The great hall was bustling with life as the students filed in, ready for their first day of term. Harry had woken up early that morning feeling surprisingly refreshed and rather excited for his lessons to begin.
His excitement however was squashed when he got a first look at his timetable and realised that he had double potions with Snape first thing. What a way to start off a new year Harry thought to himself.
Ron seemed to have also noticed as he let out a groan louder than Harry's as he sulked for the remainder of breakfast.
Multiple times throughout eating, Harry had stolen a glance up to the teachers table and at his guardian who returned Harry's smirks.
Harry felt his disappointment falter only slightly as his timetable confirmed what he already knew, that he had defence with his guardian before lunch. The amount of work he had seen the man putting into his lessons, Harry was sure that they'd be nothing short of brilliant.
The first warning bell rang to signify that they had fifteen minutes until the start of lessons so Harry, along with everyone else in the Great Hall packed up their belongings and headed for their first classes; Harry began the trek down to the dungeons, Hermione and Ron following not far behind.
They reached the queue that had formed outside the potions professors door and joined at the back. Harry thought potions was bad enough but when adding the fact that they had to share the class with Slytherin's, it made it almost unbearable.
If Snape was going to be anything like the short amount of time, he had spent with the man the other day, Harry was absolutely positive that this year was going to be miserable where Potions was concerned.
Harry snapped out of his daydream to hear Draco Malfoy shouting from the front of the queue.
"Potter," the Slytherin yelled, "Potter."
Harry jerked his head up and gave the boy the harshest glare he could muster.
"Is it true you actually fainted?" The boy laughed as the other Slytherin's followed suit. "I bet you were scared; begging for your mother, - oh wait, you don't have one. Do you?"
"I'd rather have dead parents than one's that were death eaters." Harry shot back which, to his surprise, temporarily hushed Draco.
However, Draco's speechlessness was short-lived as he withdrew his wand; the other students moving out of the way. Harry quickly followed suit, just as the dungeon doors whipped open and Professor Snape walked out into the corridor.
Draco seemed to have noticed the man's arrival before Harry did and managed to hide his wand.
"It seems - that some of us have not matured over the summer Potter." Snape sneered
"Malfoy started it-" Harry feebly responded before being cut off.
"No excuses from you Potter, 10 points from Gryffindor."
"What, why?" Harry exclaimed.
"For attempting to start a duel outside my classroom and continuing to argue with me about it. If you continue with this immature tantrum, then I have no qualms in placing you in detention."
Harry glared at the man but wasn't stupid enough to reply to the man's comments. The professor signalled for the students to enter the classroom; Harry had forgotten that there was anyone else there.
Ron and Hermione shot him a sympathetic look as they took their usual seats at the back of the room and as far away from the man's desk as possible. Why they bothered Harry was not sure, the Professor usually found an excuse to fail his potion anyway.
Harry zoned out once more as Snape began to drone on about how important the upcoming year was and how essential it was that they listened closely and followed instructions. His daydream was rudely interrupted by Hermione shaking his arm as he realised that the rest of the class had all moved to gather their ingredients for the potion they had been set.
Harry looked up to the board to discover that they were making the Wideye potion and, from what Harry could tell, the instructions did not look too difficult. He thanked Hermione as she informed him that she'd gathered the required ingredients and Harry got to work on making the potion.
He opened his book, as well as looking up at the board and added the snake fangs, standard ingredient, Billywig stings and sprigs of Wolfsbane at the correct points. He was disappointed however, to find that his potion did not look like the emerald colour detailed in the book. He stole a glance over to Hermione's whose potion looked almost perfect, Ron's on the other hand, looked very similar to Harry's; although Harry had to argue that his potion was greener in colour.
Poor Neville had managed to completely melt his first cauldron of the year and had been assigned detention that evening. Ron stood up almost went to defend his fellow Gryffindor but held himself back when Hermione whispered harshly, "Ronald, don't even think about it," and pulled the redhead back into his seat.
Harry didn't miss the scowl Ron shot back at Hermione but, he had to admit, Hermione was, as always, correct. Gryffindor had already lost points before the term had had a chance to begin thanks to Harry.
The potions Professor walked around his classroom as the two hours was coming to an end; placing only the very best potions into vials for his private store.
Hermione was happily surprised when she was handed a vial to place her potion in; Ron and Harry were not so surprised when Snape merely sneered at their feeble attempts and banished them away.
Harry was sure his mood could not have been any lower after the absolute torture of the past two hours. His only saving grace was with that class over, he was about to see how good of a teacher his guardian was in Defence Against the Dark Arts.
The trio walked from the dungeon's all the way to the defence classroom which was on the opposite end of the school. Harry was pleasantly surprised to see that the desks had all been pushed to the side, leaving the middle of the room completely empty other than a wardrobe that was placed at the far end.
"Welcome," Lupin called out as a steady stream of students began to file through his classroom. The man's eyes immediately spotted Harry as he gave the boy a wink and a smirk which Harry responded in a similar fashion.
"As I am sure you will all know, I am Professor Lupin and I will be your new Defence teacher." Lupin smiled warmly at the class as he walked round to the front of the desk, leaning on it. "Today, as your first defence lesson of the term, I'd like to start with a practical lesson."
Harry listened as the mutters around the room seemed positive and his classmates appeared excited.
"Now, can anybody tell me what a Boggart is?"
Hermione's hand shot up in the air as she answered the man's question correctly, earning 10 points to Gryffindor.
"A boggart takes the form of our deepest fear. The only way to get rid of a boggart is to confuse it so much that it eventually disappears and the only way to do that is to repel it with the spell Riddikulus."
The professor then got the class to repeat the spell until he was satisfied that they had the pronunciation correct.
"Brilliant. Now I would like you to form a line behind, Mr Longbottom." Lupin instructed as he was sure he saw the boys face change to a much paler complexion. "Okay, - Neville isn't it?"
Neville nodded his head nervously as he looked up at the man, fear evident in his eyes.
"I want you to think of your worst fear Neville; something that makes you shake with anxiety."
The boy nodded at his professor once more before muttering, "Professor Snape."
"I just need you to think about it. Then, I'd like you to think of something that could make your worst fear seem much funnier."
The defence professor watched as the boy looked confused in thought, seemingly lost for ideas. Remus thought he would give the boy a helping hand, "Perhaps think of your grandmother?"
Neville gave the man a shocked look as he tried to understand how the new professor knew of his living situation but muttered a soft "okay," as an idea came to mind.
Harry watched from the back of the line at the interaction taking place as his heart filled with pride. His guardian was undoubtedly giving Neville pointers on how to defeat the boggart, rather than squashing Neville's confidence as he had seen Snape do multiple times in the past.
Lupin opened the doors of the wardrobe as Professor Snape walked out, seeming very much lifelike and just as scary as ever. Neville's hand started to shake but he mustered up the courage and spoke the incarnation as the class watched the potions professor change from his usual self to being dressed in an old ladies outfit that Harry could only assume belonged to Neville's grandparents.
Most of the class roared with laughter at the Professor's new outfit, minus a few Slytherins who seemed to find the situation less than amusing.
One by one, the class got their chance to fight the boggart and force it to change its form as the students' laughter got louder and louder, confusing the Boggart further. Ron revealed his worst fear as a spider which came as no surprise to Harry.
Hermione's boggart of failing a class also came with little shock. Harry knew the immense pressure the witch had placed on herself this year, taking more classes than anyone else; if anyone feared failing, it was Hermione.
Someone whose boggart did come as a surprise to Harry was that of Draco Malfoy who reluctantly stood at the front of the line to face the boggart. The creature quickly took the form of his parents who, from what Harry could gather, were disowning him from their family. The scene played out for less than five seconds before the blonde-haired teen rushed to change the boggart into two green snakes that slithered around the floor.
Harry watched as the remaining students all took their turn at fighting the boggart as he stepped up to take his turn. The bogart was, by now, very confused and was clearly almost finished with.
Lupin seemed preoccupied with another student who found their boggart particularly distressing so, figuring he could handle it on his own, Harry took the remaining steps to stand in front of the wardrobe. The boggart began to form itself into Harry's worst fear, though it seemed to take a considerable amount of time, flickering between several different shapes before settling on a dementor. Lupin seemed to have noticed as he practically ran over to stand in front of Harry, forcing the boggart to turn into his worst fear rather than stay as Harry's.
For as long as Remus could remember, the boggart had taken the shape of a full moon, but this time it was different. There laying on the ground was Harry's lifeless body.
Lupin forced himself to remain calm as he spoke the incarnation and the boggart turned into a figure sized quidditch player, racing on a broom around the room before it eventually dispersed into black mist which fled into the wardrobe, slamming the door shut.
Silence filled the classroom before the students broke out into loud muttering. Harry attempted to overhear the conversations as he forced the heat on his face to disappear.
"I think that's enough for today. Class dismissed - go and have an early lunch." Lupin called out encouragingly.
The class moaned slightly but slowly headed out of the door, yet Harry felt the eyes still glued to him. Walking over to his bag, Harry stuffed his wand into the inside of his robes and followed behind Ron and Hermione.
"Harry, could you stay back a moment." Lupin called as he attempted to gather his books and pieces of parchment on his desk.
Harry halted in his steps as Ron said that they would save him a seat in the Great Hall. Turning to face the man, Harry stood in the middle of the room awkwardly. He was feeling way past confused and almost hurt that his guardian hadn't let him face the boggart. Everyone else in the room had gotten their chance but not him.
He didn't particularly want to even see the Defence Professor right now, let alone be in a room with just the two of them.
When the classroom was empty, Lupin motioned for Harry to come over to his desk, leaning on the front, the man watched the teen closely.
"I'd like it if we could have dinner together this evening, down in my quarters?"
"I can't; Quidditch Practise." Harry informed the man shortly. He had expected the man to apologise for not letting him fight the boggart not invite him over as though nothing had ever happened.
'Ah yes, of course. Well, practise will finish around half past six; that leaves us enough time."
"I've got homework to do."
"Which you can bring down to our quarters and work on it there. I think we are overdue for a catch up" Remus replied.
Harry had now run out of excuses and accepted that there wasn't any other way to get out of it. "Fine."
Lupin watched as the teen swiftly turned and walked out the door which closed loudly.
Yes, Teenage angst was certainly something his ward possessed Lupin thought to himself.
"Did he say why he didn't let you fight the boggart" Ron questioned the minute Harry sat down in the Great Hall.
"No, instead he forced me to have dinner with him tonight. - apparently, we are 'overdue for a catchup'." Harry replied as he imitated the man's words.
"Well, I am sure he had his reasons Harry. I'm also positive he will tell you tonight." Said Hermione.
"I suppose"
"Anyway, I'd think yourself lucky. At least you didn't have to show anyone your deepest fear; now everyone knows I'm scared of spiders." Ron commented as he began to take his second helping of the meal.
"Cheers Ron." Harry snapped as he grabbed a sandwich.
"Ron didn't mean it like that." Hermione attempted, "did you Ronald."
Ron let out a quiet signal of discomfort as Hermione's foot collided with his shin. "No, Harry, I'm sorry mate."
"I know, I'm just frustrated I suppose. I knew people would eventually know about Lupin being my guardian, but I didn't expect it to be today."
"Well, from what I gathered, I think everyone took it quite well Harry." Hermione comforted, "I believe people are happy for you."
"Yeah, and even if it is a shock, Lupin is the best defence teacher we've had; everyone likes him. They'll soon come round."
Harry couldn't help but smile at his friends; they were always there for him through everything and always so understanding, even when he was being a total arse and completely unreasonable. "Yeah I guess they will."
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I've got to get to Arithmancy" said Hermione as the witch stood up from the bench.
"But we've got Divination next?" Ron challenged.
"Yes, I know what class you have Ronald."
"But aren't you taking Divination too?"
"Yes" The witch called back as she raced towards the doors before the boys could get another word in.
Harry's first experience with divination couldn't have gone any worse.
The subject was new for Harry as he was able to take at least two new subjects this year for his OWL's. He had thought about taking muggle studies but quickly decided against it and tried something new; now he was wishing he hadn't.
From the moment Harry had set foot in Professor Trelawney's classroom, the woman kept her eyes on him. Harry felt well past uncomfortable and then she began making all kinds of wild predictions. For the remainder of the lesson, they attempted to read tea leaves; well, Harry pretended to read them and hoped that the Professor would not notice. Ron predicted that Harry was going to suffer but be happy about it before Professor Trelawney came over and nearly dropped the teacup in utter shock. The class hushed to a deafening silence as all eyes fell on Harry for the second time that day. The Professor let out a gasp as she informed Harry that his tea leaves carried the death omen known as the grim.
Neville let out a squeak and a group of Gryffindor girls gasped, clearly disturbed by what their new Professor had said. Harry didn't know what to say and went to respond before Hermione got there first. "Well, I think it's utter nonsense personally. Tea leaves cannot possibly predict someone's future."
"When did she get here?" Ron exclaimed, however both Hermione and Professor Trelawney chose to ignore.
"Yes, well I sensed before you entered my classroom that you did not possess the qualities needed for the art of divination" The professor commented as she oddly stroked Hermione's hand, which the young witch immediately pulled away. "Much brains but not enough belief."
Hermione, like Harry, did not know how to respond to their new professor so instead chose to remain silent as the woman got up and began pacing the room, muttering to herself.
When the bell eventually rang, the trio were the first one's out of the door, and down the spiral staircase. The lesson had put Hermione in a foul mood and Harry's mood continued to head further south. He had been so excited for the first day back but instead it couldn't have gone any worse so far.
The students all filed down from the divination classroom right at the top of the school, down to the transfiguration class, taught by Harry's head of house, Professor McGonagall.
The woman was known as a firm but extremely strict teacher and was one that Harry had full respect for. She had the power to control a class with just a stern look and never favoured students of her own house which was certainly something Harry had figured out in his first couple of years at the school.
When they arrived at the classroom, the room was empty, much to the trio's surprise. The class filed in behind and all took their seats as light muttering broke out about where their professor could be.
Harry took his usual seat at the back of the room next to Ron, with Hermione to his right, who sat alone. Harry was just about to take out his books where a cat began walking down the aisle and then transformed into their transfiguration professor. The class didn't so much as blink an eye.
"Well, I must say I usually get a better reaction than that." Professor McGonagall commented.
"We've just had Divination, Professor; she told us that one of us would no longer be here after Easter." Parvati stated.
"She seems to think I'm going to die." Harry added on, accidentally speaking his thoughts out loud.
"Professor Trewlarny has been predicting students' deaths since she started as a teacher here. You will be pleased to know Mr Potter, that none have died yet."
Harry nodded at the woman and tried to convince himself that there was little truth in the Divination Professor's words.
The Professor then went on to lecture the third on the topic of animagi after her live demonstration. Initially Harry found the topic rather dull but as the Professor continued, Harry thought to himself that one day, he would love to try it. On the other hand however, he was sure Lupin would kill him for even attempting it.
The lesson ended swiftly, Harry was sure Hermione's arm was going to fall off with the amount of waving in the air she had done. It seemed the young witch had taken working hard to the extreme this year and anything below perfect as going to be unacceptable. Harry did have to admit, this year felt significantly harder than his first two years.
He was already feeling tired and still had another lesson and Quidditch trials before he had to go and have dinner with his guardian. He was still annoyed at the man and was sure that anything Lupin had to say would not change his feelings.
Harry lifted his hand and knocked lightly on the door to his quarters. He was still upset at his guardian and hurt; he was sure he'd rather be anywhere but here.
He heard Lupin call out for him to come in as Harry pushed the door open and entered.
He saw the man placing the food on the table and took a seat as the head.
"Why did you knock?" Remus asked, amusement evident in his voice.
Harry merely shrugged his shoulders at the man and decided, in that moment, that he was going to say as few words as possible.
The teen took a seat next to Lupin and began pushing his food round his plate.
"How was Quidditch practise?"
"Fine."
"Anything new this year? Do you know when your first match is?"
"No."
Remus took a long look at his teenager. His forehead had frown lines deeper than he'd ever seen them and his face looked forlorn. There was certainly something wrong.
"Are you okay."
"Yes." Harry replied stiffly.
"I'll rephrase because clearly something is bothering you. Are you angry at me for not letting you fight the boggart earlier?"
Harry hesitated. He didn't realise the man would be able to tell so easily what was bothering him.
Lupin took the silence as a resounding yes. "Harry, I thought you would have realised. The boggart turned into a dementor; one that made you faint last time. Unless you wanted to faint again, this time in front of your classmates, I had to step in and prevent that.
Harry took in the man's words and rationalised that they did make sense; he was thankful that he didn't faint again. "But now I look like a coward. Everyone thinks I can't handle a boggart."
"Everyone?" Lupin questioned, knowing that the teen may be overreacting slightly.
"Well, not everyone but still," Harry drifted off.
"And I'm sure my boggart turning into yourself didn't help that matter, did it."
"People were kinda understanding about that." Harry admitted.
"Then I am almost positive that they will understand why I stepped in front of you in class today. I think you are worrying too much what other people think about you, rather than focusing on yourself." Lupin stated honestly.
Harry nodded at his guardian. The man had a way of turning everything into a much smaller issue and this was something Harry was extremely grateful for.
"I also happen to think that anyone who is truly your friend will not judge you for not fighting a boggart, nor having a new guardian." The man replied.
Harry couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "I guess."
"You knew people would find out about our new arrangement at some point, but am I correct in thinking that you didn't realise it would be so soon?"
"Yeah. I don't mind people knowing, honestly I don't, but I guess I wanted to tell people on my own terms."
"I can understand that. But sometimes things happen when we least expect it." Remus encouraged. "If you'd like, you can sleep down here tonight?"
Harry thought about the offer. "It's only the second night; I think I'll sleep in the tower."
"That's okay, just know, you are always welcome to sleep down here even if you don't have a reason to." Lupin finished as he took the remaining mouthfuls of his dinner.
Harry followed suit as the pair finished their food and Lupin banished the plates with a flick of his wand. Harry moved over to flop on the sofa.
"Is there a way to stop the dementors from making me faint?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yes, there is but it's very advanced magic; usually not taught until at least your fifth year."
"Oh," Harry paused. "Still, do you think you could teach me some time?"
"Perhaps, although I don't want you to get frustrated if you cannot do it. It took me many months to perfect the spell." Remus replied as he took a seat in his armchair and picked up the newspaper.
"I won't get annoyed, I promise."
The man hummed in thought, "I suppose it wouldn't do you any harm. I'll send you a note when I have a free moment next week."
Harry smiled warmly; this was certainly one of the pros to having a parent at Hogwarts.
"Did you bring that homework down to work on?"
Harry had completely forgotten he'd said that. "Um, I kinda lied about that."
Lupin looked over his newspaper at the teen who was picking at the skin around his thumb; a habit the boy had seemed to have developed. "Kind of?"
"Well, no, I did lie about that." Harry admitted.
"Did you really not want to see me that much, that you had to lie about having homework to do?" Lupin had placed the newspaper down on the coffee table.
"I was angry at you."
"I understand that, but you seemed to lie very easily to me. Is this another habit you've developed?"
"No, I won't do it again. I promise."
Lupin smirked; the teen had made several promises since the beginning of their new arrangement, each one as unlikely as the next. "See to it that you don't. I do not want to have to doubt every word you say to me."
"I know," Harry replied at the man's words. It was certainly something he would have to work on if he wanted to keep the man's trust.
"Now," the man started, "go and fetch the chess board, I think it's time for me to reclaim my title of chess master!"
Harry beamed and headed down the hall leaving Lupin alone in the living room. The man had thought about discussing what Harry's divination professor had said to him and debated whether to question the teen about his loss of points in potions earlier, but quickly decided against both. Harry had already expressed his worries over having a parent at the school; he didn't want the boy worrying further that his teachers were reporting every minor incident to him.
The man leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose; if there was one thing the defence professor knew for certain, it was that his teen would be the absolute death of him.