AN: A slightly longer chapter this time as a thank you for all your kind reviews. Quick clarification for non-Uk readers, OFSTED are mentioned in the chapter, and they are the official body for inspecting schools and go round to schools every five years or so and give the school a rating. For teachers and schools in general, OFSTED inspections are a massive deal. Hope you enjoy it!
Previously: Remus has lied his way into a job as a teacher where it turns out Harry is a student. Having witnessed an incident of Dudley bullying Harry, Remus attempted to challenge Petunia about her son when she came to pick him up from school. She wouldn't listen and in the process of speaking to her, Remus discovers that Harry is living with the Dursleys. Remus is unimpressed by this turn of events.
"Remus, you're going to have to drop it."
Remus sat opposite the head teacher of the school, a thin, balding man who would have been tall if he didn't stoop. His face had a light sheen of sweat that made his glasses slip down his long nose causing him to impatiently shove them back up with trembling fingers.
"No. I absolutely will not drop it."
"Look, you don't understand. Dudley… I know he isn't a kind child-"
Remus snorted.
"Hear me out Remus. He isn't a kind child, cruel even, I'll grant you that. If you want to take away his break times or his Friday afternoon free time, you have my full support, but it…it cannot go further than that." The head teacher responded in a tone that Remus assumed was meant to project authority.
Remus leant forward in his chair.
"I want him excluded David."
"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not excluding him. Not for this. It was a game gone wrong, a tussle between boys. If I excluded every lad for that, I wouldn't have a school left."
Remus frowned.
"It was bullying, David. I saw it and I could absolutely guarantee that that wasn't the first time something like that's happened. And you know it."
The headteacher looked down, fiddling with his hands.
"What's this really about?" Remus asked, suddenly curious. Something strange was going on with David Emmerson. The school was supposed to have a zero tolerance bullying policy. Apparently except where Dudley Dursley was involved.
Remus was not normally the type to antagonise his boss on the first day of the job but this was different. This was about Harry. Harry who was living with those vile people. He knew full well there was nothing he could do about that, Dumbledore had been rather firm on the matter all those years ago. What he could do something about though was that horrible little toerag, if David Emmerson would stop protecting him.
David glanced up from his hands, fleetingly meeting Remus' eyes before looking away.
"Look, Remus… it's… well, erm…" he cleared his throat. "Our last OFSTED report wasn't… great, or even good really. We got an unsatisfactory over all. We're going through special measures, everything's under review. It's been a hard few months for us all."
"And this has what to do with Dudley, exactly?" Remus urged.
David looked intensely uncomfortable, almost cringing in his chair.
"His mother is the chair of the board of governers." He eventually mumbled.
Remus collapsed back into his chair, thoughts streaming through his mind. It all made sense. David, the utter coward, was afraid to cross the woman who had the power to remove his already tenuous position in the school. No wonder the man was a nervous wreck; the school was on the verge of shutting down and who was going to employ this shambles of a man anywhere else.
It made Remus very, very angry.
"You understand that a child is being made deeply, deeply miserable for the sake of your continued employment don't you David? Your employment where the protection of children is quite literally in the job description."
David's face hardened and for a second Remus could almost see how the man had become a headmaster in the first place.
"I don't do it for my own sake. I have my own children who depend on me to feed them and clothe them. That has to be my primary responsibility. If I lose my job…
"I hate seeing what that boy does to Harry as much as you do Remus but I can't do anything about it. Or, well, I can, but I won't. When it comes down to it, it's me and my family or Harry and I hate to say this, but the decision is easy.
"So drop it Remus. No good can come of this."
Remus looked down at the desk in front of him, tracing the gently curving pattern of the wood, willing himself over and over not to shout. His calm was his weapon and he'd use it well.
"I will take this to an authority."
"You won't. The authority is the Board of Governers. Higher than that is the council and I will swear blind you are lying. Harry'll deny everything too. You don't have a leg to stand on here Remus. Please… please just leave it."
The man was absolutely right. There was nothing Remus could do. Harry would deny the bullying, he was living with the boy for Merlin's sake and things would certainly get worse if Harry complained. But Remus would not sit idly by. He'd been doing that for years now and the time had most certainly come to do something and getting Harry away from Dudley was going to be the first step. All he needed to do was get a confession from Harry. He thought of the quiet boy that sat at the back of the classroom, who wouldn't say a sentence if a word would suffice. This was going to be hard.
oOoOo
"What did you say to them, boy?" uncle Vernon hissed in his face.
Harry had been waiting for this since he got home. He'd seen aunt Petunia telling Vernon something in hushed tones, gesturing angrily at him and he knew, just knew that the interrogation was inevitable.
"Nothing. I swear I didn't tell him anything."
Large hands pushed him back into the wall, not hard, but firmly enough for Harry to understand the threat.
"Good. And why didn't you tell them anything."
"Because there's nothing to tell." Harry recited, turning his head away from uncle Vernon's rancid breath.
"That's right. You'll do well to remember that. I'll not have some upstart teacher sniffing around my family because of your lies." He spat the last word, showering Harry's face with spittle.
He wasn't a liar.
"They're not lies!" he protested.
A hand slammed into the side of his head, making his ears ring.
"They are lies. And if I hear them again you won't be eating for a week."
With that, uncle Vernon grabbed him by his collar and threw him into his cupboard, locking the door behind him.
"Not another word from you unless you want to feel my belt."
Harry knew he didn't mean it. He always threatened him like that but he never followed through. That didn't stop Harry from shaking though. He'd watched his uncle go purple with rage enough times to know that one day he would snap and he didn't want to provoke that.
As he sat in his cupboard he thought about Mr Lupin, the strange new teacher who shouted at Dudley. He'd never seen a teacher that angry before and it'd had frightened him. There was something in his eyes that just screamed dangerous and Harry was incredibly grateful that they hadn't been aimed at him. Instead, he'd looked at Harry with kindness and gentleness and something in Harry wanted to tell him everything.
He wouldn't though because whatever he said about that fat pig would just get him into trouble with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon and he really, really didn't want that.
oOoOoOoO
The next day at school saw Remus Lupin sitting at his desk with a fixed expression of cheerfulness. Today he was going to crack Harry, he was determined. And for that, he'd need to get him away from Dudley.
"Harry!" He called out as the children left in a rush for break. "Can I have a quick word?"
Harry nodded mutely and walked up to Remus' desk.
"Pull up a chair, Harry. Don't worry, you're not in trouble."
Harry looked slightly reassured and grabbed one of the chairs from the table, dragging it to where Remus sat.
"I just wanted to say, that if you wanted, you could stay in here for break times. If Dudley's giving you a hard time."
Harry looked briefly grateful but his expression shut down at the mention of Dudley.
"He's not giving me a hard time. It's fine." He studied the floor.
This was going to be harder than Remus thought.
"Do you live with Dudley, Harry?"
The boy glanced up, studying Remus.
"… Yes." He said after a pause. That was a step.
"But he's not your brother?"
"No, he's my cousin."
Cousin? Good lord, he's living with Lily's sister. No wonder the poor boy's terrified.
Remus tried to smile reassuringly.
"Do you like living with him?"
"Yes." Harry answered too quickly
Remus sighed, and then offered Harry another smile.
Perhaps it was time for a new tactic.
"When I was a bit older than you, I had to stay with my cousin for the summer while my parents were away for work."
In truth it had been because his parents were scouring the globe for a way to treat his condition, but Harry didn't need to know that.
"My cousin was a girl called Mary. She was my age but about twice my size, she was massive, Harry. They had a pond in their garden, and every single day I would end up in it. Every single day for an entire summer, can you imagine that? Scared a good few ducks."
Harry giggled into his hand and Remus felt his heart warm.
He'd hated Mary with something of a burning passion and he could only imagine what Harry had to deal with living with a child like that all year round. That boy was going to love Hogwarts.
"I got my revenge though. I'd been planning it for ages. I'd plotted every single detail, bought all the supplies I'd need and gotten ready for the moment I'd strike. One night, when everyone in the house was sound asleep, I snuck into the bathroom and got her shampoo. I squeezed everything that was in the bottle down the sink."
Harry looked unimpressed.
"That's not all Harry." Remus laughed. "I replaced it with hair dye. It was green if I remember correctly. Truly, Harry, I have never seen someone so angry but getting shouted at isn't as scary when they look like the Grinch."
Harry really laughed then.
He chewed his lip, and looked like he was considering something hard. He glanced behind him quickly then back at Remus, a sparkle visible in his bright green eyes and voice a whisper.
"Once," He started conspiratorially, leaning towards Remus "I was doing the washing and I deliberately put all of Dudley's white pants in with Aunt Petunia's new red skirt and now all of his pants are pink!"
Remus laughed. James would have been proud.
Harry did the washing though? Somehow it didn't shock him.
"It's not always easy living with cousins Harry, I know that better than most. If you ever need anyone to talk to, come to me. From one prankster to another."
Harry looked contemplative for a moment.
"Okay."
Victory.
AN: Thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it. I had a reviewer for the last chapter who was wondering whether I was going to up the severity of the Dursley's abuse. I might marginally but it won't be extreme, pretty much canon typical I reckon. Reviews are wonderful, wonderful things so please leave them. Cheers, all.
