A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.
Remus Lupin stood gazing out the window of the Shrieking Shack at the crescent moon. It was odd. He'd always believed he hated this place, and yet, coming here now he felt like he was home. He smiled sadly thinking of all of the adventures which had begun here with Peter, Sirius, and James. He missed them all so much, even Peter the way he used to be before he became so lost. He missed the feeling of running wild and free across Hogwarts' moonlit grounds with his best friends. He'd never thought that he would be the last of them. Then again, he'd never believed that Peter would betray them or that Sirius would spend twelve years in Azkaban or that James and Lily would die leaving Harry so alone.
His heart ached when he thought of Harry. The fate of the world rested literally on his thin shoulders and still he took on more. The boy had seen so much, been through so much. Remus tried to help him cope with the hand fate had dealt his best friend's son, but sometimes, like tonight, his words just didn't seem to be enough. Remus felt his guilt come crashing down upon him at how he had failed Harry, failed James and Lily.
His anger began to stir as he remembered again the words that Harry had spoken to Ginny in the hospital wing when he'd thought that no one could hear. They had heard though. They had heard every word and every person in the room had vowed silently to keep Harry's secret, to never acknowledge that they knew. It had broken Remus' heart to hear Harry talk of the pain and abuse he'd suffered at the hands of the Dursleys, to hear how he'd grown up alone and unloved.
Remus slammed his hand down onto the window sill. He could've quite easily killed every single last one of the Dursleys if Voldemort had not already beaten him to it. How anyone could treat a child that way, let alone their own flesh and blood, was beyond the comprehension of the werewolf's gentle soul.
"Remmie love, come back to bed," he heard Tonks call, her voice husky from sleep.
"I'll be there in a minute 'Dora," he said trying to mask the pain in his voice. He felt, rather than saw, her rise and, after taking a moment to throw on a robe, come to him.
"Remus, it's not your fault. You didn't know what Harry was dealing with. None of us did. You and Sirius would've fought tooth and nail to keep him out of there if you had," she said. Lupin just shook his head.
"I should've taken him when James and Lily died. I could've raised him with love, the way they would've wanted, but I was scared. I was afraid that I would hurt him or that he would hate me for being forced to live like an outcast. Dumbledore said that he would be safe with them and I believed him," Remus choked out, his eyes reflecting the agony he was feeling.
"Remus, I hate that Harry had to grow up like that just as much as you, but it can't be changed. It's made him who he is. That kid has been through things we can't even imagine, and look at him. He still has so much love inside of him. You can see it every time he looks at Ginny. He is the strongest person I know. I truly believe that he can and will defeat Voldemort. Until then, we just have to make sure that he knows how much he is loved and support him however we can," she said simply. Remus shook his head in a bemused sort of way.
"How did I ever get by without you?" he asked. Tonks grinned impishly.
"You didn't. You were miserable. I'm the best thing that has ever happened to you and I expect many generous presents and a great deal of that chocolate you like to hand out," she said. Remus laughed quietly before wrapping his arms around her and, resting his chin on her head, staring once more out into the night.
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In the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, Molly Weasley sat drinking a cup of tea and re-reading the letter she'd received from Ginny. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of Percy, her little lost boy, hoping against hope that his message to Ginny and work to convict Draco Malfoy meant that he would be coming back into the fold. Percy had always been the good one, the child she could count on. He had always done what he was told and what the family expected of him. That is he had until last year, until He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned.
Molly knew that Percy had been shocked, and even scared. No one wanted to believe that HE was back, and everyone who knew had clung to whatever they held most dear. It had hurt that what her son had held most dear was the inept Ministry and their web of lies in the name of law and order. She and Arthur had never been able to give their childen much, but they had always had love. They had thought it had been enough, but in Percy's case... he had apparently needed something more.
Molly thought then of her other little lost one, Harry. That poor child bore the weight of a great and terrible prophecy. Tears trailed down her cheeks as he recalled Harry's words to her Ginny.... his Ginny. Here was a young man brought up with literally nothing but the scraps thrown to him by his uncaring relatives. He had been belittled, abused, and unloved, and yet he was filled with love and compassion. She sometimes thought that Harry's heart held too much love, that he cared too much. He would, without thought to how it would effect him, throw himself into the line of fire for people he cared for and was strong enough to come out on top.
His power and those ocassional flashes of anger worried her. She feared at times, like yesterday when he had blown the windows out of the hospital wing, that it might consume him. Then she would see his love for Ginny or the way that he gently diffused the fights between Ron and Hermione, and know that he would be fine. She knew in her soul that it would not be Harry's power which would defeat the Dark Lord, it would be his heart.
Two loud pops interrupted her musings and she could tell in that way mothers have, without even turning, that Fred and George were home. They had been out on a double date, although she wasn't sure who with.
"'Lo Mum," George said.
"What are you doing up?" asked Fred.
"Not waiting on us were you?" George queried.
"No boys. I was just having trouble sleeping," their mum said, deciding not to tell them of Percy just yet.
"Worried about Ginny?" Fred said.
"Among other things," Molly replied evasively.
"Ahh... Harry then," George said knowingly. "Don't feel guilty Mum. You couldn't have known how bad it was."
"But I should have. We all should have. We all knew that Harry hated going back there. I tried to get Dumbledore to let him stay with us. If I had know how bad it was..." her voice trailed off. The twins sat down on either side of her, uncharacteristically serious.
"The thing is Mum, Harry didn't want anyone to know. He still doesn't. He didn't want our pity. He hates that. George and I even tried to confront him about it once after we saw his room and that cupboard, but he wouldn't have any of it," Fred said.
"He claimed it wasn't that bad. We knew he was lying though. They locked him in that room and fed him scraps through a cat flap for Merlin's sake! We knew it was bad, but he made us promise not to say anything. He begged us really. I think he was embarrassed about it," George said.
"Embarrassed?" Molly raged, her eyes flashing dangerously. "It's those muggles who should be embarrassed!"
"Calm down Mum," said Fred. "That part of Harry's life is over now."
"Yeah," George added, a trace of his normal mischieviousness returning. "He has Supermum Molly Weasley to care for him now."
"Not to mention two fabulously handsome and endlessly entertaining twin bothers," George said grinning. Despite herself Molly chuckled.
"What am I going to do with you two?" she said wrapping them both in one of her patented bone crushing hugs.
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In his office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster Albus Dumledore sat watching the images swirl in his pensieve. He was plagued this night, as he often was, with thoughts of the Boy Who Lived. As he watched scene after scene play out in the silvery liquid, a tear slid down his face. He'd saved the Boy Who Lived, he'd kept him safe. Harry, however, he had failed miserably.
He shook his head. He alone had made the decision to place Harry with the Dursleys. He alone had sent him back year after year, despite the protests of those who knew and loved the boy. He'd believed he was doing the right thing. He'd believed he'd be safe and better off out of the spotlight he was constantly surrounded by in the wizarding world. He'd been wrong.
The sound of the stone gargoyle shifting and feet ascending the staircase registred to the old man's ears, but he kept his concentration on the penseive.
"Headmaster?" a quiet voice intruded.
"Yes Severus? What can I do for you?" Dumbledore asked looking up.
"I just wished to let you know that I have gone through the Wolfsbane Potions which the students brewed and disposed of those which Professor Lupin would've found... uncomfortable,"Snape replied.
"Thank you Severus," the headmaster said, his blue eyes dull. The potions professor frowned.
"Sir are you... allright?" he asked. There were very few people in the world that Severus Snape cared enough about to show concern over. Albus Dumbledore was one of them.
"How did you know Severus?" he asked.
"I beg your pardon sir?"
"About Harry. After his fourth year, even with Voldemort's return and the dangers it brought, you tried to convince me not to send him back to his aunt and uncle. You said he shouldn't have to deal with that on top of Cedric's death and Voldemort's return. You said no one, not even 'Potter's brat', deserved to deal with that. How did you know?" he repeated.
The potions' master smiled bitterly and his eyes were shadowed with remembered pain.
"Harry finally told you?" he said.
"No, he has no idea that I know. He poured it out to Ginny Weasley yesterday when she was unconscious. He would, I'm sure, be mortified to know that the entire room heard the conversation," Dumbledore replied. Snape nodded.
"It was easy for one who spent so much of his life hiding it to recognize the signs in another Albus," Snape said.
"Why didn't you tell me what you suspected?" the headmaster asked.
"It wasn't my story to tell," Severus replied simply.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said as Snape inclined his greasy head and left the room. Albus often wondered how much of the animosty the potions' master felt towards Harry was because of his resemblance to James and how much was because he saw so much of himself in Harry's haunted eyes. Dumbledore sighed and, using his wand, carefully pulled a silvery strand from his head, dropping it into the penseive. He swirled the liquid, watching as the image of a tiny greasy haired boy with a bruised face and fearful manner shimmered across the basin's surface.
Ok... I know, not one of my normal chapters but it was a necessary one. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks go out to the wonderful Danielle for being my moderator, my son Will for being my beta, and to all of you for your wonderful reviews. Next chapter...first DA meetings. Thanks for reading and please review.