Harry was hiding in his snake enclosure. Today was the day the Delacour's left to go back to France and they were taking Remy with them. Harry was ecstatic for his pseudo Uncle for finding such excellent partners but he would miss him terribly. So he decided if he didn't say goodbye to them, they couldn't leave.
"Pup, I know you're in here." Sirius's voice came from above him. He was sitting underneath the table with his snakes surrounding him. They all hissed in warning to his godfather as he crawled underneath the table with him.
"Hi." Harry whispered, trying not to cry. Crying never helped anything, he chanted to himself.
"Hi pup. Nice place you got here. Did you remodel?" Sirius joked, banging his head as he shifted in place.
"I don't want them to leave!" He blurted out and then covered his mouth. He shouldn't have said that. He was being selfish. Remus was finally happy so he should be happy too!
"I don't want him to leave either." Sirius whispered and Harry looked at his godfather.
"But we have to be brave and let him go. He'll just be a floo away and we'll see him during holidays and summer break!"
"You won't leave right?" Harry asked worriedly. He could bear letting go of Remy as long as Sirius promised he'd stay.
"Pup, you'll never get rid of me. Severus and I will live with you until we're old and grey." Harry felt his shoulders finally relax. He would be brave for everyone. Sirius pulled him into a hug and pretended he wasn't using his shirt to dry his tears. He took a deep breath and said "okay, let's go."

Severus watched Remus pace back and forth as they waited for Sirius to bring Harry in. He should have known Harry would be upset with the werewolf leaving, he berated himself.
"Do you think he's okay?" Draco looked worried as he matched Remus's steps, both of them wearing a hole in the carpet.
"I should have talked it over with him!" Remus muttered, his hands running through his hair. The door opened to reveal a red eyed Sirius and Harry. Harry had all of his snakes wrapped around him like armor.
"Hi Remy." Harry said watery, his lip trembling. Remus didn't waste any time picking him up and holding him tight, ignoring the snakes hissing out in agitation.
"I'll stay if you ask me to, cub." Remus murmured in Harry's hair, his eyes conflicted. Harry wiggled out of his grasp and gave him a scowl.
"Don't be ridiculous, Remy. How can I come to your wedding if you live here? You have to go." His voice was firm. Draco wrapped an arm around him and said "exactly. We could even have a symbolic wedding after you, right darling?" Sirius glared at his godson but didn't say anything.
"Alright. Let's go say goodbye to the Delacour's." Harry marched out of the room, dragging Draco with him. The French family was waiting in the entrance way, luggage scattered around them. Fluer took one look at Harry and hugged him tightly.
"Do not cry, mon cœur! We will see you often, non?" She gave a sniff before continuing "Dobby has offered to bring me to HFC meetings during the semester." She passed him to Gabrielle and she hugged him just as hard. "I will miss you, 'Arry! Please make sure to write to me." Harry hissed something to MH and the snake hissed back.
"Gabi, MH wants to go to school with you. He said he'd keep an eye on you and Fleur." The girl held out her hand and hissed. Both heads seemed to laugh as they slithered onto her arm.
"Keep practicing! You just hissed the word for door." Harry sniffed, his smile peeking through. Severus knew the girl would never be able to actually speak it but she could pretend and only Harry would know the difference. The Delacour adults smothered him with hugs and kisses, promising to write to him as well.
"Goodbye!" They waved as they took the floo to the ministry, leaving only Remus behind.
"Be good, cub! Make sure you keep your grades up and don't get into too much trouble." He hugged the boy tightly. Severus wasn't surprised when Sirius launched himself at the man. His partner had been a wreck since he found out Remus was leaving. They had just gotten their friendship in a good place and now the werewolf would be in a different country.
"Take care of yourself, Pad!"
He patted Severus's shoulder and did the same to Draco.
"Don't let them do anything too stupid."
"Of course not, Remus. I'll make sure we don't get caught." Draco announced, making them all roll their eyes. He gave them one last smile before disappearing into the floo.

The rest of the summer flew by and soon Draco was digging the last of his socks from underneath their bed. Harry had been rather depressed but they had managed to cheer him up.
"Draco! We're going to miss the train!" Harry ran in, his hair curling around his collarbones. Draco tackled him to the bed.
"Father can always floo us to Uncle's office." Harry's eyes were stunning up close. Draco could stare into them for hours and never get tired.
"I suppose you'll be sneaking into the Slytherin dorms? We've shared a bed since Yule and I won't be sleeping alone." Draco stated. They had slept separately once they had gotten back to school from their winter break and it had been awful!
"Or you could sneak into the Hufflepuff dorms." Harry suggested, his smile mischievous.
"Perhaps we could take turns? Always leave them guessing." Harry nodded and went to sit up. Draco hugged him tighter.
"My love, just a few more minutes."
Father came barreling into their room, his sleek hair in a bun.
"Boys! We're late!" As he rushed around trying to get everything in place, he saw Harry's smug look.
"I told you so!"
He gracefully stepped out of his Godfather's floo and turned to catch Harry as he stumbled out. Lord Black gave a scream as he hid behind Uncle Severus.
"Merlin boys! You scared me half to death! Wait, aren't you supposed to be on the train?" Lord Black questioned, still holding onto Uncle Severus.
"We were too late to take the train so Mr. Malfoy had us floo!" Harry said, reaching for his hand.
"And what made you boys so late?" Lord Black's eyes were drilling into him.
"What are you doing here, Siri?" Draco gave his fiancé a grin as he ignored his question.
"I was just looking at Severus's office." He squeaked out, not looking at them. Draco gave a snort. More like shagging in his Uncle's office.
"Well if you're here, you might as well get unpacked and then head to the Great Hall." His godfather said and Draco opened the door for Harry.
"Lord Black, your fly is down." He ignored the other man's sputtering and followed his beloved out. He was curious as to who their new Defense Professor was.

Hermione was panicking. Draco and Harry weren't anywhere on the train. Neville came running into their compartment and gasped out "they missed the train so they just took the floo" and collapsed on the ground. Ron crouched down beside him and started fanning his face. Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She was worried the Headmaster had tried something. She didn't trust that bag of bones.
"Thank Merlin." Tonks sighed in relief, Cedric holding her hand. Hermione had to admit they made an adorable couple. There was a knock on their door and a small blonde girl stuck her head in.
"Hello. Have you seen Harry? He said we could sit together." Her voice had an otherworldly quality to it. She spotted the necklace around her neck and said "oh! You must be Luna! Harry's told us all about you. Come in!" Hermione was sure the girl was half mad but that wasn't any of her business.
"Thank you for inviting me in." She watched Neville cross himself like he was warding off an evil spirit.
"Hi Luna! Are you excited for Hogwarts?" Cedric asked the spacey girl and she nodded her head thoughtfully.
"Daddy wanted me to be homeschooled but Harry said I could pet his snakes." She finally answered, pulling tarot cards out of her pocket.
"That's nice. Harry is a wonderful friend to have." Cedric ignored Luna as she started shuffling the deck.
"The whispers said you've been caught staring at his arse." Luna stated, flipping a card to reveal The Fool. Tonks roared with laughter as Cedric buried his face in his hands. Harry was an excellent judge of character, Hermione decided. Luna would fit right in.

Harry sat at the Hufflepuff table, waiting for his friends to arrive. The Professors were sitting at the head table looking at them and he was trying to ignore the bright blonde man waving at him. He didn't succeed as the man strutted over.
"Oh my gosh! Harry Potter in the flesh! My name is Gilderoy Lockhart, you can call me Professor Lockhart. I'm teaching Defense this year." The man said, his hair perfectly coiled on top of his head. Draco sneered at him from his side.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Harry finally said, realizing the Professor wasn't leaving. This was the man who was replacing Remy? He looked like he could barely button his shirt!
"Now don't get too jealous now that you have some competition, my boy! Oh! The students are arriving!" The man swanned over to his seat, looking ridiculous in his brightly colored robes. Harry was physically restraining Draco as he muttered death threats. Tonks sat down across from them with Cedric on her right.
"Wotcher boys! We missed you on the train!" She said, leaning forward to ruffle his hair. Draco smacked her hand away and said "we were busy." Cedric snorted in his cup and said "busy snogging, I bet." Tonks gave a dramatic gasp and Harry couldn't help snarking back.
"Did you want to watch?" Draco choked on his spit as Tonks banged on the table, her face turning red as she wheezed for air. He turned to see Luna getting Sorted.
"Ravenclaw!" He clapped loudly for his friend and saw her make a beeline to his table.
"Hi Harry! I met your friends and they seem nice." The dreamy girl said, her smile wide.
"Congratulations on your Sorting, Luna!" He said to her, maybe she could join their study group! The rest of the Sorting went by quickly and the Headmaster stood up to introduce Lockhart.
"You hired that blonde haired loser over Mr. Lupin?" Hermione screamed from the Gryffindor table, the twins holding her back from doing Merlin knows what.
"Five points to Hufflepuff!" Mr. Severus said, ignoring his coworkers' mutters. Dumbledore just continued his speech. Before he could announce the food, the giant doors swung open and slammed into the wall.
"Goodness! I thought I was late!" A curly haired woman said from the doorway, shaking off her cloak.
"Mum?" Tonks yelled, her hair turning the same brown color as Mrs. Tonks.
"Hello dear! I hope you don't mind the interruption, Dumbledore. As the new student counselor, I wanted to make an entrance." She proclaimed, her fierce smile making some students shiver in fear. Harry clapped loudly for her as the other students joined in. He couldn't wait for the year to officially start!