Disclaimer: I do not in any way own anything you recognize! Thank you JKR for a wonderful world to play in!

Hey guys! I'm so glad you liked the first chapter! This is the first one that has none of JKR's work in it, so from now on the plot is all my own! Please comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Harry gave a relieved sigh. Sirius was coming for him! His godfather would take him away and keep him safe. In the meantime, he had some anxious relatives to attend to. His relief had distracted him from the night's occurrences.
That was, until he felt the sudden, bone sapping chill again...

Dudley was looking around with fearful eyes and Petunia shivered, clutching her arms around herself. Vernon began grumbling about overzealous air conditioners and moved to leave the room and adjust the thermostat. "Stop," Harry commanded in a low voice, throwing out his arm to physically block his uncle's way. Dudley met his eyes.
"It's them again, isn't it?" the frightened boy asked. "The Dementors, they've come back..."
The streetlights outside seemed to be a faded memory. The night was impenetrable. Hedwig let out a scream as the upstairs lights flickered and shut off. The lights in the stairway followed, as did the creeping cold and sense of dread. "Quiet, everyone," Harry directed his words directly towards Vernon, who was beginning to stutter out protestations. "Lumos," he whispered, just as the lights in the kitchen shut out. They stood in silence for a few moments before they heard them. There seemed to be a choir of low, rattling death sighs. In the light of Harry's wand a scabrous hand visibly scratched down the inside of the open window.
Petunia sank to her knees, sobbing, and Vernon followed soon after, his massive bulk quivering in fear. Dudley, a little more prepared, lasted a little longer before slumping in his chair. The sighs multiplied; there had to be hundreds of them out there. In Harry's head he heard screams, Cedric's, his own. "Ex...expecto patronum!" He cried, but once again all his wand produced was a weak silvery vapor. Memories flooded him, of this house, its occupants, of his starvation, the beatings.
An arm was now stretching inside the windows. Somehow, the Dementors were breaking through the supposed protection that were still on the house. Happy thoughts, Harry... Happy... like Peter Pan... Remember Hermione reading it with you... At the memory of his friend, her dark head bent close to his, her soft sweet voice reading the words out loud, Harry's mind flashed clear. Running to the window he screamed "EXPECTO PATRONUM! The stag flew out into the night, illuminating the sky, but what Harry saw there gave him no hope. There were hundreds of Dementors circling above the house. His stag was standing guard in front of the window, fighting off the ones that came closest, but it was all he could do. As Harry realized the hopelessness of the situation, the stag began to flicker. He leapt back as one of the Dementors slipped past the patronus and pressed itself halfway through the window. There was a sudden tremendous crack then, suddenly...
"Expecto Patronum!" The cry was a chorus of voices and was followed by a stream of silvery animals. He recognized Hermione's otter, and Sirius' huge dog, Professor Lupin's massive wolf and Professor McGonagall's cat. They were followed by two he didn't know, a smaller wolf and a lynx. With Harry's relief his patronus strengthened, leaving the otter to protect the window and joining the others in fighting off the Dementors. They made short work of it. The remaining Dementors fled, their tattered cloaks streaming behind them in the wash of light from the spells. When the monsters were gone and Harry could turn his attention to his rescuers, he was immediately tackled by Hermione. He held her as closely as he could, murmuring his thanks into her hair and rocking her slowly back and forth while his eyes met Sirius's over her head. Eventually the girl pulled back and placed her hands on either side of Harry's face.
"Oh! Harry! I was so afraid! When I heard about the Dementors, I begged to be allowed to come! I knew you weren't safe! Dumbledore wasn't going to let ANYONE come get you, but I guess he changed his mind, because here we are! Oh! Thank goodness! Who knows what might have happened!" When the torrent of words showed no sign of stopping, Harry interrupted.
"Hermione... Hermione... MIONE!" The brunette stuttered to a stop, raising tearful brown eyes to meet Harry's green. Harry smiled at her. "You're babbling." She gave a little laugh and relented, allowing him to wrap an arm around her waist and turn to the adults who had come along. Sirius and Lupin were watching him while Professor McGonagall was kneeling beside the Dursleys, along with the two he didn't know. The three stood as he regarded them. One was a slight girl with a cheeky smile and short hair a vibrant shade of purple. She gave a little wave to the confused young man. The other was an enormously tall dark skinned man, who stared solemnly at Harry before extending his hand.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mr. Potter. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Harry returned the handshake, then looked over at the girl, who seemed to be just a few years older than he and Hermione.
"Evening, Harry! Call me Tonks!" Here, Professor McGonagall interrupted.
"Yes, yes, nice to meet everyone! Now it looks as though we have more to do than we thought. First, we must get this family to safety. Now," she looked over at the Dursleys. Vernon was holding Petunia and looking confused, while Dudley was giving Harry a piercing stare, "Kingsley, if you would take Mr. Dursley, and Tonks, Mrs. Dursley. I shall take Dudley myself. Sirius, will you and the children be quite all right on Buckbeak?"
"We'll be fine. C'mon, pup. Let's get you and your lady mounted up." Harry and Hermione wisely ignored the "your lady" remark, though a slight blush graced her features. They exited the house and Sirius remembered to place a locking charm on the door before they began their walk down the street towards where Buckbeak was hidden in the park.
"Sirius, what is going on? Dumbledore told me that there were protections on the house, that they would prevent Voldemort from getting through! What happened?" Harry fired questions at his godfather before turning to Hermione. "What are you doing here? Where are the Weasleys?"
"Slow down, pup! Just wait." Harry leveled a glare at him and Sirius threw his arms in the air. "I promise! As soon as we get you safe, we'll tell you everything!"
"Please, Harry," Hermione asked, placing a hand on his wrist. "Please, be patient for a little while longer." The frustrated man heaved a sigh and acquiesced, twisting his hand to close around Hermione's.
"Fine, but you can't keep things from me anymore. I need to know what is going on." Hermione squeezed his hand tighter and nodded her agreement with him.
Soon they were all swinging over the gate in the park and were met by Buckbeak, who exchanged solemn nods with Harry and Hermione and nudged his head into Sirius' chest, almost hard enough to knock him over. Sirius patted his neck. "Here now, mate, we're leaving. Up you go, Hermione! Harry, you're they were mounted, Buckbeak took to the air, and soon they were looking down at the brightly colored lights as England slid past underneath them. They flew for what seemed like hours before Harry slipped into sleep, lulled by the soft beating of wings.

When Harry awoke, he was wrapped in comfort. Before he even opened his eyes, he could hear a crackling fire. The bed he lay upon was the softest thing he had ever felt and the blankets and pillows were amazingly plush. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up, taking in the room around him. The walls were painted a rich hunter green, with warm wood wainscoting. The fire he had heard earlier burned merrily in a red brick fireplace topped by a mantle of the same wood as the walls. Upon the mantle stood tall pillar candles in warm rusty reds and gold. The bed was a sumptuous four poster, big enough to hold six, and piled high with every comfortable thing. Across the room, in a corner next to a plain wooden door and a massive bookshelf, slumped Hermione. Her hair hung in her face, a book lay open in her lap, and her eyes were closed in sleep.
"Hermione?" Harry asked softly. The girl started up from her seat and rushed to his bedside.
"Oh! Harry! Are you ok? I was so worried!" Harry gently hushed her, pulling her into a hug.
"Mione, I'm fine. I promise. Where are we? What is going on?" Hermione bounced up and pulled him from the bed.
"First off, go get cleaned up. I'll wait here. The bathroom is through there." She pointed to the door beside the bookshelf. "There are some clothes in there for you." With that, she reclaimed her book and settled on the bed, leaving Harry to follow her instructions. He gave a rueful smile as he crossed the room and entered the bath.
The bath was miraculous, he decided when he finally rose from the steaming water. It wasn't on Hogwarts standard, but it was certainly large enough to hold several people. The entire room was done in rich red brown marble, from the walls and double sinks to the enormous tub. Once Harry had dried off on a luxurious towel and dressed he rejoined Hermione in the bedroom. "Now can we go?" he asked impatiently. Hermione laughed.
"Come on!" She took his hand again and led him out of the room and down another elegantly decorated hallway and down a set of broad stairs. "I know you're hungry, so I told everyone we would meet them in the small dining room. Kreacher!" She stopped when the house elf appeared before her. "Will you let everyone know we are heading down?"
"Yes, mistress," the elf replied before vanishing again. Harry gave Hermione an odd look and she just smiled before leading on.
"We'll explain everything in just a moment. Come, sit, eat!" She escorted him into another large room, this one holding a table large enough for eight or ten. The walls here were a soft dusty blue and a rose colored carpet adorned the hardwood floor. Delicious aromas drifted from a long sideboard covered with steaming food. Hermione sat him in a chair and then bounced off to the sideboard, returning with a plate laden with food. She set it before him, then waited for him to begin eating before going to get her own. Shortly, they were joined by several other people, some whom Harry did not know and some whom he had been expecting were absent. Everyone filed round to the buffet and filled their own plates before taking a seat at the table. Harry regarded each in turn. Sirius sat across from him, next to Remus and Tonks. On Harry's other side were seated Fred and George. Kingsley Shacklebolt was in attendance alongside Minerva McGonagall and Alastor Moody. Harry looked round the table expectantly for a moment before Sirius spoke.
"Well, pup, I suppose you wonder where you are, and what we're all doing here, hmm?" Harry nodded in agreement. "Well, son, welcome to Potter Manor, the ancestral home of the Potter family. We've brought you here to keep you safe."
"But, where are Ron and the rest of the Weasleys? Where is Dumbledore?" A sad look overtook Sirius' face.
"Well, see, that's the thing. We've found out some things we think you should know."
"I don't understand? Ron's my friend... are they ok?" Fred interrupted Harry's questions.
"They're traitors, Harry. Traitors to you."