CHARLUS WAS WELL aware that Dumbledore would not reveal Harry's location, no matter who pleaded with him. He also knew that Dumbledore would be on high alert after Fudge had taken a rather nasty fall from public grace. More than likely, he was anticipating Charlus' visit and already had his answer well prepared. The letter was not enough to convince him of Harry's doubtful safety believing it to be self-made, but Charlus only wanted to hear the reasoning behind why the Dursleys had been chosen. And once Dumbledore confessed the sacrificial protection, Charlus was willing to pretend that he admitted defeat.

However, prior to arriving at the castle, Charlus had shared the trip with Professor McGonagall and they definitely had not walked in complete silence.

"Professor, you know as well as I do that he's not going to give up Harry's location," Charlus told her as they braved the cold together. " At least, not until he's in total control of the situation. He's going to insist that Harry stays with the Dursleys. I see it written all over your face, you know how terrible that is. I need your help, Professor. You know where the Dursleys are."

McGonagall stopped and turned to Charlus, her face carrying the conflict of the situation. On one hand, she had been to Dumbledore for decades. He had been her mentor and became a good friend during trialling times. And yet, over the years, she had met plenty of students that she enjoyed the company of, but none of them compared to the adoration she felt towards students like James and Charlus Potter, along with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and even then, Peter Pettigrew.

"Please," Charlus pleaded with her, " I'm not the only one asking you here. If the Heavens exist, James and Lily are asking you to please help their son. I promise you with all of my being that I will keep Harry safe. Sirius and I have all these plans when it comes to spoiling Harry and making sure he's happy. I just need your help, one last time, Professor."

As she looked at him, McGonagall raised one of her hands and gently touched the side of his face.

"You realise if you go down this route, Charlus, you won't be able to stay here. The Ministry is already looking for any reason to take you down or at the very least, Fudge is. And if you attempt this plan, Dumbledore will surely-"

"You said it yourself, Professor. You told Dumbledore what you witnessed with your own eyes and he still placed Harry there. And if that's not enough, I told you about the letter, but look at it for yourself. Look at what Harry sent back to me."

Removing it from his pocket, Charlus handed over the letter for McGonagall to observe, watching as she slowly lifted a hand to cover her mouth to conceal her horror. But even then, her reaction was enough as Charlus took the letter back.

"If I tell you where he is," she began, " will you still need to go to the castle?"

"Yes. Not only do I want to hear Dumbledore's reasoning for myself, but I also need to cover my tracks, Professor. We just need to be discreet about this matter. I would never want to drag you down with me."

As soon as McGonagall had been dismissed from Dumbledore's office, she took it upon herself to jot down the address on a small piece of parchment paper. And when Charlus returned with a defeated look on his face claiming that she wouldn't be seeing him for a long time, she understood perfectly.

She had no idea when she would see Charlus again, if ever, but as smart and cunning as he was, McGonagall had a feeling that he was going to be just fine. And in his care, Sirius and Harry would go on to live the happy lives they deserved after suffering for years.

Returning to Maeve's flat, Charlus was ready to call out Sirius' and Remus' names to put his plan into motion, when he was greeted by Maeve first. His breath hitched in his throat, surprised to see her there, especially since she was supposed to be at work.

"Maeve," he said, his voice cracking as he spoke her name, " what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at your shift? You're not supposed to be here."

"Charlus I-Don't-Know-Your-Middle-Name Potter," Maeve said as she placed her hands on her hips, " how many times are we going to have to go through this? You're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm committed to this as much as you are. Why are you so set on me being at my shift right now?"

Charlus closed the door behind him. "Maeve, I'm doing this protect you. You've already helped so much. But the next part of this plan, it could cost you everything, career included. It would be best if you just went to St Mungo's now. You'll be better off that way. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done, and I swear you'll be compensated-"

Suddenly, he was flicked in the middle of his forehead, causing him to let out a small yelp before stepping back. He was about to ask just what the hell was she doing but stopped as he met her stern gaze.

"I was never in this for the money or for you to pay me back in any sort of form," she said, " I joined this because people like you, Sirius, and Remus give me hope. Just seeing what you are all willing to do for each other and for Harry, it sparked something within me that I haven't felt in a long time. I became a Healer to help people, and when you showed up at St Mungo's six years ago, Sirius made me promise that I would do everything in my power to save you. And I did."

"Yes, but-"

"And during that time, even if we didn't speak to one another, I found myself praying for you every chance I got. I hadn't been to church in years, I hated the idea of religion because of my mother, but for you, I was willing to pray again. Then you woke up and I got to see why Sirius begged me to save you."

"Maeve-"

"You let me see how corrupted the world was around us, whether it was exposing Fudge or Dumbledore. I've never seen someone so calculated and all I wanted to do was be there for every victory. My job as a Healer became secondary to you and the others. I know you don't like asking for help, but if someone is offering it, why can't you bring yourself to take it?"

Charlus looked down at the floor for a moment. "Growing up, everyone wanted to help me. I was the poor little wizard who was born deaf. And even though only my hearing was affected, it meant in the eyes of others, that I couldn't do anything on my own. I wanted nothing more than to prove them wrong. Even during the war when they were picking the Secret-Keeper for James and Lily, I thought I would be a perfect option, but I was overlooked. After years of people telling me what I wasn't capable of, I thought I wasn't chosen because I was deaf. "

Sirius entered the area after he had been eavesdropping on the conversation the entire time along with Remus and made his way over.

"Charlus, you know that's not true. You know you weren't chosen to be the Secret-Keeper because it would have been too obvious-"

"And choosing you wasn't?!" Charlus questioned him. "James was my brother, but you were just as close to him. How was that not obvious? No, it was because I'm deaf. You can all claim it was a bluff, I don't care but I know the real reason I wasn't chosen. The reason why everyone in the Order always questioned if I should be there even though I always pulled my own weight. I guess they were right though. I was the one caught off by the Death Eaters because I couldn't hear them coming."

It was never Maeve's intention to open up a can of flobberworms as she was only trying to let Charlus know that she was committed to helping him in any way that he needed.

"Because of that, I wasn't there to protect any of my loved ones and they had to suffer until I woke up. James and Lily were killed, you went to Azkaban, Remus was alone on nights of the full moon, and Harry had to go live with monsters. And where was I? Just resting in bed, being absolutely useless. So when I woke up, I knew I had to make things right, this was how I was going to make it up to all of you. I am willing to come up with the plans that will only incriminate me in the long run because if I fail again, I'm not taking any of you down with me!"

Suddenly, Charlus was grabbed by the front of his robes by Sirius, who looked absolutely furious. Remus stood close to make sure he was there to separate them quickly if things were to get ugly.

"And you think life will be better without you around? All these elaborate plans, if one fails and you're gone, how do you think the rest of us will feel about that? You think people want to help you because they see you as weak, but it's because we care about you! James didn't want to burden you with the responsibility of being the Secret-Keeper, because you were always helping him out of messy situations. For once, he wanted to be the big brother to you and protect you. And it was my own mistakes that led to me going to Azkaban! You had nothing to do with it and I would have been in there a lot longer if it weren't for you!"

"Sirius is right," Remus interjected, " We all made mistakes during the war, Charlus. But none of us ever saw you as weak, even if you are deaf. If anything it made us think you were stronger because you couldn't hear and it never stopped you. Death Eaters went after other members of the Order who could hear and we know what happened to them. They were less fortunate than you. "

Charlus didn't respond right away, still feeling Sirius' grip on his robes as his husband didn't dare to let him go so easily.

"Look at me!" Sirius growled as he pushed Charlus to look up at him. " Being free from Azkaban will mean nothing to me if I don't have you by my side. Do you understand!? I have always been supportive of that mind of yours, but I am not going to just keep standing around with a dumb expression on my face while you keep putting yourself at risk, just because you think you owe all of us something. We want to help, not because we think you're weak, but because we want to help! Stop being so fucking stubborn, Charlus!"

Trying to keep himself composed, Charlus kept his eyes focused on Sirius' lips, knowing that if he looked him in the eye, he would lose it.

"For Merlin's sake, we took vows," Sirius' voice softened, " We promised each other that we would be there for each other. How am I supposed to fulfil my vows if you keep me in the dark all the time? We've spoken about raising, Harry, you know I'm committed. I will go down with you. You're stuck with me, Potter.

"Fine," Charlus said, sniffling, "but what about you, Remus? And Maeve? I can't allow you to do this-"

"Too late," Remus said, " I'm already involved and there's nothing you can say that will change that."

"Maeve?"

"I already called sick into work," Maeve told him, " and I don't mind doing it forever as long as it means seeing everything through. So, Charlus, what is your new plan?"

"Well, if you all really want to know, fine. We're going to be kidnapping Harry."

"WHAT?!"