Chapter Nine: The Moon and the Phoenix

Standing in the middle of his room at Longbottom Manor, Harry surveyed the chaos he created. Strewn about the room was every article of clothing he'd purchased. He was due to meet Remus Lupin in an hour and a half and had no idea what to wear. Nothing too fancy, because he wasn't sure if Mr. Lupin was still as poor as he'd been in school, with all the anti-werewolf legislation, he assumed so. Why the man never applied to work for Potter Corporation or Castle Potter, Harry didn't know. His father had written that Remus, due to his Gryffindor nature had been very prideful, but Harry figured pride didn't feed you. As he surveyed his wardrobe for suitable clothes, Hedwig flew in the open window and gave a sharp bark, clacking her beak when she couldn't find a place to land. She swopped around the foot of the bed and glared at him pointedly. Sighing, Harry cleared a spot for her to rest.

"Is that good enough for you, your majesty?"

Hedwig cut her eyes at him.

"Sorry, Hed I didn't mean to snap, I'm not in a good mood at the moment. I'm nervous about meeting one of my parent's friends. What ya got for me?"

She held out her leg and he retrieved letters from Ron and Hermione and let out a whoosh of breath.

"I guess now I'll know. Have you ate?"

Hedwig gave an affirmative hoot, rubbed up against him, and flew back off through the window. Harry dropped down in the spot Hedwig had vacated and opened Hermione's letter with trembling hands.

Dear Harry,

Oh Harry, everything seems to always happen to you, doesn't it. Did you know that Castle Potter is one of the world's thousand ultimate sites to visit in the world? I feel so stupid for not realizing that you were that Potter, but there isn't much information on the Potter family at Hogwarts. Believe me I checked. I didn't realize your family was so prominent in the muggle and magical world. Harry you are a Lord, my best friend is a peer of the realm. You must be so overwhelmed, but at least you are no longer with the Dursleys. Have you moved to Castle Potter yet? Harry you have to let me visit, can you imagine how much history is just lying around your house. It would be so fascinating to see how wizards lived before the Statute of Secrecy came into play. Harry, would you be mad if I said I was super jealous of you, not of all the responsibility of course, but you are surrounded by hundreds of years of history. I bet your library is bigger than Hogwarts, isn't it? I bet it is. And you're hiring tutors that will be writing lesson plans customized just for you! I bet you'll be learning loads! You have to tell me EVERYTHING you're learning, EVERYTHING.

Okay, now that I'm done hyperventilating. Hogwarts isn't Hogwarts without you. You are the only person who accepts me as I am. I doubt Ron and I will remain friends without you. I don't know if I'll have friends at Hogwarts without you there. So all my anger at you leaving is selfish and then I feel guilty because you are the least selfish person I know so how can I act like a brat when for the first time in your life, you're doing something that is the best thing for you. No matter how much I'll miss you this is the best thing for you Harry. However, I am holding you to your promise of showing up during Hogsmeade weekends and I can't believe the party you're planning. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I would pay to see the purebloods reaction to an amusement park. Can't wait to see you.

Love,

Hermione.

Tears ran down Harry's face as he remembered the realization he came to during his first year at Hogwarts. Never underestimate Hermione Granger. Harry flipped through his calendar to see where Christmas fell that year. Boxing Day fell on a Friday. He pushed the record button on the watch May had gifted him with and recorded a message for her.

"May, send an invitation to the Granger family to come and visit me and have full access to Castle Potter the evening of Boxing Day for that weekend. Make sure you arrange all the bells and whistles for history tours and the like."

May popped in and stared at him in concern. "Master?"

Harry grinned. "Happy tears. I realized a friend is truly a friend."

May nodded and popped out only to pop back in a couple second later with a calming draught and began putting the clothes away. He started to help and was about to hand her one of his jeans since she was closer to the closet when her whole body stiffened.

Harry swore under his breathe and held the garment against his chest. "Oh Merlin, May, I didn't mean to. It was just a reflex. How about from now on, no picking up clothes when I'm in the room so I don't do anything stupid like that again. I don't know what I'd do without you May."

Although still shaken, May smiled, nodded, and popped out of the room.

Harry plopped back down on the bed. "This night isn't going well. I hope that isn't a sign."

Dropping back on the bed, feeling the calming draught starting to take effect, he opened Ron's letter.

Hey Mate,

I am not surprised. Mad, angry, upset that we can't hang at Hogwarts but I kinda expected it. At least you'll be there for Hogsmeade weekends. We'll never be able to replace you on the Quidditch team. Oliver is going to freak, how will we get the cup this year? Maybe we shouldn't tell him, he'll be a pain at the amusement park. By the way, I can't wait to see what muggles do for fun and Percy's over the moon that you invited Penelope. He's been less of a pain lately, I think it's because he's been hanging with the twins, they've been whispering together a lot. I fear Percy is giving them ideas for mass destruction. If you thought it was scary when Fred and George had a plan, it's ten times worse when Percy is involved. At least with just the twins you can see it coming. Despite being pranked to death, this trip to Egypt has been the best ever, well that and the Scabbers thing.

Ron

P.S. Do you have a Quidditch Pitch at your new place? And a broom shed? It'll be cool to fly on a proper pitch.

Harry smiled. Typical Ron. He made a mental note to invite Ron to the Manor for Easter break once it was finished. Harry rose from the bed, happier than he'd been in days. His friends were still his friends. Renewed, he scrambled around the clothes he discarded and pulled out an outfit to wear to dinner when Dobby popped in.

Harry noticed that Dobby stood far away from Harry and was looking at the clothes strewn about the room warily. Harry supposed that the clothes incident had made the rounds with the Potter elves already.

Harry sighed. "Hey Dobby, what's up?"

"Master Harry Potter, sir. You told me to tell you when Dobby found Sirius Black sir. Dobby found Sirius Black and gave him the care package. Dobby cleaned him up and sent him to Saint Mungo's for care."

The tension in his body eased. He had something good to tell Remus Lupin. "How bad is he?"

"Weak. He'll be in the hospital for a long time."

Harry wrote a quick note to Madame Bones and gave it to Dobby. "Give this to Madame Bones so she can control the situation before word spreads."

"Yes, Master Harry Potter, sir."

Maybe the night wouldn't be so terrible after all.

Harry sat in a private room inside the Patil's restaurant, grateful that the calming draught May had given him was still in his system. If not, Harry suspected that he'd be bouncing off the walls. This meeting felt important. He was meeting one of the people who meant the most to his parents, who had the deepest connection to them. What if Remus didn't like him? Harry had sent a ten page rambling letter to his new friend last night giving Takashi the history of his dad's friendship with the Marauders, as he knew it. It felt easier to lay out all his fears to someone so far away, to get an unbiased opinion. Takashi's advice was surprisingly simple. If it worked out Harry's life would be enriched by the new experiences Remus would bring, if it didn't work out then Harry would walk away and his life wouldn't change and he'd just go on like he'd had been. Harry felt like saying a big old 'duh' when he read Takashi's words. At first he just couldn't process them. Now with the calming draught in his system, he saw Takashi's point and it had been a good one. For someone who had a hard time speaking, Takashi was amazingly good with putting his thoughts to paper. Those words had helped him not freak out, but now that he was here, all his old fears had risen to the surface.

Luckily, he'd have things to talk to Remus about. He'd finished his father's Hogwarts journal, which only lasted, through his sixth year of school. His grandparents had succumbed to dragon pox the summer before his father's seventh year and dad had begun writing in the Lord's journal instead. Seeing his parents battle a disease and Voldemort rising to power had matured James Potter, so he wasn't a berk to anyone in school but Snape. But, as Snape had become close friends with Death Eaters and had lost his Mum's friendship by calling her a mudblood, he was willing to cut his father some slack. Despite that, Harry couldn't help but wonder if Snape would've turned out the way he did if his dad and the Marauders hadn't bullied him so badly. It was a question to ponder and helped him to see why Snape would be so bitter. Even so, he couldn't forgive the way the man had acted towards him or the other students at Hogwarts.

Harry wiped his sweating palms on his jeans when he felt someone approaching the door. The doors opened and Parvati walked in with Remus who was wearing a set of wizarding robes. From his experience with Ron and the Weasleys, Harry could tell the robes were second hand and was glad he decided to just go with jeans. Harry smiled hello to Remus before turning to Pavarti.

"Did you get my invitation? Will you and Padma be able to make it?"

"Are you kidding," she gushed. "It's all we've been talking about. We can't wait. We've been working overtime here at the restaurant to have spending money. It's going to be the party of the year and everyone who didn't get invited is jealous." She seemed to remember where she was at and pulled herself together. "Should I just get a family style sampler for you to share?"

Harry looked at Remus who nodded. They gave their drink orders and she left. Remus was gazing suspiciously around the room, Harry wondered if his werewolf senses could smell his guards or if it was just old battle instincts.

"Sorry about that," he told Remus gesturing to where Parvati left. "Parvati's one of my old housemates at Hogwarts. I decided I needed something fun to look forward too and am hosting a party at a muggle amusement park, as with most of my ideas, it was great but the actual planning was a little more than I thought it would be."

Remus smiled fondly as he sat in his seat. "You come by that honestly. Your father was the same way. It was always up to me to bring your father and Sirius back down to reality. Are you sure that you won't be returning to Hogwarts?"

"Yes."

Remus sighed. "Because of Dumbledore."

Harry nodded. "And the poor environment he created. Hogwarts just isn't safe, with Dumbledore as the headmaster, at least not safe enough for me. My first defense teacher tried to kill me and was possessed by Voldemort. My second defense teacher tried to obliviate me. History is naptime and Potions has me subjected to hours of torture, torture that Dumbledore refused to acknowledge or curb."

Remus sighed. "Harry, Severus Snape—"

"I found Dad's journal," Harry said cutting Remus off. "He was a complete arse to Snape just because he was jealous. Those pranks were mean and vicious and you guys were bullies. You were bullies allowed to run free because you were in Gryffindor and Dumbledore was friends with my grandparents. However, Snape's an adult and I'm a kid who never knew my father. I was Snape's punching bag because he couldn't move away from what happened to him nearly twenty years ago. Plus, it wasn't just me he bullied. The man is a brilliant potion master, but he has no business teaching children."

Remus looked sad. "You're right, about us at school and Snape. Dumbledore let us then and him now get away with more than he should."

"At the expense of Hogwarts and the education of hundreds of students." Harry shrugged. "Fortunately, I now have the means to get a better education for myself."

A sad smile curled Remus's lips. "You're very mature for your age."

"I had a heap of responsibility piled on me overnight. Plus, thanks to Dumbledore, I haven't been a child since he dropped me off on the doorstep of magic hating relatives when I was a year old."

Remus nodded. "This is not what your parents wanted for you, but I can say they'd be beyond proud of how you're handling the situation."

Harry smiled and felt himself relax at Remus's words a weight lifted from his chest as he unclenched his hands and leaned forward. "Tell me about yourself? I never really talked to a friend of my parents before."

"If you read your father's journals, you know about—"

Harry laughed. "You're furry little problem, yeah."

Remus smiled sadly. "We were idiots in school, but your father was a great friend."

"I saw that too."

Remus sighed regretfully. "I should have stepped up more and stopped James and Sirius from their games. I knew it was wrong but I'm ashamed to admit I was so glad to have friends that I overlooked a lot of bad behavior."

"I know the feeling," Harry commiserated with the werewolf. "I was the same way with my friends, but I recently found that speaking up may actually make our friendship stronger."

Harry's head jerked up as he felt a powerful magical aura heading in their direction. This aura was similar to what it felt like when was around Sensei, only this person's magic felt wilder where Sensei's magical aura was calm and restrained. The door opened and waiters walked in with their platters of food floating in front of them, but what had Harry clenching his fists in anger was Dumbledore. The Headmaster of Hogwarts strolled into the room looking as if he'd been invited and hadn't a care in the world. Harry glanced at Remus in accusation, but Remus was staring at Dumbledore with a look of ultimate betrayal on his face. Harry looked in the corner to where his guards were hidden and shook his head slightly asking them to hold back for now. Once the waiters left, Harry sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're the last person I want to see right now, you know," he told the man in the livid, blue robes, glad that May had given him a calming draught. It stopped him from leaping over and breaking the man's nose again.

Dumbledore looked sad. "Harry my boy, I am extremely sorry for interrupting, but I couldn't stop myself from coming to explain. I had no idea I was condemning you to such a life with I placed you with the Dursleys."

"Usually you go for half-truths and misdirection, but now you're lying," Harry cocked his head and looking at the Headmaster of Hogwarts. "I found out about Mrs. Figg, I know she was placed there to report to you. So, don't tell me you didn't know how bad things were inside of that house," Dumbledore flinched. Harry snorted. "Please don't call me boy I don't like it. Boy is what Vernon Dursley called me, and all it does is remind me that you are in the same category as he is, a child abuser, which I am sure you don't want. You may address me as Lord Potter."

Dumbledore sighed, his shoulders slumped, and he looked like he had the cares of the world heaped upon his shoulders. It was a masterful performance.

"You are very angry, which is you're right of course. I made many mistakes. I am only human and I am sorry for what you've been though. I don't think I could ever make up to you what you were put through, but I have to try. I had hoped to spare you this until you were older. I had no choice but to place you with the Dursleys. When your mother gave her life for you that caused a powerful protection around you so when Voldemort attempted to cast the killing curse it rebounded back on him casting him out of his body. By placing you with your aunt, who shares blood with you and your mother I sealed the protection your mother placed upon you. That protection saved you from Death Eaters seeking retribution, or from Professor Quirrell's attempt to touch you. As long as you called your Aunt's place home, you are protected from Voldemort and his followers who want to hurt you."

"But I did not have protection from the Dursleys who starved me, locked me in a cupboard under the stairs, and later in my cousin's second bedroom with a cat flap cut in the door to slid me cold soup and water, or the many locks on the outside of the door to lock me in. Nor did it save me from the ridicule of neighbors who believed the rumors the Dursleys spread about me to cover their crimes."

Dumbledore's eyes watered. "No it did not."

"Why are you here, Professor Dumbledore? You must be here for a reason, I hope it isn't to request I go back to the Dursleys to fortify these blood wards," Harry bit out sarcastically. "I'm afraid I can't, the Dursleys are in prison for child abuse."

"No, that is not feasible."

"Then what do you suggest," Harry sat back and stared at Dumbledore wide-eyed. "What do you want?"

"Despite what you think, I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be safe. I suggest you move in with a family we can give the biggest protection too, somewhere where you'd be happy. Perhaps the Weasley family would be willing to take you in? I'm sure that once I talked to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when they returned, they'd love to take you in. Mrs. Weasley already considers you one of her own."

Manipulative bastard.

"Why the Weasleys, not that I don't like and respect them, but they already have seven children they are struggling to provide for, why should they suffer the care of another? That is presumptive of you, you know. It's really not you're right to say where I go, Professor. It's my parents. My parents appointed Sirius Black as my guardian, what's wrong with him?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily as if his heart was breaking to pass bad news onto him. Harry felt shame curl in his gut. Why hadn't he'd seen what a horrible actor the man was before now?

"Harry, I don't think you understand after all the years Sirius spent in Azkaban it will take a while for him to be healthy enough to care for you."

Harry looked at the food spread on the table and sighed. "My stomach is growling and I can't afford to skip any more meals as you left on the doorsteps of child abusers in the middle of the night. I get it. You want me with the Weasleys anything else?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes as if praying for strength before opening them and staring at Harry resolutely.

"I went about things the wrong way, but I have your best interests at heart."

Harry snorted. "My best interest as Lord Harrison Potter the orphan who lost his parents at an early age or as Lord Harrison Potter the one born as the seventh month dies who has power the Dark Lord knows not?"

Dumbledore blanched and Harry laughed. "Professor, no offense, you have no say in what goes on in my life. You are just the headmaster of the school I used to attend. Why would I listen to you? You are the monster who left me with child abuses. You are the monster who is the Chief of the Wizengamot. You are the monster who made sure my godfather, heir to an Ancient and Noble House didn't receive a trial. You are the monster who made sure my parents will was never executed. You are the monster who made sure my home was turned into a national monument without my permission. You are the monster who stole from my vaults. You are the monster who withheld my mail. You did all this so that I could be raised as a martyr to your schemes and be your weapon once Voldemort returned. You don't care about me, you're upset that you're schemes are falling apart."

"Harry, I do care."

"Well, I'm sorry, I don't particularly like your brand of caring. I have nothing else to say to you. Goodbye."

Professor Dumbledore rose and left the room.

"Harry," Remus began but Harry cut him off.

"I am hungry and I need to get some food in me so I can take my potions."

Harry loaded food onto his plate and began eating.

"Potions," Remus asked weakly.

"Healers managed to fix most of the damage done to my body from the Dursleys and Dumbledore's Dark Lord training program. Unfortunately, some issues are not a quick fix despite magic."

To prove it, he grabbed the chain around his neck and downed the potions before going back to his food. Once he counted to one hundred, he managed to speak to Remus Lupin.

"Did you really think he wouldn't interfere if you told him where you were going, despite everything you learned he had done to me?"

"Yes," Remus whispered. "I see I was wrong. I am so sorry Harry."

"My friend Hermione told me that witches and wizards had no common sense. She was right. Madame Longbottom told me you were at the Governor's meeting; you heard the public version of what happened to me, which was bad enough. Yet still, you put that old man and his manipulations over the pain of your best friend son, by forcing me to face the man who abused me even if he wasn't the one to raise his hand and do so. He was instrumental behind every decision that had effected my life, a very unhappy life. And you, because you gave him the location of our meeting, you made me face him when I wasn't ready to do so. My dad always said you had problems with your self-confidence because of the werewolf thing. I wished you believed in yourself more, it would've been nice to have someone around I could call family but I can't trust you. By the way, Sirius is at St. Mungo's, I was going to tell you, but we were interrupted and my plans for the evening went out the window." Harry sighed and dropped back so his head was lying against the headrest. "I'm getting a migraine and don't have anything for it."

The rest of the dinner was extremely awkward; Harry refused to speak, but eventually told Remus he hoped he wrote him, at least for his parents' sake. Once Remus left, Sensei disillusioned himself and wrapped Harry up in his arms. Harry stiffened, because he didn't trust himself not to break down and cry and he couldn't do that. Not yet.

"I'm sorry, there's always Sirius Black."

Harry shrugged. "He handed me off to Dumbledore's lackey to run after Pettigrew instead of making sure that I was okay. I'm on my own now. I'm going to tell Madame Longbottom at breakfast that I'm moving into the Castle. I resisted and waffled long enough, it's time I started the next chapter in my life. Are you and the others settled at the Castle?"

Sensei sighed. "Yes."

Drained, Harry nodded. When he got to his room at the Longbottoms, he curled up in the bed and cried for a very long time. Once he recovered, he finally opened up his journal and began his first entry as Lord Potter.

Author's Note:

*It's been a week since my last update. Sorry about that. I'm usually better, but real life is kicking me in the butt and I kept looking at this chapter. I'm not happy with it, but I couldn't figure out what I could do to make it better.

*As always I am my own beta, so all mistakes are my own.

*I don't own Ouran High School Host Club nor Harry Potter.

*I should be back on track so the next update should come pretty quickly.