It was Remus's turn to lie awake for the majority of the night.

Harry's suggestion made sense, and Remus had to admit he probably wouldn't have thought of it. In many ways, it was the best of both worlds—it would protect Harry from the Dursleys' abuse for at least the majority of the summer, and it would enable him to keep the protection of the blood wards.

Remus still felt sick at the thought of sending Harry back to his relatives. At the same time, the thought of severing that connection forever, forcing Harry to lose his protection, made him sick with a different kind of worry.

Meanwhile, another concern weighed on his mind. Harry might have been right about his aunt and uncle caring very little what happened to him or whose care he was in, but there were quite a lot of people—Hogwarts professors in particular—who did not feel the same way, many of whom would know exactly where Harry was staying and with whom. Those people would know that Remus was not suitable as the guardian of a child, for the same reasons he had not been suitable as a teacher of children. It wasn't just the dangers associated with his condition—it was the opinions and prejudices of others, which followed everyone who associated with him. Harry had enough riding on his shoulders without having to deal with that as well.

Aside from any of that, and despite what Sirius had said, Remus knew guardianship entailed a lot of things that teaching did not, things Remus wasn't ready for. He had always thrived when it came to engaging students, finding and celebrating their unique talents, and educating them on the topics he found most interesting. But parenthood required much more in the way of mentoring and counseling, as well as enforcing boundaries. He would have to go over house rules with Harry, and—Merlin forbid—hold the line if Harry misbehaved. The boy might come to resent or even hate him.

The sunlight streamed in from the window sooner than Remus might have liked. Harry would be awaiting Remus's decision of what to do. Somehow, even though Dumbledore had chosen where to put Harry, and even though Remus had tried to give Harry the choice of where to be, the weight of the responsibility had ended up back in Remus's hands.

Of course, that had been Harry's choice, too. The boy was trusting him to make the right call.

Remus dressed quickly and went to see about breakfast before anyone else was awake.

Harry woke to the smell of bacon frying.

It took him a moment to remember where he was. It couldn't be Hogwarts, since the Great Hall and the castle kitchens were too far from the dorm for him to wake up to the smell of food. Nor could it be the Dursleys' house—Harry would have been expected to cook, if it were.

Grimmauld Place. That was right. Because Harry had been a coward at the last moment and had run here instead of having his aunt and uncle pick him up from the train station.

Harry got out of bed, stepped over his mostly-packed suitcases, and walked out into the kitchen. Remus stood at the stove. He turned and gave Harry a slight smile as he entered the room. "Good morning, my boy."

Harry sat down at the counter, where Remus placed a steaming plate in front of him. Harry scratched his head. "Ah . . . not that I don't appreciate it, sir, but what's all this?"

"Your first morning of the summer holiday, and perhaps your last at Grimmauld Place for a little while."

Harry's eyes widened. "So you're going with my idea?"

"I accept a trial. I will take you back to your aunt and uncle and allow you to stay with them for one week. I will be contacting you when the week is up, and if you are safe and all has gone well, you will stay with them for one more week. That should be enough time for the blood wards to reactivate"

"And then I can come back here?"

"Once again, we will try having you stay for a week, and then we'll discuss whether it is the best arrangement for you."

Harry swallowed hard—it sounded like he'd be having to earn his keep at Grimmauld Place. But he didn't have many options, especially since Remus had more or less accepted his suggestion. "Does Sirius know about this?"

"I haven't spoken to him about it. You'll have the chance to tell him before you go."

There was something about the way Remus said it that Harry appreciated—like this was Harry's decision, and that made it his right to talk to Sirius.

"But before you do, I expect you to eat, young man. You're still growing, and I won't have you skipping meals."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, and he picked up his fork.

It was quiet for a few minutes as they both ate. Harry felt like he was forcing down every bite. The thought of returning to the Dursleys made him feel like he'd eaten slugs, even though it had been his suggestion. But he couldn't afford to waste any opportunity to eat, if he was going to be living with the Dursleys. They didn't have the best track record when it came to feeding him.

When Harry had finished eating, Remus took out his wand and held it out over Harry's head. He closed his eyes and began muttering incantations under his breath. Harry felt a sort of shiver pass over his skin.

"It's not a complete protection," Remus said, "but it will help."

"What was that?"

"Some protective spells. It should make it much more difficult for anyone to hurt you."

Harry blinked a couple of times. "Brilliant! Er . . . why doesn't everyone use those spells all the time?"

"Because they don't defend against magical harm. And . . . well, the enchantments are rather difficult."

"Oh. Thank you."

"Of course. Now, how would you like for your aunt and uncle to be contacted?"

Harry gave him a phone number—he figured it was best if Remus made the call—and left the kitchen to go and enjoy the coziness of the living room one more time before he had to leave it for three weeks. He found Sirius already there, sitting on a couch.

"Ah! Still here, are you?" Sirius gave him a wink.

"Er . . . for a little while longer. Remus is calling my aunt."

Sirius's face darkened suddenly. "No. Tell me he isn't."

"We talked about it, and we decided that I would stay at the Dursleys' for two weeks, then come back here for the rest of the summer. That way, the blood wards still work."

Sirius looked away for a moment, then back at Harry. There was fire in his eyes. "Remus suggested this?"

"No. I did."

"Harry . . ." Sirius put a hand on Harry's shoulder, gripping just too tightly for comfort. "I will not allow you to go back there. If they were abusing you—"

"My protective spells should put a stop to that," Remus said. Harry hadn't even heard him step into the living room. "This was Harry's decision, Sirius. We're going to be checking in with him in a week to make sure everything is okay."

"No. Harry, you owl me daily, do you hear me? I'll show them, I'll put an end to anything—"

"Of course, Harry knows how to contact us, and we'll pick him up within the hour if it's needed."

Harry swallowed hard. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea—if his uncle did try something, it might put Sirius at risk, because Sirius would try to go on some revenge mission. Harry was happy to risk losing the blood wards if it would help keep Sirius safe.

"Harry," Remus said gently, "this is about you. Not about either of us."

Harry took a deep breath. Something about the way Remus said it reassured him. Harry had to trust that Remus would keep Sirius from doing anything dangerous—he'd succeeded in protecting him when it came to Umbridge. "I'm ready to go," Harry said finally, standing.

Remus gave him a slight smile. "We'll miss you, Harry."

Sirius stood to give Harry a last hug, and Harry followed Remus out of the house.