Harry looked around in amazement. He was in a real castle. It was called Hogwarts, which was a very silly name, but Minerva had been so serious when she said it that Harry didn't laugh. He still had trouble believing that he'd be a student at Hogwarts and learn magic, but it was very exciting to think about.
Harry was in awe as he watched the staircases changing and the people in the portraits moving. They whispered to each other and waved at the little boy, occasionally calling out questions. Harry just waved shyly back.
Nearly Headless Nick, one of the school ghosts, gave Harry quite a fright as he floated right through a wall in front of Minerva. Harry cried out in alarm, backing away from the ghost with frightened tears welling up.
Minerva turned and scooped Harry up, letting him hide his face against her shoulder. He trembled in her arms.
"Oh dear," Sir Nicholas muttered. "I didn't intend to frighten the lad."
"It's alright," Minerva sighed. "I forgot to warn him about the ghosts."
"What in Merlin's name is going on?"
An angry voice bellowed from the staff room and a man threw open the door with a bang. The noise only caused Harry to tighten his grip on Minerva with a whimper.
"Severus, calm yourself," Minerva grumbled warily. "He's frightened enough."
"You're talking about the son of James Potter," Severus reminded her, his tone unimpressed.
Harry shifted at the sound of his father's name. He turned around and looked at the angry sounding man. He had very pale skin and dark lanky hair. His dark eyes peered at Harry and his thin lips were pressed together, as if to stop himself from speaking. Harry was a little distracted by his large crooked nose.
Severus looked Harry over briefly. He did look a lot like James. But those bright green eyes were definitely Lily's. It was a bit disconcerting to see the tear streaked cheeks of James Potter's son. Harry didn't look malicious and arrogant as Severus had convinced himself the boy would be. He looked terrified.
Albus stepped through the doorway and sighed sympathetically at Harry's tears. "This is no way to start your first time at Hogwarts," he chided gently, holding his arms out. Harry went to him willingly, patting the long hair of Albus' beard. "Come inside. Would you like a cockroach cluster?"
Harry sniffled and then wrinkled his nose. "I don't like cockroaches," he said, his tone apologetic.
Albus paused and then chuckled. "I suppose that name is a bit off-putting," he agreed, giving Harry's tummy a gentle poke and making the boy smile. "What about a biscuit?"
Harry nodded and was promptly given a chocolate biscuit. The room they had just entered was full of adults. They were all looking at Harry curiously and Harry was tempted to hide under Albus' beard.
"Now Harry," Albus said, placing the boy on a chair at the table. "We have to have a little meeting for the teachers. It won't take long. I have a book for you to look at while we talk. Can you sit here for me?"
"Yes sir," Harry replied with a little nod as Albus set a book of fairy tales on the table. Harry smiled at Minerva as she sat next to him and handed him his dragon. Albus patted his head and returned to his own chair. Harry ate his biscuit and started looking through the book. He couldn't read much, but there were lots of funny pictures to look at.
Severus watched the boy pensively. Minerva had briefly explained the child's situation. Severus had known Petunia as a child and, while he'd never been fond of her, he'd never thought that she could be so cruel to her own nephew. Severus had assumed that James' son would be the bully that his father had been. Instead, Severus was looking at a child that didn't seem likely to behave in such away. Especially since he was now under Minerva's care.
The meeting was indeed short, but it didn't seem very short to Harry. He grew bored rather quickly. He contented himself with hugging his dragon and looking around at the staff. A few of the teachers looked back at him, offering friendly smiles.
Finally, Albus clapped his hands together once. "That's all for now," he announced cheerfully. "Thank you, Harry, for your patience. I'll make sure that the house elves bring you ice cream after dinner." He winked, earning a smile from the child. Most of the professors left, politely resisting the urge to crowd around the little boy. Albus remained where he was, pretending to look over some notes while he glanced over at Severus.
Harry leaned against Minerva, glancing warily at Severus and wondering why he seemed so grumpy. Severus was peering at Harry pensively.
"Harry, this is Professor Severus Snape," Minerva said. "He teaches potions."
"Hello," Harry said uneasily.
"My godson has a dragon like that," Severus mentioned, feeling stupid for making small talk with a young child.
"My friend Draco gave it to me," Harry responded, hugging the dragon closer.
Severus blinked in surprise, his gaze darting to Minerva. "How does he know Draco?"
"Draco and Mrs. Malfoy happened to be at the park when I took Harry to play," Minerva explained. "We let the boys meet to play at the park every week."
"Narcissa agreed to such an arrangement?" Serverus asked incredulously.
"I was as surprised as you are," Minerva admitted. "But the boys are very fond of each other. Draco wasn't willing to give Harry up without putting up a fight."
Severus sighed and shook his head. He wasn't sure of what Narcissa was playing at. Of course, Draco did tend to get whatever he wanted. Was she willing to risk her husband's ire to allow her son to have the friend he had chosen?
"I will speak to her," he said tiredly. "I'll let her know that I'll keep her secret. She'll go to great lengths to make that child happy."
"Is it bad for Draco to be my friend?" Harry asked timidly.
Severus hesitated, glancing at Minerva. "I think it's good for Draco to have a friend like you," he said, forcing himself to look at Harry. "Draco's father won't understand that. But, he doesn't have to know," he concluded, waving his hand dismissively.
His response seemed to ease Harry's mind and the boy smiled at him. Severus wasn't accustomed to children smiling at him. Unnerved, he got up and nodded to Minerva before sweeping out of the room.
Albus watched him go before winking cheerily at Harry. "A positive first meeting I think," he told Minerva.
"Indeed," Minerva smirked. "His enthusiasm was overwhelming," she said sarcastically.
Albus chuckled shaking his head. Then he turned to Harry. "Now, I believe Minerva has some lesson plans to work on," he said. "Why don't you and I go and explore the castle?"
Harry nodding eagerly, hugging Minerva quickly. He hopped down from his chair and reached up to hold Albus' hand as they left the room. Minerva watched them go, grateful that Albus hadn't forced her to fight him on Harry's living arrangements. The blood wards might have been ideal, but not at the cost of Harry's well being. The child was so shy and anxious.
But instead of enforcing his will, Albus had acknowledged Harry's suffering and agreed that it wasn't acceptable. He'd become like a doting grandfather. He didn't spoil Harry as he seemed tempted to do, but he did lavish the boy with affection. And that was what Harry needed more than anything.
Harry excitedly took in all the sights around the castle. After an hour, he was very tired of walking, but there was so much to see. To his delight, Albus picked him up and continued their tour. He'd been allowed to see the common rooms and some of the classrooms. The house elves made him a little nervous, but they'd been so nice to him. They bowed or curtsied, asking for Harry to call on them if he had need of anything.
When it was time for dinner, Harry was quite tired. But the magnificent Great Hall revived him a bit. He ate his dinner, looking around at the floating candles and up at the enchanted ceiling. As promised, the house elves made sure that Harry got ice cream once he'd finished his meal.
The next few days were spent similarly. Harry loved Hogwarts and wished that he could stay. But, he knew that school was starting soon and the place would be full of students.
The day before the students were set to return, Minerva took Harry back to her house. It had been decided that Remus would stay at Minerva's house. That way, Harry could keep the bedroom that he was comfortable in and be in a familiar home.
"I don't want you to go Minnie," Harry whimpered, hugging Minerva around her waist.
Minerva returned the hug gently. "Remus will bring you to see me on the Hogsmeade weekend," she assured him. "And the full moon is in two weeks," she remembered suddenly. "So I'll see you then." Harry nodded dejectedly, making Minerva's heart heavy. "You'll have a wonderful time with Remus," she told him.
Swallowing hard, Harry released his grip as Remus came through the floo. Remus opened his arms. "Come here pup," he murmured, kneeling to embrace Harry. "It'll be alright. I'll be with you."
"You can reach me any time if you need to," Minerva said, gently petting Harry's hair. "I'll see you in a few weeks." After pressing a kiss to Harry's head, she stepped through the floo and disappeared in the green flames.
Harry didn't want to cry. He wanted to act like a big boy. But his Minnie was the first person, in his memory, to show him affection. Watching her leave made his stomach hurt and his eyes burn. He nuzzled into Remus as the tears started to fall.
"We'll be alright," Remus said, sitting on the couch and setting Harry on his lap. He hated to see Harry cry, but he'd come to adore being allowed to soothe the little boy. "I'm taking you to see Draco tomorrow. Won't that be nice?"
Harry nodded, rubbing at his eyes. "Uncle Moony?" he asked in a small voice.
"Yeah pup?"
"You're not leaving me?" Harry checked, meeting Remus' gaze anxiously.
"Of course not," Remus assured him. "I love you, and I'm going to be here for you. I do have to leave for a day or two in a few weeks, but Minnie will be back for that. Does that sound alright?" When Harry nodded his agreement, Remus smiled. "What do you think about pizza for dinner?"
"I've never had it," Harry told him.
"Then you're in for a treat," Remus grinned.
Harry smiled. Remus was wonderful. He was more gentle than Minerva and was more likely to show affection with hugs and cuddles. Harry still missed Minerva, but Remus was a great alternative.
Harry's face lit up the next day when Draco came running up to him. In the next moment, Draco leapt into his arms, knocking them both to the ground. Narcissa winced at the sight, hoping that they would end up injuring each other. Over the last several weeks, Draco hadn't lost any of his enthusiasm over Harry. It made her feel nervous but, at the same time, she loved to see the way her son would brighten at the sight of his little friend.
"You were supposed to catch me," Draco chided with a laugh.
"You're bigger than me," Harry retorted, giving up on wriggling away from Draco and hugging the blond happily.
"Help Harry up darling," Narcissa instructed, smiling indulgently. She watched as they got to their feet and ran toward the swings. "Harry looks a little pale. Is he unwell?"
"Minerva went back to Hogwarts yesterday," Remus told her. "It was difficult for Harry. But he's alright. He was looking forward to seeing Draco today."
Narcissa nodded in understanding. She hated to admit the strange fondness she had for Harry. She'd carefully kept these meetings a secret. They were harmless, after all. But Lucius wouldn't see it that way.
"I'm glad that Draco makes him feel better," Narcissa said. "Harry's a sweet boy."
Draco was pushing Harry on the swing, listening as Harry talked about Minerva going back to Hogwarts. Harry was still sad, but he was feeling calmer. Remus always took good care of him.
"Some day we'll go to Hogwarts and learn magic too," Draco said excitedly. "And we'll get to be together all the time!"
"We will?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Sure! You're my best friend," Draco replied. "We'll have classes together, eat together... And we'll play Quidditch!" Draco had exuberantly told Harry about Quidditch two weeks prior.
Harry smiled at the thought. Harry loved watching Minnie and Moony use magic and they'd said that one day he could too. And it would be nice to be at Hogwarts and to see Draco more than once a week.
"When we're done with school," Draco went on, "we'll just get married. That way mother can't make me leave the park to have dinner."
Harry nodded along. It sounded reasonable enough to him. Pleased with his planning, Draco grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him toward the adults. "I'm going to marry Harry," Draco announced proudly.
Narcissa stared at Draco in surprise while Remus choked on his laughter. "You're too young to make such a decision," Narcissa said patiently.
"But Pansy said she was going to marry me," Draco argued with a scowl. "I really don't want her to," he added fervently. Harry giggled.
"Draco, you have many years before you have to worry about marriage," Narcissa told him.
"We won't get married until after school," Draco assured her.
"Draco..." Narcissa sighed.
"Father said when I'm older he'll find a pretty girl for me to marry," Draco complained, releasing Harry's hand to fold his arms petulantly. "But I don't want him too. I don't like girls."
"You'll probably change your mind about that in a few years," Remus commented lightly. He grinned when Draco wrinkled his nose at the idea. "What do you think Harry?"
Harry gave a helpless sort of shrug that had Remus snorting with laughter. Luckily, Draco didn't notice Harry's lack of enthusiasm. A moment later, Draco was holding Harry's hand again and heading toward the slide.
Remus chuckled heartily and Narcissa smirked at him. "You get to be the one to tell Minerva that you let Harry get engaged after she'd been gone for less than a day," Narcissa said.
Remus rolled his eyes, his grin still firmly in place. "Very funny," he retorted. "Good luck explaining this to Lucius in a few years."
Narcissa shook her head in amusement. It was rather adorable too see her son firmly declaring that he was going to marry his best friend. Before long, Draco would understand the significance of marriage. For now, it was safe to let him imagine that life could be so simple.
That evening, Ron came over to spend the night with Harry. They hadn't had much opportunity to get to know one another with all the other Weasley children around. Luckily, the two boys got along rather quickly.
They had spaghetti for dinner and then chocolate cake provided by Molly. Once they were, finished Ron tried to teach Harry to play exploding snap. It didn't go well.
Remus walked into the living room to find the boys rolling on the floor and giggling. It was nice to see Harry having so much fun. "Alright boys," Remus said, drawing their attention. "You have an hour to play, and then you're off to bed."
Harry and Ron nodded and hurried to Harry's room. Harry had a decent collection of toys by then. They argued a few times but they settled themselves without needing Remus' interference.
Ron was a nice boy and he seemed to be good for Harry. He seemed to thrive on having Harry's focus on him. It couldn't be easy having five older brothers, but Ron's experience with siblings made him adept at cooperative play. With Harry, there was very little struggle. Harry was content to have a friend and didn't really mind doing whatever Ron felt like doing. Ron rewarded Harry's agreeable passivity by being remarkably kind.
After they'd been sent to bed, they continued to whisper and giggle. Remus decided to allow it. What was a sleepover without a bit of whispering in the dark? And it was a good way to help ease away the ache in Harry's heart from Minerva being away.
