Writer: Azure K Mello

Title: A Bond Never Dies

Part: 113 of ? or part 28 of Part Three

Words: 929

"Remember, it's important to be very courteous. He owes me a favour and this is my way of calling it in but he's not a tame creature. He's free and proud. He's logical, clever, and generally calm. But he doesn't like interacting with people much," advised Remus. "Try acting as though you're talking to you're dead aunt's gentleman friend: polite, friendly, cautious, and slightly awkward. Be honest, he can scent a lie as well as I can." The werewolf smiled as he could smell chemical changes when people fibbed and it had caught Harry off guard on occasion. "Ask questions, you're here to learn. Just be polite while asking."

Harry nodded as he ate and smiled, excited at the prospect of the meeting, "Can they really see the future?"

"Yes, so be careful what you ask because you will receive an answer."

He nodded again and knew what he was going to ask. The question as to whether or not Harry had precognitive abilities had long since faded into the past. The power of pre-sight wasn't his but he could read people and circumstances well and had depth of understanding that couldn't quite be explained. And he was grateful that he had been risen by his father and not by the people who would have stomped it out of him.

A knock came at the floo and Remus called, "Who is it?"

"Neville," said a distant voice.

Harry smiled, excited to see a friend. "Come in," he called and finished his tea, "Do we have time?"

"A half hour," replied Remus with a warm smile.

Stumbling out of the fire place Neville wiped the soot from his robes. He was wearing his uniform and looked harried. "Hello," he said with an uncertain smile, "I just thought to pop in before my next class."

"Would you like breakfast? Tea?"

"Tea would be lovely, thank you, Professor." He said as he sat down next to Harry at the kitchen table. "How are you?" he asked with a smile.

"Much better, thanks," he had told Neville the day before exactly why he wasn't going to Defense Against the Dark Arts and Neville and listened silently. "I couldn't be there."

"Yeah, need some time to cool off I 'spect."

"No," Harry shook his head, "I need to deal with one war at a time and school isn't the one I can win right now."

Neville smiled at that and thanked Remus for his tea as the man handed him a mug. Neville pulled out an envelope and said, "Letter from that boy Cedric."

"Bugger, we said we'd go fly together this weekend, I almost forgot."

"You can still do it," said Remus, "He's more than welcome for dinner."

Harry smile slightly and opened the envelope. The scent of gillyweed, alihotsy, lovage, and valerian hit him in the face and he puffed air out of his lungs. The mixture had been crushed with a mortar and pestle into a course dust. The note was written on several pages of rolling paper. "Harry, you looked stressed in the Great Hall last night at supper. This isn't the NEWTs, this is your first month of school. Calm down. Whatever it is will solve itself. In the meantime, I hope this helps you make it to the weekend. I know you said you don't 'do' this stuff but it might help. I can't wait 'til Saturday, it's great to have found someone as amazing as you on a broom. Cedric."

Still smiling Harry got up to find a quill and parchment and wrote, "Thanks, but no. Really, it's very kind of you, I know you'd usually do it at a price but that's just not my style. I've left school so shall I meet you there on Saturday or do you want to come to mine, play in a field, and have a home cooked meal? Let me know, Harry." He wrote Cedric's name on the outside after rolling it up, and tied the note closed attaching the envelope of drugs (resealed), and then he called Quill over from his perch saying to Neville, "I don't want to make you messenger boy."

Remus came to sit and the smell hit him, "Drugs?" he said in a deadly calm tone. "Harry, I know you're-"

"I'm sending them back to him. I'm not ready for that."

With a slight smile Remus said, "Just be careful if you ever are ready, they eat your mind."

Harry smirked as he knew that there was a damn good reason why Remus could identify his gift through scent alone. He knew his parents had smoked a lot in school. But he had a war looming over him. And Lily had died for him. It seemed wicked to smoke before the war was over. Maybe someday he would try it but not yet. "I know," he said with a nod. Before sending the note off with the owl he asked Neville, "Do you want it? His stuff's supposed to be top because he grows all his ingredients so it's clean and safe."

"It's safe so it doesn't kill you, but it still destroys your lungs," said Remus smelling the envelope. "At least it's fresh," he said with a disparaging tone.

"Nah," said Neville, "I have a potions test next week. It hard enough without that lingering in my system. It smells like valerian and that stuff makes you tired." He drained his tea and looked at the clock on the wall, "I should go. I just wanted to say hello."

Smiling at his friend Harry said, "Thanks, I'll see you soon, okay?"