Invisible

Chapter 21

Seeing the Truth and Dealing with it

Harry woke up extremely early, at only five o'clock in the morning, and the sun wasn't even up yet. He sat outside on the balcony admiring the beautiful scenery of Prince Manor. He had yet to see the horses or truly explore the grounds, so he decided today he would since it was his day off. He had been there for almost a week now, and while the schedule was as busy as anything, Harry loved it. A slight pinging noise had him going over to the bedside cabinet to look at the two-way diary sitting in the drawer and saw it glowing faintly, showing it had a message. Grinning slightly, he picked up the book and a quill and made his way over to the balcony once more. Flipping the diary open, he read Viktor's message.

Morning Harry, I know it's early and you probably won't get this for a few more hours. We've just Portkeyed to Paris. It's beautiful at this time of year. We are going to be playing against the Wimblewasps. They are a good team but their Keeper isn't the best. So what are you going to be doing today?

Harry shook his head in amusement; the majority of their conversations were centered around Quidditch. As fun as their relationship had been, it would never have worked. Sure Harry liked Quidditch, but he wasn't a fanatic like Viktor was; also Harry wanted a constant in his life, not someone who would be away the majority of the time. He had been abandoned by his parents so much that the thought of a relationship like that made him shudder. No, Harry wanted someone who would be there for him, not taking off every week for anything—especially not Quidditch. Harry knew he would rather be alone than put up with such a relationship. It had been hard for Harry to remember that Viktor would leave, because most of the year had been almost perfect. Apart from being added into the Goddamned Tournament then left for dead by his brother, anyway.

Despite that, he still enjoyed conversations with the older teen, so wrote back happily.

Hey, Paris? Wow, is it sunny? I hope so. Nothing worse than attending a Quidditch game in the pouring rain! It's Sunday so I've got the day to myself. I think I'll go see the horses in the Prince stable. Good luck with the game!

Yes it is very hot! Be careful, horses are very temperamental creatures and can sense any fear. How are you though, Harry? Honestly! Just because we cannot be with one another it doesn't mean you cannot talk to me. I'll always be here for you, just remember that. How's the Apprenticeship coming along?

Harry stared at the page deep in thought before replying three minutes later.

I'm alright all things considered; I've just realized what I've taken on being the main head of the house. Plus, with how the Potters treated me coming out…my godfather, Sirius Black, got in touch with me and I've only just sent a reply. I wanted to tell him what I thought, but I decided just to send him a polite reply. At least someone regrets it. My parents, though...probably care about the loss of money more than anything else! I got my half of the Tri-Wizard winnings, so that's probably made Nick even angrier. It feels good to finally get one over them, you know?

Yes, I can understand how you would feel good getting one over them. As I've said before, Harry, they deserve everything they get. What they did to you was wrong, you know that, especially considering how they even treated your own sister better than you. You are different from them all, and that I consider a very good thing! You don't really have to worry about head of the house responsibilities until you are seventeen. Even if you truly were the last head of the family it would be the same. If you need help I will be happy to. I am now the head of my family, but I have given over the duties to my father until he dies or I finish my Quidditch career. I've had three years of lessons for what was expected of me. It took so long mostly because of my Quidditch lessons. I have to go, my manager is here, time to train—talk again soon.

Sighing softly, Harry closed the book. He knew the Bulgarians did things differently, so getting written lessons about their government wouldn't help him any, but it was nice of him to offer. He wasn't about to ask Severus for any more lessons—the man was sacrificing his entire week for him as it was. Perhaps he could just read some books on proper wizarding customs and law in Britain. That decided, he put the two-way diary back in the drawer and got dressed. The house was silent as he walked towards the library; then again, it was always quiet at Prince Manor, really. When he opened the door, the fire on the far side of the library, away from the books and beside a selection of high-backed armchairs and tables, flared to life. It instantly warmed the room and made it glow a soft amber color.

He spent the next ten minutes browsing the books, and finding the section he needed, he read the prefaces of them to find the ones most suited to him. He didn't plan on reading anything yet, just on making sure there were some there for when he did read them. He wasn't going to spend his free days reading those kinds of books, especially since each and every one of them was quite thick in size. It would take him about a week, he reckoned, to read just one. Finally, he found the first one most suited to him, so went over to the table by the entrance where the book sign-out ledger sat and wrote down the book he was taking. It hadn't been used in years by the look of it, but Harry viewed himself as a guest there, so he would do things properly. That done, he took himself and the book back to his bedroom, placing it on his table beside a long line of others.

"Breakfast is ready, Master Peverell," said a House Elf as it popped into Harry's room.

Harry looked at the clock in surprise. "I'll be down in a minute, thank you," said Harry, smiling softly at the House Elf as he remembered something else he had to do.

"Of course, Master Peverell," agreed the House Elf, then popped away.

"Dobby?" called Harry for the first time since the trial.

"Yes Master Peverell?" squeaked Dobby, his eyes wide and full of adoration.

"What have you been up to?" asked Harry curiously.

"Awaiting your call, Master Peverell!" said Dobby adamantly.

"Have you been eating?" asked Harry, alarmed.

"Yes, Sir," said Dobby, his huge head bobbing up and down quickly.

"This is where I will be staying for some time, Dobby. If none of the other House Elves mind, would you stay here? Just until I have a home of my own that you can live in?" asked Harry.

He suddenly wondered if he should be telling Severus. It was his house, after all…but he somehow doubted Severus cared about House Elves as long as they kept his home clean. At least he didn't treat them like Malfoy did; Dobby still had that disgusting soiled pillow case on, as well. Yes, he would need to speak to Severus, as soon as possible.

"Dobby shall be asking the head of the Prince Elves, Sir!" said Dobby, bowing low before leaving.

Harry nodded grimly to himself before he went in search of Severus and breakfast.

"Good morning," said Severus, arching an eyebrow questioningly as the boy walked into the dining room. Harry had never been late to breakfast before. Then again, it was Sunday and the boy might have preferred sleeping in. Severus doubted it, though; Harry was always awake before he was supposed to be, something he had noticed two days into the Apprenticeship.

"Severus…is it okay if Dobby stays here?" asked Harry curiously, sitting down.

"Of course, as long as he knows not to speak of anything which happens here," answered Severus, waving his hand dismissively. He knew who Dobby was, he had been at the trial, and Lucius Malfoy may have gotten off if it hadn't been for the little being. Insisting it was someone under Polyjuice had been a good idea, having a disobedient House Elf wasn't.

"Thank you," said Harry. It was one less thing to worry about. He felt he owed the House Elf a great deal, not just for appearing and helping him while in captivity (well, it was mostly for that), but also for ensuring Lucius Malfoy went down. He'd been afraid Malfoy would have gotten off if Dobby hadn't chosen to help him that day.

"No problem," agreed Severus. "I heard from Dumbledore about a potion you created for the Second Task?" questioned the man curiously. Ever since he had remembered being told about it, he had been curious. It was only right now, while they weren't too busy, that he'd decided to ask.

"...Oh, that. Yeah, I did," agreed Harry after a moment of confusion at the change in topic, smothering a smirk as he remembered the look Nick Potter had sported that day. He had looked back briefly when people had begun laughing, to see Nick standing there looking like a spare end. He'd had his school uniform on as well.

He wondered briefly what Lily and James had thought then. Then again, nothing was ever Nick's fault; they'd rather blame someone else, like him for showing Nick up, anything but be embarrassed for or about Nick. It had always been that way. Thankfully, they hadn't seen half the things he had done over the years. He hadn't realized just how…odd it was to be able to copy books magically, especially at the age of four. It had surprised him when Severus had said something, but he was just thankful neither James nor Lily had ever discovered what he'd been able to do.

"May I see your notes?" asked Severus, requesting permission to see Harry's work, though whether that was as a Potions Master or a Master to an Apprentice, or both, was another story entirely.

"Sure," shrugged Harry. "Accio Potions Journal."

Harry caught it as it flew through the air and passed it over to Severus. It had all his potions ideas written in it, and nobody had seen them before now. His 'Master' was the first, and who better, really? He was a Potions Apprentice, after all.

After taking some time to look through the notes while they ate, especially for the water breathing potion which was already tested and proven, he looked up at the boy intently. "We should go to a conference and you really should publish this potion," stated Severus.

To create a potion at fifteen was a good accomplishment—then again, he had created spells at that age and had perfected potions he had worked on at school. However, he had never created one from scratch at that point, only attempting his own during the last phase of his Mastery at twenty years of age, as the last phase involved the creation of new potions or the Mastery wouldn't be accepted. It had taken him two and a half years to gain it, and at that time, he had earned the prestige of being the youngest Potions Master recorded, but that title was definitely going to be taken by Harry. He didn't begrudge the boy it, especially considering he was doing the teaching. He was just glad he had been the one to find him, or rather, that he had been found at all. He knew most Potions Masters would have taken a look at his Hogwarts scores and laughed him out the door. Had he not known anything about the boy's skills from first year and the Second Task, he would have done exactly the same thing...but that wouldn't happen now.

"Why?" asked Harry, surprised, his eyes slightly wider than normal.

"Because this potion deserves to be known. There's only ever been one thing to help people breathe under water, which is Gillyweed, and it can't be used long-term, not without Consequences." Harry could hear the capitalization of the word 'consequences' and remembered reading about acquiring permanent gills and fins. "This can, and it will also bring you a decent income," said Severus.

He knew Harry didn't want to touch the Potter money despite the fact that a third of it was meant to be his. Harry had two legal vaults; his own personal vault was where his hard-earned paper job money and the payments from Macnair and Avery had gone while the other was the Potter vault, which was 'shared' with other adult members of the Potter family. Severus was genuinely surprised the Potters hadn't tried to take any money from that vault yet...Since without Harry's approval, they couldn't do so, and Harry hadn't given his approval, which would have brought them to his door as soon as they realized it.

"Who would want to buy it?" asked Harry, utterly bewildered at the thought of someone actually wanting to buy such a simple potion.

"Swimmers, people with a fear of drowning who want to take up lessons. You would be surprised at how many people will want the potion," explained Severus patiently.

"Why a conference?" asked Harry uneasily, knowing a lot of people attended those kinds of things.

"To advertise the potion and get recognition for it. It would be described and critiqued in Potions Weekly and Monthly. Apothecaries will stock up on them so people will be able to buy them, and Potions Masters will also want to brew it for themselves or to teach their Apprentices," explained Severus. "It's the best way to go about it. I did the same with the Veritaserum and Wolfsbane Potions, and one of those was merely an improvement to an existing potion." He didn't attend them when he wasn't advertising a potion, but read all of them to keep up with who was doing what. Speaking of, he'd have to get Harry to start reading them as well so he didn't accidentally make a potion which had already been done.

"If you think people will want it, then I guess so," agreed Harry, still surprised and baffled.

"I don't think, I know," said Severus with great certainty.

"Alright," said Harry, nodding amicably in agreement.

"Good," answered Severus, finishing his breakfast.

Sirius was currently in Grimmauld Place. It was deserted and very dirty—he hadn't lived there since he was sixteen, he hated it so much. The House Elf didn't do anything unless it was told, and usually muttered nasty things under its breath the entire time, whether is was doing anything or not. Sirius hated the thing being anywhere near him and didn't speak to it unless he absolutely had to. To make matters worse, most of the house was cursed and most of the curtains were full of Doxies—horrid creatures, their venom was dangerous if it stayed in the bloodstream long enough. They usually lived in abandoned, dirty homes and that was certainly what Grimmauld Place was.

He was at Grimmauld looking for old letters and pictures—he had to know if what the papers were saying was true, so old letters and things seemed to be the place to start. After about half an hour of searching, he found a chest full of old things in his room, the one he'd had as a child and always stayed in when he was there, as it was the only one which was still safe. He began pulling things out; the room was a mess by the time the chest was emptied. He 'haha'd!' in triumph when he finally found the red-and-gold-bound album he'd been searching for.

The laughter died on his lips as he flipped through the pages, his movements becoming harsher with every page he turned. Soon, he was frantically looking for even one picture of Harry, but found not a single one in the hundred pictures he flipped through. He found baby pictures of Nick and Roxy but not a single one of Harry after he reached fifteen months old. There were even pictures of James, Lily, Roxy and Nick together, but still none of Harry.

Sirius fell to his knees, the album falling from his numb fingers, shock spreading through him like wildfire. He refused to give in and turned to the letters, spending hours just reading through the letters he had received from Lily and James. His blue eyes filled with sadness and tears which refused to fall. All the letters mentioned Nick and how he was doing, his accidental magic, his school work—nothing about Harry at all. He stopped reading once he got to another letter on how Roxy was doing, and according to the date, Roxy was five in that one. He scrunched it up and, with a scream of fury, he chucked it across the room, so utterly devastated.

He had asked Nick a few questions, but even then, he had refused to believe it despite the letter he had written to Harry. He assumed it had all been exaggerated, like the Prophet was so prone to doing. It wasn't, they had forgotten about Harry completely, not even educated him like he deserved. It wasn't like the Potters had been strapped for cash for goodness sake—which still wouldn't have validating forgetting him completely—they had more money than they could spend in one lifetime. How did you forget to bloody educate one of your children? Why hadn't he noticed before?

"Oh Harry," whispered Sirius in defeat.

"James, is what the Prophet is saying true?" asked Remus, coming up beside his best friend. It was two days until the full moon; he could smell his friend anywhere in the castle. He was standing outside by the lake, so the werewolf had joined him wanting answers. He was asked to Hogwarts to help train Nick—more than they had done last year. Despite all they had done, Nick hadn't competed in the tournament very well according to Dumbledore and James, and the papers, which contradicted what Lily had been telling him, so he was deadly confused.

"Which part?" asked James dully.

"Everything," answered Remus, his amber eyes solemn.

"Yes, Harry has taken over as the head of the house, he's officially in control of the vaults, the seats, and the votes," said James, bitterness crawling up his throat and almost making him sick.

"I meant about his education and the allegations, James…" Remus trailed off.

"Everything's bloody exaggerated," hissed James angrily.

Remus was about to buy the explanation when he smelt the lie practically dripping off James. He was very good at detecting liars, and the nearer the full moon it was, the better his ability as his sense of smell was heightened. Remus' eyes widened when he realized the implications of the lie, and it dawned on him how long he'd been—maybe purposely—missing it.

"You didn't get someone to educate your own son! Do you know what people are saying about you?" asked Remus weakly.

James scowled darkly. "It was an honest mistake!" he cried after a few seconds.

"Two or three days then finding someone is an honest mistake…Not finding a tutor at all, or even sending him to a public Muggle school, is a disgrace…and that's what you are in all Pureblood circles! Even in most Muggle-born circles, you're a disgrace!" gasped Remus, shaking his head as if trying to dislodge cobwebs.

"Like I care about what they think," said James hotly.

"It's a good thing Harry took over the vaults…I heard talk about the Purebloods buying out your shares forcefully," replied Remus, his voice flat. If someone had the majority shares they could buy the rest of them from the other shareholders. The Potters had a lot of fingers in many pies; it could have all gone to Hell if not for Harry taking over the Peverell name. The things he had been hearing about James, about his best friend, and defending him against the words they spoke—now, he only wanted to swallow his own words. His friend had changed…what other lies had he been told?

"Remus! You're here, good! I was worried you wouldn't make it. Will you be alright to start on Thursday?" Lily shouted loud enough for both Remus and James to hear. She also knew the full moon was soon so he would be ill for a few days.

"...Know I'm doing this for Nick, not you—either of you," said Remus to James, just loud enough for Lily to hear, his amber eyes full of anger and misery.

"What's going on?" asked Lily, looking and feeling bewildered. Had James and Remus had an argument? That was strange in itself, as they had never had an argument, never mind a falling out.

"The worst of it is…I'm as much to blame as you both…I never bloody asked him how he was!" snarled Remus angrily. "If this is how I feel I best go and see to Sirius…I've not seen him since the news got out to the Daily Prophet."

"He came to see Nick a few days ago…he left before I could catch up and tell him," said James numbly. He was loosing his best friend, it hadn't dawned on him that Remus would be angry, or that anyone else would be. If Remus was, how was Sirius going to react? James felt numb. Everything was going to Hell. He was losing his friends, he had lost his money and his status as head of the Potter family, and he dreaded how people were going to react. The public was very fickle, so he knew this was going to reflect badly on Nick…and all over some silly Latin lessons—conveniently excusing the fact that they hadn't gotten him basic English and Math lessons, either.

Remus hissed angrily before stomping off without saying anything to either of his so-called friends. As angry as he was, he felt guilt simmering under the surface, trying to think about the last time he had truly spoken to Harry. The fact that he had spent the entire last year with Nick without spending a minute with Harry outside of class made everything worse. He felt like punching something so badly, but he had to find Sirius before the other man did something he regretted.

After searching the Marauders' familiar haunts for some time, Remus entered Grimmauld Place—it was the only other place he could think of to look for Sirius. He had been to his old flat, a few other places, and every tavern in Diagon and Hogsmeade they were familiar with to see if he was drinking. He was nowhere to be seen; however, as soon as he entered Grimmauld Place, he caught the smell of Sirius' fresh scent. He was here, or at least he had been here very recently, so he followed it up to Sirius' old room. He found Sirius in the middle of a room that looked like a hurricane had hit it, but immediately around the man were many scrunched, folded, and ripped up letters and a photo album lying open on the floor. There was one letter scrunched in his hand and a look of devastation on his face.

"Sirius?" asked Remus quietly, slipping over to his friend, worry shining in his amber eyes.

"He hates me, Remy," whimpered Sirius.

"I'm sure that's not true," said Remus, lying through his teeth. He wouldn't blame Harry if he did hate them, but he could only hope the fifteen-year-old would forgive them.

"I went to see Nick a few days ago. He basically admitted everything the paper already told us," said Sirius, his voice hoarse and thick with emotion.

"I know. I've just been to see James…" Remus trailed off, unable to say anything else.

"I wrote to Harry…I just got his reply," whispered Sirius. His posture was one of defeat.

"What did he say?" asked Remus, dread filling his voice.

Sirius handed the note over.

Mr. Black,

My name is not Harry James Potter—it's Harry Peverell, so please use it.

Your letter was difficult for you to write? Well, it's even more difficult for me to reply to. I care little about what you believe or disbelieve; I'm sorry, but you are nothing to me. I've received nothing from you since I was a little boy, three or four years old. I have to admit you lasted longer than my own parents, so that was something, I suppose. In the end, you did forget, and if this hadn't gotten out, you would never have known or cared.

Regardless of my personal feelings (or lack thereof) towards you, I shall answer your questions. First, they weren't as bad as the papers said, they were worse. Yes, they did indeed deny me the chance of an education—I had to sneak into the lessons Nick had or I would have gone to Hogwarts completely uneducated, unable to even read, write, or do basic math. They don't add up? Well I hope they add up for you now.

I wish you the best in your life, Mr. Black. My life is finally worth living for. I am currently serving under Severus Snape to gain my Potions Mastery, and that's where I shall remain. Even if I didn't have a place to stay, I wouldn't be going to you to help ease your own guilty conscience. My advice to you is to move on with your life. I've never been part of it, so you cannot miss something you haven't had.

Mr. Harry Peverell

Remus winced while reading it. Yes, Sirius was right, Harry truly hated them. The guilt seemed to expand even further. He remembered the last thing he had ever bought Harry, a small diary. He had gotten the same thing for Nick. Both had written thank you notes back. The next year he hadn't been able to afford it, so he had asked Sirius to buy something for them both, and no note had come back, Sirius saying something about Lily writing Nick's thank you notes now. The year after that...he had bought Nick a book on Latin and correct phraseology and Roxy a child's toy.

"We must honor Harry's wish, Sirius…" said Remus. Helping his best friend up, he guided him towards the kitchen and poured them both a firewhiskey.

"How can we give up?!" Sirius practically squawked.

"Because we brought this on ourselves. We didn't care, we forgot and we have to live with that. We are as much to blame as Lily and James, and Harry has basically expressed his wish to be left alone by those who ignored him his whole life," said Remus sadly. "He's getting on with his life...he'll be fifteen soon, and it's up to him."

"I have to do something," whined Sirius.

"Harry doesn't want you to, Sirius, so just do the one thing he wants…Maybe if we do that, he'll come around some day," said Remus, more hopeful than anything.

"Fine," said Sirius, letting out a huge sigh of defeat.

"Do you want to help train Nick? I've told Lily and James I want nothing to do with them, that I'm only going to help Nick. I'm not losing them both, I just can't—they are my cubs," said Remus sadly. "And I forgot about one of them..."

"I don't want to be anywhere near any of them right now," said Sirius angrily, gulping back the drink as if it was water before filling it again. He had just realized he had lost his godson. The worst of it was that he knew damn well he had brought it on himself. He had the gall to think badly of James for not educating Harry when he hadn't sent his own godson a present for years.

They had all failed him.

"Hello? Severus? Harry?" called Eileen's voice from the Floo room in Prince Manor.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" asked Severus, surprised indeed as he entered the room, followed by a smiling Harry.

"I've just come to see how you both are doing!" smiled Eileen, although it was dimmer than usual, both Severus and Harry noticed. She truly hated being here, the place where she had been brought up.

"It's good to see you!" beamed Harry happily, giving the woman he thought of as a mother (more than his own for sure) a hug.

"You as well…How are things going?" asked Eileen, spelling away the soot from her clothes. She was a Prince by blood, so she was accepted into the house even without the passwords.

"I have to leave for half an hour. I'm going to Hogwarts to speak with Dumbledore regarding Harry's education," said Severus. "Why don't you keep Harry company until I come back? Or better yet, why don't you have dinner with us?"

"I'd love to, Severus," agreed Eileen with a small smile.

Severus was surprised and thought she must really miss them (or Harry at least, who had lived with her for a few years) to accept dinner at Prince Manor. A small twitch of his lips showed how pleased Severus was, so he nodded his head before stepping into the Floo and designating the Headmaster's office as his destination. Moments later, he disappeared from view.

"Severus, it's good to see you!" exclaimed Albus in surprised delight.

"Albus, I'm here on official business," said Severus a bit harshly, still not happy with the Headmaster.

"What is it?" asked Albus, looking worried now. He had hoped Severus had reconsidered and wanted to teach Nick. All of the teachers were being…rather cool towards Nick, James, and Lily, not that the family seemed to notice. No, they were stuck in their own little world. Although, James and Lily had been quieter than normal today, for reasons unknown to him as of yet.

He didn't realize things were only about to get worse.

"You know Harry is my Apprentice, but he also wants to continue with his normal education. As you know, I do not care for magic other than Defense, some Charms, and Potions. I do not remember enough about Ancient Runes, or about other classes he wishes to take, to teach them," explained Severus.

"He wants to do both an Apprenticeship and continue regular school?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Indeed he does. Specifically, he wants to continue with his Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Transfigurations, and Arithmancy. If you can ensure they are perhaps all on the same day, I'd appreciate it. I'm asking this in exchange for everything I've done for you, Albus." said Severus.

"Three or four of those subjects are doubled each week, Severus…it would require a day and a half at least…" The Headmaster trailed off, not even considering denying Severus.

"Hm…true enough," admitted Severus. He knew Ancient Runes, Charms, Arithmancy, and sometimes Transfigurations were double periods because they could be hard.

"I need to wait and see what they are doing this year…before I can tell you for certain how many days, and hours of each day, he would have to come to Hogwarts. I shall do my best to get them all in the same day or a day and a half at the most. I know Care of Magical Creatures has been settled and it's only an hour, so if any other one of them is also a single period, I can most likely squeeze them into one day," said Dumbledore, dipping a elegant, golden quill into a golden inkpot. He wrote down Harry's name and the subjects in big, swirly letters so he didn't forget. Hopefully now Severus would at least be on his way to forgiving him for being such a fool.

"Thank you, Albus," said Severus with enough real gratitude for the old man to risk further conversation.

"How is Harry?" asked Dumbledore attentively.

"He's doing very well, all things considered," said Severus. Harry's education had turned out to be quite important—who would have thought? It was more important than anyone else's now that Voldemort was back once more. He unfortunately knew that all too well, considering he felt the Mark burning every now and again. Thankfully, a new numbing potion he had created stopped it hurting or even itching. Harry didn't want people knowing and Severus really understood why now. He didn't want to be used—Dumbledore would do everything in his power to get Harry to Hogwarts and get him 'properly educated and trained', just like they were doing with Nick. Harry being emancipated made that practically impossible, and they had yet to find out anyhow.

Sure, he knew Dumbledore was doing what he thought best, or rather, er, the best for the Greater Good. Dumbledore was a man just like every other, and he too had expectations heaped upon him. It didn't excuse him for what he was doing to Nick Potter or what he would do to Harry Peverell if he found out.

"Yes…yes, I do suppose you are correct," nodded Dumbledore.

"I must be going. My mother isn't too fond of Prince Manor, and I don't want to leave her and Harry alone there for too long," said Severus, using the first excuse to escape which came to mind, not wanting Dumbledore to begin speaking about Nick. For once, though, Severus was wrong, because Dumbledore himself was busy and couldn't have taken much more time with him, anyway.

"Of course. Please give my best to both of them!" stated Dumbledore cheerfully.

"Thank you," said Severus, arching an eyebrow before leaving back through the Floo, wondering at Albus' cheerful attitude.

"Ah, Roxy, how are you?" asked Dumbledore, beaming happily down at the eleven-year-old. Since he already knew how the rest of the family felt and how Nick was treated, he thought he should find out the girl's view of things while they made their way towards the Great Hall.

"Bored," answered the girl truthfully.

"Well, there is a library upstairs just begging to be read!" encouraged Dumbledore.

"I know, but there's only so much reading one can do, and no one will spend time with me anymore," sighed Roxy. Her parents had been spending so much time with Nick they didn't have much time for her. She wasn't used to that and she felt hurt, as her mother had always favored her. She didn't like being here. She was sure that, if they were at Potter Manor, her mother would not have acted like she didn't exist. And yet, there was a small, niggling thought about how alike Harry's treatment this was...A thought she didn't want to admit to right then.

"You most certainly will not be in Ravenclaw with a comment like that," replied Dumbledore cheerfully, masking sorrow at the thought that her language level alone was beyond her age group's and she would have done well in Ravenclaw...like Harry.

"I'll be in Gryffindor like Mum!" said Roxy adamantly. She had to be—perhaps then her mother would notice her for longer than a few minutes again.

"I have no doubt you will be," said Dumbledore mock-solemnly.

"Thanks, Sir!" the eleven-year-old finally beamed.

"It is no problem. Now, can you tell me where I may find your mother?" asked Dumbledore.

"She'll probably be in the Great Hall, since after lunch we're going to Diagon Alley!" smiled Roxy happily.

"Good," smiled Dumbledore as the Great Hall came into view. Entering it together, they parted ways to sit down at their appropriate seats.

"Lily, may I borrow Nick for a few hours later tonight?" asked Dumbledore as he faced her—she and James weren't sitting far from his seat.

"Why?" frowned Lily, confused.

"I am hoping Horace Slughorn will come to teach, and I want him to meet Nick. He is, after all, one of the best Potions students at Hogwarts, and the Boy-Who-Lived as well!" said Dumbledore cheerfully. He knew that wasn't actually true—he would believe Severus over Reese any day. However, if a bit of flattery got him what he wanted, then so be it.

"Oh, that's fine! No problem at all!" beamed Lily happily.

The rest of the teachers just muttered rude comments under their breaths.

"Good," declared Dumbledore, ignoring the rest of the teachers' mutterings. By the looks of it, that was something else he was going to have to get use to.

"So what else have you been doing?" asked Eileen, who had been given every detail over the past week or so. Harry's birthday was fast approaching, and Eileen was going to ask Severus what he had planned. Even if it was just the three of them and a special dinner with some cake afterwards, it would be better than nothing.

"That's all, rea—oh, yeah! My potion!" gasped Harry suddenly, remembering his conversation with Severus. "The potion I made for the Second Task, Severus wants us to publish it!" said Harry, his face alight with passion, but also uncertainty.

"I want 'you' to publish it, not 'us'. You created it, after all," said Severus, having just stepped through the Floo and caught the last thing Harry had said.

"Oh…well, okay then...And we're going to a conference all about potions! It's going to be fascinating, but I'm not sure about everyone there staring, especially at me," said Harry, confiding in both Eileen and Severus.

"You should have told me of such worries," said Severus with a small frown. "The next registered conference is in America, which means the majority of the people there will be American. Of course, there are others who go to any one conference, but they are there for the potions in the end, not to stare at an Apprentice." He sat down to join them for coffee.

"America?" gasped Harry, wide-eyed.

"Indeed. We shall be traveling a lot over the next few years, to conferences and potions gatherings of other sorts," explained Severus.

"Wow, I've never been anywhere," blinked Harry in surprise.

"That will change," stated Severus simply.

"So when is this conference?" asked Eileen, sounding interested.

"It's in two days' time, I believe. I shall have to check the magazine again," said Severus.

"I think I shall accompany you both," said Eileen. While she had loved potions, she had never been to one, and had never created a potion or attended a gathering. Of course not, she had fled the wizarding world soon after graduating, and married Tobias and had Severus. Then things went downhill, and it was only after the man died that things had looked up once more. Now though, she couldn't stand for hours on end brewing potions like she would have loved to, and she didn't have stable hands to stir for hours and with precision.

"We would like that!" grinned Harry, his face just about splitting in two. "How did it go at Hogwarts?" His smile faded and he looked worried now as he faced Severus again.

"He has agreed to do his best, and it's just a question of how many days you will be at Hogwarts. Albus is going to try and see if they can fit into one day, and if not, it will be a day and a half in succession," answered Severus.

"Brilliant! I was so worried he wouldn't…I'm not important enough for him to make exceptions for," he said a little bitterly, but quickly brightened up.

So far, this Sunday had turned out to be the best day he'd had in a long time. Eileen was here, Severus was here, he would be returning to Hogwarts, and he was gaining a Mastery slowly but surely. Luna was going to be happy as she hadn't been keen on him not being at Hogwarts. Not that it mattered really, because she was going to be alone for her seventh year no matter what either of them did. Well, his being there or not wouldn't stop him from hexing someone to Hell and back if they dared hurt her.

"You are important to us!" said Eileen adamantly, patting him on the knee comfortingly.

"Thank you…thank you both," replied Harry from the bottom of his heart.

Viktor, Luna, Eileen, and Severus—he'd die for all of them, and if the prophecy was any indication, he just might end up really dying for them all. Right now, he was no match for a man with thirty years or more of magical experience. From what he'd found out from Voldemort, he'd been raised at a Muggle Orphanage (the wizarding world didn't have one) so had probably been found when he was eleven. He had spent the last thirteen years as a spirit, so yeah, thirty years or so more experience—he didn't know everything, nor did he claim to, that was just his estimate of how bad things looked so far.

Big thank you to Snow Leopard Pasha for her dedication in making this story all that it could be and sticking with it :)