With dinner over, Lady Longbottom rose from her chair and when Neville immediately rose aswell, Harry promptly followed suite. Augusta nodded in approval and turned towards the doorway.
"Come, Lord Potter, we will talk in the sitting room. Neville, go and worked on your summer assignments."
"Ma'am, I would like Neville to stay as we talk. "
"Lord Potter, there will be quite abit of personal information shared by you." A look accompanied that statement, which stated he may not want Neville to know certain things. Neville, for his part, was glancing between the two of them curiously.
"I trust Neville and I value his opinon and friendship. " The tone did not sound as confident as Harry would like, it was hard to talk about certain aspects of his life but he had an urge for someone to know. For Neville to know. And he couldn't understand that urge.
"Very well." While she didn't show it, Augusta was pleased that Harry Potter thought so highly of her grandson. And as for Neville? He knew Harry and him had spent more time together last year, but he was clearly surprised and pleased.
When they were all settled comfortably in the sitting room, Loppy having served a light tea for after the evening meal, Augusta began to outline the next month of Harry's life. A schedule for his tutoring sessions, and a book list, had even been developed since their return from Gringotts. Harry didn't speak much, he simply nodded and said 'Yes, Ma'am,' when it was required of him.
"Neville, you know most of this already but you will be sitting on some of these lessons aswell for a refresher and to aid Lord Potter. Do you have any questions?"
"I do, Grams. Why does Harry need this knowledge? Didn't Dumbledore explain all this? Isn't he your Magical Guardian?" Neville shifted his gaze to Harry as he spoke, clearly surprised and confused as he learned exactly why Harry was living with them for the rest of the summer. Neville pretty much went through this each summer, so he didn't have a complaint about the new schedule that included him somewhat aswell.
"Well, Neville, you know I grew up with muggles. I didn't even know I was a wizard until I got my Hogwarts letter. I knew nothing of the wizarding world and I pretty much still know nothing, besides school. Dumbledore is not my magical guardian. He is more like my jailor. He tells me nothing, controls and manipulates my life.. and he constantly sends me back to those muggles!" By the time Harry finished speaking, his anger had spiked and he was pretty much spitting out Dumbledore's name like a Slytherin would.
"Well, he let you come here didn't he?" Neville asked abit hesitantly.
"He has no idea I am here, hopefully. Dumbledore is not legally my magical guardian. Hell, I didn't even know what a magical guardian was! But Iceshred, a goblin, told me that neither my parents nor Sirius appointed him as my guardian. It is only because of his political power and placement as Headmaster that he has been able to interfere with my life. I mean, I never thought of it before, but why should a Headmaster of the school I attend have any control of my life when I am not at school?"
Unable to sit still, Harry surged from his chair and began to pace tightly back and forth over the rug infront of the sofa. The anger was still going strong, but there was a hint of sadness and grief in his tone of voice as he continued to rant.
"And its not just my life that he controls! He tells Ron and Hermoine when they can write, what they can write. He was blocking my mail from everyone but the two. Made me miss my Godfather's will reading. Expects me to be his perfect little golden Gryffindor weapon to kill off Voldemort to satisfy some stupid prohecy that fake Trelawney made abou- "
There was a distinct sudden silence in the room as Harry froze in mid rant and stride as he realized just what he blurted out. Stupid stupid stupid! There was a distinct urge to run out of the room and perhaps the house. But he couldn't runaway. This was his life. He had to deal with it, but he knew he needed help. How could he save the wizarding world when he couldn't clean up the mess that was his life?
Sinking down back into his seat, he took a deep breath as he calmed himself while looking to the two Longbottoms. Neither seemed particularly surprised, which confused him. Neville was watching him apprehensively, which is more than likely because he has experienced Harry's temper in the dorm and common room. Augusta decidedly looked thoughtful.
"Well, that explains why you grew up with muggles, Lord Potter. And don't give me any sort of rubish about growing up without fame. I wouldn't be surprised if he chose those muggles more for the fact that you would grow up unloved and abused moreso than to keep you away from your fame. Its a classic move, really. Your suppose to look to Dumbledore to rescue you each summer. Everything you do has to be okayed by him, which conditions you to look to him for permission, advice and to be loyal to him. It has its flaws, no doubt. You could of easily gone into Slytherin with which the conditions you were raised in. There, you no doubt would of already realized the things your just now realizing, in your first year. "
"The Longbottoms are a Light family, Lord Potter. But we are not Dumbledore lovers, so do not worry about us turning you over to him. You will learn what rights you have this summer and when you return to school, you will no longer be a pushover for him. Now it is getting late and you have an early day tomorrow. Off to bed, both of you. Oh, and another thing Lord Potter. You seem to be forgetting, even though I keep calling you Lord Potter, that you are no longer a minor. Your a Lord of an old and politcally powerful and wealthy family. Dumbledore has no control over you, you do not even need to return to Hogwarts if you so choose. Now, off you go."
With that, both young men left the room in a thoughtful silence as they returned to Neville's wing. It was at Harry's door that they stopped and Neville placed a supportive, and surprisingly strong, hand upon Harry's shoulder.
"Harry, you named the DA Dumbledore's Army. I didn't join it for Dumbledore. I joined it because of my belief in you. I am loyal to you. Have a goodnight." With a slight squeeze of his hand, Neville disappeared down the hall to his own room to leave behind a thoughtful Potter.
Upon entering his room, Harry sunk down into the comfortable two seater sofa before the fire to relax. Just as he was closing his eyes, he heard the arrival of a house elf and grunted as he opened his eyes. Pard stood there, looking around for a moment before gazing upon Harry.
"Master, I filled your closet here with clothing that the Lord of the family wears for formal and semi formal affairs. The clothing is made with special material that will size them to fit you and have been worn for generations. I took the liberty of buying a few outfits for casual wear until your able to purchase a wardrobe. "
"Thank you, Pard. Is there anyway for me to buy things without going out to get them?"
"You can send your elves shopping, Master. But you can also do what is called owl ordering. Some stores have magazines your can order out of. "
"Excellent. Can you get me some catalougs? I am going to bed, I will call you tomorrow or the next day to discuss a personal house elf, Pard. Lady Longbottom thought it a good idea to keep one here with me. " When the house elf disappeared, Harry shifted to throw a leg over an arm rest while his head rested on the other. For hours he gazed into the fire thinking of his birthday, which led to Sirius.