Harry's Saviour Chapter 3: Tuesday, September 1st, 1992

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything! All rights go to J.K. Rowling and her awesome writing skills. **

******** 5 years later *********

Albus Dumbledore was currently sitting in front of his fireplace, thinking about his grandson and about what the next day will hold. You see, it has been roughly 5 years since he'd rescued Harry from his relatives and tomorrow is the first day of September. Dumbledore had decided in the afternoon of his grandson's first day here that he would be kept secret from the wizarding world until he started at school, and even then their relationship would be kept secret. He couldn't risk the world knowing how close they were. The only people who know about Harry were Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Poppy Pomfrey, and Severus Snape.

Tomorrow he was going to send Remus with Harry to the platform to see him safely on board and then will stay on the train to make sure nothing goes wrong. He was sure Harry wouldn't mind as the two had become quite close. Remus had been tutoring Harry since his arrival all those years ago. Dumbledore had also tutored Harry in his spare time and so Harry had quite the head start in his magical education, in fact he could probably pass the third years 'end of year' exams.

'Harry will be fine,' thought the old man to himself, starring into the fire. 'Remus will look after him,' and he knew he was being silly. Harry was well versed in defensive and a few offensive spells, having had his wand since he was 9 (having Dumbledore as your Grandfather had its advantages). He'd already gone over his life story as Harry Potter, the boy who'd been raised by muggles as was widely known in the wizarding world. 'Yes, I'm positive he will be just fine,' he thought as he got up and headed to Harry's room. Opening the door, he saw his young Grandson sleeping as peacefully as he had in his lap on his first morning here. He entered the room and pulled the blanket up and tucking around him properly. He left the room quietly and entered his own at the end of the hall, climbing into his bed after changing into his bright red silk pajamas with A.D. embroidered on the pocket. He then fell asleep, now looking forward to what the next day held in store for both himself and his young grandson.

********** September First************

Harry woke early the next morning and so excited was he that he ran straight into his Grandfathers room and jumped onto the bed. "It's September first Granddad! You know what that means don't you!? I get to go to Hogwarts!" The headmaster of said school rolled over and looked at his young charge, one eye brow raised in amusement. The young boy thought for a moment then added, "Well I meant that I get to go to Hogwarts in the sense that I get to go to school here and have proper classes with Aunt Minerva and…. don't give me that look Granddad!" He pouted at said person who just laughed at the small boy before him.

"Come on Harry, let's have breakfast and then we'll get ready and meet Remus in my office, yes?" he asked and his response was the small boy running from the room and into the sitting room at the other end of the hall. The headmaster shook his head in amusement, got out of bed and followed the boy at a more sedate place.

After finishing breakfast, they got ready, made sure harry had everything he had wanted to take, and then went down to Dumbledore's office. Remus was already waiting for them and upon seeing him, harry yelled, "Uncle Moony!" and jumped into his arms.

"Hmm, I wonder who this could be? Surely not Harry because you're too old and grown up to be him!" Remus said as he smiled cheekily down at the bundle in his arms.

"Of course it's me Uncle Moony! I'm now a mature, school aged boy so of course I'd appear older to you!" He said happily and released his hold on his uncle. He then turned to his Granddad and hugged him tightly, not knowing when he'd be able to meet in private with him.

"Don't worry Harry; I'm sure I can arrange a meeting time with you sometime this week. Maybe even tonight. You know your way around the castle well enough to find my office before curfew and you have your fathers cloak to aid you I'm sure." At Harry's nod and small smile they separated and Remus led Harry to the fireplace.

"Are you ready Harry?" He asked and Harry smiled cheekily at Remus.

"Of course I'm ready! I was just wondering if you were ready, old man!" He laughed at Remus' face and Harry hid behind his smirking Grandfather in order to escape his Uncles wrath. When Remus did get a hold of him, he held him in a head lock and messed up his hair, laughing at Harry's now childish whining.

Remus then entered the fireplace and said, "Platform 9 and ¾," disappearing a second later in a burst of green flames caused by the floo powder. Harry followed shortly after giving his grandfather one last long look. "Platform 9 and ¾," he yelled and disappeared in the same manner, only to reappear in front of his Uncle Moony.

"What took you so long?" Asked Remus cheekily and Harry punched him on the shoulder.

"Nothing, now are you going to help me find a seat or what?" he replied with a smirk. By the time they found a seat, it was 20 minutes to 11pm and Remus said, "I've got to go up to the front of the train to the teacher's compartment. Will you be okay?"

Harry looked at him and said, "Yes Uncle Moony, I'll be fine," smiling at his worried look.

"Well if you need me, you know where to find me," he said giving Harry one last look before turning and exiting the compartment.

When he'd finally left, Harry sighed and muttered to himself, "He worries way too much." The next 10 minutes were boring for the young boy, and he kept himself occupied by looking out the window and watching the students and parents walk by. He watched one boy with a toad walk by dragging his luggage behind him and realised he still had his luggage shrunk in his pocket. Before anyone joined him and saw him using magic way beyond a first year, he placed the trunk on the rack above his head and performed the growth charm, returning it to its original size. He sighed in relief and sat back down on the chair, just as a red headed boy opened the compartment.

"Are those seats taken?" The boy asked nervously and received a shake of the head in the negative from Harry. Not having many friends in his childhood, Harry wasn't sure how to talk to the boy. He watched the red head take the seat opposite him. He finally decided to introduce himself and see where it went from there.

"Hello, my name is Harry Du… Potter, Harry Potter. What's yours?" He started, silently berating himself for his near slip while he smiled nervously at the boy. The boy starred at him for a minute and Harry asked, "Are you alright? Is there something on my face?"

The boy jumped and said, "Oh no there's nothing on your face. It's just, are you really Harry Potter? Do you really have the scar?" His awestruck look made Harry twist uncomfortably. His Grandfather had told him about his celebrity status and how he got it and he really wasn't that happy about it to be honest. He just wanted to be a normal kid and seeing this kid starring at him like they were expecting him to do something heroic and awesome made him want to disappear.

"Umm yeah, I'm Harry Potter and I have the scar," he replied awkwardly, lifting his fringe to reveal the lightning bolt shaped scar.

"Wicked," said the boy excitedly. "Oh, I'm Ronald Weasley by the way, though everyone just calls me Ron," he added of handedly then continued eagerly, "Do you remember anything about that night?"

Harry looked down and said, "Well I remember an evil laugh, a flash of green light and a pain on my forehead but I really don't remember much else."

Ron looked a bit disappointed but brightened up as he said, "Oh okay. So you lived with muggles right? What were they like? How do they survive without magic?"

The questions were admittedly confusing for Harry as he'd almost forgotten what it'd been like to live in a muggle home. All he remembered about his time at the Dursley's were the lonely hours spent in his cupboard, the pain from punishments, and the aching pains from cleaning in awkward positions or in one place for so long. He figured that he shouldn't really tell Ron about that though.

"Umm well, living with muggles is alright though a little boring at times but I don't know much about the Wizarding World so I don't know the differences between the two worlds. From the little I've seen of the Wizarding World so far though, I guess that muggles can do pretty much the same things just in different ways." Harry really hoped he sounded like he'd lived with muggles but if Ron's awed reaction was anything to go by, he'd at least convinced him.

"Wow, no wonder why my dad's so interested in them," he said and at Harry's questioning look, he continued, "My dad works for the Ministry for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. He's always interested to find out more about muggles."

"So you're from a wizarding background? Do you have any other siblings attending the school?" Harry asked eager to keep the spotlight on him and to avoid answering anymore questions about his life and celebrity status.

Ron looked a little uncomfortable as he explained, "Well I have 5 older brothers and a younger sister, Ginny. Bill and Charlie have already left school. Percy is in fifth year and Fred and George are in third year." Harry almost jumped when he heard Fred and Georges names mentioned. He'd heard about them from his grandfather after he'd just finished giving them detention for a particularly funny prank on some deserving Slytherin students who were teasing a few first year girls.

Harry broke out of his reverie and asked Ron curiously, "So what do your older brothers do?"

Ron looked back up at Harry and said, "Well Charlie is in Romania studying Dragons and Bill is in Egypt working as a Curse Breaker for Gringotts."

"Sounds like they chose interesting careers," said Harry. Ron nodded in agreement and Harry asked, "What's it like to have a large family?"

Ron looked at Harry weirdly but replied, "It's not all that great really. You see Bill was Head Boy, Charlie was Captain of the Quidditch team, Percy is a Prefect, and Fred and George well everyone just likes them. Mum was so proud of my older brothers and I know she expects a lot from me but if I do achieve a Prefect or Captain Position, it doesn't really matter because it's already been done. You also get hand-me-down stuff like my robes, Charlie's old wand and Percy's rat Scabbers," He finished, holding out a fat rat with a missing paw. Harry starred at the rat for a second and could have sworn that he'd seen it somewhere before but looked back at Ron when he couldn't think of where.

"I think that your parents would be proud of anything you accomplish Ron. Having a large family would be worth more than any amount of money to someone like me. Besides we are all unique in our own way." Harry said then thought, 'Damn, I've been spending way too much time with my Grandfather.' An idea of something else to cheer him up came to him and he knew he was going to hate himself for it later. "Besides Ron," he said, "You have already accomplished something they have not. You befriended Harry Potter." That got a small smile and a quiet 'thanks' out of Ron and the subject was changed to school.

"What house do you think you'd be in?" Asked Ron curiously, "I want to be in Gryffindor with the rest of my family."

"Hmm," Harry thought, "I think Gryffindor would be my first choice. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff sound alright too from what I've read in Hogwarts: a History, but I don't know about Slytherin." Harry looked at Ron and saw him nodding his head in agreement.

He finally replied, "Yeah, well I'll tell you now that the Slytherin house has a Dark reputation. My brother Charlie told me that most purebloods that get sorted into that house have parents who were suspected as either Death Eaters or You Know Who supporters."

Harry nodded his head and asked Ron, "Surely not all Slytherin's are evil though right?" He watched as Ron processed the question and minutes ticked by as he considered it.

Ron finally answered, "Well, I don't think they can all be bad but I really haven't heard much about their being a 'good' Slytherin."

Harry considered his answer for a moment and said, "Maybe in our time at Hogwarts we will come across a few 'good' Slytherin's." Ron seemed to consider the possibilities of it happening and just ended up shrugging his shoulders and changing the topic.

The Trolley Lady came by a few minutes later and Harry decided to use a bit of his pocket money on a few snacks. Said snacks were Pumpkin Pastes, Cauldron cakes, Chocolate frogs, Sugar mice, Cockroach clusters, Liquorice wands, and Bertie Botts every flavored beans. He managed to convince Ron to have some and they were just talking about spells when a bushy haired girl opened the compartment door.

"Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," she said in a no-nonsense voice that he'd only ever hear his Aunt Minerva use before.

"No we haven't, but you could try asking a fifth or sixth year student to summon him." Harry replied, causing both Ron and the girl to stare at him in awe.

Before either of the boys could say anything, the girl burst out, "Of course, why didn't I think of that!" She ran out of the room and left the two boys starring at each other both thinking, 'Wow, she is one crazy girl.' The girl returned 10 minutes later to find the boys on the floor playing exploding snap. Harry had to keep reminding himself that he had to act like he hadn't been playing the game since he was 7.

"I'm sorry for being so rude before and leaving without introducing myself. I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?" She finished looking at both of the dumbstruck boys before her.

"I'm Ronald Weasley and this is my friend, Harry Potter." Ron introduced them both and Harry smiled at her when his name was mentioned.

Hermione smiled at them both and said, "It's a pleasure to me… Wait did you say your name was Harry Potter?" Without waiting for his response she continued, "I've read all about you of course. Did you know that your history is one of the major events recorded in this century?" She looked eagerly at a paralyzed Harry, waiting for his response.

"Umm," he said unintelligently, "I didn't really buy any books besides the ones on the school list. I myself only just learnt about my history as I was raised by muggles," Harry lied.

Hermione frowned, then said, "Oh well, thank you for the spell idea, it was very helpful!" With a final smile, she left the room and the two confused boys behind.

"I swear that girl needs to slow down a little. She was freaking me out!" Ron exclaimed and Harry reluctantly agreed.

"I think the girl needs to spend more time in the real world then her book world." Harry added, causing Ron to nod his head. The subject jumped to Quidditch, a sport that both were passionate about and the one topic which caused Harry's frustration to reach its maximum. The whole time he had to act as if he didn't know anything about the sport he'd loved since he'd first been told about it. 'Damn stupid secrecy,' he thought to himself. They were once again interrupted, this time though to a blonde haired boy and two tall, well built boys, both of whom acted like the blondes body guards.

"We heard a rumor that Harry Potter was in this compartment. So is it true?" He asked, looking closely at the two boys. At Harry's nod he moved forward, held out a hand and said, "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and they're Crabbe and Goyle." Harry starred at his hand while he heard Ron sniggering next to him.

Draco turned to him and snapped, "Think my names funny do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair and hand-me-down robes, you must be a Weasley," he finished with a sneer and turned back to me saying, "You'll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others. You wouldn't want to be hanging out with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He said the last, holding his hand out once again. This time however, Harry responded, "I think Ron's family sounds like a decent bunch of wizards. I certainly don't need help in finding friends from you, Draco. Thanks for dropping by though." Harry finished, starring Malfoy in the eye.

Malfoy sneered at them both and said, "Oh but we only just got here and I see you have plenty of snacks left to share with us." The blonde laughed as he reached out to grab a liquorice wand from the pile on the compartment chair. Harry quickly grabbed Ron around the middle as he moved to attack Draco.

"He's not worth it Ron," Harry whispered and watched as Draco and his goons pigged out on their candy. The compartment door opened again and Harry seriously wondered who would be entering now. His smile grew however as he noticed the familiar face of his Uncle Moony appear in the doorway.

"Is everything okay in here? I heard an argument as I was passing by," Remus said, taking in the scene before him. He looked pointedly at the three boys who looked as though they'd been caught with one hand in the cookie jar.

Ron spoke up first saying, "Draco and his goons came in here and insulted us both. Then he refused to leave and started to eat our snacks from the Trolley." Remus then looked to Harry for confirmation and received a nod in affirmative. He then turned to the three boys and asked, "What do you boys have to say for yourselves? Hmm?" The three boys stuttered their feeble excuses and Remus took this as further confirmation that they were the guilty party. "I shall be letting your new head of house/s know what has happened here as soon as you've been sorted. For now however, I'd suggest you head to your compartment and stay there for the remainder of this trip. Am I understood?" Remus informed them and the three boys left the compartment with bowed heads.

Remus then smiled at the two boys warmly and Ron asked, "Are you a Professor, sir? I didn't know that there were teachers on the train."

"Can you two boys keep a secret?" He asked and when both nodded eagerly, he continued, "I shall be replacing Professor Binns as the new History of Magic Professor. The headmaster felt that it was time for the old ghost to move on. Anyway, I must be going. See you at the opening feast." Remus smiled at his nephew and the red headed boy as he left the compartment and returned to the teachers.

Another hour passed and the train finally pulled up into the Hogsmead station. Both now dressed in their school robes (having changed in the last 30 minutes) they exited the train and followed the loud voice of the huge man yelling, "First years over 'ere!" When all the first years were in front of the big man he said, "Okay everyone, follow me and keep up!"

Everyone followed silently and as they reached the last bend in the trail, there were a series of gasps that went through the crowd. Harry gazed up at his home of 5 years in awe. Sure he'd seen it before, coming home from one of many trips that his grandfather had taken him on, but seeing it now, reflected on the lakes surface, he was truly awestruck. He looked at Ron and laughed at his comical facial expression. Ron turned to him and scowled, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment causing Harry to laugh harder.

"Four to a boat!" The huge man yelled again and both boys jumped into a boat with Hermione and a boy with a toad whom Harry assumed was Neville. The boat ride was quiet, that is until Malfoy and his goons came up beside their boat and managed to tip their rock their boat so harshly that it caused Neville to fall overboard. After five seconds, Neville had not resurfaced and so Harry jumped in, Hermione already alerting the big man to the situation at hand and Malfoy's boat already a few metres ahead of theirs. Harry dived deeper and managed to grab hold of Neville's flailing arms. It was a struggle but they eventually reached the surface and the huge man pulled us out of the water and dropped us into our boat. By the time we finally reached the other side of the lake, Neville had already probably said about 1000 'thank you's and were both shivering from the cold.

The first years stopped in front of a Huge Oak door. The man knocked on the door three times and it soon opened to reveal a witch Harry knew all too well, his Aunt Minerva. He smiled widely at her as she thanked the big man, Hagrid, and then led us towards the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall guided them into a small room off the hall and gave the group the usual first year speech. Harry didn't bother listening as he knew all about the sorting and what the houses were. Instead he took the time to look around at his classmates.

He saw Malfoy and his goons laughing at the back of the group, 'Probably still laughing about the boat incident,' he thought angrily. When he realised that there was no one else he knew in the crowd, he turned to look at Hermione and Neville standing next to him, both shaking for different reasons. He had a random thought that he and Neville probably looked like drowned rats, though didn't dare comment on that out loud.

He looked around again, seeing in the many nervous and apprehensive expressions on unfamiliar faces and smiled; glad he wasn't the only one. He turned back just in time to watch his Aunt Minerva leave the room and asked Ron, "Do you know how they sort people?" Harry of course, already knew how they were going to be sorted, having had many talks with the old hat over the years, Harry mainly helping it with the lyrics for new start-of-year songs.

"Umm, I'm not quite sure. My brothers were going on about fighting a Troll," Ron said nervously, looking at the door leading into the Great Hall apprehensively.

"Don't be Ridiculous Ronald," said Hermione then continued, "Like a school would make untrained witches and wizards fight a dangerous Troll just to sort them into houses."

Ron snapped at her, "Yeah? Well no one asked for your opinion did they?" Harry knew it was more of a defensive comment, made to lessen his embarrassment and to save his pride, but seeing the hurt look on Hermione's face really wasn't worth it. He knew that Ron regretted it as well but the damage had been done and Hermione had already stormed away.

"You're going to have to apologize," Harry said knowingly to Ron who just nodded dumbly. Ron was about to say something when they were interrupted by loud screams. Ghosts had just floated through the wall and were talking amongst themselves casually, ignoring the first years bellow them. Harry chucked to himself quietly, earning a questioning look from Ron, and he just shook his head in response. He knew that the ghosts did this on purpose because they love seeing the first year muggleborn students' reaction. When they finally did talk to the group, Harry just smirked up at them, shaking his head in silent amusement.

Professor McGonagall returned to the room a minute later and guided the first years into the Great Hall. Harry looked around at all the students' faces nervously. He'd been in the Hall many times but always during the summer break and he'd never seen it so crowded with people. He looked behind him and smiled nervously at Ron who smiled in return. The hat was placed silently in front of the first years as they stopped at the front of the Hall. All the first years around Harry were curious to know what the hat did. When the hat started singing his song, many first years jumped, Harry noticed that it'd chosen the song he'd helped to add a few lyrics to last year so he tuned out and looked up at the staff table. He smiled excitedly at his Grandfather and Uncle Moony, which they subtly returned though he noticed they looked at him with curiosity as well. Harry just grimaced and mouthed later to which they dipped their heads slightly in agreement. Harry almost laughed at the sight but managed to control the urge just in time.

When the hat finished singing and everyone was clapping, Harry laughed at Ron's grumbling about 'killing Fred' and 'it's only a hat'. As the sorting started, the group around him got smaller and smaller. Hermione was the first person he knew to get sorted. When the hat had yelled, "Gryffindor!" He'd clapped as enthusiastically as the Gryffindor table. Neville was next and when he too made Gryffindor, Harry got even more excited. Malfoy was then sorted into Slytherin which just renewed Harry's dislike for the house, not that the Slytherin Head of House was that bad…long story. When Harry's name was called he hesitated and looked at his Grandfather for the courage to move. After receiving a small nod and reassuring smile, he moved forward and put the hat on his head, while sitting down on the stool and ignoring the whispering crowd.

'Why hello there Harry, I'd been wondering when you'd put me atop your head for the sorting,' the hat started casually then asked, 'Did you like the rest of the song? Ah I see you didn't listen to the full version. I'll have to sing it again another day for you perhaps?' He asked and Harry smiled replying, 'Of course but aren't you supposed to be sorting me?' He reminded the hat. He knew from experience that the hat always got side-tracked. 'Yes, you're quite right! Now, where to begin? You're very loyal, Cunning, Smart, confident, brave, and talented. I say you'd do well in any house but to pick one, hmm.' Harry waited for a minute then said, 'umm can I just add that I would rather not be in Slytherin.' The hat wriggled on his head and said, 'Why not my boy? Slytherin could help you on your way to greatness?' 'Yes, but Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived would not survive surrounded by students with Death Eater parents. Plus I'd rather have loyal friends than slimy Slytherin's who'd betray you at the slightest sign of trouble as that is their usual self-preservation technique, is it not?' Harry argued truthfully. 'Hmm, touché my boy, now I think the next best place for you is, "Gryffindor!"' The hat finished with a yell and Harry quickly said 'thank you' and 'goodbye' to the hat, taking it off his head and walking happily over to the Gryffindor table.

Sitting beside Hermione he looked up and the staff table and saw his Granddad, Aunt Minerva and Uncle Moony all smiling down at him proudly and he blushed in response. He felt the familiar feeling of his Grandfathers magic and found that his clothes had been dried for him. He looked back up to see his Grandfathers smile widen and shook his head in amusement. After a moment he let his eyes wander further down the table and noticed Severus, 'Professor Snape now Harry,' talking to Professor Quirrell. His Grandfather had told him to be careful around the Quirrell guy this year, although he didn't know why, 'I mean the guy looks harmless enough,' he thought. He was just about to turn away when his scar had a sudden burst of pain. His hand reached up to rub his scar but as quick as it'd started, it stopped. Harry quickly looked at his Grandfather and saw a flash of concern cross his face. He smiled at him to let him know he was fine now and turned back to see Hermione looking at him worriedly also. "I'm fine, just a little headache," he lied and looked to the front in time to watch Ron be sorted into Gryffindor and made his way over to their table.

Professor Dumbledore said a few random words, causing Harry to shake his head and roll his eyes, and the feast began. Harry smiled as he was introduced to Ron's brothers and listened as Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom properly introduced themselves. Harry vaguely remembered his Grandfather mentioning the Longbottoms but couldn't remember what it'd been about. At the end of the feast his Grandfather gave his out-of-bounds area's speech and concluded with the school song. His cheeks turning a bright shade of red in embarrassment as he watched his Grandfather conduct the last few lines for the Weasley twins' slow, funeral tuned adaptation. Ron actually asked him if he was ok, thinking he was sick because of the unnatural colouring to his cheeks. Harry just laughed and said, "No I'm fine, just a bit hot is all." Ron just shrugged and as the Headmaster bid everyone a goodnight, they all stood and followed Percy's loud voice yelling, "First years, this way!"

Harry followed the other first years, not really paying much attention to his surroundings anymore, (he knew the way because he'd explored the castle thoroughly during the holidays), but thinking about his Grandfather. Yes he was in the same building but he'd always been there to say goodnight to him, personally. He sighed and thought, 'I've got to be strong! I'm a big Hogwarts student now, not some little kid locked in a cupboard.' He stopped walking abruptly and shivered. He hadn't forgotten what it felt like to be alone in the dark cupboard at the Dursley's but he usually avoided thinking about it.

He shook his head and quickly jogged to catch up to the group. They weren't far ahead and from what he could gather from the groups excited chatter, he had luckily missed a run in with Peeves the Poltergeist. 'Who knows what Peeves could have said if he'd seen me,' he thought and sighed in relief that he wouldn't have to find out. Upon reaching the Fat Lady portrait, Percy said, "Caput Draconis." The Portrait opened and they all climbed through the portrait hole, finding themselves in the warm and cozy Gryffindor Common Room. Harry smiled, looking around at the couches by the ornate fireplace, 'It all looks like a replica of our sitting room,' thinking longingly of the quarters he stayed in with his Grandfather.

He turned back to Percy as he pointed in the directions of the girls and boys dormitories. With that Percy went over to another group of boys, leaving the group to find the first year dormitories in their respective areas. It was nearing 11 by this time so all the boys headed into the designated room and found their luggage on their beds. Harry jumped into his four-poster bed (pretty similar to his old bed) next to Ron and sighed. He kept thinking how much he missed his Grandfather. Harry bid everyone a goodnight and closed the red velvet curtains, falling into a fitful sleep within minutes.

It was around 1:30 in the morning when Harry woke in a cold sweat, gasping in his panic to escape the dreams horrors. He'd dreamed that his Uncle Vernon had been beating him rather severely and he'd started laughing loudly as Harry begged him to stop. His Uncle had then morphed into Professor Quirrell, whose Turban had kept screaming at him to change into Slytherin House. Then he'd heard his Uncle's evil laugh return as Quirrell shot green light from his wand, missing him, but he'd turned around and found his Grandfather's body lying lifelessly behind him. A more sinister laugh had mixed with his Uncle's and grown steadily louder as he'd watched him release four more flashes of green light. He'd followed there trajectory and saw the bodies of his Aunt Minerva, Uncle Moony, and his parents join his Granddads. He'd screamed, "NO! NO! KILL ME! LET THEM LIVE! KILL ME INSTEAD!" The cold eyes turned to him and laughed harder as he obeyed and sent the green light in his direction. Harry had woken up just as the light had struck.

Opening his curtain and getting out of bed, Harry retrieved his invisibility cloak from his trunk and made his way into the common room. He put on the cloak before exiting through the portrait hole and headed in his Grandfather's direction. He knew from that sleep wouldn't come easy after a disturbing dream like he'd just had and there was only one person he to see, he had to make sure he was okay. He finally approached the Gargoyle and choked out, "I love Chocolate Frogs." It was a password for him only and never changed unless he wanted it to. The Gargoyle moved aside and Harry ran up the spiral stairs, eager to make sure his Grandfather was safe. He entered the office through the Heavy Oak doors and ran up the stairs next to the desk and through the portrait. He headed to his Grandfathers room, knowing that he wouldn't mind being disturbed by him.

Opening the door quietly, he headed to the bed and climbed onto the opposite side to his Grandfather as he'd always done at such times as this. The old man stirred and rolled over, opening his blurry eyes slowly and squinting at the small figure sitting next to him on the bed. Harry had tears already rolling down his face as he looked at his Grandfather, the nightmare coming back to him in full force. Upon realizing who was in his room, Dumbledore sat up and said, "Harry?" His concern evident in his questioning voice and Harry collapsed into his arms crying.

"It was terrible Granddad!" He sobbed his words muffled by the chest he had buried his face in. "I can't lose you! I can't! The green light hit you and Uncle Moony and Aunt Minerva! I was afraid I would never see you again! I've already lost my parents; I can't lose any of you!" He continued to cry as his Grandfather rocked him back and forth, whispering words of comfort in an effort to calm him.

"Shh, my boy, it's alright it was only a dream. I'm right here, shh. That's my boy. Now would you like to tell me about your dream? Hmm?" Dumbledore asked and Harry looked up at him uncertainly but nodded his head in an affirmative gesture. Harry released his hold on his Grandfathers robes, turned around and sat next to Dumbledore properly, then leaned against his side with his head resting comfortably against his grandfather's chest. When Harry was settled, Dumbledore wrapped an arm around him in a comforting hold and prompted Harry silently to start at the beginning. Just from hearing the start of the dream, Dumbledore had understood why Harry had come to him. Harry had always been haunted by the Dursley's treatment of him, no matter how young he was. By the end of the dream however, well he was pretty disturbed to say the least.

'First things first,' thought Dumbledore then asked in a soft voice, "How would you like a nice warm hot chocolate?" Harry groggily nodded his head and Dumbledore could see how hard he was fighting to stay awake. He helped Harry get up and guided him into the sitting room. He summoned a house elf and asked for the desired hot drinks before guiding Harry to the couch and sitting down, allowing Harry to lean back against him. Dumbledore sighed as he looked down at Harry's exhausted form. 'He's so young, so innocent,' he thought sadly reflecting on the tragedy that his Grandson had already had to deal with in his short life.

The House elf appeared a minute later with two warm hot chocolates, handing them to Dumbledore and disappearing a second later. He looked down to give Harry his cup but found the boy already fallen asleep, his comforting presence alone was enough to ensure he had a dreamless sleep. Putting Harry's mug on the little table he sat back and sipped his own. It was nearing 3am now and he knew Harry should go back to his dormitory, how else would he learn that he couldn't sneak out every night to find him. He nudged Harry who stirred but didn't wake and sighed. Picking him up, he entered Harry's room and placed him gently on his bed. 'Just this once,' he thought, smiling as he tucked Harry in and watched him turn over in his sleep.

Dumbledore returned to his room and called for another house elf. "Ah, Mitzy isn't it?" Dumbledore inquired and at the diminutive house elves eager nod he continued, "Well good elf I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep but I was wondering if you'd be able to make sure I'm awake at 6 am?"

Mitzy looked absolutely thrilled to be chosen and said, "No need to apologize to Mitzy, sir. Mitzy is always happy to serve you Headmaster."

"Thank you Mitzy, now go enjoy the rest of your sleep," Dumbledore said and after watching the house elf disappear before climbing back into bed and pulling the covers up. He'd have to get up early enough to wake Harry and return him to the common room before his friends awoke, but for now he'd let him sleep. With that last thought of Harry, he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

-So what did you think? Good? Bad? Please review and let me know!

-To those who think the characters are too soft, don't worry too much because I'll toughen them up eventually (evil laugh).

-Thank you to all that have been following this story.

-Not sure how long it's going to be until the next update so I made this one extra long.

Stay Awesome Readers,

KnightStrider49 :D