Sorry for not writing for a while but I was struck down by a hateful cold and couldn't bring together my thoughts long enough to write coherently.
When Harry and Remus went back to Remus' house, Harry found he missed Hogwarts a lot. He missed being around the Slytherins, going to class and eating in the Great Hall. But one massive difference was Severus was at the house almost every day. When he wasn't there with Remus, he was helping Harry with potions. Duncan and Dave had come to visit Harry a few times; they found the fact that Remus and Severus were dating to be hilarious.
Harry spent the first part of summer recovering from the lake incident. Physically, Harry was fine but he had nightmares every night and couldn't get in the tub by himself without getting scared. After a while, the nightmares became less intense and Harry could get back into the tub without crying but it wasn't his favourite thing to do.
In addition to having nightmares about nearly drowning, Harry was beginning to have nightmares of the day he was bitten. He didn't tell Remus about these dreams but he knew Remus assumed he was dreaming about the lake so he let him go with that. Harry was in his bedroom playing with his junior
Harry was in his bedroom playing with his junior potions set. None of the potions required heat or any type of dangerous chemicals. It was dull and disappointing compared to the potions he was used to making.
His birthday had been a few days ago and Harry was still happy. Not only had Remus and Severus remembered Harry's birthday but they had even put together a small party. Draco, Ron, Ginny, Dave and Duncan had been there and they'de gotten Harry presents. There were cake and treats for everyone and they were amazing. Harry had never had a birthday party before or a birthday cake. Last year he'd been given a coat hanger for his birthday.
Harry was working sitting at the table working on writing with Severus; Severus was teaching Harry how to write out his full name. Harry beamed proudly at Severus when he'd get the letters right. What Harry liked about Severus was the fact that he'd tell Harry if he was doing a good job or not. He told Harry what he needed to do to write better and neater. Harry was looking forward to being about to write like the older kids at school.
"Grip the quill a little tighter, and relax your fingers," Severus advised as Harry made another attempt at his name. Harry stared proudly at his writing and smiled towards Remus. Remus was sitting on the other side of the table writing out his lesson plans for next year. Remus grinned at Harry who was now proudly displaying his work for him.
"I can write essays next year with the rest of the class," Harry said proudly to Severus who smirked.
"You want to write essays? I must say, Harry, you are one of a kind. But your mother was the same," Severus laughed as he remembered how eager Lily was to learn everything she could. Harry was very much the same. Harry had the advantage of being exposed to the magic community much earlier than Lily, so Severus was curious to see just how much of an advantage this would give Harry over his mother. He appeared to be a little more passionate about potions than Lily ever was but Severus figured this was a personal preference Harry had acquired from learning to cook so young.
Harry quickly grew bored with writing his name and began writing out Sirius, Severus and Remus' names for practice. By the end of the night, Harry had written out the names of the Malfoy family, the Weasleys, and the titles of all of his books.
Harry spent the rest of his summer making potions with Severus and reading with Remus. Sirius would come by once or twice a week and teach Harry how to fly. Sirius had come to terms with Remus' relationship with Severus and the two were working on tolerating each other for Remus and Harry's sake. By the time summer was over, Sirius and Severus had agreed on a truce. It wasn't friendship but it wasn't hatred either and that was good enough to keep Harry and Remus content.
The night before going to Hogwarts, they had been informed that Paul had been expelled from Hogwarts, so Harry wouldn't have to worry about the troubled young boy threatening Harry again. This news relaxed Remus and Severus greatly as they packed Harry's trunk. Harry had been sent a set of custom Hogwarts robes for his birthday with his own Slytherin ties to wear. Dumbledore had even sent Harry a copy of the first and second-year potions books with enchantments to help Harry be able to read them without too much assistance but once again Harry was instructed to not attempt these
Dumbledore had even sent Harry a copy of the first and second-year potions books with enchantments to help Harry be able to read them without too much assistance but once again Harry was instructed to not attempt these potions without supervision. Harry was getting tired of receiving the same warning, over and over again but didn't say anything.
When the group arrived back to Hogwarts, Harry was pleased to discover that Remus had moved them into Severus' quarters; this meant Harry was just a door away from the Slytherin common room and would get to spend more time with his favourite potions classmates. Harry enjoyed watching the Slytherins work on assignments he couldn't do yet, like transfiguration and charms work. His training wand only allowed him to do tiny spells and even the first-year spells were too advanced for Harry's wand.
"Would you like to join me when I give the first years their orientation?" Severus asked Harry; he couldn't help but smirk as Harry attempted to keep his expression neutral and his words nonchalant.
"I guess that would be fun," Harry said but a large excited grin spread across the child's face. But Severus didn't blame the child because not many five-year-olds got to do a Hogwarts orientation or even see how the students were sorted into their houses. Severus was going to have to make sure Harry didn't till too many students about the sorting hat; after all, Severus loved hearing some of the first-years theories on sorting before they knew about the hat. He'd heard everything from troll wrestling to essays.
"Alright Harry, then you should go get ready for bed because we have a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow," Severus said, causing Harry to run off to find Remus. Severus sank down onto the couch and began preparing himself for another busy orientation but this year would definitely be different than the other years.