Harry found his time at the Dursley's was the best he'd had. When it first happened to come up that he was a wizard, the rest of the family had been almost too afraid to do anything to him. Now they were terrified to let him stay in his room too long, and none of them would dare go near him. It was a sweet victory after the last several years, and he had thank you notes written for the Malfoys.
At eleven in the morning at the two week mark, Harry was in his room finishing up his homework. Now that he didn't have these things to worry about, he had nothing to do, and after a year with Hermione he was now paranoid to get behind with homework and wanted it done as quickly as possible. He had set aside his 15 page potion essay after reading it for the third time, and sat back in bed. Only to pop right back up as a soft knock came from his door.
He stood and walked over to the door semi-eagerly, because it could be his aunt wondering when his 'evil friend' would be there (again), or it could be his evil friend. Not that Draco was evil, but to Petunia he was, and calling Draco evil to Petunia was lovely, because she became pale and green at the idea of it.
He discovered it was indeed Draco behind the door. He saw the beginnings of a grin on Draco's face, and then he was suddenly gone, and Harry was squeezed impossibly tight. Harry wondered where his parents were that allowed Draco to do this, but he wasn't going to stop the blond.
"Two weeks is considerably too long after spending an entire year together." Draco said as he hugged Harry. Harry smiled brightly at the rush of positive emotions he felt from Draco; he hadn't realized how much he'd missed such touches until then. It was a welcomed want that he would hold on to, quite literally, until Draco let go.
"So, there's someone waiting for you when we return home." Draco continued softly as they walked down stairs. Harry was greeted with the sight of Lucius barring the Dursley's in the living room, and Narcissa waving them around the aristocratic blond. His aunt and uncle hid Dudley behind them, likely in a sour memory of Hagrid, and glared beady eyes at them as they walked out.
Surprisingly, Harry's suitcase appeared beside Lucius, and a strange creature popped in with it. He wore a sack for a shirt, had large bat ears, just as large green eyes, and stood at half of Harry's height. He stared at Harry just as interested as Harry stared at him, but disappeared when Lucius knocked him gently with his cane.
"Nice talk." Lucius told the Dursleys, who looked like the idea of a nice talk was anything but existent with him, and walked out behind the three of them.
"Who's waiting for me?" Harry asked once the door was closed.
"Severus Snape." Narcissa answered.
Harry didn't get any other responses from the three as they walked a ways down the street. His questions turned from Snape to where they were going, because they weren't going to walk home were they? Before he could ask that question Narcissa grabbed his shoulder. Draco grabbed his father's sleeve at the same time, and Harry had the strange experience of feeling as if he was squeezed through a tube. It lasted only a second, but it was a second too long in Harry's opinion. He gasped for air when he landed in what he assumed was the Malfoy sun-room, and if it wasn't for Narcissa holding him he would have fallen over.
The room was immediately categorized as the sun-room because of the bright light coming in from the dome window against the back wall. There was a lengthy, low, table down the room with a spillage of chairs along it. Four plushy chairs sat in the dome of the light, with a little table between the four of them. The walls were a bright marble in color and were lined with books. Harry changed his opinion of sun-room into library at the sight of high ceilings filled to the brim with books.
In the library, over by the plushy chairs, in a suit as black as his teaching robes, was Severus Snape. Harry thought it was both surprising and not at all surprising that Professor Snape didn't change appearances outside of school. The way the professor watched him was new though; he stared at Harry like he was an enigma he didn't want to crack. He looked like he didn't want to be here.
"Harry," Lucius said to catch the young boy's attention. Harry turned his attention to Lucius, and the blond crouched down to eye level with Harry. "Severus is going to ask you questions. Be patient, don't become assumptious, and don't hide anything. You're safe here."
Harry very much doubted Lucius, only because he hadn't been able to feel the man when they shook hands, but Narcissa and Draco backed him, and they had only ever felt positive, so he was going to listen.
"Yes sir. Am I in trouble?" Harry asked. There was a derisive snort from the man behind him, but none of the Malfoys said yes.
"When you're done Severus will show you to my room. We have a bedroom set up for you next to mine." Draco told him as his parents left. Harry didn't know what to feel about any of that. He had his own bed? In a separate room? This place felt huge, he would bet the smallest room would still be bigger than the Dursleys living room.
Draco left soon after, and Harry turned to face Snape. The man sat down in the plushy chair, and waved his hand to one of the three around him without looking up. He was writing something on a paper; what that was, Harry wanted to know. Harry sat down across from him, ramrod straight.
"Lucius and Narcissa has lent me an ear about your possible home arrangement. As a professor, it's my duty to know that my students have safe and happy living environments." Professor Snape said stiffly across from Harry. Harry didn't know if the man was stiff because he was alone with Harry, or because he was alone with Harry. He also didn't know exactly how much the Malfoys told him, or how much was allowed to be spoken. He knew his home life was unfair, but he didn't think it warranted a second looking, especially from a teacher who was on his way to hating Harry.
"What do you want to know?" Harry asked, just as stiffly. The older man cleared his throat awkwardly, and looked up at Harry. Harry felt a bit see through even as the professor stared right into his eyes.
"Are you abused or neglected inside or under any circumstances within your household?" Professor Snape asked. Harry was even more awkward then. It's not like his aunt and uncle ignored him. They didn't neglect him, they just...
"I slept in a cupboard under the stairs until my first letter to Hogwarts. It wasn't like I was ignored... I was let out often to do chores, make food, and I would leave the house whenever my aunt and uncle left and they didn't have a babysitter for me. I went to school for education, I was given the clothes of my cousin, when it was discovered I needed glasses they got me them." Harry listed off. Professor Snape wrote down what he said as he spoke, and it made Harry feel like he was on trial. The Slytherin's face never changed from impassive, and his pose never shifted from a semi-comfortable sit. Professor Snape circled a few things he wrote down before he asked more.
"Tell me about your 'cupboard'." Professor Snape ordered. Harry sat up straight as he inhaled, and then he let it out in a whoosh.
"It's a little taller than I am. It had a bed that took up the entire space and a bookshelf for me to put little knick knacks I'd gotten from Dudley. There was a light above my head, my clothes were under my bed... There's not much to say about it." Harry finished. Severus wrote more down, and now Harry could see a change in his face. His brow was furrowed.
"The door to this cupboard?" Professor Snape inquired. Harry wondered why he asked such a specific question, and shrugged.
"White door. Had a lock on it from the outside so I didn't sneak around at night," Harry said blankly. "Professor, I was moved into a room after I got my Hogwarts letter."
The professor wrote more information down before he spoke once again.
"The chores, did you share them with your family? What were they?" Professor Snape asked. Harry was lost on why it mattered. He would have questioned it had the entire Malfoy family not told him of Professor Snape and asked him to be compliant.
"They did some..." Harry trailed off, and watched how Professor Snape watched him. He decided to explain this. "How it was, was that they took me in after Professor Dumbledore left me on the porch one night. In return for having a home, I did all the chores and made the food. I cleaned the house: scrubbed the toilet, swept the floors, weeded the garden, repainted what was needed, picked up after Dudley, made the beds, did the laundry and dishes; I cooked the meals for them."
"How much of the food that you made did you eat? Did you have any help?" Professor Snape asked as he wrote some stuff down. Harry licked his lips as he remembered the foods he'd made.
"I got leftovers, if I got anything from the meals I made. Most of the time my meal was separate from theirs. I did have help until I was tall enough to reach the stove," Harry answered shortly. Professor Snape looked up at him, and then back down at his paper. "Sir, I wasn't abused. They didn't hit me or starve me."
"What is the size difference between you and your cousin? Is he older than you?" The professor asked instead. Harry was half ready to reject his question, which Snape noticed. "Potter... Harry, please. I'm trying to get all the facts to see if you need help. I know it feels like an interrogation, but nothing bad is going to happen to you with this information."
That was what Harry needed to continue and not blow up. He took a deep breath and relaxed back into his seat.
"Dudley and I are the same age. He's fat, like a baby elephant. Any clothes he outgrew I got. They were usually massively too big." Harry admitted. To prove it, Harry stood up to show the baggy grey sweater he had, and then lifted that shirt up to show the pants staying on only because of a belt. Snape stared at him for a long time, and then wrote what he said down. He paused somewhere in his writing.
"You said you lived with your aunt and uncle?" Professor Snape asked. Harry nodded. "Who are they?"
"Um... Petunia and Vernon Dursley." Harry answered. The quill Snape held snapped, and Harry jumped. The professor tossed the quill away and grabbed a new one. He wrote something down, but Harry felt like he faced a much more angry man.
"Harry, I'm about to get more specific. I need you to be honest with these answers. If you need a calming potion at any point, I can administer one to you. Do you understand?" Professor Snape asked. His voice sounded different. The steel edge was gone, and he looked at Harry with something the kid had never seen on the professor's face.
"I understand. I don't need a potion." Harry answered quickly. Professor Snape looked down and read over all he wrote.
"You say your relatives never hit you, did they ever bully you?" The man asked. Severus Snape knew first hand that the term abuse was used in highest of ways. Most kids knew bullying when they saw it, but never abuse.
"My aunt and uncle never bullied me... My cousin did. He and his friends would search for me in school, they call it "Harry Hunting"." Harry said briefly, stiffly.
"Did you continue to be bullied at home?" Professor Snape asked calmly.
"Dudley did. His parents never stopped him, they always said he was playing around." Harry answered. This time Severus Snape could pick up on the disdain in the young boy's voice. He knew Harry was aware that it wasn't playing around, but Harry had probably stopped trying to tell anyone. Why would Snape believe him where no one else had?
"Did they ever buy you stuff?" Professor Snape continued. He dropped the topic to continue the rest of the investigation, but he wrote it down. He hoped Harry would pick up on that. The boy could be bright if he used his brain.
"Yes." Harry answered easily. Professor Snape didn't write anything down with his answer.
"What did they buy you?" He asked. Harry didn't understand why Snape wanted to know what they bought, but then, he didn't understand a couple other questions the man had asked either.
"My glasses." Harry answered. It was all he could say, because it was the only thing Harry could remember they bought him. Snape raised an eyebrow, and still didn't write anything.
"Did you ever receive gifts or treats?" The older man asked. Harry thought for a moment.
"Whenever I went out with them and they needed to. Like on Dudley's birthday last year, I went with them because the babysitter got sick, and they got ice cream. The ice cream man noticed me and asked if I wanted anything. My uncle got me a lemon pop." Harry explained. Professor Snape wrote that down, and Harry thought he'd appeased the man.
"Was it the cheapest thing on the menu?" Professor Snape asked next. Harry deflated, and nodded. Harry nodded a yes to his next question as well: "Were your glasses the cheapest they could get?"
Harry didn't know why the cost of anything mattered. Professor Snape didn't know why no one mentioned this sooner. He wondered why none of the teachers noticed and said something, and why it had to be the Malfoys that noticed. Why hadn't Minerva? Why hadn't Albus? Why had Albus put Harry with Lily's sister, when Albus knew first hand from Lily that Petunia had hated the fact she was a witch?
"Harry... It seems I misjudged everything about who you are, and I have a lot to explain about why I am going to do everything in my power to keep you from returning to your muggle family." Professor Snape said slowly. Harry sat upright at those words, and suddenly he was anxious.
"They aren't going to get in trouble are they? They didn't do anything wrong." Harry quickly defended. Professor Snape raised his eyebrow once more. He set the paper down and leaned forwards towards Harry, and the Gryffindor copied him.
"Harry listen closely. Have you ever seen another parent treat their kid -or nephew- as your aunt and uncle treated you?" Professor Snape asked, deathly quiet. Harry stared back at the man and saw the ire, but he didn't know who it was directed at.
"No. But I was placed on their doorstep. They didn't choose me." Harry defended.
"They don't have to choose you to take care of you. You were not a burden on them. You were not trouble to them. You were not a danger to them or their friends. You were a kid that they should have raised alongside their own son. You should not of had to live in a cupboard until your Hogwarts letter. You should not of had to cook all their meals or do all their chores. You are family, not a slave." Snape finished suddenly, and passionately. It was a tone Harry had only heard once, when he spoke reverently about the abilities of potion making.
"What does it mean?" Harry asked, too confused to figure out the pieces. Snape sighed, and slowly, almost like it pained him to do so, he dropped down to kneel in front of Harry. Harry felt like it was a deliberate move to make him comfortable.
"It means that they treated you wrong, and I won't let them get a second chance to treat you better. When it comes to a matter like this, no one gets a second chance." Severus Snape told the green-eyed boy. He raised his hand and held it awkwardly in the air for a moment, before he placed it down on Harry's hand.
A glittering warm tone filled Harry's mind. It didn't bring any particular emotions, it was just a consistent, almost pleasant feeling in his head. It felt almost back burner, like everything with Snape was less active and more in the back of the mind. That immediate emotion of glittered warmth was flickered about with very brief emotions of positive respect, then negative hatred, and back again. It seemed, to Harry, that his relationship with Severus Snape from here on out was going to be almost non-existent, but he knew he could count on the man. He bet the mix of positive and negative was going to be classes or one on one experiences. None of it strayed into a more personal approach.
Then, near the end, before the cycle repeated, was a strong surge of trust that tapered off to where Harry's ability couldn't continue. It didn't go to the end of a lifetime, it only went a certain number of years into the future. He wasn't sure how far into the future it went, but he knew every year that passed, the amount of time he could see into the future increased. When he turned nine he could finally see farther than a year, because that's when he could feel his teachers disappear from his life early in the school year.
"I trust you." Harry whispered. Severus Snape stared back solemnly.
The two left the room a time later, after Severus had told Harry how he was going to go to the Ministry of Magic to start a court case against the Dursleys. He'd asked Harry to think of some of the worse situations his family had put him through, and then put his wand to Harry's temple. Harry had the rather startling sight of seeing a wisp of white magic come from his head in thin strands, and Severus Snape had explained that they were his memories, and would be used to build a case.
Harry thought he'd had enough revelations about magic for one day. He'd teleported, seen his memories get pulled out of his head, and watched Severus Snape actually become decent towards him. He thought a nice long nap would help him. Until he saw Draco run for them, and watching Draco run was a new sight.
"I thought you two had killed each other." Draco panted as he stopped. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow at the pureblood, and Harry felt out of the loop.
"Why did you think that?" Harry asked. Draco took a deep breath to get his breathing under control again, and corrected his outfit.
"Because you've been gone for four hours. It's three in the afternoon. You missed lunch." Draco answered. Harry blanched at losing so much time. Harry could barely stand a double potions with Professor Snape, and now he spent the same amount of time with him and had completely missed the time pass.
"Harry Potter is safe, Draco. Did the three of you vial your memories?" Severus Snape asked. Draco nodded easily.
"Yes. They're all waiting for you at the floo." Draco responded. Harry wondered what a floo was then, and then noped it for later time.
"Good, then if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the ministry." Severus Snape told them, and promptly strolled off. The pair watched the professor walk away with billowing robes almost like his school robes. Except this time he felt more flighty, as if he was speed walking away.
"What's a floo?" Harry asked as Draco began to walk the way he'd come. He saddled in beside Draco, and it suddenly felt like they were in Hogwarts again.
"You had one in your living room," Draco replied. Harry squinted his eyes as he tried to remember something called a floo in his home. Perhaps it was one of those memories Snape took. Draco squashed that idea. "Oh wait, yours is probably a regular fireplace. A floo is a way of transportation via fireplace. It's easier than disapperating to a place when you aren't keyed into the ward."
"So that thing we did when we came here, that was disapparating?" Harry asked. Draco nodded like a bobble head, and walked Harry into what he assumed was Draco's room.
It wasn't as big as he expected. Granted it was indeed larger than the Dursley's living room, but it wasn't so big that everything felt too spaced apart. There was a full sized, poster board bed made of light colored wood and dark emerald bedding; a long table under a large window that was covered in books and what looked like a potion set; a couch that was burgundy red with emerald stitchings in front of a red oak table and on top of a cream colored carpet. There were bookshelves half full, only the uppermost were filled with what looked like kids books and first year books. On one wall were posters of a green robe wearing Quidditch Team from Bulgaria and a poster of a wizarding band called "Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls", on another was a spell enchantment of what Harry thought the night sky looked like, and the third wall was bare, which Harry thought was strange.
"It's so normal." Harry said aloud, to himself. Draco looked around his room as well, and then over to Harry.
"What did you expect?" He asked humorously. He jumped on the couch as he continued. "Tall chambers with a king bed, pictures of all my ancestors watching me sleep, a deep set chair in front of an iron table, walls lined with potions and spell books, maybe a dark alcove to read in?"
"Add a bit of Slytherin there and you got yourself a deal." Harry answered as he plopped down next to Draco. The blond laughed at him, or maybe at what he said.
"That was my grandfather's room. His room is on the other side of the house." Draco told him. Harry aahed at that, as he continued to look around.
"So... your grandfather lives here?" Harry asked. Draco shook his head, and sat up to be proper again.
"He'd died during the Wizarding War with You-Know-Who. I never met him, and father doesn't talk about him, I just know his room is preserved." Draco said. Harry bumped shoulders with him, a silent apology for bringing it up. "Do you want food?"
No sooner had he said that did the same creature from before wink into existence. Except now he had blue eyes instead of green. Harry scratched the idea of it being the same one and decided it was a different one.
"Toory at your service, young master." The creature said, and bowed so low its ears touched the floor. Draco humphed at the creature, as if its appearance didn't surprise him.
"Some of lunch for Harry." Draco told the creature. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, and then it was back with food. It set the tray of food on the table before them, and disappeared for the last time.
"What was that?" Harry asked as he picked up a fish chip. Draco blinked a few times, and then made an 'oh' face.
"I have got to teach you about the wizarding world..." Draco muttered. "That's a house elf. Toory is my house elf specifically. We have about five of them, and they do their individual chores. One for each of us, one that cooks, one that cleans."
"Are they paid?" Harry asked. Draco nodded, and stole a cherry from the plate Harry had.
"I mean, some are. Some don't want to be paid. House elves love to serve wizards and witches, and without a master to serve they can go... mad." Draco explained easily. Harry nodded along to what Draco said. It sounded like it made sense, and he couldn't see a flaw. Some creatures in the wizarding world probably did just love to serve. They had things like Fluffy after all.
Harry finished his food and Draco showed him around the mansion. It took the better part of an hour, but eventually Harry at least knew how to get from the kitchen to his designated room without getting lost. He never saw the library again, or Lucius or Narcissa, but he was introduced to white peacocks. They were... docile. Sort of like what Harry thought a cat would be like with unknown people. They came for a pet and ran away waving their tail feathers, and then back around. It was clear to Harry that Draco enjoyed this dance, because he laughed anytime they did it.
By the end of the first week, Harry had a decent layout of the place, and a good basis on the foundation of the wizarding world. He was glad his homework was done, because the three Malfoys were keen to get him up to date with wizarding rules. When it wasn't propriety with Lucius it was financials with Narcissa; when it wasn't financials with Narcissa, it was dress code with Draco. When he wasn't being taught anything though, he would find himself eating with a happy, albeit quiet family, or sitting and laughing with Draco so loud that Lucius could hear it from his study. On the top floor. Still, Harry thought the parents didn't mind, because they always smiled at the two of them.
By the second week, Harry felt good about everything. He'd grasped the basics of what they wanted to teach, and was rewarded with a new wardrobe. He convinced Narcissa and Draco to try a muggle mall shop, and had the time of his life as he watched them scour the racks of clothes for hours, across many stores. They bought what they liked, and Harry was happy when Narcissa came out in fuzzy pajama bottoms under her sleep robes that evening. Draco wore a muggle shirt with a snake on the front, as the "epitome of cliche Slytherin", with his dress pants. Harry thought it was funny to watch them grasp the concept of muggle clothes, but not muggle fashion. He'd let out an actual laugh when he saw Lucius wander around with a denim jacket he had no idea how he got.
In the third week into his stay Harry knew how to greet, speak, and dress for certain occasions like the back of his hand, and understood basics in wizarding finances and how the ministry handled such things; they didn't go into depth with it though, he was only 11 and was years away from taking his own title. Now he learned the basic waltz, which was the bane of his existence. Though, to be fair, dancing with Narcissa wasn't all that bad. She was definitely far taller than he, and much better sculpted in her steps, but she led him slowly and with patience. If he stepped on her feet a few times, he was too light to cause her harm.
Draco cackling in the corner wasn't appreciated though. Harry knew every time he made a mistake because Draco would cackle. Eventually Narcissa stopped them and put Draco in Harry's place, to show Harry his steps from an outside perspective. He was to follow the steps as he knew, but with no partner, and watch Draco. It required less foot stepping, and more movement so he could get his kicks out.
Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy came into the ballroom that afternoon. With them was a professional witch with a stern face, a goblin, and an old woman in a vulture hat that they knew to be Augusta Longbottom. Unlike before, Augusta didn't look stern, she looked placid, as if she was non-verbally waving a peace flag. She watched Harry with eyes he thought bordered misty, and it concerned him.
"Lucius?" Narcissa asked cautiously. She and Draco stopped dancing, and she put herself in front of Draco and Harry. Lucius stood stock still, but nodded once to his wife. Whatever that meant had Narcissa relaxing, and she pushed Harry before her.
"Harry James Potter, we need your verbal consent. Will you allow Augusta Longbottom to be your guardian?" The Ministry Official -a woman with tight black hair and strong features- asked.
"What about my aunt and uncle?" Harry asked, almost too afraid to speak. Had they been hurt? What did Severus Snape do to them?
"They have been tried and found guilty of child neglect among a list of other charges I wouldn't want to mention, because they could upset you." The same official said.
"They aren't in prison are they?" Harry asked, now alarmed at the idea. What about Dudley? What if he became orphaned like Harry? He didn't want to do that to his cousin, even if he was a bully.
"No. They have lost all rights to you though. They cannot see, hear, or even sniff you until you give them permission." The official answered.
"Why Augusta Longbottom? Wouldn't there have been a vote or adoption that happened?" Narcissa asked. Harry hadn't even thought of that. He'd only met the woman once, why was he going to her. Instead of, say, the Malfoys, who he already pretty much lived with, or even Severus Snape, who had expressed concern for Harry's wellbeing last he saw him.
"We pulled out the Potter's wills," The woman answered, and from nowhere pulled out a scroll. "And learned that Harry had godparents, should something happen to his parents. Sirius Black, of House Black, and Alice Longbottom, of House Longbottom."
That clearly meant something to Narcissa, but it didn't to Harry. Who was Sirius Black? He knew who Alice was, she was Neville's mom, and she was stuck in Saint Mungo's psych ward with her husband.
"Why didn't I go to Sirius Black?" Harry asked. That certainly made everyone in the room uncomfortable, and Harry thought the worst. Sirius Black was probably dead, just like his parents.
"Harry," Severus said, and Harry looked at him. "Do you want to go with Augusta Longbottom? You'll be with your friend Neville."
Harry hadn't considered that. Of course Augusta was Neville's guardian. He hadn't heard much about the woman, except that she was exceptionally strict and proper minded. Neville said she doted too much and wanted him to be like his father. Which was more than he could say for his family.
He looked at Augusta Longbottom, who had become more misty eyed as the time went on. He walked over to her, and decided to let his ability choose for him.
"We never formally met, I'm Harry Potter." He said, and put his hand forward for a handshake. Augusta stared down at him, and she sniffled.
"Augusta Longbottom, at your service." She said quietly, and shook his hand.
He felt wary, though he understood that. Augusta Longbottom was a scary witch, of course he'd be wary of her. That wariness didn't last long though. It changed, rather abruptly, into a comfortable, companionable feeling. He could feel phantom hugs, and he felt warm like a cloud. There was laughter, and stern scolds, and he was never left cold. There were moments of defiance farther down the line, but they were nothing he should be concerned of.
"If I had known you were the son of Lily and James I would have stayed longer on the platform," Augusta said finally. "They were great friends to my son and daughter-in-law."
It was a metaphorical goldenseal to Harry. She'd known his parents, in a personal way only a few people he'd met thus far knew them.
"I'll live with you, if you will have me." Harry whispered. Augusta smiled warmly at him, and she pulled him into a one armed hug.
"Always," She whispered. She stood back up and allowed Harry to step away from her. "What time does he need to leave?"
It was a tone Harry had recently learned from listening to Narcissa, one that meant "mother-mode" was on. It put an easy smile on his face, and his head became fuzzy. Though maybe that was from suspended touch with Augusta.
"We were willing to let him stay the entire summer after we learned about his family. I don't think he and Draco are willing to part just yet." Lucius answered. Augusta looked over at the aristocrat, and then down at Harry.
"How's to the end of the month, hmm? You can come back on Neville's birthday," Augusta offered Harry. She turned to Narcissa without waiting for Harry to nod yes. "Draco can spend some time at the Longbottom House, if you would be so kind. Neville has been lonely and I'm sure he misses his friends."
A twinkle invaded Lucius' eye, and they knew why. To have friends in the Longbottom and Potter houses would be a big deal. It would be a friendship of the ages, and could put the Malfoy name in a lighter light.
"Please, mum?" Draco asked, suddenly eager to see Neville.
"We'll discuss it over the upcoming weeks." Lucius answered. Narcissa agreed with her husband, and that ended that.
"So I go home to the Longbottom's House?" Harry asked. Augusta nodded from where she now stood beside the ministry official. "What about my aunt and uncle?"
"Nothing will happen to them." The official said.
"He will never see them again." Severus told Albus Dumbledore hours later. Albus Dumbledore was shocked after he heard all Severus had to say, and rightly so. He'd never heard of this the last few weeks, Severus had kept it under wraps the entire time.
"Severus... He needs to live with them. There's a blood ward on that house." Albus told Severus, once he'd finally been able to think of something to say. Severus' expression never changed from its dour pose, but he held himself up a bit higher.
"That blood ward didn't protect him from his family, which is more important than a few death eaters that could have come back ten years later." Severus answered sternly. Albus stared, a bit too lost at the moment to come up with something.
"Why wasn't I told?" He asked. That shook him out of his surprise a bit. He stood up and rounded the table to see Severus better. "Why did no one tell me?"
"I wanted to keep it as quiet as possible. If news got out about the Dursleys abused Harry Potter, they would not have lived to see tomorrow," Severus answered. "And... I knew if you were told you would try to stop it."
"Of course I would! He needs Petunia for protection." Albus blurted loudly.
"He needed protection from Petunia!" Severus said right back. "You knew from Lily that that woman was a menace to our kind."
"Not to a little boy though." Albus defended, with half the heart. Severus leaned forward slightly with a heavy sneer along his face.
"Especially to a little boy! You can see the memories for yourself, since you have access. We have many from Harry Potter, and a few from the Malfoys. They truly are a Slytherin family, Draco got to see where Harry slept. It. Was not. Pretty." Severus sneered. Albus watched the Slytherin Head of House defend Harry, and he realized he couldn't have won this. Severus would have taken it to as many people as it took, even to the Daily Prophet, if it had meant Harry got away from those Muggles. He clearly saw a need to do that, if it meant that Harry was out of the situation. It was worse than Dumbledore would have expected from the muggles. He'd thought they would raise Harry as their own. It never occurred to him that the Dursleys would hate magic so much as to hurt a boy.
"I didn't know." Albus whispered. Severus didn't stop sneering, but he leaned away from Albus.
"It's a good thing the Malfoys did. From the memories, his life would have only gotten worse once he got back if they hadn't stuck their authority into it." Severus answered. The grizzled wizard didn't know what to say about that either.
"Where is Harry going? Lucius Malfoy?" Albus asked, just as alarmed by the prospect of Harry growing up with an ex- Death Eater.
"Augusta Longbottom. Alice was Harry's godmother apparently." Severus responded easily, and waved his hand like he was swatting a fly. Albus watched him, and could only think that the look into Harry's home life had brought out the Potter Wills.
"She's a good woman for him to go to. She'll treat him alright." Albus muttered, because there was nothing else he could do.
