Marlene wasn't sure who that animagus really was but from what happened it was probably a good sign.

It has been a week since the incident and her family's concerns that the entire town will be wiped out by voldmort and the death eaters were quickly vanquished.

The animagus was harmless except for the fact that it bit her hand hard but luckily her mother was a professional healer at St Mungo so she was recovering nicely.

One of the most important questions she and her family couldn't find an answer to was why was that animagus here if it wasn't a death eater spy?

The door to her room opened and one of her sisters walked in.

"Marls come down for breakfast" Her sister said.

Marlene nodded and followed her out of the room.

Her entire family was already gathered around the table ready to eat.

Her father looked up at her and smiled.

"Morning dad" Marlene said smiling in greeting.

"Morning pumpkin number two" Her father said causing her to smile and sit down.

"Morning sweetheart how is your hand?" Her mother asked as she started adding food to her plate.

"Much better" She said.

Then accepted the food plate her mother gave her.

"I can't believe it, What horrible luck I almost had him" Her cousin said as he hit the table with his fist in regret.

"It's alright, At least he didn't come back" Her uncle said.

"I'm really sorry Marls" Her cousin said sounding really apologetic.

Marlene smiled and shook her head.

"It's alright I'm fine now" She said.

"It might be a bit early to stop fretting, We still don't know what his intentions were he could be part of a bigger death eater army, I say we don't let our gaurds down" Her uncle Henry said.

Everyone seemed to agree with him including Marlene, It never hurts to be too careful after all.

•☆☆☆•

James paced his room back and forth not knowing what to do.

It has been a week since he last heard from Sirius and it wasn't a good sign at all.

He knew just how much Sirius loved muggle studies that he could ace the subject with his eyes closed.

But his parents and most of his family found muggles to be repulsive and in conclusion Sirius was equally repulsive to them and his entire family in general.

Knowing that his friend's school performance envelope naturally fell into the hands of Walburga Black wasn't something to look forward to but was to be expected.

It didn't help that Sirius picked the subject without informing his family which made James concern about him even more.

The problem here was that the Black house wasn't really fond of visitors especially ones related to Sirius which made visiting even more difficult for James.

"Bloody hell what should I do?" He asked himself as he continued fretting about the situation.

He could try to send a letter to Reg but he wasn't sure if he'll send him anything in return.

It was his only option for the time being though so he hurried over to his desk and started writing.

Regulus

I know that you and me aren't the best of acquaintances yet alone friends but there's something I hope you have an answer for.

You see your brother Sirius picked a not so loved subject at school one that doesn't match your parents and their expectations of a supposedly perfect son, My concern isn't about your parents and their opinion though it's about Sirius himself, It has been an entire week since the school performance and exam result letters were announced and I haven't heard from him since then.

If you ever manage to get this letter I hope you can send me a letter of reply in return because I'm really worried and I hope you can give me some answers.

J.F.P.

He finished writing the letter and fastened it to his owl then let the letter fly out of the window hoping from the bottom of his heart that none other then Regulus Black would get it.

His mind started playing different scenarios about how the situation went down, The Black family save for a rare few of them took huge pride in being purebloods and despised anything muggle related with every fibre of their beings.

Which meant that Sirius might have been in grave danger enough to stop him from sending an owl to any of his friends.

James mentally slapped himself for being such an idiot he should have asked Sirius to come spend the entire summer break at his house and with an actual family, He shouldn't have believed Sirius when he said he could handle them just fine, Maybe then his friend wouldn't be in this mess.

But now it was too late to do that and he really hoped he'd find him before it's too late to save him.

A knock on the door of his room disturbed his thoughts.

"Come in" He said.

He kept his gaze fixed on the sky hoping to see an owl as he stood in front of the huge window in his room so he couldn't see who was it that came through the door.

"Your friends are here dear do you want me to let them into your room?" His mother asked.

James nodded absentmindedly in response to what his mother said.

Euphemia Potter looked at her son with evident worry and pity.

She pitied her son and his friends who made it a habit to come here every day during the past week but she pitied the poor child who went missing out of nowhere even more.

She didn't know how to soothe any of these children but as an adult she had to be prepared for the worst, After all the Black family were quite notorious throughout the entire world of magic and their reputation didn't really sit well with anyone yet alone herself and her husband.

"James, Dear I really think you should go out with your friends and leave this to me and your father, You're but a child" Euphemia said.

Then she put her hand on his shoulder and pursed her lips when her only son flinched in surprise and turned to look away from the sky.

"James?" She asked again.

"Yeah?" Her son asked in return as soon as he turned to her.

She cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I said that your friends were here, Maybe you should go out with them and..." She started.

"You're right I should go out and look for him myself, Don't wait for me I won't be there for dinner today" James said.

He went to his drawer and took out his cloak of invisibility and grabbed his wand which was left on his desk.

"If an owl drops something under my name send me a howler and I'll be back" James said.

Euphemia opened her mouth to protest but her son was already out of the door and rushed down the stairs in a hurry then she heard the distinctive sound of the front door opening and closing.

She wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him from leaving even if she tried, Her reckless son, She could only hope that he wouldn't get himself into too much trouble.

Remus put his gloved hands in his pockets as Peter rubbed his hands together in an attempt to make them warm.

The Potter mansion was really big and beautiful as it stood tall in the middle of the snow covered ground.

Remus thought to himself that living in such a house must be lonely even for James so he couldn't even imagine what Sirius would be feeling or if Remus himself would like living in either of their shoes.

His two friends were filthy rich but sometimes it's a lot pricey to be fortunate.

Remus shook his head to dismiss the thoughts and looked down at the snow by his feet.

"Do you think that Sirius is dead?" Peter asked.

Remus looked at him with a frown as he tried to come up with an answer to that question.

"I really hope not" He decided to say after a minute of thinking about his words carefully.

They were waiting outside for James to tell them to come into the house but to their surprise James himself walked out of the door and made his way to them.

"We can't wait for news, We want to find him? We do so ourselves" James said.

Then put his hands in his pockets to grab his gloves and put them on.

"You brought your wands?" James asked.

"Yes" Peter said as Remus nodded.

"Alright, Gryffindor means Gryffindor" James said.

"But, Where do we start our search?" Peter asked.

"We can't go to his house so we can count on Reg to give us the news himself but for now, We should just..." James started.

But he stopped talking and rubbed his face in obvious frustration.

"Blimey I don't even know where to start, We're not even sure whether he's still in his house or not to begin with" James said exasperated.

"Should we ask for help? Maybe Lily would be helpful" Remus said.

James rolled his eyes.

"Evans? How can she possibly help?" James asked.

"She's a muggleborn she might know her way around muggle streets" Remus explained.

"No, Don't call her unless it's necessary" James said.

"Then, What should we do?" Peter asked.

"Come with me, We should make sure no one sees us" James said.

The three boys went to the storage shed which was the closest they could get to a secluded place with a proper door.

They looked around the place for a few minutes to make sure no one was there.

The place was empty except for a girl who they found going through some house cleaning items.

"Young master, What can I do for you?" The young girl wearing a maid uniform asked James.

She was holding a broom and a bucket of water which she probably used to clean the place.

"You can go back and help at the main house no need to clean this place right now" James said.

The girl looked obviously confused with the strange request.

"Is something wrong Daisy?" James asked.

"Ummm, But I was assigned to clean this place today young master" The girl said.

"And I say no need for you to do so, The weather is terrible and it's better to work at the main house for the entirety of the next fortnight, This place isn't as warm as the main house so for the time being leave it as it is or you might get badly sick and we can't have that" James said.

The girl blushed and turned her gaze to the ground.

"If any of the other house helpers bully you for it just tell my parents and they'll deal with them immediately" James continued.

"Yes, Young master" The girl said.

"Good, Now off you go" James said.

The girl nodded and left the place hurriedly.

James sighed in relief before turning back to his friends.

"We turn into animagi that way we can cover more ground through the snow, Remus you go back to the bookshop where you work and send owls to the Gryffindor quidditch team members, Me and Peter are going to the street where Sirius lives you tell the quidditch team to look through the neighbouring streets" James said.

"Alright" Remus said.

James turned into his animagus form and waited for Peter to do the same.

Peter did the same and they both left through the door.

Remus went to the main house to find James's mother.

She was at the kitchen making herself some coffee judging by the smell of the room.

"Something I can do for you Remus?" She asked without looking up from her task.

He faintly wondered how she knew it was him without looking up at his face but decided not to dwell on it for now, There was a more pressing issue at hand anyway.

"Hello Mrs Potter, I was wondering if I can use the fireplace" Remus said.

She looked up at him and took a sip from her coffee.

"Where to?" She asked.

"My workplace, It's the quickest way to get there" Remus said.

"It is quick but highly unsafe, Honey have you considered the fact that it might have some muggles? You can't walk out of a fireplace in front of so many people" She said calmly.

Remus mentally cursed himself for forgetting something so important.

"Right, Sorry to bother you then" He said before turning to leave the kitchen.

"Maybe you can use our owls to send the needed letters to your friends, Don't you think that would be a lot safer?" She asked.

Remus pinched his earlobe in embarrassment at being so stupid.

Of course that would be better what in the bloody hell was he thinking?

"No need to beat yourself up over it dear, You're all worried so it's only natural that you can't think clearly" Euphemia said.

Remus nodded.

"Come with me, You still need to send those letters now don't you?" She asked.

"Yeah" He said timidly.

She led him to the private study which had a few house helpers cleaning it.

"Thank you for your hard work this place is clean enough already you can move on to another room" She said.

The helpers left the room taking their tools with them.

"Mrs Potter, I have a question if you don't mind" Remus said.

"Go on and ask then" She said as she looked for some papers and ink.

"Why do you use household staff instead of an elf?" Remus asked.

"An elf is a single helper that doesn't get paid that's the only good thing about them but house staff can help more if you have many of them, And they can be a better company if you treat them well" She said.

Remus understood her reasoning, The house was that big after all so the only way to keep it lively was to have as many people as you can.

He supposed that's why James was always so cheerful and chatty judging by the way he was brought up.

"There they are" She said interrupting his thoughts.

Then she put some papers and an ink quill on the desk in front of him.

"Thank you" Remus said.

"No need for that dear just hurry up and write to your friends" She said.

Then smiled and patted his shoulder lightly before leaving the room.

Remus sat down on the chair in front of the desk and started writing the first letter.

•☆☆☆•

Regulus was trapped in his room as a punishment for helping Sirius.

Luckily for him he paid attention to Andy's teachings when she taught him and Sirius how to get rid of the bewitched chains the elders used to discipline them.

His wrists and ankles were a bit sore but they will heal with time.

The important thing for him to do now was to focus on his situation and think about what he should do.

He couldn't receive any letters nor send any of his own, But he wasn't stupid he knew that the news will reach James and the others somehow which meant that the entire Gryffindor house might be looking for his brother right now.

Maybe even some of them already sent letters to his house to inquire about Sirius, And Regulus didn't have to be a genius to guess that James Fleamont Potter would be on top of the list.

He understood their concerns because he himself was fretting over his brother's wellbeing for the past two days since he left him at that muggle village.

They might be desperate right now but they just had to look in the right place, That's why he desperately needed to get out of here and soon or at least have someone to carry out his plans.

He heard light footsteps passing close to his room so he tiptoed over to the door and leaned closer to hear better.

He hoped that the light footsteps belonged to his most trusted house elf.

"Kreacher, Kreacher is that you?" He whispered from behind the door.

"Of course young master Regulus, Creature lives to serve the noble house of Black" Kreacher said.

Regulus never felt happier hearing the elf's voice.

"Good, Then come in" Regulus said.

There were footsteps coming down the hall so Regulus hurriedly knocked on the door lightly to get Kreacher's attention.

"Kreacher, Hurry up I command you" Regulus whispered.

The elf used his magic and immediately appeared before his master.

"Strange, I thought he'd be here, Where in the bloody hell did that stupid elf go?" Bellatrix's voice sounded through the hallway that led to his room.

Regulus could only sigh in relief at his apparent good luck.

"What can Kreacher possibly do to help young master?" The elf asked eagerly.

"Alright then, First I need you to keep quiet nod if you understand" Regulus said in the quietest voice he could manage.

The elf nodded to show that he understood what his master said.

"Good, Second keep our meetings a secret" Regulus said.

The elf nodded again.

"Third, I want you to go to the owlry and get me all the letters that have my name and never show them to anyone other then me, Do you understand?" Regulus asked.

The elf nodded once more.

"And lastly I want you to use your magic to come here same time tomorrow without being noticed especially by my parents alright?" Regulus asked.

The elf nodded.

"You may speak now" Regulus said.

"Does young master wish for Kreacher to help him escape?" The elf asked.

"No, No need for that just do exactly as I said" Regulus said.

"Of course young master" The elf said.

Then Regulus got another idea.

"Right now I want you to go to the Potter mansion and hand the master of the house something for me" Regulus said.

He didn't wait for the elf to speak and hurried over to his desk then gave Kreacher a letter he wrote.

"Give this letter to no one but the master of the house and his wife as a second choice, You may tell Andy and Sissy about what I told you but no one else and make sure they don't tell anyone either especially Bella do you understand?" Regulus asked.

"Of course young master" The elf said.

"Now go, Get the letters first then deliver my letter and come back again tomorrow same time" He said.

The elf disappeared from his sight right that after taking the letter with him.

He could only hope that nothing happened to his brother or else he won't be able to live with the guilt.

The elf returned with the letters.

"Here are all the letters you requested young master" The elf said.

"Alright, Good job now go to the kitchen before someone notices your absence, If Bella asks where you were tell her that you were cleaning the toilets" Regulus said.

The elf nodded once more then disappeared.

Regulus started opening the first letter but his eyes widened in horror and the letter fell from his hand as soon as he heard the sound of a knock.

The footsteps must have been really light for him to hear or he was just too worried about his scheme to be discoverd to pay attention to his surroundings.

He stood up and walked over to the door quietly.

"Who is it?" He whispered.

"Reg, It's me Andy" His second oldest cousin Andromeda whispered.

"Andy? Good, That's great, Listen I want you to take Narccissa and Kreacher shopping if Bella insists on coming just do whatever you can to lose her and make sure to accompany Kreacher to the Potter mansion alright?" Regulus asked.

"Yeah I understand" She said.

Then she was gone, Regulus could tell as much because he could hear the sound of hurried footsteps retreating down the hallway.