CW: mentions of bullying

:TWENTY-NINE:

That summer, Harry slowly began to share all of the things that had happened while at school. He hadn't mentioned, for example, that Professor Snape was bullying him in classes.

"I knew how you'd react." He'd said defensively. "And I didn't want you both to worry."

"Harry," Remus said in a frustrated tone. "It's our job to worry."

"Besides," Sirius smirked evilly. "I'd love any excuse to have a chat with good 'ol Snape."

Harry groaned. "You two will just make it worse! I can handle it."

And he stomped off like the hormonal teenager he was becoming.

"I'm still going to have that chat with Snape." Sirius told Remus, as Harry's bedroom door slammed.

"I just think it's weird that he's teaching at all, to be honest." Remus shrugged, sitting down to drink his tea. "He hates children."

"Bet it has something to do with you-know-who."

"Since when do you say 'you-know-who'?"

"I meant Dumbledore, not Voldemort."

"Sirius!" Remus swatted him on the shoulder.

"When is Neville coming over, anyway?" Sirius asked, deliberately avoiding Remus' glare.

"This afternoon." Remus said crossly. "And you'd better not say anything in front of his grandmother. She loves Dumbledore."

"My lips are sealed."

Remus had been quite looking forward to seeing Neville, whom they hadn't met yet but heard about in Harry's letters home. While Harry didn't seem to be as close with the boy, it was clear that Neville genuinely cared about Harry.

"We really ought to get a fireplace." Remus mused, looking around their kitchen and living room. "Harry's friends won't be able to apparate for ages still."

"You reckon?" Sirius tapped his chin. "I don't imagine Petunia will like it much though. Soot and dust everywhere."

"She's been much better about cleaning!"

"Remus, I can see my face in all of our pots."

"Oh look!" Remus stood up and looked out their window. "They're here!"

"Neville's here?" Harry poked his head out of his room.

"Yes, Har-Bear." Sirius crooned, running over to play-wrestle with Harry. "Your pal's here, so no more moping about."

"I wasn't moping about!" Harry elbowed at Sirius, trying to escape. "Get off, will you? This is embarrassing!"

They fell over just as Dudley came upstairs to let them know someone was coming. Looking completely unfazed at Harry and Sirius, he took a seat by Remus.

"My bet's on Sirius."

"Hey!" Harry yelled from underneath Sirius. "What happened to supporting family!"

Dudley shrugged. "Bad odds, mate."

"Honestly, you two!" Remus broke them apart, laughing. "Neville's grandmother is going to think we're a pack of wolves."

He went to answer the door, letting both of their guests inside. Neville's grandmother immediately insisted on a cup of tea, while Harry pulled Neville and Dudley away to his room. Sirius looked like he was about to follow the boys, but a sharp look from Remus sent him back to the kitchen table.

The best thing that could be said about tea with Mrs. Longbottom was that it was short. She let them know she'd be back for Neville around suppertime, then left to apparate home.

"Oh thank Merlin that's over." Sirius sighed dramatically once she was gone. "Why do you always make me pretend to be a grown-up?"

"Because you are a grown-up." Remus ruffled Sirius' hair. "And we want Neville, well, all of Harry's friends really, to feel welcome here. That means making nice with their guardians."

And their flat did become a sort of make-shift home for all of Harry's friends the following months. Petunia was eventually persuaded into allowing a fireplace, so their Floo network was constantly in use. One of the Weasleys was constantly popping in, usually Ron or the twins, but Ginny made a fair amount of visits too. Neville was over almost daily, loving Remus' warm presence and Sirius' advice.

Dudley and Natalie were by often too, though not as much. Natalie had made several school friends and was in loads of extracurricular activities, so they mostly saw her at her sporting events. Dudley was also usually out with his school friends, though he always stopped by after supper to say hullo.

Hermione's parents had taken her on vacation, so they didn't see her in person. Instead, they would get novel-length letters about her travels weekly. It was Hedwig's only job though, so she didn't seem to mind much.

Entirely too soon, it was time for Harry to go back to Hogwarts. They'd had several conversations with McGonagall, Petunia, and Harry - and decided that as long as nothing bad happened this year, they wouldn't pull him out and send him somewhere else.

The Weasleys had agreed to take Harry shopping in Diagon Alley that year, so Remus and Sirius could go 'camping'. Harry knew at this point about Remus' transformations, but Remus still didn't feel comfortable being around him during the full moon. A part of him was always worried that the wolfsbane potion wouldn't be enough, so they still went off to the forest and camped out together.

When they came back, Harry had a dramatic story to tell.

"Mr. Weasley got in a fight!" Was the first thing out of his mouth when Remus and Sirius entered the house. "With Mr. Malfoy! It was epic...oh, and our new DADA professor is an absolute idiot. We had to buy all of his own books. He tried to give me a free set of his works, but I handed them right off to Ginny. I'll just share with Ron in class."

"...Hold on." Remus said, rubbing his forehead. "Mr. Weasley did what, exactly?"

This led to a very long rant about the Malfoy family and the muggle legislation Mr. Wealsey was trying to pass. Neville, who came by for dinner that evening, found the whole story very interesting.

"My gran says it's ridiculous they haven't got muggle protections already." He nodded importantly over his food.

"She's right, Neville." Remus agreed. "Better protections for muggles protects us as well. Not to mention how helpful it would be for muggleborn parents like the Granger family."

"How are they, by the way?" Neville asked. "Harry hasn't mentioned."

"That's because we're still trying to sort through the last letter!" Sirius snorted. "Five whole pages on the wizarding culture in the area, along with a tirade on the 'abysmal dentistry records' there."

Neville laughed along with the rest of the family. "Well, I'd still like to read it if you don't mind."

"Sure," Remus smiled fondly at him while they cleared away the table. "I also have some plants I'd like to get your input on, if you don't mind."

Neville brightened instantly. "Absolutely!"

Sirius and Harry went off to play outdoors, while Remus showed Neville several new plants he'd acquired. As they were working together though, Remus started talking.

"Neville," He began. "Harry's mentioned to us that Snape has been, well, a bit of a bully to you both."

Neville's face flushed pink with embarrassment, but he nodded.

"I just wanted to let you know," Remus continued. "I'd be happy to help you study your potions work - I've been tutoring Harry all summer."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Neville stammered immediately. "I'm awful at potions, really."

But Remus shook his head. "As good as you are with Herbology? I doubt it. The reason you're struggling in Potions isn't because you're bad at it, but because Snape is a poor teacher."

Neville did not look convinced, but agreed to return the next morning for tutoring with Harry. And, after just the few weeks before it was time to board the train, Neville's self-confidence had sky-rocketed. He was by no means amazing at potions, but he now at least felt like he could keep his cauldron in one piece.

"Look after him, will you?" Remus murmured to Harry as they boarded the train. "In potions, I mean. I don't want all that work we've accomplished to disappear after one harsh comment."

Harry nodded, grinning at Remus' deviousness. "I can't believe you pulled that off."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Remus said airily. "Now, off you go. And no letters from McGonagall this year!"

Notes:

Sorry for the shorter chapter, but I've been feeling really discouraged lately.

I also wanted to give a bit of a road map for the next chapter - it will be somewhat cannon like the first year. That's the only way I can think of to make Dumbledore aware of the horcruxes. From there on, the cannon will be pretty much shattered.

Be kind to each other and yourselves. Happy Reading.