It was during times like these that James most profoundly wished he had a reliable means of activating his Sight at will.  Remus was still considered to be in critical condition, ten hours after he'd first appeared in the psychiatric ward at St Mungo's.  He'd only been missing - or more accurately, in the Death Eaters' hands - for a couple of hours, but that was two hours too many as far as James was concerned.  He'd received the vision bare minutes before Remus had been captured, but without being able to identify the location to which he was taken, James' information was almost worthless.  He held no delusions on the matter - by the time the Aurors or Unspeakables could have tracked Remus down from what paltry leads he could give them, Remus would have been dead.  As it was, the staff at St Mungo's were still trying to purge the poisonous silver particles from the werewolf's blood and body.

"Any change?"

He turned to the doorway where Lily stood, her gaze running up the length of Remus' body, lingering briefly on his pallid face before meeting James' own.  He shook his head slightly, and she looked away.

"Any news?" he asked in turn.  A single dark glance provided him with his answer.  He hadn't really expected anything anyway.  Lily pulled a second chair next to his, and seated herself heavily in it with a frustrated sigh.

"We don't know who specifically took him.  We don't know if he said anything that might compromise us.  We don't even know who sent him here, or why."  Both the Aurors and Unspeakables working as fast as possible to address those unknowns and minimise any damage that might be done to their various operations with the knowledge that Remus held.  However, it was that last unanswered question that was the reason Remus had been allocated to the otherwise empty quarantine ward, in case the Death Eaters had left some nasty little surprise - at least, that was the official line.  No one had yet had the temerity to say anything about Remus' lycanthropy to either Potter, but it was probably only a matter of time.  There was always at least one idiot around with too much to say and too little common sense - and the full moon was less than a week away.

"You're exhausted," James stated bluntly, taking in the shadows under Lily's dull eyes.  "You should get some rest."  She raised an eyebrow at him, a brief flicker of amusement lighting her eyes.  "All right," he muttered.  "Point taken."

"One of us really should get some rest," she acknowledged.  "And the boys.  We should tell them about Remus."  James looked at her.  "We need to tell them something!  How would you feel in their position?"

He nodded reluctantly, lowering his head into his hands.  A sharp intake of breath from Lily caused him to look up again abruptly.

"The boys," Lily answered his unspoken query.  "I told Remus about Harry..."  They stared at each other for a tense moment.

"Albus was going to put protection spells on him," James informed her, the words half-strangled in his throat.  "He was waiting for our approval."

"I'll see that they're done," said Lily, grim-faced.  "Right now."

She was out the door before James could say another word.
 

Theo knew that the day was going to be complicated from the instant Professor McGonagall appeared in the Gryffindor common room, just as he was heading down to breakfast.

"Professor Dumbledore would like to see you and your brothers in his office as soon as possible, Potter."

Theo hesitated a moment before acknowledging the directive.  The Professor's eyes were suspiciously red-tinged, and her tone of voice strained - hardly reassuring signs.  "My parents - ?"

"They're fine," Professor McGonagall managed a weak smile to dispel that fear.  "Don't dawdle, now, Theodore."

He didn't.  He raced up to Simon's dormitory as soon as McGonagall had departed, and dragged his little brother out from under his bedcovers.  "Up, now!"

Simon groaned, and cracked one eye open wide enough to glare at Theo.  "You're not serious."

"You have three minutes to get ready," Theo informed him as he hauled him upright.  "Dumbledore wants to see us."

"Oh, hell," Simon grumbled.  "You are serious."  Grudgingly, he started rummaging through his trunk for clothes.  Theo left him to it, and headed towards the seventh year's dormitory in search of Harry, only to run into an anxious Neville on the way.

"Harry's missing," Neville stated, his voice filled with worry.

"What do you mean, 'missing'?" Theo demanded.

"Well, no one's seen him since Quidditch practice yesterday, and his bed hasn't been slept in."

"He didn't come up to the dorm?"

"That's what I just said!" the older prefect exclaimed, frustratedly.

"Maybe he just went down to breakfast early."

Neville's expression conveyed his disbelief at that possibility, but he nodded anyway.  "I'll go check," he said, and headed down to the Great Hall.  Theo backtracked to collect a grumpy Simon before following him downstairs.

"He's not here," Neville informed them unhappily when they reached the Entrance Hall.  Theo glanced down the length of the Gryffindor table through the open doors, but could not identify Harry amongst those present.  "You don't suppose he's gone back to his own world?"

"I wish," Simon muttered.  Theo glared at him.

"Someone must have seen him after he returned to the castle yesterday," he said frostily.

"If he returned," Simon said, a wicked grin stealing over his face.  "Maybe he was eaten by the giant squid - hey!"  Theo had cuffed him over the head.

"He was in the library last night."

The three Gryffindors spun around to face the interloper.

"What do you want, Sinclair?" Neville growled.

"Just trying to help out."  Draco Sinclair's smile had a familiar edge to it that never failed to raise Neville's hackles.  Theo slapped one hand across Simon's mouth before he could say anything, and pointedly ignored it.

"When did you see him there?" he asked, blithely disregarding his indignant younger brother's attempts to speak.

"After dinner," Sinclair replied, his grey eyes dancing amusedly between the Potter brothers.  "He should have had plenty of time to make it back to his dormitory before curfew, but he did seem a trifle distracted when I spoke to him."

"What did you say to him, you little - " Neville took a step forward, looming threateningly over the shorter Slytherin.

"Neville!"

Theo silently praised Hermione's timing.  Trying to rein in Simon's mouth around Sinclair was bad enough, without having Neville all fired up as well.  He glanced back to Sinclair, only to see him smirking broadly as the Head Girl scolded her boyfriend for his aggressive behaviour towards the Head Boy.  Theo suppressed the urge to hit something.  Well-intentioned as Hermione was, she was aggravating the situation rather than quelling it.

"What are you yelling at me for?  He's the one who was - "

"Just giving us some information," Theo interjected, and returned to the original topic before Hermione could snap back at Neville.  "You haven't seen Harry anywhere, have you?"

She frowned a little, blinking as she replied, "He was in the library a few minutes ago."

"Don't you ever leave that place?" Neville complained in tones of exasperated amusement.

"I'm here now, aren't I?"  Hermione smiled tentatively, and her boyfriend's lips twitched upwards in response.

"In body, maybe, but - "

"He didn't leave," Theo muttered under his breath as Hermione and Neville continued to quarrel in a more genial - and personal - manner, and shot a dark look at Sinclair.  "What was he doing there?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"  Sinclair's abruptly serious grey eyes were focussed on a point just beyond Theo's shoulder.

Theo bit back a groan as he turned to face his older brother - and had to fight to smother his alarm.  A single night seemed to have drained the vitality from Harry's complexion, leaving behind shadows of weariness beneath his piercing eyes.   Coupled with rumpled robes that seemed to swamp him completely, Harry looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"What the hell happened to you?"

There were times when Simon's bluntness did have its benefits, few and far between though they were.  However, Harry remained silent, his eyes locked on Sinclair - or more precisely, on Sinclair's throat.  Theo felt his own eyes widen in alarm as he caught sight of the bruised flesh mostly hidden by the high collar.  He flicked his gaze back up only to see Harry and Sinclair locked in an eerie battle of wills - which Sinclair lost.  He caught Theo's eye as he looked away from Harry's intense stare, and for a fleeting moment the Gryffindor believed they understood one another completely: Harry was not someone to be trifled with.  He cast a worried eye to Simon, who seemed completely oblivious to any danger, as usual.

"Dumbledore wants to see us," Theo said at last.

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly before he stalked off in the direction of Dumbledore's office, leaving his brothers to trail in his wake.

Theo could feel Sinclair's eyes following them until they were out of sight.  He didn't look back.
 

Lily observed her sons' reactions carefully.  Simon was a picture of disbelief, his eyes wide as he shook his head seemingly unconsciously.  Theo was grimly attempting stoicism, although she could see the whitened knuckles of his fisted hands.  Harry, on the other hand, had succeeded where his brother had failed: his face was utterly devoid of emotions, no more than a blank mask.

"But he's going to be okay, isn't he?" Simon half-asserted, half-queried, his voice unsteady.  She moved toward him, resting her hand comfortingly on his shoulder as she looked deep into his eyes.  "I mean, they can make him better, right?"

"They're doing what they can, Simon," was the only answer she could give without lying.  "The silver did a lot of damage to his physical and magical energies, in addition to the curses and hexes."

"But - " Simon's distraught protest was cut off by Theo's hand on his other shoulder.   Theo shook his head slightly, his dark eyes locked with his brother's for a long moment before Simon subsided.

"We just have to hope he can hold out a little longer," Lily told him gently.  "Remus is strong-willed.  Once the silver is completely removed, he should be all right.  It'll just take some time."  Simon nodded half-heartedly, his head hanging low.

"Can we see him?" Theo asked quietly, causing Simon to look up again.  Lily sighed, understanding how they felt, but knowing that seeing Remus in such a state was not likely to help any of them.

"I'll see what I can do," the Headmaster replied before she could say anything.  "But first, there is another matter that must be taken care of."

Lily stepped away from Simon and turned to Harry.  He watched her approach impassively.  She reached out to him tentatively, brushing his cheek with a feather-light touch before clasping his hand with her own.

"I - told Remus about you," she spoke slowly, looking directly into his eyes.  "Right before he was captured.  Unless we can determine whether Remus said anything about you - "

"Uncle Remus would never say anything about any of us!" Simon stated forcefully, his expression outraged that his mother could even consider the possibility.  "He'd never talk to any of them, no matter what!"

Lily covered her wince as best she could, as Theo visibly tightened his grasp on Simon's shoulder, and Albus spoke soothingly to the young boy.

"We would all like to believe that, Simon," Albus said, "but until we are certain, we must take precautions."  He nodded to Lily, and she continued her explanation.

"Simon and Theo are already under various protective spells, due to the nature of my work for the Ministry.  We need to place similar spells on - "

"No."

Lily blinked, startled at the abrupt negation.

"Harry, this is necessary for your safety," Albus started to say, only to be interrupted once more by a vigorous denial.

"No," Harry shook his head, his voice firm.  "I can protect myself."

"Harry, I know you're almost an adult, but - "

"No!"  He snatched his hand from hers and moved away, his mask finally cracking to reveal an anger that Lily could not understand.

"This is not up for discussion!" she snapped at him, her throat clenching, her stomach roiling.

"The spells are to protect your family and friends, as well - " Albus tried again.

"NO!"  Harry's eyes sparked with emotion, his posture extremely tense.  "I will not let you do any such thing!"

"Don't shout at Mum!"  Simon attempted to step in between them, only to be hauled out of the way by Theo.  Lily ignored their scuffle as she focussed on their brother.

"This is not optional, Harry."  Albus's expression had grown serious, and unyielding.  "Believe me, this is for the best."

There was an instant of silence as Harry tore his eyes away from Lily's in order to glare at the Headmaster with barely bridled fury.

"You never change," he informed the Headmaster in deathly quiet tones.  "You're just like him, you know, in your own way.  You manipulate people, pretending that it's for their own good, because you know best.  You think you know everything, but you're not omnipotent.  You're not a god.  You're just a man.  You make mistakes.  You make promises you can't keep.  People trust you, and you betray them - "

The slap echoed though the room.

Green eyes met green.  Her hand stung from where it had struck his cheek.  A handprint slowly reddened into being on his pale skin.

"No son of mine will be so discourteous to a man who has done so much to protect us all!" Lily breathed furiously, her throat so constricted with emotion that her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

Harry stared at her for what seemed an eternity, the silence fraught with tension.

"I'm not your son," he said at last, his words scarcely audible, and left the office, the door slamming shut behind him.

Lily stared after him in shock, the blood draining from her face leaving her head spinning and her legs like jelly.  She barely noticed as Theo slid an arm around her waist to support her as she swayed.

"I've lost him," she whispered, and stared sightlessly at the closed door.

The Headmaster remained silent, his eyes deeply troubled.
 

If nothing else, Harry Potter was damn scary.

He stormed into the Great Hall like a thundercloud threatening burning hail to fall upon them.  The students who were still dallying over their breakfasts all turned to stare - and just as hastily tried to look as though they weren't staring as soon as they saw his expression.

He paused briefly as he entered the Hall proper, then turned aside from the Gryffindor table and sat at the Slytherin one instead.  After an instant's consideration, the Slytherins seated at that end of the table for the most part either shuffled surreptitiously towards the other end or departed in a great hurry, murmuring amongst themselves the virtues of arriving at class early.  Draco was the most noticeable exception.

"Lose your sense of direction, Potter?" he asked blandly, throwing caution to the wind and disregarding the school motto entirely.  He didn't think Potter would murder him in the middle of the Great Hall, given that he'd been able to restrain himself when they were alone in the library; although, at that point in time he had said nothing more than an innocuous 'Hello'...

"Merely trying to avoid killing or maiming anyone I like."  Potter's smile lacked anything that might remotely be called amusement.

"So you sat next to me.  I'm touched."

"Don't tempt me, Malfoy."  Draco stiffened at the name.

"It's Sinclair," he informed the Gryffindor through gritted teeth.  Green eyes locked onto his own grey.  This time Draco won the impromptu contest.

They spent the rest of breakfast eating in silence, ignoring the stares of the remaining students.
 

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