26

"I want to be responsible for you…"

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"…And I want to be with you!"

Daphne woke up. Harry's words from yesterday still rang inside her head. She was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling of her room as her mind kept going back to that moment. As soon as Harry had said those words Astoria had barged into her room and Daphne had to quickly cut the call. After that she couldn't gather up the courage to call him back, simply because she didn't know how to respond to what he had said.

It was definitely a surprise hearing those words from him but then instead of feeling bad or shocked what Daphne felt was a sense of content along with a bit of confusion.

"While you are still too young to understand it that doesn't mean you cannot experience it." She remembered her father's words from yesterday. While it still didn't make much sense to her, for some reason, she felt like that line could somehow explain how she was feeling after her conversation with Harry from last night.

She was confused about her feelings for him. She definitely didn't hate him but she wondered whether she liked him. "…And I want to be with you!"

Once again those words came to her mind. Daphne closed her eyes to ease down her thoughts but instead she saw Harry's face. She tried to clear his image from her head but couldn't. She then started to remember the times they had spent together in those meetings.

She felt a little anxious as her heart began to beat a little faster. Daphne opened her eyes and gave out a long sigh before she got off of her bed. She went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face before she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was looking a little flustered as she kept wondering why she was feeling this way.

'Am I…' she began to think but then shook her head to get rid of that thought. "Keep your head straight, Greengrass," she said looking at herself in the mirror. "You know that cannot happen. Not when…" she paused as she felt a surge of emotions build up inside her whom she then quickly pushed down. She splashed her face with water one more time before she walked out of the bathroom.

A few minutes later she was heading downstairs when she heard a familiar voice and stopped. She narrowed her eyes as she listened closely thinking she was mistaken but she wasn't. Judging from his loud tone the man seemed upset as Daphne wondered what was going on so she headed for the main hall where the commotion was happening and stopped in her tracks when she saw Theo and his father there. They both were looking really angry and the latter was screaming at her father.

Nott stopped when he saw Daphne and his temper flared. "You!" he said turning towards her. "You uncultured skank…"

"One more word and you will regret it, Nott," Matthias said as he pointed his wand at the man. Nott looked from Daphne to her father. "I won't have you talk like that to my daughter."

"You will regret this, Greengrass!" Nott said glaring.

"Get out of my house," Matthias said as he glared back. His voice was calm and his demeanor was controlled but everyone present in the room knew that Matthias was more skilled with his wand than Nott.

"You think you can get away with it?" Nott said as he slowly walked towards the floo while Matthias kept his wand pointed at the man. Theo joined his father by the fireplace before the two stepped inside it. "I'll destroy you."

Matthias said nothing as Theo threw a pinch of floo powder in the fireplace and the green flames engulfed the Notts before they were gone. Annabelle was quickly by her husband's side as Matthias slowly lowered his wand before the two looked at Daphne.

"What is going on?" she asked looking at her parents.

"I was just…undoing a mistake," Matthias said with a tired smile.

"What did you do?" Daphne asked with a shaky, worried tone.

"Your father nullified your betrothal with Theo," Annabelle said. Before Daphne could say anything she continued. "We both decided on it together."

Daphne just stood there with teary eyes as her parents looked confused. "Daphne?" his father said. "What's wrong?"

She said nothing as she turned around and ran back upstairs. A few seconds later they heard her room's door slam loudly.

"Is she…upset?" Annabelle asked.

"I'll talk to her," Matthias said, "but let's just give her some time. Meanwhile, I have to lock out a few people from entering our wards. Nott will definitely try to do something crazy."

"And what about this mysterious person that you said is going to help us?" Annabelle asked.

"I've already written to her," Matthias said. "I think we'll hear from her soon."

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It was a few days later that Harry got on one of the carriages and headed towards the Hogsmead village. Winter holidays had begun at Hogwarts and so the students were heading for the Hogsmead station to board the train. As for Harry, while he wasn't going anywhere for Christmas like all the other times he did tag along with his school mates to go to the village.

Last year he had found out that students who stayed at Hogwarts during the winter holidays could visit Hogsmead daily. It was actually McGonagall who had told him about it.

It was a pleasant surprise for Harry as staying at Hogwarts during the winter holidays got kind of lonely and boring. And so starting last year he had began to visit Hogsmead almost every day for the entirety of the winter holidays. He would pass his time sitting in Three Broomsticks, talking to Rosmerta – the landlady and barmaid of the establishment. He liked her company seeing she knew his parents, Sirius and Remus ever since they were at Hogwarts. She would often tell him about the marauders' shenanigans and Harry couldn't help but keep smiling the entire time and often laughing hearing about the pranks that they pulled on the students and faculty members.

However, today Harry was heading towards the Shrieking Shack to meet Sirius. He had gone ahead with Daphne's advice and had written to his godfather, telling him everything about how he could not leave his relatives to go live with him (if Sirius ever became a free man, that is). Harry had also told Sirius to accept this arrangement so that Dumbledore could then present him with the possibility of a fair trial at Wizengamot. While Harry didn't know if Dumbledore would actually get his godfather a trial, he was hopeful that he would. The trial could become a possibility if Dumbledore could be convinced that Sirius wouldn't take legal responsibility for Harry after he became a free man. Dumbledore wanted Harry to stay with his relatives so that is how it will be while Sirius could be free.

He stopped once he could see the shack before Harry created a patronus message and sent it towards the fallen building. About a minute later he saw Sirius walk out of the place and smile wide as he looked at Harry.

The two hugged before going inside where Sirius had already cast privacy charms so no one could know that he was there. He conjured two chairs for them to sit in. Despite being nothing but an abandoned, ruined shack the place looked remarkably good from the inside since the last time Harry had been there. The room where they were sitting looked clean and devoid of any garbage or broken furniture, windows, doors or the peeling wallpapers. It seemed Sirius and Remus had put some work to make the room livable as Harry wondered whether his godfather was actually living at the place every now and then.

"So what am I hearing about you and the Greengrass girl?"

Harry sighed as he knew that Sirius would raise that conversation. He looked at his godfather who had this smirk on his face which told Harry that the man was desperate for his response. Harry, however, told him what he had told others – whoever had asked him about him and Daphne. "She was helping me with the tournament," he said before continuing, "and before you judge me for seeking help from a Slytherin, let me remind you how I was called a liar by my own housemates and how my friends for the last three years didn't stand by me when it all happened before leaving me on my own."

Sirius looked at him. The man had found it shocking when Harry had told him about it in his letter. It was hard to imagine that his godson was no longer friends with Ron and Hermione, the latter of who Sirius thought would end up with Harry once they were old enough. He had even made a bet with Remus about it saying how the men in the Potter family couldn't stop falling for the brainy ones. James had married Lily who was the brightest witch of her generation while James' mother Euphemia was a well-known witch of her time for inventing a lot of charms and developing rune magic.

Coming back to the present time Sirius wondered what sort of girl Daphne Greengrass was. Remus had told him that she was pretty good academically considering he had taught at Hogwarts last year. However, Sirius didn't know how he felt about the girl, especially if she would end up with Harry in the future, that is. Whatever be the case, it seemed that the man was going to lose his bet with Remus about Harry and Hermione.

He had wanted to write to his godson, telling him to sort things out between him and his friends but then under Remus' advice he didn't as the werewolf told him to let Harry make the decision himself. While Sirius wanted to argue over that he also knew that Remus was a man of reason and he didn't say anything without thinking it over.

"You don't have to remind me about it," Sirius said with a sad smile. "It was just shocking to know that you were no longer friends with the two, especially Hermione. I liked her. She is so much like your mother – intelligent, feisty and a little bit unpredictable," he said as he remembered when Hermione had blasted Flitwick's office door – where Sirius was held – without prior warning.

"Can we stop talking about them?" Harry said. "That's not why we are here." He then paused before continuing. "So, about what I said in the letter, did you think about it?"

Sirius looked at Harry in silence before he spoke. "To be honest I didn't know that Lily was the reason that you survived that night," he said slowly. "I was shocked to know how things went down. I talked to Remus about it because he's the reasonable one and we both realized that for your safety it is important for you to live with the Durseleys, although I have to say that I am not all for it and I am only agreeing to it because apparently there doesn't seem to be a safer alternative."

Harry smiled slightly. "Thank you for understanding," he said. "Then I'll ask Dumbledore to see if he can get you a trial." He saw the look on Sirius' face as if the man didn't care about his freedom. "Don't you want it?" Harry asked. "Don't you want your name to be cleared?"

"I really don't care about it to be honest," Sirius said. "The whole point of me breaking out of that hell was so that I could protect you. I can't even do that so there's no point in getting my name cleared and all."

"Are you joking?" Harry said standing up. He sounded angry as he looked at his godfather. "Why wouldn't you want to be a free man? How long do you want to live like an outlaw?

Sirius smiled sadly as he looked down. "There's really no point in me being a free man, Harry when I can't be responsible for you," he said. He then slowly stood up. "When James told me that he had chosen me to be your godfather I felt it to be the biggest and most important moment in my life. Of course Lily didn't agree to it at first but then she came around. I was over the moon knowing I could be closer to your parents mostly because after their marriage they had settled down into a life of their own and I missed their…your father's company. He was like a brother to me. After my family discarded me following my sorting in the Gryffindor house, your grandparents took me in as per James' request. Back then we both didn't even know each other that well. We had only met on the train for the first time on our way to Hogwarts and yet despite that your father had his family take me in as one of their own. Over the years I tried paying him back for what he had done for me but I knew that even if I gave my life for him, I still wouldn't be able to repay what I owed to your father. James, of course, didn't believe in any of that. He told me that I owed him nothing and that being his friend was enough for me to return the favor.

"Years later when you were born and he told me that he wanted me to be your godfather I knew I had to take up that responsibility, not just because I wanted to but also because I saw it as a means to pay him back for what he'd done for me, even though it would never be enough. Also, it gave me a reason to be in his life especially because now he had his own family to look after. To a man like me who didn't have any aim or goals in his life, being your godfather gave me a purpose. I promised myself that I would always look after you but then that night I couldn't keep my cool and surrendered to my emotions. Seeing your parents lying dead on the floor I completely forgot about you as I overcame with guilt and regret for not being there for them and it drove me mad. Instead of taking you to safety I got angry and blinded by revenge. When I first saw your picture twelve years later I couldn't believe it. It was like I was looking at James when I had first met him on the train all those years ago. My sole reason to live is to look after you, be responsible for you because your father…your parents gave me that responsibility. There is no reason for me to be a free man if I can't fulfill that duty."

Once Sirius had stopped talking there was an eerie silence inside the room. Harry walked over to his godfather and hugged him. He felt Sirius tremble a little before he heard quiet sniffles from his godfather. The man was crying. Harry couldn't take it. Sirius was his godfather, his only family who actually cared about him. To hell with the Durseleys, Harry said in his mind. Knowing that it was inevitable for him and Voldemort to clash Harry decided – at that moment – that it didn't matter for him to need his mother's protection magic. Besides, living with Sirius meant he could learn more about magic than what he was learning at Hogwarts.

With the arrival of the tri wizard tournament there was one thing that Harry had noticed apart from everything else. It was that students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had a better grasp of magic compared to the students of Hogwarts. Some argued that it was because the two schools included dark arts in their curriculums but for Harry that just seemed like an excuse for Hogwarts' lack of better curriculum. He had seen Viktor and Fleur practice for the tournament. Their knowledge and skills in magic easily surpassed that of the seventh year Hogwarts students by a huge gap. No wonder Voldemort came to power so easily when he did. The people of Magical Britain probably weren't even a challenge for him to take on.

Preparing for the tournament had taught Harry one thing and it was that the more he practiced his magic the stronger he got and he had no intention of losing to Voldemort when the time comes but if he was going to lose, he would like to at least make the dark wizard see how much Harry was capable of.

The two times Harry had confronted the dark wizard in his first and second year Voldemort had mocked him for his very little knowledge on magic. In his second year Voldemort had told him that he would learn nothing of importance from Hogwarts and now Harry knew why. Seeing the students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons hone their magic that was clearly more advanced and powerful than that of Hogwarts' students Harry knew he needed to at least be on the level of the students from the two schools.

Hogwarts' curriculum was just not enough to make him strong enough to face Voldemort.

"Then I'll live with you," Harry said as he broke off the hug. Sirius looked at him. "However, that wouldn't happen unless you are free and I don't think that Dumbledore would agree to get you a trial if he comes to know that I want to live with you which means that we will have to find another way to get you a trial. Neville's grandmother can help."

"You mean Augusta?" Sirius said.

"Why do you say it like it's a bad thing?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Sirius said scratching his head. "It's just that she was never really that fond of me. She always considered me a nuisance and a bad influence on Neville's parents."

"You…know Neville's parents?" Harry asked.

"Of course I do," Sirius said. "They were Lily's first friends after she got sorted in Gryffindor."

"So you are saying that my mom didn't know you all since the beginning?" Harry asked.

"No," Sirius said. "Remus was her first friend from our group. She actually despised your father because of his reputation as a prankster and was cold towards me because I helped James pull those pranks. Remus, being the only responsible one in our group became her friend and that too because he and Lily often battled for the first position when it came to academics. It was only in our second year when she finally gave in on Remus' countless requests to meet us before your father and I became friends with her. Even after that though, she didn't like James that much. It was after the start of our fifth year that he fell for Lily. Lily, however, didn't respond to his feelings, still despising him for his shenanigans…"

"But then my dad finally won her over in their sixth year" Harry said.

Sirius looked at him in surprise. "How did you know?" he asked.

Harry smiled. "Rosmerta told me," he said. "Apparently my dad created an example by proposing to my mother and it still remains unbeatable." Sirius smiled wide as he nodded, somehow feeling proud about it. There was a minute-long pause before Harry continued. "I wonder why Neville never told me that his parents knew mine."

Sirius' smile vanished as he looked solemn. "That is because he probably doesn't know about it either," he said.

"But wouldn't his parents have told him?" Harry asked. It was then that he realized Neville had never really talked about his parents.

"It seems like he hasn't told you," Sirius said.

"Tell me what?" Harry asked.

Sirius sighed as he sat down. "The Halloween night of 1981 not only changed your life for the worse, it did the same to Neville's as well," he said. Harry looked at him confused as Sirius continued. "While Voldemort visited you at Godric's Hollow Neville's place was raided by a group of death eaters being led by two of Voldemort's most loyal followers – Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr. They tortured Frank and Alice to insanity while Augusta took a young Neville to safety. Before they could kill his parents though, the aurors had arrived and Bella and Barty fled the scene. However, the damage was done. The healers gave their answer – Frank and Alice had been tortured to the point of insanity from where there was no return. While it's not a comparison in any sort with what happened to you or James and Lily, if you really think about it, Neville has had the worst. Imagine walking into your parents' room, wanting to talk or spend time with them and they don't even recognize you. I heard that Neville is a quiet boy? There is a reason for that. Every time he goes home Hogwarts he has to live with his parents who see him as a stranger. Remus often considers it worse than if Frank and Alice were dead. At least that way Neville wouldn't have to see them every time while they refused to recognize him."

Harry was numb. He could not believe that Neville was living a life like that. Thinking about it Remus' logic sounded correct but for Harry, it was shocking to know how Neville had never mentioned anything about his parents to him. However, it wasn't something one would bring up in a normal conversation and not to mention, it would definitely be a very difficult thing for Neville to talk about just like it was difficult for Harry to talk to anyone about how his relatives treated him. Even Sirius didn't know that he was being abused by the Durseleys. All his godfather knew was that his aunt hated Harry because of his magic. He could only imagine how angry Sirius would be if he ever got to know what the Durseleys had done to him.

He looked out the window as he kept thinking about Neville. The boy had never let it appear how hard his life was and now that Harry knew about it he couldn't help but feel embarrassed because he didn't know how hard it had been for Neville.

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A/N: I've been getting DMs and even some reviews where people are telling me how pathetic and weak my version of Harry sounds. Well, like I mentioned before, my knowledge of the Harry Potter Universe comes from watching the movies because I never read the books and I am not going to read it because I already know the story now and it won't be any fun.

In the movies, to me, Harry seemed like a clueless boy who wasn't all that powerful but was sure as hell lucky. Yes, he probably was powerful magically but he sure as hell lacked the skills to fight with it.

Also, considering where I intend to go with the Harry in my version I need him to be weak and clueless because that is necessary for the plot. So I apologize if that doesn't fit with your version of Harry but that is how it is going to be in my story…for now.

I hope you understand…

Thanks for reading…