The sensation of someone gently touching his face broke into the haze of Harry's dreamless sleep. The gesture felt familiar but foreign at the same time. Not wanting to leave the peacefulness, Harry groaned in protest then turned his face away. He was still tired and wanted nothing more than to rest.

            “Then let my baby rest”, James growled, “Who’s bothering my baby?”

            The others looked at him apprehensively.

Suddenly it occurred to Harry that doing such an action would probably result in a punishment. His body immediately tensed as his eyes opened quickly. Unable to see clearly, Harry sat straight up and backed away from the blurry person at his bedside. They looked too thin to be his uncle and too tall to be his aunt. Confusion and fear filled him. What in the world was going on here?

"Harry?" a tender voice asked. "Harry, are you all right?"

The voice sounded friendly but Harry was too confused to register who could possibly be wondering whether he was all right or not. He continued to back away from the unknown person until hands grabbed his arms and prevented him from backing up any more. Memories of his uncle berating him flashed in his mind. "Sorry!" he cried out quickly. "I'm sorry Uncle! I didn't mean to sleep in! I swear!"

            “No Harry, that’s Moony. He’s come to tell you a bunch of lies but not to hurt you,” Sirius said, Remus glared at him.

"Harry, listen to my voice. I'm not your uncle. I won't hurt you, I promise. You're at Hogwarts, remember? You're safe here, away from him."

Harry stopped struggling but was still tense. Why did that voice sound so familiar? How did he know that voice? "Hogwarts?" he asked nervously. One of his arms was released. Harry stared at the blurry man who reached for something then slid it on Harry's face. Everything came into focus. Looking through his glasses, Harry saw Lupin's concerned face. "P—Professor?" he asked uncertainly.

Lupin released Harry's other arm then but kept his gaze firm. "I'm sorry I scared you, Harry," he said sincerely. "Do you need me to fetch Madam Pomfrey for you?"

            “No! Please! She’ll strap him to the bed and never let go!” James cried.

            Sirius patted his head sympathetically, “Been there a lot?” James nodded miserably.

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine," he said as he cautiously looked around the room. "I just forgot where I was."

"I noticed," Lupin said softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Subconsciously shivering, Harry quickly shook his head. He didn't want any more pity than what people already gave him. Deep down Harry knew Uncle Vernon was wrong to punish like he did but Harry remembered the pain clearly. He remembered his uncle's anger clearly. If he would have said anything, it only would have angered his uncle more.

Professor Lupin let out a disappointed sigh as he sat down at Harry's bedside. "I understand," he said softly. "Listen, Harry, there's something I have to tell you and I'm afraid of how you'll react so I need you to hear me out, all right?"

            “No don’t hear him! He’s lying! Lying!” Sirius growled angrily.

Harry didn't know what to say to such a guarded statement. "Er—okay," he said nervously.

Lupin seemed to be taking his time gathering his thoughts which made Harry even more anxious. Whatever the man had to say, Harry knew it was going to be bad. He just prayed that nothing had happened to Hermione or the Weasleys. Please let them be okay.

"Years ago when your father and I were at Hogwarts, there were two others who were our friends," Professor Lupin began. "We called ourselves the Marauders. We were pranksters. James, your father, was probably the worst followed closely by our friend, Sirius Black. I was more of a supervisor and researcher while our other friend, Peter Pettigrew, just seemed to tag along for the ride. James and Sirius were inseparable. They both came from pureblood families but didn't have the traditional pureblood ideals. After graduation, the four of us joined Dumbledore in the fight against Voldemort…"

            “See, I joined against Voldemort, I didn’t join Voldemort,” Sirius stated nodding.

Harry listened as Lupin continued on about his parents' wedding, the day he was born, Voldemort targeting members of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix and his parents going into hiding. Throughout the entire tale Sirius Black seemed to be a key participant in everything. He was best man at his parents' wedding, proclaimed Harry's godfather (Harry was still having a hard time with that revelation) and was the Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm that was placed on his parents. This struck Harry as strange. If Sirius Black was so important than why hadn't he heard of the man before?

            “Because there’s been a huge misunderstanding here!” Sirius cried desperately, “Tell him Moony.” Remus just looked apologetically and continued reading.

"…The only way for someone to find those protected by the Fidelius Charm is for the Secret Keeper to reveal their location," Professor Lupin continued. He paused, looking at Harry with the utmost sympathy on his face. "Harry, Sirius betrayed your parents to Voldemort. He betrayed us all."

            “I’d never do that! Stop lying Moony! Why are you lying?”

            James looked between shocked and furious.

Harry stared at Lupin in shock. His godfather, his father's best friend joined Voldemort? He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even breathe. Sirius Black was the reason his parents had died that night. Sirius Black was the reason he was stuck with his aunt and uncle who hated him more than anything. Sirius Black was the reason he was the-boy-who-lived.

            James was livid, he kept clenching and unclenching his fists and Sirius was begging him to believe him;

            “No, that’s a lie. There’ something wrong. I’d never betray you Prongs. You’re my brother,” tears were falling down his face.

Lupin, however, avoided Harry's shocked gaze, determined to finish the story. "Peter found Sirius and confronted him," he continued in the same soft voice. "Not much is known about what happened. There was an explosion and after anything had cleared, thirteen muggles were dead and Peter, well, all they could find was a finger. Sirius was sent to Azkaban and remained there under the care of the Dementors."

            “You killed me?” Peter cried looking terrified at Sirius. Sirius shook his head and kept mumbling “NO.”

Harry suddenly found his hands extremely interesting to look at. He could feel his head spinning. It was just too much to process so he focused on the last statement. "What are Dementors?" he asked softly.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk on the face of this earth," Lupin said transferring to teacher mode. "They infest the darkest places, they drain hope and happiness out of the air around them. Get too close to a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself — soul-less and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."

Harry shivered. "I—I didn't know there were creatures like that," he admitted. "How can people survive that sort of torment?"

"Most can't, Harry," Professor Lupin said honestly. "Most of the prisoners in Azkaban go insane in a short matter of time but the Ministry believes it is the only way to control those who have committed heinous crimes. The problem is it doesn't always work. It seems that Sirius Black was unaffected by the Dementors. He's escaped."

            “Because he’s a soulless being that betrayed his best friend!” James yelled.

            “No, I didn’t, I wouldn’t,” Sirius was openly crying.

            Peter was as far from Sirius as he could get and Remus was torn, if that was true, why did he help Harry? Something was wrong here.

Harry's head shot up as he stared at Lupin in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. As if his life wasn't already complicated enough. Now he had to worry about one of Voldemort's servants who happened to be his own godfather? "He escaped?" Harry asked fearfully. "But he wouldn't come after me, right? I mean, I haven't done anything."

Lupin shifted nervously in his seat. "He already has, Harry," he said gravely. "He supposedly saw your uncle hit you and took matters in his own hands. He attacked your uncle and took you. You were missing for two days, Harry. We began to fear the worst when Dumbledore received a letter from Black telling us where to find you. He left you at the Leaky Cauldron. We don't exactly understand why he did this. It will just have to be another one of the endless questions we have when we find him."

            “See, why would I help Harry if I had betrayed you? That doesn’t make sense.”

Harry was visibly trembling. Sirius Black had kidnapped him? Professor Lupin knew the truth about his uncle? Did that mean Professor Dumbledore knew too? "Why didn't anyone tell me?" Harry asked sounding hurt, which he was. He hated it when people knew more about his own life than he did. He hated not knowing anything about his own parents.

"This wasn't done to hurt you, Harry," Professor Lupin answered, his tone still gentle. "It was painful for a lot of people and still is. How do you tell a child his parents were betrayed by their best friend? It's not something a thirteen-year-old should have to deal with."

            “You don’t tell him because I did nothing of the sort,” Sirius yelled at the pages Remus was holding. Remus had managed to put himself between James and Sirius to avoid confrontations between the two black headed Marauders.

Harry could only nod in response. Now that he knew he really wished he didn't. It was so much easier to simply blame Voldemort for everything.

            “Then do that. I am innocent. I swear!” Sirius was starting to get hysterical.

 "Does everyone know?" he asked softly. "Is that why you're telling me everything now?"

"Unfortunately your abduction was published in the Daily Prophet," Lupin admitted. "We thought it would be better if you knew what was being said about you. As far as the wizarding world knows, you were kidnapped by Black then found by some Aurors. There was nothing said concerning your uncle's treatment of you. Dumbledore felt it best to keep that private for as long as possible."

Harry couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He could handle that. He just didn't want anyone to know anything about his home life. The problem was Professor Dumbledore and Professor Lupin clearly knew the truth or some form of it. "Er—what do you know about my uncle?" he asked, not really sure he wanted an answer.

Professor Lupin let out a sigh. "Your uncle confessed what was actually happening when Black took you," he said gently. "We know your injuries came from your uncle and not from Black. What we don't know is how long has this been going on. You told me that your ribs had been broken for three weeks when we found you. How in the world were you able to last three weeks with a broken leg and three broken ribs?"

Harry could only shrug his shoulders in response. He had hoped to get through his years at Hogwarts without anyone discovering how bad his relatives really were. Sure, Ron and Hermione knew the Dursleys hated him and didn't treat him well but that was the extent of their knowledge. No one else ever displayed any interest in the subject.

"I can understand you don't want to talk about this, Harry, but this sort of crime isn't a secret a child should have to keep," Lupin said patiently. "Do you realize you could have died if your uncle had gone an ounce further? I don't care what reason he gave you. There is no excuse for his actions."

"But it was my fault,"

            “No that wasn’t” James cried angrily, “That was all that good for nothing, poor excuse of a muggle…” and what followed does not bear repeating in civilized conversation.

Harry said at last, his voice barely above a whisper. "If I hadn't told Ron to call, none of this would have happened." Harry had to admit it was a relief to get the words out. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "He's never intentionally broken a bone before. He used to just lock me in my cupboard before Hogwarts—"

            “Come again now. Cupboard?” James asked angrily.

"What do you mean cupboard?" Lupin interrupted.

"Er—well—before I knew about Hogwarts my bedroom was a cupboard under the stairs," Harry said uncomfortably. He kept his eyes transfixed on his hands, afraid of the look Professor Lupin was probably giving him. "After my first letter came, they gave me Dudley's second bedroom. I guess they got scared when they realized someone knew where I slept."

            “What!? They made my son sleep where?” James shouted.

            “He actually said that on the first chapter, James. Remember, when I said CHILD ABUSE?” Sirius pointed out

“Shut up traitor,” James snapped.

“I am not a traitor,” Sirius snapped back.

“Why don’t we agree that we don’t actually know yet what happened and everybody calm down,” Remus said calmly.

Lupin was certainly confused. "What do you mean 'first letter'?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. "They didn't want me to come," he answered still in the quiet voice that most people would have to strain to hear him. "They—um—destroyed all the letters that came before I could even look at them so Professor Dumbledore sent Hagrid to tell me the truth about…well…everything. That was my eleventh birthday."

Before Harry knew it he was pulled into an embrace, his face buried in soft robes. "I'm so sorry, Harry," Lupin's shaky voice whispered in his ear. "I should have been there for you. I never thought they would be so cruel."

            “Yes you should!” James shouted and glared at Remus who shrugged apologetically.

Caught off guard, Harry didn't know what to do so he just sat there. It felt so wrong for Professor Lupin to be apologizing for something he didn't do. Well, I've been doing that for most of my life. Harry's body was stiff at first. He really couldn't remember the last time an adult willingly hugged him like this. Slowly, he relaxed against the young teacher,

            “See here, young teacher,” Remus pointed out.

            “Compared to Dumbledore even my great grandmother is young,” James stated. Peter and Sirius tried to muffle their laughter.

 wondering if this is what it felt like to have someone who cared.

---

Hours later Remus Lupin was having a difficult time staying awake. He had remained at Harry's bedside, afraid to leave the fragile boy especially with the bombshell he just dropped. Remus was well aware of the handful of people awaiting his return to Dumbledore's office but he could care less. He had made a silent promise to help Harry any way he could. He owed it to James, Lily and to Harry.

 

            “Thank you Moony,” James said.

Harry was sleeping peacefully once again. Remus glanced over at the boy who looked years younger than his thirteen years of age. It was amazing to think that only two days had passed since they had found him. That sight was permanently etched in Remus' mind. Harry had been in so much pain, he had been through so much and who had saved him? Sirius Black.

            “Yes. Remember that. I saved him!”

Oh the irony. The more Remus thought about it the more he began to agree with the Azkaban escapee. Was anyone even trying to protect Harry Potter, a boy who had already given and lost so much?

            “Obviously not!” Remus answered.

The sound of the door opening pulled Remus out of his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, Remus let out a sigh when he saw Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape followed by Arthur and Molly Weasley. It seemed that they had become impatient in finding out how bad Harry had taken the news of Sirius Black.

            “Well, he was shocked that so many people, especially Moony, keep lying to him and is expecting the full disclosure of the truth with a big apology to his beloved godfather,” Sirius calmly said looking strait at the book. He therefore missed James narrowed glare.

"We were starting to worry, Remus," Dumbledore said softly as he reached Harry's bedside. "I trust you told him?"

Remus nodded as he returned his gaze to the sleeping teenager. "He's angry that this was hidden from him," he answered. "I didn't go into any details yet. It was hard enough to tell him about that night and Peter." He rubbed his tired eyes then looked directly at Dumbledore. "Were you aware that his bedroom for ten years was a cupboard under the stairs?

            “Better not have been!” James growled.

Did you know that Vernon Dursley beat Harry, breaking his leg and ribs, because he received a simple phone call?"

            “I second James!” Sirius growled.

Mrs. Weasley gasped. "Oh dear," she said softly. "That was Ron. I should have suspected something when Hedwig came the next day with a letter from Harry asking is we could keep her for the summer. The poor boy has been going through hell and had no way to contact us."

            “Yes you should. You should have gone and fetched him. And what did you do? You left him there. Alone! For three weeks!” James yelled.

"What was he thinking of sending his blasted owl away anyways?" Snape sneered.

            “Shut up Snivellus!” Sirius yelled.

"Perhaps he wanted to keep the owl alive," McGonagall answered bitterly. "Honestly, Severus, you know children will do anything to protect their pets. Mr. Potter is no different. We all know he adores that owl."

            “He,he, trust Minnie to put Snivellus in his place,” Sirius laughed and the others laughed with him until James and Peter remembered they were angry at him and went back to glaring. Remus preferred to reserve judgment until he had all the facts.

The door opened followed by the familiar scolding tone that made everyone cringe. "What is going on here?" demanded Madam Pomfrey in a hushed voice. "All of you know Mr. Potter needs rest more than anything. He is still weak. Your questions will just have to wait."

The sound of distant voices brought Harry out of his slumber.

            “See, now you woke my baby,” James said. Remus raised an eyebrow to him.

 He could vaguely make out Madam Pomfrey, Professor Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley whispering about something. Drowsiness overrode any curiosity as Harry buried his face deeper into his pillow. He really didn't want to talk to anyone right now, especially Mrs. Weasley. He didn't want any more people feeling sorry for him.

Feeling warm, Harry mindlessly tried to push away his covers but hands wrapped around his wrists before he had accomplished his task. Harry let out a small groan in protest. He hated being too warm. It reminded him too much of working out in the blazing sun for the Dursleys. It reminded Harry too much of Uncle Vernon's anger.

The sound of the door opening with a bang startled Harry out of his stubbornness. He sat up quickly, looking around the blurry room and quickly backed up until he backed into the headboard. Pulling his knees to his chest, Harry couldn't stop his body from shaking as the sound of hurried footsteps approaching his bed echoed in the now silent room.

            “Who’s the moron that scared my son?”

"Cornelius," Professor Dumbledore said pleasantly. "This is unexpected. I believe I told you I would call when Harry was ready to make a statement regarding his abduction."

Harry wasn't paying attention. His mind was trapped in a flashback. Uncle Vernon always entered his room like that. That was the first sign pain was about to come. That was the first sign that Harry had somehow done something to anger the whale of a man.

            “Someone calm Harry down!” Remus urged shaking the pages.

            Sirius put a hand on his friends shaking arms, “Calm down Moony. Someone will.”

            Remus calmed down and James patting his head comfortably said, “Good boy.” Remus glared at him.

"You know the pressure I'm under, Dumbledore," Fudge said impatiently. "We need to find Black soon. The public is still in an uproar."

Professor Lupin was the first to turn around and notice Harry's distress. "Harry, what's wrong?" he asked quietly. There was no answer prompting the man to reach out and gently touch Harry's arm. "Harry, please say something."

Harry slowly looked in the direction of Lupin's voice to see a familiar blur. "Professor?" he asked in a quivering voice. "He's not here?"

            “No he’s not, and if he was I wouldn’t let him hurt you,” Remus said.

Lupin let out a sigh and pulled Harry into an embrace, doing anything and everything he could think of to comfort the trembling child. "No, Harry," he said gently. "Your Uncle's not here. You're safe. I promise."

Everyone finally noticed that Harry was indeed awake and shaking in Lupin's arms. Mrs. Weasley quickly hurried to the boy's side but from the death grip Harry had on Lupin's robes, it was clear that he had no intention on moving soon. Mr. Weasley hurried to her side and put a hand on his wife's shoulder to keep her from pulling the boy away. From the looks of it what Harry needed right now was Remus Lupin.

            “Yes, he needs Moony. ‘Cause Moony is the best,” Sirius said and Remus blushed.

"As you can see, Cornelius, Harry is still recovering," Professor Dumbledore said evenly. "When he is ready to talk—"

"Give him a calming draught then," Fudge interrupted. "Is Potter aware of the predicament we are currently in? His testimony could help us capture this madman! Do you expect the entire wizarding community to remain in danger because Potter wants to be coddled?"

            “What an arrogant git. Someone please punch him!” James cried in outrage.

Mrs. Weasley was enraged. She immediately approached the man, putting herself between the Minister and Harry's bed. "Why you sorry excuse of a man!" she cried. "Harry has been through hell and you're worried about the public!"

            “Uh oh, never anger women. Especially mothers. My mom gets scary when she’s angry,” James said with a shiver.

The Minister glared at Mr. Weasley. "Arthur, please control your wife," he spat.

Mr. Weasley enfolded his arms across his chest. "Unfortunately, Minister, I happen to agree with Molly," he said matter-of-factly. "Harry is like a member of our family and like any of my sons, I will do what's in his best interest."

The bickering adults didn't notice Madam Pomfrey hand over a vile of calming draught to Lupin to help Harry. Surprisingly, Professor Snape was by Lupin's side helping position the boy in order to take the potion.

            “You sure he’s not trying to poison Harry?” Peter asked.

Harry's eyes were open but it was almost like he was staring off in the distance. The potion went down his throat without resistance.

Almost instantly the tremors running through Harry's body stopped. His vision cleared as he looked directly at Professor Snape. "P'fessor?" he asked groggily. Nothing was making any sense. He could have sworn he had heard his uncle shouting a moment ago but it was too bright for it to be his room. Slowly his mind started to clear alerting Harry that someone was holding him protectively. Shifting his gaze, Harry realized that it was Professor Lupin holding him. "It wasn't real?" he asked Lupin.

Lupin let out a sigh of relief. "No Harry," he said softly. "I promise you are safe here from him."

            “Trust Moony Harry,” Sirius said, “He won’t let anything bad happen to you. He’s the one that explained to me how to run away if I needed.”

            “You did?” James asked. Remus shrugged.

            “Well, Sirius had never used the Knight Bus. I just told him how to call it and told him to keep some money hidden from his parents.”

            “Saved my life, you did,” Sirius said hugging Remus.

There was a pause, almost like Lupin was afraid to say anything else. "Listen Harry, the Minister is here with questions about your kidnapping," he said gently. "Do you think you could talk about what happened?"

Harry immediately tensed as he stared at Lupin fearfully. Was he ready to talk about what happened to the Minister of Magic? What would the man think if he found out their 'savior' couldn't protect himself against a mere muggle? What would the Weasleys think?

"Perhaps the questions should be limited to Black and Black only since the oaf has a problem keeping his large mouth shut," Snape proposed to Lupin in an annoyed tone.

            “Oh, my. Snape being reasonable. The world is coming to an end,” Remus said dramatically.

 "Merlin forbid if Potter's precious reputation is ever tainted."

            “Oh, there’s the Snivellus we all know and love,” Peter stated.

"That's enough, Severus," Lupin warned then returned his attention to Harry. "We'll be right here, all right? Just let us know when you want to stop."

            “Moony, why are you calling Snivellus by his first name?” James asked.

            “I guess because we work together,” Remus answered.

Harry nodded reluctantly. He really didn't want to do this but he knew no one would leave him alone until he had. Closing his eyes, Harry desperately pushed away his fear and shame while Professor Lupin helped him sit up properly. He suppressed a wince as a spark of pain shot through his previously broken leg. At least it's not as bad as before.

"Minister, Harry has agreed to answer questions necessary to your search and only to the search," Lupin said protectively as he handed over Harry's glasses. It was clear that the young teacher was barely keeping himself calm.

            “And that’s never a good sign,” Peter shivered.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” Remus asked indignantly.

            “Well, that you’re scary when you’re angry,” Sirius said, “especially when you give us the look.”

            “I do not have a look,” Remus cried outraged.

            “Yes you do, you have that look of sheer disappointment that you give us sometimes. Makes us feel crappie for days,” James stated.

Cornelius Fudge walked around Mrs. Weasley so he was face to face with Harry. He pulled out an issue of the Daily Prophet and handed it over. "Mr. Potter, what do you remember about your abduction?" Fudge asked bluntly. "Don't leave out any details."

Harry looked down at front page and saw a picture of a sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinking slowly. It seemed wrong that someone like this could possibly be his father's best friend. The man looked half dead.

            “Well you spend twelve years in Azkaban and see what you look like,” Sirius said defensively.

"This is what he looks like?" Harry asked softly, unable to tear his gaze away from the paper. "This is him?"

"Mr. Potter, how can you not know what Black looks like?" the Minister asked in annoyance.

            “Because he was unconscious, duh!” Peter said hitting his head with his fist, “ouch”

            “You’re not supposed to hit hard” Remus explained.

Harry finally looked up at Fudge then looked away. Fudge really wasn't going to like this. "Er—I never saw him," Harry admitted. "I didn't know he took me until Professor Lupin told me."

Fudge took a stunned step back. "Wha—how could you possibly not know?" he asked. "He had you for two days! He must have said something—"

"—I was unconscious," Harry interrupted, sounding more confident than he felt. He bit his lower lip as he contemplated on whether to elaborate. They won't believe me otherwise. "The last thing I remember is being thrown into a wall by my uncle," he added softly.

Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall gasped in shock, Professor Lupin gave Harry's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, reminding the teenager that he was there, while Mr. Weasley, Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore seemed to be too stunned for words. Fudge, however, remained skeptic. "Why would your uncle throw you into a wall?" the Minister asked.

            “Because he’s a CHILD ABUSER!” the four boys yelled.

Harry shrugged his shoulders as his gaze fell. "Because I was there," he muttered. "Because I overslept and their dinner wasn't ready on time."

            “Well, they could very well make their own dinner,” James growled.

Fudge looked over at Professor Dumbledore nervously as if he was silently asking for help. "I see," he said uncomfortably. "Well, you're extremely fortunate Black didn't harm you further, Mr. Potter." It suddenly seemed that Fudge wanted nothing more than to leave the hospital wing. "I trust you have found another home for the boy, Albus?"

            “Yes, he has. Moony is going to take care of Harry,” James stated.

            “James-“ Remus started.

            “I don’t care about the law Moony!” James cried.

            “That has been obvious for years,” Sirius said nodding knowingly.

Dumbledore nodded. "Why yes, now that you mention it," he said pleasantly. "Harry will be spending the remainder of his holiday here at Hogwarts. The staff and I have agreed that it would be in Harry's best interest to train the boy to protect himself, especially with Sirius Black still at large. I trust you will keep me informed on any developments."

            “Oh, Harry gets to do magic on the summer. I’m so jealous,” Sirius said.

            “Free access to the library,” Remus said with a dreamy expression. The others looked at him in disgust.

"Y—yes of course," Fudge stuttered then met Harry's gaze. "For your information, Mr. Potter, your uncle is being charged in muggle court. He has been encouraged to plead guilty and is doing so. There will not be a trial so we don't have to worry about the press finding out. Good day."

            “Good!” James nodded.

Harry sat there stunned as the Minister of Magic left. "W—what?" he asked in disbelief. Slowly, Harry looked around the room at all of the adults. Every single one of them (with the exception of Professor Snape who still simply looked annoyed) appeared to be nervous. "What was Mr. Fudge talking about?"

Professor Dumbledore approached the frightened teenager and put a gently hand on the boy's arm. "Your uncle accidentally admitted his actions against you to the investigating Aurors, Harry," he said tenderly. "He was the one who confirmed that Sirius Black had taken you and used your wand in the process."

Breathing became difficult. The man who betrayed his parents had his wand and used it? "No, that's impossible!" Harry cried. "I hid my wand the moment I returned home! I never told anyone where it was!"

Except Midnight.

            “Oh, bugger, He figured that one out too,” Sirius mumble unhappy.

The realization hit Harry like a bludger. Midnight always seemed smart…too smart. There was a reason Midnight always seemed to understand him. The dog actually knew what he had been saying because the dog wasn't actually dog. Midnight didn't actually exist. Midnight was Sirius Black. It was the only explanation.

He had been keeping a killer and betrayer in his own room without knowing it.

            “No, I am innocent!”