All night long Lily dreamed repeatedly about the egg hatching. Every time it did, it hatched into a larger and larger dragon. So when Harry showed up at breakfast still carrying his book bag with the egg it, Lily was actually relieved to see it for once. Nevertheless, even knowing that the egg still fit in the bag, and hadn't grown overnight to the size of a bludger, didn't quell the queasy feeling in her stomach.

Lily greeted him brightly with a cheery good morning that hid her worry, but Harry just slid into his chair with his head down and only gave a quiet 'morning' in return.

"Not quite awake yet sweetie? Are you feeling all right? You're usually the first one up."

"…hmmrmph…" he mumbled through his toast. On the contrary, he had been wide-awake for over two hours but true to his resolve to be a Dudley he hadn't done anything other than loll in bed and think. Of course, he didn't know if Dudley actually ever thought for that long a period at one time, or even if he thought at all when he lolled in bed.

However, Harry had to do something when he was just lying there in bed or he knew he'd go crazy. Pulling the egg out of its cocoon, he balanced it in his belly button and gently rubbed its shell. The little creature on the inside seemed to be almost purring with the attention. He could tell she was growing stronger every day, and right now was relaxed, happy, and sending him contented vibrations through the touch.

Looking around the room, he was amazed that he could actually breathe in it again. Harry still wasn't sure what had happened the day before. Had the Krueger's just gotten fed up with the mess? He knew he sure had. He didn't understand how Dudley could live like that every day, but he did. His rooms back at Privet Drive were always cluttered and sloppy. The only times they were neat as a pin was when Aunt Petunia made him clean them up for Dudley just before Aunt Marge would come to visit (of course he couldn't possibly do it himself). Then Aunt Marge would fawn all over her neffy-poo and praise him for being such a good tidy boy, and then tell Harry derisively that was why he lived in a cupboard – because he wasn't responsible enough to take care of a real room. Aunt Marge didn't think he was responsible enough for anything.

"I wondered what Aunt Marge would say if she could see me now. I'm in real room, in a real bed, with a real pillow, and I'm responsible for hatching a real egg. I'd like to see her neffy-poo the pig do that!" he whispered to the egg. Dudley let out a loud snork.

"Ooo, Dudley." Harry frowned. Dudley still hadn't noticed the egg and Harry intended to keep it that way. Getting up he grabbed his book bag and cut tiny air holes all over in it.

"Sorry, but I won't be able to give you any more shell rubs, and I'll have to keep you in the bag at home from now on," Harry whispered to the egg as he carefully put it back in its cocoon and hid it away in the book bag. "I can't risk letting Dudley see you."

Harry could feel that the little creature understood him completely, and was grateful for the added protection. She even seemed to be laughing at him for being concerned that she wouldn't be able to 'see' while in the bag, and tried to convey that she was just happy to float and grow, and Harry was seeing to it that she was doing just that. The only thing she was worried about was the 'pig in the wig'. Harry had told her all about his cousin, and now whenever Dudley got too close, he could feel her getting anxious and moving around in her shell as if trying to escape. The minute he closed the top of his bag and assured her that it was out of sight, he could feel her growing peaceful again.

So the next morning when Mrs. Krueger asked him about the egg (right in front of Dudley!) he about choked on his toast. Luckily she caught his desperate look and quickly changed the subject without Dudley any the wiser, of course Dudley was still half asleep and that might have had something to do with it, but her new topic wasn't all that better in Harry's opinion. Maybe Dudley was right, when he said she didn't like him much.

"So Harry, did your teacher give you a note for me?"

"Er… a note Ma'am?" Harry wondered what Dudley had told her he had done wrong now, that would make her think that the teacher would have sent a note home to inform her. He racked his brain and couldn't come up with anything new that Dudley might have blamed him for that he hadn't already tried to.

"Yes, with a time for the meeting I requested with him."

"A-a a meeting Ma'am?" Was he that bad that it whatever it was required a meeting?

"Yes Harry a meeting." Lily gritted her teeth and tried to smile despite his liberal use of the word 'ma'am'. It was better than 'Mrs. Krueger' but not by much. "I asked him for a parent-teacher conference time. Didn't you give him the note I sent with you yesterday?"

"Er… yes."

"Well, did he read it?"

"I think so… but he didn't say anything about a meeting. He just looked…" Harry paused, he didn't think that what he was about to say would make Mrs. Krueger very happy.

"He looked – what?" she pressed.

"… annoyed?" Harry said in a very small voice, and tried to shrink in his chair while describing the mildest version of his teacher's very angry face that he could think of.

Dudley, who had finally woken up the rest of the way when the conversation had started to get interesting, was now grinning from ear to ear. With the expectation that Harry was about to get into big trouble, he looked back and forth from his aunt to his uncle in rapt anticipation. Finally! Payback! However, his Uncle James just said 'I told you so' and smirked at his Auntie Lily, and Auntie Lily just stuck her tongue out at his Uncle James and said 'We'll see about that'.

To his great disappointment, neither of them got upset at Harry. Worse yet, when he swallowed, he discovered he was eating mushy hot porridge again instead of the sugary Choco-Chunks he remembered pouring into his dish. Not fair! He glared around the table to find his two 'uncles' sniggering as they hid behind their newspapers.

As Sirius was still a wanted man, and the full moon was drawing near causing Remus to feel ill, James chaperoned the boys to school that morning. He dropped them off at the corner of the schoolyard on his way to work, with a reminder to Harry to mention his mother's meeting request to his teacher.

He knew Lily wouldn't be satisfied until she had at least met with the man to discuss her concerns. Truthfully, James wouldn't mind knowing that Harry's teacher was also on the lookout for Dudley's bullying. He toyed with the idea of going into the school and searching him out for himself, but he was already late since Dudley dragged his feet the whole way to protest having to walk.

Harry neatly dodged past Dudley and his gang on his way to class and breathed a sigh of relief when he got the egg safely stashed away in his desk for the day. He squirmed restlessly in his seat all morning, as he could hardly wait for detention and another opportunity to work on gaining some potential. He had worked hard on his homework assignment and truly hoped that his teacher would be proud of him, but no matter how many times he tried to catch Mr. Nathraichean's eye, his teacher ignored him as if he wasn't even in the room.

Severus was well aware of every squirm and every hopeful look the dratted boy was sending his way, he just didn't intend to encourage it. The child was far too pathetic in his need for attention, and the observation settled on him uncomfortably. Need such as that could lead to trouble, he should know as that same type of need led him to taking the dark mark. Potter was acting as though he hadn't had a kind word or look sent his way his entire life, which he didn't believe could possibly be true, no matter what his nagging conscious was trying to tell him.

After much thought he decided he had been reading too much into the incident the day before, and Mister Dursley must have been exaggerating when he declared that Harry 'ain't got nuthin'. That was the only explanation that made sense. Surely, the prince of all things had everything he could ever wish for, and then some. The only risk of abuse of which he was in danger, was one of excess. Only it still didn't explain why he would cling so desperately to a cold hard man like him… hm….

Despite his better judgment, he had spoken to the Headmaster the night before, but the meeting had ended most unsatisfactorily in his opinion. He had tried to impress upon him his concerns for Potter's well being, if his current living arrangements with the muggles continued, however Dumbledore just smiled serenely, blue eyes twinkling as if with an unshared joke, and offered him Sherbet Lemons and advice.

Sherbet Lemons - as if a sweet could solve a bloody thing! His advice wasn't much better – 'see with your heart not with your eyes, and what you seek you will find'. What kind of hogwash was that! If he said it once, he'd say it again – the excessively named and titled Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and King of Enigma, didn't know how to reply to a direct question. Not even if Minerva McGonagall dictated the answer to him word for word, and then tattooed on his bum for good measure.

Arrrghh! He didn't really feel that way (most of the time), he was just frustrated with never getting a straight answer. Dumbledore liked to play his games far too much, but he still had great respect for the man. Long ago, on that horrible night when Lily died and all others turned their backs on him - it was Dumbledore he turned to for support and guidance, Dumbledore who gave him sanctuary at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore who gave him the second chance to redeem his soul. Sometimes he just wondered if the price he had to pay Dumbledore for it wasn't a bit too high. The current price being five meters in front of him with green eyes, messy black hair, and a trusting look on his face.

The Headmaster had once again turned a deaf ear to his pleas to send someone more nurturing to take his place, saying he had full confidence in him to do what needed to be done, and reminding him ever so gently once again of his vow to protect Lily's son. As if he could forget! Every time he looked at those emerald green eyes, it reminded him. However, if the headmaster wasn't concerned with the boy's welfare, why should he be?

As soon as the bell rang for recess, there were those eyes staring at him, from an uncomfortably close distance, immediately on the other side of his desk.

"Did I give you permission to vacate your seat Mister…'Krueger'? This is still 'detention', and as such - proper decorum must take place."

"Huh?"

"Sit. Down. Mister. Krueger."

"Oh!" Harry scrambled back to his seat.

"Now where were we?" Mr. Nathraichean started to pace, but as Harry was rather sure it was a rhetorical question, he didn't bother to remind him they were in Little Whinging.

"Ah yes… you were endeavouring to develop your 'potential', and requested my help in doing so. I have given the matter a great deal of thought and I believe that the root of your issue may not be your actual lack of potential, but rather the poor way in which you display that which you have."

"Huh?"

"Again with the eloquent responses, but as it demonstrates my point exactly, your lack of proper habits and daily disciplines, I do thank you for it." When Harry's blank look just continued Severus sighed and launched into a lecture.

"To elaborate: 'potential' is a 'promise' of what one could be if one applies oneself. You might say that developing your potential is same as choosing a path to your destiny. While you cannot choose where that path ultimately leads you, you can choose how you arrive there. To that point, many believe that how you conduct yourself throughout this life journey will ultimately determine what said destiny will be. Therefore developing potential is really a matter of applying superior disciplines on a daily basis that will eventually lead oneself to a quality result." Severus quit pacing and whirled on Harry.

"Do you understand Mister…'Krueger'?"

Harry slouched over in his desk, with a glazed look apparent in his eyes, his mouth hanging slightly open, and drool pooling at the corner of his mouth.

"No. I see that you do not. Very well, I shall put this in simple terms that even you should be able to follow. To develop this potential that you so wantonly desire, you first need a good solid foundation of successful behaviours to build on, and from what I have observed of your habits, Mister…'Krueger', it leads me to believe that you Sir are an ill-mannered uneducated waster."

Harry sat up with a start, and was about to protest that he had only been messy to act like Dudley, when Mr. Nathraichean put up a hand to silence him.

"It is not your fault. It is due to the inadequate upbringing you have had thus far. But with hard work we shall remedy that." Severus strode purposely to the front of the room and started writing quickly on the chalkboard in neat precise letters.

The Salazar System

Severus advanced on Harry, bent down to stare directly into his eyes, and told him in hushed tones, "The Salazar System is not a myth. It is a rigorous program designed for developing potential. I am taking a calculated risk in sharing this with you for normally, Salazar's secrets are available only to a select few deemed worthy of receiving them, and then again only at a much more mature age of eleven. I don't presume to expect that at your tender age of nine, you will have the mental capacity required to fully take advantage of the power these concepts offer - the softly persuasive charms and alluring charisma, the delicate aura of authority that creeps into the human consciousness, bewitching followers, and ensnaring allegiances. I can teach you how to handle fame, wear a mantle of glory, and even negotiate with death – that is, if you aren't as big a dunderhead as I think you are." He paused and put a finger to Harry's chest. "Before we start Mister…'Krueger',just what are you willing to do, to gain this… potential?"

"Anything Sir," Harry breathed softly, mesmerized by his teacher's dark obsidian eyes.

"Anything? Are you sure Mister...'Krueger'? Absolutely sure? Because once embarking on this path there is no turning back. It is not for the squeamish or the faint of heart."

"Yes Sir… anything."

"Someone should really teach you to be more careful of making promises such as that. However, it will not be me. Not yet anyhow," Severus straightened back up and looked at his student thoughtfully, as if having second thoughts. "But I have to wonder – do you have the discipline needed to carry it through?"

"…yes Sir, I do."

"Will you be totally obedient, and follow my every direction without question?"

"Yes Sir!"

"No matter how inane or pointless you may think my order?"

"YES SIR!"

"And no matter what others may think of you?"

"YES! YES! I WILL! I WILL!"

"I will not lie to you Mister…'Krueger', it will be a hard course to follow, and you will undoubtedly face the scorn and ridicule of your peers."

"I don't care Sir! They don't like me anyhow. I'll do whatever you say! I will! I want potential! I have to have it! Please Sir… please… teach me!" Harry begged. His face burned with shame that he was so desperate about it.

"Very well then, I suppose I can spare a few moments," he said coolly, with an air of indifference. Ha! He had him. Harry James Potter, the boy-who-soon-would-be-a-Slytherin. James Potter should be turning over in his grave right about now, Severus smirked to himself with satisfaction. Striding back to the board, he started writing vigorously, sending bits of chalk flying.

NO Shrugging (- that should eradicate that abominable habit Potter senior passed on)
NO Swearing
(- that should wipe all trace of the mangy mutt out of him)
NO Sighing (- that should remove all the residual effects of the werewolf)
NO Slouching (- that should ensure if Pettigrew had any influence at all, it was gone)
NO Sweets (- definitively no sweets! It was his pet theory too many sweets tended to kill brain cells – and Potter junior didn't have any extra of those to spare!)

Severus shuddered again at the memory of the Headmaster and his juvenile delight with the crates of Sherbet Lemons he had delivered to him. Turning back to the chalkboard, he underlined the words 'No Sweets' twice for emphasis.

"You must take these habits to heart, for they are the foundation on which we will build the rest. You must live them, breathe them, and BE them. However, you may not share Salazar's secrets or talk of these lessons to anyone, or there will be grievous consequences. And you may NOT take notes." Harry obediently stopped scribbling but seeing his teacher ball up his paper and toss it in the bin made him frustrated. How did he expect him to remember them all if he didn't write them down?

"Secrets do not remain secrets if you trail evidence behind willy-nilly. Now you have three minutes to memorize them before I erase the board, I suggest you start now. And I warn you, I will not list them for you again." Severus dictated, and then noticing Harry make the unconscious hair raking gesture that had always so irritated him when Potter senior did it, he commendably resisted breaking all the boy's fingers and settled on growling instead, "And add - NO Smoothing that mop you call hair with your fingers – it won't help. I can't think of any more right now, but I'm sure they'll come to me later."

Severus went back to his desk, sat down, and turned over an ornate glass timer full of sand that he used for 'time outs' which would count down the three minutes. As the sparkling sand slipped quickly through the narrow centre of the glass Harry madly recited the rules repeatedly to himself, until all of the 's' words started to sound suspiciously like parseltongue to Severus' sharp ears. No, that was not possible…

'Mr. Nathraichean's staring at me. How can he do that for so long without blinking?'

'It's odd but the longer I stare at the urchin, the more beads of sweat pop out on his forehead. I wonder if I can make him squirm too…'

'It's creepy! Aunt Petunia would say that it isn't natural.' Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It was hard enough to concentrate on memorizing the list without his teacher visually boring holes through his head.

"Your three minutes are up. Eyes forward, mouth shut, and NO Squirming." Severus wiped the board clean and sat back down to resume his blatant staring.

Harry tried not to squirm, but telling someone not to squirm and then watching to make sure that they didn't, made squirming even more likely. He wanted to obey the order, and thought it would be a piece of cake until he tried. Only it turned out to be hard work.

'I wonder what is going on in that miniscule mind of his now. I can almost see the tiny wheels trying to turn…'

'Hm… Aunt Petunia also says I'm not natural… but that's because I'm a wizard… I wonder… I wonder if Mr. Nathraichean is an unnatural wizard too…'

'Merlin, I would love to use legilimency…'

'No, he can't be… Mr. Nathraichean is a teacher…. I wonder if he's still staring at me… '

'He's probably sitting there pouting thinking the rules are too strict, and trying to think up some evil pranks to pull for revenge like his father would do…'

Harry snuck a peek, 'Yup… he is… '

'If he is, then legilimency would be a justified self-defence…'

'Uncle Remmy was a teacher and he is also a wizard…'

'The little spoiled brat is up to something I just know it!'

'So was Mrs. Krueger…'

'I can't stand it anymore! I don't care what I promised Albus last night…'

'I guess Mr. Nathraichean could be both too. And Uncle Remmy and Mrs. Krueger were both nice to me and Mr. Nathraichean was kind of nice at lunch yesterday.'

'…and unless I confess, which I won't, he'll never know…'

'He has even been making my bruises feel better. They hardly hurt at all today, and now he's helping me get potential. Maybe if I asked him real nice he would help make sure the egg hatches too. I really want Mr. and Mrs. Krueger to keep me.' Harry thought about wanting to be a family with them forever. And while he wanted to ask his teacher for help to ensure that happened, he couldn't risk putting his family in danger even if he had to give them up to keep them safe. Just picturing their faces was enough to help him fight back the impulse to spill his guts and tell Mr. Nathraichean everything.

'He's getting a shifty guilty look in his eyes now… that does it! I'm going to do it! I MUST know what he is thinking about right now!'

To a spy timing is everything, and right then the bell rang and the rest of the class noisily rushed back into the classroom to take their seats.

'Drat! The one time the evil little munchkins come back on time!'

Severus scowled at the class until silence descended over the room, making Harry wonder why 'NO scowling' wasn't on the list - it was an 's' word too. Maybe there was a second list – the 'YES' list and scowling was on it instead. Mr. Nathraichean scowled a lot, and so did Dudley. They both seem to get what they wanted. That must be it.

Harry scowled fiercely back at the teacher, doing his best to imitate his every facial nuance and gesture.

"Mister…'Krueger', there will be NO Scowling in my classroom." Severus snapped angrily at what he took to be an unflattering impersonation. He would not allow another generation of Potters to ridicule him! The ungrateful brat!

The class giggled behind their hands and Dudley openly grinned. He did so like it when Harry got into trouble!

Harry blushed with embarrassment and started to slouch down in his seat, but at the stern look from his teacher, he gulped and sat up straight, eyes forward, for the rest of the morning, trying hard not to move a muscle. By the time the bell rang again he was sorer from not moving, than he had been the day before from cleaning the floor. Never was he so glad for lunchtime to come!

The gloomy atmosphere inside the classroom had spread outside. The spring rains started to fall in earnest, forcing the students to eat lunch inside at tables in the large hall that did double duty as a cafeteria and a gymnasium. Harry disliked eating inside because there was nowhere to hide from Dudley and his gang, and within seconds, they had relieved him of his lunch, leaving him with only an empty sack and a few broken crisps. He was glad he had eaten breakfast.

With nothing to eat, Harry spent lunchtime observing his teacher doing his assigned patrol duty around the tables. Mr. Nathraichean did not appear to be enjoying the task at all, especially when he had milk sprayed all over him when Malcolm missed Piers with his half full carton, or when he almost slipped on the half eaten banana Gordon had thrown at Dudley. Harry was secretly glad about it. Maybe if his teacher took out all his frustrations on the kids involved in the food fight, his afternoon detention wouldn't be another staring contest. Then Dudley hit their teacher in the back of the head with the orange that he'd stolen from Harry's lunch no less! It looked as though Dudley had aimed at Gordon in retaliation, but Dudley's aim was bad, Gordon had ducked, and Mr. Nathraichean hadn't. Only Harry saw the glint in Dudley's eye right before the fruit flew.

When Mr. Nathraichean hauled Dudley out of his seat by his collar, and demanded to know who started the riot, his cousin acted innocent, pointed at Harry accusingly, and showed his teacher the orange that Mr. Krueger had thoughtfully written Harry's name on with a big blue marker just that morning. As everyone in the cafeteria turned to stare at Harry sitting alone at the opposite end of the table with the empty lunch sack in front of him as evidence, he knew then that a stress free afternoon detention wasn't likely. The few crisps he had been nibbling on turned to cardboard paste in his mouth. If it weren't against the secret rules of Salazar, he would have sworn.

The rest of the day, Harry was so focused on not doing anything else that started with the letter 's' (he figured the way the list was growing it would be easier to remember that way), that by the time his afternoon detention rolled around, he had forgotten all about his homework that was still due. Unfortunately, Mr. Nathraichean hadn't forgotten. He demanded the list of the three things that he did better than his cousin Dudley did.

"But I thought we were going to work on my potential some more!" Harry protested.

"Add NO Snivelling to the list, it is most annoying." As soon as Harry shut his mouth, Severus sneered at him and asked, "Now, what makes you so sure we are not working on your potential? Are you the teacher?" When Harry just glared, he demanded again, "I want that list, and do not tell me that you had the audacity to not do it… I am certain that I made it quite clear you were not to return to class without it."

"No, I did it… but can't we start with the vocabulary? It's a lot better…" Harry faltered under the death glare emanating from his teacher. He supposed he should just be grateful that so far no mention had been made of the food fight in the cafeteria.

"What did you say?"

"Sorry Sir… I have it right here." Harry reluctantly fished the paper out of his desk and handed it over. He had worked hard on his vocabulary and he was ready to discuss the next words. Only when it came to the list… well, that was a problem.

"Let's see now… 'One - I'm more stupid, Two - I get into more trouble, and Three – Dudley has friends, and I don't.' What type of asinine list is this?" Severus angrily slammed the paper down on Harry's desktop, making the whole desk shake.

Harry could sense the little creature inside waking up from her nap and sending out protective vibes against whomever was making loud noises, rattling her haven, and threatening her human. Harry wished he could open up the desk and reassure her that he was okay and that Mr. Nathraichean wasn't a threat. Only he wasn't so sure about the last, and besides he thought it would be much better if the egg stayed hidden.

"Explain yourself Mister…'Krueger'." Severus spat mere centimetres from Harry's face.

"Explain why you say my name like that!" Unnerved, Harry spat back with equal venom.

"Your name? What does it matter to you how I say it? The impression I had was that you did not wish to claim it... just 'Harry'." Severus drawled. It took him aback that the boy had finally cracked over such a miniscule thing as the pronunciation of his name when he had given him so much more to complain about than that. For that matter, he truly wasn't sure if he could pronounce it any other way even if he wanted to, which he didn't… the name 'Krueger' was just so soooooo grating - a Potter by any other name being after all still a Potter.

"But I do Sir… more than anything." Harry replied wistfully with his eyes lowered, his initial spurt of bravado, leaving as rapidly as it had come.

"Then just what pray tell, is the issue Mister…'Krueger'?" he snarled with added emphasis on the air quotes.

"It's just that it's not mine, nothing is... not really. That's why my list is like that Sir. I really did try to think of something to put down as you told me to, I did. But it's not my name, and without it, that's all I am – just Harry, a stupid troublemaker with no friends."

"Well that at least is an improvement." Severus said sarcastically, but Harry not getting the meaning just looked up puzzled.

"It is?"

"Yes. I was certain you were going to claim once again to be a 'freak'. A 'stupid troublemaker with no friends' is vast improvement over that, but sadly one I cannot dispute. However, this is not a list of three things that you do better than your cousin – and that was the assignment."

"But like I told you yesterday, I don't do anything better than Dudley!" Harry repeated.

"That statement is pure undiluted duplicity," Severus snorted. Did this child have absolutely no sense of self-worth whatsoever?

"What?"

"If you did indeed study your vocabulary, as you claim to have, you should understand my meaning without further elaboration. Do you not know the meaning of the word?"

"Duplicity – is a noun, etymology is Middle English from 'duplicite'. It means deliberate or fraudulent deceptiveness in thought, speech or action to disguise your true intentions." Harry recited dutifully, and then added, "But I didn't lie! It's the truth! It's the other one!"

"The other what?"

"The other vocabulary word - bona fide! Bona fide: a Latin adjective meaning in good faith, without fraud or deceit, genuine and sincere, made with earnest intent. That's me! I'm earnest!"

"So you have changed your first name as well?" As a thoroughly puzzled look came over Potter's face, Severus sighed to himself. He missed his vocal sparring sessions with the other Heads of Houses back at Hogwarts, he hated to waste good sarcasm.

"Ahem… be that as it may, I have been observing all my students closely for the past several weeks and I beg to differ with you. I can easily list three things that you are better at than Mister Dursley, thus proving once again, your thinking erroneous and statement false, and thus duplicitous."

"You can? Really?" Harry asked with curiosity. He'd thought about it all night long and hadn't come up with even one thing he could claim.

"Indubitably. Were not your 'parents', and I once again use the term loosely, also not able to provide you with a suitable inventory of your assets?"

"Er… no?" Harry guiltily thought that he hadn't even bothered to ask them.

"I thought not, no matter I will provide it to you in their stead. One, I have seen you outrun Mister Dursley on numerous occasions. In a fair race you would undoubtedly outpace him every time."

"But he always ends up catching me!"

"I qualified it to be in a 'fair' race, one where you are not impeded by shoes that are several sizes too big, or by obstacles such as his erstwhile followers tripping you."

Harry blushed and tucked his feet with the dilapidated trainers, hand-me-downs from Dudley, out of sight under his seat. The Krueger's had said that they were going to buy him a new pair, but with everything that had happened, they had forgotten about it. He hadn't wanted to seem greedy by reminding them. Besides, if he waited long enough he would grow and then they would fit, so problem solved.

"Two, I have noted you have far greater self control when it comes to not overindulging - in food, in particular. If anything, you possess far too much self control to the point of it verging on being an unhealthy obsession," he remarked dryly noting once again how thin the boy was. Don't these Kruegers ever feed him? Striding back to the front of the room, he fished the lunchtime missile out of his desk and tossed it from across the room with Harry catching it easily.

"I believe you misplaced that in the cafeteria. As I mentioned, on at least one prior occasion, I do not approve of littering, so please dispose of it properly this time."

Startled, Harry looked at him with wide frightened eyes. Was he in trouble over the food fight after all? Noooooo! He had just got past the apple affair! Then he saw the tiniest hint of a smile in one corner of his teacher's mouth and it set his mind at ease. On his teacher's face, that slight twitch was akin to an outright grin.

"If I had to wager a guess, I would have to bet that your cousin has never turned down 'seconds' in his life."

"Or thirds!" Harry agreed giggling, gladly peeling the orange and eating it. Now that he knew he wasn't in big trouble again, his appetite had returned.

"Speaking of thirds… I have one to go. Three - as much as it pains me to say this, unlike Mister Dursley, you are… (ahem)… not totally without some athletic dexterity. I am most certain that if you had indeed thrown the orange at your cousin as alleged, you would not have missed your target."

"That's where you're wrong." Harry said softly. "Dudley never misses what he aims at."

"What was that Mister…'Krueger'? You have something pertinent to add?"

"No Sir, nothing," Harry said much louder, causing his teacher to raise a sceptical eyebrow. It wouldn't pay to rat on Dudley to the teacher, Dudley would find a way to turn it on him. Besides, he really didn't want to share any more of his detentions with his cousin. They were the most fun he'd ever had at school, even if Mr. Nathraichean was sort of crabby and had a penchant for staring. Besides 'snitching' was another 's' word.

"No? Well then, let us start over: list three things you do better than your cousin."

"Er… you think I'm faster, not as fat, and maybe aim better?"

"Please try to curb your enthusiasm, it's practically blinding," Severus remark dryly at the hesitant reply.

"Er… sorry Sir."

Severus gritted his teeth at the unwarranted apology. He would have to consider adding no 'saying sorry' to the list. Well… perhaps later, no need to go overboard just yet.

"No, it is I who should be apologizing. I obviously misjudged your level of competency and confused you with the brevity of my query. What I should have asked Mister…'Krueger' is 'what is it that you think you do better than Mister Dursley?' I already know what I think, and I have shared that with you to some degree. Now, as per the assignment, I would like to know your opinion…" Severus narrowed his eyes and said evenly, "…even if I have to drag it out of you - syllable by syllable."

Harry gulped. Mr. Nathraichean meant it and from the look in his eyes, Harry knew the method he had in mind to do that very thing, would be extremely painful.

"Er… well… I was going to say that I think I'm better at being neater, at being quiet, and at being helpful. But none of that is really being better than him."

"And why not?"

"Well… because Dudley makes REALLY big messes, and he throws REALLY loud tantrums, and he would REALLY rather watch me work that do anything himself, and everyone thinks he's a perfect role model. So being neater, and quieter and more helpful really can't be being better than him… right?"

The reasoning skills of nine-year-olds would never cease to amaze him. "And whom might I ask is this 'everyone'?"

"The Dursleys and the Kruegers," Harry admitted quietly.

"I see."

"You do?" Harry was relieved because he soooooo didn't want to elaborate further.

"Really," Severus mocked and strode to the blackboard and wrote on it in large letters, NO being a Simpleton! "Just because some ignoramuses hold to specious reasoning, does not make their opinion fact. What you need to do is evaluate such opinions to determine if they are duplicitous, or if they indeed support a bona fide conclusion."

"What?" The teacher had lost him at 'ignoramuses'.

"In short – if you must listen to the opinions of others then ask yourself, is the person offering it sincere in their intent, or do they have cause to be deliberately deceptive."

"You mean they 'lie' like in pretence?" Harry frowned. His teacher sure had a thing about thinking the worst about of people.

"If you look deeply you will find that the greatest of lies will be built on enough 'truth' to make them undeniably believable, but that does not change the fact that they are a lie. Before you act on information from others, do your own research. If you make that a practice, then you will seldom have anything to regret. Do you understand?"

"I think so. Do you mean I should think for myself?"

"Congratulation Mister…'Krueger', you have been correct two days in a row. Will wonders never cease?"

"So Sir… would you say that you think I'm smart too?" Harry asked slowly drawing S's on his desktop with his finger and keeping a watch on his teacher out of the corner of his eye (just in case he had to run real fast after asking that).

"Don't push it. I listed three things. That is my limit." Severus replied with a completely straight face, it was hard not to be proud of his little Slytherin-in-training trying to wheedle one more compliment out of him. 'Smart-aleck is more like it.'

"For the rest of our time today, I want you to sit quietly and think about these Dursleys and Kruegers and decide for yourself if their opinion is worth considering in the future. Your assignment for this evening is to practice the Salazar system and to prepare yourself to discuss the next two vocabulary words in length." Severus sat down, took up a stack of quizzes, and proceeded to sprinkle them liberally with red pen marks. He always found a rousing session of grading to be most satisfactory in squelching even the warmest of fuzzy feelings towards students.

Properly dismissed, Harry proceeded to think and think and think. He cared very much what the Kruegers thought of him. He cared so much it hurt. As for the Dursleys? Well… not so much. Still… the Dursley's had raised him for eight years and he had always tried his best to please them. All he had ever wanted in return was a little acceptance. So yes, no matter if his teacher thought he should or not, he did care.

All this thinking was making his head swim, until finally the memory of the request Mrs. Krueger had made of him that morning floated to the surface. He had almost forgotten, and after Mr. Krueger had made a point of reminding him too!

"Mr. Nathraichean?" Harry raised his hand a little timidly.

"What is it?" Severus looked up from work, irritated at the interruption. He had just been about to write down the most perfect scathing remark, and now it had escaped him.

"Er…" Harry swallowed hard. He'd better just do it fast and get it over.

"Quit wasting my time."

"Er… sorry Sir… um… my m- … er… Mrs. Krueger that is, she told me to ask you for a parent-teacher conference time."

"She did, did she? The 'note' writer I presume." Severus said snidely staring down his nose at Potter.

"Er… yeah."

"For what purpose may I ask?" he asked leaning back and steepling his fingers together.

Harry hedged a bit in his response, "She didn't…. exactly… say, Sir."

"Well then, tell your mug – … your 'mummy', that in that case I can not exactly spare the time. I am a very busy man, and I do not have time to waste on 'parents' who do not have a clear concise agenda."

"Okay I'll tell her," Harry agreed slouching down in his seat and mentally adding, 'but she won't like it.'

"Sit up straight." Mr. Nathraichean instructed, without even glancing over to verify the slouch first.

"Yes Sir." Harry sighed and sat up straight.

"And no sighing."

"Yes Sir." Harry replied dutifully with a roll of his eyes.

"And NO Scornful eye rolling – add that to the list, don't know how I missed it earlier."

"Yes Sir." Harry paused a long time and then with a mischievous glint in his eye finally ventured to raise his hand and speak up again.

"Mr. Nathraichean?"

"What is it now Mister…'Krueger'?"

"With your permission Sir, may I breathe?"

"And NO Sarcasm." Behind his scowl however, Severus smirked proudly at his cheek.

"Yes Sir."

Harry then wisely decided to shut up before the list got any longer.

On the way home, he tried practicing walking with purpose as his teacher did, but was very unsuccessful. He found it was hard to do when you were running for your life from Dudley and his gang. Nevertheless, his teacher was right about one thing - after he took off his too big shoes and slung them around his neck by the laces, he did outrun them all, and very easily! He was home and seated at the kitchen table munching on his after school treat, long before his cousin huffed and puffed his way in the door.

"Hey that's mine freakazoid hands off!" Dudley protested as he flopped down out of breath and started to reach over to seize the rest of the biscuits and milk.

"Hark! Is that the dulcet sounds of our wayward charge arriving home?" The sound of Sirius' voice floating down from above had Dudley cringing in horror, frozen in mid grab.

"By Jove, I do believe you are correct my good man, shall we adjourn and join the lads for a spot of tea, whilst the lady of the house finishes her nap?" returned the voice of Remus as the sound of feet hitting the floor echoed down the circular staircase.

"Great. Just great," growled Dudley. "That's all I need – more freaks."

"What was that Dumplekins?" Sirius asked good-naturedly as he pranced into the kitchen with Holly riding on his hip.

"Um… I said I need more treats. Harry was a greedy pig and ate them all." Dudley quickly said to cover his verbal slur of the men acting as his de-facto guardians.

"Good going kiddo!" Remus winked and nodded at Harry approvingly, and then told Dudley that the biscuits and milk were for Harry anyway and that they had prepared their own special treat for him. He then proceeded to pull a plate of apple and cheese slices out of the icebox, along with a tall glass of thick orangey liquid.

"What's that?" Dudley asked wrinkling his nose at the frothy juice.

"Pumpkin juice! It's great! You're going to love it!" Sirius pushed it at him enthusiastically.

"I'm not drinking that gunk." Dudley flatly refused, turning his nose up at it. "I want cola!"

"Ooo tough break for you then, because you're not getting cola, you're getting pumpkin juice." Sirius said pushing it back in front of him.

"I WANT COLA AND CRISPS!" Dudley screamed and pounded his fists on the table.

"No - juice and apples." Sirius and Remus said in unison, with Remus adding the stipulation "If you don't want what we prepared for you, then you don't get anything."

Harry just watched the whole exchange with big eyes as he munched on the biscuits. No one ever denied Dudley anything, at least not without regretting it very soon after, and then never doing it again. Only Dudley never had two people like Harry's godfathers telling him what to do before either. Harry thought back about what his teacher told him about the vocabulary words today and how there were two kinds of people in the world, ones with good intentions and ones with bad, but his teacher also told him to think for himself and he thought there were three. The third group was the largest and fell somewhere in between.

He decided that Uncle Remmy and Uncle Siri were great examples of the third group: good people who gave bona fide offers of help, but enjoyed dabbling in a little deception and good-natured trickery to do it. He knew they weren't mean and duplicitous in their hearts - they just liked having fun. Now that they were responsible for his cousin, it was only right they were more loyal to him than to Harry. Still they had kept their promise and hadn't told Dudley about his night-time accident, so their hearts were in the right place. Besides, they genuinely seemed to want to help Dudley. Too bad his cousin couldn't see it for what it was and appreciate it. Harry jealously thought that he would do almost anything for even half the attention they were lavishing on his cousin.

The rest of the evening Harry just tried to stay out of Dudley's way and covertly practice not doing anything that started with an 's' while he looked up the next vocabulary words in the dictionary. Then it occurred to him that 'Studying' started with an 's' too, and he snapped the book closed and put it up. Boy! When his teacher was right, he was right! It was going to be harder than he thought to follow Salazar's system.

Dudley on the other hand did his best to get into everyone's way, just to make sure they all knew how very unhappy he was that he wasn't getting his way on anything. When that failed to impress them, he proceeded to throw tantrum after tantrum. He threw one when they had liver and broccoli for dinner. Then another when instead of ice cream they had fruit for dessert! Lastly, the tantrum to top all tantrums was when they wouldn't let him play on his computer! Instead, they made him write the lines they had assigned to him the night before. It wasn't fair! They weren't his teachers! They shouldn't be able to give him homework! Just who did they think they were?

All in all, Dudley was very mad when they sent him to bed early after he finally pushed Remus over the proverbial edge by refusing to take his bath. He had demanded to take a shower instead, claiming baths were for babies. But the last time they had let him use one, he had stopped up the drain, just to see what would happened, and left the water running when he left. It had overflowed, flooding Remus' flat below. Remus said there were still spots that needed to dry out before mould started to grow, and he hadn't gotten flood insurance.

Sirius had been getting advice on raising children from watching all the daytime talk shows on Dudley's telly, and was convinced that it would stunt Dudley's growth (and warp his personality even further), if he didn't bathe daily - either that, or it was if he didn't drink enough liquids. But whichever it was, it had something to do with needing daily watering just like plants, and since Dudley wouldn't bathe and Remus wouldn't let him shower, Sirius did the only thing he could think of to break the standoff – borrow James' wand and freshen Dudley up with a cleaning spell.

That almost caused Dudley to go into convulsions, positive he had now been overly 'contaminated' by their freakishness, just as his parents had always warned him would happen if he got too close to 'those kind of people'. Then one of 'those people', with his nerves worn thin by the non-stop screaming and the pending full moon, bared his teeth and snarled 'fine, if you don't want our company tonight you can just go to bed now', and cast a stick-em spell to ensure he stayed there even though it was only seven thirty-five.

Harry watched as his harried godfathers parted at the circular staircase, one going up and one going down, both simultaneously slamming their doors. Maybe he didn't want all the attention they were lavishing on Dudley after all, at least not until they calmed down.

"James… honey… do you think we ought to let them off the hook?" Lily asked, but with a note of reluctance in her voice. She had been enjoying just being a spectator.

"Nah… they're big boys, they can handle it a bit longer," he assured her as he propped his feet up on the coffee table and looped his arm over her shoulders. He had a different boy over which to worry. Harry had put away his schoolbooks and was sitting on the rug cross-legged with a ramrod straight back, staring straight ahead with a grim expression on his face. When James looked in the same direction Harry was, all he saw was the staircase. Appraising his young son thoughtfully he finally asked, "Hey Prongslet, are you okay? That didn't upset you did it? You know they aren't mad at you, right?"

"Oh I know Mr. Krueger, I'm not upset."

"Then do you want to play a game of exploding snap with your old man?"

"No thank you. I'm doing my homework."

"Homework? But you put your books away."

"Yes Sir, I did." Harry replied trying to keep it short so he could go back to concentrating on his posture.

"Why?"

"Because that would be studying."

"And…? I guess don't get it."

"Get what Sir?"

"If you still have homework why aren't you studying?"

"Because that is my homework," Harry said exasperated while chanting to himself, 'Must not roll eyes! Must not roll eyes! Must not roll eyes!'

"Your homework is to not study?" James said with raised eyebrows.

"Yes Mr. Krueger Sir."

"Wish I had had that kind of homework when I was in school." James said admiringly only to get a poke in the ribs from Lily.

"Sweetie, just what is your homework assignment, and shouldn't Dudley be doing it too? He told your godfathers there wasn't any tonight." Lily asked a little worriedly, it wouldn't do if Dudley were lying to Remus and Sirius again, on top of everything else.

"No he was right, the rest of the class didn't have any - it was just me." Harry answered only the last part of the question and neatly skipped over the first part, hoping they wouldn't notice. It worked, but his answer did focus their attention on something else.

"Just you? I don't like it that he singling you out. It sounds like this teacher is being a bit of a bully." James frowned.

"Er… it's okay, I don't mind." Harry said hurriedly, and then thinking of no other way out of the conversation jumped up and announced, "I'm going to go take my bath now."

Lily and James just stared after his quickly retreating back with wonder. Then James to turned to Lily and asked, "Didn't Harry already take his bath?"

"Yes dear he did."

"One of these days I swear, I am going to figure out what is going on his that little mixed up head of his." James vowed.

"You do that, and then tell me too, okay?" Lily returned and put her head on his shoulder with a sigh, "I'd like to know myself, but I'm just too tired to think about it right now." However, tired or not - think about it was all she did. Nightmares caused her to toss and turn as she dreamt of the mysterious Mr. Nathraichean picking on her son, and her being powerless to stop it. However, in the middle of the night, the tables turned and she tromped the evil teacher in a duel, waking her with the determination to do it in real life as well. No one was going to pick on her son if she could help it, not his cousin, and not his teacher. She wasn't powerless - she was a mother!

The next morning Lily put on a positive attitude and over breakfast asked Harry brightly, "I forgot to ask you last night, what time are we meeting with your teacher today?"

"Um… we're not?" Harry replied squinching up his eyes real tight as if he could hide behind them by doing so. 'Must not shrug! Must not shrug! Must not shrug!'

"Harry! You know I want to talk with him. He is never there whenever I just drop in after school, and he didn't respond to my note. Didn't you ask him for a parent-teacher conference time as I asked you to do?"

"…yes…" he replied in a very small voice. 'Must not sigh! Must not sigh! Must not sigh!'

"And?"

"…and he… er… he said he was a very busy man and didn't have time to waste on parents who don't have a general… no, that not right… um… oh yeah I got it! …on parents that don't have an agenda."

"Well! You just march in there this morning and you tell him that I DO have an agenda! You tell him that I want to talk to him about his teaching methods, and his homework assignments, and- and- and yes!... and about his attitude towards Arts and Crafts! It's deplorable!" Lily listed, counting them off on her fingers one by one, royally ticked off. She was beginning to see what Harry and Dudley meant about their teacher.

"Okay I'll tell him," Harry agreed with a grouchy tone to his voice, slouching down in his seat at the table and mentally adding, 'but he won't like it.'

"Don't slouch." Lily said offhandedly while reaching over to pick Holly up from her highchair, without even glancing over to verify the slouch first.

"Yes Ma'am." Harry sighed and sat up straight.

"And don't sigh when your mother tells you to do something." James added.

"Yes Sir," Harry agreed but unconsciously rolled his eyes when he did so.

"And don't roll your eyes, when you're feeling picked on." Sirius advised nodding his head vigorously, "It makes people believe you're not agreeing with them. I should know - it got me into trouble enough times. You have to know when and where to use an eye roll to make it truly effective. We'll work on it after dinner tonight."

"Yes Uncle Siri." Harry sat very still, trying not to do anything that would offend anyone.

"Hey Harry… it is okay to breathe." Remus said with a playful smile as the boy let out the breath he was holding.

"Thanks, Uncle Remmy."

Dudley just snorted with derision and said nothing during the whole exchange. Much to the relief of all of the occupants of the Marauder's mansion, Dudley had made the decision that morning when he woke up to protest everything that was happening, by giving them all the silent treatment. They were all hoping it would last at least until their hearing had recovered from his 'un'-silent treatment from the night before.

As James dropped the boys off at the playground, he reminded Harry again about his mother's request. Harry just looked at him with his large green eyes and nodded resignedly. 'Must not swear! Must not swear! Must not swear!'

Escaping his daddy's goodbye hug as quickly as he could, Harry ran into the building. He really wished they would quit being nice! It made it so hard not to become more attached than what he already was, and it was confusing him. He really didn't know what they wanted from him, driving home his teacher's point about not falling prey to deception and pretence. For the only time he really felt sure of anything anymore was when Mr. Nathraichean was being snarky at him. At least then, he knew exactly where he stood. Mr. Nathraichean didn't like him and he never failed to let him know it, no pretence at all. After spending time with the Kruegers - where he had to be constantly on his guard against slipping up and accidentally telling them he loved them - it was actually a relief to come to school and have his teacher belittle him, as he should be.

As soon as the class let out for morning recess, Harry assumed his 'Salazar' position with back straight, chin up, eyes forward, and smile wiped off his face. He had practiced it in front of the mirror the night before when he had escaped to take his bath, and realized to his embarrassment, after he locked himself in the bathroom, that he had already taken one. Hoping the Kruegers hadn't remembered either, he stayed in the bathroom and practiced his stare instead. His teacher should be proud of him today!

Severus leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingertips together, and appraised his student, until Harry start to sweat under his scrutiny.

'My, my, my…Potter is obviously trying to impress me this morning. Sitting there as still as can be looking all serious and attentive. I think it is time to see if he's all show and no substance.'

"Mister…'Krueger' list the etymology, function, and definition of the word 'admirable'," he fired off suddenly.

"Er…" Harry's mind went horribly blank! For a fleeting second, he considered trying to wing it. Only his teacher's death stare let him know in no uncertain terms that it would end up being worse if he didn't admit the truth up front. "I don't know Sir…"

Severus scowled over his fingertips, and tried again. "List the etymology, function, and definition of the word 'proper'."

Harry swallowed hard, "I don't know that one either Sir."

"I gave you a simple assignment yesterday – practice the Salazar system and prepare yourself to discuss the next vocabulary words in length. Were my directions not clear?"

"No Sir, you were very clear," Harry replied miserably.

"Perhaps your tiny brain cannot process more than one thing at a time. Was it too taxing to have two simultaneous tasks assigned?" he asked condescendingly.

"No… I practiced the Salazar system… but…"

"But what?"

"…but you didn't let me write down Salazar's list. Then you kept adding more to it, and then when I was practicing, I couldn't remember what they all were, only that they all started with 's' like 'Salazar', so I… I… I…"

"Yes, you what – what - what?"

"I just tried not to do anything that started with 's' and 'study' started with 's'… so I didn't do it," he ended lamely trying not to add a shrug to punctuate it.

"Are you that inept of a speller? What does the word 'prepare' start with pray tell?"

"A 'p'? Oh! I didn't think of that."

"Of course you didn't, thinking takes work." Severus scornfully glared at him, 'he's just like his father, without my intervention he would have just been another pampered prat.'

"Sorry Sir," Harry said meekly.

Severus sneered at the pathetic apology and wrote on the blackboard in large letters:

DO have Self-Respect
DO have Self-Confidence
DO have Self-Control
DO use Common Sense
DO STUDY

"I was not aware I had to spell the obvious out for you. I will keep it in mind in the future."

Harry's cheeks grew hot with shame at his failure to follow the system on his very first try, but he was glad the teacher hadn't just booted him out of class and told him never to come back. The way he had glared at him, it had been a distinct possibility he would.

"'Admirable' for your edification is an adjective from the Middle English meaning to be deserving of the highest esteem, to be an inspiration and worthy of praise." When Severus had carefully chosen the word list, he had picked this one to describe Albus Dumbledore the leader of the Light side in the wizarding war. For no matter how much the old wizard vexed him from time to time (he suspected Albus enjoyed doing it on purpose though as of yet he had no verifiable proof), the headmaster was the only man that Severus ever felt deserving of his highest esteem.

"Tell me Mister…'Krueger' do you know of anyone for whom this adjective would be a fitting description? Who is at least one person you hold high esteem for – and why?"

The way Mr. Nathraichean sneered the question left no doubt in Harry's mind the exacting teacher would disapprove of anyone that Harry listed, but that didn't stop Harry from thinking of four people right off the bat who he admired with his whole heart and soul: his parents and his godfathers. To choose just one over the other three was something he didn't think he could do - he loved them all so much. The overwhelming rush of emotion he felt, whenever he thought of them, made him temporarily forget his pledge to keep their identity secret. It was on the tip of his tongue to recklessly rattle off all their names and proudly tell his teacher all about them, to prove to him how wonderful they all were, but Mr. Nathraichean was impatient and Harry hesitated too long.

"What? No one comes to mind? I would have thought that if nothing else you would have at least mentioned Father Christmas. Most children do, as he showers you with enough gifts each year to single handedly support the world's mercantile guilds."

"Father Christmas doesn't like me," Harry responded flatly, as his euphoric bubble abruptly popped. The mere mention of the jolly white bearded man reminded him that he didn't deserve the family he was about to wax poetic about, any more than he did a Christmas gift. Aunt Petunia had told him once that Father Christmas had informed her personally that Harry should quit sending him letters, as they were a waste of his time.

"Forgive me Mister…'Krueger' my mistake - wrong holiday. However, my opinion of the good man has risen dramatically with that knowledge. Shall we consider the Easter Bunny then? The fluffy menace filling you chock full with baskets of chocolates and toffees, sweets upon sweets - enough to rot your teeth." Severus stalked closer with each syllable until he reached the boy's desk. Upon closer inspection, he could see a spot of sweet jam left on the front of Harry's favourite jumper from his toast at breakfast. Seeing as Harry had worn the same jumper every day that week (to make sure it wasn't left behind were he to be hauled off suddenly by Uncle Vernon), it wasn't surprising it was in want of cleaning. The only surprise was that there weren't more sticky spots.

"Sweets are against Salazar's rules." Harry whispered, just loud enough for his teacher to hear him. Only he had to wonder… Mr. Nathraichean's teeth were rather yellowish. Did he have firsthand experience with the effect of too much sugar?

"And yet you partook," Severus sneered accusingly. "You didn't practice Salazar's system at all. Did you?"

"I tried." Harry whispered even quieter than before. Guiltily he thought of the plate of biscuits he had consumed after school the prior day, before Dudley had a chance to eat them all. They were so warm and gooey he hadn't wanted to think about it at the time, but Mr. Nathraichean would have probably fit them into the taboo sweets category right along with candy and cakes. How could he have been so stupid? Moreover, how could Mr. Nathraichean have known? Could he read minds after all?

"What was that Mister…'Krueger'?"

Harry cleared his throat and spoke up more loudly. "No Sir, I didn't. I ate an entire plate of biscuits after school… chocolate chip."

"The fact that the chip consisted of chocolate, and not something else, makes it no less offensive. Let us recap then, shall we? One - you blatantly disregarded one of the first five rules of the Salazar system by consuming a vast quantity of sugar after school. Two – upon doing so, your brain ceased to function adequately enough to allow you to follow the rest of the Salazar system. Three – due to your diminished capacity, you did not complete your homework assignment properly. Would you agree with that assessment Mister…'Krueger'?" He finished with a furious slap of the palms of his hands flat on Harry's desktop, making the whole desk rattle and waking up the little creature inside.

Harry just nodded silently and hung his head. What could he say? It was all so horribly true. He had messed up again. He could feel the egg's sympathy at his distress, emanating from inside his desk. Its support gave him the courage to lift his chin again, look his teacher in the eye, and speak up.

"Yes Sir, I agree. I realize now what I did wrong, and promise to work hard to do better."

"Proprious, my young student, is the Latin root of the word 'proper', which can be used as an adjective, an adverb, or a noun, and has many definitions. The one that I am the most partial to is the one that refers to social behaviour and strictly following society's rules and conventions, as in behaving as a proper gentleman. However, it can also characterized something being fitting or suitable. Such as your promise to do better – it was a proper apology – head held high, admitting your mistake without excuse, and laying out a course of action to correct similar occurrences in the future. I found it quite adequate. Bravo Mister…'Krueger'. Bravo!"

His teacher calling him 'adequate' was about as good as it got. Harry glowed under the unaccustomed praise and sat up a little straighter. Seeing the boy feed off from his words, gave Mr. Nathraichean incentive to continue his lesson.

"Admirable and proper are two words that go to the very core of Salazar's system. You must always keep them in mind when you are making decisions, especially those that affect others. Ask yourself, 'Is the choice I am making one that is worthy and true?' And most importantly, 'Will I be able to live with the consequences?'" Severus had ample experience in failing at this advice himself. He knew firsthand the devastation that could result when one didn't pause long enough to ask the question or to search his soul deeply enough to be honest about his answer. To his shame, the orphaned result of his rash decision-making was staring him in the face right now.

"Mr. Nathraichean? What are 'consequences'?"

"Good question. A consequence is the result of an action."

"Huh?"

"Answer me this – what will happen if you do not do your homework again tonight?"

"You will get upset." Harry answered confidently.

"And will happen if I get…'upset'?" Severus raised an eyebrow and drawled slowly.

"Um… you will kick me out of your class?" he answered this time with less confidence, but said it in hopes that Mr. Nathraichean would deny the consequence. He didn't.

"And what will happen if I eject you from the classroom?"

"Er… you won't teach me anymore about Salazar and his system?"

"And what will happen if I stop teaching you to behave with the decorum befitting a student of Salazar?"

"I won't get any potential and I'll lose my family." Harry whispered, all the colour draining out of his face.

"And what would happen if you were no longer a responsibility of these…'Kruegers'?"

"I'd die… I'd just die." Harry said seriously, causing Severus to raise the other eyebrow.

"Truly Mister…'Krueger', you actually believe that?"

Harry just nodded.

"Very well, we cannot go farther down that path, as 'dying' is the ultimate end for most people. Therefore, the result of not completing your homework tonight would be your eminent death. That alone should give you ample incentive to do a more thorough job."

"Yes Sir!" Harry nodded vehemently. "I won't let you down, believe me!"

"It is only yourself you would be letting down, that is what you must believe."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't believe in yourself, why should I, or anyone else for that matter? Isn't that what you want - for these…'Kruegers' to believe in you?" After asking the question, Severus turned his back and started to erase the board, giving his student time to think about it.

Harry didn't have a good answer for that one, but he did have a lot more questions. Only before he could ask any of them, Dudley burst through the door leading in the line of children back from the gymnasium where they had been playing dodge ball.

"Hey loser! Did you forget your brain again?" Dudley laughed seeing the words 'Do Study' as the teacher wiped them from the board. They had to be for his cousin – who else could be so stupid? His cutting jibe started the other children giggling who then added a few teasing remarks of their own. Except this time, instead of turning red and sliding down in his seat to hide from their taunts, Harry held up his chin and ignored them. His reward was a nod of approval from his teacher for his effort.

By the time that lunch rolled around, Harry was getting quite adept at pretending that chatter from the rest of the class was nothing more than slightly bothersome background noise, though it was harder to ignore the occasional spitball that was being sent his way by Dudley and his gang whenever the teacher turned his back. He knew that no matter how much he pretended Dudley didn't exist, it wouldn't make it so. He had tried it before, and while it worked temporarily, it never stuck for long. So on the way to the cafeteria, he stayed close to the Mr. Nathraichean's side, his book bag with the precious egg and his lunch, swinging safely between them. They were almost to the door of the large hall when the Principal's assistant hailed them from down the hallway.

"Oh… Jeffy-Poo! Wait for me! I'll eat with you!"

"I think she's talking to you, Mr. Nathraichean-Poo." Chloe spoke up helpfully from half way down the line while the entire class giggled at her rhyme. "Shouldn't we stop?"

"If Ms. Smythe indeed desired my attention, she would address me by my proper name as should you, wouldn't she Miss Miller? Now march! We mustn't keep the lunch staff waiting. Their fare is only passable when warm, cold it is inedible," Severus growled over his shoulder, knowing if they moved quickly there was no way the wanton woman could catch up to them in her tall spiky heels.

As they sprinted the last few meters to the cafeteria, Harry thought about disagreeing with Mr. Nathraichean's harsh assessment of the food. However, following the advice of Salazar, to get all the facts before making a decision, he wisely kept his mouth shut. He had found the cook's food to be very good on the few occasions that Uncle Remmy had treated him to breakfast there before school. Though since he had no experience with tasting the 'hot lunch', as Aunt Petunia had never wasted the money on him to purchase it, and Mrs. Krueger preferred to make his herself, he couldn't really say that was also true of the midday menu. But even if it wasn't, he had a special fondness for the head cook, as she would slip him chocolate milk every now and then from her special stash instead of regular (mostly when his cousin wasn't looking), and then tut-tut over how thin he was in a very grandmotherly way.

By the time that Ms. Smythe tottered into the hall, Mr. Nathraichean was once again scowling fiercely as he policed up and down between the tables trying to keep the children from repeating the food fight from the day before. However, he needn't have worried about that. His students were all more interested in the pending floor show between their teacher and the Principal's assistant than they were about throwing food at each other and possibly miss something good that they could tell their parents. With elbow nudges and whispers from ear to ear, soon the entire student body was watching.

"Oh Jeffy there you are! You must not have heard me!" Virgie simpered as she teetered over to him and clutched his arm for support.

"Quite the contrary Ms. Smythe, I just chose not to respond," he gave her the brush off.

"If you aren't careful, you'll hurt my feelings," she pouted prettily, pursing her lips to show off their fresh coat of red lipstick.

"I find that hardly likely, seeing as I have failed to even dent them - despite my best efforts." Severus said scathingly.

"Oh you big tease you! Since the fire, we've only seen each other at the staff meetings, and you never seem to notice that I've been saving a seat for you. Why don't you join me for lunch at the 'singles table' so we can get better acquainted?" Virgie coaxed, trying to lead him over to an empty table, which was crammed into a corner next to the sports equipment rack.

All of the little boys snickered. All of the little girls wondered what they would look like as flower girls at a wedding, with their hair pinned up and wearing floaty pink dresses.

"Singles table? Then I must decline." Severus said plucking her arm off from his with sharp fingertips and dropping it away from him like something that smelled bad.

"Decline? Oh my! But why? You aren't married are you!" Virgie startled back as all the children gasped at the thought of their teacher actually having a life outside of school. "Wait a minute… have you been leading me on all this time?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him and poking a finger in his chest.

"Perish the thought that I should lead you anywhere Ms. Smythe. No, I am not married, I was simply stating that I…," Severus paused, only this time not for dramatic effect, but to evaluate the merits of telling a bold faced lie in front of his impressionable students. He opted for simply telling the truth in such a way as to allow Ms. Smythe to jump to the wrong conclusions on her own, justifying his actions with the motto that 'a spy must do what a spy must do' to keep his cover. Shaking his head firmly, he told her "…I cannot sit with you at a table designated for singles only." '…or anywhere else for that matter.'

"But if you're not married, and not single, that only leaves… OH! You poor man! A widower?" Virgie guessed putting a hand to her lips which were forming a shocked 'O'.

All the little girls listening sighed and wiped away a tear. All the little boys immediately lost interest and went back to seeing how many straws they could stuff up their noses.

Severus didn't even try to correct her. "Now I really must be going, the lunch period is about over, and I am giving my students a quiz when they return to class."

All the little girls gasped. All the little boys were roughhousing and none of them heard.

As Mr. Nathraichean swept out of the cafeteria, Harry grabbed his book bag and what was left of his lunch and jumped up to join him. There was no way was he going to be left behind without protection! Walking with him companionably back to class, Harry thought about this new information. His teacher had lost his wife. Harry knew how lonely it felt to be an orphan. Unconsciously he reached up and took his teacher's hand to comfort him. Mr. Nathraichean didn't seem to mind.

Carrying through on his impromptu excuse for leaving abruptly, Severus gave the children an oral quiz in geography as soon as class resumed, drilling them on every country from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Dudley didn't fare well as his tummy was too full of junk food to care which countries had rain forests and which had deserts. Harry proudly knew most of the answer, thanks to the Krueger's helpful geography game and for once, he wasn't shy about doing his best. He happily outshined not only Dudley but quite a few of the other kids as well.

That however, did not sit well with Dudley. He was sure Harry was cheating because he had never done better than him and he only boy in class who wasn't surprised by the pop quiz. Dudley scowled at his cousin from across the room – he was going to make Harry pay for embarrassing him!

While Dudley and his gang spent the afternoon recess plotting revenge, and hitting all the little girls as hard as they could with the dodge balls - Harry stayed protected from them, safe in his afternoon detention session.

Much to his dismay, his afternoon session was just more practice of not bothering the teacher while he graded the written math quiz that he had given right after the oral geography one. As the second hand of the clock ticked-tocked around the face of the clock for the umpteenth time, it was hard for Harry to stay quiet.

At the start of this detention, before Harry had had a chance to say anything at all, Mr. Nathraichean had ordered him to sit quietly without talking. Harry wanted to, only when Mr. Krueger had dropped him and Dudley off that morning, Mr. Krueger had ordered him to bring up Mrs. Krueger's request again for the parent-teacher meeting. Conflicted, Harry started squirming in his seat anyway.

"What part of 'sit still' did you not understand?" Severus asked without even looking up. Satisfied when the sounds of Potter moving abated, Severus went back to grading.

Harry sat as still as he could for as long as he could, but then started clearing his throat.

"What part of 'do not make any noise' escaped you?" Severus asked annoyed, too bad they were not at Hogwarts – he would have had him gainfully occupied scrubbing out cauldrons with a silencing charm over him. Then he would be able to get his work done.

"Er… Mr. Nathraichean?" Harry finally braved.

"Yes?"

"Er… mummy…Mrs. Krueger that is, she said to tell you that she does have an agenda."

"Oh really?" Severus looked up from the papers he was grading. Seeing that the boy did indeed intend to expound further he put down his red pen, leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingertips together and gave the boy his full attention, "I am rapt with anticipation Mister…'Krueger'. Please enlighten me as to this 'agenda'."

"Um… she said she wants to talk to you about…" Harry looked at the dark steely eyes of the teacher and faltered. He couldn't say it was about his teaching methods or his homework assignments. That would sound too much as if he had been whinging, and he really hadn't! There was only one thing left. "…er… about…about Arts and Crafts..."

"Is there some objection?"

"She… er… she thinks we should do them in class."

"Didn't your…'mummy'… teach this class last December? For less than one month I believe." He said in a low cool voice, his eyes narrowing to little dark slits.

Harry nodded affirmatively.

"Then tell 'mummy' that I do not need, nor do I solicit, advice on how to conduct my class. Especially, not from those whom obviously could not handle the position themselves."

"You want me to tell her that?" Harry squeaked with shock.

"Word for word," Severus confirmed, slowly enunciating each syllable. "Now does this 'mummy' have any more demands, or may I get back to the business of running my class as I see fit?"

"Er… no. That's all..." all he was going to admit to that is.

"Fine, I am glad we could settle the matter. You may resume silence now," he said picking up the red pen again and writing a very large 'D-' on the top of Dudley paper.

'Hm… perhaps if I looked closer I could find enough to mark Dursley down to an 'F'. No, I've already wasted enough time on that one,' he decided tossing it on the stack of graded papers and picking up the next one.

It wasn't until the final bell rang that Severus thought of the infamous 'Mummy Krueger' again. If he weren't careful, the interfering know-it-all would try to trap him into talking with her. With that in mind, he shooed everyone out quickly, everyone but Potter that is. He had to push Potter out the door to get him to leave. As soon as the classroom was clear, he locked the door and turned out the overhead lights, and not a moment too soon. Within a matter of seconds, he heard rapping and saw the door handle jiggle.

When he heard sound of a woman's voice and Potter pipe up to answer her with a 'but he was there just a minute ago!' then Dursley add a whingey 'who cares? I'm hungry!', and finally three sets of footsteps retreating down the hall, he smirked to himself at his cleverness in dealing with the situation in a completely muggle way - no muss no fuss.

Turning back on the lights, he sat down at his desk and thought about the day. He hadn't meant to be as nasty towards the boy that morning as he had been. But Merlin! Not study because the word started with an 's'? He started to get angry all over again and then realized that actually Potter's excuse had been a very Slytherin one and chuckled to himself instead. Then coming back from lunch he had felt the boy voluntarily put his small hand in his. It had startled him for just a moment or two and then he decided that it really wasn't bothering anything just to leave it there. In fact, it would have been more bother to have made him stop hanging on to him like a lost puppy.

The only incident of the day that still nagged at him was the lunchtime exchange with Ms. Smythe. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that he was already in a relationship as he intended, the blasted woman mistook him for a widower. The only way that would have been possible would have been if he had been the one Lily had wed, not James. No, that was not right. If Lily had been his wife he wouldn't be a widower, he would still be happily married, he would not have let the Dark Lord kill her. He would have protected her… and their son. The mere thought of it, stabbed him in the heart.

Severus reached into his top desk drawer, pulled out the picture he had picked up on the playground, and regarded it thoughtfully. He had almost forgotten about the photo. The last time he had seen Lily was at their graduation at seventeen. Except in this picture, Harry was a newborn so Lily must have been about twenty or so. In just three years, the war had aged her until she looked closer to thirty. It saddened Severus to think about it, but who was he to talk? The toll of the war had added at least twenty years to his own face. However, Lily, his graceful loving Lily, had remained beautiful - right to the end.

After a few moments, he smoothed the curled edges with his long slim fingers, and propped it up against his coffee cup. It had surprised when he first noticed the scrap of paper was a wizarding photo, and of Potter and his parents no less. He used to have pictures of Lily until he burned them all when she rejected him. Too bad Potter's picture was so worn - time alone would account for that, unless of course, the boy continually slept with it under his pillow and hurried up the process, but that was ridiculous.

It didn't really matter how the photo got into its current well-fingered condition, the boy obviously looked at it often. He supposed he really should give it back... someday.

After a few minutes more, he carefully balanced an eraser up on end in front of it, blocking his view of the entire left hand side of the photo.

"That's better…"

He stared some more but was still somewhat dissatisfied. Squinting at it with first one eye, and then the other didn't satisfy him either, and before long, he got up and started pacing about the room.

"Surely, there must be something…"

In a stroke of inspiration, he went to the craft cupboard and unlocked it. Rummaging through the shelves, he found a small picture frame cut out of green construction paper and then glued on a cardboard backing. It was dotted around the rim with gobs of elbow macaroni, which had been liberally glued and then dipped in gaudy silver glitter.

"Ah… just the thing…"

Going back to his desk he carefully folded the left side of the picture under to fit, and mounted the rest of the photo into the frame. Then he set it up on the corner of his desk and leaned back with a sigh. Now only the smiling mother and her happy baby were visible in the frame, with only an occasional fingertip of the father edging in to mar the idyllic scene. Nevertheless, if he pretended… that could be anybody, even him.

"Still not quite right…" he said drumming his fingertips on the desktop.

After a bit more study, he got out his wand and flicked it at the photo, turning the black hair on the giggling baby to a deep lustrous auburn to match its mother.

"Much better, now he is completely out of the picture," he chuckled. "Too bad I can't do that to the actual child."

Flicking his wand at the photo a few more times, he chanted, 'Now you see him – now you don't', and then he sat back with a wide satisfied smirk.

"That was fun. I guess glitter is good for something after all."

Several blocks away, Lily dropped the cup she was carrying with a crash and screamed, causing James to pop his head upside down from the loft doorway to see what had happened.

"Lily! Are you all right?"

"James! James! Come down here…NOW!" Lily stood there with her mouth gaping open and slowly raised her hand to point through the open door of their bedroom towards Holly, who was in her crib, energetically practicing the art of rolling over.

"Is something wrong with Holly?" James asked concerned, this time the whole of him coming down the stairs, with Sirius and Remus following close behind.

"Our daughter… our daughter is a metamorphmagus," she finally gasped out in awe.

They all crowded around her crib and watched with fascination as her hair flashed back and forth between red and black.

Holly, loving all the attention, just cooed prettily, spit up, and then gummed on her toes.

"Who wants to bet a galleon it sticks on red?" Sirius asked only to have James whop him on the back of the head, while Remus signalled him behind James back that he'd take the bet.

When it finally stopped changing, Lily ran her fingers through the messy red hair now framing her daughter's giggling baby face instead of her normal raven locks and said, "It looks like we might have another redhead in the family, at least for now."

"Aw, noooooo! Holly! Change it back! Pretty pleeeeasssse? For Daddy?" James pleaded with disappointment, sinking to his knees and peering through the bars of the crib as one condemned. "Your hair was the only thing about you that looked like me!"

"Don't worry James," Remus chuckled observing that Holly's baby fine hair was sticking up in every direction possible, "she still has your hairstyle."

"Shouldn't have taken the bet..." Sirius laughed as he collected his galleon from Remus.

Harry and Dudley who had heard all the shouting had come running in to see what was going on. Dudley was not impressed. His mother had been known to turn her hair from platinum blond to dark brunette in a matter of minutes, just because the 'new look' would show off her new dress better - all it took was a bottle of hair dye. He turned around and left shaking his head and muttering about 'mini-freaks', but taking the opportunity while everyone was otherwise occupied, to slip upstairs to play on his computer.

Harry looked at Holly seriously concerned. He knew she was too young to be playing with hair dye, but how else could it have changed so quick? Once he had made his hair grow overnight when Aunt Petunia had chopped it off, and she called him a sick-o freak.

"Is she ill?" he asked of no one in particular, just giving voice to his concern.

"No sweetie. Holly is fine." Lily smiled at him and picked Holly up from her crib. "Your father now… that's another matter. It may take him a bit to recover."

"Why? What's he got? Is it bad?" Harry asked worriedly glancing over at his dad who was still staring numbly at Holly and doing a fair impression of a fish by mouthing the words 'No! No! No!' over and over again.

Lily, following his gaze had to laugh. "Ha-ha! No Harry, he's fine too. I shouldn't have said that. He isn't ill. He just needs to come to grips with your sister's new ability."

"New ability?"

"Um… yes. You see Harry in the wizarding world we have a few very special people who are metamorphmaguses. These people have the ability to change their appearance at will, and it looks as though your sister is one of these very special people." Lily said fondly ruffling her daughters auburn curls.

"So will she always have hair like yours now?"

"It's hard to say, it's up to her no matter how much your father pleads for her to change it back. And since she's not talking yet, we'll just have to wait and see what she does," Lily said blowing a kiss on Holly's fat little tummy that set her off giggling again.

Harry smiled. He liked to hear Holly giggle. When she was, he just felt better about everything. It didn't matter to him what colour her hair was. He loved her anyway.

After Remus and Sirius managed to peel James off the floor they went looking for 'the Dudster' as they finally decided to call him, all the other names they had come up with – Diddydummy – Dummykins – Diddledope – Dudderino - and Fuddy-duddy – having been discarded after much negative head shaking and irritated toe tapping by Lily. When they found him in the loft, he was so deep into blasting alien spaceships to smithereens on his computer that he didn't hear them come up behind him. When they suddenly spoke in his ear he about fell out of the chair.

"Hey Dudster! You're really good at that." Remus said admiringly. While Sirius had monopolized the telly all day (to 'do important research' as he put it), Remus had been trying to figure out how to turn on the computer without success. He tried every key combination on the keyboard imaginable, without once noticing the little button on the side that had the word 'power' stamped on it.

"Thanks. Now leave me alone." Dudley growled and restarted his game.

"Don't be like that Dudster," Sirius said clapping a hand down on his shoulder, refusing to be put off. "We just want to be your friends."

"What makes you think I want you as friends?" Dudley sniped.

"Because Dudster, for the time being, you belong to us. That means whenever you aren't sleeping or in school, we will be glued to your side, so you might as well get used to it. We're your new best friends, and we have the entire weekend ahead of us to get to know each other better. Now why don't you show us how that game of yours works, or would you rather entertain us this evening by writing some more lines?"

"Fine. What do you want to know?" Dudley groused.

"How'd you get him to do that?" Remus asked amazed at the change.

"Don't look so shocked Moony. I know you're the teacher, but I have a certain knack with children myself. I find it's not the question, it's all in how you ask it." Sirius grinned evilly from ear to ear. Remus grinned back and told Dudley to 'schooch over' so he could sit next to him, and he could show him how to turn the computer box off and on.

Dudley was getting quite cranky from sugar withdrawal by this time, and just muttered 'big freakin whoop' under his breath and glowered at them both. This whole 'uncle' business was getting real old real fast, and he hadn't agreed to any of it! When his parents get back from Holiday, they were going to owe him, and he was going to make sure they paid up! Big time!