Harry pulled the hood over his eyes as they entered an office that belonged to a child services worker. "Daddy... I'm scared..."

"It'll be fine..."

The woman glared at him. "One of you stunned a Ministry worker, and you are withholding a child from the Ministry. I highly doubt it will be 'fine'." It was Remus' turn to glare.

"I'm going to assume you have no idea what this 'child' has been through. He's been abused, raped, starved, and once he finally gets a family, the Ministry wants to rip it away from him. Your Ministry worker isn't even in this department. Umbridge yanked his hair and attempted to slap Harry across the face, that is why I stunned her. She had no regard for my possessions as she illegally searched my chambers with no prior notice of any sort."

"Yes... But you were harboring a wanted individual."

"Why is he wanted?!"

"Because, Mr. Lupin, he's been accused of abusing a child."

Severus felt himself shrink, his hold on Harry growing slightly tighter. "W-What?"

"While I do not agree with the accusers reasoning, we must look into any and all abuse accusations."

"And what was his reasoning?!"

"Umm... Well..." She trailed off, tugging at the collar of her shirt. "Well, you see...

"Here, let me take a guess," Remus growled, in an almost wolf like way. "Some prick saw the paper and instantly thought, 'Oh, look, some poufs raising a kid! Must be abuse!', and came crying to the Ministry!"

"Well... Look, we have to do interviews with the three of you and Kandace. Mr. Malfoy may leave." The tone of her voice said enough, Lucius made to stand, and Harry gripped his arm. "Lucy! Don't go!"

"What?" He knew Harry trusted maybe four people, and the fact that he could be one of them warmed his heart.

"Daddy, don' let him go!"

"Luc... Please...?"

"I-I guess."

"Oh, so no one knows how to listen?!" the woman snarled. "You said we may leave, not that we must. So, would you please get your head out of your arse and get this all over with? You said interviews, correct? Well, who's going first?" Lucius replied.

"I... We have four others on duty today, so we're able to do four interviews at once... Snape, Lupin, Dumbledore, and Kandace will go first."

"Is there a reason you find it necessary to force Harry to wait here alone?" Lucius snapped, his patience growing thinner and thinner with the imbecile in front of him. "He'll be alone either way, Mr. Malfoy. It is your day off, should you not be with your son?"

"My son is going to breakfast with his mother in Muggle London this morning. I've found I do not find the taste of the sugary things at the diner they have gone to appetizing. Now, answer the question; do you think, as you are the head of this department, that leaving an abused child, alone, with a stranger, his parents nowhere in sight?"

"Well... Look, if you're that worried, then you can stay with him, alright?! The rest of you, go into the four offices behind me, I don't care which one, but employees are waiting there!"

Every person glared as they took to the offices, all except for Severus. His gaze softened as he tilted Harry's chin to look at him. "Bambi, you have to stay here with Uncle Lucy, okay? Just for a little bit?"

"No! No! I'm not doing it!" Of course, the meltdown was expected, but it did not help. "I'll be in the other room, okay? You were okay staying with him those other few times, what's wrong with this?" He wasn't stupid. He knew what was wrong.

"I-I... They said they was going to take me 'way! I-I don' wanna go!"

"You aren't, honey. You're going to stay with Lucy, just for a bit, and then someone is going to ask you a few questions. I'll just be in another room, okay?"

"B-But-"

"Harry, have I ever lied to you?" He shook his head hesitantly. "Then you have to trust me. Everything is going to be okay. I promise." He hated, hated, making promises he might not be able to keep. "O-Okay..."

Harry allowed himself to be handed to Lucius, though he was shaking. "Daddy!" He shouted, changing his mind last minute. "No! Changed my mind, stay! Stay!" Severus looked back and shook his head as he walked through the door, which closed the second he was through.

"DADDY!!!" he screamed. With many twists, turns, and kicks, he was able to shimmy out of Lucius' grip and fall to the floor. When the doorknob would not open, he resorted to pounding on it.

"Harry, please stop this," Lucius tried... and failed. The shrieking continued, the tears would not cease, and Harry's tiny fists repeatedly hit the door. "Please-"

"NO! NO! NO, NO, NO!!"

"Will you tell me why you are so upset?" He decided to take a different approach, and ignore the halfwit mumbling, "I don't get paid enough for this shit..."

"D-D-Daddy l-left! H-He's not c-comin' back! P-Pappy's gone t-too!"

"Harry, he's going to come back through that door for you in a just a little bit-"

"No he's not!" It took Lucius off guard how sure Harry was of this. "D-Daddy said h-he wouldn't leave! I-I didn' want him to and he LEFT! HE DON'T WANT ME ANYMORE!"

"Oh, Harry, that isn't true-"

"Yes it is! Uncle didn' want me, Auntie didn't want me, why would Daddy want me?!"

"You listen to me, Harry," Lucius stated softly, with no room for question in his voice. Harry shakily nodded. "Severus and Remus are going to come back very soon, but they have to talk to some people first. This is very serious, Harry."

"S-Serious?"

"Some people... Don't think men who love men are fit to raise children. They are, of course, wrong about that, but sometimes these people try and make things really hard. Your daddy and pappy are doing everything they can, and will do everything they can to keep you and raise you. They will come back. I promise."

"W-Why do they want me?" Harry stuttered out.

"Harry... It's very complicated and very simple. The simple thing is that every child deserves someone to love them. Sev knew you when you were a baby, did you know that?" Okay, maybe he was stretching the truth, but it wasn't a whole lie... "He loved you so, so so much. He thought you were safe, so once he found out you weren't, he knew he had to help you, no matter what."

Harry simply pulled his hood farther over his eyes, hugged Lily to his chest, and soon found himself squished between a couch and the wall. He buried his head in her soft fur, trying to drown out the world.

He'd been woken up by a frantic Remus, hidden (without breakfast, which was really the worst part at the time), then found, then had his hair pulled, almost slapped, wet himself, and now he was at this evil place without his daddy and without Batty or Luna or Dragon or even his weighted blankie.

He had never felt like this. Something, someone was missing. So much was missing. He knew they should be sitting at their table, eating breakfast or lunch, or learning to read, or eating Halloween candy behind Remus' back because Severus would slip him one.

Alone, that was it. But this was a different kind of lonely. The kind of lonely you can only feel after you finally have a home and a family, only for your worst fear, them being taken from you, seemingly coming true. The kind of lonely you feel when you love someone so much it hurts, and suddenly they are gone. When you'd rather have them back than have them be gone, because you'd rather love them so much it hurt and have them with you, than love them so much it hurt and know that there was a slim chance they would not return.

The next thing he knew, he was asleep, head resting against the couch, a few stray tears running down his cheek. "Your brats asleep, you can get him out of there," the woman said.

Lucius decided he had had enough.

"Listen here, you fool, you halfwit, you no good, foul mouthed, complete and utter bitch," Lucius started. "If you so much as say one ill word about Harry, Severus, or Lu-Remus, I will take your behavior up with the Minister, and we all know she hates you anyway, with the many complaints she gets about you being biased. Against homosexuals, Muggle borns, werewolves, vampires, hell, even a relationship between a Muggle woman and a werewolf, both wonderful people really... Simply because of their personal life?"

"I do what I have to to keep children safe-"

"That's what my sad excuse for a father used to tell me. He said 'Oh, it's protecting the children!', when really, all it is is you protecting your reputation and trying to make your views seem like the proper views. I've heard what you think of Malfoys, you know, and while you might be correct about my father, you are sorely mistaken about me. I've realized my fathers mistakes along with my own, and I, unike you, am trying to correct those mistakes to the best of my ability. You, on the other hand, do not, so get your overgrown head out of your fat arse."

She glared as she nodded. "Stupid Malfoy's..." he heard her whisper, and flicked his wand. "Oh, and you have something in your hair... A beetle, maybe..." He watched out of the corner of his eye as she reached for a mirror and shrieked. Her once straight, brown hair, was now curly and neon blue, and surely enough, a beetle, a humongous orange beetle, was crawling through the mess on her head.

"Why you- Why- Merlin's beard gerrof me! Get it off, get it off, get it off! " Before Lucius was able to do anything of the sort, she dropped in a dead faint. "Serves you right," he mumbled, before squeezing his arms in the tight space between the couch and the wall so he could lift Harry under his arms. He noticed Harry stirring, but he was already out of his hiding spot, no point in shoving him back in.

No, instead he decided to let Harry sleep on the couch, duplicating his thick outer robe for Harry to use as a cover, and folded Harry's smaller blanket for him to use as a pillow. Lucius' head was pounding, much to bad for him to do any Transfiguration, though when Harry wrapped it around himself, he smiled to himself. Besides, who would want some blanket when they could have a thick, velvet outer robe with a slight heating charm on in?

Lucius decided to start reading a book he had in his pocket, but was stopped when he heard the door open. Both Severus and Remus walked out. "How was it?" he asked, almost fearing the answer. Based on their grim faces, he could tell something was wrong. "Harry was to spend the night at a Ministry officials house. The two who interviewed us each said they believed it sounded like a loving family, even looked at memories, but Dumbledore and Kandace aren't done, and Umbridge woke up and ran." Lucius glanced at the spot where Umbitch once was.

Empty.

"Damn..."

"They said he could either spend it at yours or Dumbledore, as you're both in the Ministry anyway, or they'd place him with someone skilled in abuse cases. Luc-"

"I'll do it. He can come over for the night, it's fine. Last time I was over he asked about Dray, so they should meet anyways, shouldn't they?"

Severus nodded in agreement. "They have to interview Harry as well. Parents aren't allowed."

"He's asleep, do they really have to?"

"His interview determines whether we really have to make him go somewhere or not."

"Oh..."

Remus let out a sigh as his eyes travelled to the woman on the floor. "So... What's up with her?"

"I figured she should keep her big mouth shut for once. I will be taking her up with the Minister, of course," Lucius sneered.

"I think you and Harry should go in there. They might think we're coaching him," Remus said. Lucius made to shake Harry lightly, and was stopped by Severus.

"He won't want to go. You have to wake him up in there."

"He's going to hate all of us..."

"I'd rather have him hate me than get taken away. And he won't 'hate' me. He might not like me for a while, but he won't hate me. Now go. Before it's too much."

Harry began to stir, clutching Lily tighter. "Da..." he mumbled in his sleep. "Pap..."

The two felt their hearts break.

Harry blinked his eyes open slowly, and grinned when he saw them standing in front of him. "Daddy! Pappy! You're back! You're back, you're back!" He reached out for them, though he couldn't reach. "Lucy! Let go, I wan' Daddy!"

"Harry," Severus started. "Can you do one more thing for me?"

"Will I ge'ta come home?!"

Seveurs nodded. "Yeah! I ca' do somethin'!"

"You and Lucy are going to go talk to someone, okay? They'll ask you questions, and you are going to answer them, okay? The truth, no lies."

"I don' lie! Lying's bad!"

"You are right. Lying is bad, so can you tell them the truth?" Harry nodded.

"Daddy come!"

"No, bambi..." Severus mumbled. "I can't. Lucy can, though-"

"Why not?!"

"It's not how it works, honey."

"Bu-"

"Please?"

Harry nodded. "H-Hug?" Severus gave him a small smile, and nodded. "You can always have a hug, Hare." He opened his arms as Lucius moved the small child, who curled against the warm chest that belonged to Severus.

"'M scared..."

"Don't be. It'll be okay. I promise."

"Promise-promsise?"

"Mmm... yeah. Promise-promise." He doubted everything would be okay. Nothing was ever 'okay' for him, and he knew it. "Can you go to Lucy now?"

"O-Okay... C-Can you hold blankie?" Severus nodded, and took the still folded blanket from Harry.

A nicer looking, middle aged woman was waiting for them in a comfortable looking office. There were a few chairs, a small, child sized table, covered in parchment and crayons, along with a few board games and Exploding Snap.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Lindsey. What is your name?"

"H-Harry..." he responded, in nothing more than a whisper.

"A wonderful name. You, sir?"

"Lucius Malfoy, call me whatever you please."

"Wonderful. Harry, we have crayons and parchment, if you would like to draw or color something, or we have a few games we could play while we talk."

"C-Color..." Harry sat criss-cross on a beanbag chair, tucked Lily under his arm, chose a black crayon, and started doodling. Lucius kneeled on the floornext to him, face flushing a light pink when he realized how silly he must look. Lindsey sat across the two in another beanbag chair, and glanced at Harry's work.

"Very pretty, Harry."

"Thank you..."

"You are very welcome. Would you mind if I asked you some questions while you draw?" Harry shook his head. "Alright then. If something is too uncomfortable to answer, just say so, and we can skip it, alright?" A nod was his response.

"How would you describe your home?" she asked. Harry smiled as he thought of all the brilliantly wonderful things he had there.

"I love it..." he mumbled. "I-I have toys and other stuff, and Daddy and Pappy play games with me, and sometimes I get to help make dessert. An' I get to have sleepovers with Pappy sometimes. I... Daddy said I could get a pet fish!" Harry exclaimed as he remember what Severus had told him a week prior, when he saw one in a store window. "I see'd one in a window and Daddy said I could get one if I behafed!"

"Saw, and behaved, Harry," she corrected lightly. "Go on."

"I'm learning to read, too! I has all sorts of books! I like the one with Goldy and her bears, though, tha's my fav'rite."

"I like that one as well... Do they ever hurt you? Or make you scared?"

Harry felt his eyes well up with fresh tears. "No! Daddy would never hurt me! Pappy wouldn't either! T-They never hurt me or yell! That's what Uncle did, not them!" he exclaimed angrily, clutching the blue crayon he had so hard it broke in half. He realized this, and shuddered.

"I-I... I didn' mean to..." he whispered. He dropped the crayon on the table and fidgeted with his hands in his lap. "I-I... I didn't mean to break it..."

The tears fell.

"Why are you crying?"

"U-Uncle didn't like it when th-things... when I... I breaked things. I went i-in the cupboard."

"Which uncle?"

"V-Ve'non. Uncle Ve'non."

"Vernon Dursley?" Harry nodded.

"B-But Daddy says if it's an accident... It's okay, and that I won' get in trouble... Pappy says that too."

"Have you ever broken something there?"

"Y-Yeah... I-I breaked a plate... D-Daddy fixed it though! H-He said I wasn't in trouble!"

"Why did you have a plate? Was it glass?"

"I-I wanted to help Daddy, an' there was a plate on the table. He was doin' dishes, so I was gonna give it to him, but it slipped and fell."

"Did you get hurt?"

"No... Daddy picked me up and had me sit on a chair until he was done sweepin', and then he used magic to get the rest, and he fixed the plate. Then... Then we got to play games! Pappy came over... They told me not to touch the plates and things anymore, that it isn't my job... If I want to help, then I can keep my toys picked up and my room clean. I do! And if I keep my room clean, I get a treat on Satu'day!" Despite his happiness in remembering these memories, Harry was still awfully quiet, and a few tears were still falling, something Lindsey took note of.

"My, my, it sounds like you have a lot of fun there, don't you!"

"Mmm-hmm."

"And you like it there?"

"Yep! I never wanna leave, ever! Not 'til I go to Hogwa'ts, but then Daddy and Pappy will still be teaching so they'll still be there, and I can visit and learn magic with them!"

She jotted some notes on to her clipboard. "What about meals?"

"I has cereal for breakfast sometimes... but Daddy only lets me have the sugary kind on Sunday. Or else I have eggs and sausages, but I always have fruit. Lunch is good, my favorite is fish an' chips, but I only get that sometimes... We try lottsa different things for dinner, but I really like meat pie! And treacle tarts! Those are yummy..."

"You eat your fruits and vegetables?"

"Mmm-hmm. I like strawberries and carrots and blueberries and cucumber and 'tatoes."

She continued asking a variety of questions, some made Harry go quiet, but he had yet to refuse one. She took notes, and realized, this family was perfect. Almost in everyway, but there were flaws in every family, so she could not say they were one-hundred-percent perfect, though they were close.

"One final question, and then you can go back to your daddy and pappy, okay?"

"Really?!"

"Yep."

"Okay!"

"So, you feel safe and happy there?"

"Mmm-hmm..."

She stood, signed her name on a few things, and Accio'd a form from the other room. She handed the form to Lucius, who scanned it over. "Therapy?" he questioned.

"For the future. While I may not be a therapist of any sort, I do believe it could help if he still as the anxiety and stress in the future. I've signed off on my opinions. I do not believe there is anything remotely wrong with this family. While yes, Severus Snape should get his temper down, that is around his students, not Harry, so there is no danger there.

"I do hope you stay in this childs life," she stated quietly. "I know you have a son, but... the way he looks at you..."

"...Thank you..." was all Lucius was able to get out. "Harry, want to go see daddy and pappy?!"

"Finally?"

"Yes, Hare. Let's go, come on."

"Can I bring my drawings?"

"Of course." He held out a hand, which Harry took, and made to leave, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.