Father and son chapter 6
Harry and Remus appeared in the kitchen of Grimmauld place. The Weasleys were sitting around the table eating breakfast.
"Morning" Remus greeted.
Molly leapt to her feet, not having seen them arrive. She took in the way they were both slumped with exhaustion and the blood marks on Harry's clothing.
She rushed over and helped Harry into an armchair beside the fire. "Are you alright Alexander?"
Harry nodded tiredly.
"He needs to be in bed" Remus said quietly, still slightly shaking from tiredness himself. "I'll take him up in a minute; just let me get him some healing potion for those scratches."
Harry watched as his father left the room. He then closed his eyes as he leant back into the chair.
"Do you want some breakfast?" Molly asked
"No thanks" Harry replied. He just wanted to go to bed. Ron approached him curiously.
"How did you get hurt?" He asked
"The Wolfbane potion didn't work properly this month; Re-Dad said it might not. The wolf got bored and frustrated"
"You did it to yourself?" Molly said, slightly horror struck.
"It's not like that.." Harry said trying to explain it "The wolf did it, not me."
"What's it like?" Ron asked, earning a harsh look from his mother.
Harry paused and thought back to the way his mind had been suppressed until he was no longer in control of his body. Fortunately, Remus chose this moment to return with the bottle of healing potion.
"It's like being suffocated" Remus said in answer to Ron's question. "You become only a witness to what is happening to your body, where you go, what you feel, but you aren't in control of it"
"Does it hurt?" Ron asked the professor, wide eyed
"Yes." Remus bent over and helped Harry to his feet. "That's enough questions for now. Alex and I need to go and get some sleep"
Harry took the potion from Remus and they headed off upstairs. Once Harry got to his room he sat on his bed and gulped the potion down before lying down. He was asleep before he had the chance to even get under the covers.
Harry spent most of the next two days asleep. He was beginning to resign himself to that this would be his fate for the rest of his life. The full moon and the couple of days after feeling like death warmed up. But, he reasoned, Remus had managed to deal with it for most of his life, managing at school as a teenager, and later as a teacher, so he would too.
It was the laws on employment and child rearing that upset him the most. He felt the same as he had at the beginning of the holidays, mixing his blood with his fathers had not changed him at all, not turned him into a dangerous creature, except one night out of every lunar cycle. It was infuriating.
While he had been recovering the Weasleys had gone to diagon alley for him and purchased all of the necessary school supplies. Dumbledore had arranged that all of Harry's money go to his closest friends vaults, and that they would of course return it to him once the world realised he wasn't dead after all. Otherwise the ministry would have taken the lot.
Harry ventured down the stairs for breakfast. It was time to return to Hogwarts. Harry was going to go with Remus separately from the Weasleys. That way it wouldn't look overly suspicious.
When he got to the kitchen molly and Arthur were fussing around Ron and Ginny, making sure that everything was packed. Harry grinned at Remus who was sitting as far away from the chaos as possible with a cup of coffee and the Daily Prophet.
Harry went and sat down opposite him at the table, taking a slice of toast from the large plate in the centre of the table.
Remus looked up and smiled. "All packed? Or do we have to have the same mad routine at that lot?" he asked rolling his eyes at the Weasleys.
"Yeah, I packed when I got up this morning." Harry yawned and poured himself a cup of tea.
"Are you feeling fully recovered Alex?" Remus asked him eyeing his tired face.
"I'm feeling loads better, a bit tired I suppose still, nothing I can't handle though." Harry looked at the clock hanging above the fireplace. "What time are we leaving?"
"Half nine. We need to get a bus to Victoria then a train to Kings Cross."
"Right"
As the Weasley's were flooing to the station, Remus and Harry said their goodbyes and set off for the station. When they arrived they went and got on a carriage near the back of the train, which was pre agreed with Ron and Hermione who would be up front in the prefects carriage first, then find one several away from Remus and Harry for the rest of the journey.
Harry sat opposite his father and rifled through his trunk looking to see if he and anything interesting to read stashed away. As all of his possessions were new (or bought second hand) he wasn't sure of everything he had yet.
Inside he found a box labelled 'travel games'. He smiled and took it out. It was full of muggle games like snakes and ladders, draughts, solitaire and ludo. They were all slightly magnetic so they could be played without all the pieces falling off if there was a bump.
"Fancy a game of Snakes and Ladders?" Harry asked
"Sounds good. Put your trunk between us so we can use it as a table."
They played for about half an hour in the compartment until they were disturbed by wandering students. It was Neville, Dean and Seamus. Their eyes lit up as they saw his father.
"Professor Lupin! You're back!"
"Yes, it's good to see you again." Remus gestured them towards the seats so they could sit if they wanted to.
"How long are you staying this time professor?" Seamus asked
"I'm not sure yet, at least a year I should hope."
"You'll be a definite improvement on that woman we had last year." Dean said with a shudder.
"Yes.. I hear she was rather-" Remus paused "-unique."
All the while, Neville was looking at Harry curiously.
Remus followed his gaze "oh! Sorry, I should have introduced you. This is my son, Alexander"
Harry looked up and smiled at the boys who were now looking at him.
"I'm Neville, and this is Dean and Seamus. We're Griffindors." Neville said.
"Pleased to meet you." Harry said
"Are you starting Hogwarts this year then?" Dean asked
"Yeah, I 've been told that I'll be put into the sixth year."
"That's where we are." Neville said "been sorted yet?"
Harry looked at Remus in alarm. He hadn't thought of that.
"Alex will be sorted with the first years, I think he's a bit nervous actually."
"Hopefully you'll be a Griffindor" Dean said "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff aren't bad I suppose, but better hope you don't get Slytherin."
Harry tried to look like this was all new information "what's wrong with Slytherin house?"
Looking nervously at Remus, Neville said "a lot of death eater children, and people who buy into all that purity of blood rubbish end up there."
"Oh." Harry said
"What school did you go to before?" Dean asked
"I was home schooled" Harry replied.
"Well, you had a good teacher then" Dean said earning a smile from Remus.
The conversation was briefly interrupted by the food trolley being wheeled round. As they sat and munched their food, Seamus turned to Dean and they started discussing whether Ron or Hermione would try and continue the DA.
"What's the DA?" Remus asked, interrupting their conversation.
Neville looked at his shoes. "It was a club for defence against the dark arts that Harry Potter set up." Dean said quietly.
"We needed it with Umbridge being so useless" Seamus said
"Stands for 'Dumbledore's Army'" Neville said with a smile "It got me through the OWL."
Harry wanted nothing more than to bolt for the door. Remus placed his foot on top of Harry's as a warning not to do anything rash.
"After all he went through, to be killed by a disease." Neville said, eyes clouding with tears. "He saved us all so many times and we never got to even say thanks."
Seamus patted Neville awkwardly on the shoulder. "Did you ever meet him Alex?"
"Yeah." Harry replied "A few times, in the summer. I sometimes go to the Weasley's house when Hogwarts is shut and I met him there a few times."
"Were you good friends?"
"Yeah, I suppose, like I said, I didn't really know him that well."
Harry smiled sympathetically at his friends then leaned back in his seat and stared out of the window. The other boys stood up and said "We're going to go and see if we can find Ron and Hermione, see if they're ok"
Harry and Remus nodded as they left the carriage.
"Are you alright Alex?" Remus asked
Harry nodded "This is going to be harder than I thought."
"As I said before, try and make friends from other houses. They won't talk about 'Harry' as much and they won't notice similarities as much either."
Harry leaned against the window and fell into a doze, still somewhat tired from the full moon. When he awoke it was because Remus was shaking him gently
"Better get changed, we're nearly there."
Harry pulled on his Hogwarts robes (which, for the moment, were absent of any house crest). After this Harry got off the train. He was about to follow Remus into a thestral drawn carriage, when he was waved over by Hagrid.
Harry sighed and got into one of the boats with a couple of first years after Hagrid had introduced himself. All of them were gawping at him.
"I'm new too." Harry's said to their curious faces.
He looked up at Hogwarts appearing on the horizon and remembered his first trip on this boat. So much had changed in the years since. The world had all seemed so wonderful and full of possibilities. Now, it was a much more frightening place. Although, Harry mused, he was in a way starting on a new journey, with a parent and a new name. Maybe he could set things that he had been missing right.
Hagrid helped all of them onto the shore and they walked up to the castle. Harry knew that Hagrid did not know of his true identity and so was pleased when Hagrid fell into step beside him.
"You must be Alexander." Hagrid said
"Yes Sir." Harry replied, feigning nervousness
"Nervous?"
"A bit." Harry replied
"What subjects are you going to do?"
"Defence, charms, transfiguration, Herbology, care of magical creatures and muggle studies." Harry had dropped his vision of becoming an auror due to his 'condition', and so decided to take on some new subjects. Some of the teachers at Hogwarts were going to claim that they had tested Harry shortly before the holidays and found him of OWL level in his chosen subjects.
"I'll be your care of magical creatures teacher" Hagrid said proudly "We have some very interesting creatures at NEWT level."
At the main entrance they were greeted by McGonagall, who sold them what Harry had been told when he had been a first year. Eventually she led them into the great hall.
Heads turned to look at the boy towering over the first years, cheeks burning as he stared at his feet.
McGonagall held up the sorting hat, and to Harry's great relief, put him out of his misery by calling out "Lupin, Alexander"
The eyes of the school flicked rapidly between Harry and his father as he sat on the stool and had the hat placed on his head.
"You again…" The hat murmured into Harry's head "Most unusual, never happened before. Still, if I place you anywhere new it will discredit the entire system. GRIFFINDOR!"
The hat was lifted from Harry's head and he walked over to where Neville, Dean and Seamus were waving eagerly. He ended up sitting between Neville and Ron. Everyone greeted him politely and some paid compliments to his dad.
Ron flatly refused to look at him as he talked conspiratorially to Hermione who was looking tearful.
The Griffindor table lapsed into an unusual quiet while they ate.
Eventually, Dumbledore stood to make his speech. Harry had been warned that his name would be mentioned, but that this was not going to turn into a memorial assembly.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. As I am sure you have noticed, Professor Remus Lupin has returned to resume the defence against the dark arts post." Remus stood to the applause then sat again,
"The list of banned objects has increased to include anything sold by Weasley's wizard wheezes……"
Dumbledore continued in the vein for a few minutes before he finally reached the dreaded topic.
"Now, I have come to a sad part of my introduction speech. As I am sure you are all aware, we have lost one of our students. In the summer holidays, Harry Potter contracted a severe infection that attacked the magic running through his veins.
Only a magic and blood transfer from a close relative could have saved him. Unfortunately, there was nobody left in Harry's family that was close or magical enough. Harry lost his life around the time of his 16th birthday.
While he was ill, he asked me not to arrange a memorial assembly for him, so I will honour that request. Let us once raise our glasses to a very special young man."
The students raised their glasses to Harry and then began chatting quietly amongst themselves.
A/N I am so sorry that I have not updated for such a long time. I have now finished university and have a bit more time to write. This goes for my other pen name 'Englishgirl' too.