Chapter Two: The Potion and the Dursleys:

Five Years Later:

Old Mrs. Black had died and that meant that Harry Potter being the godson of Sirius Black had inherited Grimmauld Place as there was not any male Black heir left alive. It had taken a long time to get the house cleaned of dark objects and get the elf, Kreacher to listen to his new master. That was the job of one Mad-eye Moody, he had gone into the home and basically bribed the elf, he had taken family photos, organized them, put them in an album and given them to the elf. The elf seemed very keen on keeping an old locket with a S on the front and Moody let him, every time he tired to take it from Kreacher he would cry, so Moody allowed him to keep it and this made the elf tolerable to work with. The only things that were not cleared out were the painting of Mrs. Black (as there was a permanent sticking charm on it), the family portraits and the family tree.

Now it was on cold summer day that Harry was in the library reading. He had on a pair of round glasses as his eyesight was really bad and he was clad in jeans, tee shirt and hoodie. He was reading a book on English history when he heard someone come through the floo in the sitting room and he ran out to see who was here. He covered himself with his invisibility cloak and watched as a tall thin, pale man clad all in somber black robes with long shoulder length black hair parted in the middle entered the sitting room. His black eyes surveyed the room and his face was dominated by those eyes and his large nose. Harry knew this to be one Severus Snape potions master and head of Slytherin at Hogwarts. He removed the cloak and stepped forward startling the man.

"Hello professor Snape sir." Harry said politely, "how are you?"

"I am fine Mr. Potter, where is the wolf?" Snape snarled in greeting.

"Uncle Moony? I think he is in the kitchen eating, I mean we just had breakfast but he gets really hungry around the change sir. We may have to go shopping, though we just did yesterday."

"Very funny Harry, hello Severus." Remus said walking up and tousling Harry's hair. "You have it then?"

"I do, no doubt you wish to cage the monster?" Snape said curling his lip in disgust.

"Is that, is that the potion that will help uncle Moony?" Harry said wide-eyed. "Wolfsbane sir?"

"Yes it is." Snape said handing a steaming goblet to Remus. "Drink it all, every drop, from the smell it must taste, terrible."

"No matter, I am glad for it, thank you Severus."

"You made it for him!" Harry said grinning. "I like you sir!"

"Hnn." Snape said intently looking at the small boy.

"He has more than Lily's eyes Severus, he is smart like her and has her personality. Though he is an excellent flyer, started very young too." Moody said limping up.

"I bet he will start with Quidditch at school?" Snape said still looking at Harry with a look Harry could not read.

"Yes sir I will, I am going to be in Gryffindor, though I don't hate Slytherin, uncle Al is Slytherin and a decent fellow. He has taught me lots but I really, really want to be in Gryffindor so I guess that means you will not be my head of house."

"I was so looking forward to it." Snape said with sarcasm, with his luck this boy was going to be just as bad as his father in school.

"I hope I do well in potions sir, I am trying really hard on my breaks from the muggle school I go to sir." Harry said. "I want to live up to my mother, uncle Moony says she was really good, though not as good as you."

"Oh what does your uncle Moony say about me?" Snape said looking at the werewolf who was trying to get the potion down. "Do tell."

"Um he says you are really smart and were a potions master six months after you graduated. That you like to help people and if you needed someone on your side for anything you would be it. He says you do have one problem sir."

"Oh and what problem is that?" Snape said glaring at the werewolf who looked as if he was going to be sick.

"You are too serious sir." Harry said.

"Oh, I see." Snape said. "That all Mr. Potter?"

"Yes sir."

"That is our boy!" Moody said laughing from the doorway. "Smart boy, takes after his mother in that respect."

"Hnn." Snape said looking down at the small boy.

Remus managed to finish the potion and handed the steel goblet back to Snape who looked at the small boy keenly once more and headed back though the floo. Harry was a strange young boy to him, then again he had two very strange guardians. One werewolf Gryffindor and one old horribly scarred Auror Slytherin. Then there were the Weasleys and to boot Harry went to the same muggle school as his cousin. It was not as if Snape wanted to know all this, but Minerva McGonagall liked to tell him all about how her future Gryffindor was doing. Oh of only Harry ended up in his house how the smugness would go from the older beautiful (okay so he thought that yes) Gryffindor head.

At the end of Summer Harry went back to the same muggle primary that Dudley went to. They had started off the last year on a not so friendly standing, Dudley had tried to bully him and Harry had knocked him down. Moody had started to teach Harry all about defense, mostly muggle style as Harry could not fully control his magic at this age. So when Dudley had come after his cousin he had been knocked flat in two blows. Harry had gone to his aunt and uncle's house and to the amazement of everyone apologized to Dudley and given him a extra large bar of Hershey's chocolate. After that they had actually become friends.

Harry never spoke about magic around the Dursleys, he talked instead about school, being friends with Dudley and how smart and athletic Dudley was. In that he was being charitable to say the least, Dudley was fat, there was no getting around that. However as he saw how good Harry was with sports he wanted to try at least. It was on the first day of school and Harry took the floo with Remus to Miss Figg's house and walked to the Dursleys. Harry got a shock at seeing Dudley, he had lost weight and looked healthy and tanned! Harry walked up and grinned seeing Dudley.

"Hey you look great!" Harry said.

"Mum and dad signed me up for swimming lessons and martial arts 'cause I wanted them!" Dudley said grinning. "I want to be a boxer when I grow up!"

"That is brilliant mate!" Harry said grinning. "I think you could be the best ever!"

Though Mrs. Dursley did not always approve of Harry she saw he treated Dudley very well, in fact he was his friend. She thought that Harry was turning her son at bit too bookish but Dudley did like to swim, hike, ride his bike and play outside and on his video game player. She was complimented on raising such a fine young man in Dudley and that counted for something. She watched as the two well dressed boys walked to school and were joined by several other boys too. What she did not know was that one of Harry's magical friends, at the insistence of Moody was going to the same school. So it was a block away from the Dursleys Ron caught up to them having taken the floo to one of his parent's friend's homes to head to school this year.

"So how did your mum take you going to school here?" Harry asked him.

"Not bad, she did not cry too much, I think she is tempted to send Fred and George, if they would not end up in trouble." Ron said. "Then again they are trouble!"

"Well at least you get to go to school with me until go to your dad's school." Dudley said knowing nothing about Hogwarts as Harry said nothing about it as he had promised. "I think it's brilliant your parents are doing this."

"Yea, it's a great thing really, never would have met you if not for them doing this." Ron said knowing all about the Dursleys hating magic. He just thought it was weird they did but was too polite to comment ever to Harry on that. "You will go to Smeltings your dad's school."

The boys talked and laughed as they made their way to school, a far cry to how things could have gone if Harry had been raised by the Dursleys. There was one more bright thing about this year, "Mad-eyed" Moody, deemed "too paranoid" to continue as an Auror was given an early retirement. He took up a job in the primary school Harry attended as a janitor to help protect his young ward. Though he had a terrifying presence, a patched eye, horribly scarred face, a wooden leg ending in a clawed foot he was well liked by the students and teachers alike. Harry felt secure and liked and here in his muggle school, he never had to worry about anyone starring at his scar and treating him like a hero. He had done nothing more than live, what made him a hero for living? Still here he had friends and enjoyed the years he spent here learning, growing and becoming fast friends with Dudley and Ron…

Yea so it is highly improbable that the Dursleys would let Harry near Dudley. However two things would have happened for it to work, Harry would promise never to mention magic and bribery in the form of money. Greed would motivate them to let Harry be near their son. My motivation was simple, Moody. Now Moody knew that any family that was left of Harry's would be in danger, what better way to help protect that family than having Harry go to the same school as Dudley. Besides Remus Lupin has a big heart and probably felt sorry for the boy and wanted him to learn from Harry how to be a upstanding person. As for Snape, yes he would make the potion for Remus, if only to say he could.