Hogwarts was amazing, Harry decided. Every corner, little nook, passageway, classroom, tunnel, or anything else was unique. He didn't keep the crate up very long, he noticed he felt kind of tired now. It wasn't body tired, like after a day of gardening, or mental tired, like listening to a 4th lecture on why he was a freak for a day, it was...different. He imagined it was some sort of magical tiredness, or fatigue. He would ask Madam Pomphrey later.

Abby had been excited to take him all over the castle. There was a room that was full of mirrors that didn't work right, a room where the floor was bouncy, and Harry's favorite, a room that had a door that never opened to the same spot. Hogwarts, as it turned out, was bigger in the inside than the outside as well, and Harry was pretty sure time didn't work right either. The stairs seemed to know where he wanted to go before he ever reached them. He was finally done seeing the castle for the night after a solid four or five hours of galavanting about the place, and he went to the makeshift room the elves set up near the kitchens.

He didn't feel like eating much, so he decided to read his mum's books. He noticed the top one wasn't actually a text book, it was a journal instead.

-'Magic. I'm going to study magic. I got a letter in the mail from Hogwarts, just like Sev said I would, serves Tunie right, but MAGIC! I want to know everything already, I feel like Alice as she steps through that mirror into a brand new world of things she had never seen, wanting to learn so badly.'-

Harry had always loved Alice and Wonderland, something he apparently shared with his mother, which made him smile. Harry intently read through his mother's careful cursive, imagining what it would have been like to see her so happy, just like him. Harry realized that he probably shouldn't read it all in one night, deciding he'd read one entry a day for the rest of the year.

The first textbook he found was a potions book. With a shrug, he read through. The first page had a small letter.

-'Dear Lily,

You're entering a brand new world, one so impossibly amazing that I could never do it justice from our little world on Spinner's End, but this us a start, don't you think?

Your best friend, Severus Snape.'-

Harry smiled, realizing this was a gift from a friend. He wondered where Severus Snape was now.

The potions were cool, some having crazy effects, while some being more useful. Throughout the book were little snippets in the margins, detailing how to improve the potions and produce them easier, written in the handwriting of the letter from before.

The next book he found was a charms book.

There were hundreds of notes throughout, these in his mother's cursive, detailing the mental imagery, annunciation, and related spells throughout. Harry soaked it up, using his mom's trial and error as teacher for his new base in magic.

The first charm in the book was lumos, which was easy thanks to the details his mother provided, but he made it really strong and blinded himself. There were a couple dozen others he tried with varying success, but the main thing he learned was that magic was much more about imagination than anything else. He realized that, to do a spell, he had to imagine it's effects very clearly, or it wouldn't work well. Some spells had greater margins for error, he learned that one of the hardest charms was the Patronus for this reason.

Harry found his favorite book next, apparently his mother's least favorite considering the lack of notes, the Defense Against The Dark Arts. The book had the prettiest spell he'd found so far, the protego shield. It was a mesmerizing blue, glittering with magic. It was also the second spell he had managed to do on his first try, since it was such an easy mental image to create.

"I love Magic!"

]

"I've made an error, Severus."

"You do seem particularly troubled, Headmaster."

"I went wrong with Harry."

"Well, with James son, you could only do your best I'm sure.", sarcasm dripping from the man.

"I left Harry with Petunia."

Snape went rigid, the blood in his face draining.

"I can't say I believe that was your best. I thought I was the one that hated the boy."

"So delicate, Severus."

"I'd say if you want 'delicate' get Minerva but she would split your skull if she knew what I did about Petunia Evans."

"Dursley, now."

"She married him? Is Potter not an obscurial now? Is that why I'm here?"

"Harry is safe. He's in this castle as it happens. Though he will not be returning to their care...that's not your concern though. Yours is making the potions to make sure he doesn't remain 20 pounds underweight for the next term."

"He was abused. Albus, he was genuinely mistreated...I can't say I'm surprised...you never checked on him?"

"I left him under watch by-"

"An insane squib with a pension for cats."

"She's a wonderful woman."

"She's apparently not a good guard dog. How bad is Harry's condition?"

"Enough."

"I'll get them started….is he...like her?"

"The eyes. I could have sworn they were Lily's own eyes."

"Perfect green then. You're evil for making me teach him, you know this?"

Severus didn't give Albus time to respond before leaving.

"I'm evil for much worse than that...Severus."