"Sirius, what's your plan for Arthur and Molly?" Andi asked as the two ate dinner. It had been over a week since Voldemort and his supporters died and Amelia Bones was elected Minister.
"I was planning to talk to Harry about it tomorrow, why?"
"I don't think we should kill them," Andi stated.
Sirius lightly dabbed his lips with a napkin before returning his gaze to Andi. "You better have a bloody good reason for saying that."
"I do, we need them to verify the memories we pulled out of Molly's head are real. Otherwise, we risk Dumbledore getting away. I'm not saying they shouldn't be punished. Line theft is a grave crime, graver still considering how many of the sacred twenty-eight are left. But we can't kill them yet, as much as you and I may want to."
Sirius leaned back in his chair, silently chewing over what Andi had said for a few minutes before nodding. "I hate that you're right."
"I know."
"This is a reprieve, Andi, I won't let them get away with what they did to the pup."
"I won't stop you."
Sirius decided they needed to talk about something else. "When is Ted returning?"
"Not for another few months. He enjoys Geneva, and I'm seriously considering joining him once this is over. I've had more than one job offer from the ICW over the years. I always turned them down in the past because of Nymphadora, but I don't have that excuse anymore. Maybe it's time I write to them and see if they still have a role for me."
Sirius nodded. "I've been considering leaving England too. But it really depends on what the Pup wants. I go where he goes."
"What do you think he'll do once this is over?"
Sirius paused for a moment. "I don't see him staying here and sticking it out for another two years at Hogwarts. There are too many bad memories attached to that place. Not including the headmaster of said school trying to force him to forget the best year of his life and the women who love him."
"It's very late to be changing schools…" Andi noted worriedly.
Sirius shrugged. "He's Harry Potter, he has so much money that he doesn't need to go to any magical schools. He could easily hire tutors for the last two years until he needed to take NEWT's. But I think it'll boil down to what his girls want," Sirius grinned. "That boy is seriously whipped."
"Like you and James were by Lily?" Andi asked, hiding his smirk behind a glass of wine.
Sirius shifted in his chair and pouted. "I was not…it was only James…"
"Of course," Andi replied in a disbelieving tone.
Harry let out a loud yawn as he entered the kitchen. "Morning."
"Good morning," Hermione said with a broad smile.
Harry walked to the kitchen island where Fleur was cutting up fruit and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze on the ass. "Morning, Fleur."
"Morning, Arry," Fleur replied with a sultry grin, giving him a peck on the cheek.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Get a room, you two."
"We did," Fleur replied, poking her tongue out at her brunette girlfriend.
"You're incorrigible," Hermione replied accusingly, with a hint of a smile to soften her words.
"I should hope so."
Harry walked away from Fleur and towards the table. "Is Tonks up?"
An arm snaked over Harry's shoulder and put him in a headlock. "Yep!"
"Gah! Tonks!!" Harry protested.
"Are you done making kissy faces, lover boy?" Tonks asked, teasingly. She had a wide grin on her face as Harry struggled to escape her grip.
"You're just jealous it wasn't you," Harry countered.
"Shut up!" Tonks said finally releasing the hold and shoving Harry away. She pouted as she sat down at the table and crossed her arms.
Hermione gave Fleur a significant look to which the blonde nodded. "It's such a lovely morning, I think I'll take a walk on the beach."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, I think I'll join you," Hermione agreed.
"I'll go with you," Harry said. He began to rise from his seat when Fleur put a hand on his shoulder.
"Non, you should stay and eat. You'll need all your strength for later," Fleur assured him with a saucy wink.
Harry blushed and nodded, sitting back down. "Y-yes."
Tonks and Harry sat in silence for a few minutes before Harry spoke. "I hope you're not upset by what I said earlier."
"Huh, o-oh, no I mean… I'm not upset at you. Not directly, I'm upset by how pouty what you said made me."
"But… why?"
Tonks blushed. "Because…." Tonks hesitated; she was worried about how Harry would react. She valued his friendship and didn't want it to end because of a stupid confession. But she didn't want to lie either. "Because part of me is jealous that it's not me kissing you. I'm upset at myself, for missing my chance, by going after that asshole Remus. I don't know why I thought he would be a good fit for me."
Harry frowned and nodded. "Yeah… I wondered that too."
"You did?"
"I liked Remus as a person, at least I did at the time. But I could never figure out why you'd pursue him. You're so bright and bubbly, so full of life. Remus is just waiting to die. The man has a persecution complex a mile wide. I was kind of jealous he monopolised so much of your time."
"You were?" Tonks asked, surprised.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. Just because I'm with Hermione and Fleur, doesn't mean I can't look. I can see how beautiful you are inside and out, Tonks. You deserve someone better than Remus. Someone who'll treat you right."
"Someone like you?" Tonks said, but then she paused and looked away. "Sorry, shouldn't have said that."
"Uh, yeah…" Harry replied awkwardly.
"So, monopoly after breakfast?" Tonks asked, trying to break the tension.
"You're on," Harry replied with a grin.
Remus stepped off the train and stretched his cramped limbs. It wasn't a certainty that Harry was in France, but he figured the Delacour girl had him wrapped around her finger. Using what connections, he had he'd been able to ascertain that Harry hadn't used muggle or magical means to leave England. That only meant he hadn't left for France via traditional means. The French Embassy in London maintained their own port key terminal for dignitaries. Understandable with all the Death Eaters running around.
So, Remus had taken the train to France. After using most of his stipend from Dumbledore, Remus was able to bribe his way into information about the Delacour's summer house. It was just outside a small village called Èze on the French Riviera. Despite his intense dislike for the woman who was wasting his dead friend's money, he could admit the town was beautiful.
Walking down one of the labyrinthine streets towards the sea below, Remus's nose twitched. He ducked into a nearby shop and moved away from the window. Tonks was here, she was nearby. His heart ached for her, he wanted to pick up their relationship again. Remus hoped that once this was over, and Harry was back where he belonged, Tonks would finally see he was right.
As he moved to leave the shop, Remus paused, there was another scent lingering on Tonks, Harry's scent. There was satisfaction mixed with suspicion. They'd been in close proximity recently, it made Remus wonder about the nature of their relationship. Was Tonks exploiting Harry too? He didn't want to think poorly of his former lover, but thought was now in his head.
Hermione knocked on the door of the sitting room a few days later, causing Harry to look up from his book. "Hey, what's up?"
"Dinner will be ready in a while, I wanted to come check you were ready. And I thought you were in here with Tonks?" Hermione asked, pulling a chair over to sit next to Harry.
"She was, she had to go into the village and send an owl to her new boss."
"Connie Hammer?" Hermione asked to which Harry nodded. "I was surprised they didn't promote Kingsley."
"The way Sirius tells it, after Kingsley's connection to Dumbledore was exposed by Moody, he quickly fell out of favour with Madam Bones."
"And Tonks didn't because Moody vouched for her," Hermione said.
"Yep."
"What are we watching tonight?" Hermione asked as she draped herself across Harry's lap. When he grinned she rolled her eyes. "Doctor Who again?"
"It's not my fault Fleur's dad left a bunch of Doctor Who videotapes in addition to all the movies."
"Hm, I guess…"
"Besides, you loved it when we first got here, electricity and magic running side by side without issue. I didn't think we'd see you again once you started making all the Arithmetical calculations."
"I didn't hear you complaining when Fleur dragged you off to bed," Hermione observed coolly.
Harry turned his head and coughed as his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Yes, well, that's beside the point.
"You two are so adorable," Tonks said as she entered the room.
"Hey Tonks, everything ok?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, I got a couple of ingredients we were missing while I was out, that's why I was gone a little longer than planned. Now, are you ready to get owned at Monopoly?"
"Keep dreaming Tonks. My winning streak will never end," Harry proclaimed.
"I'm going to get you Potter," Tonks replied.
The communications mirror Sirius gave Harry buzzed. Forcing the raven-haired wizard to stick his hand out from under the bed covers and grab it. "What?"
"Morning to you too, Pup," Sirius said cheerfully.
"Sirius, it's…" Harry waved his wand to bring up the time. "It's not even eight am, what could you possibly want this early?"
"I needed you to sign off on a plan Andi proposed. We're off to see Amelia Bones today to ask for help."
"What's the plan?" Harry asked.
Sirius gave Harry a quick overview of what they intended. By the end Harry looked unimpressed. "I hate it."
"I know, Pup, but it's the only way to get all three of them."
Harry groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "Fine."
"Arry, who are you talking to?" A sleepy Fleur asked from beside him.
A wide grin lit up Sirius's face. "I see you're busy, so I won't keep you any longer. Have fun sleeping."
Harry rolled his eyes as he tossed the mirror back onto the nightstand. He rolled Fleur onto her back and gave her a fierce kiss. "A mangy old mutt who doesn't know when to sleep in. But forget about him, I'd rather focus on us."
Fleur grinned. "You have the best ideas, mon amour."
"Hello, Sirius," Amelia said as they sat with Andi and Moody in a private room at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hello, Ame, you're as pretty now as you were when we worked together," Sirius said with a wolfish grin.
"Cut it out, Sirius, now isn't the time," Amelia scolded him. Andi noted a small tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Alastor told me about your vendetta against the Weasley's, please explain why I shouldn't arrest you right here."
Sirius leaned back in his seat and smiled. "First, you can't prove I've done anything. Second, this is a conflict between noble houses. Even if I did harm those boys, you can't interfere. Even asking me about it is a violation of the law."
Amelia scowled and nodded. "Very well… I assume there's a reason you asked for this meeting?"
"Apart from the opportunity to see you again?"
"Sirius, please…"
Sirius was quiet for a few moments before speaking. "We can't take Dumbledore down alone. We need help. Arthur, Molly, and Dumbledore tried to steal Harry, Hermione, and Fleur's futures for their own selfish greed. I want them punished, but Dumbledore can throw the blame on the Weasley's to walk away. So, if we can't get him for attempted line theft, we can nail him down for all the shit he's done at Hogwarts."
"And Harry agreed to this? I was under the impression he's a rather private person. I wouldn't imagine he'd be thrilled to share the intimate details of his life with strangers. At least that's what I've been told by Susan."
"He's not, but he understands that this is the only way to expose Dumbledore for who he is. Harry doesn't want the man dead; it does no good if he's dead but still celebrated. It's better Dumbledore rots in prison, exposed for the monster he is."
Amelia nodded. "When do you want to do this?"
"In the next few days."
"Fine, I'll go along with this, for now," Amelia agreed.
"Wotcha Fleur, what's that?" Tonks asked as she entered the kitchen.
Fleur looked up from the glass jar she was pondering over at the kitchen's centre island. "Oh, hello, Tonks. This is something for Arry. It's for his…" Fleur paused and shook her head. "It's for Arry."
"Oh, ok. Where is he anyway?" Tonks asked, looking around.
"Right here," Harry said entering the house from the beach. Hermione followed along behind him, glowing with happiness. "Did you need me?"
"Yes, you said you'd help me with the shopping. I'm cooking tonight, remember?" Tonks reminded him.
A look of realisation crossed Harry's face as he slowly nodded. "I remember now, sorry, I was swimming with Hermione."
"Swimming or making out?" Tonks asked with a grin.
"There's no reason we can't do both," Hermione replied cheekily, taking a banana out of the bowl of fruit.
"Let me go take a quick shower and then we can go," Harry said to Tonks before bounding up the stairs to the second level.
Tonks watched him go wistfully. "You two are lucky."
"We know," Fleur replied.
"I hope I get that lucky someday," Tonks said, mostly to herself.
"I'm sure you will, Tonks," Hermione assured her as she peeled the banana.
Harry returned twenty minutes later in a t-shirt and jeans and the dragon hide boots the girls had bought him. "All set."
"I'm looking forward to dinner now," Hermione commented.
"Hey! It wasn't that bad," Tonks said defensively.
When everyone stopped and stared at her, Tonks ducked her head and pouted. "You're all so mean."
"It's not mean when you serve us poison," Fleur said.
"Harrrrryyyy!" Tonks whined.
"Don't come crying to me. I agree with Fleur," Harry said.
"You're such a suck up."
Fleur licked her lips. "Yes, he is."
Harry blushed, while Hermione rolled her eyes and Tonks grinned. "I see, good to know. Come on Harry, if we don't leave now, no one is getting fed tonight."
"Coming."
Once they were gone Hermione walked over to Fleur and pulled her into a kiss. "You're incorrigible."
Fleur grinned. "I know."
Remus was sitting in his hotel room overlooking the main thoroughfare of Eze. He was reading the paper when his nose twitched. Remus calmly folded his paper and exited his room, descending down into the street.
Ducking into the first alleyway he found, Remus disillusioned himself and waited for Harry and Tonks to walk past. He'd noticed both Granger and Delacour on the breeze before today. But this was the first time Harry had emerged from hiding.
It warmed his heart to see the boy looking so well, but it worried him too. Harry was a young man, starved of affection. What were those three girls telling him? They couldn't be trusted, he had to get him back to England, and the arms of his real family.
Remus watched the two do some window shopping, before buying food at the local supermarket. Seemingly done in the village the two began walking down the hill towards the beach again.
Remus stayed a few steps behind them, near enough to keep them in view but not close enough to overhear what they were talking about.
The two eventually reached the long driveway leading to the beach house. A canopy of trees provided decent shade as they walked and talked.
Remus ducked into the undergrowth and ran ahead of them. He stopped, cancelled the disillusionment spell and stepped out onto the driveway in front of them. "Hello, Harry."
Harry stopped and scowled. "Hello, Remus. I should have expected Dumbledore to send his lap dog to come and retrieve me. If you succeed, will he give you a belly rub as a reward?"
"Harry, Professor Dumbledore is very worried about you. He's only looking out for your best interests."
Harry waved his hand at Remus. "Enough, you're not going to convince me and I'm not going to convince you. Get lost, Remus, you're not wanted here."
Remus scowled. "Harry, Headmaster Dumbledore is still your guardian. He's asked me to come here and bring you back to Britain. I'm not leaving without you."
"Then you'll have to drag me back in chains, because I'm not going willingly."
Tonks walked in front of Harry drawing her wand. "Don't do this Remus, I will put you down if you force this."
"I wanted to believe you weren't involved in this, that you weren't exploiting Harry for your own gain," Remus said, shaking his head. "I loved you…"
Tonks scoffed. "You've never been in love with anyone but yourself Remus. The only ones exploiting Harry are the Weasley's. But you wouldn't know that because you only ever believe the bullshit Dumbledore feeds you."
"The Weasley's love Harry, they'd never hurt him," Remus protested angrily.
Harry sighed, moving to stand beside Tonks. "Don't bother Tonks. Even if the evidence was standing in front of him, he wouldn't believe us."
Tonks nodded. "You're right. Leave, Remus, don't make me say it twice."
"Not without Harry."
"On what authority? Sirius is my guardian…"
"Sirius is dead, Harry."
Tonks and Harry glanced at each other in disbelief and then back at Remus. "Sirius is alive, Remus…"
Remus looked pitiably upon Harry gracing him with a sad smile. "Harry, I know it's difficult, but Sirius is gone. Tonks, Granger, and Delacour are exploiting your grief to swindle you out of your family's fortune. You'll see that once you're back at the Burrow surrounded by family."
"We're going in circles. Let's go, Tonks."
Harry and Tonks resumed walking, but Remus ran ahead of them, drawing his wand. "Stop."
Harry and Tonks drew their wands. "Enough, Remus. Put the wand down."
Remus's face hardened as his grip on his wand tightened. "You first."
"Harry, go back to the house and contact Fleur's father."
"Got it," Harry said.
"Harry, stop," Remus ordered.
Harry ignored Remus and kept walking, letting his wand slip surreptitiously into his hand, keeping the tip pressed against his palm.
"I said stop," Remus said more firmly.
"I heard," Harry replied.
"Harry, STOP!" Remus yelled, his composure slipping and snapping off a stunner in Harry's direction.
"Protego!" Harry yelled as the stunning spell splashed harmlessly off his shield. "Stupefy!"
"Protego!" Remus yelled grunting with the effort of repelling Harry's attack. "Harry, stop this madness!"
Harry replied with another stunner, combining with Tonks to rain down red spells down on Remus's shield. Too soon the older man was left defenceless, bouncing back and force with the force of their spells.
Remus crumpled to the ground in pain and his opponents stopped firing. Harry walked cautiously towards his old defence professor, keeping his wand pointed at Remus. "Stay down."
Remus began to rise to his feet again, but Harry sent him back to the ground with another stunner. "I said stay down…"
"Harry, stop this…" Remus begged, trying to stand up again.
"I won't say it again," Harry replied, knocking Remus back down with another stunner.
"N-no, you're coming… AHHHHHHH!!" Remus began but wasn't able to finish as Harry blew his lower left leg off with a spell.
Harry walked up to Remus and crouched down, snatching up his wand at the same time. "I told you to stay down. You didn't listen and you suffered the consequences. I'm not the stupid, naive Harry Potter you taught. I won't let myself be manipulated anymore. Not by you, the Weasley's or Dumbledore. I know who truly loves me and is looking for my best interests. You fall into neither of those categories."
"Harry, he passed out."
"Well, shit," Harry said, rising to his feet again.
"What do we do with him?" Tonks asked as she cauterised the wound with a fire spell, so Remus wouldn't bleed to death.
"Let's take him back to the house. We can decide there."
Tonks nodded and picked up Remus's severed leg. She used a sticking charm to keep it from falling off his chest as they floated him back to the house.
"What happened?" Hermione asked acerbically as they entered the house a few minutes later.
"Remus has been trying to find me. Somehow, he tracked us down to the Delacour beach house and confronted us on the way back from shopping," Harry explained as Tonks floated Remus into the empty bedroom and put him on the bed. She left the room and reigned moments later with bandages to wrap up his leg.
"Do you think Dumbledore knows where we are?" Hermione asked worriedly.
Harry walked over and wrapped Hermione in a hug. "Even if he does, I won't let him hurt you."
Hermione gave Harry a stern stare. "I won't let him hurt you either, Harry. I don't need a white knight; I need a partner."
"You're right, I'm sorry," Harry replied sheepishly.
"Hmmm," Hermione said before turning her attention to Remus. "Why did his leg come off? Is he a zombie now?"
Harry shook his head. "I shot it off because he wouldn't stay down. Maybe if the stupid bastard had done as he'd been told he'd still have all his limbs."
"What are we going to do with him?" Fleur asked, entering the room. "We could send a message to my father. But then Dumbledore would know we're here and he'd send someone else."
Harry thought about it for a few moments. "I have an idea, as long as Tonks can reach out to her friend again."
"My friend?"
"Thanks for coming so quickly," Tonks said as she led Nick into the house.
"Always," Nick replied with a smile.
"Turn it off, Carlstrom, my surname isn't Haywood," Tonks replied teasingly.
"Shut up…" Nick replied, pouting slightly.
Tonks chuckled. "The only guy I've ever seen as whipped as you is Harry."
"Did you say something, Tonks?" Said raven haired boy asked, emerging from the guest bedroom.
"Nope," Tonks replied impishly.
Nick paused, rubbing the back of his head. "It's uh, an honour," he said, sticking out his hand. "I'm Nick Carlstrom, a member of the Unspeakables branch of the International Confederation of Wizards in Geneva."
Harry shook Nick's hand and smiled. "Tonks has said a lot of good things about you."
"She's biassed, we've known each other since we were eleven."
"Doesn't make it untrue."
Nick gave Tonks a kind smile before returning his attention to Harry. "Tonks said you needed help with something."
"In here," Harry said, leading them into the guest bedroom. "This is…"
"Remus Lupin, former Hogwarts defence professor and current member of the Order of the Phoenix. We've met. How did he get like this?"
Harry quickly explained what happened earlier in the day. "He wouldn't stay down." Harry explained. He glanced at Tonks who was standing at the door. "Can you give us a minute?"
"Yeah, sure."
Harry waited until he was sure Tonks was gone and closed the door. "I can't risk Remus telling Dumbledore where I am. I need to get rid of him."
"And by get rid of him…?"
"Yes. I can't apparate, and I don't want to do it here."
Nick thought about it for a few moments before nodding. "Ok. Do you want to do it now?"
"Yes."
Nick levitated Remus and the three exited the room and walked outside. Nick grabbed Harry by the arm and apparated them away.
They landed in a forest area, it was much cooler than the beach. Harry walked away from the pair looking around briefly. "Where are we?"
"Albania, I think this is far enough away, don't you?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed, drawing his wand. He took a deep breath and aimed his wand at Remus's neck.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I have no choice… if he goes back to Dumbledore, he'll bring someone back with him. Maybe even the headmaster himself. I won't let that happen. Diffindo."
Remus's head rolled to the side lazily once it was detached from his body. Harry stared at Remus's body as the bile rose in his throat. He slapped his hand over his mouth and ran over to a nearby tree to empty his stomach as Nick cleaned up the scene.
A few minutes later Harry returned, not quite meeting Nick's eyes. "Sorry."
"Don't be. It's good that doing this bothers you. It's only a problem when it stops bothering you," Nick replied, a haunted look crossing his face before he schooled his expression. "I'll take you back to France and then come back and dispose of the body."
"You don't want help?"
"Nah, dumping a body in the ocean isn't a two-person job."
"Oh, ok."
Entering the house, Harry found the three girls waiting for him. "Oh, hey."
"Hi, where did you go? And where's Remus?" Hermione asked.
"He's gone… I took care of it," Harry replied shakily.
The girls followed Harry upstairs and sat around him as he curled up on the bed and began to cry.