A/N: Shout-out to anarion87 for leaving the first review on this fic! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this one. :)

Privet Drive

It was a sweltering summer day; the sun was beating down harder than ever, there wasn't even a hint of a breeze, and the residents of Privet Drive had taken to staying indoors, fanning themselves and holding ice cubes to their faces. Harry had taken to alternating between studying in his room, and bouncing a ball of a wall in the shed while he ruminated over the events of last year, his progress in understanding magic, and the next steps he should take. Hedwig had returned in the morning with a letter from Professor McGonagall, and her response was frank, but encouraging. She had told him that if he was sure about this choice and would remain dedicated to catching up to his peers, she would put in a word with Professor Babbling and Professor Vector, and see if they'd be able to take him in for independent study. Of course, this would mean giving up the occasional break hours that came with being a fifth year, and balancing his Runes and Arithmancy work along with his OWL preparations for the other subjects.

"Suck it up, Potter. You wanted this. You can do this," he lectured himself as he tossed the ball one last time, and rose to make his way back to the house.

As had become a habit now, he covertly glanced around while he walked, looking for the telltale shimmer of his guard watching him. Weirdly enough, he could spot none. With a frown, he slowed down, shuffling his feet, trying to get a sense of magic. He was at the edge of the perimeter within which his guard would usually stand, and... nothing. With a shrug to himself, he trudged up the driveway to Number 4, and went up to his room.

The Dursleys were busy watching a reality show on the telly, and sipping on lemonade. Figuring they wouldn't move from their position for a while, Harry decided to give his friends a call.

"Ron, Hermione. Come in. You there?" he spoke into his magicomm. "Ron? Hermione?"

"Harry! How are you? Is everything alright?" came Hermione's frantic voice through the speaker.

"Hey Hermione, everything's fine, don't worry," Harry replied. "Is Ron with you?"

"No, he's downstairs. We weren't expecting you to call at this time."

"Yeah, sorry if I freaked you out. Things are kinda boring here and the Dursleys are staying out of my way, so I figured I'd talk to you guys now rather than waiting till nightfall."

"How's the studying going? Did you read up on anything new? I've found a really interesting book on human transfiguration here that you should go through as well. It talks about wandless self transfiguration and even the steps to become an Animagus!" said Hermione, excitedly.

"I'll be sure to borrow it from you for a while," replied Harry, smiling as he thought of the beaming face of his friend and her overflowing enthusiasm when it came to learning something new. "Animagus training is definitely something I'd be up for. Maybe Padfoot would be willing to give us some tips."

"Speaking of Padfoot... Harry, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it? Is it the Ministry? Is he in trouble?"

"No, nothing like that, calm down. He's still on the Ministry's Wanted List, but they aren't searching too aggressively, and there hasn't been much in the Prophet about him," said Hermione. "It's just... Harry, we decided to... I mean, Ron and I... we told Sirius about the Magicomm."

Harry fell silent, trying to process this new revelation.

"Harry? Harry, are you still there?"

"Yeah, Hermione, sorry. I was just thinking."

"I'm sorry, Harry, I know you wanted this to be a secret. But Sirius won't tell anyone, he's sworn to secrecy, and he's really looking forward to talking to you as well."

"I... You're sure he won't tell anyone? Dumbledore? It's bad enough that the twins found out. But... I do want to talk to him," said Harry, a surge of emotion building up in his chest at the thought of hearing his godfather's voice again.

"Do you want me to get him, Harry? I know he's really eager to speak to you. He's been trying not to let it show, but staying cooped up in here has been... difficult for him," said Hermione, softly.

"Poor Sirius," Harry muttered. "I think... Yes. Call him please."

"Alright, give me a minute."

Harry settled himself on his bed, rubbing his palms together as a sudden jolt of nervousness and excitement struck him. It was one thing to talk to his best friends, and another to let an adult in on his secret. Especially behind Dumbledore's back.

"Harry? You there?" He heard Hermione's voice through his Magicomm again.

"Still here, Hermione. Is Sirius with you?"

"I'm here, Pup," came Sirius' voice from the handset. "I must say, this is an ingenious idea. This was a Muggle thing first, you say?"

"Yeah, a walkie-talkie. I'm quite surprised it's lasted this long," replied Harry. "House-elf magic really is something."

"It's a pity that wizards and witches don't realise how much we can learn from house elves. I mean, think about everything they can do! Did you know that the first -"

"Uhh, Hermione. Could we have this discussion a different time?" Sirius interjected.

"Umm. Yeah. Sorry... I'll just... leave you two alone... for a bit. Talk to you later, Harry."

"She's gone now," said Sirius, a few seconds later. "Merlin, I love that girl, but sometimes she can be a bit much."

Harry laughed fondly. "That's Hermione for you. How are you doing, Sirius? I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the Magicomms before."

"Don't worry about it, Pup. I should be the one apologising to you for not coming to visit or sending you proper letters." He sighed. "Truth is, Dumbledore's got some pretty tight security protocols going on. I don't understand what he's playing at."

"Why... what's going on, Sirius? Why am I trapped here? When can I see you again?"

Sirius sighed.

"I'm not sure, Harry. I tried coming to your aunt and uncle's place a few times, but it seems like Dumbledore has raised some additional wards which are keyed to allow only those he allows within the perimeter. The last time I tried to enter, I was thrown back and my eyebrows got singed."

"But... He can't do that, can he? You're my bloody godfather."

Sirius let out an audible sigh over the Magicomm, as he rubbed his eyes wearily and thought about all the times he had had this conversation with Albus.

"You might want to sit down for this, Harry," he said. "I've been keeping this under wraps for a while because I wanted it to go through before I told you... I've been trying to get official guardianship over you for a while now. But the Department of Family Affairs has been delaying approval on my application."

"You... why? Why would they stop you?"

"Dumbledore," Sirius growled. "He's been spreading the rumour that I'm not mentally fit to take care of a teenager yet because of my time in Azkaban. He even convinced the Ministry to provide me with a Mind Healer as compensation for wrongfully imprisoning me."

"How could he do that? And... can't the Mind Healer just... I dunno, sign off and deem you fit so we can go ahead with this?"

"It's not that simple, Pup. The Mind Healer has told me that there's nothing too cracked up in this head of mine. Just a few lingering dark thoughts which pop up now and then. If it was anyone else, it wouldn't have been an issue. But not everyone applies for the guardianship of the Boy-Who-Lived," Sirius explained. "Dumbledore doesn't want you to leave that place just yet. He believes that there's no other place safer for you at the moment and wants to make sure you're protected for as long as possible. I may not agree, but there's not much you can do once Dumbledore decides to make life difficult."

"He sounds... I dunno. Like an evil good person."

Sirius let out a booming laugh.

"That's Dumbledore for you. He has some sort of master plan that no one else knows about. Or maybe he just wants everyone to believe he has a plan when he doesn't actually have one. Who the hell knows anyway?!"

Harry sniggered along with him, even as his stomach did a little tumble as he realised he wouldn't be able to see his godfather any time soon.

"Is there anything else we can do, Sirius? Maybe I could speak to the Ministry and tell them I want to stay with you?"

"I'd rather not involve you in this battle yet, Harry. Not when the Ministry is already against you, and you have enough to deal with. Let me handle this on my own for now, alright? I'm reaching out to a few people I know and trying to find a way around this whole thing without Dumbledore knowing."

"Okay Sirius. But you'll let me know if there's something... anything I can do?"

"Of course, Pup. Now let's move on from this gloomy topic. What have you been up to? Pranked your cousin lately?

"I wish. But no. I've been making the most of the time I get without any of the Dursleys breathing down my neck. It's been pretty exciting learning magic on my own, but I wish I could practice the actual spells to see if I've got them right."

"Can't help you out there. The Ministry's always been pretty cutthroat about underage magic. Maybe you could've gotten away with a spell here and there if they held you in high regard, but with the kind of uncertain stance they're holding with you right now, probably not a good idea."

"Yeah, I know. I guess I just have to wait till September then," said Harry, knowing it was a lost cause anyway. "Hey Sirius, I almost forgot. Did something happen to make the Order call the guard off me?"

"Not as far as I know. Why do you ask?"

Harry shrugged, bedore realising that Sirius couldn't see him and feeling foolish for doing that in the first place.

"I'm not sure..." he told Sirius, hesitantly. "It's probably nothing, but... Did Hermione or Ron tell you how I figured out there was someone watching me?"

"Hmm... Now that I think of it, they didn't really get into the details."

"Well, it was a collection of things. I kept spotting shimmers which were too... solid... and too constant to be from the heat. And then there was the sound of a car backfiring one night but the street was deserted. What final made me certain though, was that I could sense the magic when I went near the shimmery patch. It was kind of like... a thrum. Sort of like electricity jolting all over my skin. And I just knew, if that makes sense."

"Wow. You are a thorough one. And you're sure there wasn't anyone around today?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. And as much as I'm glad that there's no one watching me, I can't help but worrying about where they are or if something happened to them."

"Don't worry, Pup, I'll look into it. Now tell me, what in Merlin's name is eclecricity?"

"Dementors? In Little Whinging? Curse you, Dung," muttered Nymphadora Tonks under her breath as she drew her wand.

She hastily sent a quick message Patronus to Arabella Figg, the squib who lived down the lane from Harry's house.

"Contact the Order NOW. Dementors at Little Whinging."

Not bothering to cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself, she ran towards the hooded figures, trying to ignore the cold that crept its way into her bones as her breath came out in little fogs. There were two youngsters running from the dementors, one raven-haired skinny chap whom she recognized as Harry, and a lump of a boy who was none other that Dudley Dursley, Harry's cousin.

"Fuck. A muggle," she cursed. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

As her Patronus shot out towards the dreaded creatures from Azkaban, she waved at the two boys to come her way.

"Over here, Harry! Come on now, quickly!"

Harry abandoned his efforts to produce a corporeal patronus and lugged Dudley down the street towards the witch who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Took you long enough," he told her, gasping under the weight of his cousin.

"Go. I'll hold them off. Backup is on its way," said Tonks, doubling her efforts to fight the Dementors. "GO!"

Figuring she could hold her own, and knowing he couldn't do anything while doubled over with Dudley's weight, Harry made his way towards his aunt and uncle's house, just as the alleyway was filled with the sound of light pops and two more wizards arrived on the scene.

"Expecto Patronum!" they all yelled, filling the air with the dazzling light of their Patronuses and driving away the foul creatures.

Harry collapsed on the sidewalk as he realised the danger had passed and waited for the group to approach him.

"All right there, Harry?" came a familiar voice, and he looked up to see the tired and scarred face of none other than Remus Lupin.

"Professor Lupin!" Harry exclaimed. "Dudley... he... he was almost kissed. That... the purple-haired witch... she came just time time. Help him please."

"Relax, Harry, he's going to be fine," said Remus, soothingly, as he cast a diagnostic charm over Dudley and pulled out a bar of chocolate from the inner pocket of his robes. "Here, eat this."

Harry immediately took a bite of the Honeydukes slab, feeling the warmth spread through his body, rejuvenating his senses. The cold had lifted from the air and the heat was back at its fullest.

"Is Dudley okay?" he asked his former Professor.

"He just seems to have fainted. I'm reviving him now," replied Lupin, casting a spell on Dudley.

Harry's cousin opened his eyes and looked around in horror, shivering as he recollected the feeling that had crept into his body.

"You!" he sputtered, looking at his cousin. "What did you do to me? I'll kill you for this."

He got up in anger, only to teeter back and land on his buttocks from the loss of energy.

"Mister Dursley, please calm down. This wasn't Harry's fault," said Lupin, laying a hand on Dudley's arm.

"You... you're one of them... a... a freak. You... you did this to me!"

"Mr. Dursley, I urge you to relax. Your body is weak because it came into contact with the effect of Dementors. Tell me, did you feel a sense of cold, misery... like you'd never be happy again?"

"Yeah... it was him," said Dudley vehemently, pointing a stubby finger at his cousin. "He... he pointed that thing... that wand... at me. And..." he shuddered.

"That wasn't Harry. Believe it or not, your cousin was trying to protect you from one of the most terrible creatures known to wizardkind," explained Lupin, in a tone that's used to soothe agitated animals. "Here, eat this piece of chocolate. It'll help."

Dudley's beady eyes looked at the chocolate with greed. He hesitated, but his love for sweets prevailed, and he snatched it from Lupin's fingers.

"This is good chocolate," he said with his mouth full. "What were those... those Dementy thingies? I couldn't see anything..."

"They're the guards of the wizarding prison, Azkaban," Harry told him. "They weren't supposed to be here. Why were they here? Was it... him?" he looked sharply at Lupin.

"It's possible," replied Lupin, as the purple-haired witch and the dark-skinned wizard who had appeared approached the little group. "We'll be looking into this, that's for certain."

"Wotcher, kid. You sure seem to get into a lot of trouble, don't you?" said the witch, laughing. "I'm Tonks and this is Kingsley Shacklebolt. We're both Aurors from the Ministry."

"It's very nice to meet you Mr. Potter," greeted Kingsley in a deep, warm baritone. "Although, I'd hoped it'd be in better circumstances."

"Thanks for getting here so quickly," said Harry, shaking his hand.

"Aye, we wouldn't have to be here if it weren't for that menace, Dung," muttered Tonks, her hair flaming into a tone of red.

Harry looked at her in wonder, his cousin gaping at them next to him.

"Your hair... How did you do that?" Harry asked.

"Oh... I'm a metamorphmagus. It means I can change my appearance at will. But sometimes, my emotions get the better of me and things like this just happen," said Tonks, grinning. "Anyway, Kingsley and I better be off. Remus will walk you to your house. See you soon, Harry!"

"Bye," Harry replied, standing up as the Aurors vanished.

"Come on then, Dudley, Harry. Let's get you home," said Lupin, helping up the blumbering Muggle. "Harry, did you cast any spells?"

"I tried to... but I couldn't manage anything more than wisps of smoke. That's when you appeared."

"Hmm... I don't think that would have registered as underage magic since your spell failed. Close call there, Harry."

"Uh, Professor Lupin - "

"Call me Remus, please. Or Moony. I stopped being your Professor years ago."

"Okay then... Remus... I'm guessing you and the others are part of the..." Harry glanced around furtively, making sure there wasn't around, and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Part of the Order?"

"How do you know about that?" Remus asked him with a pointed look.

"Er..." Harry shuffled his feet sheepishly. "I have my ways?"

"Harry, I promise I'll keep this between us. Believe me, Padfoot and I have always been for you knowing what's going on."

"I... figured out a way of contacting my friends," muttered Harry, casting sideways glances at his cousin who had been silent for the most part. "Don't worry. It's not trackable and I doubt it'll last much longer."

Remus gave him an amused look.

"Just like your father," he said, shaking his head. "And a lot like Lily as well. She wouldn't have liked being kept in the dark either."

Harry gave a soft smile.

"I'll want a complete explanation later alright?"

"Sure Remus. Umm... Padfoot knows, by the way."

"That dog knows and he didn't mention it to me?" Remus gasped dramatically. "How could you?"

"I told him to keep it a secret," replied Harry, sheepishly.

"Well that explains a lot. He was the one who asked Tonks to check up on you," said Remus. "We initially thought he was just being paranoid but once we realised it was Dung's turn to be on duty, we figured it was better to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Tonks... is that her actual name? And dung? You're kidding right?"

"It's actually Nymphadora Tonks, but don't call her by her first name, she hates it," Remus replied, shaking his head in amusement. "And Dung is Mundungus Fletcher. I'll tell you all about them and the rest later."

Dudley finally broke his silence as they reached the driveway of his house. "Muuuuum. Daaaad."

He ran up to the front door as fast as his stout legs could carry him and banged on the door.

"What is Dudders?" came Petunia's high-pitched voice as she opened the door.

Dudley hugged her tight and started sobbing.

"The... the freak. He..."

"Hello Petunia," interjected Remus, smoothly.

"You," she gasped, recognising her sister's old friend. "What are you doing here? And what did you do to my dear Duddykins?"

"Maybe it's best if we move this conversation indoors. Wouldn't want the neighbours to overhear, would we?" asked Remus, with a pointed look.

Petunia cast a sharp eye around the neighbourhood and relented, shooing them inside and hastily shutting the main door.

"Pet? Who is it? Is that Dudley I heard?" came the lumbering voice of Vernon Dursley from inside the living room.

"Vernon... We have a visitor," replied Petunia, casting Lupin a dirty look.

Vernon Dursley had just about managed to get out of his seat when the group entered the room.

"Mr. Dursley - " Lupin began, his arm outstretched for a handshake.

"What is one of your lot doing in here," Vernon interrupted, squinting at Harry, his face slowly turning purple. "I will not have it anymore, boy!"

"Mr. Dursley, my name is Remus Lupin and I think you should lower your voice seeing as Harry just helped save your son's life," Remus interjected, in a low but dangerous tone.

Vernon gaped at him, his eyes bulging in anger, and then turning to look at his wife and son in horror.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM, BOY!" he yelled out, lunging to grab Harry by his collar, only to be thrown back with a silent, unseen force.

"Vernon!" Petunia shrieked, throwing herself at him, and dabbing his forehead with her handkerchief as he groaned and hefted himself onto the couch.

Lupin seated himself on the couch and waited patiently for them to complete their theatrics.

"Now, if we're all settled, I suppose you'd like to know what happened to your son?"

Harry sat next to Lupin without saying a word, inwardly surprised by this new side of Lupin that had taken control of the situation, while simultaneously overcome with emotion by the way his father's friend had stood up for him. Until Sirius had come into his life, he hadn't had anyone fight for him, and now having Remus as well as his godfather do so... he had to fight himself very hard to maintain a straight face.

"Dudley... Oh..." Petunia whispered, straightening up and clutching her son. "What happened?" she asked frantically, running her hands over his now, healthily flushed face.

"Cold..." he mumbled. "That man - " he pointed at Lupin - "he said there were some Dementy thingies... but, I couldn't see them... I only saw him -" his pudgy finger moved to Harry - "take out his... w..wa... stick."

Petunia had a faraway look in her eyes, her expression one of fear as the mouthed the word Dementor silently, before turning to look at Lupin.

"Pet..." Vernon muttered. "What..."

"Why were those... those things... in Little Whinging?" she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.

"We're not sure," replied Lupin, steadily. "But we're looking into it. The fact remains that they showed up and decided to go after your nephew and your son. Harry here held them off until I, and some others, arrived to drive them away. Look at your son now, Mrs. Dursley. If we hadn't arrived on time, he would be clammy and unaware of his surroundings, not standing up without effort as he is now."

Petunia remained silent, save for a sharp look at Vernon when he opened his mouth to yell again, only to have his snap it shut and wait for her to speak.

"Well... if it weren't for him," she said slowly, her voice quivering, her eyes rising to dart between Lupin and Harry. "If it weren't for the boy, those Dementors wouldn't have been here in the first place."

Harry's fingers grew numb as a chill rose up his chest. She was right. They were only in danger because of him, because he stayed with these people who wanted nothing to do with the magical world. There wasn't another wizard around for miles, not that he knew of anyway, and Voldemort was after him, not anyone else.

Before anyone could speak another word, there was a flash of a flame and a red letter appeared, floating in the air until it burned itself.

"Remember my last, Petunia," a booming voice filled the air, reverberating in the silence. Petunia had turned pale, and look sickened,

Another flash of fire appeared and a note floated in front of Lupin.

"Well then, looks like Harry will be off your hands for the remainder of the summer at least," he said, after reading it. "That should give you enough time to recover from today's unfortunate incident and reevaluate your priorities."

"Now, see here," began Mr. Dursley.

"Vernon, hush," Petunia interrupted him. "You," she barked at Harry. "Go upstairs and pack your things."

She gave Remus a final, firm nod, and walked into the kitchen to busy herself with preparing lunch. Vernon and Dudley gaped after her as Remus sat there nonchalantly, whistling a tune.

Harry hurried upstairs, not believing his luck at finally getting out of here, and started throwing his things into his trunk. He coaxed Hedwig into her cage, fed her some treats, and looked around his little room once more.

"Well, until next summer then," he muttered under his breath and walked back to where Lupin was waiting for him. His Magicomm was safely packed in his trunk along with his books and notes on magical theory, his Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map snug in the inner pocket of his cloak, and his wand up his sleeve.

"I'm ready to go, Sir," he told Lupin.

"Okay then. Vernon, Dudley... until we meet again," said Remus, and briskly walked out the door.

Harry looked at his uncle and cousin. His aunt hadn't come out of the kitchen again and he wasn't going to go after her to bid her farewell. Not after that letter that she received.

"Take care, Dudley," he finally muttered, and turned to follow Lupin into whatever the rest of the holidays was going to bring.