AN: Another chapter for RR is here! Now, for those of you who think I've been sticking too close to canon so far, don't worry, things are going to change drastically. The chapters from now on aren't going to focus on classes very much. There'll be bits here and there, but the interactions with others will be the biggest bit of that, all of it coloured by the Potters actions, as well as others that get involved. The other major bit will be Harry exploring the Astral plane, as I have planned him to do for a while now. I am drawing influence from several sources for this, primarily Soul Reaver and Black Rock Shooter, so don't be surprised if you see something that looks familiar, okay? If you want to give me ideas, please do so, whether that be in PMs or reviews, all are welcome. I hope you enjoy the story!

Beta'd by: Paxloria

Chapter 10 - Returned

Harry settled into the compartment as best as he could. He pulled out his Tome of Shadows and went over Sirius' additions to it. Harry had been surprised by the quantity of dark magic that Sirius had known, and even more, been willing to share with him.

He'd said it was better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. He'd also explained that all Black children were instructed in magic – light, neutral, and dark – from an early age, because as they were Blacks, they couldn't be anything but the best.

Regardless of the reasons for it, Harry was happy to add it to his Tome, even if it was some rather unpleasant magic.

As he was reading through it, Harry stroked Bast, who was lying in his lap in cat form.

Sitting directly next to Harry, on his left, was Isis. She was leaning quite heavily against Harry's side, and her bare leg was touching Harry's trouser-covered one. She wasn't doing anything herself, seemingly quite content to doze lightly while being in as much physical contact with him as possible.

On her left sat Loki, who, as usual, seemed to be scribbling something in a notepad. When he felt Harry's eyes on him, he glanced up. His brow creased into a frown, before he spoke up, suggesting that Harry spread his zombie insects throughout the train and get a better idea of what his schoolmates thought about things.

Deciding that there was merit to Loki's suggestion, Harry agreed, and creepy crawlies began to emerge from his sleeves. Small winged insects made up the bulk of Harry's 'spies' this time, and a few small spiders, as the birds would stand out too much on the train, and he hadn't made any cat zombies yet.

"Isn't that a bit... rude?" Nanoha, sat across from Harry, asked, looking at his zombies as they flew or crawled out of the compartment. "I mean, don't you feel a bit guilty? People deserve their privacy after all."

Harry contemplated Nanoha's words for a few moments, turning them over in his head.

"It's not like that." He eventually said. "I'm not interested in personal secrets, and I'll discard them if I do hear them, but I really don't want to be caught unprepared for something that does involve me. I mean, with the Potters back in Britain, and we know James is planning something, I need to be as prepared as I can be. My solution isn't ideal, and you're right, it is an invasion of privacy, but it's not like I know of any better option either."

"I suppose..." Nanoha acknowledged. "So it's better safe than sorry, is that it?"

"Yes, pretty much that." Harry agreed. "Besides, it's not like anyone gets any more privacy at Hogwarts. All of the paintings are self-aware and report to the Headmaster, as do all of the enchanted mirrors as well, so not even the bathrooms or showers are private."

"What?!" Fate, who was sat between Nanoha and Hayate with Arf on her lap in puppy form, squeaked, her face turning red at that. "Are you saying that the Headmaster can watch us when we're... getting clean?"

"The mirrors do record what they see, and there is a mirror in the Headmaster's office that he can watch said recordings on. You don't have to worry about him doing that though, the Headmaster is actually gay, and has absolutely no interest in girls." Harry comforted her as best he could, patting her knee with one hand.

"Noooo!" Isis suddenly cried out, latching onto Harry. "I'm not having some old man perv on my Harry, no way!"

"Calm down, Isis." Harry rolled his eyes. "I really doubt that the Headmaster is watching young boys shower, and even if he was, me and Loki put up obscuring charms on the mirrors in the Ravenclaw Head Boy suite that we're using."

"Why is the Headmaster allowed to do those things?" Fate asked Harry, already feeling unclean simply knowing about it.

"Well, for starters, students aren't supposed to know about it, but I kind of found out by accident. Secondly, there's simply no laws against it, which means it's not illegal. Thirdly, it's supposed to make the school 'safer', and was put in at a time when it wasn't uncommon for students to have bodyguards following them. Make of that what you will." Harry replied.

"Okay, that's one thing going in my first report." Fate grumbled. All of them, Harry included, had been asked to make regular reports about the Wizarding World for the TSAB to look over. For the Japanese group, those reports would primarily be about the subjects, social structure, and first impressions of everything.

Harry's reports, on the other hand, were a little more varied. For example, he'd already submitted a report on the cost of living in Wizarding Britain. Honestly, it was quite low, as magic made things very easy. Magic couldn't be used to create food, but it could be used to increase the quantity of food if it already existed for example. Add in the fact that magic could be used to accelerate the growth of crops, getting three times as many harvests a year as muggle methods easily, as well as the size of the produce, and the price of food was really low.

"Anything else you want to ask about?" Harry asked the blonde girl. "I might have forgotten something that might be relevant."

Fate, deciding it was a good way to use their time until they got to Hogwarts, agreed, and began to ask Harry pretty much anything she could think of. Before long, everyone in the compartment was asking and answering questions, allowing some of the tension and nervousness to bleed out a bit.

xxxxx

Brian gave his sister a comforting grin, no matter how uncomfortable he himself felt. She was his little sister, and he was supposed to look after her. He just wished that his world hadn't been turned on its head like it had been. He'd been fine being Brian Evans, but Brian Potter... he didn't know how well he'd do there, even the name felt wrong.

Rose gave her brother a shaky smile. She was also feeling really uncomfortable. This train platform had three hundred students and their parents on it, and she was feeling rather intimidated by the crush of people getting onto the train and exchanging farewells.

"What should we do, big bro?" She asked him, looking around.

Brian also noticed the many looks the two of them were getting, it was difficult not to really. He really didn't want to sit in a compartment with people who were going to badger him constantly, and it would be even worse if they did nothing but sit and stare at him.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Hey, little sis, do you think we should go and find... Harry?" He asked hesitantly. "It might be better sitting with someone we at least know, if it really was him you met back home."

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Rose agreed, happy to get past this awkwardness that had sprung up.

With their magically lightened trunks in hand, they set off down the train to look for someone that might or might not be their brother. They glanced in the open doorways, and when they came across closed ones, Brian slid them open barely an inch – just enough to see who was in there – before moving along.

In the second from last carriage, when Brian caught a glimpse of something silver, he knocked on the door. The conversation going on inside the compartment, in some foreign language or other, stopped. A moment later, a brunette Asian girl opened the door to see who it was.

Looking past her, Brian saw what was almost definitely the Harry Ritter that Rose had met. After all, how many other people were there in the world that had red and green eyes and a broad silver streak in their hair, there was even a cat laid on his lap as well.

"Hey, do you mind if me and my sister share a compartment with you guys?" He nervously rubbed at the back of his head.

The brunette raised an eyebrow, before calling over her shoulder to the others in there. He had no idea what she said, she was once again speaking in a language he didn't know, and the replies were also in that language. However, the general idea of things was clear when she shrugged at him and said the two were welcome in the compartment, this time speaking English.

Brian was more than a little apprehensive, wondering if everyone in the compartment was going to focus on the two of them, welcome them into their conversation, ignore them, or... he really didn't know what. The two of them did get some curious looks, and even a furrowed brow or two, but it wasn't as bad as he was expecting it to be.

"Yo, I'm Hayate Yagami, who're you?" The brunette who'd opened the compartment door greeted them.

"Ah, I'm Brian Ev... Potter, and this is my sister, Rose." Brian responded.

"Nice to meet you." Hayate grinned, picking up a small, and strangely blue, wolf puppy. "This guy here is Zafira, my pet."

"I'm Fate Harlaown." A blonde girl with red eyes greeted them next. "This is Arf." She stroked a fox in her lap.

"I'm Nanoha Takamachi." Another brunette Asian girl greeted them. For some reason, the smile the girl sent his way made Brian flush red. Unseen by him, but seen by others in the compartment, Fate narrowed her eyes at that reaction and bristled at his expression.

"I'm Isis." The unicorn familiar added her name to the list, but she was a lot more reserved than she usually was, her demeanour lacking its usually energy, and her eyes were watching the two Potters warily.

"My name is Loki." The raven familiar added languidly, though his eyes were sharp and calculating. There was a somewhat harsh and unpleasant, though pragmatic, part of Loki's mind that swiftly determined their worth as hostages in unfavourable circumstances; even if he knew Harry wasn't likely to go for it.

"Harry Ritter." Harry added softly, not elaborating.

Bast shifted into her more human form and gave the two a level look.

"Bast." Was all she said, before returning to cat form and all of the comfort Harry's hands could give her in that shape.

Brian had jumped a mile when the cat had turned into a catgirl – complete with ears and tail – and back again. Still, he decided to take a seat, and the only available ones were next to either Hayate or Loki. As there was something about the man that Brian found intimidating, not to mention he seemed familiar for some reason, he chose to sit next to Hayate.

What? He's a boy, of course he'd choose a cute girl over an older man.

Rose had no problem sitting next to Loki herself, which put her opposite Brian. However, she kept looking around for something, or more accurately someone. Seeing as Harry and Isis were here, and so was Bast, she thought that the 'Rein' woman she'd also met should be around somewhere, but where was she? True, she looked to be too old for Hogwarts, but then so did Loki and Isis, but both of them were there, so was it not likely she would be too?

"So, are all of you third years?" Brian asked, trying to start a conversation.

Nanoha was the one to answer him. "We will be." She told him. "We're transfers, just joining Hogwarts now, so we don't really know anyone yet."

"I'm a third year." Harry spoke up. "However, I'm actually in fourth year classes for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, and I do some other things as well."

"Oh, like what?" Rose decided to finally add herself into this conversation.

"I sat Imbuing and Enchanting exams at the end of last year, and I have Healer qualifications too, though I haven't taken the oath. I act as Madam Pomfrey's assistant in the Hospital Wing during my free time." Harry replied.

"Are you really allowed to do that without taking a Healer's Oath?" Brian asked in confusion.

"I'm not allowed to apply to be a full Healer without taking the oath, but an assistant is fine, even if I do have full healer qualifications." Harry shrugged. "I'm a general healer mostly, though I've taken the first few exams to qualify as a curse specialist."

"That seems really impressive." Brian said, and it truly was, but that wasn't what he was focused on right then. "How does a third year get that good though?"

Loki looked up from what he was doing and locked eyes with Harry. Both of them were aware that Brian was digging for information, possibly to either refute or support his parents' belief that Harry was Voldemort, but how should they respond to this probing?

"I don't really have much of a social life." Harry decided to answer. "I always have my nose buried in a book, and I'm always looking for something else to learn. I'm... friendly enough with pretty much everyone, but I can't really think of anyone at Hogwarts that's really a friend. I guess that I'm just too caught up in learning and research to really reach out to people."

That was true. Goodness knows that Harry was socially awkward. Heck, he wouldn't be as friendly with the Uminari group if it wasn't for Reinforce's connection to them, Hayate specifically. Without Reinforce in his life, who knew just how many (or how few) friends he would have, and what sort of people they'd be, he'd likely latch onto the first person to smile at him or something equally inane.

Brian decided not to continue down that route, he did have some tact after all, and tried to think of something else they could all talk about, but what subject they should discuss eluded him. What did they all have in common?

"Are you looking forward to going to Hogwarts?" He tried.

The three Japanese girls exchanged glances.

"I... don't know." It was Nanoha who responded first. "It's going to be weird going to a school where English is the spoken language, and it'll be fun to learn magic too, but I don't really know anyone there, and I'm a bit nervous too."

Fate gave Nanoha warm smile. "Don't worry, Nanoha, I'm sure you'll make lots of friends."

Hayate sniggered at something, earning a pout from Nanoha and a knowing look from Fate. When she matched eyes with Harry, she saw them glittering with hidden amusement, and she had to keep herself from bursting out into laughter. Brian and Rose thought they'd missed some kind of inside joke that they simply didn't get.

They were right.

"I'm nervous as well." Harry decided to give his thoughts on the matter. "Not about the school, per se, but more... other things." His eyes landed on Brian and Rose, and the two shifted in place, knowing just why Harry might be wary.

"Mum and Dad said they had a surprise waiting for us at the castle." Rose said. "I don't know what it is though."

"Maybe Dad landed the Defence job or something." Brian offered. "Headmaster Dumbledore visited last night, and I've heard that no one really wants the job for some reason."

"That's because no one has managed to last more than a year, and rarely a full year at that." Loki told them. "Not since Dumbledore turned down Tom Riddle's application at least." Seeing the confused looks, he elaborated. "That's Voldemort's real name, and it is believed that he cursed the position when it was denied him."

"You mean Dad might have taken a cursed job?!" Rose asked in alarm.

Loki shook his head. "No, I know for a fact that this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor is one Remus Lupin. Coincidentally, he is an old friend of your father, as well as a werewolf. His father stood against Fenrir Greyback when Remus was a little child, and in revenge Greyback bit his child."

Harry shook his head. "I will never cease to be surprised by how much information you can gather, or how quickly you can get your hands on it."

Loki smiled, his eyes gleaming with pride as he accepted the compliment from his master.

"Maybe that's the surprise they were talking about." Brian wondered.

"Perhaps." Harry mulled over whether he should 'go to the bathroom' and summon his shade to ask it what happened last night, but decided otherwise. He was already on the way to Hogwarts, so it would only be a few hours until he found out anyway.

"So, what was your previous school like?" Hayate asked Brian, and before long, the entire compartment was chatting. They weren't bosom buddies, and there was still a lot of wariness on the side of Harry's familiars, but it wasn't as awkward as it had been when they first entered the compartment.

xxxxx

It became obvious, when they got off the train, that news about Harry's parents and 'family' had spread. Thankfully, due to all of his zombies scattered about the train, Harry wasn't as unprepared for it as he might otherwise have been. Brian and Rose, however, were once again unnerved by all of the looks and murmurs going on around them.

Harry laid a hand on their shoulders, making them jump as they looked questioningly at him. He gave them a light push towards where he could see Hagrid in the distance.

"Go with him, he'll take you to the castle. It's a different route usually used by first years that keys you into the wards. Don't worry, Fate, Hayate, and Nanoha are all going with you, this is new to them as well." Harry tried to be as encouraging as he could as he directed them towards the half-giant.

"Trying to ingratiate yourself to the Potter children?" Loki asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"It's a better idea than alienating them." Harry responded. "I don't need to make any more enemies, I'm fine with the number I have already."

"How... pragmatic." Loki smiled for a moment, before shifting into his raven form and alighting on Isis' shoulder.

The unicorn gave him an odd look, before she glanced at Bast, still in cat form, sat on Harry's head. She shook her head, muttering something inaudible under her breath, before following Harry into a thestral-drawn carriage.

The other two seats were soon filled by a pair of girls in Harry's year.

"Hello, Harry." One of them greeted, and it took a moment for Harry to recognise her.

"Sally-Anne." Harry returned the greeting. "You've changed, I almost didn't recognise you. I remember how shy you were when we first met, I'm glad that you seem far more confident and cheerful now."

"Thanks." Sally-Anne smiled, a slight dusting of pink on her cheeks. "But do you recognise my friend here?"

"Su Li, unless I'm mistaken." Harry rolled his eyes. "We do have some classes together, you know."

"Hello, Harry." Su Li greeted him, though she was far more demure than Sally-Anne was.

"Hello to you too." Harry tilted his head towards her.

"Hey, Harry, there's been some weird rumours going around that I've heard, and I was wondering..." Sally-Anne began, but trailed off.

"Rumours about the Potters being alive?" He asked. "I can tell you that's true, and that I've been disowned, though I don't know what else is really true or not." That was a lie, he knew more than he was letting on. "My name is Harry Ritter now." He added.

Isis looked at Sally-Anne curiously. "How've you heard rumours? No offence, but as a muggleborn, you wouldn't really have much access to the Wizarding World gossip networks."

She blushed. "I've got a subscription for the Daily Prophet, and I heard people talking when I went to Diagon Alley to get my school stuff."

"Ah?" Isis made a noise of curiosity. "What did you hear?"

Harry paid some attention as Sally-Anne talked, Su Li joining in every now and then, with Isis. However, Harry spent most of the short journey to the castle thinking over several things on his mind, not the least of which was how the Potters were going to act in regards to him, and how he might react to them.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that, when he walked into the Great Hall, it was only Isis' sharp intake of breath that made him release something was up.

He looked up to the tall female, and saw that her eyes were locked on something at the far end of the hall. Following her gaze, Harry also froze in place.

What the bloody hell were James and Lily Potter doing here?!

Without speaking, and without taking his eyes off the two adult Potters, Harry took a seat at the Ravenclaw table, Isis sitting next to him.

He didn't pay any attention to the chatter going on around him, and he only saw Mcgonagall leave to go and retrieve the first years out of the corner of his eye. When he saw the Sorting Hat, he immediately initiated a telepathic link with it and asked if it knew anything about what the hell was going on here!

~Well that's simple.~ The hat replied. ~The castle does have guest rooms for visitors and guests, and the headmaster is allowed to invite others here, though that usually referred to foreign dignitaries or important guests in the past. It's completely legal, if that is what you were wondering.~

~That's not it!~ Harry almost snapped at the hat, a building feeling of unease and, dare he say it, fear bubbling within him. He hadn't expected this at all. ~Why would Dumbledore ask them to stay in the school, I know for a fact that this wasn't something either of them were planning to do themselves.~

The hat seemed to consider things for a moment. ~I can't say much, you know that, but... there are people in the world who like to have control over things, and keep their cards close to their chest.~

Harry pondered over that as Mcgonagall brought the first years in, Brian, Fate, Nanoha, and Hayate following on behind them.

He did manage to bring his attention back to things long enough to see where the new students were sorted, taking note that Rose herself ended up in Gryffindor. After they were all sorted, Dumbledore stood up to make a small announcement.

"I have several things to say today, but for now, join me in welcoming some other new students to our wonderful school." The old man said. "They will be joining the third year, but first they must be sorted into their houses. I ask of you all to welcome them as you would anyone else."

"Fate Harlaown." Mcgonagall called out, and several whispers sprang up amongst the students when they saw her red eyes. Fate was Harry's friend though, and he was already considering several ways to stop negative rumours being spread about her.

"Ravenclaw!" The hat called out after a short wait, and the blonde girl stood up.

When she saw which table was clapping, she walked over and joined them, coincidentally settling on the other side of Harry from Isis.

"Brian Potter." Mcgonagall called out the next one, though Harry noticed there was a tinge of warmth in her tone of voice when she spoke. Perhaps she was remembering when James Potter was a child and saw something of him in Brian.

"Gryffindor!" The hat yelled after it was finished with Brian, who stood up and went to join his sister. The boy did, however, look uncomfortable with how the red and gold clad students seemed to want to crowd around him.

"Nanoha Takamachi." Mcgonagall, thankfully, didn't mangle the foreign name, though how she would deal with Hayate's had yet to be seen.

The hat spent a fairly long time on Nanoha's head, until eventually it decided on a house.

"Hufflepuff!" It declared.

Fate seemed a bit put out that Nanoha wouldn't be in the same house as her, but she cheered up again when Harry mentally told her that there was nothing stopping the two from spending time outside of class hours.

"Hayate Yagami." Mcgonagall, once again, managed to pronounce the Asian name properly.

"Hufflepuff!" The hat decided once more, though there was also a bit of a delay between the hat being put on her head and the house being decided.

Dumbledore then said a few words before the feast appeared, saving the announcements for after the food had been eaten.

Harry didn't pay much attention to what he was actually eating, simply waiting for it to be over and for explanations to be given.

It was only after the desserts vanished that the Headmaster once again got to his feet. The murmuring and conversation around the hall slowly quietened down until everyone was looking at the Headmaster, wondering what he was going to say.

"I have several announcements to give you, now that our delicious feast has been consumed." He said. "First, we have two new professors joining our ranks this year. Filling the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts is Remus Lupin." He indicated the shabby-looking man who was looking at the Potters with a strange expression on his face, and who was being glared at by Snape.

"As for our other appointment, when professor Kettleburn told me he wished to retire, I could think of no one more appropriate to ask to take his place than our very own Rubeus Hagrid." There was more applause this time, as Hagrid was well-liked by some of the student body, more so than an unknown man at least.

"Finally, we have some guests that are staying in the castle. James and Lily Potter will be around, and I expect you to give them the same level of courtesy that you do your professors, thank you." Dumbledore finished. "Now, off to bed with you all."

There was a lot of chatter as prefects began to attract the attention of first years in order to lead them to their house common rooms. Fate, for her part, decided to follow Harry instead of the younger children. He lead her through several secret passageways in order to get there before the first years.

When they got to the entrance, he explained having to answer a riddle to get in.

"What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years?" The knocker asked.

"It can't be literal." Fate said, thinking aloud, seeing Harry looking at her. "A minute, a moment... what's the same? They're units of time and both begin with M... It's the letter M, isn't it?"

"Correct, young Mage." The knocker confirmed, before the entrance opened.

"It called me a mage?" Fate asked in surprise.

"It calls me a mage knight, and I have yet to get a satisfactory answer as to why." Harry replied. "Now come on, let's get inside before the first years turn up."

Fate followed Harry into Ravenclaw tower, specifically the common room, where there was a handful of people already there, some of them chatting, some doing last minute summer homework, and others playing a game of chess or something before bed.

Harry indicated the doorway into the head boy's rooms. "You'll find me and this lot in there, I'll set the password to Mid Childa as soon as I'm inside." He then indicated the stairs leading upwards. "Up that way are the girls' rooms dormitories, and the guys' dormitories are up the other set of stairs. One of the doors will have 'Third Years' on it, so that'll be the one you need."

"Good night." Fate near-whispered, before heading off alone up the stairs.

He thought she'd do fine, Arf would be waiting for her up there at least, and everyone else was merely a telepathic communication away.

Harry, still with Bast sat on his head in cat form, and Isis, who still had Loki sat on her shoulder as a raven, entered the head boy suite. Once inside, Harry spelled the door silent, and after a sweep for eavesdropping spells, he finally did what he had wanted to do for over an hour now.

He put his hands on his head and screamed with frustration.

Having seen the signs that something was stressing him out, his familiars weren't too surprised by this outburst. However, they were concerned when he began to pace backwards and forwards across the room, muttering things under his breath, his eyes gaining a somewhat worrying look to them as he did so.

Reinforce decided to address the problem by materialising directly in Harry's path, making him walk right into her chest.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down to the bed, her face etched with concern.

"Guess seeing the Potters really set him off, eh?" Isis asked quietly.

Loki took off from her shoulder, transforming back into his regular form, but his expression was grim, and that made Isis think that there was far more to it than what she'd read into the situation. Of course, she decided to ask Loki to enlighten her as to what the problem was.

"The Potters are guests of the castle, of Dumbledore himself." Loki replied. "It might not look like much, but in terms of politics, Dumbledore has just essentially thrown his own weight behind the two of them. In reality, it's more likely that he's simply trying to keep everything where he can see it, and possibly solidifying his grasp on the Potter family, but that doesn't change how it'll look from the outside."

"So this means bad things for Harry then." Isis condensed it down into the important bit.

"Very bad things for our case." Loki confirmed. "Dumbledore has immense pull in the Wizarding World. Even without his defeat of Gellert Grindlewald, which alone would give him some power, he's also worked with Nicholas Flamel, one of the most famous people in the entire magical world, and that association gives him some more influence. On top of that, he is both Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards."

"So really not good then." Isis looked sadly at Harry, before joining Reinforce in cuddling him.

Loki wasn't finished though. "The ICW might only be Europe and a few other countries, but that's still nothing to sneeze at. It doesn't help things that Dumbledore has been part of the Hogwarts staff since Nineteen Twenty-Five, and has been the Headmaster since Nineteen Fifty-Six. That means that several generations of students have all known the man as, at the very least, a teacher and that gives Dumbledore a lot of influence; perhaps more so than anything else."

"I'm screwed." Harry finally decided to speak up. "Completely buggered."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Isis asked hesitantly.

Harry gave her a dead look. "Isis, it is well known that Severus Snape took the dark mark and was a member of Riddle's inner circle, yet here he is, teaching children. For goodness sake, he didn't even get a trial!"

Loki sighed, and decided to show Isis just how much influence Dumbledore has. "Igor Karkaroff, a death eater, gave a list of names to the DMLE in return for letting him go. One of those names was Severus Snape. Instead of trying him, they did nothing. Do you know why?"

Isis shook her head, despite knowing that Loki would continue anyway.

"They left him alone because Dumbledore stood up and said that Snape was actually his man, and that he had his full trust." Loki finished. "That's it. No proof was given, it wasn't even asked for. On Dumbledore's word alone, Severus Snape avoided Azkaban, and was even given a job."

"Wait, no punishment, nothing at all?" Isis looked rather shocked by that.

"Absolutely none." Loki nodded. "Despite having cast at least two of the Unforgivable Curses, Snape did not even get a fine, not even a slap on the wrist, all because Albus Dumbledore stood up for him."

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Isis complained.

"Don't do that here, our master needs comforting, and I doubt vomiting on him is going to help." Loki dryly stated.

Isis threw him a mild glare, before returning to comforting Harry. The boy looked, for lack of a better term, scared, and for good reason.

That would be how he fell asleep that night, wrapped up in the arms of both Reinforce and Isis, watched over by Loki, and with Bast curled up on top of him in cat form.

Forget stressful, this year was looking to be downright dreadful.