“Now we get to see Moony and Padfoot kill the b- er hag!” Lily said gleefully.

Remus cleared his throat and with a predatory smile was about to start reading when the door opened and he quickly hid the book under the pillow.

“Mom?”

Mrs. Potter entered the room calmly. Following behind her there was a tray of sandwiches floating and five glasses of juice.

“I think we should have a light snack here instead of lunch,” she said sitting herself on an armchair next to Lily’s that was empty. The glasses floated in front of each teen and Mrs. Potter and the tray floated around as each bewildered teen took one sandwich and a napkin.

“So,” Mrs. Potter prompted. “Let’s keep reading this book that has you all screaming and swearing.”

“Huh,” James mumbled opened mouthed.

“I don’t think it’s quite your taste Mrs. Potter,” Lily tried to say politely.

“Oh, I think I’ll decide that,” Mrs. Potter said firmly.

The teens share lost looks with each other.

“It’s either I listen in or I confiscate the book. Which would you prefer?” Mrs. Potter said sternly crossing her arms.

The four teen congregated in a tight circle on the bed and whispered fervently. You couldn’t hear much except the occasional: “We can’t tell her!”, “Are you crazy James.” After much debate and a lot of poking and smacking of heads, mainly James’ and Sirius’, James turned smiling innocently to his mother:

“Mother dearest, we have something to tell you,” what followed next was a quick summarizing of everything that happened the last three days for them and two and a half years for Harry. Mrs. Potter had seriously considered committing them all into St. Mungo’s until Remus showed her the book and the dates. After reading a little of the first chapter Mrs. Potter had tears in her eyes and was caressing the book fondly:

“My poor grandson,” she sobbed and then she hugged James and Lily. “My poor babies.”

James and Lily eyed each other not exactly sure of what to do but kept still until Mrs. Potter decided to let them go. Remus cleared his throat and motioned to the book eyeing Mrs. Potter, she nodded with her head and he continued the story.

Opening his eyes, Harry had to blink a few times for his eyes to adjust to the sunlight filling his room. He felt extremely warm and reflexively pushed back his overabundance of bed covers only to be hit with a blast of cold air coming from his opened door. Curious to where the cold air was coming from, Harry slid out of bed, grabbing his glasses off his bedside table in the process. With everything coming into focus, Harry walked towards the partially opened door. Black Manor was large but it was rarely as quiet as it was right now. Sirius hated the quiet. That was why there had been modified silencing charms around Harry’s room during the summer. Harry couldn’t hear what was happening outside his room but people could hear him.

Entering the hallway, Harry shivered as the cold air strengthened, seeming to swirl around him. He walked the familiar path down the hallway, turning the corner then continued walking to the staircase, trying to stop himself from shaking. Something wasn’t right. Sirius and Remus never allowed the temperature to fall this low since the cold tended to remind Sirius of his cell in Azkaban. Each occupant of the Black Manor had their own horrors of the past that affected who they were today. Sirius avoided silence and cold because of Azkaban.

“Oh Sirius,” Mrs. Potter sobbed and moved so swiftly that Sirius couldn’t exactly say how he had gone from his spot on the bed to being in a tight grip on Mrs. Potter’s arms in the armchair.

Remus avoided people around the full moon because of an incident while he had been a student at Hogwarts.

“What incident?” Remus asked horrified. He really did not like to think of the ‘incidents’ that could happen around the full moon.

“I’m sure it was nothing serious,” James tried to assure his friend.

“Yes, if it had been something bad they would have said already,” Lily nodded.

“You wouldn’t hurt anyone Remy,” Mrs. Potter assured him. Mrs. Potter had a very soft spot for James’ friends, though right now, Peter had very quickly lost his spot.

Sirius tried to mumble something from where Mrs. Potter was trying to suffocate him but Remus just kept on.

Harry avoided loud, angry voices that reminded him of his uncle.

“Disgusting,” Mrs. Potter spat. “How people can treat an innocent sweet child like that.”

“I agree with you mum about treating a child like that but how can you know Harry is innocent and sweet? You just got here!”

“Oh shush James, he’s my grandson! Of course he is innocent and sweet!”

James just shook his head but Lily nodded approvingly.

As Harry reached the staircase, he could hear distant voices that were too muffled to make out. He held on to the railing tightly as he descended the stairs. He was still shivering and didn’t trust himself to walk down the stairs quietly without some form of support at the moment. Knowing his luck he would end up tripping and alerting everyone in the house that he was out of bed. He didn’t know if an Order meeting was in process, Sirius and Remus had company, or if something was being discussed that he didn’t know about. At the moment, Harry’s goal was to make it to the living room and sit down in front of the fire. He could see as he reached the bottom of the stairs that it was currently empty which meant whoever was here must be talking in the kitchen.

Reaching the sofa chair in front of the burning fire seemed to take forever but Harry was grateful he made the effort. The warmth of the fire was exactly what he needed. Staring into the fire, Harry could make out Sirius’ voice but he still couldn’t understand what his godfather was saying. There was a brief silence then another voice spoke that clearly belonged to Remus but again Harry couldn’t figure out what was being said. Well, at least I know they’re here.

The sound of the door opening caused Harry to quickly look up and see Sirius and Remus enter the room. Both of them stopped abruptly when they noticed Harry. “What are you doing out of bed?” Sirius instantly asked as he approached. He felt Harry’s forehead then looked over his shoulder at Remus. “Still a little warm but well enough for his appointment.”

“Appointment?” Harry asked in confusion. “What appointment?”

“I bet it’s with the lawyer so we can have that b- hum – er - seriously evil woman carted off to Azkaban,” Sirius said inching away from Mrs. Potter very slowly and then suddenly scurrying back to his spot on the bed. Mrs. Potter lips had gone in a tight line and she was tapping her wand into her hand.

No one answered him. “I’ll let her know,” Remus said to Sirius then walked back into the kitchen.

Sirius looked back down at Harry and took a step back as he enfolded his arms across his chest. “We have tried to be patient, Harry,” he said firmly. “We thought that you just needed time but we were wrong. We now see that you’ll never change. We can’t continue to put our lives on hold, hoping against hope that you’ll change. We gave you everything, Harry, but I guess it just wasn’t enough for you.”

“Excuse me; WHAT?” two very angry Potters and a furious Evans yelled glaring at Remus and Sirius who were looking horrified.

“There is a mistake,” Remus said. “I’d never… we’d never- There is a mistake!” he begged and Sirius nodded fervently.

Mrs. Potter ripped the book from Remus’ hands and hissed, “There better be.”

“Or you two will learn what pain means,” Lily added. “Because believe me Moony, not even you know what I’m talking about.”

Sirius and Remus gulped as Mrs. Potter continued in a very cold tone.

Harry shrank back in his chair, completely confused. Where was this coming from? “What are you talking about?” Harry asked nervously. “What did I do?”

Sirius narrowed his gaze at Harry. “What haven’t you done?” he spat. “If your parents could see you now they would disown you.

“You take that back Padfoot!” James bellowed. “Take that back right now!”

“Mistake,” Sirius mumbled. “I’d never say that.”

You’re a disgrace to the Potter, Black and Lupin families. You’re a murderer, a liar, and a freak. I never should have taken you from your uncle. That has been the biggest mistake of my life which is saying a lot.”

By now Sirius and Remus had inched together and were trembling slightly at the three death glares they were receiving.

“Mrs. Potter, come on. You know me,” Sirius begged.

“Last time everything was pointing against Sirius he was innocent,” Remus ventured.

“Last time,” Lily hissed slowly. “The words weren’t coming out of his mouth.”

Harry could feel tears falling down his face. How could Sirius say such a thing? How could Sirius agree with Uncle Vernon of all people? Sirius hated the man. “B—but I didn’t kill anyone,” Harry said in a wavering voice. “I—I never lied to you and Remus. I swear.”

The door to the kitchen opened again. Harry looked past Sirius to see Remus entering the room followed by Professor Umbridge and two tall wizards that he had never seen before.

“Okay!” Remus pointed out. “There’s definitely something wrong there. Not only me and Sirius would never, never side with Umbridge. But she wouldn’t come near me!”

Mrs. Potter raised an eyebrow and said slowly, “He does have a point. I unfortunately happen to know her personally and Umbridge would never be less than a mile from a werewolf voluntarily.”

“Yes, see,” Sirius said relieved. “That’s not real,” and then as if enlightened. “That’s a nightmare. Remember Harry was having nightmares of us agreeing with Umbridge. That’s a nightmare.”

James frowned his lips and nodded, “Possibly. But if it’s not…”

Remus and Sirius inched even closer.

 One had short brown hair with hazel eyes while the other had sandy blond hair with blue eyes. Both men had a look of disgust on their face as they caught sight of Harry which made the teen try to shrink back in his chair all the more. Glancing at Professor Umbridge, Harry noticed that she had a look of triumph on her face. That couldn’t be a good thing.

“The Ministry appreciates this, Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin,” Umbridge said sweetly. “I assure you that Mr. Potter will be rehabilitated in no time. Of course, it all depends on Mr. Potter. I can tell you from personal experience he is rather stubborn so we may need to use other perhaps even unconventional means, if that is all right with the two of you.”

“Whatever is necessary, Dolores,” Remus said evenly. “We appreciate the Ministry covering the cost of this. We’ve already wasted plenty of money from our vaults on him.”

“Come on! Me! Saying that! Can you really see me saying that?” Remus begged and was relieved at seeing that the two parents and one grandparent were a tad mollified.

Harry couldn’t help but stare at Sirius and Remus in disbelief. How could they do this? They were giving him over to the Ministry when they had spent months convincing him that it was too dangerous to trust the Ministry at this time? How could they believe anything Professor Umbridge had to say? She was the one lying! She must have said something! It was the only explanation. Sirius and Remus would never do something like this. They just wouldn’t.

“No we wouldn’t Harry,” Sirius cried. “It’s a nightmare!”

Sirius moved out of the way allowing the Aurors to approach Harry, grab him under the arms and lift him out of the chair. Panic quickly set in. Harry tried to break free but the Aurors only tightened their grips causing Harry to cry out in pain. “No!” he shouted as he continued struggling to break free. “You can’t do this! Sirius! Remus! Please! Don’t do this! I’ll be good! I promise! She’s lying! I swear! Please don’t do this!”

“We’re only sorry we didn’t do it sooner,” Sirius said hatefully. “We’ve made a deal to have your Uncle released. Once that is complete, he’ll be the one stuck with you.”

Harry stopped struggling as he stared at Sirius in horror. He was going back to the Dursleys? To Uncle Vernon? Vernon would kill him! They were sending him to his death! But they don’t care. I’m just a burden that they don’t want anymore. The realization that his guardians actually hated him was more than what Harry could bear. Sirius and Remus had been his family more then the Dursleys ever could but they hated him just as much. Maybe he was a freak. He had to be if everyone eventually hated him.

“No!” Lily sobbed, “It’s a nightmare honey. Just a nightmare. Please be a nightmare.”

Arms wrapped around him and held him tightly as his head tilted to the right and rested against something firm. Fingers ran through his hair in a comforting motion. Harry tried to turn his head to see who it was but he found that he couldn’t move. The living room faded away into darkness but Harry was too distraught to care. The pain in his heart was excruciating. He wanted to die so that the pain could end, so that he wouldn’t remember the looks on Sirius and Remus’ faces; the hate that they had for him.

“Its okay, Harry,” a soft voice said in his ear. “I’m here. You’re safe now. Whatever it takes, Harry, I’m going to keep you safe. I don’t care if I have to follow you around until the day I die. That—that woman is never coming near you again. The entire Ministry can jump in front of a dragon for all I care.” The arms around Harry tightened slightly. “I’m sorry if I scared you, Pronglet. I don’t know what she did to you but I promise that we’ll help you through it.”

“See,” Sirius pointed at the book frantically. “That’s me. Only I call Harry Pronglet! Told you it was a nightmare.”

“Yeah,” James said relieved. “Thank God!”

“We are sorry for jumping to conclusions Remus and Sirius,” Mrs. Potter said then cleared her throat irritably towards James and Lily who jumped a little and hastened to apologize too.

“Sir’us?” Harry asked sleepily, his eyes still not wanting to open for some reason. Sirius was the only person to call him Pronglet. Why would Sirius be comforting him? Didn’t Sirius hate him?

“That’s right, ol’ Midnight’s here,” Sirius answered, his voice now soft but relieved. “That must have been some nightmare you had. Remus should be here soon with Dumbledore. We have quite a bit to talk about, Pronglet. We know that something happened over the past few months but we don’t know what. We want to understand how something like this could happen.”

Harry tried to break free of the arms and left out a groan in protest when he failed. “I’m sorry,” he said nervously as he tried to break free again. “Please don’t hate me. I—I thought you would be angry…I didn’t want to cause any more trouble! I’m sorry!”

Sirius once again tightened his hold on Harry as he buried his face in Harry’s hair. “I could never hate you, Pronglet,” he said softly. “You are my entire world. You’re the reason I’m here and not still rotting in a cell in Azkaban or worse. You’re like a son to me, kiddo. I may get angry when someone hurts you but my anger is at them for doing this and at myself for letting it happen. I want to keep you safe, Harry, just like your parents wanted me to.”

“Humph,” Sirius huffed and Remus glared. Now it was the other three that cowed.

There was a soft knock at the door. Sirius instantly looked up and relaxed his hold on Harry allowing the teen to see two blurs standing in the doorway. Carefully, Sirius repositioned himself so Harry was a little more comfortable as he grabbed Harry’s glasses off the bedside table and gently slid them on Harry’s face. Everything quickly came into focus but Harry wasn’t sure that was necessarily a good thing. He could see the look of regret and pain on Sirius’ face.

“How are you feeling today, Harry?” Professor Dumbledore asked pleasantly as he entered the room and sat down on a chair at bedside.

“Better, sir,” Harry answered as he tried to sit up but a hand on his shoulder from Sirius told him to stay put. “Er—what day is it, sir?”

Professor Dumbledore glanced at Sirius over his half-moon spectacles before returning his attention to Harry. “It’s Friday morning, Harry, December the twenty-second to be more precise,” he said pleasantly. “Before you ask, Arthur is still in St. Mungo’s recovering from the attack. The Weasleys at Hogwarts are aware of their father’s condition. Molly will be taking them home today. I’m afraid Professor Umbridge wasn’t too pleased to find you gone, yesterday morning. I believe she mentioned a week’s detention was in order for missing class.”

Mrs. Potter stopped reading and just ogled the book.

“Mum?” James asked worried.

“With all due respect to Professor Dumbledore,” she said slowly. “Is he MENTAL?”

“Probably,” Sirius offered.

“How can he?” she spluttered. “The poor boy has been through torture with that- that-“

“We know a very descriptive word for her,” James said eagerly but quickly shut up at his mother glare.

“After that woman puts my little grandson through torture he goes and mention that she is still in a position to issue detentions and not locked up in Azkaban,” Mrs. Potter shrieked and Lily and Remus nodded fervently in approval. Even wanting to see Mrs. Potter curse, James and Sirius actually quite agreed with her.

Harry instantly stiffened as he stared at Dumbledore in horror. A week! He didn’t think he could handle an entire week of Umbridge’s detentions. Reflexively, Harry clutched his right fist to his chest as his breathing started to become erratic. He barely registered that someone was trying to get his attention. All he could think about was an entire week of Professor Umbridge ridiculing him and telling him Sirius and Remus would eventually agree with her.

The next thing Harry knew all feelings of panic were gone and replaced by a floating and hazy feeling. He felt his body relax as his head became too heavy to hold upright. Someone tilted his head upwards allowing Harry to see the concerned gazes of Sirius, Remus and Professor Dumbledore. He slowly blinked and noticed that Remus had an empty potion vial in his hand. It had to be some sort of Calming Draught.

“I am sorry, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore said sincerely.

“You better be,” Remus huffed crossing his arms.

“If I had known your reaction would be like that I never would have said anything. I must apologize, my boy. I never considered that Professor Umbridge was using illegal materials in her detentions but I have a feeling it goes deeper than that. We need to know what happened in these detentions, Harry. Your guardians want to press charges but to do that we have to know what we’re dealing with. Do you feel up to telling us?”

Harry’s head tilted to the right and rested against Sirius’ chest. It took a few moments for him to process everything Professor Dumbledore said. Sirius and Remus wanted to press charges? That would only cause trouble. “Why?” Harry asked groggily. “You told…me not to…cause trouble…I was just…doing what you…told me to.”

“Nooo,” Lily moaned grabbing her hair in desperation.

“Harry!” Sirius cried distressed. “That’s not what they meant!”

Mrs. Potter looked at Remus and Sirius seriously and said, “You two better have a long nice chat with my grandson about this and explain yourselves properly this time.”

Remus and Sirius nodded fervently afraid to incur her wrath. Lily was quite appreciating the power Mrs. Potter seemed to have with the Marauders.

Remus sat down on the edge of the bed and took hold of Harry’s left hand. “We never meant for you to face something like this alone, cub,” he said sadly. “You must have known what Umbridge was doing to you was wrong. Teacher or not, no one has the right to have you mutilate a part of your body. From what we hear this has been happening for at least a month, right?”

“Yes Moony, show him the rule guides!” James said pleased.

Harry nodded slowly. His mind was starting to clear which made thinking a lot easier. “She didn’t like what happened to Malfoy,” Harry said softly. “She—er—she blamed it on me, saying that I asked for it what Malfoy did to me.” A part of Harry knew he shouldn’t say anything but he had been keeping it all inside for so long that he didn’t think he could handle it anymore. “She said Uncle Vernon had been right to punish me like he did. She said I deserved it.” He felt Sirius stiffen and Remus’ hand tighten around his. “She…she said I was a burden and…and it was only a matter of time before everyone hated me.” Harry closed his eyes and buried his face in Sirius’ chest. He hated appearing weak but he couldn’t help himself. Everything he had been suppressing was coming to the surface. “I’m sorry! Please don’t hate me! Please! Please don’t send me back to her! Please don’t send me to Uncle Vernon! Please!”

“Never!” Sirius said firmly.

“Over my dead body!” Remus said and Lily hit him.

“Don’t say things like that!”

Somehow Sirius and Remus managed to hold Harry in a group hug.

“Aw,” James cooed and opened his arms, “Group hug.”

The other four occupants of the room surveyed him warily as he beckoned them. Lily leaned towards Mrs. Potter and asked:

“What should we do?”

Mrs. Potter shrugged, “He won’t stop until he gets his group hug. We are better off caving so we can go on.”

And thus, James got his group hug.

Both Marauders were speechless along with the Headmaster. They had never suspected something this severe had been happening right under their noses. Noticing that Sirius and Remus weren’t going to release Harry anytime soon, Professor Dumbledore stood up and placed a gentle hand on Remus’ shoulder. “I will have Professor Umbridge removed from the school and charged with abusing her position, using an illegal artifact on a student and abusing a student,” he said softly. “I will be by later with a Pensieve so we can view these detentions. If you need anything, please let me know.”

“Finally,” Lily huffed. “At last someone does something!”

Remus nodded in confirmation then returned to attempting to comfort his distraught charge. Harry eventually fell back asleep, exhausted. The guardians quickly transfigured some furniture so someone could be in the room at all times. They now knew where Harry’s nightmares were coming from and had a feeling it would take a long time to extinguish the doubts Dolores Umbridge had planted in Harry’s mind.

“We have faith in you two,” Lily said.

“Especially Remus,” Mrs. Potter nodded.

Sirius scowled and crossed his arms but he grinned widely when Lily said:

“Actually, future Sirius is quite adept at caring for Harry.”

---

It was a few hours later when Harry awoke from his dreamless slumber to see that there were a few things that weren’t right. To start with, someone was touching his face, particularly his forehead causing Harry to open his eyes in confusion. Next Harry saw that he wasn’t alone. There were five blurry figures standing over him. Noticing his confusion, Harry’s glasses were slid on his face allowing him to see the figures were Sirius, Remus, Professor Dumbledore, Tonks and Professor McGonagall. He blinked a couple times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing then tried to sit up only to be immediately helped by Sirius and Remus. It was then that Harry noticed the furniture in his room had changed. There were several more chairs and tables throughout the room. Parchment, ink and quills covered the tables. It made Harry wonder what had been going on when he slept.

Glancing at the five adults, Harry noticed worried expressions on all of their faces. Sirius and Remus also looked exhausted which made Harry feel guilty for being the cause of it. This wasn’t the way he wanted to spend the holiday and this was the reason why. He didn’t want people feeling sorry for him and feeling guilty because Professor Umbridge was completely out of her mind. It wasn’t like they could do anything about it anyways.

“Hum, yes they could,” Remus told the book. “If they know what’s happening.”

“Good afternoon, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore said with a smile. “You just missed Madam Pomfrey. You have been deemed healthy but could use a few hearty meals to put on a little weight. I took the liberty to invite Dobby over for the holidays. He assures me that you will have plenty to eat whenever you need it.”

Sirius barked out laughing, “Bet Kreacher will love that!”

Harry scowled as he looked away. “He’ll feed me ‘til I burst,” he grumbled but everyone heard him and chuckled at the comment since they were well aware of the house elf’s attachment to Harry. “Is Kreacher okay with another house elf here?” he asked after a moment.

It was Sirius’ turn to scowl. “Kreacher could use a few lessons from Dobby,” he said bitterly.

“Yes he could,” Sirius nodded.

“Sirius!” Mrs. Potter and Lily scolded at the same time. “Be nice!”

“That elf has been sulking around here, not doing a single thing ever since you left for school. It takes every ounce of self restraint I have not to hex him.”

“As you can see Mrs. Potter,” Lily said. “Some things don’t change.”

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat, ending the conversation. “I hate to intrude but there are a few matters we need to discuss,” he said seriously. Sirius and Remus instantly picked spots on the bed and sat down by Harry while Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Tonks sat down in chairs at Harry’s bedside. “I should inform you, Harry, that Professor Umbridge has been temporarily removed from Hogwarts, pending the outcome of the investigation of the charges your guardians have filed on your behalf.”

“Good,” James nodded stiffly.

Harry visibly stiffened at the mention of ‘charges’. “Why?” he asked quietly as his gaze dropped. “Why do we have to make such a big deal out of this? It’s only going to cause problems.”

Sirius shook his head desperately.

Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders and pulled him into a one-armed embrace. “Don’t you even think like that,” he said firmly. “If we don’t stop Umbridge now what’s stopping her from continuing with you and even other students? Harry, this would be like walking away after I saw what your uncle did to you. I can’t do that. We can’t do that. We’re supposed to be the ones protecting you from harm, not the other way around.”

“Well said,” Mrs. Potter beamed with teary eyes. “I’m so proud of you boys.”

Remus and Sirius smiled awkwardly.

Professor Dumbledore reached out and touched a shallow stone basin with strange carvings around the edge that weren’t recognizable that was sitting on Harry’s bedside table. Inside the basin was a whitish silver substance that swirled and separated on its own accord. “This, Harry, is a Pensieve,” Dumbledore said pleasantly. “I believe you remember how you allowed us to see what happened in the graveyard?” Harry nodded. “This is similar to that but it isn’t nearly as draining on the body. It allows someone to view their memories at their leisure to spot patterns and links that they normally may not see. It also allows others to view someone’s memories at no pain to holder.”

Sirius pulled Harry closer while Remus rested a hand on Harry’s back, reminding the teen that they were both there. “You want me to put the vision I had in there?” Harry asked tentatively. He didn’t know if he wanted everyone else to see that. Just thinking about it still made him sick to his stomach.

“Not the vision,” Professor Dumbledore said patiently. “We need the memories from your detentions. We need to see what Professor Umbridge actually did. The Wizengamot will need to see proof that we are not making this up to remove a Ministry appointed teacher from Hogwarts.” Harry moved to protest but Dumbledore motioned for Harry to hear him out. “I realize that the emotions that come with these memories may be painful but we need to know, Harry. It was my responsibility to keep you safe at school and I failed. Please allow me to take the steps to right the wrongs that you have had to endure this term.”

How could he say no to that? Professor Dumbledore was practically begging him for the memories, something Harry never thought he would hear. Reluctantly, Harry nodded as his gaze fell and heard a collective sigh of relief. Evidently Professor Dumbledore wasn’t the only one who believed that Harry would refuse to have others view his memories.

“The way Harry is,” James mumbled. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he refused.”

 Of course Harry always had a tendency to give in when someone begged him to do something.

Professor Dumbledore pulled out his wand and held it out so that the tip of the wand was touching Harry’s temple. “Concentrate on your first detention, Harry,” he said gently. Harry closed his eyes and did so, remembering the first time the quill cut into his hand. A few moments later the sound of Professor Dumbledore’s voice pulled Harry out of his thoughts. “Very good, Harry. Now, concentrate on your second detention.” Once again Harry concentrated until Professor Dumbledore’s voice told him to move on to the next detention.

“If he is going one by one,” Remus said, “That is going to take a long while.”

The pattern continued for what felt like exhausting hours. In the end there had been almost twenty detentions that had been put in the Pensieve, shocking everyone present. They had been aware that Professor Umbridge had given Harry more than his fair share but they had never imagined there had been so many and Harry hadn’t complained about it. The only reason Professor McGonagall had know there had been quite a few was because she had overheard a few Gryffindors complaining about how unfair Professor Umbridge was being to Harry.

After a quiet lunch in Harry’s room, Harry was given a sleeping potion to rest while the five adults viewed his memories. The first three detentions had left them furious. They had only viewed portions of the memories since Professor Umbridge had kept Harry so long every night but they got the overall idea of what Harry had been through. The detentions after that left every single one of them horrified. They couldn’t find words to describe the variety of emotions coursing through from watching Professor Umbridge continuously blame Harry for matters that were not of his doing. No wonder the teen had been so determined not to say anything.

It was four hours later when the five adults left the memories in the Pensieve to see that Harry was still sleeping peacefully. Sirius instantly approached his godson and gently lifted the teen’s right hand. He could still see the words ‘I must not tell lies’ written on the back of it. Sirius sat down on the edge of Harry’s bed, still staring that the words on the skinny hand. “I don’t care what it takes, Dumbledore,” he said solemnly. “I don’t want her ever coming near my godson again. Because of her, Harry can’t sleep through the night without nightmares of us hating him. Because of her, Harry has taken everything on himself trying to protect us.” He looked up at Dumbledore with a pained look on his face and tears in his eyes. “Because of her, my godson is afraid of me. If you don’t do something to stop her, I will kill her myself.”

Mrs. Potter sniffed and Lily passed her a paper tissue. Mrs. Potter nodded thankfully at the also sniffing girl.

“Sirius,” Remus warned but was silenced with a glare.

“Aren’t you angry, Moony?” Sirius asked in disbelief.

“Of course I am!” Remus cried shocked. “Do you think I like seeing my cub getting hurt?”

“Well,” Sirius fidgeted. “You have to admit you’re not showing it much.”

“Well maybe I have my reasons!”

 “That—that hag forced Harry to mutilate his own hand while she sat there and watched! She made Harry believe that we would turn against him! How can you just sit there—”

“—because unlike you, Sirius, I don’t have the option of allowing my emotions to overpower me at the moment,” Remus spat. “You have no idea how hard it is to suppress the wolf right now so don’t start scolding me on how I should be acting.”

Remus crossed his arms and glared at Sirius who looked apologetically. James got on the bed and patted Remus back, “There, there. Padfoot was just nervous. You know how his mouth sometimes gets the better of him.” Sirius nodded earnestly and Remus gave one last glare and turned to listen to Mrs. Potter read.

“Boys,” Professor Dumbledore interrupted calmly. “Now isn’t the time to allow our differences get in the way of what we must do. Harry is going to need us more than he realizes to move past this. With Christmas on Monday, we can’t do anything until afterwards. I will do what I can to set up a hearing as fast as possible for Harry’s sake. The sooner we can have this matter dealt with the less likely the press will get wind of it. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to contact anyone in the Order besides the Weasleys. I suspect that they have enough on their plate right now.”

Nodding in agreement, Sirius and Remus watched as Professor Dumbledore left, Pensieve in hand, with Professor McGonagall following him. “I’m sorry, Moony,” Sirius said regretfully. “I—I just don’t know what to do. I feel so helpless. How could I have been so blind? I saw that he was slowly pulling away but I just thought it was teenage stuff. I thought that we could work everything out over the holiday.”

“See,” Sirius said with his best puppy eyes leaning towards Remus. “I’m sorry Moony.”

Remus huffed but patted Sirius head nonetheless.

“Join the club,” Remus said truthfully. He slumped down in the nearest chair and rubbed his tired eyes. “It’s going to take a lot of work to fix this.”

“So we do what was done when the summer holidays began,” Tonks offered as she sat down in the chair next to Remus. “We take shifts with him. We’re his family. We can’t do any less.”

Sirius and Remus had to agree. For Harry, they couldn’t do any less.

---

Harry didn’t wake until early evening only to find that he wasn’t alone. He was sleeping on his back and on his chest was a familiar black head of fur that could only belong to Midnight.

Reflexively, Harry started petting Midnight as he let his eyes close again. He didn’t know why he was so tired. He had slept through the majority of the day so how could he still need sleep? Whatever the reason, Harry decided that sleep was probably the better alternative at the moment.

He didn’t want to face Sirius and Remus right now. How could he make them understand something that he just felt he had to do? How could he explain how important a family was to someone who grew up having none? Deep down Harry knew that Professor Umbridge had only said what she did to instill doubt concerning his guardians’ feelings towards him. Deep down he knew that Sirius and Remus would never give him back to the Dursleys.

However, sometimes the mind isn’t so rational, especially after a nightmare. It was childish, he knew it. He was fifteen and shouldn’t be worried about whether Sirius and Remus would abandon him but the truth was that he worried about it every day. He still worried that he would wake up and his life with Sirius and Remus would only be a dream. Those worries on top of everything else had pushed his paranoia over the edge.

A soft whine could be heard from Midnight. Harry knew the mutt was awake and was worried about him. Letting out a sigh, Harry opened his eyes to see somewhat blurry blue eyes looking back at him. “I’m all right, Midnight,” he said softly. “Just tired for some reason.” Change the subject, Harry. “You know, I think we need to have a little talk. You aren’t getting any younger, Midnight. I think we should start looking for a friend for you—a female friend. Wouldn’t you like to have a litter of puppies running around the house?”

James, Remus and Lily burst out laughing and Mrs. Potter didn’t understand what was going on. Apparently she had forgotten that at the beginning of the chapter Sirius called himself Midnight and on their Summarizing of what happened the teens had just told her Peter betrayed them and went into hiding after framing Sirius. They hadn’t exactly explained how he did those things. Thus, Mrs. Potter was quite clueless to what was so funny.

Midnight’s head instantly raised off on Harry’s chest as the dog stared with wide eyes. Oh yeah, I will be paying for that, Harry mused. The dog let out a snort then stood up, turned around and sat down with his back facing Harry in an attempt to prove that Harry had offended him.

“That is one smart dog,” Mrs. Potter said and Sirius said:

“Thanks.”

But James had gone still and pale as he realized something.

Harry let out a sigh as he sat up and moved to the edge of the bed but hesitated before leaving the warmth. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Midnight,” he said softly. “I just meant—well—you’re a good Dad and I thought you would want your own—er—puppies not—well—it’s not important. Forget I said anything.” Before Harry knew it an arm wrapped around him and held him tightly while a hand ruffled his hair.

“You are my son, Harry,” Sirius said sincerely.

“Yes you are,” Sirius said firmly and then looked worried as Mrs. Potter stared at him suspiciously.

“Sirius,” she said calmly.

“Yes.”

“Were you by any chance that dog?”

“Maybe,” he said in a small voice.

“Please tell me this is something you will achieve after you graduate.”

Sirius Black was extremely brave, after all he was a Gryffindor, but he wasn’t stupid, and Mrs. Potter’s wrath was not something he welcomed. So he did the first thing that came to his mind, he pointed at James and cried: “James is an Animagus too!”

James, who had been quite still and trying to be invisible since he realized what was about to happen, opened his eyes wide in shock and snapped his head at his glaring mother.

“James,” she hissed dangerously.

He smiled weakly and said, “Yeah.”

“What did Sirius mean by that?”

“Well, you see.. maybe.. there’s a chance… and with Moony… not that Moony is but for him…”

“James!”

“WebecameAnimagusesinfifthyeartokeepMoonycompany,” he blurted at once.

Mrs. Potter sighed and rubbed her temple. Lily tried to help:

“It was quite noble of them.”

“And stupid and dangerous. You three outside,” she snapped at the boys and Remus was smarter than to ask why he was getting scolded too and he scurried outside with his friends. Mrs. Potter closed the door behind her and Lily tried her best to hear behind the door but obviously a Silencing charm had been erected. After what seemed like hours the three red faced boys and Mrs. Potter came back in. She took her place as the subdued boys sat silently.

 “Maybe not biologically but in my heart, you are my son.” He released Harry and hopped off the bed before taking a seat in the nearest chair at Harry’s bedside so they were face to face. “That means that I will never turn my back on you, you know that right?” He waited for Harry to nod before continuing. “Umbridge was wrong to do what she did. She was wrong to say what she did. She lied, Harry. We would never give you back to your uncle no matter what you did. You are stuck with us; me, Moony and Tonks. We’re your family.”

“Yes,” the four teens cried together and Mrs. Potter hid a smile behind the book.

Harry bit back the urge to point out the Dursleys were also his family. Don’t think about them!

“Yes, don’t,” Lily growled. “Good for nothing sister.”

“Now that you are mentioning it,” Mrs. Potter said apologetically. “Harold did mention your sister was- er- not very nice to the Aurors at your house.”

“Mr. Potter is a very polite man,” Lily snorted. “Not very nice is down playing it a lot.”

He hated that he now had so many doubts about the family he had felt so comfortable with only a few months ago. Harry knew Sirius, Remus and Tonks were nothing like the Dursleys. He hated himself for even thinking that his new family would be anything like his old one. He hated himself for allowing Sirius and Remus to know that he was afraid of them now.

“They should know so they can help,” James offered.

”Yes, Harry so now Padfoot and I can repeat every second that that hag was wrong!” Remus said firmly then his eyes went wide and he covered his mouth.

“I’ll let that pass since this person deserves it,” Mrs. Potter said.

“So we can say anything we want about Umbridge,” Sirius looked eager.

“I said I’ll let hag pass, not anything,” Mrs. Potter said firmly.

“So, are you hungry, Harry?” Sirius asked as he ruffled Harry’s hair again. “I’m sure Dobby would make you anything you wanted.”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t hungry but he knew saying as much would only worry Sirius. His godfather had always grumbled about his lack of appetite, declaring that if he ever came across the Dursleys he would curse them into the next century.

“Want help?” Lily asked.

“I’ll let you come,” Sirius said generously.

Harry shuddered at the thought of how angry Sirius had to be to for him to be shouting at Professor Dumbledore about Umbridge. He had never heard Sirius so angry before.

“To be honest Harry,” James said. “Padfoot doesn’t need much to shout! He just doesn’t get angry at you. But cross him and feel your eardrums burst!”

Sirius looked very proud of himself.

“Harry?” Sirius asked gently. “What’s wrong? You’re shivering. Are you cold? Is your fever back?”

Harry quickly shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said softly as he avoided Sirius’ gaze. “It’s nothing.” Nothing worth worrying you about, Sirius. I’m just being stupid by letting anything Umbridge said influence me. He had told himself that she had been lying over and over again yet it seemed that some of the endless ranting had stayed with him regardless.

Sirius gently touched Harry’s forehead with the back of his hand. “You are a little warm but it could be from sleeping under so many blankets,” he said thoughtfully then stood up. “Make yourself comfortable, kiddo. I’ll wake Moony so we have all have dinner in here together.”

“But if he’s sleeping—”

“—he wanted me to wake him,” Sirius insisted. “Tonks is at work so it’s just the three of us.” Sirius gently rested a hand on Harry’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “We have to talk about a few things, Harry, including what will be happening with Umbridge. I know you probably don’t want to deal with it but you have to. Ignoring what she did to you won’t make the nightmares and the doubts go away.”

Harry reluctantly nodded but remained silent. Sirius gave Harry’s shoulder another squeeze before he left the room. He really didn’t want to talk about his nightmares. He didn’t want Sirius and Remus to know how easily he allowed himself to become affected by Professor Umbridge’s words. Granted the repetition of Umbridge’s words probably had something to do with it but it didn’t change the fact that Umbridge had won. She had succeeded in making Harry believe that his stable life with his guardians wasn’t as stable as he originally thought.

A hand against his forehead quickly pulled Harry out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Remus give him a soft smile but that didn’t hide how tired the man looked. Harry’s gaze fell again when he realized that Sirius and Remus were probably taking shifts like they had during the summer when they were too scared to leave him alone. One step forward, two steps back.

“You look better, cub,” Remus said reassuringly as Sirius sat down in the chair he had previously occupied. “No nightmares, visions or anything of that sort?” He let out a relieved sigh when Harry shook his head then sat down next to Harry on the bed and wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders. “Well, that’s good. We should have some Dreamless Sleeping Potion by morning for you in case you need it.”

“You know, not to take any merit away from you Sirius,” Lily said. “Future you is really good with Harry, but Remus just has a calming thing don’t you think? Like when he is around everything is good and safe.”

“Yeah, like when you read Sirius you know everyone is up and acting but then Remus comes and this peaceful vibe goes around,” James said.

“You know Mrs. P,” Sirius huffed. “I’d bee worried with them talking about peaceful and vibe, it’s very fishy. I’d start checking their potions supplies.” He was pelted by pillows.

Harry fidgeted nervously. He was already dreading the long talk they would need to have and figured it was best to just get it over with. “Do the Weasleys know about this?” he asked softly.

“At the moment, no they don’t,” Remus said gently. “We didn’t want to worry them with but we will have to tell them soon. Dolores Umbridge’s suspension won’t be kept a secret for long. We were lucky that Amelia Bones stood up and took action on our behalf so we need to use whatever advantage we have right now. Dumbledore will be calling an Order meeting later tonight to inform everyone of the situation—” Harry moved to protest, “—to prevent the entire Order from barging in here to find out if what they hear at the Ministry is true and because you will need protection when the hearing is held.”

Harry instantly stiffened at the mention of a hearing. He could picture it in his mind. He would be accused of lying and causing problems because he wanted attention. He didn’t think he could handle someone taking his messed up life apart. He didn’t think he could handle Sirius and Remus being attacked because they were his guardians. Everyone he cared about would be attacked because of him. Was it worth it? Was he worth it?

“Of course you are!” Lily said firmly.

“This boy has serious issues,” Mrs. Potter said.

“We know you’re scared, Pronglet,” Sirius said, noticing the change in Harry stature. “Please understand that this is something we have to do. Amelia Bones was horrified to learn that Umbridge had been using a Blood Quill on you. The Ministry had banned the use of them years ago. Umbridge knew this. She knew that she was using an illegal artifact on you. Fudge claims ignorance, of course, but if Umbridge is found guilty then there’s a good chance that Fudge’s role in everything will be under a lot of scrutiny.”

“But that will cause a lot of trouble,” Harry protested. “What about the Order?”

Remus gave Harry a reassuring one-armed embrace. “Don’t worry about it, cub,” he said with a smile. “I had a feeling this was the situation. You didn’t tell us anything because you were worried about us and the Order.” Harry only shrugged but the lack of protest was all the Marauders needed to know it was the truth. “Let us be the adults, Harry. Let us do this for you. It isn’t right to have a teacher that abuses you and it is our responsibility along with your Headmaster to stop it from continuing. You understand that, right?”

“Too right it is,” Mrs. Potter huffed.

Harry understood what was being said he just didn’t like that so much fuss was being made over this and will continue to be made over it. There was also the possibility of the Wizengamot not believing him. “What happens if we lose?” he asked. “I don’t know if I can go back to Hogwarts. She’ll give me detention every night until summer vacation.”

“We won’t lose,” Sirius said firmly. “We’ll have Dumbledore’s Pensieve there with your memories. Once the Wizengamot view them Umbridge won’t be allowed anywhere near Hogwarts, let alone you. Trust us, Harry. We’re going to fix this, no matter what it takes. It’s the least we can do.”

Harry had to smile. He couldn’t help but believe that his guardians were going to make everything better. It was a childish notion but when Sirius Black was determined it was extremely hard not to believe him. Leaning against Remus, Harry closed his eyes and realized for the first time in months he felt normal. He didn’t have to worry about secrets or being the perfect student for everyone that had been watching him. Here, in the Noble House of Black, Harry was just Harry and that was enough.

“Aw, my little grandson,” Mrs. Potter cooed and James, Sirius and Remus shook their heads as she was joined by Lily on the cooing.