Toujours Pur.

Chapter Two

No!

NO!

He couldn't think negatively! James would certainly have smacked him hard on the head if he knew the pessimistic thoughts that were taking hold of his mind. But there was no James, now, he realised with a fresh stab of pain. There was no James to confide his fears in, no Peter to make him laugh at his clumsiness, and no Sirius to—No! He wouldn't think of Sirius! He just wouldn't! Thinking of the traitor made the wolf within him boil with anger again...

Harry...Larissa... All Remus had to do, now, was to ascertain the whereabouts of the two children and give them what their parents would have given them – love, affection and security.

But where was Harry? Harry had survived, McGonagall had assured him of that. But Remus had no idea where he was. And Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, as well! Remus had been pacing in Dumbledore's office since the past forty minutes; and his hitherto infinite patience was now wearing thin.

Forty minutes! Each minute, each second he spent in the office was one he could have better spent in searching for Larissa.

Damn! He had half a mind to destroy all of Dumbledore's instruments lying on the table to give an outlet to his rage.

He sunk onto a chair, burying his face in his hands, when suddenly, Fawkes appeared right in front of him with Dumbledore clutching on to his tail wings.

"Remus! How are you, my boy? When did you get here?" said Albus, none of the usual twinkle in his eyes.

But Remus didn't care about the pleasantries.

"Where's Harry? And Larissa? McGonagall refused to tell me anything! She told me to ask you!" he said urgently.

Dumbledore sighed heavily before replying. "Harry is at Lily's sister's house. She will take care of him."

Remus' mouth fell open.

"He's—where? At Lily's sister—at Petunia Dursley's house? Have you lost your mind, Albus?"

Remus' uncharacteristic bellow of rage seemed to surprise Dumbledore.

"Petunia hates Magic!" Remus continued, as Dumbledore made no move to respond to him.
"She hates Lily! She'll never care for Harry, Albus! He'll live a miserable life with Petunia! And Harry's James son for Merlin's sake! He'll probably tie with Larissa for the most pampered child in history! You can't let him stay with the Dursleys—I'll—I'll take him! James would've wanted that—"

"Calm down, Remus," said Dumbledore softly. "The Dursleys are the only relatives Harry has. And you have no legal rights to Harry. You are neither his relative nor his guardian nor his Godfather. And trust me, as long as Harry stays with Petunia, no one can harm him. Lily gave her life for Harry. And with Petunia being her sister, the blood wards won't let any harm befall Harry as long as he consider Petunia's house as his home—"

"Albus! You just don't understand! Petunia will ill-treat him! Lily told us how her sister is when it comes to Magic. She won't care for Harry. Please, Albus. If not for Harry, at least for Lily and James' sake, let me take care of Harry," he tried to reason with Dumbledore.

"Don't you trust me, Remus?" sighed the Headmaster. "And forgive my harsh words, but you are a Werewolf. Do you think the magical world will react favourably when they know that their saviour is living with a Werewolf? Do you think wizarding families won't protest? And even if he stays with you, what about the full moon nights? Who will take care of Harry? And Petunia has a son who is just a month older than Harry. She knows how to take care of a child."

"Albus—" Remus tried to object, but Dumbledore cut him off in mid-sentence.

"Voldemort is not completely vanquished. He will come back. Maybe not now, but a few years into the future, he will certainly be back. And the only way to ensure Harry's safety is to make him stay with the Dursleys. And I know that Harry's safety is paramount for you."