" What do you mean a change in plans? What plans?" Harry asked, his lack of knowledge about the situation angering him.

" Harry," Remus said tentatively, so as not to upset an already easily agitated Harry, at the same time knowing that he couldn't leave room for and objection, "Dumbledore and I have decided that it would be best if you spent the remainder of your holiday at my cottage."

" With you?" Harry blanched incredulously, " Dumbledore- tall guy, white beard? Are we going on about the same person, because the Dumbledore I'm thinking of would never decided it best if I stayed anywhere but with my relatives, if I stayed anywhere that didn't make me miserable."

Harry knew what he was saying wasn't true, and that Dumbledore didn't really stick him with the Dursley's to suck all the fun out of the summer holidays, but at times that's what it felt like.

Molly, who was standing a few feet behind Harry made a snort of disapproval, but Harry didn't care, instead he bore his emerald eyes into Remus' waiting for an explanation.

" Harry, he didn't make this decision alone, we both decided."

" No, You're lying," Harry said shaking his head, his voice raising as he pointed an accusing finger at Remus, " Dumbledore has made me go back to the Dursley's every year, no matter how many times I begged him to stay anywhere else, no matter how many times the Weasley's offered to have me… he never- he wouldn't allow it …" Harry jaw was clenching, his whole body shaking, " The hell with Dumbledore, I DON'T CARE WHAT HE SAYS!" Harry finally screamed, shaking with rage, " I'm sick of him deciding for me… I'm sixteen, I can take care of myself."

Remus took an abrupt step toward Harry so they were nose to nose, grabbing Harry's upper arm tightly.

" You think you're an adult? Sixteen years old and ready to take on the world." Remus ran his fingers through his tangled hair chuckling, "Fine, but I'm leaving now. You can either come with me or leave by yourself because you're on explicit orders not to stay here at the moment for everybody's safety."

Remus said, sinking his fingers into the flesh of Harry's arm just hard enough so it wouldn't be painful but an extra emphasis. Too much could happen if Harry stayed with the Weasley's, there was simply too much that could happen.

" And because your so 'capable' of handling yourself, you can find a way to get where you'll stay, pay for that and buy food for yourself all until school starts… oh, and keep in mind the whole time that there's numerous, an uncountable number actually of Death Eaters looking for you and I can guarantee you that if your not vigilant, they will find you. Oh- and then because you're such a hot shot, you can find your way out of that mess on your own too!" Remus said sternly, never blinking and holding Harry's chin in place with his free hand so Harry couldn't look away. 

There was a moment where both man and teenager said nothing, both glaring at one another, the elder trying to force an understanding on the younger, and the youth wanting nothing more than to run in the opposite direction, away from everything familiar to him, away from everyone that he was familiar to and just be, not as the Boy Who Lived, not as Harry, not as anyone, just a passerby in the crowd of the world… just a nameless face.

" So, what is it? Leave with me where you'll have a roof over your head and food to eat, or struggle out there on your own…" Remus asked, his voice softening. He didn't feel right threatening Harry, but it just seemed there was no other way to communicate with the boy at the moment.

" I'll go to Privet…" Harry said, his voice low staring at the floor.

" I don't recall that being an option." Remus threatened, as he slowly began to lose his patience.

" You know," Harry said, his green eyes once again boring into Remus' worn and old brown ones, " there were just too many years in there where there was no other option than the Dursley's…"

"Harry, and as I said before, you can come with me or figure something out on your own."

" What do you think I've been doing my whole life Professor?" Harry shouted, addressing his old friend and mentor with formality for an extra sting. He wanted Remus to understand how he felt, he needed him to understand, " The Dursley's never did anything for me… I've been on my own since the day my mum and dad died… it's too late to start caring… it's too late to change things."

For a moment, Harry thought he saw a flash of an unreadable but potent emotion flicker in Remus' eyes, but then dismissed it as Remus walked closer to him, about to put a hand on his shoulder but thought better of it, stepping away a few feet.

" I'm sorry you feel that way Harry…" Remus said softly, " but as I said before, your list of options is small, you either spend the holiday alone and in some strange place, you with me."

Harry turned desperately around to Mrs. Weasley. She could make things better. She was a mom. That was her job.

Everything was so confusing at the moment. The one thing Harry had counted on: a crappy summer had now been taken from him too. There seemed to be no constant he could rely on these days.

" Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said softly, all of the sudden standing beside him and leading him to the couch. " You know I would absolutely love to have you…" She began, her voice filled with defeat and her eyes misting with unshed tears, " but we can't. Not now at least…"

Harry felt tears well up in his eyes and immediately turned his head downward. The last thing he wanted was to breakdown in front of the woman he had always considered a mother and Remus- even the thought was mortifying.

" Harry," Remus said, finally taking a great step toward him and lifting Harry's chin so he couldn't avoid his eyes, " We're not trying to make you miserable… your situation is just so fragile at the moment that we have to be careful. Do you understand?"

Harry tried to turn his head away from Remus' touch… he knew his eyes were filled with unshed tears, but Remus held his head in place gently.

" Yes."

The whispered word was inaudible to every ear except Remus,' and with it brought a sigh of relief that Harry would come willingly and a new fear of how things would turn out…

Exhausted and in want of nothing more than a soft bed, Harry made his way off the Knight Bus and up Remus' cobblestone path.

Without a word, Harry waited until Remus opened the door and walked in, squinting his eyes when Remus turned the lights on.

Harry was shocked at what he saw. He had always pegged Remus as not financially well off, but what surrounded him proved him wrong. He was in a log cottage, not huge and not small, but just the perfect size.

Upon walking in, to the right there was a small size kitchen with stone floors and mahogany wood counter and a table with a bay window overlooking the ocean. Harry had no idea where he was as he had fallen asleep on the bus, but from what it looked like they were on the Southern tip of England.

To Harry's left was a huge living room with cream colored carpets and a large squishy couch that Harry wanted nothing more than to sink into, next to it was the an arm chair with fluffy, wool blankets. They were located right in front of a large fireplace that was at least five feet tall, surrounded by bookshelves, all stocked to the brim with history, medical, and magical books.

Two large dogs were sleeping on mats right next to the fire, completely ignorant to Harry's presence. Vicious guard dogs

From where he was standing he could see a long hallway, doors scattered along it every few feet, the end of the hallway looking as if it opened into another big room. Looking up, there was a loft, but Harry couldn't see what was in it.

" Not so bad, is it Harry?" Remus asked with a tired grin as Harry looked around speechlessly.

Harry tried to scowl, but found he was too tired to.

" You look dead on your feet… come on, I'll show you to your room."

Harry seemed to unglue his feet from the spot he was standing and followed Remus. He stopped at the door right before the hall ended and broke off into a room with a billiard ball table, foosball table, TV, an old classical guitar, a comfy circular chair, blankets, movies, a writing desk all opening up to the balcony overlooking the ocean by twin mahogany French glass doors.

" I like your place…" Harry said quietly, as he entered the room, suddenly embarrassed by how he had been treating Remus ever since he had collected him from the Dursley's earlier.

" Thank you Harry." Remus said sincerely. " I'll show you around tomorrow, but right now I think we're both in dire need of a good night sleep, a lot has happened in the last few days…"

" You're telling me…" Harry said under his breathe as he turned on the light to the guest- no his bedroom again astonished by what he saw before him.

The room was bigger than his old bedroom, the walls painted a mocha color, complementing the queen size maroon down comforter laid on top of white linen sheets.

Two sliding glass doors opened onto the balcony that seemed to wrap around a third of the house, and his breathe caught in his chest when he realized his room was pointing directly toward the ocean, his view not obstructed.

On the walls hung pictures of Ron, Hermione and Harry that he didn't even know existed. James, Lily, and Sirius faces all occupied their own room on his wall, pictures from as far back as their first year at Hogwarts to when Harry was a baby as they all sat around watching him unwrap his mum's birthday gifts, constantly throwing the paper up in the air disappearing behind a wall of red and green, only to have Sirius, obviously his favorite babysitter pull it off and throw him in the air causing him to squeal in delight.

With a sigh Harry flopped down on his bed, jumping when he saw the contents of his room in Privet stacked in a neat pile in the corner of his room. Someone must have brought them here or magically moved them there while he had been at the Weasley's.

Harry's muscles gave a scream of protest as he got up from the bed and to his trunk. Changing as quickly as possible, Harry slid into the warmth of the bed thinking he should probably at least say goodnight to Remus before he went to bed, but his last thoughts before sleep were about exploring the house and finding out where exactly they were tomorrow, but even that thought left his head as his heavy eye lids fell…

Harry awoke suddenly, although he wasn't sure why. So comfortable in his bed, Harry rolled over, ready to go back to sleep when two things hit him. First, this wasn't his bed, second, there was a snoring sound coming from his left side and a dead weight on legs… opening his eyes slowly, not quite sure what to expect, Harry couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips.

A large Chocoalte Lab was dead to the world, his head and two front legs resting on Harry's legs, snoring consistently every thirty seconds… Harry flopped back down on the linen sheets and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

As Harry sat up the dogs head shot up, staring at him curiously. Harry leaned forward to try and get the dog to move, but his efforts were met with the dog also leaning forward to meet Harry's face with its tongue, licking every possible place it could, crawling all the more onto Harry.

Finally scrambling out from under the dog that grunted as Harry stood up, he grabbed one of the sweaters Mrs. Weasley had made him with small Snitiches embroidered on it and poked his head out the door.

Complete silence.

In the light Remus' house looked even cooler. Harry tiptoed to the room at the end of the hall, the one with all the cool stuff and looked around in awe. Right outside the house was the ocean. Harry could tell they were on water, but had no idea how beautiful it was. The ocean seemed to go on forever, and to the left a little Harry would see white hills… his breath caught in his chest, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Too curious to stay in that one room, Harry crept the other way back down the hall, stopping to look at some painting along the way. There was a bathroom right next to Harry's room and as he walked in he almost wet himself with surprise. Not but three feet away from leaned the canvas portrait of Mrs. Black.

Harry had the urge to shred the picture piece by piece, but knew that the only reason it would still be around was because the Order got it off the wall but hadn't quite figured out how to destroy it for good. Harry had to give it to her- the Old Bat was good…

Closing the door quietly so Harry wouldn't accidently burn the house down in an attempt to rid the world of Mrs. Black, Harry left the room vowing not to go back in until the picture had been moved. Harry took one last look at the bathroom perplexed, shaking his head.

Why on earth would Remus keep Mrs. Black in there out of all the place he could store her?

Any attempt to contemplate why Remus had the painting in the first place was ended when Harry heard a nose coming from upstairs in the loft. Harry jetted it back to the kitchen trying to make it look as though he hadn't just been walking around and exploring Remus' house. After all, some people were weird about having guests wandering their house with out their knowledge.

Grabbing a few eggs Harry searched the house for a frying pan when a hand on his shoulder made him jump two feet in the air and his heart stop.

" Whoa Harry, be careful, that thing could be considered a weapon if you did that again."

" Sorry- you just gave me a start…" Harry said as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, his heart still pounding unnaturally fast.

There was an awkward silence as Remus looked out the window, noting the dull gray color of the sky as an indicator that the sun hadn't yet peeked above the horizon.

" Harry, what're you doing up at this hour? I was always under the impression that boys your age slept until noon at least." Remus said, and as he spoke he looked more exhausted than ever. The bags under his tired eyes were dark and heavy.

" Er… well… you see," Harry sputtered, unable to answer Remus' question. The bottom line was that he was embarrassed that he had always had to get up this early since he was eight to make the Dursley's breakfast and coffee before they went to work.

Remus looked Harry over carefully. He knew why Harry was up, but he wanted Harry to start confiding in him.

" What is it Harry?" Remus asked feigning curiously waiting for an answer.

Harry sighed turning his gaze to the wood floor.

" It's just that I'm used to it." Came Harry's soft reply.

" Used to what? Waking at the crack of dawn? Wait, no, before the crack of dawn? Why on earth would you be used to that?" Remus asked, playing his card trying to get Harry to at least say something.

Harry looked up at Remus, his eyes in slits and his face contorted with sudden anger that Harry had yet to learn to control.

" Because I fancy waking up this early Remus…" He spat viscously, " Why do you think? It was the Dursley's. They had me cook them breakfast and make their coffee or iron their clothes or get the mail or something stupid like that since I was eight years old, alright?"

Remus inwardly congratulated himself on his victory, although Harry's attitude did need some fine adjustments.

" Harry." Remus said kindly " I assure you I am perfectly capable of making breakfast and coffee and fetching the mail myself, and because I don't iron, you're off the hook. So I'll tell you what, no more waking up at five in the morning unless you want to, okay? Why don't you go back to bed and work on a new habit of sleeping later, make your father proud?"

" What?" Harry asked surprised, the mention of his father throwing him a bit off guard.

" Your father Harry." Remus said smiling fondly, " James would sleep until noon at least if he could, so why don't you honor him and go back to sleep for heavens sake."

" Okay." Harry said with a small smile, but still looking at the floor embarrassed by his outburst.

" Harry, look at me," Remus ordered noticing the change in Harry's demeanor.

Harry lifted his eyes so they met Remus, " I understand you're a bit confused right now, and I'm not upset at you. So just go back to bed and we'll talk about this later."

Remus didn't have to explain what this meant. It was Harry's attitude, and Harry was not looking forward to that conversation. Sometimes he felt like he had no control over his emotions or how he dealt with them.

" Uh- Remus," Harry began his face flushed with embarrassment once again, "I'm not sure I can go to bed…" Harry trailed off, his eyes wandering toward the room he had slept in the night before.

"Believe me Harry, you're sixteen, you could sleep the day away if you set your mind to it." Remus said with a sarcastic but all the same reassuring tone.

"No, it's not that…it's just that, well- there's a huge dog lying on the bed. That's what woke me this morning. I was expecting to hear Aunt Petunia, but instead I felt something lying across me and snoring…"

Remus groaned in frustration, stalking off toward the room Harry had slept in.

"BOSCO!" Remus shouted once he had entered the room, Harry on his heels. The big lab nonchalantly picked its head off the pillow it had been resting on, eyes Remus and set it's head back down, ignoring the frustrated man.

" Just like his owner I swear," Harry heard Remus mutter as he stormed to the bed, shaking the dog and pointing to the ground.

" Off Bosco, this bed isn't yours. That one is." Remus said motioning toward the flannel dog bed next to Harry's. " Bosco's, Harry's, Bosco's, Harry's. Think you can handle that?" Remus asked as he pointed from one bed to the other, the aggravation in his voice a clue that this wasn't the first time the dog had switched which bed belonged to whom.

Still the dog remained on the bed, and Harry was about to ask why he didn't just physically move him when Remus said something that caused the dog to move immediately. 

" Or perhaps you would like to spend the evening out on the porch? I'm sure that could be arranged."

The dog's ears flopped down and he jumped off the bed, his tail wagging as he ran out of the room, the argument with Remus already forgotten in its head.

" I swear that dog is worse than his master sometimes," Remus muttered under his breath as he turned to Harry, " Well, now that you have an empty bed to sleep in, I'll see you in a few hours."

With that, Remus left Harry standing in the middle of a beautiful bedroom, in a beautiful cottage, on a beautiful coast, and for the first time in weeks, not feeling quite so alone. 

*** Author's Notes***

Sorry it took so long to update. I've had this chapter done for quite a while, but I just haven't had time to check over it and actually load it!

Amid the Double Moon: I know, I didn't like it when Sirius died either until I realized why JKR did it, but it still sucks. He was always my favorite character! Thanks for reviewing!

Moo & Grawp: Don't worry, Harry and Remus will have some talks about Harry's behavior, but with the way I see their relationship developing, both Harry and Remus need to be treated with respect, so I don't think there will be any spanking, but it was a good idea! Thanks for reviewing!

Twigs: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like my story. I've read some of yours and really enjoyed them too!

Ckat44: No no no no, I repeat, there will be no slash. I don't have anything against slash pairing, except teachers and students, but I don't think I could ever write one myself. Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate your input!

SP-in-Sirius-Denial: Yeah, I'm doing my best to try and express what I think Harry would be feeling, anger and depression the most obvious. No, Harry won't be staying with the Weasley's. Thank you for reviewing! I've read you story In Need of Sirius Help and it was always one of my favorites, so I was a little surprised when I saw your name on my reviews! Ha…

Anyways, you guys can probably expect about a week in between my updates as school has just started again! Thanks for reading!