Why hadn't he gone back to Hogwarts to help them? It was his destiny to face down Voldemort, but he'd taken the opportunity that Dumbledore had given him to run. He could have made his way back to the castle. In fact, he was certain that's what Dumbledore had meant for him to do, or else he would have used the portkey to throw him somewhere far away and safe. 'Be careful Harry'. Not 'be safe Harry'. So why had he not gone back then after Privet Drive? The word 'Slytherin' flitted across his mind, and his mind began racing again. His father and brother were in Slytherin, and the hat had tried to put him there. He had certainly shown his true colors tonight by turning tail and running instead of facing death like a man. He imagined the Headmaster would be disappointed in him. Hermione would be too... he hadn't sacrificed himself for their safety. He'd sacrificed them for his own.

It began to rain harder and Harry took a step towards the castle in the darkness, immediately slipping in the mud and falling to the ground. He hit his knee on a rock and knew that his pants had ripped. James wouldn't care about Harry if he knew the truth, but what about Sirius? What would Sirius say if he saw him now, lying in the mud in the darkness after having run from everything he was supposed to be?

He pushed himself up, slipped, and finally found solid footing on a patch of grass.

There were lights on in the castle, but Harry couldn't remember where the main entrance was because he hadn't used it when they'd visited at the end of the summer. The thought crossed his mind that he also didn't know what room Axle slept in or how to find him. He could apparate to Hogwarts now and show he wasn't a coward, but paused at the thought. No, he would have to take his chances here even if it was a cowardly choice. Harry lit his wand and shined it at the ground, looking for any flowers he could pick. He'd have to take a chance on going in the side entrance and hoping to run into Axle there or else find his mum instead of some other staff member who would likely send him straight back to Hogwarts.

With a few soggy flowers in hand (some of them wilted), Harry made his way over a footbridge and around the side of the castle to the small side door. It was locked, but he opened it with, "Alohamora," feeling like he was entering the Forbidden Forest or the Restricted Section of the Library. The hall beyond the door was empty, and the torches flamed low. It was probably later at night here than it was at Hogwarts.

Leaving wet footprints down the hall, Harry crept around two corners and to the kitchen. He pushed the wooden door open slightly and peered inside. There was someone at a sink with their back to him doing dishes with magic. It was Axle's mother, and Harry's mind flitted to Mrs. Weasley then. Why hadn't he gone to the Burrow? They would have taken him in wouldn't they? Or would they have contacted Dumbledore and told him that Harry had run. Or maybe they would have just looked down at him and shaken their heads since he had hurt Ron's feelings. Well either way the Headmaster and everyone else would know Harry had run now.

He pushed the door open all the way and stood there, still soaking as water dripped onto the clean stone floor. After a few moments Axle's mother turned with a clean pot in hand intending to put it away and spotted Harry. She startled, but then set the pot down and hurried over to him.

"Oh!" she fussed. "Harry, what are you doing here?"

"I didn't know where else to go," Harry said, but felt conflicted in doing so. Now that he was here, half a dozen places came to mind where he could have gone aside from the Burrow. Grimmuald Place, to the cabin Remus lived in that he'd sent a picture of last month, Gemini, or even Snape's house. All places they might look for him. Maybe he didn't want to be found, but he couldn't think of why. Hogwarts was home, and here he felt like he had left it for good.

She ushered him to a wooden chair and when he sat, took the damp dish cloth hanging from the apron she wore and began wiping dirt and blood from Harry's face. She pulled out her wand and closed the gash on his temple and then stood back and looked Harry up and down.

A moment later the door on the other side of the kitchen opened and Axle walked in. He stopped suddenly seeing Harry there, and looked confused and concerned. "What's going on? Harry, why are you here?"

"Go and get your father. Hurry now." Axle gave a last look at Harry and then disappeared.

"Hogwarts was attacked," Harry said. "I know I can't stay here or Voldemort will come looking for me eventually."

"Don't worry yourself about that now. Let's see what Alvar has to say."

The door opened again and August came in with Axle looking concerned. He looked to his wife and then to Harry, who still had a good deal of blood on his face.

"Hogwarts has been attacked," August said. It wasn't a question. Knowing who Harry was and his dealings with Voldemort, he had pieced it together.

"I'm sorry for coming here," Harry said. "I don't want to put you in danger. Voldemort- he was inside my head and the Headmaster sent me away by portkey to Hogsmeade to stop the connection. The village was under attack too though. A death eater caught me but I got away." He didn't think he should go into detail. If any of them got caught, the information that it was Narcissa who had let him get away, as well as the information she'd told Harry could easily be tortured out of them.

August was looking into Harry's eyes and it was unsettling, because the man wasn't saying anything. There were no questions about the story Harry had just relayed, or about how he'd gotten there to Boden all the way from Hogwarts. Just - searching. Like he wanted to know who Harry was and what he was all about at that particular moment, though Harry didn't feel the man inside his head using Legillimency.

"All right," he finally said in a steady tone after long moments of staring at Harry. Harry wondered if he could sense his fear somehow. Sense his cowardice and his loneliness and his longing to go back to his home.

"Sir?" Harry asked.

"We will hide you."

"You don't have to. It's dangerous. I'm not sure why I came here." He felt in the back of his mind he was certain why though. It was something more than just hiding so he wouldn't have to face Voldemort. He wasn't ready for that yet despite that he'd faced him so many times. But the vision of Snape lying dead in the Entrance Hall or else alive and staring down his nose at Harry, the possible son who always disappointed him weighed much heavier on him than fighting Voldemort yet again.

"Our Headmaster is not like Dumbledore," August said in a serious tone. "He does not take in werewolves and half giants, and he wants nothing to do with the war your ministry is involved in. When he finds out you are here, you will not be welcome. But I am not the Headmaster. You will stay with us until he finds out. You will go to classes."

"What about the other staff... and the students?"

"The Headmaster rarely comes out of his rooms. He is lazy and does not like to be bothered. Even if a staff or student wanted to report you, they would find it difficult to do so. In any case, we will say you are a new transfer. Basia came last month and brought her older brother, and it is not uncommon for someone to transfer in from Beauxbatons for a few months."

"I guess I'd better learn French," Harry said.

"It will be better if we change your name and say you came from Beauxbatons even though you are from Britain. Many students from your country go to Beauxbatons."

"I didn't know that," Harry said, and his mind flitted back to Draco again, whose parents had wanted to send him to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts.

"Well," Axle said. "What's your name going to be then?" He seemed excited to have Harry there, but Harry was too wound up and tense to feel anything else at the moment. Harry stared blankly at his friend and then at his parents. They didn't even question that he was there and didn't suggest sending him back after the attack was over, if there was anything left of Hogwarts to send him back to.

August and his wife shared a look and then she said, "Henry I think. Henry Bellamy."

"That's good," August said. "A French name. You can tell people you have family in France which is why you were sent to Beauxbatons."

Harry let the name roll around in his mind for a moment. He could live with that. Henry sounded a lot like Harry, so he didn't think it would be too hard to get used to responding to it.

After working out a few more details of Henry's life story, Harry followed Axle and his mother to a room used by the school's seamstresses (of which Axle's mother was also one), and was given a uniform. She also brought out several shirts and pants that had been left behind by other students, and then told both boys to go to bed. Axle lead Harry up through the castle to his dorm, and pointed to an empty bunk below his own. There were two other boys sleeping on the other set of bunks.

"Father will bring some things up for you later," Axle told him as he climbed into his own bunk. "Books and school supplies. You'll have to use the same spell we used at Gemini to speak our language for classes." Axle yawned and laid down in the top bunk. Harry was tired, but he still felt amped up and nervous. Could this work? Could he just get away with sneaking into the student population of another school? He was safe here for the time being, but felt unsettled about it. He had no idea if his friends were ok, or if they were even alive. For all he knew, Hogwarts could have been razed to the ground, or the battle could still be raging. He didn't close his eyes because he didn't want to imagine it. It was too horrible to think about.

Several hours later, when Harry was almost asleep, the door to the dorm creaked open and Harry sat straight up with his wand aimed, panic rising in his chest again.

"It is only me," came August's voice through the darkness. He came and crouched next to Harry's bed. "Henry, I went to your old school." Harry blinked a few times and felt stupid because he had already forgotten that Henry was his new name. August looked behind him to see if the other two students were asleep, and turning back to Harry whispered, "The falling out you had with your parents is over. Everyone is fine. I'm certain everything will return to normal soon."

"Do they know where I am?" Harry asked. He wondered if August had spoken to the Headmaster.

"I spoke to no one. There was some damage and people were busy repairing it. I observed and listened, and all seems to be well."

Harry sighed in relief. August had risked his life going to Hogwarts just to bring Harry reassurance.

"Thank you," Harry said.

"Will you be contacting them?" August said.

"Only Draco. I'm not sure if an owl would be... wise."

"We have other ways of communication. Write a letter and Axle will show you how to send it." He stood up from where he was crouching in the darkness, gave one last look at Harry, and then left the small room, closing the door behind him.

I'm safe, Harry told himself, but a coward for being so.

Harry was still tense and anxious in the morning. Axle rose early and reminded Harry to do the spell that would let him understand their language. He had barely put the spell on when the other two boys woke and looked at Harry curiously.

"Henry, from Beauxbatons," Axle offered as an introduction, and at the blank look on the other two boy's faces, Harry raised his hand in a silent wave.

"Lucas," the sandy haired boy said from the top bunk as he pulled a gray blue t-shirt on, and the boy from the bottom bunk said, "I'm Erik."

"Got it," Harry said awkwardly, feeling like he needed to say something. He already missed Ron and Hermione, and Neville and Seamus and Dean. Ginny flitted across his mind then and he decided that he missed her too, even if she was still mad at him for dating Hermione.

Lucas and Erik got dressed in their uniforms but kept giving Harry curious looks as they pulled clothing out of their dressers and stuck books and Muggle lined notebooks in their book bags.

"Have you been here before?" Lucas asked.

"I know Axle from Gemini over the summer," Harry said. "I saw the castle for a few hours. It's nice."

"Nicer than Beauxbatons?"

"It's different," Harry said. "I like it." He felt like he should make something up about Beauxbatons to make his story seem more real, but he was worried he would make something up that was unbelievable. They had said a lot of people transferred in from Beauxbatons, which meant there was a possibility that there were other Beaxbatons students there now. Hopefully Beauxbatons had a big enough student population that not everyone knew everyone.

"Henry, this way," Axle said, and lead Harry to a staircase he hadn't seen the other night. "It goes straight to the kitchen hall," Axle said. Lucas and Erik followed at an easy pace.

"What's it like there?" Erik asked at the bottom of the stairs. Harry opened his mouth and was going to start telling them about the dorms in Gryffindor tower and the four houses when he remembered he was no longer officially from Hogwarts. Instead he told them what the Beauxbatons students had told him about the private dorms for upper years when he and Axle had visited Beauxbatons.

"It's very open. Lots of high windows and light in every hall and room."

"Do you have a forest with a troll there?"

"No," Harry said. "A little lake in the mountains and a big wide open lawn."

"You have an English accent," Erick observed.

"My aunt and uncle live in France," Harry lied. "My cousin Piers goes to Beauxbatons so my family sent me there as well." Piers was Dudley's lankey friend who always had a scowl on his face, but the name seemed French to Harry, and he didn't want to use Dudley's name.

"My sister went to Beauxbatons for a term," Lucas said. "She said it was lonely there because none of the staff have families there."

Harry shrugged because he didn't know what to say to that.

After sitting down at one of the large round tables in the dining hall, Harry tried to act normal when he received curious looks from several people around him. The staff didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, and Harry wondered if August had already told them that he was a late transfer student. Axle made a few more introductions before the meal of fish and bread with berry jam was over, and then lead Harry out into a wider hall lined with classrooms, and small footbridges leading over the river that ran through the school.

"Does anyone ever fall in there?" Harry asked.

"On purpose, all the time," Axle said, "but not in winter. If you can hold your breath it will flush you out under the outer wall of the school and into the meadows."

Harry filed the information away for later, thinking that if he needed to make a fast escape through unfamiliar halls from Voldemort, that he could hop in the river though that wasn't a desirable option.

"What about the other students from here that went to Gemini?" Harry asked. "There were a few others."

"They graduated. Here we're also allowed to go to Gemini after our last year of school has ended." They walked further down the hall and Axle said, "We have growing first." He led Harry out of the back of the castle to a plot of land surrounded by three glass greenhouses.

"There is no teacher," Axle explained to Harry. "I'll show you the spells to help the food grow." He led Harry over to a list nailed to the wooden wall of a shed. It had that day's date on it and a list of vegetables and fruits with a number next to each one. Axle took out a black muggle pencil and crossed off 14 cabbages. "That's what you and I are going to be responsible for harvesting today."

"I don't know how to do any of that," Harry said, but followed Axle into the shed where he pulled out a gardening tool, and then followed him into a greenhouse where there were mounds of dirt in straight rows.

"This one is the cabbage row," Axle said. There was a sign on the end with a picture of cabbages, but Harry didn't see cabbage. He saw tiny sprouts sticking up out of the dirt.

Axle bent down, pointed his wand at a sprout, and said a spell. The sprout doubled in size. Then he moved on to the next one. "I'm making them grow. The next group will come in in an hour and make them grow a bit more. Students do it throughout the day and then you and I will come back before dinner and pick them and take them to the kitchens. Then the last group will come in after dinner and plant cabbage seeds tomorrow."

"And this is how the school gets food to eat?" Harry asked.

"How do you get food at- Beauxbatons?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Maybe the house elves buy it."

Harry tried the spell on a sprout, and it shot up three times as high as Axle's.

"You have to control the power going through your wand. If you make it grow too quickly it won't taste good. The cooks will yell at you and so will the teachers when they taste it." Harry tried again and really concentrated on restricting some of the magic from leaving the wand, and the next sprout looked more like Axle's. It wasn't long before they were done. Axle used his wand to water the row of cabbages and sent Harry to water the next row which were carrots. Before their hour was up they had watered the entire greenhouse, and Axle explained that only 6 students per hour came to grow food and that each greenhouse was taken care of by 2 students each hour.

"The next two that come in will start growing some of the other rows that take less cycles of magic to grow, and will continue growing our cabbage." It seemed like an efficient system to Harry, and also a good way to practice how much power you allow through your wand, something that they didn't often focus on at Hogwarts. Harry wondered if they did practice it more often, if people would be better at Transfiguration, which did sometimes require you to control your power.

After they left the greenhouses, Harry asked what class they had next, but Axle said they had a free period, and took him out to the meadow in the front of the school.

"So. Last night was pretty intense at your school?"

Harry gave him a sideways look. "Is it always this mellow here?" he asked in return.

"Mellow? Yes. The most interesting thing that happens is when the troll comes to the front door and demands a student trade him something back for his rubies."

"At Hogwarts it's something new each year. The first year I was there Voldemort tried to steal the philosopher's stone the Headmaster had hidden under a trapdoor on the third floor guarded by a cerberus." Axle raised a brow. "In my second year, Voldemort tried to re-incarnate himself from a diary he'd possessed as a teenager. He released a basilisk on the school and a lot of people and ghosts got petrified. I had to fight the basilisk. In my third year Voldemort didn't show up, but there were other things to deal with like my Godfather who I thought was a murderer out for my blood. That worked out ok in the end I guess."

"And the teacher's allow this?"

"Not- allow. It just happens. To me. Every year. Fourth year was the tri-wizard tournament, which a death eater illegally entered me into, fifth year there was an evil witch from the ministry teaching and trying to take over the school as she tortured students..." Harry didn't want to finish with Sirius' death at the Ministry. "This year, Voldemort finally attacked the castle. He was trying to lure me out. He got inside my head and made me think the castle was flooding."

"And your headmaster gave you the portkey?"

"It worked. It got Voldemort out of my head." And then I ran, Harry thought, allowing his features to harden.

"Father said he went last night and the school seemed ok."

"My friends could still be dead. If I stay here long, everyone here will be attacked too."

"But no one knows you're here, right? Only us."

"Voldemort has spies everywhere. He'll figure it out eventually."

"We don't have a problem with him in Sweden."

Harry gave him a serious look. "You don't know him like I do. He has spies everywhere."

"Will you run away from us too?"

Harry's head snapped over to Axle. "What?"

Axle looked confused. "I said does your Ministry have spies here too?"

"Oh- I don't think so. Our Ministry isn't involved with the fight against Voldemort. It's smaller groups like the Order of the Phoenix that stand up to fight against him." Harry was certain he'd heard Axle say something else.

"Oh, rebels," Axle said. "A lot of the popular novels in the library are about rebel groups. Most of them are from the People. Did you know there's even one about rebels at Boden?"

Harry gave him a curious look. "Here? What are they fighting against?"

"Going to classes. One of the People in the village wrote it. He imagined himself into the school and the battle for freedom from the teachers. The spells he made up for the story were fascinating."

Harry was interested to find out that they had another free period right after the one they'd just finished, but Axle said this one was strictly for studying and if they were caught being lazy they'd have to help the librarian put away books and dust shelves. Axle pulled out a book and walked Harry through the last few chapters of what they'd been doing in magery, which was the next class they'd be going to.

At the end of the day Harry had been to Growing (twice), Magery, Advanced Charms (which had a lot of charms he had mastered in 5th year charms at Hogwarts), and had three free periods along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It would have been a relaxing day if he hadn't been thinking about the friends he'd left behind at Hogwarts, who may or may not be alive.

"Your dad said I could write letters to- Beauxbatons," Harry said to Axle when they got back to their dorm. Lucas and Erik weren't there. Apparently they had a late astronomy class.

"Here," Axle said. He gave Harry a black piece of parchment from the top desk drawer and a bottle full of white ink. "Write your letter on that and then we can take it to the box for letters."

"We're mailing it to Hogwarts?"

"When you put it in the box it will be transported to a box in England somewhere at an owl office. We use black paper and white ink because the magic makes it reverse. It will appear at the owl office as white paper with black ink. They'll send it along to the person it's supposed to get to. Just fold the paper up and write their first and last name on the outside."

"Good," Harry said. "I have to write to Draco."

"Not to Hermione?"

"No. No one can know I'm here."

"But Draco will know."

"I'm not telling him where I am. I have information he needs to know though." Harry put the end of the quill between his lips, wondering how he could word the letter so that Draco might be able to figure out who it was from without Harry signing his name. The things he had to say were also delicate and he didn't want to give away Snape directly in case the owl was intercepted.

'I ran into someone who informed me that your father is not the man you think he is.' Harry started. That didn't sound exactly right though. It could be read in a way that implied that Lucius was his father but not the kind of person Draco thought he was. Biting the quill again to think, Harry decided on how best to clarify his meaning. ‘Think about the man who has always been very good to you. This man knows you are his son but has never been allowed to tell you for safety. I have to believe that knowing we were friends, the one who told me expected me to tell you.' The only two people who knew were Draco's mother and Snape. Hopefully Draco would write to his mother to get the sordid details or else go to Snape. Either way, Harry felt like he'd done what he was supposed to do in telling Draco. Why else would Narcissa start off with, 'You're Draco's friend,' and then finish by telling him that Draco's father was Snape? Harry looked at the letter and felt indecisive about sharing the rest of the information he had. He wanted to tell someone because it was going to eat him up alive if he didn't, but he wasn't sure Draco was the right person to tell. But he was his brother. If anyone should know, it would be him. After all, by sending this letter, Harry would be turning Draco's world as he knew it upside down. Maybe it would be the polite thing to do to let Draco know that his world had also been turned upside down. He put the quill to the paper again and wrote, ‘This man also has another son (you have a brother) but he does not know and shouldn't. Both of you would be in danger if anyone ever found out. Though when he does find out I want to see his face when he realizes how he has treated his other son over the years.' Harry had never corresponded with Draco before and didn't know if Draco would recognize his handwriting or not, so at the bottom of the letter he drew a tiny Firebolt. As far as Harry knew, he and Draco were the only two people at Hogwarts to ever own a Firebolt even if Draco had only owned one for a short time.

From a chair at the other desk in the room, Axle watched Harry curiously to see if he was finished yet. "Ready to send it?"

"No," Harry said, feeling like he was sending a piece of himself away with the letter, or at least a very big secret about himself. "But it's going anyway." He folded the thick black parchment in thirds and then wrote Draco's name on the outside.

Axle got up and lead him to the end of the hall where there was a box, and told Harry that this was the box for everyone that lived in this hall, so this is where he should check for return letters in the future.

"Will anyone at the owl office be able to read this?"

"No. The best thing about the way we send mail is that only the intended recipient can see it. It takes a lot of different spellwork by multiple people to read what's on a letter from a Swedish person if it's not meant for them."

"Good," Harry said. He dropped the letter into the mailbox and then went back to the room with Axle. How would Draco react to the letter? Would he go to Snape and demand the truth? Harry hoped that whatever he did he would write back. Harry wanted to ask him about Ron and Hermione, but he'd have to figure out a way of doing it so their names didn't get written into the letter. If there was a way to read the letter, Voldemort would figure it out if it got into his hands, no matter how complicated the spellwork would be.

Harry checked the mailbox throughout the next day between classes (Growing three times, Transfiguration (where they worked on the same thing McGonagall had been trying to teach when Harry left), and Potions). Finally just before bed he checked a final time and found an envelope with his name on the outside. He opened it eagerly and found a black parchment with white ink on it. It looked like Draco's messy cursive.

‘What does my brother think about having me for a brother and a bat for a father?' That was all it said and Harry felt rather disappointed. He wanted to know what Draco thought, not to be asked what he felt. The things he felt were too jumbled and confused to put into words. He didn't write a reply that night, and didn't write one the next day or the day after that either. It was the end of the week before Axle asked Harry why he seemed sullen and wasn't talking much.

"Don't know," Harry said.

"You got a reply back from Draco though."

"Yeah."

"What did he say?"

"I'd have to tell you everything I wrote to him first."

"Yeah?"

Harry looked at him. It was too dangerous to tell him. He knew that. Despite Axle's belief that they were safe there, Harry knew better. He knew he was a coward for leaving his friends in danger at Hogwarts, but he was also a coward for coming to a place and endangering people that hadn't been in danger before. No, Voldemort would come and Axle would be tortured for information. Harry wanted to push that thought aside and pretend it wasn't true, but he couldn't. He looked away from his friend.

"Do you keep secrets from your other friends?" Axle asked.

"This would put your life in danger."

"You really believe that don't you?"

Harry looked up at him. "You don't understand what it's like with Voldemort in power. He intercepts people's mail, destroys businesses and murders entire families. The only place that was safe was Hogwarts and he tried to destroy that too. One of his people murdered my Godfather in front of me just before I came to Gemini."

Axle looked at him seriously. "Is he anything like Grindewald?"

"Worse," Harry said. "He's more like... Hitler, but a wizard."

Axle frowned. "The people teach the history of Hitler. We have to learn it here too in the lower years."

Harry pulled out a piece of black paper and began writing his response to Draco on it. 'He is pleased to have a brother but confused about how the bat is his father and not sure if he's more angry or... angry by the web of lies he's believed his entire life.' Harry paused and wondered how to enquire about his other friends. Finally he wrote, ‘Your brother heard there was a commotion the other day and would like to know if many people had to see an undertaker.'

After Harry had mailed the letter he lay on his bed and stared at the bottom Axle's bunk which was above his. Axle had gone to the library but came back rather quickly with a book which he handed to Harry.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Reading takes my mind off of things. Whatever it is upsetting you, maybe you can escape it for a while."

Harry took the book and looked at the title. It was the novel Axle had talked about that was written by a Muggle about students revolting against teachers at Boden. Axle climbed up into his bunk with his textbooks to do homework and Harry stared at the cover, not really seeing it. Escaping. Apparently that was what Harry was good at. He didn't think he deserved to just escape reality and forget about everything.

"He's such a coward." Harry looked up as Lucas and Erik walked in.

"Look at him just lying there," Lucas said with a smirk like Draco's.

"What?" Harry asked sitting up, still holding the library book.

Lucas and Erik walked over to him. "Did your language spell wear off?" Lucas asked.

Harry frowned, "No-"

"I said we have Howard. He's the star Chaser on Boden's Quidditch team."

"Yeah, with him flying there's no way we can lose in the match next week," Erik said.

Harry felt stupid then. "Oh." He laid back down. He was sure they'd called him a coward.

He tried to imagine Draco's response to his letter telling him that August was wrong and that Ron and Hermione had actually died.

I have to stay away from them to keep them safe, Harry tried to reason. That's not why I ran away but it's why I can't go back. If I go back, Voldemort will attack them again. It made sense but he knew it wasn't the complete truth. He didn't want to go back to face his father. Not yet. Maybe not ever. All of the confused feelings he'd had about Snape over the summer were all jumbled up and at the forefront of his mind again. He would have liked to have had a family, but not Snape. Snape would be a horrible father. Well, he'd be all right for Draco, he thought. He had bought Harry clothes and bedding though. And he had bought back Harry's Firebolt. And carried him up from the beach when he was hurt. Stop it, he thought to himself. I don't need a father. I'm 16. What good would it do me now to get close to Snape? He didn't even think it would be possible to get close to him. But he remembered the look Snape wore after Harry had gone into the crevasse after August. It was the wary and concerned look Adeline wore. Harry was still scared of him though wasn't he? That was a good enough reason to stay away from him. He would be just like the Dursleys... had in fact already proved time and again that he was like them with his biting words and snide comments. But Harry couldn't find any fear at the thought of Snape at this moment. Not after having tutoring with him and working for him. So why am I staying away then?

The next morning Draco's reply came. It was short but Harry let out a sigh of relief after reading it. ‘No one saw the undertaker. Mostly teachers and villagers saw the healer. The commotion didn't last very long once it was realized that someone was missing.'

* * *

Harry spent the next week barely talking. He was doing poorly in Transfiguration but was surprised that the teachers here were keen to give one on one attention to struggling students and was invited to stay during his free periods to get extra practice from the Transfiguration teacher. He explained things differently than McGongall had, or perhaps Harry just hadn't stuck around long enough to hear what McGonagall had to say about this form of Transfiguration, and with the extra help Harry was finally getting somewhere with it.

Harry had also been invited to private meals with Axle and his mother and father. His mother and father had a small house behind the school and sometimes took their meals there.

"Some of the other teachers know who you are," Axle's father told Harry a week and a half after he'd been there.

"They know?"

"They have seen your scar and have heard in the news about the attack at Hogwarts. They are not interested in turning you in to the mad man." Harry learned that instead of You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named they called him the ‘mad man' here because they saw him as crazy. "They are curious about you."

"Curious how?" Harry asked.

"Even though you are not famous here, many of the staff have heard of your deeds at Gemini and at Hogwarts. They have been talking about how quiet you are for such an accomplished wizard."

"Oh," Harry said glumly. He didn't feel very accomplished. He doubted Dumbledore, accomplished as he was, would ever run away from a battle. Harry remembered again how Dumbledore had sent him away but expected him to return. Dumbledore had trusted him to come back, not to abscond into the night. Harry supposed he had been very quiet that week. He wasn't interested in talking to people. He answered questions when asked, but most of it was lies about his time at ‘Beauxbatons'.

"We have sympathy for you here," Axle's mother said, "But it is hard for us to understand how your Ministry has let such a man continue his reign of- what is the word?"

"Terror," Harry filled in for her. Harry had a hard time understanding it too. He didn't know why the Ministry didn't step in.

"How they could leave it to their youth to fight such battles," she said as though such a thought was incomprehensible.

"It's mostly adults," Harry said. "A lot of people that work for the Ministry fight him, just not with Ministry approval. People are scared."

"Evil only exists if people let it exist in their hearts or in others," August said.

And I'm letting it exist by running and hiding, Harry thought silently. Harry wondered then how they would handle it if Voldemort was murdering their families and was set loose in their community. It was all well and good to say, ‘someone should do something to stop it,' but what would they actually do? Harry didn't voice his opinions though because he was aware he was only allowed to be here because they liked him and were grateful that he'd saved August's life.

Once Harry knew that some of the teachers knew about him he went to classes with the intent of watching how people looked at him and interacted with him. In defense (which really was a year behind what Hogwarts was teaching), Harry was treated like any other student. The same was true of his time in Charms class. In Magery August tried to treat Harry like any other student but was giving him extra help to catch up to the other students in his year. Harry thought that he really would have liked to have had this help in the subject all summer instead of being put down and ignored. In Transfiguration Professor Falk seemed to watch Harry closely however, and was quick to come to his desk and help him when he was struggling. Harry had a free period right after Transfiguration and stayed for extra tutoring while Axle went off with Basia to the library.

"Why are you giving me so much extra help?" Harry asked him.

Falk gave him an evaluating look. "I would have thought it was obvious by now Mr. Potter that you need the help."

Harry looked down at his wand. So this was one of the teachers who knew who he was. "I've never been very good at Transfiguration."

"You know that is not what was meant."

Harry looked up. Yeah, he knew. He had to fight his battles at some point. He wasn't sure how Transfiguration was going to help with that, although Snape's camouflaging magic was handy to have for when he didn't want to fight.

"You are in Gryffindor, are you not?" the man asked. Harry stared at him, not sure if he was hearing things again. It had been happening a lot lately. When Harry didn't answer Falk continued. "I know the Gryffindor head of house. We attend the same transfiguration conferences together year after year.

"I didn't know that," Harry thought aloud. He always just assumed the professors stayed at the castle over the summer to take care of school business. It was a silly thought to have now that he thought about it. They must have homes and families to go back to. Snape had a house away from the castle.

"Did you know that our government keeps close tabs on your war?"

"People seem indifferent here," Harry said. He didn't think they knew at all.

"Many are. We have not known war for many years. That does not mean we are ignorant about what goes on in other magical communities. It did not take long for many of us to recognize who you were after we heard about the attack on Hogwarts." Harry didn't know what to say so he stayed silent.

"Alvar said you had a difficult time at Gemini, yet you persevered and continued on."

Harry stared at him. August had told them about what had happened? "Yeah-" he said cautiously. He was still wary that any of the professors here could turn against him or turn him in.

"One wonders then, after persevering through something like that, what you plan on doing next."

"Sir?"

"You will not find anyone here who will turn you over to the mad man or who will insist you return to Hogwarts. You could stay for an indefinite amount of time."

"I could..." Harry agreed quietly.

"But will you?"

Harry knew where this conversation was going. He was supposed to be the hero, even here where they weren't involved in the war with Voldemort. If he'd gone through so many bad things before and kept going, then why was he here hiding out now? Falk wanted to know when he was going back to get on with things. To take care of the world's Voldemort problem.

"You may think I want you to return to some imminent battle, but that is not what I want."

"That's what everyone wants," Harry said.

"There comes a time in every person's life when they have to return to face the truth. What you do when you face that truth determines who you are and will be for the rest of your life. That is what I want to see Mr. Potter. That is what we are waiting to find out. Whether you return to the war or not makes no difference. Returning to the truth however, to yourself, that is what matters."

Falk looked at his watch. "Take out your wand. If you are to learn any Transfiguration today we must begin before my next class arrives."

Harry took out his wand and began to practice, but didn't get anywhere. He was too busy being lost in his own thoughts about what Falk had said. Did they really not care if he went back or not? He was sure Dumbledore cared. He was sure his friends cared. He felt bad about Hermione then because he'd left her just like he said would happen. He wasn't selfless like Ron was. He was just Harry, and he guessed that was all he could expect to be.

* * *

"Potter!"

Harry spun around. It was Professor Falk. He looked... strained. It was after dinner and Harry had just gone down the hall from his dorm to check the mailbox. Falk hurried up to him and said, "Khar has fallen."

"What do you mean?"

"It happened this morning. We just got word. The entire school and half the forest around it was burned to the ground. Many are dead. It was the mad man."

Harry's mind began spinning. Voldemort was looking for him. Somehow he'd found out that Harry was at one of the other schools.

"He'll be coming here next," Harry said, but August rounded the corner then at a run and said, "He's already here."

Axle came out from the room down the hall to see what the commotion was about.

"Find your mother," August told him. "I'm taking Harry. Tell her I may not be back for some time."

Axle looked uncertain for a moment but hurried up to Harry and gave him a hug before running down a nearby stairwell.

"He's started a fire in the People's village," August told Falk. "They will be here any minute."

The castle shook ominously then as if to prove that time had run out.

"I'll help fight," Harry said, feeling bad that he had brought this upon their quiet school.

Falk cursed in his own language and then ran off in the direction Axle had gone, presumably to round up other teachers.

"No, I'm getting you out of here," August said.

"It's not fair," Harry said. "I did this. He's looking for me."

"The school will be fine. There are secret ways out of the school the students have been trained to take in case of emergency."

"But Axle-"

"Will be with his mother. Now hurry."

Uncertainty flooding him, Harry hurried after Professor August and found it strange that he was trusting this man to do what was best for him when a few months ago he'd been scared of the man i the icy waters of the crevasse.

"Where are we going to go?"

"Beauxbatons," August said. "Durmstrang will not host you. There are too many ill feelings towards you and towards your headmaster."

"Voldemort will just go after Beauxbatons next," Harry said.

"No. Beauxbatons has too many defenses. The French Ministry guards that school as a national treasure. He may be able to follow us there but once you make it inside you will be safe."

He lead Harry to the lowest floor and right to the edge of the river that ran through the castle.

"Don't let go of me. We have to get out of the castle before we can apparate." He didn't give Harry a chance to protest about getting into the water. He grabbed his arm and jumped in, taking Harry with him. The water was icy as it came from the mountains where there was already snow, and also swift. When Harry surfaced he saw flashes of different parts of the castle and then before he could go under again they came out under a wall into the open night. There were hooded figures running past him on the banks and casting fiery curses at the castle. They didn't see him or August in the water. The river carried them far beyond the castle and August pulled Harry out when it grew shallow. Before Harry could protest about leaving the others to fight Voldemort again August had gripped his arm hard, ready to apparate him away.

"A battle against the madman is not meant for here," he told Harry, and then Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel. Not wanting Voldemort to follow them, Harry separated himself from August, who had already punched a hole and gone through, and waited. He didn't know how much time should pass before he should go through. It felt like only a few seconds before he pushed his head down and made a hole. He went through, but was surprised to find himself back in the river August had just pulled him from. What was going on? His arm hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt before and he opened his mouth to scream when he tried to use it to swim, but only got a mouthful of water for the trouble. Air gone, confused about which way was up, and in agony, Harry stopped struggling. There was nothing he could do and he felt an ache in the pit of his stomach to realize that he would die there in the water, just like he always knew he would. It was a horrible way to die, and even worse, a horrible way to let Voldemort win.

On the grass in the darkness, August spun in a circle looking for Harry. He had been with him only a moment ago. They had apparated together. There were lights on in the school in the distance, but all was quiet around him. What had happened? How was it possible to lose his one charge?

The sound of bubbles came from the dark mountain lake behind him then and he spun to stare at the water's glassy surface. If Harry had not come through with him, he must have come through on his own and ended up in the water. August lit his wand and dove into the water. The teen was only a few feet under but the lake was dark and the cold water unforgiving. There was already ice forming around the edges of the lake in the late fall's chill air. He grabbed the boy's shirt and pulled him to the surface and then to the shore. He was unconscious.

Drenched and shaking August used a featherlight charm on Harry to make him easier to carry and then picked him up and started towards the school. Several dark figures were coming out to meet him, wands raised in alarm at the sudden intruders.

"Who is it? What do you want?" they shouted in French.

"We come from Boden," he said. His French was broken and horrible. He'd never learned it properly like he was supposed to as a child. A woman came forward and the light from her wand revealed that it was Adeline.

"Alvar? What are you- why do you have Harry? What's happened to him?"

"There is no time to explain. The mad man- Voldemort is after us." Adeline and two other professors August didn't know ushered them inside, one of the other men taking Harry from him and carrying him up the stairs.

August was too tired and cold to go with them. Instead he watched as Harry disappeared from view. The boy's face was cold and pale and his lips were turning blue. There was no hope of repaying his debt to the child if he died. He didn't think he could live with that on his conscience. A child dying on his watch... if Harry did die, he knew he'd never be able to face his own son again.