The remainder of the holiday was unnaturally quiet. Ron and Hermione hadn't fought once which was…wrong. It almost seemed like the two were going out of their way to avoid conflict so not to upset Harry in any way possible. They had gone from one extreme to the other which made Harry want to pull his hair out at times. Why couldn't they just find a happy medium?

            “Well, because it’s hard for them. They are too used to fighting, so not fighting isn’t natural and when you are not being yourself it looks wrong,” Remus explained.

            “Uau, Moony! That was deep,” Sirius mocked. He got a pillow to his face. Were Remus kept finding those pillows Sirius had no idea.

Once everyone had returned after the New Year, Harry was cornered by Oliver who was rather anxious about the fact that the team's Seeker didn't have a broom. Oliver's jaw had nearly hit the floor when Harry revealed his mysterious Christmas present and pushed off any concern about it being jinxed. Harry also had been forced to reveal that Professor Lupin was helping him with the Dementor problem which seemed to relieve Oliver of a lot of his worries.

Classes starting provided a necessary distraction for Harry. This way he wasn't worried about his new broom every waking moment, only every moment he wasn't in class. Care of Magical Creatures was spent in front of a bonfire that was full of flame-loving salamanders that ran up and down the white-hot logs. Professor Trelawney returned with a vengeance in Divination. They were now learning palmistry and Trelawney wasted no time in reading Harry's palm and confirming that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen.

            James made a growling sound.

Professor Lupin still looked ill even though the full moon had been over a week ago. Harry had to bite back his concerns but he couldn't help worrying.

            “You don’t have to worry,” Remus reassured him.

How could Lupin go through this every month?

            “I am used it by now,” Remus said nonchalantly.

            “Yeah, but we worry the same,” James said serious and Sirius nodded. Remus smiled at his friends concern.

Additional worries returned with a vengeance. Harry remembered that werewolves weren't allowed to have children but he still didn't know about adoption. With everything happening he had never followed up on it.

Searching through his book bag, Harry found the now wrinkled parchment Professor Snape had given him and made a silent vow to find out if his temporary guardian could become his permanent guardian. Right now that was the only thing Harry had to look forward to. It was also another needed distraction.

            “Oh, no don’t do that Harry!” Remus pleaded.

            “Maybe the law changed” Lily said hopefully. Remus looked skeptical.

"You know, I wonder if there's something really wrong with Professor Lupin," Ron said as they walked to dinner after class. "Has he told you anything, Harry? Have you asked?"

Harry looked uncomfortable, something Hermione noticed. He needed to do some quick thinking. Ron certainly wouldn't accept an 'I don't know' for an answer. That much was clear. "Er—well—he said it wasn't life threatening," said Harry. "I—er—just let it go because it seemed that he didn't want to talk about it."

"Oh," Ron said satisfied with Harry's answer. "Well, I guess that's good then."

            “Good thing that Ron isn’t the suspicious type,” James remarked.

Ron walked ahead and Harry let out a visible sigh of relief. He moved to catch up but was held back by Hermione. From the look on her face, Harry knew there was no way she would take the same evasion that Ron had. "You did the essay, didn't you?" she more stated than asked.

Harry's gaze fell to the floor as he nodded. That was all of the confirmation Hermione needed and they walked silently to dinner. Both knew that the other was aware of Professor Lupin's secret and for now, they had made a silent vow to keep it to themselves.

            Everyone groaned. Remus hid his face on a pillow he was holding. Sirius pulled his head up.

            “No need to suffocate yourself Moony,” he said softly.

---

After dinner Harry managed to sneak away with the aid of his invisibility cloak. Knowing that he didn't have much time before someone noticed his absence, Harry hurried to the Library and searched for the book he needed. He knew he was taking a risk but he needed to know how temporary this arrangement was.

It didn't take long to find it allowing Harry to quickly flip through the pages until he found the section on werewolves. Using his wand as a source for light in the large dark room, Harry skimmed through all of the laws and bylaws until he reached the section on children. Harry hadn't realized that he had stopped breathing in anticipation. This was the moment of truth. There was no turning back now.

Individuals infected have been proven to be unpredictable concerning their mental and emotion state at any time, not just during the diagnosed period. It is therefore illegal for any infected individual to care for a minor or individual unable to care for themselves. For the safety of the child, all infected individuals are required to have a third party present whenever they are in the presence of a minor. Any infected individual violating this shall be arrested and charged for reckless endangerment to a minor.

            “What a load of rubbish!” Lily cried outraged. James and Sirius nodded fervently their agreement. Remus looked resigned but had a small smile because of his friends’ outrage.

There it was. Harry couldn't believe it. Not only couldn't Professor Lupin have his own children, he couldn't be left alone with any children. He wouldn't be able to stay with Professor Lupin. He would have to go back to the Dursleys. He would have to go back to Aunt Petunia and Dudley with them knowing Vernon was in jail because of him.

            “First of all: Vernon isn’t in jail because of you but because of his own actions. Second: I am not letting you go back there no matter what some medieval law says. We are family were it counts,” Remus exclaimed angry.

Dropping his wand and the book, Harry slowly stepped away until he backed into the wall. He couldn't think as he slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor. Instinctively, Harry pulled his knees to his chest and sat there, unable to process it all. How could anyone think Professor Lupin was dangerous? The teacher had only raised his voice once and that was to Professor Snape.

            “Because their bigoted, stupid people Harry,” James said angry.

Harry hadn't even realized he was shaking. It was almost like his entire world had come crashing down. He didn't know how much time had passed and therefore wasn't aware that his disappearance had been noticed. He sat there in a shocked silence praying that his world wasn't going to be turned upside down again. He had wanted a family more than anything and he had gotten it in the form of Professor Lupin. He had finally gotten what he had always wanted only to learn that it was a lie. Everything this year had been a lie.

            “No! It’s not a lie Harry! Don’t think that!” Remus pleaded.

The door opened followed by a bright light but Harry didn't move. Footsteps echoed as someone strolled through the aisles, coming closer and closer to where Harry was still seated on the floor. Eventually the footsteps came to an abrupt halt as the bright light finally lit up where Harry was. There was a gasp followed by the sound of hurried footsteps as the light brightened.

"Harry!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed as she knelt down beside him. "Harry Potter what do you think you are doing here!" Harry didn't move. There was no sign that he had even heard her. "Mr. Potter!" she said forcefully as she gently shook his shoulder but there was still no reaction.

            “He’s in shock!” Lily said tearfully. “Why can’t people just leave him and Moony be happy already.”

            James stared at her.

            “What?”

            “You called Moony Moony,” he said.

            “So? Only you are allowed? I am his friend too,” and turning to Remus she asked, “I am allowed to call you Moony too right?”

            Remus nodded, “sure.”

Starting to panic, Professor McGonagall looked around and noticed an opened book on the floor. She took a closer look at opened page and instantly paled. Grabbing the book, McGonagall hurried out of the Library to find her co-workers. She didn't have to go far before nearly running into Professor Dumbledore. As quickly as possible, Professor McGonagall summarized what she found and handed over the book.

Dumbledore immediately called off the search and called for Professor Lupin to join them in the Library. Entering the Library, Professor Dumbledore waved his hand and the lights ignited. Professor Lupin hurried in and hastily followed Professor McGonagall until he saw Harry sitting on the floor, shaking. Without another thought, Lupin hurried to Harry's side and pulled him into an embrace.

"Remus, it appears that Harry found out about our custody problem," Professor Dumbledore said gravely.

Professor Lupin looked at Dumbledore in alarm before returning his attention to Harry. Moving around so he was facing the teenager, Lupin raised the boy's head so their eyes met. "Harry, listen to me," Professor Lupin said patiently. "We will find some way around this. I don't care what some medieval law says. You are my cub and always will be, no matter what some piece or parchment says. We are family where it counts and that's all that matters."

            “That’s freaky. It’s exactly what you said before,” Peter said.

            “Good to know I agree with myself,” Remus said crossing his arms, “Harry is going nowhere.”

            James and Lily smiled thankfully.

Harry seemed to snap out of his shock and shook his head slowly. "I can't go back there," he said in a wavering voice. "You promised me."

Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall joined Lupin in kneeling down in front of Harry. "Remus is right, Harry," Dumbledore said gently. "We are trying to find a way around the law. I can understand this is all quite a shock but you have to trust us. You have to be patient. Can you do that, Harry?"

Harry glanced over at Dumbledore before returning his attention to Lupin. He wanted to believe them but every time he did he seemed to find out about another secret being kept from him. Professor Dumbledore had hid Sirius Black's existence for years, Professor Lupin had hid being a werewolf, and now Harry had learned that there was actually a custody problem. Why did he always have to find out like this? Why couldn't anyone just be upfront with him?

            “That’s because adults are like that. They don’t think we can handle things,” James said annoyed, “it’s not because they want to lie.”

---

The next few days were tense between Harry and the majority of the teaching staff. Harry didn't know what to think about everything and had said as much. He knew that his family would do everything they could to keep him away from the Dursleys but the fact was Harry couldn't legally be a part of the only family he knew.

There was also the fact that the Ministry would never allow the-boy-who-lived to live with a werewolf.

Thursday night was another Patronus lesson and it was probably the most uncomfortable lesson Harry had ever been through. Neither Harry nor Professor Lupin really knew what to say to each other and Professor Dumbledore was absent because of a meeting at the Ministry. Harry was actually glad that Dumbledore wasn't there. He really wasn't up for those twinkling eyes tonight.

Preparing for the Boggart Lupin was about to release, Harry was finding it difficult to concentrate on a happy memory. How could he concentrate with all of the madness going on in his life? Why couldn't everything be simple like it used to be when everyone hated him and he was nothing more than a freak? Sure, that life had been horrible but at least it hadn't been as complicated as his life now.

"Ready, go!" said Lupin as he pulled off the lid of the trunk containing the Boggart.

The room instantly went cold. Darkness clouded Harry's vision but he could make out the Dementor gliding towards him, a rotting hand reaching for him. He couldn't breathe. "Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto Pat—"

It was too much. Blurry shapes were moving in front of him. A man's voice filled his ears, sounding panicked. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"

            “Who’ that?” Peter asked.

            “James, who else was there,” Remus said in a broken voice.

            Lily was crying and holding James, “You tried to save us.”

            “Of course I would,” James said hoarsely.

Sounds replaced the voice. Someone was desperately trying to leave a room. A door burst open. The familiar high-pitched laughter that made Harry's skin crawl.

"Harry! Harry, wake up!"

It took Harry a moment to realize someone was holding him. His head was resting against someone's chest as his mouth was pried open and a piece of chocolate was forced in. Warmth slowly spread throughout his body as Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Professor Lupin's concerned face. Unable to hold it in anymore, Harry buried his face in Lupin's chest to hide the appearance of tears.

Professor Lupin held the boy tightly and patiently waited for him to calm down. Once he felt Harry relax, Lupin loosened his hold. "Its okay, Harry," he said gently. "Just try and focus on something else."

Harry shook his head and pulled away. He didn't want to forget his father's brave voice.

            “He thinks I am brave,” James whispered sadly.

"I—I heard my dad," he said softly. "He was going to hold Voldemort off." He buried his face in his hands. "Why did they die? Why did Voldemort want to kill me? I was only a baby! How could a baby be that much of a threat?!?"

            “What? Voldemort wanted to kill Harry?” Sirius asked. The others looked shocked, “I mean, I just thought Harry had got caught in the crossfire. He was a baby crying out loud! Why would someone want to kill a baby?”

Lupin rested a hand on Harry's left shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "But you were, Harry," he said softly. "I believe your scar is all the proof you need to know that. I know this is difficult but try to remember that your parents loved you. Focus on that love, Harry. Focus on the good and not the bad."

            “Yes, we do. We love you Harry don’t forget,” Lily said in tears. James hugged her and she once again let him.

Letting out a tired sigh, Harry nodded but couldn't bring himself to look at Lupin. The problem was that it was so hard for him not to get caught up in the bad. He knew that now. It was a defense mechanism. If he didn't get his hopes up, he couldn't be disappointed. Perhaps that was the real problem. For the first time in a long time, Harry had gotten his hopes up on the concept of a loving family. He had gotten what he wanted and never considered what had to happen for his dream to become a reality.

            “We rarely do,” Sirius said wisely. Remus looked impressed.

Finally looking at up Lupin, Harry also realized that it wasn't only his hopes and dreams that were on the line. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just so hard. I thought I could find something that could make us a family but then I find out that you're not supposed to even see me without someone else there…it was just too much. I—I didn't know…"

            “And if it wasn’t for Snivellus you would keep on going in blissful ignorance,” James grunted.

Professor Lupin pulled Harry into another embrace. "Its okay, Harry," he said. "I understand. With everything going on we didn't want you to worry about something you had no control over. I wanted to protect you from the way the Ministry handled my kind. I guess I can thank Severus for you finding out about that too."

            Groans were heard.

            “I can’t believe you keep calling him Severus after what he did,” Sirius said annoyed.

            “I may be angry with Snape but I have to set a good example for Harry,” Remus explained. Lily looked at him approvingly.

Harry instantly tensed as he backed away. "Please don't be angry," he said quickly. "I asked about adoption laws—"

"—which you wouldn't have even thought of asking about if Severus hadn't decided to take his payback out on my class," Lupin interrupted. "Harry, you need to understand that Severus will always have a bit of resentment towards me and towards your father. He really isn't a person to forgive past mistakes which I find rather hypocritical."

            “Why? What did Snape do?” James asked curious.

"Why?" Harry asked.

Professor Lupin winced. "Er—never mind, Harry," he said quickly. "Forget I said anything. Now, do you feel up for trying again or should we leave the Boggart for another time?"

            “What are you hiding about Snape?” Sirius asked Remus with narrowed eyes. Remus just shrugged.

Harry knew a diversion when he heard one but figured it was something personal he wasn't supposed to know about and let it go. "I'll try again," he said and stood up, grabbing his wand off the floor as he did so. He turned around to face the trunk as he closed his eyes and concentrated. Perhaps he was doing this wrong. Perhaps he didn't need a precise memory. Perhaps he just needed the feeling the memory gave. He remembered the feeling he had when Professor Lupin had called him his 'cub' the other night. Harry had to smile. He had actually felt like family.

            Remus smiled shyly at this.

            “Aw, Moony is becoming so important to Harry,” Lily cooed.

            “You know Lily, you can call me Prongs if you want to.”

            “In your dreams Potter.”

Professor Lupin slowly stood and moved over to the trunk. "Good Harry," he said encouragingly. "Here we go." He pulled off the lid of the trunk again and a Dementor floated out.

Cold filled the room as Harry opened his eyes and came face to face with the Dementor. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he shouted. The screaming he heard was faint, almost non-existent. A large silver shadow erupted out of the end of his wand and remained between him and the Dementor. Slowly, it started pushing the Dementor away, back to the trunk. Harry couldn't explain it but for the first time since he had started training with the Boggart, he didn't feel weak. It was almost like a powering warmth had spread throughout his body, shielding him, protecting him.

            Everyone clapped at Harry’s achievement. James and Sirius inserted some whistles in the middle.

            “Well done! That’s my boy!” James said proudly.

"Riddikulus!" Lupin shouted at last.

A loud crack filled the air as the Dementor vanished followed shortly by the misty Patronus. Lowering his wand, Harry slowly backed away until he hit the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor. He barely registered Professor Lupin who was forcing the now silvery orb Boggart back into the trunk. What had just happened?

Professor Lupin turned around to see Harry and hurried over to him. "That was excellent, Harry!" he said happily but his smile quickly faded when he took a good look at Harry's face. "Harry, are you okay?"

Harry looked at Lupin nervously. "What happened?" he asked. "H—how…I—I didn't…"

Lupin seemed to pick up on what Harry was trying to say. "You're wondering why you didn't feel the affects of the Dementor as badly as normal," he said as he sat down on the floor. "Listen Harry, this is nothing to be frightened of. Your magic is simply maturing. Right now if comes in spurts like when you overcharged the spells in prior lessons."

Harry's fearful gaze turned into a confused one. If this was so normal than why hadn't he heard anything about it before? "So this sort of thing happens to everyone?" asked Harry.

            “I never heard of that happening,” James said.

            “Well, what you never heard of could fill Libraries Potter,” Lily said dryly. James glared at her and the other three tried to muffle their laughter.

"In a way," Professor Lupin said carefully. "For most, the maturing of magic happens gradually over time. It seems that the training you endured over the summer has sped up your magical growth a little bit. It's not unheard of to happen this way, just unusual. For now, we just have to be a little cautious so you don't overcharge spells in class."

Harry looked down at his wand still in his right hand. So that was why he was having so many problems with the Patronus Charm. It had struck Harry as odd that one moment he couldn't make anything appear and the next he was being slammed into a wall. One thing was for certain Harry would certainly follow Professor Lupin's advice and be more careful.

The following weekend was the Slytherin and Ravenclaw Quidditch match in which Slytherin won but just barely.

            “Aaww,” the boys whined.

 This was extremely good news for the Gryffindor team.

            “Oh, then I take back my Aw,” James stated. Lily rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like boys.

If they won against Ravenclaw they would take first place for the Quidditch Cup. To ensure a victory for Gryffindor, Oliver Wood increased the practices to five a week. With Hermione flooded with homework, Harry was resorted to spending half of his Patronus lessons working on homework. Professor Lupin helped whenever he could which most of the time was simply giving hints.

            “Cheating here Moony,” Sirius said cheekily.

            “I don’t have to give him the answers to help,” Remus said defensively.

Both Harry and Ron had learned to stay away from Hermione while she was in a homework crunch which was more often than not. She was always using multiple tables for all of her subjects, snapping at anyone who interrupted her.

            “I think someone bit off more than she could chew,” Lily said and the boys agreed.

After a while, Ron just couldn't take it anymore and started voicing his curiosity to Harry.

"I just don't get it," Ron whispered so Hermione wouldn't overhear them. "How does she get to her classes? Arithmancy is the same time as Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies is the same time as Divination! It's just not possible!"

            “How does she?” Peter asked.

            “Maybe she doesn’t go to all the classes. Maybe one day she goes to Muggle Studies and the next time she goes to Divination,” James said.

            “Nah, then Harry would have noticed,” Remus said shaking his head.

Harry could only shrug in response. He had learned the hard way to respect a person's secrets. He had kept plenty from Ron and Hermione this year. If Hermione felt she needed to keep the little mystery from them then there must be a reason for it.

In addition to everything else, Harry was still without a broom. It had become a pattern for Harry to glance at Professor McGonagall every morning at breakfast in hope that nothing wrong was found but he only received a discrete shake of the head. He never outright asked her the status although several members of the Quidditch Team had. Oliver was the most persistent followed closely by the Weasley twins. They all knew having a Seeker with a Firebolt would almost guarantee a win.

            James had started to drool again.

As February arrived, Harry was beginning to think he would never see the broom again. He was slowly making progress in his Patronus lessons but neither Professor Lupin nor Professor Dumbledore could make out a definite shape. Frustrated and exhausted, Harry was starting to think that he would never have a distinct shape.

Noticing Harry's sour mood, Professor Lupin decided to end the lesson and introduce Harry to a Hogsmeade treat: Butterbeer.

            “Butterbeer,” Peter said dreamily.

Professor Dumbledore had left, knowing by now that Harry really only talked openly to Lupin and silently urged the young teacher to speak with his charge. Looking over at the boy, Lupin noticed that Harry appeared to be deep in thought as he took small sips of his drink.

They continued slowly taking sips until Harry broke the silence. "What's under a Dementor's hood?" he asked softly.

            “You don’t want to know,” James shivered.

            “Do you?” Lily asked curiously.

            “No and those who know are in no shape to tell,” he said darkly.

Professor Lupin let out a sigh as he set his bottle down. "That is a difficult question, Harry," he said thoughtfully. "A Dementor only lowers his hood to administer what is called a Dementor's Kiss. It's considered a fate worse than death." He looked at Harry directly in the eyes with a look of sympathy on his face. "When a person receives a kiss their soul is sucked out leaving the person as an empty shell. That is what awaits Sirius Black."

            “NOOOOOOO!” Sirius yelled horrified. He was shaking all over. James and Remus held him in a three way embrace trying to comfort him. A long time passed until Sirius stopped mumbling that he was innocent and Lily took the papers to read.

Harry stared at Professor Lupin in utter shock. He had thought the Dementors themselves were bad but the kiss sounded horrible. The thought of Midnight, the caring and patient dog he had known without a soul was too much to even consider. He knew Sirius Black was a murderer. He knew Sirius Black was Midnight but for some reason he couldn't find himself to hate the dog that had helped him so much at Number 4, Privet Drive. He didn't know when he started feeling this way. All he knew was he needed to know why, why Black betrayed his parents and why Black had helped him.

            “I didn’t betray them,” Sirius mumbled shaking his head, still in shock.

"What if they're—er—found innocent afterwards?" Harry asked nervously. "Can they get it back?"

Lupin visibly stiffened. "Harry, why would you ask something like that?" he asked protectively. "You haven't seen Black since Halloween, have you?"

Harry shook his head as he stared at his Butterbeer label. "I was just curious," he said softly. "In the Muggle world people are found guilty but are then found innocent later from time to time. People make mistakes some times."

            “Yes! People make mistakes. This is a MISTAKE! I am INNOCENT!”

Professor Lupin looked away and cleared his throat. "That's true but we have ways to find out the truth from a person," he said uncomfortably. "There's a potion called Veritaserum which is a truth potion. It only takes three drops for the person taking it to answer any question asked truthfully."

            James eyed Sirius, “He’s right! They must have given you Veritaserum on your trial.”

            “No! Something happened. I swear I’d never betray you. I’d never join Voldemort!” Sirius begged James to believe him.

"Oh," Harry said softly. He could tell that Professor Lupin was uneasy with how this conversation was going. It was obvious that anything pertaining to Sirius Black was a painful subject for Lupin. "Sorry," he said in the same quiet voice. "I guess I'm still trying to understand how everything works."

"That's completely understandable," Professor Lupin said with a smile. "I'm actually impressed, Harry. Not many question how criminals are handled in the wizarding world. Most believe it isn't their problem so don't bother in worrying about it. It's rather sad that there are so many people willing to criticize something yet do nothing to change it."

Harry nodded. He knew Professor Lupin was talking about more than just the criminals. He was also talking about the injustice towards werewolves. It pained Harry to see Professor Lupin so hurt and powerless. It was then that Harry decided to do whatever he could to make sure Professor Lupin would never be alone again. His guardian was right. They were a family in every way that mattered.

            “Thank you, Harry,” Remus said with a smile.