HP : The Chronicles

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Not wasting another second, Harry silently slipped from his bed and made his way down towards the voices; the manor was dark, but the soft light coming from the lit fireplace and the light coming from the partially open office door was enough to let him see where he was going. He stopped just around the corner and listened carefully, trying not to make a sound. And it was his conscious effort to remain silent that prevented him from gasping when he heard the reason of the commotion.

"… not how he escaped." Sirius's voice echoed in the hallway.

"But it should be impossible." Lily protested, the shock evident in her voice. "The wards around his cage alone should have…"

"They hadn't updated the anti-transformation wards Lily." Remus's tired voice interrupted her. "Merlin knows why, but they hadn't."

"Because Fudge is a complete moron, that's why!" James exclaimed. "Peter is dangerous, the reason my sons were almost killed and a confirmed animagus! How could they not secure the wards?" Harry froze; Peter? As in Peter Pettigrew? He had once seen a picture of the man in a newspaper, all the photographs of him in his younger years destroyed or thrown away from the Potter house. The small, beady eyes and plump face Harry remembered were the opposite of what you expected from a devout Death Eater. Maybe just what you expected of a traitor. And he was out of Azkaban?

"It doesn't take a genius to guess what he will do next." Sirius stated darkly.

"You think he'll be after Adrian?" Lily asked frightened; Harry had never heard his mother so scared. It was unnerving to say the least.

"What else could he do?" Remus asked. "If he just stays hidden, the Ministry will eventually locate him, unless he spends the rest of his life as a rat. But even if he does try that, in the case were Voldemort returns, even his animagus form will not save him from the Dark Lord's wrath."

"So you're saying he's just trying to save his hide?" Sirius asked outraged.

"Has he ever done anything else?" James wondered out loud. Silence followed his words as everyone in the room contemplated the implications of this latest development. It was a small comfort, but it was times like these when Harry was the happiest he had stayed in the shadows and let his brother assume the title of the Boy Who Lived. Not that he'd rather stay safe when Adrian was in danger, no; he just chose not to fool himself. When a Death Eater was out for revenge -especially this specific Death Eater who would go to great lengths just to stay safe- he would go for the weaker target; logically that would be the other brother.

Almost snorting on how that sounded, Harry considered the odds; if Adrian was in his place, he would have, most likely, been untrained. He would have been a sitting duck as the Muggles so eloquently put it. Now he would be under constant watch while Harry was in place to defend himself, or at least distract his assailant for long enough to make a run for his life.

"What now?" Sirius asked resigned.

"We keep the searches going." James said. "We keep looking and we of course reinforce the defences of Hogwarts." That seemed the best option at the time, the green eyed wizard thought. "It's lucky you'll be the Defence teacher this year Padfoot." So that's what had him smiling all summer. Harry nodded in approval; Sirius might generally seem like he had no care in the world, but he at least knew the subject he was about to teach.

"With the searches going on, I don't know how I will juggle everything." The dog animagus admitted.

"You have to go!" Lily shouted. "Adrian will need all the help he can get…" That had stung a little. It was as if they truly thought Harry wouldn't be affected.

"And I will go." Sirius assured her, sounding more mature than he had ever heard him. "I'm just saying I will also be required to help in the searches; I'm second in command of the Aurors Lily and I knew Peter once." He reminded her. Now that was a fine point if Harry had ever heard one.

"I might be able to help with that." Remus offered.

"How?"

"Considering the situations, I could take over half of the classes." Moony supplied. "That way one of us will always be at Hogwarts."

"Could you do that?" James asked somewhat calmer.

"Fudge is in no point to deny such a request at the moment." Remus simply stated.

"I don't know." Lily muttered. "Maybe we should keep the boys here this year, have them homeschooled…" Harry cringed at the prospect.

"Lily!" James exclaimed. "My sons will never hide from the likes of…"

"They're my sons too!" The red head shouted back. Remus and Sirius intervened before the argument evolved into a full blown shouting match.

"Shouting won't solve anything." Sirius authoritative voice -Harry didn't know his godfather had one- sounded clear.

"Besides Lily," Remus reasoned "Hogwarts has Dumbledore and ancient wards that actually work."

"Last year it also had a basilisk and two years ago Voldemort himself." Lily countered.

"The basilisk was killed by your own son Lily." True, Harry thought. "And it was a teacher that brought Voldemort in; the only new professors this year will be me and Remus." Sirius reminded her. "The boys will not be safer here; Hogwarts is our best chance, as always."

"I still don't like it." Lily stated, not ready to admit defeat.

"What else can we do Lils?" James asked softly. "I have to join the searches and even if you took a year off, we wouldn't be able to secure Adrian wouldn't be attacked here." There it was again, Harry thought; they really didn't expect him to be attacked. Unreasonably naïve.

"Both your sons will be safer at Hogwarts." Remus stated and Harry felt his hear warm a little more for his honorary uncle.

"And they will be able to keep on living their lives too, at least at a semblance of normality." Sirius added. "I mean, can you imagine Adrian without Ron and Hermione for a year, or Harry away from Neville and Hogwarts? The kid loves it there!" Thank you for that Padfoot, the green eyed wizard thought smiling softly.

"I know, Sirius." Lily admitted after a soft pause. "I just don't like it; it seems there's danger everywhere."

"We knew ever since we heard that Prophecy that it would be that way." James said. "At least until Voldemort is gone for good." The silence was deafening after that comment.

"Well at least in Hogwarts there's Minerva." Sirius stated trying to lighten the mood.

"Minerva, Padfoot?" Remus asked confused.

"Yeah." The dog animagus affirmed barking out a laugh. "She was one of the first that reached Azkaban you know, after the escape."

"What?" Lily asked confusion colouring her voice. "Why?"

"She was the one that had placed the original wards on Peter's cage, wasn't she?" James noted.

"Yes and she had left them with clear instructions on what to do after that, how to keep refreshing them." Sirius provided. "I wasn't there when it happened but I heard she was furious; no one even dared to approach her as she stormed back to Hogwarts, even if she had technically assaulted a dozen of the Ministry's officers. Mate, I wish I had been there for that…" Some soft chuckles were heard and Harry figured he had heard enough.

He returned to his room lost in thought and, not knowing what else to do, pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill; he wouldn't see Severus for a couple of days and he couldn't not write him of what had happened, even though he probably knew already. He waited for Hedwig to come back from her hunt before giving her the letter. He watched as her white form faded away in the night. Even as he returned to his bed, Harry knew there would be no sleep for him that night; there would only be more wondering of how the school year would end up this time.

HI GUYS IF YOU WANT READ 200 + CHAPTERS THEN VISIT

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