Chris woke up early, left a note for Ron and Hermione saying he’d meet them at breakfast and Marauders’ Map in hand went to look for Remus. He found him in one of the guest quarters of the staff wing and knocked, worried that maybe Remus was still asleep, but that was not the case.

Remus invited him in and asked a house-elf for some breakfast, Chris thought of refusing, after all he was going to meet Ron and Hermione for breakfast but then he changed his mind, he was after all a growing boy, so what was the harm of having breakfast twice? Besides, years with the Dursleys taught him never to refuse food.

“Excited about the Tournament?” Remus asked over the table.

Chris nodded through a mouthful, swallowed and answered, “It will be interesting to watch the tasks,” and then he gave Remus a roguish grin, “and not be part of the action for once.”

“That sure will be good,” Remus chuckled. “Made any new friends with the visiting students?”

Chris shook his head, “They’re all older. What would they want with me?” he snorted.

“You never know,” Remus said vaguely.

“We helped one of the Magic School students and his parents yesterday. But that was all. He was weird anyway,” Chris said absentmindedly while spreading more jam on his toast and missing the look that crossed Remus face.

“Weird how?”

Chris just shrugged, “Dunno, he kept staring. Lots of people do anyway, so I should be used to it but- I dunno- There was something strange about him…and his parents too. How they felt.”

“How they felt?” Remus asked carefully picking a scone and studying Chris closely.

“Yeah,” Chris munched on his toast pensively. “They felt familiar.”

“Has anyone felt like that before,” Remus asked cautiously.

Chris studied Remus and nodded, “You and Sirius,” then he smiled. “Well, if they’re like you I don’t have to worry.”

“No, you don’t,” Remus smiled. “I have a feeling you really won’t.”

Chris nodded and then his face became serious and he took a letter from his pocket, “I wrote Sirius a letter. He shouldn’t have come back.”

“Sirius thinks he should and I agree,” Remus said calmly.

Chris shook his head, “No, it’s dangerous. And it was just a stupid dream…doesn’t mean anything-“

“It’s not just your dream Chris,” Remus said firmly putting his teacup down. He looked Chris squarely in the eyes. “That’s just one of the many signs we’ve been seeing. And with the Tri-Wizard Tournament here we can’t help but worry that it would be very easy for Voldemort to get to you.”

“But wouldn’t Dumbledore take precautions?”

“He has, but he isn’t perfect,” Remus said. “We believe he hired Moody to have some extra security. Especially with Karkaroff here.”

Chris’s interest picked up, “Karkaroff? Moody told me to watch out for him.”

“He would. Moody was the one to arrest Karkaroff. He was a Death Eater. He got away by making a deal with the Wizengamot. He basically named people who were Death Eaters. Got a lot of people arrested.”

Chris nodded, “But then, wouldn’t the Death Eaters be angry at him.”

Remus nodded, “Yes, but that also means that he might be desperate to prove himself loyal to Voldemort. And what better way than to get The Boy Who Lived to him? Don’t ever be alone with him.”

Chris nodded seriously. He swallowed and asked fidgeting with a napkin.

“You’ll be careful right? You and Sirius? I- I can’t have anything happen-“

Remus leaned forward on the table and took Chris’s fidgeting hand, “Don’t worry. We know how to take care of ourselves. No one will find where Sirius is.”

Chris nodded but he couldn’t help the lump that formed in his throat. He tried to smile but failed miserably.

---

“So, so, tell me everything, leave nothing behind,” Phoebe’s voice came from the phone. When Piper realized that her cell phone would not work at Hogwarts she and her sisters had worked a way to make it work. Especially since Hogwarts wards wouldn’t allow orbing. There was no way she was going to stay without immediate communication. So before coming here they had worked ways to ensure hers, Leo’s and the students’ cells worked with the school’s magic rather than their batteries, which she didn’t mind conceding was quite handy, since they didn’t have to recharge them.

“I don’t know everything,” Piper said as she surreptitiously observed Chris and his friends in a non stalking way, or so she told herself. Seeing one of them looking towards her direction she quickly ducked behind a bush. “He looks shy. I heard he played Quidditch, what’s that?”

“No idea. So is he completely neurotic like we were used to or is he just a normal teenager? I often wondered if Chris was that way because of the world he came from or if it was your genes.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Piper demanded.

“Nothing,” Phoebe slowly drawled.

“Oh, wait. Where are they going? Is that safe?” Piper asked as she saw Chris and his two friends knock at the door of a small hut not too far from where the Beuaxbatons carriages were parked and the enormous form of the giant man who had been introduced as the Care of Magical Creatures Professor opened the door. Piper had hardly talked to the man yesterday, he didn’t seem a bad person, but he was intimidating and she had heard rumors that he was into some dangerous animals, something about Blast Ended something. What if one of them ate Chris?

“What? What? What’s going on?” Phoebe asked.

“He entered Hagrid’s hut? I think it’s his hut?”

“Uh, that sounds dangerous, is Hagrid a demon?”

“No.”

“A warlock?”

“No, I don’t think he can do magic, from what I heard. He’s a teacher here.”

“Hum,” Phoebe murmured and Piper could imagine her sister’s mocking face from the sound of her voice. “A teacher, who can do no magic, against three students who can. Yes, horribly dangerous.”

“I’m serious. The man is huge!”

“Yes, but didn’t they walk there of their own free will? And I hardly think Dumbledore would hire a teacher if he was dangerous to the children.”

“You haven’t met Snape yet. I wish I hadn’t.”

“I unfortunately have,” came a voice from behind Piper who had moved to stalking Chris from behind the Beuaxbatons carriage.

“AH!” Piper cried and turned around dropping her phone. “WYATT! Don’t do that!”

Wyatt was sniggering at his mother as Piper hastily picked up the phone and said her goodbyes to Phoebe.”What are you doing mom?”

“Nothing,” Piper smoothed her hair slightly and tried to look innocent.

“Yeah, right,” Wyatt drawled. “Don’t worry. From what everyone I’ve met so far has said, Hagrid is a very nice person, completely harmless.”

“He’s huge!” Piper whispered.

“So is Madam Maxime and you’re right next to her carriage,” Wyatt pointed out.

Piper nodded, he had a point, but Madam Maxime had a finesse about her that made you forget her size, Hagrid on the other hand looked wild.

“Look mom,” Wyatt said putting his arm around Piper’s shoulder and stirring her away. “Think of Hagrid as Uncle Henry, he likes to look tough, but everyone knows that deep inside he is a softy.” Piper chuckled at the thought of the scowl Henry would sport if he heard Wyatt, and worse, the fact that Wyatt was so right. Her phone rang again and she quickly took it looking at the display and seeing Leo’s name.

---

Turns out they didn’t need to go looking for Remus because after his chat with Chris Remus came looking for them.

“Headmaster Wyatt, may I have a word with you and your wife?” he asked when he had found Leo in the library. He had come here to find one of his students who had become stage frightened and had fled when seen the amount of people watching who was putting their names in the goblet. Knowing this student in particular Leo knew where he’d hide. After a good heart to heart he was confident the young boy had calmed down enough and had watched pleased when the boy said he had to go put his name in the goblet.

“Sure, er-“

“Lupin, Remus Lupin,” he said extending his hand. “I don’t believe we were ever formally introduced but I was a very good friend of Lily’s, and I need to talk to you about a favor you asked her for.”

Leo nodded, his suspicions that Lupin new immediately confirmed. “Let me call my wife to our rooms. We can talk there.” They had warded the room and had made sure there were no portraits that could gossip. He took his phone out and started dialing. He and Piper had come to the conclusion Chris didn’t know about them from the little interaction they had with him. So if Lupin knew, and raised him, why didn’t he prepare him? Somehow, he had a feeling he would not like the answer.

---

“We knew, Lily and James asked for our help for the cover story. It was easy actually. Lily pretended she had hid the pregnancy with glamours. Many did back then, not wanting to become even more of a target for Death Eaters who knew they’d be hitting two birds with one stone,” Remus explained. “Besides, she was very good at charms so no one would wonder. Chris’s messy hair is proof of that. The charm to make it messy has resisted four years of Finite Incantatem. It can only be taken out by one of us four who were keyed into her charm or the Power of Three,” Remus bit his lips here. “They really wanted to consult you but they knew it would be dangerous, and the blood adoption did give Chris the protection of the Potter name if anything happened to them. Without it Chris wouldn’t be able to claim he was the Potter heir. And since they did modify the potion just to add them as parents and not erase the original, there wasn’t much change in Chris. His hair darkened a bit, and his green eyes got… brighter.... I don’t know if that’s the word. I can still see your eyes in him Leo, but Lily’s were brighter and I can see them too. And I guess there is a chance his need for glasses came from James.”

Piper nodded. She understood why they had performed a blood adoption. It made sense, and it had also meant that Chris had benefitted from whatever blood wards Dumbledore put on his Aunt’s house, which he wouldn’t have had if he hadn’t had Lily’s blood too. Somehow she thought fitting that Chris had also a bit of James and Lily in him.

She was still reeling from all the information she had gotten. Her baby hadn’t been raised by them, and from what Remus said, he suspected that Chris hadn’t been raised in a happy home at all.

“Why didn’t you tell him? You or Sirius?” she asked.

“Sirius barely had an hour of time with him. Every other communication has been through letters, and I think you agree this is not a matter to be discussed by letters. I- I confess I kept Chris at arm’s length last year. I feared his rejection when he found out what I was,” Remus snorted self depreciatively. “I should have known better than that. We have gotten closer since the end of the year through letters than during the whole year I taught here.”

“Did you say anything today?” Leo asked.

“No,” he shook his head. “I think that you two should talk to him. Actually I think the four of us should talk to him. He’s bound to have questions. But that may be hard to arrange seeing as Sirius is a wanted man and right now the man who sent him to prison without a trial is currently at Hogwarts.”

“But after he leaves,” Piper asked. “You said the Headmaster knows Sirius is innocent. Couldn’t something be arranged?”

Remus looked at her thoughtfully and answered, “I can ask the Headmaster to arrange a meeting with Chris and Sirius, but for now I believe the Headmaster should not know about this.”

“Don’t you trust him?” Leo asked.

“I do. He is a good man. But he is also a leader, and like it or not, Chris is his best weapon against Voldemort. I often wondered why he sent Chris to the Dursleys. I know the Ministry would never give him to me. I tried. The result was me being barred from seeing him before he came to Hogwarts. But there were many families that would have loved him. I know Molly has wanted to take him to her home permanently ever since she first saw him. So, why the Dursleys? Albus Dumbledore has enough power to ensure that the family he wanted adopted Chris. His blood wards are just not that good an excuse in my opinion.”

“You think he wanted Chris to know hardship,” Leo asked shrewdly thinking of all the times the Elders manipulated them. Remembering when the Angel of Destiny almost killed him so Piper would be motivated by grief.

“A pampered boy might think twice before joining the battle,” Remus said flatly. “I’m not saying Dumbledore’s goals aren’t noble, I’m just saying he neglects the individual’s needs for the collective’s.”

Leo and Piper nodded realizing that Dumbledore, much like the Elders, might be one of those allies you have to keep an eye on.