Among Other Things

Disclaimer: I do not own HP!

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! However, if you want something added or feel that I have too many holes in the story, let me know!! I have most of it written it out already, but this is the first one I’ve written in a LONG time, so I’m a little rusty. Please, please let me know where I’m lacking.

Chapter 3

It was late into the evening when Remus arrived; approximately five extremely well cut lawns down from Number Four, Privet Drive.

It had taken him quite awhile to safely arrive since the guard schedule had abruptly changed. He’d been forced to haunt Magnolia Crescent while he waited out Mad-Eye Moody, who was always beyond paranoid (especially after being locked in a trunk for a year).

When Moody finally left, Remus’ luck had abruptly risen with the arrival of Mundungus Fletcher, the worst guard in the Order. It had been the work of a moment to send the man off another mission-via an anonymous message informing the man of cheap illegal cauldrons to be “found” in Knockturn Alley.

Once the man had left, Remus had taken the opportunity to apparate onto the disgustingly immaculate street.

Wrinkling his nose, Remus looked at the rows of identical houses with identical cars and lawns. Really, this was just downright abnormal. Remus shook his head absently and quickly walked down the unnaturally still street, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up.

Following his instinct, Remus silently opened the door via an Alohomora and closed and locked it behind him. Once inside, he took a deep breath while he waited for his vision to adjust.

Sometimes being a werewolf had its perks.

Quickly surveying the house, he could tell that the unnatural stillness and neatness were prevalent. Usually, even in a house as new as this one, there were at least a few sounds, stairs creaking, wind blowing, but there was nothing.

Quietly Remus made his way to the second floor, noting the excessive amounts of photographs of Harry’s cousin, Dudley. As he went up the stairs, he noticed that the portraits progressed in age, and in each one, Dudley’s size increased dramatically.

Smirking faintly, he remembered Arthur’s tale of last year, when he had picked Harry up for his stay at the Burrow. The descriptions of the boy gagging on his ten-foot tongue, brought about by his all-consuming greed, had been ironic and vastly amusing.

And, from these portraits, it looks as if his appetite hasn’t been quenched at all, he mused, as he walked up the stairs, making sure to skip the third step from the top.

Poor kid, Remus thought sadly. He’s going to be dead before he’s forty, the way he’s going.

Upon reaching the landing, Remus took a moment to get his bearings before heading to the second door on the left, knowing from Harry’s letters that it was his bedroom.

However, Remus mused. Even if I hadn’t found that out, I would have figured out whose bedroom based on the sight of the locks alone.

Silently undoing the locks on the door, he slipped into the dark, dingy bedroom and glanced around for Harry, finding him next to the only window. At the disturbance, Harry turned to his honorary godfather briefly before returning his attention to the lawn outside.

“Someone’s out there,” he remarked softly as Remus moved to stand beside him.

A shiver of unease crept up Remus’ spine.

“Who?”

Harry frowned and absently brushed his hair out of his eyes with a too thin hand. “It’s not anyone that belongs to Dumbledore, that’s for sure.”

Remus cursed. “Mundungus isn’t back?”

Harry frowned. “Mundungus? Who is that? And why would he be watching my house?”

“I don’t want to get into it tonight, Harry. But simply put, Dumbledore has put together an organization known as the Order of the Phoenix, which is dedicated to fighting Voldemort. And right now, the main priority of the Order is to watch you and ensure that Death Eaters don’t attack.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Lovely. Just what I’ve been waiting to hear.”

Remus eyed the lawn, his sharp eyes picking out the hidden figures easily. “How can you tell it’s not anyone from the Order?” he asked.

“Simple. They’ve been here since yesterday morning and have only changed out once. Dumbledore’s people change out twice a day, like clockwork.”

“That is true,” Remus agreed.

The sense of unease began to rise as the two looked out to window. It abruptly escalated into alarm when they heard several sharp cracks, the telltale sound of wizards apparating onto the street.

Feeling Harry stiffen next to him, Remus knew that he had recognized them as well. “We need to leave now, Harry,” he said, quickly shrinking the boy’s trunk and slipping it into his pocket.

“Let’s go,” he said hoarsely, his throat tightening in rising fear.

They stealthily walked out onto the landing and down the stairs, taking care not to make a sound. At the bottom, however, a thought struck Remus.

They couldn’t apparate now. There were too many Death Eaters outside the wards, and they would surely grab them a few feet from the boundary of the wards.

“What is it Moony?” Harry quietly asked his worried green eyes easy to see even in the dark.

“We can’t leave the wards,” Remus said faintly, mind automatically going through their options.

Portkey?

Harry can’t stand it…Easy to trace…

Floo?

Too much noise to activate it…Death Eaters might be watching the network…Illegal to use a Muggle fireplace to access the Floo Network without prior approval…

Apparition?

Have to be outside the wards…

Broomstick?

Could be spotted even if they used an invisibility spell…

“We’ll have to do something quick then, Moony,” Harry stated flatly in a strained voice.

A gasp of pain.

“I think Voldemort’s coming.”

Eyes wide, Remus thought through his options once more before deciding on a Portkey. Reaching into his pockets, he rummaged around before pulling out a two Honeydukes’ wrappers.

“Listen, Harry,” he whispered urgently, gripping Harry’s arm to ensure his full attention. “I know that you don’t like these, but we have to take a Portkey, two to be precise since our destination could easily be traced.”

Harry’s voice was soft, almost hesitant. “But what about the Dursleys? What if the wards fall when I leave and…”

Remus ran a hand through his hair. “We’re going to have to take that chance. From the looks of it, there isn’t enough time to take your relatives. We’re just going to have to hope that the wards continue to hold.”

“I suppose.”

“The wards were created with ancient blood magic and they’re supposed to hold until you reach your majority. It should be fine,” he stated, trying to sound cheerful, for Harry’s sake.

Harry wasn’t reassured, but he nodded to make Remus feel better about it.

Assured that Harry wasn’t going to do any ridiculous stunts, Remus tapped both wrappers while muttering the incantation. He tucked the second Portkey in an easily accessible pocket, ready to leave as soon as possible.

As he told Harry to stand close and touch the Portkey, he ignored the overwhelming sense of guilt as he thought of the Death Eaters outside.

Voldemort was powerful, everyone knew that, and there was a strong possibility that he could break through the powerful wards.

He hoped that it didn’t happen.

“Ready?”

Harry nodded.

“Escape,” Remus whispered, and with a strong jerk to the navel, they were swept away in a riot of colors, far away from Privet Drive.

As soon as they landed in what looked to be a part of the Scottish wilderness, Remus enlarged Harry’s trunk. “Quickly, grab your broom,” he instructed the teen.

Still somewhat nauseous, Harry complied, and a few moments later, they were soaring away his Firebolt, both wearing strong Disillusionment charms.

Harry held on tight to Remus’ robes as they flew at the maximum speed allowed by the safety charms. Even that was barely fast enough, for as they raced away from their landing site the distinct cracking sounds were heard.

Remus, realizing that they could clearly be seen, moved swiftly into the cloud cover. This proved to be hazardous, for within several minutes they were frozen to the broom from the immense cold.

They flew for what Harry estimated to be a little over an hour when Remus finally decided to land outside a small village.

Harry was extremely thankful, since the feeling had disappeared in his limbs quite a few minutes ago from the speed at which they moved through the air.

Once upon the ground, he took a few seconds to jump up and down a few times to force the feeling back into his feet and legs. It wasn’t until he felt the prick of what felt like a thousand needles as the blood rushed back into his extremities, that he looked over at Remus and immediately scowled.

His honorary godfather was looking more than a little amused at his predicament and was idly leaning against a nearby tree, looking as if he had been waiting for a quite a while.

However, Harry knew that though he gave the appearance of being remarkably bored, Remus was actually on high alert, watching for any signs of someone following them.

After Harry had recovered Remus pulled out the second Portkey.

“Ready?” Remus smirked.

Harry sent him a patented Potter death glare.

Remus chuckled and with a whispered “home” they were swept away to their final destination.

When they finally arrived in a small clearing in the middle of what looked to be a forest Remus gave a small sigh of relief.

“This way,” he said, and heading towards a small, almost unnoticeable path into the woods.

Harry groaned, still experiencing the dizzying effects of the Portkey, but followed.

It was a five minute walk through the thickest bramble Harry had ever seen before they stopped.

“Are we there yet?”

Remus smirked. “We’re at the boundaries of the wards. Just hold on a second. You’ll be able to lay down in a few minutes.”

Waving his wand in a series of gestures, Remus stated the password to pass through the wards, before reaching for his godson, who had, by now, finally thrown up what little he had eaten that day.

Once through the boundary, the wards automatically reset themselves while the two quickly entered the cottage.

More like a manor, Harry thought as he entered a dark hallway.

Harry breathed deeply as he was led into a kitchen and placed into a chair. And as Remus made him a cup of hot chocolate (the only cure for nausea) he couldn’t help but feel that he was finally home.

Privet Drive…

It was shortly after midnight when the Dark Lord Voldemort, terror of the wizarding world, arrived on Privet Drive with two of his most trusted followers, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape.

Earlier in the day, one of his followers had captured an agent of the Order. It had taken more than the usual amount of time to question the agent, but eventually they managed to discover Potter’s home address.

In the meantime, he’d instructed his Death Eaters on the street to wait until he’d obtained the information necessary to break through the wards on the house.

And finally, he was here.

“My Lord,” Bellatrix stated, head nearly touching the ground as she bowed.

“What is the status?” he stated coldly, eyeing the small house.

“The Order’s pet werewolf arrived a little while ago, my lord, and took the boy with him by Portkey. We managed to track them to their destination, but they used another means of transport to get away.”

Having finished her report, Bellatrix stood and moved back, waiting on her lord’s reaction.

“Very well, then. Lucius!”

Lucius Malfoy’s ice blue eyes turned to the Dark Lord. “Yes, my lord?”

The voice was soft, almost a whisper, but Lucius heard it clearly. “Break the wards, kill the muggles inside, and burn this despicable house to the ground.”

“Yes, my lord,” Lucius bowed. Raising his voice, he began to issue instructions to the lesser Death Eaters.

Thankfully, with the information they had discovered it would not take long to break through the wards.

As he watched his Death Eaters work, Voldemort ruminated on what he had learned about Potter’s home life. He’d been surprised to learn that the boy suffered abuse.

He’d been even more shocked to learn that the old man had known and had done nothing.

Well, on some level he had expected it, based on the fool’s previous actions over the years.

History repeats itself, he mentally sneered. You can’t keep yourself from making the same mistake over and over again.

Well, this time I’m going to reap the benefits, he thought as he watched the wards fall under the combined power of his Death Eaters.

Several minutes later his followers entered and began to silently make their way through the home. If any of the neighbors had woken at that point in time, they would have seen several bright flashes of light, shortly followed by the three telltale green flashes of light as the Death Eaters murdered the Dursley family.

And if the neighbors had stayed awake for a little while longer they would have witnessed the massive glow from the flames as the house burned to the ground.

As it was, the residents of Privet Drive were safely in their beds, and none of them would discover the charred remnants of Number Four until the next morning.

End of Chapter 3!

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A/N: I’m looking for a beta if anyone wants to volunteer! Just let me know!!