Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling and her publishers, not to me. I'm not making money off this.

Spoilers: All five HP novels.

PRELUDE--MUSINGS & CONVERSATIONS

XI: Harry, Remus, Albus and Severus

Harry gratefully escaped up the stairs, and went slowly into his room, hoping that his Professors were still there. "Headmaster? I'm sorry for all this; it went on far longer than I had hoped. Can you please come down? The police constable wants to talk to one of you."

Then Harry noticed the charm that had given them full sight and sound. Oh, no—they not only heard all that, they saw it, too. And where is Snape?

Dumbledore smiled. "Of course, I will." He Transfigured his robes to a Muggle casual suit, and Glamoured his beard to look short and neat. His long hair was now in a neat braid in back.

"Where is Professor Snape?" Harry asked in a low voice.

"He was downstairs with you, Disillusioned, all that time. We do not want him seen here at all, for his own safety, but we thought you should have closer support in case of real trouble. And, as you saw, we two were watching from here the entire time. You were never alone, not once; and if we had truly been needed, we would have been there in an instant." Dumbledore stood, and embraced Harry, surrounding him with comfort. "Well done, my boy, well done. You said no more than you had to, you came up with a plausible cover story, you held up when we were certain you were going to break down, and you kept your magic under control even around that insufferable woman. That is the Aunt Marge that you blew up, Third Year?"

"Uh-huh," Harry admitted. "I thought I was going to lose it, and I can't! Not now!" He was starting to tremble with emotion, but fought to hold it down. One more pain, just one, and I'll blow—and I can't, not after all we've accomplished today! Tears threatened to leak out.

Dumbledore held him more closely against his chest. "Shh, Harry," he whispered softly. "You've done your part, and far more than any of us guessed that you would have to; let me do mine." He settled Harry down on the chair, and pulled out a small vial. "Drink this; it is Calming Potion. After all that has happened, you deserve at least a temporary respite. I will return shortly."

He started towards the door, which opened on its own. Soft footsteps came into the room, and Snape removed the spell on himself before slumping back down on the couch, rubbing his head. "The things I do for you, Albus..." he muttered. He poured himself more tea, heated it with his wand, and drank it down.

Lupin chuckled. "Oh, come now, Severus, it was just a noisy pack of Muggles, and you didn't even have to threaten them. None of us, not even Harry, were in any real danger; I'd say it was one of the easier things you've had to do lately."

"What is wrong, apart from the obvious fact that we are all starving?" asked Dumbledore kindly.

"You two were up here, safe and sound," growled Snape, as he pulled out another potion vial and downed the contents. "I had to hear all those wretched Muggles scream at each other full-force, and it gave me a raging headache. I swear that Gryffindor First-Years on a sugar high aren't that bad, and those were adults! It makes me almost believe in Pureblood Wizard superiority. Malfoy would have a glorious time at Potter's expense if he ever got wind of this!" He waved his hand. "Albus, please go deal with that officer; he doesn't know how close he came to seeing that whole roomful of idiots hexed, and he was the only one in that whole crowd, bar Arabella, with any sense whatever!" Dumbledore went, ending the sight-and-sound charms as he left.

Harry was mortified. "I'm sorry, sir," he told Snape. "I had no idea you were in the room with me. I tried to do the best I could not to involve all of you. But I had to tell them something." He bent his head down, hoping that the Calming Potion would take effect soon. He was not going to endanger the crumbs of respect he had gotten from Snape that day by breaking down. He would not.

Snape shook his head; the last of his illusions about Harry had crumbled away. When they returned to school or Headquarters, he vowed silently to have another long talk with Lupin and Dumbledore. He turned to face the boy, who was staring down at the floor. "Harry," he said quietly, "how you endured all that, especially that insufferable Marge woman and the insults to Black and your parents, without blowing up the entire house and all of us with it, is beyond me. I'm no Empath, and I could feel the pressure you were under. That you were also able to be polite and civil is even more credit to you. That you also showed amazing lenience to and on behalf of your cousin, who as far as I can tell deserves none whatever, is even more astounding, and very Gryffindor of you. You owe me no apology whatever for the actions of the other people; we should be helping you, if we are to be at all serious about what we discussed today. The fault in that matter lies entirely with those boys, for breaking the law and getting caught; their parents for allowing them to run wild; your insufferable gossiping neighbors; and your so-called family, who have shown not one ounce of proper care or attention to their own son, let alone to you." He sighed, and rubbed both temples; the Headache Potion hadn't yet worked. "I'm now starting to understand a few things." He didn't elaborate further.

Harry stared at his shoes; the whole family situation was a major embarrassment to him. "Sir, after facing the Dark Lord and the full Wizengamot, this wasn't much. At least they weren't trying to kill me, and I was the only one under their attention." He looked up at both Lupin and Snape with misery in his eyes. "I had better warn you, Professors: it isn't over yet. When the Dursleys come back, I'm in for a major screaming fit, or worse, from both of them. Maybe you should all go, now; I don't want you to have to see it, I don't want you to be tempted to hurt them, and I would rather...get upset in private. I'm sorry; I thought we were actually making progress. Maybe I'm not ready. If they had said one more thing aboutHis words trailed off as he returned to staring at the floor.

Lupin's kind heart broke. He was so proud of Harry, but at the same time, the slow simmer of his own wolf anger was rising higher. This whole wretched mess could not have come at a worse time. The only cub of his odd little pack was just starting to come to terms with all his troubles; now he was in unknowing danger, caused by people who should be taking care of him. He knew Harry was too proud to break down in front of Snape, of whose reluctant respect he had finally earned a little and would not endanger. But if the Dursleys yelled at Harry, he would break. If they did the slightest thing more—and Lupin suspected that there was much more that Harry had never told him—they could be caught in the explosion of a raging Harry—whose immediate reaction would be yet more guilt if he hurt anyone. No, Lupin knew, the three Wizards could not leave Harry alone to deal with his relatives; if they did, there might not be a house left standing at Number Four! More: if they did anything to Harry before the Wizards left, and survived whatever Harry did, they would next face a very angry Dumbledore, to say nothing of what Lupin himself could do; and add into that mix the obvious fact that the always-volatile and very dangerous Snape was also on Harry's side now...they didn't stand a chance.

He went over to where Harry was sitting miserably, knelt down on one knee to bring himself down to the same level, and put both arms around the boy. At the same time, he caught Snape's eye and gave a head gesture to give them room. The other man, for once understanding, Disillusioned himself again and left, closing the door softly behind him.

"It's just us now, Harry," Lupin said softly. "Albus is downstairs and Severus has left the room. Go ahead and cry if you want."

"I—I can't, Moony," Harry muttered. "I'm trying to do what I have to, and I can't afford to break. I have to be strong, and if I break now, I'll never be." He sniffed, but allowed himself to be held by the older man.

"Harry, if you don't let it out now, while I'm here to help you, and to cry with you—don't think I haven't!—you'll explode, and make a real mess: of yourself, and maybe all the rest of us too. You've made all of us very proud of you—yes, even Severus, although he won't say so in so many words—and then you dealt with a truly hard situation when you weren't at all ready. Take the time for yourself, now; then we can move on with the rest later." Lupin pulled one arm free, pulled out his own wand, and widened Harry's chair to a settee big enough for both of them; then he got up and sat next to him, pulled the now-unresisting boy back into his arms, and held him snugly, waiting for the storm to break. He sensed that Harry was on the very edge, and only a very little would send him over; if he did, Lupin would likely break down again too. Lily, Prongs, Padfoot, I'm sorry; I wish you were here. Even Snape would have been a better guardian than the Dursleys turned out to be! The first of his own tears fell silently on the messy black hair his cheek rested on.