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There were very few things in Harry Potter's life that he was absolutely certain of. He had an idea that keeping a child in a cupboard when there were two empty bedrooms in a house was probably considered bad; he was a little more sure of the fact that his aunt and uncle hated his guts and lied to him frequently; he was fairly positive that his cousin Dudley would end up in prison at some point in his life; but none of those were complete certainties. Frankly, he only guessed that his name was Harry Potter since his aunt and uncle only called him Freak or Boy, but he figured that Harry might be short for something and no one had bothered to tell him. There was one absolute certainty though, he'd felt it in his bones for as long as he could remember. That certainty was that he, Harry Potter, was indeed dead.

Now, this seems a bit unreasonable, especially taking into account that Harry did in fact eat, sleep, and breathe. When he'd mentioned this belief to a teacher once, she had sat him down and talked him through all the scientific reasons why he was definitely alive. Harry had listened, nodding his dark, shaggy head the entire time, and he heard her, but he didn't believe her. He knew. He didn't know why or how, but he did know…he was dead, a corpse, much more animate than usual, but dead nonetheless.

When he mentioned this belief to his relatives, his aunt screamed at him for fifteen minutes before his uncle threw him into his cupboard and didn't let him out for a week with only tiny scraps of food. Harry went back and forth on his feelings about his cupboard. It reminded him of what a coffin must feel like: small, wooden, and dark. Some days, it seemed fitting, calming almost. Some days, it felt like he couldn't breathe, that he'd been buried six feet underground, and he'd never surface again. Other days he wondered, what if he'd been buried? What if his relatives forgot to feed him a little too long? What if Dudley hit him just a little too hard one day, or he didn't duck fast enough when Aunt Petunia swung the frying pan at his head? Could someone who was dead be killed? Could a dead person die? Regardless, he learned to never speak of this certainty around his relatives again.

It's not like there was no evidence that supported him. Frankly, there was definitely evidence. Animals all seemed to know, especially dogs. They either tried to chase him or avoided him. Aunt Marge's dog, Ripper, definitely fell on the chase him side of the spectrum. Also, there was that one night. The night that the Dursleys left the house to go to a restaurant and locked him out in the back garden since he'd been the one to burn dinner, causing them to have to go out. They had gotten stuck in a horrible traffic jam and decided to stay at a hotel for the night. The temperature dropped well below freezing and snow fell from the heavens. Harry ended up curling up under a bush in the backyard, looking at the stars and the snow, and shivering until he just stopped and fell asleep. When the Dursleys arrived back at the house in the morning, Harry uncurled painfully, feeling like his blood had frozen in his joints. However, he went inside, cooked breakfast, and continued on with his day. He figured that probably wasn't normal, but what did he know, he was only nine. And ever since that night, he felt things…like whispers in his mind or the brush of a hand or a phantom hug…things he knew weren't there and hadn't been before his night spent under the snow.

So, armed with his limited evidence, Harry remained sure that he was in fact one of the dearly departed. He maintained this certainty even when other things changed in a whirlwind around him. When his Hogwarts letter came, Harry smiled. Magic was something that might explain what had happened to him. He hated that it had taken so long for him to get the letter, and that Mr. Hagrid had to come and give it to him. He wished his aunt and uncle had just told him that magic did actually exist and that his parents weren't drunks that died in a car crash, but he knew that was asking way too much from Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

Walking through Diagon Alley, Harry wondered if there were more people like him. More people who were dead but also very much alive. The goblins seemed to know…both the teller and the goblin who drove their cart to the vaults gave Harry looks. These looks were surprised, knowing, and had a bit of suspicion in them. Harry just smiled at them, hoping he looked reassuring. Mr. Hagrid didn't seem to notice, but he was so tall that Harry figured he couldn't see everything that happened as close to the ground as Harry and the goblins were.

"Harry, how 'bout I get you yer pet as a birthday present?" Hagrid asked as they made their way through the stores, spending more money than Harry had ever seen.

"Um, Hagrid…that might not be the best idea," Harry tentatively told the giant man as he tried to look up and catch a glimpse of the man's face with his green eyes. He'd never had a birthday present before in his life, and it was almost painful to tell the man no, but it had to be done.

"Why's that, Harry?" Hagrid stopped and kneeled down to better see Harry…something no adult had ever done before for the boy.

Harry held back a happy smile. "Er, sir, animals don't really like me."

"Now, I don't believe that," Hagrid rumbled a laugh. "A right smart lad like you. I don't see why anyone wouldn't like you," he grumbled with a muttered oath that sounded like Dursley under his breath.

"Oh, no sir," Harry protested, not sure if he was about to lose his friend or not by being too much of a 'freak.' He'd lost more for less. "Since, you know…I'm dead, not many animals seem to like me. I think it scares them a bit," he explained. The big man was magical, the fact Harry was dead shouldn't be too shocking he hoped. Besides, there had to be more people like him.

Hagrid looked at him speculatively for a while, not seeming to be able to discern what Harry actually meant. "I'm sorry…yer dead?"

"Yeah, probably something to do with that curse you said hit me as a baby, but I'm definitely dead, just more breathing than zombie, you know," Harry grinned at him hopefully.

"Well, 'Arry, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone being dead an' breathing before," the large man mused, seeming to take what Harry was saying and running with it. "Reminds me of thestrals some. Now I wonder if you'd be able to see those if yer dead…we'll have to check it out when we get to the castle."

"You believe me?" Harry asked in awe of someone who seemed to be like an adult that was actually believing him.

Hagrid shrugged and patted Harry's shoulder, almost knocking him over. "Well, I don't see why you'd lie to me now would you? Specially not about something like this. Now, I might think yer not actually dead but something else might be goin' on, but that doesn't mean you don't think you are or that you actually aren't. There're more creatures out there in the world than wizards know about and magic does strange things. Who am I to say yer not dead?"

"Thank you, Mr. Hagrid," Harry beamed. "No one's ever believed me before!"

"Pssh!" Hagrid stood and waved him off. "I tol' you, no mister stuff for me. Now, we're going to go pick you out an owl for yer birthday present. Owls are creatures of the dark and friends of death, so're ravens. We'll go to the menagerie and one or t'other will want to go home with you I reckon."

"Really? You think?!" The boy almost vibrated in excitement as they stopped in at Madam Malkin's for Harry's robes first.

"I wouldn't doubt it one bit," Hagrid reassured him, sticking very close to the boy now in concern.

Hagrid took the time while Harry was getting fitted to really study the boy. He looked normal, but something had to be off for him to believe himself to be dead. He hated that the child had been left with those horrible muggles and wished to Merlin he'd protested instead of just handing the baby to Dumbledore all those years before. Growing up there had to be a big part of why the boy thought the way he did. He'd just have to watch how the animals treated the child, and he was really interested to see if Harry could see the thestrals that pulled the carriages.

With Hagrid hovering over Harry the entire time, a blond boy also getting fitted seemed very disconcerted. He opened his mouth a few times as if to talk to Harry but ended up just looking at Hagrid in a bit of fear, confusion, and disdain. Harry on his part didn't even notice. He'd never had new clothes before, or a present, so he was almost ready to pass out in his excitement. He felt what was close to a hug around him, something that he'd felt many times in the past when he was very distressed, so he didn't know why it was happening now since he was happy. It was just another peculiarity that marked who he was, and even if it was imaginary, it was nice to feel like you were being hugged occasionally.

A snowy owl immediately decided to go home with Harry when they arrived at the menagerie. She hooted softly on Harry's shoulder where she'd immediately flown from her perch to land. "Well, you've been picked," the store owner laughed at the owl's antics. "It normally takes a bit longer to be chosen when you walk in. I feel that you two will have a very strong connection."

"I'll find you a really good name. Something regal," Harry assured his new owl that gently pecked his finger in affection.

"Right! Off fer a wand!" Hagrid exclaimed happily as they left with Harry's new owl and all her supplies. "I tol' you an owl or a raven would pick you. Yer a good lad."

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry beamed at him as they approached Ollivander's, and his owl dutifully entered her cage at the door. "Hagrid, what if a wand doesn't work for dead people?" He asked softly before they entered.

"Then you wouldn't have gotten a Hogwarts letter I reckon," Hagrid assured him, thoroughly bemused by this child. "You'll see. Ollivander will help you get a good one. Mine was just perfect, er, back when I had one that is," he added awkwardly at the end.

Harry could tell he didn't want to talk about it, so instead the boy opened the door and stepped into the dimly lit room crammed full of small, dusty boxes. A bell tinkled in the back. "Ah, someone else for Hogwarts?" An elderly man remarked as he dusted his hands on an apron while walking in from the back room. "My, my, Harry Potter," he remarked as he stared at the boy deeply.

As the staring continued, Hagrid cleared his throat awkwardly, not liking the silence, especially as Harry started looking very embarrassed. "Now, 'Arry, Mr. Ollivander will have you try the wands to see which one suits you best. He'll find you a good one, you'll see," Hagrid said, to hopefully snap the man's attention back to the present.

"Oh no, Hagrid," Ollivander shook his head. "No need. I already know exactly what wand Mr. Potter needs. My, my, you are not what I expected."

Harry shuffled his feet in embarrassment. "Is it because I'm dead, sir?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, son, that would be it exactly," Ollivander said with a nod before leaving the room and causing Hagrid to gape after him before looking back to Harry. As much as Hagrid had said he believed Harry, he'd really only believed that Harry believed he was dead…this was…something else.

"I made this wand on a lark, not really thinking it would fit anyone," the elderly man said as he returned with a jet-black box in one hand. "I'd actually thought you might be taking my holly and phoenix feather wand today. My guess was that it would speak to your magic, but that won't do now, no, no. Try this."

Ollivander put the box on the counter and slid it over towards Harry. As he walked closer, Harry knew before even opening the box that this would be his wand, he could feel the pull of the magic. Slowly, he lifted the lid to find an almost white wand with wood so smooth it looked silky. As his fingers touched the wand, all light in the room left and the wand seemed to glow an eerie blue before lights swirled around Harry until the room was lit once more.

"Merlin!" Hagrid exclaimed in awe.

"Oh yes, that's your wand," Ollivander nodded in satisfaction. "Driftwood, eleven inches, with a core made of the hairs of a grim. A wand that is very much dead, but also very much alive."

Harry smiled broadly. "Thank you, sir. That's me exactly."

"You use that well, son," Ollivander instructed him as he wrapped up the box and took the money Hagrid held out to him. "I see you changing our world. You are change just by walking in here and breathing when the laws of nature herself say you shouldn't."

Harry and Hagrid were quiet as they walked back towards the tube station for Harry to return to the Dursleys. "Harry, you may want to be selective in who you tell about yer situation," Hagrid eventually spoke up to say. "I don' know what most people would make of it, and I worry about the way Ollivander was talking. Maybe I'll just keep this to meself and let you decide who you want to know."

Harry smiled at him and the owl the man was carrying, his first present. "Oh Hagrid, besides you and Mr. Ollivander, no one has ever believed me anyway. I'll think about it, but it's who I am. Even when people don't believe me, I think they should know. I mean, I might just drop any minute, right? I'm not supposed to be breathing. I wouldn't want them to be too surprised if I stopped someday."

Hagrid stopped in the middle of the street and stared at his young charge. "Harry, you think you'll just…well now die probably isn't the right word, but you know…stop. You live like that all the time."

Harry shrugged and tugged on Hagrid's sleeve to get him to start walking again. "I've always known I was dead Hagrid. You get used to it. I don't know what it would feel like to be alive and know I could die at any time like you lot. I'm already there, so just stopping one day is expected. I figure at least I don't have to worry about getting sick or being hit by a bus but that I'll just sit down and never get up again sometime. Frankly, I think you alive blokes have more stress than I do. I don't know how you do it."

"I don' understand you, 'Arry, but I'm very interested in figuring you out," Hagrid grinned at his new friend and ruffled his already messy hair.

Harry couldn't believe his luck in running into a wizarding family to help show him how to get onto the platform. He had a sneaking suspicion they were being loud and obvious for the sole purpose that any muggleborns and their families would know who to ask just in case they were lost. At least, that's the little nudge of understanding he got when he encountered them. Another peculiarity of being Harry. Ever since his night out in the snow, sometimes he got those random phantom hugs, and sometimes he got random nudges of information or understanding that would just come to him. It was always welcome though when it happened and dead useful too.

When the redheaded son joined him in his compartment, Harry grinned widely. He wouldn't mind his first friend being from a family that liked to help others, and Dudley was no longer anywhere near to stop him from making a friend. This boy seemed like just the person he'd pick if he could for his first friend. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley," the redhead eventually introduced himself when he got settled.

"Harry Potter," Harry reached across to shake the boy's hand who was gaping at him.

"Really? Do you have the…scar?" He tentatively asked, eyes flicking to Harry's forehead.

"Oh, yeah," Harry lifted his fringe with a grin.

"Bloody brilliant," Ron breathed out excitedly.

"Well, I think you and your family are brilliant too, especially with helping me on the platform and your brothers helping me with my trunk," Harry said excitedly. "I think we could be friends if you want…?" He asked nervously, praying this boy would agree to be his first friend his own age. He wasn't really sure how one went about making friends, but asking seemed like a good way to start in his opinion.

"Well, yeah, course," Ron smiled back at him shyly.

"Great! Then the first thing you need to know about me is that I'm dead," Harry smiled broadly, happier than even when he'd gotten Hedwig (what he'd named his owl).

Ron stared in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Harry waved a hand dismissively. "It's not a big deal. Really doesn't affect my life much. Just think of it like I'm nearsighted or something, which I guess I am that as well. But, anyway, I had to tell you just in case I suddenly decide to stop breathing and moving one day. So, now you know! Ooo, you want some snacks?! I've never had money for snacks before. My treat!" He exclaimed as a woman pushing a trolley full of snacks appeared at the door to their compartment.

"I don't get you, mate," Ron stared for a minute longer before his lips quirked up in a smile. "I think you're going to be right fun you are though."

"I really hope so," he agreed, buying a couple of everything for them to try it all out. "I haven't really tried fun yet."

"Harry! You all righ' there?!" Hagrid called over the heads of all the students, when he tracked down the boy in the middle of the huddle of first years.

"Yeah, Hagrid. How're you?" Harry waved up at him excitedly.

"Oh good. Glad to see this lot back. The castle was too quiet," Hagrid smiled as all the little first years stared at the giant man in awe. "Hey, look over to the carriages the upper years are gettin' in. You see anything pulling them?"

"You mean the strange horses that look like skeletons? Are those the thestral things you wanted to know if I could see?" Harry asked, trying to look through his year mates to get a better look at the horses.

"You see something there?" Ron asked him with wide eyes.

"I don't see anything," the bushy-haired girl who had stopped by their compartment on the train said in frustration.

Hagrid just laughed. "Facinatin' imagine that…Right! Firs' years, into the boats," he instructed, moving back into business mode.

Harry was very glad the blond Malfoy boy hadn't talked with him at Madam Malkin's after all their interactions on the train and during waiting to be sorted. He was extremely unpleasant and reminded Harry a lot of his cousin Dudley. Plus, he insulted Harry's first friend, Ron, who didn't laugh at him when he was told about Harry's less-than-alive status. So…Malfoy went on his not-worth-his-time list. He had a fairly extensive list of things that just weren't worth his time, like trying to make the Dursleys care about him and understanding cricket. He figured that he probably had less time in this world than most people, since he was already dead and eventually the universe or whoever would figure out they'd made a mistake and take him on, so he wasn't going to spend his limited time dealing with things that didn't matter. The blond kid was now almost at the top of that list.

When he was called to try on the battered hat, Harry had another moment like outside of the wand shop…what if dead people didn't get sorted? Yeah, there were ghosts at the school, which he was extremely happy about, but they didn't look like students. He shot a tentative look up to the staff table and caught Hagrid's eye. The man gave him an encouraging nod, so Harry took a deep breath and sat on the stool in front of Professor McGonagall.

…Er…well…I'm sorry, child. In all my time at this school, I don't think I've encountered this situation before… The Hat muttered in a confused way in Harry's mind.

Does that mean you aren't going to sort me? Harry asked anxiously in his head. I can't stay since I'm dead?

Now, now, I didn't say that. The Hat assured him quickly. I'll definitely sort you, but I don't think I've ever encountered a student that was so dead and yet so alive at the same time. Or, rather, I don't think I've tried to sort any dead student before.

Oh, well, that's ok then. Just do your best. I think I'd like to end up with my friend Ron Weasley though, if that helps you make a decision anyway.

Ah, yes, Weasleys always end up in Gryffindor…yes, I think Gryffindor would work pretty well for you. You don't expect to stay mobile and around for much longer, I'd say alive but we're past that, so you really don't have any ambition besides to live to the fullest whatever time you have left and make some friends…actually yes, that is quite a lot of ambition. Slytherin might be good for you then.

Ergh! Malfoy was put in Slytherin. I really don't want to end up with him.

Yes, I see that. He would not make the time you have enjoyable. Ravenclaw won't work. While you're very bright, I doubt you will spend more than the necessary time studying since that would also take up the precious time you have left.

Right on that! Harry agreed enthusiastically.

This is all quite fascinating. If you ever figure out what happened, please come visit me and let me know. So, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff it is. You are extremely loyal, but if you want to spend your remaining time with the Weasley boy, then it must be: "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry happily rushed over to the cheering Gryffindor table to sit beside a ghost with a large ruff around his neck. "Well, hello little lion…welcome to Gryffindor," the ghost looked at him with more than a passing interest. "I'm Sir Nicholas, and I expect to get to know you much better in the coming years."

"Brilliant! I've never met a ghost before!" Harry beamed at the transparent man.

"And I have never met…whatever you are either," Sir Nicholas assured him enthusiastically.

Based on Harry's experiences with Ollivander and with the Sorting Hat, he had figured that quite a few people would immediately recognize his not-quite-alive status. However, besides the ghosts all looking at him speculatively, it seemed that no one else noticed. His classes ran fairly regularly for classes with the professors introducing each of their subjects on the first day. His almost white wand got several looks, but no one actually questioned him about it. It seemed that asking about someone's wand was rude or something.

McGonagall treated everyone equally; Flitwick subconsciously shuddered every time he walked by Harry but never commented; Quirrell seemed nervous, but he was nervous around everyone. Harry got the feeling that the man wasn't well, like he was close to death, so he tried to be extra kind to the DADA professor. It didn't help that he got a headache every time he was close to Quirrell though, he figured he might have a garlic allergy. And Snape seemed to really dislike him for some reason.

When Potions class started, Professor Snape immediately began to berate Harry and insult him. By the time the intimidating man started asking Harry questions, he'd already firmly been placed on Harry's not-worth-his-time list. "Potter! What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" The man snapped sternly at the boy.

Harry opened his mouth to say as politely as possible that he didn't know so they could all move on and start class…that was until the answer just popped into his head. "Draught of Living Death, sir," he said automatically instead.

The potion master paused and glared down at Harry from the front of the room. "All right, Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Harry repressed a smirk at Hermione Granger who almost fell out of her seat trying to get Snape's attention to answer the question. The answer immediately came to the front of his mind once more. "A goat's stomach…or the supply cupboard, sir," he smiled innocently up at the man. Honestly, he had no clue what a bezoar was nor had he ever heard of the Draught of Living Death. He made a point to only study what he needed, and that had not been on the required curriculum for the day.

"Well, well, it seems you may have inherited a touch of your mother's talent at potions, boy," The man said with a sneer. Harry didn't think he had any other expressions, but he was very excited to hear that his mother had been good at potions. It was the only thing he knew about her now besides her name and that she apparently had green eyes. "Let's try one more. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

This time the answer came to him with a sneered Snivellus added on at the end. Harry figured it must be an insult to the man, but he had no clue why he'd think of that. He disregarded it since, if he used it, he'd make an enemy (the opposite of being on the not-worth-his-time list) and it wasn't that good of an insult anyway. "I believe they're the same, sir, but I could be wrong."

"Why aren't you all taking notes?!" Snape growled to the rest of the class who immediately pulled out parchment and quills to frantically start writing.

It turns out that answering Snape's questions correctly does nothing to endear yourself to the man. He was as unpleasant and snappy the rest of class as he was before Harry answered him. The worst down-side though had to be that Hermione Granger decided they must be study buddies from here on out. "Look, Hermione, I don't study over what's required; I don't need a study-partner; and I honestly don't care much about my grades," Harry finally sighed as she tried to corral him into the library for the third time.

The girl looked completely scandalized. "What do you mean you don't care about your grades?!"

"There are more important things in life than school," Harry said before seeing Ron and rushing off to save himself from the thoroughly scandalized girl.

In the coming days, Harry really did try to just ignore Malfoy and not let him and his insults get to him, but he kept bringing Ron into it, and Harry couldn't stand by and let his one friend be insulted. He would admit that saving Neville's Remembrall was unnecessary and went against his ignoring policy, but flying on a broom didn't frighten him at all. It's not like he could fall off and die, and Neville seemed like a good potential second friend if he could get the boy to calm down and stop worrying so much. Life, or whatever he had, was too short to worry all the time. Quidditch though, that sounded like something he might be interested in doing, it sounded fun anyway, so he was pretty happy about being placed on the team.

So, all in all, things were going pretty smoothly. Harry visited Hagrid often, did the bare minimum in Potions, stayed as far away from Professor Flitwick as he could, and tried to be kind to Professor Quirrell while maintaining as much distance as possible from the garlic smell. The troll was an interesting bit of excitement added to the mix of the routine he had.

As Harry and Ron followed the prefect from the Great Hall, the inner voice in Harry's mind gave him a nudge: Granger. That was all it took for Harry to remember that Hermione had been seen in the bathrooms crying and she wouldn't know about the troll.

"Ron, Hermione, we have to go tell her about the troll," Harry turned to the redhead frantically. It was partially their fault she had gotten so upset to begin with. They couldn't just leave her. Besides, Harry figured he could distract the troll while the two living people ran if need be.

"Bloody hell," Ron exclaimed, but followed Harry as they ran away from the Gryffindor group.

"Leave me and run if things get bad. I'll distract the troll. Remember, I'm already dead anyway," Harry told his friend seriously as they ran towards the girls' restroom.

"I'm not just going to leave you Harry, and I'm still not completely sold on the you being dead bit," Ron growled in frustration from behind his friend.

"Whatever, just get you and Hermione out. I'll be fine," Harry rolled his eyes as they skidded to a stop when the massive mountain troll appeared just around the corner.

"I can't believe we lived through that!" Ron gasped as he, Harry, and now Hermione made their way to the tower.

"Yeah, and that Hermione stuck up for us like that," Harry grinned at their new friend.

The girl turned pink in embarrassment. "Well, not too many people would take on a troll for a person."

"True, but Harry has no self-preservation at all," Ron nodded with a glare towards the green-eyed boy.

"Oh, yeah, right. Hermione," Harry turned to her seriously before pulling them both into an alcove. "So, if you're going to officially be my second-ever friend, I need to let you in on the secret," he began.

"Here goes," Ron rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Secret?" Hermione asked in confusion, but also looked fairly pleased to be welcomed into the group as a friend.

"Yeah, well, I'm dead, and if you're my friend, you should know because I might just stop moving and breathing and such one day and I don't want you to be surprised. Plus, in dangerous situations like we just experienced, you and Ron need to save yourselves and don't worry about me. I'm dead anyway, so living people get out first," Harry explained with a tentative look on his face, hoping she wouldn't scream and run or something like that.

Hermione just stared at him. Ron sighed, "He really does believe he's dead. It doesn't impact much at all though, so if you don't believe him, he's fine if you just go with it."

"You believe you're…dead," Hermione said slowly in disbelief.

"Look, you believe in magic and trolls and ghosts, I don't see how a dead person walking around is such a stretch," Harry glared at Ron. "But yeah, it doesn't impact my life much. Just don't tell people since I'm strange enough as it is, and now you know in case I start acting a lot more dead than I currently am."

Hermione nodded. "Ok, I can do that. I am going to the library to research the effects of that killing curse you were hit with as a baby though." She probably thought it had caused some mental issues.

Harry shrugged. "Eh, probably a good idea. I have a feeling it's just going to say I'm definitely dead though…so, whatever."

And that's how it went. Ron and Hermione pretty much forgot Harry's warnings and belief he was dead. He never mentioned the voices or the disembodied hugs, so they didn't have many reminders of his oddity. After her cursory glance in the library where she really only found that, yes, the killing curse killed and there wasn't a way to block it, Hermione eventually gave up looking. When you have the only person to ever survive something, there isn't much research that has been done into lingering effects.

It wasn't until someone cursed Harry's broom, trying to kill him, that the next reminder of his situation came up. Once he was back on the ground and coughed up the snitch, Madam Hooch insisted he be taken to get checked out by Madam Pomfrey. "Really, I'm fine. Nothing happened," Harry assured his teammates who escorted him to the infirmary and dropped him in an exceptionally white bed.

"And you may leave once I ascertain that," Madam Pomfrey glared at the boy she had just met. She really wished that a less dangerous sport would catch on at the school.

"See you in the common room to celebrate," the Weasley twins winked at him before the team left him to the stern witch.

With a sigh, the medi-witch raised her wand and started casting diagnostic spells at Harry. She frowned and cast them again. Then she cast them again. "Er, Madam Pomfrey…I probably should warn you that I'm dead," Harry eventually added in around the fifth time she had cast the spells and was getting more and more worried.

"What? I don't understand," she looked very confusedly at the boy. "Every single diagnostic says you are as dead as a long-interred corpse. It makes absolutely no sense. I can clearly see you alive in front of me. What do you mean that you're dead?!"

Harry shrugged, not really knowing how to explain it. "I really don't know the how, just the what. I've always known that I'm dead. Since I keep eating, breathing, and walking around, it doesn't really impact much though."

The witch's lips thinned into a stern line as she processed what he was explaining. "How many people know of this?" She finally asked, sitting on the edge of the bed with Harry and looking at him kindly.

"Er, Hagrid, Mr. Ollivander figured it out, the sorting hat…oh, and I told Ron and Hermione in case I just stop acting alive one day so they wouldn't worry," he explained as the woman shook her head in stunned surprise. "Would you be able to tell if whatever magic is holding me together is going to hang around for a while or not?"

Madam Pomfrey just shook her head in the negative. "Do you happen to know when you died?"

He was sad to hear that, but he hadn't really expected her to have an answer. "Not really, my guess is that the killing curse that hit me did actually kill me though."

She nodded as if she had expected that answer. "Mr. Potter…Harry, I don't think you should tell anyone else about this," she finally said after some thought. "At least be very selective in who you tell. You see…necromancy or death magic is very looked down upon and highly illegal."

"I didn't do it!" Harry quickly protested in fear. "Besides, I was a baby at the time!"

"I know," the woman assured him and grabbed onto one of his hands to give it a quick, comforting squeeze. "But, if the ministry were to hear of you, no matter who did the magic, they would want to bring you in to study you. You may find that you spend the rest of your days in the Department of Mysteries being poked and prodded."

Harry went very pale. "No, but I probably don't have much time left. I'd like to make some more friends and have another adventure or two."

"Then let's make sure you can enjoy it, how about that?" The medi-witch smiled at him, a little sadness in her gaze. "I'll keep this between us, and if anything at all strange happens, you come directly to me. Make sure your friends know not to tell anyone about you and keep the secret to yourself from here on out."

"What about the headmaster? Should he know?" Harry asked after a moment of thought. "I've considered telling him before, because, you know, I might not be around a long time, but I never could decide."

Madam Pomfrey slowly shook her head. "No, let's hold off on that just for now. I don't see that he really needs to know, and the less people in on the secret, the safer it is for you. If anything were wrong with you, Headmaster Dumbledore would just send you to me anyway."

"That makes sense," Harry smiled at her. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. I really appreciate the warning."

Classes continued and Harry seemed to all a normal, if not slightly strange, student. The voices in the back of his mind really didn't help him that much. Frankly, he wished they would help him in his classes more. They seemed set on only helping him in Potions though, and the advice was usually accompanied by an insult to the professor that Harry was careful not to relay. Harry's competence in Potions did nothing to endear the acerbic professor to him, not that Harry cared since he'd firmly placed the man on his not-worth-his-time list. Harry did realize that hearing voices wasn't normal, but he was definitely not normal anyway, and as long as they were being helpful…

The voices were actually fairly quiet overall with long stretches of Harry hearing nothing. However, as soon as Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to save the Philosopher's Stone, the voices all started yelling. It was more of a mumbled cacophony, and still quiet enough that Harry pushed the noise to the very back of his mind and focused on the mission.

Harry and Hermione paused after solving Snape's riddle. "Hermione, you go back and take care of Ron. I'll keep going," Harry reached for the potion vial to move forward.

"You don't know what you're going to find in the next room," Hermione wrung her hands in worry.

Harry just smiled at her broadly. "You forget I'm already dead. It's not like whatever is in there can actually kill me."

She just shook her head adamantly. "Harry…you aren't dead. Please, you have to believe me. You can't just run in there thinking you're invincible!"

"I'm not invincible, but if I just stop living…well that's just setting nature right…you see," Harry assured her ineffectively. "I've always felt that I could just take a step and be somewhere else, somewhere I'm supposed to be."

"No, Harry, don't…" Harry had already downed the potion and walked through the flames before she could continue protesting.

"Well, aren't you interesting?" Harry commented with a surprised raise of his eyebrow as he realized that Professor Quirrell had joined him in death and was only still moving around because of the parasite sitting on the back of his head.

"Harry Potter!" Quirrellmort spit out as he turned to stare at the boy.

"Professional curiosity, but do you feel different now?" Harry asked as he studied the confused dead man in front of him. "I mean, personally, I can tell, but can you tell that you've died?"

"What're you talking about, boy?!" Quirrell sputtered.

"Don't listen to the brat! Use him to get the stone!" The parasite ordered from the back of the professor's head.

"Right…so all this wasn't Snape…got it," Harry nodded as the DADA professor made him look into the mirror.

Harry studied the retreating form of Albus Dumbledore. It seemed the headmaster still didn't know he was dead. He was beyond surprised Madam Pomfrey kept his secret and that the headmaster hadn't checked on him himself. He'd also had to side-step a potentially telling situation when the headmaster had asked about his wand with curiosity clearly on his face. Harry had just reminded him that it wasn't very polite to ask about someone's wand, but that his had worked exceptionally well for him since he got it. Headmaster Dumbledore had looked a little constipated at that answer, but Harry didn't budge, so he had to give it up. Harry liked his headmaster, but he was taking Madam Pomfrey's warning seriously. He did NOT want to spend the rest of his…life?...afterlife?...as an experiment.

"'Arry!" Hagrid boomed out happily as he passed the headmaster to enter the infirmary.

"Hagrid! You came to visit!" Harry smiled welcomingly at his friend. It warmed his dead heart that the man would think to stop by and visit him in the infirmary.

"Well…I needed to make sure you weren't more dead now didn' I?" Hagrid plopped into the chair Dumbledore had just vacated, making it groan ominously.

"Oh wonderful, I'd forgotten you knew," Madam Pomfrey bustled over with a relieved smile on her face. It seemed she was happy someone besides her was in on the secret.

"So, what's the answer?" Harry questioned in concern. "Am I more dead?"

"Well, you're definitely deceased," she tutted with a harried look. "As for more, I don't even know how to check for that."

"Should he have died?" Hagrid asked with eyes as wide as saucers in concern. He hadn't realized it had been so close even though he'd made a joke about it. "I thought it weren't that serious."

"Headmaster Dumbledore just said I'd used a bit too much magic," Harry commented questioningly.

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over him one more time and huffed in frustration. "By the time I saw you, your magic was building back up, but I don't know how low it got. Usually, those who die from complete magic exhaustion stop breathing and moving. I don't know what it'd look like if the person stayed animate," she explained with a shrug of helplessness.

"So…I could be a bit more dead," Harry concluded as he reached for a chocolate frog on the table beside him. "Might as well enjoy this then."

"'Arry," Hagrid frowned. "You sure you're ok? I don' like that Madam Pomfrey can't help you any."

"I always did like Hagrid," a woman's voice clearly said out in Harry's mind. "I wish I had spent more time with him."

Harry's eyes widened as he almost choked on the chocolate frog. He'd never heard the voices that clearly before; normally they were more of a low mumble or nudge.

"Yeah, I feel bad about that prank we pulled with his pumpkins in third year now," a man's voice added.

"It was incredibly juvenile," the woman agreed.

"Er…Hagrid, Madam Pomfrey, could I maybe rest a bit more? I'm still kind-of tired," Harry was actually very tired, but mainly he wanted to get rid of the two so he could figure out what was going on in his head.

"Oh no, Prongslet still doesn't feel good. You think he's ok?" The man asked in concern.

"Of course, Harry. You rest all you need," Madam Pomfrey patted his hand comfortingly before shuffling Hagrid towards the door.

"Feel better!" The giant man called out behind him.

Harry waited until they cleared the room. "Ok, who are you two? Where are you? And who is Prongslet?" He hissed out quietly into the room.

"Lils, you think he heard us?" The man asked in an overly excited tone.

"Yes, James, it did sound that way," the woman huffed. "Hey, baby, can you actually hear us or are we just still mumbles?"

"Er, yeah, I can hear you. It's not as good as if you were right beside me, but you're clear," Harry explained. "So, are you the voices from the back of my head all these years?"

"Mostly," the woman, Lils, responded. "There are more here, but it's mostly just been us."

"Kay…cool. Nice to finally meet you…" Harry paused with an excited thought. "Hey, James and Lils…are you…are you Mum and Dad?!"

"Yes! Harry! I can't believe you can actually hear us…well, hear us clearly anyway!" James Potter exclaimed in Harry's mind.

"So, I guess I've finally gone crazy," Harry mumbled with an eye roll at his life. "At least I get to talk to my parents in my insanity."

"Oh, Love, you aren't crazy," Lily Potter assured him. "You're just dead...so you have a connection to our side. From our end, you look like a ghost just standing still in the afterlife. You've grown and gotten bigger over the years, but you are just standing here with us, part here and part not."

Harry tried to process that. "Er, why can I hear you better now?"

"Madam Binns…Professor Binns's wife has a theory that you get closer to our side each time you should have died as a living person," Lily explained. "When you were nine…well, when that atrocity happened, you looked much clearer on our side and we started to notice that you actually heard us a bit. Now…well, Madam Pomfrey did say that you could have died, and you're clearer again on our side."

"Professor Binns was married?" Harry asked in surprise. Frankly, that was a little more surprising to him than what his mum had just explained. What she said made perfect sense to him…that Binns had been married, that was just odd.

"Yes, and she's very angry that he's hanging around Hogwarts still instead of moving on," Harry's dad chuckled. "I think he might be trying to avoid her. She's a bit…harsh."

"She does know her magical theory though, so I think she might be right on this one," Lily added in a disapproving tone towards her husband.

"Oh, ok…" Harry yawned tiredly. "I want to know all about you both."

"And we'll tell you everything," Lily assured him kindly. "Now, try to sleep again for a while. We have all summer to tell you stories now and hear all about you too."

"Hmm, that sounds good," Harry mumbled already falling asleep with a smile on his face. "Love you Mum and Dad."

"We love you too, Harry," James Potter said proudly as Harry drifted off.

Chapter Text

Harry was curled up on his bed, ignoring his aching stomach and cursing stubborn house elves everywhere. He knew that he probably couldn't die of hunger, but that didn't mean he didn't feel it terribly. He'd tried to reason with Dobby. He even ended up telling the elf he was already dead, so there wasn't much that could happen to him, but the elf really didn't seem to believe him. His mum and dad weren't much help either since he couldn't use magic, so even if they told him a spell to get out of the house, he couldn't use it if he wanted to go back to school.

"Harry, there's someone here I want you to meet," James Potter broke into Harry's haze of hunger and anger.

"Really?!" He sat up excitedly. So far, he hadn't gotten to talk like this to anyone except his parents even though they assured him they weren't all alone in the afterlife.

"Yes, this is Fabian Prewett."

"Hello, little medium, I'm pleased to meet you," a kind, deep voice almost soothed Harry's anger and worry.

"Er…medium?" He asked in confusion.

"He hasn't had Divination yet, Fabian," James scolded the other man. "Harry, it just means that you can talk to the dead…you're a type of medium, though I don't think any others have actually been dead before like you are."

"Oh, ok then. It's good to meet you too, Mr. Prewett," Harry smiled out, not knowing just how much of him the spirits could see.

"Fabian, please Harry," Fabian laughed. "I feel like McGonagall is about to scold me and my brother for some prank when called Mr. Prewett."

"Harry, Fabian is going to teach you how to pick a lock the muggle way," James explained the new voice's presence.

"Er…that's really cool," Harry grinned excitedly, but knew it really wouldn't help. "It's not going to get me out of the room though. There are a couple chain locks on the door as well."

"Let's worry about the locks you can get to for now, and maybe your relatives will forget to lock those chains at some point. If not, I'll grab my brother and have him teach you how to break through a door with force," Fabian explained, sounding very excited.

"But, if I get out…where would I go? I'm not even twelve yet," Harry sighed, still seeing problems with this plan. He loved his dad and getting to know him, but he seemed to be a jump first and then look type of person.

"You'll go either to your friend Ron's house, or I have an old friend named Remus I can lead you to," James explained. "We have to get you out before school though…I'm not sure they're planning on letting you go back to Hogwarts."

"My sister, Molly, and her family will definitely take him in," Fabian assured them both.

Harry was surprised. "Mrs. Weasley is your sister?!"

"She is. Gideon and I have kept tabs on her and the family over the years. We know they would look out for you if you went there," Fabian said confidently. "Now, you need to find a stiff wire or thin piece of metal. It looks like there are a lot of broken toys around you…look through those and see what you can find."

Harry succeeded in learning how to get through all the types of locks on his door except for the chain locks when the Weasley twins and Ron had finally shown up to bust him out. Frankly, he was a little sad to not get Gideon Prewett's lesson on how to bust through a door, but hey, he was free at least and knew how to pick lockets quickly and silently.

"Thank you, Fabian," he mumbled as the flying car pulled away from Privet Drive leaving a red-faced Vernon Dursley cursing them from the window.

"Harry, no. This is a very bad idea. Stop this instant!" Lily Potter scolded angrily as Harry and Ron made their way towards Mr. Weasley's flying car to head to school.

"Aw, come on, Lils. It'll be fun," James Potter pouted from wherever the spirit was around Harry.

Frankly, the idea that his father thought it'd be fun was what stopped Harry. He'd heard quite enough stories over the summer to realize that if James Potter thought something would be fun, he should probably re-evaluate the plan. "Well…what do I do then? I'm not going back to the Dursleys," Harry hissed under his breath so that hopefully Ron wouldn't hear.

"Harry, there are aurors stationed around Kings Cross whenever the train is leaving or arriving for security. You just need to find one of them," Lily explained. "Let me look around…I'm sure I'll recognize someone."

"Isn't that Kingsley Shacklebolt?" James Potter actually helpfully added.

"Great! I always liked him," Lily said excitedly.

"Of course you did," James said insinuatingly.

Harry was positive his mum had done something to his dad from the following "Ow!"

She kept talking to him though. "Harry, do you see the imposing black man by the ticket counter who's wearing a gray overcoat?"

"Yeah," he said, pausing and causing Ron to look back at him questioningly.

"He's an auror. Go and explain what happened. If the parents are stuck on the other side of the barrier, then they need help too," Harry's mum explained very reasonably, causing Harry to hear a scoff from this father.

"Hey, Ron. I think that man's an auror," Harry motioned to the stern-looking man who had just looked their direction, curiosity and concern on his face. "Why don't we talk to him? We wouldn't want to leave your parents stuck on the platform, would we?"

"Definitely!" Ron actually breathed out a sigh of relief. Harry was surprised that it seemed his friend had actually been really concerned. He figured that if one had living parents, then you'd probably be concerned for them though.

They both hurried over to the man who had started walking their direction already. "Erm, Auror Shacklebolt?" Harry asked, really hoping his mum and dad hadn't been wrong.

The auror paused in surprise. "Yes, that's who I am. Do you need some assistance, Mr. Potter?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked with a glance towards where platform 9 ¾ was. "The train should have left already; I guess you two missed it."

Ron was looking at Harry in confusion, probably because he seemed to randomly know an auror. "Yes, sir," Harry nodded, ignoring his friend for the moment. "The barrier was closed when we tried to go through. Ron's parents had already crossed, and we're worried they might be stuck on the other side."

"That's very concerning," the man frowned, a confused look shadowing his face. Obviously, the barrier shouldn't be blocked. "Well, we'll have to check on that and get you two to school then. Shall we?" He motioned for them to follow him as he headed towards the barrier.

"I can't believe we almost just left Mum and Dad," Ron whispered to Harry frantically as they jogged along to keep up with the taller man. "How do you know this guy anyway?"

"I'll tell you later," Harry hissed back worriedly. He'd never told anyone about the voices before, and he wasn't sure how Ron was going to take it. He hoped he could come up with a convincing story; he wasn't quite ready to tell his friend that he could speak to the dead just yet.

"Well…this is very strange," the auror commented again after a surreptitious flick of his wand towards the barrier. "You two stay here a moment. I'm going to inform the rest of my team about what's going on, then I'll come back and we'll figure out a way to get you to school," he told them kindly before turning and walking over to a man in an inconspicuous outfit except for his neon orange fedora.

"How do you think we're going to get there?" Harry turned to Ron. "I've only ever ridden the train or the floo that one time," he shuddered at that memory. "Are there other ways to travel in the wizarding world?"

"We're too young to side-along apparate still," Ron shrugged. "I'd assume we're either going to floo, take a car, portkey, or maybe even the Knight Bus. I don't know if it goes all the way to Hogwarts though."

"We have a bus?" Harry was surprised at that. Frankly, he didn't know what a portkey was either, but the bus was more surprising that it even existed.

"Right, you lot ready to go?" Kingsley smiled broadly at them as he walked back over. "The ministry will sort all this out and get the parents off the platform if they haven't already apparated away. You two are traveling with me though."

"How are we getting there, sir?" Harry asked again.

"There should be a ministry car out back that we requested be sent over by portkey. I'll drive you," Kingsley looked a little too happy at that prospect to actually have driven before in Harry's opinion.

As concerned as he was, Harry still followed along and slid into the backseat with Ron when they found the nondescript black sedan that popped into being in an alley behind the train station when they got there. "Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed with a grin.

Kingsley Shacklebolt kept up a running commentary as they drove out of London about his days at Hogwarts and asking questions about their classes. He even led them in a game of I Spy when they neared the countryside. Harry was right, Kingsley had probably never driven a day in his life if the fact that the car seemed to drive itself was any indication. The auror would turn around to talk to them, not watching the road or with his hands on the wheel occasionally, but the car still drove forward, presumably towards Hogwarts.

Ron got really into asking about the man's experiences as an auror, so Harry was able to just enjoy seeing the countryside from a car for the first time. His relatives had never taken him anywhere, and he'd already ridden the train a couple times, so it was interesting to see a different perspective. "So, Harry…how did you know who I was? I don't think we've ever met before?" The auror eventually asked, causing Ron to also turn questioning eyes on him.

"Erm…" Harry was completely lost about what to say. Madam Pomfrey had really scared him about being locked up in the Department of Mysteries, and this man worked for the ministry. He waited to see if a spirit would help him, but he had nothing. Maybe they didn't travel in cars? "Um…I get the Daily Prophet and you were mentioned for an arrest you made," he said, thankfully remembering the name of the paper and really hoping an auror would be mentioned at some point in it.

"You get the Daily Prophet?" Ron asked incredulously.

Harry did his best to hold in an eye roll and groan at his friend who was definitely not helping. "Yes, Ron. I thought it'd be a good idea." Now that he thought about it, it did actually sound like a good idea. He might have to consider that for next summer if the Dursleys weren't completely ridiculous then too.

"Look out the window, that's Hogsmeade in the distance," Kingsley spoke up in surprise...yeah, he'd definitely never driven before. "You're going to beat the train by a little over an hour."

Harry eagerly looked out the window as they passed through the wizarding village, excited to see it. The car pulled up to the gates of the school on its own before slowly coming to a stop. "Well, we're here!" Kingsley grinned at his two charges. "Thank you for an enjoyable road trip. You ready to walk up to the school?"

"What're we going to do for an hour?" Ron sighed as he stepped out of the car and stretched.

"Harry, that idiot Lockhart you ran into in Diagon Alley is the new DADA professor. We checked it out," James Potter sneered from somewhere around Harry.

"Baby, there's a couple people over here that claim Lockhart obliviated them and stole their life's work, claiming he did it," Lily said in concern. "Please, watch out for that man. He may be an idiot, but he's a dangerous one."

Harry looked at Kingsley questioningly. Could he tell the man? It's not like he had any proof except for the word of someone who'd died. "No, Harry. Don't tell him," Harry's dad sighed, guessing his thoughts. "Kingsley is a good bloke, but he does work for the ministry, and it's not a good idea to tell the ministry anything that might get them to look closer at you and why you're able to talk to the dead. Fabian is right, mediums do exist, but not like you. You're connected to the afterlife because you're more than halfway here yourself."

Harry internally grumbled at the position he was in, but just followed his friend and the auror up to the school. "Auror Shacklebolt, thank you for bringing Misters Weasley and Potter all the way here," Professor McGonagall met the group at the steps to the school.

"Oh, please, Professor, you've known me since I was eleven. Call me Kingsley," the man laughed and gave both boys a bit of a friendly push towards the woman. "I've brought the lost sheep to join your flock."

"Did you hear why the barrier closed yet?" McGonagall looked at Harry and Ron kindly but also sternly. "You two can go put your trunks in the tower but come right back down. The feast will start before you know it."

"They just started looking into it when we left," the auror explained as Harry and Ron pulled their trunks into the school and made their way to the tower.

"I bet that house elf closed it to keep me from coming back to school," Harry said wryly to his friend. "Dobby, I think his name was…"

"Well, it didn't work," Ron snorted in amusement. "I'm just glad the aurors were there to get Mum and Dad off the platform, though they probably just apparated away anyway."

"That'll be handy once we learn how to do it," Harry smiled, liking the idea of being able to disappear in one location to appear in another.

By the time they got everything unpacked and headed back down to the Great Hall, they could already see the carriages slowly making their way up to castle from the windows. "Blimey, it looks impressive from this angle," Ron commented as he and Harry watched all the students inch towards them.

"I have a feeling this year is going to be just as interesting as last," Harry smiled at his friend.

"As long as You-Know-Who isn't possessing anyone this year as well," Ron shook his head and grinned back.

Harry tiredly made his way out of his detention with Lockhart. ::Come…come to me…Let me rip you…Let me tear you…Let me kill you…::

"Dad, if that's you, it's not funny," Harry quietly hissed into the hallway. "I'm too tired to deal with this."

"What are you talking about?" James Potter asked in confusion. "I didn't say anything…Lily had her hand over my mouth to stop the swear words at that horrible, egotistical man."

"Well…was it someone else from over there? Someone trying to scare me or something?" Harry was concerned now. Was he hearing voices that weren't there now…in addition to the dead people?

"No one's over here by us right now, Baby," Lily said soothingly. "What did you hear? Can you tell us what it sounded like?"

"I'm going to follow it," Harry rushed through the hallways after the voice. He didn't get far before he lost the sound of the disembodied voice. "Drat!"

"Harry…you're worrying us," James prodded. "Please, tell us what's going on."

"It was something talking about killing someone. I can't tell where it's coming from," he walked up and down the hallway trying to pick up the voice again.

"So, there's a voice only you can hear that you can't tell where it's coming from that's talking about killing someone…" Lily summed it up. "We'll ask around and see if anyone has any idea what could be happening on our side. Madam Binns might have an idea or possibly one of the founders if we can pull them away from their incessant bickering."

"You've met the founders?!" Harry paused in happy surprise, almost forgetting the scary voice.

"Yeah," James grumbled. "It's a bit of a letdown to realize the people you grew up idolizing are just people like anyone else."

"I still wouldn't mind talking to them someday if you want to grab one and bring them to me to have a chat," Harry offered as he made his way towards Gryffindor Tower.

"We'll try. I have a feeling Rowena will have an academic interest in you at the very least," James said. "Head to sleep. We'll try to figure out the voice thing."

Harry's parents hadn't figured anything out yet by the time Halloween and Sir Nicholas's Death Day Party came around. Harry was beyond excited to be invited. Frankly, he'd never been invited to a party before, and it was his death day as well, so he figured it was fitting. He thought about telling Sir Nicholas that they shared a death day, but then decided against it. He didn't want to do anything to take away from the ghost's day. They didn't seem to have a lot going on in the castle.

"I don't know why you're so excited," Ron grumbled as they headed down the corridors to the party.

"He's about to say something about being dead," Hermione knowingly answered for Harry as he opened his mouth.

Harry glared at them both and huffed. "Well, it is my death day too, so what if I want to party? I'm allowed, right?"

"I just think the feast would be more fun," Ron rolled his eyes but threw an arm around his odd friend. "I'm sorry, this is the anniversary of your parents' deaths. I forget sometimes."

"Mine too," Harry smiled at him thankfully.

Ron just cleared his throat and nodded. He still wasn't quite on board with believing in his friend's non-living status. "Well, let's celebrate then."

Harry had to admit after a few minutes, it really wasn't his type of party. He didn't know what his type of party was, but he'd have had better food and a different band if it were him. Sir Nicholas seemed to be having fun though. He'd gotten separated from his friends, so he carefully moved around the ghosts looking for them, but someone still walked backwards straight into him, almost knocking him over. "Oh, sorry," Harry apologized automatically as he looked up.

Sir Nicholas was staring down at the smaller boy. Slowly, the ghost reached out a finger and poked Harry's shoulder solidly. As the ghost gasped, Harry glanced around, making sure no one else was paying attention. "Erm, I'm guessing that's odd," he said awkwardly.

"Merlin, Mr. Potter! This is…what are you?" The ghost sputtered out.

Harry just shrugged. "I don't know…dead…besides that, no clue."

The ghost stared and stared before a grin started tugging at the sides of his mouth. "Your parents died today years ago?"

"Er, yes, sir…"

"That means…is today your death day as well?!" He concluded with a wide smile.

"I guess so," Harry nodded, smiling kindly up at the man.

"Then, we're dancing!" Sir Nicholas pulled him by the hand out to the dance floor and starting swirling around Harry in complicated patterns while Harry just awkwardly swayed in time to the music.

Help! He mouthed to Ron and Hermione who were both holding in laughter from the other side of the room when they finally found him.

Harry and his friends escaped just as soon as politely possible from the party. Unfortunately, that meant they were in time to get caught in the drama surrounding Mrs. Norris and the large, red letting on the wall that said:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

"Right, Chamber of Secrets. That gives us more to go on!" Harry heard James Potter exclaim from somewhere, causing him to jump in surprise. "I'm off to find a founder. One of them has to know what that is."

"Thanks, Dad," Harry mumbled and tried his hardest to ignore the looks his friends were giving him from following the hissing voice before. If they were looking at him like he was crazy now, he was definitely not going to tell them about the other voices.

Harry waited as the infirmary cleared out of all the muddy, quidditch players. He looked at his boneless arm with a grimace. What if he was stuck without bones in that arm since he was dead? What if living person potions didn't work on him?

"Now, now, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey bustled over with a scary-looking bottle of potion in her hand. "Don't look like that. We have no reason to believe this potion won't work for you just like with anyone else."

Harry shuddered as he downed the vile potion he was handed. "That has to be worst thing I've ever tasted!"

"Yes, Skele-Gro is very terrible…" She frowned. "I don't know Lockhart's game, but the bone-mending spell and the bone-vanishing spell are completely different. How he could confuse one for the other is ludicrous!"

"He's a dangerous incompetent, not just a regular idiot," Harry shrugged as he pulled the covers up more tightly around himself.

Madam Pomfrey actually laughed at that, and Harry found himself smiling. She looked kind and very motherly when she laughed. "In the summers, I live in my old family home by St. John's College in Durham. There was this professor there a few years back that I swear must have been a pureblood wizard and not a muggle for how strange he acted," she explained, sitting beside the bed in the armchair. With a wave of her wand, she summoned a wizard's chess set from her office.

"Now, take into account this wasn't the first crazy thing he did, but once he got drunk and lay naked on the sidewalk in front of the college with a large sheet cake beside him. When the authorities asked what he'd been thinking, he said he was waiting for the aliens to come get him! Now, that's just an idiot…or maybe someone with a drinking problem."

Harry laughed and moved a white pawn forward. "You don't have to keep me company, you know," he said, even though he really did want her to stay and play chess with him and tell more stories about the town she was from.

The medi-witch just smiled at him and moved her own pawn. "Of course, I do dear, we have to see if the potion actually works. Plus, who else is going to play chess with me in this empty infirmary?"

Harry grinned madly at the woman. "Er, Madam Pomfrey…what was on the cake? Was it a birthday cake?" He finally asked.

She laughed loudly and moved another chess piece. "It said 'It's a Boy!' It was a cake for a new baby!"

"You know…I think that's stranger than the aliens…"

Luckily, Skele-Gro did work on his arm, and Harry was awake enough to both confront the house elf that was trying to kill him and see Colin Creevey brought in, petrified. Frankly, if he had bones in his arm, he thought he'd probably have tried to hex the house elf. Colin was very concerning though. He hoped his dad was able to get in touch with someone from the history of Hogwarts very soon.

Harry really hated DADA, more so even than when Quirrellmort had been teaching it. He could blame the poor lessons on Quirrell being sick (from possession), but Lockhart really had no excuse. So, he was sitting in the library doing one of the things that he definitely didn't see as worth his time…studying. With his parents' warning that Lockhart obliviated the people who had actually done everything he claimed as he own, he knew the man was dangerous. And he really would like to keep his memories, thank you very much. So, he was actually studying defensive magic, especially spells that would shield a memory charm. He figured that if he found any good ones, he'd just casually mention them to Ron and Hermione so that they could hopefully learn them too.

"Harry, I have someone here to talk to you," James Potter invaded Harry's study time.

The boy looked around and made sure he was secluded, and no one could hear him in the part of the library he was in. "Hey Dad. Is Fabian back for a visit?"

A deep voice made a sound of derision. "Under no circumstances ever compare me to that dunderhead or his twin brother."

Harry immediately wondered if Snape had somehow died. Why would Harry's dad bring him to talk though? "Er, hello?"

"Harry…meet Salazar Slytherin…" his dad said a bit tentatively.

"Oh wow! Hello, sir!" Harry immediately perked up with a smile. Ever since his parents mentioned it, he'd really wanted to meet one of the founders.

"Hello, child," Salazar drawled. "I hear you're having some troubles this year at school?"

"Yes, sir. Someone has opened your chamber. The message on the wall said it was your heir," Harry explained. "First it was just that Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat, was petrified, but no one was really concerned about that. I think there were actually a few parties. Now Colin Creevey, a first year was petrified though. I'm really worried…especially since I'm also hearing some disembodied voice talking about wanting to kill someone. I mean…different than all the other disembodied voices I hear."

Slytherin hummed in thought. "Child, have you ever talked to a snake before?"

"Er, yeah, at the zoo with my cousin Dudley," Harry blushed in embarrassment at sending a boa constrictor after his cousin. He hoped the snake had found a way to get to Brazil…

"Really?! We missed that!" James Potter sputtered in surprise. "How did we miss that?!"

"Ah…then it really must be my chambers that have been opened," Salazar sighed, ignoring Harry's father's rant. "Although, they are just my chambers, not anything mystical or very exciting. The Chamber of Secrets is the stupid name that idiot Godric called my rooms after I refused to let him enter anymore. He scared my snake though, waving around his sword like the prat he is. What was I supposed to do?"

"Why would someone opening up your rooms petrify students?" Harry was very confused. Also, he really wanted to hear Slytherin and Gryffindor talking to each other. He thought that would be hilarious.

"My snake, Sammy, is probably still alive. If someone claimed to be my heir and can talk to him, then it's very likely he would do whatever they tell him. I would assume it's his voice you're hearing since he can move through the pipes of the school. Some people can understand the snake-language. You seem to be one of them," the founder explained.

"Sal…who all are your living heirs?" James asked, shocking Harry that he was allowed to call the man Sal.

"Lily is allowed to call me that…you are not," the founder said with an audible sneer. Ok, so Harry was less impressed now. "As for my heirs…It's only that lunatic Tom left."

"Tom?" Harry asked, thinking through any Toms he knew. "What's the last name? I don't know any Toms at the school right now…I think there might be one in Hufflepuff."

Salazar scoffed at one of his heirs being in Hufflepuff. "Riddle, Tom Riddle. Also, known as Lord Voldemort."

"Oh…" Harry sighed dejectedly. "Ok, who's he possessing this time?"

Harry figured the founder must have shrugged as the sentiment was conveyed through his tone. "That I do not know. I haven't been paying much attention to the school recently. That will change immediately though. I will find out who it is, then I want you to go to my chambers and talk to Sammy. He must be disabused of the notion that Riddle is his new master."

"Ok, you'll have to tell me how to get there though," Harry agreed readily. "Also…Sammy? That seems like an odd name for a snake."

"His full name is Samael," the voice explained. "He likes to be called Sammy though."

"Kay, I'll remember that…" Harry looked down at the book he was looking through. "Er, Professor Slytherin…you don't happen to know a good spell to shield against a memory charm, do you? I have a DADA professor who apparently likes to obliviate people."

"Merlin, child! What has been going on at my school?!" Slytherin growled in anger. "That book is horrible, follow my voice. We're going to find the books you actually need to look at."

Harry followed Slytherin's voice through the library as he pointed out several books for the teen to study on shielding and defense. The whole time the founder kept up a running commentary about the texts they passed and how such and such an author turned out to be a fraud or an idiot when they crossed over to the afterlife, and how he would have done things differently to keep Voldemort and a fraud of a DADA professor out of the school.

"I think Polyjuice Potion is just what we need," Hermione told Harry and Ron seriously.

"What?" Ron raised a confused eyebrow.

"It changes you into someone else…then Harry can ask Malfoy all the questions he wants to as maybe Crabbe or Goyle," she explained, an excited gleam in her eye.

Harry thought about it. He figured Salazar was probably getting fairly close to figuring out who was being possessed since he was a spirit and could spy on anyone unnoticed. Then, he just had to pop down to the man's chambers, chat with a snake, and…well, hopefully the founder also figured out what to do with a possessed student or professor. As much as Harry had been complaining about Malfoy, he didn't actually know it was the blond that was possessed. He seemed to act as prattishly normal as usual, though he did seem a reasonable choice with his father being a follower of the megalomaniac. No, Lockhart was the larger concern right now since Salazar was figuring out the chamber issue. He didn't want himself or any of his classmates to suddenly have no memories.

"Hmm, no…Polyjuice is quite an advanced potion, isn't it?" Harry asked in thought. He'd seen it mentioned in one of the books Salazar had him looking through.

"Well…yes, but I think I can do it," Hermione nodded her head in certainty.

"Ok…" Harry remembered another potion from that same book that was just as difficult…if Hermione was sure she could brew Polyjuice. "I have a better idea. What if we just brew Veritaserum instead? It gets to the truth without all the subterfuge."

"The truth serum?" Ron asked, having heard about it from his dad.

Hermione seemed to give it some thought. "We'd still need to get him to talk to us…"

Harry had no intention to use the potion on Malfoy. Lockhart though… "We'll put it in his pumpkin juice or something and just start asking questions in front of people. I don't know…if you can brew it, then I can come up with some way to question him," he promised.

"They both take about a month to brew," Hermione really seemed to be considering it.

"I like this girl," James Potter added in his two knuts.

"I do too, but for wildly different reasons than your father," Lily Potter added with a laugh.

"All right, Harry. If you think that's a better plan, we'll do it," Hermione stood with a wide grin on her face. "We need to get the book from the restricted section first though."

Chapter Text

"Stir it three more times, counterclockwise. It'll make the potion more potent," Salazar Slytherin instructed as Harry stirred the base for Veritaserum while Hermione chopped ingredients in the second-floor girl's washroom.

"Thank you," Harry mumbled to the spirit as he followed the directions.

"Tell her to chop those finer, and use a silver blade with the Jabberknoll feathers," the man continued.

"Er, Hermione, I think those roots need to be chopped a little finer," Harry spoke up over where Ron was prattling on about the fallout of the dueling club where everyone found out Harry could speak to snakes.

"I'm following the recipe exactly," she raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her friend who never did more than the bare minimum in any of his classes.

"If they are smaller, they integrate with the king snake venom faster," Slytherin explained with an impatient huff. It seemed he didn't like having to talk through another person. Harry explained this to Hermione as well as the silver knife. She looked at him very suspiciously but did actually follow his directions since there was sound reasoning behind them.

"I don't see why you can't do this well in actual Potions class," Harry's friend mumbled, but he just smirked and continued to stir.

"It's quite serendipitous you all chose this washroom in particular to brew your potion in," the founder mused as he seemed to be keeping an eye on their progress. The man had shown up almost every time they had worked on the potion so far, always correcting and instructing. "This room has one of the exits I constructed for Sammy if he ever needed to come into the castle. Of course, there is a much better way for you to get in, but if Sammy leaves, you'll be here to see."

"Didn't you say he can kill just by looking at someone?!" Harry whispered quietly in concern as he looked around the washroom at his friends.

"Of course, he's a basilisk, but he's perfectly capable of hooding his eyes so he doesn't. Sammy is a good snake. If he weren't being ordered around by a lunatic, I'd lead you down to my chambers right now."

"Any updates on who's being possessed?" Harry whispered next.

Harry heard a tired sigh. "None of the professors or Slytherins. I'll follow around the Ravenclaws next, then Gryffindors. I seriously doubt a Hufflepuff would allow themselves to be possessed."

"What's your issue with Hufflepuff?" Harry quietly snorted in amusement. "Aren't you and Helga Hufflepuff friends?"

"I have no issue, but they tend to be the most likely to avoid dark artifacts. Those sorted into that house generally have a very strong moral compass…at least they are supposed to. I have no clue what the hat is currently doing. Anyway, it's obviously a dark object that's possessing someone or you would have noticed someone like your late Professor Quirrell that was dying," Slytherin explained with a verbal eye roll in his tone.

"Right…I think that's all we can do for today," Hermione spoke up as she went to tip the ingredients on her cutting board into the potion. "Stir that a few more times Harry, and we can head out."

"Thank Merlin!" Ron exclaimed in relief.

Harry was very upset that Nearly Headless Nick was petrified next. Frankly, with the way he'd been treating Harry, Justin Finch-Flechley wasn't a huge concern of his. It's not like the boy had been hurt…just shut up for a while. Nick though had always been extremely kind to Harry and had invited him to his first party; he'd even been willing to share the party as Harry's death day too. The Vertaserum had been completed around Christmas, but Harry had eventually talked his friends into saving it for the time being. Salazar had already cleared Malfoy, to Harry's surprise. And it wasn't a good time to get rid of Lockhart in the middle of what was going on.

Now, he was confronted with what Salazar Slytherin himself was sure was the dark artifact possessing a student…and it had been stolen from him. He asked his mum and dad to find Salazar as soon as the student in the suspicious diary said his name was Tom Riddle, but then it'd been stolen before the founder's spirit was able to corner him alone in his dorm. "What do you mean, it's gone?!"

"I mean that someone stole it from my things," Harry huffed. It really wasn't his fault. What else was he supposed to do with the diary? It's not like he knew any warding spells to put on his trunk as a second year.

"Hm, so it's a Gryffindor…Godric is going to hate this!" Slytherin almost cackled with glee. "Right, Mr. Potter, I think it's time we are more proactive. You know it's a student in Gryffindor and that the cursed object is a diary. I say we prepare as best as possible, go down to my chambers, and try to reason with Sammy."

"Sal, that sounds very dangerous," Lily Potter's voice spoke up clearly in Harry's empty dorm.

"Hey, Mum," Harry smiled broadly. No matter how many times he talked to her and his dad, Harry was always excited to hear them. It almost felt like he had parents…almost.

"Lily, I'll be with him…there's nothing to worry about," Salazar tried to reason with her.

"You're dead, Sal. How are you going to protect him?" Harry could hear the warning in her tone.

"I raised Sammy from when he was just an egg under a toad," the man said, almost nostalgically. "I can help the boy reason with him. Plus, if we get the basilisk on our side, he can help with the possessed student. We just have to wait for them to show."

"We'll go too, Lily," James Potter offered. "Between the three of us, I'm sure we can come up with something if Harry finds himself in trouble."

"I'm not incompetent, you know," Harry huffed, but pulled on his shoes to head to wherever Salazar was going to lead him.

Salazar led Harry down to the dungeons of the school, past the Potions classroom and past the Slytherin common room which the founder pointed out to him. Harry had never had a reason to go so far into the dungeons before. He wondered if the Slytherins even went that far. "There," the spirit finally said as they reached an impressive suit of armor holding a battle-axe.

"I don't have to challenge him to a duel, do it?" Harry nervously remembered that inanimate objects often became very animate at his school.

"You'd lose," Salazar said in his deadpan way. "My password is: Godric's hair looks like a dead rat."

Harry couldn't help laughing. "That's kind of a long password."

"True," Harry could hear the humor in the man's voice. "However, Godric would never say it, and it brought me joy."

"I approve then," Harry pulled himself together. "Godric's hair looks like a dead rat," he told the suit with only a hint of a smile.

Very formally, the suit bowed deeply and opened a door located just behind him. "Thank you," Harry remarked to it as he entered Salazar's quarters.

"You are welcome to take anything that strikes your fancy. It's not like I can use it anymore anyway," the man grumbled. "Just don't touch anything in my potions lab without checking with me first. You may be dead, but it's likely you can still be injured."

Harry stared in open-mouthed awe at the opulence of the sitting room he had entered. There were bright tapestries depicting the founding of Hogwarts and what looked to be Salazar's wedding covering all the walls. The furniture was dark, heavy wood and polished to a shine. Frankly, there didn't seem to be a speck of dust on anything from the chandelier that immediately lit on his entrance to the dark green and black couch in front of the lit fireplace.

"How is it so clean? Shouldn't there be dust everywhere?" Harry mused as he checked out the books in many different languages on the shelves around the room.

"Well, the house elves still clean," Slytherin said as if it should have been common knowledge. "Not everyone forgets the past like us humans."

"Er, not so sure I count as a human," Harry laughed while buckling a wand holster on his arm that looked like it might be either dragon hide or possibly from the basilisk but was extremely well made and felt like silk against his skin.

"Good choice. I had that made from Sammy's shed skin," the spirit approved. "And yes, I do believe you would still be considered human…just a dead human. I don't know how you compare to inferi magically, but mentally and physically you are extremely different."

"Thank Merlin for that!" The boy nodded and pulled a text on healing spells from a shelf to put in one of his pockets. He thought that Madam Pomfrey might want to look at it if it wasn't outdated by this point. It might be a rare copy of the book at least. "I read that book you told me to on creatures associated with death. Inferi are seriously gross and disturbing."

"You can come back anytime and keep looking you know," Slytherin reminded him as Harry was becoming very distracted. "You know the password. Can we please go check on Sammy? I'm very concerned about him."

"And people say you were the evil founder," Harry chuckled fondly at the man who'd really been growing on him.

"Please! I may not suffer fools, but I'd not consider myself evil," he huffed.

"Ok, where am I going?" Harry asked as he saw four doors and a hallway leading off from the sitting room.

"Just go down the hallway," Slytherin instructed. "It'll eventually drop you off in Sammy's lair under the castle. Keep alert though. You don't want to accidentally stumble on him."

"We can go on ahead and scout it out," Lily offered when Harry pulled his wand from his new holster and started down the hallway.

"I should have brought Hagrid with me," Harry mumbled, thinking that a very large man who knew a lot about animals might have been a good idea. Yes, he had Slytherin and his parents, but they weren't even ghosts and were fully on the 'other side,' so it's not like they could do much to help in a dire situation.

"Harry, dear, time to go back," his mum said in a worried tone before Harry had even made it to the lair.

"Er, why?" He asked in confusion. "I haven't even seen the snake yet."

"The snake's master is here," James explained.

"Bollocks," the founder grumbled, causing Harry to grin.

"Who is it?"

"Don't know…she has red hair," James said nonchalantly.

"It was the youngest Weasley, dear," Lily added on with an exasperated sigh. "Your father is not very observant."

Harry gaped into the darkness of the hallway in horror. "I'm not leaving Ginny," he finally said in decision.

"Child, it's better to deal with Sammy when he's not trying to listen to someone else. You'll only confuse him, and that's dangerous," Salazar warned.

"I'm neither a child, nor am I leaving Ron's sister," Harry resolutely continued walking forwards. It's not like disembodied spirits could stop him anyway.

"Harry, this isn't the time," James tried to reason with him…for once trying to be one of the voices of reason.

"It's not like I can die," Harry shrugged as he continued.

"No, but you could join our side permanently," his mum continued to try to stop him.

"You three have no clue how it feels to be dead but still among the living," Harry stopped and sighed. He'd never tried to put these feelings into words before, and he struggled to find a way to explain it. "It's like you're lost and don't even know where you were heading or like you've forgotten something important, both itching at your brain permanently. I just feel wrong most of the time. I'm not purposely trying to join you, but it would be a relief on many levels. Plus, I'd get to hang out with all of you."

There was silence from the three spirits. "I didn't realize," was Lily's final, sad comment.

"Well, Ginny's alive, and I'm not leaving her to Voldemort for a second longer if I can stop it," Harry started walking forwards again. "Anyone have a plan?"

The plan boiled down to try to reason with the snake, don't look the snake in the eyes, and try not to get bitten. It really wasn't a good plan. This was very evident when the first-year Gryffindor girl saw Harry emerge from a tunnel and addressed him in a deep, male voice. "Ah, you must be the Harry Potter Ginny has been telling me about. You didn't chat with my diary long enough for me to get to know you. I felt very hurt," the voice said with a sarcastic smirk that should not have been on Ginny's face.

Harry looked around the cavernous room and where Ginny was standing in front of a large, ugly carving on the wall. "My wife was right," Salazar said contemplatively. "That carving really doesn't look like me at all."

"Er…Tom Riddle, I assume," Harry nodded to the girl while still looking around for the snake.

"She won't come until I call her," Riddle answered his searching gaze.

Harry stopped and stared at the girl/man in confusion. "Are you talking about the snake? Sammy is a male snake."

"No, she's not, and that's definitely not her name," Riddle protested, glancing towards the carving and giving Harry an idea where the snake was.

"Well, did you ask him?" Harry smirked. He couldn't believe he was arguing with Voldemort over the sex of a snake.

"Why in Salazar's name would I ask her?!"

Salazar snorted. "I would have. Sammy is probably very offended. He was always a bit arrogant and prideful about his looks."

"Sal, should Harry stun her or something?" Lily cut in.

"Riddle might still be able to move the body. He needs to find the diary," the founder explained.

"It's probably in one of her pockets then," James Potter called out from where he sounded like he was standing by Ginny. "To possess her, she would need the object close."

"How about you vacate my friend's body, and I'll ask Sammy for you," Harry offered as he edged farther away from the carving.

"I wonder…How did you end up with the Parseltongue ability anyway…It must have come from when you were cursed by Lord Voldemort," Voldemort mused. "Tell me…how did you survive?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Dude, I know you're Voldemort, you can stop pretending…I mean your standard go-to in my experience is possessing someone. Kind of cliché now."

"What?" Ginny's face looked very confused. "Also…did you really just call me 'dude?'"

"This piece of the man must not know about your first year," Salazar explained with interest in his voice. "It seems that he must have split himself somehow. I don't know why else he would not know about your Quirrell adventure."

"Awkward," Harry shrugged wryly. He was not going to explain Voldemort's actions to Voldemort. "Well, to answer your question…I didn't survive. I'm dead…are you? What form do you have to be in to possess another person? I personally haven't tried it since, unlike you, I find it morally reprehensible."

"You're…dead?" Ginny looked at him like he was crazy. "You're talking to me…and standing there…"

"Yeah, well, you're talking too," Harry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Now, back to the point, can you talk to the other parts of yourself, or are you like an isolated piece, because last year's you really needs to fill this you in?"

Tom/Ginny seemed to be at a complete loss for words. "You're insane," was his final conclusion. "That killing curse must have scrambled your brains."

Harry smirked good-humoredly. "You wouldn't be the first to think that."

"I have no use for an insane nuisance," Tom/Ginny concluded before turning briskly to the carving and hissing out in Parseltongue. ::Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four::

"What the bloody hell did he do to my lair?! That was not the password!" Salazar vehemently protested. "I wasn't the egotistical blowhard; that was Godric!"

"Not the time, Professor," Harry took off running in fear as a gigantic snake emerged from the carved founder's mouth.

"Don't look at his eyes, Harry!" James yelled.

"I can't really run with my eyes closed," Harry gasped out as he dodged behind a stone column, narrowly missing getting impaled on a long, basilisk fang.

Tom/Ginny was hissing out encouragements to Sammy to eat Harry while the boy tried running in a zig-zag pattern to confuse the snake…it didn't work.

::I'm a friend! Please don't eat me!:: Harry tried hissing without looking behind him. ::I know your name is Samael and you like to be called Sammy! Professor Slytherin sent me::

::Don't listen to him snake! I'm your master!:: Tom/Ginny hissed back.

Harry caught the snake hesitating out of the corner of his eye. He hoped it was enough to convince the snake to give him a chance to explain. Harry dodged down a tunnel leading away from the chamber. He really hoped it led back to the castle or, better yet, outside. Luck was not on his side though as the tunnel twisted back around, leading Harry right back to the main chamber and a pair of glowing, yellow eyes staring right into his own eyes.

Harry felt something deep within himself let go. It was like he lost just a bit of what was holding him to the earth. "Oh," he breathed out as a part of him lost the fight to remain in the land of the living.

Slowly, a film slid over the large, yellow eyes staring at Harry before the snake tilted his head in what could only pass as confusion. ::The human is still alive:: Sammy hissed as more of a question than a statement.

Harry felt very lightheaded, but he was still breathing and standing. ::I don't think that's quite correct…but I'm still here anyway:: He told the snake as he checked himself over and made sure he was still solid.

"That was unexpected, but fortunate," A man said from beside Harry. He was tall with long, black hair pulled back into a jeweled clasp at his neck. He had high cheekbones and an aristocratic nose. His clothes were the most shocking though as they were ancient, looking to be a style from before the industrial age. Harry gasped when he realized he was actually seeing Salazar Slytherin now. After he spoke, the spirit faded once more, disappearing.

"Are you ok, baby?" A redhaired woman with the kindest face and concerned green eyes appeared to ask Harry before disappearing once more.

Harry stared in complete shock, his heart hurting as he saw his mother for the first time. Whatever had just happened to him was worth it in his opinion just for that one glance. "Mum?" He breathed out. "I can see you…"

"You died…sort-of…again," James Potter appeared with his messy black hair, kind hazel eyes, and wire framed glasses. "Deal with the snake now, please. Try to keep it from killing you again."

Harry shook his head, pushing his emotions down as much as possible before he turned back to the snake. ::Hi Sammy…I'm dead, but please don't look at me again, it takes me further from this world. I'm a medium, if you've ever heard of that before. I can speak to those who've passed on, like Professor Slytherin::

::You can really speak to Sal?:: Sammy curled his long body that looked to be around fifty feet into what could be interpreted as a more comfortable position to listen to Harry in. ::Does he want me to attack the students? The tiny master over there said he did, but Sal always told me in the past that students weren't for eating::

::Don't listen to him!:: Tom screamed.

::No, Sammy…Professor Slytherin has not changed his mind about the students. They aren't for eating. Do you have other things you can eat?:: Harry asked, looking around the lair and wondering what the snake actually did eat.

The snake's head bobbed up and down. ::Oh yes, I don't normally stay in the castle. When I'm not hibernating, I have a tunnel to the forest where there is much food, but the tiny master over there called me back::

::Sammy, Tom Riddle doesn't care about you or Professor Slytherin. He just wants to kill and control. Remember Professor Slytherin and do what he said to do, not that man possessing a girl::

::Snake! Stop listening to him this instant!:: Ginny stomped her foot petulantly. The fact it came from an eleven-year-old girl really didn't give the command much emphasis.

Sammy glanced over his shoulder, the tip of his tail snapping out and knocking Ginny straight into the stone wall. ::No! Don't hurt her!:: Harry jumped and ran over to where the tiny first year crumpled to the ground.

Sammy slithered around behind him. ::The girl can be fixed. The tiny master had to be stopped though. Sammy will follow the dead one who knows the real master. He is a much worthier master::

"Thank Merlin," Salazar breathed out a sigh as he appeared trying to stroke Sammy's body. "I told you that Sammy was a good boy."

"Search her robes to find the diary," Harry's dad appeared beside his son to remind him.

"Right," Harry quickly went through Ginny's pockets, making sure she was still breathing first. Triumphantly, he pulled out a plain, black diary that reeked of death and sighed in relief. "Brilliant! What do I do with it now? Anyone know a spell to set a book on fire?"

"You could just rip it," Lily suggested appearing on Harry's other side briefly.

"Wait…" Slytherin appeared with a thoughtful look on his face. "Some dark artifacts can only be destroyed with particular spells or methods stronger than they are or they will fight back. This must be a very strong artifact to have possessed a person."

"Ok…what's something that's so powerful it would destroy anything…?" James asked in thought. "Fiendfyre would work, but Harry is only a second year…"

"Actually…basilisk venom is just as destructive as fiendfyre," Slytherin gave James an appreciative look at the suggestion. "Harry, ask Sammy if he wouldn't mind biting down on the book for you. It would be the safest way to make sure the magic is destroyed."

::Hey, Sammy:: Harry turned to smile at the large snake that was uncomfortably close to him and staring at him speculatively. ::This book is what is helping the evil man possess my friend. Could you possibly bite down on it for me and inject it with some of your venom to make sure it's destroyed?::

::With pleasure!:: Sammy gave Harry a look that might have been either happiness or ruthlessness, but snakes really didn't have expressions, so Harry was just kind of interpreting it as best he could. Sammy opened his mouth, showing fangs as long as Harry's arm. Tentatively, Harry held out the book, only touching the tiniest corner while the snake closed its fangs, one piercing the top and one the bottom.

A shriek came from the diary and ink poured from the holes like blood when Sammy opened his mouth again and backed away. ::This is gross…Thank you, Sammy:: Harry cast a scourgify at the diary before putting it in his pocket. He wasn't sure what to do with it, but at least it couldn't hurt Ginny anymore.

::Does the dead master need anything else?:: Sammy asked with a glance back towards the carving like he was getting ready to leave the castle again.

Harry figured the castle probably wasn't the environment a fifty foot snake would feel the most comfortable in. ::No, Sammy. You can head out again. Is there a way for me to find you to check in on you occasionally? I want to make sure you're doing all right. I know Professor Slytherin was really worried about you::

Harry could only interpret the swift nudge of the snake's head against his ribs as appreciation, especially since a long tongue swiped his face, getting his taste and scent clearly. ::I know the dead master now. You just come here and Sal cast a spell so I would know when someone was in my lair. I'll come when I feel the alert, and I know to not attack your scent. Thank you, dead master. Please tell Sal I miss him, but I am well::

::He knows…I'll see you soon, ok. Take care of yourself:: Harry smiled as the large snake slithered back into the carving and Salazar's mouth closed behind him. Yeah, that carving really didn't look like the man at all now that Harry could see him sometimes. His wife had been right.

"Thank you, Harry," Salazar appeared, smiling beside him. "You need to get your friend to the infirmary now…she will need medical attention."

"Right…what's the best way to get out of here?" Harry looked around, wondering if it was physically possible for him to carry Ginny from the dungeons all the way to the hospital wing.

Lily Potter taught Harry how to cast a charm to make Ginny lighter before Salazar led him down a tunnel that was thankfully a short-cut to the infirmary and would save him from having to carry his friend all the way through the castle. When Harry finally emerged from behind a tapestry just down the hallway from the infirmary, he got a good look at his and Ginny's robes. They were filthy!

"Madam Pomfrey is going to kill me for getting her bed linens dirty," Harry sighed as he pushed open the door with a foot and struggled into the overly white room, placing Ginny on the bed he normally found himself in when he was there.

"Harry?" Madam Pomfrey asked in confusion when she stepped out of her office. "Oh my…did Ms. Weasley get petrified as well?"

"Er…" Harry paused. He hadn't come up with a good story, but Madam Pomfrey also already knew a lot. Did he need a story? "No…" he finally said slowly.

The matron was already casting diagnostic spells and summoning potions from her cabinet. "It seems her magic is quite drained, and she has a mild concussion. She will be perfectly fine by tomorrow, but what led to this happening?" She asked as she spelled the potion into Ginny before turning to look at the boy.

"Er…well…you know I'm dead…" Harry shuffled his feet awkwardly.

The matron's lips pursed again, and she crossed her arms. "Harry…just tell me what happened. You know I don't judge. I only want to make sure you and Ms. Weasley are well."

"Ok, well, since I'm dead…I can hear spirits talk to me that have already crossed over," Harry rushed out with a sigh. "It's normally just my parents, but with the chamber and all, Dad called in Salazar Slytherin, and he's been trying to figure out what's going on."

Madam Pomfrey was gaping at him with an open mouth and wide eyes by this point. "Did he?" The woman asked, not really processing what was going on quite yet.

"Yeah, well Voldy was possessing someone again, but this time through an artifact...his old diary," Harry took the destroyed diary from his pocket. "It was Ginny, but it really wasn't her fault. Professor Slytherin led me to the chamber, and I chatted with the basilisk there, but Sammy got a bit angry and knocked out Ginny. He took care of the book though…" Harry trailed off with a grimace as he waited for Madam Pomfrey to not believe him or laugh or something.

When he didn't get a reply, he continued. "Sammy is the basilisk. He's really nice and didn't actually want to hurt any of the students. He's going to stay away from them now, so no more petrified people…"

Poppy just slowly nodded her head. "A basilisk would make sense if no one looked into its eyes directly…" she concluded. "And, we do know you're a Parseltongue now…"

"You believe me?!" Harry's eyes shone with so much hope, Poppy Pomfrey's breath caught at the emotion turned her way.

"Mr. Potter…it's not any more shocking than you being dead I suppose," she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Now, are you all right? I'd scan you, but that never does anything."

Harry shrugged. "I died a bit again, but I'm still here…so there's that."

Her eyes narrowed and she sternly crossed her arms. "What does that mean…that you died a bit?"

Harry blinked, realizing he hadn't actually shared that information with the woman. "Er, well, sometimes, when I would have died if I had been alive, I get closer to the other side. I can hear the spirits better, or now I can actually see them a bit when they're talking to me. Mum says that I'm getting closer to the afterlife each time."

Whether it would help or not, Madam Pomfrey immediately started casting diagnostic spells at Harry. "How many times has this happened where you should have died?" She asked frantically, concern dripping in her voice.

"Erm…three?" Harry stayed very still as the spells washed over him. "My aunt and uncle made me sleep outside in the snow when I was nine, last year after Quirrellmort, and just now in Sammy's lair…"

Poppy sank down onto one of the beds, glancing through the diagnostic parchment that appeared in her hand. It really just said the same as all the others she'd cast at the boy before though…Harry was dead. The fact that he was moving, breathing, and talking was unexplainable. "Are you telling me that your guardians killed you?" She finally sorted through his ramblings and picked out the most distressing piece of information.

Harry shrugged. "I'm already dead," was his response. "Dumbledore says I have to stay there…something about blood wards. They really don't like me though."

"Did you tell him they'd killed you?!" She gasped at the fact that he seemed to be planning to go back.

"You told me not to," Harry reminded her with a raise of his eyebrow. "Besides, I'm already dead, so it doesn't really matter anyway. I'll eventually just end up on the other side with my parents."

After a deep sigh, Poppy patted the bed beside her and summoned the wizard's chess set. "I need to keep an eye on Ms. Weasley until she wakes…will you keep me company so we can talk?"

Harry cast a quick scourgify spell on his robes before jumping onto the bed beside her, taking the white side as usual. "Any time, Madam Pomfrey! I'm still terrible at this game though."

"I'll tell you a secret," she smiled at him while he moved a pawn. "The game isn't important, it's the time you get to spend with your opponent."

Harry just smiled more broadly at her. "I like that," he nodded. "What did you want to talk about?"

She sighed, not even knowing where to start. "Harry…are you suicidal?" She finally asked, getting to her real question.

Harry thought about that for a second, knowing he'd basically had a similar discussion with his parents in Slytherin's chambers. "No…I'm just not in the right place," he tried to explain. "I love being here with you and Ron and Hermione and everyone, but I also know it's temporary, and I'm not one of you. I want to stay here, but I know I have somewhere else to be. It's like…I'm on vacation now. I love my vacation, but home is waiting for me, and it'll be nice when I'm there as well."

Poppy gave that answer some thought. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear, but it didn't sound like the child wanted to leave the living, just that he didn't seem to be concerned if he did. "Ok…so tell me about these relatives of yours. If you must return there because of some kind of protection, is there anything we can do to make you safer from them?"

Harry gave it some thought as they played. It was nice to have someone to talk to about all of this. He didn't know if there was anything to really help with the Dursleys, but it was really nice to know that Madam Pomfrey wanted him to be safe and that she cared. "Hmm, maybe…I can just avoid them," he shrugged as she took his bishop. "Erm, I have an unrelated question…if someone were to be given Veritaserum…hypothetically, that is…is there anything it shouldn't be mixed in, like pumpkin juice or tea?"

Madam Pomfrey raised a speculative eyebrow. "We're hypothetically talking about dosing someone with Veritaserum? Hypothetically, who would we be dosing?"

"I don't know…maybe someone like Professor Lockhart," Harry smirked at her. "Hypothetically, of course."

"Uh huh," she narrowed her eyes at him and stole his rook.

"Hey, you never judge," Harry grinned. "So, pumpkin juice? Safe for Veritaserum? Oh, and this is for you," he remembered the book from Professor Slytherin's chambers and handed it over.

"Veritaserum is safe in both liquids. Wine dilutes its effectiveness though," the matron explained as she took the book and opened it. "Merlin's frilly pantaloons!" She exclaimed, almost dropping the book.

"Is that a good book? It was in the chamber, and I thought you might like it," Harry looked up from where he was solidly losing on the chessboard. "I figured it might be outdated though."

"Oh, it's definitely outdated," the woman carefully turned pages like they were the finest silk.

"Sorry about that. I saw some other books, maybe there's another one that's about healing," Harry wrinkled his nose, sad that he hadn't found a good present for his friend.

"Harry…" Poppy slowly shook her head and looked up. "This is a first edition of healing spells written by Helga Hufflepuff herself…"

"You said it was outdated though," Harry questioned as he slowly moved a knight, hoping it wasn't a terrible move.

"It's handwritten!" She stressed in exasperation. "This is worth more than my house! More than my whole block!"

"Oh good," Harry sighed with a smile. "I was worried I'd given you a worthless book. I'm glad it's something interesting then anyway."

"I can't accept this!" She protested, but not handing the book over.

"Why not? I just picked it up off a shelf," he chuckled. "I'll go back and see if there's anything else interesting next school year. I'll take you too if you want…I could even introduce you to Sammy."

Madam Pomfrey paled at that, holding the book like the priceless treasure it was. "Ok…maybe not the snake though…"

"Great! Next term, you and me and Salazar Slytherin's library!" Harry laughed as the stunned woman moved a pawn and took his knight.

The mandrakes eventually matured and the petrified students, and ghost, were finally woken up. Everyone was quite surprised and relieved that there were no more attacks. Harry wasn't sure what Madam Pomfrey had told the headmaster since she couldn't tell him anything about the chamber without outing Harry's condition, but whatever she said, nothing was ever connected to him or Ginny. The woman had sat the first year down and explained everything to her while also scheduling some counseling sessions with herself to help with the mental toll the girl had taken from being possessed. It seemed that Ginny bought the story that she had been found unconscious in a hallway and that the matron had figured out what was going on by examining her. It was a weak story, but Ginny really didn't remember anything, so it answered her questions, and a dark cloud seemed to leave the girl who looked healthier and happier almost immediately.

Ron and Hermione both were sad that the mystery seemed to just fizzle out and that Harry was no longer interested in discovering what had been happening in the school. He had countered this disappointment by bringing them into his plans with Lockhart though. Surprisingly, even Hermione was in for dosing him with the truth serum. Something about authority figures being frauds really did irk her more than even Voldemort it seemed.

It was the end of the term before they figured out how to get the potion in him though. This plan came about from sheer luck over research or strategy surprisingly. Dobby had popped into Harry's empty dorm room, this time he was trying to plant what looked to be potion vials in Harry's trunk when the boy rushed up to the dorm after the last quidditch game of the season and surprised him.

"What are you doing this time?" He sighed in frustration at the startled elf. "Please tell me you aren't trying to plant contraband in my trunk that will get me expelled. Are those illegal potions?" He knew the elf's game at this point, and the guilty look from the little elf was all he needed to know he'd been right.

"Ok, Dobby, so I destroyed the diary that possessed a student, I made friends with the basilisk that lives in the school, and I ejected Voldemort from his latest victim…what else can I do to convince you that I can take care of myself?" Harry sighed and sat down on the ground to be eye-level to the dirty elf.

The elf's eyes grew to tennis ball sized as he stared at the human in shock. "Mr. Harry Potter sir did all that?!"

"Yes, Dobby…I told you…I'm dead. I can talk to the dead. I'm not in much danger from living things," he sighed, knowing the elf hadn't believed him before. "What about you? Are you in danger? You don't seem to be taking good care of yourself."

Dobby sputtered and sank to the floor as well, narrowly missing banging his head against Harry's trunk when the boy put out a hand to stop him from harming himself. "Right…I'm taking that as confirmation that you are in trouble. How does one get a house elf away from their family?" He asked the elf as he held his tiny shoulders so he couldn't harm himself further.

"Only a house elf's family can release them," Dobby slowly shook his head. "Only a member of the House Malfoy can release Dobby…"

Harry's eyes narrowed with the knowledge of just who had mistreated this tiny elf. "Mum! Dad!" He called out, hoping for a bit of help from the dead.

"Harry? You need something?" James Potter briefly appeared behind Dobby.

"Hey, Dad. Dobby here needs to get away from his family…do you know any Malfoys in the afterlife, maybe a decent one that would do what's right if asked? Would that work?" Harry asked the spirit. Dobby gaped at Harry dumbly who was talking to air it seemed to the elf. He wasn't sure what was wrong with this human, but he must have lost some sanity, more so than most humans anyway.

James thought over the request. "Probably…a decent Malfoy is a bit of a tall order though. Abraxas, Lucius's father, really isn't a bad guy, and he does owe me one. Give me a minute," James said before disappearing.

"Right, Dobby," Harry turned his eyes back on the freaked-out elf seriously. "If you are released from your family, what do you need in order to be taken care of and do well after? Do you need another family?"

"Yes, Dobby would need a new family or a position in a magical residence," the elf automatically responded. "Dobby could work for Hogwarts, or maybe take care of Mr. Harry Potter…" Dobby really did think that Harry must need a lot of help, and he wanted to be the elf to do it. Obviously, something was wrong with him, but Dobby could handle that. He would make sure that Mr. Harry Potter was taken care of, he just needed extra help if he was mentally ill.

Harry thought about it for a minute. He figured he really couldn't bring a house elf to the Dursleys, especially after the pudding incident. "If you did work for me…could I send you to take care of Madam Pomfrey or Hagrid in the summers? You saw my family; they don't do well with anything that's different from them."

Dobby nodded frantically. He disagreed that it would be good to send him away, but anything to make sure the fragile human was looked after. "Dobby will do whatever to take care of Mr. Harry Potter."

"What's this I hear about my son mistreating a house elf?" A tall, elderly, white-haired man sternly asked as he quickly appeared in Harry's dorm. "Merlin's beard! Is that my elf, Dobby?! He was just a baby last I saw him! What'd Lucius do to him?!"

"Hello Mr. Malfoy, yes, this is Dobby," Harry smiled at where the spirit had been a second before. "Dobby, Abraxas Malfoy is here. He says you were his elf?"

"Dobby was supposed to be, yes sir, when he got older, but Master Abraxas died before Dobby was fully trained," the elf sputtered in his shock at Harry actually knowing something about him. He still wasn't too sure what to believe, but it was a shock the human had been correct.

"Great! Mr. Malfoy…can you release Dobby to me? Your son has really not been taking care of him, and Dobby said he'd be ok with either going to me or the school," Harry asked out into the room.

"Son, I'd curse Lucius if I could…he was raised better than this!" Abraxas sneered out in the direction Malfoy manor must be from the castle. "I'll say my side, then you need to agree to it," he instructed the boy.

"Yes, sir," Harry nodded.

"I, Abraxas Malfoy, former Head of House Malfoy, do hereby release the house elf Dobby to the care of Harry Potter, Head of House Potter, so mote it be," the spirit said formally.

Harry took in a deep breath as Dobby's eyes widened again when a blue light formed around him. "I, Harry Potter, Head of House Potter, do hereby accept the house elf Dobby into my care, so mote it be," he said, hoping the words were right.

It seemed they must be as the blue light connected Dobby to Harry before disappearing. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," Harry grinned and patted his new elf on the back. "I'll tell Dad you're even."

"Forget about it," the tall man looked down haughtily at Harry. "This was my mess to clean up." With that, Harry felt the spirit leave.

"Right…what do you want to do?" Harry asked the elf in concern. "I assume you want to clean yourself up, maybe get some sleep or some food…where do the other house elves stay in the castle?"

Dobby stared in wonder at the boy…so maybe he was actually dead and could talk to the dead…ok, Dobby was willing to accept that after what just happened. He was still crazy though, no one asked an elf if they wanted to take a nap or get some food. Dobby decided then and there: Harry Potter was mentally ill, and he was perfectly fine with that. The elf just needed to take extra good care of him.

"Dobby will find the other house elves and take care of himself," the elf patted Harry's hand and wondered just how much care the boy would need. He'd need to keep a close eye on him. The human might put himself in danger and not even know it.

"Great! I don't need anything though…so you just focus on taking care of yourself and feeling better for now," the Gryffindor assured him with a large smile.

"Yes, Master Harry," Dobby said, following along with the crazy man's delusions. "Are you sure there is absolutely nothing I can do?"

Harry thought for a minute before smiling. "Would you be morally against putting Veritaserum in an evil DADA professor's pumpkin juice at breakfast tomorrow? He likes to obliviate people, and I'd hate for anyone I know to lose their memories."

In answer to the question, Dobby opened Harry's trunk and took out one of the potions he'd been trying to plant there. With a glance, Harry laughed. It was Veritaserum! They hadn't even needed to brew it! "Dobby will handle it. You's just needs to ask the right questions within…" he did the math in his head. "Four hours for the dose Dobby will give him…The blond man who cursed the master's bones away, right?"

"Yes! Brilliant! Thank you, Dobby!" Harry beamed at him. "We're going to be great friends!"

Dobby's eyes widened once more, chalking another mark up on his master's mental instability. "Of course, Master Harry," he agreed calmly and patted the teen's hand.

"Hey…you wouldn't mind leaving the rest of those potions, would you?" Harry asked with a glance towards his trunk. There might be something useful in there. "Er, and not tell anyone of course."

Dobby smirked at him and nodded. "That was Dobby's plan, master," the elf turned to pop away but hesitated, looking at Harry once more. "Master Harry will not take any of those potions without checking with Dobby first, right?"

Harry scoffed. "I probably don't know what more than half of them are. Of course, not!" Dobby nodded and popped out of the room to find the other Hogwarts elves and figure out how to quickly get assigned to the kitchen.

The next day, Gilderoy Lockhart built up a legal case against himself worthy of the best auror. Hermione had been tasked to ask him a question about his time with the Bandon Banshee at the head table during breakfast. As soon as he answered truthfully about not even being in the right country at the time, Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened in understanding. With a glance towards the Gryffindor table and a bit of a smirk, she took over the questioning with the other professors joining in with indignation at the crimes the man immediately started admitting to. Harry sat back at the Gryffindor table, smiling and enjoying the drama unfold as the man admitted to crime after crime with hundreds of witnesses before him.

"Dobby," he called out, putting a slice of breakfast pastry on a plate.

"Yes, Master Harry," Dobby popped in front of him, looking much cleaner and well taken care of than even the day before.

"You want a pastry?" He asked the elf, handing the plate to him. "You're missing the show," he motioned to the head table. "Join us…" he patted the bench beside himself.

Ron gaped at his friend and the elf in complete disbelief and surprise while Hermione just looked at the elf in confusion when she walked back over to the table. Dobby, for his part just looked stunned, but he slowly nodded. He knew his master was insane. That was fine, and it was best to just humor those who were mentally unstable, he decided. So, the elf sat down at the table beside his master and nibbled on the tasty pastry while watching the pompous criminal metaphorically fall on his own sword.

"I wonder who is going to be our DADA professor next year?" Harry turned to ask his friends.

"You want to explain the elf, mate…" Ron just shook his head, trying to process both what was happening at the head table and the fact that a house elf was now eating breakfast at the Gryffindor table.

"That's Dobby, the elf that was trying to kill me," Harry shrugged. "We're friends now though, so he's one of us…"

"Ok…" Ron still looked confused.

"Good to meet you, Mr. Dobby," Hermione smiled welcomingly at the elf.

Dobby narrowed his eyes at Harry's friend. Maybe insane people had insane friends…yes, that was probably right. Best to humor her as well. "Good to meet you too, young mistress," he nodded and continued to eat the pastry.

Chapter Text

The news caught Harry's eye as he dusted the sitting room where Vernon was watching TV. An emaciated and bedraggled man flashed across the screen with a warning about him recently escaping prison and being highly dangerous. Vernon made some comment about society going to Hell or something, but Harry wasn't paying attention because both of his parents briefly flashed visible on either side of him.

"Good for him," Lily smiled fondly at the screen. "I do hope he's being careful to not get caught."

"I knew he had it in him! The first ever to escape Azkaban, and it was a marauder!" James laughed excitedly from Harry's other side.

"Follow me," Harry mumbled before heading into the kitchen so his relatives couldn't hear him talk with invisible people.

He didn't know if the spirits had listened, but he was bursting with questions, so Harry just started talking to the empty kitchen when he got there. "So…I'm guessing that serial killer isn't a muggle and that you both knew him?" Harry asked, smiling happily when both of his parents flashed visible again in the kitchen.

"Harry…you don't remember your Uncle Padfoot?" James looked at him confused. "You loved Sirius."

"Dad, I was one when I came to live with the Dursleys," Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "So, who is he?"

"Your godfather and James's best friend," Lily explained from where she had an arm around her husband and a large smile on her face. "We've been ever so worried about him being locked up all these years."

"Er…so, not a murderer then?" Harry asked hopefully. He really would like to have a godfather around. "Why was he in prison?"

James sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "We'd set Sirius up as a decoy when we realized Voldemort would be coming after us. Everyone thought he would be our secret-keeper…"

"It's someone who keeps your location secret as part of a powerful ward to keep everyone away," Lily explained to a confused Harry.

"That's why it wasn't a good idea to use him…because he was the obvious choice, so we chose the least obvious choice amongst our friends," James seethed at the end. "We would have been perfectly safe, but it turns out that friend just happened to be a Death Eater."

"Death Eater?" Harry asked next, looking horrified at what had happened.

"Follower of Voldemort," James shook his head. "When we were killed Sirius was arrested, and frankly, he wasn't in his right mind at the time, so it didn't help his case any at all."

"Though, because of all the confusion at the end of the war, I don't think he was ever given a trial," Lily added at the end. "It's why we've been so worried about him. Azkaban is a really terrible place."

"Hey…keep your eyes open for a large, black dog," James seemed to perk up with a grin. "Siri is an animagus and can turn into a grim like Professor McGonagall can turn into a cat."

"Cool," Harry smiled. He was definitely going to keep his eyes open. If there was a way to help his godfather, even if he wasn't that stable, he wanted to. "Now, tell me about Azkaban. I don't think I've heard of that prison before…"

Harry was deeply thankful to Fabian Prewett as he quickly picked the lock for the cupboard under the stairs and grabbed his school supplies. He was certain if he stayed a minute longer, it would be the second time the Dursleys killed him. "Stay away!" Harry threatened his furious uncle with his wand before throwing the front door open and running off into the night.

"Merlin! I'm so glad I was hanging around to see that!" A new voice Harry hadn't heard before laughed loudly as a tall, redhaired man flashed briefly in his peripheral vision. "Gideon Prewett, at your service! That was wonderful young man!"

"Don't encourage this, Gideon," Lily briefly flashed into visibility as Harry hurried down the street from the house. "I have to admit, she did have it coming though," Harry's mum added on darkly.

"She had more than that coming," Harry's dad added from where he became visible and stayed that way in front of Harry. "Son, we need to get you somewhere safe. Calling the Knight Bus is the best plan now."

"Right…that does sound like a good idea," Harry nodded and turned to make his way to a spot away from the houses and where a bright, purple bus might not be quite as noticed. "Where am I going though…I guess I could stay at the Leaky Cauldron?"

Harry paused and stared. A large, black dog was sitting under a streetlamp ahead of him and just calmly staring. "Does anyone else see that?" He asked in a mumble, thinking that the dog, though scary in itself, matched his dad's description of his escaped godfather.

"That's Padfoot!" James exclaimed excitedly before flashing back to being invisible.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Lily sighed. "That's definitely Sirius, your godfather. He's not the most reliable, but he's not a vicious dog that wants to eat you. That's his animagus form. He's probably just checking in on you."

"Isn't that the bloke that went to Azkaban for 12 years?" Gideon chimed in to ask. "He's probably not much sane after that experience."

"Siri would never hurt Harry, no matter what," James said vehemently. "Why don't you grab him, call the bus, and I'll tell you how to get to my friend Remus Lupin's house."

"Remus might be a good option…he hasn't had a job in a while though," Lily speculated.

Harry slowly walked over to where the dog was staring at him. "Hey, boy," he said tentatively reaching out a hand. If the man wasn't extremely sane, then treating him like a questionable dog might be safest he decided.

The dog jumped up and almost bounced over to Harry's hand, physically rubbing his own face against it, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. "Wow, he looks like an idiot," Gideon laughed. "And extremely dirty."

"Get lost, Prewett," James briefly flashed back into Harry's vision to glare at the other invisible man.

"Fine, but Harry, send for me if you never need anything. You're the most interesting thing I've encountered in a long while," the man laughed before the voice completely disappeared.

"I'm about to call the Knight Bus, don't let it scare you, ok?" Harry told the dog, looking into its eyes for any intelligence there. He was happy to see that Sirius seemed to understand him with a quick nod of his shaggy head.

"Remus lives in London. Get the bus to drop you at Diagon Alley, and I'll give you directions from there," James explained. "He's just a couple blocks away and that way the driver won't know exactly where you went if asked later."

Harry considered this plan as he fished his wand out of Salazar's holster he'd been wearing since he got it, one hand still scratching behind his newly discovered godfather's ears. His dad trusted this Lupin guy, and his mum seemed to as well. It sounded like it might be a bit of a strain on him financially if he hadn't had a job in a while. However, if they trusted this man so much, why hadn't Harry seen him before? Sirius was understandable, he was in prison, but why hadn't he met this Remus? If he didn't know where Harry was growing up, he could still have shown up for a quidditch game or one of the family open houses at Hogwarts that Harry always avoided like the plague since he didn't have any family.

Now, Harry had to figure out what to do with his fugitive godfather who might not be very sane as well as find a place for them to stay where the ministry would hopefully not find him for underage magic and re-arrest the fugitive with him. What would this Remus person do? Would he turn Sirius in without listening to Harry? Also, was this Lupin guy even able to help if Sirius really was in bad health mentally and physically? From what his parents had told him of Azkaban, his godfather was going to need some serious medical help. Plus, Harry would have to explain that he got his information from the dead, and that was telling a whole lot, and placing a lot of trust in this man he'd never met before. He trusted his mum and dad, but they were dead, and he was the one that would have to live with the consequences if this person decided to turn him over to the Department of Mysteries.

Thinking through his options, Harry made the one decision he could live with. He needed to keep himself and his godfather safe since he wasn't planning on turning the man away now that he had him. Harry held out his wand like Ron had told him you did to summon the bus and waited. A loud crack sounded, and Harry just stared. Ron's description had not done the bus justice. It was just…ridiculous!

Sirius stepped back out of the way, waiting for Harry to leave him. "Hey, you're coming too, Padfoot," Harry smiled at his godfather. "Yes, I know who you are…you aren't going to leave me are you?"

It was comical how confused the dog looked. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard in need. I'm Stan Shunpike," a gangly young man proclaimed as he jumped off the bus, interrupting Sirius's surprised stare down of his godson. "The dog is fine as long as he stays with you," the man concluded after a glance over to the dog with a disgusted wince at the state of him at the end.

"Er, thanks…could you maybe help me with this?" Harry asked as he pulled his heavy trunk forward.

"Sure, where to?" Stan asked as the two of them lugged the trunk onto the bus and under an armchair just inside.

Harry stared at the wonder that was armchairs and beds in a bus before turning back to see if Sirius had followed him. Sure enough, the dog was now looking hopefully at Harry from where he was standing inside the bus. "Durham," Harry said with a decided nod. "St. John's College."

"Where are we going?" James Potter sputtered from where the spirit must have followed Harry onto the bus. Sirius was giving Harry a similar look before he lay down by the armchair Harry claimed.

"Right-o!" Stan exclaimed before turning to the driver. "We're off Ernie! Add Durham to the list!"

With so many people around, Harry couldn't answer his father, so he just settled into the chair and tried to not throw up as the bus careened through streets and magically didn't kill them all. It didn't take long before Sirius started sniffing Harry, a confused look on the dog's face. Harry just sighed; it would have to happen that his godfather was an animal.

"Stop that," he told the animagus, feeling embarrassed. "I know I smell weird, but I shower regularly, and I wear deodorant. It's not my fault," Harry protested, wondering not for the first time what animals smelled on him, and why no one else had commented if he smelled bad. Maybe Ron and Hermione were just being polite and he stunk?

Padfoot quirked his head to the side and stared at Harry with large brown eyes. Harry surreptitiously sniffed under his arms, but he thought he smelled fine, like soap and deodorant. He rolled his eyes at the dog. "You, my new friend, smell terrible, so you can't really judge. We'll need to get you a bath when we get there," Harry told him, causing the dog to give him a doggy laugh.

After a witch and another wizard were dropped off in various stages of queasiness, Harry was finally helped off the bus by Stan in Durham. The teen gave Harry a salute, and the bus was off again with a loud bang. "What are we doing in Durham?" Lily asked as she and James both flashed visible with confused looks on their faces. "We don't know anyone here."

Harry pointedly looked at Sirius to remind them that he shouldn't talk to invisible people when others were around. James just huffed. "Sirius will be fine with us, but where are we going?"

"Dobby!" Harry sighed tiredly and called out into the night while he took in the sight of the brick and stone buildings of the college in front of him.

"Master Harry!" Dobby squealed in delight, causing Sirius to comically jump from where he'd been sitting on the sidewalk beside Harry. "What's you doing in Durham?!"

"Hey, Dobby. How's it going with Madam Pomfrey this summer?" Harry sat on his trunk, feeling emotionally and physically spent from his day and the drama of blowing up his aunt and then going on the run with his escaped convict of a godfather.

"Oh! Dobby loves Mistress Poppy!" Dobby's head bobbed up and down decidedly. "Is Master Harry coming to visits?"

"Yes, please. Can you take us to her house?" Harry smiled thankfully at his friend.

"Oh…Madam Pomfrey," Lily sighed in understanding. "I didn't know she lived here."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" James asked, seeming to mirror the look that Padfoot was giving him from where he sat.

"The master and the smelly dog?" Dobby's nose wrinkled when he took in the new addition to Harry's family.

"Yes," Harry answered them all firmly. "We'll need to get him a bath…hey Dobby…do I smell?" He asked with a grimace while Padfoot turned another toothy smile on him.

Dobby gave him that look that seemed to question Harry's sanity which Harry was very familiar with at this point. The little elf walked over and sniffed his master though. "No…Dobby thinks the master smells normal…like Master Harry," he shrugged and patted Harry's arm. "You's come with Dobby. Keep up doggy!" He ordered Sirius as he snapped his fingers and Harry's trunk disappeared. Before Harry could even question it, Dobby was pulling him by the hand down the street.

They didn't go very far before Dobby's tiny legs led them to a two-story townhome with a brick exterior, white trim, and ivy climbing the walls. Harry had to pause, he thought it looked exactly like home should look, what the Dursleys' house had never had. "You think she's going to be happy to see me, Dobby?" Harry asked in concern. "I'm not going to put her out any am I?"

Dobby made some kind of grunt of disapproval. "Mistress Poppy worries. She'll be very happy to see Master Harry…maybe not smelly doggy though," he added with a glare towards Padfoot who seemed to deflate under the elf's stare.

"We won't stay long then. I just wasn't sure where else to go…" he sighed.

Dobby reached out to squeeze Harry's hand. His master needed him; it was obvious he hadn't been happy over the summer or taken good care of himself. Dobby only hoped his illness hadn't worsened, but he had asked Dobby to sniff him, had picked up some strange, stray dog…and he was acting a bit depressed. The elf figured his master might have regressed some. "Dobby takes care of master now. No more leaving Dobby," he ordered.

Mistress Poppy had been worried, but Dobby had been almost beside himself. It didn't help that he'd also been reading some of Mistress Poppy's mental health books over the past few weeks and hadn't quite determined what his master had. He was very frightened by everything he'd read though. He didn't want his master to suffer any.

"Thanks Dobby," Harry smiled and squeezed the small hand back. "Right…let's go say hi then," he took a deep breath and walked right up to the door and knocked.

A second later, Dobby popped to the other side of the door and immediately opened it. "Hello," he grinned. "You's here to see Mistress Poppy?"

Harry laughed, and even Sirius gave them a doggy smile. "Yes, would you tell your mistress that Harry Potter is here to see her," he said very formally and only punctuated by a couple giggles.

"Follow Dobby," Dobby led them into a well-lit entrance hall with a coat rack over-burdened with different types of cloaks, a line of shoes against the wall in varying degrees of muddiness, and a bright rug with flowers on it down the length of the hallway. It was the opposite of the pristine, white infirmary that Madam Pomfrey ruled over normally.

The elf popped away and Padfoot looked up at Harry with a questioning whine. "It'll be fine," he sighed down at his godfather. "Madam Pomfrey is a friend…"

The woman in question ran into the entrance hall with her long, brown hair that was heavily laced with silver flowing down her back, flannel pajama bottoms, and a green t-shirt with a snake on it. Harry grinned…finally guessing that Madam Pomfrey might have been in Slytherin when she was in school. He hadn't been able to figure it out before. She looked great though, very comfortable and a bit dumpy…much better than her severe and buttoned up normal look.

"Harry!" She exclaimed as she rushed over and pulled him into a tight hug. "How are you? I was so worried about you going back to your relatives? What happened? Did they hurt you?"

Harry was very aware of the dog that was also now staring him down questioningly. "Er, no I'm fine, but I kind-of made a mistake," Harry said embarrassed. "My uncle's sister, my Aunt Marge, was saying the usual things about how I'm a waste of space, should have been drowned at birth, and a delinquent…you know, the usual."

Pomfrey's hands tightened on Harry's shoulders and her lips pursed, but she didn't say anything yet, letting him finish. "Then they started in on my parents though, and I just got so angry," Harry sighed. "I kind-of…well, I blew her up…"

The dog looked like he was trying to keep from laughing as he put a paw over his snout. "Harry," Madam Pomfrey started with a confused look. "What do you mean…blew up?"

"Er, she blew up like a balloon and started floating away," Harry grimaced. "I had to leave…you know they wouldn't have taken that well, and I already have a warning for underage magic from the ministry…"

"This was accidental magic; the ministry's probably already there setting things right. That's not something you can get in trouble for. It was just an accident," she sighed, happy the woman hadn't exploded like she'd originally thought…though she found herself thinking being blown up like a balloon and floating away was definitely deserved.

Harry let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad…I was wondering if they'd send someone to Azkaban for underage magic."

The dog looked shocked at that, so Harry was hoping that meant no. Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Of course, they wouldn't dear," she assured him as she started to pull Harry into a very comfortable sitting with overstuffed furniture and hundreds of books in bookcases that lined room. "And I'm very glad you got out when it could have been a terrible situation for you…but it's not safe out there for you right now. Did you hear about the escaped convict?"

"Yeah, it's on the muggle news too," Harry glanced at the dog who seemed to be trying to make himself invisible.

"Harry…he might be after you," Pomfrey sat down on the couch and pulled Harry beside her. "You don't know what this Sirius Black is capable of…However, I'm capable of neutering a dog if he sits on my furniture," she turned stern eyes on Sirius who had been slinking around an armchair in the corner.

"Sorry about him…be good," Harry warned his godfather.

"Why do you have a dog with you?" She asked, not leaving the subject of Harry's safety, but very curious about the shaggy thing.

"Er…well, it's all kind-of connected," Harry said tentatively. "And a long story as well…"

"Right, so first thing…I need to contact the DMLE, maybe Amelia Bones herself, and let them know you're safe since they're sure to have aurors looking for you," Madam Pomfrey stood.

"No! I can't go back," Harry jumped up after her frantically. "I'll go to a hotel or something…please don't send me back!"

The matron put her hands back on Harry's shoulders and mimicked breathing deeply. "Calm down…deep breaths, Harry," she said, seeing a panic attack coming on. "I'm not sending you back. That's why I'll reach out to Amelia directly. She's a friend. I'll tell her that you can stay with me for a few weeks until school starts back."

Harry did take a deep breath in at that. "Thank you…I really don't want to inconvenience you though…"

"Harry," she frowned at him. "You sent your house elf to take care of me all summer, and you are only one teenager when I'm used to taking care of hundreds. Besides the dog, which we will be giving a long bath, I really don't see a problem. I'll also be glad to have a chess partner. Maybe I can teach you a few card games as well."

Harry grinned back at her. "Now, you sit and have some tea and biscuits. I'll have Dobby bring them while I go floo call Amelia. Keep the dog off the furniture, and we'll have a long chat about the summer, your safety, and where that thing came from," she pointed at the dog. "When I return."

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey," Harry reached out and hugged her to the woman's surprise.

"You're in my home…how about Poppy for now," she patted his back. "Now just you rest. I'll get this all handled."

Sirius curled up on the floor in front of the unlit fireplace and just stared at Harry. Dobby popped in and gave the boy tea and biscuits, which Harry in turn then placed half of the biscuits on the floor for Sirius after making a comment about them not being chocolate so they should be safe. He was just so confused. His godson had been nothing like he expected when he thought he'd just drop by and take a look at him before moving on towards Hogsmeade.

When Harry had first walked up to him, he'd looked so much like James. Sirius's heart felt like it'd break; then he remembered him! He had no idea that someone could remember something from when they were fifteen months old. After that…things just got more and more confusing. Obviously, he'd stumbled on his godson running away from home, and got invited along for some reason. He was also really confused why Harry seemed to know Madam Pomfrey so well. Granted, he'd spent a lot of time in the infirmary for pranks gone wrong when he was in school, but he'd never just chatted with the matron. She also seemed to insinuate that Harry was in a bad home situation…that couldn't be right. Someone should have stepped in if he was, right? And just how much did Harry remember? He seemed to remember who the dog really was, and he admitted to seeing him on the news, but did he put the two together? And if so, why was he bringing him along?

Harry didn't seem to want to talk with him as he just sat and silently drank his tea, though he seemed to nod to himself occasionally like he was listening to something. It was a very strange mannerism. Thankfully, it didn't take long before Poppy Pomfrey entered the room again. "Amelia is handling everything for now. She wants to chat this next term about your relatives though…we're both concerned about you. I know you can't tell her everything, but maybe we can come up with something so you don't have to go back there next summer."

Harry smiled broadly at the woman. "That would be so great!"

"Now…the dog…do we really need to keep him?" Pomfrey grimaced at the muddy canine on her hearth.

"Er, so, remember the people I told you about talking to at the end of last term…?" Harry asked vaguely. Madam Pomfrey nodded slowly, but Sirius was even more confused. "Great, well, we had a bit of a chat when Sirius Black's picture showed up on the news."

"Oh dear…I'm so sorry," she sat on the couch and looked sadly at Harry.

"No, it's not like that…apparently, Sirius is innocent," Harry shook his head. "My parents used him as a decoy and made another of their friends the secret keeper."

The woman's brow furrowed in thought. "Who? You sure? Which of their friends would have betrayed them?" Harry seemed to listen for a while to something Sirius couldn't hear. He was very surprised how much the boy knew. And who were these people that he'd talked to that knew what had happened?

"Peter Pettigrew," Harry answered simply before taking a sip of tea. "He was a Death Eater, and they didn't know."

Pomfrey gasped in surprise and wonder. "But…does that mean Peter Pettigrew is still alive?"

Harry shrugged. "Probably…it seems he faked his own death…leading to Sirius getting arrested."

"The poor dear," Poppy shook her head. Sirius had been a troublemaker, but he'd also been very kind to her and understanding with his friend Remus Lupin. It had broken her heart when he'd been arrested for betraying the Potters and mass murder. "I'm relieved you aren't in as much danger as I believed, but how does this connect to the dog?"

"Er, well…this is Padfoot," Harry motioned to the dog, but was cut off from any further explanations when Pomfrey held up a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Mr. Potter…"

"Uh oh, I'm in trouble. You never use my last name anymore unless I am," Harry grumbled with a pout.

"I heard Sirius Black called Padfoot hundreds of times over the years by his friends," she sighed and seemed to be massaging a headache. "Please do not tell me that your fugitive godfather has an illegal animagus form and is currently sitting on my rug."

"Oh…ok," Harry said simply and took another sip of tea.

"Well…?"

"You said not to tell you," he shrugged and grinned at the woman.

Madam Pomfrey slowly turned and stared at the dog that was looking very sheepish at her from where he was sitting. The strange house elf popped back in before the woman could say anything. "Dobby's Master Harry is staying?" He asked Pomfrey.

"Yes, Dobby, Harry is staying," she didn't take her eyes off of him, and Sirius couldn't figure out what emotions were crossing her face.

"Oh, Dobby's so happy his Mistress Poppy and Master Harry are in the same house!" He clapped his hands excitedly. "Dobby takes such good care of you!"

"Dobby, would you mind taking Harry's godfather here out back and hosing him off," Madam Pomfrey pointed at the dog. "Then he will need to be set up in a bathroom to shower and a guestroom to sleep. I'll take care of getting Harry settled."

Sirius was stunned…was she letting him stay too? "Doggy is a human?" The elf turned a questioning gaze on the dog.

"Apparently he is," she sighed. "Sirius Black, I don't want to see you as a person until you are thoroughly clean and have slept for at least twelve hours. Changing back and forth takes a lot of energy that someone who spent 12 years in Azkaban cannot spare. I'll have food sent up to your room if you're hungry after your shower. I'll also need to send a letter to Hagrid to have him pick up some potions, and you'll need and some clothes," she mumbled almost to herself at the end.

"Hmm, no...I shouldn't do that myself, or it might be suspicious…but Hagrid can since the professors send him on errands…" she continued to talk to herself.

"Thank you…Poppy," Harry wrapped her in a hug again. "I haven't really met him yet either, and I'd really like to at some point."

"But not until he's clean, fed, and sleeps," Dobby walked up to the dog with hands on his hips. "You come with Dobby Mr. Man-Doggy."

Sirius stood in almost a trance. He thought he must have died in Azkaban and this was heaven, or maybe he was just hallucinating. It was the best hallucination he'd ever had if that was the case though. He slowly followed the elf as he led the way to the back garden. "Now, doggy, you stand here while Dobby cleans off most of the dirt, then we's get you to a warm shower," the elf pointed to a patch of grass.

Sirius dutifully stood in the spot while the elf pulled a garden hose over. He'd fallen into a stream while he was running and knew he was covered in mud, debris, and some slimy things he didn't even want to think about. "Now…you's should know something before we get you all set up," Dobby held the water hose and looked sternly at Sirius. "Master Harry is special, and if you's hurt him or makes him worse, Dobby will end you," he glared dangerously at the man. "You's be a good godfather and take care of Dobby's Master Harry and we's be good…understand?"

Sirius wandered what the elf meant by making Harry "worse." Was his godson sick? He didn't look ill, but he did smell a bit strange. He smelt like something was off…wrong with him. Maybe the elf was warning him that Harry was sick. That would make sense with the faint smell of whatever he had been getting. It also made sense now why he was so close with the medi-witch…it must be something chronic and incurable. Sirius quickly nodded his head. If Harry was sick, then he'd do everything in his power to take care of him. He'd do whatever he had to in order to get him well. He'd have to be really careful around his godson, not doing anything to cause him stress. Yes, he could do that…he'd take care of Harry if it was the last thing he did. Pettigrew, the murdering bastard, could wait; Harry was sick!

Chapter Text

Poppy's list was so strange, Hagrid thought as he squinted at the medi-witch's cramped handwriting. It wasn't even the items themselves, which were definitely strange, but it was the directions to not get everything in one town and to get as much as possible in Knockturn Alley. Well, the potions were easy; most she had in the infirmary, and the rest he knew a place in Knockturn. It was the self-sizing men's clothes that had him scratching his head. They weren't extremely popular because only basic apparel like t-shirts and plain trousers would survive the spells needed to make them self-sizing. Why would Poppy need self-sizing men's clothes during her summer break? At least he knew a place in Hogsmeade that sold a few items of clothing that would do.

The groceries would be fairly easy, and the Honeydukes chocolate would only take a second. He knew Poppy wasn't a big fan of chocolate though. She had some on occasion, but she had requested ten bars and a whole box of chocolate frogs. Normally, when he got a list from any of the faculty at the school, he put it off until after he'd finished his chores around the grounds…running errands wasn't his main job, and the professors could wait. With the strangeness of the list, and the fact that it was Poppy who he really respected, he decided to head out first thing. He'd start with Hogsmeade, head to Diagon Alley, and get the rest at Knockturn Alley if possible. That'd have to be good enough for getting everything in different places, especially when he then had to take the Knight Bus to Durham…he hated the Knight Bus.

So, early in the morning, Hagrid picked up his pink umbrella, scratched Fang behind the ears, and set out at a brisk pace off the castle grounds. It was a good day to be out and about at least. He hoped that Poppy would invite him in for a cuppa once he got there. He wasn't worried, she was always good for tea…usually with a little something added.

Harry woke up to the sound of soft snores. It took a full minute for him to realize where he was as it was too bright for his cupboard, too comfortable for Dudley's second room, and not enough snores for Gryffindor Tower. He smiled broadly when he did finally process that he was in Poppy's, who definitely said he could call her by her first name, guest bedroom. The snores though…those he had to put on his glasses to figure out. A large, black dog was stretched out on the floor beside Harry's bed.

Harry stared at his godfather for a minute, still not having seen him in human form. He'd been given the other guest bedroom, so Harry wasn't sure why he was sleeping on the floor beside his bed, but he was very happy to see the dog cleaner and getting some good sleep. Not wanting to wake the man up, he tip-toed out of the room and quietly shut the door behind him.

Sirius woke up at the sound of a door being closed. His head shot up to look at the door, and then to the bed where his godson had been sleeping. There had been no way he could sleep on the bed he had been given when he'd been sleeping on a pallet in Azkaban for twelve years, and that's not even taking into account how worried he was about Harry. He'd relocated to Harry's floor as soon as he was clean and had eaten the ham sandwich Dobby had given him.

With a stretch, Sirius Black slowly changed forms back into a man…one that was clean and shaved, but who still had long, scraggly hair and was extremely thin…and wasn't wearing any clothes at all. Ignoring Pomfrey's advice, he had changed back into his human form to shower and shave the night before, and he just hadn't been able to bring himself to put his grimy prison uniform back on. Instead, he'd shoved it in the trashbin and planned to have someone with a wand banish it as soon as possible…or set it on fire, he'd be fine with that too.

He'd just about decided to turn one of Harry's blankets into a type of toga like a house elf would wear when he saw the pile of clothes that Dobby must have brought in for him that morning sitting beside where he'd been asleep. Sirius wrinkled his nose when he realized they were definitely Madam Pomfrey's clothes. The sweatpants and t-shirt were probably oversized on her, but they would be ridiculous on him. Still…it wasn't a prisoner's uniform and was clean.

After pulling the clothes on, Sirius chuckled at the good five inches of leg that showed at the bottom of the trousers and that his stomach showed if he raised his arms. The width was about right though, if a little baggy on him. Pomfrey was thin, but she hadn't been in Azkaban for over a decade like him. With a shrug, he wandered out of his godson's room and down the stairs to meet the boy in person and most-definitely be fussed over by the medi-witch.

He found what was probably the kitchen by the voices he heard coming out of it. Call it curiosity or human nature, but when he heard his name, he had to pause to hear what they were saying about him. What he heard though just made him more curious.

"What should I tell him about…well, me? Sirius has to have questions after last night," Harry's voice asked through the door.

There was a pause as Sirius waited, wondering if he were about to learn what was wrong with his godson. Madam Pomfrey finally answered with a bit of hesitation. "I don't think you should tell him anything about your…condition."

"But…he should know! What if I just…you know…stop breathing one day," Harry's voice asked in concern but no fear when talking of his own demise.

Sirius's breath caught in his throat and he had to put a hand against the wall to brace himself. He didn't realize it was that bad…his pup, he was…terminal? James and Lily's son might not be around for much longer?! What was wrong with the world where Harry wasn't happy and alive and pranking his friends. That's what Sirius had imagined all those years he'd been in prison. How could he have been so wrong?

"Harry…Sirius Black has been in Azkaban for twelve years with almost constant dementor exposure. I don't know what you've heard about them, but that's really very bad," Pomfrey's voice came through the door sounding concerned. "We really don't know what condition he's in mentally or physically. We shouldn't tell him anything that might cause him undue stress, and we really can't predict how he'll react to things…especially with your unique situation."

Sirius wandered what was so unique about Harry's condition. It had to be really bad though if St. Mungo's couldn't cure him…maybe it was a type of cancer? "He'll ask questions," Harry's voice warned. "I'm not exactly normal…or that's what my friends keep telling me anyway."

"Well, I can't tell him anything since you are my patient and he technically doesn't have legal rights to you being a fugitive," the woman answered. "You'll just have to deflect since you don't seem to want to lie to him. You've gotten a lot of practice over the last two years anyway."

"Yeah…hey, do you know who's teaching DADA this year?" Harry asked, though Sirius wasn't sure where the change of subject came from.

"Uh, not yet, but Hagrid is stopping by with supplies sometime today. He might know, but I doubt it's been decided yet," she seemed to be putting the kettle on as Sirius heard water running.

He figured it was time to make his presence known. If Harry was ill and worried about telling him, he'd respect his godson and not ask questions for now. He would do his best to show them both that he was trustworthy and stable though. He needed to know what was wrong with his godson in order to be there for Harry. He'd just have to get well as quickly as possible and make sure Harry knew that he could be trusted with anything.

After wiping a stray tear off his cheek that had escaped during the conversation, Sirius planted a smile on his face and opened the door. "Harry! Madam Pomfrey!" He beamed at them both. "It's nice to see you both as a person!"

"Mr. Black?" Harry looked up with surprised eyes from where he was sitting at the kitchen table in front of a huge plate of pancakes that were half-eaten.

"Sirius, Siri, or Padfoot, please," he grimaced at the name. He quickly rushed over and sat a little too enthusiastically in the chair beside Harry, ecstatic that the boy didn't seem afraid of him at all.

"Sirius Black! I told you to sleep for a good twelve hours at least!" Pomfrey scolded even as she dished up more pancakes for him. The strange house elf was sitting on the other side of Harry with pancakes in front of him as well. The little elf gave him a glare when Sirius looked at him questioningly.

"Sorry, Madam Pomfrey," he gratefully took the plate offered him. "I haven't been able to sleep long or deeply for years."

"You want more syrup, Dobby?" Harry asked holding out the bottle he'd just been using.

"No thank you, Master Harry," the elf patted Harry on the leg and gave him an indulgent look. Sirius had a feeling that the house elf eating breakfast with them was probably on Harry's insistence.

"How'd you get a house elf, pup?" Sirius figured it was a safe question as he took the syrup held out to him next.

"Oh, Dobby was stalking me last year, and then I learned his family was terrible," Harry explained, grabbing onto Dobby's shoulder when the elf looked like he might try to bang his head on something. Harry didn't seem fazed and just kept talking though. "So, I worked some connections I had that led me to a decent member of Dobby's old family that agreed to transfer him to me. We're friends now…I'm not really his master…that's just a formality."

"Master Harry is Dobby's master," the elf corrected, but took another bite of pancake and seemed to say it more automatically than anything else. This seemed to be a common argument amongst the two. Surprisingly, he didn't even bother to correct the stalking allegation.

Madam Pomfrey put a plate of sausages on the table in front of Sirius next. She was looking only slightly more severe than the night before in jeans, a gray blouse, and her hair pulled into a ponytail. "You eat all of that Mr. Black, and then I'll be running every diagnostic I know on you. Hagrid is bringing you potions and clothes later today. You'll have to make do with mine for now though."

Dobby snapped his fingers without even looking up from his pancakes, and Sirius's clothes immediately fit. "Hey! Thanks!" He looked at the trouser legs that now actually reached his ankles. "What does Hagrid know…about me that is?" He asked, knowing that Hagrid was notorious for being bad at keeping secrets from when he was in school. In fact, chatting with Hagrid is how they'd learned the most gossip during school, even more so than sitting in the common room.

"I didn't tell him anything," Pomfrey glared at the fugitive until he started eating.

"Hagrid's my friend though too, Sirius. We can trust him," Harry grinned so large that his green eyes sparkled, and Sirius almost wanted to cry. His godson was just such a good person.

"Harry…" Sirius said slowly and carefully, not wanting to offend the boy he'd just found again. "Hagrid isn't the best at keeping secrets…"

"Oh, yeah, he's bollocks at it," Harry laughed.

"Language!" Pomfrey scolded and put another sausage on the boy's plate.

"Sorry," Harry smiled at her sheepishly. "Er, so thing is…no one really listens to or believes Hagrid though. It's a blood…er, it's a shame," he corrected with a glance to the older woman who was eating her own pancakes now.

Sirius wasn't sure if he wanted to trust his continued freedom to someone who was known to be terrible at keeping secrets, but Harry trusted the man and he wanted to get on Harry's good side, so he figured he probably didn't have a choice. "If you're concerned, you can go upstairs when he gets here, and Harry and I can figure out some story to tell Hagrid," Pomfrey offered.

"Dobby could have gots everything you's needed," the elf grumbled.

Harry reached over to pat Dobby's hand sympathetically. "Yes, but you plan to stay with me at school, right? Maybe working with Madam Pomfrey in the infirmary or in the kitchens?"

"That would be wonderful to have you in the infirmary, Dobby!" The matron looked surprised but pleased with the suggestion. "Dobby has been reading my medical books all summer. He seems particularly interested in mental health. You would be a major help."

Dobby huffed but nodded. "Of course, Dobby stays with his master, and working with Mistress Poppy is the best ideas…but I's still could have picked everything up."

"Yeah, but if my elf is seen getting the supplies a fugitive would need to recover, it could be traced back to me. Hagrid runs errands all the time for multiple faculty members…no one is going to question him picking up odd supplies," Harry reasoned.

Sirius wondered where he fit into the school year plans, but figured it was too early to ask. "Er, so pup, what do you know about me and your parents?" He asked instead.

Harry got quiet and seemed to be listening to something, or maybe he was just thinking. "Oh, er, I have one of my dad's old journals…it's red with black lettering on the front…"

Sirius's eyes went wide. He'd seen James writing in journals that looked like that through most of their time at Hogwarts. "What year do you have? He always had one of those things around scribbling away! That's amazing."

Pomfrey gave Harry a stern look that Sirius couldn't decipher, and Harry turned a bit red. "Er…your seventh year…he was already dating mum," the teen mumbled almost embarrassed for some reason.

"Wow! He must have put some good pranks in that one! So, you must know all about Remus? I bet he's told you so much about your dad, and nothing he told you about me is true. I assure you. Merlin, I really miss him."

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I've heard the name, but I've never met him."

Sirius was stunned. Why had Harry never met Remus? "What do you mean, you've never met him?" He looked between Harry and Pomfrey. "Is Remus sick or incapacitated in some way?" He asked the medi-witch.

"Not that I know of," the woman said, lips pursed.

"Why would Harry not have met him then?!" He asked, getting angry now.

Harry winced, obviously not having wanted to start anything. "He probably didn't know where I was growing up. I think it was a pretty closely kept secret so I'd be safe."

Sirius was even more stunned. "Harry…I escaped prison just a couple weeks ago, and I found you. Remus is a werewolf…he has the same senses I do as an animagus. He knew that Lily's family were somewhere in Surrey, and it only took me a couple days from there to find you."

Harry sat at the kitchen table listening to Sirius…then he listened to his mum and dad. None of them had put that much thought into the fact that Harry had never met the last not-evil marauder. Harry's only thoughts when his dad suggested going to him were about if he could trust the man with his injured godfather, and only a bit on if he even cared. However, he didn't know the man, and he was just a friend of his parents. It's not like he was actually family or anything. If he didn't want to care about the random kid of his friend, Harry guessed that was his prerogative.

"But…Remus loved Harry…" Lily softly protested from where she'd been standing by Sirius and looking him over in concern.

"You think…you think he was just being polite?" James was turning a bit red as he looked between Sirius, Harry, and his wife.

"Well, he wasn't around kids much…I thought that was because he was a werewolf though…but that doesn't give him an excuse for all the other days of the month," Lily shook her head in confusion.

"I haven't seen Mr. Lupin since James and Lily's wedding," Pomfrey spoke up. "None of us know his circumstances though, so it's best not to speculate."

"Doesn't matter," Harry shrugged, already tentatively putting the absent man on his not-worth-his-time list. "He doesn't owe me anything anyway. Besides, it's not likely I'll meet him any time soon. We should keep Sirius away from people who could identify him…and Da…er, the journal said that you all learned to be animagi together to keep Mr. Lupin company during the full moons, so he'd know your dog form as well."

"That's true," Sirius said slowly, obviously trying to come to terms with something he couldn't process.

"Oh, I wanted to ask…now that you can talk anyway," Harry smiled happily at his godfather who grinned back goofily. "Why did you escape prison…I mean, good for you and all, but why now?"

Sirius opened and closed his mouth a time or two, not sure what he should tell his godson. He didn't want to cause any distress to the ill teen. "Well…I saw a picture in the Daily Prophet…"

"Oh! I'm getting that now!" Harry exclaimed and picked up a newspaper off the table to proudly show his godfather. "I started a subscription last term…most of it seems a bit far-fetched to be true though…"

"Yeah, that's the Prophet," Sirius snorted and took the paper to read it later. "I saw Peter Pettigrew in a picture though…his animagus form is a rat, and he was right there with a wizarding family pretending to be a pet or something," Sirius viciously sneered at the end.

"Calm down," Pomfrey said soothingly to the man, not wanting him to get riled up. Dobby stood and started to clean the kitchen while Sirius took a couple deep breaths as the medi-witch instructed.

"Wait…" Harry said slowly and started to turn pale.

"You, ok, pup?! You need something?!" Sirius went from angry to concerned in a blink of an eye.

"No…you escaped prison a couple weeks ago; there was a picture in the paper that I saw only a few weeks before that where there was a rat in the photo," Harry turned fearful eyes on everyone, even Dobby stopped cleaning to look at him. "Was the family in Egypt? Did the youngest son have Pettigrew on his shoulder?"

"Yes! The rat! I'd recognize his form anywhere. He's even missing the one toe from where he blasted off his finger to frame me," the man hissed, back to anger again in a blink.

"Poppy," Harry took in one, then two, deep breaths to steady his nerves. "Ron has a rat as a pet named Scabbers…his family went to Egypt at the beginning of the summer."

"Oh my…" Poppy put a hand over her mouth, a stunned expression on her face. "He's been here this whole time?"

"Who's this Ron kid?" Sirius asked looking between them both.

"My best friend," Harry answered. "What if Pettigrew does something to him?" He asked the room as a whole. "We have to get him away from Ron!"

"He won't hurt Ron," Lily assured Harry. "The Weasleys are his cover. As long as Ron doesn't figure out who he really is, then Peter has no reason to injure him."

"Wait…are you in the same dorm as this kid?!" Sirius stood at that, horror on his face. "Are you staying in the same dorm as Peter the Traitor Pettigrew?!"

Harry and Poppy looked at each other then at the frantic man. "Mr. Black, you will sit down and calm down, or I will stun you," Madam Pomfrey told the man sternly. "Your health is too delicate right now to be getting so worked up."

"I'll kill him!" Sirius fumed and immediately started storming towards the front door.

"Wait! No!" Harry jumped up and narrowly missed catching the man rushing out.

A snap of Dobby's fingers and they heard a crash in the entryway. "Dobby thinks Mistress Poppy should run alls her diagnostics now while Mr. Man-Doggy is asleep."

"You put him to sleep? You didn't stun him?" Pomfrey asked the elf, impressed. "I didn't know house elves could do that. That's highly useful."

Dobby smirked at her and snapped his fingers one more time. "Mr. Man-Doggy is on his bed, in his room now."

"Thank you, Dobby. I'll just go run those scans now then," Pomfrey stood, taking her mug of tea with her. "We will discuss your friend and the rat," she said to Harry. "He has no reason to hurt Mr. Weasley though, especially when he's around his family. Don't worry for now. We'll figure something out before Hogwarts," she put a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a little reassuring squeeze.

"Did you ask Hagrid to get calming draught?" Harry asked with a glance towards the stairs. He had a feeling his godfather would wake up just as angry as when Dobby put him to sleep.

"Thank Merlin, I did," she shook her head and left the kitchen.

"So…Dobby," Harry turned to the elf and grinned. "All those potions you nabbed for me…how much do you know about potions in general? I could use some help with my summer essay, and you seemed to know what you were talking about last term."

Dobby stopped scrubbing the pan in his hand and looked at the teen stunned. The boy never ceased to surprise and baffle him. "Master Harry wants Dobby's help with his homework?"

"Er, yeah…only if you're free though and don't mind. If you hate potions or are too busy, you don't have to help," Harry rambled a bit, worried he'd offended his friend or something.

"No!" Dobby dropped the pan in the sink. "Dobby would loves to help Master Harry!" He'd never been asked to help with something like a wizard's homework before. Usually, wizards just assumed house elves were too stupid to know anything about their type of magic. Dobby was good with potions though. Master Abraxas loved potions and had let Dobby help when he was a very small elf and in training.

"Awesome!" Harry beamed at him happily. "I'll go clean up and get changed. Meet up in the sitting room?"

"Yes, Master Harry!"

Hagrid got off the Knight Bus, really hoping Poppy was going to add some Scotch or Firewhiskey to his tea…it'd been a long day and it was only about lunch time. He'd had to go to five different stores in three towns to get everything on her list and follow her instructions of getting the things in different places. For someone who couldn't apparate, it'd been a bit of a struggle. He was happily successful in his mission though and smiled when he saw the comfortable townhome he'd been to several times before to visit Poppy over the summers.

Hagrid strode confidently up to the front door and knocked. His eyes widened and he smiled more broadly when the door was opened by a familiar house elf. Harry had introduced them at the end of the last term. "Ah, Dobby! What are you doing here?"

"Mister Hagrid," Dobby smiled and gave him a little bow. "Come in, come in. Mistress Poppy is expecting you's. Master Harry asked Dobby to look after Mistress Poppy over the summer, but now Master Harry is here too."

"Hagrid!" Harry slid into the entrance hall in his socked feet to see their visitor. "I missed you!" He jogged over to give Hagrid a hug.

"Harry?!" Hagrid absently patted the teen on the back from where he only reached the man's waist. "What're you doing here?"

"Er, I blew up my aunt," Harry looked up sheepishly at the man. "Not like exploded, but like a balloon…it was a whole thing, but I get to stay here the rest of the summer! Madam Pomfrey even said I can call her Poppy!" He added at the end like he was telling the man a secret.

"Harry…these potions aren't for you, are they?" Hagrid asked in concern as he thought through the long list of healing potions he'd just bought.

"No, no," Harry shook his head and pulled Hagrid by the hand to the sitting room. Well, Harry really couldn't pull Hagrid anywhere, but it was the suggestion and Hagrid followed. "Can you grab us some tea Dobby?" He asked. "Maybe some sandwiches too if there are any."

"Er, can you put a little someth'n extra in my tea?" Hagrid asked the elf hopefully.

Dobby just nodded happily though. "Dobby takes care of everything. I's go tell Mistress Poppy you's here."

"I think she probably heard your voice already. You aren't that quiet," Harry smiled at the man broadly.

"That I am not," Hagrid laughed in his booming way.

"Thank you so much Hagrid," Poppy came into the sitting room, looking more tired than when she'd walked upstairs. Sirius was thankfully still asleep, but she'd already performed several healing spells and could use the potions. "You took the money from my account, correct?"

"Of course."

"No, I'll pay. I just need to get to the bank," Harry jumped in, looking ashamed that he hadn't even thought of the money.

"Nonsense," Pomfrey rolled her eyes at him. She then looked him up and down. "However, we do need to get you some clothes as well. Tell me those are the worst clothes you own, please."

"Er…no…" Harry plucked at the hole in the hem of his t-shirt. "I only have my cousin Dudley's old clothes, and he'd quite a bit bigger than me."

"Right, so we'll look into the state of your vaults, and we'll get you some new clothes before Hogwarts," Poppy decided, adding it to her mental to-do list. "I'll let you pay depending on how you've been managing what you have at the bank and what kind of clothes you want to get."

Harry shrugged. "I've only ever gotten my Hogwarts robes new, and Hagrid helped me with those."

"Er, so these clothes aren't for Harry?" Hagrid asked as he emptied the contents of his pockets on the couch beside him and gratefully accepted the cup of tea that Dobby popped in to hand him.

"I've taken in a stray this summer," Pomfrey's lips thinned as she decided what to tell Hagrid. Sirius hadn't ever said if he was comfortable with Hagrid knowing, and he was still unconscious, so he didn't really have a vote right now. "Well, three strays I guess," she smiled over at Harry who was taking a teacup from Dobby.

"Someone injured who really loves chocolate?" Hagrid asked with a raise of his eyebrows and a motion towards the large Honeydukes bag.

"Erm…Hagrid…how about we introduce you later?" Harry looked between then nervously. "My friend is a bit sick right now and asleep. I'm sure he'd love to meet you, but maybe when he's a bit healthier."

"Long as yer not hiding that escaped convict," Hagrid boomed another laugh. He immediately stopped as he saw the frightened look that passed between the other three in the room. "Yer not hiding Sirius Black here…right?" He asked, suspicion and disbelief in his tone.

"Well…now he is innocent according to my mum and dad," Harry started, his eyes wide in shock.

"'Scuse me?" Hagrid blinked in confusion and surprise.

"Er, I did tell you I can talk to the dead, right?" Harry thought he might have…but couldn't remember.

"No, 'Arry, that you did not," Hagrid crossed his arms and looked at Poppy questioningly.

"Dobby will go gets the sandwiches," the elf squeaked and popped out immediately. It'd probably be a while before those sandwiches showed up.

"By what he's told me, it has something to do with him being dead. He can talk to those who've already crossed over," she answered the man's look with a sigh. Things had really gotten interesting since Harry Potter started Hogwarts. "Apparently, Salazar Slytherin himself led Harry to find Ms. Weasley during the chamber fiasco last year."

"I knew the girl'd been injured…you helped her?" Hagrid asked Harry who nodded. "Good on you then. Now, what's this about yer parents saying Black is innocent?"

"Er, he is. Peter Pettigrew was the secret keeper and then framed Sirius after my parents died," Harry explained with a nervous look at the man, really hoping he'd believe him. "We just found out that Pettigrew is a rat animagus and has been living with a wizard family for the past twelve years."

Hagrid slowly shook his head. "This is a lot…" He remarked and drained the teacup. He smiled as it automatically refilled, which he promptly drained again. "So…Black didn't betray yer parents? Who you can apparently talk to…?"

"Hagrid, how would Harry know any of this if he couldn't talk to his parents?" Pomfrey patiently explained. "No one was going to tell him about Sirius Black before, and they don't even teach anything about the Fidelus Charm until seventh year."

Hagrid nodded, now only sipping at the tea that Dobby kept magically refilling. "Right…so, you are harboring a fugitive at your house…and the chocolate I guess is fer dementor exposure?"

"Of course," Pomfrey nodded as if it should have been obvious.

"You can't tell anyone, Hagrid," Harry said with feeling. "Not even Dumbledore, ok?"

"Course not Harry," the man looked at him like he was a bit offended Harry would even mention it. "I know I don't have the best record with keeping secrets, but that's only when I don't have a good reason to keep the secret. I didn't see why Fluffy and the stone was a secret from you, so I let some things slip…and well, I tend to like to talk about Fluffy in general, but he was my dog before he was guarding the stone. I know the reason you being dead and Sirius being here need to be kept secret, though I'm not sure why we can't tell Dumbledore…"

"With Harry, it's just because the more people who know the more danger he's in," Pomfrey explained. "With Mr. Black…I guess we could tell the headmaster. What do you think, Harry?"

"I think that should be Sirius's decision. I don't think he really wanted us telling Hagrid though," Harry sighed. "It's probably best to keep this to just us and Dobby. I don't plan to tell Ron or Hermione unless we have to." He couldn't help a shudder at the thought of the rat his friend was carrying around.

"Well then…what else can I do to help?" Hagrid nodded, seeming to be persuaded for the moment.

"Can we go shopping for school supplies together again?" Harry asked excitedly. "I had so much fun that first time!"

"Course!" Hagrid smiled broadly and patted Harry on the back, almost making the small teen fall off his chair.

"I may need you to pick up another potion or two if we run out of these," the medi-witch added. "I have a feeling we're going to go through a lot of the calming draught."

"I could ask Professor Snape to brew…"

"No," Pomfrey cut in. "He and Misters Black, Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew had a terrible relationship. If he were to ever find out we'd asked him to brew potions to help one of them…he'd have a fit."

"Oh…so that's why he hates me," Harry slowly nodded, ignoring his father's swear-laden rant in the corner of the room. "Huh, I figured he'd be past something like that when all of them were either dead or incarcerated…except Mr. Lupin I guess."

"I doubt he actually hates you," Hagrid tried to defend the man, but Poppy didn't even attempt it.

"No, he definitely does," Harry disagreed with a shrug. It didn't bother him; Snape was already on his list, so he was so far removed from Harry caring that he really didn't give the man any thought unless he was doing something with Potions, or he was brought up for some reason.

"Well, I suppose I should be going. The Knight Bus gets busy later in the day," Hagrid stood. "Thanks for the cuppa, and let me know if you need anything. I migh' stop by just to check on you four in a few days."

"You're always welcome, Hagrid," Poppy stood to walk him to the door.

"Come back soon. Poppy said she's going to teach me how to play poker. You can play too!" Harry called after them.

Hagrid laughed loudly as he exited through the doorway. "First thing you need to know about poker Harry," Poppy said as she walked back into the sitting room. "Never bet with money when Hagrid's not drinking. He'll take you for everything you have."

"What if he is drinking?" Harry grinned and picked up a deck of cards off the coffee table.

"Make sure it's actually Firewhiskey in his cup then. If it's just beer, he's a half-giant, that does nothing to him," she grinned and started shuffling the cards Harry handed her. "I think we have time to get through the rules and maybe a hand before your godfather wakes up from Dobby's spell. Better than dreamless sleep that elf is," she laughed and started dealing.

Chapter Text

Harry felt a little left out. Everyone had taken up reading it seemed. Dobby was reading this huge book on mental health disorders while occasionally looking at Harry speculatively and then writing something down on a pad of paper he now carried with him everywhere. It was making Harry a bit paranoid. Then, when Sirius finally woke up, irritated that he'd been knocked out to begin with, but much calmer now that Poppy was making him drink copious amounts of calming draught followed by bars upon bars of chocolate. He'd joined Dobby in reading Poppy's medical texts, but his were on chronic diseases, he was doing the staring thing too, but Harry was happy to note that he didn't have a pad of paper like Dobby. Poppy apparently took a complete break from medi-witching over the summer and was reading a huge stack of romance novels with titles such as The Warlock of Gloucester's Mistress and Amortensia and Amelia. Harry pulled out a quidditch book Ron had sent him for his birthday just out of self-preservation.

Harry was surprised when Sirius's eyes lit up and he put down the medical text. "Pup, you like quidditch?" The man asked with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

The teen still wasn't too sure how he felt about being called Pup, but it did sound a bit better than Prongslet at least. "Yeah, I'm the seeker for Gryffindor," he said with a smile at the man.

"Really! As a second year you made the team?! You any good?" Sirius was almost bouncing in his seat at this point, which was saying a lot since he was seriously drugged on calming draught. "You know your dad was a chaser!"

"Er, yeah, I'd heard that," Harry awkwardly glanced to the corner of the room his dad had been hovering in a few minutes before. He thought the spirit had left, but he wasn't too sure. "I actually made the team my first year though…supposedly youngest seeker in a century," he shrugged and flipped a page in the book, still keeping an eye on Sirius.

The gaunt man crowed in excitement, eliciting a stern glare from Poppy and a warning to calm himself. "Wow, that's amazing," he just ignored the woman who had her fuzzy slippers propped up on the coffee table beside Harry. "Of course, you're in Gryffindor though…nowhere else you could have gone…"

"It was actually a bit of a negotiation," Harry said nonchalantly. He'd had a wonderful experience telling Ron how he'd convinced the hat to put him with his friend. Ron had been smug for a week afterwards, so Harry figured it was probably a good story his godfather would appreciate. "So, first the hat thought I'd probably do best in Slytherin…"

Sirius seemed to choke on air and gasp. Harry just raised a confused eyebrow, the man was strange, and continued on. "Well, Draco Malfoy had already been sorted there, and he's the most annoying prat you can imagine, so I told it I didn't want to be with him. The hat said that it couldn't put me in Ravenclaw since I just don't care about school…"

Poppy gave him a stern look over her romance novel at that, and Harry just shrugged at her, not going to apologize for having his priorities in order…in his opinion. "Er, yeah, so we had it narrowed down to Hufflepuff or Gryffindor then, but I told the hat I wanted to be with my new best friend Ron Weasley, and Weasleys always go to Gryffindor…so, that's how I got there!"

"H-how did you get on the team…?" Sirius still looked stunned for some reason Harry couldn't determine.

"Malfoy was being a git and making fun of Neville. Neville is in the running for my fourth best friend after Dobby…not counting Poppy and Hagrid, I mean the ones my age," Harry smiled at Poppy who gave him a little grin back. Dobby frantically wrote something on his pad of paper.

"Not that I'm really sure how old Dobby is…?" The elf made no move to answer with just a glare towards the teen. "Anyway, Neville needs to worry a little less. I'm working on him, but I don't think we can make it official until he calms down a bit…Ron and Hermione say I stress them out sometimes, and I wouldn't want to add that on Neville if he's already stressed."

"Ok…sounds like…good reasoning," Sirius slowly shook his head. "How does that get you on the team?"

"Oh, Malfoy threw Neville's Remembrall from a broom; it's this little glass ball. I flew and caught it so it wouldn't break, and McGonagall saw me," Harry smiled smugly at the good memory. Quidditch was his favorite thing at school besides his friends.

"How does one make it official to be a friend?" Poppy cut in to ask with a chuckle, already having heard this story from Minerva.

Harry shrugged. "Don't know…I usually just ask. That's what I did with Ron and Hermione anyway. Dobby was a little more formal and all with having to get him away from his family. Is there a better way to do it? I think the more formal approach does feel a bit more official. I didn't have any friends before Hogwarts, so I figured I'd just try the easiest and fastest way. I was actually thinking I might try with the twins this year if Neville doesn't want to join the group…they were nice to me last year when a lot of people weren't."

"Merlin forbid," Poppy shook her head. "You and the Weasley twins…that's a disastrous combination."

"Pup, uh, I think that asking someone to be your friend is probably a good way," Sirius added in a bemused way. "But, why didn't you have friends before Hogwarts?"

"You haven't had enough calming draught for that story," Harry smirked at him and picked his book up again to read.

"The world is all fuzzy…what do you mean I'm not drugged enough?!" Sirius waved his hand around to illustrate where he saw things as fuzzy.

"Trust me…you aren't drugged enough," Poppy added with a stern set to her mouth, going back to her book as well.

"Lunch!" Dobby popped out of the room to put it together and saved them all from having to explain more.

"Awesome!" Harry jumped up and dumped his book on the couch before following the elf. "Can we play poker after lunch?"

"We really should go out and get you both some new clothes," Poppy glared at the holey jeans Harry was wearing like they had personally offended her.

"I haven't been able to get to the bank yet though," he sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get out of it.

She just rolled her eyes. "I have plenty of money…plus I haven't even tried to sell that book you found last term."

"A book?" Sirius asked with a look that said he didn't believe a book could be sold for any significant amount of money.

"Yes, Harry stumbled upon a first edition book, handwritten, by Helga Hufflepuff herself last term," the woman explained while handing the soup and sandwich Dobby dished up to the man. "Eat all of that," she ordered.

"Wow, that's amazing!" He sputtered with a glance to Harry.

Harry just shrugged awkwardly. "So…I guess that means I'm not getting out of clothes shopping?"

"Heavens no!" She handed Harry a bowl and plate next with a similar glare that she'd given Sirius. "I'll also be instructing Hagrid that you need new school robes. You've grown a few inches."

"I wish I could go," the fugitive mumbled into his bowl with a pout.

Harry really did feel for the man. He'd been locked up so long. "Couldn't he go as a dog?" He asked the question to both Poppy and Dobby.

"Who all knows of your animagus form?" Poppy said, stopping the excitement Harry saw cross the man's face.

"Just Remus…and possibly Dumbledore. No one really knows what all that man knows," Sirius said, with the smile falling from his face.

"Mr. Lupin may have told the aurors about it once you escaped if not before," she said reasonably.

Sirius opened his mouth to protest but glanced over to Harry with a frown and closed his mouth. He really didn't know what Remus would do. He had been certain that Remy must be looking after Harry all these years, even if he couldn't get custody. "Right…" he looked dejected again.

"Dobby…" Harry turned to the elf and tugged him down to sit next to him at the table with his own plate. "Do I happen to have Polyjuice potion in my trunk?"

"Yes, Master Harry…about two doses," Dobby's head bobbed up and down excitedly.

"How long would that get him?"

"They's extra strength…so about four hours, Harry Potter, sir!"

"The extra strength is dangerous to brew…it's illegal to brew actually," Poppy turned fierce eyes on the two. "What would you two be doing with extra strength Polyjuice potion?"

Harry and Dobby looked at each other guiltily. "Erm, well…it's my fault," Harry started.

"No, it's Dobby's fault!" The elf wailed, only not hurting himself since Harry was basically hugging him to keep him in his seat.

"Dobby was trying to take care of me," the teen supplied next.

"Dobby, calm yourself or I'll have to give you some of Mr. Black's calming draught as well," Poppy sighed. "I don't care who's fault it is. I just want an explanation."

"Dobby was trying to get me expelled all last year since he'd heard that Hogwarts was going to have a spot of trouble. He didn't know I'd already handled the problem," Harry began in a massive understatement, an arm still around Dobby's shoulders for safety. "I found him putting a whole bag of illegal potions in my trunk to frame me before we had our chat that got him freed."

"And he left the bag?" Sirius was holding back a laugh. "We're going to make a marauder of you yet, Pup!"

"Well, the potions were already there…might as well not waste them," Harry gave his godfather a smug grin.

"Where may I ask did you even get these potions, Dobby?" The woman sighed in defeat. She was taking back her thinking that one teenager would be less trouble than the hundreds she normally had.

Dobby glanced at everyone around him with an ashamed look in his eyes. "Dobby is no thief," he said firmly. "I's not steal any potions…but ingredients…they's there for elves to use in cleaning and cooking…Dobby may have taken the ingredients…"

"But the potions, Dobby," Poppy sighed again.

"He brewed them himself," Harry smiled and patted the elf on the back, saying what his friend couldn't admit himself. "Because he's brilliant! He also helped me with my Potions essay. Professor Snape definitely can't fail me on this one!"

"Snivellus is teaching?!" Sirius coughed around his sandwich in shock.

"That's both a terrible name and a terrible insult," Harry rolled his eyes. He'd heard it enough from his dad, and thought it was too juvenile even for the thirteen-year-old he was, let alone grown men.

"Anyway…does that mean I get to come?" Sirius asked Poppy hopefully.

She considered and looked at him assessing. "It would do you good to get out of the house and get some fresh air…"

"Yes!" Harry and Sirius both exclaimed.

"I don't know how we're going to get a hair or something from someone though…"

"Dobby will handle it!" The elf offered, very relieved he wasn't in trouble. "I's can go pop over to the university and summon a hair."

"Ooo, get a university student!" Sirius instructed. "Someone young and good looking! Not a girl!" He yelled at the end as Dobby immediately popped out.

"He's definitely getting you a girl's hair," Harry smirked at the pouting man.

"Right, so we'll go shopping in the muggle stores a few towns over where no one will recognize the student you'll be or me, and hopefully not Harry," Poppy planned to herself.

"I can wear a hat," Harry offered.

"Yes, good idea," she nodded. "Clothes…probably toiletries for both of you unless you like smelling like lavender?"

"Please no!" Harry said dramatically…actually kind-of liking Poppy's soap but not ever going to admit that.

"Then groceries as well, and more chocolate…"

"I'm really starting to hate chocolate," Sirius grumbled to Harry.

"Can't…I might not be able to be your friend," the teen said very seriously to the man. "It's very important to like chocolate."

"Well…if it's a requirement," the animagus gave a raspy laugh at that.

"I don't even want to know the state of your underwear…" Poppy continued, making both men blush and stare into their soup bowls.

Four hours went way too quickly for Sirius and dragged on forever to Poppy who was about ready to crash after wrangling a slightly unstable and hyperactive fugitive and convincing a grumbling teenager to try on yet another pair of trousers. Sirius was a tall blonde, male student around twenty years old that was possibly an exchange student from Sweden by his looks. Thankfully, Dobby had chosen someone around the same size as Sirius Black, so it wasn't difficult to find him some clothes that fit, all the while promising to pay Poppy back as soon as he had access to his vaults. Harry tried to promise the same thing but was just stared down by Poppy so that he quickly stopped protesting.

Before Sirius's Polyjuice started to wear off, the three took the bus back to Poppy's house in Durham. With a sigh, the medi-witch sent Dobby to do the grocery shopping since they hadn't had time to do it themselves while she picked up her medical bag to leave. "I'm off for Ms. Weasley's therapy session. She and her family arrived back in the country several days ago," she looked sternly at the two men sitting on her sofa. "You two behave and stay in the house."

"How's Ginny doing?" Harry sat up straighter. He didn't realize Poppy was still meeting with her, but he figured that possession must be quite traumatic, and it wasn't all that long ago.

"Harry, you know I can't speak about my patients," she gave him a little grateful smile for asking though.

"Er…well, can you tell me if maybe I should write her and check in or not?" Harry asked. Hedwig had found where he was staying early that morning and was currently napping in his room, but she would be fine to head out again that evening if he had a letter to send.

Poppy thought for a minute. "I feel that sending a friend a letter is never amiss," she finally said, choosing her words carefully. "However, I do not believe you should be overly concerned…"

The teen just grinned and started looking around for paper. "There's some in the desk," Poppy pointed to her desk in the corner. "Now, I'll be back by dinner. Be good for Dobby and don't do anything to draw attention to yourself…and Mr. Potter…do not tell Ms. Weasley or your friends exactly where you are staying this summer. It's safer if you allow them to assume you're still at your relatives for now. Only Madam Bones knows you're here, and she's keeping it quiet on her end."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Harry grinned and gave her a little wave before she apparated from the room.

Sirius sighed in contentment as Harry plopped on the floor to use the coffee table to write his letter on. "It was a good day, Pup," he commented, looking younger than he had since Harry had met him.

"We just need to figure out how to smuggle you into Hogwarts safely now," Harry grinned back at him, quill poised over the parchment. He resolved to ask his parents for any ideas. "We can't just have you take Polyjuice every two hours, even if Dobby knows how to brew the good stuff. That seems ridiculous."

Sirius shrugged. "There're some caves by Hogsmeade. I can stay in them if needed."

Harry snorted in disbelief. "No godfather of mine is staying in a cave," he said firmly. "Professor Slytherin's rooms are empty and well kept up. If we can get you in there, no one knows about them."

"Who's rooms?" Sirius sat up and looked at Harry in confusion. "Did you say Professor Slytherin?"

"Yeah…it's where I found the book Poppy is going to sell…Sammy lives there, but he mainly stays in the forest. If I give him a heads up that you're there, he won't bother you…er, he's Professor Slytherin's snake," Harry explained as he started his letter.

"Like the Salazar Slytherin? One of the four founders of Hogwarts Slytherin?" Sirius was gaping now. "And…how can you give a snake a heads up?"

"Parselmouth," Harry pointed at himself and stared at the man to see his reaction. "Most people at school didn't take it well last year, thinking I was evil and all…I'm told it's just a trait though and nothing to be concerned about." Professor Slytherin was a Parselmouth and Harry liked him, so he didn't see why there was all the hullabaloo about the ability.

Sirius stood slowly and walked over to Poppy's desk, picking up a calming draught and downing it in one gulp. "Ok…" he slowly shook his head. Sirius had a view of the world, one that clearly pushed Slytherins and Parselmouths and everything associated with snakes into the category with his family and dark wizards. His godson could have easily gone into Slytherin though, somehow found Salazar Slytherin's chambers, and could speak to snakes…his ill godson who needed his support and unconditional care.

Sirius took in two breaths of breathing in acceptance and letting his prejudices go. If his godson was Slytherin-adjacent and a Parselmouth…hell, if his godson was actually evil, he was going to be there for him regardless. Though, he was certain the teen in front of him was the farthest thing from evil in existence…plus, he had a suspicion that Poppy Pomfrey might have been a Slytherin judging from her plethora of green shirts and the Slytherin banner in the study. If Pomfrey was a Slytherin, then they couldn't be so bad anyway. "Right…so we just need to get me into the school…I really wish I still had my wand and could do magic."

Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and put it on the table in front of him. "Is the Trace on me or my wand? I can't use this over the summer, so if you want to do a bit of magic and it won't get me in trouble…well, you're welcome to try it," Harry offered, not really knowing if another wizard's wand would work well for someone else, plus Ollivander had made such a big deal about Harry's being different, but it was worth a try anyway.

Sirius looked more stunned than when Harry said he was a Parselmouth. "Pup…you'd just let me use your wand…that's…very generous," he breathed out, love in his eyes.

"Well…you're my godfather," Harry shrugged, feeling embarrassed at the emotion coming from the man. It's not like he could use the wand right now anyway.

Sirius looked at the wand, his brow furrowed. "The Trace is on you actually…your wand is very different from what I'm used to seeing though…"

"Try a spell with it then," Harry motioned to it, a reassuring smile on his face.

Slowly, Sirius reached out a hand and gingerly picked up the white wand. He only held it for a couple seconds before shock crossed his face and he dropped it on the table like it had burned him. "Merlin's balls!" He yelled, shaking his hand frantically, eyes wide in panic.

Harry quickly picked up the wand, looking it over. It seemed fine to him. "What happened? It seems fine," he said, it felt like it always did to him, like a friend or a comforter. Something that was a part of him.

"What the hell is your wand made of?!" The man assessed his godson who was still holding the wand and looked in concern at the boy.

"Er…isn't that impolite to ask?" Harry shuffled and put his wand back into his pocket, really not wanting to answer the question. "What did it do?"

"It felt like my hand died…not went to sleep or was numb but died!" He exclaimed in shock. "And yes, it may be impolite, but you're my godson, and I'm now very worried about you…what's in your wand?!"

"Erm…well, it's made of driftwood," Harry looked at everything except for his godfather.

Sirius placed a hand on top of Harry's comfortingly. "I've never heard of driftwood being used for a wand before…what's the core?"

"Ollivander said it was a bit different…" Harry evaded. "He wasn't concerned though," that was a bit of a lie, but the man made it, so it shouldn't be too terrible, right? "Um, he said it had hairs from a grim as the core," he finally rushed out at the end.

Sirius's hand tightened on Harry's as he sucked in a gulp of air. "Like a real grim? Not an animagus like me?"

Harry shrugged. "I assume so…"

Sirius looked around, but they were alone in the house. "Harry…who knows about your wand? Have you told anyone else?" He asked in a whisper, even though they were alone.

"No…only Ollivander…well, and Hagrid. He was with me when I got it," Harry shook his head frantically.

Nodding slowly, Sirius thought it over. If Harry had some kind of terminal illness and was dying, a death omen in his wand wasn't that shocking he guessed, but especially with him being a Parselmouth, it might not be taken well by the general public. "It's best you don't tell anyone," he warned. "I don't think people would take it well…it'd be like people learning you could talk to snakes…"

Harry nodded, already having guessed this. "Yeah…I'll keep it quiet…no problem," he'd just add it to the list of other things he didn't tell people.

"And don't let anyone ever touch your wand," he warned sternly. "I know it's not something that's usually done, and you were trying to be nice to me…but don't let anyone touch it again. It doesn't like other people…" he glanced at the pocket Harry had put the wand in. He had a very strong suspicion that no one besides Harry would ever be able to use that wand.

It had been a long day. Sirius had fallen asleep on the couch after dinner and Poppy and Dobby had gotten very invested in a game of wizard's chess. Harry had excused himself for bed and was currently just lying on the bed and studying his wand. No one had ever touched it before besides him…now that he thought about it, Ollivander hadn't even touched it, holding the box out for Harry to take the wand out and put it back in. Surely the man had touched it when he made it. Harry had seen gloves sticking out of the man's pocket though. If wands reacted to wizards touching them…maybe Ollivander didn't touch the wands with his bare hands when he made them. Another abnormality of Harry, he figured as he ran a finger over the wand.

"Here he is, Sal," Harry's mother's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Mum? Professor Slytherin?" Harry sat up with a broad grin on his face, happy to see them both briefly appear in his room.

Hello, dear. Sal wanted to visit but didn't know where you were this summer," Lily explained. "How was shopping? Did Sirius behave?"

"He was a bit all over the place, but his Polyjuice held well the whole time," Harry nodded at her. "He's downstairs asleep right now. I think it tired him out a lot more than he thought it would."

"Very understandable for someone suffering for dementor exposure. Your mother filled me in on his new person," Slytherin drawled. He seemed to be looking around Harry's room in his brief flashes of visibility. "Mr. Potter…I have a favor to ask of you…I'm loathe to ask since you helped so much last term, but I'll compensate you for this one."

"You can ask me anything, Professor," Harry shook his head quickly. "We're friends now…right?" He wasn't sure about how to go about being friends with spirits, but the founder had helped him out so much the last year and had given him his new wand holster and all.

"Friends…" the man said slowly as if he were testing the word on his tongue. "That's…not unwelcome. However, compensation will be given. Sammy has very valuable venom and shed skin. I can tell you how to easily retrieve it from him, and he's always been quite willing."

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed, really wanting an excuse to chat with the snake again. "Also…would you mind if Sirius stays in your rooms for a while? We need to figure out a way to get him safely in the castle, but no one knows about your rooms besides the elves, and I'm sure Dobby could work something out on that end."

"As long as he treats them well and doesn't do anything to destroy the tapestries," the spirit shrugged when he was visible again. "Now, Sammy's venom and skin may require some small black-market dealings…I'm not sure your medi-witch is the best for that job."

"My son will not be participating in any black-market dealings!" Lily told them both firmly.

"Hagrid will be fine with it," Harry shrugged, remembering the dragon his first year. Hagrid would have absolutely no qualms, and probably want to meet the snake if Harry's guess was correct. "Now, what's this favor?"

"I've been doing a bit of an audit of the school this summer, and there are some changes that must be attended to," Salazar began in a business-like tone. "We'll do them slowly, but personnel should be assessed more this coming year, and we should work on the wards next year. For now, your History of Magic professor must go."

"Professor Binns?" Harry asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "Does his wife miss him terribly?"

"Yes," Lily answered as Slytherin said, "That's besides the point."

"Ok," Harry said slowly.

"The man has ruined the subject by all I observed last term and heard from the professors this summer. History should be exciting and comprehensive, not boring and only covering goblin wars. I want you to convince him to cross-over," Slytherin instructed firmly.

"Right…ok, I'll figure something out," Harry nodded, not having a clue how to do that, but figuring he'd need to get his mum to bring Madam Binns around at some point to talk it over. "What else do you need me to do?"

"You start Divination this year, please observe your Professor Trelawney for me. I've heard concerning remarks made about her from the professors, but it's hard to really know what's going on during the summer when she's not teaching," the man sighed in frustration. "I welcome your advice, and I'll observe her as well. Also, what's your opinion on the Potion Master?"

"Severus hasn't been very kind to Harry," Lily sighed sadly. "I'm ashamed of my old friend. He's become quite the bully since we were young…"

Harry really didn't know what to say to the founder. "Well, Snape doesn't like me at all, and does tend to favor the Slytherins. He obviously knows what he's talking about though…and there aren't any major mishaps in class even though Neville and Seamus both tend to blow up their cauldrons. Snape seems to be good about making sure no one is injured seriously."

"Yes, I've observed that injuries in his class are kept to a minimum, something that is difficult in Potions," Slytherin mused. "However, his attitude does concern me. I may not be the most pleasant person, but belittling a student has never been acceptable practice for me or anyone else that has taught at the school. Keep an eye on him. I don't know how we would get rid of the man, or if it's needed, but he's on my list to watch."

"He's on my not-worth-my-time list, so I'll bump him off temporarily into the actually-pay-attention-to category," Harry sighed. He didn't like moving people off the list when they were firmly on it for any reason besides that he had been wrong and they were actually nice people; this was not one of those times.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Salazar said kindly. "I know this is not your job or responsibility, but you're the only one we can communicate with, and I'm concerned for the school. There have been some changes that are wonderful, and some that seem dangerous as well…"

"No problem, Professor," Harry shook his head firmly. "I want to help if I can."

"I'll discuss your problem of getting your fugitive godfather into the school with Helga," the man offered. "That falls more into her realm of specialty."

"Can I come with you, Sal?" Lily asked. "I'd like to discuss Harry's health with her. I'm concerned with how clear he looks on our side now."

"You're always welcome, my dear…especially when your dunderhead is otherwise occupied."

"Hey!" Harry protested. His dad might be a bit rash and childish at times, but he loved the man, and he was a good person who died trying to save Harry and his mum.

"He's joking Harry…they have an odd relationship, but do actually get along," Lily laughed as Salazar grumbled in protest.

"Well…let me know what she says I guess," Harry laughed at them. "Oh, and tell Madam Binns that we need to chat when I'm back at Hogwarts I guess."

"See you soon, Harry," Lily brushed past her son, leaving him with the feeling of a phantom hug. He smiled and lay back on the bed, feeling at peace and happy with where he was.

"Harry!" Hagrid beamed when Dobby let him in several days later.

"Hagrid! How are you?!" Harry rushed over to give the man's arm a hug.

"Great! I swiped yer Hogwarts letter so I could hand deliver it again like I did yer first year!" Hagrid proudly held out the letter to the teen.

Harry grinned at him slyly. "No, Hagrid, you need to say it again…say the line. 'Harry yer a wizard,'" Harry imitated the way Hagrid had said it two years before.

Harry saw Sirius jump in surprise from where he was sitting on an armchair when Hagrid boomed out a loud laugh at that. "Harry…yer a wizard!" Hagrid said in good humor as he held out the letter.

"Thanks!" Harry took it and rushed into the sitting room. "Hagrid's here!" He called to the house's inhabitants that had all been playing poker a moment before.

"We heard," Poppy smiled at her colleague who followed Harry in.

"Sirius…" Hagrid raised an eyebrow that somehow both looked concerned and threatening. "You all righ'?"

"Hey, Hagrid," the man smiled at him sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm doing better…I'm innocent you know."

"They tol' me," he crossed his arms and pinned the animagus with a glare. "You don't do anything to get these three in trouble though, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir," Sirius gulped at the giant of a man towering over him.

"Great! Harry, you ready for Diagon Alley?" Hagrid turned instantly to his friend.

"Yeah, this is quite the list…oh, that book you sent me for my birthday is on it!" Harry exclaimed when he saw that the awesome monster book he'd loved was listed.

"I'm teachin' Care of Magical Creatures this year," Hagrid puffed out his chest proudly. "Professor Kettleburn retired."

"Congratulations! That's brilliant!" Harry hugged his arm again.

"Has anyone said who's teaching DADA yet?" Poppy asked after also offering her congratulations.

"Yeah…about that," Hagrid glanced over to Sirius in concern. "Professor Dumbledore hired yer friend, Remus Lupin. I think it's to keep a lookout for you."

Sirius shook his head as Harry frowned, knowing this would cause more problems to their plan. "Remy will be a great teacher, but that does throw a kneazle into our plans a bit," Sirius remarked.

Harry had honestly been hoping to avoid the man who didn't seem to want to get to know him, but he figured that was wishful thinking now. "Well, we'll deal with it later. I have a huge list here, and Poppy insists I need new robes."

"He desperately does…dress shoes too," she added on with a glare at the teen.

"No problem! Let's get goin'!" Hagrid clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder as the two excitedly left for the alley.

"Hagrid, I need to stop by the bank first, then robes, Hedwig could use some owl treats, then Flourish and Blotts and the apothecary, and I'd like to stop by Ollivander's to ask him a question if that's alright," Harry asked as they made their way to a place Poppy had assured them the Knight Bus wouldn't be noticed if they called it there.

"Sounds good, but you need to add ice cream, lunch at the Leaky, and the quidditch store on the list," the man smiled at him and raised his umbrella, Harry knew he had his wand pieces in there, to call the bus.

"Definitely!" Harry grinned at him as the purple bus popped into existence with a bang. "Er, also…how do you feel about selling black-market snake parts, and do you have any contacts?"

"Well now…that's a big question," Hagrid looked down at him with a smirk. "I think that needs to be discussed over ice cream…"

Chapter Text

Hagrid insisted they get lunch at the Leaky first. The man got a large mug of ale for himself, insisting it was necessary for dealing with the goblins. Harry just raised an eyebrow, remembering that Poppy had told him that beer really didn't affect the half-giant at all, but it did give him an excuse to sit and slowly sip it so that Harry could take his time eating his shepherd's pie and they had longer to talk. They had to carefully avoid any problematic topics because of the other patrons around, but Hagrid had only recently learned of Harry's ability to communicate with the dead from Poppy and wanted to hear all about it. Therefore, they developed codenames; Lily and James were Rose and Prongs, Salazar was The Professor, and the Prewitt twins were Bob and Joe…Hagrid's suggestion.

"So, The Professor wants me to help him get things more in order at the school now that he's taking an interest."

"He doesn't want the muggleborns gone, does he?" Hagrid asked with a great deal of concern.

"Er…no," Harry said slowly, only then remembering that was the rumored reason the founder had left the school. He made a mental note to ask about that at some point. "He hasn't said anything about that. He does want Binns to crossover, and he said that next year we're going to update the wards," Harry told his friend in excitement. "He's going to teach me about the wards…you know how I feel about school, but this actually sounds really interesting!"

"I never learned anything about wards m'self…but I'd assume Dumbledore keeps them up to date," Hagrid took a sip and mused. "I think The Professor might know a bit more about how they've changed over time though…how are you going to help with Professor Binns? I migh' not have a problem with the ghost, but I agree he might not be the best fer the job."

Harry shrugged. "I don't really have a plan yet, but I need to have a chat with his late wife."

Hagrid raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know he'd been married."

"Rose seems to like her," Harry commented, not adding in that his father thought her 'a bit much.'

"Good luck," Hagrid chuckled and drained his mug. "You ready? Bank first, then those robes you need…"

Harry grimaced. "More clothes shopping," he sighed.

"It's best to always do what Poppy says," Hagrid clapped a large hand on Harry's shoulder and laughed. "Yer robes were a bit short."

"Fine," Harry added dramatically. "But Quality Quidditch right after that. Got to have a reward, right?"

"Right," the man tapped the bricks to open the passageway into the Alley.

They didn't make it to the quidditch store after buying robes. There was a large crowd out front of the store, and Hagrid suggested that they get all the important shopping done first, then the quidditch store and ice cream. So, they popped in for Harry's books, potion supplies, and more quills and parchment. Harry took a deep breath outside of Ollivanders.

"Why do you want to go here again?" Hagrid frowned at the store, not thinking there was anything the teen needed.

"I just want to ask a question. Siri…er, Padfoot touched my wand and had a bit of an odd reaction," Harry explained.

"You really shouldn't let others touch yer wand," Hagrid raised an eyebrow. "It's very personal, not something we let people do lightly."

"Yeah, but he doesn't have one," Harry sighed and opened the door.

"Mr. Potter?" Ollivander looked confused as they walked into the store. A tiny first year and her parents passed them on the way out, and Harry gave her a large smile that he hoped was welcoming, but she just blushed bright red and hurried out.

"Got a question for yer," Hagrid told the man and promptly leaned against the wall to wait.

"Really? Is everything working out with your wand?" Concern was clear in the man's voice.

"Oh yeah, definitely!" Harry assured him quickly. "I just wanted to know…do you ever touch the wands when you're making them?"

The man's confusion seemed to go up even farther. "No…well, sometimes I test them after they're made if I think there might be a problem, but a wizard's magic always interacts with the wand cores, even if it's not right for them, so I usually wear gloves the entire time." The man thought for a moment. "No, I'm fairly positive I never touched your wand in particular. The odd combination of wood and core was a little concerning about how they'd interact with a living person. That's why I never really thought I'd be selling it. It was just an interesting project to see if I could make it."

"I'm very glad you did," Harry smiled, unconsciously touching his wand in the holster on his arm, happy to feel the welcoming presence there. "I had…er…a friend pick it up a few days ago, and it had a bit of a reaction with his magic. He said it felt like his hand had died."

Ollivander nodded and looked very interested. "Yes, that would be a possible reaction…hmm, interesting. You will want to be careful…I know that sometimes your professors will touch your wand to show you how to do a movement…avoid that if possible. And never let someone else use it."

"It's that serious?" Harry asked, already not having planned on letting anyone touch it again.

The elderly man leaned on the counter deep in thought. "Your wand is uniquely connected to the magic of death," he began, seeming to choose his words carefully. "I'm not saying that you should explore that area of magic, but it would presumably come easy to you."

Harry blanched, not liking the sound of that. Death magic seemed very dangerous. What even was that? "I don't understand," he finally said in confusion.

"Wand cores reflect and channel your magical core, and yours is dead…frankly, I'm not really sure how it's still there and vibrant, but I see it," the man waved a hand in front of Harry, illustrating how he saw Harry's magic. The teen was immediately impressed at the man's ability. It must really come in handy for making wands.

"Now that you've bonded to your wand, it would expect anyone who used it to also be dead and would react with the person's core similarly. I'm not saying it would kill them or harm them in any permanent way, but it's going to try to channel your unique kind of dead magic…not living. Though, that's probably not the correct term because your magic is alive, just another kind of alive…I'm not explaining this well."

"Erm, well I'm not too good at magical theory, but I think I got the gist," Harry smiled at him thankfully, not really wanting a full lecture. "Don't let anyone use my wand, and don't try to do death magic…whatever that is."

"The killing curse, inferi, the magic used in brewing the Draught of Living Death, some healer level spells that create magical comas, most of the very dark curses, things like that," Ollivander explained while Harry nodded and Hagrid just looked concerned.

"Right. I wasn't planning on that anyway," Harry nodded firmly.

"Er…Harry," Hagrid cut in. "You will have to brew the Draught of Living Death at some point…probably sixth year."

Harry shrugged. "I have three years to figure out what to do about that then," he said unconcernedly. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander. Good luck with the little firsties!"

The wand maker laughed and waved goodbye to them. "I do hope to see you again, Mr. Potter…interesting," they heard him mumble as they left the shop.

"Quidditch now?" Harry looked up at Hagrid hopefully and did his best puppy dog eyes.

Hagrid chuckled and dropped a heavy hand on Harry's shoulder as they walked that direction. The crowd was still pretty thick around the store, but better than earlier. Harry really wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. "Harry…I don' think I'm gonna fit in there," he laughed. "How about I go get yer owl treats while you have fun?"

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry gave the small part of the man's side he could reach around a quick hug before rushing off into the crowd, his friend's laughter following him.

It was readily obvious what had caused such a stir in the store. The sleekest, coolest, most brilliant broom Harry had ever seen was prominently on display…the Firebolt. Harry stared in awe. What he would give to ride that…it was beautiful. "Potter," a voice commented from beside him in the crowd.

Harry tore his eyes from the broom to look up at the taller teen beside him. It was the Hufflepuff seeker…a fifth year if Harry remembered correctly. "Diggory," he said with a little smile. "You aren't planning on getting this are you? I might have to up my game next year if you are."

The older teen snorted a laugh. "Yeah, right. If the price tag says to ask an associate, then it is most definitely out of my price range. You thinking about it?"

Harry really didn't know how much was in his vault, but he had a strong feeling that Poppy would read him the riot act if he spent his money on an insanely expensive broom. Maybe if he got a lot from Sammy's venom and shed skin, but they hadn't even tried to sell it yet. "Nah…I don't think it's in my price range right now either. It'd be brilliant though," he said in clear awe as he daydreamed about how fast he could go on a broom like that.

"Good, you're too difficult to beat now anyway," Cedric Diggory laughed and looked at the broom the same way Harry had been.

"Please," Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione says that I'm only so good because I don't care if I get hurt or killed. If you have any self-preservation at all, I'm sure you play much more reasonably, according to her anyway."

The Hufflepuff now gave Harry a look he'd seen way too often for comfort…concern. "Merlin…I said something strange, didn't I?" Harry kicked himself, wondering if he'd ever learn what counted as odd for normal people. Most of the time he really didn't care to try, but sometimes, like now, it made people a little too uncomfortable. "Sorry, I do that sometimes. Ignore me…you get used to it if you're around me enough."

The other teen seemed to give that some thought and slowly shook his head. "How about a game then when we get back to school? Seekers game before the season starts?"

Ok, now Harry was confused. He'd just weirded out this guy, and he still wanted to hang out? "Ok…" Harry said slowly. "That sounds fun."

Diggory smiled down at him. "Well, it's either hang around you enough to get used to it, or ask Madam Pomfrey to give you a check over," he shook his head.

Harry laughed. "Nah, me and Poppy are friends. We play wizards chess and poker, but she almost always wins," he commented to the other teens bemusement. "I don't think I've really grasped the concept of a strategy."

"Right, Potter," he laughed in shock. "I think getting to know you a little better might be interesting."

"Call me Harry then," Harry held out his hand to the Hufflepuff.

"Cedric," he smiled and took the hand. "See you at Hogwarts."

"Look forward to beating you in a seeker's game," Harry shot back as the teen turned to leave.

"I've been practicing all summer, Harry…I think you'll find I'll be beating you," Cedric called over his shoulder before he disappeared into the crowd of the broom's admirers.

Harry was happily putting away his school supplies in his trunk and excitedly thinking about maybe having a new friend when Salazar Slytherin showed up in his room with a harried look on his face. "I love Helga deeply, but she's just too enthusiastic about everything," the man sighed as he briefly blinked into Harry's vision, causing the teen to jump in surprise.

"Don't give me a heart attack, Professor! I'm trying to not die again this year," he laughed.

Harry could feel the eye roll in the man's tone. "Yes, she told me to express just those sentiments to you. She is not sure just how many times you can die and still hang onto this world, but it is a bit concerning," he informed the confusing child.

"Did she have any ideas about how this all happened?" Harry motioned vaguely to himself.

"No…she did seem very interested in that diary last year and your reactions to Quirrell your first," Salazar explained as he looked over the books Harry had bought and dumped out on his bed. "She ran off to talk to some of her friends about it…she didn't say anything remotely helpful."

Harry's heart fell. "So, she didn't tell you any way to help get Sirius in the school then?"

"Hm, oh yes, she did have an idea for that," the man looked up from his study of Harry's books. "She said to transfigure him while in his animagus form. She explained that it's easier than when he is a human, and the dementors should not be able to recognize your godfather in that form. I think there was something about having your medi-witch claim he's an 'emotional support' animal or something, but frankly, I started tuning her out about then since she was rambling about new medical studies and the like," he said unapologetically.

"Brilliant!" Harry grinned happily. "I'll tell Poppy! Oh, and I talked to Hagrid. He does actually know someone who might sell Sammy's venom and skin for us. He says we can only sell small amounts at first though or it'll raise a lot of questions."

The founder looked a little impressed when he next became visible. "That makes a lot of sense. After you're paid for the first supply, there are some warding books I want you to owl order. It will help when we start in on the wards next year. I've talked to some of the recently deceased about how wards have been updated over the years, and I think I have a solid plan for what we can do to make the school more secure."

"Happy to," Harry smiled, surprised that he was actually agreeing to outside schoolwork, but honestly, everything Professor Slytherin had asked him to read had been extremely interesting. It was probably a good time to ask his question though. "Erm, I do have to ask…we aren't going to try to get rid of the muggleborns…are we? I mean...Hermione is one of my best friends..."

"Merlin, child!" The man exclaimed with a horrified look on his face. "Why would you even think to ask that?!"

"Er…wasn't that why you fought with the other founders and left the school?" Harry asked in confusion. He sat on his bed and pulled his feet up to listen to the man more comfortably. "You didn't want to admit muggleborns to Hogwarts."

Salazar was shaking his head in confusion when he appeared next. "Why in heaven's name would anyone think that was why I left?! Everyone was a muggleborn back then for all intents and purposes. We didn't have a government or established society to keep records. All of that was built up around the school. If we don't have a record of your ancestry, and many people hid their magic and wouldn't admit to it, then how the hell would we know someone's blood status? That only started being a thing once we had a government and records. I don't even know my birthday for Circe's sake, and no one I knew would have known theirs either. Records just weren't kept like they are these days. It was actually called the Dark Ages for a reason, you know."

"Oh…that makes sense," Harry thought that someone should definitely tell the Slytherin purebloods that, and he definitely would if he ever figured out a way he could. "Why did you leave then?"

"The wards," Slytherin said it like it should have been self-explanatory. "The other founders…led by that idiot Godric, wanted to make Hogwarts accessible to all magical beings, and I wanted them to only allow in admitted students, faculty, and approved guests. The other founders saw the school as fortress and last line of defense for all magical creature to escape to in case the muggles attacked. I argued that our only responsibility was to the students, and not everyone with magic."

"Ok…why?" Harry gave it some thought and figured that anyone magical must be able to cross the wards since Auror Shacklebolt had dropped off him and Ron the year before.

"Because…your possessed professor couldn't have entered your first year since his attached soul wouldn't have been approved to enter. I would wager that diary wouldn't have been able to cross the wards either. That troll would most assuredly would not have been able to get in. Right now any Death Eater or Voldemort supporter could wander in. The only ward keeping that from happening is one that blocks entrance to those with ill intent, but that is a very vague thing. Seriously, how do you determine what ill intent actually is? Is it physical harm, murder, just angry at another person, or if you really believed that killing someone was good for society, then that might not even count as ill intent," the man was ranting by the end.

Harry thought the man might be on to something at that. "Ok, is that what we'll be changing with the wards next year."

Salazar sighed in a tired way. "No, it would be too drastic of a change. We'll just be strengthening the old wards us founders set and supporting the new ones a little better."

"But…you're saying that if Sirius really did want to kill me because he thought it would be good for the wizarding world, then he could just wander in and…" Harry drew his finger across his neck dramatically.

Salazar appeared to nod at the teen. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Not that it would be easy since the school will be surrounded by dementors this year," he glowered at that. "Those creatures are vile! The only thing saving Dumbledore from having me murderously angry at him is that he vehemently argued against their use, but the idiotic minister overruled him. Frankly, with your godfather's animagus form, they really aren't that useful anyway."

Harry paled. He'd heard way too much about dementors from his parents and Poppy. Sirius was still too haunted to talk about his time at Azkaban. "That's not acceptable!" He finally fumed. "What's the ministry thinking?!"

"They aren't. They're just trying to cover their arses in case anything happens," the founder growled, reminding Harry of a very irate Snape. "Merlin only knows how they're going to react to you. You are not a normal wizard they would encounter."

"Hell no! I'm not going anywhere near a dementor to find out!" Harry protested in determination.

"That was actually what I was going to suggest, you dunderhead," Salazar said with more fondness than irritation. "You may want to learn the patronus charm; it repels them. It's an upper year spell though."

"I'll ask Poppy about it," Harry said with a grateful look. He definitely wanted to learn something that could repel what he was starting to think of as the boogeyman.

"You might not be able to cast it," Salazar appeared, looking at him assessingly. "It is a very light spell that is the essence of living magic."

Harry's smile fell. "Bollocks," he grumbled. "I stopped by Ollivander's today, and he said my magic is a 'kind of dead.' He was very vague about it, but said death magics would be easy for me…and to avoid them."

"Language!" The man appeared to give him a stern glare. "You're lucky I am not your mother. His conclusion does seem reasonable though."

"I think you're lucky you're not my mother," Harry smirked at him. "I'll try the spell, but I think you might be right that it'll be hard or impossible for me to cast."

Salazar shuddered at the boy's comment. "I will take my leave at that. Be good for your medi-witch woman."

"Don't fight with Professor Gryffindor!" Harry called as he heard the man grumbling while he disappeared to wherever the dead went when they weren't with him.

Harry's sides hurt from laughing as he took in the picture of the blond beauty in front of him. Sirius was not happy. "You're so cute!" Harry exclaimed between laughs as Sirius gave him a death glare.

"Yes…a massive improvement," Poppy smiled proudly at her excellent transfiguration.

Sirius's animagus form was still large but was now a sandy color and was covered in tight curls. Poppy had commented that she had always wanted a type of dog called a Labradoodle or something like that. "Importantly, now you won't shed," she remarked, having been beyond irritated since they moved in with the tufts of dark hair that would clump in various areas and stick to the furniture.

"Will it stick after he turns into a human again?" Harry asked as he tried to stop laughing, even Dobby was sniggering behind his hand from the doorway to the kitchen.

"No, I'll need to reapply it every time he transforms," the woman told them. "I know the spells now though, so it'll be quick. You said you're going to set him up in Slytherin's old chambers?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded as Sirius transformed back to a human. "You could pick him up in the mornings or teach me the spells."

"Probably a combination of both," she nodded.

"You aren't just going to leave me in the chambers?" Sirius asked in surprise. He seemed to think they were just going to get him into the castle and lock him up somewhere.

"Nonsense," Poppy scoffed. "You're improving mentally, but you need to be out and among people, even if it's as a dog, to make any lasting improvement in your mental health. I really wish we could get you in to see a more qualified mind-healer than myself."

"Yeah, and that would be seriously boring. You can't even chat with Sammy," Harry remarked. "At least now you'll get lots of pets and belly rubs," he broke down laughing again.

"I'd forgotten about the large snake," Sirius remarked with a wide-eyed stare. "No belly rubs though," he added with a shake of his head at his amused godson."

"Actually," Poppy smirked in a way they'd learned to be afraid of. "That's precisely your job description. You're registered as an emotional support animal to help in the infirmary to calm down patients and stressed students…so yes to belly rubs."

"Dobby reads about animals helping with mental health," the elf added into the conversation. "They's help ease anxiety, and students are very anxious for exams and when they's get injured."

"Will your old friend be able to recognize your scent?" Harry asked while he tried to think through anything they might encounter, and his godfather had told him that Mr. Lupin had an excellent sense of smell since he was a werewolf.

"His smell has changed," Poppy answered for the man. "He spent twelve years in Azkaban…that changed his body's physical processes and impacted his health enough that I would doubt Mr. Lupin would be able to recognize him by scent alone even if he were his own father."

"Oh," Sirius responded in concern for his own health at that. It was a bit shocking to hear, even if helpful to their situation.

Harry wrapped his arms around the tall man's middle. "We'll get you fixed up, don't worry," he said, giving the man a squeeze.

Sirius patted the teen's back in fear. He'd never hugged him before, and it was the best thing that had happened to him in twelve years. He was so worried he'd ruin the moment that he didn't even want to breathe. "Thank you," he breathed out when Harry pulled away, thanking him for so much more than the words.

"Right, packing," Poppy sternly cut through the silence. "Sirius and I are heading to Hogwarts tomorrow for me to set up the infirmary for the new term. Mr. Black, you need to pack up all your clothes and things into Harry's trunk. You'll be living as a dog in the infirmary with me until Harry gets to the school and can show you to your new rooms."

"You sure about being left alone with Dobby for a few days?" Sirius looked at the strange elf in concern.

"Course!" Harry beamed over at his elf friend. "We're going to have a blast!"

"Not too much of a blast," Poppy warned, not really thinking that they were going to do anything concerning though, knowing the two of them.

"Dobby will take care of everything and will takes Master Harry on time to the train," Dobby assured them all.

"And not block the entrance this year," Harry smirked accusingly over at the elf.

Dobby rolled his eyes. "No, and not blocks the barrier."

Poppy and Sirius promptly headed out to finish their last-minute packing, leaving Harry and Dobby alone in the sitting room. "Hey, there's something I want to talk to you about, Dobby," Harry leaned forward towards his friend.

"Yes, Master Harry?" Dobby asked and came over to sit on the couch as his master liked him to do, like a wizard and not an elf.

"Will you still have breakfast with me?" Harry asked him, really hoping he'd still get to see his friend if he was helping out in the infirmary all year. "I mean, I'll miss you if you're always in the hospital wing, and you know sometimes you forget to eat…could we still do breakfast?"

Dobby cocked his head and tried to figure out what his master was actually asking. "Master Harry worries about Dobby?" He finally concluded, causing Harry to nod enthusiastically. "If I's eat breakfast with master, it will lower master's anxiety?" He'd already determined that his master had some kind of anxiety disorder where people he cared about were concerned, and somehow Dobby had ended up on that list. He'd have to talk to the Hogwarts elves about it and explain the situation or they might be very concerned about him, but he thought it might be possible. The other elves would understand once they knew the situation.

"Yes, thank you Dobby!" Harry beamed at him so happily that Dobby felt like he'd served his master exceptionally well.

"Is there anything else, Master?" Dobby couldn't help himself smiling.

"Actually, yeah. I'm going to be really busy with keeping Sirius out of trouble and a project Professor Slytherin gave me," Harry told him. Dobby nodded, not remembering there being a Professor Slytherin at the school, but it must be a founder's descendant or something. "Could you help me keep an eye out for whoever Voldemort is possessing this year? It'll probably be a student since Mr. Lupin is the only new professor."

Dobby stared at him for a very long moment. "Of course, Master," he finally said with a slow nod.

Harry watched as Dobby made a notation in the small notebook he'd kept in his little toga since Harry had moved in. To Harry, it looked like he'd written paranoia. He really wanted to ask about it but figured that if it was 'paranoia' then he'd end up just confirming it and instead held his tongue. Regardless, his friend had agreed to help. "Thanks, Dobby," he said with a bemused shake of his head.

He really hoped Ginny was very far away from whoever ended up getting possessed this year. She'd seemed fine in her letters, but Harry still worried. Ron had been less than helpful, still not realizing exactly what happened to his sister the year before, just knowing that she was seeing Madam Pomfrey as a mind-healer. Harry had even reached out to Hermione to ask if she could do some research into how to determine if a person was possessed. He was not going to let any of his friends go as long as Ginny had with no one noticing that Voldemort was hanging out in their body.

Poppy and a large, grumpy Labradoodle with a collar that proudly proclaimed his name to be Snuffles left early the next morning by floo to Hogwarts. Harry and Dobby really didn't have any plans for the three days until Harry caught the train and Dobby reunited with Poppy in the infirmary. Hagrid stopped by on day two and ate dinner with them…probably as requested by Poppy, but besides that, they just hung out around the house. Dobby did help Harry with some of his potions work though. Harry had no clue he'd been chopping his ingredients wrong all this time as well as not measuring accurately enough.

Dobby insisted that Harry brew about half of the first-year potions during their three days alone, correcting him and offering help the whole time. Harry was certain he'd learned more in those three days about Potions than he had in his entire time with Snape. If he were being honest, part of that was the fact he ignored more than half of what his professor said since it was mostly all insults. He supposed there could have been some constructive remarks buried in the insults that he just didn't pay attention to.

James Potter had shown up on their second day of brewing and had appeared each time they entered Poppy's small lab in the basement after that, offering his own advice. It seemed that even though Harry's mum was better at Potions in general, she really didn't enjoy them much. It was Charms that was her passion. Harry's dad was the other way around. He was excellent at Transfiguration, but really did enjoy Potions even though he'd never be a master like Snape or even as talented as his wife. It didn't take Harry long to realize it had been his dad helping him out in Potions his first two years…his mum refused to help him during classes but did offer to help with his Charms essay if he read it out to her.

Because of all the help he'd gotten from his parents, Dobby, Poppy, and even a little from Sirius, Harry was much prouder of his homework than he ever had been at the end of the summer. Really, he hadn't even been allowed to do his homework until he got to the burrow the summer before, but now he had help and actually understood what he'd written.

Everything was set as the summer ended and Dobby helped him throw everything into his trunk. Harry was sad to have to leave Poppy's house. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to return the next semester and kept himself with great effort from even asking. He placed a hand on the door to his room, silently telling the room goodbye and thanking the house for the best summer of his entire life.

"Is the master ready?" Dobby asked while Harry stood there with a hand on the wood of the door.

"Yeah, Dobby," Harry sniffed and turned to his friend. "It was just a good summer, you know?"

Dobby took Harry's hand and gave it a little pat. "Dobby knows," he smiled at the teen. "Take a deep breath Master, we's going to apparate."

"It's my first time," Harry smiled down at him excitedly. "Ron said we were too young to side-along apparate last year."

Dobby nodded. "Yes, you's too young to side-along with a wizard. It's best to wait until fourteen or fifteen with wizards, but Dobby's an elf. You's safe with Dobby."

"I trust you, Dobby," Harry smiled at him and tightened his hold on his trunk, taking a deep breath and bracing himself before Dobby popped them away from Durham to Kings Cross.

Chapter Text

Harry quickly rushed onto the train since he and Dobby had timed it to get there right before the train left and avoid any awkward questions Harry might get from arriving with a former Malfoy house elf. He leaned out the closest window and waved to Dobby once the train started moving away from the station. "See you soon!" He called out while the little elf waved back at him from the platform before popping away. It was the first time Harry had someone there to see him off, and he promised himself that he'd get something really nice for his friend's Christmas present to show his appreciation.

It didn't take long for Harry to wander around and find the compartment Ron and Hermione had taken. He stopped at the door in disbelief when he saw just who was also in their compartment. "Is that the new DADA professor?" He whispered to avoid waking the sleeping man.

"Hey Harry!" Ron answered in a normal voice with a wave of greeting. "We've been talking since we got in and he hasn't woken up. You don't have to whisper. He must be extremely tired."

"His bag says R.J. Lupin on it, so maybe?" Hermione answered Harry's question, and he inwardly groaned again. He did not want to have to deal with Mr. Lupin so soon.

He sucked it up though and put his trunk in the overhead compartment, thanking Merlin for house elf lightening charms. "How were your summers? Have fun in Egypt, Ron?" He asked them both.

"It was brilliant, mate!" Ron began gushing about his trip and how they'd managed to shut Percy into a pyramid.

Harry turned assessing eyes from the very shabbily dressed werewolf to the scraggly looking rat in Ron's fist. An odd hissing sound was also coming out of a basket at Hermione's feet. "Oh, that's Crookshanks. I got him over the summer," Hermione lifted a corner of the basket to show a very large orange cat.

The cat immediately growled at Harry and tried to flatten itself into the back of the basket. He just nodded, that was a fairly common reaction to him for an animal. Really, he should have been more suspicious of Ron's rat that had never had any major reaction to him, obviously he wasn't a normal animal. "I don't think he likes me," Harry shrugged and sat beside the sleeping man.

"He'll come around. He doesn't like Ron's rat either," Hermione tried to comfort him with, but that was less than reassuring. "My summer was great though…"

Almost the entire train ride was spent with Hermione and Ron telling him stories about their summer adventures. They didn't even attempt to ask about his, which if he had been at the Dursleys' would normally have been a lot of nothing and cleaning and the like. He'd never told them that he had relocated since Madam Pomfrey was concerned it might get back to the wrong people, and he wasn't about to say anything now when they couldn't be absolutely positive the DADA professor wasn't faking being asleep. Since the werewolf hadn't reacted to his scent yet, Harry was fairly certain he probably was asleep, especially since there had been a full moon recently.

"Scabbers isn't looking too good," Harry commented, putting the first phase of Madam Pomfrey's plan into action. Thankfully, the rat actually did look pretty terrible, so it wasn't a stretch. "You might want to take him to see Hagrid. He could be missing some nutrients in his diet or something, and you know how good Hagrid is with animals."

"I got him some tonic in Diagon Alley," Ron looked at his pet in concern. "I don't think it's helping though…you're probably right. I'll take him to Hagrid in a day or two if he doesn't start looking better."

"He is very old," Hermione remarked, not wanting their friend to get his hopes up.

"Yeah…I guess so…" Ron stopped talking as the train began to grind to a halt. "What's happening? We can't be to the school yet."

The lights flickered off and the temperature seemed to drop drastically. "Harry? Hermione? You guys in here?" The door opened as Neville Longbottom stumbled in.

"Yeah, sit here," Hermione pulled him over to one of the seats. "I don't know what's happening. Did you hear anything Neville?"

"No, I just got caught out in the hallway when the lights went out," he explained.

"Shhh," Harry warned them, starting to get a bad feeling. He'd learned a lot about dementors over the summer, and as the temperature dropped more and the happiness seemed to be drained from his body, he was fairly positive he was about to meet one of the monsters that caused his godfather to wake up whimpering in the middle of the night.

The compartment door slowly slid open and a scaly, gray hand appeared, before a dark, hooded figure followed it into the room. The dementor looked over the clumped humans before stopping and turning to stare at Harry. He didn't really know how he could tell, but Harry was certain the dementor was looking at him in confusion. It was a long moment of nothing while they had a staring contest. The dementor had his hooded head focused towards Harry, and Harry just stared back. A pain started building in his chest over his heart that felt like something was slowly tearing.

"Expecto patronum!" a voice yelled before a silvery shield rose in front of Harry, pushing the dementor out of the compartment with an inhuman shriek.

It didn't take long after that before the lights came on and the train started moving again. The teens all looked up at the tall man, panting in the doorway. "Merlin! What was that?" Hermione gasped out.

"A dementor," Harry answered, clutching the spot on his chest that had hurt moments before.

"Chocolate," the man, Remus Lupin, said suddenly as he turned to his bag and pulled out a large bar. "Here, everyone take some. It helps with dementor effects."

He handed a piece to everyone until he came to Harry. The werewolf reached out with a chunk of chocolate before recoiling when Harry reached to take it. Harry knew that animals didn't like him and had even been prepared for his godfather's best friend to not have the best reaction, but the look of pure disgust on the man's face hurt more than he'd been prepared for. Harry pulled his hand back, trying not to look like he'd just been slapped.

"Here," Lupin seemed to shake himself and reached out, quickly putting the chocolate in Harry's hand, clearly not touching his skin.

"Why was there a dementor on the train?" Neville sniffed, seeming to still be trying to get over the negative feelings the monster had brought to the forefront of his mind.

"Looking for Sirius Black, I'm sure," Ron commented. "Dad said the ministry has gotten everyone looking for him, even Dad who's the farthest thing possible from an auror."

"I'm going to go talk to the conductor," Lupin remarked before standing and striding out of the compartment without a backwards glance.

"What's his problem?" Ron scoffed after their professor.

Ron had become very protective of his friend who was more than a little eccentric. He didn't like the new DADA professor's reaction when he saw Harry and then the look he'd had on his face. Harry was smart, but he wasn't quite…all there, and Ron blamed his relatives. Sometimes Harry would just stop in the hallways and stand there nodding occasionally with a faraway look in his eyes, sometimes he would give people this knowing look like he knew much more about them than he should, and that wasn't even scratching the surface of Harry's belief that he was literally dead. Harry's relatives had to be pretty messed up to cause his friend to actually believe he was dead. He couldn't do much to help over the summer, but he could definitely make sure no one hurt him when they were at school, and he was sure this new DADA professor was going to be a problem.

"Don't know, don't care," Harry shrugged, not fooling any of his friends. "Did anyone have a pain in their chest when that dementor was here? I hadn't heard of that as an effect before."

"Er…no," Neville responded slowly. "It just felt like I'd never be happy again…"

"Oh, Nev. I'm sorry," Harry moved to the other side of the compartment and put his arms around his dormmate. He felt partially responsible for the dementors' presence since he was harboring the fugitive they were looking for, and Neville already had a hard time of it since he was so stressed all the time.

"Er…thanks?" Neville awkwardly patted Harry's arm. They weren't exactly hugging-type friends, but it had always helped Harry when his mum gave him phantom hugs after he'd had an exceptionally bad day, so he figured it might help Neville too.

Frankly, Harry really needed a hug too. As soon as the train stopped and the, more silent than usual, teens disembarked, Harry hurried over to where Hagrid was collecting the first years and wrapped himself around the man's side as much as possible since his friend was so large. "Harry? You ok?" Hagrid put his large hand on Harry's back and rubbed it comfortingly, concern lining his face.

"Dementors," the teen grumbled into the rough fabric his face was pressed into.

"Merlin!" The large man exclaimed. "Did you all have dementors on the train?!" He asked the whole group of students in front of him.

"Yeah…they were searching for Sirius Black," a prefect answered him while also comforting a sniffling first year.

"Look at Potty, falling apart on the half-breed," what was unmistakably Malfoy's drawl sounded from the platform. "OW!" was the indignant yell it was followed with. "Who did that?! I'll have you expelled!"

No one admitted to the stinging hex the blond had been hit with, but Harry saw Cedric Diggory suspiciously putting his wand back in a pocket behind the Slytherin. Harry backed away from Hagrid with a smile on his face now. Malfoy's words couldn't hurt him, he was already marked as not worth his time, but he still appreciated someone taking up for him.

"Righ' anyone else need a hug?" Hagrid looked around with a cross between concern and amusement on his face. To his extreme surprise, about five first years rushed forward and grabbed onto him; they seemed to feel better about needing some support when the older Boy-Who-Lived trusted this man. "Those dement'rs are terrible. I have some limited experience with them myself. You've nothing to feel bad about," he patted the back of each first year in turn.

"Now, carriages for you older ones and boats for the first years. Let's get you all to the castle and some chocolate in your system," Hagrid instructed them, getting everyone moving once more.

Madam Pomfrey and Snuffles, the new emotional support dog, were already standing outside the castle. The medi-witch had a basket in her hand and looking like she was going to hex the Minister of Magic himself when the carriages arrived while Snuffles ran around nudging any student who looked distressed to offer head scratches. "Alright everyone, step up and take some chocolate before you go in!" She yelled out to the students as they emerged from the carriages.

"Dementors…really? How incompetent can the ministry get?" She grumbled to herself as she handed the individually wrapped bars to everyone. "I didn't even believe it when Siobhan sent one of the emergency owls ahead."

"Who's Siobhan?" Harry asked as he took his piece of chocolate.

"The trolley lady," Poppy turned eyes full of concern on him. "You ok? Feeling strange at all?"

"I had a pain here when the dementor entered the compartment," Harry rubbed his chest. "But it's gone now, and I feel fine."

"Hmm, stop by after the feast. I'll check you over," she ordered him. He'd been planning to stop by and pick-up Sirius anyway, but this did give him a better excuse than whatever he might have come up with. Besides, her scans always just said he was dead anyway.

"Snuffles, head over to the first years and check on them. Be generous with the belly rubs!" She told the dog sternly. With a departing nudge to his godson, Padfoot quickly trotted over to where the first-years would be disembarking from the boats.

"Snuffles! Who was a good emotional support doggy?!" Harry gave the dog his godfather was disguised as a large hug when he ran into the infirmary after the welcome feast, playing up the baby-talk significantly. "You ready to head to your new rooms?" He asked.

The dog licked him on the face and bounded around the room, not seeming to mind that he was being treated like an actual dog. "He's really missed you," Poppy commented, giving her hyper houseguest a long-suffering look. "Wait for a second while I give you a quick scan after what happened on the train."

Sirius whined in a concerned question while looking between them, not having heard about the pain in Harry's chest. "Is Master Harry alright?" Dobby hurried in from Poppy's office, having heard what the woman said as well.

"I'm fine, there was just a dementor on the train looking for Sirius," Harry sighed and stood still as the medi-witch cast a diagnostic at him.

She frowned in frustration and Harry just shrugged. "Let me guess, it just says the same thing as it always does?"

"Yes, and nothing seems different with your heart," she sighed.

"The master's heart?" Dobby asked. If Dobby hadn't asked the question, it looked like Sirius would have changed back in order to, he was so concerned.

Harry rubbed the place on his chest. "It hurt right here when the dementor stopped by our compartment. I don't know why though…no one else said their chest hurt."

"For now, keep away from the dementors as much as possible," Madam Pomfrey instructed. "And let me know if it happens again as soon as it happens."

"Yes ma'am…also, Scabbers does actually look terrible, so it was easy to convince Ron to take him to Hagrid. Could you give Hagrid a heads up if you see him before me?" Harry informed the woman. "It's probably stress since Sirius is free and supposedly out to get him."

"Good, I'll feel much better when that Death Eater is contained and no longer wandering around the school," she said while Sirius growled in agreement.

"Right, follow me, Snuffles!" Harry laughed as Sirius followed along behind him down to the dungeons.

They stopped in front of the suit of armor and Harry smiled. "Godric's hair looks like a dead rat."

As soon as they were in the chambers, Sirius transformed back and laughed loudly. "How in Merlin's name did you ever figure out that password."

"Sammy told me," Harry said the lie Salazar had told him to use. "He won't bother you if you stay here in the chambers, but don't go down that hallway until I can have a chat with him." Harry pointed to the corridor that led to the basilisk's lair.

"Noted…don't go down the corridor of death," Sirius shuddered with a look down the long hallway.

"Please, you'll love Sammy once you get to know him," Harry rolled his eyes. "Now let me show you around. Remember, Poppy will come by on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays to do your transfiguration, and I'll be by on Wednesdays and Thursdays. You get Dobby on Fridays and Saturdays unless something comes up. Sound good?"

"Yeah…sorry I'm so much trouble, pup," Sirius sighed sadly at his godson. He should be taking care of the teen, not the other way around.

"Oh please, Ron and Hermione inform me all the time that I'm seriously high-maintenance. You have nothing on me," Harry laughed. "Now, it's almost curfew, let me show you around before I have to run back to the tower."

"This is ridiculous! All I see is soggy tea leaves," Ron grumbled in frustration while he looked in Harry's cup during their first ever Divination class.

Harry was doing his best to decipher the soggy leaves in Ron's cup as well. Professor Slytherin had wanted him to assess the Divination professor to see if she was a competent instructor, and he was taking his job very seriously. He made a couple notes about the predictions she'd already made about Neville breaking his cup and that something would happen that Lavender dreaded. The results were inconclusive, the Lavender one would be hard to prove, and everyone knew that Neville would break a cup. The heavy incense of the room and oppressive smell definitely got a negative tick on his parchment for unpleasant learning environment.

"Here, child. Let me take a look," Professor Trelawney said mistily to Ron as she took Harry's cup to inspect.

Harry surreptitiously pulled his parchment over to make a note of whatever it was she said for Professor Slytherin. The woman dramatically paled. "Oh dear…it's the grim," she breathed out.

"Er…the death omen?" Harry almost smiled as he made a positive tick in her favor on his parchment. "Can I see it?"

Ron looked terrified across from Harry. "The worst death omen," he remarked while Professor Trelawney showed Harry what looked like a soggy squiggle in the cup.

"Wouldn't all death omens be terrible?" Hermione scoffed, making Harry jump since he hadn't realized she was sitting beside him for some reason.

"Oh dear…I'm very sorry," the professor turned concerned eyes on Harry who just shrugged. "I think here is a good place to end our class today," she placed Harry's cup down and patted him on the shoulder, looking like she expected him to drop dead any moment. Harry wasn't concerned, he thought the same thing about himself anyway.

Everyone from Divination had to rush to get to Transfiguration that was in a completely different part of the castle. At least they got good exercise throughout the day. It was a decidedly morose class that settled in for Professor McGonagall's lecture though. They didn't even perk up when she transformed from a cat back into a human.

"All right, class, what's wrong? Why do you all look like someone's died?" The professor shook her head at the upset third years.

"Professor Trelawney saw the grim in Harry's teacup," Ron spoke up from the assembled class, still looking at his friend in concern.

"Pssh!" McGonagall dismissively scoffed. "That woman predicts the death of at least one student every year and we haven't lost one yet. Last year I think it was Cedric Diggory, and he's still alive and playing quidditch!"

Harry immediately pulled out his parchment again and wrote down that information. He hadn't really gotten to know the older teen yet, but he was hoping they'd become friends, and he didn't want anything to happen to him. McGonagall turned to Harry as the class seemed to perk up a little more. "Mr. Potter, I guarantee you, you're just as safe as everyone else in this castle. Now, can we start talking about Transfiguration?!"

Hermione still looked incensed at their Divination class when they left Transfiguration, not having calmed down in the slightest. "That woman's a fraud and should be fired for predicting a student's death!"

"Eh, she's not wrong though," Harry chuckled. "Besides, I think she's brilliant. You realize, it took her only like three seconds of looking at my teacup to figure out I'm dead…Dumbledore still hasn't realized it!"

"Harry, you aren't dead," Hermione scoffed, heading off on a rant at Trelawney again. "She should be ashamed of herself for worrying a student!"

"I'm not worried though," Harry cut in while Ron seemed to be hovering closer to him than normal. "Besides death omen or not, it makes perfect sense for her to see a grim in my teacup. I mean seriously, that's my wand core anyway. She could have just seen that I was going to use my wand in my next class…which I did."

"Your…what, mate?" Both Ron and Hermione stopped in the corridor and stared at him. "Did you just say your wand core was a grim?"

"Hairs from a grim actually," Harry nodded and tugged on Ron's arm to get them walking again. He was hungry and wanted to get to lunch. "Ollivander was all creepy about it when he gave it to me, but I think that's the aesthetic the man goes for."

"But…that's…" Neither Ron nor Hermione were able to finish that sentence.

"What I am worried about is that she predicted Cedric's death," Harry explained with a frown. "I met him officially over the summer, and he seems nice. Did you catch that he hexed Malfoy at the Hogsmead platform?"

"Harry…I'm positive that nothing is going to happen to Cedric Diggory," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Now…how did you meet a fifth year over the summer when you were in Surrey?"

"Oh! I still haven't told you!" Harry realized he hadn't found the time to tell them about his summer yet. "I ran away from home this summer! It was brilliant! Best summer ever!"

"You what?!" Both of his friends stopped in the hallway to almost shout at him.

"Er, yeah, there was this whole thing with me blowing up my Aunt Marge, so the Dursleys' house was no longer safe for me," Harry awkwardly shuffled his feet. "So, I took the bus to Madam Pomfrey's house."

"You stayed with Madam Pomfrey this summer?" Ron asked with wide eyes. "I'd ask how you knew where she lived, but I think you spend more time in the infirmary than the common room."

"Er, yeah, well your family was in Egypt and Hermione was traveling too, so it seemed the best place to go. She taught me how to play poker," Harry added on with embarrassment at the end.

"Merlin, Harry! I knew your house wasn't a good place when we picked you up for second year, but I didn't know it was that bad," Ron looked ashamed that he hadn't been there when Harry needed him.

Harry just shrugged though. "It's no big deal. It's not like I'm not used to it, but I didn't really think it best to die again, so I made alternate arrangements."

Neither teen seemed to be able to figure out how to decipher that comment from what they believed to be Harry's delusion into real life, so they just looked at each other in concern and let it go. "Hey, you guys meet the new emotional support dog in the infirmary yet? Madam Pomfrey got him over the summer, and he's awesome!" Harry changed the subject as they headed towards the Great Hall again.

"No, but I did see a large, sandy colored dog wandering around when we got out of the carriages," Hermione noted.

"Right, you all ready?" Professor Lupin smiled at all the nervous students as they waited for him to open the door to the boggart they would be facing.

Harry was very concerned about where Hermione was since she still hadn't shown up for DADA class. Second to that, he was also concerned about what his boggart was going to be. He didn't think it'd be Voldemort, the man really was ridiculous…seriously, he'd possessed someone two years in a row, pick a new strategy. A dementor was his next guess, but besides making his chest hurt, the one on the train had frankly been less traumatizing than Lupin looking at him like he was pond scum. As his classmates faced the creature, there were clowns, mummies, Neville's Professor Snape dressed as his grandmother, and Ron's ginormous spider that really was a bit terrifying even though Harry had no fear of spiders at all, and then it was his turn.

Professor Lupin stepped forward just as Harry did; he thought the professor might stop him from facing the boggart, but the man recoiled again as soon as he got close to Harry, stepping back either consciously or subconsciously. Harry frowned and strode forward in determination to deal with whatever was about to happen. The boggart began to change in front of him, and his hand tightened on his wand, ready for anything.

The class looked on in confusion. As one, they all looked at the familiar redhead in front of Harry over to the Ron Weasley standing to the side of the room. Harry looked confused himself…then boggart-Ron stepped forward.

"You're such a freak!" Boggart-Ron spat at Harry. "I can't believe I ever agreed to be your friend. Your family was right, you don't deserve friends! You should be locked up, keep the rest of us from being subjected to all your freakishness!"

Harry had frozen in the midst of boggart-Ron's rants. He didn't seem able to move while he paled and tears began to fall from his eyes. "You shouldn't be here…Hogwarts isn't for the likes of you…" The boggart continued. "You should have died with your parents. No one wants you…no one needs you. You're a disgrace as a wizard and a human being… Are you even a human being?!"

Professor Lupin took a step forward but wasn't a fast as the real Ron Weasley. He slammed into Harry, pushing him to the side, leaving him standing in front of himself. There was a pause…they all waited for the spider to appear again…boggart-Ron remained as he sneered over to where Harry was picking himself up from the ground. The real Ron raised his wand, "Riddikulus!" He almost gasped out, and his boggart form was wearing a pink-frilly dress that completely clashed with his red hair. Finally, catching up, Professor Lupin stepped forward and forced the boggart back into its cabinet with a spell.

"I think that's all for today," the man said, sadness lining his eyes...the second class of Harry's that ended early because of him that week.

Ron stepped over to Harry and put a hand out to help him up, this look in his eyes like he wouldn't blame Harry for a second if he pushed the hand aside. Instead, Harry just reached up and took the offered hand. "Thanks, Ron," he sniffed and slid his wand back into its holster on his wrist.

"Are you all right?" Professor Lupin turned to them while the rest of the class filed out of the room.

"Yeah…sorry I froze like that," Harry shrugged, looking anywhere except for at the man. "Why didn't the boggart change back for Ron?" He asked.

Professor Lupin just turned to look at Ron in confusion at that question. "I don't know…It should have as soon as Mr. Weasley approached it."

"Harry…I think I have a new worst fear," Ron turned sad but knowing eyes on his friend. "My worst fear is that I'll become your worst fear…mate, that was horrifying! I don't think a word of what that monster said, you know that, right? I want to be your friend. Meeting you on the train before first year was one of the best things to ever happen to me."

"Oh…yeah, I know it wasn't really you. You know that'll never happen," Harry tried to assure him quickly. "That was just…"

"No, Harry…that's…I understand," Ron finally got out with an awkward pat to Harry's back. "Hey, let's go get lunch, ok? We need to track down Hermione too, yeah?"

"Yeah, you're right," Harry nodded and followed his friend. Professor Lupin let them go, not stopping them or saying a word.

"If I were alive, I'd curse Remus with every single curse I know, light or dark," James Potter growled behind Harry who was walking to the dungeons to check in on Sirius before curfew.

"Why? He hasn't done anything yet," Harry frowned as his father appeared, stalking angrily through the corridor beside him.

"He hasn't talked to you!" The man almost growled. "You've been here a week and he hasn't asked how you've been, told you that he was friends with me, or even checked in after the boggart incident. Also, you're lucky it was me and not Lily sitting in on that class or you'd have learned some swear words you've never heard before. Really? Boggarts for third years! That's a little much."

"He's just settling in," Harry shrugged, not wanting to tell him about the man's reaction on the train. He didn't think someone should be judged just yet by a first impression that might have been involuntary, though he was leaning more and more towards firmly placing the man on his not-worth-his-time list. "I'm sure he'll stop me to chat after class in the next week or two anyway."

"I'm allowed to be angry at my git friend who isn't treating my son well!" he continued to fume.

"It's not like he was my godfather or a relative anyway," Harry just sighed.

"Speaking of guardians…what did you ever figure out for your Hogsmeade form?" James was now walking backwards in front of Harry. "You really need to experience Hogsmeade. It's one of my favorite things from my time at school. I could try to teach you to forge my signature, but I doubt anyone would take that for multiple reasons."

Harry stopped in the hallway. He had completely forgotten the form in the chaos of escaping Privet Drive and meeting his godfather and all. He closed his eyes and groaned. "I forgot…"

Harry now dejectedly slumped through the dungeons and into Professor Slytherin's chambers. He dramatically flopped onto the couch with a sigh while Sirius and Madam Pomfrey looked on in amusement from where they were eating a late dinner provided for them by Dobby. "What's the drama for?" Sirius chuckled at his godson's antics.

"I forgot the Hogsmeade form," Harry groaned. "My relatives wouldn't sign it, but now I can't go. You couldn't sign it, could you, Poppy?" He looked up over the back of the couch hopefully.

"I'm not your parent or guardian," she shook her head sadly. It really was important that the students be able to leave the castle for a bit. She hated he wasn't allowed.

"I'll sign it," Sirius put down his cup and smirked at Harry. "I can't actually take custody of you because I'm a fugitive, but since I never had a trial, I am still your legal guardian. It's a strange gray area we're in…but they'd have to let you go."

"Yeah, and how am I going to explain having found my fugitive godfather who is rumored to want me dead and made him sign a permission form for me?" Harry raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Oh please, no one reads those forms," Sirius smirked. "They just get thrown in an anti-forgery box that spits them out if they aren't legit. I guarantee you, McGonagall won't ever actually look at the signature, plus, my signature is so messy that I doubt she'd be able to read what it said anyway."

Harry smiled broadly at that. "I'll bring it by in the morning!" He grinned happily.

"Besides that, how was your day?" Poppy asked with a head shake at the two she was now stuck with for better or worse.

"Ergh! I hate boggarts," Harry groaned dramatically and flopped back on the couch again.

Remus Lupin was sitting in his first faculty meeting of the term and both very interested and a little let down at what all happened on the faculty side of education, having only ever been a student before. It was interesting to hear all his coworkers' thoughts about the students, but they'd also spent a really long time talking about new school brooms and who was going to do night patrol and when. Nothing had been quite as he thought it would be when he agreed to teach for the year. The dementors for one were really bringing down everyone's mood, and his job turned out to be more paperwork than actually interacting with students.

His boggart lesson had gone very well…well, except for the end. He'd known that it was a possibility that a student would have a serious fear instead of the normal childhood ones of spiders or clowns, but he hadn't really expected the horrible things that had been said to Harry Potter or understood where they must have come from in the child's mind. Honestly, after James and Lily's deaths, he hadn't really given the boy much thought over the years. He was a cute baby, but he'd been promptly carted off to live with his relatives, and Remus had his own life and picking up the pieces from losing all his friends to deal with. Something was very off about that child though…he smelled, dark. It was like he was decaying almost…but that wasn't it either, it was more like…a curse…he just couldn't put his finger, or rather his nose, on it.

"I heard you had an interesting lesson with the third years," Madam Pomfrey turned to him, a look of disapproval on her face. Severus Snape glowered at him too, but probably for very different reasons since the man dressed as Madam Longbottom had been a favorite point of gossip since the incident.

"Yes, the third years were very successful in handling their boggart," he nodded while both Pomfrey and the dog that always seemed to follow her around looked at him with narrowed eyes; it was very disconcerting.

"If you are going to conduct a lesson that has the potential to mentally scar the children under my care, I will require you in the future to speak with me first…and I will tell you not to do it," the woman looked scary, and even as a werewolf, Remus was taken aback.

"Really, Poppy. It was just a boggart," Dumbledore chuckled and shuffled a stack of parchment beside him distractedly.

"Just a boggart…" She now turned the scary look on the headmaster. The rest of the professors all seemed to be trying to disappear in their seats and got deadly silent. "Headmaster Dumbledore, where did you get your degree in mind-healing?" She asked in an even tone. "I don't remember seeing that listed among your achievements."

Dumbledore stopped messing with the papers and looked up at the medi-witch in confusion. "Poppy…"

"Oh yes, you don't have that degree…my mistake," she frowned at him. "Now, I have a student taking dreamless sleep because clowns are attacking them every night in their dreams, one that has been sleeping in their common room because their fear was inferi grabbing them from under their bed, and Harry Potter…who should not have had to listen to his best friend telling him he was a worthless freak in front of all his classmates. He's being bullied by a few of the other students about it now. So, I will have to respectfully disagree with you on this matter."

Lupin blanched. He'd debated if thirteen was too young for a boggart, but third year was meant to focus on creatures. It'd made sense to have it in the curriculum. "But, Madam Pomfrey, my worry was the older students would have even more serious fears."

"Then you could have requested I attend your class to talk with the students before and after…to prepare them for facing their worst fear in the middle of a classroom filled with their peers," she crossed her arms and still looked murderous. The dog gave a supportive yip behind her like he understood every word she'd just said.

"Is Mr. Potter really being bullied?" Professor McGonagall asked in concern. "I haven't heard of this. That seems extreme…"

The medi-witch raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "He was bullied all last year because of his Parseltongue ability," she shook her head, knowing her coworker hadn't done anything then as well. She really liked Minerva, but the woman was just too busy to be a good head of house. "This is not nearly as extreme as last year, but there are two or three students who have been giving him a hard time about it and his reaction to the dementors on the train."

"Why the hell were there dementors on the train anyway?!" Severus Snape surprisingly spoke up to growl at the headmaster. "I had to sit up with inconsolable first years that first night…I do not handle crying well…"

"Ah, they were looking for Sirius Black. I'm sure you understand the gravity of the situation," Dumbledore tried to explain to the group who were all frowning mutinously at him.

"An auror couldn't have done that?" Pomona Sprout scoffed in disbelief. "Isn't that their job?"

"I want my professional opinion formally noted that dementors should not be placed around the school for students' mental and physical well-being," Poppy told Flitwick who was taking the notes for the meeting.

"Noted," he nodded as he jotted it down.

"That was not my decision," Dumbledore protested quickly. "It was the ministry…"

"That doesn't mean the ministry aren't idiots," Snape growled again, really not liking dementors after his brief stint of a week in Azkaban before he was cleared of all charges after the war.

Dumbledore sighed tiredly as the meeting devolved into chaos while the teachers all complained about the dementors, the ministry, the funding for the year, the state of the school brooms, Peeves, the textbook options at Flourish and Blotts, and many, many more things.

Chapter Text

"Freak!"

"Freak!" Harry stumbled when Crabbe and then Malfoy slammed into him from behind on the way into the Great Hall for breakfast.

A firm hand grabbed a hold of Harry's elbow and steadied him. "You ok, Harry?" A concerned Cedric Diggory looked down at him with kind, chocolate-colored eyes. He then turned an angry glare towards Malfoy's retreating form that was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Yeah, hey Cedric," Harry grinned up at the fifth year like the encounter with the Slytherins hadn't even happened. "My boggart from DADA class has been the source of some amusement throughout the castle it seems."

The Hufflepuff looked even more concerned at that statement. "I heard about what happened from a couple third year 'puffs talking in the common room. That's really not right. Have you talked to your head of house?"

Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What's she going to do? She didn't do anything last year when everyone thought I was the heir of Slytherin…and that just turned out to be a prank and a weird interaction with the wards."

Madam Pomfrey had finally explained that was the official story she'd told Dumbledore to protect Ginny Weasley. Ginny had eventually told her parents what happened, but they had thought it best to keep it from her siblings until she had more space from the trauma. Her brothers weren't the most sympathetic of siblings. Supposedly, Dumbledore had spent most of the summer trying to figure out what the wards had done to petrify people…Harry did feel a bit bad about that. Salazar Slytherin found it all very hilarious though and spent long hours filling Harry in on the headmaster's failure and confusion.

"Besides," Harry added on with a shrug. "It's not really a big deal, and it keeps them from messing with Neville who had it bad for a bit the first day or two. I think Snape might have had a hand in discouraging that though," Harry couldn't help an amused smirk at the end.

"Oh," the teen didn't seem to know how to respond as a frown darkened his features. He seemed to really disagree about it not being a big deal. "Er, where are your friends then?"

"Ron and Hermione? They're on their way, but Hermione was checking over Ron's Potions essay last minute," he grinned more broadly. "Hey, how about that quidditch game you promised? This weekend?"

"Sure, Sunday?" Cedric offered with a small smile blooming. "That way I have Saturday to brush up some."

Harry laughed and nodded. "You better…I'm not going easy on you. Let's do it after lunch then."

"See you, Harry," Cedric gave him a parting smile before entering the hall and heading towards his house table.

Harry grinned the whole way over to the Gryffindor table. As soon as he sat down, Harry jumped when Dobby popped onto the bench beside him. "Dobby! You scared me!"

"Master Harry scares too easily," the elf smirked as Harry pushed the eggs over to him.

"Er…hi?" Neville looked between the two from across the table and greeted/asked. Not many people had noticed Dobby joining the Gryffindor table in the wake of Lockhart's fall from his pedestal the last term, so it was the first time Dobby was officially and noticeably joining the table for breakfast.

"Dobby meet Neville; Neville meet Dobby," Harry waved between the two before loading his plate with enough bacon for himself and Hedwig when she would invariably show up and steal it.

"Master Neville," Dobby nodded in greeting to the other teen before stealing a piece of Harry's bacon himself.

"Hi…er, Dobby," Neville seemed extremely confused. Harry just shrugged and got more bacon since Hedwig was already fluttering down with the rest of the mail.

"Hey, Mr. Dobby!" Hermione sat beside Neville while Ron joined Harry. "Good to see you again. Have a good summer?"

"Yes, thank you, Mistress Hermy," Dobby gave her a tight smile. "Master, gives Dobby you's essay," he held out his little hand with a stern look until Harry pulled his Potions essay out of his bag and handed it over with a sigh.

"I really don't see why I even need Potions," Harry grumbled but stopped at the joined death glares of Hermione and Dobby.

"You's grammar is atrocious," Dobby complained while he skimmed over it.

Harry snorted in disbelief. "Seriously?! You're one to talk!"

Dobby turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "Just because house elvses have their own dialect doesn't mean Dobby doesn't know how wizards speak."

"Sorry," Harry blushed sheepishly and tried to hide behind his owl who nipped his finger reproachfully. "I'll, er, try to do better…"

This comment led to an extensive discussion as Hermione started to interrogate Dobby about the house elf dialect while he marked up Harry's essay for him to correct before his afternoon class. Dobby and Hermione were so distracted they didn't notice Headmaster Dumbledore stop in surprise on his way past the Gryffindor table towards the teacher's table. The headmaster stared at the house elf in the midst of the Gryffindors in confusion, it seemed like he was trying to figure out if house elves actually attended the school now and he'd just missed the memo.

Harry smiled at the elderly man and gave him a little wave. "Good morning, sir," Harry beamed and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice before also pouring one for Dobby.

"Good morning, my boy," Dumbledore shook his head and lowly chuckled before continuing on his trek to the head table. "Never have I seen…well, I suppose it's perfectly fine…really, it does seem a learning opportunity…" Dumbledore muttered to himself while he passed the rest of the students at the table.

"It seems I've picked up a new Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow questioningly to the headmaster when he sat down.

"It's brilliant, don't you think?!" The man twinkled in joy over at his deputy headmistress. "I've never seen the like."

"I should go see what's going on," the woman stood with a stern expression. She was stopped when the headmaster reached out and patted her arm.

"Now, now Minerva. Let's just see what they all do next. You know house elves, if you question it, he may stop what he's doing, and I for one, would love to see where this goes," the headmaster looked positively mischievous in his glance over towards the Gryffindors at this remark.

"It's on your head if anything untoward happens," she sniffed and sat back down to her breakfast.

"As it always is," he nodded sagely.

"Oh, dear, I really do need to head out to Arithmancy!" Hermione stood up quickly from the Gryffindor table when she realized the time. "I don't want to be late."

"But Hermione, we have Care of Magical Creatures first," Ron reminded her while trying to frantically eat the last of his breakfast.

"Er, oh, yes, right…I er, just need to stop and say something to my Arithmancy professor…then I'll meet you for class," Hermione rushed out with a shifty look towards the door. Harry narrowed his eyes at his friend who rushed out of the Great Hall. Something was going on, and he wasn't sure what, but he was concerned.

Thankfully Hagrid was teaching Care of Magical Creatures and was really good at knowing which animals would respond negatively to Harry and which were more likely to be calm in the face of death. The hippogriff lesson was brilliant, but Harry was just sad he'd had to stay in the back of the class and not interact with the magnificent creature. None of Harry's classmates had a very warm welcome from the creature regardless, and since things weren't going very positively, Hagrid stayed close and made sure there were no injuries at least.

Harry was excited for the very first time as History of Magic began. He gave Hermione another suspicious look when she seemed to disappear from where they had been walking together back up towards the castle and reappear in the classroom before they got there, she also didn't seem to have a good excuse for how that happened. But Harry had to push all that aside for now…he was on a mission from Professor Slytherin himself.

He still wasn't sure how to get rid of Professor Binns, but he smiled in glee when a young woman appeared beside him with long, dark hair in a braid and wearing simple gray robes and a disapproving look on her face. "I can't believe my husband is still stuck on his goblin obsession," she sniffed while Binns began droning on about a goblin named Henric the Horrible.

"Hello, dear," she glanced down to Harry when she became visible again. "I'm Madam Binns, please excuse my young appearance…I was not in good health when I died and choose to look like my younger self in the afterlife," she informed him.

Harry was surprised the spirits could choose how they looked, but figured it made a kind of sense for those who were exceptionally old or not in good health when they passed. He couldn't say any of that in the middle of class though, so he just looked pointedly at the ghostly professor and shrugged to tell the woman he didn't know what to do.

"Yes, well, getting my husband to crossover is probably going to be difficult. He seems very comfortable in his position here," she said thoughtfully. "I suppose we're just going to have to make him less comfortable…"

She just kept nodding while Harry looked at her questioningly. "Yes…that's the way to go. Now, Cuthbert is very set in his ways…let's shake him up a bit. You're to ask the questions I tell you to, right boy?"

Harry nodded slowly, thinking this was not going to go over well with his classmates…or the ghost. The woman relayed her question before Harry tentatively raised his hand. The students around him all looked in confusion and shock that someone would actually attempt to ask a question while the ghost kept droning on, not even realizing there was a hand raised.

"Excuse me, sir," Harry eventually called out when his hand was getting tired. "I have a quick question."

Professor Binns stopped almost mid-sentence and look out at the class dazedly in abject confusion. "A question?" He asked like that was something that never happened in classes.

Harry could strongly believe why Professor Slytherin thought he needed to crossover. "Yes, sir. Isn't there a theory that Henric the Horrible was actually a dark wizard that transfigured himself to look like a goblin and therefore pass his actions off on their nation?"

Binns cleared his throat, which Harry thought was strange for a ghost to do. "Er, well, yes, child…but that theory is largely unsubstantiated. It was only in Rosenfeld's Anthology…not the most respected."

Harry nodded to Madam Binns's instructions. "Yes, but Rosenfeld did live for a decade with the goblins whereas Philemus, where you are getting your information, never interacted with a goblin in his life. Isn't that correct?"

Hermione was gaping at Harry looking a mix of scandalized, proud of him, and also very confused. "Well…that's…not incorrect," Binns squinted at Harry, his eyes finally widening when he saw whatever all the other ghosts saw when they looked at the dead student. They'd never explained it to him, but Harry knew that whatever they saw was enough to mark him as very different from the other students.

Madam Binns was on a roll, so Harry just followed along in her wake at this point. "Also, during the same time as Henric the Horrible's rebellion, wasn't there also an attempt to start a werewolf nation that was suppressed by the ministry? The werewolf nation would have completely changed the makeup of our society and the bloody suppression on the part of the ministry successfully turned the newly autonomous nation into a discriminated class of untouchables. Isn't this important information that should be included in with Henric's unsuccessful rebellion…or a dark wizard trying to suppress yet another species around the same time by framing them could fit in with the ideals of the time and lend important context to what was happening?"

Binns sputtered and fumbled with his ghostly glasses. "That's…well…" his gaze turned back to Harry and narrowed once more. "Meredith," he hissed out lowly to everyone's confusion.

The spirit beside Harry smirked proudly down at the medium though. "He's finally figured it out, has he?" She chuckled. "My Cuthbert never was the most receptive to a lively academic debate."

"Detention…for disrupting class, Mr…Peters?" Professor Binns sputtered out, trying to find Harry's name on the class roll sitting on the desk in front of him. "You will report to Mr…Pringle? Er, whoever is the caretaker now this evening."

"Yes sir…but what about the werewolf nation?" Harry asked innocently while Meredith Binns roared in laughter beside him.

It only took until the class walked downstairs to dinner before the rumor of Harry Potter getting detention from none other than Professor Binns, who hadn't given anyone detention in the memory of the student body, became common knowledge. A Weasley twin shoved their brother and Neville out of the way to sit on either side of Harry while he made a sandwich out of the roast on the table in front of him.

"Hey guys…" Harry said suspiciously to the twins who looked back at him with large, dangerous grins.

"Harrikins, there's a rumor…"

"That you've accomplished something…"

"That even the two masters before you have never been able to…"

"How did you Harry?"

"How did you finally push Binns over the edge to give a detention?"

Harry shrugged. "I just asked a question." He was having to studiously ignore his father who was laughing manically from behind Hermione on the other side of the table.

"Not even the Marauders were able to get Binns to give us a detention! Sirius even mooned him once, but I don't think the man even noticed!" James Potter added in with glee. Lily seemed to be there too, but she only appeared to give her husband a large eyeroll before disappearing again.

"No…you had to have done more than that?" One twin asked disbelievingly. Harry thought it was probably Fred…which meant it was most likely George.

"No, honest. I just asked him a question," Harry responded innocently.

"Granger…you wouldn't lie to us," George, probably Fred turned to her.

"Yeah, what did he really do?"

Hermione turned a look on Harry that was a mix of what she'd already looked at him like in the classroom. Added into the mix was the clear impression that she had absolutely no clue what the twins were talking about. Harry narrowed his eyes, wondering how in Merlin's name she could have forgotten something like that in less than half an hour.

"Um…I forgot something…I have to go…" Hermione grabbed her school bag and rushed out of the Great Hall.

"Mental that one," Ron shook his head at his friend's retreating form. "Harry's not lying to you though. He really just asked a question and gave an opposing viewpoint."

"One that was probably correct," Neville snickered from beside the other twin.

Ron began to go into extreme detail telling his brothers exactly what happened, only mildly exaggerating while Harry stared at the door to the entrance hall, vowing to keep an eye on Hermione…something wasn't right.

It was difficult for Harry to lose Ron and Hermione after lunch on Sunday, but he kind of wanted his new friendship with Cedric to just be them for a bit, and Ron would have spent the whole time talking to the other teen about quidditch strategy. Harry actually wanted to talk to his new friend about more than quidditch…even if that was probably going to be the main topic. He wasn't able to lose Sirius though. Snuffles the dog followed Harry and Cedric close on their heels while they carried their brooms down to the quidditch pitch. Harry figured that at least all his godfather could do was enjoy the game and bark though, so it wasn't a big deal.

"This dog is ridiculously cute!" Cedric had to pause to ruffle the curly blond hair on Sirius's head. Sirius, for his part, gave the teen a death glare. "A few of the younger Hufflepuffs have been talking about wanting to get sick just to go visit him in the infirmary."

"I'm sure he could be persuaded to spend some time in your common room if food was involved," Harry smiled over to Sirius who seemed to actually be considering that proposition. After a second, he gave a large doggy grin to the teens, which Harry took to mean that he'd be good with that.

"Hmm, I'm sure we could get something from the kitchens," Cedric nodded thoughtfully. "Now, how was the rest of your week? Have Malfoy and his goons backed off of you yet?"

"Nah," Harry shrugged and hefted his broom up higher on his shoulder. "I'm not too concerned though. Letting Malfoy get to me is just so not worth my time. How was your week?"

"Good…it's my OWL year though, so the professors have already been giving us crazy amounts of homework and being all ominous about the tests," he gave a wry laugh. "Unfortunately, I want to be a healer, so I need O's or at least EE's in most of my OWLs and NEWTs."

"Wow," Harry gazed at him, impressed and really not wanting to have the other's workload. "That's intense…"

"Yeah, Dad really wants me to play professional quidditch, but I'm nowhere near your level. Besides, I think I'd rather help people," he answered with a smile down at the dead teen beside him.

"No self-preservation, remember?" Harry pointed at himself before mounting his broom. Sirius gave him a look before heading off to the stands to watch them fly.

"Speaking of…you don't think we're far enough out that the dementors will be around, do you?" Cedric looked around in concern, but the day seemed clear and sunny.

"Shouldn't. They aren't supposed to enter the grounds…" Harry hovered as Cedric joined him, holding a snitch in his hand. "Best two out of three?"

"As long as you don't do anything on that broom that makes me call Madam Pomfrey," Cedric smiled before releasing the ball.

"Pssh," Harry waved him off, already tracking the gold ball across the pitch with his eyes. "I'm excellent at staying on my broom and haven't crashed yet…you don't watch Gryffindor's practices do you?"

"Er…no?"

"Then I definitely haven't crashed," Harry smirked at him before flying off, Cedric laughing in his wake.

Though he was tired and sweaty, Harry dutifully followed his godfather down to the dungeons and Professor Slytherin's chambers. Snuffles was jumping around, obviously excited to talk about the seeker game with Cedric and Harry's flying. "Calm down," Harry smiled indulgently at the dog. "Godric's hair looks like a dead rat."

They both entered the elegant room, Sirius changing mid-leap onto the couch. "That was brilliant!" He exclaimed. "James, I haven't seen you fly that good since that match against Ravenclaw in fifth year! I bet Lily would have even taken notice of you flying like that!"

Harry sighed sadly and put his broom against the wall. Sirius didn't regress like this very often; it was mainly when he got over-excited and Harry knew that he'd come back in a few minutes. It worried him, but Madam Pomfrey assured him that it was normal for Sirius's condition and with some therapy, he'd eventually recover. "Hey Padfoot, I'd love to talk all about quidditch with you. How about you make us some tea, and I'll be back in a bit. I want to hear all about our best matches with the Gryffindor team."

"Sure, James!" Sirius padded over to the door to the right of the passage down to Sammy's lair where the small kitchenette was located.

Harry just sighed and instead went down the passageway. It seemed best to just give Sirius a little time when he got like this to calm down and realize where he was and what year he was in. Visiting Sammy was on his to-do list anyway since Professor Slytherin had given him very specific instructions on how to get Sammy's venom. Thankfully, the vials to do this were already in the professor's chambers, so it was an easy swipe of the necessary equipment before he walked down the long, cold corridor.

::Sammy?!:: Harry called out, wishing that one of the normal spirits that seemed to follow him around had been there so he didn't feel quite so alone in the large, depressing lair.

::The dead master has returned:: A voice greeted Harry even before Sammy slithered out of the disturbingly carved mouth of Salazar Slytherin.

::Hey, I'm sorry I haven't stopped by earlier, but things have been a bit busy since school started back. How have you been?::

::I have been well. There is a smell of another human though, close…in Sal's old chambers?:: The snake's tongue was flicking in and out, seeming to sense the air.

Harry was impressed that Sammy could sense Sirius's presence this far from the living quarters. ::Yes, that's my godfather. Professor Slytherin gave him permission to stay in his quarters for a while. He's not…well, he's not well::

::Is he also a speaker?:: Sammy curled his long body loosely around Harry's, his enormous head and glowing yellow eyes focused on the teen in interest.

::Er, no, he's not. Also, he may smell like dog sometimes. He's an animagus. Could you maybe keep your distance from him if it ever comes up?::

Sammy sniffed indignantly…or at least that was how Harry interpreted his movement. ::I have no desire to meet the dog-godfather::

::Great!:: Harry smiled in relief. Sirius really wouldn't have handled being around the snake well, and if he regressed in that moment, Harry could only worry about what might happen. ::Oh, also, Professor Slytherin suggested that I collect some of your venom and shed skin while I'm down here. Would you be ok with that?::

::Does the dead master know how to safely collect my venom?:: The snake looked a little incredulous if Harry was right about the expression.

::Professor Slytherin was very exact in his instructions:: Harry said as he began to empty his pockets of the vials and the gloves made of basilisk skin. ::So, while I'm getting this together, tell me all about the animals you've been hunting in the forest…::

Harry's pockets were completely full of vials of basilisk venom and an enormous shrunken shed skin when he finally made it back to the living quarters. His good mood brought on by an interesting chat with Sammy about the creatures in the forest was destroyed when he saw his godfather slumped over on the couch, clearly having come down from his manic mood of before. "Hey, Siri," he said tentatively sitting on the armchair. "How're you feeling?" The man's manic moods tended to be followed with depression for awhile.

"I did it again, didn't I?" The man looked up at his godson with haunted eyes. "I was making tea and then it all just hit me…have I killed Pettigrew yet?" He asked with a snarl at the end.

Harry noticed the teapot on the table and began to make his own tea to give him some time to come up with something to say. Where were the annoying spirits of the dead when you needed them? "No, Siri, we decided to turn Pettigrew in to clear your name," he responded slowly. "We haven't gotten him yet, but we do have a plan."

"Can't I please kill him…just a little?" His godfather pleaded with a glint in his eye that was definitely not quite sane.

"Mum and Dad don't want you to become a murderer," Harry said sternly. Technically, James Potter was a bit on the fence about that, but Harry wasn't going to relay that to the fugitive. Harry was beyond grateful that Ron had taken to leaving his rat in the dorm instead of carrying him around the castle because of Scabbers's poor health. He was certain it wouldn't have ended well at all if Sirius saw the rat out and free.

"But…" Sirius's eyes started clearing some. Harry sighed when it seemed that Sirius was starting to come back to his normal self again. "What…Merlin! I hate being locked up in the dungeons," he remarked, looking around the stone room. "It's like Azkaban, only much better decorated and without the prison guards."

Harry shook his head. Maybe leaving his godfather in the dungeons, even if the quarters were extremely nice, wasn't the best idea. Yes, he was in the infirmary most of the day, but he was alone and surrounded by stone with no windows for long hours as well. "I'll see about finding you a room a bit higher up in the castle," he decided. "Now, what'd you think about my flying? Could I have beaten Dad in a match?"

"Good Godric! Yes! I don't think James could hold a candle to you, Pup!" Sirius gushed and finally reached for his own cup of tea. "You could go pro tomorrow!"

Harry thought it was a bit of an over-exaggeration, but he smiled at his godfather's enthusiasm. "Wait until you can come to an actual game. The whole Gryffindor team is amazing. You'll especially like the twins in your old position of beater."

"Hey Harry. Want to go with me to visit Hagrid?" Ron asked in a strained voice when he stopped by where Harry was reading a book on warding in the common room by the fire.

"Sure…I'm always up for a visit," he grinned. School had been back in session for almost a month already and Ron had yet to take Scabbers down to see Hagrid. Hermione's cat was clearly terrorizing the rat, but Harry couldn't bring himself to feel anything besides smug satisfaction as his parent's betrayer began to get thinner and lose fur. It was time to get the man out of the castle though and locked up.

"I'm coming too then," James Potter suddenly appeared by the portrait hole, a sneer on his face.

"Good, Scabbers is starting to really concern me," Ron explained as the two and their spirit companion made their way out of the tower and towards the grounds.

"He's very old, Ron," Harry really did try to look sympathetic, and he really hoped he was successful. "It's probably just getting close to his time…"

"He's such a good rat though…and Crookshanks has been trying to murder him!" Ron turned an accusatory gaze back towards the tower.

"Crookshanks doesn't like me either," Harry shrugged. "Besides, you said Scabbers was starting to look bad before he even met Hermione's cat."

"Hopefully Hagrid has something to help," he sighed. Harry just patted Ron on the back and ignored the swear words his father was directing steadily at the rat while they walked down to Hagrid's hut.

"Welcome you two…where's Hermione?" Hagrid asked, looking more shifty than usual when he realized the purpose of Harry and Ron's visit.

Harry tried to mouth to him to calm down from behind Ron, but it didn't seem to help. "Er, I think she was in the library. She always seems to be there now," Ron answered as he petted Scabbers's head.

Harry really wanted to smack his friend's hand away from the traitor, but just took a deep breath in and nodded. "What can I do fer you then?" Hagrid placed large mugs of tea in front of them and a huge plate of his inedible rock cakes in the middle of the table.

"It's my rat," Ron began sadly. "I think he's sick. I got him some tonic, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Could you take a look at him, Hagrid?"

"Course, just give him here and I'll take a look," the large man reached out and, more gently than Harry would have done, took the rat to examine. Scabbers struggled in his hands, but Hagrid held on until he got to the cage Madam Pomfrey had made just for the occasion that was magic dampening and extremely secure. He unceremoniously dumped Scabbers into the cage and slammed the lid closed, a little too enthusiastically.

Realizing he was trapped, Pettigrew began squealing and scratching the sides of the cage to get at the door. "Is he ok?" Ron looked on in concern.

"He's fine," Hagrid sat back down at the table, ignoring the cage behind him. "He just needs some good food and some rest. I'll take care of him away from the stress of the school for a few days and fix him right up."

"Thanks Hagrid," Ron breathed in a sigh, even as his eyes tracked back to where Pettigrew was having his panic attack in the magic dampening cage.

Harry couldn't help his smile when he knew this would help his godfather's case significantly. They just needed to get the cage to Poppy's friend Amelia Bones now…in a few days, Pettigrew would be well on his way to Azkaban. Harry celebrated by taking one of Hagrid's rock cakes…it's not like it could kill him at least.

"Ancient Runes is so interesting. You really should have taken it with me. They are going to be so useful when we get into learning the higher-level charms," Hermione was gushing to her two friends as they made their way to Divination.

"Hermione…Ancient Runes meets at the same time as the Muggle Studies class you also said you were taking," Harry crossed his arms and studied his friend. "How are you taking both if they meet at the same time?" He figured she could be in a class with the students a year above them…but that didn't seem right either.

"Huh, of course I can't be in two places at the same time," she scoffed and hurried over to their normal table in the smoky room. "What did you two get for comets in the past hundred years and their impacts on ritual magic for Astronomy?" She asked.

Harry's lips pursed and he narrowed his eyes at his friend, a dark suspicion taking root in his mind. "Welcome class!" Professor Trelawney called the class to order. "Please take up a crystal ball from the shelves to my right. We'll be learning the ancient art of Crystallomancy."

Hermione snorted as they all set up the large, foggy orbs. Harry just rolled his eyes at her complete disbelief in this subject when she seemed to be fully onboard with magic and ghosts and creatures and everything else. "All I see is fog…maybe, you're going to find yourself in some really thick fog in the next week or two," Ron chuckled while he tried to read the orb for Harry.

"There are some very important things about crystal ball reading you would all do well to remember," Trelawney cut into everyone's conversations that were varying degrees of actually being on the subject matter or not. "First of all, you should be very familiar with the common shapes mentioned in your Unfogging the Future text. Next, you must be focused on the subject of the reading or you'll only be interpreting your own future instead of your subject's. And lastly, you must always remember to cover your crystal ball with a dark cloth when it's not in use."

Hermione uncharacteristically snorted again. "I suppose it's to keep the spirits from gaining a foothold in the land of the living," she sarcastically added.

Professor Trelawney slowly turned her shawl clad frame to the Gryffindor and gave her a stern look. "It's because the ball is crystal and if the light hits it just right, the prisms will filter it and burn your house down…"

"Oh," Hermione winced, actually a bit cowed at the common sense in the statement.

"Now, take your best stab at interpreting for your partner!" Trelawney instructed and began to wander through the tables.

"See, Hermione…she knows what she's talking about," Harry turned a stern look towards his friend. "I don't know why you think this is rubbish…she's been pretty good with her Sight so far…"

Hermione just huffed again, in a very out-of-character way while Ron flipped through their textbook and alternately stared into the ball. "Er…that could be a tree…or maybe a bird…"

"Dear, we really must work on your Sight," Trelawney sighed from behind Ron and spared a glance towards Harry before looking into the ball.

Harry immediately pulled over his evaluator's parchment to write down what she saw for Professor Slytherin. "You think she can see us in there?" Harry jumped when it seemed that Gideon Prewett was leaning over his shoulder to also look into the crystal ball.

"Not now," Harry muttered under his breath at the spirit.

"Aw, come on…we should test if she can be a medium as well," the redheaded man laughed loudly. "I agree with your little girlfriend over there…and my young nephew is definitely NOT a seer." Harry wanted to protest that Hermione was not his girlfriend, but kept his mouth closed with a glare towards where the spirit had disappeared out of his sight. They really did have a habit of appearing when least needed and most inconvenient.

"Oh, dear child," Trelawney shook her head sadly at Harry. "You will become closer to the dead very soon. Your very soul is in danger…"

"It's not like dementors are surrounding the school," Hermione snorted sarcastically.

"You girl have no Sight in you at all," Trelawney turned her unfocused eyes on Hermione. "I fear you will not do well in this class."

"I don't know why I'm wasting my time then," Hermione stood angrily, knocking over her crystal ball as she stormed out of the class in an angry huff.

"Didn't she predict that a student would leave the class at some point?" Parvati whispered to Lavender loud enough that Harry heard, and he nodded as he wrote that down on his parchment as well.

Harry broke away from Ron and immediately rushed towards the infirmary after they were finally let out of Divination. This couldn't wait. He skidded to a stop in the pristine white of the hospital wing to search out his friends. He finally found Madam Pomfrey sitting behind her desk, filling out some paperwork. Harry took a moment to smile at the woman who was one of his absolute favorite people. He found he missed her more casual self that lived in sweatpants and t-shirts instead of a severe bun and starched white apron, but he loved her the same either way.

"Hello, Harry…something wrong?" She looked up in concern.

Sirius sat up from where he'd been napping as Snuffles on a large dog bed in the corner. "Yes! Dobby!" Harry called, needing his friend there too.

Sirius transformed into a human just as Dobby cracked into appearance. "Merlin Sirius! Not in the infirmary!" Poppy stood and started casting privacy, silencing, and notice-me-not wards around her office now that there was a fugitive standing in it.

"Harry said something was wrong!" He exclaimed in explanation before rushing over to look over the teen to see if there were any injuries.

"Is Master Harry ill? What happened?" Dobby twisted his ears in concern.

"I'm fine, everyone, but this is serious…calm down and listen," Harry told the group of panicking adults/elves.

"Just tell us, Pup," Sirius had both of his hands on Harry's shoulders, staring into his eyes.

Harry broke eye contact to look over at Dobby frantically. "Dobby…I think it's Hermione. Hermione is the one that's being possessed this year!"

Chapter Text

"Just tell us, Pup," Sirius had both of his hands on Harry's shoulders, staring into his eyes in concern.

Harry broke eye contact to look over at Dobby frantically. "Dobby…I think it's Hermione. Hermione is the one that's being possessed this year!"

"Mistress Hermione?" Dobby looked at him in confusion.

"What makes you think Ms. Granger is possessed?" Madam Pomfrey frowned in confusion.

"Wait…what do you mean this year?" Sirius cut in when he processed Harry's claim.

Harry just looked at them all with fear in his eyes. "Er, well, Voldemort seems to be stuck in a rut. He possessed my DADA professor first year and a friend of mine last year," he explained to his godfather. "So, we've been on the lookout for who he might try again with this year."

"What?!" Sirius gasped. "But…he's supposed to be dead!"

"Eh, only mostly," Harry shrugged. Frankly, he was more dead than Voldemort ironically. Sirius looked like he was having a bit of a stroke though. "Anyway, Hermione has been forgetting things…losing time like she doesn't remember what we'd just been talking about. She also has been appearing in places when she really shouldn't have been there. She never has a good excuse either; she just brushes it off whenever anyone brings it up. I had her looking into how to tell if someone was possessed this summer, and she must have gone and got herself possessed somehow."

"That does sound concerning…" Madam Pomfrey mulled over the evidence.

"Right?! You know I wrote to Ginny some over the summer," Harry continued, waving his arms wildly around in frustration. "She said that she did some of those same things last year!"

"Should Dobby hit her over the head and bring her here?" Dobby offered, picking up a heavy book from Poppy's desk and testing it before replacing it and picking up a vase instead.

"No, Dobby!" Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "We don't have enough evidence yet. It's best if we just observe her for a few days and then confront her somehow."

"Yeah, if You-Know-Who really is possessing her, it might not be a good thing if we just go up and ask if she's possessed," the fugitive in the room began pacing while he thought. "There's no telling what he'd do."

"That's why Dobby was going to…" the little elf mimed swinging the vase he was still holding at someone's head.

"How about you just follow her around for a few days, Dobby?" Harry asked while he gently took the vase away from the elf.

Poppy frowned, not really wanting the elf deciding to just attack a student. "Harry…don't you know some other people, ones who really don't have much of a life, that could easily follow around a suspicious student…?" She asked with a pointed raise of her eyebrow.

"You really shouldn't say that Ron doesn't have a life. He has friends you know," Sirius cut in, feeling a bit protective of the teen who had unknowingly been harboring a mass murderer for years.

"She wasn't talking about Ron," Harry laughed at him. "Yeah, I'll ask around. I think that would be a bit easier and less suspicious."

"Who…?" Sirius started asking.

"Sirius Black, you really need to change back into a dog so I can do your transfiguration again," Poppy cut him off before he could start questioning who Harry was going to talk to more closely.

"Fine," he huffed. "I hate being shuffled around and hiding in the dungeons though."

"Oh! I had an idea about that!" Harry exclaimed. It had just come to him that morning, and he hadn't been able to check with Professor Slytherin yet. "I was thinking…if I found Salazar Slytherin's chambers and they had been in pretty good condition…what's to say that Godric Gryffindor's chambers aren't hanging around here somewhere, and they might not even be in the dungeons!"

"That's brilliant, pup! How should we go about looking for them? Merlin, I wish I still had our old map!" Sirius had grabbed Harry's hands and was jumping up and down at this point while Madam Pomfrey just looked on with a huff and an eyeroll.

"Well…we need to deal with the rat, and check in on Hermione, and quidditch is starting up again," Harry sighed knowing that getting rid of Professor Binns and assessing both Professor Trelawney and Professor Snape were on the list as well. It was shaping up to be a busy year.

"Don't forget the first Hogsmeade Weekend!" Sirius laughed. "Have you turned in the form yet?"

"Yeah, and you were right. Professor McGonagall just glanced at it and threw it in a box in the corner of her office," Harry smiled happily. "Honestly, no one could read your signature though. A blind person would have better handwriting than you."

"Hey, it worked," the man just grinned more broadly. "So…maybe after the quidditch game? We could wander around the castle and look behind tapestries? Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Yeah, sure…but labradoodle form for now," Harry motioned for him to change with a playful glare.

With a huge sigh, Sirius transformed again and stood patiently while Poppy turned him from a grim into a labradoodle. "See you all soon," Harry waved behind him. "I'll keep you updated on Hermione."

"Er…Mum? Dad? Fabian? Anyone?" Harry asked awkwardly from the middle of his empty dorm.

"Hey, Baby," Lily Potter briefly appeared with a fond smile on her face.

"Hey, Mum," Harry reached out, his hand passing through the air where she had been standing a moment before. He passingly wandered if he 'died' a few more times if he could actually touch her. He could already touch ghosts that hadn't crossed over.

"Is anything wrong? How did your Charms essay turn out?" The loving voice echoed around him.

"Oh good. I got an Exceeds Expectations…thanks for the help," Harry smiled broadly. "Erm, could you help me with something else?"

"Your assessment of Sev?" She sighed sadly. "He really is very frustrating…I'd hoped he would have gotten past his problems with James at this point, or at least not have taken them out on you."

"Well, yeah, but also, do you think you could follow around Hermione for a day or two?" He said, with a quick nod, he really could use a little help with his Potions professor. Unfortunately, he realized that he'd basically stopped listening to at least half of what the man said during his first year, and it was hard to turn that part of his brain back on.

"Why do you want me to spy on your friend? If you're jealous of a relationship she may be in, I really don't think having your mother follow someone you like around is a healthy…"

"Merlin, Mum! No!" Harry exclaimed with a grimace, turning red in embarrassment. He did not think of Hermione that way. Frankly, it was a little weird to think of any living person that way in his opinion when he was dead himself. "I'm worried Voldy might have possessed her this year. She's losing time, forgetting things, and randomly appearing in classes," he explained hurriedly.

"Ah, well that's actually a bit of a relief…oh, not that your friend might be possessed, but you know what I mean," Lily said with an awkward chuckle. "I'd be happy to keep an eye on her to see if we can get to the bottom of this."

"Maybe after Potions…?" Harry grinned hopefully. "We do share a class…I know Dad is normally the one that likes to hang out in Potions and make fun of Snape, but I think he's a bit too biased to help with the assessment."

Lily laughed loudly. "Sure, I think I'll stick close for your shared History of Magic class too. James said that it's really getting quite hilarious!" Harry scowled. He'd gotten three detentions already and a crowd of spirits had started joining Meredith Binns. It was more than a little distracting when both Prewitt twins, James Potter, and even Salazar Slytherin were adding in suggestions along with Madam Binns.

It had been worth it though when Professor McGonagall pulled him aside to ask just what he'd been doing to get so many detentions in History of Magic. He'd very calmly explained that he was just asking questions. He even went so far as to tell her what questions he'd been asking. Professor Slytherin and Madam Binns both assured him he hadn't done anything against any school rule, so the detentions were unwarranted. Professor McGonagall seemed to realize that too, and also that there really wasn't much they could do to reprimand a ghost. The woman's eyes narrowed, her lips pursed, and she looked like she'd really like to give Professor Binns a piece of her mind for the amount of points he'd taken off Gryffindor and the detentions her student had received.

"He's close to breaking, I know it…" Harry grumbled. It'd only been a few weeks, but Professor Binns was becoming extremely frustrated.

"Right…off to class and stalking your friend!" Lily appeared to excitedly motion towards the door. Harry was beginning to think that there might be a bit of truth in Poppy's assessment that the dead didn't have much of a 'life.'

"You will be brewing the potion on page 35 of your textbook. The instructions are on the board," Snape growled out at the class once they'd all assembled for Potions. Lily was leaning against the wall and looking at her former friend assessingly when she'd briefly appeared in Harry's peripheral vision. "Mr. Longbottom, you will move away from Mr. Finnegan to beside Ms. Patel. I will not have you two idiots blowing up my classroom."

"He's not going to explain anything…?" Lily asked Harry who was quickly jotting down the notes from the board where he realized they were brewing Pepper-Up Potion. "What about explaining the reactions of the willow root with the rosemary? If you don't know why the willow root must be sliced and added before the rosemary, then you won't learn that they could completely negate each other's properties if added in the opposite way. Also, did he really just call a student an idiot?"

"Huh, I think Dobby told me something like that about the willow root once," Harry shrugged and finished up his notes with a whisper to his mum. "I think this is how class normally goes…at least this is the most I usually listen to. He'll stop by and start insulting my intelligence, my potion, my hair, and probably Dad at some point during class too."

Harry felt his mum's spirit ghost by him to follow Snape around the room to listen in on what he was saying and watch what he was doing. Harry just smirked at the man being given a death glare by his former childhood friend unbeknownst to himself. The teen made a couple extra notes about ingredients, especially since he knew Dobby would probably make him brew the potion again if he didn't at least get an Acceptable on it.

"Right…really quickly so that I can follow your friend out of here," Lily Potter appeared beside Harry while he was packing up his Potion supplies at the end of class…he had not gotten an Acceptable, he was sure. "He did eventually explain things as you all were brewing, but not before the large Slytherin over there had already irreparably messed up his potion," Lily appeared to point over at Goyle. "I might not approve of how he goes about teaching, but he did actually explain everything…the problem is how he did it," she continued.

"Everything he said was couched in an insult to a student. He belittled at least half the class and was particularly vicious to you," she growled out at the end. "Also, by his use of it, I don't even understand the meaning of the point system. It had no rhyme or reason why he took points from Gryffindor or gave points to Slytherin. Most reasons were nowhere near legitimate!"

"And you see why I don't pay attention in Potions," Harry whispered from behind the book he'd just picked up.

"I'm pretty sure that has more to do with the fact that you expect to join us in the afterlife any day now, but yes, I think I do understand a little more," she sighed tiredly. "Tell Sal that he should probably sit in on a class too. I don't think he's going to approve of Sev staying on. Merlin, he was so kind when we were little…"

"She's on the move!" Harry hissed as Hermione finished packing and walked towards the door.

"Right! Love you dear! I'm off!"

"Harry," Hagrid stepped out of a dark alcove and grabbed onto Harry's arm when he left History of Magic class…having earned a fourth detention with Filch. The trophy room was the cleanest it'd been in years.

"Oh no! What's wrong?!" Harry exclaimed when he took in his friend's red eyes, hair more frazzled than usual, and the general air of distress he was giving off.

"Not here…you gotta come with me," the giant man steered Harry towards the entrance hall, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was following them.

"Where are you two going, Harry?" Ron called after them as they hurried away.

"Just meeting a new creature to see if it hates me or not before class," Harry called back with a smile to his friend, hopefully hiding the concern he was feeling at Hagrid's behavior.

"Hey, check on Scabbers while you're there!" Ron yelled as they turned a corner.

Harry became more and more worried as Hagrid starting sniffling once they left the castle. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, Hagrid," Harry tried to soothe the man while he ran along to keep up with Hagrid's longer stride.

"I failed you!" He finally wailed once they got to the pumpkin patch outside of his hut. "And Sirius and Poppy too!"

"What? No, you couldn't do that ever," Harry awkwardly patted Hagrid's arm as he broke down right there in the middle of the garden.

"But I did!" He wailed again. "Fang got 'em! There's not much even left, just a tail and some blood!"

Harry stopped patting the man's arm when the words sank in. "Are you talking about Pettigrew?" He asked, really hoping the answer was no.

"Yes! I was goin' to take him to the ministry this weekend, but I got back and the cage was broken open, there were blood all over the floor, and Fang was there licking his snout," Hagrid explained with a horrified look on his face.

"Fang…ate, Pettigrew?" Harry's eyes widened in shocked horror.

"Wait…did I hear that right?" James Potter appeared beside them with a dark smirk on his face. "Did Hagrid's dog eat Wormtail?!"

"Yeah, Dad. I think that's what he just said," Harry sighed as Hagrid jumped and looked around them, never having been with Harry when he was talking to a spirit before. "Hey, you see Pettigrew over on your end somewhere?"

"Yer dad is here?" Hagrid gasped. "I'm so sorry, James," he said quickly into the air.

"No, worries. Frankly, I think it's quite fitting," James just waved off his concern. "I can't think of a better animagus for it to have happened to. And Harry, I seriously doubt I'll be seeing Pettigrew around where we are…I'd really hope not anyway. There's more than one level to the afterlife, but that's really all I can say about that. Let's just celebrate his welcome passing!"

"I get you aren't concerned," Harry told his dad with an eyeroll. "But now we need another way to clear Sirius."

"It'll be a bit more difficult, but there are other ways," James assured him. "He probably needs to be significantly more stable for them since he'd need to testify, but a Veritaserum trial or using his memories would work just as well."

"Dad says it's ok and that there're other ways to get Sirius free," Harry assured Hagrid who looked close to another breakdown.

"What am I going to tell Sirius?!" Hagrid asked them both with wide eyes looking from Harry to the empty air around them.

Rubbing his temples where a headache was starting, Harry sighed. "I'll tell him, Hagrid. I don't think he'll be too upset though. He's asked me about a hundred times if he could kill the rat. It'll just take longer to clear his name now."

Hagrid gave a huge sigh and looked back at his hut. "I'd invite yer in, but it's a bit gruesome in there right now…"

"It's fine…is Fang alright though? Eating an animagus can't be good on the digestion," Harry looked around for the dog in concern. Fang had always been afraid of him, but Harry still didn't want anything to happen to him.

"Poor Fang, Peter can't have tasted good," James remarked with a dark chuckle. Sometimes Harry worried about his dad just as much as Sirius with their sense of humor which he didn't think was really that funny…or kind.

"I'll have Poppy see if she can give him a quick check over," Hagrid nodded. "He seems ok though."

"Well, one thing less on my to-do list," Harry shook his head sadly when he left Hagrid and his dad who had stayed behind to tell Fang what a good doggy he was.

"Ron, there's something I need to tell you," Harry took his friend's hand in his and pulled him over his bed in their dorm room to sit on.

"Er, why are you holding my hand, mate?" Ron raised an eyebrow at where Harry was holding his hand in both of his.

"I have news…" Harry breathed in a deep breath. This had gone fairly easily with Sirius. The man had been happy to hear of the rat's death actually…that was until he started getting anxious over what was going to happen to him next and went into a downward spiral of regression. Harry was hoping this would be at least a little more stable of a conversation.

"Oh no…it's Scabbers, isn't it?" Ron's eyes widened and Harry felt the hand he was holding onto tighten around his wrist. "That's why Hagrid wanted to see you…"

"Yeah, mate…he was very old, and it was his time. Rats just don't live that long," Harry felt terrible lying to his friend, but he figured it would have to be better than hearing that you'd been sharing your bed with a mass murderer for years. He promised himself that he'd eventually tell Ron, maybe a couple decades from now when they had more distance from it though.

"He didn't suffer, did he?" Tears were slowly starting to gather in the teen's eyes.

"I can promise you that it was quick," Harry let go of Ron's hand to throw an arm around his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, mate. Hey, remember that time he bit Goyle? I think that's how you should remember him, right?"

Ron gave a wet chuckle. "Yeah, the most heroic thing he ever did…" Harry nodded along, thinking just how right Ron was about that.

"You want to be alone, or would you like to go for a fly? I'll let you use my broom," he offered.

"Let's go find Hermione," Ron wiped his eyes and sniffed. "Maybe we can do a little funeral?"

"Sounds good, Ron," Harry stood. He really hoped his dad would refrain from attending the funeral. That would not be a good combination of insults and sadness.

"Nice day for quidditch!" Fabian Prewett apparently had been a seeker when he was in school and was bouncing along beside Harry while he got ready for the game.

"You're seriously messed up in the head," Harry grumbled as he looked out of the locker room into the driving wind and rain that made visibility almost zero.

"Nah, that's Gideon…I'm Fabian," he laughed loudly.

"You guys aren't completely identical," Harry rolled his eyes. "Fred and George are more similar. I can tell you apart, dolt."

"Hey, your mum find out anything about your possessed friend yet?" He changed the subject while Harry waited on the rest of his teammates who were trying to get ready and avoid Wood's frantic last-minute plans.

"She says she's pretty sure Hermione isn't possessed, but she keeps losing her. Mum says she's pretty sure she knows what's going on but wants to double check," Harry smiled at the redhead gratefully. He was really starting to get close to the Prewett twins. They were so different from each other and Fred and George. Regardless, they always made him laugh and seemed to actually care about how he was doing. He found himself looking forward to when he could hang out with them in the afterlife.

"How about your godfather…" Fabian trailed off at Harry's grimace.

Sirius hadn't taken the news about Pettigrew being eaten well…well, after the initial glee. It had trigged a bit of an extended regression for him. They'd had to lock him in Slytherin's chambers for a day or so, and James Potter had been enlisted to look after him and let Harry know if he was needed. Thankfully, he just ranted and talked to the ghosts in his head most of the day. After that, he'd turned into Padfoot and hadn't turned back. It'd been several days now, and Poppy had even taken to keeping Snuffles in the infirmary overnight since they were worried about leaving him alone.

"Dobby says he'll eventually snap out of it," Harry sighed. "He's been studying up on mental health for a while now, so I trust Dobby to know what he's talking about."

"Well, put all that behind you," Fabian appeared again to put a hand on Harry's shoulder that just ghosted right through him. "You have a game to win. We can't let Gryffindor lose to Hufflepuff! Don't fly too high or you might drift off from the pitch with visibility as low as it is. Also, stay away from their seeker, this is one instance where you don't want to be close to the other player because, if you have to race for the snitch, it's going to take your visibility down even more by flying into the rain drops."

"Thanks Fabian," Harry smiled at where the spirit was probably still standing. "I still think it's bloody ridiculous they let Malfoy get away with faking some kind of stomach bug to get Slytherin out of playing today. Hufflepuff really should complain. That being said, I'd rather be flying against Cedric in this mess than Malfoy though. I know he's not going to try anything underhanded to knock me off my broom at least."

"Right, good luck! Your mum said for me to pass along that she'll ground you in the afterlife if you pull some kind of stunt that gets you killed," the spirit laughed as Harry's teammates joined him at the exit to the locker room.

"Get the snitch as quickly as possible," Oliver Wood said for the thousandth time to Harry before they all braced themselves and stepped out into the icy rain.

It was Harry's least favorite quidditch game by far, and they'd only been playing for like thirty minutes. After almost drifting off the pitch once, Harry took Fabian's advice and circled a little closer to the where the rest of the players were. Cedric didn't seem to be doing much better. He had the advantage of a little more weight than Harry, but he had an older broom that didn't handle quite as well in the wind. "You all right?!" Cedric flew by to ask once Harry had started to fly a bit lower.

"Yeah! I think they should have just canceled this game though!" Harry yelled back into the wind. "How do they expect us to see anything?!"

"Do you have a repelling charm on your glasses?!" The older teen flew over closer to him. "It'll be impossible to see if you don't."

"Yeah, Hermione put it on them for me," Harry smiled at his friend who really shouldn't be helping the opposing team.

"Right, I'm going to circle around then. You stay safe, ok?!" Cedric said seriously as he started to pull away.

"You too! Look out for bludgers!"

Harry just shook his head and laughed while the other seeker headed off. Yes, he wanted to win, but honestly, he was starting to not even care if Cedric got to the snitch first. He really just wanted to get off his broom and somewhere dry and warm. Unfortunately, the day seemed to be getting even colder for some reason. He shivered and felt the rain turn to sleet around him. A bone chilling cold settled into him as shadows flew by in his peripheral vision. Dementors…

With a yelp, Harry turned to fly down to the pitch, only to fly right into the path of one of the cloaked demons. Quickly, he turned to fly the opposite direction, but the dementor was faster and blocked his path. "You don't want me…I'm already dead," he told the monster who was looking at him in confusion just like the one on the train.

Harry saw the hood lift slightly and this large, horrifying mouth open. He heard screaming in his mind that sounded like his mum for some reason before his chest felt like someone took both sides of his heart and started to tear it apart. The pain was like nothing he'd felt before, and he'd 'died' at least four times already. He must be bleeding, he thought. He was being ripped apart from the inside out. With a guttural scream, the world turned dark around him, and Harry felt himself slide off his broom and into the air. His last thought was that his mum was going to ground him until the end of time.

"Did they try to give him the kiss or somethin'?" Harry heard Hagrid ask vaguely as his mind slowly started to wake up. He felt warm and comfortable with soft sheets over him and he seemed to be wearing the flannel pajamas Poppy kept around for him. So, he must be in the infirmary, Harry realized.

"It seems that way, but he fell off his broom before they could even get that close by what I was told," Poppy sighed. "Honestly…he's dead, that's all any of my scans will tell me. It's so frustrating! And Sirius was absolutely no help!"

"Where is he?" Hagrid asked in concern. Harry tried to wake up, tried to open his eyes to look for his godfather too.

"I had to sedate him. He turned back into a human right in the middle of the infirmary. He was lucky I'd just kicked out all of Harry's friends or we'd have had the entire ministry down on us," the medi-witch said sternly.

"Sirius really does need to see a professional mind-healer. Poppy is wonderful, but that's not really her specialty," Harry's mum said sagely from somewhere beside Harry's bed.

At hearing Lily's voice, Harry really did finally open his eyes. He took in the two living people, Hagrid and Poppy, standing at the foot of his bed with worried looks on their faces. Then he looked around his bed to take in the non-living people. He groaned in frustration at what must have happened.

"There were about a hundred students and professors in the stands and not a single person could think to cast a first-year levitation spell at me when I fell?" He grumbled in disappointment at his classmates and professors.

"What? The headmaster stopped your fall," Madam Pomfrey rushed over and started checking him over, feeling for his non-existent pulse, looking in his eyes, mainly things just to make her feel like she was doing something. "What makes you think you hit the ground? Do you feel sore? Are you in pain?"

"Er…no," Harry looked around him in confusion.

"Baby, how do you feel? You need to tell Poppy if something hurts," Lily Potter was almost wringing her hands in concern beside Harry's bed.

"But…I died," he looked around at them all.

"No, not that I can tell anyway," the medi-witch shook her head. "You didn't hit the ground, and the dementor wouldn't have killed you technically anyway…Why do you think you died again?"

Harry motioned to the group of spirits around him that only he could see. They were solid and not even flickering out of his sight. "I can see them, the spirits. They aren't disappearing and only reappearing when they talk to me. They look just like you and Hagrid, or I can kind of tell they aren't actually alive…but I'm not sure how," Harry looked at his parents, at Salazar Slytherin, at the Prewett twins, and at the young lady he didn't recognize but who looked very kind with honey-colored, curly hair and a dress that wouldn't have been out of place at a Renaissance fair. He knew they weren't alive, but he couldn't put his finger on how he knew that, beyond the fact that he knew they had all died.

"You all look very solid…hello," he addressed the new woman. "We haven't met before. I'm Harry," he grinned at her.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. It's good to meet you. I've heard so much about you from Sal," she smiled at him kindly as she leaned forward and placed a hand on his chest. Harry gasped, he could feel her hand, the pressure it left. It didn't feel warm like a living person, but it was there and almost like a living person's hand. "I take it you can feel this?"

"Yeah…wow! I can feel you!" Harry stared at the woman before he reached out his own hand. He'd wanted to do this since he first saw her. "Mum?" He held his hand out and Lily Potter gasped, tears running from her eyes as she took Harry's hand and squeezed it. It was cold and not quite as solid as a living person, but it was there, he was holding his mum's hand!

"Oh dear…you can feel the dead now…this is very concerning," Poppy was already casting diagnostics at Harry again futilely.

Tears were forming in Harry's eyes while he couldn't bring himself to feel bad at all about whatever had happened; he was holding his mum's hand! The new woman took her hand from Harry's chest to turn and look at the medi-witch. "Mr. Potter, please tell your Madam Pomfrey to cast the animam viventem spell at you."

"Erm, can I tell her who is asking…?" Harry grinned at the woman who still hadn't told him who she was. He had a guess, but he wanted confirmation.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Love! Where are my manners? I'm Helga Hufflepuff. It's so good to meet you!" Harry smiled even more broadly at the founder. He'd hoped she was who he was meeting.

"It's so good to meet you Professor Hufflepuff! I gave Madam Pomfrey the book you wrote from Professor Slytherin's chambers; she really liked it!"

"Merlin's beard! Is Helga Hufflepuff here?!" Madam Pomfrey squeaked in surprise. Hagrid was just looking around the room like he'd eventually be able to see the spirits.

"Yes, ma'am. Mum and Dad are here as well as Professor Slytherin and Fabian and Gideon Prewett."

"I very clearly told you not to go get yourself killed, if you remember," Fabian crossed his arms and glared at Harry. "Teenagers not respecting their elders these days…"

Gideon punched his brother's shoulder hard. "Didn't you hear Poppy! She said he didn't die!"

"Oh no! Those miscreants are here?! They were worse than the marauders and the Weasley twins!" Pomfrey looked a little scared at that.

"Were not," Harry's dad huffed in indignation at being relegated to not as bad as the Prewett twins.

"The spell, Harry," Helga reminded him with a smile at where Harry was still holding onto his mum's hand and where James Potter now had a hand on his foot.

"Oh yeah, sorry Professor Hufflepuff! Poppy, she said to tell you to cast a spell called the animam viventem spell at me."

Madam Pomfrey looked at him in confusion. "But…that doesn't make sense. That spell is used to make sure a dementor's kiss worked. It shows if a person has a soul or not…you obviously do even if you aren't alive."

"If I'm right, she'll see why once she casts it," Helga nodded in agreement with the woman.

"Oh, ok. Professor Hufflepuff has a theory. She says you'll see once you cast it," Harry told the medi-witch who was already raising her wand.

"Animan Viventem," Poppy cast with a complicated wand motion following it.

Everyone, living and dead, gasped as a bright, blue ball of light appeared over Harry's chest, casting everything around him in shadow. "That's…not good," Poppy remarked in shock as a second, much smaller and darker ball of light appeared, latched onto the larger one with veins of darker blue light spreading from it and into the large ball. "Er, Professor Hufflepuff…what is that?"

"Oh dear," the founder shook her head and studied the manifestation of Harry's soul hovering over him.

"Helga…more words would be helpful," Salazar grumbled in frustration at his friend.

"I'm sorry, Sal, but I'm still not entirely sure. I have some thoughts, but I currently have Ignotus Peverell and Merlin both working on it. The problem is, there is some serious dark magic that went into Harry still being alive and whatever happened there with his soul…People who know and practice that type of magic aren't usually in our general area of the afterlife," she explained. "I'll talk to Rowena. She'll probably want to get involved. We'll figure it out…I think it must be some sort of parasite though that the dementors are pulling away from Harry's soul when they come near."

"Ew…a soul parasite?" Harry looked at her in horror. "I don't want to keep it!"

"Getting rid of it almost completely killed you," Helga shook her head. "It's not new, whatever it is, so I don't think you have anything to worry about right now as long as you don't go near the dementors."

"What do you mean by a 'soul-parasite?'" Poppy asked Harry/the room at large.

"Professor Hufflepuff doesn't really know," Harry squeezed his mum's hand and his dad held onto his leg tighter. "She says that she has Professor Ravenclaw, Merlin himself, and someone named Ignotus Peverell working on it though. Please, tell them all thank you from me."

"I'll help too. We'll figure this out, Harry," Salazar offered.

"Thanks Professor Slytherin," Harry smiled at the man who looked very concerned about him.

Poppy sighed. "I already kicked out the living, but you really do need rest Harry. I think the dead should probably leave for a while too."

"Wait, first…any news on Hermione, Mum?" He asked in concern for his friend.

"She's fine…well, working herself into a mental breakdown but not possessed," Lily's lips thinned in disapproval. "It seems the school gave her a time-turner to make it to all her classes. She's adding several more hours into her day."

"That's not healthy for a thirteen-year-old," Helga frowned as well. "Whose bright idea was that?!"

"A time-turner? Does that mean she's going back in time?" Harry asked them.

"Merlin! Those idiots! I told them to tell me when they make decisions that impact my students' health!" Poppy fumed when she caught on to what Harry was saying. "Are they trying to get her to fail or break down?!"

"Will you check on her, Poppy?" Harry asked the medi-witch in concern. It seemed Hermione did actually need help even if she wasn't possessed.

"Yes, and skin alive a few of the faculty of this school too," she sneered angrily. "Now, Hagrid and dead people need to leave! I promised I'd let Harry's friends in to visit in a couple hours, then he really should go down and check on Sirius…so he needs rest now. I don't care if you are a founder of this school, out of my infirmary!"

"I like her!" Helga laughed as each of the spirits began disappearing from the room.

Chapter Text

Harry slowly made his way to the dungeons. His chest still hurt a bit from whatever the dementors did to him, but he was mobile, and everyone agreed that he probably hadn't died…possibly. The advantages of being able to get real hugs from his mum now meant that he really didn't care if he had died or not. Frankly, he cared much more that they'd lost the quidditch game and that his broom had been destroyed. The entire quidditch team, minus Wood who was off sulking somewhere, had stopped by to fill him in and make sure he was ok once Madam Pomfrey lifted her ban on visitors…living and dead. Ron and Hermione tried to stay after everyone else, but Poppy had promptly shoved them out the door before helping Harry get dressed again and releasing him with the express instructions to take it easy and go see Sirius.

"Padfoot?" Harry asked in concern when he walked into Slytherin's chambers. "You awake?"

"Pup!" Sirius tried to jump up off the couch, but he still seemed to be fairly drugged and crashed back to where he had been sitting. "Are you ok? Merlin, Poppy has the good drugs!"

"I'm perfectly fine, Siri. I promise," Harry smiled at him reassuringly and sat beside him on the couch, taking in his slightly unfocused eyes. "I heard that I worried you…I'm sorry about that."

"You were so pale, and they said you'd fallen off your broom," Sirius shuddered. "I can't lose you Pup…you're all I have left."

Harry frowned. That didn't sound good. He couldn't let Sirius get that attached to him, not if he wasn't going to be around for much longer. Honestly, he was fairly certain he was a stiff breeze away from the afterlife at this point. "Sirius…I haven't told you everything…" he began with a deep breath, hoping this didn't cause another meltdown.

To Harry's surprise, his godfather grabbed onto this hand with a crushing grip. "You're sick, aren't you? I knew it! You're dying?! We'll fix it. Poppy will fix it, I know!"

Harry blinked a couple times, wondering what he'd done for Sirius to figure that out. Well…he wasn't exactly sick, but the conclusion was valid at least. "There isn't a fix, Siri," he squeezed the hand back, trying to be as calming as absolutely possible. "I'm ok though; it's not like I'm planning on crossing on over tomorrow or anything, but you can't hold onto to me like that. You have to be able to let me go."

Tears were streaming down Sirius's face, and Harry felt like a monster at the pain he was already causing. There wasn't anything he could do though; chances were that Sirius would most definitely have a day where Harry just wasn't there anymore. He crawled into Sirius's lap to hug him tightly. It might be a move of a much younger person, but Harry didn't care at the moment, his godfather needed him there and needed the physical comfort. A damp spot grew on Harry's neck where Sirius's face was buried.

"Shh, it's ok, really. I'm happy; I have good friends; and I have you now," the teen was patting Sirius on the back awkwardly. "I might be around for years and years…or I might not, but we have this time together right now, that's what's important, right?"

"What is it you have?" Sirius sniffed and finally asked, nodding and rubbing the tears from his eyes.

"Er…we're not really sure," Harry frowned, really not wanting to lie to his godfather. "It's something having to do with being hit with a killing curse as a baby…" It was the closest he could get to telling Sirius the truth, and he was positive Sirius wasn't ready for the whole truth yet.

"I'm still here though, so that's a good sign."

"Are you in pain?" Sirius asked, still holding onto Harry like his life depended on it.

"Not at all," Harry assured him with a smile.

Taking a deep breath, Sirius nodded again. "Ok, I'm going to be the best godfather ever, for as long as I have you, right?''

"Sounds good," Harry laughed and scooted back over to sit on the other side of the couch.

"So, you fell off your broom after being swarmed by dementors…how are you feeling? Did your broom make it?" He asked, trying to get them back to less emotionally draining topics.

"I'm fine, really. Dumbledore cast something to keep me from hitting the ground…you know Poppy wouldn't let me leave the infirmary if I wasn't ok," they both laughed in understanding at that. "My broom…well, Ron told me that it flew into the whomping willow," Harry winced at the memory of the pile of twigs his prized possession was turned into.

"Oh, pup…I'm so sorry," he frowned in concern. "I'll buy you a new one…we'll even upgrade, how about that?"

Harry just shook his head with a smile. "Thanks, Padfoot, but I've got it handled. I already have a plan."

Sirius raised a doubtful eyebrow. "You really should save your money, you just said you might live for years, and you want to do fun things during that time, right? I'm happy to spend money on you a new broom. That way we can go on crazy vacations to tropical locations when you aren't in school."

Harry just laughed at that thought. "Sirius, in the few weeks we've been doing it, Hagrid and I have become the world's leading distributors of basilisk venom and skin. Since they're basically extinct, we might actually be the only ones. I already asked Hagrid when he stopped by the infirmary to check on me to pick up a new Firebolt next time to goes to Diagon Alley with some of my profits."

Sirius's eyes went wide at that news. "You're making that much? I hope Hagrid is getting some of that, right?"

Harry nodded vehemently. "Yes, after I negotiated him up…"

"Up?" Sirius snorted. "Of course."

"You know Hagrid. All he wanted in payment was to meet Sammy," the teen shrugged and grinned in amusement at Hagrid's coos and baby talk when he'd been introduced to the giant, ancient snake. Sammy had been quite amused with all the attention lavished on him.

"I tried to get him to take at least fifty percent since he's actually doing most of the work, but I couldn't get him to agree to anything more than thirty percent. And Sammy just asks for the occasional deer which Hagrid is more than happy to provide for him…and even watch him eat…" Harry grimaced at that. Sammy was not the cleanest eater. It was a bit like watching a horror movie.

"Wow, you've been keeping busy while I've been getting belly scratches in the infirmary," Sirius just laughed and shook his head.

"It's a hard life, but someone has to do it, right?" Harry joined him in laughing.

"Hey, can we look for Gryffindor's chambers this weekend?" Sirius asked. "I like it here, but I'd really, really like a window."

"Sure! I can't wait to go exploring!"

"Merlin, I wish we had my old map," the man ruefully remarked.

Harry figured a map of Hogwarts would have been helpful. He decided to ask Hermione if there was one in Hogwarts: A History. She would know.

"How you's feeling today, Master Harry?" Dobby slapped a cool hand to Harry's forehead when he popped in to join the Gryffindor table at breakfast.

"I'm fine, Dobby, and I don't have a fever," he rolled his eyes and pushed over the bowl of porridge which Dobby always liked for his breakfast. "I just had a bit of a tumble from my broom, that's all."

Dobby crossed his little arms and glared at Harry. "Dobby knows Master Harry was attacked by the dementeds first."

"Dementors," Hermione automatically corrected and earned herself a glare from the elf at that.

"Mistress Poppy has words for Master's Hermy later," he remarked ominously, causing Hermione and Ron beside her both to gulp.

"Harry," Cedric Diggory interrupted the tense standoff when he hurried over from the Hufflepuff table. Everyone looked very relieved when Dobby's attention went back to filling his plate with breakfast items. "I'm so sorry! I'm a horrible person! Can you ever forgive me?!"

Harry had a piece of toast halfway to his mouth while he stared in confusion at the fifth year. "Er…huh? I don't know what you're talking about Cedric. You didn't do anything."

"I caught the snitch!" He sank onto the bench beside Harry dramatically as if he'd done something worthy of Azkaban or at least a good flogging.

Harry still looked confused as a large dollop of marmalade fell off his toast and onto his sleeve. "But…you were supposed to do that…right? That was your job."

"But you were attacked and fell off your broom! It wasn't fair. I never would have caught it if you weren't almost dying!" He looked horrified and apologetic at the same time towards his younger friend. He also started dabbing at the jam on Harry's sleeve with a napkin once Harry recovered enough to put the toast on his plate.

"Stop that!" Harry rolled his eyes and took the napkin from Cedric. "First of all, you very well could have caught that snitch anyway. Second, it was well within your right to catch it if a time-out hadn't been called regardless. Stop worrying about it, ok?"

Dobby snapped his fingers, very absorbed in his porridge and fruit, but still causing the stain on Harry's robes to disappear. "Thanks," Harry grinned at him fondly.

"Can I at least put some money towards a new broom for you?" Cedric massaged the back of his neck, looking a bit lost at Harry's take on the situation.

"Nah, I got it, thanks though," Harry just waved his hand dismissively. "Hagrid's going to pick one up for me next weekend when he stops by Diagon Alley. You could meet up with me at the quidditch store in Hogsmeade though, and you could help me pick out a new broom servicing kit and maybe some polish since I plan to upgrade a bit. Sound fun?"

"Well, yeah…but still, it doesn't seem right…"

"Let it go, Diggory," Ron waved his fork around, barely missing flinging bits of pancake everywhere. "If Harry says he doesn't care, he really doesn't. He's not pretending. That's just the way he is, for better or worse."

"Oh…ok," Cedric looked a bit flustered, but Harry just gave him a blazing grin and shoved over the pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"Join us…we have plenty of food," he offered.

"Er…ok," Diggory looked up at the head table, but no one had yelled at him yet, so he figured it must be all right. Plus…there was a house elf sitting beside Harry for some reason, that had to be more shocking, right?

"Freak, can't even stay on his broom," Malfoy's cold voice sneered behind the group at the table.

Harry gave his plate a long-suffering sigh and steadily ignored the blond even though Ron, and surprisingly Hermione, looked like they were about to vault over the table to attack him. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron gave him his most dangerous sneer.

"What's your problem? Have you been cursed to be the most unpleasant person in the world?" Cedric looked at the younger teen in disgust. He thought the Malfoys were supposed to be all cultured, but this idiot was definitely changing that opinion of his in the limited interactions he'd seen between the heir and his friend.

Malfoy gave Cedric a cold glare and ignored him. "I'm just commenting on Freak's inability to perform the basic functions of quidditch. Now, to make it worse, it also seems like he's picked up a stray Hufflepuff and a house el…" Malfoy froze as he took in the elf looking at him with murder in his eyes. "Dobby?" He finally sputtered out, recognizing his family's long-time elf that had disappeared just months before.

"Draco…" Dobby glowered at the teen, dropping the 'master' he usually added to everyone's names. "You will cease to call Master Harry anything besides Potter or Harry Potter…do you understand?" He said with no trace of the normal house elf dialect in his tone to make it very clear and even more threatening sounding.

"But…how did you…? We didn't free or sell you…" Malfoy looked to Crabbe and Goyle who flanked him, but they both just shrugged, not knowing what was going on either.

"Dobby was gifted from the Malfoy family to House Potter," the elf explained, causing more confusion for the blond.

"Dobby is my friend, and I would appreciate if you would leave him alone. He doesn't want anything to do with your family anymore," Harry finally turned his attention to his would-be nemesis since the boy was now focused on one of his friends.

Malfoy sneered at the table. "I'll do as I please and call you as I please," he growled, his hands clenching at his sides. "And I'll be taking back my house elf!"

Dobby just went back to his porridge with a little shrug and a snap of his fingers. Suddenly, Crabbe and Goyle were standing alone beside the Gryffindor table, looking terrified since their friend had disappeared. "Boo," Ron smirked at them both before they hurried away towards the Slytherin table, being more bluff than actual muscle.

"Where'd you send him?" Harry frowned at the place the Slytherin had been seconds before.

Dobby swallowed a large bite and gave Harry a very vicious grin. "The clearing the thestrals like to graze in, Master Harry. Dobby thinks being sniffed and poked by an invisible animal before having to find his way back to the castle sounds like good exercise for former-masters."

"Mr. Potter…your house elf friend, and...everyone," Professor McGonagall hurried over to them from the head table.

"His name is Dobby, Professor," Harry put down his toast yet again to turn and look at the woman. "Is there a problem?"

"What happened to Mr. Malfoy?" She looked at the group confused and a bit afraid. You couldn't apparate in or out of Hogwarts, yet the student had disappeared.

"Dobby just sent him outside," Hermione looked up at the woman with her most innocent expression. Harry wondered where that expression had been when they were trying to explain what happened with the troll or when they'd been caught after smuggling a dragon to the Astronomy Tower. It would have been very welcome then since McGonagall almost instantly calmed. "Malfoy was trying to cause a fight and Dobby diffused the situation. He'll have a nice walk back up to the castle to cool off."

"The mean child will be fine, Mistress Professor," Dobby nodded, assuring her.

"Oh…ok," she still looked confused. Yes, house elves could apparate around the castle, but she'd never seen them move someone else like that. She wondered just what all house elf magic could do… "Please, Dobby…in the future, just call a professor over instead of apparating a student."

"Yes, Mistress Professor," Dobby nodded again with a large grin.

"Pastry, Professor?" Harry held up a chocolate croissant, with a smile. "We have room if you want to join us…"

McGonagall sputtered a bit in surprise, and her eyes went wide. "No, Mr. Potter…I think I'll return to my table…thank you though." She hurried away with a confused look behind her.

"Harry, why'd you invite McGonagall?" Ron leaned forward to hiss at his friend. Harry shrugged.

"Poppy likes her…she might be fun when she isn't teaching. Plus, she never looks too happy to be sitting beside Snape."

"I wouldn't be either," Cedric snorted and took the croissant that Harry was still holding for himself. The deputy headmistress hadn't even seemed to notice he was at the Gryffindor table…it seemed like it'd be fine if he ate there with his new friends sometimes then.

"You're mental, mate," Ron shook his head while Hermione held back snickers. Dobby, however, took out his little notebook and made a note in it, causing Harry to snort and roll his eyes.

The term progressed with little incident until the winter holidays. Harry was finally able to visit Hogsmeade where he stocked up on candies and hung out with Cedric in the quidditch store and got a sugar rush from butterbeer with Ron and Hermione. When he was able to break away from his friends, James Potter and Gideon Prewett met up with him to give him the grand tour of the town, showing him the less traveled areas that most students don't find until their upper years.

Professor Binns was still holding on, but it did seem like he was slowly unraveling. It was the first time in decades that the ghost actually knew when winter break was and seemed to be counting down the days. Meredith Binns, on the other hand, seemed to be having the time of her afterlife, as well as all the other random spirits (some of which Harry still hadn't formally met) that hung out in History of Magic to watch the show. Frankly, most of the time there were more spirits in the classroom than students, though the students did all stay awake now and even take notes when it got exceptionally argumentative. Harry now had detention at least a couple nights every week because of it…though technically, he really hadn't done anything wrong.

As the students left the school and classes ended, Harry and Sirius still hadn't found Godric Gryffindor's rooms even with the help of the map Harry had copied from the back of Hermione's Hogwarts: A History. Harry had even asked Professor Slytherin, but the man just smirked and said it'd be unethical for him to tell Harry where another founder's rooms were. He did promise to pry the password from this friend/enemy if Harry did ever find the rooms though. The teen supposed that was better than an angry Godric Gryffindor showing up to yell at them if they just snuck in, especially when Sirius couldn't see or hear him, and it would be all on Harry.

Wanting to spend as much time as possible with Sirius, Dobby, Poppy, and Hagrid, Harry had used every ounce of what might be considered his Slytherin cunning to convince Ron and Hermione to go home to their families over break. They had wanted to stay to keep him company and because they still thought a mass murderer was after him, but Harry finally convinced them that he would be fine and would be with Poppy and Snuffles anyway. Almost the moment everyone was gone from the castle, Harry convinced Hagrid to sneak Sirius and himself into the forbidden forest to a safe clearing where they spent nearly every afternoon flying on Harry's new Firebolt. Sirius looked happier and healthier than he had since Harry first met him by Christmas.

Christmas itself, found Harry, Poppy, Hagrid, Dobby, and Sirius all piling into Salazar Slytherin's sitting room with crackers, mead Hagrid had brewed over the term, biscuits Dobby had made, and presents all around. It was the absolute best Christmas in Harry's life. It was made even better since his parents both showed up to give Harry hugs and to make faces behind Sirius's back. Even Professors Slytherin and Hufflepuff made appearances to wish Harry a happy Christmas. He wished that Ron, Hermione, Cedric, and Neville could be there, but Harry was also happy that they were getting this chance to spend the holiday with their families like he was with his.

Just Before Break:

"Ms. Granger," Madam Pomfrey looked up from the papers on her desk as the Gryffindor walked into her office, clearly confused about why she'd been summoned to the infirmary just a couple days before she was set to leave for break.

"Please, have a seat."

"Is something wrong, Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, nervously sitting and putting her overflowing bag on the floor beside her chair.

"Many things, but none of them are your fault in particular, Ms. Granger," Madam Pomfrey smiled at her comfortingly and came around the desk to sit in the chair by her student. "I was only recently informed that you were given a time-turner at the beginning of this term…"

Hermione's eyes went wide at the comment. "I was told not to tell anyone about it…"

The medi-witch nodded in understanding. "Yes, it would be important to not tell the other students, but I should have been informed before it was ever offered to you as an option."

"Er…ok…why?" She looked at the woman in confusion. She was sure she hadn't broken any rules and hadn't done anything wrong…she was pretty certain anyway.

Madam Pomfrey just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You see, Ms. Granger, for a fully-grown witch or wizard, it is very unhealthy mentally and physically to use a time-turner regularly. When an adult is given a time-turner to use, their healer monitors them throughout the use of it, which is generally restricted to only a few times a week, not continuously as you have been using it. Our bodies aren't made to be able to function for more hours than there are in a normal day."

Hermione's eyes went even wider at that comment. "Madam Pomfrey, are you saying that the time-turner is affecting my health?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Ms. Granger. It's extremely ill-advised to consistently add in hours to your day for both your mental and physical health," she nodded. "I'd like to give you a physical now, before you leave for break, and you need to discuss with your parents how to trim down your schedule and commitments when you return. I advise you to cut enough out so that you will not need the time-turner by when you start your fourth year."

"But…I can't take all the classes I want then," she protested with a stubborn frown. "There isn't another way to fit everything into my schedule."

"It's part of growing up and learning to handle life to learn to make choices and decisions that are best for you. Talk with your parents, but you need to cut at least three classes from your schedule. You may pick up some independent studies in those areas in the future but be more strategic now in your elective choices," she explained.

Hermione still didn't look convinced and seemed to be trying to come up with an argument against having to make the choice. Poppy noticed that she already had dark circles under her eyes though, and it looked like she'd lost some weight. It definitely wasn't good for her back to carry a bookbag as heavy as hers either. The medi-witch made a note to cast a featherlight charm on the bag before the student left.

"Ms. Granger, discuss this with your parents over break," she said sternly, not willing to listen to whatever argument the girl was working on before she'd talked to her guardians. "We will meet again after break and discuss what you have come up with to cut down some on the amount of times you have to turn back time in a week. If you don't talk with them, I am well aware of how to use a pay phone and will call them come January. I seriously doubt they were informed of all the ramifications and side effects of regularly turning back time before they consented to your use of the device."

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione was upset at her plans being tossed aside, but also didn't see a way of getting out of this discussion at the moment.

"Great, now stand up and I'm going to run a quick diagnostic on you. I can already tell that I'll be sending you away with a couple doses of Dreamless Sleep," the woman said in her business-like manner.

"Remus John Lupin!"

The man in question stopped in his tracks from where he was cleaning up after his fifth year Ravenclaw/Slytherin class. All of a sudden, he had flashbacks to when he was a student and felt guilty just at the tone of that voice. "Madam Pomfrey?" He tried to force a smile on his face when he turned to address the irate medi-witch standing in the doorway to his classroom.

"What can I help you with today? I haven't had any injuries in my classes that I was aware of."

The woman stormed into the room and shut the door behind her. "You will teach Mr. Potter the patronus charm," she informed him. "I would myself, but mine is not corporeal, and I have heard that yours is."

"But…that's a NEWT level charm," he frowned at the order. "Harry is only in his third year."

"He's a bright boy and a quick learner when he sees a good reason to learn something," she crossed her arms and glared at him. "The dementors affect him more than other students, and just being around them causes him extreme physical pain. If he is able, I expect him to learn the charm as quickly as possible."

Remus slowly shook his head. This would require him setting up multiple one-on-one practice sessions, and his schedule was already extremely full since he had to take off a couple days a month every month. Plus, it would almost be impossible for a third-year to learn the spell. As much as the child made his skin crawl being around him, he would still be willing to help if it wasn't so far-fetched that he could actually learn it.

"It really doesn't seem reasonable to expect him to put in the time and effort to learn the spell as a third-year…"

"I'm ashamed of you Remus Lupin!" She sniffed in derision. "This is James's boy, and he needs you. One more encounter with a dementor like at the last quidditch match, and I have it on good authority that Harry might not survive it. You're going to let your friend's son die just because it might be inconvenient to you?!"

She had almost physically backed him into a corner as she stepped forward glaring at him with her dark, fierce eyes. Remus's inner wolf was even cowering as the woman turned all her ire towards him. His mouth fell open in shock as what she said sank in. "Harry might die…?" He gasped out.

"After another close encounter with a dementor, maybe," she shot back, a challenging look on her face as she waited. "Are you a professor at this school to help the students, or are you just here for a paycheck? Merlin, even beyond that, are you willing to meet James and Lily in the afterlife and tell them you could have helped save their son's life, but it seemed too inconvenient?!"

"I'll help him," Remus nodded quickly, all the blood draining from his face. "If he'll put the work in, I'll help him…"

She gave a short nod and turned on her heel. "Start after break…the full moon is tomorrow; don't forget your potions. You must look after your own health with the dementors nearby as well."

"Yes, ma'am," he called out as she slammed the door behind her. He felt eleven years old again being chastised by that woman. Had he really seemed to everyone like he didn't care about Harry? Yes, something was wrong and dark about the teen, but Remus did care for him as his student and the son of his friends and didn't want anything bad to happen to him. He'd do his very best to try to get the boy to cast at least a patronus shield after the break.

December 5th, 1993

To: Hogwarts' Board of Governors

From: Madam Poppy Pomfrey

Re: Medical Disclosures

I am writing this illustrious board today to express my concerns at the handling of dangerous and harmful activities and situations that have directly affected the students under my care at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Several situations that should have been brought to my attention ahead of time have been completely disregarded by the faculty and staff of the school.

The most striking of these instances has been the presence of dementors around campus as well as their search of the Hogwarts Express. I was not informed of this decision until the students arrived at the school and was not given time to prepare to handle the ramifications of their effects across the student body. There has been, across all years and houses, a drastic increase in students with depression, night terrors, and anxiety since the dementors arrived. This does not even take into account the quidditch game they swarmed where a student was very nearly kissed and/or killed. See the attached research article from St. Mungo's on the effects of dementors on mental and physical health.

There have been smaller instances such as the third-year class that was made to tackle a boggart with no care or counseling towards mental health before or after the class. The fact that a third-year student was provided with a time-turner to be used continuously and not placed under a healer's direct supervision. And in a Potions class just a month ago, a student's familiar was made to test out their potion without it first being tested for toxicity. Thankfully, the potion worked as intended and the familiar was fine, but as we all know, the death of a familiar, or even the threat of harm, can cause stress on a student's magical core as well as mental distress.

Lastly, I will reiterate the request I have made every year since I started as the Hogwarts medi-witch, mandatory physicals and health-checks should be required for all students by either their personal healer or myself at the start of each and every academic year. This is the last request in these regards for better communication by the faculty and staff and for regular physicals you will hear from me. If my concerns are not addressed by next academic year, I will send copies of the concerns I've expressed to the Board of Governors over the last couple decades to both St. Mungo's and the ICW's Committee on Magical Health and Wellness.

Thank you for your time. I wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday season.

Madam Poppy Pomfrey

Master Healer

Hogwarts' Medi-Witch

Severus Snape idly flipped through a potion ingredient catalogue and sipped a wonderful glass of Merlot, celebrating all the little dunderheads being away for break. He had made it a tradition to treat himself to some rare and reasonably expensive potion ingredients with his Christmas bonus as a present to himself, and he was thoroughly enjoying his restful shopping and dreaming of new potions to make and experiment with. He took a sip of the wine and turned a page, humming an infernal Christmas song under his breath that he just couldn't get out of his head once he'd heard Filius singing it in the corridors.

He dramatically spit the wine out in shock as he saw the listing for the newest ingredients added to the catalogue. There in bold print was basilisk venom and even shed skin as well. Who in Salazar's name was stupid enough to breed a basilisk! They would almost certainly kill whoever it was that hatched them.

The better question though was how expensive it might be. He turned quickly to the order page, almost throwing his wine glass on the table. It would take his entire Christmas bonus just to get enough venom and skin to do minimal experimentation with. Not even giving it a second thought, he took out a quill to sign over every last knut of his bonus, humming the Christmas song along as he did it.

Chapter Text

Harry was dragging his feet, and he knew it was utterly ridiculous. He was slowly walking towards his first patronus lesson with Professor Lupin. He really didn't have anything against the professor. The man was actually a great teacher, much better than Quirrell or Lockhart. Once he'd stopped trying to place him as a part of his family in his mind and instead relegated him to the same level of concern as Flitwick or Sinistra, well then he actually quite liked him as a teacher. The problem was the magic. Professor Slytherin had made it clear that he might not physically be able to cast the spell, and he didn't want his professor to feel like he was wasting his time as Harry failed again and again.

James Potter had a completely different opinion of the whole thing as he trod heavily along beside Harry, sneering at the world around him. "I swear, if he doesn't at the very least say something about having known your parents and that you're a good kid or something, then I'll come back as a ghost and haunt him!"

"Is that even possible?" Harry raised an interested eyebrow at the spirit while ignoring the first-year Ravenclaw that looked at him with an odd expression when she passed, probably thinking he was talking to himself.

Harry's dad shrugged and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, causing the teen to grin broadly. "I doubt it, but I can sure try. Padfoot broke out of Azkaban; that means I need to do something equally impressive before he joins me here in the afterlife or he'll never let me live it down," he laughed brightly. "I just don't understand why Remus hasn't reached out to you at all," he added in a more morose tone.

Harry stopped right outside of the man's office and threw a quick silencing ward that Sirius had taught him at the door since Lupin would have much better hearing than normal people. "Look…I smell like death to animals, and his senses are even more honed than a normal dog's. I'm sure he thinks something is wrong or evil with me…"

"But Padfoot just thought you were dying. Why couldn't Moony think something similar?"

"I don't know, but does it really matter?" Harry sighed and rubbed his neck. "Look, he was your friend, not mine. Just because he loved you and Mum doesn't mean that he automatically has to love your kid. Besides, he was probably told I was sent off to relatives who were taking care of me. He's probably not a kid person and just sighed in relief and went on with his life."

"Relatives who literally killed you," his dad glowered at the door to the DADA office.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that. Plus, they didn't literally kill me," he corrected with a smirk. "I'm already dead. You can't kill what's already dead."

"Still…if he were the one that died, I'd have checked on his kid all the time and told them all about their awesome dad," James growled at the door. "I see your point, Harry. However, I don't agree with you. The Marauders…with the exception of the traitor Wormtail…we were family. At the very least, he should have pulled you aside to chat in his first week here. I'm disappointed in him. You don't treat family like this! That goes for those pieces of shite you call an aunt and uncle as well!"

Harry agreed, but it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it right then at least. "Well, when we go in there, you have to be quiet though. It's important to Poppy and Sirius that I do the best I can with this. Professor Hufflepuff thinks that another encounter with a dementor like last time might be enough to dislodge my soul from my body and send it on to you guys…frankly, I'm more concerned about the dementor eating it…would I still end up in the afterlife if that happened?"

James's terrified expression was enough for Harry to see that he didn't know either. Steeling himself with even more resolve. Harry canceled his ward and opened the door to the DADA professor's office. "Professor Lupin?" Harry asked questioningly to the empty office.

The professor emerged from behind a tank that contained a strange aquatic creature in it that he must have been feeding. "Mr. Potter come on in," he gave the teen a tense little smile. "I hope you've come prepared to work hard on this spell. Madam Pomfrey assures me that you'll apply yourself."

"Yes, sir," he nodded firmly as James Potter made a slapping motion at the back of Lupin's head that went right through it. Harry couldn't stop the little smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. "And thank you for taking the time for me. I know you have better things to do," he continued. Harry knew that the professor must have a lot more work on his hands with having to take time off for the full moon.

"Harry…if this helps to keep you safe, then I have nothing more important than this," the man said with feeling, causing Harry and James to give each other a look and nod that he may have very slightly redeemed himself a bit.

"Right, so…I know a little bit. It's a very light spell that pulls on positive emotions to create a shield or, when cast expertly, a protector that connects to some kind of animal that you have an emotional connection with. The incantation is 'expecto patronum,' but I don't know the wand movement or any of the other theory behind it," Harry recited the little he'd been told by Professor Slytherin.

Lupin looked a bit impressed as he pulled out his wand, especially since Harry was fairly known among the staff at this point for only doing the bare minimum for all his classes…even though that work was solid when he did do it. "Well…we can't exactly grab a dementor to practice on, so I'll instruct you in the theory and movement, and we'll aim for the strongest shield you can muster. If you push yourself hard, you may be able to achieve a corporeal version by the end of the term."

"That will be my goal then, sir," he took a deep breath and pulled out his white wand.

Lupin gave the wand a concerned look. He'd never been quite close enough to get a good look at Harry's wand before, and he didn't recognize the odd wood used. "Right…well, you need to think of your happiest memory. Something that fills you up completely with joy…"

James Potter sighed heavily from the corner of the room. "Merlin, Prongslet, you really don't have many of those, do you? What about when your Weasley said he'd be your friend?"

Thinking that was actually very good advice, Harry closed his eyes and pictured the time he'd first met Ron and he had become Harry's first ever friend. "Right…I think I got it."

"Good…you know the incantation…watch the wand movement," Lupin stood beside him and slowly moved his wand through the motions. "Think of the memory and cast it at the same time."

The memory of Ron becoming his first friend did absolutely nothing, nor did the memory of when Harry first flew, or his first Christmas present, or even meeting Sirius. He was getting frustrated as Lupin patiently told him to pick another memory. "I don't have any more…!" He exclaimed more to James than Lupin.

"What about your mum?" James asked with a contemplative look on his face. "I mean…I know I'm chopped liver and all, but you were happy when you finally got to meet her…" He grinned with a smirk at that.

Harry shot a glare at James while Lupin was explaining the criteria for the twentieth time for his happy memory. His dad was right though, sort-of…it wasn't the first time he met them; it was when they were finally able to touch. When Lily had held his hand in the infirmary and James had put a hand on Harry's foot, that really was his happiest memory. It made having parents around real…even if they were still in the afterlife.

"I think I got it!" He interrupted his professor who was starting to look exceptionally tired.

"Well…give it another try then," the werewolf didn't seem to think this time was going to be much different.

A slight wisp of silver barely emerged from Harry's wand. "Whoop! There it is! That's my son!" James Potter was jumping around the room and trying to grab onto Lupin's arm to shake him in his excitement. Harry was very glad his dad didn't grab onto his and cause him to inexplicably begin shaking in front of the professor.

"Good job, Harry," Lupin gave him a smile. "Now, that's the easy part…we have to strengthen that into a full shield now."

Harry sighed but raised his wand once more, ignoring his crowing father in the background.

It was the beginning of March and Harry still hadn't gotten anything past just that slight wisp of silver in his patronus lessons. He was starting to think that Professor Slytherin might have been right about him not being able to cast the spell because he was working on it almost non-stop in the lessons, the dorm room, the infirmary, Slytherin's chambers, etc. Poppy, Sirius, and even Dobby were trying to help him. When they weren't around, James, Lily, and Fabian helped the best they could. The founders had all been mysteriously absent, but Lily had assured Harry they were still working on the soul-parasite issue and had run into some dead ends.

Harry had eventually enlisted Hermione's help as someone whom he believed could figure anything out. They'd worked together so much, and Harry had shown Hermione how to do it enough times and explained the theory behind it that she could now get an actual shield with the charm while Harry still had his tiny wisp of smoke. She tried to convince him that it must be his memory, but Harry knew that wasn't it. The memory was the right one, but it seemed that the magic was too alive for his dead body and mostly dead wand to cast effectively.

Harry needed a break. When one needed a break, the best person to help with anything non-productive and fun was definitely Sirius Black. That is why the two of them were wandering through the secret passages on one fine Saturday looking for Godric Gryffindor's elusive chambers. Well…Sirius was in his Snuffles form, but he seemed happier that way most of the time anyway, so they were still having a blast.

"Ok, so I heard a rumor that it's behind a tapestry, not a suit of armor like Professor Slytherin's," Harry told Snuffles as they wondered the corridor on the sixth floor looking for tapestries. Professor Hufflepuff had given him the tip when Slytherin was being too tight lipped about it.

Snuffles grabbed onto Harry's robes with his mouth and pulled him towards a painting. "Tapestry, Snuffles, not painting," Harry pet his head and reminded him.

Sirius just whined and pawed at the painting. "Is something behind that?" Harry asked, causing his godfather to nod.

The teen pulled the painting away from the wall to reveal a secret passage. "Merlin! How in the world do you know the castle this well?! Thanks Snuffles!" Harry laughed as his godfather gave a doggy chuckle.

They happily wandered down the secret passage even though there didn't seem to be any tapestries on the walls. "Don't get dirt in your fur or Poppy will yell at us both," Harry laughed when Sirius looked like he might decide to roll around on the ground in a dusty corner.

The labradoodle gave him the most adorable glare that had Harry snickering behind his hand. "I'm going to miss you and Poppy and Dobby this summer…" Harry sighed as they continued to wander the corridor that was only lit by sporadically placed, magical torches that would glow only while they were very close to them. "Maybe I'll be able to visit," he frowned as they turned a corner.

"Let him go and step away slowly!" Two tall redheads jumped into the passage from its opening, which they were now blocking, and threateningly held their wands aloft.

Harry felt like he might have had a heart attack if his heart actually beat. He dramatically clutched his chest as he stared at Fred and George Weasley. "Merlin!" He gasped at them.

Initially, he'd thought they were attacking as they'd yelled in a growl at him, but with a second look, he could tell they were terrified for some reason. Their wands were both slightly shaking, sweat was beading on their foreheads, and the twin Harry thought might be George was holding onto an old piece of parchment that was shaking so much Harry could hear it rustle.

"What's wrong? Am I not supposed to be here?" Harry glanced down to his godfather who seemed to be staring in shock at the parchment George was holding.

"Where is he?" Fred asked, looking frantically behind Harry.

George pulled up the parchment and gave it an intense stare. He looked up at the dog and down at the parchment. "That's not a dog, Fred," he gasped, turning even more pale if that were possible.

"Snuffles?" Fred gasped, looking hurt. Everyone in the school had basically adopted Snuffles as a bit of a mascot over the course of the year, so Fred's gasp was one of righteous indignation at anything being wrong about the dog.

Both twins still raised their wands more determinedly though. "Step away from him, Sirius Black," George said, trying to look dangerous and only mildly succeeding.

"No," Harry stepped in front of the dog with his hands raised pleadingly. "It's not what you think," he told them, trying to sound as calming as possible.

"Don't shift back, Padfoot," he warned the dog over his shoulder who was trying to wiggle around him to get protectively in front of Harry.

"Padfoot?" Both twins exclaimed together.

"Like Messrs. Moony, Wormtail…"

"Padfoot, and Prongs?"

"Er…yeah?" Harry frowned and looked down in confusion at his godfather. "My godfather, Sirius, is Padfoot…er, Dad was Prongs."

The twins seemed extremely conflicted now. They still hadn't dropped their wands, but they were looking between Harry and Sirius questioningly. "Look…" Harry said slowly, still with his hands up. "Can Sirius change back, and we'll explain? He's innocent, really. Don't curse him, ok?"

"Harry…he's a convicted murderer…"

"Of course, he said he didn't do it…"

"But how do you really know?" They said between the two of them.

Sirius's head bounced back and forth following their odd way of speaking. "I know because Wormtail was the traitor and murderer," Harry crossed his arms and glared at them now. "If you'll lower your wands, Sirius will transform and we'll explain, ok?"

"I think we'd rather…"

"Keep our wands right where they are…"

"Yeah, he can just change real slowly…"

"No sudden movements…"

Harry sighed as they held their ground even when obviously terrified. Frankly, he was beyond impressed and touched that they were trying to protect him, as misguided as it was. "All right…Padfoot, you heard the men," he smirked at his godfather who slowly began to grow and change.

The twins gasped as Sirius Black stood beside Harry, looking much less feral than when Harry first met him but still a bit unbalanced looking. "How'd you get the map?" He asked, crossing his arms and smiling at the twins mischievously.

"We'll be asking the questions," Fred tightened his grip on his wand and narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, how do we know you're innocent and not just trying to kidnap Harry?" George added on.

"First of all, he's been around all year. You've seen him. Why wait until now?" Harry laughed. "And second, Peter Pettigrew was the traitor and murderer, and he was living in his animagus form as a rat this whole time. I saw him. If Pettigrew is alive, then the stories we were all told about what happened that night can't be true."

"He has a point, brother," Fred muttered to George.

"I'd swear an oath to you that I won't hurt Harry, but I still don't have a wand," Sirius rolled his eyes. "For what it's worth, I love my pup and would never hurt him. Honestly, I'm glad he has friends like you two."

The twins slightly lowered their wands and looked a little embarrassed. "Hey, how'd you know I was with Siri anyway?" Harry asked now that the situation seemed to be slightly diffused.

"They have the map…the one I mentioned," Sirius motioned to the parchment. "James, Remus, Peter, and I created it when we were in school. It took us three years, but it was worth it. It has everyone in the castle marked where they are, and most of the secret passages as well. Probably the best bit of magic I've ever done if we're being honest."

Harry frowned at that before rounding on the twins. "So…you saw me with Sirius Black and ran towards us instead of going to get a teacher or someone to help?"

"Yeah, props to you two for being good friends, but if you really thought I was a mass murderer, that doesn't seem the best idea," the older man tried to look disapproving and paternal, but he was large unsuccessful.

"Er…" They both looked at each other sheepishly.

"We were standing right outside the secret passage…"

"When we saw both your names…"

"Yeah, didn't really have time to get anyone."

Harry couldn't help it. He rushed forward and hugged both of them tightly. "I was going to formally ask you to be my friends this year, but you really are already my friends, aren't you?" He said with his voice muffled in George's chest.

George just patted Harry's back as they looked at Sirius questioningly. "He's decided that making friends is like asking someone on a date. He doesn't like uncertainty and likes to make things official," Sirius explained with a shrug.

He found it a very endearing quirk of Harry's who had been planning out how to ask the twins, Cedric, and/or Neville to be his friend for months now. He'd eventually talked Harry down from giving them flowers and presents or making it a big spectacle, saying with a smirk that it might be confusing what his intentions were. Harry only agreed because he figured he couldn't beat fighting a ten-foot mountain troll anyway, so all his other friendship asks probably weren't going to be quite as impressive as Hermione's.

"Who has time to wonder and be uncertain about things? It's best to just ask, right? So, we are friends, right?" Harry was almost vibrating with a hopeful smile on his face towards the twins.

"Of course, Harry…"

"We thought you knew that…"

"Yeah, we don't drive a flying car to just anyone's house over the summers," they both laughed.

"Flying car, you say," Sirius looked positively gleeful. "I think I'm going to like you two. I must hear this story."

The twins looked like Christmas had come early. "The great Padfoot wants to get to know us…"

"We aren't worthy!"

"Hey, guys," Harry checked his old, battered wristwatch with a frown, realizing time had gotten away from him. "I have a patronus lesson with Professor Lupin. Siri, why don't you take the twins to your rooms and you can hang out there? I can put your transfigurations back on you before I head out."

"Great idea, Pup!" He looked beyond happy to be getting some extra company. "You two want to see Salazar Slytherin's personal quarters? They aren't even on the map!"

"What?!"

"They exist!"

"Yeah, Siri's been complaining about not having a window though, so we were looking for Gryffindor's quarters when you found us. We only know that they're higher in the castle and hidden behind a tapestry," Harry explained. "Now, Padfoot, change so I can do your transfigurations."

"Transfigurations?" Fred asked them.

"You don't think someone as awesome as me looks like an idiotic, fluffy blond thing all the time, do you?" Sirius grimaced. "Wait for it…" He dramatically shrank down and changed into his grim form.

"Wicked!" The twins explained in awe.

"Don't make his ego even worse," Harry snorted and started the process of turning him back into Snuffles. "Also, Madam Pomfrey knows about him, so if you're ever looking for him you can ask her, and Dobby too…and Hagrid…actually, a lot of people know about Sirius surprisingly."

"Not our brother or your Hermione friend?" George asked as they considered that.

"No, they didn't really need to know, so we haven't looped them in," Harry was a little sad about that, but Madam Pomfrey was adamant that no one beyond who was absolutely necessary should know. That being said, he made a mental note to loop the twins in on the fact he was dead at some point now that they were official. He wanted to tell Sirius too, but the man still wasn't quite mentally healthy enough for that in his opinion. "I'd like to get Padfoot a trial or something before really bringing in more people…unfortunately, we had a bit of a hiccup with our original plan."

Harry finished his transfiguration and they exited the passageway with Snuffles running ahead of them and doubling back excitedly. His godson gave him a fond look while he bounced down the hallway excitedly, stopping to get his head scratched by a fourth year Hufflepuff girl. "Hey, while he's distracted, I need to fill you both in quickly," he stopped the twins, a serious expression on his face.

"What's up, Harry?" George asked as they both turned their attention to him.

"Siri was in Azkaban for twelve years. He's not healthy yet…physically or mentally," Harry explained quickly. "If he starts calling you by other people's names like Prongs or Moony, just give him some time and he'll calm down. If he swings to the depression side, it's the same thing, just talk with him and he'll eventually be ok. Call for Dobby the house elf if you get uncomfortable or worried. He'll know what to do or can come get me or Madam Pomfrey."

The twins gave him a strange look he couldn't really decipher. "He really is doing so much better, but twelve years with the dementors don't go away overnight. I think he'll really like having you two to talk to though if you're ok with that?"

"Of course, Harry…"

"We're sorry you're having to take this on…"

"Yeah, mate. You're only thirteen…"

"That's a lot to have thrown at you."

Harry shrugged. It wasn't any more than Voldemort trying to steal the stone in his first year, Ginny being possessed his second year, or figuring out this whole soul-parasite thing right now. "He's worth it," he said with a fond smile as Snuffles happily bounded back to them, impatiently trying to get them to hurry to the dungeons.

"I've heard all the stories about what he and his friends got up to when they were here though…so I'll probably regret introducing you all to each other. Just know, if anyone ends up in the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey will have all your hides."

Snuffles gave them all a wide, doggy grin while the twins looked positively devious. "Right I'm off, he can get you into the rooms."

"Wait, Harry!" Fred stopped him and the twins seemed to have a silent conversation with each other through looks and half-words.

"Makes sense," George finally nodded.

"Yeah, should be his anyway…"

"What guys?" He huffed out finally, not wanting to be late and make Professor Lupin angry with him.

"We think you should have this," George held out the bit of parchment they'd been holding.

Snuffled jumped up and down, nudging Harry's side with his head. "That's the map? The one that shows everyone?"

"Yes, it sounds like it was made by your dad and godfather and all," George explained.

"It will help you in sneaking around…"

"Causing mischief…"

"And in looking for Gryffindor's rooms."

"We only ask that you show us the rooms if you find them though."

"Well, yeah, of course!" Harry snorted, taking the map. Obviously, he was going to show them the rooms. "Thanks guys. That's really nice of you, but don't you need it for all your mischief and mayhem?"

"Nah! We already know all the passages now, and frankly, it makes things a bit too easy," Fred gave him a wink.

"Just tap your wand to it and say 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good,'" George showed him.

"When you're done, tap it and say 'mischief managed.'"

"Awesome!" Harry stared as the map went blank after Fred's tap of his wand. "I'll need the story of how you figured that out soon!"

"Ah…no telling all our secrets," the twins said together with a laugh before they followed their hero towards the dungeons.

"I'm so going to regret that," Harry laughed and put the parchment in his pocket to head to his next lesson.

"Harry, Sirius…we need to talk," Poppy Pomfrey said as she sat on the comfortable couch in Salazar Slytherin's chambers with a freshly prepared cup of tea.

"Merlin, Poppy…are you breaking up with us?" Sirius gasped in fake dramatics.

"What'd I do?" Harry asked at the same time with wide eyes.

"You two…" she just shook her head fondly. "No, this is about the summer."

"The Dursleys…" Harry began with a deep frown.

"I'm sorry, Harry, this isn't about them. Amelia Bones still wants to talk with you before the summer, and we can't decide anything before then," she said quickly, not wanting the teen to get his hopes up or despair, either one, before his meeting with her old friend from school.

"Ok…so, what then?" Harry asked as Sirius shrugged at him, not knowing what it was about either.

"I have a healer friend in Japan who works at an extremely well-respected rehabilitation facility," she began, causing Harry to nod along in hopes he knew where this was going. "I've discussed her taking in Sirius for a couple months once the term ends."

The man in question scoffed. "I'm perfectly fine, Poppy!"

"Uh huh…that's why you hid under my desk for half the day yesterday after Dobby dropped my keys on the floor?" She raised a disbelieving eyebrow as his mouth clicked shut sharply and he glared at them all petulantly.

"Does she know about his…situation?" Harry asked in concern.

Poppy just nodded. "Yes, the hospital is on another continent, so they are much less concerned with British politics. She's only requested he offer an oath on his magic that he's innocent of his crimes once he arrives. After that, they will be under healer-patient confidentiality laws."

"I don't have a wand to offer an oath," he huffed, still being very sore about that fact.

Poppy just nodded though and reached over to pat his knee. "They'll lend you one for the oath. Also, after a couple months of treatment, she thinks it'll be safe to get you a new wand. You shouldn't be a danger to yourself then."

"I'm not a…"

"Padfoot, please," Harry interrupted him pleadingly. He really wanted Sirius to get well and be happy. He hated to see him hurting and the light occasionally just snuff out of his eyes.

"I can't just leave Harry. Especially when we don't know what's going to happen with your relatives, Pup. They really didn't seem pleasant," he added in a very weak protest.

"I have Dobby," Harry reminded him. "Also, Poppy and Hagrid are there if I need to send them a letter, right?" He looked at the woman hopefully.

She sniffed and looked offended. "Of course, Harry. Hagrid and I won't let anything happen to you if we can possibly avoid it. Dobby feels the same way. You have no excuse not to take care of yourself, Sirius. I can't have my emotional-support dog in need of emotional-support himself, you know," she added with a grin at the end.

"Fine," he bit off with a grimace. "When I'm well and have a wand, I'm going to hex you both though."

"I'm looking forward to it," Harry leaned over to hug the man he was sitting beside with a happy smile on his face.

Harry drug his feet on the way to History of Magic. He was getting really tired of cleaning the trophy room, and the candle wax off the chandeliers, and polishing the banisters, and whatever else Filch decided needed to be cleaned that week. Binns just needed to crossover already! His classmates weren't helping at all since they kept turning amused eyes on him, wondering what he was going to do in class that day.

"I swear, Harry, if you just put a tenth of the effort into Potions that you do for History of Magic, then you'd be doing so much better," Hermione huffed in exasperation. "Though, come to think of it, I never see you studying…when do you do your research? We could have been studying together this whole time!"

"Hermione, we never see you anymore unless it's class," Harry avoided the question. "I know you dropped Divination when we got back this term, but really, you don't need Muggle Studies, and Care of Magical Creatures doesn't really seem your thing either," he prodded, helping along Madam Pomfrey's cause.

"But…I have to know…" She sputtered as they entered the classroom.

"Hermione…Muggle Studies…you're a muggleborn…you already know," Harry reminded her slowly like talking to a child.

"Don't you patronize me Harry James Potter!" She hissed out at him with a frown.

"Ooo, middle name! You're in trouble," Ron laughed in a sing-song tone. "But, 'Mione, you have to admit he has a point. You don't have any free time anymore."

Harry left the two of them to argue as he raised an amused eyebrow at his father and Gideon Prewett standing in the corner and eating what looked surprisingly like popcorn with expectant looks on their faces. He wasn't sure what to think about the afterlife having popcorn, and could he eat it since he could touch the spirits now…? His musings had to cut off though as both Meredith and Cuthbert Binns appeared in the room. It seemed that Madam Binns had been stalking her husband before he drifted through the chalkboard to start class.

"Hello, class," Professor Binns actually seemed to be smirking, and Harry was a bit terrified. "Today we will be talking about more recent history."

"Translation…after I died," his wife chuckled beside Harry. She cracked her knuckles like she was getting ready for a fight. "Let's see what you've got, Cuthbert. Bring it!"

"Twenty on Madam Binns," Gideon offered to James Potter who shook his hand with a wide grin.

"Right, so today we will be talking about Grindelwald and Headmaster Dumbledore's duel and its impact on our society," the ghost looked positively ecstatic that his wife shouldn't know anything about what happened after her death.

"Ha!" Madam Binns exclaimed in glee. "I have tea with Arianna Dumbledore every Thursday you self-righteous know-it-all!"

Harry rolled his eyes at the sick humor of Life or Fate or whoever for placing him in the middle of marital issues between a ghost and a spirit. He really wished he could just pass off his medium duties occasionally and stay out of it. It seemed that wouldn't be happening any time soon though as Gideon and James started running commentary like the situation was a sporting event while Meredith and Cuthbert Binns began to argue through him.

"Grindelwald's reign of terror was almost solely focused in Eastern Europe. Thankfully, the man never came to England and had no ties here or things may have turned out very different for our country. Though they had never met before, and there was no threat to England, our illustrious headmaster was still called on to meet this monster in battle…" Binns began while the class actually looked interested in what their headmaster had done.

"Starting point to the ghost," Gideon smirked in his sports announcer voice. "Let's see what the spirit brings as a come-back."

Harry just sighed and opened his mouth to interrupt while Madam Binns gushed out her knowledge. "But sir…Gellert Grindelwald's aunt is Bathilda Bagshot, the woman who wrote at least one of our History of Magic textbooks. She lives in Godric's Hollow, and rumors have it that he spent an entire summer there."

"Mr. Potter…rumors!"

"Two points to the spirit for unsubstantiated rumors!" James Potter added in with another crunch of metaphysical popcorn. "Can't disprove them without talking to someone not in this room."

At least the man always got his name right now, Harry smirked. "Also, didn't the Dumbledores live in Godric's Hollow…that's a pretty small town? Why would we assume they'd never met? That seems a bit unreasonable. Did you ask the headmaster about this before class?" The ghost sputtered in rage clearly showing that no he didn't.

Harry opened his mouth once more before snapping it shut, his face turning beet red. Nope, he was not going to say the next thing Madam Binns told him. Harry firmly believed it was none of his business if Headmaster Dumbledore had any type of romantic relationship when he was young with a teenage dark lord. Nope, not his business, and he refused to out the man in front of the class. There was a line, and he found it. Instead, he sent a disapproving glare to the two cackling men in the corner who were trying to egg him on to say the rumor.

"Dear, it's not a rumor if Arianna witnessed it herself…" Madam Binns tried, but Harry wouldn't be able to say that anyway.

"Ooo, the sex lives of the rich and powerful...does he go for the kill shot? We can only wait and see!" Gideon announced dramatically.

"Sir…Bathilda Bagshot is still alive, right?" Harry prodded the ghost instead. "Can't we just ask her?"

It was quite possible the ghost would be red in anger if he weren't silvery and transparent. "Fine!" He yelled, throwing his hands into the air. The entire class jumped at the exclamation. "You win, Meredith! I quit! I hope you're happy!"

"Match point to the spirits!" Gideon crowed in victory while James Potter huffed and fumbled around in his pockets for twenty of whatever type of money they used in the afterlife.

The class stared in open mouthed silence at the empty front of the classroom from which their ghost professor had suddenly disappeared. '"Who's Meredith?" Daphne Greengrass asked in confusion.

"Does this mean he crossed-over?" Seamus Finnegan surprisingly seemed sad at the question and that the entertainment would end.

"So…did the headmaster know Grindelwald?" Hermione huffed, wanting to know the answer more than if their professor had crossed into the afterlife.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," the woman beside him smiled and patted his hand. "I should probably go and show my errant husband around the afterlife now. I hope we can chat again soon."

Harry just shook his head and sighed when the spirit disappeared. Gideon and James were now throwing their spirit-popcorn at the back of Draco Malfoy's head, making it ghost completely through his body. What were they going to do for a professor now? Did Professor Slytherin think that far ahead? Also, should someone maybe go tell one of the other professors that they were now permanently without a teacher?

"So…who's up for a game of hangman?" Ron jumped up and grabbed a piece of chalk from the board and smiled at everyone else in the room.

Well, one or two games couldn't hurt…Harry decided and leaned back in his chair, happy to have successfully scratched one goal off his list for third year.

Chapter Text

"So, what are we going to do about a History of Magic professor?" Professor McGonagall asked the room as the faculty met for their monthly meeting after it was discovered that their ghostly professor had disappeared.

"Er…what happened to Binns?" Sinistra tentatively raised a hand to ask since she was behind in the gossip after a week of late-night classes.

"Potter was finally annoying enough that he crossed over to escape him," Snape snorted with an eye roll. He actually do find it hilarious, but he wouldn't spoil his reputation by laughing in a faculty meeting.

"Severus, now that's not exactly what happened…" McGonagall started, though she knew it kind of was.

Remus Lupin sat up and started to pay more attention to the discussion with a concerned frown. "Wait, what did Mr. Potter do that would cause a ghost to crossover?"

"My understanding is that he just asked some questions," Dumbledore responded with an amused twinkle in his eye. "Apparently, their last class was interesting enough that I've had students stopping me in the corridors to talk about my childhood. It's very flattering."

"That's…odd. Mr. Potter never asks questions in class," Professor Flitwick frowned, realizing that the boy only ever even answered questions when he was directly asked.

Professor Trelawney gazed at the room dreamily, actually starting to pay attention to the discussion. "Mr. Potter asks questions in my class all the time. Mostly about my methods and how things feel when I see them."

"The boy is a menace, I've been saying it for years now," Snape grumbled.

"Really Severus, besides the unfortunate happenings in his first year, Mr. Potter really hasn't gotten into any trouble," McGonagall scoffed at him.

Madam Pomfrey frowned from where she was sitting with Snuffles at her feet, realizing that the faculty really were quite oblivious to everything Harry had been up to since his first year. The ever-present spirits tended to help him avoid getting caught it seemed. "If Professor Binns was discouraging students from asking questions and got upset when they did, then why did we even allow him to teach to begin with?" She asked, getting them back on track and receiving nods from most of the other faculty in agreement. "Isn't asking questions a vital part of the learning process?"

"Well…we'll all just need to fill in until the end of the term when I can hire a new History professor," Dumbledore said with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. "I'll even take a few shifts myself. It seems there is some confusion about how well I knew Gellert and what happened during our duel. I thought it was all pretty common knowledge, but apparently not."

"Can I please have the goblin wars?" Filius Flitwick raised his hand. "Binns's teaching was a travesty to my heritage."

"Again…why was he teaching?" Poppy sighed as Snape hid a snort of amusement behind his teacup. Nope, he definitely wasn't going to laugh in a faculty meeting...

"I'll take classical Greece," Sinistra called out, having that as a favorite era of hers.

"Right…I'll work up a schedule that plays to all of your strengths," Dumbledore nodded and shuffled the papers in front of him. "Next on the agenda…Poppy…"

"Yes, headmaster?" She asked innocently as Sirius raised his head slightly to see the man better.

"Are you by chance blackmailing the Board of Governors to add in mandatory health checks and create a reporting system for you?" He asked, the twinkle in his eyes going crazy.

The medi-witch shrugged as the other faculty all turned as one to look at her in disbelief. "I am, and I also have three more years on my contract, so they are welcome to try to fire me over it. I have a friend who is an excellent solicitor," she crossed her arms and said sternly with the look in her eyes that had made hundreds of students over the years quake in fear. "I'm also not bluffing. If they don't approve the necessary changes by next academic year to keep our students safe, then I'll turn everything over to the ICW and St. Mungo's that I've been complaining about for years."

"Good for you, Poppy!" Professor Vector spoke up with a rap to the table with her knuckles.

"Really? I owe you a drink for that," McGonagall smiled over to her friend in approval.

"Yes, well, I can't condone blackmail of any kind…" Dumbledore cleared his throat and smiled at her. "But, there does happen to be an excellent cake over in the corner provided by the house elves. Interpret as you will…"

The search for Gryffindor's rooms wasn't going very well. Harry was still looking but it had become more of an exploring all the secret passages on the Marauder's Map more than an intense search. Thankfully, he had more time though since he wasn't currently getting a ridiculous amount of detentions from Professor Binns anymore. Actually, History of Magic was fairly interesting these days with each of the professors taking turns and talking about historical events they were interested in. Patronus lessons hadn't progressed any further, but Harry was busting his butt studying and trying to push his magic further into the spell to little success.

Ron and Hermione eventually kicked him out of the Gryffindor common room one evening when he was so frustrated that he'd literally started hissing the patronus spell in Parseltongue, which had only served to freeze the tea in Hermione's mug solid. Harry's mum had been on hand though, so she went and grabbed Fabian and Gideon Prewett to hang out with Harry and explore the castle with him. They were second only to the Weasley twins in getting Harry to loosen up and have some fun.

They didn't find Gryffindor's rooms, but Gideon and Fabian did distract Harry from his frustration and showed him the old apprentice suits in a little used section of the castle. Currently only Professor Flitwick had an apprentice, and he was still a seventh year and staying in the Ravenclaw dorms, so no one was in residence in that entire corridor. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the castle from Gryffindor Tower, and they lost track of time a bit in their exploring.

Harry was trying not to laugh as he rushed through the hallways with Gideon and Fabian dramatically reenacting the epic battle that eventually led to their demise. Harry thought it was a bit morbid, but the twins were having a blast, and they were actually really great storytellers. "There were five of them…not just one or two!" Gideon was explaining, running backwards in front of Harry. "We're so awesome that it took five!"

"It was Dolohov and Rowle…" Fabian explained.

"No, it was Lestrange, not Rowle," his brother corrected.

"Rabastan was there as well," Fabian pushed the other redhead into a suit of armor that he fell completely through. "The other two were McNair and a Hufflepuff named Jenkins! A Hufflepuff! I mean, seriously!"

"Hey, just be thankful it was Dolohov that finally did you in instead of Jenkins," Gideon caught back up to them. "I think it was Rowle that got me, but I'm not exactly sure. It was a cutting curse here," he pointed dramatically to his neck.

"You could have come back as a ghost and joined the Headless Hunt," Harry laughed and informed him as they ran past the one-eyed witch that marked a passageway to Hogsmeade that Harry had yet to try out.

"Nah, his head stayed on…I think," Fabian frowned.

"You died first! How would you even know that?!" His brother pouted.

"Mr. Potter," a tired voice stopped Harry in his mad dash, causing him to skid to a stop and almost fall over when he turned around.

"Professor," Harry gasped out in surprise. Fabian and Gideon unhelpfully laughed at him getting caught. He really should have looked at the map, but it was only just past curfew, so he'd figured if he hurried, then he'd be safe.

Remus Lupin strode around a corner, his eyes moving from the one-eyed witch to the old piece of parchment in Harry's hand before his face fell in a disapproving frown. "It's after curfew, Mr. Potter," he walked up and snatched the map out of Harry's hands faster than humanly possible.

Harry huffed at the use of werewolf speed not being fair but didn't say anything about it. "It's just past. I lost track of time and was on my way back to the tower," he protested.

"I don't need to hear explanations, Mr. Potter," Lupin growled as he studied the map he was now holding. Harry winced at the fact he'd gotten the twins' map taken away after only having it a few weeks, but Lupin had been one of the creators of the map with his dad, so he hoped he'd just let it go and give it back to him.

"Erm…can I have it back?" He tentatively asked, not even commenting that they both knew what it was.

"I don't even want to know how this fell into your possession, but I can't let you have it back, Mr. Potter," the professor folded the map up and put it in one of his pockets.

Fabian and Gideon joined Harry in his indignation at the hypocrisy that Lupin had helped to create the map and seemed to be chastising him for even having it. "But, Professor, surely…"

"Sirius Black is on the loose, Mr. Potter," the man crossed his arms and looked at Harry sternly. "Can you imagine the weapon this map would be in his hands? Not to mention that these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of the school. They'd think it extremely entertaining."

Harry frowned in confusion about the comment on leaving the school before he realized just where they were standing. Lupin must have thought he'd come through the passageway from Hogsmeade. His frown deepened though as the comment about luring him out of the school sunk in. Neither his dad nor Sirius had tried to get him to leave school. Sure, his dad had shown him around Hogsmeade, and Sirius had signed his form, but it'd all been perfectly within school rules.

"Sir?" He asked, wondering if Lupin was maybe not remembering his friends very well. He didn't think James had changed much after his death, and Sirius had been in Azkaban, basically stunting his emotional growth.

"Don't expect me to be so forgiving in the future, Mr. Potter," the werewolf said sternly. "I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that you'd take your parents' sacrifice seriously. They gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them – gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks when you could be practicing your patronus charm and actually putting some effort into our lessons. I'm taking time from my already packed schedule to work with you after classes, and you're disrespecting me and the memory of your parents by not taking your safety seriously and practicing for our lessons."

Harry's eyes narrowed and he basically stopped breathing as he stared at the man in front of him. Gideon and Fabian stood in stunned silence beside Harry as well with horror on their faces. He had no right, Harry fumed. This man had never once told him about his parents, hadn't mentioned that he'd helped make the map, or that he'd even been friends with James, Lily, or Sirius. He'd made no effort to be there for Harry besides the patronus lessons that Poppy had basically ordered him to do, and here he was using Harry's parents' deaths to guilt him into following school rules. Frankly, he didn't even care that he was innocent of the accusation leveled against him. He cared that he'd been busting his arse to learn the patronus charm and just physically not able to cast it, and here Lupin was saying that he wasn't trying hard enough, that his parents would be ashamed of him.

Harry's magic crackled around him in a dark thundercloud, causing Lupin to take a step back as the temperature in the corridor dropped. With a deep breath, Harry reigned back in his magic and crossed his arms over his chest. "Er, Harry…you want us to go get your dad?" Fabian asked, more scared now that Harry was calm than when his dark magic was leaking out of him.

Harry just slightly shook his head and stared into the amber eyes of the werewolf in front of him. He was done…that was it; Lupin had his chance. Unbeknownst to the professor, he was now on Harry's not-worth-his-time list right beside the Dursleys…where he couldn't hurt Harry ever again.

"Thank you, Professor, for the time you spent teaching me the patronus charm," Harry said in an eerily calm voice. "I think it's time our lessons came to an end though. It's obvious there is nothing else I can learn from you."

"Harry…that's not what I meant," Lupin's eyes widened as he realized he'd stepped in it with the teen.

"Professor Lupin…I'd appreciate it if we kept it to Mr. Potter in the future instead of my first name," the teen ground out. The man winced at the tone and the admonition.

"My decision stands…thank you for your time. If you would like to schedule a detention for me being outside of the tower after curfew, just let me know the time and place. However, I was in the south section of the school before this, exploring the apprentice suits and in no way outside of an allowed area. I'll also have you know, I've never been inside Zonko's Joke Shop even when allowed in Hogsmeade. I'm not a fan of pranks and, having been bullied most of my life, tend to see them as bullying instead of funny. If that will be all, I'll see you in class," Harry turned on his heel and strode away, not even waiting for the man's response.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Gideon asked as they hurried along beside him.

"Yeah, that was…that just wasn't right," Fabian shook his head. "Your dad isn't going to be happy about this."

"He had no right," Harry hissed out at the spirits. "I gave him a chance, even when I didn't really want to…but no…I'm done."

"Harry, you know your parents love you, right?" Fabian asked in concern as they approached the portrait hole to the common room. "They're so proud of you…"

Harry paused to take a deep breath and calm himself down before entering the dorm. "Yeah, thanks Fabian…thanks Gideon. I really did have fun with you this evening. I'm sorry it didn't end very well."

"No problem, Harry. We like to spend time with you," Gideon said with a sneer back towards where they'd left the professor.

"Maybe don't tell Dad," the teen said in embarrassment. "It'll just make him mad."

"No can do, Harry," Gideon shook his head while his brother agreed with him. "James and Lily are both going to hear all about this."

"Yeah, expect a visit this evening," Fabian added. "You're right, that wasn't his place. Your parents are going to want to talk to you."

Harry wrinkled his nose but didn't protest. There wasn't much he could do to keep them from telling his parents anyway. "Fine…" he sighed. "I'm not looking forward to telling Fred and George I got the map taken away though."

"Our nephews will understand, don't worry," Fabian said with a pat to Harry's shoulder.

"Shite! He can see Sirius!" Harry gasped out as the significance of Lupin having the map finally hit him. "We have to get it back!"

"Talk to our nephews about it," Gideon's eyes widened in shock as well. "He's safe right now in Slytherin's chambers, but he can't leave in the morning."

"Merlin, he'd going to hate this," Harry groaned. "I'll try to get Fred and George on board with stealing the map back. Dobby is doing Sirius's transfigurations in the morning, so I can call him and warn him to not let Siri leave until I talk to him. I HATE this!" He yelled out at the end in frustration.

"Now dear…I'm sure it's not that bad," the Fat Lady said distractedly from where she'd been chatting with her friend Violet in her portrait.

"She's right…we'll figure it out. James and Lily will be by later, don't beat yourself up," Fabian assured him before they both disappeared and Harry had to turn and face the common room and apologizing to his friends and asking for help in stealing from a defense professor.

There was a blow-up of epic proportions in Harry's dorm room after the incident with Lupin. Frankly, he wasn't sure how his dormmates didn't hear or at least feel the anger coming from his mum and dad, even if they were crossed-over spirits and he had a silencing ward placed around his bed. They ranted for a full hour, while assuring Harry they loved him and were also very proud of him. Lupin was lucky they weren't ghosts or he would have had an earful and an intense haunting after that. This was nothing compared to the next morning though when Harry and Dobby filled Sirius in on what happened.

"That bastard!" Sirius bellowed out. Harry winced, he figured he'd need to go down and check to see if they'd surprised Sammy who would be worried if he heard shouting.

"Dog-man needs to calm down," Dobby mimed breathing deeply to the unstable fugitive.

"Yeah, Siri…it's just now April, so it's only two months until the summer," Harry sighed. "If it's too much, we can ask Poppy's friend if you can head to the rehabilitation center earlier."

"I'm not leaving you! Especially not with that traitor!" He growled, sounding more like his dog form than human.

"Pettigrew? Fang ate him," Harry asked in confusion and more than a little worry that his godfather had forgotten that very important fact.

"No! Remus!" Sirius growled again. "He's dead to me!"

Harry shrugged at that. He no longer cared for the man at all. Though, Sirius's choice of words was not something Harry was comfortable with being dead himself and a medium. "Well, you can't leave these rooms for now. I have Fred and George working on a way to steal the map back, but until then, he can easily see you on it."

Sirius didn't look concerned at all. "Great, so I'll be out of here by the end of the week," he smiled. "Those Weasleys are brilliant. I'm not worried. Hey…see if you can get them to leave a dung bomb behind when they take the map!"

"Right…well, Dobby will just go and get dog-man some breakfast then," the elf chuckled and shook his head. "Master Harry does have a potion that will make the wolf-professor have nightmares for a month," he added with a vicious grin to Harry.

Harry's jaw dropped open. "That's one of the potions you dropped in my trunk?! No! That's horrible!"

"Might be a good idea to keep it on hand though," Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like a very illegal, Morpheus potion I read about once…"

"Yes, all the potions from Dobby are illegal," Harry huffed with a glare to the unrepentant elf. "We're not giving him that potion!"

"It was Dobby's plan, and it would have worked," the elf shrugged before popping away to get the breakfast.

"I'm going to visit Sammy, want to join?" Harry asked. He always offered, but Sirius had never once taken him up on it.

The man shuddered as usual. "Merlin, no! Never!"

"Have it your way. He's a sweetheart though," Harry chuckled at Sirius's scandalized look while he wandered down the long corridor to Sammy's lair.

"The Prewett menaces filled me in on what happened," Salazar Slytherin remarked dryly when he appeared to follow Harry down to see his snake.

"It really isn't a big deal. I'm past it," the teen remarked, truly believing that as well. He didn't plan on ever spending time outside of class with Lupin again, so it didn't bother him anymore.

"Is your godfather going to be fine stuck in my rooms? I know he has a problem with there not being a window," the founder asked with a disbelieving look on his face.

Harry ran a hand down his face tiredly. He really didn't like having to worry all the time. "No, probably not. He thinks Fred and George will have the map back by the weekend, but Lupin is actually a decent DADA professor. I don't think it'll be that easy. He's not going to do well past a few days. I think he'll feel like he's being confined again."

Salazar huffed and crossed his arms. "Fine…I hold you personally responsible if I end up maiming that git though!"

"Sirius? You can't touch him; you're crossed over and he isn't dead like me," Harry asked, lost again in the conversation.

"No, that git Godric! I'm going to go grab him so he can show you his rooms. You'll have to wait until Lupin is occupied to move Black, but at least he'll have a window…several actually if I remember those garish rooms correctly," Salazar grimaced before disappearing. "Tell Sammy I said 'hi,' and I'll bring Godric to you as soon as I can wrestle him away from his afterlife fan club."

Harry grinned and continued on. ::Sammy?! You in?!:: He called out into the chamber.

::Unfortunately, I was trying to nap. What was with all the ruckus coming from Sal's chambers?:: The gigantic snake grumbled as he slithered over and coiled multiple times around Harry on the stone ground.

::Sirius is confined to the quarters for a little bit. We're going to move him shortly though. He was upset that someone said something a bit insensitive to me, but it wasn't a big deal::

::You want me to eat this someone for you?:: Sammy asked in a very serious tone.

::Er, no, definitely not:: Harry shook his head quickly. ::How about you tell me about what you've been doing? How're things in the Forbidden Forest? Oh…Professor Slytherin said to tell you 'hi' from him, by the way::

Sammy's head bobbed up and down happily that his former master thought of him. ::The centaurs are upset that I've been spending more time closer to the castle. You may need to explain to them that I'm trying to keep an eye on you. I haven't harmed them or their prey when they hunt…it's just rude for them to shoot those stick things at me!::

::Arrows?!:: Harry exclaimed in fear. ::They're firing arrows at you?! Have they hurt you?!:: Harry immediately starting looking over the coils around him and petting Sammy down looking for injuries.

Sammy just huffed with a bit of a hissy, snake chuckle. ::It'll take more than a little pointed stick to harm my scales, dead master. They are only annoying, but I'm not moving farther from where my dead master lives::

Harry smiled and patted the bit of Sammy closest to him. ::You don't have to look out for me Sammy…I have Professor Slytherin and my mum and dad::

::They aren't alive though, and they don't have basilisk eyes…Sammy will look after you when you are by the forest::

::I appreciate it:: He finally gave in and smiled at his large friend. ::Now…eat anything interesting recently?::

::Ah, acromantula is very tasty…::

Harry was unfortunately correct. Fred and George were having a very difficult time figuring out how to get into Lupin's office when he wasn't there. The man knew his field and how to protect his things for better or worse. The twins claimed to not have been as stumped since when they'd tried to get into the headmaster's office and eventually had to give up.

"I'm so sorry, guys. I only had it for a few weeks and got it taken away," Harry groaned for the hundredth time as they were leaving Sirius's chambers. The fugitive was still doing all right as long as Poppy, Harry, Dobby, Hagrid, and the twins visited him often throughout the day. It was obvious he wasn't going to make it a whole lot longer though as he was already getting a bit paranoid and antsy.

"Harrikins, it really isn't your fault," George assured him as he slung an arm around the younger teen's shoulder.

"Yeah, even the great Padfoot lost the map to Filch in his seventh year," Fred nodded. "The only reason we were able to get it."

"It was actually Moony who had it taken away, ironically," Harry chuckled, remembering his dad telling him that story of Lupin sneaking out to meet up with a girl in the Astronomy Tower late one night and getting caught by Filch.

The twins stopped in the hallway and looked at each other. "Sirius told us it was him…" Fred started in confusion.

"He took the hit with my dad when he noticed the map was gone so he wouldn't be mad at Lupin. Dad only learned about what really happened a couple years later when Lupin fessed up. I guess the lie stuck in Siri's head and became the truth over the years with all his trauma," he said in explanation.

"How do you know that then?" George asked with a look in his eyes that said they were just waiting for him to admit to something.

Harry paused in the hallway and looked between the two, realizing his mistake. "Er…so, I've been meaning to tell you, but I just haven't found a good time…"

"Yes?" The said at the same time with twin looks of interest in their eyes.

"Well…Ron already knows part of it…"

"Spit it out, Harrikins," George gave him a mischievous grin.

"Right…well, I'm dead," he said quickly with a nod. "Been dead since I was first hit with a killing curse as a baby. My soul just got stuck in my body and couldn't leave it just yet for some reason."

The corridor was completely silent as the Weasley twins were for once without words as they stared at him. "So…that wasn't what we were expecting," George finally responded as they both shook their heads.

"You sure you're dead…you look pretty alive to me," Fred asked as he took Harry's wrist and started feeling for a pulse.

"Yep, pretty sure," Harry smirked as Fred's eyes grew wider and he paled when he couldn't find a pulse.

"George…he doesn't have a pulse!" He exclaimed.

"Poppy says that my blood is moving around in my veins slowly, but only because of my magic. My heart is just kind of taking up space in my chest," Harry shrugged, not understanding the mechanics of how he was still moving around but just going with it. "It's the same with my digestion and all the other systems…magic is kind of just holding me together right now."

"Merlin," Fred breathed out in shock.

"Ron knows?" George asked in clarification.

"Yeah, he knows I'm dead…I don't think he actually believes me," Harry shrugged. "That's fine though…he doesn't know that I'm also a medium…and that's how I knew about the map and that Sirius was innocent and where to find Slytherin's rooms."

"He doesn't know you're a medium," Fred said very slowly, letting the words sink in.

"You can talk to the dead?" George asked in clarification.

"Er…yeah. Mum and Dad hang around a bit, as well as your uncles, Fabian and Gideon. They think you two are just brilliant by the way," he shuffled his feet a little nervously to see how they'd take it.

"Is anyone around right now?" George asked while Fred was mouthing 'Mum and Dad' in shock.

Harry looked around the corridor but didn't see anyone. "Nope, not right now. They pop in and out, but usually one of the spirits is fairly close."

"Sirius doesn't know?" George asked, already knowing the answer.

"Only Madam Pomfrey, Hagrid, and Dobby know about me being a medium. Ron and Hermione know I'm dead, but Sirius doesn't know anything. He thinks I'm terminally ill actually. He's not technically wrong since I could just stop breathing and collapse at any time. I'm basically held together with wishful thinking and duct tape," he said with a chuckle.

"How do you live knowing that every day?" Fred breathed out and squeezed Harry's hand he was still holding onto, looking at Harry like he was a very fragile piece of artwork.

It was the same question Hagrid had asked him once, and Harry found the answer was the same now as it had been years before. "I don't know…this is just my life, or what passes for one. This is normal for me. I don't see how you all live knowing that you could die at any time. I'm already there, it just feels like I'll be going home when I eventually crossover. Plus, it's not like I don't already have a lot of friends on the other side now."

"Merlin, your life is so strange," Fred pulled Harry into a hug, finally letting go of his hand.

"Will you introduce us to our uncles some day?" George patted him on the back in support.

"Sure," Harry looked over Fred's shoulder and smiled. "I have a visitor right now though…could I meet up with you two later. I think I'm going to be able to relocate Sirius."

"Huh?" They both looked around but weren't able to see the two men now standing behind them.

"I'll explain later…meet you back in the tower?" Harry pulled back and smiled at them.

"We'll hold you to that," they both said after another look around the corridor and before heading towards the tower.

"You must be Professor Gryffindor," Harry smiled at the man who looked just as foppishly dressed as Lockhart with the same soft, blond curls and brilliant, white smile, but who also looked dangerous and like he had seen battle and won. His clothes were rich and elegant in silk and velvet, but they were also practical and allowed the man range of movement. He seemed to have chosen an age slightly older than Slytherin but only in his late thirties. "I've been looking forward to meeting you."

"I can't imagine why with that misanthrope telling you horrible stories about me assuredly," Godric smiled back at a scowling Salazar Slytherin. "I, however, have been hearing wonderful things about you, little medium, from Helga and the Prewett twins."

"I'm in your house, you know," Harry pointed to the crest on his robes, feeling a bit star-struck and awkward.

The man laughed heartily and shot a look to Slytherin that just made him scowl more. "Yes, I'm very proud of that. Sal insists you should be in Helga's house though, and Helga thinks you should be in Sal's."

"Ric, get to the point…just show him your rooms so he can get back to his dorm before curfew," Slytherin grumbled. "I need to get back to Rowena…she thinks she might have an idea about what happened with Harry's soul."

"Really?" Harry asked in interest. "Did she tell you what she thought?"

"No, but I'll fill you in as soon as we are sure," the founder smiled fondly at Harry and assured him.

"Tally-ho! Follow me!" The man strode off into the corridor with strides so confident that Harry had to jog to keep up. "My password is: Helga's knickers."

Harry groaned. "Why can't any of you have normal passwords?!"

"What do you mean? What's Sal's?"

"Don't you dare tell him," Slytherin clapped a cold hand over Harry's mouth.

"He's dead…he can just walk through the wall now," Harry mumbled from behind the hand.

"Still, it's a point of pride that he hasn't figured it out," Slytherin protested, but did remove his hand.

Godric kept guessing passwords as the three made their way past Gryffindor Tower and started up the stairway to the tower on the west side of the castle. "What is this tower used for? I've been up here exploring, but it doesn't seem to be used for anything these days," Harry asked as they walked through the stairwell and emerged into a dimly lit corridor with several suits of armor and portraits that were much older even than other areas of the castle judging from the fact that they didn't move.

"Mainly it was just my rooms, and Rowena's are up here too," Godric explained as he sauntered down the hallway. "Helga's became part of the Hufflepuff dorms, but the rest of our rooms are still largely untouched."

"The castle was originally built to be a fortress in case the magical community of Britain needed a safe place to go, so it is much larger than needed for only a school," Slytherin explained as he stopped to smile at a tapestry depicting a beautiful woman with dark hair and a crown on her head. "Rowena," he explained with a wave at the tapestry.

"I hope to meet her one day," Harry took in the sight of the fourth founder with a smile.

"You assuredly will. She's looking forward to meeting you too," Godric laughed and stopped in front of a richly decorated tapestry that depicted a hunting scene in what was clearly the Forbidden Forest with a dragon going against the centaurs and a man that was clearly Gryffindor saving the day.

"Helga's knickers," Harry said with a grimace before the tapestry melted away to reveal a corridor where torches magically lit to show the way. "I don't know that I can look Professor Hufflepuff in the eye now and tell her I found your rooms."

Godric laughed brightly and led the way inside. "Oh sweet, naïve child…Helga was the one that set my password!" He explained to Harry's shock and embarrassment. "We had a bit of a thing over the years…still do actually…"

"I'm not going to ask, and please don't tell me," Harry coughed out while Slytherin just laughed from behind him.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Gryffindor dramatically waved his arms from the middle of an opulent sitting room that was nowhere near humble. "Do you think your fugitive godfather will like it? It must be better than Sal's."

"Wow," was Harry's only response that would come to mind. The room would be very well lit during the day as it had two enormous windows out to the castle grounds in the curved walls of the tower. The furniture did have many red and gold accents, but was also a dark, heavy wood that seemed both comfortable and sturdy. It was the decorations though that took his breath away. There were weapons lining the walls, but also small knickknacks from various cultures Gryffindor had visited in his travels, sculptures that looked to have been done by masters, and silk throw pillows on the large couch and armchairs.

"Ric, it was just the window that he needs. My rooms were perfectly fine besides that," Salazar grumbled, seeming a bit offended that they needed to get the man out of his rooms to begin with. "There's nothing wrong with my rooms in general."

Personally, Harry agreed with Slytherin, but he knew this was where Sirius needed to be. It looked nothing like the dungeons, and with the windows, no one would feel like they were being confined. "I think he'll really like this," he told the expectant man who was smiling from the middle of the room.

"Wonderful! Now, the bedroom is through there, the magical loo is through those doors, works as good as your modern plumbing, and there is a training room, study, and library on the second level," he pointed to a spiral staircase leading up from the room. "I'm sorry, I don't have a kitchen area, but I frankly never cared to learn to cook. Sal says you have a house elf friend that can bring him food, right?"

"Yes, wow, thanks," Harry poked his head into the bedroom that had an enormous king-sized bed in the middle that he was definitely not picturing what could have been going on in there between the founders.

"Harry…I was thinking. It should be safe to move your godfather the evening of a full moon, correct?" Salazar explained from where he was poking around the knickknacks in the sitting room. "Your DADA professor is a werewolf, so there is no reason he would be looking at that ingenious map when he should be taking his potion and holing up for the night."

"I would imagine there must be a system in place like what we had with Professor Briarson," Godric nodded. "Granted, we didn't have that amazing potion back then, but we set him up in a secure room in the dungeons each full-moon and there were always two other professors to make sure he was secure and safe each evening."

"You had a werewolf professor in your time?" Harry asked, impressed at learning that.

"Sure, they're safe the rest of the month, but there does need to be a safety system in place for the full moon. Briarson was an excellent Muggle Studies professor. The important thing is that there is absolutely no reason why children should ever be placed in even a semblance of danger, hence our checks and double checks for the safety measures," Slytherin explained. "I don't understand what your headmaster was thinking with the Philosopher's Stone being allowed in the school your first year. Also, Ric, it doesn't sound like they have the safety system we created for werewolves in place from what I can tell. It looks like the Potions Master just passes him the potion the night of the full moon."

"What?! That's not right," Gryffindor scoffed indignantly. "We set up that system for a reason. You can't just trust the potion that much without someone watching the werewolf drink it and still securing the room. There's too much that could go wrong in a school!"

"Maybe they don't know there was a system," Harry shrugged. Whatever they were doing seemed to be working, so he wasn't really concerned at the moment, but he agreed that the school didn't seem to be as safe as the founders would have liked. He had 'died' there a couple times already…everyone was just lucky he was already dead and harder to get rid of than the average person.

"Well, nothing we can do about that right now, and we have a plan for moving your godfather, so there is just one very important question," Gryffindor grinned broadly as Slytherin groaned, knowing his friend's ideas of fun.

"Yeah…ok, what?" Harry looked between them.

"What do you think about learning how to fight with a sword?!" The blond founder was almost bouncing in excitement.

Harry's excited smile was all the answer Gryffindor needed before he ran around the room, trying to find the best weapon on his walls for Harry to learn with. Slytherin rolled his eyes and settled in a corner to observe how his friend was planning to teach their resident medium how to sword fight when he couldn't hold a sword himself.

"Didn't you need to get back to Rowena?" Godric huffed at the taunting man.

"Yes, but this is so much more fun to watch…" Slytherin grinned as Harry tried and miserably failed to lift a large mace from its place on the wall.

Chapter Text

It was a couple weeks until the next full moon, but Sirius was getting jittery enough that Harry really did want to move him earlier. His first thought was that he could move Sirius when Lupin was teaching, but he'd seen the map open on his professor's desk during his next DADA class. So, it turned out that the full moon really was their best and only option. Madam Pomfrey had tried to convince him to head to the rehabilitation facility in Japan early, but Harry's godfather didn't want to leave him until he absolutely had to. They'd asked Dobby if he could pop Sirius from one room to the next, but even that was chancy since house elf apparition within the Hogwarts wards wasn't as easy as outside the wards, and carrying another person had a high probability of splinching. Dobby agreed to do it though as a last resort, but no one really wanted to find out just how good Dobby was at house elf apparition when splinching was on the line.

"Wait...didn't you apparate Malfoy in the wards?" Harry frowned at Dobby after they'd concluded it was too risky.

Dobby gave his master a fond smile. "Dobby sent the former master out of the castle into a clearing with no walls or moving staircases...plus, Dobby is less than concerned with the former master's well-being..."

Harry and Poppy shared a concerned look at the house elf's ruthlessness, but appreciated that it wasn't turned against them. "Well...full moon it is then," Poppy shook her head and promised to keep a closer eye on the elf.

It was a tense couple of weeks with a few breakdowns, but Sirius did finally make it until the full moon. Ron and Hermione gave an overly amped up Harry concerned looks as he made a lame excuse to be gone for the evening, but the twins had already agreed to cover for him if they started asking questions. Harry wasn't really sure what the twins' interpretation of 'cover for him' meant, but he had a feeling he was probably going to regret it the next day. Sirius was worth it, whatever they did though.

Madam Pomfrey was already in Slytherin's quarters and trying to get Sirius to calm down when Harry arrived right after dinner. "I gave him a calming draught, but I have to head back to the infirmary. A second year fell into the devil's snare in Herbology, and I have him under observation for a bone he broke in the process of escaping the plant. Do you have this? You want me to call Dobby?"

"We're fine. I got him," Harry smiled gratefully at her. "We're just walking across the castle; it's not like I'm chasing after Voldemort again or anything."

"At least he's not possessing Remus," Poppy snorted in amusement, even though she was very aware that it wasn't funny. It was either laugh or quit her job and kidnap Harry to run off and keep him safe. She figured he wouldn't appreciate that so laughter it was.

"Pup, can we stop by Hagrid's first?! I really want to go outside!" Sirius asked with a pout on his face. "And I haven't seen Hagrid in a week!"

Harry turned to look at Madam Pomfrey questioningly. She sighed but just shrugged. "It'd be safer to just head straight to the rooms, but Professor Lupin should already be locked in his office with his potion. Whether he's looking at the map or not, he knows full well to not leave the room at this point since the full moon is only about an hour from now. He would be more dangerous than any escaped convict. Frankly, if You-Know-Who himself were walking towards the castle, Remus knows to stay in his room since he would only make it worse. You should be alright."

"Yes!" Sirius jumped up and down in excitement at finally leaving and going outside; it really wasn't evident that he'd already been given a calming draught.

"Hagrid might be off in the forest tonight," Madam Pomfrey warned them as she picked up the bag she'd brought with her. "He mentioned something about the centaurs complaining about something or another…"

Harry winced. "Yeah…I think that's Sammy. I was supposed to go talk to them about that but I forgot…"

Poppy gave his hand a squeeze. "Just leave it to Hagrid, dear. He knows the centaurs better than anyone. He'll take care of it. If he's at home, tell him I said 'hi' though and that I require a rematch for our last poker game," she called back before exiting the rooms and heading towards the infirmary.

"Ready?" Harry grinned at his godfather and took out his wand to do the Snuffles transfigurations.

"I never thought I'd miss being a fluffy, blond thing," Sirius smiled before turning into his animagus form and barely standing still long enough for Harry to cast the spells on him.

Having disappeared for a couple weeks, the few students they passed in the corridors made a big fuss over seeing Snuffles again. Sirius was eating it up and pausing for all the rubs and treats that were passed to him. It took a lot longer than it reasonably should for the two of them to exit the castle and start to wander down to Hagrid's hut. It was a cold night, so there were hardly any students outside the castle besides them.

"I'm starting to think your human form is your animagus form and you started out as the dog," Harry remarked to the dog who was bounding around the lawn and pouncing on crickets.

He got a half-serious doggy glare at that before they finally reached the hut that unfortunately had no light coming from the windows and the door was locked. Harry didn't even hear Fang prowling around inside. "Well…I think they're out. I only hope he's able to smooth over Sammy's presence with the centaurs," he remarked wryly. "He really hasn't done anything to them anyway. Frankly, they're just being rude."

Sirius gave him a look that clearly said he cared very little for the large basilisk before they slowly began to wander back towards the castle. "I should probably stop by the chamber next week and get some more venom," Harry rambled on as he planned what all he needed to do before the end of the term.

They both paused and frowned when they passed the chicken coops Hagrid kept and saw a dark form hurrying towards them that looked tall enough for either a professor or an upper-year student. "Huh…whoever that is, don't change back whatever happens," Harry warned Snuffles. "There are too many windows and no telling who's looking out of them. It isn't curfew yet, so we can't get in trouble anyway."

Snuffles gave Harry a look that communicated he wasn't an idiot as they waited for the figure in the dim light to reach them. Sirius was the first to stiffen in recognition before a gasp sounded form Harry. It was Lupin…

"Don't change back, ok," Harry warned his godfather again as the man finally came into shouting distance.

"Step away from him, Harry!" Lupin had his wand drawn and a hard look in his eyes. "That's not a dog!"

"Professor Lupin…aren't you supposed to be locked in your office about now?" Harry pointed to where the clouds were currently covering the sky but where the moon should already be up. He was starting to be extremely worried. "You did take your potion, right?!"

"Harry, that's Sirius Black!"

"I bloody well know who he is!" Harry hissed out frantically. "He's innocent and not a danger to me! I'm more concerned about the werewolf standing in front of us right now with the moon already up!"

Padfoot made a growling noise beside Harry, clearly warning Lupin whose face fell as Harry's words sank in. "You knew?"

"Well, yeah. I've been with Sirius since the summer. You took your potion, right?!" Harry was holding his wand now, not really knowing what to do with it. He couldn't think of a good spell that would actually work on a werewolf if it was needed.

"Merlin!" Lupin looked at the sky with horror on his face. "I ran out of the office…Severus was on his way…I didn't take it."

"The forest!" Harry pointed for Lupin to run, but it was already too late.

The clouds parted enough for the light of the full moon to break through and Lupin screamed as his bones began breaking and realigning. Harry worriedly looked around, but it looked like he and Sirius were thankfully the only ones outside of the castle at the time. It was with another breath of relief that he saw a second dark figure running their direction with a wand drawn. This one was clearly the form of Harry's Potions Professor who was moving at a frantic speed in their direction.

Padfoot shoved Harry back with his shoulder to put himself between Harry and the werewolf. Looking around, there was nowhere to run that would be safe from a werewolf. Harry considered Hagrid's hut, but the door had been locked when they stopped by before, and he wasn't positive he could get off an unlocking spell before the werewolf got him. He quickly decided it would be better to cast the strongest shields he knew, which were probably stronger than the walls of Hagrid's old hut anyway. Thankfully, he'd learned quite a few his second year when he was concerned about getting his memory wiped by Lockhart.

"Protego!" Harry cast just as Lupin finished transforming and whirled on Harry with a growl.

With one swipe, the werewolf broke the shield charm. "Armum!" Snape gasped out as he skidded to a stop in front of Harry blocking the werewolf with a stronger shield. "This won't hold forever, Potter," he growled as the werewolf snarled and attacked the slightly opaque shield.

"Tutor obstructionum," Harry cast the quick ward over Snape's shield to reinforce it. "Nice," the man remarked in shock, but his arm was still visibly trembling with the shock of the werewolf hitting the shield. "Slowly walk back towards Hagrid's hut," he ordered his student.

"Yes, sir," Harry grabbed a fistful of Snape's robes to guide him backwards as well.

They only got two steps before the werewolf backed off and then bodily threw himself against the shield, breaking both ward and shield once more. He lunged forward and was only stopped when a blond, curly haired dog slammed into his side, growling and snapping his jaws. "Run!" Snape yelled, pulling Harry towards the castle now that Snuffles seemed to be pushing Lupin closer to the forest and Hagrid's hut. "He has it distracted, run!"

"Thank you," Harry gasped out to Snape as Lupin and Sirius fought their way into the forest.

"Don't thank me yet," the professor stopped and shoved Harry behind him once more and held his wand towards the oncoming horde of dementors ghosting over the lawn and towards them. "What in Salazar's name is going on tonight?!"

"Bloody hell," Harry gasped out. "Poppy is going to kill me," he sobbed, knowing he probably wasn't going to make it through any sort of encounter with a dementor again.

Harry checked and was relieved that there weren't any spirits around to talk him out of his plan or bodily stop him. It wasn't like there was anything they could do to help with the dementors. He hadn't told anyone, spirit or alive, but he'd decided he was absolutely not going to be eaten by a dementor. He'd never feared crossing over, but now that there was the option that he might be prevented from moving on, that was terrifying. He wanted to go to the afterlife with his family, and he'd come up with some contingency plans…namely, the dagger dipped in basilisk venom that he pulled from a leg sheath he'd found in Professor Gryffindor's rooms and which he now held in his left hand and his wand in his right.

The knife trembled in his hand, but he was determined that he would end his own life before allowing a dementor to eat his soul. He just had to make sure to actually hit something vital...he wasn't sure if his dead heart counted. It was a bit of a gamble that it'd actually kill him, but it was either that or take his chances with a dementor. He would wait until the last second, but he was resolved that he was not going to let his soul be eaten at all costs.

"Expecto patronum!" Snape cast as a silvery doe leapt from his wand and towards the dementors holding them off for a time.

The doe made a valiant effort, but there were just too many dementors. The spell dissipated and Snape tried to cast it again. He cast it several times, but nothing but wisps of silver emerged from his wand. "Expecto patronum," Harry cast from behind him, only producing the small wisps of silver he normally got that came from his wand as well.

"I wish I'd been eaten by the werewolf," Harry remarked as the dementors batted away the last of the silver blocking them, tightening his grip on the dagger and taking a deep, steadying breath.

Snape turned and gave him a quick look of shock and horror as he took in the dagger the teen was holding towards his own chest instead of the dementors. To Harry's dismay, it was pathetically easy for Snape to knock away the dagger with one hand before throwing his arms around Harry and bracing for the attack. They waited and waited…

::I might not be able to kill you demons, but I can tear you limb from limb and spread your pieces over the forest!:: A stern voice hissed from seemingly everywhere. ::You will leave my master alone!::

Harry gasped and pushed off Snape who was still blocking him bodily to see green scales surrounding the two of them in large coils. "Sammy!" He exclaimed in shocked relief.

::Sammy…I love you so much!:: He laughed out in relieved hisses.

"Professor, we're safe," he tugged on Snape's robes to get him to look around. "We're going to make it!"

"Salazar! Is this a snake?!" The man exclaimed at the walls of scales surrounding them, looking like he'd pass out any second, not believing that they were saved but instead in the third dire situation of the night.

"Not me, Samael!" The founder growled angrily at the dementors from where he was standing right outside of Sammy's coils. He'd followed his familiar to the excitement from the Forbidden Forest and was stunned at the horrors happening on the school's grounds.

"It's Sammy, sir. He's a friend," Harry assured the professor, patting his arm comfortingly even though Snape didn't seem to notice what he was doing while Sammy hissed and spit venom at the dementors who were frantically avoiding the snake's head that was trying to make good on its threat.

"That's a basilisk!" Snape exclaimed, finally taking in the feathered plume on the snake's head. "Potter, don't look in its eyes! It can kill you with a look!"

"Professor," Harry physically grabbed Snape's face and pulled him down to focus in on him. "This is Sammy. He's my friend, and he won't hurt us. I'm a Parselmouth, remember? I can talk to him. Why don't you sit down for a minute?"

"Unhand me, boy," Snape snarked but still followed directions and sat.

The man had looked like he was going to pass out or have a stroke at any second. Honestly, Harry was close himself after facing a werewolf and dementors in the same night. He picked up his dagger and sheathed it with a grimace, Snape's eyes following it the whole time with a dark expression. He'd not wanted to ever get that close to actually having to use it.

"Sammy's got this Harry," Salazar called out, not noticing what the teen was doing. "He saw you all from the forest and hurried as fast as he could. He missed your godfather and the werewolf, but this looked more pressing at the time."

::Thank you, Sammy!:: Harry called out as the dementors finally began to flee back towards the gates of the castle.

::Any time, dead master. I only wish I could have gotten one of them:: He hissed in fury. ::The nerve of trying to attack a student in my castle!::

::Sammy, could you go check on Sirius and Professor Lupin? I know Sirius can't be infected in his animal form, but that doesn't mean he won't be hurt. Also, Hagrid is in the forest somewhere. Could you keep an eye out for him too?::

::Of course, I will look out for the dog-man and the kind giant. Can I please eat the werewolf?:: The snake asked in all seriousness.

"What's he saying?" Snape asked as the coils slowly unwound from around them.

"He's asking if he can eat Professor Lupin," Harry rolled his eyes.

"It'd serve him right," the man sneered towards the forest. "I stopped by to give him his potion and he'd already run off. It was sheer luck I found you all in time. Merlin only knows what the hell he must have been thinking!"

::Please don't eat him. He'll turn back into a human in the morning:: Harry just ignored his professor and sighed. ::Keep him away from the castle though…it's still not curfew::

::I'll do my best about not eating him…no promises:: The snake remarked as he slithered towards the forest determinedly.

"Right, hurry," Snape jumped up and pulled Harry by a fistful of his robes towards the entrance hall, not really trusting that the snake wouldn't turn around and try to eat them, no matter what Harry said.

"We need to make sure no more students can leave the castle tonight," the teen remarked from where Salazar was frantically explaining that they needed to lock down the castle.

"Yes, of course," Snape agreed as he threw Harry through the doors and cast a spell to close and lock the large, entrance doors behind him. With another flick of his wand, he pointed it to his throat and an announcement echoed through the corridors. "Werewolf spotted on the grounds, remain in the castle for the rest of the evening!"

"Infirmary, now!" He next turned to Harry and ordered, leading him towards the stairs with a vise grip on his shoulder.

"Severus! There's a werewolf? It isn't…?" Professor McGonagall was asking in an anxious tone when they ran into her hurrying from the staff room.

"What do you think?" He sneered angrily. "I told Albus…"

"Harry!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, cutting him off when she ran out of the infirmary doors and grasped onto the teen in a tight hug. "Are you ok?" She asked frantically.

"I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey," he patted her back and gave her a tense smile.

"He should still be checked over," Snape crossed his arms and looked at the boy sternly. "Minerva, have you checked to make sure no other students were outside the castle."

"There aren't any. There were a couple out in the courtyard, but they hurried in when they heard your announcement. Albus has already secured all the entrances and exits," she said in a hurry.

"The dementors were on the grounds as well," Snape sneered angrily, causing both women to pale.

"They didn't get close to you again, did they?" Poppy asked, looking Harry in the eyes and putting a hand to his forehead, for what Harry didn't know.

"No, Sammy saved us from the dementors and Snuffles chased off Lupin. Do you think Snuffles will be ok?" Harry wrung his hands in fear for his godfather. "I sent Sammy to check on him, but…"

"Madam Pomfrey's dog, while brave, is a Labradoodle," Severus frowned with a small hint of what could pass for regret in his eyes. "I'm sorry…I'm afraid he doesn't stand a chance against a werewolf."

"He's tougher than you give him credit for," the medi-witch rubbed circles on Harry's back to comfort him. "I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"Who is Sammy? Is there someone else out there?" McGonagall asked in concern, clutching her wand tighter in her hand and ready to go try to rescue someone.

"No, he's a snake. He'll be absolutely fine. There really isn't much that can hurt him," he told his head of house in complete certainty, Salazar nodding along beside him.

"Harry, I'm going to go make sure your headmaster has everything in hand. I'll be back if I need you to tell him anything," the spirit informed him. Harry nodded absently before the man disappeared.

"Both of you boys, into the infirmary!" Poppy shoved Harry and Snape both through the doors while McGonagall ran off to check that the headmaster didn't need anything. "I assume you were there as well, Severus?"

"He was brilliant!" Harry exclaimed with a grin towards the man now giving him a glare. "He jumped between me and Lupin and also tried to keep the dementors away from me!"

"Oh, Severus, I'm so proud of you," the woman fussed over them. "You can't just go jumping in front of a werewolf either though! That was very Gryffindor of you, dear."

Madam Pomfrey had steered Harry onto one of the beds by this point as Snape followed along behind them sputtering in indignation. As soon as he was on the bed, Snape shoved Harry back onto the pillows and grabbed onto his leg. "Oi! What the bloody…?!" Harry protested the treatment.

Snape ignored Harry's protests and Madam Pomfrey's questions as he shoved up Harry's trouser leg and pulled off the dagger. "No!" He said clearly and admonishingly to Harry, looking him deeply in the eyes like he could read his every thought.

"I'm not letting them eat my soul," Harry frowned and stared right back, not being intimidated a bit.

"What did you do, Harry?" The medi-witch had paled at the dagger now in Snape's hands.

"I don't fear the afterlife, Poppy," he said, still glaring at his professor. "But I'm not going to let my soul be eaten so that I can't crossover. I'm not going to let them take that away from me."

"I'm not giving this back to you, you idiotic child!" Snape growled in a tone that Harry wasn't sure if it were anger, concern, or something else entirely. "Stupid Gryffindors!" He exclaimed under his breath next.

Frankly, there was a whole room of weapons in Gryffindor's chambers, making it not a big loss anyway, so Harry let it go. "It's dipped in basilisk venom, so please be careful with that," he warned his professor who was currently putting the dagger into a deep pocket within his robes.

Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. "I suppose you happen to be the new dealer in basilisk parts, aren't you?" He remarked, putting the pieces together. "How in Salazar's name did you happen to find a fully grown basilisk anyway?"

"Sammy is his name," Harry crossed his arms while Poppy cast her useless diagnostic spells at him and then at Snape where they would do more good. "He's a friend and Salazar Slytherin's familiar. He looks after the school and its defenses, and he's been kind enough to give me and Hagrid some of his venom and shed skin to sell."

The man's jaw dropped in surprise. "That snake is over a thousand years old?! And lives in the school?!"

"Er…yeah," Harry said slowly, not seeing why that was so shocking. "He's been here for centuries and looks after the students…well, he's been hibernating for a while, but now that he's awake again, that's his main job."

"I'm going to sit down for a bit, Poppy," Snape remarked, taking up residence on another of the beds, looking like he just wanted the day to be over with.

"That's just what I was about to suggest. Your blood pressure is concerningly high," she said with a frown, following him and casting more spells.

"You think," he remarked in dry sarcasm. "I need to talk to Albus. I don't know what to do about the snake, but he has to agree that Lupin needs to go now…"

"I'll support you," the medi-witch sneered dangerously. "You need to rest a bit first though, both of you. You had quite the fright tonight. Merlin, I need to rest, and I wasn't even out there in it!"

"Sammy won't hurt anyone," Harry was still concerned about his friend. "I promise, Professor Slytherin trained him well…"

"Potter…" Snape sighed and just leaned back on the pillows to close his eyes. "I'm not having this discussion right now. Frankly, I don't think anyone can make a thousand-year-old basilisk do anything they don't want to do anyway, especially if they aren't a Parselmouth."

Madam Pomfrey left to grab a calming draught for both of them (really all three of them) as Harry flopped back onto his pillows again. He sighed deeply and looked over at his Potions Professor. "Sir?" The man grunted in frustration. "Can I bribe you with basilisk venom and skin to not tell the headmaster about Sammy?" He tried a new tactic.

"Potter," he groaned, never opening his eyes. "While I find it refreshing that you care more for Salazar Slytherin's snake than the werewolf, please just be silent."

"Lupin almost killed you," Harry shrugged. "You have a right to be angry. Sammy saved our souls though."

"Indeed," Snape remarked with a snort, surprisingly agreeing with the infuriating child.

"By the way...thank you, sir..."

"Go to sleep, Potter."

Harry was wearing his best clothes that Madam Pomfrey had made him purchase over the summer while he was sitting in Sammy's lair and leaning up against his hard scales. Lily Potter was sitting beside him with her head resting on his shoulder, just being there and supportive. Harry figured he should be concerned about his clothes, but it was nothing a good scourgify spell couldn't handle.

"She's a good person, really," Lily assured him again. "You have nothing to be concerned about."

Harry sighed. "I just wish it wasn't so last minute. Sirius is still injured, and I wish I could be with him instead of dealing with this."

Madam Pomfrey and Dobby had run out to Hagrid's hut as soon as the sun rose after the full moon. They collected the half-giant who was unaware of any of the happenings of the night before, and went in search of Lupin and Sirius while filling the groundskeeper in. Sammy had done an excellent good job of keeping the werewolf away from the school and helping out Sirius, but the animagus was still pretty injured after the fight.

Lupin had been taken to the infirmary, and Dobby and Hagrid carried Sirius up to Gryffindor's chambers with the help of the Marauder's Map, which Poppy had stolen the night before. She apparently had access to all rooms in the castle as the school medi-witch and had just strolled into Lupin's office and confiscated it. She made some comment about Lupin developing a second hole to piss out of if he made a fuss about it when she handed it off to Dobby.

Sirius was healing up nicely while Dobby took care of him, but he still had some painful gashes on his side. Lupin…well, Harry wasn't exactly sure what Madam Pomfrey had done to him. The man looked terrified at his own shadow and couldn't even look at Harry, not that Harry was trying to talk to him or be around him at all anyway. Supposedly, she'd filled him in on what all really happened the night of the Potters' deaths and Sirius's innocence, but she refused to tell Harry what else she'd done to the werewolf who looked like he'd just spent a week in the dementors' presence. She'd strictly forbidden him from telling anyone about Sirius, even made him take some kind of magically biding oath not to, and also forbidden him from going to see the fugitive, not that he knew where Gryffindor's rooms were anyway.

It was only a couple days later though, and Amelia Bones had randomly sent word that she would be meeting with Harry later that day to discuss his guardianship situation. It was another stressful situation added onto what he was already going though, and he was just ready for it to all be over and done with. "You need to tell her as much as possible," Lily continued, squeezing Harry's hand with her cold one. "Don't tell her about basically dying, but she needs to know what all they've done if we're to get you away from there."

"I don't have anyone to stay with though. Sirius is off to Japan for the summer," he protested.

"Madam Pomfrey might take you in again," his mum suggested.

"That pigeon-livered imbecile!" Salazar Slytherin appeared by Sammy's head to exclaim in indignation.

"Huh?" Harry asked with a confused frown while Lilly suppressed a giggle. "What happened?"

"Your headmaster!" Slytherin ranted. "I don't know if he's just incompetent or a complete fool! I want him gone!"

"Er…Binns was pretty hard to get rid of and he was already a ghost. I'm not sure I can kick out the headmaster," the medium leaned against Sammy more to look up at Slytherin. "What did he do?"

"He convinced…no manipulated, your Potions Master into not reporting the werewolf!" He seethed in anger. "I'm not sure what he has on Snape, but he made the man swear to keep it to himself what happened."

"Why? That doesn't make sense," Lily asked, holding onto Harry tighter. "Remus was a friend, but what he did was unacceptable! He should be fired if not brought up on charges for endangering the students."

"I don't care if Armageddon itself was happening, he knew not to leave his office! And take the bloody potion!" The founder threw his hands into the air. "Dumbledore said that they need Lupin to stay because he will be the best one to find Black if he comes after Harry. Lupin is supposed to be a deterrent to Black apparently."

Harry frowned at that. He was certain that Snape would have taken whatever opportunity he could to get rid of Lupin. "And you don't know what the headmaster has on Snape?"

"No, unfortunately, or I'd definitely tell you," the man sighed.

::The wolf-man isn't being fired?:: Sammy asked, putting together Harry's part of the conversation he could hear.

::It doesn't sound like the headmaster is planning on it:: Harry responded, causing the snake to hiss angrily.

::I should have eaten him::

"Harry, it's time," Lily told him, standing and offering him a hand up.

"Right…no big deal, just a chat with the head of the DMLE who works at the ministry and who can order me locked up in the Department of Mysteries for the rest of my existence," he nervously grumbled while walking back towards Slytherin's chambers and the school.

"So, Mr. Potter, Madam Pomfrey had expressed concern at your living situation. Are you happy with your relatives?" The head of the DMLE actually looked quite nice in Harry's opinion. She was very stern, much like Madam Pomfrey, but she had a kindness in her eyes.

"Er…Madam Bones…could you tell me first, what would happen if you decide that my living situation needs to be looked into?" Harry nervously tugged on his sleeves and tried not to fidget. "Like, what's the process?"

"Good question, Mr. Potter," she smiled at him and laid out a piece of parchment and quill on Poppy's desk to take notes. The medi-witch had given them her office to meet in, hoping it would be a little more comfortable for Harry.

"We would need to have you seen by a ministry approved healer at St. Mungo's to establish any physical injuries, and I would turn over my notes to the Department of Children's Welfare to have them visit your relatives and interview them. I don't normally deal with child welfare cases, but Poppy asked me to talk with you personally. The case workers may determine that a mild truth serum or compulsion charm is necessary if your relatives aren't cooperative, but they tend to work quickly, especially with the end of the term approaching."

Harry frowned and paled slightly, tugging on his sleeves even more. Poppy had cast enough diagnostic spells at him to for him to be certain that the ministry healer was a terrible idea. Plus, what would the case workers find at the Dursleys'? What they learned, paired with the healer finding out he was dead, would get him a one-way ticket to the Department of Ministries and becoming a research study.

"I'm sorry, Madam Bones," he said slowly, letting out a breath and doing his best to avoid her eyes. "I think Madam Pomfrey is confused and may have gotten the wrong impression. My relatives treat me very well. Actually, I m-miss them," he said, trying not to choke on the blatant lie.

The woman frowned and placed a monocle on her left eye. "You're saying that you have nothing to fear being returned to your aunt and uncle's house over the summer?"

"N-no ma'am," he shook his head firmly.

"You don't fear for your health or safety in any way?" She asked next, obviously not believing him.

"Er…actually…I do," he looked up with a frown. "The dementors around the school have tried to kill me twice. I'm much more worried about them than Sirius Black who hasn't been seen anywhere near Hogwarts this entire year."

The monocle fell right out of Madam Bones's eye as she stared at him. "Excuse me…did you say the dementors have tried to kill you twice?!"

"Well…suck out my soul if we're being technical. Once at a quidditch match and once just two nights ago," he continued. "Also, I really am not prejudiced at all…please don't think I have anything against magical creatures. I think they're just wonderful as a whole…" he said fervently.

"Ok," the woman said slowly, obviously concerned about where this was going.

"Well, in general, werewolves are perfectly fine, but they have to follow the safety measures when there's a full moon."

"Werewolves?" She asked with a confused frown. "I don't understand."

"Well, Professor Lupin really is a good DADA professor, much better than the two before him, but he didn't take his potion two nights ago and attacked me and Professor Snape on the castle grounds. It wasn't even curfew and anyone could have been outside. If it wasn't for Madam Pomfrey's dog, he would have gotten us," Harry explained.

He really didn't want to turn in Professor Lupin, but if the ministry was allowing a werewolf to teach children, then they should make sure they followed proper safety protocol. He wasn't really concerned about himself, but Professor Snape could have been killed, and he'd been so brave trying to save Harry. "I have nothing against a werewolf as a professor, please don't misunderstand," he said quickly while the woman just stared at him. "It's just, there needs to be people making sure the students are safe. Maybe two people who watch him take the potion and lock him in a room or something. Some way where this can't happen again."

"Mr. Potter…are you saying that one of your professors is a werewolf and attacked you and another professor on the castle grounds?" She asked as her quill danced across the parchment now.

"Er, yeah? You didn't know?" He frowned. "Erm…well, anyway, I've been in much more danger here at the school this year than with my relatives. I almost died three times this year," he added with a shrug at the end, more concerned about the dementors than anything else.

"Not to mention Professor Snape almost died as well. If it wasn't for him and Madam Pomfrey's dog, I really don't want to think what would have happened," he said with a shudder and avoiding any mention of Sammy.

"I assure you, Mr. Potter, I will be looking into this immediately," she pursed her lips in anger while continuing to write. "Is there anything else about your relatives…or this past year that you want to tell me?"

Harry thought about that, but he didn't think there was anything else she could help with. "I don't think so…"

"I'll be leaving you my card. Owl me any time," she said with a sad smile at him.

Chapter Text

"How did it go? Are you filing charges against them? I hope they rot in prison..." Madam Pomfrey asked her friend when Harry left the infirmary.

"I can't. He said they treat him well, and there isn't anything to be concerned about," Madam Bones frowned as she rolled up the parchment she'd been taking notes on.

The medi-witch stared at her in confusion. "No…what actually happened? That can't be right. What did Harry say exactly?"

Amelia Bones opened Poppy's desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey she knew lived there. "You mind?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Only if you don't pour me one too," Poppy took a couple glass tumblers from a cabinet in the corner and passed them over.

"Mr. Potter asked about the process we take in our investigations, and then when I told him, he said nothing was wrong," she explained. "I don't know what part of the process scared him, but it's standard to have an abuse victim checked out by a ministry approved healer and then an investigator sent to the home."

Poppy closed her eyes and let out a sad breath. She knew exactly what part of that Harry would object to. She'd assumed that her fabricated medical file for him would be enough, but it made sense that the ministry would have an official healer to collect evidence. "What do we do then, Amy? I can't let him go back there. They are without a doubt abusive."

The head of the DMLE sat back in the armchair she'd claimed in her friend's office and sipped her drink. "Now, Poppy…you were the one in Slytherin while I was a humble Hufflepuff…what would one do for a student who should not go back to their relatives, relatives who by all accounts would love to not see him for the entire summer…?" Amelia raised an eyebrow as she sipped her drink again.

"You were never a humble Hufflepuff," Poppy snorted, but now she had a mischievous smile on her face as she reached her tumbler out to clink it against the other woman's.

"Now about this werewolf professor…why am I just now hearing about this?" Madam Bones glared at her friend.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with a werewolf professor," Poppy rolled her eyes. "The problem is the man himself, not his affliction. If he would follow the rules…"

"Right, right," Amelia snorted and cut her off before she could get on a rant. "Now, about the dementors…why didn't I know they were such a problem?"

"I don't know…it's not like I haven't complained loudly and consistently since September," Poppy drawled sarcastically. "That is on the ministry…I expect to see them gone before next year. Personally, I'd prefer you take them with you today."

"I don't have that much control over them currently," she thought pensively for minute. "I will get them taken away though. You have my word. As for the professor, I know you have a bleeding heart and will argue for his continued place here…"

"Merlin, no!" Poppy coughed on her whiskey in surprise. "I want him fired! I have no problem with a werewolf teaching here, but only if they follow safety protocols to the absolute letter. He has proven that he cannot. I will not have my children put in harm's way!"

"I'll drink to that then," Amelia smiled and clinked their glasses together once more.

Cedric Diggory sat in the middle of the quidditch pitch enjoying the sun shining on his face and the warmth of the day while he waited on his friend for their seeker's game. He smiled as Harry became visible just outside of the stands, walking slowly with his broom over his shoulder and a medium sized box in his other hand. Cedric wondered what the box was for, but just leaned back on his forearms and waited for Harry to finally get there.

"Hey, Ced…good day?" Harry asked nervously.

Now, that was different. Cedric peered up at the teen now standing over him and blocking the sun. Why was Harry nervous? "Yeah, looking forward to our match. I desperately needed a break from studying for OWLs. What about you? How's your revising going?"

"Er…ok. I'm not big on doing too much revising," Harry shrugged like he really couldn't be bothered to spend extra energy going through his textbooks. "Erm…I have something for you, and something I wanted to ask you," he said, passing the box to Cedric.

The Hufflepuff sat up when Harry joined him on the ground and opened the lid of the box in interest. He paused and stared at the contents questioningly. "Harry…"

"Oh, er, well…I know you like strawberries at breakfast, and you always choose something chocolate for dessert, so I thought these would be nice…" Harry nervously explained.

Cedric's eyes widened at the largest, most delicious looking chocolate covered strawberries he'd ever seen. Now, Cedric may have only been a fifth year, but he knew quite a bit about crushes and giving gifts before asking someone out that you were interested in. He'd dated a couple girls already, though the relationships hadn't lasted long and had ended amicably with them deciding to remain friends. He had yet to be on the receiving end of this attention before, but this gift definitely looked like he was about to get asked out.

"Harry…" he began again, not exactly sure where he was going with this. "I need you to be really clear with me now, ok? What are you asking me?"

Cedric looked up at him. He didn't think he was interested in his younger friend, but he had to admit that Harry was quite cute. He hadn't really considered it before, but now that the thought crossed his mind, he wasn't absolutely certain he'd be against it. But was that was Harry was asking…?

"Oh, sorry," Harry cleared his throat and seemed to be trying to look very formal. "Cedric Diggory, would you do me the honor of officially being my friend?"

"Er?" Cedric frowned. What? "I thought we were already friends?"

"Well, it wasn't official now, was it?" Harry smiled as relief started replacing the anxiety, and he looked at Cedric like he should obviously know what he was talking about.

"I guess it wasn't…" he laughed and took a strawberry out of the box to eat, pushing down the small spark of disappointment at the question. "Then, yes, I will officially be your friend."

"Great! Now, I'm going to make you wish you'd never heard of quidditch before!" Harry jumped on his broom and flew off laughing into the sky while Cedric polished off the strawberry and flew after him.

"So, Pup, how'd it go?" Sirius asked with a smirk on his face while he poured Harry some tea that Dobby had just delivered, only being slightly sore and stiff now when he moved.

"Great! He said yes!" Harry grinned back and snagged a biscuit off the tray.

"And he knew what you were talking about? He didn't make any other assumptions about what you might be asking him?" Sirius raised an eyebrow with an amused look in his eyes. He'd at least talked Harry out of the flowers, but he just wouldn't be dissuaded from the strawberries he'd had Dobby help him make in the kitchen for the Hufflepuff seeker.

"No, what would he think I would be asking him?" The teen had an adorable look of confusion on his face.

"Nothing…nothing at all," Sirius shook his head and laughed. He was definitely leaving this conversation for Poppy. She was a medical professional, so it was only fitting. "How's revising going?"

Harry groaned and sank down on Gryffindor's comfortable couch. "Don't you start in on me too!"

"Mr. Potter!" Remus Lupin called out for his student to stay after class ended on the last day of term.

Harry had just finished up the obstacle course Lupin had set up for their final exam and had blasted the Ron-boggart right out of the course with a violent burst of accidental magic. He grimaced and assumed he was definitely about to be in trouble. It wasn't his fault that his magic tried to protect him from emotional trauma though!

"Professor?" He sighed while the rest of the class filed out except for Ron and Hermione who stayed just within hearing range to be supportive. That and they were now on the Lupin is a terrible adult bandwagon when Harry told them what happened the night of the full moon, leaving out the fact that Snuffles was Sirius Black, but actually filling them in on knowing Salazar Slytherin's snake. He'd thought he had already told them that, but apparently not. Surprisingly, neither wanted to meet the giant, deadly snake.

"I just wanted to apologize," Lupin said awkwardly. "I haven't been allowed to talk to our…mutual friend yet, but I hope you realize that I didn't know."

"Yes, sir. I'm very aware of that," Harry nodded stiffly, wishing that he was getting in trouble for the boggart instead of having to have this conversation.

"Well…you may have heard, but I'm not returning next term…"

More like he'd been fired, Harry snorted to himself internally. He found it quite hilarious that he was directly responsible for the loss of the last three DADA professors. It seemed that if there was actually a curse on the DADA job, then it'd decided to use him as its choice of person to work through. Frankly, based on the three professors so far, he wasn't against it.

"I had heard something about that, yes," Harry replied dryly in the understatement of the century.

"I'd hoped that maybe…well, maybe I could write you sometime? Maybe tell you a little about your parents?" The professor looked at him with an apology shining in his eyes.

Harry saw it, and he saw that the man really did feel badly, but he was already on Harry's list. He was done with the man. "I'm sorry, Professor," Harry commented with no emotion in his voice. "I'll be much too busy taking care of Snuffles and with my schoolwork to reply to any letters. Maybe if we'd talked about my parents while you were a teacher here, but you see…I'm much too busy now," he replied as the man's face fell and he looked like he'd been slapped.

"Harry…"

"Mr. Lupin…I hope you have a good life," Harry nodded at him, actually meaning the sentiment, and turned on his heel to join his friends.

"I never want to see myself as a boggart again," Ron grumbled when Harry joined them and they walked towards the castle. He slung an arm around his friend's shoulder. "You should have set it on fire."

"Accidental magic is called that because it's accidental," Hermione rolled her eyes at him. She still looked put out that she hadn't made it past her McGonagall boggart that told her she'd failed though.

"Eh, I tend to be able to aim for ice more easily," Harry shrugged as that did seem to be the direction his magic went when he got a spell wrong. He figured it had something to do with his magic being more dead than most. "So…what classes are you dropping for next term, 'Mione?"

She growled in frustration. "Fine! I'm dropping Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures…between you, Madam Pomfrey, and my parents I'm surprised I'm not only enrolled in all the fluff classes with the two of you!"

"Oi! I resent that!" Ron scoffed.

"Yeah, Divination is actually pretty awesome! I hope Trelawney predicts a really gruesome death for me in our exam this afternoon!" Harry grinned at both of them. "I mean, I survived attack by werewolf, so she's going to have to top that one."

Hermione looked completely scandalized as Ron laughed from where he was still draped over Harry's shoulders. "Merlin! You're mental!" He gasped out between laughs. "I love it!"

Harry stared at the woman in front of him whose eyes turned opaque and who was gasping in rattling breaths. She opened her mouth and Harry already had his quill poised over his parchment to write down what he could only suppose must be about to be a prophesy.

"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been hiding these twelve years. The servant is disguised no longer and has sought out the one he owes his allegiance. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. The war is coming…the war…will…begin…"

"Huh," Harry looked down at his parchment and frowned.

Trelawney cleared her throat and shook her head, looking at Harry in confusion. "Sorry, my child, I must have dozed off a bit there…"

"Er, no ma'am, you just made a prophesy. It was quite impressive too," Harry looked at her with awe in his eyes. "Too bad that it was about Voldemort rising again though…at least it sounds like he's not planning to possess someone this time around. Maybe he's getting a bit more original."

She scoffed at the teen in front of her. "Of course, I would never make a prophesy that ridiculous, Mr. Potter!" She informed him imperiously. "It must have just been a dream. You have misunderstood, my child."

He frowned and looked between his parchment and the woman. "Hope so," he shrugged. "Anyway…back to my crystal ball…I'm pretty sure I see a raven and a clown. I think that means that death follows me, but it's going to be fun…or maybe terrifying. I guess it depends on what you think of clowns."

"Ready for my report?!" Harry was sitting in Professor Slytherin's chambers as the man himself paced and both Helga Hufflepuff and Godric Gryffindor chatted flirtatiously with each other in the corner.

Harry had spread out all the papers from his notes the entire semester on the professors he was supposed to be evaluating, and they took up the entire kitchen table. "Whenever you are, Harry," Slytherin waved a hand for Harry to begin as the other two founders quieted down to listen.

"Well, Binns we already got rid of, and it's not on me to find a replacement," he shoved all his notes on History of Magic to one side. "Flitwick is perfectly competent, so I stopped taking notes after the second week of class, so is Sinistra and Sprout. McGonagall is a good teacher, but I think she's overworked," Harry picked up that stack of parchment and flipped through it. "She's teaching, head of house, and deputy headmistress…"

"We'd never have given one person all those jobs," Helga sighed and shook her head.

"Yes…I don't know what to do about that, and Dumbledore is already on your bad list," Harry looked to Slytherin who sneered. "Besides the whole werewolf-cover-up thing, I don't have anything against the man though."

"I don't like him," Godric added in, in case it made any difference.

"Anyway…Hagrid is doing pretty good. Poppy and I have been having to help him with his lesson plans though since most creatures are afraid of me and react poorly in class. I might have to drop next term," he sighed, not really wanting to drop the class. "He said he'd help me continue if I want though..."

"What about Divination and Potions? Those were the ones I wanted the most information on," Slytherin prodded impatiently.

"Hold your hippogriffs," Harry rolled his eyes and pulled forward those two stacks of parchment. "Trelawney is awesome! And, she just prophesied Voldemort's return during my exam! I mean…he's already tried to come back a couple times now, so it's highly likely. She even said I was likely to die from a ritual gone wrong…that's probably what killed me, right?!"

"Possibly," Professor Hufflepuff nodded her head. "We think we might know what happened to you, but our guess seems highly unlikely. We need more evidence. If your Dark Lord did a ritual for what's called a horcrux, it could explain what's attached to your soul, but we have no idea how in Circe's name it could be done accidentally."

"Ok," Harry nodded, impressed they had found something. "You want me to look it up?"

"No!" All three founders exclaimed at once with horror on their faces.

"Merlin! Fine, I won't look into it," the teen looked at them like they'd all gone mental. "If it's that bad, I don't want to know anyway. Just let me know when you all know for sure, ok?"

"That we can do," Hufflepuff assured him quickly.

"Right then, I vote we keep her," Harry summarized firmly. "I vote the same for Snape. He's a terrible teacher, but he saved my life."

"You're such a Hufflepuff!" Slytherin rolled his eyes.

"Why thank you," Helga smiled at both of them.

"Hey, Quirrell tried to kill me, Lockhart wiped people's memories, and Lupin also tried to kill me. If there's a professor that wants to save my life, I'm all for keeping them…even if they are acerbic gits," he explained with a shrug. "I might be hard to kill…or rather end my existence, but I have friends who aren't. I'd like to keep the non-murderous professors around as long as possible. Besides…I think I'm wearing him down."

"I doubt that," Slytherin smirked. "What does your mother say?"

"Er, she still wants him gone, but surprisingly, Dad's come around to wanting him to stay," he said with a grin. That had been an interesting argument. "Besides, there isn't much I can do to get him fired anyway…though I do have a pretty good track record at this point since I've gotten rid of…four? Right, four professors now."

"I vote we keep who we have and move to focusing on the wards," Gryffindor spoke up. "They are having to hire two new professors next term anyway, and you said the wards were basically in shambles."

"A bit of an overstatement there," Hufflepuff smirked at Slytherin.

"Maybe not shambles, but they definitely need an upgrade," he clarified with a roll of his eyes. "Fine, we'll keep the professors we have, but keep an eye on them. Make sure to take all the warding books from the shelves over there when you leave," he motioned to the bookcase behind him.

"Right," Harry piled up his parchment again and stacked it neatly on an end table before starting to pull every book the founders pointed at off the shelves to pack up for his summer vacation…or long study session and slave labor to his relatives.

Harry sighed sadly as he looked out the window of the train at the platform of Kings Cross Station. "Come on mate, perk up," Ron shoved his shoulder with a grin. "Dad said we might be able to take you to the Quidditch World Cup. Wouldn't that be awesome?!"

"Hmm, yeah, that'd be great," Harry smiled sadly at him.

Sirius had left the day before by a portkey for the Japanese rehabilitation facility and Harry was not looking forward to another summer with the Dursleys, especially since he'd blown up Aunt Marge the summer before. Dobby and Poppy had just hustled Sirius off and made sure Harry had everything packed up before they sent him off with a quick wave. He'd really miss them too.

"Right, here's my phone number," Hermione passed Harry a slip of parchment with a number on it. "You call if you need anything. My family isn't that far from you if you're in Surrey."

"Er, I don't have a fellyphone, but owl anytime, mate. Fred and George still know how to steal Dad's car," Ron assured him next. "Even though I know you'll be too busy to respond to any owls," he smirked, reminding Harry of what he'd said to Lupin.

Harry rolled his eyes and gave his friend a playful shove as they collected their trunks and Hedwig in her cage to leave the train. The platform was just as busy as Harry remembered from the past two years, and it was a pain and a half to shove through all the families to cross the barrier to where his relatives would be waiting on the muggle side. "See you guys later!" He waved behind him to Cedric and the twins who were chatting by a pile of luggage before he pushed his trunk back into the muggle world.

Harry took a deep breath and looked around at all the hurrying muggles for his Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia, but he didn't see either of them. He frowned. Maybe they decided not to pick him up that year? It wouldn't be the first time they couldn't be bothered to pick him up from something.

"You ready? Got everything then?" A familiar voice asked him from his right.

Harry spun around and smiled at the woman wearing muggle jeans, a green t-shirt, slightly muddy trainers, and who had her graying hair up in a messy bun on top of her head. "Poppy! What're you doing here?!"

"Why, kidnapping you, of course!" She laughed and took Hedwig's cage from him.

"What? You can do that?" He asked, trotting along behind his kidnapper happily as she led him out of the station.

Poppy just shrugged. "Sure, why not? Your relatives were woefully easy to convince. Plus, I'm fairly certain the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would cover up my crime in this instance."

"This is awesome!" Harry exclaimed. "How're we getting to your house?"

Poppy winced dramatically. "Hagrid has this motorbike thing…I'm not the best at driving it, I'll be completely honest with you…"

"Best! Summer! Ever!" Harry exclaimed in even more excitement as they made their way from the station and out into London.

Chapter Text

Dear Hermione,

First of all, I absolutely promise I'm fine. Remember how I ran away from home last summer…well, I'm staying the same place I stayed last year, only this time I got kidnapped into it instead of running away. Seriously, 'Mione, it's brilliant! Dobby and…my host, have made sure that I've already been working on my homework. You'd be so proud of me; it's almost done already.

They said that when I get my homework done, they'll take me to the beach! Can you imagine it, the beach and the Quidditch World Cup all in one summer?! I'm so excited, I'm not really sure what to do with myself.

I still have your phone number, and my host has a phone she said I can use. Are you free on Sunday for me to give you a call?

Harry

Dear Ron,

We're on for the Quidditch World Cup! This is going to be epic! Oh, don't come get me from the Dursleys; I'm not there. I got waylaid on the way out of the train station, and I'm staying the same place I stayed last summer. We're actually going to the beach for my birthday! I've never been to the beach before. Dobby is very excited as well. He's been brewing sunscreen for all of us. I think he's worried I'm going to fall asleep outside and turn into a tomato or something.

Oh, I have to tell you all about it when I see you, but Hagrid has this awesome motorbike that he lent to my host. We drove it from the station, and I think we almost crashed like ten times, but it has so many magical protection spells that we just bounced. It was the most fun I've had, ever! See you soon!

Harry

Dear Cedric,

Are you going to the Quidditch World Cup?! Please say you are! Ron invited me, so I'll be going with them. Don't you live close by the Weasleys? I heard that Bulgaria is playing, and that Krum is supposedly one of the best seekers alive. We have to go and watch him! See you there?

Harry

Dear Pup,

Thank you for the care package. I shared the biscuits with my healer as you said to do, as much of a huge sacrifice as that was. She said to send along her thanks to you. So…Poppy kidnapped you? I love that woman. If she ever decides she wouldn't mind a younger man around, tell her I'll marry her any day. I'm positive she is way out of my league though.

I'm so jealous you're going to the Quidditch World Cup! You have to write and tell me all about it! I think they'll let me escape from here around mid-August. That's the most they'll commit to telling me. I guess I'm a bit of a mess. I'm still working on what I'll do after. My healer and I have been talking about it though, so I'll come up with something.

Lupin requested a visit, but my healer turned him down. I know you said that I shouldn't make a decision about being his friend based on your experiences with him, but Pup, I really don't think that's possible. At least I can put off that confrontation a little longer. It'd probably be best if the scars he left from our last encounter heal a bit first anyway. Be good for Poppy and Dobby and have a whole lot of fun. You deserve it.

Love you, Pup

Snuffles

Dear Gred and Forge,

Snuffles sends his love. He asked if you guys had finished that potion he asked you about at the end of term that would cause someone to lose all their hair until it naturally grew back? I did make him swear that it wasn't for his healer or for Poppy, so I'm good with passing it along if you have it finished.

Also, Gideon and Fabian said to tell you that your mum knows about the potions lab in the attic with the ghoul. They said you'll want to move it if you have anything you don't want her to see that you're developing. I think they're planning to join us for the World Cup, so that'll be great!

Summer going well? You see Cedric any? Miss you guys!

Harry

Harry woke himself screaming, tears streaming from his eyes. His panic slowly subsided enough for him to take in the ocean breeze coming in through his window and the strong but tiny arms wrapped around him. "Shh, Master Harry had a nightmare," Dobby patted his hair. "Dobby is here. Everything is fine."

Harry took in a deep calming breath, letting the sound of the waves wash over him. They'd been at a beach in France for about a week for his birthday, and Harry had firmly decided that he wanted to live by the ocean after he graduated. Dobby was still patting his back as Harry wiped the moisture from his face. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Dobby," he squeezed his friend's hand with a smile.

The elf scoffed and glared at the teen. "Dobby is here for his little master. You's wake Dobby whenever you need him, and no apologies!"

"Thanks," Harry chuckled as the elf tightened his hold on him in a loose hug.

"Now, you tells Dobby what the nightmare was about, and Dobby will fix it."

Harry frowned as the nightmare that had been so vivid moments before started to slip away. "Er…do you think dreams are sometimes truth? I mean, I have a connection to Voldemort, and I think I might have been seeing something that really happened. There was an old muggle man that he killed, but I think Pettigrew was still alive. I don't even know how that would be possible though."

Dobby gave it some deep thought. "Yes, I think dreams can be true, especially if the soul-parasite yous have is from the Dark Lord. The rat-man faked his own death once before, didn't he?"

Harry groaned, seeing where Dobby was going with the question and really not wanting it to be true. "Maybe it was just a nightmare. Voldemort was this weird, evil baby and usually he just possesses someone, so that doesn't seem his standard go-to."

"Could Master Harry have a spirit go check?" Dobby frowned and started petting Harry's back again comfortingly.

"I don't even know where they were holed up for me to tell a spirit. Spirits can go wherever they want, but they don't have any supernatural powers to find someone if they don't know where they are already," he sighed.

"Then, there's nothing Master Harry can do right now," Dobby said decisively and with a firm nod. "The master will keeps a dream journal and start writing everything down. We's two will talk through the dreams and see what they's telling us."

Harry smiled, wondering what he'd done in his life to deserve such a good friend. "Ok, thank you Dobby. You always know just what to say."

Dobby snorted and slid off the bed. "Goes back to sleep, Master. Mr. Hagrid will be by later today and then you's need to get ready for you's Wheezy's house."

"Night, Dobby," Harry smiled and closed his eyes, the last of the dream slipping away as he sank back into sleep.

Hagrid stayed with Harry, Poppy, and Dobby for a couple days before he was to take Harry to the Weasley's house and Poppy and Dobby went back to Durham. It was a quite a sight to see the half-giant in swim trunks, a wide-brimmed hat, and Dobby's homemade sunscreen on his nose sunbathing by the ocean. He called out suggestions and encouragement while Poppy tried to teach Harry to swim. Harry felt like he was just about getting it when they went inside for a beautiful seafood dinner that Dobby had made and to be thoroughly trounced in poker by Hagrid.

It was with great sadness that Harry threw his things in a bag to leave the ocean. He really wanted to see the World Cup, but they'd been having so much fun lounging around the beach house Poppy had rented and just hanging out. It was the best summer he'd had so far, and it wasn't even over yet.

"Keep your wand on you at all times, and don't get separated from your friends," Poppy fussed over him while Dobby made the portkey to take Harry and Hagrid to Ottery St. Catchpole, something that Harry was certain was very illegal based on the amused and mischievous look Poppy gave the elf when he suggested it.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded and took the hat she handed him that proudly supported the Irish National Team. Apparently, she was a big fan and was trying to convert him.

"I know Hedwig is staying with us but call Dobby or send the Weasley owl if you need anything," she told him for the hundredth time.

"I'll be back in just a few days. I'll be fine, Poppy," he assured her with a quick hug. "Padfoot will be back in a few days too, and we'll read trashy novels and play poker again the rest of the summer."

She sniffed in an act of not caring, but she also straightened his t-shirt and tried to flatten his hair anyway. "Right, well, I'm your guardian this summer, legal or not, and I take that seriously. Even if no one else ever has for you," she sneered. She still hadn't informed her charge of the fact she'd left a few cursed objects around his aunt and uncle's house when she'd visited to inform them she would be taking their nephew for the summer. That really wasn't important for him to know…they couldn't be traced back to her anyway, Amelia had made sure of that.

"Righ' grab on Harry," Hagrid held out the tiny cocktail umbrella Dobby had turned into the portkey that looked ridiculous in his large hand.

" Harry!"

Harry had been at the Weasley house for a grand total of two minutes before he was tackled to the ground by two over-zealous redheads that no one else could see. "Oi! Prats!" He exclaimed under his breath while Ron rushed over to help him up, obviously thinking he was just very clumsy and had fallen on his way up the path to the house.

"You ok, 'Arry?" Hagrid helped him up before Ron could get there.

"I'll live," he joked with a wry grin at his large friend.

"This is going to be brilliant!" Fabian Prewett ruffled Harry's hair, making it look like non-existent wind was blowing just on Harry's head.

"Yeah! You're going to love the World Cup! We got to go ourselves when we were around your age," Gideon added on.

"Plus, you get to meet the rest of the family. I think you'll really like Charlie!" Fabian bounced over and dramatically motioned to a Weasley Harry hadn't met before that was fairly burly and had a few nasty burn scars peeking out from under his sleeves. He looked more like the Prewett twins than anyone else in the family Harry had met so far being stockier and a bit shorter than the rest, like the twins.

"Ron!" Harry hugged his friend who finally reached them.

"Good to see you, mate!" Ron laughed. "Getting a bit clumsy there, aren't we?"

"You must be Charlie," Harry reached out a hand with a smile to the man who'd followed his brother.

"Right in one!" Charlie grinned broadly and crushed Harry's hand in his much larger one.

"Oh, you meet Bill yet?" Ron asked as the older Weasley brother walked over, looking much too cool to work for a bank, even if it was in curse breaking.

"Nope, just heard the stories!" He laughed and shook the other man's hand.

"Don't believe any of them," Bill smiled. "And if they mention anything having to do with an Egyptian tomb and a puffskein, they are lying through their teeth, and I'll claim that to my dying day."

"Ok, enough of this, who's up for a quidditch match? I haven't flown in ages!" Charlie gave a long-suffering sigh as if he were suffering from withdrawals.

"I am!" Cedric Diggory walked up with Hermione from where they had been talking over by the garden and threw an arm around Harry's shoulder. "The twins ambushed me this morning as soon as I stepped out my door saying that you were coming in," he said with a fake glare to where the Weasley Twins were already pulling brooms out of the shed while the Prewett Twins followed along behind them, unbeknownst to them.

"Brilliant! You all do realize we have three seekers here though, right?" He laughed. "Someone's going to have a play a different position."

"And that be my cue to leave," Hagrid said, wanting to escape before they seriously got into the quidditch talk. He wasn't a huge fan. "Have fun, Harry!" He clapped the teen on the shoulder, almost making his knees buckle.

"See you in a few days, Hagrid!" He waved as the man activated the tiny umbrella portkey to take him back to Dobby and Poppy.

"So, Hermione…wanna play beater?" Charlie looked at their friend assessingly. "You look like you're probably tougher than you appear. You'd have to be to keep my little brother in line."

"Merlin, no!" She exclaimed in a scandalized tone. "I'll keep score. Make Harry play keeper or his team will win too quickly."

"I don't believe he's that good," Charlie was already herding the group out to their make-shift pitch. "I might have to see that for myself."

"It's your ego we're trying to save," Cedric snorted and ruffled a glaring Harry's hair, messing it up even more than it had been.

"Oi! Where'd you get the Irish National hat?! That's brilliant! I'm supporting them too…well, them and Krum!" Ron gushed as Harry pulled the ball cap on his head to keep people's fingers out of his hair.

"Poppy's a fan," he shrugged with a fond smile on his face. "She said to get it signed if I meet any players."

"I can't believe the school medi-witch kidnapped you for the summer," Hermione shook her head with a questioning raise of her eyebrow. "She must have had a good reason."

Harry shifted nervously under where Cedric still had an arm over his shoulder. "Erm, well…you know how the Dursleys feel about magic…Poppy didn't approve…" He really wasn't comfortable saying any more than that.

"Yeah, but…" Hermione started.

"Leave him be, 'Mione," Ron cut her off, seeing his friend's nervous and embarrassed look. He also had a very good guess at why the medi-witch might not want Harry to go back to his relatives. Normal, loving families don't put bars on their child's second floor window and feed them through a cat-flap, even Ron knew that. "Madam Pomfrey is good people. She had her reasons."

"She could really get in trouble though," Hermione frowned in confusion at Ron's protective look.

"Eh," Harry snorted. "Madam Bones has stopped by a few times this summer and no one's gotten arrested, so I think we're in the clear. However, I may also have lost all my fear of the head of the DMLE after she's three martinis in and singing the Hogwarts school song as a rap while Poppy beatboxes."

"You lead such an odd life," Bill looked at the teen in surprise, but all of Harry's friends just rolled their eyes and looked at each other over Harry's head. He didn't know the half of it.

Harry was completely overwhelmed. Apparently, die-hard quidditch fans maintained that enthusiasm even after they died. Harry lived in a castle with ghosts and was frequently visited by crossed-over spirits, and he'd never seen so many dead people in his (life?) than what had decided to join the living at the Quidditch World Cup. "Wow," he breathed out to the Prewett twins who were taking in the chaos beside him.

"Welcome to one of the most popular living-person events amongst the dead," Gideon grinned excitedly. "It's really this and the Super Bowl over in the States that have the biggest turn-outs."

Somehow Harry could usually always tell if someone he was looking at was living or dead just based on how their spirit felt to him, but he reminded himself to be extra vigilant in the press of people around him. He was shoved to the side as a dead Bulgaria fan taunting a living Ireland fan passed him, almost trying to walk right through him like a normal living person. "This is insane!" He shook his head at the hundreds of people just in his current line of sight.

"I know, right?" Ron looked on gleefully beside him, not even seeing half of the people around them.

"Right, real talk, little brother," Fabian turned to him with a serious expression on his face. "Try not to let on that you can see the dead or you may find yourself mobbed by people wanting you to pass on messages to their loved ones."

"But, if you happen to see Godric, tell him Gideon wants to put fifty on Bulgaria," the man added with a smirk.

"You wouldn't think one of the revered founders is running the largest afterlife betting pool, but here we are," Fabian chuckled. "I want thirty on Ireland, if you see him first." Harry gave them a stunned nod before they ran off to join the fun and he turned back to his living friends.

"Er, I should probably go now," Cedric said after a glance at where his father was motioning for him to get a move on and follow.

"Sure, see you after?" Harry smiled up at him.

He wasn't sure what he felt about Cedric's father who he'd met just that morning. Amos Diggory obviously cared for his son, but he was blind to how his focus on Cedric's achievements made his son uncomfortable. Harry wondered how much of Cedric's anxiety and stress over his grades, quidditch, and becoming a healer was really just pressure from his father. His friend wasn't exasperated by his dad's praise like Bill had been when Arthur Weasley talked about him…with Cedric, it was almost fear or concern. He figured he was probably reading too much into it though and gave the Hufflepuff a quick hug before he left to find their camping area on the other side of the pitch.

The quidditch game itself was actually a whole lot of uncomfortable. Many of the spirits crammed into the top box where they were sitting, and it was only the fact that he was flanked on one side by Ron and the other by Fabian that kept him from getting run into or sat on. Interestingly, it seemed that, like the dead around him, Harry was immune to Veela allure. Thank Merlin for small mercies in his opinion. He didn't fancy himself wanting to get all gooey over a group of pretty girls. Harry mentally registered that the Malfoys were with them and there was some drama with a house elf, but he had his eyes closed for a lot of what happened to block out the sensory overload of the noise and too many people around him. He breathed out a sigh of relief when Krum caught the snitch, even though Gideon was indignantly yelling at the seeker from in front of him.

"Hey, baby. Fabian stopped by to say you were overwhelmed today," Lily Potter sat on Harry's cot that night and ran her fingers through his shaggy curls once Ron fell asleep in the tent.

"Hmm, yeah. There were just too many people and too much noise," he smiled lovingly at his mum. "Before Hogwarts, I was never around people besides school, and this was so much more than Hogwarts."

"I know, Love. I'm sorry I didn't think to warn you," she sighed sadly at her son's life.

"I think I'm looking forward to going back to Durham," he hated to admit since Ron had made such a big deal about spending time with him. "It was interesting though."

Loud bangs and screams suddenly filtered into the tent causing Lily Potter to shoot up in surprise. "I'll go check it out! Stay here!"

Harry went ahead and got out of bed and put on his trainers, not liking the sound of what he was hearing. "What is it?" He asked as Lily appeared worriedly beside his bed again.

"It's Death Eaters! Call Dobby and go home!" She instructed him firmly in her best Mum voice. "There are plenty of ministry workers here to handle it; you need to get away before Voldemort's supporters notice you here."

Harry really didn't need to be told twice. "Dobby!" He yelled loudly, waking Ron in the process.

It took Dobby about seven trips, but Harry, all the Weasleys, and Hermione were in Poppy's sitting room before the campgrounds could even start to be evacuated. "Well…I say…er, hello?" Arthur Weasley looked at Poppy in confusion when Dobby dropped him last on the couch.

"Oh, Harry, are you ok? What happened?" The matron fussed over him and ignored Arthur.

"There were Death Eaters…" he started.

"Death Eaters!" Sirius Black interrupted as he ran into the room and physically lifted Harry up into a concerned hug. "Merlin, Harry! Are you hurt?! I just got in, and you've already been attacked! I knew I shouldn't have left you!"

"I'm fi…" Harry wasn't able to finish the sentence as they both took in the six wands currently pointed at Sirius's chest.

"Riiight…" Sirius slowly placed Harry back on the ground. "You all can curse me in a bit, but I want Harry to answer me if he's injured first," he glared down Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Ron, Hermione, and surprisingly Percy who were all ready to attack.

"Dad, chill…Padfoot's all right," Fred huffed and sat on the couch.

"Yes, Siri is completely innocent," George added in shoving Ron's wand down.

"I'm fine, Sirius," Harry cut in to assure him quickly. "Dobby got us out before the Death Eaters got anywhere near us. He even checked that Cedric got away too."

"Merlin, the war is supposed to be over," Madam Pomfrey sighed tiredly. "Arthur, stand down, Mr. Black is harmless."

"Yes, please don'ts kill the dog-man. He owes Dobby money," the elf grinned widely at the fugitive who glared back.

"Dobby cheats at cards," Sirius huffed.

"Do not!" The elf smirked.

"Sirius Black is a wanted fugitive," Bill Weasley spoke up, not lowering his wand an inch. "We should turn him in immediately."

"Siri has been hanging around Harry and Hogwarts for an entire year and hasn't hurt anyone," George informed them.

"Yeah, you all remember Snuffles?" Fred laughed in explanation.

"You're Madam Pomfrey's dog?!" Hermione gasped. "Why?!"

"Peter Pettigrew framed him," Harry put an arm around his godfather's waist in support. "I found him last summer, and he's spent most of this summer with healers. Pettigrew was…might still be…alive."

"Wait, what?! You said Hagrid's dog ate him!" Sirius turned surprised eyes on his godson.

"Probably?" Harry asked more than told with a grimace. "I had a dream a few days ago that he was in. I think it might have been a real dream since I have a weird connection-thing with Voldemort."

"Wait…how did Fang eat a man?" Charlie asked, having met Hagrid's dog frequently.

"Er…" Harry looked to the twins for help.

"He's a rat animagus…" Fred began with a look between Percy and Ron.

"Yeah…he disappeared around the middle of last term," the other twin finished.

"No!" Ron backed up and looked between his brothers and Harry with horror in his eyes. "You are not telling me…just no!"

"It's best to not think about it," Harry nodded at him slowly with a wince.

"What happened?" Arthur asked, slowly lowering his wand along with Bill beside him.

"Ron's pet rat disappeared around the middle of last term," Hermione said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Scabbers?" Percy went completely white before he just passed out in the middle of the sitting room.

Poppy sighed loudly. "Right, Dobby, please go get everyone some tea," she instructed in a business-like manner. "Sirius, sit and explain to everyone. I'll take care of Mr. Percy Weasley," she bent down and checked his head to see if he'd injured it by falling.

"Arthur, you should probably also send Molly an owl or a patronus or ask Dobby to contact her or something. She's going to be concerned once she hears about what happened," the matron reminded the man.

"Ah, yes," Arthur nodded quickly. "Just so, Poppy…thank you." He said, casting a patronus and sending it off. Harry sighed at the silvery weasel with a bit of wistfulness. He really wished he could do that too.

"Er…ok, well, I guess I should start with the fact that I wasn't the Potters' secret keeper," Sirius sat in an armchair and began his story.

Chapter Text

It took well over an hour, but the Weasleys were eventually convinced that Sirius wasn't a mass murderer intent on killing Harry and raising the Dark Lord back to life. Ron and Hermione were less impressed that Harry had known about Sirius for a year and hadn't told them. Their parting looks promised that he was going to have to do some heavy groveling once they were all back together again, even if they were happy he had some of his family back. They both gave him hugs though, so Harry wasn't too concerned.

Harry was happy to see that Sirius was doing so much better than he had just a couple months before. He looked stronger, healthier, and the manic gleam in his eyes wasn't continuous anymore at least and only showed up occasionally. The healers had only let him leave as an out-patient, so he was supplied with an international portkey to return for a session with the mind-healer weekly. What he had decided to do with the rest of his time, he was stubbornly refusing to tell Harry. Irritatingly enough, Harry guessed that Madam Pomfrey knew since she rolled her eyes at the man every time he refused to answer Harry's questions. Sirius would just smirk and get the "we should probably send him back to the healer" look in his eye whenever the subject was brought up.

It was the day before Madam Pomfrey and Snuffles were heading back to the school and a week before Harry and Dobby were to leave. However, he didn't understand why Sirius was planning to go to the school as Snuffles when he hinted enough that he had something lined up and wasn't going to live as a dog for the entire year (healer's orders apparently). Harry had gotten hooked on one of Poppy's romance novel series, as much as he would never admit that to anyone (especially Ron), and was headed to the library to switch out the novel he'd just finished for the next in the series. He paused at the open door when he heard a familiar voice coming through the floo in the room.

"Now Poppy, I had absolutely no say in it. The ministry went directly to the Board of Governors, and I was outvoted."

"I don't care Albus! This is entirely unacceptable! What the bloody hell does the ministry think it's doing pulling a stunt like this?!" Poppy growled angrily from where Harry could just see her sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the floo.

"I think it is an attempt to recover some good press from the fiasco with Sirius Black. They still have absolutely no leads to his whereabouts," the headmaster sighed tiredly.

"So, they plan to kill some kids! Right, that'll really help!" She yelled, waving her arms around in frustration. Harry's eyes widened in surprise, and he leaned in a bit further to listen better.

"I'm laying an age-line. Only those who are seventeen will be able to enter," the headmaster explained. "Also…I know it's a small concession, but the board approved your request for yearly physicals for all the students."

The medi-witch sneered angrily. Harry didn't know what they were talking about, but he was firmly siding with Poppy. Whatever had happened seemed much bigger than a small concession they should have been doing for years anyway. "Seventeen-year-olds are still children! I don't care if they are of legal age!" She responded. "And physicals are not enough and you know it! I'm sending all my concerns to the ICW committee on healing!"

Harry heard another sigh from his headmaster. "Beauxbatons and Durmstrang have already agreed to it. I don't think the ICW can step in to do anything now."

"I don't give a gnat's balls! I'm sending everything! Every single concern and complaint I have until someone will listen to me!" She said in a scary tone.

Dumbledore gave a low chuckle at that. "Well, then my dear, I volunteer Fawkes's services then. I'm sure he'll be happy to help carry whatever you would like. Please do mention the dementors and the colony of acromantulas in the forest. I've been trying to get someone out for years to take care of that. Hagrid, bless his heart, still thinks they're harmless."

Harry wondered at the lack of a complaint about a large snake. It seemed that Snape may not have told the headmaster about Sammy. Harry wasn't sure about the man's motives, but still made a mental note to send the potion master a large supply of basilisk venom and skin. He wasn't above bribing the man whether he'd requested it or not. Also, he was pretty sure that Sammy had already started in on the acromantula colony since they tasted "delicious and crunchy and overall very tasty" in the snake's words.

"If that is all Albus, I have a very long letter to write," Poppy ended the call, her voice still tense.

Harry entered as soon as he heard the whoosh of the floo when the call ended. "What was that about?" He asked in interest. It sounded quite dramatic.

"That idiot Fudge brought back the Triwizard Tournament," she seethed from where she was already gathering parchment and a quill.

Harry quickly switched out his book and plopped down on the armchair. "Ok…so, the tournament is…?"

"The three largest magical schools in Europe get together for unity or whatever to do a stupid year-long tournament of events where their champions face off against each other," Poppy explained distractedly.

Harry considered it for a moment. "That actually sounds brilliant! It'd be fun to compete against the other schools. Why is it such a bad thing?"

Poppy turned her full attention on the teen, pinning him with an intense glare. "Harry James Potter, you will not even consider participating in a tournament where the champions are more likely to die than survive!"

Harry's eyes widened in concern. "What? You didn't say that! I thought you were just talking about playing quidditch or even gobstones."

"Hardly," she continued her glare.

"I mean…I'm already dead, so that isn't a big issue, but what if one of my friends try to compete?! That's not acceptable!" He frowned with worry in his eyes.

Poppy massaged her temples for a minute and tried to take a couple calming breaths. "Your life is valuable, even if you are technically a walking corpse. I plan to keep you walking for as long as I live and longer," she said in a falsely calm tone that was quite scary.

"Now, that being said, you cannot bring that much attention to yourself from the ministry. It would be dangerous for you in particular. Even if Albus says he's going to put up an age line, I don't want you to step anywhere near it," she said sternly.

"I agree with Poppy!"

"Woah! Where did you come from?!" Harry exclaimed and dramatically clutched his chest as his mum appeared beside him. "Don't just start talking beside a person without warning first."

"Whoever that is had better be agreeing with me," Poppy glared around the room at the spirit she couldn't see.

"It's Mum and she does," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Good then. I always liked you Lily," Poppy smiled and went back to her letter.

"Thanks, Poppy. Now, Harry, you know your luck with these things. You'll need to stay vigilant this year. I'm sure someone will use the chaos this is going to create to come after you in some way," Lily Potter warned.

"Yes, Mum," Harry nodded and stood with his book. "Now, if you two pessimists don't mind, I'm going to go find out if Hildegard accepts the duke's advances or if she finally sees that Collin the stable hand is actually better for her."

"Have fun," Poppy waved at him distractedly, not even bothered anymore that her house was probably more haunted than even Hogwarts with Harry in residence.

"Are you sure you should be reading that…?" Lily Potter followed her son out, trying to get a better look at the book he was carrying.

Dobby apparated Harry to the Kings Cross platform once more to catch the train to Hogwarts. With a quick hug and check-over to make sure Harry had everything, the elf popped away to Hogwarts to check in on Poppy and, presumably, Snuffles. "See you soon!" Harry waved happily to Dobby as he disappeared in a crack.

He looked around but didn't see any of his friends yet. The Weasleys were always late though, and Hermione had stayed with them after the World Cup. Cedric was probably there already, but he would be in the prefects' carriage getting filled in on everything for the new term. "Well, Hedwig, it's just you and me now. Last chance…you want to just fly on to Hogwarts?" He asked his snowy owl who huffed and settled in more comfortably in her cage.

"All right, let's go find an empty compartment then," he laughed and lugged his trunk and owl onto the train and down the corridor.

Most carriages were already starting to fill up with people saving seats for their friends, so Harry smiled and waved to the people he knew and continued on in his search. He paused at a compartment that had one, small blonde girl in it and what looked to be her mum waiting with her. Harry frowned, normally parents didn't join their kids on the train. He thought for a moment, trying to remember if he had seen the girl around, before the mother turned and looked right in his eyes.

"Bollocks," Harry huffed out. She was a spirit, and she obviously knew he could see her now if her wide smile was evidence.

He wondered for a second if he should just keep walking, but that seemed really rude, so with a sigh he pushed open the compartment door. "Hello," he said with a smile to the two women in the room.

The girl looked up from where she was reading the Quibbler magazine and turned large, kind, blue eyes on him. "Hello, Harry Potter," she said, giving him a little grin.

"Er…hello," he gave both of them an awkward wave.

"Pandora Lovegood, dear," the woman leaned against the window of the compartment and smiled broadly at him. The two looked remarkably alike with the same light, blonde hair and blue eyes. "My daughter, who is being very rude right now, is Luna," she said with a fond look to the only living person in the room.

"Oh…erm, Luna…Lovegood? Right?" He asked, coming into the compartment more and resting Hedwig's cage on his trunk.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Have we met before?" She asked in a dreamy tone. "I know you, but I don't think we've talked. Although, the nargles may have messed with my memory…"

"Bless…she's spent way too much time with her father. My fault I suppose since I died," Pandora shook her head and chuckled. "I love the man, but he has some very interesting ideas."

"No, I don't think we've met. Hey, erm, Luna…mind if I join you?" He motioned to the empty seats.

"Oh no, it's nice to have company," she said earnestly. "I must say…you have a surprising lack of wrackspurts. I've never seen the like before."

"Riiight," Harry said slowly before putting his trunk in the luggage rack and situating Hedwig so she could see out the window. "So, erm…what do you know about mediums?" he asked without much ado. He figured his new friend, Pandora, must want to pass along a message if she was hanging around her daughter.

Luna just nodded knowingly and closed her magazine. "Ah…that explains it then. How is Mother doing? Has she made friends in the afterlife?"

"Oh…wow, that went easier than I thought it would!" Harry laughed and got more comfortable. He was sure he was going to like this girl. No one ever believed him that quickly. "Er, Mrs. Lovegood…so, how are you, I guess?" He smiled at the woman who was now heartily laughing beside them.

"Call me Pandora, please," she said between laughs. "I'm fine…tell Luna that I've had wonderful opportunities to further my research here and that Rowena Ravenclaw has been very kind and friendly to me."

Harry relayed the message to Luna's glee. "That's so wonderful, Mummy!" She smiled happily.

"Oh, Harry, dear…would you please tell my daughter that her roommates are pieces of shite and she is too good for them," the spirit said as if that was a very normal message to relay.

"Erm, Luna…are your roommates mistreating you?" Harry asked instead, now worried about his new friend.

"Oh no, they are just playing," Luna frowned. "They like to move my stuff around so that I can go on a search for it. It's all quite in good fun."

"No, it is not," Pandora informed him with a stern frown.

"Right, ok," Harry took that in. He figured he'd need to get the Weasley twins involved if he was going to try to handle this. "Luna, your mother says it's not, and I'm tasked to help you out now," he said with a look to Pandora saying that he was interpreting it that way anyway. She gave him a happy nod, so he assumed she agreed.

"Oh…that's…I hadn't thought of it that way," Luna slowly nodded, seeming to change her entire opinion of what had been going on the past couple years.

"Ok, so both of you, fill me in on everything that's been happening. I'll need to introduce you to two of my friends that'll help us out, but this stops now," Harry settled in further to get the story from the two women while he waited on Ron, Hermione, and the twins to find them.

Harry entered the Great Hall for the welcome feast with a large smile on his face. Not only had he made a new friend, but it seemed that the Weasley twins had taken the third year Ravenclaw officially under their wings. They'd enthusiastically agreed with Harry that Luna was now their people and was off limits to bullies. Ron and Hermione just looked confused about what was happening and had cornered Harry to hear more about his godfather. He'd officially been forgiven, so all was right in his world again.

He smiled broadly up to the head table. He'd missed Poppy. She was deep in a heated conversation with McGonagall, but she still spared him a smile and a nod. He figured they were probably talking about the tournament. He didn't have any seventh-year friends, so he assumed his people were all safe if the age line was set at seventeen, but it hadn't been announced when people could sign up yet, so he wasn't holding his breath.

He only saw one new professor who seemed to be trying to get Snape to talk to him to little success. Harry wondered if it was the new History professor or the DADA one. The man was tall, with blond hair pulled into a low ponytail and a nose just a little too large for his face. Harry's eyes narrowed when the man reached back to scratch the back of his neck in an overly dramatic scratch like a dog would do.

"That overgrown mutt with less brain cells than a dodo bird!" Harry growled in irritation as he plopped into the seat between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

"Er…not following, mate," Ron turned his gaze up to the head table as well.

"What happened?" Hermione tried to get a look too.

"My idiot of a godfather is apparently one of our new professors," Harry shot a glare at the man who looked at him with a wide grin and a smirk. "It'd better be DADA because I'd really like to hex him right now. I just spent an entire year trying to keep him safe!"

"He looks really different," Hermione remarked. "Are those transfigurations? Human transfiguration is really hard…"

"Yeah…I never would have placed him if you didn't say something," Ron agreed.

"What're we talking about?" Fred leaned over to them from where he'd been sitting with his brother and Lee Jordan.

"Nothing…just planning a good prank for our new professor," Harry smirked evilly at the man who looked a bit worried now from where he'd been watching the conversation.

"We're getting rid of the DADA professor again this year," Salazar Slytherin huffed from behind where Harry had just sat down for lunch on the second day of class.

He glanced around himself, but he wasn't sitting by anyone since he was saving seats for Ron and Hermione who hadn't joined him yet. "You sure you don't mean History? I haven't had Sirius yet, but I can assume he'd be worse than a former auror teaching DADA," Harry sighed, resigned to adding it to his list already.

"DADA definitely," Slytherin rolled his eyes. "I sat in on one of your godfather's classes yesterday. That wig he is wearing is ridiculous, by the way. The class, however, was actually quite good, but the DADA professor…Moody, is an alcoholic. He can't go an hour without drinking from that flask of his. He needs a rehab facility and help. He should not be teaching children."

"It's just the second day of class. Maybe he just has nerves. We should give him a week anyway," the medium protested as he put chicken tenders and chips on his plate.

"That's not healthy," the spirit protested. "Put something green on there as well."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the spirit before he very pointedly spooned some peas onto the plate as well. "Happy?"

Slytherin smirked at him. "Your mother will be. Now…I'll give him a week, but I predict we'll definitely be getting rid of him."

"Hey…what do you think about this tournament? Did they do it during your time?" Harry changed the subject, glancing over to where Viktor Krum was seated at the Slytherin table. He might not be as obsessed as Ron, but he still wanted to meet the seeker at some point to say hi and see if he liked playing quidditch as a pro. Harry was considering it as a future career himself if he stayed breathing long enough.

"No, surprisingly, we seem to have been more intelligent and evolved than your current ministry, even though they call our time the Dark Ages," Slytherin growled in anger. "I think it is an unnecessary risk to the student body…and that's the most censored comment I can make where your mother won't yell at me."

Harry nodded in understanding having gotten yelled at by his mother for language often himself. "At least none of my friends are eligible. I couldn't handle it if any of them decided to idiotically sign up."

"When are your Weasley twins and the Diggory boy's birthdays?" the man asked with a frown.

"Oh, hell no!" Harry stood up as the founder's question sank in. "Cedric! When's your birthday?!" Harry stood and angrily strode across the Great Hall to the Hufflepuff table and his very confused friend.

"Er…next week?" Cedric answered tentatively, not knowing why his friend was angry about his birthday.

The fourth year sat in a huff at the table and glared at the teen. "Happy birthday…I'll have to get you something…and you aren't allowed to sign up for the tournament!"

Cedric sighed and started poking at his peas while his Hufflepuff friends laughed around him. "Harry…my dad already told me that he wants me to enter. It's a lot of money and glory and all. Plus, it'd almost assure me a healer apprenticeship after graduation."

Harry's eyes narrowed as that response seemed almost rehearsed. "How does being a healer have anything to do with a stupid, dangerous, bloody tournament?!"

Cedric just sighed deeply. "You don't know my dad…"

"Fine, I'll owl him them…and your mum," Harry nodded in decision.

The Hufflepuff paled. "Merlin, no! Don't do that!"

"Then don't enter!" Harry spat back.

"Look…I'll think about it," he said with a glare. "I probably wouldn't be chosen anyway."

"Oh please," Harry waved off that suggestion with a snort and stood. "You're bloody brilliant, kind, the best human being I know, an excellent quidditch player, and overall, the best representative this bloody school could ask for!" He stormed away after a parting glare.

Cedric gaped at his retreating form, shock on his face. "Seems your boyfriend is a bit over-protective," his friend Ernie snorted in amusement.

"He's not…" but Cedric trailed off, just shaking his head and turning pink in embarrassment and more than a bit of pleasure.

"It's not fair we aren't allowed to enter the tournament," Ron huffed and flopped on his bed in their dorm, having missed Harry's rant at lunch about the tournament being horrible.

"Ron, people have died," Harry frowned at the redhead, channeling a very good Poppy-glare.

"Yeah, but the glory…and the money…" he sighed dramatically.

"Look…I'm dead," Harry began as he sat on Ron's bed beside him. "Frankly, I thought it might be a bit fun since I have nothing to lose."

Ron snorted and rolled his eyes. Harry just ignored him and continued. "But…you're still alive, and I plan to keep you that way if it's the last thing I do before crossing over!"

"Harry…" he began in a long-suffering tone.

"Even taking that into account," Harry interrupted, not having been done yet. "Poppy said that I shouldn't even get close to that bloody cup because it's actually more dangerous for me to be in the tournament than anyone else. There's so much scrutiny on the champions from the ministry. She says if the ministry learns that I'm held together by death-magic that they'll lock me in the Department of Mysteries until I eventually pass on."

"Wait!" Ron shot up on the bed and looked at Harry with wide eyes. "Madam Pomfrey knows about the whole 'you're dead' thing? She actually agrees with you?!"

"Course," Harry frowned in confusion. Obviously, she would know. "I've been in the infirmary enough to have my own bed, and I'm only a fourth-year. She cast one diagnostic spell at me and almost passed out. I think a healer would notice that their patient doesn't have a pulse," he snorted.

Ron stared at him, seemingly at a loss for words. Finally, slowly, Ron raised his hand to Harry's neck and prodded it with two fingers. "Er…what's up?" the dead teen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You…you actually don't have a pulse," Ron pulled his fingers away from his friend's neck. "You…y-you're really dead…? Like really and actually?"

Harry huffed and pulled his legs up to get more comfortable. "Seriously…I told you that in first year. Of course, I'm dead! That's why Nick tells me happy death-day every Halloween!"

"But…I didn't think you were actually dead…" his friend seemed to be rethinking all their interactions over the last three years.

"Finally caught on, have you?" Harry laughed loudly. "Oh…tell me when you process all this, and I'll tell you about also being a medium then, but take your time, no rush."

"What?...Wait! Death-magic is illegal!" Ron paled dramatically. "Harry you have to stay far away from this tournament!"

Harry nodded slowly and smiled at his friend. Finally, it was sinking in. "Yeees…what I said already…and you need to be safe and not try to enter either…"

"Yeah…but…wow," he plopped back onto his comforter in a shocked state.

"You know…Hermione hasn't once tried to check my pulse," Harry laughed in delight. "You got one up on her."

"Hey that's!" Ron's smile fell and he sat up again. "What's this about being a medium…?!"

Chapter Text

Harry kicked Ron under the table at dinner and glared at him. Ron had been smirking at Hermione all day alluding to the fact that he knew something she didn't. Hermione just rolled her eyes at them, said something about ridiculous boys under her breath, and headed to the library. "Ron, either just tell her or let it go," he hissed at his friend. He did not want to go back to the tension of the year before when Hermione and Ron were fighting.

Ron frowned at him in concern. "But…you should be the one to tell her, not me. It's not my secret to tell."

Harry gave a long-suffering sigh. "Ron…I already told her. I told both of you that I'm dead. It's not my fault you didn't believe me. If she ever does believe me, then I'll tell her about the spirits too."

"Oh…" Ron thought over that deeply. "Hey, are we alone now?" He'd asked that same question about every half-hour since he'd learned that his friend could see the dead.

"Yes…well, besides Luna's mum, but they're over at the Ravenclaw table. Pandora hangs around most mealtimes just to check in," Harry explained with a smile and wave over to the Ravenclaw table where both Luna and Pandora waved back.

"And my uncles are around you a lot of the time?" He clarified for the hundredth time.

"Yeah, Fabian and Gideon are good friends. Fabian taught me how to pick a lock and Gideon started teaching me to box this past summer, but I wasn't very good at it," Harry said before pushing his plate aside and standing. "Hey, I'm heading to see Si…er, Professor Gray. Want to join?"

"I'd love to mate…but I think I'd actually rather go to the library and fill Hermione in on some very interesting information," Ron's face developed the annoying smirk again.

Harry rolled his eyes. "If you guys fight again, I'm taking her side," he warned before heading off towards the History professor's office.

Sirius never ate dinner in the Great Hall, instead having Dobby bring him some food. There was only so much of the crowds of people he could take in a day and his healer agreed that he should take one meal to himself to decompress. He couldn't believe how clear his mind felt after just a couple months working with Healer Kinefuchi. She stressed that he wasn't anywhere near well yet, but he knew he was better than he had been in years. He'd do whatever he had to in order to stay close to his godson though, especially since it seemed he might not have much longer with the teen.

"Well, hello, Professor Gray," the teen in question said, chuckling when he opened the door to Sirius's office.

"Brat, come on in. What took you so long to visit?" Sirius threw up a silencing ward against the closed door so they could talk freely.

Harry shrugged and plopped into one of the student chairs in front of Sirius's desk. Merlin, he couldn't believe he had a desk, or that he was a professor. Who knew that his parents' insane insistence on him learning from tutors when he was younger would actually pay off now.

"I was just letting you settle in. You could have told me you were going to be here, you know," his godson admonished.

Dobby popped in with a tea service and chocolate biscuits before Sirius could answer. "Master Harry…Mr. Doggy-man," he said, sitting it on the table.

"Dobby…are you following me?" Harry looked at the elf suspiciously. Sirius was wondering how Dobby had known they were both in the room himself but was happy he didn't have to ask since he was doing his best to not sound paranoid anymore...whether he actually was or not.

The elf scoffed and patted Harry on the head patronizingly. "Of course, Master. Dobby took tea and biscuits to the library where Master's Wheezy and Hermy are, but Master wasn't there. So, Dobby knew Master would either be here or with Sammy," he shuddered at that. "Dobby is not going to go visit the big snakey."

"Brilliant, Dobby!" Sirius laughed and poured himself some tea. "You want to join us?" He offered. He didn't know how Harry had convinced the elf to treat him as more of a friend than a master, but frankly, Sirius liked it so much better than the treatment he'd received at the hands of his family's elf.

"No thank you," Dobby shook his head. "Master's Hermy already asked Dobby to come back after he dropped off their tea tray."

"Oh, Dobby," Harry stopped him before he popped out again. "Could you make sure Ron doesn't make Hermione too angry at him? Just give him a good kick from me if he gets insufferable. It's the first time he's understood something before her, and he's probably going to take it too far."

Dobby's smile almost reached his large ears. "Dobby will protect Master's Hermy."

"Thanks!" Harry called out as the elf popped away.

"Well, I never thought I'd hear about your Weasley friend knowing something before the brilliant Hermione Granger," Sirius laughed. He frowned as his godson's eyes seemed to unfocus and move over to the corner of his office. Harry did that a lot, and he didn't understand why. It was like he was seeing something that no one else did. He worried it might be part of whatever illness the teen had.

"It's nothing, but you know Ron. He can be a bit hot-headed," Harry answered evasively, turning his eyes back on Sirius.

"Hey, Pup…I'm doing a lot better you know," Sirius started tentatively.

"Yeah! Definitely! That wig does nothing to make you look more respectable though," the teen laughed, not catching on that he was trying to be serious at the moment.

With a sigh, he removed the blond wig and pulled his dark hair out of its tight bun. He then pulled off the prosthetic nose that had taken him weeks to learn how to apply so that it didn't look fake. He left in the brown contact lenses since those were a little more difficult to take out. He'd come up with the idea with his healer when she agreed that it'd be healthy for him to stay close to his godson. Muggle cosmetics were much less detectable than transfigurations that were bloody difficult to do on a human anyway. It had been the reason why they'd decided to transfigure his animagus form in the first place.

"Better?" He asked.

"Much! I'm really impressed. I wouldn't have known it was you except for your mannerisms," Harry nodded with a smile.

"Yes, your face at the welcome feast was definitely worth the secrecy," he laughed before sobering quickly. "There was something important I wanted to talk to you about though."

"Oh, ok," the teen's eyes slid over to the corner of the room once more before landing back on Sirius questioningly.

"Riiight, so," Sirius took a deep breath and jumped in. "Well, I've been doing much better, and I was wondering…could I maybe know now? Could I know what it is that you have? I'd like to know what's killing my godson, if you don't mind."

"Oh," the teen said simply and sucked in a breath. His eyes flicked to the corner of the room once more, causing Sirius to frown. It took a while as his godson seemed to be thinking. "Ok, I'll tell you a bit and see if you can process it."

Sirius let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Right, yeah, that seems fair," he nodded quickly, willing to take anything he could get and try not to react in any way that would cause his godson concern.

"Ok, so first of all," Harry seemed to curl into himself like he expected that either Sirius wouldn't believe him or that he'd yell at him. "Poppy already knows this as well as Hagrid, Dobby, and the twins. I told Ron and Hermione, but they didn't believe me. Ron literally just figured out that I'm not crazy and was telling him the truth all along. That's what he's filling Hermione in on in the library now."

"Oh, ok," Sirius nodded at that. It explained the defensiveness of his godson if people hadn't believed him before. He swore to himself to believe whatever he was told, no matter how far-fetched.

"Merlin, this is difficult. We'll just do it like a plaster, right, pull it off," Harry took in a deep breath. "Sirius, I'm already dead. I died on October 31st, 1981 when I was hit with a killing curse."

Sirius blinked in confusion but held his tongue. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond and didn't want to say anything wrong. "All right," he finally said slowly. "You're dead…so why are you still here?"

"We're not really sure," the teen seemed to be waiting on his response with bated breath. "Poppy is trying to figure that out. It seems that there is some kind of parasite thing on my soul that is probably why I haven't moved on. It seems that since my soul is stuck in my body that my magic has been keeping my bodily functions working even if my body as a whole doesn't function on its own."

"So, you don't have a terminal illness," Sirius almost wanted to laugh in relief. If Harry wasn't being killed by an illness, maybe he wasn't actually dying. His magic could just keep him going indefinitely, right? Somehow already being dead didn't sound as bad as what he'd been assuming was going on.

"Well…no, but it's probably not a good thing that I really should have died a few times already," the teen winced. "Er, well, the parasite has kind of gotten jiggled a few times, Poppy's term though that really doesn't sound medical. Anyway, it seems to not be holding on as strongly as it was originally."

Sirius's hopes plummeted. "So…you really are dying…or well, passing on?"

"You have to realize this is all completely theoretical," Harry quickly explained. "Poppy's scans all just say I'm dead, so we can't really quantify this. There are some other…extenuating circumstances that I don't want to tell you about right now that have led us to this conclusion."

Sirius was just stunned. He didn't know what to think about all this. Questions and concerns swarmed his mind. He completely understood why his godson hadn't told him all this before. He definitely couldn't have processed this just months before. Frankly, he didn't know how to process it now.

"I see you have questions…" Harry offered, cutting into his thoughts. "Maybe I can answer a few of them. Fair warning, I don't have a whole lot of answers though."

"Yeah," Sirius tried to prioritize his questions as much as possible. "I guess first, how are you? How do you feel, I mean? Are you in pain or anything?"

Harry smiled and scooted his chair closer to Sirius's to put a hand on his arm and give it a little squeeze. Sirius really wanted to either cry or scream that his godson was trying to comfort him right then. He felt like it really should be the other way around.

"I feel perfectly fine, Siri," he assured him. "Sometimes I get a bit colder than I should since it's a little harder for my body to regulate my temperature, but I think I probably feel like everyone else. It's not like I've ever known any different though, so I don't really have anything to compare how I feel to."

"That's good," Sirius patted the hand on his arm in relief. "Right, so this parasite…what exactly is that?"

Harry shrugged. "We're not really sure. Based on the fact I can speak Parseltongue and that I have some weird dreams of Voldemort and all…we're guessing it might actually be a bit of him, if that's possible…"

"Ew," Sirius winced and then looked at his godson in fear when he realized what he'd just said. "I mean…that's fine…it's keeping you alive so…"

"It's ok, Siri," his godson laughed. "I had the same reaction when I learned of it. It is a bit disturbing."

"No, it's keeping you alive and part of you, so we'll protect it, right?" He nodded in decision. He didn't care if it was originally a part of Voldemort. It was keeping his godson alive, so he'd do whatever he had to in order to keep it safe and holding his godson's soul in his body.

Harry just snorted in amusement and grabbed a biscuit to snack on. "Any more questions?"

"Er, well…you said you should have died a few times…what does that mean?" He finally got out. He really wanted to ask about the 'extenuating circumstances' Harry had mentioned, but his godson had said he didn't want to talk about them right then, so he tried to let it go…for now anyway.

"Maybe we should hold off on that for a while…" Harry's eyes turned towards the corner of the room again before flicking back to Sirius.

Yeah…that had not been explained by the whole dead thing. Sirius pointedly looked to the corner of the room. "Or, you could explain that," he offered if he wasn't going to get an answer to his original question.

"I think that might be where we leave this tonight," Harry's eyes had shot to the corner of the room and back again before he answered to Sirius's frustration. "I've already thrown a lot at you. How about you chat over all this with your healer this week, and we talk about more later?"

He frowned. "I'm allowed to tell my healer?"

"Well, yeah," Harry shrugged. "She's not allowed to tell anyone, and she's not even on this continent. Just make sure she doesn't want to come and throw me in her institution or something. I'm doing my best to make sure I don't get snatched up by the Department of Mysteries as is."

Sirius's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought of that. Things started to click in his mind though from the last year; Harry's smell, his wand and how it had affected him when he'd touched it, even how Remus had reacted to him. He was actually dead. It was death magic. "Merlin! You're not an inferius…but you're dead! Godric's balls!"

For some reason, Harry's eyes fixed on the corner of the room when he laughed at that. "Maybe pick a different swear, Siri," he laughed enigmatically.

"Huh?"

"Never mind…hey, I have a favor to ask," Harry leaned forward, still smiling broadly.

"Anything, pup," he offered with feeling. He'd do whatever this amazing, dead teen asked of him.

"Right, so, two years ago Sir Nicholas invited me to his death-day party," Harry began to explain. "Now, it wasn't really my kind of party, but we did learn that the two of us actually have the same death-day."

"Ok," Sirius considered this. It made sense, but what was Harry getting at?

"Well, I was thinking maybe that I would throw a bit of a death-day party for the two of us this year. I mean my birthday is during the summer, so I never have friends around to celebrate. I loved my birthday at the beach with Poppy, but I missed having Ron and Hermione there. So, I thought I could do a joint thing with Nick for our death-day and do it a bit more fun though…with much better music at least," he said hopefully.

Now, Sirius didn't know anything about death-days, but he definitely knew parties. He couldn't help the huge smile that lit up his face. "You want help throwing a party?! Pup, this might just be the happiest moment of my life!"

"Not too crazy!" Harry exclaimed quickly. "It has to be low-key since I can't have it getting out that I'm dead. But we'd invite the ghosts and my friends who all know already…I guess I should loop-in Cedric since he definitely has to be there, and he's an official friend now…"

"Yeah, yeah, it'll be epic…" Sirius was already planning.

"And, it has to be short and end before the feast," Harry continued, trying to crush his enthusiasm. Yeah, that ship had sailed. "Everyone wants to learn who that stupid cup picks for the idiotic tournament, so we have to go to the thing that night."

"I'll talk to Dobby about the food…" he said only half-listening. "Nothing too heavy if people are going to eat at the feast."

"I'll check in with Nick. I want to make sure he'll have fun too," Harry continued. Sirius frowned at that, but he supposed they'd include something for the ghosts…just nothing that brought down the fun for the living…or well, his godson, whatever he counted as.

"Right…ok, run along to your friends then," Sirius smirked at his godson who had no clue what he was getting himself into. "I'm going to floo through to Poppy. This is going to take a sneaky Slytherin to help me plan."

"I'm already regretting this," Harry smiled, not looking like he truly meant it though before he left to go find out how Hermione had taken Ron's news.

Harry was riding a high with how well Sirius had been taking the news of his deceased status. Hermione had even taken it really well. She'd grabbed onto him when he joined them in the library and spent a full five minutes manhandling him while trying to find his non-existent pulse. When she finally gave up prodding his neck and wrist, she just sank into a chair and apologized for not believing him while also shaking her head and saying it was impossible. It seemed that Ron had filled her in on death magic though, because she seemed really worried about him and the tournament that had a whole lot of ministry officials at the school.

Things had mostly gone back to normal once she'd also processed that he could speak to the dead. She was more skeptical about that, but just said that she'd believe whatever he told her now, especially if Madam Pomfrey was on board. She did make him promise to translate for her at some point with one of the founders so she could ask them about the early days of the school. Gryffindor had been hanging out with him through Sirius's meeting, but he disappeared abruptly at that request, obviously not wanting to be the one that got roped into the girl's interrogation.

So, with how well things had gone and now that Sirius was planning the party, Harry decided it was time to tell Cedric. He really hadn't meant to put it off this long, but it just hadn't come up for some reason. "Hey, Nick, have you seen Cedric Diggory anywhere?" He asked the Gryffindor ghost when he was wandering around looking for his friend. He knew he could have checked the Marauder's Map, but it was a Saturday, and he didn't have any plans since quidditch had been suspended for the tournament, so it had been a nice walk.

"Harry! Good to see you! I think Mr. Diggory was talking with Miss Chang back that way," the ghost motioned back the way he'd come down the corridor.

"Great!" He grinned. "Hey, Nick, I did have something to ask you."

"Oh really? What can Sir Nicholas do for you, little medium?" The ghost looked excited to get to do something interesting besides just floating around and chatting with the other ghosts.

"Well, if you don't have other plans, I was thinking that maybe we could do a joint death-day party this year? Invite both your friends and mine? What do you think?" He asked hopefully.

The ghost sputtered and looked at Harry in shock. "You'd really share your party with me?!"

"Well, yeah, you invited me to yours back in second year," Harry shuffled his feet awkwardly. He'd never had his own party before and wasn't really sure how they went, but he trusted Sirius to make it fun…if not a bit too much fun. "It's going to be before the feast and hopefully not too big and all, but you can definitely invite the other ghosts."

"Harry…I don't know what to say," he smiled broadly, his head shaking a bit precariously. "I'd be honored!"

Harry found himself crushed in a cold and uncomfortably moist hug as Nick was almost shaking him in excitement. "This will be brilliant! I'm off to tell the Friar! Thank you so much, Harry! There must be dancing!"

Sir Nicholas ghosted through the wall, laughing excitedly and leaving Harry shaking his head with a smile on his face in the corridor. "Erm…Harry…is there something you might need to tell me?" Cedric Diggory stood at the end of the hallway looking extremely confused at the teen that had just been hugged by a ghost…a ghost who hadn't passed right through him but who actually touched him like he was solid.

"Oops," Harry grimaced. It wasn't exactly how he'd hoped the subject came up, but he supposed it worked. "Er, well…you've invited to a party before the feast on Halloween," he started. "Uh…it's mine and Sir Nicholas's death-days…we decided to do a joint party this year..."

Cedric put a hand against the stone wall to check and make sure it was solid and he was actually awake. "Excuse me?" He asked, knowing that he was awake now, but he really didn't understand what all was happening.

"Ok, so I'm dead. That's the important bit," Harry explained hurriedly. "But, it's not really a big deal. I've been dead most of my life."

"Excuse me?" Cedric found himself asking again, nothing having been cleared up for him at all.

"That killing curse actually did kill me, but my soul got stuck in my body," the Gryffindor tried to explain, but nothing was really sinking in for Cedric.

Now, Cedric was a pureblood wizard. He was raised in a home that had been steeped in magic from well before he was born. They might not have been wealthy or influential, but his family had deep roots in magic. Death magic may not have been something they talked about in their family, but he did know of its existence, and also just now dangerous and evil that it was. All death magic required the sacrifice of innocent blood. It required murder and blood and pain.

It's not like Cedric believed that his friend had anything to do with whatever had been done to him, but if what he was saying was true, then Harry was in so much danger from the ministry and whatever remnants of the dark side of the last war that were still around. Also, anyone who knew him, and especially those who knew about this, were in just as much danger.

All this was running through Cedric's head as Harry explained that he was dead but that it really didn't affect him too much besides the ghosts being able to touch him and that he could apparently see and interact with crossed-over spirits, which Cedric wasn't even going to try to sort through right then.

"Look, Harry…" he cut off his friend's explanation. "Can I process this a bit…erm, I just need to think through everything?"

It hurt Cedric's heart as his friend's face fell. He didn't mean it to sound like a rejection, but he did actually have to think this through. He didn't know if Harry understood that he was asking his friend to break the law or just how dangerous this all was, but it wasn't just something you could respond to without a bit of thought.

"Yeah, yeah, of course…" Harry said quickly, nodding his head and looking like he was trying to shove his hurt emotions off his face.

"I didn't mean…" he trailed off. He didn't know how to finish that since he didn't know how to respond. He just needed some time. He wasn't going to abandon his friend, but this was a big ask, and he needed to basically rethink his values and maybe morals a bit too…For Merlin's sake, his father worked for the ministry! And he'd been thinking about this teen as a bit more than as a friend too...what did him being dead mean to the feelings he'd been having...?!

"Just…talk to me again at some point, ok," Harry said sadly before wandering off down the corridor.

Cedric sighed sadly. This was not how he wanted that conversation to go. He'd never seen this coming and was just blind-sided. How did a person respond to that news? Did anyone else know? He wished he'd asked Harry so he'd know who he could talk to about this. He wouldn't put his friend in danger by even suggesting anything about death magic around anyone though.

He looked at the small slip of paper he had in his hand with his name on it. Harry was going to be so angry at him, and he'd already damaged their relationship. He had planned to explain what he had to do when he'd found Harry and beg for his forgiveness, but he hadn't gotten the opportunity. He really hoped he could make this up to the teen that had slowly become his best friend. He really, really hoped the cup didn't choose him to be one of the champions. His father had made it very clear though that he was expected to enter to raise the family's reputation and place in their society. He had to enter…he just really hoped that was the end of it.

Ron didn't know what Cedric Diggory had done to his friend, but he was one longing sigh from Harry away from turning the twins loose on him. The only thing that had stopped him so far was that the twins were busy trying to figure out a way past Dumbledore's age line for the cup and also training up Luna Lovegood to basically be the third Weasley twin and master prankster. It helped slightly that Diggory looked just as miserable as Harry did, but only slightly. Thankfully, the twins had been very unsuccessful with the age line, and Sirius had been distracting Harry as much as possible with plans for the odd death-day party they were all going to. He really just hoped it was better than the one in their second year. He didn't know Sirius well, but from his limited interactions with the man in class and what he heard from Harry, he was certain it was going to be good.

When Halloween rolled around, the party itself turned out to be quite good. Dobby had snuck in a whole crate of butterbeer; Ron was really coming to love that strange elf. There was a huge phonograph that Sirius had obviously stolen from somewhere playing muggle rock music. And Sirius had set up boards for wizard's chess since the ghosts could play that as well as some muggle game called Twister for the living people as well as some excellent snacks. Ron beat the Hufflepuff Friar in chess and laughed as Hermione, Luna, and Madam Pomfrey tangled up and collapsed on each other while trying to play Twister. They were all having a good time, but Ron frowned every time Harry's eyes strayed to the door, clearly hoping Diggory would show.

It was times like these that he wished he had Harry's ability to speak to the dead. He would be much less ethical than his friend and ask as many spirits as possible to stalk the idiotic bugger and figure out just what was going on in that Hufflepuff's head. He supposed the fact that his friend could really just stop breathing at any moment negated any positives to that gift though, even if Harry didn't see it as a negative, which was concerning in itself.

Actually, right now, Ron would give anything to not be able to see ghosts as Myrtle just wouldn't leave him alone! Apparently, she'd gotten a bit attached when they'd brewed Veritaserum in her bathroom. The Gray Lady wasn't any help either since she just snickered at them from the corner and occasionally egged on Myrtle who was now following him around. He really could have kissed Hermione when she came and saved him, claiming that they all needed to head up to the feast in the Great Hall.

Harry suffered through a long hug from Nearly Headless Nick and dodged one from a handsy Myrtle before quickly joining him and Hermione to rush out. "Thanks Professor Gray!" Harry yelled back to where Sirius was chatting, more and more flirtatiously as he drank his firewhisky, with Madam Pomfrey. Ron shuddered and pulled his friends out the door when they got distracted waves from the two adults.

"Better than second year?" Harry slung an arm over each of their shoulders and asked with a smile.

"Much," Ron nodded. It was true…still not really his idea of the best party (mostly due to Myrtle), but it had been fun overall.

"I had a wonderful discussion with the Bloody Baron about ghosts' rights in Britain," Hermione smiled excitedly. "Did you know that a ghost has more rights to a dwelling than any living person that owns it?"

"Well, they were there first," Harry chuckled.

"Right, any bets on who's going to be the champions?" Ron asked, really wanting to change the subject. He couldn't care less about ghosts' rights.

"Well, obviously Krum from Durmstrang," Harry allowed the subject change.

"Obviously," Ron agreed vehemently.

"Probably Cedric for us," Hermione added.

"Hm, no I told him not to enter," Harry shook his head, but with a worried expression.

Hermione gave him a sad but knowing look. "Harry…he definitely entered. Susan and Hannah both saw him."

Harry's face fell and his arms fell off their shoulders. Ron sighed and threw his arm around Harry, taking his place. "Hey…that git would never get picked. He's a Hufflepuff for Merlin's sake," he tried to help, but it didn't seem to be working.

"Well…everyone turned out to hear the news," Harry looked around where they were sitting at the Gryffindor table like he could see more people than everyone else.

Ron caught himself looked around and mentally kicked himself for even trying. "Who's here, mate?" He asked instead.

"Hm…oh, three of the founders are chatting just a little way down from us, everyone besides Ravenclaw. I understand she doesn't really like coming to the living world often," Harry said quietly to them. "Your uncles are hanging around the twins at the other end of the table, Pandora is with Luna, and my mum and dad are behind me…they say 'hi' by the way."

"Er…hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Ron sheepishly said to the empty space just over Harry's head.

"Hello…" Hermione added tentatively. "It's nice to, er, meet you…"

All conversation ceased as the goblet shot flames up and spit out Viktor Krum's name. Well, no one was surprised in the slightest. Ron was frankly wondering if any of the other Durmstrang students had even entered. Fleur Delacour was a little less obvious, but still made perfect sense. She was gorgeous and seemed to just be perfect…she had to have a whole lot of Veela blood in Ron's hormonal opinion.

He couldn't help a matching groan with Harry when Cedric Diggory's name was announced by Dumbledore. Ron noted that Diggory seemed way more afraid than excited even though he looked like he was trying to put on a brave face. It seemed that Harry had gotten to him, but why he still entered was beyond Ron's understanding.

"He looks so disappointed," Harry muttered beside him. "He didn't want to enter. His dad made him," he answered Ron's unspoken question.

"He'll be fine, mate."

"Yeah, thanks guys," Harry said, obviously thanking Ron and at least one of the spirits. "This sucks," he added on.

"Well…we can try to help him," Hermione offered with a grimace.

"If he ever talks to me again," came Harry's dramatic sigh.

The room fell into silence once more as the goblet flared and a surprise fourth piece of paper flew out of it. Ron didn't need Dumbledore to read it; he already knew what name it would say. Harry hadn't gone within fifteen feet of the goblet since it had been placed in the Great Hall, shot it frequent angry looks, told everyone who'd listen that the tournament was bloody idiotic, but somehow, someway, Ron knew that he was still going to be made to compete.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter…you might want to grab one of the founders…I think we're going to need to do some planning," Ron commented to the air even before Dumbledore recovered enough to read Harry's name.

Every head in the Great Hall turned to look at Harry once Dumbledore loudly called his name. Slowly Harry's head sank to the table where he softly thumped it against the wood. "Mr. Potter," Dumbledore called once more.

Harry banged his head two more times for good measure and Ron reached across the table to pat his back. They had to get him out of this…death magic and the ministry did not mix at all. "We'll come up with something, mate. You have to go up there though," he grimaced at his friend's pale face.

"Well…at least Cedric has to talk to me now," Harry sighed and stood.

Harry stopped as he came level to the still flaming goblet. "I hate you," he said loudly and clearly to the inanimate object before following where the other champions had gone into a side room.

Chapter Text

"Ric, go get Rowena. We're going to need her," Salazar Slytherin sighed loudly before following Harry towards where the champions were being held, Potters and Helga in tow. "Only, you Harry..."

"Harry…we'll get you out of this," James Potter put a comforting hand on his son's shoulder as they walked past Dumbledore. James, Harry, Lily, Salazar, and Helga all gave the elderly man angry glares which caused a shiver to run down his spine even if he could only see Harry's glare out of the group.

Harry opened the door to the side room everyone was being corralled in, and his eyes immediately snapped to Cedric. The older teen looked calm and collected on the outside, but Harry knew his friend well enough to see the worry and fear in his eyes.

"Do zey want us to go somewhere?" Fleur Delacour asked Harry, thinking he was coming to get them for something.

Harry looked between her and Krum before shaking his head. "Nah, I think we're all about to end up in a shit-show any minute though," he grumbled. His mum didn't even berate him for his language as the spirits circled the room to make room for the coming living people. "I really hope you all thought through entering this idiotic thing."

He looked back over to Cedric who had apologetic eyes turned on him. Now, Harry had learned over the past year where he could touch the spirits that hugs, especially from his mum, made everything just a little bit better. He was sad he'd missed out on basically any human affection or kind touch for twelve years of his life besides the phantom hugs his mum gave him before they could touch. So, he took a deep breath and knew what he needed to do.

Harry strode right up to his friend, ignoring the other champions in the room who were trying to ask him questions. "Ced, I know you hate me right now, but you need a hug. I'm going to hug you unless you stop me," he said with a decided nod and slowly leaned in so that Cedric could stop him if he wanted to. Without a thought, the taller teen was tightly holding onto Harry. Harry leaned more into the thin but strong frame around him, hopeful that this meant they might get past what had happened.

"Harry…I don't hate you, as far from that as possible actually. Please don't hate me. I really didn't know how to make it all up to you. I know you didn't want me to enter, and then I went and was a complete git and didn't react the way I should," Cedric rambled from where his mouth was right beside Harry's ear, his warm breath tickling against the teen's neck. "I've wanted to talk to you, but I just didn't know what to say to make it better…"

"Ahem," Dumbledore cleared his throat behind Harry, causing the Hufflepuff champion to trail off and Harry to give the elderly man another glare for interrupting one of the best hugs he'd ever gotten.

Dumbledore had entered the room with the ministry officials, the other heads of the schools, Moody, McGonagall, Snape, Sirius who slunk in the back trying not to be noticed, and Madam Pomfrey who strode angrily across the room to Harry. Harry winced as she reached where Cedric still had an arm loosely around Harry's waist. "I didn't…" He began to explain to her but cut off as she snorted angrily and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Of course, you didn't," she turned and glared at everyone else in the room, clearly communicating whose side she was on in this whole fiasco.

"Poppy, I don't think we need…" Dumbledore started but then trailed off as he was pinned with the patented Pomfrey glare saying that he couldn't make her leave even if he tried.

"Circe, she can be scary!" Slytherin commented before Gryffindor and a tall, regal woman with long, dark hair and piercing blue eyes appeared beside him in the already crowded room. Thankfully, the spirits could just pass through the living people, but Harry was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic but also more than a little comforted by Cedric on one side of him and Poppy on the other.

"Merlin's hairy balls!" Cedric exclaimed as what must have happened to bring his friend into the room with him and the other champions finally sank in. "Someone entered you into this bloody tournament, didn't they?!"

"Language…" the headmaster began but was interrupted by Poppy again.

"Who is responsible for the goblet and making sure someone cannot be entered without their consent?" Poppy sternly asked the room at large. "I just want to know whose life I'm now on a mission to ruin," she ended in a light and dangerous tone. Not a single person in that moment doubted that she would do exactly as she said.

"Imbeciles!" The woman, clearly Rowena Ravenclaw, sneered at the people. "I cannot believe the mockery they are making of our school! Now you know why I don't ever come to this side! Hello, dear…I hear good things," she kindly added to Harry with an acknowledging tilt of her head.

"How are we going to get him out of this, Rowena?" Lily Potter asked anxiously.

"Now, now, we're assuming the boy didn't somehow find a way to enter himself," one of the ministry officials remarked. Harry thought his name was Barty Crouch or something like that, and he instantly went on Harry's 'list.'

"Hogwarts cannot be allowed to have two champions! I demand this be fixed!" Karkaroff sneered from where he was now standing (more like looming really) behind Krum who just looked confused along with Fleur and Madam Maxime.

"Harry hasn't gone within fifteen feet of that cup since it was placed in the Great Hall!" Cedric clutched Harry just a little tighter and glared at the ministry official challengingly. "He's avoided that thing like spattergroit!"

Harry was just trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Of course, he was going to be entered into the tournament; that's why he'd stayed so far away from the cup. On some level he had known he was going to have to take part; he just didn't know what form that participation would be in.

"I'm fourteen," he attempted to remind them all. "Shouldn't the age-line or the cup or something have realized that was a problem…well that and that I was definitely not the one that threw my name in. I mean...'tri-' is in the name of the tournament, and I'm a fourth champion for Merlin's sake!" Frankly, he wondered more than a little how he'd been picked when he was technically dead as well…that seemed even stranger than the rest of it. Something was clearly wrong with that cup.

"The boy is not capable of fooling the magic of the goblet. He's only a fourth year," Moody growled, and Harry felt a bit bad that he was supposed to be finding a way to get the man fired since he was supporting the fact Harry hadn't entered.

"Clearly," Snape drawled with a sneer over at the teen. Harry just smiled at him broadly, causing the sneer to deepen. He knew better, Snape liked him, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself. "What form does the contract take…can Potter refuse to compete?" Snape asked the question that Harry had just been thinking.

Harry had a crazy idea that caused him to inwardly cackle in glee. With a grin at Poppy, Harry disentangled himself from the woman and Cedric to walk over and loop an arm through his Potions professor's. "Get off me, brat!" Snape tried to pull away, but he was jammed into a corner with Harry now and Harry's arm went around his waist instead of letting go.

"Don't listen to him; he gives the best hugs you know," Harry told the room. "You're my favorite right now, Professor, just so you know. So, who knows the answer to his question?" He asked the room at large, a still struggling Snape beside him.

"I've never hugged you, you dunderhead! Have you sustained a recent head injury?!"

"Course you did…you stopped me from killing myself in order to save my soul last year, then gave me a big hug. It was very comforting," Harry reminded him with a raise of his eyebrow while the rest of the room, living and dead, were sputtering in shock.

"I was trying to block the horde of dementors that wanted to suck out your soul, you idiot!" Snape gave in and just stood stoically still beside the brat.

And that was what Harry had been after the entire time and why he was antagonizing Snape to begin with. "Yes, Professor, that's right isn't it?…The ministry set dementors around the school last year that tried to eat my soul, and now the ministry has set up this tournament with a high death toll that I've been entered into against my will. I'm starting to be worried the ministry is trying to kill me off. What do you think? I don't think it's paranoia when there is a definitely pattern."

He might be a Gryffindor, but he was good friends with Salazar Slytherin himself and was pleased to see the man giving him a proud look. Well…all that and he was certain Snape really did need a hug even if he'd die before admitting it. Harry fully believed that everyone needed more hugs now that he'd been exposed to them.

"I knew I liked you," Salazar grinned at the teen. If Harry crossed over to the other side, he was determined the ministry would be blamed for it, and he had witnesses now.

"Harry, Snape is going to curse you," James warned his son with a hearty laugh, but Harry really wasn't concerned.

He'd delivered a large vial of basilisk venom and a meter of skin to the man's office a few days before. The man had informed him once again that he was not accepting a bribe and to stop bringing him expensive gifts. He explained that he hadn't turned in Sammy because there was nothing that could be done about a thousand-year-old basilisk who had basically been trained as a large, scaly guard-dog anyway. Regardless, Harry had left it all since Snape was now a reluctant friend in Harry's opinion whether he liked it or not.

"I for one am worried myself," Poppy remarked, a quick wink spared in Harry's direction as she caught on to his plan.

Crouch and Bagman both looked insulted and even frightened at the insinuation. "The ministry is in no way…"

"Can he get out of the tournament? It's a simple question," Snape impatiently asked again from where he looked like he was trying to kill Harry with a glare even though he'd stopped trying to push the teen off who was surprisingly clingy for his size, like an octopus.

"Er…not while his name remains Harry Potter," Ludo Bagman motioned to the piece of paper still in Dumbledore's hand.

"So…are all Harry Potters in the world contracted? How does that work?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Yeah, it's a bit of common name," Cedric added. "Actually, Cedric is a family name. I think I have a third cousin or something who's also a Cedric Diggory."

"Yes, well he stood up and acknowledged it was him after the parchment came out of the fire, so the magic settled on him," Crouch explained, and paled when the temperature in the room dropped as Poppy, Sirius who was now hiding behind Madam Maxime, and all the spirits turned to him angrily.

Harry groaned and hit his head on Snape's shoulder. "All this could have been avoided if the headmaster hadn't called me up to the front?"

"I'm sorry, Harry...I was unaware that was how the contract worked," Dumbledore paled as Poppy shot him murderous glares.

"I'm going to find a way to come back and haunt that old coot!" James Potter decided and swung a punch through the man's head that did absolutely nothing.

"So, zis leetle boy must compete?" Fleur Delacour entered the conversation, now looking worried for the small teen along with everyone else.

"What about a forfeit? Can he do that?" Viktor offered as an option.

"No, he must actually attend the tasks," Bagman shook his head, trying to look apologetic so that everyone's ire wouldn't be turned on him next.

Poppy crossed her arms and stared down her employer who gulped nervously. "I won't forget this Albus," she warned him darkly.

"You could just destroy the cup," Rowena finally concluded having gone to look at the cup and just returned. "It seems someone has confounded it. It was a very powerful confundus. I'm actually quite impressed. However, if the cup is destroyed, the magic unravels with it."

Harry let go of Snape to raise his hand, causing the man beside him to straighten his robes with a glare. "What if we just destroy the cup? That would break the contract."

"Really!" Crouch glared with a sniff. "There isn't that much danger. We're talking about a priceless piece of history! Dumbledore, control your student. He's being ridiculous."

"Besides the cup will be infernally difficult to destroy with all the protections surrounding it," Moody spoke up to remind everyone.

"A well placed fiendfyre solves every problem," Rowena remarked dryly.

"And that's why she was the most feared of us all," Godric told Harry in all seriousness.

"I hear fiendfyre works well to destroy things," Harry sighed, knowing no one would actually let him destroy the stupid thing, even if he really wanted to learn this whole fiendfyre thing now.

"Merlin! What have you been teaching your students, Dumbledore!" Crouch exclaimed, looking scandalized.

Krum and Karkaroff both snorted as Fleur and Madam Maxime rolled their eyes. Apparently, they were nowhere near as scandalized as the ministry official. Dumbledore awkwardly cleared his throat. "Right…well, I guess we'll just have to make the best of this. What do you say, Harry?" He turned hopeful eyes on the fourth-year.

Harry gave them all a long-suffering sigh. "Fine…I wanted to look out for Ced anyway. If someone is trying to kill me, maybe they'll ignore him."

"That's the spirit, I guess," Dumbledore said, causing Sirius to come out from where he was hiding enough to hex the man's beard blue…something which absolutely no one even commented on or seemed surprised about.

"Well…" Bagman cleared his throat after a smirk at the beard. "The first task is at the end of November, so prepare yourselves."

The spirits all patted Harry on the back or gave him a hug before leaving, besides Rowena who just nodded in his direction. Harry hurried to catch up to Cedric after assuring Sirius he was perfectly fine and Poppy that he would do everything he could to stay safe. "Ced! Wait up!"

Cedric stopped at the top of the stairs down to the dungeons. "Harry…I'm so sorry you got forced into this," he sighed sadly.

"Yeah, you too," Harry stopped and shuffled his feet a bit awkwardly. "Hey, erm, sorry for taking some of your glory or whatever…"

Cedric snorted and rolled his eyes. "That's the least of my worries. I didn't want it anyway. I was really hoping I wouldn't be chosen."

"Will you forgive me…maybe still be my friend?" The medium asked hopefully, avoiding his friend's eyes by looking somewhere beside his shoulder.

"Merlin! What the hell are you apologizing for?!" Cedric threw his arms in the air in frustration. "For living?!"

"Er…well, I'm not…"

"You know what I meant!" Cedric pulled him into another hug that Harry was starting to think were just as good as his mum's, if not better in a different way. "I'm going to keep you safe," he whispered into Harry's ear. "No one is going to find out about you."

Harry smiled and buried his face in Cedric's shoulder a bit more, loving the smell of sandalwood that always seemed to follow his friend around. "Hmm, well Poppy, Hagrid, Professor Gray, Ron, Hermione, Dobby, and the twins all know," he said.

Cedric leaned back and frowned at his friend. "I think we need to talk about the concept of what constitutes a secret," he said seriously, very concerned at how many people already knew.

"They're my family," Harry shrugged, definitely not as concerned as Cedric. "Hey, what do you think the first task will be?"

"Dunno? Dueling?" Cedric guessed.

"I was hoping for a spot of quidditch myself," Harry laughed and gave his friend a playful shove.

"Sod off you," Cedric shoved him back and laughed. "I'm sure there's a party in the Gryffindor dorms for you. Don't go too crazy."

"Well…it is still my death-day," Harry reminded him with a wink before heading to where he was sure Cedric was right and there would be a party waiting for him.

"Right, this is serious," Ron stated from where he'd kidnapped Harry and Hermione and locked them all in the fourth-year boy's dorm while the party raged on downstairs in the common room. "Did the founders or your parents or anyone have an idea for how to get you out of this?"

"Professor Ravenclaw said to torch the cup with something called fiendfyre," Harry shrugged and got more comfortable on his bed beside where Hermione was looking through Hogwarts: A History to find anything she could on the tournament. "I think I'll just make the best of it though. By what I understood from the ministry guys, I just have to attend and attempt the tasks. I don't actually have to try to win. So, I'll go and make a half-arsed effort and focus on keeping my secret and not acting all dead or whatever."

"That might be difficult depending on what the tasks are," Hermione commented. "There are some crazy things in here. I'm not going to tell you though because they only listed the ones where people died."

Harry and Ron looked at each other with fear. "Yeah, I don't think I want to know. I'm going to keep lying to myself that it's going to be a quidditch match or maybe a friendly game of gobstones."

"I'm writing Dad," Ron decided and went to get a quill and parchment. "Since he works at the ministry, he might know something…scratch that, I'll write Mum, she'll make him help," he decided with a firm nod and started writing.

"Poppy and Sirius are already plotting, and I still have Dobby's potions if all else fails," Harry sighed. "I'm sure there's something in there I can just throw at the danger."

"Dobby's potions?" Hermione asked.

"Huh? I didn't tell you?" Harry pulled the bag out of his trunk. "Dobby brewed a whole bunch of illegal potions in second year to get me framed and expelled. We called a truce when he became a friend, but he let me keep the potions."

"Merlin, I don't know what half of these are," Hermione's eye widened as she abandoned the book to look through the potions. "Is this Amortensia? And this one…it looks like tincture of hellebore; that's a hallucinogenic!"

Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Dobby said not to take any without asking him first."

"Harry…I'm pretty sure a few of these would have sent you to Azkaban instead of getting expelled," Hermione's eyes were wide in surprise.

That frankly didn't surprise Harry one bit. His friend almost got him killed trying to save him, so that tracked with how Dobby's plans worked. "Ok, so potions are a very last resort and check with Dobby first. Got it," Harry nodded firmly. "You think knowing how to sword-fight will be an advantage?"

"You know how to fight with a sword?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Sort-of. Professor Gryffindor has been trying to teach me," he explained. "Oh, remind me to take you to his chambers at some point. You'll love all the weapons!"

"Wow," Ron breathed out before sharing a look with Hermione. "Hey 'Mione, what do you imagine life would have been like if we believed him back in first-year?"

"It's a good thing you didn't. You probably would have died with me when I first met Sammy," Harry grimaced, not liking that thought at all. "He gave me the basilisk death-stare the first time I met him. I'd definitely be worm food now if I was alive to begin with."

"Erm…when exactly did that happen, Harry?" Hermione asked with a deep frown, not liking the idea of a basilisk just wandering around the castle and grounds, even if he was supposedly a friend.

Harry crossed his arms and raised a disbelieving eyebrow at them. "Really…you two both just believed that whatever that was petrifying students in second year had something to do with the wards? It was a terrible cover story. I really don't know why the headmaster bought it. Sammy is a good snake now though when he's not being controlled by an evil-spirit-possessing-git."

"Someone was possessed?" Ron sat up more and asked.

"Er…no?" Harry frowned, remembering that Ginny's parents hadn't wanted to tell her siblings. Maybe he did actually need to work on his ability to keep secrets like Cedric had said. "It was a diary…long story. Anyway, first task…thoughts?"

"'Arry!" Hagrid ran up to Harry just as he was leaving dinner a couple weeks later.

"Hey, Hagrid! What's up? How are the skrewts doing?" Harry had finally found a creature that didn't react to him differently than any of his living classmates. Unfortunately, it was blast-ended skrewts which weren't the most cuddly. He was wondering if he should ask Hagrid if a blast-ended skrewt could be bred with a kneazle to make them more cuddly and less murderous. On second thought, it might just make them smarter and more murderous...

"Oh, beautifully!" The man smiled. "They skrewts can wait though. Yer coming with me," he ordered, motioning for Harry to follow him.

"Sure…where are we going?" Harry followed, happy to have time with his friend. He waved back for Ron and Hermione to leave for the tower without him.

"Forest…there's something there you need ta see," the man nodded. "Olympe mentioned goin' with me, but she's all concerned about her champion and not worried about you at all."

"Olympe?" Harry asked, not thinking he'd heard that name before.

"Madam Maxime," his friend clarified as they entered the tree line. "Anyway, she's a fine woman, but you and me need ta have a long chat, and I don't want anythin' to get back to the officials or nothin.'"

"This is about the tournament then," Harry nodded, now catching on. "Do you know what the first task is?"

"Dragons," Hagrid said in awe as they stepped through a silencing ward into a clearing where four massive dragons were roaring and breathing fire at a whole crew of handlers.

"Merlin…I don't have to kill one, do I?" Harry asked in horror. "I'm not going to kill a dragon! I refuse! They don't deserve that!"

"Nah, just get past it for something," Hagrid shook his head. "I sure miss Norbert…" he trailed off.

::Dead-master and the Deer-bringer:: Sammy addressed them from the undergrowth where he was stalking the dragons. ::Do you know what the large, fire-mothers are doing in the forest?::

::They're here for the tournament. It sounds like I have to get past one of them to get something:: Harry explained, causing Hagrid to jump in surprise. He didn't know what to think of Sammy's name for the dragons. Why mothers?

Sammy could be completely invisible when he wanted to be in the forest, and he blended in almost completely with just a couple of the feathers of the crest on his head peaking up visibly from the grass. "Is Sammy here?" Hagrid asked in interest while he looked around for the large snake.

"Yeah, there," Harry pointed to the barely visible feathers that led down to the large, hidden snake. "He was asking what the dragons are doing here."

::Does the dead-master want me to eat a fire-mother?:: Sammy asked in an almost regretful tone. ::Fire-mothers should not be moved from their nests::

::Merlin, they're mothers?! Are their eggs with them?:: The name's meaning finally registered for Harry who leaned around the tree they were hiding behind to get a better look. Hagrid was basically not hidden at all, but the handlers just gave him a wave, seeming to expect to see him there by that point.

::Yesss, the eggs are here. I will eat for you, but I will not be happy. The young should be protected::

::Please don't eat any of them:: Harry said, anger in his voice.

"Hagrid, they are mothers!" Harry informed his friend in an angry whisper. "Sammy said their eggs are here with them. That's just…inhumane!"

"Well…I'm goin' to go give Charlie Weasley a piece of my mind!" Hagrid growled under his breath, not having seen the eggs on any of his trips to the clearing.

::Hey, Sammy…Dragons are reptilian. Do they happen to speak Parseltongue?::

::Do I look like I breathe fire to you?:: Sammy was definitely glaring at him, Harry could feel it even if he couldn't see the snake's eyes. An indignant snort sounded from the tall grass. ::Fire-breathers have their own language. We do not speak to each other::

Harry got the feeling they didn't exactly get along either, even if Sammy wanted to protect the eggs. Well, that was the death of his first plan for dealing with the dragon. "Right, so, Hagrid. You said that Madam Maxime was going to tell Fleur?"

The half-giant nodded. "Yes, and I hear that Karkaroff was here and will tell Krum too."

"Great, now I just need to tell Cedric then. Any ideas for how to get past one of those?" Harry sighed. How was he going to put forth a half-arsed effort and also stay alive if he was in front of a bloody dragon? It sounded like he might actually have to try for this one.

"Actually, I migh,'" Hagrid nodded with a smile starting to form on his face. "Can you see the eggs? Or does Sammy know how old they are?"

::Sammy?::

::They are close to hatching. Probably a month for the red fire-mother, three months for the green, the small blue one may have two months, but the brown one…that could be weeks:: Sammy filled them in.

::We still have a couple weeks until the tournament. Merlin, this was poor planning all around::

"Sammy said anywhere from a few weeks to maybe three months. The brown one's eggs could be close to hatching by the tournament," Harry filled in Hagrid.

"Righ' I need to look through my books again to check," he nodded contemplatively. "Meet Saturday night in Professor Slytherin's chambers? Bring Poppy."

"Sure," Harry agreed as they started to move back to the castle.

::I'm going to stay and watch. I don't trust these two-leggeds to keep the fire-breathers away from my castle:: Sammy informed them.

::Thanks, Sammy. Stay safe:: Harry called back before they left.

"Don' forget, Saturday," Hagrid called as Harry set off to find Cedric. There was no way he was going to let his friend stand in front of a dragon without a solid plan and a whole vat of burn-cream standing by.

Chapter Text

Harry hadn't even faced his dragon yet and he was already in more danger than he had been all term. He held back his panic when Colin Creevey dropped him off in the room that had been set aside for the weighing of the wands ceremony. Ludo Bagman explained that they had to check that all the champions' wands were functional and in good condition before the competition, and that sounded like an absolutely terrible idea. Harry's hand inched towards his wand in fear…the wand that seemed less than willing to be held by any living person. Cedric gave him a happy smile from where he was talking with Viktor Krum, but Cedric could be happy, he didn't know why this was so very concerning, and Harry didn't have the time to tell him now. He hadn't even had time to tell Cedric about the dragon yet, so they were long overdue for a conversation.

"Now, interviews…let's start with the youngest champion first!" A garishly dressed woman who Bagman had referred to as Rita Skeeter and who had an acid green quill following her around in the air latched onto Harry's arm.

It took a second before Harry processed that this woman must be a reporter and his danger senses went off again. The last thing he needed was a reporter poking around his life. What if they decided to track down the Dursleys and talk to them? This could be disastrous. He sent a pleading look back to the other champions as the woman pulled him towards a broom cupboard in the corner of the room.

"Excuse me," Fleur Delacour stepped up quickly from where she'd been casually leaning against the wall and blocked their path with a stern look on her face. "I don't know ze laws here in Britain, but in France ze leetle boy would need his guardian to be interviewed by a reporter since he's underage."

"Why don't you interview us as a group instead?" Krum offered, his arms crossed and looking quite imposing.

Cedric gave Harry a large smile and a wink from beside Krum. Harry didn't know what his friend had been up to, but he'd obviously had something to do with the other champions' views of him as a contestant. "Ms. Skeeter," Cedric turned his gaze to the reporter. "I'm not sure you realize, but that's a broom cupboard you were about to take Harry into…that seems a bit inappropriate to me."

Fleur sniffed disdainfully before extricating Harry's arm from Skeeter's shocked hold and putting her own arm around his shoulders. "Has your newspaper heard the reports zhat your ministry is trying to kill young 'Arry here?"

"There was a long discussion about it when his name came out of the goblet," Krum supplied next. "It is very concerning that a child who is in danger from your former dark lord's followers is now being targeted by the ministry…my father, the Bulgarian Ambassador, is concerned that your ministry has been overtaken by the dark. Have you had time to look into that yet? It's all very suspicious, don't you think?"

"What?!" Skeeter gasped, but with a feral gleam starting in her eyes and a twitch pulling her lips up into a small smile.

"Really?!" Bagman stuttered in indignation. "Unfounded I tell you…all unfounded."

"The ministry is in no way targeting Mr. Potter," Crouch turned red in anger.

"Didn't sound like that to me," the Bulgarian champion snorted under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

Fleur had successfully steered Harry back over to the little group of champions where she passed him off to Cedric who threw his arm around Harry's shoulders protectively next. "She's basically a tabloid writer," Cedric whispered in his ear. "Nothing she writes is the truth and all sensationalism. It's best to make sure you're never alone with her."

"She writes some nice fiction though," Fleur smirked from where she'd obviously heard. "I agree…none of us should be alone with her though," she said loudly enough for Krum to hear.

He firmly nodded his head. "I've had the displeasure to have been written about by her in the past…now I have a solicitor. I'm willing to share his contact information with all of you. He can be wonderfully brutal."

"I will be taking you up on zhat," Fleur nodded as the door opened and Dumbledore entered.

Harry let go of some of his over-wrought nerves when Ollivander entered behind Dumbledore. At least the man knew he shouldn't try to hold and use Harry's wand, but just the components of it getting out to the public could necessitate Harry needing Krum's solicitor's contact information. Ollivander gave Harry a sad smile, clearly knowing this was not a good situation to be in for the dead child.

"Right…I will be checking that everything is in working order with your wands," the wand-maker stepped forward after a brief introduction from Dumbledore. Skeeter stopped in her frantic interrogation of Bagman to focus back in on the ceremony and take notes on the wands.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, would you consent to be first, please?" Ollivander asked kindly.

Fleur swept over and handed the man her wand without any hesitation. After a brief inspection, he twirled the wand, making pink and gold sparks fly out the end. Ollivander gave a pointed look to Harry before turning back to Fleur. "Mademoiselle Delacour, do I have your permission to share the components of your wand with the judges and the press?" He asked, his eyes cutting over to Harry after the question.

It didn't take all the pointed looks for Harry to catch on to the man's message there. He blessed the elderly man's soul that he'd realized the issue and wanted to protect Harry as much as he could. He made a mental note to send Ollivander a nice thank you gift as soon as he could.

"Mr. Ollivander, that's not how this works," Skeeter protested over where Bagman and Crouch were also sputtering their protests.

"It is beyond bad manners to share the components of a person's wand without their permission," Ollivander pinned all the adults in the room with a glare. "Is it a part of this tournament's contract that the champions lose the right to common decency and their own privacy?"

"No, I don't believe it is," Dumbledore answered for the ministry officials who seemed to be trying to come up with a better argument and were failing.

Ollivander smirked a bit before turning back to Fleur. "Right, then, so Mademoiselle Delacour?"

"I do not mind," the French champion tossed her hair over her shoulder with a glare towards Skeeter for good measure. "In fact, I'll tell you…it eez nine and a half inches out of rosewood and one of my grandmuzzer's hairs…veela hair," she clarified for the reporter with a smirk.

"Beautiful work," Ollivander nodded and handed her back the wand with a smile. "I don't tend to use veela hair since it's a bit temperamental, but I can see how it would suit a relative very nicely. It seems to be in excellent working order."

Fleur nodded and returned to the group. "Mr. Diggory, you're up next."

Cedric passed off his wand the same as Fleur had done. "Ah, this is one of mine," Ollivander smiled like he was seeing an old friend. "I ask for your permission to share the components of your wand as well?"

"Fine with me," Cedric shrugged, not seeing an issue.

"It's actually a wonderful story. The unicorn where I got the hair for your core almost gored me," Ollivander laughed though Harry looked at him in concern. "He had to have been seventeen hands! Anyway, twelve and a quarter inches…ash, with a very fine hair from a unicorn's tail."

Cedric seemed entranced by the story of his wand core, wanting to hear more. Ollivander just gave the wand a wave though and perfect smoke rings came out the end. "It's been taken excellent care of," he remarked with a proud smile at the wand.

"Polished it just last night," Cedric nodded and took his wand back.

"It shows…I believe it's just as functional as the day I sold it," Ollivander told the ministry officials before turning towards Krum. "Mr. Krum, would you care to step forward."

"Sir," Krum stepped forward. "I do not like others holding my wand," he frowned a bit as he held out the wand.

"Well, I can look it over as you hold it and then have you cast something if you would rather," Ollivander remarked without a hint of being insulted at all.

Krum nodded with a little smile of relief at that. He held out his wand, balanced on the two palms of his hands for the wandmaker to study.

"Hmm, one of Gregorovitch's creations if I'm not mistaken," he raised a questioning eyebrow.

"One of his last," Krum confirmed with a short nod.

Ollivander gave him another tight nod before looking up at the young man again. "Do I have your permission to share the components?"

"No, sir, you do not," Krum said tightly. "That is not done in Bulgaria. We do not tell others what our wands are made of. That is very personal information."

"I respect that," the wandmaker nodded. "You know, I've never told anyone the components of my personal wand either. Would you please cast any spell for me?"

After a bit of thought, Krum gave his wand a wave and said, "Avis!"

Harry smiled, never having lost his amazement at all that magic could do when small red and gold birds flew around the room singing before they disappeared once more. "Excellent, yes, it seems to be working quite well," Ollivander beamed at him. "Thank you, Mr. Krum…Mr. Potter?"

Harry gave his wand a quick swipe with the corner of his robe to shine it a bit before he stepped forward. "Hello," he smiled at the man awkwardly.

"Well, hello again," Ollivander smiled at the teen and went ahead and put his hands in his pockets, not even considering asking to hold the dead wand. "Another of my creations," he remarked as Harry held out the wand for him to look at. "It looks like you've taken excellent care of it."

"I've tried," Harry blushed, wishing he'd thought to polish his wand like Cedric. It wasn't even something he thought of though since the driftwood was already quite shiny without anything.

"Mr. Potter…do I have your permission to share the components of your wand?" He asked, with another pointed look to Harry, doing his best to convey that the teen should say no.

"Er…no, sir. I don't really feel comfortable with that. Everyone has told me just how personal that is," Harry said weakly, thankful that Krum had refused first.

Dumbledore, the ministry officials, and Skeeter all seemed to deflate at that. They hadn't looked like they really cared when Krum had refused, but they each looked either frustrated or exasperated that Harry hadn't given permission. Ollivander just nodded and conjured a glass of water which he placed on the floor in front of Harry.

"Mr. Potter, would you please freeze the water for me so I can see your wand cast?" He asked, correctly assuming that ice was one of Harry's strongest spells with the driftwood and grim hair wand.

Not even needing a spell to do that since it was the default when he'd cast something incorrectly anyway, Harry just jabbed his wand firmly at the glass of water causing ice crystals to form from the bottom of the glass upwards until the water was solid ice and the glass of the cup cracked from the expanding water molecules.

"Brilliant!" Ollivander clapped his hands happily before banishing the glass. "Excellent working order. I think we're all good with our champions, Dumbledore," he turned to nod to the headmaster.

"Thank you for coming, Garrick," the headmaster shook the man's hand after giving Harry and his wand a wistful look.

"Are we good to return to class?" Cedric spoke up to ask the officials. "I was in the middle of DADA and Professor Moody was teaching the unforgiveables. It was all very interesting."

"Dumbledore?!" Barty Crouch exclaimed with wide, shocked eyes. "You have a professor teaching the unforgiveables?!"

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Skeeter's eyes were positively glowing as her green quill skated across the parchment. "Has the fact that Durmstrang students are at the school this year affected the curriculum you are teaching?"

"Best to head back, you all," Dumbledore sighed tiredly at the champions before turning to deal with whatever his erratic DADA professor had decided to do and get him in trouble from.

"I thought you zaid you were in Transfiguration?" Fleur chuckled once they'd all left the room.

Cedric shrugged. "I must have forgotten that Moody's lesson was last week…my memory is sometimes quite bad," he smirked at Harry with another wink.

"Uh huh…the hat suggested putting you in Slytherin, didn't it?" Harry asked, thinking his friend must have had a similar sorting process to himself.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Cedric fake huffed as the four wandered down the corridor, none of them actually impatient to get back to their classes.

"Hey guys…thanks for your help back there," Harry said mainly to Krum and Fleur. "I did not want to be shut in a broom cupboard with that woman," he gave a shudder at that thought.

"Skeeter is vile and a discredit to her profession," Krum growled darkly, clearly having had bad experiences with her in the past.

"You obviously did not want to be in this tournament. You did not sign up like we did," Fleur gave her new friend's shoulder a supportive squeeze.

"Yes, has anyone told you about the first task?" Krum stopped to ask with a frown as he looked over other the other champions. "I know the Beauxbatons headmistress has seen the challenge as well as my own headmaster."

"Actually, yes, I do know, but Cedric doesn't," he turned to look at his friend who just raised an eyebrow at the other champions who seemed to be offering to help, surprisingly.

"Ok…" he said slowly. "What're we facing?"

"Dragons," Harry sighed with a grimace. "You have to get past one. The really bad part though is that they're nesting mothers…"

Fleur sucked in a surprised breath. "I didn't know zhat part," she said in surprise.

"Merlin," Cedric breathed out and had to put a hand against the stone wall to support himself in his sudden shock and fear. "Harry…what are you going to do?"

"I'm having Poppy brew a whole cauldron of burn cream for us and going to try not to get fried, that's what I'm going to do," he grumbled.

"We still have a few days," Krum nodded slowly. "How about we all meet the day before…just to make sure that everyone does have a plan? I may be highly competitive, but Diggory here told Fleur and I the dangers of this tournament from when it was held in the past. I was not previously informed just how dangerous it was when my headmaster insisted I enter."

"Yes, we all live through zis, agreed?" Fleur crossed her arms and told them all. "I want to win, but zhat doesn't mean I'm willing for any of you to die in zee process, especially the leetle boy."

"I'm not a baby," Harry huffed and rolled his eyes, but he appreciated the sentiment regardless. He'd already faced more in his life than he figured they could reasonable put in the tournament. Whatever they did, they wouldn't make him face Voldemort at least. He didn't care to think about the fact that he'd basically died all three times he'd faced Voldemort…that was beside the point.

"I agree, meet up the day before," Cedric ignored Harry's protest to nod at the other champions. "Now, I'm going to steal Harry away because we need to talk about how we're going to hex a blond prat who likes to make insulting badges."

Fleur laughed her twinkling laugh at that while Krum snorted in amusement. They headed off together towards the castle grounds while Cedric threw his arm over Harry's shoulder and led him towards the Great Hall where lunch would start up once classes ended. "So, Malfoy…how do you want to handle this? I'm all for cursing his hair purple or a well-timed bat bogey hex."

Harry rolled his eyes. Frankly, the badges didn't really bother him. He had a dragon to figure out how to get past; they were the least of his worries. "Just let it go…it's not like what the badges say is false anyway."

"Harry…the badges say: 'Support Cedric Diggory, the Real Hogwarts Champion' and then 'Potter Stinks.' It's insulting!" The Hufflepuff was much more insulted than Harry was it seemed.

"Well…you are the real champion," Harry stopped to put his hands on his hips and pin Cedric with a glare. "You actually entered this fiasco; therefore, you are the real champion. That and I do actually stink. It's a bit rude to remind me of it all the time since I do shower regularly and wear deodorant, but I'm dead, so there isn't a whole lot I can do. At least only animals really seem to notice it though."

Cedric couldn't help a laugh at that, but he was still very offended for his friend, even if Harry just brushed it off. "You smell fine, and that's not the point," he said between hearty laughs. "I don't like people not supporting you."

"Just worry about your dragon," Harry rolled his eyes and gave Cedric's shoulder a playful punch. He had a quick thought that he decided to just go with and deal with the consequences later. "Hey…meet me in the entrance hall Saturday night after dinner, ok?"

Cedric quickly sobered to give Harry an odd look that the dead teen didn't understand at all. "Meet Saturday night? Ok," he said slowly. "What do you want to do?"

Harry didn't know what Cedric thought they were doing, but he definitely seemed to be assuming something. "Er…talk about the dragon…I'm meeting with Hagrid. What do you think I'm asking?"

Cedric seemed to let out a breath and look a bit let down at that explanation. Harry was so lost…what had Cedric hoped he was asking? "Right, let's talk about the dragon," Cedric said firmly before Harry could ask. "I need to head on in. Class is going to end soon."

Harry just frowned as Cedric quickly rushed into the Great Hall and towards the Hufflepuff table. Students immediately started wandering past him as classes seemed to have let out. He was wracking his brain trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Having a good day, love?" Pandora Lovegood stopped to ask Harry on her way into the Great Hall where she normally hung out with her daughter for a bit at mealtimes. "You seem a bit pensive."

"Yeah…just confused," Harry shook his head before smiling at the spirit and ignoring the looks that a group of first year Hufflepuffs were giving him for talking to himself. He noticed none of the Hufflepuffs were wearing the badges surprisingly…or not surprisingly since Cedric had taken such offense to them.

"How's Luna? I haven't talked to her recently. She's been spending all her time with the twins," Harry asked as he wandered into the hall and towards the Gryffindor table to save some seats for his friends.

"Oh wonderful…the girls are being so much more respectful now," Pandora laughed wickedly. "Absolutely none of her things have gone missing in the past few weeks."

"Uh huh…so they're terrified of her," he smirked and plopped onto the bench far away from the rest of his housemates.

"Very much so!" Pandora confirmed gleefully. "I really do like your Weasley twins. Could you pass on a thank you from me?"

"Course," Harry smiled and motioned to the blonde that had just walked in. "Luna's here. I'll see you soon? Come for a chat sometime and tell me about your research."

Pandora was studying how to make magic visible so that you could see wards and differentiate magical signatures. Her studies using potions for this had been fatal in her previous life, but now she had moved on to charms that were much safer…well that and she couldn't die anymore already being in the afterlife.

"Next week…I should have some more progress by then. I'll stop by and tell you all about it," she assured him before heading over to check in on her daughter.

"Ron hexed Malfoy," Hermione informed Harry when she crashed onto the bench in front of him, glaring darkly at their friend.

"He deserved it," Ron rolled his eyes and said unrepentantly. "I just gave him donkey ears anyway. It's not like I caused the git any permanent damage."

"And you got a detention and lost twenty points for it!" She just glared back.

Harry held a hand out in between them to break their fierce eye contact. "Is this about the badges? They really don't bother me."

Ron and Hermione both stared at Harry in disbelief. Even if Hermione didn't condone violence, she was still angry about what Malfoy had done. "They bother us then," Ron just informed him with a firm shake of his head. "I can't have people making fun of a friend of mine…brings down my reputation, you know."

"I support your Weasley," James Potter appeared behind Ron. "I saw the whole thing. It was quite good, but Weasley needs to expand his hex repertoire a bit more. I can think of a few nasty hexes that would be better."

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. "When my dad agrees with you, you really should be concerned," he informed his friend of a truth he'd learned way back in second year.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Ron smirked and loaded his plate with potatoes.

Hermione huffed but just reached for the pumpkin juice. "How did the wand-thing go?"

"Thankfully Ollivander was in charge of it," Harry said with wide eyes to show just how relieved he was. "He didn't tell what our wands were made of unless we gave him permission, and he didn't just take our wands from us either."

"Good, grim hair is a really weird wand core," Ron nodded and said around a mouthful of mashed potato.

"Yeah, and my wand has a strong prejudice against living people," Harry nodded in agreement. "Sirius said it made his hand feel like it'd died."

Both his friends shuddered at his description. "Any ideas about the dragon?" Hermione leaned forward to whisper.

"I still say you should get your basilisk to eat it…he offered," James added in his opinion.

"No, not going to happen," Harry glared over at his father.

"Huh?" Ron raised a questioning eyebrow to be looped in.

"Dad wants Sammy to eat it, or stare it to death or something," he translated. "I'm not going to kill an innocent mother dragon though."

"Merlin, no," Hermione shook her head. "Any other ideas?"

"Don't know. Hagrid has something," Harry shrugged. "Hey guys…" he started with a look towards the Hufflepuff table. "What's so odd about asking someone to meet up with you on a Saturday night after dinner?"

"Nothing…" Ron frowned after some thought.

"Was it a girl you asked?" Hermione smirked at him. "Maybe she thought you liked her and was asking her on a date. That does tend to be a standard date time here at school."

"No…" Harry made a mental note not to ask any girls to meet with him on Saturday nights. "It was Cedric…huh, maybe it was nothing…"

Hermione gave him a look at that but just put a piece of chicken on her plate. "Is Cedric dating Cho Chang? I've seen them together a few times," she asked in a falsely innocent tone.

Harry thought about that. He'd seen them together too, but he really didn't know. Something about that didn't sit right with him, but he wasn't sure what. "Er…not sure," he finally said, a frown forming. He looked over to his dad questioningly who just shrugged.

"I don't follow around your little friends normally. I was only following Weasley earlier since I didn't know you were off at the wand thing and I couldn't find you," he explained.

"Dad doesn't know either. Does that make a difference?" Harry asked his friend who didn't seem to want to explain her question.

"Hmm…not sure," she shrugged and just put some broccoli on Harry's empty plate. "Eat…we have Charms next."

"Where are we going?" Cedric Diggory asked Harry when they met up on Saturday night and headed towards the dungeons.

"A private place to talk," Harry gave him a wide grin, excited to show him the rooms. "Just wait until you see…"

They wandered down into the dungeons and towards Slytherin's chambers, talking about quidditch and how much they missed it that year. "Godric's hair looks like a dead rat," Harry informed the suit of armor.

"Where in Helga's frilly knickers did that password come from?" Cedric snorted a laugh.

"Mate…you're going to need to come up with some different swears," Harry laughed loudly. "You know I'm a medium. These are Salazar Slytherin's chambers, and Professor Hufflepuff tends to hang out sometimes. She doesn't really like people talking about her knickers…well, except for Professor Gryffindor, but that's not something I'm planning to discuss at any point."

"Harry…do tell me why Sammy eating the dragon has been vetoed already?" Salazar Slytherin greeted the medium with a frown from where he and Lily Potter were pacing in the room where Poppy, Hagrid, Dobby, and Sirius were already waiting.

Harry was thankful to note that Sirius was still wearing his Professor Gray get-up since he hadn't filled Cedric in on that bit of information yet. "Because I'm not killing an innocent mother dragon," Harry said, causing everyone to look up at the answered question they hadn't heard asked. "Besides, Sammy really didn't like the idea either, even if he volunteered. And…if you remember, we don't want everyone to know about Sammy anyway. That'd probably cause mass panic."

"You are probably right. They might not be able to do anything to him, but it could cause unnecessary violence if the ministry finds out about a basilisk in the school," Lily Potter reminded Salazar.

"Is the question about eating the poor dragon?" Hagrid asked, noting the extra teen that followed Harry in and who was now looking around the rooms in abject awe. "I don't want the dragon harmed if we can avoid it."

"Diggory knows about Sammy?" Sirius asked, assuming the question Harry answered had been posed by the Hufflepuff. "Also…should we really be helping the competition?" He motioned to the Hogwarts champion.

"Ced is not the competition," Harry put his hands on his hips and glared at his godfather. "We're going to make sure he stays safe…right, Poppy?" He asked, knowing the medi-witch would back him up.

"My thoughts exactly, Harry," she glared at Sirius, not disappointing her favorite student/sort-of son or ward.

"Who's Sammy?" Cedric asked from where he was now flipping through a book on potions written by Salazar himself.

"Tell him to be careful with that book," the man huffed, not liking teenagers, besides Harry who didn't count, touching his things.

"Cedric's not hurting it," Harry rolled his eyes at the founder. "Sammy is the basilisk that lives in the lair attached to these rooms," he turned to inform his friend next. "He's a sweetheart and a great friend."

Cedric dropped the book at that pronouncement, causing Slytherin to grumble in indignation while glaring back at Harry. "Basilisk?" Was all the Hufflepuff got out in a surprised squeak.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'll introduce you if you want." Being introduced to the snake was clearly not something that Cedric wanted to do. "Now…Hagrid, you had an idea?"

"Wait," Sirius cut in, raising his hand. "Who was Harry talking to then?"

Cedric turned to the man with a speculative look, obviously wondering why the new History professor was at this meeting. Harry almost groaned when he realized just what he'd walked into. Sirius didn't know about the spirits and Cedric didn't know about Sirius. He looked at Poppy with a pleading look. It was just so hard to remember who all knew what.

"You got yourself into this," she smirked at him unhelpfully.

"Does Master Harry want Dobby to handle this?" The elf offered from where he had been making tea for everyone in Salazar's little kitchen.

Harry's eyes widened in fear. Dobby's version of handling things was never a good thing. "No, Dobby! We're good!" He said quickly. Knowing the elf, he'd probably either obliviate everyone or drop Sirius in the middle of the lake for the giant squid to take care of him.

Dobby just shrugged though, and Poppy gave a little laugh. "Anyone going to answer my question?" Sirius prodded again.

"He really does have a right to know," Lily reminded her son. Sirius had been doing so much better that she was right. It was just a conversation Harry had been avoiding.

"Right…so that's a whole can of flobberworms," Harry sighed and plopped onto the couch, pulling Cedric down with him so he'd focus and stop rambling through the books. "How about Hagrid tells us his idea first, then we'll deal with the rest of my insanity?"

"Righ,'" Hagrid nodded, all business. "The issue is that you have ter get past a dragon that's very protective of her eggs…what if she wasn't…?"

"And how do you propose to get a mother dragon to not care for her defenseless children?" Madam Pomfrey gave a snort at that suggestion.

"Well…I was thinkin'…what if the eggs hatched?" Hagrid smiled broadly at them.

"Is he insane?!" Slytherin growled.

"Under no circumstances…" Lily started adding in.

"Hell no!" Sirius exclaimed.

"But wait…this mights be a good idea," Dobby smiled broadly, and his large ears flapped in excitement. Harry groaned because if Dobby and Hagrid thought this was a good idea, then he was most assuredly about to 'die' again.

Harry sat in the tent waiting for his turn with the dragon and studied the little brown, miniature version of the Hungarian Horntail he was about to face. He was definitely about to die. He really had no clue how he'd let Hagrid talk him into this. Cedric was doing a bit of transfiguration on a rock that might even be riskier than what he was about to do, but it was at least less convoluted. Harry's advantage was in that if it didn't work he could just say he tried and that was his attempt…moving on and all, put him in last place, whatever. Krum and Fleur had pretty solid plans too, so he just prayed to all that was holy that everything worked out.

"Harry Potter!" Was called and he stood and exited the tent.

That was probably the largest animal he'd ever seen in his life…besides Sammy who was at least closer to the ground…and had already killed him once. It also happened to be the dragon whose eggs were due to hatch at any minute. Well…Hagrid would know from experience that you could get a dragon's egg to hatch faster by placing it in fire. That is how he got Norbert's, or rather Norberta's, egg to hatch.

Harry pointed his wand directly at the nest containing all the dragon eggs and one golden egg. "Salus," Harry cast a protective ward around the golden egg from where he was hiding behind a large rock that had been placed in the area for (aesthetic?) reasons.

The mother dragon roared and breathed a stream of fire at the rock, making it all very unpleasantly warm. "Right…Fabian…you're up," Harry looked over to the spirit who was vibrating in excitement. He hadn't been sure about bringing in the spirits to help, but once Sirius knew of their presence and that Lily was the one who suggested it, he pushed for anything and everything she said...he'd probably have agreed even if she said he should run around dressed as a clown and singing a lullaby.

"Right…she's still looking…she's looking away…on my count…one…two…three!"

Harry slammed himself on top of the rock now that Fabian said she was distracted. "Ignis maxima!" He cast at the nest before jumping right back down, a stream of fire heading his way.

"Aaaah!" He couldn't help the scream at the large burn that formed from where his shoulder brushed up against the heated rock. "Did it work?"

"You got it, Harry!" Fabian laughed. "Gideon is over by the nest. He'll signal once they start hatching…give it a minute."

"Mr. Potter seems to have set the nest on fire…" the announcer's voice called over the stands as if no one could see the large flaming nest in the middle of the arena. "They are dragon eggs…I'm not sure what he means to accomplish by that since mother's regularly heat their eggs…"

Harry snorted. They did, but not this close to their hatch date, not if they didn't want them to go ahead and hatch. "Wait…something's happening!" The announcer called out again in surprise.

"They're hatching!" Fabian jumped up and down. "Momma dragon is completely distracted!"

"Right, now we just wait for the chaos to ensure," Harry smirked and settled in more behind the rock. Once the baby dragons hatched, they'd be running all over the place and looking for something to eat, and the mother dragon would leave them to it so they could learn to hunt for themselves. Ron knew that intimately well from when he got bitten by Norberta. So, once they started running around, Harry just needed to cast ice around himself since the babies wouldn't like the cold and run in and grab the golden egg and just keep running until he was safely out of the arena.

"You ready…?" Fabian grinned. "They're almost all out now."

"Count me off again will you?" Harry tightened his hold on his wand, ready to cast a haze of ice around him…so much easier than the fire he'd cast before.

Poppy was liberally applying burn cream to all the champions in the tent while she was swearing in fluent Gaelic. "How many of the dragon handlers got burned or bitten by the babies when they had to round them up?" Harry asked her with a smirk.

She narrowed her gaze and glared at him from where she'd just wrapped the burn on Cedric's arm. "Seven. Your plan was terrible."

Harry just shrugged though. "Serves them right for bringing nesting mothers away from their home. They should have known better."

Krum surprisingly sniffed despondently from where he was seated with his leg already bandaged. "There were five of them that were crushed," he mumbled and scrubbed a hand over his eyes. "I didn't know she'd step on them."

"You couldn't have known it would happen," Fleur assured him. She was the least injured, but she was sitting in a pair of infirmary pajamas since her clothes had caught fire.

Harry made it out mostly fine. He had the bandaged burn on his shoulder from the rock and he had gotten bitten on the leg by two of the baby dragons, which were mildly venomous, so his leg was covered in a foul-smelling paste to draw out the venom. "Pup!" Sirius exclaimed as he rushed into the room and then stopped himself from hugging Harry and hurting him.

"Hey, Professor," Harry gave him a pointed look to stay in character.

Cedric laughed at Sirius, a bit giddy from the pain potion Poppy had just given him. He hadn't even seemed surprised when he was told that Professor Gray was really Sirius Black back at their meeting. When Harry had finally come clean with the both of them, Cedric had just shrugged and said it figured since Harry had never been worried about the fugitive that was supposedly out to kill him anyway. So, really it all made sense.

However, Sirius had a bit of a freak out when he realized he could now talk to James and Lily through Harry, but Poppy had passed him a calming draught and he instead started to write everything down he wanted to say to his friends. Harry told him that he wasn't going to stage their little reunion until after the first task because he was too stressed out at the moment. Lily had whole-heartedly supported this, so Sirius had pouted for a few minutes and then just started scribbling away.

"Diggory, you ok?" Sirius frowned at the loopy teenager.

"There's two of you…how's the dementors goin' to get both?" He chuckled.

"Oh dear…that potion might have been a bit too strong," Poppy rushed back over to Cedric who looked like he was about to start singing next.

"Harry…does your leg hurt? What happened to your shoulder? I didn't see you hurt that." Sirius sat on the edge of Harry's bed and tried to get a better look at the bite marks under the paste.

"I'm fine, Professor," he smiled and patted Sirius's hand comfortingly. Krum and Fleur's friends had wandered into the tent now, so they were distracted at least. "My leg will be fine, and I leaned against the hot rock, so the shoulder was really just my fault."

Sirius let out a long breath of relief. "Merlin, Pup, you should have seen everyone when they realized the eggs were hatching. The dragon handlers were already rushing around frantically, but then the ministry officials got all worried and the students were trying to get a better look."

"Well, Hagrid did always like his baby dragons…you don't think he'll try to take one, do you?" Harry looked over in concern at the tent flap. Maybe he should have someone check on that. He loved Hagrid dearly, but he really didn't want to have to take care of a dragon again ever, not after this experience.

"Nah…Dobby is keeping an eye on him," Sirius winked at him with a chuckle.

"Harry!" Hermione rushed in and was barely caught from crushing Harry's injured shoulder in a hug by Ron who grabbed onto the back of her robes.

"Oi! He's injured!" Ron reminded her. "Now…whose bright idea was hatching the eggs?!" He turned angry and concerned eyes on Harry.

"Er…Hagrid," Harry answered sheepishly. "Hey, it was better than Professor Moody's suggestion that I should fly! Dragons breathe fire and have really good aim!"

"Oh Danny boy…!" Cedric started in singing before Poppy finally just stunned him.

"All this is going in my next report to the ICW," she grumbled, looking frazzled at the injured teens around her.

"Hey, you didn't come in last at least," Sirius clapped Harry on his uninjured shoulder with a broad grin.

"Sore subject," Harry glanced over to where Krum still didn't look too good. "He's a bit broken up about the eggs."

"Well, you took forever, but at least no one was seriously injured, and the babies are all having a blast running around the enclosure in the forbidden forest now," Hermione informed him.

"Hey, and at least the real Hogwarts champion came in first," Harry smirked over to where Cedric had promptly gone from stunned to sleeping and was gently snoring away.

Chapter Text

"This is worse than the dragons," Harry commented to his father from where he was secluded in an alcove and watching the packs of girls giggle as they walked down the corridors between classes and across the courtyard by the clocktower.

"You're so dramatic," James laughed and draped an arm over his son's shoulders. "It's a dance, not a death sentence. Just ask someone…ask the Cho girl. You seem to like her. You look over at her a whole lot anyway. Careful or you might be a bit stalker-ish there."

Harry followed James's gesture towards where Cedric and Cho were talking over on a stone bench and rolled his eyes at his dad's remark. He definitely didn't look their direction that many times. Cedric laughed at something Cho said, and Harry felt his heart clench and his stomach drop. Ok, so his father was right, he did look over there a lot, but he wasn't looking at Cho. Cedric was his friend, he was allowed to look at his friend, right? Why did it make him feel uncomfortable that he was talking with Cho though? He didn't feel that way when Ron talked to Hermione.

"Or ask your Weasley friend," James continued with an awkward clear of his throat. "You hang out with him a lot and…your mother and I, we wouldn't care if you prefer boys over girls. You know that, right?"

"Huh?" Harry looked over at his father and frowned. "That's allowed? Uncle Vernon always said…"

"Let me stop you right there," his father sighed heavily and raised a hand to stop his son. "Your relatives are terrible excuses for humans, and you shouldn't believe anything they've told you over the years. If you want to date your friend Ron, then you should ask him out. If he likes you back, then there's nothing wrong with that. I'm sorry I haven't thought to have this conversation with you before…"

"I don't like Ron like that, Dad. He's just a friend…basically my brother," Harry assured his father with an amused chuckle. What his dad had said really changed everything though. He had to think over it for a minute. "Does everyone know this?" He vaguely motioned to the other students at the school. "What about Sirius?"

"Well," James cleared his throat and shifted his weight where he was sitting again. "It's not as big of a deal in our society as with the muggles, but I can't promise you that there aren't bigots as well as all those pureblood racists you already know about. I wouldn't be concerned about Sirius at all though. Yeah, he's a bit of a player and obsessed with women, but he actually dated Remus for a little while our sixth year. It didn't work out between them, and they decided to just be friends, but it wasn't because either of them had a problem with someone liking their own gender."

"Huh…I didn't know that. I guess we're still only fourteen, but now that I think about it, none of my friends have actually told me they are interested in anyone specifically. Maybe I just haven't been paying attention," Harry really considered it then. He'd never actually paid any attention to even his own attraction for his fellow students at all since he expected to not be among the living much longer. Was he more attracted to girls or guys?

He looked over at Cedric and Cho…they were both very good looking. Did he find one more attractive than the other? Well…it was Cedric that he kept looking at. Was that feeling in the pit of his stomach jealousy? "Dad…?"

"Yes, son?"

"Er...I think I might find Ced a little more attractive than Cho…" He said slowly, not really sure what this meant for his friendship with Cedric…or what Ron or Hermione would think about that. He also wasn't sure that it applied to other people besides the Hufflepuff seeker.

"Ok…so, are you going to ask him to the ball?" James chuckled and smiled down at his son who he still had his arm around. "He's your friend…just walk over there and ask if he might want to go with you. If he says no, then shrug it off and ask someone else. It doesn't have to hurt your friendship."

"No…" Harry said slowly, shaking his head. "That's not it…it's…it's just weird to ask out someone, someone who's alive that is."

"I hate to break it to you son, but you currently reside in the land of the living and not the afterlife. Your options are a bit limited," James leaned back to look at his son with a questioning raise of his eyebrow.

"Yeah but…I'm dead," he sighed and shook his head. "That's just…I don't know. It feels wrong to me. I might find Cedric attractive, but being with someone living…romantically...it just doesn't feel right…" He said, blushing bright red. His heart might not work, but his magic was getting quite a bit of exercise moving his blood to his face currently.

"It doesn't feel right for you, or do you think it would bother him?" James asked in clarification, a considering look on his face.

"I don't know…maybe both?" Harry concluded after some thought.

James ruffled Harry's hair, earning a glare. Harry was starting to think that the spirits wanted his classmates to believe there was a magical wind always following him around that just liked to mess with his hair. "Harry…we really don't know how long you'll be in this world. Do you want to be alone that whole time? It might be longer than you think. Maybe you just need some time to think over this before making any decision."

"Yeah…that sounds right," he agreed with a relieved sigh. "I'll think it over…besides, it's not like Cedric likes me that way at all. See him over there with Cho…I bet they're dating or at least interested in each other. They sure hang out enough anyway."

"He hangs out with you just as much," James shrugged, now paying more attention to Harry's Hufflepuff friend than he had before.

"I'll think about it," Harry promised his dad before standing from the alcove he'd been sitting in and grabbing his things. "I should head to History of Magic now though…Sirius really has made class much more interesting. I think we're starting in on the Spanish Inquisition today."

"Binns is still sulking over here on our side," James laughed and disappeared while Harry rushed back into the castle.

Harry hadn't made much progress in his self-reflection a couple days later as he wondered down to the dungeons for Potions. He'd been chatting with Luna and the twins about an invention they were working on together to turn someone temporarily into different types of animals when they ate it. It all sounded extremely interesting, and the three friends were all excited to add in something called a crumple-horned snorkack as one of the animals someone could turn into. They had gotten stuck on adding anything that wasn't a bird, but supposedly small birds were easy. Since Harry had just left them in the library, he was alone as he made his way to class.

A silvery ghost crossed the corridor, causing Harry to pause and let her pass. An idea crossed his mind, causing Harry to smile and follow after the Ravenclaw ghost. "Hey, stop for a minute…" He called out as he jogged behind her.

The woman didn't seem to hear him as Harry chased her down an empty corridor. "Hello…erm, Gray Lady…?!"

Harry reached out and tugged on the woman's sleeve right before she could ghost through the wall to leave the corridor. "Excuse me?!" The woman looked down in surprise at the teen who had a loose hold on her ghostly sleeve. Her eyes widened before she took in who it was that had stopped her. "Oh…it's you…the dead one. What do you want?"

"Oh…er," Harry really hadn't planned this out. It was a spur of the moment thought that he'd acted on. He let go of her sleeve and blushed in embarrassment. "Well…er, there's this Yule Ball thing that's happening in a few weeks. Have you heard about it?"

The ghost crossed her arms and looked down her nose at the teen that was just a few inches shorter than her. "I may have heard the Friar mention something of the sort," she responded with a questioning raise of her eyebrow. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Well…I'm one of the champions, and erm, well we have to take someone and do a dance to open the thing," Harry rubbed the back of his neck, second thinking this whole decision. "Er…would you like to go with me?" He finally rushed out with a blush at the end.

The ghost stared at him in shock and disbelief. "You're asking me to this ball? A ghost?"

"Well, erm, I'm dead, and you're dead, and well, you're closer to my age, physically anyway, than Nick…and Myrtle is a bit…much," he winced at the thought of taking Myrtle. That would be terrible! She would cry and make inappropriate comments all night.

The ghost actually laughed. Harry always thought she looked a bit depressed, but here he was standing in an empty corridor with the Ravenclaw ghost and she was laughing like he'd just told the best joke she'd ever heard. "Yes, Myrtle is definitely a bit much," she agreed with a nod between chuckles.

"Well child…do you actually know how to dance?" She asked with an appraising look on her face.

Harry's eyes widened. "Er…well, no…and I couldn't actually touch you since I'm trying to keep the living people from realizing I'm dead…"

The ghost sighed and gave him an exasperated look. "I'm not going to a ball with someone who can't dance. I don't care if you have to keep your hands to yourself, actually I prefer that. You must learn to dance before then though. Ask the Baron…he's a wonderful dancer," she told him as she looked him over assessingly like she was weighing his merits.

"Wait…are you agreeing to go with me?" Harry asked in shock when her words sunk in.

The ghost shrugged. "It is not like I have plans," she said dryly. "I'll go, but I will not be embarrassed by your horrible dancing. Get lessons, or I'll just leave you on the dance floor," she warned him with a sharp poke to his chest with her transparent finger.

"Right, yeah, I can do that," he assured her quickly with a nod. She turned and started to float away. "Wait…what's your name? I've only ever heard you called The Gray Lady."

"Helena Ravenclaw," she smirked at him over her shoulder before disappearing into the stone wall.

"Poppy! Dobby!" Harry dramatically fell into the armchair in the medi-witch's office, surprised that Sirius was already in there drinking tea with the two he'd come to see. "Do any of you know how to dance? McGonagall tried to teach us, but I just can't seem to get it. Maybe it's because my feet are dead, but they really don't want to move in time with the beat."

"I learned, but it's been about twenty years since I tried to dance with anyone," Sirius smirked at him over his tea. "Remus insisted on leading then anyway."

"Dobby?" Harry turned pleading eyes on the elf. "Do house elves dance?"

"Yes, Dobby could teach yous house elf dances, but it's probably not the same kinds of dances as wizards," the elf gave him an apologetic look.

"Right, Poppy, it's either you or the Bloody Baron, and I really, really don't want to have to go ask him to teach me how to dance," Harry did his best version of puppy-dog eyes at the woman.

The older woman stood with a roll of her eyes at his antics but also with a fond smile. She held out a hand to him. "Dobby, some music please," she smiled over at her assistant who popped a record on the player in the corner of the office.

"Thank Merlin," Harry sighed and took her hand. "Can you imagine learning anything from the Bloody Baron?!"

Sirius snorted. "Why was he even an option?"

"My date suggested him," Harry shrugged as Poppy arranged one of his hands on her waist and held out the other one.

"Master Harry has a date to the ball?!" Dobby jumped up and down, clapping his hands. "Who is it? Master's Wheezy or Hermy?"

Harry laughed and trod on Poppy's foot. "Sorry, erm, no I'm actually going with Helena."

"Helena? I don't remember you mentioning her," Poppy looked at him questioningly. "Is she a Hufflepuff? No, that girl's name was Helen..."

"Er…Ravenclaw," Harry blushed. "As in her name is Helena Ravenclaw."

"Excuse me?!" Sirius coughed and Poppy stopped mid-step. "There is a founder's heir at the school? I don't remember teaching one! I'm sure I'd remember that name!"

"Er…she goes by The Gray Lady," Harry laughed. "I figured it'd be fitting to go with a ghost. Dad wanted me to ask someone living. He suggested Cedric, but that just didn't feel right…plus, Ced doesn't like me that way."

"Do you like him that way?" Poppy was leading now as they danced around her office to the classical music being played on the record player.

"Sort of?" Harry blushed. "I think I probably like guys more…but also, it's too strange to be with someone living…"

"What did James say to that?" Sirius looked pale but smiled at his godson, more worried that he might be alone while he was in the land of the living more than anything else. "Also…can you actually date a ghost?"

"I'm not dating Helena," Harry rolled his eyes. "And…maybe? I can touch them, but I'm not really saying I want to date a ghost either. It's just all really strange, you know. It's not like there are other people like me out there. Dad just didn't want me to be alone if I didn't want to be. He said to think about it and give it time."

"For once, James Potter shows a bit of maturity," Poppy chuckled. "He's right though. You have plenty of time to think about it. You're only fourteen. Besides, it'll be fun to go with a ghost. Can you imagine the Albus's face?! Just make sure you pretend you can't touch her. There will be people from the ministry at the ball."

"Course. I already talked to her about it, but she said I still had to learn to dance," Harry grimaced.

"Well, you're going to have to learn to lead then, even if you can't touch her," Poppy nodded. "Sirius, you dance with Dobby, we're all going to do this since we're chaperoning anyway."

The tiny elf offered a hand very dramatically to Sirius. "You really think you're leading?" The tall man raised an eyebrow at the elf.

"Dobby is a great dancer," he glared and Sirius finally just shrugged and took his hand.

"Right…now, those who are leading, step forward first with your left foot," Madam Pomfrey instructed sternly as Harry and Dobby tried to step on the beat of the music.

"Did you really ask Fleur Delacour to the ball loudly in the middle of the Great Hall?" Cedric asked Ron with a smirk when he plopped down on the bench beside Harry at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

"It was traumatic," Ron groaned and Dobby patted his shoulder with a deep sigh.

"Dobby tried to asks Winky out in the kitchens, but she told him to bugger off," Dobby sympathized. "She's still upset that she doesn't have a family right now though."

"At least you didn't yell at her in the middle of a dozen people," Ron was definitely turning bright red. "Harry…what're we going to do? We have to have dates…Why do they all move in packs?" his eyes went wide before he turned to Hermione. "Hey…'Mione…"

"No, I already have a date. You snooze, you lose," she smirked at their friend. "Ask me earlier next time if you want to go with me."

"Oh really? Who are you going with?" Harry asked, trying to get better about paying attention to who his friends liked.

"That'll just have to be a surprise," she smirked at him and a pouting Ron.

"So…Harry, you don't have a date?" Cedric raised a questioning eyebrow, something in his expression that Harry didn't understand. He seemed almost too nonchalant about the question.

"Er…I actually do have a date, but she's just a friend," Harry responded, frowning as Cedric's expression dropped. Was he upset Harry already had a date? Did Harry just hope that he was disappointed?

"Erm, I thought you were going with Cho? Aren't you two dating?" Harry asked, trying to figure out what his friend was feeling.

Cedric slowly shook his head. "We're just really good friends," he corrected. "I might ask her though if she doesn't find someone else. We could go as friends too. Who are you going with?"

"Yeah, mate? Why didn't you tell me?" Ron asked with a mouthful of eggs. "Also, does she have a friend?"

"If Cho already has someone, you two should just go together," Harry waved between the two of his friends. Both Cedric and Ron grimaced a bit. "Or not…"

"Yeah, mate, sorry, but I think I'll keep looking," Ron flushed apologetically at Cedric.

"No worries, believe me. I'll ask Cho," Cedric shook his head but still looked a bit upset.

"So, Harry…who are you going with?" Hermione asked Harry again with an interested grin.

"I'll tell when you do," Harry smirked back at her. "It'll be a surprise."

"Dobby thinks Master Harry is starting to be a wonderful dancer," the elf cut in as he gave a piece of bacon to Hedwig when she swooped down to visit. She didn't have any mail but preened when Harry gave her head a scratch and Dobby fed her bacon.

"You're practicing?" Ron asked in complete shock.

"Er, yeah. I have to open the stupid thing with Ced here," Harry rolled his eyes. "I think I'd rather face the dragon again."

"Speaking of…any progress on the egg? I've got nothing so far," The Hufflepuff champion asked with a frown.

"Not yet. Honestly, I've been a bit distracted with the ball, who to ask, and figuring out if I like girls or guys or ghosts or whatever…" Harry sighed tiredly. It had been a long week.

"Excuse me?!" Ron choked on the piece of toast he'd been eating.

"And…? What did you decide?" Cedric turned hopeful eyes on his friend.

"Still thinking about it," Harry shrugged. "I kind-of didn't expect to still be breathing and all at this point in my life, so I haven't given it much thought."

"Wait…ghosts are an option?" Hermione frowned in confusion.

"He can touch them. Nearly Headless Nick hugged him the other day," Cedric answered for Harry who just looked a bit sheepish.

"Ergh! Please don't go to the ball with Myrtle!" Ron groaned dramatically after having been cornered by her at Harry's death day party.

"I promise I'm not going with Myrtle," Harry assured him vehemently. "Now, Ced…that egg, what do you think the screeches are? Also, hear anything from Fleur or Krum about it?"

"Only about Ron's misguided attempt to woo our French friend," Cedric smirked at their tomato-red friend. "As for the egg…I literally have no clue…"

"Here, you might have to shrink them down a bit," Harry threw an old fashioned but still fairly stylish set of dark blue robes with white trim at Ron who was standing in front of the mirror, looking in horror at the lace on his dress that was supposed to be passing for robes.

"Thank Merlin! Where did you get these?" Ron gasped and shrugged out of the ancient robes that clashed startlingly with his hair as quickly as possible.

"They are Salazar Slytherin's," Harry informed him from where he was straightening his own overly fancy robes that Sirius had bought him. As soon as he'd seen Ron pull the lacy robes out of his trunk, Harry had immediately went to raid Slytherin's closet. Gryffindor had finer robes, but they were also the height of fashion in the Dark Ages, so obviously dated now. Slytherin had gone for planer robes, so they were less obviously a thousand years old, even though they were still clearly not the height of fashion now.

"What?!" Ron squeaked, with one leg in the blue trousers. "I'm wearing Slytherin's clothes?!"

"Yeah, there was thankfully a preservation charm on his wardrobe. He wasn't thrilled with you borrowing them, but Mum talked him around," Harry explained nonchalantly.