)O(

Sleep did not come easily that night for Remus. He lay on his side watching the remains of the fire's embers glowing into the small hours. He had felt the weight of his responsibility towards Harry fall on him like a heavy blanket as Dumbledore had described the Horcrux hunt. He had asked their permission to take Harry with him on a series of missions and Remus was seriously regretting agreeing.

Whilst the headmaster's reasoning had been sound, that had been in the warm light of day, before the fact that Harry was only sixteen had re invaded Remus's thoughts; that and the memory of James and Lily giving their very lives to keep their son from harm.

By three in the morning, Remus had given up on the idea of sleep and got up to stoke the fire and dig out a bottle of Whiskey. He had just settled on the coach to brood when a soft knock sounded at his door. Wrapping a shawl around his shoulders, he shuffled over and opened the door, surprised to find a rather grumpy looking potions master standing there.

The two men stared at each other for a moment before Remus handed over his freshly poured glass and padded back to his place on the sofa. Severus silently followed and fell into the armchair opposite, watching as his frail colleague waved over a second glass and filled it.

'What the hell were we thinking?' he spat out into the quiet room and Remus snorted in response.

'We weren't.' He stated bluntly. 'We were being handled; Dumbledore's special gift I believe.'

'I could change my mind. Test how much this guardianship is worth in our esteemed headmasters eyes?'

Remus laughed. 'Except it wouldn't work.' Severus raised a questioning eyebrow and Remus explained.

'Harry knows now. If he gets excluded at this point he will just hide himself away under James's cloak and find a way to get there anyway. He hates being excluded, you know that.'

There was a long silence after this as both men tried and failed to think of a way to get Harry out of the day's mission. The fire crackled gently and a small pop announced a tray of tea and toast as one of the house elves attempted to stop what promised to be a good drinking session. The two men exchanged an amused glance before reaching for more whiskey.

The next hour passed quietly with each man lost in his own thoughts.

'Why did you hate us so much?' Remus asked bluntly, disturbing the silence.

Not even bothering to pretend he didn't understand the question and finding his tongue loosened by the Whiskey, Severus laughed out load.

'You ask that after what the four of you did to me?'

'No,' Remus protested. 'Before that. You hated James and Sirius long before we started pranking you. You used to practically snarl at them every time you passed us in the corridor.'

Severus rolled the amber liquid in his glass around as he considered the question.

'They were everything I hated; Rich, spoiled, loud. All you could hear at dinner was Black's voice.'

'You misunderstand them still you know.' Remus stated quietly and Severus snorted.

'Really? Pray tell oh great wise one.' Severus's voice spat sarcasm in a way that made Remus wince. It had been a while since his colleague had spoken to him in that tone.

'Sirius's mother used the Crucio as a training tool when he was young,' Remus almost whispered, noting how Severus stilled and turned watchful eyes to him.

'By the time he got to Hogwarts he had permanent nerve damage in his hands. He struggled to even hold a Quill sometimes. All that noise and bravado was his way of coping. James was the first one who realised that something was badly wrong for him and became very protective, very quickly. He would never hear a word said against Sirius and I guess that's how our rather unique dynamic started.'

Severus watched at Remus stared at the fire, his thoughts far away.

'You seemed an unlikely member of their little gang,' he observed flatly, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Remus nodded. 'I wasn't a member really, not at first. They got on with everyone in our house pretty well but I started helping Sirius with his homework. He would dictate his essays to me and I would write them to spare his hands. Once my little secret came out then I came under their protection. James collected all the troubled members of the house and looked after us. That's how Peter got added; no-one else really wanted him.'

Severus winced at that. That had been him in Slytherin; not a pleasant comparison, he thought bitterly.

'So that's what brought me to your attention then. I wasn't part of the fan club so was therefore fair game?'

Remus shook his head sadly. 'We pranked everyone Severus. It only became so personal with you because you took it so badly. We never normally singled individuals out.'

Severus glared. 'I think you are doing a little bit of history tampering there wolf. Lily was pranked every day for a whole term in our fourth year.'

Remus smiled faintly. 'Yeah, she was,' he said softly, his eyes glowing amber in the fire. 'Lily, Amelia Bones and you. The three people we somewhat targeted.'

Severus frowned. 'What had Amelia ever done to do?'

'Nothing, but Sirius was trying to catch her attention and I was trying to catch yours.'

Their was a moments pause and then Severus slammed his glass down on the table with a bang.

'Tell me you are joking!'

Remus flushed red and looked down at his glass. 'Don't worry Severus, it was just a schoolboy crush. One that I am well over now. I realise how disgusting it must be to you to know the school wolf had a crush on you. I think Siri and James thought that getting you mad would force us to interact and hoped I would take the initiative from there.'

Severus leant back against the chair with a long sigh. All this time, he had thought they were singling him out for ridicule and they had been trying to set him up with their friend.

'That was a bloody stupid plan,' Severus mumbled and Remus laughed.

'It worked for James and Sirius. Siri and Amelia were close to getting engaged before..., well, before that Halloween. When it didn't seem to be working with you Sirius tried to get me to approach you but I wouldn't. I was convinced that anyone who found out about my condition would immediately run for the hills. Sirius tried to force the issue by luring you to the shack that night. I think he thought that once you knew then everything would be fine.' Remus sighed heavily. 'I think he never really understood just how dangerous I am. It was all a grand adventure to him.'

Severus brooded darkly trying to curb his anger towards his colleague. He had gone through seven years of hell in school because of this man's crush. As if reading his thoughts, Remus spoke softly into the quiet night.

'I'm truly sorry Severus. I should have stopped all that nonsense at the first opportunity. If it's any comfort none of us ever really got over that night. James and Sirius's relationship was never the same and I still have nightmares about what could have happened.'

'I notice none of you were punished,' Severus spat and Remus laughed out loud.

'Are you joking!? Sirius had two months detentions and a years ban from Quidditch. Minerva wrote a letter home to his parents and when he got home he was beaten so badly he spent the entire summer holiday in St Mungo's. He never went home again after that. Albus was just careful to keep the details secret that's all.'

'So you're pathetic little secret didn't come out,' Severus muttered and Remus sighed.

'Would you really have wanted me executed?' Remus asked quietly with a trace of hurt in his tone.

The potions master sneered. 'That's a little dramatic isn't it?'

There was a moments silence. 'Lea Adams,' Remus whispered and at his colleagues raised eyebrow added. 'She was a girl from my home town who was bitten in the same attack I was. She was a year younger than me and never came to Hogwarts. The month before our little incident in the shrieking shack she escaped her pen on the full moon. She got out into the town and scared a few folk. Her father found her and stunned her before anything could get out of hand. However, the Ministry decided the near miss was reason enough to take her into custody. She was gassed to death four days later.'

Severus stared at the man in shock. 'The Ministry executed a teenager who had never injured anyone?'

Remus nodded soberly. 'Albus made it very clear to us that in any other circumstances, endangering a fellow student like we did you would result in at least suspension. If he had done that then the board of directors would have had to be involved. I would have been detained and killed, Sirius would likely have gone to Azkaban and it is possible Albus himself would have been prosecuted. He took a big risk allowing me to come to Hogwarts in that political climate.'

Severus let out a shaky breath and lay his head back against the headrest of the chair. He had come so close to reporting them all to the Ministry, or at least telling Lucius what had happened. He had had no idea that to do so would have been a death sentence for the other boy.

He was also rather shaken by the information that Black had been almost beaten to death as a result of the incident. Knowing what he did about that family, it shouldn't really surprise him, but he had never really considered the impact of Blacks stance against against his family politics. No wonder the man had been so unhinged.

'I'm sorry Severus,' Remus repeated quietly and after a small pause Severus nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes still closed as he rested against the chair.

He filled his glass once last time and levitated a log into the fire, regarding his scruffy colleague as his yellow eyes stared at the flames.

'What made you think I was that way inclined?'

Remus smiled softly. 'There were lots of rumours about you and Lucius. I personally thought it was ridiculous to think you would choose a poor, half breed over the rather resplendent Malfoy, but the boys thought otherwise. They said anyone who spent as much time on his hair as Malfoy would never stay with someone who was clearly allergic to shampoo.'

Severus snorted into his whiskey and threw Remus an amused look. He could clearly remember Lucius's advances. The older boy had been rather persistent.

'It was a recruitment tool for Luc,' Severus said quietly. 'A bit like Potter really. He would single out anyone he thought isolated and woo them. Instead of adding them to his gang like Potter, he would romance them for a bit, add them to his personal harem and then introduce them to the Dark Lord. Once they were initiated he would drop them. He never had any luck with me in that area. I really have never swung that way.'

Remus nodded sadly and then added dramatically. 'All those teenage hormones wasted on you; it's tragic really.'

Severus scowled but Remus could see the amusement in the man's eyes.

'I would never have guessed that was going on. I thought I detected a certain tension between you and a certain accident prone auror?'

Remus tensed and looked away. 'Yes well, that's a little one sided.'

Severus rose a sardonic eyebrow at that and Remus blushed and shifted in his seat.

'If you say so,' Severus drained his glass and stood up, stretching and glancing out the window at the small pink band on the horizon that signalled the coming dawn.

'I will bring a sobering potion and pepper up to breakfast for you. It's been a while since I skipped a nights sleep and will certainly need one myself.'

Remus nodded in thanks and continued to stare at the fire. Severus got as far as the door before turning and looking back at the pale man.

He paused a moment and frowned as he considered his words. 'I never liked Black and doubt I ever would have, but...I regret my part in his death. I knew my taunts were hitting home but always thought his sense of responsibility towards Harry would restrain his actions. I did not anticipate that events would converge in the way they did.'

He left quietly, the large wooden door swinging shut behind him and Remus stared a long while at the closed door, the taste of regret on his tongue. Things could have been so much better for all of them.

He capped the whiskey bottle with a sigh, wincing at the small amount left. He had only broken the seal on it that day. Today was going to be a long day and tonight Harry would be going heavens know where with the headmaster.

Remus left his shawl on the sofa and stoked up the fire before padding through to the shower. Thank heavens Harry was taking his second year class today. He didn't think he would have been able to cope with three classes.

)O(

The Gryffindor table was buzzing with talk of Harry's class that evening. Harry himself sat quietly eating his soup and trying to ignore all the muttering. Neville had smiled sympathetically and dropped down beside him.

'Was it ok?' the boy asked quietly and Harry nodded.

'A bit harder than the first years but yeah, it went alright. We were practising disarming spells so very much like last years DA. I got a bit of cheek from some of the kids though.'

Ron snorted. 'Not from our house I hope?'

'Nope, but I had to take some points. I think McGonagall approved but I feel horrible about it.'

Ron grinned. 'Taking points from a rival house; well done mate.'

Harry rolled his eyes and returned to his soup, watching as Neville did the same.

'Are you ok to take the lead in the study group again this Sunday?'

Neville smiled shyly. 'I think so. It's been going ok so far. Are you leading the Defense section.'

Harry grinned and pushed his empty bowl away. 'Nope! We are covering blasting curses so I have got the best person I know on it.'

'Who's that?' Ron asked around a mouthful of mash and Harry answered with a smile.

'Ginny.'

Ron chocked on his food. 'Ginny! I thought this weekend was the advanced one with the higher years?'

'It is and Remus, er I mean Professor Lupin will be there for the first half but Ginny will be leading it. She knows every blasting hex, curse and charm taught in school and Charlie taught her a few that aren't covered. She's brilliant at all of them; much better than me.'

Ron glanced down the table at his sister, impressed that she was going to be teaching seventh years. It seemed as though there was a wealth of opportunity for extra responsibilities at the moment. Ron was just relieved he had managed to make the Quidditch team this year. He looked back at his friend who was chatting with Neville and Luna.

'Harry,' he whispered urgently. 'Are you going to be able to play on Saturday?'

Harry grinned at the panicked look on Ron's face.

'I don't know. I have to check in Madam Pomfrey in the morning. I was only one pound short of her target before and I have been eating an extra muffin every day since then to try and get some weight on. I think as long as I haven't lost anything she will probably clear me to fly.'

Ron grinned again and reached for a dessert bowl, offering Harry one as well. Harry shook his head.

'Thanks mate but I am going to go and eat dessert at the Slytherin table.'

A sudden hush descended on his half of the table as everyone looked at him questioningly.

Harry shrugged. 'What? We've all been eating at other tables.'

'Yeah, but mate...with the snakes?'

Harry stuck his tongue out at his friend and climbed to his feet.

'I will see you all later guys. I have an appointment with Dumbledore after dinner so will be a bit late.'

Ron and Neville nodded seriously, having been told a little bit about what he would be doing the night before. They only knew that he was leaving the grounds, not that he was off hunting bits of Voldemort's soul.

'Be careful mate,' Ron said quietly and Harry smiled.

'With Dumbledore or with the snakes?'

'Both,' Ron said solemnly and Neville laughed.

'See you later Harry.'

Harry walked over to the Slytherin table trying to radiate confidence and normalcy. In truth he was a bit nervous about this but had been looking all week for an opportunity. The young first year who had been turned into a lizard in his class the day before was sat by himself at the end of the table so Harry approached him.

'Hello there, may I join you?' he asked kindly and the young man jumped and gave a little squeak.

'O...ok,' he croaked and Harry slid in opposite him. The rest of the table threw curious looks his way but he couldn't detect any obvious hostility.

'How are you?' Harry asked gently. 'No ill effects from your transformation yesterday?'

The boys face lit up. 'No, it was wicked!' He grinned brightly and indicated his housemates with a wave of his hand. 'Everyone wanted to ask me about it last night. There is a study group in Slytherin at the moment of kids wanting to become animagi but no-ones managed it yet. They wanted to know what it felt like to be another animal.'

'Shh,' one of the kids sat near by threw a bread role at the young snake and sent a threatening glare his way.

'Really?' Harry asked in his most friendly voice, ignoring the worried looks that were being exchanged. 'You should ask Professor Lupin to help. My dad and his friends all learnt how to be animagi in school. They used to keep Lupin company on the full moons.'

A few of the Slytherins' slid down the bench to listen in, their expressions turning from suspicion to curiosity.

'How long did it take them to manage the transformation?' one of the 7th year snakes that Harry didn't know asked.

'I think they were in fifth year so maybe a couple of years but they were just working off the books. They didn't have any teachers helping them. McGonagall would be your best bet but I don't know if she would approve or not. Lupin is more likely to turn a blind eye I think.'

The students exchanged glances, looking impressed and throwing the odd speculative looks at the staff table.

'Do we even want to know what's going on down there?' Remus asked with a chuckle and beside him the two head of houses stifled groans.

'I suspect not Remus,' Minerva said sharply. 'Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.'

Back at the Slytherin table, Harry had gained a rapt audience.

'Is it true you can make yourself invisible?' One of the first years asked and Harry laughed.

'Not exactly but I do seem to have a knack for sneaking about.'

'What about the Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets? What happened there?'

Harry looked down the table at the twenty or so rapt faces and smiled to himself. This had gone better than he ever imagined. 'Did no-one ever tell you that story?'

They all shook their heads and Harry chuckled.

'Well someone pass me a treacle tart then and let me rectify that.'

As one of the prefects put two tarts and some custard on a plate for him, Harry launched into the tale, watched not just by the Slytherins' but most of the hall who were craning their necks to see what was going on.

Dumbledore leant over to address his potions master who had looked rather pale and tired all day.' Severus, could you tell Harry to report to my office for eight in warm clothes? Don't interrupt though. Your house seem to be enjoying his company.'

Severus nodded absently as the headmaster stood and walked from the hall, smiling as he felt the castle throbbing happily beneath his feet. It amazed him the impact that one young boy could have.

)O(

Harry arrived at the Gargoyle at five to eight and sighed heavily. This would be twice in two days he had been forced to interact with the headmaster and he hoped it wasn't about to become a pattern. Combined with the nerves at what they would be doing, Harry was starting to wish he hadn't eaten quite so much at dinner.

He rode the stairs up to the office, taking a moment to adjust the straps on his backpack. He had decided to change into muggle clothes and had an extra jumper and cloak in his bag, along with some chocolate and water. He really had no idea what Dumbledore had planned.

An hour later Harry was shivering in the frigid spring air as he watched the headmaster pull down the last of the wards around the Gaunt house although the term house was stretching it a bit. His back pack was a fair bit heavier now with the Sword of Gryffindor sticking out of the top, as well as several potions that Dumbledore had added.

The ward fell and the older man crept forward, whispering spells every few minutes. The sheer number of booby traps, curses and hexes were incredible and it seemed an age before they had finally made it all the way into the hut and retrieved the small wooden box that had been hidden behind a brick in the wall.

Harry had handed over replenishing potions to the headmaster every ten minutes or so, the only indication of the toll it was taking to break through all the dark magic.

Dumbledore cast one last spell and then cautiously opened the box, revealing a small ring sat in a green pillow. He exchanged a look with Harry and beckoned him over, pointing at the small crest that was stamped on the edge of the ring.

'The Gaunt family ring,' he muttered soberly. 'This is most certainly it.'

Harry moved closer and then quickly backed off as his scar burned painfully. He gasped, rubbing his forehead in irritation.

'Yep, definitely it,' Harry confirmed, watching as the headmaster reached for the ring and lifted it from the small box.

'It can't be,' he muttered, turning the ring to catch the light. 'Dear Merlin!'

'What is it Sir?' Harry watched as Dumbledore ran a finger longingly over the stone.

'After all this time...I never imagined.'

Harry watched in confusion and then growing alarm as the older man stood seemingly mesmerised by the small ring and then moved to slide it on his finger.

'Sir! No!' Harry leapt forward, attempting to knock the ring out of the headmasters hand but he was a fraction too late.

A moment later the air was split by Dumbledore's agonised scream as he fell to his knees.

'Professor!'

Harry caught him in his arms and tried to pull the ring off the man finger, ignoring the familiar pain that tried to cleave his forehead in two. When that failed, he grabbed his wand.

'Accio ring.'

The ring flashed but didn't move and Dumbledore groaned in agony.

'Sir, we have to get help.'

The headmaster beckoned him and lifted his uninjured arm. Understanding, Harry placed his hand over the older man's and braced himself as they both apparated away.

A moment later they slammed down painfully onto a stone floor and Harry looked around in confusion. The small stone room had no windows and one rusty metal door in a far corner.

'S..safe...house,' Dumbledore hissed breathlessly. 'Didn't mean to bring us here...must have remembered...' he tailed off and slipped down the wall until he was sat clumsily on the floor.

Harry pulled off his backpack and dropped to his knees beside the headmaster. He gave the man an apologetic glance and then grabbed the ring, dragging it painfully and slowly of the blackened finger. Harry threw it away across the floor and slumped beside his headmaster.

The stench of burnt flesh and dark magic slowly flooded the room, making Harry feel sick to his stomach. He could hear quiet whispering in his head, promising riches and success, promising impossible things. Images of Sirius and his parents faded in and out the darkness, promising him they would return, they would love him...if he would just...put...the...ring...on.

Harry closed his eyes and sought to occlude his mind, trying to remember the techniques he had read over the previous summer. Nothing seemed to block out the voices.

Gathering his courage and forcing himself to ignore the whimpering man beside him, he grabbed the handle of the sword and drew it from the bag before staggering over and swinging it with all his might at the ring in the centre of the floor.

There was a high pitched scream and a black cloud erupted from the shattered stone before blowing out in a rush of wind and pressure. Harry was thrown across the room, impacting sharply against the far wall before crashing to the floor. He curled into a ball as the floor and walls shook fiercely, great clumps of the stone work collapsing down and littering the floor.

It was several minutes before the shifting earth settled and Harry cautiously lifted his head. There was still a tiny slither of light from the single remaining torch that hadn't been destroyed. The ceiling had almost completely collapsed and the door had been obscured by a mound of debris.

Harry crawled over to Dumbledore and cleared several of the larger stones that had fallen on the man's lap.

'Professor, Professor can you hear me?'

The man groaned but did not reply and Harry sat back, allowing panic to set in for the first time.

They were trapped in an underground room and Dumbledore was badly injured. He had no idea where they were and didn't know how to apparate.

All in all, things were about as bad as they could get.

Harry pulled the older man into his arms and wrapped his spare cloak around them both, allowing his thoughts to drift to his new guardians.

Severus would find them, he thought; clawing on to a small bubble of hope that blossomed in his chest. Severus would know what to do.

)O(