18

Chapter 18: Too Paranoid?

Thanks for all the reviews. Stay safe and warm out there, during this artic freeze here in most of the states and Canada. A Merry Christmas to all of you that celebrate if I don't get back to you before then.

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They arrived at a new condo building and got out of the car. The doorman looked at the motley crew and wondered what they were doing here. They didn't look like his normal clientele, in that they were all wearing middle-class clothing, and this was a much upper-class neighborhood. It was in the heart of London.

The doorman was trying not to look down on them, but they did look like they belonged many blocks down from where they were. If not in the suburbs. He really had no idea what they wanted in this building. Maybe they were poorer relations to someone who already lived here. However, he prided himself on knowing all the tenants, and he never heard mention of any that had relatives like these four.

Harry was the first to notice the doorman looking down on them and pointed it out to Sirius. "Sirius, you need to go into Lord mode," he said with a head bob to the man who was looking at them with a smidge of disdain.

"Right," Sirius said, pulling himself into his upper-crust persona and going to the man. "We are the new residents of the penthouse condo. I trust everything is ready for us," he said in his best snooty tone. He stood tall and had an air of aristocracy about him. He had been raised a pureblood after all, and this doorman was a servant, nothing more. "We have just arrived from a harrowing situation and would appreciate you not giving us a hard time," he added, giving the man a pointed look, like he knew what he was thinking and didn't approve.

Harry, Neville, and Remus were behind him trying not to react to it. Remus was trying not to roll his eyes, and the boys were trying not to giggle. That would blow their cover. They all tried to pull off the same air, but only Neville came close, having been coached at a young age.

"Mr. Randle?" the doorman said, having been warned that the party would be moving in from the man's lawyer just a half an hour ago.

"Yes," Sirius said, still getting used to the new name. Alex had told him that they would all have assumed names, bar Remus who would not be registered on the paperwork. Remus was noted as a servant, station unnamed.

Harry would be his son, and Neville his nephew. They would all have the last name Randle. They would have new first names, Harry was going by Gary. Neville was going to be Stewart. Sirius' new name was Brian. They were going to use these names on all legal documents, even the enrollment of the secondary school.

Only the headmaster would know the truth. They had given the man a muggle version of the truth and he bought it hook, line and sinker. They had told it to all the schools they applied for and that had responded. This new one was the one that gave them favorable accommodations and charter.

"So sorry, sir. I did receive notice that you'd be coming," the man said, suddenly sweating a bit. Mr. Randle was loaded, and he was the new resident of the penthouse condo, which included the roof. He had been warned that he was a bit eccentric, so he guessed showing up in a middle-class car, and such clothes would qualify. Not to mention the children, who looked like they had been spooked by something.

"No harm done," Sirius said, nodding to the kids to grab their things from the car. They complied and were quickly back to his side.

"Your lawyer is waiting for you upstairs," the doorman said, going to open the door for them. "He will have all your keys and paperwork," the man added as he tipped his hat.

"Thank you, my good man," Sirius said, when the doorman opened the door. He made sure to tip the man as he had been told to do. "Remus, park the car, will you," he 'ordered' with a wink. He and the kids then went to the lifts, and Harry showed him how to punch the button for their penthouse. Soon they were in the condo which was almost as big as the house they just left, only with one floor instead of two. If you didn't count the roof.

Alex was sitting on the couch and going through the paperwork. "Why the sudden bug out?" he asked, "I know you said one of the teachers from Hogwarts visited you, but did she freak you out that much?" he asked, setting down the paperwork for the condo on the table for Sirius to sign.

"No, it's who might follow her that made us leave. That and Lily had a funny feeling that it was time," Sirius said, taking a seat on a chair near the table. He knew he would be signing papers.

"Remember you're signing this as Brian Randle," Alex reminded him as he showed him where to put the signature. "I have the IDs and such already in my briefcase, so don't worry about that. We're paying in cash, so that helps a lot."

"Boys, go find a room. You'll be sharing again," Sirius said as he read what he was going to sign. He didn't want to split them up just yet. Maybe when they were older, but for now he wanted them together in case something happened in the night.

"Okay, Padfoot," Harry said as he and Neville started to where his mum was telling him to go. It was at the back of the flat, where there was a hallway. The whole place was neat and clean. It was much different than the well-worn house they had just come from. Not that the house was dirty, just well lived in.

"Twinky!" Sirius called out as he started signing the papers. They were the standard buyers' papers. He wasn't taking a mortgage, so it was a straightforward bill of sale.

"Master Sirius is calling?" the elf said, looking around at the new place. It was sparkling clean, but she knew it would not stay that way. Humans were messy animals, which is why they had house elves.

Lily chose that moment to join them. She came from the room the boys had picked and moved to join the conversation.

"Yes, did you get everything from Privet Drive?" Sirius asked, finishing his signature with a flourish. He liked the pens better than the quills. They let him do his writing in a much more extravagant style without a drop of ink wasted.

"Yes, Master Sirius, I has it all waiting for yous to tell me where to put it," the elf said.

"For now, just dump it in an empty bedroom. This place came furnished, so we'll have to donate most of it," Lily said, looking around at all the expensive furniture. She wasn't used to such luxury.

"Yes, Mrs. Ghosty Potter, ma'am," Twinky said, then looked at Sirius and said, "Twinky was being just in time too. There was being many wizards showing up there." She looked spooked at that.

"Do you know who they were?" the dogman asked, knowing she probably didn't. The poor dear had been young when she had been assigned to Neville, and hardly left the boy's side. She was never around when there were visitors at the Longbottoms.

"No, Master Sirius, they is being all dressed in black, with huge hoods, except one who had many colors on his robe," Twinky said, worrying her hands like it wasn't a good enough answer. The poor dear looked like she was frightened to death.

"That might have been Dumbledore, but who were the men in black?" Lily asked, wondering who the old man brought with him. She moved to the elf and put a hand on her head, making the elf shiver a bit from the cold, but she smiled at Lily for the effort.

"Did they do anything, Twinky?" Sirius asked the little elf.

"They is looking at the house and they was being taking out their wands when master called," Twinky said, hoping that was enough information.

"Thanks, Twinky. You did the right thing by getting away. Go put that stuff in a room and then see if the boys need help," Lily said, going to the couch and sitting down.

"It sounds like he brought some Unspeakables," Sirius said, his brow furrowed. "They must be there to get the wards down."

"Can they bring down a Fidelius?" Lily wondered out loud. She had heard it couldn't be broken. It was one of the reasons she and James chose to go under it in the first place. It was only because they trusted the wrong person that they died.

"If anyone can, it would be them," Alex chimed in. He then gathered up the papers and put them in his briefcase. "I'll get these filed. You enjoy your new place," he said, and went towards the lift.

"Bye, Alex and thanks for coming on such short notice," Lily said as she read the bill of sale.

"Any time," Alex said, nodding his head to Sirius. He met Remus coming out of the lift as he went in. "Remus," he said with a nod.

"Alex," Remus said in passing. "You guys look worried," he said to the couple as he sat next to Lily.

"Albus showed up right after we left," Lily said, looking at the calm man. Nothing ever seemed to ruffle his feathers. It was calming and vexing at the same time. How could someone be so calm all the damn time?

"Did he now? Well, it's a good thing we listened to your instinct," the werewolf said, patting her on the knee. "I wouldn't worry too much. We're here now, and the only thing we need to do is ward against the phoenix. Which we can do now," he said, getting his wand out and going to the center of the room.

"I'll help," Sirius said, getting his wand out too. The ward stone had been brought over by Alex, via the goblins. He would have had to had it in waiting for them to tell them they were moving. That man more than earned his money.

The two men both noted where a large red stone was embedded in a table, and they concentrated their spells on it. There were already the regular household wards, flame retardance, no pests, thief deterrent, and flooding resistance. Now they were putting up emergency warnings and kidnap preventive wards. Like intruder alerts, no unauthorized apparation or portkeys. Remus was putting in the no magical animal wards, which would stop the phoenix. Owls would have to go to the roof, where there was a small owlery. Only they had access to the roof, so it was okay.

Once all the wards were set, they brought the boys out and explained what was going on, and how they were technically in limbo right now. Until they heard from the headmaster of their primary school, the boys would be learning from their textbooks that they had on them. The boys seemed to be okay with these circumstances. They were not okay that they had to leave all their friends behind.

"You can call them, but you can't give them our new number," Lily said, hoping they would be satisfied with that. It wasn't unreasonable. Many didn't like to give out their number, and since they weren't going to invite any children to their flat, then it would suffice for now.

"Hermione too?" Harry asked, knowing that his only magical friend would not like that, but she would have to learn sometimes that was just the way things were.

"Yes, Hermione too," his mum said, knowing that the girl will protest. "You can call her every Saturday like you always have, but she can't have the new number," she said firmly.

"Fine," Harry said, folding his arms.

"Neville, give me the letter you wrote your gran, and I'll post it," Sirius said, holding out his hand. "We'll go up together, but the owl I have in mind is tetchy," he explained. The owl he had bought, Rocky, was a bit picky as to who handled it, and right now that was only Sirius.

"Okay," Neville said, digging through his backpack and getting the letter. He handed it over and the two went to the roof to give it to the owl. That done they went back to the condo and the family spent the rest of the night settling into their new home.

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Harry and Neville did get to homeschool for the rest of the year. It was an experimental hybrid of regular mail and internet homeschooling that the headmaster wanted to try out. There was a lot of regular post, emailing, and faxing, but in the end, they got it done.

It was now summer and close to the boys' birthdays. Harry and his mum were discussing the coming school year and what was going to happen to keep him and Neville safe.

Neville was at his gran's, visiting his parents. Augusta said that Albus had never once spoken to her or tried anything to get to Neville by her. So they were comfortable enough to let him go for weekends again. The Longbottom Manor had formidable wards.

The new secondary school they were going to, was a very exclusive and private school that put their students' privacy above all else. If anyone was to inquire about a student, they required a court order to get any information. Harry and Neville were there under their new names, and the headmaster was told who they were, and that they were being hunted by a terrorist group. So they were afforded even more privacy than most of the other students.

If someone came inquiring about the boys, Sirius and Alex were to be notified immediately. They would then come and take the boys away. Lily was going to stay with Harry at all times, which Harry strenuously protested to, but there were no arguments heard.

"It's not going to be fun for me either," she pointed out to her son. She didn't relish hanging out in his head for hours on end. When he was smaller it was easier, because she could help him with his learning. Now that he was older, and learning things she had long forgotten, it would be definitely harder. She would have to do something when he had to use the loo, because he was just too old to do that with her in his head. They would have to think of something.

"I know, and I know why you have to be there, but I don't have to like it," Harry said, sulking. He was thinking along the same lines as his mum, but he was more concerned that she would hold him back from making friends and growing up the way he wanted to.

"I just wish I could go invisible," Lily said not for the first time.

"Speaking of invisible, what ever happened to James' cloak?" Sirius asked as he came in from the kitchen. He sat on the sofa and arched an eyebrow at Lily for an answer. He was peeling an orange and leaving the peels on the table in front of him in a neat little pile.

"He loaned it to Dumbledore, because we thought we were safe behind the Fidelius," Lily said, thinking hard on if the old man had ever given it back. "He still has it," she concluded.

"I'll get it back," Sirius said, eating his orange and leaving the pile of peels for Twinky to clean. He got up and left the room, probably to write a letter to Dumbledore.

Lily huffed and swept them into her hand and took them to the trash. She didn't like Sirius leaving messes for the elf.

"Do you think Dad's cloak would work with you?" Harry asked, wondering if that was the answer to their current predicament. She could sit or stand somewhere, not right next to him, or in his head.

"I'll send Remus to get one that's cheap in Knockturn Alley. We can test it on one of those. If that works, then your father's will definitely work," she said with a huge smile. She had forgotten all about that cloak. It had gotten James out of a lot of messes back in the day. She was glad Sirius was going to go and get it.

"Will I get to keep it?" Harry asked, breaking her from her memories.

"Of course," Lily said, running her hand down his face. "It has been in the Potter family for centuries. It was always meant to go to you," she said still smiling at past memories.

"I didn't know that invisibility cloaks lasted that long," Harry pointed out. He had read they only lasted ten years at the most.

"Your dad's cloak was special," Remus said, coming from the lift. He had been out getting the lay of the land, so to speak. They had been here for many months, but he liked to get out and see who and what was hanging around the area.

"How so?" Harry asked, turning to look at his dad's friend and sorta uncle.

"We're not sure why, but it has lasted centuries," the werewolf said, repeating Lily unknowingly. "The only reference we could find on a cloak lasting that long was the Deathly Hallows. We're pretty sure that it is not Death's cloak," he said with a chuckle. He remembered when they did think that.

"That would be wicked if it was," Harry said, looking at his mum, who didn't seem to think so.

"Remus, can you go and get me a regular invisibility cloak?" she asked, putting the thoughts of Death and his hallows away for now. "We want to test to see if I can use one," she said, then told him of their plans for when Harry goes to secondary school.

"You know, it would be easier if one of us took a de-aging potion," Remus said, mulling that thought over.

"Do you really think you or Padfoot could sit through classes again? Do homework? Play with kids? Never mind on that last one," Lily said with a teasing smile.

"No, you're right, we couldn't. Well, Padfoot couldn't, and I have a shop to run," Remus said, seeing her point. Sirius would blow their cover within a week.

"Can't we hire a bodyguard? The school allows them," Harry all but whinged. He really didn't want his mum in his head. It was fun when he was a baby, but he's grown now.

"Let's do it my way first. If it gets to be too much, we'll come back to the bodyguard. The problem is they would have to know about me, you, and everyone here," Lily said, threading her hands in his hair.

"Fine," Harry said, batting her hands away.

"Why don't you go see what Twinky is up to. I think she's in the rooftop greenhouse," Lily said, trying to get his mind off the topic. He liked helping the house elf now and then.

"No, I've got reading that I want to do," Harry said, stomping off in the direction of the bedrooms.

"He's right, you know. He is getting too old to have his mum around him all the time," Remus said, giving her a pointed look.

"Which is why I stopped in Little Whinging, and look what happened," she snapped back, more because they were right, and she couldn't think of any other way to protect Harry and Neville.

"We'll find a way to protect them," he comforted. "I'll go and get the cloak, and until then we'll do it your way, but think about the bodyguard, okay?" he said, picking up his discarded coat and going to the lifts again. "I should be back before dinner, but don't hold it for me," he said as the doors closed.

"Did I just hear Remus?" Sirius asked as he came from the study. He had a letter in his hand.

"Yes, he's going to Knockturn to get an invisibility cloak for me," she said, looking at him and nodding to the letter. "Dumbledore?"

"Yeah, I figured I'll asked nicely, once," he said with a mischievous grin. "If he doesn't comply, then I'm going to sic Alex on him and go into full Marauder mode," he added still smirking like he just pulled off a great prank.

"Couldn't happen to a nicer guy," Lily said, then she had a thought. "Just don't let him tag you with any charms," she said, worried about tracking charms.

"As if I'd forget," Sirius said, holding up his wand like a pointer. He went over to the ward stone and bid her to follow. She did and noted all the runes on the stone. She knew what they meant, most of them. She had stopped studying when they went into hiding. "This one here," he said pointing to one that looked like a sideways mountain range, "it stops all malevolent charms from coming into the house."

"Oh, is a tracking charm considered malicious?" she asked, thinking it was neutral.

"Yes, because there is no good reason for anyone to be tracking us, so the wards see them as bad," Sirius explained. "Now, if we put one on Harry and Neville, it has our signature on it, therefore would be benign."

"Oh, that does make sense," Lily said, seeing the reasoning behind them. It wasn't that she was stupid, far from it. Wards had never been explained to her with any depth. They were glanced over in Hogwarts, but not studied in complexity.

"So you see, if Albus were to coat me in tracking charms, they would all fall off as soon as I got here," Sirius said a bit smugly.

"But they would trace you to this building," she said, worry in her voice again.

"Tracking charms only work when they are stationary," Sirius said, looking at her queerly. "Come on, Lily, you know this," he added.

"You stop and talk to the doorman," she pointed out. Which he did every time he entered the building.

"You're getting worse than Moody," Sirius said, throwing up his hands and moving from the room before he started yelling.

"I am not," she said to herself. "Am I?" she fretted. She knew she was being paranoid, but was she getting as bad as Mad-eye Moody? She had only met the man a few times in meetings of the Order of the Phoenix, and he was very paranoid. She really hoped that she wasn't going that far. Or that if she were it was justified.