his lip. Dad deserved to suffer, he had no idea what he had put Harry through. No idea.

"Did you plan it though? You... You let her have her way with me, and tossed me out like traps when....you ignored me.... You let her TOUCH ME! Did you do it on ___"

Dad interrupted him. "No merlin, no, Harry listen..." he sighed, running a tired hand over his face.

Harry couldn't. He couldn't just lie there defenseless and listen. "Had a good fuck didn't you?! You and Sirius, I bet that's the one thing you agreed on... Why tell him?! When we can watch him writhe in pain, why tell him that you're bloody sleeping with my abuser?! When we can watch him figure it out on his own, lying on his bed, lying in his own piss for /hours/ before..."

Dad didn't stop him, his head was bowed in shame, Harry trailed off, his throat was completely clogged with vomit. He held back, and for the first time touched his mouth to keep the bile in.

"Why aren't you talking?! Say something!" his voice broke at the end and Dad snapped out of his haze.

"I can't, your healer forbade me from putting too much pressure on you, I'm not even supposed to be here. Harry, son, I never intended to hide this from you, I never wanted you to find out like this, to get hurt and feel unsafe or threatened by me." every word seemed to pour out of his soul, but it only made Harry want to shrink away in disgust.

"I love you, Harry and i'm sorry, you can't even imagine how much , you need to listen." disgusted that Dad referred to him and /her/ with the same sentence. I love you. It was meaningless to him.

"You don't mean that. You don't mean /anything/." he muttered, turning his head away, he coldly continued.

"Love doesn't have definition, but mine was always about trust, mutual respect, loyalty, sacrifice... You did none for me. Look at me! Look at me and tell me that you love me Dad." look what you made of me! Look at what you made by forcing me into the storm! His heart clenched and tears leaked out.

"Calm down Harry, or I'll..." Dad was desperate, Harry could see. But couldn't understand why, was Dad repulsed by looking at him? He wanted to get away?

"Or you what Dad? Are you going to leave? Are you going to lie? Or are you going to hit me and then knock me out with drugs?" go on, push me away.

"What are you going to do?"

/"What did I do?! Daddy what are you going to do?!" his throat was raw as he was dragged into the narrow street, still disoriented from the apparation. His small stomach clenching in pain and anxiety.

"You're just going to wait here boy. You'll know soon enough." Daddy answered, the first droplets of rain landing on his shoulder.

"What are you going to do?!" /

The night still haunted him as if it was only yesterday, the utter /confusion/, the childish innocence, his retained love for James, even when it wasn't returned. He knew exactly where this conversation was going.

Dad's hand was on his face, warm and smooth and soft. Harry couldn't keep it together anymore. The fourteen year old was torn. In every sense of the word. No idea how he should /feel/, everything was so simple before.... Why it couldn't be now? Why did she have to exist? Why did she have to enter their lives again? Why did she have to stole dad too? Weren't his parents enough? What should he do to get rid of /her/?

Dad brushed the tears away. Harry held to that scrap of hope. He could make it work if she was gone, he could ignore his hideous looks and ugly, disfigured face if she was out of their lives... He could forgive everyone else if she...

If Dad let her go.

"I would let you calm down enough so we can have a normal stress free conversation. I don't want to hurt you, I want to..." Harry drew away, successfully batting the man off with his heavy arm.

"Calm down?! You want me to calm down? You're not serious. You're not bloody serious, you think..." he cut himself off.

/"I'm really sorry Harry, but I'm afraid it might take a while for your hair to grow back up, don't worry there are charms that we can..."

"...Slight deformity.... "/

/"You ugly freak! It's always you isn't it?! It's always you!"

It's always about you, everything has to be your fault, you... /

No. This wasn't his fault.

He was so glad that he didn't have glasses, because if he did, if he could see the potion master's face, even if for a second, he would kill him. He knew he would.

He did the next best thing.

"Your petty explanations are the /least/ of my worries right now. I don't give a fuck about you! I WAS BURNED! you think I fucking care about /your/ selfish tendencies? Look at me! I'm hideous! I'm ugly! You did this! You and her! Get out! Get out of here! I don't want to see your face ever again!..."

He knew exactly what to say, Dad was too dumbfounded to really resist the nurses hauling him out of the room when they barged in, his blurry vision didn't keep up with the chaos, and his chest throbbed painfully, even despite all this, Harry caught the look in the man's eyes clear as the day before Dad was ushered out and nurses rushed to him.

Self condemnation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Remus sighed and rubbed his temples, his slumped body seated on one of the kitchen's chairs, with seven children running around his house.

The full moon was two nights ago, and yet Remus felt like shit. He probably looked half dead too. He didn't even know what to feel anymore. He excused himself out of the hospital early in hopes to get some rest so he could think rationally. With 'hope' being the key word.

"Shut the hell up! I need it for Harry." a weasley's voice cried out from the drawing room, Remus couldn't even tell which at this point. As far as he knew William was supposed to be in charge...

He only wished that Sirius would be back from the ministry soon, so Remus could get a close eye and padfoot could entertain the kids. He had spent the whole night going back and forth between healers and filling forms, buying potions and trying to contain Sirius from murdering Janet. While Snape sat there like a Dementor kissed victim and did nothing more than staring at his hands and wallowing in self pity.

Remus felt no remorse for his hatred regarding the man, he and Sirius had warned him about this moment, they had spat in his face, told him that Harry would not tolerate this, that it was morally wrong, but the potion master didn't listen.

The man brought this on himself, this was all his fault.

Remus felt guilty too, for not interfering sooner, for not putting a stop to this madness, he and Sirius could have prevented all of this, they weren't legally privileged to take Harry and run, and they couldn't just thrust it on Harry like that when the child didn't even remember anything. But still, the wolf felt responsible, he should fix it now. Now that they had the power to get Harry. To help him.

They had waited long enough, ever since he had interacted with Harry again back when he was thirteen, he had always been jealous of Snape for having him. Harry was the sweetest child he had ever met against the odds, and above that the wolf had known Harry as pack the moment he had been born, he felt jealous that Snape could have the child and they couldn't. He and Sirius were both jealous of the potion master, and regretful for not knowing how bad Harry's home life was.

He and Sirius were barely in England, always here and there, doing small jobs and exploring the world, it was the life style the couple preferred, Remus himself never cared much for stability, thus he barely saw Harry as a child a handful of times, they never suspected abuse. Harry was always shy as a kid, never spoke much, never touched much and they never felt uncomfortable about it.

Remus could hit himself now, remembering the meek small child peaking at them self consciously, eyeing his parents for approval every once in a while... Remus would have never thought that the child was scared of James and Lily...

He never even imagined as such.

And now... Now that he knew, he could fix it, hopefully the Ministry would give Sirius a chance, though Remus wasn't sure due to his own werewolf background.
He rubbed his face with tired hands and sighed.

"Master Lupin sir...? Filthy werewolf..." Remus barely turned his face to see their house elf kreature hanging by the door as he muttered abuse at him.

"Yes kreature?" he answered kindly. He was too tired to get riled up about it.

"We have a guest by the door. Lord Potter is here master Lupin.... He requests to be let in the house." the wretched creature announced proudly and Remus's eyes widened in shock.

Lord Potter, as in....

"Don't let him in." he snapped out instinctively and stood. This couldn't be happening, he thought in panic, this could not be happening. He drew a long breath and scrambled to the drawing room, not even waiting for kreature's reply.

The Weasleys were scattered throughout the ancient living room, each busy with one thing or the other, Remus couldn't really distinguish in his hurry. Heads snapped up as he tripped into the hallway.

"All of you get upstairs. Now." Bill and Charlie were by his side in a blink, asking what was wrong. Remus only shook his head, his heart was beating in his throat. He was not capable of talking.

"Get upstairs children, now. Whatever happens, do not come down or eavesdrop, do you hear me?! Do not come down." he gave a pointed look at the twins and quickly ushered the children up the stairs, ignoring their cries of surprise and confusion. Remus tapped his head in annoyance and grabbed Bill by the shoulders as Charlie forced the others into a room.

"Remus...? Is everything..."

"No time for that, floo to the ministry, find Sirius. If not, find your parents to contact him. Go now." kreature reappeared again and Remus shoved the boy into the floo.

"Master Lord Potter is requesting entry now, filthy mutt, what shall kreature say?"

Remus licked his lips and cast a silencing chair around the kitchen. He barely heard Bill floo out.

"Tell him that I'm in the kitchen."

He only hoped that James was alone, Remus was not really in mood for a family visit. No, he shook his head, they weren't family anymore...

His hands were visibly shaking as he busied himself with supposedly making tea. His eyes huge, and his heart beating wild. It's going to be okay, he thought desperately. For all he knew, James might not even talk to him, maybe he needed to talk with Sirius about some pureblood related stuff...

He tried to convince himself as he filled the pot with water to boil, and winced when he heard the door shut with a soft click.

Remus Lupin smelled his long time former friend, before actually seeing him and stiffened.

"Thank you kreature, your services are not required for now." Remus still had his back to them, as the elf shamelessly bowed to the arrogant man and disappeared. The water overflowed, descending down his hands.

"It's overflowing." James stated the obvious, his voice eerily familiar and closer than the werewolf had expected. Remus let the kettle fall into the sink with a sharp thud and turned, glaring coldly.

"What do you want?" his voice cut through the tension like a butter knife. But it was cold enough that James actually looked taken back.

"Well first I want a proper greeting from an old friend. Cruel does not become you Remus." James grinned and winked.

Remus furrowed. "We're not friends. Talk or leave." he picked up the kettle shakily and started to fill it again. He couldn't look in the man's eyes and not be reminded of Harry. Remus had no intentions of comparing this monster to his cub.

"Sirius is not back yet is he? Though I think I saw red hair on my way in. Babysitting Moony?" the man ignored Remus and settled himself on a chair, looking nonchalant and fully at ease.

Remus clenched his jaw. "None of your business is it?" he banged the kettle forcefully on the stove.

"No, actually it's not, I barely see Arthur these days... How many children he has? Nine?" James continued on plainly, his shape eyes roaming his kitchen.

"James..." even saying the name irked him. James responded with a wolfish grin, his eyes catching Harry's golden snitch on the table.

"That must be Harry's, he always had a knack for snitches. Arthur can't afford something this expensive...."

Remus growled and pulled his lips back, baring his teeth. "Talk or leave." the man had no right about Harry or the Weasleys that way, specially Harry.

James arched an eyebrow. "You can't throw me out, this house is Sirius' inherited home. If anything I'm amazed you're here at all. It's been a while since I heard from you two, I nearly forgot about your poverty-stricken life."

Take a deep breath, Remus had to remind himself, there were children in the house, he couldn't, and wouldn't let James rile him up.

"That is hardly your business . I prefer to rot in the dump rather than be a snobbish aristocrat abuser like you." this was not James, he told himself. This was not his friend.

"Have you told Harry that you two are banging yet? He has a right to know what his godfathers are up to when he's asleep." the man smirked as he saw the color drain from the werewolf's face and his teeth bare.

"I said leave." he snarled slowly, deliberately drawing out the words forcefully.

James's smile fell and he frowned darkly. "Funny, I thought you would have changed over the years Remus. You're still the same sorry bastard." he drawled, his fingers drummed on the oak dining table.

Remus gritted his teeth.

"I don't abuse a child for money or fame, do I?" I will never lock him in a cupboard.

James cocked his head. "People make mistakes, they learn from them. We aren't much different, your relationship with Sirius or Janet with a filthy swine like Snape is a clear example of that."

Remus barely managed to draw blood as he dug his nails deeper in the palm of his hands, adamant to leave the man before him unsatisfied.

"What do you want from us Potter?"

"Harry had an incident last night? It's all over the news, Lily and I were very concerned of course, I find it very self-explanatory that the boy has been in hospital twice a month out of the summer with life threatening injuries. That's hardly an accomplishment to be proud of Remus." the man gave him a crooked grin, his eyes narrowing as he saw the dribbling blood dripping from his hands.

"Your point being?" the man should have such a nerve to come up here and lecture them, while abusing a child for years, the law might let him slip, but Remus won't.

James shrugged, humming. "Just knew that it wouldn't last. Who would have thought snivelous might care for Harry? I certainly didn't. Snape wouldn't see love if it danced naked in front of him. Ask anyone who knows. Janet is a good actor."

Remus bristled, and sat down across him, ignoring the kettle's sharp whistle over the stove.

"And that was it? You wanted to gloat? In that case, you did an excellent job James. The door is that way."

He seethed, all the while thinking that why in the hell was Sirius taking so long to come for his aid. James smiled as if reading his thoughts.

"Saw Sirius too. He wanted to.... Uh... Plead for a custody trial. How unexpected and coincidental, oh merlin, you won't believe what a few Galleons would do." he rubbed his thumb over his index finger mockingly.

"He seemed rather urgent too, didn't he? All ruffled up, and pissy. You know him better than I do. Sad I couldn't stick around for a chat."

The man pouted, shaking his head with staged regret. Remus immediately felt his blood run cold. He knew this tone, he knew it too well, this was his triumphant tone, this was definite and sure. Arrogant, and undeniably James_ish.

"What did you do?" James smirked, picking at his nails.

"He looks exactly like me doesn't he? That should've been a pain for Snape, watching him growing up to be a spitting image of me, he is what? Fourteen now? turned into a young man only a few days ago actually, I sent him a gift, to St.mungo's, I wonder if he still likes the color blue..ugh!"

Remus squeezed his hands on the man's neck, his eyes glowing a deep shade of amber and his figure posed across the table for an attack. He might be too weak after a full moon but he was more than capable of killing his former friend.

"You come within fifty feet of him again, and I will personally beat you within an inch of your life."

James totally unfazed, broke out of his strong hold.

"No you won't. Harry won't like that... So radiant and kind, such a good kid. You tell me, how exactly like Lily his attitude is, and physically he's... Ugh! Fuck you Lupin! That hurts!" the man angrily nursed his bruising cheek. Remus wrinkled his nose and withdrew his sore hand. Punching James felt better than he thought.
"He is already a better man, than you ever will be." James dropped his facade, and smiled like a Cheshire cat, his eyes disgustingly shining with mirth.

"That's kinda the point isn't it Remus? That much power requires an innocent soul."

James sighed softly and continued. "To be cherished, and loved, wrapped in a cocoon all his life, or be kept on a leash and in control ... I'm afraid, that you and your doggie, just broke that cocoon. Snape had Harry all to himself all those years, without a single loophole for me to sneak in.... Sirius, our beloved friend, just created the loophole I needed."

He threw his head back and sighed loudly."And to think, I threw him away like a used doll. Who knew how powerful the boy really was?"

"You will never touch him." not if Remus had any say in it.

"I already have Moony, no man is compatible in raising a Potter other than a Potter. No matter how hard he tries to deny it, the blood tells all..."

"You are nothing but a greedy fool James, and you're right, Harry will always be ashamed of his heritage. The ministry wouldn't allow you back in his life."

"The ministry has nothing to do with this, if I want Harry back, then he will /be/ back. I let Snivelous take advantage of my son long enough, it's my turn now." the man hissed, his skin stretched in a sneer.

"You!" Remus thought he would break his hand, at the sheer pressure as he gripped the table. James smiled, looking smug.

"Uh uh, not a word my friend, every word out of your mouth, would be a lost cause in the court." his heavy accent carried on to Remus's ears, and the man stood to leave.

"What....?!" was all Remus tell as he pulled himself together.

"See you in court Moony. I will look forward to seeing my son again. It's been a while."

With the last statement, the man turned on his heels and left. Leaving Remus dumbfounded in the dingy old kitchen of Grimmauld place.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

/ his hands threaded through the soft material clad on his legs, his eyes wild in adornment and awe, his tiny fingers traced the patterns as he was left to sit on the couch all by himself for a whole hour now.

The clothes, were obviously new, and surprisingly fit, so Harry guessed that they were having a guest today, it could be one of his uncles, or both, they weren't always together when they visited. It didn't matter to him, the only thing that mattered, was that he had had a whole plate of breakfast with milk today, he was allowed to use the potty whenever he wanted, and Mommy also had sneaked him Aiden's blue stuffed hippogriff for Harry to have for a whole day.

It made his chest tingle with something warm, to see mommy and daddy smile at him the way they did to his brother. His stomach was comfortably full, and his clothes snug for his body, mommy even hugged him today during breakfast.

He knew it wouldn't last and was only for today, he knew that mommy and daddy were kind to him so Harry would get used to them acting nicely to him in front of the others, on one hand the six years old was sad and a little angry, on the other, he greedily accepted their behavior and treats, it would only last for a day and he should make a most of it while he could.

Harry looked around the modest drawing room, it was one of the rooms he wasn't allowed in, adorned with portraits and beautiful paintings, the room itself was wide and open, inviting. It was exactly the opposite of what Harry was accustomed to, and thus made him a little uncomfortable.

His feet were as stiff as boards, not even reaching the ground, and his back was straight and just as stiff, he couldn't relax as his eyes were glued to the fireplace for his uncle's arrival, knowing that his parents and little brother would be joining in shortly after finishing their evening tea.

Little Harry frowned. He couldn't understand why he couldn't have some cake too, since they were feeding him already. He had no idea how it tasted of course, but the sight looked mouthwatering.

Sooner than he wanted to the floo flared, much to his surprise, a familiar woman stepped out in a flourish, looking eerily like mommy in her green short dress. Harry squeaked, curling on the couch, his eyes widened. This was her! The lady who made mommy and daddy hurt him! What was she doing here?!
The pretty lady saw him and smiled sweetly, Harry hated the smile on the spot and whimpered.

"There now Harry, how are you doing sweetie?"

Afraid that she would tell him on his behavior to his parents, Harry wiped the fat ugly tear drops with the back of his hand and furrowed.

"Fine ma'am." oh, how he wanted to count right now, he imagined the numbers forming colorfully in his mind, one, two, three...

"Well that's fantastic! Why don't you play with your hippogriff over there and I talk with your mommy? I reckon the others will be here soon." she petted his hair and handed him the plush toy as Harry shrank in fear.

Her eyes lingered on him blankly for a moment before she smiled briefly and turned away.

Xx

"You can't keep him anymore." she rounded the happy couple, her eyes narrowed.

Lily frowned and James cursed. "Why not? He's barely here, Petunia takes him every summer and I doubt anyone...."

"Anyone aside from the werewolf. He has declined every other offer to come here before today, and now he's coming here, he can smell the cupboard or Harry's injuries. He is the only one who might believe Harry over you." that was if the child says anything to the man. Janet knew it was cruel, it was wrong, and what she was about to do was often counted as inhumane. But she had to.

"Oh damn, I haven't thought of that." the hazel eyed man cursed, musing his ruffle hair. Janet opened her mouth and hesitated for one beat.

"Leave him. Leave him off the street or a muggle corner somewhere, muggle authorities will take care of the rest." the boy had no life here anyways, this place was no home for a squib boy, he had no future here aside from pain and misery. At least the muggles had enough decency to accept the child in their community, and Janet would somehow make sure that the child would be safe in an orphanage somewhere. She knew that she needed to act fast, today was the perfect excuse.

"How?! What do we tell the others? We can't just leave him and not be questioned about it!" Lily exclaimed, her arms in the air.

Janet cursed inwardly. "You want to be found out by the wolf?! Just leave him somewhere and tell that you disowned him or something.... Just let him go already! You have the states and the vaults, Aiden is named as your heir, and I'm pretty sure your friends wouldn't even give a crap." she cruelly snapped back.

She'd seen the bruises and had heard enough cringe worthy abuse from both parents, she couldn't report them or escape with him to France as originally planned, but she could convince the Potters to at least leave him and move on with their lives. She would vanish along side him of course, maybe out of the country, after she made sure the boy was fine. But for now...

"Do we have enough time? Half an hour..." it was only six, someone would surely find the child before it went dark.

"If you leave now." you're showing him mercy, she thought to make herself feel better. Just imagine his life when Aiden goes to Hogwarts.... His life wouldn't get any better, this was the best option...

Still, she felt like a monster as twenty minutes later, James dragged the small sobbing child out of the house in his own overgrown clothes, she even chocked a bit as the toy fell out of the child's hand and rolled up to her feet. The father and son disappeared with a sharp snap.

It was all for the best.

Xx

Her eyes widened as she followed the man in black robes, subtly making her way between the shelves in the apothecary store, her blue eyes sharp and in thought.
This was the man, she knew who he was, she distinctly resembled the man Janet remembered finding Harry in the streets, though she couldn't tell who he was clearly, having spend the last seven years in Paris with her boss. A tall, lean man clad in black with shoulder length black hair, her heart leaped as she caught his face, high cheekbones and a defined jaw. This man, was undeniably handsome.

But more than that, she knew that the man was also a single father, the man who had adopted Harry... She gulped, her mouth going dry as the man side glanced and picked out a jar of beetle's eyes.

Just out of curiosity and wariness, she sneaked up to him, not exactly knowing what she was looking for. She mindlessly picked up some boomslang poison and peaked at the man next to her.

Only then she recognized the man as Severus Snape, the face was splattered over all of the cauldron weekly editions she had bought last Thursday, the youngest potion master in the two last centuries and currently working as a professor at Hogwarts...

The young mastermind between Veritaserum and wolfsbane potion...So Snape had adopted Harry Potter...

The man suddenly turned and stared right back, Janet jumped, blushing. Instead of drawing away as every cell in her body screamed, she extended her hand.

"Severus Snape? What an honor." /

Hours later, there laid near Harry's bed, a plush blue hippogriff with a blue bow tie around its neck.