A/N: Hey all! Here is the next chapter of Raising Harry! The opinion questions (they're back!) are at the end of the story.

Thank you so much to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed!

Enjoy!


Remus looked around the parlor of Malfoy Manor with trepidation. He'd never been allowed to step foot into the Manor, let alone go to the inner sanctum, the family rooms. But now here he was, by invitation of the lady of the house no less. He couldn't mess up, not now. Not when there was so much at stake.

"Tea, Mr. Lupin?" Narcissa asked, beckoning for a house elf to come.

"Yes, thank you, Lady Malfoy. Please, call me Remus." He shifted on the couch, worried that he would spoil the delicate fabric.

"In that case, I must insist that you call me Narcissa." She clasped her hands in her lap before continuing, "I believe your letter mentioned discussing a school?"

Remus nodded once. "Sirius, Severus, and I were discussing the education of young children in the magical world and discovered that there is no education. Severus did not know this."

"I suppose that that would be why he is so hard on his students about preparation. How is he to know they know nothing?" A house elf appeared with a tray of tea, and Narcissa began serving herself and her guest. "I did not know he was unaware of the state of education or else I would have said something to him. I presume you want to set up a school?"

"I do. Severus seemed quite interested as well," Remus replied, accepting the delicate china mug from Narcissa. "I have to admit, I'm rather busy now. I also would have no idea where to start with finding children to go to the school, or teachers to teach there."

"I see." Summoning a quill, ink, and sheaf of parchment, Narcissa set her tea on the low table in front of her and began writing gracefully. "Here are some teachers I can suggest, although I do believe that Severus would be the best for Potions. He would make an excellent Headmaster as well."

"You don't think Severus is too…" It took Remus a moment to find an inoffensive word to describe what he was worried about. "Harsh?"

"I think he has been dealt an awful hand in life and if given the chance, he will be much softer. Moving on." The blonde tapped her chin with the feathery end of the quill. "I believe Lucius may have some properties you can use to house the school. I will discuss it with him this evening. In terms of students, I will send letters to some of Draco's friends' parents. I know that a number of them have expressed the desire to have their children learn more."

Remus's jaw dropped in surprise. "You think they would be willing to do this?"

"Of course! Some parents recognize their own insufficiencies and would like for someone to help teach their children. If done properly, this idea will be greeted with open arms by the Pureblood community." Handing Remus the top sheet, Narcissa began writing quickly on another. "Here is a list of subjects I believe would be the most desired by parents. I've written my suggestions for teachers beside each one."

"You're doing much more than I had ever imagined. I assumed I would have to beg you for assistance, but this…" The werewolf shook his head. "This is incredible."

Narcissa fixed him with a stern look, one that reminded him that while she was now a Malfoy, Black blood still ran in her veins. "This is the education of our children, the next generation. I will do everything in my power to help with that. Anyone would do the same."

"Not for a werewolf," he said quietly.

"Perhaps. But I know my cousin, and he would never allow danger to come to his godson, not if he were in his right mind. I also know what you have been doing to fix the situation Albus Dumbledore has put you all in." Seeing the surprise on his face, she shrugged, an odd gesture from so formal a woman. "I found out from Sirius and Andromeda. If the information were shared amongst the Pureblood families, I believe they will consent to you having a hand in the school."

"I suppose sharing some information would be alright. Not the specifics, but maybe just enough to show that we're trying?" Remus sighed. "I don't know if this is the right thing to do. Maybe we should be focusing on Dumbledore and leave this for later?"

"No. You must set the foundation now, before people think fighting Dumbledore is the only thing you want to accomplish." Narcissa lifted her cup of tea and took a delicate sip. "I wish to help in any way I can. Draco's education is important to me."

"Thank you." Setting down his cup of tea, Remus scanned the parchment in his hand. "Ah...some of these people are leaders in their respective fields. How will we afford to pay them? I don't want to exclude some families just because they cannot afford the exorbitant tuition we'd need to charge."

"You would be surprised at how much people value education. I'm sure many of these people will be willing to decrease their salary to educate the next generation." At the doubtful look on the werewolf's face, she continued, "I suppose it is because you are a werewolf that you are unaware of this, but the youth of the magical community are cherished. It can be hard for Purebloods to have children, and once we finally have them, we want to raise them as well as we possibly can. Our children are precious to us. Even experts are willing to sacrifice for their sake."

Remus shook his head slowly. This meeting was nothing like he had imagined. He'd assumed that he would need to beg Narcissa for her help, and perhaps she would give him a few names of people she thought could assist him. This...she was practically taking charge of the whole thing! Not that he was complaining. Narcissa knew everyone and if anyone could open a successful school, it would be her. "Thank you. I cannot tell you how much this means to me."

"You think this meeting is over?" Narcissa raised a single eyebrow. "We are going to plan out as much of this school as we possibly can. Severus has a free period in five minutes and I have already owled him to come meet us. At the very least, I want a basic framework for this school by the end of today. Right now, this is the most important item on my list of things to accomplish."

"I see that," he replied, mind still racing. "So Severus - "

"Is already here," a dour voice finished from the doorway. Severus entered the room and sat down across from Remus. "Good afternoon, wolf."

"Severus."

Narcissa sighed. "Boys. Behave. At least try to get along. Now, to start…"

HPHPHPHPHPHPPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Sirius lifted his attention from the paperwork he was reading through when the Floo flashed green. "Moony?"

"Yes." The werewolf carefully exited the fireplace and brushed off his robes, not noticing Sirius's eager expression.

"So? What happened?"

"The meeting went well. Narcissa had Severus come in and we came up with a basic idea for the school." Remus handed him the sheaf of parchment Narcissa had copied. "There you go. It seems that Severus will be the headmaster of this school. Are you...alright with that?"

"Sure, we're staying in his house, and he's pretty much the only one who's qualified to teach. Why should I be upset?" He began flipping through the parchment, pausing as he saw the names. "Huh. Cissy has good taste in teachers."

"You're not worried about their salary?"

"Of course not. They'll do it for less than you would expect, seeing as it's for children." Tearing his gaze from the paper he was scanning, he caught sight of the disbelief on Remus's face. "Didn't Narcissa explain this to you? People will do anything for kids."

Remus sighed and shook his head. "She told me, but I figured that was just what she wanted me to think. I didn't realize that it was true."

"Yeah, people are crazy about kids. Makes what my dear mother did all the more awful." Sirius's gray eyes took on a haunted look, making Remus wince. "It also means that if anyone discovers what Dumbledore caused to happen to Harry, they'll go ballistic. Children are important to everyone."

"I'm still surprised about that as well." Suddenly, a thought struck Remus. "Where's Harry?"

"Napping. He went down awhile ago, should be up soon." An entry in the list of possible locations for the school made Sirius freeze. "Malfoy Estates? Lucius is going along with this?"

"Why are you so surprised by that? He agreed to work with us before, and you yourself just said that everyone does anything for children." Remus took the stack of parchment and began flipping through it quickly, searching for something. "I thought Narcissa said she put some photographs in here. I suppose not."

Sirius shook his head. "Narcissa I expected. Lucius is a different story. This is more than simply overthrowing You-Know-Who to keep his family safe. This is getting involved and helping everyone. He has to realize that if we're doing this for Harry, we're going to open it to everyone, not just Purebloods."

"I don't think Narcissa cares, and I feel as though Lucius is controlled by her quite often. I'm not even sure if he realizes that," Remus replied slowly. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Until then, I think we should take whatever we can get. Severus is quite enthusiastic about it himself, which can only help us."

"True. I suppose I'll owl Lucius tonight, then, and try to set up a meeting for tomorrow to begin discussing the monetary aspects of the school. I want it set up as soon as possible." The dog Animagus ran a hand through his thick hair and shook his head. "I don't know if it's smart to pull Severus from Hogwarts just yet, though. Dumbledore may realize that something is up."

"Severus said he'd stay for now and work on the school from the background. He brought up the same point." Setting the paper on the table, Remus sighed. "I believe this is going to take a lot more work than we thought it would at first."

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy," Sirius quipped. "I'm going to jot down a quick note to Lucius and head to bed. I want to spend tomorrow working on the school."

Remus nodded. "That sounds like a plan."


Hope you enjoyed! Now, for opinions:

1. Who do you want to come up for the school in terms of teachers? I have a few people in mind, but I'd love to hear some other ideas.

2. Any suggestions for students? Obviously, Harry, Neville, and Draco will come up, but is there anyone else you'd like to see?

3. Lucius's building - I have a layout in mind (If anyone has watched Jane the Virgin, it's similar to the school Matelio goes to in the second half of the third season) but does anyone else have any ideas? I've worked as a teaching assistant before, so I'm pretty much creating my ideal school :)

That's all for now! Although, if you want to put in your two cents anywhere else, I'll definitely take it into account!

Thanks for reading!