Authors Note: Hello Guys, I know I am a new writer on fan fiction but this story is not new but it was very popular. If you guys remember Mr. Briggs, he wrote 3 stories; The Boy Who Lived, Not The BOY-WHO-Lived, House Rules, and two different versions of Better Suited. You will also notice the neither he nor his stories are on the site anymore. But fear not, he is a friend of mine and I have been given the stories to do with them what I will. I am not sure about House Rules or The Boy Who Lived, because I see myself as more of a short story/one shot writer myself, (FYI if anyone wants those stories to continue please PM me you can have them) but as you can see I will be taking both versions of better suited and putting them together (somewhat) and continuing the story. I can tell you that with the story and all of the notes he gave me, plus my own spin that I want to put on the story it will be long, but where he did not finish I intend to.

So general premise;

Hermione and Ron abandon Harry after his name is chosen for the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Neville becomes his close and only friend the entire year.

Dumbledore sends him back to the Durselys again after Cedrics death. Then all hell proceeds to break loose.

Hermione loves Harry and wants him back as a friend and more.

Dumbledore is revealed for what he really is and so is Severus Snape.

New wands and Familiars.

New allies and enemies.

New and improved, self-aware, non-whinny depressed Harry Potter.

That pretty much sums up what I want to tell you about how my version is going to go. I was upset with Mr. Briggs for putting the brakes on this story because I think it is really good and should continue, and so it shall.

Happy Reading!

Better Suited

"You cannot be serious!" Harry nearly jumped out of his chair in the headmaster's office.

"I am afraid so Harry," Dumbledore as patient in tone as ever replied to the disgruntled teenager, "I assure you it is best that you not only return to your relatives home this summer but you stay there the entire holiday."

Dumbledore finished his sentence with a tone that made something in Harry snap. The air of finality with which he spoke, the lilt that came at the end of every sentence even when it was delivering hellish news incensed him. That ceaselessly irritating twinkle in the man's eye that always made Harry think he was about to have a seizure when he looked his headmaster in the face made him crazy.

"I won't go." Harry said gritting his teeth trying not to yell, his hands were gripping the sides of is hair so hard that his knuckles where turning white. He didn't know if the room was shaking or he was, all he could think about was what he went through last year and this man telling him he had to go back to those damned relatives.

"I assure you, Harry you will. As your magical guardian it is my job to make sure you are safe and..."

"Safe! Do I need to show you the scars that are all over my body again?" Harry stood up as he protested. "They wouldn't care if I was alive or dead, and Uncle Vernon would probably assist with the latter! You say you send me there for safety, last year they tried to kill me! How is that safe?"

Dumbledore looked at tad bit irritated. This isn't how it is supposed to be going; Harry should be so depressed he should just take everything he said as law and move on. Harry should've been happy that Dumbledore was taking the time to tell him this face to face. The death of Cedric along with having no friends except Longbottom should've broke the boys back. He shouldn't have any fight in him at the moment.

"Harry you're just excited right now. Trust me once you calm down I'm sure you'll realize that this is what is best for you." He said a little more sternly.

"Don't you tell me about what is best for me," Harry banged on Dumbledore's desk, knocking over a few of the old man's knickknacks. "Trolls, Basilisks, Dementors, Tournaments, Fake Teachers, Voldemort three times! Now you want to send me back to those people, I had to visit the hospital wing for three weeks when we returned. "

"Harry restrain yourself!" Dumbledore took out his wand attempting to repair the damage. "These things are important."

"Oh I'm sorry." Harry said purposefully breaking a few more things. "I watch a classmate die, I get tortured, my blood was stolen leaving me with a mark just as good as the bloody Death Eaters, and then I was kidnapped by your fake teacher. I'm so very sorry that a couple of your bloody gadgets got destroyed while I am trying to deal with it all."

Dumbledore waved his wand at Harry binding him to the chair. He then stepped from behind his chair to stand right in front of the boy who was glaring at him.

"Listen to me, I know things are bad for you right now, but please try not to blame your incidents on me Harry." Dumbledore starred the boy in the eyes. "You were told first year just like every other student in the school to go to your common room when the troll incident was announced. You took it upon yourself to take one of your friends and go looking for someone in the girls lavatory. The teachers would have eventually…"

"Would have eventually found a dead body in the loo and another ghost to match Myrtle," Harry interrupted. "Ron and I barely got there in time and by the time you got there the troll was already dead. What would you have done that wouldn't have been after the fact?"

Dumbledore looked taken back, he was not use to being challenged like that. "That is beyond the point it was not your responsibility it was ours and I do believe we would have arrived on time. You were also told to stay away from the third floor under threat of death. You followed the snake, no one told you to."

"To stop Quirrell from getting the stone, he was already at the mirror and none of you even had a clue about what was going on." Harry interrupted again.

"The mirror was a failsafe, you said yourself he couldn't get the mirror to give him the stone." The headmaster retorted. "And I knew that, it was my plan and my responsibility to hid the stone and it was hidden well."

"You truly believe he wouldn't have found a way? He found a way into another body, he found his way into this castle, he found his way passed all of the other traps that had been laid, as did a group of first years, and yet you believe that the last thing standing in his way would have stopped him?"

"Enough of this! I am your headmaster and you will show me the proper respect. " Dumbledore boomed his magic flaring out from him . "You are talking about this for which you do not have full understanding and making yourself look foolish and immature. The point is that multiple times you have put your life and the lives of others in danger unnecessarily. You rush into things and do not think about the full picture, if you had I assure you that you would've had an easier life here! DO not blame others for your misgivings."

Dumbledore composed himself standing up straight and resuming his grandfatherly stature. "I know things are bad at your relatives and I will send them a letter letting them know it won't be tolerated. You will be going back and staying the whole summer; you will not be leaving be it knight bus or any other contraption. This is the best solution for you. Things will be easier for you now and in life if you just listen to what I am telling you. Now please go and gather your things as you will be leaving soon." There was no doubt that statement was final. He released Harry and opened the door with a flick of his wand. He turned his back to Harry and went about fixing his things. All Harry could do was huff and storm out of the office.

Harry took a deep sigh and steeled himself as he walked back into the Gryffindor common room. He was greeted with a coldness that he had to fight to get use to this year. In years past the students would gawk and stare but their eyes held and awe for him; but now his pride, his lions, his like-minded students held no awe just contempt. Ever since his name had come out of that God forsaken cup making him compete in that outlandish tournament, almost every Potterite at Howgarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had done an about face. His own house was the worst, so much for house loyalty, but then no one ever said Gryffindors were loyal they weren't Hufflepuffs.

But that wasn't what hurt the most. His "best" friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley had completely abandoned him. Ron's reason was simple enough, he thought Harry found a way around the age line and entered his name in the tournament. He believed Harry was so greedy and hungry for fame that he would do anything to get more. Ron was tired of playing second fiddle to Harry Potter. He was sick of Harry walking around like he was better than everyone and he wouldn't have Ronald Weasley to step on anymore. This was by no means a guess of how Ron felt; it was exactly what Ron had told Harry the night of his selection. It was also the last thing he had said to Harry face to face, everything else came not so discreetly behind the boys' back.

Ron had managed to turn almost all the Gryffindors against Harry, every lie he told they seemed to eat up, but then no one said Gryffindors were smart they weren't Ravenclaws. The only allies he had in his own house was Neville and the Weasley Twins. Harry suspected the twins were only there because they had numerous bets at outrageous odds on his performance in the tournament.

Ron didn't stop his smear campaign at the Lion house, he would go to other houses and try and get them to see him in a bad light, especially the Hufflepuff house, telling them that he was stealing the fame from Cedric. He would call Harry stupid and tell people he had to help him with his homework every night. Ron even went so far as to recreate the Chamber of Secrets mission saying the he, Ronald Weasley, was the brains behind the operation and used a spell to disarm Lockhart and told Harry how to kill the Basilisk, as if he knew. Though most of what Ron said wasn't believed, the students knew Ron was dumb as a rock and couldn't even finish his own work let alone help others, they also knew that second year Ron's wand was a deadly weapon not against whomever it was pointed, but whoever was holding it. They had seen numerous spells backfire on Ron the whole year. A majority of students went along with him though because they all stood firmly behind Cedric and needed a reason not to like Harry.

The deepest pain he felt from his school mates came from Hermione Granger who, unlike Ron, had chosen to completely ignore him. No talks, no hugs, no concerned rants, no help when he was looking for ways to stay alive. If she was in a room and he came in she would leave. There were times when he would be cornered being yelled and screamed at by the other students and she would pass by as if nothing was happening.

Harry had never trusted anyone as much as Hermione, he had not confided in or sought comfort in anyone the way he did Hermione and it seemed as if her tolerance of him had run out. Down deep he always believed he wasn't worthy of true friends and early this year when the only people he believed were his friends dropped him like a bad habit and apparently hadn't looked back, his beliefs were verified.

Deep down he wanted to give up and let not competing in the second task take his magic away from him but his silver lining came in the form of Neville Longbottom. Neville was the one that, if Voldemort had chosen, could've taken the cup from Harry and bore it himself. Neville proved himself a true friend and a very good ally to have in times of trouble. It was Neville who listened when Harry needed someone to talk to. It was Neville who spent hours in the library and study rooms with Harry to prepare him for the tasks at hand. It was Neville who took the ridicule and the punishment for standing firmly behind Harry Potter at every turn this year and showed no signs of wavering in his loyalty.

Of course it would be Neville, they were much alike. He lost his parents too and although his Grandmother didn't abuse Neville like the Dursley's did Harry, she still was very hard on him trying to fit him into the mold of Frank Longbottom which wasn't Neville's niche. He would listen to Neville talk about how much he wanted to please his Gran but he never seemed to live up to her expectations. Something Harry understood in a way, all he ever heard was how much he was like his father, especially from Snape, and how much his mother's eyes were his equals. He was compared to people he only knew for a short while but no one ever gave him anything concrete about his parents. No one ever said, "You're just like your father because you two both…" or" You are the spitting image of your parents because you did 'blank' just like them." All Harry ever got was token compliments or in Snapes case token insults. So though he and Neville had different issues they weren't very far apart at all. Neville was his saving grace that year and for that Harry would always be grateful. It was that same Neville Longbottom that was waiting when Harry entered the dorm room. He could tell that things had not gone well.

"So I am guessing I will be addressing my letters to Privet Drive?" Neville said with a sympathetic smile.

"Ravenclaw really missed out on one when you were sorted." Harry angrily replied to his friend flopping down on his bed hard.

"Yeah but they were sparred with you." Neville replied getting up and going over to him.

Harry rolled his eyes but a small smile crept to the corners of his lips. Neville had been trying very hard this year to get Harry to relax. He, like many people had seen firsthand how moody Harry could be. Harry while hanging out with Neville learned how blunt the boy could be.

On many occasions when Harry had begun to whine, or complain, or even overreact and get himself in trouble by reacting to other students Neville was the one who retrained him. Many times he told Harry to "Grow Up" or "Act like the Gryffindor you're supposed to be, or whining about it isn't gonna exempt you from having to deal with it." Neville was glad to do anything to help Harry but he wasn't going to sit around and listen to him complain all day every day and he wasn't going to be the victim of his temper either. Harry because of this had become a lot less moody and reactionary than he had been in previous years, something that had sparred him numerous detentions with his teachers, especially Snape.

"I packed the rest of your stuff Harry; I figured it would be bad news."

Harry raised his eyebrow, "Why did you figure that?"

"When it's you or me, you expect bad news and let the good news surprise you." Both the boys laughed.

"Let's get on the train Neville, we have stuff to talk about and I'd rather not do it here." Both the boys grabbed their trunks and made their way to the train ignoring all the dirty looks they received on the way.

When they got to the train they were some of the first students to board, and they quickly found a compartment. Neville locked the door with his wand but he could not put up the illusion charms even though he tried.

Harry did it for him. "Please talk to your Gran about your own wand Neville, it has to fit you and this one clearly doesn't. I've seen it, the professors have seen it. You do the wand motions correctly, Flitwick checked your magic levels and yours are higher than most, it has to be the wand."

Neville rolled his eyes, he had heard this all before. "You must have that speech memorized by now Harry. You know as well as I do that until I turn fifteen my Gran has total say over my affairs. When I turn fifteen I get to take over my majority because I am the last heir in my house. Then I will get my own, until then the only way to get a new one is if something happens to this one and I am NOT going to break my father's wand. So for the last time drop it!"

Harry held up his hands in defeat. Either way by next term Neville would have a new wand so he wouldn't bother him about it anymore. "Nev, I need you to talk to your Gran about checking into just how much power Dumbledore has over me and what constitutes willful neglect. I showed him the scars and he is sending me back anyway. There has to be a reason but I don't know yet what it is."

"It is at the top of my list this summer Harry." He replied instantly. "The old man is playing at something with you and I don't like it. Four straight years your life has been threatened inside this school. Then you are forced to go back to abuse. There is nothing in the world that coincidental, either he wants you dead or he simply isn't opposed to having you dead."

"It might not be as bad as all that." Harry said

"Yeah and Snape's hair isn't flammable." Neville rolled his eyes. "Don't discount the obvious because of reputation. Just because someone has done great things doesn't mean they're good people."

"Well the one thing I can say about this summer is I won't have to worry about people glaring at me or trying to curse me."

Neville went into his bag and handed Harry some books. "You may be left alone but you have work to do. You have been in the Wizard world for four years now and you are abysmal at best on our customs and history. I couldn't get as much information in about this as I wanted to this year because we were just working on keeping your scrawny butt alive. But if you want to live in our world and do it well then you need to catch up."

Harry took the books. "Yes Professor Longbottom" Then he ducked the book that come flying at his head.

"Pick that one up and read it too, bloody tosser." Neville took out his book on plants and started to read.

Boarding the train at that time was Hermione Granger, a thinner, worry laden version of Hermione Granger. She looked tired and it in no way compared to how she felt. This year had been the most distressing yet of her time at Hogwarts even though she had been in the least amount of danger. She had, as many others had, presumed that Harry had indeed gotten himself entered in the tournament. Her faith in rules and fair play had managed to convince her that if he really didn't enter there would have to be some sort of way he could've gotten out of it. But he competed and won, unnecessary bollocks if you asked her. He had faced deathly stuff for the sake of others but to do it for fame, that's just unintelligent. That was the story she liked to use to calm herself when the reality of why she had abandoned Harry set in. But when she was alone, which was most of the time because aside for this year she spent most of her time with Harry, the real reasons came to her.

When she needed a hug and there was no one else around that could sense it, or when she was in the library working herself to death and no one pulled her aside and made her take a break, then she thought of the real reason. She could lose Harry for good. At least one person in the last twenty tournaments had died and all three in the last five had died. So the odds were pretty good someone would not make it all the way through and the track record of Harry Potter made the odds of him being the one almost a guarantee. In the deepest part of her heart she knew she loved and was in love with Harry Potter, but she just could not stand watching it, she would not be a part of it. She figured the distance she put between them would make the pain lessen, but no one told Hermione Granger that absence makes the heart grow fonder. She heard and saw all the people at the school turn on him, she saw him protest and fight and rebel against those that said he had entered himself in the tournament. On a deep level inside her mind she believed him. After coming out of the maze and learning all that had happened she knew she had to get back to Harry. Voldemort was back and she knew he was coming after Harry and she needed to help him, she needed to be near him, she needed him.

As she found a compartment she loaded her stuff and was just about to lock the door when Ron stuck his head in. There was no one in the world she wanted to see less than him. Apparently Ronald Weasley had taken a liking to her, a thought which made her gag, and he was trying really hard to get her attention. She didn't understand it at all, the previous three years he had been at the very least rude to her. He constantly insulted and berated her arguing or picking a fight whenever he could. He would only be nice when he wanted answers to his homework. They had never been close and she really didn't even like him, the only reason she put up with him was because Harry liked him and she would bare almost anything to be at Harry's side.

She had told Ron one day when he had gotten bold and tried to kiss her that next time he tried his luck with her she would hex his mouth so that he could never open it again. She told him that she didn't like him in 'any way' especially romantically, and that she only tolerated him because of Harry and since Ron was not talking to Harry there was no reason for her to talk to him. One would think that would be enough for even someone as thick headed as Ron to get the point but he didn't. She had to hex him a few times this year.

"Hi" Ron said meekly as he slid open the door.

"You know that we have nothing to say to each other Ronald. Please leave." She sat down and started to go through her bag to find a book to read.

"Ah, come on Mione we have been friends for years, are you really going to stop that just because we had a misunderstanding."

"If you think trying to force yourself on me after multiple warnings is a misunderstanding, or embarrassing me and insulting my date at the ball is a misunderstanding, or depending on me to fix or even in some cases just do your homework for you is a misunderstanding then we have a problem. If you think putting up with the cruel way you treat me when I am not saving your butt is just a misunderstanding, then all our friendship has ever been if just one big misunderstanding." She smiled to herself as she put her book down and rose from her seat to walk over to the gob smacked red head.

"Thankfully though Ronald it is a misunderstanding that is easily corrected. We are no longer friends, we are no longer acquaintances, and we were never going to be a couple. All we are is housemates and with me not doing your homework for you next term we might not even be that. Good-bye Ronald."

She moved to close the door but the now infuriated red head forced it back open. "Just who the bloody hell do you think you are? I am a pureblood Granger, that may not mean something to you but it does in this society. If you hadn't noticed I am your only friend especially since you dropped scar head. Without me you are alone, no one else tolerates you, you bookworm know-it-all! I put up with you because you were smart and not bad looking, the only one who really cared about you was Potter and you abandoned him. All you did just now was guarantee you revert right back to first year when you were in the bathroom crying by yourself because you had no friends and someone made fun of you. And you want to know the thing that is different this time? The one person who came looking for you, he won't come this time because you abandoned him. Have a nice life Hermione." Ronald slammed the door and left Hermione alone.

The rest of the train ride Hermione was so upset she cried. Ron even though he was an arse about it was completely correct, what she had done was effectively leave herself alone. She was distraught, not only because she had abandoned him but that she had been cruel about it. She needed to make it up to Harry, not just so she wouldn't be alone but she realized without him even if she was the most popular person at school she would still be alone. She needed Harry and she would do whatever she had to do to get him back.

When the train stopped and the kids got off Hermione spotted Harry and Neville and she, although tentative, walked over to them. Neville saw her coming and elbowed Harry to alert him. Harry looked over towards her and they locked eyes. In her eyes Harry saw a hint of regret. In his eyes Hermione saw a look of hurt and distain for her that almost stopped her him her tracks.

She called out for him. "Harry, Harry, wait please!" But he acted as though he didn't hear her. He wouldn't even look back at her as she yelled. Before she could reach him he had gone through the barrier. When she got to where he was when she spotted him only Neville stood there. His look was not sympathetic at all.

"Didn't he hear me?" She asked him out of breath.

"When he told you he didn't enter the tournament did you hear him?" He glared at her. "When the kids at school cursed him and screamed at him did you hear them? When he would call out for you to talk to him all year did you hear him then?"

Hermione could do nothing but lower her head in shame.

"Seems we hear what we want to hear Hermione." With one parting glare he walked away from the girl.

Hermione was a complete mess as she walked through the barrier towards her parents. Her mother reached her first and tried to comfort her but nothing she did seemed to work. When she asked what was wrong her daughter wouldn't answer her. All Hermione kept saying was, "I ruined everything."

A/N: Alright So, I added a little bit to this one.