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Dear Ron,

   Hope your summer is going well. My family and I have been going camping every weekend. It has been brilliant to explore the outdoors a bit. I think it is helping remind me that the world is not just in books. Have you heard from Harry at all? I keep sending letters but I have not received a single reply. I am starting to worry. I know Harry barely opened up at the end of the school term, but what little he said did not sound good. I also heard his Uncle yelling at him when he picked Harry up at King’s Cross. 

Your Friend,

Hermione

~TTT~

Dear Hermione,

   Sounds brilliant. Mum has us doing chores constantly. I swear I’ve de-gnomed the bloody garden three times already. Ginny is already nervous as hell for her first year. The twins keep testing new pranks on us and I was Slytherin green all of yesterday. Stupid prats. I am getting worried about Harry too. I thought we would hear from him by now. I think I am going to try and reach him another way soon. Let me know if you hear from him.

Yours too,

Ron

~TTT~

Hermione,

   I tried one of those tele-foney things. The man screamed at me that there was no Harry Potter living there. I think something is very wrong there. I am going to find him. Ask your parents if you can visit the Burrow.  Send me a note and I can meet you at the tele-foney box in Ottery St. Catchpole

Ron

~TTT~

Harry was not having a good summer. He hadn’t heard from any of his friends, despite sending several letters to each of them. He was also dealing with the PTSD from facing Quirellmort at the end of the year. Harry was frustrated that Dumbledore sent him back here despite his begging. He felt disillusioned with the Headmaster’s supposed goodness. He had time to reflect on the last year and was discovering just how much had been manipulated to force the confrontation at the end. Of course, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernin had poured on the chores and Harry was exhausted. This was causing him to miss things, make mistakes, and not even finish his lists. Every infraction , as Petunia called them, came with dire consequences. Harry flinched as he felt the scabs on his back crack and start leaking blood and puss yet again. Vernon had taken his belt to Harry after Harry had burned part of dinner. Harry was also back in the cupboard under the stairs, and had been for a week. What little height he had gained, meant the room was even more cramped. He shielded his eyes as light suddenly flooded the room.

“Get up Freak! We have important guests coming tonight, and you need to make dinner. Go get cleaned up and changed, then get started.”

Harry bolted up the stairs not wishing for another beating. His thoughts focused on what he was going to make. Important guests meant food made to impress. He could make a nice caesar salad for starters, then steak tartar and roasted potatoes and vegetables seasoned with garlic, rosemary, and a few other herbs. A chocolate pudding cake would finish up the night as dessert. Harry quickly washed up and took the opportunity to wrap his wounds as best he could. He threw on yet another oversized shirt and pants before heading back downstairs to the kitchen. Harry finished the dessert first so it could chill in the refrigerator. Everything else was prepared with delicate precision and he instructed Petunia on how to present it. She scowled the whole time, but Vernon wanted the boy hidden once their guests arrived. Harry made his way upstairs as he was dismissed. He collapsed onto his thin mattress and closed his eyes hoping he would not be disturbed for the rest of the day and night. He wasn’t sure how much later it was when he was awoken by Hedwig screeching. He was lucky his glasses were still on, as he caught an odd creature summoning a letter from the owl’s leg. 

“Hey, who are you?” 

Harry lunged at the creature trying to grab the letter. When the letter disappeared, he slumped to the ground already expending the little energy he had. He was also worried about making too much noise and calling down his Uncle’s wrath. He felt tears come to his eyes and was too exhausted to hold them back. He started to sob.

“W-why, why are you stealing my mail?”

“The Great Harry Potter cannot be returning to Hogwarts. Dobby bes thinking Master Harry not go back if he thinks friends be abandoning him. Danger comes to Hogwarts.”

This caused Harry to get angry. He yanked of his shirt and showed this Dobby his back.

“Hogwarts is dangerous! This house is dangerous for me. I have to go back so I can get away from here”

Dobby visibly flinched away and began banging his head on the cupboard.

“Master Harry cannot go back. Master Harry still alive here. Great Master Harry die if he go back.”

Harry had enough and summoned the strength to lunge at the creature one more time. Dobby popped away and Harry ran downstairs hoping to catch him. He saw Dobby in the kitchen and snuck his way over. As he crept closer, his breath caught in his throat. The large cake he had made was floating into the living room where his relatives were having coffee with their guest. He tried to creep closer hoping he could catch the cake before something happened. Right before he got to it he saw Dobby pop away and the cake splattered all over the woman sitting on the couch. His eyes widened and he ran up to his room. Vernon’s face had gone purple with rage. Harry slammed his door shut and dove under his bed. He heard Petunia apologizing and making excuses about Harry, saying he was a disturbed boy. Harry trembled in fear as he heard the front door shut. He heard the thudding steps of Vernon climbing the stairs and prayed the man would be too fat to get him. In his fear, he forgot that his bed frame was lightweight aluminum. He shrank back as his door slammed open. 

“Get out here freak. It will be worse if I have to pull you out of there.”

Despite this, Harry felt frozen. He closed his eyes, willing all of this to just end. Light peaked through his eyelids as the bed was thrown away from him. He glanced up in time to see a fist flying at his face and tried to raise his arms in time. The first blow collided with his eye socket causing his vision to flicker. Then a ham sized fist yanked him away from the corner and threw him to the floor. His vision was blurry and he could feel cuts from his broken glasses. Harry heard a rustling and then a foot impacted his stomach with enough force to push him a few feet. Blows began to rain down on his head, ribs and anywhere Vernon could hit. Right as Harry thought he would lose consciousness, Vernon backed off. Harry screamed as he heard the man’s belt being pulled through belt loops. Then came blinding pain as the leather began to rip into his body. It didn’t take long for Harry’s world to go black. He had no idea how long he was out before he heard a concerned voice scream his name.

“HARRY!”

Chapter Text

“MUM!”

Molly Weasley’s attention snapped away from where she was furiously hand scrubbing a bowl of potatoes. Normally she would let magic handle the mundane kitchen tasks, but she had awoken to three of her children missing. There wasn’t even a note, just three empty beds and a missing Ford Anglia. Fred and George were often getting into trouble, and seemed to embody the spirits of Loki and Lugh. They reminded her so much of her own brothers. That was why she was so hard on them at times. She never wanted to see her sons suffer the same fate as Gideon and Fabian. Her heart wouldn’t be able to stand it. It is honestly why she tried to push all of her children into nice safe jobs at the ministry. 

“MUM! It’s Harry, I think he stopped breathing.”

Her heart plummeting, she raced out the door of the kitchen and took in the sight before her. Fred, George, and Ron all had blood staining their hands and shirts.

“Are you hurt?”

They all shook their heads and Ron indicated the brunette he held.

“It’s all Harry’s mum. I just knew something was wrong. We found him lying in a puddle of blood, vomit, and piss. Please, help him mum. I think he is dying.”

Molly had her wand out now, throwing her mind back to her study as a medi-witch before Bill came along. Most people forgot that she was incredibly gifted at the healing arts shortly after Hogwarts and during the war with Voldemort. She cast a diagnostic spell and gave a horrified glance and the purple and red aura that covered most of Harry’s head and chest. Much of the rest of his body was also red, fading into yellow in just a few spots. The purple meant that there were several organs that were beginning to fail and needed immediate attention.

“Fred, go grab the family potions kit and meet me up in my room. George, contact your father with the family emergency charm. Ron, get cleaned up, then take Harry’s things into your room. Fred and George, clean up after and then gather everyone in the living room. Send your father up as soon as he arrives.”

With that, Molly picked Harry up and apparated directly to the room she shared with Arthur. She laid the boy in the bed and began casting spells that would halt bleeds, keep his heart pumping, and lungs breathing. Just as she finished, Fred rushed in with a large bag. They may not have much, but seven children meant Molly kept this bag well stocked. She was a fine hand at potions and was able to barter for many ingredients she needed. They grew a fair number of common ingredients as well. She quickly spelled two blood replenishers into Harry’s stomach. Unfortunately, Essence of Dittany was a bit outside of what they could afford. She did have Murtlap Essence which would keep infection at bay, and help seal the wounds. Harry would live with the scars however. She then spelled into his stomach a swelling reducer, to keep his brain from damaging itself, as well as a pain potion. A spell was used to remove a broken rib from a lung. She vanished the rib entirely and another spell closed the wound. Several more spells set bones and closed up skin where said bones had broken through. Finally, she cast another diagnostic and breathed a sigh when the aura was only yellow. There was still so much more healing needed for the poor boy, but he was out of danger.

Sometime during all of this, Arthur had entered the room and watched his wife work. He had seen some gruesome things in the war but the damage to this young man made his stomach turn. He saw his wife slump in relief and moved up behind her, coughing slightly so as not to startle her. He wrapped his arms around her, as she turned and buried her face in his chest. Sobs began to shake her frame as she held onto him tightly. A few moments later they ceased and she pulled back. Arthur was almost surprised at the level of anger he now saw in her eyes.

“Albus lied to us, Arthur. He lied and manipulated all of us. Harry has scars from more than just this incident. We cannot allow Harry to return to that home. There is evidence of years of abuse. We need to get Amelia involved and Severus as well. Harry is going to need potions. How could this happen? How could Albus let this happen?”

Arthur held his wife and nodded. It was time to get his boss involved and maybe to step out of semi-retirement for both him and Molly. It wasn’t common knowledge but he and Molly wore glamours to hide how they truly appeared. The hair and eyes were correct but little else was. The reason being was that he and Molly used to belong to the Hit Wizards. It was how they met in fact. Molly was his handler and medic while he did field work. Essentially, as spies for the DMLE, they had to work undercover quite a bit in the war and had made enemies. That was why Arthur looked like an out-of-shape, balding man, and Molly like a plump, frazzled housewife. It was why Arthur continued at an underfunded and understaffed department in the Ministry. Not even their own children knew of these secrets. Arthur thought it was high time to tell their children. Ginny was about to start Hogwarts which meant all their children were old enough. With this revelation of Harry’s home life, they were going to need some old allies, allies that were not in Albus Dumbledore’s pockets.

“Ok Mollywobbles, my amazing omega, I think it is time we have a family discussion. I will contact Bill and Charlie. I will tell them it involves Family business so they can be released by their bosses for a few days. I also think we should get Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora involved. Perhaps Moody and Shacklebolt as well. I don’t think Dumbledore has his claws in them yet. We should also contact Remus. When he sees what Albus left his pup too, well I doubt he wouldn’t do just about anything to protect Harry. If this is what Harry has grown up with, I doubt the boy knows anything about wizarding culture or his own legacy. Merlin, he should be wearing the Potter Heir ring at the very least. This just turned into a busy summer.”

They separated with a kiss and Arthur wiped away his wife’s leftover tears. He went downstairs and floo called his oldest two sons. Molly placed a monitoring charm over Harry and went down to start on a late lunch. She informed her children who had gathered in the living room that there would be a family meeting after lunch. She sent them off to various rooms until then, but offered hugs to Ron, Fred, and George. She told them how proud she was, and that they were not in trouble. Ron asked if he could go call Hermione and invite her over for the following few days. He was granted permission and took off for the phone booth. 

“Hello”

“Hermione? It’s Ron. That you?”

“Yes Ron, it’s me. What happened? Why are you calling?”

“It’s Harry, me and the twins went to get him. He was a mess, he almost died. Mum says you can come over tomorrow for several days. Can you try? I think Harry will need us. Just try ok.”

“I’ll be there. Please let me know if anything happens before I get there? Is Harry ok?”

“I don’t think ok is the right word, but he is safe. I gotta go. See you tomorrow. Bye.”

“Bye Ron.”

The rest of the afternoon had a tension surrounding it that everyone at the Burrow could feel. Charlie and Bill surprised their siblings when they showed up for dinner, and even Ginny knew that this was serious. Dinner passed with small talk around the table as Bill and Charlie caught everyone up. After they finished, Arthur led everyone into the sitting room. He had all of his children take a seat and motioned for Molly to join him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and looked into her eyes. There was a moment of silent communication between them before Molly nodded. Arthur turned to their children with a pensive look on his face.

“Earlier today Fred, George, and Ron took the flying car and went looking for Harry. Normally they would be in a lot of trouble for this. However, they found Harry barely alive, having been beaten by his uncle. Harry is stable now, but he has a long recovery ahead of him. Now your mother and I, we trusted Dumbledore when he said that Harry is safe and loved. That is obviously not the case. We are going to get some old friends involved over the next few days to make sure Harry never returns to those awful people. There is something your mother and I have been keeping from all of you. Bill and Charlie, I hate to say that we had to alter your memories a bit shortly after Ron came into our lives. I was a hit-wizard during the war and your mother was my handler and medic. We made enemies, and decided that it had become too dangerous to continue. So using Family magic we altered our appearance, moved out of Weasley Manor, and laid low. We did this to keep all of you safe. We are telling you now because all of you are now old enough. On top of that, Dumbledore has been revealed for the liar and manipulator that he is. We are going to need our old friends, and our family’s seat of power back in order to protect Harry. We are sorry that we had to keep ourselves poor, but far more Death Eaters escaped the last war than was safe. I hope you can forgive us. Now I am going to release the magics on us.”

Arthur noticed his four youngest staring wide eyed as they tried to absorb all the information. Bill and Charlie were reserved. Percy appeared to be shocked and barely keeping himself composed. Ron was the first to speak up.

“I forgive you dad, mum. You kept all of us safe, maybe we didn’t have all the nicest things, but we had our family. That is so much more than Harry had. I am never going to forget what I saw today and I am never going to be jealous of Harry again. We have to help him, he is family too.”

The rest of the family looked in shock and the youngest son in the family.

“What? Harry is my best friend. I love him. I want to protect him. Dumbledore can eat sand for doing this.”

Fred and George looked at each other. They spoke at the same time.

“We’re in too. For Harry!”

Arthur received nods from the others. He raised his wand and muttered a few lines in Latin. His children stared in awe as he and Molly changed before their very eyes. Bill and Charlie remembered flashes of their childhood in another location, house elves watching over them as their parents left quite often. They moved to hug their parents and were joined by their siblings. Everyone had tears in their eyes, and yet there was hope and happiness in the group hug. Arthur took a deep breath. That went better than he expected.

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Harry felt like he was floating on a cloud. Soft, indistinct voices could be heard somewhere nearby. ‘This is it, Vernon killed me this time. Maybe I can at least see my parents now. I hope Hermione and Ron aren’t too sad.’ The voices became louder and Harry tried to open his eyes. Bright light caused him to slam them shut again and he let out a groan.

“It is ok, Harry dear. You are safe. Just rest. We are watching over you.”

The voice was so nice and calm. It made Harry feel safe and he fell back to sleep as the gentle voice continued to speak soothingly to him. A hand began to pet his hair and he nuzzled into it for a moment before sleep took him again.

The next time Harry awoke he was feeling incredibly well rested. He opened his eyes carefully and found very dim light in the room he was in. He found he could actually see the room very clearly despite his glasses not being on his face. He actually saw more clearly than the glasses had ever let him see. Tilting to the side he noticed an unfamiliar redheaded woman asleep in an armchair next to his bed. Looking around, he didn’t recognize where he was at all. The bed was huge, easily a king size or larger. It was a four poster with a canopy of sky blue. The wood was dark throughout the room with more blue and some silver accents. It felt comfortable and Harry liked the colors. He then realized that he was in dire need of the loo. He noticed a cracked open door with white tile behind it and hoped that was the room he was searching for. He stood on wobbly legs and attempted to walk to the ajar door. Harry made it only a few steps away from the support of the bed before his atrophied legs gave out and he hit the floor with a thud. A pained groan escaped his lips, waking the beautiful woman.

“Oh Harry, you should have woken me. Here you need to remain in bed.”

“M’fine, need the loo.”

“You are not fine, young man, seeing as I am the one that pulled you from the brink of death. I will take care of your needs.”

Harry felt familiar magic wash over him and suddenly his need for the bathroom disappeared. Surprisingly strong arms scooped him up off of the floor and deposited him back into the soft bed. He noticed that while the woman looked different, she was looking at him in a familiar way.

“M-mrs. Weasley, is that you? You look different.”

“Yes Harry, you are safe. You are in Weasley Manor. There is a lot we need to tell you, but for now you need to heal and rest. Are you hungry?”

Harry nodded and a tray of light broth and bread was delivered by a house elf. He had flinched away when Blossom had appeared in the room. That led to an explanation about Dobby to Mrs. Weasley. Tears filled his eyes as he realized that people now knew just how bad things had been for him. Molly slipped onto the bed and pulled him into her arms. One hand began petting his hair as she whispered to him. The half eaten tray of food was set to the side.

“You are safe Harry. You are loved and you are never going back to those despicable people. Sleep now and we will have answers for you when you are healthier. You have been here for a week.”

Harry was quick to fall back into a thankfully dreamless sleep. Molly set an alarm to alert her if he awoke again. The family was meeting again with a few allies. She and Arthur had more secrets to spill now that their kids had mostly settled from the last big reveal.

~TTT~

The Weasley family was once again gathered together in a sitting room of their manor. Joining them were several allies both old and new. Severus Snape had turned from Dumbledore after being called to the Burrow and seeing the state Harry was in. Amelia Bones was their boss and family friend. She had brought three trusted aurors with her. Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Nymphadora Tonks, who in turn had brought her parents. Andromeda Tonks nee Black was a fierce woman in her own right and Ted Tonks was a well established solicitor. Last to join them was Remus Lupin. The werewolf was ready to do anything to protect his pup after finding out the truth. Molly stepped into the room and eyes turned to her.

“Harry woke up for a few moments. He ate a small amount before falling asleep again. Arthur, we should finish explaining things to the children and our friends before he wakes again.”

“You are right my love. We do have a few more secrets to spill to all of you. These secrets will shock you, but please listen to us and know that we love each one of you. These secrets were kept for the safety of you all. Not so secret, Bill you are heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Weasley. Now for the biggest secret. Bill and Charlie, you are the only two that are biologically ours. The rest of you were blood adopted to keep you protected. In the last war, Voldemort and his forces were wiping out families left and right. We were brought each of you by Amelia to protect you. Percy you are the last male alive of the Ancient and Noble House of Fawley. Your parents were lost in a fire started by Death Eaters. Fred and George, you are actually our nieces. Your fathers were Fabian and Gideon Prewett and your mother was Anisa Shacklebolt. Kingsley is also your uncle. We changed your birth gender to further hide you after they were killed in an ambush. We can reverse it if you wish. All of you will be allowed to reclaim your Houses if you so wish. Ron, you were born to Marlene McKinnon before the entire family was killed. We don’t know who your father is, I am sorry. Ginny, you actually have a surviving parent, who is in this room. Severus, you had us place the secret of her under a Fidelius so Voldemort and Dumbledore could not find her. She is yours and Regulus Black’s. You froze your pregnancy after Regulus went missing and then after you switched sides, we used a ritual to transfer the pregnancy to Molly who birthed her as your surrogate.”

Several times the children had tried to interject, and Molly had silenced them until Arthur got through his reveal. Severus had gone pale and seemed to be Occluding heavily to keep his emotions in check. Kingsley was staring at the twins in shock and had made an abortive move towards them. The rest of the wixen in the room were too stunned to react much. Molly released her spell, but the children were speechless. She looked at each of them in turn.

“We have loved each and everyone of you as best we can and we consider you ours, but you deserve the truth now. I know it is a huge shock. Please know that we would never hurt any of you, and no matter what you decide from here on out we still consider you to be ours.”

Tears were in her eyes as she expected her children to react negatively and she closed them to try and compose herself. She couldn’t hold them back as she felt the twins wrap their arms around her.

“You will always…

...now and forever…

...be our mother.”

Soon the rest of the children had joined the twins in surrounding her and whispering their love and acceptance. Tears were flowing freely for several moments until they all settled down. Ginny was the first to turn around and moved slowly over to the stoic Potion’s Master. 

“Are you going to reject me?”

The simple question broke through the heavy shields the Omega was wrapping around his mind. He had tried so hard to forget about his Alpha Regulus and all the pain of his disappearance. Hearing the secret from Arthur had released his memories from the Fidelius. This was his daughter, his and Reggie’s. His last connection to the man he loved with all his heart. Now that he knew it was too painful to think of losing her again. He reached out and hugged her close.

“Of course not. Your papa and I planned to call you Diana Celeste Black, but you can keep your name and looks if you wish. You are ours no matter what you choose.”

Ginny was a little overwhelmed and unsure what to decide, but she let herself be held by her daddy and they cried a bit together. Across the room, Kingsley was holding the twins and his strong arms and remembering his little sister. Everyone’s head snapped to the door as a small voice called out.

“Is this a bad time?”

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Hello to my readers. I am happy to announce that the writing bug has returned after a long, very long, hiatus. However, some of my stories will not be getting updates and some will be getting rewrites. I also have a few new story ideas and plot bunnies roaming around my head. I am sorry but for various reasons some of my stories just cannot be continued or remain as they are. Please be on the lookout for more updates and new stuff on the way. I love and appreciate all of you.