A/N: Here we go. This is the sequel to Escaping Lives. It is a completed story so I will be updating over the course of time. Hope you like it. I own nothing, if you think I do, there's something wrong. :P Enjoy. And don't forget to check out Spur of the Moment as well! :P

"You're going to wear a hole into the floor, Harry," Remus Lupin said to his new charge or, as he preferred, surrogate nephew, Harry Potter. Harry was pacing in the living room, trying to process what his godfather, Sirius Black, and Remus had just told him.

"Let me make sure I have this," Harry stopped and faced his new guardian and godfather. "To end everything that's happening, this war, I either have to be murdered or become a murderer?"

"Voldemort is far from human," Sirius said.

"I'd still be killing him, making me a killer," Harry answered. "Here's the big question. Why am I only learning all of this now?"

"We're been wondering the same thing," Remus nodded. "We're going to talk to Dumbledore about this. He should have told you all of this when you began school."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot that should have happened," Harry sighed. Sirius winced, knowing the comment was pointed towards him.

"Harry," Remus said.

"Sorry," Harry stated. "I'm going outside for a bit," he left the living room and walked out the door.

"He didn't mean anything by it, Sirius. He has a lot to think about. It just slipped out," Remus told Sirius who had a slightly pained expression on his face still.

"It's true though. I should have been there to take him after what happened. I wasn't. Instead he got sent to the Dursleys where he was almost beaten to death every summer. If it weren't for you being his guardian, I'd never see him. I wouldn't be living with you two, able to raise him. I should have been there twelve years ago," Sirius replied.

"He didn't mean it. He knows the truth. He knows you wanted to take him. Don't take it personally," Remus said, walking to the kitchen to make breakfast.

They had just spent the better part of the morning explaining everything to Harry. Since Harry already knew about Remus' life for the most life, Sirius told of his family and childhood. He had been the first out of his pureblood, Dark Side loving family to be sorted into Gryffindor. He had automatically become a traitor, especially when he became friends with Remus and James Potter. At sixteen, he left home and lived with James. Sirius avoided much mention of his younger brother, Regulus.

They also told him things he should have already known. Things like the prophecy that had been made about Harry and Voldemort before Harry had been born.

"Maybe we should go talk to Dumbledore today," Remus suggested as he placed the meal on the table.

Sirius sat across from Remus. "It'll have to be just you. I can't leave this house, remember?"

"You'll come as Snuffles. Dumbledore and McGonagall know about you. It's everyone else we have to worry about," Remus answered.

"Okay. What about Harry?" Sirius asked.

"What about him?"

"Well, he can't stay here."

"I'm perfectly capable of being home alone, thanks. I've done it in Privet Drive," Harry had come back inside.

"Your breakfast is ready, pup," Remus pointed to the seat beside Sirius. Harry sat down and looked at his plate. There were two eggs, two pieces of toast, five strips of bacon, two sausages, and a glass of milk. "Harry?"

Harry looked up. Remus and Sirius were looking at him. "Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?" Remus asked.

"No. I'm just not used to this much food," Harry tentatively picked up his fork.

Remus and Sirius sighed. "You'll get real meals now. We don't want you missing meals either," Remus told him.

Harry smiled. "When are we going to see Dumbledore?"

"We? What we?" Sirius said.

"Obviously you won't leave me here alone, though I'm more than capable," Harry said. Remus and Sirius glanced at each other and they looked ready to argue. "Besides, I want to know why he never told me anything."

Remus and Sirius frowned slightly at him. Harry wasn't eating even though they had told him he could. "The food isn't poisoned, you know," Sirius told him.

"It's true. I kept an eye on Sirius the whole time," Remus grinned. Harry laughed as Sirius scowled.

"Not hungry, I guess," Harry shrugged.

"I don't want you to miss a meal, Harry. You hardly eat much at school and obviously you didn't get fed properly at Privet Drive," Remus replied.

"I know. I'll eat some," Harry speared a piece of sausage and put it in his mouth.

"Thank you," Remus smiled.

"Anyways, we're going to go see Dumbledore in a few hours. Near twelve," Sirius stated.

"Okay," Harry ate a second piece of bacon.

Remus looked at Harry's plate. He had eaten the two eggs, one sausage, two pieces of bacon, and half a piece of toast. He sighed. I guess he'll eat more when he gets more comfortable with us, Remus assumed. "You can leave the rest if you want, pup," he told his surrogate nephew.

"Thanks," Harry stood and picked up his plate to bring it to the sink.

"I'll clean it, Harry," Remus answered.

"But…"

"Harry, no cleaning. You're not at the Dursleys' anymore," Sirius answered. Harry nodded and put his plate back down. He walked upstairs. "He eats more than that, right? Tell me he eats more than that, Moony," he stated when Harry was gone.

"I wish I could, Padfoot. He doesn't eat much at school either. If he's stressed, he'll stop eating for days at a time. Besides the starvation at Privet Drive, this is why he's so thin. He hardly eats," Remus told him.

"Is it because of what's happened to him?" Sirius asked.

"Could be. We won't know unless Harry tells us," Remus shrugged.

"And he won't tell us," Sirius sighed. Remus shook his head sadly. "How long will it take for him to trust us and be comfortable with us, do you think?"

"I don't know. He has a little bit of trust in me because of the past school year. I harmed that trust multiple times though."

"So what do we do?"

"I don't think we can do anything."

"Time to go, Harry," Sirius said to Harry a few hours later.

"Okay," Harry got off the sofa and put his shoes on. "Let me guess. Floo?" he said when he saw Remus by the fireplace.

"Afraid so, pup," Remus smiled.

Harry sighed and took some Floo Powder, stepping into the fireplace. "Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts!" he shouted and he disappeared.

"He knows we're Apparating, right?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, he knows. Come on," they walked outside. They Disapparated and appeared in Hogsmeade village. Sirius changed immediately before anyone saw him. Remus slipped a leash and collar on the dog and headed to the school.

"Hello, Remus," Hagrid greeted as Remus walked through the gate with Snuffles.

"Hello, Hagrid," Remus smiled.

"Where're yeh off ter?"

"I need to speak with Dumbledore," Remus replied.

"I see. Well, I'll let yeh go. Bye, Remus," Hagrid walked towards his cabin. Remus continued to the school and headed for the headmaster's office once inside.

"Lemon drop," Remus said to the gargoyle. He knocked on the door.

"Enter," Albus Dumbledore's voice said. Remus and Snuffles walked in. Dumbledore was behind him desk and Harry was staring out the window, his arms crossed. "Hello. Have a seat," he pointed to the chairs.

"Come sit, Harry," Remus said as he sat down. Snuffles sat between the two chairs. Harry turned from the window and sat next to Remus. He began petting Snuffles.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Dumbledore asked.

"We have a few things to ask you, Albus," Remus answered somewhat stiffly.

"I suppose you'll want to be human, Sirius. You may change," Dumbledore told the dog and conjured a third chair beside Remus. Sirius immediately changed and sat down. "Now. What would you like to know?"

"We're wondering why Harry knew nothing about the prophecy. Why he didn't know why he lost his parents? Why he didn't know things he should have known when he was eleven?" Remus said.

Dumbledore sighed. "I was waiting for the right time. The time he would fully understand what he's a part of."

"The right time?" Sirius shouted. Harry jumped a bit. "He didn't even know why his parents are gone! When was it going to be the right time? When he's seconds from being murdered by Voldemort?"

"He wasn't ready to hear it," Dumbledore said.

"That shouldn't matter! He needs to know this stuff! It could save his life! He understood everything when we told him!" Sirius continued, his voice rising.

"Please, calm down, Sirius. Let me explain," Dumbledore replied. Sirius crossed his arms angrily. "I haven't told him because there has been no reason to tell him everything. I've hoped if he didn't know, he would be able to have a few normal school years before he had to know."

"Albus, with all due respect, you should not have concealed all of this from Harry. He needs to know these things," Remus said.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell him everything. I was looking out for him," Dumbledore replied.

"Well, you did a good job keeping him in the dark," Sirius stood up and Flooed home.

"Come on, Harry. We're going home," Remus sighed and walked to the fire. He disappeared in the green flames.

"Harry," Dumbledore said. Harry looked at him. "I really am sorry. I should have told you. I have no excuse for why I didn't," Harry nodded and Flooed away.

"Are you two all right?" Harry asked when he was home.

"We're fine, Harry," Remus said.

"Why is Sirius drinking then?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What? Sirius isn't—" Remus looked at Harry who pointed to the living room. Remus frowned and walked to the living room to find Sirius on the sofa, Firewhiskey in his hand. "Sirius!"

"What?"

Remus snatched the bottle away. "Drinking doesn't make your anger go away. I'm getting rid of all the Firewhiskey in this place," he went back to the kitchen.

"I'll be in my room doing homework," Harry said and walked up the stairs.

"We didn't handle this well." Remus sighed as he sat on the sofa with Sirius.

"No, we didn't. I think I scared Harry too, when I was yelling," Sirius nodded.

"Maybe. We haven't even told Harry everything. There are some things Dumbledore needs to tell him."

"Why can't we tell him?"

"Because Dumbledore has to."

"But why can't we tell him? We know these things just as well as Dumbledore does."

"Sirius, we can't tell Harry about the Order of the Phoenix. He's not supposed to know about it. We can't tell Harry everything about Horcruxes because we don't know everything," Remus said irritably.

"That doesn't mean we should keep these things from him."

"We can't tell him, Sirius, you know that. He's not allowed to know about the Order," Remus said firmly.

Sirius sighed. "He'll find out eventually."

"And when that time comes, maybe we can tell him, but, for now, keep quiet. Can you do that?" Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius stayed quiet. "I know you want to tell him, I do too, but we can't."

"Ugh, fine. I won't say anything," Sirius sighed. Remus smiled and changed the topic, but not before hearing a door closing above.

Harry opened his ink and grabbed a quill.

Ron,

How's it going, mate? I have something to ask you. Have you ever heard of something called, "Order of the Phoenix"? I just overheard Sirius and Remus talking and they mentioned it. Any idea?

Harry

He folded the short letter and tied it to Hedwig's leg. She nipped him then took off. Harry lay on his bed and opened Quidditch Through the Ages, reading it for the twelfth time. He was halfway through the book when his door opened.

"All right," Remus sat at the foot of Harry's bed and pulled the book from the boy's hands. "I know you were listening, so don't deny it. What did you hear?"

Harry looked at his hands. "I—I heard something about Horcruxes and—and something called the Order of the Phoenix," he avoided Remus' eyes when he heard his guardian sigh. "I'm sorry, Remus. I—I know I shouldn't have listened. I'm sorry."

"Harry," Remus said. Harry didn't move or speak. "Harry, look at me," Harry continued staring at his hands. Remus breathed deeply. "Look at me."

Harry finally obeyed. "I'm sorry."

"Did I say I was mad? Or that you're in trouble?" Remus asked.

"No, but, I—I'm sorry."

"Harry, you are not in trouble and I'm not mad. It's going to take a lot of work to get you to stop apologizing for everything," Remus told him. Harry's gaze went back to his hands. Remus touched his knee and Harry looked up again. "You're curious, Harry. Sirius and I know that. We don't want to keep things from you and we'll try our hardest not to, but sometimes there will be something you can't know. The only trouble, actually keeping you from finding out," he smiled at Harry who didn't do anything. He didn't know if what Remus was saying was a bad thing or not.

"I won't—"

"It's not a bad thing, pup. It just means Sirius and I have to be careful," Remus told him. "Now. I know you want to know about the things you heard. Unfortunately, you're not supposed to know about the Order and Dumbledore has to be the one to tell you about Horcruxes."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry for listening."

"Harry. You're not in trouble, so you don't have to apologize. You only have to apologize if you're in trouble. Okay?" Remus looked into Harry's eyes. Harry nodded. Remus squeezed the boy's knee slightly and left just as Hedwig flew in the window.

"Thanks, Hedwig," he gave her a treat and took Ron's reply.

Harry,

I've been all right. About that Order thing, I've never heard of anything like that before. Sorry, mate. Hope you have a good summer and hopefully I'll see you soon.

Talk to you later.

Ron

Harry sighed. He had hoped Ron would have been some help, especially since his whole family was magic.

"Asking around, are you?" Harry jumped at the sound of Sirius' voice.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked Ron about it without asking," Harry replied.

"Stop apologizing. Remus told me all you've been doing is apologizing. It needs to stop," Sirius sat where Remus had been.

Perfect. My godfather is mad at me. "Sirius, I'm—"

"Harry," Sirius said warningly. Harry kept quiet. Sirius looked at his godson softly. "I know what you're thinking, kiddo. I'm not mad," Sirius sighed. "I hate what those pathetic Muggles did to you. You shouldn't be afraid of Remus and me."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You're afraid we'll get mad at you for everything. You think that because of the Dursleys. I hate that you're like this. It shouldn't be like this," Sirius told him. Harry scratched the back of his neck. Sirius placed a hand on Harry's knee. "We're going to help you, kiddo. The first step. Getting you to believe we're not going to get mad at you for everything," Harry nodded and Sirius smiled before leaving.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon. I'm sorry," ten year old Harry sobbed. He hadn't finished the dishes in time and was being punished.

"We had a deal, you little brat. Finish the dishes and you can eat. You didn't finish. No meals for a week. Into your cupboard," Vernon grabbed Harry by the hair and dragged him down the hall, ignoring the boy's screams. "Keep quiet or the neighbours will hear," Vernon hissed, but Harry couldn't stop the screams of pain and terror. "Quiet!" Vernon let go of Harry's hair and punched him. Harry screamed in pain again. The terrified boy rolled onto his back and stared up at his uncle.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Harry whispered, tears flowing down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he kept repeating the words as his uncle kicked him and even after he had been locked in the cupboard under the stairs.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon, I'm sorry," Harry mumbled.

"Harry. Harry, wake up," Sirius lightly shook him. There were tears streaking his godson's face and he sounded terrified.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Harry repeated.

"Wake up, kiddo. Please, wake up," Sirius shook him a bit harder. Harry's eyes opened and he sat up, looking around. "Harry," Harry looked at Sirius and leaned against his chest. Sirius wrapped his arms around the boy as Harry grasped the front of his shirt. "It's okay, Harry. You're all right," Harry buried his face into Sirius, soaking his godfather's shirt with tears.

"Sirius, I—I—" Harry stuttered, not leaving Sirius' embrace.

"Harry, don't. You're all right, kiddo, you're okay. You're safe," Sirius held Harry tight. He heard Harry's sobs quiet and slow down. "Are you okay, Harry?" Sirius asked.

Harry finally released Sirius' shirt and pulled back. "I'm fine," he whispered.

Sirius grasped Harry's hand. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be all right. Where's Remus?"

"Getting a dreamless sleep potion."

"Okay," Harry lay back down. Sirius turned into a dog and lay beside Harry.

"Hey. Are you okay, pup?" Remus sat on the edge of the bed. Harry nodded, putting his fingers through the dog's fur. "Good. Here. Take this," he handed Harry a goblet. Harry drank the potion, making a face. Remus chuckled. "Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, pup," Remus took the goblet, smiled at Snuffles, then left the room.

Harry buried his face in the soft fur and sighed. He hardly noticed when Snuffles became human. "Harry?" Sirius whispered, putting a hand on Harry's back.

"Mmm," Harry grumbled. After a few seconds, Harry's eyes opened and Sirius gave him his glasses. Harry realized he was lying on his godfather's chest. He sat up swiftly as he remembered the night's events.

"Harry?" Sirius repeated.

Harry sighed. "That was a fun night," he noted sarcastically.

"Don't be embarrassed about what happened. There's nothing wrong with it," Sirius told him.

"Besides the fact that I broke down against you and pretty much had a death grip on your shirt," Harry replied.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Remus entered, sitting beside Harry.

"I'm all right."

"Good. Stop feeling bad," Remus told Harry.

"I'm not—" Remus raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I am. I'll try not to."

Remus smiled. "Come on. Breakfast."