Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

The next morning, Harry groggily woke up and reached for his glasses. It took him a moment to remember that he was in his parent's quarters and not the Tower. The events of the night before flooded his mind and flopped back down on his bed, wondering if he could just hide in his room all day. Or maybe all weekend.

"Harry, did you sleep here?" Primrose asked, poking her head into his room. She had walked by his room and was surprised to find him there.

"Yeah," Harry said, yawning.

"Why?"

"I got into trouble last night," Harry admitted. "I'm going to be sleeping here instead of the Tower for a while." He sighed, thinking of the day ahead. He would have to face his housemates. Thankfully, there were no classes but he would see them at mealtimes and he was sure they weren't happy. He wondered how Hermione, Ron, and Draco were fairing this morning.

"Really? What did you do?" Primrose asked curiously.

"I snuck out of the castle late last night," Harry said sheepishly.

"Why?" Primrose asked with wide eyes.

"Because I'm stupid," Harry sighed.

Primrose frowned. "You're not stupid," She said loyally. "Did someone try and hurt you? The person who jinxed your broom?"

"No, but they could have," Harry said. "I made it easy for them by sneaking out. I shouldn't have done it."

"You made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes," Primrose said reasonably.

"I also took Dad's invisibility cloak without asking," Harry admitted.

Primrose's mouth dropped open. "Did you get into big trouble?"

"Yes. Big loss of house points, I have to stay in here instead of the dorm, and I got a – um," Harry flushed. "Dad had a talk with me last night."

"Oh," Primrose said, understanding in her eyes. She knew what kind of talk her brother meant. She looked at her brother sympathetically. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Harry gave her a sad smile. They heard their mother call for them. "Go on. I'm going to get dressed first."

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Primrose asked as she entered the kitchen. "Yay!"

"Where's your brother?" James asked as he set the table.

"Getting dressed," Primrose said as she sat down.

When Harry entered the kitchen, he looked at the table in surprise.

"We thought we would have breakfast here today, instead of in the Great Hall," Lily explained as she placed a pitcher of juice on the table. "We all had a bit of a lie in this morning."

James put a plate of bacon on the table and then sat down. He glanced at Harry. "Did everyone sleep okay?" He asked.

"I did," Primrose said as she used her fork to cut into her pancake.

"I slept fine," Harry said quietly. He took two pancakes and poured syrup over them.

Primrose chatted happily throughout breakfast while Harry was quieter than he normally was. Lily watched him in concern. "Harry, you sure you're okay?" She asked softly.

Harry nodded as he finished his glass of juice.

"I know facing your classmates will be difficult, but they will get over it," James said in a gentle voice. "You and your friends can work to earn the points back."

"I know," Harry said, fiddling with his cup. He wondered if his parents were embarrassed, to have a son get into so much trouble. Everyone would know and here his parents were professors and his dad Head of House. They had to be somewhat ashamed of him, right?

James looked at Harry in concern. His son usually bounced back fairly quickly after being punished. "You're not, um, uncomfortable or anything are you?" He had been careful when using the ruler on Harry, making sure to create a good sting but not leave any marks. Harry shouldn't still be hurting.

Harry looked at him in confusion for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I'm not," He assured his father.

James relaxed. "Good."

"We're going to have Charlie send you some information on dragons for your essay," Lily told him. "No time limit, take your time on it. Okay?"

"Okay," Harry said. He actually didn't mind doing an essay on dragons, it might be interesting. "May I be excused?"

"Of course," Lily murmured, watching as he left.

HP

Right before lunch, Snape, Sirius, and Remus flooed through to check on Harry and discuss what the children had done.

"I should have been woken up immediately," Snape grumbled.

"Remus was handling Draco, there was no point in waking you up," Sirius shrugged.

"What about when the children were missing?" Snape demanded.

"Sev, we were about to alert you to the situation when we got word that Sirius had found them," Lily explained.

"Have you spoken to Draco?" James asked.

"Oh, yes," Snape's face darkened. "I gave him an earful for breaking curfew and sneaking out of the castle. I would have given him detention but Remus already took care of that."

"You gave Draco detention?" Sirius asked Remus.

"Not really," Remus chuckled. "I'm having him help me in the library but that is more of an attempt to spend time with him than a punishment."

Sirius made a face. "The library? That is a punishment."

Remus rolled his eyes.

"Severus, I do feel bad about the fifty-point loss but -" James began.

"No, I would have taken points from him myself," Snape said. "It was deserved, for all of the children. What they did was completely irresponsible and foolish."

Harry walked into the room and froze when he saw Remus, Sev, and Sirius. He bit his lip. "Uh, hi."

"Hey pup," Sirius said brightly. "Ready for lunch?" He ruffled Harry's hair playfully.

"I guess," Harry said. "Unless we can eat our meal here again?" He asked his father hopefully.

"You can't avoid your housemates forever," James told him gently.

Harry sighed and nodded. "Is Draco okay?" He asked Remus.

"He's fine," Remus said. "He had to face his housemates as well."

"They weren't happy about the fifty-point loss," Snape nodded. "However, it was earned." He gave Harry a stern look.

Harry flushed. "I know."

Snape's face softened slightly. "I'm just glad all of you are safe and unharmed."

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "I didn't mean to cause so much trouble and worry." He hesitated. "Do you know what is going to happen to Norbert?"

"Dumbledore made an arrangement with Charlie to have Norbert sent to Romania," Sirius said.

Harry nodded. "That's good, except I bet Hagrid was sad."

"He is but Dumbledore talked to him and Hagrid knows this is best for Norbert," Sirius said with a smile.

James put his arm around Harry. "Come on, your mum and Prim already headed to the Great Hall."

Harry sighed. He supposed he couldn't hide out forever.

HP

"Way to go," Oliver Wood glared as Harry sat next to Ron and Hermione. "How could three first years lose us so many points in one night?"

"Leave them alone, it's rather impressive," Fred said with a smirk.

"It is not!" Percy snapped. "Our House is in disgrace because of them!" He glared at Ron.

"You've already told us this," Ron grumbled. Percy had been scolding and lecturing since he and Hermione had returned to the Tower. All the Gryffindors were upset with them.

"Well, Harry hasn't," Percy sniffed. "Although, I'm sure he had heard plenty from his parents. Especially our Head of House."

"Leave him alone, I'm sure he feels bad enough," George said.

"As he should," Percy said primly. "As they all should."

"Percy," Fred sighed. "Shut up, will you?"

Percy scowled.

"You better win us a bunch of points in our next Quidditch game," Oliver said. He paused. "You are still allowed to play, right?"

Harry nodded. "As long as I don't get into more trouble."

"Then you better not, Potter!" Oliver said. "Think about us, we want to win this year!"

Harry shared an unhappy look with Ron and Hermione. "Ron, you're not eating." He said in surprise when he noticed Ron's empty plate. Usually, Ron was the first to fill up his plate once the food appeared.

"Mum flooed here early this morning," Ron mumbled. Needless to say, it had not been a pleasant visit.

"Oh," Harry said with wide eyes. He remembered what her howler had said earlier in the year and winced in sympathy. "Sorry, mate. I had to, uh, have that conversation with my Dad after Sirius dropped me off at our quarters." He wondered how Draco had fared. "What about you, Hermione?"

Hermione held up a letter. "My parents wrote me, saying how disappointed they are in my behavior and that they expect better of me." She said miserably. "They've never told me that before. And they're tempted to pull me out of Hogwarts and put me back in muggle school if I get into more trouble."

"No more sneaking around," Harry said firmly. "We'll be model students."

Ron and Hermione just looked at him.

"Well, we'll try," Harry amended.

HP

It had been two weeks since the dragon incident and most of the students were getting ready to leave for Christmas break. Harry and his friends had managed to stay out of trouble, even earning points for their house. During their last Quidditch game, Harry had waited until they were up by a lot before catching the snitch so now all the points they had lost had been more than earned back. There had been no more attacks set on him, although he still had to follow the new restrictions and not go anywhere alone. He also still resided in his parent's quarters and was still working on his dragon essay. Charlie had sent him several books on dragons and Harry was determined to do a good job on the essay. Charlie had slightly admonished him for the incident in a letter but then wrote he would have done the same thing to see a dragon at Harry's age. He asked if he could read a copy of the essay once Harry was finished with it. Harry and his family usually visited the Weasleys on Christmas so Harry could give it to Charlie personally if he managed to finish in time.

"So we'll spend some of our Christmas break here," James said one evening as the family sat in the living room, Harry and Prim working on homework as their parents graded papers. "As Head of House, I need to be here for part of it. But we'll go home for Christmas Eve and day."

"Yay!" Primrose cheered.

"Sound good, Harry?" Lily asked.

"Yes," Harry said, as he focused on his homework. He missed the concerned glance his parents gave each other.

"Harry, is anything wrong?" Lily asked gently.

Harry shook his head.

"You've been quiet the past couple of weeks," James said lightly. "Except for Quidditch practice, we only see you study."

"I'm being good," Harry said quietly.

"For Father Christmas?" Primrose asked excitedly. "So he you leaves good presents?"

"He may not leave me any this year," Harry said ruefully. "Except coal."

Primrose gasped. "You can't have been that bad!" She exclaimed.

"Prim, it's close to your bedtime," Lily said after a moment. "Go get into your pajamas and pick out a book for us to read, all right?"

Primrose sighed and nodded. "Okay."

"Harry, you can't really think that," James spoke up when she left the room.

"I've been bad," Harry sighed.

"Harry, come here," Lily said, taking his hands into hers once he reached her. "You know we forgive you for sneaking out and taking the cloak, right?"

Harry hesitated and then nodded.

"We always forgive you," James added.

"I know but..." Harry shrugged. "I just realize how stupid I was. I've been trying to be good -"

"Harry, you are not stupid and I do not want to hear you call yourself that again," James said firmly. "You made some mistakes, paid for them and now we move on."

"So I'm earning your trust back?"

James's face softened. "You are."

"But Harry, while I appreciate that you have been studying so much you can still have fun too," Lily said. "You can play chess and exploding snap, and laugh with your friends."

"I was trying to make up for embarrassing you," Harry admitted.

"Embarrassing us?" James asked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You're both professors, and Dad, you're Head of House," Harry pointed out. "And I lost us 150 points by sneaking out."

"Not by yourself you didn't," Lily said. "And you and your friends have earned almost double that back."

"But -"

"Harry, you are not nor have ever been an embarrassment to us," James said. "We're proud of you. And don't think we haven't noticed that you have been putting a lot of work into your essay," He added.

"I want it to be good," Harry said, his eyes brightening slightly. "In Charlie's letter, he asked if he could have a copy of it once I'm finished so I'll have it done by Christmas."

"We can't wait to read it," Lily said warmly.

"Do you feel better now, Pronglet?" James asked.

Harry nodded. He did, he felt lighter now that he knew his parents weren't embarrassed by him.

HP

"I told you they weren't embarrassed by you," Draco said smugly. "They're like my Dad, no matter how upset they are, they don't hold it against you."

"I know, I just -" Harry paused. "Did you say your Dad?"

Draco flushed a little and shrugged. "Yeah."

"That's great, Draco. I'm glad you're calling him that," Harry said sincerely. He turned to his other friends. "How about you, Hermione? Do you think your parents are still upset?"

"I don't think so," Hermione smiled. "I've written and told them how many points I earned in our classes and that I haven't gotten into any more trouble."

"It's been a bit boring though," Ron said as he doodled on a bit of parchment. "No adventures, no excitement..."

"No losing points, no having to face an angry parent," Draco drawled.

"True," Ron agreed.

"What is everyone doing for Christmas?" Hermione asked. "I'm going home, of course. We usually go skiing."

"Charlie and Bill are coming home for Christmas," Ron said happily. "The whole family will be together."

"Dad and I will go home," Draco said. "We're coming to your house on Christmas," He told Ron.

Ron was about to respond when Theo Nott stopped by them. "Draco, come sit with us," He said, pointing to where several first-year Slytherins were sitting across the lawn. He sneered at Harry. "Why are you sitting here with these losers?" He demanded.

"Because these losers -"

"Hey!" Harry and Ron protested at the same time.

Draco cleared his throat. "I mean, these guys are my friends. So sometimes I will hang out with them. Okay?"

Theo crossed his arms. "You don't have to be nice to them. Just because your mother married that stupid werewolf -"

"Draco!" Harry quickly pulled him back as Draco lunged toward Theo.

"Let me go, I'm going to throttle him!" Draco snarled.

Theo laughed. "Oh Merlin, don't tell me you actually care about him? And Potty, the Weasel, and the Mudblood - Ahh!" He fell back as both Draco and Ron jumped on him. "Get off me!"

"Stop!" Hermione said in alarm.

Harry had taken his wand and pointed at Theo. "Flipendo!"

Theo was knocked back several feet. He scrambled up and grabbed his own wand, pointing it at Harry.

"Enough!" Snape stalked over, his eyes flashing furiously. He snatched Theo's wand from him. "What in the blazes do you think you are doing?!"

"Weasley and Draco attacked me!" Theo protested. "And Potter cast a jinx at me!"

Snape's eyes flew to Harry. "Is that true?"

"He deserved it! He called Hermione a Mudblood and Remus a stupid werewolf!" Harry glared at Theo.

"Is that so?" Snape turned his dark eyes onto Theo, who flinched.

"Yeah, that prat had it coming!" Draco said.

"You're a traitor to Slytherin by hanging out with -"

"Mr. Nott, I suggest you shut your mouth right now," Snape snapped. "All of you have acted deplorably. There is to be no attacking each other, either with fists or wands, and no using such foul words. Detention for all of you."

"Hermione didn't do anything wrong," Harry spoke up.

"Except for Miss Granger," Snape amended. He handed Theo his wand back. "I will send you a message regarding your detention later today. Also, ten points from the four of you." He said to the boys.

Theo scowled and stomped away.

Snape faced Harry, Draco, and Ron. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nott was being a git," Harry said.

Snape rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he usually is, that doesn't give you the right to attack him."

"He called my Dad a stupid werewolf," Draco said.

"Draco, I understand you wanted to defend Remus but this was not the way to do it," Snape said in exasperation.

"I just got mad," Draco mumbled.

"Me too," Harry said.

"He also called Hermione a Mudblood," Ron said angrily. "That's a horrid word."

"I know it is," Snape said quietly. "But you did not handle the situation well. I know it is hard, but you should have just ignored him."

"And let him get away with it?" Draco sounded disgusted at the idea.

"You could have told an adult," Snape said. "And let them handle it."

"Tattling," Ron scoffed.

"Better than attacking and getting into trouble," Snape raised an eyebrow. "Unless you enjoy having your mother come to school to speak with you?"

Ron flushed. "Uh, no. You're not going to write her about this, are you?"

"That will be up to your Head of House," Snape said briskly.

Harry sighed. Great. He had been trying so hard to be good and now he was in trouble again.

TBC: