14

Chapter 14: The Cat's Out of the Bag

Thanks for the reviews. This one is shorter. My hands don't like the cold.

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The boys continued on with their muggle schooling, magical tutoring, and the weekend war-games. They learned all they could and had a very busy schedule. They did make time for their friends on the weekends when they weren't training. Saturdays were spent on the phone with Hermione, and Sundays were spent at the park with their non-magical friends.

There was only one kid in the neighborhood they didn't hang out with, and that was Piers Polkiss. He was bad news from the get-go. For a ten-year-old he was already mean to everyone. Harry thought that he might have gotten on well with his cousin, if Dudley hadn't changed with his foster family. He wondered if a new family would change Piers.

They didn't pick on Piers, and made sure that he wasn't bullied, but the kid was just plain mean. He would try to scare the younger years when Harry and Neville weren't around. When they were around, he tried to act like he never did anything wrong. Unfortunately for him, the younger kids would rat him out. Harry tried to talk to the other boy, but Piers just shrugged it off.

"I don't understand why he doesn't want help," he said to his mum one day after Piers had told him to take his advice and shove it. He didn't get it. If someone had come up to him when he was still living with the Dursleys, he would have jumped on any help. He was forever grateful his mum came to his rescue, and then brought Padfoot and Moony.

"Some kids are just like that. It's how they are raised, some say. Others say, it's nature. It's a whole debate. I think it's a bit of both. Anyway, it's not up to you to fix anyone. If you see him doing something wrong, tell an adult," she said, running her hand through his hair. She could see this was really eating him up, but it truly wasn't his responsibility. There were entire departments in the government that handled cases like this. Unfortunately, so far there was nothing indicating the boy was abused, accept an abrasive attitude.

"But, Mum, that'll make me a snitch," Harry protested, knowing that snitches weren't well liked. He remembered that some kid at school got shunned because he ratted out a bully. His amulet took care of that for him, and he tried to make sure that he stayed near teachers, so it didn't have to work too hard.

"Sometimes you just have to decide if you are going to do the right thing," she said, kissing his head. "I can't make you tell on someone, but what are you going to do if someone else gets hurt because you didn't?"

"I guess," Harry said, his tone thoughtful. It was hard growing up. He decided to take it day by day. However, if he saw someone hurting someone, all bets were off.

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Time went on, and soon enough it was Christmas break and school let out for a week and a half. Harry and Neville wanted to get Hermione a gift from Diagon Alley and so they talked Sirius into taking them there. They planned it on a Wednesday during one of the hopefully slow times. They would owl it to her via the owl that Sirius had bought them for just that purpose. It was a snowy white, that they named Hedwig. Lily thought it was a brilliant name for an owl.

Once they got to the Alley, they were upset to see that it was still busy. Christmas season sales were worldwide and even in the wizarding world. There were hawkers yelling out their prices for their wares and the dinge was loud.

Harry pulled his hat further on his head, in a vain hope that no one would notice him. It was probably futile because more people were recognizing Sirius and Neville. They made their way to Flourish and Blotts and ducked inside before anyone recognized them. It was crowded in there as well, and they decided to stick together this time. Usually they would split up, but not today.

"I know we should get her a book, but which one. I'm sure she's read all the textbooks and she raves over Hogwarts: A History," Harry said as they roamed the aisles. He had read that book and he was not as impressed with it as much as Hermione was. To him, it just showed how much the school had fallen from the good old days. There were things in that book that he would love to see reinstated in the curriculum. Not that that would make him go to Hogwarts, but it would be a better education for those that were.

"Maybe something that will help her acclimate to the new society she's in," Sirius suggested, looking around at the self-help section. It was a small section since wizards weren't much for self-improvement. They were more for the status quo. "Like this one," he said, holding up a book that read, So You're a Muggleborn? Welcome. It was a garish looking book with a dim looking female on the cover holding her wand wrong.

"That's garbage and you know it," Harry said, repeating what Lily was yelling in his head. "Mum says it's not worth the parchment it's written on," he said, then in his head he asked, 'Which one would you recommend, Mum?' She had been in Hermione's shoes; she would know which book was best.

'See the one with the light blue cover? The one that reads, Run While You Can. That's the one you want. The author did himself no favors titling it that way, but it is chuck full of advice for if you stay in the wizarding world. As a matter of fact, you should grab one for you too,' she said, remembering when she read it thinking it was a joke book. The advice was helpful though, and it did point out how hard it was for muggleborns to survive if they did decide to tough it out. It had been recommended to her by Severus of all people.

'Okay, Mum. If you think that's the one, I'll grab it,' Harry said, going to get the one she suggested. He picked up two of them, though he didn't know why he needed one. He wasn't muggleborn. Still, if his mum said he needed it, he probably did.

"Why that one?" Neville asked, looking at some adventure books that he thought Hermione might like. "Maybe I should get something besides a book. It must get tiring to get nothing but books all the time," he said, looking around to see if there was anything like a bookmark or cover.

"Mum recommended it," Harry said, putting them in the basket he was carrying. "Look over there. It's a reading light that follows you around. It wouldn't count as underage magic because the magic is in the light." There was a display hanging over a group of books in a cage. It was globes of lights that were just bobbing up and down.

"That's a great idea, Harry," his foster brother said, going to grab the floating bulb that looked like a small ball. It was a soft light, so that it didn't blind you in the dark. He had to ask an attendant to get one for him, but he had one in short order.

"Okay, you've got your presents, let's get out of here before we're noticed," Sirius said, herding the boys to the counter where they paid for their purchases. They made it out of the store and were almost to the portal when they were accosted by a family of redheads. There were seven present, though Sirius knew there were nine in total. The two oldest boys were missing.

"Sirius Black, as I live and breathe," the oldest redhead said, shaking Sirius' hand like he had known him a while. "I have not seen you since you got out," he said, pleased as punch to see the man. "I am so glad you are finally free. I was telling Molly I never believed you to be guilty," he finished.

"Arthur Weasley," Sirius said a bit strained. He like Arthur, it was the wife Sirius had issue with. "Thank you for saying that," he said with a more sincere smile. Arthur was a good man. "It is good to see you too. And your family of course," he added, his voice straining again.

"And this must be Harry Potter," the oldest female redhead said, making everyone within a hundred feet in any direction look.

The whispering started right away, and Harry ducked his head and moved behind Sirius, with Neville moving in front of him. Sirius put up a shield, like he always did.

"Fuck." Harry said under his breath, though the family of redheads and Neville and Sirius heard him. "We were almost gone too," he said a bit louder.

"How dare you speak such language around my children," the harpy screamed, trying to get to Harry to box his ears. The shield held though and Sirius moved to impede her progress.

"Molly," the aghast husband said, looking at his wife as if she'd lost her mind. He grabbed her elbow and dragged her back. "He is not one of our children," he scolded as he set her among the redheaded kids.

"Sorry, sheesh," Harry said, looking at the kids who were all smiling for various reasons.

The twin boys looked like they were just enjoying the show. It wasn't often their dad got angry at their mum. The younger male looked like he was glad Harry was being laid into and not him. The older redhead boy was smug for some reason and the youngest, who was a girl, was hiding behind her mother, with a secretive smile.

"I'll ask you not to talk to my godson that way," Sirius said, glaring at Molly Weasley as if she were a harridan. "He said he was sorry. I'll take him to task on my own time. You, however, have brough attention to us we were trying to avoid," he said with a sniff.

By this time the inevitable crowd had gathered around and were all trying to get a look at the Boy-Who-Lived. Lily was tempted to come out again and rescue her baby, but he wasn't a baby and he had Sirius with him. She'd act if she needed to, so she watched. She had never liked Molly Weasley. That woman thought herself the ultimate mother. Sure, she had seven kids, but that didn't make her the best. It just made her a faithful wife.

"Well, I never," Molly said, making many around her snicker. She looked at the crowd like they had offended her as well, many of them just laughed at her again.

"Sirius, I was going to invite you to go shopping with us," Arthur said, looking around for his two oldest, who seemed to have disappeared. "Percy and the twins are on Yule break and we're shopping for presents," he added as if it was a great adventure. He ignored the crowd and the uncomfortable boys hiding behind Sirius.

"We've finished ours. We're doing most of ours in the muggle world, you see," Sirius said, explaining their lack of bags. He was looking for a way to get to the barrier and escape the Alley.

"Whyever for?" the intrigued man asked, always ready to learn more about muggles.

"Most of the boys' friends are muggles," Sirius explained, nudging Harry towards the portal since a path just opened up and they were going to take advantage of it. Harry and Neville started walking to the exit. The shield that Sirius put on them kept people from touching them. The crowd followed them but were content on listening to Sirius and Arthur.

Many were interested in learning more about the Boy-Who-Lived. The fact that he had muggle friends was interesting and disturbing at the same time. What did that mean for the future? Would he choose those friends over the wizarding world later in life? That was something a great deal of them were thinking and fearing.

"Won't that be a problem when they go to Hogwarts?" the redheaded father asked, concerned that the two young boys might be emotionally scarred. He knew that a lot of muggleborn had this issue when they first came to the wizarding world. They adapted soon enough, but at first it was hard.

"No, there will be no problems at all," Sirius said, nearing the exit. They were only a few steps away. He hurried the boys along. He really wanted to be gone.

"They can be friends with Ronald," Molly said, pushing her youngest son forward. There was a glint in her eye, like there was a plan in action.

"I don't mind being friends with Harry Potter, but why is the squib even going?" Ron said, having heard rumor that the Longbottom boy was without magic.

"FYI, Neville isn't a squib," Harry said, rounding on Ron. He was tempted to shove him, but they were surrounded, and it would get in the newspaper for sure if he started a fight. "He's a green wizard," he added, puffing out his chest, proud of his friend.

"A what?" the youngest redheaded brother asked, looking at Neville like he was a particularly interesting bug. "What does FYI even mean?" he asked, turning to Harry again, his face one of confusion.

"Never you mind," Sirius said, gently, but firmly, guiding Harry to the portal. Neville ducked into the portal; Harry quickly followed. Sirius was still on the Alley side, finishing his conversation. "The boys won't be friends with your son," he said to Molly and then as he exited, he added, "They will be homeschooled."

They then sprinted to the muggle world.

"What did you have to go and say that for?" Harry said, when they stopped running. They called the Knight Bus and were on their way home.

"It was time for it to get out," Sirius said with a shrug. "That and I can't stand Molly Weasley. What Arthur sees in her I'll never understand," he said with a far away look.

'I'm going to have words with that man when we get home,' Lily said in Harry's head. While she didn't like Molly either, she hadn't wanted to let the fact that the boys were being homeschool out so soon.

'I don't think it'll do any good. The cat is truly out of the bag. Didn't you see our favorite reporter in the crowd? One of you should call Alex,' Harry said to her and then repeated the last part to Sirius.

"Which reporter?" both adults asked, not having seen one in the crowd. Then again, they were focused on the Weasleys.

"Skeeter," Harry answered out loud. "She was standing behind Mrs. Weasley. She was hiding behind her," he added, remembering how the woman used the frumpy woman's girth to hide her skinny frame. It was funny looking back on it. The only reason he saw her was because he had glimpsed her alligator handbag and ducked down to see if it was her.

"Dammit," they both said.

"That's the last person I wanted to know," Sirius said, hanging his head. While he had wanted it to get out, he didn't want that gossipmonger to get her acidy quill on it. He'd call Alex as soon as he got home.

"Maybe it won't be that bad," Neville said, in the naïve way of children.

"Maybe," a very doubtful Sirius said, his head still hanging down. Then he took in a deep breath and lifted his head. "No matter," he said, looking at the boys with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "we'll weather it anyway."

"Yeah," the boys said, ready to take on the evil Skeeter woman.

They got home and Lily came out and stood there tapping her toe at Sirius. Remus came into the living room from the kitchen, where the boys went to, and looked at them. "Something happen?" he asked, taking a bite out of his apple. "The boys are wrapping their presents and want to owl them as soon as they are done," he added, nodding to the kitchen.

"Sirius told the Weasleys' that the boys would be homeschooled," Lily said, while Sirius looked unperturbed by that. "That's not the bad part," she added, making Sirius look sheepish. "No, the bad part was that Skeeter was there. Call Alex and warn him," she ordered, pointing to the phone. "He needs to get our PR people on it," she said, hoping they could nip it in the bud before it got worse.

"Right," Sirius said, going to the phone and doing just that. While he was trying to get things smoothed over, Remus was trying to calm down Lily.

"You knew it was going to get out sooner or later. It's just sooner, that's all," he said, taking another bite of his apple. "It's really not that big of a deal. We are hidden here," he added after he chewed and swallowed. He waved his hand around to indicate the house that was invisible to magicals.

"I know, but I was hoping it would be a greater surprise for when they didn't show up on September 1st," she said, huffing that that was now off the table. "That and now Dumbledore is going to try and use the Wizengamot to get the boys to go to Hogwarts. I want us to have a contingency plan. If we have to pull all our money out of Gringotts and put it in a muggle bank, I'm willing to do that," she said, pacing back and forth on her ghostly feet.

"I don't think it'll come to that. We have Sirius, Augusta, and Alex in our corner. They will keep tabs on the manipulative headmaster," Remus said, finishing off his apple, eating it core and all.

"Ugh, how can you eat the core?" Lily asked, suitably distracted. It grossed her out every time he did that.

"Easily," he said, just like he did every time she asked. He smiled at her and said, "Don't worry so much. We've got good strong people on our side. If it comes to it, we'll take the boys and head to America, or Australia, or some other English-speaking country. Albus isn't well loved in all of them," he said with an easy smile.

"I just worry. It's part of my makeup," she said, referring to the fact that she was part of a protective spell. "Add to the fact that I'm a mum, and you get double the worry," she said, fretting her hands.

"We'll do our best to keep the boys safe. How about Sirius teach them to be Animagus? They've been after him for that for a while now," Remus asked, thinking if the boys were a small enough animal they could run and hide. Or, on the flip side, if they were big enough, they could win a fight. He was hoping for the former.

"Aren't they a bit young?" Lily asked, looking over to the hall where she could hear Sirius talking to Alex still. She really needed to see if the boys needed help wrapping their packages.

"Not really. It's not dangerous as long as you have someone around to undo any mistakes," he answered, pointing to himself and then the wall where Sirius was. "We can do that," he added superfluously.

"When would you find the time? Their schedules are full. Can it wait until summer? She asked, worried they were asking too much from the children.

"I suppose you're right," Remus said, going over their schedules in his head. "We can start them on the meditations at night before bed though," he suggested, thinking it might break down some of the nightmares that both boys still suffered at times.

"That might be helpful," Lily agreed, nodding her head, she moved to hear what Sirius was saying. He was at his goodbyes and so she came back to the living room.

"So, we're good," Sirius said as he came into the room. He settled on the sofa and started chewing on a grape that he took off the bunch he had grabbed from the kitchen.

"He's going to stop the printing?" Lily asked, hoping that he could.

"No, he can't do that, but he's got the PR people making sure our reasons are not misconstrued. They are going to make sure that what we want said is said," Sirius said, throwing a grape in the air and catching it with his mouth.

"I guess that's the best you can do," Lily said, slumping down as best a ghost can in a chair.

"Mum, can we go to Darren's house?" Harry came in and asked.

"Did you get your presents wrapped?" she asked, noting the tape on his shirt.

"Yes, we already sent them off," Harry said, puffing out his chest.

"You should have waited until we checked them," Lily said trying for kindly. She succeeded, but he didn't take it that way.

"I'm a big boy," he said, stomping his foot. "Can we go?" he asked again. He already knew the answer since he had been in the kitchen, and had seen Twinky cooking, but he wanted to see if she'd let him go really quickly. They'd only be gone a minute. "We'll only be gone a minute," he said.

"No, it's getting close to supper," his mum said, looking at the clock and seeing it was near five in the evening. "Twinky will be done cooking soon," she added, knowing that the elf kept a tight schedule.

"Aw, man," Harry said, stomping out of the room.

"You can go tomorrow," Lily yelled after him.

"Fine," the preteen said, still stomping up the stairs.

"He's going to be a moody teen. I just know it," she sighed.